Thinking ahead

The Wednesday photo is a piece of lamium that I brought from the town garden. I'd found it growing as a volunteer in one of the containers - not sure how that happened but there it was. It had three or four leaves on it when I tucked into a container to bring to the city and it is doing well in that raised flower bed. It spreads quickly and I'm hopeful that with more mulch cover, it and the ajuga (bugleweed) that I planted in the spring, the plants will overwinter and fill in that bed over time.

We had a visitor to the front yard a couple of times this week. It appears quite small, so I'm assuming it is one from this years crop. The trees have been full of grackles too, which happens every year as they migrate further south. I'm not feeding the birds this year but they are clearly finding something to eat. The leaves aren't yet changing colour but it won't be long.

It's been a mostly normal week around, some yard work, some housework, some shopping, some knitting and crocheting. Nothing terribly exciting but routine can be a good thing. 

I did get out to stitch and chat on Wednesday. There were four of us there and it was terrific to catch up with everyong. I met my friends K and L at a coffee shop on Friday morning.  L and her family spent two-three weeks vacationing in Europe this summer. They had planned to attend the Taylor Swift concert in Vienna, but of course, that was cancelled because of the serious bomb threats. But they had a wonderful time visiting Italy, Greece and Austria regardless.

I'm starting to think about my cruise (just over 2 weeks away) and went through my toiletries to ensure I had what I needed. The only thing I was missing was conditioner - which is odd because I had shampoo. The ship supplies all-in-one shampoo/conditioner in the shower, but I don't care for it and always bring my own. Sometimes I just grab whatever is at the hotel the night pre-cruise as it is usually better than the cruise companies version. I think I'll be doing that in the future as the small bottle I purchased at Walmart, (of all places) was priced at $3.67!!! Or I'll pick up some dollar store bottles and fill from my home supplies. Either way, I won't be paying for travel sized products like that again.

Something I wasn't certain about was clothing for this cruise. We'll be at sea for six days and I anticipate the temperatures will be cooler than when we visit the ports. Information I located on-line suggest daytime temps around 60-65F while at sea with light winds, and about 10 degrees warmed while in the ports. I'll keep to my summer clothing for the most part, capris and tees for daytime wear, jeans for cooler days, a sweater/hoodie, a lightweight rain jacket...just in case, and of course some nicer outfits for evenings. Oh, and a bathing suit for the hot tubs. I avoid the ones by the pools as some people tend to park themselves in there all day. I know there are two in a quiet area that few people find. 

Today, I'm expecting a quiet day at home. I'll likely get out to do more weeding in the backyard at some point. We've had a wee bit of rain, so the ground, though still hard, has loosened up a bit making it easier to dig out the roots. There is football and baseball, and possibly even curling to watch. 

Have a great week ahead everyone! 

Friday Funny

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Proud moment in an otherwise normal week

Before I blather on about my week, I thought I'd share this photo of my handsome grandson. Tuesday marked back to school for Eli, now entering Grade 2! How the heck did that happen?

The sign seems to suggest he is 75 years old, but I'm guessing my old eyes aren't seeing the . because he's actually 7 1/2 years old. 

He's not looking happy in the photo because the wasps have settled under the front steps; he's worried he might get stung. My daughter and I have discussed how to get rid of them.

He had a wonderful first day back and was happy to see more of his friends on the playground. 

Back here in the city, I spent a the weekend mornings in the yard. The front flower bed has been weeded, the hedge clipped, and the side and back patio cleared of weeds as well. I started the process in the backyard of cutting down small trees that have grown a ridiculous amount over the two months I was a away. We could have a forest back there if I left them be. Hmmm...maybe that's an idea. The neighbours to the north were away over the weekend, so I was able to trim the hedge on their side as well. I used the rake and broom to clean up the trimmings as well as clear out leaves that weren't cleaned up last fall. 

We got heat all weekend and into Tuesday (30C/86F most days). As a result, I was back indoors before lunch and mostly stayed there for the rest of the day. I did run out on Sunday to pick up more Round-up for the backyard weeds and later spent an hour or so in the shade reading.

By Tuesday, my right arm was aching from the all of the digging and pulling so I decided to take the day off. My first stop was at Canadian Tire (hardware store) for a garden fork. It should help loosen the weeds more than my little hand trowel, and make pulling easier. Value Village and the Salvation Army store followed - it was Senior's Day. I found a couple of new tops, a pullover sweater, two James Patterson books, and a set of small glass bowls with lids. All for $25 - I do like a bargain.

I've spent the afternoons watching football, baseball, reading, and crocheting. I'm working on a lap afghan but I expect I'll run out of the yarn I'm working with before it is finished. Of course, it is some remnants from my stash so I don't have more of the same. I cleared out the closet and moved the stash into the cubby under the stairs. I'm certain I have enough of similar colours that I'll likely make it longer and try to create a gradient effect. If I like it, I'll take a photo later.

Wednesday was knitting group - the first I've been too since ... I don't remember when! I know it's been months. Two other ladies were there and they sounded happy to see me. We had a nice visit and I got a good start on another mitten.

I'd spent a couple of hours that morning working on the weeds in the back yard. The garden fork is helping loosen the dirt but our clay soil is like concrete in many places. We had a bit of rain overnight so that helped a wee bit. After filling two large garbage bags with waste I was done for the day and desperately needed a shower.

We woke to a cold morning on Thursday - a mere 1C(34F). I decided I'd wait until later in the day to do more weeding, and took the opportunity to have a relaxed start to the morning. Mid-morning I did my grocery shopping for the week, mostly sale items and more fresh veg and fruit, and started dinner when I got home. Since the house is cool, I decided on a pasta bake. I like that I can put it together early in the day, and wait until my son gets home to put it in the oven. Housework took up most of the afternoon. 

Friday morning was a little warmer, 7C/45F but felt chilly. I put off heading in the yard and started a batch of dough instead. I used the rise time to catch up on the budget update. After a few months, I am seeing a huge increase in grocery costs when in town versus the city. When I return at the end of October, I'll take advantage of the lower prices here - maybe that will ease the pain of the costs in a rural area.

Oh, curling started on Friday too. I was able to stream a couple of draws in the morning. Between curling, baseball, and football, I'll never lack for something to watch for the next while.

Today, I'll have to shelve the curling in the morning as we're expecting a high of 31C (88F) this afternoon because I need to get more weeding done. With that said, I'm off to get a cup of tea and head outdoors.

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Friday Funny

 

Tasty Thursday

I don't expect this will be repeated very often, but I tried a new-to-me (with substitutions) recipe and thought I would take a moment to share.

One evening in the past week, I was craving baked beans and wieners, grabbed a can from the pantry and opened it to discover in my haste, I'd gotten a can of red kidney beans.  I put the can in the fridge while I got the right can and had my dinner. Don't judge me, it was hot that evening and I wanted something I could heat up in the microwave.

I knew I didn't want to make chili - my go-to recipe for kidney beans, so searched Allrecipes.com for something else. What I found was a kidney bean salad made similarly to a potato salad. I figured why not give it a try.

The orginal recipe was double what I needed/wanted and I was missing a few original ingredients. No matter, I made do with what was in the fridge. The measurements below are half of the original recipe.

1 can (15 oz.) of kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 hard boiled egg (I used two)

1 stalk celery (I used cucumber for crunch instead)

1/2 onion chopped (I substitued 2 green onions)

1 tablespoon of sweet green relish (I had none)

1/4 cup mayonnaise (I used Miracle Whip*)

Salt and pepper to taste

I also added some tomato for colour because I figured they would go well with the kidney beans. It is a very versatile recipe as one could add whatever veg is available or preferred. 

*Since Miracle Whip contains sugar I figured it would make up for the sweet relish.

The photo is today's lunch. Lots of protein with the beans and cheese and lots of yummy vegetables. I read somewhere that eating veg with dip is easier for digestion. Who am I to argue? 

Wordless Wednesday