Post-Olympics Post

What an exciting time it has been.  Mind you, we didn't have much time to actually watch any events, but we caught up on the news every day.  I've always been proud to be Canadian, but my chest just busted these two weeks.  Mind you, I'm for everyone who makes a great effort regardless of where they are from.  On my part, I am of Austrian and German descent, DH has roots in the British Isles, I've taught students from all over the world...I consider the world a huge village (I know that's idealistic).

We've been quite busy in the greenhouse.  Most of my sharing for today is on my  (click on its title)Weed it and Reap garden/greenhouse blog.  Please visit me there.

On the way in from the greenhouse, I noticed my St. Francis (aka St. Francis of the Snow).  He is waiting patiently for spring, so I can keep him company in the garden.

For supper today, I made my most (one of my most) favorite soups in the world: 
Kale and Chickpea Soup
2 Tbs. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 c. cubed sweet potatoes
1 large sweet red pepper, diced
1 box (900ml) sodium-reduced chicken broth, or homemade
3 c. water
1 -19 oz. tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
6 oz. Old Fashioned ham (I buy a thick slice at the deli), cubed
3+ cups well-washed finely cut fresh kale (or spinach)
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp rubbed dried sage

Cook onion, garlic, pepper and sage in olive oil, till onion and garlic are soft.  Add all ingredients except kale.  Simmer about 15 min. till potatoes are tender.  Add kale and simmer 5-10 min. till kale is tender.  The original recipe calls for 1/2 tsp salt, but I pass on that because of the sodium content of the ham and the broth.

Oops, almost forgot:  Madli's shawl is finished, but I can't block it because of the stuff all over for renovations.  Angel 3 is almost finished on the tree skirt.  Finished one sock in Bamboo yarn, summer rain color.  Varnished Baseboards.  Will likely put the Linen cupboard together tomorrow so I can take the rest of the Living Room apart and use the spare bedroom again for storage.

Roses for my Friends

I'm on the fly again--no time for a full post.  On Thursday after visiting Mom in the Nursing Home, I went to school to teach religion.  There on the Secretary's desk was this sight.  I have never seen such a beautiful boquet of roses in my life.  I will share them with you.

Yesterday I had the repairlady come out to check my squeaky dryer.  The cost to repair all the little worn out parts would be at least $300.  Now, the washer &dryer are 24 years old.  A good, sturdy, expensive Maytag set.  The washer just started bouncing, even with a balanced load.  So, on Monday I have to go shopping for a new set.  Our laundry room is upstairs, so I want a matching set.  But I don't want to buy appliances.  So (again), since I have to go to the city, I won't have time tomorrow to do the required seeding in the greenhouse.  Today I must seed.  My baseboards will have to be patient again.

Happy Valentine's Day

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY, EVERYONE ♥♥♥

Sorry about last blog post.  At the end of the post, when I had saved it, I got a message that some HTML thing wasn't closed, the whole post, including pictures went into HTML mode, which I can't read, so I couldn't edit after that, nor could I do anything about the formatting.  So, today I began as usual, and as soon as the first five pictures uploaded, everything went to HTML again.
Thanks to Bev,  I tried the new editor,and it sure made everything easier. 

I love history.  I have a great imagination.  When I drive by old, abandoned farmsteads, I stop and walk in, and as I look around I can see and hear the pioneers working and playing.  So it's no wonder I love my old church.  It was built by the Polish settlers in about 1915--they built a church even before they had good houses of their own.  At the time, an artist named Peter Lipinski travelled around this area, painting churches.  He hand-painted our Church--it was completed in 1928. 

Faux-marble--the modern decorators only think they invented the ragging technique.


The panels of the altar area and the pulpit.  I think he must have had a template of sorts, but looking close up, the individual brushstrokes are evident.

The church dome.  This scene was first painted on canvas, then the canvas applied to the dome.  After that he painted out from the canvas onto the dome to blend the two together.

I love being in the church alone.  I really have a spiritual sense in this historic place.  The church seems to breathe with the thousands of breaths of all who labored to build it, and all who have worshipped there in almost 100 years.

On the way home this is what I encountered.  We are having fairly warm weather, but with strong, cold winds.  I love to look at snowdrifts.  The delicate patterns and edges, but I don't like driving through drifted roads.

Our greenhouses.  The smaller greenhouse in the foreground is half-buried in the snow that had slid off its curved surface all winter long.


Beautiful hoar frost.                                                           

Now an update on the renos.  I have 2-10'lengths of crown mouldings up in the Living Room.  They are hiding the speaker wires of our surround-sound system.  I love the look of these crown mouldings.  I was supposed to put more of these on today, as well as baseboards, but the mouldings and saw (my new toy:  Makita compund sliding mitre saw) are in the garage.  Since I am very allergic to sawdust, I can't cut in the house, but the thought of fighting the cold wind to get to the garage and back likely means I'm not doing those today.  The color is a strange sage-greenish-greyish-tan by Behr, called "Koala Bear".













Varnishing doors in the downstairs kitchen.  You can just see a glimpse of the new cabinets.
















The Angel Tree Skirt is coming along.  Angel #2 is close to finished.  Angel #1 is finished.  There will be one more angel on the far right.

 

Kubota Man fired up the small greenhouse yesterday.  Tomorrow we start working in the greenhouse.  There are tags to sort and inventory so I can place the order.  Here is a glimpse of a new Supertunia color.  It's called "Pretty Much Picasso".I'm looking forward to seeing it in person.  All I've seen so far is pictures.









Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's off to Painting I go.  And maybe I'll put on my woolies and cut some millwork, too.


Till next time:  One day we think, at last, we have escaped the ties of children, their troubles and their demands. And then we feel a little tug---and find ourselves bound, once more, by the needs of our grandchildren.  And their love. (Pamela Brown)

Méli-Mélo (This n' That)

Before I start, you need to know that my computer is taking forever to get me to all your comment pages,and then half the time my comments don't connect. Please rest assured that I am faithfully reading everyone's blog, and am mentally making comments.
After 2 weeks of not posting, all I can open with is a cliché: Time flies when you're having fun. I've been cleaning and organizing, and knitting, and watching, and taking the odd picture, too. So, here goes:

Teddy Bear Baby Afghan: I made this several years ago, and found it when I was re-organizing--because my daughter's friend is expecting, and she wanted to make it for that baby. But I couldn't find the pattern, so I dug around till I found the afghan, and then I wrote the pattern off it. It is a hexagon-shaped shawl. I offered it to my daughter to give to her friend, since I hadn't given it to anyone in all these years. I had made 2 of these, one in sports weight and one in worsted weight.














Organizing: Sigrun's Handy Method of Organizing Fabric Stash (and will later do it for yarn stash, too)


1. Collect about 1000 uniformly-sized boxes (I use the boxes that photocopy paper comes in--I haunt the local schools and bribe the secretary)

2. Build shelving to hold these boxes--I use 2x4's for uprights and horizontal braces and 1/4's for shelving. I made the shelves so they hold 4 boxes across and 3 boxes high on each shelf, with a little wiggle room. That way I never have to move more than 2 boxes away to get to a specific box.

3. Get a 3-ring binder and lots of subject dividers with index tabs.

Measure the fabric, note how wide it is, snip a piece off. Write the width and yardage beside the sample. Staple onto the divider. Fill the box. Number the box with a big felt marker. Label the divider tab with the same number. Start a new page for the next box.

5. Go shopping in your binder.

I always felt guilty when I needed a new outfit and had to buy fabric (or an outfit) because I didn't know where I had a fabric I could use. Now I know I will sew and start to use my stash.

6. Quilting fabrics: I took these out of the general stash, these have their own binder pages, and the boxes are labelled by color.
It is obvious how this could be adapted to yarn stashes. At the present, my yarns are in boxes, with the contents on the outside, but I plan on using a binder.

Mixed-up Christmas Cactus
This Christmas cactus doesn't seem to know that Christmas is long past, and that it's not time for Easter (in case it's an Easter cactus). The truth is, it's my fault. I horribly neglect my house plants, then, when I finally water them, they start blooming, regardless of the season. Like they're saying they are so grateful for a little water.














Winter Scenery in Central Alberta
This is a winter view of one of my nasty flower beds, and the un-cleaned garden.
Doesn't look nearly as bad as in summer. I think that's what landscape professionals mean when they say one should plant for winter interest as well as for summer beauty.

A Cheeky Visitor

The Hairy Woodpecker

This is the male Hairy Woodpecker--you can tell by the scarlet patches on his head. The female is identical, but lacks the red patches.

The Downy Woodpecker

The Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers are identical in apperance except for size and shape of beak. The Hairy is the larger, with a dominant long beak, while the smaller Downy has a little beak with lots of fuzz around its base.

Common Redpolls

These little finches like Nyger seed. The male and female both have little red caps, but only the males have the red breast. These cute little visitors travel in flocks.

Latest Theatre Project

This 24"x96" shawl of Kit Seta is for a production going into dress rehearsal on Thursday. I had about 10 days' notice. All done, they are pleased, and I'm happy to be finished because the dander from the kid mohair gave me some grief with my respiratory allergies.

Project from my Childhood
This filet crochet was my first piece. It was designed by my dad (I have a whole book of his original designs of doilies, tablecloths, runners, even bedspreads--all hand-colored on tiny graph paper). I was about 12 when I made it. The thread is finer than buttonhole thread, but not as fine as sewing thread. I found it as I was going through some of my mom's things, and was immediately carrried back to the time I was making it.

A few other updates:

Last week I took Mom to the dentist--her last 6 teeth, lower front had to come out. She did well, even though her gums were sutured. Two days later she was gumming hard cookies. The denturist will wait 2-3 weeks before fitting her with a new denture.

On Saturday my CWL (Catholic Women's League) hosted the Zone Meeting , so we were busy with food prep for 25 ladies. After the agenda and reports were completed we had guest who taught us how to make rosaries. I made myself a glow-in-the-dark rosary to keep in the truck, and another for my daughter. These ladies have made and given away more than 60,000 rosaries in the 9 years since they started this ministry. Their rosaries are in the Cancer Clinic, in the Inner City (Skid Road), and in Third World Countries. Amazing! God Bless Them!

Tomorrow we have painters coming to spray paint our stippled ceilings. They are moving all the furniture, and removing and replacing the light fixtures. After they move the heavy TV Cabinet, I will leave it out and immediately paint the 2 adjoining walls, put on the baseboards and crown mouldings, then replace the cabinet--no point moving it twice.

My basement kitchen cabinets are installed--oh, so pretty. Our SIL, the plumber, will soon install the sink and hood fan, then I will tile (walls) and paint. Floors as yet undecided. Will post pictures when that's finished.

Second Thoughts

I would never phone a friend to whom I hadn't spoken in a long time, and say, "Hi, I'm alive and well, and busy. Goodbye." and hang up. And that's exactly what I did in the earlier post. So, I hurried through my work and made it a point to show you what I have been doing.

Renovations: That sort of went on hold over Christmas, but right after Christmas, I did the suspended ceiling in my basement kitchen, while waiting for the plumber and electrician.

Behold:
It was really easy, took only a couple of hours. After I had completed it, and one of the flourescent lights went out, I realized that I hadn't dropped it low enough to work on the lights easily, so, this is what I did. (Remember, the ceiling grid is suspended by wires, and supported around the edges by an L-shaped track) I drew a line all around the edges, 1" below the track. Then I lifted up the panels and released the screws and rescrewed them along the new lines. Then I released the wires and lowered it to the right depth. Voilà, 30 min. later, the ceiling is in its new place. Light changed. Fini.

The cabinets are coming in on Monday. I bought more of the same wall tiles as upstairs, since I had to open a new box of grout to use only 1 out of 10 lbs. I love those tiles. Will post later about upstairs.

Knitting/Crocheting/Embroidery

Madli's Shawl from Knitted Lace of Estonia, for my cousin's wife (Germany) who sent me a batch of lovely sock yarn for Christmas. I will be making a pair of socks for him, too.

Rainbow Baby Shawl. Although crocheting is not my favorite pasttime, I love making this shawl. Two evenings of work. It's for a very special young lady who is expecting at the end of February, it will be blessed at church--it is a joyful prayer shawl.

Cross-stitch Christmas Tree Skirt: before I retired, I made up my mind to give each of the kids a Christmas tree skirt. While I still had a paycheck, I assembled the materials. So far I have one all finished, and have been working on this one in 2010. I want them all finished by the next Christmas. I also want to have a cross-stitch Christmas Stocking for everyone. The four grandkids got theirs last Christmas. Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures.

Wedding Update: The wedding plans had been all finalized for Labor Day Weekend, then my daughter got the news that the groom's mom, who is a radio announcer in Fiji, could not get the time off work, due to some special event for the Muslim population. So we tried August 14--the caterer wasn't available; Aug 7-- the hall wasn't available; July 31--Maid of honor can't get time off work; Aug 24--no caterers available, local town's 100th anniversary; so now everything is (I think) all set for July 17. Keeping our fingers crossed.

Till next time: You can't wrap love in a box, but you can wrap a person in a hug. (Author unknown)

Wee sign of life

I am alive. I am well. I am very busy. I love blogs that include pictures, so I would like to include pictures, but that's the time factor--due to dial-up I need to resize all my pictures smaller, then post them. My internet line is unreliable at best. And now what was once news, is somewhat old hat.
Please keep visiting me, I will try to do better.

Happy Birthday to me!!♫♫♫

As a gift to you on my Bday (Jan. 9), I will share another story with you that I wrote for the local paper some time ago. Some of the references are somewhat dated.

In Praise of Difference
When my DH and I still lived in the city, we had a "different" neighbor, named Shirley (changed to protect her identity). Shirley and I were born the same year.
We both had favorite expressions which we used to guide our children into adulthood. You might say we each had our own brand of wisdom.

I would say, "You want a ride to school? In my day, I walked thirteen blocks to school, rain or shine (true, but I never said uphill both ways in a blizzard).
She would say, "I'll be glad when you're old enough for your license. Then we can hit the road together on our Harleys."

I: "Pull down your miniskirt!"
She wore a miniskirt.

I: "Who's M.C. Hammer?"
She dances like M.C. Hammer and no joints creak.

I: "Curfew is midnight."
She: "They're only young once."

I: " Work before you play."
She: "Let's give it a lick-and-a -promise then we'll boogie."

I: "Walk before you run."
She: "Take a risk."

I: "A penny saved is a penny earned."
She: "Let's put a few bucks down and enjoy it while we pay it off."

I: "Make a plan and stick to it."
She: "Hang loose (be flexible)."

I: "Modesty is a virtue."
She: "If you've got it, flaunt it!"

I: "Isn't Sean Connery's smile sexy?"
She: "I sure like Mel gibson's cute toosh."

I just bought a body shaper: an "I-can't-believe-it's-a-corset".
She burned her bra in the sixties and still hasn't replaced it.

My husband shows me his holey socks, and I say I'll darn them on Friday.
She tells her hubby, "I"ll darn your socks when you fix the runs in my panty hose--buy new ones."

My adjectives are "groovy, neat, and cool".
She describes things as "totally awesome, rad, and like-funky."

I: "I love you, kids♥♥!"
She: " I love you, kids♥♥!"

My neighbour Shirley and I didn't always agree with each other's ways, but we both survived child-rearing.

Our kids all turned out to be responsible citizens.

But I never could figure out why everyone always thought I was older than Shirley.