Progress

Brrr, it has been quite chilly here both yesterday and today. On Monday it was overcast and raining. I think it was Monday night when it snowed on the mountain top. On Tuesday it was very windy and by the afternoon the clouds and dull sky had cleared.  I went out and joined a friend for a few hours of relaxation over coffee and a natter (chat).  Last night the temperature went as low as -2 Celsius and I had to turn the heat on for awhile in the living room.  My feet are like ice blocks this week so I also have on a pair of socks and slipper booties and from time to time I put the heating pad on my feet too.  I'm drinking cups of tea and hot chocolate to keep warm late at night.

Today it was another cold day.  I dressed warmly when I went out to buy the week's supply of vegetables and fruit.  I stopped at the Post Office where I posted a birthday card to a local friend and a Christmas card to Joshua, son of my new blogging friend, Tammy from Texas.

Tammy is my buddy for a home made ornament swap.  It turns out her son Joshua is in the Army and he is currently posted to the Middle East.  Sadly, he won't be able to join his wife or the rest of his family for Thanksgiving, Christmas or his birthday.  Being the good mother that she is, Tammy has asked people to help bring some Christmas cheer to Joshua by sending him a Christmas card.  Please read here and if you can, do send Joshua a card.

I was delighted to get a surprise at the post office.  I will write about the surprise very soon.

Today I also made 6 more crocheted hexagons for my blanket.  Yesterday and the day before I made the other 11 hexies and weaved in all the ends from the many other hexies made previously.  If I counted correctly, I only need one more hexagon to complete my blanket (I'll have to do a re-count to make sure).  I'm not excited yet. I'll be more excited when I'm finished joining all the pieces.  I'm joining in with Chrissie at Chrissie Crafts and Marianne at Ladybird Diaries

Since I snapped this photo I've made 6 more hexies, woven in all the ends of the others and took apart the hexies I joined together in week 1 (to get a preview of what things would look like).  The colour of the blue in the hexies at the front is off. They are a softer shade than what shows.

I made a couple of  foot appointments today. One for my mom's monthly foot care treatment.  I need to see the doctor to get some antibiotics for an infected toe and a referral to a foot nurse.  I've been going for a pedicure for years and years.  About 3 years ago I started getting infections in my big toes after getting my nails done.  I gather this is common for anyone with ingrown nails but it is a real pain, both figuratively and literally.  I found a mail person who was able to clean my nails and keep them infection free for almost two years now.  Then last week she informed me that she can no longer do ingrown nails due to health inspection rules.  When I heard that, I went back to my former nail salon (naughty me).  Two days later, I my toe was infected.  Lesson learned.  I am hoping a foot care nurse can correct the problem for good.  If not, I will likely need to get my toenails partially removed.

Yuck and sad face :-(.


I leave you now with a view from my patio today.

It was very windy yesterday and today. The good thing about the wind is it drives away the cloud cover.

Have a wonderful rest of your week!

My World Tuesday

In my world this week I am trying hard to juggle everything.  Mostly I find it hard to keep up to housework.  I am never caught up but I try.

I continue to work on 5-6 projects for Christmas.  Most of which will be unveiled on this blog if I remember to take pictures of the finished products.  I'm pleased with the progress I am making so far .

Two projects underway.

It is a very good thing I got an early start on these projects as they are all taking a lot of time and I need to pace myself and do other things in between. 

I've been enjoying reading the book, The Perfume Collector whenever I need a break from crafting.  Sometimes too there is a good movie on television.   I  "enjoy" vacuuming and washing the floors for a physical break every few days.  When I need to run my errands, I  manage to fit in a short walk in the neighbourhood.  Friendships and family remain important in my life just as they are for most people and these relationships all need time.

At this time of year the skies are mostly a dull gray. Now and then we see some clear skies and some sunshine.

It is late Fall in my part of the world.  Most of the brilliantly covered leaves are gone with the winds and rain.

The weather has gotten cold.  It is about 8 or 9 degrees Celsius during the day and about 4 or 5 degrees Celsius at night. On Friday night we had a rain storm to usher in the weekend. Thankfully I missed most of the storm by the time I went out to the pharmacy in the early evening.

About 6 weeks ago I took some flower photos and saved them for days such as this.  Here is one of the dahlias.

Joining up with Our World Tuesday this week. Thanks for sharing my world.

Butterscotch - Oatmeal - Millet Cookies

Last week I made a millet-5 grain cereal loaf. This week I'm trying some cookies.

Ingredients

• 2 cups rolled oats

• 1 cup millet flour (Bob’s Red Mill brand)

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• ½ teaspoon salt

• ½ cup brown sugar

• ½ cup butterscotch

• ½ finely chopped almonds

• ¼ oil or shortening

• 4 tablespoons milk

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Mix all ingredients together in a mixing bowl adding the wet ingredients last.  Once thoroughly mixed, drop dough by small spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet. 

If you are using butter or margarine as your shortening, you can blend it together first with your sugar and milk before adding all the dry ingredients.  If you bake at all you already know this but someone who is new to baking won't necessarily know.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until done. Gently remove cookies from the sheet with a egg flipper. 

This recipe makes about 32 cookies formed with a teaspoon. 

These cookies break apart easily if you are not careful.  I also found them quite sweet but they have a good crunch to them which I like.  If you don't like butterscotch chips you can also substitute chocolate chips or alternate making both kinds.  I got a "thumbs up" on these cookies.

I'm joining the lovely Hannapat for the Weekly Bake. Click on the photo to join in!

November Evening

An evening earlier this week.

I was intrigued by the fast moving clouds.

Please join in with Skywatch Friday and check out more skies from around the world.

Images From The Hood

I thought it would be fun to take a few photos while out on my errands.   It was about 5:30 p.m. and as you can see the darkness falls early at this time of year.

It was the warmest temperature on record today with a comfortable 14 degrees Celsius.  The next few days it will cool off by a few degrees each day until it hits a low of 4 degrees Celsius (a few degrees cooler than the norm) on Saturday/Sunday.

A garbage can and a recycling bin side by side and a girl waiting for her bus.  I don't know how often the can are emptied.  I think a lot  depends on the weather too & what people are eating/drinking as they walk along the streets.  In summer months the cans are overflowing.

I always like the look of a bike sitting against a post or a tree awaiting the return of it's rider.  In this case, I think he was in the  barber shop getting a hair cut.

 I snapped the tree and I'm surprised it turned out. In fact I'm surprised any of these photos turned out because I took them with my camera phone.  

I even got some fairly good shots of the moon. I plan to post them on Friday for Skywatch. Until next time, keep smiling!