Plumber's Assistant

While waiting for my BIL to arrive this morning, I started on the second bag of rutabaga. They were small and unwaxed, so they needed to be processed before they went bad on me. Large rutabaga are very difficult for me to cut into, so I love this size. I peeled, diced, boiled and mashed in my larger pot before transferring them to the freezer in smaller portion sizes.

Five pounds of rutabaga.

I got a call from my sister during this time to inform me that her husband wouldn't be here for another hour because he was taking Rocky into the pet groomer. My first reaction was to leave for the post office to pick up a package that I missed delivery on while I was staying at my dad's house yesterday. I have no idea what the package might be and I am very curious, but then I remembered that Wednesday morning is the time I have put aside to talk with an old friend from Kingston. She would be calling any moment now, so I decided to bake another loaf of almond bread and fried up a package of bacon while I waited. As it turned out, she did not phone until this afternoon.

 When my BIL  arrived I was prepared to help him out the best I could as his unpaid help, ha,ha. I felt like I was in surgery as he called out for tools and supplies and "more light".  I even provided some muscle power as we pulled the shower out of the closet. It did not break and the good news is that we can relocate this shower downstairs to be used along with my second bathroom. Great news. He soldered caps on the hot and cold water pipes inside the wall, cut the drain out and capped the air vent.

 It doesn't look like a closet yet. I will need some drywall around the base of the walls and the cutout where the pipes were capped. I have to remove some latex caulking and sand the walls to remove the glue. There is a hole in the floor that will have to be covered with more laminate flooring, but it is a nice deep closet like all the other closets in the house.

Downstairs I will need to remove some shelving that presently holds all of my coloured card stock, both 12x12 inch and 11x8 1/2 inch, because that is the perfect wall to build the new shower stall into.

After my BIL left for the day, I talked with my friend from Kingston, fried some ground beef and made a cream cheese sauce to make my dinner tonight. My sister came over for a cup of tea and is now downstairs picking up some more supplies to make cards at her house this evening. I will join her now to start removing all of that card stock in order to remove the shelving for next steps.

The mysterious package will have to wait another day before I can pick it up. Have a good evening.

Out on Tuesday

After finishing my post last night in which I stated I had no plans to go out today, my sister phoned. She and "Dee" were both going in to have some lab work done this morning. Would I mind going over to the house and sit with my dad? Of course I would love to go over. Well, for whatever reason, Tuesday morning is very busy for lab work. Who knew? They had to sit and wait for over an hour and a half before they were called in. I'm sure they would have turned around and come home, but knowing I was with my father, they stayed. My dad and I had a great conversation for almost an hour before he got fatigued and fell asleep. I could have kicked myself for not having brought some work with me. When I stayed with my husband, I always had some knitting or my tablet with me so I could be productive. Not today. So I found myself sitting in front of the TV thinking of all the stuff I could be doing.

When I finally got home I decided I had to get started on those 2 bags of rutabaga I bought last week. I peeled, diced, cooked and mashed one bag weighing 5 pounds. I put one portion in the fridge for tomorrow and froze the rest. I still had roasted veggies that I had to use up tonight with my angus burgers with fried mushrooms. Tomorrow I will deal with the other 5 pounds of rutabaga when I'm not helping my BIL remove the shower from the bedroom closet.

Sorry. No photos today. My cell phone is refusing to transfer any pictures to my computer today. I guess one of us is tired.  I've  put the dishwasher on and now I will go to bed.

Daybook: Monday, Feb. 24/20

Outside my window.....well, I'll have to get up and have a look-see. I already have the drapes drawn because it is 7 PM, and I am  just now getting around to writing. It is pitch dark. The street lights are bright enough though to see that the pavement is still wet with snow run off. The temperatures have been very mild the last few days causing a lot of melting. There's still LOTS of snow however.

I am thinking..... that I was busy enough today but I don't know that I accomplished a whole lot.

I am thankful for.....my good health that allows me to still do the things I want to do.

From the kitchen.....I warmed up leftovers for dinner tonight from the cooking I did over the weekend. I sauteed some shredded cabbage. I roasted some chicken breast and sausage with vegetables and baked another keto loaf of bread.

I am wearing.....black jeans, gray socks and a gray knit sweater with flutter sleeves.

I am creating.....some Easter and Springtime cards. I also made two more cards this morning specifically for two of my grand kids and a birthday card for a third grand child. I also mailed out 3 birthday cards I made for adult family members.

I am going.....nowhere planned for tomorrow. Today I accompanied my sister to No-Frills where I bought another 2 kg bag of frozen blueberries. We also picked up a prescription that I phoned in this morning.

I am hoping..... to prepare an end-of-month financial statement to show where I went over budget and how to avoid it in the future.

I am hearing.....songs from Abba that Alexa is playing in the background. I am listening to "Fernando" this very moment.

Around the house.....I have too many things strewn about. I need to do a tidy-up when I finish this post. Tomorrow is garbage and recycling day. We cannot put anything outside until tomorrow morning because of the wildlife. Garbage attracts crows, raccoons and bears.

One of my favourite things.....is Face Time with the grand kids.

A few plans for the rest of the week.....include removing the shower from the bedroom closet and finally finishing up my lower kitchen cabinets.

Here's the picture I am sharing.....

Two Easter cards for kids. Both have grass and cloudy sky backgrounds that I inked in with my new makeup brushes. The cute little critters are made with my Cricut machine.

Here I am Again

 If you came here to find out how I spent the last few days in the Big City, you came to the wrong place. If you thought I hadn't been posting because I was having too great a time shopping and dining, I am sorry to disappoint. We ended up NOT going after all. The main reason we were going to the Sault, was to drive "Dee's" brother back home. He had surgery on his hand for carpal tunnel last week. He couldn't drive but he had the opportunity to get a ride to Elliot Lake and stay here for a week to recuperate. We were going to drive him back; but in the end, he was able to get a ride back with someone else. That was very fortunate because my dad is not very well lately, and he was feeling particularly rough that day and not up to travelling at all. We were all relieved. And since I had nothing else planned for the day, after my tea with a friend at the local tea shop, I used those few hours to catch an afternoon nap. That evening, I caught up with lots of well wishes from friends and family by phone, email and face-time. I received a lot of cards and e-cards, and felt especially blessed.

Friday morning started early with a trip to a local thrift store because my sister had some "inside information" about a lot of crafting and card-making supplies having arrived for donation. They were already out on the floor, but we were there bright and early for first pickings and got some great deals on stuff we use. While we were down there, I went next door to the deli where I still had some money left on a gift card. I bought 4 chicken breasts, 4 hot Italian sausages, and four sausages with jalapeno.
I also picked up two packages of pepperoni marked down to $5 each, to use up the last bit of the gc. Then we went back to my place to hold a marathon card-making day to start our Easter cards. I also stamped a few images on card stock so I would have some colouring to do for yesterday's card-making club. I ate supper late and then answered some more emails and phone messages before falling into bed.

Here is the card I made for my sister. I love  "house mouse"  designs for stamping and colouring.

Yesterday morning I drove over to my dad's house for 8:30. My dad had decided he wanted to go out for coffee and breakfast with the members of his ham radio club, but by the time I got there, he had changed his mind. He thinks he really wants to do things, but the body is weak. "Dee" needed a break, so we went out anyway. After breakfast, she went to her bank while I went to Rexall for the weekend specials. (eggs for $1.99 a doz., Black Diamond cheese for only $3.99, and Greek yoghurt reduced to $2 for each container) I also picked up 2 9-volt batteries for the smoke detectors. The one outside my bedroom began its annoying "beep" because the battery was low. And yes, I am over my monthly budget.

Yesterday was card-making and scrap-booking club, and it was a full house. The nice sunny "spring-like" weather brought everyone out in droves. All those people who spend their winters inside hibernating have begun to stir, ha,ha. It's a false alarm, however. There are still two more months of snow. Last night I just relaxed and unwound by playing solitaire and had Alexa play some Abba songs. I like to play solitaire when I feel too tired to do anything else. I haven't made any plans yet for today. I only have one more week remaining in the month of February. Gotta get 'er done.

My Sister's Birthday

We are going over to my Dad's house again for dinner. "Dee" is roasting a turkey dinner for us and making a keto dessert for the birthday dinner. My sister is contributing a cauliflower dish and I will make the keto gravy. I made my sister a birthday card yesterday. I took a photo but won't show it until tomorrow, after she has received it.

Today I picked up my sister in the van and drove over to No-Frills, after baking another keto loaf of bread.  I didn't think I would need to pick up groceries this week, but I really did need to buy coffee (which I forgot about last week) and more eggs for the week. But unfortunately, I did not just stick to my list. I picked up a few specials and things I thought I needed.

 Veggies (fresh and frozen) for $17.80 and bacon for $3.  I bought 10 lbs of rutabaga for $5.94. Later,  I will peel, dice, cook, mash, and freeze in portions. I bought 2 bags of oriental mix, red onion, more cabbage and a bag of riced cauliflower. That was a splurge at $3.97

Dairy cost $13.45  The smaller containers cost less than the usual large containers I buy, AND the cottage cheese has also gone up in price. I really notice the price increases now on the products I am always buying. 

Pantry items cost me $24.21  Folgers coffee was the cheapest ground coffee to buy this week at $7.97
My 30 coffee pods that I buy for company cost $11.97  The baking soda was $1 and no name baking powder was $3.27  I spent a total of $58.45 incl. taxes on groceries this week, which leaves me a total of $15 for the rest of the month. Of course I can go over if I need to, but I will try not to. That is the whole idea of trying to live on a budget. At the end of the month, I will give a clearer picture of my spending, what I learned and how to do better.

When I returned home, I made a tuna salad sandwich with my freshly baked loaf and my keto mayonnaise that I order through Amazon. I also had a side of cottage cheese. I cleared more snow from the top of my driveway so I can drive up further. We were going to travel to the Sault today, but that has been postponed until tomorrow, as more snow was predicted. Tomorrow is MY turn to have a birthday. I will be turning 70...seven...zero. I've been spoiled all week with lots of cards and gifts coming in the mail. I'll be meeting a friend for tea in the morning and then we will leave in the afternoon for an overnight stay in Sault Ste Marie. Have a great evening and I may or may not be posting tomorrow.

Family Day

One of the blogs I check out from time to time is Thrifty Mom in Boise, by a single woman with two girls. They all pitch in for only 15 minutes a day to do housecleaning chores to keep on top of things. Well I can tell you right now that 15 minutes a day would not begin to cut it for me. It takes me forever to get things done. It would take me the whole 15 minutes just to wash down one of my kitchen shelves.  But yesterday morning, I decided to give it a try anyway.

In my Daybook post, I identified a few little jobs that needed doing in my "around the house...".  I said that I still needed to make my bed, vacuum up the front door hallway, wash down the kitchen counters, and pick up the paper strips and scraps that littered my dining table. If I set a timer, surely I could do that in 15 minutes. Here is how that experiment went.

It started out great. I started out making my bed and then I grabbed the vacuum cleaner from the closet in the back bedroom. I vacuumed the mat  and the surrounding tile at the front door, and as long as I already had the vacuum out, I could quickly do the kitchen floor and the mat at the side door. It would only take a few seconds more. Since my deep cleaning job for the day was to scrub down the spice cabinet shelves, I should take the opportunity to vacuum out those shelves before I washed them. But first I would need to take all the spice jars out. Well, I could do that and just take that time off the 15 minute time limit. And if I was going to prepare the spice cabinet for a scrub, I should also remove all the items from the top of my pantry cupboards, so when I ran my bucket of hot water I could just do both jobs quickly. I could spritz my homemade cleaner on the surfaces to begin the process. But as I was removing the potted aloe, the top heavy plant shifted in the clay pot and spilled over.

Now I had aloe plants and dirt all over the floor that I had just vacuumed. Thank goodness I had bags of potting soil and empty plant pots in the back bedroom.  I repotted the aloe into a bigger container and the little babies were put back into the smaller clay pot, so now I could redo the kitchen floor and wipe up all the kitchen counters. My experiment was already shot, so I gave up and began my deep cleaning of the cabinets.

The top of these cabinets took a lot of work, so after they were scrubbed and dried, I lay down pieces of rubberised shelf liners. Next time I will just throw those in the washing machine to clean. By this time, it was 12:45 and I was expecting company to arrive after one o'clock. The papers were still on the dining table, so I made lunch instead.

One of my afternoon visitors was my sister. We went down to the craft room and I finished off my first mini scrapbook.

 The covers are pages of a child's board book. I pick them up very cheaply at thrift stores and yard sales, and then cover them with scrapbook paper. The binding is layered duct tape (I used white for this book, and hot glued some brown twill ribbon over the seam.)

 Here is a picture inside the first page. There are 3 page "assemblies" in this book. I use the envelope mini scrapbook by Kathy Orta on You Tube and I use her hinge and binding system. These are 5x7 inch black envelopes and notecards from Michaels.

 One page assembly holds 18 large photos, not counting the little mats. ("This is my story" card you see in this photo) These smaller mats that I have included, can be tucked into the bottom pockets. These are also matted on both sides to include smaller photos or some journalling.  The double pocket insert with the two larger photo mats seen here is made from one 12x12 inch piece of black cardstock.  The double pocket  is attached to the flaps of the two envelopes, and then matted with decorative paper to hide the "mechanics" of gluing the envelopes and card stock together. 

Different sized photo mats are included within the album. The note cards hold photos as large as 4x6, four photos per notecard. The tall photo mat (mustaches) is 7x4 1/2 inches, so could hold one large photo with journalling, or two smaller photos, on both sides. The next size is also for a 4x6 photo, and the small tag is just under 3x4 inches.  All the mats are decorated front and back to hold photos. The actual envelope pages are for 5x7 photos. I have made several of these books as gifts. Some I have already filled with photos, and some are for filling by the recipient. I have decorated for masculine, girly-girly,  every day and graduation pictures. Some have been 3 pages assemblies and some hold only two (for 36 plus).

These are easy to make, but time consuming and repetitious. So I will be making Easter cards now for a while before I begin my next mini photo album. Today's activity will be snow shovelling. It is really coming down right now.

Daybook: Monday, Feb. 17/20

Outside my window.....it is a clear, sunny day with a current temperature of minus 13 degrees. The snow outside my living room window is almost as high as the bottom ledge.

I am thinking.....that I won't be able to remove my Christmas lights for maybe another two months because they are buried in snow and ice.

I am thankful for.....lots of bright sunny days. Although colder, they are better than overcast, snowy days.

From the kitchen.....there hasn't been a lot of cooking going on the past few days. I baked a loaf of keto bread and made chili on Saturday, but last night we enjoyed another great meal by my sister at Dad and Dee's house. It was the meal she prepared for Bingo night, but we couldn't have,  due to the weather. She sent leftovers home with me for tonight's dinner.

I am wearing.....black jeans, black socks, and a dark gray thin knit pullover sweater with draped neckline.

I am creating.....some mini scrapbooks decorated with masculine papers for future projects. I will soon have to start some Spring and Easter cards for the kids and family members.

I am going......nowhere planned today as it is a provincial holiday called Family Day. I believe the stores are closed and I don't need anything. I will face time with my kids later today.

I am hoping.....to clean more kitchen cabinets today, as I did not get to them on the weekend.

I am hearing.....the ticking of my mantle clock. I don't usually think of asking Alexa to play music unless I am crafting. I love the sound of silence.

Around the house.....my bed still needs to be made, the front door  hallway needs to be vacuumed again, and the kitchen counters need to be wiped down after I opened my used coffee pods this morning to save the grounds for my garden (to be). I have some decorative scrapbook paper strips still left on the dining table that I will paste together to make background mats for future cards.

One of my favourite things.....is still my crafting space downstairs.

A few plans for the rest of the week.....include a day trip to Sault Ste. Marie on Wednesday (weather dependent) and meeting my friend at a downtown tea shop on Thursday. She was meeting with friends this morning whom she hasn't seen for quite a while, and so we moved our Monday morning date to Thursday.

Here's the picture I am sharing.....

View from my patio door this morning. Sometimes, I wonder if I will ever be able to sit out on the patio this summer. That is my BBQ just to the left. On the right hand side is my round patio table. The snow is higher than the top of the table. But notice that there are no houses immediately behind my house. It is just an open field...very private.

Lazy Saturday

I began my Saturday morning by doing 2 loads of laundry in my upstairs washer and dryer. Of course, that simply means I put the clothes in the machine and turned the dial. Big job! And then I made another keto loaf, and then I was done. Besides being on my laptop computer all morning, that was it. In the afternoon, I went back to bed. It was very snowy yesterday, so it was actually a good day to hide under the covers. We did not go out for dinner and play TV Bingo together, because of the weather and the road conditions.  Good thing I left the bingo sheets the previous night with the other family members.....just in case.

I made myself another pot of chili to eat with my keto bread and played bingo by myself.Then I did something that was out of character for me since moving here. I watched TV until 11 o'clock. Since moving to Elliot Lake, I have not been watching any TV at home, not even Netflix or Amazon Prime. I don't know why exactly, but I stopped watching TV when I had to get my house packed up and things sold off back in Odessa. I actually sold my big TV, since I wasn't watching it, and it would have been too difficult to move it. I brought the smaller TV with me and got basic cable.....just to host TV bingo nights with the family. Otherwise, it is never on.

This morning, I got up at my regular time, had my two cups of coffee, shovelled the walkway and the driveway, laid down some salt, and was eating my 2 egg omelette with mushrooms, cheese and bacon by 9:30. I don't have any other plans except to get at my kitchen cabinets again, so I can call that job finished by the end of the month. Crossing my fingers. I think I can call the past week fairly successful, but only because I didn't set myself any goals. I guess that is the secret.

My sister thought perhaps she would come over today to craft, but we are having more snow flurries right now. I don't know how much we are expecting because I haven't heard the forecast yet. If she doesn't come, maybe I can clean up some of my files today. Bless from My Two Cents has almost inspired me to get mine done.

My desk area is in a corner of the downstairs rec room, so "outta sight, outta mind".

Dog-sitting

Today my sister and her husband have driven to Sault Ste. Marie for the day (a 2 1/2 hour drive one way), and will be back tonight in time for dinner at my Dad and "Dee's" place. Rocky and I have also been invited. When Rocky first arrived, I took him for his walk around the Crescent. He loves his walk.

Isn't he cute? After his walk he needs a nap to recover from all that exercise (ha,ha), so it was a good opportunity to finish up the scrub down of my kitchen pantry cupboards. As long as I remain in the house close by, he is happy.

Again, I took everything out and washed the shelves (backs, sides, and underneath) as well as the inside of the cupboard doors, and again it took  until noon. You know that after two hours the water is going to be cold and grungy. Yuck!  I still have not done the tops of the cabinets. I think I will tackle that tomorrow morning when I wash my little spice cabinet. So the taller cabinet is my "paper" cabinet, except for the bottom shelf which holds my battery operated drill, my main tool box and some basic hardware. I keep the bigger tools and less often used hardware downstairs in the basement.  I have my swiffer duster and a bag of rags hanging on the inside of the door. The wider cabinet on the left holds appliances, except for the top shelf which holds towels and dishcloths and my spice grinder. I am just so grateful for these added kitchen storage cupboards. Everything is just so handy, yet hidden away from view.

I also finished the plant hanger this morning. I didn't work on it last night, because when I stop to make supper, I am usually done for the day. Anyways, I put an empty pot in it just to take a photo. I don't know yet whether it will be a gift, or if I will use it somewhere in the house. I have some jute and lots more wooden beads in the craft room that I can make another. I have a jute planter in my living room window that is holding my Boston fern, but I have several other windows especially at the back of the house that could use a hanging plant. They are so quick to make up.

Tonight is dinner at my Dad's house. Tomorrow is dinner and TV Bingo at my sister's house. So I have a good start to my weekend. How is your weekend shaping up? Hope it's a good one.

Deep Cleaning

I finally took the plunge this morning and started emptying the cupboards in the eating area of the kitchen. My plan was to wash all of them down, including the inside of the cupboard doors and the top of the unit. I didn't make it....but I got started. I ended up doing half of them. By then it was noon, the water had cooled right down, and my right glove had developed a pinhole somewhere which allowed the cold dirty water to touch my skin. Ewww! I could have filled my bucket again with clean hot water, but I figured I had spent enough time cleaning. It can wait until tomorrow. I used my homemade cleaning solution and sprayed it under the shelves, the sides and back of the unit, as well as the shelves themselves. I like using my cleaning solution (vinegar, Dawn, washing soda) as it really loosens up all the dirt.

My clean and organised shelves.  The tall one to the left holds cleaning and laundry supplies as it is next to the stackable washer and dryer and serves as my broom closet.

I took my compost out to the back yard to empty it into the garden composter. I shook out my hallway mat to rid some of the road salt that was brought inside, and then because I was dressed for outside, I decided to go for my mail.

 I took this photo from my driveway. Those brown boxes at the end of the sidewalk are the mailboxes. I literally have to walk to the next driveway to pick up my mail. Notice that we have a little bit of snow. At the end of the day yesterday, the city crew was out cutting back the snowbanks from the road. They don't take snow from the top of the banks.....just from the side to widen the roadway.

It was a gorgeous day today with sun and blue skies. The temperature was a little nippy, but not bad.
Today, the crew came back to cut back the banks on the other side of the street.

This afternoon I decided to take all those lengths of cotton macrame cord that I had already cut up a couple of weeks ago, and started another plant hanger. It is working with my hands and creating something both useful and pretty, and it goes very quickly. I decided to wait and work on my mini scrap books when my sister is here crafting, so we can spend time together making paper crafts. 

I will probably finish it up tonight after supper, which is warmed up leftover chili.

Have a great evening.

Scrap Booking and Cooking

Lately, it seems, my plans for the week are more like suggestions. I have a list of things I'd like to get done, but oftentimes I run out of time before I even get started. Today was one of those days. I wanted to get started bright and early on emptying my pantry shelves and washing them. But as it happened,  I slept in and didn't wake up until the phone rang at 8:30. While I drank my two cups of coffee, I answered several emails and commented on my blog.  I was on the phone with people I really enjoy talking with and before I knew it, my sister was here to do some crafting. I joined her naturally. While she made cards, I continued making page assemblies for the mini scrapbooks I am creating. I know now what I am going to do with them, so I am excited about that.

After she left, I fried up a package of bacon that has been sitting in the fridge waiting for me to do something with. It is now in the freezer waiting to be added to my eggs or to a casserole. I chopped some red onion, mushrooms, and pepper strips to fry up with a pound of ground beef and made into a chili con carne for my dinner tonight. While that was simmering, I made another keto loaf.
Even so, I did not get to eat until after seven o'clock. I went out to get my mail, which turned out to be my auto insurance renewal and two more valentines. I love getting happy mail.

All in all, it was a good day. Did I get anything done? Well, yes; but nothing from my to-do list. I guess I will have to feel satisfied with getting in a day's work, even if I didn't "accomplish" much. There is no photo today. Sorry about that. I should have taken a picture of my chili with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of cheddar cheese. Yum. I could have taken a photo of the crisp bacon slices or the nicely browned keto loaf, but I didn't.....and I am done for the day. Have a good night.

Another Grocery Shopping Trip

I went out to No Frills this morning to pick up some canned tomatoes and ended up spending another $63.70 on food. While I was out, I decided to put $50 worth of gas in the van.

 Produce (fresh and frozen) cost $29.92  I bought two eggplant, mushrooms and 4 sweet peppers. I bought another 2 kg bag of frozen blueberries, 3 bags of stir fry veggies and one of cut green beans.

 Dairy cost $7.92

 Pork ribs were only $1.98/lb, so I bought this package for $7.25

I spent $18.61 on pantry items, almond butter being my largest expense at $8.97  I am hoping I will not have to do another shopping trip next week, but we will see.

I dropped in on my Dad and "Dee" once again and took over three Rubbermaid  bins from my basement for "Dee" to use on her decluttering mission. She gave me some cheese and garlic biscuits she made (they're keto), and they were really tasty. I will have to get her recipe for those and also for a dry rub she makes for her spareribs. I am not a very adventurous cook for just myself. But she and my sister have found some great keto recipes on Pinterest, and I get the benefit of their experiments.

When I got home I made grilled cheese for myself and then sat on the computer for the rest of the day. I did absolutely nothing this afternoon. I'm so upset with myself. I feel bone weary, so I should have just gone to bed for a nap, since I accomplished nothing anyway. Tomorrow is a new day and a fresh start.

Daybook: Monday, February 10/20

I had a busy start to my day. It is currently 8:20 in the evening and I am just now starting my daybook post. I am writing this just before getting ready for bed.

Outside my window.....it is pitch dark. I can see lights on in the townhouses across the street and the snow is glistening under the streetlights. The snowbanks are a little bit higher tonight because people were out today shovelling their driveways.

I am thinking.....that must be why I am feeling so tired this evening. I went outside around 9 AM to clear my drive.

I am thankful for.....another visit from my friend and her dog. We have decided to make Monday mornings a regular visit. We have a hot cup of tea and a really good visit. I think her dog was glad to see me this morning. (I hand out doggie treats). I also received two cards in the mail today and a lovely long email from a SIL who I haven't seen in quite a while. At lunchtime, my sister arrived for an afternoon in the craft room.

From the kitchen.....I roasted some chicken legs for dinner and ate them with some garlic green beans. I had blueberries and yoghurt for dessert.

I am wearing.....blue jeans, a pink striped button down shirt and striped socks.

I am creating.....another mini album, this time decorated with some masculine print papers.

I am going.....to bed, shortly.

I am hoping.....to accomplish some deep cleaning this week. I have started my Spring cleaning but it is progressing very slow-ow-ow-ly.

I am hearing.....the blower of my furnace. At 10 PM, it will automatically turn the temperature down to 62 degrees. I like sleeping in cooler temperatures.

Around the house.....I have a box of books in the living room that "Dee" delivered to me today. I have a casserole dish on the kitchen counter that needs putting in the fridge. I was waiting for it to cool down. I have some papers left on the dining table that I haven't put away yet from working on my mini albums.

One of my favourite things.....is the wing chair I am sitting in right now. It is the chair that everyone gravitates to when they come to visit. It is situated right in front of the big living room window and has a great view of the street outside. From here I can rule over my kingdom.

A few plans for the rest of the week.....include some cleaning, a tiny bit of shopping, and some more writing and crafting.

Here's the picture I am sharing.....

 The front of my place... taken before I moved in.

 The back taken from the lower decking. Yes, it has a wheelchair ramp.

The side yard, where I will be putting in a flower bed in the Spring.

Snowy Sunday

Today was a lazy, snowy day. I didn't feel like doing much. I will probably have to shovel the drive tomorrow morning, but today I just wanted to stay indoors and work a little on a mini scrapbook I started yesterday at the craft group. It is made with 5x7 black envelopes and prefolded cards that can be picked up at Michael's. Other than that, 3 12x12 inch black card stock sheets are needed as well as some coordinating decorative card stock for decorating the pages. I have created 3 page assemblies which will hold 56 (plus) photos and journaling cards. I haven't figured out what to do with it yet, but it will likely be a gift for someone when it is finished. There is still a lot to do before it is complete. Other than that, I have washed a load of dishes, washed my scoring board and made a keto loaf.

This week, I added more cards to my stash and mailed out all the kids' valentines. I would like to mail out a couple of  birthday cards and "Thinking of You" cards again this week. On the deep cleaning, I would like to empty out all my pantry shelves and scrub them down and organise them a little better before returning all the items. I need to get back downstairs to finish going through my filing bin and shredding more papers. If I can get all of that accomplished, I will be a happy lady.

Main Living Area

There were things that had to get done today, so that is how I started my day. For Christmas, from my brother and his family, I received a vacuum sealer.  I brought that out onto the counter to package up the ground beef I bought this week. Since I cooked some up for dinner last night, I made up seven packages for the freezer with what was remaining. I also chopped up most of a cabbage and sauteed it in butter. I cut up the fresh cauliflower into florets, and  divided it up into two freezer packages. And while my sister came over for a little while to work downstairs, I stayed upstairs to get these things finished.

I have taken some photos to show you the dining room, kitchen and living room.

 I did not bring any of my dining furniture with me. I had decided to leave it for the buyers of my old house when their agent told me that they were just starting out and would appreciate my leaving anything for them (instead of tossing it out or giving it away). I had already had 5 yard sales by this point and had taken van loads of stuff to the Thrift store, so I did decide to leave the dining furniture and all of my everyday dishes. My thinking was that I could buy what I needed from the Thrift Store here. Well my sister bought me my dishes and glassware as a housewarming gift. You can see the pattern hanging on the wall there. She also gave me the table and chairs seen here from her basement. "Dee" found this stunning china cabinet for me in a private sale for only $75.

To the left of the dining table is the hallway down to the bedrooms. To my immediate left is the doorway to the kitchen, which you are unable to see from this photo. The first door on the left off the hallway is the door to downstairs. I brought very little furniture with me, but I made sure to bring most of my crafts, pictures, and sentimental decoration. It is a very good thing that I was ruthless, because I still ended up with a lot.

 Now, when I spin around 180 degrees, we are now looking at the living area at the front of the house. That is my red leather couch, my round table and my wing chair you might recognise from the old house. My coffee table was too big for the space, so "Dee" gave me a glass top table that fits much better.The lamps were bought at a second hand store. I bought the table lamp first. When I saw the floor lamp, I had to get it because they look like they could be a matched set. They are not.

 Across from the couch is an entertainment unit I bought for $50 to hold my TV, CDs and DVDs, some books, games, extra serve ware for the dining room, and other miscellaneous pieces hidden away. I brought with me the green leather chair in the corner, the wooden chair, the area carpet. It seems strange to me now that I brought all manner of decoration, but hardly any furniture. I guess that is because the decoration has meaning for me, whereas I didn't have any idea what kind of place I would be living in. Will my furniture fit the new rooms? Will it fit in the moving truck? Can I buy it cheaply once I find a place?

Now, if I turn 90 degrees to the right, you will see the doorway into the kitchen . The door straight ahead is the side door from the driveway.

 Walk through the doorway and to your right is the eating area of the kitchen. I do not have a table and chairs in here yet. I kind of like the open space right now. I bought a little DIY kitchen cart on wheels where I have set up my coffee station. The shelves underneath hold baskets of stuff. There is also one very narrow drawer (much needed) Look at all the great cupboards against the wall. They hold appliances, paper goods, cleaning supplies and a food pantry.

All those tall cupboards and this stackable laundry unit fill the back wall. There is a large kitchen window here and shelves to hold boots, shoes, and my kitchen compost pail. Those yellow bags hold salt. You cannot run out of salt up north. Very crucial.

 Turn to the left of the side door and you will see the small galley kitchen. There aren't many cupboards, so you understand why I love my wall-to-wall storage in the eating area. That funny little cupboard door that is facing you is a spice cupboard. I love that. There is another kitchen window above the sink. At the end of the counter space is my brand new dishwasher.

 Across from the sink is the stove and fridge and tiny little drawers. That appliance next to the teeny tiny drawers is a useless defunct garbage compactor. The drawers and compactor will be soon replaced by a 30 inch base cabinet (with bigger drawers, hopefully) Right now the top of that counter has a micro wave oven on it (which was one of the first things I bought when I moved in) The kitchen is NOT the best feature of this house, but you will remember that my last kitchen was tiny and there was NO eating area in it. Straight ahead is the front door.

I do like this wall beside my fridge though. It has my calendar and a white board and acts like my message centre. There is even a place to tuck my kitchen step ladder.

So as you enter the front door, there is a lovely big hallway closet to the left that also holds my two recycling bins. Straight ahead is the kitchen and to the right is the living area. That is the tour of my new living space. Next week I may show you the downstairs. Remember I have two floors of space?

Tomorrow is card-making group from 1-4. Then afterwards, we will go to Dad and "Dee's" house to play TV Bingo and order in some Swiss Chalet. I may not be back on the blog until Sunday. Have a great weekend everyone.

My Three Bedrooms

I have no idea where my day has gone. I know it was busy, but I don't have much to show for it. I thought today would be the day I would take photos of my house to show you, and that is how I started. Don't look too closely. I didn't vacuum or dust. I just made my bed.

 I brought my bed frame and two small bedside units, my pictures and paintings, and the beside lamps with me.  I had to buy the box spring and mattress, window coverings and hardware. My bedside dressers each have 3 drawers, so lots of storage.

 I found this wonderful solid wood dresser and mirror for only $75 in a thrift shop. I sold all my master bedroom furniture before I moved.

One whole wall is closet space. I have my summer wardrobe on the left, my winter wardrobe on the right, and the middle section holds toiletries and all my lotions and potions.

 A second bedroom has a sliding patio door out onto a large deck across the back of the house. On the lower tier of the deck, you can see my shed. Look at all that snow. "Dee" gave me that lovely mural for the wall, and this is where I am overwintering some plants. Besides being able to go to the deck from the yard, this is the only way from inside the house.  I did not want to block access by placing a double bed in this room as a permanent fixture, so  I bought a futon. The solid wood dresser I brought with me.

 I also bought the small 3 drawer end table and lamp for this room. Company has used this spare guest room and has declared the mattress to be very comfortable. The closet in this room is also very big.

Another view from the doorway.

 This is my third and smallest bedroom. I brought these twin beds with me, and right now they are cramped into this tiny space.

 The reason the beds are configured this way is because of the honkin' big wardrobe that is presently in this room. There will be a lot more room when this monstrosity is gone. My sister MAY take it for her spare room in the basement, once the snow goes, but if she doesn't, I will put it on Kijiji for sale. Why is there a wardrobe in this room if all the closets are big? Well, that would be because the closet in this room was plumbed for a ........SHOWER, by the previous owner.

Yes, there is presently a working shower in this bedroom. Come Spring, I am hoping to have this removed by my BIL the plumber and have it put downstairs in the second bathroom. I would much rather have a closet in this room, and a shower in the extra bathroom. I'm just funny that way.

So that is as far as I got with my photos today. I vacuumed my front hall again and emptied my almond flour from my Amazon shipment into mason jars. My sister came over to make cards in the craft room and I left for my eyebrow appointment. When I came back, I put together two cards myself and made a colour chart for the alcohol markers (all 172) that my sister ordered from Amazon. Since she is allowing me to use her markers, it is imperative that someone make up a chart to help distinguish the various shades of markers. It isn't realistic to go by the colour of the caps., so I took on this important job.

I made dinner, wrote a few emails, answered a few calls and now it it already 8:30 and time to prepare my earlier bedtime routine. There is still time to watch a little You Tube tonight. Have a good evening.