Better or worse weather, pain or no pain

I had no problem keeping busy this week, starting on Sunday when we made a trip into the city to Costco. I was watching a You-tube video from a Canadian creator who showed all the sale items ending May 10, and some for the the entire month. So many of these items are ones we use regularly; furnace filters, toilet paper, paper towels, dishwasher tabs, batteries, and other shelf stable food items. The sale prices made it make sense to make the trip in. Of course a few others jumped in our cart and the end of the day the total was a wee bit eyewatering. However, the savings based on Costco pricing was over $100 and when we compare prices to what we would pay for the same amount of product the savings were even higher. For example, furnace filters are about $25 each in our local stores, and three were $40 at Costco. I won't bore you with more examples but suffice to say we are stocked up now for awhile.

We left home around 7:30 a.m. and were home before noon. After a bite to eat, D and Eli headed to the nearby park, while I went to the backyard to start building my raised beds. D and Eli returned as I was readying to set up one of the beds, and she gave me a hand connecting the side rails. The neighbour children came over to play as well, so it was a bit chaotic with four children running about, jumping on the trampoline, riding scooters, etc.

After grocery shopping first thing on Monday, I headed over to the thrift store for my shift. When I had left on Thursday, there were no bags to sort through. Not so on Monday! The area in the sorting room was filled, and there was pile of bags and boxes in the back hallway. We managed to get through the pile in the sorting room, and made a start on the second pile. Obviously there was a fair amount of clearing out by some folks on the weekend. We also clean the store and tidy the racks - with eight to ten volunteers, a lot gets accomplished. AND I came home with nothing. :)

D and Eli went to equine therapy that afternoon, and we were all saddened to hear that Rocket, the miniature horse he worked with early in therapy had to be put down over the weekend. Apparently she developed a lung infection, and at her age, they decided the kindest option was to let her go. On the other hand, there was a new foal in the pasture and Eli and his therapist were able to go see the baby. The mama is a bit protective but allowed Eli to pet her. There were also baby chickens and baby kittens to see. One of the cats is called Potato, and her kittens are Potato chips. 

Tuesday morning, I was helping D unload and reload the dishwasher when I felt a pain across my lower back. I took a pain med, and used some cream and carried on. We had a busy day planned - we may have found someone to tear down the old fence, remove the concrete, and rebuild it. Wally came by to take measurements for his list of supplies. Once he has a cost for those, we'll discuss the cost of labour. We'll be in touch with the next door neighbour - he lives in Winnipeg and rents the place, and has agreed to share the cost. We'll see what he says, if he doesn't like the price, we'll suggest he find another quote.

In the afternoon, we headed into NTO to do a bit of shopping, some time for Eli to play at his favourite park, and for his therapy session. Our first stop was Value Village, where we dropped off several bags of donations. In the store I found a couple of glass baking dishes (I'd broke the one we had), a good quality towel, two plant containers, and a pillow insert for less than $20. D was looking for books for Eli - the child would prefer not to read, but reads with understanding and emotion when he does. He read a chapter of a book on the way in, and he had me giggling. Not only does he read, but he has a habit of making side comments as well. 

Since we were at the mall, we stopped in at Coles bookstore. I had a gift card from Christmas, so we used that to pick up a book for Eli, two for me, and got convinced to purchase a beach blanket. It will be handy when we go to the lake (soon, hopefully).

After a bite to eat, we dropped Eli off at his therapists, then dashed over to Walmart where I picked up garden soil, topsoil and potting soil. D stopped to fuel up her vehicle, so we didn't get into the store for the few grocery items we needed, so did that after Eli's appointment. We were home shortly after 6 p.m. and after unpacking our purchases, a painkiller and more lotion, I was in bed. In all of the movement I'd done,  I had realized that my hip was out of place,  It has happened before, especially when I was driving my standard transmission vehicle. How I managed to do that just bending over, I have no idea.

It was a restless night, and at one point, I could barely straighten up to walk to the bathroom. By morning, I had decided to call the chiropractor's office to see if I get an appointment. In the meantime, I headed out to the back yard to put away some items that were left out overnight. We were expecting big winds later in the day, between 80-110kph (50-68mph) and I didn't want things to blow away. As I was moving something into the garage, I managed to catch my foot on the threshold and tripped, catching myself before I fell. Within in minutes, I realized that my hip wasn't giving me grief, and though there was still muscle tenderness, I was walking easily again. Crazy!

In fact, I walked to my appointment with the hairdresser just a few blocks away. The temperature had already reached 20C/78F. She and I had a great conversation about gardening. She did a great job of my cut, and I left the salon feeling human again. 

D had something to pick up at Canadian Tire so I rode over with her and walked through the garden centre. Oh my, there are so many things I'd like to purchase. But despite the wonderful weather, we still have a couple of nights ahead where the temperatures could fall to near freezing. I likely won't be able to hold off for more another week but the less time I have to haul them in and out of the garage the better. First I need to make a solid plan for planting the vegetable gardens. My peppers never did come up, so I'll need to buy those, along with a broccoli (D's request), and red onion. 

Back at home, I felt good enough to empty the bags of soil into the raised beds. D was concerned that the loose dirt might be blown around by the wind, so I opened up a couple of Amazon boxes, covered most of the beds, and weighted them down with rocks. I don't know that the wind would be that much of an issue, but it will keep her happy. :)

Last, but not least, I did some weeding out front and planted a lily bulb that D had purchased. I had planned to plant others I had bought but the package suggested they wouldn't do well in full sun, so I will have to hold off and plant those later in another spot. I am truly enjoying getting my hands in the dirt.

The weather turned on Thursday, with potential rain and heavy winds forecast for the afternoon.  I was determined to get some work done outside so was out in the garden bed when D left to take Eli to school in the morning. My goal was to remove the rest of the old strawberry plants. They didn't produce much and were full of weeds. D ran a few errands and I was just finishing up when she got home. 

As i mentioned, we have found someone to tear down and replace our fence, with reference from one of the thrift store volunteers. When Wally first came by to check the scope of the job he brought a friend with him. When I learned that Chris was a mechanic, I asked if he might be interested in a used car. Long story short he purchased D's old car and took it away. 

This left the garage empty so D and moved things out of the garden shed. Camping gear, the lawn mower and trimmer, snowblower, and weed torch all found a new home. (Neither of our SUVs for in the space.) I'm addition the bins of outdoor toys were moved in too. Later she moved tools from the back porch and basement.  I still need to clean up the garden shed and I have the space to reorganize it.

I attended Knit and Natter at the library, while later in the afternoon, D and Eli drive to NTO for his swim lesson. It continued to get cooler and more windy. Shortly after the returned home we had an hour long power outage. We were fortunate as several areas in the province lost power for nearly 24 hours. 

As a result Friday was a quiet day. D and I did run out after Eli went to school after lunch to an Estate sale. Our purchases included a step ladder, a large water jug, and a pretty kitchen towel. I've been planning to buy a step ladder so finding a lightweight aluminium one for $20 was a real bonus. 

The forecast is suggesting we may see a bit of that dressed 4 letter word overnight. It should melt as it falls....

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Move update

The last several days have become a blur in my mind but I'll give you an overview. Wednesday was possession day, I was in the city so D met the realtor at the house at noon to get the keys. She had picked up Eli at school for lunch so he was able to see his new home as well. When he went back to school that afternoon, she packed more boxes and brought a couple of loads of items to the new house. I had an easy day, since I was almost completely packed - just those last few personal items and some food; I had a nice afternoon visiting with the ladies at stitch and chat.

Thursday was my moving day. I loaded my car with most of the items I was taking with me before the movers arrived. They arrived at 9 a.m. and by 9:20 everything was loaded and they were leaving the driveway. They had two pieces of furniture to take from the house, and about 50 boxes in the garage and a few other garden items. Their response on seeing the boxes and items in the garage was, this is so well organized! They stopped for gasoline on their way to D's, while I finished packing the food before I headed out. At the other end, the unpacking of the load was quick as well, and they were away from here before noon. 

D and I spent the afternoon moving boxes out of the dining room and unpacking what we could. We are leaving the craft room to the last. This photo was after her boxes had arrived.

The local mover advised he wouldn't be available until 2 p.m. on Friday, which turned out to be a blessing. D and I spent that morning, closing and taping boxes, moving small pieces of furniture and the boxes from the upstairs to the living and dining room area. After lunch, we had run a couple of errands and returned to the old house and found the movers there around 1 p.m. They were excited to see the boxes with handles (U-haul) and that they were all piled in one room.  The movers filled one smaller van with furniture, the other with boxes. They did have to return to pick-up the couch as there wasn't quite enough room with the rest of the furniture. While they were finishing the unloading, D picked up Eli after school. In total, I think it took about 3 hours to complete the move. Then we sat and stared at the boxes.

Moving is hard work, and hard on my old body. D has been doing a fair amount of the heavy lifting, and I unpack. I did manage to kick a piece of furniture (don't ask me which one) and broke a toe on my right foot. My left foot got banged up too when I dropped a box. D, on the other hand, has bruises on her legs. Both of us are feeling the bending, lifting, and stretching in our backs. Robaxcet is our friend.

We've had a couple of hiccups - I tried to light the pilot light on the hot water heater but it would not stay lit. Then we discovered that the cold water taps had no running water. A call to the plumber had the water heater pilot lit and the proper turn off valves turned on to get the cold water running. I've never lived in a house that had several shut off valves (all in the basement). Unfortunately the water heater did not continue to work, so the plumber was out again that evening. Apparently the control panel died (which I assume is some sort of computer thingy as almost everything now has to be digital). He ordered the part and will be back tomorrow to replace it.

Thankfully, we still have the old house to return to, as we managed to get only enough hot water for me to do dishes and shower, and to give Eli a bath. Meanwhile we've been doing laundry at the old house as the washing machine here would not drain with the first load. The plumber will look at this too. When she goes over to change loads, D has been showering there too. 

The last hiccup was also plumbing related. When D was a child, she used to think that anyone who had a fridge that had the water and ice maker on it was wealthy. Well, this fridge has these functions, however we woke on Saturday morning to water leaking from a pipe for the fridge water in the basement (thankfully just in the laundry area.) There was no water on the kitchen floor so I'm hopeful it's just a pipe that needs re-soldering. The plumber is the one that installed the water line so I expect he'll be able to repair it easily too.

We're still living with boxes and tubs and our bed frames are in the process of being built. Sunday morning, D and I put mine together, and partially built Eli's trundle bed. We discovered that there were no pre-drilled holes for the slats, so that meant another trip to Canadian Tire for a drill. I'm sure they are happy to see us come through the door as we've had to pick up a number of items (some needed, some wanted). 

Eli has a opthamologist appointment in the city tomorrow, and a dental appointment in the next door community on Tuesday. While I'll be going to the city with them, I'll stay behind on Tuesday, and hopefully get started on the cleaning of the old house to prep for painting. No, I am not doing the painting! I met with the painter this morning, and tentatively scheduled the job for the beginning of May. We still have to get the handyman in to do some patching of cracks and repairs to the ceilings...long story.

I'm hoping things will start to slow down in a day or two, as I could use a break. 

But on a more positive note, spring has arrived!

It's time for lunch, then back to bed building. The battery should be charged.

Pain, pain, go away

I made it home on Sunday by mid-afternoon, just in time for another curling game. In the morning, I'd gone out to shovel a bit more to clear out part of the alley way, as the snow clearing crew had yet to come through. There was enough truck and SUV traffic (neighbours across the way and next door) that I figured I could make my way out with my smaller Corolla. There was one spot right at the street that was heavy going but I made it through. Staying for the extra day meant the highways had been cleared and it was smooth sailing from there.

C had shovelled the driveway while I was gone, but the sidewalk to the backyard needed clearing. On Monday I went out to feed the birds, and shovelled my way there. Unfortunately, I twisted something in my lower back and hip when I lifted some of the snow. I kept moving for most of the day, as I found if I sat it was worse when I got up. Tuesday was slightly better, and that has been the pattern, each day there is less pain and more ease of movement. Though I must admit, I gave up on wearing socks for a few days.

We had blowing snow on Tuesday. It wasn't as bad here in the city but the highways leading in were in rough shape. My brother texted to tell me he was taking the day off because of the highway conditions. It turned out that was a good thing, as he spent much of the morning getting vehicles out of the ditch near his home. His neighbour, pulling a snowmobile trailer, slid into the ditch at the end of his driveway. R went out to help - they were able to get the trailer out with R's truck, but had to get another neighbour with tire chains on his vehicle to pull the truck out. Meanwhile that second neighbour's daughter's vehicle was in the ditch further down the road, and the tow truck arrived just as they finished to winch her vehicle out. Full morning! There are reasons I'm happy to live in the city. (If you've ever heard the Corb Lund song "Truck Got Stuck", you'll know what this scenario reminded me of.)

I did go out that day to the nearby Canadian Tire to have the headlight in my car replaced. I've been driving with a single headlight for awhile now, and finally got around to making an appointment to have it repaired. Did you ever play the game paddidle/perdiddle as a kid? I wonder how many kids scored a point from spotting me. I'm not sure why but when I realized I had a headlight out, I started noticing a lot more vehicles that also had that problem. Back at the store, I wandered the aisles while I waited for the work to be done. I was home within an hour and didn't buy anything else. 

The cold weather has stuck around for the past week, Thursday was cold and the winds picked up again resulting in more blowing snow advisories. D and Eli had planned to go to his therapy in a nearby community but she (wisely) decided to postpone the appointment and stay home.

I headed out early in the morning to pick up a few groceries. The biggest purchase was bird seed. They're going through it quickly, helped by the Hoovers and a rabbit/hare that has found a way to wiggle beneath the gate. The latter leaves clear evidence it has been below the feeder. The photo below includes a bird I'm trying to identify. It's the one on the right and appears to have a red streak on it's back or tail. I've sent the photo to my brother but haven't yet heard back from him. The photo isn't very good, it was obviously shot in low light, and I was shooting through the sun room window, as far away as I could be, because each time I got closer the birds flew away. 

By Thursday evening, my back was giving me grief again. This time it was my upper right shoulder. Darned if I know what I did, but I must have pulled a muscle somehow. It resolved fairly quickly, as I'm feeling much better today. The hip/lower back pain is negligible by this point, only a bit of pain if I make certain movements. 

Thank goodness for curling, as I wasn't up to doing my normal cleaning routine. I did manage to get in my steps though, as sitting for prolonged periods was harder on my back than standing or moving, so I spent a lot of time pacing during the breaks in action. I did manage to get the laundry done, filed my income tax return, and worked on Ancestry. I've been trying to determine how my 3X great grandmother immigrated to Canada about 1852. She wasn't married yet, so I'm assuming she travelled with a family, likely as a domestic. From my research, thus far, it appears she was the only member of her immediate family to immigrate.  

Oh, in answer to a question on the wordless Wednesday, that was a Hungarian partridge. It had perched itself on the top of the pile of snow from the neighbour's driveway. I'm not sure why because it was least sheltered area and the wind was howling at that point. Silly bird. 

I did have a welcome visitor to the yard yesterday.

Check it out - it is mostly brown! Spring must be coming or else it is overly optimistic. Actually the temperatures are on the rise today. We're expecting to reach 3C (36F) later this afternoon. Unfortunately the warmer temp means the possibility of rain. That will help melt the snow, but will freeze overnight. I'd appreciate the wind now as it would dry up the moisture quickly. It's that time of year and it won't be long before, like the hare, there will patches of brown to be seen. 

On the topic of curling, here are two more games today, and two tomorrow. Our Saskatchewan men have made it into the playoffs.  A win this afternoon and they'll have the opportunity to play again tomorrow, a loss will take them out. 

And on that note, I'll wrap this up, wishing you all a good week ahead. 

Fast forward

Okay, who moved the hands of the clock forward?  I've no idea how it can possibly be the weekend already.  Darned if I know where the time went either.  My son had the week off, with Monday being the stat holiday.  Since he likes to sleep in, and I'm a doting mother (or I just spoil him), my mornings were generally quiet.  I puttered around the house, caught up on paperwork, played on the computer, crocheted or read. 

My pain in the back has eased considerably, to the point where I only feel it when I sneeze (OMG does that hurt), or if I twist to pick something up.  I've been doing my walking in the house, but decided one day this week to venture out on the walking paths for a change.  There are photos as proof.

I did make it over to the creek and the pond. I have no photos from the creek, as there really wasn't a lot of activity there.  Just a couple of ducks.  Over at the pond, there were lots of geese and a few ducks remaining.  

This was the only cormorant I saw, an immature bird from the size of it.  My goodness it is fast as it dives under the water and swims quite a distance before re-emerging. 

The wildflowers are still blooming near the water.  I love these sunny yellow flowers, their pretty faces always bring a smile to mine.  The fireweed is also pretty. 

The buildings mirrored in the water make an interesting backdrop for the duck.  It almost blends right in.

Sadly, I spotted a dead duck in the water. The fact it was there didn't seem to bother the other ducks as they continued to feed around it.

I'm always trying to capture the ducks or geese in flight, and I think is probably one of the best shots I've gotten.  It's calling out to other geese as it takes off from the water. 

The pond water is getting so dirty and full of scum.  But the markings on this duck are so pretty.  It sat so still while I took it's photo - almost as if it was posing for me.

This week's grocery run was short and sweet, just one store, as my list was short.  I did get chicken breast for $3.99 a pound at the Co-op, though was limited to one value package at that price.  On Friday, I made a quick run to the thrift stores - found another bag of cotton yarn for $3.99 (because one can never have enough yarn) and couple of t-shirts for a total of $5.98.  I badly stained a t-shirt a week or so ago, and could not get the stains out so it went into a rag bag. 

While I was out running around on Friday, I had a call from my back yard neighbour.  His Dad has spotted wasps going in and out of a hole in my shed.  Both of their children (5 and 2) had been stung as well.  I tried various stores with no luck finding any spray, so I gave a local pest extermination company a call.  They sold me some powder to use in the hole and I made a trap with cat food and juice.  By early Friday evening I had more than two dozen wasps in the trap. Just after dark, I went out and squeezed a load of powder into the hole they were coming in and out of.  I've checked twice this morning, and there is no activity.  I don't know if that means they've died off or moved, or because it is cool this morning, they aren't mobile just yet.  I'll keep an eye out throughout the day but hopefully the problem has been dealt with.

It's a busy sports day here today.  Yesterday, I was able to watch three curling matches on You-tube, and there are three more on tap today, along with three football games!  You'll find me planted on my couch, with my crocheting in hand.  The vacuuming can wait until tomorrow. :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Outside my comfort zone

As most of you know, I'm pretty much a homebody. I'm generally quite content to be at home puttering around, doing housework, crafting, reading, watching television, etc.  This week has taken me out of my comfort zone for a good portion of the time.

I did have a lovely visit with C on Saturday.  I had forgotten (I'm a bad friend) that C isn't able to walk long distances.  She had a serious accident when she was a teenager and broke her back.  We did walk for about 15 minutes in the park, then sat on a bench for a good half hour or better before walking back to the car.  It was overcast and threatening rain but cleared while we were visiting.

This was our view from the bench.

I was quite fascinated by the sheer wall of the bank on the other side of the river.  

On the way back to the car, we spotted this mama deer with three fawns.  The third was trailing behind the others.  The mother appears to be quite thin, as her ribs are showing.

Still showing some spots but they're fading rapidly.

After the park we headed for a Tim Horton's coffee shop where we sat out on the patio and enjoyed a coffee for her, tea for me, and muffins for both.  We caught on all the happenings from over the past couple of years and have agreed we need to get together again soon.

On Sunday morning, I headed to the campaign office of a local candidate for the federal election.  I'd volunteered to deliver pamphlets for drop off in household mailboxes.  It took me eight hours over three days to deliver the handouts.  While I was in the office, I was asked if I would go door knocking with the candidate on Friday evening.  I agreed, on the basis, that I wouldn't be asked to say anything.  I was there for moral support and to hold the pamphlets only.  While I was out delivering, I only had three people give me a hard time (or at least try to), but I didn't actually have to talk to too many people. 

Tuesday evening, we had several storms move through the city with lots of thunder and lightning and hail too.  The north end of the city was hit hard and I've seen photos and video of gardens that were decimated.  Sad, because our growing season is so short and we're so close to harvest.

I went out as the storm was approaching and took a few photos.  As it got closer, it started to sound like a train because it was raining so hard.

The sky got so dark so quickly, and after this shot I headed indoors.  Just in time, too, as the rain and hail started immediately.

I headed out to the back yard early Wednesday morning to check on the plants.  It was a relief to see that there was very little damage.  One of my nicotiana plants had broken off at the stem, but the tomatoes and peppers appeared fine.  I could hear thunder in the distance and a few minutes later, this happened:

Thankfully this storm didn't do any real damage either. I had planned to spend the day outside doing yardwork.  A lot of the perennials are done flowering and dying back so need to be trimmed.  The annual containers need trimming too especially the petunias as they are getting too leggy. 

Since I couldn't be outdoors I gave myself permission to have a lazy day.  I'd walked just over 63,000 steps from Sunday through Tuesday.  I'd fallen once on my travels, banging my knee which bruised but it didn't swell so I kept going. What I didn't immediately realize, and only learned the following morning, was I had pulled a muscle in my back as well.  The knee is fine now, but my back is still giving me some grief.  It's the weirdest things that bother me. Turning over in bed, turning to get out of the car, pulling up my jeans, using a knife to cut through something,  and even a tight hug from my son all have me yelping in pain. Thankfully, it hasn't been bad enough that I've needed any pain meds. 

I had planned to get out in the yard on Thursday after a grocery run, but by the time I was home and had things put away, I was ready to rest.  So instead I finished a book, Catherine Coulter's Blind Side.  It was just an okay book, though I'll admit I enjoyed the beginning more than the end.  The only other thing I'll say is it is apparently hard to kill some people.  When that was finished, I started a to-do list of assorted items to complete around the house.  One of those items was to go through the pantry and choose some things for a Foodbank Drive.  Every fall the Scouts and Girl Guides do a drive and though I'm not certain when it will be, I figured I'd tidy the pantry and pull things we probably won't use.  Do you ever find yourself buying something new and then never use it?  Mea culpa.  I found several cans of soup, a few cans of tomato sauce, two extra bottles of ketchup (who needs 4 bottles of ketchup?), and two boxes of the powdered mashed potatoes.  I do use the scalloped potatoes, but have never tried the mashed - and it isn't something I think I'd like.  With the scalloped I always add a couple more real potatoes...as if that makes it more homemade.  Well, it certainly makes it less wet.  Those two bags are in the garage and will stay there until someone picks it up or until I get tired of it and deliver it to the foodbank myself.

Yesterday, I kept busy in the morning in the kitchen.  I used the first batch of tomatoes to make tomato paste (I have enough cans of tomato sauce in my pantry).  It's a slow process since the tomatoes have to be cooked at a very low temperature but, oh my, does it taste good.  While that was cooking, I cut up strawberries and green pepper and bagged these for the freezer.  I also had a container of spinach to deal with - I froze some for spinach dip, and used the rest to make a cream of spinach and cauliflower soup. The cauliflower was from the freezer, that I had blanched and frozen earlier this spring.  Then I went out and picked the remaining tomatoes and peppers.  While we have no frost forecast in the immediate future, the plants are dying back and I'm ready to quit watering them.

We spent almost three hours on Friday evening, door-knocking.  It all went well, though being a Friday before a long weekend, we missed a lot of people.  Those that were home were receptive for the most part, and only one advised us to move along.  Politely, but firmly.  I don't know that I would do it again, but have agreed to do another info drop in a week or so.  It did allow me to get to know my candidate, to hear him respond to questions and concerns, and get his perspective on the issues.

Today, I'm taking it easy again.  I'm still experiencing some pain from my back.  It should be lovely and warm this afternoon, so I'll head outdoors at some point to read. And if, I'm feeling up to it I'll get some deadheading and pruning done, and pull the remaining pepper and tomato plants.  

Have a good weekend everyone! 

Busy, and a little dizzy

 It's Friday so that means the Worlds women's curling starts today.  I'm both happy and sad, as this will be the last event until next fall, but will be cheering for our Canadian team (Einarson).  Only the Canadian games will be televised, but World Curling has their own Youtube so I'll catch other games there.  

It's been a busy and full week up until now and am looking forward to some downtime as I plop my butt on the couch to watch.  On the past weekend, one of the arms on my glasses fell off.  Thankfully I have second pair that are primarily meant for computer work so I wasn't totally lost without them.  I assumed I'd lost a screw and called the optometrist's office to confirm I could come in and have the glasses repaired on Tuesday.  Since I was going out I decided I'd do my weekly grocery shop then too.

When I arrived at the business, I was asked to put a medical mask over top the mask I was wearing and filled out a slip with my name, time of visit, and contact information (for contact tracing, if necessary). The technician took one look at the frames and told me it wasn't simply a screw missing.  (Insert jokes here). Since I bought the glasses several years ago, she didn't think they had any of the same in stock, but suggested she would check with other locations and call me back.  

I puttered off to do my grocery shopping and back home to put things away.  She called later in the afternoon to let me know there were none available across Canada. My options were to wait until I have my next appointment on May 25 to get new frames and lenses or to purchase new frames that these lenses could be ground down to fit into.  While I am due for my check-up and may end up with a new prescription, I wasn't about to wait as the computer glasses aren't good for distances.  I asked her to check for two or three options that the lenses would fit into and made arrangements to visit the next morning to decide. 

Then I went back to staining the casings around the bedroom and living room windows.  Not my bedroom windows, the crew was able to use the old ones.  No, these would the spare room bedrooms and those windows were replaced in 2010.  Yeah, I've procrastinated for a long time.  I finished the first coat but have held off on the second because climbing the step ladder has ensured I discovered muscles I'd forgotten I had.  Wednesday was a very sore day!

Regardless of the aches and pains I had an appointment that morning to get the snow tires changed out on my car. Just for fun, Mother Nature pranked me by sending down snow for about 15 minutes that morning, big fat flakes of it.  It didn't last though. On Friday we reached a high of 26C (79F), and it's 20C (68F) today at just after noon. 

From the tire shop I walked over to the mall and the optometrist's office.  They had three pairs ready for me to look at.  The first my lenses would have popped right in, but they were a funky green color and I didn't like the way they looked on - just too dark.  The second pair was perfect, but I tried the third on just in to be sure.  Nope, it was the second pair.  They're similar to my original pair, just slightly smaller.  Even better they were less expensive.  I had a wait of about 50 minutes before the glasses would be ready so I walked the mall instead of walking home.  It's about a 20 minute walk to the mall, so I'd have had to turn around and come back anyway. By the time my glasses were ready and properly fitted, the car was ready too.  Perfect timing!

I spent the rest of Wednesday and Thursday on housework.  The entire house was vacuumed, more floors were washed and the bathrooms were scrubbed.  During my breaks (and there were several) I caught up on some more programs I missed in the last couple of weeks.  It was also a day of phone calls, I had a good chat with my friend S, my brother R, and several calls from my daughter.  While I chatting with R I was in the sun room watching the birds feed.  There were at least a dozen birds feeding at one point, until another visitor showed up. 

She/he stood and stared at me for several minutes and only turned around to leave when I went to the door.  What a pretty cat, and based on the quality of it's coat, it's well taken care of...except for being allowed to roam.

Before I settled in to watch curling, I got a pasta salad and a mac & cheese casserole ready.  Later I grilled burgers for dinner to go along with the salad.  The mac & cheese will get eaten along with leftover sausage from Thursday night today.  It's one of my son's favorite meals - I never have to worry about leftovers!

This morning I was up at with the cat alarm (5:45 a.m.).  With the daylight showing up earlier, even with the bedroom curtains drawn, Sasha believes that breakfast should come early.  That's okay, it's nice to get my day off to an early start.  I fed the birds, put away clean dishes, caught up on the news and had a cup of tea before D called for her morning chat.  When we were done, I decided to enjoy my second cup of tea in the sunroom.  Easily distracted, I moved the furniture and cat beds, vacuumed and dusted the room, replaced a couple of the striped towels that were dirty, replaced the furniture and cat beds and sat down to a cold cup of tea.  

The towels are now whizzing around the washing machine, I've watched one draw, and waiting for the second to start.  There are few things I need to do (on the computer) beforehand, so I'll take my lunch and laptop to the sunroom after I post this.  

Have a great week ahead everyone!