Heating Up

The weather has taken a turn for the better, we have sunny skies and a gentle breeze.

During my life there have been many eclipses, but I do not recall much in the way of frenzy associated with them. This eclipse is certainly a circus, states of emergency declared, roads closed, schools closed, thousands and thousands of spectators expected in the path of totality, citizens living the path of totality cautioned to stay home, not to drive, as the influx of spectators arrive and flood the roads.

I have no interest in seeing the eclipse, and will remain indoors and away from windows during the event. Attila will remain indoors during the event, and will be busy.

I have friends who are very excited to view the eclipse, it is a rare and magnificent event. I hope that everyone stays safe!

I have been busy patching trousers, and in the kitchen. At our house, if we don’t cook, we don’t eat, it is very simple. Over the last few days I’ve baked bread and muffins, prepared a litre of salad dressing, cooked three and half litres of beef and barley soup, and prepared a batch of Thai sweet chili sauce.

Since the weather is glorious, Attila has been transplanting suckers from our thriving Granny’s Rose, to form a hedge at one end of the fenced in garden. He also transplanted a lot of horseradish, and four clumps of rhubarb that had not been thriving where we originally planted them in the garden.

The rain barrels are placed and connected to the downspouts, so that we are ready for the rain predicted this coming week.

It feels like spring!

The birds think so too! Robins are scrapping amongst themselves, plagues of Grackles visit the yard, then move on to greener pastures, a pair of Mourning Doves sit in their favourite spot on the deck rail right outside our front door, Bluejays scold and swoop. There are many small dramas, and much joy in the world of birds.

Yesterday Attila and I went out on a bit of an adventure. We had won bids on a few auctioned items, through an online auction site. We have been in need of a travel bag, as ours has disintegrated rather spectacularly. I guess 25 years of use will do that to a fabric travel bag. On amazon the cost to replace it with a similar bag was $50 for the least expensive option, with much higher prices for high quality bags. We have been procrastinating replacing our travel bag.

The auction had a lot of three travel bags, a child’s backpack, a small sectioned bag, and a heavy canvas bag. Our bid of $2 won the lot, and after the other fees and taxes it came to about $3. We kept the travel bags, all in decent condition, and donated the other items to the charity shop. Our bid won a second lot in the same auction, a variety of tools, which Attila has sorted through. Some of the items will go to the Camp, some will be put away in our garage. The bid on twenty one jigsaw puzzles was also successful, which was the most costly item on our list.

Jigsaw puzzles have always been a part of my life, and Attila’s. As a child a jigsaw puzzle frequently waited to entertain us on rainy days. When visiting with my Mom and sisters we enjoy doing jigsaw puzzles together. Mom is a whiz at these puzzles. They do require the lengthy use of a flat space, so it will be challenging to set them up here at Mist Cottage. Attila already has a spot in mind for the card table. I wonder if Ginger is going to make this difficult for us!!

Ginger is enjoying life here at Mist Cottage. His favourite time of day is in the evening when I am in my easy chair, and Attila is sitting close by on the couch. Attila absently pets Ginger while reading, chatting, or watching videos with me. This is when Ginger feels that all is right in the world.

This is processed commercial apple cider vinegar, past its best before date. Unexpectedly, it has developed a scoby. Who knew!

Worldly

Weather

Updated on Sun, Apr 7 at 1:37 PM
14°C
FEELS LIKE 13
Clear
Wind 14 NE km/h
Humidity 32 %
Visibility 26 km
Sunrise 6:37 AM
Wind gust 22 km/h
Pressure 102.1 kPa
Ceiling 9100 m
Sunset 7:41 PM

Quote

“If you would marry suitably, marry your equal.”
Ovid
43 BC – 17 AD

I wish this advice had come to me when I was a teenager!

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Joan Lansberry

We will have only 60 percent coverage during the eclipse. Julia makes a pinhole paper thing that lets us see it. Last year, a friend came by with a black glass (it was about the same thing, a big ‘bite’ out of the sun). It’s cool, I don’t think we’ll have a total one again for maybe ten years. I’m glad we’re not in the path of totality, one friend reported the city had grown to four times its normal size due to the travelers wanting to see it. Just a bit chaotic!

Teri

Mmmmmm. Beef and barley soup…

I bought us eclipse glasses a couple months ago. We’ll be at 97% coverage here and I really want to look at the sun for this one. The last one, we did the pin hole thing and reflected it with our cell phone cameras but it didn’t feel enough, so this time I got the glasses.

Sandra

I’m still not receiving your notifications Maggie.