Cleaning

 It has been a number of years since  DH raised the roof in the sunroom and created these high shelves where I keep my Dickens houses all year around. When I could still get at the bottom shelf ( by standing on a chair) I know I cleaned the lowest shelf once or twice but its been a few years. The highest shelves never got done. Until now. Youngest son handed each house down to me one by one and as he cleaned the shelf I'd clean the house then he put it back. It worked very well.

I'm so pleased that this got done and I think they look much cleaner  and brighter now. While the step ladder was out the fan blades got taken down, washed and given a new coat of white paint. You can just see the corner of the ladder in the lower left of the photo.  There are other shelves to wipe but those I can easily do myself. That's my project for the next couple of days. The sunroom will be all ready for the Christmas tree when that times comes.

Besides the cleaning that got done yesterday I baked a chocolate cake and made 4 small jars of plum jam.

We are having very heavy rain and were unable to go walking this morning. I think it's safe to say our drought is over.
Thanks for visiting,  G.M.

 

This and That

 

Happy Friday!  Not that Fridays are much different than other days once you're retired. We did the grocery shopping first thing then struggled to get Miss Kitty into the cat carrier for her trip to the vet. Today is the day she gets spayed. Needless to say she was less than thrilled.  DH dropped her off at the vet's on his way to Gleaners.

I like to have at least one project to do in any given day and today's was to sort something so that the 9 Amaryllis on the porch could be protected from the cold. I've read that they're okay as long as the temperature doesn't fall below 10C  50F.  I picked up 2 large cardboard boxes and lined each with an old blanket covered with plastic. They fit quite well into there and the boxes are sturdy enough so if and when the temperature falls below 10 we can bring them indoors for the duration.   This is the first year I haven't made them go dormant so they bloom in winter. I don't mind if they bloom in spring as I believe they do in their natural settings.
 

 
I had a couple of questions about the Borscht that I made and my recipe for it. I Like many of my soups I just added this and that remembering how my Mom would make it but on-line I found one similar to the one I made. I couldn't find beets in a can at the grocery store ( doesn't anyone eat those any more?)  and being somewhat lazy I just left them. I also left out lemon juice.

Easy Vegetarian Borscht Soup - Happy Kitchen.Rocks

Have a great Saturday.

Granny M

Sand and Cookies

 We walked in a very gray world this morning but we didn't get rained on. Yesterday we had a       much-needed rain and more is in the forecast.
First thing I did after walking I went to the thrift store. I was looking for cat toys to keep the last little kitten from getting bored.  The mama cat isn't much of a playmate for him. I found a few items and will keep looking for more.
While walking around the store and looking at stuff I saw that someone must have donated their sand collection.  There was a neat row of labelled containers filled with sand. I can only remember the label on the first jar...Lake Superior. 

When I got home from the thrift store I mixed up a batch of Gingersnaps using Lorrie's recipe.
(She has a recipe blog , Pass to the Left,  as well as her regular blog which is Fabric Paper Thread).
DH and middle son have already tasted the cookies and pronounced them delicious.
 

 I hope you're having a good day. Thanks for coming by, GM

 

Soup and another Kitten Gone to a New Home

 I am making a pot of Borscht and the house smells wonderful. If you are not familiar with Borscht, it's a soup of Ukrainian origin in which root vegetables and cabbage are the main ingredients. Dill is the herb used to give it its distinct flavour.  Last Spring I sowed a row of dill which grew  but when it was only a few inches high it all died.  Later I discovered that some dill was growing in the flowerbed in the front. Look at this healthy clump. I will let it drop seeds and look for it in this area next year. 

 

 Granddaughter Kate came after work yesterday to pick up the kitten she chose. Doesn't she look happy?  She already has a 2 year old cat and a rather old but sweet dog.

 We had a bit of rain yesterday and more is in the forecast for later in the week. Meanwhile today is sunny but cool.  I should go out and take advantage of the sunshine.  Thanks for coming by,

Granny M

This and That

 

 

 

 We've had such wonderful weather through September and October and I have thoroughly enjoyed the sunny days without the heat of summer. Today clouds have moved in and we're hoping for rain. The ground is so very parched.

I haven't been doing anything other than all the usual things we all do. Laundry, vacuuming, baking, Nothing blog-worthy so that explains my 5 day absence.   In the interval we did celebrate 2 birthdays. Youngest son's birthday was on the 17th and eldest daughter was the next day. Almost exactly 12 years between them. (there are 3 more children between those 2). Yes, those were busy years.

I made a quick trip to the thrift store yesterday and noticed that Christmas  "stuff" is being displayed. Kind of early but nice and cheery to see. Here are a couple of pictures...

Thanks for popping by today.  

 

Granny M.  

 

Doll houses

 When my eldest daughter was going through and sorting boxes from the past she discovered the old tin dollhouse that was mine a long time ago. I must have passed it on to her and both of us forgot about it.

It came with tiny furniture and 2 little pink  children that were in a permanently sitting position. A second dollhouse was also discovered although  neither of us remembers where it came from.

 

 

Our beautiful weather just keeps on coming and we've set a number of records for the month of October.  On our walk this morning we saw 2 raccoons, one larger than the other. We assumed they were a mother and her young one.
On the subject of young ones... the 2 black kittens have gone to a lovely home with some neighbours who live across the street. I'm sure we'll be getting regular up-dates on how they're adjusting.

Have you noticed all the cob webs around?   I thought this little cartoon was perfect for this month.

 

Thanks for coming by,   Granny M

Cute as a Kitten

 We had a lovely Thanksgiving with family. Some of the  leftovers went home with various children but some still lurk in the fridge. Good thing my DH can eat the same thing for days on end.

Our weather continues to be dry and sunny although there is a nip in the air that definitely says October.
The thermometer read 8C at 6 this morning.  Needless to say I wore a warm jacket for walking.

The kittens are a source of endless amusement as they discover the world. So far 3 have homes waiting for them as well as one that will stay here with the Mama. So one left to find a home for.  We have been putting them out in an X-pen on the grass but it didn't take long for them to scale the wire grid and escape.  So if no one is out with them they have to be safely behind a closed door.

 Other than the subject of kittens.... I changed the look of the dining room table. The quilted table topper as well as the wooden tray were thrift store finds. The pine cones were gathered by eldest daughter. A few got a light coat of white spray paint. I got that idea from Pinterest.

Thanks for visiting today,  G.M.

Thanksgiving

 Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian followers and friends.  We'll be gathering here tomorrow and I think I'm ready. Turkey is thawing, ham is baked as well as buns, 3 pumpkin pies and a Chocolate cake that will become a Black Forest cake ( for anyone who doesn't want pie). 

Our weather continues to be very dry but also gorgeously sunny. We had a good walk earlier this morning., Here are a few pictures.

Thanks for coming by,  Granny M

Fall Flowers

 

 Is it getting colder where you live?  This morning our temperature was 11C (58F) which felt chilly. Still we had our breakfast on the porch, reluctant to admit that the time has come to move our breakfasts indoors. Hopefully we can still eat lunch and supper out there for a few more weeks.

We made a quick trip to the plant shop yesterday. I like getting some pots of mixed Fall flowers and I had so many to choose from. No two seemed the same combination of plants but I managed to make my choices. Some of the plants are perennials so those will go into the ground at some later date.

 The picture above was taken at the shop and the one below shows a couple of the ones I chose. On the right is a pot with an ornamental Kale. Sorry the picture is so dark

Today is our oldest granddaughter Kate's birthday. We'll drop by to see her and take her a pot of flowers when she gets home from work. DH asked if I'd make cheese biscuits so I'll probably do that this afternoon. The days pass so quickly, don't they?   It's morning then all too soon the day is coming to an end. I sure notice that the days are getting shorter. 

Thanks for coming by,    Granny M

A Busy Day

 

 

 We had a busy Monday starting with my appointment with the optometrist. On our way back we stopped at the Pumpkin Patch to look around and maybe pick apples as we've done in other years. 

A sign informed us that there was no pick-your-own apples today.  So we had a look at the different products in the store ( very pricey), took some pictures and continued on our way.

We stopped at the post office to mail a card and also buy a book of stamps. Stopped off briefly at home to pick up many boxes of 'stuff' destined for the thrift store. After dropping those off we picked up a 40lb bag of the wood pellets that I use for my rabbit's litter then home for a well-deserved cup of coffee.

Now I have a cherry pie in the oven. Since the oven will be on I might as well plan on an oven supper.
That's about it for my day.

The latest on the kittens....Two of the bigger ones are lapping up "Kitten Milk" that GD Kate brought for them.  I had no idea such a product even existed.

Notice: I have been having trouble with commenting on some blogs. These are the ones I noticed recently:  It's a Small Town Life (Michelle), Pics and Pieces (Rose) and finally HWIT Blog. Just so you ladies know I'm visiting you but am unable to comment.

Granny M

October

 

 

Happy October!  What are your plans for this month?

 October to me  means buying a few Spring bulbs and getting them planted. I found these at Walmart this morning and hope to plant them later today.

 We were having people over for tea last evening and I baked Butter Tarts during the day.
I first had made a new recipe for a cake but forgot one vital ingredient so I started over and settled on Butter Tarts because they're so easy. Especially since I had the ready-made tart shells in the freezer.

This is the picture that is on the internet.  They look really tasty but that recipe doesn't call for raisins and around here raisins are absolutely important although I have substituted pecans in the past and those were also declared delicious by my family. Mini Pecan pies.

It's a gorgeous day that began with fog and went on to being filled with sunshine. A good day to plant my bulbs.

Thanks for coming by,  GM