Tuesday, April 20, 2021

We intended to stay on Texada for another day but packed up and came home quite quickly late this morning.

We unloaded some things into the workshop and then Pat cleaned and swept out his truck bed. While I did that I found a few sewing-related things that I wanted to either take back up to the studio or bring home. Pat wanted to get gas (it is a penny cheaper on Texada than in Powell River) and we needed to get the mail.

When we got to the gas station their pump wasn’t working so we weren’t able to get any gas. We had thought we might do a trip out to Shelter Point but since we were short on gas we went down to the public dock for a look-see. When Pat turned the truck off, the fan continued to run. There was no way he could get it to turn off. He worried that it would run down his battery so we decided that we would come home so he could get it looked at right away. They had to replace some sort of module but Pat also saw how it can be disconnected so should it happen again he can at least do a temporary fix.

I spent the afternoon at my computer. I finished transferring photos from our Facebook page onto our blog and then finished off another year of blog archives. The remainder of the blog archives will be easier as they were downloaded with a software program. There will still be things I need to add in that didn’t download but it will certainly be a much easier job.

One day on Texada really didn’t seem like enough time but there is really nothing to stop us from heading back again very soon. Although when I look at the calendar we have things booked up until next Wednesday and again from Thursday on past the next weekend.

Sunday, April 18, 2021

Pat and I are heading over to Texada later this afternoon. I have almost everything packed. My Kindle is charging and my cell phone is beside it so I won’t forget either one. I have a small bag of meds sitting on top of the book I’m taking and my sweater is hung over my purse so I’ll remember to take it. My car is plugged in to the charger so, hopefully, I’ll be able to go places when we return in a couple of days.

Right now I’m waiting to get the Song Circle started. Pat asked me to do a few things differently for the recording. I made no promises but I’m trying to think ahead to how it might work for me. I am off-camera for the event but I have to pay attention so there will be no extra stitching.

Saturday, April 17, 2021

This photo, from ten years ago, popped up on my Facebook feed this morning. I can barely remember our yard looking like this.

Here’s how the yard looks today.

Along the right side of the house I have my blueberry bushes, our mock orange, some peonies, our sedums, some lilies and a few other things that come up that we don’t know if we actually planted them or not. This year I hope to remember to get our sunflower seeds in the ground.

The small strip along the front of the house is the last patch I weeded yesterday. Today it doesn’t look so large but it seemed much larger yesterday when I was down on my hands and knees. We have a couple of hydrangeas, an ivy and a fir tree planted there, along with some sedums that seem to have migrated over.

There are a number of large pots on the edge of the patio, some with annuals, some with perennials and some with trees. The annuals that come up are generally ones that don’t die over the winter; I think my snap dragons are on about their fourth year of flowering.

You can’t see the patio because of the two large bushes in front of it but, when I’m sitting in my chair, I have a lovely view of the yard and the ocean. It is the perfect spot to spend an afternoon (either in the sun or in the shade) watching the ferries come and go.

Friday, April 16, 2021

I’ve had a busy day but I’m ready to have a drink and sit in my chair until supper.

I spent all morning at my computer. I’m caught up on my Guild work, including some work on the archives. I caught up on my Hall work, including an e-mail to our membership. I caught up on my own paperwork too and went through a lot of my flagged e-mail messages.

This afternoon I spent almost three hours out in the yard. I cleared out the two beds on either side of the front door; the hostas there are both coming up. There was another area of the yard that I didn’t do much with last year and I wanted to get at it before the daisies got too thick. Pat confirmed that there were some hostas in that bed as well. I cleared out enough daisies that I found one of the hostas coming up out of the ground. I’m sure I’ll find the other two another day. The daisies, although I love them, are so thick they are like weeds.

I thought I was finished but decided to do one more smaller bed. It’s amazing how a bed looks small until you start work on it and find that it is bigger than you thought. It’s done now though. When that bed was finished I sat in the sun on the patio for a few minutes. I thought I might have a gin and tonic while I sat in the sun but that meant I was going to have to go upstairs to get it so decided just to sit.

I was doing a bit of an experiment today. Pat said he heard that allergy symptoms were down this year and they thought it was because people were wearing masks. I wore my mask while I was outside (it was really hot) so I’ll see if I’m coughing and sneezing tonight. While I had my Zoom meetings yesterday (one in the afternoon and one in the evening) I had the window open and I couldn’t stop sneezing, blowing my nose and scratching my eyes all evening. Hate the allergies but love the fresh air.