Summertime, Summertime, Sum, Sum, Summertime

 Okay....be honest....did you "sing" the title for today's post???

For the past week, we've been enjoying (early) summer-like sunshine and warmth. It has been wonderful. The downside....See that can next to the shed clothing? 

Yep...you guessed it! The bugs have arrived....most notably the black flies. While there are not many yet, it will not be long before we are inundated by them. I hope this bodes well for the blueberry crops this coming summer. Seems very early for them to be here already. They're usually here closer to the May 2-4 weekend.

Steve has been taking advantage of being home during these beautiful days. He worked up another section of our gardens today and got radishes and lettuce planted. Yes...like the black flies, that is early. But, we have a shorter growing period up here. We'll just have to cover things if there's a risk of frost. 

While Steve was working outside, I kept busy doing a few jobs around the house this morning. Once Steve finished working on the garden, he got cleaned up and we headed to Parry Sound. My primary mission was to get a particular colour of thread that I need in order to hem a dress for the neighbour. I knew I was not likely to be able to find it in Huntsville....I think the only place you can get thread in Huntsville is at Walmart of one of the dollar stores. I did find something that is close enough to do the job, I think. To "hedge my bets", I also bought a spool of invisible thread....just in case.

On our way to Parry Sound, I pulled over to snap a photo of this place in Orville. It was home to one of our favourite "let's go for a drive" coffee shops. It closed during the pandemic. However, it looks to me like someone is trying to keep another food business there. It was closed today, but I think it deserves further investigation.

The road to Parry Sound from our place, Highway 518, is such a twisty, windy road. Signs like this are posted along it in more than one place.

Trust me....it's for more than 23km. Maybe that's why the signs are place along the way. There are also frequent reminders to travel at 50km/h. And they're not kidding!!! There are so many bends in the road! If you go to quickly on the straightaway, you get surprised by a bend...and SO many of them are 90 degree bends. I think the road is so bendy because it's been built through marshy lands.

After picking up thread, and some needed groceries, we arrived back home to find this (which Steve repaired before I took the picture).

While we were away, "Earl" (the squirrel) started to chew ANOTHER hole in the opposite corner of the deck box. I'm starting to think we need to get a metal box to store the seed in :P

I spent a chunk of time this afternoon working on my UFO Club commitment, which is to get the flimsy done for Hip Hop, and get it sandwiched ready for quilting. I'm getting close :)

And on that note, I wish you a very good night!

TTFN

Happy Mother's Day!

Whether you have biological children, adopted children, chosen children, two-legged children, four-legged children, no-legged children (snakes)....Whatever it may be, I wish you all a very happy Mother's Day! :D

For me, it was a VERY lazy day!!! I have to confess...it was needed! 

My other half, though, kept very busy throughout the day. He planted the potatoes today (they are less affected by cold/frost).

While I was out snapping a photo of that, I noticed that the garlic, rhubarb, and chives have come up :)

This is such a lovely time of year to be outside. There is sunshine and warmth without being overly hot, and the mosquitoes have not started. While I did notice a few (very few) black flies starting, they are not yet biting. 

Steve also took care to TWO dump runs today. Not only did he deal with the "general" garbage generated each week or so, he also cleaned up a bunch of "garbage" that had begun to accumulate around the perimeter of the property....including the stuff that was behind the wood shed!

I checked in with several of the mothers I am close with, and heard from the kids (biological or chosen) today. Our youngest "detoured" to visit us on their way home to Ottawa (Guelph....his mom....to here, to Ottawa....quite the detour). It was definitely very nice to see Brianne and Colton.

 We were also grateful for their visit as they provided assistance with getting the dock together for the summer season :)

On this day, Himself is fond of reminding me that I am not his mother. Still....he did spoil me by cleaning up around the yard (he knows how much that means to me), and by spoiling me with one of my favourite dinners....his wings and fries :P

I have seriously enjoyed my day today! I hope you have too!!!

And on that note, I wish you all a very good evening!

TTFN

Special Guests

 I have to confess....I have NO photos for today. Oh no!!!

It was a very busy day. Being Saturday, and having basically usurped my daily plans for getting jobs done by heading to Brantford every week lately, it was a day of house-cleaning. While I was looking after house-cleaning, Steve was working on a number of things outside....getting the gardens ready, spraying the perimeter to deter ants, covering the chimneys with mesh (to keep out mosquitoes.....yes, they find their way into the house through the chimneys).

I got all of the cleaning done on the main floor and then guests arrived. Carol, a quilter from the Dunchurch area came (to deliver a parcel to Elaine), and Elaine (who was picking up some mixed media stuff and dropping off some templates for me). It was SO lovely to actually MEET 2 of the people that I've been "visiting" with through Zoom. We spent a lovely chunk of time just visiting and chatting. I guess because we've met through Zoom before, it did not feel awkward at all! I very much enjoyed the visit with these ladies. I hope to be able to connect with them again in the future :)

Later this afternoon, after much of the work was accomplished, Steve and I took some time to enjoy a beverage and the beautiful weather on the upper deck, followed by our afternoon walk with Lady Jade. We ended our afternoon/early evening with chicken kababs, done on the BBQ, and a wild rice medley.

I shall try to get some photos tomorrow. They really do add to the post, I think.

And on that note, I wish you all a very good night!

TTFN

Summer Ready :)

 Not a lot to share tonight.

We are pretty much "summer ready" with the gazebo. We do need to get the mesh up yet, but so far....knock on wood....the mosquitoes and black flies have not yet begun. However, with all the warm, sunny weather we've been having recently, it won't be long. I would not be surprised if we're dealing with mosquitoes in the next couple of days.

A couple of weeks ago, on one of my whirlwind tours to Brantford, I stopped at Sawdust City (a craft brewery) in Gravenhurst to pick up some "Skinny Dippin' Stout" for Steve. He does enjoy a beer from time to time. While there, I decided to pick up one each of 4 other beers for him to try. I know he doesn't like anything that tastes to "hoppy". So, usually lagers are a safe bet. These are the four I bought him...which he has now finished....and he says each one of them was quite pleasant. Good to know!

I had a good chuckle today as I was getting organized to run errands today. But...I need to set the stage first. This morning, as Steve was getting ready for work, he commented that he was out of applesauce. The rest of the conversation played out like this (all of it with laughter and teasing in our voices):

Me: Did you write it down in the book so that I know I need to pick some up.

Steve: No...not yet!

Me: How am I supposed to know you need some if you don't write it down.

Steve: I'm sorry....I'll be perfect tomorrow.

Me: You know, hon, when you get down to the last few, you should write it down.

Steve: Okay....I'm on it!!! Like I said, I'll be perfect tomorrow!

Me: Write it down!

He wrote it down and then headed off to work. Later on, when I was getting organized to hit the road, I had a look at the book to see what I needed to add to my grocery list. And here is why I had to laugh. In the book, Steve had written "I will be perfect tomorrow".

He LITERALLY did what I told him to do! Of course, I then had to hurt my brain trying to remember what it was that he was out of. Funny guy! I did eventually remember that it was applesauce that I was to pick up.

When I got home, I did begin getting some of the weekend cleaning done...not much. I will continue to work on that tomorrow. We'll see how far I get before some special guests arrive...but more on them tomorrow :D

And on that note, I wish you all a very good night!

TTFN

Time Well Spent

It was another whirlwind tour to my parents' place. I've been going down to reduce the "further-distance driving" that would be required of my mom since driving is becoming a bit more challenging for her. I also take the opportunity to take her out for errands and groceries. It's just a little something I can do to make life a little easier for her as she is the primary caregiver for my father.

This time, Mom had her first appointment for her dental implants. Listening to the dental surgeon, it is going to be quite the process. She'd broken off a tooth, and there was infection and bone degradation under it. It's the best place to position one of the posts for my mother's dental plate, so first he has to remove the broken tooth, graft new bone in, and clear up the infection before he can even begin work installing the post. Holy smokes!!!

The first evening I was there, when we sat down to a light supper, I caught my dad looking at my mom. She made eye contact with him, and I saw him squint-wink and smile at her. I think they are soooo cute together! Later in the evening, when my dad was trying to remove the plastic wrap from and Ensure and was having trouble (his serious cycling accident has left him with many issues), my mother grabbed the plastic he'd managed to make loose while he held onto the bottle, and together they pulled until the bottle was freed. My dad laughed and said, "We make a good team!" Yes...they do!!!  :) 

Even though it's a 5-hour drive to their place, and I've been having to make the journey each week....the song "On The Road Again" has become my mantra....I have to confess that I have really been enjoying spending some time with my folks. It's truly been time well-spent. 

On my way down to Brantford, I decided to take the back way from Barrie so that I could stop at Country Concessions (more on what I bought another day) to pick up some fabric that I knew they had in stock. As I was driving into Cookstown, I knew there was an antique place with a barn block on the barn. The interesting thing about this barn block is that I'm almost 100% sure I saw it on an episode of Scott McGillivray's Vacation House Rules. His interior designer was taking the cottage owners to an antique shop to find some interesting things for the design.

I think I will have to go have a look in that shop one day....but not this time.

In the quilt shop, I found the fabric I wanted....and then some!!! I also saw a really cute project that I think I'd like to do sometime.

This mini quilt is only about the size of an 8-1/2 x 11 sheet of paper. There was more than one pattern available, too. How cute would these be as a small feature in each of the rooms? :D

As I continued my drive, in Brantford I had a stop behind a vehicle with this license plate. I've NEVER seen a license plate like this. It's labelled as CANADA, rather than by a province. I wonder what the significance of that is???

After my visit, when I was back on my way home, I stopped behind a cube van and there was a transport truck beside me to the left. I just HAD to take a photo of this. It's a little hard to tell what you're looking at in the photo. you can just make out the left back corner of the cube van at the right side of the photo. The long white panel is the transport that was beside me. What really had me wanting to get the picture was the bridge that the trucks had stopped under. That bridge is a mere 4" above the transport :O

When I drove up the driveway, I noticed that my wonderful husband had made repairs to my decorative bird house stand. The birch branches had rotted and two of the houses had fallen off. It was so lovely to see it back together.

He'd also dug out my "special" (read "sentimental") painted stones out and place them at the base.

Our walk this afternoon offered up another surprise. Unfortunately, the camera on my phone does not do so well with distance photos, but if you look carefully at the tree, you can just make out a red-tailed hawk.

So cool to catch sight of animals in nature :)

And on that note, I wish you all a very good night!

TTFN

Being A Tourist In Our Own Area

 This morning when I was reading Elaine's blog (crazyquilteronabike.blogspot.com), something she said resonated with me. There's a bit of front end information that's needed to understand the meaning of her suggestion.

On the weekend, she had volunteered for the Toronto Marathon, driving and dropping off necessary equipment, and then picking it back up once the marathoners had passed. She guesstimated where on the route she would be by noon, and left her car there. When she finished her time volunteering, her car was still 3 blocks away, so she had a bit of walking to do. On her walking route, she discovered an area literally filled with amazing graffiti artwork. Her suggestion....we should all be tourists in our own hometown. I love it!!!

She's not wrong when she says that we all too often look to "tourist" somewhere away from home...rarely taking the time to enjoy what our own hometowns have to offer. I know that when I lived in Guelph, in all of the 32 years that I lived there, I never once went to the Hillside Festival, nor did I travel to Fergus (15 minutes away) for the Highland Games....both things which I would have loved to have done.

Keeping the idea in mind of becoming more of a tourist in our own area (we don't live in a highly populated area so I'm including the nearest towns to us in this endeavour), I convinced my other half to come on a brief touristy adventure with me. We headed to Burk's Falls so that I could take some pictures of the falls. At this site, a hydro generation station was built in 1923. Watching the water rushing by today, it's not hard to see why they built one there.

There's a small building near the falls that has served many purposes over the course of time. It was and information booth, and has been a coffee/bake shop owned by various people. It has one of the "screaming heads" art installations outside of it. Around the backside, alongside the river, there's a covered patio/deck area.

The building hasn't been open for a while now, but it looks like something might be happening again...someone is doing some renovating work inside. I sure hope it becomes a coffee/bake shop again. When the weather's nice (unlike today), it's really nice to grab a coffee and a treat, and sit next to the river. Today, however, the weather was drizzly/rainy, and the river was very noisy!!!

Sometime soon, on a nice day, I would like for us to go back and take advantage of walking some trails that start AT the building/falls. We've not walked these trails yet.

When we got home, Steve puttered doing a bit of this and a bit of that....and cleaning the new car...., while I got busy sewing. I managed to finish the Barn Trail block I was behind on....

...and even got my homework done for May's class :)

And Her Ladyship???? She was VERY happy that Mister started the wood stove today :D

I was very glad to have the warmth, too!

And on that note, I wish you all a very good night!

TTFN

Rub A535...The New Love Lotion of Seniors

 I had to laugh this evening just before blogging. Steve and I both needed some A535 rubbed into our sore shoulders (more on that in a minute). I commented that that was love...rubbing A535 into each others sore spots. He commented that it was "the new love lotion of seniors" ;D

As you know if you've been following each day, we've had a LOT of firewood delivered...12 face cords already, and 3 more to come. This year, we decided to try something new. We filled the woodshed with new wood (so we wouldn't have to move it next Spring). It is now filled RIGHT to the front door with fresh wood that will cure until the Winter of 2023/2024.

Steve has filled the two cradles next to the driveway with some more of the new wood that just arrived.

All of the racks beside the garage, the firewood that has already cured and will be burned this next winter, have been emptied. They should hold the rest of the new wood that's still to arrive.

All of the wood for the coming winter has been stacked under the deck, along the two walls. The piles are two rows deep. Hopefully it will be enough for the coming winter. We did already have to use some of it towards the end of this winter.

There's somewhere between 8 and 10 face cords there. Two years ago, we ordered 10 face cords, and it wasn't quite enough. Last year, we ordered 12 face cords, hoping that it would make up for what we used in advance, and be enough to get us to the end of the winter. Again...it didn't. This year, in order to try get ahead of the game, we ordered 15 face cords.

So...with all that moving, bending, stacking....whatever...it's not surprising that we found ourselves rubbing each other with A535 :P

We finished the "wood work" just after lunch today. It was time for a shower and a bite to eat so that I could pop in to the Zoom retreat. I gotta say....I REALLY love the opportunity to spend time virtually with all these ladies...and a gentle man :) We have some really good conversations, and definitely have some good laughs...all while working in the comfort of our own home. Because it's Zoom, it's easy to accommodate any number of people, which would be a lot harder to do in a physical setting. Also, you don't have to haul all your stuff anywhere...and hope you haven't forgotten something important. It is an ideal situation, and as I said yesterday, I wish it happened more often. Don't get me wrong, though....I do lust after the idea of getting away to a proper retreat. But, I would prefer it to be with a group of people that I know rather than some of the ones offered at hotels/resorts.

Anyway, I very much enjoyed wiling away the afternoon with this group of ladies. My plan for the next few days (the wood is done and it's supposed to be raining for the next two days) is to work on catching up a few things that homework-wise that I got behind on. Today I worked on last month's Barn Trail Barn Block.

Normally on a Sunday, we do a nice "Sunday Dinner". We were so focussed on getting outside and getting wood piled that we forgot to get the roast out that we had intended to cook. So, instead, we headed into town to a little restaurant to have dinner. It was really nice getting out, but at one point, we both looked at the other and laughed. We were so tired! We are home now, enjoying a glass of wine and "Martini Music" (a show put together by a 96-year old woman...the music she and her husband enjoyed when they were young).

And on that note, I wish you all a very good night!

TTFN

PS If I have done it correctly, there should now be a "widget" on the right-hand side bar where you can subscribe to have the postings sent to your "mailbox" via email.