And that's what you missed

It has been a while, my friends. So where have I been?

My mom passed away last November. We knew it was coming but it still happened very quickly. I went to Saskatchewan for the funeral. 

I brought back a bunch of her clothes, and made 7 memory quilts for family:

And then at winter camp, my Pathfinders made a quilt to donate. I then used up the remaining Pathfinder fabric and made a second quilt. 

My (Canadian) cousin and his (Australian) wife had a child, so I made a baby quilt of animals from both countries.
 

By then, it was summer. I couldn't take much time off this summer due to work, but managed to go camping for a few days at the beginning of July.

Our site was a swamp - we'd had a lot of rain - and a storm went by and broke our picnic shelter, but we spent most of our time at the dog beach and had a good time. (Except for the dog, who does not like water.)

I did a couple of Guess Where trips, which are always a good time. 

I bought a yearly provincial parks pass, and went to Rideau River and Sandbanks. (We also used it for our camping trip, where people were coming and going.)

And then, at the beginning of September, Wanda and I went back to Saskatchewan to help clean out mom's house. I found the travel harder than usual, and it took a while to recover.

When I got back, my Pathfinders/Rangers were working on their Duke of Edinburgh Adventurous Journey. They did their practice journey and found an injured mouse. I went to meet them to take it to wildlife rehab, but by the time I got there, it had died.  I got a dead mouse; they got ice cream.

I have informed them I would prefer to be in the ice cream group rather than the dead mouse group next time.

The next weekend was camp; they biked to and from camp. There were some frustrations, but overall it went well.

And then it was time for one last memory quilt. This one was harder because I was working with uneven sizes, but I am happy with how it turned out.

And that's what you missed.

Totality

 I've had the eclipse in my calendar for years. I bought glasses months ago. 

But I wasn't sure I was going until Monday morning - was it worth it if it's cloudy? Who would go with me? 

So on Monday morning, I booked the afternoon off. At noon, my niece and I got in the car and drove an hour south. The traffic was slow leaving Ottawa, but picked up as we got farther away.

We found a park on the St. Lawrence and settled in to watch. Somehow, we were surprised at how cold it got, but we stuck it out. 

When we hit totality, the crowd cheered. (I guess they were team moon?)

We got stuck in a parking lot on the way back, and decided to hang out in a grocery store until the traffic died down, so we didn't get home until 7 or so.

It was worth it. 

Home sweet cabin

Well, let's start with the stuff I've failed to share. A couple of weeks ago I made the trek to Maverick donuts. The donuts were good, but I prefer Suzy Q.

Last week I did another    Nite, and then went out for ice cream.

And this weekend I rented a cabin at Riverside-Cedar campground. It was cold and it rained all day yesterday, but we had a good time anyway. The cabin consisted of a bedroom with a bunk bed and queen bed, and another room with a fridge, stove, table, benches, and a futon. There was a water tap just off the deck as well as 2 adirondack chairs, a BBQ, and a fire pit. The bathroom was a bit of a hike, but otherwise it was nice.

It's all over but the laundry

This year, my mom brought my niece and one of my cousin's daughters to visit, and there were no injuries.

I couldn't believe it, either.

They flew into Toronto on a Friday night. They got in around 5 and checked in to the airport hotel, and Wanda and I drove down to meet them. We got there a little before 10.

The girls were a little ridiculously excited to see us.

Saturday morning, we met up with my cousin and all six of us drove to Niagara Falls. Another cousin met us there, and we spent the day going on the Hornblower (which used to be the Maid of the Mist), eating at the Rainforest Cafe, and walking around the falls. (My niece didn't want to go on the boat because it would be boring, but I made her go anyway. She loved it.)

A monkey in a tree

The falls

We went back to Toronto Saturday night.

Sunday morning, we checked out of the hotel and drove to a subway station with parking. We left the car there and took 2 trains to get downtown to meet up with my cousin again. We walked around downtown and ended up at the CN Tower.

The girls are somewhere around the R

We'd originally planned to go to the Ontario Science Centre - the girls have passes so would have gotten in free - but it was hot, and I was afraid that if we got back to the car, no one would want to get out of it again to go to the science center, so we went to the aquarium instead. I really like aquariums, and this one was good, despite the fact that it was crowded and there were too many people with empty strollers and wagons.

We came back to Ottawa on Sunday night, so Monday was a quiet day. We watched movies, and the girls got their hair cut. (My niece didn't want to watch Captain America because she doesn't like superhero movies, but I made her and she loved it.)

We also went to Menchies for frozen yogurt. (My niece didn't want to go because she doesn't like frozen yogurt, but I made her and she loved it.)

Not enjoying the frozen yogurt

A friend brought her kids over on Tuesday and we made stilts. We didn't' quite finished them - it was ridiculously hot - but it was still fun. After lunch, we went to Britannia Beach and the kids played in the water. We finished up Tuesday by going to see Inside Out.

We had planned to go to Calypso on Wednesday, but the cabanas were booked, so we moved it to Thursday and went shopping instead. The girls had a good time spending every penny they'd brought with them.

Shopping

Thursday was Calypso. As usual, we spent a lot of time on the lazy river, and tried a bunch of the other rides. It rained Thursday morning, so it wasn't terribly crowded. The adults got sunburned, and the kids (who have t-shirt bathing suits) were fine.

Calypso

Friday morning we went to see Age of Ultron (since the girls had watched the first Avengers movie at some point - I don't normally let them watch as many movies as they did this trip, but it was really, really hot out). We went for lunch, and then I cruelly forced them to go for a walk in the woods. We tried to feed the chickadees, but they were apparently on vacation as they were nowhere to be found.

Can't wait to go for a walk

Saturday we went to Ray's Reptiles. I've somehow never been there, although I've seen their traveling show. (My niece didn't want to go, but she seemed to have a good time, anyway.) This is also when I made a terrible mistake - I bought the girls magnetic rocks. They played with them constantly. It was very irritating. (I think this is also the day Wanda took them mini-golfing. It's hard to remember exactly.)

Waiting for the show at Ray's Reptiles

Kissing a turtle

Sunday we went downtown to the Busker festival. (My niece didn't want to go, but ...you know the drill.)  We didn't have much time there, but they enjoyed it, and they got to take the bus there, so all was well. After the festival, we went out to my cousin's aunt's cottage. It was a beautiful day for it.

At the cottage

Monday morning I took the kids to Minions (even though it was the third movie they'd seen in theaters since they got here), then it was time for lunch so that they could get to the airport. They flew home last night.

Canoe camp

This weekend was canoe camp. We travelled on the Rideau canal: http://www.rideau-info.com/canal/map-waterway.html

We left on Friday from Edmunds lock station and paddled to Kilmarnock.

Saturday morning, we got up and went through the lock on our way to Merrickville. It was a little cold and it rained on the way, but we persevered. By the time we got through all three locks in Merrickville, it was 4:30. The girls went off on a scavenger hunt in town.

Sunday morning, we were back on our way. We went through three more locks on our way to Burritts Rapids and arrived before one. By 2:30 we had everything packed up and the girls started to leave.

It was a good trip.

Two down, one to go

I mentioned that my Pathfinders were in Toronto last weekend.

That wasn't the end of our year - just the beginning of the end. This weekend was canoe training- 9-5 both Saturday and Sunday. 

Naturally, I started getting a cold on Tuesday. By Friday afternoon, I was miserable. Yesterday morning I woke up feeling ok, but by noon I was not doing well. I mad a point of doing my canoe over canoe rescue yesterday in case I didn't make it back today. (The hardest part is getting back in the canoe, but I did it!) 

This morning I felt worse, but the cold medicine worked well and I survived. It even waited until I was on my way home to wear off, which was great.

Next week: canoe camp.

And then we are done.

I told my co-leader that if she calls me on the 21st and tells me I have to do something for pathfinders, I will cry.

A wild weekend

This weekend, my Pathfinders travelled to Toronto for a rally with 8000 other Girl Guides. We left on Friday and stayed at a camp about 75 minutes from our destination. 

I typically don't sleep well the first night,so I was awake at 4 when some local cows started mooing. One of them sounded odd, but I didn't think about it too much since it was 4 am.

I also heard the crows, but I missed the coyotes.

When we got up in the morning, we found out that we had been visited by a moose - which when you are awake, don't sound very much like cows.  And then one of the girls got up and said that when she went to the bathroom in the night, she saw a dog come out of the woods. Apparently, it looked like a husky.

Probably not a dog.

All in all, more wildlife than I'd expected for a trip to Toronto.

Slipping away

It's Saturday, 2:47 p.m., that part of the weekend where it still feels like there's tons of time left, but before I know it it'll be Sunday night and I'll be putting my laundry away and packing my lunches for the week.

It's that part of summer, too. It's not even the August long weekend yet - there's tons of time to get outside and enjoy the summer.

The clock is ticking on summer, though.

I have so much I want to do, and I'd better get moving.

Unfortunately, much of what I want to do is actually work - trim the hedges before the front walk completely disappears, cut off some of the lower branches on the tree that is trying to eat the driveway, take a canoe course, do a canoe camping trip.

So far, I've gotten as far as making a to-do list.

I also want to lie outside and read a book (but I usually read on my iPad these days, and that's backlit, so doesn't work well outside, so I'd need to move a book to my kobo or, you know, read a book made of paper).

I have stuff to do around the house - and while I could do it during the rest of the year, once September hits I'll be back in boxing and Pathfinders and time will just disappear.

Time to go look for a book I can read outside.

Update on the mouse saga

On Wednesday, Wanda went out to mow the lawn. I'd warned her about the yogurt container, and this conversation occurred after she'd mowed the lawn.

Wanda: The yogurt container is empty.
Me: Oh, you checked?
Wanda: It was on it's side.
Me: I put it on its side. I was trying to reunite the babies with their mother, not preserve them for future use.
Wanda: Well, it's empty. I checked.

I assume the mouse family is living happily ever after. Hopefully not in the lawn mower.

The lawn still needs mowing

It's Wanda's job to mow the lawn.  Usually, she does it without being prompted, but she hasn't gotten to it for over a week. After she left for work today, I went out to do some gardening and noticed that the lawn was getting excessively long, so I decided to mow it. I took off my gardening gloves and pulled the lawn mower out of the shed.

My lawn mower has a button to prime it, but I find it more effective to just turn the whole machine on its side for 10 seconds or so. I did that, then noticed the lawn mower bag wasn't properly attached.

(That wasn't a surprise - we don't normally leave the bag attached when we put the lawn mower away.)

I picked up the bag and a mouse ran out and hid under the bush.

I picked up the bag from where it had fallen when I screamed and jumped back, and tipped it to make sure there were no other mice in it.

Then I looked at the grass and noticed the two baby mice.

I couldn't leave them unprotected - particularly since I was about to mow the lawn - so I put the gardening gloves on and put them into a yogurt container, which I then put under the bush in the hopes that the mother mouse would find them.

I attached the bag, started the lawn mower, and ... it started to rain.

The lawn still needs mowing.

The best birthday present ever

Today is my 40th birthday.

I didn't really have any plans. People kept asking me what I wanted to do, and I mostly shrugged. I wanted to get my raised gardens built, and that was taking my focus.

The before picture

The bricks were delivered Saturday morning. I totally would have taken pictures of the forklift delivering them, but I had left my camera in the house.  After that, I had a hair appointment, then I was meeting a friend for lunch, then we were going to move a piece of furniture she was giving me.

I wouldn't be able to really get started with the bricks until Sunday, but I was reluctantly willing to wait.

After we finally got the furniture loaded (it fit in my friend's Yaris better than in my Protege), my friend ran inside to get an ice cream cake because she had somewhere else to go that night, and we went to my place.

(I thought nothing of it, because I am very gullible.)

We got to my place, I went inside, and ... there was my mom, 2 of my sisters from Regina, my cousin from Woodstock, his wife, and their daughter and granddaughter from Ottawa.

I was a little surprised.

And then I went outside to finish moving the furniture. 

Sunday, we started on the raised garden beds, and my family started wishing they had told me they were coming. (If I'd known, I wouldn't have planned to do the gardens, but since that's what I was doing, I guilted them into helping.)

There was digging.

My sister, who is much better at leveling than I am.

 And leveling.

Bed #2. Not yet totally exhausted.

And digging.

My sister, wishing she had made other vacation plans.

And leveling.
It took 4 of us 7 hours and two trips to the hardware store, but we got it done.

And then I realized they look like wishing wells.

This would be when I realized they look like wishing wells.

There's still more to do - I need more dirt, I have leftover bricks to return and I'll probably put stepping stones between them - but it made a huge difference to have three more people helping. 

Biting off more than I can chew

Every year, I think, "I should really change my vegetable garden", and every year I procrastinate long enough that it's too late to do anything about it.

This year, I decided to make a change.

First of all, I get vacation, plus I still work stat holidays on occasion, which means I have to take those off as well.  I'm also getting an income tax refund that will pay for the cost of the work.

(I know if you're all about the math that it makes more sense to adjust your income tax so that you don't get a refund.  However, life is more than math, and I'm OK with getting a refund.)

The plan started as an easy project, which then morphed into a more difficult/expensive project of building 4 raised beds using landscaping stones. I've been doing some shopping online for the stones I'll need, but I needed to see them in person before I could make a final decision as to which way to go.  On Wednesday, I checked out a couple of places.

Did you know that garden centers opened this weekend?

In other words, most garden centers weren't open on Wednesday.  Still, I got some ideas. On Friday, I went out again and checked another couple of places.

Yesterday, I got up, determined to stake out the areas for the beds.

Naturally, it was raining.

I waited (im)patiently for the rain to stop, then went outside and measured and staked the area.  Once I had the dimensions, I went back to the store and placed my order.

It arrives on Saturday, and I have the next week off.

Wish me luck.

Let's call it a draw

There are three evergreen trees in my yard - one on each end of the lot by the street, and one in the backyard. They all could use trimming, but one in particular needed work.

The problem tree is right beside my neighbour's driveway. When I moved in, there were Christmas lights woven around the tree.

There's no outdoor plug end on that end of the house. I have no idea who put the lights on the tree or how they turned them on. (Did I mention I moved in in June?)

Anyway, the lower four feet of that tree were dead on my neighbour's side. One of my other neighbours had volunteered to trim the lower four feet of the tree last summer, but it didn't happen, so today I went out with my awesome hand trimmer from Lee Valley.

I trimmed for a while, then, Wanda was kind enough to join me. She trimmed while I worked on bundling the cut branches.

We worked until I ran out of string. There's still some work to do, but it looks a million times better already.


My arms and legs are covered in scratches and a rash (guess I am allergic to that tree after all), but I'm glad I got it started.

Like other projects I've procrastinated on for years, it look about an hour.