Rain, rain, go away - the weeds won't quit growing!

First things first - the house is SOLD!

Second, Cheryl was correct.  That weird contraption in the photo from Wednesday is a homemade gumball/jellybean machine. I did a Google lens image search to learn this fact, as when I took the photo (at Value Village - good catch, Kim), I had no clue. How they arrived at a price of $7.99 for the item, is beyond me. For the record, I did not buy it. 

Our weird weather has continued. On Sunday morning, we woke to near freezing weather. The airport just on the outskirts of the city registered -1.1C (30F) sometime overnight, though it was slightly warmer in the city proper. The day warmed up nicely, and I spent a couple of hours in the back yard. I got the debris and weeds I'll pulled raked up, sprayed the weeds that were left behind, and started the clean up of the area between the house and garage. (No photos yet, it's still a mess). Argghh...I found more garbage back there, pieces of metal, wood, broken bricks and pavers, hiding under the a/c unit and behind the gate, most of it covered by leaves. I also managed to move the remaining stones out to the front yard. By noon, I was done and ready to enjoy an afternoon of baseball, football and later in the evening, hockey. 

Monday, started off sunny, but clouded over by 9:30 a.m. and then the rain started. In just over an hour we'd had a 11 millimeters of rain (about 4/10ths of an inch). It continued to rain and by day's end we had received 27.4 mm - just over an inch of rain. My attempt at creating a river to run the rain off the front flower bed wasn't quite right, so I had to go out and move a couple of rocks. Note: most of these rocks were moved from the back yard. Just a couple minutes outside and I was soaked! I was so glad I'd gone out early in the morning, and made my grocery run. I spent the afternoon knitting dish cloths and starting another kitchen towel.

On the other hand, Tuesday started out cool'ish and warmed up steadily through the day. I couldn't get out in the back yard, as it was again, a mudpit. I bet you can guess what I did instead. Yep, I went shopping. Now, in my defence I needed to find a bathing suit for later in the week. When I had gone to D's ahead of the listing, I'd taken my bathing suit with me. Since I'm planning to spend July and August with her and Eli, I knew I'd need it for pool and beach time. Well, I was talking to my friend S on the weekend; she was travelling to Saskatchewan on Monday to visit family. We made tentative plans to meet at the hot springs at Manitou Beach later in the week. And then, I realized I had no bathing suit, or at least not a complete suit. I wear two pieces and do have a spare skort. 

I'm finding that trying to live in two places may require duplicates of some things. I'd thought I'd managed to divide my clothing between the two, but it seems some duplicates are going to be needed. That includes some toiletries as well, since I forgot to bring my toothbrush and deoderant when I returned to the city. The former I had extras of and I've raided my travel sized items for the latter. But I did pick up deoderant since the travel versions won't last very long. Question: has deoderant skyrocketed in price where you are? The least expensive version at Walmart(!) was $5.97 on sale - it is the larger size but really?

I chatted with S on Tuesday evening, and we made arrangements to meet at the hot springs Wednesday afternoon. That night I went to bed with a long list of items that I needed to do before I left the city. I'm not certain why, but I feel the need to ensure that everything is tidied and put away before I leave, even for one night. 

Realtor Rob sent me a text asking if we could chat on Wednesday morning. "Oh, oh", I thought - something has come up. In actuality, Rob had received the form to lift the conditions, however the seller's realtor had delivered the deposit cheque one day late and as a result there was another form that needed to be reviewed and signed as well. They have asked, and I agreed, to have the sewer line clean before possession date. D has contacted the local plumber and it will be completed next week. Can I just say how much relief I feel at knowing that in two weeks, I'll be finished with the property? 

Around lunchtime, I drove out to Manitou Beach Resort and Mineral Spa. It was a windy day, and the radio kept announcing the possibility of severe thunderstorms with conditions that might result in tornados - though nothing of the sort came to be in the area. I arrived ahead of check-in time, but they had a room ready so I was able to watch the end of the Blue Jays game and read some of my book before S arrived. She dropped her gear, we got into our bathing suits and headed for the pool. 

I've stolen this photo from the internet as I didn't take my phone. There are three areas to the pool. The one in the foreground is the hot pool, with a temperature of 103F, in the background on the right is the warm pool, temperature 100F, and on the left is the cool pool, temperature of 93F. I'm not sure how they manage the temperatures but there was certainly a noticeable difference between the three areas.

The water is pumped in from Little Manitou Lake, known as the "Dead Sea of Canada". According to an article I found, the waters are high in sodium, magnesium, and potassium salts. I can confirm that one floats very easily in the water, and a shower post soak is necessary to wash off the salt! We spent about and hour and a half in the pool, before heading upstairs to clean up for dinner.  We climbed back into our bathing suits and went for another soak later in the evening. 

According to locals and other visitors, the waters are beneficial for joint paint, arthritus, and skin conditions. I did feel very relaxed after our visits, and if nothing else, we both slept very well that night. After a leisurely breakfast, we headed back to the pool for another good soak. Then it was time to pack and head in opposite directions. We had a wonderful visit, catching up on family matters, travels - past and future, and recalling memories. We realized the last time we'd seen one another in person was our trip to Las Vegas in October, 2019. We won't let that much time pass before our next visit.

I drove home under cloudy skies, and ran into rain off and on, occasionally quite heavy. It was raining as I reached the city, but it had quit by the time I arrived at the house. Saku was happy to see me, and I simply dropped my bag and settled in on the couch. The sun came out by evening.

There was no yardwork completed on Friday. Again, with the rain, the back yard is far too wet. Instead, I caught up on some housework, knitted while watching old episodes of NCIS. So far, I've completed three kitchen towels and four dishcloths - decided to take a break from knitting and picked up a crocheting project. Not sure I like it, so I won't bore you with details at this point. There was baseball and football in the evening to watch as well.

Today, I'm planning to weed the front round flowerbed. Two of the bugleweed perennial ground cover plants are doing well and flowering, while the two darker ones seem to be stuck. The weeds are coming back though nowhere as many as were there before I weeded last. I'll try to keep ahead of them while I'm here. Speaking of weeds, this is a photo of one of my pots of pansies that D sent me. I asked her if she had noticed the weed in front, she had not. :) 

The peonies haven't yet bloomed, but the poppies are about to, and my garden spot is full of small weeds. My work will be cut out for me when I return at the beginning of July. 

I've no other plans for the weekend, though expect I'll entertain myself with baseball and football, and maybe even the final of the Stanley Cup series. I'm not expecting the Edmonton Oilers to win the next game, and they are currently down 3-0 in series, a best of 7 games.

Have a great week ahead everyone!

This is a boring post

It's been a pretty quiet week and had its ups and downs. New Year's Day was quiet and relaxing - I'm pretty certain I spent most of it binge watching old television programs. 

I left the house for the first time in nearly a week on Tuesday, picking up groceries in the morning, having lunch with a friend, and then a little more shopping for household items in the afternoon. One of the windows in the kitchen doesn't close properly and there is a gap that lets in the cold air. I picked up some weather stripping as a stop gap (literally) measure. I've noticed a difference that night so it was an easy fix. 

My former colleague D was in town visiting her sister and daughter so we met for lunch. It was so nice to see her and the conversation and food was very good. We shared photos and stories about our grandchildren, and had some laughs. The restaurant was busy, especially with seniors. After I overheard some snippets of conversation, I realized this was due to the proximity to a medical lab. I'm sure some folks had to fast and were ready for a meal after their appointments.

The following couple of days weren't great, as I started feeling the onset of a cold that evening. I woke about 1:30 a.m. coughing, which didn't stop for some time. When it did ease off I took a dose of Buckley's and was able to sleep again for a couple of hours. The rest of Wednesday was spent mostly on the couch as any kind of activity caused coughing and shortness of breath. That night I took a Buckley's nighttime pill and another dose of cough medicine and slept very well.

Saku was a big help (sort of). He climbed up on my chest and pinned me down. Here he is fast asleep while I rested!

But oh my, my ribs and stomach muscles ached on Thursday. Thankfully the coughing was much reduced but every time a cough came on, I would try to hold it in because it hurt so much. I managed to get my laundry done and then worked on my budget worksheet updating my spending and reconciling my accounts. Meanwhile the junior hockey semi-finals were streaming. Our Canadian team lost out in the quarter finals but I still enjoyed watching the game.

Our winter weather has arrived. It snowed on both Thursday and Friday, and I managed to clear the driveway both days. The first day I was a bit slow, taking breaks to catch my breath. But I was feeling much better on Friday so it went faster, though I ought to have waited until later in the day as it continued to snow through the afternoon. I left it be, and either I or my son will shovel it today.

I caught up on some much needed housework as well, in between the junior hockey games. My bedding was washed, the entire house vacuumed, and my bedroom rug was cleaned of the spots that Saku leaves for me on occasion. The cough hasn't entirely gone away, but it's infrequent and I don't feel short of breath when I exert myself. 

I have no plans for the weekend, I'm sure there will be more television watching, a bit of housework, work on the jigsaw puzzle and I really, really need to work on my crochet and cross-stitch projects. I was feeling some pain in my wrists and forearms after all the crocheting for Christmas. I did a few rows on my sweater while at my daughter's, but the discomfort wasn't completely resolved. I figured a couple more weeks would be helpful. The cross-stitch is easier, but I need good lighting.

See, I told you it was boring. Have a great week ahead everyone!

A week that was

 Again, I must say thank you to everyone for your kind comments on my last post. Chris's friendship meant so much to me and your heartfelt comments were appreciated. I had my good cry on Thursday evening, though I suspect more tears will fall next Wednesday at her funeral, and for now, I am trying to focus on the good memories we made together.

With the exception of the shock of Chris' sudden death, it has been a pretty quiet week. I did a bit of grocery shopping on Tuesday as well as a trip to the thrift store. One of the items I purchased at Value Village was a summer dress; it is the one I'll wear to her funeral. I did make a trip back to the thrift stores on Thursday, mostly to wander the aisles and remember Chris. Since she wasn't there I did buy more yarn. Not that I've run out of yarn for mittens and toques but I'm down to certain colors and I was able to pick up a couple more. 

I'd have to count, but I think I've got ten pairs completed. With the ones I'd left with D in June, I think I'm about half way through this project. I'm using the bits and pieces of the leftovers to make toques, though I've only got one of those done so far. Hopefully I can provide ten or so of those as well.

Wednesday was stitch and chat, with S, B, and I in attendance. I hadn't gone last week because of the cold I was still dealing with, and I learned that Io had been there as well. I'm sorry I missed her. I told the ladies that I'd seem them next week, unless something crazy happened. Well, it did, but since Chris' funeral is Wednesday morning, I'll be able to attend next week's meeting.

While I was out on Thursday, I got my hair cut. And when I say cut, I mean I had it chopped off. I'd let my hair grow out through the pandemic, and kept it tied back in a pony tail as it was a good 5-6 inches below my shoulders. Recently the shedding was driving me crazy - I'd brush my hair in the morning and take a handful out of the brush. Even so, there were more errant pieces that seemed to find their way into my knitting or into the dishwater. It was time for it all to go. Initially, I had thought I might go for a short bob, but decided on a pixie cut. 

It was a good time to get rid of the long hair, as the extreme heat has arrived in earnest and is forecast to hang around for the week or so. It was 28C (82F) on Friday, with the temperature expected to increase daily until we reach a high of 35C (95F) by Tuesday. I'm sure the temps seem mild for some of you, but for us that's freaking hot! 

In advance of the heat, I've done some meal prep so I'm not going to need to do a whole lot of cooking. I expect the grill will be fired up a number of evenings. My son doesn't enjoy potato salad, but I found a recipe with bacon and red pepper that I'll try. He's told me he doesn't like eating cold potatoes so I may be enjoying by myself. 

The landscaper showed up about 5 p.m. on Friday evening to finish off the last few items on the to-do list. When they arrived, I asked if it wasn't quitting time and was told they'd work until midnight, if they had to. (They didn't, nor did they finish) The steps from the lower deck were built and installed, the edge finished along the front of the deck and the boards replaced on the shed. They plan to be back sometime today to finish the last couple of items, to install the edging between the grass and rocks, to repair the step into the shed (it was damaged when they replaced the boards on the shed), and to replace the latch on the gate. They're also going to give me a piece of lattice to cover the bottom of the shed. I'll share photos of the completed space in next week's post.

I had decided not to list the house for a few weeks because of the expected heat. I've no desire to sit in my car with an unhappy cat in the carrier during a heat wave. The forecast has now been revised, and things may be back to more reasonable temperatures by the end of July. If that continues to be the case, I'll be in touch with the real estate agent next week, and with any luck we can hold the open house on the weekend. I do want to have a cleaning crew through before the open house, so it will also depend on when I can get that booked. Decisions, decisions.

I was out early this morning to move some containers around the back yard. The front flower bed got a good soaking too, as there is no rain in the forecast. My ferns are still looking terrific but I suspect a few days of heat will cause them to start dying back. If I can keep them going for another couple of weeks, I'll be happy. 

The rest of my day will revolve around sports. There are three baseball games and two football games being aired and I'll definitely watch the Blue Jays as they play in Seattle, and the Riders game with the B.C. Lions. Another mitten is close to being completed, and then for a change I'll switch to knitting a toque. Beyond that this is very much a nothing day. I had made plans with Chris to go for coffee this morning; she'll definitely be on my mind as well.

Have a great week ahead everyone.

Delayed again, but a good week all round

The week started off well, as spending time with my friend C is always a lot of fun - lots of laughter ensues. We hit a dozen or more garage sales on Sunday and didn't buy a single garage. It's always helpful when a block has several houses participating. My best deal was an almost brand new Black and Decker toaster for $5. I have a toaster oven, but my son doesn't like using it. This toaster is meant for him, though I did use test it out and it works great. I did not buy any yarn, though I was tempted more than once. I had told C before we started, not to let me buy any just in case, but I behaved myself.

Monday morning, I had a text from the landscaper. We'd had a heavy rain (again) the night before and he advised he was going to be delayed for a few days. At least he let me know. I can't remember what I did for the rest of the day, though I pretty certain it involved a jigsaw puzzle, some knitting, and a baseball game. I did manage to pull some items for my garage sale as well.

The following morning, I had to run out to do an errand for my daughter. And of course, since it was Tuesday, and I was out anyway, I decided to hit up the thrift stores. Except I was too early, so I went to the Dollar store first where I picked up a couple of items for use on our camping trip before heading back to Value Village. There I found a 16 quart Coleman cooler for $3.85 after my seniors discount and taxes. I also found a large bag of Lego for Eli. It's one of his favorite activities, so now he'll have some to play with when he visits here. I talked to D, and all of the baby/toddler toys have been set aside for the garage sale.

We had more showers overnight, but just a wee bit of rain in the gauge on Wednesday morning. As you saw in the photo, the tomatoes are starting to develop. These are starts I seeded earlier in the spring. I'm happy they are doing so well. I noticed I have buds on my peppers as well, and though it continues to flower, the sole cucumber isn't growing at all. It was an experiment to see what would happen so I'm not too concerned. 

Wednesday was also stitch and chat. Just S and I were there. She had her first cataract surgery about 3 weeks ago, and the second a week or 10 days later. Now she needs new glasses but couldn't get an appointment with her optometrist until mid-July. As a result she didn't get a whole lot of stitching done, but we had a good chat. I had started a mitten before I left home, and came close to finishing it. 

We needed a few groceries so I took care of that on Thursday. I picked up a decent sized watermelon at Co-op for less than $5. When I mentioned it to my son that evening, he told me he doesn't like watermelon! I know my daughter doesn't care for it either - they both say they don't think it has much flavor and dislike the texture. I've already eaten half of the melon so it won't last long.  

On Friday morning, I drove out to my brother's to pick up the camping mats. We sat and had tea on the veranda before we took a walk around the yard. There were a number of birds to be seen and occasionally just heard as we visited. A Cat bird was calling, a western King bird flew by several times, an Oriole went to the feeder in the front yard, and a purple Martin made an appearance. (I can thank R for identifying each of them for me.) I got photos of none of these, but did capture a shot of the hummingbird visiting the feeder hanging on the veranda.

After a couple of cups of a tea and a chat, I prepared to head home. Before I left, we went out to the garage/shop where R had built a couple of Adirondack chairs. He took careful measurements of the chair they own, made patterns out of rough lumber, and used these to cut the pieces of the chair. One of the chairs was created using old cabinet doors and the second from lumber salvaged from a friend's tear-down of an old porch. The first is quite lightweight but still solid. The second is heavy and he plans to gift it to his friend.

From there we headed out to the garden their friend M planted. She lives in the city and R or his daughter L water it for her. They don't weed it though, and it appears a lot didn't germinate. She's planning to re-seed next week as she is staying at the farm for two weeks while the family is off on their Iceland adventures. On our way to the garden, R spotted this frog. I could not see it in the grass until he pointed it out. 

It certainly is camouflaged well in the grass. When we walked back to the house, it didn't even move.

Back at home I finished the jigsaw puzzle I'd bought at a garage sale on the weekend. I purchased it because it referenced 100 chickens and a worm on the box; both C and I looked over the picture on the box, but neither of us could find the worm...so I had to buy it to try to find the darned worm. I did not count the chickens, nor was I able to find the worm either. Even though it is missing three pieces, I've told C I'm giving it to her and she can hunt for it.

I never heard another word from the landscaper. I'll give him the weekend, and then I plan to phone him on Monday morning to (hopefully) get a straight answer as to when I can expect him here. I realize it isn't a large job but still I want it done, and done soon.

There was some housework completed this week, though I must admit to slacking off somewhat. The major task was replacing the paper on top of the kitchen cabinets. I learned this hack from another blogger, who sadly isn't with us anymore, and it sure helps to keep the dust off the top of the cabinets. With all the drywall dust it was a much needed task.

Instead, I spent more time on Ancestry. The 1931 census records are now available and the hints are populating. I haven't had much luck with close family members (yet) as the detailed information is slowing being added to the database. I can search by location rather than name - but specifically with my great-grandparents, I'm not certain where they were living. I turned my attention to earlier members of the family and was excited to find a newspaper notice for my 3X great grandmother's death. Published in December, 1886, in Scotland, it provided the date of her death. 

It also provides a clue as to the occupation of my 3X great-grandfather. I've learned that a carrier regularly delivered goods between towns and villages. 

I also located in a Canadian newspaper a notice of my great-grandparents marriage in 1889. Mary Adamson was my great-grandfather's maternal grandmother. His paternal side of the family continues to be a mystery.

Today is going to be another restful day. I'll putter on Ancestry to see what else I might find, there is football and baseball to watch, and I'll continue my mitten knitting. I've got the first mitt of a fourth pair on the needles. There are "mom burgers" thawing in refridgerator for tonight's dinner, and I've got pasta cooking on the stove for a salad. I hop you are all enjoying the start of your weekend too.

Have a wonderful week ahead!

Ups and downs

 A mostly routine week was had, with the exception of additional driving. My friend C (whose mom passed away in December) had her car break down on her last week on the highway. She waited nearly two hours for a tow truck, before she had it towed to a local garage for service. Sadly the work that needed to be done would have cost more than the (used) car had cost her on purchase. She called me on Saturday to ask if I could take her for groceries and to check out another vehicle. 

I found out she had taken an Uber to work both Thursday and Friday, and suggested I could help out by driving her to and from work for a week or so until she got another vehicle straightened out. She happily agreed and gave me money to fill the gas tank. We did look at the vehicle and while it was a cute little car, we agreed it needed to be checked out by her mechanic before she decided. That happened Tuesday, and to be honest, I wasn't entirely surprised to learn that it too, required a lot of work. So that was a no go.

By Friday, she had found another vehicle through a good friend, and she's hopeful this will pan out. In the meantime I'm prepared to drive her to and from work for a few days next week. However, this weekend she'll have to find another means of transportation as I have come down with a miserable cold. Testing indicates negative for Covid. 

I didn't start feeling poorly until Thursday afternoon, so did get to Stitch and Chat on Wednesday. We had the three current regulars, as well as a lovely young woman who is teaching herself to crochet. I'm not sure we were much help to her as we all hold our hooks and yarn differently but we did offer some suggestions. A is currently on maternity leave for the next couple of months, and as well as being a new mom, is taking university classes in Education. one of her courses challenges her to learn something new that she's always wanted to learn. She chose crochet. I don't think we frightened her away as she mentioned she would be back next week. 

Other than that it was a pretty quiet week, lots of curling to watch, the regular housework, and I continued the declutter of the craft room. The photo on Wednesday is the result of purchasing new see-through storage containers for some of the yarn. I do need to pick up three more, I think. I sorted the yarn by color, and it will make it much easier to find what I'm looking for with the clear containers. 

The weather has been quite cold in the morning and warming sufficiently through the afternoon to allow for some melting. As a result my street is full of ruts, none of which are down to the pavement just yet. Driving down the street at any speed is like riding a mechanical bull. Even at the slowest speed one is tossed back and forth. Of course at the end of the crescent is a lovely small lake in the afternoon, which freezes into a true mess by morning. I suspect there is a drain that needs to be opened, but I'm not going looking for it.  I'm glad to see the melting, as I did have a fall earlier in the week when I walked to the mailbox. I was almost back on the sidewalk when my feet went out from under me, I landed on my back and my head hit the sidewalk. Luckily I didn't land hard and except for a pulled muscle in my neck, I was fine. 

Our Canadian women won their game overnight - I had PVR'ed it and watched it this morning, and will be on the ice again in about 15 minutes. So I'll be settled on the couch watching and hoping they make it to the final. If not, I believethey'll be in the bronze medal game. Other than that I've no plans for the rest of the weekend. 

I'll leave you with two very different photos. The one on the left was taken on this date two years ago. My post on FB tells me, it was raining with snow on the forecast overnight, but a high of 14C (57F) the following day.

The next photo was taken today, no snow in the forecast but temperatures not expected to reach above the freezing mark for a week or ten days. 

I bet you can guess which view I'd prefer!  

Have a great week ahead everyone. 

Black beans, a birthday, and birds

It was a relatively quiet week, if one doesn't consider the time I spent with my daughter and grandson. It is anything but quiet in their home. More on that later, but first a tale of a slightly different kind.

My younger brother found a recipe for black bean burgers a few weeks ago. He made up the full amount (which included two cans of black beans). He enjoyed them so much that he ate three burgers in one sitting. Apparently the following day was rather noisy. I decided they sounded good and knowing the potential outcome chose to make a half batch (three burgers in total). I've been wanting to have one meatless meal a week though my son is not vegetable friendly.

So Monday I made up the burgers and baked them for dinner that evening. While they looked, in my son's words, like something a dog had heaved up, they smelled very good. However, neither of us cared for them and neither of us ate the leftover burger. They were very dry and despite the spices tasted like dusty beans. Not good. What I will say, is the beans did their job, and I didn't leave the house until late morning on Tuesday. I've tossed the last burger the freezer, in case I'm feeling backed up in the future - though I think I'll only eat half of it at a time.

I did a few errands on Tuesday - one to the bank that turned out to be rather frustrating. When Eli was born, I set up an account for him and I've been putting away a little money every couple of months into the account for his future education or some other important purpose in his life. The bank has decided that these children's accounts are no longer profitable (my words, not theirs), so I've been advised that I must open another account by April 3, or the funds will be refunded to me.

Sounds pretty simple, right? Open a new account, transfer the funds and close the old one. Ha! First off, I could not open the account at the counter - I would need to speak to another representative. Back to the front reception, where I learned that in order to keep the account registered as Eli's account, I would need to bring him into the branch. I explained he is only 6 years old and lives out of the city. Didn't matter...okay, so can I close the account and set up one in my name only. Yes, I can do that - which means I can close the account when he isn't there but not open one unless he is. Of course, opening the new account means fees, unlike the old one. Then the conversation took an even more frustrating turn - could I open the account that day - no I had to make an appointment to meet with someone in the branch. Earliest appointment - 2 p.m. on March 16th!!! I accepted the appointment as I had no other choice, but I must admit there have been thoughts of finding another, more customer service driven institution. Is there such a thing anymore? I would note, I worked at this bank back in the 1980's and as a teller/customer service rep, I would have handled all of these tasks at my wicket in a short amount of time. 

Thankfully, I had made plans to meet with my friend C for a coffee that afternoon. She is continuing to struggle with her grief and needs the company. We did a dollar store run for fun, and then went for coffee and a donut. She's considering seeing a grief counsellor - which I think is a great idea, and will be starting a new full-time job on Monday. If nothing else, the work will keep her mind off things for a bit and make life seem a bit more normal. 

Travel day was Wednesday, but first up was stitch and chat. However, no one else showed up, so I headed out earlier than I had originally planned. I was there in time, for his mom and I to pick up Eli at school. There was some very exciting news: His birthday was announced over the intercom that morning. Although his birthday was Thursday, he didn't have school that day.

School days are tiring for him, so the evening was rather tame, dinner and some cartoons on the television. He, as always, chose to sleep with me and didn't even want any bed time stories. Instead he showed me some photos he had taken on his camera and then we tucked and went to sleep. When he woke the following morning, I asked him what day it was, and immediately he said,"my birthday!". 

His mom had been up much earlier and put his gifts on the couch for him. He opened one, a set of Nerf gun "sniper" rifles and was done for a bit. Later he opened the last couple gifts - including new swim trunks, Mario socks, and a couple of books from G'ma and Uncle C. He had a wonderful day, stayed in his pj's all day, watched cartoons and played his video games (recall my comment about the noise), enjoyed a dinner of his choice, and ended it all with a sparkler on a cupcake his mother baked. 

While he was doing his thing, his mom and I did some organizing and cleaning in the house. We also got her tax return completed and submitted. That made her very happy. Since I had my laptop, I was able to putter on it too, putting in some time on Ancestry and reading blogs. Bedtime came early that night, and I read Eli the books he'd received and again, he was out like a light. 

I got away shortly after lunch the following day, and spent the afternoon relaxing on my couch. I don't particularly sleep well with a wriggling child in the same bed. My daughter doesn't sleep well either, and if often up in the middle of the night and/or early in the morning, so my sleep is often disturbed. I watched the first draw of Brier curling in bed that evening, and was asleep soon after it was completed. 

Today, I've cleaned cat litter, fed the birds and started the laundry. The next curling draw starts at 1 p.m. so I think I'll settle in on the couch with some crocheting and watch a couple of PVR'ed television programs. I've pulled out a UFO (unfinished object) from a year or so ago, and will use some additional yarn I've bought from the thrift store to (perhaps) complete it. Eli's sweater needs a bit more finishing, but I've set that aside for now. I still need to buy a zipper to complete it, but I'm happy to say it is big on him so as long as it is ready by fall, all is good.

I'll leave you with a photo taken from out the front window this morning of two Hungarian partridges settled in by the everygreen. I'm seeing them in pairs now, not the gaggle of six or eight I'm accustomed to. Do I dare hope this is a sign of spring?

Things happen

Wednesday's photo was sent to me by my daughter. I should note, the house she lives in is over 110 years old. We were chatting on the phone one day, in the late afternoon, and suddenly a piece of plaster fell from the kitchen ceiling. There has been a lot of freeze/thaw in her area (and mine) over the last few days. The roof above her kitchen has a steep pitch with a eaves trough on the peak. That's seems like an odd place for eaves trough to me. In any event the trough isn't draining off the side of the house and large icicles have formed. There is also a very old antenna on that part of the roof, and I suspect that in the winds, it may have lifted some of the shingles allowing the melt to make its way into the house. We won't know for certain for awhile yet, as the roofers in town are busy and she's not been able to get anyone out to look at it just yet. Fingers crossed, next week. In the meantime, there hasn't been much more leaking.

It's been a full week here, I was in a cleaning frenzy for a couple of days. It isn't as though I don't regularly clean and tidy, but on these days I completed what would normally take me the full week. It was almost like those weekend cleaning sprees when I was working because I was too tired during the week to do much in the evenings. 

On Tuesday, I picked up my friend C to do a bit of thrift shopping. We went to Value Village and Salvation Army before enjoying a coffee and sandwich at Tim Hortons. She scored a lovely purse for $3.66 at V.V. I found divider plates for Eli, two Easter egg kits to paint for Eli, a glass cake pan for me, and of course, more yarn for less than $20. After our lunch, we headed to her mom's house as she wanted me to look through a box of knitting patterns - I found two that I thought I might be able to use. She and her brother have been busy packing things up, and preparing to move, sell, donate or toss their mother's furniture and furnishing. They've cleared out a lot, and everything that is left has been moved to the living room, kitchen and garage. There are a lot of memories in those rooms. C showed me some of her baby clothing, sweet hand knitted or sewn items that her mother or grandmother had made for her. They've set a deadline of March 15 to have the house cleared so they can have it cleaned, and put up for sale. 

I've also spent some time working on Ancestry. I don't know if I've mentioned that I received my results from the DNA test. There were no surprises from the breakdown of countries of origin - primarily Ireland, Scotland, England, a wee bit of Wales and Germany. I had hoped that the test might crack open the mystery of my materna great-great grandfather who emigrated from Scotland. Sadly, that hasn't happened (yet - hope springs eternal, right?), instead I've had several messages from distant relatives on my father's side of the tree. One of those messages added a whole lot of information to my tree, so I've been working through these new additions. I try not to spend more than a couple of hours a day at it, because I start getting confused by all the detail. I still need to go through the DNA connections but there are over 400 of them, so I'm feeling a little overwhelmed and not certain where exactly I'll start. I do know many of them, have no or private family trees, so I probably won't get any more information from them.

My other project this week is continuing to work on the counted cross stitch. I work on it in the afternoon while the light is good. At stitch and chat on Wednesday I got a good 90 minutes in. There were three of us there, me, I, and R. Apparently R has been there previously about 4 years ago, so prior to my attendance and the two women had also attended the same church. R's husband passed away, she moved from their home into a condo, and as she said, "life got in the way". She told us at the end of the afternoon, that she'd be back next week with her friend W. I do enjoy my chats with I, but having a few more ladies there will be nice too.

Friday, I needed to run out to pick up some cat litter and bird seed, and decided to stop by the salon to see if I could get a walk-in appointment. I walked out a half-hour later, feeling human again, after she cut off about 5-6 inches of hair. It is now just below my shoulders so I can still pull it back as need be. Oh, and I remembered the bird seed but not the cat litter, so I'll add it to the list for my grocery day next week. 

Of course, I've been watching curling too. The men's provincial events for both Manitoba and Alberta have been streaming on You-tube. I haven't watched all the games, as I don't know several of the teams. I've managed to catch two or three draws a day, with the most interesting game last night. I went to bed at what I thought was the end of the game, assuming a certain team had lost. When I checked the scores this morning I discovered they had not, and had won in the extra end. Huh...I saw the last shot of the 10th? So I pulled up the video and discovered that a measure had determined they had the shot rock after all, and tied the game, which meant an extra end. They stole a point and won and are off to the play-offs against another popular team. That game will be played this evening, and you can bet I won't go to bed until the winner is declared. :)

Today will be much the same, some curling - Manitoba games are starting up in a few minutes, some stitching, some housework between draws, and maybe a bit of knitting. I'm sure I'll have the sun room open for the cat later today, as our temperature is expected to reach the freezing point. With the sun streaming in, the room warms up nicely. I may even take my laptop (the WiFi works there) and my stitching and join him.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Regular programming

Wow, this week sped by, and it is February already. We're less than 11 months away from Christmas. Okay, that was my weak attempt at humour for the morning. Let's move on, shall we?

Last Sunday was filled with phone calls from my daughter, my son, and a friend and a long visit here with another friend. There was curling happening too, so it was a full day! The friend who came to visit, is the one whose mom passed away just after Christmas. I remember when my parents passed, I needed to just talk to someone and go through all the moments. So we sat, and she did most of the talking. There were tears but also some laughter. C is/was very close to her mother and they spent a great deal of time together. As expected, she is feeling quite lost. I totally understand it - I saw her yesterday and we've made arrangements to get together again next week. 

I left Regina about 8:30 a.m. on Monday, in absolutely brutally cold weather. It was about -27C(-17F), but the wind chill made it feel closer to -40C/F. When I arrived, D and I unloaded the vehicle quickly, plugged it in, and headed indoors for the day. The hug from Eli was worth the drive!

We spent that day just puttering around the house. I got some knitting done while watching videos with Eli, and D and I did some tidying of her dining room table. It tends to be a dumping ground. In the photo, Eli was relaxing on my mat with Stanley after D and I did our stretching exercises together.

Tuesday morning, my car would not start and we had errands planned. I called CAA and after a quick boost we were headed out. We picked up her groceries (ordered on-line), and dropped D off at one of the stores nearby while Eli and I drove around to warm up the car. We got back and sat in the car while she shopped, and I noticed that just sitting with the car running in that cold, that the temperature of the engine was actually dropping. Our last stop was McD's to pick up lunch and then we were headed home.

I was ready for a quick nap, as Eli had slept with me the night before. D worried that I wouldn't be able to sleep with the noise but she needn't have been concerned. Forty five minutes later I woke up feeling refreshed. That afternoon she made dough for doughnuts in her air fryer and before dinner, she and I fried them up using her cast iron skillet. Yum!

Wednesday morning, about 8 a.m. I started the car with no issues. I let it warm up and had it packed and ready to go within 15 minutes. Lots of hugs before I left. My follow-up mammogram was scheduled for noon, so I stopped at home to unload and relax for a bit. The scan went well, no need for an ultrasound, so I'm feeling assured that whatever they thought they saw back in July and August was nothing to worry about. Definitely a relief!

The next day was another cold day, so I stayed at home and got caught up on some housework. Oh, and watched curling as well. The men's provincial Tankard began Wednesday evening and continues until tomorrow. With three draws a day (except Sunday), I've had to plan out my chores around the curling schedule. I do sit and cross stitch while I watch during the afternoon, so I'm somewhat productive. :)

Hence, grocery shopping on Friday didn't happen until after the first draw. There were some decent sales out there to be had - 10 pounds of potatoes for $4.99 was one, and I filled the holes in the pantry, fridge and freezer, all while staying within my alloted amount. I did splurge and pick up a jigsaw puzzle, on sale for $5.99. Patsy has inspired me to try another one - the Christmas attempt failed miserably. She zips through puzzles in a few days, I'm sure this will take me a few weeks.

Today, I'll be watching curling, doing some stitching and maybe some knitting. The weather has done a complete 180 - we're sitting at -4C(25F) this morning with a expected high of -2C(28F). Of course, there will be snow to add to the accumulation but I'll wait until Sunday to clear the driveway. No reason for either my son or I to go anywhere ...at least that I know of.  Oh, some wonderful news too from this week. C received his promotion on the 2nd. He's officially moved from one division to another. This momma is very proud.

Enough chatter from me. Have a wonderful weekend everyone! I do hope the weather is improving for all of us. While one of the groundhogs suggested just six more weeks of winter in parts of Canada, I highly doubt that will be true for here. But spring is closer than ever, whether it is weeks or still a few months away.

Ending the week on a high note

I started this post Friday evening, managed one paragraph before I gave in to the need to go to sleep. It was only 7 p.m., but I'd got under 5 hours of sleep the night before, and with just a couple of brief moments of wakefulness through the night I slept until 7 a.m.  I was definitely tired. I scrubbed my original paragraph as it didn't make a whole lot of sense. 

So back to regularly scheduled programming.  This week was pretty quiet as I remained under my self-imposed, just to be cautious, isolation until Thursday. I spent most of my time doing housework, knitting/crocheting while watching television, along with a bit of reading out on the front patio, and listening to podcasts while doing my walks indoors. 

Since the weather is still lovely, I haven't yet cleared out the containers.  One morning I went out and took some photos of the various flowers.

The impatiens is my bellwether - when we have a frost that causes it to die back, I'll do my yard clean-up.

In the backyard, my trees have shed most of their leaves.  The hanging basket of petunias is looking straggly, even after it's recent haircut.

The dahlia, that I rescued half-dead from the garden center, started blooming about two weeks ago.  I'm hopeful, I'll be able to over-winter it this year and enjoy it again next year.

The marigolds are showing their sunny faces, now that the tomato plants have been pulled from the containers. 

Lastly, these petunias are interesting to me.  The splashes of white differ so much and the only bloom doesn't have any.  I wonder if that has something to do with the weather or simply a natural progression as the plant ages.

On the creative side of things, I've finished knitting the market bag I started last week, though it still needs to be sewn up. I also finished knitting my first scarf - I'm using up remnants or balls of yarn I got on deep discount. I've started crocheting a second, but based on the amount of yarn, it will likely be a cowl rather than a scarf.  From last week, I made a little troll to sit on my tiered tray.  Again, I used a small dollar store wood block sign as the base.  The little hat is a piece of a felt scarf, the beard are pieces from a mop head, with a wooden bead for the nose.  

The little gift packages are made from dollar store tumbling blocks and small wooden blocks. I glued the blocks together, painted, and tied and glued on the ribbons.  They'll be added to the wheelbarrow that currently holds fall flowers and mini-pumpkins.  

Set free on Thursday, I did my grocery shopping and made a stop at Value Village.  I found more yarn for scarves (I think enough to make two), a set of knitting needles, a pair of photo mats, and a bag of Jenga blocks, all for less than $11 including the taxes.  At this rate, I'll never use up all the yarn in my stash but the color and amount of yarn was too good to pass up.  

Friday, despite the lack of sleep, was a very good day.  I did some housework, caught up on some television programs, and then spent the afternoon with my friend K.  It's been a very long time since we've spent time together, though we've talked on the phone occasionally, so there was lots to catch up on and lots to discuss.  She returned the container I filled with goodies last Christmas, and a book I'd lent her, and she left with a box of books.  There were several she hasn't yet read, and they'll all be added to the two boxes of her own for the book sale she and J volunteer at each year (the last sale was in 2019). We solved many of the world's problems, though I suspect no one is listening to us, and enjoyed the sun and warmth on the back deck. 

Today is another busy sports day.  I had the replay of the football game from last night (not our home team) this morning, and there two more games later today including the Riders.  There are also several curling events going on, and I may be able to fit in a live stream or two. :)

I'm going to head out for a walk shortly, the temperature is sitting around 9C (48F) so it will be fresh and lovely out there. There are several fires north of us, and the smoke seems to be headed this way.  I was chatting with Eli this morning on video chat and D took us outdoors to show the haze.  She says it smells like a campfire. I hope it passes us by.

Take care everyone, stay well.  And thank you again for the expressions of concern for D and Eli.  

Much ado, hopefully about nothing

 Another week is nearly in the books.  AND I actually finished reading another book this week. 

My reading has really decreased in the last year and when I do pick one up, I remember how much I enjoy reading. Of course, then I finish one and don't immediately start another. 

This was a James Patterson book I picked up at the thrift store, titled "Mistress".  I'm not certain I've read many of his books before, but I do know that his books are quite popular.

I must admit, I almost didn't read it because it started out rather oddly.  The description of the protagonist, Ben "isn't like most people. Unable to control his racing thoughts" was an understatement.  It took me a couple of chapters to get into the story because his thoughts take him down some strange paths.  After a bit of reading, that quirk didn't seem quite so strange.  My daughter often talks about her thoughts spinning out in different directions, and I suspect I was given some insight into how her brain works too.

The story of a death of a woman Ben loves/loved in the heart of Washington, D.C. takes the reader on a race with him to identify the killer(s) before he suffers the same fate. As you might imagine, by the title, there is far more to this book than a simple murder.  There are scenes in the book that seem almost improbable, but also possible, based on what we see playing out on television.  I won't give away more of the plot, but will say I did enjoy the book and would definitely read another novel by this author again.

Back to my daughter, she called today (as she does every morning) to let me know she and Eli will be tested for Covid today.  He woke up ill yesterday, she isn't feeling well herself today, so she called the Healthline this morning first thing.  Both are coughing, Eli is a bit lethargic, but neither have a temperature so I have my fingers crossed the tests will be negative.  I haven't had any symptoms but will stay home until their results come in.  Our province is backed up due to the significant number of tests being performed so I suspect that won't be for three to five days.  Our province is second only to Alberta in the cases per 100,000 people, our hospitalization rates are higher than ever before and we've lost sixty two people to Covid in the month of September alone. That's almost 10% of the total deaths to Covid since this all started and the month isn't over yet. (Since I've posted, she hasn't yet heard back so is expecting they may have to wait until Monday to get their tests.)

Back at home, and I truly mean that - I'm not venturing far these days - I had a quiet week.  I stocked up on groceries on Thursday and shouldn't need anything until late this upcoming week or hopefully into the next.  The weather has been up and down all week, hot one day, cool the next, and in fact we had frost on Friday morning, though everything is still looking fine today.  I went out to water since we're not expecting any really cool weather until next week sometime now.  I must admit I'm a bit tired of it, and was thinking I'd pull the plants this weekend but everything is looking so good I hate to do it.  At least, I'm only having to water every three days or so as they're not quite as thirsty as they once were. 

Besides housework, I've been spending a lot of time watching curling. There have been at four draws a day, starting early in the morning, though I've missed most of those draws.  The number of teams eligible for entry to the curling trials for determining our Canadian representative for the Olympics is quite large this year with over 60 teams (both men and women) in contention.  Normally they would have earned their way into the trials by winning points at various events over the past year and a few did so winning the Brier and the Scotties.  But since many of the qualifying events were not held because of the pandemic, Curling Canada are now holding several pre-trial events.  This week the are two events being held at the the same time, the Pre-Trial Direct Entry and the Direct Entry.  I believe the Direct Entry winners will go onto the trials (that seems to make most sense to me), the losers of the Direct Entry event and the winners of the Pre-trial Direct Entry will participate in October for the last of the spots available - I think there will be two men's and two women's out of that spiel.  In total nine men's and nine women's team will vie for the Olympic berth.  The Roar (the curling trials) are being held in Saskatoon at the end of November.  I'd love to attend because this event brings the best teams to the event, but I suspect I'll be parked on my couch watching every draw. In the meantime the Curling Zone has been live streaming the events on You-tube.  So I can keep track of the baseball and football on television, while watching the curling on my laptop.  Can you tell I'm a happy girl?    

In between draws I've been getting my housework done, and playing in my craft room.  I haven't any finishes just yet...lots of things are nearing completion so I'll share them next week.  While I'm sitting I'm continuing to work on the crocheted flower hexagons and have started knitting another market bag.  I ran out of one the colors of yarn I need for the flowers, and when I stopped at Michaels this week, they are out of that particular color but expecting a new order this week or next.  I'll keep an eye out on-line and will order for pick-up.  I am using up a lot of leftover skeins of yarn so a couple more will ensure those bits and bobs get used up.

Today, my friend S is on my mind.  Her mother passed away a week ago in a for-profit long term care home in Alberta. The funeral will be held today in her hometown in Saskatchewan.  S lives about 90 minutes from her mom's care home, and she would often call as she was making the drive and we would chat for part of her drive.  I'll miss those calls, though I'm sure we'll find other times and reasons to chat.  I won't get into the details of her mom's death, but S and I have come to the conclusion we wouldn't want to live out our days in a for-profit LTC...suffice to say that the lack of care was evident.  

Well, I hate to end this post on such a negative point.  So, I'll share a silly story from earlier this week.  I wash the supper dishes in the evening, and as mom would have said, I let God dry them overnight.  While I chat with D, I put them away in the cupboard and clean the sinks.  One morning, as I was cleaning the drain I noticed a dead spider in the sink.  First off, I hate spiders worse than any other bug.  They totally scare the daylights out of me, dead or alive.  So after a minor melt down I gathered up the spider in a paper towel and put in the garbage.  Then, because I didn't know whether it had touched anything in the sink I re-washed everything I'd washed the night before.  Serves me right for not using the drain board, but there weren't that many items since I'd done them earlier in the day.  I do have a dishwasher, but it would take a couple of weekdays to fill it, so only use it about once every two weeks to keep the seals from drying out and to eliminate any smell from the drain. I may have to re-think that decision should any more critters come crawling into the sink.  Ewwwww!

It's an absolutely beautiful fall day here, the sun is shining, with a light breeze.  I have an hour or so before the next draw, so I think I'll head outdoors and read on the patio.  Enjoy your 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!