This and that, and even more

I won't call this a weekly wrap-up as it keeps getting later and later in the week before I post.  I did blog the other day about prepping for showings.  We have had eight showings in six times, three of them over the past two days and I'm exhausted.  There is the rush of adrenaline as I make sure everything is tidy and ready to go, as I hustle the cats into the car, leave the house about 10 minutes ahead of the showing, and park around the corner out of sight.  I've gotten pretty good at knowing which vehicles are the ones on their way to the house because there is usually two of them.  Then I keep an eye out for those vehicles coming out the crescent so I have an idea when we can go home. 

After the multitude of showings we've had since May, I have to say the cats are doing very well.  Neither even fusses now when I put them in the carriers and take them out to the car.  Saku is not a fan of a moving car, but he settles down quickly once I park.  Sasha sometimes gets a bit vocal but for the most part he's pretty chill about it all.  I buckle their carriers in the back seat of the car, and have found if I put Saku on the right rear seat and Sasha in the left rear seat then I'm out of Sasha's direct line of sight and he's settles right away.  

I was hopeful that the 9 a.m. showing would have resulted in an offer.  This was a second showing and they were in the house for nearly an hour.  The 11 a.m showing cancelled and the 5:45 p.m. showing were in an out of the house in about 10 minutes.  I have my fingers crossed that perhaps this morning's folks had to work on some financing or simply wanted to sleep on it and that there still might be an offer in the works.  I haven't heard a word from my agent - I'm sure I would have had it been a hard no.  

We had a big thunderstorm a week ago, with rain, hail and wind

Thankfully that's not all going on in my life.  A couple of weeks ago, I'd put in an application to volunteer with the local Canadian Cancer society office.  I got an e-mail asking if I would be willing to put in a couple of hours to clean up their flowerbeds.  Absolutely, that is right up my alley!  I spent two hours there on Thursday morning and barely made a dent though I'd half filled a large garbage bag.  The next day I was sore from the all the twisting, kneeling, and bending.  I had thought I might run down on the weekend but it was Monday before I made it back.  I did another 1 1/2 hours and the first bed is about two thirds cleared with another half bag of weeds pulled.  I plan to finish that bed tomorrow and get a start on the side bed.  It feels good to see it looking so much better than when I started.  No photos because I lock my cellphone and my purse in my car while I'm working.   I'll keep going back once a week to keep it up.

I finished crocheting a little girl's sweater using some leftover yarn I had.  It's not quite finished, as I need to add three buttons at the top, and I want to lace ribbon into the sleeves but it's close.  I tried it on my Eli the other day to gauge the size (it was a 4) and I'd say it would fit a four or five year old.  It buttons at the top and flows open and I shortened the sleeves.  I think it will look adorable over a little sundress or Sunday best.  Now I just have to find a little girl to give it too. 

On Tuesday, Eli and D came to visit.  She had a doctor's appointment in the morning so she brought Eli to stay with G'ma.  We had lots of fun, watching Paw Paw (Paw Patrol), reading books, eating blueberries, cranberries, and cookahs, and playing outside.  After D got back we tried feeding Eli a bit of lunch (bad idea considering what he'd eaten already) and then went shopping.  Since October she has been giving me a fixed amount of money each month to cover the mortgage, utility payments, insurance, and property taxes for her house with a little extra on top.  She found a table and four chairs at Jysk for just over $200 so we used some of that extra to pay for it.  It's a cute little table and fits in her dining room perfectly.  Tonight she sent me photos of Eli and his little friend Eli (Elias and Elijah respectively) playing and coloring at the table.

Later we took Eli to the nearby splash pad for some fun.  AND boy did he have fun! This castle was a real hit with him, with it's little slide and spurts of water.  He must have climbed and slid down several dozen times.  He did have to learn the lesson of taking his turn because the park was busy!!!  I don't how I quite managed to get a photo of just him, quite frankly.  

The park also has "dry" playground equipment (as described by one of the other children).  Eli did go and play a little bit on it but he far preferred to play in the water.  I don't blame him because it was hot and the mist off the spouts felt good to me. 

After an hour we headed back to the house and waited for Uncle C to come home from work.  He and Eli had a great time running around in the basement, tickling, and swinging in circles.  Meanwhile I'd had a call from my agent for a 7 p.m. showing so D and I hustled to clean up the debris left behind by a two year old.  They headed home, and before we left the house I'd washed the living room, hallway and spare bedroom floors.  (Remember how I said Tuesday was vacuuming and Wednesday was floor washing...yeah, it all got done on Tuesday!  I'm glad it did because I initially thought I had three showings today so I didn't have to put as much effort into the prep this morning).

I've had another visitor this week.  A fledgling robin must have tried to fly too early.  I initially found it on my front step just before a showing when I took out a bit of garbage.  He/she/it didn't show any real fear of me, and just stayed put.

When we arrived home, it was gone and I thought perhaps it had learned to fly.  But no, it showed up again two days later, this time on the back deck.  It's very cute and I sure hope it survives (I haven't seen the adults for a day or so), but it sure poops a lot!  I had brushed off as much as possible off the front step, but my back deck has a lot of it.  The radar indicates we've got another storm heading our way tonight so with any luck, most of it will get washed off.  Or I'll be out there tomorrow a.m. after I get back from weeding to clean it up.

This afternoon, I went over to the library for stitch,  make, and chat.  I've been meaning to go for some time but kept forgetting the date.  I finally thought to put a reminder into my phone.  Initially I had planned to take the knitting I'd started but that grandson of mine had pulled the needles out.  It's a funky type of yarn and I'm not sure how I would pick up the stitches so I grabbed a ball of yarn, a pattern book, and a crochet hook to take with me.  I met a nice group of women, all were stitching (cross stitch and embroidery), but were very welcoming.  I plan to go back as it was a nice place to sit, relax, and just have a bit of chit chat while I started a afghan.  

Well, this post went on much longer than I had planned. I can hear the thunder in the distance so I'll head outside until it starts to rain before I head back into the sun room to watch the storm.  Have a great rest of the week everyone!