Daybook: Monday, July 9/18

Outside my window.....it is sunny, warm and breezy. We are not in a heat wave. It is just seasonally warm. I had a couple of downstairs windows opened this morning, but now at noon, I have closed them up and put the a/c on low.

I am thinking.....of everything I need to gather up and get done before leaving on Wednesday morning.

I am thankful for.....the phone calls I have received already this morning. They were from friends wishing me well on my travels. One call was from my friend's wife who thanked me again for the cards of encouragement and gave me an update on her husband's brain cancer. He has not received his second time around radiation on his brain yet, but it will be short and most powerful (only 5 days) They are radiating the whole brain and he is guaranteed to be extremely sick. He cannot do chemo. I told them I would send postcards from California.

From the kitchen.....on the weekend I cooked the last 3 chicken legs with backs attached, in my crock pot for 24 hours to make chicken stock and I removed the meat from the bones. (some for the soup, and some to add to a stir fry.)  I shredded and sauteed the cabbage I bought this weekend on the stove top. Last night I roasted a chicken breast and ate it with some of the cabbage and the last sweet potato which I baked.  I cut up the turnip, cooked and mashed it, then placed it in the freezer. This morning I skimmed the congealed fat from the broth, added lots of veggies and meat and simmered on the stove until 11 o'clock (which is on-peak time with Hydro). I seeded and sliced the last two remaining sweet peppers to freeze. There are only two onions remaining in the crispers.

I am wearing.....royal blue capris and my white cotton polyester "dyeing my hair shirt" that I always wear when doing my hair. I need to go shower now and wash the dye out. Brb. And now I am wearing my long flowy cotton muslin top with embroidered flowers.

I am creating.....nothing probably before I leave. I have some cards made ahead for when I return.

I am going.....either today or tomorrow, to Amerstview to my bank for cash (Canadian and American), to pick up a prescription and the spend $40 for 10,000 points event at Shopper's. I will be going to the post office to mail out two encouragement cards before I leave.

I am hoping.....for safe travels.

I am hearing.....the a/c unit humming. While I was washing my hair, I could hear the Fire trucks/Paramedics leave the station house for an Emergency. They are first responders to traffic accidents, usually on the 401.

Around the house.....I am gathering together the clothes, shoes and toiletries I will need to pack. I am still hoping that I only will need my carry-on suitcase. Ha, ha. We'll see.

One of my favourite things.....is the bag I bought on my last cruise this past Spring. It is bright and colourful with corals and blues. It is soft-sided and holds a lot of stuff. Hopefully it will hold everything I am gathering for the trip.

A few plans for the rest of the week......include the aforementioned stops in Amerstview. I will be leaving the house about 5:30  on Wednesday morning, leaving my van at a friend's house and getting a ride to the bus station.

Here's the picture I am sharing.....

  My neighbour and I share a cedar rail, or split rail fence down the whole side of her property. Here at the front of the house is my Adam's Needle as it looks today. I am glad I didn't miss the bloom this year.

My lavender has a much longer blooming time and will continue to flower  through most of the summer. Look how brown and crunchy the lawn is looking. My driveway is looking greener because the weeds are already growing back in. I did not plant anything in my two black metal planters because as you can see, they are rusting away. The soil inside is really good though. When I get back I will empty them and use the soil to build up some of my flower beds.