I'm as Blue as a Meconopsis betonicifolia

But not nearly as attractive. I've been holding my breath since Tuesday when we learned that Everald the Repair Man would be calling on Wednesday with news about the gorgeous, but thoroughly useless Dacor Preference Ovens. He did indeed call - and was scheduled to come between 11:00 and 1:00 today. Breath in and out. He has phoned again and will be here closer to 2:00 p.m.

My girlfriend Carrie bought me a box of lovely Lindt Dark chocolate as medicinal consolation for not being able to bake my own brownies when I truly need them most. Unfortunately, by the time I got home and discovered these little treasures, I found that the box was lighter by more than half - with only 4 chocolates remaining - courtesy of Kevin - who thought they were for both of us.

Yesterday, I refreshed my supply, gave Kevin his own Cream Egg ahead of Easter, and have hidden the rest. Am taking 2 a day so far. Although, as I get further into this book-keeping tax prep I may have to increase the dose to keep myself going. And, should that sugar fix not be enough, our good friend Lorne has given me a case of Kosher Coke (available only in a few neighbourhoods in the Toronto area during Passover) - this is the Coke that is made with sugar only - no corn products. What a blast from the past - could almost imagine that I was little again and was holding one of those little rippled bottles in my hand. Interesting though - we've shared with a number of people - and some can definitely tell the difference - others don't know what we're on about, hence the popularity of using corn products in so much of our processed food.

Light table growth moving along nicely - stuff needs to be transplanted, but am forcing myself to do tax stuff first. Just like everyone else, we've had several cold days - can you believe how depressing Lake Ontario looks? It was -12C with the windchill on Tuesday.
When I saw these little Winter Aconites at first I thought some sort of children's toy had been scattered about. They were frozen solid - could have shattered the blossoms just by tapping them with my finger.

However, today is much nicer and I've gone and cheated by buying some potted-up primula, pansies and daffs - stuck them in a pot and can see them from my kitchen window. So very cheerful and pretty.

Down in the back garden, Ivory Prince seems to be standing in a pool of discarded clothes.

Carex muskingumensis - one of my largest Carex - stands about 1 meter (3ft) high mid-summer is sending up nice strong new blades.

The seedheads of last year's clematis blossoms

And the promise of this year's leaves and flowers further down the stem:

Around on the edge of my dark garden, was absolutely thrilled to find blossoms on my Pieris. In spite of our weather, the cold, snow, rain - it really is miraculous.