Oct 27 (Mon):  Firstly, my humble apologies to Mumsy and a belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!  I've got a bit slow since you left us and went back to England.  You'll have to come back and get me back on my toes!

Friday night we got a chance to put out the Halloween decorations.

We quite fancy our little pumpkin-head lights.

Bit of a quieter weekend since the whole family was ailing.  We had to cancel going to the Pumpkin Patch and everyone coming for carving and dinner on Saturday.  Mom, Dad, Scot, Monica and the kids all had the flu, and Andy felt lousy and ended up sleeping seven hours in the day.  I had a productive day with non-stop housework and chores, and we did manage to make a couple trips to Home Depot, finishing up with a garage full of "pink".  Needed to get it before a rebate offer expired.  Tonight, Andy climbed up into the attic above the bedrooms and then I had to move the ladder away and shove all those bags up to her.  It was quite a push/pull match depending on which end you were on.  They say not to open the packs till you get them up in the attic, as when you open the bag the insulation decompresses.

Sunday, I supervised the gardener.

After the secateurs incident, I was hesitant at letting her use the electric hedge trimmers, so I sat in a lawn chair watching like a hawk.  Fortunately, no spurting blood this time - and by the way, she healed up very well and quite quickly from "The Great Secateurs Snip of 2008".  Can't say the same for the glove though! 

We  also made an attempt at "the burlap".  Used 2 and still need more - and I think we need it a bit more taut. Went to buy more and ended up getting much bigger strips so will take this small stuff off to use on the smaller trees.

In the afternoon, we went to a Baby Shower for Tara, hosted by her sister, Brande, and her mom, Sherry, in St. George.  One of the gifts we (us and Mom, but Mom was still too sick to go) gave was this Baby Monitor.

There was quite the haul of presents, which soon-to-be-cousin, Jacob, kept a close watch over.

To Andy's left is Sherry's cousin Shelley, then Sherry, Bev (Tara's Aunt on her father's side), Nikki (her cousin), and Jean (her dad's other sister), all people I've know for eons.

We had a good time, then stopped (Mom and Dad's house was on the route home) and got some of the cherry cheese cake that we didn't get at dinner on Saturday.  Deelicious.

Home just in time to beat a very weird fall thunder and lightning storm.  A couple girls at work said they even had some hail.  The wind was really blowing and check out this rainbow, that is actually a double.  Can you see the very faint second one about an inch to the right of the main one?

One more picture before I leave you....we cannot believe that the rose bushes, which have been cut back 3 or 4 times this year, are blooming yet again, even though we've had a couple heavy frosts and it's getting close to freezing in the overnights!  There's about 10 blossoms on this plant.

And for those wondering where the damn fence report is....the last two sections of lattice are still not up thanks to lousy weather and other tasks, but Andy did get them built Sunday evening.  Hopefully tomorrow night.....

Oct 19 (Sun):  Wednesday, Dad chauffeured Mom to the nursing home in the afternoon, then I went for a visit and to pick her up.  Friday we did the same thing and Grama was actually doing much better.  Of course, "much" is relative.  She was a bit perky, chatty, and was eating some real food spoon-fed to her.  It made her happy and that's what matters.

After driving Mom home Friday, I met up with some friends and former co-workers from CHAM for a little goodbye gathering for Lana.  She and her kids are moving to Alberta next week to join her husband.  He's got a good job in the tar sands and a brand-new, beautiful house for them.

I had a really great time and it amazes me that after the numerous years we worked together, and the numerous years since, we can all sit there and yak non-stop - and almost none of what we talk about is old war stories.  Above are Sean and Kelly, and above that are Roger's back, the top of Sean's head, Kelly, Lana, Catherine, and Sean's wife, Barb.

I arrived home about 10:30 to find Andy almost asleep with a black glove on one hand.  Honestly, I can't leave her alone for two minutes.  She was cutting up branches she'd trimmed and got a bit overzealous.  Snip, snip, snip, GUSH!

That hole in her glove is very representative of the cut right in the meat at the base of the thumb.  Since it's a very awkward spot for a bandaid, she had herself all done up like this when I got home, with the glove over top to keep the wrapping from coming apart.  She probably should have had a stitch, but she was a brave little soldier.  She even vacuumed after patching herself up.

Saturday, we were busy around the house all day.  Andy was very productive as we move into the final phase of the fence.  It's been fun building it but we are both VERY ready for it to be finished!  She took down the lattice at the front and made it shorter.  I think it looks SO much better now.  It's level with the top of the gate, is below the corner post, and doesn't look like such a drastic rise above the side fence.

Mid afternoon, we both cleaned up and knocked off for a half hour, much needed, power nap.  Then in the evening we had such a great time - really enjoying our guests and the food they brought for a potluck dinner, but mostly the guests!  This is Beryl, Trish and Michelle from Ottawa (T&M own the B&B there where we stayed when Andy's parents were here), and by now, everyone should know Huguette.

Andrew is in his baby carrier on the floor, then Kalpana, Huguette, Rose, Trish, Michelle, Beryl, some strange person, and Sarodha.

To kill two birds with one stone, we celebrated my birthday a little early too.

It was so great seeing everyone.  Unfortunately, Kathy & Denise couldn't make it as they are both allergic to cats, Kathy in the extreme.  And Carol missed out too as she was exhausted from cleaning out her late mother's house. Still, with Trish and Michelle living in Ottawa for many years now, everyone here was very pleased to see them, including us!

Although it was a great night, I cannot close this section off without sharing a very important lesson I learned - DON'T MAKE MEATBALLS IN THE CROCK POT!!!!!!  They were horrendous.  I had never done them this way before and thought I was smart as it was easier.  So Thursday night I made a batch and left them "slow" cooking.  Friday morning they got put in the fridge till Saturday.  Then I took them out to pick off the fat only to realize there was only half a pot. Quickly, I made a second batch in the oven then mixed them into the crock pot.  Excellent....a full crock pot for company.  Full but not so great.  I started to eat a meatball and it flaked apart almost like soot.  The first batch were SO overdone!!  To make this already long story short, people were gracious, but it was hit and miss - every other meatball was edible!  Thank god I also made perogies - and was thrilled to use my new chafing dish to keep them hot - but you have to watch that flame like a hawk.  I swear, every time you turn your back on it, it extinguishes itself!  Ah, the trials and tribulations, eh?

Today, I didn't get home till 2 after taking Mom to visit Grama and then for a few groceries.  Grama wasn't so good today again so I'm glad we went.  Not that we could do much to help, but I think it's helpful for her, psychologically, to know she is far from abandoned.  Andy worked like a beaver all morning again, but when I got home she finally got to go get her new toy, a suggestion of mine.  Here she is putting it to use.

Again, she was as happy as a pig in poop. 

I'm also happy because it means less tree climbing.  It's called either a "lopper" or a "pruner", whichever you like, and it's got a telescoping pole to 12 ft and a saw attachment.

Then we tried to figure out how to round the top of the gate, but the lines we were drawing didn't look so even.  So we had a look at the neighbour's gate and decided we liked what they did.  Since I am not as proficient as Andy with the Jigsaw, I set her loose.  Et voila.

It'll look even better when the post is trimmed downed to just a couple inches above the top rail.

Oct 13 (Mon):  Happy Thanksgiving!    We've had a lovely, long weekend, with temperatures between 20^o and 25^o every day.  Check out the gorgeous view out our front window.

Friday night, with the weather forecast for the weekend looking promising, Andy tried out the pressure washer to do the final wash of the driveway.

Saturday morning, it was chores-mania.  I got two pumpkin pies made, squash baked, did two loads of laundry, ran the dishwasher, then got a stuffed turkey breast in the oven.  In the afternoon, while I continued working on putting together the veg to go with the turkey, Andy got to have her fun with the muck.

In the evening, after scrubbing as much tar off of her elbows as she could (don't ask me how she got it on her elbows to start with!), Andy took to the kitchen to make apple crumbles for dessert the next day ('crumbles" plural as Scot's has to be make separately with gluten-free flour).

Sunday morning, I took mom to visit Grama while Andy did another coat of sealer, which did a much better job of filling in the crevices.  In the afternoon, we went to Scot and Monica's for Thanksgiving dinner.  They had everything (schnitzel and spaetzle) ready shortly after we got there so were able to sit and visit.  Who could stay inside on a day like this?!

The kids have now hit the phase where they like the swings higher and primarily use the swing set as a climber.

Another fun new game is to try to bash the tree branches.

  

And then some of us showed Grace that her "cartwheels" were actually "round-offs" and this was how to do a proper cartwheel.  I even got into the act, but Andy only got a picture of me when I was teasing Grace doing pretend ones beside her.  No-one thought I was actually going to do a real one, then I surprised them all and did two!

There were also some other games, like Thanksgiving Bingo - with the squares not filled with numbers, but with Thanksgiving-themed pictures like Pilgrims, turkeys, and pumpkins.  (Notice Dad and Scot through the windows, hiding outside to avoid playing!)

And then there was this very strange game to try to roll one ball with another swinging ball in the nylon.

Today, we finally got to build and hang the gate!

We still need to put the handle on the front, drill the hole for the string to go through to be able to open the latch from the front, and cut the arch into the top, but for this we wanted to wait until the lattice is up.  Andy'd starting building the lattice during the week in the evenings, then we picked up where she left off.

In this last one, you can see just how nice the driveway looks now too.  One more thing,  even though Andy has tried to take pictures of me working, I noticed it still looks like she is doing the majority.  So, I want to let everyone know that this fence was built 50/50, and I am as proficient with the Compound Miter Saw, drill, hammer and level as Handy Andy.  I've had a great deal of fun working on this and since it is Thanksgiving Day, I would like to say thank you to Andy for our great teamwork!

Tonight we watched the Japanese Grand Prix and now it's off to la-la land.

Oct 6 (Mon):  Fence building continued on Tuesday and Wednesday nights to finish the west side of the property.

Thursday, we finally & happily received the professional wedding pictures.  There are 201 to choose from, so here is just a sampling.

With all the parents:

The wedding party.....Steven & Huguette, our Best Persons, flower girl Grace, and ring bearer Ben:

Grace and Ben with Mommy Monica and Daddy Scot:

Cake!:

Looking cute:

     

Friday, Andy left at 5:30 am and got home at 9:30 pm, having flown over to Chicago for work - and getting to ride in a white, stretch limo at one point.  In the evening, instead of staying home alone, I took the opportunity to go visit Lana, who is moving to Alberta in a couple weeks.  It was sad to say goodbye.

Saturday, after some errands in the morning, we got back to the fence.  Andy had gone to get another load of wood, but almost overdid it, so had an interesting time packing the car!

We're pretty pleased with ourselves over how we managed to taper the fence to the slope.  Next step is to build the gate, then the lattice sections.  While I went back inside to continue housework, Andy stayed out and did some trimming of the maple tree until shortly after Huguette arrived.  We'd asked her over just to hang out as we hadn't seen her for a while.  We didn't even cook for her but she understood as we'd been so busy all day, but I did go pick up sustenance from Swiss Chalet.

Sunday, we were out early.  Picked up Mom and took her to the nursing home, but also borrowed Dad's van to move a lift chair out of Grama's room and deliver it to Aunt Debbie's house.  Grama has now declined considerably and is completely bedridden, unable to even sit up, and is taking nutrition only through a straw.  It's a very sad thing to see.  After we picked Mom back up and returned her and the van back to Dad, we helped unpack the new foam topper for her bed, which turned out to be quite a task as it was vacuum sealed to the extreme.  Mom is getting around a bit better and is allowed to have her knee-brace off when at home, but the trip to the nursing home caused her pain.  Today she started physio, so is quite happy.

Once we got home, Andy worked on applying Depression Filler to the driveway.

I worked on some trimming before we wrap the cedars up in burlap for the winter.  Before:

After:

In between:

I started trimming that droopy cedar in the middle and found it was brown and ugly underneath, so just kept trimming.  I'd wanted to pull the whole thing out, but we were going to wait - but when Andy saw the stubs left after my butcher job, she rolled her eyes at me and told me I might as well take it out now.  I don't like those droopy ones - and it was also too far forward, leaving hardly any room for anything else.  So, I went ahead and started digging up the stump, only to very quickly have a casualty.

Andy says I don't know my own strength, but I was just trying to prevent her from eventually stabbing herself in the foot!  The bloody thing was only ours for one day - and tonight was returned for full refund. (Mom, the purple mums are the ones you gave us from your garden, by the way.)

And finally, since we couldn't seem to give it away to anybody, and had no use for it ourselves, we finally just cut down the Apricot Tree.

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