More Shopping in Hanover, Mount Forest and Durham, Digging in the Dirt

Friday, June 30^th, last day of this month. School is out for those who are governed by Education (and we’re not! Yay!) so no more school buses for a couple of months. I was up at 7 and Bill followed by 7:30. We had our tea and coffee and read blog posts.

I was stunned to open my email to 69, yes, 69!! Emails from Blogger with scam ads. Blech! I also had a helpful email from our fellow blogger, George from Our Awesome Travels on what to do to keep an eye on them and report them. Thanks George! I’ve changed a setting the moderation section temporarily.

McGowan Dam - Durham

I did a quick wash up and grabbed a mug of my banana smoothie and took the car into Hanover. It wasn’t a solid rain, just a few lingering spatters once in a while but it was really mild already at 20C. Okay, it was downright muggy already at 8:30 am.

And then the quiet side of the falls

One of the pair of pants Bill picked up yesterday, did I mention this? were the wrong length. I’m the shopper so I volunteered (with ulterior motives) to return them to Mark’s this morning. That was an easy swap out and then I began my own shopping. They have beautiful clothes in that store, good quality, a lot of Denver Hayes and Alfred Sung items.

The hostas don't have a chance with the long grass choking them

Within 30 minutes, I had found 3 pair of different style pants and a versatile little top for $29.50. My oh my! I love when you get great sale prices of $14.88, $9.88, $4.88, $3.00 and STILL get 20% off on top of that! It is almost like shopping at a second-hand store, except better because they are new! Good experience.

I was back in Durham and stopped at a garage sale when Bill texted that he was on his way to Mount Forest Home Hardware. He was looking for things that the Hanover and Durham stores did not have.

Nice deals from Mark's

At the sale, I found a Tupperware cream and sugar set that we were looking for last summer for the Suite. Something that would seal better than the ones we had. Especially for travelling. I had to put an elastic around the blue and white one after a spill all over the cupboard. These, for .50 will be much better. Oh, and I also picked up another garden stone.

New ones on the right - with a firm seal

While tidying up at home and sweeping the floors, my daughter called. It was another fun chit chat, catching up on her weekend and upcoming events. I think I often live the wild and crazy part of life through her adventures. Things that I encourage anyone to do when given the opportunity, with the exception of the head-banging dancing. She’ll love that comment!

Bill hangs our Canada Flag just in time

 Bill returned home and we talked about our purchases while he polished off the cinnamon roll I brought him the other day. It needed some nuking as it had been in the fridge since Monday! He enjoys the ones with frosting but they are too sweet for my tastes. If I can’t spoil my sweetie……….who then?

My veggie garden without weeds (for now)
Onions are planted  (again)

Bill went outside to work on a couple of projects he has on the go and I finished my second tea. I changed into working clothes mindful of the heat and joined him. Clemson had another marrow bone and thoroughly enjoyed it while the two of us worked away.

First, I hoed the vegetable garden and discovered about 5 of my green onion seeds from weeks ago have started growing. I don’t know if they’ll amount to anything but it doesn’t matter at this point. I dug a new row and planted my multiplier bulbs. They should be popping in 4 or 5 days according to Donna. Yes!

I started digging at the west end

Hours later

When I finished that I put on my knee pads for kneeling in the dirt and took the shovel up the hill. The hostas were doing better, either from the MiracleGro or the rain and warmth but the grass around them was growing faster. Grrr, maddening! My plan was to do the same thing up here that I did around my rhubarb.

I started digging and removing clumpy grass roots until I had a nice patch from the tiger lily across to the peony busy at the opposite end. On such a hot day, this was a chore. No worries, I had a hat on and rested occasionally and drank my water. It was tough digging but it felt so good to see the progress I made. This was going to help the plants grow as well as make it easier to cut around and keep the weeds down.

Looks much better

So, 3 hours later or was it 4, I finished. Bill made another trip into town so I asked for another bag of black mulch. He is such a smarty pants and brought me two, which is exactly what I needed. That will also help keep the grass and weeds at bay. I am so pleased when I can look back at what I have done with my own hands and today was another one of those days. I did good!

Covered in dirt from head to foot, literally, I rinsed off my arms, legs, hands and feet in the rain barrels before dare setting foot inside the Suite. Clothes were dropped at the door and I hopped in the shower. Not much heat needed for this one, a cool shower was heavenly! As the dregs of soil washed down the drain, I came out shiny from top to bottom.

While relaxing in the hammock before dinner
The sun played tag with the clouds and the wind chimes lulled

Bill wanted to pop over to The Acreage to fill our water bladder. We were down to 54 gallons so not desperate but we both wanted to have certain jobs out of the way. We chatted with Donna and Gerry while filling the tank and were on our way back home within half hour. It was Clemson’s supper time, after all.

For us, another quick, easy meal. We’ve agreed on toasted bacon and tomato sandwiches. No salad necessary. After a day of physical labour, I’m happy Bill doesn’t require anything elaborate for dinner. Bill started the bbq and crisped up the bacon while I got tomatoes, cheese, lettuce and mayo ready. At the appropriate time, I popped the toaster down. It was good and we are full.

Lovely day

We cleaned up dishes and although I’m pretty exhausted, I wanted to stretch my legs in a more normal way. I walked down to the end of the lane and back, just because it is a lovely evening. I would have to put more clothes on to sit outside with my book so I probably won’t do that. Instead, I’ll sit in my chair and see how long I can keep my eyes open tonight.

this was last night's sky after sunset

Gorgeous, second by second

 Tomorrow is Canada’s 150^th birthday, no surprise there. The weather is going to be ‘iffy’ but I hope where you are, you are able to enjoy some of the inside and outside festivities in your area.

And the moon slips behind a cloud

Thank you for reading today, I’m always happy to read your comments.