Summer Sales

I have been out and about all summer, taking pictures everywhere then too tired to post them when I got home, then on to the next thing and the cycle went on for weeks. I did manage to get a few posts up and I will catch up soon. I am home this weekend, taking it easy.

At work on Friday, Lynda showed me a Canadian Tire ad; power washers were on sale. Half price! I went directly from work and got one for only $125. I had been wanting one for my deck, yes I know you can rent them but I never seem to get around to it. Don't you think it turned out well?

Owning one means I can power wash the deck every year when the mood strikes me and have it looking new instead of mildewy and mouldy. It turned out rather nice and I feel like being out on the patio again. I also used it on the patio doors, the aluminum sparkles now and it blew out all the grunge from the track corners. I started looking around for more ways to use this wonderful little machine.

While I was at Canadian Tire, I picked up a new patio umbrella on sale. The old one broke a couple of weeks ago--dirty deck, broken umbrella, you can imagine how I was avoiding that patio. New umbrella only $58 and it came with a nice little surprise. I didn't really check it over in the store, just opened the top of the box to make sure the colour was right.

When it was set up we noticed the crank sat on a bulbous thingy (that's technical talk) where there was also a switch. Craig felt around and opened the back; the bulbous thingy is a battery case. What does it do?

The crank is easy to use, even tells me which way to wind it. I am a little challenged that way, I can never remember which way is up...or down and usually try both...not good for the mechanism.

The button, we discovered, lights up the spokes, casting a nice soft light in the evening! So, I am very pleased with my $58 umbrella.

These Rudebeckias were shining out of a dark corner in my little yard yesterday morning when I went out to sit on my clean patio. I love these flowers, they are so bright and long lasting and undemanding...require very little care.

And my houseplants have recovered after a summer out on the patio. I put them out in the spring and they were almost decimated by a heavy hail storm in June. I thought they were finished but left there. (another ugly thing on the patio) Eventually new leaves began to come out, I fertilized and before you know it there were enough new leaves that I could remove the damaged ones. This Mexican Lime (Key Lime) tree is looking fine now and will return to its place in the hall in about two weeks. I grew it from seeds Craig's former girlfriend brought back from Mexico City. The Mandarina tree has recovered almost as well.

Have a great day everyone! I hope to be around more often in the days ahead.