Wordless Wednesday - Doodles

Doodles

November 26, 2011

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

Rain, Rain, Go Away...

Rain, rain go away,

Come again another day...

We have experienced torrential downpours with high winds causing driving rain since the wee hours of this morning.  Normally this wouldn't bother me much but it is a new house and this was the first really nasty storm.  I decided to take advantage of the high winds to do a bit of sealing, not that the house needs much.  There is an unattached pipe of some sort in my office closet so I decided to seal it up with aluminum foil tape only to discover that the driving rain was getting in.  So I sealed it good as a temporary measure, popped a couple of the copious cables coming through the walls into the holes and sealed with caulk.  The ominous, eerie whistling coming though the office window immediately stopped.  It appears the semi-opened pipe (we had stuffed a towel up it) was creating enough suction to draw air the window somehow or perhaps through the soffit and attic.  At any rate the noise is gone even though the winds have remained quite strong.  Then I noticed a distinct wind coming down the range hood.  We have to replace the range hood anyway so I did a quick and very temporary fix just to stop the wind from coming in. 

I've been listening to the sump pump being triggered every five to ten minutes.  It's not a loud sound just a different and in some ways a comforting sound.  Unlike some I do like these kind of days for air infiltration detection and troubleshooting.  It's the type of day great for catching up on laundry, doing a bit of baking, and doing a bit of housework.  I was supposed to go for wings with the group tonight but didn't feel like going out in the horrid weather.    I hate getting soaked through then having to stay damp for any period of time.  I did too much of that through my academic career so tend to avoid rainy days when possible.  All in all it was a wonderful day spent being a homebody, loving my new house and just enjoying the day.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

The Faith of a Child

[From my email files, a bit of inspiration to brighten your day!]

-----
A little girl went to her bedroom and pulled a glass jelly jar from its hiding place in the closet. She poured the change out on the floor and counted it carefully. Three times, even.. The total had to be exactly perfect.. No chance here for mistakes. Carefully placing the coins back in the jar and twisting on the cap, she slipped out the back door and made her way 6 blocks to Rexall's Drug Store with the big red Indian Chief sign above the door.

She waited patiently for the pharmacist to give her some attention, but he was too busy at this moment. Tess twisted her feet to make a scuffing noise. Nothing. She cleared her throat with the most disgusting sound she could muster. No good. Finally she took a quarter from her jar and banged it on the glass counter. That did it!

'And what do you want?' the pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of voice.. I'm talking to my brother from Chicago whom I haven't seen in ages,' he said without waiting for a reply to his question.

'Well, I want to talk to you about my brother,' Tess answered back in the same annoyed tone. 'He's really, really sick....and I want to buy a miracle.'

'I beg your pardon?' said the pharmacist.

'His name is Andrew and he has something bad growing inside his head and my Daddy says only a miracle can save him now. So how much does a miracle cost?'

'We don't sell miracles here, little girl. I'm sorry but I can't help you,' the pharmacist said, softening a little.

'Listen, I have the money to pay for it. If it isn't enough, I will get the rest. Just tell me how much it costs.'

The pharmacist's brother was a well dressed man. He stooped down and asked the little girl, 'What kind of a miracle does your brother need?'

'I don't know,' Tess replied with her eyes welling up. I just know he's really sick and Mommy says he needs an operation. But my Daddy can't pay for it, so I want to use my money..'

'How much do you have?' asked the man from Chicago .

'One dollar and eleven cents,' Tess answered barely audible.

'And it's all the money I have, but I can get some more if I need to.'

'Well, what a coincidence,' smiled the man. 'A dollar and eleven cents---the exact price of a miracle for little brothers..'

He took her money in one hand and with he other hand he grasped her mitten and said 'Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your parents. Let's see if I have the miracle you need.'

That well-dressed man was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon, specializing in neuro-surgery. The operation was completed free of charge and it wasn't long until Andrew was home again and doing well.

Mom and Dad were happily talking about the chain of events that had led them to this place.

'That surgery,' her Mom whispered. 'was a real miracle. I wonder how much it would have cost?'

Tess smiled. She knew exactly how much a miracle cost....one dollar and eleven cents...plus the faith of a little child.

-----

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

Blog Your Blessing Sunday - My Mom

This is the time of year, nearing Christmas day that I get very sentimental.  My Mom passed on to a better place on Christmas Day 1989.  She was 59 when I came to live with her.  She was not my biological mom but she was my Mom in every sense.  My Mom was awesome with her amazing stories and sense of humour.  She gave and demanded respect but it was always earned.  She taught me the value of education and oh my good gosh I would never have dreamt of going home with less than an A on my report card!  That just simply would not have been tolerated.

My Mom lived a very hard life.  As a child of farmers she had daily chores and she quit school before she finished grade 3.  She helped her parents on the farm and worked as a cleaning lady occasionally in town.  When she married the love of her life they settled down into a small house on the water in town, the very same one I grew up in.  Sadly she never had any children of her own but she had an abundance of love for children so worked as an emergency intake worker for the local Children's Aid Society.  Some of this was to get over the pain of losing her husband when I was an infant but I really think she would have done it anyway.  They had adopted two children before he died and she tried to adopt me but my natural grandparents put a stop to that idea.  She likely babysat every kid in our small town at one time or the other.  Everyone knew her!

Christmas was a festive time for us.  She would get that bowl of oranges and the special nut bowl out.  Aunt C and her family lived in New Brunswick so she would wait by the phone for a call Christmas day.  Uncle L and his family usually just called as well but I can remember a couple of times when they visited over Christmas.  Over the Christmas holidays she would put on her finest apron to help out at the legion.

I am so very blessed to have had a Mom like her.  I so wish my kids could have got to know what a wonderful person she was but sadly Alzheimer's robbed us of that.  I also wish the two she adopted had appreciated her as a mother.  It was so sad seeing her wait for even a tidbit of affection from either of them.  I just miss her so much!  I am the person I am today because of her.  Today I'm sending hugs and kisses to heaven to someone I love so much...

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

A Bad Year

Every once in a while there is a bad year where nothing goes right. That year was 1989 for us. I returned to university as a mature student, while raising young children and a rather long daily commute. On December 15 of that year my husband who was a classed engineer and his crew hit and killed a guy. It was a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. On December 18 that year his mother passed away. It had been a long struggle but finally she was at peace. I think she held on just long enough not to pass away on one of our kid's birthdays. On Christmas day, my Mom passed away to a well deserved journey into peace. Later that week my sister-in-law's husband's grandfather died which wouldn't have hit home except I've known the family my entire life, went to school with his grandkids and his wife was my Mom's egg lady. Every week like clockwork she delivered three dozen eggs. It was a bad year!

The pool had been pissy, and we dealt with an algae bloom from out of this world. We were trying to adjust to life with Mommy as a student and I was just trying to adjust period. I was constantly tired while trying to cope living on four hours of sleep a night. Looking back I don't know how I did it but somehow I did get through that first year of university. I was understandably numb after spending the end of the year in funeral homes. Our kids were blissfully too young to remember much especially being in the funeral homes. My husband knew it was not his fault over the death of that guy who selfishly took his life at the expense of the railway crew but he never did return to the rail full time and a few years later he permanently retired from the rail. It's a pity because he loved his job there.

It was a bad year, 1989. It started bad then steadily got worse ending with an explosion of deaths. And yet in the end, we are stronger as a couple because of it. We are stronger as a family because of it. Even a bad year has a silver lining although it is sometimes hard to see at the time.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

The Magical Blue Lights

My Mom had a way of making Christmas magical.  It wasn't about the gifts, it was about the bonding and memories formed.  I loved hearing her talk about Christmas oranges and hitching up the buggy to go into town to visit family and friends.  I loved watching her smile as she filled the nut bowl. 

When she was young they heated with coal.  Her job was to stoke the fire every morning.  One day she cut her thumb on the cast iron stove and it got badly infected resulting in an abscess.  To save her life, the doctor removed part of her first metacarpal and drained the abscess.  She was a very, very sick gal for quite some time resulting in her missing a year of school.  When she went back to school they put her back with what she called the baby class so she quit.  My Mom never did get more than a third grade education but honestly she was one of the smartest women I have ever known.  She instilled the value of an education and always striving to succeed. 

My Mom insisted on blue Christmas lights.  I think it was in memory of her husband, somewhat playing tribute to I'll Have a Blue Christmas Without You.  I'm not sure and even at a young age despite the wonderful stories she shared, there was something about the blue lights she would not share.  A neighbour came over every year to string the blue lights around the outside of the house, all the way around.  These were the old fashioned paint bulbs that had to be eons old, left from the last time her husband hung the bulbs.  The wires were old, cloth covered and fraying in spots yet she still insisted on using them.  There's no doubt they were a fire hazard but she still hung them every year until I married and she moved into an apartment building.  She kept those strings of blue lights though as we found out after she passed on. 

I fell asleep every Christmas Eve seeing the glow of those blue bulbs.  We lived on the water when I was growing up.  The basement had a dirt floor and that's where my Mom kept root vegetables, apples and home canned foods.  My job was to bring any need food from the basement to the kitchen and oh how I hated that job.  I can't tell you how many times mice ran over my hands and feet!  One day I turned on the basement light and it was one of my Mom's blue bulbs that came on.  Nothing had been said it just appeared.  A few days later a night light with a blue bulb appeared in my bedroom.  I had been laying awake all night listening to mice in the attic beside my bedroom.  Again nothing was said but the magic of those two precious blue bulb sure helped though the rest of the year I got to see the house lit up in the magical blue lights of Christmas. 

To this day, I have a couple of blue night lights in our home.  They are energy efficient LED night lights but they still remind me of the love of a mother and the magical blue lights.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

Christmas Nuts

My Mom was 59 years old when I came to live in her home.  She had weathered two world wars and the Great Depression.  Her parents were farmers who immigrated from England for a better life and she was actually born on the ship between England and Canada.  My Mom told the most amazing stories!  I would sit spell-bound listening to her great adventures.

It was always tradition in our home to have bowls of oranges and nuts in the shell at Christmas time.  I told the story of why the Christmas orange was so important to my Mom last year.  You see she grew up without a lot of the commercialism that surrounds Christmas.  Oranges were extremely expensive so for a poor farming family with many mouths to feed, an orange in the Christmas stocking was a sacrifice her parents made to give their kids a special treat at Christmas.  It would be the only orange they would enjoy all year so just imagine how treasured that treat was! 

Somewhere along the line my Mom added Christmas nuts to our traditions.  It was the year after her husband died but I would have been too small to remember.  We had a fancy nut bowl.  The nut cracker and two pics stood in special holes in the centre then the nuts over flowed around them.  The bowl was very much treasured, a gift from her Mom shortly before she passed on.  Oh how I wish I had that nut bowl now or even just a picture of it.  My Mom was so very proud of it!  Her face would light up as she filled the bowl with nuts.  I never did figure out how she could hum a tune while grinning ear to ear walking the nut bowl from the kitchen into it's place of honour in the livingroom.

Off to buy Christmas nuts... 

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

Typical November Day

It's a typical cold, dreary, dull and grey November day here in beautiful Ontario, Canada.  This is the type of day I don't like because of it's effect on my mood.  The problem with November is there are more of these types of days than there are sunny ones.  Our last house enhanced the effect of the grey days because it was a dark house with very little natural light, small windows and the main living area mostly below grade.  In many ways, despite being a gorgeous house on beautiful waterfront property, it was very much like a dungeon. 

Our new house is also a bi-level but it differs from our old house in that there is an abundance of natural light reducing the need for artificial lighting during the day, most days.  The only rooms without natural lighting are both bathrooms and the utility room.  We are installing a solar tube in the upper bathroom to bring in natural lighting but the other two rooms don't get enough use to worry about finding a solution for natural lighting. 

While the constant greyness of November slowly drags by, I'm in countdown mode for our winter vacation in the sunny south.  In the meantime, I'm busying myself with anything I can to keep my mind off the grey.  There's still a lot of household organizing to do, paint colours to pick out and painting to do so that should keep me rather busy enough to not notice the grey so much.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

Allergic Reaction Troubleshooting

We had a very busy weekend filled with a bit of shopping, bake and craft sale, entertaining for a large group which translates into me doing a lot of extra cooking and basically just enjoying the weekend.  I woke up with that feels-like-a-cold is coming on ick feeling.  My throat was scratchy, I was feverish and my ears itched horribly all day Saturday.  I didn't feel much better on Sunday, just considerably more tired from the night before.  Mid-afternoon I had a lovely asthma flare-up, the first one in a few years.  I forgot how much fun those can be <sarcasm>.  Today has just been a blah, asthma threatening, ears itching, scratchy throat, one eye constantly leaking, itching/burning mucosal membrans, feeling to cruddy to swear, deer in the headlight perma look - in short a horrid mess of a day.  However, this is not a cold.  It is an allergic reaction and like all allergic reactions with each exposure they get worse to the point of becoming life-threatening.  The problem with any allergic reaction is troubleshooting for the cause.  The huge problem we are up against is we bought a home with all hard flooring meaning allergens have no place to hide and be slowly released.  Instead they immediately become airborn causing faster, stronger and more severe allergic reactions.

Thursday night I ran a load of laundry using the new Era HE laundry detergent my husband bought because they were out of All Free and Clear and I used what I thought was Fleecy fabric softener as the store was out of Purex.  You know I should know better!  Laundry detergent and fabric softener are two things we seldom experiment with because sure shooting one or the other will trigger an allergic reaction or asthma flare-up.  In fact, according to my allergist the worst triggers is the Tide/Downey combination and he said if you can still smell the product on your clothes, not to use it.  Today I started reacting rather strongly in the laundry room and realized the fabric softener wasn't Fleecy, it was Snuggle!  The only thing I can think happened is in our haste to get the shopping out of the way we accidently grabbed Snuggle.  I've always reacted horribly to Snuggle including an itchy rash and asthma.  One of our kids breaks out in a very nasty rash using Snuggle so we are usually very careful but I could have sworn I grabbed Fleecy.  Now I have to go back and rewash everything that I washed using Snuggle or anything that has the smell of Snuggle on it so now I have extra laundry to do :(

Compounding the problem is I know I'm reacting to the remaining pet dander in the house.  We are lucky that there is no carpeting and we have been rather ruthless at vacuuming to get as much of the pet dander as we can.  I'm vacuuming daily not only the floors but anywhere that pet dander can hide.  We don't have pets and won't have them in our home still it will take a good six months to rid our home of pet dander from the previous owners.  We have arranged to get our HVAC ductwork cleaned after our winter vacation and we have special filters on the furnace and vents that should help filter out the dander until the ductwork is cleaned.  Good gosh, can you tell I'm having a lot of fun with this one?

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

Blog Your Blessings Sunday - An Incredible Journey

We were teenagers when we became newlyweds with the odds stacked against us but we had faith that with enough love everything would fall into place.  Our love for each other has never waivered, growing stronger every day.  We've been blessed with amazing children who have gone onto higher education and then start their own families, blessing us with the most adorable grandchildren you have ever seen.  We have been blessed in establishing a business that supports our lifestyle nicely while affording the opportunity for us to enjoy the freedom from working for others creating the flexibility we want to be able to take the time off to enjoy our family and friends as we see fit.  I have been particularly blessed to have enjoyed the opportunity for higher education, having earned three pot-graduate degrees and one diploma in honours standing while having the extreme priveledge of meeting some of the world's top notch scientists.  We have absolutely wonderful family and friends that never let us down, always there through the good and bad times, never waivering in their support.  We have never gone hungry, always had a roof over our heads as well as the skills and knowledge to provide for ourselves. 


Yes, life has dealt us some rather nasty blows, likely more than many will ever have to deal with but at the same time not as bad as some have to deal with either.  Though it all we have the blessing of each other, knowing we can depend on each other and we have the blessing of our family and friends.  That makes us the richest people on earth!


Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

Liquids Create A Comedy of Errors

We have had a bit of a comedy of errors resulting from spills and Mother Nature over the past couple of days.  My husband arrived home from hunt camp on Saturday after a week away.  The weather had been cooler and a bit damper there than at home so a hot bath with epsom salts was in order to sooth his aching body. I was happily chatting away with him when I realized my feet were wet.  I was standing in a puddle of water that had escaped the bathtub!  I peeled off my socks, cleaned up the mess while reminding myself how much I had missed him being gone.  The next day, I was at the computer doing a bit of blogging when my drink was accidently tipped over my keyboard and desk.  As luck would have it the desk was of course piled high so the mess was a bit more than it should have been.  I cleaned that mess up but apparently my keyboard did not appreciate it's bath.  Last night I briefly looked for the wireless keyboard but gave up telling myself the wired keyboard would be just fine once it dried out.  In the middle of the night, I reached for my water bottle.  It fell over, knocking the cap just enough to send water over the bedroom floor.  I cleaned that mess up and crawled back into bed after refilling my water bottle. 

This morning the keyboard made a feeble attempt to do something but managed to only put out stings of 888888.  I unplugged it then tinkered online using mouse only so essential didn't accomplish much.  A couple of hours later I tried the keyboard again.  A few more keys worked but nowhere enough to do any blogging so I finally found my wireless keyboard but could not find one single charged AA battery!  I found four dead rechargeble batteries and put them in the charger hoping they would hold a charge but they are getting old.  So I decided to walk to the hardware store for batteries.  The sky looked a bit threatening so I took the small folding umbrella.  In hindsight I should have driven.  It started spitting a little after the first block into my walk but by the time I reached the hardware store it was up to a nice rain escalating to a hard down pour on my way home.  I was soaked through!  The good news is aside of getting a bit of exercise along with a free show and more laundry to do, the wireless keyboard is working.  The other keyboard is still in pieces waiting to fully dry out.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

Blog Your Blessings Sunday - Hubby is on the Home Side

My husband has been away for a week at hunt camp meaning I had a whole week to myself in our new home.  We hadn't had a lot of time together in our new home before he left so there was a bit of apprehension but the week went well on both ends.  I was so very happy to see him yesterday and him to see me!  I made a special meal then after a hot bath for his aching muscles, we went to bed at 8:30 PM.  He was totally exhausted!  I let him sleep this morning and in total he slept a little over 15 hours.  It was a quiet day spent bonding, sipping coffee and spending time with a good friend.  I am so very happy to have him safe and sound on the home side!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

And A Soldier Cries, Oh Canada...

[Note: This is a repost from my personal blog, My Journey. It was originally posted on November 11, 2008.  I modify the note each year but have kept the original video intact.  This will be the forth year that I've used this wonderful video tribute to the fine men and women that serve our country.  Not only do they keep us safe they act as amazing Canadian ambassadors helping to maintain peace home and abroad as well as serving in a humanitarian capacity.  Please take a moment to watch the video and ponder the price so many have paid and continue to pay to make Canada the great nation that it is.]

Today I will attend the Remembrance Day ceremony in my hometown.  Yes I have to drive there and it will more than likely be unpleasant weather but I will be there!  I may even stop by the Legion afterwards to share a drink with a couple of family members who served.  I'll  gaze (actually photograph) some of the portraits of those who served in the Legion and Ladies Auxilary, my Mom and uncles for certain.  It doesn't matter how yukky the weather is, I will sit by the river and ponder those who paid the price then wander over to the cemetery to pay my respects.  Every single freedom that I enjoy as a Canadian is a result of the ultimate price paid by those who have served and continue to serve our country.  Let us never forget that!

On the 11^th hour of the 11^th 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.

Remembrance Day Tribute

courtesy of
Global TV Edmonton

Garden Gnome
©2008-2010

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

Aggressively Dealing with a Skuzzball Telemarketer

The phone rang today with an important call from 1-403-255-8807 telling me they could lower my credit card interest.  Now first off, this is a huge scam so I'm writing this post as a warning to others.  Do not give them any information!  Report them to the CRTC and to Phonebusters.  What they do is charge your credit card a substantial fee then phone (although there have been reports of this being false) your credit card company requesting a lower interest rate.  When the credit card company says no, they report back to you after enough time has lapsed so as to not be able to reverse the charge on your credit card that they cannot get your rate lowered.  They have your money and you have just been scammed big time to the tune if reports are correct of $600 to $800! 


Here's how the conversation went:

representative: We have great news!  We can lower your current credit card interest rate to 6%
me:  How did you get this phone number? (It's a new phone number as we just moved.)

representative: My supervisor gave it to me.
me: Well your supervisor should not have given you our phone number.  Please remove it.

representative: No, no, no!
me: By law under the CRTC you are required to remove our phone number from your call list.

representative: No, no, no!  We are giving you a great deal like a sale.  (By now I am rolling my eyes!)
me: I don't need a deal.

representative: Yes you do because our records show you have a good credit history and pay your bills on time.
me: How did you get my credit history?  I did not give authorization for you to get any credit history!

representative: My supervisor gave it to me.
me:  Well your supervisor does not have the authorization to get my credit history.

representative:  Yes, yes, yes.  Credit history is public for anyone to get. (Bullsh*t!)
me: What is my name? (like I expected him to come back with one)

representative: Umm... (I cut him off.)
me: Here's a clue.  F-off and don't call here again! (I'm sure they will try calling again)

I seldom curse but this guy ticked me off and the knowledge that they will lure someone into their trap today made me madder!  I reported them to the CRTC and the appropriate fraud investigation units.  If they ever call this house again I will report them again but since I now have them on call block, I doubt they will get through without changing where they are calling from.  There is a good possibility of that because fraudulent scumbags do that just so they can rip others off there hard earned dollars.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

Wordless Wednesday - It's All in the Detail

It's All in the Detail

August 29, 2011

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

Settling In

We started moving into our new home on September 1 with the official closing date of September 15 but left on September 19 to stay at our vacation home for two weeks.  Prior to the closing date we were living between two houses so essentially the settling in period for our new house has been since returning from our fall vaction until now.  The house has come along nicely.  There has been  a bit of work but nothing we didn't expect.  Aside of one room, all of the other rooms and it is a rather large house (5 bedroom) are organized so there's really little hint of us just moving in.  We had the house power washed yesterday and I did my first canning session (mandarin oranges, pineapple, hot pepper slices) today. 

We have a bit of a routine going with getting up at 8 AM (I'm usually up earlier.), making coffee and my husband's lunch, and having breakfast.  He heads to the office.  I putter in the morning cleaning, tidying, organizing and doing online tasks.  If the weather is nice I walk to the grocery store if I need anything but that really is just an excuse to go for a walk.  We eat dinner around 6 PM at which time I have been powering down the computer as part of the bonding more with my husband and spending less time in front of the computer.  We eat out twice a week on specific days but not always.  I'm back to doing a load of laundry sometimes two on Saturdays.  It really didn't take long to establish a rountine here.  All in all we are settling into our new home just fine!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

Dr. Conrad Murray Convicted of Involuntary Manslaughter in the Michael Jackson Murder Trial

My apologies for the late posting but I have been following the final outcome of the Dr. Conrad Murray trial who has just been convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson.  Oh my gosh has the sh*t ever hit the proverbial fan!  I'm not a huge Michael Jackson fan but I have watched him since he was a member of the Jackson Family and there are some of his songs I absolutely love.  Make no never mind, Michael Jackson was a very, very talented entertainer but he was a man of many demons.  He was extremely eccentric to the point of creating a make-believe world and collect exotic animals.  No one would normally choose to use anesthesia even if they have a sleeping disorder and there are several accounts of Michael Jackson using this method on a fairly regular basis.  He even had a special sleep champer designed to be put to sleep then awakened.  That is just not normal!  He was doing this well before Dr. Murray came on the scene.  The bottom line is Dr. Conrad Murray is guilty of giving Michael Jackson propofol but my gut feeling is he was coherced by the money and glitter of Michael Jackson.  Something tells me that Michael Jackson was not a person used to hearing the word no.  If he had, perhaps he would still be alive today.  At any rate when all the wash is done, I thing Dr. Conrad Murray will be seen to be very much a victim of circumstances.  Oh and there are already rumours circulating that a thrid party was involved.  Hopefully, law enforcement will follow up on that aspect as well.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

Blog Your Blessings Sunday - An Abundance of Food

The newest issue of What's Cooking arrived a couple of days ago so I wanted to test a few of the recipes.  The problem is we live in a small urban community with three grocery stores ranging from the basics to a limited selection of gourmet foods.  We also have two specialty food stores and a butcher shop so for the most part I have a decent selection of ingredients.  We are about 40 minutes to two cities, close to fisheries/orchards/farm stands/mushroom farms/wineries and to the USA.  The mail service is good as is delivery services so can order online with perishables delivered next day service.   I have absolutely no reason to complain about the selection of food or ingredients available to me.   Yet there are times I get frustrated a the lack of an ingredient in town.  For example it is hit or miss whether any of the grocery stores have ground chicken, ground turkey or ground pork but I simply grind my own so it isn't a problem for me but it is a problem for those who don't grind their own.  Yesterday I wanted Sriracha sauce and Kraft Extra Virgin Olive OilTuscan Italian Dressing.  I finally found the Sriracha sauce but no luck on the Tuscan dressing. 

In all honesty though we are very blessed to live in a region of Canada where there is an abundant food supply year round.  The selection and quality of locally grown foods is quite amazing!  The conditions are ideal for growing your own as well.  Yet in this midst of this food cornucopia there are many who go hungry.  There is no doubt the cost of food is rising meaning many can no longer afford even the basics.  We are very, very blessed to be able to afford what food we want so we make it a point to support the local food banks and food drives.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

Daylight Savings Time Ends (2011)

It's that time of year again.  Daylight Savings Time ends early tomorrow morning so don't forget to change your clocks and check the batteries in your smoke detectors before going to bed tonight.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

'Tis Turning Chilly

Last week we woke to frost three mornings but at least is was nice enough for the kids to enjoy trick-or-treating.  It's been getting progressively cooler here so we have had the furnace on but the sun has been warming the house nice during the day when it's out.  My husband replaced the cover on the pool and the farmer harvested the field behind us.  So far so good as there are no signs of rodents.  They like coming in when the fields are harvested.  I brought in all the geraniums and the hibiscus.  Both seem to like their sunny locations indoors, rewarding me with a lot of blooms.  And all is well in our new home...

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

Why Do People Have to be so Mean?

We had to have a bit of work hired out for our new house because it was just beyond our abilities.  Imagine an eleven year old house with no plumbing access for both tub/shower units.  The young chap came in and somewhere in the process got a phone call from his wife.  Oh my gosh, if she actually heard the way he talked, she would be fuming if not worse.  It was down right nasty involving name calling and other put downs.  I was utterly flabbergasted!  If he can say such nasty things behind her back to someone he barely knows, what does he say to her behind closed doors?

My husband and I will be celebrating 35 years of marital bliss.  There is absolutely nothing I would say about him to anyone else that I would not say to his face and I know he is the same way.  Oh sure, we get ticked off at each other but the bottom line is we have respect for each other.  I'm not sure if that is the secret to a long journey together but respect goes a long, long way.  We are not perfect, we have our differences but we are happily married and intend to remain that way until death do us part.  Bad mouthing each other has no place in our relationship!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

Wordless Wednesday - Red Doors

Red Doors

September 27. 2011

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011