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!)