If you live with books, you will be surrounded with loyal friends, wise mentors, creative energy, and timeless beauty. You will be blessed.

Thunderclouds gathered quietly, unexpectedly one sunny afternoon and staged a dramatic spectacle. There was just enough time to take a couple of shots and find cover before the downpour began.

In this computer age, a manual typewriter has long been obsolete, out of sight. Yet I learned to type with one, and I feel nostalgic for this outmoded machine.

One long ago summer, I undertook a project (prompted by my mother) to type and organize some favourite family recipes that were scattered on handwritten paper scraps, worn magazine clippings and dog-eared cookbook pages. I was to carefully copy the recipes with our then-sleek manual typewriter, and my mother would consolidate them into one neat-and-tidy binder. I remember continuing with this venture over several weeks as time or energy permitted.

Sadly, the project never saw completion, owing largely to my lack of industry. And the binder with the successfully copied and arranged recipes has disappeared into the past. Only a single typed recipe survives - the candied cherry, coconut cookies my mother baked at Christmas, my favourites.

The irregular, imperfect letters, including typo and cross-out, that outline the ingredients and instructions for these sweet treats stand in stark contrast to the immaculate, uniform fonts of my present-day, sophisticated laptop. Yet despite their imperfection (or perhaps because of their imperfection), the manually typed characters possess charm and poignancy, as touching and tender as discovering, when an adult, one's wobbly childhood printing - a remnant of another time, another self.

Over all these years, I have held onto our out-of-date typewriter, reluctant to part with it - more than a quaint relic, it is a keeper of personal history. And, though I am not much of a baker, I treasure the piece of paper with the imperfectly typed Christmas cookie recipe as if it was one of my most valuable documents.

In this moment, just because a pear is so beautiful in form, so perfect in its being, I can believe that life too is perfect and good.

Posted April 23, 2012

Some pretty blooms and colours of spring to share with you, to bring you good cheer.

Luminous yellow embodies spring's liveliness. On a sunny day, the bright yellow flowers cultivated in city gardens - daffodils, tulips or pansies - echo the beaming sun. But today I am celebrating the lowly, overlooked dandelion. Growing freely in an undisturbed field, these unheralded (unwanted, some would dare) wildflowers radiate their own golden glory. It is impossible to pass by without witnessing, without feeling the dandelions' delight in their natural existence.

Smile in acknowledgment and praise when next you encounter a sunny dandelion.

An ideal day for me includes devouring the luscious photos in interior design books and magazines. Indulging in a sweet walnut brownie along with the visual treats can push the day into bliss.

As well as the many gorgeous print publications, there are countless online decor sites to savour. These are a few of my favourites:

• Apartment Therapy, a great peek into other people's houses
• Canadian House and Home, a popular print magazine with a nice website
• Covet Garden, an online magazine that devotes each monthly issue to one creative homeowner
• Style Files, a chic daily blog from the Netherlands

We will talk design again soon. Bring your favourite sweet treat.

Recently, I had a lovely stroll through the University grounds. Despite the bustling activity of such a large educational institution, I find it a peaceful and restorative space.

The lone black chair was found as is. Perhaps an industrious student placed it there for some inspirational studying in the morning sunlight. Or maybe the chair is the sole survivor of a fresh-air, all-night, post-exam celebration. What is your guess?

If you, too, enjoy tulips, here are a few interesting facts culled from The Tulip, an illustrated history of the flower by self-described tulip-lover Anna Pavord:

• The tulip flourished in the Ottoman Empire. It was a valued flower in the lavish pleasure gardens created by Sultan Mehmed II (1451-1481) in Constantinople. During the reign of Süleyman the Magnificent (1520-1566), the tulip was a popular decorative motif, appearing on the Magnificent’s gowns and armour, as well as pottery and tiles.

• During the Dutch tulip craze (1634-1637), the flower bulb was the ultimate symbol of wealth. The most sought-after and highly priced tulips were ones with red and white or purple and white markings. A single bulb of the Semper Augustus, considered the most beautiful of the red and white striped tulips, was valued as high as 13,000 florins. At the time, a gracious, central Amsterdam townhouse with gardens and coach house could be purchased for 10,000 florins.

• British grower James Maddock listed 665 different tulips in his 1742 catalogue; in 1777 the catalogue contained 804 varieties. 

• Holland and tulips have become synonymous. In the late 20^th century, Dutch nurseries were exporting 2 billion bulbs to 80 different countries.

Today, March 20, is the official start of Spring. To inject a bit of seasonal joy into your life, bring a bouquet of bright, beautiful tulips into your space!