Waiting on the Birds...

After a busy week I was looking forward to a restful weekend. I'd been out 4 nights in a row and my body was aching after 3 days of walking, a very challenging 90 minutes yoga class and 2 hours of volleyball. Therefore I stayed in my pjs all day yesterday (YES I DID!) and caught up on some things around the house, spent some time reading and then crocheted a few more inches of my first scarf while watching a couple episodes of "Z Nation" because I do love me some zombies! It's not as good as "The Walking Dead" but as I only have Netflix and Shomi I am waiting on some new episodes of "TWD". 

The kitties are teaching me how to relax. While I was reading the paper Saturday morning Lily and Luna were waiting for the juncos to make their appearance. Lily is using the POWER of ATTRACTION but to no avail. 

She tries to wait patiently...

...but started to act silly...while performing a few acrobatic tricks...

...I wish I was half this flexible...

"here birdie birdie birdie!"

When it was Luna's turn in the castle she tried to STARE the birds into existence, but alas, her attempts did not produce any birds.

"wake us up when the birds arrive!"zzzzzzz      Birdwatching is exhausting!!

And, finally, in the weird world of weather...snowdrops are putting in an appearance!

No, I'm not going to watch the Panthers and the Broncos - I prefer to watch the kittens and the juncos!

Foto Friday

A few snowflakes floated down today but they melted as soon as they hit the ground. It was pretty and slightly more seasonal.

What was happening a year ago today I wonder? Let's look and see.

There was a LOT more snow!  We have none at the moment except for the melting piles in mall parking lots.

We averaged about -20c for 3 weeks so the kittens cuddled together to stay warm.

"Excuse me Luna but you can you snuggle a little closer?"

I was out on the trail so this is before I hurt my back.

I was having fun playing with filters!

The bridge in Kilally Meadows was above water.

 This is the same bridge! I took this photo on Wednesday when it was +14c!! The previous record high was around 7c!  No, I didn't bother crossing to the other side!

 Very wintery!

It won't be long after this hike that I'm laying on my back all day from an injury...but at least I'm still smiling at the point! I am so thankful that I've recovered from that injury and the accompanying anxiety and depression.

Appreciate your health!!

The Winter Weirdness Continues!

I'm heading out in a few minutes to see the movie "Brooklyn" which has been nominated for Best Picture but before I go I just have to remark, once again, on how weirdly this winter is shaping up.

First of all a rain warning is in effect!

Second of all it's supposed to be +11c tomorrow!!!!!

And thirdly of all I just got my natural gas bill (heating, hot water, dryer) and it was only $53.00!!!!!! I budgeted $75.00. Without a doubt this is the lowest January natural gas bill I've ever had over the past 21 winters that we've lived here.

I'm not complaining, but I am getting a little worried about the state of our climate!!

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!!!

Phew! I had to let that out; now I feel much better. What's going on?

ANNIE AND I ARE GOING TO IRELAND!!! THAT'S WHAT!!

We'll be meeting up in Dublin, spending a few nights there, travelling across country to Galway on the west coast, spending a couple days on the largest of the Aran islands, then walking northwest of Galway ending up in Westport.  We'll go back to Galway spending a couple of nights, then heading to Blarney & Cork (have to kiss the Blarney Stone!) and then heading back to Dublin. What a trip!

More details to come! Wheeeeeeee!

Photos of my recent thrift store finds (by popular request!):

My new flannel sheet set - washed and on my bed already! Brand new - perhaps someone received them as a gift and doesn't like horses - who doesn't love horses?? Anyhoo I'm sleeping great for just a few dollars!

 A wispy summer top (50% off)!

 I like the little zipper detail in front.

 I love asymmetrical hemlines - this top fits well and looks great!

This has a similar hemline in black and white; very flattering. Also 50% off!

 My new black, grey and white quilt - $9.99 - I would have paid more, but glad I didn't have to. It's getting the sniff test by Luna and then she tests it for nap time coziness - PASS!

My favourite find - a green/blue/gold paisley blanket backed with sheepskin - oh so cozy! $5.00!!

Finally - what the heck is going on with the weather??  Looks like I could soon be seeing daffodils and snow drops! I took a lovely walk today in +6c weather and got HOT! Last year at this time we were in the deep freeze - around -20c and lower with the wind chill. Today's weather felt wonderful but makes me uneasy. Mother Nature will make us pay...somehow!

There were a couple more items - a few of those specialty hangers that hold 10 items and a huge piece of cloth as a gift for my friend Julie, the banner maker.

Oh, I bought another Christmas present today! At this rate I'll be done shopping by summer :)  I was at  Michael's buying yarn, on sale for only $1.49 per ball, to make Christmas scarves (I am on top of things!!) and I saw a bunch of science kits for making crystals among other things. Well, my great nephew, Ollie, loves rocks, fossils and things of that nature. (I gave him some fossilized POOP for Christmas - what little boy doesn't love fossilized poop!!) I had a coupon for 20% off of my whole order as well as the 10% off senior's discount. I'm on FIRE!!

Bye Bye January!!

It looked like I was going to end up with money left over at the end of January's budget but, alas, I had to replace my laptop charger after a kitten who will rename nameless decided to give it a good chew! Woe is me.

Hard to believe that these precious munchkins love
to eat my cords!! Such dumplings!

 And, prior to that happening I had a little thrift shop splurge at Talize so I actually ended up spending about $5.00 more than I should have. Woe is me again.

Meh, no biggie. I'll just take that off my misc budget for the first week of February. Actually, I'll be ahead of the game as Kazi is paying me back today some money I loaned her for a car repair - that will go directly into savings.

Happily I also got a $30.00 monthly pension raise :) which along with a $5.00 weekly decrease in misc spending allows me to put $400.00 into savings monthly instead of the current $350.00. That puts a smile on my face!! When I look at my budget it seems like I spent a lot of money this month AND I managed to tuck a little extra into savings over and above the usual automatic transfer of $350.00.

Misc Spending:

• $120 for an eye exam
• $50 for charitable donation
• $38.19 Walmart (?) no memory of what I bought! Must have been really important!
• $14 - movie
• $11 Value Village ( a brand new area rug and a shelf for my treasures)
• $17 - Shoppers Drugmart (chapstick and lipstick)
• $8 to play volleyball
• $40 - wine and food show
• $8 - music from iTunes
• $58 - Michaels (yarn, 2 frames, rub-ons)
• $9 - pint at book club meeting
• $45 - new charger (that hurts!)
• $55 - thrifty splurge at Talize - a lovely black and white quilt (for $10!), brand new set of flannel sheets!, a gorgeous green/gold paisley throw that is backed with sheep skin!, 3 new tops (2@ 50% off) (will post photos once I take some!)

They look so innocent, don't they?

As I allow myself $150.00 weekly for misc spending these expenditures represent $473/$600 misc spending for January. The discrepancy is cash withdrawals (and a couple little transfers to savings) throughout the month which paid for a breakfast out with a friend, a lunch out with a friend, 2 movies that I saw last week, yoga fees, coffees, newspapers and so on. 

I came in under budget for gas (spent $67/$160) and food (spent $242/280) so that helped with extra amounts I put into savings. Also received some interest from an RSP that bumped savings up a bit.

At the end of 2015 I decided that I want to give a monthly charitable donation of at least $25.00. I exceeded that in January by donating $50.00. The other thing I want to do is buy one Christmas gift per month to lessen the sting in December. I accomplished that by purchasing a large piece of material for my friend Julie who creates banners for activism purposes. 

This fiscal year is off to a great start. My taxes are finished and ready to netfile on Feb. 15th. Due to decreased income and income tax paid thanks to now living on a pension I will only receive a refund of $200 (last year's was $1236) but I am thankful I don't owe any money to the tax dep't!!

Did you end up with money at the end of January or did you break even? 

A Quiet Day

I have a lot going on this week, every day but today, so I took advantage of the peace and quiet that was available. I've been reading an audio book called "The Good Girl", an excellent mystery currently on the best seller list. Well, I say "reading" but really I'm listening while someone reads to me and quite often I fall asleep! I take my iPad to bed with me and listen for as long as I can stay awake. Unfortunately the reader keeps reading even when I'm sleeping so the following day I have to find my way back to the point where I dropped off.  I decided today that I would finish it while in an upright position. Finish it I did even though I did start to get quite drowsy near the end and had to backtrack a little bit. Which is a good thing because the mystery is solved in the very last sentence!!

Last night I went to my very first book club meeting ever. Which just happened to be at The Sweet Onion Bistro where lovely local libations were available. The book club is sponsored by the London Public Library - the club is called Books on Tap - catchy huh?  Over pints my friend and I talked with the facilitator and about 10 or so other members about our favourite Canadian authors. We got more and more interesting as the night wore on and we continued to wet our whistles! I'm already looking forward to the next drunken meeting!

My other new activity is VOLLEYBALL! You may remember me giving up volleyball a few years back as it had gotten rather violent! The young male players just loved to impress each other with how hard they could spike the ball.  I was tired of getting whacked in the head and getting my glasses knocked off.

I went to a one-off volleyball game a week or two ago and realized how much I missed it (the volleyball not the whacking!)  A fellow there told me about a small group who gets together Friday nights - they're friendly, they don't spike hard and have a range of abilities.  And they're looking for a few more players. Two hours of play for $2.00. I went and it was great - I really enjoyed myself. My days just get busier and busier.

Went to see "The Revenant" yesterday.  If Leo Dicaprio doesn't win an Oscar for that role then there is something wrong with the world! He slogged around in the snow and ice constantly, got "mauled" by a grizzly bear, ate raw bear meat, was buried alive, darn near froze to death making it as close to the real thing as he could. Impressive.

Tomorrow I'm hiking, then have yoga and meditation.  On Friday I'm meeting a friend for breakfast, then joining my fellow Council of Canadian members for a sit-in, then meeting a friend for lunch. I have to miss volleyball because a friend of mine has an art show opening at the same time and I promised I'd come.

NEXT week I plan to be more of a homebody. Winter is slipping by quickly and once the nice weather returns I will want to be outside more. I finished another piece in the workshop and mounted it in a shadow box. I'll show photos soon. And that, my friends, is that - now I need to make something for dinner. I'm starved!

What has been the highlight of your week??

Cauliflower and Potato Casserole

Hey Val! 

I did a copy and paste of the cauliflower casserole i made last week. Also, if you click on the recipe title it will take you to the website hopefully. I tried to print but wasn't successful even though there is a send to print button on the page. 

I really enjoyed this recipe though kazi said "where's the meat?" 

hee hee...little does she know I am going to continue to make meatless dinners at least twice a week! My search for cauliflower recipes that could be used as a main course brought me to this website - http://ni.lovefoodhatewaste.com/.  Check out this blog if your are interested in fantastic recipes with NO waste! And she's from Ireland! Meatless meals are good for my budget and good for the environment.  This week, in order to use the 2nd of my 2 for $5.00 cauliflower deal I'm going to make "mashed cauliflower" to serve as a side dish for roast chicken! 

One thing about this recipe is I found the leek and cheese sauce to be quite thick so I ended up adding more milk, and then more cheese, and then more milk, and then more cheese :)

Cauliflower and cheesey Bake

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 small cauliflower, broken into small florets
• 2-3 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced
• 2 medium leeks, washed and sliced
• 4 tablespoons plain flour
• 400ml milk
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 85g / 3oz grated cheddar cheese
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

METHOD:

1. In a steamer if you have one, boil the potatoes in the bottom pan and steam the cauliflower – or boil each in separate pans until just cooked
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in saucepan and saute the leeks until soft
3. Stir in the flour and cook for two minutes
4. Add the milk, stirring all the time
5. Continue stirring until the milk has thickened and boiled
6. Add the paprika and half the cheese
7. In a lasagne type dish, place the potatoes in the bottom. Add the cauliflower on top.
8. Pour the leek and cheese sauce over the top
9. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese
10. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees C for about 30 minutes until browned
11. Serve hot with a vegetable or salad