New month tomorrow and the start of a new me.

I do not like how I looked in the mirror this morning, here a bulge, there a bulge, everywhere a bulge bulge, ( add you own "Old MacDonald  had a farm music").  SO.. I am not going on a diet, I don't stay on them, I am, however, going to make a real conscious effort to know what I am putting in my mouth.   Giving myself to lose, at least five pounds during the month of Feb.   

Lovely day for doing the errands I needed to do today, very little traffic about, even with some of the restrictions lifted.  Just fine with me, got it all done in a short period of time, and did everything I wanted to do.

Made some chili and some soup this afternoon, so freezer filled up with some nice warming meals in the future. 

What did we do before freezers and microwaves?   Years ago and I am talking a lot of years ago, late husband and I enrolled in a freezer plan.  It was a contract plan, you had to purchase a plan suitable for your family and you could make out your list of frozen foods the company provided and it was shipped on a regular basis.   If you followed the contract they would "give" you the freezer as part of the plan.   We thought it would be a great way to provide our family with a lot of food, which it did.   But......when you calculate the amount of money we were spending on the food compared to the grocery store, well we were shocked to say the least.    We were paying for the "free" freezer as well as the food.   We paid off the freezer and got out of the plan as soon as we could.   We were young and learnt a lesson very quickly.   The microwave came much later, I was almost afraid to us it as everyone expected it to do you great harm.  We even had sensitive strips you could buy to place between the door and the unit it see if any of the waves were leaking out.   I used it mostly for heating foods.

Not much else done today.

After a foggy early morning, it froze on the trees and covered them with a white glaze, we had a nice sunny day, but temp struggled to go over the zero mark.   Maybe, tomorrow if the forecast is correct.

Late posting today, it is now 7:30 p.m. time to wind down for the day.

A little bit and not much

 The little bit.....it is a bit warmer today, warmer!!! not really, maybe I should say not as cold.  Temp reading at noon today was -2.9*C cloudy, however, the sun is desperately trying to show it's face.   As we were watching the golf from California last night, the camera panned to the sun setting over the Pacific, such a large ball of fire sinking into the sea.   Beautiful colours.

The not much, is just that, not much on the agenda today, we were up earlier than we usually are on a Sunday and we watched the last of the tennis open from Australia.   Hubby cooked breakfast, and he is now watching a report on Tom Brady.   Me, I am here for a few more minutes and then going to do some sewing.  I would be going crazy if I did not have that to keep me busy on these Winter days.

The turkey pot pie I cooked last night was delicious and bonus there is enough for our dinner tonight, so just some extra veg to cook and it's done.  Not much to do.

I sent a birthday cheque to my granddaughter for her birthday which was on the 25th and she has not received it yet.   If it does not arrive by Feb 1st I am putting a stop payment on it.  It was  a substantial amount so anxious to see if does get to her,  if not I will give her another when she comes home for Easter, better late than never, so they say.

Time to move, have a great day.

20.2 and 20.1

 We have a remote thermometer outside which shows the temp on an monitor in the kitchen.  When we got up I look at it just to see what the low was last night and the current temp.   At 7:45 a.m. the inside temp was 20.2* C and the outside temp was --20.1*C a difference of 40*.  It did go down to -22*C overnight.   Today, the sun is bright again, not much heat in it though.

Laundry almost done, then some cookies are going in the oven, and will be making a turkey pot pie for dinner tomorrow night.  I retrieved a lasagna from the freezer for dinner tonight.  

I am using up some of the scraps of fabric that have accumulated over the years I have been quilting.   All of the colours are sorted and each colour is in a plastic container.   A quilting friend told me about a way of using up different colours as she is following a website which shows using a specific colour each month.  January is red so, up until today I have five blocks done and fabric for two more.  Grant you they are only six  and a half inches square but at least I am using some of this fabric that has been sitting around doing nothing.   So this afternoon I will be finishing those.

Brrrr, stay warm or cool and have a great Saturday.

Another sunny one

 It may be sunny but it is damn cold, has not warmed up much, only two degrees from when we got up to now 2:30 p.m.  so thermometer still reading -11 *C.

As we were cleaning up from dinner last night red flashing lights and sirens from three large fire trucks were coming down our street and stopped right at the end of our driveway.  Are we are fire and do not know it?   No, as the firemen finally, I guess they found the house they were looking for and it was one next door.   We neither saw nor smelt any smoke,  but could see  an extractor fan going in the front door.   Then a household piece of something came out, we could not see it until this morning, it was a kitchen stove.   We are assuming the man who lives in the house was cooking and possibly fell asleep to be awakened by the smoke detector  alarm. He is a loner, almost never home due to his work, he was a Canadian astronaut some years ago, and he travels a lot to California from what he told us last summer.   Everything must have been OK as the fire department left a hour or so later.

Had a Zoom meeting with my quilting group last night, we are hoping we might be able to have an in person meeting in February.   

Spring cleaned the bathroom this morning, got rid of outdated stuff, and have a few items to add to the box for the charity shop.   All the drawers and cupboard done, all that needs to be taken care of now is the shower and window curtains, they will be washed tomorrow.

Dinner tonight, fish not sure what else but I am sure something will be on the table. 

  

Glad we ventured out yesterday

 Woke this morning to a beautiful sky and in the center was a huge red ball of fire.  You know what they say. "Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning".  Now, at 10:30 a.m. the clouds have moved in, the wind has picked up some, we could have flurries of snow this afternoon and it is cold.

Going for a haircut this afternoon, the streets are clear so no worries about driving.

I really did mess up yesterday.   The clinic where Hubby went for his check up is next door to a fabric shop, so instead of waiting for the Dr. I should have just paid a visit to this shop.   Didn't even think of it, as we were busy chatting back and forth most of the time.   For those of you who are not sewers or quilters, a fabric shop would likely be the last shop you would go in, but for sewers of all kind, one of these shops cannot be passed by, even just for a look.  They are not responsible for anything that comes home with them, fabric and related items just pop into the bags and the credit card comes out automatically from their purse.   Its an addiction of sorts.  Next month Hubby has to go back for another appointment, no sitting in a waiting room for me.   I think a month is more than enough time to browse the web site of the fabric shop and start making a shopping list.  lol.

Almost at the end of January, it did not take long to go by, hope February goes by just as fast, (hate wishing my life away, but I do not like Winter),  by the time March comes around there is some hope of better weather.   

Dinner tonight, we have leftover roast beef to finish, so will do some veg and dinner is taken care of.

Keep warm or cool no matter what you do today.

Beautiful day for a drive

 Hubby had an appointment for his eyes today in a city an hour and a half drive away, we were hoping for some nice weather but did not expect it to be as nice as it was.  Grant you, it was really cold but the sunshine made it a pleasant drive.

The private clinic was really busy, his appointment was at 11:30 a.m., he was taken in for some tests and then we sat, and sat and sat some more.  We go hungry and thirsty but could not take any food in with us, after awhile the hunger passed and then we sat some more.  Finally, he was called in to see the Dr. and had to have some laser surgery on his left eye.  Finally we leave at 3:30 p.m. and decided to drive home to a drive through restaurant and take our dinner home.  A long day, but as was so nice we did not mind.  We are very patient people.

Other than that, we have not done a darn thing all day.

Hopefully more to say tomorrow.

 

Roast Beef still in the fridge.

As I mentioned previously, we both had our booster vaccination on Saturday, during the process we were given information regarding the jab and also any side effects that may be experienced.  There were seven side effects that were listed and  I had them all but one.   Did not do a thing yesterday, should have gone into my bed but, stayed on the sofa and watched some TV.  Hubby did not feel well either, so we were both couch potatoes for the day.  Pleased to say feeling a lot better today, so the roast beef will be in the oven later.

As a result of nothing happening yesterday, there is very little to tell today.  

We do have some light snow falling, and we could expect about 5 cm. and it is still cold.

Well, I am going to leave and get some of the things done that did not get done yesterday.

Quilt

Woke to light snow falling and it looks as if it came down most of the night.   About  two inches on the ground, and accumulating as I write.   

Our appointment for our booster was as 3:40 p.m. yesterday, walking back to the car a couple of minutes prior to 4:00 p.m.   Not very many people getting their jabs.   My arm is very sore, during the night it woke me, or should say the loo called me, when getting back in bed I could not lay on my arm it hurt so much.  It is feeling a little better now, but I am feeling a bit lazy.   That is good as there is nothing pressing for me to do today, so will take things easy.   Here in Canada the Pfizer is given to those under 30 years of age, those above get the Moderna.  The Dr. who gave me my shot, asked me to confirm my age to make sure I was getting the proper one.   Wearing a mask can be deceiving I suppose, or just a matter of course for them to ask.  Anyway, I told him my age and he "no way" I said "yes"   "you certainly don't look that old" .  It made my day, or it could be again just idle conversation, I took it as a compliment.    So now will be fully vaxed in a couple of weeks.   

As promised I am posting a photo of the quilt our group made and I put together for the chemo unit as a local hospital

Each member made a block, there are four on the back.   We are hoping to have an in person meeting late February, so will give it to the member to take to the hospital, with some of the other quilts which have been completed.  

Roast beef for dinner, cauliflower "potatoes", broccoli, and some leftover brussels.  Desser not sure if there is going to be any.

 

 

Great day

Sunshine pouring in the windows meant we did not need the heater on, just the defogger for the windshield.  The roads were clear and not much traffic about so great day for travelling.   We were on the road shortly after lunch for the hour and half ride to see my sister B.  I really cannot remember when I saw her last, it had to be before Winter, possibly early Autumn.   The Christmas gift, to her and she was pleased with it, so that was good.   We visited all afternoon with a  pot of tea and a piece of apple pie, catching up on all the news from our families.  She mentioned her confidence level in driving is not very good at the present time, she is only comfortable going to the nearest town to do her necessities once a week and back home.  She lives in the country, so little traffic at the best of times, so she is quite happy to do that trip when needed.  Her daughter lives a short distance from her, so if she needs to go any further than she needs to, her daughter takes her.   The very thing of not being confident in my driving is a great fear for me, I hate to think of having to rely on someone else to get me from point A to point B.  It may come to that one day, but at the present time I manage very well with my driving, even in the busy city in which I live.   Feeling a lot better about it since I had my cataracts removed.   

We left quite late, 5:00 p.m. so when we arrived home it was getting too late for me to cook dinner, so we cheated and went to a fast food drive through, we were good and ordered the most healthy item on their menu, came home to eat and finished up the fruit in jelly for dessert.  

So it was a great day, a great trip, a great visit and a great dinner.

Today it is still cold and cloudy with the sun trying desperately trying to get through the clouds, but not having much success.   Light snow is in the forecast for this afternoon and for the next few days.   

This afternoon we get our booster jab, so hope we do not have any after effects tomorrow.   I have heard some people are very tired and achy, time will tell.  Nothing on the agenda for tomorrow so no worries. 

Have a great day.

Stiff, thank goodness not me.

 Again....a memory.   As I have mentioned before, when we came to Canada we had never experienced the bitter cold Winters in England. that we have here.  But we survived, and all the daily and weekly chores were still taken care of, even laundry on Monday.  My Mother followed the ritual of doing certain jobs on a particular day.   In the house we lived in there was no hot water heater, so all the wash water needed to be heated on the stove, a long process to say the least.  When that was done the laundry was hand washed.   I learned a lot about hand washing clothes during those years.   The whites were done first, and after the washing and rinsing, my sister and I would each take an end of the sheets and twist in the opposite direction to each other, squeezing out the water.  All the other clothes were washed in order depending on colour and how dirty they were.  As my Dad was a farmer all of his clothes were washed last, for obvious reasons.  We had no dryer, and a few areas where some clothes could be hung inside the house, those work pants along with other clothes were regulated to the outside clothes line.    Hanging cold, wet and heavy pants outside when the temp is below zero, is far from a fun job.  After being outside all day, and not drying much, the pants were brought in the house for the night.   They were stiff, frozen solid, Mum would stand them on a rug in the corner.  It looked quite strange to see a pair of pants standing stiff and slowing collapsing into a wet heap on the floor as they thawed.  If not dry in the morning they were out on the line again, hoping they would dry, if not the process was repeated until they were.   The cold weather reminded me of the harsh days we had on laundry day many years ago and those stiff pants.   I am so thankful for my hot water heater, washing machine and clothes dryer.   

Spring cleaned the linen closet today, I do believe I have OCD as I had to take everything out, refold and some even got an iron over them,  and put it all back in, in neat piles with all the folds in one direction.   I am a sad case.  Hubby opened the door and remarked on how beautiful it looked.  LOL.  A couple of things were regulated to the rag bag, not even fit for the charity shop.

At lunch today Hubby chipped one of his front teeth and was able to get in within half an hour at the dentist to have it fixed

It is cold today, sun trying desperately to shine once in awhile, not having a lot of success.   Tomorrow is expected to be a sunnier day, but still cold.

Dinner tonight pork chops and leftover veg.   Made a fruit in jelly yesterday, lots left so dessert all taken care of.

Walk

It is 3*C this morning sun trying desperately to shine and the roads are clear, so decided to take a walk through the subdivision.   The sidewalks are snow packed therefore did not use them, stayed on the streets, there is very little traffic, just local residents using them.  

Very little happening around here today, Hubby got  a positive report from his Dr's telephone call, an appointment made for next year at this time.  

All the machine binding is sewn on the quilt I am currently working on, all that  is needed now is to turn it to the back side and hand sew it down.  Just in time for our virtual show and tell next week.   One member of our group posted a "stash buster" pattern which I am thinking of doing, havens knows I have enough in my stash to complete it.   It is an easy pattern to do so it should make up fairly quickly.   If that is the case, my try to do two, one with a scrappy look and the other using the same colours throughout.  Don't have any idea who they would be for, maybe just make up several quilts during the year and get family members to choose one for their Christmas gift.  If that is the idea I am going with, better get my rear in gear as there are a lot of family members.   Better think this idea over again.

Took some turkey out of the freezer this morning, so need to decided what to do with it for our dinner tonight.  

Quieter

 The wind is not blowing, but we still have a few flakes of snow drifting down, it is also milder still below freezing but feeling warmer without the wind.  

I have a granddaughter living in Ottawa, Ontario, and chatting with her last night she said they had 50 cm of snow, which is approximately 19 1/2 inches and it is cold.

Grocery day, "yes, we have no bananas, we have no bananas today",  and lots of fruit shelves and some veg were void of anything too, not even a random leaf or berry.   There were a lot of apples because they are grown here in our area, tomatoes and cucumbers are also grown in greenhouses, so  a good variety of those on display.  However,  if the imported produce is going to be non existent, people including me, will be substituting local produce, so it is possible they may be as rare as hens teeth to buy in the future.  What imported produce we are getting are pricey, a head of lettuce we $3.50 and they were very small.   More cereal shelves were empty compared to last week too.  I fear it will get worse before it gets better, so I picked up a couple extra cans of  fruit.

Got more spring cleaning done, I am on a roll almost finished and will be inside the  time frame I had set for myself for the end of the week.  

Received an email this morning, our quilting meeting will be on Zoom due to the restrictions in place, hoping we will be able to meet in person for our Feb. meeting. 

Hubby has a phone appointment tomorrow with his bone Dr. he had his density scan done a couple of weeks ago, so they will be discussing the results of that.  On Saturday, we both get our booster shot.

My bank account took a kicking because of my hearing aids charge was on my Visa statement, which I paid today,  I did receive a cheque from my health care provider, however, it was not as much as I had expected, but something is better than nothing, and hearing better is worth the money, so not really complaining.

Dinner tonight, chicken, veg and leftover scalloped potatoes from last night, also made a strawberry mousse for yesterday and we still have two portions of that for dessert.  It does not sound as if it should be a diabetics meal for Hubby but,  I guarantee it is under the carbs he should consume. 

Blizzard

When we went to bed last night, the snow had just started  to fall, woke this morning to about six inches which was being blown around with high winds.  Blizzard conditions, as the morning progressed the snow stopped falling but we still have the winds blowing the snow into drifts.    Hubby did get out and cleared off the driveway, may need to do it later, time will tell.  The city snow plow has cleaned off the street but, left a pile at the entrance of the driveway.  

We decided not to visit my sister due to the weather forecast, it was a beautiful day, here but cannot rely on it being the same at her location.  Speaking with her this morning, she has twice as much snow as we have.   We are looking at going later this week, hoping the weather forecast is going to be better than today.   Hubby enjoyed his football game and I did some sewing.  

Continued with more kitchen Spring cleaning this morning, I need to get some drawer liners, even after giving them a good wash, they still look a bit worse for ware.  Tomorrow I will clean out the cupboards where we store the cans and the one with the packaged dry food.   When that is done the floor can then be taken care of.   

Salmon for dinner tonight, not sure what else at the moment.

Look Up

 As I look up at the beautiful blue sky this morning, it appears to be a beautiful Spring or Summer sky.  Lowering my eyes, there are bare trees and the grass is covered with white snow.  It is still  January.   So today, I am going to continue to look up.   It is cold again, down to -14*C last night and as I write "computer say's" -9*C.

That quotation reminds me of a TV show I watched several years ago.  It was a British show, and no holds were barred, how they were able #1. to put it on TV and #2 not kill themselves laughing making the show, I will never know.   Also, brings back to memory "Mrs. Brown's Boys"   I would have tears running down my face laughing at that show.   Even the actors on that show had to redo several scenes because they were laughing so much.

Slow Sunday, Hubby will be watching football game this afternoon, and I will be sewing.   We were planning on going to see my sister today, to give her a Christmas gift, but have decided to go another day due to the game.  What am I giving her?   I bought an amaryllis bulb in a kit which  includes the soil and pot,  due to one thing and another, I have yet to give it to her.   A couple of weeks ago it was looking very sad to say the least, so decided to pot it up.   It is growing and looking fine even has the makings of a flower.  Will deliver it in the coming week, if the weather holds.

So that is for me today, stay warm, or cool, above all stay safe.

It's more than cold

 We are currently in a deep freeze, for our area anyway, went down to -17*C last night, and the high today is -10*C, but feeling much colder when the wind is factored in, so looking at -20*C or so.   That is not cold, it is %&$@ freezing.  The only consolation, the sun is shining and making it better to accept.

Gave Hubby an errand to do today, go to drug store and pick up two Rx, one for him and the other for me.  Then go to get some milk at the grocery store.   He was gone a long time, wondering what was keeping him, well I soon found out when he arrived home.   He was carrying a huge box.   Now, you must understand that when a product we usually buy is on sale we purchase several, we don't hoard but certainly take advantage of the sales.  We are both retired, certainly not wanting for anything but, like to save money when we can.  We do that for everything, groceries, paper products, cleaners etc. etc.  Today, the drug store must have had a sale on tissues and toilet paper.   Box full, did not see the Rx or the milk so wondered if he forgot, but they were under everything.   We are good for paper products for a month or so.  

He did note, the grocery store was almost empty, and didn't know how they are able to stay open if this is a growing trend for this store.   The store is located in a retirement complex, so I suspect it was just too cold for anyone to go out.

Started to Spring clean the kitchen today, have decided to do a bit every day, so have given myself the week to get everything done.  Learnt my lesson many times over by doing it all in one day, don't do that anymore.   Hubby will clean the windows when it is warmer, I don't do windows.  

Got a lot done on the quilt yesterday, will go in there when finished talking to you.

Dinner tonight a salad needs to be eaten, so will have that with  pizza with lot of veggies.    

Where did this week go

 Friday, already!!

Again, it was so dark this morning, we didn't wake until shortly after 7:00 a.m.  but that is OK, nothing on the agenda that is pressing today.

Hubby picked up the mail this morning and said we had some freezing something falling, a combination of rain and snow.  Lovely, slippery again.    With the mild temp we had yesterday the roads were clear of ice and packed snow, so easy walking, without the fear of falling.  

Mail? I swear the posties leave all of the junk mail, until they make their deliveries of Friday,  that is all we seem to get at the end of the week.   On January 11th I received a birthday card from my long time friend in England, my birthday is in November.  I sent an email thanking her for the beautiful words on the card and  received an email from her this morning and she mentioned the card was mailed on November 5th.  must have taken the slow boat as it took two months to get here.  Usually, I received mail from the UK faster that getting mail from just 200 hundred miles away.

I did get into the sewing studio yesterday afternoon, sandwiched the quilt, pinned it and started to quilt it.  I can't do fancy quilting on my sewing machine, so just do straight lines.  I like how it is looking so far.  It is difficult to manage as it is over five feet square, but slow and easy gets it done.  Photo, I promise when it is done.  This quilt is one our guild members made blocks for, myself and another member were paired up to put it together.  My partner works in the medical field, so I have decided to do it all myself, as I know she must be very busy.    

Did not feel quite myself yesterday with tummy complaints, better today.  

Dinner tonight, the stew I made a couple of days ago.  Not sure what else, if anything.

As I mentioned previously, not much going on today, so will get busy......doing nothing much.

MIssed You Yesterday

It was just one of "those" day when you have good intentions to do things and nothing gets done.  Well! I shouldn't say "nothing" because I did get some things accomplished but getting around to write to you, just did not happen.

So what did I do, I made several meals, scalloped potatoes and ham, and a stew, all of which were individually portioned out and will end up in the freezer for meals later. Just felt like working in the kitchen.   It  all sounds simple, but time consuming, at least for me, the peeling and chopping veg, then there's the trip out side  to the compost bin and finally the cleaning up.

Woke up this morning, it was so dark, I thought it was earlier that it was, so turned over and had another forty winks.  Waking a second time, it was still quite dark, the reason, cloudy and very foggy.   At 10:15 a.m. it is still as thick as pea soup out there.  Not going anywhere today.    We did have a dusting of snow last evening, and then the temp started to rise, thus the reason for the fog I assume.    I am quite comfortable inside and looking out the window today.

It maybe mild here in S.W. Ontario, however, not all of the province is.  One of my granddaughters and Hubby's nephew both live in Ottawa, Ontario, which is north of us by a few hundred miles, it gets a lot colder there.   Hubby received a video of  his nephew who lives in Ottawa, it show him outside with a small bucket  of hot water.  He throws the water in the air and it immediately becomes a vapour due to the -30*C temperature.  Now that is cold!!!!!  I tried to upload it here for you to see, but must be doing something wrong, which is not that hard for me, as it did not happen.  

Today, I am going to work on a quilt in the sewing studio, so will "see" you tomorrow.

   

Butter Tarts

 The sweet concoction inside a pastry shell, has several conflicting reports of the origins of this delicious  little tart.

Some believe the origin of these tarts is a result of the "filles du roi" or Kings Daughters who were young French women sent to Quebec, Canada in the 17th century. They adapted their desserts with ingredients available to them.   While others, believe they were originally known as "border tarts" as a lot of immigrants around the turn of the century were from the border of Scotland and they adapted their own recipes.  Again, others believe they were invented by rural people in Ontario, Canada.  

The recipe can be found in a lot of recipe books and have variations of the ingredients, and they all taste great.   I like them using the recipe below.

BUTTER TARTS

Pastry

Make your favourite double-crust pastry recipe, roll thinly and cut into rounds to fit into medium size muffin pans.

Filling

I large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup melted butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon vinegar

1/4 cup of raisins  (or more if desired) 

Combine all of the ingredients except the raisins, mix well.

Put the raisins in the pastry shell, dividing evenly.  

Fill shells 2/3 full with the syrup mixture

Bake on the bottom shelf at 400 degrees  for 12-15 minutes or just until set.   Don't overbake.  Underbaking makes them runnier.

Cool on wire rack, they remove from pans.

Enjoy.

I makes these when I know I will have company to help eat them.  Great with a cup of tea or coffee.

Cold today, down to -16*C overnight and struggled to reach -6*C today.  It was sunny, however, clouds have rolled in.   In this weather we only do what is necessary to do outside.   So, groceries bought, mail picked up and Hubby cleared the snow we had overnight.   Inside cosy and warm for the rest of the day.

Dinner tonight, hey it's Tuesday, I don't cook on Tuesdays, chicken from the grocery store. veg and potato.  Not even sure what we will have for dessert, maybe nothing tonight.

Keep warm or cool.

Grips of Winter

Minus 15 *C tonight is the forecast low.    I am so glad we have central heating now and what I have for a long time.

Reminds me of the days when we came to Canada,  from southern England and experienced out first Winter.   We lived on a farm in the country, could not see our neighbours in any direction, so we were isolated.  Certainly not like the village we came from.    The house was small and back in the '50's I don't think they knew about insulation in the walls, so it was wooden lap on the outside and plaster in the inside.   Storm Windows, what were they?  None existent in this house.   There was an oil heater in the middle of the living room, doors kept open to heat the kitchen and two bedrooms.  

The loo, was a little wooden house with a moon shape in the door to let in light, I swear this loo was a 100 feet from the house.  At night, there was no quick dash to go outside, we had that big "goesunder" (SP)? in the bedrooms.   

Insulated boots, coats or hats, no!.... most everyone wore lined blue jeans and numerous sweaters,  coat, scarves, gloves, hats many layers to keep warm.   We had a lot more snow then, compared to what we have now.   We made it through that first Winter, and many more after, while we were in that house.  Moved to a bigger farm and bigger house which was insulated, storm windows an inside loo and better heating.   We thought we were in heaven.

So now, I am thankful I had those miserable Winters, and they were miserable, as now I can look back and realize how fortunate we are to have such modern conveniences to keep us warm and comfortable, cool and comfortable.    

COLD yes it is, but there are so many "street people" that try to find a warm place for the night.   This city has a lot of facilities for people to get in out of the cold, thank goodness.

Well, I am late posting today,  dinner tonight was BBQ ribs, green beans and small baked potato.   

Now, I am going to watch some mindless program on TV, or maybe something we recorded.

Hope you are warm, if you are experiencing Winter and cool if you are in the midst of Summer.

It's Going

We currently have a mild spell that won't last long but at least it is getting rid of some of the snow, making room for more.  lol   Cloudy today, freezing rain, rain and snow forecast, a rather mixed bag of weather, of which, we have had none at the present time.  Just fine with me.

Following the recommendations of those of authority, we purchased some N95 masks and wore them yesterday,   I don't know how health workers can wear those things for hours on end.  They must either get use to them or they are so busy they don't think about them anymore.  I suspect the latter.   I have always been taking any mask off when I get into my car if I have been out into a store.  For two reasons, I can sanitize my hands when its off and also to make sure I do  not remove my hearing aids with the elastic.   Yesterday, I was wearing a set of pearl earrings and lost one during the process of taking the mask off.   Looked in the car, but did not find it, so suspect it was caught in my coat and it fell out somewhere.  They were a gift I was given a long time ago.   

Not much on the agenda today,  Hubby is tinkering in the garage, and I will be giving the kitchen floor the once over and then working on the quilt currently under the sewing machine needle.  

We had a very late lunch yesterday, so was not really hungry at dinner time and  I really did not feel like cooking a big meal, so retrieved two servings of the turkey soup I made from the Christmas turkey, heated up some sausage rolls I still had left over from said occasion.   Fruit in jelly, and a small butter tart.   Easy Peasy.   Tonight, we will be having the chicken thighs stuffed with dressing, squash and brussles.  Dessert, there is some fruit in jelly left so will finish that.

 

Not much Done Today.

Breakfast, shower, laundry and get ready for a 3/4hr. drive to a funeral.   We registered a couple of days ago and read all of the Covid  rulers and regulations.

It was a sad day for the family, as all funerals are,  I knew the deceased and only saw him a few times, however, Hubby and his late wife did a lot of camping years ago, when their children were young.  Due to the virus, there was not only the restrictions but, there was no socializing and fellowship with a luncheon afterwards.  There just seemed to be an abrupt halt to everything.  Don't get me wrong it was a lovely service, but certainly did not seem to be "finished".

The funeral home is where I had my late husband's service, and this was the first time I had been in this one since them.  Memories.    

The drive was a nice one, clear roads, and lovely sunshine, almost wanted one to keep on driving but, I needed the "loo".

So, as my title indicates nothing has been done today, that's OK,  that is my attitude these days, it will always be there tomorrow and even the day after.

Dinner tonight, stuffed chicken thighs, brussels, and carrots.   Some of the fruit and jelly is still left so we will have that.

Baby it's cold outside

 Must be January, as it is below zero C at nighttime and during the day.  Today the sun is competing with the clouds, sometimes it wins, sometimes it loses.  We also have snow, earlier there were a lot of "diamonds".  Looking out the window I thought I was in a snowglobe.   As I write, we have flakes falling softly, no wind to blow them around into drifts, well not yet anyway.

I am so glad Hubby has accepted his retirement and is now doing very well surfing the net and finding out information that he wants to read etc.   These Winter days are not days when he wants to be outside, if it is not absolutely necessary.   It does appear though he may be outside removing snow from the driveway later today.  We will need it cleared as we go to the funeral tomorrow for his BIL.

Yesterday afternoon I was able to get a lot done on the quilt currently under the sewing machine needle.   All the blocks are together just attaching the border fabric and then will sandwich it with the batting and backing.  I will be quilting this one on my sewing machine, nothing fancy, I don't do fancy as it never seems to work out as I envisioned it, so I stick to straight lines.   Painters masking tape is what I use to keep the lines straight, measuring and attaching it, sewing along the side of it, removing it with no marks or residue, then move on to the next line that needs to be stitched.  Works very well.  This afternoon I will be doing just that.

Dinner tonight, It's Friday? right?   so fish, mushrooms, salad and fruit in jelly.

Diamonds

Did I get a new ring, necklace, bracelet or earrings?    No,   It is cold -7*C, the sun is trying very hard to poke its head out from behind a thin layer of clouds.  These clouds contain a certain amount of moisture, not enough for snow flakes.   However, this moisture is falling, as small ice crystals in the air and when the sun peeks through, the crystals shine like sparkling diamonds.  Very pretty indeed.   Sitting in the living room as I write, the sun is warming me, so comforting.  Warm sun, sparkling diamonds all I need now is a nice glass of white wine.   Oops, too early for that wine, will have to settle for a cup of tea.

I worked in my sewing room all afternoon and was able to get a lot accomplished, happy about that, plan on doing some more this afternoon, when some household chores are finished.

We have become a couple of couch potatoes.  We usually start to watch TV around, 8:00 - 9:00 p.m. depending on the time something we want to watch comes on.  At this time of the year there is not much that interests us, however, we did see a hockey game and The Amazing Race, ( I should say--- "I" flipped back and forth between the hockey and the race, Hubby napped)  then the news, then some late night talk show,  then Hubby watched another talk show, he was ready to see this show due to his nap.    Do you know what time I went to bed?   1:30 a.m. and as a result, do you know what time I got up this morning?    8:30 a.m.  I can only justify that late hour, because I need seven hours of sleep.   Memo to myself,  "Go to bed earlier, in the future"

My second cousin who lives in England sent me a bouquet of flowers which arrived on Dec. 23rd. I have been faithfully, changing the water, clipping the stems and rearranging them in the vase.  I had the enjoyment of these beautiful flowers for a long time, however, today, I must dispose of the last blooms as they are looking quite sad.   

Dinner tonight leftover meatloaf, veg and a salad,  and disguise the fruit we had last night into something new for dessert.

Depending of where you live, have a great day,  keep warm or cool, but above all stay safe.

Blast of Winter

The forecast is predicting, high winds, snow and cold temps later today, temp is currently at 4*C.   But....Saturday we could  expect rain.   Sounds like a messy few days, will have to go with the flow.

Finished my guilds challenge yesterday, it is not due until our March meeting, but wanted to get it done so that I can start on some new projects.   Putting together the blocks for our guilds comfort quilt, then will make some bowl cosies for my children and also do a One Block Wonder quilt or quilts depending how much fabric I have.  I was given a lot of this particular fabric it is pretty, but very big flowers in bold colours, something I would not use in a regular quilt, but perfect to cut it for the One Block.   I have a lot of small scraps so want to find a pattern so that I can use up some of these pieces.   They seem to multiply overnight, lol 

A neighbour has a garage full of bagged leaves, so has asked Hubby if he would take them to the recycle when it opens this afternoon.   Hoping the snow is not blowing at that time, as it is an open area and would be very cold with the wind blowing.

I have taken some minced beef out of the freezer, so plan on making a meatloaf for dinner.   Lots on veg in the fridge, so will need to decide what to use.   Dessert, well, need to think about that too.

Not much else going on today, what about you.  have any exciting plans, any plans?

Wednesday......Lock down.

 Yes, tomorrow we are locked down....... again.  This variant has become a wild bug, doing what it does best by infecting the vaccinated and unvaccinated alike.   So glad we purchased the N95 masks a couple of weeks ago, as I am sure there are none out there to buy now.   This is the only mask the authorities are saying actually protects people.   I applaud the health care workers who wear them all day, every day when they are working.  They are very uncomfortable to wear even for the short time when we got our groceries this morning.  

The sun is so welcome this morning, it is cold but not feeling as bad as it would if the sky was dark and cloudy.   There was frost on the outside and the inside of  Hubby's car windows when we went out and 9:30 a.m.  The heat from the sun soon cleared the windows of my car.   Hardly anyone in the grocery store, the cereal aisle had more empty shelves than last week,  glad we bought what we needed then.  I believe, because of the lock down looming again, we shall see even more empty spaces on shelves in the future.  

Hubby received some sad news yesterday, his brother in law passed away.  It was a surprise to learn this news, as we attended their 50th wedding anniversary just a few months ago, he had a very aggressive rare cancer and chose yesterday to leave this world as he was very ill with no hope of any recovery.   We will need to register with the funeral home to attend the funeral on Saturday.

Dinner tonight, chicken, asparagus and some of the leftover cauliflower (potato), from yesterday.   

Winter is now upon us.

Cold, snowy and cloudy Winter has finally arrived in S.W. Ontario.   As I write at 11:30 a. m. it is -7*C.  It is too slippery for me to venture out for a walk today, but the temp is suppose to moderate somewhat mid week, so could increase my walks then, to catch up on the ones I have not been doing.

When I put up our new 2022 calendar, I noticed we put the clocks ahead around mid March so at that time the evenings will be getting longer and we could look forward to Spring.  Two a half months of cold! I guess I can tolerate that, really don't have much choice.  I know I moan and groan about Winter, but it really is not all that bad.  

What is on the agenda today, I plan on sewing most of the afternoon, all the housework was done yesterday as I was putting all the Christmas decorations away.  Bathrooms and kitchen always need a "going over" but that is all the cleaning I will be doing today.  Have no idea what Hubby plans are, I  am sure he will find something to keep him busy.  There are several programs we have recorded for him to see, so that could be done this afternoon.

Dinner tonight will be some of the ham we had last night, a veg of some kind and salad.   Not sure what we will have for dessert, if we have any.

Not much going on here today, so will wish you all a good day, no matter what your plans are.  

   

Back to Normal

 The decorations came down today, everything looked so bare after having lights on the tree and bits and bobs scattered around, festive cushions on the sofa and Christmas cards we received displayed for all the see.  So back to normal.   My poinsettia is still as  nice as it was when I got it from the garden centre.  Several years ago I kept one for three years, in the Summer it was outside and  when I brought it in, in the Fall, I put it in the dark fruit cellar for the required number of hours every day and eventually it bloomed  for two Christmas, it became quite large and I transplanted it into a bigger pot which i believed eventually killed it.  Will see how this one on the hearth, looks when Spring and warmer weather gets here.

We had a lovely afternoon visit with my GD , K and her boyfriend I,  yesterday afternoon.   They both made a new years resolution to read more books instead of being on their phones, they realized  how much time they waste scrolling stuff on the screen.   K will be 24 years old in three weeks, but we will not see her until Easter, so a cheque will be in the mail for her.   

It started to snow late yesterday and we woke to three inches of snow, Hubby used the snow thrower to clear off the driveway.  It has turned cold also, so maybe this snow is the beginning of it all staying, unless we get milder temps later, however, don't expect that to happen any time soon.  

Ham, baked potato and cauliflower for dinner tonight not sure if we will even have dessert.\

2022

 We watch the ball drop in New York last night and just laughed so much at Anderson and Andy, we had tears running down our face.   Some chips and dip, Hubby had a no sugar coke and I had rum and eggnog to ring in the new year.   Bed saw us crawl in and 1:30 a.m.   Slow morning.

Again we had fog but it has lifted now, it is mild out this morning but, that is predicted to change late this afternoon when snow arrives.   Not planning on going anywhere but for those that are please drive carefully.

We are expecting to see K my granddaughter and her friend  I before they head back to Ottawa, she to continue her studies and he back to working online for Health Canada.  Will  see them again possibly at Easter.   Later today all of the decorations will come down and be put away for another year.

We jumped on the scales this morning and by all indications we have maintained  the same weight for the past year, which is good but, I am planning on working on those numbers to get them lower than they are at present.  Not setting any goal just less poundage, it gets harder and harder with age.

Will do some sewing this afternoon on the comfort quilt.  Our guild was suppose to have our holiday meal on Monday, however, it has been cancelled due to the virus running rampant at present.  Something to look forward to later, hopefully.

Have no idea what we will have for dinner, will need to start looking, so on that note .....

Have a great January 1st, no matter what you are doing.