well, after grocery shopping and packing up what felt like tons of stuff, we set off on our adventure…
we have returned to the superb Airbnb that we spent a week at last year…
it took about two and a half hours from leaving the house to sitting on the deck with tea and a refresher…
didn’t take very long to unpack the groceries and our personal stuff… then we headed to the upper deck to enjoy the scenery and our drinks…
as I sat there I listened to the waves gently lapping the shore, and heard the warblers, vireos, and sparrows singing in the trees nearby… and we’d already watched a couple of ducks working on their afternoon snacks as a pelican fly by…
was thinking of my dad as I was making scrambled eggs recently…
he was a great cook and always used a fork when scrambling eggs… he said it made them fluffier… he always added a touch of milk or water as he prepared them…
this was the garden when I planted the seeds on May 14…
and here are photos from today…
the black planters are coming along very nicely… the tomatoes at each end have started to flower, the peas and beans are thinking about climbing the trellis, and the cucumbers have popped through the ground…
the vegetables in the gray planter are coming along, although the squash seed has not sprouted yet…
this is rather amazing, considering all the rain we’ve had…
yesterday we moved the table on the deck to the middle of the space and this morning I put on the tablecloth and runner that I picked up on Saturday…
then my housemate put the umbrella back in its hole and we opened it up…
I folded silverware into napkins and brought out pretty, but unmatched, plates to put around… glasses and mugs followed… everything was upside down so they wouldn’t get dirty…
found bowls, covers, and spoons for the two salads – ham and German potato, as well as the coleslaw…
crackers went onto a wooden tray and the salt and pepper shaker made it onto the table, alongside some lily of the valley flowers from under the deck…
chair covers and cushions went out and umbrellas went up…
friends arrived with other food offerings… there were fresh veggies and hummus, devilled eggs, fresh fruit, whipped cream, chocolate, and custard…
there were flowers for the birthday woman…
we gathered at the table and enjoyed everyone’s delicious offerings… of course there was our usual coffee and tea to go with the fruit, custard and whipped cream, topped with a piece of chocolate and a pistachio, lol…
the bubble machine came out and was on until bubbles started to land on plates… the weather was beautiful as the sun shone with a slight breeze every now and then… conversations were free flowing and stories made us laugh…
we took a group photo, as we always do when we gather for special times;-)…
as everyone began to leave the clouds filled the sky and the temperature went down, but no rain fell…
I had a relaxing time as I cleaned up, filled the dishwasher, put away the cushions, and got the table back into its original location…
read my book as the last of the bubbles flew around the deck…
up early yesterday, had a quick breakfast, and headed out to get some gardening done before the rain started…
brought out the baskets…
put on my gloves, gathered up seeds, soil, tags, and tools…
emptied one of the nine vegetable planter boxes and then as I dug in fertilizer and loosened up the soil, I removed a bit of soil from each pot and then added in fresh soil…
next I planted peas and beans in the area where they will be able to grow up the arch…
I also planted some in the file cabinet planter so they can grow up the other side of the arch…
the cucumbers and tomatoes will go into the remaining pots around the end of the month… I have a few butternut squash seeds to put in as well…
and then it started raining, so everything got put away and I came into the house, lol…
had a pedicure, which was a real treat as I haven’t had one since covid… the massage portion was bliss…
received cards, gifts, texts, and numerous phone calls… my kids were trying to see how many times they could sing happy birthday to me throughout the day, lol…
enjoyed the technology that let the Ottawa kids send me presents via Amazon…
treats turned up throughout the day, and a gorgeous bouquet arrived in the afternoon;-)…
dinner was barbecued steak and lobster with asparagus, mushrooms and tiny potatoes prepared by my housemate…
and considering the crazy weather – rain, snow, and bits of sunshine – barbecuing was a gift…
a final touch was a small portion of chocolate mousse;-)…
herbiggirlpants 