Goodbye

I am going to be very generous to my Hubby for February 29th, 30th and 31st  he can be the boss!!!

February.......all but gone, it has been a good one, not much really Wintery weather, quite nice compared to some February's I have been through.  March is coming in like a tamed lion, hope it goes out like a lamb, so ready for some sunshine and warmer temps.

Cannot believe the prices of some of the items in the grocery store today.  We usually buy a certain brand of yogurt, it has the probiotics in it for a healthy gut.  We have some every morning with our breakfast, so buy the large container, not the individual ones.  The large tub use to cost us $2.49 each, today, 2 for the price of $9.00,  we don't have any yogurt in our fridge,  my gut is going to try and stay healthy without it.  It's not that we cannot afford to pay that price, but I am not going to line the pockets of the owners of the supermarket chains.  Come on people,  the pandemic is going to be here to stay, you cannot use that as an excuse any more.   Product is moving again, from manufacturers and growers,  you cannot use that excuse any more.  The weather, I know you cannot change that.

I am on a rant here..... Don't change the size of the jars, boxes and packages and charge the same price as it was with the larger ones.   I know what you are doing, you cannot pull the wool down over my eyes.  

You can afford all of your fancy houses, with those fancy kitchens, that have fancy chefs preparing your meals.   What about families who need to have both parents working, just to afford to house, feed and take care of their children.  Citizens who were able to donate food and the daily necessities of living to the food banks are now going there themselves for assistance.  

It's not just food where we are being gouge, housing, utilities, clothing and fuel for our vehicle's, only to name a few, are just as bad.

We do donate food to the food bank.

I feel better now.

Have a great day.

Cheers.

Another punch

Mother Nature is going to throw another punch of Winter at us again.   Later today and overnight we can expect some more freezing rain and high winds and snow.  She is making up for all of the lovely weather we have had during this month.

My back is still painful, however, I do not believe it is my sciatic nerve causing the problem, its a muscle issue.   I do have a Doctor appointment later this week, so will see what she has to say.  In the mean time, heat, ice, over the counter pain meds and some gentle stretching exercise are making it easier to move around.

Our guild meeting has now been rescheduled for this Thursday, once again looking forward to going.  All of the members are so talented, so it is nice to see all of the beautiful quilts we all make.   I will have to start preparing soon, the demonstration  I have been asked to give to our group at our April meeting.   Times comes around so fast and I do like to be prepared.

Ham and scalloped potatoes for dinner tonight.  Left over jelly and fruit for desert.

Have a great day.

Cheers.

 

Nice

 A lovely sunny day, cool wind and only 3*C, a lot better than we have experienced during the past few days.   Freezing rain, snow and then more freezing rain.   Hard to remove off the cars and driveway.   Several communities in the area have experienced power outages due to the ice, we have been lucky as that has  not happened to us.  Even though we have sun today, the forecast for tomorrow is again freezing rain.

Woke up this morning with a pinched sciatic  nerve in my back, walking, standing and sitting down is fine but, the getting up is painful.   Not a happy camper, so they say.   Feeling  quite miserable.

Alone is the house again today,  Hubby busy.

Have a great day.

Cheers.

AWOL

 I have been away for the weekend.    My DD2 and SIL were going to visit their two daughters and asked me if I wanted to join them.  Of course I did, late Friday morning SIL picked me up, and a short time later we were on the road for a long ride.   

During the night we had had some freezing rain, however, the roads were clear and drying up by the time we left.  After almost four hours of travelling we picked up GD in Peterborough, on the road again for approximately the same length of time to reach Ottawa.  Both girls were surprised to see me as they had no idea I was coming to see them.

On Saturday, a surprise for me, was an impromptu get together with some of the families who went to finalize the adoption of their daughters, when I went with my DD2 and SIL.   It was so nice to see those who could come, as I had not seen them for a couple of years.  A good time was had by all.

The GD living in Ottawa, was the recipient of a bursary, which will help her immensely.  Those who applied had to be studying plants and also be in need of some financial assistance, she checked both of those boxes.  So proud of the work she is doing.  We took her back to her apartment, it was a short visit but we had a good time with her.

On the road again, back to Peterborough as GD had to fly the following morning, (Sunday), and had to do some research for an interview she was having on Monday morning, for a co-op placement for the Summer..     

DD,SIL and myself stayed at a hotel for the night and started for home mid morning on Sunday.  I had a great time.

We cancelled our cleaning service as they were not doing a good enough job, for the money they were getting.  Hubby said he would do the vacumming, I can do it but,  not the entire house in one day, my shoulders will just not allow me to do that.   I was doing a room a day, I could manage doing that, however, I would be doing the vacumming everyday of the week, get it done then would have to start  again. I was not doing that.   He vacuumed and I dusted.   All done.

Salmon for dinner tonight.

have a great day,

Cheers.

Winnie the Pooh

 Yesterday, was a day Winnie the Pooh would have described as blustery.  I remember the pictures in his books, leaves blowing all around.  That is what we had also, normally the leaves not picked up last year would be covered with snow, certainly not this Winter, so they were blown everywhere.  Small twiggy type branches came down off of the trees around us, however, other places in the city had trees down.   We did have very mild temps. our thermometer registered 16*C, the record temp from the airport was lower than that.   Cooler today but not unpleasant.

We went for our walk, feeling so much better for doing that on a regular basis.  At first a hip was feeling sore afterwards, however, not so much now.  Hope to lose a few pounds as a result of this half hour every day.  

Worked on a quilt for a great grand nephew born yesterday, once I get the details of his birth will finish off with a label.   Need to get the required block made for the guild meeting next week, can't believe how fast those meetings come around each month.

Going to make some sausage rolls for dinner tonight, along with a salad and maybe some baked beans that dinner all sorted.

Have a great day.

Cheers.

Frame

 For Christmas I was given a jig saw puzzle, the picture was quilts. (who would have known).  It is completed and now would like to get it in a frame.  Do not want to spend a small fortune so went looking for one in a charity shop today.  The puzzle is an uncommon size, so having a difficult time finding one, which I knew might be a problem.  May have to resort to having one made after all.  Will try a couple more shops and see, might get lucky and find one.

Another beautiful day, temp went up to 10*C at the house, not the official one I am sure.   We will not be seeing the sun now for several days and clouds will be giving us some rain and snow later in the week.  Can't complain, it is the middle of Feb. and we really have had no Winter as we normally do at this time of the year.

Day did not start off on the right foot this morning, no details as it really doesn't matter these days.  I just give up.

Sadly my amaryllis is starting to fade, two of the first blooms to open have now withered to a red mass, will need to investigate what one is suppose to do with the plant when the flowers are all said and done.  Have enjoyed the lovely colour for a couple of weeks or more, so it's time, just like all flowers, they have their life span too.

We did go out for pizza tonight, it was delicious, some brought home in a doggie bag for our lunch tomorrow.

Late posting, so have a great day tomorrow.

Cheers.

  

Too nice

Is it Spring or still Winter, it's so had to tell with the beautiful sunny days and unseasonal temps we are having at the present time.  Just too nice to stay inside, so we had a nice walk this morning.

Can't think of much to write about today, just did the necessary housework, laundry was done on Saturday.  

Laundry? when do you do your major wash?  Mine is always done on Saturday's, started and finished  and in the drawers or on hangers within a few hours.

I have in my possession a hand written account of wash day when my Great Aunt B. did her laundry many years ago.   

She was in the "wash house" all day, lightening the fires, getting the water, washing and rinsing.  Then hanging it outside to dry, if it wasn't raining, if it was too wet to put it on the line, everything was strung up on lines in the wash house.  After that was done the containers holding the water were emptied onto the brick floor and it was scrubbed within an inch of its life.  There was a hole in the wall where the water was swept out.   Tuesday was ironing day, if it was dry.

We do not realize we have such an easy time with laundry, machines do the job, we walk away and do something else, not stand in front of a vat full of water and harsh soap scrubbing away at stains and dirt.  

 Hubby accidently left the door of the freezer in the top of our fridge open for several hours last night. Ice cubes were water, we could drink the ice cream, veg and fruit everything thawed out.   Had to toss some food, cooked the veg and we could eat the blueberries on our yogurt in the mornings.   Only good thing that came out of it was the freezer has been cleaned out.

Hope you had a great day.

Cheers. 

 

Not much left

 The sun is shining  again, two days in a row, how nice is that!  Yes, it is melting the snow, there is very little left in our back garden.  Only snow left is where the snow blower Hubby used to clear the drive way and the street snow plow put it on the side of the road.  I am liking this, and so are the snow drops, they are in full bloom under the tree in the front garden.   Temps for the next few days are on the plus side of zero, more snow gone, I hope so.🌞

The amaryllis is still beautiful, not sure how long the blooms last until they start to fade, so enjoying it while I can.  Even my cactus has decided to put forth some buds again, it must be liking the sunshine coming in the window.

Tomorrow is my only grandson's birthday, he will be 34 years old,  doesn't that make me feel old, it sure does and he is not my eldest grandchild either.  Received a call from him, thanking me for his card and he also told me he and his wife are expecting their second child in late Summer.  They have a daughter who will be starting Jr. Kindergarten later this year, so they hoping for a boy this time.   When this child is born I will then have seven great grands, Christmas and birthdays are going to put me in the poor house.  I only give to the family members under the age of eighteen, cannot afford to give them all gifts, and honestly they have more than they need anyway, so have no idea what I could/would give them.

Hubby will be watching the Super Bowl American Football game this evening, so a pizza and salad for dinner tonight.  Also, sounds like a good time for me to finish off a couple of bottles of wine that are already open!  🍷🍷

Have a great day.

Cheers.  

Scraps

 I hate throwing away scraps of fabric, mainly due to the fact it costs a lot to buy a decent quilting cotton.  The problem is am getting over run with scraps, so have decided to make a quilt with them.   This time I am using the 2 1/2 inch squares to make a "Jacob's Ladder".  Have taken a couple of days of sewing to get the scrap squares sown together,  this afternoon I made a sample block, like how it is looking, so will continue for the entire quilt top.  My sister also has asked for a baby girl quilt for July, once the one currently under the sewing machine needle is done, I will source fabric for that.   In the mean time I need to sandwich and quilt another baby boy quilt, the top is done so it should not take long.   Have to keep myself busy these Winter months or I would go stir crazy.

We went for our walk this morning, it was quite nice, only a slight breeze, however, there was Snain in the air.  What is Snain, it is my word for a mixture of snow and rain.  It comes down like rain, but is cold and white like snow.    We did have a brief snow flurry late this afternoon to make a thin layer of white on the grass.

It is staying so much lighter in the evenings, loving it.  Looking at the calendar today, we have four weeks before the clocks are turned forward an hour.  It certainly makes the days feel longer, if we could just get some sunshine I can survive until Spring.

Finished the left over beef roast today, along with some cabbage and a baked potato.  Hubby had a butterscotch pudding and I had some apple sauce.   Trying to lose a few pounds by walking every day and cutting down on the carbs.  So far small steps of weight loss,

Have a great day.

Cheers.

Brolly weather

We had rain all day, early afternoon we decided to go for our walk as the rain had stopped, brollies went with us, all ready for rain if it started again.  And, started it did, heavy at times, so glad we were prepared or we would have been soaked to the skin.   The rain was coming straight down but, we still got our legs wet.   And, wouldn't you know it, shortly after we arrived home, it stopped and the sky cleared somewhat.   The sun even showed it's face for a short while, then the clouds came back again.  We can expect high winds tonight apparently.  Not complaining about the rain, if it had been snow we would still be clearing it off.

I do have some bright blossoms in my living room, in the form of an Amaryllis,  the bulb was given to me as a Christmas present, never had one before, but it surely will not be the only one of have in the future. It has four blossoms which are a beautiful red.  

Did some financial stuff this morning, some sewing and the walk, not much else done, except for the usual things done during the day.

We are still using up the roast beef for our dinner. dessert was rice pudding.

Have a great day.

Cheers.

If......

If...the snow was not on the ground, it would feel like Spring.

If...there were leaf buds on the trees, it would feel like Spring.

If...it was warmer, it would feel like Spring.

Unfortunately, it is still February but, we have sunshine, beautiful blue skies, temps on the plus side of zero by five degrees, so will not complain.

We went for our walk again this morning, started to feel quite warm by the time we got home, so off came the gloves.

An amount of snow will melt today by the sounds of the forecast for tomorrow, a lot more will be gone as we have rain, lots of rain coming with temps around the plus 10 decree C. mark.   Could be some flooding in low lying areas.

It is too nice for me to stay in the house today, so I am off to do some shopping, not looking for any in particular except some bating for a quilt that will be quilted tomorrow.

My Amaryllis is such a beautiful scarlet red, two blossoms are fully out and two buds will be tomorrow.  I am so pleased DD1 gave me the bulb for Christmas.   I may invest in another bulb next Winter.

Dinner tonight left over roast beef.

Have a great day.

Cheers.

Mother always said

 If you can't something nice, say nothing at all.

Have a great day

Cheers.

If it's not one this it's another

 Happy Sunday to all of my readers.

The weather today is a lot milder there is even some snow melting, not much but anything at this time of the year is welcome.  Temp. is plus 5*C with the possibility of some rain, how crazy is that, a couple of days ago we were experiencing freezing cold snow.  It's got to be February in Canada.

Went down to the rec room this morning, it was alive with ants, Hubby has to get rid of them, so he put down some poison, that had better work to get rid of them for good, I am tired of them being in the house.  If it's not one bug it's another.

The electric range has been making an awful smell every time I turned on one of the rear burners, it had to be fixed as it might do more damage.  Roast of beef still in the fridg. on to plan number two.  Which Is unknow at this time. If it's not one things it's another.

Gave Hubby a hair cut this morning, he is still able to go out in public with out a hat.  LOL.  I am not a hair dresser, however, have been cutting hair for a long time.  My son's when he was a young child, my husband and my Dad.  Did attempt to do my two daughters at one time, I have a photo of them sitting on the sofa after I had done it, they were not happy.  Also attempted to do mine, when we were in lockdown.   Have you ever cut some ones hair even though you have no training?

 I did go to the hairdresser this afternoon to have my hair done, not trusting anyone who has not gone to school to learn how to do it properly.   She did a good job today setting it, just wish I could do the same each time I wash it.

Not much else happening here today, we did go for a walk this morning, it is becoming a lot easier to get up and get going, now that it has become routine.   The only time we don't go is if the weather is bad.

Have a great day,

Cheers.

Artic Vortex

Yesterday was an awful day as far as the weather was concerned, cold, snowy and windy, all as a result of the artic vortex which descended upon the area.  We ended up with an additional 5 inches of snow on top of what we already had on the ground.  It was so bitter cold I didn't even set foot out of the door.  Now, today is completely different, no snow, little wind, sunshine and milder temps, still under the minus mark but, anything is warmer than we had yesterday.

I was in my sewing studio all afternoon, only stopping to get dinner, which was easy and quick.

Laundry done this morning and gave the kitchen a good deep clean, the oven didn't need to be done as it was taken care of after Christmas.   

After lunch we decided to go for our walk as the weather was in our favour.  Gathered my hiking poles, dressed warmly and off we went.  The roads and sidewalks had been cleared on the deep snow, however, it was still hard walking.  Just as if we were walking in wet sand, step forward, sink and slide, extra exercise for our legs.

We are having some leftovers for our dinner tonight all I have to do is cook some extra veg and its done.

Not much else on the agender for the rest of the day, so will have an hour sewing.

Have a great day.

Cheers.

Brrrrrrr

Last night and today are going to be the coldest we have had all Winter, the snow is falling so thick at the time of writing this, it is looking like pea soup fog across the field from the house.

Temp tonight will be -14*C feeling as if it is -23*C.  A polar vortex is blanketing the area and bring snow streamers of the lake North West of where I live.   

My appointment with the hair dresser has just been cancelled as I am not driving in this weather, not worried about myself, just those other idiots on the streets who drive as if the roads are clear and dry.  Our cleaners also cancelled their visit today due to the weather, they will be here on Tuesday.  Not walking today either, the snow has covered up all of the icy areas, not taking the chance.

My arm is a bit tender this morning from yesterday's Covid shot, nothing unusable about that, it becomes tender every time I have a shot.  It is only a minor inconvenience to keeps me as safe as I can be.

Hubby's snow blower is going to get a test today, from the recent repairs he has done on it.   He will likely wait until the snow stops, which is what it is suppose to do later this evening.  We have no plans to go anywhere, so now problem.

Not sure what we will have for dinner tonight, we have lots to choose from, it all depends on what I want to prepare, which at the present time is nothing.  Trying to lose a bit of weight, not that I am too heavy for my size, just feeling fat and hate that feeling.

Must get a move on and think about that dinner.

Have a great day.

Cheers.

Trip

 My DD1 gave her 5 grandchildren tickets for a train ride to Toronto and back, plus tickets to go to the aquarium there.   Five adults went too, they all had a great time.   The GG's had never been on train before and because they all have been, by law to wear their seat belts they were quite surprised there were none on the train.  They range in age from 4 years to 12 years, so certainly glad I declined the invitation to join them.  My Christmas gift to the GG's was money to spend on anything they wanted in the gift shop. 

This brings back a memory of something I did about 20 years ago with my Grand's at Christmas.   I invited them all to stay overnight, five girls and one boy, age range 12 years to 3 years what on earth was I thinking..   One threw up all over the beds the girls were sleeping in, a favorite nighttime Teddy Bear was taken from the owner, so she could not sleep. the youngest didn't want to sleep with the others, so was  in my bed tossing  and turning all night.  The next day we all went for a walk in a local wooded park, it was the coldest day of the Winter,  Togging up in all those snow suits and all the other gear was a nightmare.

I pledged to myself, next time, if there is a next time, it will be only one child at a time.  It did happen and everything worked out fine during those sleep overs.

Have you ever had the great idea to do something for the young ones in your family and wished you hadn't?

We did our walk this morning, had to pick and choose where we walked as there was some big patches of ice on the streets, home safe and sound with no falls.

During the afternoon we went to the Covid vaccination clinic and received our fifth and final vaccination.

Today, in Ontario it is Groundhog Day, the saying goes, "If the groundhog awakens from hibernation and comes out of his burrow and sees his shadow, we will have six more weeks of Winter.  If, however, it is cloudy, does not see his shadow, we will have an early Spring".  Either way Spring will get here when it wants and it most likely will be in six weeks time.   Here in the city where I live the sun was shining, not sure what the weather was like where they have the albino groundhog which is used to decide if he sees his shadow or not.  It has become a big Winter celebration, one I think to get rid of those Winter blues.

We are to expect some significant snow tonight, as I look out the window now at 7:10p.m. it's started.

Have a great day.

Cheers.