Summertime!

I've been taking my time to recover after our wonderful week with the kids here. I have to wash the kitchen and bathroom floors, but everytime I come in from outdoor chores I have a debris explosion from my hair and/or bra! I tired to do a workout, but had to stop after 8 minutes and put my foot brace back on. It's about managing the aches and pains of old age. 

Laundry is done; sheets, napkins and towels. Art supplies put away for another time. (Josephine and Isabelle are here sometime in August, but have been more into sketching than crafts.) The pool is drained and cleaned. I may set it up for me. I like reading in my pool on hot days. 

I've been trying to figure out how to make a waterproof cover for the bench swing. I am loathe to bring the pillows in and out, as I often just sit there randomly in passing. The rain pours through the canopy and the pillows take awhile to dry. Any thoughts?

The guest room bed is remade. This room got little use, as the Vancouver kids all slept together in the basement. It was easier, as littles often don't sleep as well away from home. 

I sent them home each with one of the bunnies my friend Natrice made. She's been handing them out to healthcare workers. They liked the little masks on them!

I walked out on the back deck and heard a strange noise. It took me awhile to figure it out. I'd introduced the cockroach to Bryony and Cluny, "Do you want to hold my cockroach?" 

     "No, thank you, Gramma!" They were a tad fearful. These are all new critters to them.

cockroach from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The other chore was to wash the window crayon off of the windows. They are a fun toy, and kept them occupied. It was good motivation to wash the windows. Sometimes I leave it until too late and can't do it as the temperatures fall and the cleaning fluid freezes on the window. 

That was a bit of a funny story. I set a towel under the window and went to it with soapy water and a cloth. 

I stood back and admired my work. I wasn't done! I had totally forgotten the right-hand window. That was Bryony's work. 

Maple, the tree frog, is still around. Bryony wanted it named Maple, as it was sitting under what looked to her like a maple leaf. On their last morning, I suggested they say goodbye to Maple. Asking if they wanted to hold her, they declined. I put her in the palm of my hand and showed them her yellow legs. They bade her farewell.

I forget what they called the other tree frog. She decided to nap in the daytime (they are nocturnal) under the table umbrella. 

Percy goldfish is doing well. The rain filled up the pond, as it is hooked up to the water barrel.

I wrapped the deerfly patch around a stick, and put it in the goldfish pond. They like to pick them off and eat them. This was from one walk in the forest with the grandies. Sitting on the back deck reading, a deerfly bit me on the foot. It was swollen, and it felt like I was walking on a marble for awhile. The bugs are merciless, numerous, and vicious this year. Much worse than any other. I had another tick latch onto me after walking in the acreage. I got it off quite quickly.

deerfly patch

The orchid is happy on a corner of the back deck. It gets morning sun, and that seems perfect. The bud stem is getting longer.

I track the prey the cats capture. They usually bring their critters up on the front or back decks. Only 2 birds this year. 

After Rogers telecom went down, Canada's Industry Minister has met with the big guys. We have several big Canadian companies (Rogers, Telus, Bell, Shaw), plus some provincial ones. Our family has our smartphone with Telus, Internet with Xplornet, and our TV satellite is Shaw. We've no landline anymore. We were relatively unaffected. Some were unable to call 911, though.

This is what Minister Champagne has demanded of the big four executives within 60 days: 

• the minister has directed the country’s major telecom companies to reach agreements on emergency roaming, 

• assisting each other during outages, 

• communication protocol to better inform Canadians during emergencies.  

Tuesday – 8:00 a.m. The Istanbul airport is quite spiffy in the business class lounge. They are frequent flyers. There is a huge toy race track, a flight simulator, and Isabelle had a shower in the marble bathroom. The kids arrived in Athens Tuesday, and traveled on the metro to Monastiraki. Caitlin sent me a text. They were in their new hotel. 

water fountain, goldfish pond, kiddie pool

We're in a heat wave. The air conditioner is now toast. It was keeping us down to 25 C. indoors up until yesterday. By the late afternoon, it was up to 30 indoors. I've totally turned it off and left the furnace fan running. 

At bedtime, I opened up all the windows and doors and hoped for the best. (I should have done this the night before!) This morning the indoor temperature had gone down to 26 C.  and I'll figure out when to close up for that day. The new A/C will be installed Monday. We live in a little chocolate brown box, and the house just absorbs all the heat.

The cats wouldn't some in for long. They sit under plants in the shade. Can you see him?! 

I cleaned the fountain Wednesday. It was a task to dismantle it , but it's all fresh and clean! It was nice playing with the water in the heat, although the bowls are quite heavy, and I am not very tall. I accidentally sprayed myself in the face a couple of times while cleaning and filling it with water. Aaaaaahhhh. It was lovely!

 

The most important thing I did Wednesday, was blow up the pool rim. It is time. The girls will be back Monday. I'll have to fill it up a bit each day. It warms faster that way and it is better for the well, I imagine. The well water is pretty cold.

I put my feet up watching the pool fill, and could see clouds in the distance, but no rain.

The goldfish pond is doing well, with an actual water lily that is blooming.

The frog pond is now a memory. With little rain in the forecast, the remaining critters have either hunkered down in the mud, or been eaten by birds and raccoons. We'll have to wait for spring melt to begin the cycle again.

This was funny. As I walked down to the pond, there was a fawn. It moved too fast for me to capture, but they appeared on the trailcam at the other end of the frogpond.  

Stewart Park Festival 2019

It's tricky finding parking, we parked on the street. They were bridge jumping on the Beckwith bridge. Screams of delight. I did that as a kid, in Bala. Don't tell the kids, though!


They have crossing guards for us tourists. You can see why.


This lively band was playing up a storm at the festival entrance.

Stewart Park Festival from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The booths are always interesting.


I chatted with Dagmar of Dagmar's Designs. She was almost a puddle in the heat. She is my go to person for complex sewing needs.


JB bought us a 🐥duck for the race.


The Table is a modern community food centre, formerly known as a food bank. They do far more than traditional food banks. We donate monthly to support them. They teach cooking, and all things nutrition.


There was a kids choir doing Beatles songs, The Academy of Musical Theatre. They were a bit pitchy, to my ear. They were having fun, though. For a free concert...


Stewart Park is a lovely spot. Aside from the fact that it was a humid 35 C. with heat warnings, it would have been wonderful. The St. John's ambulance peeps were there, assisting an older gentleman. I was feeling a bit woozy myself.


Then there was this atrocious family out with a cat, who was panting heavily. No dogs are allowed in the park during the festival. I was so shocked seeing the poor thing.


It's a beautiful venue.



They were running model power boats on the Tay River.


We went home, and put our feet up. It's been horrible. I don't know how people can work outdoors.



I'd filled my modest kiddie pool the day before. The water temperature was 7 C.!!!! That well water comes out cold. Saturday morning, it was 12 C., getting warmer. By the time we came home from the festival, it was 18 C. My personal assistant/caregiver brought me a cold drink with ice. I read my library book and cooled off. Who needs a vacation?!
My eyes are really bothering me, so it was a relief to relax. I was seeing double out of my left eye, so it is a bit frustrating.