The wind blows and blows and blows

I just turned around and poof it was Friday!  I generally start my post mid-week and post on Saturday but this week, and I'm not sure why,  time got away from me so.

This week our weather turned to warm temps but with wicked winds.  When the weatherman describes the winds in terms of how far your garbage bin will blow you know there will be no gentle breezes.  Actually we had a calm day on Friday, thankfully but the wind and rain are forecast for Saturday.  

Despite the winds I spent as much time outdoors as I could.  It was cool-ish in the mornings with temps ranging from 8-10C (46-50F) so I would get my housework and food prep out of the way before heading outdoors.  Monday, was laundry, vacuuming and grocery day.  Tuesday I put together potato and fruit salads to go with grilled burgers that evening. I had cleaned some extra potatoes so baked these in the microwave.  The following morning, I used those to make up a small batch of loaded potato soup, with sour cream, cheese, and bacon, oh my!  I also made up another batch of homemade burgers for the freezer, baked a banana loaf, and marinated chicken for dinner.  Thursday was leftover night, and on Friday since it wasn't terribly warm in the house, I prepared a homemade pizza.  I don't know if I've mentioned this, but being retired and with the pandemic on top of it, I've sure done a lot more cooking.  Putting meals together used to be a weekend chore and we'd simply manage on leftovers or sandwiches the rest of the week.  

I only managed one decent walk this week, though somehow I still managed to get in 7-10K steps most days.  On Friday, I headed out around 10 and got in just over 2 miles in 45 minutes, even with a few stops to take photos with my phone. I was pleased with my efforts, though it pales in comparison to my brother R.  He ran 43 miles in support of Scleroderma research on behalf of a friend and co-worker's wife who is dealing with this disease right now.  He finished the run just around 6:30 p.m. - after nearly 12 hours or running/walking.  I love the guy but he's nuts.

I still haven't made it as far as I've walked in past years but my stamina is increasing.

I'm not certain what this bird is, perhaps some sort of heron or egret maybe.  It had it's wings extended when I first saw it, but it wouldn't budge while I was watching it.  I'll send the photo off to my brother as I'm sure he'll be able to identify it.

Best of all this week, I had a visit with my friend K.  A real face-to-face visit, while we social distanced on the deck.  Phone calls are good, but a real visit is better!  I've not visited in person with anyone beyond my family in several weeks.  It was so nice, though windy, to sit out on the deck and chat about all sorts of topics.  One of our topics was travel, and the likelihood that there won't be any trips for either of us until at least 2022. At this point in time, I'm okay with that as I'm enjoying spending time in my back yard while the weather is nice.  I know darn well, come winter weather I'll be anxious to get away but until there is a vaccine it makes better sense to stay put.

Outside I got busy cleaning up the pine cones and pine needles under the large tree in back.  By the time I finished on Wednesday, I'd picked up two large black garbage bags, and four small white bags.  On Friday, I started digging up some of the gravel and moving it over under the tree.  I'm using a screen to sieve out the smaller stuff to leave where it is for now.  This is a project that will take me several weeks to finish (if I ever do).  I know that when the landscapers come in next year, they'll dig it up so perhaps I get some of it out of the way before then.  I also spent an hour or so washing the exterior windows.  I'm not particularly good at this, as I almost always end up with some streaks...but the rain today should help with those, right?  No matter, the windows are much cleaner now.

I woke up this morning to overcast skies and by mid-morning the rain was coming down hard. The radar showed a half dozen thunderstorms within 100 km. (60 miles) and I heard lots of rumbles for an hour or so.  I'd take it as we need the rain, it's been very dry this spring. Unfortunately it didn't last and all we got was a lot more wind.  It was a quiet day, I had a bit of headache in the morning, so decided to curl up in bed and watch a couple of old curling games (pun not intended).  I watched the Gold medal final from 2010 and the semi-final of the 1997 Olympic curling trials.  Both games featured Kevin Martin, though with different teams.  They won the gold and the semi-final - which I already knew. What made it more interesting was the difference in the quality of the video - no HD in 1997!  And the advertisements, oh my.  

Tomorrow we're supposed to get more rain and possibly some sun. I'll probably just putter around the house, maybe bake a batch of buns.  Funny, how the week flew by but the weekend is not.  Hope you're all well.  Have a good week ahead!