this morning when I looked outside the sun was shining and it was a nice temperature…
but, the grass was so tall I didn’t want to go into the garden… since we’ve had a bit of rain and cooler weather it has grown like crazy and my grandsons hadn’t been able to come over and mow for me…
I decided that I would mow it myself… I did buy a lawnmower that starts easily and doesn’t have any cords for just this situation…
so, I moved furniture, mowed, whippersnipped, put furniture back, brought out cushions and finally sat down with a cup of tea to enjoy the space…
we jumped in the boat and went to a few different fishing spots… no luck at the first one but we did much better at the second…
saw turtles and cormorants… the cormorants got a bit tired of us following them along the canal, but I got some great photos…
I also caught two fish and brought another one up to the side of the boat where it decided to jump off, lol… and the rule is, if you don’t get it into the boat it doesn’t count…
one of the Jack’s I caught was around 30 inches (second biggest of the day) and put up a fight before getting into the net… the other was smaller, but really any fish is great;-)…
good thing I have all these excellent fishers around me to provide backup and helpful instructions…
they brought me a bunch of mums for the garden… I had been collecting parcels for them over the last few weeks, so we traded, lol…
we ate in the garage as it was a bit cool out and rain threatened… I am still nervous about having people in the house for any length of time…
even put one of the plants on the table to provide some ambiance;-)… looks good with the tablecloth, but we won’t mention all the “stuff” that is everywhere…
we spent time remembering how grandpa knew where every single thing was located and planning the organizing and decluttering that has to happen…
Sunday, a friend, her husband and daughter came over for lunch… the garden looked beautiful and we had a lovely visit…
lunch was a delightful collection of goodies from Pho Hoang… everything was tasty…
on Monday morning I had an early meeting in the garden and the rain held off just long enough for us to finish…
Tuesday morning, when I woke up after the storm in the night, I discovered that the hibiscus and dahlia planters were both tipped over from the strong wind… when I looked at the neighbour’s yard I discovered a large branch had fallen right next to their house… thankfully, nothing was damaged…
Wednesday morning a friend stopped by and we had a great catch-up…
in the evening my grandson came for his birthday dinner… delicious steak, lobster, mushrooms and twice-stuffed potatoes were on the menu…
once again, great timing… as we were cleaning up the sky turned very dark… we just got all the cushions inside when the wind and rain arrived…
apparently I am getting lax in my old age as I haven’t been taking as many photos as usual…
these are three of the most recent ones with him in them, lol… but they cover the important things…
in this first one he is cleaning out the hot tub for me… he often comes over and looks after various household and garden jobs…
currently he has my car and here he driving me home after my first Covid-19 vaccination where he kept me company through the entire process… and suggested we get an ice cream treat…
this last one is him heading out in the car after delivering items off for me… he runs errands for me and drops off bits and pieces whenever needed…
what a wonderful time these twenty-one years have been…
my grandson came, whipper snipped, trimmed the weeds in the driveway, and blew all the leaves and detritus… we do like the blower, which can also act as a vacuum… everything looks tidy… he also helped get one of the bubble machines going…
a bit later Hilda the Gardener spent time weeding and tidying so that the garden looks well cared for… it is always such a treat to see how lovely everything looks after she’s been here…
meanwhile, I had lightly fertilized the plants that are heavy feeders, filled bird feeders and pulled out a few weeds in the new grass…
the Olympics have been a distraction as this day has come closer – what would have been our 51st wedding anniversary…
I’ve spent the day thinking of some moments with my beloved…
the everyday things: changing up the configuration of the ponds; working in the garden as it changed over the years; caring for his lawn, trimming the Virginia creeper, fixing whatever needed attention; making the world’s best French fries, fried egg sandwiches and salads; driving the girls and I everywhere; reading and playing with our grandsons; cleaning the garage, packing the car, barbecuing; the strength of his hands that could wring out a cloth so it was dry, massage a sore neck, scrub a pot perfectly clean, and gently hold my hand when we were out walking…
so many little things…
I’ve been remembering our 40th anniversary… I was in the hospital for an extended period of time and he came every day and brought me pictures he had taken of whatever morning glories had opened on that particular day… I took this photo just yesterday…
he also sent me a basket filled with 40 roses… each night they had to be moved into the hall because their scent was so strong I couldn’t sleep with them in the room, lol…
a friend recently lost his partner and has decided to refer to their anniversary as the first celebration of their 41 years together… what a lovely way to describe it…
today I am also enjoying the sentiment of this beautiful card which I recently received in the mail…
Facebook brought up some interesting memories on this day from the last number of years…
eleven years ago it was a mention of spending the night at the hospital and having a procedure the following day… it doesn’t say that would be the first of forty–two days that I spent in that same hospital…
ten years ago we were in Courtenay, BC learning how to cook octopus, as we gathered fresh shrimp for our supper…
nine years ago, I was home recovering from a big surgery unable to lift even a couple of pounds, with a friend staying over to look after me;-)…
four years ago, I was watching my grandson participate in his first rowing competition…