Good time in the city, back to the yardwork at home

I had a good trip to the city, a lovely visit with my son, his roommate B, grand-dog Sage, and three of B's five kitties. (The other two would have nothing to do with me). One of the cats, Kota, decided he was my cat. At one point, he even jumped out of B's lap to come running to me as I came through the door. He also liked to spend time with me in my room though could be coaxed out by shaking a bag of treats. That also brought three others to the door. :) Yes, Kota is a black and white cat who looks a bit like Saku.

B and I went shopping on Monday morning to Costco as I needed some dry goods for home, and we picked up meat for their freezer. They should be set for a couple of months. We made a stop at Pet Valu for B to pick up cat litter, and then Home Depot, where I picked up C's Christmas gift. I'd promised to purchase a snow blower last year for him, but couldn't get him to tell me which one he would like. So this year, I said to heck with it and bought a Toro. It has good/decent reviews and as it was the last one available at the store the price was right. I'm sure they were clearing it out for the new models. The Farmers Almanac is forecasting a cold and snowy winter ahead. 

B suggested we go for lunch at Boston Pizza, which was right beside Home Depot. We had a really nice chat, while I've known her for a number of years, I haven't really sat down and talked with her. 

When we arrived back at the house, C was out on the deck and he helped unload the vehicle. Then I was off to the hairdresser to get my hair cut. What a relief! It's been getting shaggy and I am not talented enough to cut my own. (Looking at you, Patsy). My final stop was Walmart where I purchased C's birthday gift. B had shared that he really wanted a wok. While I will be back in the city in October, I figured he could use it now. 

In fact, within an hour of arriving back at the house, he had the wok seasoned, meat marinating in the fridge and the rice cooking in the rice cooker. He watches a lot of cooking shows, one of which has two chefs that have worked in Michelin star restaurants. These guys are fun to watch, because they can put together an amazing meal together in short order with pretty much anything. He has learned, and I had no idea, that after cooking the rice is spread out on a cookie sheet and allowed to dry. I've always just put the pot in the fridge and left it over night....and I used Minute Rice, not long grain. :) 

I didn't get to enjoy the meal, as I left mid-morning Tuesday to return home. The day was hot, by 11 a.m. it was 27C/80F and I didn't want to drive in the heat of the day. It reached a high of 32C/90F but with the humidity felt even hotter. D and Eli came out to help me unload the vehicle and other than watering plants I stayed indoors until the tree guy arrived. We had the evergreen removed, as well as the two cedars against the house, and several branches removed that were hanging over the power line. D has been concerned about those, as she has experienced an ice storm here a few years ago. In less than an hour the guys had done their work, cleaned up the majority of the debris (there are dry needles from the cedars left for me), and had everything loaded in the trailer for removal to the dump. They even took the seven bags of garden waste that I've gathered up over the summer.

This is area in front of the tent gazebo. The path leads to the front yard. It gets a fair amount of sun in the afternoon but the only thing growing there (besides the old evergreen) is weeds. D is planning to put up poles to hold a line. It can be used as a clothes line but also can be used to hold various apparatus for Eli to play on. That's a next year project.

The two cedars, the tall one and a globe cedar were too close to the house. Debris from the taller one was collecting in the gutters as well. 

Wednesday was hot, though slightly cooler than Tuesday as we got some rain. I spent the first part of the day outside cleaning up debris from the cedars. That's the second bag up against the foundation. I want to move out those rocks and will allow the day lilies to fill in much of the area. 

D ran some errands in the morning and she and Eli went to the library in the afternoon. Before they left for the library, they followed me to the car dealership where I left my SUV for the installation of a front and rear dashcam. They were back from the library a half hour or so, and the dealership called to say the car was ready to go. I was able to sync my phone to the camera but have no clue how it works. I guess I'll have to read the manual. :p

Thursday was a quiet day, and Friday was much busier. We went into the next door town where I picked up a small laptop as a back-up for my current machine. We also made a stop at the book store, where D picked up four more books of a series for Eli using one of my old gift cards. She's been reading the first two books to him, and he's gotten in to the series. There are dragon masters!

At lunchtime we headed to the library for their free BBQ, where Eli and I shared a hotdog. 

There was a presentation on fire safety inside the library, and outside, children were allowed to climb into the truck, and push the buttons for the sirens. He enjoyed that, a lot!

Next up we went next door to City Hall for the "Escape Room". D had booked it for the three of us. We had a rocky start, as we didn't clue on the clues in the audio recording we listened to upon entering the room. However, the staff gave us a hint and we started working our way through. It took a couple more helpful hints before we "made our escape". In fact, we weren't locked in and could have left at any time. While we had 30 minutes, we finished in just over 20 minutes. I think Eli enjoyed it, and though I have no idea how D figured out some of the clues, it was a nice way to spend time with my family.

We had quite high winds on Friday as well, and our poor tomato plants were blown over several times. One of the containers landed on a container of peppers. I had to stake the peppers and tie them up before D and I moved the tomatoes to another spot in the yard. Even then, we found the containers blown over more than once. I'm not certain how much damage was done to the branches, time will tell.

Today, with the cooler weather we're planning to put a pork loin in to the slow cooker for pulled pork. D will bake buns, and we're also going to cook up sausage rounds to make breakfast sandwiches for the freezer. If, and I do mean if, we are feeling especially productive, we may make perogies. Or at least I'll cook the potatoes so we can make them later this weekend or early next week. 

One last note: today would have been my Dad's 115th birthday. He always wanted to reach 100, but left us a few weeks after his 98th birthday. He'll be in my heart and mind today, as always.

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Friday Funny

 

What happened?

Is it just me, or has this summer been flying by for everyone? How can it be mid-August already with just a couple of weeks to go before school is back in session?  I know we've been busy, but really?  D has worked all summer with Eli on his school work including French and English language, reading, and math. They've started in on learning about money, too.  He isn't particularly happy doing school work, but is rewarded with an hour of You-tube videos. He'll even do extra work for more time. :) She's hoping that he will have none of the "summer slump" that other students may experience.

I got most of the creeping juniper cut back, but will be digging roots for some time yet. The weeding also continues, and I've started cutting back some of the perennials. The poppy heads were brown so I've cut those off as I don't want them to be seeding in the raised flower bed. The strawberries are on the list to dig up as I'd like to make room in the bed for more vegetables, and will move the gladiolas. The latter will get more sun there; while they've grown quite tall there is no indication of flowering. 

The photo on Wednesday was of a few of the very many lilies we have out front. They line the exterior of the peony bushes. Next year, I am going to try pruning the peonies back early, to allow the lilies more space. This year the peonies blooms were pretty sparse, with a lot of seed pods setting instead. The lilies, though, have been putting on a real show. Bob was close when he called them leopard lilies, they are actually tiger lilies. The ones that grow in the wild are our province's official flower; the flower petals grow upward rather than . These are domesticated and the petals grow downward. 

We had our two trips into the next town over for Eli's day camp. D and I had a very successful trip to the thrift store for clothing. She got two or three dresses, a pair of leggings, two t-shirts and a pretty knit top, while I got two dresses and a knit top. Between the two of us, we spent less than $100. 

After day camp on Tuesday, we dropped D's car off at the dealership (again). They had early replaced some spark plugs, but not all, and one of the ignition coils. The car had continued to misfire when idling, so it needed to go back into the shop. This time, they replaced the remaining spark plugs and an ignition coil. It was ready for pick-up later the same day and she took it for a drive. She's driven a couple more times and all seems to be good. 

Eli had the local library program as well on Wednesday, and on Friday the group went to the spray pad. The park is just a short block and a half walk from our house and the weather was cool, but Eli had a great time playing with some other children. D hadn't gotten around to eating that morning/noon so it was thrilled to find that the Jamaican group had set up a food tent in the park, and enjoyed a meal of jerk chicken, rice, and veg. (I don't skip meals, she does.)

Early Thursday morning, about 1:30 a.m. we had a storm blow threw bringing thunder, lightning and pouring rain. In just about 45 minutes we had an 2.5 cm./1 inch of rain in the gauge. It came down hard and fast, and at one point even a bit of hail. Thankfully, no real damage was done. There were just a few branches from the trees out front on the sidewalk.

That put a kibosh on doing any more gardening/yardwork for me for a couple of days. The ground was saturated! While I did get out, ahead of the rain, and cleaned up the raised bed, I still have weeding to do in the areas that are primarily rock. It's not the most comfortable area to weed. I can't kneel as my right knee won't take it even with a pad, so I sit on my bum on a child's boogie board. I'm not quite to the point my mom was in her last few years, where she would lay on her belly in the garden and pull weeds. On occasion, her method put a scare into the neighbours as they drove by. :)

Out in the garden, the peas are up. I don't know that we'll actually get a crop of them before the first frost but I tried. Our containers of tomatoes are going strong, though a couple of lower branches were slightly damaged in the storm, and are looking a bit yellow.  The green peppers are starting to show some promise, though I don't think we'll get anything the size of store bought peppers. The lower one in this photo is about the size of a fast ball (smaller than a soft ball, bigger than a golf ball).

On another note, the cats have reached to level of tolerance to be in the same room together. Saku still doesn't like it if one of the others jumps up on my/his bed. But Stanley came for a cuddle on Friday, and while Saku looked a wee bit annoyed, he was fine as long as Stanley wasn't too close. We started feeding them together out in the kitchen, supervised of course, just to get them accustomed to being in the same proximity. Then we started leaving the bedroom door open to allow Saku to wander, again supervised. One morning I put the cat TV (on You-tube) on my television, walked out of the room, and came back to find all three watching. Saku was on the bed, Stanley was on the cat tower, and Spencer was sitting on the floor. Okay, then...so I left the bedroom door open overnight and found no fur or blood shed in the morning. By Thursday we felt it was safe enough to leave them on their own while we were away. And again, there was no indication of any kind of kerfuffle. I thought it would take longer for this level of tolerance but I certainly am not complaining. 

Just in time for me to make a quick trip to the city. I'm heading out on Sunday and will return on Tuesday. D has a friend with her two young daughters coming to visit. Three children under ten, and two young women who like to talk, a lot, is more than I can tolerate. In any event, I need a break. Living with one's adult child can be a bit much sometimes. We both have our own way of doing things and expectations and lately these seem to be at odds. A couple of days away should give us both a chance to reflect and re-set.

Today, I'm planning to get a bit more weeding done and I may move some rocks to another area of the yard. There is baseball and football to watch (Go Riders!), and another toque/beanie to finish off. 

Have a great week ahead everyone!

P.S. Maxine's best before explanation reminded me of my mom. When she passed away, we were clearing the fridge of items we knew dad would never eat. The oldest item was a bottle of salad dressing dated 1989. Mom passed away in 2003...

Friday Funny

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Another week bites the dust/mud

I'm not sure where this week went, I think because Monday was a holiday in the province, so I probably thought it was Sunday, though in reality everyday is Friday since I retired. (Confused yet, I know I was!)

Eli had his day camp on Tuesday and Thursday. Library program was Wednesday and a real live pirate came to visit! I wasn't there, but that's what I was told, and when an eight year old tells you there was a real live pirate, he must be right. Also, he and D went to the community center on Friday for a special event put on by the library and the Science Center (located in Regina). The center sent two individuals to do a short science camp. Eli was in his element - he's a math and science kid!

Earlier in the week, he and I stopped in at the pet store. This little girl tabby, named Tila (pronounced Tee-la) was evacuated from Northern Saskatchewan due to the forest fires. She is 5 months old, spayed, vaccinated and ready for a forever home. Eli likes to visit the kittens/cats at the pet store and he would happily bring them all home. However, that is not happening, but we'll continue to hope Tila finds her "furever" home soon.

As you can probably tell from Wednesday's photo, the cats are starting to tolerate one another. Saku does not appreciate the other two getting in his space on the bed, and there was one incident of him lashing out at Stanley when he (Stanley) jumped up and woke him (Saku). No blood was shed. Both Spencer and Stanley have used Saku's litter box, and in turn, he has used their box in the porch. Saku has been in the basement a time or two, but I don't believe he's used either of the boxes down there. In any event, we are able to allow the three to be out and about in the house without a lot of supervision when we are there. However, we're not quite ready to leave them on their own when we're out of the house. I sincerely doubt we'll ever find the three of them snuggled in a kitty pile on a bed, but tolerance within certain limits is appreciated.

This is a fairly frequent occurrence when Eli, Stanley, and Saku join me in the evening. (My comforter was in the wash, so D lent me one - it was too warm for me)

Breaking news! We got a bit of rain on Monday evening and overnight. One rain barrel was about two thirds full, the other about half full. Another gift to be appreciated as I was able to water the tomatoes from the rain barrel. Speaking of rain, I'm including a video my brother sent me. He's got a wacky sense of humour!

He has since made the necessary repairs and figures the railing will withhold his weight, next time. :)

Speaking of a wacky sense of humour, Eli hollered at me one evening and told me the toilet was smoking. I assumed he'd done some sort of experiment and went to check to see what was happening. This is what I found. What a kid!

Besides the driving, I've got more work done in the yard. I've been watching You-Tube videos in the evening, various ones, and some of my favorites are garden clean-ups. It's like watching Hoarders, as it either spurs to do more outdoor work, or makes me feel like our yard isn't that terrible. :) I was watching one from Britain and noticed the worker using a grabber rake and happened to mention it to D. I wasn't able to find it locally or even on Amazon, though there were leaf grabber scoops/claws, but I wanted this tool. She found it on Temu, ordered it, and it was here in just a week or ten days. I've told her it is my Christmas gift. I used it to clear up piles of pine cones and needles on the far side of the house. I would grab a rake full, dump it in a bin and when that was full, pour it into a yard waste bag. It cleaned things up so nicely, far better than I could have by hand, and far less strain on my back. 

I've been envying Patsy's tent gazebo for some time, and I had earned Amazon gift cards by doing surveys. I decided I'd use these to purchase my own. The instructions for set up were pretty minimal and there were a few (more than a few) blue words said by D and me as we set it up. But eventually we got it right and it's simply marvelous. I take my tea out in the morning and after Stanley has had his time on the lawn, we settle into the tent. Both D and Eli have also spent time with me there. When the heat is on, it provides shade, and with a breeze coming through, I'm in my own little piece of heaven.

I take my breaks from yard-work in it too. I've managed to cut back most of the creeping juniper. I fill up a tub, then cut up the pieces and bag it. Between the juniper and the pine cones and other debris, I'm up to five bags of yard waste. I suspect there will be a couple more bags yet to come.

Friday afternoon, the storm finally reached us, and we had nearly 5 centimeters/2 inches in less than two hours. We had water in the basement again, and after clearing out the soft items, Eli's couch, mats, a mattress, and bedding, D used the shop vac to start cleaning up the excess water. My bad, as I didn't think we needed to clean the gutters this spring, though apparently we did. It also came down hard and fast and I don't think, even if clean, the eavestroughs would have kept up. In any event, that job has been added to the "find someone to do the job" list. Just to highlight how much rain we received, the town posted on FB asking everyone to stay off the streets so crews could clear the drains! 

I did reach out to the tree trimmer guy this week as well, and he'll be by on Monday to give us a quote for removing an evergreen, a tall cedar and cut back branches that over hang the power lines. There is always something that needs doing around here!

More rain is in the forecast for the rest of the weekend too, so I'll have to do stuff inside rather than out. Good thing there is baseball and football to watch! I've finished one toque/beanie, have another on the needles, and I'd like to either do a bit of sewing or perhaps crocheting. No worries, I'll keep myself amused. 

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Friday Funny