Scrabble board

We dug out this Scrabble board which we bought in the summer sometime at a garage sale. It has the lazy susan board with little indentations for all the letters and the cool maroon letters as well.  We played a few games and I thought I should get a photo.  Scrabble is part of Christmas!! 

Looking forward to the family get together this coming week!!

Therese

Another 1970 crock pot

We bought this crock pot on our trip to Winnipeg.  I have been using my current green one to bake my sourdough bread and that is working so nicely.  I decided that when I found another one like it I would buy it so that I will have a replacement when the time comes because this one has been with us for over forty years so not likely it has LOTS of years left in it.  This one has the proper lid.  The one on the green one has a replacement lid which I purchased second hand years ago because it fit reasonably.  It was VERY dirty but a good scrubbing this morning has eliminated that and it looks pretty good.  The liner is in great condition though the cord has been melted a bit in one area.  I will use it once and monitor how that area reacts and we will see.  We may just cut off the melty part and put a new end back on. It always sits on the counter so I do not need a cord quite as long as it is.  So it will enjoy some time storage until I need it!!  Gotta love those 1970 colours!!

Therese

Puzzle with 2999 pieces!!

Brian has been working on this puzzle for more than a month and finally finished yesterday!!!!  Unfortunately, it is missing one piece!!!!!!!!!!!  Right there in the mountain area on the left!!  He used his large puzzle mat and it worked very well.  He was able to roll it up whenever we needed the table and it was easy to put it back into place. This one is very large and has elastic straps to keep it rolled up.  One of his buys at the Clive garage sale this year!!!!!  So this puzzle with 2999 pieces is going out to ensure no one else gets disappointed with one missing piece!!

Therese

CWL social meeting with a potluck meal

For our December meeting we decided this year to just have a social meeting with a potluck meal.  As usual the meal was excellent with lots of great food!!  We had a good turn out and it was very nice to have time to get to know our fellow members better. 

Therese

Christmas weekend at our house!!

 There are not a lot of photos of our Christmas weekened.  Richard arrived on Friday for supper after my Christmas card class.  Suzanne and family arrived about noon.  Kale and Mina were making bead angels just before lunch on Saturday which was crab dip for the adults and pancakes for the kids - win-win in everybody's book. 

Kale and I went outside to shovel snow which had been falling since morning and took the crazy carpets to the hill and had a wonderful time.  While we were out the rest of them made this puzzle and Richard headed home to check on his furnace.  We had turkey and all the trimmings for supper and when he got back we made up him up a plate of turkey as well.  He managed to diagnose and fix the problem in a short amount of time which was wonderful and is fortunate to have one of those thermostats that talks to your phone to let you know that things are awry at home.  We had some time to visit after the kids went to bed and played a few games of dominoes.  Breakfast was a bit split up because Brian had choir practice at 9:30 am.  The kids had pancakes when they got up and the adults had cinnamon buns.   The morning went by quickly and it was soon time for lunch when Brian got home from church.  We had turkey leftovers and you can see that Mina was enjoying cinnamon buns with her lunch. Shortly after lunch it was time for Suzanne and Sal to head home with the kids because it was still snowing and they had school the next day.

Richard stayed over another night and headed home in the morning in time to be back for his medical.  We started another puzzle in the afternoon and managed to get it finished before bed time.  This is one we have made before but is always interesting with all the tags and bags and so on!! 
It was a great Christmas weekend and nice to have family around the table and in the house. 

Therese

Christmas preparations

We are having Christmas early this year because we wanted to celebrate with Richard while he was in Canada.  We were lucky that the trees arrived in time for us to put one up and get some lights on it.  With a very busy week previous that is all we managed to get on but it was excellent to give us the feeling of Christmas when the kids and grand kids arrived from the city on the weekend.    Therese

Kale's birthday!!

We arrived just before lunch and were fed a great meal followed by cake.  The living room was very nicely decorated with a large birthday banner.  Kale is seven and Suzanne had made him a beautiful cake as usual!!  He had one giant candle which worked very well and was easily blown out!!

He opened his presents and we visited until it was time to head out.  He is doing well in school and made this book while he was waiting for lunch.  Very well executed and needed the long reach stapler to bind in the middle.  Suzanne wrote the caption and he drew the cats.  He is always creating and Pepere was helping with his cardboard creation.    Richard had just arrived the day before so we took the chance to visit a bit more over supper while the kids were headed to Taekwondo.  It was great to see him though it was a bit short as the weather was getting snowy and we headed home before it got any worse.        Therese

Bento bag pattern for resuable gift wrapping

What fun to create such cool resuable gift wrapping!!  This is a cool design which was invented in the east to allow people to easily carry their lunch to work.  I have made this one up in non ravel fabric to package Kale's birthday gift.  You can check this post on my art blog for more details and to find the link to the patterns. 

Therese

Christmas lights going up!!!!!!

 Well, with the temperature at 7C it was the best time to put up the Christmas lights!!  Supplies ready to go and an afternoon and it was all done!!  It was a bit cool on the fingers but we will be able to enjoy them over the Christmas season. 

Therese

Sewing at Guide Camp

We had a busy week at home before it was time to head out to Guide Camp in Cochrane to help with a sewing project - fleece ponchos for each of the girls.  Because I was not feeling the greatest that week it was touch and go until the last minute.   There were 22 girls at camp.  The schedule was made up in advance with all the activities and troupes allotted their time and space.  Bread making, outside fun, playdough as well as cleaning up and participating in meal making were all on the agenda. Several volunteers came with sewing machines and helped the girls sew in their hoods and pockets over the course of the day.  Great food as well.  I took a photo of Mina sewing on her poncho!!  Great day!!!!!!!!  Therese

Headed home!!

Took us two long days to get home but the driving was very good!!  

Therese

Rob and Karen at Hidden Trail Resort

We headed to Kenora to visit with Rob and Karen while we were in that neck of the woods.  They are doing well and had a good summer.  He was getting ready to install  a new propane fireplace while we were there.  They are renovating their main living area this winter and this was the beginning of the project.  A new kitchen area and a more defined dining area as well.
We got a chance to see Jenelle and Braden who live across the road at the moment from them.  They have their condo for sale and are hoping to buy in Kenora.  He is working for CN and Jenelle is working at a bank in town.  She is feeling well and she is showing just a bit with her baby due in the spring.



We took a photo of their sign on our way out as we headed home.  You can check them out at Hidden Trail Resort.

Here is the camp from across the water. It had snowed over night and everything was beautiful.


Therese

The family!

So here they all are on our last night there.  The older three go to Taekwondo two nights a week and had just returned so I was quick to get a final photo. 
Katherine has started a new business  - Winnipeg Sews - which is a slow movement where people are encouraged to be more conscious with their choices in life.  She is teaching and hosting classes in sewing - Get to know your machine, jeans workshop, etc. You can check out her website  - Winnipeg Sews.   She also has several links there to social media - Facebook and Instagram where you can check out the projects and classes. 
It was a great visit!!  Always good food and a fun time.

Therese

Manitoba Museum

 The kids got one day off school and we went to the Manitoba Museum!!  We spent the morning at the Science Center which has all sorts of interactive displays and fun things to do.  Five bucket of LEGO, a water course, funny mirrors, a dark house, a space area, etc!!!!!!!  The kids had a great time!!  Mathieu really liked the race car and you can see they are in there!!  Amelyn and Loic are pulling themselves up on the Pulley display.  We went out and had lunch at Subway and returned to the Museum and took in the NonSuch exhibition.  Todd has been working on this area - adding lights and sound so it was cool to see this display which has been there for so many years updated a bit.  I remember going with our kids when we lived in Winnipeg years ago.  The staff now have tablets and are bilingual so the kids could interact with them and ask questions.  The weather was somewhat cooler but there was still no snow.        Therese

Star Wars!!

The kids have all been watching the new Star Wars movies and yet had not seen the originals. So we brought along the VCR and the VHS Star Wars Trilogy set we had and they did a bit of binge watching to get all three of them watched over the course of the week we were there!!  They all really enjoyed the movies.  Mathieu and Neomie are quite conversant in English but Loic was having a bit more trouble but I expect after his first year in school he will be up to par with the others.  The older two are reading English.  They are taking English is school and doing well.  They still speak French at home.  Therese

Kids fun!

 The kids are all doing well.  With the older three all at school this year Amelyn spends one on one time with Mom most days.  She is a fun little girl who likes to be engaged with people but has a definite idea about everything and simply won't be left behind when it comes to doing what her siblings are up to.  

Therese

Assiniboine Zoo

We spent some time at the Zoo while we were in Manitoba!!  This is a remnant from the BUGS program they ran over the summer!  It is motion activated so you can make it flap its wings. The kids had really enjoyed the bugs over the summer so Katherine was able to pick free Bugs Buttons for the kids which were being liquidated at the ticket office.  Its was a great day!  We had lunch at the zoo.  The cafeteria looks out over the polar bear enclosure.  All the polar bears were out and interacting with each other.  It was great to be so close to them.           Therese

Hallowe'en

Hallowe'en in Manitoba!!!!!!!! Visiting Katherine & Gil and the kids and we arrived just in time for Hallowe'en!!  The kids had already carved their pumpkins and I helped carve the one we brought along.  We roasted the seeds and ate them as snacks over the week.  The weather was very decent  - no snow but we needed mitts to be out and about.  They kids had a great time all going out together with Mom and the grandmothers.  The little mummy is Amelyn's art from "school" which is daycare once a week when Katherine goes to help out with Gil's business in Winnipeg.  I love how cool it looks!!  Neomie went out as Darth Vader and they all have a favorite character from Star Wars.  They are super into Star Wars right now!! We had homemade fries as is our tradition from way back!!  Great day!            Therese

 

Trailer cocoon

With the weather being so nice this week Brian took on getting the LARGE tarp onto the trailer.  It is a monstrous tarp but because it is if fully covers the trailer.  Not sure if it will survive the winter but will at least protect it from the south sun all winter.  Might be cheaper than replacing vents and covers, we shall see!! 

Therese

Canned tomatoes

 The last of the tomatoes!  I canned four pints from the box and there are a few green ones left.  We have eaten all the others raw in sandwiches, salsa, etc.  It has been really nice to have fresh tomatoes!!  Therese

Gladiola bulbs

I picked my gladiola bulbs almost a month ago because we were getting freezing overnight temperatures and left them in the garage in a cardboard box to cure.  The leaves were still green when I dug them up so having left them for this amount of time has let the foliage dry up.  So this morning I cut the foliage off, removed the old corms, roots and dirt and have placed them in this cardboard box in the front garage.  They will be nice and cool in there and yet this close to the house they will not freeze.  Because they are just below the recycle bin I will also be able to keep an eye on them in case they start to rot or mould.  Looking forward to putting them back in the ground in the spring.        Therese

New pads for the trailer

Brian has been working on platforms for the trailer for the last week or so.  He picked up an odd plywood structure on our Trash to Treasure walkabout, stripped it of its flooring and then cut it up to make up pad for putting under the legs of the trailer.  They are 3/4" fir plywood layers held together with long deck screws and fiberglassed to be waterproof.  He added a 3/4" layer of rubber matting on the bottom to give them traction.  With them finished he hooked up the trailer yesterday and moved it over, added his new chocks to the wheels and used the new pads when he was setting it up.  We will be tarping it later this week.  Therese

A pumpkin showed up on the front step!!!!!!!!

While we were in the back yard cleaning the trailer a pumpkin showed up on the front step!!!!!!!  It was too cool!!! It was dropped off by our real estate agent.  What a very unique way to stay connected to your clients!!  So for now, with the nice weather we will leave it on the step - makes the front entrance feel like fall!!!!!!!!!!!



Therese

Our little trailer is clean and stocked!!!!!

 The weather has been excellent so we took advantage of the warm day and cleaned up the inside of our little trailer!!  We touched every surface and there are a couple we will have to revisit when the water is running.  We had previously removed everything from the inside and washed it all.  Once it was in the house we amalgamated all we had available for the trailer - a few items we collected, a couple of boxes from Mom when they moved and all that the previous owners left.  We kept what we needed and will pass on to the second hand store anything that someone else can use.  There was very little that had to be thrown out.  So today I have returned everything to the trailer and it is pretty well ready for the spring.  We are so happy with it!!!!!!!!  Love the skylight!!!

Therese

Memorial service for Papa John

We attended the memorial service for Papa John - Gord's Dad.  It was a small crowd but the service was excellent.  A very human and warm feeling from the Reverand.  The food was good and there was plenty.  We took time to visit afterwards and then headed home.  Most everyone else was headed to Duggan's which was Papa John's favorite.   Always good to catch up with family.     Therese