Doggie Day

Silky isn't so sure if she wants Mindy to advance right into her bed..

Mindy loves Emil ! She finally fell asleep with her head in Emil's arms...just a big baby

Who couldn't love a face like mine????

Wait, I think there is a bone in here somewhere...

Sneaking up on Silky works the best!

And yes, the cherry prunings that I brought inside last week-end, have started to bloom.
Sad to say that the ones that stayed on the tree, were buried under four inches of snow today...no sign of any blossoms anywhere today!

Emil was dogsitter today to Mindy, Peter and Elli's Dobie. She is a young pup yet, but settles down quite nicely after a period of play. Her and Silk get along...well, lets say that Silky tolerates Mindy, and in the end they lie down in their seperate beds and both fall asleep.

I did the usual Saturday stuff...changed the bed, vacuumed , made Belgium waffles, and did a few loads of laundry, before settling into the cleaning job of raking out my bathroom cabinets... Why did I save all of those twelve or so used toothbrushes?

No wonder I had no room for anything else. ...and no need to buy any hairspray and no need to get any more face cleansers... I'm maxed out in both departments. Thats the trouble when you get old... you make as many mental notes as written ones... I have to pick up some Raisins for instance... then you buy raisins on your next three shopping trips... cause you can't for sure recall, especially when you are in the grocery store , if you bought them last time. The only neon light in the brain says BUY SOME Raisins...you are out of them...
Anyhow, I could quit buying a few things...

We took a little break after Pete picked up Mindy . Emil and I had a wonderful hot -tub. Very nice.We have the new lifter installed now, so it si much easier to take the lid off.

Before going out, I made a batch of the Whitewater granola bars...used sliced almonds and almond flavouring... just had a slice and they are very good...made with peanut butter and sesame seeds and raisins and coconut and chocolate chips and oatmeal and corn syrup... and butter... I am freezing some and will take some to work. Chris is nearly always hungry for any nibbles. He bought us a big jar of honey and some cinnamon for us to start drinking tea with it several times a day... tastes pretty good, if I do say so myself. (see the cinnamon honey post of a few days ago)

Lastly, I made a pot of bean soup (See side bar for basic recipe)...and had a wee bowl after dinner to see how it tasted...yummy. Could use more beans, but for some unknown reason I had narey a kidney bean. I used two cans of black beans instead. I can always add some at a later date.... and they had them on a caselot sale last week at Save-on. Did the neon light go on... NO!

Further more, I have decided to use some of my Save-on points to get myself a fabric steamer.I'll order it next week. I've gone through about ten irons now and currently my little old Betty Crocker, has a loose bottom piece that flips nearly off the iron, when I use it. Also it has no ability to steam at all. A tank of water lasts three or four ironing sessions! My T-fal emptied out after a half hour. I don't think I'll get another T-fal, tho. That is two that have up and quit on me , over the years. I'll try the fabric steamer instead.


"The Creator"

Winter is only six months away..or not gone

Silk, hanging low this morning ...still a bit under the weather from her sore back, but mostly trying to play dodge with Mindy.
We have Pete and Elli's doberman, Mindy for the day while they attend their annual Snow and Shine...ooops make that Show and Shine in downtown Nelson. Below, Mindy has a nap for fifteen minutes. Otherwise she is mostly wanting to play with Silky, who wants no part of it...just finds a corner to hunker down in.

First thing this morning we woke up to the lovely sight of snow falling

Taken about 10:30 am, you can see in the bottom pic that the snow is getting substantially deeper.

Looks like a day to lie low...and order stuff from catalogues and Yves Rocher. They have a cute satin-like robe as the freebie using the promotion key # 0628...you can never have too many cover-ups.
Time to go doodle away the day...indoors... I think I'll start with cleaning out my bathroom cabinets...
"The Creator"

The Healing properties of Cinnamon

The Healing properties of Honey and Cinnamon

Read up on the healing powers of cinnamon and honey combined with each other... Sounds like the two of them could cure most anything from baldness to arthritis... just have to mix it up according to directions and drink a cup or three a day...I would have started tonight, however, my honey was crystalized. The tragic part is that I scooped it all out and into a pot and put it on the stove to melt... ( like a thirty second process perhaps) . Then the phone rang, and it was Sonia and I took the phone and went into the computer room and the next thing I knew, the fire alarm was going off.
So.
Yep.
Worst boo-boo in Bea's cooking history, since we locked the turkey in the oven...or maybe it was when the roasting chestnuts blew up and got me square in my face when I opened the oven... Anyhow, tonight was right up there with my top three all time ugly happenings in the kitchen.
Two cups of honey in a small pot on rather high heat and what you have when the fire alarm goes off is a pot full of brown goo at a rolling boil ( like making jam or candy) and sad to say at least half the mixture had boiled over into the drip pan . It was boiling in there also.
Don't ever do that.
PAy attention to that which you put on the stove.
Be glad something or somebody didn't kill someone or something, or burn something down or put out the gas flame and gas everyone to death.
Sweet Dreams... and Happy dosing with cinnamon and honey. I'll buy new liquid honey tomorrow, and start the honey and cinnamon drink on Saturday.
"The Creator"

Wrigley's Candystand - Great Free Games!

Wrigley's Candystand - Great Free Games!
Awesome games can be found at this site. You might have to first download a little application to make them run in 3_D, such as the Lifesavers Golf game...
I played that and the Mahjong game which was beautifully illustrated. Have fun when you have those boring moments of nothing to do!

"The Creator"

midomi

midomi

You have that tune in your head ,but can't recall the name of the song? Just hum it into your microphone and the song title will pop up...midomi.com
Check out the Midomi stars section, and if you have it in you...just record your own song for the world to hear... This could be fun if you are a crooner!

"The Creator"

More Encounters from Nature Girl

And look what Joyce came across today on her walk down by the canal. Can you guess what it is?
Joyce informed me today that it si a yellow-Bellied Marmot!

They are abundant near the canal and I've also seen them on route over the Blueberry PAulson. Here is the webpage about various Marmots, but I am not sure which group he belongs to as it seems that whomever designed the web page should have hired Joyce for photographing the creatures,as their photos are pretty pathetic. Joyce, however, might know which species of Marmot he is... sort of looked like the Olympic Marmot to me.




And the ever popular Canada geese... Beautiful shot...the water is a great colour!
Thanks Joyce, for sharing your love of Nature.
Now keep your eye open for a beautiful wood duck. According to the newspaper, they are in Proctor...
I was outside with Silky and looked up into the sky in time to see a meteorite flash through the northern sky...how lucky for me, as it left a nice long tail streak across half the sky!
"The Creator"

The Mighty Elk

Joyce snapped these awesome close-ups of an elk near the canal, when she was coming home yesterday.Pretty huge aye? Look at those baby antlers.. they will be a giant rack over his head in a few months ...unless someone does a freezer run on him... Poachers,you know...they are out there!



These are the lovely Gerbias that Sheryl brought me when they came out for dinner...Thank-you...they look great with the clippings form our cherry tree.

Emil spent Sunday pruning...
Myself, you could say I was a little pooped out.
I had to fast on Sunday for a little procedure on Monday at the Kootenay Lake Hospital...so I took the day off and just rested after I returned home. By six, I felt a little more back to human.I had lost four pounds from Sunday to Monday...then gained back a whole pound this morning...Hard go, easy come.. I did get out for a long walk this morning, but now my knees are killing me...might need an advil to give me a jump start..
So have a great week... I have to stop at the post office this morning to mail away the signed copies of our income tax and then it is done...yipppeeee...


"The Creator"

ATV Gone Amuck

Above , you can see the ATV stuck in the mud, on the beach...the neighbour's mudflat to the east of us.

Below, the pic shows the remaining tracks from the above ATVjust before it came to a dead stop below our neighbours beach, where the water has receded. Instead of little sink holes like those in the below photo, he was into the mud clear up to his axles and then some. Him and his riding partner had to abandon the machine and go walk for help. I think they never lived too far away, because an hour or so later, they came with another ATV and winched out the one stuck in the muck. Yes, beware when stepping into unknown silt flats... it is pure anadulterated mud!




You can see here where they crossed the lagoon... I can't believe they weren't sunk in here... the bank on the far side is fairly steep... Maybe they winched out... I don't know... It is the kind of mud I wouldn't care to step into if I were stuck!

Sheryl, Emil's replacement at HEU came out with her beau, Mike and joined us for a BBQ... mmm-mmm-good. We tried for a game of Mexican train, but after three rounds we were all dozing off...( * It was taking longer than usual for some reason....***)
The weather was deluxe on Saturday and again today, tho, it seems to be in decline at the moment. Emil pruned trees with Peter's guidance and a few suggestions from me this morning. I got out into my front flower bed yesterday for a bit... damn deer ate my hyacynths...as well as the crocus, with the exception of about three!

LAWNMOWER for SALE...
Here is Emil's old ride'm Lawn mower. I am going to advertise it on UsedKootenays.com..$650.00, 14 h.p. and comes with the grass catcher and has a 42" mower deck. It is a Craftsman from Sears. Let us know if anyone is interested.


"The Creator"