house of horror

under the red and black

umbrella

across from a

house of horror

cool water

was poured

veggie wraps

consumed.

above

a summer blue

sky decorated

with wispy

white clouds,

sheer delight.

smelling roses and other activities

summer is in full swing,

i enjoyed the shade of the magnolia

tree

and stopped to smell the roses in

my mother's garden,

come closer and inhale their sweet scent.

the neighbour's cat in the grass is looking

pleased, after giving me a not so friendly

chomp.

then the weekly visit

to the market in the park to

see what is available.

this year there are more city based growers

offering lettuces, arugula, garlic scapes

and radishes.

don't the strawberries look enticing?

sadly they were bitter and mushy,

a wet spring.

new to me are the blue longish

berries known as honey berries or haskaps.

in the end i brought home some delicious

goat cheese cheddar, baby kale and a

cosmic salad blend, out of this world.

summer continues...

green and local coffee?

our trusty but ancient electric coffee grinder

has reached its final days,

the decision was made to purchase a

hand operated model,

advantages: early morning exercise and

no loud noises. the coffee plant

that i have been nurturing does not

look like a harvest is imminent,

and i do wonder how many more

plants would be needed for a cup

of home grown coffee.

back to work

back to work

on the sketchbook project,

many pages to go,

the studio

beckons.

late afternoon

seeing the

red umbrella,

then

a yellow cup

on a wall,

only meant

one thing,

time for

a coffee break.

easing into summer

warm weather,

colourful flowering shrubs

grape leaves offering shade,

miss m in play drive

ferns lush and vividly green,

the old wicker chair

placed in a cool spot,

ready.

happy summer solstice!

goodbye and yerba mate

the last view of argentina from the air,

it was an emotional departure,

buenos aires is a fascinating city,

i didn't take many photos

being in the moment seemed

more important.

one thing i didn't have was

yerba mate an herbal tea drink

popular in south america.

no matter,

upon returning home

a visit to el almacen

remedied that.

the tea is served in a gourd

and sipped through a

stainless steel straw.

yes that is an alfajor

at the edge of the photo.

chau.

1.3 km

apparently it is 1.3km between the national congress

to the casa rosada along the avenida de mayo.

this is a good hike, considering that i must have

taste tested every flavour and type of alfajores

made in argentina. the casa rosada faces the

plaza de mayo and across the way is the

cabildo now a museum. when i was there

a group of protesters were staging a demonstration

that headed toward the courtyard of the

cabildo. throughout the city there seems to

be no shortage of statues of men on horses.

tea and a dark restaurant

tea at the alvear palace hotel

is a splendid way to spend a rainy

afternoon.

in luxurious surroundings

tea is served beautifully

by white gloved staff.

after tea, truffles are

brought to the table, and

a pastry trolley

arrives for us to select

a pastry to take home.

at

the very dark restaurant

we had an excellent

dinner

followed by a

spectacular

pastry party!

it was so good

i could have

consumed the

entire platter.