A slow week

This week was pretty quiet productivity wise. The temperature has dropped with morning lows of 1-4C/32-39F. The afternoons were decent, ranging between 13-19C/55-69F. I managed to get the garden bed weeded, the asparagus and chives and the regular lilies cut back on Sunday. But the rest of the week was pretty much a wash for yardwork. 

We did all the normal stuff; I picked up groceries on Monday, while D made a run for pellets (used for cat litter) and a couple of other errands. Tuesday was housework...we really are creatures of habit aren't we?

I hadn't slept well Monday night and had thought I'd have a brief nap while D and Eli were at equine therapy in the afternoon.  However, Stanley had other ideas. Somehow he got out the back door and went for an adventure. I thought I heard the door close and got up thinking D had forgotten something.  But they weren't there. Nor was the blanket.

What blanket, you may be asking? Stanley, too, has his habits. Every time his mom and boy leave the house Stanley grabs a blanket and hollers for a few minutes. I immediately headed out the door calling for Stanley. No sight of him. I came back in and checked all of the places he normally sleeps and some he doesn't. I did this a couple of times, indoors and out, shaking a treat bag and calling his name. No Stanley until my 4th trip to the yard. I spotted him sauntering across the neighbour's yard 2 doors down. The bugger saw and heard me when I called out but didn't stop. I caught up with him just outside the garage one more house down. Oh, he was mad to see me. He hissed and growled but apparently had enough sense not to scratch. I footballed him back to the house and gave him a couple of treats. I swear he took three years off my life...I could only imagine how upset D and Eli would have been had he not been found.

The photo on Wednesday was of Saku (18 1/2 years) and Spencer (about 3 1/2 years). D says Saku likes his space, and Spencer also likes Saku's space. He's a grouchy old man cat so I'm always surprised when he decides to let her settle nearby. The almost touching paws was particularly unusual. Tolerance is the goal with these two.

More housework on Wednesday, and I dropped some items off at the thrift store bin. Eli was at school until 2 p.m., and I picked him up so his mother could nap in the afternoon. While he played on his device, I sorted through the items I've put together to go south with me. I managed to wean out a container and a small box of stuff...though I'm certain I'm taking more than I'll need. The park has an annual garage sale in January - I can get rid of any extra things then.

There has been lots of activity at the houses on both sides of us. The good landlord (GL)has been emptying the house of all of the garbage, and I mean literal garbage, and other household items in preparation for a new tenant. GL told D that she has taken nine trailer loads to the landfill and expects she'll need to take at least one more. Apparently the previous tenant bagged his garbage and threw it in the basement - though were lots of bags found in the garage when he first left. They lived there for almost two years...I'll let you use your imagination.

The new tenant moved in on Thursday and had lots of help. There were at least two half tons and a couple of SUVs used to move her items. She likes colour - her dresser is pink and there was a very colourful chair brought it. I told D the two of them can bond over those items. :) Apparently, the unpacking continued until 2 a.m, at least, as D said she heard music though it wasn't loud. I slept through it.

On the other side, the house that seemed to have been used as a transitional house has being emptied out. The original tenants were there with a number of other individuals. They've taken away two U-Haul truck loads, and returned on Thursday to remove a pile of debris, mattresses, couch, chairs, etc. that had been lingering in the yard for weeks.

I do have another garden update! If you recall I shared that a few tomato plants showed up in the perennial bed. I'd tossed a few rotten tomatoes in the bed and forgot about them. Well, they bloomed, and more surprisingly have set fruit. We're having to cover the plants as temperatures are dipping near freezing, but we may just be getting cherry tomatoes in a week or two. :)

Thursday afternoon was Knit and Natter at the library. I finished the first ornament at home, with the backing (red felt) and a cord to cover the edges. I was able to finish the cross-stitch on the second ornament at the library, so I should have that one complete this week. Of course, I've started another project! I want a short scarf to tuck into a jacket and had a ball of orange yarn I felt would give me the length I needed. 

Eli was home from school on both Thursday and Friday with a head cold. His mom may be coming down with it too, but I feel fine. In any event, Friday was a fairly quiet day, Eli and I were up early while his mom slept. We definitely had frost overnight, it was only 1C/33F when I checked the temperature. Brrr!

I did get out in the early afternoon to bring in the geranium. I alsos removed some annuals that were dying back. There are six containers still with annuals outside; I'll continue to water them occasionally until they show signs of frost damage. The rest of the outdoor furniture was put away in the shed.

Today looks to be the same kind of easy day. A bit of cross 3, some crochet and sports to watch. The Riders played last night but I didn't watch until the end...too nerve wracking.

Packing Summer away

Monday - grocery shopping, for a few basic items and some cherry-picking of sale items. Three bags of groceries and $110 gone, poof! And I am fully cognizant that prices are only going higher due to the cost of diesel. I did read somewhere that some stations in Texas, in particular, have run out of diesel fuel. I hope we can avoid that here. 

On a happier note, at least for me, curling bonspiels are back on Youtube. I tend to watch those available through Curling Stadium as the channel has featured games with commentary. Not that I always agree with the announcers but it is nice to be able to keep up with the scores while I'm doing something else. 

For dinner, we made a new-to-us recipe, a tex-mex casserole. It used up some leftovers too. A crushed tortilla chips layer on the bottom of a casserole dish, ground sausage from the prior nights meal, heated up in the fry pan with the last of the salsa, chopped peppers and tomato added to the casserold dish, then a layer of sour cream (the last of the container), and finally, shredded cheese and sprinkled with green onion. We baked it for about 30 minutes - it was delicious! There was enough we were able to get a second meal out of it. 

Tuesday - this seems to be our housework day. Vacuuming, laundry, tidying and food prep took up most of the morning. D had to stop by the pharmacy in the grocery store, and did a wander around the store. She found this beef roast marked down 30%. Original price, just under $45! I'd bought another pork loin a week or so ago and had pulled it from the freezer to cut up. This resulted in two small roasts, four pork chops, two steaks, and three bags of stew meat in the freezer. I did the cutting, D did the vacuum sealing. 

I've been working on the cross-stitch ornaments in the afternoons when the light is better. Along with my neck light, I'm able to get in a couple of hours of stitching before my eyes start feeling tired. When D and Eli went to equine therapy, I enjoyed a nap. 

This is the near completed first ornament. I still need to cut off the excess Aida cloth and attach the backing, and a ribbon for hanging. 

Dinner was chicken Caesar salad. D had marinated the two chicken breasts in Greek Feta dressing (one of my favorites). I made up the salad while the chicken was in the air fryer. I like the croutons to soften a bit in the dressing. 

Wednesday - It was a cloudy, gray day, so when Eli went to school we tackled more housework. There tend to be piles left on the kitchen counters, things that need to go outside or to another room, and the window sill was lined with various items. I decided to clear the counters to scrub the window sills and backsplash. Meanwhile D was vacuuming her room (again) in preparation for using the carpet cleaner. When she finished I vacuumed my room (again) for the same reason. She ran the carpet cleaner while I folded laundry.

I picked up Eli at 2 p.m., while his mother had a much needed nap. My orders from Amazon had arrived at the post office. One contained D's birthday gift from Eli (her b/d is in early December), and the other more Aida cloth and the ornament hangers for the cross-stitch. 

Knit and Natter was held in the evening. I was on my own, but sat and did my cross-stitch. When she had time, J the librarian chatted with me. I suppose I could have gone home but I like having the time away. This month my group isn't working at the thrift store, we'll be back on Tuesdays in October. Thus my interaction with the outside world has been limited to a few shopping trips.

Thursday - the morning started off cool and cloudy, not conducive to yard work early in the day. We were all tired too, as Eli hadn't been able to fall asleep until after midnight. His mom was up and down, and I could hear their on-going discussion from my room. D was up at 5 a.m. and both Eli and I were up just after 6. She decided to keep him home from school, though he didn't get out of doing school work. D is a former teacher and is quite capable of working with him. By noon they had covered his French dicte (spelling), English - identifying verbs and adverbs, Math - multiplication, and had practiced the reading he will do in church on Saturday evening. 

Meanwhile I used a few ripe tomatoes to make soup. The fruit was showing discolouration, likely due to stink bug damage so I boiled them briefly to remove the skins. I cooked the tomatoes with garlic and onion, and after cooling a bit, used the immersion blender and a sieve to reduce it to a liquid. I added the juice to a roux, and seasoned it with a bit of salt and sugar. I ended with a SINGLE bowl of soup...but it made a delicious lunch. In addition, I made a pot of mashed potatoes for D as she wanted to make potato bread. I had a piece with my soup and it, too, was delicious.

By the time I was finished with the soup, the sun was shining. I took my tea and had a telephone chat with my brother. He had sent me several photos of the valley in the fog. 

Then it was time to get some work done. I cleared out several of the annual containers, though left the gerbrera daisy and the two containers of ivy, geranium, and verbena. The front of the houe is looking rather sparse. I used the wheelbarror to carry the heavy clay pots to the shed to be stored for the winter. I had two containers of pansies that I am trying something with. In the new perennial bed, I dug holes and placed the containers upside down in the holes, covering most of the pot with dirt. We'll see if they survive the winter - I've heard of success stories with other plants, and at the very least the pansy seeds will be in the ground.

After lunch, I went back out to do more yard-work taking Eli with me so his mother could nap or at least rest. While I'd been outside in the morning, she had made potato bread, as well as garlic bread, while keeping Eli on task with his school work.

I didn't accomplish much as he really doesn't like bugs! One of the major tasks was taking up the one raised bed and placing it on top of the other. I moved as much of the dirt as I could, then put down some grass seed where the second bed had been. I hadn't left room for D to mow between them, and while it will give me less room to grow things, I am going to be a bit more strategic next year. A few pieces of outdoor furniture and plant stands were stored in the shed as well. 

Speaking of bugs, Wednesday's photo was a centipede I found in one of the pots. Alongside it was a slug. Both ewww! I've never had slugs before so I'll have to do some reading on what they like to eat in the garden. Apparently, I need beer too, as they will drink and drown in a small container of it. 

Dinner was penne with a sausage meat sauce, baked in the oven with cheese and accompanied by D's garlic bread. That's a fall meal!

Friday - Another morning of yard-work. Mostly reorganizing things in the garage and shed, and putting things away, furniture and such. 

We emptied the rain barrels and turned them upside down. We were able to extend the drains so that the water will flow away from the house, should it rain. I did start the process of weeding the garden, but will putter at that over the next week or two. The ground is very hard, so I'll want to add compost to it before I add a straw layer for the winter.

I was sore from both Thursday and Friday's efforts so took the afternoon off. There was more laundry to fold, but other than that, I relaxed and watched a bit of curling. Our football team was on the field in the evening. 

Dinner - homemade pizza with chicken, red onion, peppers, basil pesto, with cheese. 

Today, we're off to the city for a Costco run. There are a number of things on sale, enough to make up for the cost of the fuel to go there and back at least. D's pantry will be full, and she should have enough garbage bags, dishwasher tabs, and various other items to see her through the winter. There are socks on sale too, a gift for my son's birthday! :)

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Another busy week and fun with friends

I had a quiet weekend, which was just what I wanted. I did go to Happy Hour but otherwise stayed home and worked on the jigsaw puzzle, my stitching, and knitting. There was a bit of housework done and some laundry, but for the most part I relaxed.

I'd gotten a couple of hours of stitching done on Saturday, when I realized I'd started two rows over from where I ought to have done, so spent the evening watching the Four Nations hockey and un-stitching the work I'd done earlier. Canada lost to the USA, and as result were in a battle to reach the final, and needed to win in regulation over Finland on Monday. They did win that game and would play in the final on Thursday evening in Boston. I was thrilled when they won in overtime. Go Canada Go!

I managed to re-do my work on Sunday and a little bit more. There wasn't anything to watch on television (or at least nothing I was interested in), so decided to go to bed early and read. That didn't last, as I decided to get up and work on the puzzle. Shortly after 11 p.m. I finished. It had been on the table well over a week, so I was ready to have it done. The photos were from that afternoon, and the second I took the following morning. J had lent me two puzzles, so I quickly put away this one and started the second one. 

Three of us went shopping Monday to some chain stores, Beall's, Ross Dress for Less, and Marshalls. L did very well, coming home from Beall's with a two pairs of pants and four tops - all $9.99 or less. I picked up a pair of shorts for Eli, and a wallet for D. The wallet is the same brand as the purse I picked up for her at Burlington's last week, and is meant for a Christmas gift. Eli can give her the wallet. D picked up a pair of sunglasses at Beall's. Both Ross and Marshalls were a bust, so we decided to go to lunch. 

We ate the Patio, just down the block from the park. I had an Oriental chicken salad, while the other two had shrimp and salmon rolls. We were all invited out to dinner that evening at H's so wanted something light. I'll admit the salad was a good size - I ate all the vegetables and left some chicken behind.

We met for dinner after Happy Hour at H's place. Have I mentioned her previously? She has an outdoor kitchen in her shed, a full sized stove and fridge, as well as her washing machine. Wonderful food comes out of that kitchen. She's known for her banana bread, brownies, tres Leches cake and many more goodies. We had pork loin, scalloped potatoes, and mixed veg for dinner and creme brulee for dessert. She didn't make the dessert, she said, because she was too busy. It was all delicious.

Six of us went thrifting on Tuesday, a full van load of women descending on the stores. I picked up a James A. Michener book to read on the way home, a bathing suit for Eli, a pair of jean capris to replace the ones I sacrificed to the paint party, and a pretty top. The adult granddaughter of one of the ladies cleaned up. She left the van with several bags of clothing - apparently she does this each year, arrives with an almost empty suitcase and returns home with a full one. We had lunch at the Black Bear Diner before heading back to the park. 

I walked down to Food City on Wednesday morning, as I had run out of fresh vegetables. The prices are so amazing to me; a head of lettuce for $0.99, two bunches of green onions for $1, a pound of baby carrots for just $1.69 and a red pepper for $0.50! I also bought tomatoes, so, if nothing else I have salad fixings for the next week. Back at the unit, I mixed up and cooked a meatloaf for dinner and sandwiches. It had just come out of the oven, when L arrived and invited me to the Canada Snowbird Association (CSA) presentation at the Quechan Casino (informally known as the Q). 

We left just before noon (Yuma time /11 a.m. California time). Q is across the border in California and the presentation started at noon. There were speakers from the CSA and from Medipac, the travel insurance company. It was a really interesting program, as I had no real knowledge of either. 

But it got better! After a 20 minute intermission, we were entertained by Michelle Wright (a Canadian country singer) and a comedian whose name I have forgotten. He was entertaining, but it was Michelle's performance that was wonderful. She mentioned she's been in the business for 43 years. Unaccompanied by nothing but her guitar, her voice is still amazing. She sang a variety of her material, as well as Anne Murray's Snowbird. Fitting for the crowd, and most everyone knew the words and sang along.

I had planned to housework and some stitching on Thursday, and did get the house vacuumed, dishes washed and dried, and the bathroom cleaned. However, L called just after lunch to say she and her stepdaughter K were going to Green Trees (a discount grocery store), and would I like to go with them. I had picked up some protein bars on our last trip, and really liked them, so said yes. Well, it wasn't only a trip to Green Trees - we also visited Target, Discount Tire for a free tire check (air and tread), In and Out Burger for lunch for the two of them, and then to Green Trees. I had eaten at lunch so had a drink and shared L's fries. On our way back to the park, we stopped at Food City. We stayed in the car while K ran in for one item.

This was the sign at Target - I haven't had any issues finding eggs at Walmart and Food City, so I assume Target uses different supplies.

By the time we arrived back at the park, Happy Hour was underway. There, I was invited to ride along for a trip to Los Algodones, across the Mexican border on Friday. I thanked A for the offer, but declined. I was ready for a quiet day of puttering around the unit.

And that is exactly what I did on Friday. I worked on the jigsaw puzzle, I sat outside in the sun and read for a bit of time, I finished knitting my hanging kitchen towel, and did some stitching. I did go to Happy Hour and before coming back to the unit, I helped several of the women decorate the clubhouse for the Heritage Dinner. 

Today, I'll be baking the shortbread for the dinner - it is so much better when it is fresh. L's husband, G plays the bag pipes, and she has informed he, he will be piping me in to the clubhouse with my contribution. Wish me luck, hopefully I won't trip on the threshold! The meal should be very good, as there are a wide variety of dishes being prepared. 

Beyond that, I don't plan to do much else for the weekend, as it is shaping up to be a busy week next week. I have something scheduled for every day AND I have to pack too. :(

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Painting, a birthday, and more windy weather

I think I'm going to need a vacation when I get home from this vacation. It has been another full week of fun and a bit of work.

Our garage sale visits on Saturday were productive, with a number of useful items purchased by J and L. I picked up a mug to leave at the clubhouse for coffee/tea - coffee hour is on Thursdays and I always forget to bring a mug with me, and a cross stitch magazine. I spent a whopping $1.50. The RV park we visited had 1200 lots, two clubhouses, five pools, several hot tubs, as well as pickle ball, tennis and shuffleboard courts. Far too big for me, and the monthly lease costs are approximately $800 USD per month. Too rich for my blood.

In comparison, the park I am in has 59 lots, a clubhouse and a 15 man hot tub. It is a mix of park models, house trailers, and RV's. As a Co-op, and with few amenities, the lot lease is only $125 US per month. That includes cable television, WiFi, and water. I should note the water is not potable. There are many places to buy water. I walk about 4-5 blocks to Desert Water, where I can refill two of my gallon jugs for a mere 50 cents. Walmart and Food City sell these for about $1.50 each. I go through about 3/4's of a gallon each day, more if I'm doing much cooking.

This weekend, many of the residents were busy with painting the perimeter fence. I helped some on Friday, took the day off on Saturday, and then jumped in on Sunday to paint the fence at three lots. I finished the second coat of the third fence on Monday morning. There are some residents who chose not to do the work themselves, so the park will be charging them a fee for the work. The last lot that I finished on Tuesday morning, was one of the latter. On the other hand, there were several people in their 80's out there putting in more than their fair share of work. My painting partner on Sunday turned 79 this week. As a renter, I wasn't expected to help but I know everyone was eager to get it finished. Those who weren't able to paint provided supplies for lunch every day, and it was prepped and put it out for the workers at the clubhouse. 

Tuesday was thrifting day, with L and A. We hit up three thrift stores, where I found a couple of pieces of clothing, another set of knitting needles and a book of crocheted dishcloth patterns. One can never have enough patterns, right? Then we headed off to the mall, where I picked up my first Christmas gift. It is a pretty pink purse for my daughter. We had lunch at In and Out burger, a restaurant I've never been too. It was good and very reasonably priced. The Wednesday photos were from that trip. I certainly know where I need to go if I should need any bathroom aids as I age! The tree was in the The Palms mall area; an oleander, which I've learned is toxic, but so pretty!

The wind picked up that day and there was a lot of sand in the air. Happy hour was held in the enclosed area beside the clubhouse, and even there the wind felt cool. It was noisy overnight, as there are items hanging on the side of the park model that bang. It had calmed down slightly overnight, but I decided to forgo my walk in the morning, and caught up on some housework. I'd vacuumed the prior morning, so washed the floors. I also put together a casserole from leftovers in the fridge. Time is ticking down, and I want to use up as much as possible. 

By Thursday, the wind had died down, but it was cloudy and cooler, just 17C (63F) at noon. I went to the clubhouse for coffee (in my case tea) and goodies in the morning. There were sign up sheets circulated for the Heritage dinner (Feb 22 - I was already signed up), for the women's luncheon (Feb 26), and St. Patrick's Day (I won't be here for that.) In fact, I have less than two weeks remaining here! Time does fly when one is having fun. That evening, I went to dinner at Olive Garden with the birthday gal L, and her husband G, and their park neighbour D. L and D were both nurses and worked together in their community in British Columbia.

I've spent the afternoons stitching on my cross-stitch project. I think I started it a couple of years ago, and I've a long way to go. 

I'm also reading a John Sanford novel, Bad Blood. If you've read his novels, it is about one of his characters, Virgil Flowers, an agent of the State Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and his investigation into several murders in a small rural area in Minnesota.

Friday was a quiet day, with nothing major on the agenda. After a walk to Desert Water, I worked on my jigsaw puzzle, did some stitching, and finished my book. It appears I will not be able to watch the Scotties Tournament of Hearts curling, as it is only being broadcast in Canada (boo!) I have to keep an eye on the scores on-line and watch the news for highlights.

I have no plans for the weekend and I'm ready for a quiet couple of days. Perhaps time will slow down a bit, and my last two weeks will last longer. A girl can hope, right?

Have a great week ahead everyone!

And she's off

I'm posting early this week, as I'm heading out this morning on my short break, a bus trip to Minot for the weekend. I'll be back late Sunday evening, assuming the weather and roads are good, so there will likely be an update on Monday.

It was a busy few days this week, with a visit from my daughter and grandson on Tuesday overnight. They came into the city in the morning for his autism screening at the university. Results are expected by mid-week next week. Eli cooperated very well, and what was thought might take four hours was completed in just over 2 1/2 hours. D had found something called a wiggle seat for him - it's like a cushion but has raised bumps on it. The sensory boost it gives him as he sits helps to keep him still. I saw it in action that evening when we were having dinner.

Before they arrived, I had the fridge repair man out to take a look at the freezer fan. It does need to be replaced, however the part won't be in for two to six weeks. He checked on-line while he was there and there isn't a single fan available in the country! Fingers crossed he's correct, and the part will become available soon, as replacing it will be far less expensive than buying a brand new fridge.

Eli had fun exploring the new house and later when Uncle C arrived home, he spent some time gathering rocks in the back yard for me. (I didn't ask, he thought it was a good idea.) This is the area where I plan to put in micro-clover in much of it, and C wants to put in gravel in part of it for a fire pit. After a short visit with my brother, Eli and C went to basement to play with nerf guns; the war continued after dinner too. Bedtime was a bit chaotic but he and his mother finally settled in about 8 p.m. They used my bed, while I slept on the couch.

Eli told me he was taking a nap in the cupboard. Silly kid!

They got away the next morning about 8 a.m. as D wanted to make a stop at the Dollarama on her way out of the city. After a bit of shopping, they stopped at a cafe in a nearby bedroom community to visit with a friend and her fairly new baby (also named Eli). I had a message about 10, that they were on the road home.

Once I knew they were settled back at home, I headed out to the bank to pick up some USD for my trip, then onto to Stitch and Chat. I've started on a new project, a counted cross stitch Christmas stocking. There is no possibility I'll have it finished in time this year, so the goal is to finish it by December 2024. There were the three regulars today, myself, S and I, and a new lady who came for the first time, M. She explained her husband is going through cancer treatments and she needs a little time away from everything. Later she said she enjoyed herself and would be back next week. 

We head out this morning about 9 a.m., with an anticipated arrival in Minot around 4:30 p.m., with a stop in Estevan for lunch. The group will be getting together for dinner the first evening.  Then the shopping begins in earnest tomorrow. I've been researching possible gifts and have a good idea where I'll find them. 

Have a good weekend everyone!

A little work, some rest, and friendly encounters

 How can it be that it is already mid-February? We're definitely on the downward slide towards spring. Winter, however, won't let go for awhile yet. We had a couple of really cold days this week, and more cold is expected by mid-week next week.

Certain days this week have been busy, others have not. I did absolutely nothing on Monday beyond putter on the computer, stitch and catch up on a few television programs. The following day was much busier (and colder!). Had I been paying attention, I likely would have done my grocery shopping on Monday, as Tuesday was windy and cold. But I wanted to go out anyway on Tuesday, as I had plans to meet a friend for lunch. She and I worked together, in fact did our training together (1997), though worked in different offices. We became good friends when the two locations were merged about five years before we retired. We had a lovely visit, catching up on kids, grandkids, and our activities. 

After our lunch I headed to C's apartment to help her with some paperwork related to her mom's estate. That was dealt with in short order, and we had a good visit. She's arranged for a storage unit, and will be moving items from her mom's condo this weekend. These are items she plans to sell at some point, but isn't ready to do so yet. Her oldest son, will be helping with the move.

Wednesday was stitch and chat - there were three of us again. I, R, and myself. We learned that R is 87, and I would tell you she seems much younger. She was telling us of the various activities she does: quilting group on one day of the week, knitting group on Tuesday at another library in the city, now the one we attend, and she's looking for more. She has been crocheting slippers for women's shelters and wants to do something different - she mentioned knitting toys for kids. I mentioned I'd made a duck for Eli one Easter, and a Rudolph reindeer for myself this past Christmas. She asked if I would mind sharing the patterns - since I got them from Pinterest, I e-mailed her the links when I got home. (She's replied and mentioned how excited she is to start a new project).

I finally got around to starting my decluttering on Thursday. Up first were the lower kitchen cabinets. I got my work-out for the day, crawling around on the floor, emptying the cabinets, vacuuming and wiping down the shelves and deciding what would stay and what would be donated or tossed. I've rearranged a few things as well - let's see if I remember where. Actually, it should be fine because like items are now stored together. (I do have far too many Christmas tins - I kept them for now.)

Friday was another quiet day - my son was home from work. He took the day off after two days of first aid training. Since he likes to sleep in, I tend to keep things quiet and enjoy my relaxation as well. I'll get up and feed Saku and then head back to bed for an hour or so. Later in the morning, I managed to get about half the upper cabinets cleaned and decluttered. I learned that I hadn't left room in the lowers for a couple of items, so did a bit more rearranging and everything fits! The biggest "mess" was the spice cupboard - I wish I had drawer space for them, but instead I have a narrow three shelf cabinet to the side and above the stove. The spices are now sorted by those used in regular meal cooking and those for baking, while bouillion and gelatin were tucked up on the third shelf in a small container as I use them less frequently. By this point I was done and decided the rest of the cabinets, including the pantry cabinet (five shelves) can wait until tomorrow or Sunday...or later in the week.

The Scotties Tournament of Hearts draw started Friday evening, at 8 p.m. Our Saskatchewan team lost, after one bad end when they gave up four points. They fought hard but the other team played too well for them to overcome the deficit. They weren't the feature game, that was between the young Alberta team and the current Canadian champions. At one point, mid-game, the Albertans lead 5-2, but the champs came back and won. There are two draws today, one at 3 p.m. and one at 8 p.m. 

Ancestry has kept me busy too - no really interesting stories in this last batch of relatives. My cross-stitching is nearing completion - though I have a lot of backstitching to do, and I've started the first sleeve of Eli's sweater. It would go must faster if I picked it up more frequently. 

I'll end with a few photos taken in the past day or so of the birds at the feeder in the back yard. The Hungarian partridges have been back too, but I haven't captured them as they are very skittish and fly off when I come close to the sun room windows.

There are three grackles hanging aound. They tend to bully the smaller birds, so I when I notice them, I tend to chase them off.

There are a bazillion (that's my official count and I'm sticking to it), of these sparrows.

The purple finch is back too - I haven't seen them in months. 

You'll notice that we're gray and overcast here. That's the part of winter I dislike the most. Hopefully the sun will re-appear as it gets colder next week. 

Have a good week ahead everyone!

A start and a finish, and ready to go

 After the not-so-stellar end of 2022, I'm certainly hopeful that 2023 will be a better year. Starting it off with a trip to the heat of Central America and Mexico is a definitely a positive. We haven't had any more dumps of snow for the last few days and I'll take that too. 

I've spent my time cleaning the house, working on my crochet and cross stitch, finalizing some spreadsheets for 2022, revising a document for my kids that I update each time I travel, and finishing packing my suitcase and carryon. The document I revise has instructions should anything happen to me while I'm away, with important numbers and other information. I have a theory - nothing will happen, if the information is available. 

I've made a list of chores and reminders for my son too. He's likely to manage to do the dishes before I get home, but I suspect the vacuum will remain parked in the closet for the next couple of weeks. He also has a bad habit of ordering in, so I made a list of food items in the freezer and pantry that he can make for himself. He did tell me he is planning to cook more...we'll see.

My stash blanket is finished. It's not meant to large, just enough to cover me when I'm feeling chilled. It used up four balls of various yarn I had from other projects. I used a simple stitch pattern called lemon peel or griddle stitch and it worked up quickly. I finished off the edging with single crochet stitches. It will never win any prizes for looks but it does what I need it to do.

The counted cross stitch is a kit I picked up at Value Village on my last visit. (I know I have several I got earlier this year but this one will be perfect for D & Eli). I need good lighting to stitch so only work on it in the afternoon. I have a lamp set up behind the couch that helps - my living room window faces north so I don't have a lot of natural light. It's difficult to see in the photo but it's a piggy relaxing in a bathtub, with the starts of yellow rubber duck as well. Eventually it will have a list of rules for the bathroom. I use the magnifying glass with the pattern - trying to focus switching back and forth from the stitching to the pattern, even with tri-focal lenses, is slower than it used to be. 

When the cross stitching is complete, I'll do the backstitching and that will provide definition to the piece. 

I've managed to keep my suitcase well under the weight requirements - more room to bring back a few items on my return. Plus, I've learned that visiting countries with high humidity adds weight. The carry-on will have the last few items added just before the cab arrives to pick me up....at 3:45 a.m. I probably won't sleep; not to worry, I'm one of those people who can sleep on a plane. I certainly want to sleep in!

It happened to me once. I don't know if I set the alarm incorrectly or if I rolled over and shut it off. In any event, the cab driver called my phone and woke me up when I didn't come out of the house. I asked him to wait a few minutes, tossed on my clothes, splashed some water on my face, grabbed my bags and ran out to the car. I made my flight in plenty of time, since I'm always there well in advance but I never want to do that again!

I'm off to do the lengthy list of chores I've created to keep myself busy for the rest of the day. Otherwise I'll be bouncing off the walls. I'm home again on Jan 20th, and back to posting within a few days of that. 

Take care everyone!