My Flog for April 30

It was pretty tough to get out of bed this morning at 5:20, but I did it. Work was really slow, and there wasn't much to do, so Pauline and I had a relatively easy day, just had to deal with a few customers whose main objective was to confuse and frustrate.

About half an hour before closing I found myself all covered with cold shivers, which isn't good. The bus driver on the way home had the heat blasting high on the bus, and I was sitting almost on top of a heat vent, so I was almost medium rare by the time we got to the skytrain - the ride seemed to go quickly because I dozed most of the way. Steve and Howard picked me up at King George and after we were home for a few minutes, we went to Walmart to start stocking our cupboards, and ended up with a crappy dinner. While dinner was in the oven, I mixed up some Raisin-Cranberry-Citrus Muffins, which didn't rise too well, we'll see how they turned out when they cool enough for the Test Tasting. They were pretty expensive to make, as I used 9 eggs. Well, I didn't actually use 9 eggs in the muffins, I was also counting the 7 that broke when I knocked the carton on the floor. So I decided not to make the Chocolate Muffins that were next on the agenda.

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Share a Soup'n'Wrap Day. Tomato and Black Bean Soup, and Marinated Veggies and Chicken Wrap with Tzatziki Sauce. Neither was anything to write home about - or write a flog about - mainly, I guess, because Tomato Soup isn't one of my favourites - I'm sure a lot of people thought they were delicous. I'm not particularly fussy over Greek food anyway,  so to make up for that, I had a Sausage Roll as well.
• Dinner - a slice of cardboard with playdo veggies and pepperoni leather on top - Howard was so proud to find frozen pizzas for  - get this - $3 each, he bought two. I once again told him he got what he paid for.
• Snacks - Pudding, Hot Chocolate, Banana, Orange, and a Muffin when they cool down. Soon.

My Flog for April 29 - Part 11 (that's two, not eleven)

I just realized taxes are due in by midnight tomorrow. Where the hell are the T4s? Maybe they are with the missing TV remote? I may just be late this year ... again.

I can't even imagine having to go to work tomorrow, but I am really glad I had today pre-booked off. It was actually supposed to be a Fun Day, not a Look for this, or I can't find that, or What's for dinner? Day. I honestly thought I had gotten rid of all the extra I-don't-really-want-this-anymore crap, but obviously I haven't, as I already have 2 boxes of stuff to list FREE on Craigslist. And - I know there's more to come.

I'm motivated now to knit a varied supply of slippers, as our floors are either laminate or ceramic tile, and they are very cold to the tootsies. One of our customers told us she keeps a basket of slippers at the door for guests - I thought that was a nifty idea. Not that we get a lot of guests - but then, you never know. I unpacked my Punch Bowl today, and I'm not scared to use it. I have our (in)famous back-home Punch recipe on my recipe blog - http://tamargetsstuffed.blogspot.ca/2012/03/punch.html .

I am actually very tired now, and I think I'll hit the sack early. No more packing or searching tonight. I have my big fat Kitty practising his purrs beside me, so I don't think I'll have any trouble sleeping tonight. In fact, I've often wondered why The Guy Upstairs made the mistake of having the husbands snore, and the kitties purr. If Howard purred, I'd never have to give him a good dig in the ribs, and as far as Kitty is concerned, he would never get so big I couldn't throw him out the window. Even if we are upstairs.

However, I can't go until the bread is baked. Takes forever to rise in a cold house, and it's been cold in here all day. I did turn on the heat, but I don't think it did much good, we may have to have the occasional bonfire in the living room if the temps drop below freezing, which is unfortunate, as there is no fireplace there. Oh well, we'll wait and see - and I'll knit lots of slippers - maybe even leg warmers.

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Peanut Butter Bread, Banana
• Dinner - It's hard to get dinner when you haven't been grocery shopping. Choices are bacon and eggs, sausages, oven fried potatoes, or left-over chicken. Howard opts for the potatoes, but I don't have all the spices I need, maybe I'll just experiment. Plus he has to wait until the bread is all baked. So for me - dinner will be oven fries and a fried egg. 
• Snacks - Blueberry Muffin, and the rest of the mini White Chocolate Bunny

I know I usually don't write my flog until after I've finished eating for the day - but by then I may either be wasted away, or passed out. So for once we are assuming I will eat what I wrote. If not, then I'm the only one who'll know the difference, so it really doesn't matter.

My Flog for April 29 - Part 1 in Lieu of April 28

Well, as you know, it is no longer yesterday, indeed it is another day. Yesterday was so long. We got up about 6:30 and started at it, moving everything - tons of stuff, just the two of us old souls huffing and puffing and swearing - our boys were working. I think they considered themselves lucky, actually.

5 days ago we had no intentions of moving, so it is/was a rather unorganized endeavour. I had spent the previous week moving stuff around in the basement and unpacking 5-6 boxes, which thank heavens, I hadn't put in Tuesday's recycling run, so in the 5 trips we made yesterday, I packed these suckers 5 times. A lot of our 'stuff' was already in boxes from our move to Steve's 7 months ago, and I had already done two 'cleansings' of Stuff - one before our last move, and one a couple of months ago, so that helped a bit.

By the time 3 o'clock rolled around, I was desperate for coffee, so Nikkie and I walked to Timmie's and I bought a medium, which used to be a large, I believe, and drank every bit of it. Also got a bit of donuts and Timbits for an emergency stash. Then, after we got home, I realized that we would be coffee-less, and milk-less, and Becel-less - in fact, we would be everything-less - in the morning. I decided to walk to Walmart to get these things (and others) - coincidentally enough, that was the exact minute it started to pour from the heavens. Not being one to let a drop of rain get in the way, my Buggy and I left anyway.

Well, 5 miles of walking didn't deter me. Nikkie was nice enough to cook burgers and KD for a late dinner, and we inhaled some of that and headed  home about 8 o'clock. I missed Howard after about five minutes after we arrived, and went upstairs looking for him. Needless to say, he was sound asleep in the bed. I was determined not to go to bed until I had 'my' kitchen waiting in the morning, so I unpacked and stored away and had the kitchen basically done, complete with a bowl of fruit on the table and the coffee pot ready to be turned on in the morning. About 12:30 I headed for bed, knowing I'd be asleep before my head touched the pillow.

NOT. All I could think of was my cat, Kitty aka Blackie, who wouldn't come out of his ceiling hideaway no matter how often I called him. He used to spend most of his days up in the rafters, I guess he had a camp set up there, and would come down to eat, drink or pee (or worse), and then at bedtime, come down and go to bed with us, where he would first of all crawl over my face with loving greetings, then settle down and purr me to sleep. Sure missed that furry purry fat cat.

So, in order to get me up at 5:30 this morning, Howard suggested going to get the cat while the coffee brewed. After only about 3 hours of sleep, I didn't really care if I ever saw the cat again - but I just couldn't resist the lure of coffee. We did stay in bed a bit longer though, and went to get Kitty just after 7, and though he seemed happy to see me, he changed his mind when I poured, squeezed and prodded him into the carrier, which is actually a huge dog crate. It's just that when a cat doesn't want to go anywhere, he can make what seems like a very easy job very difficult. However, he's home now, he's got a safe spot in our bedroom, and after a couple of hours he stopped mewing mournfully. He is the only 4-legged beastie in this house, so I'm sure he'll settle in quite nicely, and I look forward to his purraby tonight when I go to bed.

I'll get to Part 11 later if I don't drop from exhaustion before then - and if you really want to know what I ate yesterday, I'll see if I can remember -

• Breakfast - That's easy, Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - ??? I don't think I had any
• Dinner - Hamburger
• Snacks - while unpacking I found a Little White Chocolate Easter Bunny, so I devoured his head, ears and all. This will bring Sheila a memory, not of chocolate, though. A couple of Timbits and a Sour Cream Donut. I think I had a small bag of Lays Chips too - if it wasn't of my Flog for the day before that, then it was yesterday.  

My Flog for April 27

Today, while Howard was at work, I started packing some Stuff for the new house. I wasn't very organized - I never am when I do things on short notice with no plan of action. It was only last week I spent most of 3 day offs rearranging the basement, moving tons of heavy stuff to make myself a Nook. Because I had unpacked about 6 boxes then, I did have 6 boxes to use today. 4 mornings ago, I had no more intentions of moving than I had of visiting the moon. I guess now it's become a habit.

I decided to pack up some kitchen stuff in cloth bags and move it carefully rather than pack it in boxes, where it would be invisible and could get thrown, tossed or dropped. So then I decided to take as many cloth bags as I could and using this -

- haul them down the street. So now we have some bowls, and flour, and other necessary things for the baker's (that's me) kitchen. While there, we opened the windows and doors to help get rid of the paint smell, and put out several bowls of cut-up onions in cold water, which is supposed to absorb the smell of paint also. I suppose next I'll have to go online to find out how to get rid of the smell of onions. I'll know tomorrow if it worked.

I made sure Nikkie came with me today so she could case the joint for any invisible inhabitants, but she swears she feels no presences there. But she had that little smile on her face that makes me believe she wasn't telling the entire truth. If I get any cold shivers down the back of my neck, or start hearing someone talk to me, I'll drag her down there again. I did have the not quite pleasure of sharing a house with an invisible dead person a long time ago, and only got rid of her when I asked her to hang around and take care of the kids. She left pronto, let me tell you. (You may think I'm kidding, but I'm not, honestly.)

However, when Howard came home from work, he decided to do one up from me, and he packed some things in this -

 - just little odds and ends, like my beautiful kitchen table and chairs, a TV and some kind of box (maybe a DVD player?) and a couple of bookshelves. I hope the Big Dark Blue Truck has a good rest tonight, because tomorrow it's going to be working hard, and tomorrow night we'll be sleeping under a new ceiling. I'm just hoping I don't get up in the middle of the night to pee and fall down the stairs, as I'm so used to going upstairs to the bathroom.

There is one thing about the stairs in the new place - as you are walking down them, you are facing a big tall mirror, so you can watch yourself make an entrance. At least now I'll know if I ever forget to put on my skirt (or jeans) before I go out. 

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Soup
• Dinner - Chicken and Oven Fries
• Snacks - a little Peppermint Patty, Orange Juice

My Flog for April 26

Very happy today. We signed a year lease on a really cool house, and were given a free month's rent for May. How cool is that! The landlord really liked us and had just got rid of really bad tenants. The house has been completely painted, although it's white all the way through (c'mon grandkids, we need some paintings to hang to add colour), and there will be a brand new stove, washer and dryer delivered on the day we move in - which will probably be on Saturday, if we get our bed and coffee pot wheeled down there by then.

The house is a 2-storey A-frame, with 4 bedrooms. There are 2 upstairs, one huge one with lots of room for Howard to chase me, and hopefully tire himself out before he catches me. Also there is a much smaller one which will be a kids' bedroom, to use for sleepovers for grandkids, and a full bathroom as well. Downstairs there is the living room, kitchen, laundry room with back yard access, a nice sized bedroom and a smaller one that will be My Room. And there's lots of closet and storage space. Not too many cupboards or counter space in the kitchen, but I think we're going to work on that. At least I told Howard he will work on that.  I hope.

It may be a few days before we get internet access, but I'll do the best I can to keep this flog up and running on a daily basis, just so my faithful readers don't go into withdrawal symptoms.

Meanwhile, I did 2 tasty chickens for dinner, small ones, which will also serve for tomorrow's sandwiches and next week's soup. Chicken #1 - rubbed in Seasoning Salt, Garlic Plus, Paprika and Pepper, with a quartered orange (with peel) stuck up its butt. Chicken #2 - rubbed in salt and pepper, with a quartered onion up its butt and cooked for a couple of hours, then drained off the liquid and covered the sucker in BBQ sauce. Slow cooked both in roaster pans for about 3 1/2 hours at 300 degrees, and voila! Deliciousness personified (or should I say chickenified?)

Tried my first step on the road to a perfect chocolate muffin, because I haven't really found one yet. Started off with my favourite muffin recipe, which I will give you all one day, I'm sure, and changed a bit of this and a bit of that, and came up with a pretty okay result, but I'm not quite satisfied as to its chocolateness. So more tweaking and when I get the perfect CM, I will share with everyone.

My life is going to be a bit hectic over the next few days. I am glad I booked Sunday off, although it won't be for R&R. I won't feel settled until I take the first batch of bread out of the oven!

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Ham and Lettuce Sandwich on PWW Bread
• Dinner - Chicken and Bread
• Snacks - Chocolate Muffin (taste test only), a couple of little Easter eggs, Orange Juice

My Flog for April 25

Today would have a huge long Tudo list if I made one, but since I didn't really want to be forced to finish tons of stuff, I didn't write one. (Hey, come to think of it, the first thing I would have written on my list was to make a list ... glad I didn't do one now. Life is confusing enough.)

After a couple of laundry loads, 5 loaves of Bread and a dozen Peach Muffins, I sort of packed it in for the day. It was Steve's Grad for his Night School landscaping class, so we all packed in the Big Dark Blue Truck for a ride to Burnaby. It meant crossing the Pattullo Bridge ...

I don't often get this view of the bridge, it's sort of like traveling through a cage.

Steve's teacher had prepared a small grad gathering for her students, and she presented them with their diplomas - he didn't take his home as someone spelled his name wrong (no, there is noel in Vokey.) He said he would white it out, and she said no, they would redo and mail him a correct version. Then he made everyone laugh when he help up the diploma and said, "Well, I guess now I'm a Diplomat." Actually, what he is a Residential Landscape Technician, and I do believe he's looking forward to a raise.

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Scrambled Eggs
• Dinner - Partially Whole Wheat Toast and butter
• Snacks - Peach Muffin, a few of Howard's little chocolate Easter eggs that he left temptingly on the bed. I hope he doesn't see the little pile of foil wrappers growing on the floor on my side of the bed. 

My Flog for April 24

Great surprise at work today. The JRFM Fun Finder was parked across the street at lunch time, and I asked Chris (who's not really into Country) not to change the radio station in case Amanda Panes, the Fun Finder gal      ( http://www.jrfm.com/?option=com_content&view=article&id=2&Itemid=3&dj=24 ) came in - and she did come in! Chris told her I was a big fan of the station, so she went back to the SUV and brought us all bumper stickers, hand sanitizers on backpack hooks, and me the new Dolly Parton CD. Cool, eh? If you like country, you'll love this station, and they do stream it, so you can all listen to it no matter where you may be -  I do have a small sprinkling of world-wide readers! Check out the link at http://www.jrfm.com/

Other than that, longish day at work. Our customers must have thought we were closed after lunch, and just didn't bother to show up - except of course for the few who came by five minutes before closing. The bus ride home was a bit long, as traffic before the Queensborough Bridge was at a snail's pace, and even worse than that - the Eagle wasn't home when we drove by. But of course his tree was still there. I think the reason I missed it yesterday was because the leaves have really popped out on the trees, and I didn't recognize it. As in that old line, "I didn't recognize you with your clothes on."

However, there are now 5 whole days stretching out in front of me, so I'm looking forward to filling them up with tons of want-to things. Plus a few got-to things.

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Veggies on a Bagel Sandwich, Hot Chocolate
• Dinner- a slice of Raisin Bread 
• Snacks - Peanut Butter Cookie, Apple

My Flog for April 23

Today was a day of Up and Downs. On the Up Side, I saw my Eagle on the way to work, and he had a buddy in the tree with him. Maybe he's seeing someone special. That was tres cool. On the Down Side, I missed him on the way home, must have dozed off at the wrong moment. (I had an awful thought - that someone chopped down his tree and that's why I missed it. I'll find out in the morning.)

On the Up Side, the short list for the Richmond Restaurant Blogger was posted this morning, after 3 long weeks of waiting. On the Down Side, I didn't make the cut, but I sort of expected that. The 12 who got picked already do that sort of thing and have active blogs to prove it. I do have a couple of Plan Bs wrestling for position in my head, we'll see what happens with them. (Maybe they could join the Wrestling Club we saw advertised on Saturday.)

On the Up Side, now I have 2 days of work under my belt, but on the Down Side, there is still 1 more day to go.

On the Up Side, Howard got his Canada Pension check today, but on the Down Side, it's dated for the end of the week.

On the Up Side, my blog is done and I can go to sleep (big yawn here.) On the Down Side, there is so much more I want to do tonight, but am too tired, sleepy, and exhausted to accomplish anything.

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Share-a-Soup-and-Sandwich Day - so it was half a bowl of Corn Chowder (fancier name than that, I can't remember, but it was really good) and half a wrap, which was delicious too, but I can't remember that either. It had chicken, (I think) yellow and red pepper, it was Spiced Mango something or other. Both came from Steveston Bakery, and both were utterly yummy.
• Dinner - Meat Loaf. Howard made a fantastic Meat Loaf. Unfortunately there was no sous chef to do any sides, so I just had mine with a slice of bread.
• Snacks - a couple of biscuits, a tidge of chocolate, a hot chocolate, and two muffins ... no, make that three muffins. I make the bestest muffins - I just tweak a really good recipe I found to make them even better. 

My Flog for April 22

Yesterday was such a beautiful clear day, the mountains were glorious. It's not often I get the chance to zoom in on a gorgeous view like this, but I did have my camera, and the pic came out great. The roof of the office building in the foreground sort of doesn't fit in well, but I like the tree!

I am sitting up in bed writing this, feeling guilty because I promised to make muffins after I got home from work, when all I want to do is watch Coronation Street and relax. I was going to make bread, but when I realized it wouldn't be out of the oven until after 11 pm I quickly changed my mind. And to make matters worse, I forgot to do the coffee before I came down, plus never made a sandwich for His Lordship's lunch tomorrow, so we all know what that means, don't we? It means that this blog is over and I have to head for the kitchen - coffee, muffins and sandwiches on the way. Yawn.

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Creamy Garden and Broccoli Soup, Veggie Sandwich, from Steveston Bakery
• Dinner - Raisin Bread
• Snacks - Orange, Iced Mocha, Easter Chocolate (just a tad), 4 plain biscuits

My Flog for April 21 + Hitting the Surrey Vaisakhi Parade

 Today was not an ordinary day. Nikkie, Chris, Lizzie and I walked to the Surrey Vaisakhi Parade - http://surreyvaisakhiparade.ca/files/parade-map.php - which was about half a mile down the street, and found a very different way to spend a Saturday.

We were all welcomed with  lots of sparkles in the sky -

 - and then came across a table where people were giving away free bags of chips - and there were some Chinese ladies there scooping them up by the armful and stuffing them in their carts, covering their stash with jackets. Wow. That was just the beginning - the parade was actually a very long block of food tents, music stages, community service booths, and people wandering with pop, water, chips, candies, juice - it was amazing. And all free. I bet the Chinese ladies wished they had brought more than one cart each.

... amazingly enough, there were lots left for other people ...

There were food tents on both sides of the roads, and everything smelled so good. Now, I have no idea at all about East Indian food, although I know it's spicy. However, I was willing to try different things, although I did have some ground rules. Nothing white, yellow or green - anything else was fair game. I did try some stuff - Nikkie asked me what one item was, and I said I had no idea. Which was unfortunate, because I really liked it. If I had to order it in a restaurant I'd be out of luck - I'd have to go the 'One of everything' route to find it again. 

So that is going to make my flog really difficult to finish tonight. 

We decided to take a short-cut across the railway track to the fairway, where the kids wanted to go for rides. Unlike previous short-cuts, they did not turn into long-cuts and we never got lost.

Four balloons were the limit - we didn't want the kiddies to go floating away. They were so well-behaved. We were walking for over three hours, and they never complained once - unlike their older relatives.

This would be Uncle Neil's favourite ride if he were here, I am sure.

Lizzie way up high, getting ready for take-off

Here comes Chris!

After the rides, the kids played a dart game and each won a little
hedgehog stuffy. The games were a bit shifty - at one, you had to first buy the prize - the cheapest was $7 - then the kid got the  chance to bang the hammer on the thingie to ring the bell. I told the gal it wasn't a game, she was just selling the toys, which were these plasticky blowup things, like hammers and guitars. So we went to the Dart Game, where for $5, each of the kids got 2 darts and had the chance to burst balloons. Lizzie got 2 out of 2 - Chris got 1 out of 4 - but they both got their prize, so all was good. It was the same idea as the first one, just seemed a bit more less-of-a-rip-off.

After all that, we walked the kids home and got them settled in front of the Mario Bros, then headed back to get some goodies for Steve's dinner. Yes, we turned into the Chinese ladies, I'm ashamed to say. There were still a lot of people around, and still a lot of food tables open. We each got some fries, and then couldn't find any garbage cans to put our paper plates. I guess everyone was taking their garbage home with them -

yeah, right ...

Late in the afternoon, after crowds of people had left, there were still hundreds walking the walk. I was amazed at the numbers, but then again, this is the largest Vaisakhi Parade outside of India. We were part of a very special celebration and every ache and pain was worth it!

So now you're wondering about the aches and pains, right? Well, aside from a sore toe, which was sore before we started in the morning, my hip sockets felt like they were going to just come unglued and roll down the street, and the back of my neck got burned enough it's really bothering me. Other than that, I held up pretty well for an old broad.

On the way out, we passed this and I had to take the picture. I'm not sure if they are taking on any new members, but I think I could probably take on the gal in the scooter if I had a little bit of training. 

We finally made it home the second time around, with a few treats for Steve and a few non-treats for Howard. He tried a couple of things but couldn't get over the spices, and made it clear he just wanted plain old meat and veggies from now on. I'm just waiting for the next time we go to eat out, and he says something like, "I don't care where we go, pick somewhere." Aha! 

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - something brown and crunchy and delicious, and something else brown and not so crunchy, which I think was fish but wouldn't bet on it
• Dinner - another piece of maybe fish, and some French Fries (or should I say Indian Fries?) that were really delicious, and a Potato Patty
• Snacks - Coke, Diet Pepsi, Diet Coke, Water - yes, indeedy, the food was HOT! - and some yummy crackers

My Flog for April 20

Just an ordinary day, ho hum, did a bit more organizing and will soon have no excuse not to sit down and write the next big seller. Although I may have to do some painting first.

Had a surprise visit from Neil, Shannon, two monsters, and a baby. I know they are monsters as they can't put on nice smiles for pictures, just their normal monster faces.

This is a baby. His name is Dominik. He is 1 year, 2 months, 18 days old, give or take a few hours. He is amazed that Nanny's face just lit up like a flashlight.

This is Tanner. He is 6 years and 1 and 1/2 months old. At least his monster face is smiling.

And this is Clayton, after I asked him for a BIG smile.  He is so happy as he found a stash of Goosebump Books, so he's gone home with a whack of reading

Neil and Shannon brought me a huge surprise (well, not huge in measure, but HUGE in 'want' - an E Reader. Now I have to learn how to use it!

Now, since my list is short and boring, I thought you might like to check into a post from a year ago today. Some things have changed - for example, my knee is 99% better (I would knock wood, but Howard's asleep beside me and I don't want to wake him up.)

http://tamarsdayoff.blogspot.ca/2011/04/growing-old-much-easier-than-growing-up.html

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Chicken/Veggie Soup - so THAT's what was in the mysterious container I took out of the freezer yesterday - it was really good - but then on course, I was the one who made it.
• Dinner - Pepper Steak and Rice. Howard loaded his plate, then turned to me and asked, "Is that all there is?" I won't tell you what my shadow said.
• Snacks - Chocolate (just a little), licorice, and Brownies (just a little) 

My Flog for April 19

On my way to Walmart this morning, I noticed some fellows way up high working on the Hydro Lines. Some were in big tall Cherry Picker/Cranes whatever, and then there was this guy in the contraption below. All of a sudden there was the roar of an engine (or something, maybe it was his heartbeat) and he was zooming down the wires - just like a zip line. I was scared just watching him, and made sure to have my camera ready just in case he fell out - there are papers that pay big for pictures like that, I think.

And then, just at that moment, the following song comes on my MP3 player. I mean, it was no surprise, as I loaded it, along with a ton of other tunes - it just came at a coincidental time.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YqME4QuG_E&feature=related

Then he headed back to his buddy in the crane basket, where he climbed over the top rail of his contraption, and  into the crane basket. Just watching him transfer was a bit nerve racking. Hope he gets lots of danger pay.

Now, on a completely different subject: When I see this, I see a cute piggy ....

... but a lot of people see this:

... and when I walked home today and stopped to take a picture of one of Howard's rhubarb plants, I didn't really see this ...

... I saw this.

Can't wait. This is a Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp, but Apple Rhubarb Crisp is just as delicious. As are Rhubarb Muffins, Rhubarb Upside Down Cake, Rhubarb Pie and Stewed Rhubarb. I sure hope that rhubarb plant and its sister in the back yard have a lot more growing to do!

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Kellogg's Special K Cracker Chips (Cheddar Flavour) - now here's a warning - DON'T BUY THEM UNLESS YOU ARE PREPARED TO EAT THE WHOLE PACK - because they are very addictive, and that's why I wasn't hungry when lunch time rolled around. Plus some Easter chocolate. By that time, it was just as well to jump right in and do a good job.
• Dinner - I cooked a really nice Roast Pork-with-all-the-trimmings Dinner - Pork, Mashed Potatoes, Turnip, Carrots, Broccoli, that delicious Crust/Pastry I put on top of every roast I make, and Gravy. I never made a dessert. Every one was stuffed with dinner anyway. Plus there was half a pan of Brownies left from last night.
• Snacks - You got it - a piece of Brownie

My Flog for April 18

First day off, and  I spent it re-arranging the basement and making a nook for myself. Moving boxes, furniture, shelves, and loads of STUFF. I think tomorrow I will suffer.

It turned out to be a beautiful afternoon, warm and sunshiny. I walked to the school to pick up Chris, and noticed the tulips by the side of the house were all a-bloom -

 How pretty is that, eh? And if you ever wanted a look inside, here you go -

 Another pretty something growing in front of the house. The true colour is a lot more vibrant than this, though.

 It's a Pieris - I just called Steve the Landscaper and asked him.

I was thinking about names for his landscaping business and came up with Sir Plantsalot. Isn't that cool? And if/when Neil gets his painting business on the go, it could be Sir Paintsalot. Shannon and I had a lot of fun with these names one day, ending up with her being Queen Cleansalot, me Queen Knitsalot, and Nikkie Princess Tapsalot.

However - I got my payment for The Orange Sock, which was published in The Downhome in March. Twenty Downhome Dollars - and I really do have to spend it all in one place, that being their on-line store. Or maybe I'll just frame it. That was actually the second thing I've had published, the other was a short poem in an anthology of Newfoundland Writers, and the same poem was included in a Grade 7 literature textbook shortly after. It was just so long ago - and they cut out the last two lines, which I think were the icing on the cake. Oh well. It went like this - with the cut out lines in italics.

Slipping
slowly
with its gold
autumn's colours
meet the cold
catch the summer's hand and hold
the forest in its breath
while leaves wait 
silently for death.

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Pea Soup - now it's all gone (I guess I'll be going Pork........ Hock hunting in the near future), and crackers
• Dinner - Howard's Stewed Fish cooked by Tamar, and Corn Bread
• Snacks - Yogurt, Cheese, Cranberry Juice, 1 McDonald's French Fry, because if I don't write it here, Nikkie will probably tell on me, and a few little chocolate Easter Eggs

And to finish off the day - I made a double batch of our favourite Brownies, which are cooling on the kitchen counter as I tap. I wonder how much will be left when I get up in the morning?

My Flog for April 17

We are out of baked goods - no cookies, no cake, no cottage puddings, no muffins, no brownies. Still got some bread in the freezer, so I guess the next thing on my baking list will be yummy sweet stuff. Bring on the  carbs!

My bus ride today offered me a terrific view of my Eagle, even if he was on the wrong side of the tree and I had to almost do a Carrie-trick with my head to see him. I know he's a boy as yesterday's bus driver told me only male eagles have white heads. I never knew that before. At least, I don't think I did - maybe I did. I find with my memory that each day has some sort of learning experience. I wouldn't have thought there was still so much to learn. Even though it was rainy and the bus windows were a bit foggy, I managed to snap this pic as the bus sort of went stationary at the right moment -

The bus drive home was long, as Westminster Highway had turned into a parking lot - bus just seemed to be floating along like a boat adrift on the waves. Really. That's just what it felt like, if I closed my eyes I could just imagine looking over the gunnels and seeing schools of jellyfish in the depths. However, I couldn't close my ears, so my mind stayed on the bus. I guess there was an accident or something getting cleared away somewhere ahead.

We will find out on Monday morning at 8AM (while I am on the bus on the way to work) who made the short-list for Richmond's Restaurant Blogger. I have been making long lists of why I wouldn't be chosen, and only a tiny short list of why I may be. Oh well, nothing ventured, nothing gained. I'll try not to think of it any more!

• Breakfast - Subway's Egg and Cheese on Flatbread, and Coffee
• Lunch - Pea Soup and Bread, Yogurt
• Dinner - Scrambled Egg, Bacon, Fried Potato - guess we had Breakfast for Dinner, which is fine, as Breakfast is my favourite meal
• Snacks - A few tiny Easter Eggs, Iced Mocha, and a Pirate Cookie (not homemade either.)

My Flog for April 16

What is ironic?

Me at Walmart yesterday, drooling in front of the 50% off plus 50% more off Easter chocolate, loading the basket with all sorts of different goodies, then grabbing a Diet Pepsi from the cooler on the way to check out. (When things are marked 50% off, then signs say an extra 50% will be taken off the sale price at the till, that is really 75% off. But it does sound like a better deal, doesn't it? However, you have to hope your cashier can   divide by two - I had to do all the math for her, poor soul. They don't have a 50% off button on their high-tech computerized cash registers.)

It's been a long day - I worked with Pauline. Or should I say Pauline and I were at the store, don't tell our boss this, but we didn't work too hard. I think we were still getting over Saturday and the Red Hat Ladies Spring Treasure Sale. So tomorrow I will have to work twice as hard to get everything done - and so will Penny. Sorry, Penny. I hope you get a good night's sleep tonight!

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee - the Partially Whole Wheat Bread made the best toast in the world, it even surpassed the 2 kinds of Raisin Bread. Hard to believe, eh? But true!
• Lunch - Pea Soup, PWW Bread, Cranberry/Blueberry Muffin and Coffee
• Dinner - Sausage Roll, 1 slice of PWW Bread (couldn't resist it) and ice cream. If I want ice-cream, I just offer some to the kids, knowing that they will never eat a whole scoop. Then I eat what's left. Standing up. (Food eaten standing up has no calories, I know everyone knows that.)
• Snacks - Hot Chocolate. Chocolate Chip Muffin. Yes, I know, I have to quit eating all these delicious carbs, but if I give up baking now, Steve and Howard will no doubt go into withdrawal. 

My Flog for April 15

This morning, we all went to Neil and Shannon's complex to pick up a set of bunk beds for the kids. It's not often we get this view of the Alex Fraser Bridge - see, I keep telling you how tall it is. You can see the river, too, and as you can see from the sky, it is definitely not a Spring-is-here-to-stay kind of day.

I often go over the Alex Fraser Bridge, but rarely go under it.

The kids' bunk beds - I wonder who will be brave enough to sleep on the top bunk?

Looks like Sophia chose the bottom bunk!!

Well, other than than the morning ride to Ladner, in the Big Blue Truck, (where Chris informed that it wasn't a Big Blue Truck, but a Big Dark Blue Truck) my day was very uneventful. Howard and Steve cooked dinner, and I made muffins and Partially Whole Wheat Bread (probably about 38% Whole Wheat) after. Then Nikkie I did a quick trip to the Corner Store for margarine and toilet paper, both of which were getting very low. She and I shared a bag of chips on the way home (although she would probably just admit to eating one, and I wouldn't deny that.)

 Ah, we sort of figured that out. Oh well. One was scared to climb up, and one was scared to climb down. But they are both happy with this arrangement, and that's what matters.

Yum yum yum yum yum

3 baked, 2 to go

The muffins were really good, so I hear. I did test taste a Cranberry/Blueberry one, though, for Quality Control purposes only. I poured in the cranberries, and thought there was enough cranberries that I didn't need blueberries, then decided at the last minute to add a few blueberries, as we wanted to avert another single berry muffin episode; however, when I went to pour in a few blueberries, half the bag decided to make the journey, so they were a bit more fruitful than I planned. Very good error though, I may add.

Everyone's gone to bed now, except for the poor tired bread baker, so there is no one awake to try the Bread - although it looks and smells good. Two more loaves to come out of the oven and I'll be joining my sleeping partner. I find if I bake more than 3 loaves at a time in my dollar store oven, they will brown so unevenly, as in 1 or 2 will be burnt black, and the rest be as white as snow, so the way to go is small and slow.

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - 1 slice of White Raisin Bread, a Banana
• Dinner - Chicken, Stuffing, Potatoes
• Snacks - Chocolate, Muffin, Chips, Diet Pepsi

My Flog for April 14

Today my pal Pauline and I took one of our Day Offs to man (woman?) a table at a Spring Treasure Sale for Red Hat Groups in the Lower Mainland. We took just about every red and purple ball of yarn from the store, and displayed and demo-ed and sold for 4 long hours. 

Pauline, trying to hide behind our headless model

For those of you who don't know what the Red Hat ladies are all about -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Hat_Society

- and this poem tells it all - how terrific is this?

Warning - When I Am an Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple  By Jenny Joseph  When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple  with a red hat that doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.  And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves  and satin candles, and say we've no money for butter.  I shall sit down on the pavement when I am tired  and gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells  and run my stick along the public railings  and make up for the sobriety of my youth.  I shall go out in my slippers in the rain  and pick the flowers in other people's gardens  and learn to spit.  You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat  and eat three pounds of sausages at a go  or only bread and pickles for a week  and hoard pens and pencils and beer nuts and things in boxes.  But now we must have clothes that keep us dry  and pay our rent and not swear in the street  and set a good example for the children.  We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.  But maybe I ought to practice a little now?  So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised  When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

I'm not sure about the spitting part, though.

All in all, we had a good day, although watching the 92-year old Country Line Dancer and all these other 'older' gals having so much fun was a bit tiring. 

The Red Hat Bunny passed out chocolate to everyone - now there's my kind of Bunny! This was Carla, who organised this event. She did a terrific job, what a Lovely Lady - and such a Cute Bunny.

The way home was once again, bus and sky train, but this time I managed to get an awful picture of the Sky Train Bridge across the Fraser River - 

See how high and rickety it looks? No wonder I need a drink when I get home.

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - a slice of Veggie Pizza and Green Salad w/Raspberry Vinaigrette. Very good, compliments to Boston Pizza
• Dinner - a Hot Dog, Raisin Bread, Cheese
• Snacks - yummy stuff from a Bake Table, and a Baileys and Milk

My Flog for April 13

Today was a true and rare Spring Day, so I decided I'd check out the trail around Bear Creek Park.  I planned to have something not so boring to write about tonight, and a five kilometre walk through the forest sounded like a good way to go. I would follow a creek or two, maybe even see an eagle sighting, me and the camera that has the zoomy lens on it - sounds good, doesn't it?

There were some nice shots on the way - apple blossoms and wheelbarrows -

Nature blooms with the help of people near the entrance to the trail.

 And the trail was very nice, peaceful but chirpy, with the occasional squirrel.

However, it seems the trail I chose did little but a streamside meander, which was very nice -

- but within 15 minutes it had me back on King George Highway, which wasn't really my plan. I decided to just give up for the day, as I really really needed to pee anyway, so I headed towards 88 Avenue, on the way home. I may not have seen any wildlife on my shortened Nature Walk, but I did see some crazylife in the middle of King George Highway -

- don't know if you can see the gal in the middle of 5 lanes of traffic and two bike lanes, trying to cross the road.

However, to make a short story long - like my walk - as I was walking up 88th Avenue, I found another Nature Path which was I sure would be a shortcut to home -

- after all, it was going in the right direction, over that way, and it looked a lot nicer than the sidewalk beside hundreds of noisy vehicles.

I don't want to even think about the rest of the walk. What should have taken under 10 minutes ended up almost two hours, going this way and that, dead-ending, and having no idea where I was. At one point I thought I saw my Hydro ladies up ahead, but when I got there, they were shorter and fatter, not the pretty ones that watched over my walks to Walmart. However I knew I was close to home once again, when I reached the Quibble Creek sign again - and once again, following a path with more than one choice, ended up on King George and 92th Avenue - somehow I had once again skipped 90th, but at least from there I knew how to get my bladder home.

I don't know why my sense of direction is so screwed up. I guess I'll either have to save up for a portable GPS or stay home playing solitaire all day.

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Pea Soup and the best Molasses Raisin Bread in the World
• Dinner - Ham and Cheese Sandwich, and Pudding
• Snacks - a bit of Peach Cake

My Flog for April 12

Started a late morning with Doc Martin and Monarch of the Glen, then got my hands in the bread dough. This time it was Molasses Raisin Bread, a kind of combination of two recipes that hopefully worked out well. The making of it went awry - the first yeast didn't rise, so I had to repeat that step, then the dough wouldn't rise, so I put it on top of the stove as the ribs were cooking in the oven, and part of the dough got a bit crispy on the bottom. However, the end result looked great, rose great, though it does weigh a lot. That could be all the raisins in it, though. Everybody was so full of dinner, there was no room for taste testing the bread, so that's got to wait til the morning, when toast time rolls around again. And I completely forgot to take a picture - that's the way it goes in real life though, isn't it? We usually have lots of pictures of the first born, and not so many of the younger siblings.

Besides the dinner and the bread, I did a couple of loads of laundry, and that's about it.

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Pea Soup, and it was good, in fact it was very, very good, 1 slice bread, yogurt
• Dinner - Slow Cooked Ribs in BBQ sauce, Oven Roasted Potatoes, and the piece de no resistance - Peach Dessert, a cross between a cobbler and an Upside Down Cake - with a wee bit of Vanilla Ice Cream
• Snacks - Orange

Since today was a very lazy day off, I thought you might like to read an adventure from about 2 years ago. Some of you have already read about our trip to Capilano Suspension Bridge, but some of you have probably not.
http://tamarsdayoff.blogspot.ca/p/another-saturday-adventure-capilano.html

My Flog for April 11

Day Off  # One - started off with a Coronation Street catch-up and loads of coffee, then jerked into the world of reality with a bit of housework. I should have walked to Walmart for Kitty Litter and Kitty Food - I tend to do all the walking and pulling heavy stuff home while all my Kitty does is sleep, eat, and poop. Since we moved to Surrey, he refuses to go out, so I have to be his personal Scooper now, amongst all my other duties. I guess he's heard about all the bad stuff that happens here - like gangs, and shootings, and knifings (knivings?) and hit-and-runs, and so ons. That doesn't bother me, I haven't been shot at yet, at least not to my knowledge. When I'm out walking my head is tucked between Paul Simon, or The Masterless Men, or Johnny Paycheck, and my mind is usually wandering all over the place, so I probably wouldn't notice anything anyway.

Instead I waited til Steve got home and he drove me to Safeway. As long as they sell Bread and Roll Mix I don't complain. I really was going to push myself to the limit and walk, but it had started to rain, and the last  few times I did a Walmart walk, I got soaked on the way home, so I thought, "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH."
I made a really good pot of Pea Soup with the Easter Ham Bone. At least, I think it's good - I never had any, but Howard had a bowl of it and never complained about it. And after dinner, I popped a cake in the oven to bake, so the lads would have a treat for tomorrow's lunch boxes.

No eagles today - although there were some crow's feet spotted in the early hours of the morning. I think I'll give up smiling altogether. 

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Grilled Cheese Leftovers from Lizzie's lunch
• Dinner - Meat Loaf, Mashed Potatoes, Peas
• Snacks - Blueberry Muffin, Yogurt, Diet Pepsi and a couple of cookies

By the way, the Diet Pepsi isn't very helpful as far as a diet is concerned. The numbers on the scale are slowly but surely heading in the wrong direction. I think I know why.

My Flog for April 10

After breakie, Steve brought me to the sky train station. I had a feeling something was wrong when I saw many people walking away from the station, but I went upstairs anyway - the escalator wasn't working, but that was the least of my worries. It's really strange to walk up a still escalator, by the way - makes me a bit dizzy if I look at the stairs. However, when I reached the waiting area at the boarding level, all I could see was a sea of people, as wide as the platform and as long as the platform. I managed to squeeze my way through and find a spot big enough for me. After about 10 long, noisy, people-laden minutes, a train rolled in - already partly filled up. Even though King George Station is the beginning (or end) of the line, the smart people who were waiting at Surrey Central, a minute up the line, got on the east bound train rather than waiting for a west bound one, so they were the lucky ones who got the seats. Once again I did a squeezy thing, and managed to get a spot by a pole, so at least I could hang on for dear life once the train started rolling, after another 5 minute wait. Nobody would have fallen down anyway, as we were packed in like sardines, and horizontal just wouldn't happen.

By the time we reached my stop, my fingers hurt from grabbing, and my knee hurt from keeping balance as the train swerved and bounced its way along the track. There was only a little wait for a bus, and from then on the commute was fine.

Along the way, I saw my eagle again, and this time I got a pic of it and its nest way up in the tree.

It's a teeny tiny speck indeed, way up in the branches, but you can easily see its penthouse. He (She) was there again on the way home; seeing it is the one bright spot in my commute, and I look forward to it every trip.

After lunch, I found some more wildlife. There was a wicked big bumblebee in the window - at least I think it was a bumblebee. Its huge body was black, and it had a yellow stripe around its head and another one around its butt. And boy, did it ever buzz. Another customer and I were trying to get a picture of it, but the bugger wouldn't stay still, and kept buzzing and flying into the window looking for a way out. I am a tad nervous around an ordinary bee, let alone this one, so it gave me a few jumps and starts. Finally a brave man came to my aid, and as he was putting a bottle over it he got a big too enthusiastic and sort of broke the bee in half. Then he had to do a mercy killing and dispose of the corpse in the garbage. I did feel a bit bad - but that was preferable to leaving it in the store and having it attack me when I wasn't looking.

After dinner I cleaned up, read the kiddies a story and tucked them into bed, and made Blueberry Muffins. I guess I should take a picture of the muffins to show you how pretty they look - hang on - (you already know how pretty the kids are) -

Well, I don't know if pretty is the right adjective. They do look quite blueberryish. Howard said he had a Cranberry Muffin last night with only one Cranberry in it, so I didn't want to repeat that error. Then I went to visit my hubby, who was burning some recyclable cardboard in the back yard. Doesn't sound very green to me, really, but less to carry out to the curb in the morning.

• 

  Watch out for the flankers!
  

  
  

  And now I'm ready for bed, and re-checking my Facebook page before I give it all up for the night. Thanks Cliff, for posting this pic that reminds me I used to be young!

  

  
  
  
  
  

  Breakfast - Toast and Coffee. 

  
  

  Lunch - Veggie/Beef Soup, Veggies on a Bagel sandwich, Cranberry Orange Muffin, and Hot Chocolate 

  
  

  Dinner - Fried Potatoes, Onions, Bologna and Beans 

  
  

  Snacks - Yogurt, 2 Graham Wafers (Howard had a fire outdoors, and I thought "SMORES!" but I couldn't find any chocolate so I just had the wafers), and my White Chocolate Bunny's head.