Rain

After days of predicting thunderstorms we finally got rain today, and more rain and more rain. It hasn't had time to soak into the ground, so the entire yard from the patio doors to the firepit is water.  It did kill the heat and humidity for a while, which I, for one, really appreciate.  Instead of having 3 boys for a sleep over last night, we had 8 kids all afternoon.  I was at work. What a shame.  They all played in the pool and then had burgers and hot dogs for an early supper.  They all seemed to have fun, though.  We took the last 3 home just after six.  I dropped Jim off at the legion for meat draw and he finally won something.  I guess the trick is to show up just before they start the draw.  Sometimes I am grateful that I have a lap top with battery power.  I unplugged it during the peak of the storm and still got to use it. I was given a bucket of tomatoes yesterday so I am going to make a batch of "junk" tomorrow.  It is supposed to be cooler tomorrow before going back up to 30 next week.  I still have a few bags of junk in the freezer, but considering how many I made last year we use a lot.  I put it in all my soups and stews and spagetti  sauces.  Jim wants to go to the legion later.  Cara told us she is making supper for the round table tonight.  Meatballs, and beans and some sort of potato casserole.  It sounds like it might be worth showing up for!   Jim starts hauling potatoes again around the 16th.  It lasts about 3 weeks and it gives him a bit of money to spend on "toys".  Usually for his truck.  The renovations at our office seem to be going really slowly... ie.. no one showed up after last Monday.  The cement truck was late and the inspector left before it got there.  Hence.. no cement was poured.  We will see what next week brings.  The rain seems to have eased up a bit.  I checked the radar.  One storm cell has just passed over us, but another is almost here.  I guess we have more rain coming.  I wonder why mother nature likes to postpone the rain until there are crops lying in the fields?  One of life's mysteries.  Today I am grateful it has cooled down a bit.  I know come January I will be crying for heat again.  There is just no satisfying me.

Kobo books

Today I needed to charge my ereader so logged onto the Kobo site - and for a little while, I browsed the bookstore and soon found that in the lists of books ( totals approx 78,000) I found some that were free downloads. So I got all excited and did fast sweeps of the lists looking specifically for the free ones and ended up with five new books ( only got through about 6000 of the books available) Now, I can't say that these books are what I usually read, but I thought it would be a change to randomly select a book and read it as is. For example one of the books is a western by the synopsis and sounded good but certainly not a type of book I would normally choose to read. Maybe westerns might be interesting? I was picking crabapples today for the neighbour to make wine. He was actually next door and I was able to speak with him - He appreciates the apples and has already done one batch and will use these on Sunday or Monday. He says his container is 100 gallons capacity total - isn't that rather large say compared to what you folks make? I can't imagine it even though he invited me to look at what he had set up in the basement. I declined the look. Maybe I should have! More rain today again but over next few days they are calling for sun. Hope so. We have done lots of dehydrating and still have a few trays in the machine yet - garlic, herbs, tomatoes, onions etc. I have caught up with cucumbers but the tomatoes keeps coming. Tomorrow more juice may be in order. But for tonight I will go to bed and read - perhaps a nice western???? Take care

I got to drive today

I needed (needed??) to buy some good fabric, and I had been invited to a reception associated with the Hat project, so David decided that I could go alone.  If you remember, last summer, I had the opportunity to re-design/make a felt hat.  There had been about forty ( I think) of us to start and thirty hats ended up returning for the exhibition.She has had trouble finding somewhere to exhibit them, and working with the exhibit has been a problem, as she lives in a small apartment, and most of them came complete with hat boxes. She had received grants and was able to rent a room in the basement of Maison Gabrielle Roy Museum ( the house where she was born) for a month.  This gave her time and space to fully put the exhibition together and it has been on display there.  Today there was a closing reception that will last until about 8:00 tonight, but I chose to attend this afternoon.  She is still working on other venues for the exhibit.

That's the back story.  What I'm writing about is my opportunity to visit a part of St. Boniface where I've never been before.  I had to park about a block away and walk down an old, old street.  Most of the houses must have been over 100 years old.  Well settled in their gardens, and very much a French flavour to the area.  This was a quiet street and completely residential.  Loren's house is over 100 years old and in part of old St. Boniface, but the flavour is different, perhaps because so many of the houses on his street have been "gentrified".  I also think that his street is either older, or originally  not an middle/upper class area, as the  houses are smaller and don't display the type of windows and roofs that I saw today.

The other task I had today was to attempt to buy a new silk plant for my bathroom.  Yesterday we bought wallpaper and towels to re-do the room, and this will mean that I need a new plant.  The wallpaper is a cheap one--a white and beige old brick pattern.  We looked in books etc and found that the paper alone would have cost us about $300, and that it came un-pasted, so we would have to pay someone to put it up.  For a bathroom??  The towels etc are a grey/green, instead of the Hunter Green I've had before.  I will miss my old wallpaper, but we aren't looking at putting the new up until after the dust settles at the lake.

As well as the new towels we bought a new set of sheets for the bed.  We have only had one, and sometimes it's a bit of a pain getting them washed and back on the bed quickly.  So today we washed the sheets and towels getting them ready to use--NOT!  The towels shed lint in the washer quite badly, and the lint got all over the sheets.  Re-washing and drying etc didn't help at all, so David and I had to tackle cleaning these huge sheets up with a sticky roller.  By coincidence I had found an old brush in a drawer just a few days ago.  These were sold by K-Tel or someone, years ago.  They were red with a plastic handle and if you brushed one way it picked up lint, and then you would brush the other way, and the lint came off the brush for disposal.  At one time everybody and his dog had one. So we hauled that out and it did the job quite nicely. Within about an hour the sheets were ready to put on the bed.

Tomorrow we head for the lake to met Gail and start making up a list of everything we plan to leave behind.  Since David and I have already had a couple of lively discussions about it, I anticipate some very emotional and distraught times.

You will have a busy month...

Glad to hear that things are coming together even though it may be a bit of a rush for you. You mentioned a "truck run" and maybe that will happen sooner than later now. But to give up ownership before winterizing becomes necessary may be beneficial. I, too, am happy to know it will be to a family and the tradition will continue to go one through generations perhaps. I still look at the pictures from the real estate site, but intend to delete once you tell us it is final, you have cleared out, and all is said and done! Lots of rain over past few days which is good for the garden, but not so nice to be corralled inside. I just made a batch of tomato juice and actually bottled it this go round, instead of refridgerating it for drinking immediately. The tomatoes sitting on the tables were starting to get ahead of me. I bought a winter jacket at Recycled the other day but when I got home realized it stunk of smoke. I have hung it outside, put it in the dryer on air and today bought a spray bottle of Febreeze but it still smells. So what do you suggest?  Today I bought two little beading frames at the Restore.  The step by step process is clearly shown in one of my Beading books and these frames seemed to appear out of the blue so I was meant to buy them. At $1.00 each I had nothing to lose, and could give me a winter project. I can't see making any more shawls as I have three on hand now although the making of them was good for me. I could make small beaded book marks perhaps? I took a book out of the library yesterday - a James Patterson novel in large print. I intend to read tonight for a bit. Take care

And now the craziness begins---

We accepted a generous offer last night, but with Sept 20th closing date.  We have 7 days to provide a list of everything we will be leaving behind, and then we will have to remove everything else before closing. (OMG!!)  Friday will be the first day that both David and Gail will be available to go through and, hopefully, come up with the list.  We plan on going down for the day, but being prepared  to spend the night if necessary. ( No, no, never!!!)  The purchaser is a couple with three young children, and we are all pleased to know that.  The property was made for young children.  It sounds as though they plan to use the existing buildings, as least for a little while. The deal is conditional on financing, but our real state agent is quite confident that this won't be a problem.  We will know for sure by Sept 3rd.

So for next year....

....Cathy, you book off three weeks of vacation. They say it takes at least one week to ten days to start to relax, and I guess your two weeks off, and your comments have proved that point. We may be in for a long night - there is a lull right now in the rain, but we have had a real wet, loud and boisterous few hours. I can hear the rumblings overhead but no new rain coming yet. I was pumping water at front, and trying to make supper at the same time tonight.  We went to North Bay today to check out the Sodastream machine at the Kitchenomics store. This makes your own soda pop in any flavours you want. We ended up buying a machine and tried it out at supper. Works very well and produces a nice drink. I choose Root beer flavour and my drink was tasty. We went over to Mike's as he had returned from visiting the other family. He had a surprise for me - two boxes of Tim Horton's K-cup coffee. He was also very excited about hearing of the machine to make soda. So we went back to the store and bought another machine for him. I believe the lady thought she had lucked out with sales today seeing us return and buy the exact same thing as we had done only two hours previously haha  Here comes the rain so I better sign off. Take care everyone as we start into the last week of August - ugh!

Last Day

Why does time go so fast when you want it to slow down?  My 2 weeks are over and I feel like they just started.  I got a lot of things done, but I decided that I was going to relax, too, so I spent a lot of time on my swing, reading books.  We went to Big Valley last week.  It has changed so much since I used to go there with the kids.  Jim and I wandered down the creek a bit and just enjoyed the time.  The hill that we climbed in the Toyota is getting a bit overgrown, and the path up has been blocked with a pile of shale.  I look up the hill and wonder what we were thinking!  It will always be a claim to fame for us to have taken the car up the hill.  These days I wouldn't even do it on a quad!  It was so hot and humid yesterday that I almost felt ill.  Today is supposed to be the same.  I left all the windows open last night and all the fans turning.  I know the house will heat up, but it will start a little cooler.   We didn't even have supper last night since we were too hot to eat.  Tonight it will be a chicken on the BBQ with some new potatoes.  The rest will be donations from the Hutterites (Tomatoes, cucumbers and buns!)  I need to clean the pool today.  Not that much of a chore to be in the pool when it is hot outside.  We will have 3 boys here next Friday.  Ages 10, 12 and 14.  I will be at work :) They can play in the pool  The rest of today I will spend reading.  It is my last day and I am going to enjoy every minute.  Tomorrow I have to wear real clothes again.

Google tribute to Claude Debussy

I just signed onto web and was delighted to view todays Google tribute. How beautiful - Claire de Lune.
Another reminder that Summer is waning - they removed the floating docks at the lake today. They still have the swimming dock, and the boat dock in place but every year they place a special area near the deeper waters ( the sudden drop off) where people can walk out to, climb onto the docks and then dive into the deeper water. Glad to hear about the positive responses to the Lake property Patty and hope that all will go well for you with the real estate conference call next week. We went to North Bay today to shop. Mike had his truck in the garage so we drove him there to pick it up before heading home ourselves. He and his lady, Erin, are travelling down to near Toronto for the weekend to visit her family. Never a highlight for Mike but he says "...I bought a 12 pack to take with me...." I stopped into the Tim's on the highway leaving North Bay to get a coffee for me and an ice cap for Harry and was surprised to see that they now sell Tim Horton's K-cups. They have had Tassimo discs for awhile, and when I asked about K-cups some time ago, was told they did not have them. Perhaps too many people were asking for them? Anyway, since I had already bought something else for my Keurig machine earlier at the Kitchenomics store, I thought I should wait until another time to splurge on these. I also stopped at the Bus Terminal to enquire about schedules and prices to travel from North Bay to Winnipeg to Neepawa and return, but they did not have anything in a paper form to give me but instead gave me the Greyhound website. After I finish this message I will try to access that and see how much I'll need to save to plan a trip next year. I always like to think ahead and in doing so, gives me something to look forward to. Like I have always said, it is the anticipation that makes a trip so very exciting!! It rained and thundered last night - I was up pumping water at the front and suddenly the power went off. I was wondering what I would do, when it came back just as suddenly. Only out for about 5 minutes. As it was, I had to go outside once to fiddle with the pump while the lightening flashed all around - scary! Tomorrow we might go to Huntsville to take Harry's sister a few baskets of big green tomatoes. She loves to eat them fried and with her diabetes, it is one food item she can tolerate. Her husband has a garden but apparently has few and those he has are very small (and most of his plants were given to him by us in the first place) Time to quit. Take care

On the whole---

I'd rather  rather look like a cucumber than a potato.  Looking more and more potato like all the time.  I haven't been out on my bike for over a month, having hurt my left knee--yet again.  That poor knee bares the brunt of all of my accidents and falls. I've been working hard in the studio, but don't have a lot to show for it--a teaching sample that will work as a hanging for the Dec show and a half-finished picture of a very strange Bonsai tree.  I try to get one household chore finished each day, but I'm not always successful. The recent heat wave has kept me inside and in the basement, especially when we had a strange smell while the air conditioning was working and left it off to cool off for about 24 hours.  It was hot enough that I wore my muumuus for a couple of days.  They look just as ridiculous as my nighties when  worn along with my black stockings and tied walking shoes.

The B-B-Q was strange.  The food was good, and while we saw the b-b-q  there was no sign of the whole pig.  No-one knew anyone else.  I has been about 8-10 years ( Arne's 80th birthday) since the last time these people were together like this and everyone has changed. So there wasn't really a lot of mixing between the small groups. although there were tables set up and there was a bit of traffic between them.  Unfortunately they were set up in the sun, and I just couldn't take it.  It was at my nephew Doug's home, which is on a small acreage, and includes his workshop--a large well built and set up building, that is already too small for the manufacture and restoration of vehicles that goes on there.  A very nice set-up and Doug is obviously very proud of what he has accomplished--deservedly so. Loren made it, and had a chance to have a good visit with his cousin John.  I think that in the long run it has been been a good thing that these cousins share the St. John's experience, as the age span is such that they didn't share a lot of time, together, at the lake with Grandma, although they all had several summers down there.

There has been a lot of interest shown in the lake property, with several showings last weekend and several more over the next week.  David and his sister will be setting up a conference call with the real estate agent for next Monday evening, and are told that a decision will be expected by about 9:00 that night..  We are surprised at some of the questions we are being asked, but usually know where to find an answer.  At this point we remain optimistic.

Do I look like a cucumber?

I have been eating so many veg to try to keep up, I feel like a cucumber, pepper and tomato all rolled into one!!  I just came in for a rest from trimming tomato plants - some are so tall and top heavy I have been tying the tops to tree branches. But they are now ripening - quickly! Crab apples are so heavy the branches are falling to the ground. We did some juice yesterday - about fifty bottles and didn't make a dint in the number of apples on the trees. I went over to the neighbour last week to prompt them because they had wanted crabs to make wine, but so far he hasn't come over or attempted to pick any from his side of the fence. The tree is so big and loaded that the branches are falling onto the ground on his side.
Thank goodness we do not have the humidity that you speak of - at least not yet. But I too worry about the Fall - I do not think I could endure a winter like last year especially if it is even going to be longer in duration.
Mike returned from his spur of the moment hunting trip ( spur of the moment for us to hear about his going but I'm sure he was planning for awhile) It was for bear, but they "got skunked' as Mike said. No sight of a bear to test their hunting skills. But I am sure they had a good time anyway. Time for more work...out I go!
Cathy you sound as if you have been really productive - so take some time out now - sit and relax and read, and sip on a wine There, doesn't that sound better? Take care

It's not the heat... It's the humidity..

No, I think the heat is playing a large part in this.  We have not been doing anything the last couple of days.  We wait and wait for the weather to warm up and then we complain... go figure.   My determination to get the house clean stopped at my office.  That's where I put everything I took out of the other rooms.  Now I have to deal with it.  I started this morning and found my collection of coin wrappers, so....... I went into my bedroom and rolled quarters.  Sixty dollars later, the office is still staring at me, but I have some money.  I feel good getting the pantry done, though. I even straightened the freezers, cleaned up my cleaning supplies and organized my cookie sheets and baking pans.  Now I can feel justified in ignoring the office.  One weather report yesterday said that the fall would be hotter and dryer than normal... Today one said that we would have an earlier than normal frost and that the snow would be here to stay by October.  What a difference one day can make in the world!  Of course environment Canada is calling for a thunderstorm here this afternoon, but Weather Network says hot and sunny until we might get rain on Friday.  The only way to tell the weather anymore is to look out the window.  This week I am very grateful that we have the rec room in the basement that stays relatively cool during all this heat.

Storm? What storm?

Well, there was a thunderstorm this morning.  Lots of thunder and it lasted for about two hours--a long time for a thunder storm, but I missed most of it as I was working away in the basement--except when the lights went out and then I was in the dark trying to find my way out of the basement.

It made me think about how lucky we were to live  on Maplewood, so close to the hospitals and all of those iron lungs.  We were always the very first part of the city to get power back.  I also remember one time when it didn't come right on, and all the men were out in the street to head for the hospitals to help work the iron lungs manually.

Keeping up with Wpg news

Hey, I found the draft of that message from the other day - doesn't make sense now but I'll publish it anyway!
Last night I logged onto the Wpg Free Press web site ( I have it on favourites) after I did my blog entry. I often go there to read about latest news from Wpg but last night it turned into a bit of a picture show. The article on the Disraeli Bridge took me to a photo section and from there I viewed many pictures - aerial views and street views of various newsy items from present to past. I enjoyed seeing the pictures of the new bridge and orient myself to it's location in relation to Norwood Bridge, and Provencher Bridge - all taken from the air

Soft Ice Cream

This afternoon I walked over to the local Foodland to buy some hair spray. Harry wanted to spray it on some thistles as per the instructions from his brother who sprays and then paints things like this. We had a huge thistle growing in the flower bed. Anyway, on the way over my mind started to wander and of all things thought of Patty working at the Bridge Drive in and of soft ice cream. There is an ice cream booth at the store and sure enough they had soft ice cream. So I decided to splurge and ordered a vanilla cone. I thought of all the soft ice creams I have had in the past and looking forward to tasting it after so long. Then the little girl took a disc out of the freezer and placed it in a machine and pumped out some white stuff into the cone. It was NOT soft ice cream as I remembered it. More like thawing brick ice cream. Disappointment!! And I could have stopped instead at the chip truck and really splurged..... Oh well. But in the store a man stopped me in the isle and asked me to help him find something for constipation - he had just driven 5 hours from Guelph and needed something. We ended up having the greatest conversation about bodily function, and food etc. It was an interesting moment and provided me with some much needed comic relief.
I spent most of morning in basement sorting and organizing stuff to get out (find) jars and bottles for juice and find the juicer etc. Then washed them all and stacked them on a card table ready for use over next day or two. Harry picked crabapples from the trees - far too many this year - have never seen the trees so productive! He also has another batch of chokecherry vinegar made as we went yesterday afternoon to pick more.
My cold continues to annoy me and I had a troublesome sleep last night with stuffiness and coughing and sniffles. It can only get better but in meantime I suffer.
I viewed the Free Press page and see pictures of the storm that swept through your area - so much water on the streets and underpasses and traffic lights out in Wpg. Hope you are all OK - did it reach your area Cathy? We are finally getting some warmer temps after a week of coldish single digit weather. However, the trees are already starting to change in some places - far too early! Take care

Guess I'l the laggard

You two seem to be communicating much better than I these days.  I know what you mean about the money running out before the month does, Cathy.  July had to be the longest month in years. fortunately, august is a little shorter, and we had a little extra money with me doing so well in Pinawa.  But--with so many long months lately, and our plans to clean out the freezer, we have needed to do a lot--lots and lots--of grocery shopping and storing up on essentials. ( anyone need toilet paper?).

Yesterday there were some good sales.  I was able to stock up on sewing supplies, and there were some grocery bargains to be had.  We started at the Credit union where we transferred the money we planned to spend from our savings account.  We shopped, and came home absolutely exhausted.  We totaled it all up and then David went back to the credit union and transferred more money.  The girls there were teasing him about having an expensive day. We processed some of the goods yesterday into hamburger patties and meat balls, and then got up today prepared to do the rest.  We now have spaghetti sauce and chili in the two largest slow cookers, and four lasagnes in the freezer already.  Thursday we had tried Jim's Lazy Cabbage Roll recipe.  We had filled one of the slow cookers, hoping to get a couple of meals out of it.  Well, we ate well and there are now 6--count'em--six meals of Lazy Cabbage Rolls in the freezer.

I think we got a little carried away with the shopping, as they had day old bananas on for half price and we bought a bunch of those as well.  I usually make 3-4 loaves of banana bread and freeze them.  Forgot we had a couple still in the freezer from last time. I guess it's the time of year when women stock pile food for the coming winter.  Not that it's really needed anymore, but we grew up in a family that saw the depression, and now it must be built into our genetic memory.

Tuesday we have been invited out to a pig roast b-b-q.  Gail's son John is visiting from New Zealand, and this is the only opportunity for all of the family to get together.  At least that's their story and they're sticking to it.  Loren has now told us that he has been following the planning etc of this event on Facebook. and most of his generation isn't going to make it. The fellow at whose house it is can't even make it. Loren has contacted John privately to see if there might be time for them to get together for a drink while he's here.  They both had the common experience of boarding school, and had been closer than Loren is with some of the others.
We'll have to see what happens, but don't plan to stay too long in any case.

Chokecherries

It's funny that you should mention choke cherry vinegar.  It is on my to do list.  Auntie Flo used to make it all the time.  I would go out with the other kids and pick chokecherries (They grew in the bush across the road from her house)  I have never made it, but we have so many chokecherries this year that I thought I thought I would try.  While searching for a recipe I came across the Manitoba Home Economist website and it had lots of chokecherry recipes.  Check it out - http://www.homefamily.net/?s=choke+cher.  Now all I have to do is go out and pick them.  This morning I tackled the basement.  Worked for hours and hours and when I came upstairs it was only 10 am.  Either I didn't work as long as I thought, or I got a very early start (Somehow I think it wasn't the early start)  Once again there is month left at the end of the money, so we are cleaning out the pantry and freezer.   The months must be getting longer 'cause there seems to be a lot more time left once the money runs out.  Okay, I need some down time and some sleep.  I just snarled at Jim for doing the dishes.  I think I will take a day off and read.  Good thing I went to the library yesterday.

My semi annual cold

The cold has hit me again - usually get one twice a year but generally a bit later in the summer towards Fall. I felt the tickle in my throat last two days and then sure enough last evening the cough and chest symptoms appeared. It makes me feel tired and want to lay in bed but of course I have to carry on regardless. Yesterday it was going to the South River Park to pick chokecherries and make chokecherry vinegar. Apparently his Mother made the kids pick raspberries in the fields and she made a drink called vinegar. So we are trying it now but with chokecherries. Yesterday I made a dish with the outer leaves of brussel sprouts, called "frizzled sprouts', Basically you stir fry the outer leaves until brown and soft. You are supposed to add pomegranate seeds at the end to serve but those are a bit expensive for a trial. Anyway, this recipe went into the garbage. I still have the little insides of the sprouts that I can boil and eat. Thank goodness Harry did the "deleafing" as it was a thankless job for a terrible meal. However I am enjoying green fried tomatoes - I like these and are easy to make and heavens knows we have enough green tomatoes to use. My sniffles are bothersome, so I think I'll sign off and feel sorry for myself ( no one else will haha) and get on with the day. Hope you have a good weekend folks. What are you up to ?  ps I started a message yesterday but it suddenly disappeared - I have no idea where and wonder if it is a draft but again could not figure out how to get into that edit place. I don't like to fool around with this blog because I have had trouble in the past and so far it is working for me so don't want to upset things...Too bad...if you find it somewhere let me know. Take care

Changing things around

What a great idea Cathy - changing the upstairs and downstairs all around. And I bet it feels like new. I used to switch the furniture in the front room from time to time, however it isn't possible anymore. It was a busy day today but I couldn't tell you if productive or not. A double batch of blueberry muffins made with some not so tasty berries bought at the local store cheap but still didn't use them all up. Still Harry bought another big basket at the market this afternoon from the grower and they are very good.  Can't say we don't have enough blueberries in the house. And corn - a dozen cobs ? I am trying to keep up with our own veg and so far so good but it is starting to back up as the tomatoes ripen. The cucumbers should soon be over their best. Wouldn't it be great if I could just run a few over to you guys? Yeah I know, there's always "the bus". I started to get ready to ride my bike over to the Lottery store this afternoon, when the dog came over to me and sat in front of me and "talked" to me as much as saying please take me with you . So I walked there instead. Probably just as good and it obviously pleased the dog haha. I may have to make a trip to the Library tomorrow as I am about to finish this current paperback book, and I do not have any books stored on the ereader that I haven't read. I have looked on the Kobo site but can't find anything to buy that interests me ( and is fairly cheap) Better go...take it easy Cathy with the housework - just relax and enjoy. A quad ride would be perfect. Mike is talking about buying an ATV and trailer in time for hunting season this Fall. He received his moose tag in the mail and is very excited about this - apparently actually hard to get. He sold one of his rifles to a friend and intends to use this $ towards the ATV. However, he asks if he can store it here as he does not trust leaving it in his driveway - he lives right downtown in North Bay and not the greatest neighbourhood. So if he does buy one soon, and brings it here, it will look like we have purchased it - we can fool the neighbours into thinking we have a life !! Wonderful idea. Take care
 

Holidays??

It's already Wednesday!  I picked a good time to be away from work.  They are jackhammering the basement floor now and both Shirley and Patty are feeling the effects of the vibration and noise.  They also have to use the bathroom at the Legion once the guys start working.  They can't get to one of the bathrooms in the basement and the guys use the other one and leave it pretty dirty.

So far I have been pacing myself and only working a a few projects each day.  The rec room floor has been washed, but it really needs a scrubbing. I moved all the furniture from side to side so I could get at all of the floor.  Needless to say we decided to move furniture around.  The table from upstairs is where the stereo was.  The stereo is on the other side of the rec room.  Upstairs, the china cabinet is where the table was, the clock is where the china cabinet was, one chair is gone, and one chair from the rec room is upstairs.  And all I was going to do was wash the floor.  That did get the living room tidied, though.  I have made some dishes and put them in the freezer for those days when we just can't decide or don't feel like cooking.  Lasagna, chicken wings, hamburger soup, turkey soup, and Jim made lazy cabbage rolls.  We'll probably still have sandwiches when we are tired !

Today is once again supposed to  be cutting more wood.  I am just waiting to see if Jim feels up to it. He can only do so much before his breathing goes, so we only cut a bit a day.  I guess we cut a lot it just seems like a bit when we look at what is left to cut.  He wants to build another wood holder.  Ours got smashed by ski-dooers a couple of winters ago.  We have the picnic table up on stones to make it a good height and I put logs on it and hold them down while Jim cuts.  With the holder I can stand further back and push the logs along to the other end.  Less chainsaw oil and saw dust on me that way.

We might go for a quad ride on Sunday.  Our quad is working again, and Rodney finally got his fixed so we all want to go for a ride.  It has been a while.  I need to get some fun out of this holiday.  I got my new passport, but I have absolutely no money to go anywhere.  It is nice to think that I can win the lottery and leave the country right away. :)   Jim can`t go with me.  He never got around to applying.  He has never had a passport in his life.  I have my old ones and I was comparing the pictures.  Bad mistake.  I seem to have gotten older in the last 25 years! 

Today`s project will be the two spare rooms and maybe my office or my bedroom.  Once I get my goal complete I don`t have to do anything else unless I want to.  It makes it easier to finish all my jobs and I don`t focus on all of them at once.  I will need Jim`s help with the basement (It scares me!)

You are ambitious

I can't remember when my carpets were last steam cleaned. But then you have to actually have access to the carpet area without stuff laying all around don't you? haha So I shall continue to vacuum and spot clean. I have viewed the Lake website and enjoyed looking at all the pictures and reminisce but my perspective would be much different than a prospective buyer. Your little building was not shown but described as a sleeping area - I expect that you will move those possessions before sale. And I wondered about the queen bed knowing it had been purchased by you folks especially for the Lake. I still laugh every time I see the wallpaper in the "kitchen" area of the big house - it is the same as is in my kitchen. I bought new wallpaper several years ago to replace it here but have never actually got it done. Maybe I should just paint the walls but again it requires a bit of shuffling stuff to get access. It is extremely cool here right now. Last evening I took the dog to the Lake for her walk and coming home wondered if I should water the garden or "cover up with blankets". I chose to water and then during the night it rained. So I was reassured that it would not frost over. I sat up late the previous night in the backyard to get a glimpse of the meteor shower that was supposed to be seen. However, I did not see even one falling star. I kept thinking of your yard Cathy and the 180 degree vision - remember laying on our backs looking up at the sky. Did you see any shooting stars?  Another day is about to begin- I have had one coffee so far and will get another now but I have been trying to cut down a bit. Drink a lot of tea lately but I guess it is just as bad caffeine wise as coffee? Its Wed so maybe we'll get lucky at the Lottery tonight - always hope eternal! Take care

We've been quiet, but we have been cleaning carpets.  This is part of the "do before snowfall" list, and I had suggested hiring someone to do it, with the extra money we had, but David was determined  to do it himself.  We rented the equipment for two days, but once he started, he didn't want to stop.  It was 1:00 this morning before we actually got to bed, but we managed to get the main floor done.  I was very stiff and sore and couldn't sleep, so about 4:30 took one T3, passed out and slept until almost 10:00.  This means that I've been pretty useless all day.  We did get out to the library, the quilt store and to return the machine we had rented.  Only when he got home did David discover the upholstery hose hanging on the fence, so went off to return it and I went down for a nap.  We had both said that we weren't going to attempt to do anything for the rest of the day, but he came home with a huge piece of carpet to cut down to use in the back foyer.  It has now been cut down and we have a second piece to use when this one wears out..  Cutting it down turned out to be quite a job, but he got it done.

The lake property has been listed, and we are told that there has already been some interest expressed.  It is posted at www.mcconnelllake.com Now we wait.  I was surprised that it was listed with most of the furniture included..  Amber had asked for the fairly new queen size bed that is in the cottage, but now I guess we wait and maybe negotiate for it.  However, if they did want us to take everything out, it would mean organizing the world's biggest garage sale for next spring.  No, thank you.  But I will be bringing my Royal Doulton dishes home, even if it means selling them on Kijiji.

So now we relax, and maybe even get to play a little poker.  I tried a tournament last night, after being away from it for almost 3 weeks.  It was like I had never played before.  I just couldn't read any body and got kicked out without winning any money.  We'll see how I do tonight.

I love you too...

  except for that unfortunate Bunny Rabbit incident when you were 12 and I was 6.  Of course, Pati always apologizes for hitting me with a wooden spoon and don't remember anything like that.... Ooops... I shouldn't have said anything. Now I can't blackmail Pati!!!

Middle Child Day

It has been declared a celebration day for all Middle Children - or so I heard on the radio this morning.
So, I hope that my siblings will give this day, and consequently, me, some moment of recognition today.
Regardless of this honour for today though, it is always my great pleasure to have you both - a big sister and a little sister and I am forever grateful!!
Take care

A really nice day

Today was a good day. We attended the Sundridge Sunflower Festival in the morning: vendors, food stands, music, displays, K-9 demonstration, BBQ lunch, bus rides, museum, lots of people and bright sunny skies. The town was buzzing with activities and visitors galore. My usual lakeside walk with the dog in more or less total solitude in drastic contrast to what the lakeside looked and sounded like today. Tonight there is a street dance on the main street with DJ music from 8 to 11pm - we should be able to hear the music from here as we are not planning to attend the dance. This afternoon while Harry BBQ'd pork chops, I made a little fire in the stove and enjoyed that with nice cup of Earl Grey tea. I just had a bath (with a cup of my favourite Chai Latte) and off to bed to read. I have started another Jonathon Kellerman Alex Delaware novel - I have always like his books. And so that was my really nice day. Hope your day was equally enjoyable.Take care

So nice!

To see your blogs and read about what you are doing.  It has been a little frantic around here.  The Agent sent a 13 page form/questionnaire to fill out, much of it single spaced lines asking questions about how well the septic system works and how old the appliances are, and how well they work and when each building was built , and if the government has any plans to expropriate the lot.  David and Gail had to be physically together, to answer the questions as they had to agree on the answer and both initial it.  I don't think I've ever seen so many initials in one spot before. They finally got it off to him by Fax this morning, and I finally got into my studio for the first time in over a week, after supper tonight.

So, for today, I'm grateful that this part of it is over.  We will not be looking at any offers until August 26, so we have a couple of weeks of relative calm--then the storm, because once we get into negotiations it will be a little hairy, and then we will probably be trying to move and distribute everything that has accumulated over the past 70 years.  Maybe I will even get out on my bike in the next day or so.

3-2-1 blastoff

It is finally here.  I don't remember anticipating a holiday so much before,  I think it is because I have 2... count 'em... 2 weeks off.  I can't remember 2 weeks in a row either.  I have no plans other than to find the smell in the basement.  I think JJ got bored one night and found a potato to play with.  Now it smells like it is rotting.  Either that or I have garbage piled somewhere that I have forgotten about.  My holidays work out really well with the renovations at the office.  Next week they will be drilling through the wall right under my office.  What a shame ... I shall miss all the noise and dirt.  Tomorrow I hope to sleep in... 6:15 even.  How decadent. I plan on staying home and puttering for at least a week.  I know,  I will be in town by Monday.  I feel a bit guilty, though.  With Patty gone I was trying to do 3 jobs and I just couldn't keep up.  As a result, Patty has a whole back log of work to catch up on.  She won't have to do my job, though.  Just hers and my old job in accounting.  It is enough to keep up to.  The contractors came in this afternoon and asked us about moving all the old monitors etc in the basement.  they need to work in that area.  My plan worked..I said "three old ladies and one pregnant woman... it will take us a while"  the nice young (very) man said.  "Don't worry...we will move them on Monday morning if that is okay with you? " DUH! YES! Go ahead.  In 4 days these guys dug all around the building to about 5 feet down.  Jack Hammered the concrete and everything. Talk about hard work.  They are all from Sandy Bay reserve, which has a bad rep in our area for thefts.  These guys may have had a limited vocabulary (F....)  but they sure worked.   Patty has my phone number just in case (Elizabeth is taking off 3 days next week) but I hope for no phone calls.  I may or may not answer.  Right now I am soooooo grateful that my holidays are here.

Oh what a feeling...

...to be on vacation, that is! Enjoy Cathy, but keep us updated on what you are up to, OK?
I was very ambitious today which helps the day go by faster. I started with the kitchen cupboard under the counter. It has been a catch all for too long so everything was taken out, shelves washed and then things organized and put back in some semblance of order and neatly labelled. Then (by this time afternoon) I rode my bike down the highway to the other end of town to buy the animal's flea medication at the Vets. and then back into town to buy a card at the pharmacy, and then to the other end of town to the Lottery store. It was a long ride but it felt so good to get out and I made out just fine. Now I know I can venture farther on my bike than I have been going so maybe new adventures are in store for me? However it is still 22 km to Burk's Falls where the Tin Horton's is located so I think this is out of the question! This weekend is the Annual Sundridge Sunflower Festival with lots of activities and music and the main street closed to traffic as over 70 vendors set up and sell their wares. On Sunday is the RBC Triathlon which attracts people from far and wide. The weather is supposed to cooperate so I expect I shall be walking downtown tomorrow to take some of in. I had to buy a baby card because Aunt Evelyn called last night to invite us out to the cottage to see "the new baby". Her granddaughter had a little boy a few weeks ago (greatgrandson for Aunt Ev) and the whole family will be coming to the lake for a week. So we shall be going Monday afternoon to view the baby haha. Consequently a card was in order. Aunt Ev said NOT to bring a gift as the mother had a baby shower with 80 people attending and got double and triple of some items and had to return many of the gifts. In other words they have enough baby things! I got stung by two hornets yesterday - just walking by the compost barrel and not realizing there was a swarm of them - before I knew it the pain hit me and there were two bites. I put some of that After Bite cream onto the bites immediately but it still hurt! boo hoo! I made a small fire in the new stove yesterday morning just to try it out. Took my morning coffee out and sat in quiet solitude by the fire and it was very nice. I hope to light another fire again soon - I have gathered all the old dead branches around the yard and covered by a tarp - just waiting for the next time. well, bedtime now, and no book to read - finished The Cookoo's Calling last night on my ereader. I just looked on the Kobo site to see if anything interested me (anything cheap that is) But alas I bought nothing. I have a few paperbooks on hand though. Have a great weekend all, Take care

Good to have you back

and sounds as if you had a busy weekend Patty. I don't know what the weather was like for you but it looks as if there is lots of rain now. Our weather is showing warnings and watches all over with "touch downs" in some places - I am assuming they mean heavy winds or downbursts but could be tornado like hits as well. I guess we are on a watch for thunderstorms tonight so may be up pumping water at the front - who knows?  More blueberries bought today at the market but they go quickly eaten as delicious bowls of fresh berries and milk. Too many cucumbers yesterday so Harry took a big bag of cukes, tomatoes and peppers to some neighbours down the street who are on low income. I ran into her in the store this morning and she was very appreciative which makes you feel good to know they are going to someone who will use them. He bought more beets as well at the market but wanted some real Harvard beets for supper instead of Aunty Lorraine's recipe which I love. So I pulled a recipe off the internet and made them along with fresh beans and home made corn beef. I still like Aunty Lorraine's recipe haha  I was going to stay up long enough to make a little fire tonight but it is overcast and threatening right now, so perhaps a nice bath and some more reading are in store instead. Countdown Cathy - 2 more days?  Take care

Quick "Hello"

We are home from the lake. It seems like we have been on a treadmill all weekend.  We just aren't used to young children any more!  On top of playing with them, we were getting everything sorted out and settled about selling the place.  Finally David and Gail got together this evening and selected a Realtor, and decided on an asking price.  Most of the business will be by e-mail and fax, but we may have to go down again to sign things and hire a lawyer.  The Realtor will be setting up a website for the place, once he has been able to take measurements of the rooms etc.  We also had to arrange to have the septic tank drained, something that probably hasn't been done in 30-40 years.  We had hoped that they might also be able to pump out the outhouse.  They asked us to keep putting water in it, as the more liquid the contents are the easier it is to pump out.  However, the ground is so sandy that the water just collapsed the walls of the excavated hole, and now it is almost full of sand!  So it will probably have to be moved, rather than cleaned out.

Now we are both exhausted and ready for a good sleep on our own bed.  I have a lot to be grateful for this weekend.  Grandchildren, and teaching them to work with polymer clay and play cribbage.  A husband to looks after packing the car( I am very grateful for that), but I'm less grateful that one of the drugs I take makes me so sensitive to the sun, that I end up feeling ill after as little as 10 minutes of exposure.  ( Great excuse for not putting on a bathing suit, though.)

My Yesterday

You never know what you might be doing - and yesterday was a perfect example.
We were going to North Bay to attend the drive in movie which I told you about and which we in fact did. More later....Mike called just as we were leaving for North Bay about 1230 pm to say he was 'at the range' and did we want to drop in. He has invited me to go shooting for a long time and I have been looking forward to it. But this was right out of the blue and there is nothing better than a spontaneous diversion!! We found the Range without trouble although there is no signage except what Mike prompted us to look for off  Highway 17 East just outside North Bay. He had the protective earmuffs and eye glasses for us to use and then lead us through the basics and particulars of three of his collection. Two handguns and a matched set of late 1800's revolvers. We used his own ammunition that he makes himself  including black powder bullets especially for the revolvers. After a few hours of absolute great fun and instruction and of using the targets, we had to leave. I so enjoyed this time - was thrilled! Definitely the highlight of my day (week/month, perhaps). Then to the Chinese Buffet for supper and over to the College parking lot for the movie. It was a long wait until 9:30 pm when ET started. You are supposed to tune into the radio frequency they announce, but the car next to us had their volume up high enough that with our open windows we could hear just fine. I was glad as I didn't have to keep turning the car on and off just to hear the audio of the movie on the radio ( and no chance of the battery going dead) It was a late night though and didn't get home until near 1230 am. And that was my exciting day. Now with the long weekend over it is back to normal again and garden work needing done. Things are going wild and very dry so watering and tying up and eating veg was the order of the day. More raspberry tarts were made to use up the last of the berries. So long for now Take care

Your Yesterday

I loved to hear about your day yesterday and no, I don't think it is silly. Up to the point where you wrote that, I found myself following along with your prompts and visualized "us" doing all the exercises. So don't think for a minute what you do is not appreciated and enjoyed fully. I shall be in countdown with you next week - short week at that - until your holidays begin.
I just came inside from cleaning the inside of the little stove. I did not realize how dirty it was inside - I pulled out two little grills and then dug ( yes dug) out about six inches of grit and soggy mush. But I got it all clean and ready for my first fire Yeah!  We shall be leaving soon for North Bay and I have my bag of licorice allsorts and drink bottle all ready for the drive in. I wonder if they will have some sort of concession stand or sellers wondering about selling nibbles? Harry has chosen to eat supper at the Chinese Buffet restaurant in North Bay so you know what I'll be eating - enjoy your shrimp and I will enjoy my sweet and sour chicken balls and fried rice. What are the folks at the Lake having tonight I wonder? Take care

Another rainy day

I am letting Jim have his "day" today.  He is downstairs watching some baseball movie and when(and if) he wants some breakfast we will eat.  It's already 9:30 so I think it may be lunch by the time we get to it.  For supper tonight he has chosen garlic shrimp and corn on the cob.  Needless to say I warned Keri not to come to supper tonight.  Yesterday they had a casting call for the short feature they are filming in Gladstone.  I wasn't going, but Keri asked me to set up with her, so I ended up staying.  It was so much fun.  They played a whole bunch of theatre games before they had the auditions.  They gave us scenarios and  we had entire conversations using only numbers.  I guess that was to see how we could express emotion with the way we spoke rather than the words.  We had to wander around the room, sometimes walking like we were going to work, sometimes like we were meeting a friend, stuff like that.  It probably sounds really stupid to you, but it was fun.  Keri tells me she will be going as the PA (production assistant).  I think she is looking forward to it.  I have one more week of work and then I have 2 weeks off.  It will be relaxing. ( Especially since I won't be gardening.)  A friend near Hargrave says her garden is overwhelming her.  She has offered to bring me some of her excess when we have a meeting at the beginning of September.  The only thing that grew was beans.   If this rain keeps up I guess we won't be having "shrimp on the barbe"  Oh well.  Sauted in garlic butter is good too.  I think I will do nothing today, too.  Can't work outside. (I also didn't get the potatoes dug for supper and now it is wet..... we need to dig about 4 plants just to get enough potatoes for us)  I guess it will be shrimp and noodles.  Hope everyone is having a wonderful long weekend

Dreary day

...has me stuck inside this morning waiting to leave for North Bay this afternoon to go shopping and then to the drive in movie. It will be a long night as the movie doesn't start until 9 pm. This morning I made Coyote Mix Pancakes with raspberries. I thought of you folks at the Lake and figured you would be making the same at least one of these mornings, no? I stocked up in the mix the last time I was there, as to date, I have never found it in any of the stores around here. Do you still buy the mix Patty? I have finally come to the last of the 4 baskets of raspberries which were ripening and getting past good very quickly. A few bowls of them with yoghurt, and a batch of raspberry tarts have satisfied the stomach. And I have fast frozen the rest producing about 10 bags. didn't want to go the jam route as we have tons already and really never use much. The tomatoes and cucumbers are coming into the house faster than I can consume them so a batch of refrigerator pickles is already made. A few weeks ago Harry bought a cement bench and a cast iron small outdoor fireplace with the understanding that the man (just up the street) would wait until he had someone to help him move them here. Friday the man came to the door and had Harry drive with him to bring the bench while I cleared a spot in the yard convenient to lift the heavy thing off his van. It took the three of us to move it into our yard. Then the three of us to go back to his house to get the stove. With that chore done, yesterday I straightened up the area and by myself moved the stove into place onto two cement blocks. Then I bought some black high heat enamel paint special for BBQs and stoves and Harry painted it. It looks really nice now. (Remember that the stove we had fell apart years back) I went to the lake this morning and found a big piece of driftwood and carried it back home with intent to cut it up for a few sticks of fire wood. Long ago we got rid of the firewood we had stacked in the yard as we had no stove to burn it in. So soon I will be able to light a fire and sit in the yard after dark and enjoy!! I so love to sit by the fire - too bad you folks aren't able to join me? Cathy, maybe you should make a fire the same night I do and we can pretend to be together haha   Happy Birthday to Jim..... Take care for now....

Picking berries

Today we drove to Sturgeon Falls west of North Bay to a pick your own raspberries and got 4 baskets full. They have rows and rows of bushes with so many of the berries ripe and falling onto the ground. Now I must do something with them - they are in a cooler for overnight so tomorrow I must get at it! We also stopped into the Reserve on the way back to North Bay to check if our "fish man" had any pickerel to buy. His boat wasn't working right so we were out of luck today. The new car now has over 1100 kms and I am very cautious to ensure we don't go over 2000 any month as we only have 24,000 kms a year over three years on our contract. It will be a challenge. I am back to getting "quick pick" numbers on the lottery tickets instead of the chosen numbers I've had last few months. Was not working - go figure! But I really can't remember the chosen numbers and ripped up the pages I used in the machine so there will be no issue for me to make the switch. I think Cathy you suggested that it would be hard because what if your numbers actually came up, right? Long weekend and we could tell when we stopped into the No Frills grocery store in North Bay for a few things. The line ups were staggering but it took on an air of joviality amongst all those inline - amazing how people seemed to chill out and all laugh and joke and not get annoyed with it all. We are still planning to attend the drive in movie Sunday night. It is the big Festival in North Bay this weekend - usually a good time to avoid the city. We saw the amusement park all set up with rides going around and around, but the weather predicts thunderstorms for tonight and tomorrow so I hope it won't spoil the weekend too much. Oh well, time for bed and reading again. Hey, hope everyone has a great weekend. For those at the Lake already, belated greetings I guess as you won't likely read this until you get back. Or, do you have access down there???  Take care

Major Retail development

It was announced today that a major retail development will be built in North Bay and included in the many stores will be a Michaels store. This will please me and I will be glad to go there and have a good look around. The new Target store opened a few weeks ago and there seems to be little interest in that. I have been in the store twice and not impressed at all. There was a line up at the Starbucks kiosk though! Only Starbucks in the area and I guess it attracted a few followers. Perhaps because I am not really a shopper, but there didn't seem to be anything extraordinary about the Target store.
We had a nice soft rain overnight so again, I shall not be watering tonight. I guess I'll do some reading in bed. Take care