Half-Way There ... Just in Time for the End of the Year!

I have just over half of the carpet in my living room torn up at this time, and the new sofa and love seat were delivered promptly at 11am this morning, so I have somewhere comfortable but not quite de-cluttered to sit in the living room once again.

I had been thinking that when I got everything squared away I might move the credenza from the entry way into the living room on the one wall without a chair/sofa/love seat on it, to be able to use it for storage and be able to set the bird cage back up on it once more, but upon further reflection it looks like it may stick out too far into the living room and take up too much space.

Perhaps when I have some spare funds I will try to pick up another shelving unit like the one I got recently for the main bathroom ... it has four shelves and is functional as well as beautiful, and doesn't take up the same amount of space used by a full book shelf.

We shall see.  After all, I don't know WHEN (or even if) I will have any spare funds in 2014.

Oh, well .....

Happy New Year!

Living Room Re-Vamp

My living room is going to get a bit of a re-vamp today and tomorrow.  My loveseat and one chair have finally started giving up the ghost very quickly, so on Boxing Day I went furniture shopping with Maxx, and found a sofa and loveseat I like, which will be delivered tomorrow.

So, that means today I want to pull up carpet in the living room, at least where the new furniture will be placed.  I also want to wash my living room curtains, as they really need it. 

What with pulling up the carpet, moving furniture around, and generally de-cluttering, hopefully I'll have a tidy, cozy living room all set up and ready to go for Jan 1st.  It would be lovely to have a room with good vibes to hold my New Moon ceremony that night!

Apparently it's fairly rare to start off the New Year with a New Moon, with the last one being 19 years ago.

Maybe that means this one will bring me luck!

Tough Week

It's been a tough week not just because it was the holidays, but also because it's the first holidays I've spent without my husband, since he moved out in November ... but I was also suffering from a stomach flu since Monday, and only finally feeling better (but still no great) today, which is Saturday.

Here's hoping that 2014 is a better year.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Bright Yule, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza ... whatever your holiday season is, hope you have one filled with love, laughter, and family.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve and it's just about time for me to put on some nice clothes and head up the road to my sister-in-law's, as she invited me for dinner this evening.  I've already got my Santa bag at her place, filled with about 30 random dollar store items purchased over the past 8-10 years (so I have NO idea what most of them are, as each year I wrap the new items I pick up), so that we can play a little "Dirty Santa" for our gift pull.

We'll write everyone's name down and pop it into a bowl or other container, then pull out the names and as your name is pulled, you get to pick a present from the bag.  The second person has the option of keeping their gift or swapping it out with the first person, the third person can keep theirs or swap with the other two, etc, on down the line.  After the last person pulls their gift, the first person (who hasn't so far had a choice) can decide if they want to keep what they have now, or want to swap with someone else.  I figure this way, if the kids pull something that they have no interest in as it's too adult, they have a way to get something better ... I just hope we don't end up with arguments between them.  I figure we can go through the list a couple of times, as there's lots of presents in the bag!

Down in the Dumps

Woke up with Smokey asking for food, then while waiting for him to finish eating and use the litter box so I could scoop, sat down at the computer to play a few turns of a word game I'm involved online.  While trying to figure out some good words to use for my next turn, I hear Smokey finally using the litter box, then have to get up and chase the dogs out of the bathroom so I can quickly scoop, to keep things clean and less tempting, then I come out of the bathroom to find Imp having a pee on my laundry hamper.  So angry!

Got him and Elf outside so they could go for a potty break, and got my laundry started so I can hopefully get it both washed and dried before I have to leave for work.

At least I don't see any snow on the ground, and hopefully we don't get any before 7am tomorrow morning, as Maxx will have to drive me to work today, then when he starts at 9pm when I get off, I'll have to drive home, then back in to pick him up at 7am tomorrow.  At least the 7am trip will be provided with some sort of daylight, it will be pitch black when I'm driving home tonight.  I have horrible night vision, so I really hope it is neither rainy, snowy, nor sleety, so I can drive as safely as possible.

Now, I need to figure out what to do with the remains of my poor wee Buttercup.  I hate the thought of just tossing him in the trash like he meant nothing to me, but I don't really have anywhere to bury him (particularly so as to not then have the cats or dogs dig him up).  What a horrible way to start off my work week.

Sad Day

Started off as a pretty decent day today.  Maxx and I ran some errands, then had lunch at Smitty's (and bought lunch for a little elderly lady who was there by herself and looked somewhat unhappy and lonely), then went to see The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.

When I left the house in the morning, all my pets were their usual selves, including both budgies, Summer and Buttercup.

When I got home, Buttercup was lethargic, and didn't eat much when I was feeding them (lately I've been trying to get them to eat out of my hand, as they were not hand-reared and have always been aloof, although I love the pretty little things).  Later, I found Buttercup sprawled on the bottom of the cage, and thought perhaps he had caught a chill.  I got the budgie house (basically a plush tent that hangs from the top of the cage, giving them somewhere they can snuggle and be extra-warm) set back up, and gently placed Buttercup in it after oh-so-carefully getting him off the bottom of the cage (he had quite a grip on the bottom bars), so he could be comfortable and warm.

Just a little while ago, I heard some fluttering and bumping, and found Buttercup sprawled on the bottom of the cage again.  I picked the poor little thing up and held him for a bit, and he passed away in my hands.

I feel so sorry for my beautiful little yellow budgie.  He may not have had any affection for me, but I've always loved them and thought they were so cute the way they would cuddle and snuggle together, even to the extent of giving each other beaky little kisses.  Now sweet little Summer is all alone.

I won't be getting another budgie (or at least not for a long time), so hopefully Summer will keep eating out of my hand and eventually feel comfortable giving me some affection.

Going to be a long, sad, teary day in the office tomorrow.

Late Invite

So, yesterday my husband stopped by on the way out to go grocery shopping, and was talking to me about Christmas Eve dinner, knowing he would be working but I would have that day off.  He was wondering if I was going to my sister-in-law's for Christmas Eve, with the update that it would be a light meal, since there was going to be turkey for Christmas.  When I indicated I hadn't thought about it as I hadn't actually been invited yet, I think he was surprised, then minutes afterwards I received a phone call from my sister-in-law to formally invite me for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinner.  I accepted for Christmas Eve (I'll take up presents for the kids at that time), but declined Christmas Day as her house is going to be really full already with three adults and two kids (and her table barely sits two adults and two kids), plus I had made plans for myself for Christmas Day since I hadn't heard anything up to that point.

I  checked one dollar store today to see if they had a "Santa Sack", but no luck, so hopefully when running my errands tomorrow I'll be able to find one.  I'd like to get one as usually when we actually get around to celebrating Yule, we have a "gift pull" where I have lots of really inexpensive gives wrapped and in a box (think $2 or less each), from which everyone then gets to pull at least one present, depending on the numbers of people present and how many gifts I have all set to go.  I've actually still got gifts left over from previous years ... and no idea what they are at this point! ... and am hoping I can get a Santa bag to put them in as the wrapped box I have used before is giving up the ghost and looking pretty ratty.  Plus, a Santa bag would be a nice snazzy way to carry and present them.  I figure if I go up Christmas Eve, the kids presents can go under the tree, but everyone can pull at least one present from the bag (or box if all else fails).  Hopefully everyone finds that fun.

Blah Humbug

Feeling very under the weather with a nasty head cold, plus the weather is grey and gloomy (but not cold enough for snow any longer), plus the thought of being forced to give away one or more of my pets to be able to convince my husband to move back home ... the holidays definitely are shaping up to be "Blah Humbug" ones for me this year.

However, on the Monday or Tuesday before Christmas I plan on purchasing a nice prime rib steak to cook up for my Yule dinner, with some potatoes, sour cream, and cheddar cheese, to make myself a batch of potatoes romanov to go along with them.  I haven't actually been invited over to my sister-in-law's for Christmas, and I would never presume to show up uninvited, so I am planning on Christmas by myself with the pets.

...And if I then get the "why aren't you coming for Christmas" question, I will mention the fact that nobody actually invited me ...

Holiday Blahs

Although I my next three weekends in a row are each three-day long weekends, and I have Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day off ... I have the holiday blahs this year.

It's damp, dull and chilly out, and I'm a bit lonely for people company with my husband having moved out, although the dogs and cats give me lots of love.

Just going to be one of those years where while the time not working is nice, the time off itself isn't a celebration of anything.

De-Cluttering

The past few weeks I've been slowly working at de-cluttering my home.  The other day when going through some boxes, I actually found paperwork I had saved from my job in Richmond prior to moving to Vancouver Island back in 2004.  I can understand why I kept some of it, as there was a possibility suggested that they might consider letting me work from home from Nanaimo ... but most of it was absolutely useless!  Lots of paper added to my recycling!  I've actually generated somewhat of a pile of empty boxes in my living room, which I hope to add to box up some of the other stuff in the house which we don't want to get rid of, but which could be tucked away safely in a closer (and clearly labelled to be easy to find again in the future), such as our Star Wars books, which I don't think I have even cracked open in the past decade.

Once I get everything squared away, I hope to be able to put up a few shelves here and there and actually get some of our nicer items on display, to make our house look really classy, instead of a messy dive!

First Snow

Well, not REALLY the first snow, but it's the first snow of MY winter season.  Right now it's just a dusting of those tiny wee flakes which float down oh-so-silently and slowly start to show on the ground and other surfaces out in the yard.

Here's hoping I can get out and get my errands done fairly early today, then ....

......

LET IT SNOW!

I'd love to get a nice big dump of snow, and get out with the wee dogs to film them playing in it.

Positive Feedback

I posted my recent painting on Facebook as well as here on my blog, looking for feedback.  At first all I got were likes, no comments, but when I mentioned that everyone was being too nice with no critiques, a co-worker said she didn't feel she was able to criticize as she can't draw, but that she really liked the colours.   Then earlier today, she suggested I do a children's story to go along with the painting, as she just feels like reading to kids when she looks at it.  How's that for positive feedback!  Now I feel I need to plumb my creativity and do a series of connected paintings on a similar theme, and see if I can actually write a kids book.  I could try to get good photos of the paintings and publish it online, perhaps?

Something to mull over!

Rusty

Today I actually did my first painting in well over 8 years.  Looks like a kid or beginner did it, I personally think.  Acrylic on 8x10 canvas, calling it "Calling the Wind".

What do you think?

November Strawberries ... Noooo!

The other day as Maxx and I were heading out of the house ... I believe for me to go in to work for my in-office day, I noticed that the three strawberries which were almost ripe on my plants HAD BEEN PICKED BY SOMEONE ELSE!  Grrr!  I was looking forward to having a couple of ripe strawberries in November.  Oh, well, I do have a few more coming along, I do believe, as well as a few flowers, although I am not sure if they will produce or if they are giving up the ghost at this point.

"Everbearing" is definitely the name for these strawberries, though!  Whoever heard of still getting fresh strawberries from the garden in November?

October Fog Fest

Looking out my window the past few days, fog has been blanketing the area to a greater or lesser degree.  Some people I've spoken with have had the attitude "Well, there's nothing we can do about it", but to me, it's a lovely chance to enjoy this pearly luminescence that we don't get to see on a regular basis.  The fog horn calling in the distance is a reminder to slow down, relax, sit back and enjoy!

Autumn Sunshine

Seems like this year as soon as fall hit in late September we have had green rainy days back to back to back ... with some really stormy ones thrown in for good measure.  However, today has been a lovely sunny day with blue skies and a balmy breeze.  Today happens to be my Sunday, and my niece's birthday, so all in all it's a good day to be alive!

Fruits of My Labours

Not that my labours are in any way done yet ... but so far while on vacation we have dried 10 pounds of plums, a bunch of bananas (although these still need to be dipped in a honey/water mixture, possibly with cinnamon added, and re-dried), some apples, and about 7-8 pounds of nectarines which just went into the dehydrator earlier today.

We still have a few nectarines left, and 10 pounds of peaches, and most of our 20 pounds of apples (when we cored, peeled and sliced them, we only ended up using 4-5 at the time, so the box essentially hasn't been touched).

Hopefully all these dried fruits turn out.  I did also dry some peppers from my garden earlier in the summer, which are now in storage.  Once I get the current fruit dried, I will look into perhaps drying some more veggies, and some more fruit ... maybe doing up some fruit leather.  We also want to do up some jerky.

After we have a chance to try some of these items, it will be nice to know whether or not my efforts to squirrel away food without it having to go through the same type of processing as commercially available food are successful.

Summer Winding Down

The summer months seem to have flown past and are winding down now, with the last four mornings being very foggy (still foggy out there now and it's past noon).  Days and nights are getting cooler, school is back in session, and my pepper and tomato plants have come to an end of their productivity.

Unfortunately, it took so long for the gleaners to respond to the voicemail messages I left over the past couple of weeks that they wouldn't pick our plums.  They said too many had fallen and although there are still a bunch left on the tree, they are too high for them to reach so the yield wouldn't be worth their while.  Too bad I can either climb a ladder (very shakily and with my heart in my mouth) or I can pick plums, I can't do both ... so no plums to process this year for storage unless I can find someone else who is able to climb and pick for us.

Angel was stung by a wasp on Wednesday, her little face swelled up on Thursday afternoon and then her throat Thursday night.  She started having hives pop up over her body and was horribly itchy, even when she was trying to sleep she was squirming and thrashing around, so I wound up having a completely sleepless night that night, what with her tossing and turning and me making sure that her throat didn't swell up so much to stop her from breathing.  A few days of Benadryl and she seems to be completely hive-free and the swelling is gone ... thank goodness!

Today is the first day of my two week summer vacation, so while I have some house work type chores I need to complete, while I wait for laundry to finish washing, so I can then do a load of dishes, I am going to kick back and relax with a hot iced tea.

Life Changes

Looks like my sister-in-law and her two children will be moving to town a bit sooner than originally planned.  You know it's time to leave when your soon-to-be ex-husband tells you that he wont "let" you get a divorce and won't "let" you move out.  Yikes!

On a positive note, can't wait to have some family in town and have lots of plans to take them to the waterfront to walk the dogs, go swimming, go crabbing, get ice cream on the promenade, etc, also to take walks out at Piper's Lagoon and Neck Point Park, have day visits out at Coombs at the Country Market, and check out the local farmer's markets.  Not to mention lazy weekend days hanging out in the back yard (hope to have the pavillion erected tomorrow afternoon, but we'll see).

Lucky Lotto!

I don't really know whether it's sad or funny that winning $20 on my lotto ticket this morning made me so feel so excited and rich!

Where Does The Weekend Go?

Here it is getting close to 4pm on my Saturday, and I still don't know if there are going to be people over at my house tomorrow or if Maxx is going over to their house ... but dishes are almost completely done, draino sitting in the bathtub drain right now to see if we can clear the slow drain, bathroom floor has been mopped (although I think I do want to do it a second time).  In a few minutes I can go rinse out the draino, then clean the bathroom sink, etc, and mop a second time, finish off the next batch of dishes, then later once Maxx is up I'm going to vaccuum.

If the game isn't here tomorrow, it looks like I will have the house clean enough to feel I can do some painting, as long as it's light enough (the kitchen light isn't good enough on grey days).

Guess we'll see.

Wet Days

We've had a bunch of wet days in a row ... some of them VERY wet at times, so garden work has been  moving along either very very slowly or on some days not at all.

I do have a second planter with herb pockets set up now, with the addition of parsley, sage, thyme (rosemary is already in the first one!) and topped off with a buttercup lettuce, as I couldn't find more herbs I wanted at the time.

Hopefully Saturday is a half-decent day and I can get more work done outside.  Go figure that I took two days off this weekend, so I had a four-day weekend, and it was rainy rainy rainy.

But at least we did get out to the archery range twice, on Monday and Tuesday evenings, and spent about 2 hours each day doing archery practice.  On Monday the Archery Club was meeting, so there were 28 of us knocking and loosing (made it a bit crowded, but nice to see such interest!), then the next day there were two older gentlemen there before us, who provided us with an orange sticker of a turkey head to stick to the target and give us something specific to aim for, then later a family of four showed up (two small kids) with all of them doing archery, even the little wee girl.

I actually damaged the fletching on one of my arrows, so I'm down one ... but I did also hit the turkey in the nose so I would have killed it!

Light Gardening

Got five bags of seed potatoes planted today, purchased one of those many-pocketed plant pots and some rosemary, basil, and oregano to plant in it along with my sweet marjoram, then got out to the back yard and dug up more weeds from the hopefully soon-to-be garden area.

Wish I could just wave a magic wand and have the soil tilled, ready to build the raised beds and get some more plants in the ground!

Bonus Weekend

Well, I haven't actually started work yet and I'm already counting down the hours/minutes until I get off later tonight (9 hours and 49 minutes) ... then when I'm off it's the start of my weekend.  Using 16 hours of my banked time, which got approved for Monday and Tuesday, and making it a four-day weekend.

Of course, the weather report is calling for rain starting tomorrow and lasting longer than the weekend, so it's uncertain how much work in the yard will get done.  If it's raining too hard, I'll see if we can clear some stuff out of the storage room, build the second shelving unit we bought to go in there, and get some more organizing done (it's a wonder what the first unit did for the order in that room).

Hot!

Got Angel and Imp out for a doggy walk down at the waterfront earlier today, and just got back inside from digging in the garden for just over an hour ....

...And it's HOT out!

Okay, maybe it's only currently 21 degrees, but it's gorgeously sunny and sure feels much hotter in the sun (particularly when doing hard manual labour).

I thought I'd best take a break, I don't want to overdo it and get heat stroke or hurt my back ... but I've done a fairly good job at getting out all the blackberry cane bases in the garden section of the yard, and am currently working on digging loose the mound of dirt in front of the apple tree, to loosen it so that we can then level the garden.  The half of the garden nearest the house does still need a good weeding, but it doesn't seem to have the same blackberry cane bases that I was dealing with in the rest of the garden, mostly just generic weeds that have to be dug up.

I'm running out of places to put the weeds, though!  Currently I have a large blue barrel about the size of a garbage can filled with the blackberry bits and roots I've been digging up, along with other random weeds dealt with at the same time and some pieces of branch I've cleared out as I've moved around the garden.

Have to figure out what to do with it before I go much further in that sort of work.  Plus I have a pail which is filling up with random pieces of garbage ... old plant markers, an empty bullet case or something which looks much like it, piece of a pen, a broken piece of cutlery ... you name it, seems like other folks just figured the garden was also a midden for them to toss their random trash into previously.

Ah, well, we're getting closer and closer to actually having the beds in so I can start getting plants into the ground!

Victory!

Well, as of yesterday morning, our west side of the fence out back is fully replaced (although on the second half, the fence posts were not planted as uniformly for height as they were for the first half ... that's what happens when people try to rush things and I wasn't supervising!), and we even had a single panel left over to put up on the back fence on the western corner, as that part had about half of the fence boards kicked out by vandal teenagers.

Hopefully this new fence will last for a long time and not be ruined by either the folks passing through the alley, or the blackberries from next door.  I vow to be very dedicated to making sure blackberries and morning glory do not take hold on my side again, and will have to go into the vacant lot from time to time to cut back on that side, I guess, to keep the fence safe.

Next project is the garden, getting it levelled, pulling out the stunted apple tree, and getting the raised beds set up, then after that's on the go and I can start getting plants actually into the ground, we'll get the pavilion set up out back as well.

Lots of plans for work still to be done ... but not much time to do it with our schedules as we only have one day off together on our weekends in May (and that one day being one on which Maxx gets off work at 7am that morning, so it usually winds up being a very short day together), and we don't have any time off together in June.

Slow Progress

Slow progress in two areas right now ... last weekend we didn't get anything done on putting up the new fence, so that's work for hopefully later today, and for tomorrow (here's hoping we manage to get the whole side put up).

Also slow progress ... but progress nonetheless ... I've been back into using my food and exercise tracking app on my phone, and from about 258 at the beginning of the year, as of this morning I weighed in at 235.8. Considering I've just been a bit more active, not specifically exercising, and just being aware of what I'm eating and not necessarily on a diet, I figure a loss of 22.2 pounds so far this year isn't too bad ... but I certainly do look forward to the day when I am finally back in "1-derland".

Thinking about it, if I've lost that much in 3 1/2 months, another 5 months or so on the same rate and I might have reached that first goal.  My end goal is to get down to 150 pounds or so, though, and just be a healthier, happier, SMALLER me.

Busy Month

Wow, didn't realize I hadn't been on here in almost a month.

We've been pretty busy on our weekends, what with tearing down the yard fence on the west side (really, just finishing the work the blackberries had done), pulling up the remnants of the garden fence (again, destroyed by blackberries), and pulling down the small potting shed beside the house.  We've now got the fence almost all down, except for the panel right at the end, and hopefully today we will be out in the yard this afternoon, sinking new posts and installing our new fencing panels.

Once the fence is done, making it safe once more for our dogs to be outside without constant "eyes on" supervision, we'll be able to start on the base of the raised garden beds.  I'm thinking we may need to pull out the wee apple tree.  Where it's placed, if it's allowed to thrive it blocks access to the back of the garden, and it's never really done well anyhow.  If we do pull it out, in other areas of the yard I'd like to plant a cherry tree, and possibly a nectarine tree (since Maxx doesn't like the fuzz on peaches).  We'd have to see what's available at nurseries.  I know cherry trees are available!

Anyhow, off to scrounge up something for breakfast, waiting for Maxx to finish getting some sleep so we can get up and at 'em!

Sunny Sunday

Woke up to a frosty morning today, and it's a nice sunny Sunday out, but I'm feeling bleh.  Hopefully I will perk up enough in a bit to head out and work on those darned blackberries, or be able to force myself to do so, but at the moment I think I want to sit down somewhere with a hot drink and just be quietly awake.

Happy St Patrick's Day, to all those who celebrate!

Jury Duty

I got an envelope from the Ministry of Justice, Sheriff Services today, and when viewing the yellow paper inside through the envelope window I assumed I'd been mailed a traffic camera ticket, which ticked me off ...

Imagine my dismay when upon opening the envelope I found that there was no ticket (which keeps my driving/parking history lifetime no tickets), I found instead a summons for Jury Duty, to present myself to the court on April 22nd, for a trial which is estimated to last about 5 days.

I've been pretty worried about this, wondering how I would be able to manage to pay my bills when losing half of my paycheque and only receiving $20/day compensation, but I've dug around in my work site and found that as long as I sign over the $20/day stipend to work, instead of this being an unpaid leave (which is what the jury duty information site told me is required by my work place to provide), they will pay for up to two weeks of being off for jury duty.

Wheew!  BIG sigh of relief!

Now, if only my brain can stop buzzing trying to figure out how we're going to deal with the garden and fence this spring, to get the one dug up and set up properly and the other replaced, maybe I could actually get some sleep .....

Nighty night!

Garden Grind

Too grey and drizzly out today for me to want to go out and work in the garden, but yesterday on my lunch hour Maxx was able to join me out there for a while and we worked more on the "battle of the blackberries". I figure we have the 40'x12' garden patch about 50% cleared of blackberry cane at this time (perhaps a little less), so hopefully on the weekend I'll have decent weather and be able to get most of the rest done.

I'm hoping we'll be able to get some of those railway ties or garden ties, whatever they are called (large rounded wooden beams) that we can lay around the garden area as a marker, with the surface area of the garden covered by black landscaper's plastic, then get a load of gravel (figure about 100 cubic feet would do), to cover in the entire area for a base, to help keep down the intrusive plants like berry cane and morning glory, and form a good base on which to build our raised beds, which can be open-bottomed and then drain through the gravel.  We could either build the base of my planned beds one slat or board high all around, to get a start on them and have more surface area, or install the beds to full  height in stages possibly, although if we were to make them low to start off with I'd have more planting area to work with right away, and could build up another level in the fall after the growing season is over.

When we work on the garden we then need to get started on the fence right away, as we'll have to replace the fence edging around the garden as we get it set up, then we can work our way out from there.  We're hoping we'll be able to extend the fence along the side of the house to go around and enclose the front yard eventually, too, with a nice little gate with an archway overhead for access.  Give us a little more privacy, and would look nice ... and in theory be one of those things that would increase the value of our home when it comes time for selling or redoing the mortage (next year)!

Lovely Grey Sunday

It's a lovely grey Sunday out, with the air soft, a gentle breeze, and so far no rain.

We just got back from a stroll around Maffeo Sutton Park with the dogs.  There weren't as many other dogs at the park today for us to meet, and the parking lot was mostly empty, but we did have a few meetings which on the whole went rather well ... Imp actually met more dogs without yapping today than he met and yapped at!

Actually used my step tracking pedometer to keep track of the intensity of the walk and how long at each intensity, so that I could then use that to record in my diet/exercise app on my phone.  Now, I need to have something for breakfast -- or brunch may be more appropriate at this time -- then a while later if it's still not raining get out and work more in the yard trying to clear out some more blackberries.

We did get the mason bee house installed before we went out for our walk, though, so I do also need to remember to tape the box of coccoons to the bottom of the house so when the weather warms up just a wee bit and they hatch, all is good and their home is right there for them.  I do hope that I end up with lots of filled coccoons to return to Rose at the end of the summer, and that I have enough in the ground and blooming that not only do the bees have lots of fodder, but I get lots of pollination done!

Spring is Springing!

And my giant crimson radish starters that have been outside in the greenhouse are starting to sprout ... soon I expect to see more of my starters coming up.  I guess I should do another batch of radishes to have more ready to go in the ground soon.

So excited!

Now, need to go change clothes and head out to the back yard to whack down some blackberry ... or at least to put some garden soil in planters and bring some inside for setting up more starters in paper pots.

The garden is getting started!!!!

Stonkered

Whew, just having something small like an apple and some grapes for dinner tonight, the lunch I made today was awesome, but really filling!

Chopped up 1/4 of an onion and a whole orange pepper, sauteed them with a not-quite 8 oz steak, and cut the steak into strips, did up a bundle of vermicelli noodles (or glass noodles as I call 'em), and some rice paper, to make myself some wraps for lunch, with spicy Thai chili sauce on the side for dipping.  Yummy yummy lunch, but I was awfully full by the time I finished it, I can tell you!

Good thing I've got lots of fruit in the house right now so having a fruity kind of dinner, and makes me feel good to be ending the day on such a healthy note!

Maxx remembered to get batteries for the scale the other day, so we're both able to keep track again ... nice to know that since I started up the Lose It! app on my phone a few years back, I've gained a total of 3 pounds.  Now I just want to be really good again about recording what I eat and what exercise I get and start reversing that number and getting toned and back into shape.  It's a good goal!

Order In!

Received my order from West Coast Seeds in the mail yesterday (of course the delivery took place while I was on a conference call meeting for work, setting off the dogs and interrupting things even though I didn't go to the door!).  All the seeds are ordered in my container, as I've tried to arrange them so that they are in the order I would start them indoors or direct sow them outdoors, trying to get things planted at the correct times to actually produce for us this year.  The potato bags look cool.  With the six I should be able to stagger plantings, with the seed potatoes I have right now waiting to sprout far enough then being placed into two of the bags, then I'll get some more seed potatoes and use those for the second two bags.  I'll have to decide if I then want to get a third batch for the last two bags, or if I want to use them for something like my cucumbers or squash ... I think I may go that route as it will give them a container from which to cascade their vines and hopefully produce more.  Or possibly I will end up getting some more potato bags!

It's been grey and rainy at lunches, though, so I haven't been out to work on the garden.  Maxx's D&D game scheduled for Sunday was called off, so hopefully the two of us can get out that day and get some really good work done.  We really need to get a couple of fence posts, and the horizontal bars and slats to fix the gaps in our fence, though, and the sooner the better.  We're thinking that in the front we may extend the fence around the front yard, but we'll have to see about that.  Fixing the back fence is first priority!

I do need to look into getting a green bin for composting to make material to use in my garden the next year.  My makeshift compost heap in the back yard hasn't been touched for a few years now as it's completely blocked off by the rampant blackberry cane.  Dad just loves his green bin and would like to get another one, as the other units he's got for composting just don't work as well or as quickly.  I guess my other option is to check out the green bin composting/delivery company that exists in town, where they come around and collect your compostable materials (including yard waste, I do believe) on a regular schedule, and deliver the finished product.  That would leave more space in the yard for planting ... but I do have to see if I can remember the name of the company or find the contact info.

Spring Almost Sprung

While it's still a few weeks to go to the Spring Equinox, we've had a couple of lovely sunny days, where the wind hasn't been bitter but has held a hint of the spring to come.

Looking forward to soft days where the ground is drier and lets me get out and work in the garden without slogging through mud ... the yard itself is boggy enough, I need it a bit drier before I can get into the garden patch itself and try to pull out the blackberry canes.

I've been tossing around the idea of picking up a few herb pots from one of the local grocery stores, to get started in my big pot with the multiple openings (great for strawberries or herbs) ... but then I wonder why I have gone to the trouble of trying to start herbs from seeds and think I will hold off for at least a week or two.  If the seeds don't seem to do anything, then it will be time to get some starter plants to pop into the planter instead.

The portable green house on the front porch (which at this time just has radish seeds under cover) does seem to heat up nicely during the day, but I think the nights are still cold enough that it's taking a while for the sprouting to occur!

Actually Productive

I've actually had a fairly productive day so far and it's not even noon yet ... got out of the house just after 9am, headed off to the vet's office with Angel in tow, but just to pick up a big bag of their dental dog food, not for an appointment.  I just wanted to have her get in a visit that wasn't traumatic before I take her in for her dental check-up on Monday ... I don't want to have her pee on me the same way she did on her Dad when Maxx dropped her off for the dental appointment itself almost two weeks ago!

Angel was straining to get into the office again, though, so she's at least still happy being in the reception area.  She met a lovely giant Schnauser named Bailey, beautiful dog.  Just need to get Angel a little more aware of being a rude dog and waiting for an invitation to get closer to other dogs to say "hi".  Something she and I need to work on, I guess.

After picking up dog food I zipped out to the grocery store, just wanted to pick up some milk, bread, cheese, chicken breasts, and fruits and veggies.  You know how you often go to the grocery store and end up coming home with all sorts of things that aren't officially on the list?  Well, I did pass through the soda aisle and saw that the pop Maxx drinks was on special, so I made sure to pick up four 2 litre bottles and two of the 710ml six packs.  While not officially on the list, we're always on the looking for a cheap price on it so it wasn't really a departure.  Other than that, what did I end up coming home with from the grocery store:

-loaf of whole wheat bread
-block of marble cheddar cheese
-almond milk ... going to give it a try as it should stay good longer than dairy milk
-big bag of frozen skinless chicken breasts
-cauliflower
-tomato
-peppers
-potatoes
-grapes
-bananas
-apples
-grapefruit
*primula basket of flowers with lovely colours for the front porch

Not bad, on the whole!

Now that I'm home, I need something to eat, so I'm going to go browse through what we have for cereal and see if I can have a bowl with that almond milk to try it out.

Next up ..... housework!

Breeder!

I realize I haven't been on here much lately, but I have been trying to be good and get housework done on my lunch hours and be productive on my weekends.  House is much cleaner than it's usual state (still not what I would call clean, but it's heading in the right direction at least) and I've gotten sets of some starter plants done up in paper pots to get them sprouting, so we are going to do a garden this year.

To that end, last Saturday I went to a local seminar about mason bees.  Some years ago I did purchase a house, tubes, and bees, but I've never done anything else to them since, assuming it would be an ecosystem which would just continue to cycle.  Well, they may be continuing to cycle (as I do have some tubes out back which are sealed with mud and not breached by predators, at least that I can see), but if you do just a bit of work with the bees and collect the filled tubes to let them mature and then clean the coccoons, it makes the bees healthier, and much easier for the female bees laying eggs next year as they have clean tubes to work with, rather than having to clean out old tubes first.

Rose (the lady who held the seminar) mentioned that she partners with folks to be her breeders, so that they set up the house, tubes and bees, then as the tubes fill up collect them over the summer and store them until the end of the season, then return them to her for her to let them mature and have the work of cleaning tubes and sorting coccoons, etc ... and she supplies the house, tubes and bees free of charge.  So, I signed up and she just dropped off the supplies today, and I will get the wee house installed this weekend, I am sure, at the front of the house where they will be closer to my plum trees.  I'll also pull the old tubes out of the original house and bunch them up there to wait to see if they do hatch, replacing new tubes into the house and if they fill up as well I can return those to Rose at the end of the season as well ... just making sure I can get as many as possible for help pollinating my garden, and figure a house front and back is a good idea!

I still want to stop off at the place south of Nanaimo where I see bat houses advertised, to set up a bat house in the back yard, sometime.  They're north of the apiary, but we never seem to have the time to stop in and see what their hours are and if we can purchase a house when we're out that way.

Oh, well, will have to keep it on my list of "to do" items for the spring when Maxx and I have days off.

Right now I need to go over my list of seeds and supplies I still need for what we want to grow this year (or at least TRY to grow), and see how much it will cost to complete what we're looking to have set up.

Lack of Inspiration

Been sick with the flu, off and on, for some weeks now.  This past week has been an "on" week for the flu, went to the doctor on Tuesday and he confirmed it's just a virus, nothing to be done other than give it time, although he told me to stop trying to eat anything solid, or even to have soups, and to start drinking gastrolytes (powder you mix with water for a salt/sugar/vitamins drink -- rather nasty even with the fruit flavoured variety) instead for a couple of days, then I could start trying soups .... no fruits, no vegetables, no dairy.

I'm finally starting to feel better.  Actually managed to get out on a walk with Imp and Angel today (mostly to check my lottery ticket).  Amazing how tired I feel after only a 25 minute walk!  Hopefully tomorrow will be a nice weather kind of day and Maxx won't be too tired when he gets off work at 7am, and we'll be able to get all four dogs out for a walk on the waterfront.  It's leisurely, but you can make a fair distance depending on what path you take and how you extend the walk on either side.

Angel's dentistry appointment got switched from Monday to Tuesday, so Maxx will have to drive me in to work that morning then drop her off at 8:45, then come back to work and pick me up at 1pm.  Hopefully we'll get her back during my lunch hour so he doesn't then need to drop me off again for 5pm and pick me up again at 9pm.  Good thing he'll be coming in at least in the morning, though ... my five year reward has arrived, and I know I'll need his help getting it out to the car, at least as long as it's as large as it looked in the online ordering site.  It's a Coleman All In One Cooking System.  Supposed to be compact, but it's still essentially a barbeque!

Critter Care

I guess I haven't been on here in a while, last post was talking about Imp's dental emergency.

Well, February is pet dental month (at least at our veterinarian's office), and they have a special on so I made arrangements to get Angel in for a pre-exam today (they have to do blood work and like to get a look at the teeth to do a best estimate of what needs a good clean and what might have to come out.  My poor wee Angel just hates having people in her mouth, always has, and I've never been able to brush her teeth.  Sounds like I may either have gotten her in just in time, or perhaps just a little bit too late, as the vet wasn't sure if there may be a couple of teeth which need extracting.  Anyhow, got my estimate to include flushing our her tears ducts which have always been blocked (once that's done she won't have quite such weepy eyes and such a messy wee face), so with that included, the low estimate is $715 and the high one is $1180 .... usually we've been really lucky so far with estimates from our vet and the final bill winds up being closer to the low one ... so hopefully our luck holds!

Dental Emergency

On Wednesday, we had Imp and Elf to the vet for their yearly checkup and shots.  Elf got his turn first, and he was scared and nervous, and was not happy when he got his three shots, although he did at least get a liver treat to munch on to take his mind off it while it was happening, and his worming pill was surrounded by wet food so he yummed that down without even chewing.

Imp was actually not that worried, wagging his tail furiously as the vet started her examination.  Imaging our surprise when she found that one of his molars on the top left side of his mouth had a chip ... and upon closer examination had split and left a piece of his tooth flapping, so he needed emergency dental work, to get the tooth pulled.  The extraction went smoothly, even though they found upon pulling the tooth that it had multiple other fractures as well.  Luckily, the root was intact and came out cleanly.

So, poor little Imp ... he goes to the vet with his brother and what happens?  His brother gets a liver treat, while he gets knocked unconscious and a tooth pulled out!  At least he did get his shots while he was under anaesthesia.

He was sooo out of it that night, completely stoned out of his wee mind and so very VERY VERY relaxed.  I've never seem his so mellow without being asleep ... and even then when asleep he's usually able to wake up at a second's notice to bark at strange noises.

He has to go back at the beginning of February for a follow-up check up just to make sure the sutures dissolve properly and the site of the extraction heals up.  He's been happy the past couple of days to be treated to some wet food (as have the other dogs!), but he sure seems like he's back to his old self today.

Felt like such a bad mommy, not to realize he'd broken his tooth a couple of weeks ago!