Friday, April 15, 2022

ICBC called me yesterday afternoon when I was out. I didn’t get home until almost five so I wasn’t going to call them back but Pat said they were open 24×7 so I thought I’d try before supper. The wait was going to be 45 minutes and, since supper was ready, I decided I’d try again before bed. When I checked around ten the wait was still 35 minutes so I gave up.

I was up early and managed to get my call in (after waiting 20 minutes); I’m not sure why I needed to call because they didn’t really have any questions that I hadn’t answered on my online claim. I don’t need to do anything until I hear from the adjuster in about five days. I wondered if I had to report to the RCMP since my witness had but they said no. I’m not to wash my car until after the adjuster has seen the damage; I didn’t tell her that I haven’t washed the car in over ten years!

I’m not sure where the morning went but before I knew it we were heading out for lunch – my treat for Pat’s birthday. One of our favourite places (before Covid) is offering their lunch menu at 50% off for the month; Pat stopped in once while I was away but he tried something different today.

Although it wasn’t really warm or sunny, after lunch we planted the dahlia’s that I brought home from Calgary. It felt good to put on my gardening shoes, gloves and jacket; hopefully I’ll be motivated to get out there on an almost-daily basis. The cushions for the outdoor furniture are out of storage but so far we’ve not used them.

I have my April quilting project ready for sandwiching. I’m going to try using a new method to sandwich, although I may lose my nerve and go back to the usual method. I don’t have any spray baste so it will have to be done with pins. I don’t have very many large pins but I have quite a few small ones; it will take awhile to get it done and I didn’t think I’d have time for it today so I left it.

I’ll spend a bit of time with my cross stitching before supper (and cake).

Thursday, April 14, 2022

A little excitement goes a long way. Last night while I was at the Hall taking tickets someone backed into the front of my car. One of our ticket holders saw it happen and took photos as well as got the licence plate of the driver. The passenger in the vehicle got out, took a look, and decided there was no damage and drove away. The damage is slight but the witness filed a police report and I started a claim with ICBC. More work than damage no doubt but I guess I have to go through the motions.

I was off to my Thursday sewing group this afternoon. I was able to start a new project today and it has been awhile since I did that. I have 2 blocks (of 9) finished; although I’ll get more done before the end of the month it is doubtful I will finish more than those 9 blocks. I left the bin at Gail’s as I can’t see that I’ll have any time in the next week to work on it.

I’m not sure why but my back is really sore so I think I’ll take something and lay down until supper.

Wednesday, April 13, 2022

I was up and out the door early this morning so I could get the groceries I needed for my hot cross buns. The store wasn’t busy but I went to FreshCo and I have no clue where anything is. FreshCo is one of the few stores that has still arrows indicating which way up or down an aisle you should go; that added extra time as when I knew where something was I usually had to go down another aisle just to get to it.

Pat has a birthday coming up so I told him that as of today he was not allowed to make any purchases. I had a few ideas that he wasn’t thrilled about so what I picked out on my own is what he gets. I was behind on a couple of April birthday cards so I went into my Splendid Sampler stash of blocks and picked out a couple. One of them is ready for binding.

At one point both Pat and I were working in the kitchen; he was making soup in the Instant Pot and I was making hot cross buns in the bread machine. Whenever one or the other of our machines would beep we had to sort out which one it was or if it was a timer that we had set. When we started up the kitchen composter that added extra beeps to the mix. We had the soup for lunch and my hot cross buns are out of the oven (and have been taste-tested) so I guess we each answered the right beep.

I spent some time working on my Botanical Garden today; the weather wasn’t quite good enough to work out in the “real” garden. I was quite behind on the weekly posts but with some luck I think I can catch up this afternoon. I think I’m four weeks behind on my Peppermint Purple stitch-along.

I have a show at the Hall tonight so I’ll be heading out right after supper. I’ll be checking the pre-purchased tickets as well as selling memberships for the Hall and tickets for our next show. I was worried that we wouldn’t have a big crowd but I think by the time we sell a few tickets at the door we’ll be as full as we’d like to be given the Covid risk. Both Pat and I took a Covid test this morning and we’re both okay.

Now I’ll gather up the things I need for tonight and get back to stitching.

Tuesday, April 12, 2022

It’s good to be home but I had a wonderful time in Calgary with the Burtons. There was never a shortage of cake that’s for sure. Gavin started the celebrations – he turned 15.

Emma was next – turning 16. Her cake was perfect; she is self-taught on the guitar and Pat is very impressed with how good she is. We don’t get to hear her unless we listen in at the bottom of the stairs!

And finally – I cannot believe that Madison is 21. She is still working 12-hour shifts but they are from 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM. I’m glad she works from home during the night but we didn’t see much of her during the day.

We did more than just eat! We had a few short walks to Tim Horton’s and to the corner store up the street. Elizabeth, Emma and I did a long walk (2.3 miles) around Elliston Park. I can remember walking Emma and Gavin around the park when they were both in the stroller. We always spent a lot of time at the playground but Emma said we could skip it this time around. For Madison’s birthday we all went bowling. I improved with each game but I won’t tell you how many games I’d have to play before breaking 100!

When I got back to Comox it was nice to have Pat meet me at the airport and not have to do that final walk-on trip. We did a quick shop at Costco and got most of the stuff on the list and only a few extras. Then we had a nice lunch with Peggy and Bill before heading to the ferry. I was tired last night but I managed to get a little knitting done just so I would stay awake.

Today has been busy. I did some catching up on e-mails and a lot of Hall work. We have a show tomorrow night and I wanted to be sure all was in order and ready. After sending off several different e-mails to different Board members I commented to Pat that they were probably (not) glad that I was back. Late this morning I stopped in at the Guild bee but I didn’t do any sewing, I just wanted to get some photos for the blog.

I intended to get some groceries on the way home but before I got to the store a warning light came on in the car. I had no idea what it was warning me about so I just drove home so I could check it out. It wasn’t serious – my window washing fluid was low. It was rainy (and if I’m honest there were some flakes of snow) and I didn’t want to go out again so I’ll make that trip tomorrow morning. I want to make some hot cross buns and I need potatoes.

I’ve spent the afternoon cutting fabric for a new project that I hope to start on Thursday. It is my piecing challenge for April. I’m using up a fabric collection that I used for my Farmer’s Daughter quilt and I’ll be using a new technique (Circle of Nine) to put the blocks together.

I’ll get back now to my cutting and I hope to be a bit more alert tonight when I’m knitting.