Be - a full day in the yard

But I did buy a lottery ticket for tonight so all is well!! We expect the roofers next week so today not only were we picking crab apples and larger apples, but also trimming the tree branches that have taken over and spread over the roof. The trees in the back yard are beyond manageable and really far too large now for us to try to cut. And who can afford the Tree Service? But, Harry got onto the roof and started to saw limbs and threw them down and then I hauled them to the side of the road. The township truck will pick up brush if you leave it by the road. And I cleaned up around the house to make sure the men can get around. They only asked that the driveway be free for them to put the trailer for taking the old shingles away. I don't know where the load of new roofing will be dumped but I guess they will figure that out? They said all the tomatoes and plants won't be in their way but nevertheless I moved a lot of them today. It seems to be the year for roofs to be done around this neighbourhood – I count at least six houses on the two streets beside us have already been done, with one almost completed these last two days. I pray for nice weather as I wouldn't want it to be rainy but really have no control over that, right?

I loved to see the pictures Patty and glad you got the girls into the water – I remember last year they were less than eager to get in so we did a lot of sitting on the dock/steps. I am curious about the porridge – was it the steel cuts oats that you cooked in the double boiler – if so, I must try it that way – I have always just boiled it in a pot. I suspect though, it was just rolled oats that you cooked.

I started to read a P.D. James novel and I have to say it is slow to get into. She writes in such detail, and using a vocabulary that is very hard to read ie words that one does not usually use, and quite frankly many that I don't understand. So I will continue as the story is starting to get a bit interesting, and I may start to gloss over some of the intricate details.

Tomorrow to Mothers (aren't you getting sick of me always saying that? haha) Harry made a meatball spaghetti sauce today, and I will serve it with linguine noodles for lunch tomorrow. Anyway, time to go...... take care.

Weekend with the Girls

While we took the camera, we forgot to use it most of the time. The two little ones were is high gear, probably fueled with sugar from all of the cookies they ate. Both Amber and I were exhausted.  Last time we were at the lake, little Samantha was generally terrified of the water.  It took her until the second day to allow someone to carry her in and get her a little bit wet.  Jessica freaked out at first, the lake being such a strange place when all of her swimming lessons have been in a pool, but this time they both took to it right away.  Samantha still insisted in being carried around, but didn't mind getting wet at all.  Samantha is now wearing panties all of the time--hooray!  It's been quite a battle for Amber.

We did some sunprinting, and played a lot of "that dice game" ( Jessica is not allowed to call it anything else).  Generally it was a great weekend.  However, as you know we take all of our own supplies down there including any cooking utensils we need.  Unfortunately it seems that between our trips the microwave "bit the dust", and I had to resort to the old rusty cookware that's down there, to cook porridge.  I found two pots that fit together well enough that they could be used as a double boiler, and were clean enough to use.  I had forgotten how nice oatmeal is cooked that way!  Almost makes me want to buy a double boiler--except I know how much they cost!!

Be - And we are off on another week.....

Hi – another day at Mothers and then some yard work at home. I even started to do some ironing as I have fallen behind with that. Yesterday at the reunion of the Smith family (Aunt Ev and Uncle Walter) proved interesting for Harry and I. The entire family but for three members attended for a total of 28 folks. They have five children and they each have their children some grown, and some younger. Lots of food and fun. Poor Aunt Ev was overwhelmed with care for Uncle Walter and of course I helped her out. I wonder how families act so differently. One of the kids stood by and said "Oh, Mom has to always do it her way" as they watched her carrying the walker, and trying to get Uncle Walter out to the car. I told Aunt Ev that I would get the walker from her car, and another kid said "Oh she is OK!" Today Harry's brother told him that they are just going to leave his wife's father alone and not visit or help him in the apt while her mother is in the hospital because he is so stubborn. I suggested to Harry, that if that is the expected way to deal with parents, perhaps we, too, should abandon his Mother? Oh well, life goes on........Must keep this short for now. Hoping that Patty had a good weekend at the Lake and is back home? How are you doing with your garden these days Cathy? Glad I like cucumbers and tomatoes as that seems to be all I am eating trying to get rid of them haha Take care

Good or bad

I guess I was the only one that wasn't ready for another dog. The Hutterites were over yesterday with a dog they were going to clean up and see if a guy in another colony wanted it. He is 1 1/2 and his name is Chase. I still am not ready, but Nika likes him and Jim does too. He is a very quiet dog (he hasn't barked yet) and he was so dirty. He had been living at Dinwoodies (which means nothing to you, but he has had his livestock taken from him before). They had washed him before we saw him, but he was still a mess. Jim and I washed him this morning and cut out a lot of clumps but he is still ratty looking. He is a collie, blue healer, pyranees and ??? cross, a little smaller than Nika. I guess we have a dog, but I still miss Chi. Rrain is in Winnipeg tonight. She borrowed Nancy's car and went in to a friends. I think she really needed to get away. JIm is outside with Curtis & Ryan (the two that brought the dog over) I am inside with April (her husband has taken off again and really hope that she will not take him back again. ) Her kids are outside playing with the dogs. They were upset about Chi. When they came over after she died they each wrote a letter to Chi and read it over her grave. We then put the letters in a small cardboard box and buried them on top of the grave. It seemed to help them get over it, but Jim wouldn't come with us. He stayed on the edge of the garden and watched. He is like you Beth. He needed to get another dog right away. Chase does not chase the cat. He couldn't care less about him. I guess I better go and rescue Jim from the kids. He grumbles, but he is pretty good about playing with them.

Here I am again, at least for now...........

Apparently, I have found a way to get onto the blog – not conventional way, though, but nevertheless seems to work – for now.

I have missed my regular rants to you but I have also enjoyed sitting in on your conversations.

I had a chance to spend a bit of time this morning fooling around with the settings. There is one setting where you choose an email address and then send an email to that address that will post automatically to the blog. I have no idea where else it might go, but my test message did post on the blog. So we'll go this way for now until perhaps we can figure out why I cannot publish the usual way.

We suffered through the severe storm/ tornado warnings this past week on Wednesday. It was decided that one of us should go to Mothers to be with her, so off I went!! It did not hit very bad in Sprucedale but caused lots of damage in Sundridge. Harry was left at home to try to fight the water but eventually gave up. He tried to shovel it at the front of the house but the electrical storm / lightening forced him inside. Our driveway was washed out, and all the yard messed up with flowing rivers of rain water carrying with it the cedar mulch and loose pine needles etc. The road at our back driveway was washed out as well. Tornados did hit further south but fortunately not in our area. The good part was that we did not have to water the garden the next day haha! Other than that, we are busy most days harvesting vegetables and canning, making juice. One day I was up the apple trees picking crabapples which were made into juice. On Friday we went into the Cranberry Marsh and picked tons of berrys that were then made into juice in the afternoon. Remember of course, that the walk into the Marsh is a few kilometers through bush, but on a trail. And while Harry continued picking, I went further along the trail to the end where it meets Lake Nipissing and had a nice sit by myself watching the Lake, and I thought of you Patty at McConnell Lake this weekend. This afternoon we watched the Funeral of Jack Layton on TV. Sad occasion but a very moving ceremony. Hallejuliah was sung by Steven Page and I couldn't help thinking about us buying KD Langs CD with that song on Patty at Chapters. Tomorrow we go to Aunt Evelyn and Uncle Walters cottage on Eagle Lake out side of South River (next town north) They are having a family get together and Aunt Ev wanted Harry and I to attend because we have been such a good help to her with Uncle Walter. We will be taking a cheese tray which will have to be prepared in the morning. And Harry bought two fold up lawn chairs today at a garage sale for us to sit on. Anyway, I hope this will now post and that I shall once again be part of the gang!! Take care

Another try

May work?

Oh-h-h!

Sad for you indeed. But I thought about it. She had her freedom, which is more than you can say for most dogs in today's society.  So, in many ways, her life was better than most, and could you, maybe, be grateful for the privilege of giving her that life?

We have spent the day getting ready to head for the lake tomorrow.  I'm going to take some sunprinting with me to amuse the girls.  We expect to be back on Sunday evening, so it's not likley that you will hear from me before then.  I plan to take the camera and may have some pictures.

Sadness

Chi died tonight. She came out of the ditch and the neighbour hit her. There was nothing he could do. I am sad.

Hurry up and wait

I think we share your take on life Cathy.  It seems as though we spend most of the time, putting in time, waiting for something to happen.  This has seemed like the longest month in years!  We were broke this month, which meant we tended to stay at home and wait for next months pension!  Being so hot, we just sat inside with the a/c on.  Neither of us sleeps well with the a/c on, but in the heat we don't sleep well either.  I was awake at 5:00am and the a/c was chugging along, so it didn't even cool off last night. Strange for the end of August.  David loves to watch the weather channel, and told me that the only place shown that was hotter than Winnipeg was Las Vegas.  We were even hotter than Houston!

So we sit and read, or sit and play solitaire, or sit and play poker, or sit and watch reality shows. Lately we've spent a lot of time supervising the workers acrosss the street, but that job appears to be about finished.  We think they were replacing the weeping tiles for the church across the street.  In this horrible heat those poor men were shoveling a deep trench all around the building, loading the mud into wheelbarrows and then pushing them out onto the street to dump them.  Then  a big truck came and picked up the mud ( after the heavy rain I told you about awhile back).  Then the truck came along and dumped just about the same amount of gravel, which they loaded into the wheelbarrows with shovels and took it to dump in the trench.

David loves to watch old movies, and for the past week, I've been spending a fair bit of time in the studio. We are going to the lake next weekend,with Amber and the girls. So the next couple of days will be getting ready for that. This means baking--with the a/c on.  I have to get everything ready, with just enough packed to meet our needs, so that there is nothing to bring home except garbage. So perhaps I should phone Amber and plan some menues together.

So for what should I be grateful?  A/c for sure, but also for finally getting down to work on an old piece started awhile ago. This is the one that we took the picture for, on the Kenora bypass, Beth.  It has been sitting around for about two years, with me struggling to figure out what was going to happen with it.  Last October, at my retreat, I asked for help and one lady made a suggestion.  I suddenly realized that I need to have it finished for this year's retreat--at the end of September.  So I dove in and started to do things to it.  I'm very grateful that those things are working well, and I should be able to get it done on target.

My life seems boring!

All I seem to do is go to work and come home... quite often to a house full of people! Things at work should slow down a bit for me. Patty is back tomorrow and Mallorie is working half time with her broken arm. It must be hard to handle documents and type with only one arm. Our summer student is there until Sept 2 and then it is back to just the 4 of us. Patty and I worked pretty good on sharing the searches. We just sort of grab one when we have a chance. poor Rrain keeps finding more things at VCC that were not done right. You would think that you could have confidence in your staff, but I guess we were misled a bit for a while. Rrain and Kathleen will sort it all out. I didn't even give it a thought, but I missed a couple of deadlines for ACT this month. I just haven't been on top of things........ Maybe later. Tim is doing good after his emergency appendectomy.... I told him that was a heck of a way to get more holidays. Work one day and then be off for 2 weeks. He was even at the lake last weekend... Must be tough. It wasn't a good year for potatoes or cucumbers. We have had hardly any cukes and we need at least 4 hllls of potatoes to feed the 3 of us. Good thing I didn't need any pickles this year. It looks like we will have a lot of tomatoes, though. Rrain wants to make salsa, and I want to do some more tomato sauce and junk. As to when I will have the energy,.... I don't know. It is only 8 pm right now and I am going to go to bed and read after this. Talk about lazy! We finally went for a quad ride on Sunday. It was fun. I was sure we were going to tip over at one point. It was a sharp turn on a hill and Jim didn't slow down in time. Little bit of excitement It was still a nice day. Rrain made hamburgers for supper tonight. The good ones that are greasy and run down your chin when you bite into them. I ate 2. I should have stopped at one, but my stomach didn't catch up until I was almost finished the second. Tomorrow is hump day.... the week is almost over. Today I am grateful that there is a wind to cool us down. It was over 100 F today in the shade. No rain in sight.

Lots to tell you today

Yesterday we went to an Art in the Forest day at the Sandilands forst Discovery Centre, just south of Hadashville. I had found out about this earlier in the week, and decided to pursue it, as we've been looking for outings that don't cost a lot.  This would have been free, if I hadn't signed up for a workshop.  The day was organized in conjunction with the Pinawa Artists Group.  There were three one hour workshops offered with all supplies provided. One was in hand built pottery, one in watercolour painting, and I think the third in hand carving wood.  As well there were "art stations" set up around the area where people could try simple techniques, and there were also artists set up simply demonstrating their crafts--potters, fibre artists, oil painters and a guy carving a dead tree with a chainsaw.  Anyone who took a workshop got a sandwich lunch, and knowing this David took a bag lunch with him.

The setting evidently has been there since the research station was set up years ago, but nobody seems to know about it. We were told that the only visitors they usually get are school children.  There is a little forestry museum, a forest ranger station from the 1920's, a large scale model of a fire tower ( big enough for people to climb).  One of the old treeplanting railway cars is also on site.  It was a lovely day.  I took my watercolour class, and learned a bit but I can't really say what. LOL  The ladies told us that there were about 100 visitors and 50 volunteers there by lunch time, but there seemed to be more cars coming in all the time, including a van full of Hutterites--driven by a woman.

The lunch was excellent, ( and huge!) and I got a box of tubes of watercolour paint, a package of brushes and some paper.  We spent four hours there and both felt it was very good value for the money. We came home and both had a nap ( too much fresh air?) teh lunch was so big that I didn't even worry about supper.
The following are pictures of David checking out the suspension bridge ( the yellow tape indicates that the hiking trail is closed because of fire danger).  There is a picture of the potter demonstrating under the scale model fire tower.  There is a stuffed Golden Eagle that was in the museum. I was stunned by the colour of the feathers and the size of the wings compared to the size of the bird.  There is a picture of the chainsaw carver at work, and the two of David in his new tee shirt--or as it says on the back of the shirt--his official "tree shirt";

Puttering going well

The living room is finished.  I have only re-hung one picture, and that in a different place.  The others require some thought, and may not ever get up again.  Since David filled all of the holes in the plaster before painting, we have to measure out every picture.  Tried to hang the stained glass mirror in the hall.  We measured and marked and measured again.  When he finally put the nails in, he found that the old holes were only off by a fraction--could have used them as markers!

I have allergy testing scheduled for September 15th and thought that I should maybe be making some notes about what appears to bother me, and when.  Been keeping track for about a week and realized that my morning coffee may be causing problems, so this morning had tea.  ( A lot of tea.  A 16oz mug of Morning Thunder and then 3 more of Orange Pekoe--the stuff I keep around for Jim)  What a difference!  I could sure tell that I'ld been caffinated, but no nausea and general malaise--both things that have been plaguing me for awhile.  Now, I drink my tea clear and use Splenda in the coffee, so I'm not going to blame the coffee just yet.  Cofffee has been a big part of my life for years. I have a hunch this problem started when I switched from Sugar Twin to Splenda.  Not blaming--just saying!  But it made me think of the two years that I drove to work with Daddy.  We would get up, eat, and drink our tea, jump in the car and the first words spoken were when I said good bye as he dropped me off.  I didn't start to drink coffee until I was first pregnant.

But today was great.  I had a good night's sleep, which always helps but I had energy ( that caffiene again?) and generally was much more aware of what was going on and what I was doing.  Didn't even have a nap--and those have been a regular part of my day for awhile now.  And tonight I won a poker tournament--been a long wait for that, but maybe it speaks to me being more alert.

So for today I'm grateful for having the best day I've had in months!

End in sight

The actual painting is finished, except for a couple of vent covers that will be done out in the garage.  Today we do the puttering-style of clean-up.  We have to re-hang the drapery hardware ( not a pleasant job), but we were able to to find some of the small runners to use to hang the drapes in Home Depot.  One thing we've learned is that we are far more likely to find the things we need in Home Depot than Rona.  This presents a quandry, as we've always considered that shopping at Rona is shopping Canadian, although this may not be strictly true any more.  We need to dust and vacuum before much funiture goes back.  I think there might be quite a bit of sorting done too, before a big trip to the thrift store. 

Our next major job will be to shampoo all of the carpeting.  This will probably wait a few weeks, as long as it's done before snowfall.

But the big news--ta da--we had rain last night!  A hard and wild "gully-washer" that lasted for a good twenty minutes.  Lots of thunder and lightning.  Black, black clouds.  But if you look out today there is no evidence.  It probably came so fast and hard, that it just ran off the dry earth, without sinking in at all.

So what was I grateful for yesterday?  Doesn't matter.  I was just grateful!

You just never know what will happen

I'm back at work now (oh boy!) Tim got home Sunday evening; went to work on Monday: was on call until 2am; woke up on Tuesday at about 9am and went to the hospital. They took out his appendix last night! I figure that is a heck of a way to extend your holiday. Mallorie went into her garden Monday night, tripped and fell and broke her arm. She is off for a couple of weeks. Meanwhile Elizabeth is on holidays. That leaves me, Patty and the summer student, Paul. And tomorrow the auditors arrive. This is a heck of a welcome back to work. I am tired today but Dauphin is helping with our work. I do all the verifying and then fax everything to them. Someone there accepts it for me and then I "sign" their name and put it aside for tomorrow. Anything that needs fixing I phone for the correction and keep it here until the correction arrives (or if it is really bad I reject it and they have to send it back corrected) I also do all my own work, plus plans and I get all the phone calls that would normally go to Mallorie or Elizabeth. Do I sound like I am complaining?? (bitch bitch bitch) I don't mind doing all the work, but I just wish I could get paid for it! I was supposed to have a meeting at 5:30 this evening but we couldn't get a quorum so I called an executive meeting for 4pm and we were out of there early. I really didn't feel like hanging around a meeting until 7:30. We have no rain either. They keep issuing storm warnings but the clouds just pass over us and nothing happens. I know that most farmers are starting to harvest what they have and don't really want rain now, but we do need it. It is so dry. I hope the auditors are quick tomorrow. Without anyone else there they will be dealing only with me so I hope I haven't been making a lot of mistakes. I guess I will find out. Today I am grateful for the glass of wine I have.

Funny day

Yesterday was almost a day of renewal.  David put primer on all of the small spots he had had to use filler in.  This means a 16 hour re-coat time, so we spent most of the day puddling around, and reading and just relaxing.  Spent a lot of time "supervising" the workers at the church across the street. Actually did a little grocery shopping in the morning.  We had run out of a lot of things, a few of which wouldn't wait until the end of the month to replenish. 

We have been talking about finding some sort of activity, that doesn't cost a lot, but will get us out of the house.  So far we've spent most of this wonderful warm dry summer huddled inside--working.  There is an event this Saturday called "Art in the Forest" out at the forestry place in Hadashville.  I've signed up for a one hour watercolour class, but there are a lot of free activities as well, some forest -related and some art related.  More info at http://www.thinktrees.org/ under "events" then under "upcoming events".  So, for the cost of gas, we'll have a day-long event, although the cost of my workshop will be extra.  I plan to take a lot of pictures.

Some of the time was spent reading a very disturbing book.  The book was "Full Black"  by Brad Thor. I can't say I would recommend it.  There was a lot of blood and mayhem, but it was interspersed with dialogue about some of the possible political and Political (note the difference) agendas behind the current world disorder. I was left with a very uncomfortable feeling.  One of the ways I find new authors is by taking a good look at the "Current Bestsellers" shelf at the library.  These are only available on one week loan, with hefty fines for late return.  Sometimes you get a winner and sometimes not.  I don't know where to classify this one.

So far we've had a busy summer, even if most of it was spent at home.  I'm grateful for the opportunity to enjoy a quiet day of renewal.

Nope, no rain.

Time to get excited?

Evidence of drops of water has been seen on the local sidewalks.  This has happened once before in the past 7 weeks, and it came to nothing, so we are proceeding with caution.  But the sky is very grey, so we are optimistic.

Back to work

Everyone left by 6am yesterday. They were going to be up and away by 5, but at 5:15 Jim went and knocked on their door. I did nothing yesterday. It was wonderful. Satuday we went to Rodney & Kristy's, but I was so tired I went and lay down in the back of the truck. Jim took me home before Supper. I had a swim and a drink with Rrain and went to bed. I finished 2 books yesterday and started a third. My idea of vacation. (finally) I hope I remember how to work. It has been 2 weeks! Unfortunately that seems to be like riding a bike. Maybe they changed things while I was gone and my jobs no longer exist! It was supposed to rain today, but now they are forcasting a high of 31 and a chance of thundershowers tonight. Good thing we didn;t believe the forcast and watered the garden last evening. I will have to start doing some carrots and beets soon. I can just do a few of those every evening. It is not like things that all mature at once and you have a whole days work ahead of you. Our tomatoes still are green. No sign of red on any of them. Usually we are eating them by now. And the cucumbers are very slow. Only one or two ready at a time. I know I will wake up one morning and the entire garden will be full. Today I am thankful for yesterday's peace.

good luck Beth

Beth is having a very difficult time getting onto this blog with her new computer. It will let her on and let her type up posts,but won't publish anything for her.  There doesn't seem to be any way I can help her.  Her posts can be found as drafts under "edit", but that's as far as they seem to go.

Today we have been enjoying the music channels that we now have on our cable tv.  Quite a variety, and something for everyone, depending on mood.  So for today I'm grateful for cable tv.

Continuing bad times

Things just aren't going right.  Not with my travel arrangements, nor with Dave's trying to finish the kitchen by putting the fluorescent lights back up ( the next-to-last step in the process, to be followed by washing the floor).  This morning we're waiting for the Shaw installer and I'm working in the basement, wearing an old, bleach-stained MuuMuu, when David calls me because the neighbours, both him and her, are at the door wanting to see what we're doing with the paint.  Say what!?  Who are these people?! The furniture is all pulled out of position, so that both David and the installer can work, the place is a mess and I look like s--t.  These people have never visited in 12 years--I didn't even know her name, although he and David often talk over the back fence..  Add to this the fact that the church across the street appears to be having some foundation work done.  So what does that have to do with anything?  Well, there are two big piles at the foot of our driveway- a huge one of mud and a smaller one of of gravel--getting in or out of the house is a challenge.  And I didn't sleep last night and feel like c--p.  Cranky, did you say?

So what am I grateful for?  I'm grateful for a delightful Shaw cable installer, who not only called to say that he would be 10 minutes late, but cheerfully installed hi-def boxes on both tv's, cheerfully ( seriously!) taught both David and I how to use the new remotes, and when we were a little apprehensive, modified the hook-up to make it a "one button" deal, and so minimize confusion and make the whole thing almost "idiot-proof".  Then, the icing on the cake.  There was no charge for any of the installation, and there will be no rental charge on the second hi-def box.

A new vehicle is always an adventure, Cathy.  Too bad you didn't  have a siphon for the gas.   We are just praying that ours will last until the warrantee is up in just under two years.  Family that gets along can be a blessing, but it also means wild times when everyone is together and life turns to chaos.  Those are times to relish, not dread, and you seem to be blessed in that respect, as well.  Housework can wait--always.

Solitude...for a while

There is just Jim and I in the house right now. Quiet. Everyone went somewhere else last night. Kristy came over for supper and Rrain made butter chicken.... Yummy. It's true what they say about holidays...... I need to go back to work for a rest. Tonight we are having a fish fry. I have no idea how many people will be here. Hopefully less than 20. Tomorrow Rodney & Kristy have invited us all over, and on Sunday everyone leaves for home. Monday it is back to work and peace & quiet. Jim bought a truck yesterday. He (we) traded in the Impala on a Silverado. It is just your basic crew cab truck. Nothing fancy, but it is much higher off the ground than the car was and it has 4 wheel drive. I was so sick of getting stuck with the car last winter. Poor Rrain. It was a sudden decision on Jim's part and she had no warning, so yesterday, out of the goodness of her heart, she filled the car with gas. Oh well. They put $50.00 dollars in, which is more than normal, just because the car was full. The mileage won't be that good in the truck, but I am just so glad I will be able to go through snow. Of course we now have to pay a fortune every month for the next 5 years. It finally rained last night after a week of thunderstorm watches that never happened. It is still raining a bit now, but hopefully it will stop before supper tonight. It won't be cold, so we can always sit in the garage. The Hutterites (read Sam) gave us some ripe tomotoes (and lots of other stuff) so I have been making a cucumber tomato salad. No dressing... just chopped cucumbers and tomatoes. It has been going fast. I am not sure why I worked so hard my first week of holidays to make the house presentable. It is worse than ever now, so we will be cleaning again next week. You can't expect anything different with 3 dogs running around (sometimes 4) and kids in and out constantly. At least people seem to be having fun. I really like Tim's girlfriend this time. She is helpful and funny and joins in everything. The last one didn't want to do anything and she didn't like kids. Cheryl has 3 girls, but only the youngest is at home. She also disciplines Maddie and treats her just like her own daughter. That is good for Maddie. Jim has infomred me that he and Rrain decided to order french fries from Chicken Delight for supper tonight. That sure makes it easier on me. I was going to make a huge pot of rice, but Fries are much nicer with fish. Today, believe it or not, I am thankful for having family that gets along.

Yesterday (Monday)

What a strange day!  Nothing seemed to go right.  We were talking about painting the livingroom and what colour we might use.  The previous colour was based on the sheers over the window, that I inherited from the previous owners.  So we decided to wash them ( they've been washed before) just to make sure that the process wouldn't cause them to fall apart.  It didn't, but a couple of the little runners on the rail that supports the sheers did break.  So we shopped and discovered that no one sells these little gadgets.  They can't be replaced. So the sheers are re-hung--sort of.

I suddenly remembered that I will need a ride from the Kelowna airport to the conference center when I go on the FAN retreat at the end of September.  So I contacted the organizer and stirred up a can of worms that resulted in several e-mails within group's Yahoo, site from several sources.  It seems that everyone had questions, but I would have had to hire a van for the 1 1/2h ride, and if one was not available I would have had to take a cab. K-a-ching!  So, I had to change my flight.  Do you know what is involved in changing an Air Miles flight?  Well, after much time and a few dollars, 'tis done.  Now I have to fly from Winnipeg to Vancouver, and then back to Kelowna, but I get into Kelowna at 9:35 am instead of 5:30 pm--which would have had me arriving at around 8:00pm for a conference that starts at 3:00pm.  And opening my computer this morning, there is a further message offering me a ride at no charge, with pick up at the airport around noon.

While I was doing this, David was fighting his way through Shaw Cable, trying to sort out what we need to do about the enforcement of hi-def tv.   It seems that Sahw will not discuss any option except having their installer come out to put a box on our tv.  David tried this awhile back with no success, and we believe that our only option is to buy a new tv--some time in the future. The installer will be here Friday morning.

Now, for Monday, I'm grateful for white wine, and the resulting good night's sleep.

Not shopping at the Farmers' Market

Went out to St. Norbert today.  We didn't get there last year, and has it ever changed.  Every parking lot in town now offers parking, but for $2, not the $1 we used to pay at the community club.  The market itself is about double in size and contains everything from flowers to leather belts.  There were even some vegetables, but they appeared to be in the minority.  You could buy kettle corn, and have your pants professionally shortened.  I had wanted green beans to freeze and red potatoes ( not the little creamers that are so expensive)  So, green beans=$3.95/lb--that's  a pound, not a kilogram.  Big red potatoes =$2.50/lb.  Ten pounds in the local grocery store are selling for $4.95.  so, we looked around for awhile, I visited the Porta-potties and we came back home.  And all the time thinking about you, Beth and the gardens you look after.

We're never satisfied

We went through one of the wettest springs ever, and now we are asking for rain. It has been very hot and dry. There is dust blowing everywhere you look. Jim is hoping for rain tomorrow, so he is out mowing some of the lawn. Most of it is dead and brown, but there are some spots (mostly where the hose leaks) that are lush and green. We will have to water the garden agan tonight, and I have been watering the flowers every evening. My first week of holidays went fast, but I think I got some things done. The mess in the office is down to one box, and the bedrooms are tidied. The floors are washed, and the bathroom clean. Of course it will be messy by this time tomorrow. Tim and his girlfriend and their girls arrive sometime on Monday. We are just playing it by ear right now, but I know that we are having turkey and the fish. We still have to set up the tent for the girls. ( and for Cheryl's dog.. it is used to sleeping on the bed, but we try not to let dogs upstairs in our house.) We are still trying to clean the pool. I think it will last at least another week. We ordered in Chinese food for Jim's birthday. There was a whole order of breaded shrimp. I had 4.... Jim had 11. I told him that was his birthday present. Except that Rrain bought a container of Jujubes and I told them there were a present too. This is our first weekend without having to clean the office. It actually feels like I am forgetting to do something. I haven't been back to the office since the first day when Mallorie needed help. One more ENTIRE week to go. I am pretty thankful that the week is still ahead of me, and not already done.

A difference you can see

Something that doesn't happen often with housework.  Today we tackled a couple of items on my kitchen "to do" list. The windows are clean and shiny.  Unfortunately one of them was scrubbed so hard with a poly scrubber that it's now scratched, but in a corner and not a problem.  Then we took on the fridge and freezer.  Now every time I open the fridge, I'm surprised at how good it looks.  No, this can't be MY fridge!!  So, for today, I'm grateful for a clean fridge.

Otherwise , the heat continues and we live indoors.  This is a bit of a pity, as the paper today had an article on the mosquito-free summer we're having here.  Hot weather and little moisture--and I missed it!

And for something completely different, I'm reading the autobiography of Rob Lowe.  Really different!  But I can't put it down--and what does that say about me?

Be - Satisfaction

That must be what you get when you see the transition in your kitchen, Patty and I remember that same feeling expressed from you Cathy when you did yours. Yeh, lots of work but great satisfaction when done. We are back to the hot and muggy and apparently will stay around for awhile yet. Back to the watering as well. Tomorrow I'll go to Mothers on my own and have lots of work planned for the garden, as well as lunch to make. I have to pull all the beans and remove the fencing and then clean and freeze the veg. Also have to start ear drops on Mother as her hearing is badly compromised (she can't hear a thing) and Harry made an appt for Tuesday at Drs to have them washed out hoping it may help a bit. So we need to give drops for three days prior which means I shall have to make another trip Sunday. But, as a bonus treat, I plan to drop into the Seniors Club there in Sprucedale as they have a flea market on Saturdays, and includes used books. Today I went to a Book / Fabric store in South River (next town up the highway) and browsed the used books - first time to go there and I was pleased to see so many of my favourite authors. I found the only book of Steve Berry that I did not have!! A bit more expensive than the Recycled store in North Bay but it was worth it. In the meantime I eat lots of cucumbers and tomatoes fresh from the garden and we picked our first pole beans today. Have a great weekend everyone. Take care

The work continues

Today was a "puddly" day.  All of the the minor, nuisence, loose ends of painting a room.  We hung my applique rabbit picture, and he fits beautifully.  There were a couple of small painted patches to finish, and David re-siliconed the back of the counter behind the sink.  We still haven't cleaned up and re-hung the blinds, as we are going to have to get an electrician in to fix/replace the fluorescent lights over the sink.  I know I'm going to have to replace my yellow wall clock, and the floral spray over the sink, but those aren't a priority right now.  Several years ago I got a gift certificate from a local furniture store, and may try to use it for a new table lamp.  The old one was bought when we moved into the house on Woodside

Before this all started, I had a "to do" list for the kitchen, and we were able to cross off a couple of items.  Two "biggies" left are to re-organize the pantry shelves and clean the fridge and freezer. It's a good time for those as the fridge is pretty well empty right now.  Just need to find some energy, but I need it before Saturday, as we plan to visit the farmer's market for veggies.

So what am I grateful for today?  I'm grateful that my shoulder is getting less and less painful and I'm now able to do a few jobs that gave me grief a month ago.  And again, I'm grateful for David and his willingness to tackle these lengthy and frustrating jobs, such as painting the kitchen.

Be- jiggety jig - we got some rain....

Glad everyone is home again - was thinking about you folks at the lake. Sounds as if the weather was perfect. A quick note to let you know we got rain this morning. Finally. I was pleased with the rain coming for the garden and also, an opportunity to get some housework done. But, then the power went off. Turned out to be a localized issue as not everyone was affected. As a matter of fact, the Hydro truck parked in front of our place, and proceeded to pluck a dead squirrel from the top of the hydro pole at the corner. The man I spoke with also said a downed tree down the street contributed to the problem as well. The power was off about three hours in total - required the Hydro truck to troll the streets looking for the local problem and part of the problem was at our house. Poor squirrel! The rain stopped this afternoon and it is now sunny, but at least I don't have to water tonight so for that I am thankful! Take care.

Question

Cathy, can you tell us anything about the Wild and Wooly Fibre Festival being held in Neepawa the  weekend after next?
Pati

Home again, home again, jiggety jog!

A good time was had --now and again--by all--as is usually the case when children are involved.  Lots of laughter, some tears.  Both of the girls took swimming lessons this year, but were a little "freaked" by the lake itself, as their experience has all been in a swimming pool.  However, fun soon took over and even Samantha was willing to play a little in the water.  Jessica was like a little water rat, but only if she was allowed to use a small blow up safety tube.  We spent most of the evenings playing Oh Shit! and a bit of cribbage.  Jessica loved being able to say Oh Shit! and not be chastized, and we just ignored it, rather than making an issue of it.  I was pleased that she was able to play, actively.  Samantha loved rolling the dice out of a dice cup, but usually got bored after a few rounds and went to play with her Polly Pockets ( little dolls).

 It was hot!  I actually have a sun burn-- for the first time in years.

But now we're home and will have to get back into the routine.  In the "It never rains but it pours" department, Shaw has now informed us that we are required to upgrade to HD tv.  Well, we got a converter some time ago, and found that it  wasn't compatible with our tv.  So now we either give up cable tv, and possibly our internet service, or we buy a new tv. 

Today I'm grateful for the privilege of seeing two Sandhill Cranes in a roadside field on our way home.

Be- Vacations in August

August is always a favourite time to take vacation - the weather is usually favourable, and there seems to be a disquieting mood in the air -maybe because Fall feels just around the corner, and people are in no rush to get there. Hope you have a good time off, and maybe you need to put some limits for others re: the visitation hours in order to get some "me" time? The gardens here are producing just the right amounts right now to keep up, but I am sure anytime soon, we'll be overrun and not able to find space or time to deal with it all. We have been lucky to have a neighbour on the next street with raspberry bushes and she has sold us many margarine containers full over the last two weeks (reasonable price too!) She called up again tonight at supper to say she had two more if I were interested.....and yes I was! Yummy. I made boiled beets for supper last night using that great recipe from Aunty Lorraine for sauce - something like harvard beets, but much much tastier. We brought another bag of beets home from Mothers today that I will boil and freeze - then as I want to use them, I can make the sauce to put on them at the time. Lots of freezing at Mothers today - beans, broccoli etc. Between my visit there on Saturday, and this morning, deer somehow mastered our fencing system, and ate the tops off all the pole beans, and the beets. And of course with no rain yet there is the constant need both there and at our own place to water, water, and water. Tomorrow we go to North Bay as is usual for a Tuesday, and will drop in on Mike as he is still at his place without word on a posting, and then in the afternoon make a visit to Uncle Walter at the Nursing home after doing a shopping for Mother and us. And so the week begins again - thank goodness I have my night bed time reading that helps to soothe the soul haha. Take care