I’ve been looking to install a raised bed garden at the side of the house, in the previously known as shade garden… it has changed since the neighbour’s elm tree came down…
this is clearly not the time to build anything with wood which has tripled in price in the last year…
I found these cute planters with trellises attached and ordered three…
they are very cute and I plan to grow some cucumbers and tomatoes in them… maybe some peas and beans… we will see…
I’ve brought four of the pots inside and will transplant the cucumbers in the next few days… they can continue growing and then just get plopped into the planter (if and) when the weather warms up, lol…
I had planned to barbecue steak and lobster for my birthday supper… unfortunately, it was cold and snowy, so I ordered in…
Monday the sun was shining so I went out at noon and barbecued both… even filled a bird feeder while I was waiting for the temperature to get to where I wanted it…
had half of both for my lunch and set the rest aside for a salad…
I am getting much better at barbecuing… clearly practice helps…
I have spent the last month planning how I would mark this special event, so there were, and will be, a few surprises for others…
I’ve been hearing about birthday weeks, so to start that off, on Monday I ordered Chinese food… it was lovely as I haven’t had any for a long time and I had leftovers for the next two days, which was a wonderful treat…
a number of parcels and envelopes arrived in the mail, which had to be set aside until today… this morning there were sparklers and singing;-)…
had a lovely gift opening time with the kids and received some delightful presents… paintbrushes, paint, a cool pad to make art pictures with, and a gorgeous window bird feeder;-)… my daughter is encouraging me to find a hobby… maybe it will be bird watching and then painting pictures of them… not likely, lol…
looking forward to trying all of the goodies… will need to wait for warmer weather to attach the feeder to the front window…
made poached eggs on potato patties, with bacon and asparagus… and I had it on my confetti plate… ended breakfast with half of a delicious pistachio cupcake which a friend dropped off for me yesterday…. nice start to the day…
texts, posts and phone calls have made the day extra fun… watched a cooking competition marathon…
lunch was cold shrimp with cocktail sauce… as I peeled them I was remembering fun times on the lanai in Florida, many years ago, with a dear friend…
moved orchids and flowers to set up the den for my video call with my BS friends and we had a great time… there was singing, tea, snacks, toasts, and lots of laughter… what a wonderful group of women…
there were more phone calls as the snow began to fall again… decided to order beef bones instead of barbecuing, as it was cold and windy…
that worked very nicely, it was delicious, and there will be enough for tomorrow’s supper…
what a ride these seventy years have been… truly, I am blessed and look forward to a year focussed on gratitude and living in the moment;-)…
well, I now understand why my neighbour brought out his snowblower yesterday… that snow is deep and heavy…
I checked in with my shoveler, who isn’t available until tomorrow, but I couldn’t bear thinking about my mail person and any delivery people having to trudge through the snow… that meant I had to go out to the garage to get the shovel, which apparently got put away too soon, lol…
I was astonished at how deep the snow was as I made my way to get the shovel… then it took a while to clear a path to the back door… my back wasn’t enjoying the exercise…
I tiptoed through the house and out the front door to get the snow removed from the sidewalk before the mail arrived…
there was only a single swipe because that snow is so wet and heavy…
it has been snowing off and on since early this morning… very depressing… I had to open the window to get this shot because all the windows were covered in water drops…
made my first potato salad of the season this morning and then spent the rest of the day in the garden…
apparently snow is coming so it just makes sense to be out there while it is nice…
napped in my rocking lounger and sat in one of my repaired chairs…
watched and listened to many birds… saw what might have been a purple finch, which stood on a chair to oversee the garden, but I didn’t take any pictures;-)… the sparrows and juncos were enjoying drinks of water when they weren’t searching for food… the red squirrel hopped all over the deck for some reason… it was fun to watch…
when I wasn’t watching the wildlife, I was reading a new book and eating potato salad;-)..
even though it was chilly and overcast my grandson arrived this morning to clean up the pond… it was filled with a ton of decaying leaves…
our time didn’t start very well… the pump that worked perfectly in the fall when it came out of the water would not work… felt like we tried everything, but no luck… so, he had to run to the store to replace it, sigh…
eventually, after getting most of the water pumped out, he used the shopvac to suck up the majority of leaves from the bottom…
this technique worked well, but took quite some time, and was very smelly… then we rinsed it, and I filled it back up… he plans to come back, we will drain it again, and finish sucking up the gunk…
then we will fill it and get the waterfall flowing… I don’t think the fish will go in for another few weeks, when the chorine has dissipated and the water temperature has warmed up a bit;-)…
happy with our progress and looking forward to sitting and enjoying the beautiful sound…
seems like a strange Easter… even more so than last year, for some reason…
I hadn’t put out any decorations, but this morning I dug out the Easter box and put out the sign, bunnies and bag that I got last year;-)…
I made everything for tonight’s supper yesterday, as well as packaging some ham and potatoes for a friend and my grandson… really happy to cook for others… this morning I finished up the ham and pea soup…
I set the obelisk into the pot on the deck, put cushions out, and spent the afternoon in the garden, reading and watching the birds…
had a lovely visit with my grandson when he came to pick up his dinner… a friend dropped off some delicious pickerel for my supper, when she picked up her ham and potatoes…
still didn’t feel like Easter, but all in all, a lovely day…
today I made a new and fancier version of scalloped potatoes… was a bit of fun…
made up packages for a friend and my grandson…. felt good to prepare food for others, lol…
also moved the rain barrel, swept off the back deck, put out the solar lights, and set up a few chairs…
my Easter dinner for tomorrow is basically ready… ham is cooked and I will just need to make some asparagus or Brussels sprouts… not sure which it will be…
the adjustable brackets have arrived, the adjustable brackets have arrived;-)…
we’ve had our garden reclining lawn chairs for longer than I can remember…
they are just right in the space and have the ability to recline… a great place for an afternoon nap in the shade…
over the last few years I’ve replaced the cushions, but the brackets have been wearing out and breaking… I had no idea what to call them so wasn’t able to find replacement parts…
I even looked for new chairs, but there don’t seem to be any that recline nowadays…
I mentioned it to my son-in-law and he found the parts online… I ordered them from a business in the States, hoping they would work and they arrived yesterday…
today, I went out to the garage to see if they would be just a simple screw into the tube or whether we will have to drill some holes…
they fit;-)… one hole is in the wrong place, but I think only using the other two holes will be perfect…
I am so happy… now to clean off the deck and wait for some nice weather…
