Family Garden – Cynthia Reyes

A Good Home, Apple Pies, Canadian Gardens, Canadian Homes, Canadian life, Farmhouse Kitchen, Garden

Garden Joys

September 18, 2015September 19, 2015 Cynthia Reyes

It’s such a joy to grow things.

And even more satisfying to know that the stuff we’re eating is from our own garden.

This year, as I walked through the garden, I found myself eating berries and vegetables before I even got them into the house.

Instead of making jelly, I ate the currants fresh from the bush every day.

Asparagus spears, delicious when eaten fresh, often didn’t make it into the kitchen.

Same for the raspberries and even some tomatoes.

Being able to forage for food in one’s own garden is a privilege.

Recently, we’ve made herb oils (basil, in this case).

And I’ve made peach cake.

Knowing my tragic history with baking cakes, my family was impressed by how well it turned out.

I was so impressed with my baking victory that I kept making the same cake over and over again.

“Make her stop!” younger daughter begged her father.

I protested and she said “Mom, I love you. But you know … you find one thing that you can make, and you keep making it and making it till we’re sick of it.”

I rolled my eyes and tried to look penitent. But I was busy making another peach cake.

Soon it will be time to pull the garlic and onion bulbs from the soil.

And time to make apple pie.

I’ll peel and slice the apples, and my good man will make the pies. Everyone in our family looks forward to this tradition (and no-one complains since he only makes these delicious pies once a year).

It’s the simple stuff. The good stuff.

And my daughter will be relieved to know that now I’m serving the peaches freshly sliced, with yogourt.

But just wait till next summer.

PHOTOS BY HAMLIN GRANGE

A Good Home, Celebrations, Family Moments, Happy new year, Inspiration, Poetry, Wisdom

A New Year

December 29, 2014December 31, 2019 Cynthia Reyes

We measure a year in months and milestones

Birthdays and other anniversaries

The goals achieved, honours received

And various victories.

These things we dream of, yearn for, live towards

The dates forecast in calendars

And marked off by celebrations

Of our lives.

I wish you all that and more.

But when I wish you a happy new year

I know there may also be losses

And challenges and dirty dishes

Because this is life.

And so I wish you:

Laughter

For when things turn out crazy

Faith

On days of loss or disappointment

Wisdom

In times of uncomfortable change

Delight

In the small things, not just the big ones

Gratitude

For the gifts you have and will receive

blog-photo-simon3

Hope

For tomorrow and the morrow after

Health

To do the things you most enjoy

Peace

In the fact of your humanity.

Dedicated to my Family, with love.

**PHOTOS COPYRIGHT OF HAMLIN GRANGE**

A Good Home, Canadian life, Canadiana, Gratitude, Heritage Homes, Home, Home Decor, Homes, Inspiration, Joy, Joyful Moments, Life in canada, Living sustainably, Love, Wood, Wool Blankets

EVERYDAY GLORY – Part 2

November 17, 2014November 20, 2014 Cynthia Reyes

*PHOTOS BY HAMLIN GRANGE*

Before the car accident, I was busy leading the big projects, travelling here and there. Running around trying to change the world can make a person miss the beauty of “ordinary” things.

Injuries and pain are indescribably worse. You finally have time to see, but barely have the energy to look.

But – oh – it’s worth the effort!

To see one’s surroundings with new and grateful eyes.

To take joy in the small moments.

To be open to small patches of everyday glory.

"Snow Cones" on Spruce Branch - Photo by Hamlin Grange — “Snow Cones” on Spruce Branch

Snow on evergreens. The first snow makes the garden beautiful, day and night.

The late sun. Late afternoon sunlight shining on wood floors is magical. And when the late sun hits the wavy glass sidelights in the front door of our old farmhouse, it’s wondrous.

My husband’s truant socks. He has tons of single socks and we spend time searching for their matches.I used to get irritated by this. Or by newspapers strewn across the breakfast table. (Or his overlooking my small attempts to ‘cheer up’ our house.)

Now, I call them “signs of life”. And I give thanks for having someone kind, funny and loving to share my everyday life with. (And I try to assemble the newspapers without muttering.)

Freshly washed sheets. There’s luxury in the smell and feel of freshly washed cotton sheets although they’ve been used and washed many times.

The old wool blanket. “Canadiana”, for sure, it would be worth something, unstained. Do I care about the stain? No. I love this blanket for its brilliant stripes – and for having survived decades of use.

Blooming Amaryllis. Bought for 6 bucks, it re-blooms (big red blooms) on long stalks each winter. ‘Nuff said.

Our family’s big mixing bowl. Many apple pies have been mixed up in that beautiful old bowl.

My daughter’s dogs. Sometimes, just the sight of them gladdens my heart. One brownish-black, one white, they’re both tiny dogs with personalities of their own. As I write, they’re stretched out beside me, fast asleep.

Julius and Dawson Fast Asleep — The Pooches

Slowing down by choice is great. Being forced to do so is awful.

But in the spirit of lighting a candle and finding my way out of darkness, I’ve been focusing on positives.

And keeping both eyes open for the everyday kind of glory.

This post is dedicated to the caring staff at the pain management centre of Toronto Rehabilitation Hospital. One of the techniques they teach their patients is mindfulness.

A Good Home, Canadian Gardens, Canadian life, Family Stories, Flowers, Gardens, Homes, Inspiration, Japanese Maples, Trees, Tropical Gardening in Canada

A Family’s Labour of Love

September 19, 2014September 20, 2014 Cynthia Reyes

Photos by Hamlin Grange

One of the most beautiful gardens I’ve ever seen grows behind a very modern house not far from Toronto’s downtown.

A lush, hidden garden in a world of its own.

A place where tall trees loom into the sky, water flows peacefully, plants thrive and a discovery waits around every corner.

The garden is the ‘labour of love’ of Mary and Bob and their family. (Mary is on the right, below.)

While there’s no doubt that Mary provides the driving passion behind the garden (and loves nothing better than working in it) Bob and daughter Adrianne also play central roles.

“Bob built the arbor and pergola and has been so supportive of my passion,” Mary says.

“My Adrianne has been a big part of the creation. She is an incredible artist and we love when her time permits for us to work together on the garden.”

Mary describes the garden as “a canvas on which we have the privilege of unleashing our creativity”.

And what a work of art.

Japanese maples of different kinds – more than two hundred of them – weave through the garden, as do Japanese forest grass, hosta and other interesting plants.

Their foliage and colour contribute to the texture of the garden from spring to fall.

Hundreds of tropical plants thrive in the pool area, seeming completely at home.

Water features add to the feeling of peace here.

There are ponds.

Waterfalls.

And a water wall.

It is surprising to find a garden of this size and kind so close to downtown Toronto. Equally surprising: this garden is less than 6 years old.

The family was fortunate to have very large trees and more than an acre of land, but they had to start the garden from scratch.

Under the shade of the trees, and in many sunny spaces, the garden changed and evolved over those years.

You can see it many times and still find something new to admire every time.

New plants, new trees, new structures.

Which may explain why friends beg to tour the garden every time they visit.

And gardening magazines love producing features about it.

Mary talks about her family’s creation with a gardener’s passion. There’s wonder and delight in her voice and on her face when she stops to look at a new development.

A late-season rose.