Busy day in the garden..........

THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN POSTED ON THURSDAY, BUT I FORGOT TO PUT TOMORROW'S DATE ON IT!

My dad and step-mum came up for the day on Wednesday and helped me in the garden.  Dad spent most of the day roto-tilling and digging over my veggie patch.  It's a heck of a lot bigger then it was last year, so I am hoping for bumper crops of everything!!

I still have to edge all down the left hand side and straighten it all up.  Then its just to rake and then I can plant.

My step-mum was busy in the raspberry patch doing a bit of raking.  I had thought I had managed to kill all the raspberries, but we did see signs of life in the odd place, so there is hope I may be picking raspberries this year!

In amongst all the good things, pests have arrived back, including these rotten catterpillers, that eat all the foliage on the tree.  So I need to get the blow torch out and burn them out of the tree's, unless any of you have any bright ideas?

It's Earth Day today.  I'll be honest I don't have anything planned to celebrate Earth Day, do you?

Every day is Earth Day. ~Author Unknown

As I am writing this on Wednesday night, I am pooped all that fresh air and exercise isn't good for me I have decided, as I am shattered!!  Remember I am allergic to exercise!

Enjoy your Thursday.....

Column and other odds and ends.........

Here is this week's column for the Eden Valley Messenger.  I talk about the changeable weather this week.  Also Karen the editor of the Eden Valley Messenger has started her own blog, check it out here.  Say hello to her and wish her luck, she is a busy girl!!

I took some photos on Monday.  Nothing special just odds and ends.  This is a view north west of our house.

No one is home in these bird houses yet?

My lilac bush, it must be nearly a month ahead of last year.

I sorted out the "issue" with the church ladies, and have got them doing a section, in which they will do menu plans for specific church events/dates.  I spoke to the "ring leader" and asked if she could organize it, as I am not familiar with church holidays and what people in Canada would eat on those days.  Also I have enough on my plate with the rest of the cookbook.  I also advised her to make sure she got helpers to help her out with this, otherwise she would end up having to do it all herself.

So she is all happy with all this!  I also explained why I had deadlines to meet, so that too went down well, and hopefully she'll now get why I want things done for certain times.  So we'll see how things go from here.  Meanwhile I will carry on inputting the recipes and getting on with my side of things.........

Catholic Health Insurance...

A man suffered a serious heart attack and had open heart bypass surgery...


He awakened from the surgery to find himself in the care of nuns at a Catholic Hospital.


As he was recovering, a nun asked him questions regarding how he was going to pay for his treatment.


She asked if he had health insurance.


He replied, in a raspy voice, 'No health insurance.'


The nun asked if he had any money in the bank.


He replied. 'No money in the bank.'


The nun asked, 'Do you have a relative who could help you?'


He said, 'I only have a spinster sister, who is a nun..'


The nun became agitated and announced loudly, 'Nuns are not spinsters! Nuns are married to God.'


The patient replied, 'Send the bill to my Brother-in-Law.'

Earth Day/Money Saving Tips:

Unplug when you can.

It's one of the easiest things to do: unplug.

Standby (or phantom) power, may be haunting your house -- and costing you more money on energy bills than you bargained for. Standby power eats up electricity on common appliances throughout your home while they're not even on. Seem unfair? Phantom power in the United States is responsible for 5 percent of the total energy used and $3 billion in actual dollars wasted, according to the Department of Energy.

Unplugging even the appliances you rarely use, like refrigerators in the basement, could save you about $10 every month on your utility bill.
Using power strips to switch off televisions, home theaters and stereos when they're not in use could save the equivalent to that of a 75 or 100 watt light bulb running non-stop, according to the NRDC.

Did you remember to put your money in your Daily Savings Pot today?

Spring lambs, and other stuff........

Coming from the "fells" in the Eden Valley one thing we saw a lot of were sheep.  It's something we don't see very often here in Southern Ontario.  However on one of the backs roads to one of the nearest cities we pass a sheep farm, and frolicking in the sun on Sunday afternoon were all these sheep with their lambs.  Dh stopped to let me take a couple of photos.

LizBeth was asking yesterday how the church cookbook was coming along.  Up until the end of the Church service on Sunday I would have said slowly but surely.  I picked up a number of recipes from the church, so will get them input into the system this week.

However the **it hit the fan at the end of the service as I was leaving.  Two ladies from the Advisory Committee aproached me and asked me how I was sorting the recipes.  I told them I had them them divided into catagories, and explained what and told them they were custom dividers and I couldn't change them.  I asked what they had in mind and they wanted me to sort out the recipes by "religious season."  For example, Easter, Lent, Advent etc.

As I explained to them, if I were to do what they wanted, it would mean starting afresh and re-inputting everything again; and did they realize how much work that was?  One of the ladies said that as I was doing it by computer it wouldn't be that hard???  So I basically said no that's not going to happen it's staying as is.

They were not suited at all, and I noticed they hung around to the end to talk to the Reverend!  So no doubt I am in the dog house.  I was close to tears when I got home, as I really don't think they realise how much work goes into this, as a lot of the people are not writing down full recipes, or methods.  I end up having to call them, all which takes even more time; as although you know I bake and cook a lot I am not familiar with every recipe out there. 

So although I enjoyed the service, I left church feeling pretty disheartened.  However, onwards and upwards I will go with this project.

I know I haven't mentioned this in a long time, but we caught a mouse in the old basement yesterday?  Which I thought was pretty unusual, as it's been a while since we have caught any.

Did you remember to put money in your Daily Savings Pot today?

Another Earth Day/Money Saving idea:

Food: Eating less meat and dairy is good for your health, your budget, and the planet (raising livestock is responsible for 18% of global greenhouse gases). Cutting back even a little bit helps. Some ideas to get you started: Limit the amount of meat on your plate and fill up with grains and veggies, avoid meat for one meal each day, or make one day a week meatless.

Spoke too soon and those silly squirrels.........

Woke up on Saturday to it snowing, I was not impressed!  It continued to snow on and off all day.  Granted it didn't amount to anything, but I was in my shorts and t-shirt earlier on in the week.  Very, very strange weather we are having!

I admit to putting out the bird seed, as much to attract the squirrels as the birds, as Molly loves to watch them both.  However, it's the squirrels that she loves the most.  I have discovered they love the sunflower seeds the best and take the skin off them and eat the seed inside.  They also seem to know that Molly can't get them when she is inside the house looking at them!

However it seems though that only one squirrel is allowed on the table at a time to feed.

So the other squirrel has to sit in the tree and try and eat from this birdfeeder!!

We managed to get to the dump on Saturday and dispose of more building material from the closets.  Only cost us $8 so we were all happy about that. 

It's Earth Day on April 22nd, so here is something you can do:

Leave your car at home. If you can stay off the road just two days a week, you'll reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 1,590 pounds per year [Source: EPA]. Combine your errands -- hit the post office, grocery store and shoe repair place in one trip. It will save you gas and time.

Are you still putting money in your Daily Savings Pot?  I hope so!

Today's Money Saving Tip:

Using old towels and T-shirts instead of disposable wipes and paper towels will cut down on waste and save you money. Plus, cloth is softer, so it's better for cleaning delicate items.