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