Tokyo Karankoron

Spring has been coming and going and teasing us mere coat-dependent humans and now it looks like it's finally here to stay. Flowers! Frozen yogurt! Cocoa! (It's never the wrong season for cocoa). Especially flowers. Nothing is quite as beautiful as spring in bloom, all the vivid colors and gorgeous shapes and lushness...I love it! Here's a music video by a fun Japanese band that seems to share my affinity for flowers and cuteness. Kawaii!

Spring flowers and a spring in my step!

Yesterday felt like summer! The sun was shining at full blast, cherry blossoms were still out, their petals flying around and covering the ground like snow, and I went to a salad buffet for brunch and ate three plates of rainbow coloured fruits and veggies. I can't remember the last time I wanted to eat salad so much - in the winter all I want is hot soup and other heavier comfort foods. Spring is so much more fun!

After eating, I waddled out of the restaurant and continued on with my two companions. We walked around Kyoungbuk University campus, admiring all the bright flowers and beautiful trees. There were so many families out as well - parents with huge smiles on the faces as they watched their little ones walk and climb and ride a bicycle and try to eat dirty things from the ground. Many of them were taking photos or filming - making memories! It was really sweet. There were also many fashionable couples as well as groups of people picnicking. It didn't feel like a university campus at all - more of a park for everyone. 

Being out in the spring sunshine makes me deliriously happy. I couldn't stop smiling yesterday. I think I could have walked around all day but eventually I headed home and hula hooped inside while watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Weekends are the best.

Here's to another beautiful spring day! :-)

Peaks of Summer Fun!

Here we are, blessed with another gorgeous weekend of birdsong and sunshine! Yesterday when I went raspberry picking I saw (and ate) the biggest, reddest, juiciest raspberries of all time. Three days of rain followed by sun made for the most wonderful, healthy berries! Needless to say, they're going fast in my house and I keep having to remind myself to savour every bite rather than stuff myself like the berry addict that I am. 

This picture is from the lavender festival I went to last weekend. Yesterday I went to a U-Pick flower spot for the first time ever and picked seven lilies, some pink, some white. It was such a neat experience to pick the flowers myself from a small garden rather than buy them from a store, not knowing their origin or what kind of chemicals they had been subjected to. On the way home, I felt a little sad that I had cut the flowers rather than letting them grow and flourish. I suppose the important thing is to just take a little bit and enjoy it completely, knowing that the flowers will keep growing, as long as we don't take too much (as with every resource). 

One of my tomato plants now has little green tomatoes which I hope will ripen nicely. Having never tried growing any vegetable before I have no clue what's happening but I'm trying to be observant and diligent with the watering. 

Next weekend the BC Renaissance Fair is on and I will be there in all my Renaissance and theatre loving excitement!! I highly recommend attending this fun event :)

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Happy May 1st!

Apparently it is very true - April showers bring oodles of May flowers! In some countries May 1st is an official holiday so people can run outside and play if they desire to do such things :) 

Here, we may not be celebrating an official holiday, but we are enjoying a day that feels as warm, nourishing, and joyful as the peak of Summer! Dig out your sandals and short shorts!

Follow the Flowers

Last Sunday I had the pleasure of visiting a beautiful garden in Vancouver and feeling like I had been transported to a magnificent paradise. This time of year is the best for stepping outside and drinking in the beauty of all the newly blooming flowers and lush greenery. Everything feels suddenly alive and vibrant and breathtakingly gorgeous! Even walking around the neighbourhood is a different experience when you're surrounded by such colour and cheerful birdsong. 

There was no admission fee when I went, so hundreds of people had flocked to this same place, to admire nature and soak up the loveliness of this sunny day. I get so excited when I see people choosing to reconnect with nature and life and feel the sun on their skin rather than locking themselves indoors. It's especially enjoyable to see how children interact with their surroundings - they experience everything directly and completely in the moment rather than analyzing things and feeling separate from their environment. 

We are all part of the environment, but it is terribly easy to feel like you've been separated from it. Luckily, that is all an illusion - no matter how many office towers we build or how orange the fluorescent lights we put up, we will always be part of nature and grounded in the earth. Simply walking outside, visiting a park, doing a bit of gardening, or sprinkling some fresh herbs on our food can help to reconnect us and remind us that we are one with nature :)