Weekend Wrap-up

It's been a busy weekend, with lots of fun with friends and family (Eli) and productive as well.

Friday, after I dropped Sheldon off at the vet's office, I came back home to do some housework and make some phone calls.  I've booked my tire change-over for next Friday, a dental appointment (yuck) for later in November, and followed-up with AirMiles.  If you recall, I had to pay for my hotel room in New York as they could find no reservation.  I had called a couple of weeks ago and was assured the hotel would reverse the charge but it hadn't happened yet.  I spent about 35 minutes on hold, during which time I cleaned both bathrooms, did the breakfast dishes, took out the garbage and started a load of laundry.  

When the service agent got back on the line, she advised that the third party booking agent they use had made a reservation for me....for February 16, not September 16.  As a result, the hotel wouldn't reverse the charge but the third party had now agreed to reimburse the hotel....I should think so!  I have to wait another 7-10 business days but I've been assured I will get reimbursed for the costs.  And if it hasn't been reversed, you bet I'll be calling again.

After a few more household chores, I headed out to do a few errands before I picked up my friend K for lunch.  It is her birthday in a few days, so lunch was my treat.  We went to a local Boston Pizza and I was impressed with our young waiter.  I told we hadn't seen each other for several weeks so we'd likely be some time talking and we definitely did.  He kept our water glasses full and only brought the bill when I asked for it.

She and her partner J were just back from several weeks of a road trip to the States.  They visited a number of states and met some friends in Washington, D.C for a few days.  They managed to get in lots of golfing too which they both enjoy.  She was interested in my cruise as well, as they haven't done a Canada/New England.  I brought my photos but we talked so much, she didn't actually look at them until we were in the car on the way to her house.

On the way there, we stopped at the Casino to pick up tickets for a Corb Lund show in November. We've made tentative plans to meet for dinner that evening before the show but I expect we'll get in another visit before then.  We never run out of things to talk about.

I joined my regular Friday night crew for dinner that evening.  Lots of laughs that evening and then it was home to watch the Riders snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.  :(

Saturday, I had Eli from about 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. while his mom was working her part-time job.  He is such a character, so happy and content.  

He and I shared a breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast..that is, until he dropped his bit of toast and Sheldon decided he wanted it.



Despite having no teeth yet, this child is quite capable of gumming pretty much anything.  He definitely likes his food.  He went down for a nap about 11:30 and slept until 2 p.m.  I fed him again, about a half jar of sweet potatoes and he finished his lunch with an Arrowroot cookie.  (There wasn't any sharing with Sheldon...he loves his cookies).

While Eli napped, I decided to start knitting a pair of mittens.  I finished one before he woke up, and discovered this little guy isn't so little anymore.

I've since knit another larger mitten and will finish the second today.  We're definitely getting colder weather so he needs these....and sooner rather than later.  

Eli spent the rest of the afternoon playing on the floor. Most of the time I sat with him, though managed to get supper in the crock pot while he amused himself.  His mom showed up about 4:30 to pick him up.  He was so excited to see her.  She's working again on Monday evening and his useless twit of a father has balked at caring for him has asked me to care for him again.  I enjoy our time together, though it will mean I'm up later than normal as her shift doesn't end until 10 p.m.  For Eli, I'll give up some sleep.

Today, I've been taking it easy with one or another of the cats settled on my lap.  At the moment, it's Saku.  I did get a pot of soup made with the leftover turkey from last weekend.  Very simple recipe - saute onion and garlic and chopped up turkey in olive oil.  Add a container of chicken stock, and chopped potatoes and carrots and spices.  The original recipe called for tarragon which I didn't have so I added an Italian blend and some salt and pepper.  About 20 minutes on medium heat and it smelled and tasted great.  It will make my work lunches easy.

I do need to do a bit of grocery shopping as we're out of staples. I plan on using the leftover cranberry sauce and some blueberries I had frozen to make muffins this afternoon.  I brought out some hamburger patties from the freezer I'd made earlier this summer - we'll have those bbq'd with baked potatoes and corn on the cob for supper.

On that note, my coffee is finished and its time to go do my shopping.  Have a wonderful week everyone!  Hope you all had a great weekend too.

Weekend Wrap-up

It's been a busy weekend, such that I feel as if a couple more days off would be more than appreciated.  But alas, that is not to be, as I'll be back at work tomorrow morning at 7 a.m.

Friday, I had the duct cleaning company to the house at 8 a.m. only to learn that there was no easy access to the duct work.  I was told to have an access cut into the drywall just outside the furnace room and call them back at a later date.  Luckily there was no charge for the call-out.

I had arranged to meet my daughter after the duct cleaning but it was far too early.  So I read the news, had a couple of cups of coffee, and relaxed before heading out.  I got new glasses a couple of weeks ago and one of the nose pads had been irritating my nose; on my way I dropped by the optician's office to have them adjusted.

My daughter's boyfriend's mother (that's a mouthful) had arrived Thursday evening for a brief visit and is staying with them.  She was at the house with Eli when I got there, D and J were off at Lowe's buying garden supplies.  J was a little disappointed when I told him it's a little too early to garden here in Saskatchewan.  We generally have to wait until the long May weekend to ensure there is no killing frost.  Thankfully, they bought seeds not plants so he can prepare the garden plot in the meantime.

We left Eli with his Grandma D and his dad and went shopping.  My daughter had received a gift card from my brother and his family for Christmas.  We hit Ricki's and she spent her money.  Later we went to lunch, to my house to pick up a few items, and then onto a couple of other stores, before heading back to J's house.

I left and headed downtown to pick up my son from work, home to feed the cats, and then off to dinner with friends.  By 8:30 I was tucked up in bed...it was tiring day and I knew Saturday would be busy.

Saturday morning, I was up early doing some housework, before dressing for church.  

Eli was baptized on Saturday morning at the Holy Rosary Cathedral.  He was an absolute doll, not fussing at all, though D did say she "practiced" with him in the bath at home.

J and his family were raised Catholic, so having Eli baptized in the Catholic church was very important to Grandma D.  She provided the christening gown (which was made from her wedding dress) that her youngest children, including J had worn at his baptism.  She also had a bib made for him to keep.  The gown will be used again, as her daughter is having her youngest daughter baptized in the next few months, and another son and his girlfriend are expecting a baby in November.

Grandma D stood in for Eli's godfather (one of J's brothers).  His godmother M is a co-worker of D's.  She is so good with Eli.  She kept him calm, even though the water was much colder than expected.

There were two other little boys baptized yesterday morning.  Both were older than Eli, but he looked as big as one of them, and only a little smaller than the other.  What struck me was the multicultural aspect.  One of the families spoke Spanish, the second was from the Philippines, while D and J are several generations Canadian.  

After the service, I took everyone out for lunch to Ricky's.  It serves all day breakfast as well as a regular menu and I thought we'd be there by 10:30 or 11.  However the baptism service went long and by the time we arrived at the restaurant it was almost noon!  No matter, as we had a great lunch and good conversation. 

I took Grandma D, D and Eli to do a little shopping before dropping them back off at the car.  Off to home to change and then back out again to the grocery store.  By the time I arrived home around 3:30 I was ready to sit down. But first the groceries had to be put away.  I stumbled as I was coming into the house and tripped on the stair...I have a lovely bruise on the my thigh as a result.  

The rest of the evening was spent watching hockey before I went to bed at 9 p.m. to read.

Today, I was half-expecting D to come by but she didn't.  I did finally finish crocheting the beanie that goes with the mini turtle blanket.  Since I didn't have Eli to model it....I tried it on Saku instead. 

I think I woke him from a nap because he didn't get irritated with me until I'd taken the photo.  He doesn't look very impressed, and when I went to remove the beanie and the blanket he bit my hand (not breaking the skin).  I guess he let me know how he really felt!  

I took it easy for most of the day, doing a little housework (as little as I could get away with), some laundry, and a bit of reading while watching the hockey playoffs.  There is no curling so I have to watch something on ice.... :)  

It will be another early evening, as morning will come early...Saku or no Saku.

That pretty much wraps up the weekend.  This upcoming week will be busy as we have two days of meetings planned that will take me away from my desk.  

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Weekend Wrap-up

First off, still no grandchild.  When I talked to D earlier today, she mentioned she cleaned the b/f's house today.  Perhaps she is finally nesting.  It would be nice if she'd show up here and clean up her room.  (Sheesh, she's 35 years old and I'm still nagging her to clean her room).

She wasn't the only one who was bit by the cleaning bug.  I got some of my housework done on Friday, but Saturday was a write-off.  I lazed around, reading, playing on the computer, and watching television for most of the day.  This morning, though I woke up after a great night's sleep, and got busy.

By lunchtime, I had washed the kitchen, front foyer, and bathroom floors, vacuumed the living room and hallway, scrubbed down the bathroom fixtures, wiped down the kitchen cabinet doors, folded the laundry, dusted, gathered up the garbage and took it out to the bin, and cleared out the television cabinet.  Phew...it makes me tired just to list it all.  

I even ventured into the baby's room and did a quick tidy in there.  I organized the closet, put away boxes of diapers, picked up some paper and bags from the shower, and got the bassinet set up.  D is planning to have the baby sleep in her room for the first while so had picked up a second-hand bassinet.  I'm not sure where she plans to have him sleep as her room is a disaster and I'll be damned if I'm going to clean it up for her.

Okay, enough crankiness.

No photos but we seem to have a cat living in our backyard.  We're not sure if he lives nearby and just visits, or if he's living under the deck.  My son spotted him a day or so ago and pointed him out to me today.  He/she (since we haven't gotten that close) is a long haired gray and white cat, very skittish, and quite large...but that might be the fur.  We put out some dry food for him just in case.  I called the Humane Society to see if they would trap him.  They won't, as they don't deal with cats "running at large".  They told me if we can trap him in a shed or the garage they will come pick him/her up.  We'll keep an eye out and move the food closer to one of the sheds.  Hopefully he's just visiting and has a home to go to, but based on what we've seen I doubt it.

I had wondered that I haven't seen any bunnies in the yard for awhile.  It makes me wonder how long the cat has been around.  Or maybe they've found somewhere else to hang out.

Thankfully it hasn't been very cold, though was cooler today than it has been for awhile.  We got a skiff of snow, just enough to cover the driveway.  With the sunshine it is pretty much gone again.

I've been watching the Scotties Tournament of Hearts Canadian Women's curling most of the weekend.  Tonight is the final; the skip of the Manitoba team is from Saskatchewan so, of course, I'm rooting for them.  My brother called, he and his children are cheering for Ontario because they have Deadpool on their sweaters.  I had to ask what that was....  

Just as well I'm watching curling and not the Oscars.  I wouldn't have a clue what was going on. 

Have a great week everyone!  

Weekend wrap-up

We're having a sunny day here in Southern Saskatchewan, but with frigid temperatures.  This morning, I woke to -23C (-9F) with windchills making it feel at least 5 degrees colder.  Brrr!  I know it's January, I know this is normal weather for at least a few weeks every winter, and I know I complain about it every year.  There is a little cartoon that asks, "why do I live where the air hurts my face?"  The only answer I can come up with, is I blame my grandparents for settling where summer is a weekend in July, and the only good thing about the cold is no mosquitos.

However, it does make for a good day to relax and watch the curling on television.  The event is taking place in North Battleford, a city some 3 1/2 hours north of me.  It's just as cold there; my cousin who is attending the event has posted on FB that the arena is cold as well.  While I think it would be great fun to be there I'm grateful I'm watching it from the comfort of my couch.

I'm writing this post between ends, and sewing the loose ends into my almost completed afghan as I keep an eye on the television.  I'm about half done the sewing and the game is half-over so that part of the finishing should be complete.  The women's final is later today so I plan to complete the edging while that game airs.

On Friday I took a day of vacation as I'd booked appointments, thinking it was an earned day off.  Good thing, as it turned out to be a very busy day!  I dropped my son off at work, went home and did some chores before heading out to get some groceries.  I put those away and then was off to the salon to have my nails done.  From there I met my friend K for lunch where we spent nearly two hours catching up.  I dropped her off at home and headed for the drop-in oil change store where they complete the oil change and replaced a burnt out headlight in less than 20 minutes.  Then it was off to the Fabricland store nearby.  It will be closed on January 21st so pretty much everything is discounted.  (Not the yarn for some reason).  I picked up three more patterns, some buttons and material.  The one piece of material is perfect for t-shirts, the second I plan to make into bibs for the little one.  

So it is becoming apparent that sewing will be a priority in 2017.  At the moment my sewing machine and table are in the baby's room.  That's the next project for today.  I need to move my armoire in my bedroom to make room for the sewing table and chair.  I'd prefer not to have it in my bedroom but there is simply no other space for it in the house.  When we moved in here in 2010 I never thought I'd say that.  But having my daughter return with her furniture and household stuff (most of which was in a storage unit in 2010), and adding a baby to the mix is a bit of a challenge.  OMG, I had forgotten how much stuff a baby needs!

My daughter and I made a trip to Michaels on Saturday where she was able to get a scrapbook for the baby at half-price.  From there we went to ToysRUs where we found a baby bathtub, some toys, and diaper wipes at 20-30% off at their Babyfest event.  I couldn't resist this little octopus (Sock-to-pus) with the added bonus of 4 pairs of little socks.  He/she fits in with the fish/sea world theme, is practical, and is too cute!


Later on, in the afternoon, my son and I headed over to the mall where we did some errands before heading to Mark's Workwearhouse.  He used his Christmas gift cards (from me and my brother's family) to purchase two new pair of jeans and a new hoodie jacket.  He refuses to wear winter jackets...I have no idea what his aversion to these are....so this is a heavy knitted jacket with a fleece lining.  With a t-shirt and long sleeved shirt underneath it is warm enough for most days.  He also purchased a new pair of steel-toed shoes, the cost of which, will be reimbursed by the workplace as these are required.

Today, the cats let me sleep until nearly 8 a.m.  That's nearly a record around here.  I've got some housework to get done (between curling games) including vacuuming my bedroom and scrubbing the kitchen floor.  Dinner is in the fridge - I put together a beef noodle casserole with cheese that I'll throw into the oven mid-curling game this afternoon.  It's pretty ho-hum, just some leftovers I'm using up to clean up the fridge.

That pretty much sums up the entire weekend. Lots of activity, but nothing too exciting. 

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  I know it's been cold or snowy or both across much of North America; stay warm and safe!