July 31 Once again, waiting for the arrival of our first born son, at least this time there are no labour pains.

 Another trip to Abbotsford Airport tomorrow, to pick up our far-away son. So excited. He’s on a bus now travelling from northern Manitoba to Winnipeg- I told him to tell the bus driver to drive carefully as there would be precious cargo aboard. I meant my son, of course. He was my precious cargo for a long 9 months 47 years ago.  

And it was a long 9 months, him waiting 2 weeks after my due date. Mom and I sent dad and Howard off on some wild goose chase, and she mixed up a horrible concoction of castor and orange juice, just like the Scottish midwives used to do. 

Oh why don’t I just do this - a poem AND a picture must be worth more than 1000 words.

Since then, we’ve  had 2 more baby boys, who have given us 10 grandbabies over the years, so I think Howard and I have done our part to make sure the Vokey name lives on.

Meanwhile, I’m happy to report I had a very uneventful day, just some housework (exciting, I know), a trip to Canadian Tire with Howard because I wanted him to pick up something for me but he said I had to go too because he wouldn’t know where to find it, and that was probably true because he couldn’t even find what he needed himself  (Looking back at that sentence I finally realize why my fellow teachers would be always telling me to shut up.)

However, that’s part of other stories, I guess  

Bed time now. I’m just hoping Howard remembers what exit to take off the Trans Canada to get to the airport, and we don’t repeat the agony of our last trip there.

July 30 - just a couplet and a few dozen words. Not even worth wasting your time. Although I do like seeing the number of visits creep up.

 Too tired to write

So I’ll just say goodnight. 

Well, at least you get a poem on this cool Sunday night. I was out sitting on the back deck swing, but it got a bit chilly for my feet. Plus it was starting to get dark and there was a raccoon there last night, so I didn’t want to meet him personally if he returned. 

Did nothing today. Absolutely. Went nowhere, took no pictures, and Howard didn’t do anything to piss me off, so it was all good, although I must say, it’s not midnight yet. 

July 28 - Not sure what’s being celebrated, but there’s somebody setting off fireworks- at 11:30 in the night. I’d much rather hear the fog horn on Fort Point.

 We managed to get to Abbotsford Airport, finally. I was the ‘navigator’, and was supposed to be checking Google maps plus all the green signs and exit warnings on the way. So when I said, This exit, he said, No, and kept on driving. 

And next when I said, This exit, he exited, and then got pissed off because ‘It was the wrong exit,’ but when he was driving he realized it was the right exit and he didn’t even say ‘Thank you. You are so smrt.’

So when we picked up the stars of Steve And Nikkie’s Excellent Adventure, I quietly asked Steve to drive home, because if Howard was driving I was going to walk. It’s only 50 kilometres anyway.

(Kind of reminded me of our long ago family trip to Alice Lake, only I was driving. If you’d like to check that out, just do the clicky thing here. https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/8954070273571912019/8888192883806154781?hl=en

I know I kind of mentioned the possibility of pictures, but I didn’t take any, except one of a cactus that now has two flowers, but it’s a horrible picture so I can’t use it. I did go for a walk after supper but there was absolutely nothing exciting to photograph, so there you go. 

I’ll try again tomorrow. 

No poem tonight either. 

I’ll try that again tomorrow too.

July 28 - If nothing else, I have the ability to make your life seem more exciting. You can thank me later. I’m just half-lying here burping up my Omega 3 pills.

 What can I write?

I do not know. 

Sometimes words come,

Sometimes they go. 

Kind of busy day. Went to Canadian Tire, Value Village (dropping off, not buying), Walmart, and a dollar store. Told the person working there I wanted two balloons, and she took off. By the time I caught up with her, she had one blown up and was starting the second. She handed me the first - it was a Happy Birthday one.  

I said, I don’t want a birthday one. I have the numbers of the ones I want. (And even if I did want a birthday one, and that one specifically, I would have said it wasn’t what I wanted. Just because.)  If she thought she could read minds, she was wrong. She was also a bit snooty. But I thanked her very kindly nevertheless, and she just turned away. Maybe she thought I was being sarcastic. Moi?  Never. 

When I worked at Crafts’n’More, my favourite question from a customer was, ‘Do you work here?’ It wouldn’t matter that I would be on a step stool restocking yarn, or getting ready to roll a huge box of broken down boxes to the recycling bin, and me wearing a Crafts’n’More apron and a Crafts’n’More hat.

I had the perfect answer. 

‘Do you work here?’

‘Only when the boss is looking.’

Anyway, up early in the morning as we are driving to the Abbotsford Airport to pick up a couple of very important people. Hence the balloons. 

Maybe I’ll have some pictures tomorrow! How exciting!

July 27 - When best laid plans go wrong, you should just bite the bullet and get on with life. Did I say bullet? I meant donut. Bite the donut.

 Well.  I got up early and went to Lifelabs for my blood test - the one where I had to take half a pill last night, and have blood work done at 8. Remember? Well, I thought I should get to the lab early, so they would understand the need to get me in at 8 o’clock, which was my appointment time - the last time I had an appointment I had to wait an extra hour to get done. 

So everything was fine until I was asked for the requisition.  Since I didn’t get one, I just assumed the doctor had sent it directly to Lifelabs, which some do. But she never. So no blood work. 

And there won’t be any more if I have to give up my RA meds for a week again, either. My hands are not at all happy, and neither am I.

However, enough about that. I am pleased to announce I lost two of the three pounds I gained, so to celebrate we went to the Krispy Kreme Donut place and got a dozen. (For the Kids, of course.)

We also went to Jysk, which is kinda like an IKEA for poor people, but is also close to where we live and the nearest IKEAs are across big bridges. It wasn’t the most pleasant store to visit as the entire first aisle where you walk in is completely hung with mirrors. (I think that’s what brought donuts to my mind.) 

Other than all that, it was just another boring day in Paradise. 

I have a poem for you tonight as I am too lazy to look for anything else. It’s an oldie, but I think a goodie. Doesn’t have to be a love poem, so we’ll just call it a like poem, cos I’m not really wishy washy like that any more. 

Untitled

If you were a can of yellow paint

And I, a can of red

Sitting on a shelf together

Out back in the shed,

Somehow we’d get together

We’d mix and ooze and blend

And make the damnest finest orange,

Wouldn’t we, my friend?

So, there you go. Nighty night from Lotus Land. 

July 26 - I shouldn’t have to go back almost 50 years to find words, but there you go.

 I know you’re probably not quite as excited about my succulents (and cacti) as I am, but this morning I saw another little bump on the stem of the new leaf. I think we’re going to have 2 babies! Patience, patience. 

So exciting!

That’s about all that’s exciting today though. I do have to take half a pill at 11 o’clock and have blood work done at exactly 8 o’clock in the morning, so we’ll see how that goes. Usually with appointments at LifeLabs you still have to wait - last time it was a whopping 73 minutes. I’ll have to show them my pill bottle as these instructions are written on it. 

And then - prednisone. My hands are not loving the absence of prednisone, more so than any other parts. And although with prednisone you (meaning I) could gain weight, I haven’t. Not until I stopped taking it and gained 3 pounds in 4 days. 

I was tidying the living room today and found some stuff Nikkie had left over from her bridal shower, and that made me think of a poem in my very first, hand bound (and strung together with embroidery floss) poetry book. If I remember correctly, I made at least 4 of them and sent 3 off to my siblings. 

Anyway, I do believe shower presents have differed greatly since the early 70s, as have the brides that receive them. 

No backspacing with that typewriter. If you made a mistake, you either started all over again, or ignored it and hoped no one would notice. 

I was brimming with advice though. 

And with those words of wisdom, I shall retire. 

11:01. Took my half pill. A minute late, but don’t tell. 

July 25 - We may never have been as fat as we thought we were, but our outsides are a lot older than we think we are.

 Only 5 months to Christmas and I haven’t even started to get ready. Although, to tell the truth, I don’t usually start that until Christmas Eve, so it’s all good. I am, however, getting caught up with spring cleaning.  I will have a positive attitude and say I’m starting that early.

This is the time of the year when I have to scroll quickly through my Facebook feed, as there are so many pictures of whales it makes me rather whalesick (like homesick, but with whales.) 

In the early 80s I spent a few summers with a whale researcher from Colorado Springs (I know, not really whale country) who came to Trinity to research minke whales - the humpbacks were already taken. Minke whales are harder to spot as they don’t breach - they are much more sedate than their relatives, and if there are any waves at all, an Atlantic wave can easily be mistaken for a minke’s dorsal fin. That is why, when the weather wasn’t cooperating, we would just go sit on the cliffs  and watch the ocean spreading out in front of us. 

I don’t have a poem about that, but I do have a picture - well, a sketch - okay, a cartoon. It’s a cartoon. I wish I could be sitting in front of my kitchen window now

, watching for Ephraim’s truck, and sitting on the wet grass with my 1980s friends. 

 

OMG. This paper is about 40 years old. I think I’ll go to bed now. 

(I do feel a bit guilty about the no poem thing though)

So I’ll just tap to make this right

And say to all of you, goodnight  

(There you go  it rhymes therefore it’s a poem.)

July 24 The worst part of waking up is realizing it’s only 4 am and you really really really have to pee.

 It rained! It rained this morning, and this afternoon, nice big heavy rains that made the grass happy. I don’t usually get excited about rain, especially in February when I have to go out, but today it was fine. Because we were getting a bit tired of 30 degree temperatures. At least I was. 

Today wasn’t very exciting, at least not for me.  It was Howard’s turn to go see a doctor, a pain specialist, to get his bad shoulder checked out. So pain pills, Xrays and ultra sounds in his future. Meanwhile I am in the middle of a battle between two specialists, one which prescribed me prednisone for my RA, and the other who wants me to have a certain blood test that won’t work if I’m on steroids. So the plan is to give up the pills for 6 days, and, four days into that, I’m getting a bit sorer and a lot crankier, so we’ll see what happens. It’s best not to talk to me right now, and if you try to give me advice about my cooking, I’d think twice about eating it. Just sayin’.

Oh  I almost forgot the Poem.  Let me have a think.

My Poem

I cannot find two rhyming words

I’ve tried and tried and tried

And so I’m going to go to bed

(I think my brain is fried.)

July 23 - Thanks to Sheila for reminding me - I used to get ready to go out at this time of the evening, now I just get ready for bed. We never expect to grow up to be our parents, but here we are.

 It was about 12 years ago I wrote the poem I posted last night, My Life in Six Decades, and now I’m starting my 8th. Doesn’t that make one feel old. 12 years ago I could remember some highlights from the previous 50+ years - however, now I have trouble remembering what I did last week. The only thing that helps is the fact that each day is basically the same. So a new poem about that would go something like this ....

On Sunday I washed dishes

And then I swept the floor

I watched some stuff on BritBox

And said my knee was sore. 

On Tuesday I watched Prime tv

And washed some dishes too

We may have gone to Walmart

To get the stuff for stew

(Or maybe that was Thursday.)

On Wednesday I Swept the floor

Hung  laundry out to dry

I think I washed the dishes

(Can’t find a word to rhyme),

Well, you get the drift. It’s a good job I can usually write something about nothing, though I must admit, even that is getting harder. I’m pretty sure my life will get more exciting in another few days, though.

Stay tuned.

July 22 - I really want a coffee, but I think I’d rather sleep tonight.

 Twilight. My favourite time for walking, so here I am on the back deck swing just thinking about it. It’s a bit cooler out here than in the house - I had the AC on upstairs but when he came up he turned it off. So here I am. Just thinking. 

I was super lazy today, and the laundry I took in from the line is still slopped over a dining room chair waiting for someone to fold it. It’s only blankets though, and I don’t think anyone will be wanting one of them tonight. 

I’m going to cheat tonight, and copy I poem I wrote about a decade (or more) ago. At least it’s a real poem for a change  

THE STORY OF MY LIFE....in six decades

the fifties were my first decade

when my first memories were made

our little home with walls of stone
and now. like lots of things, it's gone
my daddy's horse, our big white cat
and other little things like that


the sixties brought us overseas
where i made brand new memories
living by the sea in bliss
learning to swim with jelly fish
skating til dark with my dog at my side
mostly alone, but i didn't mind

the seventies brought me lots of things
oversized coats and wedding rings
kisses on Gun Hill, a tiny wee house
a bouncing wee baby for me and my spouse
co-workers and friends i held close to my heart
and they'd hold me together when i'd fall apart


the eighties brought treasures of friendships and love
and the me that i was, came back into my soul
and the bad times were eased by the waves and the sun
and the cries of the gulls when the morning begun
two babies came crying and brought me more joys
and my life had a purpose, my three little boys


the nineties brought change in a mindblowing way
when we packed up our stuff and moved so far away
new ocean, new city, new jobs and new friends
a brand new experience round every bend
no regrets, except family and friends left behind,
our memories keeping them all in our minds


those decades add up, and no longer we feel
middle aged, and that's scary - the grey hair is real
and our little boys are all finally grown
with true loves and dear little kids of their own
we continue the journey, no matter what comes,
for beginnings are not only made for the young

  

July 20 - not sure why I’m doing this when my life is nothing but a great big bore.

 I really should be sleeping

My eyes are sliding shut

My brain’s already dreaming

My stomach’s snoring, but

I promised I would write a post

And a poem every night

So I’m combining both, you see,

I hope that that’s all right. 

Okay. I little bit of cheating. It’s been a busy day for me today, but it would seem boring to everyone else. So I won’t bore you. Unless, of course, you enjoy reading about laundry and dishes and grocery shopping. On my way home from that all I could think about were the items I needed but forgot to buy. 

Anyway, it’s really late and way past my bedtime. 

Yawn.

July 19 - Here’s proof that I can do a lot of things, but none of them very well. Sigh.

 Yawn. 

I thought I would start a Poem A Day thingie, just to see if I could get back in the groove, as they (who, I wonder?) say. 

So as I was sitting on the swing on the back deck, wondering what I could write about, Steve’s Taxas Yew caught my eye. Then I realized all the good first lines were taken. 

‘ I think that I will never see … etc etc.’

So I thought, a poem about our walk in Green Timber Forest. Same problem. 

‘Two roads converged… etc etc.’

So I figured I’d go a little Ogden Nash-y, but my mind just went overboard with that. 

‘There are aunts around my feat 

Looking for sum food to eat

I guess to them my feat smell suite

Like hunny in the summer heat.

I guess they just don’t realize

That I’m a thousand times their sighs

And if they decide to try to bight me 

They’ll find that is what will insight me.

And I will stomp them with these feat

The wons that they were wont to eat.’

Who needs spellcheck when you’re smrt?

No pictures today. Maybe tomorrow. We’ll just have to see what (ahem) develops.

July 19 - The lazy hazy crazy days of summer are here - enough 30+ temps already. Bring on the rain.

 As most of you know, I’m not one to complain, especially about things I can’t change - in this case, the weather. 

But it’s so bloody hot. Except in the bedroom with the air conditioner on full blast, when I start to freeze and have to wrap up in a blanket. If I complain about the cold, he’ll turn the A/C off, and in 3 seconds I’ll be sweating. 

So that’s why I’m looking forward to next week. I will conveniently forget about all the (bloody) rain we had last winter, and even though I probably won’t, I will feel like dancing in the back yard while raindrops fall around me. 

So it’s kind of early to bed again, so we can get up early and beat the heat. Not that I have a huge To Do List. I’ll keep these lists for a rainy day. 

Hopefully next week. 

July 18 - And just as one thinks one’s brain is actually working fine, it pulls another bloody stunt like this.

 This is what is used in this household to make the best smoothies- Will has one for breakfast every morning. This morning I couldn’t find this attachment anywhere .

I I checked all the counter space, the sink, and the draining board. And then I looked down and saw it here. In my hand.

So if you think I’m in any state of mind to come up an interesting blog today, you are wrong. My addled old brain and I are just going to bed now.

Nighty night.

July 17 - Finally found the lake in the forest, and it was worth the wait. Like all good things usually are.

 Cooler today. Sunny but windy  so when you were in the sun it felt too hot, but in the shade the wind made it a bit too cool. Not that I’m one to complain. Ha. 

I had to read between the lines to find out we were going to have a picnic.  As in, ‘Aren’t you going to make sandwiches? It’s almost 10:30.’ When I saw the map on his iPad I knew we were going to go looking for the evasive lake at Green Timbers Forest. 

Because it looked like it was near the RCMP station parking lot where we turned around the other day, that’s where he drove today. Let me tell you, driving around a police parking lot isn’t, and never was, on my bucket list. Especially when he drove where he shouldn’t have. 

However, a friendly landscaper wondered what the hell we were up to, and waved us over, which was better than who I expected. She then told us how to get to where we wanted to go, and even though he didn’t think she knew what she was talking about, I told him to drive to the light, turn right, another light, turn right, and yet another right to the parking lot. She knew what she was talking about.

A map at the entrance gave me hope. See the blue part? The lake. And not too far from the You Are Here spot.

These pretties were spreading in front of the washrooms - Purple Coneflowers. Thought I stumped my favourite horticulturist when he said it was echinacea.

Turns out he was right. 

He was more patient waiting for me going in than going out. You will see.

Beautiful park, but a lot of trails. The map showed going straight was the right way, even when the path curved a bit. 

These looked like little raspberries, but according to my Leaf app, they are thimbleberries.

And here are signs of beavers. Dam. 

So peaceful.

Nope not a holly with blue berries. I wondered if Steve would know it - he hardly glanced at the pic and said Oregon Grape. And according to my app, he was right. 

This pup had a combination swim/drink. 

And there were little ducklings! They still had some yellow feathers - I thought this year’s babies would have been hatched earlier in the year. 

And these? I swore they weren’t ducks, but I was only partly wrong. They weren’t mallard ducks. They were Pacific Pintail Ducks. How would I manage without the World Wide Web.

I lagged behind on the way back to the car, and Howard just kept on going. I figured if I kept on the path I’d find my way out. 

And there he is, near the parking lot. Can you see him?

All in all, a lovely morning, which was good as nothing else exciting happened today. Did some housework, made some meatballs, and that’s about it. 

July 16 - I may be boring, but thankfully I’m not bored.

 I know it’s summer, but I wish I could turn down the heat a bit - I think tomorrow it’s going to cool down to about 24. However, then I won’t have an excuse to not do housework. Seems I just can’t win. My friend from next door and I were discussing how we could manage to get fired from cooking and cleaning, but doesn’t look like that’s a possibility. 

We had a birthday boy in our house today, as Christopher turned 17. He wanted a cherry cake, so me being (kinda) stupid thought I could add cherry koolaid to the buttercream frosting I made so it would be cherry flavoured. 

And it was. It was also a very bright pink. Steve took one look and said it looked like a Barbie cake for a 5 year old girl. 

To compensate, I added blue and green sprinkles, but that didn’t really help either. 

But it still tasted really good, and our boy (young man) as always, appreciated my efforts. 

And now to the horticulture segment. A flower opened on one of my cacti this morning, and there’s at least two more on the way. I think they like the hot weather more than I do  

And I’m pretty sure there is another heart leaf starting from the stem below. Fingers crossed.

My tall bunny ears had a major growth spurt in the last few weeks too, each part growing more ears. I’ll soon have to build scaffolding to keep 
from falling over. 

Well, it’s almost 10 o’clock, but so nice on the back deck now I don’t want to go upstairs, even though it’s past my bedtime. 

July 14 - No comedy or drama, kinda like watching paint dry

Since I did absolutely (almost) both all day, I persuaded hubby to go for a walk with me. He left me stranded when we walked around the short block and escaped through the back gate, but I just kept walking. 

Unlike yesterday when we were at Walmart, and I was just chatting away, thinking he was behind me, not realizing he had turned around in search of milk. I hate it when he does this, and now I’m probably known as That Old Lady Who Talks To Herself. 

However, I digress. I found some pretty flowers, descendants of the ones I posted a couple of years ago. According to my Seek App, it is -

- but what it’s doing here in Surrey I have no idea.

Found these too, hydrangeas I believe. Maybe if I’m wrong someone can correct me.

I saw another gigantic grape vine up the alley, but the grapes weren’t nearly as big or as bountiful as ours. Steve tried one yesterday- not ready for binging on yet. 

And on an entirely unrelated matter, the first thing Steve did with his new label maker was label it. 

It’s been quite hot today, so I had a good excuse for being lazy. I’ll make up for it tomorrow- got a birthday cake to make, with 17 candles. Theo will be happy to ‘help’ Chris blow them out. 

July 14 - You’re not always where you think you are

This morning, when I thought we were leaving to go to Guildford Town Centre (aka mall), I found that we were actually going to Green Timbers Forest (park) in search of the lake.  If you have read this blog in the past, you just may remember Breehy and me going there a long time ago. The man- made lake just appeared before us as we walked (rolled), but this morning we walked and walked and walked some more, and no lake.  It must be hard to move a lake. 

We met a couple walking two small dogs, and asked them if they knew where said lake was  

‘On the other side of 100 Ave’ they said. Well, they said more, and pointed here and there and stuff, but basically told us we were in the wrong side of the park to ever come across the lake. 

‘Oh,’ I said. We’ve already been walking for four hours.’

She laughed, he laughed, but my feet didn’t laugh.

We turned to go back to the parking lot, and I fell in love with the artistry involved in turning this boring asphalt path into a work of art. But then Mr Bubble Burster said it was caused by frost. So I guess Mother Nature did it, and that impressed me too.

I love old growth forests in hot summer days, perfect place to get some cool relief even if there was no lake nearby. Nothing makes you realize how small you are until you stand beneath one of these majesties and (try to) look up. 

This is at the entrance - yes, the pics loaded backwards. No biggie. 

And here is the beginning of the path (or the end, looking back.)

Across the road from the park there is a huge RCMP station, so I had to take a pic of this guy. Maybe someone reading this knows him?

Anyway, looks like my formatting has gone to hell in a hand basket now, so I will leave you with a very exhausted nighty night, and a link to better days when Breehy and I actually found the lake. 

https://tamarlosesit.blogspot.com/2012/07/july-13-6-wheels-green-timbers-park-and.html

July 13 - Today was no picnic. Literally and figuratively.

 Some people will do anything to get a bracelet- even if it means 5 hours at the ER.

Oh, he’s fine. Xrays, CT scan and blood tests all done and all good. Home now watching his show, Bosch, just relaxing and forgetting about the needles and stuff.

See, I keep telling him, ‘It’s probably muscle pain. You have to stop over-doing stuff. Give your muscles time to rest up.  You’re not 30 years old any more.’

Doctor told him, ‘It’s probably muscle pain.’ 

Gee whiz. I never even went to medical school.

Steve said yesterday he (Howard, not the doctor) was lugging 100 pound cement squares around. 

‘So, what do you expect? You’re not .. etc etc etc.’

Enough said,  at least we know now that his innards are healthy, his heart is good, and he doesn’t have kidney stones. I guess I could do a Misery kind of thing on his hamstrings to make him stop overdoing it, but he’d still probably find a way to build something, or fix something, or move something.  The Vokey boys are very resilient. 

Anyway, enough about hubby. My cacti and I are doing fine, I managed to get 4778 steps in today, and even though it’s 9:30 in the night I have no trouble keeping my eyelids open.

So this is us, 48 11/12 years in sickness and health. As Merle Haggard sand, That’s the way love goes  

July 12 - If at first you don’t succeed, try once more then give up.

 I think I made a good decision to take one of my RA meds in the morning instead of supper - not as wiped out this evening, and the bags under my eyes don’t feel like eye pillows. 

I’m loving the weather the last couple of days, hot but not too too hot outside, and comfortable inside. Still not getting much done though. I have excuses:

a) A couple of sore parts. Not too sore for what I want to do, but too sore to not do the stuff I should be doing.

b) Too hot to do housework, even if said housework is an indoors job.

c) Housework never ends, so if I do it today I will just have to do it all over again tomorrow (or next week, month, whenever.)

Anyway, somethings who are loving the warmth of the sun are the cacti in my window. And my heart leaf plant.

See how much the baby has grown? Proud mamma here. And I do believe - hope - there’s another one starting from the same stem. 

The Old Man’s Beard is one of my first cacti, I’ve had it for a couple of years I believe. And, as you can see, the bird seed I planted in the same pot is doing well too. 

And on a completely different topic, here is my mom’s recipe for her delicious Scottish style scones (pronounced skons, not scooooones), and if you, unlike me, can make them as good as she used you, you can come visit any time.  I’ll provide the butter and jam  

As you can see, it looks like it got about the same use as my old Cream of the West cookbook, but actually it didn’t. I only tried, unsuccessfully, a couple of times  

There are some things only a mom can do better  

July 11 - Nothing to see here.

 It’s a Blogless night. 

Nothing happened. 

Life is boring. 

And I’m really sleepy. 

(A bit of a cheat. I copied from FB the day after.) 

July 10 - I shouldn’t write about food because now I’m hungry. And it’s bedtime.

 Boring day, but also exciting - 3 weeks til our oldest son’s visit! He’s coming all the way from northern Manitoba, and I think he’s a bit worried there will be no Pineapple Upside Down Cake while he’s here. 

Not to worry, not to worry. We’ll take care of that. 

If you live near me and want the little packs of Koolaid that we used to buy (4 for a dollar) and can’t find them, because absolutely nobody carries them, and you want to flavour your ice-cream like I did, then don’t worry any more. There’s a little store on 120 Street called Mr. Munchies, and they have a decent supply - even if they are now 75 cents a pack. 

I made our sister-in-law Sharon’s Waikiki Meatballs for supper, but instead of her fried rice (which is delicious), I fried up bacon, cabbage, garlic, salt, pepper and paprika - that was a really good side dish for the meatballs. Just in case you were wondering  

It’s getting past my bedtime now, and tomorrow might be a busier day - places to go (Safeway has salmon on for $3.49 a pound, according to their flyer) but no one special to meet. I still haven’t given up on our picnics - but seems like someone else has. 

Maybe tomorrow. 

July 9 - Seems I had 2 July 9s in a row - but today is the real one.

 Lazy lazy Sunday.  Not quite as hot, but good enough for me. Howard thinks the temperature got up to 23, but seems a lot warmer in our room now. With the air conditioner on, my feet will soon be freezing, and I’ll soon either go to bed or get my winter jacket. 

We had a little visitor this morning, which was a bit strange until we realized why he dropped by.

Somehow this little red-cheeked woodpecker realized there was a whack of ants near the garage door, and he had a feast of them. I imagine there’s lots left too. Maybe he’ll bring his family later and finish them off. 

I never did much today, just the usual never- ending dishes and stuff like that. I did finish the ice-cream mixture I had left over from yesterday, so decided I’d experiment with strawberry Koolaid to see if I could turn vanilla into strawberry ice-cream. 

At first I figured I’d only use about half the pack, but realized that might be a bit much, as there was enough powder to make 8 (I think) cups of koolaid, and I only had a bit more than 2 cups of stuff. So I was able to scoop out quite a bit, as it was kinda floating on top, and crossed my fingers. When it was churning in the ice-cream maker it looked like Pepto Bismal, which wasn’t very appetizing, but I’m glad to say when it was done it looked yummier, and my fussy husband liked it! Yeah!

Well, my boring day is almost done. Just have to go downstairs and get supper dishes done. 

Then bed. Well, maybe ice-cream first. 

July 8 - It’s not an exciting life, but it’s better than it was. Baby steps, me, baby steps.

A bit cooler today, so I decided not to bake anything. Why heat up a not so hot kitchen? Besides that, hubby had me on the go this morning to the recycling depot, then since we had to pass Walmart we went in and had a shop. Less than $100, so we didn’t need any bags 😁.

On the way home I noticed a garage sale, so for the first time in years (yes) I dropped in. I bought a book and a couple of dvds for Chris and his mom, who like watching stuff that would make other people (me) scream and run away. 

On the way home I saw this lonely little duck.  In fact, he looked like a duck out of water, but his smile was so lovely I had to take a picture  

I was more surprised this week when I noticed a new stem with a new leaf on my heart Hoya plant. According to the World Wide Web, these heart leafs by themselves  do not produce babies, so this surprise was quite pleasant. I’ve had this flat green non-growing thing since Valentines Day in 2022, and even kind of neglected it for a while. Because a plant that just sits there and does absolutely nothing isn’t very inspiring to a person who just sits there and does nothing. 

But Howard bought it for me so I figured I should take better care of it.  Sunshine and water and cactus fertilizer. 

And now another day is almost over, and I’ve lost my damn formatting. 

I can take a hint. 

Goodnight. 

July 7 - Another hazy (due to wildfire smoke) lazy crazy day of summer

Not quite as hot today - it only went up to 27 degrees, and that wasn’t until this afternoon. I got a bit of housework done this morning, but that’s not very exciting, is it? Howard and I did a little walkabout after supper, but my step count today was pretty dismal - 3347. 

I made jello - sugar-free - so that in itself isn’t very exciting. You don’t (at least I didn’t) realize how much sugar is in regular jello until I held one in one hand, and one in the other. No wonder the regular stuff tastes so much better. However, we’re trying to cut back our sugar intake, and every little bit is supposed to help. Well, some of us (Howard) may not realize this, but he hasn’t complained about the jello yet - as long as I don’t give him the lemon flavoured. He says it tasted too yellow. 

A pretty rose in front of our window. Such a sweet smell! Because my phone goes everywhere with me, usually in my back pocket with music pouring out, it was handy when I checked the mail and did my usual flower inventory. (I do use my Air Pods too, but some people, like the guy I’m married to, gets pissed off when he has to repeat everything he says because the music is a bit loud in my ears.)

 I also baked two blueberry loaves this morning, just trying to heat up the kitchen before the sun did the job. See, I’m not overly strict on the sugar thing - and not strict at all on the flour thing. I spent so many months not being able to bake, now I want to catch up, I guess. 

Steve took me to Guildford mall after (his) work and bought me a new Apple Watch, which was very sweet and kind of him. Now Nikkie, he and I can communicate any time with the walkie-talkie app. Or, of course  we could just call each other on the phone, but that wouldn’t be as cool.

 Over and out. 

 

July 6 - Wildflowers and not much else. Not even a picnic.

 Some of the wildflowers in our (Steve’s) wildflower garden - it’s amazing how much colour is in a packet of seeds! (Actually more than one package.)

I’m super tired tonight. The plan was to get up really early this morning and get stuff done before the temperature got too high, but that didn’t really work for me. 

I did get up at 6 am, but lingered over coffee as ‘there was lots of time.’ Ended up doing very little, went to the recycling depot with Howard, and had some blood work done. Now I’m almost too tired to keep my eyes open, so there may be lots of typos here tonight. 

By the way, the temperature only got as far as 31, which doesn’t sound great, unless you compare it to the 37 that was forecast the night before. 

Small mercies.