Garden is in!!

I planted my garden on May 22 this year!!  I had emptied the compost bins the day before and they had to be repaired (silicone in the seam - Thanks Brian) so the compost sat over night on the tarp and I put back in what needed to be composted further in the bins and put the rest on the garden and side yard.  It will be a short season for me this year as we are vacationing in October so what I get I get!!!  I put in less than usual and so they are farther apart.  Brian cut some rebar for me for the bean grid and the other pieces will be used to secure the raspberries.  I still have to get that job done.  The nankings and haskapps are full of bees and the black currants are not too far behind.  We did get .25 of rain after I put it in so I added a bit from the hose while I was at it.  I do have three little rows of onion in the side yard.  

Note:  I removed all the irises from the side yard and put them out for Trash to Treasure which I advertised on Kijiji and they are all off to new homes!!!  It was a good decision to remove them and there will be mulch instead.  My tomatoes are still waiting to go in  - maybe this week!!  

You can see above that my Cool Breeze seeds came out of the package turquoise!!!  So cool!!  I expect it is some sort of coating to protect them from spoiling before they sprout.  Therese
 

Puzzle of a war at sea

 The subtle colours of this puzzle made it a challenge but Brian got it done and was happy to find that there were no missing pieces.  Therese

Cleaned up the side yard

Brian is in Calgary doing a house repair at Suzanne's and Trash to Treasure has started so before he left we put out the many things we have been saving to give away.  I put an ad on Kijiji and most of the items have been picked up!!  I dug up the side yard today which has been on the agenda for several years now and so needed to be done.  I dug up all the irises and they are on the front lawn in hopes that there are a few people who are looking for FREE plants to put in their yards this spring.   I also dug up some lilies, some hens and chicks, some blue bells of some kind as well.  The rhubarb is coming up and everything needs water.  It did sprinkle some yesterday morning but there is no evidence in the soil today.  You can see my blue flax and my shasta daisies here at the front of the photo, some sunflowers that came up on their own and the rhubarb and the nanking. 

 The leaves are coming on most of the bushes and trees. The haskapps are blooming as well.  I expect with some rain everything will just really get going.  There is some predicted this week.  We shall see - we need at least two days of solid rain to get things going.    I will to the other side of the sidewall next year - there are irises there too!!!  Not sure how many I will be leaving.   Therese

Woodworking bench

Brian has finally finished up his new project - a wood working bench with a wood vise on the side.  It is all hand made with mortice and tenons and with wood on he had on hand - some from Dad.  The top is beech  - a table top Rob gave him years ago and was just the perfect top for this work bench.  Every piece has been sanded and has several coats of tung oil on it.  

It has been in progress since last fall and is finally finished.  There has been some sorting in the shop to make room for all the large tools.  More shelves need to put up as well which will take the bins who are waiting for a new home.  

Therese
 

Birthday celebration a little late!!

We headed to Calgary to celebrate James (Mina)'s birthday which is a little late how it worked into everyone's schedule.  The weather has improved quite a bit but when we arrived Sal was out with the neighbours putting in new posts and fencing which was blown down a few days earlier.  Brian headed to Stephany's to replace the winter tires with the summer ones.  He had lots of help. 

I was a Suzanne's early enough to meet a lady that was looking to buy my 730 Bernina.  In the end, she did not buy it so it will be coming back home next week when Brian is there to do some work on the ensuite at Suzanne's.  

We had a wonderful meal as always with cake and some presents too!!! James is home from university and starting their summer job on Monday!!  Therese

 

Our first fire of the season!!

We had hot dogs over a wood fire in our fire pit last week.  It is our first of the season and considering the pile of wood off cuts we need to have one a week for the summer to make a dent in the pile.  

We are really enjoying the sun and warmth after a late start to the spring.  

Therese
 

Six new windows - tall slims in the living room, family room and master bedroom

Red Deer Windows and Doors were here on April 28 to replace six windows.  They were efficient and did a good job and were gone at about 1pm having arrived shortly after 8am with six guys.  We had the two tall ones in the living room replaced with a solid top and a small opening window at the bottom.  The two in the family room with the same sort of windows with a solid at the top and a small opening one below.The two in the master bedroom as well. These ones had to be full opening as they are required by law for fire safety.  They are triple pane and are wonderful.  There is much less noise from outside coming in and with C&E outside on the back it is much better.  Less heat will be coming in as well which we found when we replaced the patio door a few years ago.    Therese

 

More snow and wind takes down a tree

 With more snow and wind overnight we found this tree that had lost the better part of this top - almost half of the tree - in the wind last night.  Sylvia and I went for a walk around the block  - the sun was nice but it was still cool - and found this tree on our way back to the house.  Therese