Random updates, random order
A couple of days ago, My Sweetie and I did some much-needed outdoor-work. First, he needed to climb up onto the roof and re-attach an eavestrough that has been hanging off at a jaunty angle for... a long time. I had to hold the ladder for him to get up there, and then just stay outside and keep an ear out, so I could call 911 if he fell off the roof (his words, not mine!) While I was out there, I dealt with some weeds that the City has been heckling us about.
When we got back from vacation, we had a notice from the City, saying that there were noxious weeds in our backyard, and we needed to clear them out or get a ticket. Attached was a list of weeds considered noxious, most of which names meant nothing to me, however there were several varieties of thistle listed, so we assumed that was what they were worried about. We definitely had thistles. So, a couple of weeks ago, My Sweetie spent several hours waging war on the thistles. He didn't get them all, but he certainly got most of them, and was very proud of himself. Then, a week later, we got another notice from the City, saying that the weeds in question were something called Himalayan balsam. This one actually described the plants, and it turned out that they were a pink flowering plant that my Mother-in-Law had put in *deliberately* before she sold us the house. They were PRETTY. I LIKED them.
Ironically, not only were these flowers considered "noxious weeds" but they were on the 'restricted' list. I'm not really sure what that means, but I can only assume that it means my Mother-in-Law should not have been able to buy these plants at a garden centre to plant in her backyard. Which implies that it's a fairly recent addition to the list. I'm still having trouble reconciling "pretty flowers" and "noxious weeds" in my head, and I'm wondering (rather snarkily, I'll admit) how they decide which weeds get added to the list, and which ones don't. For instance, DANDELIONS are not on the noxious weeds list. Why the crap NOT???
Anyway, the weeds are dealt with, but since my honeysuckle vine and one of my clematis didn't come up this year, I pretty much have an entire garden bed with NOTHING in it, which is just an open invitation for the quackgrass that comes in from the school field beyond our fence to set up shop. For now, I will be borrowing The Maestro's roto-tiller to plow it all under, and then for next year, I need to come up with some hardy perennials, preferably ones with pretty flowers, that can go in that bed.
Yesterday, when My Sweetie and I got up in the morning, our fridge was at 16 degrees. It's supposed to be around 4. Now, I've hated that fridge for a long time. It's humidity controls don't work, so it's crisper drawers are floppinators, especially when it comes to things like celery, and it's seals .... DON'T (seal, I mean). So, we had planned to replace the fridge sometime this year, but we had NOT planned to do it right after our vacation. We had planned to save our money and buy a nice NEW fridge. Apparently the fridge had other ideas. So, My Sweetie got on kijiji again, found us a good fridge for a reasonable price, and managed to track down a friend with a truck, all within the day.
In the meantime, I headed over to my parents' place to store a bunch of stuff in their fridge, and now we have TWO fridges sitting in my kitchen. This is not a good arrangement. I can't get to the kitchen sink, nor are the dishwasher or stove usable. I'm still in the process of transferring food from the old fridge to the new one (the freezer was still working, so it's mostly frozen stuff) and then tonight our friend with the truck is going to come back and haul the old fridge away for us (THANK YOU!)
The new fridge is great, it's bigger than the old one, it seals, and it's laid out better. Time will tell if the crispers are anymore useful. Here's hoping!
In happier news, I got to be a bridesmaid on the weekend for the wedding of the lovely caragana_leaves and faylar_the_lost (who is less lovely, but no less AWESOME!) I got to wear green silk! This is a big deal for me, because it's the first time I've been a bridesmaid for someone who WASN'T my SISTER! (It's not quite the same when it's your sister!)
When we got back from vacation, we had a notice from the City, saying that there were noxious weeds in our backyard, and we needed to clear them out or get a ticket. Attached was a list of weeds considered noxious, most of which names meant nothing to me, however there were several varieties of thistle listed, so we assumed that was what they were worried about. We definitely had thistles. So, a couple of weeks ago, My Sweetie spent several hours waging war on the thistles. He didn't get them all, but he certainly got most of them, and was very proud of himself. Then, a week later, we got another notice from the City, saying that the weeds in question were something called Himalayan balsam. This one actually described the plants, and it turned out that they were a pink flowering plant that my Mother-in-Law had put in *deliberately* before she sold us the house. They were PRETTY. I LIKED them.
Ironically, not only were these flowers considered "noxious weeds" but they were on the 'restricted' list. I'm not really sure what that means, but I can only assume that it means my Mother-in-Law should not have been able to buy these plants at a garden centre to plant in her backyard. Which implies that it's a fairly recent addition to the list. I'm still having trouble reconciling "pretty flowers" and "noxious weeds" in my head, and I'm wondering (rather snarkily, I'll admit) how they decide which weeds get added to the list, and which ones don't. For instance, DANDELIONS are not on the noxious weeds list. Why the crap NOT???
Anyway, the weeds are dealt with, but since my honeysuckle vine and one of my clematis didn't come up this year, I pretty much have an entire garden bed with NOTHING in it, which is just an open invitation for the quackgrass that comes in from the school field beyond our fence to set up shop. For now, I will be borrowing The Maestro's roto-tiller to plow it all under, and then for next year, I need to come up with some hardy perennials, preferably ones with pretty flowers, that can go in that bed.
Yesterday, when My Sweetie and I got up in the morning, our fridge was at 16 degrees. It's supposed to be around 4. Now, I've hated that fridge for a long time. It's humidity controls don't work, so it's crisper drawers are floppinators, especially when it comes to things like celery, and it's seals .... DON'T (seal, I mean). So, we had planned to replace the fridge sometime this year, but we had NOT planned to do it right after our vacation. We had planned to save our money and buy a nice NEW fridge. Apparently the fridge had other ideas. So, My Sweetie got on kijiji again, found us a good fridge for a reasonable price, and managed to track down a friend with a truck, all within the day.
In the meantime, I headed over to my parents' place to store a bunch of stuff in their fridge, and now we have TWO fridges sitting in my kitchen. This is not a good arrangement. I can't get to the kitchen sink, nor are the dishwasher or stove usable. I'm still in the process of transferring food from the old fridge to the new one (the freezer was still working, so it's mostly frozen stuff) and then tonight our friend with the truck is going to come back and haul the old fridge away for us (THANK YOU!)
The new fridge is great, it's bigger than the old one, it seals, and it's laid out better. Time will tell if the crispers are anymore useful. Here's hoping!
In happier news, I got to be a bridesmaid on the weekend for the wedding of the lovely caragana_leaves and faylar_the_lost (who is less lovely, but no less AWESOME!) I got to wear green silk! This is a big deal for me, because it's the first time I've been a bridesmaid for someone who WASN'T my SISTER! (It's not quite the same when it's your sister!)