Algonquin Park

Lavender

Hoya Flower

I got a few branches from my friend about 15 years ago. It grows very slow. After a long time waiting, it bloomed. It’s about half the size of a tennis ball. I don’t know how long the flowers will last. 

Cherry Blossom

Ice Hotel

Last week I went to Quebec City to see the winter festival and Ice Hotel. It was a very neat experience. All of the cities and the places we visited were covered in white and it was beautiful, but the temperature was very cold.

Floating above Cappadocia in Turkey

Oct 18, I went to Turkey and Greece for 10 days with members of my church. It was my first time to visit Turkey and Greece. On the third day we went to Cappadocia. The Cappadocia area has deep cavities within the volcanic rocks, and underground cities. We went on one of the hot air-balloon flights, which last about an hour and a half, early in the morning to see the sunrise. I counted 40 balloons in my view, but another person on the other side counted 60 balloons. It’s a bit pricey but worth it to fly about 1000 meters high. It was a beautiful, unforgettable experience.

Passion Flower

I saw some very interesting plants called Passion flowers, a couple weeks ago, and I bought two of them. One grows well with a few buds, but the other has no sign of flowers. Passion flowers are not only beautiful; they produce delicious fruits (passion fruits) as well. Flowers are about 4 inches in width, and so far I had three flowers and they all bloomed for only one day, each. It seems too short for such a beautiful flower, to bloom for only a day. Anyways, I hope I have a chance to see fruits growing in my balcony……

Mini Garden in my condo balcony

I added two more different kinds of lilies this year, and now they have bloomed. One is pink, and the other one is white in the centre with pink edges, beautiful. So now I have three different colours, for the moment, but it will be four different colours next year as I added an Easter Lily in April.

Of course I have some other flowers too, such as Anigozenthos, Begonia, Bleeding Heart, Dianthus, Evening Primrose, Gerbera, Lavender, Lupin, Nasturtium, Pansy and Portulace…etc

Canada Geese

Today, I went to Edwards Gardens with my daughter. We saw a family of Canada Geese, including 15 goslings … Wow…
They are so cute. Many people and children were watching the family of geese.
It’s a beautiful garden with lots of flowers…and a good place for a walk, too.

Canadian Rocky Mountains

In September, 2009 I went to the Canadian Rocky Mountains with my brother, sister and her husband. It was my fourth time seeing the Rockies, but it was the first time for my siblings. The weather was nice.We travelled in a tour group with a guide who was so intelligent and knowledgeable of the Rockies. He was a very experienced guide who knew a lot about everything, including all genres of music. He played his music cds on the bus and we enjoyed listening to them.The trip was fabulous but too short.

Columbia Icefield, Jasper National Park

Peyto Lake, Banff National Park

Canadian East Coast Trip

Hopewell Rocks, New Brunswick

In the beginning of September I went on a Canadian East Coast trip: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, with my son, and my sister and her husband who came from Seoul, Korea for their vacation. We drove over 5,000 Km total, in 8 days/ 7 nights. We went to Hopewell Rocks in New Brunswick near Fundy Provincial Park, which is amazing; and Cape Breton in Nova Scotia is such a beautiful land. Prince Edward Island is such a peaceful Island. It was a long drive, but worth the visit.

Cape Breton, Nova Scotia

Cape Breton, Nova Scotia

Lilies in my mini garden

I put 4 small rectangular wood pots in my balcony. Last year I put lilies in one pot and this year they started coming out in late April. This week they started blooming. They are dark orange in colour and are beautiful.

Cherry Blossoms

In the beginning of April, my grown-up children and I went to Washington DC to see the cherry blossoms. It took about 10 hours to drive from Toronto and it was my first time visiting Washington DC. It is a very beautiful city and the timing was perfect. We looked around the White House, the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Capitol building, the Library of Congress, the Cherry Blossom Festival, etc.
Cherry blossoms are all around of the tidal basin. It took about an hour to walk around. Some branches are touching the water, some make an arch … just beautiful.
On the way coming back home, we stopped at Luray Caverns, too. I hope I can visit for cherry blossoms again in the future.