Cute........

Dd was nominated to make a cake and 60 cup cakes for her boyfriends cousins baby shower this weekend.  Luckily her "future" mother in law is baking the cupcakes for her, and dd will decorate them.  Below is the "topper" for the cake.  She has bought a cupcake tree and is decorating that as well.

I will post a photo of the finished cake and cupcakes when dd sends me one.  By the way the baby will be a boy and the colour theme is tiffany blue and brown.

I actually had a day at home on Thursday.  Must say though although I got a bit of work done I didn't get as much done as I would have liked.  I kept getting sidetracked with other things.  Managed to get a couple of columns written and submitted.  Did a pile of laundry and got that all ironed. 

It was such a nice day I had the windows open in the house.  I even barbecued for supper.  While looking in the freezer I found a couple of burgers and a couple of hot dogs laying there so figured they needed to be used up.  It's something we don't eat a lot of, so it always makes a nice change when we do have them.

In case anyone is interested here is a link to my column in the Orangeville Banner, I am whining about the hydro bill............

Two trips to the hospital in one day.......I don't know!!

The first visit to the hospital was a scheduled appointment for dh, as he had to have a CAT scan as he has a persistant cough and chest problems.  The only reason I went was that dh's truck was in the garage for a service, so I was recruited to be his driver for the afternoon.  So lets pray and hope it's nothing too to serious for dh.

The second visit was NOT scheduled, read on to find out why!!

As you all know I went and hurt my arm with the brush cutter over two weeks ago, read here  Things have been up and down with my arm ever since.  I went to the doctors a week ago and he said it was mending nicely and not to worry about the lump it would go.

A couple of you have been asking how my arm is, so last night I was looking at it, and it was still lumpy.  On further investigation; me squeezing it, I discovered it was full of pus and liquid.  On even more further investigation; me poking it even further, I discover a black object in it.  So after poking about in it for a while with a pin and tweezers I was finally able to get hold of the black object, but couldn't pull it out.

So I got dh to try and he decided to go and get his tool for pulling nails out of wood to grip this black thing.  I know you're all yelling.....NO!!!!!  He did wipe the end on his pants just to make sure he got some of the dirt off!!   Anyhow, he could get hold of this black object but it didn't want to come out of my arm.  Plus by this point I had figured out it was a piece of metal.  Both me and dh decided this was a hospital job, as we figured the skin had grown around the piece of metal and someone was going to have to cut my arm open to get it out.

So just after 8pm of we trot to the hospital again.  At 11:15pm we saw the doctor in emergency and he cut open my arm; after freezing it I am pleased to say, and cut out a piece of metal that was sort of shaped like a "U"  He said it was like a fish hook, as the more we were pulling on the one end, the other end was digging into the flesh of my arm, so I would never have got it out without ripping open the arm, which would have been painful.

Of course I had to have a tetanus shot as goodness knows when I last had one of those; and off I went at 11:35pm.  We were all tucked up in bed by midnight, shattered.  Poor dh had to be up his usual time of 4:20am, and Molly had me up her usual time of 6am.  So I can see and early night in store for us.

Oh and a bit of good luck with all of this.  Remember how the dentist put me on an antibiotic for my tooth, see here  Well we figure that is what has helped keep the infection in my arm down during this past week.  I got another prescription for some more antibiotics last night, but will only fill it if my arm starts to flare up again.

So the moral of this story, one trip to the hospital can lead to two.  That British Woman should never be allowed to use the brush cutter with the metal blade on it.  If you have a lump in your arm and it looks lumpy, investigate earlier on in the day, so you can get to bed at your normal time, otherwise the next day you will be bone weary, which is not helpful when you have a busy day ahead of you!

Well I had better get on, as I still have my Orangeville Banner column to write for this week!

Friday........

Finished cutting the grass.

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

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

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

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

This is what was on Squirrel tv Friday morning:

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

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

Our night out.........

We really enjoyed our night out.  Funny thing was that dd's number was drawn first and she chose this one  there was a groan from a number of people in the crowd, as it was a popular one.

Meanwhile we were beginning to wonder if our number was in the jar, as more and more people got to pick their choices.  We finally had our number called third from the end!!  Thank goodness they had more pieces of art left than tickets, otherwise I could have ended up with a horrible thing.

I have to say all the abstract pieces went fast, and despite the fact we were third from the last I still managed to get my second choice, which was not on my original list.  We came home with this piece:

Just ignore my hand reflection in the photo.  This is by the artist Michael Jack.  I have no idea about the man, but did like this piece and it fits in perfectly in our bedroom.  Also the last five tickets pulled got extra gifts.  We got a necklace and four tickets to a concert at the gallery worth $60.  I gave them to dd, as it's an hour and a half's drive for us.

The place was packed, the snacks were yummy, especially the chocolates...I made sure I taste tested a number of those.........wanted to make sure they were okay for everyone to eat.

Here are some of the sculptures that were included. That silver tree thingy, was the only one I sort of liked, but all but one went.

There's my painting on the bottom left.  I also had the top left and the bottom right on my list as possibles.

Although this is hard to see, maybe click on the photo to enlarge it, this was pretty neat.

So we didn't get in from our night out until after 11pm.  Needless to say on Friday we were pooped, espcially as we had the builders in finishing off the job.  I will post more about what the builders did etc. on Sunday.
Here is my column for the Orangeville Banner for this week!

My column and Molly..

Here is my column for the Orangeville Banner, this week I talk about pruning my raspberries with the Lawn Tractor.


Thursday was a chilly day here.  So chilly that there was nothing much playing on squirrel tv, seemingly it was too cold even for the squirrels to come out and play.


Luckily I had booked an appointment for the vets on Thursday morning and there is one thing Molly just loves to do is go for a ride in the car.  I wanted to get the bloodwork done to make sure she doesn't have any heartworms and pick up some more steroids.


I have got her down to 1/2 a pill per day, and that is what we are going to keep her on for the foreseeable future.    She has also lost 4lbs since she was last at the vets, and is down to 40lbs now, so that was another positive.  Molly does have an ear infection at the moment, but I have that under control.  Ear infections and Beagles go hand in hand.


However, the vet is pushing me to give her Advantage for flea control.  I am undecided about it, although it is an external application and not something she has to ingest, so that is a positive.  I have had her on a sprinkling of organic garlic powder for flea control which I thought would be better?  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.


When Molly got back from our outing she was pooped and laid down on the ottoman in the sun relaxing:

Dogs have given us their absolute all. We are the center of their universe. We are the focus of their love and faith and trust. They serve us in return for scraps. It is without a doubt the best deal man has ever made.

 ~Roger Caras

Parents can be so cruel and a recipe....

Here is my column for this week in the Orangeville Banner, I talk about me being a "NIMFY," not a "NIMBY!"

I got this in my inbox on Thursday. You named your baby what?


This is a list of the worst baby names given to actual kids living in the United States:

• •Uranus Stukey
  
  
  •Ghoul Nipple
  
  
  •Acne Fountain
  
  
  •Lust T. Castle
  
  
  •Mary A. Jerk
  
  
  •Ima Whore
  
  
  •Mutton Bucker
  
  
  •Hugh Jass
  
  
  •Fanny Whiffer
  
  
  •Tackle Feigenbutz
  
  
  •Envy Burger
  
  
  •Bum Snoddy
  
  
  •Mule E. McCart
  
  
  •Lard Mooney
  
  
  •Good Hell
  
  
  •Emma Royd
  
  
  •Noble Butt
  
  
  •Naught E. Bishop
  
  
  •Stud Duck

I'm sorry but that is just plain cruel calling your child one of those names, don't you think?
 
So I had some rhubarb in the freezer and some sour cream in the fridge that needed using up.  I googled for a recipe and came up with:
 
Sour Cream Rhubarb Squares
 
Ingredients:
 
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup chopped nuts OR oatmeal
1 tbsp. butter
 
Rub all those ingredients together and put aside, that's the topping.
 
1/2 cup vegetable shortening, like Crisco (for the British and others, its like lard but vegetable based, not animal based)
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda (bicarb)
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups rhubarb, chopped.
 
Mix the shortening and brown sugar in a mixer until well beaten and light.  Add the egg and vanilla, mix well.  Sieve, flour, baking soda and salt.  Add a little bit of flour mix in, then add some sour cream, then flour etc.  Fold in the rhubarb.
 
Place in a greased and lined 9" x 13" baking pan, and then sprinkle on the topping mix.
 
Bake in a preheated 350oF oven for 50 minutes or until done.
 
I have to say this is not how the recipe read when I downloaded it.  The instructions were terrible and it didn't break down what to do when.  Thank goodness I bake!!  Mind you I am getting good at deciphering recipes through inputting the recipes for the church recipe book.  Luckily I had the foresight to ask everyone to put their name and telephone number on the recipes, as I have had to ask questions on some of them!!
 
I doubled the recipe with no problems and made it with my Kitchen Aid mixer.  So there is one for us and one for the neighbour!!
 
 

This is the neighbours one!!  So fingers crossed he likes it!

So in the interest of all the people who read my blog, I cut myself a piece to try it!

I am pleased to report that it is very good and nice and moist!  Gosh the things I do for you guys!  Oh and the neighbour's liked it as well!!

Did you remember to put your money in your Daily Savings Pot?  We are half way through the month already!!

Today's Money Saving Tip:

Mulch. Collect pine cones when ever you see them lying around and either use them as they are or I like to break them up into smaller pieces, which gives a similar look to bark chippings.

My two columns........and a bit of a strange/funny story....

Here is a link to my column this week at the Eden Valley Messenger, where I talk about being both British and Canadian.  Here is a link to my column in the Orangeville Banner, where I talk about the idiots on the road and how no one takes a blind bit of notice of the speed limits.

I think I am going to use the Eden Valley Messenger column on the Orangeville column next week, as I think its pertinent to both columns in this case. 

I forgot to tell you about this yesterday.  On Thursday we had a dove fly into our family room window.  There is nothing unusual about birds flying into our windows, except this one really hit the window hard.  Both me and Molly went running to the window to see what had hit it as there was such a bang.  I looked down and on the ground was a poor dove.  A very dazed dove, who looked as though it had hit the bottle.  It was staggering around and shaking it's head.  It was the funniest thing to watch. 

However, it then stopped moving and I have to say I got worried enough that I called the vet to see what I should do.  They told me to bring it in and they would put it out of its misery.  Well, I must admit, I wasn't happy with that idea.  So they told me to pick it up and put it in a tree out of harms way then.  So I went outside to pick it up, and as I was approaching it flew into the nearest tree, where it stayed for a couple of hours.  It then flew away.  I bet that poor birdie had one heck of a headache!!

Also on the way home from the hospital I had to stop on the road to let a wild turkey cross (back road through Mono Centre, dad) and for one brief moment as I was sitting there a thought flashed through my mind......EASTER DINNER......by then the turkey had wandered off.

However the more I think about it, how on earth would I have caught a turkey?  Then if I did actually catch it, how on earth would I have killed it?  I know you are supposed to wring their necks........well I think that's how you kill birds......but one look into its eyes and that would have been it, I would have had to bring it home as a pet and what would Molly have thought of that?

Then there will be the process of plucking it and emptying its inside's (icky), and would there be a lot of blood????  Oh for goodness sakes, it's easier and less aggrevating to go to the store and buy a bloody turkey!!

Gosh, I am stressed now, all because I saw a wild turkey!!

As I am typing this on Friday night, I am not sure which part of my body aches the most.  Me and dh spent the day putting our bedroom back together.  Dh put up two new lights in our bedroom and changed all the sockets and switches.  My job was to clean all the woodwork, as the masking tape I used sucked, even though it was the green stuff, and my paint bled behind the tape.  So I spent ages scraping off the paint of all the wood.

I still have a few bits and bobs to do, like fill up the small closet.  Dh still has the handles to put on the closet, and then I think that's it......thank goodness!!  Another job completed.

Did you remember to put your money in your Daily Savings Pot today?

Today's Money Saving Tip:

Instead of getting your hair cut every six weeks, stretch it too 9 weeks....

Again I apologise for not getting to your blogs, I am so tired and we have been so busy. 

The good, the bad and the ugly.........

The Good:

Well my column is now up and running on the Orangeville Banner, however it's almost impossible to find it, other then putting in the word "blog" into the search feature on the site, they are experiencing a few technical glitches at the moment.  Here is a direct link to it.  I am not happy with how the column is looking,  but it will all come together no doubt.  I will be using some of the work that I use on the Eden Valley Messenger's site, but generally each one will have their own unique columns.  I am responsible for putting everything together, whereas with the EVM, I email everything over to them and they upload everything onto the site.

The Bad:

Well I knew in the back of my mind that these workmen would run into some sort of problem, as everything we do in this house is an issue.  So today they started to work on our bedroom ceiling and by coffee time they had run into problems.  The reason the ceiling was cracked was the floor joists in the attic are only 2' by 6', rather than 2' by 8's or 10's.  So its not as strong, and when people are walking in the attic, there is some "bounce" in the ceiling, which in turn causes the cracks.

The solution to this issue would be to take up all the flooring in the attic and replace all the joists, can you all say CHING-CHING!!!  Well have to say this house is living up to its name, "THE MONEY PIT."  What we have decided to do, is to get them to repair the ceiling as planned, and if and when it cracks again, I will put up either a faux tin ceiling or wallpaper the ceiling. 

When the house was built the attic was mainly a storage place, not a living place, so that's why they only used the smaller joists.  As we are only using it as my sewing room, and a spare bedroom it should be fine.....we hope.

I must say I am going to be on pins and needles when they start in the basement, as goodness knows what they will discover down there!!

The Ugly:

Not exactly ugly, but I am not loving my latest finished project.  I can't exactly figure out why I am not happy about it, but I generally love my work, but not in this case.  The finished size is 20 inches by 28 inches.  Hopefully someone loves it and will buy it off me?

The front of the table runner:

The back of the table runner, blogger turned my photo around?

Did you remember to put your money in your Daily Savings Pot today?

Today's Money Saving Tip:

Four questions that you should ask before adding things to your life:

1. Do I have something that can serve?


2. Can I make it?


3. Can I buy it used?


4. Can I do without it?


Only when all four answers are “no” do you then go through the research of finding the best price on a new purchase.

A couple of other things.  I have been super busy so haven't had the time to visit everyones blogs, I am sorry.

Also I am having trouble with editing this post, and aligning the text to the left?  Not sure what is going on with Blogger?