Busy Social Life

Last night my dad and "Dee", my sister and her husband, and myself played TV Bingo. In the past, one of us would host the event and serve dinner afterwards. Two weeks ago I went out and bought tickets for the following 3 weeks and last weekend we played in our own homes, but we played "together" by using a conference call on Facebook Messenger. Last night we did the same thing, but I got myself all dressed up with makeup, fancy clothes and sparkly earrings like I was going out on the town. It was actually a lot of fun and I had to laugh at my family's reaction. I even poured myself a glass of red wine for the occasion.

Today was full of visits, both on-line and by telephone. I am pretty much caught up with everyone in my circle of friends. I gave myself permission to enjoy a nice relaxed day without any thoughts of cleaning OR crafting. I even turned on the television this evening to watch a 2 hour special on Gordon Lightfoot...one of my favourite songwriters. I made a loaf of bread and I am now washing a load of dishes whilst writing on the laptop. See, I can do two things at once. Ha,ha.

Tomorrow, I plan to shovel off my back deck. It will be fresh air and exercise, which I haven't had any of in the past week. It will also provide a space outside where I can go and sit during the week when I am feeling like I want to enjoy some sunshine and fresh air. This is what it looks like now.

It may look like a lot of snow to some of you, but in fact, quite a lot of it has been melting the past two weeks. Hopefully, it will look much more bare tomorrow. Hope your weekend was grand and everyone is staying put and staying well.

No Housework, Just card-making

I received an on-line order through the mail earlier this week. I got a cute little bunny stamp, a new embossing folder, and 2 new stencils. I had to try them out, didn't I? To challenge myself a little bit with this year's Easter cards for the kids, I have made a few fancy fold cards.

 This is called a zig-zag card. I used my new bunny stamps to make 2 of these cards.

Here is another zig-zag using some diecuts.

The first example is called a flip-fold card (I made two of these also) and the second example is an easel card. You cannot see very clearly, but the dog is wearing a set of bunny ears. The little verse is raised off the inside page to provide a stop for the front panel to stand upright (like an easel)

Another example of an easel card and the little lamb is on a flap fold card.

One of the stencils I received is a gingham stencil, which I absolutely adore. I inked the stencil in blue to make a card for a very young recipient, and the green one I made into a slightly more sophisticated card. I send out 14 cards to grandkids, nephews and nieces. I also made up some Springtime cards for adults, but won't show them here now. I posted the kids' cards because they don't read my blog.

Otherwise, the only things I did today was text and facetime family and friends. I also made a friendship card and wrote a letter to someone who has been on my mind for a few weeks now. She is not doing well at all.

I ate a cup of cottage cheese for breakfast today, instead of eggs. A few days ago, I removed a container of homemade soup to make room in my freezer. I have been eating that for my lunches along with a couple of slices of keto bread. Since I finished up the last of the pork roast last night, I ate a meatless supper tonight. I finished up the creamed cabbage I made 3 nights ago along with some avocado slices. I thought it tasted pretty good. I try to limit my news viewing to the TV updates on the corona virus from our Federal government ministers at noon. That is enough to keep me up to date, without feeling overwhelmed. Tomorrow night is TV Bingo and we will be on a conference call during the game.  Like last week, we will be having a virtual visit. How is your weekend shaping up?

Housework and Card Making

"Dee" , my sister and myself have begun each day since we have stayed indoors self isolating, with a conference face time call.   It is the time we check in with each other and make plans for the day. I just realised now that it was the last time I uttered a word to anyone today. I didn't make any other phone calls.

I was finished in the kitchen with my food prep, so there were no excuses not to begin vacuuming through the house. Again I worked my way through the living/dining area, the kitchen and hallway, stopping short of the last two bedrooms. I did sweep up and vacuum the closet that used to hold the shower.

It has been a long time since I have done any crafting. In fact, it has been weeks and I need to get back at it so I can finish off the Easter cards I started. I asked Alexa to play some songs by Cat Stevens while I worked and before I knew it, it was 6 PM. I warmed up some cabbage in cream sauce and the last of my pork roast. (It lasted me 3 nights). My days of confinement seem to whiz right by. I still have not watched any TV in the evenings, but I do catch up with news on my laptop and play a few games of solitaire (Spider) while Alexa plays some Enya or Simon and Garfunkle. Tomorrow I should check up on some of my friends to see how their days are going.

More Kitchen Prep

Last night after dinner I caught myself from emptying the contents of the crock pot into the garbage. This morning, after the pot had cooled in the fridge, I skimmed off the meat juices to save and I scooped all of that rendered pork fat (lard) in a small container in the fridge to use for my frying. I realise I need to conserve the butter I have, and so I used some of the fat to fry my spinach and cheese omelette this morning. I also used a little bit of it to saute some shredded cabbage I cooked today. Mostly, I just turned down the stove element as low as possible so that the cabbage could cook in its own juices and caramelise nicely. On my particular diet,  I need animal fats. The only other oils I use are olive oil, avocado or coconut.

I go through a lot of eggs every week....two dozen, sometimes more. With 6 doz. eggs bought on Monday and 2 doz. I already had in the fridge, I was faced with eight dozen eggs. I made a loaf of keto bread, which took care of 6 eggs. Then I separated  6 egg whites and 6 yolks (enough for a loaf of bread) and prepared them for the freezer. I broke the yolks and mixed in 1/2 tsp. of Himalayan pink  salt before freezing. I have enough separated eggs to make 4 loaves.

With another doz. eggs, I broke each egg into a 12 cup muffin tin and placed that in the freezer. When those are frozen, I can put them in a freezer bag to draw out what I need for making omelettes or scrambled eggs. I will probably freeze another dozen eggs that way, which will leave me a little over 3 dozen and they will easily last 2 weeks in the fridge if I try to conserve my eggs. ie, perhaps eating toasted keto bread with almond butter or cheese, instead of eggs every morning. Maybe I will start making yoghurt again for breakfast. I haven't made any since moving here.

My meals will have to include my perishables first, like my cottage cheese and avocados, before I use up my frozen foods and canned tomatoes and tuna. My heads of cabbage should last a very long time in the fridge, so I am not too concerned about having to use them up immediately. I know they will last a couple of months. While working in the kitchen I am also socialising using technology and  watching health updates on TV.  I haven't really been crafting too much yet, so I hope I can get back at it soon. How are the rest of you coping with your confinement?

Filling the Freezer

After taking the garbage and the Blue Box out to the curb, I started the day again with disinfecting the sink with bleach, and then filling it with tepid water and a splash of vinegar before washing down the peppers and celery I bought yesterday. While the celery was drying, I seeded and sliced up the peppers for the freezer. I can use them in stir fries, chili and my omelettes.

I decided to slice up most of the celery to use in soups and stir fries and left only a few young stalks to munch on.
Next, I tackled the pork loin I bought at $1.88 a lb. yesterday. I cut 16 thick loin chops and wrapped them with the food saver to make 8 packages of 2 each. With the remaining pork that was left, I put it into my crock pot to roast for dinner tonight. (and probably tomorrow night as well)

At noon I received a phone call from my middle son. He sounded really tired. It is mid-winter and they are as busy as ever. Some of their clients have "stalled" their contracts because they have shut down temporarily due to the virus outbreak. He is hoping this will lessen the work load, but still keep them busy enough to stay employed. They are expected to work unless the province calls for a shut-down. Our Ontario premier announced a state of emergency this morning, but has not mandated a complete lock-down. I know my son is worried like many others, about finances, if forced off work. The government is telling us there will be help, but is still working out details. I told my son not to worry....that I can help out some.

My BIL called to say that my sister was running a high fever. I had talked to her this morning and she complained of feeling really crappy and sore all over. I directed him to call the hospital and talk to them about her symptoms. We are pretty sure this is a case of seasonal flu. She is to drink plenty of liquids, take Tylenol, and the hospital will call again in the morning for an update. The flu is not a nice thing to have anyways, but these days you can't help but feel panic.

More than ever, I am glad we are ready to stay indoors to weather this storm.

The inside of my fridge freezer is bursting. I took an inventory of all my servings of meat and veggies and I am set for a long time. I hope you are all staying healthy and safe.

Catching Up on Monday

There has been no progress on the downstairs shower. We've had much more important issues at hand. My sister and BIL travelled to Sudbury for medical appointments on Wednesday, Thursday AND again on Friday. I was the chief dog-sitter. On Thursday afternoon I did head over to the Dollar Store to pick up a few items I felt I needed for a battle against the corona virus, as well as a few things from my wish list. I got some bleach, latex gloves, disinfectants, soap, nail brushes and the like, but I also picked up some extra food containers, silicone spatulas, freezer bags, and spices. I bet you thought I was going to say more craft supplies, didn't you?  But no, I was thinking of ways I could prepare and keep food for a longer period of time. On the way home, I bought TV bingo cards for the next three weeks to distribute among the family members. I was planning to grocery shop the following day, but my sister was called back to Sudbury for additional tests on Friday.

We also learned on Thursday night, that there were going to be further closures and cancellations in our province, so there was NO WAY I was going to try grocery shopping on the weekend. My sister and I agreed to go together this morning as early as possible with a list. Both of us are eating keto diets, so we knew it was going to be a challenge. We cannot stock up on flour, rice, pasta and canned beans because we are not allowed to eat those foods. By this morning, most shelves were bare, and there was a restriction on the amounts one could buy. No more than 5 of any one item, and only 2 packages of paper products. I did not see that sign, so when I showed up at the cash with 6 dozen eggs, 6 heads of cabbage, and 6 tins of tuna, I was admonished; but she rang them through for me anyways. I think she used her discretion because surprisingly, there were lots of these items still available. I have heard of other places not having ANY eggs, but our store had lots. There were very few fresh veggies (no zucchini, eggplant, green beans) and even fewer packages of frozen veggies. There was no broccoli, spinach, cauliflower, even brussel sprouts. Everything had been bought up. I know that shelves will be restocked eventually, but because of the urgency of the messages to stay home, I wanted to be prepared for the long haul. I belong in that vulnerable group that is being advised to lock down.

I went home and put things away (no photos), had my breakfast,  made a few phone calls, and listened to the Prime Minister's message today. They will have announcements every day at noon because of the rapid evolution of this disease. Then I packed up "Dee's" groceries, picked up 5 prescriptions at the drug store that were ready, and took them over to my dad's house. I left the bin on the top step and then used my cell phone to notify her that they were there.  Because my dad is extremely frail, we are taking no chances.

I finally feel I am prepared. Unfortunately, it took a real emergency to figure out that I was not. I have talked today with two of my kids and they are heeding the advice of the health officials. I still need to hear from my middle son and DIL tonight to hear how they are managing. Have a good evening and I will write again tomorrow.

More Material: More Money Spent

The project just got bigger, but that is a good thing. Once the shower was in place, it was easier to see how we could incorporate it into the downstairs bathroom. So that is what we are doing now.

 The shower surround is in, but we have not yet added the silicone to the seams.

 Before we added the shower surround, we noticed there was actually enough room to take out a doorway from the inside bathroom wall into the laundry space where the shower was installed, so we cut out the gyproc and wall studs.

Here is a view from the other side looking into the bathroom. We will extend this wall that holds the new plumbing, straight across to incorporate the new "doorway" to make the shower part of the  bathroom space. (They won't have to walk into a separate shower off the laundry room) I am thrilled to have discovered that this doorway was possible.

Yesterday my BIL and I went out to the lumberyard to pick up 3 more sheets of drywall, 8 more 2x4s, more 3 inch screws, drywall tape and mud. By the end of the day we were (I was) too tired to take down the 4x8 foot sheets of drywall, so it is still upstairs leaning against my dining room table until my BIL arrives this morning.

Tomorrow I will get a break from construction when my sister and BIL drive to Sudbury for a couple of days. Rocky (their little dog) will be here having a sleepover with Auntie Susan (me). I will finally be able to wash my upstairs floors again of all the winter snow and salt that we tracked in again yesterday. The snow is melting during the days, but it freezes up at night making everything very icy. Good maple syrup weather, as warm temps during the day and freezing temps at night makes the sap flow. With the time change on the weekend, it sure is feeling like Spring, although I know we will still have many more snow flurries before the flowers bloom. Anyone else getting tired of winter?