Gill's Special.......

When my mother is using up odds and ends in the pantry and fridge, she always calls it a "Chris's Special."  On Thursday I wanted to use up some odds and ends, so put together a Gill's Special.

This is what I used:

I had bought the hot dogs for 99 cents before Christmas.  Hot dogs are a treat for us as we rarely eat them.  I couldn't live off hot dogs, but one every now and then makes a nice change.  The potatoes were from before Christmas and were sprouting and going soft.  Hubby got some British baked beans as a gift at Christmas.  He thoroughly enjoys beans on toast.  I chopped up the veggies.  Chopped up the hot dogs and popped everything into the slow cooker for the day.

Doesn't it look good?  I did add a cup or so of frozen corn later in the afternoon.

The steam was rising from the slow cooker when taking this photo.

We will get multiple meals and I may even pop some in the freezer for a later date.

Do you do (insert your name here) specials?

Funny how things happen for a reason...

On Friday I baked some cookies for the church as on Saturday they are providing lunch items for auction goers across the road.  This is a way of raising funds for the church. 

On Friday it was also World Day of Prayer and there was a meeting at our church.  Due to one reason and another I didn't have time to attend, so my intent was to drop off my cookies in the basement and leave.  The meeting started at 2pm in the church and I got there around 2:30pm.  I went downstairs into the basement, and I was writing a note to put on my cookies to say what they were and who they were from, when  lady came out of the church coughing up a storm.  She came down the stairs and saw me.  I asked her if she was alright and did she want a drink of water.

I told her to go to the bathroom, as that is the only source of water in the church, as the kitchen isn't heated, there isn't any plumbing in there.  I personally haven't used the bathroom there, so I pointed her in the right direction to the door on the right, which turned out to be a big room.  She headed towards this door, and I noticed all this steam coming out of the door.  We looked through the door, which was another door to the kitchen, and someone had left the kettle on.  It was like a steam room in there, and we got there just before the kettle boiled dry!!!

I got the lady some water, and we both said me being there when I was; that lady having that cough and coming out of the meeting when she did must have happened for a reason........what do you think?

By the way I made Chewy Oatmeal Cookies, the recipe is here

I need you to click on this link as this is an inspiring story, that not many people can say they have done that.....

Did you remember to put your money in your Daily Savings Pot today?

Today's Money Saving Tip:

Make Your Own Coffee: Make your own coffee: Everyone seems to have heard of the latte factor. Even though the author may have overestimated the savings from skipping a latte at Starbucks, don’t underestimate the ding it puts in your pocket in the long run. You don’t have to entirely ban drinking coffee, but skip it as often as possible unless you make it at home.

What to talk about on Tuesday.......

honestly I have drawn a blank, which is strange as I normally have lots to say!!

I did learn something the other day, which may be of interest. When cutting the grass, keep your mouth closed. Why you ask......well it's grasshopper season and if they jump and you have your mouth open they can get into your mouth........how I know this, yep it happened to me....icky, icky, icky!!

Molly is going to drive me to an early grave......as she is a beagle I can't let her off the leash, as she will wander off. So I have her on an extra long lead when she is outside, but she is forever getting tangled up around things. I always thought dogs were intelligent, but not this one!! Then she insists on getting under the deck of the mudroom where the previous owners threw all their construction garbage. So I have to clean that all out, not a job I am looking forward to doing. There are obviously mice under there which is what is attracting her to there.

Glorious day on Monday, no humidity at all and the temperature was perfect. Got a bit of grass cut and even got some cleaning done, including cleaning the family room windows. I have found my motivation lacking for cleaning the house recently, so hopefully if this cooler weather holds, I will be more inclined to clean the house.

Do you do Spring and Fall/Back end cleaning in your house? I don't, I know I should but honestly with all the renovations we're doing, its a total waste of time!!

Odds and Ends.......

Well on Wednesday it rained all day, and you know what it was nice. It made a change not having to go outside in the garden. I was able to get on with a couple of jobs inside of the house. One job I managed to get done was strip some of the ceiling lights and give them a good clean and get rid of all the dead flies.

One of the fixtures I cleaned was the ceiling fan in the kitchen. And what a surprise I got I thought the light shades were brown..........after washing them they are white sand blasted glass!!! Yes, that is how dirty they were. Now dh is going to take it all to bits and take the whole thing down for me to give it a super good clean, but hasn't had time. So I gave it the best clean I could. It's a really nice fan, though the guy has installed it incorrectly and as I told dh, we cannot have the fan on, until dh has installed it properly. Here is a couple of photos of the fan.




Now above the two front window's and the above the front door is the original glass that was probably installed in the house when it was built. I washed the glass today and the glass in the kitchen area was black. I have no idea how anyone could let anything get so dirty? The walls by the way in the kitchen/dining room are not pink, but a dirty white, it was just the way I took the photo.



We seem to have one resident red squirrel in our yard. No idea if he/she lives on their own, or it has a little family in the woods. Anyhow I was watching it go across the lawn, and the starlings were attacking it. No idea why they were doing that, do you have any idea? All the birds were wandering around the yard today, they obviously like the wet weather? I have located a few nests around the property including a robins nest, not too far from the patio doors. I will have to take some photos of it.

I had a couple of "whatever" moments again on Wednesday. We had gas heating at our last house, so I knew I would have a bill for the last reading from the gas company. Anyhow, it hadn't arrived, so I called them to see what's what, and they said it was mailed on May 8th. I obviously hadn't received it, and said so, so the lady said she would mail me a duplicate and by the way, it's due on the 28th of May! So I say, that's all well and good but I don't have the bill so how can I pay it. Anyhow, to cut a long story short, she told me the amount that was due and after that I will have to pay a late charge fee. I told her no way was I paying a late charge fee, and to make a note of that on my account. She said she had done that, we'll see. I felt I was being a good customer in enquiring where my bill was, and all they want to do is charge me an extra fee!

Called Sears about my dripping water dispenser, and the guy was as puzzled as I was, as to what I should do. Sent a note to whom ever and they are supposed to call me......I'll believe that when it happens!!

Called Health Canada about my lack of address and the guy told me they often have this problem with new sub divisions. So I told him the house has been here since 1907, and it isn's a new sub division. He told me to fax my change of info over for me and dh. So dh faxing it at work today.

Haven't heard from either the roofing guy or the fireplace guy, so not sure what's going on there. I do believe they run on country time, not city time.........but I am only guessing on that?

I had to use the dryer today to dry some laundry, and would you believe it, it actually worked!!!! Its not an ideal situation though as the dryer is not vented outside, its just has its pipe in the old basement with a sock over the end.

The ants are back, well a couple of them, so I squirted powder on some cracks in the caulking on the window sill, I need to redo the caulking. I swear though I and wiping down the counter tops a couple of times a day and making sure there is no food left out, so not sure what to say.

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

Catch up time again..........

Its one of those a bit here and a bit there posts.

It poured down all day on Monday. I know I am British so I should be used to the rain, but honestly it gets into my bones nowadays when it pours down. I must be getting soft or old!!!!

Monday morning seemed to go by in a blur, the phone never stopped ringing, so I suppose that could have been why!! I did get a bit more packing down and added some more things to the garage sale pile!!! The way things are going, I can see me having as much as last week to sell!! As I was out running errands on Monday, I saw where the Salvation Army drop off point was so on Monday of next week, I will be dropping all what is left over there.

Had a bit of a weird experience on Sunday. We were just leaving the house when an SUV pulled up and the guy rolled down his window and shouted hi to me. No idea who it was, but shouted hi back. He then said he was the guy who had bought our house and had brought his friend by to show him the house. So I stood and talked to him for a minute. I commented on the dog he had in the car, and so he got out and let his dog out, a huge German Shepherd, who immediately went and peed up a storm all over the neighbours yards.

His friend got out at the same time and we stood and talked about the dog for a minute. He then asked me if the garden was greening up, and I said yes, and they proceeded to walk into our back yard with the dog, without asking permission, while I stood there with my mouth open. Dh is wondering who it is, and figured as I was talking to them, I must know them.

So I go into the back yard, and try to steer them out of the our garden, as they pass the dining room, they stop and peer into the window!!! The dog has meanwhile ran out of the yard, and dh is petting him, as there were some young kids out, and this dog was big enough to knock them over.

Now for those of you in Canada and probably the States, what these guys did is a no, no. It's written into the contract that they can visit our house one more time, no later than a week before we close. Our lawyer says under no circumstances do we let them look around the house when ever they please. It's such a lot different to how you sell houses in Britain. No where near as informal and friendly. I talked to our real estate agent this morning and told her what happened, and told her to remind these guys if they want to come over to measure up etc, they have to make an appointment before this coming Friday. So we'll see what happens next.

I think I have mentioned before that one of the neighbours has a Chihuahua. I love dogs, but that rotten dog is always yapping, as the owner is forever leaving it outside. Well Monday morning, along with the incessant yapping, the geese were honking very loudly. When I looked out of my spare bedroom window, the geese were on my neighbours roof, and they back onto the Chihuahua's house, so the poor dog was going mad. Wasn't sure which animals neck I wanted to wring first, with all the going's on.............LOL

Are you still putting your $1 away each day in the Daily Savings Club? IF so you should have $21 in your pot today!!

Odds and ends.........

Had a couple of things to mutter on about. I was in Zellars (department store) on Tuesday and a woman in front of me spent just over $117 in Easter chocolate. I was astonished, I mean who spends over $100 on chocolate? I asked the cashier if she had seen people spend that sort of money on chocolate before and she said yes. All I could say, "and they say there is a recession." By the way the woman, paid by credit card. I know I am sounding pretty judgemental but even so........

On Frugal Shopper, there was this post on tacky weddings, click on this link Let me know what you think!!!

On the packing front, it's coming along slowly but surely. The garage sale pile is getting bigger and bigger!!!

The downstairs freezer is starting to look more empty. The goal is to have it cleared out by the end of next week....we'll see.

On the blogging front, I have all the recipe posts completed until the end of May. Plus the week we are moving I have posts for everyday, so that's good.

Odds and ends, bits and bobs..

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Odds and ends, bits and bobs

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Catch up time........

Well it's been snowing here, what else is new with that I suppose!!! At least it's not minus a million, it actually feels toasty warm for a change.

I am busy with my crafting. Got the 80 blocks done for my quilt top. Need to start stitching it together. I bought the batting yesterday at Michael's and used a 40% off coupon, saving $10 there, so that was good. So all in all this quilt will have cost me around $50 in total. Just so you know Michael's has a 40% off coupon on its website every week at the moment!!

I am still doing my cross stitch hoping to have that finished this week. Been making some fabric boxes, I'll tell you more about those next month, as there is a story behind them. Still haven't put together that table runner, that's on the back burner until I get some of these other projects finished. I would like to make a lot of my Christmas gifts this year, so plan on trying to do one a month.

I have to say I am really missing my laptop, and because of that I am not on the computer as much, as the laptop is convenient, whereas the desktop I have to trail upstairs to use that. So because of that I am not visiting many people's blogs, so my apologies for that.

I am trying to not go out much, as its too cold and snowy, so my goal is to go out twice a week if not once. This week isn't a good week, and I am out Monday, Wednesday and probably Thursday, as we are supposed to be getting another nasty snow storm? When I do go out I do try and run numerous errands at the same time. I am hoping next week will be better.

I took some photos of outside of the house, thought you might be interested in seeing the snow.





As you can see we have a little snow!!! Thank goodness we bought the snow blower this year, we have used it a few times.

I haven't been trying any new dishes recently, hopefully I will post a "new" recipe to you guys later on in the week, if I make it tomorrow, as its yummy.

At least we are all healthy for a change so that good news. Otherwise things are quiet around here, which is just the way I like it!!! Oh I could do with a "cleaning fairy" to come and clean the house, as I never seem to have time to do the housework nowadays???? So if anyone could spare me one, I would be ever so grateful?

*****Are you still remembering to put your 25 cents per day away in your Daily Savings Club jar/box? You should have $4 in there now....well done*****

I have been tagged.........

by Lindsay to tell you six interesting/unusual things about myself.........as I am the most boring person around, this is going to be hard work.

1. You all know I am British, however I HATE Christmas Cake, Mince Pies and Plum Pudding, basically everything with dried fruit, i.e. currants, sultanas and raisins. Apparently when I was young I ate a few too many mince pies and made myself sick, and have never touched those things again. I am lucky in the fact that dh and both kids also hate the same things!!!

2. I hate flying, actually that isn't true, I don't actually hate flying, my body hates flying and I get terrible travel sickness. It was just plain miserable both on the way there and back from Britain earlier in the year.

3. I used to be quite sporty and was in both the field hockey and the netball teams at school.

4. My dream is to own a house in the country on an acre of land.

5. I have a sweet tooth, and can't get enough of milk chocolate, despite the fact that it gives me migraines.

6. I ran a home baking business out of our home for a while in Britain. I hand wrote and hand delivered flyers to all the homes in our town of around 2,000 people. I was popular with the older people who only wanted 1/2 dozen cupcakes/sponge buns, or smaller quantities of items.

So I am supposed to tag other people, but am hopeless at this sort of thing. So if you are reading this post, then you are tagged!!!! Hard luck.....lol

Odds and ends, this and that, bits and bobs.....

Ever had one of those blogging days when you just think to yourself what am I going to write about today? Well today (Monday) is one of those days. Not sure how you all do it, but I tend to write a post one day to be posted the next day. I have my posts published around 1am our time so that there is a new post for you to read in North America when you get up in a morning. I guess its also there for your morning reading in Europe as well? It's just you guys down under that have to wait until late morning, early afternoon to see what I have written about today.

I do pride myself on being pretty organized and do tend to write a number of posts ahead of time. My weekly recipe posts I was working a month ahead of time. I have been lazy and I am still working on November 14th's post. I think it's because the veggies I am choosing are more unusual and its harder finding the recipes. I know this weeks Brussels sprouts one was a real doozy finding 51 recipes, but I persevered and found 51.

Then there are some weeks when I could write six posts in one day, but I find one per day is more than enough, other than when I do the photography posts, you know the Watery Wednesday, Skywatch Friday and Today's Flower posts. I do those posts as I enjoy taking photographs, and seeing what other people have done, inspires you to experiment and to try harder.

When I write a post I want it to interest you as much as it interests me. But as I generally lead a pretty boring life, some days its hard finding things to write about.

For example, this is what I did today.

Got up, had my breakfast, read the newspaper and did the sudoku puzzle while eating my breakfast. I then finish my cup of tea, while I do my daily journal report for my column that I have on Phancy Pages I also catch up on my emails etc.

I then went for a shower, and cleaned the bathrooms. I threw a load of laundry in the washer, by this time its nearly 8:30am. I called my mother, but she was having her lunch and told me she would call me back. I then washed some dishes, made some fish cakes for supper and prepared a romaine lettuce for supper. I hung the laundry on the clothes horse to dry and did a couple of little jobs.

By this time it was 9:30am and my mother called me back. We talked until nearly 10am. I made a cup of tea, went and got the mail and read the mail while I was drinking my tea.

By this time its 10:20am, so I went upstairs and gave that a good clean. It didn't take too long, as we only use two of the four bedrooms, so I only ran the duster over the two bedrooms we don't use. I polished all the oak staircase down, and then hoovered all downstairs as well. Just for added excitement I am including a photo!!!



By this time its after 11:30am. Did a couple of little things before 12 noon. Had lunch at 12 noon and watched MASH while having my lunch. I then wrote a bit more of this post. I then went and did some sewing for a while and finally finished off my nephews quillow for Christmas. Came back downstairs and did the ironing. Surfed the net while I had a cup of tea.

I then made an apple crisp. Now while supper was cooking I popped in to visit some blogs and over at Cathy's she has a couple of You Tube clips which are so, so funny, here is a link to one of them.

After supper things got super exciting I watched the news, had a shower, then watched both my soaps, Eastenders and Coronation Street. Then watched Little People Bigger World, then went to bed. What a day, eh!!!

Actually this post didn't turn out too bad, as I added a couple of recipes, that I had posted ages ago, a couple of other links, a funny and even a photo. Not bad for having nothing to say!!!

I am obsessed, I need a favour, my hair AGAIN!!! And see how the world would vote in the US Election.......

As you will have noticed I have been playing around with the look of my blog. Wish I'd left it alone, but never mind. While I was playing around with it, I lost my counter at the bottom, so I put a new one on called "Sitemeter." Now I have to say that is one of the neatest things ever. I have become obsessed with it, well with a section of it anyway. There is a world map, where there are dots which indicate where people are checking in from. I mean its great I just love it. I know little things amuse little minds, but this keeps me out of mischief.

Of course the most dots I have are in Canada and the United States, followed by Britain and Australia. There are the odd dot from other places, but I seem to have big gaps in Eastern Europe, Asia and South America.

So this is where the favour comes in. Do any of you know any other bloggers in the far flung corners of the world? I am sure you do. Would you mind asking them to pop over to my blog. They don't have to comment or anything. I just want to see some dots popping up in out of way places.......am I strange or what?

When I checked my world map on Thursday morning I got all excited as there was a dot in the pacific ocean, it turned out someone in Hawaii had popped in. I also had some one in Lithuania pop in, got all excited about that as well.

So pretty, pretty please ask your blogging friends to pop on by.



Now my hair..don't groan. This is so unusual, well for me anyway, that I thought it may interest you all.

About a month ago I started to experience an itchy scalp. So of course the first thing that popped into my mind was head lice......aaarrrrrrrrgggggggggghhhhhhhhh!! However I also had a burning sensation on my scalp. I knew I hadn't been near anyone with head lice, but I checked myself and couldn't see anything.

It sort of went away, but every now and then, it would flare up. Anyhow this past week, I have been past myself with the itchiness and the burning sensation. I will say I had changed shampoo from Herbal Essenes to Pantene, so I figured maybe the Pantene was irritating my scalp, so switched to Dove, which is very mild. However things got no better.

So on Tuesday I got dh to check my scalp and he couldn't see anything. I decided to put itchy, burning scalp into Google to see what popped up and you won't believe what it said..........STRESS This was caused by stress??? Dh had a doctors appointment on Wednesday so I went along and got the doctor to look at my head, just to make sure there wasn't anything there. He confirmed my scalp looks perfectly normal, no dandruff, no head lice, no redness.

Isn't that the strangest thing you have ever heard? Now I will say I have had a couple of things going on this past couple of weeks that have made me feel a bit stressed, but nothing overly exciting. This has never ever happened to me before.

Now I need my hair cut and dyed, but honestly the thought of putting dye on my hair is not at all appealing as my head feel as though its on fire. I did however go and get my hair cut today, at "N's" house and she did a great job. I will be going back to her, as I can afford to have it done there and she is a really nice person. She also said she had another customer who has the same problem.

We agreed to keep off the dying of my hair at the moment, until my scalp settles down, so I am going to be very multi-coloured for a while.

Finally my friend "P" sent me this link and it is really interesting. Click on the link and see what you think.............it tells you what would happen in the US election if the world voted.

Odds and ends today, a bit of a mixture.......

A couple of good deals out there. Its 20 x the points at Shopper's Drug Mart today (4th), so take advantage of it to stock up on a couple of things and get more points.......here is a link to their flyer Just a reminder, make sure you buy a $50 SDM gift card to pay for your purchases with, as you get points on gift cards, so a bonus 500 points there. Also if your store has an ATM in it, check to see if it spits out bonus points certificates. One of our stores do, you just put in your SDM card, you don't take money out, just get the bonus points certificates.


Another really, really good deal at the moment is there is a $5 certificate that you can print out here which is good in Rexall or Pharma Plus stores, and all you have to do is purchase a minimum of $5 before taxes and then they'll take your $5 off. We used it this morning, both me and dh, I dragged him along!!!! I got band aids, rubber gloves and a chocolate bar and it cost me $1.52 after the $5 coupon was taken off. Dh got the same. So I am going to make a point of driving by one of the Pharma Plus stores every time I go out. As luck would have it, I have three stores not too far from me. One of them is a big new store that sells food as well. Here is a link to their flyer

I am not sure if I have mentioned we live behind a "ravine", that is being left to "naturalize" Well to my mind its a weed, mosquito and garbage infested ditch, and because of that I have thistles galore growing into my garden. So I have called the city a number of times and said, is there no way you could at least tidy it up a little bit? They come they look and they do nothing!!! So on my walk the other morning I took a couple of photos.

Our house is the one with the brown Gazebo you can see the roof of. If you click on the photo's you can see how much is weeds there.






Now we live on a crescent so if you imagine a U shape, we live on the left hand corner of the bottom of the U in the curve. On the right hand corner of the curve there is a pond behind them.



Then down behind the right hand side its all ravine and look what I saw down there.

I think our bit looks so grubby as its closer to the High School, so there is a lot of garbage from the kids.

I have to say I have felt like a naughty schoolkid these past couple of days bunking off of school, as we have been going for a walk after 9am in the morning. Normally I would be doing housework, and dh would be at work, so it made a nice change to go for a walk. With it being so crisp and cool, it also felt good to "blow away some of those cobwebs!!"

I managed to get my Christmas gift closet cleaned out this week, so at least I know what I have got and what I have to buy for Christmas. Pretty pleased with myself, as I had more in there than I thought.

One thing I have decided to try and do this Fall is to try a new recipe each week. I made a great soup this week, which I'll post tomorrow.

Odds and ends, and a couple of it could only happen to us.

Sunday September 21st.

We had decided early on in the week to have a quiet day today, as we were doing something every other day. Plus I decided to do laundry as well. I only had two loads to do and it took me all morning to wash and dry everything. The washer does not spin as fast as I would like, so the clothes feel a lot damper than they do at home, it could be because this one it a top loader and I am used to a front loader? Anyhow, I eventually get it all done.

We then go to the Atlanta Bread Company for lunch which was so good. Then we wandered around Barnes and Noble for a while. I asked one of the guys there for help in looking for a book. He had the worst bad breath I have ever come across. I kept edging away from him, and he kept moving towards me, it was nasty. I am not sure if it was this particular store, but I found the books to be pricey? Maybe its because I am used to ordering my books from Book Close Outs?

We then spent the afternoon in the condo just lazing around. We booked a dinner cruise tonight that started at 7pm. We had hoped to book it for dh's birthday night, but it was fully booked. It was a nice meal, we had She Crab Soup to start, followed by a garden salad, then I had Crab Cakes and dh had Beef Tenderloin. Dessert was extra, I had Creme Brulee and dh had Key Lime Pie, then coffee. The cruise lasted three hours, unfortunately it was pitch black dark for nearly all of it, but it was enjoyable looking at the skyline of downtown Charleston.

Now for the couple of it could only happen to us. So we book this cruise at the beginning of last week. So the girl needs all our info including name and address. She asks for a Zip code, I tell her I only have a postal code, no problem, she inputs it and the system won't take it, so she says I need a Zip Code, I tell her I don't have one, she says but I need one???? By the way I should say we are booking this right at the booking office, not on the phone. So I say well the only Zip Code I actually know is Beverly Hills 90210, she says that's fine and inputs that. So we now live in the Beverly Hills 90210 district, thank goodness I watched that series!!!

So when we arrive at the condo our ensuite bathroom has a shower over the tub, which is fine. However the tub is very slippery and there is no tub mat. I need a new one for the kids bathroom at home, so we go out and buy one that I had seen in Canada, it looks like pebbles. We put it in the tub and it works fine. There is one small problem............it smells like a skunk, I mean it is stinky and skunky. We cannot leave the bathroom door closed as the smell is just plain icky!!!!! A week later and finally it is getting better. Honestly who would have thought it would have stunk so much.

Finally I think I will have to call the Isle of Palms police department to let them know where to find their abandoned police car. We are staying on the Wild Dunes Resort, which is a gated community. Just down the road they put a four way stop sign system, actually this happened on Friday. On Friday there were two police cars parked there, I guess to make sure people actually stopped at the signs. We noticed at the time, one of the cars didn't have anyone sitting in it, never thought much about it. However two days later that police car is still sitting there with no one in it. Do you think they have forgotten about their police car, or even forgotten where they parked it????

There you go just some odds and ends. Depending on the weather we may go to another plantation or to the museum today (Monday)

And I thought I was just getting old...........

For the longest time I have been getting really sleepy around 1pm to 2pm. Some days I even go for a nap for an hour and have to say I feel so much better for it. I am a lark, always have been and probably always will be. I am awake by around 6am and am in bed by 9pm. People make fun of us for going to be so early but dh is up for work by 4.40am, so he is pooped by 9pm.

Now after reading these articles I am pleased to say I am normal, not just getting old.

An article from the Toronto Star

"Most mammals sleep for short periods through the day. We have consolidated sleep into one long period, but the biological vestige remains. Our bodies are programmed for two periods of intense sleepiness: from about 2 a.m. to 4 a.m., and in the afternoon, between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. This midday wave of drowsiness is not due to heat or too many fries at lunch. It arises from an afternoon dormant phase in our physiology, which diminishes our reaction time, memory, co-ordination, mood and alertness. "

Again an article in the Toronto Star

"To determine the best time to nap, it helps to know your "chronotype." What times would you get up and go to sleep if you were entirely free to plan your day? If you're a lark, apt to wake as early as 6 a.m. and go to sleep at night around 9 or 10, you're going to feel your need for a nap in the afternoon around 1 or 1:30 p.m. If you're an owl, preferring to go to bed after midnight or 1 a.m., and to wake around 8 or 9 a.m., your afternoon "sleep gate" will open later in the afternoon, closer to 2:30 or 3 p.m. "

Another article in the Toronto Star

"In designing the optimal nap, you need to grasp its potential components. During sleep, your brain's electrical activity goes through a five-phase cycle:

STAGE 1: FALLING ASLEEP


A short afternoon catnap of 20 minutes yields mostly light sleep, which enhances alertness and concentration, elevates mood and sharpens motor skills. To boost alertness on waking, drink coffee before you nap. The caffeine will kick in just as you're waking. Naps of up to 45 minutes may also include rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, which boosts creative thinking and sensory processing.

STAGE 2: LIGHT SLEEP


Limit your nap to 45 minutes or less if you need to spring into action after dozing. Otherwise, you may drift into slow-wave sleep. Waking from this stage results in serious sleep inertia, that feeling of grogginess and disorientation that can last for a half hour or more.

STAGES 3 AND 4: DEEP, SLOW-WAVE SLEEP


But you might want to take a long nap, at least 90 minutes. Many of us get about 1 to 1 1/2 hours less sleep per night than we need. A new study shows that the sleep-deprived brain toggles between normal activity and complete lapses, or failures – a dangerous state of slowed responses and foggy inattention. Sound familiar?

REM: DREAMING STAGE


Naps of 90 to 120 minutes usually comprise all stages, including REM and deep slow-wave sleep, which helps to clear your mind, improve memory recall and recoup lost sleep. Longer naps in the morning yield more REM sleep, while those in the afternoon offer more slow-wave sleep."

Seriously I should just stay at home..........

Its another stinking hot day here (Thursday), so decided to pop out to the mall to check out a fabric store. This is what I picked up. This fabric was $4 a metre, and is 100% cotton, so I can use it either for a quilt or to make a bag with, I'm not sure yet, I picked up a metre.



Isn't this the cutest fabric. I am not sure if this is 100% cotton, is there a test? Anyhow, my first thought when I saw this was a tote bag? I bought around a metre and a quarter of this at $4 a metre.



I wanted to make covered buttons, so picked up a couple packs of those, plus a couple packets of magnetic closures for bags, a clearance pack of velcro, 5 metres of binding, and three packs of ribbon.



That little lot came to over $30. I find things expensive up here, especially material. Although I did get a good buy on the pieces I got. We don't have a very good choice in the city I live in, which is outside of Toronto. I do go to a neat quilting store around a 15 minute drive to where we live but I pay upwards of $15 a metre there. I do a big fabric shop when we go on vacation to the States. I know I looked at fabric when we were in Britain, but it was even more expensive.

So anyhow, after I leave the store I am heading out of the mall and there is a grown man crying, and I mean the poor thing was sobbing his heart out. He was on a public pay phone standing there talking to someone and crying. So of course I wander over to him to ask him if he's alright, which of course he wasn't as he was crying. He tells me he is talking to his mother in Afghanistan. Now what was making him cry I don't know, I just figured I would leave him alone.

So I get to the mall doors and there is a police officer behind me, so I hold the door open for him to come through. So of course I start talking to him.......I mention the fact that the man is crying, and he says, that's funny when he was coming into the mall there was another man using the phone also crying. As I said to the police officer, we should make a mental note to avoid that phone.

I've come to the conclusion its all my doing all these strange people I come across as I will insist on talking to people. Mind you if you saw a man on a public phone crying his heart out, wouldn't you ask if there was anything you could do?

When I got home I was thinking about the whole situation, and you know the funny thing, it didn't phase me one bit that he was from Afghanistan. You see where we live its like the United Nations, you name it we've got it, including a strange and unusual, but harmless British woman.........you've gotta love Canada, they let anyone in, including me!!!!

The things I have to do for you guys in Canada.........

I have such a hard life you know, and I have had such a hard job to do these past two days, as my friend Paola (sorry if the spelling is incorrect) has as well.

I taste test things for a company, I have been doing it for donkey's years. You get paid for doing it, and they called me to taste test, are you ready for this ICE-CREAM...........like what the heck........do they know how difficult that would be, and not do it one day but two days!!!! So we wandered in for the two days and tested I think 5 different types of vanilla ice cream both days.............I was shattered by having to eat all that ice cream. Why do they punish us like that, making us eat cool vanilla treats!!!!!

Then the kicker, they go and pay us for doing it...........what a life I have...LOL

Mid Week and its odds and ends.

I'm actually writing this post on Tuesday afternoon. I am weary this week, not sure why, and I know some of you think that just because I am at home all day, all I do is watch soaps, drink cups of coffee and eat chocolate bon-bons.....okay well most days I do that but occasionally I am busy and that is what it has been like this week.

Plus that heel spur is killing me again. If anyone has any experience in heel spurs, please let me know what I should or shouldn't be doing?

Anyhow, one thing we should all be grateful for is being able to put food on the table, as there are people who are out there that can't afford to do that. With that in mind here are a couple of photo's I took over the past couple of days.

I made a couple of strawberry and rhubarb pies with the rhubarb from the garden.

Just out of the oven:



One we are eating for dessert this week, the other went into the freezer for another week.



My dad called around this morning and brought these potatoes, that he had just dug up. These were what he got from two tater tops. I can't wait to eat them.



Here are some veggies I got from the garden this morning. Other than the zucchini, they will be used in a garden salad.



My mother and stepfather went on a coach tour of Scotland a week or so ago and sent me a postcard of the bridge that crosses the Atlantic Ocean. Are you stopping to think about this. As I know I did. I couldn't visualize any bridge crossing the Atlantic Ocean. However here it is:



It crosses from the mainland of Scotland to the Isle of Seil Here is another link about Scotland you may like.

I am now going to go and sit down for a while.............

When was the last time you looked inside a toilet tank?

I had a little bit of an "incident" this morning. Had me in a bit of a tizzy for a few moments, glad to say things are fine now though.

Let me explain something first. When God was handing out mechanical skills and power tool/hand tool skills, I wasn't in that line, I was probably in the shopping for bargains line. I totally forgot to go back and stand in the mechanical skills and power tool/hand tool skills line. So needless to say I am totally useless when it comes to those sort of things.

I put gas in my car, and that is it. I turn on my radio when I get in the car, so I never hear if there are any unusual noises coming out of it. Poor dh I think wants to rip his hair out with my poor mechanical skills. If I have a problem I have a cell phone and who is the closest, whether it be dh, my dad or the guys at work will get a call to come and sort it out. Same goes with tools, its faster and a heck of a lot easier if someone else does it. The different ends on screwdrivers confuse me, and honestly I have no idea what the other tools are called, and really no desire to learn the names.

For everyone's sake I hope I pop my clogs before dh, otherwise I don't know what I will do. Now I am not a total lost because I have other talents..........have yet to find them, but I do have other talents ;0)

So back to the toilet question. I go pee in the powder room toilet this morning and flush the toilet, it makes a funny noise, but I look in the bowl and there is water, so think nothing more about it. A little later on I go pee again..........I know I have a weak bladder, another sign of getting old. This time I flush the toilet nothing happens??? I am totally puzzled and freaked out, as its icky, I have peed and the toilet won't flush.

I should mention I have a thing about bathrooms. I like them to be nice and clean, I am picky where I park my royal butt. I don't care if the rest of the house is grimy, but the bathroom/toilet has to be clean. Luckily most people who know me, know that about me, and accommodate my freakishness!!!

Anyhow back to the icky toilet that hasn't flushed. Luckily dh calls at this time, so I tell him about my problem. So he says, I hope we don't have a leak. I gasp, as do I really want to go downstairs into the basement to find raw sewage all over the floor.........I'm gagging just thinking about it. So off I trot downstairs and thankfully there is nothing leaking.

Back into the powder room and he says take the lid off the tank. So I do that, and he says is the float down. Well last time I looked into a toilet tank, was when Noah was a boy, donkey's years ago. The float was a white bally thing. I look into our tank and there isn't a white bally thing. So of course I tell dh this, that we have no white bally thing, so the float is missing. So he telling me no it has to have a float in it. Now I know I need glasses to read, but I can still see, and believe me, there isn't a white bally thing there. So I start prodding around at things, minus my rubber gloves, what was I thinking?

I prod this black cylindrical thing on a grey pipe and guess what water starts to flow. The white bally thing has now been replaced by a black cylindrical thing on a grey pipe. So my public duty for today is to show you what this black cylindrical thing on a grey pipe looks like for future reference. As you don't want to go through the confusion that I went through.

Its the thing on the left of the photo.



Now also as I have this thing about bathrooms, I wanted to tell you about a little experiment I have been doing. I got good coupons for bathroom wipes, those disinfectant ones, so paid next to nothing for them. I picked up two kinds the Lysol ones and the Mr. Clean ones.

Again a photo for your enjoyment:



Now I have to say Mr.Clean wipes win hands down they are thicker, stronger and easier to get out of the container, which I think says that on the front of the container. So if you are going out to buy those get the Mr. Clean and there are coupons here for them. The dreaded Wal-Mart also usually has them at the best price. My feelings about the dreaded Wal-Mart are a whole new post, which I won't get into at this time.

So there you have learned two new things today, what it looks like inside a toilet tank, and what disinfecting wipes to use in the bathroom........my job is done here for another day...LOL