Thursday, December 31, 2020
My Crocheted Dress
Wednesday, December 30, 2020
Big Batch Oatmeal Cookies
Terry and I have different tastes in food... Even after all these years of marriage, our daily diet fluctuates back and forth between foods that he likes and foods that I enjoy (or should be eating for health reasons).
He really misses the fact that I no longer bake very often... and when I do, I try to make "healthy" modifications to my recipes.
In an attempt to appease him, I recently made a large batch of dry oatmeal cookie mix that I could mix up easily to make PLAIN oatmeal cookies by simply adding eggs. He doesn't like raisins or craisins in his...(And I find plain ones a little boring!)I got the recipe from my old More-Wih-Less Mennonite cookbook...
Here is what the big batch of dry ingredients looks like in the container in the fridge (with the lid off).
I added olive oil instead of butter or margarine, to make keeping it easier.
Now all I have to do is add eggs.
I may bring some mix along when I next visit my daughter in Guelph. She may like some home-made "mix" that make cookie baking easy.
Tuesday, December 29, 2020
Discovering Appleton, Ontario
One sunny day last week, Terry and I headed out for a drive in the country. Almonte is always a good destination. It's very walk-able - and we always enjoy shopping at Baker Bob's.
Passing a sign pointing to the community of Appleton, we decided to turn in. Friends of ours from church - whom we haven't seen since the start of the pandemic - once lived there. What was Appleton like?It looked like a lovely residential community. We didn't notice any shops... Checking out information online, I discovered that Appleton, Ontario - together with Almonte - is part of the township of Mississippi Mills.
According to online information, Appleton - when it was first established - had a woolen mill that employed hundreds of people. We didn't notice any building that looked large enough to be that mill.
Next time, we may explore more - but that probably won't be until spring!
Monday, December 28, 2020
Early Winter Visit to Almonte...
Once winter arrives, Terry and I stop taking day trips... In fact, we haven't taken one in a while.
But one day last week, the weather was perfect: cold but sunny... and no sign of snow.We just had to go out for a drive...
Why not to Almonte?
So off we went!
The river was largely ice-covered - except where the current is strong.
(Near Richmond, we even saw two men ice-fishing on the river, but unfortunately I didn't have my camera ready as we drove past...)
The river and water falls were covered in ice, but the walkways were clear...
It was so nice to be out and about - driving and walking again...
Sunday, December 27, 2020
Memories of Christmases Past
One of our family‘s Christmas traditions - when our children were young - was buying Christmas cereals that we didn’t usually buy... like this one with the captain on it.
I’m not sure how the tradition started - maybe I thought the treat would keep them busy for a while so that Terry could get a few more minutes of sleep on Christmas morning...
In any event, it was popular with the children when they were young.
I had forgotten about it until I walked past this display a few days before Christmas. Seeing the captain’s face on the box brought the memories all back!
Saturday, December 26, 2020
Christmas Flowers
A few days ago, former colleagues of mine posted this picture of outdoor Christmas flowers... in Tasmania, where they live.
Looking at this lovely picture reminds me that my father once wanted to move to Australia... or was it New Zealand? In any event, he had read an article - either in Reader’s Digest or National Geographic - and had been inspired.
We were living in Kelowna at the time, with mother’s parents and several of her siblings living nearby. My mother was very happy and had no interest in moving!
Had she been as adventurous as my dad at that time, I might now be living in Australia, enjoying Christmas picnics at the beach and outdoor Christmas flowers!
Friday, December 25, 2020
The Best Gifts
These beautiful Christmas packages remind me of many other gifts I have been blessed with...
- Good health
- Caring family and friends
- Love and appreciation
- My warm safe home
- Interesting things to do every day
Thursday, December 24, 2020
Memories of Last Christmas Eve
Wednesday, December 23, 2020
Will We Have a White Christmas?!
Many people look forward to a "white Christmas"...
To them, the beauty of freshly-fallen snow feels more festive...I'm not one of those people! I'm happy that the snow that fell a few weeks ago has mostly melted.
The weather is cooler now. If more snow falls now, there's a good chance it will stay until spring... and my outdoor walking days will be over for a few months...
So, this year in particular, I'd prefer a walk-able Christmas - with no snow on the ground!
Tuesday, December 22, 2020
Feeling Exceptionally Grateful...
Recently I've returned to my sewing room for a practical but unusual task: to add inner pockets to half a dozen flannel shirts I normally wear in winter indoors and out.
I need the pockets to hold the cell phone I carry around all day long to count my steps on the phone's step-counter app. Most of the shirts don't have pockets the right size for holding the phone.The other day, I was sewing a corduroy pocket onto a shirt, when the sewing machine needle snapped into three pieces. One piece stayed on the machine. The sharp end remained clinging to the pocket thread. But a third piece of the tiny needle went flying. I felt it hit my cheek, just under the reading glasses perched on my nose...Did it hit the glasses first? I remember wondering in the second after it happened... That was close. It could have gone into my eye!
So here I sit - EXTREMELY GRATEFUL that I was wearing my reading glasses at the time. EXTREMELY GRATEFUL that I wasn't hurt...
Near-misses, like this make us re-evaluate the way we do things: Is there anything I should be doing to avoid the risk of this ever happening again?!
Monday, December 21, 2020
Shortest Day
Today is considered the “shortest day of the year” here in Canada, which really means that we have the least hours (or minutes) of possible sunlight.
A week ago, our daylight hours were between 7:35 and 4:20...
As our winter solstice approached, the days became shorter... (Another 5 minutes of daylight lost in the few days between these screen shots of our weather forecast...)
As a child and teenager, I remember thinking: What’s the big deal?!
But now that I’m older, I also notice daily how dark my morning is until the sun comes up and how early darkness comes in late afternoon.
Do we become more sensitive to daylight hours as we age?!
During my teaching years, I remember arriving at work before daylight, at 7:15 and leaving in the dark at 5 pm.
Another day missed!!
I wonder if we’re all affected by daylight - or the lack of it - in the same way...
Sunday, December 20, 2020
Memories of Christmas Pageants Past!
Recently going through boxes of old photos, I came across a few taken when my children participated in church Christmas pageants...
Here one of my sons is... a “wise man” ...
Saturday, December 19, 2020
Perfect Pandemic Staff Christmas Party
The company where my daughter-in- law works decided to forgo their usual staff party this Christmas, during the pandemic.
Instead they had catered dinners delivered to employees’ homes.
The meal was a great success! Our four-year-old granddaughter wore a special dress for the occasion. Even her one-year-old brother enthusiastically enjoyed the food!
Friday, December 18, 2020
Changes...
Thursday, December 17, 2020
Easy Christmas Decorations
Apart from the tree...
... the only decorations I had were vases (of different shapes and sizes) filled with red Christmas tree balls!
I put them here and there... Wherever I needed a cheerful touch!
Red - such a cheery color - always brightens my spirits at Christmas time.
Wednesday, December 16, 2020
Out With the OLD... Telephones?!
Terry and I recently switched to a new (cheaper) internet provider. They installed a new FIBE line to replace our old telephone line.
After the technician left, to our consternation, most of our old telephones no longer worked! No dial tone! No ring!
The only phones that still worked were two connected to a cordless phone base.
What to do?!
We went out and bought a new base that came with five cordless phones... so that we could have a phone in the basement and upstairs as well as the main floor.
An unexpected advantage of this new base is a button on each phone for blocking numbers! Now whenever I get an offer to clean my ducts or someone telling me that my computer is broken, I simply press the button: BLOCK NUMBER and hang up...
I have noticed that we now get fewer telemarketing calls!
Tuesday, December 15, 2020
Christmas Cookie Presses
But I see they can also be used as Christmas treee decorations.
I think I bought them in Pennsylvania once while on vacation - perhaps in Amish country.
This other set was a gift from my sister-in-law many Christmases ago. It came with a cook book - which I have to look for. The cookies are large - but fun to make.
Monday, December 14, 2020
Certificate of "Niceness"
I'm not sure who hands out certificates of "niceness" - but they do come in handy if Santa asks if you've been "NAUGHTY" or "NICE"!
And she, apparently, also got one for ME!
(What a relief! Wasn't sure I qualified!)
Sunday, December 13, 2020
Saturday, December 12, 2020
Christmas ... in the Year of the Pandemic
My four-year-old granddaughter is getting ready for Christmas - and the pandemic isn’t stopping her!
Can’t see Santa in person?
No problem! I’ll talk to him via FaceTime!
The tree is up and ready...
Children adjust so easily to changes! (It's much harder for the rest of us!)
Friday, December 11, 2020
Christmas Knitting...
I get emails from several online yarn stores...
They sometimes offer free digital patterns to subscribers, like this one for a Christmas blanket from Deramores ...It's being offered in five weekly installments - giving a knitter an opportunity to divide this knitting challenge into five weeks!
Very tempting!
It's beautiful - though, given the intricacy of the pattern, knitting it would be a challenge.
It's something my mother would have happily undertaken, during her knitting days. I don't think I'm up for it... not this year, anyway - as I try to knit a few more pairs of socks.
Thursday, December 10, 2020
Vintage Sweaters
Knitting has been my hobby for years. During my working years, I often knit a sweater every winter..
They were always for myself, since nobody else in the family wanted to wear hand-knit sweaters.
Here are four that I wore for years. Two are now a little small... And the sleeves on all of them are wider than sweater sleeves tend to be these days.
What about the ones with the house and tree - and the geese...
I was surprised that she remembered them all...
I still have all of them, including a green one with a high neck ...
If you're not using them, could you bring them next time you visit? she asked...
I'm surprised that she wants to try them on and perhaps even wear them. Nice that "vintage" sweaters are sometimes in style.