A slow week

This week was pretty quiet productivity wise. The temperature has dropped with morning lows of 1-4C/32-39F. The afternoons were decent, ranging between 13-19C/55-69F. I managed to get the garden bed weeded, the asparagus and chives and the regular lilies cut back on Sunday. But the rest of the week was pretty much a wash for yardwork. 

We did all the normal stuff; I picked up groceries on Monday, while D made a run for pellets (used for cat litter) and a couple of other errands. Tuesday was housework...we really are creatures of habit aren't we?

I hadn't slept well Monday night and had thought I'd have a brief nap while D and Eli were at equine therapy in the afternoon.  However, Stanley had other ideas. Somehow he got out the back door and went for an adventure. I thought I heard the door close and got up thinking D had forgotten something.  But they weren't there. Nor was the blanket.

What blanket, you may be asking? Stanley, too, has his habits. Every time his mom and boy leave the house Stanley grabs a blanket and hollers for a few minutes. I immediately headed out the door calling for Stanley. No sight of him. I came back in and checked all of the places he normally sleeps and some he doesn't. I did this a couple of times, indoors and out, shaking a treat bag and calling his name. No Stanley until my 4th trip to the yard. I spotted him sauntering across the neighbour's yard 2 doors down. The bugger saw and heard me when I called out but didn't stop. I caught up with him just outside the garage one more house down. Oh, he was mad to see me. He hissed and growled but apparently had enough sense not to scratch. I footballed him back to the house and gave him a couple of treats. I swear he took three years off my life...I could only imagine how upset D and Eli would have been had he not been found.

The photo on Wednesday was of Saku (18 1/2 years) and Spencer (about 3 1/2 years). D says Saku likes his space, and Spencer also likes Saku's space. He's a grouchy old man cat so I'm always surprised when he decides to let her settle nearby. The almost touching paws was particularly unusual. Tolerance is the goal with these two.

More housework on Wednesday, and I dropped some items off at the thrift store bin. Eli was at school until 2 p.m., and I picked him up so his mother could nap in the afternoon. While he played on his device, I sorted through the items I've put together to go south with me. I managed to wean out a container and a small box of stuff...though I'm certain I'm taking more than I'll need. The park has an annual garage sale in January - I can get rid of any extra things then.

There has been lots of activity at the houses on both sides of us. The good landlord (GL)has been emptying the house of all of the garbage, and I mean literal garbage, and other household items in preparation for a new tenant. GL told D that she has taken nine trailer loads to the landfill and expects she'll need to take at least one more. Apparently the previous tenant bagged his garbage and threw it in the basement - though were lots of bags found in the garage when he first left. They lived there for almost two years...I'll let you use your imagination.

The new tenant moved in on Thursday and had lots of help. There were at least two half tons and a couple of SUVs used to move her items. She likes colour - her dresser is pink and there was a very colourful chair brought it. I told D the two of them can bond over those items. :) Apparently, the unpacking continued until 2 a.m, at least, as D said she heard music though it wasn't loud. I slept through it.

On the other side, the house that seemed to have been used as a transitional house has being emptied out. The original tenants were there with a number of other individuals. They've taken away two U-Haul truck loads, and returned on Thursday to remove a pile of debris, mattresses, couch, chairs, etc. that had been lingering in the yard for weeks.

I do have another garden update! If you recall I shared that a few tomato plants showed up in the perennial bed. I'd tossed a few rotten tomatoes in the bed and forgot about them. Well, they bloomed, and more surprisingly have set fruit. We're having to cover the plants as temperatures are dipping near freezing, but we may just be getting cherry tomatoes in a week or two. :)

Thursday afternoon was Knit and Natter at the library. I finished the first ornament at home, with the backing (red felt) and a cord to cover the edges. I was able to finish the cross-stitch on the second ornament at the library, so I should have that one complete this week. Of course, I've started another project! I want a short scarf to tuck into a jacket and had a ball of orange yarn I felt would give me the length I needed. 

Eli was home from school on both Thursday and Friday with a head cold. His mom may be coming down with it too, but I feel fine. In any event, Friday was a fairly quiet day, Eli and I were up early while his mom slept. We definitely had frost overnight, it was only 1C/33F when I checked the temperature. Brrr!

I did get out in the early afternoon to bring in the geranium. I alsos removed some annuals that were dying back. There are six containers still with annuals outside; I'll continue to water them occasionally until they show signs of frost damage. The rest of the outdoor furniture was put away in the shed.

Today looks to be the same kind of easy day. A bit of cross 3, some crochet and sports to watch. The Riders played last night but I didn't watch until the end...too nerve wracking.

Friday Funny

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Packing Summer away

Monday - grocery shopping, for a few basic items and some cherry-picking of sale items. Three bags of groceries and $110 gone, poof! And I am fully cognizant that prices are only going higher due to the cost of diesel. I did read somewhere that some stations in Texas, in particular, have run out of diesel fuel. I hope we can avoid that here. 

On a happier note, at least for me, curling bonspiels are back on Youtube. I tend to watch those available through Curling Stadium as the channel has featured games with commentary. Not that I always agree with the announcers but it is nice to be able to keep up with the scores while I'm doing something else. 

For dinner, we made a new-to-us recipe, a tex-mex casserole. It used up some leftovers too. A crushed tortilla chips layer on the bottom of a casserole dish, ground sausage from the prior nights meal, heated up in the fry pan with the last of the salsa, chopped peppers and tomato added to the casserold dish, then a layer of sour cream (the last of the container), and finally, shredded cheese and sprinkled with green onion. We baked it for about 30 minutes - it was delicious! There was enough we were able to get a second meal out of it. 

Tuesday - this seems to be our housework day. Vacuuming, laundry, tidying and food prep took up most of the morning. D had to stop by the pharmacy in the grocery store, and did a wander around the store. She found this beef roast marked down 30%. Original price, just under $45! I'd bought another pork loin a week or so ago and had pulled it from the freezer to cut up. This resulted in two small roasts, four pork chops, two steaks, and three bags of stew meat in the freezer. I did the cutting, D did the vacuum sealing. 

I've been working on the cross-stitch ornaments in the afternoons when the light is better. Along with my neck light, I'm able to get in a couple of hours of stitching before my eyes start feeling tired. When D and Eli went to equine therapy, I enjoyed a nap. 

This is the near completed first ornament. I still need to cut off the excess Aida cloth and attach the backing, and a ribbon for hanging. 

Dinner was chicken Caesar salad. D had marinated the two chicken breasts in Greek Feta dressing (one of my favorites). I made up the salad while the chicken was in the air fryer. I like the croutons to soften a bit in the dressing. 

Wednesday - It was a cloudy, gray day, so when Eli went to school we tackled more housework. There tend to be piles left on the kitchen counters, things that need to go outside or to another room, and the window sill was lined with various items. I decided to clear the counters to scrub the window sills and backsplash. Meanwhile D was vacuuming her room (again) in preparation for using the carpet cleaner. When she finished I vacuumed my room (again) for the same reason. She ran the carpet cleaner while I folded laundry.

I picked up Eli at 2 p.m., while his mother had a much needed nap. My orders from Amazon had arrived at the post office. One contained D's birthday gift from Eli (her b/d is in early December), and the other more Aida cloth and the ornament hangers for the cross-stitch. 

Knit and Natter was held in the evening. I was on my own, but sat and did my cross-stitch. When she had time, J the librarian chatted with me. I suppose I could have gone home but I like having the time away. This month my group isn't working at the thrift store, we'll be back on Tuesdays in October. Thus my interaction with the outside world has been limited to a few shopping trips.

Thursday - the morning started off cool and cloudy, not conducive to yard work early in the day. We were all tired too, as Eli hadn't been able to fall asleep until after midnight. His mom was up and down, and I could hear their on-going discussion from my room. D was up at 5 a.m. and both Eli and I were up just after 6. She decided to keep him home from school, though he didn't get out of doing school work. D is a former teacher and is quite capable of working with him. By noon they had covered his French dicte (spelling), English - identifying verbs and adverbs, Math - multiplication, and had practiced the reading he will do in church on Saturday evening. 

Meanwhile I used a few ripe tomatoes to make soup. The fruit was showing discolouration, likely due to stink bug damage so I boiled them briefly to remove the skins. I cooked the tomatoes with garlic and onion, and after cooling a bit, used the immersion blender and a sieve to reduce it to a liquid. I added the juice to a roux, and seasoned it with a bit of salt and sugar. I ended with a SINGLE bowl of soup...but it made a delicious lunch. In addition, I made a pot of mashed potatoes for D as she wanted to make potato bread. I had a piece with my soup and it, too, was delicious.

By the time I was finished with the soup, the sun was shining. I took my tea and had a telephone chat with my brother. He had sent me several photos of the valley in the fog. 

Then it was time to get some work done. I cleared out several of the annual containers, though left the gerbrera daisy and the two containers of ivy, geranium, and verbena. The front of the houe is looking rather sparse. I used the wheelbarror to carry the heavy clay pots to the shed to be stored for the winter. I had two containers of pansies that I am trying something with. In the new perennial bed, I dug holes and placed the containers upside down in the holes, covering most of the pot with dirt. We'll see if they survive the winter - I've heard of success stories with other plants, and at the very least the pansy seeds will be in the ground.

After lunch, I went back out to do more yard-work taking Eli with me so his mother could nap or at least rest. While I'd been outside in the morning, she had made potato bread, as well as garlic bread, while keeping Eli on task with his school work.

I didn't accomplish much as he really doesn't like bugs! One of the major tasks was taking up the one raised bed and placing it on top of the other. I moved as much of the dirt as I could, then put down some grass seed where the second bed had been. I hadn't left room for D to mow between them, and while it will give me less room to grow things, I am going to be a bit more strategic next year. A few pieces of outdoor furniture and plant stands were stored in the shed as well. 

Speaking of bugs, Wednesday's photo was a centipede I found in one of the pots. Alongside it was a slug. Both ewww! I've never had slugs before so I'll have to do some reading on what they like to eat in the garden. Apparently, I need beer too, as they will drink and drown in a small container of it. 

Dinner was penne with a sausage meat sauce, baked in the oven with cheese and accompanied by D's garlic bread. That's a fall meal!

Friday - Another morning of yard-work. Mostly reorganizing things in the garage and shed, and putting things away, furniture and such. 

We emptied the rain barrels and turned them upside down. We were able to extend the drains so that the water will flow away from the house, should it rain. I did start the process of weeding the garden, but will putter at that over the next week or two. The ground is very hard, so I'll want to add compost to it before I add a straw layer for the winter.

I was sore from both Thursday and Friday's efforts so took the afternoon off. There was more laundry to fold, but other than that, I relaxed and watched a bit of curling. Our football team was on the field in the evening. 

Dinner - homemade pizza with chicken, red onion, peppers, basil pesto, with cheese. 

Today, we're off to the city for a Costco run. There are a number of things on sale, enough to make up for the cost of the fuel to go there and back at least. D's pantry will be full, and she should have enough garbage bags, dishwasher tabs, and various other items to see her through the winter. There are socks on sale too, a gift for my son's birthday! :)

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Friday Funny

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Time ticking by

Another week is nearly in the rear view mirror. When I look back, it seems this summer went by so very quickly. Yet, at the beginning of summer it seemed we had so much time for all the plans we tentatively made. But with Eli's activities, our house and garden work, and my volunteering, there wasn't a whole lot of time remaining for other possibilities. We did make the one trip to a town nearby for the parade, garage sales, and swimming pool. 

This month, too, is flying by. In spite of no time required at the thrift store this month, I've still managed to fill the time. There won't be any more garden updates, as I brought the carrots in this week. While I still need to cut back the asparagus ferns (they are laid out on the garden over winter), and I'll plant garlic, lily, and tulip bulbs closer to the end of the month, this season is coming to an end.

The Manitoba maple tree leaves are starting to turn yellow. It is the last to leaf out in the spring and the first to drop its leaves in the fall. While it is sad in some ways, I can use the leaves to protect some newer perennials, the clematis, spirea, and the hosta. I appreciate how nature takes care of its own.

Indoors, I've been puttering. My closet got cleaned out and reorganized, as did the cabinets that hold the spice jars and various baking incredients. When I had finished that job, I showed D how it was organized. Fingers crossed she keeps things up. :)

Eli and his mom finished the back of the teacher's Christmas ornaments, so I was able to finish putting the last of them. D has tucked them away for later. My cross-stitching is continuing to be a slow process. But I am determined to have these finished by mid-October. My brother and SIL may not get one but the niece and nephew will. Since most of the gifts I am planning to give are gift cards, I will be able to wrap up Christmas before I head south. Eli's gift was purchased months ago, and D has asked for a dashcam for her SUV. In other words, she'll arrange the purchase and installation and I'll pay for it. :)

I'm planning to head to the city on October 25th, to spend a few days with my son, his g/f, the granddog and her kitties. There are few things I want to do while I'm there, meet with a few friends, purchase those aforementioned gift cards, and finish the preparations for the trip to Yuma. It seems like a long way away right now, but I suspect that time will pass quickly as it did this summer.

I did get out of the house a couple of times this week. On Monday, I made a trip to NTO for groceries and a stop at the $ store for items, our local store doesn't carry. Btw, Wednesday's photo was from the $ store....my jaw almost hit the floor when I turned the corner to find both Halloween AND Christmas!

The grocery list was heavy with items for baking, and wow have the prices gone crazy. A small bag of Chipits was $6.44 at Walmart - it was $7.49 at our Independent grocer. That works out to between $4.20-5.33 in USD. As you might expect, I didn't buy any. D will keep an eye out for sales later this fall. Oddly, I cannot find Eli's favorite apples, Red Delicious, in any store besides our Independent Grocer. I needed to make a stop there and at the local Co-op when I returned to our town for some sale items. 

On Thursday D and I did some shopping. First up I made a stop at the grocery store for more fruit and milk, then the two of us headed to the Legion hall for the Friends of the Library book sale. I found three paperbacks, while D managed to find several treasures including more books for Eli.  Later we headed to the thrift store after seeing they were having a sale - a basket for $12. We agreed to share a basket and between the two of us, we filled it quite quickly. I found five pieces, she found another 20-25 items for Eli and two of her friend's children. 

D immediately grabbed a nightgown, while I kept two tops, a pair of leggings, and a t-shirt dress. I loved the pattern on the front of the dress.

On the way home, D dropped me off at the library for Knit and Natter. Just G and I again, but one of the librarians joined us for part of the time. Lots of chat about the weather, books, and crafts. 

Friday was a mostly quiet day, some housework was completed, and I worked on the Christmas ornaments for my niece and nephew. I realized I am missing two colours for the one ornament, but I managed to backstitch a portion of it. I'll pick up the last floss when I go the city, as I'll be seeing my brother when I'm there. 

Stanley, the cat is healing though not as quickly as D would like. He's been through his course of meds. But he hasn't been eating very much. We've been mixing the vet food with the Fancy Feast..he'd eat a little and walk away. I tried feeding him just the vet food and he refused it entirely. So I gave him the regular and he ate some but not all of it. D called the vet and has an appointment for Monday for a check-up.

As for today, our football team is on a bye week but there are two CFL games to watch. I'll do more stitching while I glance at the television..as I'm not invested in the games. Have a great week ahead everyone!