Backyard boozing and Jell - NOOOOO!

It's been 10 years since I started this blog. You can see the first-ever post here.... http://rickssummer.blogspot.com/2010_06_01_archive.html

It's not much to look at (Nothing has changed) but in all the time I have been writing this, I never missed a month without posting - until now! 

You would think that with Covid keeping the world in lockdown I would have all the time in the world to write piles of crap  - But it's exactly the opposite - My life is busier than ever- At work, we have lost our trainer, so as well as installs, I am also training the customers, which takes a lot more time. At home with Hannah unable to go to daycare, Buffy is juggling her work and childcare - so at times we both work evenings and weekends - Buffy catching up on her work and me doing things I can't fit in during the day because I have Hannah for an hour here and there to give Buffy a break. 

Luckily, in Manitoba, there have been only 300 cases and with only 10 or so current infections, things are getting back to normal - Pubs have reopened at 50% capacity the daycare Hannah goes to is opening in 2 days and we can get back to some kind of normal - with evenings and weekends to relax and visit the cabin while the weather is nice.

Anyway, one thing I have discovered in the last month is why Jelly is called Jello over here......

For those who don't know, Jello/Jelly in the UK comes in a packet very similar to the ones you find here, but inside is a very different animal. In the UK the Jelly inside the packet is actually JELLY. Its a lovely delicious small cubed rectangle which most kids in the UK steal from the cupboard way before mum or dad can get around to boil a kettle and make real jelly in the fridge. That's because the Jelly in the UK before you actually make Jelly from it, is delicious and eaten like sweets or candy. Its basically a 3 x 4-inch gummy bear - Every kid in the UK has been caught out by their parents eating a full block of it at some time in their lives and if they say they haven't they are lying!!

This is what jelly in the UK looks like....

and this is the North American equivalent...

So that is why its called Jello over here  - The kids climb up onto the kitchen worktop, open the cupboard with dreams of delicious hand-sized gummy cubes. The find eth Jelly packet and grab it from the shelf. Sneakily, the kid runs upstairs or into the garden finding the hiding spot that mum and dad know nothing about. The tear open the packet - mouth drooling at the thought of the biggest tastiest sweetest treat they could imagine and then they shout - J-E-L-L-Y......... But before the Y in Jelly leaves their lips, they pause and see a crap, dry dust-like substance. Their minds race, they can't eat that. It's not good. The joyful JELLY - turns into a JELL- OH!
Oh,
what the fuck is this.

That is how Jelly became Jello.  (It's only a miracle that its not called Jell -No!

jell-no

In other less gelatinous news - we have been spending a lot of the last few weeks in the back yard (Garden) the weather has been lovely and sitting out there, playing with Hannah has been great. Apart from the deck. Our deck is not in a suitable state for a small person, or Hannah to play on at the moment. Some of the wood is rotted through, there is the odd nail here and there that has worked itself through the wood and become a hazard. So a few weeks ago we bought a large outdoor rug that could cover the dodgy bits until we decided how to fix the problem parts. We thought about taking the deck to bits and rebuilding ourselves, but, to be honest, we want to enjoy the summer months out there lazing about, not working. so that idea stopped pretty quick. So we started to look at replacing the deck - with another deck or maybe a stone patio - one that wouldn't go rotten in 5 years and need replacing again. It took me and Buffy about 15 minutes to decide that's what we are going to do and about another half hour to find a good company, book an appointment and get it all sorted out. We are booked in for the 2nd week in July to get the new patio built. The company quoted us $700 to remove the deck though and as we are a bit tight, we said no and decided to do that part ourselves - plus I wanted to see just how bad our patio actually is underneath, 

So for the last few days, I have been cutting, pulling and smashing the old deck to pieces and it really was bad. Some of the planks literally fell apart in my hands. There were rusty nails next to broken screws and I could see where rotten wood had been replaced previously and had started to rot again, 

I think there is supposed to be wood there!

I originally had a plan to get it completely removed by the end of June, but as usual, I went a bit mad and it's done a month ahead of time!

Some other people have been building nearby too. Well, not building, but filling in stuff. One of Hannah favourite little playparks has two areas - one with a couple of slides which she loves and a climbing area for bigger kids. This area did have rubber safety matting down, to protect the little kids from killing themselves. But last week it was replaced by soft bak pieces. However, the workmen did a shit job as they put so much bark down it covered a lot of the play structure. I am sure they think it will get lower as kids play on it, but it is a lazy workman that leaves it like this....

Supposed to be a seat  - above the ground

For climbing on  - not sitting

Ridiculous

Her slide is safe though!

Hannah is doing great - She has started to count and is very very independent. She loves to climb anything and os getting to be a loveable little tearaway. She is loving being able to get to see Grandma and Papa (What Hannah calls Grandpa) as often as possible now that the main Virus danger seems to have passed and as explained earlier she goes back to daycare on the 8th June  - That's tomorrow!!

She is also very grown-up - Remember I said we spend a lot of time in the backyard - I enjoy a beer on a hot afternoon. So does Hannah - (For the Fuddy Duddies out there I will point out that (a) The beer can is empty and (b) Hannah did not drink it all. She prefers a gin and tonic!

She oke to take a lie down after drinking too much though. The hammock at the lake is her favourite at the moment...

and after an afternoons boozing she is just like the rest of us and gets a bit Huggy!!

Then she has a bad habit of drink driving her red rocket.....

and she likes nothing more than climbing and sliding...

Then after a hard day its back to the backyard to grab another beer and look for an apartment...

She likes to help with the washing up...

One tiny paddling pool isn't enough.....

SHE wanted to wear one of my united tops!

and she is the boss when she goes shopping with mum!!

and talking of mum - we are so happy that the pubs are open again - me and Buffty McPrairiegirl enjoyed a lovely warm summer evening sitting outside the Elephant and Castle last week. Good times are back!!

That's it for today. I will try and get back with more updates bullshit and non-virus related news soon!