Transitions

It was a busy start to the week, but has settled down as we're coming up on the weekend. Monday had me finishing up my packing and helping with a few household chores.

We had our flu vaccination booked for Tuesday morning . I was pleased to learn that we could get the Covid vaccine at the same time. That's definitely a benefit of a small town pharmacy. Im pretty certain in the city we would have been asked to make a second appointment. I dropped D and Eli back at the house with hugs for them and a quick cuddle with Saku. Then it was an uneventful drive to the city.

After dropping off my backpack and a couple of bags I headed for the mall. My first stop was Magicuts for a haircut! Much needed. The thrift store was next where I found an apron. There are regular potluck meals and coffee hours at the park. I recognize I tend to spill or splash water on myself.. Hopefully this will help keep my clothes a little cleaner. My final stop was the bank for some US cash. 

I had a good visit with my son and his roommate B in the evening. We ordered in pizza for dinner; a pepperoni pizza with red onion and charred corn. If you've never tried corn on a pizza do try it, it was so good as the sweetness of the corn offset the spicy pepperoni.

I slept in on Wednesday  until 7 a.m. It felt wonderful.  That morning I met with my friends, K and J to go over my potential driving route. They've made the drive south a number of times and were able to give me some pointers.

After lunch I went to Stitch and Chat. It was nice to see a few regulars as well as three or four new(er) attendees.  The latter thought I was new to the group...no, just rarely there. While we had a break due to the pandemic, I started attending the group six years ago.

I went out to get a few groceries on Thursday; some items i prefer including whole wheat bread, bananas, and old cheddar cheese. I also picked up a few items they were low on. The rest of the day was spent relaxing, working on Ancestry, and hanging out with  Kota, the cat. He looks a bit like my Saku but is quite a bit rounder.

I mistakenly made a trip to Costco on Friday morning.  Dumb idea...the lineup to the cashiers extended through the store. I took my time and found a relatively short line on my way out. While standing there a clerk asked if I would like to pre-checkout. Sure, as all I had to do at the till was show my membership card and make the payment.  

This week I've been watching the Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners in the MLB playoffs. If you had asked me on Tuesday how the Jays would fare I wouldn't have had high hopes but watching the team rally and win both games in Seattle had me much more hopeful. Tonight they lost in the 8th inning when a relief pitcher gave up a grand slam. Game over! They will be back in Toronto on Sunday in a must win game.

Our Saskatchewan Roughriders played Friday night as well. Since they've clinched a playoff berth they weren't playing several of their starters. The game was a close one which they lost by a single point. Penalties likely cost them the gane as there would have been enough time left on the clock to make a play for the win. 

Today we are off to an appliance outlet to pick out a new refrigerator.  When we moved into the house in November 2023 I had called in a repairman as the freezer fan was making a loud noise. He checked it for a blockage and said it was failing. Parts were impossible to get and he said it could last for awhile. This week it started intermittingly making a very loud noise so it is time to get a new one.

I'll leave you with a photo of my son and his dog Sage. Miss Mooch is hoping there might be a crumb or two leftover.  (There wasn't).

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Friday Funny

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Ups and downs - and not just the weather

As I was preparing this post for publishing, I checked my phone and realized I had taken exactly two photos this week. Here's Saku wearing a toy around his neck - didn't faze him a bit. In the background, you can see Stanley sleeping on the tower. The other photo is of our power meter reading - no need to post that!

Despite the on-going pain from the dental work, I had a pretty good weekend. The Blue Jays (baseball) won the first two games in the series against the New York Yankees.  One of the two curling teams I was cheering for won the Pointsbet Invitational - and I wasn't surprised at the other winner. And our Saskatchewan Roughriders (football) won another game, continuing to lead in the West Division of the CFL. Overall a very good sporting weekend.

However on Sunday, I discovered that a piece of the tooth that was extracted wasn't removed, and with the swelling down was now poking out of my gum. Most of the time it didn't bother me, but eating was a different proposition. It meant I stuck to a very soft diet. I phoned the dentist office early Monday morning to advise that I needed to have this looked at, before going ahead with the planned filling. (It's on the opposite side of my mouth and if I couldn't use the extraction side, I'd be limited to eat only what I could drink).

I had a few groceries to pick up on Monday, and headed first to pharmacy to see if I could arrange my Covid and Flu vaccines. It was very annoying to learn that the province has not rolled out the Covid vaccines as yet, just the flu. I do want to get these dealt with before I head south, and I did go ahead and book appointments for D and I to receive our flu shots next week before I leave for the city. At home I tried to check with Regina pharmacies and it seems they haven't received their stock either, and contacting our provincial health authority is pretty much impossible. It's rather ridiculous as they have announced through the media that appointments were available for next week. 

Since we dropped before freezing early Monday morning, and it was forecast to be event colder overnight, I decided to dig the last of the onions and carrots from the garden. Wednesday's photo is the evidence of the results. I've since blanched and cut up the carrots, the wee green onions are in the crisper, and the few strawberries were a nice treat.

Tuesday I was off to the dentist early, as my appointment was at 9 a.m. It is about a 20-25 minute drive from home to NTO. Arriving a few minute early, it wasn't long until I was ushered in the examining room. Imagine my surprise when I learned the bit of tooth wasn't tooth at all, but part of my jaw bone. After a few pokes with the needle, yuck, the dentist picked away at it and ground it down slightly. He assures me that my wound will heal around it. Then he turned his attention to the filling on the other side. He was working with a trainee dental assistant who kept telling me they would be done soon. The third time she said it, I told her not to say it again until it was true. 

Wednesday was Knit and Natter group, my last one here in town for a few months. I continued to work on Eli's sweater. D has asked that I make Eli a toque/beanie instead, so I'll finish the sleeves and whip up the hat in a couple of days. There were six of us there, including the two librarians. Another younger woman was also there with her almost 3 month old baby, and sat and visited with us. She crochets as well, and said she may be back to participate. Always great to see young(er) people keeping up the tradition.

The evening saw the Blue Jays winning their series against the Yankees. They'll be moving on to play either the Tigers or the Mariners. I'm thinking the Mariners played tough against the Jays in the regular season. In any event I'm sure it will be an entertaining (and nail biting) series.

I went grocery shopping on Thursday morning, as I wanted to catch the sales at our local Co-op. They had pork loin for $2.99/lb. I paid just over $15 for a huge loin that D and I cut up into several pork chops, a roast (our Thanksgiving meal) and two portions of cubes she can use for a stew or cut up for stir fry. Nearly everything I purchased was on sale, so I was very pleased.

In the afternoon, I finished off the sleeves for Eli's sweater and moved on to the toque. If I can finish it in two days, I'll go back to the sweater. I need to block the finished pieces, sew the side and sleeve seams, and then finish knitting the neck band, and bands for the buttons and button hole. That reminds me, I need to look for buttons! Maybe I will finish it before I leave on Tuesday...or not.

Friday was pretty much the last day for decent weather so it was time to get finished with the yard work. We're leaving the rain barrels in place for a couple more days as there is rain in the forecast, along with that dreaded four letter word - starts with s, ends with w and has NO in the middle. Yep, already, though it won't last long, we could get up to 10 cms/4 inches on Monday! 

It was a bit sad to see the patio furniture taken down and put in the shed, the garden dug up and turned over, cosmos cut down and some weeding completed in the flower bed. There are weeds growing between the rocks in the flower bed, which makes me think I am going to have to move large rocks to clear it out next spring. Some of these are thistle which have terrible tap roots. Remember when you were a kid and would dig a hole thinking you could go through the center of the earth to China? No, just me? In any event I swear thistle tap roots grow nearly that long.

The evening brought a Saskatchewan Roughrider football game - our team won but it certainly wasn't their best game. It was also sleepover night for Eli and me, our first since last spring. As a result of the football game he was permitted to stay up later than normal. I also kept an eye on the MLB scores though fell asleep before it ended in the 15th inning!  I woke this morning to learn the Jays will be playing the Mariners on Sunday evening.  Go Jays!

Today, I'm continuing my knitting while watching curling on a live stream. There is also football to watch later in the day though I won't be as invested. On Sunday we'll have our Thanksgiving meal; roast pork, roast vegetables, and maybe I'll convince D to bake a batch of buns. I've picked up a pumpkin pie for dessert, yum!

Have a great week ahead every one!

Friday Funny

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

 

Preparing for Winter

Regarding Wednesday's photo: I always knew one could trap a cat in a box, I hadn't realized it would work on a kid too. :)

Monday started off cool, so after Eli was dropped at school, D and I started in on the end of fall yard-work. The last of the tomatoes were picked. Reminder to self - we only need 2 containers, not the 5! we planted this year. After my initial worries that we weren't going to see any fruit, the plants went crazy. I'd estimate we had at least ten pounds of cherry tomatoes, probably more. I had put away the majority of decor items, but D found a few I had missed. I also cleared out all of the containers. We had quit watering and everything was dying back. D mowed the yard, mulching the leaves, cut back the regular lilies, and did some weeding. We loaded my wooden chair and table, the bird bath, the solar lights, and a couple of the folding chairs into the shed. By the time D went to pick up Eli, I was ready for a break.\

The rest of the afternoon was spent in my bedroom starting the process of packing. For what you ask? You'll need to read a little further before I share. 

Tuesday started cool, but heated up quickly. I decided that the rest of the yardwork could wait and suggested to D that we head to the NTO (next town over) for a bit of retail therapy. We dropped off some donations at the thrift store and then went in to use my senior's discount. D did exceptionally well. She found a pair of Kombi gloves for Eli, regularly sold at Sportchek for $40-50. She picked up this pair, another pair of mitts, three pieces of clothing for Eli, a large bag of crayons*, and two bags of assorted toys for a total of $50 including the tax. I found a few items to and spent about $20. 

From there we headed over to Walmart for some groceries, and I also found the batting for the quilt flimsy. Now I just need to find the material for the backing. I have a tub of material that I purchased when Fabricland in the east end of Regina closed many years ago (I was still working!), and I'm almost certain there will be something I can use in there.

It reached a high of 30C/86F, so yardwork was out of the question in the afternoon. D and Eli did additional school work, while I relaxed and did a bit of knitting.

I didn't want to get out of bed Wednesday morning, dreading what was coming in the afternoon. D drove me into NTO to the dentist mid-afternoon. It wasn't a pleasant experience though it could have been worse. For some unknown reason the freezing wasn't taking, and after numerous needles my gums were pincushions. I finally decided not to tell them that I could still feel the area around the tooth and after much digging and pulling the tooth was finally out.

With a couple of extra strength Advil I was able to sleep a restless sleep, up several times during the night. My best sleep came between 4 and 6:30 a.m. By this point the pain was lessened to the gums and my jaw. The dentist gripped it with one hand while using the other to extract the tooth. I would describe the pain as feeling like someone had punched me in the face several times. 

D and I got back to the yardwork on Thursday morning. She finished the mowing, while I cleared up the stalks from the lilies and asparagus that I will use to cover the strawberries and asparagus in the garden bed. I also went out to the front and cut or pulled the stalks of lilies - the peonies I will leave until the spring. Outdoor toys were sorted, with a number of items ending up in a garbage bags and the bins were stacked against the shed. In the garage we removed a lower shelf and packed camping gear in the shed. We did not empty the rain barrels as we're expecting rain this weekend. The rain barrels keep the water from ending up in the basement. These will be taken care of next week.

While D and Eli went to an event in the evening, I headed to the library to Knit and Natter. There were three of us, plus the librarian. I've finished the back, left and front sides, so I started the sleeves for Eli's sweater while I was there. I'm knitting both on the same needles - that way there shouldn't be an extra row added in when I'm counting increases and decreases. At least I hope so!

I slept better that night but at one point woke in extreme pain. I was dreaming that I was waiting for the pain med to kick in, waking to realize that I hadn't yet taken said med. For pain control, I'm alternating Tylenol and Advil, and have added salt water rinses several times a day to the routine. There seemed to be a bit of swelling in the night but an ice cube wrapped in a face cloth helped with that. My next appointment (filling) is Tuesday so I'm hoping by then this side of my mouth will be healed up.

Friday was a quiet day, we had rain so no outdoor work. In the morning, D and I partially put together a new climbing apparatus for Eli, and after school she took him to the local arcade for some fun. I've been watching curling (Pointsbet Invitational), catching up on blog reading and knitting. Today will look much the same for me. I'm hoping to finish Eli's sweater before I head out on the 14th so I've got my work cut out for me. 

About the packing, initially I'm off to Regina for a couple of weeks to help my son with his yard prep for winter, have plans to visit with several friends, and maybe (not likely) paint my bedroom. Then I'm off to Yuma, Arizona for most of the winter. As regular readers will know I spent a couple of months there last winter and enjoyed myself immensely. What you won't know is I arranged with one of the Co-op members to purchase an RV this fall. The unit is permanently parked on a site, has water, electricity and internet connections. I do need to learn to use the propane stove and furnace, but I'll have lots of help with that. There is also an outdoor living area with a gazebo. The two thing it is lacking are a regular toilet and a shed for laundry. I'll be having a proper toilet installed this fall/winter, but the laundry shed will need to wait. There is a laundromat nearby and one of the regular visitors has offered to do my laundry in exchange for rides. We'll see, I'm happy to give her rides on occasion, but doing a couple of loads at the laundromat doesn't bother me.

I'll be flying home in early December to spend time with C, D and Eli, and then fly back in early January. The plan is to be back in Canada by the end of March, weather depending. I've been working on a plan for driving and will go over it with my friends, K and J, who have made the drive many times when I'm in Regina. 

I'm looking forward to missing most of the winter weather and meeting friends who were so welcoming last year. 

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Friday Funny

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Fun and games

We did something I've never done before last Sunday - we visited a corn maze! About a half hour from town, on an acreage, a family has created an incredible wedding venue. Almost directly across the road is this old stone church. The property has a large parking lot and several buildings including a hall for a reception and dance floor, a commercial kitchen and a gift shop, as well as an outdoor tent that can be used for receptions or dances. Out behind these buildings is a small cabin, which I assume is for the newly married couple as well as a fire pit with a good number of chairs.

In the fall, when the wedding season has slowed down, they open up a corn field they planted earlier in the year, and bring in a bouncy castle and small petting zoo, set up a corn kernel pit (like a ball pit but with corn kernels), and offer snacks and drinks at their canteen. The price of entrance was $10 per person, and except for the pony rides and the canteen everything else was included. 

There are two exits to the maze depending on whether one takes the "short" cut or the longer version. Eli took the lead and as it turned out he choose the latter path. I think we were in the maze just under a half hour. The walk back to main area was another ten minutes or so! We all enjoyed it, it was a first for all of us. We ran into several people D and Eli knew, and he enjoyed petting the rabbits and feeding the goats, as well as climbing and sliding on the combine bouncy castle. 

Monday saw me heading to the next town over to the dentist. I had a couple of teeth giving me some grief and it was time to have them checked out. Yes, it has been some time since I went to the dentist. I have a very unhealthy fear of dentists stemming to incidents that have happened from the time I was a young child into adulthood. The last one, at a time when I could ill afford to see the dentist (single mom, two kids, low paying job), the dentist completed an extraction and then took the time to lecture me about dental health and my responsibilities. When he left the room, I was in tears and a dental tech came in and held me as I sobbed. Suffice to say I did not go back to the dentist for many years. In fact, I usually have to be in some pain before I make an appointment. 

I've had two appointments now, the first a check-up where x-rays were taken and the dentist looked at all of my teeth. No pain relief after that first appointment. However I was able to get an appointment on Wednesday where two of my teeth were filled. I'm due to return next week and the week following for an extraction and another filling. This dentist has recommended more work, but I'm about at my tolerance limit.

Back at home, I got work done in the yard in preparation for winter. I put a generic version of Roundup on the weeds that have grown up in the area where the old evergreen stood. I don't plan to plant in that space until the fence is replaced next year so any residue should be gone by then. After a couple of days I dug up the majority of the weeds. I'm sure there are others hiding in the soil and it will need clearing again in the spring but for now it is good enough.

In the garden bed I dug out about 1/2 of the strawberries. While we've been getting a handful of berries every few days in the last few weeks, we couldn't get to the plants nearest the fence and thistle and other weeds were filling in spaces. I've kept the plants at the front of the bed and plan to make a narrow path down the middle to allow access to both sides. It will give me an opportunity to grow other vegetables that I simply don't have room for now.

Speaking of plants, the photos of the various mushrooms were all from our yard. Most are simply the Inky Caps variety which truly do spread black "ink" when left to their own devices. My patio has a large black splotch left behind. The colourful mushroom, Google tells me, is a ringless honey mushroom. This one tends to grow on wood fences or trees. It's definitely quite pretty.

Knit and Natter saw four of us joining the librarians for a productive time and a good visit. I've started a sweater for Eli, and worked on the back piece. Since then I've started the left front and hope to have it and the right front done this weekend. That's a fair amount of knitting (for me), but there is curling to watch! I've cancelled my Sportsnet app as the recent price increase was more than I was willing to pay. I learned about a new channel on the Roku Channel, the Rock Channel that is specifically dedicated to curling. The last television I bought is a Roku TV, and these channels are free...at least for now anyway. I'm a happy girl! 

This weekend I'll fit in yardwork around the curling draw. It is time to finish clearing out the containers, disconnect the garden hose, empty the rain barrels, and put away the solar lights. I'll be heading into the city in mid-October for a couple of weeks, and I don't want to leave all of the work to my daughter. 

The local thrift store is having a sale at the school gymnasium to clear out their storage area so we'll head out for that. I met the manager of the store a couple of weeks ago, and they're hoping to move into another area of school (currently they are in a classroom area) this year. They definitely need more space. I also learned they need volunteers during the summer, so I think I'll look into that in the spring. Not only to be helpful, but for a bit more selfish purpose of meeting more people.

Have a great week ahead everyone!

P.S. An update on my brother and his running: To celebrate the fall equinox he ran 80 kilometers/50 miles over 24 hours. He set up a loop of 5 kilometers and ran it 16 times. Not for me but good on him.

 

Friday Funny

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Foul weather, good food, fun, and big news!

We got rain! We got too much rain! Saturday afternoon, evening and overnight into Sunday, we had 60 millimeters of rain. That's just lightly less than 2 1/2 inches of rain in less than 24 hours. Then on Sunday night into Monday morning, we had another 10 millimeters of rain, about about 4/10ths of an inch of rain. D and I were kept busy emptying the overflow from the rain barrels on Saturday until I belatedly came up with the idea of opening the taps on both barrels. They each have a small hose on them, so we tucked those into extra pieces of downspout and laid the pipe so that the water flowed towards the lilies and the lawn. It meant the water barrels are no longer full, but old Mother Nature has done a good job of watering. So much so, that several of my tomatoes split before I could pick them!

Speaking of tomatoes we used the first batch, along with a green pepper, onion, garlic and Italian seasoning to make homemade tomato sauce. I did add the last tablespoon or so of tomato paste at the end to thicken the sauce slightly. The recipe made enough sauce for 3-4 meals. We used a portion on Sunday night to make baked pasta (fusilli) for dinner. I don't consider myself much of a cook, but it was sooo good.

After school on Monday was equine therapy for Eli. As it was very wet, his therapist had him assist in building a step for Rocky, the Shetland pony to step over. That meant he got to use a drill! He came home very excited to tell me about it. They also made a trek out to see the pigs, who are no longer piglets but should be ready to be bacon in the spring. Eli doesn't know this and I, for one, am not telling him. 

Tuesday we did a bit of meal prep. While D made a batch of her pizza dough (including parmesan and dried parsley), I boiled up a pot of potatoes for pierogi filling - these were mashed up with ricotta and old cheddar cheese, and onions cooked in butter until soft. The filling was put away in the fridge for a few days*. Meanwhile D cooked vegetable stir fry for Eli. It's a food he can always be counted on to eat. It will keep for a few days and he'll eat for lunch or dinner. I wanted to use up some of the latest batch of tomatoes but wanted something fresh. Salsa it was with tomatoes, corn, yellow pepper, red onion, lime, coriander, and chili flakes. It went well with chips for a pre-bedtime snack. But first, dinner that evening, used a portion of the pizza dough, with leftover air-fried chicken, yellow pepper, and red onion, and mozza-cheddar cheese using bacon ranch dressing as the pizza sauce. Very yummy!

Wednesday morning, I used the remainder of the second picking of tomatoes to make up a pot of tomato soup. It was good, but I think I put too much garlic in it. In the afternoon, I headed over to the library for Knit and Natter. There were only four of us (two were the librarians) but we had a good visit, and I learned how to use a pom-pom maker properly. The woman who brought the supplies even gave me one of the pom-pom makers as she has no use for them. Very kind of her!

On Thursday morning, D and I followed the school bus to the next town over (NTO) as Eli was to participate in a cross country run. Like the track and field days when I was a kid, it wasn't a pleasant day with gray skies threatening rain, but by the time we left NTO the sun was peeking through. Eli ran in the first race, but before that happened the children (and adults who ran with them) did a walk through of the course and a warm-up. His E.A. ran with him, and the pair managed to come in middle of the pack. I'd guess there were about 40 kids running. The fastest three came in way quicker than I would have expected, some of these kids can clearly run!

Before we left NTO, we stopped at Staples so D could purchase a new cellphone. Her old one was "glitching" as Eli would say. At home she was able to transfer data to the new phone but could not get the cellular to connect. She called the mobility provider in the morning, and they advised she would have to visit the store. So off we went to NTO after picking up Eli at lunch time. After she finished at the store, we headed over to one of Eli's favorite parks. As it turned out this was a great idea as the sim card began sending error messages. So back to the store we went where they gave her a new sim. Rather than head home immediately we decided to make a stop at the thrift store...just in case. It was a productive trip as Eli got a couple of Minecraft toys (don't ask me), D found some craft items, and I walked out with a lovely zippered cardigan. 

And the big news? We've known for a couple of years that Eli could read a bit, but lacked confidence. With D's support and direction this summer, the lessons have truly clicked. Not only is he reading in English, but also in French. On Friday as we were driving home from NTO, he was reading aloud to us from the back seat. We're so proud of him and his mom is thrilled that she is raising a reader. 

Have a great week ahead everyone! 

*We finally got around to making the pierogi on Friday evening. I think we made about four dozen and had lots of filling left over. Two bags of pierogis and the container of filling went to the freezer, while my daughter made a plateful for her dinner.  Lazy pierogi casserole will likely be on the menu soon.

Friday Funny

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Keeping on, keeping on

 Another week that has passed far too quickly. As you'll have seen in Wednesday's photos, the tomatoes and peppers are ready for picking. Though the peppers were a wee bit small, the darned bugs are getting to them. The strawberries, that ought to have been producing earlier in the summer, have finally taken off. We're still not getting a lot of berries, but I'm picking 5 or 6 a day. My grandson and I both love strawberries, though he thinks he prefers store bought (because of their size, not taste). We've been sneaking the home grown ones lately and he hasn't noticed. I get to eat the small ones!

The purple gladiola got so heavy it fell over in the garden. I cut it, a few asparagus ferns, and a couple of sweet peas stems and made an arrangement. Later I added the second glad to the mix. It doesn't quite match the fall decor I've put out, but I like it anyway. Note, I don't dare put the vase where the cats can get to it easily...anything with water in it is fair game around here.

Since the weather is cooling off, we decided to put away the tent gazebo. D and I took care of that on Tuesday, and I dug up two of the poppies in the raised garden bed. I can't get to the other as it has grown up between two large, and very heavy rocks. There are lilies I want to remove as well, but they too are growing in a pile of rocks. If possible, I'll get to these after everything dies back this fall, if not it will wait until spring. I'll likely have to move the rocks to get at the roots. 

Wednesday, D and I went to the next town over, as she had a dental appointment. We stopped at the Dollar store ahead of her appointment, and I did some grocery shopping before I picked her up. We made a run to the thrift store, where she found the perfect metal bucket for the firepit ashes, and I found a quilt top (a flimsy, I think it's called). It is a combination of several pieces of fabric, some with a Canada motif, the rest is Christmas. I've never done any quilting though I spent a lot of time under my mother's quilting frame. It was set up in the living room and the only way for us to watch television was to lie on the floor beneath it!  

I'll likely watch some videos and ask questions of a couple of women in the city who I know quilt regularly. Jackie, I may have to pick your brain too! First of all, I know I'll need to get batting and a backing for it. I'd love to hand quilt it, but I'm well aware how much work that would be, so it's more likely I'll tie it instead. But, it's a future project as I have other things to work on. 

Wednesday afternoon was the first meeting at the library for the Knit and Natter (or Stitch and Chat). I had mentioned it to the librarian a month or so ago, and she agreed to host it. There were seven of us, including the two librarians with more interest expressed. A number of people were looking for an evening event, so she decided we'd hold it every second Wednesday afternoon and every second Thursday evening. My concern is that participants may get confused about what week it might be. I'll drop in at the library another day and ask if it would alright if I drop in on Wednesday afternoons just in case others show up. In a small town keeping the library open is reliant on the number of visitors and activities. The librarian keeps track of everyone who comes in, and is always looking for ways to brings more people to the library.

Beyond that, it was a quiet week. There was regular housework completed, I did a bit of weeding, more watering, and pruning out in the yard. The weather channel keeps promising us rain but we've had not a drop. It looks like we'll get a good rain today, up to 40 mm/1.6 inches throughout the day and overnight. We'll see.

It will be a good day to enjoy more baseball, football, and curling. There are a couple of curling events happening this weekend with live streams available on You-tube. While there is no commentary (at least thus far), I can keep an eye on the stream while I'm knitting. Yep, I plan to be very lazy today!

To end, I'll share this photo my brother sent me of the ridge line trail he runs each day. 

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Friday Funny

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Our weather rollercoaster

I've started writing this post on Thursday wondering where the heck the week went? It wasn't a particularly busy one, at least for me. D and Eli - different story.

The heat left us on Tuesday and the temperatures dropped like a stone. 28C/82F on Monday afternoon, but it barely made 17C/63F on Tuesday! We had near frosty temperatures overnight both Tuesday and Wednesday. I did not cover my veg containers and everything came through unscathed. There was frost in other areas of the province and the photos of fall harvest filled the Saskatchewan Gardeners group on FB. 

I had decided I'd do some harvesting of my own on Thursday but the weather had other ideas. We had nearly an inch of rain overnight, and the temperature was a mere 10C/50F in the afternoon. Add in 60km/37mph winds and it was mostly an indoor day. We did run to the grocery stores to pick up a few sale items before picking up Eli at the store.

As you saw on Wednesday, the tomatoes are coming on and I nearly filled the container. So far, I've had Caprese salad, sliced tomato on sandwiches, a omelet with tomato, green onion and cheese, as well as grabbing a few for snacks. My daughter is planning to make tomato sauce or salsa. The green peppers are looking good though small. The weather is supposed to improve over the weekend, with no frost in the forecast, so I'll hold off picking for a bit yet. We did pull the potato plant on the weekend and got about 4-5 pounds from the single grow bag.

Exciting news (to me at least), is the gladiolas beginning to open. Everything seems to be late this year. I seem to remember the flowers being in bloom in mid to late July in my mother's garden. I didn't plant the corms until June so that likely explains the late flowering. But the peonies were late this year, as were the hollyhocks, and of course the tomatoes. I'll need to dig up the corms before the first heavy frost, as they won't survive our winter.

Speaking of frost we had another night of near freezing on Friday evening, and another expected for tonight. (We'll be covering the tomatoes and peppers!) Then the weather is supposed to warm up to more seasonal temps, days around 22-23C/71-73F, and overnight between 8-14C/46-57F. It will be perfect weather for starting our clean-up of the yard. Summer, I hardly knew you. 

Eli has had a good first week. He has only attended school in the morning, with his mom spending time working with him in the afternoon. Unlike last year, he is spending some time in the classroom with his peers, and joins them for physical education. I'm happy that he isn't being isolated; if you recall his previous teacher wasn't willing (or perhaps prepared) to have him in the classroom, after a single episode when he acted up in class. His current teacher seems to be much more accommodating and is welcoming him to attend for as long as he can tolerate. What a change!

D has met with the team, including the school counsellor, principal, school board personnel, and one other person whose title I don't remember. The support that Eli receives (and by extension D) is amazing. The team will continue to meet bi-weekly to discuss progress and adjust the schedule as needed throughout the year. That's one of the benefits of living in a small community.

It will be another quiet weekend, baseball and football to watch, knitting (dishcloths), a bit of housework, and I suspect, more tomatoes picked. 

Have a great week ahead everyone!

P. S. A gratuitous photo of Saku, as I only took a couple of photos this month week. Don't I wish I could relax that well!

P.S.S. I've noticed that the number of views of my blog have continued to climb. Last week's post had over 900 views in the span of a week, and even my wordless Wednesday had nearly 400 views in less than 24 hours. I have no idea what is happening or why. Has anyone else noticed a similar trend?

P.S.S.S. An update on the kids next door. D said something to the father one evening about the kids attending school. Since then, I've seen him driving off about 9 a.m. with one or two of the kids. The oldest child one day and two younger ones another day. I should note, my bedroom window looks out onto their backyard, and I'm usually reading blogs or checking e-mails in my room at that time. Really, I'm not that big of snoop!

Friday Funny

 

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!