When it’s time to plant he loves nothing more than to see dirt and straight even rows. I prefer to scatter annual seeds, plant uneven groups of perennials in swaths; color, not necessarily the same plant, repeating along the border. I love self-seeders and jump like a frog when I see uninvited guests. You can see we have a few problems.
I’m not saying he’s wrong or I’m right. We just have different ideas. We’re not always two peas in a pod.

He once planted 20,000 teeny tiny Echinacea plugs. I wanted the look of a wildflower meadow and how he went about it was beyond my imagination. Each plug was perfectly spaced and equidistant from the other. When they grew, it was a site to behold. In fact people came from far and wide to see such a site! And eventually they even paid to meander through the beautiful fragrant field. It was the beginning of Tuscan Farm Gardens.

A long time ago when I was in grade 3, my dance teacher decked us up in grass skirts, plastic leis, showed us how to “hula” and taught us songs about a pineapple princess and a little grass shack by the sea. I was hooked! Fast forward 10 years. On our wedding day, my teenage husband promised to take me to Hawaii for our honeymoon. It took five years to save up but he kept his word. Late in the evening of January 17, 1969, our 5th anniversary, our plane landed on the tarmac at a very small airport in Honolulu. Hawaiian music was switched on; doors opened and in floated the lovely fragrant breeze that would bring us back to the islands again and again. We were even given a real plumeria lei! It was midnight before we reached our hotel but that didn’t stop us from tossing in our luggage and running down to old Waikiki beach. Soft sand, moon on the water, it was magic!

This time around our condo was smack dab right on the beach. We could see and hear the waves crashing.

Early every morning in the distance I heard cockadoodle-do and like a maestro raising his baton, little by little the birds awaken until finally the singing was so loud it was impossible to sleep. Resigned, we would roll out of bed onto the sandy beach, walk for at least an hour often guided by a pod of whales and with not a mega resort in sight! I didn’t take Tuscan Farm Gardens Peppermint Foot Therapy with me (too heavy) but on these early morning walks I often sat on a lava rock and took advantage of the endless sand and salt of the sea to refresh my feet.

And Yoga on the Beach! Well almost. The doors of the Maui Yoga opened out to the sea. All this just steps for our condo! One of Maui’s finest, Deni Roman, was our instructor. She’ll be coming to Vancouver this spring for a work shop at Yogo on 7th.

I risk sounding old when I say things have changed. The road through the sugar cane fields is 6 lanes now and no longer floods. I can’t hear the cicadas. Big box stores, cookie cutter restaurants and Las Vegas –style resorts are now island staples. But old Hawaii can still be found. We headed out to the old towns of Paia, Makeawa and the farmers markets up in Kula where we were able to stock up with healthy grub for the fridge and if we felt like eating out, several very charming restaurants beckoned.

So while much has changed, the most important things remain the same. The sand is still soft, the moon’s still bright, the waves still crash and it’s still magic. A change in latitude, a change in attitude. I recommend it!

I made Whipped Shea Butter Cream the other day. It looks a lot like whipped cream so it’s hard not to want to lick the spatula! We are testing it now on family, friends and anyone who comes by the shop now. It’s light and lovely. The ingredient list is pure and simple; raw shea butter, coco butter, jojoba oil, vitamin E and softly scented with essential oils of lavender and rose geranium. That’s it. It’s beneficial to use after shaving to prevent irritation. I’m using it as a night cream and love it. A little does wonders for flyaway hair too. I’ll keep you posted.

Well maybe I’ll start with my feet. I resolve to take more time out to use Tuscan Farm Gardens Peppermint Foot Therapy! I will for sure have happy feet!

We had a fab New Year’s celebration with family and friends (aged 2- 82) up in Summerland. Our son rented the community hall where kitchen counters groaned with food and drinks,

in another room tables were set up for chess, rook, crokinole and a game from Holland that loosely translated means “Don’t Get Mad”.

Even I could play that one. But what I really loved to see was how the big boys included their little sisters and cousins in game after game of floor hockey.

Holy Cow!! A pack of coyotes just walked by my bedroom window! I suppose they are on their way to the creek that meanders back of our property line.

Yesterday I was able to harvest more salad greens but I think it will be the last until spring. The leeks looked great and I planned to make vichyssoise but I got side tracked when I saw some smoked bacon in the fridge so I chopped it up, added some onions, celery, potatoes, the leeks and the last of the carrots along with a package of corn I froze last summer, a bit of salt and pepper, a few flakes of red pepper and when I looked at the smoked paprika I added that too. It was pree good as my grand-daughter likes to say.

In the garden it’s a different scene. The frosty mornings make me glad I didn’t clean up the grasses last fall and I have hope as once again I see signs of new life in the snow drop peeking through the crusty soil and hellebores waiting to bloom.

Long evenings make for browsing seed catalogues, planning garden strategies and plenty of good reading!

A pretty red ribbon and voila… a swag for the front door! I know some florist can’t be without skimmia and I add that too sometimes but I also just like enjoy it in the garden where it shows off all fall and winter.

I can’t believe how my yucca is behaving at this time of year. I mean we’ve had several frosts, a bit of snow and tons of wind but during a recent walkabout I noticed it was on the verge of blooming! Now this is a desert plant; it shouldn’t even be thinking of blooming in the dead of winter. But I’m sure I know what happened.

Last summer I took a look at it and said right out loud: you aren’t paying your way here; you and your prickly leaves are ugly and downright mean. You are so out of here! Well I got busy with the kitchen garden and forgot my threat. Is this guy trying hard to please or what??

I’m working on a recipe for a shea butter lotion bar. Lots of visitors to the shop are complaining about super dry skin at this time of year. I love shea butter. African women have used it forever. Is this why they can be in the sun all day and never get a wrinkle? Not fair! Anyway, the lotion bar works like this… hold it in your hand, (body heat will cause it to melt), then gently massage hands, feet and rough spots. It’s great for travelling. Still working on a packaging solution but in the meantime it is available in the shop.

Reflections on the pond and the gentle way the sun touched the trees had me running for my camera.

Alas, it didn’t last long! By the time I closed up shop for the day the rain started up again. I didn’t bother with an umbrella for the short walk home but lifted my face to catch the drops while my mind drifted to a quote I once heard: “It takes both the sun and the rain to make a rainbow.”

Is your skin dry and itchy? At this time of year, visitors to the shop are loading up on lotion for themselves and gifts for friends.

Tuscan Farm Garden Lotions are made to nourish and moisturize your skin. No nasty chemicals, no fragrance oils, no parabens.
I think a lot of people are suffering from Purcell overload . Yikes, all that alcohol!

Tuscan Farm Gardens handmade Olive Oil Soap is moisturizing, nourishing and gentle enough for face and body. Handmade soap produces lovely glycerin but with mass produced soap it is often removed and sold separately. Is it any wonder that so many suffer from dry itchy skin?

Don’t these short days and long dark nights just beg you to sit by a roaring fire with a good book? Well, any quiet corner would do! I’m out of here!

the side roads were covered in thick carpets of gigantic maple leaves so after several U turns, one dead end and a bit of arguing, we turned off the main road again but it wasn’t until we came to full stop at Elvis Presley Blvd. that we knew: “this is it!”

What a hoot! My sister introduced me to Elvis in the late50’s. Lying on the floor head to head, ears pressed against the hi fi speakers, I heard a scratchy “That’s All Right Momma” for the first time. As they say, “The rest is history”!
For two short days, the beach house was headquarters.

We laughed lots, ate well, explored the wooded trails, fern grottos,

wild crafted salal and Oregon grape to decorate, au naturel, our booth at Circle Craft Christmas Market and the Apothecary Shop.

In the morning we sat by the ocean, breathed in the fresh salt air, spotted an eagle and quietly waited for Bambi, the resident deer, to show up.

Although there was a cozy warm bathroom in the beach house and an outside shower (brrrrr) it was the outside loo that riveted my attention.

Decorated with bits and bobs of memorabilia brought back from world travels, it was a youthful Elvis smiling down on me that really cracked me up!

Too soon it was time to pack up, make a dash for the ferry, then another one and home again. I love my sister’s laugh. It hasn’t changed since our days, still at home, when she was my guardian angel.

At this time of year they are very interested in all things “spookable”.

On a recent “delivery day” one of our drop offs was at Southlands Nursery (30% off on perennials and trees), where an adventure into the greenhouse

and a meander through the garden shop full of exquisite fall arrangements and preparations for Christmas are a feast for the eyes.

If you can’t make it to Tuscany this year, I suggest a visit to Bosa Foods where myriad of fresh and dried pasta in every shape and size imaginable are on offer along with olives galore, cheeses, local and imported specialty meats, sauces, jam (Clementine!) and even a huge selection of Tuscan Farm Gardens Body Care

The cool weather has me thinking meat and potatoes. I recently discovered Gelderman Meats out in Abbotsford where I purchased a bone-in ham. In the morning we prepared scalloped potatoes, acorn squash and popped them in the oven along with the ham. There is nothing like the smell of dinner cooking when we come in from the garden cold, hungry and tired.

The last of our heirloom Brandywine tomatoes have ripened on the windowsill in my potting room. By the time you read this, they will be reduced to a delicate tomato sauce to be served with ravioli stuffed with roasted butternut squash.

As I write, I sit by a wide open window. The breeze coming in is warm, I hear ducks, crows and little song birds in the back meadow. A thunderous gaggle of geese just flew over the house. Who taught them such choreography? I love to see people out for a walk but it makes me sad to see them "plugged in” and oblivious to the wonders close by. They can’t even hear the leaves crunch under their feet.

We were miles apart on what to do with a shed full of manure, rafters that dripped pigeon poop, one whole side that wasn’t and a big old door that banged in the wind. But it had good bones and tons of character! We talked, shouted, haggled, connived and finally just let it rest.

I waited. Little by little, out of the silence grew a heap of gravel, a pile of lumber, siding and cans of paint. I watched. The way things are today, the old cow manure is fertilizing the garden,

pigeon poop has been powered washed away, side walls have been repaired, replaced and painted, new fascia boards,lights and knee braces add a stylish touch while each of us claim what a grand idea it was!!

Now what about that weather vane?