SUMMER SOLSTICE, Yay! Clemson and Mom On Our Own.

Wednesday, June 21^st I woke up to Bill’s alarm but only briefly and I was off to sleep again. At least it was more appropriately 6:15, I think. He was in and out of the shower before I woke the second time. I’m glad we packed things together for him last night, he didn’t need to rush this morning.

Not so great start to this Summer day

Hi-Tech - our London mechanic

 His first destination today will be an oil change at our favourite mechanic haunt, Hi-Tech Auto Care in London. Bill will enjoy chatting with Dan and Brad at the shop while getting the Toyota done. Funny, I just had a flashback of my Dad in the garage in Lucan doing the oil change on his Chev Impala.

Our outdoor/indoor gauge in front of  Bill's Father's Day cards

It doesn’t look like a nice day to be driving at 7 am with all the fog. I can’t even capture Bill going down the road. Looking across the pond it is amazing how lush things are from all the rain. It is quite lovely, I must admit. I hope to see and feel a bit of warmth today but it is only 12C/53F so we have a long way to go.

See ya sweetie! Look after my car!

 As I drink my tea, I try and settle on what I can do today. It feels kind of nice to not HAVE to do anything. It has been a few days full of commitments of one kind or another. I’m not complaining, I like to be doing something for the most part but a quiet day of rest and reading is okay too.

Looking out across the pond

I dumped my little kitchen compost pot this morning up on the hill and must remember next time to give the big bin a stir. I sometimes wish I wasn’t so observant. Walking back, I saw a hummingbird lying on the ground beside the Suite.

Clemson was shivering with his new haircut so I put his sweater on
He has less hair to keep him warm and cuddly

 Bill and I had heard a small thud on the window last night but figured a bird had hit and flew off. This explains the small sound but it broke my heart to see the end of his wee life. I need to dig another grave, just a small one this time. I feel bad because I have feeders out for them and yesterday there were at least 4 hummers around.

and I put a sweater and slippers on

So, Clemson and I spent most of the day inside until early afternoon. I read for the most part and we took a walk to get the flyers from the mailbox. I swept the Suite, brushed the carpets and finished by washing the tile floors. It was another good excuse, when I was done, to sit with the pooch and read more about Harry Bosch. This book is so good and I will be finishing it tonight. It was cloudy and cool so I wasn’t missing anything outside.

Rob spoke a bit with thanks on behalf of Aunt Mary

At 2:30 I cleaned up and drove to Rockwood Terrace to attend the dedication and unveiling of a painting for Rob’s Uncle Archie. The temperature never seemed to change much until the sun came out at 3 and we got up to 19C. Whoop whoop! While at the dedication, standing in the back, I saw Rob, Pat and Aunt Mary seated in the front row. Archie was Mary’s brother and passed last fall.

Sorry for the blur of this lovely family picture

Such a beautiful painting of Archie’s farm. Two portraits of him, one on each side of the tractor and each one from a different era. An old Ford Fairlane sits in the background near the house. The painting was hung at Rockwood for everyone to appreciate. It was a nice event with many attendees’ present. I’m glad I went.

I spoke to Aunt Mary for a while and Rob and Pat’s kids. It was nice to see Sandra, Bill, Trevor, Trace and Karen. Gee, I hope I remembered Karen’s name correctly. I said my goodbyes and headed to F & S to check out the mulch that they have on sale. I’m sure $5 for their large bags is not a bad price but Bill texted to say there was a sign out this morning saying cedar mulch 3 for $12. If I can save money, all the better.

When I got there, I asked if that sale included the Black Beauty mulch and it did not. I’m not desperate for it at this point so will wait and see if it comes on sale. I need the black or else I’m looking at re-doing the whole flower garden. No thanks. I got back home again before I remembered I was going to pick up some Miracle Grow, shoot! I need to make a list.

Someone was thirsty

At home, there was at least more sunshine although it was still very sporadic. Clem and I hung around outside for a while, walking down the lane again. Ellie May came over just long enough to throw Clemson some new scents to follow then she drank all of his water. On our walk, you had to know it was time to see another Yertle and sure enough, there he was.

Inside the Suite I read some more until it was time to feed someone. At the same time, I realized that I hadn’t eaten much all day. That is one problem when I’m alone, I don’t feel hungry so don’t take the time to make anything. Today, however, I had a banana smoothie I made up yesterday and drank it throughout the day along with a few pieces of cheddar cheese.

The scent dance

I pulled the last of the sausage/potato casserole out of the fridge and warmed it up around 5:30. With all the clouds today I didn’t unplug from electric so knew I could use the microwave. Now at 7 the sun comes out but it is too low to benefit the panels on the roof. We think the transmitter on the portable panel is done so can’t count on that. Bill was going to check on getting another one while at CanAm.

I'm not up for a game of  Hide and Seek but he is!

I heard from Bill at one point that he needed me to scan a document to him so took care of that earlier in the day. The oil change was done so he put in a couple of other visits while in the city before driving to Lambeth.

He stopped at AVF to see the boys and then to the School Board warehouse where we used to work. He chatted and caught up with Deb and a few other former co-workers. I wish I could have seen them again too but I’m happy that he is touching base with them all the same.

I cleaned up dishes and finished The Crossing. It was definitely a page turner. Of course, the sky has cleared out and it looks beautiful out there. Well, better late than never! I am going to think very positively about tomorrow and pray for some lovely sun. I went online this morning to Yelp and made a review of Bath and Biscuit for dog grooming. We were both so impressed with them. While searching for the business, this popped up in the GTA. This is my maiden name and I thought it kinda cool!

Anybody home?

My sister and her husband went out to the Saugeen Airport this afternoon to see the Snowbirds. Bill and I would have gone had he been home, but we have seen them in London in the past so maybe another time. I’m sure they put on a spectacular show. This is the smallest town where they have been scheduled to perform, how cool!

The flies want in now? It is the nicest part of this day!

I’ve got a new book lined up but probably won’t get into James Patterson until tomorrow. I have a taped program that I like to watch so will close my post for today and go watch it. I don’t know what kind of weather you have had in your area but I hope you are enjoying this 15 hours of daylight. Happy Summer!

Thank you for following my day with me. You may leave a comment if you wish.