Celebrations, holiday preparations, and garage sales.

The Grey Cup came home to Saskatchewan on Monday. There were some nail-biting moments in the game on Sunday but the green and white prevailed! My nephew joined the party at the Green Mile after the game and this photo (which I lifted from the internet) shows the fans who made their way from their homes, restaurants and bars, to the corner of Albert and Victoria streets for the celebration. The Grey Cup was on display at Mosaic Stadium on Monday afternoon, and a parade was held on Tuesday. This was the first win in 12 years for the team, and only the 5th in the history of the Riders.

Meanwhile my week started out quietly. I had done laundry Sunday afternoon and left it out overnight to dry, so just had to fold and put things away. I did some knitting too, working on another coffee mug sleeve. I'd finished the pickles the previous morning - they turned out pretty darn cute! (If I do say myself.) I have gold thread at home that I will add so they will hang from the Christmas tree. These are small gifts for my niece and nephew. It's become a bit of a tradition for me to make an ornament of some sort each year. 

We had more rain again overnight Monday, and Tuesday was overcast and cool. I'm having some electrical issues, potentially related to the rain. Every time we get rain, the outdoor fridge trips the breaker to the outlet. It doesn't affect anything in the trailer but is a nuisance. After some wrong assumptions, it was determined that pushing the button on the GFI re-set it. But when I woke on Tuesday morning (having plugged in the fridge overnight), not only was the outdoor plug impacted but the one next to the stove. And somehow or another, the dinette lights decided to give up the ghost too. Initially, J and I thought it was due to burnt out bulbs, but trying one that we knew was working proved that theory wrong. 

I've left the fridge unplugged, and won't use it until J's husband G arrives in December. He is an electrician by trade and knows this unit well as they lived in it for several years before they bought their park model. I won't be here when he arrives, as I'll be in Saskatchewan for Christmas, but will leave a set of keys with J. 

Wednesday J and I got together to play cribbage canasta. Another couple who usually play, D&T had arrived Tuesday evening and were busy opening up their unit, buying groceries, etc. so weren't available to play. Beginner's luck, I won the first game but she, more than handily, won the next two. I learned a lot about the strategy of the game, as well as the how to count the points. That was something I never learned last winter. I likely won't be able to keep up with the regulars but at least I have a better idea now.

Pat (our 97 year old matriarch) and I were responsible for coffee hour on Thursday. We set up the hall after Happy Hour the day prior, readying coffee pots, tea kettle, toasters, etc. Earlier in the day, I had gone to the local Food City to order the pastries. Some people enjoy the goodies, while others make themselves toast with jam and peanut butter provided. In the morning, I went to Food City to pick up the pastries, then to the clubhouse to start the large urn of coffee.  We were expecting about 20 participants and ended up with just 13.

After coffee, three of us stayed behind to decorate the hall for Thanksgiving. There aren't a whole lot of decorations for the walls; most are meant to be put out on the tables. Since we'll be using the space for Happy Hour - it was too hot and now with the cooler and wet weather the mosquitos are out in force - we left the table decor to be put out on Thanksgiving morning. There were a whole pile of fake flowers and sprigs, so I put together a vase to display somewhere in the hall. 

Friday morning was another busy one, as J, L and I went to a nearby park for their garage sales. By the way I used my air fryer that I picked up at last weeks garage sales for the first time. It worked wonderfully, but I'll not use it indoors again. It heats up and gets quite hot to the touch. Hence it will have to wait until the electrical outlet is working properly. I have sufficient methods of cooking that it isn't necessary though I do like the way an air fryer cooks various types of meat. The BBQ will do for now.

It was raining off and on when we left and though the park with the sales had a lot of standing water, we managed okay until just after 9 a.m. At the last place we stopped, the rain came down in buckets and we, all three, were soaked by the time we made it across the street to the van. With that, we decided to head to the "Landing", a local restaurant for breakfast. The food was delicious and the prices very reasonable. Since it was quiet we sat for quite a while after we were done eating and simply visited. 

Our final stop before heading to the park was a placed called Green Trees Grocery Outlet. It has heavily discounted packaged items, generally the boxes and cans are slightly damaged and can't (or won't) be sold at a regular grocery store. They also bring in frozen meat and dairy, and fresh produce. The store even has some sundry items as well as beauty and health products. Just to give you an idea of pricing, L picked up a 10 pound bag of potatoes for $2.99. I found Twinings Earl Grey tea for $3 for 50 tea bags. J picked up a box full of stuff, as she found a couple of cockroaches in her park model and had to toss out her pantry items. 

So what did I find at the garage sales? My best buy was a small hand painted plate for 50 cents. In Canadian dollars it is worth about $40. I would have purchased it anyway, because it is so pretty. I found a couple more cushions for the couch, and a small drop leaf table. The latter needs to be sanded down and painted, and I'll use it in the gazebo to eat meals on occasion. That is, of course, if it ever stops raining! 

Today, I have nothing planned except to stay indoors, out of the continuing rain, to work on the coffee mug sleeves. D has added one more to the list, so I'll need to make seven more. Each one takes me about an afternoon. Since I'm leaving for home on the 4th of December, that leaves less than two weeks to finish these. I should know the pattern well by then. There will be college football to watch and if I'm lucky, I may be able to watch some of the Canadian Olympic curling trials. You-tube may have some streaming, but I'm not entirely sure.

Have a wonderful week ahead everyone! 

Getting in the groove

Another week just flew by me. I'm getting into a routine and it feels good. Up at 5:30 a.m. I make my bed, get my tea ready and then call my daughter. We chat for about a half hour about a variety of topics: Eli, the cats, the weather, the news, and family. This week was my nephew's 25th birthday. How the heck did that happen? It seems like yesterday we were meeting him in the hospital room. 

My parents had three sets of grandchildren. My oldest brother's son was born in 1970. My children were born in the 80's, and my brother's two were both born in the aughts. (2000's). R and P were both in their late 30's when K and L came along, while my older brother was only 20 when his son was born, and M is 12 years older than R. Since mom passed away in 2003 and dad in 2008, it means that the youngest grandchildren didn't get to know them. 

Back to the present. I've been doing outside work in the morning most days, sweeping the patio, running errands, and most recently spray painting three chairs I got from next door. I've now decided that the Adirondack chair, which is a faded green, needs a touch up too. Next time I'm in a hardware store I'll pick up a can of spray paint.

I also picked up a couple of items from Walmart to make my life a wee bit easier. One is a small shoe rack for the front closet, the other a three shelf bookcase. It tucks in beside the dinette, and as you'll see I've made the bottom shelf the recycling area. It gets those small containers out of my way and provides additional storage...for what is yet to be determined.

Afternoons, I generally spend inside the trailer, enjoying the a/c. It has been hot this week, though has cooled slightly into the high 80's (31C). Better than the 90's but still stinking hot to be outdoors in the sun. I've used the time to start knitting Christmas gifts. I didn't think to bring safety eyes for amigurumi ornaments I'm making for K and L, so had to place an Amazon order. I added in a couple of other items to get free shipping, useful items like a collapsible colander and a drying rack. The order isn't expected to arrive until today, so I moved on to knitting coffee cup sleeves for my brother, SIL, and Eli's many teachers and aides. 

I finished one, knitted flat, but I didn't like the way it looked when I sewed it together. So I switched to knitting in the round. The first one didn't work because I didn't read the pattern properly. I'm not sure when I'll get these done, but I'm glad Christmas isn't for another six weeks. I'm going to need the time!

Don't mind the clashing colours. I didn't have a travel mug and needed one to test the sizing on so picked up a cheapo one at the dollar store. I took it (the mug) to coffee hour to hold my tea, and what a useless piece of junk. Getting the top off was a struggle and putting it back on was worse. Now it just gets to be a model.

On Friday, I did a little grocery shopping, and went thrifting with L. I picked up two t-shirts at the Humane Society Thrift store for $3, a box fan, a document folder, and a pair of shorts for just over $20 at Goodwill. The fan is out in the gazebo and provides quite the breeze! 

I also stopped at Lowes and picked up a pot and a few succulents to plant. The container was on sale, the succulents were not and cost nearly as much! I did a wee bit of research, they like temps between 60F-80F, but can't be left in direct sunlight as they may sunburn. I foresee bringing them indoors in January when the weather is cold overnight. Next year I'll plant something else, more hardy and less expensive. 

Speaking of weather, the cooler temps are arriving this weekend. The forecast is suggesting we'll have rain starting this morning, with a high temp of 24C/76F. The rest of the week is even cooler with temps between 20-22C/68-72F. I'm looking forward to being able to leave the a/c off in the afternoons and early evenings.

To finish off my routine, everyday at 4 p.m. is Happy Hour where many of us meet up and enjoy some time visiting. On Friday, it was finally cool enough to sit out on the outdoor patio in the shade with the breeze. Back at the unit, I've been using the BBQ to cook up smokies or hamburgers for my dinner, which I enjoyed along with a pasta salad I made up earlier in the week. It's much cooler by then, and the bugs aren't bad so until it is too dark to read, I have my meal outdoors. On Friday, I cooked up taco meat in the morning for a salad that evening, and also made a crockpot of chili. There was enough for three servings which I froze. If it does in fact rain on Saturday, I'm thinking it will make a great meal - just re-heat in the microwave. 

Today, I've nothing major on the agenda. I'll likely knit and watch college football. The BIG game is on Sunday, with the Canadian Grey Cup on the line. One of the park members has purchased the channel we need to watch it on, and anyone who wants to watch will be set up in the clubhouse. It was agreed, we'd each bring our own "gameday" snacks and drinks. The teams playing for the honour of hoisting the Cup are the Montreal Alouettes and the Saskatchewan Roughriders. You know who I'll be cheering for, Go Riders!!!

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Ups and downs - and not just the weather

As I was preparing this post for publishing, I checked my phone and realized I had taken exactly two photos this week. Here's Saku wearing a toy around his neck - didn't faze him a bit. In the background, you can see Stanley sleeping on the tower. The other photo is of our power meter reading - no need to post that!

Despite the on-going pain from the dental work, I had a pretty good weekend. The Blue Jays (baseball) won the first two games in the series against the New York Yankees.  One of the two curling teams I was cheering for won the Pointsbet Invitational - and I wasn't surprised at the other winner. And our Saskatchewan Roughriders (football) won another game, continuing to lead in the West Division of the CFL. Overall a very good sporting weekend.

However on Sunday, I discovered that a piece of the tooth that was extracted wasn't removed, and with the swelling down was now poking out of my gum. Most of the time it didn't bother me, but eating was a different proposition. It meant I stuck to a very soft diet. I phoned the dentist office early Monday morning to advise that I needed to have this looked at, before going ahead with the planned filling. (It's on the opposite side of my mouth and if I couldn't use the extraction side, I'd be limited to eat only what I could drink).

I had a few groceries to pick up on Monday, and headed first to pharmacy to see if I could arrange my Covid and Flu vaccines. It was very annoying to learn that the province has not rolled out the Covid vaccines as yet, just the flu. I do want to get these dealt with before I head south, and I did go ahead and book appointments for D and I to receive our flu shots next week before I leave for the city. At home I tried to check with Regina pharmacies and it seems they haven't received their stock either, and contacting our provincial health authority is pretty much impossible. It's rather ridiculous as they have announced through the media that appointments were available for next week. 

Since we dropped before freezing early Monday morning, and it was forecast to be event colder overnight, I decided to dig the last of the onions and carrots from the garden. Wednesday's photo is the evidence of the results. I've since blanched and cut up the carrots, the wee green onions are in the crisper, and the few strawberries were a nice treat.

Tuesday I was off to the dentist early, as my appointment was at 9 a.m. It is about a 20-25 minute drive from home to NTO. Arriving a few minute early, it wasn't long until I was ushered in the examining room. Imagine my surprise when I learned the bit of tooth wasn't tooth at all, but part of my jaw bone. After a few pokes with the needle, yuck, the dentist picked away at it and ground it down slightly. He assures me that my wound will heal around it. Then he turned his attention to the filling on the other side. He was working with a trainee dental assistant who kept telling me they would be done soon. The third time she said it, I told her not to say it again until it was true. 

Wednesday was Knit and Natter group, my last one here in town for a few months. I continued to work on Eli's sweater. D has asked that I make Eli a toque/beanie instead, so I'll finish the sleeves and whip up the hat in a couple of days. There were six of us there, including the two librarians. Another younger woman was also there with her almost 3 month old baby, and sat and visited with us. She crochets as well, and said she may be back to participate. Always great to see young(er) people keeping up the tradition.

The evening saw the Blue Jays winning their series against the Yankees. They'll be moving on to play either the Tigers or the Mariners. I'm thinking the Mariners played tough against the Jays in the regular season. In any event I'm sure it will be an entertaining (and nail biting) series.

I went grocery shopping on Thursday morning, as I wanted to catch the sales at our local Co-op. They had pork loin for $2.99/lb. I paid just over $15 for a huge loin that D and I cut up into several pork chops, a roast (our Thanksgiving meal) and two portions of cubes she can use for a stew or cut up for stir fry. Nearly everything I purchased was on sale, so I was very pleased.

In the afternoon, I finished off the sleeves for Eli's sweater and moved on to the toque. If I can finish it in two days, I'll go back to the sweater. I need to block the finished pieces, sew the side and sleeve seams, and then finish knitting the neck band, and bands for the buttons and button hole. That reminds me, I need to look for buttons! Maybe I will finish it before I leave on Tuesday...or not.

Friday was pretty much the last day for decent weather so it was time to get finished with the yard work. We're leaving the rain barrels in place for a couple more days as there is rain in the forecast, along with that dreaded four letter word - starts with s, ends with w and has NO in the middle. Yep, already, though it won't last long, we could get up to 10 cms/4 inches on Monday! 

It was a bit sad to see the patio furniture taken down and put in the shed, the garden dug up and turned over, cosmos cut down and some weeding completed in the flower bed. There are weeds growing between the rocks in the flower bed, which makes me think I am going to have to move large rocks to clear it out next spring. Some of these are thistle which have terrible tap roots. Remember when you were a kid and would dig a hole thinking you could go through the center of the earth to China? No, just me? In any event I swear thistle tap roots grow nearly that long.

The evening brought a Saskatchewan Roughrider football game - our team won but it certainly wasn't their best game. It was also sleepover night for Eli and me, our first since last spring. As a result of the football game he was permitted to stay up later than normal. I also kept an eye on the MLB scores though fell asleep before it ended in the 15th inning!  I woke this morning to learn the Jays will be playing the Mariners on Sunday evening.  Go Jays!

Today, I'm continuing my knitting while watching curling on a live stream. There is also football to watch later in the day though I won't be as invested. On Sunday we'll have our Thanksgiving meal; roast pork, roast vegetables, and maybe I'll convince D to bake a batch of buns. I've picked up a pumpkin pie for dessert, yum!

Have a great week ahead every one!

Get my shots, some good news, and a oopsie mistake

I really need to write a bit of my post every day, because looking back I often forget what happened. The big moments of the week were: getting my Covid and Flu shots on Monday, staying up wayyyyy too late watching the results of the US election, waking up to snow one morning, and a trip to the larger community nearby. 

The latter was primarily for Eli's dental appointment but, of course, we did some shopping too. While D and Eli were in the dentist's office, I went to Walmart to pickup some groceries. I discovered on the weekend, I'd forgotten the bag from Costco and we are out of peanut butter and mayonnaise.  I have peanut butter on toast almost every day. We had identified other needed items so I left the store with several bags and a lighter wallet.

D texted me, just as I got back in the car after loading the back, saying they were ready for pick-up. NO cavities, hurray!!  She booked his next appointment for another check and cleaning in six months. 

We left the parking lot and headed to Dollarama and Value Village. As we got closer, I realized that there had been an accident in the major intersection ahead. One semi had rear-ended another, hard enough to cause the trailer to run into the tractor ahead, damaging the tractor and the load on the trailer.

D took these photos from the passenger seat so there is a bit of glare. There were no apparent injuries, the driver of this vehicle was out on the street talking to someone on his cell (his boss, I suspect), and we later saw the offending semi being driven away. I'm surprised it didn't have front end damage as it must have hit this one pretty darned hard. (Eli calls accidents oopsie mistakes and this was definitely due to a distracted driver.)

We had to make a detour to get to the stores, but that wasn't a problem. D had a coupon for 30% off clothing and found t-shirts and pants for both she and Eli. I picked up a few household items: a muffin tin, a 4 piece mini-loaf pan, and three drinking glasses. The latter are for an experiment that Eli and D will do over the weekend. 

Earlier in the week, I had my Covid and flu shots. Since I'm now 65, I was offered the "high-dose" flu shot. I had no idea such an option exists, but I took it, with one shot in each arm. Both were tender, the Covid arm more so for a couple of days. Otherwise I had no reaction to either, though I decided to relax and take it easy on Tuesday...it was a pajama day for me. :)

I finished the 10th pair of mittens, and sent them off to the school with D. I have one more pair to finish that are adulte sized, that my daughter asked for - she liked the yarn colour. Then, it is time to turn my mind to Christmas crocheting. I'm going to test make a gingerbread man ornament as they may be the gift for Eli's teachers. There are also my brother, his wife, and two adult children - I'm thinking trolls for the kids but not sure what their parents will get. 

D is anxious to get into the Christmas season, while I wouldn't mind waiting a few more weeks. We went through the Christmas tubs, eight of them plus a box, and put some items away for donation, a few pieces need to be mended, and a few items were tossed in the garbage. We'll be down to seven tubs, assuming we don't buy anything more! It was fun going through things, as I didn't do much decorating last year at C's house, so some of the items I haven't seen in nearly two years. We talked about where things might be displayed because this is a new place for both of us. I'm sure we'll change our minds on some things and I won't be surprised if more ornaments make their way to the donation bin. 

The television coverage of the Grand Slam of Curling started on Thursday, and I've caught a few draws. The latest draw starts at 10 p.m. our time, far too late for me. I'll be watching again today, but will interrupt the curling to watch the Riders in the West final. They are matched up against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, our nemesis. I'm certain it will be an entertaining game, though if it is a blow-out, I'll like turn it off and watch the curling instead. 

Have a good weekend everyone, and a great week ahead! 

Back in the thick of things

This Eli's jack o'lantern - his idea executed by his mom. His face is obscured because it was used on the public school website. 

How on earth can it be November already? In a few days, it will be the anniversary of moving day from my old house to my son's. Do you recall we had a nice day for the move, and then the following day we had nearly over 4 inches of snow fall? I do! With the exception of one morning, about 10 days ago, when we had snow flakes in the air but melting before it hit the ground, we've no snow this week, nor in the upcoming forecast. I mention this, because the weather seems more as though it is October rather than November. 

Back to last weekend, the contractor Aaron did an amazing job in the garage. It took him less than 20 minutes to complete the work. He mentioned he had responded to me because he knew that no concrete companies would be willing to do it. When he pulled up the smaller anchors it caused some flaking of the top layer of the concrete, and the larger anchor resulted in a small hole. He recommended I pick up some concrete patching material to fill these areas, though said it they wouldn't like cause any issues.

I ran out to Home Depot for the material on Monday, and completed the patches. Then I spent about an hour mowing the front lawn and raking and picking up the leaves. By mowing, I was able to mulch many of the leaves, but there was still a full green bin gathered from under the hedge, along the driveway and sidewalk. I said to my son when I went in to the house, that if he got rid of the hedge, the leaves would blow across the lawn and into the neighbour's yard. :)

Tuesday was a housework and packing day. I did laundry in the morning, and sorted out the clothing I needed to take with me (home to my daughter's). When we talked that morning, I asked her to check the dresser drawers as I had left some clothing there, and the bathroom for toiletries. In addition, I asked her to check the pantry and fridge for a few items; peanut butter, tea, and parmesan cheese. These are items I like to have on hand and are on sale at Costco this week. D asked me to pick up cat food too as she is running low.

That meant a trip to Costco on Wednesday before meeting S at the library for Stitch and Chat. The store was nuts and although I had only a few items to pick up, it took much longer that I had hoped. First, I discovered I'd misplaced my membership card so had to wait in a line to get a temporary card. Then, the parmesan cheese I was looking for wasn't where I expected it to be and even after asking a store employee it took some time to find the display. I still managed to make it to the library about 5 minutes ahead of schedule. It was a pleasant surprise when another lady arrive (Io) who hasn't been there for several months. She had surgery in early summer and is still working towards her full recovery. We had a lovely visit, the three of us, and it was a nice way to spend a couple of hours.

Thursday, I spent the day finishing my packing, and vacuuming the house one more time. I ran out to do a couple of small errands and filled my vehicle with fuel. That evening I spent my time answering the front door to the trick or treaters.

The next door neighbour decorated the front of his house a week or so ago. It's often windy here, and when I was outdoors, I'd catch a movement out the corner of my eye, when the clothing and hair of the goblin/creepy guy moved. It made me jump every time!

I was packed up and on the road shortly after 8 a.m. Getting out of the city was the most difficult part of the journey.  I avoided the Ring Road around the city because of construction. Then as I turned south  onto a main street, I was stopped in a line-up because of a train. It was stopped at the crossing but started moving fairly quickly...but it was a long train.

Continuing south, I planned to turn left at the next set of lights. A broken down van meant a change to the next lane and a wait of two lights in order to make theturn safely. Do you know what I like about small town living? Very little traffic! I did have one more interesting moment when I spotted an eagle in a tree just off the highway. Had I noticed it earlier, I would have stopped to get a photo. 

We unloaded the car, put away everything I'd remembered to bring (oops left one bag behind), D did laundry, and we tidied the craft room together. I can get to my sewing machine! I have a couple of small projects to do, now I just need to ensure I have the supplies needed.

Today will be a mostly relaxing day. D and I plan to sit and work out a meal plan for the next few weeks. I'm recommending tonight's dinner be a simple one, as the Roughrider's game starts at 4:30 p.m. This is the western semi-final, thus a must win for the team if they hope to reach the Grey Cup game later this month. There is curling to watch too, and I've got another pair of mitts started to work on. 

Preparing for Christmas

D and I took Eli downtown for the street fair last Saturday evening. Our first stop was City Hall where the mayor said a few words, the wreath was lit up, and Santa made a quick visit to hand out candy canes. 

The was a choir too, singing Christmas carols and a small but appreciative crowd. We wandered down the street towards the street hockey. The local Junior A hockey team were out in their jerseys playing a pick-up game against some young kids. Everyone was having a lot of fun.

But before we reached the hockey, we came across a Nativity scene one of the local churches had set up. Two of Eli's friends were dressed up, one as an angel, the other as a shepherd. He was happy to see them, but was even more excited to see the young sheep. He tried to entice them to eat the straw he held out, but they were more intent on the stuff on the ground. No matter, they still got close enough that he was able to give them a pat or two.

We stopped too, at a fire pit that was set up by the firefighters in the street to warm our hands. Then we went to watch the street hockey, and the ball they were using as a puck bounced right near us. I gave the ball to Eli and told him to toss it back on the rink. He seemed to enjoy that, and chased the next couple of balls that came our way.

Although the stores were open, neither D nor I felt like shopping. Instead we headed for the bakery to pick up some treats to have at home. Eli had his regular chocolate dip donut, while D and I chose the gingerbread donuts. I ate half of it when we got back to the house, and oh my, was it good! 

After another restless night, I headed for home just after breakfast. Traffic was light, as I had hoped, and the roads were clear. After I had things put away, I lay down on the couch for a rest and watched a bit of NFL football before the Grey Cup. The championship game was a good one, neither team dominated, and the final outcome wasn't sure until the last 45 seconds of game. The team I was cheering for won...that's always makes a game more enjoyable too.

The rest of my week has been relatively busy (notice I did not say quiet). I got the Christmas decorations up from the basement and set up the tree. I also spent some time in my craft room, sorting and reorganizing. I sent a photo to my daughter saying, "I'm not allowed to buy any more yarn." I have a variety of yarns, with multiple skeins of each, as well as a container that has odds and ends of one or less skeins. It's going to take some time to use it all up.  

I did get a bag of scarves and mitts dropped off at a local charity. There are a half dozen or so scarves and a few toques and mitts ready to go but I'll take those over when I finish a few more. There was a quick trip to Value Village too where I found a jigsaw puzzle with a winter scene on it. AND I didn't buy any more yarn. :)

At stitch and chat I worked on the angels, finishing the third and starting the fourth. There were just two of us again this week. I'm guessing the one lady won't attend again until her friend returns from Arizona. I would like to see more people there but I know it isn't well attended. I'm thinking I might check out a couple other groups that meet on other days and maybe some of those participants would like to join us as well. I do enjoy the chats and it really helps me focus on my project - no distractions from the television or housework that I know needs doing at home.

When I left the stitch and chat, I stopped at the Superstore to pick up some items for Christmas baking. It's time to get going on some of the friend and family favorites.  First up is a Dundee cake and shortbread. The cake is for a friend K, with shortbread for her partner J. I know they're leaving mid-December on a trip so I want to get this to them to enjoy before they get away. The rest of the shortbread won't last until Christmas here as it is one of my son's favorites. 

I was able to watch some curling too, though I'd forgotten until later in the week. It isn't being televised, rather I have to remember to pull it up on the laptop. While watching a draw, I was able to finish the last of the angels, and continue working on a pair of mittens I'd started a week or so ago. The angels need halos - which weren't part of the pattern, the ends need to be weaved in, and hangers attached. I'll get those done this weekend and send them off to D in the mail soon.

Our weather turned on Friday, with temperatures above freezing. Sadly, the wind was a-blowing so it didn't seem all that nice outside. There was a fair amount of melting, which I appreciate. More snow is forecast for Sunday and Monday so I expect I'll be shovelling again in a couple of days. Sigh...

Time to post this and head for the kitchen. I think I'll bake sugar cookies today for decorating later, and maybe an almond biscotti. I know the kitchen floor needs scrubbing so I may as well make more of a mess now before I pull out the mop and pail. The semi-finals of the curling start at 11 a.m. so I'd best get busy.  Have a great week ahead everyone!

P.S. The photo from Wednesday was taken by my son when I was out of town. He heard them out his bedroom window and managed to sneak into the sunroom to get the photo. 

Did I say quiet?

Thank you to all who sent good wishes to my brother R. I'm happy to report he finally tested negative on Wednesday of this week - that's 9 days from his first positive test. He started feeling better on Monday and continued to improve throughout the week. Remember when I said a 1/4 mile walk was a short one for him. On Tuesday, he and Cola (the dog) went walking for an hour.

The cold stuck with us until Wednesday as well, and as it warmed up we had more snow. Not a lot, but enough to cover the driveway and add to the accumulation on the ground. It's a good thing it is warming up slightly as the Grey Cup is being held here this weekend. (It's the Canadian football league's Super Bowl, but less glitzy). Our team is out contention this year - and were since about July! -  and as a result there are a whole lot of folks attempting to offload their tickets to the game. I suspect it will be a poorly attended game, without local support. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers did win their division and it's about a 8 hour drive so that may help with attendance...time will tell. The other team in the game are the Toronto Argonauts which doesn't attract a large amount of fans because they have two other professional sports teams to cheer for.

This first half of the week was pretty quiet, some housework and more crocheting. I finished off this little gnome on Monday. D reminded me she wanted angels for gifts for Eli's teacher and aides, as well as the principal. That meant a trip to the store on Tuesday to pick up some white yarn as I had used the last of it on my reindeer. (I didn't have a lot). So now I have a large ball of it, to make the angels and maybe a snowman or two.

Then on Wednesday I had a call from D. I managed to get her through that day's crisis, however it spilled over into Thursday. By mid-morning I had packed up a few days clothing and other sundry items and was on the highway on the way to her home. I won't get into details, but she hadn't slept for over 36 hours and exhaustion was clouding her thoughts. I spent much of the day cleaning and tidying, while Eli played and she tried to rest. She wasn't able to sleep much - just too overtired - so when dinner was finished she headed up to bed while Eli and I settled in on the couch to watch Home Alone 2. This series is his favorite and this is the second or is the third time we've watched together.

She did get a reasonable amount of sleep over night, thankfully, while I slept with the wiggle worm. There were more stories with spooky endings. I'd start them off and he would finish them. This child and his imagination. On Friday we headed into the next town to deal with the situation that had caused her such grief. It took awhile but I'm pleased to say it ended well and I'm proud of her because she's taken a step forward that seemed so far away not so long ago.

We did a bit of shopping too, stopping at the Dollar store and Walmart. Eli wasn't in a mood for it, so we stopped for lunch between stores and let him play at the McDonalds. I don't blame him, he'd had to sit and wait for quite awhile during D's meeting. While at Walmart we checked for children's Buckley's cough syrup - there was none on the shelf. The clerk told me she'd gotten 18 bottles that morning, and they were already gone by noon.

I tackled a few more household chores when we arrived home, while D headed out to pick up the groceries and check for the mail. She's awaiting her "Moe bucks" check as I've received mine. These are the bribes prosperity pay-outs that our provincial government is providing just ahead of Christmas, instead of reducing or eliminating the increases of 16.8% and 4% to our natural gas and electricity rates respectively. Can you tell I'm not impressed? Over the long run, the rate hikes will cost households more than the benefit of a $500 one-time payment. 

It was a restless night Friday night, as Eli is coming down with another cold. He and I were in the same bed, but at some point Sheldon (the cat) joined us, and the two of them pushed me out of bed. I went downstairs and slept on the couch but was wakened by the sound of coughing. I could hear D talking to Eli, so I grabbed the cough medicine and a spoon. He settled down soon after that, and was in his mother's bed, so I climbed back into his and slept well until early in the morning. Sheldon kept me company.

Today I've sent D upstairs to get a bit more sleep, while Eli and I are snuggled up on the couch to watch some cartoons (him) and work on Ancestry (me). I've got a couple more household chores I want to do today and I'll work on the angels too. One more was finished yesterday. I do plan to head home tomorrow and will leave shortly after breakfast. I suspect the traffic will be heavier as the day goes on as people head to the city for the Grey Cup.

Remind me to never suggest that things in my life are quiet...

Cool and quiet

The weather has definitely turned to autumn. The photo on Wednesday was actually taken mid-morning after it warmed up several degrees. And yes, the thermometer is measured in Fahrenheit. We've been overcast with occasional light rain for several days and it doesn't warm up much during the day. While the house feels cool, I haven't yet turned on the furnace but I have had to wear socks! I've been using the oven to make dinner and baked a cake one day in a effort to bring the temperature up a little bit. Normally at this time of year I'd open up the sunroom - it helps to warm up the rest of the house but without sun it hasn't been nice enough to do so.

I did go for a walk Wednesday morning as I wanted to check out the creek and pond. As I entered the park I spotted the tree that seems to be the first to change color every year.

The thistles have gone to seed.

It was quiet at the creek; I only saw eight ducks in total.

There were far more geese at the pond, but far less than I've seen in years past. I have to wonder if, due to the heat we've had this summer, they haven't delayed their departure to the south. I'll have to ensure I do my walk more often.

My childish nature came out when I spotted this goose with it's butt in the air. 

I was watching for the red-necked grebes and found one at this end of the pond as well. I think it's one of the young ones from this year due to the mottling on the feathers.

This shot was a lucky one, as this bird was just resurfacing after a dive. I think it's a cormorant because it doesn't have a red neck like the grebe. I haven't seen the cormorants this summer at the pond but they've been their in the past.

Then I was excited to spot a marbled godwit on the edge of the pond. I was able to get fairly close before it spotted me and flew off.

I made it back to the house just as the rain started. Perfect timing. That afternoon I went to my stitch and chat group. We were joined by someone new to the group who came to check it out. P had moved the city just a year or so ago. She didn't bring a project with her but stayed to chat and said she'd be back next week. There are a few regulars who haven't yet turned up - a couple are away and another is working. For a small group we certainly have no problem finding things to talk about.

With the exception of Wednesday, I didn't leave the house for errands or shopping. Good for the wallet, though I did make on on-line purchase. I've finished knitting the tank top and I've blocked it before I sew it together. Since I tend to procrastinate, that might happen in a week or so. :)  I've finished three toques/beanies as well. The counted cross stitch is still in early stages and I've already found a mistake I made. Argh! I've pulled another skein of yarn for another toque/beanie and have started the little crocheted ghost. If you can't tell, I've spent a lot of time sitting and not a lot of time on much else.

I have to say September baseball is a lot of fun to watch. Though I do wish the Blue Jays were a bit more consistent; one game they look amazing and then another game they tank. Last year they were out of the play-offs by a single game, so I'm hoping they can pull out a wild card spot this year. 

The Riders finally got rid of the player I was so upset about, but they too are not having their best season. This isn't unusual for the team throughout its tenure, but the last few years have been better than most. This week, the QB and his wife welcomed a son, so the commentary was the need to win the game for the little one. It didn't happen, as the opposition managed a last minute drive to score a field goal for the win. I'm pretty certain the baby neither knew nor cared about the outcome.

Curling has started in earnest, though there is no televised events. YouTube and Facebook are my options for watching the live streams.. This weekend there are both men and women's events - lots to watch. For the moment I'm catching up on blog reading, some PVR'ed television, with a cat on my lap wanting attention. It looks like the weekend is going to be much the same as the rest of the week.

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Good times

I had a great, if tiring, time with Eli and D early this week. My drive out on Monday was unremarkable; there was one short section of construction that had me stopped for a couple of minutes. D had warned me, there was more construction, but it was finished and I surprised her by arriving twenty minutes ahead of schedule.

Eli and I spent the morning watching 'toons together, while his mother caught up on some housework. I'd brought the carpet cleaner with me and she put it to good use. After lunch we headed out to the parks, first to one I'd not been to before where a resident cat named Lily often makes an appearance. Eli was disappointed that she didn't show up that day. We played tag for a bit (Eli climbed the equipment out of my reach), and then took a walk on the nearby path. Then it was time to head for the park close to home. There were lots of friends in the park so Eli was quite content to let his mom and I sit in the shade and watch.

That evening, he chose to sleep with G'ma. We read a couple of stories, then he wanted me to tell him a story. I started, "one upon a time, a long time ago, and far, far away lived a little boy named Eli, and his best friend a dragon who was a very nice dragon". At this point, Eli stopped me and told me the dragon's name was Bon, and that Eli lived in a castle. So I started again adding these details, and then saying that one day an evil dragon came to the castle. He stopped me again, and told me that Eli lived in the castle with his mommy and grandma, and he had a secret stash of weapons in the basement. Start again, he said. So I did and this kept on as he added more details until eventually the hero Eli slayed the evil dragon and everyone was safe. 

I can't say I slept well that night because, not only is he a wiggle worm, he's a little furnace too. Their house has no a/c so I slept on top of the covers. A couple of hours in, I opened up the window to let the breeze in.

Tuesday we had plans to head to the beach about a half-hour away. D and I did a few things around the house in the morning, she pulled some weeds in the front yard, and then we started packing lunch and all the beach items while Eli played his learning games on his tablet. He doesn't yet know the names of the letters but can identify the sounds - he even sounded out the word fish on his own. He is only able to access his video games when the learning games are complete. Smart mom!

We arrived at the beach about 10:30 and were one of two small groups there for about ten minutes before several more families showed up. Both D and I wore our bathing suits too, so we were all able to get into the water. Eli had a blast on the slide, jumped off the dock into the water or our arms. But his happiest moment was when he was able to dump a pail of water over G'ma's head!

The water felt a bit cold initially going in, but once I was in and mostly wet, it felt wonderful. We stayed and played in the water for an hour or so before heading back to the beach for our lunch.

D and I had made sandwiches, while Eli had a bento box of crackers, veg and cheese. For dessert, I'd cut up a few pieces of watermelon. What I didn't realize is this kid loves watermelon. I was able to get a couple of small pieces before he inhaled the rest. Then after a bit of play on the equipment, we headed back into the water.

We stayed another hour or so, then headed back into town. It was quite warm by this point, but there was a good breeze so D and I stayed outdoors to catch up on some yard-work. We were both tired so D ordered and I picked up dinner that evening. At bed-time I again read a couple of books to Eli before he asked for Chapter 2 of the dragon story.  This time I knew enough to stop and ask for the details and eventually all was well in the world Eli and Bon once again. This night he decided to sleep in his mother's bed so I had his big boy bed to myself. 

I got away fairly early on Wednesday morning after lots of hugs and kisses from my boy. The temperatures increased as the days went on, and though my son had watered for me on Tuesday, I figured things were going to need a good watering earlier on Wednesday. By mid-afternoon, the tomatoes were looking a little peaked, with the top leaves starting to curl. I gave them a good watering, and waited until early evening to do the rest.

Other than the tomatoes, I might well have waited. We had an incredible series of thunderstorms roll through with heavy rain starting about midnight. I was woken several times during the night and could see the flashes of lightening through the window. The storms finally passed by about six a.m. At that point, the cat wanted to be fed and watered so I was up for the day.

I did get the closet painted in the new room on Wednesday and Thursday. All of the painting equipment has now been cleaned up and put away, or in the case of my plastic drop cloth and couple of rollers tossed in the bin. I'm going to give myself a week or two break before I finish the caulking and baseboard painting. I'm tired of it all.

Yesterday, I went out early and got the grocery shopping done before it got stinking hot. Once home, I spent some time on Ancestry, did some knitting, and had an afternoon nap. As I was watching baseball and football in the evening, my phone alerted me to a tornado watch in our area. I kept one eye on the radar and when the wind picked up and the sky was darkening, I headed outdoors with the camera. (Maybe not the safest place but I wasn't alone - lots of neighbours were on their driveways). These are a few of the photos I took.

The storm seemed to circle around the city, it came from the north but swung around to the east.

Meanwhile the sky to the north west still showed a bit of blue sky with the sun glowing on the clouds.

This was taken a half hour later than the others. The clouds were lit up by the sun. The storms continued east of us, then turned again and went northeast. We didn't get a drop of rain but I'm sure other areas got a dump. D told me this morning, they didn't get rain but did get a lot of wind. One of the city trees in front of her house lost a large branch and there are reports of trees down throughout the small community. 

I was up early this morning in order to get some things done outdoors before the heat arrives. (35C/95F). The containers and front flower bed were watered and did some need deadheading and weeding. I made some breakfast and took it out to the front patio to enjoy the cooler air and the breeze. I opened windows in the sunroom and front room to allow the breeze to flow through the house. It's now after 11 a.m. and my a/c has yet to kick in, though I don't expect it will be much longer. We had a recent announcement that the power company is seeking a 17% increase in rates effective August 1. I don't think they'll have the approval quite that quickly but it's worrisome to think costs are going to increase that much. I'll likely have to rethink my usage and find ways to economize. Our energy costs are also increasing but by a much small percentage. 

The football starts shortly, so I'll be picking up my knitting, to watch our Riders play the Toronto Argonauts. It's an away game for both teams as the game is being played in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. Later the Blue Jays are at home playing the Kansas City Royals. You know my butt will be planted on the couch for much of those games. I'm making decent progress on my knitting and hope to have the front of the top complete today.

Have a great week ahead everyone. Stay cool. 

Dealing with winter, dreaming of the beach

The snow started falling on Sunday morning, and by mid-afternoon we had a fresh fall of 3 to 4 inches. I was watching football when I noticed it had stopped, so headed out at half time to clear the driveway. I wanted to get it done because the forecast was for clear and cold weather on Monday. AND that's what we got. -26C/-15F when I woke up that morning. Thankfully the forecast was for temperatures closer to freezing by Wednesday.

With the cold weather I wished I were anywhere but here. A friend just returned from a trip to Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic last week and I kept thinking of the sand and the ocean she experienced there. I headed into my photo files and spent some time looking at memories from past visits to my favorite beach; Reduit beach on St. Lucia.

Isn't the beach and scenery beautiful? This photo is at the end of beach, beyond the more touristy area. The locals come to swim here, along with some tourists like myself. I've had the privilege of visiting this area three times, and I'd gladly visit again.

Monday was a day to catch up on housework that didn't get done while I was away last week.  Where, oh where, is the house fairy when I need it? Oh well, since it was cold outside it was a good day to stay indoors anyway. I even did a little baking. One of my daughter's favorites are mini cheesecakes. Since she likes them plain, I tuck them away and only add topping to a few of them when I put them out on the plate. I've been cutting my batches in half because we don't eat much and I no longer take a platter of goodies to the office. 

I got a call from Home Depot that my stove was in and delivery was arranged for Tuesday between 8:30 and 12:30. Hoping for it to be early in the day, but expecting it would be later, I wasn't surprised that the truck did not show up until 12:15. The guys brought it in and hauled out the old one. The older of the two looked at my old stove and said, that's a 17 year old there. He was probably pretty close. I was advised not to plug it in until the stove reached room temperature since all new appliances have computer chips in them. So off I went to do some grocery shopping. 

Oh my, were the stores busy! It was senior's day at Safeway...the place was swarming with us over 60's. Some moving slower than others. They were out of ground beef so I stopped at Co-op on my way home as they had it on sale there as well. Same mob scene there too. While I prefer to do my shopping when the stores are less busy, I did get 10% off the cost of groceries at both stores. I'll take it.

More snow arrived on Wednesday, with warmer temperatures. I spent the morning playing with my new stove. I baked a small batch of chocolate-chocolate chip cookies after pre-heating the oven, allowing it to cool, then pre-heating again. I was warned that there might be a bit of smoke or plastic smell and there was on the first pre-heat, but it was gone and the smell of chocolate soon filled the air. I prepped our evening meal as well, cooking up some macaroni pasta for mac & cheese, and boiled some eggs for egg salad sandwiches for lunch meals. I repackaged the ground beef I'd purchased the day before and made up a meat loaf to put in the oven for dinner. 

After lunch the snow had stopped so I headed out to do more shovelling. I don't think we had more than an inch so it didn't take long. The temperature was a more temperate -9C (16F), and it felt good to be out in the fresh air.

Thursday, I had a couple of items to drop off for Santa's Anonymous at Walmart, and I picked up some candy canes for baking/candy making or simply to gather dust in my cupboard until next Christmas. Since I was out I made a quick run to the Salvation Army thrift store and Value Village. I found a couple of t-shirts for myself at the first store, and a soap dish, some large bows to hang on the front of the house, and a bag containing a wooden Christmas tree, a framed handcrafted item, and a wooden plaque. The framed item was tucked between the tree and the plaque and was a lovely surprise when I opened the bag. I plan to display it after the Christmas decorations are put away.

My daughter needed me to run an errand for her, but I'd forgotten on Thursday (and she hadn't reminded me) so I had to head out again on Friday morning. Since I was out I took the baking for my friends and dropped it off at their doorstep. I made a stop at Bulk Barn too, to pick up caraway seeds for some Irish soda bread. That could have waited until next week but since I was out it made sense to make a stop. That's enough running around for me this week. I'm happy to stay home for the weekend.

Did I mention there is more curling? Yep, this week the senior men and women's provincial teams are battling it out for the Canadian title. There has been some very good curling, proving that curling is a game for all ages. Our Saskatchewan men lost their game this morning, while the women appear to in control of their game. The men's game was streamed, but not the women's. On the football side of things, our Saskatchewan team lost in Sunday's western final. I wasn't surprised at the loss but the game was actually very close and came down to the final play. This weekend will be the Grey Cup (the Canadian championship). 

It's been a very good week here. I'd prefer to have warmer weather but one of the perks of full retirement is the ability to choose when I leave the house, and another is doing as little or as much as I like during the day. My son has made forward progress in dealing what was troubling him - the situation isn't over yet but this momma is proud of him. 

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

Farewell to 2019

The remnants of Christmas are disappearing, though there always seems to be that one ornament that hangs around unseen until spring...I haven't found it yet.  Most of the clean-up is normal housekeeping with a few surprises.  I've washed all the floors on the main level of the house, and as I've swept/vacuumed before mopping I've found a few toys, a pair of little boy's underwear, and various crushed cookies and a candy cane.  Then there are those spills that seem to appear out of nowhere.  I can't blame them all on the young one as I know he doesn't drink coffee or diet Coke.  

I spent a good part of one day this week organizing my new laptop.  By setting up the two laptops on the table side by side, I was able to replicate the same folders and ensure I had the links I wanted.  I'm still getting accustomed to it, the keyboard has a calculator keypad on the right, so I tend to position my fingers in the wrong spot and end up with stuff I didn't mean to have happen.  But it's getting easier everyday.  It's basically just a newer model of what I had.  Best of all it has a larger screen making it easier to see my mistakes. :p

On Saturday I spent much of the day in the kitchen.  Another batch of buns was made, with half put in the freezer for later.  I started a jigsaw puzzle that I bought last summer - it has rows of various fabrics with sewing notions scattered about.  By Sunday I realized the puzzle is far too big for my small table!  I can't do it on the floor so all my work was tucked back in the box and I'll hold off until I have room for it.  A bit disappointing, as I was hoping to finish and frame it to hang in my craft room.  

I also played with the Instant pot.  Please bear with me as I've never owned a pressure cooker and this is rather interesting to me.  After reading the manual, I cleaned the various part and ran the first test, a water test.  I'd read a hack the night before that suggesting putting a few eggs in while doing the test.  The author said one might as well get something out of it.  In went four eggs and with a three minute cook and a natural release I had perfectly hard boiled eggs.  I had one for my breakfast and the other three were made up into egg salad for sandwiches.  Definitely no faster than on the stove but a good use of the test.

Later I pulled some chicken breasts from the freezer and partially defrosted them.  I cut the meat into smaller cubes, sauteed the meat for about 5 minutes (in the Instant pot), then added a bit of water and some BBQ sauce.  (Next time I'd reduce the water and make my own sauce but I wanted a simple recipe for my first attempt).  It took about 6 minutes on the pressure cook setting to finish.  Meanwhile I made Minute rice on the stove, and heated up some mixed veg.  In total it took 20 minutes from when I started the prep to when we were sitting down to eat.  Could I have done this on the stove in a similar amount of time?  Probably since I had cut up the meat and it was already partially defrosted  I suspect it's first real test will come when I forget to take something out for supper and need to get it cooked in a hurry.  The Instant pot also works as a slow cooker so I'll give that a try next as that is one appliance I use frequently.  If the Instant pot works well I'll give my slow cooker to D.  


Sunday I continued my housecleaning, then worked on the baby blanket and watched the international junior hockey.  Our Canadian team had a horrid loss to the Russians the other day, 6 to 0, as well as losing one of their top players to injury. In their game against the USA, Canada was down 5-1 at one point and came and won the game.  So I watched the Russia - USA game with interest.  I figured it would be a close game and it was, with USA coming out on top 3-1.  Canada played Germany this morning and came out on the winning side with a 3-1 score. 

 I managed to finish the baby blanket while I watched Sunday night football.  While I prefer our Canadian football (not soccer), at this time of the year I do pay some attention to the NFL.  A few years ago I was on a cruise ship in the Caribbean a week prior to the Super Bowl.  I recall laying out on the upper deck watching the playoffs on the big screen under the night sky.  That sure won't be happening in 2020.

The blanket turned out nicely though it sure didn't start that way!  This is a tiny piece of the yarn that it was knit with - each stitch is knit in between the little puffs of yarn.  Casting on wasn't too difficult but the first few rows were a bit of a nightmare.  I frogged it at least twice before I was satisfied with how it looked.  There were still bits of, what I'm calling, string on the edges so I crocheted a border using a similar yarn but without the strings.  Much easier!

My next project will be on the needles later today.  I'm planning on knitting a sweater for Eli for the spring.  While I'm working on that, the Instant pot is working on chili on the slow cooker mode.  Only time will tell how that works out.

I won't be going out this New Year's Eve. In the past Ial would have been at C & N's, but as they separated there will be no celebration this year.  Even if they were, I suspect it would have been suspended, as N's mom passed away this weekend.  It was a bit unexpected though she's been in and out of the hospital for nearly 6 weeks.  Thankfully, N was able to spend some time with his mom before Christmas.

I'll be back in 2020!  Have a great week everyone.