I Have Ice Ice Baby

Thanks to the help of the Banker I have a new fridge. I found one in a flyer and she went to look at it. Then, because she is fabulous and things i flyers are often not as cheap as they seem, she went looking about for a better deal for me AND found one. Most of the brand new ones you might as well add on $200.00 more to the price for delivery, removal and to change the door. Long story short I have one that is two years old, old one gone, door opens the right way, its a Frigidaire and it was less money to boot. Its lovely. My bad legs limit my shopping abilities so she is my eyes often when I need something.

Yesterday went like this. I got up and started to clear a path for them to get the fridge into the house and to clean out the old one.Takes a while to peel off the magnets, get the stuff off the top and what little there was in it, out. Then I moved it out of its place and out of the way so they could get the new one in.

Because the local appliance store I got it from is just at the end of my block, the owner and his grandson literally walked the new one down to my place. On the hottest day of the year no less.

In no time at all it was in the house and the old one was out and on its way back up the block. Bye bye old fridge!!

So I hope with all my heart that this one works for a long time. Its so nice to have things cold once again and to be able to have ice cubes!! Heaven

Yeah its not going to be that naked for long. Those magnets need somewhere to live!! I wasted no time in getting it filled up again

So happy to be able to put things on the door. The old fridge was mostly held together with duct tape so door shelves and drawers did not function as they should.

And later that day I had ICE ICE BABY. I am soooooo happy

Now I have said over and over I have the most wonderful friends and I do. I don't know why I deserve them but I am over the top grateful I have them. This arrived on my door step on Friday night. The picture is a tad dark but its a portable air conditioner. 

The Banker and her Sweet Baboo gave it to me. They have had central air put in and no longer need it. I was blown away. As this summer heats up I was wondering how I would manage to get one. I really can't afford to change my mind thanks to the taxes, the water heater and the fridge. This was just such a blessing. She even carried it upstairs for me. I can get it set up and not have to worry about sleeping upstairs, which can be a real oven throughout the summer if its hot outside. 

The downstairs one will work for one more year I hope but I am going to have to replace it soon. I had hoped to do a portable one there too but from an inspection of the window, I think its going to have to be another window one. I think the window is so painted that its not going to go up or down no matter what I think should happen. Oh well I hope I can get the old one out and the new one in when the time comes.

For now I am happy and cool, and grateful for the good people I know.

So many blessings!!

Toodles

Linda

Second Blog Post in Two Days ....Yikes

Back to work tomorrow. I wish I had taken this week off. I am actually getting stuff done. But that's ok, I will bask in the glory of my small triumphs and move on. I almost think that until I get myself into some sort of shape again, I can be productive one day, rest a little the next then be productive again.

I did not do much on Sunday. Today I got going again. This morning started with unexpected breakfast out with friends. |(Which I always enjoy). We all headed back home at around noon, I was determined to get something done. I put in some more wine bottles. I used the garden weasel to loosen the soil and they went in like butter!!. If I had had the labels off all the bottles I could have easily finished it today. So many weeds!! ACK!!

So I added these bottles, brought the next batch into the house for de-labeling. I washed dishes, I finished the laundry, I hung some of it out on the clothes line to dry. I am slowly moving things back into the laundry room. Sorting as I go to be sure its stuff I actually need to keep. I bagged up the garbage and the recycling to be taken out. Some of it went and some will go tomorrow when I head to work. I cooked supper and am hoping to get my tomorrow lunch ready tonight. Doing it in the morning is just stupid. Takes too much time.

When I say I finished the laundry I mean I actually folded the stuff that was dry and will get it upstairs tonight. Its not sitting in the dryer like I tend to do. I even hung stuff in the closet. Something I have avoided doing for some time now.

I had a good weekend. Friday night no cook after a day off. Saturday night KitKat and I took in Jurassic World and then coffee. Sunday was restful and today breakfast out then things accomplished. I still have to get a picture of my new quilt on my bed but all in all its been a good weekend.

I finished some things for Sweet Pea, I need to get them wrapped and into the mail before the girl graduated high school. Me and my postal issues!

Toodles
Linda

Oh My

So the water heater is in, the dryer is out, the washing machine is back in place and back in use. Things are looking up. Not only is the dryer out it is gone to the dump with a number of other bits and pieces that needed to go. Its good to have it all gone.  I am working on getting things out back together and getting the house back to being presentable. The four boxes of donation things have been whisked off to the local charity shop. Today I am working on getting the laundry done for once and all.

Another thing is my quilt is finally finished. I completed the work on Friday. I took the day off so I would have an extra long weekend and put it to good use. I did some errands and then I quilted to completion.

It too, is being given a bath and will have a portrait taken in situ and be posted here at some point. I will shortly move onto the next quilt now this one is finished.

I. at long last. threw out the last of the carpet that was removed from my bedroom. Its been trapped in the shed for some time and a finally made it to the dumpster. My neighbour is, at last, beginning to remove the trees between our two properties. They are planted far to close together and are going to cause problems with the power lines. For my part I am staying out of his way and letting him use my green bin for the clippings.

This is a bad picture but remember this? The wine bottle boarder I was putting around the flower bed. Yes the one I started back in 2016. Well there has been a miracle. I finally got going on it once again.
I did not do much but I got going again. 15 bottles are what I can put in at at a time, before my knees stop me. Slow and steady and it will get done.

I have rounded the corner and headed to the home stretch. It raining now so I may or may not add another 15 bottles today, time will tell. I had hoped for 15 today then again tomorrow and that would bring me very close to completion. I will need to soak some labels off bottles after that. I also want to do a bit of weeding as there are more weeds than hostas in the flower bed at the moment. The yard is coming along nicely this year. I just need to keep up the Banker's good works.

I put the July 1st decorations out yesterday and I have my red and white hanging flower basket. So I am as festive as I can be at the moment.

The water heater is paid for and the taxes are mostly paid for. I have enough left over at the moment to replace the fridge. So many things required large chunks of money lately, makes my head spin. I am living on borrowed time with the fridge. Had I paid all the taxes, the fridge would not happen and I am not clever enough to live without a fridge. So hopefully the next week or so will see that new appliance in this house.

After this I hope things take a break for the moment. I cannot handle anymore financial hits, I really can't.

My beautiful birthday flowers thanks to the lovely Bug family.

Toodles
Linda

catching up ????

So its been a week, not the best but its been a week. Ok the water heater has been replaced. The old one is out and the new one is in and that is a blessing. There were other blessing as well as the odd " What now!!" thrown in for fun.

Monday the plumber came, gave the situation a look and said he would come back Tuesday and replace it. He turned the main water on so I had cold water. I got over excited and shut everything off when I figured out the leak. The Banker and her Sweet Baboo came over and moved my washing machine so that the plumbers had easy access to getting things up and down the stairs.

Tuesday, they arrived in time and the whole process went without a hitch. It was my birthday and I was getting a new water heater. I know how to spoil myself. That was not all I was getting. I was getting the flu!! or some sort of tummy bug. I started feeling ill while the plumber was here. I went to work and it just got worse and worse and by noon I was back home and on the couch. I could not even keep water down. I threw up so much my ribs hurt. I was sick all the next day but at least by Wednesday afternoon I could keep water down and dry toast.

While the basement was wide open I decided to get that old dryer out of there. It takes up some prime real estate in the basement. The Banker and her Sweet Baboo to the rescue again and they hauled it away. They also took the last of the old landscape timbers and some other assorted bits of junk. He then put the washer back but I got him to put a board under it so its a bit more stable. Part of my washer sits on the trap door to the basement. It has made a world of difference. I can wash a small load now and the washer does not go off balance. I was rather ecstatic to be able to wash clothes again.

I am still working on my quilt but I am oh so close to being finished. I have the kitchen in reasonable shape at long last. I am looking foreward to this long weekend and maybe I will get some more things done. Time will tell.

Good thing is I will have plenty of hot water to do whatever it is I am going to do.

Toodles
Linda

Life Has a Twisted Sense of Humor or Water Free Weekend

Best words one ever wants to hear............"did you know your water heater is leaking?" That will tick you off in no time at all. Thank goodness Teddy Bear came over to borrow some power tools or I would have had wasted far more water than I did.

I don't really have a basement, its a cellar so the water did not do a lot of damage. It will seep away and I don't have to be down there mopping it up. I do need to open the window and get a fan going to dry it up. I filled some containers with water so I could wash,flush and keep hydrated and then I shut the water off. This was late on Friday. No way I am calling a plumber on the weekend to come and have a look. It can all wait until Monday. I have been in the house for ten years now and the water heater was there for a few years before me so it was inevitable that it was going to go to pieces at some time or another. It just makes me so tired. I tend to want things to work forever.

So up side, I gave the laundry room a good scrub while I have moved stuff out to get to the basement. Its a trap door in the floor and living in a small house with no storage, things get piled onto the door. Then with the thought that a plumber had to get down there, I moved more stuff and while the room was as empty as it could be, it got a scrub. I also gave Desi's litter box a good scrubbing. It was long past due. That's a job best done outside. Nothing like doing a lot of scrubbing while the water is shut off. I do like to make things easy for myself.

A bit  of housework and then spent the rest of the day quilting. I will need to go out at some point today to get some drinking water. I thought I had run plenty but I do drink a lot in a day and the cats have to have their fair share. 

The rest of my day today will be quilting and maybe do some tidying about the house. No dishes can be done and no laundry will be done. I also need to get a quilt batt. I have used up all my scraps and sadly I do not have enough scraps to finish my quilt. Talking myself into going to the store on a Sunday will be the biggest accomplishment. 

I am off to quilt.

Toodles,

Linda

Can You Call it a Sucker Punch When You Do Know its Coming?

So another week is coming to an end. Its been good, its been bad but that is just life isn't it?? We just have to deal.

The Banker, God bless her heart, gave me some more minion time and she took a round out of my front yard hosta bed. It now looks lovely. This is a little before shot. I would have taken more pictures has I known when she was coming but this gives you an idea. See all that green around the wash tub..........yep, weeds every one.

But thanks to her and her magic garden fork and shovel it now looks like this:

Out went the weeds!! She even started to dig in the landscape timbers that I want to put around the flower beds. I am thrilled to no end. I just need to get some shrubs  for across the front fence, about three more timbers and I am finished the front lawn make over. 

It was parade day here on Saturday so this was my view as I had coffee on my veranda.

Lots of loud music, some dancers further down the street and lots of people out and about. It makes a fun morning whilst indulging in your daily caffeine fix.

The rest of the day was put to more practical use. Groceries, some yard work, and another go round with the craft room. I did the top half of the closet and got that sorted, purged and rearranged. Now I actually have a space to store some of my older scrapbooks. I, also, sat down and worked on the book. This book tells me what is in each box and where the box is located in the craft room. My goal is to be able to go to the book when I am looking for something and not have to rip the room apart.

I found more things to send to the charity shops and more stuff to send to the garbage. I still have a ways to go but things are coming along nicely. 

I have cleaned out the ottoman in the living room so the current scrapbooks have a nice place to live. The older ones are now in the closet in the sewing room. I have pondered the "where to store the scrapbooks" question for a long time. At last and for now its been answered. Hallelujah!!

So the sucker punch. I knew they were  coming but it still hurt and knocked me on my butt when I got it. The PROPERTY TAX bill. The City assessed my property a while ago and I knew the taxes would be going up. Plus I was warned they could claw back two years. 2018 has not been my year for having my finances go my way so not much, hardly any ok fine....NO saving has been done. So basically its sell your kidney and pay the bill by the end of June (yes this June) or they start to charge interest. Crapstastic. Now what do I do??

Then the second sucker punch that I knew was coming but hoped would hold off decided to step up the pressure. My fridge, which for the longest time tended to freeze everything now barely keeps things cool. Its on its way out and I fear that death is going to happen sooner than later so I need to get it replaced. Crap, crap, crappity crap.

What to do, what to do. I HATE having to borrow money. So after many sleepless nights I remembered something from years ago when I purchased a small life insurance policy. I was told after a certain point in time you could take money out of it. Worth a try so  a few emails later and I have managed a small loan on my life insurance. Its enough to pay the taxes and get a fridge. Thank goodness. I am just waiting to get the cheque. I can safely say there will be no shingling at my house this year for sure. One as to put out the fires in order of priority. Everything is super important but one can only do so much.

On wards and up wards!!

Toodles Linda

I Don't Know What to Say or The Hits Just Keep on Coming

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I don't know what to say or what to share, there are so many things but its hard to know what to share here. I use writing to work things out for myself and this is one of the main places I write. So I will babble on and try to figure out what to say and what to keep to myself.

I went to a wedding this weekend, it was lovely. I did the usual thing of being excited to go, to thinking its way to much work to go, to being glad that I went. This was the son of a work mate. I have known this family for more than 30 years and I am so pleased they still think of me even though my work mate has passed away. It was so much fun to see Miss Miles again. I have missed her since she moved to New Brunswick with her husband. I had forgotten the joy and the fun she brings. She talked me into singing karaoke without being drunk for goodness sake. I will say we were a lot better than the majority of participants but it was all fun. Its been awhile since I put on the good clothes, slapped on the makeup and made an effort. Thankfully I had a pair of flats I could wear. Would have felt a bit stupid going in my running shoes. The knees say no to even a kitten heel these days. They also say no to dancing, which makes me super sad because I loved to dance.

I am still quilting on the quilt for myself. I need to get it done because I have a couple of more quilts to get made soon. I also have a lot of other things to make. I also have somethings I want to make for a certain new little girl on this planet. I cannot tell you how happy I am for that little family. I know its the life the Pilot always wanted and I am thrilled he had gotten it. I am also thrilled that the Carpenter and Buzy have gotten to be grandparents. Its so wonderful. If Miss Mouse and The Farmer have more that will just be icing on the cake and if not and this is is, its all good.

That's it for now. I know this post is short and boring but its the best I have.  This is not the place to visit the shit show my life is at the moment. Rest assured I will get through this, things will get better. I just need to figure out a solution or six. My life, my problems, my responsibility to fix it.

Yahoo for being a grown up

Toodles
Linda