Trilliums and Grandkids

 First off, a picture from yesterday when we welcomed Sarah-Jean and her friend home for reading week.

Proud Grandpa!  And as you can see, Sean and his brothers dressed up especially for their sister and the occasion.

Malcolm was sporting an appropriate Trillium around his neck.  Nice touch!

Happy times at Trillium Hill.

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Today, I got another garden spiffed up and then went back to cutting grass out back.  On the way back to the greenhouse I checked out the swimming hole/fish pond.  The water has dropped about four feet over the summer, but the fish still have twelve or thirteen feet to enjoy at the other end where the escape ladder is located.

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After a frustrating time trying to get the TV to unfreeze, Mardi called an expert.  Finally discovered that it was not the TV at fault but the cable box.  Shut it down and disconnected everything and when it was reconnected it behaved properly.  A pretty cheap fix.

Now we're ready for tomorrow's ball game.

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We've both given up on golfing tomorrow - perhaps for the rest of the season as well, unless we get a heat wave.  So, I'll be back at the greenhouse for my usual two to four hour stint, continuing to get the lawns and gardens ready for winter.

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Trump is correct about turning the corner on the coronavirus - except that the corner is bending uphill, not down.  We're experiencing the same rise in Canada, but from a much lower base.  Keep wearing those masks and keep your distance. 

Summer it over

Short and sweet tonight.  Did some cleanup on the work bench at the greenhouse and then got on the mower in the back field again.  Orange toque in place, coat and gloves - cut for about an hour before the wind and cold chilled me through.

Home for a coffee and Baileys and a nap.  

Now our living room TV has frozen and we haven't been able to get it going again.  So the game will be watched in the bedroom, and I'm still tired.  Therefore the blog is going out before the game because I'll probably be asleep by the end.

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Stay well. Enjoy the roses Rada.

October 24's blog

 Headed for the greenhouse at noon.  Finished reorganizing the tool cart.

Cleaned up a couple of gardens and then cut grass on the back field for an hour or so.

Enjoyed seeing Sarah-Jean and her nursing student friend Ella, who arrived from Pembroke in the afternoon.

Ella's parents live in the U.S.  Her dad is Canadian, her mother British.  Ella enjoys dual American/Canadian citizenship.  Nice young lady!

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As previously noted, the baseball game carried on into the a.m.  Crazy finish!  Series is now tied.

Mardi is happy.  I'm really ambivalent.  I was leaning towards the Rays, but chose to cheer for the Dodgers because they were cheated by the Astros in 2017.  Now I'm thinking, may the best team win.

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Stay well.  

Bench Brewing

 As advertised, we headed to wine country today, but didn't drink any wine!  Maureen and Matt had a better idea.

We chose The Bench Brewing Company in Beamsville for our lunch.

We each chose to have a "flight" of beer, and they have several choices.

My selection was American Stout, Folklore on Cherries (a sour ale finished with Montmorency Cherries) and Jordan Harbour (a Belgian Pale Ale).  Mardi chose Cherry Grove, Plum Grove and Apricot Wildwood.  

For our meal we chose Korean Rice Bowl (Mardi) and Pear and Blue Cheese Arugula Salad (for me).

A beautiful day for a great outing with good friends!  

Afterwards we headed back to Matt and Maureen's for a walk along the waterfront and then a libation to celebrate.

A wonderful way to spend a glorious day!

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Our condolences go out to Rada Buckley, who has survived 38 years of marriage to our friend John.  There should be a medal in her future.  Maybe even sainthood!

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Tomorrow we get to see Sarah-Jean who is coming home from Pembroke for reading week.  Can't wait!

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My Dodgers are up 2 games to 1 over Mardi's Rays.

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Stay well.  Laugh a lot.

A quiet day

Headed to the greenhouse today to pick up a small container of peat moss for Mardi's cactus.  Interesting that when we lived on Gateshead and the plant got a northern exposure it bloomed at Hallowe'en.  Since it now gets a western exposure it appears to be heading towards a more traditional Christmas blooming time.  We'll see how that goes.

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While I was there, it was much too wet to get the mower going, so I spent an hour or so reorganizing the tool cart.  I think that demons come in at night and move the tools around - particularly the socket wrenches and sockets.  Never put back in the right slot.

The other problem with tools not put back where they are supposed to be is that when you have an urgent need and can't find the tool, it's easier to just go out and buy another one.  Thus we have almost thirty screw drivers.

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No ball game tonight so we watched the Presidential debate.  The Moderator did a better job tonight than the first one, but Trump did his best to look ridiculous.  Nevertheless, the Republican leaning TV analyst still thought he did a good job.  Let's hope the polls have it right!

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Tomorrow we were supposed to play golf at MontHill but they are still closed due to the coronavirus cases they experienced.  So we're heading to wine country with Matt and Maureen instead.  Should be a lot less stressful!

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David is complaining that it took me sixty years to tell him "life is short - break the rules".  There are some things that just come naturally for David that I didn't have to explain!

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Stay well.

Shopping Day

 Exciting day today.  Went shopping with Mardi.

The Optimists are having a parking lot meeting midday on Hallowe'en and have asked members to bring things for the food bank.  So our first stop was Dollarama, for $30 worth of personal items (soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, etc.).

Next up was Food Basics where we filled the list we had made and each added some impulse items.  Quite a load!

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Came home and completed revising the Optimist Constitution.  Emailed it to the President.

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Watched my Dodgers lose to Mardi's Rays.  Series even.

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Happy 30th birthday to Mardi's niece Rhiannon.  

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Life is short.  Break the rules.

Disappointing Day

 We headed to MontHill today figuring that this may be our last chance to golf as a group this year.  

Due to the heavy rain they had experienced, power carts were not being allowed out.  And all of their pull carts were in use.

Undaunted, Calvin and Gary shouldered their carry bags.  I picked out four clubs that I hoped would work, and four balls that I hoped would be enough for the day...............

.....and we headed for the club house to check in.

As it turned out, it was worse than we thought.

Just as I was about to pay, they announced that a bar employee and a customer had tested positive for the coronavirus and they would be closing for a couple of days.

So, dejected, we headed back to our cars and packed our equipment away.

Matt has booked a game at MontHill for Friday for he and Maureen, Mardi and me.  That's pretty iffy right now!

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The Dodgers have won the first game against the Rays.  The Universe is unfolding as it should.

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Tomorrow calls for rain.  We'll see what happens.

Stay well.