SNAP THAT

There is precious treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise,  But a foolish man swallows it up. Proverbs 21:20 It was a very busy day Thursday dealing with mom's birthday party planning and financial matters. It is only a small party but because I live out of town it is always a bit more difficult to get everything organized. I've bought her a small gift that she will really like. It is a child size pendleton blanket that she can use as a lap blanket. It will be much warmer than the one I made her a few years ago. I hope mom will enjoy herself and feel special for the day. I've been rather worried about her as she has been feeling frail and weak for some time now.  This will be her opportunity to see those that mean a lot to her. She will be 79 on Sunday.  Many years ago I used to tell her she will live until she is at least 82 because she used to think she wouldn't make it to the age she is now.    If we are blessed to be able to celebrate her 80th birth

 ‘Don’t hurry. Don’t worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way.’   ~Walter Hagen Normally I do more reading over the winter but this summer with the heat I've managed to stay cool by staying put and reading.  Here is a photo of this week's reads. I've finished the two books on top the pile but am still working on The Zhivago Affair: The Kremlin, the CIA, and the Battle Over a Forbidden Book by Peter Finn and Petra Couvée.  This is an interesting story of how Boris Pasternak's classic book, Doctor Zhivago became a weapon used by the CIA in the cultural Cold War to provoke dissent in the former USSR. Read more here if interested. Though it isn't the main thrust of the story, I'm fascinated by just how much the Russian people love(d) poetry and how much a part of life it was for many. I'm still reading The Blood Sugar Solution , The Lost Art of Gratitude and Laced with Poison , (my 3rd mystery novel of the year).  After that I h

When I was a child Sundays & nights were always a busy time. Family outings, dinners, church services, television and last minute home work filled my day. Often I would have knots in my stomach because I didn't do my homework when I should have because weekends were always a busy time at my house and playing and church were more fun than doing homework. Needless to say I didn't look forward to Monday's and getting back to classes. As much as I really did love school, I didn't like returning to school with unfinished homework and I would get so anxious about it that I could hardly get the work underway as the minutes ticked on through Sunday night. Back then I was very much a procrastinator on weekends in so far as homework was concerned. I don't think I ever outgrew the dislike of impending Monday mornings though I have no longer suffer "Monday blues". Just out of curiosity, did any of you dear readers ever suffer from Monday blues or anxi

Hello everyone, I hope you are all enjoying your weekend wherever you may be in the world. In my part of the world it has been raining heavily all week. I was looking forward to having rain because it has been so hot and humid for me this summer. Unfortunately I was not counting on the arthritic pain that came along with the rains. I've been moving more slowly this week as a result and not feeling up to much of anything.  After 5 days of rain, I am feeling better today. As you can see from the photos, we've had thick gray skies with a sliver of blue (lower photo) but so far it hasn't rained today. I was disappointed in my garden this year. Nothing really grew as it should. Some things matured too quickly and died.  Like the corn I like to plant most years so the squirrels can have some food. The sweet peas which I planted for the bloosoms also died rather quickly. Even container plants which have always done well for me, like pansies and geraniums, died ra

Hello friends and fellow bloggers, I hope you are all enjoying life wherever you are.  In my part of the world it is summer and this summer has been very hot. Believe it or not the summer has passed by so quickly for me and I have yet to do any summer activities such as picnicking, going to the beach for the day, strolling parks or having barbeques. I did manage to have a few short term summer visitors though it seems so long ago now. I also managed to have a few people for dinner in the patio garden area while my flowers were still in bloom. My garden was in on time early this year but I haven't really had a chance to enjoy it after the first month or so. It has been so hot here and I am afraid I do not do well in the heat. I am not sure why too but the vegetables seemed to mature early and start dying off. Just this past week the flowers in containers and some of my vegetables seem to have revived though so perhaps there is still some hope for late harvest. I've been

This Chicken-Cauliflower-Cheese casserole was a welcome change from plain old roasted chicken. I used boneless chicken breast baked with cauliflower florets, diced green onions, sliced mushrooms & mushroom soup for the sauce.  I baked the chicken at 350 degrees before adding all the other ingredients.  You could also par boil the cauliflower florets to cut down on cooking time. I added some water to my mushroom soup but if you want a thicker sauce, omit the water or use it very sparingly. I topped the casserole with sliced cheddar and mozzarella cheese and baked for another 20 minutes. It gives the appearance of skin on the chicken.  Serve with rice and side dish. I served mine with brown rice and a side dish of a simple mango salad (diced red onions, chopped red pepper and chopped mango). Yum!

It's BC Day weekend here in my province in Western Canada. Every first Monday of August is known as British Columbia Day, BC Day or B.C. Day, in the province of British Columbia. It is a statutory holiday and gives Canadians in the province the chance to celebrate their achievements or relax with friends and family members. This is always a busy week/weekend in the city. Not only is it Gay Pride week and many gay and straight people alike come from out of town to take in the parade. I've yet to attend.  It is also the week for the Celebration of Lights, an international fireworks competition. It is rather difficult to get down to the waterfront to watch the lights unless you are capable of walking far distances.  Parking is impossible and traffic is cut off from the area unless you are a resident.  If you have a friend in the downtown core or who lives on the waterfront you can avoid the beach crowds.  The last time I took in the Celebration of Lights was a few years ago