Quite day

 We have not done any celebrating for a long time, passed that stage, so a quite day and evening is in the cards.

It is a very dismal wet day, more like the beginning of Spring than the beginning of a new year, temp in the teens above the zero mark and all of the snow around us is gone now.

The turkey soup lasted us for two lunches with a little left for one of us tomorrow.  I have some chicken in the freezer so thinking of making some soup out of it, also have a butternut squash, have seen some tasty looking recipes on the web, so that is one of going to do also.  Need something warm in the tummy these days of damp weather.   

Monday I am taking all of the inside Christmas decorations down and if it is still mild will have Hubby take down the outside lights.  We only have two strings so it will not take long to do.

My DD1 gave me a amaryllis, so will plant that  and put it in the window where the Christmas tree has been.   Never had one before, looking forward to see the red flowers it will produce.    

Have no idea what we will have for dinner and really not in the mood to cook either, so it will be something quick and easy.....pizza? tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwich whatever comes to the table is not going to be meat potatoes and veg.

Wishing everyone a safe, healthy and happy New Year, for those who are now celebrating the first day of 2023, hope you have a wonderful day.   We have a few hours of 2022 left and glad to see it go.

Cheers.

It's almost gone

Yes, 2022 is almost gone and along with it most of our snow.  Only small piles of it left where it was the deepest.   By the time the temps finish being above the zero mark there will be none left.  Making room for more to come next year and it usually does in Jan. and Feb. and most likely in March too.

Went out to an "all you can eat" sushi restaurant last night, it was so good, half the time did not know what I was eating but, that didn't matter it was all very good.   Enjoyed my evening with DD2, SIN and 2GD's.  Hubby also came, not use if he liked what he ate but, he had his fill.  

One GD is leaving tomorrow the other on Monday, not sure when I will see either one of them again, both are so busy with school and live many miles away, so it could be not until Summer some time.

Had my turkey soup for lunch today, it was very good, even it I say so myself.   May continue to make more homemade soups  in the future.  There is always some satisfaction in eating something you made yourself instead of buying it.  Likely much healthier for you too.

Not much going on today, and we are not doing anything for the New Year either.   Will watch the New York city ball drop with a glass of bubbly for me and a couple of snacks, that will be all of the excitement for us.

We have been having a cleaning company come in and do a biweekly vacuum and dusting, I am thinking of telling Hubby just to cancel their visits as I feel they do not do much for the price they get for it.  They do not move anything, not my way of cleaning.   I hate to do it as they are two nice ladies and I am sure they need the job, but...........    

We are having salmon for dinner tonight.

Have a wonderful day/evening.

Cheers.

 

Damp

Sun was just starting to rise when we got up and stayed around until mid morning, now we have clouds, which are forecast to bring rain for a few days.  Temp is up tp 8*C so a lot of the snow is  melting, because the soil is frozen solid it will not be able to soak in, staying on the top and along with the rain may lead to some flooding.

Did not get to finish the turkey soup yesterday, so at present it is simmering away on the stove, must admit is is smelling delicious.  Lunches for tomorrow and Saturday.  I do  not make a lot of soup, no idea why, maybe a New Year's resolution should be made to do that.  Not fond of a lot of floaty stuff in my soups if I don't know what they are, ie: rice, pasta, lentils etc.  

Visited my great grands yesterday afternoon, they were happy with their gift, money.  At the end of January, their grandparents gave them train tickets, tickets to see the aquarium in a big city, so I gave them money so they could buy something in the souvenir shop while they are there.  They were all pleased.  My GGS will be 13 in March, and I swear he has grown two inches since I last saw him in September.  now he has got to be 6 feet tall,  a basket ball player in the making? maybe so.

No dinner to cook tonight going to have an early New Year's dinner with DD2 and family and also say goodbye to my GD's who are leaving on the weekend.

Have a great day/evening.

Cheers.

Above zero

 For the first time is what feels like weeks we have a temp above the zero degree mark and some sunshine.  Not suppose to last and rain is forecast for the next few days.

Grand daughter is back to normal and now in possession of an epi pen.

The smell coming from my kitchen is from  turkey bones simmering away, which will end up as a pot of soup later today.

Going to visit five of my great grands today and give them their Christmas gifts.

We have been invited out for dinner tomorrow night with DD2 and her family, going to celebrate New Years early as DD2 has to work and grand daughters are heading back to university.  It is a sushi restaurant, I love sushi, hubby? I don't think so, so not sure if he will be coming or not.

No plans for us for New Years Eve, quiet evening at home is in order, I may have a little tipple or two.

Not much else happening today.

Have a great evening/day.

Cheers

Second post for today.

 We live near Lake Erie in Ontario, this  lake can get very rough and treacherous even in the Summer, in the Winter even worse when combined with bitter cold temps.  Pictures of the ice build up were on the news so this afternoon we took a ride to see the lakeside for ourselves, 

Last week we were in the middle of a blizzard with winds on the lake 100 kms per hour, there was still open water, so the waves were whipped up into mountains.  Along with the winds there was snow and bitter cold temperatures.  Combine all those elements along with the spray of water and Mother Nature certainly knows how to form the most beautiful ice sculptures.  Here are just a few of the photo's I took today of the pier/breakwater in this village.  During the Winter weather it is too treacherous for people to walk out on the far end, so gates have been installed.

This is a side view of the gate, there were a lot of people there so difficult to get in front of it, plus the ground was not safe for me to be comfortable walking on it as it was so slippery.

These are lamp lights, use your imagination and so many things come to mind.

It was bitter cold, so didn't stay too long.

All was calm

Christmas dinner was enjoyed by almost everyone at the table, a couple of complaints but, no leftovers other than turkey, so it couldn't have been that bad.   Next year is a long way off, perfection can be mastered  in 300 and some odd days I am sure.  Being a little sarcastic, can you tell.

Christmas day DD2 and her hubby and two daughters arrived in the afternoon, so we partook of some red wine.  Within the hour the eldest granddaughter was on her way to the hospital emerg dept. as she was having an allergic reaction to the wine.  After fours hours on an IV and meds she was back here, still looking very swollen, so bad it didn't look like the girl I knew.   Now she needs to carry an epi pen and meds on her at all times.   Dr. indicated it could have been the sulfates in the wine.  Checking with her yesterday she is feeling a lot better.

Both of these grand daughters are Asian, alcohol gives them and other girls adopted at the same time, an "Asian Flush",  their faces get very very red and hot, which is, I am sure some reaction to the ingredients .   Most of them have learned, the hard way, they cannot drink.  This had never happened to my grand daughter on previous occasions.

Yesterday, son, D-I-L, grandson, grand D-I-L, great granddaughter, daughter and S-I-L came for a visit in the afternoon for nibbles and a drink.   Lovely visit with them all, as they do not get together very often these days.   I will visit my other great grands tomorrow afternoon.

Now all is calm, will get some lunch.

Cheers

Calmer

 The weather calmed down a lot over night, but the temp did not go much higher than yesterday.   Thankful, we did not lose our power, my sister more than likely did, as when talking to her on the phone the line kept on cutting in and out and she said her lights were flashing on and off.  

Hubby blew some of the snow off the driveway and from the end at the street level, as the snow plow piled it up quite a lot.  It's frozen solid into little clumps, so very difficult to drive over.  

Only a few more days like this then towards the end of next week, we can expect rain, temps around 8*C. which will make one heck of a mess, possible flooding, from one extreme to another.   

Door bell rang yesterday afternoon, a bouquet of flowers from my second cousin in the UK.  he always sent flowers to Mum, my sister and I, and still does it for sis and me.   This could possibly the last year though as he is quite elderly and really not well.

Some prep done for Christmas dinner. anxiously waiting to see there are any changes happening tomorrow.

Just sitting down for awhile then start dinner for tonight.   

Merry Christmas.

 

It's White

 

We are in the middle of a blizzard at the present time, temperature at 4:45 p.m.   -14*C however, with the wind gusting to almost gale force, it feels a lot colder, -25*C or even more.  Exposed skin can freeze within 5 minutes at -35*C.

I am inside and staying there.

Wishing all my readers a very Merry Christmas, stay safe no matter if you are trudging through snow or basking in sunshine.   

Have a wonderful weekend.

Cheers. 

Ready

Only thing left on my baking list is a cheese cake, then I am finished.  Did some shortbread this afternoon and fed my fruit cake, it is tasting better every day after I give it a drink.

We finally had a day of sunshine, the calm before the nasty weather arrives later this week.  Tomorrow is rain, and then all H%LL breaks loose, the forecasts are indicating everything Mother Nature can throw at us.   Hoping my family members will be able to travel before the roads get bad.

Might end up with bread and jam for Christmas dinner if the power goes out, all of our appliances  electric, may have to end up with using the BBQ or even the fireplace.

Two of my granddaughters and their families  are ill, GD1 and hubby have Covid, GD2 five children and herself all have the flu,  stay home and get well.   We can get together in the New Year, please and thank you.

Not much else to talk about today.

Have a great day,

Cheers.

Done, done and done

Finished my shopping this morning, after a trip to the book store,  a winter clothing shop, gift card center and the liqueur store, my poinsettia is not going to be ready, so purchased another lovely red one.

Baked mince tarts, sausage rolls, and no bake squares, just need to make a batch of shortbread, and give my fruit cake another drink.

Also got my gift to me, a pedicure, seems as if I have got several things for me, from me this year.   New phone, new coffee maker (it replaced one which was under warrantee but, its new) and now my toe nails look pretty.   

Grocery store tomorrow for hopefully the last shop until next week.  Do not relish the thought of going out later this week.  List completed, I think.

At this point in time it looks as if by this time tomorrow I should be ready, I hope so anyway.

Cloudy all day, with just a few flakes of snow, going to be cold tonight -9*C is predicted, and we will not see any sunshine until Wednesday.   

Have a great day/evening.

Cheers.

White Christmas

 Changed my header photo, as you can see by the date it was taken in January of 2018, certainly no where near this much snow today.

We had only a dusting of snow yesterday, and light snow is falling as I write, don't expect the temps to get high enough to melt it, so a White Christmas it will be for us.  Just wish the cold wind would stop blowing, it's not very strong, however, any wind at this time of the year makes it feel so much colder.  Over the next couple of months it will only get colder though.   Only positive, in a couple days we will have our shortest day, then a minute or two each day which will increase the length of the days, it won't be very noticeable though for quite a while.   

Pizza last night was delicious and we have enough in a doggy bag for dinner tonight, I don't mind pizza two nights in a row, will make a salad and "Dinner's ready". 

Later today will need to make up our grocery list for next weekend, there is no way in blazes am I going into the stores on Friday.   Butter is on sale, almost half price, in the store we shop at.  The limit is four, that's all the sign said, I picked up four, Hubby went in later and picked up four.  He then had to get a new Rx from the drug store which is in the same mall, four more butter,  there are 12 lbs in the freezer.  We did the same thing last year at this time, only one lb left from that purchase.  I make sure I wrap it well and we have not had one package that took on flavours from anything else in the freezer. We do not use a lot of butter, so this last purchase will last us most of the year.  

Hubby is watching the football final match, I am not too excited about it, however, will watch the final few minutes of it.

Both Granddaughters are home from there universities, I was worried about their travelling as the weather further north has not been very good, lot more snow than we have.  Grandma always worry about these two, they have so much potential to do great things in the future , I would be devastated if anything happened to them.  There are so many reckless drivers on the roads these days who pay no attention to the conditions of the roads.

Have not done any sewing this week and likely will not be doing any until the new year, just too many other things to do at the present time.

Going to start some baking, mince tarts, sausage rolls, date squares and "no bake cookies (biscuit)", (can  "no bake cookies" be classed as baking?), of course, I need to melt the chocolate.  

Have a great day.

Cheers.

 

 

One done

 Of all the plans made during the last couple of days, only one got accomplished yesterday.   All of the Christmas decorations that I plan on putting up are up.   The only thing not doing what I wanted it to do is the poinsettia, some of the leaves are turning red but, certainly not enough to call it a poinsettia.  I will be doing some shopping on Monday, so if there are any left at the nursery greenhouse I will treat myself to one.  

Last night the phone rang at 10:15 p.m. who rings at that hour of the day........emergencies!!!   By 11:00 p.m. we were at the hospital emergency, home at 4:00 a.m.  Those waiting room seats get very hard after a couple of hours.  I tried to sit as far as I could from the door because it was cold outside but still got a draft every time someone came in or went out, took me a long time to warm up once home.    All has been taken care of, not to worry.   So due to very little sleep not a whole lot is being done today.  Did manage to get a few baking supplies which will be turned into some goodies tomorrow....not happening today.  

 Something positive  this morning my new coffee maker arrived, going to enjoy a nice coffee with my breakfast tomorrow morning, instant coffee is not my idea of coffee no matter what brand it is.

Only, only she says, twelve sitting down for Christmas dinner this year.  

As i write the last of five loads of laundry in the washer, it's 5:00 p.m.  yes, it has been a slow day.  Thanks for the dryer on these Winter days, because they would never get dry outside today.  Light snow fell most of the afternoon, not much accumulation, for which I am thankful.

Going out for pizza tonight.

Have a great day/evening.

Cheers 

Zero

Of all the things I was going to do yesterday, how many of them do you think I got done.  Zero, zippo, none, not a dam thing.  Why?   Because the weather was awful Hubby could not do what he wanted to repair outside, so decided he wanted to watch a movie that we had picked up a couple of days ago at the video shop.   It is a Blu-ray disc which we can use in our player.  Well not yesterday.  We are of age, that know squat about all these new electronic gadgets so we fumbled around for much too long trying to get this thing to work.  After Hubby's son looked at it in the evening, it was decided the disc player is not working and never will.   

Today will be much of the same post as yesterday, so will not repeat everything I wrote.  Hopefully, something will get accomplished.

The number of dinner  guests has now increased, twelve people possibly fourteen will be having Christmas dinner here.  My DD2 and her family will be coming.   Did not expect them but, she insisted I should have at least some of my family with me on Christmas day, I agreed with her.  It will be nice to have them at the table with me.

So far today it is quiet weather wise, no freezing rain, rain, snow or wind, we escaped all of the terrible weather around us.  Not to worry we will get our share sooner or later.

OK, I am off to decorate a tree.

Have a great day.

Cheers.

Not a nice day

 The weather forecast last night predicted some awful weather and unfortunately it was right, maybe not quite as bad as it could be but, just the same its not a nice day out there.

What is so bad...........freezing rain,.......the rain is cold, the roads everything is cold, temp hovering around the zero mark.   The rain freezes on contact with everything, at present there is a coating of about 2mm on everything which makes the branches of trees very heavy, along with the wind gusts these branches brake off and cause damage to anything and everything.   Our city has a lot of mature tall trees, so this weather is not kind to them.   We have had the power flicker once so far this morning, could be more as the branches touch or fall on the power lines.   We have not even started our Winter yet.

My coffee maker quit working yesterday, a new one is on the way from the manufacturer.  So glad I submitted my warrantee card when I purchased it.  My lucky day as the warrantee expires mid January.

Going to put up the last of the Christmas decorations today, then make a list of all the ingredients I need for some baking on Saturday and also a grocery list for Christmas dinner.  I am a list maker for most everything, not anything new, always done it, I do like to be organized.  Our turkey is in the freezer we got that earlier in the week.   

Need to pick up a couple more gifts and then that shopping is done.  Only buy for great grands and two granddaughters who are at university and college, a total of 8 people.   I am thinking about buying myself something in the New Year, not going to tell you what it is until I actually get it.

Should get busy so I don't have to look outside at the weather.

Have a great day

Cheers.

Cake done

Early yesterday afternoon I went to our local bulk food store and picked up all of the ingredients for the fruit cake recipe a fellow blogger posted.   I must admit it was the easiest fruit cake I have very made and will make it again.  I did not have any Sherry the recipe called for so Brandy went in instead,   Over the next few days the cake will received a drink of brandy once in awhile.   Had to sample it, and it passed muster by me, Hubby not quite so sure, I don't think a fruit cake was ever included in their  Christmas food, as his late wife's family was Polish and each country has their own foods to enjoy at different holidays.  I am was born in England, so fruit cake was always present during the holidays.    

Everything was white with snow this morning when we got up.  Only an inch of wet snow, and it clung to all of the branches, a Winter wonderland, it will not last long, thank goodness, as temp is predicted to go above the zero degree mark.

My son, D-I-L, grandson, his wife and their daughter will be visiting me on Boxing Day.   I am going to ask the rest of my family  if they might be able to drop in for a visit on that day also, if not, that's OK.  Just as long as those that can, come over during the holidays is fine.  

Don't think my poinsettia will be ready to show it's colours before Christmas, may have to go an buy one.   I don't think we have had enough sunshine during the day to promote the colour.  I tried, and will try again if it doesn't work.

Roast beef for dinner tonight, not sure what will be for dessert.

Have a great day.

Cheers.

Christmas tree

 We had a beautiful sunrise and that ball of fire is still shining down, however, it has become quite windy, so we are not getting much heat out of it today.   Snow is predicted for tomorrow, how much? not sure those clouds coming off the lake can be fickle, inches of snow in some places and just a few flakes or none at all 50 miles away.  Hope we are included in the latter.

While the cleaning ladies were here I finished my Christmas tree wall hanging and hung it up in the kitchen later in the afternoon.   It is made entirely of scraps of green, white and ivory/beige scraps.   After putting it all together I cut holes where I wanted to have a light and then fused red fabric around the hole so it would not fray.  Inserted a small string of battery powered lights, ( don't worry, they are the kind that do not get hot and they will not be lite for any length of time anyway, so no fear of a fire).  Put together the sandwich of batting and a backing and quilted the background.   Placed the battery pack in a pocket, now I have a lighted Christmas tree in the kitchen.   Here is the photo I promised.  It is square, the battery pack makes it look crooked.

The lights do not show up a lot as I used the flash to take the photo, happy with the experiment, would I do another, possibly,  I would change the background fabrics and try to come up with another way to secure the lights on the tree.  For now, it will be OK.

We went out for dinner, tried a restaurant we had never been to before, the panzerotti was huge, unfortunately what made it so big was the pastry/bread all around the meat and cheese, it was really too thick.   Next time I would choose a pizza, as the one on the table next to us looked delicious.

Laundry on, lunch soon and then off to get ingredients for fruit cake and make a start on that today.

Have a great day,

Cheers

Sun?

The day started out cloudy and cold, but, it looks as if we might get some much needed sunshine sometime during the day.    Have not seen it for a long time.

House cleaners coming this afternoon,  this will be the second time they have visited.   So happy they can do the heavy work for me, just could not and would not do it anymore.   

Not much else on the agenda  for today, I am sure sitting around doing nothing is not on the list.

Hoping this will be a day when I do not need to cook dinner and we can go out for a meal.

Have a great day.

Cheers.

Christmassy

 Yesterday I got out my Christmas cards to write the UK ones and get them in the mail.  While in the closet I brought out a few decorations to put me in the spirit.    Pillows on the sofa, table cloth on the dining room table for starters.   During the next week I will get out some more, not putting a lot around the house, just a few things so I don't look like a non believer of the man in red. 

I am working on a Christmas wall hanging of my own design,  will take photo's when it is on the wall in the kitchen.

Had a nice long chat with DD2 this afternoon.

Plans for hosting my family might have to be done in two sittings, as DD2 only has one day off during the holidays, her daughters, my grands, are home from university for  a short while, one has to get back to the lab to make sure her experimental plants are OK.  Some calls are going to be made to ask what the rest of the family has off for the holidays.

Cloudy and dull day and cold breeze, the forecast indicates it all down hill from here.   I did go for a walk bundled up, so it wasn't too cold.  Glad to get back into the nice warm house.

Not much else going on.

Cheers.

Now must get busy

Fellow blogger from down under posted the recipe for a fruit cake, going to get busy and get all of the ingredients I don't have in the house at present to make it this weekend.   It looks easy to make and looks even more amazing after it has been baked, so will give it a try.  Thank you.

Done absolutely nothing today, well should not say that really as I have been here there and everywhere and not accomplished anything.    Answered a call from a neighbour she loves to talk, then called a friend who lost her husband a short while ago, had to leave that call before it was really finished as the plumber arrived.  

I must write my Christmas cards that will be sent to the UK this afternoon, and get them in the mail system.  

Trying to decide what to have for dinner, so must get busy doing that.

Have a great day.  

Cheers.

Purse a little lighter

Had a bad night of sleep, or should say lack of sleep, Hubby got up to the loo at 4:00 a. m. and tossed and turned until 6:45 a.m. so my sleep was disturbed.   At times like this I wish I was  "napper" unfortunately not so, will be catching up on those ZZZ's tonight for sure.

We had our investor man here today for some advise, got groceries, had lunch, got my hair cut, bought some international stamps, if they go up any higher I might just by a plane ticket and deliver the Christmas cards myself.   Then I went to look for a new phone, thus the lighter purse.  I just want a simple phone to make and receive texts and calls and take a photo if needed, that is all I got.   All of the info, contacts etc. etc. was able to be transferred from my old one to the new one.  Christmas present from me to me.

I had to kill a half an hour or so while my info was being transferred to my new phone, so wandered through the mall.   I knew Bath & Body had  a special on their foaming hand soap so bought some of those, I do like to use them.

Dinner tonight was chicken, scalloped potatoes, asparagus and peach crumble for dessert.

Have a great day,

Cheers.

It died

My phone.... it was charging  then it wasn't, so now need to go to the mall tomorrow and determine what the problem is.   

The day started with a lovely sunrise and then the clouds moved in so the air did not warm up very much.  There was a cold breeze, bundled up and went for my walk anyway and had a nice chat with a neighbour on the way home.  We are to expect some rain overnight, just as long it is now the white kind of precipitation I don't care how much it rains.

I must get into the baking some Christmas goodies now I am not bogged down with that inner body problem.  Cookies, date squares, nanaimo bars and one of the bloggers made a boiled fruit cake which looked so easy and delicious after baking will look in my collection of recipe's to see if I have one. 

Not much else happening today.

Busy tomorrow, groceries, hair cut, and get my phone looked at.

Have a great day.

Cheers.

Here I am

Back again, it has been a stressful few days, so have not felt like doing anything really.

Internet is still OK, fingers crossed it stays that way.

Hubby feeling better after Dr. visit yesterday.

My internal system is working now.

House cleaners are now coming in every two weeks, to do all of the vacuuming, every room except kitchen and bathrooms have carpet, just way too much for me to do.  I was doing a room a day, by the time they were all done it was time to start all over again.  Now two cleaners do them all in a few hours.

Today is very, very windy with a mix of rain and some sun, temp at 10*C.   

Visited my sister this week and had a good time, on the way home we went out for dinner, so I had a great day.

I have attached two photo's of quilts made recently.  The baby quilt/playmat  is going for a raffle, the multi coloured one, is going to be donated to a refugee family.   That is the one I call the quilt from hell as all the colours were out of my comfort zone, usually I use a colour not so bright or busy.   The blocks are all different and we had to follow a pattern to make them fit, certainly not my usual way of putting a quilt together.  My partner who was suppose to help me did not show up at the guilds sewing day, so I had to do the whole thing myself, where others in our group all had a partner, which I am sure was a lot easier.    The quilt is done and now hopefully being enjoyed by someone who needed it.

Sorry the second one is on it's side.

Not sure what we will be having for dinner.   

Have a great day,

Cheers

Internet

Our internet has been down for four days, it appears to be an ongoing issue, must be due to the  age of the hardware used in this area.    Will do a post tomorrow.

Cheers.  

Foggy morning

Woke up to fog this morning, now all but burned off by the sun, still not too warm yet, but a promise of some nice weather this afternoon.

Quilting guild meeting tonight, the last until January.  We do have a dinner usually early January just after the New Year, so expect or hoping is a better word we can do it this holiday season.  Missed doing it for two years.  I have two quilts for show and tell, will take a couple of photo's and post them tomorrow.   

Not sure what we will have for dinner, sure to come up with some kind of nourishment later this afternoon.  Never know what to prepare these days, my heart is not in it and tired of the same food all the time.  Need to find some new recipes.

Have a great day.

Cheers.  

Another one

 Yes we have sunshine again, I am looking at it from inside today.

Because of my regular routine has not been followed for about two & half weeks, my system is all out of kilter.

Prunes, prunes and more prunes and over the counter meds, have been consumed, so hoping for movement soon in the right direction, if you get my meaning.  I know way way too much information.

Short again today, not much going on, so going to get another prune.

Have a great day.

Cheers.

Warmer

Before I could get my groceries this morning I had to scrape the frost off of my cars windows. The sun is now heating up the air a bit and the wind is not as strong as it has been in the past few days, so a better day.   

Wow! the prices of some things in the grocery store are getting higher and higher.  It makes we wonder if, we the general public are victims of stores taking advantage of us.   I know produce is going up due to issues with drought and disease in regions where they are grown, but I still wonder.  

We had to have a plumber do some repair work for us early this afternoon, now we can flush the toilet.   What did we do before indoor plumbing.  That out house was real cold on Winter days, and one did not linger for too long.    

Much Later:

I went to our local professional theatre performance tonight with a friend with whom I worked with years ago.  We have been going to the theatre for more years than I can remember.   On the bill tonight was ELF, I quite enjoyed it as well as some children in the audience.   The set sign and costumes are always well done and did not disappoint tonight.  It was quite a long performance for a lot of the little ones to sit through, I thought it should have started a little earlier than the 7:30 p.m.  

Cheers, I am off to bed.

 

 

What is that in the sky

 We can finally see that ball of fire in the sky, it certainly is welcome, even though it does not have much heat in it any more.   Temp today does not have the minus sign in front of it, that is good, however, the wind is still quite strong and has a bit to it, which make it feel a lot colder than it really is.

I have been on a mission for a week or more to get my senior strength flu shot, finally today I was able to get it, so will be protected somewhat for the flu bugs currently making their way around us at the present time.  

Not much else going on here today,  I am going to make my way into the sewing room for an hour or so when I have spoken to you.  

Have a great day.

cheers.

Wish it would warm up

 Minus degrees at night, and not much warmer during the day.

I am not fond of this snow and cold temps this early, it makes for a long Winter.

Hubby still has pneumonia, three weeks into it now, Dr. says it could be 4 - 6 weeks before he is 100%, age is a big factor.

Not done much today, other than Dr. appointment and grabbing a few things from the grocery store.

Weary, both body and mind, however, I feel things are getting better after the talk with Dr.

Too late for me to hope everyone has a great day, well, maybe not for some readers down under.

Cheers.

Snow and nothing wrong with my blog....

Way, way too early for this white stuff, leaves are still on the trees for goodness sake. 

At the present time there is approximately 2 inches of the stuff on the ground, as always at this time of the year the ground is still quite warm so it won't last, I hope.  It is only 1*C outside, so a warmer coat, gloves and what ever else I need to keep me warm will be put on today when I go out.

As my title indicates there is nothing wrong with my blog, however, I am deleting some posts, I vented and at this point in time serve no other purpose.

Hubby is convinced he is dying, I can see no reason why he would think this but nothing will sway his thinking.   Big discussion this morning. 

I have been invited to have dinner with DD2 this evening, I am going, Hubby's son is going to sit with him while I am gone, as a couple of days ago Hubby almost fell and I would not feel like enjoying myself if he was here alone, even though I do believe he would be OK, he does not think that way.

To you I might sound as if I am selfish and not caring, I do care.

Have a great day.

Cheers.

Missed posting yesterday

Foggy yesterday morning and it did not burn off until 11:30 a.m.  Then we had sunshine and a beautiful warm day.  I can take more of those.  It was a bit foggy again this morning, but cleared earlier than yesterday.

Hubby is still feeling under the weather, glad we have an appointment with the Dr. on Tuesday, but at the present time, that seems like a long way off.  

I helped pick up leaves today,  I drove the lawn tractor which picks up the leaves and then stop where Hubby is by the trailer.  He has been sitting down waiting for me to get there, and he takes the bags off and empties them.  They are just too heavy for me to lift and the sides of the trailer too high.  We no sooner clear off the estate and then you would not know we had done anything.  The brisk breeze is bringing them down fast but,  not many branches are showing on the trees, so we have a lot of work before us.   Six loads of leaves gone to the depot, I am sure we have twice that many yet to go.   Cannot leave them laying on the ground just too many of them and they will kill the grass.  I do love the smell of the leaves with the dew on them, when  they are just starting to decompose.  

The temp got up to 22*C today and  the same is forecast for tomorrow, with a 40% possibility of a shower.

Dinner tonight salmon. not sure what else yet.

Have a great day.

Cheers.

Just as I asked, it's gone

 After several days of wet miserable weather, the skies cleared yesterday afternoon and we have sunshine for the next five days.  Warmer than normal temps too, I will take it.

The leaves have been falling fast and furious during the rain we had, Hubby is now outside picking them up with the lawn tractor.  I am hoping they are dry, as they are very heavy when wet and we have to unload the trailer, I find it hard to do.  This is the last Autumn I will be helping, can't do it any more.  

He is still in a quiet "mood", not sure what it causing it,.....me? health issues? not sure but hoping he will snap out of it soon.  At our age one has to expect health issues, my attitude is, try and correct it if possible, either with meds or other means and get on with life, there may not be many more years to do that.  Being miserable for days on end is not going to fix it.  Don't get me wrong it is worrying but, that does not help.  Talk about it.

I have been working on a baby quilt/play mat for the last few days, my own design, sewed it altogether and saw that I had placed two pieces of fabric in the wrong position.  Took it apart to fix and now have entirely changed the design.  Will work on it this afternoon, want to get it done so I can gift it before mid month.

Called the garage yesterday to change the tires on my car to the winter ones.  Hate having to do that for two reasons, the rims and hub caps are not the best looking things, certainly not like the summer ones, and second I will be prepared for the winter weather, snow, ice, slush and what ever is thrown at us until April.   

We put our clocks back this coming weekend, and my son posted a cartoon on FB which shows workers and a truck moving the stones back at Stonehenge to reflect the change in the hour.  Not funny to some, but  I thought it was.

Have no idea what we will have for dinner, this diabetic meal planning is not working for me.  Trying to prepare food Hubby should have, however, it does not seem to be satisfly8ing him, do not want him to loose weight again.   We have an appointment with Dr. next week, I am going with him and asking a lot of questions, hoping to get answers.  It is possible he may either have to take additional meds or even insulin.

Have a great day,

Cheers.

Rain, rain go away

Dark, dismal and wet is the order of the day today.  

 We must have had some heavy showers overnight as there are a lot of leaves on the ground, the forecast for tomorrow and the balance of the week is sunny skies and warmer temps, so Hubby will be able to pick them up when they dry out.

Hubby does not appear to be in a very happy mood this morning, he took his sugar reading and the number was not to his liking.   My late husband had serious diabetic issues, he was over weight, so I found it easy to cut down the carbs, he was also on four injections a day, so his numbers were acceptable.   Hubby, however, is not overweight, I would say, underweight if anything, so cutting back the carbs awhile ago caused him to loose too much weight and he felt awful.  He does takes pills to help with diabetes.   What do you do?  I am at a loss, I do what I know but obviously it is not working well for him, he will not take control of the situation and see a dietician to help him.   The Dr. did not seem too concerned with the numbers at his last visit.   I do believe when a person reaches a certain age, the medical community only does what is necessary to help older individuals.  I understand, our health care providers have had and still having issues with shortages and overworked staff, I am not complaining about that, just the point older people with mostly age related issues are not getting the attention they deserve. 

The rain is not making it an ideal evening for the kids who are going out today for Halloween.  However, maybe it is perfect, cold with leaves falling, dark and scary. 

Dinner tonight will be a duplicate of last nights, minus the cake and ice cream, may even skip dessert to see if it does anything for the Hubby's sugar reading.

Have a great day.

Cheers.

Frost

On Friday night we had our first frost, all the plants I wanted to bring in the house to over winter were in, so none of them were damaged.   

About a month ago I brought my Christmas cactus in for the winter lots of magenta blooms opening up, some pale pink ones are starting to show some colour.   I guess they don't know it's not Christmas yet.  The poinsettia is clocking up it's steps, from the dark of the cold cellar in the morning to the light of the day, then the reverse in the evening.  I do see some colour changes in some of the leaves.   

 So far this Autumn we have taken three trailer loads of leaves to the recycle depot.  This trailer is about four feet wide, eight feet long and four feet deep, so to can imagine how many leaves  we have moved.  The trees at the back of the garden and one in the front haven't even started to fall yet, so lots of work to be done before all is said and done.

Had a nice visit with GD's on Friday evening, they are now both back in their respective cities until Christmas.   C had a cross country flight recently, it was a four hour trip there and back with a brief touchdown and up again.   K explained to us all she does while studying in the lab doing experiments on her plants, sounds very complicated.   She is also teaching and marking papers for 25 students.  They were both very happy with their gift.  I am starting a box of miscellaneous bits and pieces for each of them for Christmas. 

Sunshine again today but it is cold, people walking their dogs this morning had winter hats, coats and gloves on.  It is not expected to get above 13*C today, with showers tomorrow.

Went for a nice walk yesterday, saw some butterflies, the crickets were still chirping and lots of bugs and flies about taking advantage of the sunshine.

Hubby was introduced to the computer world about four years ago.   We both took some introductory courses at the time, however, he does not use it a lot for e-mails, so finds it difficult when he wants to send or reply a message.   I am not a very good teacher, but try to help, he gets very impatient with the whole process.   He is a reader, so he just wishes there was an instruction manual to help him.  We replied, sent and moved message to a folder.  Whew.

Plan on doing another walk this afternoon and some sewing.  

Dinner tonight, potato casserole, ham, squash, cake and ice cream for dessert.

Have a great day,

Cheers

Busy Day

 The rain and high winds from yesterday have come and gone, both brought down a lot of leaves that had changed colour,.  Just waiting now for the green ones to change and fall, which could be a long wait sometimes.  So you know what Hubby is doing now, yes....picking up leaves, and will be at it for a long time today.

The sun is trying to shine and the forecast indicates it will, however, it is a bit nippy out there this morning.

I am off to the dentist this morning, then Hubby has an appointment with the chriopractor this afternoon and then I go to my guild meeting this evening.

My two grand daughters who came home for a few days are busy catching up with their home work and  visiting their friends here, so did not get over for a visit.   We are going to see them tomorrow evening, and I will be giving them either money or gift cards that can be used at a grocery store.  The prices of food here is going up and up, I know they must be feeling the pinch when they get their groceries, so I am more than willing to help out.  The youngest has a part time job, however, the tuition for her courses are expensive they include the cost of fuel for the planes when she flies.  The other GD is being paid while she pursues her PhD, but her rent for the apartment she is in is a lot of money, especially near a university in the capital city of Canada.  You can't study if your belly is empty.

Not much else going  on here,

Have a great day.

Cheers.

Wet

Today was forecast...rain.. and that is what we have at the present time.  It is not cold, so a pleasant day, if you want to go outside and get wet.   Me...I am inside today.

 Yesterday, Hubby had an appointment at the hospital to get his legs checked, he has a blockage, which causes him pain as not enough blood is reaching his muscles.  No surgery as it is not that serious, however, Dr. informed him to walk, which will encourage other blood vessels to do the job of the main one blocked.

Small steps, we walked to the mail boxes and back yesterday, not very far but a start.  No matter what the weather we will be doing that and increasing the length of the walk each week.   It will also get me out and do that also, every bit of exercise at this age will do me good.

He also used the tractor to pick up leaves that had fallen, the lawn was pristine, not a leaf in sight, until this morning, they are falling fast and furious today.   A job for tomorrow if they are dry.

My two youngest grand daughters are home for a few days, trying to get a short visit in while they are here.   Having a bit of a problem with that as we are busy and so are they visiting friends and shopping.

Cooking a roast of beef for dinner today, so that we will have leftovers for tomorrow's dinner as I am going to my guild meeting in the evening. 

Not much else happening on the estate today.

Have a great day.

Cheers. 

Are the lights on?

We have sunshine again today.

Some of the leaves on the trees around the house are turning golden yellow and with the bright sun shining on them rooms in the house appear to have the lights on, as it is casting a yellow hue on everything in the room.

During the past couple of days Hubby as had a few minutes to pick up the leaves that have fallen, filling up our trailer, so after the recycle depot opened yesterday we took them there.   In the afternoon we both worked in the garden cleaning up the flower beds and the hedge, getting ready for Winter.   The temp got up to 23*C such a lovely day.  As I had not been in the kitchen to make a proper dinner, we had what my Mother would have called a "snatch and grab it" dinner.   Which in our case was left over meat, a can of brown beans, left over salad, some cheese and a slice of bread.  All of the food groups, so not too unhealthy.  

Today, is voting day, we need a new mayor, councilors and school trustees, so after lunch we will do our civic duty and vote.

Then I should get out and finish the flower bed that did not get done yesterday,  as tomorrow Hubby has another Dr. appointment and we need to buy some groceries.  Wednesday, there is a possibility of rain.

 This week for a lot of university and college students is "reading week", when they should be catching up on some of the reading that did not get done and generally catching up with their studies.  
Students that are able usually head for home for a few days and I do believe my two grand daughters are doing that.  If that is the case, I hope to see them both sometime this week.

Well, should get moving,

Have a great day.

Cheers.

Lovely

 Lovely ...weather,  we have wall to wall sunshine and decent temps, don't need all those coats, hats, gloves and umbrellas we used last week.

Lovely...Imagine Van Gogh ...Hubby's family gave us tickets to see this presentation for our birthdays.   As we entered, there were hanging information signs, explaining Van Gogh and his life.  He was a very troubled man.  We were then directed to a huge room where lovely music was playing coordinated to the  presentation of his paintings. The entire room was covered with huge screens on which his paintings were projected.  Some were enlarged so you could see the brush strokes, others  were enlarged enough that they reached ceiling to floor.  The paintings were also shown on the floor too.    Quite impressed with the display, so we stayed and watched it go through a couple of cycles.  You could walk around or sit on seats scattered around the room, I am sure they were put there for us older folks or for people who were unable to stand for a length of time.  Thoroughly enjoyed it, but did not buy anything from the shop when we left.  

Lovely.... In the afternoon, I went to the quilt show in which I submitted a couple of my wall hangings, lots of quilts in all shapes and sizes.   I arrived late in the afternoon, so that I could make only one trip to see the show and then wait until all the quilts were taken down and I could take mine home with me along with two that a friend asked me to get for her.  As I waited for mine I was asked to help sort out the quilts and make sure they were given to the rightful owner when they were all picked up. which I had no problem doing.  It was fun actually, handling all the fabric sewn into beautiful quilts.  

Lovely....Day

Another sunny warm day, so should get out and do some work in the garden.  The housework will wait for a cooler wetter day.

Not sure what we will have for dinner tonight, have some meat from last night that needs to be finished so looks like left overs.   Fine with me.

Have a great day,

Cheers.

It's gone.....for now

 Over the past few days we have had a lot of rain, two inches were emptied out of the rain gauge this morning.   Yesterday, we had rain and sleet, the day previous it looked more like snow than either of those two.  However, today everything has changed the rain is gone and we have sunshine and warmer temps for the next seven days.   Was not liking that cold damp windy weather at all, much too early for that.

With the sunshine though, it means we must get out and finish up some of the garden work that needs to be done and Hubby can start picking up the leaves that have fallen.   

Talking about the leaves, on the news recently the reporter was saying the leaves were so vibrant this year due to the perfect balance of cold, cloud and sun.   I must admit they are beautiful this year.

We both had our eyes checked yesterday with two good reports, Hubby goes back in 6 months, me 12 months.   We had a lovely visit with Hubby's sister "A": and her husband afterwards.

So disappointed in Hubby's children and grands, none of them, called him to wish him a Happy Birthday, his brother from B.C. called, however, we were not at home, so Hubby will likely do a Facetime with him later today.  

Hubby has an appointment at the hospital this afternoon, for a check up on his neck.   

Tomorrow we go to see a immersive display of Van Gough's paintings, not sure what to expect but, looking forward to it just the same.   In the afternoon I go to a quilt show and pick up the quilts I submitted.   Another busy day.

 Another of my hobbies is taking photo's, I do not have a fancy camera with a  lens that is about  a foot long but, I do have one that has a zoom feature on it.  A couple of years ago a wren built a next in a nesting box under our balcony and I took a photo of the female bringing a green grasshopper in her beak to feed her young.  My insurance broker asked their clients to submit photo's for a 2023 calendar they have printed each year.  My wren photo was chosen, don't know what month, pleased to know and look forward to seeing it on the calendar.

Well, I guess I should get moving, done nothing in the house for days as we have been coming and gong all the time.  Oh well, the dust etc. will still be there when I am ready to clean it up, not that I have a lot anyway.

Dinner tonight salmon, no sure what else, but should certainly think about it.

Have a great day,

Cheers.

Theatre

Took Hubby out for dinner and the local theatre to see their first performance for this season and also the first since Covid started two years ago.  The play "Grand Ghosts", was a true story, about a man who actually owned the theatre in the early 1900's, he was a character of questionable activities, which included women, betting and booze.   He decided to sell this theatre for $1.7 million dollars and go away with his mistress and not leave his wife or his employees any money at all.  A day after the sale he mysteriously disappeared, no body was ever found and no one was ever accused of having anything to do with his disappearance.   Over the years mysterious happenings have been experienced in the theatre.........   his ghost..............some think so.    It was a good play and we enjoyed it. It is his b-day tomorrow thus the treat yesterday, as we both have eye appointments in a city about an hour and a half drive away, so it will be an all day event, as we usually visit his sister while we are in the area, no time for celebrating that day.

Rain, rain and more rain, it is cold only 3*C when we got up and some of the rain looked very heavy and white mixed in with regular rain.    November weather for sure, however, only today and tomorrow to get through and then we have some lovely sunny days.  Cannot wait as I have some more things that need to be done in the garden before Winter sets in and Hubby has leaves to pick up.  Thank job never seems to end at this time of the year as we get leaves from all the neighbors across the street.

Not much else happening today, I do need to take by library books back, hopefully that will happen this afternoon.

Dinner tonight will be chicken, asparagus, not sure what else.

Have a great day,

Cheers.

Brrrr

No rain yet but the sky looks as if it could open up at any time and then it clears a bit, however, sooner or later the rain is forecast to be heavy and lasting through to Thursday.   There is a cold breeze and only 11*C outside today at 12:00 noon.

Hubby is at the dentist, been there longer than I thought he would, so likely getting a bit of work done over and above just the cleaning.   

I dropped off some entries for a quilt show for this coming weekend.

This is a photo of my latest wall hanging.

Bumble Bee pattern from Emily Taylor.  It is a collage of fabric and stitching.   The flowers were cut from fabric that had large blooms on it.   Pleased with the way it turned out.

My friend has had another bad fall. that girl must have nine lives as she has had some really bad health issues but comes through it fighting, gets better so hope this is the case this time.

Had three of my great grands visit yesterday, we went for a walk in the woods across the street, doing well until the five year old Mia, tripped on an exposed root which was covered with leaves and received a boo boo on her knee.  Come back home and a colourful band aid fixed the problem.   

Salmon for dinner tonight. 

Have a wonderful day,

Cheers.

We have sunshine

Better soak up as much of it as we can today, as the next few days are going to be wet.  On the news last night the weather report indicated there could also be some of the "S"  word, depending on how cold it becomes.   "S" by the way is.................snow........much too early for that stuff yet.

I remember the first Halloween we had here in Canada, it was cold that night when we went out trick or treating, and there were snow flakes in the air.  Little did we know it was going to get a lot worse before it got any better.  Looks as if this year might be the same, hope not.

Had a great time at the birthday get together yesterday, delicious appetizers and a cheese board to die for, and white wine.   The cake was raspberry flavour delicious.   Really did not need at dinner but Hubby did not eat much at the party, doing a lot of talking to people he had not seen in a  long time, so I did cook a late dinner.  

My friend who has had a kidney transplant, a bad experience with Covid, has now  advised me she is again in hospital as she had a bad fall.  I don't know how she copes with all of her health issues.  Anyway, she along with another friend who I use to work with go to the theatre, and Tuesday is our first performance of the year.   My friend told me to give her ticket away to anyone who wants it.  So I am giving it to my Hubby, treating him to dinner, as on the 20th it is is birthday.

Well should get moving, expecting some great grands this afternoon.

Cheers

Fall, now I know why

We had a shower overnight and wind,  the leaves that have already changed colour are falling fast and furious, it is now officially Fall, not Autumn.  Our front lawn is covered with the leaves from across the street, usually the wind we get is from the West or North/West, therefore we get the neighbours leaves on our property.  Does he help pick them up?  no, of course not, he can't even pick the leaves up on his own lawns let alone ours.  Our trees have yet to turn colour so not have started to fall yet, when they do, it is a job that lasts for about two weeks sometimes longer, even doing it every other day.   We use the lawn tractor to do this job, there is no way either one of us can do it by hand.  Some are put in my compost bin, most of them go to the recycle depot.

This afternoon we are going to a surprise 80th birthday party for a friend of Hubby's, there is sure to be some beverage I would like.  Umm!  maybe a gin and tonic or a nice white wine, either one would go down nicely.  

Tomorrow five of my great grands are coming over as I have a b-day gift for one of them.  Keeping fingers crossed the sun will shine as we are going to go for a walk in the woods across the street from us.  Hope we see a deer or two or maybe the six turkeys we saw yesterday.

The sun is trying to shine and it is only 8*C do not expect it to get above 12*C today.   I even dug out my fuzzy slippers yesterday, as my feet always seem to be cold which in turn makes my whole body cold.  They will be the foot wear for the indoor season until Spring arrives.

Dinner tonight chicken, mushrooms, salad and one of the muffins I bought yesterday.  They are quite big so will cut it in half, banana/chocolate chip with a small scoop of ice cream.   

Must finish the laundry,

Have a great day.

Cheers.

Shopping

My DD2 took me to a store that requires you to be a member, she is but, I am not.   Met up with  her at 10:00 a.m. it was even busy at that hour.  Oh, so many things to look at, I bought a few groceries. Mainly went for a packaged dehydrated shredded potato, I know it sounds disgusting but my DD1 used them in a casserole for a family get together and it was so good I just had to get some to use for us.  Got them, plus some muffins and cereal.  Some of the customers had their carts full to overflowing, hate to think how much they had to fork out for it all.

It was cold over night, 4*C from what our thermometer indicted, sun trying to warm things up  but having a difficult time to do that.

We both had a very lazy day yesterday, however, I did get the bathrooms and the floors cleaned.   

Hubby is currently working at odd jobs outside today, with his winter work coat on, he gets cold very fast.

Not sure what we will have for dinner must go and look for something.

Chat tomorrow

Cheers.

Much needed

Over night we had rain, have not looked at the gauge yet, so don't know how much came down, it must have been windy also, as there are leaves stuck to the window of the downstairs door.  

The sun is trying its hardest to lighten up the sky but, not have much success today.  Only 10*C outside as I write this at 10:00 a. m.  Only a couple more degrees added to the ten will be our high for today.  Fall (Autumn) is certainly here now.   

Only the binding to sew on the bumble bee wall hanging and it is done, just in time for the quilt show next weekend.   Love how it is looking, now need to get finishing a baby quilt which is going to be donated.  These cool wet days give me lots of time to be in the sewing room doing something I like to create.  Don't know what I would do if I didn't have this craft to do.

DD2 is taking me shopping tomorrow, not looking for anything in particular but, that is the time when you find something you like, I do need a new pair of black slacks so hopefully will find those, time will tell.

Well, not much to add to the blog today, the never ending jobs around the house need to be done but, that won't take too long.   Bathrooms need to be freshened up and kitchen floor looks as if it should have a wash and that's about it for the housework today.

Need to find something from the freezer for dinner tonight, we were able to have left overs from the weekend again last night, so glad Hubby is quite happy to clean up leftovers.  

Have a great day not matter what your plans are.

Cheers.

Cloudy

Not such a nice day as yesterday, cloudy with the odd drop of rain and it is forecast to be quite windy later today and this evening.

Bringing down some of the leaves which are turned colour already.   Soon it will be time to start raking them  up as we seem to have a lot of the neighbours leaves finally end up on our lawns.

Late start to the day today, this afternoon, however, I have been outside and done a bit more tidying up in the garden, removed all of the tomato vines as the tomatoes will not ripen at this time of the year.  Also, emptied the three window boxes and cut back the clematis.  Still a bit more to do, but I tend to do about and hour and a half then call it quits, body tells me when I have done too much the next day, I have learned the hard way.

It was a lovely sunny day and the temp was 22*C you know what that means, a ride, which could possible be our last for this year.   All of the leaves are turning and putting on a lovely show at the present time.

Dinner tonight is leftovers from Thanksgiving, so not much cooling to be done for me tonight, just heating up.

Have a great day.

Cheers.

 

 

Glorious day

Today is exactly like a Fall day should be, nippy  with a beautiful blue sky with sunshine making the changing colour of the leaves more brilliant than ever.   It is a beautiful day to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Yesterday I potted up some geranium cuttings ready to bring into the house for the Winter,  I will leave them outside in the sunshine but protected from any cold nights we might have.   The poinsettia I brought into the house, gets its regular dark and sunshine cycle everyday, looking forward to some changes, hopefully the red bracts and flowers in time for Christmas.  I have done it in previous years, so hope I can do it again this time.

Will be popping the ham into the oven shortly, as company will be coming later this afternoon.

In the sewing room I  have been working on a wall hanging, started to quilt it on my sewing machine, hated it, and removed all of the stitches yesterday, ready to start all over again.    Thank goodness it is a small 16 x 16 piece.   Will show a photo when it is completed.

Late start this morning, all that outside work I did yesterday, must have made me tired.   I do think we need to go to bed a bit earlier than we have been, as it does make for a short morning the next day.   Tomorrow is grocery day and I get my hair trimmed, then a couple of slow days which leads up to a very busy time for the balance of the month.

Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian readers.

Have a great day.

Cheers. 

Thanksgiving weekend

 Here in Canada this is the Thanksgiving weekend.  

What am I thankful for:

All of my family and myself are healthy

We are all happy.

We all have a roof over our head and food in our bellies.

All those who need a job, have one.

Those still in the education system are doing well.

I am in a position to help family and organizations, with donations of all kinds.

Tomorrow is the usual day families get together for a meal or other activities.

We are having Hubby's family for dinner, there will be 8 seated around the dining room table.

Menu:

Ham, potato casserole,  salad, squash, peas, and dinner rolls.  A tray of pickles and cheese, also a pineapple sauce for the ham.   We will cake and ice cream for dessert to celebrate Hubby's daughter K birthday Oct 11th.  

I won't be seeing any of my family, they have families of their own, and we did have a get together just last month.  

Sun is trying to shine but not having much success, it is still cold out, but hoping it will warm up in the next couple of days.

I am off to make that cake,

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my Canadian readers.

Cheers.

Sun???

 It started out as a lovely sunny but, cold day, now there are more clouds than sun, looks like it's going to be one of those days.  Our thermometer indicated it went down to 4*C last night, however, did  not see any frost on anything.  Hubby is waiting for the grass to dry, there was a heavy dew, he wants to cut the grass again, it now seems to have had a burst of energy and growing fast again.

I did get some housework done yesterday, and also some sewing, working on a bumble bee for a quilt show.   Laundry in the washer and dryer at the present time.

Hubby's neck is still bruised down his back and a couple more stitches need to fall out.  It is looking good for the most part, however, still looks a bit ugly.   On the mend for sure, we will have to wait for a few more days before seeing the Doc's report on it.

Our balcony does not get any sunshine these days, so we are waiting for a couple of sunny warmer days so that we can take the canopy down and store it for the winter.   Don't know how long the two of us will still be able to do this, in the Spring we may need to get some help as it is heavy canvas.  We certainly have enjoyed many lunches, afternoon  naps, reading and watching the birds and fire flies.   Love sitting out there in the Summer, which now seems like it is going to be a long time before we can do it again.

Early days next week are forecast warmer, so garden furniture to bring in, pots to be emptied and store away.  Also, want to dig up and more a couple of plants, time will tell if that gets done, as I also need to tidy the front flower bed.  All of this work is making me tired just thinking about it.

Monday is Thanksgiving day here and Hubby's family will be here for dinner.   Will prepare veg tomorrow, I tend to go for dishes that can be made ahead and heated prior to the meal.  I hate all of the last minute things that need to be done.

Not sure what we will have for dinner tonight.   

Have aa great day,

Cheers.

Trying again

Yesterday I could not post photo's,  so here we are today.  

This is the sign that greeted us at the first hotel we stay at, as I mentioned previously, we did not see any, glad of that but, also disappointed too.

 Here are some of the trees turning the countryside into a beautiful array of colours.

They were taken from the window of our car, so do not show them in all of their glory. 

 Loved the reflection of the trees in the water in the last photo.  We had stopped to go into a hall of fame for a hockey player, however, it was closed, so took a walk around the area.

Today, has turned cold, only a high temp predicted of 11*C, with a mixture of sun and cloud and windy.  A taste of what is yet to come.  Not looking forward to that at all.

Not sure what the dinner menu is for today, so should go and see what I fancy.  Do have some mushrooms that need to be used, so they will be on the plate for sure.

   

Road Trip

October is going to be a busy month for us, with the exception of this, the first week, so we decided if we are going to do anything we had better do it now, as Hubby's neck was feeling a lot better. 

On Sunday, we left on a road trip for four days, visiting some friends of Hubby's, they live north of us, so it took us most of the day to get to where they have a summer cottage.   At this time of the year most everywhere in Canada the leaves are turning colour and where they live it is usually beautiful, and we picked a perfect time to go as in our opinion they were at their peak.  Blogger will not let me upload photo's, so will try again later.

We checked into our hotel, what greeted us at the front door was a sign telling us to be aware of bears as they were around the hotel looking for food.   Apparently, because we have had little rain this Summer there are few berries for them to eat so they are coming into the local towns looking for food.  We did not see any.

Monday morning we travelled all day again looking at the lovely scenery, no busy four/five lane high ways for us.   We arrived in the city where my youngest grand daughter is studying aviation, surprising her and took her out for dinner.  It was so nice to see her.

Tuesday morning travelling all day,  we went to Ottawa where my second youngest granddaughter is studying for her Ph.D.  Surprising her and taking her out for dinner, again so nice to see her too.

Oh! the traffic, get me out of here quick, so on Wednesday morning we started out to what would be a full day of travelling to come home.   We could have taken the large freeways, but decided again to take the more leisurely way home by using less used roads.  It would take us longer but we knew our bed was at the end of the day.  

We accomplished everything we wanted to do, surprise everyone with an unexpected visit.

We had a lovely time, even though there was a lot of travelling but, that is what is necessary in this big wide country of Canada.  It was so  nice to get away, even for a short time, no housework, and having someone else get my meals and clean up afterwards.  

Now, to get ready for Thanksgiving, then a busy month.

The rain is gone???

 Well it looks as if we might see the start of some sunshine today.   Still looking a bit grey in parts of the sky, however, it is brighter.

The weather has a big impact on me, this past few days when it has been grey and wet I have had absolutely no energy to do anything.  Coupled with that seeing how uncomfortable Hubby has been feeling, I have done nothing and I mean nothing, just a swish around the bathrooms, they need freshening up every day and getting meals.  The rest of the time fitting around in the sewing room.  So today I should get my rear in gear and do something, housework needs to be done.  My house is not dirty, but I know the vacuum, dust cloth and mop have been in the cupboard and not used.

Hubby is now feeling a lot better, still a lot of bruising but, time will take care of that.   The stitches are the dissolving kind, so they should start doing that within the next few days.   He can't believe he has done nothing for the past week, certainly not like him at all.  Actually the wet weather has been a blessing, for him anyway, as he could not do anything outside.   That could all change tomorrow as the grass has been growing with all the rain and is in need of a trim. 

Went into our local well known world wide department store yesterday, and found it very untidy and dirty and felt as if I was in a different country with all the nationalities of the staff.  I don't like to mentioned what I am about to write, however, I had to come outside and see what country flag was blowing on the pole in the parking lot to make sure I was in Canada.   Everyone is entitled to live and have a job any where they want to, (there are limits, I know), however, if you move from the country you were born in to another, at least learn the language and follow the customs and laws of the new country.   Don't try and change your new home into the one you just left.   I am an immigrant, I had to change, not as much as some but, I had to change.

Don't know if I will shop there again, however, having said that, I do get a vitamin that Hubby and I take for our eyes, it is a lot cheaper, at least half of what the drug store charges, so will go to above store for that and only that.  Rant over.

October is going to be a very busy month for us, birthday parties, appointments, theatre, meetings, a quilt show and more meetings.   I have a feeling October will be here and gone before we know it.

Dinner?   a good question, should go and see what I feel like preparing, so with that I am out of here.

Cheers.

Amongst the living

 Hubby is feeling a bit better today, still bruised and sore but, not so much.  On the road to recovery, he is certainly hoping so.

Damp again over night and again this morning, we are suppose to get full on rain this afternoon.  The sky is looking very grey and heavy so, it looks as if the forecast is going to be right.   

I was sooooo lazy yesterday, I did clean up the kitchen appliances, fridge, stove, microwave etc etc. but that was about all, then went into the sewing room made a mess in there but like the result from all the bits and pieces of fabric which are now strewn all over the place.  Organized mess? sure, I know where everything is but, soon all will be cleaned up.  When finished, which will be soon, as it will be going into a quilt show in October, I  will post a photo.

Not much else going on here today, we did get groceries this morning, store not very busy at all.

Dinner tonight chicken not sure what else, will find something I am sure, as all the cupboards and fridge are full once again. 

Cheers. 

Monday

 It is raining again, just as was in the forecast, hope it dries up towards mid week as I do need to get into the garden, empty the annuals in the planters and also do something with the tomato plants.  They did not do well this year, too hot and dry even though they did get watered every day.  Trying to remember the poinsettia every morning and evening, just need to get into a different routine to do that.

Hubby is still feeling very sore, lots of bruising down the upper part of his back around the left side of his neck.  One of the incisions is located on  a crease in his neck, so anticipate a long healing process for that particular spot.  Still not doing anything but, catching up on his reading, watching TV and doing more things on his computer.   I am glad that it is raining as it is keeping him inside, I know he would be chomping at the bit to do some work outside if it is nice weather.

I worked a a new sewing project yesterday afternoon, a collage of a bumble bee, want to get it completed if I can to enter into a quilt show later October, should be no problem if all goes the way I want it to.

Had call from GD "K" yesterday, she is having to get use to a new routine going into the university lab every day and writing papers  about her experiments, some of which she will be submitting for publication.   A prof. she had last year invited her to go to the Agriculture Canada lab to work also, so a busy young lady.  Her bicycle was locked up in the hall of her apartment building but, got stolen recently, now she is having to walk or take the bus everywhere she wants to go.  Such an inconvenience for her.

Cooked a delicious, if I do say so myself, roast beef dinner yesterday.  Potato, brussels, carrots and gravy and of course horse radish.  Enough left over for dinner tonight, so don't have to cook, just nuke it.

My fridge needs a clean today, so when this is finished I will do that.

Cheers\

Weekend...already!!

Really, where do the days go, seems as if it was Monday yesterday.

As mentioned previously we live in an area not far from a university.  This weekend is traditionally an unofficial "Home Coming" weekend.  Students party and I mean party, not a few friends but, hundreds flock to certain streets near the university and drink, cause a lot of noise, damage to property and  some end up in hospital in  serious condition from antics that went wrong.    

Late yesterday there was a note stuck to our door which advised the house across the street, (in which students live) was going to have a party and if they got too noisy to text a number to advise them to quiet down.  Their get together did not bother us as we were on the opposite side of the house, however, looking out the window when we went to bed, hundreds of people and police were out on the street telling everyone the party was over and to leave.  I don't wish anyone to be ill, however, hope these young people are feeling just a bit worse for wear this morning.

Hoping the weather, rain will dampen any parties that are happening tonight, time will tell.

Hubby is hurting still and it must be more than he is letting on, as usually he is up and on the go all the time, however, yesterday he had a couple of naps and still not doing anything today.  His body is telling him to take it easy and for once he is listening.  

Laundry on and should do some more housework,  then plan on going into the sewing room this afternoon.  Today, there is not much that can be done outside, even though there are some things that need to be taken care of.  I did bring my poinsettia in yesterday and put it in the dark fruit cellar, now I need to remember to take it out every morning and put it back in the dark in the evening.  

We had burgers and corn on the cob for dinner. it was so good even if I do say so myself.  Corn on the cob is the only way I like corn and what I got from a local farm is delicious.  The corn will be coming to an end very soon.

Cheers

Meeting and change of plans.

 Yesterday was a miserable cold wet and windy day, just like one we would expect in November.  Last night it was cold!! temp went down to 5*C and the furnace is now on.   Today, well it is a lovely sunny day but, still cool.  "Tis that time of the year.

Last night was my first quilting meeting since June, lots of business to talk about and it was so nice to see everyone again.  

Yesterday, Hubby had day surgery on the back of his neck, he had a cancer cell removed.   We expected just a small cut to remove it as he has had done twice in the past.  Well, it looks as if Zorro used his sword to carve his initials  on his neck.  Up into his hair line and down the back of his neck,  30 stitches to close it all up and lots of bruising.  We therefore, have postponed or maybe even cancelled our trip we were going to take.  Even moving his arms to drive is painful for him.  

As we were expecting to go away we did not buy a lot of groceries earlier in the week, so this morning I made a trip to stock up on fruit, veg and dairy products, did not need much more.  

Now, I will go and get our mail, then go into my sewing room for an hour or so.

Have a great day.

Cheers

Pat

I am back

 I have had a break from blogging, nothing much to tell you about, however, back now.

We have had several heavy showers and thunder storms during the past few days and the temps have dropped considerably today, a sure sign Autumn is here.   It is very windy here with a mixture of sun and cloud and cool.   

Some of the leaves are starting to change into their Fall finery,  it seems as if they change later in the season every year.   Hubby believes the seasons are shifting, thinking he maybe right.   

Another reason I have been absent is because DD1 has a family baby shower to attend this weekend, I should say babies as there are going to be twins arriving shortly.  She wanted me to make her a couple of baby quilts.  OK, she gave me ten days notice, I could easily make a quilt in that time, until she told me she wanted two.  What!   So I have been busy, they were picked up last evening and she was pleased with them.

This is a photo of the two quilts.

Tonight is the first meeting for our quilting guild since June.   We will have a lot to talk about so it will likely be a longer meeting than usual.  Looking forward to seeing everyone.

Hubby suggested we take a few days away, the weather does not look too promising for the beginning of the week, but if we don't do it now, we will likely not go.   We plan on visiting my two youngest granddaughters and also visiting a friend of Hubby's.   They live further north than us and usually the leaves turn colour before ours, so looking forward to some lovely colours.  At this point in time it looks as if we will be leaving on Sunday.

I have some cabbage to use up so thinking about making some lazy man's cabbage roll casserole.  There is also so broccoli too, so should do something with that,   soup sounds like a good idea, it is that time of the year.  

So I should make myself scarce and get busy.

Have a great day.

Cheers 

BBQ

Catching up......Friday was a lovely day, too nice to stay home, so we were on the road again.  This time visiting an area where a lot of Amish Mennonite families live.   We made our way to what I remember being a quaint village, now a commercialized town, so disappointing to see how much it had changed.  We stopped long enough to take a short walk then we were off again.   Driving along the roads we saw neat farms and the ever present work horse in the fields.  Also saw their mode of transport on the side of the road as we drove by,  the horse and buggy, likely taking the farmers home for their dinner.   As it was getting time for us to eat we decided to go to a restaurant I had also visited many years ago.   It is also run by one of the Amish Mennonite families, and has done for a long time.   It was a small quaint place back when,  now other dining rooms have been added on, likely due to the fact the food is delicious.   We had a nice roast beef dinner enjoyed it very much,  then had to walk through the every present, these days, the store to pay the bill.   The shelves were laden down with pies, preserves etc. all looked delicious but, we resisted the the temptations.  Now it was time to travel back home, the nights get cool when the sun starts to set, especially when the top is down.  Lovely day out.

Yesterday, was our family reunion BBQ get together,  all three of my children and their husbands and wife were there which was nice to see, it's been a long, long time.   My GS and his wife, GD and her husband, as well as all of my GG children.  My two GD and their husbands were not able to come and neither were the two GD;s  at university and collage,  The weather was warm enough the four youngest were able to be splashing around in a big wading pool, the older ones played a couple of games with myself and other adults.  Snacks and drinks through out the afternoon and  then dinner.  BBQed  burgers, sausage and hot dogs,  two  bean salads and cucumber salad,  potato casserole, and all of the accompaniments for the meats.  Fruit, cookies, cup cakes, brownies and ice cream for desserts.   Enjoyed by everyone.   All the little ones ranging in age from 12 to 3 years helped with the cleaning up by putting all the toys away and cleaning up the paper plates, cutlery etc.  Sorry, with that many people we used disposables, something we don't normally do.   Time for little ones to call it a day, they had had a busy one.  My son and DIL had a two hour ride home so left also.  We were not too far behind them arriving home at 8:30 p.m.  I had such a nice day, the weather co-operated, no tears from the littles, good food and family, what more can anyone ask for.

Today, is wind down day for me, it has turned cooler, no sunshine to speak of and rain is forecast for later in the day and tomorrow.  Going to go into my sewing room for a little while this afternoon.

Not sure what we are having for dinner, have not cooked in three days,  so better get my thinking cap on.

Concert & day trip

Sad news regarding Queen Elizabeth II.  I remember the Coronation and fancy dress parade and celebrations we were involved in when my sister and I were in England.   Sister "B" was "Little bow peep", instead of sheep, she had one of my Mother's goat's, Dad made a crook and a neighbour curled her hair in rags.  She won first prize, what it was, I don't remember.   I was dressed as Queen Elizabeth Ist, wearing a ruffled collar and a pale purple dress, which belonged to my aunt when she was the maid of honour at Mother and Dad's wedding.  In my china cabinet I have the mug which was given to all the children from our village to celebrate the coronation.  Such memories that are still in the back of my  mind.  

We registered for the free tickets for the Jazz concert some time ago, and went to the concert on Wednesday.   
After skirting around all of the road construction in this city (Summer is not called Summer here, the season is called Construction) we found a parking garage and  arrived in plenty of time to get a decent seat.  It was a full house of approximately 200 people, the concert started at 7:00 p.m. with, for the first time "door prizes", as our luck runs, we did not win any of the tickets to concerts  in other venues.   A group of three female singers were the special guests and sang some of the older songs of the McGuire Sisters, then moving through the years to  Abba then to more modern singers and their songs.  We thoroughly enjoyed the 1 3/4 hours of music.   The concert hall will have other special guests for the monthly concerts until the end of the year and we are hoping into 2023 also.

Yesterday, was a lovely day so the open road was telling up to take advantage of the warm temps and sunshine.  We packed our cold drinks and  ventured out, ending up along the lakeside.  We sat in the shade and watch boats of all kinds and sizes, which included a large lake freighter.  Dinner time, it just happens there is a fish and chip wagon parked nearby,  fish and chips was on the menu for us.   Oh, it was so good, and it doesn't hurt to be bad once in awhile does it?  Dinner was served in a plastic container, sprinkled with lots of malt vinegar, just as I like it..... yummy.    

 It was getting late in the day and as we had the convertible we needed to get going home before it got too chilly and dark.   An enjoyable day,  which could be the last one we have as Fall in closing in on us.

Obviously, no walking took place, however, on Wednesday I did 1 3/4 kms.

So what am I doing today, I will be taking some dessert to our family BBQ tomorrow, so need to make the Boston Cream cupcakes today.   Tomorrow, I will pick up a fruit tray at the grocery store.  Looking forward to seeing some of the family members.  My two GD's going to university and college live too far away to make the trip, but will see them at Christmas I am sure.  At the present time their education for their careers is more important.  GD "K" received her official letter of acceptance into the PhD program on Wednesday, and GD "C'" is now studying to fly larger planes.  GD's "N", "C" and 
GS "C" will not be able to come either, GD "D" and her family will be there.  

Dinner tonight liver and onions, need to source something else and desssert.