Lunch

pDh takes a packed lunch every day when he works.

This is what I packed for him for today's lunch.  Now to be fair, this is his breakfast and lunch.

Those crackers from Zehrs are a first time buy for me, but hubby likes a little spice so I know he will like those.  The turkey sticks are a buy from Costco, hubby told me not to buy them again as they are tasteless.  In the mini container with the tomatoes is ranch dressing.

I prefer to cut up a block of cheese, rather than use those cheese strings which are tasteless and more expensive.

As he leaves the house by 4:30 am he doesn't have breakfast, just takes a coffee with him.  He has another coffee and his yogurt at coffee time.  He also takes a large stainless steel water jug with him to drink from throughout the day.

I really enjoy those compartment type lunch boxes.  I am even thinking of buying one for myself and using it for my lunch, even though I do not work outside of the home.

All out of sorts

Prior to me getting sick I had quite a routine going.  I knew what I was doing and when I was doing it.  These past couple of weeks my routine has been blown to bits.  Only now am I starting to get back to normal.

I am writing this on Thursday night for publication on Friday morning.  Today was the first time I have "made" a proper evening meal; cabbage roll casserole. I am making that as I had cabbage that needed using up.  For the past couple of weeks we have been eating, sandwiches, soup, bagels, things that are super simple, as hubby cannot cook. I have got lots of veggies to use up from this month's produce box. 

I need to get caught up with grocery shopping, as I have only been doing the very basics.  

In fact for the last two weeks, everything has been the bare basics.

I have started a new cross stitch project and will give you a little peek into it over the weekend.

I now need to get back into the routine of cleaning as well....BOO!!!!

Do you have a routine you like sticking too?

Goodness me......

 It's been forever since I last posted.  I am around, just didn't feel as though I have had anything worth sharing with you.  I have missed blogging though and I am finding the older I get the more I forget things 😊 so at least when I blog, I can look back on things and it reminds me.  I have to say that's one thing I like about Facebook, old posts pop up in memories and remind me of all sorts of things.

I have found since the covid pandemic things have been harder and even though we are all double vaccinated I am still not comfortable being out and about in crowds.  If people get close to me in the stores, even though everyone has masks on, I still don't like it.  I know people are travelling; but I am not happy doing that, though I would dearly love to go back to the UK for a vacation.  "R" and her family just came back from Mexico and the resort itself was fine, with only 25% capacity.  It was the travelling there and back that was stressful.  We are not willing to expose ourselves to those type's of situations yet.

We have gained another member of our family.  Our son and his wife had another gorgeous little boy back in June.  Evan James is growing like a weed and will be 2 months old in a couple of days time. He is our last grandchild.  Everyone has said their families are complete.

All the rest of the grands are growing like weeds also.  Nitara will be 9 in January, Nora will be 8 in November, Sam will be 7 in September.  Jeina and Paige were 5 in May & June.  Liam was 3 in May and Evan was born in June.  That's right I have four birthday's from the end of May until the end of June.

Dh is still working, in fact has never stopped during this pandemic, made no difference at all.  He will be having his annual vacation shortly thank goodness.  It has been hot and humid these past few weeks and it's really making dh weary.  We have no plans to go anywhere, but I do have plans for things that need doing around the house...he will be thrilled..LOL

I have stopped sewing for Appleby Lane, my poor hands are getting too arthritic to do a lot of sewing.  I just make odds and ends for the family and myself now.  So I have been busy making jigsaw puzzles and reading while hibernating from the heat.  Thank goodness for air conditioning.

So there you are a little catch up and I think I will start blogging again.  Keep an eye out for the next post.  Hope everyone is well and please stay safe.

Sunday............

Hubby is off today, so hoping to spend a little time with him.  Have errands to run, then going to hibernate in the house.  Although not as hot as yesterday, still too humid for me.

So everyone:

The 2019 Great Frosted Glass Debate!!

I have to say this all started with my mother.  She was telling me that she had the Blind Man coming over to measure up some windows in her house for blinds and that included her bathroom.  I was confused as she has a frosted window in her bathroom.  We then got into a debate about if you need blinds on a frosted window.  She was in the yes you do camp and I was in the no you don't camp.

As you can see in our main bathroom we have no blind up as we have a frosted window.

 When I brought this up to my dh though he agreed with my mother {{{SIGH}}}

So to make everyone happy I ordered a top down, bottom up blind from BlindsGalore.  I have ordered from them before and have always been happy with their product.

Do I love this blind, not really, but for $80 CDN it does the job.  Now the neighbours can't see us when we're in the bathroom.  Didn't think they could anyway???

Frosted windows, do you need blinds/curtains up in front of them?  Which camp are you in?

New House.......

Our new home is a bungalow again, just like our last home.  There were a few reasons we bought this house.  The size, it's around 1,400 square feet with two bedrooms, a large living area, a kitchen/diner and bathroom on the main floor.  A large family room, a laundry/storage room, another bathroom and bedroom in the basement.  Plus the all important two car garage.  We dh has a lot of stuff/tools etc.  It has a lovely front porch where we can sit and because it is at the end of the street, lots of windows that make the house light and airy.

A big selling point is the park for the grand kids.  It's right across the street, but far enough away so not to be too noisy.  You can't see it now, but the residents of the subdivision flood part of the grass to make a community ice rink in the winter. 

There is also a pond and a green space across the road as well. 

The location was also a big draw for us.  Although we have moved 30 minutes north, we are exactly the same distance and time from dh's work, as he wants to continue working for a couple of more years.  We are on the edge of a city but only 10 minutes drive from all the stores I love!!!  Due too all the green space around us it feels as though we are in the countryside.

We are a five to ten minute drive from our son's home.  We are a 75 to 90 minute drive to our daughter's home depending the day of the week and the time of the day.  We use the 400 and 401 highways to get there which are major highways around Toronto.  Then we are probably 80 to 100 minutes away from "R" and the other three grand kids.

So far we are loving it here and it's beginning to feel like home now.  

Cough, cough

Dh is at work today and as today is cheap hydro/electricity day, I thought I would put my oven onto self clean.

For those of you not in the know, what happens the oven heats up to some crazy temperature and turns all the stuck on bits to ash.  Three hours later when the door has unlocked you take a cloth and wipe it all out.  NO chemicals, just a lot of heat......

However despite no chemical smell and despite my oven not being overly dirty it still stinks while you are doing it, and I have to have the extractor fan on, so that is why it's helpful that dh is not about with his bad chest.  I love my self clean option as it kills my hands having to scrub things by hand now.

Do you have a self clean oven or do you have to clean it all by hand?

Highway driving.

On Wednesday I went to see dd and had to travel down two major highways/motorways.  The 400 and the 401.  The 401 goes across the top of Toronto.

With last weekend being a holiday weekend (Canada Day) a lot of people took this week off so the traffic wasn't too bad.  However it seemed to me that the "crazy drivers" forgot to take a vacation and were out in force!  As were the "rubbernecker's," you know the people who practically come to a stop, so they can look at the pretty flashing lights six lanes over on the other side of the road.......

Then of course we have to speed demon's who are going like a bat out of hell in the fast lane; then suddenly remember they have to take the exit so go flying across a minimum of three lanes, sometimes more, to get to the exit ramp.  God help anyone who gets in their way.  I had a large truck pull out right in front of me, no indicators or nothing.  Luckily we weren't going fast at that point as he jumped gears and practically came to a stop.

Truly I don't know how people drive those major highways, day in day out?  I guess you get desensitized to it all and accept it for what it is.  I am still at a point that the big highways don't bother me, despite me living in "the countryside."  There is just one part of the journey, where I leave one highway to go onto another highway where I get a little concerned.  I have to cross over half a dozen lanes to do it and you have to hope people will be kind enough to let you in.  Canadians are a very polite bunch but when it comes to driving, they are as selfish as the rest of the world!!!

It's been a while since I had posted book reviews on my book review blog; March in fact.  I posted four reviews yesterday here if you would like to read them.

We are in the middle of a heat wave again.  I feel so sorry for the people who have to work outdoors in this weather.  Poor dh is suffering as he works in a factory environment where there are huge welders so a lot of heat.  Add in the humidity and it's draining.  We desperately need rain here, not just for the gardens, but to dampen down the dust.  For me dust = allergies!!

Enjoy your Friday.

A bit of this and a bit of that........

Just seen a hot air balloon go past the house.  Looks kind of fun, if you don't mind heights.......

The morning's are so nice and cool at the moment, just love that.

Dh's hand is on the mend, still wearing the brace at work.

Talking about his work, the factory where he is contracted out to had to call the police in, as someone was growing marijuana plants in the grounds???  No one was arrested!

Dh was up at 2:30 am this morning to go to work........hopefully he'll be home by lunch time......

Our Little Munchkin went on a Thomas the Tank Engine train ride last weekend and had a great time:

This week she also said Nana without someone prompting her to say it!

Got all 9 gnomes done, just making another three now as "spares."

Our Little Man was running a temperature this week, but is fine now.  He'll be one on September 12th.

Our Little Princess has a new name now; "Little Miss Chatterbox," as she never shuts up and is always asking why.......sound familiar!

Going to get the yearly sticker/licence for my car today, as it goes up $10 in September......AGAIN!

Right; better get in the shower as just just after 7:30 am.  Have a great day!

Quick update on dh.........

He went to the chiropractor yesterday as he had hurt his shoulder when he fell.  Got his shoulders adjusted and he said he felt a bit better.

His left hand is still sore and the chiropractor reckons he has torn his tendon(s) or was it ligament(s) in his hand?  So we'll give it the rest of this week and then another trip to the doctor will be in order I think.

If anyone else has had this problem would a hand brace be helpful?  Like the one you wear when you have carpal tunnel.  I was thinking it would restrict his movement in his hand and let it heal?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated..........

Update on dh............

For those of you who are my friends on Facebook, you know the first part of this story.

On Sunday dh was cleaning out the flower beds on top of the retaining walls ready for us to mulch it all.  We have decided it's easier doing this than me constantly asking the gardeners to weed them.  The wall is close to four feet tall.  Normal people would use a ladder to go up and down, but not my dh.  On his way down he tripped over his feet and fell from the top of the wall.  He fell on his left side and did the most damage to his arm and wrist:

Fast forward to Wednesday and I have been putting an antiseptic cream, gauze and bandage over it for when he is at work and overnight and despite that it was weeping yellow pus.  Plus his hand was so swollen that you could barely see his knuckles.  So he went to the doctors and got some antibiotics for the swelling and pus and had an x-ray on his hand.  Pleased to say it is not fractured and just very swollen.

Hopefully he has learned from this!

Beautiful sky when we were out and about.

I am annoyed with a lot of things and a lot of people at the moment.

The people I cannot discuss on such a public forum, but lets say I could honestly wring some people's necks.  However can't do that, but I can do this:

Both dh and Our Little Munchkin are sick again.  Our Little Munchkin has an ear infection (again) and possible a chest infection.  She is getting referred to a Pediatrician for further testing.  Then the poor thing came out in hives (red bumps) from a possible reaction to the antibiotic.

Dh could possibly have COPD, will need further testing and he has never smoked a day in his life.  Neither of what dh or Our Little Munchkin is life threatening but it is worrying all the same.

Anyhoo, this video has been doing the rounds and is really funny:


I think I also need to have this little girls attitude and all will be well:


Finally just because I like this song and it puts me in a better humour with myself!!

Have a good day!!

Dear Hubby and the Creativ Festival.......

As I mentioned in yesterday's post I went to the Creativ Festival with my dear hubby.  Not your usual day out, as it is a mainly woman's event but there were a number of men there as well.  To  keep dh happy I do need to feed and hydrate him.  So by 12 noon he was ready for a rest and to be fed.  So he found a seat and I lined up for some food.

There was another lady sitting at the table and as I was gone a LONG time waiting for the food, they got chatting.  Turned out she was a retired nurse who now was a sale rep for a couple of fabric manufacturer's.  So dh got all his "medical" issues sorted out and they were best buddies by the time I got sat down!!

She was telling us a funny story which I wanted to relate to you all, as if you don't sew this will make sense to you.  She was standing next to a man outside a fabric booth.  His wife was inside the booth purchasing fabric.  He turned to this lady and said in all seriousness:

"They buy a yard of fabric, cut it all up into little pieces and then sew it all back together; why?"

When you think about it it is a puzzle isn't it?

Now I do think dh ended up being injured while at the show, due to a lot of ladies bumping into him with these:

(image credit)

Turns out they are dangerous little suckers and hurt when they hit you in the ankles!!  And some of the ladies were women on a mission!!!

Would I take dh to one of these shows again, yes as he is a great guy to be with.  Would he go again he said yes, he met some interesting people and as long as he has his mobile phone (with full internet service) he has plenty to keep him out of mischief in those quiet moments.

Snow Day!!

Hubby at home; tried to go to work but Highway 400 very bad, so turned around and came home.  The good thing with dh being at home is that he cleaned out the driveway for me, yeah dh!!!

 He even cleaned out the neighbours driveway.....

 Dh made one purchase in Britain and that was his Union Jack Pom Pom hat at 5 pounds from Asda.

Its also bitter cold in the high Minus 20's oC all day.  Stay warm if you are also experiencing this cold and snow.

P.S. Wiarton Willie did not see his shadow so we are in for an early Spring.......I don't believe him, just saying!

Done like a toasted bun...........

Bit crispy on the outside, but still soft on the inside.

That is how I felt after doing our errands on Thursday.

Met up with the lawyer to sign the paperwork for selling our house.  We are only putting down a deposit on the new house as the condo corp., won't be registered until the 25th of the month.  So we are "sort of renting" the house until then.  It's all very standard stuff, but a bit annoying. Have to pop into their office on Monday when they have prepared a couple of cheques for us to hand over to the new house lot.

Got a bit of a surprise though, to discover that our lawyer is also the lawyer for the people buying our house.  No one had bothered to tell us that.  So the lawyer wasn't happy.  On the plus side it may help us close a little faster......we hope.

We then had to deliver snow fences and posts to dh's boss' house.  He lives on 50 acres, and most of it is wooded.  I DID NOT get out of the car to help as I could see the mosquito's and between me and you they had been eating their spinach, as they were huge.  Dh didn't spend too long unloading the stuff either when he saw them!!

Did our civic duty and voted.  Our voting station is a good 20 minute drive from where we live......dead as a dormouse in that place, just walked straight in and voted.  Funny as come Monday we are in a different county.

As you may or may not know it's The World Cup, for those of you who are not sporty, it soccer/football.  Dh thinks he has died and gone to heaven for a month.  He is a huge soccer/football fan and of course he is rooting for England.  Me, well it's a bloody inconvenience as they have moved Coronation Street to 11am during the day {SIGH}  Missed it on Thursday because I thought it started at 12:30 pm.

Anyhow, back to the soccer.  Dh put on ESPN on the radio to listen to the Brazil vs Croatia game while we were driving around.  I couldn't stop laughing as they had an Irish commentator with a thick Irish accent.  I'm British so have a good handle on the accents from the British Isles, but even I was struggling to keep up with him.  At one point I am sure he said something about "stopping the bus."  I even said to dh what on earth is he talking about?  Buses have nothing to do with soccer/football, do they?

Dh didn't find it as amusing as I did, but then I am not a huge fan of soccer or any sports come to think of it.  We have the kids coming up on Saturday and dh has told me, if they are still here at 6pm when England is playing they either have to be quiet or go home......it's a serious business being an ardent soccer fan you know!!!

It's Friday the 13th today and I am going to embrace the day, rather than worry something bad could happen........hopefully I'll be back posting tomorrow!!

Oh no it's a case of the "Man Flu"

He only went back to work on Monday and he is as sick as a dog with the "Man Flu."

(image credit)

Despite him telling me he's going to die, I am guessing he will live!!!  Do feel sorry him though when it comes to him sleeping.  He has a bad case of sleep apnea, so needs a CPAP machine when sleeping.  He uses the nose pillows and he can't breathe properly as his nose is full of gunk.  His sore throat is feeling a bit better though.

Was told to gurgle with salted water; he hasn't done that.  Was told to drink warm water with honey and lemon; he hasn't done that.  Was told to use a nose spray; he hasn't done that.  Need I say anymore?

Sorry..........

I said I was going to post today about the kitchen and although I did make a start on the post, I didn't get too far. 

I spent most of Wednesday outside cutting grass as it wasn't as warm and it was over cast.  The grass is on steroids and I swear is growing as fast as I am cutting it.  Anyhow I ran out of gas around 2pm, so had to come in.  By the way despite it being over cast and despite me putting sunscreen on I got burnt to a crisp!!!  I didn't wear my hat as it was over cast, but did have my sunglasses on.

We're not putting much of a veggie garden in, as dh is too busy with other projects to give me much help; plus his other knee is giving him problems.  He had the right knee scoped last August and the surgeon said at the time he could have his left one done anytime he wanted, but dh wanted to wait until he can't stand the pain.  He has/had a torn meniscus in both knees.  He needs knee replacements, but is much too young at the moment.  I would think he'll be having his second one done by the end of the summer, as the spasms are getting more and more painful for him.

I am also trying to get dd table runner completed before they come up on Saturday.  So last night I sat and hand sewed half the binding on, and will get that finished today.  I will take photos when I am done, really pleased with the fabric choices.  Must say my hands were complaining about all the hand sewing last night.

Dh was watching the Maple Leafs versus the Boston team hockey game.  The guy who sang the national anthems was good.  He sang at the last game and is a soldier.  He actually didn't muck it up like the professional/famous folks do.  Also the sheer joy and pride in his face when he sang was a Kodak moment to my mind.  Dh was saying one of his co-workers had got tickets for the game.  They were sitting in the nose bleed section, so right at the top and paid $250 a ticket.  What a flipping waste of money!!  The tickets are generally $90.  I will say that the Toronto Maple Leafs do deserve to win, only because they have the most devoted and enthusiastic fans out there; that support them through tick or thin - and it's generally on the thin side!!!

Gosh that was a lot of writing about hockey, a game I can't stand!!!

Finally I wrote another book review on a really good book called, Mennonite Girls Can Cook - Celebrations.  You can read it here.  The book is a keeper and would make a wonderful gift, even a great Bridal Shower gift.  As I said in my review, I'm not donating it; its going on my book shelf.

Must be nice to have too much business.........

Dh broke his glasses last night.  He NEEDS his glasses and wears them all the time.  He had a spare pair that is exactly the same.  The only thing is the lenses were a slightly different prescription.  So he decides to change out the lenses until we can get another pair.

Anyhow to cut a long story short neither of us could get one of the screws in.  After fighting on with it for a while we decided we had better go to town and see if an eye glass store could give us another screw and put it in for us.

We went to one of the biggest chains of eye glass stores in Canada. 

The conversation went like this:

Dh: I need a screw for my glasses (he''s showing them to her)

Me: and would it be possible for someone to put it in for us, as my husband can't see without his glasses on and I am having trouble doing it, even with my glasses on.

Store Lady:  I'm sorry we can't do that as if we break them we'll be liable and you could sue us.

Me: well is there some form we can sign so you won't be liable?

Store Lady: no we can't do it.

Me: well can you at least give us another screw?

Store lady: no

Dh was about to say something, when I said fine, let's go next door to Zehrs to see if they could help.  A customer who was listening to the conversation, also said go to Zehrs!!

We go to Zehrs the guy not only replaces the screw and puts it in.  He also adjusts the glasses so they sit straight on dh's head.  He did explain they were older so they could break.  We said be as careful as possible and he was and everything turned out fine.

Dh was telling him he'll need an new pair of glasses.  The guy told us about an upcoming 50% off sale from the 22nd to the 24th of November at all Loblaw's  brand stores that have an Optical department.  He showed dh some types of glasses that would be suitable.  He told us what was involved and what he would need from out optometrist. 

His customer service skills were awesome.  Because of that dh will be getting two new pairs of glasses and I have made an appointment at our optometrist to see if my prescription has changed and will be getting two new lenses for my glasses if it has.

So overall the major chain store we went to originally has probably lost out on $1,000 worth of business, as dh gets all sorts of extras on his glasses.  I think I will call the manager of that store and tell him that.

At the end of the day, how you treat your customer's DOES matter and customer's are your bread and butter!!

Bit of inspiration...........

I ordered the free paint chart from Farrow and Ball and it arrived the other day with a book to inspire you.

Bit of a problem though it also came with the price list and at $90 to $125 CDN a gallon for the paint it's a bit too pricey for me.  The wallpaper runs at $175 to $275 for a 11 yard roll.  I guess you could just paper a feature wall?  It's flipping expensive though?

Regardless I put the paint chart on the family room wall to see what colours I liked.  Still thinking about it, but I do know when I do paint it will be a nice light colour, to contrast the dark wood floors.  Should say the wood panelling will be coming off at some point!!!

What is your favourite colour to put on your walls?

Should say dh is fine, I will post more about the hospital visit tomorrow.

Odds and ends.....

Today would have been my Nana's 99th birthday if she was still alive......... I wrote about my Nana and Pop here  If you have a minute read that post I think it's worth while.

Dh is back at the hospital today to see the surgeon and to get his TWO stitches removed,  You would think he was getting TWO HUNDRED stitches removed the way he was going on the other night!!!  As I pointed out, he was being a drama queen.  He said I had no sympathy........well duh.....he's only getting two flipping stitches removed.  I had ten stitches in the one hand and six in the other and did I get any sympathy from him......heck no!!!!

So please think of me around 10:30 a.m.............actually it will probably be around 12 noon before we get to see the surgeon.  I am going along as I want him to make arrangements for a MRI on his other knee, as we want to know ahead of the game and try and prevent this happening to his "good"' knee.  If you hear of a British born woman murdering her dh because he wouldn't stop whining.........there's a good chance you'll know who that woman is!!!!

It's been too stinking hot and humid around here for me these past few days. Anyhow on Sunday I decided to cut the field as it was getting long again.  I have to say it's been a good summer as far as grass cutting goes.  I missed a month of grass cutting due to it being so flipping hot and the grass not growing.

Bathed Molly on Sunday morning; gave me the evil eye for the rest of the day!!!  I don't understand why she just doesn't accept the situation.  She has to have a bath, I am bigger than her, so I win not her?  Her skin feels nice and soft now.  Jane and Chris rescued this dog (Duncan) last week.  We were going to go and see him, but I don't really want a dog that is only a year old.

Cindy gave me some beets and a cucumber the other day.  So for lunch on Sunday we had cheese and cucumber sandwiches.  I love cheese sandwiches; though I think it's a toss up between cheese and red onion or cheese and tomatoes fresh from the garden sandwiches.

My dad used to take cheese and jam sandwiches in his bait/lunch and my mam said the other day she was having cheese and chutney sandwiches for her lunch.  I dislike both those types.  Do you like cheese sandwiches and do you add something to them or just eat them plain?