Accomplishment

This weekend I managed to knock a few more things off of my "to do" list.  

After pumping up the tires on my bike on Sunday, I went out for the first ride of the season. I was a little smarter this time than I was when I went for my first ride last year (what was also my first bike ride in close to 25 years) and limited myself to less than 5 KM.  I was wearing my bike shorts and a pair of Capri pants bought especially for bike riding, and Jasmine and I took it easy & had a good time. I’m a little tender in parts today, but that’s totally to be expected – next ride is planned for Wednesday after work – thank GOD for Daylight Savings!!

Once the ride was done, I put the bike away and decided that it would be really smart if I took advantage of the clear weather to get outside and get some more of my yard work looked after. This included planting the gorgeous Coral Bark Maple that my parents gave me as a housewarming present when I first moved in... I then spent tome cutting down the trellis and wisteria vine (and another one of the badly growing shrubs at the front of the house) and then cleaning up the rest of the garden bed under the eaves. 


There was a GOOD interesting find (not like finding the leprosy dolphins!) of an antique pressing iron – the kind that would be heated on the top of a wood stove and then used to iron and press any concept of wrinkles into submission! I brought it inside and scrubbed it down a little - it is now sitting on top of my wood stove.  I will try and scrub it down a little more - to take off the rest of the rust, but honestly, this is up there with the cloth-backed wallpaper on my personal coolness-meter.

Anyhow, I then got on with emptying out and getting rid of some of the planters that were at the front of the house and replanting some of the items that were homed in temporary pots.  I’m pretty much in “wait and see” mode this year – seeing exactly what it is that my yard and gardens yield.  In chatting with my neighbour yesterday, I learned that there is a colony of out of control Jerusalem Artichokes near my garden shed – edibles that evidently work more like a potato than an artichoke - and so I will have a few things to harvest this time around. I know there is also some lemon balm and a container that has strawberries in it – but much more than that, I’m not certain of.

I also learned that, if I'm planning on planting of anything, I need to check in with him (the neighbour) first, before I go out & buy plants - he quite often divides items and then donates them to the local garden group that puts on Seedy Saturdays (almost all of which I will miss because I work on Saturdays) and has told me that he is more than happy to pass things over the back fence to me, as and if I would like!

Sunday's day of accomplishment was followed by a WONDERFUL home-made Indian food dinner with good friends, after which I did a quick grocery shopping on my way home - and not surprising, grocery stores are EMPTY after 7PM on a Sunday night and so this may be my new favourite time to go get my groceries!!

Since I added to it again yesterday, the next pile of crap to be taken away to the dump is slowly getting larger. Removal will need to be arranged fairly soon - and in fact, with the exception of the all weather carpet that is on my front steps (yes, all weather carpet, on the front steps!) I think it is pretty much ready to be hauled away.

For today, though, I hung out in the house, relaxed on the sofa and contented myself with cuddles with each of my pets and a little light reading.  All in all, a productive weekend that is ending with a quiet and restful night!

With love across the waters,