Friday Funny

 

Wordless Wednesday

 *courtesy of my brother

Spring cleaning and fun at the pool

This week was much busier than the last...which has it's good and less than good points. But before I start in on a recitation of this week's happenings, I would be remiss if I didn't mention Sunday's special event. I posted a photo on Wednesday, of Eli with his mom and his godmother M, taken after the confirmation service. He did very well during the very lengthy proceedings. We did not stay for lunch, though, as we were all ready to get home to relax and visit. After our lunch, D and M left to do a bit of bonding (shopping), as it has been some time since the two have been able to spend time without children in tow. M's children range in age from about 12-19, and the two met when they both worked at a call center in the city.

I did my first volunteer shift at the thrift store on Tuesday. I arrived late, not realizing that I should have been there about 11 a.m., rather than noon. I met several ladies including our team lead G. They were having coffee when I arrived so we sat and chatted for a bit. G gave me a tour of the various back rooms, and I got a sense of just how much stuff that gets donated. We could use a thrift store that is 2 or 3 times it is now (and that's after they moved into this larger space this winter/spring).

It also seems that many people have recently decided to go their closets and purge! I can't tell you how many bags we emptied but when I left at 4 p.m. there were 5 racks of clothing filled, along with shelves of shoes, two or three carts of kitchen ware, and mounds of books, DVDs, etc. AND that was the better stuff as we filled three or four large bags of garbage, and sent off a few more to be donated to the NTO's (next town over) Value Village.

Wednesday was quiet, and a needed rest day. Late in the afternoon, D received a package for a new piece of furniture for the kitchen. If you recall, I purchased a storage cabinet for the office/craft room a couple of weeks ago, and D decided we needed more storage in the kitchen. That late in the day was not the time to start putting it together.

Thursday morning, we got busy and had most of the cabinet put together by lunch time. Eli went back to school after lunch; we picked him up at 2 p.m. and went to NTO to do a bit of shopping and for his swimming lesson at 4:30 p.m. at the indoor pool. D receives Autism funding for Eli (and will until he is 12 years old), so she arranged for private swimming lessons. He had a blast with his teacher, while D and I sat and relaxed. 

There was rain and snow in the forecast, and when we'd left town the highway was wet. After a quick stop for a bite to eat, we headed home with snow falling quite heavily. The roads were slushy and wet most of the way home, and though it was around the freezing mark, the conditions weren't as bad as I thought it might be. In fact, by the time we were about 10 minutes from home, the highway was almost dry, and there was only about a centimeter of snow on the ground.

On Friday, D and I finished the cabinet, and began emptying and cleaning three cupboards, and reorganizing. We moved the pots and pans to the new cabinet. These were originally stored in a cabinet near the stove that ought to have had a lazy Susan but instead was simply an large open cabinet with a small shelf at the back. It meant we bent over and sometimes knelt to get the right piece. The cabinet solved that issue. 

The old cabinet now stores a couple of small appliances that we rarely use, as well as the baking pans (in those standing trays), bowls, and measuring cups. The cabinet that previously held to the Ninja creamy, blender, and handheld mixer now holds all of Eli's lunch kits and water bottles (and he has a lot!). Finally the cabinet that stored the bowls and measuring cups, now has the crockpot and bread machine, and still has room to be our snack cabinet. Moving these appliances from the pantry provides more space, though I've no intention in filling up the shelves! We have enough items in there to keep us well fed for some time.

Despite the snow and cooler weather, spring has arrived. There are a multitude of robins, Canada geese, and most recently a pair of flickers. The latter were on the big tree out back one morning. D and I stood at the window and watched. What fun! I did notice a pair of juncos one day but we don't feed the birds, so they didn't stick around. The robins, though, are quite happy to hang out in the yard. Spencer, is quite fascinated by them and watches out the window, chittering at them. Great cat television too.

I'm late posting today because I got caught up in Ancestry yesterday. It's a cool and cloudy day, with snow flurries, but the snow is melting as quickly as it falls. I'm off to catch up on blog reading, and have no plans for the rest of the day. :)

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Friday Funny

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Weather woes and a celebration

This will be a short post, as I haven't done a whole lot this week, and I didn't start writing until Friday. 

As you will have seen, the big event of the week was the snowstorm that settled in on Thursday, followed by a bit more snow on Friday. Total accumulation was about 35 cms (14 inches). My daughter spent much of Friday shovelling the sidewalk and the parking area. While we had nowhere to go for a couple of days, we do have something special planned on Sunday.

The photo of Eli on Wednesday is our boy dressed in his suit for his confirmation and first communion on Sunday. His paternal grandmother was instrumental in having him baptized in the Catholic church, and he attends a Catholic school. This ritual is part of growing up with close ties to the church. His godmother is expected to drive in from the city, and the four of us will attend the service. The snow won't have melted by then, but we'll walk to the church if need be.

Since the weather was horrid, I missed out on Knit and Natter on Thursday afternoon, and in fact, I spent most of the day in my pj's just watching out the bedroom window as the snow fell.

It was a bit of a shock after Wednesday, when our temperature reached a high of 10C (50F). I had ordered new rain gutter downspout extenders, and they arrived in the mail this week, so D and I spent some time setting up the rain barrels. We've been having some issues with the parging on the corner by the back door, and water is making it's way into the basement. At least this way, the snow melting off the roof will be diverted, and we'll have to come up with a way to waterproof the foundation.

And I did get a call from the thrift store and will do my first volunteer shift next Tuesday. I've been put on a team, and our months are April, July, October, and January. I explained to the caller that I won't be available in January and possibly the end of October, but otherwise am flexible. I do know they are short staffed over the summer as many of the locals spend time at their cottages and/or with family. The schedule works for me, as we have no plans to go anywhere this summer.

Beyond that, it's been a pretty quiet, normal week here at home. I've done some organizing in the pantry and cupboards, spent many hours reviewing hints on Ancestry, did some vacuuming, prepared a few meals, and hung out with the cats and my grandson. What I didn't do was knit. So my project is again, at a standstill. :)

Spencer and Saku aren't friends, but do tolerate one another at least for a short while.

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Not a Funny Friday

 The snow started yesterday about 8:30 a.m. and it continued until late in the afternoon.

I'm not certain how much we got...but whatever it is, it's too much. It's been snowing lightly this morning as well, and although we have nowhere to go today, we will need to clear out to the back alley at some point. Oh, funny it is not!

Wordless Wednesday

 

Slow down

After last week's busy-ness, this week has been a whole lot less so. I ventured out on Monday morning to pick up fresh fruit and veg, as well as a few sale items at our local grocery stores. My other reason for going out was to pick up potting soil for this year's planting. One of the cats, Stanley was very interested in the dirt, and kept a watchful eye on me as I seeded tomatoes (beefsteak), peppers, basil, and pansies. The latter are seeds I harvested from the plant last fall. Chances are they won't sprout but I figured it was worth a try. I learned my lesson last year and have reduced the number of wee pots. If you recall we were over run with tomatoes last fall. Our peppers didn't do as well so I've added a few more. 

The weather forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday was calling for heavy snow - up to 22 cms (8.6 inches). D has decided there will be no more shovelling this winter. This is Easter break and Eli is home from school, and thus, in theory we can wait until it melts. She ran out to do a few errands ahead of the supposed storm. In the end, it missed us entirely, and areas near Saskatoon and further north took the brunt of it. places saw about 18 cm (7 inches). We had less than a centimeter, and by lunchtime it was melting; walkways were clear as were the car windshields. 

The cat in the photo on Wednesday is the baby, Spencer. D found her in her garage in January 2025 during a terrible cold snap. D tried to find her owner through FB, and checked with local vets and the rescue in the NTO (next town over). No one came forward to claim her, and the rescue advised their waiting list to take in a stray cat was about 4 months. I was in Yuma at the time, and when D called to tell me about her, I said, I guess that means we have another cat. We certainly weren't going to euthanize her. D taught her the trick of standing on her hind end to ask for "uppies". Just like a toddler she asks for attention several times a day. However, she is terrified of men especially, and most any stranger. It took her awhile to warm up to me when I visited, but now she loves to nap on my bed...though my cat Saku isn't a fan. As for treats, she really doesn't need any. :p

Knit and Natter was held on Wednesday evening. There were only three of us there, but we had a nice evening. Both M and L were crocheting, while I continued on my knitting. I managed to get a lot done and should finish the panel this week. I'd hoped to have it done before this post but procrastination got in my way. 

As I've said it has been a quiet week. Some spare time was used to work on the Ancestry website updating information. My focus is on more current information rather than previous generations. I don't have access to anything outside of Canada (except newspapers) because the cost is prohibitive. But I feel that current and future generations would be interested in the materials and info I've found. That was the case this week when I received messages from two individuals who were interested in specific relationships. I was able to, at least, partially answer there questions.As an aside, this photo shows how I am using the external keyboard to access the letters s and w and the @ symbol.

I had thought that curling was done for the season but discovered the first Rock League event. It is being streamed on CBC sports on YouTube. The format is quite different with teams split between men's fours, women's fours and mixed doubles. The teams aren't specific to any one country and the members of the four person teams aren't static. That is to say that someone is generally a skip may be playing one of the other three positions. Scoring is different too and I haven't quite figured it out yet. 

Besides curling and knitting, I've no plans for the weekend. The weather is supposed to be lovely so we should see more melting. Spring is on her way! 

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Friday Funny

 

Wordless Wednesday Wedneday

 

It was a good week!.

March, apparently, came in like a lamb, so of course had to leave like a lion. Monday brought about 15 cms/6 inches of snow. With my bum knee, D chose to do the shovelling on her own. She went out four times throughout the day, clearing as much as possible as it fell. I was very appreciative of her efforts. (And know Doug, it wasn't an April Fool's joke.)

Before much of the snow had fallen, we dropped Eli at school and then on to pick up a few groceries and her prescriptions at the pharmacy. On the way back to the house she snapped the first photo I posted this Wordless Wednesday. The highway between here and the next town over (NTO) was a mess according to the teachers who had travelled in that morning. Visibility was low and even here in town it wasn't great. 

Tuesday morning, though, we woke to sunshine. Just last week the photo I posted on Wednesday, the snow around the firepit had started to disappear. In this week's photo, it's nearly covered. Melting did occur throughout the day and continued the rest of the week and the fire pit is once again visible. 

When I'd picked up groceries last week, I'd bought a small 12 pound turkey on sale (Easter pricing I assume); at $2.49/lb. it was a good deal. On Tuesday I cooked it up and we got mounds of meat from that bird - two dinner plates full! After a turkey dinner that evening, D made up fried rice and turkey for the next evening, and we packed up several packages for lunch meat and other meals. I also boiled up the carcass for broth. I'm planning to make up some soup, but we'll also use some of it as a treat for the cats. They do like broth over their food too! #spoiled cats - not in the least. :p

After dropping Eli off after lunch, we headed over to the thrift and discount store. I have not heard anything about volunteering at the thrift store as yet, but I'm not in any hurry. D picked up some toddler jackets for her friend S, who is expecting her first boy in August. They range in size from 12-24 months, so it will be awhile before S can use them. But the jackets were barely worn, and at $3 for 4 pieces (a t-shirt was added), she couldn't go wrong. She also found a pair of dress boots for herself.

I certainly didn't need anything and for a change, I didn't buy anything. Since we had time before picking up Eli (he attends until 2 p.m.) we stopped at the local hardware store. Besides some garden seeds, I purchased a Christmas gift for Eli. He truly enjoys Lego, and there was a set marked down 40%. It will stay in the closet until the fall, when I'll wrap it up before I head south for the winter. 

Both D and I had gone through our clothing items and had a couple of bags to donate, along with some household items including two casual art pieces, a sun lamp, and a small vacuum. We decided to drive over to the NTO to Value Village on Wednesday. I also needed to buy a keyboard for my laptop as it has a bad habit of not allowing me to type w and s. Oddly, enough while I was writing this post, that sticky problem never happened. A quick stop at Dollarama (my daughter's favorite store) and at Walmart for a few sale items, we were on our way home in time to unload the car before Eli was finished school for the day. He stays for lunch on Wednesday as his "Big Brother" hangs out with him at lunch. N is currently in Grade 11 so the two will have another year before he heads off to university.

I spent Thursday morning prepping and doing a bit of cooking. Baked pasta with meat sauce was on the menu for dinner so I pre-cooked the pasta, and put together the meat sauce using spicy Italian sausage and some leftover tomato basil soup. An easy meal! I also mixed ground beef and pork together for hamburger patties for the freezer, and baked a meatloaf. In addition, I got the turkey broth into freezer bags, and a small jar for the fridge. 

The men's World curling continued through the week. Thursday was the last two round robin draws. The Canadian team had lost two games earlier in the week but were in the playoffs, in third place. To go ahead in the standings, they needed to win both games and get a little help from the Czechia, who would need a win over Scotland. The day ended with Canada in 3rd place, which meant they would play in the qualifier on Friday morning against Italy. 

It was a tight game, but Canada prevailed and went on to face Scotland in the semi-final in the afternoon. The teams were tied up after 5 ends with 5 to go. Matt Dunstone, the Canadian skip had not been playing his best and my nerves were on edge. But in the final ends he and the team came together and pulled ahead of Scotland. On to the gold medal game! They will face Niklas Edin of Sweden. Edin has won the championship seven times in his career, so will be a formidable opponent. In fact Canada lost to Sweden earlier in the week. I'll still be cheering....Go Canada Go! 

In between the draws, D (mostly) and I put together a new cabinet for our office/craft room. We both have a lot of craft material and equipment. Since we'd moved in, the printer had sat on top of an old end table the next door neighbour had given us. While it held the paper for the printer, it wasn't useful as storage and took up a fair amount of floor space. I had ordered the cabinet shortly after I returned, and it arrived on Thursday. After some false starts and a few blue words, we managed to put it together in a couple of hours...with a few breaks to separate corners.

That sparked a sorting and tidying frenzy. Several bags of donations were separated from the items we know we will use in the future. A number of items were also tossed in the garbage and the space in the cabinet was filled. I went back to watch the second game, while D kept on sorting her vinyl and paper scraps. I'm thrilled with the progress and hopeful that I'll be able to get at my sewing machine and catch up on some mending projects soon.

Today, I'll be watching both the bronze and gold medal games, while working on one of my knitting projects. It is nearing completion and I hope to have a photo next week of the finished project. D and Eli are planning a trip to the local theater for "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie". 

Finally, while there is potentially more snow in the forecast for later this week, we are definitely seeing melting. Hooray!

Have a great week ahead, everyone!

Friday Funny

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Returning home

Sorry for not posting on Saturday; it didn't dawn on me until late in the day. I'll admit I've almost lost track of the days of the week.

I had a good and mostly relaxing time with my son and his g/f, Sage and the cats. I did get out to dinner with friends on Friday evening. And I had a haircut on Saturday morning before starting the packing process. We have only one salon here in town and they are booked up months ahead. I left the city about 10:30 a.m. Sunday and was home shortly after noon. A 90 minute drive seemed very short after the lengthy travel days from Yuma.

Monday was mostly about settling in. (Saku seemed to be quite happy to see me). D took a nap so I was on school pickup duty in the afternoon. On Tuesday I dropped by the thrift store and completed a form to volunteer. I had spoken to someone last fall and learned they need more volunteer, especially in the summer. As of this writing, I've not heard back but expect I'll hear something in the next week or so.

Wednesday, I spent the morning opening up mail that had arrived during my absence. There was much reviewing of banking information, and updating of spreadsheets but I finished it before Eli returned from school for his lunch.  In the evening I returned to Knit and Natter at the library. There were four other attendees, none of whom I had met previously. I learned that the event alternates each week between afternoon and evening. Apparently it has been quite popular with most meetings having at least 5 people in attendance. It was nice to hear it has been well received.

I took the day off on Thursday, doing little more than playing games on my phone and tablet, and binge watching FBI on a streaming service. I'm caught up now! I did get dressed mid-morning so I could go to the Dollar store with my daughter. She made dinner that evening too, penne pasta in a garlic and parmesan sauce with grilled chicken. Delicious! It was a totally lazy day.

Friday, I was back on the computer, starting the planning for our proposed trip to Newfoundland, which we hope will be possible in June 2027. Due to the uncertainty around the costs of flights, car and hotel rental rates, I'll use this year's as an estimate. I'm using the spreadsheet I created for our trip to Nova Scotia last year, as it is formatted and I can simply add in the information and keep track of anticipated costs. I've been receiving regular e-mails from Newfoundland and Labrador tourism, and we've gotten ideas from a friend who visited there last summer. However I will certainly take any advice from my readers who have lived or visited there (thinking of you Marie!).

The Men's World Curling championship first draw was held on Friday afternoon. Other than one Grand Slam, this is the last curling event for the season. Of course, I was, and will be, glued to my television for the rest of the week.

That and one of three knitting projects will keep me busy today. I do need to run out between draws to get a few groceries but otherwise plan to relax. 

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Friday Funny

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Friday Funny

 

Back in Canada

It was a full three days of driving, but a half day less than I took driving down to Yuma. I arrived at my son's about 8 p.m. on Monday evening. After a visit with my son, his girlfriend, and the granddog Sage, it was ready for a good night's sleep. 

I did get away from Yuma by 8 a.m. arriving in Ely, Nevada about 4:30 p.m. I stayed at the Hotel Nevada. It has a casino and a Dennys restaurant on the main floor and six floors of hotel accommodations. My friend S had suggested it and had warned me the main floor was very smokey as the casino permits smoking. She wasn't wrong but the room was fine and the price was right. The bathroom was small but sufficient for my needs and the water pressure for my shower was great. 

I had taken a different route to Vegas through Needles. I'm not certain if it was imagination but the distance around Vegas seemed shorter than my trip taking me to Laughlin in the fall. Traffic was backed up coming in from Henderson but after 15 minutes or so I was out of it and on the freeway. 

Sunday morning I left Ely for Dillon, Montana about 8 a.m. arriving at 5 p.m. local. I'd lost an hour crossing from Idaho to Montana  so it was a similar driving day. But, and no disrespect to folks from Idaho, the scenery is often pretty boring. There was a good amount of traffic around Pocatello, though it thinned out as the majority seemed to be heading to Salt Lake city. 

I stayed at a Quality Inn just off the I-15 in Dillon. They offered a free breakfast and wrre a short drive to downtown Dillon. I ate at a restaurant/bar Cranny's. It's a casual restaurant, one orders at the counter and it is delivered to your table. Non-alcoholic drinks are self-serve along with condiments and cutlery. I went with a burger and fries with a Beltian Belgian beer. Good food!

Some of you had commented that a storm and high winds had impacted Montana on Saturday.  I spent a bit of time checking highway and weather conditions on Saturday evening. I'd made my decision to take the I-15 to Canada which would have me crossing at Coutts, Alberta. I had it in my mind that I'd overnight at Medicine Hat before driving the rest of the way Tuesday morning. 

Since I returned Monday evening you'll know I changed that plan. I had stopped for a short break at Helena, Montana  and checked the highway conditions again. All the highways north and east were reported as clear so as Patsy would say, the "jello jiggled". Instead I headed to Morgan to the Mouncy crossing. 

I reached the border about 4 p.m.  There was one vehicle ahead of me and it appeared the driver was having a rough day. Some of the contents had been pulled out and two officers were going back and forth from the vehicle to the office. 

My stay was short, about 5 minutes. After asking and receiving my answers to the requisite questions and reviewing my passport the officer moved a pylon so I could start my drive in Saskatchewan.

Swift Current was the closest possible hotel, about a 90 minute drive. And that's only 2 1/2 hours from Regina. I thought about stopping and then I heard the weather report calling for potential freezing rain overnight. That made my decision for me. So we end were I started the post. Happy to be back in Canada and hoping for warmer weather soon!

Here's Sage and Kota (the car who thinks he is a dog).

Today is a day off for me. I've got errands to run but those can wait until tomorrow.

Saying my goodbyes and so long to Yuma

I spent much of this week packing, rearranging and organizing my space and vehicle in preparation for my trip home to Saskatchewan. It was bittersweet - I am looking forward to seeing my family, and I'll be happy to see some cooler temperatures too, but I'll miss the folks here. Many of my fellow Canadians are also heading home for the season. There are a father and daughter duo flying out of Palm Springs, and another couple who are heading to a cruise today. I'm planning on leaving by 8 a.m. for my first day of driving. 

My initial plan was to drive as far as Laughlin, Nevada, spend the night there and do the drive through Las Vegas early Sunday morning. I've reconsidered that plan and think I will try to make it to Ely, Nevada, about a nine hour drive, where I'll stay for the night. I had considered avoiding Vegas, and driving through the Lake Mead National Recreation Area (park), but the cost to non-residents is an additional $100 USD to visit. I'll keep that money in my pocket to pay for the additional costs of fuel, thanks! 

I did get to Canasta on Wednesday, and coffee hour on Thursday. There was a trip to Walmart on Tuesday to pick out grocery items to take home to my family. These were items that are not available in Canada or at least flavours of things we don't get there. For example, Duncan Hines cake mixes are no longer sold in Canada and my daughter wanted some different blends of Hamburger Helper. The latter is something I don't eat, but she enjoys on occasion. Overall I spent about $100 including two containers to carry them home in. I purchased clear tubs, which along with the ones I brought here in October, should be useful at the border, should the agents want to see what I'm bringing into the country. 

Jose came by shortly before sundown on Thursday to take down the gazebo. It looks so forlorn out there with just the metal structure. He also unhooked the propane tank so I was without a stove and water heater for Friday. That was okay, as I still had the BBQ grill, a toaster and microwave and heated up water in the kettle for washing. 

Speaking of water, I filled up several jugs to be placed around the unit, and put water in plastic bags to seal the drains in the sinks. Both the dinette benches and couch were covered with sheets in the hopes that I won't find them as dusty when I return. This morning, I stripped the bedding, laid the hanging clothes on the mattress and covered it with a fitted sheet. Again, keeping the dust at bay. H did tell me, that even with all of these preparations, I will still come back to a mess to clean up. 

I had done as much as I could by mid-day on Friday, so left the a/c running (it was 88F/31C when I returned after Happy Hour the day before), and went to visit friends. S and L and I had a good visit, before I headed home to grab my last beer for Happy Hour. I tried, somewhat unsuccessfully, to not cry as we said our goodbyes but I know I'll miss this group of wonderful people. S and L were extended an invitation to dinner, which I accepted, so I didn't even have to cook or do dishes. 

This morning, I've still got a laundry list of things to do before I leave: empty the black and gray tanks, turn off the electricity at the pole, turn off the water, put the foam pads up in the roof vents, ensure the fridge door is left slightly ajar, put out bay leaves, and load the car. So I'd best get at it, so I can get on the road to home.

So long Yuma, see you in November.

Have a great week ahead everyone!