Happy New Year

 

 

 What an unusual year 2021 was for us. First we had the heat and drought of Summer followed by torrential rain and floods of Fall. Now we're experiencing record breaking low temperatures and snowfall.
We hope for better things to come in 2022.

Today the sun shone even if it didn't rise above freezing.  Some paths were  shoveled both in the front and back yard. Bird feeders needed filling and my bunny needed attention. (She is quite comfortable in her cozy house with a warming bulb overhead.)
I baked a Date Square and added the last of the cranberry sauce to the date filling. I think it adds a lovely tang to what can be an overly sweet filling. Then I made a Cheesecake, the kind that is whipped up in a few minutes and has exactly 3 ingredients ( besides the graham crust).  If you're interested the filling asks for a pkg. of cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar and most of a container of Cool Whip. Once you've got the cream cheese and sugar well mixed you fold in the Cool Whip and that's it.  There's an on-going debate around here which is better....baked cheesecake or unbaked. The former is more work and calls for more ingredients so you know which one I';m more apt to make.

We'll be spending our New Years Eve quietly at home the way we've done for many years. Do you have any special way to celebrate?

Here are a few pictures that my dear DIL took today.  (I still haven't figured out getting my pictures onto my blog with this new computer).

Thanks for coming by, Granny M.

 

 

More Snow

 We got another dump of snow last night. Look at that piled up snow on the lawn swing!!
Our winters seem to be getting colder and we are also getting more snow than in previous years. We,here in the Fraser Valley, are considered to be zone 7  (0 to10 F,  -18 to -12C ) but I think from now on when I shop for perennials I'll make sure they are hardy to zone 6 (-10 to 0F, -23 to -17C ).
Hopefully I won't have too many plants that don't survive this winter.

 

 Sorry about yesterday's post and just to prove that we're doing fine here we are__ my DH and myself with Callum (oldest grandson) and Kate ( oldest granddaughter).

Thanks for visiting today,  Granny M.

A Tale of Woe

 It has been an eventful week for us. So much snow and record breaking  low temperatures On Christmas day we were invited for turkey and all the trimmings at Kate's place. When my DH got out of the truck onto the icy surface his feet flew out from under him and he fell and hurt his back. He is still hobbling along and in pain.  (We did enjoy the lovely meal Kate and Pat made).
Due to the unusual cold we had a water line freeze; fortunately when it was thawed it had not cracked.
Are you tired of hearing about our woes?  Well, DH's cell phone went through the washer and expired.
I got a different computer and now have Windows 10. Needless to say I am experiencing some difficulties. Okay, I think that's enough complaining.  We have a warm house and no need to drive in the snow.

 

 

We were a small group on the 25th and a slightly bigger group on the 26th. We played Dominoes and had a variety of appetizers and sweets.  

Now we look forward to the New Year. I am leaving the Christmas tree and other decorations for now. I'm not in a hurry to put everything away.  

Shortly before Christmas I found these plates at the thrift store. The pattern is Berry Xmas Poinsettia.

 

I think I will post one more teacup that I'm sure I haven't shown.   I'm no longer sure of  which I've shown because I have them in various places. 

teacup#56

Thanks for visiting!   Granny M

Merry Christmas

 

 

 

 teacup(s) #55

 Thanks for visiting today,  GM

Winter Solstice

 

 

 We're having cold weather and we haven't been able to go walking due to the ice on the roads and paths in the park.. The streets were a mess before the snowplow came through.  There were no clouds last night and I got to see the full moon, the last one this year.   The forecast calls for increasing cloudiness tomorrow with snow beginning in the afternoon which then turns to freezing rain in the evening. More days of not walking I'm afraid.

 
I have 4 of these teacups. The pattern is Christmas Rose and they're made by E B Foley

teacup #54

I know many of you are very busy this last week before Christmas. I hope you find time to sit quietly with a cup of tea or coffee and look out the window. If you feed the birds it's always nice to see which ones come around. 

Thanks for visiting,   GM

This and That

 

 

It's a rather unpleasant day here weather-wise. 2 degrees above freezing with a cold icy rain falling on 3 inches of snow that fell overnight.  We put on our boots and carried umbrellas to go walking and stayed relatively dry until we were almost home and a car came close enough to the sidewalk to throw a wave of slush onto us.  We were glad to get home, change into dry clothes, and put on a pot of coffee. We had yummy cinnamon buns to restore our good humour. 

Nothing much happening here so I thought I'd post some pictures some of which I may already have posted.

Two Christmas teacups today. The first is a Royal Grafton; the second is Yuletide by Royal Albert

teacups # 52 and 53

I hope you're having a lovely weekend.  Thanks for taking the time to visit here.  GM

P.S.  My dear Husband says thanks for all the birthday wishes!!

Butter Tarts

 

 Today is my DH's 79th birthday. I promised to make butter tarts months ago and didn't get to it until today. I used ready-made frozen pie dough. So much easier than making my own from scratch. The picture is off the internet but it's close to what I made. The top edges are brittle and no doubt will make a mess so instead of cleaning my house BEFORE the family comes over I'll do it tomorrow after we celebrate. I had extra  tart shells so I made lemon pie filling ( from a box mix) and if anyone prefers the lemon ones ( or doesn't like raisins)...  I find it hard to remember who dislikes what foods so I try to give a choice.

We had his  cake on Sunday when some of us were together playing Dominoes so no cake today.

 

Teacup # 51 is one of a pair.

 Granny Marigold

Thrifty Treasures

 When Sheila and I went on our fun day I saw this display ( and posted the picture). It was the canvas with the truck painting that caught my eye.

At the thrift store this week I saw this painting and it fairly jumped into my cart!!  I was so pleased to find it and even more so when I realized it lit up!!

I made a little vignette with it on Mom's old Singer   DH collects John Deere tractors and I chose one of his collection as well as a pick-up that he also had. Now I'm looking for more bottlebrush trees to complete my display.
 

 Another lovely 'find' were these Brambly Hedge books ( .25 each). Actually less because it was Wednesday and seniors get a 20% discount.

 

teacup# 50

 

Thanks for visiting,  GM

Snowy Scenes

 

Setting aside Christmas decorations and baking I thought I'd post some of the amazing pictures taken by my DIL when we had all that snow on the 4th and 5th.  She and M took an early morning walk by the lake.

 

 The Eagles don't seem bothered by the snow. The water must be icy cold but the little Bufflehead  doesn't appear to mind either.

Common Mergansers are some of my favourite birds.

 I may have shown this little Japanese made tea set before.  Someone left it in the lobby of the building my son manages. People often leave things there for whoever might want them. When it's any china he brings it home to see if I'm interested. ( Usually I am!!)

 I hope you are enjoying the weekend. Thanks for coming by,  GM

A Fun Outing

 It's a tradition for Sheila and myself to go browsing in pretty shops in December and that is what we did yesterday. You can hardly see it but I'm wearing a mask that has a Christmas pattern on it. My sister-who-sews made it. I have 2 sisters. The other one is the-one-who doesn't-sew.  And neither do I unfortunately.

Are these little mice adorable or what!!!  I'll let you browse my many pictures or skip them if you've had your fill of pretty things.

teacup #40

If you're still here I thank you for coming by today,   GM

Christmas Decorating

A few pictures of what I've done so far. It's much less than I have in the past but at this point in my life I seem to be wanting to do less.

Above is the little vignette that hard to see under the glass 'house'.

The left side of the sideboard....

...and the  right.  I couldn't get a proper picture of the whole thing.

The tree in the sunroom taken before the creche was set up under it.

 Something to keep in mind.

teacup #43      I like the pierced edges on the saucer. Another favourite.

Thanks for coming by,   GM