Wordless Wednesday

 

So much to do

I had to chuckle; the post about blogger issues  garnered over 450 views and 15 comments. Much more than I normally see. Perhaps my content needs to change? I did find it interesting that some are having the same thing and others are not. In any event, I'll continue to write about the mundane moments of my life and toss in a rant every so often. 

We had a full week, though it started off quietly with Thanksgiving Monday. We'd had our big meal the day prior so dinner was easy, just leftovers. D and I did a bit of laundry (she washes/dries and I fold), and she unloaded, I loaded the dishwasher. Otherwise it was a restful day.

I did a five hour shift at the thrift store on Tuesday. There were more than the unusual number of volunteers as we were preparing for the annual fall/winter sale on Saturday. Three ladies were in another area of the building unpacking the totes and hanging coats and sweaters, folding scarves and toques (I think others call them beanies?), and matching gloves, mitts and boots. These are items that have come in over the year and are stored until this sale.

My time was spent clearing racks in the store and walking them down to the other room. We certainly didn't clear out the store but were able to take 5 more racks out to use for the sale. I also did something that has frustrating me for weeks; I sorted the children's clothing racks by age, there are now spaces for 2T-5T, 6-8, and 10-14. Not only was it all jumbled together, I found adult clothing mixed in too. It is easier to just stick things on racks, but this should make things easier for the parents to find what they need. 

I should note, we weren't sorting the regular donations that day, except to look through the bags for anything fall and winter related. It was a bit annoying to some as it means we'll be sorting those bags again in a few days. I tried to stay out of the way as much as possible and my self determined project in the store was helpful for that purpose. In the meantime, the donations have piled up in the sorting room, the back hallway AND in our coffee room. I can only imagine how much more shows up over the next week.

I'd had my tires rotated at the garage last week, and realized I'd only driven 7 kilometers (less than 4.5 miles), and needed to put 100 kms. on before the bolts could be re-torqued. So D and I decided to make a run to the next town over on Wednesday after Eli went to school. First though, we had our booster vaccines for both Covid and the flu. We hit up our favorite stores and were home in just under 3 hours, in time for lunch.

I found, in the night, that the arm with the Covid vaccine was quiet sore, especially when I rolled over and laid on it. But otherwise I had no serious reaction to either. I've found that continuing to keep moving my arms seems to resolve the tenderness. 

D and I dropped into the thrift store on Thursday morning. She was looking for clothing for a friend who has recently returned to work and has little that is business casual. The store was having a sale for $10 a basket; we filled those baskets to the brim, not only with clothing for her friend, but for Eli, D and I, as well as items for her friend S and her children. Here are the bags we brought home, with just under 60 pieces of clothing for $20! She mailed the package to K on Friday; she's receving six or seven pairs of dress pants and five or six tops. Even with the cost of postage, it cost less than a new outfit at a women's retail store. 

Knit and Natter was held on Thursday afternoon. G and I were joined by two young women. The youngest, has learned to spin her own yarn, and was knitting up a cable sweater for herself. The older sister was busy memorizing lines for a play she'll be participating in. I had finished the ornaments for my brother and SIL, so planned to started on a snowman that D requested. However the library recently acquired a decorative goose, named Willie Honka in a recent contest, that is in need of winter wear. While I was there I made a crocheted scarf, with fringe. Earlier this week, I'd tried to make a bell, that ended up looking more like a hat. I brought that home to add elastic so it will stay on Willie's head.

Definitely the final garden update: We had a heavy frost two nights this week, so it was time to pick whatever tomatoes we could and pull the plants. I so dislike pulling plants that have gone mushy from freezing. Here's our one and only pick from the cherry tomatoes. 

Friday was a very tiring day; I hadn't slept well through the night. On the bonus side, I nailed down my route for my travel to Yuma, had come up with a solution for a niggling problem, and had cleaned up after my cat threw up several times before my daughter woke and stepped in it. The latter was my fault, I'd given Eli ice cream for a bed time treat, and not reminded him to take his bowl to the kitchen. Saku loves anything dairy, anything dairy does not agree with him.  

After far too few hours of sleep, I had to be up and at it as I had agreed to help with the set-up for the Saturday sale. At the community center by 9 a.m., I worked alongside the rest of the volunteers until just after noon. Some came later in the morning, but there must have been 20 of us there. The gymnasium is an array of racks, tables, and shelving units holding all of the clothing. I did get a brief nap in the afternoon - I needed it.

Today, I'm heading back in for another shift at 9:30 a.m. A well-known fellow here in town died suddenly  From what I have heard, he was very involved in the community, active in his church, a volunteer fire fighter, played in a local band, and just a long-time resident. Many of the volunteers to attend the funeral, and one asked if I would replace her as a cashier, at least until 2 p.m. when they expect to be available. We are anticipating a good turn-out and will have two check-out areas staffed with extra people. 

This is anticipated to be our last day of nice weather, so back on home, it will be time to pull the remainder of the annuals. I'll miss the colour but we're waking to frost most mornings now. Time to get everything put away. My inner wimp is on high alert.

The day lilies have taken a beating from the frost, while the sweet peas on the fence are still going strong. Most of the deciduous trees have lost all of their leaves.

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Friday Funny

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

What's up with blogger?

 Is anyone else seeing an inordinate amount of page views? Normally, I have about 100 views and average of six to eight comments. The comment numbers haven't changed but the last view posts have close to 1000 views. When I opened blogger this morning, I saw yesterday's post had about 350 views, and within minutes that number was up to over 400.

I know my blog isn't that popular, so I'm assuming a lot of the traffic is due to bot activity. Just curious, is anyone else seeing similar numbers?

Winding down

Another full week is nearly in the books. If it seems like I am fixated on time recently, you are correct. The days before I leave for my winter home are passing quickly. I've got a to-do list that is growing shorter by the day, but seems to get added t as well. 

This week, I finished the ornaments for my niece and nephew, completed a short scarf to wear under a jacket, and started on crocheted Christmas ornaments. I also managed to find gifts for D and Eli (from Santa), for my brother and SIL, and ordered an Ancestry DNA test for D - this will be her gift from Eli. She agreed this was something she really wanted. The gifts I've ordered should arrive sometime early next week, so I'll get them wrapped and tucked away in the closet. 

Every year I buy Co-op gift cards for my niece and nephew for Christmas through Eli's school fundraiser. It ia held in late November so this year, D will purchase them for me and arrange to mail the gifts to my brother's family. I've made certain that everything I've made or purchased will be light weight and easy to mail. 

I've been through my food box, most of which I brought back from Arizona in the spring. These were items that would not have done well in the extreme heat; spices, oil, etc. Checking through the list of banned items, I discovered the chicken boullion cubes cannot cross the border as they contain chicken fat. Ooops! While it is unlikely this would result in anything more than a confiscation, should the officer even check the box, I'll be leaving them behind. I am taking a box of tea bags, a few packets of yeast, and a bag of flour with me. These didn't appear on the list of items that are banned.

Outdoors, I pulled two more containers of annuals as they were looking rather rundown. The Gerbera daisies and petunias are still looking great - I'll wait until a really hard frost or...heaven forbid, snow. There is some possibility of that horrid word in areas of the province this weekend. We may see some rain on Friday, but unless something changes I think the flowers will last another week or two.

Iin the meantime, my daughter has installed Halloween in the front yard. She had a bit of an accident one afternoon when she was mowing the front lawn. The large pumpkin is gone. I was hoping to get a nightime shot for you, but I keep forgetting.

I worked at the thrift store on Tuesday for nearly 5 hours. Oh my, did I hurt after that stint. I was on my feet for most of the time, and though we have fatigue mats in the sorting room, I also spent a fair amount of time moving racks and reorganizing clothing on the store racks and shelves. Again, the sorting room was full of donations, there were mounds out in the back hallway and at least two more loads came in from the bins during the time we were there.

It was also our "Halloween sale" where everything collected for the holiday since last year was put out in the hallway leading to the store. There were two racks, one of adult costumes, and one for children, along with anything decorative you can imagine on the tables. Adult costumes were $5, children costumes $3, and the decorations were $2. We didn't get rid of everything but it was well picked over when I left just before 3 p.m. 

D and Eli dropped by as one of the donations was a guitar, and he is interested in learning to play. For $5, it was a steal. She also brought home several pieces of clothing for herself, Eli, and for friends. Average price was 48 cents per piece. Then the thrift store posted a basket sale on Thursday for just $10 a basket...she went back again, with even more clothing. This time the average cost was 38 cents per piece. I'll deliver the items for S and her children when I go into the city. D will mail other items before Christmas to her friend K. (I don't need any more clothing, though I suspect I'll go thrifting in Yuma this winter).

Knit and Natter on Thursday was quiet, with just G and I there. I'll see her again next week, as that will be the last afternoon session. J, the librarian joined us briefly while she cleaned cushions from the couch in the children's area. They both said that the afternoon sessions get busier in the fall as people finish their gardening or lake trips, and have time to attend. This is in contrast to the group I attended in the city. Many were snowbirds, and with colder weather there were only two of us there for most of the last winter I attended. I'll likely drop by the library the week I'm in the city before I leave just to check in.

It's a long weekend here, with no school for Eli on Friday or next Monday. We'll have our Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday, with roast pork loin - it is the other white meat (did you ever see that advert?) We season it with sage and poultry seasoning and there will be mashed potatoes, gravy, dressing, mixed veg, and fresh buns. In other words, too much food!

To my Canadian readers, enjoy your Thanksgiving weekend, however you choose to celebrate (or not). 

Have a great week ahead everyone! 

Friday Funny