A New Place to walk and a Garage Sale

 

Yesterday we drove 6 km to a lovely walking place. There's a  loop trail around a body of water that I think may be man-made. This picture was taken by someone else, a fellow walker. Some of the people we meet along the way have what looks like very fancy cameras and they obviously take much better pictures than I ever could. The setting with the hills in the background is quite lovely. Unfortunately the last 2 Saturdays when we've walked there I got bitten by some bug that has resulted in a red and swollen ankle :(

 

On the way back we stopped at a garage sale. The prices were very reasonable and I added to my doily collection. I don't know much about yarn but these seem to be made of fine thread??? 
They are pale tan in colour.

 I also bought a small tablecloth that has cross stitch designs on the corners and beautiful crocheted edging.  It fit perfectly on the Teddy Bears table. I found some teacups as well but I forgot to take a picture of them. Next post.

 Thanks for visiting,   GM

Beans and Blooms

 Lunch is done and my daughter, who comes for lunch on Fridays, has gone home. The house is quiet. Company expected this evening and I have things that need doing this afternoon. Luckily I baked a cake this morning while the kitchen was cool because now it's 30C  86F.

Perfect weather for beans. DH picked these last evening. He planted purple ones just to see how they'd be. I find them very stringy and also they turn green once they're cooked so I doubt we'll grow those again. Those are bush beans. The yellow ones are pole beans and I see a few green ones came in too. I prefer the green ones and we have some of those growing as well.

I planted 4 Sunflowers and 3 are now blooming.

My Montbretia ( or Crocosmia, if you prefer) is blooming and the Hummingbirds love them.

 Thanks for visiting today, GM

 

 

 

Starched Pillow Covers

 I got it done!  It was frustrating because I put too much cornstarch into my water and after drying the pillow covers I realized I was never going to be able to iron them. They were incredibly stiff and hard. So I put them through a rinse cycle and hung them up again.  Even then they were very stiff but with a very hot iron and lots of steam I got them all ironed.

 Besides that I got some garden work done and not much else. I would have gotten my post done much earlier but I had some problems with my computer. #2 Son has ordered a new hard drive and hopefully that will help.

Thanks for popping by,  GM

Monday

 The lake was calm and the sun was trying to shine when we walked at 7 this morning. Not many ducks or geese around, just an occasional bunny or squirrel.

 When we got back DH left and I continued doing laundry ( which I started last night just to get a head start.) A once-a-year chore I don't look forward to is the washing, starching and ironing the shams and pillow covers of the pillows that I like to pile on the bed for the daytime. I love the look and I know it isn't that big of a job but I still don't like to do it.  I make my starch by boiling up cornstarch and a large quantity of water then after I've washed the covers I dip them in the starchy water and hang them to dry.  In order to avoid the marks left by clothes pins I hang them over the lawn swing.  A friend sewed these shams some 30 years ago and they are so well made. Once I get them all back on the bed I'll take a picture.

 Once I got that done I went out to do some weeding. Continued until my back said STOP.  Now I'm in and about to have a cup of coffee.
What's your Monday look like?  As someone else said  Curious minds want to know.

Thanks for coming by,  GM

 

 

This and That

 

 It's a wee bit cooler today and also yesterday. I noticed that we were low on cookies so I did some baking. Those Biscotti were the last of the cookies. I baked a Blueberry Cobbler with some of the blueberries that we bought earlier this week.  Looks like it sunk in the pan when it cooled.

 

 I had a volunteer blooming in the front flower garden. I recognized it as Campanula rapunculoides and had Youngest Son dig it out.  It's bell-like flowers are pretty but I am afraid of this plant's invasive nature.  I don't think this is the first time a bird has gifted me with this particular flower.

Here's what the internet has to say:

Campanula rapunculoides, known by the common names creeping bellflower, rampion bellflower, rover bellflower, garden bluebell, creeping bluebell, purple bell, garden harebell, and creeping campanula, is a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Campanula, belonging to the family Campanulaceae.

 
 

Why is creeping bellflower bad?

The problem is, creeping bellflower has a very strong and extensive root system so it spreads quickly and will easily take over your garden and choke out other plants. It's also hard to get rid of.

 

Is creeping bellflower native to Canada?

It is native to Siberia and was brought over to North America as a garden plant by some of the first European settlers. They thought it had so many attributes.

 I hope your weekend is a peaceful one. Time to relax and enjoy summer.

Thanks for coming by,  GM

 

Flowers

 Oh My but it's hot. I go outside and do what needs to be done early,  then when the day heats up I go indoors. I hesitate to use the oven  but yesterday I made a Blueberry Cobbler and had a fan blowing in the direction of the stove. It didn't help  much.

Since not much is happening worth blogging about,  I thought I'd show you some of the flowers blooming in my garden.

 Rudbeckias

Maltese Cross (Lychnis Chalcedonica)

The first Morning Glories

Daylilies

Daisies

More Rudbeckias some Lychnis Coronaria, white Campanula and in the corner some pink Geraniums

Spiderwort

Nasturtiums

Thanks for visiting today,  GM

Full Moon

 

 Happy Monday!!  I hope your week is off to a great start.  I'm doing the usual laundry and also getting blueberries ready for the freezer. I was awake at 4:30 and by 5:30 I realized I wasn't going to get back to sleep so I got up and started my day. I spent an hour outside watering....the ground is so very dry. I have to choose which plants get watered and which will just have to cope with the drought.

Tonight is Full Moon. I got the following off the internet ( just in case you are interested).  I must admit I haven't felt a sense of something shifting within myself in spite of the fact that the year is now half over.

Tonight is The Full Stag Moon, so called because young male stags will start to grow their antlers at this time. It is also called the Thunder Moon because of the thunder storms brought on through the hot and humid air.

Change or be changed is the message of this Full Moon. Since the Summer Solstice you should have felt a sense of something shifting both within yourself and with the outside world, this is because we have crossed a line. The first half of the year is over. We have now entered the second half of the year. This a good time to look back over the last 6 months and look at what you have learned, what you have lost and what you have gained. Take lessons from what you have learned good or bad and use them in your future endeavours whether this be in work, relationships or family.

 

Thanks for popping in,  GM