Not much going on today. It’s been raining constantly since the wee hours of the morning.
Heavily.
My daughter and I did head into town this morning. She needed to go to the pharmacy and I, thanks to a timely donation, was able to go to a dollar store to pick up some puppy pads, since we are all out. We’ll have to go back tomorrow for meds that weren’t in stock. For now, the weather forecast no longer says the rain will continue into tomorrow, so I’m hoping to get some winter sowing done, if it’s not too wet. Not much point, if it’s so wet the seeds will just rot away!
With nothing much to write about, here’s a video from Max Miller, Tasting History, to share. He’s doing a “villains” series right now, and this is the newest one, as of this writing.
I love it when he tries a recipe and it turns out to taste awesome.
I also love it when they don’t, because his reactions are hilarious. In fact, I’ll include one of those, too…
The third one in the group looks like something stepped on it, and the fourth I found off to the side doesn’t seem to be getting any bigger. I wonder what kind they are?
We are expected to drop to 3C/37F tonight. Tomorrow, we’re supposed to hit 0C/32F, then 2C/36F the night after, before things are supposed to warm up a little bit overnight. The winter squash are covered and should be okay, but I decided not to bother trying to cover the rest. Instead, I did a harvest.
There is our single White Scallop squash that I’ve been allowing to get bigger. No chance it would get big enough and mature enough for viable seeds, but it is at an edible stage right now.
The peppers and Turkish Orange eggplant, on the other hand, are now set up in the living room to ripen. We’ve had a red pepper and an orange one so far. There are also supposed to be yellow ones in there. The one that’s darkening if from a plant we got a red pepper from. I’m curious to see if the lighter green ones will turn yellow, or if they’re just really immature.
Tomorrow is supposed to be a mix of sun and cloud, with a high of 11C/51F. The day after is supposed to reach a high of 8C/46F. After that, we’re supposed to have highs above 15C/59F. The lows are supposed to be all over the place, but still below 10C/50F. It’s also supposed to be sunny until Sunday, when we’re currently expecting to get rain. Of course, the forecast will be changing from day to day, but it does look like we’ll be able to get more progress in the garden, getting the garlic in, and preparing beds for winter sowing. Normally, I’d say we have a good window of pleasant weather to get that done but, considering how many huge roots I’m finding in the main garden beds I’m prepping, it’s likely to take quite a bit longer than it should!
The predicted rain actually reached us for a change. Our weird climate bubble didn’t push it away. It’s been raining all night and, at past 2pm as I write this, is still sort of raining.
We really could have used rain like this, over the summer!
Unfortunately, I’m finding my window leaks.
It’s the only original window left in the house. Before we moved out here, my brother convinced my mother to have the windows replaced, since sheets of Lexan on the inside just wasn’t cutting it. New windows probably reduced the winter heat bill in this place by a couple hundred dollars a month! She balked, however, at doing the north facing window in what used to be her own bedroom. Too expensive, she said, and refused to pay for it (the living room window, meanwhile, probably cost at least twice as much, just on its own!).
This is actually a pair of windows, side by side, creating a long, wide rectangle together. One half has a screen and we used to be able to open it. At some point, Lexan sheets were installed on this inside. While the turning handle to open the window is still clear, the window itself can no longer be opened – and there’s no point to opening it, since there’s a sheet of Lexan on the inside.
During a driving rain some time ago, I discovered there was a drip between the Lexan and the window on the side that didn’t open. I was supposed to seal it on the outside, but completely forgot. It seems it leaks only if there’s a driving rain in just the right direction, and it didn’t leak again after that one rainfall.
Until today.
The first thing I noticed is that the window on that side is fogged up on the inside. Eventually, I could see the drip.
Some hours later, I sat at my computer, when I realized I was seeing wet all over the top of my printer and the various other things on there. The printer is directly under the window that we used to be able to open.
My first thought is that a cat had gone into the cat bed on top of my drinks fridge, then sprayed over the printer. Because we have cats that are dicks and would do that. Then I saw the drip! I don’t know exactly where the water is getting in, but it seems to be flooding on top of the molding framing the window (this window is in a log wall, so it’s quite deep) enough to travel across and drip on the inside side of the Lexan panel, rather than in between the glass window and the Lexan panel.
*sigh*
Unless we can fine some way to remove the Lexan panels, it’s going to take days for things to dry out once the rain stops. Then I have to get out and put sealant around the window on the outside.
I’m not sure how the Lexan was installed. A frame for the Lexan is screwed directly to the wood framing the two windows. The Lexan sheets, however, are on the inside, against the window frames themselves. Basically, it’s a spacer between the Lexan and the window frames, which means the panels were add after that inner frame was screwed in place. The only alternative would have been removing the windows and putting them back again which, of course, didn’t happen. The panels themselves have their own plastic frames around the edges, and I can’t tell what’s holding them in place against the screwed in spacer frame.
If these can actually just be popped out somehow, that would be helpful. We could then set a fan facing the window to dry things out, and we wouldn’t have to wait for days before sealing up the outside.
We’ll figure it out.
For now, I’ve had to set a towel up on the edge of the window that’s dripping on the inside. It does seem to have finally stopped raining, more or less. It’s supposed to continue until past 4pm, but still potentially have sporadic rain off and on until midnight or so.
We’re actually under two weather advisories right now. One for heavy rain, the other for high winds.
Which is what we definitely had while I was doing my morning rounds!
The cats really appreciated having shelters to go into to eat. The ones that normally like to eat on the cat house roof were willing to use the kibble house, for a change! 😄
Once the bellies were full, the tiniest kittens were back in their new favourite cat bed.
Except for the one that came over to me and was snuggling against my boot!
The tinies might be more than eager for human attention. Blot is now a constant presence in the sun room and the tinies love to cuddle him (her?), but so far I’ve only managed to sneak the odd pet.
The white and grey adult cat on the right of the photo is one of the trio we used to have; Magda, Frank and this one that never got named. Madga, who got spayed, and this one both disappeared, while Frank stayed to have her babies. Then this one came back, looking more grown up and burly, but still quite small. At first, we thought he had an injury beside one ear but, over time, I’m starting to think he’s got really severe ear mites in that ear.
This morning I dug out an umbrella to do my rounds, but I probably should have just worn a hoodie. The winds were so high, they almost yanked it out of my hands. It’s a good thing it’s one of those big golfer’s umbrellas. Anything smaller or of lesser quality would have been flipped inside out.
The weather meant an indoor day, which I suppose worked out. Today is Sunday and is supposed to be my day of rest. If it weren’t for the rain, I would have been back out, digging in the garden, or under the canopy tent, sorting through bins that need to go back into the sun room, or stored somewhere else.
I’m glad I set that taller shelf in front of the bathroom window. The cats are using it to look in, including some of the smaller kittens. It’s just a joy to see my husband coming out of the bathroom, all excited to tell me about which face he saw peeking in the window while he was in there! He’s in so much pain all the time, seeing him happy because of what was really such a little thing to do, is pure gold. If that means converting the entire sunroom over to the cats and storing my tools and supplies elsewhere, it’s more than worth it.
Rainy, cloudy weather like this always makes me sleepy, so once the morning rounds were done, I did end up crashing for a couple of hours.
As I write this, there are twelve cats scattered all over my bed.
This afternoon, I did get one “extra” thing done. I brought out the little bins of green tomatoes we harvested before a frost in early September. Almost all the Chocolate Cherry tomatoes ripened beautifully.
In the second picture, you can see the ones that are still green or under ripe. I’m really impressed with how these turned out! Chocolate Cherry tomatoes seem to do quite well in our area, even if they get harvested really early and really green.
The other bin had the Black Beauty and Sub Arctic Plenty tomatoes in it. The larger Black Beauties had ripened, but the smaller ones just sort of started to dry out, instead. The Sub Arctic Plenty tomatoes did ripen… sort of. The larger ones ripened but started going bad at the same time. Some of the smaller ones got to orange before they started drying out. Others didn’t change at all. They just got wizened. So there weren’t many of those to set aside for eating or cooking, and the rest went into the compost bucket.
Well, it does look like the rain has actually stopped for now. I should take advantage of that and head outside for my evening rounds, feed the ferals and see if we lost any more trees or branches.
I’m not sure why CPP Disability came in a day early, but I wasn’t about to complain. I just took advantage of it and made a run into the city.
With the work being done on the truck, plus the door replacement (still no word on the new, correct size, door that was ordered), it’s going to be a tight month, and we will be skipping Costco. Instead, I did the usual Walmart and Canadian Tire run, then his a Superstore along the same route.
My first stop was the Walmart. This is what $168.62 looks like.
Yeah. Not much.
The most expensive item was a box of 150 puppy pads. The Costco box is 100, but the pads are the same size.
Then there was the 9kg bag of kibble. I got just the one, for the inside cats, because I was planning to hit the feed store for 40 pounds bags for the outside cats.
Then there were two cases of 32 cans of wet cat food. One is for the outside cats, but I only use one can a day, mixes with hot water and powdered pumpkin seeds, which I then used to soften their morning kibble.
Last of all was a package of toilet paper that was on sale. Oh, and a $2 donation at the till.
So… five times (not counting the donation) was over $150.
*sigh*
My next stop was the Canadian Tire. This is what $0 looks like.
I looked all over but couldn’t find the sump pump hose I was looking for. I finally snagged someone and asked. It turned out they should have been in an empty shelf I’d walked past several times. Because the labels were so low to the ground, I never saw them. After looking it up, the guy said he would get one for me from their warehouse. When he came back, he had three, so he could restock the shelf.
I was just walking away with my one in the cart when I decided I’d better get a second one, just in case.
While going through the checkout, I paid for two bags of litter pellets, where were set up in the exit vestibule, so I picked those up on the way out.
I use my Canadian Tire dollars to pay for the entire thing, so what would have cost $53.72, cost me nothing.
After the Canadian Tire, I hit a Domo to fill the tank. The price of regular was $1.299, but it was Thursday, which was 4¢ off per liter day. Grand total to fill was $76.34
Last of all was the Superstore. This is what $284.73 looks like… sort of!
There’s actually more in there than it appears, as the bread is covering some things.
Under grocery, there’s a large jug of cooking oil, a giant bag of elbow macaroni, some mayo and a packet of rice noodles for the girls. The Monster was for me to drink during the drive home.
Under dairy, there’s a flat of eggs, and large blocks of Old Cheddar and Mozza cheese. We used to be able to get blocks that size at Costco, but they don’t seem to carry them anymore. I got 6 pounds of butter (they were on sale, but with a limit of one, so 5 of them were regular price). In the frozen section, I got two big bags of potato and cheese perogies and a back of mixed vegetables.
The bulk chocolate almonds were to snack on, on the way home. It was a very small bag.
The only produce I got on this trip was two bags of avocadoes that were at a very good price.
In meats and seafood, I got fish fillets for the girls, chicken thighs and drumsticks, a large ham, a frozen pork roast, a package of pork ribs and another of pork tenderloins. I don’t know why it’s under “meal replacement”, but I also got a hot rotisserie chicken.
I also picked up a frozen turkey that was free with a purchase over $300, so I wanted to make sure I reached that $300 mark, even though I tend to round up when I keep a tally in my head.
In the bakery, I got a couple of loaves of light rye bread and a back of torpedo buns. I don’t know what it is about their torpedo buns (labelled as “buns Italian” on the receipt) but the entire family absolutely loves them, and you get a LOT for the $5!
When I got to the till, though, I discovered I had rounded up too much, and the total was under $300! No free turkey. After finding out how much I was short, I went to a display I’d been standing next to while waiting in line and got two different tins of moon cakes; one with double yolks. That put me over, and I got my free turkey – and a rare treat for the family.
I did have things go a bit weird while I was in line, though. Because the lines were so long, I pushed my cart forward in line, then stood beside it, so I wouldn’t be blocking the aisle. I intended to step around when it came time to move forward and unload.
An older woman then got in line behind me, pushing her cart forward and forward and forward, until the end of her cart was under the handle of mine. Strange, but okay. We started chatting at one point, when she commented that she has to watch her cart. She forgets how long it is and has a habit of bumping into people. !! Okay.
Then things moved along and I was able to move my cart forward to the belt and start unloading.
She pushed her cart right up under my cart’s handle again.
Once the cart was empty and the customers ahead of me were done, I moved forward to the cashier, giving her my loyalty card.
I’ve been using that card for years, but it came up as not activated. I’ll have to phone them to find out what’s going on.
Once I had my card back, I pushed my cart to the end and started reloading it (I bag my stuff at my vehicle) as quickly and efficiently as I could, so it wouldn’t build up on the belt. When it came time for the total and to ring in my free turkey, she let me know I hadn’t reached the $300 mark. So I decided to grab the moon cakes.
No one in the line was willing to just pass them over to me, so I had to squeeze my way past the old lady’s cart to get through and get them, then squeeze back again.
She made zero effort to move her cart closer to the till. I’m no skinny minny, but even a thin person would have had a hard time getting by.
Whatever. I got them, the cashier rang them through while I continued to put things in my cart.
The old lady had moved forward and was standing right at where I needed to be to pay.
Both the cashier and I told her I needed to reach the PIN pad. She moved back…
But pushed her cart forward.
In the end, I had to first move my loaded cart forward, then move the old lady’s cart to the end of the belt, where my cart had been, just so I could get back in to use the PIN pad.
The thing that made it seem weirder is that I got no impression that she was someone dealing with cognitive issues or some such, and her comment about running into people showed she was aware. She may have been older than me, but probably not by all that much. Maybe 10 years or so? I don’t like to guess, since I have a mother who’s 94 but could easily pass as being in her 70’s. It just seemed… almost deliberate.
Maybe I’m just too used to dealing with my mother, who absolutely would do stuff like that, deliberately.
Anyhow.
So I got all that, it came to under $300 total, and I got my free turkey!
That cart looks pretty empty for that much, but most of the meat in there is covered, along with all the butters.
Once that was all loaded up, it was time to head home. I took the route that would take me through my mother’s town, instead of my usual route from this location, because I knew I’d have to make a pit stop at a gas station just outside the city. I was well on my way when my cell phone started to ring.
There’s pretty much only one place that calls my cell phone, so I pulled over to answer.
Yup. It was home care.
There was a cancellation and they did have my mother’s med assists covered by someone else, but that someone else wouldn’t be able to get to my mother’s until 9:45pm for her bed time med assist. The scheduler was concerned that would be too late for her.
I felt she was right – and since I was on my way home from the city and would be driving through my mother’s town anyhow, I decided I would stop by. Home care isn’t allowed to do this, but I can get her meds out and set them up for her in advance. Her supper med assist would come as usual, but no one would have to come for the bed time assist.
That worked out and she was able to cancel the super late bed time assist. I then phoned my mother and – making sure she knew I was pulled over on the side of he road and couldn’t talk long – let her know I’d be stopping by soon. I also made sure she knew I had groceries in the truck and couldn’t stay long.
Yeah, I’m really looking forward to having a cover on the truck box again. I had the frozen stuff and all the cold meats in covered insulated bags in the truck box. Heavy enough I had no worried that they’d blow around or slide around, but it would have been very easy for someone walking by to just reach in and grab a bag or two, heavy as they might be.
When I got to my mother’s, I made sure to bring a bag along. After getting her meds ready and we were chatting, I went into her kitchen and started taking down the stockpile of Pepto my brother got for her, that made her so very angry, into the bag I’d brought. She asked what I was doing and I told her, I’m taking them because they are bothering her. She asked if I was taking them here to the farm, and I said yes. She then pointed out the obvious, that it made no difference if they were at her place or our place and I just said, they’re bothering her.
She started going into her spiel about how these are medicine, they don’t last, they need to be kept cool, etc. I looked at the expiry date and told her, these are good for more than two years (it’s actually a best before date, not an expiry date, but I wasn’t about to try and explain the difference to her). They don’t need to go into the fridge, because they’re a mineral. My daughter even has a piece in her collection. That got her curious, so I looked up pictures of bismuth – the only active ingredient listed in Pepto – to show her. They are such gorgeous stones, too. I think that sort of mollified her, but who knows for how long!
She did ask me to leave one bottle in her cupboard; they came packed in pairs, and my brother had one pair unwrapped, with the open one now in her fridge. I took the time to show her that the only difference between what my brother got for her and what I’d picked up for her from the pharmacy (after checking the labels to confirm) is that I had picked up extra strength, and the ones my brother got were regular strength. That gave me the opportunity to remind her to use the cup they come with to get the proper dose, instead of just using a teaspoon, like she usually does. I’m kinda hoping it sunk in, but it’s hard to say.
Then I headed home, with six bottles of Pepto, and my brother no longer has to worry that my mother will follow through with her immediate idea of selling the “extra”.
I just quickly looked it up. The twin packs of Pepto at Superstore, where my brother found some in stock, cost about $25 each, before taxes, and that’s a much better price that buying them in singles. My brother spent over $100 on Pepto for my mother, so she wouldn’t run out. I think, if she knew that, she probably would have gotten even angrier.
*sigh*
Anyhow, that’s our stock up shopping trip for the month. Anything else we need will be smaller trips throughout the month for fresh stuff. It’s a shame the garden had so little production this year, as there’s little to supplement, and nothing to freeze or can. Ah, well. As I finish clearing up the beds, I’ll be harvesting both winter sown and spring sown carrots. It should be interesting to compare!
I’m still holding out hope for at least a couple of winter squash before the cold kills them. My daughter and I headed out to cover them again for the night while I was still writing this. It’s not supposed to get as cold as last night, so we didn’t cover the summer squash, peppers or remaining eggplant this time. We’re actually supposed to warm up again, and even get pretty hot, over the next week, so there’s hope for those winter squash, still!
But I digress.
We didn’t get a whole lot on this trip, compared to a typical Costco trip, but I did find quite a lot of prices seemed to be better at Superstore. They also have more selection and variety.’
Plus, they have torpedo buns. 😄
I wonder if it’s worthwhile to try going to their Wholesale Club location. The last time I went there, the prices didn’t really seem to be any better in general, and some of their meat was looking… questionable… but they do have things there that aren’t in their regular stores. It would mean an extra trip to the city, though, and I just don’t like doing those like I used to! Plus, if we make them too often, the trips are no longer worth the cost of gas to do them.
I do have a trip to the city on Oct. 1, though. That’s my appointment at the sports injury clinic to possibly get an injection for my left hip. Then there’s another trip, the week after, as my daughter finally gets to see an endocrinologist. Ah, well.
I’m really hoping to be able to hibernate as much as possible this winter!
The Re-Farmer
Addendum: I completely forgot! You may have noticed that I got no beef at all on this trip. This is an example of why.
That’s three chunks of Oxtail. OXTAIL. At over $30/kg. They did have other packages that were less per kg, but they had no meat on them. This used to be among the cheapest of cuts. Even cheaper than stew meat or ground beef. Now, it’s right up there with steak. Crazy!
Plans changed and I ended up in the city today, doing a stock up shop. As soon as I was able to, I was back out in the garden to finish that bed. It was pretty much full dark by the time I finished.
I need to drop the truck off for the MPI work early tomorrow morning, so I’ll be skipping my usual shopping post and updates and try to head to bed early, instead. I’ll to the updates tomorrow!
Until then, I hope you had a wonderful day, and I’ll “see” you tomorrow! 😊
I originally thought both pieces were from the same tree, but I was wrong. The piece that fell on the hawthorn was actually from the tree that was holding up the other piece!
The first order of business was to get the piece on the hawthorn clear. I didn’t stop to take pictures, mostly because I was more focused on not getting stabbed. At one point, while cutting sections of the dead branch clear, I felt something on my chest. Looking town, I found a twig of hawthorn had come loose and a single 2-3 inch long thorn was stabbing me, right in the sternum! Also, thank goodness I always wear a hat!
Thankfully, that living fence my mother planted years ago isn’t just hawthorn, but also caragana. Those were much easier to work around! Still, it was very careful going before I cut enough free that I could move the rest of the log off. A few broken hawthorn branches had to be cut off. Those ended up on the branch pile just past the fence by the fire pit. No way those were going onto the branch pile meant for the fire pit!
In the process I realized the piece that was hung up on the branch above was so long, its end was actually entangled with the one I cut up and got free! After the shorter section was down, I decided to go ahead and try to get the other one down. It was too high up for me to use my baby chainsaw (electric pruning saw with a 4″ blade) to cut into smaller sections first, so I got the extended pole pruning saw. There was no way to actually cut anything with it – it all just swung and bounced around – but I was able to use the hook at the end of the saw and simply yank on it.
Still hung up at the top, and held in place by two branches.
The extended pole pruning saw was at maximum length; the knobs to loosen or tighten the clamp so the length could be adjusted broke off long before we moved here. While using it to pull at the branches, it would shift and spin, with the weight resting on first one branch, then the other, before the two sections of the extended pole finally separated. I didn’t feel like getting pliers to deal with that, plus it was obviously going to take more than yanking on it with the hook to get the whole thing down. Time to shift gears.
What I needed was rope, and a fairly long one. With how much the whole thing was spinning, its fall would be completely unpredictable, and I needed to keep my distance.
I found some rope in the old garden shed. I tied it on the smaller branch that was holding the entire weight and was able to shift it a bit, but it wasn’t enough. In the end, I made a stop cut in the branch a few feet above ground, then shifted the rope near the cut. That way, when I next pulled on the rope (with my end of the rope wrapped around a stick to make a handle), the smaller branch would break and the whole thing could drop. Which is exactly what it did.
Right on top of the other side of the Y branch.
Okay. I’ll just tie the rope to the end, near the ground, and pull it up. There was hardly any contact with the big tree branch that it was leaning against at the top, so it should have been fairly easy.
It wasn’t.
Every time I shifted the branch, the end would dig deeper into the soil rather than lifting up.
I even used a nearby tree to wrap the rope around, then used the stick I was using as a handle around the rope on the other side of my handy tree to get extra torque.
It still just dug deeper.
I had to find a different solution.
After ensuring it was safe to do so, I made a pair of stop cuts on opposite sides of the branch, a few feet above ground, and with a couple of inches of space between them. Then I set the rope in between the stop cuts and went back to my tree.
The branch broke at the stop cuts and the whole thing came down, falling in the opposite direction that I was pulling from. It didn’t even land on the hawthorn, but on the ground beside it!
As for the section of branch below the stop cuts, it was still sticking up from the ground. After pulling it up and seeing just how far it had been driven into the soil, it was no wonder pulling from the bottom couldn’t work!
I broke down all the smaller pieces and made two piles; one for fire wood, the other for kindling. The pieces that were too big for my baby chainsaw would have to wait. I’ll break those down with the chain saw or, if I’m not up to dragging an extension cord across the yard, with a buck saw. For now, they’ve just been moved aside. These have been dead for quite a long time and are completely dry, so they weren’t particularly heavy – at least not like it was while the entire weight was balanced on a couple of inches!
In the last picture of the slide show above, I have arrows pointing to where the branches had broken off from. The tree on the left lost its other section a few years back, in the winter, landing on top of the canopy tent we had near the fire pit for winter cookouts. With this other section broken off, that dead tree can now be safely cut down without any risk of it getting hung up on anything as it comes down.
The other tree on the right still has a section that is alive, but there’s another large section that’s dead. That one has grown off into the row of elm trees behind the storage house. We don’t have the equipment needed to safely take it down in sections.
There’s a third tree on the far left of the photo that is also got dead sections. That tree is the largest of the three and one of the dead branches is massive. It also stretches out over the open yard, so that part at least will not require any special equipment to get it down. I do want to leave part of it up. It’s almost horizontal from the trunk, which makes a great place for the cats to hang out. The fact that it’s so thick, my chainsaw would not be able to cut through it at the trunk without getting creative has a bit to do with it, too!
Before working on this, I’d already gotten quite a few other things done in garden clean up. My daughter helped me with the awkward stuff, like straightening and untangling the netting and getting that rolled up for storage. We also got the catio moved closer to the house, and I got a whole bunch of other little things done. By the time I got the pieces of tree down and cleaned up, I’ve been working outside for several house, so I was done.
While I tried to be pre-emptive before going to bed, the exertion did catch up with me and I started to get hit with a Charlie horse during the night. A mild one, thankfully, and some Voltaren took care of it rather quickly.
Still, I decided today would be a good day to avoid more physical exertion. It has turned out to be a dreary day, anyhow. Which has suited the mood, really. I’ve been fighting tears for most of the day. I’ve never been affected by the death of someone I don’t know personally like this before. It’s more than just Charlie Kirk, who was such an amazing person, nor the circumstances of his assassination. It’s the culmination of something that I’ve been watching build up for years. It’s not just grief, but anger, too. Being in Canada is no barrier, either. While leftists have been celebrating the assassination, there are already people saying that Premier Danielle Smith of Alberta should be “next”. If anything, leftists here in Canada are worse, as they hold more institutional power.
I have no illusions about the evil we’re dealing with. I’ve seen it far too often, and I’ve been threatened myself. I’m long past the stage where I can be intimidated and, my goodness, do these leftists loose their s**t when someone stands up to them rather than bend the knee.
In the end, though, they are cowards. It takes a special kind of coward to do what was done to Charlie Kirk.
I came in from working outside to devastating news about the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
And the leftists cheering.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. The left is filled with hatred and called for violence, while accusing “the right” (meaning, anyone who doesn’t bend the knee to them) of every evil thing they are.
I truly don’t understand how anyone can still support the political left anymore, unless they are evil themselves. Especially those who are genuinely liberal.
As for those on the left who have been constantly calling for assassinations like this, every single one of them needs to be charged with inciting violence. Including the mainstream media and left wing politicians. No one is above the law, right? How many more assassinations, attempted assassinations and mass shootings need to happen before these evil, demonic people are held accountable for the consequences of their actions?
This next one was made before Charlie passed, and the left was already celebrating.
This one was also made before his death was confirmed.
A large chunk of a dead maple finally break off and landed on the hawthorn living fence. I’m impressed that the hawthorn is holding the weight! Another section cracked as well, but it’s being held up by the still living section of another maple.
This tree has been dead for a while. The main trunk is still solid, and, I made sure to debark the lower section of it so no carpenter ants would start compromising the wood. As for the branches that came down, it was just a matter of time.
I’ve been wanting to cut this dead tree down, as well as the dead sections of the ones on either side of it, for some time. The problem was one of, how to do it without causing more damage. I knew part of it could only fall onto the hawthorn; there was no other direction it could fall. I also knew the other part would get hung up on the other tree. Again, there was no other direction it could fall. In the video, you can see another broken off part of the trunk. That came down a few years ago, landing right on top of a canopy tent we had near the fire pit.
Well, looks like I have a clean up job for today. At the very least, I want to get the section off the hawthorn without causing more damage.
The tree that’s holding up the other section is also partially dead. The dead section stretches off in the other direction, right into some nearby elms, so it would get hung up on the branches if we try to cut it away.
The alternative, of course, is to hire a tree company that has the equipment needed to get right up there and take it down in sections. Something that would be very expensive. If we’re going to hire a tree company, the priority would be to remove the tree in front of the house that’s overhanging the roof. These trees by the fire pit area a lot lower on the priority list!
Hmm… I might not be cleaning this up today, after all. Checking the weather for the day. Not only did we end up a lot colder than expected last night, but our expected high is now only 8C/46F, and it’s supposed to start raining in about half an hour, and continue raining until 7pm.
Our chain saw is a corded electric. Not going to have extension cords running across the yard to work in the rain!
From what I could see, this tree was the only thing that came down during the night. Thankfully, the winds have died down, so we wouldn’t be having any more dead trees breaking or falling for at least a little while!
Well, the installers for our new door on the main entry were expected at about 9:30am, and got here half an hour early. They got to work right away.
It’s about 9:40am right now, and they are gone.
The guy was so, so apologetic, but the door that was ordered is the wrong size. There is just no way they can get the new door and frame into the space. Part of the issue is that they would need to install a new header. Another issue is the stucco.
I would actually have been good with a bigger door. Ours is 34″. The new door is 36″. Apparently, 34″ doors are pretty rare these days.
They offered to find a way to make the old door smaller so they could put back on until a proper sized door came in, but I explained the frost and moisture damage to the door. They also offered to put some foam in the door for now. I told him, that was not a problem – we were already using foam insulation to barricade the entry from the cats, so he could see we already had some. We won’t need to use it, though, as we already have a piece cut to size, and even with a space cut so we could have the hose running out the storm door when we did laundry in the winter. Yes, we’re still going that. The girls are convinced that if we use the drain pipe, it’ll just back up and flood the entry again.
So, we are still without a proper door in the main entry. Just the storm door. For which I am thankful! Without that, we’d have had to board the doorway up somehow.
He said he would see if they can do a rush order on a replacement door, as it can take a while for them to be made. I hadn’t realized their doors are actually custom made on order. I was thinking something like Home Depot, where they have entire aisles of doors and pre-hung doors, interior and exterior, that you can just buy then and there. I guess it makes sense. A small town hardware store has neither the space, nor the sales, to warrant keeping that sort of inventory on hand.
On the plus side for me, is… I can go for a nap. I didn’t get much sleep last night. Mostly because of cats going nuts, including Tin Whistle getting the zoomies across me in bed.
I just need to go close up the gate first. Then sleep! Hopefully.
We really need to do something about having so many cats.
I headed to the city shortly after 10am, stopping at a gas station at my mother’s town along the way, only to pick up a drink and a road snack to tide me over. I tried a new brand of beef jerky.
I should have gotten the hint when there was no price. In fact, none of the beef jerky, nor most of their snack mixes have prices on display.
It turned out to be almost $21.
Along with the super large Monster energy drink I got, it came to just over $26 after taxes and enviro fees.
It was good jerky, at least, but I won’t be buying it again! I only had a few pieces and the rest is in its sealed bag in the console where we keep things like water bottles, road snacks, extra tissue boxes, extra wet wipes, etc.
When I got to the city, my first stop was at a mall for “breakfast” in the food court. I ended up getting a three item Chinese food meal and a drink – about $16 and change – but only ate half of it. The other half was my supper when I got home.
Before going to the Costco, I swung through the Dollarama that’s right by the food court (I don’t think I’ve ever checked out the rest of the mall) and the doors I parked near. I ended up getting a few things there; four shoe-box sized storage boxes with lids, a refill bottle of liquid soap, and a 4L jug of cleaning vinegar. They have the 10% acidity vinegar that I’d been looking for. The grocery store had only 7% acidity cleaning vinegar. (4% is cooking vinegar and 5% is pickling vinegar) The 10% is noticeably better at descaling our kettle, that’s for sure!
I also picked up a couple more clear vinyl table protectors for the garden. Or for winterizing cat shelters. Either one. I’ll probably pick up more before the snow flies.
I ended up buying another hard sized bag to carry the stuff, and my breakfast leftovers, to the truck. I have lots in the truck but hadn’t expected to get things like the vinegar or soap refills, so I hadn’t brought any with me. Usually, I just take my cart to the truck and pack things up there, but the Dollarama carts can’t leave the store.
That done, I finally drove the couple of blocks over to the Costco, with my first stop being for gas. Their gas was at $1.329 instead of the $1.449 everywhere else in the city, so they were pretty busy! I was just under half a tank, and my fill cost $61.54
Once that was done, I was fortunate enough to find a parking spot right away. Yay! With the long weekend coming up, the lot was pretty full.
This is a “family size” package of stew meat. We used to get these all the time. I remember getting this size for under $20. Now, that same size pack costs in the $60 range – and this was NOT the biggest pack in the display.
This is what I DID get.
I got six 9.1kg/20lb bags of kibble. They had the 11kg size, but the Kirkland brand is a better price/gram. I also got a 48 pack of wet cat food and more puppy pads. The cat supplies all together totaled $223.32 before taxes.
*sigh*
The other stuff on the flat cart they scanned included a case of Coke Zero for my husband and I, a case of Monster that my daughter will pay me back for, a 3 pk of oat milk for my daughters, toilet paper, paper towels and a double flat of 60 eggs.
For meats, I got a chub of ground beef and a pork blade roast. I got a pork loin, and plan to try something different with it. I was able to find and get curing salt a couple of weeks ago, so I’m going to try curing it. I also got a couple of 3 pks of Spam (that’s sure gone up in price, too!).
In dairy, I got 4 pounds of butter and Old Cheddar cheese.
For breads, I got two 2pks of rye bread and two packs of wraps. There is also a big case of spaghetti, a big jar of mayonnaise and popcorn. I remembered to get some fabric softener sheets for the drier; that three pack will last use a few years. Last of all, I got a Tuxedo cake. My husband’s birthday is in the beginning of September, so he’ll be getting his cake early!
And… that’s it.
That’s $619.41 before taxes. Of that, $259.94 was actual food for us (not counting beverages).
For the month.
Good grief.
True, we did do an earlier stock up trip at the international grocery store where the only non-food items were some hair accessories, on sale, for my daughter. Costco is also the place were we get the big stuff, like the paper products, along with the cat supplies, and typically bulk sized meats.
Kitten interruption: I went to chase raccoons out of the sun room. The foundling kittens were all crying in distress. No sign of a mama, and the creche mothers weren’t going into the cat cage, though Lady Hypotenose was nursing 5 or 6 older kittens in the middle of the sun room. We don’t have kitten formula, so my daughter and I ended up making “kitten soup” with a can of wet cat food and fed them, one at a time in the bathroom, using a syringe. They were confused by the whole thing, but were very hungry. In my last check on them, they had settled in together in the cat bed and seemed to be calming down with full little bellies.
On the down side, I think there are still four very stupid little raccoons jammed between the counter shelf and the window!
Back to our regular programming…
So this trip did go over our Costco budget, even though we got less than typical. Frustrating. Especially since we’re supposed to be stocking up extra in the pantry to tide us over for the winter, should we get snowed in or something again.
*sigh*
Well, it is what it is. We’ll work things out. We’ve been in tighter spots before.
Excuse me while I go chase some skunks out of the sun room…
The Re-Farmer 