Good time in the city, back to the yardwork at home

I had a good trip to the city, a lovely visit with my son, his roommate B, grand-dog Sage, and three of B's five kitties. (The other two would have nothing to do with me). One of the cats, Kota, decided he was my cat. At one point, he even jumped out of B's lap to come running to me as I came through the door. He also liked to spend time with me in my room though could be coaxed out by shaking a bag of treats. That also brought three others to the door. :) Yes, Kota is a black and white cat who looks a bit like Saku.

B and I went shopping on Monday morning to Costco as I needed some dry goods for home, and we picked up meat for their freezer. They should be set for a couple of months. We made a stop at Pet Valu for B to pick up cat litter, and then Home Depot, where I picked up C's Christmas gift. I'd promised to purchase a snow blower last year for him, but couldn't get him to tell me which one he would like. So this year, I said to heck with it and bought a Toro. It has good/decent reviews and as it was the last one available at the store the price was right. I'm sure they were clearing it out for the new models. The Farmers Almanac is forecasting a cold and snowy winter ahead. 

B suggested we go for lunch at Boston Pizza, which was right beside Home Depot. We had a really nice chat, while I've known her for a number of years, I haven't really sat down and talked with her. 

When we arrived back at the house, C was out on the deck and he helped unload the vehicle. Then I was off to the hairdresser to get my hair cut. What a relief! It's been getting shaggy and I am not talented enough to cut my own. (Looking at you, Patsy). My final stop was Walmart where I purchased C's birthday gift. B had shared that he really wanted a wok. While I will be back in the city in October, I figured he could use it now. 

In fact, within an hour of arriving back at the house, he had the wok seasoned, meat marinating in the fridge and the rice cooking in the rice cooker. He watches a lot of cooking shows, one of which has two chefs that have worked in Michelin star restaurants. These guys are fun to watch, because they can put together an amazing meal together in short order with pretty much anything. He has learned, and I had no idea, that after cooking the rice is spread out on a cookie sheet and allowed to dry. I've always just put the pot in the fridge and left it over night....and I used Minute Rice, not long grain. :) 

I didn't get to enjoy the meal, as I left mid-morning Tuesday to return home. The day was hot, by 11 a.m. it was 27C/80F and I didn't want to drive in the heat of the day. It reached a high of 32C/90F but with the humidity felt even hotter. D and Eli came out to help me unload the vehicle and other than watering plants I stayed indoors until the tree guy arrived. We had the evergreen removed, as well as the two cedars against the house, and several branches removed that were hanging over the power line. D has been concerned about those, as she has experienced an ice storm here a few years ago. In less than an hour the guys had done their work, cleaned up the majority of the debris (there are dry needles from the cedars left for me), and had everything loaded in the trailer for removal to the dump. They even took the seven bags of garden waste that I've gathered up over the summer.

This is area in front of the tent gazebo. The path leads to the front yard. It gets a fair amount of sun in the afternoon but the only thing growing there (besides the old evergreen) is weeds. D is planning to put up poles to hold a line. It can be used as a clothes line but also can be used to hold various apparatus for Eli to play on. That's a next year project.

The two cedars, the tall one and a globe cedar were too close to the house. Debris from the taller one was collecting in the gutters as well. 

Wednesday was hot, though slightly cooler than Tuesday as we got some rain. I spent the first part of the day outside cleaning up debris from the cedars. That's the second bag up against the foundation. I want to move out those rocks and will allow the day lilies to fill in much of the area. 

D ran some errands in the morning and she and Eli went to the library in the afternoon. Before they left for the library, they followed me to the car dealership where I left my SUV for the installation of a front and rear dashcam. They were back from the library a half hour or so, and the dealership called to say the car was ready to go. I was able to sync my phone to the camera but have no clue how it works. I guess I'll have to read the manual. :p

Thursday was a quiet day, and Friday was much busier. We went into the next door town where I picked up a small laptop as a back-up for my current machine. We also made a stop at the book store, where D picked up four more books of a series for Eli using one of my old gift cards. She's been reading the first two books to him, and he's gotten in to the series. There are dragon masters!

At lunchtime we headed to the library for their free BBQ, where Eli and I shared a hotdog. 

There was a presentation on fire safety inside the library, and outside, children were allowed to climb into the truck, and push the buttons for the sirens. He enjoyed that, a lot!

Next up we went next door to City Hall for the "Escape Room". D had booked it for the three of us. We had a rocky start, as we didn't clue on the clues in the audio recording we listened to upon entering the room. However, the staff gave us a hint and we started working our way through. It took a couple more helpful hints before we "made our escape". In fact, we weren't locked in and could have left at any time. While we had 30 minutes, we finished in just over 20 minutes. I think Eli enjoyed it, and though I have no idea how D figured out some of the clues, it was a nice way to spend time with my family.

We had quite high winds on Friday as well, and our poor tomato plants were blown over several times. One of the containers landed on a container of peppers. I had to stake the peppers and tie them up before D and I moved the tomatoes to another spot in the yard. Even then, we found the containers blown over more than once. I'm not certain how much damage was done to the branches, time will tell.

Today, with the cooler weather we're planning to put a pork loin in to the slow cooker for pulled pork. D will bake buns, and we're also going to cook up sausage rounds to make breakfast sandwiches for the freezer. If, and I do mean if, we are feeling especially productive, we may make perogies. Or at least I'll cook the potatoes so we can make them later this weekend or early next week. 

One last note: today would have been my Dad's 115th birthday. He always wanted to reach 100, but left us a few weeks after his 98th birthday. He'll be in my heart and mind today, as always.

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Transition time

Wednesday's photo was taken at the local rodeo event on Sunday. For $5, a child could ride on a Shetland pony or the donkey, and he chose the donkey. Understandable to me, as the two ponies were a bit of a handful for their workers. The donkey was far friendlier, coming to the fence for scratches and it didn't seem to be bothered by a child on it's back. In addition, there were a couple of bunnies but neither were interested in being petted.

We went about 1:30 thinking the races that started at noon would be over, and the children's rodeo event would be soon after. However, by 2:30-3:00 only four of the six horse races had been completed so we decided to cut the day short. We took Eli to the local arcade where he played various games and came home with a lollipon and a hand fan for his prizes, and G'ma bought a frozen slushie. Overall a pretty good day for the kiddo.

Monday and Tuesday mornings were spent out in the yard. D mowed and trimmed, while I dealt with weeds and debris, transplanted the geraniums into their winter pots, put away solar lights and garden knicknacks and cleaned out and reorganized the shed. D doesn't enjoy yardwork, so dealing with some things now will make her work easier later. While we were outside, Stanley was able to hang out in his catio, and when we finished, I brought my tea and sat out and enjoyed the view. He was a pretty happy cat with all the outside time, and ready for a long nap indoors.

Tuesday afternoon, the handyman carpenter and his helper showed up, followed shortly by the garage door company. CT removed the old garage door and mechanical, and built a header for the new door. Meanwhile his helper hung pegboard and shelving supports in the basement for more of Eli's toys and multiple Nerf guns. They finished up fairly quickly, though CT needed to return to install the flashing above the near garage door. Meanwhile the other two guys installed the new door and hardware, along with the door opener. The old door was bent and impossible to open - now D will have a place to park the car in the winter out of the snow and cold. 

Wednesday was packing day for me. I had made a list earlier in the week, so was able to get everything organized in short order. I took Stanley outside for our last tea time together, and did some deadheading, and pulled the rest of the tomatoes. D came out briefly, and we loaded the bags of sand that hold down the trampoline, into new bags and someone's little fingers had poked holes in the original bags. (I wonder who?) 

In the afternoon, I took Eli to the park. It was sunny with a slight breeze when we arrived but two hours in, the sky was overcast. It feels like the beginning of fall, the sun is warm but the breeze has a hint of the cool weather that is to come. There were several children in the park. Unfortunately, Eli doesn't always grasp social cues and a couple of the kids were quite annoyed by him. There was some pushing and shoving at one point - I intervened.  The children were not being kind to him, but he doesn't understand when they ask him to leave them alone, he ought not to follow them. 

On Thursday, I was up about 6:30 with plans to get away by 9 a.m. After Eli's bath, I had a shower, and then stripped my bedding. D put it in the laundry so we could re-make the bed before I left. I left the house just before 9, right on schedule. It was cloudy and cool, with a high possibility of rain. About 45 minutes into my drive, I noticed the highway was wet, but I drove another 15 minutes before the light rain started falling and about 5 minutes later, it started to pour. That lasted until I was nearing the city when the rain just seemed to stop. 

Saku (the cat) was thrilled to see me, though I wasn't at the house long. Just dropped off what I'd brought with me, checked the fridge, freezer and pantry and headed out to buy groceries. My son (and daughter) both eat differently than I do, so there was very little in the fridge for me. I brought home fresh vegetables, whole wheat bread and bagels, some meat for the freezer, and cat food for Saku. He didn't know it, but he was down to a few cans of wet food and a container of dry. 

I had to laugh when I saw this sign at Walmart.

That's quite the rollback (not).

I spent the rest of Thursday afternoon and Friday morning catching up on housework. Before I leave this time, I'm going to give my son a lesson on using a vacuum cleaner. I ran out to run a couple of errands, and stopped by the walk-in salon to see if I could get a haircut. They were busy, but were able to fit me in that afternoon. By the time I left the salon, I felt human again. 

I ought to have spent time outdoors weeding, but knowing that my son likes to sleep in on the weekend, I figured I'd wait until today. (At least that's the excuse I'm sticking with.) The temperature is lovely this morning, around 13C(55F), so after a cup of tea, I'll go tackle the front flower bed. The backyard is going to take several days. 

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Time flies by

Another week has ticked by, and I'll be back to the city in just over two weeks. I've definitely gotten into a routine/rhythm here with Eli and his mom. She is always up early and I tend to follow here between 5:30 and 6:30 a.m. After my first cup of tea and a bit of time on the computer, I get dressed, make my second cup of tea and head outdoors with Stanley, the cat. He gets tucked into the catio, while I sit in my chair to drink my tea - both of us listening to the birds around us. I'll putter around, watering containers, deadheading the lilies and other flowers, and picking lettuce or herbs. Often my brother will call while I'm outdoors and we'll chat for 15 or 20 minutes. After an hour, the cat and I will head back indoors where he goes for the first of his many daily naps, and I do a bit of housework before I head to my bedroom to watch television or read, knit or crochet, or update my spreadsheets or work on Ancestry. It's a wonderful way to start my day.

On Sunday, Eli and I went to the park so his mom could have an afternoon nap. The photos on Wednesday are his descent from the tree and the highest point he reached. He would have gone higher but G'ma was terrified he'd fall. There were only a few children at the park, all much younger than he, so we stayed for only 45 minutes. I pushed him on the swing, he ran through the spray pad, and slid backwards down the slide. Crazy kid.

Monday was his second to last day camp session. It was pajama day, and I assumed they'd stay indoors but that wasn't the case as they were out on the playground when his mom picked him up.  I stayed behind to do a bit of housework that is easier to do when they are out of the house, ran a couple of errands, and enjoyed the quiet. I spent most of the afternoon working on Ancestry, and was excited to find information on my maternal grandmother's youngest sister (she was 5 years younger than my mom), and her family. 

Tuesday was just a regular day with nothing to write about while Wednesday was Eli's last day camp session. I drove them as I wanted to pick up some inexpensive containers for overwintering the geraniums and ivies. There are lilies too growing into the lawn, so I want to dig those out and take them to the city for my son's yard. Shhh...don't tell him. I'm not supposed to plant anything there but it will help improve the appearance of the back yard and hopefully choke out some weeds!

My sweet peas have finally bloomed. They were supposed to be a mix of colours but for the most part are red and dark pink. Oh, they bring back lovely memories of my mom and her humongous gardens. She always had a row of sweet peas. I plan to put them in the ground earlier next year and hopefully have blooms by July.

This week I pulled the peas as they were dying back. I found a few pods of dried up peas. I've kept them and we'll try planting them next spring. I don't know if they will be viable but it is worth a try.

There is a story about these geraniums. D had attempted to over winter two plants from last year, along with a pair of ivies that I had brought from the old house. One of the geraniums died, and the second did well, until we planted it in the outdoor container this spring. It seemed to die back, I'm suspecting from shock, but we kept it because there was a bit of green. I bought the white geranium and added it to the same container. It took several weeks but the red ones have made a comeback! We're going to try to overwinter these again. 

Thursday was quiet, with D and Eli heading to the pool in the afternoon. I finished off the last of the mittens and got them in the mail on Friday. I've started working on a crocheted lapghan, but will pick up the knitting needles again, as I want to make more mittens for Eli's school. 

The smoke from the forest fires rolled in again, so outdoor time is limited. By the time I came indoors that morning, my throat was sore. When D and Eli decided to go to the pool that afternoon, I stayed behind at the house and took a short nap. The Riders played that evening, and I wanted to stay awake through the entire game - I only made it throught the 3rd quarter of the Thursday night game. :)

Another photo of the tiger lilies in the side yard. These plants get very little direct sun, so they are nearly 4 1/2 feet tall. The blooms are just incredible and this photo doesn't do them justice.

Today, I've nothing much on the agenda - more sitting in the back yard with the cat in the early morning. It should be cool enough to get some weeding done too. Baseball and football to watch, while I work on my crocheting. And, of course, having more time with my grandson. 

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Boring post ahead

Another laid back week, I could get used to this. :) And oh my goodness, the cool temperatures definitely settled in. While we didn't see it here, portions of the province did see frost overnight mid-week. There were many photos of sad cucumber and pumpkin vines on the FB Saskatchewan gardeners group. Here the cherry tomatoes continue to keep on coming, the lettuce hasn't yet gone to seed, but the peas are done. 

I was late planting sweet peas, and they are finally blooming. My mother always had these, usually marking the entrance to her vegetable garden. The flowers bring back many memories.

I did spend a wee bit of time a couple of mornings, moving rocks and digging up the flower bed. It's slow going though, as there are rocks under the dirt as well, and some of the rocks are large and too heavy for me to move very far. I suspect D and I need to work together to continue this process.

Both the day lilies and regular lilies are blooming all over the yard. According to Google lens, the lily in Wednesday's photo is a tiger lily. I believe there are wild and domesticated version of these lilies. When I was a child, I remember searching the ditches near the farm for them, but I don't recall my mom growing any. We have masses of them in this yard, along the fence and on either side of the row of peonies. ( as viewed from my bedroom window) Whoever started the flower beds here in this yard had imagination and put in a lot of work. However, the previous owner allowed the weeds to make serious in-roads, while the house was vacant for a year. To his credit, he did hire someone to mow the lawn.

Meanwhile, I watched more of the Olympics. Men's and women's hammer throw was interesting and particularly exciting because both golds were won by Canadians. I've been enjoying watching the various races, the steeplechase was exciting and then sad, as one of the racers was hurt and taken off the track on a stretcher. I do hope he is okay. By end of day Friday, Canada had doubled the number of expected medals, with at least a couple more possible over the end of the event. Good for the athletes who worked so hard to get to the top of their chosen sport.

Eli had day camp on Wednesday and Thursday this week. Because of the cooler weather, they were able to play outdoors all morning on Wednesday, something our (not-so) little guy enjoys very much. Thursday was even more exciting as the program came to our town to visit the arcade - another one of his favorite activities. I took advantage of the time to myself to catch up on some housework, vaccuming the main floor, laundry, and a bit of decluttering.

I ran out briefly to buy a few grocery items - mostly sale items - on Friday, and then spent some time outside deadheading flowers and chatting with my friend S on the phone. She's been quite sick for awhile and has finally convinced her doctor to send it to a specialist. Hopefully she gets some answers to explain the issue and find proper treatment.

I did manage to finish the older children's mittens made - there are five, and have started the baby's. He's about five months old, so I need an infant size. Free patterns for thumbless mitts seem to be hard to come by and are generally knit with two needles. I prefer four double pointed needles so I don't have to sew up seams. So, I'm playing with the number of stitches and the size of the mitt - I've already frogged it twice. Wish me luck!

The warmer temps are expected to return early next week. In the meantime, I'm enjoying not needing to use the a/c. A night or two of open windows cooled the house down nicely. We've nothing specific planned for the weekend. More Olympics, baseball, knitting and perhaps some park time is likely.

Have a great week ahead, everyone!

A restful week

I'm trying to recall what happened this week and the short answer is, not much. I spent a LOT of time watching various Olympic events. I caught the 2nd half of the women's Rugby 7's. (I'm not even certain I've written that correctly.) Our Canadian women were in the final playing New Zealand. I've not watched rugby, ever, but the game was entertaining and while N.Z. prevailed, our women played well. 

Gymnastics is a big draw in our household as both my children participated as children. D continued into her teenage years, competing in T&T (trampoline and tumbling), as well as coaching younger athletes, and at some point did some judging at various meets. Watching with her is interesting as she points out every miniscule error where I see nothing. Two our women's team made it to the all-round final, though did not medal. 

I missed the diving events which was a shame. One of the athletes in the men's synchronized diving is from my home province. I did manage to watch some of the swimming including the final of the men's 200m butterfly where Ilya Kharun of Montreal won bronze. Summer MacIntosh of Toronto won a silver and two golds, setting an Olympic record in one of the events.

Canada typically doesn't perform as well at the Summer Olympics as they do in the winter. I guess having cold and snowy weather for nearly 6 months of the year would give us a slight edge. But by the end of the week, Canada had a total of 11 medals. Preliminary estimates were 12 so the team will likely exceed that number.

Other happenings of the week: Eli had day camp on Monday - I went with he and his mom. There was a little shopping done, then we sat in a church parking lot and read until it was time to pick him up.

The heat continued with temperatures near 30C(86F) most afternoons. I would take Stanley, the cat, out with me in the morning. He'd enjoy his catio (he's in there but a black cat doesn't show up well), while I drank my tea, watered and dead-headed the containers. One morning, I picked up the piles of weeds into garbage bags, while D whipper-snipped behind the shed and near the garage. We only have garbage pick-up every two weeks, so I've been stacking the bags and putting one or two in the bin for pick-up. The daylilies started opening this week, as you saw in Wednesday's photo, and are beginning to put on a real show. The regular lilies are close to opening too. From what I can tell, they too will be orange in colour.

She took Eli to the pool too, while I stayed at home catching up on paperwork and watching more Olympic programming. I should have been knitting but instead turned my focus to Ancestry. I'd renewed earlier in the month with a reduced cost, and decided to catch up on the hints and other information. 

While searching for information on one of my paternal grandmother's nieces, I came across an interesting article that outlines some ideas for re-using and recycling household items:

Cut old rubber gloves from the wrist up to create sturdy "rubber bands". It was recommended to keep these in a jar and shake a bit of talcum powder in the jar to keep the bands from getting sticky.

Wash and rinse milk cartons and use these to freeze summer berries (I suppose these could be used for other items). Staple shut the tops and stack in the freezer. Saves using freezer bags, but if bags are used, cut up old panty hose for bag ties - no wires to puncture other bags.

Store your patio umbrella in winter in the one leg of a pair of panty house, using the second leg to tie around the bottom of the umbrella. 

I wasn't able to find anything about my relative, as the person referred to in this article was definitely not her. But it was a fun read, nevertheless.

I did go for a short walk on Friday afternoon. We live about a block and a half to the Post Office, and one the way home I dropped in at Home Hardware on my way back. Whoo boy, was it ever hot out there (30C/86F)! I was glad to be back in the a/c at home. I did run out to put the faucet wheel back on one of the outdoor spigots with a screw I picked up at the store. 

Today, I've no plans to do much different from the rest of the week. More Olympics, baseball and football, back to my knitting, a bit of Ancestry, and time with my grandson are all on the agenda. That reminds me - one evening he and I were telling a story together. We were on a train ride to Ohio where, according to him, there are many haunted houses. Who knew?

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Weather report, yard work, and a surprise or two

The smoke started to clear out on Monday evening and we even saw some blue sky! By the morning we were clouded over and it stayed that way all day, but I was able to get outdoors and do some yardwork. The mosquitos were wicked, but with a high of 24C(75F) it was a decent day.

This is the bed that will be the bane of my existence. It is full of weeds, as well as the lilies, poppies (which I've cut down as they have died back), lamium, false nettle, and oxalis. Because of the lilies and the weeds we couldn't even see the latter three plants. I want to roll back the stone border, dig everything up and replant. I did use Round-up along the fence line in an effort to kill some of the creeping bellflower, thistles, and other weeds. I think I'll dig out the lilies as well - we have plenty in other parts of the yard and they hide the shorter plants. We'll see how far I get before I leave here at the end of August.

I got the containers watered and deadheaded as well, and clipped off the last few blooms on the peonies. The lilies that were planted on both sides of the peonies are close to blooming - I'm looking forward to seeing what they will be. A surprise this week was the hollyhock - the photo I posted on Wednesday. I've never seen one that colour before; my neighbour in the city had reds and pinks. 

 

I talked to my son this week, and apparently the back yard has recovered from my efforts to tame the weeds. The plan is to have a bobcat in to regrade the back yard to keep water from getting into the foundation. I'm thinking I'll get it roto-tilled as well and work at the weeds over time. 

Eli's day camp changed to Monday and Wednesday this week, and will continue through to mid-August. He had been in a small group, but the other boys were non-verbal. That's not something that is a challenge for Eli! He's now attending 3 hours each of the two mornings, with a larger group and has made a friend, Sam. The coordinator said the boys played very well together. They weren't able to venture outside on Monday due to the air quality, but on Wednesday, they went to the splash park. 

I went in with D and Eli, to pick up some more foam tiles for the basement. We made a stop at the drugstore too, for calamine lotion. Mosquito bites are itchy! The used book store was also on the list of things to do. I picked up another James Patterson book, the fourth in the series and another novel by a new to me author. I'll let you know what I think when I finish reading it.

The heat was blazing by the time we arrived home after lunch (30C/84F feeling like 38C/100F with the humidity). As a result we stayed indoors for the afternoon; I watched baseball, Eli played video games, and his mom went upstairs for a lay down. I did go out in the evening to water the containers and picked a few tomatoes.

Thursday morning was cloudy but warm with 100% humidity! We live in a climate that is usually considered arid and dry. Not this year. Sadly, there was no rain accompanying it. By noon, the temp was closing in on 30C/84F again. D and I worked in the basement in the morning, placing the remainder of the foam tiles. These are soft and warmer on the feet than the concrete and should we again have water in the basement, much easier to lift and replace. She's planning on numbering them just in case, to make it easier to know what piece goes where. Baseball kept me entertained in the afternoon, while I continued knitting. The fourth pair of mittens is near completion, just two to go.

This is the sensory area, where he can swing on the bar, walk on blocks, teeter-totter (or balance beam), climb and slide, or his favorite, the sensory swing. That's the cloth hanging from the ceiling. It will also hold an adult - ask me how I know? :)

This second area is where I expect he'll spend more time as he gets older. He has his own television, a mini-Nintendo (comes with a few cames), his Paw Patrol collection of vehicles (on the shelf), his bookshelf and other toys in the cubbies and unit to the right.

There is one more area, that is still a bit of a jumble. D picked up peg board to hang his Nerf guns but didn't realizes we'd need strips of wood to go behind. She also got shelves that we need to put up. There is a "stuffie" net that hangs from the ceiling, as well as a desk and containers for his Playdoh, crayons, and coloring books. Yes, he has a lot of stuff, much of it meant to meet his sensory needs, as well as to encourage him with his fine motor skills. Thankfully, D gets provincial funding that pays for a good portion of this, as well as his day camp, swimming lessons, and other activities. 

On Friday, he and I went to the park while D had a telephone appointment with one of her doctors. There was only a few other children there, and he played with a brother and sister who I assume, based on their size, were a similar age. They had a blast moving among the equipment and he was thrilled to be able to pet their dog. When they left, he ran through the splash pad. I saw him tuck a rock into one of the pieces of equipment and when I went to remove it, I got drenched as the water came out of it. He, of course, thought this was hilarious! We were both wet and decided it was time to head back to the house. (Apparently, one of his friends had put a bottle cap in this piece with similar results...he decided to try it with G'ma.)

He and his mom went to the library for a magic program in the afternoon, while I got caught up on paperwork and simply relaxing. After dinner, I watched football while keeping on eye on the baseball (Jays won!). We'd gotten a bit of rain overnight, but the containers still needed a slight watering so I did that at half-time.

Oh, and the other surprise this week? I received an e-mail from Princess announcing price drops on several upcoming cruises. One caught my eye, an 11 day return trip to Seattle via Victoria, B.C, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego for the end of September. The price was terrific, and even factoring in airfare, hotel for one night pre-cruise, and transportation to and from the port, it was within my preferred daily rate. So I jumped on it! The hotel I've chosen has an airport shuttle as well as a free breakfast, and is a short walk to a mall...just in case I forget something. 

I'm looking at excusions in San Francisco (Golden Gate and Fisherman's Wharf) and in San Diego (the Zoo). For L.A., the Los Angeles Maritime Museum is within walking distance of the pier and sounds interesting. I've been to Victoria several times, and will likely walk the sea wall, find a restaurant for lunch, and perhaps find a walking tour. In truth, I'm most looking forward to our 6 sea days, where I can rest , relax, and watch the ocean go by.  Just over two months to sail-away!

Today is supposed to be warm at 26C (79F), so we'll likely head to the pool at some point. I want to try digging out some of the weeds I sprayed early this week, and between baseball, football, and the Olympics, there will be lots to watch on television too.

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Heating up!

 Summer has arrived! We've had temps ranging from 25C(77F) to 31C(88F) over the week. That may not seem overly warm/hot for most of you, but as we've been experiencing much cooler temps, the difference is truly noticeable.

I've spent time outdoors, early mornings with my tea, and later, tackling the weeds. We've had a lot of dew in the morning so it is often too wet, at least for me, to get down in the dirt. The garden is starting to look quite tidy or at least half of it. The asparagus is quite overgrown and the strawberries make a thick carpet, hiding some of the weeds. The photo on Wednesday was half of the pickings from earlier in the week. It's a small patch and I expect there will never be enough to do any canning/freezing, but they sure are delicious fresh out of the garden.

The large flower bed, on the other hand, is a jungle of weeds and plants. A number of the weeds are tangled among the rock surrounding the bed and impossible to remove. I've decided to cut back the alyssum (already started), and will dig it and the lilies (we have plenty) this fall. I'll harvest the poppy seeds and allow the lamium and the oxalis to do it's thing. We'll have to move as many rocks as possible - I'm thinking we'll roll them away temporarily - to get at the weeds. 

The peonies are still blooming, though I'm having to remove spent blooms every day. The containers are doing well, with the exception of one of the tall ones. For some reason it wasn't draining and the petunias I had planted in it were drowned by the excess rain. Poor things! The cherry tomato plant is doing very well, and seems to dry out quickly; apparently they are very thirsty.

Eli had twice a day swimming lessons, and day camp on Tuesday and Thursday as well. I drove them in on Tuesday, and while Eli had fun at camp, D and I went shopping. We went to Value Village first, where I found bath sheets, several brand new tea towels and dish clothes and a blanket for less than $15. D found several pieces of clothing for Eli and three bags of "real" Lego. In total we spent around $50 with my senior discount. Our next stop was Sport Chek as D needed a new pair of walking shoes, and found these and two pairs of shoes for Eli for school this fall (indoor and outdoor). She still has an employee discount as she is off on sick leave. I won't tell you what she spent, certainly more than I would have but with her discount, the cost was nearly half of what she would have paid at regular pricing. 

A trip to Dollarama and then to Walmart finished off the shopping for a few items she wanted and a few groceries we needed. It was time to pick up Eli at his day camp. They had taken the children to a nearby beach where the kids played on the playground equipment. With no lifejackets they weren't able to go in the water. That was okay, as Eli was in the pool before day camp and again in the evening.

We also had the contractor out on Monday and a half day on Tuesday. He replaced the screen door on the front porch with a proper door with a venting window. He also replaced and installed door knob kits and dead bolts on the door between the porch and living room, and the side door as well. He and his helper also did some caulking where the gate latch had damaged the exterior stucco, repaired the latch itself, installed a hook in the basement ceiling (after beefing up the joists) for a sensory swing, and repaired the door sill at the back door. He'll be back later this summer to retrofit the garage door opening to put in a header for a roll-up door. I don't think we were ever told that the current garage door is so bent it won't open. D will want to park the car in the garage in the winter, so the work is needed.

We made it to the pool once this week on Wednesday and she and I also got the basement set up again for Eli's play zone. Stanley, the cat also got his very own Catio as he likes to be outdoors. Now, when we try to catch him to bring him back indoors, it's much easier. He still argues, but I've been taking him out in the morning when I have my cup of tea and letting him hang out with me. Eli, decided to try it out too. :)

D took Eli to his day camp on Thursday while I stayed home (out of the heat, as I'd been out weeding and cutting back the peonies for most of the morning). Eli was a tired boy when they arrived home, so he missed out on his evening swim lesson and was asleep in no time. 

Friday, we awoke to a thunderstorm and rain. It didn't last long but remained cloudy until about 9. D and Eli headed to his swim lesson, while I went to pick up a few groceries. The heat and humity was high, the mosquitos and dragonflies were out in force (go dragonflies), so Eli and I spent the remainder of the morning indoors, while his mom went to get her hair cut and coloured. She wasn't happy with the cut at all, as she'd asked to have it cut to shoulder blade length, but the hairdresser took about two inches more.  She won't be able to put her hair in a pony tail for a few weeks but will try pig tails to keep the hair off her neck. It's a true shame as she paid a crazy amount of money for the cut and colour, and while the latter is lovely, the former is not.

I finished two books this week. The first was James Clavell's "King Rat", a story of POW's in Manila during World War II. It was definitely something different, and somewhat disturbing. The second book was "NYPD RED3" by James Patterson. It took me awhile to get into the book and I can't say it was my favorite book of his. I do like mysteries and this had some of that, but I felt there was some unnecessary incidents and the explanation at the end wasn't entirely satisfying.

 

Today we're expecting more stormy weather, but I think we'll head over to the park later this morning where he can play with friends. We live just under two blocks away. I'll get some more weeding done, and there is baseball and football to watch. I've also started a third book and there are mittens to be knitted. I'm certainly never bored, as I have lots to do.

Have a great week ahead everyone!

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!

The heat is on

The photo on Wednesday was, indeed, the remains of the tree stump that the landscaper left behind. He wasn't able to get the stump grinder into the back yard, and I guess they decided not to try to chop it out. After the weeks it took to get their work finished, I wasn't about to argue about it.

My friend K had called on Saturday to catch up, and I mentioned I was going to go out to the farm and get an axe from my brother to deal with the tree stump myself. On Monday morning, she called and asked whether I'd be home that afternoon and a couple hours later, she and her partner J arrived with a shovel, an axe, and a sledge hammer.  Before they arrived, I had moved the gravel out of the way and dug out some of the dirt around the stump. J got right at it with the axe while K and I retired to the deck (and out of the way of flying wood chips). He stopped briefly to take a break, and then went back at it; after chopping out most of it, he used the sledge hammer, and voila, it was as you saw it in the photo. I told J he's my hero!

When that bit of work finished, we went indoors to cool off in the a/c, it was about 32C/90F and I know J especially needed to cool down. We visited for awhile before they left. I'm so appreciative of my good friends. I know it would have taken a lot more effort on my part to get that stump out, had I even been able to swing the axe properly.

The heat has returned this week, so Tuesday morning I was out early to clean up the wood chips, to fill the hole - I used the soil from the planter I had harvested the onions from, and rake the rocks back in place.

This photo likely doesn't look any different than it did in an early photo, but just behind the left side of the arch is where the tree stump was causing me much annoyance. 

The weed spray seems to be working too, as I'm finding less each day. (And yes, the lawn needs mowing again.) I'm back to watering twice a day, as there are spots that are dying back, so I've spread some seed on those areas. I'm not sure why I'm so concerned, as the last sold listing in my neighbourhood that my agent sent me photos of showed a dead lawn both front and back. 

Later that morning, I took a run out to Costco. I wanted to pick up two things, a container of Mr. Clean and some smart plugs. I got both, plus a case Friskies wet cat food, and Eli's Christmas gift. Unfortunately, the smart plugs don't work with the 5G internet connection I have so I'll need to return them to the store. I did wonder at how inexpensive they were on clearance and discovered at home, they work with a 2.4 gigahertz something or other connection. This time, I'll go to the return desk and avoid the rest of the store. 

From there I did a quick trip to Dollarama to pick up a some garden stakes - my tomatoes are falling over as the fruit grows, even with the tomato cages, and I needed some burner liners for the stove. Walmart was next and it was a very quick in and out of the store. About a week ago, I'd found Ben's Original Smoky Flavour Rice and Red beans on sale. We hadn't tried before so I bought a package; we had it with grilled Cajun seasoned pork chops and it was a hit with both of us. I discovered the store had low stock, but managed to find three packages for the pantry. It's so quick and easy, it can be microwaved or heated up on the stove (about 5 minutes) with two tablespoons of water. I use the latter method, as I think it adds a bit more texture to the rice. My son adds hot sauce and is a happy boy. 

I'm aware I could make something similar - though I suspect without the smoky flavour - but at the moment it's nice to have something that doesn't heat up the house while I'm outside using the grill. 

Wednesday morning, I spent a lot of time on Ancestry. I'd had a message from a young woman from the States asking questions about her great-grandfather as he appears in my mother's family tree. I went through the information I had and was able to share the connection - her 4XGGrandfather was the brother of my 3XGGrandfather. Her great-grandfather was born in Ontario, moved to Alberta in the early 1900's with his family, and then made the move to Washington State when he was just 19. He married and had three sons. 

This brought more questions, as she was curious about her grandfather Tom. I had some information I was able to share and the plot thickened. Tom married in 1955, had two children with his wife, but by 1958 she had filed a suit for divorce (due to cruelty). Sadly, she passed away in August of that year as a result of injuries sustained in a car accident. It took a bit of poking around in Newspapers.com but I discovered that their two daughters were apparently adopted by their mother's parents as both girls used their mother's maiden name when they married in the mid-70's. (I had their maternal grandfather's name from their parent's wedding documentation) 

Tom had left Washington at this point, and it appears he lived for some time in California, then later moved to Nevada. I had found a possibility that he may have married again, and my correspondent confirmed he did indeed re-marry to her grandmother. Armed with that information, I was able to confirm that marriage was again short-lived, from 1962 to 1966, and three children were born of this union, one daughter and two sons. He married once more in 1987, and passed away in 1997.

S told me, that her mother and uncles did not know their father and she was hoping to find more information. I pointed out that he had served in the U.S. army in the Korean war and perhaps the Veterans Affairs department might be able to provide more information. Her inquiries piqued my interest and I started looking at the other two brothers. Although I'd been able to find a fair amount of information about Tom, these two are far more enigmatic. I love a good mystery so made a note to return to this branch to do some more research another day.

Wednesday afternoon was stitch and chat, with just B and I in attendance. I do enjoy these one on one opportunities as we learn more about our lives. She mentioned living in a small town outside of Saskatoon when she was a young girl. Well, my oldest brother's first wife was from the same community - did she know her? It turns out she was a couple of years younger than my former SIL, but knew the family. It definitely is a small world. 

Thursday heated up quickly (34C/93F) by mid-afternoon. The next door neighbour was having their roof re-shingled that morning, and the noise was annoying. To get away from it briefly, I headed out to the thrift stores. D had mentioned that Eli was short of sweat pants. I found a couple of pair at Value Village and another pair at the Salvation Army store. I also scored another large plastic tote at the SA store. All in all, a good bit of thrift shopping. Better still, by the time I arrived home, the crew were cleaning up after themselves. With four guys on the roof, they made short work of the job.

On Friday morning, after my call with my daughter, I spent my time outdoors. The lawn was mowed, I spread some soil in the dying patches, added grass seed and gave it all a good watering. I quite enjoyed the watering time, with a good book and a cup of tea. Next up was trimming the edges of the lawn, deadheading the containers and cleaning up debris on the deck (from the flowers and the evergreen). After lunch I went out front and did the same, including sweeping the driveway. By the time I finished there was about a half large garbage bag full. The city is rolling out compost bins in the next few weeks and I'm planning to fill it up!

Today started off cool, at about 14C(57F), but it should reach 30C(86F) later today. I've been lazy this morning, in fact I'm finishing this post as I relax in bed....and it's after 8 a.m.! I did get up earlier to feed the cat and make a cup of tea. I'll head out soon to water again this morning, and my other big goal for the day is to go through the house and put things away. Like the toaster that sits out on the kitchen counter, the cat treats that can go back into the cupboard, the books and crocheting/knitting projects that are stacked on end tables, and the pile of items I've gathered up for D.....the list goes on. All of those things need to find hidey-holes to ensure the house looks uncluttered (it isn't really) and impersonal so that home buyers can imagine themselves living here. At least that's what the television programs tell me. I have to laugh, because the house I purchased before this one, had a tenant living in it. When we went for the first viewing, the small living room was crowded with oversized furniture, the laundry room had a pile of dirty clothing about 3 feet high, and the kitchen sink was piled with dirty dishes. I could see past all that stuff, and by the time the home inspection was carried out, everything was cleared out.

Anyway, rant over (at least for now - we'll see how the upcoming week goes). It's time to go out and enjoy a cup of tea on the deck while the water bill goes up. 

Perhaps I'll have more visitors to the bird bath to watch. There were two robins yesterday - they reminded me that it needed filling.

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Some things end, and the future is near

Yes, the landscaping work is complete - at least the part I had to pay for. Over on the other side of the yard, where the trees were removed, I've got some work to do to keep the weeds down. The bird feeder was on the stump of an old evergreen, and of course, birds and squirrels aren't particularly tidy. I've been pulling weeds, and using a herbicide in an effort to do away with as much as I can. The landscaper wasn't able to get the stump grinder into the back yard because of the limited width of the space between the sunroom and the fence. As a result, one of the tree stumps is beginning to show new growth. One night, when I couldn't sleep, I did a bit of research and discovered the most cost effective and relatively easy way to kill the tree is to drill holes in the stump, add Epsom salts and a bit of water, and cover with a tarp.

I thought the recent heat would also help, so picked up the Epsom salts and spent a half hour or so one morning using my drill to put as many holes into the stump as I could. After a few days, I can already see that the stump is beginning to erode/decay from the outside. The articles I read said it takes about a month for the tree to completely die. I'll keep an eye on it, and I may try digging a little more around the stump - if I can borrow and axe from my brother, I may be able to remove more of it in a couple of weeks.

Our heat advisory lasted about three days, which wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. It cooled off considerably into Wednesday morning, and I woke to 10C (50F). It did reach 28C (82F) by noon but a morning of the cooler weather was very nice.

Wednesday was also the day we said good-bye to Chris. The service was held at the funeral home, and there were a good number of people in attendance. Her sons both spoke briefly and a cousin gave the eulogy. There was an opportunity for others to share memories at one point and a few people did. One who did surprised me, as she has only known Chris for four weeks, since Chris started her temporary job at a local company. It was clear that Chris had been well-liked (not a surprise) and had integrated easily into the office. I spoke to her after the service and she said, that unlike some temps, Chris was willing to take on any task - she told her co-workers she wanted to be the temp that they would want to keep. She said they would have been thrilled had she stayed on and were as shocked as the rest of us at her sudden passing.

I did not go to the podium - I had provided some memories to the family, and some of my comments were included in the eulogy. The service did provide some relief, for lack of a better term, for me. Seeing the photo of her next to the urn reinforced the fact I'll never see her face again, hear her laugh, or share a hug. Until that moment, it hadn't really felt real - I'd even said to my son, "I almost think when we get to the funeral home, Chris will pop out and say, ha, ha I got you." 

I did have a few minutes to talk to her sons after the service and offered my help to J, her eldest (he didn't sound too enthusiastic so I'll leave him alone). It sounds like he is going to be the one who is shouldering much of the burden of dealing with his mom's property. I do know his uncle K is the executor of the estate so hopefully those family members will be supportive too. But, I'm not optimistic as they were separated at the service, with her sons and ex-husand, his wife and daughter on one side of the aisle, while her brother, his family, several cousins and aunts and uncles were on the other side. There is nothing I can do - if in fact, that split was deliberate but seeing it made me feel sad.

Stitch and chat was a welcome event later that day. There were three of us again, S, B, and I.  B brought a cross-stitching project to show us. Her adult children gave it to her a couple of years ago for Christmas. The pattern book is 63 pages in length and the finished project will be nearly 22" by 22". It's enormous and will be simply stunning when complete. I did a search and was able to find a photo. Isn't it spectacular? There are sooo many color changes, so it's not something I would ever tackle.

She was working on her tooth fairy pillows, while S was working on her scarf, and I had a mitten on the needles. Our conversation covered the various projects they are working on at home (quilts for charity), current news, and of course, the weather. I apparently wasn't paying enough attention to my knitting, as when I picked it up that evening, I discovered I'd added two additional stitches so had to frog it back a few rows. I did complete it that evening. I confirmed the count, and this mitten is the first of the 12th pair since the beginning of June. I'm getting there.

Thursday, was "pay day" or rather the day my pensions are deposited to my account. I did some on-line banking in the morning, and updated my spreadsheets, before heading out to pick up cat litter. The last Thursday of the month is senior's day at the pet store where I purchase the cat litter, and I get a 10% discount. It isn't a lot, but over a year, it's basically like getting a free bag of cat litter. I also stopped at a couple of grocery stores and picked up some fresh veg and fruit, and a couple of other items. The best bargain was B.C. fresh cherries at $1.99 a pound, marked down from $8.99 a pound (though I do think the grocery chain marks products up before they mark them down). On the other hand, potatoes are up in price again, five pounds for $6.99. It wasn't long ago when the regular price was $4.99. Seeing the recent announcement of Loblaw quarterly earnings has me steaming mad. No one can tell me there isn't price gouging happening under the guise of inflation and increased costs. But I'm sure their shareholders are happy.

Outside it reached a high of 25C (77F) so I took a page from Patsy, and spent the afternoon out in the yard reading. Housework and knitting could wait. I'm reading another book by Jodi Piccoult titled "Change of Heart. The story of a family tragedy: a father and his daughter are murdered while the mother is expecting their second child. This child, a daughter is born with a heart condition and needs a heart transplant. The convicted killer, on death row, offers his and testing proves he is a match. The blurb on the book asks: "Could you grant your enemy's dying wish in order to hold on to the last light of hope in your own life?" It's an interesting read, and of course, there is more than meets the eye in this story. 

On Friday, I woke to an overcast sky and chilly morning. The evening prior, I'd decided I'd spend some time outdoors dead-heading flowers, giving my petunias a haircut, and collecting the sun-ripened tomatoes. It was only 12C (54F) and felt much cooler when I went out to the bin with the cat litter. Pivot! The day was spent on Ancestry and housework. 

I received an e-mail from my real estate agent advising the most recent house in my neighbour sold in one day (and it needs work), for just below asking. That means NO open house...could I be as lucky? We've agreed to meet on the 8th of August to prepare the listing. That gives me a little more time to do more cleaning/sorting/organizing and yard work. I'll be sending my son out this weekend to ensure the eavestroughs are clear of debris. 

This morning, it was even cooler (6C/43F) when I woke, but has warmed up several degrees since then. The sun is shining, and we're expecting a high of 24C/75F. I'll putter around inside for another hour or so, and then head outdoors to get some yard work done. This afternoon and evening, there are baseball and football to watch.

Here's my harvest from the containers this week. When I moved the plants in front of the fence, I dropped a few green tomatoes so brought them in to ripen indoors. But the already red ones had ripened on the vine. I'll be enjoying them later today. 

Have a great week ahead everyone!