Monday, May 29, 2017

Pat has had a fellow helping with the yard work for a couple of years. Willie is unreliable and often does what he wants to do rather than what Pat wants him to do. He’ll listen to what Pat wants, go off and do his thing, and then not get to the things he was supposed to do. I will admit that he does a good job at the things he does do.

He was supposed to come over last Tuesday to do some weeding in one of the beds so Pat could plant some gladioli; he didn’t show up. He called that night to say he’d be here on Wednesday; he didn’t show up then and we still haven’t heard from him. I went from being angry with him to now wondering if he is okay. Over the weekend Pat was worrying about getting some things planted so I offered to work for him three days a week for two hours in the morning. Today was my first day on the job.

I weeded the bed that Pat wanted done and we planted the bulbs. I weeded another bed and Pat was able to spread some mulch over it. There is still a lot of work to do but I think we got a lot done in the time we spent. Pat also said my weeding is just as good as Willie’s!

After a shower and lunch I went out and did a few errands. Last week I picked up a set of project boxes from Costco for a friend so I dropped them off to her and then made a deposit for Cranberry Hall. I was going to go to Staples to pick up something to hold my rulers (a tip from the class I took a couple of weeks ago) but all I wanted to do was come home.

When I was sewing the binding on one of my projects last night I realized I hadn’t put a hanging sleeve on it. I took care of that this afternoon and I’ll finish up the hand stitching tonight. I pulled and cut fabric for three more cards today and have started to stitch together a couple of borders for another project. For the rest of the afternoon I’ll return to my cross stitching.

Sunday, May 28, 2017

I was up about 6:30 this morning and Pat wasn’t far behind me. I hadn’t even finished my coffee when he suggested we go for an early walk along the sea wall. It was a lovely morning and the path was almost empty – a few fitness fanatics (as Pat called them) and us who don’t really fit into that category. On the way home we stopped at Starbucks to get a coffee and headed home. I sat out in the back while I drank my coffee and read an old quilting magazine. It was one I picked up as a freebie at some point and I’d bookmarked a Sunbonnet Sue pattern. Since then I’ve purchased a couple of Sunbonnet Sue books so it is probably time to let this particular magazine go.

When I look at magazines I generally look at the pictures and decide whether or not I want to make any of the patterns. This morning I decided to actually read the magazine and there are some interesting articles in it. Not enough to keep it on my shelf, but I’m glad it will have been read when I choose to pass it along.

When my coffee was done I came upstairs to get started on some quilting; I had a couple of items I wanted to get ready for binding. When I decided to take a peek at my mail before getting started I was astounded that it was only 9:00 AM.

I have the two projects ready for hand stitching tonight, and this afternoon I started a new cross stitch that will be sent as a card.

Saturday, May 27, 2017

On Thursday we took a day trip over to the Island – and boy did the day go fast! We were on the first ferry out in the morning and it was our first trip on the new Salish Orca. The ship is smaller and, so far, it still looks new. The main vehicle deck is on the very lowest floor which means you have three full flights of steps to get to the lounge areas. The stairway is very steep and narrow (although you don’t notice it on the way up) and for the return trip we used the elevators as Pat has a bit of vertigo and if you started to topple it is a long way down and you’d take everyone else out on the way. The lounge area seems noticeably smaller, although we still have a full restaurant. The tables in the cafeteria are line up better to the windows, but the seagulls have already found them and they looked like they hadn’t been washed – ever! On the trip over we saw a couple of orcas so it is nice to know they aren’t scared off by the fancy painting on the sides of the ferry.

Our excuse for driving over was that there was some Cranberry Hall shopping that needed to be done at Costco. Pat paid for our membership online and when we got to the store we had to head to the membership desk. Within about ten minutes we had been persuaded to upgrade to the Executive membership – we’ll see if we shop there often enough during a year to save the extra money it cost. While Pat finished up at the desk I went a got a cart; we both laughed because it was a BIG cart. However, we weren’t even half-done our list and the cart was practically full. Project bins were on sale (5 for $30) and I was picking up a set for myself and another quilter and we got four folding chairs for the Hall. We picked up a package of toilet paper for the Hall, as well as one for another Board member; since they are a good deal we bought one for ourselves. Groceries weren’t really anything we wanted although on another trip we might pick up some canned goods. We added in a package of kleenex and paper towels, and by packages I mean a case!

We went from there to the Needlework Loft – a very small needlework shop run out of a basement. I’ve been there before and, although she has a selection of patterns, only one of them called my name. I had a long list of floss I needed; she has every colour of floss and it is so neatly arranged it is easy to pick the colours you need. Just down the road from the shop is the Kingfisher Resort and Spa, a place Pat and I have eaten dinner at a couple of times. We’d never lunched there before but it was as good as dinner; they even had my favourite Lavender Martini back on the menu and yes, I did indulge in one. The ferry ride home was uneventful; we sat outside the whole way and both got a bit too much sun.

Friday morning and part of the afternoon was taken up entirely with baking for the event last night. At one of our house concerts one of our guests brought lemon tarts; they were absolutely delicious and Peter said the key was to make your own lemon curd (and he said it was simple). So that was my first task and yes, it was very simple. Next up I made a vanilla bundt cake; the cake was made using a cake mix and instant pudding so it went quite quickly. It still took just over an hour to bake though. Sour cream cookies were next on the list but when the first pan came out of the oven they tasted a bit bland so I made a lime glaze for them. Once the tart shells were baked I filled them with the curd and made some meringue to go on top. They were difficult to transport, but they tasted very good! I’ll be using lemon curd for my lemon pies from now on (like I ever make lemon pies!) and I think I’ll make tarts again but leave off the meringue; I’d use a full size shell rather than the mini ones next time because they will transport better. It’s not often (in fact never) that I get a shout-out from the performer for my cookies; after he mentioned how good they were there were shouts about the lemon tarts and then one woman said she’d tried and liked all three of the treats. It was a small crowd and we didn’t make much money but I’m still basking in the accolades.

Today feels like a slow day although I’ve accomplished a bit. I had rhubarb in the fridge from the market so I made stewed rhubarb – a favourite for my breakfast. A friend gave me some lovely fresh rhubarb so I’ve cut up enough for two rhubarb pies. I put one package in the freezer but I kept the other one out. I thought we might have rhubarb pie this weekend but we still have baking left from the concert so it might be next week before we need a dessert again. I also did three loads of laundry and I have them hanging outside. I did a bit of sewing this afternoon but by this time of day the upstairs gets a bit warm and I’m less productive.

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Late yesterday afternoon the wind started blowing and it hasn’t stopped yet. As the dinnertime ferry was pulling out I wondered how it would fare in the stormy weather. It didn’t seem to be making its usual stormy weather run so it was probably okay. The evening ferry didn’t run but we weren’t surprised; I don’t think I’ve ever seen swells like that so close to the terminal. Some trees were down around town and there were some power outages; apparently a tree fell through the roof of a mobile home in Wildwood. I saw on Facebook there were reports of damage to some of the boats in the harbour.

It has been windy all day today, although not quite as bad. I hung my clothes on the line this morning and I expect they are drying well in the wind. I noticed one shirt was wrapped around the line so hopefully I’ll be able to pull them in okay.

I spent some time looking through recipes; I’m going to try three completely new recipes so hopefully none will be failures. This afternoon I picked up the ingredients I need but I won’t bake until Friday morning as we are off to the Island tomorrow to do some Costco (and embroidery floss) shopping. I’m looking forward to riding on the new ferry. Hopefully the wind won’t keep us on either side of the Strait longer than we want.

I’ve spent a bit of time today quilting a project; it is one that I’ve been putting off for far too long and it is actually going quite well. It is a gift so no sneak peeks here until it has been received at the other end.

Now I’d better get my clothes in off the line before they blow away!