Today was Rick’s birthday, and it was an utterly quiet, relaxing day at home. It was cute to see Sophie drag the bag of birthday goodies out this year – it was so much easier to get her to do it this year than last year. :)

Here are a few items he received.



Organic cotton shirts, Made in Canada from Green is Black



Organic hemp socks, Made in Canada from Rawganique



Compost thermometer, from Lee Valley




Organic fertilizer, also from Lee Valley



Tonight’s dinner. Fresh sea scallops from the local poisonnerie, and this wonderful naturally cured bacon, also local.

So Rick got this from me today: I had purchased it as part of his birthday present which is still two weeks away, but after coming in from the garden to inform me he had a chat with our resident woodchuck, I decided he had to have it a bit early.

We’ve had a woodchuck family living under our cabana (shed) for as long as we’ve lived here. And for the most part we like them. However, last year Rick put in some SFG (square foot gardens) and that is where the woodchuck all-you-can-eat buffet began. Needless to say the woodchucks enjoyed our vegetables more than we did last year! So when Rick was outside getting the garage tidied for this weekend’s garage sale, he comes face to face with a woodchuck – and all our lettuce plants eaten down to stubs. He said they stood and stared for a moment at each other & came to an understanding, however just in case the conversation was lost in woodchuck translation, we will put the netting up. ;)



These are available from Lee Valley for a limited time. They are only 3×3 so it will only cover 9 squares but it is still better than nothing.



They fold neatly for storage. For those of you who have ever used a pop up light box to photograph with, it is the same concept. So GUESS who will be folding these??? ;)



Above photo shot last summer.

I got these as a stocking stuffer last Christmas, and they have come in really handy marking the spot in my reference books. I have been reading (actually re-reading) “You Are Your Child’s First Teacher” and “Beyond the Rainbow Bridge“ in my spare time…and these are great for marking projects, activities or info that I want to reference back to.


Unlike the standard Post-It Flags, these slip nicely onto the page and don’t stick out in a chaotic colorful mess! I also like that you can reuse it them…over & over…