Wednesday Witterings

 

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August is like the Sunday of Summer.

~Unknown

Here we are in the month of August. Summer is on the wane.  This is the month of typically hot temperatures, but without all of the humidity of July. Nights begin to get a bit cooler, and days that tiny bit noticeably shorter as the sun dips lower in the sky.  Last night the temperature went down to 12. I do not mind the cooler nights for sleeping.  Hot and sticky has never been my thing!

I found a few more charges on my credit card that had gone unnoticed.  I must pay better attention in the future.  One was for over $400 to an electrical store in Montreal.  Overall there was close to $1500 in false charges on my card and then a $29 fee from my credit card company for going over the limit. Thankfully that is all being erased. 

They said that probably some company that I had ordered from online had had their accounts hacked. The only place different that I ordered from this month was Bath & Body Works. They had three wick candles on for half price and so I had ordered a few. I do love a smelly candle.  I will never know for sure, but it does make one feel very dubious about ordering things online.

Cindy, Eileen and I had a lovely time in Margaretville yesterday afternoon. It was beautiful and sunny and the perfect way to start the month of August.  Eileen and I sat at a picnic table by the water, just looking out and watching the waves and gulls, taking in that fresh sea air.  Cindy had brought her sketching pads, etc. and sketched a few pictures to paint. I cannot wait to see what she does with them. She is just so talented.   It was lovely and relaxing and a beautiful change of scenery.

There were a lot of people walking their dogs on the beach. Some very big and beautiful dogs.  A couple went swimming in the water. It was fun to watch them.  An older couple came down with their teenage daughter and she bravely went in for a dip.  The father said to us something about young people being crazy.  I detected a New England accent.  We do get a lot of New Englanders come up here to spend their summers.

Afterwards we left the beach area and looked through the artists shack that is there.  There are so many talented people about.  It was just a really nice afternoon, and the best part was spending it with people I love.

 

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We are going to have a fairly quiet day today.  Eileen is going to work on her diamond painting craft that she brought and I am going to do a bit of baking. Of course there are always house chores to do.  Then later this afternoon we are meeting my dad and his friend Hazel at the Chinese restaurant for supper. Cindy will be there also.  I will go a bit earlier because I want to move some money around and then I promised Eileen I would take her to Dollarama. She will enjoy that. 

Our week together is passing by far too quickly.  She works tomorrow.  I am taking Cindy and Little Mac to the vet in the morning.  I might try to do a tea party for Eileen for our supper tomorrow night. I think she would enjoy that.  It will be fun.  Friday she is taking me out to lunch. Her treat and we will be doing a few things together.  She really likes the Newfoundland stuffing my sister and I make and she doesn't have a food processor at home. We are going to get a loaf of bread and turn it into crumbs so that she can put them in her freezer and use them to make some of the stuffing whenever she wants.  I think we will also go down to Mom's grave and pay a visit.  Then Saturday, it is time for her to go home, as Tim will be returning from Ontario with his mum.  Our ten days together will be at an end.

I am sure we will do it again sometime.  Tim will be going to the Nationals for the Special Olympics and she will be on her own then, so she will probably come and stay with me again then.

 

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I have a Facebook page for my English Kitchen blog. I update it every day with my newest recipe and a few of my older recipes.  I have an easy friendship with most of my readers. Occasionally I get some crackpot in there or a negative Nelly, but for the most part it all works well. I have always tried to make it my policy to respond to every comment. I figure if someone can take the time to comment, then I can take the time to respond. It is good manners.

The Facebook police put me in a time out the other day or responding to too many comments. What the heck? It doesn't really make sense where some spamming man can come in and leave identical spam phishing comments on every woman's post who leaves a comment, and me, who actually runs the page, gets put into a time out. I am constantly having to remove and block them.  They just move to another computer and come back in, and Facebook does nothing to stop them. Its insane.

I would get off the Facebook altogether were it  not for the fact that I talk to my sister/brother/British friends on the messenger app, and of course my EK page which helps to generate visits to the EK and gives me income.

 

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This is the season for Queen Anne's Lace.  I have always loved this pretty flower that many see as a weed. 

"Daucus carota, whose common names include wild carrot, European wild carrot, bird's nest, bishop's lace, and Queen Anne's lace (North America), is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae. It is native to temperate regions of the Old World and was naturalized in the New World.

Both Anne, Queen of Great Britain, and her great-grandmother, Anne of Denmark, are taken to be the Queen Anne for whom the plant is named. It is so called because the flower resembles lace, prominent in fine clothing of the day; the red flower in the center is said to represent a droplet of blood where Queen Anne pricked herself with a needle when she was making the lace."

QUEEN-ANN'S-LACE

Her body is not so white as
anemony petals nor so smooth—nor
so remote a thing. It is a field
of the wild carrot taking
the field by force; the grass
does not raise above it.
Here is no question of whiteness,
white as can be, with a purple mole
at the center of each flower.
Each flower is a hand's span
of her whiteness. Wherever
his hand has lain there is
a tiny purple blemish. Each part
is a blossom under his touch
to which the fibres of her being
stem one by one, each to its end,
until the whole field is a
white desire, empty, a single stem,
a cluster, flower by flower,
a pious wish to whiteness gone over—
or nothing.

~William Carlos Williams

My sister has quite a lot of it growing in her garden. Every year I say I am going to pick some to dry, and every year I forget until it is too late. Maybe this year I will remember!

The Hummingbirds are becoming quite entertaining again. I have had to fill my feeder twice this week. I make a simple syrup using 1/4 cup  of sugar and 1 cup of boiled water.  They seem to really enjoy it.  We have been watching them each evening, which is when they seem to be the most active.  They fly about the feeder and battle each other.  One is always predominant and I have seen her sit and just watch for another bird to come close, which she promptly will chase away. The odd time a male will make it to the feeder when she is not there. It is very easy to tell them both apart.  They are such fun to watch and a really special part of my summer.

Remembering my babies when they were really small and first came to live with me. It is almost two years now since.  They are big cats now, especially Nutmeg.  He is my shadow.  The other day when I was feeling poorly and laying on my bed, he was right in there with me, laying nestled into my side. I think he could tell I was feeling poorly.  

Cinnamon likes to help me make my bed every morning. Well, she thinks she is helping me.  She dances across the covers as I try to pull them up and tuck everything in. She is so cute.   She is very independent as you know, but loves bed making. She also loves laundry.  She just loves getting into the basket when I am trying to fold it.

I never get frustrated or impatient with them.  They are such a sweet part of this life I have built for myself and I love them dearly. I don't think I would ever want to be without a pet.

Well,  I must be about my day. Eileen is still sleeping.  The cats are prowling about, and I have much to do before we are off and out this afternoon.  I will leave you with a thought for today  . . . 

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★

 *.˛.The real magic is believing in yourself.

If you can do that, you can make anything happen.

~J. W. von Goethe•。★★ 。* 。•。★★ 。* 。

In The English Kitchen today  . . .  Taco Baked Potatoes.  All of your favorite taco toppings, including a scrumptious meat mixture, served on top of a crispy skinned fluffy baked potato!  Delicious!

I hope that you have a wonderful Wednesday!  Whatever you do don't forget!

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right where you are! 

And I do too!