Wet and Chilly Tuesday

I wanted to get out in the garden at least for an hour each day. So I am guessing that if you add up all the times I tried to go out and weed yesterday, I think that cumulatively I probably spent an hour out of doors. Each time I tried, it would begin to rain again and would send me indoors. Last night we had an electrical storm move through our area and it dumped quite a bit of driving rain. This morning we again had some more rain and some very cold temperatures for the end of June. When I checked the weather, it was only 15 Celsius, feeling like 14. (57 degrees Fahrenheit)  Does that mean there was a wind chill factor? Anyway, the sun is trying to come out now at 1 PM and it is supposed to warm up to a whopping 18 degrees for a high. 
I did not make iced tea this morning because there is still some left from yesterday. I have been drinking cups of hot tea to warm up.

On Sunday, I finally left for Amerstview to pick up my prescription that I had dropped off last Monday. While there I spent another $13.26 on a few things. I wanted oatmeal to make more oatmeal cranberry muffins and some herbal tea bags to make iced tea. I chose to buy lemon and ginger tea because I like a flavoured tea cold. I also picked up another dozen eggs because they were on for only $1.99 and a package of mozzarella cheese. Next time I go to the Dollar Tree, I think I will pick up some herbal tea there.

Yesterday I packaged up 4 bags of strawberries for the freezer (2 cups each) that I had washed and hulled on Sunday afternoon.

I spent the rest of the time, when I wasn't outside pulling weeds, commenting on blogs and waiting for the rain to stop. As many of you know, I don't plan a weekly menu because it is just me to cook for,  so I have decided to just report on what I have eaten during the last week.

Monday:  pork chop, boiled potato, burgundy beans
Tuesday: chicken stir fry over Ramen noodles
Wednesday: left-over chicken stir fry over brown rice
Thursday: battered fish fillets (pollack), boiled potatoes, carrots
Friday: chicken  nuggets (in the freezer from when my grands were here), boiled potatoes,  peas
Saturday: baked chicken breasts in mushroom soup, mashed potatoes, carrots and green beans, and strawberry cake with more strawberries and whipped cream for dessert.
Sunday: the last 2 battered fish fillets, boiled potatoes, niblets corn

Here are some photos of what is in the garden this week.

Yellow flowers are common Primrose

Blue and white Campanula (peach leaved Bell Flowers)

Lavender

Pink Spirea bush

Fushia flowers grow on the Rose Campion

 Spider Wort or Widow's Tears come in shades of blue and purple

as well as white

Yellow Loosestrife

I will be adding up my grocery receipts to report how much I was over my household budget for June. 

Daybook: Monday June 26/17

Outside my window.....it is a somewhat sunny day with a few cloudy breaks after a night of rain. The temperature is comfortable, which means a little on the cool side.

I am thinking.....if I don't write this post now, it may not get written today.

I am thankful for.....living in Canada. It will be our country's 150th birthday on the first of July and preparations are being made for the weekend. Although I like traveling to other places, I love this country.

From the kitchen.....I baked a strawberry cake from Nathalie's blog here, some more oatmeal cranberry muffins from this website, and I washed and hulled more strawberries from the garden. I made the cake for my son and his GF coming for dinner on Saturday, along with more fresh strawberries and whipped cream. The cake itself is a stand alone success. It doesn't need anything else with it because it is so moist and delicious; but I had the extra berries that I didn't need for the recipe, so I decided to make it a strawberry, strawberry short cake. *laugh*. The muffins were a repeat recipe from the weekend before, because I loved them also. It requires a cup of yoghurt mixed with a cup of oatmeal, so I used my homemade yoghurt with this recipe, and the muffins come out so moist and yummy.

I am wearing.....some "working out in the garden clothes", which include denim capris and a yellow T-shirt with a picture of a loon on it.

I am creating.....some all-occasion cards for a friend. She wants to buy some from me as a gift for someone she knows from her Church. I'm not sure how many she has in mind, but you know me; I will use up whatever I don't sell. I like to keep enough cards in my stash. I have 8 birthdays in July alone that need cards made for. As well, my friends birthday is on July 1st (Canada Day), and I have been gifting her with homemade cards each year as well.

I am going.....outside for at least an hour each day to pull some weeds and/or mow some of the lawn. All the rain we have been getting is really making stuff grow.

I am hoping.....I can stay on top of things as far as the yard is concerned.

I am hearing.....car traffic and some birds, especially some very noisy seagulls. 

Around the house.....I managed to get 2 loads of  laundry washed and hung on the line to dry yesterday.

One of my favourite things.....is getting all kinds of phone calls early Sunday morning from friends and family who are checking up on me.   They get news from my blog, but it is nice to hear what they have been up to.

A few plans for the rest of the week.....include an eye examination on Wednesday,  dinner at my son's and GF's on Friday to celebrate another birthday, and Canada Day celebrations on Saturday which we always celebrate on Amherst Island, as it is also my friend's birthday. We "girls" enjoy a pot luck supper, watch the parade, partake of the strawberry social, and settle in for an evening of fireworks before we return by ferry to the mainland. Usually on the boat trip back, we can see the fireworks displays from other towns and cities along the shoreline (Kinston, Bath and Napanee) On Sunday, I will be attending a BBQ and potluck for another friend who is turning 75. It is going to be a busy end of the week.

Here's a picture I am sharing.....of some of the all-occasion cards I have been making this past week-end.

I used the "smooshing" technique on the last three cards, where I applied inks and water to a piece of acetate and "smooshed" a piece of water colour paper into the solution to make a background.

Thank you Nathalie

With Nathalie's help and informative post this morning about "How to fix your pictures..." 

 I am able to post a few more photos from my Kiwi Garden tour from the past weekend. Did I mention that I love birdhouses? Of course I have never bought one; but I really, really like them and I am always scouting for ideas for making my own. As you can see, these are not very useful as birdhouses, but still very decorative in the garden and you could still use the ideas to make a more functional one.

Who wouldn't want one of these moose heads hanging in their outdoor space?

 These are real functioning birdhouses. The door to clean them is on the bottom. This one is decorated with anything that has to do with doors and door locks. In the background you can see lots of different kinds of trellises.

These birdhouses were bolted to the top of a shovel, so they can be "planted" anywhere in the garden. Below you can see some more of those metal sculptures that I like, as well as the fish you would probably affix to a fence or exterior wall. 

I am afraid that we became so engrossed with the tour, that my son's GF forgot she was taking pictures for me, and I was so engaged that I wasn't reminding her. The next exhibit was hand blown glass bird feeders. They were exquisite, but that is the point at which we stopped taking photos and didn't think of it again until we ended the tour. It was my fault for not remembering to bring my camera. I should have put in IN my purse instead of on the table beside my water bottle. Oh well. Better some pictures than none at all. 

Kiwi Garden "Art in the Garden"

I think I have wasted enough time this afternoon trying to figure out why some of the photos are posting sideways. I cannot figure out how to move them clockwise to straighten them out for you to see. So I will only post these ones here. I love any kind of metal sculpture for the garden, especially old iron implements that are re purposed into art. I loved this turtle using a large piece of igneous rock as the body.

Loved these old saw blades, carved out and left to rust naturally. I wish I could do welding.

Sorry. I can't even tell you what these figures are crafted from. They didn't grab me like they did for my son's GF, who took lots of pictures of them.  They looked kind of neat playing in the trees, swinging or climbing up ropes.

But I am kind of traditional in that I would rather have cute animals in the garden than these figures of people.

Birdhouses are my absolute favourite. I have pictures of those, but until I can get them on here up and down. I won't bother putting them on. 

So on Monday I cut the front and back lawns again and spent about an hour outside weeding one of the front garden beds again. I picked strawberries.They aren't very big, but they are plentiful for the few plants I have.

 Yesterday I started my day by driving into Amerstview to drop off my prescription and picking up a few groceries I needed, including 2 packets of Certo and a bag of sugar. I got my 2 loaves of bread, 4 liters of milk and one dozen eggs. I picked up 2 cans of Heinz Zoodles for when the grand kids come next. They were on sale for 99 cents a tin. I spent the afternoon cleaning and hulling all of the berries above, as well as the ones I picked last week and put in the fridge. I made 2 batches of freezer jam, put some sliced berries into a strawberry gelatin dessert and froze a quart bag for later on (perhaps a strawberry-rhubarb pie??)

To be honest, I feel I didn't accomplish much today. I changed out my bedsheets, soaked some things in bleach water and did up a super load of laundry. I folded and put away one load of laundry. I picked up the trashcans from all around the house for the garbage pickup in the morning. There wasn't enough for the pickup last week. I sorted out all the Blue Box recyclables  to put out in the morning. I worked with my Cricut machine for a short while and made some comments on blogs. I did not go outside at all today. There were no big accomplishments....just a bunch of small household chores that needed doing. Some days are like that. Have a great rest of the week, everyone.
And for those of you who like to see the flowers, here are some more peonies.

 Love the colour of these bright pink ones with bright yellow centers.

But love the size and fullness of these pale pink flowers.

Daybook: Monday, June 19/17

Outside my window.....It is mostly overcast with a few unexpected sunny breaks. It has not rained yet since I woke up this morning. The Hydro meter reader is walking through the neighbourhood taking meter readings of our electric usage. High school students are walking by on the sidewalk taking advantage of their lunch break. The front lawn needs to be mowed and trimmed again. A lot of my blue and white Capanula are out in bloom today.

I am thinking.....of the great afternoon I had yesterday at Kiwi Gardens. It was sunny and warm for the most part. Although we had quite a downpour during one of the sun showers, we were able to take refuge in one of the greenhouses in the Sales area before we even got to the Artists' Tour. After that major downpour, it remained good weather for the rest of the afternoon.

I am thankful for.....being able to spend the day with my son, his GF and a friend of their's who shares a love of gardening. For my son and I, it was the first Father's Day without Rick, so I was very happy to spend it in each other's company. Afterwards we had an early dinner in a great Mexican restaurant on the river in downtown Perth. The rain held off until after I got home last night.

From the kitchen.....this past Saturday, I made a turkey stock in the crock pot, a batch of homemade cranberry-almond granola, basic cornmeal muffins, cranberry oatmeal muffins and a batch of pea nutty dog biscuits.

I am wearing.....denim Bermuda shorts and a red T-shirt.

I am creating.....no cards this past week, but more card sketches for some I want to start this week.

I am going.....probably nowhere today, but I do need to drive into Amerstview at some point to drop off a prescription and to pick up some more milk, bread and eggs.

I am hoping.....and wishing, as usual, to get some work accomplished this week. We are expecting another very wet and rainy week.

I am hearing.....the sound of my window fan, on low speed, and the occasional car drive by. Earlier this morning, the Emergency vehicles drove by. Our volunteer Fire Department is kept extremely busy as they are our first responders to area fires and traffic accidents. Highway 2 (on which we live) is parallel to Major Highway 401 which is one of the busiest highways in North America. Our vehicles can respond before the area ambulances and also as quickly as the OPP (Ontario Provincial Police) which also has a detachment located here in Odessa.

Around the house.....the dog is sleeping. I have just had a fried egg and cheese sandwich for lunch. I have laundry to fold before I go to  bed tonight; but otherwise, I have not made a To-Do list or goals list for the week yet.

One of my favourite things.....is an ice cold iced tea during the very hot days, and a cup of hot tea when I need a pick-me-up, which I am wanting right now.

A few plans for the rest of the week.....resemble the plans I have had for a few weeks in a row now. That means more fair weather for working outdoors, and the motivation and energy it takes to get 'er done.

Here's the picture I am sharing...... more succulents that I bought at the show yesterday.

The pots were $7 each or 3 for $15. These are very different from the ones I have bought and shared already. The one on the left is very intriguing to me, and the two on the right are both trailing succulents, which will look great in my indoor succulent garden. Now I need to get on-line and find out what they are called. My garden is doing so well, I have already broken off some of them and given them away to other succulent gardeners.

Wet and Gray

There were some nice days this week and I did get outside to work in the yard. This weekend is shaping up to be a wet one. Wednesday I went out with my hand cultivator and once again attacked a garden bed that has already been weeded thoroughly this Spring. I dug down deep and removed miles of roots from the couch grass that is firmly embedded in there. I spent a few hours out there but had to stop when I got a grass cut through a knuckle on my right hand. It hurt of course, but it wouldn't stop bleeding so I had to come inside to clean it and wrap it tight. I also had an open blister develop on another finger from using the cultivator. I showered and changed and called it a day.

This is the flower bed I was working on. You can see what a tangle of roots there are. Hopefully, by pulling out all that couch grass over the summer, I may be able to eradicate it from the garden. Then I can lay down some mulch to help in the fight against it coming back. Those blue flowers are true geraniums or perennial geraniums, not the kind you might buy as an annual from Home Depot which are actually Pelargonium.

Yesterday started out as a nice day so I went outside again. I couldn't weed because of the injuries to my hand. I didn't want to reopen the wounds. So with work gloves on my hands, I once again raised the blade deck on my push mower and tackled some more of the tall grass areas on the property. I managed to clear quite a bit. I also mowed about half of the back lawn. It grew quite a bit in the last week. I used the submersible pump to remove the water from one of my fish ponds (with the waterfall). I haven't cleaned the pools yet or set up the filters, so they were basically just pools of open water and breeding grounds for mosquitoes. When I emptied as much as I could, I poured in some salt and vinegar solution and moved the pump to the second pool (with the fountain). I kept watch over that until it began pouring rain and then stopped the pump until this morning when I finished the job.  I am not able to clean the ponds on my own, so the question this summer is whether or not I want to set them up at all, or do I fill them with dirt and plant flowers. I am also questioning whether or not I want to put in a vegetable garden. It is so late in the season now, and do I really need to add more to my "To-Do" list? Should I just let the strawberry plants take over?

This raised vegetable bed that was completely cleared of weeds last week, is quickly growing more weeds, and I am losing arable space to the encroaching strawberry plants. I am thinking maybe I will just have my roto tiller fixed and tuned up and keep plowing the weeds under during the summer...... maybe just plant a few things in containers this year.

I have to admit, though; it was lovely to pick all of these berries this morning. The 6 in the back row are the ones I lost to birds, bugs, or critters because I didn't move quickly enough. I didn't think there were enough to pick. I guess I was wrong. I will have to check every day from now on.

Besides emptying the second pool and picking the strawberries this morning, I have opted to stay inside for a bit. The mosquitoes love this damp weather and I have been harbouring them after all. I had the standing pools of water and the tall thick grass for them to hide in. I did my usual puttering in the kitchen this morning emptying the dishwasher and filling it up again, washing down the counters and microwave, making my iced tea, and now cooking up a crock pot of garbanzo beans. The weather is trying to brighten and if the sun does manage to come out, I will do a couple of loads of laundry and hang outside. Otherwise I am not feeling very motivated to do anything at the moment. Most of my Springtime flowers are finished. Here are some more flowers that are coming out this week.

My   peonies are getting ready to burst open.

White and blue Campanula

My large lavender bush will bloom in days. I am very surprised that my Bleeding Heart is still in bloom. They must love all the rain. 

 

Have a great week-end everyone.

Daybook: Tuesday, June 13/17

Outside my window.....the weather has been very changeable today. We have had sunshine at times, but mostly overcast and even periods of rain. It is cooler than it was yesterday, which was just too hot and uncomfortable to do anything.

I am thinking.....that I have not accomplished much since the grand kids went home on Sunday. The only things I got done yesterday was a trip into the LifeLabs to have blood drawn (I waited more than an hour), I watered all my indoor plants and the two hanging baskets under my verandah, and lastly, I slept all afternoon.

I am thankful for.....electric fans. I have not needed my window air conditioner yet but I keep the fans turned on to keep it comfortable.

From the kitchen.....I am making a batch of yoghurt right now. I cut up the pork loin into several chops and one small roast. I peeled and chopped up the remainder of the 5 lb. bag of imperfect carrots to freeze because I am not eating them up fast enough. I have been eating up leftovers from the weekend and making iced tea every morning. 

I am wearing....."working in the yard clothes" except that I didn't go outside all day. I am wearing denim capris and an oversized T-shirt.

I am creating.....nothing since the weekend; but I have been saving and printing out several different card sketches that I would like to try some day.

I am going.....nowhere today.

I am hoping.....for fair weather for the rest of the week so I can feel motivated to get outside once again.

I am hearing.....nothing else but the sound of the window fan beside me.

Around the house.....are bouquets of garden flowers that the grand kids cut and brought into the house. They also enjoyed checking the strawberry patch to see if any berries had ripened yet. We only found three.

One of my favourite things.....is finding evidence of the grand kids having been here. There are coloured beads that I missed putting away into the plastic bags that sort them by colour. There are papers, stamps and stickers  "from the office"  and pages from the printer where they were publishing their books. Every once in a while I find a stray toy that never made it back into the cupboard.

A few plans for the rest of the week.....include making appointments with the family physician and my eye doctor (no, I didn't do that yet). This Sunday on Father's Day, my son and his GF are taking me to Kiwi Gardens in Perth to see the "Art in the Garden". I am really looking forward to this.

Here's a picture I am sharing......the wind from Sunday blew a lot of rose petals off the bush.

Another Week Gone

I just can't believe how quickly this week has gone, let alone this year. It wasn't all work in the garden this week. I managed to have a couple of craft days where I was making more cards for my stash, because of the rain. And when it wasn't raining, I was pulling more weeds and cutting the lawns. I even managed to have a Domestic Thursday, where I managed to vacuum the upstairs. You know what that means? Yes, I am expecting company this weekend. My daughter and her two kids are arriving soon to spend the weekend with Grandma. Yesterday was a gorgeous sunny and warm day, perfect for drying 3 loads of laundry on the clothes line. Today, my friend from Charleston Lake was going to come out to help me put in my veggie garden, but I called to cancel. It will get done in due course, but it is far more important to see my family than worry about putting in vegetables. I can't even keep the flower beds weeded at this point.

And speaking of family, my son and his GF came out after work yesterday to paint a mirror frame they were given and a night side table that  they were lucky enough to find at a Thrift Store. It perfectly matched one they already have, but was a different colour.....white enamel spray paint to the rescue. I had planned on using up the last two flat breads to make pizza for myself, so I quickly changed the menu to an oven pasta dish and invited them to stay for dinner.

This morning I left for Napanee by 8 AM. My plan was to hit Giant Tiger first for their specials and then on to No Frills for the rest of the groceries on my list. As you will see, these are not my usual groceries. I try to buy some treats to entice my grand kids  to eat something that I make. Obviously I am not the cook their mother is. Even when I buy the same thing as my daughter, they always eye it suspiciously. I shouldn't try so hard because I will never win.

Frozen foods cost $32.70

Meat and substitutes cost $43.18

Dairy cost $12.48

Produce cost $26.02

Pantry items cost only  $6.26

Breads cost $6.26

Non-food items and snacks cost a total of $16,27

 Total cost of this morning's grocery shop with tax was $147.85  Except for bread, milk and maybe more eggs, I will not need to shop for several weeks.

Daybook: Monday, June 5/17

Outside my window.....it is overcast and spitting rain. It is a little bit chilly. The front lawn could be cut again and I see more weeds to be pulled in my flower beds. It is never-ending.

I am thinking.....I could lie down for a wee nap this afternoon.

I am thankful for..... a lovely sunny and warm Saturday and my son and GF coming here in the afternoon to help me tackle some of the yard work.

From the kitchen.....I have pulled a square (1/2 cup) of margarine from the fridge to soften. I am hoping to make an apple crisp today. Yesterday I baked a batch of dog biscuits, made some turkey vegetable soup and pulled off all the meat from the turkey I roasted for Saturday's dinner. I have lots of meat in the freezer now for casseroles and pot pie.

I am wearing.....a filthy pair of denims and peach coloured T-shirt that I need to change out of. I spent some time this morning outside working. I picked up stuff from those areas of the yard where I haven't been able to cut the grass, and threw it into the trailer to have hauled away. I even ran the lawn mower over much of the area (with the blade deck raised)  so that we can rake up more materials. My goal this summer is to have the whole property cleaned up and leveled so I can easily use the mower to keep it maintained. I am also seriously considering taking out one of my flower beds and changing it back to lawn.

I am creating.....some cards. Instead of vegging out yesterday (which was my plan) I made another Father's Day card for my step-dad, and two "Welcome Summer" cards for my two grand kids in Bradford. I made 2 more birthday cards and a thank you card for my stockpile, and I stamped and fussy cut flowers and leaves for future cards.

I am going.....nowhere else today. I have already been to the post office to mail out a parcel, 2 Father's Day cards, and three birthday cards. I stopped at the Municipal office to pay my water bill before continuing to Amherstview Shoppers Drug Mart to buy 4 liters of skim milk, 2 loaves of whole wheat bread and a discounted liter of 3% milk with which I will make yoghurt tomorrow. I was able to pay with the remainder of my $50 gift card I bought last month. There is only 14 cents remaining.

I am hoping.....to get my veggie garden in this week. My very good friend from Charlestown Lake called this morning. The weather forecasted for this week does not look great, so we are aiming for Thursday. I was able to finish weeding all of my veggie garden on Saturday morning. I have not yet roto-tilled it. If I can't run the machine, I will use a garden fork on it. I still need to go to my local nursery to buy my veggie starts.

I am hearing.....school buses go by and children walking home from school.

Around the house.....I could use the vacuum to clean the floors upstairs, but I think I need to have more company over before I feel motivated to do that. At the very least, I need to start first thing in the morning before I venture outside.

One of my favourite things.....is my lawnmower. After having it repaired and tuned up this Spring, it is so very easy to start. I feel so much better about my yard when the grass is cut and trimmed.

A few plans for the rest of the week......include more days outside to keep working on the yard and the flower beds. I also need to get the vegetable garden put in.

Here's the picture I am sharing.....my first Oriental poppy bloomed today.

Domestic Friday

I did some domestic arts today. *patting myself on the back*  Bless, over at Two Cents, asked just  this week if her readers kept their home "company ready" or if they needed company to motivate them to clean. Anyone who knows me at all will know what the answer to that question is.  My BIL and SIL who are visiting Kingston from Tampa Florida, announced last night that they would drop in on me today. This morning I got busy. I emptied the dishwasher and started filling it again right away as I cleared everything off my counters, scrubbed and disinfected them. I cleaned the inside of my microwave and cleaned the outside of my cock pot and toaster. Then I.....

vacuumed and wet mopped the kitchen, dining room, living room and front entrance room.

cleaned off the dining room table and put on a fresh tablecloth

did two huge loads of laundry and hung outdoors

changed out my bedsheets

sorted out the recycling and took outside to the Blue Box

filled another planter with garden soil, planted it up with red and white Portulaca, and placed in my front garden bed

prepared 3 birthday cards for the mail pickup

When my company arrived, they declined the invitation for lunch but had a cup of tea with me. It was indeed the motivation to get the floors done. I have been wanting to look after them for quite some time, but I have been busy with the yard work. Yesterday I ventured out into the veggie garden and got it half done.

The back of the garden was weeded yesterday. In the space are four of the Rubbermaid bins that I use for planting potatoes at the end of the garden. In the foreground, among the weeds, are several strawberry plants There are lots of green strawberries and still a lot of blooms. Once they are finished fruiting, I will transplant them into the large green barrels that you might have noticed along the side of the garden on the right. Tomorrow is supposed to be a lovely day and I plan on finishing up this garden bed.

 I forgot to show you my Bridal Veil spirea that is in full bloom this week.

These perennial Bachelor Buttons are popping up like weeds everywhere throughout my back yard.

Have a great weekend everyone.