Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Which one is more important..........

Hockey Play-Offs or Coronation Street?

Coronation Street of course.  So why when the hockey play-offs start they stop playing Coronation Street???

Totally fed up here.  Now I only saw part of the ticker tape last night announcing that it won't be back on until May 13th.............did I miss anything else on that announcement?  In this day and age when everyone and their auntie can record things, you would hope they would have put it on at a different time?  I am hoping someone is going to say yes I can do that.......

Bloody Hockey Play-Offs!!!!

Monday, April 29, 2013

Another quilt block:

This month's quilt block is a Pinwheel Variation:
We have decided I will make dd quilt with this block as she likes it, as I do and it's not a difficult block to make.  Just need to remember to iron your seams the right way and match your seams up.  I just need to order some cream material as the background material from Fabric Spot.

I have made a start on the rabbit cross stitch (the photo turned sorry) :

One of the things you have to remember is that the back has to be as neat as the front.  I am mediocre to say the least at keeping my back as neat as my front!!!
Still feel as though someone has just sucked the energy right out of me.  I did manage to clean the bbq, so that was a good job, jobbed.  I also got two big loads of laundry washed and dried outside.  Plus got the bathrooms cleaned and our bed changed.  Also took off one of dh's blankets and turned off the heating!!  Not sure how long the last two things will last as I know dh feels the cold.

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Our Little Princess

I haven't seen our little Princess in a couple of weeks now, as I don't want to go near when I am sick.  Her mummy sent me this photo and I can see such a big change in her.  I love the outfit she has on (Joe Fresh), and her eyes are just gorgeous; but then I am biased!!
She is 3 1/2 months old now and sleeps through the night, plus has two naps during the day for a total of around 14 hours sleep per day.  She is a good baby and can hold her head now.  Fingers crossed I get better soon, so I can see her.  She'll be getting her ears pierced anytime.  They also have a custom in their religion to shave the daughters hair; thankfully our little Princess' parents won't be doing that.  If she were a boy they would shave the boy's head on his first birthday.  (On a Hindu child's first birthday, his or her head is shaved while being held by a special fire. Removal of the hair cleanses the child of any evil in past lives, symbolizing a renewal of the soul.)

Friday took it out of me, so on Saturday I ended up doing not a whole lot which was a shame as the weather actually got nicer in the afternoon.  I did spray the BBQ, so that is this morning's job sorting that out, so I can start using it.  As from the 1st of May the electricity times change so when it's more expensive I am generally cooking supper.  Need to polish up on my BBQ skills though, as generally it's either burnt, very burnt or just plain old charcoal when I BBQ!!

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Creativ Festival Spring 2013

Well we survived the Creativ Festival 2013.  Dd came with me and as both of us are sick we only managed a couple of hours.  Mind you if I had stayed much longer I would have had to take out a second mortgage!!!  So lots of things that I would have loved, but we managed to only spend a little money.  I am now going to be busy though as dd bought the following material from Fabric Spot  It's a Canadian company from Markham Ontario and their fabric is gorgeous.  Dd's living room, is green, orange and brown, so she got a fat quarter bundle from the Piper collection.  The orange backing is from Architextures collection.
I got two bundles of fat quarters from the Organic Willow collection in pink and pale green.  The pale grey backing is also from the Architextures collection.  I am going to make two baby quilts to have on hand.


I then bought these six fat quarters from Log Cabin Yardage  They too are a Canadian Company and are located in Whitevale, which is north of Pickering.  I am going to make dd a table runner for her kitchen table with these.

I also bought these three cross stitch patterns from Red Gate Stitchery.  This lady is based in the States and was a delight to talk too.  She has some really neat products that you cross stitch.  All super simple to do, even a beginner will find these patterns easy and all super cute.  You can see better images on her website.


Friday, April 26, 2013

A funny, grocery shopping and the Home of the Week

I found this old post from 2009 and it is as funny now as it was then, so if you have a minute please click on the link for a little read.  On a sad note, Jo whose blog I "borrowed" it from has since then passed away, but I am quite sure she'd want to remind you about this post.

By the way as I was laughing at it, I had another coughing fit (SIGH), I must stop watching and reading funny things until I am better!!

I had to go into town on Thursday so called in at Sobey's to pick up a couple of things.
Those few items cost $37.18 and you know what, I used $14.98 in coupons, so it should have been $52.16.  I had buy on get one free coupons on the shaving gel that expire on April 30th.  The liquid soap was a good deal as it was on sale for $3.50 and I had $2 off coupons.  I also had $2 off coupons for the fish as well.  The granola bars and the ice cream were on sale plus they had bonus Sobey's points on them as well.  I am still under budget for the month of April.  I need to go through my coupons to see what else is expiring the end of the month and see if there are any more that need using up.  


This week's "Home of the Week," is actually lovely inside.  The price of $1.5 million is as always crazy, but what is worse is where it's situated.  They obviously tore down the original house/bungalow and put up this one.  It sticks out like a sore thumb; how on earth do they get planning permission to do something like this?  Also there are no drapes or blinds on the window?  Where we live in the middle of the country side it makes no odds, but they are in the middle of the city with lots and lots of neighbours?

When dd lived in the condo she had a guy in the building opposite that used to do his cooking in the nude, so people do notice what's going on in neighbours homes!!!

The "Condo of the Week," is interesting and pricey at $2.5 million, but its right down town.  Saying that though I wouldn't take it as I can't stand what they did to the ROM and having to look at that all the time would be annoying!!!  At least this time the bathroom has frosted windows!!!!  Very high end fixtures and fittings but still don't want it.  I actually like the art work in that place, it fits in so well doesn't it?

I have come to the conclusion though, I am an old fashioned type of gal, not a modern one!!

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Light at the end of the tunnel?

I am sick of being sick, I mean how much longer do I need to feel like death warmed over?  I am still very congested, but it's the way I have no energy that's flipping well annoying.  I must be feeling a bit better though, as I have started to "do" my Swagbucks again.  Still haven't gone through my inbox for my email though, as my poor brain is still fuzzy.

One thing though is I have caught up on my reading and am ploughing through my May books.  I have been in the house again all week, but am planning on going out today to town to the bank and then to Sobey's.  They have got Jane's frozen fish on sale for $8.99 and I have $2 coupons so will buy a couple of packages.  They have a salmon burger that I would like to try.

I am hoping to clean the BBQ this weekend ready for Spring, whenever Spring decides to arrive.  Mind you the snow we got on Wednesday night makes me think Winter is still around!!  We have had the fire on the past couple of days and of course we still have the heating on.

I hope to be back on form soon, as the outside is calling me to do some jobs!!!

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Warning - Laughing can be bad for your health............

Well at least mine!!!

I started to watch An Idiot Abroad last night, but had to turn it off after ten minutes as I was exhausted.  I was laughing that hard at them, which in turn made me cough, which in turn meant I was short of breath, which in turn tired me out..............

When I went up to bed, dh asked me if I was alright, I said I was exhausted from laughing!!!

For those of you who have not heard of this series, here's the overview kindly provided by Wikipedia:

Originally titled Karl Pilkington's Seven Wonders Of The World,[4] An Idiot Abroad documents Karl Pilkington's journeys to foreign countries under the guise of visiting the New Seven Wonders of the World. Though the New Seven Wonders of the World include the Colosseum in Rome, this is not one of Pilkington's destinations because Gervais and Merchant thought that he might feel too comfortable in Rome; instead he visits the Great Pyramids in Egypt (which is the last of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World to remain intact). Despite the stated focus of visiting the wonders, most of each episode focuses on Pilkington’s reactions to cultural differences and idiosyncrasies in the countries he visits. To make things more interesting, Gervais and Merchant unexpectedly call Pilkington during each trip, to assign him tasks often not related to why he believed he was visiting the country in the first place. These include training as a luchador, travelling the desert on a camel, and dancing with a samba school in a Carnival parade. It was confirmed by the show's producers that Pilkington has no prior warning about these situations. The camera man coaxes him along.[5] Gervais commented: "This is a [more real] documentary than most others you'll ever see on television. We don't plan it, he doesn't know what's going to happen."[5]

A book titled The Travel Diaries Of Karl Pilkington was published shortly after the series. It was authored by Pilkington and gives a deeper insight into his feelings on what he was experiencing.
The second series shows Pilkington performing activities from a general (but not his) "bucket list". Pilkington agreed to do a second series on the condition that he was to choose what he would do and that he got to use proper toilets. To keep the series interesting, Gervais and Merchant went behind Pilkington's back and arranged surprises for him to make him hate it even more than the first. He ends up visiting more places than he did in the first series, suffering through a number of detours. When asked why he had returned for a second series after being continuously adamant that he was not going to, Pilkington replied "I'm in a programme called Idiot Abroad; job offers aren't wizzin' in."

Despite saying that there would not be a third series, Gervais produced a Christmas special mini-series which aired in the UK in late 2012. The original concept, pitched by Gervais, was to show Pilkington and Warwick Davis travelling around England on a bike together. However, the final outcome featured the pair travelling to China from Venice via Eastern Europe and India, loosely based on the journey of Marco Polo. Gervais said, "We started planning the route for An Idiot Abroad 3: The Short Way Round, this week. It's only a three-part special but we've decided to make it a bit more global as opposed to 'around Kent for a few days', Pilkington is starting to regret it already." An Idiot Abroad 3 did not feature Stephen Merchant who was busy with other projects. The show has now finished as Ricky Gervais and Karl Pilkington are now involved in a new series called Derek.

There is also an official podcast to accompany the programme and book.[6]

The programme was originally broadcast in the United Kingdom on Sky1, but has since started airing in other countries.

If you like British humour and dry wit, you will love this show.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Relapse and a new resident in the paddock..........

Monday was a bad day health wise.  I was not feeling well at all and did little to nothing all day.  I was just so tired and so full of *not  mucus!!!  Which was a shame as it was actually a lovely day.  I didn't even put the fire on.  So fingers crossed today will be a better day and I continue to improve health wise.

On Sunday I saw a new resident in the paddock behind us.  Say hello to UTI, he is a 15 year old boy horse.  He is not looking very handsome in the photo, as Heather had only just brought him home.  His previous owner is moving to Winnipeg.  Give him a few days and he will be looking spic and span and will be calmer.

He is joining the two girls Elle and Zelda who are also both 15 years of age.  They are not that interested in Uti and kept to themselves.  From left to right it is Zelda, who Heather told me is the boss!!  Then Elle and then Uti in the corner.
It's a pleasure to watch them and their dynamics.  There will be no baby horses from them all, as they have all been fixed!!!!  I have to say I don't know "horsey" terms!!!

The farm across the road from us is expecting baby horses, two Belgians and a miniature horse; they are due in May so looking forward to seeing them.....

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Grocery shopping, eating out, look who wandered through the garden

I know I am not the only one saying this but the price of food seems to be rising and rising, doesn't it?  I always disappointed on how little I seem to get for the amount of money I have paid.

I went to Sobey's and got this lot:

That cost me $36.72, and honestly it doesn't look a lot does it?  I even had $6 worth of coupons.  Two $1 ones for the baked beans and a $1 one for the sour cream.  I got $3 off the five chicken breasts when I bought the two packages of Green Valley veggie/grain mixes.  One of the best deals was the 10lbs of PEI potatoes for $2.  I can hear my friend Cheryl who lives on PEI complaining now how much they cost her; believe me it will be a lot more despite the fact they grow them there.

I then went to the other town and called in at No Frills to pick up this little lot:

The one thing that is missing from the photo is a 28 package of bottled water that was on sale for $2.  The milk was on for $3.97 for a four litre bag, so I bought two, plus they had the "good" potato chips/crisps on for $1 a package, so got some as a treat for dh.  I got the loaf of bread half price, other wise no other deals, and spent another $35.41 on that.  

So this week I spent $72.13 and had savings of $7.54.  All I bought was food, there were no cleaning, paper or personal products bought.  I amazes me how people can feed a family of four or more on less than I can feed me and dh.  I must be doing something wrong?

On Saturday we went to Stayner to check out my favourite charity shop silent auction windows and had lunch at a coffee shop called Coffee Culture.  Now the Canadians who are reading this will gasp with horror at  my next comment.  I prefer their coffee over Tim Horton's.   I know I should be thrown into jail for saying that but it's true.  Their muffins are also way better.  Now to be fair they are more expensive than Tim Horton's, but it is worth the money.

They have a lunch special for $7, which includes a medium coffee, a BLT on a toasted Asiago bagel and either, a muffin, cookie or a bowl of soup.  It was so good and so worth the money.

At the moment, I am having trouble breathing and eating at the same time!!!  So I brought home my pistachio muffin to enjoy with dh for later one.  Everything was as good as it looked though.  So if you have a Coffee Culture near you, you should check it out.  They even have a Red Velvet Muffin!!!

The look who wandered past our house on Saturday afternoon:
Not sure what she wanted, and she was by herself.  What surprised me more, was she flew off.  I know that turkeys have wings but I have never seen them fly before.

I posted another book review here.

Friday, April 19, 2013

Still sick, but heading out to town........

though I honestly think if you're sick you should stay at home and keep the germs to yourself, don't you?

However I have a bit of banking to do, that requires me to go to the teller and sort things out face to face.  I would wear a mask if I had one, but I don't so will have to make sure I don't breath on him/her!!!  So I am heading to Alliston for that, then turning around and going to Shelburne for a bunch of other things.


It's funny but I COULD if pressed do everything in one town, but I prefer some services in one town over the other and I think it's worth my time and energy to go to both towns to do certain things, as I know I can get them done simply, if that makes sense?

Seems as though there was a possibility a tornado that touched down up the road last night, there is more about it here in the scheme of things that's nothing to what has been happening to our neighbours in the States.  They have certainly had a run of bad luck this past week.

It's short and sweet today, as I have to attempt to do a bit more today as long as I can breath and move at the same time.  I am like a fish with its mouth open at the moment, as I can't breath through my nose!!!

Also I have posted another book review here.


Thursday, April 18, 2013

One Major Job Done on Wednesday.......

One job that needed done around here was replacing the shingles on the garage roof.  I had got three quotes last year and they all came in at $2,500.  For one reason or another we never followed through with the job last year, but we were determined to do it this year when the weather was a bit better.  The sales guy from AM Roofing called in February to see if we still wanted it done and if we got it done by the end of March we    would save the taxes.  So we booked it for the end of March, but due to weather issues, they finally got it done on Wednesday.

The company covers a wide area of Southern Ontario.  Will say we are very happy with the guys that came to the house.  Very pleasant and did a good clean up outside the garage.

There were two layers of black shingles on the roof. 
We went with Owens Corning Duration Shingles in Brownwood.  It is wind resistant up to 110 MPH.
We were quite surprised at how good the plywood sheathing was and only one small piece needed to be replaced.
We have quite a bit of work to do though on the outside and inside of the garage to replace some rotten wood and the whole garage needs to be painted.
It took the four guys around three hours to replace the roof.

Still got this flipping cold hanging around.  Did get some twigs picked up , but it was a case of work for half an hour and then sit down for an hour.  Also it was supposed to be a nice day, but it was still flipping cold in that wind.  Got my laundry hung outside and dried so that is a bonus.

Sorry to hear about the death of Rita MacNeil:

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Thank you Canada Post........

I was whining on the other week about Canada Post changing our mailing address, which included us having a new postal code.  Called the insurance on Tuesday and we now have to pay an extra $229 a year on our car insurance.  Luckily for everyone I am sick so neither have the energy or the motivation to yell at anyone about this.  It bloody well sucks though.

I have some sort of ear, nose and throat thing going on.  Mainly ears and throat, and I feel as though someone has sucked the energy right out of me.  Which is a shame as Tuesday afternoon turned out to be nice and I wanted to go outside.

Things are starting to change outside and the trees are starting to come alive:
Now to hope I return to the land of the living soon!!!

I have posted another book review here if you are interested.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Grocery Shopping......

I hit three stores on Sunday to do my grocery shopping.  I ended up spending $89.21 and had $23.80 in savings.  My best deal was the photo below.  This was done at Sobeys where the salad, french fries and canned veggies were all buy one get one free.  I had a coupon for the sour cream, which made that 99 cents.  I also had $5 worth of Sobeys points saved up, so after cashing them in that little lot cost me $1.26


I did buy a few none food items, which also included two packs of 24 double roll toilet paper that was on sale at Canadian Tire for $9.99 a package, plus I had a $1.25 coupon when you bought two.  So technically I bought 96 single rolls of toilet paper!!!  Guess we'll be fine for toilet paper for a while.

I have updated my grocery total for the month on the side bar.

I got my May 2013 Easy Cook magazine in the mail on Monday and saw an advert for this:
It's a Spaghetti Measure Book.  Each page has a mouth-sized hole that represents a number of options from 1 - 4, so you can measure out just what you need.  Thought it was fun.  if you search Spaghetti Measure Book, it will come up with where you can find it.  I have a Tupperware container for my spaghetti like this one and it has a lid inside that lets you measure out one of two portions at a time.

Monday, April 15, 2013

Ice Storm

We had a nasty ice storm on Thursday/Friday, which resulted in us having our hydro/electricity out for around 24 hours. This was the view from the dining room window when I got up on Friday:



All the windows to the east of the house were like this covered in ice.

When the ice started to melt on Friday afternoon, that's when the damage began:
It looks as though the poor tree is bleeding:


This in one of the willows by the road, so much too clean up; it's hard to see it though:
This tree has lost it's top:
One of the hardest things for us, is that our well is powered by electricity, so we had only the water that was in the pipes.  Also dh's sleep apnea machine is powered by electricity, so he had a restless night as well.  In the scheme of things ours was a minor inconvenience!

On Thursday night we went to the Drawing for Art function and it was a lovely but long night.  We were all chosen near the end, so none of us got what we really wanted but we all got something.  I was lucky enough to get a painting by the artist George Mocanu.  You can view the painting here.  The one I got was called Mountain Landscape and it's on the third row on the right.  Dd got on by an up and coming artist called Pete Smith, or so the curator of the gallery told her?  This is all I could find about him  

I have published another couple of book reviews here  Managed to get some reading done while the hydro was out!!!

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Survived the ice storm.........

Had no hydro for 24 hours; which sucked!!

Have a bit of damage regarding some of the trees.

Will get back to blogging tomorrow.

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Nothing much to talk about....

I am a weary one at the moment, not helped by the weather.  So I think I'll show you this weeks Home of the week, instead of tomorrow.

I actually like this week's "Home of the Week," the price is crazy though at $1.65 million and for that you get a semi?  I often wonder where they come up with these prices.  I guess it's all to do with location?  Regardless I would like a lot more property and land for that price.  Cute coach house though?

The "
Condo of the Week," is a nice big Condo with a big price tag to go with it at $1.75 million.  It's to white and sterile for me though, I would be terrified of making a mess or spilling something.

We are going to the Drawing For Art Show tonight, so it will be a late night for us; possibly made even later by the bad weather we are expecting.  We are expecting ice pellets and freezing rain.  I just wish the weather would actually make up its mind what it wants to do at the moment!!!!

Sorry it's short and sweet today, I could just do with going back to bed and sleeping the morning away!!!

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Our little Princess and other things...........

Went down to see Our little Princess and the family on Tuesday.  She is growing so much and she is getting so much strength in here neck, so her head is not as wobbly.

She sleeps through the night and averages around 14 hours of sleep in twenty four hours.  She will be three months old on Friday.  Time is certainly flying by.  She does not like being on her tummy and as she has a little reflux prefers to be sitting upright.  She is also a little talker and here she is talking to her dolly.

The reason I went down to Brampton, is that I was meeting dh in Mississauga to see about ordering the counter tops for the kitchen.  This is what we bought:

We should have them in a couple of weeks.  I love granite but can't afford the prices, so laminate is an affordable option.  Regardless removing the tiles worktop is a good thing, as it is so unhygienic , with all those grout lines.

I pulled out the turkey carcass from Easter and boiled it up for the broth and I got all this meat from it:


Made a turkey, rice and corn chowder with it.  It's amazing how much more meat you can pick off the bones when you boil it up.

I have just posted another book review here  It's a Harlequin book and it was very, very good!

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

The loss of a great woman and home shows

Margaret Thatcher died on Monday at the age of 87.  For most of you on this side of the pond it's nothing; however for those of us whom either live or lived in Great Britain her passing will evoke some sort of feeling.  For some it will be a case of good riddance, for others it will be great sadness at hearing of her passing.

She was a politician who you either loved or hated, I don't think there was an in between with her?  Regardless she changed the way things were done in Great Britain whether for the good or the bad.  I am guessing an awful lot of British blogs will be talking about this, all voicing difference of opinions.

I normally don't dip my toes into the political or religious arena, but couldn't let this pass by without saying something.  She is likely to have a full ceremonial funeral like the Queen Mother had, and if you want to read more about her life and times, please click on this link.  From the news report her last few years of life were probably lonely.  She had a good inning's as they say and I am quite sure she is looking down on us smiling and saying I did a good job.


God Bless Margaret Thatcher; rest in peace.

I never win anything but I did win a pair of tickets for the Green Living Show this coming weekend.  Really looking forward to it.  We went to the Orangeville Home and Garden Show this past weekend.  That was actually not a bad show got lots of info.  It is also Alliston Home and Garden show this coming weekend.  We had hoped to pop into that as well if we have time.  I enjoy these local shows as they are familiar with your areas needs and nuances.  

Then on the weekend of the 20th of April is Creemore's Home and Garden Show want to go to that as well.  If you haven't guessed I love going to Home Shows!!!

Monday, April 8, 2013

Home Renovations........

I don't think it matters whether you own an old or a new house there is always something that needs doing to it.  Whether it be a simple painting a room or renovating the whole house, there is always work to be done.

I happen to be married to a man who loves doing DIY.  The only book he will read is a DIY book.  His main hobby in life is DIY.  He's one of these guys who likes to be on the go all the time.  Whereas I am quite happy to sit all day with a good book and read.

The one good thing about my dh is that he is good at DIY and is very picky, and believes if you're going to do something, it needs to be done right.  Mind you as he is now in his mid-50's he is slowing down, so jobs are not getting done as fast as he used to be able to do them.  But when he has done a job (the attic) it is really well done.  We are still fiddling on with the basement, as he is now putting a tiled back splash on the counter top down there.  I picked out white "Subway" tile, as they are plain and simple, and cheap!!!  Plus they are neutral and at the end of the day its a laundry room in the basement.

When that job is done we are moving onto something else. HOWEVER, and there is always a however, with multiple jobs wanting done and very limited funds it's a case of trying to figure out what to do next. 

The jobs we have done so far have been huge jobs that have taken a lot of money, but have had a huge impact on the house.  Renovating the attic and making it into a livable space is a bonus.  Insulating it all so that that heat from downstairs doesn't rise and go directly out of the roof is another good thing.......LOL Photos of the attic are here and here and here.

The same with the new basement, there was a distinct lack of insulation down there and it made it a totally unusable space.  It's now a great space with a lot of uses.  As with any old home there were no closets, we have remedied that situation and both the bedrooms and the bathroom on the 1st floor have good sized closets fitted out with closet organizers. Our master bedroom closet photos here 

We have put money aside to get new shingles installed on the garage roof, as it is raining in; that job should be done by the end of this month, weather permitting.  We cannot afford a new kitchen, so we have decided to maybe replace the counter tops with a good quality laminate, as any stone is so way above our budget it's crazy.  Plus change the sink and taps, as the taps are leaking, and the sink is a white porcelain and is nasty!!

I talked about painting the cupboards, and did speak to someone at a home show this weekend about it and that is maybe a job I will do.  She did warn me, to tackle a few cupboards at a time, otherwise you will be pig sick of it before it's all over with.  I think that will be a cheap solution with huge impact, or at least I am hoping it will be.

The garage needs other work on it doing, which we can do ourselves.  The family room needs a makeover, as does the living room.  The mud room needs ripping apart and starting again, as it is an addition and has practically ZERO insulation in it.  Both bathrooms need total revamps, and the shed is hanging by a thread...LOL

I guess I just need to take a deep breath and say we need to take our sweet time and do what we can do and the rest will have to wait!!!

Are you renovating?

If you are new to my blog it is worthwhile clicking on the links to see the before and afters.

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Grocery shopping and a bit of a whine!!!

I had a good day grocery shopping on Friday and picked up some good deals and stocked up on a few things.  I did also cash in $20 worth of PC points which bumped up my savings.  I got free cereal, orange juice and a  dish scrunge.  So a good start to the month.  Lets hope I can keep it up!!

Now for the whining.........should we have cheese with this?

Firs thing to happen on Friday.  I was in the bank on Friday morning at the ATM machine.  It is in a confined space just outside of the branch inside of the vestibule.  So if anyone is in there with you and having a conversation you cannot help but overhear.  So I am doing my banking, when a guy walks in followed shortly by a second guy, who knows the first guy.

Second guy starts talking and is pretty peed off at his work and he had to leave that day as he was so stressed out and his fellow employees are just winding him up, so his doctor says he has to go on stress leave.  This I gathered in all of a couple of minutes.  What bugged me that every second word out of this guys mouth was F***ing this and F***ing that.  So me with my big mouth turned around and said please watch your language.

He in return said you should mind your own F***ing business!  I turned back and got on with the rest of my banking and he proceeded to tell this other guy, who by the way was older than I was, that he is also F***ing sick of people sticking their noses into other people's business.  I had finished by this point and turned to him and said in this room you can't help but here what people are talking about, and there is no need for that bad language.

I walked out and I noticed he came out shortly afterwards, so he wasn't in there to do any banking as he didn't have time for that.  As dh said I should be careful as in this day and age he could have easily pulled a gun on me.  However good manners tell you, you don't stand there swearing like a trooper if a woman is in the room.  Or at least that's why I think; and why do people think that every other word has to be F***ing?  No manners what so ever.

Second thing to happen on Friday.  I called our newspaper as my "discount" was going to be up and I do this dance with them every three or four months where I "negotiate" another discount.  It's bloody annoying as it reminds me of Bell Canada and their bloody rates, but we do what we have to do to get the best deal.  I only get the newspaper on a Saturday and Sunday, but a few dollars saved here and there all add up.

I get a guy who has an accent.  Coupled with my accent, so begins the nightmare.  Suffice to say I gave up as he couldn't understand me.  I was getting frustrated and asked to speak to someone who could understand me, telling the guy because of MY accent he wasn't understanding what I was trying to say, I was being polite by saying that by the way.

The supervisor is of course busy, so I have to leave a message which they say will be returned (called back) within 2 to 3 business hours.  I am still waiting for that phone call, and the lady has a very strong Oriental accent {SIGH}  I have such trouble understanding Oriental accents, so I don't see that conversation ending well {{SIGH}}

Third thing to happen on Friday.  Not sure if I told you or not but Canada Post is changing our address.  We're not moving, but they are getting rid of the rural route designation, plus the rural postal code.  So we got word on Friday of our new address; which in our case not only changes our postal code, but also our town.  As due to a long winded reason we live in one town but our postal address is another town.

Now on the good side, they were threatening to have us pick up our mail at a community box goodness knows where; that seems to have been put by the wayside, so we are still getting mail delivery to the end of our drive.  Also the post office is paying for a years redirecting of our mail, so that they will deliver things to our old address.

Now on the negative side, I have to bloody well call, email or contact everyone and their auntie to get the new address to them, and it was in our  local paper, that some people's insurance has gone up with the change of postal code.

This is not limited to our area, so if you live in a rural location with an RR # be warned it may be coming to your area soon.

This action is supposed to make delivering and sorting your mail easier.  Also a lot of the older postmen/women are retiring and the newer ones are coming in and have no idea who lives where, because some people's address is:

Mr Smith
RR1
Anytown, Ontario
L0N 1A1

So unless you actually know which house Mr Smith actually lives at, RR#1 can encompass many rural roads, so finding it could be difficult.

So there you are my whines for a Sunday morning!!!

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Creativ Festival anyone?

At the end of April, 26th and 27th, is the Creativ Festival which is held at the International Centre in Mississauga, Ontario.  Both dd and I are going on the Saturday and this year we are going to try and attend a couple of classes.  I sent dd an email to have a look through the free or low cost sessions to see if she fancied doing anything and we both chose a soap making session.  I want to try a Paper Piecing session even though I do know how to do it.  Then we are going to make sure we try some in-booth things as well.

Is anyone going that reads this blog?  If so let me know?  We may be meeting up with another lady who is an expert sewer, other wise it's just dd and I. 

There are a number of very interesting things I have discovered on Pinterest, and once a week I get an email from them highlighting different things.  This week while looking through the email I discovered a "pin" about cardboard walkways like this:

The photo belongs to an article all about cardboard uses in the garden and you can find it here  I personally found it very interesting.  I just wish though that the weather would warm up a bit so we can actually get into the garden!!!  By the way I have the same wellies but mine are black and inside they are all orange.  I got them from Zehrs as they have a Joe Fresh clothing section in there.

Friday, April 5, 2013

It was an extra peg/clothespin day on Thursday...

If I hadn't have put in extra pegs, goodness knows who or what would have been wearing my laundry!!!


By the time I had got it all hung out, it was as stiff as a board as the laundry was frozen despite the sun shining, and I wasn't much better!!!  Mind you I had a couple of supervisors over the fence watching my every move!!

Now for you over achievers out there (and you know who you are!!), here is a fun little project.  Decoupaging your clothespins/pegs!!!
(image from here, no I haven't done it!!)

For full details and to download the templates click on this link.

This week's Home of the Week is a bit different as it is a work and live place.  Not that changes anything as it's way overpriced and ugly!!  $3.2 million no wonder it's not selling. However what do I know???

The Condo of the Week, can't say I'm loving that either?  For nearly $3 million I think there are a lot better properties out there, plus you won't have to pay nearly $2,000 a month in maintenance fees!!

Pretty miserable week with those two!!!  Another month or so and I am guessing the Cottages will be featured as well.

Thursday, April 4, 2013

All about laundry.....

In the May/June issue of Hobby Farm's Home they have a infographic on line drying best practices.  If you click on this link, you can see if more easily and you can download and print it as it is a pdf file.
 
I finally got my first load of laundry line dried last Friday (Good Friday).  Hoping it will warm up and I can hang more laundry out.  Do you line dry you laundry?

The majority of my clothes pegs/pins are wooden like this:

I don't have any like this:
But do have some plastic ones similar to these:

I made my peg bag out of some material I had and a child's coat hanger.  I found a pattern here that uses a tea towel, that is similar.  Though the more hard wearing the material the longer it will last.

I still make my own fabric softener using this recipe (actually generally the third one, and I add drops of lemon essential oil as well).  I don't make my own laundry detergent as I try and buy it super cheap when on sale and with coupons, but have used home made laundry detergent in the past with great success, and there is a recipe here.

I tend to "do" around five to six loads of laundry a week.  Two loads of whites and three to four loads of darks.  There are two of us in the house, and sometimes it can be more sometimes less.  I rarely use the electric dryer.  It's either hung to dry on the clothes horse/airer, or hung outside to dry.  Dh complains about how crispy the towels get.  I just tell him it's a bonus as they exfoliate his skin at the same time and people pay thousands to have that done and he gets it done for free!!

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

What the heck happened?

I input my March grocery numbers into Excel and up popped $413.84 for the amount spent in March???  Savings, only $48.04...........pretty miserable if you ask me!!!

April HAS to better regardless.  Yes I know we had Easter, but in the scheme of things that shouldn't have made too much of a difference but I guess it did?  Ideally I would like to only spend $200 this month, but realistically $300 is a better number for us.  Remember also that my grocery totals include all cleaning and personal products as well as food items. 

For the first three months of the year I have averaged out at $315.36  a month in spendings, and $63.17 a month in coupons and savings.  I need to do better!!

I published another couple book reviews here, if anyone is interested?

I spent a lot of Tuesday morning on the computer catching up on blogs.  I know shocker.  If I didn't pop by your blog and comment on it, please yell at me!!!  I also deleted 310 Spam messages that I had received in my Spam box since March 26th.  I still get a lot of Spam messages coming through on my my comment page as well.  That's why I moderate all my comments.

An older friend in her 80's is deciding to have a cleaning out session in the hopes of having a garage sale when the weather is better.  She has a HUGE collection of Precious Moments ornaments like this one:



Now I don't claim to know anything about them, but said I would try to sell some on Kijiji, as I can do that for free.  Does anyone have tips or hints on selling these?  She doesn't have a computer, or a digital camera, so I thought I'd help out with this.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

James Bond Movies......

On Monday afternoon there were two James Bond movies on BBC Canada.  So in between doing things I watched them.  It has been years since I last saw a James Bond Movie and they were entertaining to say the least.  Mind you as both these movies were from the 70's, I found them a bit corny.  As I was a child during the 70's I am guessing I have grown more cynical with age as well!!!

The first one was "The Man with the Golden Gun," starring Roger Moore and his "Bond girls" were Britt Ekland and Maud Adams.

The second one was "The Spy Who Loved Me," starring Roger Moore and his "Bond girl" was Barbara Bach.

It's a toss up for me as to who is the best James Bond.  I'm not sure if I prefer Sean Connery or Roger Moore?  I am not as keen on the other actors, who is your favourite?

One thing for sure though the signature song for each movie is certainly memorable and these two movies were no exception.

 Lulu  sang  "The Man with the Golden Gun,"



Carly Simon, sang "The Spy Who Loved Me,"


Here is a list of the top ten Jame Bond Movie songs and I do agree with the number one song.

Wings, "Live and Let Die," a classic


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...