Post birthday week-end

Banana cherry mini loaves

   So my husband and I arrived in Smith Falls shortly after 11 A.M. Saturday morning. He and my Dad watched television while the three of us women put together 44 invitations. My brother was out doing some grocery shopping. We had a great visit during lunch and then we settled down to play a serious game of  6-handed canasta....serious, because the ladies were out to win. And we did. Then my brother made a fantastic roast beef dinner with mushroom risotto (I had never eaten risotto before and I can say it is yummy), roasted brussel sprouts with real bacon bits and sauteed green beans with garlic and pimento. All the veggies were fresh...not frozen. They gifted me with a beautiful chocolate birthday cake as well. Because it had snowed constantly from the moment we arrived, it was decided for us that we would stay overnight and leave for home in the morning. Dad and "D" sent us home with some gently used, "new to us" items they had procured from a neighbour who is selling his home in Elliot Lake and moving. They are very much appreciated. I spent Sunday unpacking those items and finding places to store them. 

   Monday was extremely cold and a great day to stay home, which we did. Remembering that lovely roast beef dinner on Saturday night, I put a roast of beef  in my "new to me" crockpot  for dinner that night. I decided it was a good time to heat up the kitchen and do some baking. I had stocked up on eggs, margarine and sugar so I was all set to make some mini loaves using up some saved  mashed banana from the freezer and some chocolate chips and dried cherries left from my Christmas baking stash. The recipe made 4 mini loaves.  The dog ate one immediately while they were still cooling  (I turned my back for 20 seconds) and we ate one over the next 24 hours. The last two will go into the freezer. I mashed potatoes, made gravy and heated up some frozen veggies. Not as tasty as my brother's scrumptious dinner, but no one complains. 

Beef and barley soup

   Yesterday I cut off slices from the rest of the roast to simmer in the leftover gravy. We had hot beef sandwiches for dinner last night. Then I threw the bone and some of the meat into my big soup pot with  barley, celery, leftover frozen veggies, tomato and my homemade base of onion soup. While it simmered, I made a few more birthday cards for the birthdays coming up in March. I took pictures and will show them later in the month, after the recipients get them. I also need to start making my Easter cards, as I will be packing and getting ready to leave for  Vancouver at the end of March. I have not been doing my house cleaning the way I want because I use my crafting as an excuse. I have to make all these cards. Ha! So you know where my priorities lie.