Spic and Span

The young man arrived about 15 minutes prior to the scheduled  time, we showed him what we wanted cleaned and he set to work.  In just over an hour, we have a lot of carpets, he was finished and on his way. Dehumidifier and A/C removed all of the moisture over night and we were able to move all of the furniture back into it's place.  A few things are going to the charity shop, so now we are all neat, clean and tidy.  A good job....done. 

Wow, it is hot and humid today, we have had a lot of rain overnight and this morning, a thunderstorm woke us up.   Showers on and off most of the day, and now the sun is starting to shine, so it will get even more uncomfortable. 

Not much else happening today, I think we over exerted ourselves yesterday and this morning moving the furniture.   

We did get some groceries after lunch and now Hubby is reading the paper and I am here chatting with you.

Dinner tonight, Chicken, and a no no, french fries,  asparagus, and strawberries for desert.

That is all for me today, have a great one.

Upheaval in our house today.

Why! you might ask.   All of the furniture is in rooms where it should not be, the guest bedroom, my sewing studio, garage and balcony.    Why......we are having the carpets cleaned.   We will be in this mess for 24 hours, so cannot get much done today.

The weather forecast improved around noon, so we had our lunch and decided to go out in the convertible.  We headed for a border town and sat alongside of the river which separates the U. S. and Canada.  We watched pleasure boats of all shapes and sizes, some going fast and others just taking their time.   Swimmers floated down in front of us, carried along with the current.   A large freighter passed by heading out into the lake.  This one looked at if it was not carrying any cargo, as it was high in the water.   Time for dinner and we had fish and chips from a chip wagon.   The fillet of fish was huge with very little batter, just the way I like it.  The chips for crisp and not greasy at all, however, there were way too many for us to eat.  We sat a little longer but then decided it was time to start for home, arriving at the door at 9:s0 p.m.  A great day out.  It may not sound too exciting to most people, but we enjoyed getting out and seeing some different scenery. 

Dinner tonight not sure at this moment, still plenty of time.  Could be burgers on the BBQ.

It is very hot and humid today, heat warnings have been issued, so do not plan to do much outside. 

A Foggy Day in London Town

Sing along................We did wake up to fog this morning, it has since lifted but it is grey and looks as if we could get some rain.

We were planning on going for an afternoon ride with dinner out, however, it is not much fun when you are riding in a convertible with the top down and always looking at the sky for those dark clouds to start leaking and we end up with rain.  However, after just looking at the weather network, it looks as if the day might become partly cloudy, so there is still a possibility we could go out.

We are harvesting a lot of cherry tomatoes, with have both red and a yellow variety.  The beefsteak ones have not started to ripen yet.   Just waiting for them to do so, a toasted bacon and tomato sandwich is what I shall be making for lunch when they are ready to pick.

We are up early, for a Sunday, to watch the closing ceremony of the Olympics, I thought it was  better than the opening.   Under the current world conditions, I think Tokyo did a great job in hosting the games.  They had a lot to contend with, and did it well.   No one in the seats watching was so sad, for the athletes and people who wanted to watch in person.  Also, unfortunate for the athletes as they were unable to do any sightseeing in Tokyo, or Japan.  We are now waiting to see some of the Paralympics later this month.  

Dinner tonight is .............well not sure, are we staying home or are we going out? 

Showers

 We had a heavy shower yesterday afternoon, some during the night as everything was wet this morning when we got up.  Today started with nice bright sunshine, so we were planning on going for a long ride,  the forecast indicated we could get thunder showers, so we decided tomorrow would be a better day, hopefully.  It was a wise decision, because it is now raining.   Hubby wanted to go for a ride as he said he now is in a wondering mood since we went away last weekend.   Last weekend!!!!!where did that time go.

As I have mentioned on earlier posts our quilting guild is making placemats for the Meals on Wheels clients, our goal was for 240 by Christmas, the ones that were collected on Thursday night totalled 170, wow!  we have been a busy group during the past couple of months.   Just a few more and our quota will be reached.

 Hubby retired from his job last year in March, odd jobs around the house and his daughter's have kept him busy, now he is having trouble finding something to do.   It is a good thing the Olympics are on TV at the present time as he has been watching a lot of different sports.   He has finally discovered TV,  in the past when he was teaching, and most recently driving a parara transit bus, he never watched it.  Don't get me wrong, he does a lot of work around the house and yard, but once the lawns and hedge are cut, there is not much left to do.  Plus the weather has not really been co-operating either.

One of Hubby;s grandsons had a birthday during the week, he was 21 years old, and the family was going to have a dinner outside tonight, however, he was not feel well, so it has been postponed until next Thursday,   

Not much happening around the estate today, we do need to empty the Gypsy moth  and Japanese beetle traps but that will be done later today.

Dinner tonight, Pulled pork on a bun, veg and salad.  dessert I still have a couple of the boston cream cupcakes, and rhubarb squares that need to be eaten.  

 

Babies are gone

The wrens in the bird house have been making a lot of chirping these past few days, so we knew the time was coming for them to soon leave us.   Yesterday morning we heard one making a lot more noise than usual, after looking on the ground, one had left the nest and fallen in a container and could not get out.  Rescued, he flew, well tried to fly into the garden.   We had never seen the wrens leave the nest in all the time we have had them in the yard, so we pulled up our chairs and our coffee and watched.  One, two, three, four, five little ones climbed out onto the perch, then the roof and took a leap of faith, flapping their wings as fast as they could to land on the ground all in one piece. Six babies in total.   Off they went looking for cover under the plants in the garden.  We heard them chirping for their parents for a short period of time, then silence, they were gone.   Coffee this morning was very quiet.  A sign of the Summer beginning to wind down, as the robins have flown the nest a while ago, and even the sparrows are quiet all of a sudden.   The circle of life.

The rest of the day was just the usual jobs, and I finished making the Boston Cream cupcakes for the pot luck supper I was going to in the evening.   

Our quilting guild was able to have the pot luck in one of the members back garden.  Delicious food and fellowship followed by a show and tell of what members have been doing over the last month or two.   We also handed in our place mats each member has been making.  Back in the Spring we decided each member would make 12 place mats for the Meals on Wheels clients.   

It was so nice to speak to people in person instead of through Zoom,  it was a good substitute when we could not meet.

Today, has been LAZY, we were up early to watch the Canadian vs Sweden soccer  match, a nail biter for sure, in the end we, I say we, the hard working women athletes got gold.    Whoop.   Then one thing led to another and, well we did not do much in the morning, and much the same this afternoon.  

The sky is getting cloudy and looks as if some rain might be on its way.   Our gardens and lawn could do with a good drink.   Speaking of the garden, some of the flowers are looking tired, another sign of a waning Summer.   

Dinner tonight palled pork on a bun, veg and salad.  Dessert some of the cupcakes I made yesterday.

Better get busy..................doing nothing.   

Must get moving

 I think the long weekend and all the activity from yesterday has caught up with us.  We slept in this morning, neither of us woke until gone 7:30 a.m.  Usually on Tuesdays we get our groceries for the week, we were a bit later doing that this morning.  The grocery store we go to no long has an hour for seniors only, but not many people go to this store anyway.  

Home and all the packages, veg and fruit put away, now on computer catching up with everything that I  missed over the weekend, then lunch.   Need to get that housework started this afternoon.  

A lot of the flowers in the garden are looking as if they are past their prime, so will start cutting back some of them.   Want to move a couple of shasta daisies but think I will wait until it is a bit later in the year.  Still need to water some of the baskets as they suck up the moisture due to the sun and wind drying them out.  We have yet to have the dog days of August to get through so trying to keep them looking healthy for at least that period of time.  

The Gypsy moth infestation seems to be slowing down, few moths are being caught in the traps now.   We are still keeping our eyes open for the eggs the females lay, have only found one and it was destroyed   The little Jenny Wrens are busy feeding their little ones, some of the food they bring to the nest are quite large and we wonder how these little ones can swallow them.  Soon, I am sure they will be flying out on their own.  

Dinner tonight, chicken, veg and salad with our own cherry tomatoes.  Dessert, must think about that soon. 

Have a great day. must get moving.

Wonderful weekend

I can't begin to tell you everything about the weekend, we had such a great time.

Started off Friday morning, we had a long drive, 8 plus hours to get to our destination hotel.   The weather was great and we decided not to take the freeway, thus the long time frame, but that was OK with us.  I understood from my daughter the traffic was the heaviest they have ever seen on the freeways they took.  It is a holiday weekend here in Canada, and being the first one people can get out and really do something a great number of people took advantage of it.  We arrived safe and sound, found a place open for a quick meal and settled in for the night at the hotel.

Saturday morning, was cool but sunny, I bought fruit trays for our contribution to the dinner table, easy for me to do, as nothing would have survived the journey.   Had a great time visiting with all the families and girls that we had not seen for five years.  All of the girls have now became beautiful young ladies, three of them bringing boyfriends.   Snacks, drinks, conversation, photos, games filled the afternoon.  Dinner: chicken and beef shish kabobs, salads and corn on the cob.  Cake, fruit, cookies and tarts for dessert.   As the evening drew in, some of the girls who brought their bathing suits opted to go in the hot tub.  Later a fire was started in the fire pit and everyone sat around enjoying more conversation, the heat from the fire or just sitting mesmerized by the colours of the flames.  I love watching the flames in an outdoor fire.   Later, smores were made, where the host got the marshmallows I don't know, they were huge.   

So proud of these two granddaughters,  on the left K, 23 years old and will be studying for her Masters in Biology in September. C on the right, 19 years, two pilot licenses all ready and will be studying for her commercial pilots license in September. 

After lots of hugs, (everyone had had both vaccines), it was time to say goodbye for another year, hopefully at the 23rd reunion in 2022, we will be able to go.  

Sunday morning, it was cloudy and an overnight rain had left puddles on the parking lot of the hotel.   We started on our homeward journey,  running in and out of light showers most of the way home.   We arrived safe and sound.  It is nice to get away, but also to come home again.

We were a little  apprehensive about the toilet issue, as we did not know the situation with regards to restaurants being open, so that we could use the facilities when needed.   The situation worked out well as we had no problems in that regard.  

Monday, woke to a nice sunny day, for which I was thankful.   Mid morning we went to my grandson and his wife's house to visit with them and my great granddaughter A, as I had a very belated 2nd  birthday gift for her.  We sat on their deck for a couple of hours visiting, and A loved her book and dresses.   

Home for lunch.  My second eldest granddaughter and her husband, came over for a visit as I had three belated birthday gifts for a great grandson 5th b-day and two great granddaughters. 9th and 4th b-days.  They have a very very small backyard, so they came here to play in ours for an hour.  They had snacks and drinks, opened gifts and then we went for a walk in the field and woods opposite our house and we picked bouquets of wild flowers, looks real close to all the bugs we saw.   Back to the house for ice cream and then they were on the way home.

We had a great visit with them, where do all these kids get their energy, believe me, I was tired just looking at them running and have fun.  

Tomorrow, is grocery day, and I also need to get caught up on some housework.  I feel rejuvenated, I have seen and talked to people,  away from the four walls of home, don't get me wrong I love my home, but once in awhile I need to get out and about.  Now I am ready to get myself moving again.  Such a small thing, but it did big things for me.

My tomato plants and hanging baskets survived, due to the cooler temps, cloudy skies and a little rain, so happy about that.  A fairly large container of cherry tomatoes were picked today and we had them in our salad at dinner tonight.   So sweet and flavourful right off the vine, cannot beat a veg that has been eaten about an hour from picking.  

Well that is all from me at 9:35 p.m. Monday night,  up bright and early tomorrow when I will chat with all of you again.

So goodnight.