Friday Funny

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

A trip to the city, more rain, and the continuing saga

After Eli went to school on Monday morning, D and I did a bit of packing for a short trip to the city. A small suitcase for clothing and toiletries, a backpack for swim gear for the three of us, a cooler for a Costco run, and D's bag for meds, electronics, and other sundry items. We were only there overnight. 

I went out to load the car while they went to equine therapy that afternoon, as well as to clear out any garbage and vacuum up the floors and the back seat. When they returned we stopped for Eli's supper at Tim Horton's (he loves their grilled cheese and bacon sandwich) and a cold drink for me. The trip is about an hour and half and we were in Regina by about six, stopping at a Burger King for D and I, before heading to the hotel. 

After dinner we went to the pool - I enjoyed the hot tub! D sat with me for a bit, and then went to keep an eye on Eli who was using the water slide. We later made a run up to my son's for a visit. Sage (the pup) was thrilled to see us, and after a bit of jumping and occasional bark, settled down. Eli and his uncle had quite the conversation, while Kota (one of the cats) cuddled up next to the kid. D and C's g/f visited on the front deck. 

Back at the hotel we all stayed up until 12:30 a.m. when Eli and I went to sleep. D said she did not sleep at all, and we were all up at 4:30 a.m. Eli's EEG was scheduled for 10 a.m. and they wanted him tired. D was given instructions that he should have no more than 4 hours of sleep. We were all tired, but he seemed to be less so than the two of us. After showers and baths, I took down our bags to the car and found that the breakfast room was set up so we headed down for a leisurely meal. We still had some time before we needed to be at the hospital, so wandered over to Dollarama and Walmart.

I dropped the two of them at 9:15 a.m. which turned out to be fortuitous, Based on the letter D recevied, the directions had them finding that the admitting desk at that area of the hospital was closed due to staffing shortgages. By the time they made their way to the main doors and back to this building, they didn't have a very long wait. Unfortunately Eli wasn't able to fall asleep during the test and we won't know until the pediatric neurologist looks at the film whether the test was successful or not in determining if he has had any further seizure activity.

Meanwhile I made a run to Costco, returning with an empty wallet about 90 minutes later. I parked in a nearby Shopper's Drug Mart lot until D texted to say they were ready. From there, we skedaddled for home. There were things to unload and unpack, and Eli had a Big Brother, Big Sister event after the school day was over. Noah, his big brother, is graduating this year and will be off to University in the fall. The two of them have created quite a bond over the two years, meeting most every Wednesday for lunch at Eli's school. D took photos of the two of the together and plans to gift Noah a framed photo to take with him. 

I went to Knit and Natter, and I suspect due to the inclement weather, and was the only one in attendance. Since I was finished the mittens I decided to start on a small project for a friend. L is undergoing cancer treatment, and is a big fan of chickens. I figured she needs an emotional support chicken. The crocheting was pretty much finished before I left that evening, and I finished it up on Thursday morning, adding the comb and beak, and added the safety eyes and stuffing. I'm not entirely sure I like it, and may use a different pattern to make a second one. 

Thursday marked the final swimming lesson for Eli for this session in the NTO. He'll continue in July at the local pool. Since there was little I could do outside, I went along. We dropped by Value Village with some donations and did a wander in the store. I found a couple of pieces of outdoor decor, a cake of yarn, two "basement" towels, and two brand new bras.

After a quick meal at Burger King (Eli's choice) we stopped at the Bookworm, a used book store. They had moved locations last fall, and this was our first time in the new spot. They still have mounds of books and of course, I came home with a couple. I dropped D and Eli at the pool, and headed over to Walmart to pick up some fruit and veg. It was a productive afternoon.

On the home front, we have battled the weather all week, with rain every day except Monday. AND thank goodness for that as we were away. I'm also grateful that the hail that hit the city happened Tuesday evening and we avoided it here. However, with more rain on Wednesday the basement continued to let in rain. We now have two fans blowing constantly to help it dry and lay down towels on various areas in the laundry/furnace room as needed. These are spun in the washer and then dried several times a day. D generally gets up once in the middle of the night to use the wet vac, replace the towels, and empty the two humidifiers. If I'm awake before her in the morning, I've been taking a turn. The ground is so saturated that the water is looking for anywhere to go. And of course, there is more rain in the forecast!

The rain guards arrived on Friday morning and I got them installed. Not perfectly, as there isn't a smooth or straight surface to watch them to. The recommended option was to screw them to the house but the base is concrete and the house is stucco. So I used window caulking....lots and lots of it. Not pretty but the seal is tight.

Despite all the rain, my plants continue to grow, along with the weeds. I can manage in the raised beds as I can reach from all sides, but the garden itself is far too wet. In the flower beds, things are starting to show blooms; lamium, dead nettle, poppies, and columbine. I had picked up a sunflower last week, and got it planted as well. It sure brightens up the flower bed!

Update on the fence situation - LND is dragging this out longer by insisting he ask his mother's husband (an accountant by trade in the city) to contact some of his customers to get quotes as a favour. When I pointed out that any contractor would likely be charging for mileage and thus increase the cost, he snapped back that he had his furnace, water heater, and drywalling his basement this way. I didn't bother to respond, but will text him again this weekend and I plan to set a firm deadline. If he hasn't got additional quotes by the end of June, I will go ahead with or without his contribution. I won't tell him that part of it, but will insinuate that I'll send him a bill at the end of the process. 

We're expecting a warmer day today and I'm hoping to spend a good part of it outdoors. There is, of course, much weeding to be done, the potatoes need to be hilled, and I want to replace the gate latch on the front gate. I may also have picked up a few more plants (just three) on Friday, and those need to go in a container as well. If it's decent enough I need to do some caulking on the window panes out front. That needs to be done before I can get to the painting...and that won't happen until the weather stays nice for a bit. Wish me luck!

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Friday Funny

 

Almost Wordless Wednesday

 Don't mind the weeds - it has been raining almost non-stop the past week and the garden bed is too wet to venture into.

Thankful for the rain, but that's enough already

Wednesday's photo was definitely a lucky chance photo. I was planning to take a photo of the peony buds, when I spotted the ladybug attended by an ant and a fly. I've not seen that before, and likely won't again. The peonies are budded out and when we get some sunshine and heat I expect they'll be blooming like crazy.

It's rained this week, enough that the rain barrels are full and I haven't had to water the gardens. Wednesday evening was the worst, as it rained so hard that it came through a basement window. D was downstairs and hollered for help. We put down towels (kept for this purpose) and she set up the fan immediately. Thankfully the rain let up after a few minutes, but even so, it made a mess in one corner of the basement. I went out and measured the window wells the next day and ordered rain guards. I've watched a couple of videos and am convinced I can install them myself. The rain gauges showed we had nearly 1.75 inches in less than a half hour!

On Tuesday I did a four hour shift at the thrift store. The amount of donations waiting to be sorted through was crazy, again. We were running out of rack space in the sorting room, so I checked for gaps in the racks inside the store. Men's shirts, women's summer dresses and skirts, and sleepwear needed some additions, so I went through the racks and pulled items to put out on the floor. One of the other volunteers was clearing the "new arrivals" racks in the store as well. The store was actually quite busy and we were able to keep moving items. As for hangers, L purchased three hundred hangers from a store for just $10! I'm guessing they are changing the style of their hangers. She also purchased five more racks. 

I learned that we get a lot of donations from communities within an hour of our town. Many people don't like to donate to Value Village because it is a for-profit store. We do send a lot of things to VV that don't meet our standards. What might those standards be? Items that we don't think anyone would wear, at least most of the time. One of the outfits I put out on the floor was a woman's matching jacket and skirt, made of polyester and salmon coloured. It was in great shape but I suspect was purchased in the 90's. I wouldn't wear it but was assured by others that someone else might. We also send on clothing that has small stains. However, anything that is torn or smells of smoke ends up in the garbage. We don't have a washer/dryer to be able to clean the latter items.

Knit and Natter was held on Thursday afternoon. I couldn't do anything outdoors, so it was a nice way to get out of the house for a bit. There were two of us there. I finished a second mitten and the thumbs for both. I'm only knitting when I'm at the library so I'm pretty slow. I just need to sew in the yarn ends. For my next project, I'm planning to knit or crochet an emotional chicken. More on that  later.

Friday, I was up and moving early as I had received a call last week that I could get my mammogram at the hospital in the NTO. Booked in for 9 a.m., I was asked to be there 45 minutes early, it's a 20-25 minute drive, so I was on the road around by 7:45 a.m. to ensure I had time to find the hospital. I have a family history of breast cancer (including my Dad), thu I have an annual mammogram. For those readers who have never had the experience, I heard a comedienne once describe it as having your breast put in a vice, and then taken into another room. It's not quite that bad but bad enough. :)

A couple of updates: the fence saga continues and I am reaching the end of my rope with the LND. He, apparently, cannot connect with his realtor. My guess is things didn't go well when he listed the house a few years ago - she took photos, put up the listing and the sign, and then he pulled it down within a week to rent it out instead. If so, I wouldn't blame her for ghosting him.

Now he has decided that he needs to find a friend to remove the concrete, as he thinks Matt's price is too high. It isn't. We had Matt here earlier this week to remove some yard waste. We were discussing the issues with LND and Matt mentioned that he's dealt with him before. He wants the quote yesterday and then will hem and haw for four months before he makes a decision. I'm not having that happen. I'll give him until this weekend, and then we're going ahead regardless. I'll pay the extra to get it done because it is an eyesore and a nuisance. 

On a happier note, my gardens are doing well. The potatoes, corn, and peas are up. The carrots and green onions are lagging behind and I may need to replant the carrots. I've learned that carrot seeds like to be kept wet; we had some really warm temperatures and since they are planted in about 1/4 inch soil, I suspect these won't sprout. I'm not sure if it is the same for onion seeds, but I'll replant those as well if I don't see anything in the next few days.

Today is the community wide garage sale. Some of the sales started on Friday, so D and I did a circuit while Eli was at school. We'd planned to go out early Saturday morning, but I'll be working at the thrift store from 10-3. Normally, not opened on Saturdays, we're expecting to be busy with all of the folks out and about. It's forecast to be a warm day with a high of 25C/77F with potential light rain in the morning, and a chance of a thunderstorm in the afternoon. 

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Friday Funny