GreenDreams

Weekend Coffee Share – green dreams during a cold spell

Hi, can I offer you some coffee? Or tea? Yesterday the sun was shining outside my window, it looked inviting so I decided to have coffee at the balcony. However, when I got out there I quickly got reminded of the cold spell we’ve had this week..let’s say that coffee at the balcony was more enjoyable last week.

Perhaps we should take a seat in my living room?

We’ve had some cold weather with temperatures around 1F/-17C, and even colder some nights. During the afternoon it’s been warming up slightly. It is going to be a little warmer this coming week.

How is your week?

Work and school has been as usual. (I did find out about my new salary for 2023. There’s a process involved with a discussion about my role and overall contribution to our school. Everyone negotiates their own salary. I am pleased with the outcome.) Despite the cold weather I’ve taken some wonderful walks in our new neighbourhood. It is peaceful and tranquil. I’ve also organised my vegetable seeds, and I am prepared to start them as soon as it gets a little warmer, but I am holding my horses for a while. I do not want to plant too early, not being able to transfer them outside when they are ready. My plan is to start tomatoes, squash, and celery indoors around Easter. I might start some salad greens, parsnips, peas, carrots, turnips and radishes outdoors in a protected place at the balcony in a couple weeks. That might be risky, but it might also give me a head start. I am going to wait a little longer before starting beans and pumpkins. I am going to be organised this year and write down what date I start different crops, and my thoughts about adjustments for next year. Like a gardening journal. I haven’t decided if it is going to be online, or a physical journal. I’m looking into options. I am also doing a garden project with the children at work, I’ll tell you more about that in a separate post.

The only thing that I am growing all year round are the seeds on the top shelf in my pantry, sprouts. They are a most welcome addition to almost every meal, especially this year with the crazy food prices.

Last but not least, some photos from my almost finished writing nook. I shared photos on Instagram earlier this week, but in case you missed them 🙂

In case you are new to the blog 🙂 I’m a kindergarten teacher, and I want to be engaged in educational research about improving practices of teaching sustainability in kindergarten. At the moment I am working on my Degree of Master of Science, Main Field of Study: Educational Work. I study part time, mostly in the very early mornings (4am-6am,) and the weekends. I work full-time as a kindergarten teacher during the week.

What have you been up to? Thank you Natalie for hosting the Weekend Coffee Share.

Love,

Maria

Weekend Coffee Share – at home

Welcome to the Weekend coffee share! Can I get you a cup of coffee? Tea?

If we enjoyed a cup together I would start by apologising for my absence last week. My head was too filled with excitement about the upcoming move that I couldn’t manage to write a coffee share. We moved on Monday and everything went very well. I had purposely rented a smaller moving truck, since I was going to drive it myself that was more in my comfort zone (we are in the middle of winter and it is icy, especially in the countryside.) We only moved 12km, about 7,5 US miles, to the countryside outside our city. It took three tours with the truck to get the job done. The sun was shining, and it was a beautiful day. My son was a great help. I am so grateful.

The rest of the week have been enjoyed at our new place. It already feels like our home. We are going to let it take the time it takes to completely make it ours. I like living in a place for a while to get the feel for where I want things, before making any permanent arrangements (especially this time since no-one has lived here before us.) That said, I did hang curtains in all the rooms, and my favourite photo enlargement (of a memorable canoeing trip on the Colorado river) hangs on the living room wall. My plan for the day is to assemble the new couch from Ikea. The one we had in our former apartment was too large to fit in here (we sold it,) this living room has a different layout compared to our former open concept apartment. My daughter picked the new couch, and I am looking forward to seeing what it will look like. I believe she made a good choice, it has a pleasant green colour, just slightly darker than the kitchen cabinets. As you probably know by now, I love nature and green plants. My idea for our new home is to have a mix of different type of wood, plants, and other nature material and colours throughout the home (preferably pre-loved items that we find along the way.) We are going to have a large rectangular carpet made out of jute under the couch and living room table, and a matching round jute carpet on the kitchen floor. That way the kitchen and the living room has the same colour scheme. I think it will be very nice. I will share photos later on.

If there’s time this weekend I’d like to start setting up my writing corner. I am so excited to have my own space. I decided to be a little selfish and pick the largest bedroom for myself. That way I can use half the room as a bedroom, and half the room as a writing nook. I do need a real desk/working area where I can leave my current projects as they are, and return at a later time. It was literally ten years ago since I had that luxury. I am going to start working on my master’s thesis later this month. I am currently taking the last class before I get the green light to start. Having a quiet, organised space that is my own is definitely a step in the right direction. I’ve had school as usual this week, but vacation from work all week, but on Monday I’m going back to work full-time as usual.

We do have an announcement to make! My daughter have been begging me for a pet rabbit for the past couple of years, and not any kind off rabbit, but a Flemish Giant rabbit! She’s done her research, and learned a lot about them. I’ve had one myself when I was younger (my stories likely had something to do with her interest in them.) My giant rabbit, Lucy, was very docile and was more like a dog than a rabbit, which are a breed specific traits of the Flemish Giant. (I had three regular smaller sized pet rabbits before getting Lucy.) It was fairly easy to train Lucy to be house broke, and use a cat litter. She never had a cage. Naturally I am going to help my daughter with her rabbit, but I do believe the responsibility will do her good. In four weeks we are welcoming the rabbit in the photo above (my daughter’s edit..) He is currently four weeks old, and need to stay with his mom and siblings for another four weeks befor moving to us. She is thinking of naming him “Munchkin”.

How is your week so far? Tell me in a comment! Thank you Natalie for hosting the Weekend Coffee Share https://natalietheexplorer.home.blog/2023/03/03/murals-in-chinatown/.

Love,

Maria