Holidays - Day 2

And I am already tired.  I decided that I wanted to get all the things on my list done as fast as possible.  It is now 8 pm and I want a shower and to bed.  But I weeded the garden as much as possible considering how wet it has been.  I went out yesterday and it was like walking on a sponge.  By tomorrow it will need watering.  The kitchen is clean and the office is tidied.  I am biting the bullet and I ordered new internet.  they are coming on Wednesday to hook it up.  It is just getting so slow and  I can't even watch Netflix anymore.  I just hate the 3 year contract and all the costs that I already paid once, and now I have to pay all over again.  Hopefully it will be worth it. There are kids from the colony in the pool right now.  A couple of the girls had to go back as soon as they got here 'cause someone saw them in Jacob's car on the way here.  They will go back and walk into the colony to prove they haven't gone anywhere, then they will go for another walk and hopefully be picked up and brought back.  What a life.   Sylvie didn't bring any swim clothes, so I lent her a suit and she devised a way of tying her slip around her waist as a cover.  Tomorrow I hope to start cutting some wood.  We are getting down now and won't have any by next year unless we get busy.  It is supposed to be hot and sunny all week.  I picked a good week to take off.  I have two  more weeks off in August..... 2 weeks in a row!  I am not sure how that happened, but someone changed their holidays and I grabbed them.  I am also taking July 29th off... to go golfing!  Twice in one year.  Next thing you know I will join a league.  Summer is too short not to do something.  Even if it is embarrassing myself on the golf course.  Good thing they are fun tournaments and not serious.  At least not serious for me.  I'm sure the winners are more in to the whole thing.  Soon it will be late enough that I can have that shower and pack it in.  Jim must have been really tired yesterday 'cause he went to bed at 8:30 and didn't get up until after 9 am.  I had everything ready for supper by then.  Not that it is hard to put a pork roast in the slowcooker and make a batch of potato salad.  Jim is shaking his head at the kids in the pool,  He told them not to run and jump in, but they seem to have short memories.  He's already decided this is the last year for the pool, so if they split the sides  it will just be retired sooner.  And they will  have no pool all summer.  Kids!!!  ( and I think most of them are around 20!)  At least I got to go in it for a while today.  It was so nice just to float around.  (after I skimmed out the grass from mowing the lawn.... ooops!  I guess we should have put the cover on sooner)  Have a great Canada Day and Enjoy

long weekend - Happy Canada Day

Do you have any celebration plans? We will likely listen to the fireworks on Saturday night from the front window - we can see the higher ones but not the smaller ground ones but it's still close enough for me. What a terrible storm yesterday afternoon - lightening and thunder right over the house it was so close and loud and then rain. The pump couldn't keep up with the rain, and with the lightening there was no way I could shovel it away. So it accumulated about 3 - 4 inches on the sidewalk but fortunately not over the basement window sill. It cleared up a bit about 5:00 pm so we decided to go out for supper. We went to the local restaurant that we've been to before. It was a catastrophe. They were busy as a party of about 16 had reserved a section. I ordered fish and when I cut into it, it was not cooked. Now, I like sushi, but not raw fish on a plate haha  They took my plate away and came back with an entire new order. I ate the fish but nothing else as I had already eaten potato and veg from the first plate. The owner did not charge for the desserts we had, to apologize for the error, but I left not having enjoyed the outing. It will be awhile before I will go back. This leaves us few local choices - not that we go out often but when we do, I like to think I get my monies worth. Doing lots of work in the yard and the garden is really growing now. Trying to clean up the little gazebo we have - it has been filled with junk for years but now want to clear it out and paint it again so it can be used for sitting. I always liked to sit there right by the pond. The waterfront is now all set up for summer. The docks are in, and the swimming/diving platforms are out in the deeper area of the water. I took the dog down tonight and lots of people in the water, and sitting by the water. It really is a very nice area although I still like to go early in the morning when Scooby and I are usually all alone. I went into the local Foodland to buy a pie for supper and I have never seen so many people shopping. Not hard to tell it is the Friday of the first long weekend of the summer. The tourists have arrived!!
Have a good weekend, and take care.

Hot and humid is right

We got up this morning fairly early and discovered next to no wind, so headed out on our bikes. Got part way up the trail and decided to go to the Tim's on Henderson instead of the one on Gateway. This meant hitting Helmsdale directly off the trail and going all the way, across Henderson and onto Kildonan Drive.  It really is a beautiful old street with many houses around the 100 year mark or more.  Many of them are very elegant, and are very well preserved and cared for, including the place David grew up in.  I think we mentioned that there had been a full page spread in the paper, a few years back, about  how it had been restored, but upgraded as well.  After leaving Tim's we went down Rowandale back to Kildonan Drive,and ran into my friend Darlene, and another acquaintance, Noreen, who were walking back to Darlene's house on Rowandale after picking up coffee at Tim;s. They must have been in there while we were, but missed seeing each other. You may remember Beth, that Darlene was a girlhood friend of Lea ( Alida), as Lea had moved to Rowandale when her family left Maplewood.  Darlene and Lea met up again when they both joined the quilters' guild here.

One of the reasons we had headed west, this morning, was that the trip that way is much more shaded than the one up our usual trail, and therefore much cooler.  But coming home, I mistakenly took us all the way down Kildonan Drive and across another way, instead of Helmsdale.  There were far fewer trees and the sun really got to me.  By the time we got back to Munroe we just headed straight for home.  I came to realize that I had never biked on that block of Munroe, even though it is very close to home.  We usually go further south and dipsy-doodle through other streets. I got home and almost collapsed from the heat and humidity.  David had to put the bikes away, and by the time he got in the house, I  had the windows closed, the air conditioning turned on, and was  ready to lie down.  We both slept for about an hour, before I felt human again. I just can't take the humidity anymore, and I know one of the drugs I take makes me photosensitive.  Later in the day Cousin Beryl phoned, wanting me to go to meet her for coffee, but I just didn't want to take a chance, so asked for a rain check.  I haven't been outside since.

Yeah, I've been pretty busy in the studio the past little while.  I'm pleased with what I have produced, and am now working on a couple of hangings. One will be finished for sure for Pinawa, and it really doesn't matter about the other one.  So far every thing has gone well  for the one piece.  So well, that if it continues, it might prove to be a piece that I could enter in competition.  I haven't done that sort of thing for quite awhile, but there is another big show here next March.  After being treated so poorly last time, I would love to take a prize in every class I am able to enter, even if it's only the one.  Not that I'm still pissed with them, or holding a grudge, or anything like that. No, actually, I'm more pissed that none of them noticed that I was angry.  Guess there wasn't much point in boycotting everything they did for a year.  Cutting off my nose to spite my face, you say?

Anyway, time for a poker tournament.  Have a good week, and keep cool

"tis a wee bit hot and humid here....

but managing to survive. Haven't taken Scooby for a walk though as it really is too hot for her. So we wander around the yard a few times and that seems to satisfy her. Having a real time with racoons - maybe only one big one but not sure. I chased it away the other night in the garbage cans but apparently even with a few tactics I devised, the garbage was disturbed again last night. We try to take the garbage to the dump more frequently but sometimes that isn't too convenient either. Reminds me of the John Candy movie The Great Outdoors. I bought two paper books today at Rebuilt Resources today. I finished the last one I had downloaded in my Kobo Ereader last night (Dan Browns Inferno). So I shall start a new one - it is by Patricia Cornwell called Cause of Death - I believe you mentioned her name, did you Cathy? The other book is The Secret which I had seen many years ago but never read, and lately I have been hearing it mentioned again so thought I would give it a try. Supposed to be inspirational and will change my life !! Lets see....haha  I just spent some time viewing your Mouse Factory blog and really enjoyed seeing your every little picture and description. I am so glad you send pictures and did I actually hold that silver pin when I was there last year as it seems very familiar to me?  Hey Cathy - only three more days for you before you can relax in the yard and read all day for five days in a row, right?......Take care

Tea and Cinnamon Buns

Rrain came back from the lake yesterday morning and brought me cinnamon buns from the Whitehouse Bakery. (Still warm!)  The tea she ordered for me came in last week, so this morning I am having Earl Grey tea and a cream cheese cinnamon bun.  What more could I ask for.  This month both our granddaughter and our goddaughter turned 18 and graduated from high school.  Talk about feeling old!  We couldn't get to Alberta for Maddie's grad, but yesterday we went to Kellie's grad in McCreary.  It was a fun time.  She graduated with honours and won 2 awards.  And we even got to go to the supper.  With such a small school they were allowed more than 3 extra supper tickets.  There were 17 of us at Kellie's table.  Jim & I were home before 8:30.   We worked meat draw on Friday night, so today I am going to putter.  I don't even have supper planned.  It is raining right now, so even a BBQ may be out of the question.  I have so many small things I need to get through and it seems that doing one, leads to another job.  I have a week off coming up, and by the end of it I hope to have all my ACT records sorted and up to date; the house cleaned (vacuum & dust at least): the wood cut and the garden weeded (yet again.... darn things keep growing!)  Knowing me, I will spend too much time sitting outside reading and not enough doing real work.  Oh well... what are holidays for.  I also booked 2 weeks in a row off in August.  I am not sure who changed their mind on holidays but some time opened in August and I grabbed it. You really need more than one week in order to really relax.  You asked about Walmart.   If I am in Brandon I usually stop there, but there is too much stuff and the shelves are way to high.  I can get lost in grocery stores so you can imagine how I feel about Walmart.  I used to enjoy going to the mall and walking around all the stores and never having to leave the building.  Now there are all these big stores and you have to be outside to go between them and it almost seems worth driving from store to store.  Just because the idea worked in California doesn't mean it is suited to Manitoba winters. There... I have vented.   Have a great week.

We are melting

but we probably won't notice as we are both almost comatose with the heat.  It is a tough decision about whether or not to turn on the air conditioning.  Finally my studio is warm enough to work in without wearing sweat jackets, but this means that the kitchen is sweltering.  The nights have been cooler, so we are able to sleep.  I found the little fan I use in my booth at sales,and now have it in the kitchen, where I have my computer.

I have enough "stuff" for the sale in July, and some of it is actually new.  I really need some new "stuff" for my gallery show in December, and am wanting to start working on it fairly soon.  I have an idea and just about enough time to finish it for mid-July, but I'm not going to make myself crazy about it, although a new large hanging would be quite welcome.  Today David had to go out to buy some new screw eyes, and I asked if he could check to see if he could find any book rings ( those individual hinged rings that you can use to hold papers together that have had a hole punched in them. )  We have been looking for them and had been told that they were sold at Home Depot. Well, not there, and the staff didn't seem to know what he was talking about, but another customer told him to try Staples.  He came home with a little package of them in various sizes but two of the sizes will work just fine.  If I had enough of them I could continue taking a course in machine quilting that I have been enjoying, as I use them to hold my samples together.  Then he told me that they were in the process of putting them out into a clearance bin while he was there.  Well, that meant that we had to go back to get more!  We could only find three more packages, but one package held 34 of them and the other two about 10 each, in the size I wanted. So now I have over 50 of the things, and I'm wondering how many I will actually use in this lifetime.

Yes, I've been following the flooding in Alberta, too.  We never think of Alberta as having flooding problems, as far more often, it is drought that plagues them.  There was picture of the site of the Stampede,which is due to start in two weeks--it was well under water.  I was surprised to read that the only place for the zoo animals, if they have to be evacuated, is in holding cells in the jail.  Our paper has more about Alberta than south Winnipeg, but it did say that the homeowners were individually liable for any damages, and would have no "come back"against the city, even though the problem was the inability of the sewer and storm drain system to deal with the water.

Well, after over an hour sitting  in front of the fan, and playing on the computer, I'm feeling a little cooler.  maybe it's time to play poker.

Are you keeping dry?

Bad weather all around but thoughts go out to Alberta for sure. I hear Manitoba is also feeling the effects of Mother Nature with rain and flooding. I phoned our friends George and Monique in Medicine Hat today to see how they were as I heard on the radio that the residents there had been given evacuation notice. They live on higher ground so are OK for now. Their daughter lives on Calgary and although she was staying with them over weekend she planned to return for work on Monday. She may likely find some obstacles/roadblocks to those plans by the sounds of the radio broadcasts. Take care

Splurge Day today

So we have permission to splurge. Having said that I took my bike to the lottery store and then downtown to check the mail. However, I stopped at the Bin store and bought a small package of licorice allsorts and then into the next door Red Brick Café and bought a coffee and headed to the lake where I sat for a few moments and pondered. Then checked the mail and headed back home. It was a refreshing splurge. I have changed my lottery tactics ( yet again) This time I sat outside and fashioned a list of numbers particular to each of us. I always buy three lines - one for each of us so decided enough of the quickpicks and make the numbers specific. I shall give this a chance and wait for at least three or four draws using the same numbers and see if the dream comes true for us. Hey, a change is as good as a rest, right? I have a loaf of bread in the bread machine and it is baking now so the aroma is very enticing. It should be ready for a hot piece covered with butter for lunch. I am also cleaning out the front hall cupboard sorting through winter versus summer and trying to organize. Yesterday we made a quick trip to North Bay to pick up a 40's / 50's era record player radio unit that Harry bought from Kijiji. It is a big unit and sits in the middle of the dining room right now. It plays only 78's records but Harry has plenty of those as well. Good to hear from both of you and always happy to read the blogs. Take care

Weekends

I spent the weekend in Hargrave Manitoba and a board planning session.  This was for ACT.  We had strategic planning on Saturday and our meeting on Sunday.  I think it was a very productive weekend.  The board members had a chance to interact on a Social level on Saturday night and we learned a lot about each other.  Jim drove me to #1, where I was picked up by Ron, from Winnipeg.  I now know, thanks to the weekend,that Ron is 88 years old and a WWII vet.  He has been a single parent twice in his life and has travelled so far and wide and has so many experiences.  I want to be like that when I get older.  He put my age into perspective.  I feel young again.  I also found out the one board member that I have been on and off the board with for the last 15 years, is an Aggie Dip, who graduated one year before me.  We were at U of M at the same time.  I found out that Hazel spins her own wool and Genny quilts.  A weekend well spent.   Kik is at Clear Lake for the week.  Her co-worker has once again loaned her her cabin ( I use the term loosely) Last year Kik had to help her clean in exchange.  this year it is a different cabin and Kik has to paint the fireplace.  It is so generous of Kathleen to do this.  Painting a fireplace is not going to take 5 days.  She should have it done by now.  I have another week off in two weeks.  That is what I am working towards right now. Work should be easier because Brandon is no longer sending us 25 documents a day.  Most of them were discharges, which become my responsibility.   The garden recovered from the frost (with a number of replantings), so we shall have salsa again this year.  We are getting down and starting to count the jars before we take one.  It may be father's day, but Jim saw how tired I was when I got home and he made supper.  I promised him something special on Tuesday.  I am just trying to stay awake until at least 9pm. It's only 7:45, and I am fading fast.  I don't regret being tired.  The weekend was worth it.  Have a great week.

perfect moment

Sometimes I wish we could preserve these short perfect moments, but, I guess, if we could always access them, they wouldn't be so precious to us.  The first step is to recognize them when they creep up on us, and the second step is to acknowledge them when they happen, accepting the brevity, and feeling the joy.

Little going on here.  I'm working hard in the studio, but can now work down there without an extra sweat jacket or sweater. Today, June 14,2013, my husband and I made the decision to turn off the furnace. I can never remember it happening so late in the season--we are just one week shy of the Solstice, for Pete's sake!!  David continues to putter in the garden,and today, the neighbour across the back dug up his garden, ready for planting.  They don't have a lot of space but usually manage some tomatoes, corn and carrots.

Amber dropped in yesterday to drop off a Father's Day card.  She told us that she has received a promotion at work, and will have to work in the office for about two years, but may be able to go back to telecommuting after that.  For that time they are thinking about turning the office into a bedroom, which will make things much easier when the other Grandma comes to stay.  She often does, if Amber has to be away for any period, and I think they pay her a bit for helping out, which helps her, as well. The interesting thing is that Amber had planned to take 6 weeks off over  the summer, as she did last year.  The new job starts at the beginning of July.  Amber goes in for one week of training, and then takes her six weeks of LOA. Sure wasn't like that when we were working!  Remember how I had to miss your wedding,  Beth, because I had just started a new job?

Gorgeous morning

Sat morning and it is just lovely. I took an early walk down to the lake with Scooby - quiet and serene. Now I am at cloths washing and dishes while Harry has gone out to garage sales. I wanted to report that yesterday I had a wonderful day at Mike's celebrating his birthday which is really today. We made Bangers and Mash and I must say we produced a very delicious meal. Mike was in charge of the potatoes while I did the sausage, and then put the casserole into the oven. We had no room for rhubarb pie so Mike will have the honour of cutting into it later. I really should make another pie here because I love it too, so maybe if the day goes well, I shall pick some and bake up a pie. yum yum.  Hope the weekend goes well for all, and take care.

Walmarts

Funny you should mention Walmart today as we went to Huntsville this morning and shopped in Walmart. This is a supercentre store and as you say, everything including a full grocery store. We wanted to pick up a few things to wrap for Mike as his birthday is this weekend and we are going to celebrate with him on Friday. I have to make a rhubarb pie and rhubarb crumble to take at his request. And today I spoke with him and asked what he wished for a meal - you will never guess! Bangers and Mash. He likes this and says he still has some deer sausage from his hunting last fall to eat and so would I make this dish. What ever happened to KFC or pizza? But back to Walmart - the store in North Bay is being enlarged to create another supercentre and it is really far too big. We don't shop there much anyway, but I do go in to get pictures developed from the camera at their photo shop when I need to. We go into the Mall infrequently and when we do we park in a little off shot lot at the far side - Harry calls it  "your parking lot" because I like it better than trying to manipulate into the cramped close quarters of the Walmart parking lot. So I guess you and I Patty have the same feelings about it, eh? Cathy do you go to a Walmart in Brandon when you go there?
After supper tonight while I was doing the dishes, a very nauseous smell started to drift into the window from the back room. It smelled like nail polish remover or something similar. I started to get all worried and went several times into the back room to investigate. I opened the big windows to get fresh air but still was worried. So I started an intensive search - this is a room filled with boxes full of stuff by the way. My nose took me to a box and further looking revealed some tins including a tin of spray enamel. And the bottom of the box was wet. So out the door with it and confirmed this was the source. I asked Harry to check the tin and for some reason it had leaked from the bottom and soaked into the cardboard and onto the rug a bit. But, I solved the problem and was able to head for bed with peace of mind. I just finished the final novel of five of the Patrick Bower series by Steven James I bought for my Ereader. I enjoyed every one of them - great thrillers and always a twist at the end. Now I can get started on the Inferno by Dan Brown. I bought it for the Ereader a few weeks ago but did not want to start it until I was finished the others. I called an old friend on Sunday as it was her birthday. I was friends with her in Victoria and we have remained in contact usually once a year at birthdays or Christmas. She never got into the computers or emails  but on Sunday said she had just got an IPad and was learning to use it. So we exchanged email addresses and perhaps I will be able to enhance another friendship in this manner. They live in Petawawa which is really not that far. She said they have booked a 6 months world cruise for next year and "why don't we think about joining them" Anyway I thanked her but said it wouldn't be possible. Wow! If I go anywhere it will be back to see you folks. Better get to bed. Take care

Research

Lately I've been enjoying Cafe Mocha from Tim Horton's ( made with decaf, of course).  I had the opportunity to try it at McDonald's a couple of weeks ago, and yesterday tried it  at Starbuck's while out with my friend Shirley.  Just to confirm my findings, I had another one at McDonald's last evening.  At Tims it is $2.30 (incl tax) for a medium and tastes quite fine.  At Mcdonald's it is $3.60 for a medium, and tastes very, very nice.  Starbucks charged me $4.98, and was just "ho hum".  Obviously McDonald's is trying to compete with Starbucks, and in my opinion, winning the competition hands down.  But since we are "living on the pension", I think I'll stay with Tims, except on special occasions.

Poor Shirley has been battling Shingles for the past couple of months. This has really knocked her for a loop, maybe because of her age, as she is 80+.  She has only been dressing for short periods lately, after spending almost a month doing nothing but lying on her couch without clothing.  She is a very "social animal" and has been suffering almost as much from "cabin fever" as the Shingles. It was nice to see her out, even if only for a few minutes, but she talked non-stop, and my head was spinning after our visit.

After our coffee, I stopped in a WalMart for a couple of things.  They have re-modeled our local store.  We went through almost two years of construction and parking lot chaos, as the parking lot had to be re-vamped along with the store.  For some reason they decided to put a traffic circle along one side of the lot, and when I was there yesterday, they are now working on that again.  My best guess is that they are installing some sort of barrier between the parking area and the traffic circle/roadway that runs along side of it.  The overall result is that while they have doubled the size of the store, bringing in groceries, and now keeping it open 24 hours, at the same time they have cut the size of the parking lot in half and are now making it almost impossible to get into.  I am unhappy with the interior of the store as well, and can see that I will be shopping there less often. Or maybe I'm just turning into a crotchety old woman.

Today it's back to the studio.  Having fun down there

Sunday again

I agree that we may finally be frost free for a while.  We lost a number of tomatoes and peppers to frost last weekend.  We covered everything we could the first night but still lost some the second night it was only supposed to hit 4 above as the low...... it was 3 below here and more plants were lost.  We only have 2 jalapenos left and I am hoping that at least 2 of our Sweet Chelsea tomatoes will make it. Jim was able to replace the green peppers and the hot banana peppers and bought some Super Fantastic tomatoes just so we would have some extra.  We have only 3 Roma's left, but since I use them only in sauce and salsa as a "thickener" we will survive.  All the potatoes turned black, but being a root crop they are all coming back. We replanted all the beans, and the peas came through unscathed.  A killing frost in June!!!  We were supposed to have lots of rain Friday night through Saturday but our patio stones are barely damp.  They are saying rain tonight, but I think we better water the garden anyway.  That will bring the rain for sure.  We met some people from BC last week.  They stopped at the legion for a drink.  The had driven across Canada to the East Coast and were on their way home.  They liked Neepawa so much that they stayed for 3 days. They visited the Museum twice and came to the legion everyday around 4.  Needless to say we made a point of showing up too.  It was like meeting a lifelong friend that you had never met before (if you know what I mean) Jim just got up.  I finally went downstairs at 4am to wake him up and get him to bed.  He says he had just fallen asleep and was awake most of the time.  Hmmmmmmmmm.  My friend Dennis is coming over for supper tonight.  His wife,Lynne, is house sitting in Barbados for a couple of months.  Keri is coming too and I am roasting a small turkey.  We talked about BBQ, but with all the rain in the forecast (yeah, right) we decided this would be a good time for the turkey.  Then, back to work.  Oh joy.  At least I get some extra money for all the work I do.  We have a "Teranet Celebration" committee on the go now.  They want this takeover to be a big event for all Teranet employees in Manitoba and in Ontario.   Of course we have no budget to work with so it will be interesting.  For a company that is so IT heavy, Teranet is not equipped for video conferences.  It has to be done in person or on the phone.  That is one thing that they have said they might have to look into for themselves.  They have never had the need before.  I am on the inter-provincial commitee for the celebration so I guess my future holds some teleconferences.  Time to clean the kitchen for my company.  We can't eat downstairs 'cause it smells so bad from the dogs.  It bothers me and there is no way that Keri could eat down there.  And, of course, it will be raining so we can't eat outside :)

Quiet perhaps but still around....

I just read your Mouse Factory blog and very interested in your activity "frenzy" and happy that things are moving along nicely - in the right direction for you! The little handbags must be a good seller and I can tell from the pictures you posted a while back that they are an eye catcher. Same old here - yard work - especially with such good weather and perhaps no more threats of frost in the immediate future. I did get some housework accomplished yesterday while Harry went to garage sales but then it was into the yard. He bought a 6'X8' Shelter to put up outside to house the lawnmowers and rototillers etc laying around. It meant purchasing 20 cement blocks to lay as a foundation and then construct this shed. I got the instructions and all the pieces organized and then it went up with some issues but overall not too bad a job! I apparently do not know how to work ratchet devices and there were eight that needed to be attached to the straps on all sides of the tarps that lay over the framework. Anyway, it is still standing this morning so hope for the best. Had to transplant a rose tree that I have had for years - it was in the middle of the spot we chose for the shed. It has been moved to another spot and I am hoping it will survive nicely as it produces beautiful flowers although a bit of a rogue tree - sort of like a wild rose bush but grew into a tree all on it's own haha  Harry also bought a record player and it fits nicely into the spot left from the turtle tank. It plays records and cassettes so I will have to dig out some of my old records that I used to love to listen to. Well, the days breaks and time for my second coffee and get ready for another day. The cats are chasing each other because yesterday I found the catnip bag hidden under the chesterfield and now they are all going crazy. Fun to watch! Take care

Aren't we a quiet bunch?!

Sorry to hear about your turtle, Beth. I know you had him for a long time, and that he had been well loved by your boys.  Several years ago David and I made the decision not to have any more animals.  I know they make the house a warmer, friendlier place, but they also tie you down.  I don't know if we are better off or not, knowing every back road and casino in Minnesota, but we had hoped to travel even further afield, although doesn't appear to be in our future.  The trips we made to California, Florida, Vancouver Island and Cuba would have been much more troublesome if we had had animals to provide for.

I've been experimenting with Rhubarb cake.  The one we tried yesterday was very, very tasty, but when I really thought about it, the flavour came more from the brown sugar it had been made with than the actual rhubarb.  I'm going to keep the recipe though, as it made a very nice cake.  I found that I had to bake it for an extra 20 minutes before it was done, but that might have been because the rhubarb was so full of moisture.  Tomorrow I will try another recipe, and let you know how it goes.

David has been hard at work in the garden, and it shows.  The neighbour keeps wanting to give us plants.  He says he loves his garden, and his (ex?-)wife keeps bringing him plants from the garden where he used to live --on Woodside Cres.  David has taken out the bush that used to be beside the front door, and I have to admit that the grarden looks better without it, but it was a battle giving it up because I loved the colour of it.  but is was half dead, and really had to go.  Both the Lady Slippers and the Lily-of-the-Valley are in bloom.  I kept smelling Lilacs when I was in the kitchen, but we took the Lilac out a couple of years ago,and the tree in the other neighbour's yard is quite far away.  Well, dummy me, the same neighbour has a smaller Lilac right beside our house.

The last few days have been spent going through all of my trunks and cupboards trying to organize myself for the sale in Pinawa in mid-July and the show in Selkirk in December.  At this point, I know what i| have, and have identified a couple of UFO's that could quickly be brought up to snuff.  I also identified a few things that will never be good enough for either show, and now I have to plan to dispose of them.  Then it will be working full out for the next few months on new work.

So I better get down to work.  Have a great weekend everyone.

Farewell to the turtle...

It died two nights ago. It had been failing for some time so not surprised. So yesterday I spent some time to clean the tank and put it away. I cleaned the filter machine and put it into a box. The rocks were taken outside and now are placed in the garden as a border. The tank is just overturned outside - likely turn into a planter, or go to the dump. The most remarkable thing is the absolute "quiet" - no noise from the filter that for so long monopolized the room. There is now an empty space where the tank once occupied on the large two shelf sturdy table bought especially for the tank - I wonder how long before it is taken over haha! I worked in the yard all day and accomplished a great deal - always satisfying to see your progress. This afternoon as I worked, I could hear the strumming of a guitar at one of the neighbours - I don't know which one but I found it very enjoyable. Obviously whoever was playing was not a real experienced player, but nonetheless, still very soothing and pleasant. A real treat. Now I am going to have a bath and head for bed. Tomorrow we go to North Bay early to attend Armed Forced celebrations. Sunday evening we were surprised by Mike and Erin dropping through on their way back to North Bay from Newmarket. It was her birthday and had gone down to her home to celebrate over the weekend. Isn't it funny that I had the feeling all day that he might drop in and so thankful to see him Always a good event for me. We, too, are experiencing colder weather and especially at night - we have been watching closely in case we have to get out and start spraying water on the plants in the early hours as I haven't covered anything and as everything is planted now, there is no way that I could! Take care

cold

It has been cold here. And wet. It is June 1st and my furnace is still on, and working.  I have been working in the studio.  Yesterday I finished a scrap quilt.  Suitable for a child, about 40" square, and made mainly from scraps that I acquired from other people.  One piece had been on my design wall for about 5 years.  Just over a month ago, my friend Shirley gave me some scraps to donate to the quilting group at the local Active Living Centre, and there was one that was perfect with the small piece I had.  After taking the rest into the Centre, I found another piece in the scrap pile there that was just as good.  The final piece came from somewhere,and had been in my stash for years, but I know I sure wouldn't have bought it!  The colour in the full view is most accurate. it is very simply quilted, except in the outer border where I decided to practice my "plumes"

Then today I spent a fair bit of time doing some hand work on a small picture I'm making for the sale in July.  This picture has been "in progress" for a couple of years, but now I'm determined to get it finished.  I may be able to post a picture soon.

Otherwise, David has spent a fair bit of time in the garden.  We have bloom on the lady slippers, and buds in the Lily-of-the-Valley.  The Nanking Cherries have bloomed, but it's too early to see any sign of setting fruit.  We have had our first picking of Rhubarb.  It looks like we're going to have to split the Hosta this year, and the front flower bed is soon going to be overrun with ferns.  Probably not really overrun as David is quite vigilant about digging them up if they grow in the wrong place.  Tomorrow evening is Gillian's dance recital.  David doesn't go with me, but rather drops me off and picks me up.

Today I managed the basement stairs with a reciprocal gait.  I haven't been able to do this for some time, so I am grateful for the improvement.