A not so busy week

A word about Wednesday's photo; the potatoes are from two plants. I still have six more to dig up! We really don't have anywhere to store them for long, as they need a cool, dry place. The basement tends to be too humid and the pantry too warm. So I plan to dig a hill or two over the next few weeks...at least until there is a threat of frost. I grew up eating potatoes every day, and could do so again. We picked up a machine to cut French fries and will bag and freeze a fair amount as well. 

Garden update: The tomatoes were coming faster than I could eat them, so I picked several and took them to one of the thrist store volunteers. Her tomatoes did nothing this year. D also took some, along with a cucumber to the librarian. She was thrilled to get them, as she's only grown cherry tomatoes this year and exclaimed how excited to eat a tomato sandwich. 

Speaking of the tomatoes, a second volunteer has popped up in the perennial bed. The first one has flowers now, and maybe, just maybe we'll see a wee bit of fruit from it.

The long range forecast doesn't indicate any potential for frost until well into September. My corn cobs are growing and I'm hopeful we'll get a feed from those yet. 

This photo is simply to illustrate how much the oxalis has escaped the perennial bed and is filling in the rock area in front of the gazebo. Too, the lamium is also setting up outside the rock borders. I dug up a piece of lamium and put it in the new perennial bed. Oh, and my lilac bush is slightly confused and blooming!

I did shifts at the thrift store on Monday and Tuesday. Monday was our last "August" cleaning day, but we came into an pile in the sorting room and a full bin to boot. There wasn't a whole lot of cleaning completed that day as several of us spent the time sorting. When we left, there were just a few bags left...something for the Tuesday crew to manage. I got a call that afternoon from M, the team leader for Tuesday's volunteers asking if I could come in for a few hours. I agreed, and when I arrived just shortly before 1 p.m., the store was busy (we're open 11-4 on Tuesdays and Thursday's), and a few volunteers were busy in the sorting room as well.

Why, you might wonder, since we'd left so little the day prior? Well, the donation bin was full on arrival that morning, and more donations kept coming in during the day. My first task was to take the large cart to the bin area and bring another round in - several boxes and a number of bags. Again, I spent the three hours I was there assisting with the sorting. As busy as we were, the store continued to do so as well, so we didn't run out hangers or racks. At 3:55 p.m. an announcement was made in-store that we were closing in 5 minutes...didn't slow some shoppers down. The store has late hours on Thursday, until 8 p.m. so I told every one I came across they were welcome to come back. It took until nearly 4:15 to clear the store!

I got a call as I was leaving from SaskEnergy (our natural gas provider). I'd been in touch with them the week prior because we hadn't received a utility bill from them for mid-August...very unusual. While I was told to expect the worker last Friday, he didn't arrive until this week. Apparently there was issue with a battery in the equipment, though I don't quite understand how that would impact the issuance of a bill, as they just estimate our useage. In any event, the part was replaced and I should see the next bill by the 15th of the month. To avoid a big surprise, I paid the same amount we'd paid the month previous.

Wednesday was Eli's first day of Grade 4. This is his last year at the junior school. How can that be? His mom took photos of him and I stole from her. He's certainly growing! It won't be long before he's as tall as I am. 5'2" and shrinking. :)

Thursday morning, the plumber arrived to install the new range hood. The old one was likely put in 20 years ago, and the fan didn't work well. He wasn't able to hook up the electrical based on a conversation with his employer (though he assured us he could have). The electrician arrived a few hours later to finish the job and to install a Google Nest thermostat. They left shortly before I headed over to the library for Knit and Natter. G was there and as we haven't seen each other for awhile, it was a good opportunity to catch up. One of the librarians visited with us for awhile...lots of garden talk!

When I returned home, we went to the thrift store to do a bit of shopping. I had talked to one of the other volunteers earlier in the week, and she had suggested I might be needed for the late afternoon shift. She wasn't there but I checked with one of the board members but she said they figured they had enough volunteers. We spent $30 on two baskets and went home with at least three dozen pieces. Many were for Eli, I had four but will be returning two, my daughter found a number for herself and for her friends children. My two purchases were a pair of jeans and a light jacket. D has a couple of pieces I may just steal or at least borrow from time to time - one is sleeveless t-shirt and the other is a black dress.

The roof guys were back on Friday to finish the shingling next door. It was odd because the previous tenant who hasn't been seen for nearly a week arrived shortly before they did. He brought in the recycling bin (put out on Monday) and was seen carrying a small bag into the house. No one seems to living in the house any more and we've seen no potential buyers though we could have missed someone coming in and out. In any event it appears the roof is finished.

I'm not certain if it will help sell the house or not. There have been at least three other houses of similar size listed here in town. One of them is listed at $5K below LND's asking price and the other two are between $30-40K lower.  I won't be surprised if we don't end up with more tenants.

Meanwhile D and I tackled a few things in the kitchen. I had purchased a pork loin and cut it into a roast, a few pork chops, and cubes for stew. While she sealed these into freezer bags, I cut up the rest of the potatoes into fries and hash brown cubes. The machine we'd bought to cut the fries was actually broken - D had found it at a garage sale so no significant loss. After blanching the potatoes, I set them out to dry on cookie sheets, and she sealed them into bags. The hash browns were for breakfast bowls that evening.

The rest of the day was quiet, as D hadn't slept well the night before. Eli was home mid-day so he played and I watched some television and worked on my cross stitching. 

Today will be another quiet day, no real plans on the horizon. I like those kind of days.

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Road Trip

We're experiencing August weather; that means warm days and cool nights. No frost in the forecast yet, which is good because so much of the garden hasn't reached maturity yet. The photo on Wednesday was the first tomato to be almost ripe - enough I couldn't keep from picking it! The pop can easily just there for scale...no secret meaning at all.

I'm posting this on Thursday because I'm heading to Alberta to visit a friend for the weekend. S had rotator cuff surgery in early July, and until recently she's been in a lot of pain. But she called on the weekend, saying she's bored and asked if I'd consider making a visit. Apparently, she's been spending her time putting together jigsaw puzzles one handed. She's now sleeping better and she's planning to go back to work in the next few weeks. This is my friend S, who "retired" a year after I did, but has been working on contract ever since. In any event, it is an 8 hour drive one way, so I'm leaving early today and will return home on Sunday.

This week, I did my shift at the thrift store on Monday. I was part of the cleaning crew, while others worked the sorting area. When I checked the donation bin on the way in, it was half full, and when we reached the outer doors of the thrift store we found more piles. AND when I left a van was pulled up and a couple were filling the bin again. We certainly never run out of new items for sale. I, being a good girl this week, came home with nothing. :)

Tuesday, D and Eli had a full day in NTO. He went to morning program, then to the splash pad with his afternoon group. After time for a quick snack, he had a session with his therapist. She was amazed at how he is reading - apparently he wanted her to see his progress. Meanwhile I used the time to be productive in the house; sweeping and vacuuming floors, mopping floors, cleaning the bathroom, and tidying my bedroom. Outside, I pulled the peas as they were drying off at the bottom, and planted the spirea bush. In the evening, I watered the garden and did some dead-heading.

I also worked on the Christmas ornaments for the important people at Eli's school; principal, teachers, EAs, and school counselor s. That's eight ib total.

It's hard to believe that the summer has flown by and Eli will be back in school in two weeks. I know school returns in August in some locations but here in Saskatchewan the return to school happens after the Labour Day weekend. Eli will be in Grade 4! Like so many kids, he's grown over the summer including his feet. Good thing his mom is prepared and has shoes for the next two sizes. She buys them on sale and tucks them away knowing they will be needed. No last minute back to school shopping required. 

Wednesday was pretty quiet. I made sure things were well watered, dead-headed, and got rid of a few more weeds. Indoors, I got my bag ready to go for my trip. In the evening I went to the library for Knit and Natter. I was joined by a woman who lives an hour away. That's seems a lot...though she said she'd come to town to shop and decided to stay for the group.

I should be on the road shortly after this publishes. I plan to stop about halfway for a break. D and Eli will be off to NTO for his morning program and then back home. He was invited to join the group from Tuesday afternoon at the swimming pool here in town. Another busy day for the two of them.

The only photos I've taken this week besides the tomato are these two: the removal of the wall next to the furnace and the after photo. The latter was taken after we'd set up the shelving and D had moved a lot of Eli's toys from the other areas in the basement.  Yes, he has a lot of toys!

Sorry for the different fonts. I'm using my phone and I can't figure out how to highlight and change it. So I'd have to retype it...and I'm too lazy to do that. :)

I expect I'll post again on Monday when I've returned from my road trip. Have a great weekend everyone!

Goodbye July

Another week (and a month) has flown by - where does the time go? It wasn't even a particularly busy week for me. When the weather wasn't steaming hot, I managed to get a bit of weeding done. The garden looks decent ...for the moment, and the front yard and new perennial bed were cleared too. Harvesting was limited to picking peas, a cucumber, and pulling the broccoli plants. I'm sad about the latter, but will try again next year.

I did my last Tuesday shift at the thrift store this week. There is no a/c in the old school building and even with the fans running, we were all sweating buckets in no time. Normally Saskatchewan is known for "dry" heat, but this year the humidity is very high and most of us are feeling it. It was 95% one morning, which explains why the baskets of pansies I have in the shade of the tree out front have not needed watering. 

The first few days were extremely hot (for us), with temperatures over 32C/89F and with the humidity felt like it was five or more degrees hotter. As a result, I spent time indoors in the heat of the day venturing out to water in the evenings, or weed in the early mornings. The dratted mosquitos are out in full force too, but I'm seeing more dragonflies. 

D and Eli went to NTO both Tuesday and Thursday mornings, and his afternoon activity on Tuesday was actually held here in town at the local arcade. Lots of fun! He had his library program on Wednesday and Thursday afternoon, and the latter coincided with the afternoon Knit and Natter. A woman who hadn't met joined me, she had attended in the winter months when I was away, but has returned after having a hip replacement earlier this year. 

On Friday morning, D and I tackled the garage. As it no longer holds a vehicle (door is too low for her SUV), it has become a dumping ground for some things that were once in my garden shed; camping supplies, Eli's outdoor toys, the lawn mower, and other tools, as well as the new freezer. I had purchased a couple of plastic shelving units on sale at Walmart a few weeks ago. They are a good 6 feet tall, and certainly helped to get things off the garage floor, and make space. We have another shelf to put up, since we plan to go through things in storage in the basement too, and will remove some containers to the garage. It's a good idea - not only to get rid of excess items, but I've bought more things that will end up in my garden shed over winter so there isn't room for what once was stored there.

Garden update: As you saw on Wednesday, the day lilies have begun to open. I had a memory pop up from two years ago on FB that indicated they first opened on the same date! I'll have to keep track for next year.

I cut back the peonies and the lilies in amongst those plants these lilies are starting to bloom.

In the original perennial bed, the clematis I recently planted is blooming. It barely has any leaves but the flowers are coming.

Clearly it is happy and I'm hoping it will over winter well. I'll be sure to cover the roots with leaves to provide some protection. It is hardy to our climate and should be fine.

Here is a chuckle for you. One of these things is not like the other! 

Last year we had tomatoes growing in containers near that bed. I suspect I may have tossed a small tomato iinto the bed, and I've just recently noticed it growing. It's unlikely it will fruit but I'll leave it.

Speaking of tomatoes, one of my plants in the raised bed is proving to be prolific. I counted 15 tomatoes on this one plant, with more flowers still blooming. The other two tomato plants have seven or eight. The cucumber is coming along too, and I've found four more wee cukes. And the corn is showing signs of tassles though no ears as yet. 

 

Out front the Gerbera daisy appears to love the heat and is proving to me, I can grow them successfully (though I likely have little to do with it).

Behind it is a container with geranium, curly glass, and another annual which name I can never recall. Those plants are doing well, but not as great as the Gerbera.

Finally, here is a photo of the front yard after I finished weeding and cutting back of the peonies and rose bushes. The latter seem to be waning though there were a few more recent blooms coming on. (I still need to do some painting but that needs to wait until the plants die back.)

Today we're planning to visit a few garage sales in the morning and I expect D and Eli will visit the pool. I'll hang out with the cats and work on my cross-stitch. The weeding in the back yard can wait. :)

Have a great week ahead everyone!

My kind of week - mostly

I have won the battle but not the war on weeds. This week was spent cleaning up the weeds in the areas that were xeriscaped by one of the former owners. Over the years as leaves and seeds fall, a slight build up of soil is created, and weeds are nothing if not persistent. It has taken most of the week and made possible by the weather. Yes, we finally have got some nice weather with temperatures in the mid-20'sC/mid-70'sF.  The area behind the house was definitely the worst, and I spent both Sunday and Monday morning working on it. 

I also got the raised flower bed planted with the perennials. Some I had removed to keep them out of the way of the fence build and a couple I'd purchased recently. The Jackmani clematis is to the right and hopefully will fill the trellis before summer's end. At the base, I've re-planted a cress - the clematis likes to have it's feet shaded, so this should help

To the right and behind the fading poppy bloom is sedum. It is small now, but will grow up to 12-24 inches and fill in to a similar amount. As you can see the purple lamium, dead nettle, and oxalis are thriving. In fact, these plants have sprouted outside the garden bed, in the rock areas. I've been considering leaving them to continue to spread...perhaps they'll choke out the weeds? That would be nice. :)

The peony show is waning and I've started cutting back the spent blooms. The lilies that live among them have taller now than the peonies and I expect they'll start putting on a show in a week or so. (The vacant house next door has some blooming.

Tuesday was the start of day camps for Eli in the NTO. He'll be attending the camp at one of the local schools Tuesday and Thursday mornings, while the SaskAbilities camp is being held on Tuesday afternoons. He's been attending the summer day camp (mornings) for three years and there are many familar faces who face similar challenges. The afternoon is new, and the children have a wide range of disabilities. This week they were transported to a small town swimming pool, which features two water slides and a lazy river. Apparently Eli was fascinated by the lazy river. His mom is keeping him busy, as he's also enrolled in the library program on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons. It's a short walk, down the block and across the street from our house. This year there is a mixed group of kids, boys and girls with a good age range. D says he still gets a long weekend, though they will be doing some learning activities as well, and private swim lessons (evening) are coming up shortly. The summer will fly by, I'm sure.

I didn't go along, as I was scheduled to work at the thrift store. This week, I spent most of my time in the store, rather than sorting. We have multiple racks of clothing from the recent donations, and I tried to move as many of them as I could. Still we had four racks of "new arrivals" for the customers. AND customers we had - with the exception of our sale days I have never seen the store so busy. Nice of them to come in, as I was able to move things to the regular racks (note the prices are the same for the new arrivals). Two of us put out items on the shelves as well, small appliances, glass ware, shoes, bedding, craft items, etc. Some of these items were sold before I left the store. Nice to see!

As usual, I came home exhausted but it was my night to cook. I made up taco meat with a portion of the beef/pork mixture and "mom" burgers from the rest. We are expecting temperatures this weekend over 30C/86F. I expect I'll be doing a fair amount of grilling in the next week. Once I had these chores done, I collasped on the bed until D and Eli returned.

Wednesday, I was back at the weed picking in the rocks, this time on the side of the house. I wanted to put up the gazebo and needed to clear the area around the patio, in particular, otherwise those weeds would be there until fall as I haven't enough room to get to them. Not that many won't appear/reappear. I dodged the sun as much as possible, and managed to get a good amount of the area cleaned up. I also hung up a couple of pieces of garden art on the fence, and started digging up the new perennial bed. I've decided it will be the bulb garden. Once I've cleared up the weeds, as much as possible, I plan to plant the patio lilies I purchased last week, as well as a few bulbs I picked up earlier this year. Hopefully I'll find some tulip bulbs too, and get them in the ground before the end of fall. 

This is the ugly area of the yard. It does get direct sunlight for a few hours a day. I'm hoping that in a couple of years, it will look pretty too. 

The photo of the bunny wasn't a great one. I was clearing weeds around the perennial bed when I saw something streaking down the sidewalk towards me. Initially I thought it was Stanley, our cat who loves to get outdoors un-noticed. When I realized it wasn't him, I tried to grab my phone to take a photo. It took off a short distance but didn't immediately leave the yard. As I said to D, we've got lots of food here for it. She told me she saw two black bunnies and a grey/white one in the back alley. I suspect they were someone's pets that they tired of. I did post on the local lost pet's FB site but no one has responded. Poor things, I don't suspect they'll last long...despite the food source. When I went out to check the garden, I found that something had chewed a good amount off a pea plant, decimated a sweet pea, and the little bugger has been nibbling on the broccoli as well.

In the garden update, the potatoes are blooming, as are the peas, tomatoes and cucumbers. I am seeing a few cucumber blossoms dropping but my research suggests these are likely male flowers that have made their contribution. I'll have to wait and see. I'm happy to report that the tomatoes are setting fruit. This is much earlier than what we experienced last year - though I am growing a different variety.

Guess what I did on Thursday? If you guessed I bought more plants, you would be right. The garden centers are selling off much of their stock, and our Independent grocer had the best prices. I found a planter containing cosmos, one struggling petunia, and one, as yet, unidentified plant. This will end up in the raised perennial bed, with the hopes the cosmos will drop seeds and I'll see volunteers next year. The second plant I bought is a lilac bush. I've got a place in mind for it, inside the front gate. I bought both for less than $20. 

We had a thunderstorm with a heavy downpour in the early morning, which was welcome as the rain barrels were nearly empty. They were almost full in less than an hour. No water in the basement, thankfully. Oh, but the humidity was so high. The mosquitos were out in force, so I forwent working outdoors and did some housekeeping instead. My bedroom needed a tidy, and the kitchen counters were cleared and scrubbed. I don't touch D's doom piles though - she seems to know what and where things are in these spaces. 

Friday morning, with lots of bug spray, we were able to get the gazebo up. With the table and chairs tucked inside, it is now a place where I can sit with a cup of tea and my breakfast or just hide from the weeds. ;)  I know that once the clean-up in the rocks is complete, I'll start my weeding in the flower and garden beds again. I'd like to have everything reasonably cleaned up before I leave for a week next Wednesday. I'm off to the city for a visit with my son and his g/f. 

I also managed to wrap the garden bed in a plastic webbing. It's about 24" tall and should help keep bad bunny out of the vegetables.  The planter of cosmos was put in the perennial bed and all the containers were watered.  Last up was more rock weeding before I headed indoors to avoid the heat of the day.

Today, I'm planning to head out early to get more weeding done. At some point I plan to pick up fuel at the local Co-op, as 10 cents of every litre will be donated to the RCMP officers who were injured in the shooting. I suspect the line-ups to the pumps will be long. There is also a BBQ and silent auction we'll likely attend.

The forecast says we'll reach a high of 33C/91F - I'll be hiding indoors in the a/c for the rest of the day. I've got knitting to work on, a book to read, and there is Canadian football to watch - though our team won't have a game until Sunday.

Have a great week ahead everyone!

A Day Late - keeping busy

The first peony bloom!

The weather continues to be erratic, with rain almost every day, but in small amounts. We had sunshine too, and I've spent some time outdoors, doing chores, and reading in my downtime. At this point the planting is done, now I need to catch with the weeds.

Our first piece of business on Monday was purchasing an upright freezer from our local hardware store. D has been suggesting it for some time and we arranged with Matt to pick it up and deliver to us. It will stay in the garage (which is insulated) and keep most of our meat and frozen vegetables. With our meal planning we'll bring in what we need for the week to keep in the fridge freezer, while the basement freezer keeps bread products, frozen pizza (Eli's favorite ones), french fries, perogies, etc. It's a bit of an experiment for now but when we filled it on Friday, we discovered I do NOT need to buy meat for some time.

I did my shift at the thrift store on Tuesday. As predicted we received and continue to get donations from the community wide garage sales. In addition one family is clearing out their mother's house and lots of treasures were found among the donations. One was a vintage Carnival glass small sugar bowl. It was set aside fo the woman who prices the more precious items. It would be worth more had it come with the creamer. We'll either sell it in the store or she'll post it on-line. There were also button containers (did your mom have a button jar?), with some really unique buttons, as well as homemade ones as well. I remember my mom making the matching buttons with material from an outfit. I did come home with a pair of wide leg palazzo pants for my daughter, but otherwise resisted the urge to shop...at least for a couple of days.

Wednesday, we had an appointment at the local credit union to open accounts for Eli and I. His mom wants to encourage him to start saving; she'd held onto the money he received for his birthday for the deposit. In my case, there is no branch of my usual institution, so I had opened an account at the local Bank of Montreal when I first moved here. I used it primarily to retrieve cash from the ATM, but they are closing as of Friday this week. Just a note: if I had withdrawn from my regular account at another institution there is a fee of $3-4. So, I closed that account and opened one at the credit union. That will allow me to access cash at the ATM with no fee. At some point, I'll start moving things from my current institution to the credit union, but that will take time as I have regular deposits and withdrawals that will need to changed. 

On Thursday, I went shopping at the thrift store - my feet are always tired after my shift. I found a number of items, though I messed up on the sizing of two of them so they will be returned as donations. Even so, I spent less than $15 for 5 pieces of clothing, one of which was a pretty top to match the palazzo pants I bought for my daughter. I noted that the sorting room wasn't as full as it had been when I left on Tuesday but the racks are full again. There may be another "sale" in the near future. 

One of the women from the thrift store mentioned that Canadian Tire had there annuals reduced in price. Can't pass up a sale, right? I picked another four six packs and a Gerbera daisy. I've never had much look with the daisy, but will give it a try - at $4.99 for the plant I won't be out much if it doesn't survive. 

On Friday, D and I visited a pair of garage sales, where she picked up some new baby clothes for her friend S. My big splurge was another puzzle and a piece of metal art for the yard. I was looking for a plant stand to put up in front of the house but D convinced me a bench would be better. Home Hardware had one for sale so I gave in a purchased it.

On Saturday, I put the bench together, and got the new plants into their pots. I'm now up to seventeen containers, although three of those are perennials that will go into the raised flower bed in the back yard. At the moment that project is on hold until the fence is complete. The next project will see me recaulking the windows and painting the trim in the front of the house.

On a happy note, I finally heard from LND and the fence is a go with Matt. The actual work won't start until July. Matt works full-time for the fire department and is busy with ball season with his daughter. We're also having him do a bit a reno in the basement to remove a wall behind the furnace. The water leak has made it's way to that area in the past and we'd like to have better access to that area.

We've done everything we can to mitigate the leak. I added the rain guards to the window wells. I did dig down and discovered that the wood window frame is rotten. There is a plan to replace windows in a few years so the basement windows to that list. D managed to get the sealant applied to the wall this week, and while we've had rain we haven't seen any evidence in the a basement. There was an area in the back where water was standing. So I've added soil and sloped it away from the foundation. I'll need to let it settle and add more as needed. But fingers crossed, that issue is managed for the time being.

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Thankful for the rain, but that's enough already

Wednesday's photo was definitely a lucky chance photo. I was planning to take a photo of the peony buds, when I spotted the ladybug attended by an ant and a fly. I've not seen that before, and likely won't again. The peonies are budded out and when we get some sunshine and heat I expect they'll be blooming like crazy.

It's rained this week, enough that the rain barrels are full and I haven't had to water the gardens. Wednesday evening was the worst, as it rained so hard that it came through a basement window. D was downstairs and hollered for help. We put down towels (kept for this purpose) and she set up the fan immediately. Thankfully the rain let up after a few minutes, but even so, it made a mess in one corner of the basement. I went out and measured the window wells the next day and ordered rain guards. I've watched a couple of videos and am convinced I can install them myself. The rain gauges showed we had nearly 1.75 inches in less than a half hour!

On Tuesday I did a four hour shift at the thrift store. The amount of donations waiting to be sorted through was crazy, again. We were running out of rack space in the sorting room, so I checked for gaps in the racks inside the store. Men's shirts, women's summer dresses and skirts, and sleepwear needed some additions, so I went through the racks and pulled items to put out on the floor. One of the other volunteers was clearing the "new arrivals" racks in the store as well. The store was actually quite busy and we were able to keep moving items. As for hangers, L purchased three hundred hangers from a store for just $10! I'm guessing they are changing the style of their hangers. She also purchased five more racks. 

I learned that we get a lot of donations from communities within an hour of our town. Many people don't like to donate to Value Village because it is a for-profit store. We do send a lot of things to VV that don't meet our standards. What might those standards be? Items that we don't think anyone would wear, at least most of the time. One of the outfits I put out on the floor was a woman's matching jacket and skirt, made of polyester and salmon coloured. It was in great shape but I suspect was purchased in the 90's. I wouldn't wear it but was assured by others that someone else might. We also send on clothing that has small stains. However, anything that is torn or smells of smoke ends up in the garbage. We don't have a washer/dryer to be able to clean the latter items.

Knit and Natter was held on Thursday afternoon. I couldn't do anything outdoors, so it was a nice way to get out of the house for a bit. There were two of us there. I finished a second mitten and the thumbs for both. I'm only knitting when I'm at the library so I'm pretty slow. I just need to sew in the yarn ends. For my next project, I'm planning to knit or crochet an emotional chicken. More on that  later.

Friday, I was up and moving early as I had received a call last week that I could get my mammogram at the hospital in the NTO. Booked in for 9 a.m., I was asked to be there 45 minutes early, it's a 20-25 minute drive, so I was on the road around by 7:45 a.m. to ensure I had time to find the hospital. I have a family history of breast cancer (including my Dad), thu I have an annual mammogram. For those readers who have never had the experience, I heard a comedienne once describe it as having your breast put in a vice, and then taken into another room. It's not quite that bad but bad enough. :)

A couple of updates: the fence saga continues and I am reaching the end of my rope with the LND. He, apparently, cannot connect with his realtor. My guess is things didn't go well when he listed the house a few years ago - she took photos, put up the listing and the sign, and then he pulled it down within a week to rent it out instead. If so, I wouldn't blame her for ghosting him.

Now he has decided that he needs to find a friend to remove the concrete, as he thinks Matt's price is too high. It isn't. We had Matt here earlier this week to remove some yard waste. We were discussing the issues with LND and Matt mentioned that he's dealt with him before. He wants the quote yesterday and then will hem and haw for four months before he makes a decision. I'm not having that happen. I'll give him until this weekend, and then we're going ahead regardless. I'll pay the extra to get it done because it is an eyesore and a nuisance. 

On a happier note, my gardens are doing well. The potatoes, corn, and peas are up. The carrots and green onions are lagging behind and I may need to replant the carrots. I've learned that carrot seeds like to be kept wet; we had some really warm temperatures and since they are planted in about 1/4 inch soil, I suspect these won't sprout. I'm not sure if it is the same for onion seeds, but I'll replant those as well if I don't see anything in the next few days.

Today is the community wide garage sale. Some of the sales started on Friday, so D and I did a circuit while Eli was at school. We'd planned to go out early Saturday morning, but I'll be working at the thrift store from 10-3. Normally, not opened on Saturdays, we're expecting to be busy with all of the folks out and about. It's forecast to be a warm day with a high of 25C/77F with potential light rain in the morning, and a chance of a thunderstorm in the afternoon. 

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Getting my hands dirty

I'll start this blog by assuring all the readers and those who commented that, yes, the snow photos were taken this week. The snow started on Saturday - the first two photos - we woke to snow but by mid-afternoon it had melted. Not so on Sunday, third photo, and it continued to snow all day and through the night. The fourth photo is what I woke to on Monday. It melted quickly and by afternoon, all that was left was what you see in the fifth photo. There were remnants in shady corners until Wednesday but the 17C/63F temperature took care of those.

I quite enjoyed my volunteer shift on Monday at the thrift store. When we walked in there was a mound of bags to be sorted through. But instead of sorting, I spent my time in the store, sweeping the floor, pulling empty hangers, and putting "new arrivals" on the shop racks. Meanwhile in the sorting room, the other women had managed to make a good dent in the bags of donations. Again, we were running low on hangers! It's amazing how much comes into the sorting area. As I was leaving with L, we noticed that in the two and half hours we'd been at the shop, the donation bin outdoors had been completely filled. She went back to grab a cart and with the help of a few others we emptied the bin onto the cart. While I headed home, two others took the cart back to our hallway. I bet the Tuesday shift were kept busy.

Since Tuesday morning was cool, I spent the time indoors doing very little. It warmed up nicely in the afternoon, so the three of us went outdoors. (It was an in-service day at school so he was home). I did a bit of reorganizing in my garden shed, sweeping it out and moving things to open shelves. We won't be putting up our gazebo until the fence is replaced, so it is sitting on a shelf for now. :( I did discover that I have five bags of mulch...won't need to buy any this year! I also got a string of LED solar lights hung on the shed. It wasn't a particularly sunny day so they didn't light up that evening.

D and I went to NTO on Wednesday morning, after dropping Eli at school. Our first stop was Value Village (I know, I know - I volunteer at a thrift store). But we had coupons to use, D and I each found two summer dresses, and I picked up a towel and a couple of face cloths. The latter items aren't something we see a lot of in our thrift store.

We stopped at the dollar store - they have inexpensive garden planters and tools, and D met a friend in one of the aisles and had a good visit while I shopped. In addition, there were stops at the garden centers at Canadian Tire (bell peppers and pansies), at Real Canadian Superstore (two bags of compost and jalapeno peppers). The garden center at Walmart was a huge disappointment, so after we picked up a few groceries it was time to head back home.

We unpacked our purchases before I headed back out to the garden centers at Independent Grocer and Canadian Tire. I was "only" looking for vegetables but some darned annuals just jumped into my cart. I picked up red onion, broccoli, curly grass and two baskets of annuals at the first store, and geraniums, verbena, salvia, and calibrachoa at the second. There were many more options but I'm trying to limit myself to a half dozen containers of flowers this year and focus more on the vegetable gardens.

Back at the house, D was out running errands, so I got busy in the yard. I took all of the plants I've started in the house to a table outside to start the process of hardening off. The new plants have been out in the greenhouse or on racks outside so they were set out as well. The raised beds needed more soil as it settled after the snow, so I added more soil and compost, along with some fertilizer. The soil got turned in the beds as well as the larger garden bed. I had drawn out a plant map one evening and I took advantage of a rest in my chair to reconsider the plan. Oops, I can't plant carrots in the raised bed as they aren't deep enough! That meant a little more shuffling in my plan. I am trying companion planting as well; basil and tomatoes, onions and peppers. I'm also going to try putting a row of radish between two rows of lettuce. I've seen suggestions that the lettuce will shade the radishes, and slow down the potential for them to bolt. 

When my work was done, I sat and read and listened to the birds before dinner, and then again after dinner. It was so nice to enjoy the warmer weather. The robins, grackles, and sparrows were happy too. There was a potential for rain that evening but it did not come to be. Before heading indoors I moved the plants into the shed for the night. While no frost was forecast it would be cool overnight at 5C/10F.

The rain came overnight, not a lot of it but enough to wet down the grass and garden soil. Time to pull some weeds! They're far easier to pull when the ground is wet. The plants came out of the shed to enjoy the fresh air too. 

The rain fell overnight and everything was wet! I took advantage of the loosened soil to tackle the day lilies in the area in front of the flower bed. They block the view of the lower plants in the bed, and we've got mounds of them in other locations in the yard. I will tell you, in case you didn't know, that day lilies have a ridiculous root system. The tubers look like gnarled old feet with strings or roots going everywhere and to a depth that is hard to conceive. Remember when you were a kid and tried to dig a hole to China? Or was that just me. In any event, that's what I felt I was doing.

This photo was taken mid-way through the process.

I filled three garbage bags with detritus from the lilies. What I discovered was the bed is, like the peony bed, encased in a concrete edging. The lilies had spread well beyond this barrier. Imagine the fun I had when I hit that hidden concrete with my shovel! I plan to move the dirt out completely, locate that border and then refill the space with a ground cover of some sort. We have dead nettle and other lamium, and will use a piece of one or the other. I'd prefer phlox but can't find it at our local garden centers. Perhaps I can find some in the neighbourhood and beg a piece from another gardener. 

Friday was wet and cool, with more rain having fallen overnight.  I did get out and move the plants outside when I picked Eli up from school. It had stopped raining and the temperature reached 12C/54F. I'm eager to get out to the garden this weekend to plant seeds and start the process of transplanting the starts. Hopefully things won't be too wet to get at it on Saturday. 

The weather forecast suggests we're in for a hot week next week (in relative terms). Most of the week will range between 25C-30C/77F-80F. No concerns about frost or snow. I'm looking forward to it! 

Have a great week ahead everyone!                                                                              

Good days, good deals, and plans for the future

I'm starting this post on Friday, which might suggest I've had a busy week. That wouldn't be completely accurate though it has its moments.

I did my first shift on Monday morning at the thrift store, from 10-12. The store wasn't opened and this time is meant to give the volunteers time to clean and organize the store, as well as sort incoming donations. I'll be part of this shift for the month of May. (Not entirely sure what happens in June, but I'll find out later). 

We eventually ran out of hangers, and with one of the Facebook group administrators in attendance it was decided that we needed to have a sale. Most clothing items in the store sell for $2 or $3, with the option of getting a bag - filled as much as one can and be able to tie it closed for just $15. For this week, that price was changed to two bags for $20. One purchases the bags on entry and then browses and shops as long as they like.

D and I went to the store on both Tuesday and Thursday. Primarily she picked up items for her friend who is expecting her third child in August. I don't know what the count was on Thursday, but I do know that she got close to 60 items, mostly baby and small toddler sizes, plus a few items for S's older girls. We also found some t-shirts and shorts for Eli, and a couple of hoodies. I did get a few items too, but I won't be keeping the pants (too small) and a pair of capris (too big). We don't have the space for dressing rooms so it can be hit and miss.

On Monday, though, I did find a piggy bank for my daughter. She's been wanting one for awhile as she's been keeping spare change in a jar. Most piggy bank's at thrift stores tend to be missing their plugs...this one was complete.

Wednesday, we had a contractor out to discuss replacing the wooden fence. It was in bad shape when we moved in two years ago, and my brother helped us brace it as it was badly leaning. It's gotten worse, especially since the new tenants moved in last fall. The grandparents are great, their son and grandchildren not so much. When the elders are home, the kids are supervised and well-behaved. When left with their father, not so much. As you can see, several boards on the fence have been broken and the length of the fence is leaning even more so.

D has spoken to the owner, and he has tentatively agreed to pay his share for the fence. However, we cannot find a company willing to replace it with another wooden fence. I'm hesitant to put up a vinyl fence because I fear the damage those children might do. Plus the parking area in the back is gravel and I'm concerned about stones thrown when D is snowblowing. The contractor suggested that these vinyl fences are better than they were in the past, and can handle the impact - he suggested we might see scuffing. The benefit, of course, is no need to repaint or stain every few years and the posts used are steel. If any of my readers have experience with this type of fencing, I'd really appreciate hearing your opinions.

Something else I managed to finish this week was the poncho I started when I was in Yuma. It primarily used stash yarn from the previous owner of my unit (I did say I hit the motherlode when I found those containers of yarn), and about four skeins of yarn I picked up on sale at the Walmart. All in all, it likely cost me $20Cdn to make, plus lots of time. Unlike most ponchos it has a front opening, and I could crochet or braid a belt for it, but it works without one. It's quite heavy and warm and I suspect both my daughter and I will get use of it, especially in the cooler weather of spring and fall.

Back to the thrift store, I did another shift on Thursday evening as the store was open extended hours. There wasn't a lot to sort, so most of my time was spent going through the racks, removing empty hangers, moving mis-hung items to the appropriate and bringing out more items from the sorting room as needed. The earlier shift was apparently very busy, however we were pretty quiet. Remember how I said on Monday we were out of hangers - here are the hangers that were back in the sorting on Thursday evening! The sale certainly cleared out a LOT of items.

The weather hasn't been great this week, but I did get out on Wednesday to do a bit of cleaning up in the back yard, mostly of the day lilies. In the flower bed, I'm seeing the poppies start to show some growth, and in the garden the chives are doing really well - we can start using them any time. Indoors, I had to repot the tomatoes, as they starting to get root bound in the smaller pots. My cucumbers are both up, and once they have their third leaves, I'll repot them into something bigger as well. I am going to try to grow them in containers, using a trellis for support. It's the first time I've ever grown cucumbers so we'll see how it goes.

This weekend I'm hoping to spend more yard outdoors, and start the process of building two raised garden beds. I purchased the kits last fall on sale, and I need to put down cardboard to kill/limit the growth of the grass. But I also need to buy dirt to fill them, so I'm thinking I'll make a trip to NTO. There is more clean-up to be done as well, and I've bought chicken wire to attach to the fence as I'd like to have more sweet peas this summer. This is core memory from my childhood as my mom grew them every year. They separated the yard from the garden (perhaps to hide the weeds - not likely, her gardens were always well kept). I can still recall the scent of the flowers! I did have a obelisk for them last year and they did well, but I'd like to give them more space.

It will be a few more weeks before I can start planting outdoors, but that doesn't mean I'm not planning. I want to plant corn, carrots, peas, along with tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and herbs. I haven't any luck with the peppers sprouting so I'll have to pick up a couple of plants at a garden center. The new garden beds will provide more space, though I'll still do some container gardening as well. 

I may have convinced my daughter that we should put in some raspberry bushes as well. Eli asked about growing apples, and I may try to find room for a Morden apple, which originated in Manitoba, Canada, and will be hardy to our climate. So many plans! Let's see if my ambitions outlast my energy levels. :)

Have a great week ahead everyone!

P.S. I've just realized I haven't been reading, and therefore commenting on blogs this week. Oops, I guess I was busier than I realized. I'm off to catch up now. 

Hooray for May!

April is in the rearview mirror and don't a moment too soon. It was a month of weather, most of it not very pleasant. Between snowstorms we had cool/cold temperatures, lots of melting and that meant water in the basement. My daughter was responsible for dealing with that issue, thankfully. We're waiting for a warm day before we do some waterproofing both inside and out. I should note, we're lucky in that we know exactly where the water is coming in, as some of the parging on the foundation has come away. The best way to resolve the issue would be to dig up the corner of the house, put in weeping tile and paint the foundation with some type of sealant. We can't afford to do that, so we'll simply be coating the foundation and the interior walls with the sealant. With the rain barrels set in place and the water draining away from the house, we should be in a good place until we get a downpour...when the window wells become an issue. I've been looking for window guards, though my daughter doesn't think they will suffice. Instead she wants to put in new windows. Owning a house is never inexpensive.

Speaking of difficulties of home ownership, my son sent me this photo earlier this week. One of his g/f's cats managed to get into the drop ceiling. She started to fall through one tile and made a mad dash across the ceiling knocking panels out as she ran. C tried to replace the tiles, but the system is in rough shape, so has decided to contact the contractor who did the work in my house in the city to get a quote for replacing the entire ceiling. 

We had another full week, highlights included my second stint at the thrift store on Tuesday, and a trip to Saskatoon on Thursday. At the thrift store, I spent about 4 hours, again sorting items for resale, trash, and to be shipped on to the Value Village. The bags of donations keep coming in, though the store had a big sale on Saturday, with loads of items going out the door. Next month, my shifts will be shorter, just two hours on Mondays from 10-12. I must admit being on my feet for four hours straight was not easy. I almost left without buying anything, but spotted this bag on my way out the door. For $1, I came home with another bag to hold a knitting/crocheting project. Will that encourage me to finish one? No, I have not finished the project that I said was nearly complete two or three weeks ago - the knitting is done and it can be sewed up - but D has asked for pockets.  It never ends. 

The trip to Saskatoon has been in the works for over 2 years now. We just had to wait for an appointment for Eli with the pediatric neurologist. As many of you will know, Eli was diagnosed with epilepsy with absence seizures in February 2024. He had his first seizure in mid-January and then a second one in February. After the second seizure he was sent by ambulance to Regina, where he was in hospital for about a week. His diagnosis was made after an EEG. With medication, he has since been seizure free. There is no pediatric neurologist in Regina, so he's been seeing a neurologist who works primarily with stroke victims. He had another EEG that didn't indicate any issues, but it is up to the pediatric doctor to determine if he can stop the meds or at least reduce his dosage.

I went with them, as it is a 3 1/2 hour drive to Saskatoon (without stops), and after an appointment, I knew my daughter would be emotionally exhausted. We planned to take Eli to the NTO on our return for his private swimming lesson depending on how the two of them were feeling.    

Good news! The appointment went well, though another EEG will be booked in Regina (1.5 hours away). Once the neurologist has those results and confirms no seizure activity, Eli can be weaned off his seizure meds. If there is any evidence that suggests otherwise then he must wait for another year. I'm addition, further appointments with the neurologist can be done by telephone, hooray for no long drives.

We did get to Eli's swim lesson and he had a great time. By the time we drive home and had a bit of dinner, we all fell into our beds.  

Friday was our first day of truly lovely weather reaching a high of 19C/70F. I spent some time outdoors, cleaning up the peony bed. I ran out of steam after I cleaned up the debris, so will continue my efforts through the weekend. There are four more peonies as well as day lilies to cut back. Then there is the big project, moving the rocks from the flower bed in the back yard. It's supposed to cook down again by midweek so I expect that will be delayed.

In the meantime the seedlings I planted a few weeks ago are growing list with the tomatoes and basil looking good. No pansies or peppers so I re-seeded these as well as a couple of cucumbers. Fingers crossed! Can you tell I'm looking forward to this gardening season? I just have to be patient a little longer.

   

Yes, that is an onion in the middle pot - my daughter found an onion growing in the bag and asked if we could try to see if it would continue to grow - I don't believe it is, but sometimes you have to humour the kids (even if she is in her 40's). :)

With the nicer weather, I plan to spend more time out in the yard, though will work on some knitting this weekend. Happy May to all, and have a great week ahead!

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!