Its a muggy, overcast day at the farmette. Already more than 20 degrees Celsius. Yesterday was a sauna, but we got a little relief late in the day with rain showers.
We're getting into the thick of canning season. Already 'did down' four pints of tomato sauce, and lots more on the way.
We had a great double birthday celebration (Sandra's and mine) last Sunday on the deck. Just the Thorntons, older sister Barb (with the hibiscus tucked behind her ear), Rob and I. The corn on the cob was delish, as was the mountain of ribs that Rob cooked up on the barbie. Yum.
The garden and the beds are full to bursting with the bounty of the season. I'm quite pleased with the sunflowers that have emerged from the seeds we received after Melanie's memorial last fall. We still really miss her. Best, smartest and funniest veterinarian ever. Full stop.
My friend Pat suggested I dry the seeds and re-plant them next year, and so on, and so on. She's even volunteered to take a few and plant them in her bed. I'll do that. Nice legacy from a wonderful woman.
I finally followed through on one of my not-resolutions from the beginning of the year. It was the depths of the pandemic and I, like a lot of people, started thinking about what would really make me happy.
That's when I decided to get back to the piano. I figured, I'm returning to a whole bunch of things that I resented when I was younger (e.g. gardening, canning, etc) and found a lot of joy in them. Why not the piano?
So yesterday, we took a trip up to Long & McQuade's in Owen Sound. It's a fantastic store that sells everything from ukeleles to double basses. Within less than an hour the nice salesman with a cat named Tina Weymeowth (I asked if she also plays a mean bass guitar, like her namesake from the Talking Heads) had sold this Roland beauty to us and we trucked it home to the farmette.
I'm really, really, rusty. But I found an app (there's an app for EVERYTHING) called Simply Piano that will help me take the baby steps back to Bach, and a whole wack of other classical and contemporary songs. I actually plunked out a one-handed version of Bohemian Rhapsody already!
Sister Sandy, who's a researcher, said I should take a baseline video now, and then another when I can easily rip off finger-tanglers in the future. Not a bad idea, either.
Feeling grateful today - that I have friends and family with great ideas, and a new keyboard (not work-related) that I'll put to good use. Until next week.