end of June already?

It has gone by fast hasn't it?

A month ago this little cutie was born, yes she is already a month old.

Then we had the arrival of this little cutie two weeks later:

Plus our son and girlfriend got engaged. No photos to share there, they are pretty private people.

I managed to get the basement ceilings and walls primed.  Shouldn't have been as hard a job as it was, but being sick isn't helping the situation.

So all in all a pretty exciting month for us around here.  How was your June?

Hanging in there like a bad smell........

me being sick that is.  I don't know what I have got but I am so over it.  I finally had a little bit of energy yesterday morning, so did some more priming down stairs.  Even swept out the garage, but all that ended up doing was making me more tired than ever.  I spent half an hour down the stairs this morning, finishing off the priming, so at least it's all done now.  Not planning on doing much more today than just the odd job or two that needs doing.

Dh is off on Friday for Canada Day, so our plan of action is for me to cut in and him to paint two of the rooms ceilings down there.  The ceilings are the hardest job for me.

Had a question for any of the gardeners out there.  My tomatoes have black bottoms, do you know what causes that and how I can prevent that from happening?  None are ripe yet, and none will be edible if they have black bottoms.

Look at this link  you will not believe the devastation this caused.  They were lucky more lives were not lost.

Then there was this in Instanbul, what on earth is going on in the world?

Off to read a book, as I am pooped..........have a good one.

Let's see............

1. Been contemplating the results of the Brexit vote.  I know we don't live in Britain, but have to say this result will affect us all wherever we live.  For dh and I it will also affect us in our wallet.  We did not vote although we are dual citizens.  If I had of voted, I would have probably voted to leave.  However let's just leave it at that; don't want to get into any political arguments with anyone.

2. Still sick, but I will live...LOL  Our Little Munchkin has had a cold, so I'm blaming her...........despite what her mother says!!

3. The basement.......well nothing has been done since Wednesday.  Although I did take back my receipts to Home Depot, to "return" all the paint and then re-buy it with Saturday's date on it, so I could claim $80 in mail in rebates.  That will pay for another couple cans of paint..........oh wait the rebate will be here in 8 to 12 weeks........I have better be finished painting before then!  I am hoping to get more done down there this week.

4. Started putting together the Beekeeper's Quilt:

Have a long, long way to go, but do like the colours, so know I am going in the right direction.

5. Having another hot spell, not happy.  Being sick, being a certain age and having hot humid weather, equals one not happy bunny!!

6. Tomatoes are growing, so am happy about that; will be a couple of weeks though before they are ripe, can't wait.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend.........

Didn't know whether to laugh or cry?

I am sick; not sure what with but my symptoms are lack of energy, feeling as though I have been run over by a truck, dry throat, slight cough, my ears feel full and just plain tired.  Started with it on Wednesday afternoon, and thought a good nights sleep was in order and I would be fine; alas no.

However, yesterday afternoon I went out and ran a couple of errands, which included going into this store.  I picked up my things and the cashier ran the items through and I paid.  It was then I noticed she had given me the seniors discount!

Dh says I look sick and I think I look sick, but I didn't realize I had aged that much.  I just stood there for a minute as I couldn't decide if I should say something to her as that may embarrass her, or just let it go.  I let it go, as honestly I didn't have the energy to say anything.

I did talk to a former employee of the store later and she was saying that senior discount day is a nightmare, as you don't want to ask someone if they are a senior; so if in doubt you just give it to the customer regardless.  I hope I was one of those people?

Oh well, I saved I think 50 cents!!!!  I can see the sofa and the tv as my place of rest for the rest of the day.  Have a good one.

Down the basement painting..........

Will resurface later today!!

On schedule, so that's the main thing.  Glad though I don't do this as a living!!!  Ceilings are doing my neck in and  my poor right hand is suffering.  Still onwards and upwards as they say!

All about books and reading.........

I discovered a new to me website called "Book of the Day."  I signed up for the newsletter, so am up to date with whats what in the book world.  I am quite sure there are other sites out there that are the same or similar?

At the moment I am "ploughing" through a book called "The International Bank of Bob," by Bob Harris.

Hired by ForbesTraveler.com to review some of the most luxurious accommodations on Earth, and then inspired by a chance encounter in Dubai with the impoverished workers whose backbreaking jobs create such opulence, Bob Harris had an epiphany: He would turn his own good fortune into an effort to make lives like theirs better. Bob found his way to Kiva.org, the leading portal through which individuals make microloans all over the world: for as little as $25-50, businesses are financed and people are uplifted. Astonishingly, the repayment rate was nearly 99%, so he re-loaned the money to others over and over again.

After making hundreds of microloans online, Bob wanted to see the results first-hand, and in The International Bank of Bob he travels from Peru and Bosnia to Rwanda and Cambodia, introducing us to some of the most inspiring and enterprising people we've ever met, while illuminating day-to-day life-political and emotional-in much of the world that Americans never see. Told with humor and compassion, The International Bank of Bob brings the world to our doorstep, and makes clear that each of us can, actually, make it better.

I can't remember how I "found" this book, but it sounded interesting enough and I had never ever heard of a Kiva loan.  It is a wordy book I am finding, and have still not finished it.  It is interesting enough though and Bob himself has had an interesting life with lots of life experiences.  You also learn about other people's lives.  I found the chapter on Bosnia and Rwanda both informative and very moving: the suffering that people had to go through because of wars is hard to imagine.

I had a peek at the Kiva.org site and have to say that to is very interesting.  I have not set up a Kiva loan but think that in the future it is something I would like to do.  Not 100% sure who at this time would get "our/my" money.  I do how like how the loans start at $25 so very affordable.

As I said earlier I am around three quarters of the way through the book.  Has anyone else either heard of or read this book?  Also is anyone familiar with the Kiva loan systems?

Schedule

When growing up my mam had a schedule of doing things on certain days.  Over the years my schedule hasn't been as rigid and has changed depending on who was home and the seasons.

For the next month or two I do have a schedule that I hope to stick too.  Here it is:

Monday: Housework

Tuesday: Basement painting

Wednesday: Basement painting

Thursday: visiting children or at knitting

Friday: grocery shopping/housework

Weekend: who knows!!

It's not written in stone of course, but I think if I could stick too it at least for the rest of this month and July, I could get the walls and ceilings painted in the basement, and if dh gets some of the trim up and doors, I could get a lot of that done as well.  The space I am painting is probably around 800 square feet split into three rooms, plus under stairs and closets.  Yes you could live down there quite comfortably.  

So wish me luck that I stick to this schedule.  Do you have a schedule?

Say hello to our new granddaughter......

Paige Elizabeth was born June 15th @ 4:10 pm, weighing at 7 lbs 4 oz.  Both mother and baby doing well.  Big sister more interested in the ice chips her mother got to "eat."  Paige looks exactly Nora did when she was born.

Busy day yesterday.........batch cooking

Cooked for both our daughter and family, and ourselves.

Rotten photos, but at least you get the idea.

Took me all day to do it.  I started before 8 am and finished tidying up by just after 3 pm.  Now it wouldn't have taken as long if folk didn't keep calling me......you know who you are...LOL  I didn't have to pick the phone up I know, but I love talking to the folk that called.

For Daughter and family I made:

2 meals chicken pot pies
1 meal sausage and bean casserole
1 meal fish cakes
1 meal shepherds pie
2 bags mashed potatoes
2 bags mashed carrot and turnip/rutabaga
1 portion of sweet potato veggie fritters

For us:

1 meals chicken pot pies
1 meal sausage and bean casserole
1 meal fish cakes
1 meal shepherds pie
1 potion of mashed carrot and turnip/rutabaga
1 portion of sweet potato veggie fritters
1 bag of cooked chicken

All the meals I made are my own recipes, so just make them up as I go along. There is a link to a fish cake recipe though.

Lot of work, but well worth it, as I do want to make a start on priming the basement next week and the ready meals will come in handy.

Do you like batch cooking and if so what are your go too meals?  Also do you tidy up as you go along, or tidy up when you have finished cooking?  I am a tidy up as you go along type of gal.

Busy week ahead of us..........

Our daughter will be having her baby girl......finally!!!

Going to spend Tuesday doing a big batch cook for both ourselves and our daughter and family.  She found having meals on hand, just waiting to be heated up after having Our Little Munchkin was the best thing.

Having a wheat free diet seems to be the latest thing out there.  I thought this looked interesting and have signed up.

My pot of knitted hexagons is getting fuller and brighter!

Made this elephant for Our Little Princess:

 Haven't seen Our Little Princess and family for a couple of weeks, need to fit in a visit with them sometime.

Then The Lakeside Yarn Crawl starts on June 18th.

You can read more about that here.

Be back later in the week.

So what's new?

Well our son and partner got engaged on the weekend in Boston.  He took her to see the Toronto Blue Jays play the Boston Red Soxs at Fenway Park as she is baseball mad.  She said yes and as they already live together it won't be a long engagement, and I think they will be getting married early 2017.  Her ring is gorgeous, a real "bobby dazzler."  If you haven't heard of that term before click on this link for an explanation.  Thankfully our daughter "helped" guide our son in the right direction regarding the right ring, as he likes the "bigger the better look," and our future daughter-in-law has very small hands.  The ring he got is perfect though.

Still waiting to see our new grand daughter; as she is still inside of her mother's tummy.  Dd doctor took ill and so her C-section was postponed until next week; as long as she doesn't go into labour in between hands.  She is now 39 weeks.  Pain in the butt for everyone as everything was planned out.  However as long as mum and baby are okay that's the main thing.  So we should have a baby this next week now.

Due to all that phaffing about didn't get much of anything done this week.......

Little shocked to see my foot this morning:

I curled my toes over for the photo so you weren't exposed to my nasty toe nails!!  It's still quite bruised and it's been a week and a half now.

Finally, you know how you win some, you lose some?  Well this week we got our next property tax bill in the mail.  Seems it has gone down; yes I said DOWN, by $2 a month!!! 

Then we got our year end report from the Condo board and our condo fees have gone up by $40 a month!  Personally that is a bit much and they have forecast that next year (July 2017) it will be up by another $55 a month.  By then it will have gone up $125 a month since we moved in in 2014.  We will have been in the house two years next week.  After that last increase it will then be only going up a couple of percent per year.  They need to get the reserve fund up to a certain point in a certain amount of time as per law.  I am not impressed!

Off now to try and get as many groceries as possible for as little money as possible.......getting to be a harder and harder challenge nowadays though.

Sorry for not being around.....been a busy week...

Of course the most important thing that happened last week was the arrival off our Jeina.  The photo below was taken today (Sunday).  She is sleeping under the quilt I made her and with her elephant.  She is a cutie with super long fingers and gorgeous hair.

I fell on Monday morning and twisted my ankle, sort of.  Its all bruised, luckily I was in the bedroom at the time so fell on carpet; this happened at 6:30 am.  As my mother said it helps if you put tonic in with the gin............

The guys came and finished off the drywall and left me enough drywall dust to coat the whole of the neighbourhood.............wasn't that kind of them?  So I have been a tad busy trying to tidy up that mess.  Who knew drywall dust can get into everywhere, and I mean everywhere!  However, they did a super job, very pleased with the results.  Now I have to get on with all the painting.

Due to all of that I was a tad irritated by the end of the week, so the poor builders got it.  You would think they were building the Taj Mahal opposite us with the amount of workmen parked outside of our house.  They park where ever they feel like and generally are a pain in the butt.  So I had a full "toddler meltdown," on them on Friday.  Not sure what will come of it but I felt better afterwards...LOL

This week our next grand daughter is due to arrive, so it will be all systems go.  I will get caught up with everyone one of these days!! Have a good week.