Wordless Wednesday (late!)

 

Fall is in the air, but summer is hanging on

This past week has been about getting ready for the fall season. In the garden, the sweet peas are setting their seed pods, the tomatoes are starting to ripen on the vine, and the grackles were back, presumably on their way south. The leaves on the big tree out back are turning colour and starting to fall too. It's likely due to the lack of moisture; with the exception of a few heavy rainfalls we've had a very dry summer. We also a very cool night on the weekend, with the temperature dropping to 2C/36F.  Yep, fall is in the air! 

And of course, that means it is time for school to be back in session. Eli heads back to class this upcoming Tuesday for Grade 3!!! As I've mentioned D has been working with him all summer on his language and mathematics skills. He's looking forward to seeing his friends, his mother and I are looking forward to some time with him out of the house. :) On Wednesday afternoon, they went to the school to drop of his backpack and school supplies, and to meet his teacher.

While New Year's Day is officially the start of the year, I've always been more inclined to think of September as the beginning of the year. Obviously when my kids were in school that was a definitive new start, but even as they were beyond the school years, there was a similar delineation in the work world. People were back from their summer vacations; if we were hiring that year, new employees were coming on board with orientation and training to prepare for and present. It was also the time when our teams would be shuffled with changes to our reporting structure. 

On the note of new things, we're getting at least* one set of new neighbours. To the east of us were a young couple who recently had a baby (late July/early August). They were renting the house next door for the past two years. We've called the town office a couple of times since we've lived here, as they let the weeds in the back yard go, resulting in weeds six feet tall in places. The owner of the property must have given them notice after this year's by-law infraction, as their lease was not renewed. He advertised it on the local FB classified site. D reached out to him, to let him know we would like to replace the fence between us next spring. He was thrilled to hear this as he had been unable to convince the previous owner to take care of it previously. Best of all, he has agreed to share the cost.

The owner lives in Winnipeg, several hours away but arranged to be in town on Sunday. He held an open house in the morning and had several showings and applications for the rental. Both D and I were able to talk to him and he was disgusted with the state of the back yard. He told me he's planning to have his Dad come in to clear the weeds and spray. We'll keep Eli and Stanley (the cat) indoors, but I'll also cover the plants closest to the fence to (hopefully) keep the overspray from harming my plants.

D also asked about removing some low hanging branches on the large tree out front. He agreed, and lent her his pole saw/pruner. She cut branches and I helped drag them into a pile in the yard. She plans to let them dry over winter, and will cut them up for fire wood next spring. 

Meanwhile I tackled the stumps of the cedars in the back yard. Two of the stumps were relatively small and I was able to use a hand saw to cut up and clear those. The larger of the stumps had me .... stumped, but I later found a You-tube video that gave me a potential option. It's been too hot to be outdoors for long so I'll give it a go in a week or so.

I'll be glad to see the end of August, it's been a very spendy month! This past weekend our water heater started leaking and by Monday there was clear evidence of the seam expanding due to pressure in the tank. D called the plumbers and they came just before lunchtime, set up the equipment to drain the water heater, returned after lunch and in a short half hour they had a new hot heater installed. The old one was installed in 2017 and they advised that is typical for the lifespan of a hot water heater in our town. I know nothing lasts forever, but that seems too darn short to me.

We had some warmer weather this week too, with temps of 25-30C/77-86F so Tuesday we made a trip to a nearby lake. The local pool has closed for the season, as their employees are primarily students. Sadly when we arrived there, we learned that the water wasn't safe for wading or swimming due to bacteria in the water. This is the sign we found, and Eli's reaction to it. 

The heat wave we're in is expected to last through until Monday. We've been spending some time outdoors early in the morning and/or evening as the mid-day sun is far too hot. My Dad used to say, "Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the mid-day sun". I had to look it up, and apparently, it was initially cited as a quote from Rudyard Kipling (although there is no evidence). I frankly doubt my Dad read Kipling, so I've no idea where he would have heard it. Perhaps from his father, who was well educated.

As a result of the heat, the rest of the week has been pretty quiet. I've watered the containers a couple of times a day, watered the garden every second day, and done some deadheading. Indoors there has been the usual housework, a bit of cooking, and a whole lot of television watching. I finished watching the series "Bosch", and was disappointed when it came to an end. I've moved on to "Ballard", which has cameo appearances by Harry Bosch, but doesn't seem quite as good as the original series. These are both detective/cop series set in Los Angeles. 

This weekend is Labour Day here in Canada, which is a holiday for most workers. The highways will be busy, with people heading to the lake and others heading to city for the big football game. Our Riders will play the Winnipeg Bombers on Sunday evening. Although the Riders have played well this year, the Bombers are their biggest rival and always play tough. No matter who loses, they'll have another chance next weekend as the teams square off in Winnipeg. Go Riders!

Finally, a note about the Wordless Wednesday photo - I've unpublished the post as it had over 500 views by Thursday morning. I don't know how this happens, but suspect the shape of the Shaggy Mane mushroom somehow attracted a bit of unwanted attention. While we do have the odd mushroom pop up in the lawn, this was the first time I've seen one, and I've learned it is edible if picked in the early stages as it quickly liquefies after 24 hours. I haven't checked on it but didn't see it when I went outdoors on Thursday.

Have a wonderful weekend and a good week ahead everyone.

*We are really hoping our neighbours to the west also move. It's a weird situation, where the mother may have abandoned the family last winter. Her partner, father of two of the four children is currently (sort of) caring for them. I say sort of as they haven't been to school, aren't permitted to play outdoors, and while he disappears for hours at a time, his dog is trained to keep the kids inside. We know the latter because he has told my daughter this fact. We do worry about the kids, but between D and a few other people in town, Social Services have been called a number of times, but they say the kids are dressed and fed...apparently that is the minimum standard. The water has been turned off several times, most recently this week, but he must have come up with the payment as the city workers were back later the same day. He disappeared with the kids for about 10 days earlier this summer and I had my fingers crossed they'd left for good, but he later told D they'd been to visit family and attend a funeral. Lately, there have been delivery of food packages almost daily, delivered by an older gentleman. We're assuming he has asked for assistance at a local church and/or foodbank. Another neighbour has gotten annoyed with the mess of the yard, and has paid for someone to mow the front lawn every few weeks. I'm not sure what he does all day, though see him outside with the dog a few times a day from my bedroom window; he sits on the back step and smokes and talks on the phone. If/when they move he certainly won't be missed.

Friday Funny

 

Good time in the city, back to the yardwork at home

I had a good trip to the city, a lovely visit with my son, his roommate B, grand-dog Sage, and three of B's five kitties. (The other two would have nothing to do with me). One of the cats, Kota, decided he was my cat. At one point, he even jumped out of B's lap to come running to me as I came through the door. He also liked to spend time with me in my room though could be coaxed out by shaking a bag of treats. That also brought three others to the door. :) Yes, Kota is a black and white cat who looks a bit like Saku.

B and I went shopping on Monday morning to Costco as I needed some dry goods for home, and we picked up meat for their freezer. They should be set for a couple of months. We made a stop at Pet Valu for B to pick up cat litter, and then Home Depot, where I picked up C's Christmas gift. I'd promised to purchase a snow blower last year for him, but couldn't get him to tell me which one he would like. So this year, I said to heck with it and bought a Toro. It has good/decent reviews and as it was the last one available at the store the price was right. I'm sure they were clearing it out for the new models. The Farmers Almanac is forecasting a cold and snowy winter ahead. 

B suggested we go for lunch at Boston Pizza, which was right beside Home Depot. We had a really nice chat, while I've known her for a number of years, I haven't really sat down and talked with her. 

When we arrived back at the house, C was out on the deck and he helped unload the vehicle. Then I was off to the hairdresser to get my hair cut. What a relief! It's been getting shaggy and I am not talented enough to cut my own. (Looking at you, Patsy). My final stop was Walmart where I purchased C's birthday gift. B had shared that he really wanted a wok. While I will be back in the city in October, I figured he could use it now. 

In fact, within an hour of arriving back at the house, he had the wok seasoned, meat marinating in the fridge and the rice cooking in the rice cooker. He watches a lot of cooking shows, one of which has two chefs that have worked in Michelin star restaurants. These guys are fun to watch, because they can put together an amazing meal together in short order with pretty much anything. He has learned, and I had no idea, that after cooking the rice is spread out on a cookie sheet and allowed to dry. I've always just put the pot in the fridge and left it over night....and I used Minute Rice, not long grain. :) 

I didn't get to enjoy the meal, as I left mid-morning Tuesday to return home. The day was hot, by 11 a.m. it was 27C/80F and I didn't want to drive in the heat of the day. It reached a high of 32C/90F but with the humidity felt even hotter. D and Eli came out to help me unload the vehicle and other than watering plants I stayed indoors until the tree guy arrived. We had the evergreen removed, as well as the two cedars against the house, and several branches removed that were hanging over the power line. D has been concerned about those, as she has experienced an ice storm here a few years ago. In less than an hour the guys had done their work, cleaned up the majority of the debris (there are dry needles from the cedars left for me), and had everything loaded in the trailer for removal to the dump. They even took the seven bags of garden waste that I've gathered up over the summer.

This is area in front of the tent gazebo. The path leads to the front yard. It gets a fair amount of sun in the afternoon but the only thing growing there (besides the old evergreen) is weeds. D is planning to put up poles to hold a line. It can be used as a clothes line but also can be used to hold various apparatus for Eli to play on. That's a next year project.

The two cedars, the tall one and a globe cedar were too close to the house. Debris from the taller one was collecting in the gutters as well. 

Wednesday was hot, though slightly cooler than Tuesday as we got some rain. I spent the first part of the day outside cleaning up debris from the cedars. That's the second bag up against the foundation. I want to move out those rocks and will allow the day lilies to fill in much of the area. 

D ran some errands in the morning and she and Eli went to the library in the afternoon. Before they left for the library, they followed me to the car dealership where I left my SUV for the installation of a front and rear dashcam. They were back from the library a half hour or so, and the dealership called to say the car was ready to go. I was able to sync my phone to the camera but have no clue how it works. I guess I'll have to read the manual. :p

Thursday was a quiet day, and Friday was much busier. We went into the next door town where I picked up a small laptop as a back-up for my current machine. We also made a stop at the book store, where D picked up four more books of a series for Eli using one of my old gift cards. She's been reading the first two books to him, and he's gotten in to the series. There are dragon masters!

At lunchtime we headed to the library for their free BBQ, where Eli and I shared a hotdog. 

There was a presentation on fire safety inside the library, and outside, children were allowed to climb into the truck, and push the buttons for the sirens. He enjoyed that, a lot!

Next up we went next door to City Hall for the "Escape Room". D had booked it for the three of us. We had a rocky start, as we didn't clue on the clues in the audio recording we listened to upon entering the room. However, the staff gave us a hint and we started working our way through. It took a couple more helpful hints before we "made our escape". In fact, we weren't locked in and could have left at any time. While we had 30 minutes, we finished in just over 20 minutes. I think Eli enjoyed it, and though I have no idea how D figured out some of the clues, it was a nice way to spend time with my family.

We had quite high winds on Friday as well, and our poor tomato plants were blown over several times. One of the containers landed on a container of peppers. I had to stake the peppers and tie them up before D and I moved the tomatoes to another spot in the yard. Even then, we found the containers blown over more than once. I'm not certain how much damage was done to the branches, time will tell.

Today, with the cooler weather we're planning to put a pork loin in to the slow cooker for pulled pork. D will bake buns, and we're also going to cook up sausage rounds to make breakfast sandwiches for the freezer. If, and I do mean if, we are feeling especially productive, we may make perogies. Or at least I'll cook the potatoes so we can make them later this weekend or early next week. 

One last note: today would have been my Dad's 115th birthday. He always wanted to reach 100, but left us a few weeks after his 98th birthday. He'll be in my heart and mind today, as always.

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Friday Funny

 

What happened?

Is it just me, or has this summer been flying by for everyone? How can it be mid-August already with just a couple of weeks to go before school is back in session?  I know we've been busy, but really?  D has worked all summer with Eli on his school work including French and English language, reading, and math. They've started in on learning about money, too.  He isn't particularly happy doing school work, but is rewarded with an hour of You-tube videos. He'll even do extra work for more time. :) She's hoping that he will have none of the "summer slump" that other students may experience.

I got most of the creeping juniper cut back, but will be digging roots for some time yet. The weeding also continues, and I've started cutting back some of the perennials. The poppy heads were brown so I've cut those off as I don't want them to be seeding in the raised flower bed. The strawberries are on the list to dig up as I'd like to make room in the bed for more vegetables, and will move the gladiolas. The latter will get more sun there; while they've grown quite tall there is no indication of flowering. 

The photo on Wednesday was of a few of the very many lilies we have out front. They line the exterior of the peony bushes. Next year, I am going to try pruning the peonies back early, to allow the lilies more space. This year the peonies blooms were pretty sparse, with a lot of seed pods setting instead. The lilies, though, have been putting on a real show. Bob was close when he called them leopard lilies, they are actually tiger lilies. The ones that grow in the wild are our province's official flower; the flower petals grow upward rather than . These are domesticated and the petals grow downward. 

We had our two trips into the next town over for Eli's day camp. D and I had a very successful trip to the thrift store for clothing. She got two or three dresses, a pair of leggings, two t-shirts and a pretty knit top, while I got two dresses and a knit top. Between the two of us, we spent less than $100. 

After day camp on Tuesday, we dropped D's car off at the dealership (again). They had early replaced some spark plugs, but not all, and one of the ignition coils. The car had continued to misfire when idling, so it needed to go back into the shop. This time, they replaced the remaining spark plugs and an ignition coil. It was ready for pick-up later the same day and she took it for a drive. She's driven a couple more times and all seems to be good. 

Eli had the local library program as well on Wednesday, and on Friday the group went to the spray pad. The park is just a short block and a half walk from our house and the weather was cool, but Eli had a great time playing with some other children. D hadn't gotten around to eating that morning/noon so it was thrilled to find that the Jamaican group had set up a food tent in the park, and enjoyed a meal of jerk chicken, rice, and veg. (I don't skip meals, she does.)

Early Thursday morning, about 1:30 a.m. we had a storm blow threw bringing thunder, lightning and pouring rain. In just about 45 minutes we had an 2.5 cm./1 inch of rain in the gauge. It came down hard and fast, and at one point even a bit of hail. Thankfully, no real damage was done. There were just a few branches from the trees out front on the sidewalk.

That put a kibosh on doing any more gardening/yardwork for me for a couple of days. The ground was saturated! While I did get out, ahead of the rain, and cleaned up the raised bed, I still have weeding to do in the areas that are primarily rock. It's not the most comfortable area to weed. I can't kneel as my right knee won't take it even with a pad, so I sit on my bum on a child's boogie board. I'm not quite to the point my mom was in her last few years, where she would lay on her belly in the garden and pull weeds. On occasion, her method put a scare into the neighbours as they drove by. :)

Out in the garden, the peas are up. I don't know that we'll actually get a crop of them before the first frost but I tried. Our containers of tomatoes are going strong, though a couple of lower branches were slightly damaged in the storm, and are looking a bit yellow.  The green peppers are starting to show some promise, though I don't think we'll get anything the size of store bought peppers. The lower one in this photo is about the size of a fast ball (smaller than a soft ball, bigger than a golf ball).

On another note, the cats have reached to level of tolerance to be in the same room together. Saku still doesn't like it if one of the others jumps up on my/his bed. But Stanley came for a cuddle on Friday, and while Saku looked a wee bit annoyed, he was fine as long as Stanley wasn't too close. We started feeding them together out in the kitchen, supervised of course, just to get them accustomed to being in the same proximity. Then we started leaving the bedroom door open to allow Saku to wander, again supervised. One morning I put the cat TV (on You-tube) on my television, walked out of the room, and came back to find all three watching. Saku was on the bed, Stanley was on the cat tower, and Spencer was sitting on the floor. Okay, then...so I left the bedroom door open overnight and found no fur or blood shed in the morning. By Thursday we felt it was safe enough to leave them on their own while we were away. And again, there was no indication of any kind of kerfuffle. I thought it would take longer for this level of tolerance but I certainly am not complaining. 

Just in time for me to make a quick trip to the city. I'm heading out on Sunday and will return on Tuesday. D has a friend with her two young daughters coming to visit. Three children under ten, and two young women who like to talk, a lot, is more than I can tolerate. In any event, I need a break. Living with one's adult child can be a bit much sometimes. We both have our own way of doing things and expectations and lately these seem to be at odds. A couple of days away should give us both a chance to reflect and re-set.

Today, I'm planning to get a bit more weeding done and I may move some rocks to another area of the yard. There is baseball and football to watch (Go Riders!), and another toque/beanie to finish off. 

Have a great week ahead everyone!

P.S. Maxine's best before explanation reminded me of my mom. When she passed away, we were clearing the fridge of items we knew dad would never eat. The oldest item was a bottle of salad dressing dated 1989. Mom passed away in 2003...

Friday Funny

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Another week bites the dust/mud

I'm not sure where this week went, I think because Monday was a holiday in the province, so I probably thought it was Sunday, though in reality everyday is Friday since I retired. (Confused yet, I know I was!)

Eli had his day camp on Tuesday and Thursday. Library program was Wednesday and a real live pirate came to visit! I wasn't there, but that's what I was told, and when an eight year old tells you there was a real live pirate, he must be right. Also, he and D went to the community center on Friday for a special event put on by the library and the Science Center (located in Regina). The center sent two individuals to do a short science camp. Eli was in his element - he's a math and science kid!

Earlier in the week, he and I stopped in at the pet store. This little girl tabby, named Tila (pronounced Tee-la) was evacuated from Northern Saskatchewan due to the forest fires. She is 5 months old, spayed, vaccinated and ready for a forever home. Eli likes to visit the kittens/cats at the pet store and he would happily bring them all home. However, that is not happening, but we'll continue to hope Tila finds her "furever" home soon.

As you can probably tell from Wednesday's photo, the cats are starting to tolerate one another. Saku does not appreciate the other two getting in his space on the bed, and there was one incident of him lashing out at Stanley when he (Stanley) jumped up and woke him (Saku). No blood was shed. Both Spencer and Stanley have used Saku's litter box, and in turn, he has used their box in the porch. Saku has been in the basement a time or two, but I don't believe he's used either of the boxes down there. In any event, we are able to allow the three to be out and about in the house without a lot of supervision when we are there. However, we're not quite ready to leave them on their own when we're out of the house. I sincerely doubt we'll ever find the three of them snuggled in a kitty pile on a bed, but tolerance within certain limits is appreciated.

This is a fairly frequent occurrence when Eli, Stanley, and Saku join me in the evening. (My comforter was in the wash, so D lent me one - it was too warm for me)

Breaking news! We got a bit of rain on Monday evening and overnight. One rain barrel was about two thirds full, the other about half full. Another gift to be appreciated as I was able to water the tomatoes from the rain barrel. Speaking of rain, I'm including a video my brother sent me. He's got a wacky sense of humour!

He has since made the necessary repairs and figures the railing will withhold his weight, next time. :)

Speaking of a wacky sense of humour, Eli hollered at me one evening and told me the toilet was smoking. I assumed he'd done some sort of experiment and went to check to see what was happening. This is what I found. What a kid!

Besides the driving, I've got more work done in the yard. I've been watching You-Tube videos in the evening, various ones, and some of my favorites are garden clean-ups. It's like watching Hoarders, as it either spurs to do more outdoor work, or makes me feel like our yard isn't that terrible. :) I was watching one from Britain and noticed the worker using a grabber rake and happened to mention it to D. I wasn't able to find it locally or even on Amazon, though there were leaf grabber scoops/claws, but I wanted this tool. She found it on Temu, ordered it, and it was here in just a week or ten days. I've told her it is my Christmas gift. I used it to clear up piles of pine cones and needles on the far side of the house. I would grab a rake full, dump it in a bin and when that was full, pour it into a yard waste bag. It cleaned things up so nicely, far better than I could have by hand, and far less strain on my back. 

I've been envying Patsy's tent gazebo for some time, and I had earned Amazon gift cards by doing surveys. I decided I'd use these to purchase my own. The instructions for set up were pretty minimal and there were a few (more than a few) blue words said by D and me as we set it up. But eventually we got it right and it's simply marvelous. I take my tea out in the morning and after Stanley has had his time on the lawn, we settle into the tent. Both D and Eli have also spent time with me there. When the heat is on, it provides shade, and with a breeze coming through, I'm in my own little piece of heaven.

I take my breaks from yard-work in it too. I've managed to cut back most of the creeping juniper. I fill up a tub, then cut up the pieces and bag it. Between the juniper and the pine cones and other debris, I'm up to five bags of yard waste. I suspect there will be a couple more bags yet to come.

Friday afternoon, the storm finally reached us, and we had nearly 5 centimeters/2 inches in less than two hours. We had water in the basement again, and after clearing out the soft items, Eli's couch, mats, a mattress, and bedding, D used the shop vac to start cleaning up the excess water. My bad, as I didn't think we needed to clean the gutters this spring, though apparently we did. It also came down hard and fast and I don't think, even if clean, the eavestroughs would have kept up. In any event, that job has been added to the "find someone to do the job" list. Just to highlight how much rain we received, the town posted on FB asking everyone to stay off the streets so crews could clear the drains! 

I did reach out to the tree trimmer guy this week as well, and he'll be by on Monday to give us a quote for removing an evergreen, a tall cedar and cut back branches that over hang the power lines. There is always something that needs doing around here!

More rain is in the forecast for the rest of the weekend too, so I'll have to do stuff inside rather than out. Good thing there is baseball and football to watch! I've finished one toque/beanie, have another on the needles, and I'd like to either do a bit of sewing or perhaps crocheting. No worries, I'll keep myself amused. 

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Friday Funny

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Random thoughts for the week

We have tomatoes! I know I whined in my last weekly post that the fruit was not setting. No whining anymore, as the plants are developing quickly and I am pretty sure we'll have a bumper crop of...I don't remember what I planted, though I don't think it was all cherry tomatoes. We'll find out soon enough. We also have four peppers starting too. The parsley is ready to be harvested and the sage and basil aren't far behind. 

We need rain! It's been awhile since we had we've had a decent rain, and our rain barrels are emptied out. That means using town water. Water in this community is expensive because several years ago, they built a new water treatment plant. We're still in the process of paying that off, and it will be several more years. But, since we now have tomatoes, I will not quit watering. We don't, however, water our lawn and it is browning off quite quickly.

This was the final week of swimming lessons. Eli passed his level 2 swimmer the first week and wasn't as enthusiastic in the second week. He needs to work on his flutter kick so I suspect he'll be working on his level 3 through next summer. Funny kid, he's so literal. His instructor was talking about the front and back crawl. He told he didn't want to do either, because babies crawl. D suggested she use the terms front and back stroke instead. :p

Wednesday's photo was taken at our local Co-op store. Our Independent grocer has them priced at $8.49 a package. Before Covid, those sausages usually sold for $4.99 a package and were often on sale for $3.99. Although we enjoy several varieties of this brand of sausage, we won't be purchasing these in the near future. While I realize input cost prices have increased for producers, processers, and the grocery chains, I think this is beyond ridiculous. 

More weeding happened this week, and I started cutting back a creeping juniper in the back yard. I don't know about anyone else, but it smells like cat urine to my daughter and me. Plus the creeping bellflower has found it's way into the plant so it all needs to go. 

I've contacted a local tree trimming company as well. We need to get rid of the cedar as it is too close to the house, and in the side yard we want to get rid of the evergreen. It is too close to the fence (that we plan to have replaced next year), and it doesn't look terribly healthy. We'll also get the tree in the backyard trimmed to keep the branches off the power line running from the pole to the house. 

I made a couple of purchases for the house/yard this week too. We picked up a programmable thermostat which provided a rebate at the till for $75. We went with a Google Nest model, as we both have Google apps on our phones and we should be able to connect to the new device. I suspect D will use it more often than I would...this stuff feels a bit like magic to me! She assures me I'll be able to adjust the temperature with at the thermostat. I sure hope so. 

Another purchase was three plastic Adirondack chairs for the fire pit area. We have been using folding canvas chairs but wanted something sturdier. These chairs can be stacked and left outdoors over winter. The wooden chair that my brother made for me has to be stored in the shed, along with the mower, the snow blower, camping gear, gardening tools, etc., etc. We quickly run out of room.

Speaking of the shed, I did get it cleaned up last Sunday. We moved a shelving unit which opened up space on the back wall. I was able to put all of the larger garden tools on that wall between the studs and used a bungee cord to hold them in place. Shelves were reorganized with like items together. Hopefully that will make it easier to find things as we need them. I seem to recall doing something similar last year and the organization didn't last.

The heat returned on Friday, with a high of 28C/82F. It is forecast to stay around 26C/79F for the next week. Maybe a wee bit if rain on Sunday. Bring it on. I'll go out in the early morning to do a bit of weeding with baseball and football to entertain me later in the day. I've been reading a James Patterson book, "Private" - it's very good and I should find time to finish it this weekend. 

I'll end this post with a few photos from the yard.

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Friday Funny

 

Wordless Wednesday

Much fun, many memories

Our flight to Regina, via Calgary, wasn't scheduled until 6 p.m., and the rental car wasn't due back to the airport until 3:30 p.m. so we had time to visit one more attraction in Halifax on our final morning. 

After our continental breakfast, we packed up at the hotel and headed downtown around 9:30 in the morning to the Discovery Center (science center). The day prior the center offered free admission, and I was hoping that might mean it would be quiet(er). Ha! The place was buzzing with children and their parents. 

All of the floors had various interactive exhibits. On the first floor, this piece of equipment was very popular with the children including Eli. He enjoyed his opportunity to move the foam pieces to a nearby box.

I wandered off into another area of the floor...which seemed somewhat less noisy. There were a number of mind-bending puzzles, as a maze. My mind wasn't up to most of the puzzles. :) Eli followed and wandered through the maze backwards...he went in at the finish. Whatever works.

We went up to the third floor next where Eli had a lot of fun, with his mom in tow, while G'ma sat and enjoyed a cup of tea. 

However, it was on the second floor that Eli found the best thing ever, a flight simulator!!! There were several crashes but he did manage to successfully land the plane at least once.

I suspect, had there not been other children waiting to use the machine, we would still be there.

We left downtown shortly before lunch and crossed the bridge to Dartmouth. 

We ate at Boston Pizza and still had plenty of time before we needed to head for the airport. D used the Google machine again and found an indoor playground nearby, "The Kids Fun Factory". 

The place was packed with children and their parents. A warehouse style building with high ceilings, it had climbing apparatus, slides, tunnels, and a ball bit. There are no photos from that activity, I'm not certain D had her phone with her. I had tucked myself in a corner where it wasn't quite as noisy. (Do you sense a theme?) They had couches and chairs, as well as a cafe area outside the play area. 

We left there shortly before 3 p.m., and went to the nearby gas station to fill up before making our way to the airport.  Dropping the car off was simple, as was our check-in at the counter. However, in security I was taken aside; it was my own fault! I'd purchased a small knife to cut up the strawberries we'd had earlier in the trip and tucked it into a corner pocket of my backpack and forgotten all about it. I was appropriately shocked and apologetic and they took the knife and let me through to the gates.

And of course, this is when we started our hurry up and wait portion of our trip. Eventually we were on the five hour flight to Calgary, and no one slept (not even me). By the time we arrived in Calgary, I think we were all exhausted, Eli slept most of the way to Regina, I got about a 1/2 hour and D did not. We arrived at my son's house just about midnight local time, grabbed a cab to C's and after moving bags to my car, Eli and I crawled into bed, while D visited with her brother and his roommate. 

Despite the very long day at the end of the trip, it was an amazing adventure. Eli did so well throughout the entire trip despite the change in routine. I enjoyed sharing places I'd been before with my daughter and grandson, and D did a marvelous job of finding new places for us to explore. The majority of the photos I've shared were taken with her cellphone as I didn't have room for my Canon. She clearly enjoyed it too, and we're already thinking ahead to late June 2027 for our next trip! 

It never ends

Early this week I had thought of an awesome title for this post...I've forgotten it now, so who knows what it will be, if any. I'm tired.

It's been another busy week, with day camp, the library program, and swimming lessons for Eli, with mom or G'ma taxi for the assist. Household chores including laundry, vacuuming, dishes, cleaning cat litter, menu planning and meal prep for both D and I, and of course, the inevitable weeding for me. I managed a bit of knitting too.

With D and Eli off to the library (Wednesday) or swim lessons (every evening at 6:15), I've had the house to myself for a bit more than usual. The swim lessons are generally when the Blue Jays play baseball, so I can't say I've done much in those solitary moments. I did tackle my bedroom on Wednesday, as between my stuff and the cat's (Saku) stuff, it was feeling a bit cluttered and untidy. 

Speaking of Saku, the integration with Stanley and Spencer is happening very slowly. He can tolerate being in the same room for brief periods (always supervised), but heaven help either of them if they dare enter his space (my bedroom). This cat can yowl with the best of them. He also gets annoyed if he feels one of them is between him and the nearest exit. But he has fed in close proximity a few times. Again, just briefly but without any cranky interaction. One day, he was drinking water from the cat bowl out in the front porch; Stanley was sleeping on the chair just a few feet away. They were aware of each other but neither had a reaction to the other. Poor Spencer doesn't fare as well. Saku seems to dislike her, no apparent reason, and she has once or twice expressed her displeasure as well. We're hoping that by Thanksgiving (mid-October) they'll be more tolerant towards each other. 

By the way, Wednesday's photo was indeed, a field of canola against the very smoky sky. We were under a air quality advisory and it has lasted through the week.

Friends were camping in central Saskatchewan and had to leave early, as it was worse there. The province reports there are currently 56 fires burning in the province, four considered contained, 15 not contained and 19 being investigated. Now, I don't know about you, but that only adds up to 38 fires...no reporting on the other 18 fires. Eleven communities/areas are still under evacuation orders. Our provincial government is nothing if not incompetent. In fact, they have only now agreed to have the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) provide firefighting crews to assist. Meanwhile the northern half of our province continues to burn. 

On to lesser frustrations, I pulled the pea plants this week and re-seeded. I was hoping they'd put out another set of flowers and pods but after a week, I had nothing so they're gone. Peas tend to prefer to be planted in cooler temps so I may not get anything, but I'll give it a try.  My tomatoes have been busily putting out flowers but I've found only a few tomatoes that have set. I don't know if they are simply late or just not being pollinated. So I did what some annoyed gardeners would do, I used a paint brush to hand pollinate the flowers. I should note there have been bumble bees and various flies around the plants but I think other flowers have been more attractive for whatever reason. I'll let you know if it works.

The major weeding is finally complete, and I'm on to the maintenance portion. Basically that means I'm starting all over, just with smaller weeds. :p To hopefully reduce the weeding efforts, I picked up mulch on Friday for the front flower bed and the raised bed in back. I used a push hoe to weed the vegetable garden, but was on my hands and knees again to clear the front flower bed. The hollyhocks are just starting to bloom. (Don't mind the window sills and frames that need painting - that's a next spring job). 

The heat returned on Friday; just after noon it had reached 29C/84F and by 3 p.m. it was 32C/90F

Today is supposed to be slightly cooler 26C/79F and we may get rain and thunderstorms on Sunday. I know the temperatures I've shared don't seem that hot for many of you, but it is too much for this wuss. We've been watering from the rain barrels, except for the veg garden, and they are still pretty full. Even so, it would be nice to get a refreshing rain.

With the heat, I'm only working outdoors in the morning and back indoors for the afternoons. Besides the weeding, I have a couple of other projects. The shed is a total mess, as things have been rummaged through, with tools and bags of potting soil and fertilizer simply dumped inside. There are also items that need to be moved to the garage (my other project) to be taken to the dump. A couple of mornings should see it better organized. 

Indoors with baseball and football to watch, and a knitting project, I'll be a cool and happy camper!

Have a great week ahead everyone!

P.S. Five months until Christmas...and all the weeds will be gone.

Friday Funny

 

Return to Bedford

We weren't in a hurry to get on the road to Bedford/Halifax, so lazed around a bit in the morning. After our complimentary breakfast, D and Eli went to the pool one more time, and then we packed up. Funny story, we were shuffling things in the bags when we found a television remote. Somehow it had fallen into one of our bags when we left the motel in Baddeck!  I called the motel to let them know we had it, and would drop it off on our way through that morning.

Before we left the Antigonish area, we headed to Pomquet Beach. We had planned to visit the beach when we were on our way to Baddeck, but the weather had been rainy and cool. Not so, this day, it was already quite warm and the temps would get hot later in the day.

The beach is on the Northumberland Strait, which is part of the Atlantic ocean. D had wanted to be able to put her toes in the ocean the entire trip, and Bras D'Or lake was close, but this was the real thing. The beach is 3 km. (about 2 miles) long, a mix of sand and rock. We didn't go swimming but satisfied ourselves with a walk along the beach front.

We looked for shells and pretty rocks as we walked. There was no one on the beach when we first arrived but a young woman and her toddler came soon after. They were clearly prepared to stay the day, with a small tent for shade, a mat, and toys in a wagon. 

Looking at this photo, I'm certain this beach rivals many I've had to privilege to visit in the Caribbean. 

Back in the car, we made a short stop in the community of Pomquet at the Sainte Croix cemetery.

D and I wandered around a bit looking for the oldest marker...there were many. The photo below is just a small portion of the cemetery. It extends beyond the church and quite a distance in the other direction. It is clearly well-maintained, and a very peaceful place.

I should note, we had hoped to visit Fairview Cemetery in Halifax, to see the Titanic memorial. However, though we tried, we never found the appropriate gates and it is located in traffic heavy area.

Back on the road, we stopped and picked up fast food in New Glasgow and went on to Trenton to the aptly named Trenton Park.

The park has playground equipment, a splash pad and a pool. As he had eaten his lunch in the car, Eli made use of the first two while D and I found a spot to sit and watch him play.

The splash pad was popular, as it was getting very hot. We stayed about a half hour, and noticed it was getting very busy. It turned out the community was gathering for their Canada Day celebration. We decided it was time to head back to the highway and our hotel

When we arrived back in Bedford, we decided to check out deWolf Park, where Canada Day activities were in full swing. It was just a few blocks from our hotel (the same Comfort Inn we'd stayed at earlier in the trip). After a slow, slow drive through the park, we weren't able to find parking so turned around and made our way back to Bedford Highway to the hotel. It was a good afternoon to go for a dip in the unheated pool. I went too!

We had thought about getting pizza for dinner, but I vetoed the idea because there would be leftovers and we were flying out the next day. I found a place called Boomburger COWS ice cream not far away. It reminded me of Five Guys burgers here in Saskatchewan, where your food is prepared in front of you and the fries are tossed into a bag. I treated myself to a beer, the first I'd had during the entire trip. (I promise I didn't drink it until I got back to the hotel.)

There were planned activities in the basin in the evening, but late afternoon the fog came rolling in. We could not see the bridge across the basin and it was pea soup in front of the hotel. As a result the boat parade and the fireworks were postponed, to a later date to be determined, so instead of propping our eyelids open, we turned in early.

Our flight the next day wasn't scheduled until 6 p.m. so we had another half day or so left to enjoy the area. I can assure you we did! More on that in the next post.