Dear Neighbor . . .

 

(source)

 JULY 03, 2026

Estate Lane

Nova Scotia

20*C/68*F

High today 29*C/84.2*F

A sunny, sunny day

Dear Neighbor,

This is one of those July mornings that make me think of the sound of screen doors slamming and bare feet padding across the shiny cool linoleum of the kitchen floor.  Oh how the years have flown by. You never think that they will. You think you have all the time in the world and then  . . .  you have somehow without even noticing gotten to a ripe old age and the years have passed by seemingly in the blink of an eye.

I always loved to go barefoot in the summer, kicking off my rubber  sandals and running across the coolness of the grass with the sunlight breaking through the full blown leaves above, dappling the top of my head with light and shade . . . the slight rustle of the leaves brushing against each other tickling my ears. 

Summer days . . .  they stretched before us seemingly with no-end in sight  . . .  no school, hours and hours of sunlight and nothing to do but have fun, play games with our friends, swim, ride our bicycles, go on impromptu picnics, etc. Time  . . .  nothing but time to spend in fun and frolic. Nothing to worry about.  Freedom  . . .  glorious freedom from the responsibilities of school and all that entailed. It would be weeks before we missed it. For now  . . .  play, play and play some more.

 

(source)

The month of July will bring both of my older sons and their families over for holidays.  I am not sure but what they won't be here at the same time. I think Doug's family will be here from the 9th to the 14th, and Anthony and them will be coming over a bit later for his father's family reunion. They may overlap a bit.  I am sure I will get to see them all at some point.  I have not heard much from either lately, but then they are busy with the kids and I have been busy with Eileen.

I never got to go to camp or camping when I was growing up. Our mother was not a person who tolerated being outdoors. Too many bugs, etc. I remember being taken to the beach once, in Gimli, Manitoba. I am sure the whole experience was hellish for our mom. 

I, myself, have only been camping once. It was when we lived in London, Ontario. My ex husband was working at Camp Ipperwash for the summer with the cadets and he brought us out to stay for a few days. We stayed exactly one night. It was hellish. lol  

Someone had loaned us a tent trailer to sleep in. None of the zips worked and we got eaten alive by mosquitoes all night. Nobody slept.  The next morning we sat in their dining tent while he went to check something at his office. I remember waiting for hours for him to get back. Our son Doug was only about 9 months old. We had nothing to eat and I remember feeling really miserable. In the meantime he was having a shower, eating breakfast with his buddies, etc. (Yes, he was an ignorant so and so.) That did it for me. I never wanted to ever camp again. Not ever.  

My kids used to go to Christian Camp when they got older. And then eventually Amanda and Doug worked as counselors at the camps. I remember the first year my youngest son went to Christian Camp, he broke his arm the very first day falling off the top bunk. He insisted on staying, nevertheless. Cast and all. His sister Amanda kept an eye on him.

Anyways, camping and I do not get along well together. If I am going to go on a holiday it is going to be with a proper bed and a decent bathroom.

One of Eileen's workers sent me this photo that one of Eileen's friends took of Dad at Tim Hortons. She thought it was a nice photograph and wanted to share it with me.  I agree, it is a lovely photograph of dad.  He goes to Tim Hortons pretty much every day. My sister drives him over and drops him off and then goes back to pick him up after an hour or so. He has a cup of tea and a doughnut usually.   His hearing is very poor so he usually doesn't talk much to anyone, but he smiles a lot and he is acknowledged which is good. When he used to go to the mall he was usually ignored. It is good for him to get out of the house and have a change of scenery. 

His life has gotten very narrow . . . that happens when your mobility decreases and with his hearing being so bad, it has gotten even narrower.  He doesn't drive at all any more, which is a good thing as I do not think he would be a safe driver. His sight is not great and his hearing is almost non-existent. You need both if you are going to drive.

I snapped this photograph of Cinnamon relaxing after dinner last night. Her two front paws were crossed in front of her and as you can see she had one of her back legs stretched out behind her. She was very comfortable. Eileen is going to miss Cinnamon and Nutmeg a lot when she moves out, and I am sure they will also miss her.  She plans on getting her own cat at some point. We will see. First we have to get her settled into her apartment.

Yesterday she went with one of her workers to Dollarama and bought a few things. Some kitchen utensils and baking pans. She got some rubber gloves and dusting cloths. Bit by bit. She does need to get a broom, mop, bucket, etc. Eventually she will have all in place. There are so many things you don't think about until you are actually living in a place. It will all get sorted.

She has been doing her diamond art daily. She really enjoys it and it keeps her hands and mind busy.  It is a great hobby for her. I am almost tempted to do it, but for my eyes being the way that they are and then what would I do with anything I made??? I have no space or time for it. She makes some very pretty things though. She is very good at it.

 

(source)

It is Cindy's birthday on Monday. I guess we will be celebrating it on Sunday. I would have liked to do something here for her, but to be honest with Eileen here it is a bit difficult.  Also it is so hard to get Dad in and out of the house. It is better for him to just stay at hers. I have ordered a Coconut Cream pie from Pelton's for her which I will pick up tomorrow and take over on Sunday.  I have gotten her something really nice for her Birthday, which I cannot tell you what it is. (Hard for me to do. lol) But I can tell you after I give it to her. I did get Dad a card to give to her from him, but I haven't been able to get it to him yet.  I suppose I will just slip into his room on Sunday and he can get it ready then.

Oh, to have a life where these are the largest problems we have to suffer through. We really are blessed. I know.

 

(source)

Sheila remains in hospital and has not yet been transferred to the hospital here in town. They are waiting for a bed to open up. As far as I know she is doing quite well.  I need to call the neighbor across the way to find out for sure.  

I really am out of the loop, but that's on me.

I need to be more pro-active in finding things out.

I stay too much to myself.

 

(source)

I do not know what happens to my days. I seem to fritter them away with this and that and accomplish not much at all if anything. I have not done any writing in my journals or sewing, painting, etc. and yet my days disappear in a whiff of smoke. There are so many things I want to get done and need to get done but I don't seem to be able to get started on them. I am in a stupor of activity I guess. It used to be that by this time of the morning I was dressed and my bed was made and I was ready to begin on the rest of my day, but here I sit and none of those things have been done.  My mind drifts a lot these days and I find myself getting easily distracted. I need to work harder to stay focused. 

I had bought some book-keeping journals that I was planning on sorting but they sit there unopened. I really need to do better. I got locked out of my CRA account (Government Tax account) months and months ago. Apparently mine was one of a number of accounts that was compromised and I just have not been able to get back in. The concentration it would take for me to do so seems elusive, or I have gotten really lazy. I don't know which, but one of them is true. I need to do better.

I really don't have much more to say this morning and I know I have wasted a lot of time writing what I have written which really isn't much of anything, so I apologize for that.  I guess some days/weeks/months/years are just more exciting. But then again, simple and everyday happenings, no drama, humble living . . .  that is not a bad thing really.

A thought to carry with you  . . . 

☾ ° ★° * 。  
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★
• ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • •。★★ 。* 。
*Every time I stop to watch a bee

on a flower or a butterfly in the light,

I feel we are being reminded to choose

wonder, protect beautify, and to belong

to this earth with more kindness. 

~Unknown

In The English Kitchen today, Garlic Butter Grilled Cheese Dogs. This was a recipe I adapted from All Recipes and I struggled to get it to look like theirs did.  I actually ended up doing it twice. The first time I used regular all beef hot dogs, and they shriveled up into nothing.  The second time I used Juicy Jumbo All-Beef hot dogs and as you can see they shrank in size to just fit into the buns.  Is it me or are they pumping our foods full of water and stuff so that they look like they used to but we are only getting half of what we used to get?  In any case, these were really delicious. (Even if they don't look so good.)

I hope you have a great Friday. I had a phone call yesterday to say my eye glasses are ready to pick up. I am not sure if I will go today to get them or not. Usually on Fridays I go with Cindy to take Dad with his friend Maryann to the mall, but there is nowhere for me to park at Cindy's at the moment so that she can get dad's car out, so I will probably just stay home today. Its not like I don't have a ton of stuff to do here anyways! I do! So I predict a busy day here for me at home.  I know that those of you West of here are suffering from high temps and humidity. Try to stay cool and hydrated. Just be safe everyone.  Don't forget!

═══════════ღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღೋ═════════════ 

⊰✿░G░O░D⊰✿⊰L░O░V░E░S⊰✿⊰░Y░O░U░⊰✿

═══════════ ღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღೋ ════════════  

And I do too!