Getting Chores Done ...

September 27, 2016

This morning was spent with ... "apples" ...

thought it would be the perfect day to make applesauce ...

I like to pre-freeze the sauce in individual containers ...

then pop them out and pack them into vacuum sealer bags ... there is always room in the freezer ...

for these small packages ...

When needed ... the discs serving is enough for our meals ...

 

 

September 28, 2016

Once again ... looking out the kitchen window ...

a flock of wild turkeys were out on the grass ...

My first thought was ... "where were you turkeys?" ...

when Nathan and his buddies were here hunting for these birds ...

I did send Nathan a picture ... and he had said the same thing ...

in wondering where they were ...

They are smart these birds ... thinking they must read the hunting regulations ... !!!

It was such a beautiful day ... to head down to the garden ...

and get some fresh potatoes ... for our dinner ...

These were the red skinned potatoes ... an early variety ...

I was also pleased to see a few worms ... working the soil ...

 

September 29, 2016

There was still a tray full of plums ... to be dealt with ...

Today two batches of plum jam were made ...

one batch of sugar-free jam for Mike ...

and a traditional one for others ...

These plums were so sweet and delicious ...

a few were consumed while preparing the jam ...

The weather was supposed to be nice in the afternoon ...

so it was decided to close up the swimming pool ...

It was also time for the hot tub to be emptied and fresh water put in ...

Once the hot tub was emptied and scrubbed clean ... and the pool vacuumed ...

we proceeded to empty the pool water into the hot tub ...

That's our way of recycling the water ...

When the hut tub was full ... we drained the pool ... to the level needed for winterization ...

All the pool accessories ... ladder ... solar panels etc. were cleaned and put away ...

The winter cover was placed ... the filter cleaned and all the lines blown out ...

Ready for the next season ...

 

 

September 30, 2016

The sun was shining ...

and it was time to get a few more loads of firewood ...

into the wood shed ...

We were excited to see how our new log splitter would perform ...

It was amazing ... while Mike was cutting the logs ...

I was splitting and loading it into the truck ...

When Mike was finished cutting ...

we worked together splitting and loading ...

 

 

It didn't take us long to get a couple loads of wood ...

The nights were getting cooler ... we needed to spend some time filling up the wood shed now ...

We both had mentioned that we miss our cousins Klaus and Resi ...

who were here visiting from Austria last year ...

and helped with getting firewood and filling the woodshed early ...

We're just a little behind ... because we're out enjoying life ... travelling and fishing ...

 

 

 

Early Season Firewood ...

Tuesday was a beautiful ... warm ... sunny day ...

We were informed about some firewood that had already been bucked up ...

and stock piled ... ready to be picked up ...

Hard to believe that it was T-shirt weather in February ... !!!

We decided to take the trailer down to the woodpile ...

instead of hauling the log splitter to split the wood ...

There were quite a few very large pieces ... we were able to drop the ramp ...

and roll these logs onto the trailer ...

to be dealt with when we had more time to split them ...

We had decided we should pile the wood by the woodshed ...

I had asked Mike to check and make sure that we could drive up the back driveway ...

as it was snow covered ... hard packed and icy ...

Mike thought we should be able to make it ...

WELL ...

we didn't ... the truck kept sliding sideways on the ice ... into the snow ...

Mike was stuck ... the load was too heavy on the trailer ...

to gain any traction ... hence digging himself deeper in the snow ...

"Let me out" ... I did not want to slide down the road ... !!!

Mike then set off the trailer ...

and was going to get the tractor ....

Mike started rocking the truck and was able to drive thru the backyard ...

around the pool and down by the outdoor wood furnace ...

to the driveway ...

What a mess in the yard ...

This momma was not happy ... !!!

Mike cleared some snow and was able to lift the trailer up with the bucket ...

to push it back so that he could latch onto it and drive it to the parking area by the shop ...

to unload the logs there ... and be dealt with another day ...

Thank goodness for the ramp ...

we rolled these huge pieces down off the trailer ...

Then Mike scooped up the runaways ...

and dumped them on the pile ...

That was enough for today ... the sun was disappearing and it was getting cold ...

for me ... it was time to hit the hot tub ... !!!

 

 

More Firewood ...

October 16, 2015

A cool rainy evening ...

decided to make a turkey pie ... to use up the rest of the Thanksgiving Turkey ...

Perfect dinner to watch the Blue Jays ball game ...

The house was a little chilly ...

so while we were watching the ball game ...

I decided to gather up the materials that were needed ...

to whip up a pair of crochet slippers to warm my feet ...

It's that time of year ... having the cooler nights ... !!!

 

October 17, 2015

It was a beautiful day ...

to cut up another load of firewood ...

to fill the woodshed ...

Mike was bucking up the logs ... while I was using the wood splitter ...

and tossing the firewood in the truck ...

Mike ended up helping with the wood splitting and loading ...

once he was finished cutting up the logs ...

together we took the load down to the woodshed ...

and stacked this load ...

After the first truckload was unloaded ...

we went back to get another one ...

I took a wheelbarrow full of smaller pieces down to the house ...

to warm up the basement ...

starting a fire in the wood stove ...

Soon another load of firewood was stacked in the woodshed ...

One more day is needed to fill it up to the top ... !!!

Another good days work out in the sunshine ...

soaking up the warmth ...

 

 

Finishing A Few Jobs ...

July 17, 2015

Early this morning ...

I prepared the Kokanees for canning ...

the next day ...

Mike, Klaus and Resi ...

we're out at the wood pile ...

bucking up a huge log ...

A few Kokanees and a trout

we're cooked up for a snack ...!!!

 

 

Let's Get Wood ....

July 15, 2015

Klaus was itching to work on the log pile and cut some firewood ...

Resi was right there beside him ... measuring the length of each piece ...

Mike was cutting from the other end ...

while I loaded the wood into the bucket of the tractor ...

Most of the pieces needed to be split ...

The log splitter was fired up and we started working together ...

taking turns at the switch ...

plus loading the logs into "Old Blue" ...

During the bucking up of the wood ...

we encountered a wasps nest ...

Mike was to the rescue with some wasp spray ...!!!

We continued splitting ... loading and stacking the firewood ...

then when we were finished it was pool time ... relaxing and chatting about our eventful day ...!!!

Great teamwork ...!!!

 

Dirt & Rocks ...

June 6, 2015

It was going to be a week or so before ...

the decking boards would be delivered ...

We decided to start leveling the area ... beside the hot tub ...

Mike ended up going into town ... to get a load of timbers ...

and we began digging to set them up ...!!!