Two steps forward, one step back

It's been another full week that didn't quite work out as I had originally planned. Even so, we've made some good progress at the old house and at the new house too.

Sunday was a lovely day, sunny and warm. I made a drive into the next town over to pick up a few items, including some potting soil. After I returned, D and I worked out in the back yard at the new house, digging up the dreaded creeping bellflower and other weeds. I'd picked up a few packets of vegetable seeds, and Eli grabbed the carrots, dug a hole in the garden, opened the packet and dumped the entire thing in the hole before covering it up. It's an experiment...we'll see if anything actually grows. D bought more seeds later in the week, just in case. :)

The photo on Wednesday is of the columbine, and some of that darn bellflower in the rocks at the base of the house foundation. Nearby is a false lamium, with white spotted leaves. We're finding lots of perennials, including Oriental poppies and a ground cover with silver grey leaves - I think it may be a variety of an Artemisia (photo below) but am not certain. If you know what it is, let me know. :) These are all in the backyard near the fence.

While they headed to park in the afternoon, I turned my attention to the small bed in the front yard. I dug up more weeds, and more bellflower. In that bed, I found hen and chicks, a salvia and to my surprise a single hollyhock. I supect the latter was planted by a bird dropping seed. In my experience, hollyhocks rarely are a singular plant and I'll gladly allow it to go to seed this year.

On Monday, between rain showers I did some gardening at the old house. I had placed cardboard in the gravelled area between the neighbour and D's house a week or so ago. While it didn't kill the weeds, it did stunt them, and with the rain, I found it easy to dig out the weeks. A spray with weed killer, I laid down the cardboard again and hopefully the heat of the sun we're expecting will keep them from coming back too soon.

I was surprised to find a hyacinth growing in the flower bed. Neither D nor I had planted it, so it is a mystery. Since it was nearly hidden beneath a juniper, I dug up the bulbs and have planted it at the new house out front.

The painters were expected to be at the old house on Tuesday morning, but when they hadn't shown up by 9 a.m., I gave Caleb a call. They have me in their schedule for the following week. Not what we agreed to on the phone but this does give our handyman CT, a little more time. He has made the necessary repairs to the walls, replacing plaster with drywall in two bedrooms, filling in a hold in the drywall on the main floor, and repairing some water damage in the ceilings in dining room and kitchen. He discovered that under the popcorn ceiling in the kitchen are those square tiles. I'm not replacing the tiles, so he has mudded/plastered the area and sprayed more popcorn on it. He's also moved the light fixture in the main bathroom, it was just below the rafters, now there is a proper ceiling and he put in an LED pot light. Much nicer and neater now!

It was rainy and cool for the remainder of the day, so I didn't do a whole lot. I did empty more of the items in the shed and loaded them into the car for transfer to the other house. 

Wednesday morning, I woke up in significant pain from my hip. It felt as though it was out of place. I couldn't lift my right leg, could barely walk on it, and getting up and down from a seated position was difficult. Hence, not much was accomplished that day. I used some A5-35 cream and later a heating pad. It became less painful, and by morning while there was still a dull ache, I was able to move much easier. Who knows what I did, I'm just grateful the pain didn't last too long.

I picked up a few groceries on sale on Thursday morning and then worked in the yard at the new house. I managed to clear the front flower bed of most of the bellflower and the weeds. I still need to mulch the bed. There are several peonies in this bed and another four scattered in the front yard. I'm also seeing more lilies, though I don't believe they are day lilies. This yard will be a riot of color when things start to bloom. 

My brother drove out to visit and bring us the dining table he built for D, and my chair. He built it last year and I had him keep it for me until now. He's such a good guy; while he was here, he helped with a few other chores that we needed doing. We sat on the side patio and visited for several hours before he headed back to spend the night at the family cottage less than an hour away. I'm pretty sure he stayed so he could see Eli and two of them had a good visit too.

Friday, I was back at the old house to do more gardening.  There are a bazillion volunteer elms growing in the flower bed that needed to be removed. Most were small enough to pull but I had to use cutters to clean out several others. The worst of the weeds are now cleared out, at least for the time being. 

In the evening, we used the fire pit for the first time. The fire chief had stopped by earlier in the week to review our application and provided his approval. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows over the fire for our dinner that evening. It's been years since I've done either. 

Today, I'm heading back to the old house in the morning to finish taping the windows for painting. I will be doing that once the painters have finished their work. D is meeting with them in the afternoon for the swatch painting - I gave them a color, which they've asked for four times since and to be honest, I could care less what it will look like. It's the same color I used on the old house in Regina. The afternoon will likely find me back in the yard at the new house trying to rid it of more of the creeping bellflower. 

Have a great weekend everyone.