Hurricanes and other storms have sure been in the news a lot lately. Lots of people have lost their house and are waiting for supplies to come in. It’s got me thinking about emergency shelters and started looking at what kinds of things have been invented.
I hate to waste anything, so even when stuff is broken beyond repair, I try to salvage anything on that item that might possibly be useful somewhere else.
We got a little postcard in the mail last week from Canada Post. It was announcing their new digital mailbox epost services. I know my family is in favour of reducing the amount of paper that we use. My Dad signed up as many of our bills to be electronic as he could, but it meant he has to log onto his account of each of the individual sites to see his bills. Each of the accounts sends him a notice when his bill is ready, but if he changes his email address, he has to go to each site he’s registered with and make his changes.
Now that winter is well on its way, one of the things on my to-do list is to make sure the vehicles are prepared. Even if you’re only driving in the city, it just makes good sense to take a little time to ensure that you have some backup in case you have a breakdown in the coldest of temperatures.
I hate to see anything go to waste, so I’ve convinced the grandkids to use electric lights in their Jack-o-lanterns instead of candles (which leave the inside of the pumpkin black (and smelly). My eldest grandson told me that he got a string of outdoor LED Christmas lights which he intends on using with the pumpkins they carve this year. He’ll make a hole in the back of each pumpkin and arrange them on the steps with the lights inside each one to make them glow. That way, after halloween is over, they can bring me their pumpkins and I can make them into Pumpkin Puree to freeze for using in pies and soup later. Here are the recipes for making the puree, pumpkin pie and my favourite, pumpkin soup.
I really enjoy carving pumpkins at Halloween, and it’s become quite an art form for me. It’s a tradition in our house to have a pumpkin carving day, usually the Saturday before halloween. I try to make one really elaborate pumpkin for myself each year, and help the kids make simpler ones.
Years ago before the my two oldest kids were small, someone shared an ingenious pattern of making a skeleton out of 4 litre milk jugs and we spent a Saturday building it for halloween.
I just learned something that is very valuable information that I want to share with everyone. You know how sometimes you can get a ring stuck on your finger and then can’t get it off again? I know that I’ve done it before and it really hurts to try and pull it off.
I am surprised that you can’t find a recipe for this easy way to have fresh bread anymore in modern cookbooks. It used to be a staple for just about every kitchen. My recipe comes from my old Better Homes and Gardens cookbook which belonged to my mother. I think it was printed sometime in the 1940’s.
Our second vehicle is a Smart Car, a tiny 2-person vehicle that you can park just about anywhere. The Smart Car is perfect for running errands or if just my King and I need to go someplace. Our family car is pretty economical at about 35 MPG, but still can't beat our diesel Smart Car at over 70 MPG. We try to use it as much as possible when we need to drive. There isn't much place for storage - as a matter of fact, it doesn't even have a glove box.
I was telling you last blog how we were had been cleaning the school yard while we were playing there and I wanted to do a follow up blog to tell everyone how well it’s been going and even catching on!
I don’t know how many people are lucky enough to be the recipients of a “Grand Gesture”, but my Queen and I experienced one last weekend. A dear friend of ours presented us last year with a gift certificate for a 2 night stay at a cabin resort in one of our National Parks.
My Dad mentioned the other day that the leaves don’t seem to be changing colour as fast this year as they normally do. It’s funny that so often someone talks about something and a while later you see something about that very thing on the Discovery Channel or something else. Well, on the news they were talking about how our leaves are late in changing because of our unusually warm weather. I learned all about why leaves change in grade school, but it was nice to have a refresher on the process.
Even though I'm known as a fix-it guy, I have to confess - I've had a broken table leaning up on edge in the corner of my shop for nearly a year now. It was one of those fancy small round tables that was big enough to seat 4 people for tea.
At turkey time, the stuffing bowl always seemed to be the first to be emptied at the dinner table even though I’d stuff the bird in every possible place. Not only that, but the kids always fought for the crispy parts of the stuffing that baked on the outside of the bird.
I know there has been a trend towards people buying larger houses and I sometimes think it would be nice to move into a bigger place. The thing is, the bigger the house you have, the more things you need to furnish it, the more fuel you need to heat its, etc., etc.
Someone one sent me this email the other day. It must hit home with a lot of people because I’ve had this email come in a few times. It makes me laugh every time I get it because it's so true so I’m going to share it. Although the email didn’t say who it was by, I did a little internet search and found out that it was written by Jim Knowles, editor of the San Leandro Times in California in his column of Jan. 6, 2011.
We started school a couple of weeks ago. My teacher says that our class is going to build an igloo out of 4 litre milk jugs! I’m really excited about that. Miss Rees asked everybody to tell their family to start saving milk jugs because we need over 400 to build one. As soon as we get enough to start the bottom ring we will start gluing them together until it’s finished.
Last night my Dad brought home a box that had had some electronics shipped to his office. I thought he was going to show me some cool new gadget, but what he showed me instead was the packing peanuts.
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My Dad mentioned the other day that the leaves don’t seem to be changing colour as fast this year as they normally do. It’s funny that so often someone talks about something and a while later you see something about that very thing on the Discovery Channel or something else. Well, on the news they were talking about how our leaves are late in changing because of our unusually warm weather. I learned all about why leaves change in grade school, but it was nice to have a refresher on the process.
Even though I'm known as a fix-it guy, I have to confess - I've had a broken table leaning up on edge in the corner of my shop for nearly a year now. It was one of those fancy small round tables that was big enough to seat 4 people for tea.
