Long Weekend in May

This weekend (Victoria Day Weekend) is the unofficial start of summer. We can plant our bedding plants, dust off the BBQs and we can all wear our summer whites after this weekend.....officially. This will also be a weekend for yard sales. I will not be having mine, but lots of others will, including my SIL in Smiths Falls. My son and his fiancee are only about an hour away from Elliot Lake (they must have left before dawn), and I am sure that "Dee" will drag them along to lots of yard sales up North. They are in fact legendary. Everyone who visits in the summer looks forward to the yard sales in Elliot Lake on a Saturday morning.

Yesterday I started my day by driving into town to the Recycling Plant. Thursdays and Saturdays are open to receive toxics. I filled the back of my van with old paint cans, thinners, automotive fluids, old cleansers and a battery. They took them all and now I have a much cleaner front verandah. I also took in two garbage bags full of clothes to the Thrift store. I feel much better that they are out of my house. Those were two big items on my To-Do List that I won't need to worry about any more.

When I got home I made my way outside once again to pull weeds in the garden beside the shed. I also pulled a lot of dead wood and pruned several branches from shrubbery in the back yard. Again, all the work I did is barely noticeable, but I know I worked hard and my sore muscles will vouch for me. I made some room to transplant some perennials and perhaps plant a few flower seeds. I don't want to waste too much money this summer on annuals since I know at some point I will be selling this house. I want to get rid of one of my flower beds entirely, so I need to move some plants out of there and allow the grass to grow back.

Having just said that I don't want to buy many annuals, I can tell you that I went into town again this morning to Canadian Tire to spend my "free money" earned from loyalty points. I bought three 6-packs of wave petunias on sale for $6.99 each, a 3-pack of forged steel trowels and cultivator because I broke mine while weeding yesterday, a box of discounted clear garbage bags to "package up" pillows, blankets, towels, cushions, and the like at my yard sale and a gallon of Bullseye white primer that was on sale. The total bill came to $81.85, but I had enough free money to pay the bill, AND I still have $18.58 left to maybe buy some veggie starts when I plant the vegetable garden. The wave petunias should fill my planters nicely without needing any other kind of fillers.

18 wave petunia plants cost $20.97, Primer cost $31.99, 40 clear garbage bags cost $3.49 and forged steel gardening tools cost me $15.99 Every item was on sale. I saved $24.50  On my way home I stopped in to FinAddict to buy a dozen feeder gold fish for change I had in my wallet (about $3.15 with tax). They will keep the mosquito population down in my one remaining pond, until I decide what to do with it.

I have yet to go outside today. After releasing the goldfish into the pond, I came inside to have lunch, shred and cook some cabbage and fried up some hamburger to make my supper tonight. I will probably plant my geraniums and my wave petunias in planters this afternoon. I know it will be a busy weekend, if the weather holds out. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

I noticed my candytuft had bloomed today. That is the white flower growing among the Campanulla stems.