I did not expect to face much of an adjustment period when Attila changed mid-week to working the day shift. Apparently even welcome changes require a bit of effort to get used to!
The wind is fierce out there this morning! The weather people says it is gusting to 41 to 47 km/h, ha I say. I’ve been out in garden collecting chairs, battening down the plastic on Attila’s little green house, and chasing garbage cans across the yard. These gusts are ripping leaves out of the trees, and downing any loose or dead branches as well. They are also whistling in at the screen door, it sounds like a blizzard in the dead of winter, only it is warm and pleasant.
My projects are at a standstill for the moment, as I concentrate on all the changes in the last few weeks: Attila getting called back to work, the night shift shock, and now switching to the desirable day shift. My sleep patterns are once again in disarray. I anticipate that, barring further jarring change, next week I will settle into a relatively stable routine. Attila is struggling with the changes as well, but making progress towards a balance.
Although my special projects are on hold, there are projects that must be accomplished as part of the adjustment to Attila returning to work. He likes a sweet treat during his breaks, so I bake muffins, or squares, or upside down cake at least twice a week. He takes sandwiches in his lunch, which means I need to bake bread once a week, and also mill flour at least every 10 days. Baking, milling flour and baking 5 loaves of bread takes up an entire day each week, but well worth it. I am doing most of the cooking as well, which to be honest, is a doddle with the Instant Pot. The ingredients a for small collection of favourite meals is always on hand. Attila chooses what he would like when he gets home for from work, then he spends time winding down from work in the garden, while I throw everything into the Instant Pot to get supper going.
Worldly
Weather
21°C
Date: 8:00 AM EDT Thursday 11 June 2020
Condition: Mainly Sunny
Pressure: 100.8 kPa
Tendency: Rising
Temperature: 20.6°C
Dew point: 15.9°C
Humidity: 74%
Wind: SW 24 gust 41 km/h
Humidex: 25
Visibility: 24 km
Quote
“All charming people have something to conceal, usually their total dependence on the appreciation of others.”
Cyril Connolly
1903 – 1974
I love the video! The last 2 days we had high winds and rain which came from the hurricane down south. I do love the sound of wind in the trees though 🙂 Have a wonderful day, Maggie.
Sandy, glad you enjoyed the video. The yard looks so different when the sun comes out, it always surprises me. I wonder if our high winds are from the same hurricane down south, probably. Me too, I love the sound of the wind in the trees. Have a wonderful day Sandy!
I realized that you are not my first Canadian friend….I worked with an RN when I was working my 10 years in hospice…for the life of me I can’t remember where in Canada she is from. But, she is a dear friend. I LOVE rhubarb pie! Use to have it a lot when we lived in Minot, North Dakota. When you talk about your vegetables, I remember the huge garden my Dad would plant ( after his retirement from the Air Force). All of us girls would get up before the crack of dawn to drive to my grandparents…to weed, pick, water….then home to prepare the vegetables for freezing or canning. I have never lived in a place that I could have a vegetable garden…instead, I rely heavily on our farmers markets. I could eat only vegetables every day…but Mike has to have his meat. I have tried, unsuccessfully to grow tomatoes in containers…didn’t work for me. I spent most of Saturday with my garden helper here…cleaned up 3 of 5 flower beds…divided and transplanted iron plants (Aspidistra) and 50 caladium bulbs. Still have some more left to do, but I really have to start as soon as it is daylight, to beat the heat. WIND!! Tuesday night, around 11pm, I heard a noise….3 of my umbrellas had gone flying off the deck!! Wind gusts up to 60mph. Then yesterday morning, it was 55 degrees when I got up….it was over 100 the day before. So we have had a couple of beautiful 80 degree days, with no humidity! I am so glad that Attila gets to work day shifts. It should be better for both of you. Jeremy’s M-I-L had her first chemo today; my brother goes to the oncologist next Wednesday. Very tense times for our family. Well, I have to brush out Cooper really good tonight
(Bichon)…he has a beauty shop appt in the morning. Stay safe, well, and happy. Xxoo. Margarett
Margarett, what wonderful memories of a family garden! Your farmer’s markets sound as if they sell fresh produce. Here the farmer’s markets are, well, in my opinion, pathetic. They are nothing like the farmer’s markets we had when I was a child. Our farmer’s markets are 90% value added items, breads, jams, crafts, you name it, and the small amount of fresh produce that is available is grossly overpriced. Growing our own vegetables is almost our only option for getting fresh produce this year, as we don’t go into stores now, or go anywhere where people are not wearing maskes, and that means we go nowhere at all because people here don’t wear masks, with the occasional exception. I love the farmer’s markets that sell produce, by the basket, bushel, bag, at prices working people can afford.
Your weather sounds a changeable as ours, perhaps even moreso. Glad to hear you got your garden sorted, flowers are so good for the soul.
You and your family really is going through a lot right now! I hope there are positive results for everyone with health care.
Stay safe dear friend!
I have been trying to convince Paul to grow wildflowers in the front garden/grassy area but he won’t. We have weird traditions in a city like Salem and people will start to complain if we don’t mow down the high grasses regularly… at least they have in other areas… old ladies have even been charged with crimes for not mowing their grass and letting it grow naturally!!! The world is nuts.
Bex, I love wildflowers! When the Hawkweed has finished blooming Attila will mow it with the rest of the yard, which is mostly wild native plants like violets, wild strawberries, bindweed (yuck), plantain, and other low growing plants. There is a municipal law here that limits how high plant growth can be in a persons yard, I think it is 8 inches. We are making our plans to plant edible ornamentals in the front yard, but that is down the road a bit, we have to get the back garden going first. I agree that the world is nuts!
“old ladies have even been charged with crimes” funny! and sad.
Yes, we have all the freshest vegetables at our farmers markets….and you can buy as much as you want. I did freeze 12 quarts of ,what we call. Little lady peas last year. I am hoping that after my back procedure ( hopefully within the next 2-3 weeks) to get all the vegetables I need to freeze some vegetable soup- corn, tomatoes, okra, string beans, peas, and onions. It is so good during the winter. This soup puts Campbell’s to shame. I save small packs of beef roast to add to Mikey’s soup. All I need is the soup and cornbread! It is a 2 day process to get the vegetables ready for the soup, but so worth it. I wish you could have seen my Dad’s garden. It was huge…and he planted everything….corn,
Beans, peas, tomatoes, egg plant, okra, onions, potatoes, butter beans,
Cantaloupe, watermelon, squash, cucumbers and we had fig, peach, and apple trees. So our summers were all about the garden. Daddy would mulch between each row with pine straw…you could walk thru the garden and never get dirty. And, we would go almost in the woods and pick blue berries and blackberries. Daddy had 2 sisters who lived close by; Mother had 3 siblings….everyone got their vegetables—-that is how large the garden would be. And, all the Aunts…we visited which ever house was shelling peas, snapping beans, cutting off corn, etc. oh how I remember hearing them all talk about “ life in the olden times!!!”. As a young adolescent, I learned a lot from them. I could also sit for hours watching them “ put a quilt in”. I never liked sewing, but I love needlework and crochet. My Grandmother would crochet…without a pattern, intricate doilies and table cloths and bedspreads. She would use very fine, Cotton thread. I was extremely close to my Grandmother. After my Grandfather died, I spent every weekend with her when I was in the 6th and 7th grade. This is why I specialized in geriatrics in my nursing career. This is beginning to sound like an oral family history…sorry. I was also able to know my great Grandmother….she was a full blooded Cherokee Indian. Talk about stories….she would share her Indian upbringing, and I would sit with my mouth opened in
Awe. Well, my friend….stay well, safe and happy. xxoo. Margarett
Margarett, that soup sounds mouth watering! Attila eats canned soup for a snack sometimes, but I avoid it like the plague because it has so much sodium in it. Making your own soup means you get flavour from the high quality ingredients, so not much salt is needed.
Wow, fresh vegetables, as many as you want, that is just a fantasy here.
That was quite the garden your Dad created, a family affair. I enjoyed hearing about your family history and how wonderful that you got to not only spend time with some of your elders, but they relayed stories to you. Like you I was close to my Granny, time spent with her was prescious. Perhaps you will be writing about your Cherokee Great Grandmother’s storied, they would be very interesting.
Stay safe dear friend!