Hello New Week

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

I hope you are all doing well. In my corner of the world, I've been enjoy all the lovely tree blossoms despite our erratic weather. We had one day, I believe it was last Friday, when I actually felt overly warm in my rain jacket. Many people were out in shorts, sandals and sleeveless shirts but I found the heat was only evident if you were in the direct sunlight. In the shade it was a bit chilly. 

Anyway, soon enough it will probably be too hot for me. The summer forecast is for heat, drought and  wildfire concerns.  I shouldn't get ahead of myself.  For now,  we are still in spring and waiting for the dog days of summer. 

Ducks at the park

Spring is a time for some heavy duty cleaning after winter. I was able to clean the oven and behind the stove. I'm so glad those jobs are done. I've also wanted a new toilet seat and cover in the main bathroom but had difficulty getting the old ones off. It seemed the nuts and bolts were very rusted and fused together. I finally asked dear hubby for help and he ended up cutting through everything and pulling it all out. Again, I'm so glad that job is done. It makes a huge difference to have a new cover on the bowl.   The main bathroom also got a thorough cleaning. I even got down on the floor and looked up to see where any dirt and dust bunnies were. I don't do that very often.

Spring is also my favourite season to get out for walks and enjoy all the beautiful tree blossoms and green returning to the city after the winter's gray skies.

This month did not disappoint.

We've had a lot of rain yet we still have drought like conditions due to the early snow melt on the mountains. We've had a few sunny days to offset the rainy ones. It's usually enough of a balance to keep me satisfied.

Walking to Beaver Lake

I haven't posted any food related photos for awhile. Here are some recent meals cooked at home or picked up at the restaurant. These were all delicious.

Cabbage Roll Soup

Mixed vegetable and chicken stir fry with chili oil

Vietnamese Lemongrass Pork and Spring Roll Bun

Chicken and grape salad

Pork chops with sautéed mushrooms and barley pilau

Classic pound cake

I hope all of you are enjoying your April. I have a lot more left to do before the month is over so I'll be keeping busy.

Thank you for stopping by!

Spring Activities Continue

Hi friends,


It's been raining a lot here this week so I didn't get to plant my 2 gardens plot yet. I am happy about that because it gave me time to shift to doing a few other things. I'm still in Spring cleaning and spruce it up mode.  I'm making notes here for my own record and for future reference.

 I'm constantly in the process of decluttering and getting rid of things some of which has piled up for over a decade.  Things piled up when I spent years looking after my late sister's children then looking after my late mom.  I couldn't spend time to properly deal with my business while others in the family were in great need. The declutter project I'm doing will still take a lot more time.  I don't easily get rid of things and like to take time going through everything meticulously.

Sometimes I go through things 3 or 4 times before making final decisions and over the years, needs and wants change and things come into clearer focus as to what is needed or can be let go. I am no hoarder though and over the years have gotten rid of a lot of things mostly through giving to the thrift store or posting things on the local Freecycle website.  For now while I'm still in declutter mode I'm trying to spruce things up a bit.

Spring Cleaning

• A new bathroom shower curtain. I just changed it a year ago and felt the colours (navy on white) needed toning down. My new curtain is mostly white and has small designs in navy and gray). I intend to paint the bathroom (something I never seem to get to) and install a train rack for extra towel storage.
• Purchased some command hooks for the laundry closet on which to hang my mop and broom. I've had metal ones for many years but never got around to nailing them in the wall. So at last I have some stick on ones. I've purchased extra command strips if needed. One of the shelf units in the laundry closet came out of the wall so rather than put it back up I purchased some narrower plastic shelves from Wal-mart a year or two ago. I am happy with the new arrangement because I don't have a laundry room as such and have to make do with a very small laundry closet.
• I emptied and cleaned the vacuum cleaner, vacuumed the living room/dining room and moved the area rug from the front room into the master bedroom. I'm looking for another one or two larger area rugs for the living room and dining area. I've been looking for a very long time. I am not in a big rush because of all the other things I have to do and because I hope to live with my purchases for many years to come.
• I bought a new larger entry hall rug to replace the temporary one I bought last year.  I went back and forth to the store 3 times to buy and exchange the rugs. In the end I got a different colour than I wanted.  That's okay because the entry hall rug and the kitchen rug are now the same design (different colours) and can be interchanged if I want to change the colour scheme in the kitchen.
• I bought a new tablecloth (narrow brick red and tan stripes on natural background) and natural coloured napkins.  I've got a number of tablecloths I bought many years ago but wanted something to freshen things up. I think I can get rid of at least one or two tablecloths that have seen better days.
• New (slightly larger) kitchen rug, dish rack, draining mat and oven mitts. I've decided I'd rather have a dish tray under the Umbra dish rack but have been having problems finding just the right one. Maybe I'll change my mind as time goes on and stick with the draining mat. I will donate the well used teak dish rack and several drying mats. If no one wants them I'll be fine with putting them in the trash because all of the items have been used for quite a long time.
• I bought an under the sink shelf. I'm not sure if I'll use it in my kitchen or in the master bathroom. If I like it I may buy another one later. Right now I use plastic containers under the kitchen and master bath sink to keep things organized. Right now though the  master bathroom stuff is out of control and needs to be reined in again (I'm working on not buying more products and using up what I have. It takes discipline).
• I used some white wood putty to fill in some cracks on my kitchen cabinets. I'm not sure yet but I may paint out the lower cabinets some time in future or I may reface the kitchen cabinets.  It will depend on whether I can make a small repair to one of the cabinet hinges and also on overall costs. This is just one of so many projects that need to be done.  For now I am focussing on the smaller projects to try and make the household flow a bit better.  It seems to be a never ending process.
• I purchased a can of Scott's Liquid Gold to shine up the kitchen cabinets after washing. I only buy this stuff about once every decade and mainly use it on my laundry closet shutter doors to shine them up a bit. I got this tip from an Executive Assistant to a former boss.  We would share a few decorating ideas from time to time. I was surprised to learn that this product is multi-functional and can even be used on kitchen pots to shine them up.
• Notes: Most of my new purchases were done at HomeSense so the items were all at a discount.  Of course the stock changes daily.  If you waffle a bit and return another day you take a risk that it might not be in stock when you return.  Imagine my surprise when I returned the very next day for a red & beige rug for the entry hall (there were 3 of them less than 24 hours earlier) and they were all gone! Since I visited the store daily for 3 days in a row it was clear to me that stock turnover happens very quickly.  Overall though I've been very pleased with what I found there. I'd been wanting to stop at this store for years. I didn't realize it's location was convenient to me.

There is a lot more work to do in the coming weeks to continue spring cleaning and decluttering though I won't likely write about all of it in this space (lucky you).

Gardening

I bought some pansies to plant in the containers on the balcony. I should have time later this week to undertake this task. Pansies are one of my favourite little flowers and each year it is hard to find the starter plants here. When I saw a few earlier this week I snapped up 10 pots because the store didn't have much stock and very little of the purple colour I love so much.  I have to plant them soon and hopefully the weather will cooperate later this week.

Frugal Cooking

I've baked bread every week for the past 3 weeks. We haven't eaten it all up so I made bread pudding with some of the slices. I forgot to take a photo. It was good but I'm still looking for a good recipe. I find most of the recipes I've tried result in what I consider to be a dry pudding.

I want a pudding that is much creamier and similar to what my late mom used to make. Too bad I didn't learn her recipe but back then I really didn't enjoy cooking at all and had no interest in learning much about it.  In the version I made today I added more milk (find it here) and used less sugar. It was a decent outcome as in tasty but lacked the creamy texture I'm after.  I think the trick might be more eggs and milk though that might make a bread omelette, lol.  If you are a cook and have a creamy bread pudding recipe that you wouldn't mind sharing please let me know.

Right now I'm cooking from my food stock and only buying the barest minimum of foods, like a bit of fruit or eggs and milk to supplement what I have on hand.  I've got a lot of dried and canned goods as well as stuff in the freezer that I want to use up before I do any more grocery shopping.

So for today we had garlic mashed potatoes, fried pork chops and canned cream corn. I have salad fixings but I didn't make any salad.  Once I eat salad I tend to be too full for the main course. Dessert was bread pudding.

Yesterday we had baked chicken breasts (bone in) with canned browned mushrooms and mushroom soup "sauce" over steamed rice with steamed asparagus on the side. We had oranges for dessert.  I think Monday I'll make breakfast for dinner (bacon, eggs and hash browns or bacon with an omelette so I can put some veggies in there).  The goal is to use as much of my stock of food as possible so I can clean the freezer and the inside spaces of the cabinets.


If I run out of meat or fowl I will make vegetarian meals with chick peas, lentils and so on. In fact I hope to intersperse some of the meat and chicken dishes with vegetarian ones. I was inspired by browsing through the book by Mary McCartney (daughter to Paul and Linda McCartney). I didn't buy the book. I just sat down for awhile and thumbed through it (and a few other books) enough to be motivated once again to eat more vegetarian meals. One thing I want to make (which I saw in Mary McCartney's cookbook) is a corn meal bread with jalapeno peppers and corn niblets. I have several bags of cornmeal that a friend gave me and I need to use it up soon. In fact, I'm not sure what the expiry date is (it's in sealed plastic bags with no markings).  Perhaps I should open one bag and smell it first.

Creativity

The crochet afghan I am making is going to be large enough to comfortably cover a twin sized bed so it is much larger than the throws I've been making to cosy up while sitting on the sofa. I think I'll be gifting it to my uncle who is now in long term care but first I'll call his wife and see if this is okay with them because my idea is rather last minute.  I'll take some photos of the finished product and share them when I'm done.

Television/Movies

I started watching a new series called "Hanna" on Amazon Prime.  I'm on episode 4 and find it very interesting. Are any of you watching it? I wanted to go and see the movie Dumbo but haven't got around to it yet. Have any of you seen it and do you recommend it for adults?


Reading

I am also reading a bit here and there. I am slowly working my way through the book Beyond Expectations which  I  picked up during my recent travels to Kenya.

It is quite interesting and chock full of information about the early days of Kenya's independence and the power brokers of the day.

I also picked up 3 more books at the library.

The Piano Teacher,  set in the 40s and 50s in Hong Kong. It's a fictional story which is primarily about two separate but intertwined love stories set in the period before and after Japanese occupation.  I've just finished the book and I would probably give it a 3 or 3.5 out of 5 stars.

I'm about to start on the next two books.

On Island is a book of fictional short stories written by a former Canadian Member of Parliament. The stories revolve around island living.

We're Going to Need More Wine is a memoir by actor Gabrielle Union. Her essays are true stories about power, color, gender, feminism and fame.

Other

I was hoping to see an old friend for lunch but she's had some family issues come up as well as some health issues so our get together is temporarily on hold.  I have another friend who I hope to see early in the week. I've suggested we go and see the Monet to Matisse exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery. I thought we were going on "cheap night" but I now see it may still cost quite a lot so I'll have to reconfirm with her tomorrow. Next up I have to meet with a new financial advisor. I've been wanting to change up advisors for some time now but never have time to do the research. I've been called by a new to me advisor at one of the banks I deal with so am hoping to have a meet and get to know you session before any decisions are made. There have also been a number of dental and medical related appointments on the agenda this month and some family matters of my own (all is well) and the ongoing charitable work in Kenya. I didn't expect April to be so busy.

 ~~~~~

I hope you are well and busy and that you

 have a wonderful week ahead wherever you may be in the world.

Joining

Our World Tuesday

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Spring is Here

Hi friends,

I hope you are all doing well as the new week begins.

I had a pleasant surprise as the last week came to a close.  Debbie over at the blog She Graces Her Home in God's Grace touched me when she gifted me with a beautiful book and journal. It is perfect for me at this time because I've been thinking of journalling during my prayer time and this beautiful book and journal will get me going in the right direction. Take a wander over to Debbie's blog and you will see what a gracious woman she is.  The black, gray and white afghan the books are on is my latest project, a crocheted afghan. I think this will be my first make (not my last) of 2019.

I've been super busy trying to get everything organized for spring.

I know some people no longer believe in Spring cleaning. They say if you clean all through the year there is no need for Spring cleaning. I'm not sure I believe that because I do daily cleaning and larger clear outs and clean ups in between.  But I always find that come Spring I can see dirt, dust and grime that accumulates over months and as the light improves I can see things that need a good cleaning.  Plus I find that living in a smaller home one tends not to move things around too often because it is a lot of work.  So some things need a good spruce up every now and then.

This past week I've been washing down a number of things:

1) bathroom doors and walls
2) bathroom fixtures and installed new shower curtain
3) kitchen cabinets (outside only, insides will come later as time permits)
4) a few pieces of Royal Doulton china (Old Country Roses pattern).

I don't have a china cabinet, nor do I want one. These days my few pieces of china sit on a shelf atop the microwave.

It's also time to get the patio cleaned up and I've made a good start by

1) plucking all the dead growth and leaves
2) piling all the garbage in bags readying them  to take to the garbage room
3) washing all the garden gloves to make sure they are clean and ready for the gardening season (I probably should have done this last year. I had good intentions but never got to it.)
4) scrubbed down the large patio table and put up the patio umbrella(this is where I sit with family and friends)
5) scrubbed down the smaller, round patio table (this is where I do my planting).

Photo taken before I washed down the tables. The pavers need a good wash too.

Last year I purchased plastic table cloths from Dollarama for both patio tables. It helped to keep the tables clean of grit and grime. I know it's not that great for the environment to use all that plastic but it was labour saving for me and with some of my health challenges this is important.  I was going to wash and save the ones from last year but by the end of season they didn't look like they would last through a good wash.

I also made it to my new community allotment to clear out the debris and put in the fertilizer. I will return this week to see if there is any more fertilizer I can add before I plant.

The plot before cleaning.

I need to think about what I want to plant here at home and at the community allotment and see what I have on hand before making a trip to the stores for seeds, fertilizer and so forth.

This past week has been all about baking and cooking from scratch for make ahead meals. I've made home made bread and lots of lasagna for freezing ahead. Lasagna is something I seldom make but I felt like having some so I made enough to last awhile. It will help me during the busy week ahead to have something on hand to take out of the freezer and eat with a green salad.

Dough is rising.

I've finished a book that I received from a woman who also has a community garden plot. I found the book quite entertaining as it is an account of one woman's effort to grow food and raise animals for food while living in Oakland, California and the interesting and sometimes funny situations that arose.

I leave you with some signs of Spring in my part of the world.  Like many people, Spring is one of my favourite seasons

I'm hoping for more time to resume my posts about my recent travels abroad once I've finished the planting and gotten a few appointments out of the way. 

I have so many photos that it takes so much time to load them, decide which ones to use and then resize them before posting.

 Our World Tuesday

Enjoy your week 

A New Dish to Try & Making Progress on Goals

I've spent the past two days getting caught up on Spring cleaning and pulling together all of the things I will give away or try to sell.  Normally I give everything to the thrift stores but I think this time I will do up an advertisement for Freecycle.  This is where you and like minded people, offer or request things that you want to get rid of, or acquire for free.  Even though there is a local branch, I actually heard of this service through a friend who lives in North Carolina. While I've been a member for quite some time, I've never actually used the service so this will be my first try.  I have a lot to give away: 6 bags of outerwear and linens, one tub of patterns, and two small boxes.

My assortment of stuff for giveaway.

I also did a lot of laundering of things that only get laundered maybe once a year and need special attention.  Lots of things continue to be moved around the apartment and "rejigged" as I get rid of things and make room.  This is a constant "work in progress".  I'm getting fairly close to getting to outstanding paper clutter and going through the 4 drawer file cabinet. I intend to get rid of at least 3 of the 4 drawers of paper but these need to be shredded and that takes time.  Once there is room in the cabinet,  I can add the papers that are currently in boxes I brought home from moms. I have already sorted through these boxes fairly well once when I first brought them to my home but next sort will be the fine tuning one where I decide what is absolutely necessary to keep.  My challenge is that I am the keeper of special or important documents; not just mine but for 3 other adults (family members) who cannot keep it for themselves due to various circumstances.

Another big project out of the way today was a good cleaning of the garden. A friend came over to do the work for me and I was amazed at how much he did in such a short time. It took him about 2 hours to clear away what would normally take me time over a 2 or 3 day period. I'm so pleased to have this work done because it is going to rain for the next few days. Once the rain stops, the bedding plants will at last get planted!  The constant rains and cool weather have really delayed all this work but at least it is getting done now. We did have a few days of sunshine but on those days I was busy. The patio furniture will be cleaned up very soon too and made ready for al fresco dining and relaxing with friends.

I managed to try another new recipe today. Something I've been wanting to try for years. I don't know why but it is one of those dishes that I just never got around to making and I felt intimidated by. I have my blogging friend, Diane at the blog, My Life in the Charente to thank for inspiring me to make the soup at last and I was pleased to find that it is really very easy.  My regular readers know that I only like to make easy recipes.  You can find Diane's recipe for butternut squash soup here.

Butternut Squash Soup

I most often modify recipes according to what I have on hand and today was no exception. In this case, I omitted the dairy, the citrus and the apple; not because I didn't want to add these but I didn't happen to have them on hand even though I normally would have these items in stock! I just made sure I had enough broth and seasoning to ensure the squash and onions were cooked and to ensure that the blended version would be reasonably thick and creamy. It worked out perfectly and it was so tasty! I will definitely try this soup again and also the spinach soup I tried for the first time the other day.

It's Been a Fruitful Few Days of Spring Cleaning

We've had a few days of sunshine in my city which has given me an impetus to do some spring cleaning.  It was also a few days of relaxing, cooking a bit and reading.

I read several chapters of my new to me book, "The Orchid Thief".  I wouldn't say that this is the best book I've ever read, but I must say I am enjoying it a lot.  I didn't realize there were so many varieties of orchids.  I also didn't know that there have been orchid collectors and hunters for hundreds and hundreds of years.  What is sad is that early hunters plundered the orchids in many countries around the world to satisfy the orchid fever of a few collectors in far away places.  Many of the orchids did not survive the shipping conditions enroute to their new homes in faraway lands.

I  purchased this book at the YWCA Thrift Store for $1.00.

I managed to make a good start on cleaning different parts of the apartment. The dining area in particular was cleaned and dusted and the dining table and chairs well cleaned.  I need to mix up some home made furniture polish and shine it up before taking photos so I can sell the dining set and make room for the smaller set I purchased in January.

In the kitchen I rearranged a few things, placing little used items on the top of the kitchen cupboards to make more room for the things I need to keep on the kitchen counter tops.  I would rather not have items stored at the top of the kitchen cabinets.  On the other hand, at least the items are close at hand when I do need them. I keep a two step ladder near by so I can reach the items.

Another big job was cleaning out the small laundry area.  It is very crowded in there as it is the only real storage area. It was rather dusty so I took everything out and washed the floor. I moved things out temporarily because the washer repairman was coming over to inspect the washer.  It has been making loud banging noises for some time. The repairman declared the washer in fine shape after taking it apart to have a look.  Too bad it cost me $90. to learn that. It hasn't eliminated the need to constantly rebalance the washer. I guess we'll just have to be more careful how the clothes go into the washer in the first place. I think the washer is starting to show it's age.

I've labelled the different things in this small laundry closet. If you want to read the labels please click on the photo to enlarge it.

I also made a start on the overhaul of the master bathroom. I really do have far too much stuff in there. The excess of things is a hold over from my spending days. I have enough facial and body wash products to do me for a few years. Probably longer than the shelf life of the products!  I confess I've spent so much money trying so many products largely due to having very dry and itchy skin and dry hair too. What I've learned is that this has largely been a waste of time and money. Spending in this area is probably the one where it has been harder to learn to exercise spending restraint and I am still learning to discipline myself.  I've been experimenting lately with natural products and I've noticed an improvement in skin conditions.  I think I need to learn to make my own products once I've used up what I have because the expense of naturally made products is quite high.  Cleaning the bathroom will be a lot easier once I have fewer products in there.

Click to enlarge and read the descriptions. I keep everything in bins and on trays to make it easier to move and clean.  When you have so much it needs to be easily moved.

I washed the mattress pad on my bed to get rid of dust mites.  I should probably vacuum the mattress also but I'll save that for another day when I have a bit more time.  I moved a few things around again because I really don't like having my suitcases in the corner of the bedroom.  I've moved the plastic tubs from the closet to the corner of the room once again, and moved the suitcases back into the closet where I can close the door on them.

Two of the three plastic tubs consist of sewing fabric and patterns. There really isn't a lot of fabric the tub.  It's mainly fabric for one casual jacket. If if I don't get around to making the jacket this Fall, I will gift the fabric to someone. I will go through the patterns in the second tub and most of it will likely go to charity.  The entire contents of the third tub will be taken to charity because it is full of wrapping paper, gift bags and ribbons.  I don't give many gifts anymore so I don't need this stash.

As I went along in the various rooms, I put things in the giveaway bag that I no longer want or need. More things will be put in the give away bag as I go through my things a third and fourth time and cull what I no longer need or use.  There are a few things I am holding on to for my nephew. I feel he is a little young to decide whether he wants them or not so I will hang on to them a little while longer.

We've had a few days of sunshine this week. Unfortunately it will turn to rain again very soon, but in the meantime, I've managed to clean some of the debris from my small garden as I turn my mind to what I hope to plant this year.

These are just some of the possibilities for the garden.

I took out my seed packs and looked for my seed starter cartons and trays.  I usually get my garden in late due to having to travel so often. This year I should manage to be on time with the planting as my travel schedule has been much reduced.  I hope to have some vegetables and herbs to use in my cooking this summer.