Thursday Tid Bits

Well it is Halloween and even though the weather was just beautiful I only had 7 Trick or Treater's knock on my door. I have a bowl that is still full of candy which we don't need in this house. Oh well, I am sure it will not go to waste.

This is what the street looked like at around 8 tonight.

 Not a single, solitary person.

At least this gave me time to finish Kurt's afghan for his friend.

Here is the finished product.

Not quite the colour choices I would have made, but at least the tweedy brown had some of the darker red in it. Kind of draws the colours together.

Now it is on to the next. This time it will be an afghan for Kris for Christmas. It seems that Raymond (his rather large cat) took ownership of the last one I made for him.

Everybody have a wonderful (and scary) evening.

God bless.

Mid Way Through the Week

Harvey and I have been delivering Meals on Wheels this week. So far, in total we have delivered 62 meals. That's a lot of driving and going up and down stairs!! I have done this many times before, but it is Harvey's first time. He is not doing too badly at all and so far seems to be enjoying himself. Two days left to go and more than likely another 30 or so meals in total.

I have been working on the afghan that Kurt wants to give his friend for Christmas in my spare time. Almost done now and I will be moving on to the next one. I may just get everything done this year in time for Christmas. I will post a picture of the finished afghan tomorrow hopefully.

Time to share some more pictures of our trip.

The Mayflower Steps in Plymouth.

The Roman Baths in Bath.

Here are some of the artifacts that were found in Bath.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

Monday

Leftover Beef Stroganoff on noodles.

Tuesday

Leftover Pork Roast, mashed potatoes, beets.

Wednesday

Leftover Turkey, leftover mashed potatoes, green beans.

Thursday

Stew with Dumplings.

Friday

Fish Fillets, oven fries, carrots.

Saturday

Leftover stew.

Sunday

Roast Chicken, roast potatoes, peas (or perhaps corn).

So there are my plans for the upcoming week. Hope to stick to them a bit better this time around, since we got back from holidays cooking is the farthest thing from my mind.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

Today, once again our priests homily touched me. It was about.......

Prayer.

The homily focused on the way we pray using Christ's story of the tax collector and the Pharisee as a backdrop.

The Pharisee thanked God for not making him like the tax collector, while the tax collector asked for God's help for a sinner like him.

More and more as I grow older I see people following the Pharisee. They talk about how glad they are that they are not like "so and so". Or even praying for those things that are wants and not needs. I must say that I have been guilty of this exact same thing at various times in my life.

I am going to change my prayer life..... Perhaps sitting quietly and asking for God's help to become the best person I can be and reaching out more to others. I have so many blessings and it is only right that I share them with those who need blessings in their life.

Here are a few more photo's of our vacation.

Can you spot Nessie????

Some pictures of Glastonbury Abbey.

The supposed grave of King Arthur within the Abbey ruins.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

A Quiet Day

Today has been a very quiet one. Of course I was up much to early due to a ridiculous dream (why is it that dreams make no sense at all?) and could not fall back asleep. I did manage a bit of a nap this afternoon however so all is right with my world. To make matters even better, the sun was shining and it really was not that cold out when I took my morning walk.

I did manage to finish cleaning/decluttering the basket and bookcase in the living room so I did not totally waste the morning drinking coffee and playing on the computer.

I finished another thin band of the brown on the afghan and have started the green band. I do like how nice and soft this afghan feels in my hands.

I am going to share some more pictures of our holiday to the UK and Ireland.

This is a picture of some of the entertainment at one of our evening excursions in Scotland.

As you can see it was quite a squeeze, but very entertaining.

This is a picture of Blair Castle.

They were having a car show in front of it the day of our tour.

 This is a picture of the train station in Wales with the world's longest name.

Do not ask me how to pronounce the name. I tried to learn, but my tongue just would not listen to me.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Starting Christmas Gifts

This past week I have been busy figuring out what I am going to make for my Christmas gifts this year.

There is one which I am making for Kurt to give to a friend of his. He picked out the colours and the yarn for an afghan. Hmmm, tweedy green and a deep red. Christmas colours that do not go together very well (at least these shades). So I picked some brown and gold tweed to use between the main colours.

So far it seems to be working quite well. Big blocks of the main colour, separated by smaller bands of the brown/gold tweed.

Here is how far I have gotten.

I am hoping to be finished this one by the end of the month and then I can move on to the next one. I have two more to make after this so I will be busy.

I am going to share a picture of Hadrian's Wall with you all. Once again something made so long ago and yet part of it is still standing.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

This and That Thursday

I really have meant to post before now, but life seems to have a habit of getting in the way.

Today I have managed to finish decluttering the office area. Quite proud of myself, I actually got ruthless for a change.

I think I just may follow this rule....Declutter just one thing each day. Small bites of what could be a fairly large elephant if I allow it to grow.

I also spent time doing one of my favorite things.

Baking!!! I love to bake, except when I absolutely have to. Guess what??? I absolutely have to. I have a fairly large meeting on Sunday and need dainties and such to serve. I did ask for help at our Parish Council ..... but not one single person stepped forward with an offer to bring something. Hmmm, perhaps I should pay back in kind. I really don't think I could do that however.

So far I have made Butter Tart Bars, Peanut Butter Marshmallow Bars, Oatmeal Muffins, Bran Muffins, and Brownie Bites. Tomorrow I will make 3-Layer Squares, Banana Bread and Coffee Cake. Whew, hopefully that will keep everyone happy.

I have also spent time on line looking at real estate on the various lakes in Saskatchewan. Harvey would really like to move to some place a bit more picturesque... I am beginning to think a move would do us a world of good. Things are getting much to expensive around here, and we are not getting any younger. An area of our province closer to specialists, good shopping, and a place we can be ourselves seems to be in the picture. Lots of all season cottage/homes on various lake fronts, but we would have to do some traveling to see them in person. Could be some short weekend trips in store for us come spring.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

I am afraid that I was a bit spoiled when on vacation. This having to plan menus, and then cook them after almost three weeks of not having to is just about putting me over the edge!!!

Anyways here are this weeks menus.

Monday

Leftover Turkey Soup with egg salad sandwiches.

Tuesday

Baked spaghetti using up leftovers from the previous week. (I may switch Monday and Tuesday around). I will make cole slaw to go along with the main course.

Wednesday

Leftover turkey made into a lovely casserole or tetrazzini. Leftover slaw will be served with this.

Thursday

Leftover Beef Roast made into a stew. I will serve this with homemade biscuits or perhaps dumplings.

Friday

Salmon Loaf, mashed potatoes and green beans. There should be enough cabbage and carrots left to make another cole slaw.

Saturday

Slow cooker Italian Chicken Breasts with rice and peas.

Sunday

Pork Roast, roasted potatoes and beets.

Everyone have a lovely day.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

Today has been one full of thought and periods of silence for me. Our priest showed a DVD of our Archbishop speaking on .....

evangelization. It made me stop and rethink my attitude. It is true that we are the only body, hands and mouth that Christ has here on earth today. How we react to a subject should reflect how Christ would react to that same subject.

One thing I have noticed on many blogs lately is an over abundance of foul language. Whether this is intended to make us angry about a subject, or to draw in readership it may in fact have an opposite effect.

For years I was taught that when a person has a good command of the English language there is no need to revert to foul language or name calling. Good discussion comes from a usage of language that precludes such things. Does anything ever get solved by such drivel??

I doubt very much that Christ would use foul language, he would more than likely tell a parable to get his and the Father's thought on the subject across. Not that He would not lose his temper as there are many such stories of this happening in the Bible, but never once did he revert to using language that was in any way shape or form foul.

We are His hands, His eyes, His mouth and His body. In fact we are the only living being that can act in a Christ like manner. Perhaps the wrongs in this world need to be acted upon by the use of our hands and heart rather than our mouths. I plan on trying to show a more Christ like manner in all that I do. After all faith should shape all areas of our lives.

Our Food Bank here in the city is asking for donations. Our church is having a food drive next weekend and I plan on giving what I can. After all being frugal does not mean being parsimonious, it means using what we are given wisely. Wisely at this point in our economic struggles is giving to others who need the help. It just makes sense. There but for the Grace of God go I.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Tried Something New ..... Learned Something New

It has been a day of putzing around the old homestead. I had a few carrots left and so decided to try dehydrating them.

So out of the 8 carrots I had left, I washed, peeled and thinly sliced 4 of them. Putting the slices on the racks seemed to take the longest.

I dried them for about 7 hours and they became slightly crisp. This is what I have after drying them.

They turned out so well that I am thinking of doing the last 4 in the same manner. A bit of a job for tomorrow!!! My carrots will be done and the garden put to sleep for another year. I think I may do a bit more dehydrating next year when it comes time to put up the harvest.

I promised you all some more pictures from our trip. Here are some views of the scenery in the Highlands.



The view from our hotel window in the Highlands.

Looking at the Nevis chain of mountains.

One of the many streams gushing out of the hillsides in the Highlands.

Everyone have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Finally Done!!!

I have spent the last week when I have not been working (called in 3 of the 4 work days this week) getting the harvest in.

The last of the frozen carrots.

These last 15 bags now reside in our freezer.

The bigger carrots that were not very attractive, or too large to slice were grated for carrot cake and carrot muffins this winter. These are the last 6 bags.

I have a few carrots left that I am going to slice and try drying for use in soup this winter. I don't want to waste a single bit of our harvest!!

I am finding it more and more difficult to give up my independence from the work day world. I really like being able to say "No" when I am asked to work (even though the Catholic guilt comes to the fore every so often). I am pretty sure that my subbing days are coming to an end, or at least to an end when I am not booked ahead of time. This phoning in the morning is making me change my plans a bit more than I want to. Do we need the money? Not really. Do I need to get out and be with adults other than Harvey? I already have friends I can visit for coffee and belong to a few clubs so that gives me adult company. I think my reasons for working are being over run by my reasons for being retired. I like being retired and having my days and evenings to do as I wish!!

Everybody have a wonderful evening (I will post more pictures of our trip tomorrow).

God bless.

Menu Monday

Kurt and Kris have left and my house is awfully quiet.

Back to my regular routine.

Here is my menu for the upcoming week.

Monday

Hot dogs, beans and oven fries.

Tuesday

Creamed turkey and peas on toast.

Wednesday

Clean out the fridge night.

Thursday

Spaghetti and meat sauce along with a side salad.

Friday

Glace and eggs.

Saturday

Turkey Noodle Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches.

Sunday

Beef Roast, potatoes, carrots and some celery sticks.

Much different than the Haggis we had in Scotland.


It really wasn't too bad at all. In fact it was quite tasty.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

An Early Thanksgiving At the Old Homestead

Since Kurt and Kris will be leaving early tomorrow for their respective homes I am making Thanksgiving dinner today.

The turkey is starting to smell so good, and soon it will be time to start the potatoes and carrots. Yum, we are going to be as stuffed as the turkey by the time supper is over.

I went for my early morning walk today and was greeted by this as I opened my front door.

Cars covered with a lovely thick layer of frost!!

The same could be said for the roof tops in the valley below us.

 I guess winter is arriving very quickly and we need to get those carrots out of the garden pronto!!

Hope all my Canadian readers are having a wonderful long weekend with friends and family close.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Kurt and Kris Are Home And All Is Right In My World

Kurt and Kris both made it home last night and now I am feeling doubly blessed. It is wonderful that both of them still feel the need to spend the holidays with their Dad and I. They could be off spending time with friends, but instead they come bearing gifts.

Of course in some cases the gifts are mending, or knitting, but I will do those joyfully. Right now they are having bonding time with their Dad, watching their beloved Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Me well I am busy putting captions on our holiday photos so that Kurt will be able to make sense of them for the book he is making for us. Also busy cooking, knitting and mending..... What else would I be doing when my boys are home!!!

Thought I would share a few more pictures from our holidays with all of you.

First off a picture of Edinburgh Castle during the day.

Now a picture of it lit up at night.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Rain, Rain, Go Away!!!

Ever since I got up this morning the rain has been coming down. Right now it seems to have let up a little bit, but our rain gauge says we have had 25 mm since it started.

At one point we once again had a river flowing down our driveway. 

The boys are coming home for Thanksgiving and so I am hoping that the temperature does not drop enough to cause freezing!!! They don't need to be driving on skating rinks getting home. There are too many accidents on Canadian highways as it is under good conditions.

This month I am trying to keep spending at a minimum and that is kind of/sort of working. I did come in under budget by a few dollars for Kurt and Kris's birthday gifts. A good start to saving this month. However I have a bad feeling about grocery and household shopping. Everything seems to have gone up by leaps and bounds while we were gone. Of course we used up much of our stash before we left so now I am trying to build groceries up once again. I am hoping for some sales and some nice weather so we can get those carrots in and into the freezer.

We had a heavy frost one night while we were on holidays and came home to dead flowers, tomatoes and cucumbers. I decided a few days ago to see what I could scrounge from the plants. Amazingly I found tomatoes that had been protected from the frost and many cucumbers as well. I feel better now knowing that not all of them have gone to waste.

Supper tonight is going to be soup and sandwiches, it just feels like that kind of night. Should be enough left for our sons to have a bowlful whenever they arrive. Nicely warming them up, I hope.

My pies are made, and the turkey will be taken out of the freezer tomorrow in preparation for our meal. Now if I could just get rid of the sore throat and cough, plus get rid of the fibro pain all would be perfect..... Oh yeah, I have yet to title all the pictures we took on holiday and Kurt wants to take those with him. Guess what my job will be tomorrow and perhaps on Sunday as well????

Everyone have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Day One of Our Holidays

Our first full day in London dawned bright and sunny. What a wonderful introduction to this fascinating, old city.

We were up early (well not for me, but for Harvey pretty darn early) and had a wonderful full English Breakfast. I did have to get used to seeing baked beans on the menu though. Off we went on the tour bus with many others.

No, this was not what we traveled on that morning, but since we were in England, Harvey figured our pictures would not be complete without a photo of a double decker bus.

Our first stop, Westminster Abbey. While we did not get to tour the inside of the abbey I did manage to get lots of pictures of the outside. There was even a choir practice taking place and with the front doors open wide we could hear them singing.

Next we whizzed by Big Ben, the Peace Buddha and the House of Parliament buildings.

Big Ben and part of the huge complex of Parliament buildings.

The Prince Albert Memorial from one side. (Thanks Rinty, I got the two pictures mixed up. I do have one of the Peace Buddha as well).

It is really difficult to get a photo without someone's head in the frame, or strangers in front of the camera. London is just so darn busy!!!

Blogger is now acting a bit strangely so I will continue our adventures tomorrow with pictures of Buckingham Palace, Clarence House, and our visit to the Tower.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

We're Back!!!!

We have been back from our holiday for a few days now and I am beginning to sleep better and get back on schedule. However this morning I woke up with a cough!! Must have caught it from Harvey as he has been coughing ever since we started our vacation (gets over it for a day or two and then it comes right back).

Over the next week or so I am going to share our adventure with all of you. We have lots of pictures so between here, Facebook and email, I hope to get most of them out to friends and family. Kurt wants them to make a book for us, I have a feeling that will be our Christmas present from him this year.

Our trip started on a lovely, sunny early evening in Regina, Saskatchewan.

Kris met us for a light supper and we gave him our list of chores when he was home on the weekends. We also got him to snap this picture of us waiting for security to open.

Then it was off on our flight to Edmonton to catch the plane to London.

It was a long, long, flight and since it was pitch black until we were over Iceland not much to really see. We hit typical English weather for our arrival, rain and overcast skies. This made us happy to retire to our hotel and rest up for the next day.

The hotel room was lovely......

The only drawback being we faced the train tracks..... so the view left a bit to be desired.

We did manage to rest up though, and were ready for our morning tour of the city the next morning and to meet my online friend from the Frugal Living forum and her husband in the afternoon.

More of our adventures to follow in the upcoming days.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.