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

 

 

 

 

Touches of Pre-Fall Decor

 We're enjoying a few cooler days before the expected heat of the coming week. It's going to be a very noisy weekend because of the annual Air Show ( which is the biggest air show in Canada and attracts a lot of people to our area).

I took advantage of the coolness yesterday and baked. I made Bran muffins and also Peach muffins. The I did a bit of pre-Fall decorating. This tiny bouquet was all that was left of the bouquet I received  last week. That little pumpkin is a leftover from last year.  Surprisingly it never went soft or rotted.

 I picked this garland of leaves up at the thrift store . Rather than put it away for a few weeks I hung it right away. It fit perfectly over the opening to the sunroom from the dining area.   You can just make out in the back  the garland I then hung in the sunroom. 

 

 Later today the new washer will be delivered ( and the old one taken away by the same guys). 

Meanwhile I must get going and do some much needed tidying.

Thanks for coming by 

 

Blueberry Cobbler

 

 

 Very different Monday with no laundry being done. We'll be getting a new washer later this week 
( hopefully). The cost of the part needed plus the charge for a service call was more than half the cost of a new washer and since our old one had been around for a number of years we decided to go with a new one. I never liked the old one. It wouldn't fill with enough water to even cover the soiled items and it would decide if you got warm or cold water. No matter which button you chose.

It's a long weekend here and we took advantage of DH being around ( instead of at Gleaners) and went picking blueberries in an abandoned field near where a friend lives. It's an old (Gov.) experimental field...very weedy and uncared for but the berries keep growing and producing. When we came back he washed berries and I mixed up topping for a Blueberry Cobbler.  In case you want the recipe I'll include it.  This can be used as a topping for any fruit, not just blueberries.

DH and Youngest Son went to a car show on Sunday.

Thanks for coming by.

 

Fruit  Cobbler

• 8X12 glass baking dish

Ingredients

• ▢Enough fruit to cover the bottom of the 8X12 dish  ( about 4 cups?)
• ▢ 3/4 cup granulated sugar (150 g)  (I used less)
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon salt

For the batter:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
  2 eggs
  1 1/2 cups flour
•  2 teaspoons baking powder      
   1/4 teaspoon salt
•  3/4 cup milk
•  ground cinnamon

Instructions

Soften butter add the sugar. Beat well. Add the eggs and beat some more.  Mix dry ingredients and add alternately  with the milk. 

Bake @ 350 degree oven  about 40 minutes  or until done :)

 ***I came back to lower the temperature from 375 to 350 because mine got too done. Next time I'll check it at 35 minutes.

 

 

 

August

 

 

 Another sunshine-filled day here. I did my usual morning walkabout looking to see what might need a bit of water to keep it alive. It's so very dry that I only spot water and even then I have to let some areas go. 
I took pictures to remind me of what was blooming at this time.  

Phlox are beginning to bloom.  I used to have only pink ones then I bought a white one and through the years the white have taken over.  I did buy a white/pink one last year and it is doing well.

 Petunias in a container that gets water almost every day.

 Carnations in a container.

Double Snapdragons

Postman's Pride Sedum with a Summer Savory growing between them and behind that a self-seeded Foxglove.

 Actually found by a Belgian postman in his garden, this outstanding selection produces a bushy mound of dark purple succulent leaves.

A bit of trivia for today.....

The first day of July here in B.C. was 16 hours 11 minutes long. The last day of the month was 15 hours 12 minutes. We lost one hour of daylight  and by the end of this new month we will have lost another hour and 37 minutes as we move toward the Autumn equinox which will occur on September 22.