yesterday, for the first time in nearly two years, we went to PTE to watch a live play…
we were both masked and had to show our proof of immunization… there were less than half the seats filled as they followed all Covid protocols… the program was digital and the set was see-through;-)…
it was great to be able to watch a show live…
once we left, we went on another adventure to find a pasta shop my friend had recently read about… it was snowing again and the trees were beautiful…
we were the only people inside and it was such fun to look at things and make choices about what to purchase… I got some fresh spaghetti, sorrentino (ravioli) in mushroom sauce, falafel, empanadas and pita…
this morning my grandson came over to put on the snow tires…
to get the car into the garage he first had to shovel the driveway…
I had made a narrow path from the house to the garage door so that I could take down the table and move things so he could do the work inside the garage…
tires got changed although he ended up only putting Indi in halfway for the front and back wheels… I had to take a photo with both the pretty summer rims and sad winter tires on at the same time, lol…
there was a lot of snow and it was wet and heavy, but he got it done, including the sidewalk and paths… I was pleased that he came in a few times to rest and visit a bit…
just as he finished, it started to snow again…
and off he went with proper winter tires on, which made me happy…
well, today I put running shoes on instead of my sandals…
always a sad day for me as I would be happy to wear sandals all year long, but once it gets cold and I am going to be walking for a while, the shoes come out…
I walked in a different area today and came across maple leaves all over the sidewalk… they are very cute;-)…
in our neighbourhood we don’t see them so it was a treat…
I have been working on the fish condo for weeks now… spent a good portion of a day cleaning the fish tank… lots of scrubbing and emptying…
I researched a second tank and we went out and got the tank and two pumps so that they were on the ends as opposed to the back of the tanks…
after numerous measurements, we set the new tank up on the counter along the North wall of the dining room… then the bottom was filled with rocks and water and the new pump set up… this tank will be for the baby fish as the other tank won’t be able to hold all of the fish…
I worked with my grandson and we were able to move the big tank to the spot beside the small tank… it looks good there and it almost appears like one single very long tank…
after putting river rocks in it, I ran the hose from the outside tap through the house and was able to fill it up in nine minutes… it probably took me that long to fill the small one as I used a pail and walked back and forth to the kitchen sink for that one, lol…
had a bit of an issue with the pump as there wasn’t quite enough room in the large tank for it on the edge, but we were able to remove a piece of plastic and now it fits perfectly…
once the water was in and circulating for a few days we began catching the fish… we have been at it for quite a while… we started on October 22nd and today I think we caught the last one… I had to break ice for the last few collections, lol…
it was quite a process because since about the middle of October the water has been brown as leaves have fallen into it so it has made spotting fish difficult…
we also brought in some of the water lilies, which hopefully will survive until next spring when they can go back into the pond…
the tanks look great and I am pleased with all of our work…
a few days ago I brought in the tubers for two dahlias…
I wasn’t able to dig up the third one, so I went out this afternoon to see if I could get them out of the planter they were in…
I removed soil, and tried to dig around the tubers… my trowel just wasn’t strong enough to get them out… finally I got the shovel and after a ton of effort, was able to finally remove them… there are a lot…
I have brought them in to dry and will then bag in paper and store in the basement… hopefully they will turn into more Mick’s Peppermint in the spring…
Mick’s Peppermint
and while I was outside working, my neighbour brought me a final pail of tomatoes… most are green and I’ve put them on the dining room table so they can ripen…
spent time outside in the garden digging up some of the dahlia tubers…
although it was sunny, it was cool and it got windier as I worked… my fingers were cold inside my work gloves and I had a cup of tea to warm them up when I got in, lol…
I only ended up bringing in the tubers from two of them… one is still out there but I will finish digging it out in a few days…
these are the tubers from my favourite Eveline… there are quite a few pieces and it took a lot of work to get them out of the planter…
once they dry out I will take off the rest of the soil around them… then I will put them into paper bags in a dark and cool part of the basement…
Eveline at the end of August.
there were two of these in one pot and they bloomed a lot and made me very happy… I hope that there will be more next summer…
and this clump came out in one piece… it is the Robann Regal and also had multiple blooms… I am hopeful that they will be viable in the spring…
the flowers were a bit smaller than I expected but the plant produced many blooms…
Robann Regal in early September.
looking forward to bringing in the Mick’s Peppermint, which also bloomed beautifully…
I didn’t leave the house today and spent most of the day reading… I was enjoying a favourite author’s story and had trouble putting the book down, lol…
when I wasn’t reading I was making soup and meat sauce…
the soup is delicious… I used half of a roasted butternut squash, onion, celery and coconut milk… there is enough for two meals which is great… as we adjust to this colder weather I think soup will be a welcome treat…
the meat sauce used tomatoes from my neighbours, onion, oregano and ground beef… it made a lot and I will probably freeze a bit and use the rest with spaghetti…
it is always nice to have a few meals prepared and ready ahead of time;-)…
herbiggirlpants 