Morning Glory

 

What a lovely surprise to find another Morning Glory that is very different. As you can see it is not only bigger than the other flowers but a totally different colour. 

 This is the one I found a week or so ago. I'm beginning to believe the packet of seeds I chose had a few odd seeds. Not that I mind in the least 🌸🌸🌸

I found this cute picture and decided to include it but really it makes very little difference to those of us who are retired whether it's Wednesday or Friday.  It is going to be hot again so I'm off to do a bit of tidying in the garden then I'll sit on the porch with a fan keeping me cool until it gets too warm.

 

Thanks for visiting 

 

 

Labour Day

It's Labour Day and most people are having a lovely long weekend.  Labour Day or not I did laundry.
Thankfully it's cooler today and since Youngest Son has the day off  he's coming over to do some much needed tidying in the garden.  The Phlox are mostly finished blooming. That's one of the jobs I'm hoping he'll do ( cut them all down to the ground).  I cut some stems that still had good blooms and put them in an old pitcher which I put outside. Phlox are lovely but they drop petals like crazy.

 

 I don't make Beef Stew very often any more. It was always a big hit when I used to make it for the family, with dumplings on top!!  It's one of those recipes that you make when there's just two of you and you eat it for days. But I'm making some today since it's cool enough for an oven supper. I  bought beets yesterday and I'll roast them in the oven at the same time as the stew simmers away.

 

I haven't mentioned Gleaners for a while. They got a load of different vegetables and posted a photo which I've grabbed to show you how the excess vegetables arrive. Aren't they colourful?  I'm so glad they are no longer destined for some compost bin.  Instead the result will be dried soup mix for countries that need them badly.
 

 

That's it for today.  Thanks for visiting. 

 

 

End of August

 

 

 It's a very pleasant 24C   75F  which is quite comfortable. A heat wave is forecast for this week so it is obvious that summer has not given way to Fall just yet.
We had a lively game of Dominoes ( Mexican Train) in which Kate seemed to have very good luck and ended up the winner. Now they've gone home and I must go make some supper for us two oldies.
I just wanted to post a Good-Bye to August.  See you in September.

 

Thanks for coming by.   🍂🍂🍂

 

 

Trip to a Plant Shop

 

 

 The water problem has been fixed and we're back to normal around here.  After the 'trauma' of the whole scary episode DH offered to drive me and eldest daughter to the plant shop. He knows how we love going there. I found lovely autumn arrangements in shallow planters. This is what our cart looked like.

 

I've put almost all my plants on the porch where I hope they'll thrive and bloom for months. Maybe some will even make it through the winter. I'm especially fond of Purple Fountain Grass and that's  rated zone 9 and warmer while we're zone 7 so we'll see how it fares on the enclosed porch.

The place is out in the country and has goats and chickens that children ( and adults) enjoy watching.

This is how I arranged my new plants on the porch. On the window sill I put three mixed planters  The wagon is from my birthday last year. The milk can is one Shannon painted.

 It's another beautiful sunny day, it will be too hot to do much outside so I'll find things to do indoors. I hope your day is a good one.

 

Thanks for visiting

 

 

 

Water Woes

 We had quite the water problem last night. After supper dishes were done we left the kitchen as we usually do. About half an hour later I went down to get a glass of water from the fridge.  Before I had a chance to take a sip there was a loud explosion under the kitchen sink and water began to gush out of that area with enough force to open the cupboard door!!  Of course I screamed for help but DH, being rather deaf, didn't hear me but I was loud enough so second son came running.  We got DH's attention and between the two of them they got the water turned off.  The water filter which was mounted under the sink and through which all the cold water runs had literally exploded. Shards of it were strewn about. What a flood we had to cope with. The shop vac did a reasonable job but it's far from new ( and to my way of thinking it is far from effective).  Today some of the wood floor is showing signs of "cupping" but hopefully that will settle down in a week or so. I'm just so very thankful that this didn't happen in the middle of the night when no one would have noticed. 

 

It's a cooler day today. We made some jam.... 2 jars of cherry and 5 of strawberry rhubarb. That should do for our households for a while.  I also washed the various bath towels I quickly gather up last night when trying to keep the water from going under the fridge and stove.  I wasn't completely successful and at a later date we can move those appliances and wipe under them. For now that can wait.

Thanks for coming by and "hearing" my tale of woe.

 

Note to diane from northern wis:  I hope your husband is doing well in recovering from open heart surgery. No doubt you're busy taking care of him. 

 

 

More Chit Chat

 

 

 

It probably is too hot to garden today. I didn't mean to but I went out to cut some mint for a fresh pitcher of water and somehow I came in about 45 minutes later ( and I had forgotten to pick the mint)!!

I did go back and get some. Ever since I started doing this I enjoy drinking water, something I never used to like. 

Yesterday I picked up 2 books that I had waiting at the library. I think both will be very interesting although I'm finding the language in Practical Magic not so much to my liking. I plan on watching the movie after I finish the book.

 Thank you so much for all the lovely birthday wishes. It was a busy weekend filled with family and cake.

Thanks for visiting. 

 

 

Birthday

 Birthday Bouquet

 

Birthday cards ( by mail. More to come from family no doubt). 

 

Yes, it's my birthday. I am having a hard time believing I'm 80 years old.

Unfortunately grandson M has come down with Covid. He's been sick for about 3 days and now his Dad ( #2 son) is also sick. Luckily our get together will be outside ( on Sunday afternoon) and the ones who are not well can stay far away from the rest of us. Hopefully no one else succumbs.

Thanks for visiting. 

 

HappyK : Yes, that teapot is Memory Lane by Royal Albert. 

 

I couldn't resist this Pinterest pin...
 

 

Thursday Chit Chat

 We finally got our truck back. The small mishap that happened way back on June 6th meant we drove first one rental car then another ( the first one was too hard for me to get in and out of). The second one was really nice and had some great features but we still  missed having a truck. The crazy way people drive I only hope we can avoid any more such happenings. Fortunately we didn't have to pay for anything because it was 100% the other guy's fault.

 

 Our few tomato plants are doing so well.  Toasted whole wheat bread with lots of mayo topped with slices of tomato. Yum.

 It's only 26C today but there are warnings out that we're in for very hot days.  I hope the predictions are wrong.

We needed to buy a new blind for the bedroom window.  I didn't know that blinds don't come with cords that you pull any more. Of course changing the blind led to washing the window then the lace curtain. Got that done and now it looks good again. The old blind had spaces where the slats had broken.

That's about all for now. Tomorrow is a big day. I'll be telling you all about it.

Thanks for coming by.

 

 

A Pillow and Jean Little

 This morning it was off to the thrift store with another box of 'stuff'. Needless to say I went in and had a lovely browse around. I found a .50 pillowcase with pumpkins on it and also a rectangular pillow that was the right size to insert. Voila!!  My $2 Autumn pillow.

 

I also picked up this little (pun intended) book of a mere 100 pages by Jean Little. It's one of hers that I haven't read ( and I've tried to read every one of the 50some books she has written). If you're not familiar with this author here are a few things about her.

from the internet... 

 Jean Little, an award-winning author of children’s literature and two autobiographies, passed away at the age of 88 on April 6, 2020. Born with scarred corneas, she was declared legally blind and spent her life portraying characters who were faced with similar challenges. Little wrote more than 50 books and explored themes including physical and emotional challenges. Despite the sadness faced by many of her characters, she emphasized the resilience that can be found in children. 
 Little attended a regular school. “Jean was very bright,”   “She did not find the schoolwork overly challenging, but the children were cruel to her. They threw stones at her and chased her because she was different. She didn’t make any friends until she got to high school.”

 Thanks for visiting.

Far Side:  My new washer does not have a sanitize feature. 

 

 

 

A New Week

 
Thanks for all the positive comments on the things from the past.   I'm amazed how many of you remembered ( and took the time to comment). Now another week begins and we're edging closer to the September. It's fun to see all the school supplies on the store shelves and mothers ( it's almost always the mothers) with children following along and getting the necessary items. First day back will be the second of the month.

Our weather has changed to much cooler temperatures.  16C this morning. We're still having our meals out on the porch but breakfast requires a lap blanket for this old lady.  After our walk I began deadheading the roses along the driveway. I was almost finished the white rose when she took her revenge and hooked one of her sharp spines into my arm. At that point I came in and after putting on a bandaid I continued with laundry. I'm getting more familiar with the new washer but I have found out that this one won't give me pure hot water either. To my way of thinking sheets and towels need hot water. I did go to Walmart yesterday and bought Oxyclean which purports to boost detergent with good results. Have you tried it?

I better go check to see if another load is finished. Have a great week.

 

Thanks for coming by.

 

 

Do You Remember?

 It's raining here today. I sat out on the porch with my coffee and watched it come straight down. It's been quite a while since we had such a good drenching.  I baked yesterday ( cheese biscuits also lemon scones) and most of it went into the freezer.  On the subject of freezers..... We have 2 fridges. The old one is so old we have to defrost the tiny freezer from time to time when It gets too iced up. That led me to doing a Do You Remember?  post.  Here goes.....

 

 Did you play with paper dolls when you were little?

 

Child safe car seats were yet to be invented. Amazingly all 5 of mine survived :)

 

 

 I liked the styles of the 50's

 

 Thanks for enduring my flash-back.

 

 

 

This and That

 Earlier this week we dropped off a box at the thrift store ( of plants this time) and I popped in to take a look around. I found this great purse which is something I was actually looking for.  
 It has 4 compartments inside and a zippered one on the back. I do like having that option.

I've put away the Spring and Summer bears....

 ....and taken out the Autumn ones. (My picture is not terribly clear. Sorry)

 

Even the flowers are thinking of Fall. The Japanese Anemone 'September Charm'  are blooming now 🌸🌸🌸.

 

Our weather is changing and tomorrow's high is forecast to be 21C  (70F) so that will be ideal to get some baking done. I vacuumed the main floor today ( DH does the lower floor) so that's done. 
I looked at the food flyers on-line and made my list for tomorrow's grocery shopping. Now I will have to get inspired for today's evening meal.

Thanks for visiting

 

 

 

Electric Trucks and A New Shade of Cat

 A couple of Monday morning bits of information that you may or may not find interesting.

When we were at the park this morning ready to walk we saw a very strange looking vehicle. I didn't get a picture but here is one from the 'net.      Also this explanation......

 The 2025 Tesla Cybertruck looks like nothing else on the road, but look past its geometric design and you’ll find a fairly capable electric truck teeming with technology and satisfying performance.
Tesla estimates that the Cybertruck can go from zero to 60 mph in 4.1 seconds, and it has a top speed of 112 mph. 

Did you know that a new cat colour has officially been discovered?
It's called "salmiak" or salty liquorice. The cats have hair strands that start out black, and become white the further they grow from the follicle. It turns out the unique colour  is caused by a recessive mutation.

The pretty black, white and grey shade is named after a popular snack food in Finland where this new colour of cats had its beginning. 

Meanwhile I'm struggling to get my laundry done with no manual for the new washer and the one on-line not very helpful.  I'll be back soon.

 

Thanks for visiting