Potatoes planted

It was a day of good weather, but then it turned dreary and back to a spectacular day. I made a packing box, packed up the tiles, and added a shipping label to send them off. S chatted with his mom and Craig before running to town at 10:30 with his parcel to mail and supplies to buy for Matt. I updated all my accounting spreadsheets and did some marketing before heading to the garage to work on projects. 

first breakfast in the new house

Britt was out around the same time S was back with Opa I ordered via the app, including my FREE birthday wrap. She rode and fed in the dreary weather of the day. Not long after she left, the sun came out, and it got so nice. I was sanding tons on the nightstand, new glide feet were added then started the dresser. I removed the hardware and wood designs and reglued the first drawer together. It was left to dry. Sadly, there’s one that was previously repaired but done terribly, and I think it will be a tough fix.

S had gone to Matt’s at 1 p.m. and was back now at 3:30 p.m. He helped me pull the grass encroaching onto the garden, and we planted two and 1/4 rows of potatoes, channeling his inner GG. Pat had shared this with him on their call this morning, so we decided to give it a try early. Lexi enjoyed sniffing around while Harley just relished pets and hanging out, waiting for her super.

We wrapped up at 4:30 p.m., fed Har, and had a couple of cold drinks on the deck while doing Spanish lessons. We didn’t take anything out for supper, so it was a clean-out-the-fridge and add-scrambled-eggs kind of meal. They turned out good. We then took the two dogs for a walk, followed by a hot tub, all before 6:30 p.m.

pit work from yesterday 

Of course, it was then hockey for S, and I worked on the blog while enjoying the golden hour sunshine from the bed with the windows open for fresh air. I finished the 5th and final season of You before we went to sleep.

Peas planted

I woke up early and perused Instagram before making coffee when S woke up. I fed the dog and cats however I’ve failed at my daily breakfast plan, but today I had a piece of peanut butter toast. Lexi had a sleep-in day until after 10 a.m. Once awake, the princess was carried down the stairs to the gravel. She is a little grandma in reality of dog years and deserves to be treated so. I don't let her jump off our high bed either.

I was in the garage, adding the final clear coat to the tiles, S headed to Matt’s for another task at 10:30 a.m. I opened my paint package and put the stuff away.

In the city at the new house, Kaylin is setting up her new kitchen after movers arrived to get the heavy items and deliver there. I was flattered she wished I was in there to help her set up as organizing especially kitchens is my super power :)

3 more memory videos from last year today of our little Renny XOXO

S was back about an hour later and made some sandwiches, which I joined for. Then I went back to my projects. I asked Sheldon to help me cut off  the nightstand base, as one side was snapped off so we could make it all the same. Then, he ran back to Matt’s for a bit while I scrubbed the dirty nightstand.

I decided to scrape the top of the latest dresser, but it was much harder than I expected. After doing what I could, I glued the lifting veneer and clamped it to dry.

Once S was back again, he got the skid steer bucket back on and ready to dump the chips. But then,  got a rodeo red alert call. I was out starting to prepare the garden row with the wire fencing in order to plant the peas I had soaking. S dumped the chips under the three new little spruce trees and joined me up at the garden. I only had enough cardboard boxes for one row, luckily I know someone who has more and will bring on Friday.

I found all the cardboard I had and laid out a walkway. While I continued to pull weeds and prepare the town, S put the rest of the chips on the pear tree base.

It was much warmer than I had anticipated, so I got us both cold drinks. The sun was out, and it was 14 degrees. I took the rake and raked the piles S had dumped along the laneway rails while he headed out the back to start moving things around. I returned to the garage and started sanding and hand-scraping the nightstand. This was tedious work.

S returned feeling nauseous, which happens when you bounce around in the pit. He had a rest then prepared a tasty sausage and noodle supper. It was dark to the west, and after a brief windstorm, rain finally arrived while we ate. Of course, hockey was on, entertaining the prince along with X on his laptop. I worked on my iPad to try and catch up on my last two blogs. 

B was out while I was putting garage laundry in the dryer and checking the dahlias I had overwintered. Dang, it was just too hot for too long because most of them dried out. She went to feed, and called panicked when the horses she released from the far paddock started racing around and heading towards the yard. Sure enough, they blasted through the yard and into the close paddocks as the gates were left opened. I raced out in my housecoat and helped get them back into the house paddock where she was opening the gate. They had the zooms after their 24-hour lockdown, it seemed. I closed the yard gate too and was back in now trimming the package of new dahlia bulbs and spritzing to wake them up. She and Cooper set off home at 8 after she dispersed the food in tubs, as usual.

first bath in the new house, they officially are moved in

In Ottawa, the Sens are making a comeback and after chatting with Shaina on FaceTime to find a few items for her trip she arrived home to find this excited fellow.

We have a lot of routine here. I finished catching up on the blog and headed to bed at 9:30 after making us yogurt bowls, tuckered after a very busy day. I wished I could go for a hot tub, but I didn’t want to head out in the blustery wind that had brought a bit more rain. Tonight, we gained 0.7 of a tenth, which is okay. Sheldon had left his jacket outside, and it was dripping wet once he retrieved it. I watched more You and he more hockey.

Election Day

Today is election day, and worries are high that it might not go well. We had our usual morning routine: me marketing with a coffee and S on his laptop or phone after coffee and breakfast for him.

Little miss playing freeze dance. She only has a couple more days at this daycare.

and another 1 year throwback, awe XOXOXO

We headed to town before 1 p.m. to vote, then S went to Shiny next door. I grabbed a library book for myself and three for Britt, then headed to Sharon’s for a coffee date at 1:30 p.m. She had even made puffed wheat squares for my birthday—such a sweet friend!

I picked up Sheldon at the arena at 3:45 p.m. Our next stop was to grab Cooper and leave her library books. On the drive home, we scored milk and cream. I sent the Etsy customer the tile photo, and he loves them. A clear coat tomorrow, and they’ll be on their way.

I looked out at 5:30 and saw my paint parcel being delivered but rather than bringing it to the house they left at the gate. The 3 dogs and 2 cats made the trek to the gate to grab it and bring back.

We had a delicious steak supper. S was hooked on hockey and his laptop, and I worked on tutorials. Just after B arrived, some people stopped out to buy a garage sale item. They weren’t long before they were on their way. B caught Switch for me, and I joined her in the barn to tack up. We went for a lovely ride around the property. Today, Roo turns eight. Yesterday, our Bird turned twenty-three, and the day before that, Beibs turned ten. It’s been quite a birthday week here at the ranch.

After our ride, we fed them and moved them to the far west paddock to lock them in. S may work in the pit tomorrow, but they’re also doing well weight-wise, so some time in a pen will be okay. B and Cooper headed home. It’s time for a hot tub for us. It was a gorgeous night although I did spy some mosquitos and flies.

After a shower, I submitted my pay sheets to the paint company and sent them in near the end of the month. Of course, S was back to hockey. I relaxed in bed and watched You again. Once hockey ended, we watched another Race for the Crown. Sadly the election did not go as we hoped and liberals are still in power and creating chaos in our country.

Purge and tidy

It was a gloomy, dreary day, and I hoped for rain, but the forecast said otherwise. After getting the dogs out, feeding them, and the cats, I made coffee. The prince slept in later than usual, catching up on his sleep, and then made his own coffee. He then headed to church. After my Spanish lessons, I returned to marketing.  I published the tutorial for Kaylin's desktop and shard a few places. I then worked on catching up the blogs as once again I am behind.

S returned home from church around 11:30. I was busy putting the garage back together. He had leftover mushroom soup and two turkey sandwiches. After he finished eating, he helped me move two pieces of furniture. Then, we went over to pick up a vintage dresser from a neighbour. It started raining and sleeting as we were doing this. If only it would let loose, we need rain!

We loaded the dresser and returned home, waiting for the weather to clear before unloading. I worked on dark waxing the tiles and then added metallic waxes while S watched baseball. He then went outside in the skid steer to bring up bucket loads of compost to fill around the horse shelter wall ends and a few other swaled-out places.

My next big project was to start tidying up the corner of my work area. It has large glass window frames, mirrors, wood, and other items. I posted a mirror for sale as is and purged a bunch of wood pieces. I vacuumed, wiped, shuffled, and sorted everything. I also put in another storage shelf and moved all the extra paint products from another shelf to this one. It seems I’m well-stocked in most areas now.

The rain didn’t last long, but now that it was better, I ventured out to sweep out the cargo trailer. I had S help me move the dresser into the garage then he was back to now hockey. I loaded a few large paintings and frames to take to my fall market, along with a small table. I think I’ll take lots of my projects along too to sell if I don’t purge them before hand.

I can't waste so empty jars and scraps of rice paper created these fun vases

B was out to feed quickly in the blustery, cool weather, then headed back home before 4. I continued on my garage today and only got the one small area sorted. I guess all the furniture is back under the lift and organized now too. I ran to town for mine and B's follow up appointment which was quick and I was back home.

It was a leftover supper with hockey continuing for S and I watched You in bed. Once hockey ended we did finish another Race for The Crown episode.

Moving the Boysis family

Today was a big helping day heading into the city to assist the Boyis family with their move to their new rental house with a backyard. The weather was gorgeous, with a beautiful sun-filled high of 20 degrees Celsius. S went out in his house coat to try and shoot a gopher, but he wasn’t successful. After a coffee in bed and chatting with his Dad, he went out again, this time wearing clothes, and was successful.

There was furniture in the cargo trailer that needed to be unloaded, but S also wanted to get the fireball down and out. This led to an extensive amount of reorganizing under the lift, which had issues with loweiring and required both of us to get it down. I moved Shaina’s jeep, and he had to charge the battery and get it out while I moved all nine drawers and a nightstand in from the cargo trailer. The ladders and wood planks I use for markets also came out.

Little miss busy in the city

Once the truck was backed out and left running to charge the battery, he hooked up the cargo trailer. We then moved the enormous nine-drawer dresser and shelving unit in and loaded the rest of the boxes we had sourced for them. Britt and Cooper arrived at the designated time of 11:15 AM, and the dogs had a pee break. We set off for the city at 11:30 AM.

Shaina sent this video from 3 years ago today, bittersweet but good to have

The family was in mid chaos: boxes, packing, and toys everywhere. Little Miss wasn’t a fan and needed someone to keep her attention. B took her for a walk, then Beans. For the next three hours, we filled boxes, moved them to the trailer, brought down patio furniture, including the playhouse S disassembled. We loaded the back of the truck and cargo trailer to the brim. Although I could have packed more if needed. We took a couple of breaks for trail mix and iced coffees to keep us going.

At 3:30 p.m., everyone loaded up and made the 15-minute trek to the new house on the hill. It’s a cute little house nestled in a quiet community that was set up as an Airbnb in a MCM/modern style. This meant it was already furnished and decorated for the most part, which had its own issues to pack up.

The front yard and sides are all grey gravel, little miss inspecting it

Moving in the kitchen

She loved the coffee table

The neighbours blooming spring flowers

It only took an hour for B, S, and I to transfer the truck and trailer into the house. K and N put the boxes in appropriate rooms while we all took turns entertaining Miss Renn. Kaylin ordered a tasty supper of artisanal pizza, turtle donuts, and a mixed berry cheesecake in a jar (a birthday treat). Thanks, guys!

We visited for a while and then set off for home at 6:20 p.m. The drive home took about 50 minutes, similar to the other location but with much fewer stops. The dogs were let out to pee and feed them. S relaxed in the big brown chair with hockey on TV. I took the dogs (all three) for a walk before B and Coop headed home. What a fantastic night of sun and no wind!

of course the cats had to come along as well

We headed out to soak our muscles at an intermission. It turned out Ottawa won in overtime with Matt being at the game! Once hockey ended, we watched some Race for the Crown. S fell asleep, so I continued on with You.

Happy birthday Brittany and Aislyn! XOXO

Happy birthday Britt XOXO! The wind was howling upon waking. I perused Instagram and texted with Archie and another bday girl Aislyn while they are vacationing in BC. I made coffees and delivered the just waking close to 9:30 prince his in bed where we did our Spanish lessons.

I was then out working on the tiles, painting them brown before starting decopauging the jars. S ran over to Matt's after his porridge to work on battery tasks. He was back after 12 to have some soup as I was finishing up. I chopped up turkey and put together a casserole for supper. S took off for town along with the trash and recyclables to drop on way to shinny. A bowl of turkey soup for me, man this jumbo pot would feed a Hutterite colony. Perhaps I should divy it up and freeze, Shaina did request a bowl :)

I returned to the garage, working on the jars by adding more sealer and folding the curved edges. The tiles had a coat of blue-green applied. While these steps dried, I went back inside and wrote multiple tutorials. I have more to create, but I feel good to have many ready to post.

S returned with Cooper around 4:30 p.m., having had his coffee group get together. We had a cold beer and caught up on the hockey chat. I then headed back to the garage to continue sealing the jars and working on the tiles after putting the casserole in the oven to cook. I gave S a ride to Matt’s to pick up his skid steer.

More touchups were done in the garage, and once he was back, we ate supper.

As I went back out to the garage to work on the tiles, S was chatting with a friend. B arrived to feed the horses. I walked Harley out to the gate to exercise her and quickly visited B in the blustery wind. We thought we saw something in the field, but when we looked through binoculars, it was just two geese. B had locked the horses in the winter pasture, so she and Cooper headed home to enjoy the rest of her birthday by watching Netflix.

Mr Jenkin's earning his keep

Custom "tin" tiles order

The bright, sunny morning showed no horses trapped in the yard, but there was yet another coyote wandering right close to the house to the west. S took two shots, but missed, and the coyote even turned and stared at the house after running for a bit. Ballsy! I had a person interested in the coffee table but it turned out to be to small :(

After his coffee and breakfast, S went out to push more gravel around the yard. I, to do marketing and struggle with getting the printer to work and sorting out the FedEx border issues. S ran the skid steer to Matt’s, who is renting it to move things around his shop. He then headed to town around 11:30 for a rodeo meeting, then went to the shinny at 2:30. There were other Can Tire shops and others in between, it seems.

I started applying the raised tile pattern to the four faux tiles. While they dried, I came in for a bowl of soup and then went back to prime the four surfaces, as well as the six others cut to have that step done for future sales. I also primed three glass jars. I sorted more vases to take to the flower shop and purged the garage, keeping only the shapes I love. Inside, I wrote two tutorials while continuing laundry, sipping iced coffee.

a couple jars before priming

In the late afternoon, I took Harley for a walk and filled the water trough. It was warm (14 degrees) but windy, which is always disheartening. I came up with a plan to run by S for the pit. This area has been a constant eye sore for me because it’s the first thing people see when they drive in, and first impressions are always lasting.

I fed the beast and continued laundry, accounting, and prepping supper. S returned home at 6 p.m. having picked up up Cooper after his coffee klatch. We enjoyed tacos with a side of playoff hockey. During the first intermission, two of the dogs and two cats joined us on a walk to the pit to discuss my ideas. Lexi stayed outside at the house, doing her meandering sniff walkabout.

S was back in big brown for hockey and Duolingo, while I spot vacuumed the house with the golden hour sunlight revealing all the dog hair. I wrote today’s blog post while B was out to feed at 7:30 p.m. We enjoyed a hot tub in the golden hour before returning to tidy up and S running the big vacuum around. We then started Conclave as requested by S but his was sleepy part way thru so put on hold while I started the new season of You.

Where is April going?

Wednesday, hump day, and it was a sunny day. We started our day with coffees and pet care. Then, I put the turkey bones in to make soup. S ran to Matt’s at 10 a.m., and a lady stopped by to buy the huge pile of Tupperware pantry storage tubs before 11 a.m. Harley’s food delivery arrived around 11:30 and the driver was a bit lost. Britt ended up right behind him at the gate, so he gave it to her. She dropped it off and Cooper then jetted to the city.

I got on to marketing by publishing the bread box tutorial which had to be sent to paint company and shared to sites. S ran back and forth to Matt’s before we had lunch. Then, we quickly ran to town to do a loop of errands. First, we dropped Mom’s external hard drive and the jumbo bag of can tabs at Paetz’s for Craig to take when he goes out next. Thanks, C! Next, we mailed more coffee pods and the last Bell PVR at the post office. I grabbed my Starbucks birthday salted caramel macchiato, thanks! Then, S ran into his favourite store to look for a few things he needed, but he came out empty-handed. We picked up a jug of milk and limes and headed to the ranch.

S was off again to Matt’s, so I got back to working on blog posts because I was behind and had so many photos and videos for the weekend. It was so lovely out that I took the dogs (minus Lexi) for a walk, meeting S coming back home. Then, in short order, he took off again this time for mail. It was a bit blustery, but soon let up as I walked. Once back at the house, I started tidying the big in-ground flower bed. I just took off the deadfall and pulled quack grass that is in full grow mode. The tulips are coming up well too. I popped in to chop veggies for the soup, put them in to cook, and then back out.

not the most hygienic place to have a lay down :)

Look at her go, seems she is getting an upgrade from the wee little Easter strider

Britt was back from the city at 4:30. She caught Roo and went for a long ride around and around the property. S was going out gopher hunting, but she requested he didn’t, so he graded the road with such perfect conditions because of all the moisture. I’m working on setting up a Canada border account for duty, taxes, and tariffs, thanks to butthead Trump. What a pain in the butt! B fed the horses, and she and Coop set off at 6.

S was in to get hockey on the go and his laptop while I finished the soup. It was tasty, tasting like health, but sadly, it was so much better than the turkey as a meal. I got back to catching up on the blog and S’s hockey and laptop. I did run out to get a pillow for a chair I want to purge. I had intended to recover, but after “Rose” chair, I won’t attempt those projects. That, and I’m in a purging mode. Before heading to bed to relax after 9 I created a Hometalk post for the bread box. S was up after the hockey ended after 11 and remembered at 11:30 the yard gate was still open so ran out to close hoping he did not inadvertently trap them in the yard as so dark. Turns out he didn't :)

SNOW

Upon waking, the ground was covered in a deep, 4-inch + layer of snow. It was a beautiful sight, bright and sunny. S hopped out of bed after 8 a.m. to dress and head over to Matt’s for a meeting. Lori B text at 8:20 a.m. she was done with her doctor’s appointment in Northwest and on her way. I jumped into the shower after feeding all the pets. She arrived at 9 a.m., and I ran and opened the yard gate with soaking wet hair for her. I saw S was coming in too, so I left it open for him. He swapped car for the truck, got some stuff, and headed back to Matt's.

Lori and I enjoyed a 3-hour + catchup, with a couple of coffees for me and water for her as no caffeine being on heart testing. I made us turkey sandwiches before she headed home. While we were eating, an irrigation salesperson arrived to meet with S, who had returned from Matt’s after 11:30 a.m. Lori headed home after 12:30, thanks for the visit my friend of sooooooo many years! XOXO

Now to get to marketing as I have been errant for last 4 days. I got the tutorials on link up parties, answered a fellows questions in regards to custom tiles on Etsy and wrote a Hometalk post for the potato bin.

S finished up with the irrigation guy and then in for lunch. He made a turkey bacon croissant with fruit on the side, which was quite fancy. After his busy day, he went thad a nap in his big brown. When he woke up, he spent several trips to and from Matt’s charging batteries. I asked him to help me carry the coffee table into the kitchen to clean the glass and stage. I then got it posted on sale sites, fingers crossed.

B and Cooper were out doing horse things and restocking feed for a couple of hours mid afternoon before heading home. She took today off and has a nice run of days off. The beauty weather had all the snow gone and the grass turning greener by days end. The Etsy buyer requested 10 more custom tiles, but in different sizes, which I am not sure about.

I cooked up our favourite mushroom soup for supper, while S ran over to Matt’s before and after soup and watching the hockey game.  Well games I guess, I started a new book called Horse Brain Human Brain borrowed from Britt before lights out.