This week were made two successful turkey runs ending up with 4 turkeys at 52¢ per pound. We have done turkey runs ever since the kids were little. Now they are grown with kids of their own. The turkey runs have become a family tradition. At one time we made enough trips to bring back 8 turkeys. What we would do is call around to find out who wanted turkeys then we would do the turkey runs. This year we only made two runs so two turkeys for us and one each for a couple of the kids. The turkey runs are really an annual event my husband and I look forward to. This year we had a lot of fun and we even stopped to enjoy eating at our favourite pub. We reminisced over turkey runs of the past and laughed a lot while enjoying each other's company.
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
Today it is Black Friday in the US. Black Friday is named for the day the stores are said to be in the black as opposed to being in the red (not making money). It falls on the Friday after the American Thanksgiving which was yesterday. Many stores put on huge sales to lure shopper's away from home to part with their hard earned dollars. How shoppers buy on Black Friday is said to be a good indicator as to how shoppers are going to spend over the holiday season.
Some shoppers line up to shop the sales as early as 4 AM. Say what? There is nothing and I mean nothing I would want to buy that would have me standing in a line waiting to shop at 4 AM! Normally we go out Friday nights for dinner and quite often we end up in the US. Tonight we will not be crossing the border as many Canadians are. I've decided it is going to be a buy nothing day :)
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
This year we ended up making two turkey runs for a total of 4 turkeys. The total weight came to 78.97 lb at a total cost of $41.67 which works out to 52.7¢ per lb. Not bad! I'll recoup the cost of the turkeys just in the value of the stock from 2 of the carcasses. To get the turkeys at that price we had to spend an additional $20 per turkey or a total of $80. We were very frugal spending that extra $80, ending up with mainly groceries we would have been buying anyway, a pair of jeans for my husband, a shirt for me and a gift. There were a couple of excellent meat deals like a 5 lb pork loin for $7 that really helped stretch that $80. I'll divide that with half being cured for pea meal bacon and the other half as a roast in the slow cooker. Over all this year's turkey runs were quite frugal!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
Once again we were blessed with a beautiful, abnormally warm week. By now the furnace would be in full swing but so far we've been able to keep toasting just using the gas fireplace mainly on low. The furnace is on but set to 66ºF so only clicks on if the inside temperature dips below that. I am really pleased to be enjoying this wonderful bless as it is helping to keep both the home heating and electricity costs down. It's also helped us get a few things done around the house.
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
Having been owned by a feline friend and having grandkittens it was almost impossible not to chuckle at the cat antics in this video. Cats are just downright hilarious at times, wouldn't you agree? I hope you enjoy the video and have a little chuckle. Enjoy!
[from my email files, enjoy the chuckle :)]
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ONLY A MAN WOULD ATTEMPT THIS
Just try reading this without laughing till you cry!!!
Pocket Tazer Stun Gun, a great gift for the wife.
A guy who purchased his lovely wife a pocket Tazer for their anniversary submitted this:
Last weekend I saw something at Larry's Pistol & Pawn Shop that sparked my interest. The occasion was our 15th anniversary and I was looking for a little something extra for my wife Julie. What I came across was a 100,000-volt, pocket/purse-sized Tazer.
The effects of the Tazer were supposed to be short lived, with no long term adverse affect on your assailant, allowing her adequate time to retreat to safety...??
WAY TOO COOL! Long story short, I bought the device and brought it home... I loaded two AAA batteries in the darn thing and pushed the button. Nothing! I was disappointed. I learned, however, that if I pushed the button and pressed it against a metal surface at the same time, I'd get the blue arc of electricity darting back and forth between the prongs.
AWESOME!!! Unfortunately, I have yet to explain to Julie what that burn spot is on the face of her microwave.
Okay, so I was home alone with this new toy, thinking to myself that it couldn't be all that bad with only two AAA batteries, right?
There I sat in my recliner, my cat Gracie looking on intently (trusting little soul) while I was reading the directions and thinking that I really needed to try this thing out on a flesh & blood moving target.
I must admit I thought about zapping Gracie (for a fraction of a second) and then thought better of it. She is such a sweet cat. But, if I was going to give this thing to my wife to protect herself against a mugger, I did want some assurance that it would work as advertised.
Am I wrong?
So, there I sat in a pair of shorts and a tank top with my reading glasses perched delicately on the bridge of my nose, directions in one hand, and Tazer in another.
The directions said that:
a one-second burst would shock and disorient your assailant;
a two-second burst was supposed to cause muscle spasms and a major loss of bodily control; and
a three-second burst would purportedly make your assailant flop on the ground like a fish out of water.
Any burst longer than three seconds would be wasting the batteries.
All the while I'm looking at this little device measuring about 5" long, less than 3/4 inch in circumference (loaded with two itsy, bitsy AAA batteries); pretty cute really, and thinking to myself, 'no possible way!'
What happened next is almost beyond description, but I'll do my best.
I'm sitting there alone, Gracie looking on with her head cocked to one side so as to say, 'Don't do it stupid,' reasoning that a one second burst from such a tiny lil ole thing couldn't hurt all that bad.. I decided to give myself a one second burst just for heck of it.
I touched the prongs to my naked thigh, pushed the button, and...
HOLY MOTHER OF GOD. WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION. WHAT THE... !!!
I'm pretty sure Hulk Hogan ran in through the side door, picked me up in the recliner, then body slammed us both on the carpet, over and over and over again. I vaguely recall waking up on my side in the fetal position, with tears in my eyes, body soaking wet, both nipples on fire, testicles nowhere to be found, with my left arm tucked under my body in the oddest position, and tingling in my legs! The cat was making meowing sounds I had never heard before, clinging to a picture frame hanging above the fireplace, obviously in an attempt to avoid getting slammed by my body flopping all over the living room.
Note:
If you ever feel compelled to 'mug' yourself with a Tazer,
one note of caution:
There is NO such thing as a one second burst when you zap yourself! You will not let go of that thing until it is dislodged from your hand by a violent thrashing about on the floor!
A three second burst would be considered conservative!
A minute or so later (I can't be sure, as time was a relative thing at that point), I collected my wits (what little I had left), sat up and surveyed the landscape.
My bent reading glasses were on the mantel of the fireplace.
The recliner was upside down and about 8 feet or so from where it originally was.
My triceps, right thigh and both nipples were still twitching.
My face felt like it had been shot up with Novocain, and my bottom lip weighed 88 lbs.
I had no control over the drooling.
Apparently I had crapped in my shorts, but was too numb to know for sure, and my sense of smell was gone.
I saw a faint smoke cloud above my head, which I believe came from my hair.
I'm still looking for my testicles and I'm offering a significant reward for their safe return!
PS: My wife can't stop laughing about my experience, loved the gift and now regularly threatens me with it!
If you think education is difficult, try being stupid!!!!
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Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
Here it is mid-November and the past week we have enjoyed some of the loveliest weather possible for this time of year. It was such a blessing in so many ways. We were able to get the sunporch staircase painted which will make the house show a bit better. We painted the lower staircase railings as well. I thought for sure the weather would turn before we could get the painting finished. Hallowe'en weekend we ended up putting the furnace on set to 68ºF (day) and 66ºF (night) but once I got home I set the furnace to hold at 66ºF and using the gas fireplace instead. The gas fireplace is doing a great job at keeping the main living area above 66ºF so the furnace hasn't kicked on which means we are saving on the electricity needed to run the furnace fan. So that has been a real blessing.
We did have two disappointments this past week. First we found out the house we were interested in buying had an offer in pending a home inspection. I doubt the house will fail that so dashes those hopes. The second disappointment came in a couple that were very interested in buying our home to the point they set up an appointment to go through again before putting in an offer. Those hopes were dashed when they cancelled the appointment saying they decided they didn't want to move after all. Well these things happen for a reason so as my husband says it wasn't meant to be. These types of minor setbacks are blessing that teach patience and appreciation for what you already have as well as reinforce faith and hope that all works out in the end.
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
[Reposted from November 11, 2008 because this video is that good! Please take a few moments to view the video and ponder the price of freedom our brave service men and women have paid.]
I come from a strong military family with ancestors that were instrumental in shaping the history of Canada. I grew up surrounded by relatives who had fought for this country. Some of them made the ultimate sacrifice and while they are no longer here they live forever in our memories. If this video does not bring tears to your eyes, nothing will. On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month we honour our fallen with 2 minutes silence from shore to shore of our great nation, Canada. Please join our nation in showing our respect and how thankful we are for enjoying the freedom they fought so hard for.
I mentioned yesterday that I'm a techo geek. I love messing around with any kind of technology. Technology affects every facet of our daily lives indirectly and directly whether we like it or not. Even the Amish who shun technology are affected. I'm sure there are many examples of technology at work that I could use but you know one that I like is I do a lot of home canning much like the Amish. I use a pressure canner just like the Amish to process my home canned foods safely. The thing is the pressure canner would not even exist if it were not for technology. When most people think of technology they really mean a lot of the newer technological advances mainly electronic that have cropped up over the last few years. These technological advances are absolutely amazing and yet many of them are coming with a high price tag. Consider:
We had our house listed with a real estate agent from mid-March to the end of August. Without so much as an offer we did not renew the contract. Towards the end of the previous week we listed the house with an new, upstart real estate firm. Let me tell you already we are impressed with our new real estate agent. Talk about a go getter! This is really the blessing we need right now!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
Despite voter disapproval BC Premier Gordon Campbell and ON Premier Dalton McGuinty put through the much hated Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) that came into effect on July 1, 2010. In fairness Gordon Campbell is not quite the snake in the grass that Dalton McGuinty is so it did come as a bit of a surprise when Campbell called a special press conference shortly after lunchtime here, central time. Campbell cited voter hatred of the HST as the reason for his drop in popularity and hence his resignation. As it stands, Campbell is showing himself to be the better man, admitting defeat over a very poorly planned and implemented tax at a time with the taxpayers have no more to give. One can only hope that Dalton McGuinty's ears are ringing and he will follow suit!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
My gosh! I spent the weekend at the home of oldest and youngest grandchildren. What a hoot! I left for their place around lunchtime on Saturday and arrived back home Sunday about 9 pm. I was going to stay longer but our real estate agent called to see if they could do the first dog and pony show Monday morning. That meant I had to get home Sunday night in order to do the spit and shine for the showing. I didn't get into bed until 2:30 in the morning then was back up at 8:30 am to do the last minute touches. At the same time I knew dumb and dumber were coming out to fix our satellite dish for the internet. As I puttered I hoped they would show up after the dog and pony show.
The dog and pony show went well with 7 agents and our agent attending. The one comment was the stairs to the sunporch needed painting so I was on the phone to one of our kids who picked up the paint and came out to prep the stairs. The intention was to do the first coat of paint today but I started it after dumb and dumber and $290.25 left. Apparently when the high winds moved the satellite dish they also damage part of it. The nice thing is I managed to avoid paying HST on the part, so take that McGuinty! By the time I finished the first coat of paint on the stairs (inner supports, landing and runners) it was time for dinner and Corrie. Then it was time for laundry, a bit of blogging and the quick realization I think I'm coming down with a cold. And so the week started...
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
My beyond cruddy satellite service went out last week which put me into dial-up mode while waiting for dumb and dumber to get here to fix it. In the meantime I tried to continue on with blogging as best I could but between dial-up and going to visit the grandkids I am very much behind! It doesn't help that the house is now officially listed again which has added to my to do list. Somewhere along the line I've lost almost a week and where did the time go? Honestly!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
