hibernation

First official day of fall - it started out sunny but rapidly clouded over - with winter on the horizon and not many lounging around outside days left I’ve decided that the new patio furniture will have to come inside as the mice seem to be looking for homes… the plants came in yesterday leaving the deck a wasteland of fallen timber.

One of the advantages of having a giant room is that it can eat up a lot of furniture. We are sending the old RV recliners on to a new home which leaves room for the chairs but the sofa is another matter. We moved some stuff out and took down the grooming table to make room for the incredibly long sofa. Our place looks like ‘the Brick’!

Yesterday we dashed (if one can actually dash to somewhere 1 hour and 5 minutes away!), to the camper yesterday to try some things to fix the furnace. Carm had searched youtube videos for ideas, the first one being the restart button. Well duh… like any product since Microsoft O/S, reboot is the first thing to try… always… and of course it worked! Hurrah!

We got home with plenty of time to bring all the plants inside to their winter digs… the deck is a wasteland now with just the table & chairs remaining - the sofa and chairs came inside today and are jammed into the livingroom which now looks like a showroom for ‘the Brick’!

I’ve been putting a bit more effort into Lupa the past few days and she’s proving to be a bit smarter than I thought. Yesterday afternoon I started to teach her to roll over. Tonight she was doing it with just a little hand cue :-)  She’s got the ‘spin right’ move pretty good too. Sit, down, and stay are a work in progress but improving.

She’s also getting a little better at being left alone in her crate. She’s not hysterical when we get back… oh sure, she’s excited, but will calm down quickly. She’s finally growing up :-)

Awesome!

“the furnace turning on”

“the first real rollover”

“a bit of sun in the morning”

pomp and circumstance

 It’s Monday morning and I’m cuddled up under a fluffy blanket with the tv tuned to the Queen’s funeral. My fingers are flying across the keyboard in a vain attempt to capture the wonderful weekend. We are glad to be home as the furnace on the camper isn’t working and it’s f’n freezing outside with cold rain. It’s only 11C. Brrrrr!

A trip back in time back to Friday mid-afternoon when Carm and I arrived at the villetta. Once we were settled, Kirsten and I went to the grocery store (which we didn’t really need to do as there was heaps of food especially as some people cheated out and had supper on their way to the farm). Olaf, Stephanie and Freya arrived in the early evening and the party commenced. It was a late night but not overdone… bedtime was 11pm…

I woke up and looked at the clock… 12:01am… officially 60. I thought to go outside with a sparkler but was too snuggled into a heap of blankets.

this next bit was written on Saturday - the age turnover day - The sky this morning was hanging close to the ground, the grey tendrils trying to wind their way into my brain but that wasn’t going to happen to me this morning - I was expecting company for coffee! Everyone except Graham was in the trailer with us at one point or another, although not always at the same time!

When the last sibling left, Carm and I had a quick bite of breakfast and then headed out for a long walk with the dogs. I wanted them good and tired as they were going to be spending some serious crate time over the next few hours. We got back with just half an hour to get ready for our exciting outing.

Shenna, the oldest of my nieces, is the Illusion Technician at the Smiths Falls Theatre so of course we had to go. A bunch of us piled into cars for the short drive to the theatre and grabbed the closest seats available - even though we were there almost ½ hour early it was quickly getting packed. I believe it was a sold out show. So much magic!  How did he do it? I don’t know and don’t want to know - I love embracing the impossible.

Carm and I rested (?) for a few minutes before getting ready for the evening's festivities. Kirsten was hosting supper again as there are far too many people to have the family at the villetta. Supper (garlic ribs, Kirsten’s amazing wings, brie w tomato jam, dips, crackers, veggies, cheesecake bites) was a feast - as usual we over-catered! Shawn put on some music after we’d eaten and the dancing commenced. We all danced and some of us sang… it was a good time for all!

“Gather Together”!

Back to today’s prose: Sunday we started getting ready for brunch. Mom, Dad, and as a special surprise, Aunty Kristine, arrived at 10:30am laden with gifts and 2 cakes: chocolate for Olaf and Angel food for me :-) Mom has baked an angel food cake for my birthday for decades now. We feasted again, opened presents, and had a grand ole time.

Carm and I left around 5:30, heading for home with a detour east to meet Stephanie so that she could collect all the stuff they forgot at Kirsten’s.

That brings us to this morning and the Queen’s funeral procession. The interviews of the bystanders have been interesting - even young boys are grieving her loss - I understand better how the monarchy draws people together regardless of their political beliefs or ethnicity. A common bond surrounded by pomp and circumstance!

You all know that I have a hair trigger for crying but I was fine through the funeral procession until they passed her favorite horse standing at the side of the road. Thank goodness they didn’t have her dogs there as well or I really would have lost it!

oh shift… there are the corgis…

Awesome!

“magic”

“getting the water pump working again”

“siblings gathering together”

“Kirsten’s present - oh my gosh I laughed and laughed”

“the gorgeous earrings that Carm got me”

“getting safely home, although the house was freezing”

eggs-actly

 I thought for sure that last night’s late night dip was the end of the season but insanity clouded my mind so I jumped in with Carm this afternoon. It was a crisp 66F/19C. I only did one lap but I was refreshed :-) Oh yeah… refreshed is one word to describe the chill that followed.

The icy dip was a cleansing break after spending the day in the kitchen. Three batches of egg bites, a batch of cookies, and a bunch of Thai basil stripped and bagged kept me busy until 3pm. When it came time to make the cookies I realized that dooh! all the eggs in the house went into those egg bites leaving me with nothing. Luckily Carm ran to the grocery store for another dozen (thanks honey).

I’m pretty much prepared now for a weekend of celebration - clothes are picked out (sequins for Sunday brunch because why not!), most of the food is made, presents are in order :-) It’s not just my birthday - Olaf rolled over a number today (happy birthday little brother!) and there’s Shenna’s accomplishment to toast.

We watched an old ‘Thunderbirds’ movie last night - very funny. Remember the dorky puppets whose legs don’t move and only the lower lip of their lips move while they are talking. Human hands stand in for puppet hands as required. ha ha ha. I suppose this would have been high tech back in the day.

After a day in the kitchen I was thrilled to get an invitation to Trudie’s for a bowl of soup and homemade sourdough bread. That’s an enthusiastic YES.

Awesome!

“another last swim”

“gorgeous 17C September day with blazing blue sky”

splish splash

I heard a splash behind me and turned around to see Lupa flailing in the pool. As I rushed to get her she went under once but luckily I got to her before she went under again. I’d gotten lax about her wearing the life jacket…

a blast from the past: from 1987

It seems that every few years I have to adjust the way I do my blog. Over the years I’ve gone through multiple hoops using a plethora of apps to get my blog to the internet. Alas, again I’m fighting with what should be a simple task. For the last few years I’ve been writing my post in Google Docs, including adding photos and then I copy and paste into a chrome window with Blogger open. It was easy and let me use the features of Google Docs.

 

The other day it all stopped working.

I’ve gone through multiple scenarios to try to track down the problem and it seems that it’s the web version of Blogger, although I can copy and paste on my phone. Just not my tablet. So what I am forced to do is write my blog in Google Docs (like before), copy and paste into Gmail, copy and paste from Gmail into Blogger. WTF!!!! I swear my head is going to explode.

Well WTF!!!! It worked this time! PFM (pure fucking magic), is what we would have said in the old IT days...

Awesome!

“a morning swim… perhaps the last”

“ravioli with the last of the tomatoes from the garden”

swimming between the raindrops

After a day of putzing around the house and a trip to the vet for a jab for Adia and a productive stop at liquidation, we arrived home to a spectacular rainbow. I stripped down and dashed out the door for perhaps the last swim of the season. Swimming between the raindrops with the sun shining on me from low in the west was awesome and if that’s the last swim of 2022 I won’t complain (too bitterly!).

(update 8pm… dark and rainy… just out of the pool again… so it wasn’t the last but was maybe the best)

Today I told Carm that if I were in charge of the Ukraine I’d securely fence off some destroyed apartment buildings and put all the Russian soldier prisoners there. I want them to live the way they’ve made the Ukranians live. They are bastards in the worst sense of the word.

It’s the 3rd day on a lower dose of lithium and everything seems fine so far. Taking into consideration the half life, my blood levels have probably stabilised at the new dose. I think I’m feeling fine but I’m experiencing a weird cross between anxiety and excitement. Not mania. So far. I think. My theory is that after being basically sedated for 18 years I no longer recognize what might be considered normal. And maybe after all these years I am feeling a normal anticipation for the upcoming weekend? 

I suppose I should expect some sort of change.

Maybe I’m overanalyzing! I’ve done that once or twice in my life! I am used to being aware of the blips and bloops…

This afternoon I remembered the names of a few people that we only met once several years ago! All those years ago when I first started taking meds I used to rail against the loss of memory but now I’m thinking my brain is recovering! I hope, I wish…

Awesome!

“swimming between the raindrops and under the arc of a rainbow”

“Lupa learning to spin right with a giant leap”

“finding bags of dog/cat treats for half price”

“8pm snuggled under a blanket after a quick dip”

buried treasures

 It’s been a busy few days with friends and family. Friday we had Pat over for lunch on the patio to celebrate her birthday. It was a lovely day to be outside.

Saturday we putzed around the house, enjoying the hot day and getting things ready for a night at the villetta. We arrived at Kirsten’s around 3 which left us plenty of time to get things cleaned up (but I forgot to vacuum). Kirsten & Shawn came over for a late supper of ravioli with a sauce made from the last of the cherry tomatoes and basil from the garden.

Sunday we visited with K&S over coffee and then hit the road around 11am. We got home and immediately dunked ourselves in the cold waters of the pool. Not too long after we got a text from Stephanie asking if we wanted to meet them at the flea market… we’d been planning on an afternoon of reading and relaxation but a picnic was too good to pass up. Funnily I’d been thinking about McCaffies the day before, wondering if we’d ever go again. It seems that the answer was ‘tomorrow’!

And luck would have it, I made a find as soon as we got there - I’d been planning a trip to home hardware in the near future for a few jars with the metal clasp lids - I found 3 for $5 - what luck. I bought another random thing that was a great find.

Another chippie has been transported bringing the total to 12! And one mouse met its maker last night. Save the cushions!!!

My plan for today was a bit of herb harvesting and then an afternoon lazing outside but alas. Workers are swarming the bridge with asphalt and loud beeping backing trucks. The smell of tar hangs heavy in the air. Mixed with summer scents it's a weird smell of summers long past, pleasant for a moment and then cloying. I did chop up some parsley, sage, rosemary, but no thyme into a fragrant mix of flavour (I did sneak in a bit of oregano). I froze it in baggies so that I can break off chunks to add to meat or soups.

I have a container of meds at the trailer but I forgot that I needed a ½ dose of the lithium so dropped down another quarter to 300mg. So far so good. No nausea, no mania, or anything else that might be related. Maybe a bit more trouble sleeping and perhaps more vivid nightmares. Or maybe that horror show in my brain was a fluke. Or maybe the bad dreams were triggered by the creepy dolls at the flea market!

I’ve been plagued by a body getting older these last few days… a stark reminder that I’m about to turn 60. I squatted down to do something or other and my knee, well, not exactly my knee but a muscle around there, protested wildly. I had trouble getting up. It’s a move that I do a million times a day without thought. Sadly, a replay again today a few times. A nasty reminder of my upcoming birthday…

Lupa chews her benebone for hours every day.

Awesome!

“arriving at the villetta and seeing Kirsten”

“Shawn on his lift”

“seeing Olaf & Stephanie across the parking lot at the flea market”

“picnic”

"The way the dogs look at me as if I am the greatest person in the world"

“preview of my birthday present”

God save the Queen

 It’s the end of an era with the passing of Queen Elizabeth today… she seemed invincible, immortal even, but alas, there is no cheating death even for the royal.

Almost 2 months to the day I turned into the barber shop parking lot, this time with cash in hand (no driving back to the house for dollar bills). It’s a walk-in shop but I only had to wait a few minutes for Pamela and again she did a great job on my hair. 

This afternoon there are only a few decorative clouds floating in the sky and the air was warm. A bit of fall was in the air though… I can see it in the trees which have a golden tinge to them. I saw some maples that were starting to turn red on my way to the hairdressers. Thankfully, we are blessed with a few more days of summer.

I was in the pool by noon but only for 1 ½ circuits as I couldn’t actually feel my skin as it was so cold. Being in for such a short time doesn’t make me shiver but it does take a few minutes to feel normal again. It was warm enough (outside the water), for 2 more dips through the day. By the end of the day the water clocked in at 69F.

Lupa actually remembered yesterday’s lesson… well, sort of remembered. She needed a bit of help at first. She’s got a quick lie down which is cute.

They (whoever they is), have been working on rebuilding the bridge that abuts our property all summer so we are used to construction sounds but it will be nice when the dust settles. At times the racket even drowns out my blasting music. Boo hoo!

Awesome!

“surviving a dip in the 66F water (again!)”

“I was next in line at the barbers so didn’t have to wait long”

“a quick drop on down”

“purple asters”

“stretching out on the patio furniture with music playing”

route 66

It’s an on again off again sunny September day with the temps getting up to 23C… nice but was it nice enough for a quick dip in the pool? Apparently the answer is yes, even though the water is a cold 18C (which translates to a frigid 66F)! I went in for half a lap around the edge but feel that next time (since I didn’t actually die), I’ll try for a full lap or maybe even two!

It may have left me feeling sick to my stomach or else it was something I ate.

I’ve been remiss in dog training this summer so while I was cooking a few pounds of bacon we practiced ‘out of the kitchen’ which involves, yes, going out of the kitchen, with the added step of lying down on the carpet just out the door. Adia knows this well but Lupa has never been taught. I noticed that at the beginning she’d watch to see what Adia would do and copy her. Soon she knew what to do on her own but I don’t expect her to remember later today. We’ll do more practice to solidify that behaviour :-)

Late in the afternoon the sky cleared but by that time the sun was off the deck so no more ‘swimming’! It was, however perfect for reading on the deck.

Awesome!

“surviving a dip in the 66F water”

the end of summer

 It was not much past 9 this morning when our guests pulled away in their giant home on wheels. They are on their way to Syracuse as they slowly make their way west to California. The house seems quiet now after 4 days of full-on visiting! Carm especially enjoyed the visit as there were many discussions on all things politic. The visit was a lovely way to spend the last few days of summer.

Speaking of summer - it is well and truly gone these last few days. This morning it was 15C at 10 am and the pool was an icy 17C/63F… our last day of swimming may well have been 2 mornings ago when we snuck in for an early morning splash. It was cold then but now it’s an impossible temp.

We visited all day yesterday and then headed over to Trudie & Leo’s for a great (as always) supper. I think we were all tired by the end of the day!

Lupa weighed in at 15.6lbs yesterday morning.

Awesome!

“a sneaked in swim”

the guests of honour

 Our next visitors arrived mid-afternoon on Friday, parking their home on wheels where our villetta normally rests. Welcome neighbors! Merikay and Craig just completed a tour of Nfld and are on their way back west to California where they winter, and made a minor detour to see us :-) I first met Merikay through our respective blogs all the way back in 2011. Back then they were readying their house for sale so that they could hit the road permanently. And they did! And they are! Our first in-person meeting with them was June in 2016.

Friday afternoon we caught up or at least made an effort to catch up - they’ve been a million places since we last saw them. The weather was nice enough to eat outside (garlic ribs, corn on the cob, Greek salad). Saturday was hot and beautiful so we chilled on the back deck drinking gallons of lemon water to keep hydrated. Trudie and Leo joined us late in the afternoon for supper (Italian beef, watermelon arugula salad, garlic rice, Trudie’s tomato salad, Trudie’s tarts). It wasn’t a late night but I fell into bed as soon as everyone left.

The weather did an about turn last night so it’s now 14C… Carm and I did sneak out for a quick swim (2 laps only!), before Merikay and Craig got here for breakfast (egg bites, bacon, cinnamon rolls). They are off this afternoon to visit one of Ottawa’s lovely museums.

Carm is glowing from the nice compliment Merikay gave him yesterday! Lupa has been on everyone’s lap - she’s an equal opportunity sprawler. She’s still barking more than I’d like but there has been a big improvement over the last month or two. I think by the time she’s a year old she’ll have the confidence to greet guests calmly.

It’s time to teach Lupa not to jump up on people but it seems an impossible task. Carm lets her jump all the time (no stopping him) and most of our guests encourage it… I even let her do it much of the time. I’d like to teach her to only jump up when invited… but… I don’t have the energy or focus.

Tonight Merikay and Craig treated us to dinner at a local restaurant. It was lovely to have a break from cooking (although I love feeding friends and family). Tonight was our first time eating in a restaurant since just a few days before COVID lockdowns started. It wasn’t very busy in our section which was a relief.

Awesome!

“big white bus backing down our laneway”

“watermelon, arugula, feta, basil salad”

“a sneaky dip in the pool on a cold and blustery morning”

passing through

 Our first visitor this morning arrived as I was getting dressed. A movement in the yard caught my eye and there was Adia outside. What the heck! I was sure I hadn’t left her out there (she’s never out by herself) but maybe I was losing it. No… there she was right beside me!

I dashed outside to see the interloper - he was a huge dog that looked to be a ridgeless ridgeback or maybe a great dane mix. Whatever he was, he was gorgeous and scared. I posted on facebook then called the township. It turns out the big guy was from a few miles away and on the other side of the bridge that is under construction - how he found himself at our place is a mystery. Anyway, the township picked him up and were able to contact his owner so he’s home safe and sound.

Later, I was hanging out in the kitchen doing something with food and out of the corner of my eye I saw a huge black thing - that thing had 4 other things with it. Turkeys! Giant turkeys! Thanksgiving came to mind… They wandered off but I saw them again later in the afternoon down by the pond. Maybe it was a good day for a bath. Good for turkeys but not good for people, at least not outdoor baths. A hot bath in the house, yes. It’s freezing today and the pool is below 70F so no cold dunks for me.

Tuesday Carm brought home a ½ bushel of roma tomatoes so the last few days I cooked and cooked. I made another batch of tomato bacon jam for the freezer on Tuesday. Yesterday I made a big pot of sauce (3 for the freezer & 1 for the weekend), and roasted 4 batches of tomatoes (all for the freezer). I can use the roasted tomatoes for soup or a sauce or jam. Summer in a jar.

Things continue to be okay with the drop in lithium although I had a bit of a scare last night as I was spinning a bit. In the evening I am generally exhausted so usually just chill in front of the TV or with a book but I was jumping up to do something every few minutes… I was energetic… believe it or not this is not a good sign. I feel a little bit racy today but maybe because we have visitors coming tomorrow (fingers crossed).

Trudie & Leo came for a simple supper on Tuesday - it was clean out the fridge day which made for an interesting soup. We each had a few crostini with cream cheese & bacon jam while we waited (for ages) for the soup to finish cooking. I didn’t promise a feast! Trudie returned the hospitality tonight making up in number of dishes and complexity of dessert for my paltry fare. She smoked the brisket herself after brining and sitting with a dry rub which made it 10x better than the one I cooked last weekend.

Wednesday morning Christina and her sister Annagriet came for a visit. I was in the thick of tomatoes but we managed to have a nice visit anyway.

September weather is here… but we’ll get a few hot days on the weekend. Hopefully there will be a few more swimming days!

Carm has transported 1 more chippy for a total of 10.

Awesome!

“a stack of containers to go down to the freezer”

“dog catcher getting Rex home”

“puppy falling back asleep in the middle of the night”

“Grace dancing with me”

“hearing about Christina’s trip”