Crimson Beauty

     I walk down the sidewalk that boarders our property line. Past the maples and the mailbox. The cloud coverage that was existent all day is finally clearing and I can see the warm rays of the sun starting to set. They cast a petal pink evening glow across the neighbourhood and show the shadows at their strongest. 

     I casually make my way along the sidewalk, pausing at the bike path that leads down to the park and listening to some shouts and giggles coming from the playground. I decide to change my path of direction and take a stroll through here instead, along the rolling hill. 

     The breeze gently kisses my cheeks as I pass under the evergreens, and it's still warm enough that I feel comfortable in my shorts and amaranth t-shirt. I can hear the distinct whistle of robins and blue jays starting to settle down for the night, and smell the distant scent of barbecue coming from a neighbour's backyard.

     I shield my eyes from the last bit of sunlight that tries to blind me as I come around the loop of the park, and continue on the sidewalk again. It's quiet here, and there's a certain serenity that makes me want to freeze time and simply indulge. There's a quiet ticking off to my left side, the result of a sprinkler watering the grass, and as I continue on my walk I see a few people meticulously mowing their lawns. Passing a few people with dogs and strollers are the only encounters I make. 

     Finally I see it. The highlight of my trip always lies around the corner of the bike path. On the edge of a huge property is a cedar rail fence and trellis stretching at least thirty feet and adorned in crimson roses. I've never been entirely sure who owns the property, but it's always been my favourite place in the neighbourhood because of the copious amount of roses that are in full bloom this time of year. The way that the sun rays illuminate the blossoms makes it feel like one of the most pleasant places in the city to be, and the fragrance that the flowers give off is almost saccharine. The purpose of my walk complete, I decide to stay here for a while marvelling over the bright carmine colours and taking in the scent and sight of the Crimson Beauty on Evergreens Drive. 



 

 

Summer Fun...Pearls

Where to begin? 
School has been out for officially two weeks and I'm absolutely loving it!!! 
My new goal is to try to blog at least once a day...emphasis on try. Fingers crossed I'll find something new to write about every day. 

For now however, I plan on summarizing what the beautiful summer has brought me so far!

The past few weeks have delivered me screams, tears, baskets of giggles and tasty treats! A Toronto Trip to Taylor Swift left me in awe, while a superb Sunday swimming at the city pool kept me smiling. A classy creation of clam chowder last night was my addition to our dinner, and that being one of my favourite soups, I was quite pleased with myself! Last Thursday gifted me clear contact lenses and I was ecstatic when I realized that up to that point, I had never been able to look into the mirror and see myself without glasses-I've had glasses my entire life. I was entirely blown away, and my little sister's joke about me being able to see myself for the first time in fifteen years almost made me sad. That took care of the tears I mentioned earlier. 

Afternoon visits with friends and family have made my heart melt with joy at the realization of how blessed I am, and the result and rave of my edible project last night put me in a good mood! For those of you that don't know, I seem to have a love affair with baking things. Usually I stick to simple cookies, but last night as a treat for some friends, I tried my skill at a batch of scratch, maple bacon cupcakes with chocolate icing. Although I have to admit I was too lazy to make scratch icing and left it to Betty Crocker to save the day, as well the fact that I accidentally let the cocoa and brown sugar marinated bacon in the oven escape my mind...needless to say it was a little too crispy. In the end though, the silky, maple sweetened batter made up for it all, and as it would turn out, my cupcakes were quite a hit with our friends today! 

So far, that's about it! I sit here at the kitchen table, marvelling at the sunset shining through the window, recollecting on what an amazing year I've had, and looking forward to every single thing that awaits me from here on in...