Doings, Around Here

This is a quiet week, thankfully.  Last week was full up and the next two weeks look very busy, so I am enjoying the quiet home time.  The library has been providing me with some excellent reading.  Books currently being read or in the queue are,

A Share in Death by Deborah Crombie.   I have heard that this is an excellent series, so I am starting with book 1.

Another that has been on my reading list for a while is The Forgotten Garden, by Kate Morton.

And a re-read of an old favourite, Good Morning Miss Dove, by Frances Gray Patton.

My newest challenge in knitting is to learn to knit socks.  I've completed a pair for Rob, and now I'm knitting a pair for me.  I am using the "magic loop" method, which is knitting on one circular needle rather than 4 double pointed needles.  I like this method. Once you get the hang of it, it's easy and very portable, which I like, as I will often take knitting with me.

I have taken a sock knitting class, but these two books have also helped.

I have really enjoyed this cookbook.  I've marked several recipes to try out, and it is an enjoyable read as well.

Another cookbook, from the library, which I have yet to peruse...

I recently tried a new meatloaf recipe.  It is very simple, but oh so delicious!  Here is the link if you'd like to give it a try.  I love the name, "Marriage Meatloaf."  I did modify the recipe slightly,  I used only 1 egg, and did not add mustard to the glaze.  I also added stewed tomatoes around the meatloaf, halfway through baking.

In the evenings we been pretty wrapped up in Hockey playoff season.  Our Ottawa Senators are still in, they face New York Thursday night for game 7 in the series. Very exciting, and kids have been coming over to join us for supper and watch with us.  We also watched the first part of Birdsong this past Sunday evening.  It was very good, I thought.  I love Masterpiece Theatre.

The sun is finally shining today, after several days of rain, which was so needed, but I do love the sunshine!  So, the bed sheets are in the washer, and will soon be on the line for a good drying and full of lovely springtime smelly-ness...

What to have for supper is still being considered, and some ironing awaits.  Maybe a visit from a daughter and granddaughter later today,

Blessings to you,
Niki

Spring in the Ottawa Valley

At least the ice pellets seem to have avoided us.

We had "June" in March....I hope that wasn't our summer...

Happy Monday,
Niki

Yesterday was, as it turned out, grandbaby day.  I've been having fun with my new camera, and since it's been a while since I've posted pictures of the grands, here they are.

Sam on the "tractor"...once the battery power ran out, it's time for Grampa power.

Grampa and Sam checking out the birds at the feeder

Henry being a Puma

Had to squeeze in some baking time, and use up the Christmas sprinkles....

Eloise ~ Does it get any sweeter?

Cousin-ly  Love


Can I go out to play now?????


Happy Girl :)

 Following Grampa to the garden and the sheep...

Lovely day,

Have a blessed weekend,

Niki

Today

The bread is in the oven, the pea soup is simmering (left over ham bone from Easter)....

Clothes are on the line, gorgeous day.

House is tidy and clean, pretty much.

Bliss.

Easter at our House

We really had a great Easter this year. First, the weather was incredible. Sunny, warm and dry. It was just a gift in itself and we were outside alot this weekend.

Our weekend started on Good Friday morning with a new tradition. Rob decided it was time for a big waffle breakfast for the whole family. So, 9:30 Friday morning saw all 11 of us present and accounted for. It's not hard to convince our kids to show up when there is food involved.

The menu included homemade waffles ( I am married to the world's best waffle maker) with some homemade maple syrup of course, thick cut maple bacon, sausages and fruit salad. It was a great way to start the weekend.

For the first time I cooked the bacon on tin foil covered cookie sheets in the oven. Soooo easy, and no mess, along with bacon which came out perfectly. My son takes credit for giving me this tip...but I thought I'd read it on a blog.

The kids hung around after breakfast. We dyed hard boiled eggs with the grandbabies, and made chow mein noodle chocolate covered nests with jelly bean eggs. We played outside and the guys puttered with some wood working projects. We even had a few of them still around for a quick supper of bbq-ed hambugers and hotdogs.

Our Easter table...

Saturday I spent the morning cooking for our Easter lunch after church on Sunday. This year we divided up the menu with each family bringing something. We were responsible for the ham, orange carrot salad, baked beans ( I love the Pioneer Woman's recipe), Pistachio fluff, and Lemon Meringue pie. One daughter brought Scalloped Potatoes ( 3 pans worth), another brought two beautiful green salads, and the third brought two double chocolate cakes....

My centerpiece was a little different this year. I filled a bowl with Cadbury's mini eggs, arranged peeps (a sugar coated marshallow confection) all around it, put it all under a cake dome and called it done. It was easy and cute.

After church, we had 14 for lunch, and for the first time the grandbabies were big enough to have their own kids' table. The tablecloth I used for their table was the same one Rob's mum used when she set a kids table. I like that. Traditions going forward.

We had an Easter Egg hunt before lunch. So much fun. 4 & 2 is the perfect age.

Henry making sure there aren't any eggs hiding in the firepit...
Sam is busy busy busy...
Grampa is having a great time :)


Jenny & Eloise in their Easter dresses

Before and after lunch, we played outside. The guys shot skeet, and did some target shooting, and babies played (at the other side of the property) on various cars and tractors, and chased balls and found big sticks to whack things with. The mums chased kids and sat on the back deck visiting...so enjoyable and such a blessing.

By early evening all had gone home, the house was clean and quiet, and we had our feet up watching an old favourite movie "Hobson's Choice". Perfect end to the wonderful weekend.


I'm not talking spiritually here, (obviously, this is the most important holiday as far as my faith is concerned) but just as a general get together time, Easter has never been a favourite holiday for me. I much prefer Christmas. Not this year, I think Easter won out. Thank you to our family and friends who made it such a wonderful time.

Have a blessed week ahead,
Niki

Spring has Sprung!!! ....maybe.......

Spring seems to have sprung early in our neck of the woods, warm days, and sunshine. I say this hesitantly, as we still have lots of March left to get through, and where we live it is the most unpredictable month of the year. We often have the worst of the winter in March, with snowstorms, freezing rain, freezing temps, generally it can be quite a mess.

This year, however, does seem to be a mild one, well....we'll see.....

I so enjoyed the PBS mini-series Downton Abbey that I indulged myself in the companion book "The World of Downton Abbey." Yummy stuff, lots of beautiful pictures, interesting tidbits about the actors and the characters, just, simply, more of what I love.



They are currently filming Season 3, which I believe will be aired here in Canada in the fall sometime.

I have been working away on Henry's sweater and finally, with help from the instructor of our knitting class, completed it and am quite happy with it.


I am midway through a sock knitting class and the first sock. It's coming along quite well. We are working from a good basic pattern, so I feel once I master it, I can move on to more interesting patterns. The socks are for my husband. Finally, a knitted item for him :)

The main floor of our home has been pulled apart and upside down for a couple of weeks now, as we slowly paint all the walls and all the trim work. It's been more than 10 years since we've painted, so we are long overdue and really do need to apply two coats to everything, and in some places three coats, to make it look good. We are making progress, however, and hope to finish up in the next week or so.


Maple Syrup season is upon us. The sap has been running although we don't anticipate much for the coming week, as the weather forecast is way too warm...warmest on record in fact. Forecasted daily high temps between 13 - 15 degrees Celsius, and not dipping below freezing at night. With those temperatures the sap will not run.



Ideally a few degrees above freezing during the day and lots of sunshine, and a few degrees below freezing at night will cause the sap to run, so we will see what this season is like....but it doesn't look too good. Nonetheless, we will have a full house at the end of March as the brothers get together to go work in the sugar bush, fingers crossed that they will have something to do! If you want to see more of our Maple Syruping, go here.


I have a rather "big" birthday coming up in a couple of months and this week my Rob gave me a long desired Canon Rebel SLR camera. I've already purchased a book to help me learn about the camera and it's many features, but I think I will be taking a class at some point in the future. I would love to be able to take portraits of our grandbabies and our family, as well as better shots for my blog and our family events. It's a pretty steep learning curve, but I'll take it slow and hopefully enjoy the process. My camera is brown, kinda groovy.
In honor of Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee year, I am reading Sally Bedell Smith's biography. It is quite good so far. The Queen is such a remarkable woman, in my opinion. I have a great deal of respect for what she accomplishes, even today, at her advanced age. She has seen so much change in her lifetime, and walks a fine line in how she influences things on the world stage.

Time to get supper going, all is cozy here, and I don't really feel like getting up from my easy chair in front of the fire....ah well, here I go....

Have a blessed week,
Niki

Home Again, Home Again

We are home. It is a wonderful feeling to be home after a week away, even though the weather is not quite as welcoming. We spent last week in Punta Cana, in the Dominican Republic. It was our first time there, and we did the "all inclusive" thing.

It was a lovely resort, the food was good, the pools and the beach were great, but really what we wanted was just to lie in the sun, with some heavy duty sunscreen, and a stack of good books. And that was exactly what we did. Rob and I loaded up our Kindles, and away we went.

The husband was able to go in a walking cast, which he could remove, when he wanted to swim. We had emailed the resort, explained the broken leg, and asked for a room very close to the pool....well, they certainly delivered, 23 steps from our door to the lounge chair on the pool deck.

Other than a few careful walks down a short beach path to the ocean, we didn't stray far from the pool. We both felt Rob's leg healed really well in the heat and sun, as he arrived leaning quite heavily on his cane and left with the cane packed in the luggage and totally not required.

I've never been on such a relaxing and restful vacation. It was just what the doctor ordered. And now we're home. Don't I look stressed out???? ;-)

So, back to reality. First up, my beautiful daughter, Jenny, turned 25 today! We will be having a family party in a few days, but I did visit with her today. Then, off to load up on some groceries, mostly fresh produce, dairy, and a loaf or two of bread until I get baking again, later in the week.

Knitting class, library, a visit with my mother and a busy weekend will fill up the rest of the week.

Next week, a freezer cooking day with the daughters, (we do this about every 2 - 3 weeks in the winter, the rest of the year is canning, or sometimes home crafts like candle or soap making.)

Hopefully some painting will get done as well....maybe.....and some organizing and purging....hopefully....

have a wonderful rest of the week,
Niki

2012

So far this year....

My beloved husband has broken his ankle. He is in a cast. We leave for the sunny south in 2 weeks, us & the cast....so much for frolicking together in the ocean, or dancing the night away....ah well, at least it will be hot and sunny, I hope....and we're so thankful for our kids who come and take care of our place while we're away.

I have canned 28 quarts of Tomato Sauce, from the Tomato juice/pulp we frozen last fall.

I am crocheting one of these adorable tote bags. I found the pattern here
and am continuing to work on this cable sweater for Henry & Sam...
Most of our main floor looks kinda like this, because we were just about to paint the whole deal, then beloved broke his ankle....
...so, we will be living with the poly-filla and paint sample look for a while.

I am baking bread every other day, using my Cuisinart 14 cup food processor which does a fantastic job of kneading enough dough for 2 loaves at a time. So much nicer tasting than store bought. I'd gotten out of the habit, but I'm fully into it again and love it.

I have made a commitment to lose 25 lbs. in 2012....do I go it alone, or join Weight Watchers online?

I read my traditional Christmas novels, especially the Miss Read's...and have started this one, it seems ok, but I'm not far into it yet, so it may get good...or not....

Monday is a freezer cooking day. The girls and grands will be over and we will make 4 each of Lasagna, Shepherd's Pie, Butter Chicken and Chili. Fill up the family freezers and have a fun day of working together.

Our home is fairly clean and organized after the busyness of the holidays. I have a few areas I want to re-organize and purge, but we're in pretty good shape to kick off the new year.

The big hit this year on TV at our house is Downton Abbey. We are loving it. We watched the first season last year, and this season seems every bit as good.

I'm so pleased to finally have posted a "catch up" blog, hopefully the next one won't take so long.
Have a blessed week ahead,
Niki