Friday Recap

I did get out Tuesday like I planned and pruned back the rose bush into oblivion. It may look drastic, but mark my words; it will be just as big and full next summer as it was this summer. I did not trim the lawn and it desperately needs another mowing. But I did start on pulling weeds from another bed in the front yard and also cut back the perennials that are finished blooming for the year. It will take another full morning to finish the job. Next week I may be able to clear the driveway again and the flower bed at the end of the drive.

About one third the size it was.

Here is a picture of the mess behind my back door now that the deck has been removed. I need to order in some gravel so I can lay down a good layer to cover this mud hole.

The wooden deck ran across the back of the house and along the length of the addition, about 20 feet by 24 feet. This is on the north side of the house and  was shaded most of the day, especially when we also had a six foot high fence for privacy on the deck on the right hand side.

The problem I ran into was this steep embankment down the side of the back room addition. The deck used to cover this area and there were steps down to the sunken patio. Before I can lay down gravel, I have to come up with an idea to keep the gravel from spilling out onto the lower patio, and keep that area at the bottom of the foundation clear as it is the only access to the crawlspace under the addition. It is built on bedrock.  This morning in the hot sun and humidity, I was shoveling wet clay to figure out how I was going to accomplish this myself on a small budget. I don't want to rebuild a deck or lay a patio until next Spring after I have considered my options. I lay down those four cinder blocks at the end of my flower garden so the rain doesn't take any more of my garden soil away. Notice all those weeds that need pulling. I uncovered some railway ties that I can probably add more 6x6 railway ties to by nailing spikes or reinforcement rods through. When I checked at Home Depot yesterday, they had the ties but they will not cut them. So I will have to make those walls 8 feet long or find someone who can cut them for me with a chain saw. Anyways, I am still considering temporary solutions.

Update: My friend just suggested that because I already have some flat pieces of limestone that I need to move from around my pond liner, I should lay the stones on the slopes leading down to the sunken patio and grow some ground cover between the rocks. Great idea. These photos do not show just how steep the incline is, but I am sure this will work once I rake the ground out a little more evenly. Then I will put together a kind of frame made with two by sixes on the top of the incline to hold about 5 inches of gravel. I am starting to see a solution to this problem.


I might have gone out to pull some weeds on Wednesday and Thursday but my hamstring muscles hurt so much on Wednesday, I figured I could stay inside and get some of my cards made ready for the mail. I also had four bags of garbage to take to the curb (filled with yard waste) and the Blue Box for recycling. I didn't go out Tuesday for the hamburger that was on a great sale and Tuesday was the last day for that sale. I just felt too tired; but Wednesday I had to go out for eggs, so I went to Shopper's Drug Mart and spent over $50 on items that were on sale. I also had some things in my cart that I reconsidered and put back on the shelf,  like some toiletries and paper towels. I can do without for a little while longer and they are often on sale.

Yesterday I drove into my doctor's office to pick up a requisition for blood work, then drove to LifeLabs to get it done. On my way into town, I stopped at an appliance repair shop and ordered a gasket for my dishwasher. I need to do this, as my dishes are being covered by small black spots of rubber that is disintegrating from the seal around the door. This will cost $80, but I hope to replace the gasket myself. On the way back from town I stopped at Home Depot to price their cinder blocks, railway ties, and just had a look around to see if I could come up with a couple of solutions for maintenance problems that need addressing. I took a gift card for $50 with me, but I walked out with nothing. I needed to think about it a while longer. I then drove to my small engine repair man's business. My roto tiller, pressure washer and riding lawn mower are done, but it cost me $478 ...gulp. I am bleeding money here folks. This week I have really been missing Rick. He was so handy to do things on his own, and saved a pile of money. The two of us would talk and bounce  ideas off each other and  then share the work together.  Of course, not every month will be like this, and I have made it through a difficult week and lived to tell the tale.

On the bright side, my daughter has offered to look after my dog at her house for the three weeks I am gone out West in the Fall.  It would have cost another mortgage payment to pay boarding charges for Satchel. So now I won't have to worry about that problem. It just seemed to be a tough week for me, but that's life. I usually experience the blues once company leaves. The house was so alive, and now it is just very quiet again. I am very fortunate to have family and friends that think to call me and listen to me moan and make helpful suggestions. I appreciate all of them. I am going to get ready now to go to my son's birthday party. I really don't know why he wants me there with all of his young friends, but I will go and wish him a happy birthday, eat some good food and take an early leave. Hope your weekend is restful and relaxing.

Daybook: Monday, August 14/17

Outside my window.....it is a lovely sunny day. I was out this morning in one of my front flower beds pulling weeds. I spent a couple of hours out there until it felt too warm to continue. I took 3 laundry baskets full of weeds back to the compost pile...just from that one flower bed. It isn't finished. I have yet to pull up my sprawling "Snow in Summer" and pot some of it up for my SIL in Smith Falls. Tomorrow I want to prune back my rose bush to almost nothing and trim out the front lawn. I mowed it just a few days ago, but it is looking really messy.

I am thinking.....I want to get down some mulch this fall after I get these beds cleared out. But first I need to thin out quite a few areas. So much to do and so little time left this season. I am hoping the weather co-operates.

I am thankful for.....a lovely visit with family members these past two weeks, and more opportunities to connect in the next few months.

From the kitchen.....I made more dog treats on the weekend. I have been true to my new diet and I am fortunate to still have a couple of frozen meals left for myself. Before my company's arrival I was able to make shepherd's pie and chili con carne for my son, and vegetarian versions of the same thing for my grand daughter. She finished off her Shepherd's Pie, but I had to give my dog the rest of the hamburger pie so as not to throw it away. The uneaten chilies went back into the freezer. I can't eat them, but I can warm them both when my son and his fiancee come to visit. She is eating more and more vegetarian meals. No waste.

I am wearing..... blue capris and a printed T-shirt (working clothes). The knees are dirty from when I was kneeling in the dirt this morning.

I am creating.....some cards this week. I need to send out a couple of "Thank you" cards and also a couple of  "Thinking of You" cards. I will be using a couple of new stamps I bought.

I am going.....probably nowhere today. I am feeling fatigued right now, especially in my legs. I do need to buy more eggs however, so maybe tomorrow morning I will head into Giant Tiger in Napanee. Their packs of ground hamburger are on sale (4 lbs. for only $8 for lean ground beef)

I am hoping.....to be able to replenish my savings account in short order. I had some extra expenses during this month. The van needed a new muffler. I bought two twin beds (I researched many, many beds before deciding to purchase) I don't regret buying them. Even if I decide to move from this house in the next year, I would rather have the twin beds in a spare room. Not that I plan on moving, but who knows where my future might lie? I also bought two more electric tabletop fans for less than $25 each. I will definitely be using those in the really hot summers.

I am hearing.....nothing from the dog. He is fast asleep at my feet. I have the window fan on beside me while I work on the computer. I am listening to the chimes blowing in the breeze just under my verandah.

Around the house.....I could be vacuuming, stripping the beds and doing up the laundry; but I am not expecting company again any time soon, so it can wait for a rainy day.

One of my favourite things.....is knowing I have a frozen meal to heat up when I don't feel much like cooking.

A few plans for the rest of the week.....include making some cards to get into the mail. I need to go to the Labs for blood work for my Doctor's appointment next Tuesday. Fingers crossed that the diet is working. Dinner later in the week at my son's apartment. He is celebrating his birthday.

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

These are called Globe Thistle. They are very striking in the garden, but they spread very quickly by self-seeding. My front flower bed is very full and I need to pull these out after they have bloomed, so I can prepare the soil and put down mulch before winter. In the Spring, I will be better able to keep them under control.

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

Daybook: Monday July 24/17

Outside my window.....it is very dark and rainy.  A thunder storm has just passed through. I sat in the living room to drink my second cup of coffee because I thought I really shouldn't be on the computer during the lightening strikes.

I am thinking.....I need to get busy cleaning bathrooms today and maybe vacuum upstairs even though I am not feeling the mood.

I am thankful for.....cooler temperatures this week.

From the kitchen.....I have not done any baking yet. I am trying to use up the 2 bags of spinach  and 2 more zucchini I bought last week. Until I get used to this new diet, I may be short on some items and then again I might buy too much of other items. I still need to find that balance.

I am wearing.....red capris and a white tank top.

I am creating.....no more cards this week. I have more important things to get done.

I am going.....nowhere today, I don't think. I am out of several things, but I may wait to go for a major grocery shop later in the week. I will try to make do  and create a shopping list in the meanwhile. 

I am hoping.....to get a lot accomplished this week.

I am hearing.....tires on the wet pavement and the occasional roll of distant thunder.

Around the house.....there remains a lot to be done.

One of my favourite things.....is receiving "new to me" items given to me by family or friends who think of me first before passing them on. I have furnished my house with other peoples' castoffs. I love it.

A few plans for the rest of the week....include grocery shopping, making up both guest rooms and the loft, cleaning my messy downstairs,  and hopefully plan a few make ahead meals. Wednesday or Thursday, we will be cleaning out the shed and taking some things to the dump or transfer station. I will be driving to Bradford again for my grand daughter's birthday on Sunday and staying overnight to collect my company from the Toronto airport on Monday morning and then return home later that day. Busy week ahead. You may not be hearing from me after today.

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

Some of my July birthday cards I couldn't share before now.  Notice Nathalie the card sketch  I  used from your card making class. I didn't realize until after I sent it that I was supposed to distress the edges of the flowers with colour, but it still works. Also Janet, notice the stamp you gave me and how I have used it in a card. I have made my August birthday cards already, so I should be able to put away my craft supplies for awhile.

The weekend

I only have one week to get this place in order. OMG! I feel I wasted last week, but really it was very warm and humid, and difficult to get anything done. I do have some accomplishments under my belt, but not specifically housework related.

The greatest accomplishment was getting some of my dishes prepared for the freezer. My food is more difficult to prepare because it is mostly vegetable based. I need to shred, chop or grate and then saute slowly so that the vegetables are not browned. It is time consuming and is not second nature. I cannot just have a slice of bread when I'm hungry. Everything has to be thought out and planned. I will have enough other meals to prepare once company arrives, both vegetarian and the usual fare for children who only like to eat certain things. I can deal with that. So not having to worry about what I am going to eat, will be a life saver.

My son removed two van loads of his cactus from this house to his apartment yesterday. That allows me two rooms I can now clean up and prepare for company. One of those rooms is a bedroom, so now I can fix up some sleeping quarters.

 I got three pairs of draperies hung yesterday morning.....I changed out the drapes in my living room to white ones that my SIL gave me in the spring. They are heavy good-quality drapes. I know you shouldn't be able to see the top of the window frame, but the window goes up as far as the ceiling. The drapery brackets are as high as they can go. I could buy draperies that don't have tabs, but these work just fine for me. I still love them.

 My friend (whose birthday falls on Canada Day) gave me two sets of off-white cotton draperies, which I put on the windows of the bedrooms at the front of the house. I like that the street side of the house will all have matching white drapes. One of those windows isn't actually a bedroom. It is the top of the stairs that you find in an older house, from which all other doors lead off from. But my husband and I put a bed in one of the cubbies, which we refer to as the loft bed. I hung curtains in front like sleeping in a train berth. . It has its own light fixture and a shelf for holding items like a bedside table would. The grandchildren have always loved to sleep here.

Top of the stairs room. Sorry it is so dark in the photo. That is because I am looking right into the light. This room is very light and bright. We have made this into a little sitting and reading nook. Behind the wicker loveseat is the back wall of the new closet we built for the room next to it. It made sense at the time to borrow space from this essentially "wasted space" at the top of the stairs. I didn't want to close in my staircase to make a separate room (although someone else might have no qualms about doing that), but I wanted to keep this area as a separate seating area. When we built the closet to jut out into this area, we created another recessed area beside it. It made sense to make this into our "loft bed" with storage areas above and below the bed.

The loft bed made private by pulling the curtains closed. It has its own light fixture.

I may show you my other bedrooms once I have cleaned them up and made up beds. So I still have my long To-Do list with very few items scratched off the list because as I have already offered as an excuse, it has been very muggy here this week. I still have two bathrooms to clean up well and all the floors I vacuumed a week ago do not look like they have been touched in a month. My BIL and SIL (Rick's brother from Florida) were here twice this week, and are planning a work party to clean out the shed either Wednesday or Thursday of this week. They are going back to Tampa this coming weekend, so will miss my son's visit. That day obviously I will be spending outdoors, so I will miss one day's opportunity to work inside on my To-Do list. But it is all good, because this is a big job I have been putting off. He will tell me what I may be able to sell and how much the items are worth. I don't have a clue. He will also transport the garbage items to the Transfer Station in the trailer for me, and take the riding lawn mower and roto tiller down to the mechanic for servicing. These are all jobs that need to be done but I haven't had any help in accomplishing. So I am very grateful for that.

Cards made with scraps from a scrap booking project. One of my goals for 2017 was to use up more scraps in my cards.

I made eleven birthday cards and one Thinking of You card for our family friend who was recently diagnosed with cancer. That card has already been mailed out , so no photo.

After my grocery shopping on Tuesday morning, I spent two days cooking up my freezer meals. On Thursday (the hottest day) I couldn't stand the thought of spending more time in the kitchen in the heat, so I spent the whole day working under the ceiling fan of my dining room, making cards. Maybe not the best use of my time, but certainly not a waste of time. I made a dozen masculine cards for birthdays coming up soon in the late summer and Fall. I stayed relatively cool and got work done..... sort of like Nathalie doing chores on  her To-Do list from the comfort of her couch. *laugh*  Tomorrow is supposed to be cool, so I will attempt a marathon cleaning and hopefully get most of everything done. Hope your weekend was grand.

Low Carb Eats

Fried rice tasted WONDERFUL

 

 

And you are probably telling yourself, "But rice isn't on your diet!" And you would be correct. But this rice is grated cauliflower with sauteed shallots, celery, mushrooms and peas.It is so yummy! I couldn't believe how delicious it tasted. I also had a side of Asian cabbage stir-fry. Bless asked me for the Italian cabbage stir fry recipe I tried, so I will print it here, as I got it off "Diet Doctor".

Ingredients

servings

USMetric

• 1²⁄₃ lbs green cabbage
• ¹⁄₃ lb butter
• 1¹⁄₃ lbs ground beef
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3¼ oz. leeks, thinly sliced
• 8 tablespoons fresh basil
• 1 cup mayonnaise or sour cream, for serving

Add as favorite
Print recipe
Nutrition

Instructions

1. Shred the green cabbage finely with a cheese slicer, sharp knife or in a food processor.
2. Fry the cabbage in about half of the butter (or substitute olive oil) in a large frying pan or wok on medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until just softened.
3. Add vinegar, salt, onion powder, and pepper. Stir and fry for 2-3 minutes, or until well incorporated. Reserve sautéed cabbage to a bowl.
4. Heat the rest of the butter or oil in the pan. Add the garlic and leeks, and sauté for a minute.
5. Add meat, and continue frying until cooked through. Sauté until most of the liquid has evaporated.
6. Add tomato paste and mix well. Lower the heat a little and add reserved cabbage and fresh basil. Stir until cooked through.
7. Adjust seasoning and serve with a dollop of sour cream or mayonnaise and perhaps even a green salad.

Tip!

There’s a reason we nicknamed this cabbage concoction “crack slaw.” It’s utterly addictive! You can double the recipe and freeze it for when the urge strikes!

I gave my kitchen scales to my son, so I can't weigh anything. Basically, I shred one head of cabbage and fry it on low heat with enough butter that it wilts and softens, stirring a few times (I also kept a lid on the pan). I didn't have leeks, so I used diced yellow onion. I added two tbsp. of tomato paste, because one just wasn't enough for all the cabbage I made. I used dried oregano. This was very good, so I made two serves for the freezer as well. I did not use sour cream or mayonnaise on top. I had a green salad on the side.

Domestic Monday

Chores accomplished:

I cleaned the downstairs bathroom, including washing the floor. Only two more bathrooms to go.

I mowed the front and back lawns this afternoon, having mowed the back property on Saturday.

I gathered all the trash from  the wastebaskets and put them in the outdoor garbage bin.

I made another birthday card for my stash.

I started cleaning up my craft room AGAIN. Hopefully, I will be able to finish it this week.

What I ate last week:

Monday:  Turkey pot pie with Bisquick crust

Tuesday:  (after  my Dr.'s appointment) 2 salmon fillets with roasted green beans and cherry tomatoes

Wednesday:  one salmon fillet with mashed sweet potato and broccoli

Thursday:  last salmon fillet and leftover sweet potato and broccoli, with a green salad.

Friday:  Italian cabbage stir fry and an avocado

Saturday: leftover Italian cabbage stir fry and a green salad

Sunday:  garlic chicken and roasted veggies

Flowers in my garden this week:

Adam's Needle. My yucca plant shoots up a tall stem loaded with these bell shaped flowers

 

A closer look at the flowers

Balloon flowers are so named because the flowers are round blue spheres before they open up.

My Snowball hydrangea

Pink flowers in the foreground are Mallow (I don't know what kind), hydrangea and my purple clematis is the far background.