summer visitors

I've got a Marvin Gaye playlist blasting, drowning out the sound of the lawnmower, but the perfect accompaniment to the rustling of the leaves in the breeze… the temperature is more moderate and the breeze is keeping things comfortable… the shade is up so I'm enjoying some solo time on the deck before our next group of guests arrive. 

Our visit with Tina and Bruce on Monday/Tuesday was great - we sweated under the shade, braving the sweltering temps while we enjoyed some adult beverages, lots of cold ice tea, and dunks into the rapidly warming waters of the pool. The focaccia came out of the oven just as they arrived and I cooked the potatoes outside so there was no need to spend much time inside. It was a perfect summer day!

I think it was our first time eating outside this year!

The farmer cut the field on Sunday, tedded it on Monday, and then yesterday made an attempt at baling… unfortunately their machine was acting up so they didn't get everything baled before late afternoon showers. He's out there trying to salvage what is left…

Mom took herself to her hair appointment today - her first real outing by herself! Hopefully she's reveling in her return to independence! 

With nowhere to go this morning I got back into my exercise routine… well, partially! I only made it through 2 sets of resistance exercises, but did manage a full hour on the treadmill - I was beat after all that! I lost a few steps over the last month, but am pleased that I could still do what I did today. A few more days and I’ll be back to where I was. I will admit to lots of swearing to get the last one or two lifts of each exercise done but I did it and I'm pleased with myself for making the effort!

Of course, once I stepped off the treadmill and stripped off my sweaty clothes, I jumped into the not quite cool waters of the pool. A helicopter made a few high passes as I was having my outdoor shower, but I think there were trees in the line of sight… otherwise they got a good story to tell their friends about some crazy woman walking around naked on her deck! 

I am both a naturalist and a natureist!

These warm summer days on the patio are bringing me back into the present - I guess I've been in stasis for a while with everything that has been going on, but I feel very much in the moment right now and am enjoying that peaceful easy feeling a'la the Eagles! I'm not sure that I could feel more mellow 😀 

It smells incredible here with fresh cut grass, hay drying in the sun, katalpa blooms, the rose out front and all the vetch.

bedtime… Cathey and Jim left a while ago after a dinner of leftovers! We had a good but somewhat spirited visit… 

Awesome!

“breezy afternoon in the shade”

“all the shades of pink”

“roast beef sandwiches on focaccia”

“that peaceful easy feeling”

the inferno

It's a scorcher today! At 7:30 am it was 24C and by 10:30 am it was a blistering 34C! Carm got the laser heat thermometer out and by noon the deck 130F which is blistering 54C! WHAT THE ACTUAL F! Summer was slow in arriving but when it finally got here - wowzers!

I suppose we could have predicted this heat wave as Tina & Bruce are coming for a leisurely afternoon and evening. It seems that their summer visits are always on the hottest day of the year! We'll spend plenty of time in the pool and under the shade with a fan going… I’ve made tons of ice.

I was going to make a traditional roast beef dinner but it didn't seem appealing in this heat, plus who wants to spend the afternoon inside tending to food on a hot summer day (although the heat might send us inside regardless)! So I cooked the beast yesterday and we'll have cold beef with freshly made focaccia and my favourite roasted potato & arugula ‘salad’. Simple and most can be made ahead, although the focaccia does require a certain amount of fussing over 😀 

Our trip to the camper last Friday was regenerative… I always get that ‘peaceful easy feeling’ when I step inside and feel any stress or anxiety slip away. Our trip home however… not so regenerative… At the half way point, Carm took the corner a bit too fast and Grace's cage toppled over… when I got out of the car to fix it I realized that we were missing a bag which is why she tipped in the first place! The bag with our tablets and my purse as well as other odds and ends was left behind… so we turned around and drove back. I don't think we've EVER left the camper without forgetting something! I'm working on creating a better and more comprehensive check list and will go through it after Carm and the dogs have left the camper when there isn't so much commotion and confusion… ha ha!

We did eventually make it home (an hour and 10 minutes later than planned), and had plenty of time to get the patio furniture out of the house and onto it's summer locale. I even got a few minutes to relax with a book! It was wonderful :-)

Yesterday I dashed into town to take Mom to the grocery store - her first outing, other than a doctor's appointment, since the beginning of her ordeal. She was tired at the end but I think she enjoyed being out of the house for a bit :-)  Mom and Dad are doing great and managing on their own for the most part now - they must be happy for things to start to get back to a normal routine.

This morning I had my first (or maybe second) outdoor shower! Hurrah! It would have been perfect except the water in the hose was scalding hot… yikes!

I stuck one of the bones from the roast in with Grace this morning and I can see her starting to stalk it to make sure it's dead - she loves a good meaty bone, even when they are almost as big as she is!

Carm made the comment that we've become a pretty good team when it comes to getting ready for guests - we both know what we have to do! I don't have to manage the whole event as Carm is a full partner in getting things ready. We don't go as crazy as we used to years ago when we'd spend 2 days getting ready for company - now it's all accomplished, except for the food, in just a few hours!

Awesome!

“scorching hot summer day!”

“Mom's first outing”

“knawing on a bone”

“twisted tea”

summer begins

First day of summer and we are spending the night in the villetta!

I’ve had a week of sleeping at home and today is Mom & Dad's first full day alone. Mom is getting stronger every day and I imagine it won't be long before she'll want to go out for groceries.  Last weekend Olaf and Steph stayed with them for a night - Sunday was my first day fully at home since the end of May! And today is my second! It feels a little weird to be back to a semi-normal routine, at least for a day, but instead of getting back to my fitness routine, I made a cake! 

Last Saturday after a night in my own bed, I went to Mom & Dad's first thing in the morning - it was Mom's birthday! Kirsten & Nissa joined Olaf & Steph for a badly sung song and some delicious lemon birthday cake.

I hope Olaf doesn't mind but I'm including the awesome photo that Steph took of us last weekend.

Then the next day, Sunday, Father's Day, we met up with Carm's family at the funeral home for lunch. The cemetery puts on a bbq for Father's day so we enjoyed a hamburger and a cooler while having a nice visit. I was glad that Carm got to spend some time with his family…

When we got home, Carm got the chainsaw out so we could clear a few trees from the gate going into the hayfield… it's haying time so the farmer will be by with his machinery any day now. Our field is usually the last one he cuts and since he needs 3 days with no rain it could be any time soon or not soon at all - it's totally weather dependent. I remember in our horse-owning days standing in the field, arms raised to the sky, asking Mother Nature to split the rain clouds and spare our little field. Sometimes it worked, and sometimes we got rain… Rain can wreck the hay or at the very least, make it dusty and hard on horsey lungs.

Our photo memories have had lots of foal pictures popping up this week - it seems that many of our babies were born mid June - oh the memories that it brings back 😀 It seems like a whole lifetime ago and even that it happened to someone else, but no! It was me crouched on the ground welcoming a wet foal into my lap.

It's a bit bitter sweet though - looking at the foals that had so much promise for our breeding program which was trashed by my illness. Petra was our first filly - my plan was to keep her. She would have been a good mare but alas, she was sold along with Fiorgyn and Ulfrun… both beauties with laid back, steady temperaments. I have to remind myself that I got to live my dream, if only for a few years…

I deployed the new, matching chair cushion in the villetta and I'm pleased! Along with a little lamp, it seems homey and comfortable, a little oasis away from home. I always get that ‘peaceful easy feeling’ when we settle into our home on wheels 😀 

Awesome!

“gathering with Carm's family”

“getting the trees taken care of”

“a dunk in the pool”

“Mom’s doctor appointment with her oncologist”

“an afternoon with Carm”

“supper with Nissa!”