Goodbye January

Yes, this is the last day of January, where did it go.   I was expecting it to drag on due to the circumstances we are now experiencing but was pleasantly surprised.  Hope February goes by quickly too, and then we should be  on the home stretch until Spring.  Not wishing my life away, but I hate Winter.

Hubby cooked Sunday breakfast again this morning, so scrambled eggs, toast, coffee and juice was the order of the day.  Now he has mastered that,..... Ummmm......... thinking he should move onto something a bit  more complicated.  He also has lunch down pat, so must work on dinner, he does BBQ'd meat, but that is a bit difficult at this time of the year.    

Cloudy today, but the sky looks as if it is brightening up, so we could see some sunshine.  What sun we had yesterday, melted some of the snow on the south side of the roof forming large icicles.  We cannot reach them to break them off, as it is too high off the ground, it would be dangerous if we had to walk under them, but we don't, so they can stay there until they melt completely.

Sewing on the binding of the I Spy quilt and it should be done this afternoon, so I can call that one a finish,  then start on the second one.  It should go fast as all of the fabric is cut just need to sew all of them together.  

 Dinner tonight roast beef, brussel sprouts,  carrots and a salad.  Dessert, not sure yet.  We are trying  to eat healthier, as we find ourselves putting much more on our plates than necessary.  My late husband  was diabetic, and he would put too much food on his plate, so we used luncheon plates instead of dinner plates, problem solved.  That is what hubby and I do now,  you can't put as much food on a small plate. 

Have a great day.

All is Quiet

No additional snow....thank goodness, clouds not looking as heavy as they were yesterday and I can even see some  breaks in them towards the south of us.   Looks promising.

Hubby had to take some pain medication last night due to the exercise he had yesterday with the snow thrower.  It is quite a large machine to steer and then turn to take another sweep through the snow.  Then after dinner he removed all of the snow that had collected on the hedge as it was weighing down the branches which looked as if they would soon break.  Too much work for someone that has been taking it easy for the last three months of no outside work to do.

I did some deep cleaning in the living room yesterday,  getting ahead of the Spring cleaning, because when Spring gets here I am outside as much as I can.  But that is looking a long way off at the present time.  

Also did some quilting on my great grand daughter I Spy quilt.  It is just cross hatching, I am not very good at doing fancy scroll patterns, so I figure less to more.   I like the way it is looking, when this one is finished I will do another for my other great grands, however, this time I will make it a little bigger and add more boy themed fabric. so the whole family can take part in the I Spy game.

After those two are done I am going to work on one for our bed,  I have started it twice, hated both of the patterns I chose, so hopefully three times and out, will make one that I am happy with.

My niece and her husband both have serious medical problems, that have been going on for more than a year for my niece and just one year for her husband.  I won't bother with details but they are not going to be resolved in the very near future I am afraid.  This pandemic is not helping the issue as each time either one has to visit the hospital for treatment or surgery, no family can go in.  As they live in the country it takes about an hour and a half to travel to either of the two hospitals they need to go to.  Then they either need to wait in the car for hours or travel home and come back again.  There are no restroom facilities open and I have offered my home but they did not want to do that,.

Dinner tonight, salmon and cauliflower disguised as potatoes, mushrooms and a veg, chocolate mousse for dessert.

Eerily Quiet

Any sound that was outside today would be muffled by the snow.....snow.....do we have snow or do we have snow.  I will let you decide.

Twelve and a half inches of snow over night and it is still coming down.

Hubby is outside using the snow thrower to clean off the drive way.  I am sure it will need to be done again later.

Will update later.

12:11 p.m.   13 1/2 inches and counting as it is still coming down.

1:42 p.m.    15 inches and still counting.

Baby it's cold outside

 Last night and today have been the coldest temps we have had this year.  Snow flurries during the day, with the wind whipping it around a little here in the city.  I am sure it is a lot worse  in the open fields  out in the country.  The sun did shine several times this morning then the clouds covered the sky.

Two deer have been in the back garden twice today, they are foraging for food, eating the low branches of the cedar trees.  They rear up on their back legs so they can reach the branches.  All of the snow must be covering up what they were eating.

We have been on a mission today,  Hubby found a small brass screw on the back foyer floor last week, however at the time did not know where it came from, so he put it in a safe place.   Yesterday, he noticed the back door handle was missing a screw so he decided to put the screw he found on the floor back into the knob.  Well! easier said than done. that  "safe place" was not to be found.  We looked high and low, in every place where he thought he might have put it.  Even emptied the vacuum, to no avail.  After lunch he went down to work on the computer and noticed a small clock  that he had set to the correct time was not working properly.  Picking it up. something rattled inside, it suddenly occurred  to him,  the inside of the clock was the "safe place".  Door knob repaired as all is well.   

 Dinner tonight Swedish meat balls in mushroom sauce with fettuccini noodles and salad.  Chocolate pudding, we were going to have the pudding for dinner last night but decided to bake a couple of apples instead, they were very good.

Diamonds and trivia

 Yesterday's wet snow eventually added up to about three inches  when it was all done falling mid afternoon.   Last night the temp went down to -8*C so the snow did dry, and now the sun is shining making the snow sparkle like diamonds, very pretty.  A picture perfect Winter day.

My sister re gifted  me a address/telephone/birthday books set recently.  She does not write letters or cards so it was of no use to her.  Yesterday afternoon I transferred all of the information from two old books I had been using to these new ones.

I found the information for each month quite interesting.  On the first page of each month it features the birthstone and a short poem   Each day it notes some well known person/s and some not so well known people's birthday and also an interesting fact.  Today January 27--- 1756 Mozart was born.  In 1879 the first electric light patented by Edison.

January Birthstone:  Garnet.

By her who in this month is born,

No gems save garnets should be worn

They will insure her constancy

True friendship and fidelity.  

Anon.

Trivia for today.

Dinner tonight ham, sweet potato and salad.  Dessert fruit in jelly.

White Winter Wonderland

 Tuesday is our grocery day, and we go during the senior hour of 7:00 - 8:00 a.m.  When we left the house at 7:05 there was no snow on the ground or even looking like it might snow.  When we came out of the store at 7:50 the ground was white.  Now as I write at 9:15 a.m. everything is white and the snow is coming down fast and furious.  If this keeps up for any length of time we will be digging out for hours.  I must admit though, it is very pretty, the snow is wet and heavy and laying on all of the branches etc.   

Hubby will need to get out later to clear off the driveway, he has a snow thrower, so that makes the job a lot easier and faster.

Now I am almost ending the first week after my cataract surgery I can start doing some housework, needed to take it easy with the vacumming and all of the heavy jobs.  

Was able to get a lot done on the quilt yesterday, pleased with the way it is looking so far.

Dinner to night will be chicken, with veg and salad.

Hubby has decided  the lack of exercise and the starchy foods we have been having is causing him to pack on a couple of pounds and he wants to keep it in check, so we will be watching more carefully what we eat in the future.  

Must get at it or day will be over before I know it.

Sunshine

 We do have a little bit of it today, and I mean a little bit.  Filtered through the clouds, so it will not be warming up much today.  

Today is one of my grand daughter's birthday. she is 23 years old.  This photo show her third from the left in the white dress.  She, as well as the other five girls were all nine months old.  Myself and the parents of these children were in China completing the adoption procedures.  Seems as if it was just last week we were there. 

This is the latest photo I have of her, it was taken recently.  So proud of what she has done, which includes, figure skating, a black belt in Tae Kwan Do.  In September starting her Masters in Biology, and who know where that will lead her.

 Started the I Spy quilt today, almost finished the top, I am going to quilt this myself as it is small.  I do not tackle the large bed size quilt just too much fabric to put through my sewing machine.

Dinner tonight, pork chops, apple sauce, squash and salad.  dessert, butterscotch pudding.

Sunset and Sunrise

 Yesterday we had grey skies all day, then just as the sun was setting there was a beautiful pink colour on the Western sky.  Some of the tall trees were glowing in pink. Then this morning the sky was more orange than pink, as the sun rose even higher the living room wall was flooded with colour.  Now grey again, but it was so nice to see the sun even for such a short period of time.

It was cold last night down to -9*C, but thankfully no more snow.  

Going to take a photo of the quilt top I have finished later today after I have ironed it and picked off all of the little bits of thread.  So glad to have this one done, and now it is all sewn together I think it looks OK, liking it a bit more.  Once it is quilted it should look even better.  I will update post and show the photo.

Had some sad news this morning, Hubby's late wife's aunt is ill, and it is terminal.  She is 98 years old and such a nice lady.  She goes to church every Sunday, (obviously not during Covid),  and then on Thursday (again not at this point in time) she would get into her pickup truck and go to the casino. She would pick up her sister in law and they would go for the senior lunch, which was free, play the slots until their allotted amount of money they agreed to gamble with was gone, or they were winners   Nine times out of ten they would come home winners.

Dinner last night was beef on a bun with veg, there is enough for tonight's dinner, but will have a baked potato and veg with it.  I also made a chocolate mousse yesterday and two more helpings left for tonight.  Easy dinner for tonight,  its all made.  Bonus.

UPDATE

This is the quilt top finished.  The designer Cherri House names this quilt "City Aviation".  Made for my grand daughter who already has two pilot licenses, one for glider and another to fly a Cessna.   In Sept she will (hopefully  COVID caused her this year to be cancelled) start her training to become a airline pilot.  

The pinwheels and flying geese blocks are all three D, which may cause some difficulty when I take it to get quilted.  It is one row smaller than it should be as there was not enough of the light coloured fabric in the kit to finish it.  Now that it is sewn together I am liking it and hope once it is quilted I like it even more.  

Progress being made

 Yesterday I was able to sew all of the blocks together into rows, today I should be able to get the entire top sewn together and call it a done.  Then off to the long arm quilter possibly next week.  When i wanted a break from this quilt I pulled together all of the fabric that I had put aside to make a couple of "I Spy" quilts, so that is next on the sewing machine.  Then I have a couple of growth chart quilts and finally do something with the quilt I started for our bed.  I have started it twice and hated each of those patterns, so now I think I might have the right one to get that one started and finally finished.  So I am making progress.  Our Zoom quilting meeting is this coming Thursday, so I need to get a block done for that before then.  

Hubby is out cleaning off the driveway again this morning as we did have a little snow overnight.  It gets him outside and gives him something to do for a little while.  

I need to go and do a couple of errands, Visa needs to be paid at the bank machine and a quick trip to the drug store for body lotion.  My skin becomes very dry at this time of the year, from the heating and the dry cold air outside.  If my hands are in a lot of water during the Winter, they have a tendency to crack and become very sore.   Do you have dry skin in the Winter months?  What do you use on your skin, especially your hands to stop them from being too dry?

Cold outside this morning -5.6*C at breakfast time, cloudy skies but no wind today.  It was very dark at 7:15 a.m. when I woke up this morning, but it has brightened up a bit now, now the heavy clouds have moved on.

Dinner tonight? have not thought about it yet, but I am sure there will be food on the table when its time to est.  Lunchtime will finish the soup that I made earlier in the week, tasted better after it had been sitting for a couple of days.  Hubby asked  me to make it again and also said what was in it,  "everything but the kitchen sink" I told him.  Making the same soup would be almost impossible.

Well, second load of laundry is swishing around in the machine  and the first in the dryer, so better get moving and check on them both.

Fresh snow

 Yesterday the temp got up to 5*C  and a lot of the snow melted, however, overnight it was replaced fresh fall of snow and little more is coming down each time a streamer comes off of Lake Huron.  The wind is blowing it around also, so some drifting is occurring out in the countryside.  The snowdrops are now all covered up and insulated with the snow, they should be OK until I see them again.

Well I can certainly see better today, eye still sensitive to the light and the snow, when the sun was shining for a brief period this morning I had my sunglasses on in the house.  Not much going on today, instructions say, no washing floors, vacumming and no lifting heavy objects, that puts and end to some of the things I normally do.  Oh! well they will still be there when I can do those things in a few days.  Not that anything really needs doing.  I knew these restrictions would be in place, so did all the necessary work earlier in the week.

Hubby cleared off the driveway this morning, he may have to do it again tomorrow.  A couple of years ago he never had a computer, we went to several introductory sessions provided by our local library which helped a lot.  Since he has been retired and now all the work has been done outside he is getting to know more about the computer.  I try to teach him as much as I know, which is not an awful lot.  This afternoon he has been looking at investing websites, something which is very interesting to him.  

I have finished sorting out the scraps of fabric, all is organized now.  Started sewing the blocks together on the dreaded quilt today.  It is not as big as it should be as I did not have enough of the light coloured fabrics to complete the remaining blocks.  More of the dark fabrics than I needed though.

Dinner tonight salmon,  not sure what else, will have to get moving on that right now.

Blurry

 Missed posting yesterday, had my cataract surgery.  Left the house at 9:00 a.m. and got home at 3:20 p.m.  a long day.  Thank goodness the weather was good as were the roads.  Just a short stretch of slushy pavement as we were going, however, coming home all of the highways were dry.  Now I don't care if it snows day and night, Oh should not say that, it might.  

My vision in the left eye is still very blurry today, pupil still dilated, should start to get better as the day goes by.   

We wanted to see the inauguration of Pres. Binden, so recorded it and watched it when we came home.  So glad everything went as planned and there was now issues.  At least none were reported.  

Hubby had an early appointment for a crown to be put on a tooth today, so between the two of us we have spent a lot of money this past week, fixing all of our health  problems. But, we are able to do it, Hubby can eat and now I will be able to see.  All is good.

Tuesday, I started a pot of ham soup, and finished it off today, it smells good, so will be having a bowl for lunch today and possibly in the days to come. 

Lunch is taken care but, not sure what we willl be having for dinner tonight.  Should start thinking about it.

Peeking out

 We had light snow over night and some early this morning, however, as I write the sun is trying to peek out through the clouds.  It is looking as if today might be better than forecasted last night.  The wind is a little brisk today, so it will cold.

Yesterday I started a task in my sewing room, that needed to be done.  I save pieces of fabric, hate to throw pieces out that can be cut down into manageable squares.  I did have pieces of fabric, sorted by colours in separate bags, part of the job done in that regard.  After working on it most of the afternoon, I now have piles of coloured squares of different sizes.  A bit more organized that it was, however, now need to decided how to store these in my stacked plastic drawers.  If you are a quilter or sewer, how do you store your scraps?  That is if you save them as I do.

During the sorting I found fabric that I had put aside to make "I Spy" quilts so cut that up and now have enough to make two quilts, one for each family of great grands.  A couple of years ago, I started on a quilt for our bed, but hated the way it was looking so put it away until I could figure out what to do with it.  Now decided to make a scrap quilt.  I have already used the pattern for another blue themed scrap quilt, this one will be done in shades of grey.  The original name I was going to call this quilt, was "Fifty Shades of Grey"  still going to use that name.  Our bedroom walls and carpet are grey.  

Groceries bought early this morning, all put away,  bought a nice ham, which was on sale, so going to slice it into serving size containers and freeze it.  Other than that just the regular items we purchase every week.  I am always looking for something different as I feel we get into a rut eating the same meals week after week.  How do you perk up your menus for different meals?  Love to hear some of your favorite dinners you make for you and your family.

That ham is waiting, so will close for now.

White again

 Overnight we had a light dusting of snow, enough so we cannot see any grass.  The temp is hovering around the zero mark, so it is possible some of it may melt during the day.

A busy week, well not really busy, but busier for us.  It is sad really as it has now got to the point where we are excited to receive a phone call appointment from a Osteo Dr. today, tomorrow grocery day, Wednesday I travel an hour and a half for surgery on my cataract which will last about two hours and then the same ride home and Thursday, Hubby has a dental appointment.  I don't know how we are going contain our excitement.  Friday, we will have to think of something fantastic to end the week.  Maybe, we can cut our toe nails.  LOL

We have not seen any deer foot prints recently in our back garden, so assume there is plenty of food for the to find in the wooded area across the street.  The snow has not covered a lot of the grass, so they have not had to eat our fir trees.  We have covered our new small one with burlap to protect from the deer and ice build up over the Winter.

Dinner tonight BBQ ribs, baked potato brussel sprouts.  We finished the fruit and jelly last night, so will need to make something for dessert.

 

Slow day

We had a dusting of snow before we sent to bed last night, but now more during the night.  Quite mild, with a few flakes of snow all day, that melted as they touched the ground.

Slow Sunday, today we did not do much.  Hubby prepared his daughters income tax, not for 2020 but for 2019, just a bit late, needless to say she is vary tardy when it comes to these things.  He has been after her for almost a year to get it done, always an excuse.  You would think a mature adult would do it, eventually he does it for her.

I finished the blocks to the dreaded quilt, now need to sew them together.  As I had had enough of it for awhile I started to cut fabric for an I Spy quilt for great grand babies.  Then I looked at my scrap bins, and they were a mess so started to tidy them up.  Should get it all finished before I start something new, I suppose, so will be working on that for a couple of days.

As I said, it is a slow day, 

Dinner tonight meat loaf, broccoli, parsnip, potato and gravy.  Dessert, fruit is jelly to finished so that is for today.

Better than forecast

We did receive some light rain yesterday afternoon, but none of the freezing rain or snow which was predicted.  A little more of the snow we have on the ground melted as the temp was above the zero mark all day.  The sun is trying hard to shine, so more may go today.

Hubby fixed the downstairs toilet this morning, a lot easier than he had expected, so that was a plus. When we are downstairs watching TV, I can use that loo, instead of having to run upstairs.  

Tomorrow I start administering drops in my left eye in preparation for cataract removal on Wednesday.  Another huge sum of money on this months Visa statement. I am fortunate to be able to do that.  I will submit these to my health coverage in hopes they will cover a portion of the expense.  

 Laundry washed dried and now all folded and put away.  

Writing about laundry reminds me of the laundry my Mother use to do.  Coming to Canada in the mid 1950's there were not a lot of modern convinces, and if there were my parents were not in a position to purchase them.   And, now thinking back we did not have those when we lived in England.  We had a copper boiler in which the clothes were washed.  That is another story, so will forego writing about it here and leave for another blog day.  Getting back to life in Canada on wash day.  Mum still boiled water to wash the clothes, which were in a huge pot and the rinsing had to be done in another.  Hard work when it had to be done by hand, those sheets took two of us to do it.  One twisting at one end and the other twisting in the opposite direction.  Then it all had to be hung on the line to dry.  In Summer they were almost dry before they were finished being pegged on the line.  In Winter!, that is a bit different.  The laundry would freeze even before it was on the line.  It stayed there all day, hoping the air was dry enough to get most of the moisture out.  The one thing which is imbedded in my mind  was my Father's work pants.  They were thick and heavy and never really did dry, so when they were brought into the house after being out all day, they were frozen solid and they would be propped up, stiff as a board, into the corner to thaw out and hopefully be dry enough the next day, when they would be ironed.  I cannot imagine doing that now,  life is so much easier. Memories of the "good old days",  makes one appreciate all the modern things we have today, making our lives better.  Makes me appreciate all the things I now have, as in my early years of marriage I did not have many things to make life easier.

Do you have memories of past laundry days?  Love to hear them

Dinner tonight, well, have not even given it a thought but should.

Have a great day.

Mixed Bag

If the forecast is correct, we are going to be in for a mixed bag of weather today.  Rain, snow and everything in between during the transition.   Currently outside it looks as if none of this will come to pass, fingers crossed.

End of the week again, used to look forward to Friday knowing the weekend started tomorrow, but these days, days don't seem to matter they are the same day in and day out.  

Hubby forgot to go to his chiropractor appointment yesterday, was able to get another this morning, so that is where he is at the present time.  

I am on the home stretch in making the top for my grand daughter's quilt.  As I suspected the kit did not have enough of the light and medium coloured fabric and too much of the dark.  Decided to eliminate one strip of blocks from the side of the quilt due to the fact there is not enough fabric that I need and unfortunately, I dont have any in my stash that would work.  It will not affect the pattern, as there is really no pattern.   It will not be going to the long arm quilter as I do not have any backing, will have to look at the web site for local shops, to see if they have anything suitable.  Glad to have this top done, I need to get on with other projects.

Other projects,  I am going to start a cross stitch piece, make  two I Spy quilts for great grand babies, and do the photo album for grandson.  There is not going to be enough hours in the day for all of this, will need to eliminate, vacuuming, dusting, laundry etc. etc.  No! guess that won't happen, so need to pace myself.

Need to give myself a manicure, which I will do when finished here.

Dinner tonight, fish, wedges salad, dessert, fruit in jelly. 

Snowdrops and diary

 For the past few years I have been writing every day in a diary, not much of anything really but things that I did, weather and temps.   On Christmas 2019 I was given a diary for a two year period.  On January 14, 2020 I had snowdrops blooming under a tree in our front lawn.  This is the photo from 2020,  It had been very mild, for our Canadian winter, so these little beauties started to bloom and flowered for a long time afterwards.  They were covered in snow several times but survived. I went out this morning to see if they were blooming again this year and they were, however, the buds were not as big as these in this photo.  The weather has been mild this year too but not as warm as last year.  A nice little pick me up for today.  Little things like snowdrops make me happy.

We had some fog and clouds this morning, but this afternoon, there is some blue sky with filtered sun.  Tomorrow is suppose to be wet, either with rain or snow, could be a mixture of both.

Cleaned two bathrooms top to bottom this morning and then helped hubby purchase something on line.

Not much else happening today.

Dinner, pork chops, rice left over from last night and veg, and a small salad.  Dessert. chocolate pizza and ice cream.

Damp

Yesterday we had some freezing drizzle which did not amount to much which is a blessing.  Over night the temp rose just above the zero degree, so it all melted and we now have a damp grey day.  The kind of weather that just gets into your bones.

As of tomorrow we, (Ontario) is in a state of emergency, which means we can only go out for food, medicine and exercise.  Not much different than it has been but the measures have been put in place to now fine people who are out for no reason other that what I have noted above.  When will it end,  its any ones guess at this point in time.

I am so glad I have  a hobby (quilting) to keep me busy.  In the past I have done some cross stitch and  still have the floss, fabric and needles.  While in the drug store this morning picking up an Rx I browsed the magazine section and found a Cross Stitch magazine.  Which I bought.  Oh my goodness, I have not purchased a magazine off the counter for a long time, surprised at the cost.  There are a couple of nice projects in this mag. so to change up the things to keep me busy I will be doing some of the cross stitch. 

I also have photo's, which I am sorting into family piles and going to make albums for my grandchildren.  Hope to have one ready for my grandson's birthday next month, and another for a grand daughter in March.  Other grandchildren's birthdays are later in the year but hope to get them all done before the gardening weather starts.  

Speaking on gardening I am so glad I save some seeds and cuttings from flowers in the garden last year, so I can start my own annuals.   I feel the garden centers will not be having much for sale this year, if any, and it may be difficult to get some annuals.   

Chinese  food for dinner tonight, rice, chicken and spring rolls.  It is all frozen food so just have to defrost and heat up.  Easy Peasy   Dessert,  I should make an effort to make something this afternoon, not sure yet what it will be, maybe a crumble of some kind.

Have a great day. 

Early morning

It was a very early morning wake up call for me.....4:30a.m.  bathroom break.   Did not get back to sleep before the alarm went off at 6:00 a.m. so that we could go and do our weekly grocery shop.

The store was busier that it has been and as we did not need an awful lot we were not in there for very long.  Just stocked up on perishables today. 

It is a cloudy day and cold even though the temp was -2*C when we went out.  Looks as if this will be the order of the day.

Today I have got to get myself motivated, yesterday I was  lazy, just could not get myself moving.  The reason I think is nothing really does not have to be done in the way of housework, as I got that all done on Saturday.  With just the two of us in a big house, we are not in one room long enough to make it necessary to clean.   The rec room should have the vacuum put around it this morning,  crumbs from a snack I am sure must be on the floor.  They usually are.

Hubby had to go to the dentist and now will be having a crown put on one of his teeth.  He also had a call from his daughter yesterday, someone had broken into her back garden, over a 6 foot high fence, looking for something to steal.  On the way out he opened the gate and broke the latch, so Hubby will repair that today sometime.  She lives in a neighborhood that is not too far from another which is known for its shady  going on with its residents.  

Dinner tonight is our usual Tuesday chicken, I will do some veg and salad.  Dessert?  will need to see what we will have.

Monday

The beginning of a new work week for some, for us, however, just another day.  

It is cloudy this morning with the temp hovering around the zero degree mark, no wind so fairly pleasant out.  It may not stay this way as the forecaster on TV last night indicated there is a possibility of a polar vortex heading our way, with bitter cold temps and snow.  Hope it is wrong, in the mean time we will enjoy these Winter days of decent weather.  

We had a quiet weekend, Hubby watch football on TV I did some sewing, which seems to be the activities of every day at the present.

Hubby is at his dentist, he chipped a tooth on Saturday, so hope to be able to get it repaired today.  He has a telephone appointment with his Osteo Dr next Monday,  it should work out alright, as she only talks to him about his bone density tests and meds when he goes in person.  Such a different world we live in.

Dinner tonight is the meat balls we had last night, will do a baked potato instead of pasta to have with them.  Made a chocolate mousse of which two helpings are left, so we will have them for dessert.

Frosty

 Frosty yes, but not the snowman.  It went down to -6*C last night which resulted in a frosty morning, no snow which is a blessing.  Sun is trying very hard to shine, so it is quite a nice bright day.

Housework and laundry yesterday, but that was just about it for us.  Each day just seem to run into another with not much going on.  

There is a possibility Ontario could go into a curfew situation if the numbers of infections keep goin up.  Maybe that is what should have been done earlier.  It  would not affect us, but there are others that it would have a huge impact on.  

My GD  returned to Ottawa yesterday, after being home for the holidays, she is hoping to find a job that would take her through to May, however, the chances of doing that at this point in time look slim.   In May she has been accepted by a professor into the lab at an Ottawa University, so she can do her Masters in Biology.  I asked her what that entails, ...............she will be studying the mycobiome of plants and how it effects nutrient acquisition., which further into her studies lead her into teaching.   I told her it was a bit too deep for me I will just do my gardening with my flowers.  Needless to say,  I am very proud of her.  She has come a long way from my first meeting with her, bundled up  in layers upon  layers of clothing, with only her little cubby cheeks and big eyes showing.  Today she is a beautiful young lady, who later this month will be 23 years old, where did those years go.

Our left over dinner was delicious, as per Hubby.  So what did we end up with..... Ham left over from Easter that was in the freezer.  Bush's baked beans, cheese biscuits from the day previous. Salad of  lettuce, tomato, four mushroom's and shredded cheese.    Dessert, butterscotch pudding, a few strawberries and whipped cream.  Not everyone's idea of a meal, but it worked for us.  

We are both very well off financially, so we really do not need to use all of our left overs.  When I first came to Canada with my parents, things were very tight financially, so I was taught to live frugally.  I remember a chicken lasting several days for the family of four.  All that is instilled in me even now.  We both donate food on a weekly basis to the local food bank, and we do splurge on many things but just can't throw out good food with so many people going to bed hungry.

So dinner tonight, Swedish meatballs and pasta also a salad.  Dessert not sure yet. 

Glorious again

 The sunshine we had yesterday was lovely and again today we have the bright sun shining again.  It is still nippy out there, temp went down to -9*C last night.

Worked in the kitchen yesterday, made biscuits, some plain for strawberry shortcake and added shredded cheese to others.  We had a cheese one with our salmon and salad,  and a plain one with strawberries and whipped cream.  Too many carbs, but they were so good.  Also, a dozen cranberry orange muffins, have not tried them yet, that is reserved for lunch time.  Then the micro wave oven and  toaster oven along with counter tops, range hood, you get the idea I full kitchen clean up. I do this a couple times a week just to keep on top of it all.  The counters tops and range top get daily cleaning of course.

Laundry being done as we speak, bathrooms next when this is finished.  Have to get back into my sewing room, did not get there yesterday.

I do not comment on political issues, I have my own thoughts about our neighbour's head of state, they are not good thoughts, so enough said already.

Dinner tonight is called fridge clean up dinner, which is to get all of the leftovers used up.  While finding all of these foods the fridge will also get a good clean.   It is a good thing Hubby does not mind eating leftovers. My sister, throws out anything that is left over from a meal.  I just cannot do that.  If I can't use something within the next couple of days after cooking it, it goes in the freezer for another day.  

What do you do with your leftovers??

It's gone again

Yesterday's cloud disappeared late morning and we had a beautiful sunny afternoon.  The wind kept it cold,  it wasn't a strong wind but just enough bite to it to make it uncomfortable walking into it.  Today, clouds back again and no sign of the sun.  I do need the sun to get motivated.  I am just thankful we don't have lots of snow and bitter cold temps.  But. that can change in a heart beat at this time of the year.

Not much doing yesterday,  Hubby ordered  a  new drill from a local store on line yesterday, shortly after we received a text indicating the order was ready for pick up, so a drive to the other side of the city to pick it up.  He is getting quite good at this ordering on line stuff.

I did a bit of sewing again trying to get this quilt finished, not making much progress, but I keep plugging away at it.  Don't want to start any new projects until this is done, if I do it will just sit there forever.  I need to give it to my GD.

My GD who goes to University in Ottawa will be going back there tomorrow, she has been with family here for the holidays.  I will do a Facetime visit with her today sometime today.

Dinner tonight salmon, not sure what else yet, dessert however, will be strawberry shortcake.

Missed posting

 Up early as Hubby had to take his SUV in for an inspection as he had received a recall notice on something in his vehicle.  

Back home and we did some household chores and then we turned on the TV to see what was happening with the electoral vote in the U.S.   Well, we all know what happened so we were glued to the TV for some time watching all of the terrible things that were happening.  So not much got done after that.

We then had to pick up the car and by the time we got home, it was dinner time.   DINNER TIME!!!!

We had sat too long and now too late for anything that even resembled dinner, so can opener to the rescue.

Dinner last night, chunky soup and sandwich, and oh my goodness a jelly donut for dessert. Certainly not a balanced meal.  

Dinner tonight will be better,   BBQ ribs, broccoli, salad, dessert, fresh fruit.

Zoom

 Cloudy and dull again today, temp above the zero mark again.  I can take this kind of weather, just wish it would stay like this for the entire Winter, but, unfortunately that is not the case.  We have some really cold days to look forward to in the S.W. Ontario Winters.  

On a "normal" January 4th, the quilting guild I belong to would be having our annual holiday dinner at a nice restaurant, however, not the case this year.  We had to be happy with a Zoom meeting.  It was nice to see everyone who joined the meeting but, certainly not the way we would prefer to see each other.   This kind of get together is best done over a dinner table.   Our January meeting which was scheduled for later this month has now been cancelled due to the lockdown, so we will have another Zoom meeting.  Hope we will be able to have out in person meeting in February.  Time will tell.

Hubby is getting very restless, nothing to do.  I mentioned in a previous post, he had retired,  he has no hobbies, at this time of the year in normal times, not much is going on and it is even worse during the lockdown we are in.  No snow for him to remove from the driveway.   He was thinking about driving a school purpose vehicle in the morning and afternoon to just give him something to do, but no schools are open at the present time.  Nothing needs repairing in the house, he reads every word in the newspaper, but not books.  I am at a loss.  Any ideas?

He came for a walk with me on the weekend, but the knee he was having a problem with acted up, so he has  not been with me since.  I will go for my walk again this afternoon.

Grocery day, store was very quiet, which is just fine with us.  Out the door at 7:00 a.m. and home shortly after 8:00 a.m.  All out away and now sitting with a coffee and browsing the net.

Dinner tonight, the usual chicken dinner, dessert is some fruit we had left over from last night.  Making some cranberry and orange muffins this afternoon. 

Dreary Day

Cloudy and damp again today, only consolation, the temp is on the plus side of zero and more snow is melting, however, we now have a very slushy mess on the streets.

The snowman I posted yesterday collapsed later in the day, due to melting I suppose.

Not much happening today, the days just seem plod along one after another.

I had a phone call from my late husbands nephew, the first time I have talked to him for a long time.  He disconnected his land line and got a cell phone and he never gave me his number.  I sent a Christmas card to his sister and included my number, she forwarded it on to him..  I now have his, so future conversations in the future.  I think he is feeling quite lonely, he lives alone and his children are not living close by.  The coffee shop he frequented is closed so no chatting with his mates.  

Done my walk today, four days in a row now, hope the weather enables me to keep up the daily outing even if is only about  1 1/4 miles of walking.

The roast beef we had for dinner yesterday was delicious, so dinner for tonight is all sorted, leftovers.  I like those kind of dinners.

More snow

 Yesterday, all of the new snow we had overnight melted, as we had a beautiful sunny day.  However, we had some more early this morning.  It is very wet and heavy, so Hubby got out and cleared off the driveway before it got any heavier.

The roads were mostly clear, so went for my walk.

All the decorations were put in new boxes, so storage area is a lot neater and tidier. Only Christmas themed decoration out now is the poinsettia, which will remain on the hearth in the upstairs fireplace.  We don't use this one any more, so it makes a nice cover up in front of the screen.

The flower arrangement I received from a cousin needs to have some of the dying flowers taken out and re arranged, so they last a little longer.  That's number one on the list today, Number two, I need to spray my Winter boots again, so they stay looking nice too.

Just finished a couple of chats with family and now should get moving to do something.

Dinner tonight,  Hubby just confirmed roast beef is on the menu for today, potato,  rutabaga, salad, chocolate mousse for dessert.

 UPDATE

Outside my kitchen window today.  The snowman magically appeared in the field opposite our house. 

The snow is melting and running down the tree on our front lawn, as we were doing lunch dishes, we saw this "mouse" which was created with the water and snow.  Just had to take a photo of it.

Lovely Dinner

 Because we are unable to go out for a News Years dinner, we made our own.   BBQ  T-bone steak,  shrimp, stuffed mushroom's and salad, it was delicious.  No dessert just too full.

We had a fall of snow over night, about an inch of wet snow clinging to all of the branches a beautiful Winter wonderland, for sure.  It is now above the zero degree and the sun is trying to poke through. Some of the snow is falling off the trees, so it will not look as pretty in a couple of hours. 

All of the Christmas decorations will be coming down today and stored away until the end of the year.

Plan on going for a walk again this afternoon, doing some sewing,

Laundry currently being taken care of.

Dinner tonight, pork chops, broccoli, salad and maybe a spoonful of that chili sauce.  Dessert, not sure yet, will have to decide soon.

Mixed Bag

 That is what our weather was like for the first day of 2021;  Clouds, windy, rain, freezing rain and snow and the day is not over yet.

Hubby and I went for a walk after lunch, part of the promise I made to myself, that is to walk every day, not matter what the weather.  One day down and a whole lot more to go for this year.  It was cold but we were dressed appropriately, so we were not uncomfortable.

Had my youngest great granddaughter visit with her Mum and Dad, social distancing of course.  We stayed on the porch and unfortunately they had to stand in the snow which was falling quite hard.  They were covered when they left.  They dropped off a gift for me from my son.  A jar of home made chili sauce and four seasons of The Crown on DVD's.  I see a lot of sitting down in the future.  Will need to pace myself.

We did not do much else today, just took it easy.

Dinner tonight was lovely, BBQ steak, shrimp, stuffed mushrooms, salad and baked potato with sour cream.    No dessert,  too full.