Comfort and routine

First up, Eli tested negative for Covid. Thank goodness!  D sent me this photo the morning of his pre-K Halloween party.  He's pretty proud of his astronaut costumer.  It's large on him, so will fit easily over his coat on Sunday. It will only be just above freezing as a high that day.

And in response to comments from last week's post, I really don't mind if the squirrel eats some of the bird seed.  They are little piggies though so I keep an eye out when I see one at the feeder and will chase it away after a few minutes.  Gotta leave something for the birds.  The bird feeder I own is one my brother made and installed for me.  It will stay here, when and if I move, because it is attached to the stump of a dead spruce tree. Maybe then I'd get a squirrel proof feeder.

I was so proud of myself when I bought groceries last week because the cost was so much lower than a usual week's worth.  Well, I soon figured out it was because I didn't look to see what would be running out soon and only bought to replace items I'd run out of to that point.  As a result I was back at the grocery store on Monday to get some additional items.  Not many, and mostly staple items, but still I have to wonder at my foolishness. I should have enough to last us until next week.  Meal planning for Monday and Tuesday was especially easy.  My son's birthday was the 25th, and we ordered in pizza.  I'd picked up a bag of cut romaine so there was Caesar salad as a side.  Safeway had no ground beef - there was a sign indicating they had been shorted on their order, so I stopped at the Co-op.  That's the first I've seen for meat.

On Tuesday, I needed to run out to do an errand for D.  That morning I'd received an e-mail from the Costco West blog and saw that toilet paper and Reebok running shoes were on sale.  After the errand, I headed to the store to grab those items.  I'm pretty certain I have enough toilet paper now to outfit us for at least 3 months or more.  

The shoes were on sale for $29.99, and while they're probably not the best quality, they're definitely comfortable!  I wore them around the house for an hour or so and I couldn't believe how cushioned they were.  (Perhaps that says something about the current state of my old pair?) I'm not sure why they have pink on the soles and I suspect that color won't last but they're cute. 

It's been hard to get my housework done this week - the curling started up again on Tuesday, and of course, so did the World Series.  With 3 draws of curling a day, I have been getting lots of knitting and crocheting done.  The scarf I showed you last week is nearly complete. I was so disappointed with the second ball of yarn.  It wasn't knitting up as nicely as the first, so I ripped it back and put the first half on a separate needle.  Then I tried to locate a section of the yarn where the colors were similar to where the first ball had started, it wasn't quite the same but was okay, until I ended up with a couple of knots in the yarn.  These happen when the manufacturer has breaks in the yarn and ties on another thread.  There is about a six inch piece where the pattern is markedly different, and then it changed again and knit up similarly to the first.  I have to sew the two pieces together so will keep it for myself.  

I've finished another scarf, crocheted, and have a knitted one about half complete. With all the sports to watch this weekend I'm almost certain I'll finish it by Sunday.  Next on the agenda are a pair of crocheted angels.  D was looking for Christmas gifts for Eli's teacher and E.A. and I offered to make up the angels.  

We had a lovely warm day on Friday, but today we're back into the cooler weather.  I went out and hung up the tape to (hopefully) keep the kids from running across the patio from the neighbour's house.  I'm not worried about the patio, but the step up from the patio to the sidewalk.  I have visions of some child tripping and falling with angry parents yelling at me.  It's hard to know how many children we'll have at the door.  I bought enough goodies for 50 kids, so if they don't show I guess C and I will be snacking on Halloween candy for a couple of weeks.

Okay, this post is boring me so I'm sure it's of little interest to anyone else. Time to get a few chores done before the curling starts in an hour.  Take care everyone and have a good week.

Fragments of family history

 I've recently put together a time-line of one of my great-grandfather's lives.  We've run into a bit of dead end with his father Hugh (my great-great grandfather), who emigrated from Scotland.  We do know he changed his name from Stuart to Stewart when he came to Canada. He arrived in Canada sometime prior to 1855, when he married Catherine Milligan in Huron County, Ontario.  

A cousin, who has been attempting to trace the history of the elder Hugh has been able to locate the land description of the property where Hugh and Catherine settled and raised their children.  My great-grandpa was also Hugh Stewart, the fifth child of Hugh and Catherine.  He was born in 1865 - I suspect at home as the information lists only Huron.  He was the only son that survived into adulthood.  His brother Charles, likely a twin of his sister Mary, died before he was year old. His older brother John passed away at the age of 23.  This information was located from the grave markers in the Brussels cemetery.  

GG Hugh married at the age of 24 to Elizabeth Delgatty on March 20, 1889 in the township of Grey, Ontario.  The couple lived with his parents; his father passed away in 1893, just months before the birth of their first child. Census data indicates GG Hugh continued farming and I suspect he would have taken over the land from his father, as the only surviving son.  One of his sister's (Mary) had married while the second (Jean) continued to live with the family.

His mother passed away in 1912, and by 1916 Hugh and Elizabeth and five of their children were living at Bratt's Lake, Saskatchewan.  The oldest daughters were married and also living in Saskatchewan. I can assume they originally moved with the family and then met and married their husbands.

Their oldest son (also Hugh) was enlisted in the Northwest Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and I'm not sure where he was stationed.  I wasn't able to confirm, but suspect that GG Hugh's sister Jean, had stayed behind in Ontario, with members of their sister Mary's family.  Mary passed away in 1914, and Jean's death certificate from 1936 was signed by one of Mary's sons.  

From that same census data, I know that Hugh's occupation was listed as a grain buyer. Historical land information searches would suggest he never homesteaded any land here in the province.  In 1916 he would have been in his early 50's so one would think he might have.  It would be interesting to know why the land in Ontario was disposed of and why he chose not to set up a farm in Saskatchewan.

The census data for 1921 doesn't appear to be complete and I've lost track of Hugh and Elizabeth for now.  In fact, I was only to find census data for his oldest daughter Mary and her family who were living in Weyburn, Saskatchewan at the time. 

This is the only photo I have of Hugh and Elizabeth.  The cousin I mentioned before was able to tell me the photo was taken in Kindersley, Saskatchewan around 1939.  Pictured too, is another cousin, Gayleen sitting on the lap of Elizabeth. (Note: these cousins would be first cousins of my mother).  

I think I may have found Gayleen, she'd be in her early 80's now and have sent messages to her and another possible family member in the hopes that they might be able to provide some additional information to fill in the gaps.

At some point, I do know that Elizabeth came to live with my grandparents.  She'd had several strokes and was bedridden.  Elizabeth passed away in 1944 and is buried in Nipawin, Saskatchewan.  Hugh is also buried there; he passed in 1949.  My mother would have been a teenager when her grandmother passed away, and in her early 20's when her grandfather passed away.  Many years later, after our grandmother (Nan) passed away, our family moved into the same house with our grandfather for six months.  He had several strokes as well, and while not bedridden, needed care.  It fell to Mom to do this for him until he was moved to a nursing home in town.  If my memory is correct, it was during this time that Mom shared the information about her grandmother with me.

I was born ten years after my great-grandfather's death.  There are, obviously, no memories for me so I must rely on information provided through available documents.  That is why I would very much like to contact Gayleen as she may have memories of her grandparents. 

Tracing the history of Hugh's life has been an interesting exercise. On the other hand, there is little to no information about Elizabeth beyond the dates of her birth, marriage, and death and the birth information of her ten children.  She raised nine living children, and lost her last child, aged 28 days, to bronchial pneumonia, when she was 43 years old.  Was this one of the reasons why the family left Ontario?  

So many questions, so few answers.  I've been thinking about taking a trip out to Brussels, Ontario - perhaps next summer.  I'd like to visit the graves of the other family members and perhaps find the land that my great-great grandfather was granted in the 1850's. Perhaps I will be able to find distant cousins, as at least one of GG Hugh's nephews is buried in the same cemetery.   

In the meantime, our cousin has hired someone to try to find the roots in Scotland.  If he has any success, that would a trip I'd love to take to visit the place where GG2 Hugh was born.  There are some family tales that we may have been related to the Stuart kings.  Wouldn't that be interesting!

Getting things done and minor annoyances

As I was starting to write this post, thinking back over the week, I felt as if I'd lost a day.  Of course I didn't and looking at the notes on the calendar it was clear I hadn't.  After a bit of thinking (I'm a little slow on the uptake), I realized I was forgetting that my son had Monday off work - it was his regular, every two weeks, earned day off.  It threw me off kilter, though I do try to keep track of his EDO's because I've been known to wake him up some mornings (including on a weekend morning) when he doesn't have to work. Oops. He's generally not very happy with me on those occasions. 

It's been a regular week with housework, shopping, crafting and lots of sports.  I have yet to decide who I am cheering for in baseball but have decided I can't cheer for Atlanta. In light of the discoveries of unmarked graves at the residential schools here in Canada (and I suspect they exist in the USA as well), I can't tolerate the sound of the chant of the fans in the stands.  Call it political correctness if you like, but it seems so disrespectful to me, not only to the First Nations people but even to the settlers of the country who died at the hands of someone wielding a tomahawk.  If the LA Dodgers don't win this series, I'll have to cheer for the next team to face the Braves. 

The curling in Penticton, B.C. ended Sunday with a really great match-up.  I didn't care who won as both teams were playing well and either team would deserve the win.  An unfortunate miss in second to last end was the difference in the game.  This week's event is a Grand Slam - a world curling tour event. The top 16 men's and women's teams in the world are invited so this is truly the elite of curling.  Sadly, the broadcaster didn't air the earlier games in the week - it started on Tuesday but the games available on television started on Thursday.  And just to annoy me even further, the evening games weren't available either unless I purchased a special streaming service. At $14.99 a month, to be able to watch one or two curling matches is far too pricey in my mind. (They must have heard me complaining because Friday night's game was offered for free.) 

I'm glad I got my yardwork done last weekend.  All of the containers, ornamental pieces, tools, and hoses are tucked away for the winter. There is one exception, I left the pansies out on the front step.  They've looked a little sad early in the morning but so far are hanging in there.  

The chairs are stacked up on the deck, and the tables folded up and put away in the shed.  Everything looks so barren. It's gotten very cold for this time of year too.  Wednesday morning it was -7C (19F)!  It doesn't look like we'll have seasonal temperatures until sometime next week and the long range certainly doesn't look great.  I suspect the little trick and treaters on Halloween will require costumes to be worn over winter parkas.  Not unusual for this part of the world.  

This week I spent some time playing in my craft room.  One finish to show you is the rustic Santa.  I'd found a couple of boards in the garage that would appear to have been scraps from the replacement of the counter tops and sinks in the bathrooms. The ends of the board are rounded off so I added a couple of large blocks so it would stand on its own.  

Some paint, a piece of scrap fabric, a bit of ribbon, a couple of pom-poms, some Spanish moss for a beard, and the floral pick was all that was needed.  Since all of the materials were in my stash it was a pretty inexpensive project.  I'd guess overall I probably spent less than $4 for the materials that went into it.  

I've also completed two sets of dishcloths and a kitchen towel.  This set is for my daughter.  The dishcloths are a knitted seed stitch, while the towel is crocheted in a chevron pattern.  These are small projects and work up quickly.  I made the second set as a gift for my sister-in-law, though to be honest my brother does the dishes most often so I should just give them to him. :)  They're both getting books for Christmas, so perhaps I'll just package everything together.  

Another scarf is now on the knitting needles - and I like it so much I may end up keeping it for myself.  It's a variegated yarn and I love the pattern it is making as it knits up.  And one scarf won't matter, as I was sorting through yarn in my craft room and came across a bag of scraps from last years efforts - I won't be running out of yarn for scarves for quite awhile yet.  As long as I can match up the yarn weights I can make striped or block scarves out of the smaller balls.

D called on Friday evening; Eli has been identified as a close contact of another child who recently tested positive for Covid.  She had obtained rapid tests from the school before this, and will need to test him on Sunday as he must have a negative test before he can return to school.  While it is a concern, their contact was on the playground at school at recess so neither of us are too worried.  Fingers crossed, he hasn't been infected.

I'm settling in for a sports weekend - the first curling matches are nearing a conclusion.  There's been some highlights and definitely some nerves out there based on the misses.  These are the men's quarterfinals - four teams will be out of the tournament if they lose.  The women's quarterfinals are scheduled for this afternoon, and the semifinals tonight.  In addition, there are three football games, and our Riders play in the last game of the night.  They haven't been playing well, late in the season, so my hopes are not high.  Add in a baseball game, and my remote control may overheat today!

I'll leave you with this photo. 

I started feeding the birds this week, since we've had frost for several days in a row.  This morning when I went out to feed them, I discovered the squirrels (most likely) had chewed the handle off the lid of the container. They didn't get into the container though.  Later I looked out the window to see this cheeky little squirrel in the feeder.  It didn't even leave when I opened the window to take it's photo.  After a few minutes I went outside and chased it away.  I don't mind if it eats some of the food, but the birds need it too.

Take care everyone, and stay well.

Puttering, plays, and solving problems

Before I forget, Kathy asked last week how I was planning to overwinter the geraniums.  This is the first time I've attempted it, so am relying on information I found in a FB gardening group.  When I lifted the plants I removed most of the soil, and laid them out in the garage to dry.  After a couple of days (or in my case a week because I forgot), I've removed the dead foliage and placed them in a plastic bags.  They need to be stored in a cool, dry place, and for me that's my garage.  I'll have to let you know how it all works out in 7 months or so. :)

This week flew by in a flash!  Of course, I posted on Monday so the week was shorter than normal, but even so, it seemed it was nearly the weekend again before I turned around.

The curling kept me busy on Sunday, and started up again on Thursday. I suspect this will continue at least until the end of November when the Olympic curling trials take place.  I've also been watching the major league baseball playoffs - I got hooked at the end of the season when the Toronto Blue Jays made a bit of a run though they came up short, and have been watching the games since.  It amazes me how one game a team will be able to get hits and runs, seemingly at will, and the next game be unable to score. I guess the pitching has a lot to do with it.  Add in Canadian football and I've been in sports heaven this week.  Hockey also started up on Wednesday but other than a few minutes of a couple of games I haven't watched a lot.

I haven't always been a baseball fan.  When I was at school as a youngster, when teams were picked for a game, my team always sent me to the outfield....way, way, way outfield. In fact, there was more than once that the teacher sent someone out to find me after recess.  I'd get fascinated by an ant hill or wander over into the bush next to the ball diamonds, or simply sit and day dream.  However, a few years ago, while on a cruise, I met a couple from New Jersey.  Their names escape me now - I remember he sold ice cream and she was a huge baseball fan.  She and their son had visited numerous stadiums across the United States.  The world series was on that week and she and I would make our way to the lounge where the games were being shown from the satellite.  I don't recall who won the series but I got a new appreciation for the game.    

I did get most of the housework caught up this week, much of it on Tuesday morning before the baseball started.  I had to run out too, to pick up a doctor's note for my daughter, so made a couple of extra stops at the dollar store, Value Village, and Walmart.  Nothing exciting at the dollar store, and though it was senior's day I found one item at VV.  It is a small lantern meant to hold a small candle.  I've already started re-doing it - it was metal with glass panels - the metal has been painted white and I intend to fill it with some Christmas decor and a set of battery operated lights. 

My daughter had asked if I would get pillows for her for Christmas, but "could she get them before Christmas, please?".  I found Serta pillows on sale at Walmart so we all got new pillows.  I also picked up a new laundry basket as my old one had fallen apart.  I loaded them all into the back seat of the car, and it was full.  If I'd had an accident on the way home, I would be well cushioned. :)

On the project side, I'm getting lots done while I'm watching the various sporting events.  I had done dishes a number of times at D's last weekend and the dishcloth she was using was falling apart.  I pulled out my cotton yarn and knit up three dishcloths for her.  Since I had it out, I found a pattern for a crocheted kitchen hand towel and started that as well.  I also did some puttering in my craft room and have a couple of other things on the go.  

I did switch out the display on the top of my china cabinet.  Most of the items are ones I made or revamped. This is the initial display - I'd meant to make a sign using thankful or grateful but never got around to doing so, thus it's pretty barren.  The next photo is my display for Halloween. I'm sure my son thinks I'm nuts, but I'm having fun with it. I sent a photo to D and Eli said it was spooky. 

Thursday morning started out cold and wet.  It was below zero when I woke up, and it never made it to more than 3C (37F) that afternoon.  There was even a skiff of snow on the top of the garbage and recycling bins when I went to move the garbage bin to the street for pick-up.  I'm so not ready for this type of weather, but thankfully we've got better weather for the near future.  The containers of flowers are still out!

I did have to run out as I had a flu shot booked for that morning.  I got the shot at the Safeway pharmacy so did a some grocery shopping before I left the store.  I may or may not have left before the 15-20 minutes I was supposed to stay was up.  In fact, I think I arrived home about 20 minutes after the shot.  I've yet to have any kind of reaction to the flu shots.  This year is no different.  My arm was a wee bit sore on Friday morning, but I did some arm circles and the pain dissipated quickly.

This morning was cold too, -2C (28F), but is expected to warm up to 16 (61F) this afternoon.  There are four curling games and two football games being streamed or televised, and sometime between or before all that I've got to get outside to start pulling the plants from the containers.  Sunday is supposed to be quite warm too, so I'll finish then.

Oh, the other momentous occasion this week was finally getting on of the fence gates repaired.  I've been sending e-mails to the company for four weeks about problems with the gate.  The post attached to the house was loose and the locking mechanism wasn't working properly.  The owner kept promising to send someone out and then either forgot or got too busy (whatever!), and finally I'd had enough.  I informed him, if someone wasn't there within the week I would be hiring someone else to make the repairs and sending him the invoice.  It still took an extra day (the worker had a funeral to attend - maybe?) but he did show up this week and the necessary repairs made.  I don't expect they'll ever ask me for a reference.  

You may note that the layout of the blog is slightly different.  I messed up when I went to change the photo, (I need to remember to scroll down!), and ended up deleting the header gadget.  So then, I had to change the theme in order to get one back.  When the photo I originally posted was too large I clicked the button to shrink it and I ended with what's there now.  I give up...blogger is certainly not an intuitive application and the help section is pretty much a mire of closed questions.  I couldn't even figure out how to submit a question of my own.  

Enough of my ramblings, time to make another cup of tea and settle in with my crocheting to watch the first curling game of the day.  Take care everyone, stay well and have a good week.

A week that was and a Thanksgiving visit

 Who knows what happened the first few days of the now past week?  I can't recall and I don't have anything much written down on my calendar beyond cleaning cat litter and a few chores.  I note I did get out to Costco on Tuesday - there were a few items on sale that I wanted.  I follow a blog that posts photos and pricing of sale items (or other items that catch the writer's fancy).  One of the items I wanted was a CO detector for the basement.  It's a plug-in version with a lithium battery back-up.  I did the test and it is loud!  I hope I never hear it in real-life.

I also picked up a couple of gifts for my son and daughter for Christmas.  I'm very close to finishing my shopping.  I know it's early but with concerns about the supply chain I'm happy to get it over and done with.  My favorite Pinty's buffalo chicken "flings" (basically a chicken nugget) were also on sale. The regular price has gone up by a dollar, so the sale price isn't as good as it once was but for now I'll buy them every so often.  

Wednesday was an absolutely beautiful day weather wise.  I spent some time outdoors, cleaning up the front containers as the plants were looking pretty straggly.  A neighbour stopped as I was working and we chatted for a bit.  They had planted some lilies this summer in containers and were hoping they'd make it over the winter.  I suspect they won't and mentioned they might want to put them in the ground...he thought the dirt in the containers was the ground.  They are new to gardening so just a rookie mistake.  I pulled my geraniums and a piece of ivy from each container.  The ivies are potted up and sitting in my kitchen window, while the geraniums are drying out in the garage.  I'll put them in a bag and store them in the garage (it doesn't ever freeze since it is well insulated) and hopefully I'll be able to use them again next year.

Thursday was grocery day.  Nothing exciting to report there.  Prices just keep increasing but I really didn't need much and bought some sale items to put into the pantry.  Friday the curling started so I was lazy and spent the day watching several games and knitting.  I've finished four scarves and over the weekend used some of the remaining yarn to make up two headbands.

On Saturday I drove out to D's for an overnight visit.  She made a lovely meal that evening of ham, roasted veg and homemade buns.  I got to see the finished bathroom - it is lovely! and spend time with my favorite guy.  Stanley (the black cat on my lap had come to cuddle, so Eli piled on too.)

While I was there I cleared out D's flowers from the containers, while she scrubbed the downstairs bathroom and Eli ran around the yard.  She was taking care of a friend's dog while they were away from the weekend, so Eli and I hung out when she went over to their house.  She took advantage of the opportunity to run to the store without her little helper while she was out.  

Before I left on Sunday, Eli and I spent some time outdoors.  It was cool in the early morning but warmed up nicely.  He is getting so tall! 

I left about 3 p.m. and was home by 4:30, just in time to feed the cats. :)  C went out for dinner with friends so I had the house to myself for a bit.  I had one curling match up on You-tube on my smart television, while the other match was playing on FB.  Both of the teams I was pulling for won, and are into the playoffs.  Today is playoff day with three draws.  I've currently got the same setup as last night, but one of my teams is not shooting well today.  

Our weather has cooled off significantly, with frost forecast for tonight.  Between draws I've got to get out and clean out some containers.  But first, I have to head to the local Walmart to see if they have a charging cable for my Samsung phone.  I forgot mine at D's and she won't be able to mail it until tomorrow morning - the earliest I'll have it with our mail delivery is Wednesday afternoon.  For now, the phone is shut off and if I can't find a charging cable it will stay that way except if I need to use it briefly.

Take care everyone, stay well. Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian readers!

Ending the week on a high note

I started this post Friday evening, managed one paragraph before I gave in to the need to go to sleep. It was only 7 p.m., but I'd got under 5 hours of sleep the night before, and with just a couple of brief moments of wakefulness through the night I slept until 7 a.m.  I was definitely tired. I scrubbed my original paragraph as it didn't make a whole lot of sense. 

So back to regularly scheduled programming.  This week was pretty quiet as I remained under my self-imposed, just to be cautious, isolation until Thursday. I spent most of my time doing housework, knitting/crocheting while watching television, along with a bit of reading out on the front patio, and listening to podcasts while doing my walks indoors. 

Since the weather is still lovely, I haven't yet cleared out the containers.  One morning I went out and took some photos of the various flowers.

The impatiens is my bellwether - when we have a frost that causes it to die back, I'll do my yard clean-up.

In the backyard, my trees have shed most of their leaves.  The hanging basket of petunias is looking straggly, even after it's recent haircut.

The dahlia, that I rescued half-dead from the garden center, started blooming about two weeks ago.  I'm hopeful, I'll be able to over-winter it this year and enjoy it again next year.

The marigolds are showing their sunny faces, now that the tomato plants have been pulled from the containers. 

Lastly, these petunias are interesting to me.  The splashes of white differ so much and the only bloom doesn't have any.  I wonder if that has something to do with the weather or simply a natural progression as the plant ages.

On the creative side of things, I've finished knitting the market bag I started last week, though it still needs to be sewn up. I also finished knitting my first scarf - I'm using up remnants or balls of yarn I got on deep discount. I've started crocheting a second, but based on the amount of yarn, it will likely be a cowl rather than a scarf.  From last week, I made a little troll to sit on my tiered tray.  Again, I used a small dollar store wood block sign as the base.  The little hat is a piece of a felt scarf, the beard are pieces from a mop head, with a wooden bead for the nose.  

The little gift packages are made from dollar store tumbling blocks and small wooden blocks. I glued the blocks together, painted, and tied and glued on the ribbons.  They'll be added to the wheelbarrow that currently holds fall flowers and mini-pumpkins.  

Set free on Thursday, I did my grocery shopping and made a stop at Value Village.  I found more yarn for scarves (I think enough to make two), a set of knitting needles, a pair of photo mats, and a bag of Jenga blocks, all for less than $11 including the taxes.  At this rate, I'll never use up all the yarn in my stash but the color and amount of yarn was too good to pass up.  

Friday, despite the lack of sleep, was a very good day.  I did some housework, caught up on some television programs, and then spent the afternoon with my friend K.  It's been a very long time since we've spent time together, though we've talked on the phone occasionally, so there was lots to catch up on and lots to discuss.  She returned the container I filled with goodies last Christmas, and a book I'd lent her, and she left with a box of books.  There were several she hasn't yet read, and they'll all be added to the two boxes of her own for the book sale she and J volunteer at each year (the last sale was in 2019). We solved many of the world's problems, though I suspect no one is listening to us, and enjoyed the sun and warmth on the back deck. 

Today is another busy sports day.  I had the replay of the football game from last night (not our home team) this morning, and there two more games later today including the Riders.  There are also several curling events going on, and I may be able to fit in a live stream or two. :)

I'm going to head out for a walk shortly, the temperature is sitting around 9C (48F) so it will be fresh and lovely out there. There are several fires north of us, and the smoke seems to be headed this way.  I was chatting with Eli this morning on video chat and D took us outdoors to show the haze.  She says it smells like a campfire. I hope it passes us by.

Take care everyone, stay well.  And thank you again for the expressions of concern for D and Eli.