City Gardens, Weather & Cooking

Hello dear friends and fellow bloggers,

Time passed too quickly this month and before you know it May will be here.  With it's return the deadline imposed by the Community Garden Committee to fully plant the small community garden plot or lose it, rears it's head.

It should be relatively simple and straightforward to plant, but it never is for one reason or another.

Firstly, I think the timeline is too early. Good starter plants aren't really available here until May begins. That means you'll pay a premium if you want to get starter plants from the nursery. The 'real' gardeners always seem to get their gardens growing in April! I don't know how they do it but there are many who are just as behind as I am, if not more so.

To be honest, I'm not even sure you can buy a variety of vegetables and flowers until some time in May because that is when the garden season gets underway in the city.  Maybe you can if you travel a distance by car.

If you can't buy starter plants or nursery plants, the other option is to start your own starter plants from seeds.  If you want to start your own plants to beat the deadline, you'll need to start early and have all the soil, seeds, trays and pots at hand. There is a method to planting this way which includes transitioning starter plants to the weather so you need to factor that process into your timeline.  I believe this is called 'hardening" or 'hardening off'. 

Secondly, the weather doesn't always cooperate.  It's been very wet and very cold in the months of March and April though we have had a few good days here and there. This is what the weather was like on Saturday.

I was actually organized enough to start seeds early this year but they sprouted way too quickly and were unusable. I thought I'd try again but ran out of time and now it's too late to start my own seeds and still plant the garden on time.  So I had to try and find some nursery plants.

Saturday I called around to a few places might have what I was looking for and one of them did.  The other store said sometime next week and that would be too late.

I went today to buy what I could. The variety was somewhat limited but it will do.  Last year I didn't buy start plants or start my own. Instead I sowed seeds directly into the soil and most of the plants did sprout and do reasonably well except the sunflowers didn't look that healthy. The exceptional heat we had was not conducive for good growing conditions though the kale did very well.

I also bought a Boston Fern for my bedroom.  I love these ferns. The last one I had was on my patio in a pot for several years before I throw all plants away due to the patio renovation project which is currently ongoing.

Speaking of the patio garden, I'm still not sure when it will be ready or what work I'll have to do in it. I had to throw out many things including my garden hose and spray nozzle when I cleaned the patio out in preparation for renovations.  Today I was able to get new ones so they are ready to go when needed.

On the food front, I made a lovely lentil dish of lentils, carrots, eggplants, onion and various spices. I'll be making it again or variations of it. We had it with some air fried chicken which was also good.

The Weekly Home Blessing (part of Fly Lady's cleaning system) was done over the weekend and so now the house is clean ad relatively tidy and ready for the busy week ahead.

Wishing you all a fabulous week.

Food & Other Things

I'm still trying to shop frugally and buy healthy things but I do still eat snacks that aren't quite good for me.  I don't usually do my main grocery shopping on Saturdays but didn't feel like going out earlier this week so today it was. It was time because I'm out of bananas and berries and most vegetables.

I bought most of the fruits, vegetables, milk and bread at a local grocery store call Nester's Market. The price was just over $40. Canadian dollars. I forgot to purchase the milk I originally went there to buy.

 

So I stopped at the pharmacy on my way home and bought berries, frozen dinners, milk, fabric sheets, snacks and a health supplement.  The cost was about $88. with the supplement taking up almost a third of the cost.

I didn't have my receipts handy when posting these photos but I will post them soon.

I was craving something for dessert the other night so I made this blueberry loaf. It's actually a muffin recipe to which I added a fraction of the sugar in the recipe.  I baked it in a  silicone loaf pan. I don't know why I did that. I really don't like the texture of muffins or sweet breads that are baked in a silicone pan. I find the silicone is good for bread baking though. I'm not sure why that is. This loaf was made with a mixture of spelt and white flour. I am not so good at figuring out the healthiest flours to use and I restrain myself from buying alternative flours until I figure out what works best and what I can bake. Do any of you have a healthier flour to recommend where one can bake and use the flour in the same quantities as if you are using white or whole wheat?

Blueberry loaf baked in silicone loaf pan.

I didn't eat today so by the time I went out to do the grocery shopping I ate at McDonald's. I didn't eat most of the fries and today the bun was super sloppy. They were having a deal on Big Macs. Long ago when McDonald's first opened in my town in the north, the Big Macs were the thing to get. Personally I found them sloppily made from the beginning so never ate them until recently. This one was not good at all though the ones I've had in the last year have all been quite fine. The drink was good. Some kind of mango - pineapple smoothie. 

Knitting is one way I try and relax while also doing something constructive. I enjoy knitting but haven't branched out too much. I have made slippers in the past but I think they are too slippery to wear, pardon the pun.  So I stick to dishcloths.

This is one of the newer books I picked up at the library. It's very interesting and well written. I'm reading it very slowly.

I'm still working on the Fly Lady system. I never did get into the zone cleaning but I do the other routines quick regularly. I've started the kitchen clear out on Wednesday's to try and help me keep the refrigerator cleaner than it usually is. I tend to buy too much and have to cram everything inside. Then food goes to waste. These days I'm shopping less frequently, buying less and trying to meal plan so I can reduce what I need to buy. I'm in early days with this. Gosh, in the old days I sure didn't need to keep on such a schedule and everything was cleaner and tidier than I'm able to keep things nowadays. I think it's a combination of getting older and not caring quite as much.  But now I want to get everything in order for a multiple of reasons.

 

 

In addition to Wednesday's refrigerator clean out, I usually wash and change bedding on the weekend.

It's nearing the end of February and it's still chilly outside at night. The mink sheets are getting good use and are nice and cosy against the skin.  It's supposed to be sunny later this week. I'm certainly hoping so because I've been trying to get to the beach for photos. It will make a change from indoor activities no matter the weather but I would rather go on a warmer, sunny day.

I'm making changes to the blog and haven't hit on an agreeable combination of fonts and colours. Please bear with me as I try to figure it all out.

I'll be very busy this coming week with a few appointments so it may take awhile. How are you keeping yourself busy during these pandemic times? Where I live people many conditions have now been lifted as we try to navigate through a different way of living with the threat of world wide diseases.  Earlier this week the majority of pandemic restrictions were lifted. People are getting ready to return to their work places if they haven't already.  People are still pretty disciplined about not getting together socially, especially with those that have underlying health conditions,  Public activities like sporting events, concerts, weddings and funerals are now open. Masks and vaccine passports are still required in my province though not in every Canadian province.

Thursday - Errand Day

Thursday is usually errand day for me and I often run several errands on this day.  However, today I only ran one and that was to do some grocery shopping.  I don't want to be running major errands this weekend unless it's to the library.

I really didn't want to go out today but I finally did and I closed out the store because I went out so late.  It means I didn't shop as carefully as I normally would but at least it's all done! Go me 👍🎉🎈. I intended to buy a few items needed to make taco soup. Would you believe I completely missed out on buying 2 of the items I need? I can probably get by without buying sour cream because I have plain Greek yogurt. I may need to go out and buy taco seasoning and cream cheese but there is a possibility I have both in my cupboards and refrigerator. I'll have to check more closely before buying more.

I guess I'm getting ahead of myself. I didn't mention that Friday and Saturday's menu consists of roasted chicken with red potatoes and veggies/salad. Another night is taco soup topped with avocado, shredded cheese and a dollop of cream. 

Once I got to the store I saw that a 2 pack of whole chickens, a "family pack" of steak and roast beef were on sale. I picked them up and also picked up a round of Kolbassa sausage. Though I haven't exactly planned the week's menu I have certain basic things that I do with the meat and fowl and I have been experimenting of late just to keep things interesting.  I find the cost of beef, pork and chicken have gone through the roof.  For awhile the store wasn't selling the 2 pack of chicken which had always been a staple of mine. I'm craving chicken souvlaki with rice pilaf and lemon-garlic potatoes. Maybe now I can make some.  I would buy more chickens but I have no available freezer space. (Please click on all photos to enlarge).

I got a good selection of vegetables, herbs and greens.

I don't often buy beef steaks or roasts anymore.

2 pack chicken, fruits, choc bars and other treats.

If you're like me you like to see how much other people pay for their groceries. I know that some places like England and parts of the USA, do not pay the same high prices we pay in Canada. Within Canada too the prices vary a lot.  It is much cheaper to buy groceries in places like Edmonton, Alberta or Toronto, Ontario, than it is in Vancouver, BC.  For what reason, I do not know and I find it rather annoying.

Today's haul cost me just over $100 (see receipt) and I paid for the pack of chicken with points, not cash. This food will last about 10 -14 days, perhaps longer if we have meatless days.  But I will need to supplement the haul with other things like more veggies, milk, eggs,yogurt and possibly bread/baked goods; all as needed. Considering prices here, I think the overall total was a good deal.

I haven't mentioned Kenya for awhile and I wanted to let people know that I'm still looking for a helper for Janet, the lady who started a hair business after being chased from her family home. My assistance will come to an end in March and I would like to find someone who could help her and her 4 daughters for a few months. It would mean $40 - 60 Canadian per month.  This is just enough to pay rent and a few food items. It would help her get a surer footing. If you cannot afford that but want to help her, please send any amount.

Rose, the mature woman who recently had a baby by C-Section is now in the town of Kericho with her friend. She has developed a bit of an infection in her wound and the doctor wanted her to visit the hospital more than once this week so she could be treated. She returns Friday (it's already Friday in Kenya) then hopefully she will be released to home. It costs approximately $35 - $40. Canadian for each visit. Almost two thirds of this amount is for private transport since Rose cannot ride the crowded vans they call matatu with her baby.  It isn't safe, especially during this time of Covid and it also isn't good for her wound. This past week was more expensive than $35 - $40 because the baby's umbilical cord area also required a bit of medical attention and Rose's wound needed treatment. 

In Kenya you can either pay the hospital to provide all medicines or you can buy it yourself at a less expensive pharmacy. In all cases we do what we can to save costs and buy medical supplies and even medicines at the pharmacy.  One needs to shop around to find the best pharmacy prices because costs vary a lot. Then the doctors will administer the medicine or use the supplies on your behalf when y\uou visit at the hospital or in their office. This is quite acceptable in Kenya but would never "fly" in Canada or in most western nations. 

By the way, Rose named her baby boy Kipkoech. I hope I am spelling it properly. It means 'new beginnings' or 'blessings of a new day' and is given to boy children who are born in the morning.  I thought the name was very fitting.

Anyway friends, if you are able to help either Janet and her 4 daughters or Rose and her baby boy please be in touch. You can find the Pay Pal link on the right hand side of this blog. Thank you for your consideration.

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Valentine's Day is coming soon.  Whether you do anything special or are with loved ones or by yourself, please be kind to yourself and enjoy the day.  Thank you so much for your visit.

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Wednesday - Hump Day

Hi everyone, It's been another busy day. After a very slow start and being behind on everything I managed to end the day with a satisfactory amount of work accomplished.

After dinner the dishes were done and sink shined.

I ran some vinegar through the coffee maker. It's been clogging a lot.

I washed the inside of the stove's glass door. Cleaning of the oven will happen in spring.

Roast pork tenderloin was the star of Wednesday's dinner.

I always love a medley of roast veggies tossed in oil and herbs.

I finally made some spicy, roasted chick peas.

It's Anti-Procrastination Day in Fly Lady Land. I didn't actually plan the tasks I completed today because I was feeling very sore from a bit of exercise I did this week. I'm so out of shape because all I have been doing for awhile is walking. I just added some strength training back to my regime. I hope I can sustain it for awhile. I've also added this 'pink' drink to my daily intake. Does anyone know what it's called? I started a few days ago primarily to help balance my blood sugar. It seems to be working. Of course for most people low carb eating works too but my low carb eating is not consistent so I need other strategies.

All in all, it's been a busy week so far and I've decided to take the day off from cooking tomorrow. There is enough left over chili from yesterday to feed us.  There is also sandwich and salad fixings ready for use if need be. 

Last but not least, I'm on the last one third of the book, Arctic Man recommended by Red at the blog Hiawatha House. At first I wasn't 'feeling' the book but I'm really enjoying it now.  It is fascinating insight into early 'white' contact with Eskimo people, now called Inuit.  I'm also enjoying learning about the early economy of Canada's far north, the activity of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) and the mode and manner of travel between very remote and distant, not to mention cold, places I will likely never get to see. The simple map provided at the beginning of the book was very useful and I made good use of it. I think I almost wore the book out flipping back and forth to the beginning. I wish everyone could read this book especially those that are enamored of the writer Farley Mowatt. Ernie Lyall, the writer of  Arctic Man wrote this book in part because he wanted to set the record straight about a number of incorrect statements made by Farley Mowatt in his writings about the north country. I'm glad he did because his writings are also an important contribution to Canada's history.

Wednesday is Anti-Procrastination Day

Hey friends and fellow bloggers,

I hope the week is going well for you.  It's been a bit busy for me but not with anything major. I just have a lot of little things to do and small things to catch up on. Don't you find that little things seem to take more time somehow?

I completed the murder-mystery by Canadian author Shari Lapena. I enjoyed it but the ending left me a bit disappointed though I think someone else may find it suits them fine. I don't want to say more because I know many of you are fans of murder-mystery novels so I don't want to give anything away.  Currently I'm reading, The Lemon Tree Hotel and Arctic Man both of which are good for different reasons. However I  wouldn't say they are totally engrossing.  Just satisfying and satisfying is good enough.

I'm still working to try and keep the meals tasty and interesting.

These are a few of the meals we had in the past few days.

Stir fried beef and onions and stir fried noodles with chili and vegetables.

BBQ Ribs and Kraft dinner with side of coleslaw (coleslaw not in photo)

Curried cauliflower & split peas served with rice and homemade chapati

Penne-pasta-lox-n-spinach with caesar salad.

BBQ-salmon-pilaf-salad

 

I think I mentioned that I try to follow the Fly Lady household routines. One of the big principles is to clean and shine your sink at least once a day. I try but often it seems like I don't get to it until very late at night.  It takes me so long just to wash the dinner dishes after I've finished eating dinner. Now and then I get ahead of the game and it always feels good to have a nice, clean sink.

Yesterday I paid the fee for the community garden and asked my nephew and his girlfriend to take over the plot once again this year.  After that I'll decide whether I want to continue renting the plot going forward. My nephew and his girlfriend gained some valuable gardening experience and I was able to focus on my patio garden and also catch up with a lot of projects and tasks at home.

One of my favourite days is Wednesday which is called anti-procrastination day in the land of Fly Lady. I usually am able to get one niggling item out of the way on that day, sometimes two.  I think it helps me to stop thinking about my long list of items during the week if I have a dedicated day to work on them. Of course, if I'm up to it I can also work on such tasks on any other day.

Errand day is on Thursday and I usually run to the post office, grocery stores and the library. Actually grocery shopping usually takes me about 3 separate errands on different days but Thursday is the main shopping day and some weeks I don't have so much to buy. Tomorrow I am expecting a package and I'm looking forward to it.  If it turns out to be helpful I will write about it in a future post.

Friday I'm also expecting a long awaited delivery of grass fed beef from an area where the ranchers were flooded out in November. You might remember me writing about the floods and the destruction of a major highway from Vancouver to the Interior of BC and beyond. I'm surprised the rancher has anything to deliver but I'm anticipating they won't be able to fulfill all their orders, possibly even mine so we shall see what happens.

We had some sunny days last week and fog earlier in the week. The weather forecast was for possible snow today. In fact it is did snow but barely and it quickly melted before the rain started.

As you can see, the sky is very gray and not very interesting unless there are some distant lights to look at.

Other things keeping me busy are liaising with long distance friends and relatives, watching a lot of Netflix, daily devotions and prayer and the daily things that keep the household going.

What about you dear reader? What things kept you busy this week?

Whatever it is you are doing, I hope you are keeping healthy and happy.

What's Up in My World

It was a real treat to go to a restaurant on Monday night. I had so many errands to run and I didn't want to make a late dinner so I opted to go to a local Vietnamese restaurant. 

This dinner consists of pork brochette, roll dip, crepes and fried rice and though it was a tad over done it was still very delicious. (Click on each photo to enlarge).

I also made a library run. I picked up these three books which came up early on my hold request. I'm still working on 2 other books. I hope I can finish them all before someone else makes a request for them. That's always the challenge with popular books.

While at the library I took notice of their digital language services. Some day I've got to investigate further and use the service. 

Likewise with these free creative lessons also on digital offer. 

I haven't done anything crafty for awhile so I started this doily.  I love making doilies and have missed doing so. 

I've also been using the Instant Pot for cooking dinner these days. It keeps flavor in and makes cooking so much easier. 

Pot roast, cabbage, carrots, onion and potatoes with gravy.

Chicken (cooked in IP) served with roasted fries topped with chili, green salad.

I think I mentioned before that I try to follow the Fly Lady house cleaning routine system.  I've never been one who liked a lot of structure and routines but I found that with everything I want to get done, I needed more structure to my days.  The daily and weekly routines keep me fairly busy.  At the same time I'm also downsizing, decluttering, redecorating, bringing paperwork up to date, enjoying hobbies, working on Kenyan missions, following through with all the doctors appointments and doing all the things that arise with daily household and family life.

 

I've also started Christmas preparations slowly but surely. Last week I prepared most of my Christmas cards, printed recipes to include with some of the cards, made frequent trips to the post office to pick up parcels and send mail, purchased some artificial flowers for my yet to be made holiday bouquet.  I've also been scouring the on line shops for the last few gifts I want to send to loved ones and friends.  Hopefully I'll be done with all but three cards and gifts by the end of November.

With all these activities I can honestly say I'm never bored. I just wish I could accomplish things a lot more quickly than I seem to do.  But slow progress is better than no progress. 

How about you dear reader?  What is keeping you busy these days? Have you started Christmas preparations? Do you have a lot to do? 

I don't really have a lot to do to get ready for Christmas. I could get by with preparing a simple meal and putting up  minimal decorations. However, I like to reach out to others at Christmas and try to make a bit of an effort at the holiday.  After all they only happen once a year.  This means remembering people with cards and notes and often making hand made gifts if time permits, otherwise I look to buy something suitable.  Some years I give fewer gifts than other years.  A lot of that depends on what my loved ones need or what they may be going through.  Much of the time most of us in the family really don't need more things when we already have so much compared to those in the Kenyan villages where I've seen first hand the suffering and the hardships.  There is a great need for even the most basic of things (food, medicine, education, books, pens and so on).  One year I was fortunate enough to be in Kenya during Christmas month and I enjoyed visiting several villages and taking basic food supplies to many widows and orphans.

 

I would love to do a bit more baking at Christmas but I don't like to bake if I don't have more people to share it with so the past few years I've only made Christmas bark because we always eat chocolate and nuts. Since the pandemic began I have only visited with 5 people:  my nephew and his girlfriend (we visited outside in the park), my brother and his wife (we had dinner at a restaurant) and one friend (we've met for coffee a few times which we usually drink outside the coffee shop).  Of course I've mingled with others at the post office, the pharmacy and the grocery store but my world has become very small and I take all the precautions.  I have been fully vaccinated and all of my contacts have been fully vaccinated too. I'm due for a booster shot early in December.

Last but not least, I want to mention that I've put a new Pay Pal link on the blog for those that are able to donate to Kenyan missions. Perhaps some of you are thinking of a Christmas gift to the missions. It will be a huge blessing to those in Kenya who have no social safety net. You simply need to click the red flower on the side bar and it will take you to the right place. My friend Jo says to tell everyone that "it's dead easy!" Thank so much for your consideration.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers 🦃🦃🦃🙏🙏🙏

and 

Happy Season of Christmas preparations to all. 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄

Farm Animals at the PNE & A Few Other Things

These are not the best photos due to low lighting and use of a poor phone camera but I took these several years ago and don't believe I ever posted them. They are photos of the farm animals I took when my niece and I went to the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE). She really enjoyed all the animals. I did take photos of other animals and will probably share them at a later date. Today I am showing the pigs.  I love little piglets and always think of the movie Babe whenever I see them.

 

Sadly, my niece and I couldn't have a visit at Christmas or this summer for her birthday like we usually do. Both of us have underlying conditions so it isn't worth the risk. 

We have been going to the PNE every year for years with her late mom and grandma but of course this year the PNE was not open for business as usual.

The spider I photographed last week is still on it's web in the same spot. It was difficult to get a good shot today.  Please check this post if you would like to see better photos of the spider and it's web.

Tonight's news reported that the air quality advisory for Vancouver and area has been lifted. That's such a relief.  The sky is full of rain clouds and we are expecting rain for several days this coming week.  I took the photo below on Saturday early evening.  There was a flock of birds flying around (click the photo to enlarge and you will see the black spots near the church steeple).  The birds were flying too fast and were too far away to capture them clearly.

I captured a few geranium shots using a lens borrowed from my brother who is a more serious photographer.  He is letting me try 4 different lens and I'm experimenting here and there.  They are all prime lenses not a zoom like I usually use.  I eventually want to move beyond my zoom lens.

I'm currently reading these two digital books and have a notice to pick up 5 paper books at the library.

 

I've made a new header for my blog.  I was looking for some Fall photos which I know i have somewhere but my digital files are not well organized. I have been decluttering digital files here and there and there is much more to do. The last step will be organizing what I have left,  be it digital assets or physical ones. Anyway the photo I've selected instead is of the Pokot children who come from the northern part of Kenya. 

It was taken on a mission we undertook some years back to bring a bit of food relief to the Pokot people who go hungry whenever there is a drought. We have undertaken several food missions to the Pokot people as they are often overlooked given their location in the far north and dusty parts of Kenya.  There are little to no amenities where they live.  The Pokot are largely pastoralists and when there is a drought their cattle die off. 

In the photo the children are eating bread and juice and I believe they also got some fruit that day.  Watermelon if I remember correctly. Many Kenyans love white bread and it is a treat as it isn't something they get very often.  The food stuffs we gave to the households consisted mainly of rice, maize flour and oil. There is a button on the right side bar for anyone who would like to help the people of Kenya. That button will be there for the foreseeable future and there are other links to different aspects of the needs and work in Kenya.

Last,  but not least,  I'm on Day 19 of the 31 Fly Lady Baby Steps (click the highlighted words if you would like to read more about Fly Lady's Baby Steps). If  you already follow the Fly Lady, let me know how what you think of her system.  As for me, I'm working hard at it even though I don't like routines.  For clarity, I do much more than the Baby Steps during the course each day but gradually I am hoping to replace my various quasi routines with a system that seems to work for so many women around the world.  (Note:  I am not buying Fly Lady books or  merch to undertake any routines. I use what I have or get something local if needed).  I'm working toward better routines so that I can keep a household running smoothly, keep up with all my responsibilities and have more time for reading, hobbies and most importantly Bible studies and devotions as well as the  Missions of Hope Kenya.

Enjoy your weekend and stay safe.

I'm linking up with Saturday's Critters.