Adventures and housework

Just finished this post and accidently deleted it, so here we go again.

The title just about says it all.  Tuesday David wanted to buy some "rooting hormone" for the slips he took off our magnificent Tulip Geranium.  We were told about it by the lady who provided us with the original slip a year ago.  As well she has promised him a couple more slips this year, when we see her next Sunday.  So he found a place that had it and was open-not easy this time of year.  So off we went to Shelmerdine in Headingly.

For a change we took the South Perimeter to Roblin Blvd and then West, along the South side of the river.  Oh My!  The McMansions we saw! As well, a few older, smaller homes interspersed between, perfectly livable, but one just knows that they will probably be bought, and then torn down to make room for one more McMansion.  The other thing I noticed was the number of new housing developments everywhere, most still under construction or obviously very new.  A big issue during our recent civic election was the apparent lack of control the city has over the timing and placing of these developments.  This is probably linked to the city having no apparent long range plan for dealing with growth.  So we end up having to pay for all of the amenities these developments need while our roads turn to s--t. 

Yesterday was our very early Doctor's appointment.  In the past, he has managed to control the list of patients, and which exam rooms he wanted everyone in, but this time there was not one, but two, women behind the reception desk.  Much smoother, as we could arrange our next appointment without hanging around until the previous receptionist came in at 7:00.  She still did, while the women just moved down the row of desks, and tended to other things.

Since we were in the same part of town as David's Day Hospital appointment, and we usually go out for breakfast after these early appointments anyway, I had looked up Smitty's in the area.  I really didn't want fast food.  There was one somewhere around Garden City Mall.  It took quite awhile to find.  David finally spotted the sign, but there was no entrance from outside the mall.  So into the mall, at 7:25 in the morning, while David waited in the car.  But I found it, although I wasn't sure it was open, until I heard a tiny voice say "they're all in the kitchen".  So off to tell David and then a lovely cooked breakfast.  I asked if we could stick around for a bit, since there was only us and the two who had been here when we arrived.  She couldn't really say "no" with an almost empty room, so we sat a read our books until it was time to head to the hospital.  Then I went home, prepared our bills to pay later, and went to bed for two hours.

We have decided that, with the rise in the basic interest rate, we don't want to be paying the higher interests that may result, so decimated our savings account and paid off our Line of Credit ( still paying for the kitchen and bathroom) as well as both credit cards.   This will give us more discretionary income, and hopefully, end the need for plastic money.  Well, we can hope anyway.

Time to get back to the laundry.  Got the flu shot yesterday, so when I say "stay safe ladies" you can know I'm talking about more than Covid.

Here I am....

 .....with a ham sandwich and a cup of Celestial Seasonings Tea Fruit Sampler - and this sample is called Country Peach Passion. Don't laugh..I'll take it where I can haha!

And i just pulled out my bottle of St Remy Brandy...not to drink..but to brush on some Fruit Cake to freshen it up for a taste later. I still have two more cakes from our baking in 2021. And I hope none is on the agenda for this year, but that I do not know. 

We went shopping this morning early and did not have much to buy thank goodness but also had to fill up with gas. I had the vehicle in for  Service yesterday and go the four new winter tires, a new muffler, and the chip from the manufacturer to heat the front seats that was missing when we go the car last Feb, and the multi point inspection which was due. All came to too much $. It seems everything is happening at this very time when the pocket is bare. Sunday we had to take our Bailey to the Huronia Veterinary Emergency Clinic located in Barrie ( three hours down the highway towards Toronto) The entire day there in the parking lot while they looked after him ( we are NOT allowed to enter the building) and again, it all came to too much $.

Today I hope to get out side before the rain comes to continue with cleanup - leaves and leaves and more leaves all over. I plan to decorate for Hallowe'en over the weekend but disappointed that the weather to date calls for showers on Mon Oct 31.

Time to get back at at. Hope all is well there. Take care of yourselves and be safe please. 💗💕

If I thought Thursday was stressful, welcome to Friday!

 Thursday was cooking a stew, and running errands, while trying to find a few minutes to spend in the studio.  By evening, I was too exhausted to even shower, a rare occurrence.  Friday was also spent power cooking, this time the 2 lbs of ground turkey I had bought, thinking it was a bargain. I had spent time Thursday looking for recipes on the Internet for ground turkey, but not really fining any that would work for us.  So, I thought about it for awhile, and ended up making up my own recipe.  While I had originally been looking for two different approaches, I settled on meatballs.  Usually we make beef meatballs  all a certain weight (2 oz.) with the use of our scale.  This time I wanted smaller meatballs, as I thought they might be more versatile.  David finely minced onion, while I mixed in spices and a few breadcrumbs.  Along with the "usual suspects"--garlic, salt and pepper- I added Italian seasoning and cumin--both a common thread in the recipes I had read.  Then I used my 1 tbsp. coffee spoon to measure out the meatballs, but instead of rolling them in flour, I used pancake mix, also a suggestion from the internet. After browning off, they  were divided between two casserole dishes, one with Kikkoman Stir fry sauce added, (it had been in the pantry forever) and the other with Turkey gravy, and popped both in the even for about an hour.  We ended up with 9 good sized meals from $10 of turkey-pretty good, by my standards.

While I was doing this, David was preparing carrots for the largest pot of "pip and squeak" I've ever made.  We'll be eating it for days.  And-- while all this was going on, we were also doing the laundry.  It was about 3:00 when the cooking was finished, we had missed lunch, so put the veggies on to cook, too, and ate supper at 4:00.  

Neither of us did another constructive thing for the rest of the day--except having showers.  I'm still exhausted, and have no plans for doing anything more today.  There are some advantages to being old, although actual cobwebs still show up.  Deal with them tomorrow.

Challenging Day

 The title says it all.  'Nuff said.

There have been a lot of accomplishments and acquisitions over the past couple of days.  Yesterday I went to the group meeting in Lorette.  One of the ladies crochets winter hats, and I had said I might like one if it was a dark colour. Well, she turned up with one of those helmet like things with ear flaps, and braids to tie under my chin.  She also crocheted it in two layers so it's super warm.  It is in deep navy, plain in the inside and with a silver thread stitched in on the out side.  And, yes, I will wear it when I need to. But she didn't have change for a $20, so I have to pay her next week.

As well, the lady from whom I ordered a home baked fruit cake, also showed up with something for me.  Again, no change for a $20, so someone else I have to pay next week. It is a lighter cake, with lots of fruit, and about the size of a regular loaf pan, but maybe not as high.  I have now started to brush brandy on it and wrap it in cheesecloth (amazing what can be found in my studio).  However, we tried a tiny piece tonight, and it is very nice, but will probably benefit from the moisture of the brandy.

This week I bought the makings for beef stew, as well as two 1lb packages of ground turkey.  The stew got made today, without benefit of beef stew seasoning, and lots of flavourings from my spices on hand, and my imagination.  Not too bad, if I do say so myself.  I've been on the internet for ground turkey recipes, and was dismayed to find that most of these sites now expect to be paid for their recipes.  So David went out and bought some turkey gravy mix, and I did find a few recipes that I didn't have to pay for, so tomorrow hope to deal with the turkey--as well as the wash!

Today, the last of the 16-5 1/2" square Pineapple quilt blocks was finished.  I have been working full out on this and am very glad to see the last of the construction.  They all have to be sewn together in three different configurations, but that should be a breeze after actually having to make them.  Plus, I now have a large bag of 1" strips to use in my next charity quilt, leftovers from the hundreds I cut for those darn pineapple blocks.

My next job now is to get David's computer up and running after having a major clean out.   It was in the shop for a week. Thank Goodness for the left over brandy.  Again, 'nuff said, and good night ladies.

The snow doth cometh...

 One might say that we had our first real snow fall to welcome us to the coming winter season, and get us in the mood. Enough to have to clean off the car and shovel a little off the sidewalk, but as usual with the first fall snows, the sun came out mid day and all that glorious white stuff is all but gone now. As a matter of fact, i was able to go outside this afternoon and dig the last of the potatoes and clean up more tomato plants at the back. Not much of a potato crop this year but it will be enough for several feeds and tomorrow I will be making a nice big casserole of scalloped potatoes. Yummy....

Harry has been busy making dehydrated fruit as a treat to nibble on. The first batch was made a few days ago and turned out to be excellent so today we shopped for more fruit and now it is all cut up fine, marinated in a fruit juice and lemon mixture, and loaded onto 12 trays and in the machine.....it will take well into tomorrow to dry.

Tomorrow I am going to try making some raisin scones. I have wanted to try it and found a fairly simple recipe so wish me luck. i would like to eat them as a morning snack or breakfast perhaps. The recipe makes eight so i can't go wrong in having too much of a less than satisfactory result if that is to happen. 

All is quiet now as the animals have all been put to bed, so having my "nighty night" tea and then off to bed to see if I can sleep. Lately sleep has eluded me. And my body is starting to rebel haha!

Take care and be safe... watch out for that nasty Covid . The PHU is having a Flu vaccination clinic here in Sundridge at the Arena on Nov 9 and we plan to attend - otherwise the Pharmacy will also be providing them.  So many needles in the last few years..what are we to do?   😓

Gorgeous

 Hello,

I just read the Mouse Factory blog and I must say i am so impressed Pati with your work so far. As i said previously I followed on The Quilt Show when Dee Christopher did this Long Gone pattern as a learn live weekly show. I could not believe it then, and seeing yours to date, i still cannot believe that you have sewn this so beautifully - so many small pieces. I applaud your work and your patience.

Have a lovely weekend folks and be safe. Take care.

I guess you are the winner....

 Hi all,  👏

I guess you win Pati as I just checked you Cathy, and you are supposed to get flurries later. But we are getting rain so far and this week to come does not look like any snow yet.

I just came in for a break as I am working out in the yard with a nice winter coat and hat on and trying to get the little greenhouse fixed up for winter and ready for the Spring when we put a heater in. And since it is coldish and wettish, I have had to bundle up.

The first thing I did was clean up all the bear excrement around the yard.  I kept slipping on it haha! I should rake some leaves off the sidewalk and driveway but I may have to leave that as well as I am getting tired and cold. A nice cup of tea sounds delicious right about now. And I have no Tim's near me to splurge like you Pati (oh woe is me)

Hope all is well with you there... and be sure to take care on those roads as you drive - both of you!  Thinking of you....☺

And we have snow---

 I knew it was inevitable, but why did it have to start on the morning I had to drive across town during morning rush hour. David is safely dropped off at Seven oaks, and I made it home okay, but, I look outside and see it getting whiter and heavier, and wonder what I'll be dealing with come 2:00.

However, I treated myself to a "cuppa Tim's" on the way home, so it will be okay--one way or another.

The rest of the weekend

 We did go pie shopping and found excellent pumpkin pies.  Yes, plural-we bought two of them.  After all, we had to use up that litre of whipping cream. We celebrated, food wise, Sunday.  Then Monday, we visited David's sister, Gail.  We've never done this before, unless there was a family gathering at her house.  A very pleasant visit.  We talked quite a bit about her garden.  She knows every inch of it, the name of every tree or bush, and how the birds act during the various seasons.  I know this comes from her living alone and being able to hire help when its needed. The conversation involved a lot of reminiscing and a mental sorting out of extended family, and where and when everyone fits in.  Tuesday, the discussion carried on a bit between David and Loren.  We also found out that Loren is going to the Grey Cup in Regina with a buddy. 

Then, this morning I weighed myself for the first time since last week.  I was down just over a pound, despite having my share of three different pies, and lots of whipped cream.  I think that knowing I would be eating pie, and then eating it, I did little snacking.  As well, we were both much more active than usual.  

Today is my group in Lorette.  There is also my Divas group, in the evening, out in Charleswood, near where the Overwaters used to live.  This means a lot of night driving, getting home quite late, as well as being a little "jazzed up".  Since we have to be up early tomorrow for David to go to DH, I've sent regrets for the Divas meeting.  I never thought that I would ever choose a group of irreverent older ladies over the Divas fibre art group, but I did.

As well, I've been active in the studio.  I moved things around and can now watch tv while sewing and have the ironing board just to the right of the sewing machine, so I don't have to get up to iron.  I hope to get a picture of what I'm doing for the other blog.

Time to move, I guess.  Best get on with the day.  Stay safe.  There was an article in today's newspaper about how the new premier of Alberta, considers the unvaccinated in the province as the most prejudiced against group in her province and wants to make special efforts to make it up to them.  Please don't consider moving to Alberta.

Thanksgiving

 I hope all of you had a good thanksgiving in one way or another. We had a huge!! Turkey. There were only 6 of us but we did our best. Rrain was here for her birthday pumpkin pie, we invited Barb, and Kellie and Markus. Markus helped Jim with some jobs that he just couldn’t do on his own anymore. We played crib, taught Markus and Kellie frustration rummy, and Barb laughed at the competitiveness between Markus and Kellie.  But I guess I used the last of my energy on the day cause today is one of the last nice days we have and I am already burnt out. I got a couple of chores done, and Lucky got a walk but that was it.  Good thing we have leftovers for supper cause I am not up to cooking. Tomorrow I have a board meeting and Thursday I am volunteering at the legion. I am not sure what is happening. I have to show up by 8:30, with a dozen muffins then she said something about getting the coffee and muffins out and then coming back later to put on more coffee and put out dainties!!!  I guess I will find out when I show up. Once again the wind has come up, spoiling what was a nice day. I am going to put on my jacket and sit outside anyway. ♥️♥️♥️

Catching my breath

 Several things on the calendar towards the end of the week, but I ended up backing out of several of them. Just not up to it. David had his first time at Day Hospital ( DH) Friday.  He was to be there and 9:00 and be picked up at 2:30.  But Friday is laundry day, you say.  So, a problem, but not really.  We showered Thursday evening, and then took all of the laundry baskets downstairs.  The sheets were also washed Thursday.  This actually made Friday, on my own, much less of a problem. But it was a bit of an unusual fuss and bother, so David asked if his day at DH could be changed, and next time he goes on Thursday.  He also asked if they would please call him Dave, rather than James.  I wasn't sure he would do that, as he doesn't usually bother when dealing with Health Care.  

After getting home, David declared that the pork shoulder steak I had found at the bottom of the freezer was inedible, as is.  So we went out for supper.  Then yesterday we took whatever meat he could get off the shoulder, and added the meat from a pork chop, and cooked both of them together in the slow cooker, again with the Diane BBQ sauce.  Not too bad!  I had spent most of the afternoon working on an agenda for the upcoming Board meeting out in Selkirk, and was glad not to have to fuss too  much about supper, as David was glued to the Bomber game on tv.

We'll be celebrating thanksgiving today.  Couldn't find a pumpkin pie at the grocery store, so bought an Apple Crumble pie instead, along with a litre of Whipping Cream. Still have the Whipping Cream, but will have to go out today to see if I can find another pie of some sort, or some other dessert that needs Whipped Cream.  There will just be the two of us, and another cheaply bought chicken, but it's the concept rather than the stress of a large family gathering.

Enjoy the Holiday ladies, along with whatever company you are privileged to find.

So much for which to be thankful

 Happy Thanksgiving to all,

Whatever we have planned to celebrate this weekend of thanksgiving, may we all be happy and healthy.

I have included two pictures I just took from the plants I brought in for the winter -my houseplants. I am amazed at how beautiful and healthy looking they all are and flowering - even the cacti are covered with buds. But it is this azalea tree that is brilliant with buds all over and some already flowering. I took a chance to take a picture hoping you would get the idea of how gorgeous and inspiring it is to look out my kitchen window while at the sink and gaze upon this beauty in the room below.

And a closeup to see the blossoms:

Do you know the name of the plant just in front with the spears of white lily like flowers? It seems to bloom all the time but I do not know the name only love the look of it.

Happy Thanksgiving.....thinking of you all.  

Be safe and take care 😚❤

Lots of leaves to rake up

 Here we are in the Fall with so many beautiful coloured leaves on the trees it is glorious this year. And they are also falling on the ground here at home which means a bit more cleanup is necessary. The neighbour next door brought out his big machine yesterday with the huge device on the back and vacuumed his lawn nice and clean. Mine is not! But then the leaves keep falling so what is the point...right?

I am doing what i can outside and right now cleaning the leaves from the ground is not priority for me. But I am making some progress and with a few days of rain forecast this week I might rest a bit from outside work, but then get right back at it by the weekend. The rest may do me some good as i can feel the strain on my poor old body haha!

Pati you mentioned that quilt you started called Long Time Gone, and i was compelled to look it up again on The Quilt Show because I had watched several episodes of Dee Christopher Live making that very quilt. Was it this series that prompted you to start the quilt or, had you already started it before on your own? It is very detailed and intensive from my perspective, so I wish you luck at rejuvenating it from your stash and look forward to some reports ( no pressure of course haha!) I am still looking closely at a more recent show where the guest made one called A Maze Zing which caught my eye. I have printed a picture of it, marked the actual show to watch again, and plotted a drawing of its structure on graph paper. Idle time I guess.....

This morning I plan to bake some muffins to take with us to Mike's tomorrow as we celebrate Thanksgiving with him..an early celebration but then we do not have to adhere to the actual day since we do not work and can choose a day with maybe less traffic? Harry will prepare the fixings for the meal today as well and then we will head out early tomorrow,

Speaking of early, I am a bit cautious these days taking the dogs out in the dark in the early morning when I get up. First a few weeks ago it was a warning of coyotes in the area of our street and the next, and then a warning of a bear in the next street. The day before I was in the yard and came across a certain indication that a bear had visited us. Several huge piles of excrement in different places in our yard!!!! And then the next day an indication of another visit in seeing the bark from a tree stump in our front yard where all the bark had been clawed away and left on the ground. But no actual sighting or encounter, thank goodness. Its scary out there haha!

Well on with my day folks. Hope you are having some nice "sit out side" weather. We must enjoy it now before the snow flies. We are all ready with our Hallowe'en candy bagged and in a laundry basket, and all I have to do is go to the storage unit and bring the decorations home and decorate closer to the actual date.  But we always seem to get a touch of the white stuff before that date.

Take care and be safe...Thinking of you ..👵❤

Hand coming around

 Of course that makes me want to use it.  The box is finished, and a not posted about it on the other blog.  My husband appears to be a new man since coming off the CPAP machine.  Much more energy, and shorter nights, only 9-10 hours.  We are both more energetic, and are wondering if this is a caused by being more active in general, or the end of Long Covid, or a bit of both.

The yard is ready for winter.  We had our last grass cutting last week.  His machine even chewed up all of the small twigs that came down from the tress with the last heavy windy day.  He also takes all of the refuse with him, which suits us just fine.  All of the furniture is in the garage, and even poor old lion is put away for the winter.  If you remember, our fall "lion ceremony" was usually on Thanksgiving, but since there are just the two of us, it was a little earlier this year.  And, instead of the youngest male present carrying him into the garage, David used the wheelbarrow.  But the leaves still fall and blow around, so David is using his yard vacuum to pick them up and we still put out a yard waste bag every two weeks, and will be able to for an other month.

While shopping this week, we found a bargain on boneless chicken breasts.  I use so much boneless chicken, that I keep an eye open for bargains like this.  So that section of the freezer is full again, including two meals of filet--always a treat.  We also found the Golden Dragon thick Honey-Garlic B-B-Q Sauce that we both enjoy so much.  We have been looking and asking for this for several months.  Today I get to add up what we have spent on food over the past month.  I'm not picky about the details-if it's an expenditure in a grocery store or restaurant it counts.  I've been doing this for about 6 months, and know, in my mind, that this month was particularly bad, but 6 months gives me enough to do comparisons.  Not sure what I'll do with the results, but have a hunch that we'll choose to live out of the freezer for awhile.  I think everyone has a few "mistakes" that sit in the freezer until they get thrown out.  Well, we're starting to eat those now.  Yesterday we had two small "tenderized" steaks.  Yeah, with the first meal, they needed so much tenderizing that they almost fell apart, and were still barely edible.  This time I browned them off, and put them in a casserole with some canned gravy and put them in a slow oven for about 90 minutes.  They were fine.  A treat even.  Today will be bone-in chicken legs, cooked the same way with Diana Sauce.  The sauce has been sitting in the cupboard for far too long, and needed using.  David has one potato that needs using, and I may use a bit of brown rice.

There's one problem with this type of cooking--I get to do the cooking.  But David gets to watch the football games that he loves, so maybe not so much of a sacrifice, after all.

Again I urge you to stay safe ladies.  I know I carry a mask with me -always.