Uncle

By | | , ,
4 Comments

Saturday, July 21, 2018 Suddenly, this morning, I’d had enough! This garage project has been the centre of existence at Mist Cottage since mid-May. And before that it was the window replacement and attic insulation projects that required intense focus. Attila has been working really hard on the garage project, and I have been working really hard taking care of every other aspect of domestic life. To my surprise, this morning I was done! Attila isn’t done, he is working away today on the last of the exterior elements, and after that is complete, and it will hopefully be complete today, the rest of the project is finishing work, which can take the rest of eternity as far as I am concerned. Uncle! I became aware that I was done when we were chatting this morning, about the day. Suddenly I made an unhappy emotional comment about not having spent much time at the Rideau Camp. Aha! There it was, the wall, my patience is beginning to vaporize. With any luck Attila’s efforts today will be successful enough that it will no longer be necessary to devote all domestic energy to the project. There will no longer be a reason … Continue reading →

First Tomato

By | | , ,
10 Comments

I was off to a slow start this morning at Mist Cottage. Mom wrote from Las Vegas yesterday, they look like they are having a great time. Those two, Mom and my sister, always look so relaxed and happy when they are travelling together. It is nice to see. It is a beauty of a day out there! Stiff breeze, 24C, sunny, reasonable humidity, it just doesn’t get any better than this! I am having another not-sure-where-the-time-goes day. Lets see, I must have done something today, it is after 2:00 p.m., and I’ve been up since 5:30 a.m. Cherries are in season and on sale at the grocery store. Buying them is an indulgence, I love cherries, Attila loves cherries. The added bonus is the pits. They can be used as fill for microwaveable heating pads and hand warmers. Saving the pits is easy, cleaning them isn’t so easy. A accumulation of pits has been sitting in a mug of water on the kitchen counter, for a few days. First they were poured into a sieve and rubbed into the mesh while being held under the cold water tap. Then they were placed on a clean rag and rubbed, this … Continue reading →

An Open Window

By | | , ,
10 Comments

There is nothing like an open window to make a day peaceful. It doesn’t matter that in the distance there are hammers hammering, diggers digging, men shouting, radios playing, trucks on the highway humming… it doesn’t matter. What I mostly hear is the wind in the leaves, the cooing of the rock dove outside the window. The peaceful sounds are accompanied by a light breeze playing through the house, curtains billowing then resting with a sigh, and the sight of white clouds in a blue sky. Now, all that is needed here is a night rain, long and steady, to give the gasping landscape relief. After recently upgrading our internet connection to an unlimited account, to avoid paying for over usage, which is outrageously costly, I noticed while looking at the most recent bill, that the account number didn’t seem right. Sure enough, they changed it! But, since upgrading the account a payment had been made to the old account number. Carefully checking the previous bill, the payment had been processed as it should have been. A call to the company revealed that there was a short grace period where payments to the previous account numbers would transferred to the … Continue reading →

Being There

By | | , ,
8 Comments

Monday, July 16, 2018 It looks like the humidex today will top 40C, stinking hot. I won’t be poking my nose out the door until things cool down. Well, I will venture onto the back porch in the afternoon to close the cabana curtains against the sun, otherwise it will be humidex 50C on the back porch. I feel extremely lucky to have the air source heat pump, otherwise I would be suffering, and unbearable. As it is I am just a little irritated by being housebound due to the extreme heat. Things could be a lot worse, counting my blessings. After a busy weekend in the kitchen, there is food aplenty in the house. Baked potatoes, sweet and sour meatballs with rice and vegetables, BBQ chicken, vegetable soup, homemade bread. It will be midweek before the Instant Pot will be back in service. The bathroom is being cleaned today, top to bottom. It is a big job, not a favourite either, but one that, once completed, is very satisfying. There are only five rooms in the house, perhaps another will be tackled! Tuesday, July 17, 2018 Another quiet day here at Mist Cottage. Another hot, humid day. I won’t … Continue reading →

A Long Heat Wave

By | | , ,
6 Comments

The heat wave seems to be lasting FOREVER! Another stinker of a day out there. Attila only has one day off this weekend, today. Today is the day the last of the back wall comes out of the garage. All morning the house vibrated as he sawed off the last of the studs and sheathing and siding. By tonight new studs and sheathing and siding will be installed, and probably the new siding will be painted. Tearing out the rotting back wall wasn’t on the list of tasks for replacing the garage roof, a project that is not finished yet. Securing the back rotting wall was on the list. The way Attila figured it, it was the same amount of work to tear out and replace the wall, as it was to secure it against the weather, AND a secured wall would still be rotten and mouldy and need to be replaced. He saved himself about a week of work by skipping securing the wall, and rebuilding it now. He is out there in the heat and humidity, working away, happily. He is experiencing intense relief, getting this nightmare project underway, and today removing the last of the rotting, mouldy … Continue reading →