Last day of September

 Last day of September and I am stretched out on the back deck sofa :-) It is impossible to believe that tomorrow will be October - we've had a super nice fall - almost a bonus summer. Some of my outside potted plants are doing incredibly well (yes, you: coleus and ferns), while the herbs have shed most of their leaves - the Thai basil plants are basically stems with the odd leaf. I brought in the rest of the swiss chard but am not sure if I'll just bin it… feeling especially lazy and slightly out of sorts today.

I harvested one spindly herb plant down by the barn but the rest are still not ripe, luckily the forecast for the next week is sunny and warm! And I can't find my dill anywhere! It will have to be replanted next spring in perhaps a better spot.

Today I did a quick treatment for earwigs on the pots that will be coming inside for the winter - we'll bring them in next week before I start wrestling with the giant turkey we bought for Thanksgiving festivities.

The days melded into a blur this past week. We came home from the villetta on Sunday after having enjoyed a fantastic weekend (shall I mention the weather again?). Monday I popped into town to see Mom & Dad and then Trudie & Leo came over for supper; Tuesday was soup making day; Wednesday back in to see Mom & Dad; Thursday our first breakfast at Country Kitchen since before the pandemic - we used to be semi-regulars! Plus we stocked up on dog food and then had supper at Trudie & Leo's. Yesterday I mooched around in a semi discombobulated way. Fill in the blanks with lots of lazy time and a bit of cooking (although I have not been motivated that way for quite some time). But Carm! His lazy time has been dominated with chainsaws and shovels!

Awesome!

“June in September”

“the colour of the trees along the highway”

“blue sky dotted with fluffy white clouds”

"Supper outside!"

peaceful easy feeling

 I'm at one of my happy places this weekend :-) Yes, the villetta is getting filled with sand and gravel from our many walks down Kirsten's road on these beautiful fall days! It was another glorious day with sunshine (a bit of cloud cover) and temps in the 20s.

Yesterday I took Mom to her appointment to get her interim obturator- it went well and Mom came out of there in better shape than when she went in - we had no idea what to expect and I wondered if I would be rushing home to get my overnight stuff again, but it wasn't as awful (easy for me to say!) as we imagined. Her speech has improved tremendously and some of the issues that she had with the temporary one have resolved. First appointment with the radiologist is on Oct 5th, at which point she will hopefully have a treatment plan.

After I dropped Mom back to her place, I rushed home, threw a few things into a cooler and we drove to Kirsten's with the sun in our eyes. I don't have words for the feeling of peace and happiness that I felt being here and being with Kirsten and Shawn. We ate supper in the trailer and chatted for ages before crashing into bed. This morning they came for coffee and we visited for hours before splitting up for a few minutes - then we joined them in their house where Kirsten made us some fantastic sandwiches. 

Kirsten and I enjoyed (well almost enjoyed - the dogs were going every which way!) a walk down the road this afternoon - the grand maple trees that line the road are starting to don their fall colours and looked resplendent in deep green tinged with orange and red. 

Cause I got a peaceful easy feelin'

And I know you won't let me down

'Cause I'm already standin'

On the ground

-The Eagles

On Tuesday night, Pat came for supper for the first time in ages. We ordered 2 shawarma platters to share - well, they were so packed with food that one platter had the three of us groaning in our chairs! I packaged up the other one, and with just a bit of rice added, it fed the four of us last night until we were bursting. We did have room for a slice of the cheesecake that Kirsten brought, but gosh! No need for a bedtime snack last night :-)

Back to Pat's visit: for the last few months I've been crating Lupa before guests arrive and then bring her out on leash, advancing closer to company as she calms. Tuesday night I didn't crate her - of course the dogs rushed Pat when she came in the door (no barking though!), and then I was able to direct them out of the hall, to wait at the doorway. They did need some reminders, but waited until I released them for a hello. Lupa is finally growing up! She's less than a month away from her second birthday and maybe age is mellowing her a bit. Ha ha - on the scale of craziness though,  she's still pretty crazy!

Awesome!

“emerging unscathed from the parking garage for the third time”

“being at the villetta”

“my beautiful sister and her husband”

“Lupa not going as crazy when people come over”

at the car wash yah

 Mom and I had a pretty big laugh today as she treated me to a car wash - 61 years old and it was my first time taking the car into a carwash! I've had lots of firsts this summer in the car, or if not first's, first time since my teens. 🤪 Today Mom's appointment was at the dreaded Civic hospital with the ancient parking garage that is under extensive renovation… I breathed a sigh of relief when we emerged into the light of day!

Awesome!

“emerging unscathed from the parking garage”

“a beautiful day”

“ripening herbs”