Sunday Stuff

I was out front the other day and noticed this brave little flower, blooming for all it was worth in the absolute sea of weeds that have sprung up in the spit where my lilacs were. One small spot of beauty. A gift from the birds no doubt but it made me smile

Since this picture was taken there have been more blooms come and go. It makes me happy. The weeds not so much. Its been horribly hot and humid here so I have not gotten out to deal with them. Now the mosquitoes are incredible, clouds and clouds of them which makes outside work impossible for this old gal. The weeds can have there way for now. I hope the City will fog soon.

Currently I have lost a note book. |Its important, I keep scrapbooking stuff in it and I have no idea where it has gotten to. I am hoping it will turn up and not go the way of my craft task book. That one has gone and never resurfaced. I am thinking 'I have tucked it somewhere thinking it was a good idea at the time and it will be ages before I see it again. Sigh, when will I learn?

No plans for today. I have been managing to get some stuff done this week. Jobs that have been put off for far too long. For example my back door and upstairs wood work are fingerprint free for the first time in years. Still have not made it to the basement but all in good time.

All things in good time

Toodles

Linda

Picking up Broken Pieces

Its been a while since I posted. I have had one of those life events that comes from seemingly out of the blue, knocks your world upside down and then you need to gather up the broken pieces and carry on. My oldest nephew died. Just 49 years old and he is gone. This is not how things should be, it goes against the natural order of things but as always we don't get a lot of say in when the people we love take their leave of this world. 

I knew he was ill, I knew that health wise he struggled the last few years but I thought he was getting a handle on it all with the help of his doctors and that he would be here for some time. Certainly longer than my time. We all know not every story has the happy ending and the demons he fought won the day.The Bastards took him from us.

My heart grieves the most for his only child. Both parents gone now and while legally she is a adult, she is still a child herself. Thankfully she has her Grandma, who has been a constant for her for a long time. Our side of the family is not well known to her for a million reasons, not worth going into now. I just hope Grandma is here for some time yet for this sweet girls sake.

So yes in the day to day bread and butter details of life, his death will not cause a great ripple effect for me. We were in touch via text but not really frequently. I had not laid eyes on him for at least four years. That being said there has been a great big hole punched in the fabric of my  being,  A hole that will never be mended. It joins the others. I will always miss him. He was the first. So many firsts we shared, he and I. I loved him from before he was born and will never stop. I hate that he is gone from us. HATE IT

Now I am picking up pieces, getting on with life. My heart hurts. 

Linda

Tidbits on a Tuesday

So on Friday last week the No Cook ladies threw me a surprise retirement party. I was totally clueless. To be honest I had forgotten about it. They said they would but time passed, I moved on and never gave it a thought. They had done my parade, I figured it was covered so I put it out of my mind. They did not and they got me.

The wonderful thing about friends is if they are true good friends they indulge your own personal level of crazy, They run with it and celebrate it with you. So for my party, they embraced my love of all things Hiddleston and the results were awesome

 

His image was all over the yard. It made me giggle. He was with us in effigy, which tickled me to no end. I received the cutest piggy picture which has now taken up residence over the couch in my living room. Aside from Mr Hiddleston I am enchanted by all things pig. I received a basket of English themed snacks and all in all it was a very lovely fun filled night which still had a big stupid grin on my face the next day. I still smile when I think of it. My friends are the best.

Picture proof that yes the picture is up and over my couch. I still have some shuffling to do with the pictures that were originally there but I have a plan. One will be taken down and another will be moved to my bedroom.

I finished a baby quilt just yesterday. Its in the wash with my row by row quilt and I have not taken pictures of them yet. I will once they are fresh and clean. I cannot really post a picture of the baby quilt until the Grandma has seen it. That will happen very soon. I think I need to step back from quilts for a couple of days and get some other things done. Best Friend's quilt made with her Dad's ties is next up on the docket.

Today  I am just doing odd jobs, I haven't really slept in the last few days so I am mostly running on fumes. So far to day I have done some ironing. I know they are so out of style but I do love a doily. I starched and ironed a few of them today. I glued the cap back on the giant glass mushroom. I have put quilting material back where it belongs. I am hell on wheels getting stuff out but am a bit of a slow poke when it comes to putting it all away. Today I need to make a baby card, wrap a gift, take the garbage, recycle and compost out. I then need to make sure the dumpsters are in place for tomorrow's pick up. I desperately need to make a trip to the basement to turn on the water to the outside tap. In my world that almost overwhelms me and its such a simple thing for anyone else to do. I hang my head in shame but it is what it is. Oh well we shall see what happens.

Toodles

Linda

Nearly forgot

I hate to admit this because it makes me sound like a bit of a twit but I gone to check twice now for something I intended to mention in my post only to find that I have not actually done the post. I am going to blame it on the fact that I am trying out the NEW BLOGGER. Why they need to keep changing things that work perfectly fine I shall never know but they do. So here we are giving the new system a whirl.

I finally got the back flower bed weeded!! I am so happy. All of the hostas were poking their little heads up through the dirt so I could locate them. I have four new ones to plant in there and I do think I will need at least three more to complete the hosta bed. Here are some before and after pictures

Somehow I managed to remove the cap off of the large glass mushroom. Nothing broke but the hold that the glue had on it so I can repair it. This is the after party:

One of these fine days I will complete the planting and all will be well in my world. Actually all is well in my world most of the time. I have some trees to trim and some rearranging to do but its all getting there. My neighbour was going to use a portion of my flower bed but his plans have changed. I had been hoping he would dig it up as its a weedy mess but that is on me now. Crap. He says he may use it next year. Well I think I am going to go ahead and plant some shrubs there because he has not followed through on much he has said he would do, like cutting down the trees and planting my flower bed. Best to just get on with it and do what pleases me. Lilac bushes and lilies please me. On the list for next year.

The Hostess was in town on Monday and she very kindly treated me to lunch. I have to say it was very strange to be going out to a restaurant after all this time/ We had delicious Chinese food and got caught up on our lives. It was also wonderful to be going out for lunch on a school day and not have to panic about getting back to work on time. Retirement still is new and wonderful and full of happy surprises

Today the last row of my row by row quilt is up on Facebook. I have to sew it up, attach it and quilt the row. I have as much of the quilt done as I can do. Its sewn, quilted and bound right up to the last row

I have so enjoyed this project. I will of course be sharing a picture once it is all completed. I also got the material to make a baby quilt for a friend, in the mail today. I have a super cute pattern figured out for it and I cannot wait to get going on it so I can show it off.

On this last Friday, the No Cook group celebrated KitKat's birthday. Cars were decorated. This pink beauty was on top of The Banker's car with signs announcing the birthday girl's special day. He then moved to the yard to be in more pictures

We played highland games. Tossed rocks, tossed cabers and did some golf (mini golf but golf non the less)

It was so much fun I think these highland games need to become a yearly event. We had barbecued hot dogs and potato salad with cake to complete the event.

And we photographed the whole deal because 4 of us are scrapbookers!!

In spite of the sun the wind was chilly but we hung in there and had just a great time. I love these women.

Well there now I finally got a blog post done/

Toodles

Linda

And It Goes On and On

The yard work continues and while the going is slow, I am on track with my planned out timetable and I am getting it done myself. //getting it done myself is the biggest deal for me. The weeds had a heyday and were totally running amok.

Thankfully the little shrubs that were planted last year all survived the winter and are coming back this year. Here we go with the before and after pictures.

Not sure why the pictures are sideways but it doesn't matter you can see all the weeds at any angle. They are lush and plentiful.

I just realized this year that I do not weed correctly. I do the rip their heads off method. The Banker digs and loosens the soil then she can pull out the root as well. This would be a far smarter method and one I shall try to do in future. It would make it easier in the long run.

I may plant a hosta or two by the glass mushrooms in future. I cannot tell you how happy that little bush in the corner makes me. Its at least the third one that has been planted since I killed the old one and its the only one that finally took root and may actually be growing.  I love the bright green of the leaves. (Oh I can hear my neighbour mowing our lawns even as we speak. I like that.)

This is the front host bed. I was not sure they were coming back as I could not see them but its amazing what shows up once you move a ton of weeds out of the way. Best of all is I have the front yard finished and next week I will move into the back yard and weed the big flower bed. That is going to be a job and a half. At least now the hostas will be coming up and I can weed round them.
I have more hostas to plant back there. I want to fill the entire bed with them. They look so nice and take no maintenance.

All those leaves in the lawn disappear when its mowed and just look green. I have no idea what they are but I keep throwing down grass seed hoping the grass will choke them out.

At least the place looks like someone cares a bit about it. I need to get my garden hose out of the shed and get the water to the outside tap turned on so I can water without having to carry water from the kitchen. My neighbour is going to up plug my downspouts at some point which will make me happy.
I am missing out on some lovely rain water.

I have tried the quilt as you go method on my row by row quilt and I have to say I am still not a fan. I have done it before but I am not good at it.

Where 

While I like the ease of quilting each row on its own, I do not like the wobbly uneven look of the finished product. I am not skilled enough to make it close to perfect so I am scrapping this idea. I am going to sew the top all together and then quilt it like I normally would. I am happier with that plan of action.

Today I will work on it. I did little to nothing but a bit of weeding yesterday. I still have to get my weekends figured out. I always used Saturday as a get the errands done, do the housework kind of day and then Sunday was laundry and crafts. I can do housework, errands and laundry on week days now so I have to find a purpose for Saturday. Sunday is all crafts but Saturdays find me a bit lost. I will figure it out in time. The smart thing would be to use Saturdays for baking and making some meals ahead. Time will tell if I do the smart thing.

The weather this weekend has been so fabulous. Saturday there was a lot of veranda sitting and soaking up the days. This is my sort of weather and I know its not going to last, I am making it a mission to take in as much of it as I possibly can. I love these days.

Time to get sewing!!

Toodles
Linda

Little Acorns

At long last I have stopped talking and started actually doing..............the yard work that is. To harp on a tired old subject I cannot do all the things I used to do, little as that was. To give you the condensed version, it hurts, plain and simple as that.  It hurts before, it hurts worse during and worse again after. The downside is if I don't push on I will loose what little I have left, not to mention the fact that I really want to do this stuff for myself. I want to be independent and I am not good at asking for help. I do it but I do not want to become one of those people that makes others cringe when she shows up, wondering "what is she going to ask for now?"

That being said,  I did have to ask for help in getting my flowers. The Banker (bless her golden heart) went out this week and burned through my list in record time.

In no time at all my veranda was loaded with the necessities and I had the wherewithal to get the yard looking nice. Just have to get the stuff from the veranda into beds in the yard.

I finally got myself together yesterday and made a little start. I planted up four plant pots and Mom's old washtub

I got mostly red and white petunias this time around Feeling rather Canada proud this year. Mom always planted petunias in her wash tub and I do it now in her memory.

I then had a little rest and managed to tackle the peony bed. It needed a good weeding and I managed to give it a half hearted going over

I need to find the clippers and cut down the old brown stalks. A good sweep of the path and that will be as good as I can get it. I will then work my way around the yard. I had hoped to plant marigolds today but its raining. Oh well, I am rather stiff and sore from yesterday. I know I have to keep at it. I know its not much and its not the best job but I am pleased and proud of it.

My neighbour mowed my lawn which makes things look good. He has also said he will unplug my downspouts for me which is one more job ticked off the list.

Right now I am going to get a coffee and go sit on the veranda and listen to the rain for a bit. Then I will come back to the sewing room and work on quilts for the remainder of the day. My idea of a good plan.

Toodles
Linda

Long Weekend has Come and Gone

Finally the weather has warmed and the furnace has stopped running and it looks like we might actually get some proper spring weather. Makes my heart sing. I spent a good deal of time on the veranda this weekend, on my own and entertaining. Again it made my heat sing, That veranda is, without a doubt, my favourite spot in the house.

This pandemic nonsense had made us become inventive with how we interact with folk and once again my veranda has made me happy. There is enough space out there that I can have someone come to visit and we can social distance. Weather permitting of course.

This weekend Teddy Bear came

KitKat arrived with supper in hand and we dined al fresco

The Nurse stopped by with Breakfast biscuits and coffee and we chatted the morning away

All were most welcome and made the weekend wonderful. The most unexpected treat of the veranda shenanigans was a sweet treat brought to me by Princess Diva. Saturday morning she stopped by and left me these

Sweet treats from a local bakery, OMG they were sooo delicious. It was a lovely, generous, unexpected treat from a very kind friend. I inhaled them as soon as possible. So yummy

I even had a little feline visitor this weekend. This big orange fella stopped in for a pet and a head scratch and to provide a reminder that I do have a soft spot for big orange cats.

I have never seen him before, and have no idea where he came from but we had a nice little moment. He has the prettiest pale blue eyes. So we canoodled for a bit and then he wandered off to places unknown. No collar but he looked well fed and cared for. He was friendly so I am thinking someones pet out for a stroll. (Yes I am in bare feet, deal with it)

So the house keeping continues to stay on the better side and has not gone back to the dark side so far. I have been crafting up a storm. Knitting dishcloths

I have a plan for these., so I am busy making a lot of them. I have been working on quilts as well. The pile of works in progress grows each day

My row by row quilt project via facebook continues on. I think we only have two more weeks of it before its done

I had a bit of a panic because I thought I had run out of the pale yellow material but thanks to my quilt scrap sort out, I found enough to get the quilt finished. Whew!!

Busy shared with me, a picture of a quilt she had made for Sweet Pea. I loved the pattern so much I made a crib quilt with it from scraps on hand. Hers was all beautiful blues and greens but I went with what was on hand. 

Its all quilted now but I have not taken the finished picture yet. The Banker found me some quilt batt at the local Walmart so I am good to go on the quilts for a while. I will keep this little quilt on hand for a gift or a donation item. Those situations crop up now and then and I just gave my last little quilt and toddler afghan to a family that had a house fire. I need to restock.

I made a pie on the weekend. I saw the recipe on YouTube and it only took three ingredients. Lemon Ice Box pie. It was super easy and rather tasty and made with things you would have in the house. I cheated and bought a graham cracker crust. I could have made one but I like the bought ones better.

I have yet to get myself organised to bake bread. Its on my radar to do I just have to wait until I get in the mood. Yeast is as scarse as hen's teeth so I am looking at trying a soda bread. Because I use it for cleaning I have a good supply of baking soda. 

Today I have not accomplished too much so far. I plan to wash up the towels and cleaning rags. I need to put the dumpsters out as tomorrow is garbage day. I have a bin of compost to move from the veranda to the green bin. Not a terribly big list but I bet I can make it take up the entire day. I may start purging drawers as well.

I finally cleaned out behind my chair in the living room. Its like the back seat of the car, a great place to toss things that should not be tossed back there. Its all cleaned up now and all I can do is hang my head in shame, and try to not let it happen again.

My next quilt to start working on is for Best Friend. She brought me a bunch of her Dad's ties and asked it I could make her a quilt. More than happy to do that for her. I have found a pattern that pleases me, Now I need to get the material together and get doing on it. Fun times!!

Toodles

Linda