Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Looking For Sunshine on Thursday


Hello from the new days of summer. We've had summer rains and overcast skies but what we need is some summer sunshine. Thursday is Canada Day!

Yesterday I watched clips of the Queen, who is visiting Canada, deplaning in Halifax. It was during a fierce downpour. I then remembered clips of when she was here for the 500th anniversary of Cabot's landing that took place in St. Johns, Nfld. in June, '97. It was absolutely the worst day you could imagine to have for weather. The Queen was wrapped in blankets by the end of it.

I am scheduled to slow down and return to my regular shifts at work. I can certainly use some gardening time in the evening to deal with slugs. The only thing not eaten by them in the garden are the tomato plants and a few peas. The first lettuce is gone to seed but new seeds planted were eaten by slugs too. It was too wet to replant today so I hope the holiday Thursday will work out.

After all my work the previous weeks, I finally got a new car. I chose a Nissan Versa. I hope it performs well for me and will be good in winter. It has very different (quicker) steering than my old car so I will have to get used to that for the winter roads. The funny things you have to consider when buying a car in a Northern climate.....

Here are a couple songs about the road. Odetta and Nine Hundred Miles and Snooks Eaglin with The Lonesome Road. I love how Van does this song but that would not fly here. Just noticed when making the links that Odetta and Snooks died within two months of each other

After the garden work, I want to go to the beach on Thursday, Canada Day. Can you believe I haven't been there this year?

Monday, June 21, 2010

Summertime and the Living is Easy


Life is sweet. Life is grand! I am on day three of four days off. I have six hours to work within it but am not even counting it as they are two, three-hour shifts and in the evening. I still have the days off. My daughter was home for the weekend and my portion of her visit was Saturday to Sunday afternoon. We had lots of fun and a relaxing time. Yesterday, she had Father's Day and today, a funeral. She will drop by a bit before she heads for the ferry to return home. I'm really enjoying the off time. I had worked 27 extra hours week before last and last week worked long hours again, working 34 hours in a 48 hour period. Whew!

I've spent a lot of my time gardening and have sad news about my vegetable garden. I had a whole lot of cucumber seedlings last week and not a one remains. I believe slugs are the problem though crows have been suggested as a possible culprit. There are no leaves either on the many bean seedlings of different varieties so I think that points to slugs. I will replant and go on patrol tonight with a pair of latex gloves and container. Fun, fun, yuck, yuck. At least they are not the huge slugs they get out west.

I had a great laugh (at myself) this morning. I hum and sing to myself all the time. If people are around it is very light or even just in my head. If no one is around, I let it rip. The cats are used to it but no one else ever hears. Anyway, this morning I went out on the deck and started this whole percussive thing with my foot while hand slapping and clapping. I was wailing away to the cats, changing the words of an old folk song, now with a very loud percussive beat, to lyrics about the day and the cats and this and that. All at once I heard hammering and saw someone working on the pasture fence just to my right. Let me tell you my impromptu concert ended very quickly and I came into the house (with a red face) to laugh .... and groan. That's what a couple of days off will do to you. I was singing with joy.

I played a lot of frisbee with Baxter the Beast this weekend. His mug illustrates today's post and I must say he has a face only a mama could love. I got a wicked bite on my arm from him but it was not his fault. He was jumping for the frisbee but I moved it and my arm became the spot where his teeth landed. It is very bruised and broke the skin. I had an altercation with some rose bushes as well so I am going to return to work looking like I had a very adventurous time off.

I have very different types of music for today's post. The nice percussive, Soul Drummers, by Ray Barretto has a bit of call and some clapping and lots of groove. This could be traveling through my brain at any moment right after something like this: Summertime by Pura Fe. That would probably make me think of Summertime by Ray Barretta again and I'd be off singing like no one was listening. A great big welcome to summer!

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Short Update



I am on my day off and it is so windy that it is impossible to do any outside jobs. What does it mean?...inside chores. I did two loads of laundry yesterday so had my way in the cooking, cleaning, sorting, getting things organized kind of way without that distraction. I have one day off but spent a good bit of it connected to 'the office' with various things on their part or mine.

I've had a bit of a cold for the last week, feeling not quite right. Additional work hours has left me feeling tired. I seem to sleep every available moment so I am taking care of myself in that way. It just hasn't seemed enough. I'm still tired.

I started this yesterday but got interrupted many times. I'm now off to work till 9:30 tonight so it's now or never to post this short update. I will get back when I can.

Wednesday, June 09, 2010

Hello Sunset


I am surprised to find I've not posted in more than a week. I had Saturday off and thought I'd posted then. But Blogger doesn't lie. I've been working a lot this week with twenty-seven extra hours to fill in for someone in hospital. I can use the extra money though, as I'm shopping for a car. Car shopping is not a fun chore in my books and not having time to do it properly is most frustrating. I must buy the car before July which is when the current inspection on my car ends.

In my last post (Tuesday, the first of June) it was raining. The wet weather continued all week and on some days and nights the rain was torrential. Certain fields are still flooded but well drained ones are beginning to dry out. I was asking for rain not long ago but am glad for the break we are forecast to get this week. I managed to get seeds in the ground, finally, and hope they weren't washed out.

That made me think of Dan Hicks and his song, Garden In the Rain. I haven't featured my man Dan in a while so here is Garden in the Rain and I'm Saying Hello which is really all I have time to do tonight. I'm off to lounge on the couch and then up to bed. Five-thirty comes early and I work till nine-thirty tomorrow night. Yikes!

Tuesday, June 01, 2010

Cast a Wish


Even though this has been a rainy day and I'd planned to work in the garden, I am having a most marvelous day off. I am finishing up some projects, generally reorganizing, doing the ongoing day to day chores, specifically reorganizing dressers and closets, and relaxing to the max while it all occurs. It's what I need today. I slept in and even feel good about that though I mentioned to someone earlier that it felt half my day was gone.

This afternoon I picked flowers in the rain for some friends and myself. I love that the apple blossom season lasts so long with so many trees flowering at different times. Some are still just budding. Colours are saturated on rainy days and there is no shadow to compete with pure colour. Life is so beautiful visually, is it not? Moving on from visually, the lilac is in bloom too and smells really wonderful. I have them upstairs and down. I feel so lucky to have natural country views and aromas to help define my existence.


The music chosen for today is about rain. I've been telling you how badly we need rain and I'm glad for every millimeter we get. It just happens that it rains every day off and is sunny/cloudy on my work days. I still don't have seeds planted and already know that is not going to be an optimal year in my garden. Everything planted at once and late in the season is what is going to happen, not the usual well-organized garden that I've managed to maintain for years.

Bop Ensemble does a great version of one of my favorite Dylan tunes, Buckets of Rain. I have many great versions of the song and try to find an excuse to feature them every year. Dylan's song is awesome and so is rain. Here is a wonderful version from Jimmy LaFave and one from the author himself, Bob Dylan.

I need a day off when the sun is shining brightly and the wind is not blowing a gale as has been happening for a month. Saturday, please, if it's not too much to ask. Last post, I asked for someone to cook for me and that didn't happen. Maybe I should stop saying these things out loud.