one of the gifts I received for my retirement was a gift certificate to Black Market Provisions…
a few days ago I ordered one of their Care Packages… it arrived right at supper time the next day and included the most delicious salad with beets, goat cheese, chicken, and greens… I also enjoyed some garlicky bagel crisps…
there were a few frozen items, more crackers and some delicious looking cookies…
I was so excited when I got a call from my personal shopper (oldest grandson) asking if I still wanted the soap that we’d been looking for since March… I had just started using another brand of foam soap which I was finding had an overpowering smell, lol…
I am a creature of habit and found this particular foaming soap quite a few years ago… it is light and doesn’t really have a scent… which makes it perfect for me…
he picked up three containers so that I will not run out…
finished tidying for the cleaners and left the house just as they arrived… always feels like an accomplishment when everything is ready, lol…
I still don’t want to be in the house while they are here and don’t usually go back in for an hour after they leave, lol… once they are done they send a list of what they accomplished which is nice to review…
nineteen and sunny as I walked along a nearby street and many of the bunnies were out and about;-)…
this house caught my eye with the lovely flower beds… and lots of shade…
way more people out and about at 9 am than at 7, lol… got quite a few more steps as I crossed streets to stay out of their way…
when the house was reshingled a few years ago, they felt the garage would last for another five years… not!
over the winter I was able to see light through a couple of little holes when the sun was shining…
recently I realized that water was leaking in whenever it rained…
so, Monday, Brian, the contractor, came… he removed the old shingles and put them into his truck without leaving any mess… certainly much cleaner than the folks who did the house… there were shingle bits and nails everywhere when they were done…
after he made a trip to the dump, he picked up shingles that match those on the house, then removed every nail still in the roof and used a cool magnet that picked up any loose ones… then he swept the entire roof before placing down plastic sheeting over the entire surface… I was mesmerized with the light patterns when the shingles were off;-)…
Tuesday he returned and laid the shingles… there were a few problems including both roofing nailers jamming and having to remove all of the Virginia creeper that has grown into and over the eavestrough…
had decided to stay in the house to be sure I’d be there when Purolator arrived with a parcel…
apparently they tried to deliver it a few weeks ago… they didn’t leave any notification, so it wasn’t until I went searching for the tracking number that I discovered they had been here… it was interesting as I have a note on the front door advising to go to the back door if I’m not in the house… not sure how I missed it…
last week I called and spoke to someone who advised the parcel was waiting at the depot… after we talked she arranged for them to bring it back on Tuesday…
when it was delivered at 11:30 the driver said he’d been away on vacation and the person who filled in for him wasn’t very experienced… he even apologized for the mixup…
we had a nice chat about the datura seedpod on the plant by the front door, lol…
this morning I got a phone call from “Manitoba Hydro” advising that my power was going to be shut off in thirty minutes and then suggested I push a button and speak with someone about my unpaid account…
I hung up as my payments are taken out of my bank automatically… but it still made me nervous… I went to Hydro’s website and read their notification that scams are currently happening… made me feel much better… I also reported the call…
last week I had a call about someone using my social security number… again, I hung up…
usually if I pick up the phone and don’t hear someone right away I hang up… then there is no stress, lol…
last night my grandson arrived with the four base pieces so we could put it together…
one of the crosspieces on the bottom didn’t fit correctly so he had to take that piece back to the store and have it replaced… happily they had one available…
back home he finished putting it all together and I think it is going to be perfect…
now I will be able to have visitors to the garden at any time of the day… really looking forward to more garden visits…
after supper I tried opening and closing it a few times before he left, lol… let us hope I can remember exactly what to do;-)…
so, I signed up for a 3-part video course on flowers in the garden… it is from @floretflower on Instagram… they are located in Washington State and have a flower farm and seed business…
yesterday I finally got around to watching the first of the two that I have received so far…
it was all about pinching the plants… this morning I decided to give it a try and it was difficult, because it does feel counter-productive to trim back a plant that is growing nicely… but I did it, and I also removed the flowers on the dahlias and put them into a vase…
it will be interesting to see if it really does double the number of blooms produced…