Rain, rain go away

Dark, dismal and wet is the order of the day today.  

 We must have had some heavy showers overnight as there are a lot of leaves on the ground, the forecast for tomorrow and the balance of the week is sunny skies and warmer temps, so Hubby will be able to pick them up when they dry out.

Hubby does not appear to be in a very happy mood this morning, he took his sugar reading and the number was not to his liking.   My late husband had serious diabetic issues, he was over weight, so I found it easy to cut down the carbs, he was also on four injections a day, so his numbers were acceptable.   Hubby, however, is not overweight, I would say, underweight if anything, so cutting back the carbs awhile ago caused him to loose too much weight and he felt awful.  He does takes pills to help with diabetes.   What do you do?  I am at a loss, I do what I know but obviously it is not working well for him, he will not take control of the situation and see a dietician to help him.   The Dr. did not seem too concerned with the numbers at his last visit.   I do believe when a person reaches a certain age, the medical community only does what is necessary to help older individuals.  I understand, our health care providers have had and still having issues with shortages and overworked staff, I am not complaining about that, just the point older people with mostly age related issues are not getting the attention they deserve. 

The rain is not making it an ideal evening for the kids who are going out today for Halloween.  However, maybe it is perfect, cold with leaves falling, dark and scary. 

Dinner tonight will be a duplicate of last nights, minus the cake and ice cream, may even skip dessert to see if it does anything for the Hubby's sugar reading.

Have a great day.

Cheers.

Frost

On Friday night we had our first frost, all the plants I wanted to bring in the house to over winter were in, so none of them were damaged.   

About a month ago I brought my Christmas cactus in for the winter lots of magenta blooms opening up, some pale pink ones are starting to show some colour.   I guess they don't know it's not Christmas yet.  The poinsettia is clocking up it's steps, from the dark of the cold cellar in the morning to the light of the day, then the reverse in the evening.  I do see some colour changes in some of the leaves.   

 So far this Autumn we have taken three trailer loads of leaves to the recycle depot.  This trailer is about four feet wide, eight feet long and four feet deep, so to can imagine how many leaves  we have moved.  The trees at the back of the garden and one in the front haven't even started to fall yet, so lots of work to be done before all is said and done.

Had a nice visit with GD's on Friday evening, they are now both back in their respective cities until Christmas.   C had a cross country flight recently, it was a four hour trip there and back with a brief touchdown and up again.   K explained to us all she does while studying in the lab doing experiments on her plants, sounds very complicated.   She is also teaching and marking papers for 25 students.  They were both very happy with their gift.  I am starting a box of miscellaneous bits and pieces for each of them for Christmas. 

Sunshine again today but it is cold, people walking their dogs this morning had winter hats, coats and gloves on.  It is not expected to get above 13*C today, with showers tomorrow.

Went for a nice walk yesterday, saw some butterflies, the crickets were still chirping and lots of bugs and flies about taking advantage of the sunshine.

Hubby was introduced to the computer world about four years ago.   We both took some introductory courses at the time, however, he does not use it a lot for e-mails, so finds it difficult when he wants to send or reply a message.   I am not a very good teacher, but try to help, he gets very impatient with the whole process.   He is a reader, so he just wishes there was an instruction manual to help him.  We replied, sent and moved message to a folder.  Whew.

Plan on doing another walk this afternoon and some sewing.  

Dinner tonight, potato casserole, ham, squash, cake and ice cream for dessert.

Have a great day,

Cheers

Busy Day

 The rain and high winds from yesterday have come and gone, both brought down a lot of leaves that had changed colour,.  Just waiting now for the green ones to change and fall, which could be a long wait sometimes.  So you know what Hubby is doing now, yes....picking up leaves, and will be at it for a long time today.

The sun is trying to shine and the forecast indicates it will, however, it is a bit nippy out there this morning.

I am off to the dentist this morning, then Hubby has an appointment with the chriopractor this afternoon and then I go to my guild meeting this evening.

My two grand daughters who came home for a few days are busy catching up with their home work and  visiting their friends here, so did not get over for a visit.   We are going to see them tomorrow evening, and I will be giving them either money or gift cards that can be used at a grocery store.  The prices of food here is going up and up, I know they must be feeling the pinch when they get their groceries, so I am more than willing to help out.  The youngest has a part time job, however, the tuition for her courses are expensive they include the cost of fuel for the planes when she flies.  The other GD is being paid while she pursues her PhD, but her rent for the apartment she is in is a lot of money, especially near a university in the capital city of Canada.  You can't study if your belly is empty.

Not much else going  on here,

Have a great day.

Cheers.

Wet

Today was forecast...rain.. and that is what we have at the present time.  It is not cold, so a pleasant day, if you want to go outside and get wet.   Me...I am inside today.

 Yesterday, Hubby had an appointment at the hospital to get his legs checked, he has a blockage, which causes him pain as not enough blood is reaching his muscles.  No surgery as it is not that serious, however, Dr. informed him to walk, which will encourage other blood vessels to do the job of the main one blocked.

Small steps, we walked to the mail boxes and back yesterday, not very far but a start.  No matter what the weather we will be doing that and increasing the length of the walk each week.   It will also get me out and do that also, every bit of exercise at this age will do me good.

He also used the tractor to pick up leaves that had fallen, the lawn was pristine, not a leaf in sight, until this morning, they are falling fast and furious today.   A job for tomorrow if they are dry.

My two youngest grand daughters are home for a few days, trying to get a short visit in while they are here.   Having a bit of a problem with that as we are busy and so are they visiting friends and shopping.

Cooking a roast of beef for dinner today, so that we will have leftovers for tomorrow's dinner as I am going to my guild meeting in the evening. 

Not much else happening on the estate today.

Have a great day.

Cheers. 

Are the lights on?

We have sunshine again today.

Some of the leaves on the trees around the house are turning golden yellow and with the bright sun shining on them rooms in the house appear to have the lights on, as it is casting a yellow hue on everything in the room.

During the past couple of days Hubby as had a few minutes to pick up the leaves that have fallen, filling up our trailer, so after the recycle depot opened yesterday we took them there.   In the afternoon we both worked in the garden cleaning up the flower beds and the hedge, getting ready for Winter.   The temp got up to 23*C such a lovely day.  As I had not been in the kitchen to make a proper dinner, we had what my Mother would have called a "snatch and grab it" dinner.   Which in our case was left over meat, a can of brown beans, left over salad, some cheese and a slice of bread.  All of the food groups, so not too unhealthy.  

Today, is voting day, we need a new mayor, councilors and school trustees, so after lunch we will do our civic duty and vote.

Then I should get out and finish the flower bed that did not get done yesterday,  as tomorrow Hubby has another Dr. appointment and we need to buy some groceries.  Wednesday, there is a possibility of rain.

 This week for a lot of university and college students is "reading week", when they should be catching up on some of the reading that did not get done and generally catching up with their studies.  
Students that are able usually head for home for a few days and I do believe my two grand daughters are doing that.  If that is the case, I hope to see them both sometime this week.

Well, should get moving,

Have a great day.

Cheers.

Lovely

 Lovely ...weather,  we have wall to wall sunshine and decent temps, don't need all those coats, hats, gloves and umbrellas we used last week.

Lovely...Imagine Van Gogh ...Hubby's family gave us tickets to see this presentation for our birthdays.   As we entered, there were hanging information signs, explaining Van Gogh and his life.  He was a very troubled man.  We were then directed to a huge room where lovely music was playing coordinated to the  presentation of his paintings. The entire room was covered with huge screens on which his paintings were projected.  Some were enlarged so you could see the brush strokes, others  were enlarged enough that they reached ceiling to floor.  The paintings were also shown on the floor too.    Quite impressed with the display, so we stayed and watched it go through a couple of cycles.  You could walk around or sit on seats scattered around the room, I am sure they were put there for us older folks or for people who were unable to stand for a length of time.  Thoroughly enjoyed it, but did not buy anything from the shop when we left.  

Lovely.... In the afternoon, I went to the quilt show in which I submitted a couple of my wall hangings, lots of quilts in all shapes and sizes.   I arrived late in the afternoon, so that I could make only one trip to see the show and then wait until all the quilts were taken down and I could take mine home with me along with two that a friend asked me to get for her.  As I waited for mine I was asked to help sort out the quilts and make sure they were given to the rightful owner when they were all picked up. which I had no problem doing.  It was fun actually, handling all the fabric sewn into beautiful quilts.  

Lovely....Day

Another sunny warm day, so should get out and do some work in the garden.  The housework will wait for a cooler wetter day.

Not sure what we will have for dinner tonight, have some meat from last night that needs to be finished so looks like left overs.   Fine with me.

Have a great day,

Cheers.

It's gone.....for now

 Over the past few days we have had a lot of rain, two inches were emptied out of the rain gauge this morning.   Yesterday, we had rain and sleet, the day previous it looked more like snow than either of those two.  However, today everything has changed the rain is gone and we have sunshine and warmer temps for the next seven days.   Was not liking that cold damp windy weather at all, much too early for that.

With the sunshine though, it means we must get out and finish up some of the garden work that needs to be done and Hubby can start picking up the leaves that have fallen.   

Talking about the leaves, on the news recently the reporter was saying the leaves were so vibrant this year due to the perfect balance of cold, cloud and sun.   I must admit they are beautiful this year.

We both had our eyes checked yesterday with two good reports, Hubby goes back in 6 months, me 12 months.   We had a lovely visit with Hubby's sister "A": and her husband afterwards.

So disappointed in Hubby's children and grands, none of them, called him to wish him a Happy Birthday, his brother from B.C. called, however, we were not at home, so Hubby will likely do a Facetime with him later today.  

Hubby has an appointment at the hospital this afternoon, for a check up on his neck.   

Tomorrow we go to see a immersive display of Van Gough's paintings, not sure what to expect but, looking forward to it just the same.   In the afternoon I go to a quilt show and pick up the quilts I submitted.   Another busy day.

 Another of my hobbies is taking photo's, I do not have a fancy camera with a  lens that is about  a foot long but, I do have one that has a zoom feature on it.  A couple of years ago a wren built a next in a nesting box under our balcony and I took a photo of the female bringing a green grasshopper in her beak to feed her young.  My insurance broker asked their clients to submit photo's for a 2023 calendar they have printed each year.  My wren photo was chosen, don't know what month, pleased to know and look forward to seeing it on the calendar.

Well, I guess I should get moving, done nothing in the house for days as we have been coming and gong all the time.  Oh well, the dust etc. will still be there when I am ready to clean it up, not that I have a lot anyway.

Dinner tonight salmon, no sure what else, but should certainly think about it.

Have a great day,

Cheers.

Theatre

Took Hubby out for dinner and the local theatre to see their first performance for this season and also the first since Covid started two years ago.  The play "Grand Ghosts", was a true story, about a man who actually owned the theatre in the early 1900's, he was a character of questionable activities, which included women, betting and booze.   He decided to sell this theatre for $1.7 million dollars and go away with his mistress and not leave his wife or his employees any money at all.  A day after the sale he mysteriously disappeared, no body was ever found and no one was ever accused of having anything to do with his disappearance.   Over the years mysterious happenings have been experienced in the theatre.........   his ghost..............some think so.    It was a good play and we enjoyed it. It is his b-day tomorrow thus the treat yesterday, as we both have eye appointments in a city about an hour and a half drive away, so it will be an all day event, as we usually visit his sister while we are in the area, no time for celebrating that day.

Rain, rain and more rain, it is cold only 3*C when we got up and some of the rain looked very heavy and white mixed in with regular rain.    November weather for sure, however, only today and tomorrow to get through and then we have some lovely sunny days.  Cannot wait as I have some more things that need to be done in the garden before Winter sets in and Hubby has leaves to pick up.  Thank job never seems to end at this time of the year as we get leaves from all the neighbors across the street.

Not much else happening today, I do need to take by library books back, hopefully that will happen this afternoon.

Dinner tonight will be chicken, asparagus, not sure what else.

Have a great day,

Cheers.

Brrrr

No rain yet but the sky looks as if it could open up at any time and then it clears a bit, however, sooner or later the rain is forecast to be heavy and lasting through to Thursday.   There is a cold breeze and only 11*C outside today at 12:00 noon.

Hubby is at the dentist, been there longer than I thought he would, so likely getting a bit of work done over and above just the cleaning.   

I dropped off some entries for a quilt show for this coming weekend.

This is a photo of my latest wall hanging.

Bumble Bee pattern from Emily Taylor.  It is a collage of fabric and stitching.   The flowers were cut from fabric that had large blooms on it.   Pleased with the way it turned out.

My friend has had another bad fall. that girl must have nine lives as she has had some really bad health issues but comes through it fighting, gets better so hope this is the case this time.

Had three of my great grands visit yesterday, we went for a walk in the woods across the street, doing well until the five year old Mia, tripped on an exposed root which was covered with leaves and received a boo boo on her knee.  Come back home and a colourful band aid fixed the problem.   

Salmon for dinner tonight. 

Have a wonderful day,

Cheers.

We have sunshine

Better soak up as much of it as we can today, as the next few days are going to be wet.  On the news last night the weather report indicated there could also be some of the "S"  word, depending on how cold it becomes.   "S" by the way is.................snow........much too early for that stuff yet.

I remember the first Halloween we had here in Canada, it was cold that night when we went out trick or treating, and there were snow flakes in the air.  Little did we know it was going to get a lot worse before it got any better.  Looks as if this year might be the same, hope not.

Had a great time at the birthday get together yesterday, delicious appetizers and a cheese board to die for, and white wine.   The cake was raspberry flavour delicious.   Really did not need at dinner but Hubby did not eat much at the party, doing a lot of talking to people he had not seen in a  long time, so I did cook a late dinner.  

My friend who has had a kidney transplant, a bad experience with Covid, has now  advised me she is again in hospital as she had a bad fall.  I don't know how she copes with all of her health issues.  Anyway, she along with another friend who I use to work with go to the theatre, and Tuesday is our first performance of the year.   My friend told me to give her ticket away to anyone who wants it.  So I am giving it to my Hubby, treating him to dinner, as on the 20th it is is birthday.

Well should get moving, expecting some great grands this afternoon.

Cheers

Fall, now I know why

We had a shower overnight and wind,  the leaves that have already changed colour are falling fast and furious, it is now officially Fall, not Autumn.  Our front lawn is covered with the leaves from across the street, usually the wind we get is from the West or North/West, therefore we get the neighbours leaves on our property.  Does he help pick them up?  no, of course not, he can't even pick the leaves up on his own lawns let alone ours.  Our trees have yet to turn colour so not have started to fall yet, when they do, it is a job that lasts for about two weeks sometimes longer, even doing it every other day.   We use the lawn tractor to do this job, there is no way either one of us can do it by hand.  Some are put in my compost bin, most of them go to the recycle depot.

This afternoon we are going to a surprise 80th birthday party for a friend of Hubby's, there is sure to be some beverage I would like.  Umm!  maybe a gin and tonic or a nice white wine, either one would go down nicely.  

Tomorrow five of my great grands are coming over as I have a b-day gift for one of them.  Keeping fingers crossed the sun will shine as we are going to go for a walk in the woods across the street from us.  Hope we see a deer or two or maybe the six turkeys we saw yesterday.

The sun is trying to shine and it is only 8*C do not expect it to get above 12*C today.   I even dug out my fuzzy slippers yesterday, as my feet always seem to be cold which in turn makes my whole body cold.  They will be the foot wear for the indoor season until Spring arrives.

Dinner tonight chicken, mushrooms, salad and one of the muffins I bought yesterday.  They are quite big so will cut it in half, banana/chocolate chip with a small scoop of ice cream.   

Must finish the laundry,

Have a great day.

Cheers.

Shopping

My DD2 took me to a store that requires you to be a member, she is but, I am not.   Met up with  her at 10:00 a.m. it was even busy at that hour.  Oh, so many things to look at, I bought a few groceries. Mainly went for a packaged dehydrated shredded potato, I know it sounds disgusting but my DD1 used them in a casserole for a family get together and it was so good I just had to get some to use for us.  Got them, plus some muffins and cereal.  Some of the customers had their carts full to overflowing, hate to think how much they had to fork out for it all.

It was cold over night, 4*C from what our thermometer indicted, sun trying to warm things up  but having a difficult time to do that.

We both had a very lazy day yesterday, however, I did get the bathrooms and the floors cleaned.   

Hubby is currently working at odd jobs outside today, with his winter work coat on, he gets cold very fast.

Not sure what we will have for dinner must go and look for something.

Chat tomorrow

Cheers.

Much needed

Over night we had rain, have not looked at the gauge yet, so don't know how much came down, it must have been windy also, as there are leaves stuck to the window of the downstairs door.  

The sun is trying its hardest to lighten up the sky but, not have much success today.  Only 10*C outside as I write this at 10:00 a. m.  Only a couple more degrees added to the ten will be our high for today.  Fall (Autumn) is certainly here now.   

Only the binding to sew on the bumble bee wall hanging and it is done, just in time for the quilt show next weekend.   Love how it is looking, now need to get finishing a baby quilt which is going to be donated.  These cool wet days give me lots of time to be in the sewing room doing something I like to create.  Don't know what I would do if I didn't have this craft to do.

DD2 is taking me shopping tomorrow, not looking for anything in particular but, that is the time when you find something you like, I do need a new pair of black slacks so hopefully will find those, time will tell.

Well, not much to add to the blog today, the never ending jobs around the house need to be done but, that won't take too long.   Bathrooms need to be freshened up and kitchen floor looks as if it should have a wash and that's about it for the housework today.

Need to find something from the freezer for dinner tonight, we were able to have left overs from the weekend again last night, so glad Hubby is quite happy to clean up leftovers.  

Have a great day not matter what your plans are.

Cheers.

Cloudy

Not such a nice day as yesterday, cloudy with the odd drop of rain and it is forecast to be quite windy later today and this evening.

Bringing down some of the leaves which are turned colour already.   Soon it will be time to start raking them  up as we seem to have a lot of the neighbours leaves finally end up on our lawns.

Late start to the day today, this afternoon, however, I have been outside and done a bit more tidying up in the garden, removed all of the tomato vines as the tomatoes will not ripen at this time of the year.  Also, emptied the three window boxes and cut back the clematis.  Still a bit more to do, but I tend to do about and hour and a half then call it quits, body tells me when I have done too much the next day, I have learned the hard way.

It was a lovely sunny day and the temp was 22*C you know what that means, a ride, which could possible be our last for this year.   All of the leaves are turning and putting on a lovely show at the present time.

Dinner tonight is leftovers from Thanksgiving, so not much cooling to be done for me tonight, just heating up.

Have a great day.

Cheers.

 

 

Glorious day

Today is exactly like a Fall day should be, nippy  with a beautiful blue sky with sunshine making the changing colour of the leaves more brilliant than ever.   It is a beautiful day to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Yesterday I potted up some geranium cuttings ready to bring into the house for the Winter,  I will leave them outside in the sunshine but protected from any cold nights we might have.   The poinsettia I brought into the house, gets its regular dark and sunshine cycle everyday, looking forward to some changes, hopefully the red bracts and flowers in time for Christmas.  I have done it in previous years, so hope I can do it again this time.

Will be popping the ham into the oven shortly, as company will be coming later this afternoon.

In the sewing room I  have been working on a wall hanging, started to quilt it on my sewing machine, hated it, and removed all of the stitches yesterday, ready to start all over again.    Thank goodness it is a small 16 x 16 piece.   Will show a photo when it is completed.

Late start this morning, all that outside work I did yesterday, must have made me tired.   I do think we need to go to bed a bit earlier than we have been, as it does make for a short morning the next day.   Tomorrow is grocery day and I get my hair trimmed, then a couple of slow days which leads up to a very busy time for the balance of the month.

Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian readers.

Have a great day.

Cheers. 

Thanksgiving weekend

 Here in Canada this is the Thanksgiving weekend.  

What am I thankful for:

All of my family and myself are healthy

We are all happy.

We all have a roof over our head and food in our bellies.

All those who need a job, have one.

Those still in the education system are doing well.

I am in a position to help family and organizations, with donations of all kinds.

Tomorrow is the usual day families get together for a meal or other activities.

We are having Hubby's family for dinner, there will be 8 seated around the dining room table.

Menu:

Ham, potato casserole,  salad, squash, peas, and dinner rolls.  A tray of pickles and cheese, also a pineapple sauce for the ham.   We will cake and ice cream for dessert to celebrate Hubby's daughter K birthday Oct 11th.  

I won't be seeing any of my family, they have families of their own, and we did have a get together just last month.  

Sun is trying to shine but not having much success, it is still cold out, but hoping it will warm up in the next couple of days.

I am off to make that cake,

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my Canadian readers.

Cheers.

Sun???

 It started out as a lovely sunny but, cold day, now there are more clouds than sun, looks like it's going to be one of those days.  Our thermometer indicated it went down to 4*C last night, however, did  not see any frost on anything.  Hubby is waiting for the grass to dry, there was a heavy dew, he wants to cut the grass again, it now seems to have had a burst of energy and growing fast again.

I did get some housework done yesterday, and also some sewing, working on a bumble bee for a quilt show.   Laundry in the washer and dryer at the present time.

Hubby's neck is still bruised down his back and a couple more stitches need to fall out.  It is looking good for the most part, however, still looks a bit ugly.   On the mend for sure, we will have to wait for a few more days before seeing the Doc's report on it.

Our balcony does not get any sunshine these days, so we are waiting for a couple of sunny warmer days so that we can take the canopy down and store it for the winter.   Don't know how long the two of us will still be able to do this, in the Spring we may need to get some help as it is heavy canvas.  We certainly have enjoyed many lunches, afternoon  naps, reading and watching the birds and fire flies.   Love sitting out there in the Summer, which now seems like it is going to be a long time before we can do it again.

Early days next week are forecast warmer, so garden furniture to bring in, pots to be emptied and store away.  Also, want to dig up and more a couple of plants, time will tell if that gets done, as I also need to tidy the front flower bed.  All of this work is making me tired just thinking about it.

Monday is Thanksgiving day here and Hubby's family will be here for dinner.   Will prepare veg tomorrow, I tend to go for dishes that can be made ahead and heated prior to the meal.  I hate all of the last minute things that need to be done.

Not sure what we will have for dinner tonight.   

Have aa great day,

Cheers.

Trying again

Yesterday I could not post photo's,  so here we are today.  

This is the sign that greeted us at the first hotel we stay at, as I mentioned previously, we did not see any, glad of that but, also disappointed too.

 Here are some of the trees turning the countryside into a beautiful array of colours.

They were taken from the window of our car, so do not show them in all of their glory. 

 Loved the reflection of the trees in the water in the last photo.  We had stopped to go into a hall of fame for a hockey player, however, it was closed, so took a walk around the area.

Today, has turned cold, only a high temp predicted of 11*C, with a mixture of sun and cloud and windy.  A taste of what is yet to come.  Not looking forward to that at all.

Not sure what the dinner menu is for today, so should go and see what I fancy.  Do have some mushrooms that need to be used, so they will be on the plate for sure.

   

Road Trip

October is going to be a busy month for us, with the exception of this, the first week, so we decided if we are going to do anything we had better do it now, as Hubby's neck was feeling a lot better. 

On Sunday, we left on a road trip for four days, visiting some friends of Hubby's, they live north of us, so it took us most of the day to get to where they have a summer cottage.   At this time of the year most everywhere in Canada the leaves are turning colour and where they live it is usually beautiful, and we picked a perfect time to go as in our opinion they were at their peak.  Blogger will not let me upload photo's, so will try again later.

We checked into our hotel, what greeted us at the front door was a sign telling us to be aware of bears as they were around the hotel looking for food.   Apparently, because we have had little rain this Summer there are few berries for them to eat so they are coming into the local towns looking for food.  We did not see any.

Monday morning we travelled all day again looking at the lovely scenery, no busy four/five lane high ways for us.   We arrived in the city where my youngest grand daughter is studying aviation, surprising her and took her out for dinner.  It was so nice to see her.

Tuesday morning travelling all day,  we went to Ottawa where my second youngest granddaughter is studying for her Ph.D.  Surprising her and taking her out for dinner, again so nice to see her too.

Oh! the traffic, get me out of here quick, so on Wednesday morning we started out to what would be a full day of travelling to come home.   We could have taken the large freeways, but decided again to take the more leisurely way home by using less used roads.  It would take us longer but we knew our bed was at the end of the day.  

We accomplished everything we wanted to do, surprise everyone with an unexpected visit.

We had a lovely time, even though there was a lot of travelling but, that is what is necessary in this big wide country of Canada.  It was so  nice to get away, even for a short time, no housework, and having someone else get my meals and clean up afterwards.  

Now, to get ready for Thanksgiving, then a busy month.