And the Summer has Started

   Finally I am on Summer Break. Even though I was only back for 7 months at school, it was a long, hard year. The kids I worked with were  difficult and many days I felt I was not getting through to them at all. I'll try to hang in there for one more year. I'm very grateful that I have a job , and that job gives me the summer off.
   I've made lists galore; things to do in the house, things to do in the garden and things to sew and knit. Today it poured rain so the gardening was out til late afternoon. I ironed some quilt strips for my ES's 9 patch quilt. YGS insists that I have to make his dad one. I  am hoping to make myself a yoyo quilt- a design I created to use up my mother's yoyos.The centre blocks are all done; grey background and appliqued yoyos in red, whites and black. The rest of the quilt will be in various shades of gray, white and black. I am supposed to be receiving some [ a lot] of material this summer so I will wait to chose the colour of the sashing on the 9 patch to see if anything in the pile really stands out to me.
   Hubby cut  down my lilac for me. It hasn't bloomed in 3 years  and was shading the rest of the gardens too much. I was quite amazed at how much the yard has opened up without it. We are thinking of cutting down the crabapple and replacing it with a grafted apple. Some of the perennials have made it over to Ed's yard. Tomorrow a whole lot more should ! I haven't divided some the last two years saving the plants for her. Now it is time they go as I am being over run !
   Ed's yard has really come along. Last fall she , her brothers and father planted 18 trees and  bushes. They also built a Saltbox garden shed. This spring, they built her lower deck  and square foot gardening frames. The fence was put up and the sod put down.




This is a view of part of ED's backyard. We'll be having a Canada Day party in her backyard with friends and neighbours. The City puts on a really fun day with all sorts of activities and events in the Jubilee Park behind her house. We'll have front row seats for the fireworks !




These are some of the pillows I made for her birthday. She does not like the colour pink !










This picture isn't too clear, but I made pink gingham curtains with lace tiebacks for her shed !! We put them up  while she was out, but she noticed them first thing  when she got back!! [ She fluffed them properly on the rod as her father had just 'hung' them !]
   I have a sweater to knit for a friend who did a wonderful art piece of a dragonfly. I bartered for it as a Christmas gift for ED as we have a long magical tale of dragonflies . She loved it; my friend found wool, I found a pattern and so that is another summer project. I have ponchos to make out of gifted fleece as they were popular  with the kids last year. Now the big kids want them !
   Stain has been bought  for the two new gates and the front fence. We'll see how I manage and then hopefully we can buy stain to do the rest of the fencing.Course I have to wait until it stops raining.
   The weeding will never stop and the lists have grown longer and longer. It will be interesting to see what gets done this summer.
     My son was awarded all that he asked for in child support and child care costs. Now he may never get a cent, but she disregarded 2 court orders and was in contempt of court ! Now that could mean that if she sets foot in this province again, she could be arrested. MEP is looking after collecting from her and their powers are quite extraordinary. Even  if we do not see a cent, there are many things that can happen to her; garnishment of wages, loss of driver's licence , NO passport , any refunds from the government would go straight to ES, no Employment Insurance, no disability insurance- if she was able to fool the doctors in Northern Ontario[ she has been put on a  list of people who fake illnesses, injuries.] She may not be able to be medically insured as she defrauded Alberta Blue Cross and she's on their list ! She could also be jailed in Ontario for failure to pay. All this can happen when a person is 5 months behind in support and she is already  7 months behind.Also the last we heard the 'tranny was blown' on her 3 year old car which was being financed. Translation is it was repossessed. No more calls from the Auto Finance people  trying to get a hold of her. Her phone was stolen. Translation she didn't pay the bill. And her e-mail account was hacked. Translation -- hmm I don't know so I'll call it Karma !
   There are family members and friends of her ex who are not too pleased that she has returned to the ex and their daughter after 3 years.But I hope she is happy, very happy.
   I've just burned all the twigs and branches in the firepit so that counts  for gardening, right ? Off to bed and hopefully I can sleep for more than 6 hours. No little gs tomorrow morning so it would be a great day to sleep in !

A Long and Stressful Season

This has been one of the worst Falls and Winters of our lives. The situation in the summer only  got worse, but certain persons' true colours came out but that didn't surprise us. You see, we all KNEW, but brushed things off to keep the peace. Eventually enough was enough , and we could no longer endure the hurts, the slights, or the lies. It has been hurtful beyond words, but life goes on .
  To make our lives even more stressful, in October, my son's partner decided to end their relationship.After her  1800 mile trip back to see her daughter whom she left 3 years previously, she decided to move back in with her ex, taking our grandson with her. Arrived home on October 22nd, and on October 23rd, wouldn't let my son back into their apartment or talk or see his son. She kept him from seeing him for 32 days. Fortunately he got a good Family Law  lawyer  and saw him on November 24th .The next day , a Monday, she asked if he would like him for the day and an overnight, Tuesday she brought over his bath toys and that was the last she was heard of till March 17th when she texted , wanting to speak to her son. ! Many Affadavits, many court orders and court appearances and much money later, my son officially has custody of his son.
    It has been an emotional roller coaster for the core of our family, but we have all worked together to ensure the stability and care of the littlest one.Sacrifices have been made by everyone but  oh, it has been worth it ! Grandson is thriving ! He has brought so much joy  into our lives.
    The last time I wrote, I was preparing to have a total knee replacement. I stayed awake during the operation; that was so interesting. The anesthetic and I did not get along and I had a rough, nauseous evening. There were a few  complications with my blood pressure [ too low] and my O2 levels, but the worst was the horrible food. I couldn't even force myself to eat ! Then came the physio ! and the twice daily exercises !!!   But after 3 months off, I went back to work. I didn't get a whole lot accomplished during those months. I finished a baby afghan and towards the end was able to start hand quilting the 5 quilt tops I had ready.I am on the 5th one now. It has been a hard slog, but I think it has kept me semi sane !
     The winter has been long and cold and snowy. We are so ready for spring. My daughter, who took the Master Organic Gardening course last year , has started the plants. Her dad made her a shelving units with grow lights  and I gave her a small greenhouse so hopefully we'll have an abundance of seedlings. The tulips  in the south facing garden have been up for about 3 weeks. I sometimes wonder how they survive as we've had 3 snowstorms to cover them up  repeatedly ! The areas without snow are sopping wet so it will be a while before I can get out and inspect what has survived. Then will come the job of dividing up some of the perennials  to transfer to EDs gardens.
      Life has thrown us some curve balls. We have learnt many lessons. We have love.

A Hint of Autumn

              Another beautiful day yesterday although there is a certain coolness in the air in the mornings now. It is time to start pulling some plants from the garden. The Hollyhocks are finished so I'll try to yank them out today to put into the compost bin. Sone insect has been at that for the second year in a row so I think  I'll wait a couple of years before I replant them. I've seeds from last year and I'm sure they'll be viable when I decide to use them. We are still getting good feeds from the yellow beans. I just love them; nothing better than having freshly picked produce for supper. The other night we had some tomatoes from ED and they were delicious ! I did manage to make a couple of apple pies which are tasty even though it was the worst pastry I had ever made. With the leftover pastry I made cheese straws using a sharp aged cheddar and some parmesan .
                 Gardening has been hit and miss with my knee, but hopefully by next summer I can dig in and do some redesign. I've lots of ideas in my head and they will work, as long as my knee works ! My perennials badly need dividing, but I am waiting till ED designs her garden and figures out where she is going to plunk them in.
                   We did a little bit of shopping yesterday which I absolutely hate. Thank goodness for Handicap Parking. I did manage to find what I needed so I am all set ! Different kind of back to school shopping........Oh wait I'm not starting school this year ! In my lifetime as a teacher in another province and as an Educational Assistant in this province, I have started school in September  44 times counting my own school years ! That's a long time ! I started  teaching when I was 19 after one and a half years of  University and one year  spent at McDonald College of McGill University.  Looking back back at how young I was I wonder how I did it !
                     I wonder how I did a lot of things; working three jobs when unemployment hit our family ; directing a Youth Choir at church when I had no training; making quilts when I've had no sewing lessons  and trying to maintain a healthy family life with all my children- all four of them, with no extended family around to help. The  worry, stress and yes, even sadness, never ends. I remember one of my children saying something  extremely cruel about one of my sisters who relationship has not been good with all of her family and I said ' No, I could never do that ! My mother taught me to be better than that ! " I find as I grow older I remember more and more of my mother. Often I'll say to myself, " Mom would be proud of me for doing that, or How pleased she would be !" Funny that, how these thoughts follow you all your life.  Will my children remember me fondly ? Will they remember what I have tried to teach them ?  Will they know that I have loved theme no matter what ? That loyalty and truth are paramount ?   I wonder.              

Almost Finished

               It is a beautiful sunny here, with just a touch of wind. There was quite the lightening show last night and some heavy rain. We've had a lot of rain this summer that's for sure.
               The yellow beans are almost finished, but I picked enough for a good feed with supper. Hubby has professed to NOT liking yellow beans, but he ate more than half the other night! I was shocked so tonight I'll double the amount to cook. I sprinkled some of the fennel's fine leaves over my beans and it was delicious.
                 As we were already in town on Sunday we stopped in at President's Wholesale, picking up a full  boneless pork tenderloin and a 24 pound piece of beef. I cut the tenderloin into several small roasts; just enough for  the two of us, and the rest into chops. After I had cut 4 roasts from the beef, hubby cut the rest into steaks with the bits frozen for beef stew. We had one roast on Sunday with a fennel, apple and celery salad. Both were delicious, but the best part was the corn we picked up. Scrumptious ! Tonight we're having a couple of those steaks, yellow beans, salad and we'll split the last corn. If I get my butt in gear, I may make an apple pie to use up the last of the wrinkled apples. Hopefully the pastry will roll better than it did when I made the Saskatoon pies.
                 I have two more yoyos to sew and then the centre blocks for my quilt are done and can be stored away till I have finished the other 5 quilts. We'll be making a trip into town to pick up enough thread for me to do the job.
                 ED bought blinds last week and hubby has been installing them. One blind was missed being cut, so after work he'll get  it installed and the job will be complete. From the pictures, they look very smart. I may go over and have a look tonight.
                 DIL brought the Stephen King novel " Under the Dome " . I have enjoyed the series, although I am not usually a King fan, only enjoying his book " The Stand" It is such a big book I'll have to prop it on a table to read it.
                 All right, better get to my sewing, just two more..............

Where Do the Days Go ?

        Time is just flying by ! I can't even remember what I did the  last few days, aside from the usual cooking, cleaning and sewing. This morning Liam is here as his mom and aunt go car hunting. ES is  working and then I think they are moving the last of their big furniture to their new place today. Or it could be tomorrow.
         Last night I went with ED as company as she chose window coverings for her new home. I was just there for company so I just stood and sat around. Before we left, she asked me if it was going to rain so I checked Environment Canada whose site said 30 %. So she left her windows open, not all 18 thank goodness. Later in the evening as we were driving we could actually see 2 systems moving in so a phone call was to Hubby who ran over and closed them. The blinds she was able to bring home( others have to be cut) fit perfectly. Hubby has the stepladder all ready positioned to take over this afternoon to help put them up.

           I did manage to finish the afghan. The pattern is Nostalgique Quilt. I have used it to make many, many baby afghans that we give as gifts to the first born of staff members. Sometimes I use different colous, others like this cream one are all one colour. My girlfriend owned a wool and fabric shop so she gives me the wool, I knit and the gifts have been from both of us. This amazing woman is climbing  Mount Kilamanjaaro with her two children . I am waiting to hear from her when she is back in civilization.

             When we were in Washington State we visited quite a few'antique shops'. Aside from seeing so many " antiques" from our childhood, I saw a cone of wool selling for $24 ! My goodness I have had and have hundreds of dollars sitting in my sewing closet. Liam still likes to have his baby afghan around him to cuddle with. ( A dangling participle but I don't care ! ) I can hardly wait to tell her how much the spools are selling for ! )
               The trailer is back andhopefully the problem with the lights has been solved. It was nerve wracking travelling back from Oregon with no lefthand turn signal. We bought a new tarp to cover the trailer as I do not want to spend so much time scrubbing the sap from the tree. It is the only place we can park the trailer so it is cover it or chop down the tree !
                 This week I have been heartened to see ES and Dil try hard to strengthen their relationship. The counsellor they have now seems to be very good and is actually giving directions. The last one would just nod and agree with both of them even if they had opposing views !  I believe the counsellor has given her strength. Hopefully her mom and dad will respect her and not try again to sabotage the relationship. At least truth has been spoken .
                   Next week is going to be busy as loose ends will be finished up, items will be ticked off and we will be ready.                    

Another Day Closer

               Surprisingly enough, I have slept well the last two nights. Almost  8 hours ! That is amazing for me as I usually sleep 5 or 6 hours even though I take three medications  for pain  relief and insomnia.The small fan we bought for the trailer is now up in the bedroom and it does a very good job of keeping us cool. Certainly better than the ceiling fan.
                To add to the betrayal we have had in the last couple of weeks,  yesterday we had a possible heart attack, which then became a possible brain tumour to stress and now to a minor stroke ! Talk about family drama ! Every member of our nuclear family is dealing with such stressful situations. I am hoping that some of the situations are resolved as healing is so much quicker without added stress. I fear that one situation will continue on its destructive path and that will be a great loss for everyone.
                Today phone calls have to be made to ensure we will be able to pick up the equipment that I will need. I will try and finish my knitting project. It has been progressing very slowly because of the 'interruptions' of family problems. Next week will be very busy doing the last minute shopping and organization.
                  As I mull over and worry, I came across this quote which is so apropos ;

Those who do not value loyalty can never  appreciate the cost of betrayal.

A Blur

        Because of a lack of sleep, the last couple of days have been a blur. It was after 2 last night before I fell asleep and then the neighbour's dog again woke me up at 6:30. He barked for 12 minutes when I decided to get the ipad out and tape him.... of course by the time  I did that, he stopped ! So I really am in a bit of a fog today.
          Yesterday was long, but very well organized. I wish I had brought a book to read while we waited for the various professionals. But everything  is good to go except I wonder if I am ??? I am hoping with all my heart that there will be peace. There is such a fine line between acceptance and rejection.  I hope for the best.....But my heart is heavy.
              So today  I will try to keep myself busy doing a little light housework and hopefully finish the baby afghan. There are yellow beans to pick and some cucumbers to check up on. Roses need trimming  and some hollyhocks need to be yanked out. How much will get done is a mystery as exhaustion has set in.
                But life goes on