Six Months Already?

I can't believe we've been in this house six months. We closed on April 28th, and moved in on May 1st, 2009. It's been a fast six months, and a lot has happened. As me and dh live amongst all this mess all the time, we don't see much of a difference, so I decided to write down some of the things we have done throughout the house.

Mudroom:

Installed new door

Installed new light fixture

New light switches and motion sensor

Window trim

Kitchen/Dining Room:

New fridge, stove and above stove microwave.

Installed new switch for microwave

Living Room:

New light fixture

Family Room:

New windows and patio door

Installed two light fixtures

New wood burning insert

Downstairs Bathroom:

Nothing, other than cleaning the place up and connecting the bathroom fan to the outside, as it was previously ducted into the attic?

New Extension Basement:

New Patio Door

Removed the old toilet down there - the plumbing down there is going to be a challenge!!

Old Basement:

Added some new plugs

Blocked up the outside of three of the basement windows.

Spare Bedroom:

Nothing, other than destroying the only closet we have :0(

Our Bedroom:

Added ceiling fan

Moved cable for tv and added plug for when we actually get a flat screen tv to hang on the wall……not a priority, but the wiring is all there

Main Floor Bathroom:

Install light and fan above shower, and having it ducted to the outside.

Rewire plug, so we don’t have to have the lights on to make the plug work.

Installed a new toilet

Put a base in the under sink cabinet, so we can store things there

Attic:

Installed new stairs

Completely gutted the attic itself

Added skylight and replaced dormer window.

Rewired it, as there was only a light in there and no other electrics before hand

Shimmed all the joists so when we come to drywall, they will all be the same height etc.

Altered the heating duct work

Insulated it all

Outside:

Tidied up the whole five acres, so the grass wasn’t all knee high, like when we moved in!!!

Removed old fence on the front of the property

Installed new outside light

Repaired the roof, a couple of times!!

Made stairs to get off the back deck

Built a wood store

Installed a new mail box and emergency sign as the old ones were falling to bits and donkey’s years old!!

Garage:

Cleaned it all out and got rid of all the junk left in there.

Built shelves

Repaired door

I am sure there is much more that we have done, including giving the place a thorough clean, remember how those first few days of posting all I did was complain bitterly about the state of the place, if not read this and this When I was looking at old posts I stumbled upon this one
The house looked so clean then, it now looks as though a bomb has dropped upstairs, oh well one day it will be tidy again!!

Do we regret moving up here? I know dh has some regrets, only because every job we do around here, takes so long, as if the people who lived here before us, had anything at all to do with the area, there is a problem, as they will have butchered the job. So he is frustrated with how hard things are, as even the simple jobs take forever to do. Me, well I have had my days, when all I want to do is pack it all in and say lets sell the place. One of those days was here when the upstairs toilet leaked into the downstairs bathroom, I wasn't happy!! Or this one, I wasn't happy here either!

I think one issue has been that money has been pouring out of our hands like sand, it just seems to have been never ending these past six months, read here. Now its just trickling slowly through our hands, mind you that could be because there is no money left to spend!!!

I think in another six months, the first year of living here will feel like a bad dream. We are hoping to have got the attic finished by next summer, money permitting. Things will have slowed down a bit for poor dh. There is still an endless list of jobs to be done, but we're hoping to be able to put our feet up a bit more next year and just sit and admire our view.

So here's to another busy, but productive six months in the country!

Oh and for those that celebrate Halloween, a Happy Halloween to you all!

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"Dove in the Window."

That's the name of that quilt block. It's the first one in my block of a month club. I love the colour's, black and white, with a touch of red. When we meet again in November, we get the pattern for the next block, the material requirement for the sashings/inner borders, and another free fat quarter. I am going to do my sashings in two colours. The bottom and right hand side in black, and the top and left hand side in a grey. I haven't bought either material yet.

I am even considering doing a second quilt with the same blocks, as I am enjoying doing different blocks. It was grey and overcast all day on Thursday, so it was hard to get a good photo.

I did manage to get out on the lawn tractor and "mulch" the leaves on Thursday. There are still some more leaves to drop off the trees, but the majority are off the trees.

My dad was up on Thursday doing some jobs in the attic for us again, he is such a good help. Its already feeling warmer up there. Dh has got a bit of insulation installed, but still has a ways to go. I'm not sure if I told you, but Home Hardware has a special deal on at the moment, if you buy $150 worth of insulation you can send away for a $25 Home Hardware gift card, so of course we took advantage of that deal.

Another good deal for the Canadians is when you buy two Glade products you can send in for a $5 Presidents Choice gift card, to find out more click on this link

The following qualifies:

The Scented oil candle holders and the candle refills

Plug in's including refills

Candles in the the glass jars

The Fragrance Collection (what ever they are?)

Also you can put all 8 forms in one envelope. I personally would staple each receipt and the two upc's to each seperate form you fill out.

Details - max 8 per household purchase both at the same time between sept 21/09 and jan 31/10**

Buy any 2 Glade products and Receive a $5 PC gift card through mail in rebate*

To be eligible both glade products must be purchased at the same time.** with proof of purchase from a participating store where President's Choce products are sold

Participating stores are Atlantic Superstore, Extra Foods, Fortinos, Independent, Loblaw Superstore, Loblaw Great Food, Loblaws, Maxi, Maxi and Cie, No Frills, Provigo, RCSS, SaveEasy, Valumart, Zehrs, Zehrs Great food and participating supermarkets in Newfoundland and Labrador where PC products are sold.

1. Purchase any 2 glade Air care products at the same time

2. Mail original certificate AND 2 original Glade Air care products pop original UPC barcode cut out from each product package and original sales receipt from a participating store between Sept 21/09 and Jan 31/10 with 2 products circled both products must appear on one sales receipt

Received no later than Feb 28/10 6-8 weeks for delivery

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Skywatch Friday

This was the sunrise the other day, found the cloud formation pretty interesting. Will say the sunrises have been few and far between recently as well.......

For more Skywatch Friday posts, please click on this link

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Reading........Country Living and Homesteading

I finished the book "Made from Scratch; Discovering the Pleasures of a Handmade Life," by Jenna Woginrich.

I enjoyed the book, it was full of experiences that Jenna has had and the mistakes she made, and the trials and tribulations she had, for example, having to kill/shoot one of her rabbits, not something I would have wanted to do either. She writes in a way that makes it easy for you to read. Would I buy the book, no, only because I tend to only read books once, unless they are a reference book; however I would recommend you borrow it from the library and read it, as it is enjoyable.

One of the things she does do is have a section at the back of her book for links and books that she does recommend that would be useful in various aspects of your life.

Jenna has a blog called Cold Antler Farm it's worthwhile popping by to see what she's up too now.

Some books she recommends are: "The Contrary Farmer," by Gene Logsdon

"Better Off," by Eric Brende I have read this book and I really enjoyed it.....

"Encyclopedia of Country Living," by Carla Emery

"MaryJane's Idea Book," by MaryJane Butters (that link covers all MaryJane Butters publications)

"Hit by a Farm," by Catherine Friend

"Storey's Basic Country Skills," by John and Martha Storey

"The Good Life," by Scott Nearing this book got a lot of harsh reviews?

"Barnyard in Your Backyard," by Gail Damerow

"Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens," by Gail Damerow

"Chicken Coops," by Judy Pangman

"Sew What! Skirts," by Francesca DenHartog and Carole Ann Camp

"Sew What! Fleece," by Carol Jessop and Chaila Sekora


She also recommends a number of websites, including;

Urban Homesteading

How To Homestead

Homegrown Evolution

Lehman's I have looked at this online store a number of times and found neat things, just never ordered from them.

Green People no not people from another planet...

Home Power alternative energy ideas and resources

This is a great site for books on Appalachian cooking, music and lifestyle, don't be put off by the title, Native Ground Music

Local Harvest is a site that is mainly for the Sates, but does have some Canadian content on it, and is worth a look at.

There are many more links, recommendations and information at the end of the book, but these are ones that jumped out too me. If you have any favourites that you'd care to share please let me know...........

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Bit of history about the house, and other stuff.

I went to visit the archives at our local museum on Tuesday afternoon to see if I could find anything out about the house. It was pretty interesting. I have always said our house was built in 1907, however I discovered it was built in 1911.

Here is the story. On March 4th, 1846 the Crown "gave" 100 acres to a John Robinson. Why I say "gave" as the records don't show any money exchanging hands, but there was a Patent fee. Patent fees were around 5 shillings per acre, like a tax. So John Robinson may have paid 25 Pounds in Patent fees, although there is no record of that. British curency was in use until around 1858, see this link

In 1854 it was sold to William Robinson, then passed on to his son John Robinson in 1896, and in turn to his son Harold in 1929.

In 1907 the barn was burned when struck by lightening and was rebuilt.

In 1911 they built the stone house, the one which we live in, and vacated the small log house where all the Robinson family were born.

In February of 1954 the farm was purchased from Harold Robinson, by his daughter and son-in-law. They already owned a farm a few hundred yards down the road from our house.

In December of 1953, they severed the house and 5 acres from the 100 acres and sold it to A. Perry.

Now that is as far as I have got, as I now need to go to the Land Registry Office to find out what's what . I may go down there next week. Interesting eh?

I can't wait to start on the Genealogy, but that's having to wait until we get the new Internet on November 11th.

I went to have a pedicure also on Tuesday morning. I had one Herbal Essences coupon left for a free pedicure, and as it expired on October 31st, I figured I may as well use it. So now I have blood red toe nails. As usual I got a lecture about how I must put cream on the bottom of my feet as they are like sandpaper!! She had to get the razor blade out to cut off the icky skin on the bottom of my feet.

I just pray and hope I didn't block the septic system up on Tuesday morning, as I also shaved my legs, figured I better had as they were a tad on the hairy side, not long enough to braid, but still long, and as I had to expose the bottom of my legs when I get a pedicure, I thought I should make an effort. I don't class it a priority shaving my legs!! Poor Linda has just keeled over at this point. Linda is the lady I worked with, who takes great pride in her appearance.

Outside the salon was parked a Bentley car, very fancy dancy. It turns out a doctor (male) owned it, and he was in for his regular $150 anti aging facial!!!! Must be nice to be able to spend $150 on a facial, don't you think?

One of the big news stories in our area is about a healthy 13 year old dying of swine flu, see here I never get the regular flu shot, and don't honestly see me getting the H1N1 shot despite this happening. How about you?

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More mushrooms and other bits and bobs, including Christmas...

If you have followed my blog for a while, you know I hate doing the Christmas letter that I include with my Christmas cards. I like to include it, but hate writing it. So this year I came up with a different plan of action. I decided to make a start on writing it on Monday, and it came together so easy for a change. I have more or less got it done. Leaving it to November I think makes it more stressful and harder for me to write.

I took the photo below of our house and I thought I may include this photo in with the Christmas card, as most of my Christmas cards go to people in Britain, and a lot of people don't use the Internet. Do you think it is suitable?


I had noticed on the driveway that there were three trees with mushrooms growing on them, so I thought I'd take some photos of them.

I like the one below the best.

I have been watching a show called Victorian Farm which has been on TVO in our area. Has anyone else seen it, its pretty good. I think its a continuation from the Victorian Kitchen and Garden series which I also watched when it first aired.

In Ontario its now against the law to talk on your cell phone while driving, unless you are using a hands free device. It won't be an issue for me, as although I have a cell phone, more often than not, I forget to switch the thing on, and if I actually do remember to turn it on the battery is generally flat!!! Is it against the law where you live to talk on your cell phone when driving?

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A couple of quilting blocks and other odds and ends....

I made these two blocks for a baby quilt, they were foundation/paper pieced. A lady I know through another site is having a baby, and asked if anyone would like to make some blocks and she would put them all together to make a baby quilt. We each had to donate a block. I made two, just in case she was short. She doesn't know if she is having a boy or a girl, but I was drawn to these colours, so maybe my gut is telling me she is having a boy? She already has three girls and three boys, so I am guessing it won't really matter if its a boy or a girl, as long as the baby is healthy?


I finished the book "Seeking Catherine Cookson's Da," by Kathleen Jones, it was an easy ready and was really good. One thing I do know from this book is Genealogy is not as easy as it looks. However she has a lot of good tips about finding people at the end of the book. It turns out her dad was a bigamist. He left his wife in poverty with three kids, had an affair with Catherine Cookson's mother, the result was Catherine, and left her, and then "married," another woman and they "adopted" a girl and brought her up. Quite the story and quite complicated at times!!!

Molly is a whole lot better already and its only been two days. She has more or less stopped the scratching and has totally stopped the chewing. The only problem is she can't be on these pills at this dosage for ever more, as they do contain a mild steroid in them. We will be dropping the dosage slowly over the next few days so will monitor to see when the chewing starts back up again.

Otherwise things are quiet around the Acreage. Still have cluster flies {SIGH}, still finding the odd ladybug {{SIGH}}, but haven't caught anymore mice {{{YEAH}}}, so hopefully the two I caught last week, were just stragglers from the other week!!

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Today's Flower

No idea what these are, probably some sort of weed, but they are pretty. No flowers now outside, these photos are from my archives. When you click on the photo you see more detail.

For more Today's Flower Photos, please click on this link.

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Photos of the Attic and Molly

So if you look at this post you will see some of the "before" photos of the attic. The ones below are all photos of where we are at now.

You have seen the stairs before I know. We have cardboard on the treads to try and protect them; nothing really interesting there. The screen is out of the skylight as that way we can get rid of the cluster flies more easily!!

This one shows the end which will be my sewing "studio," isn't that a fancy name for it. It also shows the vent thingy's that dh is putting in all along the roof. Any new wood (it's lighter than the old) is where they had to add wood to shim it out so its all the same height.

This is the opposite end, which will be a bedroom. Dh doesn't have all the vent thingy's in yet. We have added the two vents for the bathroom fans (the black piping). The upstairs bathroom had no bathroom fan at all and the downstairs bathroom fan's pipe just went into the attic.

The rectangle piece of plywood on the floor, that is where the old stairs used to open up to in the attic. Part of it is still there, as we haven't got around to pulling it all out yet. When we have pulled them out, we will make that area into a linen closet as the door is in the bathroom. Notice the skylight to the left of the photo.

This is Molly inspecting the hole in the floor. We are going to be putting up a 3 foot drywall half wall all around the stair case opening. It will give us privacy in the attic, but also dh is bringing up the electrical through that wall, plus the telephone wire and a wire for an electrical wall heater, if we decide to put one in on a later date. There will also be three sockets in that wall which will be super handy. In total there will be 11 sockets/double plugs in the attic.........I know overkill, but its better to have too many, than not enough!!

We, or should I say dh had to move some plumbing and my dad built this box around it. It will be altered slightly and covered in drywall so you won't see it, but there will be a kick in the wall.

Finally one of the jobs was to knock out some of the stones for ventilation. It was surprising how long that took, and that is what the photo is about.

Dh made a start on putting the insulation in on Saturday and got what he wanted done. He'll be doing more on Sunday, and will hopefully make a start on putting insulation in the roof.

Took Molly to the vet again, and it cost me another $150. I told her we can't afford to be paying such high bills like this every three weeks. Anyhow, she gave me some antibiotics to heal up between her toes where she has been chewing, and some of the bright neon pink wonder pills, to help her stop chewing. She would only give me three weeks worth, as we should be seeing a difference by then, as it will be colder, and she will have been on her vegetarian food for six weeks by then.

Dh had a point, these allergies were maybe why her prior owners got rid of her? I just hope this helps, as it must be awful for her, all this chewing and scratching.

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Cold, wet and foggy.....

you would think I was talking about being in Britain. However, I am talking about Southern Ontario, and Dufferin County which is where we live. It was a real "pea souper" on Friday, and I for one am not used to damp wet foggy weather anymore. It gets into your bones and its no fun. We also had some wet snow in amongst it all, but it melted on contact and was only a few flakes. It was one of those days when you want to put the fire on and hibernate in front of it, with a steaming cup of hot chocolate.

I picked up a couple more books that I had ordered from the library. I am a big fan of Catherine Cookson, and it's well known she was illegitimate. Kathleen Jones, has written a book called, "Seeking Catherine Cookson's Da ." I am looking forward to reading this, as my mother recommended it to me.

The second book I got is "Made From Scratch, Discovering the Pleasures of a Handmade Life," by Jenna Woginrich. It's another one that I am looking forward to reading.

It was really cold upstairs in the house on Friday, so have to say I am glad we are starting on the insulation, as dh is finding it really cold. He feels the cold more than I do. We have closed off all the heating vents in the family room and kitchen in the hopes it pumps more heat upstairs, not sure if it will work we'll have to see.

Have a good weekend, and I will be posting photos of the attic on Sunday.

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A panic attack...and other bits and bobs.

It started out as a mild panic attack, but gradually got worse and worse. I never ever suffer from panic attacks, but this is what started me off on Thursday:

"So you haven't seen the episode yet where the crazed bomber blows up the Rovers with everybody in it. Whoops, sorry."

That was what Grumpy Old Ken wrote in reply to yesterday's post, when I was talking about Coronation Street.

When I first read it I couldn't figure out how come I had missed this, as yes I do peek at what is going on in Britain re: Coronation Street. Then I thought it must be something that is going on currently with the series in Britain. Then I thought I should maybe call my mother to see what's what, all the time panicking more!!

However I was in the middle of typing a letter to my neighbour in Britain, and wanted to get that done and get it mailed. All the time I am typing the letter, I couldn't get this out of my mind.

Then it dawned on me, he's pulling my leg/joking with me, this isn't true at all!!! I mean Grumpy Old Ken, don't you know how serious we Coronation Street fans are? You can't play with us like that. For all you Coronation Street fans out there, what should we do with Grumpy Old Ken....LOL

Just so you know I am now kidding, and I didn't have a panic attack, although I do admit to being totally confused for a few minutes about the Rovers being blown up!!

Update on the attic. Both me and dh tidied up in the attic, and on Saturday we will start to insulate it. Actually dh will be insulating it, I do not like touching that pink insulation, its icky. I will take photos and will post them on Sunday. I just don't think you can see a lot going on in there at the moment. Luckily for us, its been quite warm this week, which has been a blessing with us not having any insulation in the attic.

We got the oil tank filled the other day. It was filled on closing back at the end of April, and we got it topped up on Tuesday, which is nearly six months, and we had only used half a tank during that time. We thought that was good, what do you guys who have oil heating think? They put in 394 litres and we paid .794 cents a litre, for a total of $328.48 (incl tax). I am hoping this will last us until January?

I think it was close to $700 we were charged on closing for oil, along with this $328, so say $1,000 so far for oil, and $900 for wood. Its going to work out a lot more expensive to heat than our old house, as we were paying only around $1,800 for gas heating there. We are also finding the hydro a lot more expensive here, only because they charge us so much for the delivery charges, not a lot we can do there though?

P.S. the mice are back........caught two this week :0(

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Skywatch Friday

The other night I spotted this lovely sunset out of our family room windows. I haven't seen many stunning sunsets recently so this was a treat.

For more Skywatch Friday photos, please click on this link

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Another $700 spent just like that........

Finally the guys came to fix the roof, and basically whoever put the new shingles on, did it wrong.......are we surprised about this, heck no, it just goes with the rest of the problems with this house. So while they were doing the one repair they took a look at the extension roof and found another problem there, so all in all it cost $700 to get it all fixed {{SIGH}}

I have to say they seem to be the most disorganized group I have ever seen. I ended up going out to get out of the way, as they were driving me crazy. My dad was here, so gave him the money to pay the guys. Dad did some more work in the attic, so its looking good that we may be able to start insulating this weekend.

I popped to the quilting store to pick up some material and have decided on the black and white theme quilt, with a red accent. It should be nice and I can't wait to start on it; however I have a couple of other things to do first, then I can make a start.

Anyone watching Coronation Street? Did you enjoy the Christmas and New Year episodes? Yep for those of you in Britain, we finally had Christmas 2008 and New Year 2009, we are 10 months behind. I am totally fed up of the Molly and Tyrone storyline. Enjoying the Liz and Lloyd storyline. Wish Steve and Becky would just get on with it. Glad to see Maria has gone on vacation, as that storyline is annoying as well.

I am enjoying Eastenders better at the moment. The Dawn, Rob and May storyline is proving interesting. Not sure how far behind we are in that show.

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Molly, an odd marketing policy, quilting club and another infestation......

Discovered Molly doesn't like having her photo taken, strange doggie!! These were the best I could get of her.....

It's hard taking a photo of her, as she never stands still for any length of time when outside!!

We have a great store in town called TSC Stores if you click on the link, you will see it specializes in items that are especially useful in a rural setting, like items for your stock etc. When we moved to this house we used to get the TSC flyer and liked receiving it. However we haven't had it in a few months, so when I mentioned it in the store, they said to contact the newspaper to see why we weren't getting it.

Talked to the nicest lady at the newspaper and she said it was the Corporate office that decides who gets the flyer's and what area. It turns out that they have decided to only have it delivered in town and none in the rural areas. Don't you think that's a bit odd??? When the store specializes in rural items? Makes you wonder what they are thinking?

On Tuesday it was my first block of the month meeting. We got to see a quilt top finished, however after today, we will not see it any more. So I have to have the block finished by the third Tuesday of November. The first block is called Dove in the Window I still haven't decided what colours I am doing this quilt in. We get a free fat quarter everytime we go. I picked up a black and white print, as I thought I may do this quilt in black and white. Not 100% sure though about that though. They also have a red work club that meets once a month. I would love the learn how to do that, but I have so many other things on the go at the moment, that I think I will hold off joining that club.

Tuesday was a stunning day, so nice and warm. I spent most of the morning in the garden doing some odd jobs. However it brought out the cluster flies in droves. I mean there were hundreds of them in the attic and they spread right throughout the house. Then if that wasn't bad enough, there are hundreds and hundreds of ladybugs everywhere??? So they seem to be in the house as well now. I mean when does all this end? Its getting past a joke all these bugs wanting to live with us. The flies were driving me crazy, I hoovered up I don't know how many times on Tuesday. Fingers crossed things calm down soon.

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Before and after, books and a blog....

The raspberry patch before:

The raspberry patch after:

I can hear you saying, WHAT HAPPENED???? Well me, my dad and dh decided as I don't have time to prune everything by hand and clean the patch out, I would put the lawn tractors blade as high as possible and mow them for this year.

They are so overgrown and full of weeds, we figured it wouldn't do any harm for one year. This way come Spring, I can start and thin them out and dig out the weeds etc, and make a fresh start on the patch.

Only one small problem I went and got a puncture in one of the tractor tires, so that sucked!!

I mentioned yesterday I would like to buy "The Backyard Homestead," by Carleen Madigan, well the book is published through Storey Publishing, and when I looked at their site I couldn't get over what a great variety of books they have.

They even have a blog called Inside Storey which is really intersting. I found all this by googling Carleen Madigan's name, and up she popped with this blog entry about Fiddleheads.

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It's a miracle......

We have a built in dishwasher in this house, infact it's a Kenmore, just like the one I had at the other house. However I have been frightened to use it, as if it is like everything else in this house, there would be a problem with it. I was frightened I would flood the place, or blow a fuse etc.

Anyhow, yesterday was my dad's birthday, Happy Birthday Dad. So my dad and step-mum came over for supper. Of course my dad can't sit still for a minute, so he went upstairs into the attic with dh to do a few more little jobs, while me and step-mum went shopping!!

I made pasta sauce and pasta for supper with lemon meringue pie for afters, which is quite funny, as they are my step-mum's favourites, and dad isn't that keen on them!! Not sure what I was thinking when I planned all this out...LOL

When people come for dinner, other than the kids, I won't let any one tidy up after the meal. So when they went I decided to use the dishwasher, as dh was around and I figured if there was a problem he would be there to help out. Anyway, ran the dishwasher and there was no problem, other than it didn't clean the dishes properly as we don't have the same water pressure as we did in the city, and I never rinsed the dishes.

I was so happy that I didn't flood the place and something actually worked in this house..........IT'S A MIRACLE!!!

By the way this is for Liz, "The Backyard Homestead," by Carleen Madigan is worthwhile buying. I have already learned a couple of things from the book, and will be buying it myself, to have on hand all the time. The only negative thing I have to say about the book is it all about the States, however I just refer to the Gardening Zone, and I am gardening zone 5a.

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Today's Flower.......flowers around the house at the moment

Today I am featuring some of the flowers that are in bloom in the house.

This is the begonia I brought in from outside, it's very happy sitting in the window sill.

A close up of one of the flowers.

The African Violet that the mail lady grew from a leaf cutting......

My Christmas cactus is flowering AGAIN, poor thing flowers every other time but Christmas!! It's internal clock is all out of whack if you ask me!!

A beautiful Fall coloured Gerber Daisy, that I picked up for half price, it sits on the computer table.

For more Today's Flower photos, please click on this link

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Getting ready for Winter

First of all tried uploading some photos, I am getting "Internal error, try again." Tried again, same message, not sure if its me or Blogger?

Anyhow, on Saturday we had ds over, so ds and dh were busy, busy all day doing "stuff." Me I was doing my own "stuff!!"

They worked all morning in the attic getting small and tiresome jobs done. With ds here, dh got him to work under the half wall area, which is so hard on dh's knees. They did a few other things, not sure what but all in all got what dh wanted done, done.

One job they did in the afternoon, was in our bedroom we have a cable for the tv. Well the people before us had it strung outside around the outside of the house, to where it was connected and had drilled a hole in the window frame and brought it into the bedroom like that. So dh pulled it all out filled in the holes, and brought it through the attic and down through the wall and into the bedroom like that......the proper way. That was a two person job, which ds helped him out with.

They also got all the patio furniture put away for the winter. Got the pressure washer winterized; started the snow blower, to make sure that worked. They then went back up into the attic and did some more jobs which included putting in the new duct work for the heating vent in the attic, so we have a little heat up there. I do believe we are getting close to starting to put in the insulation. I hope so as its freezing cold up stairs in this house. Any heat upstairs is going straight through the attic roof.

What was I doing you ask while the boys were busy. I wish I could say eating bon bon's and drinking tea!!! However you know me better than that. I went grocery shopping in the morning. Dropped off a full bag of dog food for the humane society, as Molly can't have it as it has meat in it.

Did laundry and ironing, made meals, tidied up around the house, then spent a couple of hours in the garden cleaning out a couple more garden beds. I also planted my Fall Mum's that I had on the deck into a couple of the garden beds. Tidied up anything else on the deck that should be put away for Winter. I still have a pile to do this week outside, and the weather forecast is good for this coming week, so that will be my project for the week gardening.

I picked up some more Spring bulbs at Zehrs, which is part of the Loblaws chain, as they are all half price at the moment. I may have to go into town this afternoon; if I do I may pick up some more, as I got a 12 pack of crocuses for 94 cents, 5 pack of daffodils for $1.94. They had 40 pack of tulips for $4.94; which are a heck of a lot cheaper than what I paid for the other bulbs.

I shopped at Sobey's this week for a change, and I am glad I did, as they had some sort of brisket strips on clearance. As I am clueless about meat, I asked the guy would it do for stewing meat, he said it would be perfect for stewing meat, so I ended up getting just over 3lbs for $6.65, which is a super deal, as we pay $4.49 a pound for stewing meat here. I cut it up into cubes and put them into three bags into the freezer.

Oh by the way, I may have mentioned this before, but I totally suck when it comes to barbecuing. I made burgers last night, and they were the worst yet!!! I mean they were fatty so I ended up with a grease fire, so they were as black as the ace of spades by the time I finished. I really should just give up when it comes to barbecuing. It wouldn't be so bad, but ds did offer to do it, but I knew he was busy on the computer doing some work for work, so didn't want to disturb him. Dh doesn't cook period, so it was up to me. Now to be fair the boys ate them without complaining, so that was good of them!!

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A farmer's work is never done.........

Back in August I did this post, and it included the photo below of the farmer combining his field
Fast forward to October and he's now plowing that field.

If you look closely to the far left of this photo behind the tractor you'll see his dog following behind him,(click on the photo for a better look). I can't remember the dog's name, but he was a rescue dog and he's a male and not the friendliest dog around!! However he loves his owner to bits.

These are not the best of photos, as I had Molly with me on leash, and she was pulling like a crazy woman AGAIN!!

On Friday I spent the day trying to clean the house. I feel as though I am fighting a losing battle, as by the next day everything is covered in dust. I am still fighting the flies as well. They are not in the hundred's anymore, but there are still plenty about. I wonder when I will see the last of them?

We have ds here for the day (Saturday), so both him and dh are going to tackle some more jobs in the attic. There is light at the end of the tunnel, maybe only a small little light but at least its not pitch black dark in there!!!

Have a super weekend.

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Look what came in the mail for me on Wednesday......

I participated in an apron swap on another site I go on. This is what I received. The front of the apron:
The back of the apron, although it it reversible, so either side could be the front.

A close up of the fabric, isn't it lovely?

Two matching mini pot holders.

I can't show you the photos of what I sent to my partner, as they haven't received it yet.

I had a day at home on Thursday and spent the afternoon in the garden clearing out a couple of the flower beds. It took me all afternoon and I had a trailer load of weeds. I also planted my bulbs I ordered from Brecks. I got 40 Blubeberry Cream Tulip Mixture, 15 English Bluebells and 20 Early Snowdrops

When dh left to go to work on Thursday morning at 4:40am , a skunk walked out of under the deck. I didn't see if for the rest of Thursday, but have to say Molly has been awfully interested in under the deck, just figured it was mice. Fingers crossed the skunk was only passing through and not wanting to stay!!

We cancelled the Bell Internet today, however we have to give 30 days notice, so we will have it until November 14th. We have an appointment for November 11th (earliest one they had) for the other provider. So can't wait to have Internet that can stay on all the time for one price, and cheaper than it is at the moment.

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Skywatch Friday

Such a dramatic sky against the Fall trees. The second shot, I saw people stopped by that tree taking photos the other day, as that tree is even more pretty now than it was the other day, as we are getting to our prime when it comes to Fall colours. Both photos were taken from the car, I was a passenger!!!

For more Skywatch Friday photos, please click on this link

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'Tis the season, and they're gone....well as far as I know!

'Tis the season...........for road works. I was in the city yesterday and all the way there and all over the city there were road works everywhere. I have to say one stretch of road reminded me of Britain, where there were mile upon mile of bollards (cones in Britain) and not a workman in site!!! I guess Fall is a great time of year to do roadworks?

Now I am touching wood as I say this, but it's been 10 days since I last caught a mouse? Now does that mean I won't get anymore in the house........somehow or other I don't think so!! Still I live in hope.

Also I saw SNOW on Wednesday........I mean I was quite distressed about the whole situation....I even told the guy in the store, that someone up there hadn't got my memo, about no snow until December 24th!! Now granted it was only snow on a car, but it was snow. Then I went to knitting club and one of the ladies there said they had snow on the ground in the morning. So I am guessing it will be here with us soon, especially if Carol decides not to keep her snow and sends it my way ;0)

Thanks for your opinion on the firefighter donation, we are going to write a cheque. Also made a decision on the Internet and will be changing providers in November. I will sort it out on Thursday, as I have give 30 days notice with Bell, and the new providers are booking appointments for setting up the system for the second week of November. I can then be on the Internet more that I am now, which means I will be able to start and visit everyone's blogs again.

Popped into the library to pick up a book I ordered "The Backyard Homestead" by Carleen Madigan, looks like it will be an interesting read.

I got the door repaired today on the wood stove, and when I was in there I picked up a wood stove steamer and trivet similar to this one I couldn't believe the price of them; granted they are cast iron, but I bought a cheaper one and ended up paying nearly $70 for both the steamer and the trivet to put it on. We are finding it very drying to our skin having the fire on, so we are hoping this will help a bit.

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Interesting day on Tuesday............

I had the doctors appointment on Tuesday morning and a dentist appointment. What was interesting is that the dental hygienist's sister is a visual effects person in LA. She was telling me that she was working on promotional material, i.e. promotional video's for Michael Jackson's upcoming tour when he died.

When he died all production shut down, and what was done has been made into the movie "This Is It." She met Michael Jackson and although he looked very sickly and thin, he was very friendly and very, very creative.

I met a friend for lunch and she works as a buyer for a large grocery chain, that sells the PC brand.......

Anyhow, we had lunch in their head office (where she is based) cafeteria. What a lovely place it is, and so bright and modern. You can only eat there if you are with an employee. They had a super selection of items to choose from and of course they are all PC items. They were all well priced and everything looked so good. We had a BLT (bacon, lettuce, tomato) sandwiches, with veggies and chips (crisps), and I had a bottle of water and paid under $12. It was so good also to see "R" and catch up. I really miss her, and we don't see one another often enough. By the way there are 2,500 employees working in this location.

On the way home I called into Tim Hortons, and picked up half a dozen donuts. Anyone else loving the pumpkin spice donuts? They are so yummy I could eat them morning, noon and night.

I had some phone calls to make when I got home. I ordered oil for the heating. We have half a tank still, but I figured we may as well get it in now and then its done with hopefully until after Christmas.

The gasket has started to come off the wood burning stove door. I called in at the store last week, and they gave me some glue, but that didn't do the trick. So now I have to take the door into the store and they will replace the whole of the gasket. Fingers crossed it works then.

Finally, I got a referral to go and see an allergist. The date of my appointment, November 30th.....I think it's a long wait as he only works certain days every week.

Molly's allergies are still as bad. So I need to call the vet to see what she has to say, as I gave her an allergy pill on Tuesday night, to see if she would stop chewing.

So all in all a pretty interesting day. Oh and we had an envelope in the mail box from the local fire department, with their 2010 calendar and a letter and envelope looking for a donation. I am not sure how I feel about donating, or why I should donate.........any thoughts? By the way I donate on a monthly basis to the Canadian Cancer Society, so I am not against donating, I am just not sure WHY I should donate to the fire department?

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What to eat on a Fall day............

A big plate out of macaroni (in this case rotini) and cheese.

Thanksgiving Monday was a true Fall day. Cool and overcast. It was a day when we saw swirls of smoke coming out of people's chimneys. No doubt they were settling down to a lovely Thanksgiving dinner of Turkey. The leaves are changing on the trees, Fall is truly here now.

We had a quiet day. Dh battled with some heating pipes, and I mean battled, poor thing. He sort of won, but wasn't 100% happy with the outcome. He did manage to run the cables from the attic to the basement, which was good.

Me, well I tidied up, did laundry and basically didn't do much. My knee is playing up, and not feeling 100%. I did get the bird feeders filled up, and the blue jays are back feeding from them.

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A window shaker and the nerve of some people......

What's a window shaker you ask............well if you were like me and had no clue, I'll tell you later!!

I was tidying up in the mud room on Sunday morning, when I looked out of the window, and saw a car parked across the end of the driveway and two other cars were parked on the front lawn right beside the driveway????

So I march down there and ask them what on earth they were doing, and for them to tell me that they were lost and were going. I shout at them to get their cars off my front lawn. I mean why would you park a car on a lawn for goodness sakes, when the driveway is right beside it? I was furious, I wonder what they would say if I pulled up at their house and parked on their lawn?

We have had people get out of their car and walk over the grass and start and take photos? Again I wonder what they would have to say if I went and did that at their house? People are forever pulling into the driveway and turning around. Just last week someone pulled into the driveway the guy got out of the car, and went and cut something off one of the trees?? Just because we live in the country doesn't mean its a free for all on our property. It just boggles my mind that people really don't care, or respect other people's property......

Right now that I have got that off my chest onto something else. Dh was running the wires in for the new lights and sockets in the attic on Sunday. He wanted to know where I wanted the sockets put in, and said, "oh by the way I am putting in a special socket for a window shaker."

At this point there was a blank expression on my face, as I had no idea what on earth he was talking about. It turns out a window air conditioning unit is called a "window shaker." Who knew that!!!! It needs to be on its own circuit as per dh.........I personally have no clue when it comes to electrics.

I swear I saw flakes of snow on Sunday when we went to Home Depot. Someone up there must have not got my memo, about me not wanting to see snow before December 24th!!! I brought all my geraniums and the canna lily bulbs in the house also on Sunday, as we had a hard frost on Saturday night/Sunday morning, so knew I had better get them in before they were killed. I also picked all the tomatoes off my tomato plant, however they are all green. We don't eat chutney or pickles, so will welcome any ideas with what to do with them.

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Today's Flower

First let me say blogger turned my photos AGAIN??? Anyhow, a Poppy popped up out of no where in the garden and it is really pretty. It's such a shame though the flowers last for such a short time though.

For more of Today's Flower photos click on this link

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Look what my dad made for me......

Isn't that the neatest thing ever? I asked him for a "thingy" to put our wet wellies and snow boots on to dry. I need to get a plastic boot tray to put underneath it. He made a smashing job of it, all from scrap pieces of wood he had in his workshop.

Dh had to work on Saturday until after lunch. We then went to dd for our supper, roast beef, mashed potatoes, carrot and turnip (rutabaga) and gravy, it was yummy. She lives on the 21st floor of a condo building , and there are other condo building and townhouse complexes around her. She was telling me and pointing out the condo, where the guy does his cooking in his kitchen in the nude :00 She was also saying she hasn't seen him in a while; I suggested maybe he had an accident in the kitchen and chopped something off ;0) When you are surrounded by other condos you don't wander round your condo in the nude with your blinds open now do you!! Or do you?

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Look who came to see us and a close encounter, sort of with a skunk.

You'll have to click on the photo to enlarge it. They were eating the crab apples to the left of the photo at around 4:30pm on Friday afternoon. Sorry for the quality of the photo, but it was pouring down and I took it through the family room window.

Friday was a quiet day. My dad came up and did some jobs for us. He's such a good help, as dh just doesn't have the time to get everything done. So my dad who is very handy, does all the jobs dh doesn't get too.

It poured down all day also on Friday, so I had to dry some of my laundry in the dryer, as there was too much for the clothes horse. So other than walking the dog, never left the house all day. It was a true Fall day wet and windy, and just plain miserable. We had the fire on by lunchtime just to take the chill off. With having the fire on, we haven't had to have the heating on yet. We are forecast for some wet snow this coming Thursday, so my guess it will come on this next week!!

Oh and on Friday night me and Molly had a close encounter with a skunk, luckily not to close of an encounter, but quite close enough for me. I decided to walk the dog when it was dark, and headed into the field, and I happened to see something in the middle of the field. Luckily it moved and I saw the white stripe........so I headed away from it, knowing it was a skunk. Then all of a sudden Molly saw it and all hell broke loose. It took all my weight to hold her back and she is only 40 lbs. Then the howling started, and the baying. I couldn't believe the racket coming out of that dogs mouth.

The outcome of all this, is I am sitting here on Friday night typing this with a bag of frozen peas on my knee, as she both pulled my back and my knee...........here we go again!

It's Thanksgiving in Canada this weekend, so just in case I forget, a Happy Thanksgiving to all you Canadians out there..............

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Heavenly Hollyhocks dancing in the wind.......

I must say that title is quite poetic for me isn't it?

Heavenly Hollyhock is the name of the material below, if you don't believe me, look at the bottom of the photo. I got a couple metres of this material a few weeks ago and never got around to washing it; as you know my rule is, don't put it away until it has been washed. So on Thursday is was a lovely day, so I hand washed it and hung it on the line to dry. It was blowing a gale force wind, so it dried in no time, and I took a couple of photos of it blowing/dancing in the wind. By the way no idea what I am going to make with the material yet.

(as always for more detail click on the photos)

I then took a couple photos of the trees across the way, as they are starting to change colour.

It will probably be another couple of weeks before we see the full Fall colours.

I went to the genealogy session on Thursday afternoon and garnered some good information. I will post more about it in the days to come.

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