CANADIAN REGION:What are you doing in October 2016

Hilda100  
from Kelejan in British Columbia.

We have other Torontians here so you will meet some of them.

Look forward to hearing more from you.

No outdoor activities for me today. There is a constant rain falling and there is rain in the forecast for two more days as well. The leaves that I need to gather for my compost are all going to be soaking wet. Messy.

trolleydriver wrote:No outdoor activities for me today. There is a constant rain falling and there is rain in the forecast for two more days as well. The leaves that I need to gather for my compost are all going to be soaking wet. Messy.

Same here TD.  Yesterday the leaves were falling and the ones on the ground were getting dry.  So I decided to get out early today and start collecting a nice pile I saw not far from my home.

Woke this morning raring to go, to find the rain was pelting down with no end in sight.

So now I am indoors sorting out my Yukon Gold seed potatoes.

Then I will make a start on the paperwork for my home business that I have now decided to close.  This gives me time to finish everything for the tax man without all the last minute rush I have every year just because I did not have to file until June 16 as I am a champion procrastinator.   I think I have finally cracked being a retiree.

Kelejan wrote:I think I have finally cracked being a retiree.

sanderson wrote:

Kelejan wrote:I think I have finally cracked being a retiree.

+1

TD- I guess they weren't kidding about the weather forecast. Rain, rain, and more rain. Today, I'm glad to have an office job! I walked on a lot of those wet, soggy leaves that you were talking about. The good news is that they will be partially decomposed by the time I get around to collecting them for the compost.

I am happy to say that I am still eating plenty of food from my SFG. Yesterday we had some more crockpot marinara (there is another serving in the freezer). This is my third batch. Next time I think I'll make crock pot Chile with my tomatoes (by adding different spices- and beans at the end). I also made a great kale salad with tomatoes and pumpkin seeds the day before yesterday. Tonight I will make a chicken stir fry- using some of my peppers.

Some years ago I injured my right arm. In fact I cannot straighten out that arm. Yesterday I bought a machete to chop up garden waste for the compost bin. I remembered that some trees had been taken down at our church. So I swung by the property to get a piece of cut tree trunk to use as a chopping block. The piece I picked up was quite heavy. When I was putting into or getting it out of the trunk of the car I really aggravated the problem with my arm. I've got pain in the shoulder and arm. I've been doing some exercises for repetitive strain injury which help for a while.

I'm hoping this problem does not curtail my gardening activities including the current projects of finishing the compost bin, gathering and preparing materials for composting, turning compost, etc.

It rained almost all day yesterday and we are getting two more days of steady rain (sorry sanderson and others who are experiencing drought). The rain is curtailing my outdoor activities for the time being. On a positive note my arm can use the rest.

I'm injured but 

Hope you're feeling better soon TD. Take good care of yourself, and do whatever it takes to get better.

Mimi2 wrote:I am happy to say that I am still eating plenty of food from my SFG. Yesterday we had some more crockpot marinara (there is another serving in the freezer). This is my third batch. Next time I think I'll make crock pot Chile with my tomatoes (by adding different spices- and beans at the end). I also made a great kale salad with tomatoes and pumpkin seeds the day before yesterday. Tonight I will make a chicken stir fry- using some of my peppers.

Looks yummy Mimi. Isn't it great to use things that you have grown yourself instead of the overpriced and not so fresh store bought stuff. 

I just went out in the rain and harvested kale and chard for a green smoothie. Because of my bad arm I had to limp out on one arm. KJ would have been proud to see me out in the garden wearing my raincoat and very British looking wellies.  

In the house, I already had carrot tops from the SFG and ice cubes made from Vitamix blended SFG cucumbers. I had to add some store bought Costco grapes and a banana to complete the smoothie. 

Speaking of Costco (as I did in the previous paragraph), the Canadian HQ for Costco is only 4 kilometres from my house. My next door neighbour works there. She is a buyer for Costco and gets to travel and visit farms all over the world looking for produce for Costco. -

It's hard when you hurt yourself and you cannot do what you want to do.  Even a small injury inhibits.

My most common injuries are small cuts on my fingers such as cuts from tins cans, etc.  It interferes out of all proportion to the severity as it curtails activity such as washing the dishes, preparing food  and digging in the dirt. I also have to allow several days to heal.

I hope you were wearing more than raincoat and wellies when out in the garden, TD. At least one's skin is waterproof.

My friend who gave me a lift to the next town this morning also dropped off a bag of leaves.  I could hardly lift it, is was so heavy with the rain we have and are having. I like dry leaves that I can run over with the lawnmower, but our forecast is rain for the next seven day, day and night.

My wellies I bought in 1989 when we emigrated from England. They cost me ten dollars in Canadian Tire and are still going strong. Typing the word tires reminds me whenI printed my first 100 business cards for a customer and spelt tire the British way - tyre. I had to redo them.

Kelejan wrote:...
I hope you were wearing more than raincoat and wellies when out in the garden, TD. At least one's skin is waterproof.
...

Bad Kelajan, very bad. 

Changing the subject from my outerwear to the weather. We have had constant rain since I planted my garlic. I'm wondering if it will survive or rot away in the wet MM.

Mrs TD and I attended a funeral today. The funeral service went well. But it was really cold, raining and windy at the graveside. Forecast for overnight and early morning includes a chance of snow flurries. 

For some reason the forecast that said seven days of rain failed to come true today and we had quite a delightful day with sunshine  and little wind.

I took a walk downtown this afternoon and took in a Tea with some nice sandwiches and cakes and saw quite a few people who I had not seen in some time.

The place was crowded and the bake table had plenty for sale; I bought a fruit and nut cake that I will slice and wrap the individual slices so that I do not eat it all in one go. It will be in the freezer ready for when I want a slice or to offer it to visitors.

So tomorrow I will keep my fingers crossed that the rain stays away for another day so that I can go down the road and bag me some leaves for the compost pile.

TD, I am also afraid that the continuous rain may  rot my planted garlic .

Mimi, beautiful salad!

TD, Hope the arm recovers quickly. I know your wife would not let you outside without proper attire!

KJ, Just curious about how far "downtown" is?

What a lovely afternoon KJ! Wish I could have joined you- it sounds like such a sweet place for tea. I made some decent Chile last night using my homegrown tomatoes (the ones I brought in a couple of weeks ago). I followed a process a lot like the crock pot marinara. I put the tomatoes with some herbs, oil, and browned garlic in the food processor- whole with skins and all- then simmered the tomatoes for a couple of hours in my wok without a lid with browned onions- and added the beans, and meat at the end, and let it simmer for a last half hour. I serve my Chile with rice.

sanderson wrote:- - -

KJ,  Just curious about how far "downtown" is?

Five minutes walk going under the railway tunnel.  Once the tunnel was flooded several inches deep and as I generally carry plastic bags in my rucksack, I was able to put them over my shoes to protect them instead of returning home for my wellies.  The city does not do a good job on the tunnel, seeming only to do something when we residents complain. 

Yesterday with the continual rain the tunnel was verging on a minor flooding of a couple of inches so I cleared the drains at either end by removing the piled up leaves.

It is also bad when the snow melts and then  freezes as it is like an ice rink but worse, like a sloping ice rink. That tunnel is only sanded after we complain and sand is dumped on top of the ice instead of before the ice can form. Many schoolchildren and mothers with strollers use the tunnel, as evidenced by all the footprints in the snow.

IMO this tunnel needs a higher priority for attention.  We have an election on the 29th for a replacement council candidate and I have asked the opinion of the four candidates and only one said she would try to do something about it.

Mimi2 wrote:What a lovely afternoon KJ! Wish I could have joined you- it sounds like such a sweet place for tea. I made some decent Chile last night using my homegrown tomatoes (the ones I brought in a couple of weeks ago). I followed a process a lot like the crock pot marinara. I put the tomatoes with some herbs, oil, and browned garlic in the food processor- whole with skins and all- then simmered the tomatoes for a couple of hours in my wok without a lid with browned onions- and added the beans, and meat at the end, and let it simmer for a last half hour. I serve my Chile with rice.

That sound delicious, Mimi.  Do you make enough to freeze for later, saving you the work of making a meal from scratch when you are tired or do not have enough time?

I always try to have a decent well balanced meal each day, but cooking for four or more and then apportioning the remainder into single portions. I like to add fresh vegetables each time when I can.  That way I buy family packs of meat etc. so each portion is affordable.

Ha ha- I wish My 21 has come back home- so we are now five of us again. And he had the left over Chile as a snack. Glad I had it though- and that he loves Mama's cooking!

This morning I made fried green tomatoes to accompany two fried eggs. It was very tart, but yummy. Kind of like the taste of pickles- not sure I did it right. A colleague said to just fry them with salt and pepper in the same oil as the eggs. I fried them for about 7 minutes (for both sides). I think I may use the ones that have started to turn yellow or orange next time (less tart).

Here are the fried green tomatoes I was talking about. Yummy but tart

Too late for me to try fried green tomatoes this year.  I have discovered that all my tomatoes are now ripe.

I have quite a number of them at one time but the end came quite suddenly when I wasn't looking.

Mimi .. that looks good. You are right about the green tomatoes being tart.

I am almost ready to start my leaf collection run in the neighbourhood. I know there are three bags at one house and it looks like about five at another house. Tomorrow is waste pickup day so I expect a lot of people will be raking up leaves today. That may provide me with an opportunity to get more.

I have an eye examination coming up this afternoon so will not get anything done in the garden after 1 pm. Have to take Mrs TD with me since I will not be able to drive home by myself.

It's funny how I try to save money in the gardening area ... free wood, free leaves, etc. I get a kick out of doing things on the cheap. But then I get hit with one or more big expenses. I will need new eyeglasses ($$$) and I have to buy new winter tires for the Camry ($$$).

Ottawa weather forecast for Thursday October 27th ... possibility of SNOW. 

I started my fall leaf collection last Sunday and came up with three bags collected near the tunnel I have to go through.  The leaves were very wet and it took a bit of effort dragging them up the slop to home .  They are far to wet to mow with the lawnmower unless we have some dry days to spread them out on the lawn, but I doubt that is going to happen with so much rain in the forecast.

I made sure that I was collecting from the decorative small-leaved trees and not the very large maples.

Finally processed the  last of some plums given to me along with a squash.

Yesterday I had 25 creatures visiting my yard;  ten male turkeys in prime condition and one frazzled hen with the ten youngsters I mentioned a few day ago, she has not lost any yet;  and next door's cat.

On this cold and windy day in Ottawa, I am picking up more bags of leaves from neighbours and wood chips from our church property. I got the OK from two more neighbours to take their leaves so that makes six neighbours who are contributing to the cause. 

Kelejan, what a cool menagerie!  

TD, do you have a big bin for your compost?  Seems like you built one.....