Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Watery Wednesday

On Sunday it poured down, so I took these photos from my back patio doors. Don't the raindrops on my washing line, look like little soldiers all lined up in a row? For more detail click on the photos.












For more Watery Wednesday photos, please click on this link

More on packing and decluttering, and the daily savings club.........

As most of you know we are moving to a 1907 farmhouse, which has no closets to talk of. So until we get them built, we have a little issue with where to put everything. Including in that is our spare bedding, so I decided to buy some space bags . You know the ones you attach your vacuum too and suck out the air. I have to say I haven't heard very many good reviews of the product but I thought I'd give it a try. I paid $30 + taxes for two jumbo and three large bags. Plus I had two large Ziplock bags that I thought I would use as well.

I had six pillows, one queen sized feather bed, two queen comforters with two pillow shams each, one twin duvet with cover and pillowcases, two blankets. This is what they looked like before hand:


This is what it looks like after:
As they are compacted like that, I will be able to store them under the bed in the spare bedroom. All the day to day bedding and sheets, I will be storing in a blanket chest that my dad made for me years ago.

For those of you wondering what we are doing about our clothes. There is one small closet in the spare bedroom and my friend is lending us three Rubbermaid closets to use. We also have some dressers, and we will have an other throwing out session I am guessing before we move. We also plan on building closets at some point....hopefully later on in the year.

Now onto the Daily Saving Club, here we are at the end of another month, its gone by super fast hasn't it? You should have $23.25 in your pot as of today. From tomorrow April 1st, it will be $1 per day if you are following the formula. if you have kept all the money you have put into your pot, you will have saved up $45, just like that. Isn't it an easy way of saving?

Monday, March 30, 2009

Odds and ends, bits and bobs..

Got a bit more done down the basement which was good. We are slowly making progress there.

Have a ton of shredding to do, so that will keep me busy over the next few days.

Bought a couple of things for the new house. We are leaving all the appliances, and the microwave is built in above the stove, so we bought another microwave. A Samsung SMH8187WG Over The Range Microwave which we picked up for $299.99 plus taxes, which was a great deal.

We have a central vacuum system in this house, and we had the same in the last house. However the new house doesn't have a central vacuum system, and as all the floors are either hardwood or slate, I honestly don't see the need for a central vacuum system. We do have the odd area rug, so I do need some sort of vacuum. After much discussion we ended up buying this Kenmore canister vacuum We got it on sale and we got an extra $10 off (Sunday promotion), which paid for most of pack of bags for the vacuum.

A bit of sad news, someone ran over one of the Canada Geese. How they managed to do that I do not know, as they are pretty big......it was very sad to see it dead on the side of the road. When we went past on Sunday someone had removed the body thank goodness.

As most of you know I am allergic to exercise, but would you believe me and dh went for a walk on Sunday night, for over an hour. We were both pooped, but the fresh air did us the power of good.

We participated in the switch the lights off for Earth Day on Saturday night. One thing though, I had gone and packed all the candles, so we were in the dark. However dh continued to watch his hockey game, so we sort of cheated!!

Do have to go to the dump this week with a pile more stuff that I don't think go into the regular garbage. Though maybe I should leave it a week or two just to make sure we don't have anything else to go.

So there you go a bit of this, and a bit of that!!!

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Today's Flower

This week as I still have no flowers at all in my garden I pulled a couple of purple flower photos, from last year. Keep hoping I may have flowers, flowering before we move May 1st, who knows?


For more Today's Flower photos, please click on the link.

Do you know what is lurking in your basement or attic?

Well I know I don't/didn't.

Opened up a box to discover a Sanyo stereo system??? At that time dh happened to call me, so I asked him if he knew where it had come from. We figured it must be one of the kids', and when I went downstairs and looked in another box, I discovered it's twin, so knew then it must be the kids' stereos. You see when they were growing up, especially when they were older, we always got them identical gifts. Stereos one year, portable tv's another year.........so there'll be a couple of stereos in our yard sale.

I then opened up this other box and it was full of ornaments and pictures, that we had packed up at the other house and had never opened up..........so another box of goodies for the yard sale.

Dh reminded me of the record player we had, so of course I groan and say but we need that, dh then said when was the last time I had used it.....probably 10 + years ago, so that is also going in the yard sale along with my records.

We have a pile of VHS video's, including a lot of Disney movies, so they too are going into the yard sale. Had a big box of computer games, programmes etc, dh went through that on Saturday and now we have a tiny box with just a few computer things in it. Most were from the late 90's, so out of date it was crazy. We have a pile of music Cd's which are mainly the kids, but they never listen to Cd's, so I guess they too will be going into the yard sale.

We have four tv's in this house, for the two of us. Only one is a new one the rest are oldies, so we are going to get rid of two of the older ones. So will have two tv's in the yard sale.

I brought over a box of Prima magazines from Britain and have a huge box of them now, plus another box of craft magazines. Now I know when dh discovers this, he will have a hissy fit, but I just can't bare to throw them out, sad or what?

My mother says if you haven't used it for a year, you don't need it. Have to say that is good advise, now I suppose I should follow it!!!

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Having a day off today.......

from blogging.......been a lazy idol bum as far as my blog is concerned..........nothing to say and pooped from packing...........actually headed down to the basement and made a start in there on Friday.........{{GROAN}}

Whose bright idea was it too move??!!!!

Back to regular service on Sunday!!!

Friday, March 27, 2009

Buddy Friday - Writing Lists....

The older I get I find I forget things more, so making lists and having those handy dandy sticky notes plastered everywhere helps.

I can't live without my calendar that I have hung in the kitchen. This year's model is the Coronation Street version, however I am not fussed what it looks like, what is more important is having the squares where I can write notes on the certain days. I put all the birthday and anniversaries on there so I know when they all are.

With us moving, I have a notebook where we write down anything to do with the move, plus we have a binder where we put everything to do with the move. That way if in doubt look in the book. I saw on one of the British moving shows, I think it was "Moving To The Country," one of the people had numbered all her moving boxes and did an Excel spreadsheet that told her what was in each box. I wish I could be that organized. I have written on the outside of each box what is in it and what room each box has to go into. I have bought bright coloured post-it notes to stick on the outside of each box so easily identify which box goes into each room.

I like to write a list when I go grocery shopping, as although I generally know what I want when I get there I always forget and and up buying things I don't need, or forgetting things I wanted!!!

I keep a small note pad and pens in my handbag as well, so I can write notes when I am out.

Writing lists not only saves time, it also saves money. Do you write lists and if so what for?

For more Buddy Friday posts, why not pop over to Margaret's Ramblings.......

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Skywatch Friday.....

These photos were taken just after 7am on Wednesday March 25th. Within fifteen minutes the pink clouds were all gone and it was a dark overcast sky. It didn't actually start to rain until around 4pm that day. Those pink clouds were so unusual and so pretty.

(click on the photos for more detail)








For more Skywatch Friday photos, please click on the link.

Here we go again........and a rant!!

They're at it again, those honking geese!!! This time they were on my neighbours roof top, "the romantic couple," were honking up a storm. It's quite comical to see as when I walk to the mail box it's as though they are sentries on the roof top guarding my journey to and from the mail box, as there were more geese honking on the rooftops further down the road.






Now a bit of a rant. We had to go to the doctors on Wednesday, me to get some repeat prescriptions, dh to get some test results. Our appointment was 3pm, we got into the doctors office at 3:45pm, and finally saw the doctor at 3:55pm, and we were out of the office by 4:10pm.

Our doctor is a nice guy, bit of a pill pusher, but a nice guy. However he is NEVER EVER on time. He comes back from lunch at 1pm, and by 3pm he is running nearly an hour behind? It drives me crazy, my time is as valuable as any one elses. I have talked to him about this, and I am sure other people have complained, but makes no difference.

I would swap doctors but family doctors are as rare as hen's teeth in Ontario. I sort of hope we can find another family doctor close to where we are going to live, but I am not holding my breath. As family doctors are in even shorter supply in the countryside.

I am sure I am not the only one with this problem, is your doctor as bad? By the way we have had the same doctor for over 10 years. Where ds lives (four hours north of us)none of the family doctors are taking on patients so ds is still registered with our doctor, which is a pain for him, but what can you do?

Don't forget to put your money in your tin for the Daily Savings Challenge, you should have $19.50 in your pot as of today.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

50 + 1 Recipes for Plums

This week it's plums, I love plums, generally just eat them "raw" so looking forward to seeing what sort of recipes there are out there.

1. Apple Plum Butter

2. Honey Plum Jam

3. Plum Almond Tart

4. Plum Clafoutis

5. Maple Ricotta Parfait with Almonds and Plums

6. Purple Plum Pie

7. Ponche de Frutas (Fruit Punch)

8. Plum Blueberry Upside Down Cake

9. Fresh Fruit Cobbler

10. Potato Plum Dumplings

11. Asian Noodles and Vegetable Salad with Plums

12. Deep Dish Plum Pie With Maple Crème Fraîche

13. Fresh Plum Sorbet

14. Grilled Pork Stir-Fry with Ginger Plum Sauce

15. Plum & Sausage Kebabs

16. Plum and Ginger Microwave Jam

17. Plum Orange Cake

18. Glazed Plum Cheesecake

19. Organic Plum Cheesecake

20. Hazelnut Plum Cake

21. Nutty Plum Crumble

22. Plum and Almond Cobbler

23. Plum and Peach Fruit Salad

24. Plum Sherbet

25. Plum Compote

26. Plum Tart

27. Deviled Golden Plums

28. Golden Plum Sauce

29. Plumuffins

30. Plum and Bulgar Salad

31. Plum Pad Thai

32. Plums in Yogurt and Honey

33. Panna Cotta with Plum Coulis

34. Pecan Scones with Plum Compote

35. Fresh Plum Upside Down Torte

36. Halibut with Lemon Plum Sauce

37. Peach and Plum Crumble

38. Plum Phyllo Pouches

39. Plum Liquer

40. Plum Chutney

41. Apple and Plum Kugle

42. Apple and Plum Scone Cake

43. B.C. Plum-Cot Leather

44. Black Plum Sorbet

45. Cheesecake Mousse with Rum-Poached Plums

46. Cornmeal Buckle with Plums

47. French Toast with Poached Plums

48. Fried Plum Dumplings

49. Gingered Plum Streusel Pie

50. High Fiber Plum Frappe

51. Lamb with Plums and Rosemary Dumplings

Nutritional Info

There seems to be quite a variety of recipes there, both sweet and savory. Hope there is one or two recipes there you may like to try?

Next week it's Raspberries.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Watery Wednesday.....

A couple of photos taken in Georgetown, South Carolina last year. I bet it's a lot warmer down there than it is up here in Southern Ontario!!! Please click on the photos for more detail.



For more Watery Wednesday photos, please click on the link

Odds and ends, bits and bobs

Just a general post mainly about Monday but includes other things.

Not sure if you know but I delay all my posts to come out at around 1am in the morning. That way I am consistent and everyone gets used to it. I also try and plan posts ahead of time if I can. I am working on recipe posts for the end of April, and have got three posts done for the week we move.

One thing I did do on Monday was pull out all my birthday cards for the month of April, and the one I have left in March. I also got out all my Easter cards, to make sure I have enough. I don't send many out, but when I do I want to make sure I include change of address cards as well, may as well kill two birds with one stone. I am looking for change of address cards that I can print for free on the Internet; so if anyone knows of a good site let me know?

We have finally got the house and car insurance sorted out, boy was that a job and a half. Anyhow the gist of it all is that we ended up getting the car insurance around $30 cheaper and ended up paying around $600 more in the house insurance. Believe it or not we have saved around $200 to $300 on the house insurance alone by going with this company.

The main reason the high price hike is that we do not have a fire hydrant close to the house, and the nearest fire hall which is 2km away, is only manned with volunteer fire fighters. So that makes the insurance companies nervous!!!

Dh got the U-Haul truck booked so that's another job done.

I got some more things packed, I just hope I remember where I have put everything. All the boxes are well marked, but even so, I am sure to lose something.

I did a bit of cooking today, and made a couple batches of fish cakes, with some salmon fillets I had in the freezer. I also had some gingerbread and raspberries in the freezer, which I used to make a trifle. So a couple of more things out of the freezer.

I got another BzzAgent package today for Danone DanActive Probiotic Yogurt Drink, so am looking forward to trying that. I am also Bzzing Nordica Single Serve Cottage Cheese, big fan of cottage cheese on a daily basis, and finding the single serve ones, very convenient.

It was nippy cold Monday morning, but still hung the laundry out and managed to get it all dry by early afternoon, as the sun shone all day.

Monday, March 23, 2009

It's a sad, sad day in That British Woman's house......

I packed away my books. It took all my self resolve not to sit there and read through some of them while I was packing them. I even put a couple aside to put in the garage sale. I haven't sealed the boxes up, so that if I do need a book, especially a recipe book, I can hunt through them to find it.

Dh was a busy bee and got a lot of things cleaned out and packed in the garage. There is still a bit to do but at least he has made a start. We got the bird boxes taken down outside, just in time I may add, as I had seen some birds flying around them. We also pulled off the top and sides of the composter. However the "stuff" inside is frozen solid, so we need to let it "defrost," before we can remove it and put it in the garden. I want to take the composter with us and the compost in it isn't that great.

I have yet to start in the shed, but that shouldn't take too long. We are hiring a U-Haul truck to move the shed, garage and basement. As that would add another three hours, minimum if the movers were to move all of that, so its cheaper for us to move all of that, and get the movers to move all the heavy furniture and other stuff we have.

I have yet to pack up my Christmas stuff. I need to pack that in as few boxes as possible, otherwise I will have dh whining about how much stuff I actually have!!

A bit of good news though.........we got our taxes filed today, YEAH!!!!! We have until April 30th to file in Canada, so we are ahead of the game, so that's good.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Today's Flower

I have pulled a couple of photos from last summer, in bright yellow/orange just to remind myself that summer will be here soon......



For more of Today's Flower photos, please click on the link

Look what I got for $21.10............

It was bonus redemption day (finally) at Shopper's Drug Mart, so I decided to cash 75,000 points for $200 worth of free product. You have to buy $200 before taxes, and I bought $200.67, and the taxes were $20.43. So all in all it cost me $21.10.



I got:

4 x loaves of bread
2 x Lays Chips - though looking at my bill I think she only charged me for the one?
2 pack rubber gloves
4 x Quaker Granola Bars
3 x Dare Cookies
2 x Women's Multi Vitamins enough for 180 days
1 x LB Advil
1 x Advil Sinus (dh is sick)
2 x 8 pack Mach 3 razor blades, can you believe they are $24.99 a pack!!!
3 x Arm & Hammer Toothpaste
3 x 2 litre Ice cream
2 x Cheese
2 x Organic Canned Corn on clearance at 39 cents a can - super cheap
1 x LB rechargeable toothbrush
1 x 3 pack replacement heads for above toothbrush
1 x Hair Dye
3 x Kleenex Tissue
3 x Kleenex Dinner Napkins
1 x Garbage Bags
1 x 4 litre milk
2 x 12 pack Diet Coke
2 x Nativa Granola

I also used $8.78 in coupons. This bonus redemption is also on today (Sunday) I tell you it pays to shop at Shopper's Drug Mart, and I still have 84,385 points left, and I also have a lot more points to come in April from being a Plus member.

(In the back left of the photo, you can see what looks like dead plants, those are my geraniums I brought up from the cold cellar, they are slowly coming back to life!!)

Saturday, March 21, 2009

More on moving house.......

Well lets see what's happening on the moving house situation. I picked up around 40 boxes Friday morning from the grocery store that they had saved for me. So I think we are all set with those. I can't believe people go out and buy boxes to move with. Mind you we did buy a couple of closet boxes a few years ago and we have used them again and again, as have other people. We are getting more closet boxes from the moving company that they are lending us for when we move.

I have got a few boxes packed, and have them stacked in the dining room. Have to say it looks a bit strange with no pictures on the walls. It makes them look very bare. Most of my ornaments are packed as well, so at least there is not as much to dust now!!!

We are still struggling with the insurance issue and we have got various quotes and I think we have finally got it narrowed down. It has been a draining time though, as each phone call to the insurance company can last an hour, and each person you talk to has something different to say. Plus we keep getting conflicting information from each company. They are quoting between $400,00 to $549,00 to rebuild the house, that is a wide range of pricing don't you think? As I said before I think we have decided on the company and will call them next week to finalize it.

We have an appointment with the bank to sign all the paperwork next week, so that's a good job done. All the utilities have been notified and told when to do the last readings. I have set up an account with the new hydro company. Although everything is set up for the phone, Internet and satellite, all the appointments are still screwed up and I can't sort them out until the second week of April.

Have an appointment set up for the middle of May to see about getting an alarm system installed in the new house.

I have to start on the change of address for all the magazines, credit cards, and other things. Have to go to the post office and do a change of address with them, I think that's $200 for the year.

One thing for sure it's all money, money, money at the moment.

I am plowing through the pantry and trying to use up bits and bobs, which is proving to be interesting. I got a few instant pudding mixes given so we are eating those with the canned pears for dessert every night!!! I am now down to 13 jars of canned pears!!

As I am packing I am putting things aside I don't want, as we are planning on having a garage sale the week before we move. If we can make a few dollars that would be great, however yard sales don't normally start to around May around here, so fingers crossed April 25th will be a dry fine day!!

Friday, March 20, 2009

Buddy Friday - Spring has sprung so lets talk laundry......

and lets take advantage of the nice weather, and why not take advantage of what nature gives us and hang out the laundry to dry, rather than use the dryer and have the extra charge on your electricity bill!!! I managed to get my first load of laundry out to dry on March 6th, this year, and since then have been hanging out my laundry.


I just love the smell of sheets when they have been dried on the line. No amount of fabric softener can replace that fresh smell. Of course I will be taking my rotary dryer/whirly gig with me when we move. However I also know we have room for actual washing lines, so may get dh to hang one up for me.

Now I have talked about making your own laundry detergent in this post, and fabric softener in this post. To save you searching through my old posts, here are the recipes for the laundry detergent and the fabric softener. I use them and they do work. I used them on my front loading machine without any problems.

Here is the recipe for the liquid detergent:

Ingredients :
1½ litres water
1 bar Sunlight or generic laundry soap or any similar pure laundry soap, grated on a cheese grater
½ cup washing soda – NOT baking or bicarb soda
½ cup borax

Method:
Into a medium sized saucepan add 1½ litres of water and the soap. Over a medium heat, stir this until it is completely dissolved. Make sure the soap dissolves properly or the mixture will separate when cold.Add the washing soda and borax. Stir until thickened, and remove from heat. It sort of resembles a very thin lemon pudding mix now.

Pour this mixture into your 9-10 litre bucket then fill the bucket with hot water from the tap. Stir to combine all the ingredients.The laundry liquid will thicken up more as it cools. When cool, store in a plastic container.

Use 1/4 cup of mixture per load or monitor to see what works well for you.

Here is the recipe for the dry mix:

CONCENTRATED LAUNDRY POWDER

4 cups grated laundry soap
2 cups borax
2 cups washing soda

Mix all the ingredients thoroughly and store in a plastic container with a lid. Use 2 tablespoons per wash. This powder will not make suds and this is perfectly okay.

Fabric Softener Recipe:

Ingredients:

1 cup baking soda
6 cups distilled white vinegar
8 cups water
10-15 drops orange essential oils (optional) or lemon essential oils (optional) or essential oils, of choice (optional)

Directions:

1.You will need a one gallon container.
2.First add the baking soda to the plastic container.
3.Next add 1 cup of water to start with.
4.Slowly add the vinegar to the bottle as the vinegar and baking soda will start to fizz.
5.Then add the rest of the water swirling around & cover venting the top a few times.
6.Last add the essential oil.
7.Add 1 cup in your final rinse cycle for each load but give the bottle a good shake to stir up the essential oil if using.

***IT SAYS USE 1 CUP BUT IF USING A DOWNY BALL YOU ONLY USE 1/4 CUP***

I hope you try to make your own laundry detergent, as you will save money and it does work.

For more Buddy's Friday post, please pop over to Margaret's Rambling's.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Calling all British Expats, and all those Marks and Spencer fans.....

I had this comment left today, and decided to publish it in a separate post as I thought it would interest you:

Hello Gill

I recently came across your blog and have enjoyed your updates. I had no idea there were so many things you could do with pineapple! :-)

However, my specific reason for contacting you is on behalf of Marks & Spencer, as I thought you might be interested in a survey we are running exclusively for British expats. The M&S ‘
Home and Abroad’ survey is looking to identify those things that British expats miss most when they’re away from home.

The survey only takes 5 minutes and in return for completing it, respondents have the opportunity to win a £250 gift card which can be used through the new M&S International Delivery service.

Is this something you would be interested in posting about on your blog?

Your feedback as an expat would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks and regards

Kev Fitzsimons(on behalf of Marks & Spencer)


One thing Kevin forgot to mention that there is FREE International Shipping until March 29th, when you spend over 80 Pounds.........I need this like a hole in the head at the moment, but I should check it out...LOL

I have been a fan of Marks and Spencer's since I was a young child. I got a lovely blouse in there last year. Love those prawn cocktail wafer/crisp thingy's that they sell, they are to die for. You pop them on your tongue and they melt. Bought some great kitchen utensils there last year and my favourite purchase was this:




Isn't it just the cutest suitcase??? I ended up buying it as I bought four Easter Eggs for the kids, Cadbury's of course and they cost me four pounds. Had no where to put them, so ended up paying 29 pounds for this suitcase..............dh was NOT impressed......it's his own fault, as he should have made sure we took two suitcases each, but he didn't. I wish I had got the whole set but I only got the one.

We used to have M & S in Canada but they closed the stores a few years ago. I used to buy all our underwear from them, and the kids had a lot of clothes from M & S, as did me and dh. Their quality was so much better than the regular stores.

Anyhow I have entered the survey, as I would be like a kid in a candy store if I won the 250 Pound gift card. It would also be neat if someone I knew through the blogging world won it, if I don't!!

What's your favourite thing from M & S?

Skywatch Friday......

The first two photos were taken at 7.15am this morning, quite funny to see half a moon out, I thought.



These two photos were taken this morning, notice the Canada Geese standing on top of the roof tops, and yes they were honking again (I mentioned the honking Geese in this post the other day) If you click on the photos you will see more detail.




For more Skywatch Friday photos, please click on the link

Jobs to do on the outside of the house and garden...........

So on Tuesday I made a list of what there is to do inside of the house. Today I'll list the jobs to do outside.

The downspouts are all to re-attach, lengthen and generally sort out, and while we're doing that we'll check out the guttering.

There are wooden molding/gingerbreading on the under side of the roof, that is to remove, strip and re-paint and re-hang.

The garage is to rewire, insulate and I'm not sure what else.

The shed is ready to fall down, so that's a project.

The deck is to jack up and new stronger posts to put in. Plus we want to extend the deck.

The ground outside the basement patio doors needs re-grading.

Pointing to be done on one outside wall.

The gardens are to be re-done.........that is going to take years!!!

Driveway will need to be either re-gravelled or asphalt put on it.

New mail box to be made, the one there is dropping to bits.

Fencing to be put up on the front of the property, as part of it has fallen down.

I am quite sure there is a lot of other jobs to be done, but those are the main ones.

Even with all this work we are still looking forward to moving into the house.

I have got some boxes packed, and will be popping down to my local grocery store for 8am on Friday to pick up a pile more boxes. I talked with the manager the other day and he said he would ask the guys to keep some for me. They were going to keep some toilet roll and kitchen towel boxes aside for me, and the produce guy said he would keep some more apple boxes to one side for me, so at least I am all set for boxes.

I still have to venture down to the basement and sort that out......hopefully on the weekend.

Daily Savings Club - as per my calculations you should have $14.25 in your pot today, hope you are keeping up with it?

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

50 + 1 Recipes for Pineapple's

Both dh and I love pineapples and eat them year round, mainly just plain, so I was looking forward to seeing what other ways we could eat them.

1. Pineapple Salsa

2. Scalloped Pineapple

3. Fried Pineapple Rings

4. Pineapple Refrigerator Dessert

5. Dutch Oven Cobbler

6. Pineapple Cream Dessert

7. Acorn Squash with Rice, Pineapple and Molasses

8. Appetizer Tree - this is such a neat idea

9. Banana Pineapple Streusel Muffins

10. Cinnamon Pineapple Pork

11. Cranberry Pineapple Bars

12. Deep-Fried Candy Bars with Pineapple

13. Kitchen Sink Cake

14. Low Calorie Sparkling Mandarin Orange-Pineapple Mold

15. Orange Fluff Salad

16. Pineapple Rum Flambe

17. Thai Pineapple Rice - this sounds really good

18. Spicy Pineapple Pork Chili - crockpot recipe

19. Tangy Pineapple Sauce - crockpot recipe

20. Vanilla Fruit Salad

21. Tropical Pineapple Pie

22. Sweet Cherry Pineapple Salad

23. Pineapple Mimosa

24. Glazed Pineapple Sundaes

25. Pineapple Chicken

26. Grilled Pineapple

27. Nectar-Sweet Pineapple

28. Carrot Pineapple Loaf

29. Pineapple Tofu with Cashews

30. Maple Glazed Pineapple - super easy

31. Apricot Pineapple Meatballs

32. Chicken Pineapple Pizza - sounds good

33. Southwestern Pulled Pork with Pineapple

34. Fresh Pineapple with Vanilla Wine Syrup

35. Thai Shrimp Cakes with Pineapple Relish

36. Two-Bite Mummies with Pineapple Dipping Sauce

37. Golden Pineapple in Vanilla Orange Syrup

38. Moist Pineapple Walnut Bread

39. Pineapple Muffins

40. Pineapple and Curry Rice

41. Pineapple Napoleon

42. Pineapple Boat Salad

43. Grilled Pineapple Kebabs with Dulce de Leche Cream

44. Peach and Pineapple Jam

45. Jasmine Tea Ice Milk In Vanilla Roasted Pineapple Basket

46. Pineapple Chicken Chow Mein

47. Pineapple Chicken Burger

48. Five Spice Pineapple Pork

49. Tropical Pineapple Crisp

50. Pineapple Fudge

51. Caribbean chicken with pineapple-lime salsa

Nutritional info

There is quite a few different recipes there, that I would like to try. Hope you find a couple you would like to try.

Next week it's plums.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Watery Wednesday......

First for this week is a photo of the pond with two geese there. These "darling" geese are a couple, and as Spring is here they are mating and HONKING........and boy do they honk a lot. I was on the phone the other day and one of them was on the our rooftop and the other on my neighbours rooftop, and they were busy honking back and forth for ages. They were that loud, it was hard hearing the conversation on the other end of the phone!!!



I took this second one, as I was thrilled to see the water flowing. There is still ice on the main ponds, but it is nice to see open water, finally.



For more Watery Wednesday photos, please click on the link.

This post is as much for my benefit, as yours, jobs to do inside of the new house.......

I have decided to write a list of what needs done room by room in the new house. I will warn you this will be a long post....LOL

The first thing we need to do get an Energy Audit on the house so that we can claim the Provincial Government rebates.

I'll start at the top and work down.

Attic:

All the plaster and lathe to be removed, all to insulate, skylight to put in on west side of roof. Roof vents to put all over roof. New window in the dormer window. Drywall throughout. Electrics to do right throughout the attic, electric base board heater to install. Stairs to move, if possible, if not possible, new stairs to purchase and install. Floorboards to lift, and save to reuse in other parts of house. Plywood floor to put down, carpet, storage cupboards to make and install, and decorate.

Master bedroom:

That was two bedrooms that they knocked into one. Put a dividing wall back and have one large bedroom and one smaller bedroom. Install closets, so electric work to be done, new sockets etc, and decorate.

Second bedroom:

This room is fine other than the closet which just needs to be sorted out, and probably decorate.

Bathroom:

Door to attic, space to be converted to a linen closet. Shower to be pulled out and a new walk-in shower installed. Extraction fan to be installed above shower. New vanity unit and sink. Decorate.

Stairs and landing:

Door on landing to be taken out and a smaller window put in there. Stonework outside to block up hole left. This may not sound like a big job, but it is a major job. Decorate stairs and landing.

Living Room:

There are two partially finished closets in here, as they are classing it as a third bedroom, so they are to take out. There is a pocket door to the bathroom behind the living room. That is to take out and drywall the hole. Decorate.

Kitchen/Dining Room:

New kitchen cabinets, worktops, appliances and decorate...which translates to MAJOR MONEY!!!

Mud room:

This is an add on to the house, and has no heating in it, and they have removed the door from the mud room to the kitchen.

Put baseboard heater in the room. Put doors on the closets, decorate. Put door back on between the kitchen and the mud room.

Main Floor Bathroom:

Remove the shower, put in claw foot tub. Decorate and re-jig the whole room.

Family Room:

All the wood paneling is to remove, not a wood panelling type of person. Dh is going to build a stud wall in front of the original wall and add more insulation. Drywall the whole room and decorate. New patio door to install. Wood burning stove insert to install into the existing fireplace. Move the stair case to give a better flow in the room. Electrics to sort out. New hardwood floor to lay.

Basement under family room:

Re-jig the two piece washroom down there. Make a "laundry room closet" to hold the washer and dryer. Drywall and insulate the whole room. New drop ceiling, electrics and put new flooring down, not sure what yet. Build new storage closets.

Basement in main house:

New windows to install.

Now this is the basic list, I am sure I have left out some work and when we move in, we will no doubt "discover" a lot more things to do. All I do know for certain, we will be on with this for many years to come, as money will factor a lot into this.

I will post a list of what is to do on the outside of the house on Thursday....

A couple of updates:

Our mailing address and our physical address are different, finally got that figured out. Its all to do with the actual township we live in, doesn't have a post office, so we are being pawned off to the nearest town with a post office.

Also don't faint, but I have actually packed a box...YEAH!!!

Monday, March 16, 2009

Considering I am now middle aged and on the slippery slope to dying, I had a good birthday!!!

First of all it was a gorgeous day, the sun was shining, I was raking the front grass and doing some tidying up jobs outside with just my t-shirt on........well my jogging pants, underwear and crocs as well.......don't want to give you the wrong idea.

I got some lovely gifts. Dh got me these earrings:



Along with a gift certificate for Chapters bookstore and a couple of scratch and win cards, I never won anything. I am also ordering a subscription to Mother Earth News and Prima, as part of my birthday gift, just didn't want to order until closer to we move, so I don't have to change the address.

From my dad and step-mum I got money, always useful!!!

From my mam and step-father I got this Spode Cup and Saucer, isn't it pretty?


They also sent me three packages of seeds to spread in my new garden, which will also be pretty and very useful.

My friend got me two magazines which is great, as I am a magazine fanatic. Plus she got me a canister of red tea bags and a canister of green tea bags.

My other friend and neighbour bought me a super Dartington Glass Vase and a bunch of flowers to put into it.



Notice how it is a 2 piece vase:



Last but not least, the kids got me the following, a flower saucer to put my used tea bags on:



A fridge magnet, love the saying on it:


A recipe binder, with an extra pack of recipe cards:


And last but not least my new wellies, aren't they cute:


So all in all I was a very lucky person. Plus me, dh, dd and her boyfriend went out for supper.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Today's Flower

This week I am featuring my pot of African Violets. They are such pretty colours and I love the pot they are in. Should also mention they are fake!!!! They are a good quality fake and unless you get close up to them you wouldn't be able to tell. One things for sure I know I won't kill them!!





For more of Today's Flower Photo's please click on the link.

Something to think about and a question.........

So today is my 45th birthday, and a thought crossed my mind. I wonder if I am half way through my life? So I decided to see what the average age was when women died in Canada and it is 80 years of age. So that means I am on the downward slippery slope to dying. Gosh isn't this a cheerful post....LOL

The life expectancy of women in the USA is 79 years of age.

The life expectancy of women in Britain is 81 years of age

This link is really interesting, and makes me very thankful to live where we live, as in a number of countries, there is a good chance I would be dead by now.

Another thought crossed my mind is that, am I MIDDLE-AGED now? So I decided to look up the definition of "middle-aged" to see what was what, and here is what it says: "being roughly between 45 and 65 years old" as per this source. So I guess I am now middle-aged as well as being over half way through my life!!!!

Now before you think, oh she must be ever so depressed about turning 45, I'm not. I had a harder time turning 25. That birthday totally depressed me, as I felt so old....... Turning 30 and 40 didn't phase me.

Did you have a birthday that made you depressed, happy or over emotional?

Tomorrow, I will post all about my birthday and what gifts I got, which should be more cheerful!!

Saturday, March 14, 2009

So who said moving to the country was easy???

I seem to be taking one step forward and then two steps backwards with this move.

As per this post you have even seen the house, I have been in the house three times, but according to places I call to sort things out, the house doesn't exist???

The first time this happened I didn't think too much about it, as it was Bell Canada I was dealing with, and for anyone who deals with Bell Canada, you know what a bunch of dimwits they can be.

We had called our insurance company for a quote for the house insurance and they couldn't find this house???? We called another insurance company and they found the house no problem..okay....

So we go to the bank on Thursday and because it is a six digit number on the address, that proved to be a major problem, as the "field" on the computer only held 5 numbers?? Plus when she did get an address in the system, it didn't exist. I will say it had us both worried, as we wondered if they would give us a mortgage. We have been approved, so no problems there.

So what the problem is, we think, is that we must be on the border of two townships. So we are not sure which township we live in. Also as per the house survey we live on a concession, as per the house assessment we live on a rural route, and we have to have a 6 digit number as that is the way the fire trucks find your house. There is a true road name, it's just trying to figure out what our actual mailing address is as it can't be:

111111 Upnorth Road
Concession 7
RR# 7
Anytown, Ontario
P0P 0P0


We are going to pop into the post office closest to the house today to see if they can enlighten us. Just trying to remember the 6 digits is hard enough, never mind trying to remember the Concession number and the Rural Route #, plus a new postal code. No doubt it will sort itself out, and if worse comes to worse we will contact the people who live there and ask them what mailing address they use.

Friday, March 13, 2009

Buddy Friday - Cheap and Cheerful Meals.........

I put "Cheap and Cheerful Meals," into google and came up with some really interesting sites.

This is a Vegetarian site with a lot of yummy looking meals. I am not big on eating a lot of meat, so we try and have a vegetarian meal at least once a week.

Here is a yummy recipe for Cheap and Cheerful Chicken Pot Pie - uses chicken thighs which are a lot cheaper than chicken breast.

Students know how to stretch their money for meals and here is a neat site called Student Recipes I am sure there are ideas on there that we can all use.

Cheap and Cheerful Easy Dishes is a variety of dishes, the soup sounds good.

One thing that is super cheap is Ramen Noodles, here are some great sites/recipes.

http://www.mattfischer.com/ramen/

http://www.ramenlicious.com/

http://www.nissinfoods.com/

I have made this before and it is yummy: http://www.thestar.com/article/573514

I hope there may be a recipe or two you would like to make.

For more Buddy Friday posts, pop over to Margaret's Ramblings.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Skywatch Friday......

Wednesday was a super windy very overcast day. I think these two photos, show how stormy the skies were.


For more Skywatch Friday photos, please click on this link.

Oopsey is ready to leave Canada, and a couple of other things....

Well Oopsey is ready to leave, so we did a draw and Janeen's name was drawn. So she is heading to the States.


I have enjoyed having her visit, and I think even dd secretly enjoyed seeing her!!!! Thanks to everyone who entered the draw. She should arrive at Janeen's by the end of next week

To see how and why Oopsey came to visit me, visit Caroline's blog.

Daily Savings Club, are you still keeping up with it? You should have $9 in your pot today.

Finally, I seem to be in a blogging slump at the moment, don't have anything interesting to say or share with you. Just need a kick up the you know what to get motivated. So feel free to give me that kick!!!

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

50 + 1 Recipes for Rhubarb

I love Rhubarb, especially Strawberry and Rhubarb pie.......it's really yummy.

1. Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

2. Rhubarb Strawberry Macaroon Cobbler

3. Rustic Rhubarb Pie

4. Rhubarb Muffins or Loaves

5. Pineapple Rhubarb Jam

6. Strawberry Rhubarb Sour Cream Streusel Coffee Cake

7. Rhubarb Crumble Pie

8. Apple Rhubarb Crisp

9. Rhubarb Conserve

10. Rhubarb Nut Bread

11. Strawberry Rhubarb Compote Dessert

12. Rhubarb Pie with Orange Juice

13. Rhubarb Crisp with Cherry Pie Filling and Walnuts

14. Rhubarb Banana Pie

15. Fresh Rhubarb Cake with Vanilla Sauce

16. Strawberry Rhubarb Dump Cake

17. Gingered Rhubarb Jam

18. Honey Rhubarb Betty

19. Rhubarb Strawberry Dessert

20. Rhubarb Ice Cream

21. Spiced Strawberries and Rhubarb

22. Rhubarb Strawberry Meringue

23. Rhubarb Strawberry Jam with Honey

24. Rhubarb Chutney

25. Rhubarb Relish

26. Black Currant and Rhubarb Jam

27. Rhubarb Twist Jam

28. Rhubarb Amaretto Mousse Parfaits

29. Rhubarb and Apricot Bread Pudding

30. Rhubarb and Ginger Tarte Tatin

31. Rhubarb and White Chocolate Cream Flan

32. Rhubarb Apple Chutney Roast Pork with Mustard Maple Glaze

33. Rhubarb Apple Loaf with Brown Sugar-Cinnamon Topping

34. Rhubarb Coffee Cake with Crunchy Maple Oatmeal Topping

35. Rhubarb Ginger Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust

36. Rhubarb Ginger Fool

37. Rhubarb Granola Muffins

38. Rhubarb Marble Cheesecake

39. Rhubarb Sauce, Smoothies and Shakes

40. Rhubarb Tiramisu

41. Rum and Rhubarb Compote

42. Spiced Rhubarb Clafouti

43. Warm Rhubarb Ginger Sauce

44. Rhubarb Sour Cream Cake

45. Rhubarb Ripple Pavlova

46. Rhubarb Custard Pie

47. Rhubarb Punch

48. Rhubarb Ginger Ice Cream

49. Rhubarb Wine

50. Rhubarb Surprise

51. Mango Rhubarb Pie

I have a rhubarb plant, which I am going to dig up and take with us when we move. I plan on adding more plants as I love rhubarb. I see rhubarb and ginger seems a common combination, and it's something I haven't tried before. I like #35, and will maybe try that recipe when Rhubarb comes into season.

Nutritional Info.

Next week it's Pineapple.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Watery Wednesday...........

We went for a walk on Sunday and walked past this pond. As you can see its mainly frozen, but there were areas of water there, and there were some Canada Geese walking on the ice. Spring must be coming, as we are seeing more and more geese in the area. For more detail, click on the photos to enlarge them.





For more Watery Wednesday photo's, please click on this link

Lists, lists and more lists.........

Not sure if its because I am getting older (will be the big 4 5 this weekend) or I am just more forgetful, but I am having to write everything down of what there is to do with this moving.

Got myself a note book and have instructed dh to write everything down that he wants me to do, otherwise I will forget.

I have got the movers booked, which is good. We used them for when we moved. Actually they moved us from a storage unit, to the house, and they did it while I was at work, so dh supervised it all. It's worth the $1150 that it's going to cost us, to get someone else to do the heavy work. Everyone has to work, and neither me nor dh can handle the heavy lifting.

Got the cable, Internet and home phone sorted for this house and the new house, boy was that an ordeal. I knew this was going to be the most problematic, so decided it had to be the first job I tackled. The cancellation of the services at our house, was pretty easy, setting up the new services at the new house was a nightmare. We had to do it with another company as the company we are with doesn't provide services in that area. Lets just say the company we are having to go with begins with the letter "B" and is well known!!

We go to the first store and basically their system was down and without doing a thorough credit check on us, she couldn't help us...AT ALL??? We tried to ask a couple of questions and she kept repeating that their system was down etc. So we walked out of there shaking our heads.

So we then go to a different location, and two hours later we finally get everything sorted out. The first lady tried to help us, but totally wasted our time, it took the manager and another lady to get everything set up. Now you are probably asking, why use this company, we have no choice, which sucks!!! We were both drained by the time everything was sorted out, and I still have to sort my cell phone out, but again I was just too pooped to deal with that.

Still haven't got any packing done yet!!! That will be done eventually.

Monday, March 9, 2009

Sunday was a perfect day.......

because I got to spend the day at home. There was one down side, and that was we had to call out the heating guy as the furnace was playing up. We had problems with it on Tuesday, but thought it had sorted itself out, but it hadn't. It turned out to be a dirty sensor, which he cleaned and we got charged $115 for the pleasure of him coming out.

I spent the morning doing some cooking. I took a pound of ground beef out of the freezer and make some shepherd's pies. Enough to feed us four meals. I added plenty of veggies to make the meat stretch and we had one on Sunday night, with pickled beets, that my dad had put up. It was yummy.

As the house was cold due to no heat, I decided to bake a lemon poppy seed cake. That too was yummy, and it warmed the house up a little bit. Dh put what info we have into the computer for our taxes. So hopefully we'll get the rest of info this week, so we can file and get our refunds.

The afternoon was spent relaxing and we even went for a short walk to blow out the cobwebs. I took some photos for Watery Wednesday while we were walking. I will admit though, no packing was done...oh no!!!! We did get some paperwork sorted out which is a start I suppose!!

Also are you still keeping up with the Daily Savings Club? You should have $6.75 in your pot as of today.

Hotel Stay - Dinner

As part of our hotel stay the kids had booked us dinner, breakfast and afternoon tea. Here is what we ate at dinner.  Everything was spot on...