Our weather takes a turn and I head to the city

What a difference a few days make! The heat of the weekend cooled quickly and by this weekend, we're expecting temperatures overnight closer to freezing. It started raining on Wednesday and kept that up through Thursday.

I did get my bedding plants into the containers on Monday. D has had to shelter them in the front porch and shed as a result of the colder weather. I knew if I didn't plant them before leaving, there would be no planting for me as my son does not want any containers to worry about. Fair enough, it is his house and...he did leave me some weeding to do. :)

Eli had a dental appointment in the NTO on Tuesday morning at 8 a.m. We all left at the same time, around 7:30 that morning, going in different directions. The photo I posted on Wednesday was a little over a half hour from home, and Connie was the first on to be correct in suggesting it was bridge work underway. I had been talking (handsfree, of course) with my brother and had mentioned the long line of vehicles I kept meeting...very unusual for that highway. When I saw the construction, it all made sense as the construction crew had us down to one lane, each side taking turns. They didn't keep us long, just long enough for several vehicles to come through and then it was our turn.

Speaking of my brother, he was on his way to Saskatoon to visit our cousin B, who had a stroke several weeks ago. B spent 27 days in hospital and will be needing physical therapy for some time. Apparently, his right side is most affected, but he has returned to work, albeit with assistance. His son is working with him to do the physical labour and the driving, while his wife manages the retail store, and B spends his time talking to customers. They are hoping to sell the business soon, but it is a particular niche that I think will be difficult for someone else to take over. He and my brother had a good visit with another friend from our hometown.

D, Eli, and I had gone to a couple of garage sales on the weekend, and I had found a brand new wallet in purple, my favorite colour, for $5! I'd transferred everything over to the new wallet, and realized I had a number of gift cards to various retail outlets here in the city. So I decided that Wednesday, I'd go spend these, or at least some of them. As it turns out this was harder than I thought, as one of the businesses no longer exists, and two of the others had more money on the cards that I expected. What a problem to have, right?

My first stop was at Dutch growers, a local gift and garden center. I was looking for one item in particular, a new rain gauge as the one I had was somehow misplaced. It should have been in the shed but I couldn't find it. As I later told the cashier, the store intimidates me. It is built along the line of an Ikea where you are expected to follow the arrows as you make your way around the store. Do you want to know what happens if you back track? If you do, as I did, then someone comes out of nowhere to ask you what your are looking for. Seriously, I hadn't seen anyone that appeared to be working there, until I started walking against the arrows. In any event, she directed me to the rain gauges, though I didn't entirely follow her directions, stopping to take a photo just inside the greenhouse. It clearly wasn't real, but it was definitely a wow! After payment there was still a few dollars left on the card, and I still have another one to use.

My next stop was Chapters/Indigo, for which I had two gift cards. Like the garden center, these were Christmas gifts, most likely from my brother and his family, so clearly I've had them for awhile.  I found books for D, Eli, and I that I will pack in my carry-on for our flight to Halifax. I came nowhere close to spending what I had available, so have promised D a trip to the NTO Cole's bookstore, the next time we are there. 

Eli came home from school on Tuesday, with a spider plant for his mom for Mother's Day. (I didn't ask why it didn't come home last week). One of my gift cards was for Michaels, and I found a macrame hanger to hold it, high enough to keep it away from the cats. I was so pleased that my gift card matched it's price, until I got to the counter and learned it was on sale. So I still have a few dollars to spend there. Oh, and hooray for me, I did not buy any yarn...though I was tempted.

The next stop was M&M Meat Shops, which are now called M&M Food Market. That's how old the gift card was. It was a gift to my son from a co-worker, and he'd given it to me. I picked up his favorite beef burgers, and a Chicken Pad Thai casserole. That used up the card, and I paid another $10. We had the casserole for supper that evening, C didn't like it, I did, so the leftovers were my lunch for the next two days. 

My last stop was at Tim Hortons, where I did not use the gift card, but instead added another $50 to the card for our trip. It will come in handy at the airports, where I won't have to fumble with cash. I do use my debit card, but I can hand this to my daughter and ask her to place the order. Now, that's thinking ahead, right?

Before I headed home, I stopped at the mall and was able to get a walk-in haircut. She relieved me of more hair than I intended, but it will grow out quickly. No gift cards, but I did stop at the Dollar store for a basket for my bathroom items. That reminds me, have I mentioned that C's friend B will be moving into the house in the next month or so? She'll be moving into the basement, and I had mentioned moving my bed out of the bedroom and into the alcove. However, she and C have decided my bedroom will be the guest room (I may very well be the only guest). 

I've spent some time clearing out the bathroom of my items, and storing them in the closet. The basket I bought holds my shower items, as well as my toothbrush and toothpaste. I simply grab the basket on my way to the bathroom in the morning and tuck it back in the closet when I'm done. This clear out was a good thing, as I was able to donate a number of items, and toss some broken/empty items that were still sitting there. I also cleared off the bookshelves of my books and puzzles, and these went into the closet under the stairs in my room. 

Since it rained on Thursday, I used the time to do a good cleaning of the rest of the basement and stairs, vacuuming rugs, wiping down baseboards and shelves. A table that I used for puzzles was folded down and tucked away in the storage room off the furnace/equipment area. Saku's cat litter remains in the main room and will stay where it is until we take him home to town. B has five cats and plans to put the cat boxes (10 of the, I believe) in the former laundry room area. I can understand not wanting to keep that many boxes in the main room. 

Friday was quiet - I finished some additional cleaning in the basement, washed bath mats, re-installed some baseboard in the main room, and sorted through the last basket of stuff. In the basket I found a sweater I had started crocheting a few years ago. Better still, the pattern was with the start. However, I remember why I gave up, as the yarn is a dense yarn with black and white flecks, so I cannot "see" but have to feel for each stitch as I move along. I found another project as well, a lap blanket, that I started about the same time. Guess which one I've decided to finish first? If you guessed the latter, you'd be right. Will the sweater ever be finished? ...only time will tell.

The weather is not expected to improve much through the next few days. High temps of 12-13C/54-56F, and overnights will be cool, though slightly above freezing. I foresee spending mornings indoors, afternoons out in the garage or backyard (once it dries a bit), and evenings watching baseball and hockey. If the weather doesn't cooperate, I can always play around in Ancestry too.

Have a great week ahead everyone! I hope it's warmer wherever you are.

Friday Funny

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Where did the time go?

I normally start my post early in the week and add to it as the week progressed. Not so, this week - as I write on Thursday evening. This is what I remember from the week. It might be short post!

The weekend was hot, hot, hot! Temperatures reached 30C/86F and 27C/80F on Saturday and Sunday respectively - that's mid-July temperatures. We headed to the lake on Saturday afternoon. Eli spent time in the water though it felt a too cold to me!  Then we took a drive to the next town over (NTO) on Sunday as there wasn't a whole lot getting done outdoors. My daughter picked up a large BBQ for a reasonable price. More on that later.

Monday was a housework day and Eli had equine therapy that afternoon. Each time he's attended, the weather has been crappy, wet and cool, this day was no different! Such a change from the weekend. In addition to working with the horses, he was able to visit the baby chicks. The therapist he works with was impressed how quickly and gently he could catch the little critters. He told his teacher at school that he had "chick therapy" this week. :)

I recall I posted on a couple blogs that I thought I'd wait another week before purchasing my bedding plants. Ha! On Tuesday, I took a drive to the NTO, stopping at a few garden centers, before heading home to visit two more here in town. I was looking for a couple of perennials for the side yard. While NTO had a few, they didn't have what I was looking for, and here in town, the perennials won't be available until next week. I'd like to find a bleeding heart though I may consider hostas as well. It all depends on price and availability. The area gets late afternoon sun, but is somewhat sheltered by a large evergreen.

Wednesday was an outdoor day, with the major project being the building of the BBQ. I sent this photo to my brother saying, "no blood was shed." The air was blue a few times, but my daughter and I got it done.  We haven't used it yet, as we need the propane tank, and I told D we'll use up the canister on the table top BBQ first. 

In addition, there was some weeding done and I planted a crown of celery and lettuce. I've read that celery will regrow from the crown and thought I'd give it a shot. I had it in a container of water for three or four days and was pleasantly surprised to see the green leaves starting. The lettuce was in a bag of dirt, that Eli grew at school - the lettuce, not the dirt. Of course, after I planted these, the temperature overnight dropped to 0C/32F. However, they seem to have survived.

On Thursday morning, I was outdoors at 6:30 a.m. with my tea and the cat. I'd been awake for a couple of hours at that point, the temperature was already at 12C/54F, so it seemed a good idea to get out early. When D left to take Eli to school, I headed out to pick up groceries. 

We also had another project that morning, to revise the set-up for the second rain barrel. There was rain early Monday morning, and our connection didn't work as we wanted. After some discussion and a bit of work, we had the barrel set-up with the downspout extension in the proper place. With rain expected for much of next week, we wanted to make certain the water went in the barrel and not the basement.

Speaking of next week, I'm heading back into the city on Tuesday morning. I contacted the fence guy and we've arranged to meet on Thursday evening. My son will be home then too, and since he's paying for it, he'll be able to provide his input. With Sage, it will nice to have a fenced backyard. He'll need to be out there with her...that dog can jump...but he should be able to play with her and let her run some. While I'm there, I plan to paint my bedroom and work on seeding the back yard to grass and clover. I suspect the weeds will be thriving by the time I arrive, which will require some clean-up first. 

It cooled off slightly on Friday, and though I had planned to work in the yard in the morning, but had to wait a few hours. We woke to a cool morning, with an air advisory. The winds we had on Thursday, blew in the smoke from the wildfires. Not only could we smell it, but there was a haze in the air. I did go out briefly, to pull my annuals from the shed for the day, and to put the seedlings out to harden off.

I was out shortly before lunch, chatting with my friend K and my brother R. K and her partner J, are leaving next week for a road trip to Nova Scotia, and then taking the ferry to Newfoundland. They may be back in Halifax about the same time as we arrive, so if things work out, we'll see them there. 

More yardwork was accomplished, including filling a large orange garbage bag with pinecones with another pile to be cleaned up this weekend. The gladiolas were planted and more of that damned creeping bellflower was dug out of the raised bed. I'll never get ahead of it, I've found tubers at least an inch around with runners going here, there and beyond. Keeping it from flowering, and then seeding helps a little, but when it is in all the yards around us, I know I'm fighting a losing battle.

Hockey and baseball had kept me entertained in the evenings with two of our three Canadian teams leading their series. (I'm watching the Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panther game as I finish this up - the Panthers may be the winner tonight). 

We're into the heat again this weekend, before the rain starts Monday afternoon. Eli woke up congested on Friday morning, and is still feeling punk, so I suspect it will be a quiet weekend. I've got a bit of a sore throat too (thanks kid!), but plan to get more work done outside. I think the fresh air is good for me and I'd rather do that then housework. 

Have a great week ahead everyone! 

Friday Funny

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Full on spring

The weather has continued its up and down trajectory this week. Sunday was absolutely gorgeous, no wind and reaching a high of 18C (65F). I know that doesn't sound particularly warm to many of my readers but after days near or slightly above freezing it feels incredible. We managed to get a good amount of outdoor work done over the weekend, cleaning up winter debris, working on the raised garden bed, and putting out containers and outdoor furniture. I planted several tulip bulbs, that I bought last year, with the hopes we'll see some flowers next year. 

The photo from Wednesday is a surprise I found in the front flower bed, according to Google lens, a striped squill. This is a bulb that I found in the garden at the old house and transplanted here last spring. I had no idea what it was, but decided to see if it would grow. According to the internet, it is hardy (no kidding), grows about 6-8" in height, blooms early in spring, and depending on the site is either non-invasive or invasive. I guess I'll find out one way or another in the next few years. 

The poppies and day lilies are popping up too. The lamium/dead nettle are greening out. I expect they'll fill in much of the raised bed over the summer. That should keep the weeds somewhat at bay. In addition we found some flatter rocks and build a pathway through the bed, which should help with access for weeding. I can't tell you the number of times, I've nearly tumbled out of the flower bed from tripping over the rock edge. On Tuesday, I picked up some gladiola bulbs and will plant those after the final frost/freeze. 

Eli had a day off on Tuesday because his people (TA's/teachers) were away for various reasons. He does like his routine and does best with those he trusts. The school did send home more phonics schoolwork for him and his mom to work on. After our trip to the next door community, the two put in an hour or so on some of the new work. D had an appointment for blood work in the morning, then we drove to the nearby community to do our shopping, went to a favorite park for Eli to play, before another quick stop for fruit and bread before heading home. After a quick lunch, I hopped into bed for a snooze. I'd been awake until 2:30 a.m. watching the results of our federal election. The results weren't entirely decided, and more counting happened in the morning. There are four or five ridings (districts) where recounts are also likely as the differential is less than 400 votes.

The weather was cool'ish Tuesday, warmed up a bit on Wednesday, so I got outside to start on the spring clean-up. First up, though was moving several rocks out of the raised bed. (All the ones near the fence in the photo above.) I used my new wheelbarrow to move them to the edge of the alley and posted them to a free group on Facebook. I cleaned up the small garden area, digging out weeds and preparing the area for planting. After setting up the trellises, I planted the sweet peas and peas, as well as a row of carrots. I won't expect to see these sprout for a few weeks yet, but the seeds will be fine in the ground. 

I also moved some things around in the yard, including installing the bird bath and filling it. I've seen several robins and heard Blue Jays in the neighbourhood, the latter having quite a distinctive call. The chair my brother built for me is placed where I can see the gardens and keep an eye on the cat when he's in the catio. My final tasks for the morning were cleaning out the window wells of the leaves and other debris, and I started digging out grass that has infiltrated the day lilies. In some places it has actually choked out the day lilies - I was able to dig up a few of those and plant where I'd cleared the grass.

By lunchtime, I was to quote Patsy, kapooped! I went indoors, had a shower and cleaned out all the dirt under my fingernails. I always start off wearing gloves but soon peel them off to play in the dirt! After a refreshing shower, clean clothes and a good lunch, I settled down to stream "Beyond Borders", and began crocheting a dishcloth. Baseball and hockey took up the remainder of the day.

We got a wee bit of rain Thursday morning, and the temperature cooled. As a result I spent most of the day indoors, first rearranging my bedroom in anticipation of Saku's residence (in July), and continuing my crocheting. When the skies cleared some in the afternoon, one of the resident cats, Stanley convinced me to take him out to the catio. :) I planted green onions before settling into my chair to have a cup of Chai. 

The weather started to warm up a bit more on Friday, though it was early afternoon before I headed outdoors to do a bit more yardwork. I did get our groceries in the morning, and took my daughter with me to pick up the bags of potting mix, garden soil, and mulch I'll need for the containers and to mulch the flower beds. We also stopped at the city hall office to purchase our fire pit license for the year. 

Eli and D came outside as well, and we got one of the two rain barrels we picked up on Monday set up. This is in the corner where the water came into the basement when our last dump of snow melted, and I'm hoping diverting it to a rain barrel will help keep it from reaching the basement. We may just find out on Monday as we are expecting rain then. We also prepped the area for the second barrel. D cut back a ground-cover juniper (that smells like cat pee according to her), while I gathered the branches and filled the garbage bag of debris. We plan to finish that set-up today.

There is still other work that needs to be done, putting out the solar lights, cleaning out grass between the rocks that line the raised bed, a day lily bed out front, and the mulch needs to be spread in all of the flower beds. Since I plan to be in the city later this month, I'll also work on prepping the containers for planting ahead of time. I'll leave a list of plants to go in each container. This time of year is always busy, but exciting, at least to me. I enjoy the fresh air, the sunshine, and seeing the green growth.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Friday Funny