Friday, October 31, 2014

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!! The night of ghosts and goblins.

We don't get many trick or treaters anymore, it seems as if most people take their children to the fancier, newer part of town. We have only had three so far and it is almost 7 pm. Hoping for a few more.

This is the extent of my decorating for today.

A plug in jack o lantern and a plaster skull that Kurt made years ago. I stick those battery run candles in the skull just to light it up a little bit.  Got two more visitors as I was typing this. So a total of five up to now.

Supper was wonderful. In keeping with one of my goals to make new and different meals, tonight I made Maple Salmon.

This is what it looked like before it went in the oven. I didn't get a picture of the finished product as we gobbled it up almost within minutes it was so good.

The recipe is on All recipes. Google Maple Salmon and it will show up immediately.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.



Thursday, October 30, 2014

Thursday Tid Bits

Something is wrong with me, I still have not regained my get up and go. I had to force myself to do anything at all today. Sure the weather is dreary. Cloudy and cold, but I have never had this feeling of lassitude before. Perhaps I am just getting tired.

I did spend a bit of time working in my sewing room. Slowly but surely things are getting back to normal (or as close to normal as possible with my wicker rocker residing in the room). A few years ago when I started to organize the room I bought these baskets as storage for my patterns.

My patterns no longer reside in these baskets and they were sitting on the floor empty. I just couldn't bring myself to give them away and so spent some time today thinking about what I should do with them.

Then it hit me (almost like a ton of bricks, I now understand that saying) when I opened my cupboard in the bath. I took one look at all the soaps, sample sized lotions, shampoos and conditioners that I had sort of put away in there and decided these baskets were just perfect.

All those soaps that were part of gift sets or that we brought home from our travels went into one basket.

Masques, bath gel samples, and foot creams went in this basket.

Sample shampoos, sample conditioners, and those shampoos and conditioners from our various trips were put in this basket.

Sample, gift and those lotions from trips went in this basket.

This sure cleaned out the overflowing cupboard and made things easier to find and use up before buying even more.

Shopping at home, what a wonderful way to save money and use items that might otherwise have been given away. I feel very frugal. I must remember to do this more often!!!

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.



Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Wednesday Update

We only had 9 meals to deliver today which cut our away time down, but still I did not really do much today. My get up and do seems to have got up and gone. In fact I fell asleep in the recliner this afternoon instead of baking or working on my cross stitch! I am going to blame the new mattress we got. That is my story and I am sticking to it.

I did manage to work up the energy to finish with the scrap material in the sewing/craft room and to put a few more items in their proper places. Still can use a bit more cleaning and I will continue with that.

I also sewed more cord onto the rug project and since it has been awhile since I updated everyone on it's progress I thought I would share a photo with all of you.

As you can see it is growing. I have about 1/3 of the ball left of the variegated yarn and I managed to do another batch of cord making after the sewing. Here is hoping I get this ball finished off quickly so I can start on the last colour.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Tuesday Tid Bits

This is the week that Harvey and I are delivering Meals on Wheels. It kind of divides up the day and I don't seem to get as much done, but it is one volunteer activity that we can do together.

So other then that what did I do today?

Well I have started tidying my sewing/craft room yet again after Harvey put the rocker in there room is at a premium.

I decided that the first thing I should do is start to work on the scrap material that has been piling up just waiting to be turned into something useful.

I thought I would start with the denim that I scrounged from old jeans and the scraps that were left from the pair of denim shorts I made this summer. All is now nicely cut into usable quilting squares.

I worked on my cross stitch but had to stop as the light was not good enough for all the half stitches in the dove I am working on right now. Hopefully tomorrow I will finish it and move on to another section.

I sewed some cord onto the rug and in a little while I will start to make more of the cord. I would really like to get this rug finished early.

Next I made some cupcakes.

Here they are just out of the oven. They are now iced and ready to be put away before I head to bed and before Shania decides to help herself to a treat.

So as you can all see a fairly laid back Tuesday on the old homestead.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.


Monday, October 27, 2014

Menu Monday

The last week in October, and things are rapidly cooling off here at the old Homestead. In fact the forecast for today is rain, turning to wet snow in the afternoon. Sure hope we don't get lots of snow as I really would like the children to have a decent Halloween.

Here are my supper menus for the upcoming week.

Monday
Chili and toast.

Tuesday
Leftover pork made into a casserole

Wednesday
Leftover Chili served on pasta or rice.

Thursday
Clean out the fridge.

Friday
Baked Salmon, mashed potatoes, and peas

Saturday
I plan on cooking down some poultry bones today so supper tonight will be soup and some kind of sandwich.

Sunday
Roast beef, mashed potatoes, green beans and gravy.

Lunches will be leftovers or a sandwich.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Sunday Happenings

Well today is almost over and I am so thankful that it is.

I did not get to do anything I really enjoy (other then attend Mass), but I am sure I will set aside some time to do things that make me happy tomorrow or I will be one grouchy person by the end of the day.

The day started off wonderfully. Mass was well attended, and I sang my heart out (it is the only place I am allowed to sing, Harvey doesn't like me singing in the car if he is with me). Such an uplifting homily by Father Brian. He spoke about what love looks like and it really made me think. I hope that I show love each and everyday to everyone I meet.

Then it was home where Harvey made us a great brunch of bacon, toast and eggs. Yummy. Even though I did have to do the dishes at least I did not have to cook.

Then came the less lovely things. I had to attend a meeting about 30 miles away. Said meeting started at 2:30 and I was hoping to be home by 4. Needless to say I was not home until almost 5:30 and had to phone Harv to put on the potatoes and carrots as well. Supper was rushed, I had to return phone calls that came in while I was gone, and do the supper clean up.

I also got another job for myself at the meeting (actually two jobs). One when we were talking about Prayer Vigils (these are done the night before a funeral, some know them better as Prayer Services) I mistakenly mentioned that I had been trained by the gentleman who does most of these a few years back.... Guess who will now be doing some of these. Yep me. How do you say no to your pastor when he asks if he can add you to the list. The second job I picked up is writing something for our bulletin in regards to a workshop for this and Sunday Liturgy of the Word trainings. Oops forgot I actually have a third job and that is to get a hold of our Diocesan Social Justice person and give him some information on the Sisters of Life based out of New York.

Hmmm, am I feeling the love from my fellow council members as of yet. More to the point, perhaps I should learn to keep my head down.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Saturday, October 25, 2014

Why?

The last few days I have really felt like doing very little at all. Seems as if with the change in the number of daylight hours we are receiving, my productivity has gone down in proportion. I am hoping that part of the reason is because I did not do up a to do list, thereby making it seem as if I have nothing at all to do.

I did go for a walk this morning and once home admired our new backyard gate.

Harvey made it to more or less match the one he made on the side of the house earlier this summer. I feel a bit more closed in once again and this does make the yard seem a bit more private.

As I turned, the cherry trees caught my eyes. They have finally turned colour and it is such a pretty colour. I just had to snap a photo.

A beautiful orange yellow, with a bit of gold added in.

In order for me to feel like I accomplished something today, I worked on my cross stitch. Here is an update.

Slowly but surely I am seeing big changes. Mind you right now I am working on the flower bands which mean changing my threads way more than usual. I have also noticed that these take much longer to get done with a greater chance of making an error. Don't think I will be finished this at the end of this month.

I also picked out three of the five dress patterns to sew once some of my other projects are done. I even found fabric in my stash that should work with each.

I plan on making the long sleeved version of this one out of this blue flowered challis.

The long sleeved version of this pattern will be made in this medium weight cotton blend.

The knee length version will be made out of this printed cord fabric. I would love to make the longer version, but just do not have enough fabric in my stash to make it..... Perhaps when I buy the fusible interfacing I will check and see if there is anything suitable on sale at Fabricland.

I am trying to update my wardrobe without spending much at all and using up some of my fabric stash before Harvey decides I really am a hoarder.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.


Friday, October 24, 2014

Quite A Surprise

Actually I had two surprises today.

The first surprise was a Thank you card from Harvey's sister Sylvia, really very thoughtful of her. We were thanked for traveling all the way to Banff for her birthday. She is still amazed that we all managed to pull it off.

The second surprise was when I moved my spring/summer wardrobe out of my closet and drawers. Not quite as happy as the first, as I discovered something very strange.

Seems while my spring/summer wardrobe has an abundance of dresses to wear for all occasions, my fall/winter wardrobe is suffering from a dearth of this item. I do have lots of jumpers and skirts.... But as far as dresses go I own one that is suitable to be worn during the coldest months.

Since I do like to dress for Mass I decided that I needed to look in my stash of patterns for some suitable to our weather.

This is what I found.

Five whole patterns that have dresses with sleeves!! I think I have a dearth of patterns for these seasons as well.

In keeping with my no spending unless absolutely necessary I will be searching through my fabric stash looking for something suitable to use to make a couple of these over the next few months.

Guess when I make my next order with McCalls or Vogue I will be concentrating on a few more dress patterns....with sleeves of course.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Mid Month Goal Update (Better Late Then Never)

Here is an update on how I am doing with my goals for this month (like I said better late then never).


1.     Sew the coat I have now cut out. Decided that since I only have sew in interfacing I would leave this until I had the iron in interfacing. I want to follow the directions exactly.

2.    Organize another binder or two of recipes. I finished one binder of recipes and am almost done the second.

3.    Continue the projects I have started. I figure another couple of weeks on the cross stitch (or by the end of the month) and finish at least 2 skeins of yarn on the rug project. I have been working on the cross stitch project and slowly but surely getting it done. I have also added the second ball of yarn to my rug project. Don't know if I will finish the second ball, but I am going to give it a good try.

4.    Choose fabric for two sewing projects and get the projects cut out (must finish or be close to finishing my coat). Not done yet.

5.    Have at least 18 no spend days this month (this is an ongoing challenge on a forum I belong to). Even with our holiday I will be very close to reaching this goal this month.... I figure I should be at 19 no spend days.

6.    Wrap the birthday gifts that will be given out this month. This goal is totally completed.

So overall I am not doing too badly, but I think I want to get more of my unfinished projects done before I start anything new next month..... We shall see how things go.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless. 

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Rest In Peace Cpl Nathan Cirillo

This picture is taken from the CBC news site.

Today will go down as a day where all of Canada mourns the loss of a second soldier due to terrorist attacks.

I spent most of today glued to the television watching the news, much like the rest of my country. We have been so insulated, never thinking for a moment that these attacks would happen on our soil. After all we are one of the most peaceful, law abiding countries in the world. We accept all with open arms (after learning by our treatment of the Chinese earlier in the 1900's) and welcome them to our country. Things like this just do not happen here!

Well, we were wrong! Hatred has reached our shores and we are forever changed. Not changed for the worst I hope, but changed in a way that will make us stronger.

The two soldiers who lost their lives over the past few days should not have lost their lives in vain. As Canadians we need to stand tall and let those that want to take us down realize that it will not be an easy task. We will not panic and run with our tails between our legs, we will not hide, we will not forget, and we will be vigilant.

God bless Canada.

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Feeling Much Better

After a good nights sleep and some house cleaning I am feeling so much better. My sinus' seem to be clearing up and the headache has all but disappeared!!! Pretty sure once the stuffy nose symptoms go away so will the rest of my headache.

Continuing with the trip we just came back from here are some more pictures.

Sylvia (in the light blue coat) surprised by us at the bottom of the falls. She could not believe we were there.


The other two birthday girls in the long list of October birthdays. We celebrated their birthday when we arrived in Banff with a supper out. These two (Kathy and Janice) share the same birthday as our oldest son, Kurt.
 

Janice and her new fiance Gordon.


Kathy and her husband David.

Sylvia's daughter Laura and her husband James.


Sylvia's husband Frank.

Mark, Sylvia and Franks son is seated at the table wearing the hat.


The birthday girl enjoying her cake.

I made the scarf that Sylvia is wearing and she did not take it off from the moment she got it. Guess she likes it.

Now just one more picture of the only wildlife we saw, along with how we got to see them.

Following the directions given to us by the voice on our GPS we took the wrong turn and got to see this while in the park.
A herd of elk. The only thing was these were all females.....not sure where the male of the harem was.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.




Monday, October 20, 2014

After The Trip

Ahhh, Home Sweet Home......

We are back and I am all unpacked (Harvey isn't, he is napping). I have picked up the key from my friend who was looking after Shania, downloaded the pictures from our trip, and even made a folder for them. Things are looking good!!!!

Thought I would share a few with you tonight and then some more tomorrow.

First some scenery shots.

The view from the balcony off of the living room in the condo we rented.



The view from the loft bedroom balcony.

Bow Falls, where we surprised Harvey's sister on her birthday.

You can barely make out the Banff Springs Hotel in this picture. This is a very old hotel here in Banff and it is just huge.

The Three Sisters. These are just outside the city of Canmore. Which is just outside the park entrance.

I will share more tomorrow, promise.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.




Sunday, October 19, 2014

Making Our Way Home

We left Banff early this morning, and now we are at Kurt's house once again.

I figure the reason that we are hear and not just about pulling in our driveway is because the Rough riders are playing........ Not that they are winning, but well, it is the Riders Saskatchewan's team.

Me, well, let's just say I can hardly wait to be home. I am tired, a bit grouchy, and today..... Well feeling hot one minute and cold the next. I think I need a good sleep.

Everyone have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Saturday, October 18, 2014

At Last

Well we made it!

Harvey and I can not say enough about how wonderful Fountain Tire in Drumheller is. They were so busy and yet the ladies and gentlemen squeezed us in. They could not fix the tire and had not a new one for us to buy.... What to do! They searched their old used stock and found one in good shape and that is what we are driving on now. Truth be told it looks to be in as good of shape as the one we lost (if not better).

So we were on the road before lunch.

Now you would think as old as we are we would know that road signs often do not give the whole story and would have turned on our GPS before we reached Calgary, but no relying on sight alone we managed to miss our turn off and become embroiled in the downtown traffic. Once we finally got the GPS out and going we made our way out of the city and enjoyed the countryside once again.

However that was not the end of our adventure as GPS directions are not always correct either. Following the directions given we ended up taking the back way to the lodge. Quite okay as we had lots of beautiful scenery. Not okay as the road is supposedly closed at the end of summer...... I can see why as it could be very dangerous in the winter.

Lots of photos to share with all of you when we get back including some wildlife.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Friday, October 17, 2014

Not On The Road Long......

This should be interesting as for a few minutes I was typing this blind. I couldn't see a thing. Finally figured out what I was doing wrong though and now things are perfect.

Not so perfect with the car though. On the way to Kurt's place, just between Medicine Hat and Brooks we developed a problem. Not an insurmountable problem, but one that in all our years of travel we have not encountered.

We got a flat. Yep, just an old fashioned flat. Happened on the Trans Canada too.

We found the perfect place to pull over, but had a problem locating the jack and wrenches. Neither of us could exactly remember where they were located. My recollection a bit better than Harvey's after about 10 minutes searching all was located.

Next we lowered the spare from under the vehicle, expecting to see the full sized tire we requested, or at least asked the salesman about (he assured us that with what we were paying for said vehicle the spare was a full size).

It was the small donut that descended into our sight.

Changed the tire and carried on. Now just to find someone to fix or replace the tire and we will be able to finish our journey.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Thursday, October 16, 2014

And They're Off

Just a quick non picture post (which might be how the next few days go unless I can figure out how to use my tablet to take pictures and how to get them onto Blogger).

We will be leaving for our mini vacation in just about an hour, I will be waking Harvey up shortly and doing all those last minute things. Tonight we will be staying with Kurt and then getting up and doing the last 3 or so hours of travel.

Wish me luck as I am going to need it. Harvey's sisters (at least the three that will be there) don't really seem to think that I am in the least important and am a bit crazy to boot. I just may be crazy after this visit......

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Fence Building

This past weekend Harvey, Kurt and Kris spent some time building us a new fence.

Thought I would share with you the growth of a fence.

Post holes were dug first. Look at the size of that rock we had to dig out!!


Kris busy digging out one of the post holes by hand. We couldn't get the auger between the shed and the garage next door.

These posts were braced up and then cement poured in the holes. I didn't get a picture of this as the men just worked too quickly.

The next day the cross pieces were put on and the metal applied.

Here is my finished fence....without the gate. That is something Harvey will work on when we get back from our holiday in Banff.
The yard was cleaned up and today Harvey took the old wood and all the small pieces of metal to the dump. He also took my old clothesline poles as well.

After the construction of the gate....yard work will be done for the year. I am just so glad that Harvey, Kurt and Kris can do jobs like this, sure saves us cash.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.



Trying To Get Bloglovin Up and Running

Just a short post, I will do up a longer one a bit later. Trying to claim my blog.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Monday, October 13, 2014

Menu Monday



 Sneaking a bit of time here early this morning.

Monday

Sausage casserole (will contain lots of veggies).

Tuesday

Leftover Turkey made into Turkey Tetrazzini. Probably a side of corn.

Wednesday

Soup and Sandwiches, unless there are lots of leftovers in the fridge to use up.

The rest of the week we will be on the road to Alberta. Stopping at Kurt's on the way to and from Banff. We will be celebrating Harv's sister's birthday in Banff with some of the family.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Happy Thanksgiving A Day Early


I had planned a blog post last night, but I had forgotten that with Kurt and Kris home, I sometimes lose a bit of computer time. You probably won't see many posts unless I can sneak them in early which I will try to do.

Today I want to wish all my Canadian followers a Happy Thanksgiving. The holiday is really tomorrow, but if your family is anything like mine, tomorrow is the day all the company heads home. Our big celebration will take place tonight, turkey, stuffing and all the other trimmings of a wonderful meal.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Friday, October 10, 2014

End Of The Week and Getting Ready For The Holiday

It is the end of the work week, but not the end of working for me.

Kurt and Kris will be home tomorrow sometime. Kris well before Kurt (at least we hope). We had expected Kris to be here tonight but his meeting at work was running late, so he said he would be here first thing tomorrow. He plans on leaving around 8 am and so should be here by 10 or so....Providing he doesn't sleep in!!!

Harvey plans on renting the auger and so I think I will be helping make the post holes for awhile, which of course puts my work schedule back a little bit. I will set the alarm so I get up at my regular time and get some of my chores done before he gets up. Then I won't feel as rushed (I hope).

Today was spent baking. I started the day off getting a loaf of bread made and then moved on.

Pumpkin pies for our Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday, made and in the fridge.

Both Kurt and Kris celebrate their birthdays this coming week and we will celebrate with them on Saturday. What's a birthday without cake!

Chocolate layer cake with chocolate frosting. My writing and decorating skills seem to leave a bit to be desired..... Oh well it is the thought that counts.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.


Thursday, October 9, 2014

Thursday Tid Bits

Today has been spent getting my pots and baskets of flowers emptied, tomorrow will be more of the same, interspersed with baking for our sons homecoming.

This time of year while beautiful in it's own right always makes me sad. No longer when I walk out onto my deck with a cup of coffee do I see bright splashes of pink, mauve, white and red. Instead I see the browns and golds of the trees getting ready for winter. The days are shorter in keeping with the long sleep coming up. I do know once the yard is cleaned up, and everything put to bed for the winter I will be able to see the colours of fall with different eyes and enjoy the season as I ought to.

Thought I would share some more pictures of our trip last year to the United Kingdom.

The above photos are of Innverlochy Castle, or should I say what is left of it after hundreds of years. It was very interesting crawling into the towers and seeing how well built they were.

We went for a cruise on Loch Lomand and this waterfall on the far shore caught our attention. It was just beautiful. The building beside it is a hotel and the only way to get there is by boat.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.