We have a 5 month old Easter Bunny...........

She has now mastered the art of rolling over.....so even taking a photo is something that needs to be done fast before she loses interest and rolls over!!

Her favourite food is now pureed, carrots, rutabaga and sweet potato, and of course any fruit.

She starts swimming lessons tomorrow, and I am going so there will be photos!!

New house coming along nicely.  Garage door on now and the stair railings, going down the basement.

Put the lawn tractor on Kijiji, had one reply at $5,500, holding out for the $6,000 though.

Heading out today, will report back telling what I was up too tomorrow!!

Impromptu Garage Sale

As I have mentioned before I have been selling things on Kijiji.  With the weather being so much nicer on Saturday we had a tidy out and I posted a number of things on Kijiji.  Lots of emails later, I tried to coordinate as many people as possible to come over on Sunday as dh had the day off and I figured he could help folk take things apart and load them into the vehicles.

I also figured while folk were coming for the things they wanted from Kijiji, I would see if I could sell them some other things.

Worked a charm and nearly $900 later, we have not only got rid of a lot of things, we even sold things that I never thought we would get rid of.  Dh hates doing garage sales, but even he got into the swing of it!!

I will say that dealing with folk on Kijiji does try your patience, but needs must.

We have not put the lawn tractor up for sale yet, but as we want $6,000 for it, I feel we should put it on Kijiji sooner rather than later as it may take a while to sell.  We do have a regular lawn mower that we can use to cut around the house, if we have too.

The new house......

Haven't mentioned that in a while have I?  Things are coming along quite nicely.  They are on bricking it at the moment.  Dh had to pop into town on Tuesday night and went round by the house and took a couple of photos.  This is the back of the house, you can also see next doors house as well in the photo.  Ours ends where the stone work ends.  Where it is all stoned and there are three windows and a half round window, that is our bedroom.

 This is the front of the house and again next door's house is partly in the picture.  That is their garage you can partly see.

Inside of the house all the drywall has been done including the waffle ceiling in the living room and it is a huge wow factor.  All the crown moulding has been installed; I didn't have my camera when we saw all of this.  I have no idea what else they have done.  The garage floor was poured with concrete, so that is done.  The garage is still to drywall.  The gas fire is in, but not the surround.  I am assuming they will be doing the tiling next.......but honestly don't know for sure.  The people opposite us have moved in.  Have seen them but not talked to them.  Everything is on schedule though which is good.

Got a couple things bought for it including the garage door opener.  The fan/light for our bedroom.  Have put a deposit down on this table and chairs for the breakfast room; I can't copy and paste a photo over, sorry.  It's nothing fancy and we wanted chairs that were not only comfy to sit on but could be easily wiped down in case of spills etc. 

Got rid of all my canning jars last week and the picnic table outside.  Going to post a few more items on Kijiji over the next few days to try and get rid of more things.  Managed to pack up the toys and games yesterday, so all in all things are coming together okay.

Got this email: Nora's been charged with Robbery!!!

....good thing she has a stylish prisoners outfit to wear!! Hahaha :)

  Poor Nora, she doesn't look happy does she?

 As Miss Nora is now 15 1/2 lbs the doctor suggested introducing solids, so here is Miss Nora eating her baby rice.

Dd is introducing yellow and orange veggies starting next week, one at a time a different one every couple of days to make sure Miss Nora isn't allergic to anything.

Managed to get rid of something else via Kijiji.  Gosh there are some odd ball people out there.......

Let's catch up.........

It's been a busy few days around here.  It was my birthday on Saturday, so the day was a whirlwind of activity.  Dh took me out in the morning to buy me some clothes for my birthday as I wouldn't tell him what I wanted for my birthday........probably because I don't need anything.  I did okay as I got three tops and two pair of pants for just under $100.  Dh got himself a golf shirt and a pair of pants also.  We rarely ever go clothes shopping, so we achieved a lot in a little time.  I do need a new pairs of trainers/running shoes, but we didn't have time to get them.  We'll get them this next week.

At night we went to The Mandarin Restaurant for supper and it was good.  We were seated in the bird room; there is an aviary filled with birds and that kept The Little Princess amused watching them.  Miss Nora wasn't as bothered as there was plenty of other things keeping her amused.  The kids all clubbed together to get me a Kobo e-reader and a 9 month premium subscription to Next Issue.  I got a five minute crash course at the restaurant on how to use it and promptly forgot.....would that be another sign of getting old do you think?  I had a go with it on Sunday but could do with some pointers.  I am really looking forward to learning how to use it and it will be easier than having a pile of books in the house.

I have to brag about our Little Princess.  She just turned 14 months and knows how to use the potty.  She can't ask to go but if you sit her on it she knows what to do and does it.  Also if you ask where is Miss Nora, she'll point at her.  She is such a smart cookie.  I am so sure she takes after me, just like Miss Nora does....LOL

Talked to a few folk over the weekend especially family and as I turned 50 a few everyone made fun of me.  However when I told them our son turns 30 in April and didn't that make them feel old too, that shut them up!!!  My mother was saying that the grass had been cut where she lives.  I said "that's nice," and asked what colour is grass as it's been that long since I have seen any!!

Our desktop computer hard drive went kaput.  So poor dh has been trying to figure out what to do.  All our photos are on there which sucks.  So I am picking up my emails up on my laptop and I don't like the setup I have on my laptop.  

Finally sold the dining room table and chairs on Sunday via Kijiji, which is good.  After being mucked around by some other folk, these guys were a joy to deal with.  Plus I think they may take some of the garden/garage stuff when we have a yard sale.

Will make a fresh attempt at listing things on Kijiji at the beginning of next month.  If the weather would just warm up I could make a start on sorting things out in the garage.  I am going to pack up the china cabinet this week.

Remember we got the new mattress a week or two ago?  Just discovered none of my flannel sheets fit due to the mattress being so deep.  Luckily they had seen better days, but dh is not happy not having his flannel sheets to go with his two doubled over blankets on his side!!  Meanwhile on my side of the bed I have the sheet and the bed cover and am wearing a summer nightie..........why is it one is always hot while the other is always cold?

Kijiji, declutering and other delightful "stuff"

Had a little it of success on selling a couple more things on Kijiji.  Sold the dresser and the bed along with the mattress from the spare bedroom.  Still have the futon from the attic, and the table and chairs from the dining room to get rid of.  I also put up my Pflatzgraff Empire dinnerware on sale now that I have the Gordon Ramsey set.

There are 10 each of the dishes and plates and 7 mugs; not bad for $30.

Also had another clean through the drawers and closets and came up with this little lot:

I will drop them off tomorrow at the charity shop.  That will also mean I have get rid of my 25 things for the week.  I am of the mind that if I don't need these things why take them to the new house?  As the more we have to move the more it will cost us.

Has anyone watched the TV series Vikings?  What are your thoughts on it?  I would like to get it on DVD and watch it minus the adverts, but read some where it was very violent and blood thirsty?

There doesn't seem to be any let up of this bitter cold weather does there?  Then I heard on the TV we are in for a very cold March (SIGH)

We firmed up on our new home on the weekend and went to have a look around it to see the progress.  It has been weather proofed for a while with the frame up and the roof on and the windows and doors in.  They have now completed the framing inside.  Done the rough in for the plumbing and put all the duct work in for the heating.  The shower base is in, in our ensuite and the shower unit is in, in the downstairs bathroom.  We now have stairs to the basement.  They should be starting the electrical/wiring of the house soon.  All in all we are really pleased with the workmanship so far.

More decluttering

I am still on the decluttering kick and yesterday took two bags of doggy supplies to the pet store to donate to the shelter.  I had bought things like a bed, toys and dishes etc. when we got Millie.  Do you remember Millie?  I wonder how she is doing?  My heart is not into getting a new dog any time soon, so some other animals may as well get the use of those things, plus it's two more garbage bags of things removed from our basement.  

We also sold another item on Kijiji which was a bonus and means another box removed from the basement. I would love to say that this means the basement is quite empty, of course it isn't but it is tidier than it was.  I still need to go through all the Christmas decorations yet.  I will definitely be doing that before we move that's for sure.

Our little Princess is 13 months old today and is walking now.  Took her a couple of weeks to figure out she can get around faster walking than crawling, but she got there in the end.

If you want to see more of our house, Sarah has published a post on her site here.  Look under the English Country Stone House section.

I don't think so............

The white bits on the photo is snow..........that's nice!!!  Went to town to run a couple of errands and saw this on the Alliston Home Hardware sign.  Didn't know whether to laugh or cry truth be told???

We were super busy on Saturday getting things tidied up around the house.  I have finished the varnishing on the new baseboard thank goodness, as the whole house stinks of varnish.  My mam suggested putting some cut lemons in the room to see if that would tone down the smell; that does not work.  

Posted some more stuff on Kijiji.  I don't know why I bother as there are some strange and unusual people on there.  I have put up a Bose surround sound for $100.  One of the replies was "Would you take $50?"  My reply, "NO!!"  Haven't heard back from them!  
Oh well it could be worse I guess?

All I really need to do is give the place a good clean through and I think we are ready for the photos.  Waiting for Sarah to get back from her vacation and then she can tell me what we still need to do.

Got the kids coming for a turkey dinner today, as I had a small turkey in the freezer.  Granddad will get plenty of cuddles with his favourite little girl that's for sure!!

We said goodbye to our trusty friend last night......

She served us well over the past four years, but as many of you know she gave up the ghost in June.  Now to be fair dh welded up the chassis and she did work, but has been outside since.  We used her to pull things in the trailer, but we never put the cutting deck back on her.

Over the last week or so I have put things onto Kijiji and we decided to have a go selling her.  On Saturday afternoon I went onto Kijiji to see what lawn tractors were selling for and there was an ad on Kijiji that said "Wanted Craftsman Tractors Dead or Alive."  To cut a long story short we sold her for $125, as honestly she wasn't worth much and we were pleased to get that much for her. Mind you the guy also got spare parts that were worth in excess of $100, but they were of no use to us.

So, so far in the last month we have sold a kitchen sink, some bundles of insulation, a package of vapor barrier, an old sewing machine and at least 75 magazines and now the tractor.  I still think it is a total pain in the butt selling things on Kijiji, but the goods we sold will come in useful for the people who bought them and the money comes in handy for us.

I hope come spring we have as much success in selling the wood chipper, the rototiller and the log splitter!

Look at all the Christmas trees that are cut and wrapped already?  This is why I prefer my artificial tree rather than a "fresh" one that drops it's needles!

Halfway through the month of October......

and still no heating or fire on.  We have had a marvellous run of good weather.  Tuesday was another super busy day for me.

Lots of laundry:

Some varnishing:

Sorting out books to take to the store to see if I could get some money for them.

 Brought these ones back and ended up with $32 in store credit.  Plan on using it to buy more children's books.

Posted some ads on Kijiji on the weekend.  Finally got rid of the old washer and dryer.   Mind you it helped when I said they were for free!!!  Lots of people wanted it and a man who was on disability took them with his son.  Funny thing was I stated on the ad you had to provide your own manpower and transportation as they were to take out of the basement as well.  He managed it no problem, so I wonder what his disability was?

Have to say I DO NOT like dealing with folk on Kijiji as its such a lot of back and forward through emails and people are so not reliable.

I have posted four book reviews this month in my book review blog, you can visit it by clicking on this link.

What the heck happened?

I input my March grocery numbers into Excel and up popped $413.84 for the amount spent in March???  Savings, only $48.04...........pretty miserable if you ask me!!!

April HAS to better regardless.  Yes I know we had Easter, but in the scheme of things that shouldn't have made too much of a difference but I guess it did?  Ideally I would like to only spend $200 this month, but realistically $300 is a better number for us.  Remember also that my grocery totals include all cleaning and personal products as well as food items. 

For the first three months of the year I have averaged out at $315.36  a month in spendings, and $63.17 a month in coupons and savings.  I need to do better!!

I published another couple book reviews here, if anyone is interested?

I spent a lot of Tuesday morning on the computer catching up on blogs.  I know shocker.  If I didn't pop by your blog and comment on it, please yell at me!!!  I also deleted 310 Spam messages that I had received in my Spam box since March 26th.  I still get a lot of Spam messages coming through on my my comment page as well.  That's why I moderate all my comments.

An older friend in her 80's is deciding to have a cleaning out session in the hopes of having a garage sale when the weather is better.  She has a HUGE collection of Precious Moments ornaments like this one:

Now I don't claim to know anything about them, but said I would try to sell some on Kijiji, as I can do that for free.  Does anyone have tips or hints on selling these?  She doesn't have a computer, or a digital camera, so I thought I'd help out with this.

Got a couple of things completed for this weeks challenges

I got the two drawers cleaned out like I wanted to:

Bill/junk drawer before:

After:

Then I have a "junk drawer" that I use exclusively.

Before:

After:

I have also made a start on the trying to bring more money in the house.  I put an ad on Kijiji to try and sell these lights:

I have advertised them as Fairy Lights that are ideal to use at a wedding.  I know they are Christmas lights, but as they are white and as they can be used both indoor and outdoor I figured I would give it a try and get $15.00 for all three boxes. Will say I was surprised at the response and I have sold them tentatively; I am  meeting up with a lady next Wednesday who wants them and is willing to pay the $15  and have another couple of people lined up if she falls through.

Another thing I am taking part in is Cindy's 52 Week Challenge.

 
 
It's pretty self explanatory, but one tip I have is to print out the form and cross off each week when you put it in your jar/pot.  I am trying to get ahead of the game as I have a feeling when it gets to $30+ a week it will be harder to come up with the money.  I am on week nine.  I love this idea and thinking I will have saved up $1,378.00 by the end of the year excites me. 

If you click on the link above the form you will find more details over at Cindy's.

I am still keeping up with the sealed pot challenge as well, just need to remind dh to put money in there!!!

SOLD! and happy birthday to our daughter......

A guy came by one Friday night and bought the snow tires from us.  Got $400 for them, wanted $500; regardless they are gone and now I can get snow tires put on my car.  Still have to find another $600 to pay for them, but that's better than $1,000.  Must say I am glad I don't have to deal with this anymore, as there truly are some strange people who troll Kijiji.

It's our daughter's 27th birthday today.  She is like a small child as she is so excited about it.  She was telling me on Friday it was only one more sleep to her birthday!!  Must say it's infectious her enthusiasm for life.  I am making lunch for them all and we are having lasagna or fettuccine Alfredo, Cesar salad and garlic bread.  Followed by apple caramel pie with whipped cream or ice cream.  More or less all from M & M Meats.  I cashed in the $25 discount card when I spent $50.  I also picked up 2 x chicken lasagna, cheese and spinach cannelloni, three cheese pasta, 5 vegetable toasty's (no idea what those are about), steak and vegetable soup and loaded potato soup which I got free for spending over $10.  All in all it cost me $26.

I will post photos of what we got her tomorrow.  I am also getting the baby shower photos on Sunday, so fingers crossed I will be able to share with you on Monday.

On Friday the people down the hill from us was having some sort of fire all day.  I have no idea what on earth they were burning as the smoke was tremendous.  Luckily I didn't have my laundry out, otherwise it would have stunk of smoke.

Sad to hear about Bill Tarmey, "Jack Duckworth's" passing.  Always loved his and Vera's character on Coronation Street.

Follow up from yesterday....

Called the corporate office of the glasses store in the States, as they cover both Canada and the States.  The guy was really nice and he was going to contact both the store manager and the district manager.  What if anything will happen after that I'll never know as I won't be visiting the store.

We had snow on the weekend, so there has been some activity with my ad for my snow tires on Kijiji.  Spent part of Tuesday emailing back and forward one guy.....still not sold them though.  Another guy wanted to swap his four tires with no rims for my snow tires with rims???  There are some very funny bunnies in this world!!!

Things are quiet around here, still really tired from the weekend and my right hand is not at all happy at the moment, so trying to rest it as much as possible.

Very different.....

I had a few jobs to do on Tuesday and one of those was to advertise the snow tires with rims from my old car.  They are almost new and don't fit my new car.  I advertised them on kijiji as it's free, so fingers crossed I sell them, as it's close to $1,000 for ones for my new car.  

I took the car to get the oil changed, which was free as the sales guy gave us a coupon for a free oil change when we bought the car.  Otherwise it would have cost over $42.  Is that expensive, how much do you pay for an oil change?

Another job I had to do was fill in all the nail holes on the window and door frames in the basement.  I am going to sand them today.  It is a job I absolutely hate doing, but I am determined to get that basement finished!!

I finished machine stitching the baby quilt, so all I had to do is hand stitch the binding on.

I am determined to get all my jobs done on my list regardless this week!!!!


Fab Find has a a little article called Fab Spot every day and this was what it was about on Tuesday:

Adding salt and pepper to your favourite dish is nothing new, but doing it with some magic certainly is. Putting on a sprinkle, a dash, or a pinch just became a lot more interesting with these wand-like shakers. You’ll have your food under a spell in no time. Plus you won’t have those awkward grinders or ugly holders at your table. Your favourite spices will be more charming than that four-eyed fictional wonder boy. Just don’t forget to say abracadabra whenever you shake them. Otherwise all that time spent studying at Hogwarts will just be thrown out the window.

Very cute don't you think?

Bits and bobs and a book review

Monday was a busy day, as I got a few jobs done, including clearing out some things in the spare bedroom closet.  I also sold an old VCR that I had on Kijiji for $5, so that money went into Molly's food pot.  Plus I listed a couple more things on Kijiji.

My hand is good, just have to remember not to try and lift things with it, despite it being in a cast. 

The weather was bitter cold, but at least the sun was shining, so that helped.  I am so over winter now and I am itching to get into the garden. 

"Prize of My Heart," by Lisa Norato

Three years ago, Captain Brogan Talvis's late wife abandoned their son, leaving no clue as to the boy's whereabouts. After searching relentlessly, Brogan discovers his son was adopted by a New England shipbuilder. And the man's daughter, Lorena Huntley, acts as loving guardian to the child.


Lorena, who hides a dark truth, finds herself falling for the handsome captain and ex-privateer who's come to secure ownership of one of her father's ships. She's unaware of Brogan's own secret when another's deceit has her sailing toward Europe against her will.


Haunted by thoughts of Lorena in peril, Brogan is compelled to choose between the boy he longs for and the woman who has captured his heart.


Have to say this is another book that didn't grab me right away.  To be honest it wasn't until Lorena was "in peril," that the story picked up the pace and got interesting.  I will say though that I didn't figure out the twist in the story, so that wins points for the book.


Stars out of 5 : 3 It really took a long time to get into the "meat and bones of the story" in my opinion which made it hard reading if you ask me.


Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.

Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group".

Kijiji and a book review.........

I mentioned the other day I had put some items on Kijiji to sell.  I sold three of the seven items last month for $35 and I sold another item for $25 on Sunday which was a surprise but a nice one.  I put that $25 along with $20 I had left over from the week in Molly's food pot, as I hope to buy another sack of her food while it's still on sale.

So overall I am pretty pleased with my experiences with Kijiji.

Here is the first book review of March:
"Chasing The Sun," by Tracie Peterson

When her father disappears in war-torn Mississippi, Hannah Dandridge finds herself responsible not only for her younger siblings but also for the Texas ranch her father recently acquired. A marriage of convenience could ease her predicament... but is it the true desire of her heart?


Wounded soldier William Barnett returns home only to find out that his family's ranch has been seized. Though angered at this turn of events, he's surprised to discover that it is a beautiful young woman with amazing fortitude who is struggling to keep the place running.


Despite these circumstances, Hannah and William form an uneasy truce... and an undeniable attraction builds between them. In a land where loyalties are divided in a country ravaged by war, is there any hope that the first blush of love can survive?

This book didn't grab me from the beginning, it took me a little while to get into the book, but once I got past the first few chapters, I found the story more interesting.  I peeked on Tracie's website and I see there are another couple of books in the series, but I don't see how they relate to this book.  As the way the book ended I felt there was scope for adding another book about these characters, especially Night Bear and Marty.


Stars out of 5 : 3.5  I have read worse books but I have read a lot better books.  This wasn't one of Tracie's stronger books, but still well worth the read though.


Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.


Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group".

Recap on February.......

Had a few goals to achieve in February and did okay on some but not on others.

The decluttering goals, I completed the first two no problem, but faltered on the second two and only did bits and bobs on those two.  As soon as my cast is off I will complete the basement and the kitchen decluttering.

I posted seven ads on Kijiji and sold three of the items during the month of February for a total of $35.  $10 went to pay for the table at the township Garage sale and the other $25 went into Molly's food jar.  I am putting $15 a week in there for her food; so have $60 in there now.

I ended up increasing our mortgage by another $10 a week.  Haven't had any paperwork from the bank yet to see how many weeks we have knocked off the life of the mortgage, will let you know when that comes.  I don't think I will be increasing it any more, until dh finished paying CPP and EI in June then I may add that money to the mortgage.

I am starting the month of March off with $180 in my birthday pot, $220 in my Christmas pot, $200 in my "other" pot which should be labeled "firewood pot," as that is what I am saving up for now and $85 in my garden pot.  The sealed jar pot is a lot heavier thanks to dh as he is putting his change in there regularly. 

The "other pot," was dipped into this past month to pay for the wedding gift and to pay for our tickets for The Drawing For Art fund raiser that we go to each year.

As you can see by my figures on the side bar I went over my monthly $300 grocery budget, however I have stocked up on a number of things and have meals pre planned and made for the first week of March.  I also boosted my Shopper's Drug Mart points balance and now have enough for one $250 mega redemption.  My goal is to have enough points for two redemption's in December, so I am on track for that.

I cashed in enough Swagbucks during February for $25 worth of Amazon e-cards and my balance in my Amazon account is sitting at $70.  It is the swagbucks tv that is getting me all the points, as well as the searches.  My goal is for another $25 for March as well.

I also managed to save an extra $200 in our savings account, which was good, as we spend such a lot on renovation expenses. For the month of March, it will be just regular savings.  We will be filing our taxes this weekend and are both in for refunds, so that will come in handy for projects we want to do this year.  I think mine is all of $200, if that!!!!  However it's better than owing money to my mind.

Grocery shopping, I am hoping to keep that to the usual $75 a week.  Continue putting money in my pots on a weekly basis.  We don't have anything big happening this month, that I am aware of, so everything should just be usual monthly expenses.  It will probably cost us $400 to fill up the oil tank again for the heating oil.  Hoping it will warm up a little though by mid month so I am able to go a bit longer without having to fill up the tank.  I should say that it costs $400 to fill up half of the tank as I only let it go half way down before filling it.

I notice gas prices are starting to rise, so need to get my gas tanks filled up for the start of grass cutting season and filling them this week while I can't drive my car might be a good thing as I don't need to put gas in my car.

I may re-advertise the four things on Kijiji again, as you never know they might sell, will also see if I have anything else worth posting on there.

We have put our search for a second dog on hold for a few weeks until my hand is stronger.  We had applied for a Basset Hound called Maude, but someone else got her, she was a puppy mill dog.  Plus I need to save up around $400 for that, which I haven't done yet.

So that's basically it for me on what happened during February and what I have planned for March.

Are you all organized for March?

Super Bowl Sunday and a Book Review

Watching the Super Bowl is like watching paint dry, BUT I did watch the half time show with Madonna and I was impressed.  It was the best one I had seen in many years, at least that's what I thought.

Sunday was finally a no spend day and I never left the house all day.  Made a start on the living room and although it doesn't look any better I recycled and got ready some stuff to drop off at the electronics drop off.  I need dh to help me out with a lot of stuff though as I know a lot of the cables shouldn't be thrown out. 


I have two VCR's and one CD/DVD player that I will put on Kijiji today.  I was thinking of asking $10 each for the VCR's and $30 for the CD/DVD player, that is a Sony one.  I also have a Broadband Router that is brand new, so going to ask $25 for that.  No idea if I will sell any of these items but I'll try.  Any which way, it will be another four things that we don't use and are removed from the house.


"In Too Deep," by Mary Connealy

Ethan Kincaid proposes marriage with the same detachment he gives every decision. Audra Gilliland accepts his proposal so she can stop being a burden to her newly married stepdaughter.



But Ethan never expected Audra to affect him so profoundly, and it terrifies him. Someone he loved was once seriously injured on his watch, and he won't let that happen again. If Audra will just do as he says, he can keep her safe from the dangers that lurk on the ranch.


Audra has been cared for all her life by one man or another--and they've done a poor job of it. Now she's planning to stand up for herself. And her new husband had better agree or get out of her way!


Can two fearful hearts--wary of getting in too deep--become two trusting hearts, willing to let go and fall in love?


So this is the second in the Kincaid Brides series of books.  It took me a couple of chapters to remember who was who from the first book, but once I did everything flowed into place.  The characters were as good as I remembered from the first book and again there was excitement and suspense carrying on from the first book.


Loved both the lead characters and you so want them to fall in love with one another.  I can't wait for the third in the series which will be out in August of this year and centres around the third brother, Seth.  It promises to be another great book.


Stars out of 5 : 4.75 - why not five, well I wasted two chapters of the book trying to reacquaint myself with the characters from the first book.  Other wise it was a perfect book to read.  It's well worth the read, but make sure you read book one first.


"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.


Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group".

More photos and a recipe.....

A couple more photos from the wedding.


The wedding cake, please look at the wedding toppers, it goes with the theme "A Perfect Pair."

One of the tables in the venue. They overlooked the golf course and at night you could see the CN Tower (downtown Toronto) all lit up.

The small brown boxes is the jam wedding favour.


Tomato Chick Pea Salad

1 can (19 oz/540ml) Chickpea's, drained and rinsed
1 cup chopped parsley
4 Tomatoes, cut into large dice
1 cup chopped, Cucumber
6 green onions, sliced
1 cup Cheddar Cheese, cubed


Dressing:


1/3 cup olive oil
3 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 large clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp dried tarragon leaves
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp freshly ground mustard
pinch cayenne pepper


In a large bowl, combine chick peas, parsley, tomatoes, cucumber, onions and cheese.


Mix together oil, vinegar, garlic and seasonings to make dressing.  Toss dressing with salad ingredients.  Cover and refrigerate for several hours.


As with any recipes I post, change it up to suit you.  I had a container of small grape tomatoes, so I used them, along with a whole cucumber.  I didn't have parsley, or tarragon leaves, or dry mustard.  So left them out.  I also used red onion instead of the green onions and it still tasted really good in my humble opinion.


For those of you who are following my grocery challenge, the tomatoes and cucumber were left over from the week before.

***GOOD NEWS SOLD BOTH THE STANDS AND THE AISLE RUNNER, will use the money for a hair cut in February*****