Autumn

Here it is November and I am still looking at the Victoria Grid Project photos from October. I was out shooting on a bright, sunny day. This is my pick of the first 18 I have looked at .. about half of them to use.

On Sunday we were to the Belfry theatre for a tour of the building with the VCCC group. Excellent tour. We then went to lunch at the Fernwood Inn, then back to the theatre to see Brilliant. Wonderful show, very well played.

In the garden I have the pond edging finished and the new pump installed. Looks good, sounds good. Pat has been gathering leaves with his machine and putting them on the vegetable garden for mulch. It looks lovely in its Autumn blanket. I will need to get out and do more pruning everywhere. I transplanted an iris and put it in the pond. There is now only 1 plant along that side. I am tired of the bog beans spreading everywhere. The pond looks so much larger right now.

I walked from the lab on Wednesday, so I am getting a bit of exercise. There is a very nice 'snake plant' in the Flower Shop at the mall. It would look good in my renovated kitchen; if I ever get it finished.

I have made 3 jars of green bean soup to add to my store of 'convenience foods'. We are trying to cut down on sodium intake, so are not buying the preprepared soups any longer, as they are full of salt.

Amsterdam, Holland - June 1, 2008

After our bus tour, we took a taxi back to our hotel. Later we go out walking in the area to find a place to eat. All the restaurants are full of people. We find the little lake and fountain and have a hot dog from the vendor. We go back past our hotel and find the Amsel canal and the Sheraton Hilton Hotel. We get back to our hotel and have 'snacks' in the bar-lounge. Then back to our room to rest and pack. We fly out at 3:40, so we do not really have time to do anything but get to the airport tomorrow. We did not try a coffee house or see the famous red light district. We missed the tulip festival by just a few days. On the flight home the airplane was dripping on us. There had been condensation of the moisture and we were in the seats to receive this special treat. So much for flying first class. When we get home we both have to see the doctor for our colds. We are on antibiotics and slowly recover.

At home: I made a couple more jars of apple sauce, yesterday. I have been trying to figure out how the Multiply site works. It has mostly been a frustrating experience. So, it can be storage for my old msn page and that's all I need to do with it.

Amsterdam, Holland - June 1, 2008

After the Cheese Factory, we boarded the buses again and proceeded to a village where we had lunch on our own. After lunch we went by boat to the island where there is a refurbished fishing village. Its a lovely place. We were marched around single file in long lines of tourists. Again, no opportunities to photo anything, or to really enjoy this village. Back to the town and we managed to get on the wrong bus to take us back to Amsterdam. It did not matter, as the buses were going the same place where we had started in the morning.

At home; the day turned into a beautiful sunny warm day. I was out for about 3 hours. I finished setting the pump and filled the pond. The pond looks so much bigger without all the water plants. I am undecided about putting the bog bean back. I potted up one of the irises from on the deck and added it. It is the only water plant on that side of the pond. The other side has the marsh marigold, the big lovely iris, and the sweet flag. There is still a lot of that little duck weed in the pond. While the pond was filling with water, I filled a large pink plastic pot with garden soil, put in 3 'burgundy' tulips, and 3 'blue heron' tulips and filled it with topsoil, topping it off with a layer of small stones to keep the dirt from washing out and making a mess. I planted the other 6 tulips in front of the small Spruce tree. I had some time to clean up the strawberry bed and add some of the compost around the plants. I managed to get some of the perennials at the front cut down before it was time to come into the house. It was starting to get dark and 4:15. The pond is not quite full, but I did wash down the pavers and stone paths around it. It all looks so much better for the attention. Water fall sounds good.