Archive for November, 2009
Another perfect Saturday
Nov
We spent yesterday in Fredericton with my daughter and grand-daughters. The eldest, Sarah is a first year student at , the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design. and she invited us to the craft sale and tour. What an incredible place of learning. We are so proud of Sarah and happy that she is enrolled in the program. A good variety of crafts were available for sale.
Sarah gave us a private tour but instructors and students were on hand to answer questions. My DH was particularly interested in the precious metal shop and spent considerable time speaking with the female tour guide. Apparently more time than Emma thought proper as she informed the guide, “That’s my grandfather………and he is with us”.
Do I sound like a hypochondriac
Nov
I spent the day in Moncton as I had three Doctor appointments. My DH dropped me off and continued on to Saint John. He completed his business in time to pick me up at the end of the day.
The goods new is I no longer have to visit the dermatologist as I have been 3 years without any further sign of basal cell carcinoma.
My G.P. has changed my asthma medication, as my insurance carrier is not willing to continue paying for my present medication. Even though I have gone from nine asthma attacks a few years back to just one last year.
My visit to the Otolaryngology specialist wasn’t as positive. I need to seriously consider surgery for nose polyps. He has been monitoring my progress the past two years and feels that without the surgery my breathing will not improve. I will undergo a cat scan to rule out any other problems and will have a consult with the Von Wildenbrandt clinic prior to the surgery. I will be out of commission for a few weeks after the surgery and will need to continue with nasal spray for the rest of my life, but my breathing quality will improve greatly.
I enjoyed walking between the doctor’s offices on this incredibly warm November day. Despite the busy schedule, I had a chance to squeeze in a bit of shopping. All in all, not a bad day.
Sweet
Nov
On Saturday Win and I went shopping. We hit the road early to avoid the crowds and get the best bargains. Due to my allergies, I can’t go shopping during peak periods. Thankfully Win understands this.
Our first stop was Shopper’s Drug Mart. Both of us are Optimum point members and try to shop on the 20 times the point Saturday. I save my points each year to spend on stocking stuffers and Christmas candies. But not this year! Instead I was able to buy a $100.00 family gift for my daughter’s clan for only $15.00.
After a quick trip to Zellers, where I purchased Veggie Tale videos for Emma at a bargain price of $7.00 each. If you are looking for funny, violent free videos for your children or grandchildren, these are an excellent choice. The good buys continued as we visited two church craft sales. We bought beautiful handmade mittens and slippers for $3.00 a pair.
This evening my DH and I went on date night. We dined at our favourite romantic restaurant (A&W) sharing a Papa Burger combo, hold the pickles. We opened our burgers to check and sure enough there were the dreaded pickles. As if by magic the waitress appeared at our elbow stating she had given us the wrong order and provided us with new burgers san pickles. She told us to keep the offending burgers as well. Now DH doesn’t have the worry about making his lunch tomorrow.
With warm weather, no sign of snow and great bargains, the past few days have been sweet.
Raise a glass to planet earth -throw away the plastic
Nov
Due to the controversy on the use of plastic containers I decided to throw away the Tupperware, and zip-lock plastic storage bins. Every time I opened the cupboard an avalanche of plastic would land at my feet.
Luckily I found the Anchor Hocking glass storage set at Canadian Tire. The sets cost about $20.00 but I was lucky to hit a half price sale and purchased two sets for the price of one.
These handy BPA-free glass containers are stackable as each one fits snugly into the other. They are perfect for storing leftovers as you can see at a glance what is in the container. No more wondering if the green lid is the container or something past its prime. Plus you can reheat the food right in the dish. The tempered glass is freezer, microwave, oven and dishwasher safe.
Growing up any leftovers were stored in glass bowls or mason jars. Isn’t funny how everything old is new again?
Hurry, hard!
Nov
At the gym this morning, I heard of the sadness many of our Americans friends will face at their Thanksgiving dinner:
“Families gearing up for Thanksgiving next Thursday are facing grim news: a severe shortage of canned pumpkin, the major ingredient of pumpkin pie. Nestlé, which makes 80 per cent of the nation’s stocks, says that freak rains in the Midwest meant farmers were unable to harvest the majority of their crops.”
But there is hope.This little guy is pushing as hard as he can. (Once again, thanks Tim.)
Getting ready for winter
Nov
I’m nominating my DH for the humanitarian award. Single handed he has saved us from a winter of snow. How do I know this? He bought a snow blower a few weeks back and we have had perfect weather ever since. At this time last year our yard was covered with a layer of snow, today it is 14 degrees Celsius and sunny. For the past few days he has been hanging the laundry out to dry.
The cold weather is bound to come soon, so last evening I made chicken soup and whole wheat bread in preparation. The chicken stock base recipe is delicious and can be found here. To the stock I added finely chopped carrots, celery and turnips with a generous tablespoon of summer savory. If you are not familiar with Retorte, take a few minutes to check out some of her other recipes. Trust me your tummy and your family will thank you. To make the easiest 100% Whole Wheat Bread Ever check out the recipe here.
Chicken soup, bread hot from the oven and a husband who does laundry…………….I’m ready for whatever this winter brings.
The idea that no one is perfect is a view most commonly held by people with no grandchildren. ~Doug Larson
Nov
Carl and I both slept in this morning after a wonderful, hectic, fun filled extra long weekend with the grand-daughters. Usually when we visit we stay at the hotel, as we are early risers and they are night owls. But as Ron and Andrea were off cavorting in NYC, we nestled down in Sarah’s room. With so many DVDs to watch, and so much to do, we all adjusted our sleeping schedules.
My youngest grand-daughter Emma kept the activities coming one after another. Emma will be a politician when she grows up. If she works a crowd the way she works her grandparents, she will be the prime minister by the time she is thirty. Since she was old enough to crawl she has always spent equal time with Carl and I, showing no favourite. Emma and I designed quilt patterns both on paper and with plastic fusion beads. Here’s one of her original designs which she wants made into a full size quilt.
Carl and Emma did a few walk abouts around the house, played on the Wii, shot pool, let him win at cards and read books together. As a family we watch DVDs especially Wall-E and Shrek 3 (especially the commentaries), sang silly songs, went shopping, went on walks, shopped for pyjamas and (as a special consideration to the grandparents) watched the news. During the news, most of what came out of that little 8 year olds’ mouth, made more sense than the politicians we were watching. She has very definite but well informed views on global warming, the H1N1 vaccine and the celebrating of Christmas as Baby Jesus birthday and not a gift giving extravaganza.
As grandparents it was our duty to see that the children ate properly. The proof is in this picture of our visit to Dairy Queen. Every one knows you eat sprinkled ice cream before the fries.
On Sunday afternoon we drove to Bath for a visit with my sister Boo, where we enjoyed old fashioned molasses cookies and bread fresh from the oven. When we returned home, Meaghan quickly mixed up a batch of bread. Half was used to make pizza crust for supper. The other loaf was enjoyed the next morning with raspberry jam also made by Meaghan. Each meal Meaghan would prepare the vegetables, my job was to cook the meat (as she is vegetarian). I was also allowed to prepare Kraft dinner for lunch under the watchful eye and strict directions of Emma. Apparently I prepared it wrong the last time.
Besides making a batch of toblerone fudge, Meaghan also did all the dishes. She also presented us with her home made soap, one bar of aloe vera and a bar of cinnamon soap. As a grand-daughters go, she is definitely a keeper!
By the time, Andrea and Ron arrived home Monday afternoon we were ready to say our goodbyes, already looking forward to next month’s visit.
One mother of a shiitake
Nov
While cleaning up the yard my DH came across this beauty. It was the size of our dinner plate.
I soon made quick use of it for Sunday dinner last weekend. Lightly sauteed with onions and butter, it was delicious. I am hoping our shiitake logs will produce next year as well. It took awhile for them to take hold, but the wait was worth it.
Sunday dinner was definitely “home grown” with squash, shiitake, potatoes, green beans, parsnips and carrots. Topped off with locally hand picked and homemade high bush cranberry sauce and apple sauce . 
