Handmade Valentine card Make & Take

 Was invited to prepare card kits for a Valentine's Day Handmade Card Make & Take event at the Wadey Center this afternoon!!  We had six people around the table and the dozen+ kits I had prepared were made into cards.  Most were Valentine ones and those who made more than one availed themselves of the little extras I had prepared and made birthday cards!!  The museum is a lovely building and was originally the home of Terry's grandparents.  She is part of the Historical Society and the one who asked me to participate in this event!!  It is the most visitors they have had so far so the afternoon was deemed a success all they way around.                    Therese

Lentil hummus and "vege balls"

I cooked some red lentils in my new rice cooker today and they simply mushed up! I don't have a lot of experience with lentils and less with cooking them in the rice cooker!  Not the result I was expecting so I had to improvise!! I took half of what I had cooked and made some lentil hummus with it!  Worked out really good and had some of it for lunch!!  The other half became "vege balls" for supper.  I added cooked brown basmati rice which I had cooked just previous to the lentils and some oat bran and a bit of seasoned salt.  The balls came together very well and I rolled them in panko bread crumbs.  After a bit of research on line, I warmed them up in the oven - 25 minutes at 400F.  I did drizzle a little oil on them so they would crust up a bit and they were good.  They need a bit more seasoning.  We ate them with salsa/chutney to give them a bit of zip.
If I make them again I will use a larger lentil (brown or green) which has a firmer consistency and can better handle a little browning in a fry pan before being put in the oven.  Glad to have given it a try and salvaged my red lentils this time around!!
Therese
It was 

Uncle Albert's Celebration of Life

 We attended Uncle Albert's celebration of life yesterday in Holden.  It was well attended with family and friends.  It was great to hear some of the stories of how Uncle Albert had interacted with his kids and family over the years.  We had lunch and headed home in late afternoon. It was so good to have had the opportunity to meet and get to know a bit better these cousins and their family which we did not have too much contact with since we were kids.  There were a few of us from the extended family.

 On the way home we watched the sun set.  We took a southern route to avoid facing the setting sun which worked out really well.  By the time we turned west the sun was down and no longer in our eyes!!  It was a beautiful day for a celebration of life and the drive there and back was excellent!!! 

So glad we took the time to connect with our family!!

Therese

Star Wars Puzzle

Brian received this puzzle as a gift for organizing and leading the Christmas choir since early October.  It was a doozy!!! It has taken him two weeks to get it done and it required a very organized approach of sorting all the pieces into categories - four legs, two heads- two legs, etc and then scanning the bunch when he was looking for specific feature to a piece!!!!!  He eventually could recognize which parts were helmets, chest plates, etc which made to process a little easier!!  He has worked on it daily.  A few hours at a time and some days the better part of the day!  An enjoyable way to pass the holidays.           Therese

Carcassonne game has arrived

Our Carcasonne game arrived yesterday!!!!!!!!!  We decided to play after supper last night and managed two games.  There are 11 expansion packs in our box so it has all sorts of possibilities when  you play a game.  We decided to just play the basic game and learn the rules as we went.  When we played with Dave and Alison we did not do any of the scoring which we had to learn how to do.  It was excellent and we are very happy with it.  It is always a new adventure!!   It can be played with a wide range of ages as well and because you just pick the tiles at random there is only so much strategy to the game.  

Therese

Freezer cleaning and organizing

 

I have finally cleaned up the freezer and reorganized the contents making a list on the dry erase boards to keep things straight!!!!  I have had the feeling that it takes all day and have been putting it off for a few years but the ice buildup on the sides was making it hard to get the boxes in and out so I decided to get at it!!!!!!  It only took two hours which was a wonderful surprise.  I unloaded it which went quickly because of the little boxes I use (raspberry boxes and bagel bites from No Frills).  I just stacked them which kept them from defrosting too much as well.  I vacuumed the bottom which was relatively clean considering it has been six years.  It took 4 kettles worth of hot water in a roaster to get the ice to be convinced to let go with a plastic spatula.  I had a towel on the bottom with a pot upside down on the towel so not too much heat would be transferred to the actual freezer surfaces.  I wiped out and dried the inside once the ice was removed and then wiped it all down with a towel.  

I catalogued everything as I put it back in so I hope to keep it organized and sorted so we can easily see what we have in there and find it when we go looking.  I do tend to move things around as the contents move in and out.  I really love these little boxes and will be working on getting my frozen meats to be more appropriately packaged to fit in them as they are the easiest to move around.  There is room for 4 stacks of the raspberry boxes but I did not have enough to make the fourth stack and there were some items not conducive to this system so with some time I will be able to get more boxes and then plan better when I am packaging food for the freezer.  

I remember we used to defrost freezers (chest and fridge) manually when we were kids.  Fridge freezers sometimes got deformed due to too much direct heat to its most vulnerable sections!!  Not sure if it ever happened at our house but I heard stories!!

So glad to have this job done and I have documented how long it takes so I will be more likely to do it sooner next time!!!!

Therese

Physio

Physio for my shoulder is going well and I have a new set of exercises to do!!  I am very glad to have the opportunity to get regain better use of my arms.  I will have to find an exercise routine that will be good for my whole body.  Walking is good but it does not a lot to retain upper body strength. 
Therese

Sushi

 We made sushi on the weekend!!  Cooked the rice in the new rice cooker and it worked perfectly!!  It was very good though maybe a few too many for a meal.  Will have to cut back a bit on the rice next time!  It was fun to cook together and have a fun meal!!           Therese

New Rice cooker

Our new rice cooker arrived this week!  Have been resisting getting one but had a few extra points so decided to get one as it makes rice perfect every time!  A little harder to do using the crock pot.  So we shall see how it goes.  Sylvia has been using hers to cook other grains as well and the recipe book has quite a few dishes with meat and vegetables that can be cooked in it as well.  The top part is a steamer which can be used while cooking rice in the bottom portion.  They have recipes for cooking meat and/or vegetables in it so we will be checking that out as well.           Therese

Night time Christmas tree

We have been enjoying our Christmas tree and this is the scene that greets me every morning when I come downstairs!!  I love the lights and the glow!!  It will be headed out of the house next week so I am enjoying it this week!!

Therese

New Year's puzzle

Brian started this one between Christmas and New years and finished it yesterday.  He was happy that the pieces were all there!  Lots of a similar colours but it went well.        Therese

Neighbours in on Jan 2

All ready to welcome the neighbours for the New Year!  We worked together and had everything ready well in time for the arrival of our neighbours!!  We had six people drop by this year and had a good time visiting and catching up!!  I was not hard on the dainties so I think next year we will provide a few more options for snacks!!  So the one box of dainties from the Cookie Walk was more than enough to cover Christmas and New Year's this year!!  The weather was excellent so those that came simply walked over.  Everyone had commitments so the party was over a little earlier than in the past.  It was very good to see them!!

Therese