Baking and Flowers

 

 

Happy penultimate day of January.  I had a really cute graphic for the day but I have found out that I may be using other people's graphics  without their permission. I wasn't aware of this so until I've sorted out what is and what isn't permissible my posts will be much plainer. *big sigh*.

It's raining today. So far I haven't done much except I did make an apple pie,  I'm so glad I used a cookie sheet and parchment under the pie because it bubbled over.

 Yesterday I baked Banana/ Chocolate chip muffins.  Four of my grown children came by at some point and each took some muffins when they left. DH and I each had one and they were gone.  I'm not very fond of banana muffins but I had some bananas that were very ripe and rather than throw them out I made muffins.   There's always someone who will want them 😋😋😋😋.

 When Eldest daughter came she brought me pretty flowers. I'm truly spoiled.

Did you know that it snowed in the Sahara Desert for the first time in 37 years?  That's amazing!!
( I believe the pictures on the weather network are okay to repost. If you know otherwise please let me know).

 That's it for today.  Thanks for visiting💖.

 

 

Tuesday Trivia

 After another night with temperatures dipping into the minuses I think we've moved into our more normal winter weather. We had 11 dry days in a row which is a rare winter streak for our area. However, the next week is forecast to bring 30 to 50 mm of rain along with milder temperatures.
Because the porch got so cold even though it's closed in I was bringing my store-bought Primroses in for the nights.  Now they'll be okay staying out and in a few weeks I'll transplant them into the dirt.

 

 I made a simple banner for the front door. Because it get used a lot and tape wasn't enough to hold it I used my powerful little magnets ( those black blobs)
.On the outside I hung a wreath that I've used for many years.

This is the latest puzzle that we finished.

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

 

 

A Cat, Flowers, Food, and a Book

 Hello my friends on this wintery Sunday. We went over to GD Kate's to meet her new cat, Peaches, who is quite adorable. Although she looks like a kitten she's actually a full grown cat.

Another lovely bouquet of flowers.

 My Saturday baking....lemon scones and Carrot muffins

 I requested this book from the library but it isn't quite what I had hoped it would be. The recipes are far too fancy for my kitchen even though the author's story of how she left New York to live with her husband in rural Ireland are interesting.

 That's it for today. I hope you're safe and warm wherever you are. Thanks for visiting.

 

 

Cold Weather and Small Changes

 

 All of Canada is experiencing colder than normal temperatures as a Polar Vortex has descended from the North Pole.  Of course here on the west coast our cold is nothing compared to the prairies and East coast where frigid temperatures are bone-chilling ( think wind chills of  minus 40 C which is the same as -40F ).

 The sun is shining again today.  In spite of the cold Youngest Son came to wash some of the outside windows as well as the sky lights. The sunshine is lovely but one can certainly see how dirty the windows are when the sun shines.

When I opened the back door to give Kitty her breakfast I was greeted not by Kitty but by a raccoon. I chased him off and fed her but barely had gone back in when he was there again. I suppose he was very hungry but to feed one raccoon would soon have every raccoon in the area in our yard wanting food.

I decided to change the things on the old sewing machine.  This is the 'before' picture.....

...and this is what it looks like now.  Small changes. Next I'll get out some Valentine decor. It's not that long any more.

Thanks for visiting

 

 

 

 

Finding Room for a Table

 

 When I saw this picture on Pinterest I had to think back to a similar experience when I was about 4 or 5. A cantankerous turkey gobbler took after me and I ran screaming blue murder trying to get away from him. Fortunately my Dad rescued me but I remember how scared I was.

Our cold mostly clear weather continues. On our walk we just saw all the regulars at the lake. 

I decided to rearrange things in the sunroom. After Christmas we had to find room for a table that my DH built a number of years ago and which was being used by M for a desk. Now he has a proper desk and since we were not going to part with the table we had to put it in the sunroom.( Where I've already run into the corner no doubt this will give me quite a bruise.) It's very close to the door which we don't use in winter. We'll see if it has to be moved in spring.

 . I have bread dough in the breadmaker now.   With such small projects my day gets filled.

Thank you for all the lovely comments on my new doll's name. Last night before I turned off the lamp I said Good Night, Mary Ellen and grinned as I thought about adding Good night Jim-Bob, Good Night John-Boy......

 

 

 

 

Monday Chit Chat

 

 Monday mornings I get an e mail from the plant shop with this week's specials one of which are hellebores in 15 cm pots 2 for 19.99. They list the regular price at $14.99 each.  There must surely be a mistake because the pot shown is not a 15 cm pot in my opinion and if the sale is on that size that is outrageous.  I paid $3.99 each at this exact shop a few weeks ago.  
Pardon my little rant. I wasn't going to buy any more hellebores in any case.

I have decided to call my new doll Mary Ellen, a name quite similar to mine. I think of her as myself some 65 years ago. I had a woolen pleated skirt and although I don't remember if I had a pink sweater it is possible. My skirt was blue plaid and was reversible.  Maybe like one of these...

 
We're still enjoying clear skies and although it froze overnight the high for this afternoon is 10C ( 50F).
My task today is, of course, laundry also cleaning the sunroom.  The sheets are already in the dryer so I'm well on my way to being done.
I hope your week is off to a good start.  Thanks for coming by.

Taming her Wild Hair

 

 Here is the transformation of my doll's hair as Eldest Daughter did her best to tame it.

 

Good Morning, It's a clear and chilly morning with the promise of a quite lovely winter day.  I have a list of small chores I want to accomplish before my DH comes home from Gleaners at lunch time.  He has been home for the past 2 days and we've done a variety of things, none of which was housework :)   so today I need to get things done.  In order to do that I need to get off my computer!!!

 

Whatever your day holds I hope it's a good one.  Thanks for taking the time to visit.

 

 

Thrift Store Find

 

We walked in thick fog; everything looked spooky. Beside the path where the lake should have been was just fog.  We heard an Eagle call and we stared up at the trees until we spotted the dark spot that was it.

Came home, had coffee, then off to the thrift store to spend a little time before we were meeting DH's brothers and sister-in-laws for an early lunch.  DH told them I was in my second childhood because I had bought a doll at the thrift shop.  I don't mind the joking. If I like something and it's inexpensive, well, then I buy it.  I took it along to the restaurant to show my SILs and to my surprise one of them recognized it as an American Girl, a special collection kind of doll???  Apparently I got a super deal
 ( I paid $5 )
Her hair definitely need fixing. When Eldest Daughter comes tomorrow I'm sure she'll have some way to tame that frizzy head of hair.

 

Tomorrow we'll do the grocery shopping then I have THREE books waiting at the library.

Have a lovely Thursday

 

 

 

Feeding the Birds

 

From where we sit in our sunroom we can see the various bird feeders as well as a suet feeder right up against the window. It's so entertaining especially when a dozen or more tiny Bush Tits all try to fit onto the hanging suet.  Some birds don't share. Juncos are especially particular about being the only one at a feeder.  Not so with the Bush Tits.
 

 Recently we got out of the truck which was parked by a large old tree.  Right there, in front of me, was a Tree Creeper.  Tree Creepers are not rare but often very hard to spot. I count myself lucky if I see one a year, so you know I was quite happy to see this one.

 Our weather has changed from rain to mild with unseasonably warm temperatures.
 It was 10C  (50F) this morning and the rest of the week looks like it will be as mild.  
DH tells me he sees the green tips of the daffs coming up. I must go out and see for myself.

Last but not least here's the first puzzle of 2026. It's one from the thrift store and it was half price as well as being a nice picture. All those quilts should be fun!!

Thanks for visiting

 

 

 

Happy Monday

 

 

 I have had an unusual Monday. I did some laundry but otherwise I read my latest library book.              
 I have read some reviews that called it disappointing and I must admit I felt that it wasn't up to the usual standard. Here's the summary from the internet...

 December 1921: Being single and a new Chief, Inspector Rutledge of Scotland Yard gets the short straw at Christmastime and is called upon by Chief Superintendent Markum to go to the Kentish home of a lord recovering from an attempt on his life. In bed with a concussion, the man is convinced someone is trying to kill him after he claims he was struck by the hoof of a running horse whose rider never stopped to check on him.

Struggling with his own demons from the war and misgivings about helping a man who, as a colonel, oversaw the suffering of those on the frontlines from afar, Rutledge undertakes an uneasy investigation. And as the winter holiday approaches, he becomes increasingly convinced that nothing is as it seems… 

*********************** 

 We awoke this morning to an unusually mild but very rainy day. We walked in spite of the rain. I carried my big umbrella and mostly stayed dry.  The mild temperatures are forecast to last all week with the rain ending soon.  If this trend continues the daffodils will soon be peeking out.

 All that's left for me to do is make supper and that will be Mac & Cheese with Broccoli. DH has leftover meatballs.  I hope your day was as pleasant as mine.

 

Thanks for coming by 

 

 

Chit Chat

 I'm having some problems with Blogger. My most recent  post was there, briefly, then it disappeared and I could not get it back.  I wonder if using the script somehow messed something or if that's even possible. 
Hopefully things are back the way they should be.

Although I've put away all the Christmas things I've left the ones that are more winter than Christmas. 

I transplanted my 3 small white blooming hellebores into one pot which for now stays on the porch.

 

My lilies have started opening and it looks like they're all white.

In the kitchen I've been tidying and cleaning.  I made a Date Square otherwise known as Matrimonial Cake. I frozen most of it. With just the 2 of us liking it it lasts a long time which is fine because it's a favourite of my DH. 

 from the internet........

That's it for today. I'm going to press Publish and hope for the best!

 

 

Books

Laundry is washed, dried and folded ( a few things to iron later). Now it's time to read. I finished my Christmas Miss Read book ( enjoyable as I think they all are) and now I'll move on to my library books. Three old favourites that I'm going to reread.

I have an apple crisp ready to go into the oven later.  While the oven is on I'll mix up some cheese biscuits ( cheese scones to some).  

 

I hope the script is easier to read today. Please let me know if it isn't.

 Thanks for visiting.

 

Birds and Flowers

 

 

I started this post this morning but obviously I didn't get very far.  Granddaughter Kate came by for a visit which she often does on a Sunday. While she was here she showed me how I could try different fonts ( I am so very technologically challenged) so that will explain the different "look".  We had a lovely visit and she left,  back to her busy life :)

It was raining when we went walking earlier. As we often do we chose to drive to Willband Park to see if the swans were still there...and they were. So many of them!!   There were also many Mergansers, one of my favourite birds!  In spite of carrying an umbrella I got somewhat wet.

Yesterday we took a drive to my favourite plant shop. I chose some pretty African Violets, a cheery yellow Primrose and a couple of ferns.  There were Hellebores on sale and I chose 3 white ones. They're still very small but they are blooming. All 3 are white.

 I also got some cut flowers 

The lilies are still tightly closed. I wonder if they will be white or maybe yellow? Either colour will be fine.

.

Thanks for visiting