Flowers and furniture repair and mother

Happy Mother's Day to all who mother one another. It's been a year of caregiving by many. Self-care, and otherwise. I moved, found a local job, we sold our house, in order to help my mother manage her end-of-life care. I have not recovered from it.

I truly believe we are better when we remember loved ones on their birthday, rather than their day of death. That's a bit difficult for me! You see, there is Mother's Day.

Mom died the day before Mother's Day, in 2006. 

Here they rest in Muskoka.

Joan Jilks 1925 - 2006
 Ray Jilks 1925 - 2007

I loathe Mother's Day marketing. Every charity I support sends an email reminding me Mother's Day is coming up and don't forget her. 😖As if. The weather network ads... 

OK, spring and flowers...

I'm thinking about our planters for this year. My baskets have done well in the past, . There was little selection last year. Last year, I planted several baskets myself, but they never looked as good as the first year for this planter. It helps having it grow in the greenhouse, in perfect conditions by the professionals! It's just been so cold, though.

I didn't do too badly last year. 

One year I bought cheery tomato basket. Oops, it was cherry tomatoes, but it was cheery. We enjoyed picking them from the front porch. If I'd planned ahead, I could have done this with seeds. Well, it's been a tragic year on many levels. 

The violets and daffies are still doing well, despite waking up to 1 C. temperatures.

COVID-19 or allergies? What you need to know this spring - Global News

I'm fighting a cold, or something. Friday night I went to bed at 6:30 and read for several hours. I think we are both fighting colds. JB has a cough. His may be allergies. Hard to say. He had a good call from our pharmacist, who did his annual check on his meds, and suggested a new over-the-counter allergy pill. It is fatiguing, however. He was advised to take the meds two weeks before he anticipated symptoms. Thing is April was warm, like May should have been. Who can predict??!!

By the way!

You'll recall my busted door... [It's broken!] I fixed it! Thanks for the suggestions. Yam suggested a mending plate. Ah ha! Our fence dude suggested a chainsaw and lighter fluid. (He was kidding!) He then said pilot holes, which I thought best, too. 

I susssed out what I had, the difficult was finding the right screws. The previous home owner was a furniture builder, he left lots behind. Plus, I inherited my father's tools and supplies. It's taken me a little over a week to sort it out, and figure out what to do. That's OK. I had time! 

Do you remember the little cardboard boxes screws used to come in, before plastic? Dad had those left over. They give me a little twinge when I see them. 

My big problem was that the back piece cracked in a couple of spots where I replaced the finishing nails with screws. 

It was tricky reinstalling it, as JB's arm is bad. It would have been helpful if I was left-handed, I toyed with waiting for lefty Isabelle, but I was anxious to see if it fit! That was another concern.

Ta da!

• ⛈May ☂

Did I mention the rain on Saturday??!!  We had 27 mm (1") during the day.

The goldfish pond overflowed, draining from the water barrel. Here is a before and after!