Well it's arrived and ahead of schedule.........

The Church recipe book arrived on Monday. So I spent part of the afternoon sorting out the orders and calling a couple of people who are going to deliver them to their respective church.   If you click on the photo you will see more detail of the churches.

This is one of the drawings we had done for the dividers.  We ended up selling 168 books.  I ordered an extra 32 books, which I hope to sell at the next church dinner.

I have burgundy Gladioli in the vase at the moment.

I am still painting closets.......they may be the smallest rooms in the house, but gosh they are taking forever to get done.

The weather has been miserable the last few days, but I managed to get some grass cut on Monday night.  It's all overgrown AGAIN, so it ALL needs to be cut AGAIN!!  So of course I am super busy.

Once again a big, big sorry for not popping by your blogs.

Attention all cat lovers, have a question for you

Dd has a two year old cat, Olive.

On Saturday they got a four month old kitten called Rhubarb, cute isn't she?

She was told not to introduce the two cats to one another straight away.  So she has Rhubarb in the bathroom, with her toys, litter, food and bed.  Olive meanwhile has the run of the condo like normal other than going into the bathroom.  Dd gave Olive, Rhubarb's blanket to sniff, to get used to Rhubarb's scent. 

She was also told to introduce Rhubarb to Olive slowly around 4 days by opening the bathroom door slightly, so they can see one another, but Olive can't get into the bathroom, and Rhubarb can't get out.   Is there anything else she should be doing?

I did my first reading at church on Sunday I read this passage from Amos 7:7-17  I hope I haven't to do it again for quite some time!!!  I have orders for 114 recpe books and there is still a couple of weeks to go.  I picked up the illustrations for inside of the book on Sunday and am pleased with how they look.  Just have to get them scanned and then can give them back to the artist.    I am on schedule to get the book emailed to the publisher by the last week of July..YEAH!!!

Have a super week, it's going to be a hot one for us again, fingers crossed the central air guys come by and finish the installation.  Otherwise I am going to be in for another miserable week.

They smell so good............

I went to visit a friend and her husband on Wednesday morning as it was pouring down and I had to run a couple of errands in town.  She had been strawberry picking the day before and was kind enough to give me a container of strawberries.  There is nothing better than local picked strawberries.  They smell so much better than the imported strawberries. I can't wait to eat them.

While I was in town I had to get the recipe book order forms photocopied.  It cost 59 cents per copy for a colour copy.  Can you believe that, I was shocked. I didn't have to pay for it, the church has an account, but due to the high cost I only got 50 copies, as that was was over $25 for those. 

In the afternoon between the showers I managed to plant the 10 emerald cedars.  Which is another big job crossed off my list.  Must say though I was pooped after I had done that. 

One of the big news stories in our area is the G8 and G20 summits that are being held in Huntsville and Toronto  It is costing the taxpayers of Canada millions and millions of dollars, disrupting businesses and people alike.  Downtown Toronto will be coming to a virtual standstill while the G20 is on.  It has cost us taxpayers $1.9 million to build a "fake lake" in the middle of the Convention Centre, to give the summit goers an idea of what Muskoka looks like?????  I am sure you could take them all on a day trip on a bus and show them what it all looks like for a lot less!!!  Oh and the latest security threat, they're uprooting trees downtown as they could be used as weapons!!!  For more crazy stories about these summits check out this link

Half way through the month already....

June is just flying by it seems.  Monday was humid all day and so I dragged my heels all day.  I did get more recipes input into the system and now only need five more recipes.  However this had brought up another issue.  People who have left it to last minute to give me recipes will not be able to have them input, as a lot are recipes I already have.  So now I am having to call people to give me alternative recipes, which means more work.  As at the end of the day I don't want duplicate recipes in the book.  We have finally decided on a name for the book:

Three Churches Cook 2010

Why that name, well there are three churches involved in this, and rather than have each church named and there be an argument as to whose name should go first.  The title we chose was nice and simple, and to the point.  As at the end of the day it's not the title that sells the book its the recipes inside of it.

I took the first vegetables out of the garden on Monday, just some lettuce and some radish, but it's a start regardless.  The tomatoes are starting to flower, as are the peas.  The weeds are growing like crazy devils!!!  I hope next year it will be a lot easier in the veggie patch.

It was actually a little cooler after supper so I got an hour and a half of weeding done, which may not seem a lot but it was a start.  Plus by the time I had finished my back was killing me.  Still it's a start, and I did manage to get the potato rows all weeded and "hilled" them up a bit more, plus a little more weeding in other parts of the veggie patch.  I wll go out again after supper on Tuesday night and do more.

Hope you have a lovely Tuesday. 

A couple of firsts on Thursday...............

I had to dry the laundry in the electric clothes dryer for the first time in months, as it rained for most of the day on Thursday.  However, I hung the clothes on the clothes horse for most of the day, so they were half dry.  Dh needed work clothes, otherwise I would have just left them to dry overnight.  I even had to put my jogging pants on instead of my shorts also on Thursday as it was cool. 

Then I went into town and bought a couple of Christmas gifts, the first gifts for the 2010 Christmas season.  Can't say what I bought, as they could read the blog. 

I tried a new recipe on Friday: Peach and Nectarine Muffins.  It was the monthly ACW meeting, so wanted to take some for the members to try.  I also supply the recipe for them as well.  Everyone liked them, and the vicar even had a couple.  I forgot to take photos, sorry.

Talking of recipes, I got all the editing done that I needed to get done in the book, so that's a good job over with. 

My arm is sore, but it's early days yet, so hoping things get better.

It's raining, it's pouring.........

It's raining, it's pouring

The old man is snoring

He went to bed and he bumped his head

And couldn't get up in the morning

Finally a good old fashioned downpour here.  It started raining on Wednesday afternoon around 2:30pm and was still raining when I went to bed.
 
I spent a bit of time cleaning up in the house.......why.........well I had the Vicar and a couple of other people coming over to go over a few things regarding the recipe book.  I need to have company more often if it means I actually get the cleaning done in the house.....LOL
 
I made Petticoat Tails for them from my trusty Be-Ro recipe book.
 
 

 
Blogger decided to turn my photo around, no idea why, and after fighting on with it for a while I gave up.  Anyhow, the recipe says you need a couple of 8 inch baking pans, I free-formed the shapes and placed them on a parchment lined cookie pan too cook with no problems.  Just remember to score the circles, where you want the slices and prick the tops with a fork before you put into the oven to bake.
 
Petticoat Tails is also called shortbread!
 
Terrible news about the shooting in Cumbria: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/england/10214661.stm  there are some crazy, crazy people out there.  I have actually never heard of the village of Boot, mind you I am not that familiar with the west coast of Cumbria, as we lived on the eastern side of Cumbria.

Stinking hot and humid on Monday.....

Not at all pleasant, however at least it didn't snow, like it did last week in the Prairies.


Monday morning there was some stunning clouds in the sky with such great height.  Here is a photo I took of one:

The sunrise was stunning Monday morning. I took this photo.

I did manage to get some grass cut after supper, otherwise it was a quiet day around the Acreage.  I put the 200th recipe into the "book" today.  However after talking to the publishers, I have input them in incorrectly so now have a mountain of editing to do.  I have input them in with paragraphs, so all the paragraphs have to go.  Not a huge deal really, but a tedious job none the less.

As you know I love chocolate, so thought I'd post some chocolate quotes, from this site:

A new British survey has revealed that 9 out of 10 people like Chocolate. The tenth lies. - Robert Paul

A chocolate in the mouth is worth two on the plate.

Anything is good and useful if it's made of chocolate.

What is the meaning of life? All evidence to date suggests it's chocolate.

Put "eat chocolate" at the top of your list of things to do today. That way, at least you'll get one thing done.

Nuts just take up space where chocolate ought to be.

Momma always said life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get. - Forrest Gump

Life is like a box of chocolates - full of nuts!

There's nothing better than a good friend, except a good friend with chocolate. - Linda Grayson, The Pickwick Papers

After a bar of chocolate one can forgive anybody, even one's relatives.

The bank of friendship cannot exist for long without deposits of chocolate.

There are only three things in life that matter - good friends, good chocolate and, oh dear, what was that other one?

Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton

Other things are just food. But chocolate's chocolate. - Patrick Skene Catling

Once you consume chocolate, chocolate will consume you.

Too much of a good thing is simply wonderful! - Deborah Fox-Rothschild

A little too much chocolate is just about right.

The three best pleasures in life are scratching, sneezing and eating chocolate.

Any sane person loves chocolate. - Bob Greene

Chocolate makes everyone smile-even bankers. - Ben Strohecker, chocolatier

Anything tastes better dipped in chocolate.

Chocolate doesn't make the world go 'round, but it sure does make the trip worthwhile!

The best things in life are chocolate.

Money talks. Chocolate sings!

Chocolate is nature's way of making up for Mondays.

Coffee makes it possible to get out of bed, but chocolate makes it worthwhile.

Chocolate is not a matter of life and death - it's more important than that!

If chocolate is the answer, the question is irrelevant.

Dip it in chocolate; it'll be fine.

If you've got melted chocolate all over your hands, you're eating it too slowly.

If you can't eat all your chocolate, it will keep in the freezer. But if you can't eat all your chocolate, what's wrong with you?

Chocolate is a serious thing! - Counselor Deanna Troi, Start Trek: The Next Generation

A couple of milestones, forward for recipe book, a warning and SHE

A couple of milestones I had forgotten about.  This is my 1001st post, not bad for just over two years.  Also we arrived in Canada 21 years ago yesterday, I had forgotten about that.  Gosh time flies by when you're having fun!!  And talking about time flying by, it's the end of May today, where on earth has this year gone too, we are nearly half way through it?

This is the forward I have written for the recipe book.  Any suggestions/changes you think I should make would be greatly received. 

“Food is our common ground, a universal experience.” James Beard (1903-1985)


So taking that idea on board, and to celebrate the coming together/association of the three churches, St. Luke’s Rosemont, St. David’s Everett and Christ Church Whitfield, this recipe book was created.



Food is a bit like the weather, everyone always has advice or thoughts about it. Also it is another well known fact the ladies and gentlemen of the church groups always have great recipes. This recipe book would not have come together without the contributions of all the parishioners; so a big thank you to them all for kindly sharing their favourite recipes.

It is a well known fact that the heart of the home has always been the kitchen where friends and family gather for a home cooked meal, and fellowship. It is our wish that everyone who purchases one of these recipe books will take the time with family and friends to try some of these recipes together and enjoy one another’s company.



With that in mind:

Dear Lord;


We thank you for this day,


We thank you for this meal,


And we thank you for one another.


Amen

The Recipe Book Committee


SHE - Sustainable Health Enterprises  I first read about this over at Toria's blog, she has a full post about this that I think we should all pop by and read, it will make you grateful for what we have access to.

DO YOU EAT CADBURY'S CHOCOLATE?







We were raised on CADBURY'S chocolate as kids and even into adulthood but I will never eat it again!!






I hope from now on you will throw yours away whenever you are given any.


It seems as though nothing is safe to eat anymore..






This is what happens when you eat Cadbury's chocolate!






THIS IS A MEDICAL WARNING!






It could happen to you, your family and friends!






CADBURY'S chocolate can cause SMALL FEET!

I know Tracey, I forgot to tell you I had taken a photo of us the other day!! (inside joke!)

I need some help from you.......please and a trip to the dentist.

Does anyone know if there is a quote out there that sort of says how food brings everyone together, but in a more eloquent way?  I am wanting to use it in the forward for the recipe book.  That is the next big task I have to tackle, writing the forward for the book.


As for the recipe book we're up to nearly 180 recipes, so we are on the home ward stretch now.  I have a few admin. things to sort out and try and organize a guy who wants to do the graphics on the recipe section dividers.  The front cover is more or less done, just a few little tweaks here and there.  Overall I am very pleased with it all.  Would I do it again........probably not, but it's been an interesting process.


I finally went to the dentist on Friday, only because my poor mouth was so sore.  Anyway, he took x-rays and they showed nothing wrong.  So he has put me on antibiotics for a week, to see if its an infection.  I have to go back next Friday if it's no better, and then he is going to put a temporary medicated filling in the tooth for three months.  If that doesn't work, then goodness knows what the next option is going to be.  He thinks I may have a crack in the tooth, but he's not sure.  At this rate I am going to be toothless before long and will have to eat pureed food!!

You will need to click on these photos for a better look. I have a family of Killdeer wandering around the field.  A mother, father and four babies, who are as cute as a button.

This is one of the parents pretending to be injured to distract me from the babies!

Can't decide if this is a House Martin, a Purple Martin or a Swallow.  Regardless its one of a couple who are hanging around.

Just the view of the south woods.

What I was up to on Sunday.

Woke up to snow on the ground.  Nothing exciting, but enough to say it had snowed.  Had the fire on again, as it was so cold.  Went to church and had a get together with a couple of the women who have been giving me grief with this recipe book; but have it all sorted out, and they seem reasonably happy!!

Dh worked until 12 noon, so was home by 1pm.  We went to Tim Hortons for a late lunch; we both had the soup deal, and it was good.

Then dh decided to take me for a drive to Bradford Greenhouses. You could spend a small fortune in that place and there have more than one area with just spectacular things in there. 

We picked up a couple of things.  I got this pear tree it's a Red Bartlett to add to my other pear tree, which is a triple pear tree.

I also picked up a white lilac called Primrose.  However when reading up on this lilac, the older the plant gets the more yellow the flowers so that is something to look forward to.  I would like to plant a pink lilac as well.

I have been wanting a clock for outside, as I never know what time it is.  So we picked up this double sided clock and I will get dh to put it up by the garage.  It will save me trailing into the house with my dirty shoes on.

Dh also came home with this basket of plants for me for Mother's Day which was really sweet of him.

Now all we need is for the weather to warm up, but I don't see that happening much before the weekend.  So I will get some jobs done around the house this week.  At least if it's cold the grass shouldn't grow as fast right?

Friday........

Finished cutting the grass.

Got about half of the front ditch cut/trimmed and tidied up, in the hopes it will deter people from throwing their garbage in there.  It was hard going and I still have quite a bit to go, but it's a start.

By 2pm it had started to rain, so indoors I went which is just as well as my poor feet were so sore.  So after I had done the ironing I sat myself down trying to rest my feet. 

I input some recipes for the recipe book, have to say all the while saying icky to myself, as they were all for pickles, and I am not a fan of pickles.

I have even made myself an appointment for the doctors for next Tuesday, to see what on earth is going on with my feet.  You don't realize how much you need/rely on your feet until  you have a problem with them.

This is what was on Squirrel tv Friday morning:

Love the way Molly is standing/sitting there.......

Here is my column for the Orangeville Banner; it's more or less the same as the one I did for the Eden Valley Messenger.

A good Monday morning to you......

Sunday was a quiet day for us finally.  I was official greeter at church again, and helped out a bit at the coffee and cake meeting after the service.  I made Sour Cream Rhubarb Squares I forgot to take photos though, but it's a good recipe, and everyone seemed to enjoy it.

The kids took dh out for lunch while I was at church, and then me and dd went into town to look at a couple of stores.  So no gardening got done on Sunday.  I did get some recipes input into the system for the recipe book, so that's good.  At the time of writing I have input 75 recipes, so not even half way yet.

We have started another fundraising project called Shop and Support through church.  We order gift cards for places we use and a percentage from each gift card is given back to the church.  I was able to order gift cards for the home reno's we have just had done, which will earn the church a couple hundred dollars.  Although this particular site is for Canadians I am sure there are other sites like this for other parts of the world.

It was as humid as heck on Sunday, giving us a taste of what to expect in July and August.  It was also blowing a gale force.  I took the photos below of one of the leaves on the tree.  It has the most lovely "tassels" on it at the moment.  If anyone can identify the species of tree I would appreciate that.

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.

Recipe and other stuff........

I made a new to me recipe today, infact I sort of made it up myself.

Strawberry and Mango Crisp.

Ingredients:

1lb strawberries, hulled and sliced
1 or 2 mangoes, peeled and chopped
4 tbsp flour
4 tbsp sugar

Topping:

1/2 cup flour (all purpose/plain)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup marg
1 cup rolled oats

Method:

Toss the fruit in the 4 tbsp of flour and sugar and pop in dish.

For the topping, mix the flour, sugar and rolled oats together, rub in the marg until mixed in.  Place on top of the fruit.

Bake in a 375 oF oven for 40 minutes, until topping is golden brown.  Serve with icecream or cream.  It's good!!!!

Now you know I am not one for bad language, but when I saw this over at Tracey's I knew right away I could relate to this:

I saw this dress on the online store at Roots and thought it was nice........not big enough sizing though for me.

I have started inputting recipes for the church cookbook, and I can see me trying a few!!  So no doubt you will be benefiting from this!!!

Did you remember to put your money in your Daily Savings Pot today?  We are nearly at the end of month three!!!!

Today's Money Saving Tip:

Let your laundry dry outside. If you have the ability to hang up laundry outside, let the sun and warm summer breeze do the drying for you. Even if you can’t hang up clothes outside, try using your dryer on a lower heat setting or only partially drying your shirts and letting them air dry the rest of the way.