This morning

Boy, was S ever in one HECK of a grouchy mood this morning!

When I finally got him up, I reminded him that today was garbage day and that he needed to get both the garbage bag and the green bin out to the curb before he got on the bus. He took great exception to the green bin being his responsibility. I told him that on his recycle week he has to do cat litter, and on garbage week it’s the green bin. He did the little growl-type noise that he does to indicate that he realizes this, but doesn’t like it.

After a little while, I went in to his room to make sure he was almost dressed. I noticed that the uniform pants he was putting on were dirty, so I asked him to please put those in the laundry and I started to reach in to his closet for another pair of navy pants. “Those ones are dirty too,” he said in a very nasty tone. I asked why he would hang up dirty pants, and he told me “Because I always hang up my pants as soon as I get home!” I grabbed the other pair of navy pants and put them in the hamper with the first pair. Next I grabbed his khaki pants, and told him that he would have to wear these ones for today. This is when he informs me that the loop has come unfastened and he can’t do these pants up.

Fine. I tell him that I will sew up the latch and start walking out of his room. “Fine!,” he yells, “I’ll just sit here half naked. Or better yet, I will go to the school just like this!” I stopped, and turned around and tried to explain to him that I was simply going to my sewing basket to grab a needle and thread, and perhaps he could use this time to get his teeth brushed. Of course, by now I am flustered, and had some trouble getting the thread through. (No, it’s not age – I think it was a small-holed needle!)

After a couple of minutes of fighting with the thread, I remembered that he had one clean pair of navy pants downstairs hanging in the laundry and he could use those. I told him this and he growled and went to the laundry room to get them. Of course, once I knew he had a pair of pants, I was able to thread the needle! I quickly repaired the khaki pants and came out of my room to remind him about the green bin.

During all of this, I was also trying to chop, slice and dice the items I needed to put in to the slow cooker for this evening’s dinner. As I got back to the cutting board, and reminded him to take his medication, S says to me, “Do you have my lunch?” Most days he doesn’t even take a lunch, and when he does, he usually asks me to make him something when he first gets up.

I quickly grabbed some cheese and meat from the fridge, opened up the tortilla’s and made him a couple of quick wraps while he was taking things curb-side. He was gathering up his backpacks and clarinet– he wears his laptop on his back and his ‘normal’ backpack on his front - when I came down with his lunch and small green-bag item he had missed.

“I can’t HOLD anything else,” he snarled at me. I calmly opened his front backpack pouch, placed his lunch and book he had in his hand in the front pouch (thereby freeing up his left hand) and handed him the bag without saying a word. I zipped up the pouch and started back up the stairs. I heard another snarl/growl thing, and he went outside, slamming the door as he went.

What a lovely way to start the day.

On the upside, he was able to get everything curb side, he was wearing a clean uniform, had clean teeth, a healthy lunch, and was able to meet the bus on time. (Take the small things when you need to, that's what I say!)

Last night S had a bit of geography homework, which he did tell me about, and was very willing to sit down and get right to work on it after dinner last night. I made sure I stuck around the kitchen while he was getting started, but he didn’t dawdle with it at all – he just got what he needed and got right down to work. I finished tidying up the kitchen and when I saw that he was still plugging away, felt comfortable going in to the living room to work on a few things I wanted to get done. He finished all of the work (at least it looked like he did) and the only thing he didn’t look after doing at the time was making sure he had put everything back in backpack.

Grouch-face… I think I will have to call him that tonight and see what caused this morning ruckus. After he left, I looked at the A-man – who gets up a full half hour before S or I – and asked “What was that all about?” He had no idea.

~~~

On a different subject, it would appear the chicken’s are going into a bit of an egg-producing reduction. Two days ago we got 17 eggs, and yesterday only 15. I guess since we are getting darker earlier, they are being affected by that. Hard to admit, but it would appear slaughter time is soon upon us. I’m hoping the weather warms up a bit so that closing the pool this weekend isn’t too nasty, and then Hubby and I can decide when he is going to start making the chickens freezer-ready. (Again, I will have nothing to do with this process, thank you.)

Weekend update

I don't really have much of an update about the boys - I am still away at the music event and haven't seen them since Thursday morning, but it was so cute on Friday night when S phoned to sing Happy Birthday to me.

Spoke with Hubby this morning and it sounds like he and the boys had a pretty busy afternoon. He took S to watch Lil'A's soccer game in the morning and then in the afternoon they got the entire lawn cut and then used the sweeper to pick up the grass and throw it in for the chickens. He said after that they did some inside house work before he went grocery shopping.
He has a meeting with the past President of the Fishing Club this morning - he's the new President and has a number of questions about the running of a major event - and then he is going golfing with some friends this afternoon. It sounds like it's going to be a couples thing so he will be odd man out, but I am sure he will be fine with that. After the golfing they are going over to our friend's house for a barbeque.
I will be working at the music festival, but at least by 6.30 tonight we will have the booth dismantled and will be able to sit and enjoy the final band of the evening.

Okay - must dash now... time to get back to work!

Civic Holiday weekend

We had such a great long weekend!

Friday evening Hubby and I relaxed with some margarittas on the deck before dinner. After dinner, we went for a family swim - but I found the water too cold and didn't get in to far. Hubby and the A-man had a good little tussle/wrestling match, and it was quite fun to watch them having such a good time. S tried to get into it after a little while, but he was a little leary of getting into the middle of these two pretty big guys.

Saturday morning, I slept in! It was WONDERFUL to get up that late, even though I did feel like a lazy sloth, I was glad I did it. I worked on a resume update & send off, then spent some hours in the garden pulling weeds. We had a very quiet Saturday evening - just watched a movie together and went to bed pretty early. We got 5 eggs from the chicken this day. S seemed very excited every time he went into the coop and came out with another treasure.

Sunday was another sunny and beautiful day. I made up some of my famous weed killer (vinegar, salt and dish soap!) and attached the growth going on between the bricks in the patio. Next I got out the hose and got the patio all cleaned of dirt and debris. S and the A-man washed down the patio furniture and moved a few wheelbarrows full of wood chips for me. Then I got wedding the night garden, chive garden and iris area. I moved a few plants around, and generally got the entire patio area looking very presentable indeed. That evening we had some company - a co-worker of Hubby and his wife came over shortly after dinner.

Monday was another beautiful, sunny day. I got out in the veggie garden in the morning and managed to get some weeding done between the onion rows, the lettuce rows and up to the Swiss Chard area before I had to go in and shower for my afternoon sail with my highschool friends.

Sammy and Suz came to pick me up around 12:30 and we headed off to Dar's. We sat and admired Dar's garden area for a while, and then headed out the lake for our afternoon sail. Loaded down with our picnic, I am sure we looked like quite the group as we entered Dar's private docking area. The sun had gone in behind some clouds, but we still managed to have a good afternoon on the water.
The winds started to pick up as we were coming in, so Dar dropped the sail and we came into the port on the motor.

Last night we had another quiet, peaceful evening, and went to bed early, ready to face another work week.
The boys have been loving the swimming pool, and have been using it two and three times each day. In fact, last night I had to poke my head out of the laundry room adn tell them that since it was almost dark, they should probably head back in. I don't think they had realized how much the sun had set until I mentioned it to them.

The A-man had called R to see if she could go to a movie with him on Sunday, but since she never called back, we are going to assume she was away with her family for the weekend.

We are going up to the cottage next weekend, and since I am starting holidays, and Hubby is going on afternoons, it looks like we are going to be able to come home on Monday morning instead of having to rush back on Sunday night.

Holiday time yet?

I am tired.

Lately, the more I have been sleeping, the more sleep it would appear I require. I’m not sure if my current state is because of a busy past weekend or something more.
I’ve not been very pleased with a number of things at work over the last little while, but I can’t imagine that has drained me this much. I have updated my resume and I’ve even sent a couple out to some really interesting-sounding jobs, but I’m still enjoying the day to day tasks of my job. (Not many others can have that claim, I hear.)

Since we are looking at a long weekend, I am hoping that the extra day of a sleep in will provide me with the rest I require. I told Hubby that I didn’t want to go to the cottage this weekend. I just want to have a weekend at home, in my own bed, doing what I want to do whenever the urge strikes me. He was okay with that – he always has about a million little projects on the go. So, this weekend, the first of a number of long weekends, we have no plans what so ever.

Next week is a short work week, then I will be off for a week’s holidays. I won’t be going anywhere for these holidays, however. S will be participating in a special educational technology camp every afternoon from 1pm until 4pm, and one parent is to attend the camp with him. S will be given more intensive training on his laptop – using the various programs that he has installed on it – and I will be learning more about the devices, too. It is the hope of Hubby and I that S will learn a few more things about his system and will be more willing to use it in class. (Always seems to be an issue for him in the past.)

I don’t think the school office will be open for that week, but I am going to have to make an appointment to find out more about the EA that S may have, as well as the timing he will have an EA for. I will also have to try and meet each of the teachers and inform them of the uniqueness that is S. I think it’s imperative that each teacher receive some type of forewarning.

Since the technology camp is in the afternoons only, I am really looking forward to being able to take my time in the mornings and just putter and get things done around the house and yard. This too should allow for some extra rest time for me.

Oh! We have started getting eggs from the chickens! The last couple of days we have had three eggs laid in a couple of different nests. We’ve only had one soft-shelled egg so far, and each day they seem to be getting bigger and bigger. I used one yesterday for my breakfast, and it was a double-yoked egg. The first two eggs that we got had a small blood spot in each of them, but I haven’t seen any since then. Not sure how long it will take until each hen starts laying an egg a day, but it’s a nice surprise to go in to the coop each day to see what has been left for us!

Most enjoyable evening

S and I had eye appointments yesterday. Apparently the doctor could see no muscular reason for S's lazy eye and gave him a bit of a strengthening exercise to try and keep that eye from wandering. The same eye is also slightly near sighted, but not enough to be concerned about as yet.

On our way home we picked the A-man up from his day with Jazzy's brother. Sounds like they had an enjoyable day, too.

When we got home, the boys got ready and went for a swim. Yes! We have the pool up and running finally! While they were swimming, I decided to continue to pull the huge weeds out from my gardens and pathways. I filled the wheelbarrow 4 times...

I finished my weed pulling by my favourite place to sit in the garden, and was inspired. I came in the house and grabbed my book - Chicken Soup for the Canadian Soul - a wine glass and a bottle of Cab Franc. I also grabbed my bug jacket. I went and placed these items on the bench, then went and raided the A-man's wood pile.
I started a nice wee fire in the chiminea that I placed in my lily garden this spring, and sat on my garden bench (which is between two big pine trees) while reading my book and having a glass of wine! It would have been perfect if I hadn't needed to wear netting over my body, but we can't have everything now can we?

It started to get darker, and I could no longer read, so I just sat on the bench watching the fire and sipping my wine. Suddenly I could hear sounds of water moving behind me and over to my left. I sat very still and listened. The movement and splash sounds started to come closer... and closer. (Behind my garden bench is a long ditch that runs the length of our property - we have ducks in the spring, and once had a beaver build a damn in the ditch.)

I turned to look into the water area to see what was heading my way. The bushes were moving ever so slightly, and the moving water sound was very close. Suddenly, I saw it. At first I thought it was a duck, but it wouldn't make sense that I would have heard that; they are usually silent. My eyes peered into the darkness, slowly adjusting to the dimness, and I then realized that I was looking at a baby raccoon. "Oh, hello!" I said. The wee little guy just sort of froze.

The next thing I knew, there was some serious growling coming from the ditch, a little further back than where the babe was. Momma. I watched the baby scamper out of the ditch and head to some trees on the other side. It was facinating to see him just climb that tree like it was flat. I heard, but couldn't see, more scammering into the trees. Momma continued to growl at me. I told her that I wasn't going to do anything, but she didn't seem to want to listen. By this time I was sitting on the edge of my bench, ready to run if I needed to.
I guess she realized that I wasn't a threat to her babies, because she stopped growling at me, but I know that she was sitting watching me. I finished my wine, made sure the fire was just about out, and headed back in to the house. (I guess these are the critters that have been trying to get in to my chickens.)

Not your everyday occurence, that's for sure! I could have done without the growling part of the evening; I was scared of her jumping out at me, and I didn't even really know where she was. I didn't think that she would attack - that is something they only do when cornered, or when someone is harming her baby, but still - it was quite the growl.

I did enjoy the sitting by the fire in my favourite spot of the garden - I will have to repeat this part of the evening again!

Wedding and weeding

We had SUCH a good time at the wedding this weekend. It was an outdoor event - son of S's Godparents - and I had gone over Saturday morning to help with the final set up. It's incredible how much a tent can go from looking like a tent to looking like a place for a wedding once you put out the linens and place the centre pieces.

Hubby and I were invited for a barbeque before the wedding reception - it was an intimate family-only dinner after the wedding - and we had a great time with our friends before hand. The evening was perfect for an outdoor event. We had been worried that it would be too cool, but all the sides of the tent were left open, and most people actually mingled outside of the tent. It got too warm inside the tent because of all the dancing! I was the dd that night, but I still managed to rock the dance floor, and the AC/DC song I love has given me a kink in my neck that I know the chiropractor will love me for...

Hubby and the boys left yesterday afternoon for the cottage. I had talked about having a nap, but never actually did that. I did, however, get rid of all the cobwebs at the front entrance of the house. I also cleaned the boy's bathroom, and the kitchen, and made two types of flavoured vinegars; chive vinegar and tarragon vinegar. These herbs infused into the vinegar will make the vinegar very mild, and I will use it for salad dressing and hostess gifts. (This also used up some of my garden bounty!)

I took today off in lieu of Wednesday's Canada Day. Originally I had planned to go up to the cottage, too, but then I decided I could use the quiet time at home. This morning I got the veggie garden all weeded, then got to work on the moonlight garden by the hot tub. Got that cleaned up, and the chive garden, too! Then it started to rain. The rain put a ky-bosh on my afternoon golf lesson, too.

I'm going to work on indoor cleaning now, though. I figure I will be able to run the vacuum around the basement tonight, and depending on my stamina after that, I may even move to the upstairs, too. Both boys rooms have been tidied, and once I tackle the foyer, I will be pleased with the entire house again.

OH! Some good news! We have new neighbours - and they have a son the same age as the A-man! They also have a daughter that is a couple of years older, I think. This is the first time in 10 years that we have had neighbours with children the same age as ours. Now, at 16, it's hard to say if they will actually get along, but here's hoping...

Past year's garden pictures

These pictures were taken a little while ago - maybe 3 summers now? The garden was still quite new and not fully developed. I think it was probably back when I had time to keep on top of the weeds in the pathways!

This first one was taken from standing at the front of the garden and

looking into the side yard. We no longer have the wooden swing you can see in the background. The wood started to rot, and when we cut down that tree last fall, the swing went with the stump!

My rose garden area isn't large, but the blooms from the roses are amazing. David Austin roses just look and smell heavenly!

One of my ultimate favourite flowers - the star gazer lily. The chipmunks have raided my lily garden over the years, but it still looks and smells wonderful when the flowers are in bloom.

This is a centred shot of a disco mix hibiscus. The flower is about 10 inches in diameter, and almost completely flat. It is all white, with it's bright vibrant centre. It usually blooms toward the end of July and then all through August. It's a real show stopper.

I really like the look and feel of English gardens. This delphinium didn't come up last year, though.

My sweet double daisies. They just make a person smile when they look at this plant!

I have an abundance of cone flowers in my garden. Native to our region, I never water them, but they are more than happy to take the abuse, and continue to thrive.

What a weekend!

S is adjusting well to his leg brace/splint thing. Hopefully it's not too hot under the shorts...

On Friday, I went and picked up my niece so that my Mom could take her and the boys up to the cottage. It was a really full car, I tell ya! After they got away, I got to work in the veggie garden.

I'd bought a new net jacket that comes right over the head and zips up so that the flying pests can't get to your eyes, ears or neck. It works really well, but it does make seeing things a bit more difficult. The only part of my upper body that was sort of exposed was my hands, but at least I could see the pests and swat them before they bit into me.

Anyway - got the veggie garden weeded around the onions, lettuces, spinach and radishes. A couple of weekends ago I'd put in kohl rabi and swiss chard, so these little plantings aren't quite as established - this is where my visual impairment from the netting became a concern... I was able to get through it, though and get those rows cleaned up.

Next, I got to planting the things I'd picked up from the nursery. Yes, I know that is 'cheating' a wee bit, but I just didn't have the time to get everything in to ground early enough in the season! In went: one and a half rows of carrots, a row of peppers; green and yellow, cucumber plants - one English cuke and one 'regular' cuke, a zucchini plant and six tomato plants; two are beef steaks, one is a golden tomato, one is an heirloom variety, and then there are two of the grape-type tomatoes, too.

After I got the tomatoes planted and put the stakes in place, I got some herbs into the ground. These consisted of: two types of basil - regular and Thai, rosemary, parsley, and cilantro. I actually didn't use up all of the space I normally use for the veggie garden, but that is okay. We won't have fresh peas or beans this year, but it is what it is!

After playing in the dirt, I came in and showered and dressed for the pre-tournament cocktail party. I was almost an hour behind the time I'd planned on leaving, but I knew that I had to get the veggie garden completed while I was there. Strike while the iron's hot, and all that.

Saturday morning, I had to be at the golf course by 8am. Ugh - that is early. I had a really good time in the tournament. I can see how my game is improving, but I can also see how much more I have to improve! After the game ended, I came home to meet up with Hubby's sister. We sat on the deck and had a glass of wine and chatted. She's been going through "stuff" and needed an ear. We went off to the dinner that was associated with the tournament, and I ended up winning a season's ski pass that is worth about $800! Sweet.

Yesterday I went in to work for about an hour, then picked up groceries. When I got home, I cleaned up the kitchen and made myself a wonderful lunch of scallops and mushrooms on a salad. Then, I washed the windows in the kitchen, dinning room, living room and front foyer! The kitchen one was TERRIBLE! I think we will need some sort of protection from all the UV rays that are now able to get through the glass!

After this, I tackled the bar area and the TV room. MUCH better now, I must say. Nothing like having the place to yourself and being able to get so much done. Hubby got home around 6 and the boys around 8.30.

I love weekends....

Busy weekend!

We had a very busy, but very productive weekend!

Friday was S’s birthday. I left work just before noon and did a few errands. When I got home I did a bit of straightening around the house – with the boys help since it was a PA day – and around 4pm, S’s friends started to arrive. He had invited three boys, and all of them were able to make it, which was very nice.

We went to a movie, and then when we came back I made a few pizzas and the boys all retired to the TV room to do whatever it is that 14 year old boys when they are having a ‘party.’ Hubby and I went to bed around 11:30, and I didn’t hear a thing from the party below. The A-man told me that he heard them up until about 1 am, but since my bedroom is directly above the boy’s TV room, I can’t quite understand how he heard them when I did not.

Anyway, in the morning I made a big breakfast and the boys played on the trampoline and played some baseball. Shortly after lunch, the party was officially over. The wind had started to die down, so I was able to get some more work done in the gardens.

Last weekend I had totally cleaned out my one garden by the hot tub – my night time garden. It was so overgrown with the zebra grass and lambs ear that I had planted, I decided it was best to just clear it right out and start all over again. (For the record, there will be no more zebra grass or lambs ear planted in that section again.) On Saturday I was able to get the topsoil dug out of the area that will be pathway, and then laid about 3 inches of woodchips for the walkway. After getting that done, I was able to get my white irises back in the ground, and start to figure out what else I want planted in this area.

Hubby and my Dad had been working on the chicken coop for most of the day, and just as I was finishing in that garden, my Mom came to get Dad to head over to the cottage for the rest of the weekend. I went back to the coop to help Hubby with figuring out where we were going to put the roosts (3) for “the girls” and to also determine where the nesting boxes (5) were going to be built. Hubby and I got the roosts all in place and the frame for the nesting boxes finished. Then we had dinner and went to visit some friends for a bit.

Sunday morning – what a beauty day! I started to divide some big clumps of daffodils that I have. The clump is just so big and tight that none of the bulbs were getting a chance. I was able to relocate bulbs to three separate areas as well as leaving some in the original spot. Next I got to working on the biggest compost bin. Raked all the top stuff to one side and starting shoveling out the wonderful compost. Got 4 wheelbarrow fulls of it! Spread that all around my lily garden and my tea garden – which I had totally gutted and started to replant last weekend - plus put a bunch of compost in the night time garden area. While I was working on the compost, I put the boys to work in cleaning up the scrub back by the veggie garden. S used the big clippers to cut down the wild raspberry canes and whatever other things may have sprouted up, and the A-man raked everything back to be level with the large compost bin.

After cleaning out most of the compost, raking up the pine needles from the main garden area and cleaning up the pathways a bit, I got to work on replenishing the pathways with wood chips. I like to lay the chips in/around the gardens that are ‘done’ so that I can see the full effect of the improvement. After a while, the small of my back was screaming at me that it was time to shift to something else, so I decided to get the rotatiller out for the veggie garden area.

Just as I was about to begin the third strip with the tiller, Jazzy and her Mom stopped by to get Hubby to retrieve a homework file from Jazzy’s crashing computer. I went in to make some tea for L and I. As I was putting the kettle on, my in-laws stopped by to visit the birthday boy. After a brief visit, everyone cleared out, and I was able to get back to work on the veggie area.

By the time I was finished, I had planted two full rows of onion sets – Spanish and Red onions, and green onions – a partial row of green leaf lettuce completed with spinach in the last quarter, and a partial row of red leaf lettuce, again completed with some spinach. I planted two small rows of radishes for Hubby (ick!) and will do a second planting of both radishes and lettuces next weekend. I’ll probably put the kohl rabi and swiss chard in next weekend, too. Once the spinach is done for the season, I’m planning on putting a zucchini plant in that area.
As I was tilling I found some cut up potatoes, so I will have to be careful to get all of those out of that area, because I don’t think I’ll be putting potatoes in that section of the garden this year.

I change my veggie garden layout all the time – don’t like to put the same things in the same areas every year, so I change the direction of my rows, or change how I arrange my sections. My veggie garden is always based on my mood when I start it for the season. This year is all long rows, I think. Maybe the row will have different veggies in it, but that’s how I’m working it so far.

Once I finished in the garden, I realized that it was after 5 and I should get some groceries for the week. I took a little break and worked on my gazing ball a bit then went to get some food for the family. When I got back from shopping, Hubby and the A-man were just finishing in the coop. Hubby felt the final steps to saying “It’s done” was to get the doors on, and the ventilation areas cut out. My Mom and Dad stopped by just as we were finishing our dinner - Dad got the doors hung, and tonight Hubby and the A-man will put the shingles on the roof and cut out the vent areas. “The girls” may get moved into their new home tonight, but more likely it will be tomorrow. Just in time for the pheasant chicks to take over the brooding pen on Wednesday!

Needless to say, I did not have a hard time falling asleep last night! I helped the A-man with completing a pamphlet layout for a project, and after he’d printed it, we all had a hot tub and went to bed.

The yard is slowly taking shape. The trick – as always – will be in keeping it that way!

This and that

Last week I was sick. I started the week feeling that a chest cold was coming on. On Wednesday - over a week ago now - I was able to get in and get a massage to try and relax the elastic band that was around my chest, shoulders and back. The massage did help to ease the very tight muscles, but I think it also helped to bring on the cold even more.

Thursday I was bad, Friday even worse. Saturday was the worst I have felt in a very long time. Poor Hubby had come to bed around 3 or 4 and shortly thereafter went to sleep elsewhere because I was coughing so much.

I even took cold medication on Saturday to try and help ease the sinus pressure and pain. That is a big step for me - I hate taking medication.

After a while the sinus pressure began to ease and I was able to open my eyes without feeling faint. In the afternoon, I was even able to go out and watch Hubby and the A-man dismantle the tree fort in the back yard. (More about plans for that in a minute.)

I guess the worst of it was on Saturday because I started to feel better on Sunday. Now I'm just trying to clear my lungs of the icky stuff. I'm also happy to say that my engergy levels have come back to normal and I'm not spending all night, every night, laying on the couch and feeling like a log. I loathe being sick.

~~~
Saturday is the A-man's 16th birthday! Wow - legal driving age. Such a scary idea for the parent of an ADHD child. Now I will admit, the idea of S driving a car scares me far more than the idea of the A-man driving does. He has calmed quite a bit, and matured so much that I don't think his ADHD should even have a factor in to things. I'm going to look in to the cost of driving classes and talk to Hubby about giving that to the A-man for a gift.

I've invited a number of people over for dinner on Saturday night, and I've not mentioned it to the A-man. People are just going to start arriving and wishing him a Happy Birthday. I'm planning on making all of his favourites for dinner, and then the 'kids' will get the run of the downstairs while the adults chat upstairs. It should be nice. I know he will like the fuss and attention, even if he won't get the whole element of "Surprise" being yelled at him when he enters a room.

~~~
Okay, now on to the most exciting adventure our house has ever tried. The A-man and Hubby were dismantling the tree house because we are going to 'renovate' the shell of the tree fort and turn it in to a chicken coop!

Yup - sometime around April 22, we are going to be receiving 3 week old Black Sex Link chickens! 20 of them. :o)
At first they will look like this but then when they are fully grown, the girls will look more like this:

Pretty little things, aren't they?

Then, a few weeks later - the first Tuesday in May - we will be getting a dozen day old ring-neck pheasants. They will be wee tiny, and will require the whole brooding process. I'm quite nervous about because it's quite a task caring for little baby birdies!

At a day old the chicks will look something like this

and when they are fully grown will look more like this:


And, why, exactly are we doing this? Who knows?
It will be an interesting adventure for us, and it will be kind of fun to learn about what's involved in raising them. By September we should be starting to get eggs! Until I'd started reading about how to raise them, I didn't realize that chicken's lay eggs every 26 hours or so.

Then, in the late Fall, we will start to fill the freezer, I guess. I will not be involved in that process - that will be all Hubby's doing. (He was raised on a farm and this is something very common for him!)

I've told the boys that they will have to help with the chores involved in raising the birds, but I don't know how involved they will be. S is very excited about getting the babies, but I don't think he realizes how much care they will require.

It'll be an adventure that I'm looking forward to talking about on here!

Holiday Weekend/Work stuff

This morning I feel like Captain Prickard of Starspace command. I knew the change was coming, and I thought I was prepared for it, but it turns out I am still quite adverse to change. (Gee, I wonder where the boys get it from….)

My work station has been changed all around. I can live with the actual desk-layout change – it was changed at my suggestion, actually, to accommodate the other changes.
What I am finding most difficult to adjust to are the two screens – large, 20” flat screens – on my desk. Two screens! Why on earth does a person need two screens at their work station?!?
Then, to throw more chaos in to the mix, my telephones (yes, I have two of those, but that isn’t new) have been switched from the right hand side to the left hand side of my work area. I keep reaching in to the wrong direction every time one of the blasted lines beeps at me!
I had to poke around the front of my computer to even figure out how to turn the thing on. Felt like a total novice…

New assistant is working out well. It has been SO nice to be able to get so many of the little things done and taken care of. None of the tasks are difficult - they just take up time. It’s almost strange to have this little extra breathing space in my day now. I’m unnerved by this – I haven’t felt this is such a long time in the office. It sort of freaks me out.
She is a very serious girl… Boss and I are not quite sure how to take her. I guess it will take working at a trade show with her at the end of November to really be able to get a true feeling for her. It’s amazing how much a person can change/adjust their personalities when on display at a trade show; her first one will be at the end of November. She is a nice enough girl – and yes, she is still a girl in my opinion – she is just so darn quiet. We are not used to quiet…

We had a great holiday weekend. With weather like that, it would have been hard to not have one; sunny, warm days… not something we often experience in the middle of October. Saturday was a day of grocery shopping and cleaning up. We had Jazzy’s folks over for our wine-tasting event. It turns out California really isn’t all that great at making Savignion Blanc, but they do make a yummy Cabernet Savignion! I served all goat’s cheese with the white wine and then all sheep’s-milk cheese with the reds. Found some pretty good cheeses that way, too. Also learned that just because it’s called an ‘artisan’ cheese, and costs WAY more than all the others, doesn’t necessarily mean it will be the best tasting.
Sunday was ‘turkey’ day. I woke up bright and early and started getting things ready for baking. I’d made the dough the night before, so I just had to warm them enough for rolling. Then I was chopping, slicing, dicing, and preparing for a dinner for 10 people. I had the table all set, the kitchen all cleaned, the serving dishes and utensils all ready and the turkey was in the oven with lots of time to spare. Hubby and I even got a chance to sit and talk for about half an hour before our guest arrived. Dinner was great – but not enough turkey left over for my liking.
Yesterday was beautiful weather, and Dar called me and invited me out on her sail boat for the afternoon. I had planned on doing laundry and cleaning up my bedroom area, but the lure of the wind, sun and time on the water was far too strong for me… off I went. What a perfect way to end the busy weekend. I was so relaxed when I drove home yesterday afternoon; my neck and shoulders aren’t used to being so relaxed! Hubby took advantage of the sunshine and got the grass cut and then he and boys did all the yard-work preparation for winter. All deck items are stored, planters are away, etc.
I am so glad I was sailing instead of doing that!!

Today is Election Day here in Canada – make sure you get out and vote! I brought my election form with me this morning and will be voting on my way home tonight.

General ramblings and such

I guess it has been a while since I did a bit of an update on here.

Hubby and I had a lovely dinner on Thursday evening. It was actually a very nice date. The new Thai place we went to had quite a selection, and I think we both found it tough to decide what to have for dinner.
After dinner, we went shopping to buy Hubby some new clothes that actually fit him, then we came home a shared a nice bottle of wine. It wasn’t a big fan fare anniversary, but it was nice to just have some quite time together.

On Friday night we went and dismantled our new (to us…) swimming pool. I took pictures as the pool was taken down so that we would be sure to reassemble it properly. Saturday morning was sunny and beautiful, and by the end of the day, all of us were quite hot and tired. While Hubby and his friend did the tamping of the sand pad, and S the A-man and I shoveled the sand and took level measurements. Between having to do the level readings, I worked on yanking out some of the weeds in my badly neglected gardens. I am pleased to report that both S and the A-man helped quite a bit with the assembly, and by the time we called it a day, the pool walls were up.
Sunday was just as warm, and after a few fits, starts, adjustments and even a few curse words now and then (bad boy Hubby), we were able to start putting water in to the pool some time around 4 or 5, I guess. This morning Hubby started putting more water in to it shortly after 7. I will continue to fill it each evening when I return home from work. We aren’t going to actually fill the pool to a usable water level – we are more or less going to winterize it and then it will be ready for official opening some time in May. Bummer that we aren’t going to get to use it this year, but I know that the water simply won’t warm up enough to justify trying to get the chemical levels proper.

Throughout the day yesterday, I did laundry and also worked on cleaning up parts of the house. Hubby's parents stopped in after church to wish Hubby and I a happy anniversary. I felt a HUGE pang of guilt when my mother in law informed me that she hasn’t seen S & me since the end of June, and it has been since May when she last saw the A-man. I know we get up to the cottage a lot in the summer, so next year I am going to have to make a very conscious effort to stop and visit MIL more often. My Mom and Dad stopped in on their way home from the cottage to check out the new pool and to wish us a happy anniversary, also.

Overall, it was a very busy weekend. I have broken two nails, I’ve got dirt embedded in my skin, I actually ripped a chunk of skin out of one finger, and I feel like I actually got some things accomplished. :o)

I’m going to be calling S’s school this afternoon to make arrangements to meet with the new principal. I’ll admit it - I am VERY worried about having a new principal. Given the BS we went through the last time we had a new one…well, I guess my trepidation is somewhat understandable. At the end of the last school year, the acting principal told me that I have nothing to fear – he assured me that this new principal is very knowledgeable and understanding in respect to the special educational system. I’m hoping I can get a meeting on Wednesday; I really need to address the EA that S had working with him last year, and the possibility of a more suitable one for him this year.

Ughh… my belly hurts just thinking about the fact that we are starting all over again. The only silver lining I have is that I'm not as concerned about the A-man. His final report card from his second semester had him with two marks in the mid 80's and two in the mid 70's. He was a little disappointed in the 70's marks - figures he should have studied a bit more for the exams. I'm still thinking I can live with that. I don't have any concerns with respect to him anymore. Thankfully.

This just STINKS!

On the work front - assistant, pick number 1 gets offered a full time position when he attempts to tender his resignation. Pick number 2 takes two days to "think about it" and then decides that the commute is too much for the rate of pay!
So that leaves us - with no one. With the work of three people being done by 2...and these 2 being stretched to the breaking point! I don't know how much longer we can do this. Boss has a couple of ideas on how we can find someone, but we needed someone last month, not "in the next little while."

Then, to add insult to injury, my girl's weekend has fallen to pot! Well, I will have a couple of ladies joining me at the cottage, but it certainly isn't going to be the crowd we had last year. Cuz has even bowed out! I haven't got the full story on that as of yet, but you can be rest assured I will be finding out what is going on there!
I know we are going to have fun, but I just love it when we have a full house...the entertainment is always better that way. At least we are supposed to have a good weekend.

Hubby is planning on taking down a couple of dead trees this weekend, and then he going to start clearing the area for the new pool. He would like to have it all in place by the end of next weekend so that he and the boys can get to the cottage. I'm hoping he can do it! I am also hoping we get some warmer weather in September so that the kids can enjoy this thing THIS year!

>:o}

I am sick. My ears hurt, my throat hurts, I can hardly take a deep breath without going in to a coughing fit. Stupid summer cold.
I even took the day off today. Slept for most of it, actually. Not sure if I will be going in tomorrow, either. Hmrphf.

We had our yard sale on the weekend. Got rid of a bunch of stuff and made a couple hundred dollars in the process. Now the task of trying to clean up the house from the purge begins. I'm slowly puttering away at it, but this cold has laid me up a wee bit, obviously. But, on the upside, I am seeing improvements.

Spoke with boss this morning and found out that the new assistant gave his notice at his current part-time job - and was offered a full time position. I'm happy for him, I guess, but I was really looking forward to working with this guy. The other person will be fine, too, I'm sure, but there was a reason he was our first pick, you know?

Yesterday Hubby and I bought a pool for the yard. It's used, but the offer that was made to us was simply too darn good to not take advantage of. The pool is 24 feet across and will be about 4 feet deep or so. Now the fun task of preparing the ground has to be tackled, and we are hoping it will all be in place and filled before Hubby and the boys go to the cottage for their last week of holidays. The boys won't be able to enjoy it too much, but I am hoping we have at least a couple of warm days in September that will let them feel like it's worth a swim. (I'm sure they will go in at least twice...)

I have to start thinking about 'back to school' shopping soon, too, I guess.

Doing chores

Yesterday I left 2 chores for each of the boys to do. S was required to water the flowerpots – two in the front, two in the back and the herbs on the deck. The A-man was required to dump the items that were in the wheel barrel in to one of the compost bins.
The second task was for both of them to use the wheel barrel to gather the maple tree clippings created when Hubby trimmed the front trees.
Not difficult jobs, right? Well, apparently S laminated “This is going to take an hour!!” and was giving the A-man a bit of grief about ‘having’ to do it. (I am thinking the watering of the flowers wasn’t the big deal.)

When I got home from work, the A-man was happy to inform me that once they got started, it took them a total of 20 minutes to go and gather up the trimmings from underneath all 8 maples that go along the front of the yard. S told me that it wasn’t really all that bad, once they got started.
When S told me that, I explained to him that I really appreciated their help and that by doing a couple of small jobs each day, a lot of things on my list would be eased. I think he understood that when I have less on my plate, I am able to actually go and do fun things with them.

Today’s chores – the A-man is to vacuum their TV room, making sure to move the dog’s kennel, and to move out the cat house and anything else that may be against walls and trapping dust bunnies. S has been asked to make sure the pool table and bench have been cleaned off, and all items that were on both are actually put away where they belong.
I only work until noon today, and after my haircut and dentist appointment, I am taking the boys to the beach with some friends. We have made plans with Jazzy’s family to go to the beach, and then the three of us (Hubby will be at work) are going to go over to their house for dinner afterwards.

Again, I need S to see that we are able to do some fun things once all of the jobs are done. I know the A-man understands that we aren’t being “slave drivers” by asking our children to help out around the house, but it’s going to take a bit of work – and patience – to have S ‘get it.’
We will get there…

End of holidays...

Why does time go so fast when on a break from the everyday?
Last week was probably one of the most productive breaks I have had in a while, and it was also one in which we did quite a bit of FUN things, too.

Hubby and I took the boys golfing on Wednesday. Neither of them have ever played before, and they both did really well. I knew both boys had a natural swing - they have joined me on the driving range a few times, and I was always blown away with how well they both could hit the ball. Frustrating, really, considering I am trying to learn this game, and don't seem to have a knack for it as of yet.
Thursday was a yard work day. Hubby and I picked up 3 yards of wood chips, and then S and I spent the afternoon removing weeds and laying the chips down in my badly-depleted garden pathways. Hubby and the A-man had a number of errands to run that afternoon, so they got out of the major slugging. I was very impressed with how hard S worked that afternoon. He was taking the weeds out to the compost bin whenever the bucket and/or wheel barrel was full, and he was also filling the barrel up with the chips from the trailer.
I would say that we got just over half of the pathways finished before I had to get showered and cleaned up to head off to my Pilates class, but I am very pleased with how the beds are looking. I spent a fair bit of time pulling out weeds from my greatly neglected gardens as I went along. Hopefully I will be able to continue in that vain later this week.

Friday we went back up to the cottage for the weekend. What beautiful weather! Cuz and her family came up for the weekend, and I would say a fun time was had by all until they got a not-so-nice phone call about my Aunt.
After they left, we were still able to enjoy the weather and the day, but I think all of us were a bit more subdued. Dad was able to take us for a small ride on the new boat, but then the engine started overheating so we quickly came back to the dock. I had prepared a cooler for a picnic, so we all just had the picnic on the dock. Our kids, plus 3 of their local friends quite liked being able to swim up and get another sandwich, or a slice of watermelon!
Later in the afternoon my mom and I went for a toot in the paddle boat, and then had a swim. I was amazed at how warm the water was. Hubby took me out in the small boat to give me a lesson on working the trolling motor, so then he and I spent about half an hour trying our luck at catching the big one. He caught a wee perch - we let it go - and none of the local fish were interested in my lure at all. (pout, pout, pout...)

I was the only one that left the cottage tonight. Since Hubby is on the afternoon shift tomorrow, and the weather was so perfect today, he decided he and the boys would come home late in the morning. My dad had his motorcyle at the cottage and thought he would do some work in the morning and then head back home, and that decided it for my Mom. I can't do that getting up at 5:30 to make it to work on time, so the dumb beagle and I got home around 10 tonight.

Back to work tomorrow - but I figure I will be having to take a day off in the next week or so. It doesn't sound like my Aunt is going to last much longer, I'm sad to say. I was planning on going to see her on Tuesday afternoon, but right now it's all up in the air. Really hard for the kids.

Day to Day stuff

This morning, the A-man had a follow up orthodontist appointment, so I drove him in to school afterwards. As we were driving to school he was telling me that he had heard a rumour at school that has him all upset. He has heard that his religion teacher - a man he quotes almost on a daily basis - was being fired at the end of the school year. He told me that he asked the teacher about the rumour, but the teacher just told him, "I'm not allowed to discuss this."
Now the A-man is all upset to think that the school would actually get rid of such "a great teacher. The very best teacher (he has) ever had!"
This "going to be fired" just seems a little bit out there to me - just doesn't seem to work in the vein I think a board would work. I tried to explain all of this to the A-man, but he was far too upset to even hear me.

This is one thing that I dislike about the way that the A-man's psyche works. "I've made up my mind. Don't confuse me with the facts." There are no ifs-ands-or-buts, and nothing can sway him. Very much the Aries ram, my guy is. One website describes the Aries individual as

"Their immense energy makes them aggressive and restless, argumentative
occasionally, headstrong, quick tempered, easily offended and capable of holding
grudges if they feel themselves affronted."

Even if you are not a believe in the astrology signs, and what they say about personalities, the above description certainly does describe son number one.

And son number two - he truly lives up to his astrological sign. Taurus - the bull. That was one of my first thoughts when I was told my due date with S - "Oh, great, a Taurus baby. This otta be fun..." He has lived up to many of the descriptions within this star sign. Hubby and I both live up to our signs, too.

Last night after dinner, I went to my fitness class, and Hubby was able to get the A-man outside to bag up some more fire wood. We are having our driveway resealed this coming weekend, so the push is on to finish getting the wood put in the trailer, thereby allowing Hubby the chance to move the boat from our driveway to out of the way in the backyard. (My dad is storing it at our place for a little while.)

The entire time the A-man was doing the wood, S did not attempt to raise one finger. Not even with the promise of "Mom Bucks." He decided that the A-man can have any/all funds earned with the selling of the wood, and now he does nothing to help with it. Not much can make that boy move... (sigh). On the bright side though, he did use that time to finish a book he was reading.

...how does your garden grow?

For a day that was supposed to be rainy and crappy, I must say I was quite pleased with how yesterday turned out!
Hubby and I had an appointment with our nutritionist in the morning, and when I got home from the appointment, I went out to play in the dirt!
My veggie garden is pretty much all planted now. Put in a row each of red leaf lettuce and green leaf lettuce, and 4 plants of head lettuce, a row of swiss chard, a row of 'Purple Haze' carrots, 4 green pepper plants and 4 brussel sprout plants. Also did some radish rows in and around the onion sets - I don't like radishes, but Hubby does, and since they are such a fast growing veggie, I always do them for him.
The centre part of the veggie garden I got all prepped, and then had to consult with hubby - do we want to do potatoes in this area again, or should I got with beans and peas? He decided beans and peas, so I picked up the seeds yesterday afternoon, and will fill that section later today if time permits. (We are having some friends over for a barbeque to celebrate Hubby's birthday, so I may not get time today.)
The third part of the garden is dedicated to tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchini. The plants that take up so much room. I purchased all of the tomato plants this year - just had no time for starting seedlings. I've got two heirloom plants - they produce a mid-sized orange tomato in clusters, and the plant will grow to about 6 feet tall. Thinking I will need to get some heavy-duty cages for those two plants. Then planted 4 beef steak tomato plants, 4 burpee tomatoes - which are a fleshier, firmer tomato - and 4 tiny tim plants, just because I love have wee little tomatoes in my salads. Got one cucumber plant, and one zucchini plant, and the on impulse I purchased a red pepper plant and figure I will put it in by the rhubarb.

I was really pleased with my veggie garden efforts yesterday. We have had the veggie garden since we moved in to this house in the Spring of '99, but for the last few years, I have never quite gotten the entire thing planted. Last year I planted the onion sets - which are doing great this year - and two types of potatoes, and that was about it. There were a few plants that I put in, but they never really did much of anything mainly because I rarely even watered out there. Now that I actually have a number of things in the ground, I know I will be more vigilent about it. Plus the boys have ceased a lot of their extra-cirricular activies, which then allows me the chance to spend more time on MY things.
S will also have the opportunity to earn "Mom Bucks" by weeding the various rows, too. (Will do another post about "Mom bucks" later this week.)

The A-man filled in his very first application for a job yesterday, so I don't know if I will be able to ask him to help out much with the garden, but I guess there will be days that he is home during the summer, right?

Flowers are doing so well. So many colours and smells...I am hoping to get out there with the camera soon, and then I will post some pictures of the various areas.

Garden Play

Last night, when I got home from work, I rushed through dinner preparations so that I would be able to get some time outside. It was beautiful yesterday.

Hubby informed me at dinner that the black flies were really bad, and he didn't think I would be able to be outside for more than 5 minutes. I told him I would take a chance.


While I was outside, my darling boys cleaned up the kitchen. They even started the dishwasher, and washed any of the dishes that couldn't be put in the machine! Neither of them had homework, so they had a pretty easy evening after that.

S had more computer training yesterday afternoon, so he didn't have homework. See, to me that just doesn't seem right. He should still have to do the work that he missed, shouldn't he? Apparently I am old-fashioned in my thinking.


Anyway...outside...in the dirt.... it was lovely. I guess the temperatures had dropped just enough to force the black flies back to where ever they hang out. I was able to get one full garden cleaned right out and weeded. I couldn't believe the size of the peony bush in the garden. I had moved it a few years ago, and although it always grew, it never bloomed. Last year I think it gave me two blooms. I think this year will be a stellar show.

My wee little dutch iris are just blooming their hearts out. I am always a little sad when they give such an awesome show so early in the year...I always feel like I didn't get a chance to really enjoy them. I have two areas that have the dutch iris - the one I can see from my bathroom, and I often find myself running the shower, while I'm still standing at the window looking at the garden!

Last year I put in some type of ivy thing - I had to clean up all around it, and then coax it on to the cone I want it to climb. It had started to spread out across the garden, so it took me a bit of time to gather all the ends and wrap them around the various section of the cone.

My perennial morning glory has spread like wild fire, so I am going to coax a bit of it around 2 of my taller cones as well as up the lattice. Had to pull out some of it that had started to move in amounst the bearded iris and sorrel.

I won't be able to play in my garden tonight - I have a board meeting. My intention, however, is to spend as much time as I can getting the various gardens cleaned up, and weeded. We are away for the upcoming long weekend, but I'm thinking that if I concentrate on at least one garden each night, I will be ready to lay down new wood chips for the pathways by next weekend. It's unreal how much the woodchip paths have 'shrunk' since I originally laid them. I've replenished them once, but they need a good replishment this time around. We will likely get the wood chipper for next weekend, and we will be able to get rid of some of the wood at the same time. (Resuse, recycle...)

Slowly, I will feel like I am getting a grip over the gardens again. The funny thing is - they just always need something done with them. Need lots of attention. Hmm...somewhat like children!

Get up and go

I awoke this morning to very loud video game discussions. I went downstairs and asked the boys to be quiet, but it didn't seem to sink in. I decided it was best for me to just get up, feed them, and hope that the lack of hunger would ease the sound of the noisy beast.
They feasted on pancakes with white chocolate chips and bananas, and afterwards decided to go outside and play on the trampoline. This is about the time they woke up Hubby.
It's a nice sunny day - I told Hubby that they did us both a favour, because now we can get all kinds of things done today. He didn't look very impressed.

I am planning on getting out in to the garden today. I still have many flower beds that require attention, but I think I'm going to focus on the veggie garden today. I want to put in the lettuce, radishes and carrots that I bought a couple of weekends ago when I was at Cuz's house. I also have potatoes that I would like to get in to the ground, as well. Now, best intentions don't always work, but I will do as much as I can in the time given.

I will be taking the boys home after lunch, and then Hubby's parents are supposed to be stopping by to see the Birthday boy, so I am not going to have a whole lot of 'dirt therapy' today. But, some therapy is better than none!