3 Weeks Later

I mentioned in my last post, my Daybook Monday, that you probably wouldn't hear from me for a while. And I was right. The first week was spent cleaning and organizing and cooking ahead. The last two weeks I have been enjoying my company. They actually left yesterday morning for Bradford (north of Toronto), but I took a day off. I did not clean. I did not cook. Instead I played with a new stamp set that I received in the mail during my company's stay. I have a few thank you cards to make up. It feels like a whole lifetime has happened since I last posted. I dipped into savings this month to buy two single beds for one of my spare rooms, a new muffler on my van, two new electric fans and extra food. My riding lawn mower, pressure washer and roto tiller are at the small engines mechanic, but I don't know the damage yet. I will be working hard to replenish my accounts ASAP.

I decided one of my spare rooms should have single beds instead of having all queen-sized beds. This room that we had finished for my son and his fiancee, is big enough for two beds.

I feel so fortunate to have made up a few freezer meals in advance. Our days were so-o-o-o incredibly  busy, it was wonderful to be able to reheat things in the oven. The young cousins got along famously (5, 6 and 8 years of age) and pretty much entertained themselves. My son, myself  and 14 year old grand daughter took the kids swimming two days and to the combined playground/water park twice. Grandma has a sandbox in the backyard, which they played in, and she has a toybox in the cupboard. There are lots of craft supplies and her TV has Net Flix, so amusing them was no trouble at all. My son took the older grand daughter shopping and to the Go-Cart track. She also had Net Flix, her lap top and her cell phone. My son and his GF had us all over one evening for supper, and we spent a lovely day in Smith Falls at my brother's house for a swim in their pool and a barbeque supper. My Dad and 'Dee' came down from Northern Ontario to surprise my son. It was a great visit.

While in Smith Falls, my son and his GF announced their engagement. I have known for quite some time, but they didn't have a date until just this past week. So now I will have to refer to my son and his fiancee. It will be a small intimate wedding in the old primitive forests of Northern California (Sonoma County) next July 20th. They are NOT expecting anyone to attend except their parents and witnesses, but some of my family is planning to go as part of their holiday excursion next summer.

So now the house is strangely quiet once again. The yard is beckoning me outside. While he was here, my son organized a work party to tear down the deck on the back of the house. He no longer thought it was safe for me, and he was right. Many of the old joists were rotted through. So now I will bring in a load of 3/4 inch gravel to lay down temporarily over the winter. I will decide whether I want to replace the deck or go with a patio of stone or concrete in the Spring. The weeds have completely taken over my garden beds, and I do want to remove them and lay down mulch over August and into September. I also have to start working on my Advent calendars and gift making for Christmas. At the end of September, I will be making a cross-country railway trip with my Dad and 'Dee' to Vancouver. They are renting a time-share on Vancouver Island. I will be staying with my son and my DIL in Burnaby. My oldest grand daughter is graduating from University with her Bachelor of Arts degree though she is currently enrolled in her Bachelor of Education program. Then we will all spend the Thanksgiving weekend with my Dad on Vancouver Island. I would dearly love to be able to come back here afterwards and not have to worry about doing any more yard work this season. 

Despite the weeds, my late summer perennials are still blooming.

Echinacea or pink cone flowers

Pink phlox

Black eyed Susans or Rudbeckia