Sew Along another week down...........

 It's looking good I think.  This week's was both the Christmas Tree and the Ornament.  Both were pretty easy to stitch.

I got very little done though on the border.  No excuses, just didn't get as much done as I should have done.

This week's will be going in the bottom right hand corner.

She has just released a new Christmas pattern on her Etsy site, you can see it here.

Looking forward to doing this weeks, all those presents, which is appropriate as I just finished wrapping all the Christmas presents yesterday.....

Are you done with wrapping all the presents that you have to give out?

Soup's On!

Thursday was a cold snowy day, with bands of snow coming in from the lake all day.  Now granted it wasn't like the foot of snow we received a week ago, but it was a few inches.

We were due to go west of Toronto to watch eldest grand daughter in a gymnastics competition, but decided with the weather the way it was we would stay at home.

On the weekend dd brought up a veggie tray with a dip and left it with us.  There were carrots, celery, cauliflower and broccoli.  I chopped up the celery, carrots, along with an onion using my new chopper; which by the way works great, and stuck them in a bag in the freezer for later use.

Thursday was a soup kind of day and decided to make a curried veggie and lentil soup.  One veggie I hate with a passion is celery.  So I knew I had to make sure to disguise the taste of the celery.

Dd also left a package of this Boursin cheese.

So I put that in the pot to melt with various seasonings and cooked everything through.

Pureed it all with my stick blender and I have to say it was pretty good, and no taste of celery!!!

Is there a veggie you hate?

The Official Canadian Temperature Conversion Chart

50° Fahrenheit (10° C)

· Californians shiver uncontrollably.

· Canadians plant gardens.

35° Fahrenheit (1.6° C)

· Italian Cars won't start.

· Canadians drive with the windows down.

32° Fahrenheit (0° C)

· American water freezes.

· Canadian water gets thicker.

0° Fahrenheit (-17.9° C)

· New York City landlords finally turn on the heat.

· Canadians have the last cookout of the season.

-60° Fahrenheit (-51° C)

· Santa Claus abandons the North Pole.

· Canadian Girl Guides sell cookies door-to-door.

-109.9° Fahrenheit (-78.5° C)

· Carbon dioxide freezes to make dry ice.

· Canadians pull down their earflaps.

-173° Fahrenheit (-114° C)

· Ethyl alcohol freezes.

· Canadians get frustrated when they can't thaw the keg.

-459.67° Fahrenheit (-273.15° C)

· Absolute zero; all atomic motion stops.

· Canadians start saying "Cold, eh?"

-500° Fahrenheit (-295° C)

· Hell freezes over.

· The Toronto Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup.

The last one makes me smile, as that is so true!!!

Christmas is changing........(Spolier alert about Santa!!)

 albeit slowly in our house, but it's changing.  

This year I am giving Christmas cards out to only immediate family, and people who we will see in person.  Years gone by we would have up to 50 or more cards from various people.  Our kids only send cards to immediate family as well and I think that's under pressure from me!!

I am normally organized and have everything done and wrapped by this time.  Not this year, and instead of a pile of presents, it's a couple of small gifts and money, other than for the two boys, as they are only 4 & 7 and don't understand the concept of money yet, not like the older ones.

If I hadn't of had that party on the weekend, I know I would be not doing as much decorating around the house.  I think it would have just been the tree and a couple of other things.

Now we have grandkids, we have not had Christmas Day at our house in years, and I love it...LOL  At the end of the day Christmas is for kids, not for us oldies!!  These past two years it was one or the other of our adult children and their family away over Christmas, and again that's fine.  When there are inlaws involved, you have to share, which I am totally fine about.

The older we get the less we are bothered about Christmas.  However, I do love to see the kids' face when they open their gifts and I love the excitement they have about Santa coming.  I also enjoy threatening the two little ones with, "If you don't listen, I'm going to have a word with Santa and tell him you've been a naughty boy!!"  As that threat still works!!  Listening is a major problem with the boys.....just saying!!

The next bit is a SPOLIER ALERT ABOUT SANTA!!!

With the girls, the 12 year old, does not believe in Santa, sorry to disappoint you if you still believe in him!  However, she hasn't actually come out and said it.....just in case Santa does not come!!  The 9 year old is on the cusp of not believing, but again doesn't want to come out with it, just in case!!

So yes, Christmas is changing around here, but my memories of Christmas's past will always remain.

How about you?

Shopper's Drug Mart Bonus Redemption......

This past week was a bonus points redemption event at Shopper's Drug Mart.  I had been saving up my points and had 130,000 points that I could redeem for $200 worth of free product.

Here is what I got for under $17 out of pocket.

I got 4 bottles of Aveeno body lotion, for the winter.  A Dove shampoo and conditioner.  An eight pack of Activia yogurt, a jar of pasta sauce, and two loaves of bread.  Plus some chocolate/mint cookie things for the Christmas party.

Also four pizzas for the freezer, a couple can's of baked beans, 4 litre bag of milk and the big ticket item 5 containers of coffee which if I had, had to pay for would have cost $95.  When did coffee get so expensive?

Pleased with what I got and everything was things we use and need, especially the coffee.  If you're in Canada, and collect PC points, did you cash in this past weekend?

Christmas Party.........

I am part of a group of ladies, that gets together once a year for a Christmas get together and favourite things gift exchange.  My daughter was hosting it at our house this year.  Four out of the seven of us live north of Toronto.  The other two live closer to the city.  I live in the middle, so our house is the perfect mid location.  

We try to have the party on the last weekend of November before the weather turns bad and everyone gets too busy.  

We had one person who is vegan, another who is vegetarian and another who does not eat beef.

From bottom to top, there was a beef lasagna, a veggie lasagna.  A green leaf salad with pomegranate's and a raspberry vinaigrette.  A vegan lasagna, this one and it was so good, a bit pricy though. Cheese tortellini with rose sauce.  Garlic bread, homemade veggie samosa's someone brought, veggie tray and dip.  The fruit punch was made with pineapple juice, can frozen lemonade, cranberry juice and ginger ale.

The dessert tray, and it was yummy........the cupcakes were all vegan as well.

We do a favourite things gift exchange, where we buy everyone, something we love that's around $20.  I forgot to take a photo of my gift I got for everyone, but it was a Christmas ornament set that you had a cross stitch and a diamond art kit.

One person gave us personalized travel jewelry cases and personalized bracelets.

Another gave a box of shower steamers.

Another gave a compact chopper...........which is handy as I have always wanted one.

Another gave this water bottle, always handy.

Another gave various bathroom products.  Again super useful.

Daughter gave us that handmade Christmas ornament, which is lovely.  A tool which scratches off the things on scratch and win tickets, and the Cashingo ticket, which I ended up winning $3 on.  I normally use a ten cent coin to scratch the numbers on those cards, I never knew there was a scratch card scratcher, here is a link to them on Amazon, super useful thing.

Here is a close up of the ornament.

We also do a craft and this year we made mosaic coasters.  Below are mine glued to the wooden coaster before they were grouted.

Here they are all grouted.

Here are mine all grouted.  We have to wait 48 hours for them to cure then we can seal them.

All in all we all had a lovely day and it was good to catch up with everyone.  

Books I read in November...........

 "The Seamstress of Sardinia," by Bianca Pitzorno

In 1900 Sardinia, a young woman's remarkable talent with a needle earns her a position as a seamstress with a wealthy family. Inside this privileged world far different from her own humble beginnings, the skilled sewer quietly takes measurements, sketches designs, mends hems--and in the silence, hears whispered secrets and stories of all those around her.

Through the watchful young seamstress's eyes, this small Italian city and its residents emerge in all their vitality, vanity, and fragility--flawed yet congenial people who are not quite what they pretend to be. There is the Marchesa Esther, who rides horses and studies mechanics and ancient Greek; Miss Lily Rose, a spirited American journalist who commissions a special corset--with pockets to hide more than just her flaws; the Provera sisters with their expensive Parisian fashions that belie their financial hardships; and Assuntina, the wild child. There are men, young, old, and in between; love affairs and broken hearts; and even a murder (or was it suicide?). And at the center, watching and waiting is the seamstress herself, an intelligent, ambitious girl with a tender heart and her own impossible dream.

An irresistible literary confection rich in atmosphere and period detail and packed with compelling characters. The Seamstress of Sardinia transports us to a long-ago world not so removed from our own--to a society rigidly divided by wealth and shaped by passion, hope, ambition, and love--the elemental forces that drive human lives.

I actually enjoyed this book; but I can see how it's not to everyone's taste.  It feels as though it's five mini books, with one central character, the seamstress connecting them.  Funny thing about the main character, she is never actually given a name in the book?  I didn't realize this until I actually sat down to write this?

Anyhow, these are stories the author's grandmother told her and quite entertaining they were.  If I had to choose the one I liked best, it was the one about the Provera sisters.  I actually chuckled at the ending.  The stories do show how the society was very divided by wealth on upbringing.  I got this book from Book Outlet.

"In Another Time," by Caroline Leech

It’s 1942, and Maisie McCall is in the Scottish Highlands doing her bit for the war effort as a Women’s Timber Corps lumberjill. Maisie relishes her newfound independence and her growing friendships—especially with the enigmatic John Lindsay.

As Maisie and John work side-by-side felling trees, Maisie can’t help but feel like their friendship has the spark of something more to it. And yet every time she gets close to him, John pulls away. It’s not until Maisie rescues John from a terrible logging accident that he begins to open up to her about the truth of his past, and the pain he’s been hiding.

Suddenly everything is more complicated than Maisie expected. And as she helps John untangle his shattered history, she must decide if she’s willing to risk her heart to help heal his. But in a world devastated by war, love might be the only thing left that can begin to heal what’s broken.

I had a vested interest in this book, as my Nana was a lumberjill.  Not in Scotland in Cumberland.  She also had a young child at the time, so she would drop her off at school and then go out to woods, so slightly different scenario than this book.

This book was all about how a young girl grows up and falls in love despite all the obstacles thrown in her way.  It was also about friendship and how people can pull together when under great stress.

I enjoyed the book, it wasn't a difficult read.  There is a Lumberjill's statue commemorating the hard work of the ladies during World War II in Aberfoyle, Scotland.  That is something I would love to visit, next time we are in the UK.  There is both a Canadian and American link to this book, as some of the ladies, married Canadian's and American's who served over in the UK during this time.

"The Truth About The Accident," by Nicole Trope

I gaze at my husband’s once handsome face, so still and pale in the hospital bed. The doctors say I should keep talking. He might be able to hear me even after the terrible accident that left him fighting for his life. But all I have to whisper to my husband is I know what you did.

Every day I wave my husband Damon off with a kiss and a smile, drive our precious children to school, and make sure our house is pristine before preparing a delicious meal. I pretend I’m not filled with fury that he once nearly destroyed our perfect life. It’s important to carry on as normal.

That is, until the accident.

My husband was hit by a car. It was pouring with rain. Nobody saw what happened. But the police are asking questions…

Do they know about the terrible argument we had that day?

Do they know about the text message I sent, telling someone to Delete everything ?

And do they know that no one is happier that my husband is in a hospital bed, than me?

I go this book from Indigo, in their 3 for $10 section.  It's a mystery drama, involving a man who feels it's fine to have a wife and children, and having multiple women on the side with whom he is having affairs.......

He's involved in an accident, and the police class it as a hit and run; but is there more to it than meets the eye?  You are told the story through multiple women, each with slightly differing stories, and an unknown lady, whose story you're not too sure where it fits in this sordid tale.

Once you get through the first couple of chapters and meet each of the characters, you'll get into the story.  Then you can't put it down, as you're trying to figure out who did what.  

Not an overly taxing book, but plenty in it to keep you interested.

"The Sweetheart List, by Jill Shalvis"

What makes life sweet?

-Freshly baked bread
-A cool lake on a hot summer day
-The comfort of a cozy bookstore
-Second chances and new beginnings

When Harper Shaw’s life falls apart, she knows it’s time for a change. She removes everything that doesn’t spark joy—from her soul-sucking job to eating kale to making lists—and sets off for the last place she was happy, Lake Tahoe (who wouldn’t feel good there, right?) to fulfill her dream of opening her own bakery.

With her Sugar Pine Bakery in between a tavern, owned by sexy, grumpy Bodie Campbell, and a bookstore, run by her new BFF, she feels a peace she’s never experienced since…well, forever.. Then she meets Ivy, a teenage runaway, who barrels into her heart. She sees a lot of herself in Ivy and takes her under her wing, but the teenager has secrets…

When those secrets explode, it changes Harper’s new world, and she’ll learn, it’s never too late to start over, it’s never too late to figure out your life, and best of all, it’s never too late to let yourself believe in love.

Got this from Indigo as part of the 3 for $10 section.  It's a sweet book, pretty predictable, a fast read and one you'll probably forget in a short period of time.  This is book 4 in the Sunrise Cove series, but it works well as a stand alone book.  If you're looking for a light read, that you don't have to concentrate on while reading, this one is for you.

While at son and daughter-in-law's I picked up the book below off her shelf.  Now this book you do have to concentrate on and is not a light read.  I am about half way through it and it is very good so far.  There has already been a couple of surprises in it and I'm guessing there are still more to come!!  You can read more about it here.

Overall quite a mixed variety of books I'd say.

What did you read this month?

Sew Along Cross Stitch....

 Busy day yesterday with a heavy snowfall and being at son's house, so didn't get a chance to post my weekly update.

I say this every week, but I am loving how this is coming along.  The colours she chose are perfect.

As you can see I got very little done on the border.  I have a quieter week this coming week, so hoping to finish the left hand side.

This week's pattern is on the top right square.  Looks like it will be easy enough to do.

She is having a 50% off sale on her Etsy Store at the moment.

Today's Goal's for a 4 year old..........

 This is what I told the teacher at the gate to the Kindergarten entrance.

1. Bring home both his mitten's.......
2. Leave the sand pit at school......

Her response, "Good luck with that!!"

Who knew my life would revolve around mittens and bloody sand all week!!!  LOL

Do you know how far sand travels around a house?  I do, it gets everywhere!!

Crazy busy

Our son and daughter-in-law have gone away on a business trip, so we're babysitting the boys.  The boys are 4 and 7, and are full of energy.  I just wish I have a tiny bit of their energy...LOL  They're really good, but when you're not as active as them it's tiring for sure.

They are such a lovable pair and have lots to say on everything.  When I put them to bed on a night, we go over all the good things that has happened that day, and the 4 year old, just loves that.  It's making me smile just writing this.  I asked him what he dreamt about and he said he was talking to Santa.......he had a huge smile on his face.........such innocence.  

First morning we took them to school we got there just in the nick of time.  The second time we were overly early, so now we just need to get it right.  I have found being organized is a key to getting out of the house in good time, otherwise it's like herding cats!!

They live a five to ten minute walk from school, so we walk back and forth.  One thing I don't like is the amount of people who bring huge dogs to school with them to pick up the kids.  I love larger dogs, more so than the small ones who nip.  However the other day a woman with a dog who was 100 to 120lbs was right by the gate at the Kindergarten and was announcing loudly her dog just loved children and would do them no harm.   Yeah right 😕  Said dog didn't like other dogs though, and up strolled another woman with a mid-sized dog and went right for the large dog.  

Last summer we were picking up our older grandson who was in Grade 1 at the time and up strolled a woman with a "pit-bull like" dog and a snake wrapped round her neck?????  I gave her a wide birth, not for the dog, but the bloody snake...LOL

Anyhow, so this is why I am not visiting your blogs, as in between babysitting, and being at their house, I am prepping for a Christmas party our daughter and I are having at our house this weekend.  Next week it should settle down and I will have more time to visit everyone's blogs.

Have a good week!

Another purchase from Ikea.....

 As I was looking on the website prior to going to Ikea I came across this:

It's plastic doves and leaves made into a wreath.  Very sturdy and ever so pretty.

It takes 3 x AA batteries and has the option to be on all the time or for six hours.

It doesn't give off a whole lot of light, but it does look lovely and is quite flat, so easy to store.

New set up on the hall table......

I have had the bottle brush trees for a while now.  I decided to add the tray as a new thing.

I purchased the tray from Ikea, it's this one which they are calling a candle tray.  I went to the dollar store and picked up the two parcel ornaments.  The "snow" is stuffing that I use in my sewing.  I looked at the dollar store and they were selling something similar, so wanted to use what I had on hand.

The two silver trees, are also what I had on hand.  The ball is one of my Waterford Ornaments, that I just lay on there.  I also had some mini LED lights leftover from another craft, that I laid underneath the "snow."

Super simple and very effective.

Random photos from Ikea

 Had to go to a doctor's appointment in another city the other day, so we popped into Ikea which was a 10 minute drive away to pick up some bits and bobs.  Here are some random photos from Ikea.

One reason I took this photo was that if we forgot where we'd parked I just had to refer back to this photo!!😉

I got a few things, some that I'll share over the next few days......

Niagara Falls (photo heavy)

 Had a night away on Friday.  We were in Niagara Falls.  We stayed at the Wyndham Garden Hotel, just along the road from Fallsview Casino.  The hotel itself is very tired looking, but for the price and the location it's great value for money.  It's a five minute walk to the casino.

The casino/resort is on the hill above the Falls.  If you go out the back of the casino, you look over towards the Falls.  The next few photos are from there.  By the time I took these photos, it was dusk around 5pm.

I am not an expert in casino's as this is the only one I have been in, but it does look lovely all lit up at night.  This was the main entrance area.

We're not big gamblers, but we went in to spend some time playing the slots.  I watch Brian Christopher Slots, every day while having my lunch.  Now our biggest bets were $1 a spin!!  I will say we left the casino after an hour, having a great time, out of pocket by $10 between us.  We would have been up by 55 cents, but we went back in and spent $10 between us on another game, and that was why we lost the $10.

Now the whole reason for going to Fallsview, was to see this show: Tina, Better be good to me!  This was in the Avalon Theatre.

She was pretty good; obviously not as good as Tina, but good all the same.  The show was around 2 hours long and we enjoyed it.  We saw The Tina Turner back in 2008, you can read about that here.

I will say I prefer going to see the shows downtown Toronto.  The acoustics are better, as are the productions.

I personally don't like Niagara Falls, it's overpriced.  It annoys the heck out me how they charge the tourist tax, just don't get it.  However it is a busy place and I do like to look at the Falls.

It made a nice change to go away, and Niagara Falls is only a couple hours drive from where we live.

Looking at booking tickets to see this show in Toronto next.