Goodbye August

The end of August already? Our summer is nearly over, though we don't count it done until after the long weekend (Labour Day) which falls on the 7th of September this year. 

Interestingly, the provincial government, in power since 2007, legislated that school was not to be in session until after the long weekend. Apparently no one could read, or perhaps, understand how the calendar works. If school started on September 8, classes would run until July. That's not allowed either, so I'm assuming they've made an exception. D had a meeting with the school team on Friday, and it certainly sounds like they are ready for Eli's return. He will start with part days with a gradual increase to full days, hopefully by October.  She learned he has a new E.A. this year, along with a new school counsellor. The principal isn't entirely new, as he filled in for last year's principal when he was ill, and was a teacher at the school for many years prior.

Something else that is confused is the lilac I planted a few weeks ago. It is blooming!

My week flew by. It started Monday with the cleaning shift at the thrift store. We arrived to a van being unloaded into the bin, and found a huge mound of donations in the sorting room. I worked there this week, leaving the cleaning to others. It was another week of sending wrinkled clothing to Value Village, we just don't have the room for everything. G and N opened boxes and bags containing glassware and household items. N had told one of the board members that we needed to hold a glassware sale a few weeks ago...it didn't happen and now we have even more of it!

Tuesday was housework day, as it has been the last few weeks. I've totally forgotten what I did on Wednesday - probably not a whole lot. Thursday we were up early in the morning to head to Regina. D hadn't heard from the doctor's office in time to arrange for a blood test at the hospital for Eli - for genetic testing - but had arranged to have eye exams for the two of them. 

We stopped at my son's place first to drop off a couple of things. I was glad to see B (g/f) was working from home that day. Sadly, Oliver, her 17 year old cat had passed away the previous morning. It's hard losing of our fur babies. After a hug or two, we headed out.

Next up was the bank where D was able to get a new debit card, then to Walmart for shampoo and conditioner. She is quite concerned that the upcoming tariffs will increase the price so bought enough to last several months. I picked up my preferred brand - just a couple of bottles. While there I popped into the Magicuts to make an appointment for a haircut. Our last stop was Costco, where she shopped and mainly stuck to our list, while Eli and I had a bite to eat. 

We made it to the optometrist office in good time, where I dropped the two of them, and drove back to the hairdresser. I was in and out quickly, arriving to pick them up, within a few minutes of them leaving the office. We left at 8 a.m. and were home by 3 p.m. (3 hours driving with a couple of brief stops for construction) so we ccomplished a lot in a short amount of time! 

I didn't sleep well that night, up from 2 - 5 a.m., and was up at 6 to feed the cats. D and Eli were up shortly thereafter but I managed to doze off and sleep until 9. That's the latest I've slept in a very long time. Remember when you were a teenager and could sleep until noon? Or was that just me?

The day's entertainment was watching a crew of two work on the garage roof of the LND (landlord next door). Did I tell you he has the property listed for sale? It is way overpriced for the community and I doubt he'll see a sale until he reduces it. Meanwhile the family that was living there appears to have moved on, but the original renters have been back and forth though don't seem to be staying overnight. Some mattresses were taken out but otherwise we haven't seen a lot of household items being removed. Their lease is up on Monday so we'll see what happens next.

Back to the entertainment. I was making my breakfast as they started work to remove the shingles. Clearly whoever did the work last failed to put the paper under the shingles and they were having a heck of a time peeling the shingles off. AND then there were the holes in the roof! By late afternoon they had replaced the rotten plywood and laid the paper. 

Garden update: 

On Saturday, I dug two hills of potatoes and picked three more tomatoes. I had chopped up six tomatoes earlier in the morning, which made 4 cups, added a teaspoon of garlic per 2 cups, and placed in freezer bags. D makes this awesome pasta recipe (it was a viral Tiktok video) last week. It calls for the tomatos, garlic, and onion to be placed in a oven proof dish with a block of feta, baked for 20 minutes or so, stirring every so often. Add the pasta, salt and pepper to taste and serve - though we do add a bit of grated Parmesan. It is easy and delicious, especially served with marinated grilled chicken.

Back to the garden, I yanked up dying lettuce, the pepper plants that did nothing, and the patio lilies. The latter did nothing except get bug bitten, but I did keep the bulbs to replant somewhere else in the yard later this fall.

My corn has very small cobs forming. Since we're expecting decent weather for a few weeks yet, I'll leave them be for now. I checked my carrots and many are looking to be a good size. 

Christmas preparations are continuing. I finished three of the ornaments for the educators, and started another ornament for my nephew/niece. I decided the first cross-stitch pattern was larger than I liked. These won't be more than a couple of inches in diameter and should hang nicely on the tree. Eli is printing his name on the back and his mom is adding other details. As they do their thing, I'll complete the ornaments.

For other gifts, I've been looking at a website started by Tod Maffin of Nanaimo, B.C. He asked small businesses to contact him, provide a short 10 second video of their products, and has created a database of these companies. Many of them will be impacted by the tarriffs and countertarrifs that have been applied as a result of the recent trade talks. There is everything from arts and crafts to clothing, paper goods to household items, jewellry, tools, and so much more.  Supporting these small businesses is important, not only for the financial aspect but as a show of support for Canadian sovereignty. Many of these businesses ship to Canada and the United States, and some even worldwide. If you are interested the website is mainstreet.todmaffin.com. Scroll down the page to view the various sites or sort by category.  Each time I've visited there are even more options to look at. 

Well, I'm a day late and probably a dollar or two short. Even so, it has been a good week with a few things accomplished. The gardens continue to delight me, though I may be sick and tired of tomatoes shortly. Too soon, it will be time to clear the garden beds and put away all the garden tools and decorations for the winter. 

We're expecting rain today, up to 30 millimeters, about 1.2 inches. It will be an indoor day!

Have a great rest of your weekend everyone.

Friday Funny

 

Wordy Wednesday - a trip review

My visit with friends, S and P, was wonderful. The drives there and back, not as much. On the way there, my windshield took a rock hit from a passing semi causing a decent sized chip. I'll be taking it into the auto glass shop to determine if the chip can be filled, or if I need to replace the entire windshield. On the way home, I ran into heavy rain about two hours from home. There a a lightning storm to the north as well. By the time I reached the turn-off to the secondary highway (about 45 minutes from home), the sun was breaking through. 

Our visit made up for all of that. I arrived about 5 p.m. on Thursday, and after a tour of their lovely home, and some catching up, we headed out to East Side Marios for dinner. I haven't been to that chain for a number of years and we all enjoyed our meals. After dinner, we stopped at Walmart while P ran in to pick up dog food for their shih tzu pup, Bop.  Back at the house we watched some television, before we all went to bed early. S takes a pain reliever around 8:30 p.m. and is ready for sleep by 9.

Despite the early bedtime, I slept in until 7:30 the next morning. I hadn't slept well the night prior and coupled with the long drive, I needed the extra sleep. After our breakfast (toast and tea/coffee), S and I did some laundry and tidied up the laundry room. They recently purchased a new washer and dryer. These things have more bells and whistles than some automobiles! The dryer had options for refresh and steam, as well as about 5 settings for heat levels. S changed the load between the two machines, I folded and hung the laundry the laundry, then P was responsible to put it away.

I had brought along some yarn for a crochet project, but quickly discovered it wasn't the appropriate weight. S and I went to Dollarama where I found what I needed, then the two of us went on a walk about through Home Depot and then Walmart. She and P are looking to replace the upper portion of their deck (floor and railings) so she was checking prices at HD. Let me just say, I'm grateful I'm not the one who will be buying! Over at Walart, I found a pair of outdoor cushions for our bench for $3 each, and two t-shirts and a pair of shorts for Eli, also on clearance. 

After lunch (leftovers) we watched television, and I crocheted, until about 4 p.m. when we took our cold drinks out to the front deck. P built it a few years ago because their back deck faces south and it gets very hot throughout the day. The afternoon temperature reached 28C (82F) - sitting in the shade of the house was pleasant. Bop thought so too.

That evening, P made us dinner, panko breaded chicken with roasted veg, and a garlic mayo sauce. Included in the vegetables were yellow tomatoes he grew in the garden. Oh my, were they delicious, as was the rest of the meal. 

On Saturday, S and I drove out to Ol' MacDonald's Resort near Erskine, Alberta. It's an amazing campground with beach access, several playgrounds, an arcade, movie theatre, a mini-golf course. In addition there is a small convenience store and restaurant. It pretty much has it all! There are group sites where families and friends can gather, with access to a dining area, a fire pit and close to showers and restrooms. It also hosts a farmer's markets on summer Saturdays. S has been a vendor selling teas for a couple of years. She was able to catch up with several people. I picked up a jar of slime for Eli and S bought coffee for P. We stopped at the restaurant for lunch, as P had recommended the burgers. Sadly, they are no longer made fresh so it was a bit of a miss.

We were back in Camrose about 3:30 p.m. just in time for a Happy hour on the front deck. P had made a decision we were going out for dinner again that evening. We went to a local restaurant owned and operated by a former cruise chef and his wife. I certainly wasn't disappointed with my salmon, rice and vegetables. After I had eaten, I headed off towards the ladies room but tried to go the front counter to pay for our meal first. That darned P - he saw where I was headed and got there first, though he did let me contribute the tip. I can thoroughly recommend the Monte Carlo for the food, the service, the ambience, and the reasonable prices.  

Sunday I was up early, packed and out the door by 8:30 a.m. I had thought I might stop at a landslide site about 90 minutes out but changed my mind once I was on the road. I did stop in Saskatoon at Michaels to pick up some DMC cotton. That was a bad idea because of the ctonstruction! But I eventually I made it out to the highway and headed for home. By this point it was beginning to rain, but lightly. That changed just over an hour later when it started coming down in sheets. Visibility was poor so I kept my speed a little lower than the limit. The best part of the rain is it cleared the front of my vehicle and windshield of the bugs. I arrived home just after 5 p.m. Bedtime came early that night too.

Friday Funny

 

Road Trip

We're experiencing August weather; that means warm days and cool nights. No frost in the forecast yet, which is good because so much of the garden hasn't reached maturity yet. The photo on Wednesday was the first tomato to be almost ripe - enough I couldn't keep from picking it! The pop can easily just there for scale...no secret meaning at all.

I'm posting this on Thursday because I'm heading to Alberta to visit a friend for the weekend. S had rotator cuff surgery in early July, and until recently she's been in a lot of pain. But she called on the weekend, saying she's bored and asked if I'd consider making a visit. Apparently, she's been spending her time putting together jigsaw puzzles one handed. She's now sleeping better and she's planning to go back to work in the next few weeks. This is my friend S, who "retired" a year after I did, but has been working on contract ever since. In any event, it is an 8 hour drive one way, so I'm leaving early today and will return home on Sunday.

This week, I did my shift at the thrift store on Monday. I was part of the cleaning crew, while others worked the sorting area. When I checked the donation bin on the way in, it was half full, and when we reached the outer doors of the thrift store we found more piles. AND when I left a van was pulled up and a couple were filling the bin again. We certainly never run out of new items for sale. I, being a good girl this week, came home with nothing. :)

Tuesday, D and Eli had a full day in NTO. He went to morning program, then to the splash pad with his afternoon group. After time for a quick snack, he had a session with his therapist. She was amazed at how he is reading - apparently he wanted her to see his progress. Meanwhile I used the time to be productive in the house; sweeping and vacuuming floors, mopping floors, cleaning the bathroom, and tidying my bedroom. Outside, I pulled the peas as they were drying off at the bottom, and planted the spirea bush. In the evening, I watered the garden and did some dead-heading.

I also worked on the Christmas ornaments for the important people at Eli's school; principal, teachers, EAs, and school counselor s. That's eight ib total.

It's hard to believe that the summer has flown by and Eli will be back in school in two weeks. I know school returns in August in some locations but here in Saskatchewan the return to school happens after the Labour Day weekend. Eli will be in Grade 4! Like so many kids, he's grown over the summer including his feet. Good thing his mom is prepared and has shoes for the next two sizes. She buys them on sale and tucks them away knowing they will be needed. No last minute back to school shopping required. 

Wednesday was pretty quiet. I made sure things were well watered, dead-headed, and got rid of a few more weeds. Indoors, I got my bag ready to go for my trip. In the evening I went to the library for Knit and Natter. I was joined by a woman who lives an hour away. That's seems a lot...though she said she'd come to town to shop and decided to stay for the group.

I should be on the road shortly after this publishes. I plan to stop about halfway for a break. D and Eli will be off to NTO for his morning program and then back home. He was invited to join the group from Tuesday afternoon at the swimming pool here in town. Another busy day for the two of them.

The only photos I've taken this week besides the tomato are these two: the removal of the wall next to the furnace and the after photo. The latter was taken after we'd set up the shelving and D had moved a lot of Eli's toys from the other areas in the basement.  Yes, he has a lot of toys!

Sorry for the different fonts. I'm using my phone and I can't figure out how to highlight and change it. So I'd have to retype it...and I'm too lazy to do that. :)

I expect I'll post again on Monday when I've returned from my road trip. Have a great weekend everyone!

Wordless Wednesday

 

Ca

Family fun, neighbours, and harvesting

Good golly, Miss Molly! August is half over, and today is the anniversary of my maternal grand-mother's birthday. She was born in 1906 near a small community in southern Saskatchewan. Her parents and two older siblings had moved from Grey County in Ontario to Saskatchewan about 1905, when the youngest child was a year old. Her parents went on to have five more children, the youngest of which died at birth and her mother passed away less than a week later. Nan was sent to live with relatives, though I've not been able to determine which family she spent time with. Great-grandpa married soon after and had another six children with his second wife.

When I started writing this post, I hadn't thought I'd be sharing family history, but the date brought to mind my grandmother. She refused to be called Grandma, hence she was called Nan. She was a tall woman and quite strict. She kept a weighted paddle hanging on the wall, and we children knew it could be used if we didn't behave. On the other hand, she spent hours teaching and playing Canasta with us on Sunday afternoons. She and Grandpa always came to the farm for Sunday dinners.  Sadly, she died when I was only 13, so my memories are few.

Back to today, or at least this week, it passed by in a flash. Monday is merely a blip in my memory, though I do now recall we cleared out the storage area in the basement, and I went into the thrift store to clean for a couple of hours. 

Tuesday was a busy day. D and I drove into NTO, dropping Eli off at his morning program before heading to the stores to do a bit of browsing and shopping. Later we brought lunch to Eli, which he ate in the car before he went off with the afternoon program to play mini-golf at a nearby provincial park. It had rained in the morning, but cleared up nicely for them. 

Meanwhile D and I headed to a sit-down restaurant for lunch. We relaxed, read the news to each other (we're weird like that), I watched a bit of Blue Jays baseball, and enjoyed a leisurely meal. Before we picked up Eli, we stopped to pick up a head of garlic for planting in the garden. I'd found it advertised in FB, and the woman had harvested dozens of heads of garlic. I'll be planting it once I've removed the pea plants. I thought the peas were done but they are blooming again.

We picked up Eli and were home about 4 p.m. where we were met by three hungry and vocal cats. :p After unpacking our purchases, I fed the cats, washed dishes and we all collapsed for the remainder of the day.

The photo on Wednesday was taken at the pool on Saturday. We had such a great day; there was a parade, garage sales, lunch at a Chinese restaurant, and ended with time at the pool. The photo shows the portion of the pool that is considered the lazy river. There is nothing lazy about it - when one enters the space the water pulls you into the current and one has to be careful not to bump into others sharing the space. Eli does enjoy it very much, but first he had to go down the water slide a few times.

This is the waterslide. Since I've never been one and there were two slides, I decided I'd join Eli in the fun. Ha! It all was fine until I reached the spot where the slide dropped...I shouted OMG and fell onto my back which sent me shooting out into the water. First and last time I ever do that!

The parade was short but fun, with Eli the recipient of many pieces of candy tossed from the vehicles. There was a police car, a couple of firetrucks, several older vehicles, and a float carrying a few Ukranian dancers. Other dancers were dancing on the street alongside the float. 

Garage sales were meh to interesting. One of the best, though we didn't buy a lot, was a house where the current owners had been left with many of the previous owners possessions. There was jewellry, kitchen gadgets, china tchotskes, and everything CHRISTMAS! One went through the garage, into the back yard where the Christmas items were laid out on the grass and in the garden shed. I do know we bought some labels, and maybe a small wreath. Prices were reaonable. The husband mentioned he's tired of living with all of this stuff.

Back to the remainder of the week. Eli had his activities; library program and the last of his morning program on Thursday in NTO. D and I cleared out an area in the basement where Matt will be removing the wall next to the furnace and putting a new wall to create another storage space. This will allow D (or I) to access the area that tends to collect water when we get a heavy rain. Plus D will have room to store toys - she plans on using see-through tubs that Eli can access easily. One of our purchases this week was two 6 foot shelving units that fit bins.

I spent the late afternoon and evening with my cousin B and her husband G. They arrived at the Yorkton City camp grounds mid-afternoon, and were set up by the time I arrived. They are driving a Class A motorhome and towing a Jeep. They've got a large octagonal gazebo where they keep out the bugs and use their propane firepit. Inside the motorhome, they have a king sized bed! The latter was apparently a must have, along with proper cloth storage. Pretty nice, and if you've got to camp, that might work for me. :)

Friday was a quiet day - I worked on some Christmas ornaments for Eli's teachers and E.A.'s. I'll show you these when I actually finish a few. At the moment I'm crocheting all the pieces and will put them together later. I also did a very important job - Eli's kitten stuffie had sprung a small leak. As I told him, it now has a scar but it's all better now. 

Garden update: I've been harvesting lettuce and cucumbers every couple of days. The tomatoes are finally starting to ripen, and to my delight the corn is starting to show silk. I thinned out the carrots and pulled a few small ones and I ate them, yum! The red onions stems seem to be falling over, which I'm told are a sign they are done. I dug up a few on Friday - they look more like shallots than onions but we'll use them in salads anyway. The rain in the forecast for Friday didn't amount to much, just enough to give everything a decent watering.

Next door GL (good landlord) has been working hard to remove the garbage and other items from the garage. She told D there was a good year's worth of garbage that never made it to bin, and it was never wheeled to the street for pick-up. The homemade trailer they are using has been filled at least six to seven times, not only with garbage, but mattresses, bed frames, tables, chairs, and so forth. GL says she'll need to fumigate the garage now that area is cleared. The trailer has been moved closer to the house and I suspect we'll seem the trailer filled multiple times.

AND LND (landlord next door) has listed his property for sale! He did this a couple of years ago, but pulled it off the market in just a few days so I'm not holding my breath. He texted to mention he'd like to have the fence built on the other side but Matt has told him he hasn't the time this season. I didn't have the information of the other fellow so he'll have to find someone else on his own. So much for saying that a fence doesn't improve the resale value...or at least that's my thought. The realtors were by on Thursday and it wasn't long before someone showed up whipper snip the weeds in the dog run (some were 5 feet tall) and in the xeriscaped area on the side of the house. I'm not sure if he sprayed as well, but so far the perennial bed isn't showing any ill effects.

Today, I've no real plans for the day. I should get the spirea into the ground and perhaps do a little more weeding. There is a Rider game this evening, with an earlier game...so I might end up planted on the couch where I can continue crocheting. 

Have a great week ahead everyone!