Wordless Wednesday

 *courtesy of my brother

Spring cleaning and fun at the pool

This week was much busier than the last...which has it's good and less than good points. But before I start in on a recitation of this week's happenings, I would be remiss if I didn't mention Sunday's special event. I posted a photo on Wednesday, of Eli with his mom and his godmother M, taken after the confirmation service. He did very well during the very lengthy proceedings. We did not stay for lunch, though, as we were all ready to get home to relax and visit. After our lunch, D and M left to do a bit of bonding (shopping), as it has been some time since the two have been able to spend time without children in tow. M's children range in age from about 12-19, and the two met when they both worked at a call center in the city.

I did my first volunteer shift at the thrift store on Tuesday. I arrived late, not realizing that I should have been there about 11 a.m., rather than noon. I met several ladies including our team lead G. They were having coffee when I arrived so we sat and chatted for a bit. G gave me a tour of the various back rooms, and I got a sense of just how much stuff that gets donated. We could use a thrift store that is 2 or 3 times it is now (and that's after they moved into this larger space this winter/spring).

It also seems that many people have recently decided to go their closets and purge! I can't tell you how many bags we emptied but when I left at 4 p.m. there were 5 racks of clothing filled, along with shelves of shoes, two or three carts of kitchen ware, and mounds of books, DVDs, etc. AND that was the better stuff as we filled three or four large bags of garbage, and sent off a few more to be donated to the NTO's (next town over) Value Village.

Wednesday was quiet, and a needed rest day. Late in the afternoon, D received a package for a new piece of furniture for the kitchen. If you recall, I purchased a storage cabinet for the office/craft room a couple of weeks ago, and D decided we needed more storage in the kitchen. That late in the day was not the time to start putting it together.

Thursday morning, we got busy and had most of the cabinet put together by lunch time. Eli went back to school after lunch; we picked him up at 2 p.m. and went to NTO to do a bit of shopping and for his swimming lesson at 4:30 p.m. at the indoor pool. D receives Autism funding for Eli (and will until he is 12 years old), so she arranged for private swimming lessons. He had a blast with his teacher, while D and I sat and relaxed. 

There was rain and snow in the forecast, and when we'd left town the highway was wet. After a quick stop for a bite to eat, we headed home with snow falling quite heavily. The roads were slushy and wet most of the way home, and though it was around the freezing mark, the conditions weren't as bad as I thought it might be. In fact, by the time we were about 10 minutes from home, the highway was almost dry, and there was only about a centimeter of snow on the ground.

On Friday, D and I finished the cabinet, and began emptying and cleaning three cupboards, and reorganizing. We moved the pots and pans to the new cabinet. These were originally stored in a cabinet near the stove that ought to have had a lazy Susan but instead was simply an large open cabinet with a small shelf at the back. It meant we bent over and sometimes knelt to get the right piece. The cabinet solved that issue. 

The old cabinet now stores a couple of small appliances that we rarely use, as well as the baking pans (in those standing trays), bowls, and measuring cups. The cabinet that previously held to the Ninja creamy, blender, and handheld mixer now holds all of Eli's lunch kits and water bottles (and he has a lot!). Finally the cabinet that stored the bowls and measuring cups, now has the crockpot and bread machine, and still has room to be our snack cabinet. Moving these appliances from the pantry provides more space, though I've no intention in filling up the shelves! We have enough items in there to keep us well fed for some time.

Despite the snow and cooler weather, spring has arrived. There are a multitude of robins, Canada geese, and most recently a pair of flickers. The latter were on the big tree out back one morning. D and I stood at the window and watched. What fun! I did notice a pair of juncos one day but we don't feed the birds, so they didn't stick around. The robins, though, are quite happy to hang out in the yard. Spencer, is quite fascinated by them and watches out the window, chittering at them. Great cat television too.

I'm late posting today because I got caught up in Ancestry yesterday. It's a cool and cloudy day, with snow flurries, but the snow is melting as quickly as it falls. I'm off to catch up on blog reading, and have no plans for the rest of the day. :)

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Friday Funny

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Weather woes and a celebration

This will be a short post, as I haven't done a whole lot this week, and I didn't start writing until Friday. 

As you will have seen, the big event of the week was the snowstorm that settled in on Thursday, followed by a bit more snow on Friday. Total accumulation was about 35 cms (14 inches). My daughter spent much of Friday shovelling the sidewalk and the parking area. While we had nowhere to go for a couple of days, we do have something special planned on Sunday.

The photo of Eli on Wednesday is our boy dressed in his suit for his confirmation and first communion on Sunday. His paternal grandmother was instrumental in having him baptized in the Catholic church, and he attends a Catholic school. This ritual is part of growing up with close ties to the church. His godmother is expected to drive in from the city, and the four of us will attend the service. The snow won't have melted by then, but we'll walk to the church if need be.

Since the weather was horrid, I missed out on Knit and Natter on Thursday afternoon, and in fact, I spent most of the day in my pj's just watching out the bedroom window as the snow fell.

It was a bit of a shock after Wednesday, when our temperature reached a high of 10C (50F). I had ordered new rain gutter downspout extenders, and they arrived in the mail this week, so D and I spent some time setting up the rain barrels. We've been having some issues with the parging on the corner by the back door, and water is making it's way into the basement. At least this way, the snow melting off the roof will be diverted, and we'll have to come up with a way to waterproof the foundation.

And I did get a call from the thrift store and will do my first volunteer shift next Tuesday. I've been put on a team, and our months are April, July, October, and January. I explained to the caller that I won't be available in January and possibly the end of October, but otherwise am flexible. I do know they are short staffed over the summer as many of the locals spend time at their cottages and/or with family. The schedule works for me, as we have no plans to go anywhere this summer.

Beyond that, it's been a pretty quiet, normal week here at home. I've done some organizing in the pantry and cupboards, spent many hours reviewing hints on Ancestry, did some vacuuming, prepared a few meals, and hung out with the cats and my grandson. What I didn't do was knit. So my project is again, at a standstill. :)

Spencer and Saku aren't friends, but do tolerate one another at least for a short while.

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Not a Funny Friday

 The snow started yesterday about 8:30 a.m. and it continued until late in the afternoon.

I'm not certain how much we got...but whatever it is, it's too much. It's been snowing lightly this morning as well, and although we have nowhere to go today, we will need to clear out to the back alley at some point. Oh, funny it is not!

Wordless Wednesday