Saying Good bye

Yesterday my sister and I traveled north to Esterhazy. We helped lay our Aunt Irene to rest. Uncle Albert (my Dad's brother) had journeyed on a few years ago and according to her children Auntie Irene seemed to loose interest in anything.

My sister, Joanne and I were the only relatives from the Koch side to attend. Considering some live only 30 minutes away both of us felt very bad.

Aunt Irene and Uncle Albert had 10 children. They also raised one grand daughter. Bradley, one of their sons passed away in an accident in 1976 (the year I got married). I was right between Bradley and his older brother Robert in age so both were my playmates when we would visit.

I managed to get a picture of the remaining children, guess I should say grown ups now.

They are not often all in one place and it was wonderful to get to see all of them again and reconnect.

Saskatchewan is under an advisory for the next few days. There are many fires in the north of the province and the wind is sending the smoke every where.

Driving home from the funeral yesterday was terrible. There were times I could only see about 1/4 mile ahead, visibility was so reduced from the smoke.

About one half hour after we got home this is what it looked like.

I could not see the other side of the valley and at times the rather large condos below us were obscured as well.

Today is a bit better, but that could be due to the rain we have gotten today, and the wind changing direction slightly.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

It was extremely hot in church today. So warm in fact that it was very hard to concentrate on Father Brian's sermon. I did get bits and pieces however and that is much better than nothing at all.

The gist of his sermon was that God has his hand in everything. Every decision we make can be traced back after all we are given free will. I am sure there was more but the heat (we are sitting at almost 100 F right now and it is after 7 pm so you can just imagine what it was like earlier) is melting my brain and I can't think.

Our youngest son, Kris, relaxing after a hard days work on the fence.

This is Ray. Kris's rather large cat, that actually looks a pretty normal size here. He isn't though, mind you Harvey and I both noticed that he has lost weight over the past 6 months.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

"My" Kids

Back many moons ago, like 6, I started being the assistant in a classroom at another school from the one I had been working at. I never thought that I would be working with the same group of students for three years. That just does not happen in our system very often.

These students all have a piece of my heart (all my students do, but this group has a bigger piece). I grew to know their likes and dislikes, the problems that some of them faced in their home lives, laughed and cried with all of them, and watched them grow and develop into students heading off to their high school lives. 

This same group graduated this year and one of the girls (Shaina) got me a ticket to attend their Grade 12 graduation.

I had mentioned that I would love to see them all before the ceremony and a rather large group came back to the elementary school on the last day. I was fortunate to be subbing and so got to see them dressed for the formal after Grad.

Here is the group that arrived at the school (a couple came a bit late and a couple did not show up).

I even got thrown into the mix at one point.

I am the very short, slightly round person (can not for the life of me believe how tall the boys...guess I should say young men....have gotten) stuck in the middle. There were lots of hugs, some tears on my part, and best wishes for whatever they decide to do in the future.

"My" kids, all grown up and ready to start the next step on their journey. Love them all.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Quick Update

Thought I would update all of you on the new fence project.

Day one, Harvey got the old wooden fence down in readiness for Kris to get home.

Day two, post holes dug and the posts cemented in.

Day three, the fence is about 3/4's done. Just a few sheets more.

Sunset tonight as a storm comes in from the north.

Tomorrow I hope to share with all of you some pictures of the students I spent 3 years with graduating. They even came to the school I was subbing at to get a picture with me.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Disappearing Act

I did actually have a post in mind for last night. I had it all composed in my mind, and then Kris arrived home.

Hmmmm, we visited and then I went down and visited the Grandcat (Kris brought his cat home with him). Gave Ray (the cat) a few loving pats, food and water, came back upstairs, got Kris to fix a few problems on the computer and just plain lost track of what I had planned. Then I went to sleep and woke up this morning with absolutely no idea of what I was going to say!!!

Whoa, I forgot to say why Kris came home. Well it is to help Harvey with the fence building and to his mind this fence will be done in two days (I don't think so) as he wants to go fishing on Saturday. We will see how that goes.

I will keep you updated on the progress of our new fence over the next while.

The next few days will see me working the afternoon at one of the schools. I can't believe I will be there on the students final two days of the year. The assistant I will be subbing for has a daughter graduating from the high school and has asked for and gotten the days off. Not complaining as it gives me time away from the fence building, and some pocket money coming in.

 I will be trying to put a post up in the morning for the next little bit, which is a big change from my usual (except on Menu Monday's) evening post. That way Kris can do the fixing of various bugs on the computer, and everyone will be happy. Especially me!!

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Thrifty Tuesday

Today was very thrifty. Stayed home, worked around the house, and just enjoyed a day where I could get things done. Love days like this.

Blogger is giving me a few problems, as I have tried to post and save this numerous times and gotten funny messages. Let's hope this goes through.

I worked on the prayer cloth for the school today and have managed to get most of the dove hand sewn onto the cloth. I am going to use some gold embroidery thread to make it stand out a bit more. Hopefully I will finish it off tomorrow. One more project done!!

I also finished up the little purple baby sweater I was knitting for our new family arrival.

This along with a pink and white baby blanket will make up my gift. I used yarn that I had in my stash so no money out of pocket.

The front door step flowers are coming along nicely.

Two of these hanging baskets beside the door. One on each side.

And one corner of the small deck holding yellow mini roses, yellow petunias, a mini bell petunia, and a chrysanthemum. Flowering items are taking off with this lovely weather we are having.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

Almost the end of the month, I will need to plan next months menus very soon!!

Monday

Clean out the fridge night. Lots of leftovers from the weekend that need to be gone.

Tuesday

Spaghetti and meat sauce. Serving this with a salad.

Wednesday

Soup and sandwiches. Harvey and I need a lighter meal this week.

Thursday

Baked Spaghetti, and salad.

Friday

Cod, served with rice and peas. Probably another salad as our lettuce is starting to grow.

Saturday

Chicken Breasts, rice, and a veggie. Hoping to make a dessert as Kurt and Kris will both be home.

Sunday

Pork Roast, roasted potatoes, carrots, and a relish tray.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

Happy Father's Day to all Fathers out in blog land.

There are some big changes occurring in our parish.

Now we will be able to schedule ourselves for the various ministries at Mass. Not that it's a bad thing, just that it could end up being very controversial. Many of our older readers do not have access to a computer, and some of those that do are not very computer literate. I foresee the loss of some of our better readers and what some call the old blood over this.

This change is probably the biggest we have undergone over the past few years, and while it could work to our advantage, without the proper introduction is not going to go over well with some. I worry that this is the first step towards making things more difficult in an already difficult world.

Everybody have a wonderful evening on the longest day of the year.

God bless.

Frugal Fridays

It has been a fairly frugal week here on the old homestead.

The usual frugalities took place this week. I am so happy out of the 7 days we only ran our air conditioning twice. This really does add up to big savings!!

All my laundry got put on the lines this week so no drier was used.

I stayed out of stores and racked up more no spend days this week. I am now sitting at 14 for the month.

Leftovers have been used to make a second meal, and there are very little remaining in the fridge.

I have been using various items up so that when we go to Regina tomorrow I can do a bit of a stock up as well as visit with our youngest son.

We listed our car for sale. Harvey would love to be able to buy a new vehicle, but would like to sell it privately first. We have found when you trade it in the dealers offer you barely anything. If it sells privately we will be looking for another (actually have our eyes on one).

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thursday Tid Bits

It was just too nice a day to be inside working so I spent most of the day outside doing those little chores that needed to be done.

I fertilized all the boxes and baskets in the backyard, did a bit of weeding in the garden, and just enjoyed the beautiful weather. It wasn't boiling hot, and it wasn't too cool.

The perennial bed has been weeded and is filling in. I can hardly wait as the more it fills in the less I have to weed.

The veggie garden is growing by leaps and bounds. Harvey put up the screens for the peas a couple of days ago.

I have three of these baskets across the lower half of the back. Finally they seem to be showing some growth, other than the moonflowers that have been blooming almost since I hung them.

My impatience are starting to fill out and flower. Soon this corner will be filled with colour.

My begonias are beginning to come back. I will have to remove the dead and dried leaves shortly, but I want to give them a chance to become established.

This is one of three double impatience I have in the yard. Two in a shady area of the deck and one in a shady area of the front. They are getting bushy and beginning to flower.

Tomorrow I will share some pictures of the flowers in front of the house. I have some weeding to do up there so I plan on having my camera handy.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

More Sad News

For the third time in 3 1/2 months we received news of another death in the family. Seems as if the older generation is slowly being whittled down.

I also found out today that a dear friend lost her husband 2 weeks ago. I think I have finally reached the age where I must check out the obituaries every day.

I suppose that as a person ages more and more of their friends and family will be called to leave. Just never thought it would be happening so soon.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Mid Month Update

Well time to update you all on how I am doing.

1.     Copy and declutter remaining two binders of recipes.  Working on this and have managed to almost finish one of the two binders. This was a big one.

2.     Scan small recipe booklets.  Not started yet.
 
3.     Continue with unfinished goals and projects from other months.  I have finished one project and have started on the second. Hopefully I will get a few more half done projects finished.

4.     Finish knitting baby sweaters that I want to give to our expected new arrival. A niece is having her first child.  One sweater done, one almost finished. I may even have a chance to finish a third in a more neutral colour.

5.     Weed gardens weekly.  Keeping up with this one.

Decluttering is moving along. Not quite at the pace it was at the beginning of the year, but still moving.

I ended last month with 579 items out of the house and either recycled, or donated. My total now is 612. I hope to add to this by the end of the month.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Plan Monday

Another week dawns.

Monday

Soup and egg salad sandwiches.

Tuesday

Leftover Smoked Pork along with a salad.

Wednesday

The last bag of leftover chicken I have frozen. Thinking along the lines of Chicken a la King.

Thursday

Clean out the fridge night.

Friday

The Lazy Perogies I moved from last Friday.

Saturday

Out for supper as we will be in the big city.

Sunday

Grilled Steak along with salad, and grilled veggies.

Everyone have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

Today is the 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time and we heard the parable of the mustard seed.

This time I got something a bit different from the parable and the homily. Things are not the same as they were years ago. Changes have occurred both in our everyday life and our faith lives. Not everyone travels the same path. We each have to go our own way just as the mustard seed we need to be left alone to travel the path God has chosen for us. Our faith journeys are all different and we are all at different stages on the journey. We are meant to meet each person where they are, and travel with them not lead them. At the right time we will finish the journey together, in step with each other and with God.

It has been a quiet day, lots of introspection, and a bit of baking.

I managed to get 2 rhubarb sponge pies made.

Here is one ready to go into the oven.

And this one cooling after being removed from the oven.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Ahhh, Saturday

I have spent a rather quiet, lazy day.

No new projects or unfinished projects worked on. Well my nightly knitting, but that is just to keep my hands busy and me out of trouble.

I settled into my recliner after getting the usual Saturday household chores completed and read the afternoon away. I feel absolutely decadent, but I really think I needed a day of doing absolutely only what needed to be done.

I did manage to get outside with a glass of iced tea and my camera to take a few pictures of my plants.

My blossom covered Fushia.

Two of the 7 Hostas that are growing very well along the side walk.

The start of lots of lovely cherries on one of the two trees in our backyard. Now if I can just keep the birds out of the trees when they ripen.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Frugal Friday

Well time to list my frugal habits for this week.

All my laundry was line dried this week. Love it!!!!

We have managed to eat all the leftovers in the fridge. No waste.

I deconstructed 4 of 5 sweaters, washed the yarn and hung it up to stretch out. Tomorrow I will wind the washed and stretched hanks into balls. These will be used to knit something else.

Meals have all been made from items on hand.

Made a shopping list and stuck to it.

Free exercise walking every morning, and working in the garden.

Best of all I have added to my no spend day total for the month. I am up to 9 no spend days and looking forward to many more.

Printed off some coupons to use the next time I go shopping.

Downloaded some free books to my ereader.

Worked on my unfinished projects and actually managed to finish one.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thursday Tid Bits

After reading many blogs where the bloggers subscribed to various boxes of samples, I decided to try my hand at locating some here in Canada.

I found something called Top Box and ordered two of there boxes for a total of $18.00.

Guess what arrived in the mail yesterday, or should I say were delivered to my doorstep yesterday.

Two surprise boxes.

The first of the boxes contained.

A full sized mascara, a full sized lipstick, a decent sized sample of Keratin Repair serum, a sample of body wash, two samples of wrinkle cream. It also contained a coupon for a free box of hair colour.

The second box contained.

Two large samples of Herbal Essence shampoo and conditioner, another full sized mascara, a full sized lipstick, another sample of body wash, and two rather small samples of some kind of finishing creme. It too contained a coupon for a free box of hair colour.

I cancelled my subscription as they just keep sending boxes and I want a bit of choice over what I get. I will keep checking their site to see if anything comes up that interests me.

I do think that I managed to make my money back.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Recipe Wednesday

Cheesy Chicken Pasta Bake

1 c Italian blend shredded cheese
2 c cooked rotini
3 c chopped leftover chicken
1/2 c diced celery
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

Stir together 1/2 c cheese and next 6 ingredients. Spoon into lightly greased 11 x 7 pan. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake 5 more minutes.

This was very good, but when I make it again I will be adding some green and red peppers as well as some mushrooms. I also used more cheese, because we love cheese.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty Tuesday

The day is almost over and most of my day has been spent gathering items that I can recycle, picking rhubarb from the garden, and using up items that need to be used from the freezer.

I picked about 4 pounds of rhubarb this morning and will be using it to make pies later this week as well as another cake. This time I plan on freezing a few of these to use later on this summer.

Every fall I make cabbage rolls and freeze them for use throughout the rest of the year. Today supper was the last of my frozen stash. A quick and easy meal and now I am ready to make more this coming August or September.

I knit all these sleeveless shells a few (well probably 8) years ago and due to the changes in this aging body they no longer fit like the used to. I decided that I will take them apart, wash and stretch the wool back out and use the yarn to knit other items throughout the winter. I should not need to buy any new yarn for awhile.

The thriftiest thing I did however was stay out of the stores. No shopping means no spending. No spending means money stays in the bank and my pocket. A win/win situation.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

Second week of June already. My how time flies.

Monday

Hot dogs, baked beans and salad.

Tuesday

The last container of frozen cabbage rolls.

Wednesday

Leftover chicken made into something wonderful I hope. While decluttering recipes I have found a few that I want to try.

Thursday

Ribs, rice, and green beans. Perhaps another salad made up.

Friday

Lazy perogies.

Saturday

Not sure if we are going to head up and visit Kris plus do some shopping. If we don't go BBQ Hamburgers, potatoes, and salad will be on the menu.

Sunday

Roast Smoked Pork Shoulder, mashed potatoes, salad, and carrots from the freezer.

There you have it, what we will eat for dinners over the next week. Lunches will be leftovers or sandwiches as is usual.

Everyone have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

Well pondering tough questions did not go as well as I thought. Didn't come up with any answers but one and that was to withdraw even more from church politics. Makes it a bit difficult as many of my friends are from church. I just don't want the headaches of dissatisfied parishioners anymore, I just want to practice my faith in a way that makes it meaningful to me.

Now on to one of my few accomplishments this week.

A nicely decluttered and well labeled cupboard. I now have the two cupboards (top and bottom) cleaned and labeled. Hopefully they will stat like this for awhile, but it is doubtful.

I also found this early in the evening.

The first of what I hope will be many Moonflowers. It opened a bit early, but I will take it. These rather large white flowers always make me smile. I try and plant lots of these every year.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Pondering

 Tonight I am sitting by the fire pit pondering life's questions. I will let you know how I have decided life's major questions tomorrow. I need to take advantage of nice weather while I can.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Friday Roundup

It has been another quiet day on the old homestead.

Harvey went fishing this morning and most of the afternoon, which gave me some necessary alone time. I got to label and tidy one of my cupboards while he was gone. Nothing got put in the donation pile, but I did end up with a nicely organized baking supply cupboard.

Tonight I made a new recipe, Mexican Baked Fish. Since I got the recipe from Allrecipe.com I borrowed their picture.

This is the first time I have actually ate a whole fish fillet in a very long time.

Here is the recipe.

Mexican Baked Fish

3 cod fillets
1 cup salsa
1 cup shredded cheese (I used Italian blend shredded)
1/2 cup coarsely crushed corn chips

Preheat oven to 400 F. Lightly grease 8 x12 dish. Rinse fillets and pat dry with paper towels. Lay fillets side by side in pan. Pour salsa over top and sprinkle with cheese, and crushed corn chips. Bake uncovered for 19 minutes or until fish flakes easily. Serve with a dollop of sour cream if desired.

This was so simple to make and did not take any time at all to prepare. I served it with fresh cut up veggies and dip. I cut the veggies up while waiting for the fish to cook.

I also managed to finish knitting the blue baby sweater.

I have to block it and then sew it all together.

But while I am waiting on the blocking I cast on the next sweater (remember I don't know if the baby will be a boy or a girl).

A lovely purple!

The skies are getting dark to the southwest of us.

The forecast did call for some rain and perhaps a thunder storm. We will just have to wait and see what happens.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

A Beautiful Evening

A couple of nights ago, I enjoyed sitting out on our deck and watching the sky. The clouds were drifting across the full moon, making for a glorious sight.

It was like those eerie horror movies on television. So very dark out and the clouds silently slipping by the face of the moon. It was probably only a foretelling of the rain we were going to get all yesterday, but so very much fun to watch.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.