Poor neglected blog

Summer ate my brain. Or something! It has been rather busy around here and I have been neglectful of my dear blog. Time to rectify the situation.

Let's see, what has been going on? My friend was visiting from Maryland for three days with her 11-yo daughter. We drove her up to canoe camp near Temagami. I really love northern Ontario and want to spend more time there, as I always seem to be just passing on drives across the country as we move from coast to coast!

The drive from here is about six hours without stops, but we had to stop on the way up because Continental Airlines managed to lose my friend's daughter's luggage, which was full of things they had spent months shopping for to prepare for canoe camp. While we were shopping for the last item in the Sears in Ottawa on Sunday morning, my cell phone rang (I learned how to answer it this weekend. No, I don't use it much!) The luggage had been found, and would be delivered to camp Monday morning. Yaaaay! Now the daughter has two of everything, which is better than none of anything.

My friend and I stayed overnight at the Super 8 Motel and Hotel in North Bay. We were in North Bay during the annual two-week shad fly invasion. They were coating the windows of the motel, and a few overnighted on my car. Very bizarre!

Before leaving Monday morning, we stopped at the Dionne Quintuplet Museum. For those not in the know, in 1934, a set of naturally-conceived quintuplets was born near North Bay, in Corbeil, Ontario. Their story is fascinating, but sad.

We got home safe and sound, despite some lunatic drivers near Temagami, who I figured out had to be rich Torontonians racing back home from their expensive cottages in their expensive vehicles. The Greyhound and other bus drivers were equally insane. Near Temagami, I saw a Greyhound bus pass three vehicles going UPHILL towards a blind crest. I could not believe it. Remind me not to travel via Greyhound, ever!!

Last Saturday, the night my friend arrived, we went out to look at the stars and Jupiter. The dogs came out and dashed behind the barn. Tristan came back stinking of skunk... he got sprayed in the face and was looking mighty pleased with himself. He decided he would feel even better if he rolled in my new herb garden! I managed to get most of the stink out except between his eyes, so he is still quite odiferous and oh, we have more company coming Sunday! Aren't they lucky? Peeeyuw!

In addition, things keep dying in our ductwork. The other week, we turned on the central A/C and the house filled with the unmistakable smell of rotting corpse. Gordon investigated and found a decaying mouse just inside the furnace blower. Great! But then last week, just before my guests arrived, we smelled more dead thing. Despite looking everywhere, we could not find it. Fortunately it stopped stinking before my friend and her daughter arrived. We have arranged to have the ducts cleaned next week, in the hopes that any corpses will be removed. BLECH!!!!

And while Gordon was in the basement investigating the latest stench, he heard noises coming from the wood/oil furnace. He opened the door to the firebox and a juvenile starling flew out! I shut all the lights off, closed the basement doors to keep the cats and dogs away, and caught the poor thing when it flew to a basement window. I took it outside and it zoomed away, unharmed. Time to get a cap for the chimney. I don't want birds falling down the chimney in winter when there is a fire going!

And I am overdue with photos of our bedroom redecoration. Gordon has painted all the walls and trim, and only the floor is left to do. I will take pics soon.

My vegetable "patch" has gone insane and I have to take pics. I have been pulling out Lamb's Quarter left right and centre! Technically it's edible, but no thanks. To me it's pure weed. My poor tomatoes aren't even staked yet, and I have to finish mulching everything with straw so that I don't spend the rest of my summer pulling weeds. I did harvest some giant radish ("Plum purple") the other day. We've been eating spinach for quite a while. The potato plants are the biggest I have ever seen, and all the squash plants are finally outgrowing the nefarious striped cucumber beetles, which I squash on a daily basis.

Chenopoidum album MUST DIE!!!