A Week of Planting

April was an expensive month - but things are happening around the little island pad.  All of the veggies are in the ground for the year.  3 different kinds of tomatoes, a dill plant, some cilantro, a sugar snap pea bed, and a couple of pots of cucumbers.  The strawberries have been transplanted into pots off the ground to try and help with loss to rodents. All the cost for the strawberries was last year so this year any that are harvested are free!  There are lots of flowers on them already, I think I will get a much larger strawberry crop this year.  I had all the pots already, ended up buying 3 trellis pieces for the peas at the dollar store - but everything else including bamboo sticks and cages were reused from previous years.

Peas

Strawberries left, cucumbers right

A lot of organizing took place in April, some of which involved $300 worth of baskets.  Baskets for above the kitchen shelves to hold items I use only once a year, like Christmas cookie cutters, etc. These seagrass baskets were 2 for 1 - they fit the space just right, a major accomplishment when the Michaels store they were bought at is not in our town.  I had to measure and hope for the best.

Our closet went from complete mess to organized containment.  The shot directly below is the before of our shelves.

Below is the after shot (Buddy does seem to photo bomb so many of my pictures).  Much better.  Most of that was tank tops, books I haven't read and the usual detritius of life that ends up in closets. 

The photo below is the baskets above which I shared a couple of weeks ago.  They look a bit brown in this picture but they are really grey and white - so everything is organized now, other than hubby needing to go through his clothes.  Perhaps today if I corner him.  This closet will have to be dismantled when our new carpet is installed - so these baskets make it all the easier to remove the stuff and put it back when completed.  

Our carpet has been ordered.  We ended up going with a mid-range nylon in a dark grey colour.  I can't wait, now that we are replacing the carpet in the 3 bedrooms (one we use as the office) the old carpet seems to look even worse than we thought.

Buddy is back to complete health thankfully.  Still no idea what he caught/had/licked but we have another vet appointment booked this week so he can get his annual shots.  We get them all so that we can use our groomer and also Buddy can stay at her house when we travel - her Dad is a vet and your pet having shots is one of her requirements.  She wants all animals to be healthy and not worry about transmitting disease/illness from using her services.  It does give us peace of mind when we take Buddy places there are lots of dogs at when we go walking. 

We finally know when Mom is having eye surgery - she has been waiting almost 3 years as her original surgeon for cataract surgery quit just before she was up - and she had to go to the back of the list with a new Dr.  At the end of May she will have one eye done then a few weeks after have the second.  As a result her Dr told her that afterward she can't use clothing that she has to pull over her head - only button down the front while her eye is healing.  Mom usually wears over the head type shirts so we went thrifting yesterday for some shirts.  We found 7 - grand total was less than $20. Each piece was just a couple of dollars, we luckily hit upon some 50% off sales at the thrifts.   Mom is a low income senior so was thrilled that we accomplished this with so little money.  Several of the shirts were from a large-lady store that has beautiful clothing but is not inexpensive.  I am sure she will continue to wear most of it well after her healing period.

I am trying to make plans for summer, difficult until we know the exact date of her second eye surgery - but Hubby and I hope to take Buddy for a few days in August somewhere else on the Island (or a nearby Island) for a short getaway.  Stepson #2 is coming for a few days in July and will join us in our annual fishing trip.  I was extremely lucky when I booked it as the salmon fishery was closed (meaning you can't keep any - catch and release only) until mid-July  - in an effort to replenish stocks.  Our trip was booked for after that.  I feel horrible for our guide, he is such a great guy, his business has been decimated by this closure.  I hope he will stay in the business.  Usually large resorts hire him - he may have to travel much further away to where the fishery is still open for him to stay in business until the fishery opens here.  I understand the need for conservation but it was handled poorly by the government and the BC tourism industry that relies on salmon fishing was blind-sided.

I've begun volunteering for a wildlife rescue organization a few hours a week - they are opening a discovery centre and gift store and I will be doing at least one four hour shift per week.  Right now we are in training.  This charity is 100% volunteer driven and does very good work.  I hope this works out, I have been wanting to volunteer for a while.  It costs a lot of money to rehabilitate and house hurt wildlife and it's just amazing what this charity has accomplished to date.  I am really looking forward to working there.

That's all I've got today - have a great Sunday everyone!