yesterday I finally got around to making rhubarb scones…
I’ve had the recipe for a few weeks but it has been too hot to make them…
I was especially interested as the recipe used canola oil instead of butter… I wondered if they would end up being dense and heavy, but they turned out light and fluffy and very tasty…
they may have been the best scones I’ve made;-)…
and were delicious warm with pro-activ on them… I think they would also be great with warm cheese on them;-)…
a few days ago a great friend came by for a garden visit…
she brought me some gorgeous dark purple Japanese irises and a branch of lovely mock orange blossoms…
we had a nice time as we checked out everything growing in the garden and then watched the birds for ages… she knows lots about birds so I even learned a little, lol…
the house finch couple came by to visit and the house sparrows had a feeding frenzy as the parents and babies flew around and parents fed some babies and encouraged others to find their own seeds…
it was such fun to watch the way the youngsters fluttered their wings… and tried to land in various places… a few times I thought they were going to land right on us…
the sound was amazing as everyone was chatting and calling their family members, clearly wanting to be recognized, lol…
great fun to spend time with someone else who can happily listen to the water and bird watch for hours at a time;-)…
just home from a wonderful gathering with my best buddies… we haven’t been together since my birthday in April, when they came and wished me a happy birthday at a distance with signs and a card…
this was the first time that I have left the house, and driven the car, since mid-March…
everyone brought their own dishes, silverware and mugs, and I even brought my chair, which worked out really well as it has a little table attached where I could put my tea and camera…
we sat – physically distancing, of course – around a lovely fire in our host’s backyard, celebrating another birthday and enjoyed a visit while eating lemon cake with fresh raspberries which she had baked for us… (cake photo from the chef)…
we talked about birds, celebrations, family and wind chimes… and we learned that wind chimes can have different sounds attributed to them… the ones we were listening to were the song of a meadowlark…
it was cool, but we all brought warm clothes and were quite comfortable… a bit crazy that gloves were needed…
it was an excellent first outing and I felt good about getting out for the first time since the pandemic began, although I did wash my hands as soon as I got into the house, lol…
sitting by the pond after my visitors have left and enjoying the last bit of sunlight…
my water shoes are on the deck because I went into the pond once again and dredged up another pailful of leaves… the fish are still not coming out, but I did see the frog hop by earlier in the day…
all three of my grandsons came by just after noon… I made them grilled cheese sandwiches with the wonderful La Belle Baguette whole wheat sourdough that was delivered yesterday…
the oldest left, the middle one mowed the grass, front and back, while the youngest watered plants and pulled weeds…
some days it is hard to realize he is eleven and can reach and do more things…
after the work was done, relaxing happened and visiting took place…
this was the first time I’ve had people in the house and the system was they had access to the basement for cooling down and using the washroom and I had the main floor… worked perfectly…
we ordered Chinese food for supper and it arrived just before the daddy, who had been at work all day… afterwards my downspout got fixed, a stair board tightened and then off they went…
it was a treat to see them and I enjoyed every minute… I missed my nap, but plan on making it an early night;-)…
I’ve spent a good part of the day watching the activity as the new neighbours move into the house next door…
looks like they are a young couple and they have been coming and going since around 7:30 this morning…
last Friday I watched the moving van arrive and take away all the belongings of the couple who had lived there for over 10 years… well he lived there for that time, and recently got married… since then they have come and gone a number of times to do the last bit of clean up and removal… his adult kids had all been by to fetch their bits and pieces and a couple of days ago a truck came and picked up the hot tub…
it made me think of a couple of things…
first was the day we moved into this house… it was in August of 1973… we had purchased the house from an older couple and on the day we were to move in, we arrived at nine in the morning to discover them sitting at their kitchen table having tea… it appears that they had forgotten they had to be out that day… we were freaking out at our end, because we had to be out of the apartment we had been living in by the end of that day… amazingly, their son arrived and they were out of the house by 3 pm…
second is the thought of what my kids will have to do when I leave the house… we have lived here for 47 years so there is a lot of stuff… I keep thinking about how I need to be decluttering more than I have, although right now isn’t really the time to do that, as organizations are not taking donations at this time, lol…
but it does remind me to get onto that project as soon as possible… we won’t even discuss the state of the garage, which has not been dealt with since my beloved’s death over eight years ago…
I baked sugar cookies to deliver next door and share with a few others…
recently spent most of the day in the garden watching the comings and goings at the bird feeder…
my goal this summer is to teach the chickadees to eat from my hand…
starting by putting food out close to my chair and sitting fairly close to the feeder so they get used to me being there…
had a few conversations with the squirrels who kept coming to eat, but I encouraged them to leave… later, I noticed two at the feeder… making up for lost time I guess…
saw juncos, song sparrows, nuthatches, and finches, but no chickadees, lol…
Wednesday was Canada Takeout day and I decided to support Pho Hoang, a local restaurant which always produces delicious food…
I used a different app than normal, which appears to make sure that all the money goes to the restaurant…
whenever I order I try to get enough for at least a couple of meals…
this time I got 3 different things… the pho soup is always enough for two meals…
I also got shrimp garden rolls which I had for my supper as they are best when eaten fresh… finally I ordered sweet potato and shrimp crepes… I had a couple with the rolls;-)…
my dinner was delicious…
since then I’ve had pho for two meals as well as enjoying the sweet potato and shrimp crepes for a breakfast…
the kitchen counter looked rather sad because it was covered in stuff… I’ve been setting things that have come in the mail onto it to quarantine until I can open them, lol…
happily there were two packages filled with chocolate bars sitting there that had served their time… they were ready to add to my chocolate stash…
previously I’d been using two small plastic containers, but clearly that wasn’t going to work now… I searched through the house looking for the right size container and came upon an orange flower box which had held a flower delivery… how happy is that…
cleaned off the shelf in the cupboard which held the chocolate and some larger mugs and then reorganized… I moved the mugs to the back as I haven’t been using them much lately and then put the lovely orange box, filled with all the chocolate, towards the front of the shelf…
looks great and now it will be easier to get to…
of course I have to make sure not to eat too much chocolate… but now there is easier access…
had an excellent day yesterday… got a parcel in the mail… with chocolate in it…
spent time in the garden… reading in the sun, washing down a few pieces of furniture… moving chairs around for a different view… cleaning out some planters… it was lovely…
ended the day with a visit from a dear young friend… she was on the sidewalk and I was at the front door…
this morning I started my day with the last bag of Twinning Blackcurrant Tea…
texts, phone calls, and Facebook messages came throughout the day…
and the biggest surprise was my BS buddies singing happy birthday on the road with a sign on a six foot pole so that the two holders wouldn’t get too close… what a treat…
seeing friends, even at a distance, brought such warmth to my heart… thanks to my buddy for sharing her photo;-)…
took Barbie (the BBQ) out and grilled steak and lobster for my dinner… ate with my Ottawa kids via Google Duo… they had McDonalds, lol…
very different from last year, but certainly this birthday will be remembered…
herbiggirlpants 