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.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

My Flog for April 9

Home again home again, jiggity jog - that's good. The bus ride blessed me with a seat mate who reeked of garlic, and who decided to use me for a pillow as she slept her way to the sky train station. After a couple of jabs with my elbow she became a bit more alert, although unfortunately, not less garlicky. The fertilizer scent from the blueberry fields on Westminster Highway was most welcome, as were the bus fumes at the bus stop at 22nd Street.

There are a couple of eagle nests on the way, and I'm always pleased to see the eagle that lives in one. He (or she) is usually perching on one of the branches of the tree, guarding his (or her) home.  I wonder if there are any little eagle eggs in the nest, because that would be so cool. The other nest is a man-made aerie, and there usually isn't anybody at home there.

This link will take you to a site for a family of eagles residing near the river at the south end of #3 Road in Richmond. Not my eagle, but maybe a cousin. The pics are very cool.
http://www.hancockwildlife.org/forum/viewtopic.php?showtopic=1131
If you go to the You Tube link on this site, you will see some pics of the man-made nest at Lafarge - Lafarge is the one I pass every commute, and I guess it's named after the Lafarge Cement Plant that is in the area.

Riding to work in the morning is a lot nicer when it's daylight - especially with the cherry trees and daffodils in full bloom. In winter, it is really dark and I usually find myself nodding off on the way. Although I make sure I don't use anyone else for a pillow. And I really try not to stink.

Work was mostly good, really really busy, and only a few irritating customers. One person wanted help with a knitting pattern because she tried to knit the sweater several times, and couldn't get it figured out. However, she didn't bring her knitting with her, and there was no way to know what she was doing wrong, so she lucked out there.  Sometimes people think we are Pattern Psychics. Someone left a message on the answering machine on Sunday, when we closed, and asked us to put away 3 balls of purple yarn - she was smart enough to tell us the dye lot number. That's it. Last inventory, we carried over 70 different labels of yarn. And there are many shades of purple.

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - It was Share-a-Soup-and-Sandwich Day, so I had half a bowl of Cream of Broccoli (so good) and half a Roast Beef Sandwich from my favourite bakery, and an Orange (which I didn't share at all)
• Dinner - A big bowl of green salad - half spring greens and half spinach - with Honey Dijon Dressing, and half a Sausage Roll, from the same bakery as Lunch, and a tiny teeny smidgeony piece of Lemon Meringue Pie
• Snacks - Hot Chocolate, Iced Mocha, Yogurt, and some Easter leftovers .... mmmmm

My Flog for April 8 - Happy Easter!

What a great day. The temp reached in the 20's, sunny, a bit of wind but it was warm. Did a bit of housework in the morning, and a bit of laundry during the day. Neil, Shannon and their boys came over after lunch to help us celebrate Easter, and it was so good to see everyone together just having 'a time.'

Neil and Dominik - they both have a talent for the drums

Now I know what to get Dom for Christmas. He can be a little drummer boy!

Steve wore the Chef's Hat today, even though we never had a real hat

Steve spent a lot of time in the kitchen, cooking and peeling and cutting and chopping and cleaning ..... and trying to be a smart ass - quite successfully, I may add. I really should be careful what is on the other end of the lens before I snap the picture.

I'm just hoping no one else notices anything strange- he thought it was bloody hilarious

Five kiddies and their baskets running around looking for Easter chocolate - oh, and Neil makes six! He never had a basket, because he has big big hands.

The Easter Egg hunt went over really well - some would say too well - but the kiddies did manage to find lots of candy

Here we have Lizzie, Chris, Dominik, Clayton, and Tanner - how cool are they?

Full of ham and chocolate - they look very calm, don't they?

... and now, more tunes from the garage ...

Listen at your own risk. I would advise ear plugs, a pillow strapped over each ear, and a distance of about 150 metres. If anyone wants to book this duo, give me a call. I'll pass on the message as long as your house is at least a mile away from ours. I hope nothing bad happens to Steve's new amp while he's at work one day. My ears are still going boing boing.

•  Breakfast - Toast and Coffee - and Bacon and a Fried Egg. Steve made breakfast (well, I helped, I made the toast, which was the hard bit, as I had to slice that wonderfully fresh Raisin Bread first.)
• Lunch - Soup. I was lucky enough to find some Beef/Veggie Soup hiding in the freezer, and it is still very tasty!
• Dinner - Ham. Mashed Potato. Rutabaga (Turnip on the East Coast). Carrots. Broccoli. Lemon Pie. Steve cooked dinner (well, I helped, I made the Lemon Pie, which was the hard bit, as I had to bake the pastry, cook the filling, and whip the meringue - which by the way, my grandkids didn't like.)
• Snacks - Chocolate. Chocolate. Chocolate etc etc etc. I wouldn't know where to stop.

My Flog for April 7

This was a beautiful spring day, sunshiney and blue-skied. The guys took a load of junk to the dump/transfer station this morning, and brought back a load of dirt. They had to pay to dump the truck, then they had to pay for a load of dirt. I could think of a lot better ways to spend that money, I think. However, we will all be glad when the growing season starts - and finishes. I know there is a Jigg's Dinner garden in the future.

Today I made White Raisin Bread, which turned out nicely, I must say.

http://tamargetsstuffed.blogspot.ca/2012/04/white-raisin-bread.html

 Howard made Stewed Fish for dinner -

http://tamargetsstuffed.blogspot.ca/2012/04/howards-amazing-stewed-fish.html

Steve can't wait to perform surgery on the bread - careful, it's still hot!

Not a very exciting day, I'm afraid. Downloaded some 60s and 70s memories - listening to Red Rubber Ball by Cyrkle now. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you must be a baby, but you can You Tube it if you'd like. 

I am also not so patiently waiting for the second season of William and Mary to download. I must admit, I have fallen in love with Martin Clunes, and he should feel lucky I'm married and living miles away from wherever he is. I know he's not in BC. I would know if he were. I just know I would.

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Cheerios
• Dinner - Basa Fillets w/Potatoes and Onions
• Snacks - Cookies, Orange, Yogurt, Banana, Diet Pepsi (with Lime, my absolute favourite)

My Flog for April 6

I don't have the energy to use bullets tonight. It's not really night yet, I guess, it's still evening, still daylight, but that doesn't matter, Howard's in bed. He went in when I got up. And I'm going back in when I post this.

This morning we went shopping, then I came home and crashed. I feel the same way I felt on Monday when I blamed the Aleve for making me sick, so I guess it wasn't the Aleve. But at least today I was home, so I spent most of the day either sitting up in bed watching downloads, listening to music, or lying in bed dozing.

Here's my list for today, in no particular order, and of no particular benefit:

Coffee, Toast, Banana Cream Pie, Cookies, Chips, Yogurt and Diet Pepsi

I only ate the yogurt because it started to leak on the way home, I guess something else in the bag rubbed it the wrong way and the lid got pulled up a bit. It certainly wasn't my intention to eat anything healthy today. Although I would have eaten some Pea Soup if there were any left, but I guess Howard sucked the last drop from the pot last night - after complaining that you can't make good Pea Soup without a Ham Bone and/or Salt Beef, and you need more in it than just a Pork    Hock and some veggies, and wondering if I had put onions in it, which I did, of course, lots of them. 

My Flog for April 5

Lazy Day Off - Let's see, what did I do besides watch downloaded episodes of Monarch of the Glen and William and Mary? 

I took a picture of Nikkie's amazing Easter Cookies that she took to school for Chris's kindergarten class -

Don't they look great? And that's just the 4 on top, each one was different. And the cookies are double delicious too, which is why I'm linking the recipe for you, along with all our secrets to making the perfect Special Day treats! Best Ever Sugar Cookies

But that's not all I did today. I made a Banana Cream Pie, 6 loaves of White Bread, and a double batch of  Chocolate Chip Cookies -  http://tamargetsstuffed.blogspot.ca/2012/04/best-ever-chocolate-chip-cookies.html Yum Yum Yum. You don't have to believe me, you can click on the above link and make your own. 

It was Howard's idea to include the 'lassie box in the picture. Can't wait.

That's all I did today.

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - ??? Pudding? 
• Dinner - Pea Soup, Fresh Yummy Bread, Cheddar Cheese, Banana Cream Pie (Double Delicious!).
• Snacks - 2 Cookies, Orange

My Flog for April 4

10 AM: First Day Off - Sunshine! Blue Skies! - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGZDwxnjG1g - just hoping there will be 'nothing but blue skies from now on' ... we'll just have to wait and see I guess.

Late getting started, but lots to be done - cookie dough for tomorrow's Easter cookies is probably the priority. First I have to clean the kitchen again- after cleaning everything from last night's supper - dinner, whatever - the other roomie cooked dinner for him and his gal, and left dirty dishes and food, on the table, on the counter, in the sink. Just gonna sweep it all to one side and continue with my stuff. At least the overpowering stench of tons of garlic has left the kitchen. I love garlic, but not enough to use it as a 2-room air freshener hours after dinner is gone.

Oh oh, the brightness has left my window - please please no rain today.

12:19 PM - Sunshiny stuff back again, a huge amount of sugar cookie dough chillin' in the fridge, now get ready, Walmart, here I come!

6:33 PM - It was nice to walk to Walmart with Sheila - here's the pic I promised her. There were so many black clouds surrounding my sky when I left, but they scooted away, and I had a sunny walk home.

 It's a long and winding road - not really! But how nice to have a walk where there's no cars, trucks, and most of all - no buses. Although, sometimes when I'm tugging or pushing a 50 lb buggy,  I wish I could pull the path straight ... it would cut out some metres.

 A bunch of wild daffodils, growing amongst some blackberry canes. a good example of look but don't touch
That could be a song title - Every Daffodil Has Its Thorn. Maybe not.

How lucky am I to live in such a beautiful place! As I was walking home, I watched a bald eagle glide way above me, and a scattering of dandelions by the path reminded me of this poem from a couple of years ago -

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Dandelion 

I'm glad they never told me

When I was just a seed

That I'd be growing up to be a weed.

For if I'd known my future

I might have hid my face

And now I wouldn't be here in this place.

A little bit of summer

And it's not even Spring

I'm glad of all the smiles and hopes I bring.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Spinach Salad (from Walmart, these are so yummy and I hadn't had one in ages.)
• Dinner - Chicken Drummies cooked in Hickory BBQ sauce, Oven Roasted Potatoes, and Broccoli
• Snacks - A few chocolate candy, Diet Pepsi, Pudding, and two cookies

My Flog for April 3

It was a pouring rain kind of day until about 2 o'clock, when we got beautiful sunshine and blue skies. I got off work two and a half hours early, which was really good, as I still am not feeling 100% better. Stop over at Zellers to pick up a prescription, and home before 6 o'clock, and early night indeed. However, just coming downstairs for a bit of R&R before bedtime - Steve and Nikkie were both out, so we were Babysitters and Chefs tonight. 

So, do you know how many elephants you can stuff in a Volkswagon? I don't, but I would think it's a much smaller number than the number of people you can stuff in a bus. The 410 in front of ours must have broken down, because when we caught up to it, it had purged an immense number of passengers, who were waiting to share our ride. The driver kept urging everyone to "MOVE BACK - TO THE BACK OF THE BUS ...", and even when the passengers were sucking in their breath (and their tummies) to squeeze in through the door, he was still letting people aboard. Until one loser tried to get a ride on a January pass - he stopped the bus and tried to evict him, but the guy wouldn't get off, so someone paid for him to get a ticket. Every bus stop offered us a few more pairs of legs, and somehow everybody found room. 

It was like this, just different people ...

..but I could see it looking like this if people kept coming 

When the bus stopped at 22nd Street Station, it must have looked like the parting of the Red Sea, when the waves of passengers poured of the bus and split in two directions, heading either to the Downtown Vancouver train, or the King George train.

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Egg McMuffin, Yogurt
• Dinner - Scrambled Eggs, Muffin - the Muffin was McDonald's new Coffee Cake Muffin - and it was terrible. Dry, tough, and tasteless. If you haven't tried one yet, save your money.
• Snacks - Graham Wafer cracker, Pudding, Hot Chocolate (notice: no cookies today!)

My Flog for April 2

I picked up some Aleve before I went to work this morning, as my poor little finger and its neighbour, my poor little ring finger, were really sore. As I said before, early onset arthritis. However, one little blue pill (Aleve, not Viagra) and my whole body got sent somewhere it didn't want to go. I had taken Aleve before, and I found it worked really well at demolishing arthritis pain, and I never had any side-effects, so maybe it wasn't the Aleve, maybe I just took sick about half an hour after I took it. Shaky, all-over feeling of distress, weakness etc, and me stuck at work all day. Pauline was very kind to me, and made me sit about twenty times. She kept complaining that I kept getting up. I just felt guilty getting big bucks for doing nothing. (That last sentence is sarcasm, by the way.) Feel better now, though, and my fingers don't hurt at all. Just ultra tired and only a few minutes from dreamland.

I found out today I am one of 1500 applicants for the Richmond Food blogger position. Howard said I may get cut down to one of 100, assuming the first cut is to 100. That is a huge compliment coming from my husband.

• Breakfast - Raisin Bread Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Roast Beef Sandwich, half a bowl of Chicken Gumbo soup - a tad spicy, but nice
• Dinner - Sausage Roll, Yogurt
• Snacks - Hot Chocolate, Scone, Pudding, cookies - we aren't going to say how many as we don't want to shock anybody

My Flog for April 1

I hope everyone had a good April Fool's Day. I had to work, of course, so that took away a lot of enjoyment. Poor me. I'm home now though - poor me. I am doing laundry in between words.

Spring has finally dug in for real, the fruit trees are pinking and whiting all over, and leaves are opening, freshly green. I saw dandelions yesterday, the first ones I've noticed this year. A few days of sun and a few days of rain do wonders for the growing stuff.

This is a picture of the Pedestrian Scramble at the main intersection in Steveston. Here you can press buttons, and either walk across the street in the usual way, or cross diagonally following the rope map. I think it's just the city's way of cutting down on tourists - a sort of survival of the fittest thingie. However, there is a beautiful cherry tree all a-blossom on the other side of the street, and a beautiful April sky overhead.

Yesterday was the last day for applying to the most wanted job on the planet, as VIB (Very Important Blogger) for Richmond and its many restaurants. I would be quite honoured to make the Top Ten, but like all the American Idol wannabees, I am one of thousands who are trying out for it. I have decided if I don't slip through, I am going to haul out my Clothesline Wars and try to plump that out for - dare I say it? - a book. The skeleton is already there, that part happened without me really trying, which is sort of magic, I must say. 

On a totally different subject - a terrible thing has happened. The day after I mangled kidneys and baked them in a Steak and Kidney Pie, Howard tried it - and actually liked it. Does that mean I'll have to make this recipe again? Oh my. 

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Egg Sandwich
• Dinner - 2 slices of Raisin Bread
• Snacks - Eccles Cake (which is really a pastry and not a cake) 

My New Number for April 1

159.5

I hate extra long months. Yesterday I weighed in a pound less. In this instance, less isn't more, and more just sucks.
Now if I can lay off all the Junk Food I've been eating, I might have a nicer number for May 1. Only 2 more months and I'll have a year logged in on this flog - can you believe that? And even though it's only 20 pounds, they stayed off and if I hadn't been doing this? I have no doubt I would have found them along the way, probably with some company!