October 21, 2015 - Summer is Gone

Late August - that was then...

Late October - this is now

Summer is gone. Socks now, slippers and boots. Birds and pedicure migrating South. But I love the leaves when they're dry and crunchy. Good-bye for now.

The music: Dylan, alphabetically, starting with "4th Time Around". Dylan never disappoints. Highlights: "To Ramona", "Buckets of Rain", "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" - as usual. A new favourite: "Blood in My Eyes". But "To Ramona" a hundred times.

When the boys had left the table, my daughter and I turned on the music, and nodded and smiled as we continued to eat.
My daughter on Dylan: He must be a star. His singing is bad. 
My son: Is he even saying words?

Chicken, chard, roasted veg, basil in olive oil, Dylan

Dinner: the entire chard harvest from the little alley garden cooked down to barely a meal-ful. Luckily, the kids won't eat it. Not at all bitter, as I thought it might be, with a little garlic from the garden, and basil, kept under olive oil. The basil takes up prime real estate in our over-crowded fridge, but it's worth it.

The right tool for the job: tongs, bought in Japan, were perfect for flipping the chicken kabobs - which neither of the kids liked. That's a lot of left-overs for me to eat alone. I'll have to get creative...

To do list: while I cleaned up the kitchen, my husband attempted to locate the manual for our seized-up dryer: the clothes are wet, and all the lights are flashing. That can't be good. Manual eventually located near the dryer - good thinking, whoever put it there 7 years ago - but it doesn't say anything about this combination of lights. I 'spect the dryer might be toast. New appliance lifespan is obscene. The number of broken appliances and electronics in my house is obscene. The fact that we will probably need to buy a new one already is obscene. Tomorrow I will call the 1-800 number and hang the wet laundry up to dry...

No more gardening for a while

Not a lot of time in the garden, these days. Other than raking, there's not much left to do. It took a while to find a better home for them, but the hostas are gone. They're now with a friend of the mother of someone who helps me with the kids. Sad Lilac now lives at a neighbour's; if it blooms this Spring I will learn what colour it was. The garlic is planted, protected by excellent, brand new wire. The parsley, run over by a truck, has been moved to a new container. The yard waste bin has been filled with leaves once already, but the ground is covered again. Sometimes I wish I had a leaf-blower.

Summer really is gone...