A Trip Down Memory Lane

When I was a child Sundays & nights were always a busy time. Family outings, dinners, church services, television and last minute home work filled my day.

Often I would have knots in my stomach because I didn't do my homework when I should have because weekends were always a busy time at my house and playing and church were more fun than doing homework.

Needless to say I didn't look forward to Monday's and getting back to classes. As much as I really did love school, I didn't like returning to school with unfinished homework and I would get so anxious about it that I could hardly get the work underway as the minutes ticked on through Sunday night.

Back then I was very much a procrastinator on weekends in so far as homework was concerned.

I don't think I ever outgrew the dislike of impending Monday mornings though I have no longer suffer "Monday blues".

Just out of curiosity, did any of you dear readers ever suffer from Monday blues or anxiety over unfinished homework on weekends? 

I'd like to think I wasn't alone in my feelings and experiences though it isn't something I've heard heard my friends admit to.

One thing I did look forward to on Sunday nights was the "The Wonderful World of Disney".  An hour long children's program featuring the work of Walt Disney. That was always a highlight of the week.
I also looked forward to watching "The Ed Sullivan Show". Ed Sullivan had a variety show in which he introduced many new acts (entertainers) which went on to be very famous in North America.  Acts like Elvis Presley and The Beatles.

Mr. Sullivan also had many established acts and entertainers on his program; most of whom I enjoyed for years afterward.

One entertainer I really enjoyed was Doug Kershaw, better known as the "Ragin Cajun". He so impressed me with his unique style of fiddle playing.  I'm sharing a more recent video of Mr. Kershaw here. He must have already been in his 70s when this video was made.  I just marvel at his energy!

I don't exactly know why I like fiddle music so much. I didn't hear a lot of it as a child but whenever I did, it was in my blood. Kind of like bagpipes. I actually heard more bagpipe music as a child than fiddle but I truly love the stringed instruments whether it be folk music, country music, or classical.

Grey Skies and Garden Greens

Hello everyone,

I hope you are all enjoying your weekend wherever you may be in the world. In my part of the world it has been raining heavily all week. I was looking forward to having rain because it has been so hot and humid for me this summer.


Unfortunately I was not counting on the arthritic pain that came along with the rains. I've been moving more slowly this week as a result and not feeling up to much of anything.  After 5 days of rain, I am feeling better today.

As you can see from the photos, we've had thick gray skies with a sliver of blue (lower photo) but so far it hasn't rained today.

I was disappointed in my garden this year. Nothing really grew as it should. Some things matured too quickly and died.  Like the corn I like to plant most years so the squirrels can have some food. The sweet peas which I planted for the bloosoms also died rather quickly.

Even container plants which have always done well for me, like pansies and geraniums, died rather quickly even though I did dead head and water them.  I thought the pansies had died altogether.  But just the other day they started blooming again so I hope they will last for a little while yet.

I can't really complain too loudly about the lack of gardening success for I don't really tend to my garden too much except to water it almost daily and deadhead the container plants.

Everything looks a bit wild, lol!

Just when I thought none of the vegetables would grow I see the kale is looking healthy and the brussels sprouts are suddenly doing better too. Even the tomatoes are finally showing signs of growth.  Perhaps all is not lost just yet. I will be glad to use anything that grows. Sadly the sunflowers I planted for the birds didn't grow very big and are almost dead now after the heavy rains this week.

Almost ready to use. I've seen smaller leaves on bunches in food stores.

The strata council where I live will soon be uprooting all the gardens to test for membrane damage.  Hopefully next year I can plant and tend my garden without worrying what will happen to it. Perhaps next year things will grow better.

I've never grown these before but they look almost ready to harvest too. I've got a few bunches of them.

I have kept very busy trying to get healthy and lower my blood glucose levels (with some success),  looking after my mother's many needs and hosting some visitors a few times.  I haven't had a whole lot of time for much else, including the garden.

Thank you to all those who commented on my last post about trying to help me find pajamas and warm socks for my mother. I had been looking on line and not finding what I needed in the right sizes.

Last night I finally made it to several brick and mortar stores to see whether the selection was any better than what I've been seeing on line.  I was able to find what I needed:  4 sweatshirts with long sleeves and 3 coordinating sleepwear pants.

These are the tops (and one cami on top). Two of the long sleeved sweatshirts have a bit of glitter. 

 
It took some doing to find the right sizing and colours to coordinate tops and bottoms. But I'm happy with what I found for now. She wants to start wearing pajamas throughout the day so she can keep warm so I've bought things that don't scream "pajamas".

I will still be looking for thicker sleepwear.  If I cannot find them I will try and make some as the fleece and flannel selections will soon be in stock in the fabric stores. I will also wait to see how mom fares wearing what I've just purchased.  I labelled all the clothing today and hemmed one of the bottoms. I put together mom's favourite snack foods since she often says she cannot eat the food served to her at the residence.  On those occasions she needs something else on hand.  My brother will be taking everything up when he goes to visit mom on Sunday.  When I see her on her birthday later in the month I will assess how the clothing has worked out and take some measurements for the socks she still needs to ward off the chills.

Last, but not least, I just want to mention that there is still time to help Elvis in Kenya (if you wish, you can read more about him at the side bar on the right of my blog).  Elvis will take his last class at university in a week or so. He will then need some help with graduation costs and some small funds to help him while he looks for work. If anyone can assist, please let me know.  I know Elvis and his mom who raises 3 other school age children will thank you so much!

Linking with Our World Tuesday