This and That

All the snow and cold weather has kept me mostly at home. I've been doing all the usual things but nothing that seemed worthy of a blog post. So this morning I took my camera along when we walked, and took some pictures. I'm sure by now everyone has seen more than enough snow photos since  we're not alone in having  unusual winter weather.

Looking across the frozen lake you can see Abbotsford's tallest building, Mahogany Tower, completed just last year.  As you can see the top floors are shrouded in fog. Now, at noon, the fog has all gone and it is sunny and 2*C.

 I haven't tried driving in the snow but yesterday DH had banking to do so he dropped me off at the thrift store giving me 20 minutes or so to see what I could find.  There were 4 of these lovely platters ( it's hard to see but they are not flat like a plate but rather slightly dished). They were marked at .50 and I took 2. DH thought they were so pretty he asked me why I hadn't bought all 4. That was a surprise!!  Don't know just what I'll use them for but for now one will hold fruit.

These are my Valentine's flowers from my DH. I love the white carnations and baby's breath. Best of all they will last a long time. Roses are gorgeous but they sure don't last long.

Hopefully you are all having a good week. Thanks for coming by!

Granny Marigold

Valentines Day

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!  No matter how you spend the day I hope it will bring you happiness and love.

Valentine's day happens to be my middle son's 45th birthday. Yesterday I baked and today there will be family dropping by to wish him happy birthday. I am ready!!
The cupcakes were from a Duncan Hines marble cake mix. The cookies I made using a recipe from this library book. In it Melissa Gilbert shares many recipes also short tales of the making of the Little House TV series. ( They are old fashioned molasses cookies)

For some reason this photo insisted on being 'sideways'.  The plate is "Cornflower" by Wedgwood.

 

        More snow and even freezing rain in our forecast.  Schools were cancelled all week except for   Monday. This coming Monday is Family Day (stat holiday) so schoolkids get a long break.

Thanks for dropping by,

If you leave a comment, however short, I'll know you visited.   

Granny Marigold

This and That

I had an old train case for many years and I used it to store craft supplies but didn't have it displayed because the colour didn't  seem to fit anywhere. ( I forgot to take a picture of mine before it got painted but this one off the internet is almost identical except it  has 2 closures and mine has just one).

My oldest daughter ( who is very good at various crafts) painted it and even lined the lid with pretty paper. My job was getting residual paint off the hinges and lock. You can see I didn't do a good job.

For now it is filled with Spring-ish bunnies.  I haven't decided just where I will put it next.

First course at supper last night was corn and cheese souffle.  It had been many years since I'd made a souffle but I found a simple recipe on-line.  ( Those ramekins sure are handy!!)

                       By the time I had them on the table they were starting to fall.

Two more Amaryllis are blooming. The one on the left is one that bloomed last year and I successfully coaxed out of dormancy  at the beginning of this year. The striped one is from a bulb I bought marked down at Walmart after Christmas. It only has the one stalk but that stalk has 5 or 6 fat buds.

You can see in the background our snowy back yard. All local schools were cancelled today. More snow is in the forecast so we're not done with winter just yet.

I hope you're all having a great week!  Thanks for coming by,


        Granny Marigold

This and That

It is COLD. And very windy. I have been house bound most days this week and although I really miss going for my walks I have been going through my books and organizing them. I do love organizing!!  I was not happy with how crammed some of my bookshelves were and couldn't think where I could possibly fit in another book shelf when I realized that a certain little cupboard would be perfect. I found this piece at a garage sale a couple of years ago. I loved the look of it but the shelves inside are shallow and it has remained empty. Until now.  Most of my Bird, Butterfly, Nature type books fit in to it and the sun room seems an appropriate place to keep such. Why it took me so long to think of it I don't know.

                   Last night's supper. We each had what we wanted in our little ramekins. The recipe calls                         for a pie plate but for us it's more practical to have individual  ramekins.  I added     
 roasted peppers to mine while DH added a diced leftover piece of ham.

                       Crustless Quiche

In a greased pie plate  put fried onions, garlic, peppers, meat, whatever you have in the fridge.
Pour the following mixture over then sprinkle grated cheese on top.  Bake @ 400 until set and golden -brown.

1 cup milk
2 large eggs ( or 3 smaller ones, doesn't make much difference)
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
Whisk until well mixed.

Couldn't be simpler and it has never failed to turn out.

Thanks for visiting,

            Granny Marigold

A Birthday and some Treasures

It's Laura Ingalls Wilders 152nd birthday!!

Laura Ingalls was born on February 7,1867 and died just a few days after her 90th birthday.
Although she began writing the books that would eventually be known as "The Little House" books when she was in middle aged, the first one wasn't published until she was 65.
Her books have been translated into 40 languages!!

My collection of her books is small but I'm always on the lookout for more.

  

I went to the thrift store today. Didn't find any books but I did find some nice little treasures. I like the 'retro' glasses (.25) and the little jug. I find we use soup plates quite often so now I have 2 new sets of 2, one of which is sort of Christmassy ( the yellow set) but I plan on using them all year round. I need a better picture of the green bowls because you can't really see them in this photo. Next time I'll have a better one. 

Our weather continues to be very cold and more snow is forecast. We were able to go walking this morning and found that the path was fairly clear and dry.

Thanks for visiting,

             Have a great day!

Mostly Pink

For those of you that follow Connie's wonderfully inspiring blog Crafty Home Cottage you probably remember a few weeks ago she introduced a new-to-her blogger Lisa, whose blog Fresh Vintage by Lisa has some great ideas. I don't try many crafts because I'm often disappointed in my results but I did try this Valentine banner that Lisa featured.  I was able to find the gifts bags and follow instructions for cutting out the V's BUT I cut too far "up" resulting in part of the design being cut off. In any case I hung my banner and will enjoy it in its imperfection.   My but that was a long explanation. Sorry about that.

I made this pink printer's box a few years ago after seeing some on Pinterest. DH was kind enough to make me half a dozen so I could decorate them for the different seasons. My part really was just cutting pretty scrapbook paper to the right size and gluing them in.

       I assembled some pink things to make a little display in the sun  room.

Construction has begun on the house to the west of us. As you can see we have snow on the ground!  Also bone-chilling wind- chill temperatures ( at least for us they are quite out-of-the-ordinary winter temps.)
It looks like the house will be built as far back on the lot as possible. I don't think I've ever seen that done but maybe they like a huge lawn. Or maybe they will put down pavers and have no lawn at all. 

Wherever you live I hope you are keeping warm and as cozy as possible.

Thanks for visiting,   GM

What's Happening in my Kitchen

One of my favourite  suppers is  a Dutch Baby. I know I've mentioned them before but some of you are new and may not be familiar with this wonderful pancake.  Allrecipes.com has the exact recipe that I use.

This time I made a Blueberry sauce using some of the berries we picked last July.  It was delicious!!
When this is on the menu we don't need anything else ( except maybe a cup of decaf coffee).

Our house is 40 years old and although the countertop was replaced sometime maybe 20 years ago it is dull and never looks as shiny as I'd like it to. After looking on-line I went to buy Turtle Wax ( for cars) and my DH applied it, and after it dried he took his buffer to shine it up. It worked!  I only hope it lasts at least a month or more.

We went to do the grocery shopping this morning and I chose another Primrose.... a pink one this time. The yellow one is still doing fine too.

So that's what's been happening here. It's a rainy day and it feels chilly and damp. I'm sitting here with a warm throw over my lap like an old lady.  Wait a minute... I AM an old lady.

Thanks for visiting so faithfully,
I appreciate your friendship.

               G.M.