Everyday Life

I wish I had more exciting photographs to share, alas, that is not to be. However, what's wrong with everyday life anyway? After all, that's what makes up most of life, interspersed with excitement, and in our case, a year long adventure? Speaking of excitement and grandeur, Jon and Alissa are in Iceland for ten days and oh my gosh, that is one place that I now know we must visit after seeing their tremendous photographs. Matt and Tom visited some years ago, and my sister Nancy has now been twice. From what I can tell, visiting Iceland is anything BUT everyday life.

Hot and humid days remains the story here. Thunderstorms continue.

The above clouds produced some seriously heavy rain, however there have actually been two days without rain, in part thanks to Hurricane Florence which is pulling moisture out of the air. This past week was the anniversary of Hurricane Irma which struck Central Florida pretty hard although we hardly knew much about it because the coverage in Canada was minimal. David shared on Facebook a photo from that time which showed a massive tree limb filling the parking lot, the way we walk to the pool. It goes without saying that any major storm is no fun and we are so wishing our fellow Americans well.

Here's some good news for you. The exhaust fan in the new microwave is working quite well, something not to be taken for granted when living in a condo that does not allow for outdoor exhaust.

Yup, I caved in and used the cooktop, cleaning it like mad when done. Hard to know how long that will last, but if I were to put a wager on that, not very long. :)

The guys came with the new dishwasher on Wednesday morning and guess what? This one was damaged as well, however, they found a workaround for that, removing the bad front panel on the one I already had, and using the good front panel from the one they'd brought.

Now we are in business, and I am so happy with our purchases. As I was when I ran into Angela at Marshalls yesterday afternoon. I know, I could have already called her, however, my little month long funk hadn't allowed for that. Our chatting time was way too brief, but now that I am functioning on a more normal for me level, we'll get together sooner, rather than later.

I'd almost ridden my bike over to her house one morning, but instead I stayed in Lancaster Park which is such a beautiful neighborhood, aside from the brick streets. Of course the brick streets only add to the charm there, but for a bike rider, they aren't the best. I saw some fellows on the lake, wondering what they were doing with an airboat.

If you've never been around an airboat before, you just can't imagine how loud they are. Long ago, a next door neighbor had one that he kept in their driveway. Every now and again he would start it up, and I swear, you probably could hear it several blocks away. Turns out these were city employees spraying the lake for weeds.

There are so many beautiful homes in that neighborhood of every style and age that it is hard to pick a favorite, but this one might be a contender, and I suspect you can guess why.

Yup, I am a sucker for colorful doors! Which brings me to some sewing I've done this week involving color, specifically some fabric we got at the guild meeting and a challenge to combine it with one other solid color. Because there is also a drive going for placemats to give to Meals on Wheels recipients, I decided to combine the two ideas.

The off white is my contribution. And the back looks like this.

BTW, the pieces were small which is something I'm not accustomed to because I generally buy fabric by the yard rather than in what they call fat quarters. Well, as is often the case, one thing led to another, and I've now made a table runner to brighten up the dining area. Once I saw the placemat on the table, the idea was born. At first I was going to make a pattern of some sort, however, I scrapped that idea, no pun intended, and went for our favorite, a scrappy runner instead.

Making something scrappy was super easy before but not so much now, because I have fabric in several places, some of which require me to get out a step stool to reach. That tub under the table was neat as a pin before I began, but I used about thirty different fabric strips which required some searching. I decided to contrast the straight strips with some curvy quilting.

One thing I do love about scrappy is the memories that are contained in a piece like the above. Some of the fabrics I have purchased at estate sales, some brand new like the blue and pink you see that was one of my last purchases from Dress Sew in Vancouver. Some folks might find it to be too much, but I'm not among them--the more colors and patterns the better! I've yet to bind it, but now the dining area feels so much better to me. Plus Bruce likes it, so it is a win-win.

Because we do have a new home, I've spent some time looking at images of other homes, mostly kitchen ideas, and it is astonishing how beautiful some spaces are, yet devoid of any personality. Oxymoron? I think not.

Working on these projects perhaps made me more aware of color because when I went to our downtown library for another Rachel Joyce novel, I was super surprised to see they had organized all of the new fiction by book jacket color.

I thought there would be more attention grabbing red covers, however, although the photograph doesn't include the whole scene due to lens constraints, blue was the color victor. That probably should surprise no one other than me because I'm pretty sure that in surveys, more people pick blue as their most favorite color. What about you? What's your favorite color?

Although I love all color, you can't deny that my favorite, orange is quite a show stopper.

I saw the above while riding my bicycle over to the pool at Wadeview. One thing about having a class that is three mornings a week involving chlorinated water is that my hair is looking worse than ever. Finally I sent Monica a text saying I give in, time to do something with it. Perhaps, looking at myself while having a good long chat with Matt on Facetime, I finally realized how silly I was being. Because I so rarely look in the mirror, apparently I'd convinced myself it wasn't so bad. So not true! It is bad. Bruce will be in Calgary most of next week, and when he returns, I'll be a new woman.

If you have lived in this part of town for any length of time, you undoubtedly have seen a place that sold beer and ice called Aardvarks. Super run down, we would only step foot in there when hosting a large party, something that has not occurred for years. There was a time, however, when we would host an annual outdoor party involving lots of drinks in an ice filled canoe. Aardvarks was good for that. So, it was with great surprise that we drove by there and found a very spiffed up Aardvarks that now serves food. Last night we gave it a try, and it is cute as can be, both inside and out.

Still working out some kinks, we hope they can make it in the competitive restaurant market.

And yes, they still sell ice.

Bruce is at the condo budget meeting this morning, and I am now heading back to Marshalls to purchase some baskets that I saw, hoping they will make a big improvement on my current fabric storage method.

And that, my friends is a recap of our everyday life this week. Exciting? Probably not, but good, yes.

your friend,

Gail