Friday, August 6, 2021

I spent all morning working at my computer, mainly catching up on Cranberry Hall business. We actually had two meetings last week – one was our AGM and the other was a regular Board meeting. I had to-do lists from both meetings and some updates I needed to make to both the Facebook page and the website.

After lunch I headed out to return my library book but I also had a couple of items for the mail as well as a list of groceries we needed. The post office is less convenient now without the drive-through, especially on a day like today when it is raining off and on. I’m happy to have the outdoor book return at the library in operation again but it means parking the car and parking is at a premium anywhere close. And speaking of parking, the lot at Quality Foods was nearly full; I found a spot at the very far end of the lot. Of course that many cars was a clear signal that the store would be crowded. Maybe the crowds there today are typical but I’ve been shopping at seven in the morning when there might be one or two other people in the store.

I fully intended to work on something sewing-related when I got home but I just didn’t have the motivation. It’s a good thing I still had plenty of paper and computer work to do. It is a little early for me to quit for the day but I’ll either read or cross stitch before supper.

Thursday, August 5, 2021

Last night was the AGM for the Hall. I knew we wouldn’t get a large turnout but I thought maybe, just maybe, someone would show up. But no, it was just the incoming Board members who attended (and they were the only active Board members from last year). Someone joked that we’d have had a better showing if I hadn’t announced that we would not be serving any refreshments. With that meeting over we launched right into our regular monthly Board meeting. I have a few things I need to do that are associated with both of those meetings but they can wait until tomorrow – except for the few quick things I took care of today.

Pat and I both worked in the yard this morning. We were cutting back and pulling out a couple of trees that we lost over the last few winters. Both of them were maples so we wanted to give them every opportunity to come back. One is coming back from the ground, but the other was hopeless. It is in a corner of the yard that we’ve never had any luck with; when we bought the house it was a compost pile but I suspect there were some un-organic things in the mix as everything we plant there dies. It is more or less cleaned up now but we need to transplant the fig tree.

Since we had all the branch cuttings in a pile we decided to just load them in the truck and make a dump run. Usually I put things in bags or boxes (the boxes work best) as I weed but today all those branches went directly onto a tarp in the back of the truck. The boxes and a couple of bags that I had filled also were dumped on the tarp. When it came to unloading we just pulled the tarp out and everything fell into the green pile. I don’t think it even took us five minutes and we were headed home again.

I’ve had trouble settling into any sewing since the last quilt was finished but today I got back to it. I was expecting the first clue for my Macaron Mystery but so far it hasn’t arrive. What did arrive was another clue for a different mystery; I’m inspired by this one because each clue finishes up quite quickly. I got to work and finished it up. I also finished the latest clue on my Peppermint Purple stitch-along.

With all of those things done I’m going to go downstairs and read. My book is due back at the library tomorrow and I think I just might get it done and handed back without incurring any fine.

Tuesday, August 3, 2021

It just doesn’t feel right if I don’t write a post. Old habits die hard.

While I was outside doing my yard work this morning the owners of the rental house next door came by and started bushwhacking their way through the yard next door. I rightly guessed that they were kicking out the tenants (I hear things when I’m upstairs with the window open) and they were cleaning things up in hopes of a new one.

I received a notice from the library this morning and my immediate thought was, “Oh no, not another book”. The notice advised me that I had a book that was due in a couple of days. After enjoying no limits on my library books for more than a year I’m in danger of having to pay a fine for the one I’m currently reading. I tried to renew it but someone else has it on hold so I couldn’t. I’ll try to spend a bit more time reading but I’m not even halfway through the book and there is no way I’m giving it back before I’m done.

I finished up a couple of cards this afternoon and I’ll get the binding stitched down before supper and get at some of that reading.

Monday, August 2, 2021

Just when I thought there would be nothing to post about for a day or two I actually have a couple of things to tell you about.

We are under water restrictions and are only allowed to water on even numbered days. So the sprinkler hasn’t been out for a few days. We don’t water the grass but we are trying to keep the trees watered. Up until today when I walked across the grass it felt nice on my bare feet – not the case today. The grass has been brown for weeks and I think we’ve only mowed it two or three times since the Spring but when I walked across it to move the hose I felt like I should have had shoes on because it was quite crunchy.

A new month means a new UFO for August. I’m thrilled that I managed to get my July UFO done just a day past the deadline. In fact I consider that I was done right on time because if the first of the month falls on a Sunday the new number isn’t posted until the Monday. I still need to wash the top as I used some yellow chalk marker that didn’t brush off as well as it should have – lesson learned. You can see my Medallion Mystery on my quilting page; Pat has already claimed it for a background in his downstairs office. My August UFO is a quilt I made with my Thursday sewing group; it is already sandwiched so I just need to do the quilting.

This afternoon we had a tour of the Blueberry Commons, the local farm where we get our weekly produce from. It was really hot but we spent quite a long time moving about on their 16 acre property. They have a huge garden, a huge blueberry patch, bees for making honey, a cold room for storing the harvest between deliveries and plans for a housing complex and maybe some animals in the future. We came home with a couple of figs picked off one of their trees, a ripe melon from their garden and all the blueberries we could eat as we chatted in the blueberry patch.

We had dinner at a restaurant for the first time (for me) in almost a year and a half. We sat at a table outside under an umbrella. It felt quite shaded so it was a good way to cool off after our tour.