Spring cleaning and fun at the pool

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Finishes and endings

My mostly Easter, a little bit of spring display on top of the China cabinet. It's the only real space I have for display here in this house.

Well, our men's team did not win the World Championship, but did bring home a bronze. They played Scotland in the semi-final and, as had happened earlier in the week, lost the game. It certainly was their worst game of the week. On Sunday, they were up against China in the bronze medal game and it was a blow-out for Canada. I tend not to pay much attention when the score gets lop-sided, so I can't tell you what the final score was. 

Scotland took on Switzerland in the final, and came out on top winning the World's for the second time in three years. What made this more interesting was a "Battle of the Sexes" charity skins game they were in the following day. Team Mouat (Scotland) played Team Homan (Canada). The Canadian women won the World's, so it was also two World champions facing off. There were some great shots on both sides, however Homan was only able to win one of the skins, Mouat and crew won the other seven. I didn't watch the presentation but I presume that the companies providing the prize money/charity donations likely evened it up. 

D and I tackled housework on Monday, and the main floor and upstairs were vacuumed and tidied up. I won't tell you what the basement looked (looks) like, as Eli had a friend over to play on Saturday. Let's just say it is a bit of a disaster down there. I have a puzzle set out on a table in the basement but will avoid the area until D and Eli spend some time tidying.

On Tuesday I made a run into the nearby community to visit the Service Canada office. My passport will expire in December, and while I have no immediate plans to travel outside of Canada, I wanted to ensure it was renewed. Unlike the office in the city, where one drops off the paperwork, in this small office a representative takes care of everything on line, scans the documents and prepares the package while you're there. The photos have to be processed elsewhere, and the return time is longer; about 4-5 weeks versus 10-15 days, but the process seemed more personable.

The woman assisting me, was asking about travel plans and I mentioned our trip to Nova Scotia this June. She originally grew up in New Brunswick and we chatted about the places I visited when I was there with friends in 2016. Of course, I had to ask how she and her family ended up here. Not unexpectedly it was her husband's work (mining), and they live in a small community nearby.

After dropping off several bags of donations at the local thrift store, I did a walk through the store. I found some divided plates for Eli, some silicone molds for D, and a travel tea mug (with strainer) for myself. A quick stop at the grocery store for a few items and I was home by 11 a.m. It was a productive morning.

Out of curiosity, I did a search for the tea mug on the internet. I just about fell over, when I discovered it is currently selling for $140 on the Canadian Amazon site. I paid just under $3 for it. 

Some sad news, I called my son that evening and he told me he'd had to surrender Shadow. Apparently Sage had taken a dislike to the puppy. I'm not certain if she got aggressive, but clearly the relationship wasn't good. He was quite disappointed, and has decided to wait a year or two before considering getting a second dog. I've encouraged him to get the two of them (he and Sage) enrolled in obedience classes. Sage has shown signs of aggressiveness towards other dogs on walks, so it's best to deal with those issues while she is still fairly young, about 16 months or so.

Wednesday's photo was taken on Monday evening. The snow is melting as the temperatures are starting to rise, and with rain in the forecast it should disappear more quickly. I saw my first junco that morning too, followed by two robins on Thursday...spring is definitely here! Here's how the backyard looked on Friday afternoon:

The front yard is nearly clear as it faces south. I suspect most of the snow you see here will be gone by early next week.

The next to last* curling event of the season was held this week in Toronto, a Grand Slam of Curling event. The broadcast on Sportsnet was scheduled to start on Thursday afternoon, though I discovered a single draw that was aired the day before. It finished just in time for the Blue Jays game; great timing!

Meanwhile I've done more knitting, another pair of mittens was finished, another toque completed (this one for Eli), and I've cast another toque on the needles. My goal is to finish six pairs of mittens, and three toques before I return to my stitching. My poor hands and wrists are starting to feel a bit painful from the repetitive motions. Definitely time for a break.

D has been busy re-organizing things in her bedroom and basement, and I've been able to empty three boxes of photo albums that have been stored away since at least the summer of 2023 (when I listed my old house). Friday was also the one year anniversary of our move into this house. It's been a great place for all three of us. There are some things we'd like to do it including replacing the exterior doors, replacing a portion of the fence, and addressing the "rock" garden area. Of the three, I anticipate the fence will be the last on the list. The old fence is still standing, though requires some support. Since our next door neighbours rarely mow or weed their back yard, it is tall enough to keep it out of our view. D did report them to the city last summer when the weeds were higher than the 6 foot fence. Can you tell they are renters and not owners? 

On to the weekend, you'll find me watching more curling, more baseball, continuing to knit, and weather permitting, spending some time outdoors. I'd like to tackle the shed and move some snow from the bigger piles so it will melt sooner.

Have a great week ahead everyone!I

*There is a new two day event, the curling all-stars planned for April 15 and 16 in Nashville. It is associated with the Grand Slam brand. I have no idea the what the format will be and don't believe it will be televised. I'll look for a live stream.

Spring joys

Spring has truly sprung! We've had decent weather, if a little below normal temps, with rain overnight a couple of nights. The snow from last week had mostly disappeared with just a few stubborn spots where the sun didn't reach it, until Friday when our temperature reached 18C (64F). It will be a few weeks before I'll be able to plant anything doors, so for the moment I'm enjoying watching my seedlings grow. As it is still too cool to leave them in the unheated sunroom, I keep them in the kitchen window, until the sun warms up the room and move them back and forth as the temperatures allow. I darn near forgot them one evening, oops!  There are tomatoes, marigolds, a cucumber, and peppers in these pots. I added a couple of the bottoms of green onions this week, as a test to see if they will really grow. 

It's been a busy week, with a few outings. I had to run out to do some errands for my daughter on Monday, so took the opportunity to drop by Value Village while I was nearby. I bought a few items including...you guesed it more yarn! There were four cakes of Loops and Threads cotton yarn in a navy color, for a mere $5.99. The same yarn costs about $10 per cake at the Michaels store. I could not resist picking it up. I'm not entirely certain what I will use it for, but I will, someday.

A few weeks ago, a friend contacted me to ask if I'd like to join the book club she belongs to. I thought it would be good for me, and said yes. The get-together was held on Tuesday evening, at a lovely Mexican restaurant. The food was delicious, though I was less enamoured with the book we read. The Stranger in the Lifeboat, by Mitch Albom was the choice of one of the group. It was a very odd story and I was happy it wasn't a long read. I even read it twice, thinking it might grow on me...it didn't. I would give it a 2/10 at best. Others in the group quite enjoyed it though, so it must have some redeeming qualities. I found the event interesting, it was more about the meal and visiting, with very little discussion of the book, beyond whether we enjoyed it or not. Another book (Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult) was chosen and we'll meet again in about 6 weeks. 

Wednesday was stitch and chat, the first meeting I've attended for a couple of weeks. There were only three of us there, S, R, and myself. Sadly, I's husband isn't doing well; he was hospitalized last week but has since been discharged, however his family flew home to visit so it must have been thought to be quite serious. He was recently diagnosed with recurring cancer and the prognosis is not good. 

I've spent the rest of the week at home, working on various projects and tackling some spring cleaning. It amazes me how much dust accumulates, even when the weather is cold. While I vaccum and dust the furnitured regularly, it's the tops of windows, doors, and picture frames that need a wipe down. The sun room doesn't generally get much of a clean over winter, and it desperately needed a good vaccuming. In that room I found far too many maple bugs. I'm uncertain how they've found their way in - I'll have to check around the outside to see if I can find any access point. The front patio and parking pad were swept and the debris filled a large garbage bag. Lots of pine needles, leaves, and the inevitable rabbit poop. I set up the patio set, and hope to spend some time out there in the next few days.

I also went for a walk on Friday morning, and captured some of the wildlife. It always amazes me the variety that we see here in the midst of the city.

Not as many hares in the park as usual. Bet that won't last too much longer.

Over at the creek, it was pretty quiet though I did spot a pair of robins getting water and feeding on the bank.

At the other end of the creek I found a few mallards and a pair of geese.

Over at the pond, I spotted three red-winged blackbirds. They seemed to be calling to each other. I love how their tail feathers spread when they sing.

Most of the geese were skittish and would head for the water as I walked along the path. This one, however, could have cared less. I do hope it was merely sunning itself and not nesting as it is far too close to the path.

I need to remember to put my camera on sports mode as this photo is blurry. But I like it anyway. There were several (7 or 8) cormorants on the water, and this group flew off as I went to take the photos. I've never seen a group this large at the pond. While there seem to be a pair who nest here most years, I suspect they are in transit.

Finally another group of mallards. They seemed to be following one another around the pond, with some calling back and forth.

Today is another beautiful day, already 7C (45F) mid-morning. There is a baseball game later this morning, and then I plan to head back outside. The decks need to be cleared of debris and washed down - lots of bird poop has accumulated, and the plastic Adirondack chairs and the tables need to be washed as well. The forecast is for temperatures over 20C (68F), which means time on the deck or patio reading! The book for the book club is in at the library so that will be top on the list.

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Spring????

*comments off 

Spring baseball

Life sure has a way of throwing curve balls. This week was no exception. It all started on Monday morning, when my kitchen faucets gave up the ghost. I had noticed some water on the floor when washing dishes the night prior, and after mopping it up had put a bucket under the sink. Everything seemed dry in the morning, but when I turned on the faucet I could hear and see dripping coming from the connection where the faucet is attached to the plumbing lines. I'd been putting up with a slow drip from the drinking water faucet and decided it was time to replace the entire set. The house was built back in 1987, and I'm pretty certain these are the originals.

I did some research on the websites of various hardware stores (including big box stores) nearby. It was astounding to me to find that the big box stores keep nothing in stock - at one there were only two faucets available, and both were ridiculously priced and far too large for my current set-up. The local hardware store is a little further away, but appeared to have multiple items in stock. Off I went, photos in hand, to see what I could find. I was in and out in about 20 minutes with the appropriate replacements. The service was great AND they gave me the contractors' pricing which saved me about 10% overall. They still weren't cheap. I contacted the plumber we used last year during the basement renovations and he was able to fit me in that day (after a cancellation), and by mid-afternoon I had a new set of faucets that function properly. One thing I notice is they are much lighter weight than the old ones so likely won't last 30 plus years but I won't be here then.

I did my grocery shopping that morning too, as the fridge was looking pretty bare. The pocketbook took a hit as a result, but I did get most everything on sale. I am starting to see prices drop with some products to a more reasonable level. An 18 pack of eggs was $4.99 and I got a head of lettuce for $1.99 at the Co-op store. Walmart was over $5 for the eggs and $3.97 for lettuce. I'm so fortunate that I live within a 10 minute drive of five grocery stores (includes Walmart). I check my grocery list against the Flipp (flyers) app, and can price-check between stores as well. 

Wednesday brought another problem. The darned water heater's pilot light had again gone out. This was the third time I've requested service in about 6-8 weeks. Of course, the only time they could give me was between 1-5 p.m., which meant I had to miss out on my Stitch and Chat. The tech showed up about 1:30 and left at 2:57 p.m. I know, because I checked the clock! When he arrived I told him this was the third call, and although he was able to re-light the pilot light easily, I asked him to explain why it was happening. He suggested some part needed to be replaced (don't ask me - coupler something or other I think he said). He told me it shouldn't take long to replace and he would have expected the last guy to do it. I said, there was no way he had, he'd only been here for about 10 minutes and took longer to do his paperwork than to do what he did with the water heater. Just to be certain the tech called the previous tech and confirmed that no, he hadn't changed out this piece.  The current tech's optimism at the length of time required to make the replacement was way off! This water heater was installed in Dec. 2006, and apparently they were made differently than they are now which made replacing the part tricky. At one point, it sounded as if he was rebuilding the darn thing.

It's a good thing I did my shopping early in the week and perhaps even missing the Stitch and Chat was a good thing as my son tested positive for Covid on Thursday morning. He had been feeling off for a couple of days, but had gone to work both Wednesday and Thursday. The positive result was almost immediate and the lines were bold. He's off work until next Tuesday, and I'll stay at home too. I tested last night, and so far I am negative. 

Our weather made a big upswing this week, with temperatures staying above the freezing mark, even over night a couple of nights. There was/is snow in the forecast for the weekend and it has cooled off a bit, but the snow has rapidly melted. I have a small pond in my back yard. There was a welcome visitor in the back yard this week too. 

I haven't seen any others, yet, but the wee nuthatch is back, and the sparrows, chickadees, and juncos continue to eat heartily at the feeder. 

We had snow overnight into Friday, but just a skiff or so on the ground. It was melting when I went out to feed the birds and my small pond was closer to a small lake. It's frozen over this morning but we're supposed to reach 7C (45F) this afternoon. I moved a bit of snow from the larger pile in the back yard with the hope that it will disappear faster.

Today is more Grand Slam curling - there are three draws today, tiebreakers, quarter-finals and semi-finals. The women's and men's finals will be held separately tomorrow. This is the second to last event for this year that will be televised. The final Grand Slam is being held here in the city at the beginning of May. I've bought tickets in the past, but this year I'm planning to watch from home.

I'm continuing to work on my flowers (just two more to complete before I start blocking). I got Eli's sweater blocked and picked up a zipper - I need to get a real tailor to put it in for me. In the meantime I made a toque to go with it. When I'm bored with the flowers I do a few stitches on the small cross stitch project. I've made a mistake early on, but I doubt anyone but I will ever know it so I'm soldiering on.

If I'm not watching curling, I've been watching baseball. The Blue Jays broke the Tampa Rays win streak last night in an exciting game. I checked on the game in between ends so missed some of the excitement but did catch enough to enjoy the win.

Have a wonderful week ahead everyone!

A very good week

It was a very good start to the week. While our Canadian women lost the semifinal, they did play for the bronze and won. They were playing Sweden, a very strong team and the game went back and forth but our women prevailed. We haven't won a medal since 2018 in women's world curling so it was a huge success for our team.  

On Monday, I went for my first outdoor walk of the season. While I walk daily indoors, I sure the feel the difference when I get outside. I suspect it's the speed at which I walk and the changes from sidewalk to grass, etc. Of course I took my camera!

I've heard the merlin, but hadn't seen it before. It flew across the street just as I was walking down the sidewalk, so I crossed to get a few photos. My brother R says it doesn't generally prey on small birds, usually bugs and mosquitos, but since neither of those are prevalent at this time of year, I suspect my poor wee bird friends are in danger. The first time I saw the merlin it was in my front evergreen feasting on a sparrow. :(

I walked through the park nearest to my house and won't do that again for a week or so. The paths aren't entirely clear and in many spots there is a build up of ice. This hare was staying out of the wind. Not much brown on this one.

Lots of water in the large park near the creek. Most of it covered in ice. But I spotted a duck flying in that appeared to be landing on the creek so I walked through the grass to check it out.

Open water! You can see the ice along the edge so I can only imagine how cold the water would be. There were several pairs of geese and a few ducks on the water and a few more on the banks of the creek. (I didn't get one of the ducks because they were further along the creek and it was a bit muddy)

From there I headed over to the pond. No open water there! FB memories tell me that on March 29 last year the pond was swarming with geese and ducks. Much quieter this year!

It was so nice to get out for a walk, even with a cool wind. It was -1C (30F) when I left the house and two degrees warmer when I arrived home 45 minutes later. I made a cup of tea and settled in to relax and watch some home improvement television. Have you seen Backyard Builds? I do enjoy the work they complete but the amount of money that gets spent doing it, not so much. I know I have work to do in my back yard and I'm not looking forward to it.

The rest of the week was generally quiet. I did get out for walks on both Wednesday and Thursday. The new header photo was taken at the pond on Wednesday. I had waited until the afternoon for my walk when the temperature was above freezing. The goose was standing in the water on top of the ice. I thought the color of the sky reflected on the ice was pretty. 

Thursday was also grocery day. I'm shopping sales for the most part and am lucky to have three grocery stores within a five minute drive of my home. I did a circuit of the three stores, with a stop at the drug store to pick up a prescription for my daughter. It seems prices at the grocery store are going up every week. I keep my grocery list electronically (use my Google mini) and check the Flipp app for the flyers before I head out to the store. That morning, I asked Google to add "my bread" to the list and when I pulled up the list in the store I laughed because it read, "Mike red". Apparently I have a speech impediment or something. :) Just to give you an idea of the crazy prices, I bought my whole grain bread at Walmart, 2 loaves for $6.  The same loaf of bread at the Co-op store was $4.99. It wasn't much less at Safeway either.  Perhaps I need to start baking my own bread.

At some point, I wandered into the craft room and did some sorting. There is a box of items that can go to the thrift store as I know I won't use them. There are few things that have been sitting around too, mostly mending, and my sunflower wreath. It isn't perfect, and I'll never consider myself an artist, but I like the way it turned out. I used a wreath ring, a couple packages of clothespins, a piece of black felt, paint, and some hot glue. It's meant not only to welcome summer but as a homage to the people of the Ukraine.

Regular cleaning was completed in between walks, shopping, and catching up on television programs. The men's world curling starts later today. You all know where I'll be. :)  I had picked up a set of sheets at the thrift store last week - those were laundered and put on my bed on Friday. I had been using a cheap set of 300 count sheets and these are 500 count. What difference that makes...and all for $15. I also got a couple of new to me books that I hope to get to sometime in the next week. In the meantime, I had bought a bag of lightweight yarn at the thrift store and have started a little dress for a 2 year old. There isn't enough to make anything for Eli but I know D has friends with small children and this will make a gift for someone in the future.

I'll end this post with a photo my brother sent me from his camping trip last week. He had a wonderful time with his friend C. They had to trek into the lake, about two miles, so loaded their supplies on two sleds. It's a bit hilly there so he told me they would ride the sleds down the hills on top of their items! On the way in they passed a couple of park outhouses so they shovelled their way into those. At the camp site, they had to dig an area out for the tent. Their first choice was thigh deep on my brother (he's 6'3" tall), so they moved to a different spot where the snow wasn't as heavy. They did some exploring and visited three different lakes in the area. Ice fishing provided their dinner one night, and C took a few fish home with him. R said that the wood stove kept them warm most of the night and he's looking forward to his next opportunity to winter camp.

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Change of plans

I ought not to suggest that life is quiet around here.  Because when I do, life has a way of turning topsy turvy when I'm feeling too complacent. 

We had an absolutely beautiful day on Sunday.  The sun was shining and the temperature rose to 17C (63F). I had done my morning walk in the house, but couldn't resist the allure of the outdoors.  This time I remembered my camera card so there are photos.

The mallard ducks are back at the creek.  The water level is really low this year.  Hopefully we get some rain in the next few weeks.

Looking back under the bridge, you can see how little water there is. I don't recall it ever being this low.

Despite the low level, it wasn't stopping the ducks and the geese from feeding.

As I walked through the grass from the creek back to the walking path I startled this hare (I still think of it as a rabbit though I know that's the proper name). It didn't go too far as there were lots of people and dogs on the walking path.

Over at the pond the geese were noisy! I'd suggest there were close to a hundred or better on the shore, on the ice and in the water. Many seemed to be napping in the sun but there was lots of chatter and some disagreements too.

This pair were at the far end of the pond where there were fewer geese.  One was grooming while the other kept an eye out. I've never seen a goose dangle a foot like this.  The reflection in the water is pretty interesting too.  

I was so glad I got out for my walk on Sunday because the weather turned downright nasty on Monday.  In the morning, we had blowing snow warnings, though the snow didn't start falling until mid-afternoon. The wind picked up and throughout the evening we had gusts up to 100 kph (62 mph) that kept up through the night. When my son went to work Tuesday morning there was an drift outside the garage about a foot high. For some reason, it always drifts in at the garage while it blows across the driveway.

Tuesday was cool but I got out and did some shoveling and ran a couple of errands for my daughter.  It was really cold Wednesday morning, I awoke to a temperature of -17C (1F)!  Thankfully, it warmed up throughout the day and we topped out at 7C (45F).  That's Saskatchewan weather, if you don't like it, wait 15 minutes.

I was especially grateful for the warm-up as I made a trip to see D and Eli on Thursday.  It wasn't in the plans but became a necessity. On Sunday they were out for a drive, and were involved in a car accident.  Thankfully neither were hurt but the car is a total loss. I was so proud of her, as she dealt with everything, arranging for a tow truck, calling the RCMP, and finding a ride to get back home as they were several miles away.  She was upset, mostly with herself, and not long ago this would have resulted in a melt-down or panic attack. She did call me to ask if I would video chat with Eli as he was still in the car and getting bored with the wait. I was happy to do so and we had a good visit - the little stinker has discovered how to play videos we can watch together as we chat.

Once safely at home, she did some research on line and found two possible vehicles at dealerships in her town.  One of them was a far better price so she arranged to take a test drive on Wednesday morning, when Eli went to school.  The same friend who picked her up on Sunday provided transportation. She liked the car and was able negotiate a better deal than the on-line price.  This may not sound much to many people, but she struggles with any potential situation that could result in conflict.  I can recall a time that phoning anyone she didn't know well was difficult for her.

I drove out early Thursday, in time to spend a little time with Eli before school.  Once we dropped him off, we headed for the insurance agency to arrange the license for the vehicle before she could pick it up.  After the school pickup,  we headed into the nearby city so she could get the rest of the items left in her vehicle at the tow yard.  I drove because she wasn't feeling comfortable driving on the highway. One of the items was the remote control for her garage door - definitely important. Before I left for home we spent some time at the park letting him run off some energy.

I was absolutely exhausted by the time I arrived home.  It's been a long time since I've driven five hours in a day.  I got a chance to relax on Friday as the Worlds Men's curling event started that morning. While watching I finished knitting the pieces for Eli's sweater - first time in almost a week I worked on it. This morning I blocked and pinned it - once it is dried I'll sew the pieces together and finish the collar and button bands. 

I can officially say that spring is here.  On Thursday before I left for D's, I saw my first robin!  This morning there were two blue jays in my yard.  The jays are pretty birds but, oh my, the racket they make.  I couldn't get to my camera fast enough but I'm sure I'll hear them again.  

That wraps up my week...time for more curling!  Have a great week ahead everyone.  Take care and stay well.

It was a good week - welcome to spring!

Back to regular programming. It has been an incredibly busy week and it seemed that Friday arrived before I even blinked. Before I get into the rest of the happenings, I'll mention that our Saskatchewan team came up one rock short and finished the Brier with a bronze medal, as they did last year.  They did us proud, and I know they'll be back to Brier again as they're still a young team.  The winner of the event was the Alberta team, skipped by Brendan Bottcher.  They've been the final four years in a row, and finally won the big game.  They'll be great ambassadors for Canada at the World's in a few weeks.

I finally Since there was no curling to watch, I got a bit of spring cleaning done.  It started with cabinets in the bathrooms.  Although I clean the rest of the bathrooms regularly the drawers and under the sink don't get cleared out very often.  My daughter called as I was doing the main bathroom - since some of the items were hers I was able to sort through and toss some old stuff.  I'm going to look for some peel and stick tiles as the linoleum that was put down 30 odd years ago when the house was built is beginning to pull up.  Note to self: Add to the to-do list.

In the kitchen I pulled out the fridge and stove to clean the sides and behind them.  Generally I do this job around November 1 and April 1, but I didn't think it got done in the fall, so was pleasantly surprised to see it wasn't as bad as I thought it might be.  Still picked up a small kitten of cat hair behind the fridge but none behind the stove.  The spills down the side of the stove were bad enough!  I'm not sure how that happens as the stove is a tight fit between the cupboards; I have to hold my mouth just right in order to put it back in place.  

On Tuesday morning, I'd cleared out the pantry shelves and two lazy Susans of the contents, cleaned the shelves and replaced everything back in order.  I did an inventory of the lazy Susans because things tend to get lost in there.  Only two items had fallen off.  To reach these I have to lay on the floor, put my head and upper body in the cupboard, and stretch out my arm in order to reach the back of the cupboard.  I hate cleaning those cupboards.

As you already know, Tuesday afternoon was spent in line-up waiting for my vaccine.  Other than a little tenderness on Wednesday I had no reaction at all.  I feel for those (thinking of you Connie) who have bad reactions.  I wonder if one vaccine is more likely to cause a reaction than another? 

I did get out walking twice this week, once on Monday and again on Wednesday.  I heard the geese fly over the house in the morning so had to check out the pond.  They're back!  We do have some geese that stay over winter as there is a bit of open water on the man made lake but I'm pretty certain these are returning from the south.

We had such beautiful weather much of the week.  The nights were cool, below freezing but the daytime temperatures were well above it most days.  Best of all we had lots of sunshine, which meant I could open up the sun room for the cats.  The rabbit seemed to be enjoying it too, as it gave itself a bath in the sun.

The creek, and of course the pond, are still frozen over but the snow is melting quickly.

I chuckled at these two napping on the ice.  Close to mirror images of each other.

The mixed doubles curling started on Thursday and will run through to next Thursday.  It's a much different game than the regular four person team curling.  For starters, there are rocks set up at the beginning of the end (not thrown) and each duo throws a total of five rocks.  The first and fifth rock are thrown by the woman, the rest by the man on the team.  Rocks cannot be taken out of play before the third rock of the ten is played, until that point, the rocks that are thrown will be a freeze or a draw.  It means a LOT of rocks are in play so there can be big scores.  Also, there are only 8 ends versus 10 in the men's and women's games.  I quite enjoy watching because the strategy is quite different and I appreciate the fast pace of the game.  This is also an Olympic sport (now) and Canada has to win their place in another event even though we won the gold medal in the last winter Olympics.

While I'm watching curling I worked on a couple of projects; a vest for myself and a cardigan for Eli. The vest I completed late on Friday.  It's made of a chunky yarn so far too warm to wear at the moment. I wanted something I could wear in the house when I feel a little chilled plus it helps use up some of the yarn stash I've built up over the last couple of years.  I still have some left that I can use to make a scarf.  The cardigan for Eli isn't moving as quickly, I should have the back finished today.  

Spring/summer came early on Friday when it reached a high of 19C (66F).  There were records broken all over the province.  It won't last but, boy oh boy, it was fantastic even for a single day. Unfortunately my backyard seems to be flooding again this year likely because the ground beneath is still frozen solid.  

This morning I had several visitors to the front yard. They all seemed happy to pose for a photo or two.  There were four in total - but I couldn't get a shot of all of them together.  

Note how much brown in showing on this one.  

This one is still pretty white, and also smaller than the other one.  It's nibbling on my spruce tree. I can't imagine it tastes that great.

More curling today and I need to run out to pick up some fresh vegetables and a few other items.  That sums up the day ahead for me.  

Take care everyone, have a great week ahead. Happy Spring!!

Week 10,5 - Digging the dirt

Sunday brought wicked winds our way, so I spent much of the day indoors.  I wasn't unhappy to do so as every Sunday TSN replays past curling matches.  Some of them I remember well, others I've forgotten who won or lost.  There were three draws televised, one mid-morning and the other two starting late afternoon.  It meant I could do a few things between the draws, so I took care of cleaning and tidying the sun room.

I removed the towels I use to cover the cushions, and along with the rug in front of the door (not shown), I threw a load of laundry in the machine.  While these were being washed, I swept the floors, and vacuumed the rugs, and wiped down the tables and the radio stand (behind the recliner).  It was dusty out there!  I do keep the windows open for the breeze on nice days - apparently I need to dust more often.  When I went to take the load out of the dryer, I showed my son the lint that was captured....it was thick and I'd pretty sure most of it was cat hair!

On days when the weather outside isn't conducive to sitting outdoors this room is a blessing.  Not only do the cats love to nap out there, I enjoy sitting in my chair or (if Sasha is napping on it) the love seat.  With a book, and cup of coffee or water, and the radio softly playing in the background, I can enjoy watching the birds out the window and just simply relax.

Despite the continued winds, I did not relax on Monday.  There were bedding plants to be potted up.

I have a routine, I start out front where the planters will be seen from the street, then the front patio and front flower bed, before heading around to the back yard to take of the deck planters.  Generally the few leftover plants (I always seem to buy more than I need) end up in a small bed on the west side of the yard near the fence.

For my benefit, more than yours, here are a few photos. 

I have two tall planters out in front of the big spruce tree, and a shorter round one.  As I've mentioned, instead of filling the planter with several bedding plants I buy a 10" container, and just plop them in.  There is a small ivy in the one corner, which will trail over the edge.  Depending on the year I sometimes end up with a mass of ivy, others not so much.  The round container has yellow wave petunias in it. These are quite small right now but by the end of summer will have filled in the container.  

In this patio container (I have two) is a new to me plant, a Kalanchoe or Widow's Thrill.   It's actually a succulent and usually a houseplant so we'll see how it does out in the container.  It has dark green waxy leaves.  The lime green sedum is to it's left, and I've added a white bacopa and a purple calibrachoa (million bells).  I expect the calibrachoa will spread and flow over the edge of the container, as will the bacopa, though to a lesser degree.  This area gets several hours of sunshine but is sheltered from the winds.

In a sheltered spot that gets little sun, I hung this container.  I've planted it with two fuschias, a bacopa and a shade loving ivy.  I'm not sure how the ivy will do - isn't that part of the joy of gardening, waiting to see how things turn out?  Normally, I'd purchase a larger pot of fuschia, well established, but this year I wasn't going to go to several garden centres to find it.  Again it is a bit of an experiment but if these thrive I'm sure I'll do the same next year.

My front flower bed is just beginning to show signs of life.  I had cut back the Bergenia quite agressively and it is beginning to bloom.  There is a Jacob's ladder that is up about three inches, but most of the green you see are the annuals and perennials I planted this spring.

This container is one of three that sit on my back deck.  I went with seed geraniums as no one had larger ones for some odd reason.  The geranium is supposed to be pale pink, and I've added in a variegated calibrachoa (purple with yellow centers) and the lime creeping jenny.  These containers get sun from mid-morning to late afternoon.  The deck is on the east side of sun room so by that time the sun is in the west.  In July and August it is nice to have that shade!

I quite enjoy sitting out here on a sunny day with a book and cold drink. On rainy days I sit up on the upper tier as it has an overhang. Once I had finished planting what I could (more on that later), I sat out for an hour or so.  The sun kept disappearing behind the clouds but peeked out enough so that it was lovely and warm.

I pulled these deck planters out of storage this year as without the shed I wanted something of interest on the lower deck.  There are two of them, planted with four multi-colored stock, and a verbena, one pink and one purple. These will get full day sun so I expect I'll be watering them frequently.  I'm going to keep an eye out for an inexpensive plant stand or even a shoe rack to lift these off the deck.

In the gravel patch, I put out these clay pots with gazanias (African daisies).  I'm not sure what color they'll be, I'm assuming yellows and reds.  These don't actually fit my theme of pinks and purples but I love the flowers and this year could not find the pink ones.  This area gets the full day sun too, and I expect they'll do well in the heat.  I'm not sure what I've done with all my garden critters - I could only find one (a duck), so I brought these birds that normally I keep on top of my china cabinet.  In addition, I moved the bird bath to this side of the trees.  I'll be able to see it from both the sun room and the deck.  The robins have been enjoying it immensely but not since I've moved it.  We'll see if they figure out where it went to (about 3 feet away).

On Tuesday, I woke to sunny skies and 12C. We were in for a beautiful day.  It was also grocery and laundry day.  I headed out early so I could get home to spend time in the yard.  I stopped first at Home Depot to pick up some grass seed and fertilizer.  A few more plants may have found their way into my cart. :)  I picked up two variegated lamium and a sweet Woodruff, perennials for my front flower bed.  Next up was our local Co-op for groceries.  I asked the clerk as I was checking out, if the store was busier now than before the pandemic?  She agreed - it used to be that I'd find a half dozen vehicles in the lot, these days it's at least 3 to 4 times that many.  I wasn't able to find the containers I wanted at HD, so I ran into the garden centre at Walmart, where I found what I needed.  Last stop was Pet Valu for cat litter.  I use a brand Fresh for Life that is only available there.  It's the best I've found for keeping odor at bay and clumps well.  

At home I got the groceries put away and started the laundry, cleaned the cat litter, did a few dishes and then it was time to head outdoors.  My first task was to finish potting up the remaining bedding plants and to plant the perennials.  I have two hanging baskets, each with a calibrachoa, a verbena, and a bacopa.  One is hanging in the back yard, the other out front.

I pretty much spent the rest of the day relaxing on the deck, occasionally going in to change the load of laundry or get a cup of water.  It is this time of year, that makes me wonder if I truly want to move away from here.  

Today, I was up early, it was overcast and already 15C (60F).  The forecast is a high of 27C (80F) and isolated thundershowers later today so I decided I'd spend as much time as I could outdoors.  After I chatted with D, as I do every morning, I headed outdoors.  The spruce tree in back is shedding needles and the coverings from what I believe will be the new batch of cones.  My deck was covered with these, so I got busy with the broom.  I kept going and swept up the sidewalk around the house and the patio.  I had a bag of debris so took my grabber and picked up the cones that had fallen as well.  I certainly didn't get them all but made a good start.

I was so excited this morning to find that my radish are starting to come up! I've got a shoot of an onion too.  The peas and lettuce in the other containers are yet to show.  

I spent a bit more time puttering, spreading some more grass seed and fertilizer, and raking before watering the lawn. Then it was time to relax! The sun has made an appearance, so I grabbed my water, my book, and sunscreen before I settled in to my chair.  

I've just popped in the house as the clouds are back. The weather radar would suggest that rain is on the way, but it appears to be a couple of hours out. I decided I'd take a few minutes to finish this post, as it's already far too long. If you've made it this far, I'm impressed!  I'm heading back outdoors to read and relax.  Besides the bird song, I made this little fountain from a pump from an old cat fountain, a glass bowl that was chipped, and couple of handful of rocks from the gravel patch.  While it doesn't block the sounds from the neighbouring yards, it does provide something else to hear in the background.

Take care everyone, stay well, and I hope the weather has brought spring to your homes as well!