Good morning! We have been having cool, rainy weather. Yesterday we had to wear sweaters because of the chill and it rained off and on all day.

Brandon spent the day with me and we did some gardening and planted some flowers in the some of the planters that I hadn't filled. We noticed some different flowers blooming in the front garden and Brandon commented that they were just like the ones in their front flower bed. It then dawned on me that Michelle gave me these last year. I do like them but need to move them. They are too near the center of the bed. So that is another project that needs doing.

The tomato plants that the boys and I planted a couple of weeks ago are about a foot high. They are doing well. My strawberries are ripening and I picked a handful for Brandon to enjoy. The rest aren't ripe yet, but there will be more. The contractor who came last winter to clear the pipes had to dig up that garden and many strawberry plants were lost. However, they will continue to spread and next year we will have more. In the meantime we will be able to go to the U-pick farm and get all that we want. Picking them is much more economical than buying them ready-picked.

My porch is a mess and needs cleaning badly, but I find myself needing to be at least two places at once. Since cloning hasn't been perfected yet, I have all of these things to do and not enough time to get at them all. So the porch will have to remain a mess for at least another day. I've learned to go with the flow and be thankful for what I can do.

Not much news from here other than that. Hubby worked upstairs a little. We are almost ready to put the sub floor down and so our next shopping trip will be for plywood.

Take care and have a great weekend. ~Blessings, Mary~

A Peaceful Walk with Meeko

A week or so ago, Meeko and I went on a leisurely walk that turned out to be balm for the soul. It was so quiet and peaceful as we walked the trail along the canal. This is the area where I told you there is sometimes snakes, but there were no snakes on this day. There were some other critters such as birds and squirrels.

Above is a park bench where we sometimes sit and watch the Canada geese and the Mallard ducks. There were no geese or ducks on this day.

A photo of the canal. In the center there is water, but it's hard to spot because of the reflections.
A beautiful grove of trees. There are many on this part of the trail. Each of them are so different and unique. We did lose a few in the mini tornado that spun through here a week and a half ago.
Meeko, sitting and looking down the trail. He knows there are squirrels and doves in the distance.
Here is another view and another bench that we sometimes take a breather on. It is usually shady here and a nice place to sit on a hot summer day.

Meeko looking toward the water. He spied a bird in the bushes and was watching it. We taught him not to chase birds or squirrels, but sometimes he sits and quivers because he would like to chase them.

Above is an old road. We usually walk down the trail and then come back along this road. It is shady here all the time and the trees make a canopy overhead.

As we headed back along the road, we saw Mr. Robin. He swooped down not far from us, then up in a tree, sang us a song and then down on the ground where I took this photo.

As we walked along the road, a dove flew across our path and came to rest by perching on a wire overhead. There are lots of doves, squirrels and robins here. This is the area where the kingfisher and the blue heron can be seen early in the morning. We do see the kingfisher at other times of the day, but not this day.

I hope you enjoyed taking this walk with Meeko and I. It is a beautiful area and a very peaceful walk.

Remember to take a walk in your neighborhood in order to see the native species that live there. It is indeed balm for the soul. ~Blessings, Mary~

The Weather, a Giveaway and an Unbelieveable Photo

Good morning! It was another rainy day here yesterday and it's to be the same today. It was downright chilly on Tuesday. When I went out to the post office and to do a couple of chores, I wore my fleece lined jacket. It seemed more like April than June.

Tuesday night on the news the weatherman explained that we have had 77 mm of rain so far this month. Last year in the entire month of June we only had 74 mm. In 2006, we only had 43, but that was below average. I do know we've had a lot of rain this year and severe thunderstorms. However, I don't complain because our water levels are low and we do need it.

So that is the weather news from here. What kind of weather are you having in your part of the country?

I love so many vintage items. A few months ago, I won a vintage apron from The Apron Queen. It is red gingham. I have been so short of time that I've never posted a photo, but I do visit often to see the beautiful vintage aprons that she posts daily. Now the Apron Queen is having a giveaway. Click on the button below to win a free apron. Sorry, they are available to those in the US only.




Some of you were curious about the hole that the bath tub came out of in the upstairs apartment. Well, here is a photo. Not pleasant and a real mess. I can't wait to see what this is going to look like once it's all done. This is an old house, but whoever did the last renovations certainly didn't do a great job. I hope ours is better than theirs. We are amateurs but take pride in our work. If we don't know how to do something, we ask someone who does know. My father taught me to take pride in all that I do and this project will be no different.

Not much got done in the way of renovations on Tuesday. We will be back at it on Thursday. I will be so glad when this is all done. Have a great day. ~Blessings, Mary~

Monday at My House

Good morning to all my friends and readers. I hope you are enjoying the start of the new week. It doesn't seem like June should be half over. That means the year is half over and it seems like we just entered the New Year. Time flies.

I am tired. Monday morning I went up to the apartment and gave the wall unit that the tenant left a coat of paint. When I had that done, I came downstairs, put in a load of washing, swept the floor, paid some bills, cleaned the bathroom, switched the laundry to the dryer, put in another load and then went back upstairs to give hubby a hand trying to disconnect the old bath tub. It has been there for years and it was quite a task to get it disconnected, but we wanted it ready for when Jack got here.

Once the bath tub was ready to be taken out, I folded laundry, switched the second load to the dryer and put in a third load. Seems like I was going the entire day, but I got a lot done, which is very satisfying. A good day's work.

Jack didn't get here until 3 pm, as he worked Sunday night and had to get some sleep. He and hubby took the old tub out and then he pulled some nails that had to be taken out of the joists and swept the bathroom floor. Hubby stripped wallpaper while Jack did that.

You aren't going to believe this, but the tub didn't have a regular floor under it - just a piece of wood - not even plywood. It was very thin. I couldn't believe it myself. The tub was mainly sitting on the joists. However, the joists are in good condition, so that is a plus. I will try to get some photos of the hole in the floor. It's amazing that the tub has sat there all these years without anything more under it.

This afternoon hubby is busy and I am going to check out prices on plywood to lay a sub floor. Hubby also has to drop in and talk to a man who did previous work for us. He has retired from the contracting business and now has his own fish and chip business. Since we are inexperienced in renovating bathrooms, we need to find out what comes next. So, we are progressing, though very slowly. Of course everything costs more than you expect it to.

Jack can't come back this week but I have lined another man up to help on Thursday. I don't know him very well, but he seems to be a good worker. He's done work for our neighbor and his rates are very reasonable, so we will see what happens there.

Have a wonderful day and rememeber to do an random act of kindness. Even a smile can make someone's day brighter. ~Blessings, Mary~