Dianne and Bev: Day Two

Sunday is My Day, and what a day it shaped up to be. The weather, though brisk in the mornings, is spectacular. October is the new September. Thankfully, we’re predicted to have rain on Wednesday. I hope it rains because the soil is dry again. 

I slept in until 5:00. What a great way to start My Day. I restored order to the living room. On Friday night we moved the chairs and table to a more theatre-like arrangement as we watched our evening movie. And I lit the fire, posted, and watched my favourite vlogger’s weekly post.

Bev was up at 7:00, and shortly after that I went back to bed for a wee nap. Then I had a spa and then Her Highness and I went for our morning walk, and when we got back from our walk, Dianne was up. It was 10:00. 

While the guests had their breakfast, we planned our day. I’d made a quiche that we ate for lunch (followed by cake), and then Bev and Di went to visit some studios while I watered my garden beds. It took two hours on a glorious, uplifting day. I hadn’t visited all my floral friends for weeks. 

When Di and Bev came home from touring studios, it was Happy Hour time, so they got themselves a glass of wine and I got some Diet Coke, and we chatted until it was time for me to go into the village to pick up a big, delicious pizza from Woodfire. I came home, we ate, we watched a movie and then went to bed.

Today, it will be sunny again. It was 7° when I lit the morning fire. I can’t believe we’re having Winter lows overnight already. But it will be a doozy of a day, and we shall be cooking our Thanksgiving dinner together. I got a five-pound turkey, and we’ve sauces and veggies to cook. 

We’re going to eat a big meal around 14:00 and then snack on leftovers for dinner while we watch another movie. 

We’ve had a great time together!

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As I get ready to head out for Vancouver this coming weekend to do a short monologue, I am stoked to note that for a while now I have been making phone calls that were once impossible for me to make. And so far, I’ve not had a seizure since Di and Bev arrived. I had one seizure when Doug was here, but it was because we went to the very busy and very loud Apple Fair. It was not due to Doug’s presence in my home. I think that I am in the best shape that I’ve ever been in since my breakdown in Spring 2016. 

I remain highly reactive to stimuli. When Bev sneezed last night, I almost broke my arm over-reacting to the sudden sound, but I can’t deny signs of vast improvement in my symptoms. Woo hoo!

Di and Bev Arrive

I had several chores to do around the house once the brood was fed and the morning fire had been lit. I vacuumed the guest rooms, washed the guest bathtub, cleaned the stove and it’s all ready to receive Tom Turkey, plus I cleaned the microwave and the cattery. I got everything done that I wanted to do.

I washed a rug and chopped some wood to have at the ready for fires during Di and Beverly’s visit, and I finished with chores (except for some shopping) at 9:30. My back was killing me. I needed a sit down before heading out for our walk.

After I posted on my blog, I took Her Highness for our morning sojourn through the forest and then we went into the village to shop for supplies. And then … and then … I did some watering! We haven’t had any rain for five days and there is no rain in the forecast, so some spot watering was in the cards.

Yesterday morning was out final Saturday morning farmers’ market at the Agi Hall. Another sign of the dark and wet to come. Sigh. We got all the things that we needed in the village, and I got busy using my blower to clean the deck, courtyard and front walk of all the accumulated needles.

At 12:30, I was done with duties. It was time to relax. I kept calling Dianne to learn of her ETA, but I got no answer. However, I reckoned she would arrive at around 14:00, but she and Beverly didn’t get here until 15:00. They’d had a very long day of travel, so we got them unloaded and settled into their room. I’d bought some gorgeous smelling lilies, and I had several blooms on a single stalk in each room. I was thrilled when Dianne opened her door and she exalted in the fragrance of the flowers.

We called The Surf to reserve for dinner because Beverely was craving fish and chips, but they were booked solid. They suggested we come shortly before five, and they’d try to fit us in. We did, and they did. We all enjoyed a delicious meal and then came home for cake (it is delicious with the orange cream) and a movie.

I didn’t make it through the movie. I was exhausted, so I was in bed at 21:00, and quickly went to sleep.

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It’s another day of clear sky, but it was a chilly 9° when I rose at 4:30. I sorted the living room and lit a nice roaring morning fire. We’ll improvise through the day, but I know Bev and Di will be going to visit some of the artist studios that are open. Most of the island artists open their studios on Thanksgiving weekend, and lots of tourists come to visit the island and take in the Studio Tour. In this gorgeous Fall weather, the island is crawling with bicyclists. 

It’s going to be a great day, and tomorrow we cook and feast.

Summer in October

 

Beth told me about Frank and Percy. It appears that tous les grands are in this film except Judy Dench. And it looks like delicious fun for this old gay man who wants nothing whatsoever to do with partnering.

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Friday began with a visit to Life Labs. They have precious few times available each day, so I leave here at 7:20 to line up in hopes of getting a time. I did. I had to wait until 9:15 to give blood. And then I found out that there were some shots that cannot be done on Friday, so I must return. I also got a booking for a flue and Covid shot in mid-October in Cedar. I must take the ferry and go all the way to Cedar to get shots that I usually get here on Gabe.

Then we came home and I made the frosting and frosted the cake. It’s a big cake, and I’m really looking forward to tasting it. I have never done what I did this time to a chocolate cake I often bake and that everyone loves. This time, I piped a sugary marshmallow frosting heavily infused with orange zest onto each layer and then I covered the piped flavouring with a thick layer of chocolate butter cream frosting.

As soon as I was done, I fed everyone and then, on another stunning sunny day, Sheba and I went to Elder Cedar to walk. Oh, the beauty of it all, and oh how good I felt having finished the cake and with the house ready for guests. It was a beautiful walk, full of wonderful fragrances and a soundtrack of Raven tones.

I wish that you could hear our Ravens. They make single note tones that are very loud and really beautiful. They are short bursts of sound, very unlike their other calls. I’m often asked by visitors what the sound is.

When we came home, I tried to print something and found that my printer is no longer compatible with the Mac operating system. It’s always something. I have such a love/hate relationship with technology. I had to buy a new printer, but the good news was that they are not very expensive.

Then I tried to access my bank account to pay my VISA bill, but I could not get in. I called Vancity and I had to answer 5,000 of their security questions before they would let me ask my question. This is the bank that I love but also the bank that flagged my account as possibly fraudulent due to my stutter.

Finally, at 15:00, I was done with my self-assigned duties. I left vacuuming and making up the guest beds until today. Instead, I cleaned some windows. Now that the sun is so low on the horizon and another tree has been downed in my backyard, sunlight blazes into the house and shows just how dirty some windows are.

And then I was in the spa. Heaven!

And so, it begins. Di and Beverly arrive at some point today. Jane has decided not to come, so we’ll be three celebrating Thanksgiving together at Pinecone Park. There’ll be chatting, there’ll be cooking and eating, and there’ll be movies on my grand 55-incher. 

Baking Day

Thursday was bright and sunny and lovely and warm (18°) in the late afternoon. I was inside baking, tidying and cleaning all day. I had a long nap at noon, and it reminds me of being an ill child to be in bed in daylight hours. But oh, it felt so good to have that nap. 

Because it was so lovely, Sheba and I went to walk on the Elder Cedar trail while the cakes cooled. It was beautiful in the forest. Walking the trails is palpably cleansing. All trouble leaves my mind amongst the trees. Even in Winter, it is uplifting. What a wonderful place I live in.

When we got home, I worked on the marshmallow filling that will go between the layers of the cake. I didn’t like the result, so I added a lot of orange zest and I’m much happier with it now. I shall pipe strands of it on each of the two layers and then smother the whole cake with chocolate butter cream.

We walked in Rollo Park in the afternoon and came upon Regina who was walking Billie. It was great to run into her because I miss her and all the gals with whom I walked three times a week for eight years. Then I came home to feed the brood, have dinner and watch a movie.

It was a busy day, and I made a mess baking that had to be cleaned up, to the evening was busier than usual. We went to bed later than usual, and I had a great sleep until Fred came howling onto the bed at 3:30. I stayed in bed until 4:30 and then got up knowing I couldn’t eat or drink anything but water because I have to go to the lab at 7:30 for blood tests.

Later today, I’ll finish the cake, do some SPACE work, and tidy up in general, especially in the guest bathroom and bedrooms. Di and Beverly arrive tomorrow to stay until late Tuesday.