New Restaurant..........

When we went to the DIY store this weekend, we noticed a new business had opened close to it.  This one:

I was so excited to think there was a new Vegetarian restaurant opening.  I hadn't heard of this one, so Googled it to see what was on the menu.  

Imagine my surprise to discover it is a Cannabis store😲  So I guess I won't be getting anything to eat there!!

Mind you according to the press blurb they maybe could supply frozen yogurt!!

"One Plant was created as a joint venture between cannabis company Aleafia Health Inc. and the Serruya family, who are best known for creating the Yogen Früz yogurt outlets."

The good thing about decorating....

well other than finally there is some actual white in this house along with some colour.........I mean builder's beige does get old fast believe me; is that when I decorate I have Stingray Music on the TV and listen to the oldies station.  It's good to catch up with all the great tunes and hear ones you haven't heard in a while like this one:



Dinner on Friday night was good.  I didn't take any photos, but I will describe what we had.  We started with a platter of assorted starters, basically samples of various things, which included pickerel in a tempura batter, antipasto, chicken and pork kebab, and a giant shrimp with seafood sauce.  That was okay, not the best but not the worst.

For our main, I had sesame seed crusted salmon, with jasmine rice, various steamed veggies and a "salad" of mini sprouts.  It was all perfect, right down to the steamed veggies, 10 out of 10.  Dh had bacon wrapped pork tenderloin, with mashed potatoes and steamed veggies.  Again dh said it was really good.  For dessert, dh had Lindt Chocolate cheesecake and I had the Bailey's Irish Cream creme brulee, that was 100 out of 10, I could have just eaten that all night.  Gosh it was good.  Dh had a couple glasses of wine, while I had water with my meal.........I am a cheap date!!1

A bit of a sad note.  There was a funeral party there and the deceased was a young man in his 30's.  They were all on the patio drinking and then came into the restaurant to have their meal just as we were going.  Always sad when it's a younger person who has died.

This is the third year in a row we have been to the same restaurant for our wedding anniversary, we both decided next year we need to try something different!!

Do you dine out in a fancy restaurant's for special occasions?

It's one of those month's.........

(Image credit)

Every time I turn around another bill pops up.  I had to pay a years bill on the water heater this week.  Long story behind this, from now on it will be around $30 a month for the water heater, which I think is expensive.  At the old house it was $165 a year.

Now the year's warranty is up on the furnace.  There are five years warranty on certain parts but its prudent to have it serviced yearly etc, so that will end up costing well over $300 a year I can see.

Oh well on wards and upwards as they say..........

On a brighter note it's our wedding anniversary.  We have been married 32 years.  Happy Anniversary dear and here's to another 32 years!!

(image credit)

We are having a dinner out on Friday with a gift card the kids gave us at Christmas.  So that's a good thing as they say!

Blogger and other things..

Some of you were saying you had trouble accessing my blog.  I have no idea what has been going on, but have also been having trouble using my "dashboard," on Blogger as well.  I hope things have calmed down and any problem has gone?

Time seems to have been slipping away from me over these past few days, which means I haven't had a chance to pop by your blogs.  I hope things calm down soon and I can get back to visiting you all again.

Dh took Monday off and we went out and about to get some fresh air; he's had a horrible headache, so thought some fresh air would help.  We ended up going to a place called English and Miller for lunch.  If you click on the link you can see what they sell; they have an online store, and the cafe menu.

We both decided to have a ploughman's lunch; as we haven't had one in a long time.

This is dh's plate, which shows exactly what you get.

Now mine is also a ploughman's minus the Branston pickle (icky) and Stilton cheese (even more ickier!!)  I ate the grapes before I remembered to take a photo.  I am a picky eater.
Everything was very tasty.  You get your tea served on china cups and saucers and there was a choice of teas.  It wasn't cheap but made a lovely change.  Also they do an afternoon tea but you have to order it in advance.  They are in Barrie right on the waterfront and it's a lovely area; when it's not blowing a gale and is bloody freezing cold!!!  Just along the way from here; you could walk to it if you want is a restaurant The Farmhouse, that is also good and well worth a visit.  One neat thing about The Farmhouse, they serve their salads in Mason Jars (jam jars).

What do you do the day after you pay off the mortgage?

Well you go shopping of course...LOL

Don't panic I didn't go crazy.  I needed a couple of things for our vacation.  I called in at Northern Reflections and picked up two t-shirts. The burgundy one was $7.99 and the yellow one was $5.99, so with 13% tax added on that came to $15.80.

We went to Sears also where I searched the sale rack and got the black and white capri's, which I think are Tanjay and paid after a further 40% discount $20.39 for.  The black ruffled top is also Tanjay, and again after the extra 40% discount came to $13.79.  The black and blue 3/4 sleeve t-shirts were under $15 each.  I cashed in $10 worth of Sears points (didn't know I had them?) and ds gave me a $10 discount coupon when you spend $25.  So all in all I paid $48.93 after including the 13% taxes.

It's not often I buy clothes so this is a splurge for me. Plus I got five tops and a pair of capri's for under $65.

We went to Herb n Sage in Barrie for lunch and had a breakfast for lunch.  Dh had the same except he has sausage.  It is so good and only $6.99 each.  If you are in Barrie at all this is well worth the visit. The bread is organic, the jam home made, and they fry their potatoes with a mix of herbs including rosemary that makes all the difference.

Finally I took this photo of when the sun was setting the other night.

Thanks also for all your good wishes re: paying off our mortgage I really appreciate them all.

A first for 2012........

Hung out the washing for the first time this year.  Probably would have done it earlier but had my hand in cast........well that seems as good an excuse as any.......right?

On Thursday when we were in the city we called in at Home Sense and picked up a new bedding set for our bed.  It came as a set, of a quilted bed spread, two pillow shams and a couple of square accent pillows.

What I liked about this set, it was neither too feminine or too masculine.

I went to renew my drivers license on Friday.   I had to have my photo taken.  Luckily it was a really nice lady and she let me take mine twice, as even she said it wasn't the best photo.  I have yet to take a photo on my drivers license that doesn't make me look like an escaped convict.  Do you like your drivers license photo?

We went out for dinner on Friday night for my birthday.  We went to a local restaurant which has a good reputation.  We had a $50 gift card so we thought that would cover the meal.....wrong.....

The bill came to just under $65 and here is what we got.  We had soup to start, it came with the entree.  We had spinach and potato soup, everything is homemade, along with hot home made rolls.  For the entree, dh had fillet Mignon and I had steak and kidney pie.  There was mashed potatoes, beets, shredded carrot and Brussels sprouts.  As many of you know I HATE Brussels sprouts, but dh loves them, so he had mine as well.  Dh had a glass of red wine, and I just had water.  Dh's steak was tiny, my steak and kidney pie had a funny taste.  We were not impressed but the place was really busy.  So I don't think we will be going there again, which is a shame.

Ate out at Springrolls........

on Wednesday and it was yummy.

This is what I had Pad Thai:

My brother had sweet and sour chicken, with rice:

My step-father had chicken cashew something or other with rice:

Dd had this, I can't remember what she said it was called:

My mother had a Japanese noodle with seafood:

Here is a link to the Springrolls Restaurant.  It was very filling, oh and my Pad Thai was very, very mild!!

Mcdonalds...."I'm Lovin' it,".......I think not!!

Have to say we have never set foot in McDonald's in an awful long time, infact I don't remember the last time we ate there.  A burger in McDonald's has the same effect on me as taking a packet of laxatives!!!  However in my magazines this month was a coupon for 50% off a salad.  So on Saturday night we decided to have a quick meal.

Dh ordered the Big Mac combo and I ordered the Caesar Salad, plus a $1 drink.  It still cost nearly $14.  It's quite expensive to eat at McDonald's now.  Mind you the place was packed, though we felt as though we were the oldest people in there.  Dh did not enjoy his meal, even though the fries were straight out of the fryer, and they were still tasteless things.

As I said to dh, we are past the McDonald stage as our kids have grown and we don't have grandkids yet.  Still I have to say I hope I don't become a regular even when we do have grandkids.......but I could be wrong there?

Do you like McDonald's?  By the way when I was writing this I had to look it up to see if it was McDonald's or MacDonald's as I had no idea!!!

Had a very lack lustre Saturday, just wasn't feeling great, my stomach is playing up, plus my allergies are really bad AGAIN.........dh made up for it by working up a storm in the basement and got more drywall installed.  We are getting the tiles on the floor installed next week, so need to finish up some stuff in there before then.

Have a super Sunday, off to church today haven't been in a while.........

Sunday am: Just spent a couple of hours catching up on everyone's blogs.  The only people I couldn't leave comments on were John D at Tok Tok Place and Flower Power because of the Blogger thing and there not being an anonymous option.  If I have missed leaving a comment on your blog, please let me know........

When your eyes are greedier than your stomach.............

that's how I feel everytime I go out for a meal at a place where there is a buffet.  We were out with the kids on Saturday night to celebrate my birthday........it's not until Monday, but this was the best time for us all to get together.  So dd booked us a table at the Mandarin Restaurant, for those of you who live in the GTA (Toronto area) we went to the one on Weston Road, south of Rutherford.  We normally go to the Brampton location, but this one on Weston Road was sort of central for everyone.....well except us!!

It's a Chinese restaurant, but it has a full range of Canadian food, which is great for dh, as he is not fond of Chinese food.  Of course when you are paying $23.99, or it could have been more, I'm not sure.  You of course want to get your money's worth, so of course back and forward we all go.  I must say I go prepared, wearing a pair of elasticated pants, a baggy shirt and comfy shoes!!!

I have a sweet tooth, and am a sucker for creme caramel however they also had creme brulee, so of course I had to sample both to make sure they were okay for everyone else to eat.  They have some sort of mango pudding/jelly thingy which is to die for.

Now all the staff were of oriental descent, which makes sense right?  What didn't make sense was they all had "western" names and all spoke with a "thick" oriental accent?  Just an observation, that's all.

It poured down for most of Saturday, good weather for ducks, bad weather for doggies who don't like going out in the rain.......no need to say any more.........

On the way home from the restaurant the snow plow was spreading salt on the road near our home, which confused us, as the temperature was supposed to be above freezing all weekend.  As long as it doesn't snow, I don't really care.  I keep checking my flower gardens daily to see any sign of spring bulbs but nothing yet......

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

Today's money saving tip:

Don’t buy drinks in restaurants and bars – water with lemon is free

Warning..only read this if you're NOT hungry!!!

So on Saturday the kids came for a visit, so we took them to a Restaurant called Papa Joes. It's only open for breakfast and lunch. Now one of dh's favourite meals is a full fry up, or English Breakfast. Its one of those things that I hate to cook, due to the grease, and the amount of dishes you use.

So here are some photos of what we ate. I ordered a three cheese omlette with home fries and whole wheat toast and yes it was good!!

Ds ordered Papa Joes big breakfast, however the only way he will eat eggs if they are scrambled.

Future son-in-law ordered french toast and it did look good.

Dh and dd both ordered the Skillet breakfast, which is a bit of everything chopped up together, fried and top with a couple of fried eggs, I have had this before and it was filling.

I must say I truly like this restaurant, as the service is very friendly and its nice and clean which is always a bonus!!

Christina Aguilera - "The Christmas Song" I am liking how for once she's fully dressed and I like the slowness of this song.......

Sunday morning......

Didn't get around to preparing a post last night like I normally do. Had a busy day on Saturday. The kids came over and worked around the place in the morning. We then went out for lunch to celebrate future son-in-law's (no they're not engaged yet, but if I call him that often enough maybe they'll get the hint!!) and dh's birthdays. Future son-in-law's was this past Tuesday and dh's is today.

We went to the Mono Cliff's Inn and it was really nice, especially the desserts. Also the kids paid, which was super nice of them and totally unexpected. As ds pointed out, they are working now, so it was their treat!!! When we got back home we were so stuffed we just sat about and let dh open his gifts from them. Ds got him gift cards for Home Depot and Tim Hortons. Dd and future son-in-law got him gift cards for Tim Hortons and Mark's Work Wearhouse. So all useful gifts. Me and the kids them played the "Worst Case Scenario, Game of Surviving Life Game," for a while, which was interesting.

Then me and the kids took Molly for a walk down the back field, which was really nice. Molly bounded down the field (on a leash) on the way down, but was just strolling like we all were on the way up!!

I started the fire and according to dd smothered it, so ds showed us how to start a fire correctly. It's a case of feeling old when the kids know more than you do, isn't it!! By this time it was close to 6:30pm, so we all felt a bit peckish but couldn't decide what we wanted to eat, so we ended up going to a Tim Hortons/Wendy's restaurant, where the two boys managed to eat a full burger and fries meal, washed down with a huge pop, I have no idea where they put it!! Dd had a salad, and me and dh had a snack wrap from Tim Hortons each, as we weren't that hungry.

The kids went straight home from the restaurant as did we. Overall it was a wonderful day with great company.

As it's dh's birthday today we are going out for the day, not sure where to. Do know we have to call in at Home Depot and Rona though at some point, as dh got a light for the living room there, its really nice, but the lamp shade won't fit on with light bulbs in it????? Also the whipper snipper we got at Rona last week, is leaking oil and is had it?????