Ups and Downs

The weather continues to be relatively warm and pleasant. It rains from time to time, yesterday the wind was strong and unpleasant, but mostly it is sunny, breezy, and just about perfect for this time of year.

Food preservation is winding down. Today we are canning pickled peppers, and it may be the last sizeable pepper harvest for this year. There may be frost this week, so covering plants with plastic sheets will keep them going for a little while longer, perhaps giving us more produce.

A project that has been set aside for many months, is now completed. The old footstool that came with a rocking chair purchased at Habitat for Humanity, many years ago, desperately needed new padding and cover material. This project taught me that upholstery is not for me.

Attila assisted, wielding the manual staple gun, while I proceeded with everything else. My biggest challenge was reining in my temper, I was not having fun. It was the very first time tackling upholstery. I did manage to remain calm throughout, so my self administered pep talks worked.

The results were not of professional quality. However, Mist Cottage isn’t a showcase of fine workmanship, so the stool is right at home here. I’ve have high standards for quality workmanship, I appreciate it. But for most part my skill levels don’t match my ideals.

We were out at the Camp again this past week. Attila managed to remove the last of the Coroplast undercarriage. Mice had claimed the space, and the insulation, as their own, it was quite a stinky mess. The next step is to remove the layer of foam insulation and fabric under the subfloor. Due to the foam pellets found scattered with the fibre glass insulation, we surmise that the mice have destroyed the foam insulation as well. Attila is very glad to finally tackle this project, it has been a long time coming.

I start a campfire immediately on arrival at the Camp. This visit was interesting because as I was bending down to place the crumpled newspaper, and the kindling I had collected from the forest floor, I heard a ripping noise. Oh my. Every time I bent down I would hear more tearing.

My work pants had worn out. The first tearing was along the seam, I could have mended that. But the tears did not end there, the fabric across the seat of the pants was tearing across to the side seams. Since I did not think to bring an additional pair of pants on our day trip, Attila assisted me by spraying insect repellant liberally in the area, to prevent unwelcome guests. Sitting was a little bit on the cool side, but I soon became accustomed to the situation, and carried on as usual.

These work pants are just over 20 years old. I bought them in 2004, to wear to work, when I was a teacher. They have been in constant use ever since. For the last 15 years or so they have been work pants, worn for working in the bush, or in the yard at home. When the fabric gave out, the elastic in the waistband was still good.

I have an identical pair, purchased at the same time, which will now be pressed into service as work pants.

If minimalism had been practiced here, a new pair of work pants would need to be purchased. Attila and I both wear out our clothes. My weight goes up and down, not drastically, but enough to affect what clothes I want to wear. I don’t have to buy new clothes no matter what weight I am, at least so far.

I have purchased some items of clothing over the last ten years, but it is difficult to find clothes that are good quality and fit properly. I do find the odd item at Mark’s Work Wearhouse that fits and is of reasonable quality, but most of their clothing fits me poorly. Clothing purchased at Costco is always a disappointment, not fitting well, and of very poor quality requiring a lot of mending. My old clothes fit better, and although they weren’t expensive when purchased, they are of a much better quality than anything I’ve seen in the stores. Much of my old clothing was made in Canada, none of the new clothing I look at is made in Canada.

Attila picked flowers for me this morning. Soon the cold weather will put the garden to sleep for the winter, so we will enjoy the flowers while we can!

Ginger has been up to some tricks lately. We have a folding door that closes the entry to the basement. The basement is not a safe place for Ginger. When he first came to live with us just over two years ago, he would try to escape via the basement, and it was quite a challenge relocating him upstairs. We learned to leave the door to the basement closed. Then he figured out how to open the door. We added a latch. Then he figured out how to rock the door back and forth until it became unlatched. We now have a bolt in the latch, which he cannot dislodge. But sometimes we need to leave the door secure from the basement side of things. We added a turn button, but the wood used was not strong and Ginger broke it. Now we have added a stronger turn button that Ginger cannot dislodge, and heaven knows he gives it a darn good try.

So Ginger is pouting, and yowling. He lets us know how little he thinks of our “shenanigans”. Bad people, very bad people… we know this is what he is saying, tone is everything.

Worldly

Weather

16°C
Date: 1:00 PM EDT Monday 7 October 2024
Condition: Mostly Cloudy
Pressure: 101.2 kPa
Tendency: Rising
Temperature: 15.7°C
Dew point: 7.1°C
Humidity: 57%
Wind: W 20 gusts 30 km/h
Visibility: 24 km

Quote

“Nature is trying very hard to make us succeed, but nature does not depend on us. We are not the only experiment.”
R. Buckminster Fuller
1895 – 1983