Eleven pounds gone!

Well "he" has lost eleven pounds to date, bless him. Says he is starved to death all the time. It's going to be difficult the next few days as his friend is visiting from Nova Scotia and there is lots of great food and wine around. Pouring rain today but had to go out and fill the feeders. The birds are eating so much these days it seems I spend half my time putting food out for them. Two of them nearly knocked me off the ladder as I was filling two feeders. Cheeky devils, some of them have no fear of me. Needless to say I got soaked to the skin. Chilly inside this morning so have the woodstove going. Very cozy. Dreading winter, so much shovelling and it goes on for so long.

Frustrating Morning

I'm not sure if it's good or bad to be able to vent ones frustrations on a Blog, never the less, here I go. Now, the thing is, me and my partner can not work together. Maybe I should say that he doesn't mind working with me but I can't stand working with him. If he puts something together it's all cockeyed, not measured right and if it takes two nails or screws he will put ten. I'm not saying that I can do everything perfectly, but I can see how things work far better. So.....I bought a new medicine cabinet for the bathroom. I was hoping to put it up myself while he was out of the house, but for some god forsaken reason I decided to put it up this morning while "he" was here. First, the screws he was trying to put on were too fat for the holes provided, then as he was putting the screws through the back of the cabinet, it fell, as he needed three hands, and commenced blaming me for not being right there. Ok, so I held the cabinet up for him. Ah, all done, only problem is I have to stand on my toes to be able to see in the mirror. Of course, being taller, he says he can see in perfectly well and doesn't know what my problem is. Rather than go through the whole process again I decide to let it remain as it is. Now, I had also bought a nice little wooden shelf cabinet to go under the medicine cabinet. He goes and gets that saying we might as well put this one up now too. I say, "Why don't you go for your walk and I will look after putting this one up." No chance!! So I'm told to measure the distance the holes are apart, mark the wall, etc. No, I'm told I have it measured wrong. Ok, I say, you measure it. He does. I'm watching and tell him he has it measured wrong. No, he says, he has it right. Ok, I say, put the screws in and try it, it's not going to go on right. He does and realizes that the thing won't go on the wall as the screws are too far apart. So, now he tells me to measure it, ha, I do. He puts the screw in the right place but down too low, which I remark on to no avail. That done the wooden shelf cabinet goes up. Unfortunately, it's all ascrew as one side is lower than the other. I had to walk away from it all. I let him struggle with it on his own and now finally it's all up, over and done with. I suppose I shouldn't complain too much, he is good at some things, bless him.

Fat flying off and other stuff

Well, he's been dieting for three days now and has lost five pounds. Granted, that's mostly water, however he says he is encouraged. I think this will keep him going for another while. I've noticed that this year in the garden there are more bugs than ever before, some I haven't really seen since I was a child growing up when there were all kind of insects flying and walking around during the summer months. It seems the garden is settling into a comfortable harmony. I was outside collecting seeds yesterday when I heard the sound of wood hitting wood. Couldn't figure for the life of me what it was. It was spooky as otherwise it was very quiet outside except for the sounds the birds were making. I started walking around, following the sound when I saw what it was. The squirrel had finally figured out how to get into the squirrel feeder and as he got the food out, the top of the feeder would come down and knock against the bottom part. I was so pleased with his success, I just stood there watching. It's a glorious day here now so I'm off to cut back the herbs and tie them up into bundles for drying.

So much to do!

Well, it's a miserable rainy day. The cats are all curled up asleep on beds and chairs. Partner is napping, and I'm thinking of all the things I have to do and want to do in the coming months. Although the days have been relatively warm, the nights are getting quite cool and the feel of fall is in the air. Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day so as I had a lot of plants started from seed and still in pots I decided it was time to put them in the ground. Spent the morning moving other plants to other areas to make room for the new ones. This meant digging, lifting, and carting soil from the compost heap to the new areas. I was beat by noon as I usually go at this stuff like a mad person and want it all done yesterday. At least I had a feeling of acomplishment when I finished. I lay down after lunch for a bit of a read and two hours later, woke up. I've started collecting seed from some of the plants and the next fine day I have to cut large bunches of herbs and hang them up to dry. I do this every year and the only place I have to dry them is the small guest bedroom. Needless to say for a period of time the room is packed with drying herbs but I love the smells and it only takes a couple of weeks before I can bag them. Then I have to get to the beach to get a load of sea oat grasses to make Bridget Crosses. I have to cut alder branches to make Dream Catchers and I have to make up a pile of Protection Kits. That's for starters! Next month, I have to amend the earth in most of the gardens, cut back plants and move some to better areas. Then a general tidying up until next spring. I'm hoping to get back to painting over the winter and am also considering writing a childrens book. Something I've been putting on the back burner for some time. I bought a bunch of jointed teddy bears and I want to make clothes for them so I can give them as gifts. Don't know how much of this I will accomplish before the spring seed catalogues start arriving, then I will be lost altogether. My partner was told by the doctor today that he has high cholesterol, triglycerides and sugar in his blood so he has to go on a strict diet. Ha, ha, and ha! I just heard him say he was going to the store to buy a lemon pie. He will start his diet tomorrow, he says. Well, the rain looks like it's held up for awhile so must try to do a few things outside.