That time if year again....

grass cutting season has started again.

I managed to get a little bit of grass cut.  Bit of a wobbly start though as we had to go our and buy a new battery for the lawn tractor.  Pleased to say with the new battery and the other maintenance dh did on the tractor it's running like new which is a good thing.


Our friends in town wanted us to take some of the Maple saplings from their garden, so we popped by and dug up four of them.  They are really quite large:

I have them sat in a garbage can full of water until I get my soil delivered later in the week.  I ordered 3 yards of  triple mix on Sunday, at a cost of $192, with money I had saved in my loonie and toonie pot.


It's been a super busy weekend and this week isn't looking much quieter...oh well never mind.  Can't believe it's the end of April already..........

Funny conversation from the other day.

We were at a function the other day and a lady was helping out and she said something to us and I realized she had a British accent.


Me: You must be from London with that accent;(visualize someone sounding like the Queen, very posh and a mouth full of plums!!!)


Lady: No I'm from Manchester, but I was privately educated, and didn't mix with the masses.....


Me: Well Manchester is very nice?


Long pause.........


Lady: Yes Manchester is very....EARTHY................


After she left me, dh and our friend looked at one another and all said "EARTHY," what the hell does that mean????


We all agreed she was a total snob and we obviously were one of the masses!!!!


By the way I can do a perfect imitation of a stuck up voice.......but at least I mix with the masses!!!!


She was a right stuck up:

Thanks for the image

Drawing for Art pick and a recipe...........

It's been a busy couple of days, and this weekend isn't going to be much better by the looks of it.

We went to the Drawing For Art function the other night and had a good time.  It takes us nearly two hours to drive to Whitby, mainly due to the heavy traffic, and we take alternate roads trying to escape the rush hour traffic to no avail. 

As I mentioned in a previous post both dd and I wanted the same piece of artwork, and in person it was simply gorgeous.  Dd being the lucky duck that she is, her name was picked from the "hat," number 2, so she was able to pick the poppy painting.  The first year we went she was picked first, last year she was middle of the pack and this year 2nd.  Meanwhile we were picked over half way through, and we chose this piece by Christl Niemuller called "Blue Trees."  Once again a beautiful piece, and my photo does not do it justice.

We left not long after at around 9:30pm and made it home by just after 11pm.

That evening I made for the first time Manicotti for supper using the recipe from the Food Network.

Beef and Cheese Manicotti

Ingredients

• 4 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 pound ground beef
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 14 (8-ounce package) manicotti
• 1 (15-ounce) container whole-milk ricotta
• 3 cups shredded mozzarella
• 1 cup grated Parmesan
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 cups marinara sauce
• 2 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces

Directions

Heat a heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon of the olive oil, onion and ground beef. Season with salt and pepper. Saute until the meat browns and the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, and cool.

Brush 1 teaspoon of oil over a large baking sheet. Cook the manicotti in a large pot of boiling salted water until slightly softened, but still very firm to the bite, about 4 to 6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the manicotti from the pot to the oiled baking sheet and cool.

Meanwhile, combine the ricotta, 1 1/2 to 2 cups mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan, and parsley. Add the garlic, salt, and pepper to taste, and mix. Stir the cooled meat mixture into the cheese mixture.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Brush the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil over a 13 by 9 by 2-inch glass baking dish. Spoon 1 1/2 cups of the marinara sauce over the bottom of the prepared dish. Fill the manicotti with the cheese-meat mixture. Arrange the stuffed pasta in a single layer in the prepared dish and spoon the remaining sauce over.

Sprinkle the remaining 1 1/2 cups of mozzarella cheese, then the remaining 1/2 cup of Parmesan over the stuffed pasta. Dot entire dish with the butter pieces. Bake the manicotti uncovered until heated through and the sauce bubbles on the sides of the dish, about 30 to 35 minutes. Let the manicotti stand 5 minutes and serve.

Before:

After:

 

As always I have a couple of suggestions.  DO NOT cook the pasta for more than 5 minutes, as it makes it so much easier to stuff them when they are more rigid.  If possible prepare the ground beef and onion in the morning, as it has to cool, I eventually stuck mine in the freezer to cool down faster so I could get on with the rest of the recipe.

If you have one of those long handled baby spoons, that is the ideal thing to stuff the pasta with.  If not a teaspoon, or even your fingers.  I don't do the whole putting your hands in the mixture kind of thing, that's icky!!!  Also I wouldn't dot the butter on the top next time, I just don't see the point of it?

Overall though it was really, really good and very filling.  We had three each with a cottage cheese biscuit and were full.  Well worth making.  There is enough in a large can of spaghetti sauce for the recipe.

Having it for supper again tonight and any leftovers will be put in the freezer for another night for one of us.

Gardening and home of the week....

Thursday is our garbage pick up day, and despite us living in the country we do have full garbage pick up just like the "city folks!!"  Every other week it's regular garbage bag pick up and every week we have recycling and green box pick up.  In the green box you put food waste and if you have room left over you can put garden waste in there.

I know I should compost, but I have terrible luck with trying to compost, so it's easier and less stressful to put all food waste in this green box.  On a Thursday morning I have started weeding parts of my flower beds and putting the weeds in my green box to fill it up.  Yesterday was no different and just after 7am I was out there weeding.  Decided I would tackle this garden bed:

Didn't get too much done before the green bin was full, but it does look a little tidier. Oh and yes that is snow in the background!!

I got this bed finished off the night before:

And have made a start on this one.

It's hard to believe we are starting our fourth year living here, and I am still trying to tame these flower beds?  I have yet to start on the veggie patch, hoping to make a start on prepping it next week.

This weeks home of the week is not my cup of tea as it just doesn't fit into the neighbourhood, it looks so out of place, don't you think?  I don't mind the actual house itself, I have seen a lot worse, although I have also seen a lot better.  Read the comments, as they are very interesting.

The condo of the week is so not my cup of tea.  It's very obvious that no children live here, how could they with everything so white?  I agree with the comments, that white tiles are a nightmare, as a friend of mine got them in her hallway and kitchen, they were awful to keep clean.  Must say though I think this condo is on par with last weeks red and white fiasco don't you? Oh and who can afford nearly $1,200 in condo fees every month?

Having a night out tonight and it's not even the weekend!!!

It's very rarely we go out at night through the week, but it's the annual Drawing for Art fundraiser tonight.  Here is a link to this years choices.  Both dd and I want the same painting, go to page 5 it's the one by Sarah Shaw with the poppies on it.  We have both come to an agreement, whose ever name gets drawn first can have it, no hard feelings, as there are others that we both don't mind having.


Here is last years pick and here is the year before's pick.


Managed to get some more weeding done, so slowly and surely all the flower beds are coming together.  We still have snow but I live in hope it will be gone by the weekend.  We had some damage to a couple of trees from the storm at the beginning of the week:

Cindy always has some great recipes on her blog, and on Tuesday she had a recipe for Cottage Cheese Biscuits.  As I had some cottage cheese that needed to be used up I thought I'd give them a go:


Cottage Cheese Biscuits:

2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp margarine or butter
Mix until crumbly &; set aside

In separate bowl....1 cup cottage cheese
1 cup cubed old cheddar cheese
1 egg
1/4 cup milk

Add cheese mixture to flour mixture, just until blended. If to wet add a little flour. Pat onto floured board and cut into biscuits 1/2 in thickness. bake at 425F for 10-12 min.....don't crowd on cookie sheet.

Now as always I slightly changed mine.  I grated/shredded the cheddar cheese, as cubing seemed to be fiddly.  I used half and half instead of milk, cream would also work.  I also crushed the biscuits with half and half before popping them in the oven to brown the tops.

"Minding Frankie," by Maeve Binchy and other things

Minding Frankie by Maeve Binchy

Maeve Binchy is back with a tale of joy, heartbreak and hope, about a motherless girl collectively raised by a close-knit Dublin community.

When Noel learns that his terminally ill former flame is pregnant with his child, he agrees to take guardianship of the baby girl once she’s born. But as a single father battling demons of his own, Noel can’t do it alone.

Fortunately, he has a competent, caring network of friends, family and neighbors: Lisa, his unlucky-in-love classmate, who moves in with him to help him care for little Frankie around the clock; his American cousin, Emily, always there with a pep talk; the newly retired Dr. Hat, with more time on his hands than he knows what to do with; Dr. Declan and Fiona and their baby son, Frankie’s first friend; and many eager babysitters, including old friends Signora and Aidan and Frankie’s doting grandparents, Josie and Charles.

But not everyone is pleased with the unconventional arrangement, especially a nosy social worker, Moira, who is convinced that Frankie would be better off in a foster home. Now it’s up to Noel to persuade her that everyone in town has something special to offer when it comes to minding Frankie.

Another super book by Maeve Binchy. I personally think she is one of the best writers out there. Her books suck me right in from the very beginning. I read this in a day, as I couldn't put it down . You get so involved in each of the character's lives you have to read more.

If I were starting out with Maeve Binchy's book's, I would start from the beginning and read them in chronological order one after the other.  As characters and locations from prior books keep popping up.  In this one for example the twins, Maud and Simon were involved in the story and I just can't remember their story prior to this book.

I borrowed this book from the library, which totally confused the librarian on duty, as I normally go in bearing gifts (books I have read), but this time I was borrowing a book from them, which doesn't happen too often!!!

Stars out of 5 : 5 actually it's more of a 10+ well worth the read!!

I finally updated my grocery spending totals  for the month of April.  Not too bad I am guessing but only have around $64 left for the month.  I have plenty in the fridge and freezer to make meals, I just need to make a menu plan; but we all know how useless I am at that!!!  How are you doing with your grocery spending this month?

I got a call from the garage in Barrie and they have refunded the half an hour's labour I asked for, so that will be nearly $57 back on my credit card.  I could have probably whined on for more, but this I thought was fair, and so did they.

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Winter flipping Wonderland, I don't think so........

You would think it was February out there not the end of April:

Off to put the fire on and hibernate!!!

"The Lion Cubs," book review

"The Lion Cubs," by Chrissy M. Dennis

"Fifteen-year-old loner Lexi Vogan has had enough. Four foster families in two years would be enough to make anybody run away! Alone in the world, she flees to Jacksonville where a group of runaway teens live in abandoned tunnels below the city. It seems like the perfect place for a forgotten face. Liz Swavier, thirty-six, became a widow two years ago when her husband succumbed to cancer, but she's managing just fine. At least, that's what she tells herself. Working long hours as a doctor in the ER, Liz's friends and family grow concerned that she's hurling herself into work to numb her grief. Then, on a typical Friday afternoon, an appointment with divine intervention causes these two very different lives to collide, beginning a journey towards restoration that only an all-knowing, loving God could weave together." 


This is not my normal type of book I generally read but I am really glad I chose it to read.  The way this book is set up it alternates between the two lead characters Lexi and Liz.  The story is very fast paced and you get sucked in from the beginning.  Each chapter features one of the lead character's.  I needed to know what was going to happen next especially to Lexi, her story really opened my eyes, especially about Foster Care.


Stars out of 5 : 5 a super book and opened my eyes to Foster Care.  I am looking forward to reading more of Chrissy's books.  http://www.facebook.com/chrissymdennis

"Book has been provided courtesy of Word Alive Press and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available now from your favourite bookseller.  "

"The Fiddler," by Beverly Lewis

"The Fiddler," by Beverly Lewis

A wrong turn in a rainstorm leads Englisher Amelia Devries to Michael Hostetler--and the young Amish man's charming Old Order community of Hickory Hollow. Despite their very different backgrounds, Amelia and Michael both feel hemmed in by the expectations of others and struggle with how to find room for their own hopes. And what first seems to be a chance encounter might just change their lives forever.


I am a huge fan of Beverly Lewis' books and although this book was very pleasant there was something missing from it.  Not sure what, but it didn't seem "meaty," enough for me.  It was like having a roast beef dinner with all the trimmings without the roast beef.


The story itself was okay and the characters were fine, and it even got me "sucked in" right away, but when I had finished the book, I felt I had missed something?


This is the first book in the "Home to Hickory Hollow," series.  The second book "The Bridesmaid," will be released in September of this year.


Stars out of 5 : 4, I did enjoy the book overall.  It was easy to read and if you love reading about the Amish you will enjoy this book.

'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".

"Sunshine Award,"

Cindy awarded me the "Sunshine Award," and wants me to answer some questions:

1.) What is your favourite color?

Red, despite my Nana always telling me I didn't suit red in clothing.

2.) What is your favourite animal?

Has to be a dog, they will always be there for you, mind you in Molly's case, unless there is a better smell in the air, then nobody matters!!!

3.) What is your favourite number?

I don't have one.

4.) What is your favourite non-alcoholic drink?

Iced tea in a cold drink, but not the true iced tea that you have down in the southern States, the one that comes in a can like Nestea........cold tea doesn't do it for me.  In a hot drink a good cup of tea with milk no sugar, and not too strong!!!

5.) Which do you prefer - Facebook or Twitter?

I don't "do" twitter, and although I do have a Facebook account, I rarely post on there.

6.) What is your passion?

I guess after my dh and the kids, it is renovating the house and garden.

7.) Do you prefer giving or receiving presents?

Giving, as I enjoy finding the perfect gift.

8.) What's your favourite pattern?

I love all botanical/floral prints.

9.) What is your favourite day of the week?

Saturday, as that is generally when dh is off.

10.) What is your favourite flower?

Poppy, love the brightness of the flower, however I enjoy all bright coloured flowers.

Now I am supposed to award this to other people, but as this has done the rounds, I am going to say I will award this to everyone reading this and if you would like to participate, feel free, you all deserve it for taking the time to blog..........

Finally if you get a chance please do pop by Cindy's blog, as her beautiful doggy Lexus, has just had six puppies and they are gorgeous.

Monkey's and houses..........

I am a member of Fab Find and this was on the site yesterday and thought it was fun:


Harmony Monkeys

We’re looking to start a choir. We don’t do anything but sit in our cage at the zoo anyway, so we thought we’d try and come up with a way to get visitors to throw us coins instead of food. We want to save up enough to buy our way out of this jail cell. We practice every night and perform everyday, except Wednesdays. On Wednesdays they bathe us and we’re too depressed and humiliated to sing after that. (If you’ve ever had a fire hose hit every part of you body, you already know why.) They may call us howler monkeys but we happen to think we sound a lot more like harmony monkeys. If you’re ready to join our cause come by around midnight and let us hear your pipes.           


Thanks to Fab Find for the above, but I won't be joining the choir!!!


This week's home of the week, is gorgeous, I could just move in and not change a thing.  I would have liked to see the back of the house as it says there is very little outside space, but you're right in the thick of things in downtown Toronto.  We would never be able to afford it, but if it were given to me, I wouldn't say no!!!


The condo of the week, isn't my cup of tea.  If you read the comments they are both informative and funny, especially the "Miami Vice," one.  My favourite colour is red, but the whole red and white theme seems very outdated to me?   Also who on earth can afford $1,500 a month on condo fees?


Update on the driveway: The guys came by and took a blow torch to all the weeds, and then put weed killer on them.  Add that to the weed killer I put on, you would think they would die?


Got a fair bit of weeding done in the flower gardens yesterday.  Still have a ways to go, but I feel as though I am making progress at last.


Are you all making a start with your garden?

Updates on a couple of things.......

Molly, we still haven't got a friend for Molly yet, and with the ways things are money wise, it's been put on hold.  Her allergies are really bad at the moment, so we may have to increase her steroids yet, which will cost more money.  I am holding off taking her to the vet for blood work until May, as there is no more money in the pot for anything else this month.


50 + 1 Recipes: I have been made aware there are a lot of recipes on the posts that are taking you too ads, or no longer exist.  I will go through them when I have a few hours to spare, namely on a night when I sit down to watch TV, however I won't be doing that over the next couple of days as we have run into a problem, which brings us up to my next update:


Driveway: Looks gorgeous and still very pleased with it.................BUT..........weeds are coming through to the surface????  So the guy popped by to take a look and has told us to put weed killer on it and they will come back and put another layer of tar and chippings on it.  These weeds are not just on the side, which I expected but in the middle of the driveway.  So I am going to be busy with that.


Called both garages to see if I can get a partial refund on the repairs that were done on my old car, still haven't heard anything back from them. Will give them until the end of the week and call the first garage again in Barrie.  The other one I won't follow up on, as that is where I bought my new car from.


I went and left a CD in the CD player in my old car, so called them and asked them if they could take it out for me.  You'll never guess what CD it was...................Meatloaf, "Hang Cool Teddy Bear."  The guy at the garage just laughed, and said his mother was a fan also.  I think he thought I was more of a classical music type of woman.


This poor birdie was a tad dazed when it flew into our window:



It's a Northern Flicker, and quite a beauty.  The good thing it did fly off when I got closer to it.

Say hello to Betsy.......

Why Betsy, well her license plate starts with a "B" so that seemed like a good name.


Glad I took a photo of her now, as she will never look this clean ever again........I am hopeless at washing cars and it's very low on the list of my priorities.


I spoke to both garages regarding refunds on my repairs and both have to get back to me.  At this point anything will be better than nothing as far as I am concerned..


I don't have snow tires for the new car, so I will have to sell my snow tires from the old car in October and hopefully that will pay for at least half of the new ones.


All in all I am pretty happy with it so far.......

I am a very lucky girl, because

I was given this as a gift:

It's a shoe bag, red velvet, all lined inside.  It is gorgeous.  A friend of mine made it after I commented on the one she had when we last saw one another.  She has a fancy dancy sewing machine that does embroidery.  It's handy if you are going to a function and wearing high heals and want to change into another pair of shoes.


This is one that dd chose:

and I bought this one off her for my good friend:

The detail on all these bags is stunning.  She made another dozen or so and she is donating them to auction off for a charity.


As you can see we are very fortunate to receive these.

Book Review.........A MUST READ!!!

"The Discovery by Dan Walsh"

When aspiring writer Michael Warner inherits his grandfather's venerable Charleston estate, he settles in to write his first novel. But within the confines of the stately home, he discovers an unpublished manuscript that his grandfather, a literary giant whose novels sold in the millions, had kept hidden from everyone--but which he clearly intended Michael to find. As he delves deep into the exciting tale about spies and sabotage, Michael discovers something that has the power to change not only his future but his past as well.


Laced with suspense and intrigue, The Discovery is a richly woven novel that explores the incredible sacrifices that must be made to forge the love of a lifetime. Author Dan Walsh delivers yet another unique and heartfelt story that will stick with you long after you've turned the last page.


What to say about this book.......GREAT, WONDERFUL, A MUST READ, PERFECT.  Can you tell I enjoyed this book?


I am not a fan of spy and sabotage books, but this wasn't the main part to the book in my opinion.  I think the love story that interweaves within the book makes it a winner.  It is two stories in one which makes it interesting as well.  I love the Charleston area, so enjoyed that aspect of the book as well, albeit Charleston is a minor point.


The book brings home how love will conquer all and what you will sacrifice for someone you love.


Star out of 5 : 5 It's a must read.  A book that will get you hooked from the word go.  



"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.  Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group".

All bark and no action.........

That's what our daft dog is all about.  She was sitting in her usual place waiting for the squirrels when she started to growl; then she started barking, so I popped my head up and our resident coyote was wandering past in the field behind us.

If it's the same one that was visiting us last year, it's fairly grown.  I went out on the back deck to take a couple of photos, and Molly came after me, barking up a storm.

Notice how her tail is stuck up in the air.  She looks as though she has put a lot of weight on, but she is on double the steroids that she was on last year, and she is still scratching.  Oh and I guess it could be lack of exercise on both Molly's and my part as well!!!!  Will say the coyote seemed pretty bemused about Molly barking up a storm and wandered off out of the way and probably for a bit of peace and quiet!!!!  It could have been worse, Molly could have been howling!!


Sunday was a very overcast and dreary day.  Took this photo around 7pm when we saw a little bit of sun:

When we were out in the truck we saw a lot of fields all ploughed and ready for crops.  This photo is looking towards the hills south of Creemore:

A quiet day around here, how was your Sunday?

My dream tractor and a Pig BBQ

Now that we are "penniless" entertainment has to be cheap!!!!  On Saturday our local town had a home show on.  We have been before and it is nothing special but generally interesting, and entrance is by donation.  All donation's go to our local hospital foundation, so that makes it worth while in my opinion.

While we were there we popped by the John Deere stand and there was my dream tractor.

The marvelous thing about this tractor, you do not have to get off the tractor to take off the bucket or put the grass cutter back on.  There are controls on the tractor that you drive over the grass cutter, lower something, it grabs the grass cutter and clips/hooks it on.  There is only one little issue with this, and that's the price.........it costs the same as my new car..............hhhhmmmmmm.......was it a good decision buying the car, when I could have had this tractor????

I also saw this:

It's a BBQ, can't say it's something I would want, but it's fun to look at I guess.  There was some neat wood pellet grills there by Traeger that I had never seen before.  I am not a huge fan of BBQ-ing, and dh doesn't cook period, but this seemed like a neat and environmentally friendly system.  In Canada the smallest system was around $500 CDN.

We also talked to a couple of local roofing people, as we HAVE to replace the garage roof by the Fall.......so have to start saving for that next.  We also found a place where we can buy the supplies so we can maintain our water softener ourselves, saving us at least $100 a year.  Home Hardware were also there and were giving out $10 off coupons when you spend $50 so that will also come in handy at some point as well.

So all in all a very informative couple of hours spent there and it will hopefully help us save some money in the long run.

What's your best source of cheap entertainment?

My twitching eye...........

My eye is twitching, I feel as though I am winking at everyone.  Also my head is pounding.  I have a bad case of stress at the moment............however I think things should settle down soon.

Firstly my car, drove it out of the garage on Thursday only for it to break down again.....yep it truly did.........dh nearly ran into the back of me.  However at that point we had already decided to purchase a new car, as the garage gave us a decent price for my old one.  We go and pick up a 2012 Ford Fiesta SE Hatchback on Tuesday.  It's in black and has a few bells and whistles I will never use, but we got a good deal on it, so decided to take it.  I should see a huge difference in my gas/petrol bills, I hope.  It is costing us an extra $10 a month in insurance, but can't do anything about that.  Luckily there is 0% financing as money is pretty tight at the moment, but we should be able to make this work.  Also we 0% financing, it's not like it is costing us extra money in interest.

What I do know is that my old car in unreliable and not safe for me to drive.  So the garage was good enough to lend me a car to tide me over until Tuesday.........a Ford Taurus.........the keys had better not stop working in it.

In between hands we committed to having the driveway tar and chipped.  This was money we could have done without spending.  However the results are awesome and has made a huge difference:

I personally had never heard of tar and chip.  It is more commonly used in the countryside and what they do is level out your driveway.  Spread a layer of tar over it, then a layer of chippings, which are sort of like pea gravel, then take a roller over it.  Spread another layer of tar and then chippings, and roll it again.  There is no maintenance to this and should last quite a while.

To tarmac/asphalt our driveway would have cost $21,000 and we would have never been able to afford that. 

So my head has been pounding over spending this money for the driveway and my car breaking down all at the same time.  We are in a huge belt tightening mode now, so I'm afraid don't come to me looking to borrow money...........we don't have any!!!! 

A big {SIGH}...more on the car

Well yesterday I drove five minutes down the road and the car broke down again {{SIGH}}  The theft light came on and the car stopped.  I was in the valley where there is no cell phone reception, so had to knock on someones door to ask to use their phone.

Called CAA and was going to get the car towed.  Went outside to the car and tried to start it again and it went???  So drove it home all the time crossing my fingers it would get there, cancelled the CAA and called the garage in Barrie to tell them what happened.

As I pointed out to them Barrie is over a 30 minute drive from our house and there was no way I wanted to drive on the highway and break down again.  So they suggested I take it to my nearest Ford dealership, which I did, without it breaking down again.

They drove me home and I left it with them.  As of Thursday morning it is still in the garage and they are now going to change the ignition thingy, as they think the ignition thingy isn't reading the keys and it thinks I am still stealing the car.

The technician has seen this happen before on my model of car, and as the computer doesn't show anything else wrong with the car (other than it's chirping) this is what they are going to do.  The cost  another $350, but it's no good to me or anyone at the moment as it is. 

The thing is I have lost faith in this car now, I am terrified it will break down if I drive it anywhere.  I am trying to persuade dh to get me a new car, but that means we will have to finance it, and we are stretched money wise as it is at the moment.  Also other than the mortgage we have no debt, and we like it that way...........  I want a new car, as I want the full warranty etc, without any of the problems.  Both me and dh are in agreement with this, as with everything being computerized on cars nowadays, dh can only do minimum maintenance on the car as it is.

I still have to deal with the garage in Barrie yet, as I want some money back from them, as I think they overcharged me the day before and they should have picked this up, as the technician in the garage where it's at now, said they should have done this first before changing my keys over.

In answer to John D question from yesterday, the battery is fine, it's been tested, plus all the lights are working etc.

So there you are my day yesterday.  I am very stressed about all of this, plus there are a few other things happening at the moment, but I think one issue per day is all you should have to deal with, my dear readers, don't you.....LOL                        

I bet you all wish I would take another blogging break!!!

I am back......well sort of..........

Just thought I'd pop by to say hello and have a rant about my bloody car.

Went to Barrie today and the car broke down on Highway 400.  For those of you not familiar with the area, it is one of the main highways/motorways.  The micro chip in my key stopped working, so the car thought it was being stolen and stopped working.................right as I was driving along.  I pulled over to the side and was not impressed.

To cut a long and painful story short it cost over $300 for the garage to diagnose the problem and to get new keys for the car.  However that is not all...........which shouldn't surprise any of us.

My car is now chirping like a bloody birdie...........yes you read that correctly........it chirps.  So that means I need to replace a camshaft synchronizer, what ever the heck that means, oh and that will cost $445 plus 13% tax to fix that..........

I am fit to be tied, as I just spent $700 on the bloody car last week, the car isn't worth all this money, but I can't be without a car where we live {{{SIGH}}} 

I am heading down to Toronto on Wednesday, as the garage said the car is safe enough to drive and I can wait to get the other repair done, and if I switch on the radio I can't hear it chirping!!

For those of you in Canada, if you hear on the news there is a British woman running around Highway 401 in a rage on Wednesday, it will be me and my bloody car has broken down again!!!!

Oh, and don't worry the kids both gave me a lecture about remaining in the car if I break down.......and what I should or should not do...........I felt like the young child and they were the parents.......LOL

I will try and get back into blogging this week..........

Taking a Blogging break.........

When I first started this blog it was something I wanted to do and something I enjoyed doing.  It has become a bit of a chore and I don't enjoy doing it as much as I did.  So I need to take a break, refocus and come back fresh and with enthusiasm.

Writing a post just because you HAVE to defeats the whole purpose of what blogging is about and it shows in your writing; at least in shows in my writing I believe and my writing has become stale and boring.

How long am I going to be away?  Could be a day, could be a week, could be a month, I have no idea.  I just need to get my Blogging Mojo back, and I will be back.