Thank you so much for all your messages of concern over the past few days. They are all very much appreciated and I hope you didn't miss my presence both here and commenting on your blogs too much. I did read all your posts but simply didn't have time to leave comments for you.
A little note of explanation - a very dear friend became very ill and passed away quite suddenly. He was the principal caregiver for his wife who is suffering from Alzheimer's so it was necessary to find a safe place for her until appropriate arrangements can be made for her long term care. They have no family here in Canada and there are no children so we have stepped up to help out as we can.
Needless to say there has been precious little stitching happening here but I'm slowly returning to it now. It's certainly nice to get back to what resembles normal here at Chez Magpie!
Altho'....mentioning 'normal'.....just to add interest to our lives....in the middle of all the running about I walked into our storage/pantry room last week and was met with a face full of moths. Apparently *someone* (not mentioning any names...but it wasn't moi) left the lid ajar on the container of bird seed and we 'had a hatching'. Oh my word - there's been a LOT of them!! Interesting fact for you....did you know one single moth can lay up to 400 eggs? And just to show that we don't do things by half measures, we had to remove every.single.thing. from the room....spray with bug killer.....throw out all kinds of food....spray again...wash every.single.thing....swat, squash, mash and otherwise decimate the little critters all over the house. Wash walls, ceiling, floor and ultimately return everything to the storeroom (EXCEPT for the bird seed which is now outside!!!!!!!!). As *someone* (see above) was returning the very last thing to the shelf, a bottle of beer took its life in its hands and did a swan dive off the shelf. Cleaned up glass.....re-washed walls....and floor...
We purchased some traps and between those and the fly swatter we're gaining on them. Now, fingers crossed that one of the little bug-grrrs doesn't manage to lay 400 more eggs....
The quote of the day is from Reeva Steenkamp...."I've realized that although Valentine's Day can be a cheesy money-making stint to most people, it's a day of expressing love across the world. It doesn't have to only be between lovers, but by telling a friend that you care, or even an old person that they are still appreciated"
Welcome back sweet MA. My deepest condolences on the passing of your friend. You and your Mr. are truly wonderful friends to step in and take such good care of very difficult necessities. Yuck to your moth invasion and I hope they all got very drunk on the spilled beer and flew the coop. May you and your Chef have a lovely Valentine’s with some much needed R&R. Those beaded critters are beyond spectacular! I have my CQ issue and your pieces are wonderful. Thank you for always being so giving of your rime and talents. Happy Hearts to You.
ReplyDeleteHappy Valentine's to you too Sherry! I'm very glad to be back and picking up my life again after a stressful couple of weeks. We still have work to do for our friends but the worst is over we hope. Unfortunately it doesn't appear the moths drowned in the spilled beer but they are slowly getting evicted.
DeleteBless your hearts for helping your friends
ReplyDeleteIt's what friends do - particularly when our friends don't have any family here. They don't have any children either, so that makes it even harder for them.
DeleteMy sister had the same thing happen years ago when she took ill. Every cabinet we opened had a surprise. I get very annoyed with my husband when he forgets to close up the bag of bird seed he leaves in the mud room. I love your quote today! (So sorry to hear about your friend.)
ReplyDeleteMy advice is to keep the bird seed outside!!! We certainly learned that one the hard way.
DeleteHappy Valentines' Day to you too Mary Ann.
ReplyDeleteTaking care of a friend in need, wonderful.
And battling an invasion of moths, you have been very busy.
Bless you.
And to you Janie! Valentine's Day here won't be much, but perhaps once all the dust (and moth guts!) settles we might take a sanity day. Have to wait for the weather to clear before we even contemplate it!
DeleteWelcome back! It's good of you to help your friend. The moth story is gross, as you meant it to be. Public shaming for the person who isn't you! We had an ant invasion a few years ago and I just could not get rid of them. It turned out that there was some maple syrup in the cabinet and someone, not me, didn't screw the cap on. The thing was FULL of dead ants! Disgusting! Haven't had an any problem since.
ReplyDeleteYep - public shaming, for sure! Now I've read the ant/syrup story, I have a mental vision of pouring them out onto pancakes. Way to give a kick start to a day!!
DeleteWhat good friends you are! And just as I was thinking what a lot of work that must have been (and perhaps still is?) you write about your moths. EEK! A single moth can lay 400 eggs? And you had a swarm of moths???? No more bird seed in the house, here!!!!
ReplyDeleteGlad to see you back, Mary Ann. I hope you get to enjoy some stitching now.
EEK!
Definitely no more bird seed in the house - not ever again! Still getting a few moths every day but the numbers are dwindling. Just hoping none of them decided to lay any more eggs!!!
DeleteHi Maryanne what a lovely thing for you to do ,you are such a caring friend to this couple. Oh dear lots of moths would've sent me running,lolits funny how these things happen but nobody did it,lol xx
ReplyDeleteWell I have to say that 'nobody' is now keeping the bird seed on the balcony!
DeleteJeepers! 400 eggs! who knew! That would be a mission to get rid of all of them. Bet they were quite happy in your pantry while you were away. 'Someone' won't be doing that again for sure. So lovely you were able to help your dear friends wife. It is not easy when the person doesn't have family in the country. A friend has been doing the same for her singing teacher who died recently and whose only family were nephews in the States - she has done a lot of work on the estate for them. It can take quite a bit of time to work everything out for the best. Nice to have you back.
ReplyDeleteWe weren't actually away - I was just away from the computer. Fortunately our friends live locally so that made it somewhat easier. And yes, I was horrified when I read the 400 egg statistic too. I'm sure we had all 400 too!!
DeleteYou are good friends. Yikes! What an ordeal with the little critters. I must put the bird seed in the garage and not in the hall closet. Thanks for the links - some very interesting ones. Happy Valentine's Day
ReplyDeleteThe hall closet is definitely not recommended, not after what we've been through. Never would have dreamed that something so innocent as bird seed could wreak so much havoc!!
DeleteI'm sorry to hear about your friends, but how wonderful that were able to help.
ReplyDeleteEww, what a mess! That's not the way to go about "remodeling" your storage/pantry!
Ha ha - the storage room probably DID need a good cleaning but not exactly under these circumstances!
DeleteOh no...not the beer bottle! =) I did not know that one moth can lay 400 eggs, what a mess. I am sorry your friend suddenly passed away. How lovely of you and Jack to step up and care your friend's wife and see that she is looked after. Put your feet up in that spotless home of yours and enjoy a little stitching; you deserve it.
ReplyDeleteand what ticks me off is that we don't hardly ever drink beer....it's mainly for company (and sometimes goes in a stew). We buy a few bottles and generally end up throwing them out. Stitching is happening once again and that makes life happier here at Chez Magpie.
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