Early resolutions... .

After shoveling the sidewalks and driveway the other day I just didn't have it in me to do the patio as well....so, left it for a few days. Luckily it was still very cold so it didn't melt or get wet and heavy..... it is still light enough although it is drifted pretty deep in lots of areas.














Looked out the kitchen window...and thought I'd better bundle up and get a start on it...











Somewhere under this mountain of snow on the patio wall ... I just know there are Christmas lights..










.... aha! I was right..... there they are....
Sure do wish we had managed to finish off with the cutting for the laundry room cupboards and countertops. The table saw would be dismantled and moved and there would be room for these chairs .. instead they are buried in snow and taking the brunt of the weather.





















I worked at it for over an hour and shoveled myself to a standstill ... just didn't have one more push or "toss" in me... and still couldn't finish it. Near the house and on the steps it was drifted to about 15 inches deep. The sun will break through soon and I'll get out there to do the rest...it is -25C... factor in the windchill and it is -37C... not warm, but at least the patio wall is a bit of a wind break.











Got my sister's package boxed and wrapped and off I went to the Greyhound after supper. I don't really feel like my old cargo van is very safe on the slick roads so I don't drive it if I don't have to. It is pretty icy in most areas right now. Getting away from a stop is a bunch of spinning tires .. .. the back end is just too light unless I have a motorcycle in there... hmmm..maybe I should load one up ... ... even great winter tires doesn't help..so forget it. I waited for the Rav to get home instead.














Pulled up outside a dark building at 10 past 7:00 ... Damn! On top of the printed times on the door was a paper with separate times... closed at 5:00....but, then over to the left side of that was another paper.. ... indicating closed at 7:00 on some days of this week...and not on others... arrrgghhh!! So...either I was 2 hours late...or only 10 minutes..... either way I was a bit ticked. It is usually open til 9:00 and I know darn well I went there about 7:30 last year...because I recall being happy as a clam that the line up was only 4 people deep. I guess I try again today.... at busy Friday suppertime when the Rav shows up ....or... wait til tomorrow when the lines will surely be 20 people deep........














I don't make New Year's Resolutions..... but, this year...I think I will. Even if there is baking in the packages..... I am sending them out long before the last week. Things can be double or triple wrapped and frozen .... they only take a day or two to get there via the Speedy Doggy....and somebody can put them in their own freezer for a week or two.... yep...that's my resolution. I'm definitely gonna be ready for Christmas much earlier next year. So... be ready for me tooting the get ready horn in, say....... mid October... and by the first week of December 2009 ..... everything going out of town will be gone.

That would be perfect...then I could also finish up cards the first week... do the decorating the second week ... .... and perhaps some baking for local recipients and for us ..... yup, ..... next year.......

Christmas Stollen

More snow overnight yesterday and today... along with some wind and drifting...











A perfect day to stay home and bake... after shoveling for about 45 minutes... I tell myself it is my workout and I don't have to do any weights that day...











Yesterday I wanted to try a Christmas bread... so, after much "mulling" over, I decided on Bavarian Nut Stollen. The recipe seemed pretty intricate; I don't know how many times I read the darn thing and still I didn't feel any confidence about getting started. I am notoriously slow in the morning anyway... my eyes don't seem to focus well and my brain never really kicks in before noon most days. Yesterday must have been one of those days......it took forever to get moving in the right direction...




















Once I did, I was on a roll.... the kitchen got pretty crowded...I had every conceivable appliance on the go.... and all the countertops filled with "stuff".... but, I was baking Stollen, guys.... which meant there were actually two recipes on the go. One for the basic egg twist bread..and the other for the filling and glaze.














..... finally I got my head around what the recipe was trying to tell me....and lo and behold... Stollen!










The recipe made two loaves...and they were HUGE! Hanging off both sides of my cooling rack. About 8 inches across and a foot long each. Oh, and......... sooooo yummy!














At one point, the recipe actually warned me to tidy up and get ready to knead... hahahhaha ... whew... thank goodness somebody said it and I read it aloud... .. ... actually I had to refill the sink plenty of times during my busy baking spree because later in the afternoon I moved on to tarts ... ...my hands feel like velcro...... maybe today I'll just dust, tidy and decorate ...

singing hedgehog..

Finally getting the rest of my decorations unpacked and set out. This little lady hedgehog will be singing from the mantle ... ... almost bear-like in cuteness. I suppose that's why I couldn't resist her. She must be about 10+ years old or so.....









...another frosty image from yesterday's picture taking effort....











.....gift of a a knee blanket from years ago also... ... it's perfect for a cooler night .. staying all toasty by the fireplace, drinking cocoa, eating popcorn ... enjoying a movie..... then maybe a sip of port... .... mmmmm...I'm feeling all warm and cozy already.











At least it is a bit warmer today.... only -12C... and sunny again...

the weather outside is frightful...

.....except for the blue sky and sunshine ...... which I am always thankful for when it is -30C... but, still....... brrrrrrrrrrrr!!!











....it's a cold one. Frost on the inside of the big double panes of front room glass at these temperatures. It happens when the curtains are closed at night... even if I try to leave them up a bit to allow some warmer house air to blow on them... so, now they are up, it'll melt and I will be wiping windows and mopping up a bit of water later from the small ledge.














As soon as I'm finished reading some fun blogs and putting on my pics for today...I'm off to check my list....check it twice.... hum a Christmas song (only when I am alone do I do it...cuz I can't sing) ... and make a start on some tiny German Chocolat Tarts.














If I don't use a flash...I can't always hold the camera steady enough for perfect pics...but...some are kinda nice anyway... I like this one. Must dig out my tripod so I can use the ultra slow setting later.....









Ahhhhhh..... the lovely scent of Christmas oranges... they smell so wonderful the second you begin to peel one. I even hate to toss the peels....mmmmm ... they smell so good.














The furnace is working overtime just to keep the house up to temperature today... I sure hope it keeps on working.
Somebody else went back to work today too....I sure hope he is well enough to be doing that. He did promise to come home early ... and I bet he will head straight for the couch when he arrives. He is definitely not back to normal...but at least was eating a bit yesterday ..... so keeping fingers crossed....
Can we postpone Christmas for a week? I got a week behind, and now, all of a sudden, reading Susan's post...I realize cards and one parcel.... well, ...just aren't going to make it before the day.

Don't forget to check out recipes on the other blog ... Caramel Macchiatto Shortbread, Tourtiere and other goodies...

snow day....

It's turned into a different week than I had planned. Poor Greg is still down and out...but, perhaps today he is having a bit of relief, finally. I guess it is just a bad flu... but I sure don't like it. He was feverish, shaky, had pounding headaches and felt so cold he was bundled up in blankets while sitting right on the hearth ... ... he was 100.8 F on the thermometer... I'm glad it went no higher. He felt pretty terrible at that. Tylenol did seem to help ease the fever and the headache for a few hours at a time...but, he seemed to be living on them... luckily, he did manage to sleep... a lot ... in between the rough patches...

Finally, yesterday I felt it was safe to leave him alone for a bit and did get some cards mailed and stocked up on groceries because we are going to have a week of very cold weather. However, I confused myself a bit. I didn't do my usual and didn't keep a good record of when and to whom I mailed them ....arrrghhhh ! I may be doubling up on a few this year...oh, well..they will just think I'm losing my last three marbles...big deal. What's new?....

Missed the office Christmas party last night..but, honestly, it was a horrible night to drive... I wouldn't have wanted to be out there anyway. Our city streets were so bad we were making the Canadian national news casts.... plenty of accidents and several roads totally closed because they are on slight inclines.... still lots of people with inappropriate tires... not that good ones help most of the time, considering the situation last Sunday.














My back is pretty sore after plenty of shoveling today... living on a corner lot has its good and bad points. Shoveling snow is one of the "not so good" ... however, I remember somebody wishing she had a bit of snow to make it seem more like the festive season. So, it's my own fault. I also remember saying I might be whining if it got cold and snowed a bit too much..hahahha....why is it things don't usually happen as you imagine them when you make a random wish? When making a wish, one must be very explicit......or so it would seem.














About 8 or 9 inches of drifting snow in icy temperatures is not too much fun.

I was pretty cold too after the first hour.... so, when I came in I dug out my warm motorcycle pants. With those over my cords and jammies...I was toasty...ahhhh... that was better. Just my face was feeling the breeze then...but, I tried to keep my back to the wind. A neighbour from down the block came up to see if we should do the neighbour across the street as the lady had to fly out yesterday because her Dad died...... so we both shoveled for another hour..... ohhhhh.. man... that was almost more than I could handle. A hot bath... then I made us some chicken soup ... and Greg is back on the couch.... maybe later we will watch a movie and have some nice hot cocoa by the fireplace...... a lovely quiet evening at home. I mean that in all sincerity.














I always think how lucky we are to have a lovely warm roof over our heads, especially in horrible cold like this. It is -25C, with a wind of about 15 kph...which makes it feel like -35C. Your eyes water after about a minute out there... the tears freeze on your lashes... your face begins to hurt quite a bit after about 10 to 15 minutes. It's not much fun. The shelter buses will be picking up the homeless people again tonight and all week...trying to make sure they all spend the nights inside... they could very well freeze to death outside on nights like this. Some will be sitting in church pews because there are just not enough beds around for all of them....some will spend the night in jail... but, at least they will be inside..........warm and safe enough...

one of the statistics.....

The snow is beautiful... but driving on Sunday was hazardous. There were hundreds of accidents in the city, and sadly, Mr. BumbleVee was involved in one of them. As he was driving home from work, the car in front of him spun out of control. It turned a complete 360 and he T-boned it.... didn't have a chance to stop even if they were only crawling along. Everybody just kept sliding slowly forward til his stopped up against the curb. Luckily nobody was injured because everybody was going so slow. The most amazing thing was....the other driver was deaf.... but a lady who witnessed the whole thing parked her car and ran back to see if everybody was okay.....and she knew sign language. What on earth do you suppose would be the odds of that? She was also the only one with a cell phone. Thanks Moira.....

The other car was damaged enough it couldn't be driven away...and ours has a totally cracked and wrecked bumper and front quarter panel. Somebody was pretty ticked because now his perfect driving record has been blemished... I, on the other hand, was ecstatic...because nobody was injured or killed. To top it all off....today and yesterday he has been totally down and out with a horrible 'flu...not the beginnings of a great week.

The snow is still beautiful...but, the day has been steadily warming up..it's a balmy +6C tonight... it might be melting by morning... although later in the week we are gonna get it... yipes!... dropping to -18C.... oooooh.... get out the woollies, toques and fur lined bra.....














This was late Monday ... getting close to evening... pretty dim and I thought the colours were pretty...











By today, the sand and salt was kicking in and the roads were pretty good...some thick icy patches, but also some clear pavement beginning to show through. I went to mail some cards and drove to a nearby ritzy golf club... it's private, but the gates were open and I went in to take a few pics... nobody chased me out....




























Wouldn't this be a pretty hole to play? Little bridge over a creek and in the summer there is a big fountain spraying water high into the air just in front and to the right of it...












here you can just barely see the little bridge in the distance...

The Fairy Princess

This is Daisy .... a very special girl... .... and obviously pretty patient with her Mom too.... she actually has a whole wardrobe. I am not sure how long she has been a super model... some day I must go back to the very beginning of her blog.

The other day she was a beautiful Fairy Princess and was granting wishes.. Oh, I do hope Dilly stops by to see her..... pink is absolutely Dilly's fav colour and fairy pwincesses... well... she thinks those are THE best!











But, I think I made a mistake...Daisy must have heard with her special cat hearing when I wished out loud for snow... silly me, I should have said money...cuz by now I'd have a bazillion dollars! almost enough for a bail out...hahahhah











Instead ...I have 5 inches of heavy, wet, snow...and those huge, fluffy, wet flakes are still falling. Visibility? ...nil.....
I am really getting a workout with my new shovel. All I can say is, .. it's a darn good thing I have been able to workout this year to be a bit more prepared for this.... but....... ohhhhh... me achin' back already.













The birds will have to do some searching to find the berries on the hedge.
Be careful what you wish for.....hmmmm.....why does that phrase seem so very familiar to me??....

Inchy .....

This week's theme at INCHYBYINCH was trees .... and I think getting my own Christmas tree decorated yesterday gave me some ideas... although this is more of a Charlie Brown tree ... lol...

The first pic I took was on dark material...with natural light and just had no ooomphf at all... but, then I put it under the dining room lamp and lo and behold.. the gold actually shows as gold on the stars. It is gold leaf pen. The gold gauze beneath it is so clear it looks more like burlap... but, perfect all the same for a background...

Why not give an inchy a try sometime? Click here if you would like to see some of the others for each week....

Pzzzzzzzttt.......

Here's to you.... politicians.... a gross royal raspberry ......

Cranberries were simmering....as was I.... while the politicians are trying to topple not only the government, but our country. Nobody seems to be looking at the global picture.... nope....just keep checking out their own little egos, which obviously match other small parts of their anatomy.
We did our civic duty in a hastily called election ... . .. well, a very small percentage of us did.... ...we voted .... along with a pathetic (or would that be apathetic) turnout of the electorate. Lowest voter turnout in history of this country. The government was voted back in... still not a majority because we have too many parties. Can you believe that in this country there is even one called the Marijuana Party? Yep... government is a joke. Now, only a few weeks after the election... the oppositions.s.s.s (there are several)... are trying to overthrow the elected Prime Minister. Sigh..... what became of democracy? Why can't they at least give him a chance. Who knows what is going to happen even next week in the world economic situation?... it is not prudent to jump too soon. In my book, they all need to wait a bit longer before just throwing money at all of it. It's pretty obvious that doesn't work...look around.......why should Canada jump in and do the same dance? A few months ago world leaders were even beginning to look to Canada for answers because our banking system was still functioning. Now... with government being thrown into chaos.... the banks are beginning to hunker down... mortgages are harder to come by (as they should be anyway) .... house sales have stopped (which they should as prices are overinflated in the housing market.. especially here... it is way past time for a correction) and worst of all.... foreign investors are holding back ... .. the oil and gas sector is just beginning to feel the ripple effect from that and have begun to shelve projects. People are whining about a few thousand jobs being lost lately ( they forgot to read 3/4 of the way down that page .. take note that 27,000 of those were also just hired recently to help with the election).. just wait til the real stuff hits the fan folks.... .... right after the holiday season. It has been predicted and written about by economists for years now, that 2009 is going to be a total economic disaster... I guess nobody was reading, listening or preparing...........

.... Merry Crisis.....











...on with some fun stuff. The heady aroma of cloves, fresh ground ginger and cranberries...

I found a recipe for Cranberry Pear Chutney in one of my vintage magazines .. (I have started to call them that ..instead of "old") ... because they are. I have one from 1979... its not quite old enough to be an antique...but it certainly is vintage. In those days I didn't have much time to cook or bake...but, I managed to do some anyway...and saved my precious magazines. I had no money to throw around and even a small purchase like that was pretty extravagant. They have put on a lot of miles in moves over the years...














I'm one of those old fashioned people ... went through some tough times at several stages of my life and learned the hard way to be ready for all financial eventualities. I even went so far as to "invent" a few jobs when there were none to be had back in the 80's .... sometimes had 2 or 3 "part-timers" on the go. One was working from my kitchen... doing for those who would pay and didn't have time of their own. Some were dentists I also worked for part time...














a bit of gold cord or ribbon; a topper of cute Christmas fabric and you have a perfect gift for these strange and uncertain economic times. Besides being a clever money saving ploy it is yummy, useful, and everybody on MY list is expecting something from the kitchen.... always. I hear disappointed mutterings if some don't see their brown paper wrapped boxes by the 21st of December.... two years ago my BIL actually asked my sister if she thought I had forgotten to bake "his" tarts.

weatherman says -23C with wind chill....

Brrrrr...today it is definitely cold even though the sun is peeking through the rice paper thin cloud cover. The wind makes your face feel stiff after only a few minutes out there. The tires on the van made it feel like I was driving on square blocks of wood for the first 100 feet....with very pointy edges. Still no snow.... but, -15C ..... the weatherman is saying perhaps...in a few days....

Of course, then I might be whining about it being horrible to drive in. My cargo van is not great in snow... but then...I don't usually have to go too far. Mostly I don't want to go anywhere either. I'm a total home body. Actually I think I might be a hermit. A happy hermit. However, I do perhaps wish I lived on an acreage ....so I didn't have to see anybody at all some days. Definitely wish I didn't have to see my neighbour's front yard... especially now. Surrounded by trees would be great. Susan's unruly but wonderful jungle springs to mind. How I wish.

Which movies were those....?? There were a couple at least...where the neighbourhood weirdos put out every moving, puffing, blinking whizzing thing they can find ..... arrrghh... the only good thing is...they are next door and not across the street. If I don't look out any side windows I don't have to see it. Poor Luisa, across the street. She says she tries not to look out her front windows from now til February. I'm tempted to slip over in the dead of night with a big knife and slash that stupid 20 ft. snowman...then he'll be flat on the lawn before February.. which is what usually happens about then. Maybe I'd even get lucky and it'd snow and cover him up completely, along with all of his reindeer, penguin and other assorted cheesy animal buddies... blinking boxes... etc..I think the witch from Hallowe'en is still stuck in the tree... sheeesh....
Instead of putting the stuff away, they just turn off the compressor that puffs mightily, trying to keep him upright as he sways precariously back and forth. At the supper hour and high power use times.. he sags. Their house must be underwired..and yep...the guy is an electrician. The snowman reminds me of some Michelin man monster and I keep hoping he will just wander off somewhere. After the season, they simply ignore all of it....til late spring, when somebody finally decides maybe it's way past time to tidy the lawn.... .... it's a wonder he still stands up again each year.....

oh, well..................... it's a perfect baking day. Biscotti is a good one to do early. It freezes perfectly. I won't chocolate drizzle all of them... just a few "testers" for you-know-who.... then double wrap and in the freezer they go for a few weeks til I am ready to send some to my sister.














Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti

snow....sort of....

It is so sparse that there are almost spaces between the tips of flakes ..... .... but at least a few flakes fell. We have been so dry we absolutely need some moisture. It didn't rain much this spring or summer and here it is already December and no snow..... poor trees and shrubs... they suffer if it really gets cold and there is no snow cover...

So, the sky is white today..no sunlight streaming into the kitchen this morning.... but, I have lights and heat.... so I'm a lucky girl......










Had a great brekky of egg whites on home made bread, toasted.... and some very tasty sliced tomatoes sprinkled with freshly ground peppercorns. Mmmmmm...
Ever since the ban on Roma tomatoes earlier this year due to salmonella problems...I switched to some Canadian vine tomatoes...yum... they are so tasty I just continued to buy them instead. I thought they might be less flavourful when it came to the winter months... but...not at all. They are wonderful.

It is time to organize for the festive season in the "gifts from the kitchen" department. Anya wondered if I would be sharing recipes and yes ...absolutely.......and as a matter of fact, if you are looking for a certain recipe and can't find one... let me know...I may be able to help...
Most of my food related items, household tips and savings tricks, etc.. usually appear on my recipe and food blog. You can pop over directly from the link on the sidebar if you'd like to see what's cooking.... or get some helpful hints. Well, I always think they are helpful... lol..... but, then, I am me. And, if I am especially happy with a recipe or a picture I post over there, I sometimes brag about it a bit on this blog too....

Rabbits, rabbits, rabbits!!!

First of a new month.... a really important new month too. According to Ye Olde Englishe wives tale, the first words you utter, first thing in the morning on the first day.... should be "rabbits"....for good luck.













There. Done. Now to sit back and wait for it. Hahahahha...yeh...right....as if.....

My personal theory is that you make your own luck. It's kind of like life....if you want the most out of it.. get out there and grab it by the throat. Carpe Diem!!

And, today the day is:...... beautiful, sunny and there is an amazing brilliant blue sky... hmmm... okay, that's kind of lucky for this time of year in Canada.... and, furthermore, the weatherman says it will be the same all week... with a whopper of +9C on Saturday....wow.... sometimes a bit of luck just happens all on its own I guess.

Okay....I'm off to sit in the sunlight streaming through the kitchen window, sip a second coffee and do some stitching on my little Persimmon coloured bear. Later, I think I'll enjoy a browse through my collection of holiday magazines...











I love looking at the pictures; ooohing and aaaahhhing over the decorations and decorating ideas...



























drooling over recipes, and, in particular, recipes for gifts.... my fav thing to give is something for, (or from ♥♥), the kitchen. I learned that little heart trick from a new commenter... just hold down the Alt button....and press the number 3 on the number pad.. not on the keyboard. Cute.














and here is a tip from me... save your special magazines in plastic covers so they don't get all ratty. They cost enough so, I like to keep them nice. Easy to save in a large binder...or even just in a perfect stack in a spare drawer or cupboard. I have ... uhm,... lots........ I'm a sucker for a pretty cover.... so some are in an out of the way drawer (but, I know exactly where, so I can refer to them at other times of the year for certain marked recipes) ... ... and there are more in a small tote bin. I keep it near other Christmas-y stuff...like the big box with the tree in it...that way I know exactly where it is.... hey! come to think of it, my cards are right beside that in a smaller tote and I might as well bring that to the light of day as well...it's December and time to get some overseas cards in the mail.... Have a great first day of December everybody!