Didn`t get chance to post yesterday..........

my mother, brother and step-father arrived and I got the kids to pick them up as a surprise.  Which of course delighted my mother and step-father as they haven`t seen the kids in a number of years.

Fast forward to this morning and my brother decides to get into the shower at 5:30am.........would anyone care to put my brother up for the next three weeks....I have threatened him with bodily harm if he does that again.  One of the joys of an old house is that you can`t move around the house quietly!!!  So once one person is up everyone is up.

Took them to Tim Hortons the Canadian institution for lunch and me and my mam have been in the garden this afternoon while my brother slept on the sofa as he was tired..................no bloody wonder getting up at the crack of dawn.  The one thing my brother is doing though is walking Molly, so am happy about that, as it will do both of them the world of good!!!

Meanwhile, not complaining as they brought over piles of chocolates and great magazines!!!!  Just a shame the kids took most of the chocolates with them!!

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Really ingenius........

Over here in Canada and I know in Britain, we celebrate Remembrance Day on November 11th.  Between now and then veterans sell Poppies that we pin onto our lapels.  On Saturday dh and I went into town and called into Tim Hortons for a coffee and donut.  Standing just after the speaker in the drive through was a veteran selling his poppies.  He was doing a roaring trade and I thought he was very ingenious; as that drive through is very busy and basically he had a captive audience!!!

I spent part of Saturday outside doing some tidying up.  I noticed our neighbour out back was also busy.  He is busy planting another "forest!!"  He planted the one on the right last year, and is putting the one on the left now.

No idea where he is getting all the trees from.  He has all the correct equipment to dig the holes and plant the trees....

Our company arrives today, so I will probably not be visiting many blogs over the next three weeks, but will try and post every day.  Oh and only 6 more sleeps to the wedding day.......

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A busy Friday and some photos........

Had another busy but productive day on Friday.  However my poor hands are suffering for it.  So here are a couple of photos, as typing is not doing my hands much good at the moment.

The last of the Fall colours, out back of us.

Looking south from our property.

We had a snow shower on Friday morning, lasted all of ten minutes and it melted as soon as it touched the ground.  We are forecast for rain all day on Saturday.

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All about houses.........

At first glance I would love this week's home of the week  However the second photo put me off, as I am not sure how far that block of flats is from the house.   If I am paying over 9 million dollars for a house I wouldn't want people be looking into the backyard and house?   The 15th photo of the upstairs hallway shows a gorgeous area.  I love the railing and the fancy skylight.  The rest of the interior is just okay.  I suspect that master bedroom suite will be the size of the whole of our downstairs in our house!!!


This week Toronto Life also featured a 1.8 million downtown condo.  Now I will say it's not my cup of tea at all, sorry.  It feels very cold and masculine to me, especially the bathrooms.  One thing I do love though is the terrace and the view.  Mind you when it's minus goodness knows what outside, what use is that terrace!!!  If I were young and single and obviously had lots of money, then maybe this would be for me.....

I got an interesting email from Natural Home and Garden about living well in less than 1000 square feet.  If you click on this link it will lead you to the story and also lead you to more interesting links, like this one.    I found this quote interesting in the article:

"In 1950 the average American home size was 983 square feet; by 2009 the average home was 2,343 square feet—even as family size shrank."

It makes you ask why do we need larger and larger houses with more and more conveniences in it?  I always think of the television series The Waltons, where they had 11 family members living in that house with one bathroom.  That is unheard of nowadays.

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Another bobby dazzler of a sunset the other day.  It looks as though there are two suns in the photo.

For more Skywatch Friday photos, please click on this link

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Isn't she a little beauty..........

DRAT, DRAT AND DOUBLE DRAT.  THIS POST WAS SUPPOSED TO BE PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, BUT I PRESSED ENTER TOO FAST!!

After working my tail off for the past couple of days, I decided to run errands on Wednesday.  Both my hands were killing me, so a slower day was in order.  I started off the day by going to the hospital to get some x-rays taken of my wrists.  I have an appointment to see the surgeon on December 28th, and needed up to date x-rays for some reason.  If anyone is a nurse, could you tell me why I need x-rays for carpal tunnel?  I have had the neurology (I think that is the correct word) testing done, so I figured that would be it?

You would be ever so proud of me, I parted with a pile of magazines and dropped them off at a friends house.  I still have all my Prima magazines, but the pile has been reduced considerably.  I know its only a baby step, but at least it is a step in the right direction.

In the afternoon I decided to go to Cookstown to the Antique Market where I spotted this little beauty:

I am going to use her as a bedside cabinet in the spare bedroom.  I got 20% off as they were having a sale and she cost $108 plus taxes.

On Tuesday night I knocked over the lamp on the desk and did this too it:

Please ignore the coaster, I made that before I knew the correct way to quilt.  While at the Antique Market I found it's twin:

I ended up paying just over $30 for it at the same place.  My base is nicer, so I will get dh to switch it over when he gets a few moments.  I must say I was shocked at how much desk lamps are, or at least the nicer ones.  So I thought my $30 was a good price.

I saw a gorgeous chair, with terrible fabric on it, but good bones.  Don't think I will be able to persuade dh to go and take a looksie though....but you never know (wink, wink!!)

All in all a positive day and got some good jobs jobbed as I say.

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It starts out with one job, but ends up escalating into this......

So on Monday I had the bright idea that I should clean out the fridge.  However on further inspection I discovered a few things that needed using up.  So made a plan to do some baking/cooking on Tuesday.

I had a tub of sour cream and some oranges that needed using, so decided to make Orange Sour Cream Loaves.  I doubled the recipe because I wanted to use the whole tub of sour cream.  My close up photos sucked, sorry.

Orange Sour Cream Loaf:

Ingredients:

1 cup full fat sour cream



1 cup granulated sugar


3 large eggs


Zest of 3 oranges


1 tsp real vanilla extract


¼ tsp salt


½ cup extra light olive oil


2 teaspoons baking powder


1 ½ cups all purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a loaf pan. Cut a piece of parchment paper to size and place it in the bottom of the pan.

In a food processor, process sour cream, granulated sugar, eggs, orange zest, vanilla extract, salt, olive oil, and baking powder together. Add the flour and pulse until combined, being careful not to over mix.

Pour the cake batter into the loaf pan and bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Wait for 10 minutes and carefully remove to a cooling rack.

For soaking warm cake


1/3 cup fresh squeezed orange juice


1 Tablespoon granulated sugar

While the cake is cooking, add the orange juice and granulated sugar to a small sauce pan. Cook over medium high heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is melted and the liquid is mainly clear. About 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
Place the cooling rack on top of a piece of wax paper. Spoon the mixture over the cake. Allow the cake to finish cooling.






For glazing cooled cake


1 cup powdered sugar


2 Tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice

Mix together powdered sugar and orange juice. Spoon glaze over the top and let the cake set up overnight before serving.

***I did not put the glaze on my loaves it doesn't need it in my opinion.  This recipe is a keeper, if you like the taste of orange you will love this.  It has the consistency of a pound cake and is really moist.

I then had some carrots and apples that needed using up, so I made Carrot Zucchini Muffins.  Here is the link to the recipe I also posted the recipe here  I made a triple batch.

I then decided to make a batch of chocolate chip cookies, using the recipe from the Golden Crisco package. Here is the recipe, I don't put nuts in mine or make ice cream bars with them!!

By the time I had done all that it was 11am.  Now dh has been whining asking for mashed potatoes.  So I got a piece of cooked pork roast out of the freezer and decided I would make a pork roast supper for him.  I had dug up some potatoes the other week from the garden, and they were sitting in a bucket outside of the mud room door.  I decided to peel the whole bucket all at once and make a shepherd's pie with the extra potatoes for when we have company.  I then remembered I had a couple of turnips/rutabaga's in the fridge so decided to make carrot and turnip mashed together for supper along with the mashed potatoes.

I went to the veggie patch to see if I could find any carrots and onions, and found both and put them to good use.  So I made a large shepherd's pie that I will put in the freezer and it is a easy meal for us all.

I finally did get around to cleaning out the fridge which isn't a job I love doing.  I did have a good throw out in the condiment shelf as some things have been hanging around for quite a while.  I have never seen the fridge as empty in a long while, even dh noticed it.

I don't have a light bulb in the top of the fridge as I find it bright enough with just the one bulb.

So all this happened just because I wanted to clean my fridge out.  Due to doing all that, the only other things I got done on Tuesday was a big load of laundry washed, dried and ironed, supper made, dog poop picked up and fire wood brought in for the fire.  Another busy day around here.

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A weary British Woman.......

I need to have company come to stay more often, as it seems to have kicked my butt into action.  I have been doing some tidying up and cleaning.  I walked up and down three flights of stairs 8 times carrying bundles of magazines on Monday.  So next time the doctor tells me to exercise more I will be swatting him over the head!!!!


Oh by the way I think I have a hoarding problem.  I have Prima magazines from 1984, I just can't part with them. 


The horses from yesterday are Belgium's, similar to Shire Horses or Clydesdale's.  Beautiful horses with a lovely temperament.  They are quite old and one isn't too well, and they belong to the farmer across the way.  He bought the miniature horse for his grand daughters.


Here is another photo of Molly waiting to be let back into the house.  She wasn't happy with me on Monday morning, as I bathed her, she really hates it, but it helps her skin and she wasn't scratching as much on Monday after her bath.  That's waste wood in the bag by the door.

Molly fast asleep on her ottoman, with the glorious view behind her.  It set out as a miserable day on Monday but by lunch time the sun got out and it faired up.

My attempt at an artistic shot!!

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If its snowing where you are this morning, blame me....

I actually cleaned  out my car, a job I have not done since we moved here over two years ago.  In fact the only reason I cleaned it out was that it was covered in dog hair and if our company have to sit in the car especially the back seats then they would be covered in dog hair!!!  I haven't washed outside of it as it's supposed to rain, I may take it too the car wash on the weekend and use some of my Petro Points to wash it.

Sunday was a gorgeous day weather wise.  Started out chilly with a ground frost, but got out nice and sunny.  Here is a photo of Molly watching me.

Her eczema is bad and I rubbed her down with my hands, to try and clean away some of the dead skin as I can't brush her.

The horses were in the field over the way.  If you look at the left hand horse by it's leg, you will see the tail of the miniature horse.  I was around a ten minute walk away when I took the photo, so this was the best I could get.

One thing for sure they were enjoying the sunny day as much as I was.

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All very exciting on Saturday.....

Why.....well look at this:

Yes it's all systems go and it was a lot simpler to use that it looks:

My washer and dryer are all ready to use.  However as you can see the room isn't finished yet.  We still have no ceiling, no door and no back splash, but at least I can use my new washer and dryer.  I was very pleased with the colour on the wall.  It is called White Wine Vinegar and is from Sico Paints and is # 6097-11 and is a pale lemon colour and very nice and cheerful.

Was a bit concerned it wouldn't work after sitting idle in the bathroom for the last nine months.  I am easy pleased!!  Oh and Molly is very confused with the new noise in the house, as it does make delightful noises when you turn the washer on and when it finishes its load...........

I washed two pairs of dh's work pants, two of his work tops, a fleece sweater, a pair of thick jogging pants and two of my long sleeve tops, and two days worth of underwear and socks, so a biggish load, and they were dry in less than half an hour in the dryer.  I only used to dryer to make sure if worked and I was amazed at how "dry" the laundry was when it came out of the washer.

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Writing a speech..........

On Friday I wasn't in the mood to do anything around the house in the afternoon.  So I decided to work on the speech for the wedding.  I am doing the speech for our side of the family, as dh is not keen on speaking in front of a 100 folk.

I had thought about it on and off for a while, and I thought I was just going to "wing it."  However I decided I had better go ahead and write it down, as dd has made the executive decision and decided that the speeches should only last around 2 minutes each.  A wise decision in my humble opinion, as more often than not the speeches are only pertinent for the immediate family. I practiced my speech and it lasted around the 2 minutes so that is good.

Do you like speaking in public, and/or have you made a speech at a wedding?

The wedding plans are all coming together and everything seems to be on schedule.  Our company arrives in just over a week and the wedding is now only 2 weeks away.  This month is speeding by, in fact this whole year has flown by.  Has it for you?

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Home of the week and other stuff.....

Love this weeks home, other than the stone and stucco colour, bit to bright for my tastes.  Love the way it's decorated and they can leave the furnishings for me if they want, other than all that exercise equipment, as that is just more stuff that will need to be dusted from lack of use!!!  Also not sure if I want the upkeep of that aquarium, but too big for my tastes and it could be a salt water one by the looks of it!!


Will say I was puzzled by the photos of the place, as whoever took them did a poor job.  How many photos do you want to see of the front entrance?  Also the people in the photos was rather strange???  The kitchen had all that high shelving/display areas, again a dust trap.  Also the property taxes are over $30,000 a year, however I guess if you can afford to buy that house you can afford to pay the bills and cleaning staff, right?

I have no photos for today's post.  I left the house today to go into town as I had a couple of errands to run and I wanted to take advantage of a sale on at Zellars.  They had duvets on for half price and I picked up a decent one for $29.99, plus a couple of pillowcases for $4.98.  I had a coupon for a bonus 15,000 points when I spent $30 so took advantage of that.  Up to over 150,000 HBC points; I see I need 200,000 points for a $25 HBC gift card, so I'll keep saving up for them.

I also went to Zehrs and I got the following:

2 x 4 pack Astro Smoothie Drinkable Yogurt
1 x large tub Yoplait Source Yogurt
1 x loaf bread
2 x 6 pack Sausage buns
1 x 4 pack mini apple strudels
1 x pack pork chops (I think there were 5 large chops in the pack, hoping there may be 6 in there)
1 x 3 pcs Chicken Schnitzel, which we had for supper and they were yummy
1 x yogurt with fresh fruit and granola (they make in store)

Should have been $40.52, I paid $21.95 for a savings of $18.57.  Everything was on clearance, with at least 30 % off (meat) up to 50% off, other than the drinkable yogurt which was discounted by 60%.

I am also trying to plan and stock up on meal ideas for when we have company at the end of the month.  Need to make a meal plan.  I have made a bit of a one in my mind but do need to write it all down.

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Another sunset. I wasn't actually sure what photos to use but narrowed it down to these two. We have been really lucky recently having a number of stunning sunsets and sunrises.
 

There is so much movement and drama in this shot.

For more Skywatch Friday photos, please click on this link

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More of what I have been up too, with photos.

On Tuesday I decided to strip down the book shelves in the family room and clean behind them.  The story of how I came to own these shelves is on this post.  It took me a while to get everything off, cleaned and put back on, however it was a good job, jobbed as I say.

By the way the kids photos are their Grade 12 Graduation photos, which was 9 years ago now; gosh time has flown by since then and they have changed a lot since then.

On Wednesday afternoon, I headed into the attic to tidy some of my sewing stuff up and discovered a few things I had forgotten about. I also sat down and did a bit of machine quilting on this quilt:

I must have been on with this quilt now for nearly three years? I found the original post of when I started to make it back in January of 2009.  To the right of the sewing machine you can see a purple fabric box, I wrote about how too make it on this post.

We bought a new chest of drawers for the attic last month and it is in complete contrast to the one in the spare bedroom:

This one is from Ikea, although I did buy nicer handles for it from Lowes, as I didn't like the ones it came with.   The toiletries are for my brother when he comes over at the end of  the month.

I must say I am enjoying pottering around the house getting odds and sods of jobs done.  That's one good thing about the weather being colder and wet, you get more done inside of the house.

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The grass police are coming to get me....

I am just waiting for a knock on the door.  You know how I am always preaching about how you have to cut your grass in a different direction everytime you cut it, so it grows back in thicker?  Well I didn't do that I cut it the same way I did last time in the field on Tuesday. I have lots of reasons excuses as to why I did that, but that doesn't matter, I did it.  It was also a "flaps down," kind of day, to see what I mean see this post.  I wanted to get some of the field cut as it was awful long in places.  I may or may not cut the front grass on the weekend if it dries up, as there are some leaves that need mulching, otherwise I am done cutting the grass for this year...YEAH!!!!

I mentioned in this post, that we had bought an old dresser for the spare bedroom.  I finally got it all cleaned up and put together on Monday so I took a couple of photos.  It goes perfectly in the bedroom and with the period of the house.

I love the detail on the mirror. The bed is from Ikea.

What neat drawer pulls, don't you think?

It's seen a lot of wear and tear but is still in lovely condition.

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All about the bathroom today.......

One of the main jobs of Monday was to wash all the glass blocks of the shower in the upstairs bathroom.  That job has now been promoted to the job I hate to do most.  What a pig of a job, and if anyone out there is thinking of building shower walls out of glass blocks DON'T!!  I hate our shower but we don't have the money to change it, so I have to live with it.

I also stripped down the bathroom window and cleaned it both inside and out.  Not a job I relished while there were 100 km per hour winds and I was hanging out of the window to clean the top window, it doesn't move.  Still it's another job off my list.  I also tied a bag full of vinegar around the vanity tap to see if it would dissolve the build up.  I have had luck doing that before and it is environmentally friendly.

Back here I wrote about testing a new product on the market for cleaning the toilet.  Three weeks later here is my thoughts on it.  If you never clean a toilet or really, really hate cleaning the toilet and only do it once a year because it is past being disgusting, then this product is for you.  Mind you, you will still probably forget to step on the peddle to make the cleaner come out of it.


If you don't mind cleaning the toilet, or know if you don't clean it, no one else will, then this product is not for you.  Why, well you still have to clean the toilet seat.  You still have to clean the rim of the toilet, especially if you have men or boys in the house.  I also found you need to use a brush in the toilet bowl regardless to scrub away any stains or marks on the bowl.  So I wasn't saving any time at all by using this.  I am a big fan of the Scrubbing Bubbles line of products, just not this one.  I will be telling BzzAgent this also, as that is who I tested it for as I am a BzzAgent.

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Various photos and a reminder about saving money for Xmas

My dear friend Jane from The Maple Syrup Mob is starting a new meme and I thought you all may be interested in it?  It won't officially be starting until November 17th, but thought I'd tell you all about it so you can think about what you will do.

It's called "A View From My Window," and you take photo(s) from the same window(s) each week (posting on a Thursday) and we can all watch the changing seasons from your window.  To read more about it, click on the link

I have decided to take photos from Molly's window for you to see what she watches all day.

Molly looking out of her window:

Looking to the south:

Looking to the north:

Looking to the west:

Molly sleeping after all that watching:

Something is missing from the bathroom?

The washer and dryer have gone!!!!  Mind you don't get too excited as they are still not hooked up but are in the basement.  At least they are getting closer to the laundry room!!!!  Dh plumbed in the sink and is more or less ready to turn on the water.  Still don't have the electric hooked up, although all the plugs and switches are all wired in and plates on them.  I hope to go next weekend and pick up the door, not sure if dh will have time to hang it before my mother arrives, as there is a lot of electrical work still to finish, plus dh is pretty sick at the moment with his sinuses.

Also have the back splash tiles to find and the drop ceiling to put in, all those things can be done when we save up the money, as I can see me spending at least another $500 to do both of those jobs.  There is a lot of tile work to be done on the walls.  I will take photos when the washer and dryer gets hooked up.

Also do you remember this post when I was saying it was 90 days until the 20th of December and if you put $1 a day away each day you would have enough saved to pay for the Christmas meal and treats?  Is anyone still doing it?    I am and have got $28 saved up so far, so should reach my goal of $90. 

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Guess it had to happen at some point.........

After five days of rain it was a little cool today in the house, so we had the fire on before lunch:

We still don't have the heating on yet. Molly took advantage of the fire being on and lay down in front of it.

With it being cool and very windy I picked a number of tomatoes and peppers:

I plan on making some tomato sauce with them.

I have to travel back and forth to the city twice on Saturday, as dh was supposed to be getting work done on his work truck.  It is only a couple of months old and it is a big "L," lemon!!!!  It has to go back to the garage again, as a major electrical component in the truck needs to be replaced and of course they didn't have it in stock.  It caused all the windows to open on their own the other day....freaky or what!!!

Not sure if you are all familiar with WAGJAG it's a site where you can purchase items/services at discounts.  I took advantage of a coffee deal, but what a job I had trying to get it.  It turned out this lady had a web only business, and I was under the impression it was a cafe.  As she worked full time through the week, trying to get together for me to pick the coffee up was difficult, so this deal wasn't the best for me.  Have to say though I have had good luck with other deals. 

I purchased a couple of Groupon deals on Saturday as I have had good luck with that site as well.  I have only ever bought one deal off of Living Social and that was a magazine subscription.  Are you a fan of these discount deal sites?

Finally, in answer to your mushroom questions.  I knew it was okay to eat as I looked it up on the Internet and found a picture of the mushroom.  Also I figured it must be fine if the guy was picking them.  Also when we were growing up we used to eat field mushrooms, so are familiar with them. 

I would like to take a mushroom identification course though, as I am sure there are many more varieties that we could eat.

Very sad news just in; Betty from Coronation Street has died, I wonder how they are going to write her out of the series......

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23 Adult Truths

A dear friend emailed me this:

****** 23 ADULT TRUTHS ******







1 Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.






2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.






3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.






4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.






5. How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?






6. Was learning cursive really necessary?






7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on # 5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.






8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.






9. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind-of tired.






10. Bad decisions make good stories.






11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.






12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.






13. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to.






14. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.






15. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.






16. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Light than Kay.






17. I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.






18. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.






19. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said?






20. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!






21. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.






22. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time.






23. The first testicular guard, the "Cup," was used in Hockey in 1874 and the first helmet was used in 1974. That means it only took 100 years for men to realize that their brain is also important.






Ladies.....Quit Laughing

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The nerve of some people, Molly and a trip to the hairdressers.

On Thursday I went to the hairdressers to have a trim and styled in the style I want for the wedding.  Last time dh said it looked as though I had a wig on, so we went a different route this time.  The expression "dragged through a bush backwards," comes to mind with yesterday's style!!!  It was very puffy and a lot of product put on my hair to see if it would hold it's shape for numerous hours.  I am around 80% happy with it this time.  However, as my mother was saying she is never happy either with the way hairstylists style her hair either, so it's a family thing I guess.

Anyhow, as I was pulling into the driveway I saw a man pull up by the field in his van.  He got out and walked onto our property and picked a couple of mushrooms.  When he saw me looking, he got back into his van and watched me for a bit, but I didn't budge, so he eventually drove away.  Went up to the house, let Molly out and I looked out front, and there he was again.  He had turned around and decided to come back to get some more?????  We don't have a fence along the property line as we don't think we need it.  It is however private property and it is obvious it is someones property as all the grass is cut and looked after.

I walked down the field, and he had left one mushroom, so I picked it:

I cooked this mushroom for supper and it was good.
Finally, Molly.  Took her to the vets for her yearly check up and to make sure she is up to date with her shots before she goes to the kennels for a couple of nights.  Everything was fine and she suggested upping her medication to 1 1/2 pills per day to see if that helps her skin.

However we did get another bit of news, she has two lumps in her mammary glands and she will have to have surgery.  When we got her from the humane society we were told that they had removed some non-cancerous lumps in the same area.  I don't want to deal with this at the moment, as if it is bad news I don't think either myself or dh could make a decision so close to the wedding.  The vet was very good and said to keep an eye on her, and if we wanted them to check the lumps, just pop in, and we could wait until after the wedding to have the surgery.

Must say was a bit shocked to receive the news, it wasn't what I was expecting.

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The stunning sunset from Tuesday night.  Can you believe the colours, just gorgeous, but then the day had been wonderful weather wise as well.

For more Skywatch Friday photos, please click on this link

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Home of the week and other things....

This weeks home is "different," I think that is the right word?  From what I read there was a bungalow there and it was teared down and the house built in its place.  First of all it looks so different to the other homes on the street, I wonder how they got planning permission to build it?  I applaud how they have incorporated energy saving features, but visually this house doesn't do it for me?

I do love the shower in the second bathroom and when we replace ours that would be the look I would go for, which I know is totally opposite to the style of our house, but I think it would work....otherwise the rest of the house I could live without.  What are your thoughts?

Anyone looking for more slow cooker recipes?  I got this link in an email.  I didn't know you could cook lasagna in a slow cooker?  The gingerbread recipe looks yummy.

I have a strange noise in the house at the moment, luckily I know what it is, its the dryer.  I rarely use it, but had to do a load of laundry this morning, and due to the wet weather we are having, the only way to ensure dh has work clothes for tomorrow, is the pop them in the dryer.  I did make sure the laundry was washed when the hydro was at the cheap rate, but will be using the dryer though the medium rate of hydro.

Heading to the vets this morning to get Molly checked over and she needs some shots.  Bathed her yesterday and some parts of her skin are so sore.  Will see what the vet says and go from there.  She is getting worse with age, poor thing.

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Close encounter with a snake and a book Review

Down in the corner of the property is this tree which is a lovely shade of yellow at the moment.

As I was cutting the grass on Tuesday I noticed that there were green things hanging off the tree.

Any idea what they are?

I went down to take some photos and decided to walk into the taller grass to see if I could reach some of the green things on the tree, when I stumbled upon a snake.  I let out an almighty scream and ran hell for leather up the hill.  Sorry I never got a photo!!!!

"Blackberry Summer," by RaeAnne Thayne

I was fortunate enough to receive this book from Harlequin to read and review.  What a super book it was with characters you can easily relate too.  The story gives you a sense of wanting to belong to a small town like Hope's Crossing where everyone cares about everyone else.

It's an easy read which doesn't tax the brain, with a feel good theme and a bit of romance thrown in there just to spice it up a bit.  Of course Chester the Basset Hound was my favourite characters, as I have always wanted a Basset Hound with those big sad puppy eyes!!

This would be a great book to read while waiting in a doctors office or when going on a trip, as you can easily pick up the story from where you left off.  I read it in one night, but I am a fast reader.

If you want to be part of Harlequin's reader panel and review books, here is a link  I think this is the third book they have sent me.  They send you a survey via email when you get a book and you have to fill that out and email it back to them.  It's another way to get free books and as I enjoy reading as a hobby its a good thing in my opinion.

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