Wacky weather, carbohydrates, and something odd

Wednesday's photo were taken over the course of three days, Sunday through Tuesday. Our temperatures were well above freezing; the high on Tuesday was 12C (54F), a record breaking temperature for January 30th. It cooled off from there but was still lovely the rest of the week. However, the forecast for Sunday suggests we may see some snow - not much I don't expect. 

As I was sitting down to start this post, I realized it was a carbohydrate heavy week. On the weekend I'd baked homemade buns and cinnamon buns for lunches and snacks. Then Monday I made slow cooker beef stew. We can't have stew without biscuits. And to top that off, on Tuesday I baked a loaf of Italian cheese and herb bread to go along with our spaghetti and meat sauce dinner. Friday night was homemade pizza night, meaning more dough was made. I've learned to make small batches, so there were just 15 buns, 9 cinnamon buns, a dozen biscuits and one loaf of the Italian bread. There is one of each of the buns and the cinnamon buns, the heel of the loaf, and less than half of the pizza leftover. We do enjoy our carbs. :)

The bread recipe I found was for use in a bread machine, which I don't own. I modified it, using about four cups of flour, 1 1/2 cups of warm water, yeast, oil, sugar and salt for the dough. In addition, I added about 1/4 cup each of grated parmesan cheese and shredded Italian cheese and a teaspoon of an Italian spice blend. After allow it to rise for 90 minutes, I shaped it into a loaf, then let it sit for 45-60 minutes before baking it for 35 minutes in a 350F oven. It was delicious and my son and I used it for sandwiches through the week as well. One evening he made himself a grilled cheese and meat sandwich, dipping it in egg. I was already in bed, and could smell it from downstairs, and oh my, it smelled delicious. 

I had errands to run on Wednesday, for my daughter and myself, before I headed over to Stitch and Chat. There were three of us there that afternoon, and I got a bit of work done on my cross-stitching while we visited. One of the ladies is knitting a kitchen towel, while the other was knitting a bag to hold a small teddy bear. She's been using her stash to create little bears to donate to the Children's Hospital here in the province and has made eight so far. The little bears are adorable and I'm sure they will brighten up the day for the little ones who are being cared for at the hospital. She's hoping to finish a few more before she sends them off.

Thursday was Mahjonng and I had a very lucky day. I won three games! Several games ended in draws and the others at the table won a few as well. There is definitely strategy to playing the game, but often it's truly the luck of the draw. I do enjoy the game and the company of this group is terrific. 

My something odd is the sheer number of views my blog has been receiving lately. There are over 200 views on most of the posts. When I checked the stats nearly 65% are from Singapore. Since I know of no followers nor do I receive comments from anyone there, I presume this is some sort of server that sends readers here. I'm not sure what the interest in this blog would be and I'll likely limit the amount of personal information and photos I share, just in case this is an effort for something nefarious. 

There has been lots of curling to watch this week as well, and will continue through the weekend. Between the USA national championships, both men and women, and our own provincial men's Tankard event, I've enjoyed a number of the games. Some were blow-outs and others came down to the last rock in the final end. Tomorrow's semis and finals will be the best games of the week, I'm sure.

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Here comes Santa Claus!

First off, thanks for the lovely comments on the finally completed Christmas ornaments for my brother and SIL. I started with the reindeer for R, because this is a deer he can't shoot. :p  I was stymied a bit thinking of what to make for P, but Pinterest for the win! These were so easy to make, and I already had the small bells to add (these are tied to the cord from the start of the bell). In addition, these were very simple to make quickly. I've already told D, these are what I will make for Eli's teachers and aides next year.

If you recall, this year I made the small cocoa cups. D gave them each a container of her baking, as well as pot holders. She used her Cricut Joy to add a saying to them. Most were as pictured, but she did special ones for the principal and his primary teacher. 

Isn't it adorable? She said she underestimated how much time it would take to complete these so if she does something similar next year, she'll start the process earlier.

Here's a funny story (and totally unrelated) for you. On Monday, I puttered around the house, not doing a very much as it was my son's earned day off. I finished the ornaments, watched some television, worked on a jigsaw puzzle, and read. About 4 p.m. the front door opened, and in walked C. To say the least I was surprised, and asked where he'd been? He said work, didn't you notice my car was gone? No, no I hadn't, even though I had been outside a couple of times to take garbage out and to grab the mail. We both got a laugh out of me trying to be quiet when he wasn't even here. In case you are wondering, I tend to keep it quiet until lunchtime, so I was a little annoyed thinking he could possibly still be sleeping!!

I made the mistake of going to Costco on Tuesday assuming, wrongly, that it would be quiet at noon on a weekday. The place was packed with people picking up groceries and last minute gift shopping. All I went for was AAA batteries, but ended up picking up a few groceries myself. Is that store ever not busy? 

Wednesday was our last Stitch and Chat for 2023. I wore my Christmas naughty or nice socks and my new elf hat. It's a snug fit, so I may end up giving it to Eli.

In addition, I took a small plate of the Peppermint and white chocolate blondies. The scale has told me that I've been eating far too much of it. :)

There were 4 of us there; Io, S, M, and myself. M has recently joined the group. She's very friendly and loves to knit. Although I'm not certain I'll be back in time, we did decide we'd meet next week, if enough people were available. Io isn't sure she will be as she doesn't know how long her family will be here for Christmas. I suspect Sheila will be the one to text the rest of us.

The Mahjong group met on Thursday as well. I'm not getting any better at this game - it seems there is always another rule I don't know. There will be a new card coming out for 2024 too with more hands to learn. Thankfully the group is willing to put up with a newbie. I played about 90 minutes and by then my brain hurt so I left a bit early. However, I do enjoy the game, and the company so I'll be back after New Years.

On Friday, I was busy preparing for my trip to my daughter's. Her friend M, had dropped off two large bags of clothing that her youngest son had grown out of. I also had some grocery items I'd picked up in the States and here over the past few weeks. Since I'm planning to be there for about 5 days, I packed a bag of clothing, personal items, phone charger, a bag of projects (knitting and crocheting), the book I need to read for book club, my camera, and of course, the gifts. Whatever wouldn't freeze overnight, or I didn't need immediately, was packed into the car. 

My brother dropped by for a short visit and to exchange Christmas gifts. I realized, after he left, I'd forgotten a gift under the tree AND the tin of baking in the freezer. I knew he'd be in the city for a few hours yet so sent a text suggesting he could swing by and pick them up, or I'd meet him somewhere to drop it off. I'm pretty sure it was the baking that made him respond quickly. :) He returned an hour or so later, and we chatted for a few minutes before he headed out again. I think he called less than 10 minutes later to tell me he was eating the cookies already! I hope he left some for his family.

I plan on getting away from the city by about 8:30 this morning. It will be light enough but ahead of the sunrise, as I'm driving directly east for the first 15-20 minutes and I hate driving into the sun. Once I get to the secondary highway, I'll change direction. It took about 90 minutes from door to door from the old house. I suspect it will be a little longer from our new place. There will likely be a post on Tuesday, with photos of all the fun to that point.

Merry Christmas everyone! Enjoy your day however you choose to spend it.

Checking my list

The tree was decorated and gifts wrapped/bagged early one morning last weekend. My son likes to sleep in (I think I've mentioned that a time or two), so I puttered around downstairs doing things I figured wouldn't disrupt his rest. This year, with a good portion of the tree back against the wall, I only decorated three sides - takes less time! I couldn't find my hangers for those ornaments without strings, so a number of the ornaments are merely "stuffed" into the branches. The box with the hangers are in a tub in the garage and I'm too lazy to go looking for them. Since Saku rarely bothers the tree and the ornaments are the unbreakable kind, I'm not worried about losing any.

I haven't yet picked up the gift cards for DeNiece and DeNephew, but the card boxes are tucked under the tree. I'd best not forget! Bags are my friend and I re-use several of them each year by either using it for the same person, or removing the sticker and adding a new one. 

This week I got more Christmas baking done, and there is a full container for my friends K&J in the freezer and a partially filled one for my brother R and his family. I need to bake the third batch of shortbread and a second batch of sugar and spice cookies for their tin, along with one more Christmas'y cake or cookie. I like bars because they take less time and effort, but cookies are always good too.

I did my weekly grocery shop on Wednesday morning. I have really got to get back to every 10 days as I spend less, but there were a few sale items I wanted to pick up for Christmas. That afternoon, I went to stitch and chat, visiting with S as no one else made it this week. We did have company though, as a young man sat in the room with his laptop and ear buds. 

Thursday was my first foray into the world of Mahjongg at the nearby community center. There is a fairly large group of women who play, but this day there were only six including me. They play four people to a hand, and one woman is an instructor of sorts. She plays when there is a seat as they rotate, but seemed to generally be helping others. After I watched a game, she took me to a separate table and explained some of the need to know terminology, as well as the rules of the game. But not all of the rules, because there are far too many to learn at once. When the second hand was complete, she sat with me and I played my first hand with lots of assistance. We played two more hands, and surprisingly I won the second hand I played. Did she ask the others to throw it to me? I don't think so but I'm sure it was her instructions that made the difference. Anyway it was fun (and challenging) and I'll be going back next week. 

At home, I've been working on several projects: crocheted ornaments, a knitted elf hat, and a cross stitch stocking pattern. I couldn't locate my safety eyes in my craft boxes in the garage so had to wait until a new set arrived from Amazon. I don't know why our local Michaels doesn't carry them, even on-line. I finished up on of the Christmas tree ornaments and I'm not entirely happy with it. The elf hat is partially finished, I have a lot of ends to sew in and a pom pom to make to complete it.

I spent most of the day on Friday doing housework, baking buns, watching curling and knitting. The biggest chore was vacuuming the basement and cleaning up the equipment area. We had the water softener removed this week and the area where it sat was filthy with dust and salt. I should have washed the floor but as I finishing I heard a couple of large trucks out front. There was a letter in the mailbox the other day from a pumping company, notifying us they would be cleaning out the sewer lines this week. I scrambled around the house closing sink drains, wrapping the toilet bowls in old towels, closing shower stall doors, and covering the main drain in the basement. According to the letter, the force of the water could come up in the house but thankfully that did not happen. I did, however, listen to the roar of the equipment for almost two hours. 

Today will be a mostly quiet day. There's more curling, more crafts, a jigsaw to work on, and maybe a run out to the hair salon to get my mop cut. 

I'll leave you with a photo of a hare I spotted across the road a few days ago. I'm glad to see we have some wildlife in the area, though hope it stays on this side as we're not far off the highway.

Have a great week ahead, everyone!

Back to routine

I'm interupting the vacation posts, to get back to my regular routine. It's been just over a week since I arrived home, and it already feels much longer than that. We had decent weather for most of the week, then the snow fell on Thursday and as of this morning, we're back in the deep freeze. According to the weather network, it is currently -25C (-13F), with a wind chill of -37C (-35F). I can assure you it feels very cold out there, as I just returned from filling the bird feeder. 

Initially when I returned, the birds weren't coming to the feeder. Perhaps they had given up on me since my son didn't fill it while I was away. But by mid-week they were back in full force, along with the squirrels. There is also evidence the hare has been finding food under the feeder too.

On Thursday, the Hungarian partridges were back - all eight of them. I was happy to see they've made it through the winter thus far. I smile everytime I see them parading through the yard. As you can see they found some shelter under the bird bath and hunkered down for most of the afternoon.

The hare paid a visit on Friday evening. I was having a green salad for dinner, while it had its greens from the spruce tree as well. 

The groceries needed restocking - I did that early in the week, ran an errand for my daughter, and dropped in at the Dollar store. On Wednesday before stitch and chat I stopped at Costco to pick up cat food for D and paper towels and Mr. Clean for me. There were only two of us at the stitch and chat. We caught up on Christmas (we didn't meet the week between Christmas and New Years), my vacation, and other happenings in her life as well. 

I worked on a counted cross stitch project I'm making for D and Eli. It was a kit I found at Value Village and it's coming along nicely. At home, I use two lamps for lighting, but the library's overhead fluorescent lighting was perfect. I've been trying to do an hour or two a day, as I'd like to finish it before March...but it's more likely going to be May.

Curling is back after a short break, with the provincial women and men's events happening across the country. The winners of these events will be the provinces (and territories) respresentatives at the national Scotties Tournament of Hearts and the Brier (I can't recall who is the title sponsor as it has changed several times). I'm annoyed with our telcomm here in Saskatchewan as they are only televising one draw a day. I can watch the other two draws on You-tube. I'm starting to think that streaming services may be a better option than cable television.

And of course, I've been catching up with housework. As I predicted, the vacuum that I parked in the closet before I left did not move (I didn't expect it would). While C is pretty neat - there were no big messes to deal with - even with one cat the cat hair builds up. I'm pretty sure I picked up another cat based on the amount of fur in the canister.

Speaking of cats, while I was away, D found a young kitten (about 9 months old) living in her garage. We're not entirely sure how long she was in there, but she had a bit of frost bite on the pads of her feet, but none on her ears or tip of her tail. D posted on the local lost and found and town FB pages but no one came forward to claim her. She then contacted the shelter in the nearby town (none in her community) and learned there are 70 cats currently awaiting placement and they couldn't take another in at this time. As a result, she now has a third cat. Lady Spencer (a nod to Princess Diana), has joined the family. She's been checked out by the vet, given meds to rid her of worms and ear mites, and been spayed. I suspect that she may have gone into heat and rather than doing what was best for her, the family she lived with simply tossed her outdoors. Their loss. She's settling in well, with Sheldon and Stanley, and is even starting to rule the roost. Stanley gets annoyed and jumps up somewhere, where she can't reach him, while Sheldon mostly tolerates the pesky kitten.

I'll get to meet her next week, as I'm heading out to visit for a couple of days. Eli doesn't have school either Monday or Tuesday, (teacher's conference or PD days or whatever they call it these days), so I'm sure we'll have lots of fun.

Have a wonderful week ahead everyone. 

Highs, lows, and in between

What an emotional week it has been, with all that has been happening at home and abroad. While I was never concerned about my safety in light of the search for the mass murderer, the thought of what the victims (those who survived) and the families who lost loved ones were going through was never far from my mind. 

When Queen Elizabeth II passed on Thursday, it was another blow. I don't consider myself a monarchist, however she has been a steadfast presence in the lives of Canadians for decades, and is the only British monarch in my lifetime until now. She always demonstrated such grace, such poise, no matter the situation and I admired her greatly. While she was often the voice of calm through times of trouble and sorrow, she also had a wonderful sense of humour. One of those fun moments is a favorite of mine, when she and Paddington Bear met for tea in a video ahead of her Platinum Jubilee this spring. She truly will be missed. 

This is also the week my grandson had his first full day of kindergarten. I got to Facetime with him after school to hear about his day. What a joy that was! D had a call from his teacher the following day and she said he did very well. He was able to sit still when needed to in class, he drew a picture and colored (both activities that are not his favorites), and for the most part, he behaved himself making more green choices than red ones. He's growing up so quickly and I treasure all of these firsts. 

Back to regular programming, our weather has turned. It is most definitely fall weather now. Originally we were forecast for heat this week, but by Wednesday the temperature had dropped significantly and this morning, there was frost on the roof of the neighbour's house. By Friday morning (a cool 3C/37F), most of my tomato plants were starting to look a little worse for wear so I pulled the plants, and picked the larger tomatoes and  peppers. I hope that the green tomatoes will ripen here in the house; those that are ripe will be processed at some point this weekend.

I was actually out of the house four days this week. Tuesday was a visit to Value Village, Wednesday I joined the stitch and chat group at the library, Thursday was grocery day, and on Friday I ran an errand for my daughter. At Value Village I found several counted cross stitch kits, not in the craft area, but tucked in on a shelf of office supplies. Definitely not where I would have thought to find them. I picked up two larger kits, and six smaller ones - all for $17.50! The one large kit had a original price tag of $60 while the smaller ones were marked between $10 and $15. I've started one of the smaller kits - a sunflower - and will share a photo when it is completed. 

There were four of us at the stitch and chat group. It was so nice to see the others, as it has been over two years. I did talk to S once but that was a year ago. Sadly, I learned her husband passed away of cancer last winter. He was just beginning his treatment when the pandemic started. There wasn't a whole lot of stitching - we mostly chatted and caught up on one another's lives. I'm sure next week things will be more "normal", whatever that is.

My grocery run didn't take long - just a few needed items and some sale items that I couldn't pass up.  I've quite appreciated not having to buy potatoes, tomatoes and peppers for the past few weeks. Who knows, maybe I'll pass on growing flowers next year and go strictly veg. 

My knitting is coming along - I've finished the lace pattern portion of the front of my tank top and if all goes well (meaning I work on it), it should be finished this weekend. In the meantime I finished sewing in the ends of the three cowls, and knitted up a child's toque/beanie from the remaining yarn. This is the knitted cowl; the crocheted cowls are simply infinity scarves and not nearly as cozy. I may keep this one for myself. 

I started another toque for the stitching group as I don't have to pay much attention while chatting until it's time to decrease. So if you're keeping count, I have three projects on the go at the moment. AND then there is the sweater I started for Eli a couple of months ago. I'm telling myself I'll get back to that one when the tank top is finished. But, but, but.... Pinterest sent me an notice including the cutes little ghosts for Halloween. I have the supplies so that might happen instead. :)

I expect it will be a quiet weekend - no need to leave the house, and there are various sports events to watch. Including curling! There is an event being held in Alberta this weekend, and it is being live streamed on You-tube. There are three draws today, along with two football and baseball games. At some point I know I'll have a curling game on the laptop while I watch football and/or baseball on the television. While knitting. We're having leftovers for dinner so I don't even have to think about that. 

I should have enough time before all that starts to get the tomatoes cooking down for sauce, so I'd best get to it.  Have a good week ahead everyone!

Keeping up, catching up

First off, a word (or several) about the wordless Wednesday photos. The first photo was taken with my Canon T3i and the second with my cellphone. I was using the 75-300mm lens on the camera and had zoomed in as much as I could from where I stood. The cellphone was zoomed in too, but not to its full extent. To be honest, I was surprised and very pleased at the level of detail in the cellphone photo. The new header photo was also taken with the cellphone camera. I can see myself using it more often and not carrying the larger camera as much. Though if I'm somewhere I'd be worried about dropping my cellphone I'll use the camera.

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September has always seemed to me to be the appropriate time to start a new year. Here in my part of the world, January is merely the midst of the winter season and usually the month with the worst weather (both cold and snow). September on the other hand, heralds the end of summer vacations with folks heading back to work and the children back to school, along with the change in season. One of my fondest memories is opening up that first new notebook to begin taking notes in class. In my work life, fall was also a time when we did a lot of hiring and training. It was a often a time of renewal. 

This year, September is coming in hot. We've been under a heat advisory for several days this week and it looks that it will continue for another week yet. Thankfully, the temperatures are cooling off overnight so the mornings feel fresh. Unlike other years, we didn't get even a hint of frost in late August. Nor is there frost in the forecast. 

I've been picking tomatoes every day and peppers at least once a week. While I don't get the volume of produce to make a lot of anything, I can't keep up eating the tomatoes fresh. This week I made a small batch of salsa (one jar) and a small batch of tomato sauce. A half of the jar of salsa was used in a taco bake - it was delicious! The green peppers are done, and the red ones are just starting to ripen. I used two of the latter in the salsa - they had just the right amount of heat for a mild salsa. The tomato sauce has been frozen and will be used this winter to flavor soups.

The last of the potatoes were dug up as well, yielding about 5 pounds. Enough for a few more meals. In total I harvested just under 25 pounds of potatoes from three containers...not a bad haul. I'm allowing some of the marigolds to go to seed and watching the petunias for seed pods too. I didn't have a lot of luck germinating the seeds, the ones that did have done well (both tomatoes and marigolds). This has the potential of saving me a few dollars at the garden centers in the spring....though I may have to invest in a grow light.

For the most part, it's been a pretty quiet week. I did my grocery shopping on Monday, ran out to Costco to pick up a couple of things for D on Wednesday and while I was there I purchased the first Christmas gift. It's for my son, but in some ways will be a gift for me too. He has remained upstairs since the basement was re-done and the two of us are learning to live in close proximity and with different schedules. I'm an early to bed, early to rise, he's quite the opposite especially on weekends. There are times when one of us disturbs the other's sleep, and it's not always me. I have been known to get up and ask him to turn down his music - the gift is a set of wireless headphones that I hope will be beneficial to both of us.

On Thursday I had a dental appointment for a tooth extraction. I'd had this molar filled twice, the first time over 40 years ago, and the second about 20-25 years ago. About a week ago, the side of the remaining tooth broke off leaving a large hole. To fill it would have meant the entire tooth above the gum was filling so I opted to have it removed. Those of you who have followed for any length of time know I am terrified to go to the dentist. It isn't the procedure itself, it's the needles that are required for the freezing. I swear the needle ends up in my ear canal....at least that's how it has felt. My last few times I've been to the dentist, she used anesthesia. However this time, she didn't have a tech available to assist. I decided I'd have to put on my big girl pants and do what needed to be done. I won't get into the gory details, but everything went well - the dentist did a great job and I had little to no residual pain. I went to bed before the freezing had dispersed and slept for 7 1/2 hours. :)

Eli started kindergarten on Friday - D sent me several photos. He didn't look too impressed. The first day was short, just an hour long so he could meet his teacher and educational assistants. Due to his ADHD diagnosis he has been assigned a full-time E.A. this year. There are two in the class room and I assume they'll spell one another off while being available to other children too. 

I've managed to get a few of my knitting/crocheting
projects completed. My tank top is still on the needles but I've finished the lace pattern and the rest should go quite quicky from there. Three cowls were made up, one knitted, two crocheted and I found another ball of the same yarn when I was rooting through my stash. I think I'll use it for head bands as there isn't enough for another cowl. Almost every day I get e-mails from Pinterest with ideas - usually I ignore them, but I spotted a cute little knitted pumpkin pattern so I gave it a try. I do have a few skeins of orange yarn to use up, but I can't see using it for pumpkins. I'll have to look for another idea for something seasonal; perhaps a table runner. 

On a totally different note, with the cooler mornings, I've been getting some yard work done but I swear the weeds are popping up every time I turn my back. Between the rain last week and the heat this week, the grass sorely needed mowing. Indoors I've done the usual housework, knitted and crocheted, and watched baseball. 

This weekend will be a football weekend as well with the Labour Day games the focus. Our Riders will play the Winnipeg Blue Bombers here - it's always an important game, but this year the Riders aren't doing well so it may be a blow out. I haven't been as enthused with this year's team - there was a particularly ugly hit on an opposing quarterback by a certain player early in the season. This was followed by racial slurs hurled by the same player in his celebration. The hit took the QB out for most of the season (he's not yet back), the comments were disgusting, and yet the team did nothing about this yahoo. He was fined by the league and suspended for a few games, but in my mind there is no place for this type of behaviour and he ought to have been released. As a result it's put a damper on my interest in watching this year's team. Okay, I'm off my soapbox now.

I'm off to water the containers before I sit down to catch up on blog reading, some PVR'ed television, and more knitting.  Have a great week ahead everyone! 

Back to my normal

It certainly has been a much more relaxed (and less emotional) week than the last. I did get a call late in the week for my next mammogram appointment in February 2023. It amazes they are booking so far out already. I've put it in my calendar and won't think about it again until closer to the date.

Some shopping did happen this week. Groceries on Monday, and I made a trip to Dollarama and the thrift stores on Tuesday. The best deal at the grocery store was 2 lbs. of blueberries for $4.88. I froze most in two cup bags for later, the rest will be used in my breakfast smoothies. Other than that, there was nothing exceptional - the old regular prices seem to be the new "sale" prices. 

I did do well at the thrift stores. I found a book for Eli, he loves to be read to, as well as a counted cross stitch kit and more yarn (because, of course, I don't already have enough crafts to work on). It was senior's day so I had a 30% off discount. But it was at the Salvation Army that I found my favorite item - a leather purse for around $5 (after everyday senior's discount). I checked it all over and there were no rips or tears in the fabric and the bottom of the purse wasn't dirty or scuffed. I do like purses - it doesn't matter how fat I get, they still fit!

Out in the yard, the tomatoes are starting to ripen on the vine. I've been picking everyday and having them with my lunch or dinner. Two larger peppers were also picked. I'm looking forward to next week when I will pull a hill of potatoes. The one plant is starting to die back so I'm thinking they're just about ready for harvesting. 

We had a very nice rain on Thursday with cool temperatures. My new rain gauge indicated about a 1/4 inch. I'm always happy to have Mother Nature do the watering. My containers have gotten huge this year. The variegated coleus is blooming. I'm hoping to keep at least one or two of the plants going over the winter. I'll take slips rather than transplanting the entire plants as I haven't the room for them otherwise.

My one container of petunias on the deck had gotten very leggy and was looking terrible. I gave it a haircut a week or ten days ago and lost most of the blooms. Today it's looking fantastic. You wouldn't know it but there is a geranium in there too. I won't do that again as the petunia has hogged the space.

Back indoors, I spent some time knitting; I finished the first of the scarves I'll donate this year and continued working on my tank top. The scarf used up four balls of leftover yarn with just enough left over that I don't feel awful tossing the remainder out. I weaved the ends in yesterday on it as well as the crocheted baby blanket I finished last week. I'll pull a few more balls from my stash and start on another scarf in a day or so.

This morning started out lovely, with a temp of 17C (63F) when I sat out on the deck with my first cup of tea. The forecast is for 28C (82F) later today and those temps are expected to last for the rest of the week. There is a good possibility we'll have thunderstorms - I've had a notification of lightning with 100 kms already this morning. For the moment the windows are open for the fresh air but that won't last much longer. 

I've got baseball and football to watch today, so I'll be happy to stay indoors when it heats up. In the meantime, I'll head outdoors to check on the containers and enjoy some more deck time. I've started reading a novel, Catherine Coulter's Back Fire and I'm really enjoying the story.

I'll leave you with this little sign I found at the dollar store. I'm planning to give it to my daughter but to be honest, it applies to me too. :)  Have a great week ahead everyone.

Getting things done, taking it easy

It has been a quiet week around here so this will likely be a pretty short post. I did my errands on Monday; grocery shopping, dropped off a donation and did a little shopping at the thrift store, made a run into Michaels that netted more than I anticipated, and ended with my annual mammogram appointment. It was a full day!

I'm on target to remain under budget on grocery shopping this month despite the continual increases in prices. There are four grocery stores within a five'ish minute drive from my home, (though I only visit three at most), and I use their flyers to determine where to get what I need. Since I got rid of the old freezer, I am limited to the volume of frozen items I can keep but I'm finding it works well for us. Nothing ends up at the bottom of the freezer and forgotten like it used to! 

The thrift store took the stereo that I mentioned last week, along with a bag of pillows and a small bag of clothing. This netted me another 20% off coupon which I immediately used. Another oops happened that morning. I had put my car keys in the front pocket of my capris, rather than my purse, and apparently the cloth was close to threadbare as the keys tore a hole. I realized it as the keys fell to the ground (not once, but a few times before I clued in). I was happy to find three pairs of capris, and two t-shirts for less than $20. 

The trip to Michael's was made to pick up a package of alphabet stickers for a sign I'm making. Yikes those things are expensive, but I had checked at the dollar stores and none carried what I was looking for. I'll share a photo once I decide on the wording. Of course, since I was there I had to take a wander through the yarn section where I found clearance yarn for $3 a ball. The marked regular price was $14.99. I purchased seven balls, three yellow and four cream colored, at that price. They are different weights so I can't use them together but I've got a couple of ideas already for all of it. 

The mammogram appointment was quick - I think I was the only client there and the tech did her job efficiently with a minimum of discomfort. I don't expect any issues but with a family history of breast cancer (on my dad's side), I'm willing to undergo the procedure to be safe. The appointment was a lot sooner than I expected - when I had called to make it, the earliest they could see me was December 29. There must have been a cancellation as I had a call two days later that I could get in this week. 

Other than that, I did some of the always needed housework and a bit of yard-work. The weeds are certainly enjoying the weather we're having! Back indoors, there was baseball, hockey and football to watch. I do enjoy the games and the time it gives me to knit and crochet. I finished the mittens, and used the remainder of the yarn to make a slouchy hat, as well as finishing the straps on the bag I made on the cruise, and a doll blanket and pillow. This used up a small amount of stash. :) I've since pulled another UFO, a tank top I started a few years ago, and decided to unravel it for another project. It took me awhile to find the pattern I wanted to use, but there is the start of a sweater on the needles. I realized that the top wouldn't use up all of the yarn I had on hand. Wish me luck, because I'm sure this project will be a lengthy one. I'm much better at finishing the small ones.

I did get out to walk one morning too, rather than walking in the house. Here are a few of the photos from that day.

I'm always happy to see the wild roses. These are flowers of my childhood.

The wildflowers were prolific along the path on the opposite side of the creek. This is the area where there is no sidewalk so unless one ventures off the path they wouldn't see these.

At the pond, there aren't as many geese, and I was a little surprised to see this late batch of goslings. Most of young geese have lost their yellow fuzz and are starting to spend time on the water.

This pair and their youngster have been constants at one end of the pond. They were obvious because there was just the one gosling.

And another female red-winged blackbird posed for me!

Today, it's been raining most of the night and expected to continue throughout the day. It's also very cool, especially in comparison to temps we had earlier in the week. We'll be lucky to reach 19C (66F) later today. More time to knit this afternoon and evening, while I watch baseball and football. Before that I need to get my walk in - with the basement mostly empty it makes a good walking track.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Time marches on

Other than bouncing off the walls, counting off the days, what have I been up to this week? On Monday, I had hoped that Jason and his crew would be here to start the basement renovation. But that was not to be. I called him that morning to see what was up and he told me that one of his crew had gotten Covid the week before so they were delayed once again. (It would have been nice if he had called to tell me). On Tuesday I received a text saying they would be here on Wednesday afternoon. While here, he and his one helper Carter walked through with me, and confirmed the work to be done, did some measurements for the supplies they'll need.

After talking to Jason, I was a little annoyed on Monday so went out to do some retail therapy. Nothing exciting, cat food and bird seed, some peanut butter, and knitting needles. I had the right size of circular knitting needles to start Eli's new sweater but they weren't long enough for the finishing as I need to add the body and sleeves to the same set of needles. My original needles were 16", I needed at least 24". From there I went to Home Depot to try to get burner element for my range. Last week I had a pot lose a chunk of enamel on the burner - the burnt on enamel would not come off so I needed to replace the burner. Home Depot doesn't carry such things, and I was referred to a local business. I called there and determined they had the part I needed. I headed over and picked it up, and OUCH...it was $85 just for the element. Next up was the Salvation Army thrift store where I found a book to take with me next week...if I don't finish it before I leave. I'll take my Kobo too but I do like a real book. The book I picked up is Sandra Browns, "The Alibi".  At that point I decided I'd had enough retail therapy.

Tuesday was a cool day, but I did get out for a walk. It was just above freezing and the wind was blowing making it feel much cooler. Most of the wildlife was hunkered down - I saw a pair of ducks at the creek, three hares in the grass near the condos, a pair of robins in the grass, and a lot of geese and few ducks at the pond. While I took some photos, there was only one I think is worth sharing.

I've also been watching curling. :) The World's mixed doubles are underway in Geneva, Switzerland. Our Canadian team played well all week, losing only one game to Scotland through the regulation draw. Sadly, they lost to Norway in the qualification round and are out of the running.

While I'm watched curling I've worked on Eli's sweater and finishing a couple of other projects. 

This is the scarf I started while the Grand Slam was underway. It's made from the extra yarn I bought for the little dress in the next photo. It isn't a long scarf, but will be nice for under a jacket. It will likely be in my suitcase for the trip.

The other project is this little dress. I've no idea what I'll do with it, but loved the pattern, had the yarn and had to make it. The ruffle needs to be tacked down, and the little flower attached. I looked through my sewing items and I don't have a hook and eye for back closure. I'll have to purchase a zipper for Eli's sweater at some point so I'll pick the fastener at that time. 

Eli's sweater is coming along nice too but I don't expect I'll finish it until I return as I've set it aside for now.

Thursday was the day our weather changed for the better. And that means I want to be outdoors or at least in the sun room. Carter arrived about 8:45 that morning, along with the rubbish bin drop off. While he toiled in the basement removing the carpet, underlay, and tack strips, I spent the morning puttering and then headed out the door to clean up the front patio of winter debris. I swept up the leaves, pine needles, and pine cones on the patio and driveway and almost filled a large garbage bags. Then I checked with Carter as there have been some pieces of wood, which were left behind by the former owner, that I've been wanting to toss. He told me to go ahead as they won't fill the bin (and I'm paying for it). I was happy to get that cleaned up as well. 

Something funny about the basement demo. We discovered under the carpet at one end of the room, that someone had drawn out on the concrete plans for a large wet bar. Imagine if you will, a u-shaped bar, with a front and back counter, a sink and bar fridge, and glass shelving above. It obviously was never built but someone had grand ideas. :)

By Friday afternoon, a good part of the new wall and bulkhead was up, the upper level of what was a pony wall had it's framing as well, and I was now the proud owner of a small pump for the furnace run off. The furnace runs the a/c unit as well, and had a run off hose for the excess water. The hoset ran across the furnace room floor and out to the sump hole in the unfinished part of the basement. Carter mentioned it was going to cause issues with the new wall, so I agreed to have their plumber come and put in the pump. The hose from the pump is run up and through the drop ceiling, into the laundry room, across the ceiling and down into the same drain as the washing machine. It looks so much better as it is totally inconspicuous unless you know where to look. This turned out to be a very spendy week.  On the other hand Jason is giving me oak baseboards they took out of the last two jobs. He said they aren't quite the same as my originals (that will be going back in the main room) but my feeling is, since the baseboards will be a separate room, the difference won't be noticeable. 

Today, I've got the bronze and gold medal mixed doubles curling games to watch. Both games were played overnight (for me) so I PVR'd them to watch this morning. At the moment Germany is beating up on Norway, leading 3-1 after three ends. Lots of time left for Norway to make a come-back with five ends to go. Both are great teams and I have no favorite. The gold medal game will feature Scotland and Switzerland. In this game I'll likely cheer for Scotland.

Later I want to get out for a walk.  Our temperatures have really improved - yesterday we had a high of 15C (59F), and today's forecast is for 14C (57F). It does look like it might rain but that's okay as I don't melt, I just wish I would. :) There is laundry and vacuuming as well, and definitely some time on the patio or in the sunroom to continue reading.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone and a great week ahead!

P.S. There likely won't be any post next Saturday unless I can access the internet at the hotel before I leave to for the cruise ship. I've not bought the internet package on the ship either so until I'm in a port where I can pick-up free WIFI I'll be off-line. 

A very good week

It was a very good start to the week. While our Canadian women lost the semifinal, they did play for the bronze and won. They were playing Sweden, a very strong team and the game went back and forth but our women prevailed. We haven't won a medal since 2018 in women's world curling so it was a huge success for our team.  

On Monday, I went for my first outdoor walk of the season. While I walk daily indoors, I sure the feel the difference when I get outside. I suspect it's the speed at which I walk and the changes from sidewalk to grass, etc. Of course I took my camera!

I've heard the merlin, but hadn't seen it before. It flew across the street just as I was walking down the sidewalk, so I crossed to get a few photos. My brother R says it doesn't generally prey on small birds, usually bugs and mosquitos, but since neither of those are prevalent at this time of year, I suspect my poor wee bird friends are in danger. The first time I saw the merlin it was in my front evergreen feasting on a sparrow. :(

I walked through the park nearest to my house and won't do that again for a week or so. The paths aren't entirely clear and in many spots there is a build up of ice. This hare was staying out of the wind. Not much brown on this one.

Lots of water in the large park near the creek. Most of it covered in ice. But I spotted a duck flying in that appeared to be landing on the creek so I walked through the grass to check it out.

Open water! You can see the ice along the edge so I can only imagine how cold the water would be. There were several pairs of geese and a few ducks on the water and a few more on the banks of the creek. (I didn't get one of the ducks because they were further along the creek and it was a bit muddy)

From there I headed over to the pond. No open water there! FB memories tell me that on March 29 last year the pond was swarming with geese and ducks. Much quieter this year!

It was so nice to get out for a walk, even with a cool wind. It was -1C (30F) when I left the house and two degrees warmer when I arrived home 45 minutes later. I made a cup of tea and settled in to relax and watch some home improvement television. Have you seen Backyard Builds? I do enjoy the work they complete but the amount of money that gets spent doing it, not so much. I know I have work to do in my back yard and I'm not looking forward to it.

The rest of the week was generally quiet. I did get out for walks on both Wednesday and Thursday. The new header photo was taken at the pond on Wednesday. I had waited until the afternoon for my walk when the temperature was above freezing. The goose was standing in the water on top of the ice. I thought the color of the sky reflected on the ice was pretty. 

Thursday was also grocery day. I'm shopping sales for the most part and am lucky to have three grocery stores within a five minute drive of my home. I did a circuit of the three stores, with a stop at the drug store to pick up a prescription for my daughter. It seems prices at the grocery store are going up every week. I keep my grocery list electronically (use my Google mini) and check the Flipp app for the flyers before I head out to the store. That morning, I asked Google to add "my bread" to the list and when I pulled up the list in the store I laughed because it read, "Mike red". Apparently I have a speech impediment or something. :) Just to give you an idea of the crazy prices, I bought my whole grain bread at Walmart, 2 loaves for $6.  The same loaf of bread at the Co-op store was $4.99. It wasn't much less at Safeway either.  Perhaps I need to start baking my own bread.

At some point, I wandered into the craft room and did some sorting. There is a box of items that can go to the thrift store as I know I won't use them. There are few things that have been sitting around too, mostly mending, and my sunflower wreath. It isn't perfect, and I'll never consider myself an artist, but I like the way it turned out. I used a wreath ring, a couple packages of clothespins, a piece of black felt, paint, and some hot glue. It's meant not only to welcome summer but as a homage to the people of the Ukraine.

Regular cleaning was completed in between walks, shopping, and catching up on television programs. The men's world curling starts later today. You all know where I'll be. :)  I had picked up a set of sheets at the thrift store last week - those were laundered and put on my bed on Friday. I had been using a cheap set of 300 count sheets and these are 500 count. What difference that makes...and all for $15. I also got a couple of new to me books that I hope to get to sometime in the next week. In the meantime, I had bought a bag of lightweight yarn at the thrift store and have started a little dress for a 2 year old. There isn't enough to make anything for Eli but I know D has friends with small children and this will make a gift for someone in the future.

I'll end this post with a photo my brother sent me from his camping trip last week. He had a wonderful time with his friend C. They had to trek into the lake, about two miles, so loaded their supplies on two sleds. It's a bit hilly there so he told me they would ride the sleds down the hills on top of their items! On the way in they passed a couple of park outhouses so they shovelled their way into those. At the camp site, they had to dig an area out for the tent. Their first choice was thigh deep on my brother (he's 6'3" tall), so they moved to a different spot where the snow wasn't as heavy. They did some exploring and visited three different lakes in the area. Ice fishing provided their dinner one night, and C took a few fish home with him. R said that the wood stove kept them warm most of the night and he's looking forward to his next opportunity to winter camp.

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Winter weather, a shot in the arm, and a special visitor

The week started with fog and decent temperatures near freezing. My son took the opportunity to go out and visit D and Eli. He's off work for the next three weeks and he choose the perfect time to take the time off as it's going to be quite cold, at least for the two weeks or more. Daytime temps around -18C (0F) and nighttime temps a few degrees lower. These aren't unusual temperatures for this time of year, we've just had warmer than normal temps up until now and it takes a bit to get accustomed to it again.

I had an appointment on Tuesday at the car dealership to check out the skid plate(s) on the car. If you recall, in September I took it in to my local garage to have it checked out when I had a loud rattle coming from under the car. They added a couple of screws to hold it in place, at least temporarily. When I called the dealership to check out the price of a replacement, I learned there are actually three plates and since they didn't know which one might be the problem, this appointment was to check out the condition. How happy was I to hear that none of the plates needed replacement? Very, and they simply replaced the screws with the appropriate clips. Even better, there was no charge to me! 

So I did what I do best, and took myself to Value Village and Salvation Army to see if I could find some deals. I picked up some items for crafting, as well as a Paw Patrol snack bag for Eli, a pair of OshKosh pants for Eli, and a cardigan and pretty t-shirt for me. Just about $20 for all of these items. The sweater would regularly have been $50, on sale perhaps $30, so I was very pleased with my purchases.

The sweater will be a lovely addition to my cruise wear. Evenings can feel cool, even on a warm Caribbean cruise. And yes, I do intend to cruise again in the future. How soon? That is yet to be determined. 

In the craft items, I found a couple of packages of small Christmas ornaments for 99 cents each. I used one of the packages, along with a small wood plank and some tower blocks to make a tree. 

I have several different trees now, some I've purchased and some I've made. They are displayed on top of my china cabinet. Add in some snowmen and I think I'll keep most of them up all winter...maybe even this one as I love the colors. It's a mini forest. :)

There was light snow on Wednesday morning. Not much accumulation but it blew around. I didn't need to shovel. Then the temperature started falling. 

I was able to book my booster for Friday afternoon at the local Shopper's Drug mart. I had heard/read somewhere that the Sask Health Authority wasn't offering a clinic and appointments had to be booked at pharmacies. Imagine my surprise when I learned on Friday morning that wasn't the case and I could have gone to the drop in clinic nearby. Sheesh, I could have gotten it done earlier when the weather wasn't as cold. In any event, I've had my booster. Only side affect thus far is a sore arm. I know it's important to keep the arm moving, so I'll bake buns today. The kneading will work it out and some of the buns will be frozen for Christmas.

Friday wasn't very nice weather wise, but Friday night was ugggggly. We fell to a low of -27C (-16F) with a wind chill of -37C by morning. That's pretty much the same in Farenheit or Celsius. When I went out to feed the birds this morning, there were a dozen or so waiting in the neighbour's tree for me to fill the feeder. I don't think I'd even gotten into the sunroom before they had swooped in for a feed.

Speaking of which, I had a new visitor to the feeder this week. Typically I see chickadees for the most part, and of course one or more of the Hoovers (squirrels). I was excited to see this female Downy woodpecker. She was feeding on the suet and didn't immediately fly away when I came to the window with my camera.

All the photographers out there will laugh at me. I use the auto focus on my camera because...well, I'm lazy and it is normally easier to let the camera do the work. When I went to take the photo of the woodpecker, this is the original take.

The auto focus would not focus on the bird, just on the screen window. So, for the first time in a long time, I switched to manual focus. It took me several shots to get the one above. It's still a little blurry but much better than the other attempts. Thank goodness the Downy was patient and stuck around!

I'm currently watching the final curling game of the European Olympic qualifiers, Denmark vs. Czech. Later I think I may catch some of an event that's being live streamed from Banff, Alberta. My latest scarf is about half done, and then I plan to get the finished ones washed up and delivered to a warming shelter later this week. They will be needed.

Have a wonderful week ahead everyone. Take care and stay well.