Best/Worse/What did I learn today? Come sit awhile and chat..newcomers always welcome!!

No shows this weekend, Dianne. I took the boys to a FastCAT run. It's basically a 100 yard sprint where the dogs get timed. Luca ran a little over 24mph, his brother JohnJohn was a little over 25mph. They enjoy it, got to catch up with some friends, which was nice, and it tires them out, which is always good!

Up at 4:30am, no sense fighting pain so relaxed until I decided to garden at outside likely 9:30 a.m. worked for an hour, was going to work the gardens, did about an hours worth of work when Cathy came and brought me a bouquet of lilacs (my favourite) sat for 1/2 hour then finally said It’s time I get some work done, as we walked to to tractor/trailer I could see I had company, ohhh Linda and Dave, hadn’t seen them for awhile, always a fun visit!

Linda had picked up a specialty pillow for me as all the ones I have aggravate the shoulders, causing enough pain that I can’t sleep, this one even has areas for your arms should you wish to lay on your side… they stayed for about an hour, was almost up to taking the pillow to bed and trying it out lol

Cathy was getting her bike to leave and I thought I best get some gardening done, heard her chatting, it was Mike and Kim out for a ride on their spider, they were on their way to Greg’s, stayed about an hour, before they left Mike wanted to look inside Shannon’s Restaurant, they were just closing up but we chatted for a bit, as I was leaving Tony and Shannon said they wouldn’t be back till Wednesday so gave me supper and a big piece of cake..no sense getting back to working in the gardens at this time of night so am going to water the plants I just planted, hot bath and bed..want to try out my new pillow..

Never did make it back outside except to clean and bring my tools inside. I had 2 different lots of company. Some cottagers who only summer here stopped by for a visit. Everyone on the lane is in a tizzy about Nyla being attacked. Heavens we have all sorts of wildlife like - bears, fox, fishers to name just a few and they have never attacked a person or a pet.

I have Rock Solid Builds on. Betty have you ever seen it ? It's on HGTV. It's a show about a construction crew in Newfoundland. Just listening to their accents and unique phrases makes me smile.

Just got out of the shower and I can see I really got bit up when I was outside. My left forearm is a mass of raised bites that ITCH like crazy. Benadryl doesn't seem to be working.

Zeke would love to join your boys Deb racing around. He spent a couple of hours up at Piper's and came home pretty tired.

Any suggestions for an ant problem ? It is just in 1 specific area - where I keep the TH's water dish. I can't put out ant traps as Zeke would have them in his mouth in no time. It's right by the sliding door to the deck but I checked and there doesn't seem to be any outside. I just go out every now and then and stomp around on them.

Have to be at Hotel Dieu for 9 am tomorrow to see the eye specialist. I anxious to talk to him about a few things. He is a lovely man so I enjoy my appointment.

There is a fellow near me who every year during Lilac season he lets people wander through his massive Lilac grove. I hope to stop by 1 day this week.

Betty how close are you to Minden? My nephews are outraged that there is talk of the Minden hospital closing down.

Linda I hope you are having a good time. I can't remember does your son go to Sturgis?

Sharon what did you get up to in your garden today ?

Marie & I have made a concentrated effort to teach my sister's Labordoodle to NOT jump up. I try to remember to reward her for her GOOD behavior and she always gets a knee in the chest when she forgets.

I miss family work parties.

Yes, Adam really means gouged... I will bet he will be shocked when he learns I paid $2,000 to have that floor finished & to repair the damage will probably run about the same! Not to mention the time & cost of Ben & I in a motel while they DID the floor!

I have successfully dealt with ants many times but having Zeke leaves me with few viable suggestions. You can circle the area with Dawn dish soap & contain them that way. Is Zeke ever confined to one area like kenneled or in your bedroom at night? Could you put out traps ONLY during that time?

Deb we cross posted..is your breed known for running? Those speeds sound fast, not a wonder you’ve tired them out. Is FastCat similar to a dog show, indoors/outdoor?

Dianne Minden is the other side of Peterbrough so likely about 90 miles. Would be a disaster if that little town lost their hospital, guess it would mean they’re having to go to Peterborough..lots of cutbacks. midland is expanding yet again, the old hospital will be converted as a Cancer Treatment Centre.

I sure can understand why everyone on your road is upset, did you get a pin update on Nyla? Yes i have watched that show, quite the team and you would wonder how to heck they could build where they do.you’ve had to wait quite awhile for your appointment, hope you get answers. Tomorrow much the same weather, hurrah for us.

Did Adam say he would pay for repairs? Is it in a place a scatter rug could cover it or an insurance claim be put in?

As for ants, I use the liquid,pour some in a pop cap and place them all over, right now I have about a dozen caps here and there behind things and Ziggy candy get behind the canister set etc.

Spent one hour using that pillow and could feel the spasms, so that is the end if that grrr

On Instagram they said to mix 16 oz of water with 3 drops of nutmeg essential oil in a spray bottle and spray where the fire ants or such are and they will not come back. Diane, maybe you could spray some on you. We are so bless in Las Vegas to not have any biting insects.

I didn't do anything in the garden today except water my lettuce and radishes. I finally have grown an edible radish. I will hit the garden tomorrow and finish up my project and then take photos.

Going over to daughter's for dinner but not until 6:30pm. Grand SIL, emergency room doctor, does not get ff until 6pm.

Pat, I just pray that your home is not destroyed. Such an unthinkable thing to do to your own mother.

Betty, when I am really in a groove in my gardening and someone stops by, by the time they leave, my whole frame of mind has changed and my energy level has left. But you never want to discourage friends from stopping by. So disappointed the new pillow didn't work.

Need to get moving and get Ms Emma ready to hit the road we me. She had a bath today and looks very spiffy. They are only about 15 minutes away.

Hi - I'm back, had a great time. Looking forward to my next camping trip :)
Dianne enjoyed herself as well!
Diane - large dogs attacing another dog....... hope the owners are going to be responsible for the vet bills!
I had a fright re: dogs while camping. I was going to the campfire from Dianne's motorhome and cut through another's are that they had their motorhome. Their dogs were leashed, but on a long lease. They came out snapping & snarling & charging me. I backed (ran) away from them, but LONG leases, and by the time their leashes ran out, I took a tumble backwards, hitting my head on the hard group. I screamed, and when I fell I called out for someone to come pick me up. Two people helped me up and I was ok - a headache from falling, and may have Slightly twisted my left ankle. I started to bother me a bit today. I'm resting it and that seems to be helping a lot.
Someone else (drinking beer & a TH Cannabis drink) fell into the firepit last night and burned one hand & the front of both calves. Third degree burns. His wife took him to the hospital today. This is the same guy who cut the top of his foot Thurs night with a piece of glass, badly. I've heard it said that he may not be camping with the group anymore (his choice).

Yes, Betty, Afghans are runners, they are in the same group as greyhounds. FastCAT is just another thing that the dogs can get titles in from AKC. It's outdoors, the weekend runs were outside at a small horse farm. Very pretty area, the dogs were kept well away from the horses, we were warned if our dogs bothered the horses we would be asked to leave, and everyone seemed to cooperate. It's something fairly new that AKC started offering titles in. It originated with lure coursing, which is supposed to resemble chasing down small game, which is what Afghans, greyhounds, whippets, were originally bred to do. The FastCAT is an all breed event, since a lot of dogs love to chase things. It's just a nice day, outdoors, with dogs.

I will bet watching the Afgans run is a thing of beauty with that lush long hair blowing!

Betty, sorry to hear the pillow was NOT a success.

Susan, I bet you were scared! I am NOT brave about barking dogs. Add in some snarling & other aggressive behavior... oh boy. I hope you are feeling better soon.

Sharon don't you wish when visitors came they picked up a trowel and helped!! I want to post a sign at my front door. "Please feel free to weed while waiting!" No biting insects??? Not even the bugs can stand your heat!! LOL

Linda, I hope you enjoyed your mini-vacation!

Karen, I am hoping you & Walt continue to improve in health.

This is my week to hurt myself, I guess. Today I turned too fast & hit my head (small bump on my head) on a phone shelf on the wall of our Senior's Centre, then when I went to collapse our sandwich board sign, I pinched my pinkie.......
I voted today - hope everyone required to vote did so.

My deck, all done but the stain which has to wait for the wood to dry out.

Was a gorgeous day Susan, all I can say is you need a few packages of bubble wrap, mat tomorrow be better. Glad you enjoyed your camping other than the dog fright.

Karen, that is an awesome deck.. see a few places that planters/plants could be planted. Looks like a lovely area.

Believe me guiros, if my visitors were mobile I’d be asking them to help, know if I was visiting I’d be offering to help..actually went to the restaurant, they made a lovely patio, paid mega $$ on plants for barrels, They are closed on Monday and Tuesday but had dropped in to water but I don’t think they know that a lot of the plants they bought needed deadheading so I spent about 10 minutes deadheading their plants for them.

Very interesting Deb, Let’s go on YouTube and see if there is a video of one of the races and yes I bet it’s a thing of beauty watching them run with her hair blowing in the wind.

Interesting about the cinnamon powder in zinc to discourage the small ants.

Will have to mark down the fire ant recipe as well


Didn’t get a lot of gardening done.. took a quick run to Barrie to return the pillow, quick stop to fabricland and after 3 garden centres I was able to get Melanie a beautiful planter for her birthday..

young Vanessa(7) who was suppose to help me cut her grandpa’s shirts for memory pillows came at 3:30-5:30 pm but she fell asleep while I cut the shirts, ready to work on next Monday.

Sharon dropped over, called mom and now bedtime

Karen your deck is beautiful!! I hope you get LOTS of use out of it! I don't sit on my deck near as much as I should..... maybe I will get more use out of it this summer.

hoo boy - great day today. Dianne & I played crockinol at coffeetime, then went to vote. She gave me a ride (to another town) because I live to the north of the highway in the mobile home park & the rest of town votes IN town because they're to the south. My car is staying overnight at the mechanic's. Turns out I likely won't need a bushing replacement for my steering, maybe just an oil change. He's keeping it overnight to check it out to see if there's any safety issues. It's 17yo, and I'll likely need a new car next year but it's a bad time to buy any car. I'd get a used one. It also needs new summer tires, which he has for me.
Then, I was doing some yard work & planting when I saw a neighbour out & went to chat with her. I told her & her friend about my lawnmower issues, and he offered to come out & check my gas mower. It won't work. She came over with her gas mower & mowed my lawn. I gave her a garlic chive plant & some that I harvested. Then, with my lawn mowed, I was able to get more done. She didn't want anything for the mowing. She's borrowed my rake & when I get it back I'll rake then rototill my veggie garden & plant the 3 tomato plants & 4 peppers. All my herbs & flowers are planted now. Tomorrow, when I get my car back, I may be able to go to the hardware store & get a fuse for my electric mower & see if that will fix it.
Feels good to get yard work done.

Yep, a freshly mowed yard & planted garden feels GOOD!!! Good for you Susan! I still need to buy more Wave petunias. Now that my spring bulbs have ripened and I have been able to cut away the dead foliage, I have room for more annuals. Sharon & I cut down the big butterfly bush a couple of weeks ago and that opened up more area as well. BARE ground?? Must plant immediately! LOL

Pat, redoing the deck was a requirement of the association here. Was it up to me, they could have just torn it down. There is no shade there ever so unless we buy an umbrella or something, we'll never use it. I'm not crazy about umbrellas, We had one blow away even though it was closed and took out a car windshield. I loved my porch in TN. It was always cool and shady. I could sit out there and watch the rain and the hummers. Not allowed bird feeders here, they are worried they will draw rats.

Well that is a bummer Karen. We get such high winds here that I would never consider an umbrella either. I had a fit when DIL kept putting up big "shade tent" when they were working on the trailer & would leave it up for weeks. I told her that one of these days the wind would put it right thru the living room window! Instead the wind tore it up, up rooted it and smashed many of my flowers but at least it did not break my window.
I had a long pleasant conversation with Adam yesterday while he was on the road. DIL and kids are finally putting in longer hours and effort to get out and it shows. I understand he can't get ALL the outside stuff done by 5.31 and he is committed to finishing it. He understands the INSIDE has to be complete by 5.31.
Off to the dump, so exciting, right? LOL

Was 82°f, I turned on the a/c, hard to believe change in temps, next week likely frost again.

Karen, could you put one of those electronic shade toppers for shade, they come in beautiful colours/stripes?

Susan, nice to have neighbours who get along, share and help..listened to outcome of your elections. Hope your vehicle won’t need mega work.

Pat, bet it warmed your heart to Talk to Adam without his wife around.sounds as though he is doing what he can to get you your home back.

Was outside at 8am, had a few things I wanted to do but no sooner got out Marie came over and said she wanted to work on the fire pit ashes, couldn’t see her doing them on her own so helped with that… got 5 wheel barrels of ashes done before i left for Sharon’s with Pat and June, enjoyed looking at photos, we will go back another day to finish them. June brought me rhubarb leaves so I picked up 2 bags of cement to make a few garden leaves but took my own advice, come in and rest forage hours. Giorgia comes at 4-6pm, perhaps i will be more energetic and undertake making a batch of cement once Giorgia leaves.

My Sweetie bought me a cement mixer our 2nd year of marriage. He knew that mixing cement was hard on me & I had cement molds, and a cement "habit"!

This brings new meaning to "companion planting" LOL. This is what happens when your clematis prefers your rose bush over a trellis!

My brother brought a a construction mixer, Lordy much too big ..
Didn’t take long for me to give it away lol

Beautiful, will it strangle the shrub! I so would love a clematis to grow

Giorgia had an after school soccer game so i had a free night.
Not energetic enough to mic cement, if the rhubarb leaves are no good I will make planters.

Total crud of a day. Spent all day on the phone trying to get a ride for dr. Appt. tomorrow.All mine are tied up right now. There were several options out there but non of them could do it tomorrow. Was with Ortho. Called and cancelled appt. took the cast off and now I will be able to drive Walt to his appts. All the bragging around here about how much is done for seniors. Comes right down to it bupkis.

Good afternoon everyone.
We had a wonderful weekend, but it was cut dhort, because the bandido motorcycle group decided to get rowdy and start shooting another motorcycle group in the middle of the busy street right next to the tattoo shop we were all in. When it was all done, there were 3 persons killed, multiple injured.
When they started shooting, someone in the shop yelled everyone get on the floor. And we did.
I pray to God I never have to go through that again. It was horrifying to see dead bodies on the street, 30 feet from the shop. State police told everyone to pack.up and go home, the entire street was locked down

LK I immediately thought of you when I heard about the shooting on the news. It had to have been more than terrifying. Glad you and yours were safe.

I didn't work outside today. Hanging my head in shame for not tackling at least 1 bed. I am just covered in bites of some sort. My left forearm swells up with the bites when I start to heat up. Benadryl is not helping.

Pat I am happy to read you had a good chat with Adam. Maybe for your own sanity and peace you'll have to keep your contact with Adam via the phone or 1 on 1. You and Stanley must be relishing the quiet and space.

I have had my shower and will soon head off to bed to read. I know I have said it before but I swear in my next life I am coming back as a sleeper.

The TH are sound asleep. Both of them laying over a floor vent. The AC is on. It was 88* outside in the garden this afternoon. Way too hot for me.

A neighbour came and got some rhubarb today. She brought me down a piece of rhubarb cake - it smells good.

Karen that steams me too. Here it seems that some people take advantage of things and people who really can use the service. Did you cut the cast off yourself?

Sleep well everyone.

Sorry to hear you had to cancel your appointment Karen, was Uber an option? Guess we just take it for g4anted that there is help out there for seniors but not!

Beyond frightening Lindakay, there are no words..
How frightened you must have been, you hear of these things happening but to experience such a horrific happening..wow
Will take some time for you to be in similar gatherings.
Hugs

Dianne, we cross posted

i am enjoying a/c being on as well, didn’t feel humidity though.

June gave me rhubarb leaves but no rhubarb, big sigh..love anything rhubarb.

I was out watering tonight and had to come back in, skitters are in full force. I don’t have a reaction like you do, they bite, i see blood and that is it. I will be glad when Darlene gets backs and brings me those mosquito pucks to see if they work.

Is your appointment with your eye doctor tomorrow?

Do you take sleeping pills? I do, get about5-6 hours on them but they do give me nightmares but worth it to sleep.

Oh Linda, What an awful experience, They had much the same in Pigeon Forge for Rod Run. Never went.
Didn't have to cut cast off. It was just wrapped. Never was very snug. Perhaps that was problem with it.

Morning, will be a sunshine day..

High of 88°f yesterday and they are saying hotter today. So it’s either work in early am and late evening or suffer the a heat stroke.

Karen, if you feel it starts hurt8mg could you put it back on?

I went out and put black mulch in one of the gardens then mixed 2 bags of cement, only enough to make a planter and 3 different sized of rhubarb leaves.

Just started and there was Marie, out doing the fire pit...about 1/2 done with ashes.

Have the sprinkler on, saw that Todd’s roses might be suffering from being planted so perhaps it is in shock.

That is awful Karen, don’t remember hearing about Pigeon Forge but then there is a shooting pretty much everyday there, I try not to listen to the news anymore, hard to listen to all the tragedies.

Can’t wait til my gardens start to wake up, this is their sad time

Keep looking at the clock, have a 1pm perm appointment so still mega time to do something..maybe help the little ones put backing on the banner..maybe sit and cut up 2”-3”,4” squares with all the pieces of fabric have given us, shouldn’t be hard to fill in the morning.

Actually feels much better with cast off. Arm was mostly healed when they put it on. Most likely all healed now.

No, that kind of clematis is not strong enough to cause problems. The Sweet Autumn clematis can really be a beast! it can rip up chain link fence!

Beautiful garden Betty. Roses will go into shock a little when transferred from pot to ground. Keep them watered, they should be fine.

I am hoping they do Lindakay, just made a batch of mix that might perk it up.

Do hope Karen it will not get worse with some use

There is a clematis Pat the girl at the nursery was telling me about, says it will grow anywhere so might try it..

I have 2 vines in the back garden near an archway, didn’t do great since planted so going to get my perm then will dishpan them up and look for new home for them

Well I lasted a short hour outside weeding. It was just too hot for the TH out there too. It's 90 already so will wait until later in the day to get some work done. I need to cut what passes for a lawn too. Zeke was just a jerk on his leash while out there. I put him where it was shaded and there was a nice breeze but he wanted none of that. He wanted to be with me. Chaos was quite happy laying on the cement stones enjoying the breeze off of the lake.

Betty you take it easy if you work outside this afternoon. It is very deceiving when I look out the windows on the east side of the house. There are lots of trees and their leaves are waving gently in the breeze. The sun just filters through in spots so you think it would not be so hot.

Has anyone heard from Judy or Liz?

Was 82°f, I turned on the a/c, hard to believe change in temps, next week likely frost again.

Karen, could you put one of those electronic shade toppers for shade, they come in beautiful colours/stripes?

Susan, nice to have neighbours who get along, share and help..listened to outcome of your elections. Hope your vehicle won’t need mega work.

Pat, bet it warmed your heart to Talk to Adam without his wife around.sounds as though he is doing what he can to get you your home back.

Was outside at 8am, had a few things I wanted to do but no sooner got out Marie came over and said she wanted to work on the fire pit ashes, couldn’t see her doing them on her own so helped with that… got 5 wheel barrels of ashes done before i left for Sharon’s with Pat and June, enjoyed looking at photos, we will go back another day to finish them. June brought me rhubarb leaves so I picked up 2 bags of cement to make a few garden leaves but took my own advice, come in and rest forage hours. Giorgia comes at 4-6pm, perhaps i will be more energetic and undertake making a batch of cement once Giorgia leaves.

Thought I pressed send..

Had my perm, lordy she cut is short but that is ok.

Same weather here Dianne, wait all winter long for nice weather then sit in the house lol

Drats this morning after doing cement heard car screech and dog yelp, sure hope nothing major.if I were the TH I would be down near the lake making several jumps into the lake, that would be a perfect day. Not much wind here, have a young lady coming any minute, her first class, hope she enjoys

Perm was at 1, didn’t realize what time it is, best I get myself ready.

Arm is stronger and less painful every day.
A regular shower was so wonderful.

LOL. We forget the simple joy of a REAL shower!!!

Sharon & I worked a little on the entry, vacuuming & mopping, washing walls, baseboards and doors. I won't get serious until tomorrow. Mostly we just sat and talked. It was nice, low key. Marie will stop by when she is done meeting with a facility director for an Adult Family Home for possible placement for Phil,.

Another sunshine day, 82f
Although I stayed in bed til 8:30 I still got quite a lot of outdoor things done, grass cut, some edging and watering…need a break then i will put a few hours out back when temps cool. I’ve alway to play.

Tomorrow I have an appointment with surgeon to check all is well, pick up a few things then back to the weekend.

Nice to hear Karen that your arm is not giving you trouble. How is Todd, hope he wasn’t one 8nto making that deck?

Marie put money down on placement for Phil. He will likely move 6.18. The current occupant will leave 6.15 & then the facility will paint the room before Phil moves in. This is the same facility, SAME ROOM that we placed our Aunt Gladys Mae in several years ago. She lived there several years before passing away.

A&A are still cleaning. I have told them the carpet in the kids bedroom is not salvageable and will need to be replaced. It looked brand new before they moved in. I've gone out and looked at remnants to purchase & will reach out and call an installer for an estimate of cost and timeline.

Morning, day is overcast and I am just waiting for the rain, here is hoping!

Marie will be relieved having Phil in a home that she is used to, you hear so many horror stories about senior homes. Is the home closer to her than the facility she visits now?

Bet he didn’t realize how nobody was looking the area they rented.. most places would be sending him a big bill! Discouraging isn’t it after you wanting to help them. Out..what to heck were they doing to create so much damage?

Hope all others are doing okay, worry when I don’t see someone post.

My doctors appointment is 1:30pm so think I will leave now, maybe I will get all my running around done before appt. Then I can come straight home.

Marie lives out in the boondocks and NOTHING is close to her. The best we can ever do is find something near a highway & /or near somewhere she would normally go to shop etc. The facility he is in NOW is down the street from me about 2 miles. The new facility he will transfer to is on her way to my house, right off the highway. It changed hands, ownership/ management a few years back, while Gladys Mae was still in there. IT was a disaster. This NEW management under the care of woman who used to work for the original owner. I believe it will be fine, a BEAUTIFUL facility. He'll have a private room and the choice of 3 different meals for EACH of his meals. IE, 3 different breakfasts to choose from etc.

Most people "clean as they go". You notice that you spilled something on the wall etc, you clean it up. If kids are slobs, you require them to pickup after themselves. Imagine if you NEVER did anything out of your chores list jar?? And suddenly someone said "It ALL has to be cleaned!!!" LOL, it would take a while!! It is what it is and I will get this behind me. I used a special tool to scoop under the refrigerator, washing machine, dryer & oven. All of these appliances should be MOVED and cleaned under. I have not got that far, I can't do that alone without risking damage to the floors.

Pat - I agree - people should "clean as they go" at the very least!