Wishing on falling stars

Attempting this update at a more reasonable hour and YES I am pasting it over from  a document after the last fiasco. 

The weather has been rather unsettled - hot at times, humid and drizzly but no real rain (although flooding in other parts). At least not locally for us and the water situation has become an issue for some folks. We were only a few days without water in 2016, but used conservation measures for quite a while. And although we haven’t had the dry spring this year, this month’s rainfall matched the August of two years ago. We still have about a foot and a half of water in our well and as we all know, you can’t save it…the water table dictates but no use in looking for hassles. I have instructed the gentleman farmer that the crops need to be watered by an alternate source. Previously when the well went dry we’d continued on with our usual habits which included the hose to the garden. As I said “not going to use paper plates, drag clothes to the laundromat and shower at the provincial park in town so the garden can get the well water”. A good solid rain would put this all behind us. Thoughts have turned to well drilling as the more permanent solution others have invested in. 

Fair bit of infrastructure renewal required this year, which we hadn’t anticipated as we’re having to have the roof redone. When we built the house in 2005/6 the contractor used ’50 yr’ shingles which are now in need of replacement. Wouldn’t trust them another winter season, especially if it’s a windy one like last year. Turns out there’s a class action suit for the shingles and quite a number of local folks are having to do re-roofing. We’ve chosen a metal roof as replacement which will hopefully outlast us (said that last time) and one of the positives is not having to remove the previous shingles (less mess and labour involved) so no worries about the weather. Thinking of going with charcoal grey this time. Decisions, decisions. 

This past few days, while being a relaxing at the beach house kind of week, has seen the completion of some projects. I managed to finish the mobius shawl for the baby daughter and although it’s a prototype…I think it will suit. I have worked the kinks out of it and it’s a bit snug on me so should fit,  I have offered it to her on trial and she can gift it and I’ll redo if it doesn’t fit.  Working along on the mommy part of the mommy and me poncho and should have it together by the weekend. I’ve got the coffee pot cozy done for daughter #1 and will adjust it onsite if required. Lots of plans for projects. Always more projects than time…that’s the reason for the yarn stash :) With the garden bounty, we’ve done a large batch of million dollar relish and a double batch of sweet mustard pickles - I eat neither of these, a true labour of love to chop, stir, cook, boil, seal and label these jars. 

Had a message from a nursing school classmate who was forwarding sad news that one of our classmates had found her husband of 41 years unresponsive and expired on the floor. He was a diabetic of many years and the situation hit close to home for those of us sharing the same age group. I sent along a note expressing my sympathy and received this reply... "Knew I would find him this way someday, thought I was somewhat prepared, but wrong again! Thanks for your kind words." 

I dropped over for a Sit and Yarn session at my summer neighbour’s and worked on my projects while we drank tea and ate cookies and caught up on the news. Tomorrow we are heading to another yarn shop (she’s a fan of wool fibres) and then off to walk the beach. She’d met a ‘come from away’ person from that area so she and my former coworker will make it a foursome. We’ll likely source some lunch before heading home…such is the life of the (mostly) non-working folks. 

Saturday morning was clear (no early morning fog which has been the daily norm for over a week) and I took in the village wide yard sale doing very well (especially for my Cuban friends) in the form of new towel sets, sheets, beach toys, shorts, pencils a collapsible colander, as well as blocks for my grandkids, and yarn for my stash. It was a good chance to chat with folks I hadn’t seen for a while. And the most positive outcome was an arrangement with a girl who’d posted online about housecleaning on her days off, she agreed to take on our place. Woohoo! Even with a stop to pick up a few groceries, I was home by 10 am. We had donair burgers on the BBQ and salad for a great summer supper. I tried the peach, chicken and brie quesadillas recipe which I’d seen online, using my neighbours peaches which she’d gifted. It was (sadly) one of those recipes which sounds a lot better than it turned out. Edible but…

This week will bring the visit of a previous coworker who is heading north to work in homeware for Government of Nunavut. She’s going to Kugluktuk (formerly Coppermine) where I’ve been twice so I’m doing a short tutorial on the northern lifestyle. Mostly packing tips. As I told her….think camping x 8wks and you’ll be on track. Have some former coworkers coming on Thurs for a visit (hopefully the weather cooperates for a swim) and so pretty excited to have the cleaner the day before. Thursday night I’ll pick our grandson up from his ballgame and Friday a.m. we’ll be on our way to Ottawa for a long weekend. Getting excited to see the oldest daughter! The summer is slipping away and lots of plans aren’t going to make the cut this year it seems.

Tonight is the clearest and brightest of the perseid meteor showers. The life partner and I enjoyed a few in the front yard just now. Reminded us of the time decades ago when we were newlyweds and mister came home from an evening RCMP shift, wrapped me in a quilt and we sat in front of the open window in the frigid Labrador air watching the meteor show. Crazy kids. 

Recovery Mode

International Kitty Day

Recovery mode is an apt title as I 'lost' the original post so will recreate. Over the years I've learned to write the entry in a document and copy it over to the blog site but...for some reason lately I've been letting my guard down. Tonight as I was editing, the entry was lost and I have tried all means of restoration...totally unsuccessfully. So I'll try to revamp and have promised myself to back it up the next time. Sigh.

The grandkids have gone home and after the dust has settled and I slept for 12 hours Monday night...I am back to my summer (non) routine. We had a wonderful 10 days of enjoying the seven year old grandson and two year old granddaughter who for the most part got along quite well. He pronounced her as "bossy" and that is fairly accurate, but he himself is quite directive. There were swimming lessons at the lake, playground visits, walks, playing in the playhouse Grawmp made, playing with the crocheted play food (big hit) reading books, entertaining here of various guests, and lots of swimming in the pool which has been a balmy 87 f for weeks now. The granddaughter conquered her hesitation around the water and was 'swimming own' submerged to the neck, holding on to a lower rung of the ladder and kicking with a huge grin on her face. I found a Supergirl costume at Frenchys and missy has been reluctant to take it off, wearing it to various outings and speeding through the house yelling "Supergirl Running" as cats scatter before her and proclaiming herself "wound up, wound up" as her grandfather described her. I did a short video of Supergirl and her cousin Dr Evil (in a Hawaiian shirt with evil laugh) jumping on the bed...what a hoot! Got to make this vacation an annual event. So lucky to be able to enjoy these grandchildren, not everyone is so fortunate. 

This week my summer neighbour and I attended a Sit and Yarn gathering at a local yarn shop - Erin's Hooked on Yarn to pick up some yarn to finish the poncho for my daughter's matching one to the granddaughter's. Of course some other yarn jumped in my bag, as she has a great selection. This time gave me an opportunity to work on the mobius shawl I'm making for the baby daughter. It's a project which is simple once it's set up as it's just continuous double crochet, but I'd frogged it multiple times after trying to get it straight in my head from the written pattern. I watched a Mikey of the Crochet Crowd video and finally conquered it as I'd apparently put an extra twist in it. Along the way I also watched a video on shallow single crochet which would be good for a basket as it's a stiff stitch. Have put Mikey, Diva Dan and the Crochet Crowd studio on my list as they have relocated to NS from Ontario and are now reachable. Next on the list is a coffee pot cozy for the oldest daughter which I'll deliver when we visit in just over a week. Woohoo

The employment saga continues as I received this email from the manager a couple of days ago:

I hope that you are doing well.

I am writing to see if you have any availability for Sachs for  the rest of the summer or into the fall.

My best,

I composed and edited multiple messages without hitting send as I really didn't want to get involved with the cra cra but the opportunity did sound good. Today I chatted online with my former jobshare partner. She'd rescinded her resignation when the manager offered her a recruiting position as a job share, anywhere in the region. Today she received a message from the manager saying unfortunately the job she'd offered wasn't available so my buddy quickly replied that unfortunately she'd reconsidered her resignation and would be leaving on Aug 17th as originally planned. Not sure of her plans, but will likely be in the direction of Nunavut. As I said....time to move on. I quickly typed a reply to the manager saying that I was surprised to find an opening as she'd advised there was nothing until 2019, so had made other plans and thanked her for thinking of me (never burn any bridges, even if the rest of the system is on fire). I was glad to have the situation settled and know that I wouldn't be getting involved with that silly season so quickly. When will they learn that especially senior nurses don't appreciate being treated like this and have other options? Haven't heard anything from Baffin HR regarding the TB program and although I recognize it as the usual dysfunction I won't rattle that chain just now as I really have no time to give them until January and don't really want to pay too much income tax. Not wanting to work too much is a good problem to have!

The greenhouse is exploding and we have become by necessity temporary vegetarians. There will be preserving of course, but in the meantime the fresh produce is consumed eagerly. We continue to solicit the assistance of passersby in the consumption.

This evening I visited the wild blueberry u-pick to get my box of picked berries which should last for the year. I stayed for a while and picked some supplemental berries and made the following yummy dessert:

CrUstless Blueberry Pie

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, or to taste
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon almond extract, or to taste
• 2 cups plus 1/4 cup fresh blueberries, divided (I have only made with fresh and cannot comment on using frozen)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 9-inch round pie dish very well with cooking spray; set aside. I used a glass pie dish; baking times may vary if using metal.
2. To a large bowl, add 1 cup sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and whisk to combine; set aside.
3. To a medium microwave-safe bowl, add the butter and heat on high power to melt, about 45 seconds. Wait momentarily before adding the eggs so you don’t scramble them.
4. Ad the eggs, extracts, and whisk to combine.
5. Pour the wet mixture over the dry and stir to combine; don’t overmix.
6. Add 2 cups blueberries and stir to combine; batter is very thick.
7. Turn mixture out into prepared pie dish, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula.
8. Evenly sprinkle 1/4 cup blueberries over the top.
9. Evenly sprinkle 2 tablespoons sugar over the top and bake for about 34 to 39 minutes, or until edges are set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs but no batter. Allow pie to cool in pie dish on a wire rack before slicing and serving. Optionally serve with whipped topping or ice cream. Pie will keep airtight at room temp for up to 5 days.

I'm off to bed with a later than planned bedtime. Didn't even get a chance to read a few pages in Sandra Phinney's latest book Waking Up in my Own Backyard. It's really good if you get a chance to read it...do so.