Tuesday-Schnoozeday

Lynn came over on Saturday and we had our little birthday celebration in honour of her 58th!
Cheers Lynn...my older cousin!!!!!

We were lucky enough to catch more than one glimpse of this strikingly beautiful Bluebird and it's mate on Saturday. Funny thing, is that in my bird book, the bluebirds were here in 2004 only one day earlier... Amazing!

Lynn and Lynn and Co-Co
The weather was less thatn wonderful,s o we took a drive down to neighbour Lynn's new Garden shop...What a pleasant surprise. She has an excellent choice of clematis, dahlias, lillies, beautiful grasses, and some very interesting special plants. We bought the cute little heathers that come in three varieties, including a yellow one that is striking! So drop out to Harrop...first left after the ferry, and on the left. Look for the green shed with the Erindale Gardens sign on the fence...Open all day!

We loaded up on plants!

Lynn having her strawberry shortcake on a cranberry scone... Happy B-Day and it was a nice week-end to visit! Lynn helped me in my front garden on Sunday before she left. Thanks Lynn-I appreciate your enthusiasm!
After Lynn left, I took my gardening tools to my big garden and almost had a cry. It is overwhelmed with crab grass and trees that have outgrown their space. Need an evergreen? I have a beautiful pine that will probably grow to a hundred feet. It already has at least ten or twelve feet already grown! Then there is a blue spruce that has to go, as well as countless others. My garden needs to be cut in half with the top part made into a little park. Any landscapers out there? Any one who loves digging? Help!Pond builders?

Okey kiddos...so much happening here...Joyce left for Rupert this morning... I hope she got out as it was pouring cats and dogs at my place at 9:00am. In town, it was improved. Happy Birthday to little Jamie who turned two! Nice when they will live closer!
Arlene called this morning to say that Uncle John Kazakov passed away at the wonderful age of 92. He was a sweet fellow with so many stories to tell and such a great way with words. Remind me to rewrite one of his letters on the blog...they were delightful! he left me with a lot of good memories of a man whom I only came to know better after the late nineties. Mainly it was because he lived in the States and wasn't in our lives for many years. However, the fact remains, that he was a step brother to my mom, Pauline, and his sister Mary (nee Cheveldave), married my mom's brother who was a Tamelin, thus I ended up with two Auntie Mary's...one a sister and one a step-sister to my mom. It was always a little confusing to me as a kid, but eventually it cleared up!
And last but not least, Emil did something to his back and is in serious agony, trying to sleep it off. It struck suddenly, on his way home and he has been in pain ever since. i might be carting him off to the doc, if he doesn't improve after the pain killers!







"The Creator"

paraskevidekatriaphobia

tHAT WOULD BE FEAR OF fRIDAY THE 13th... hmmmm...my font came out a little weird...I didn't really come across any black cats today, nor was I forced to walk under a ladder, and thankfully, no mirrors broke,even when I looked in them!!
Wow!
I am eating that lo-carb Orville R. popcorn that tastes like chunks of cardboard until you doctor it up a bit... .. drizzle on a blend of 1 scoop of brown sugar and a dollop of whipping cream that has been nuked for a minute and voila....a treat worth writing a blog about...
Silk is waiting at my chair for handouts, but she only gets the popcorn that missed the caromel bath. I am drinking a Perrier water that Emil brought home from a recent air trip...Yum-yum...no wonder Carolyne's sister has one as an after dinner drink...Aqua con gaz... I drank so much of it in Peru, once I realized normal water made me ill. You could buy it by the litres down there...
I guess that Club Soda is the same as a Perrier, but it just doesn't taste the same! How come?????

A big thank-you to Neil an Jim for stopping up at Kolmel's to meet Sonia's mom and to select some fun pieces for their significent others! Nice to meet you fellows -Always interesting to actually meet the peops that tune into my blog...thanks for your readership (to all)!

So. it was a busy week at work, hence the lack of being on the blog... I went for groceries after work last night and by the time I arrived home it was 8:00 and then after unloading the grub, I decided to clean out the fridge and before I knew it ,it was 9:00 and I was starved and I still had a bag of produce to figure out what to do with. The good news is that I cooked up a bucnch of ribs that I bought at Super Store. They were the long strips that are the left overs after the breast part is cut off ( the rack of ribs) . I chopped the strips into riblets, and coated them with Costco bought chopped garlic , some Lawreys non MSG seasoning salt and some Garlic Plus seasoning ( from Costco) , and some black bean with garlic sauce and then lime juice squeezed all over them. I tossed them into a big tupperware to season them all, then threw them into a broiler pan ( without the rack) that I had sprayed with PAM and lined with Parchment Paper. No need to PAM the PArchment... just toss in the ribs. Grind on some of that Kirkland Sea Salt from Costco for a nice touch. I roasted them at 350* for an hour and a half ...tossing them around every half hour or so until they were all golden brown. At this point you can use them for sweet and sour ribs , or just eat them the way they are.

Lynn is coming out tomorrow,so I thought I would make some Chinese food. I will forego the sweet and sours and just do the ribs and also some dry roasted wings. We will celebrate her birthday with a birthday dinner... Now what about desert?

We had a wonderful ham dinner over at Dick and Anne's tonight and she made a lovely blueberry pie for desert. It was my first ever blueberry pie, and perhaps the most perfect berry pie ever...not too thick, not too thin , and a crust to die for. She adds a teaspoon...or was that a tablespoon of baking powder to each pie crust pie that she builds. Her crust is enviable and delicious and maybe the best piecrust I have had! One thing about Anne...she is a great cook!
Dick showed his National Geographic quality film of their trip down to Mexico where they camped with Lynn and Rick at Penasco. It looked to be awesomely warm and delightfully full of white herons and pelicans and gulls. They travelled back up to Joshua Tree Park California,and on over to Montecino and Santa Barbara and Monterey, before heading back home to the mega snow of Harroponia.
I'd say that if you have some retirement time on your hands and a month or more to explore, you could follow in their footsreps for a beautiful holiday. The Aquarium in Monteray was incredible...

Ok. Back to reality.
it is half past my bedtime...Lynn is due to arrive in the morning...also some lady interested in Emil's tin boat....
I better take out the wings to thaw for tomorrow night's dinner.

Just a little side note to say the Loreen, my cousin. Lorne's daughter, was in the store the other day. It is always an adventure to chat with her... She was writing her final exam in Golf management up at Selkirk, in preparation for a trip to Morocco to manage a golf course there.!!!
You heard me... and if you do a few google searches ,you'll discover that Golf and Morocco go hand in hand! Meanwhile her daughter, Nicole, (age 19) will be in Kenya ,working at an orphanage for her second year...at the same time. Nicole just spoke at the opening of a seminar in Vancouver,that the noted Canadian and Humanitarium, Stephen Louis, was the key speaker. He is devoted to the issue surrounding HIV/AIDs and the orphaned children of Africa.

Loreen's fifteen minute visit to the store made me feel like grass was growing under my feet as I stood there!!!!!
Kudos to her and her daughter for taking on the world!

Joyce stopped in to say hello with her new "Doo" Looked great Joyce ! She is off to Rupert to see the kidlets and celebrate little Jamie's birthday. My goodness...we were all in Edmonton at her baptism, at this time last year! My how time flys.

Carolyne gave me a copy of her "Biodynamic Gardening Calendar... today, in hopes that I'll read up on it and get my garden planted on time...and Joyce gave me some Lucifer plants today to set into the ground...Thank-you Joyce! I'll get on that in the morning! ( but only if it is recommended in the calender!)

Speaking of plants, Lynn from down the street opened her new gardening store today..right in her shed! Erindale Road Nurseries . Way to go Lynn! We'll be down to see what you have...japanese maples and dahlias...Yum!



"The Creator"

Happy Birthday Lynn!

Wishing Lynn a very Happy Birthday today! Her and I will celebrate next week-end...Whahhoooo...Party-On in the Hot-tub!
"The Creator"

Commercial Commodity Unbundling Program and Stable Rate Option for Residential Customers

Commercial Commodity Unbundling Program and Stable Rate Option for Residential Customers
Listen up gang...In less than a month you will be asked if you wish to purchase your natural gas from a gas Marketer instead of Teresen gas... thus, in order to make an informed decision, you must become an instant specialist in projecting gas prices over the next five years, cause that is how long you will be able to lock into a fixed price that you pay for your Natural gas...if you purchase it from a Natural Gas marketer. The list of Marketers are on this web page above.
For a list of FAQ's provided by Teresen gas... read up about it here.
Perhaps, someone who has moved here from Ontario will have some experience regarding buying gas, as they have had this option since the early nineties. in fact , I ,myself , went to a job fair once , in Quebec or Ottawa and this is precisely what the position was....to go door-to-door to market natural gas to the locals. Half the people in the room, left in disgust, because the pay was of course related to the amount of customers you drummed up...much like selling Amway or Fuller Brushes.

The head honchos at the job fair had many maps showing pipelines and had an explanation for how they could supply gas better than their opponents. Well, maybe they could. The CARP website I pointed to a few weeks ago has a preferred Natural gas supplier that saved their customers 136%...so I will be contacting CARP to see if they have any preferred suppliers out west for their members.... I'll keep you posted!

Happy Easter Sunday

Moi and Emil and Annette after the first course!

Janice , Ed, Gord, linda nd Elli...

Emil and moi and Annette on Janice and Gord's beach soaking up the rays

Janice and Gord...with the Balfour narrows behind them

Miss Sunshine herself!

Yoo-hoo...We had a wonderful day on Easter Sunday once we all got up and got mobilized. Emil had made reservations over at the Balfour Golf Club for Sunday brunch...along with Janice and gord and Ed and Linda and Peter and Elli... My oh my...what a feast they put on. The Golf Course has hired a new General Manager and two new chefs...The chefs are from the college and one is a pastry chef...Yum-Yum. He had every pastry from danishes to big fat cinnabuns to muffins and cakes and pecan pie! The whole setup was done up right and the selection of foods were awesome...Eggs benny, Ham, hash browns, pancakes, french toast, bacon, sausages, cold cuts, salads, pickles, buns, fresh fruits, ice cream, fruit mousse, tortes, fried bananas, & creme brullee! Lets just say that if they keep up the good work, it will be a full house every week-end! Perfect for getting a good bang for the buck, because your coffees and orange juice were all included, and the service was excellent for the amount of people being seated. I would highly recommend it!


After lunch, we stopped off at Gord and Janice's for beer in the sunshine, on the beach...felt like summer. Gord even flew his kite for a bit before it tangled in the dead birches... It was a picture perfect day for spending with Annette before she had to end her vacation with us.!





When we returned home, no-one could hardly move...too much food!


Emil was first to get mobilized, then me...We brought down a load of manure from out in the front yard to the garden. I raked up a little patch of the fresh tilled garden and dug in some manure and then planted my strawberry plants. Morgan also brought me straw and I was able to surround my four new rows of strawberries with straw. It looks magnificent.


Then it rained last night and today. With any luck, that will give the strawberries a good start!Yea!
Oh yes, I have to mention that Annette ,our Easter bunny, brought Joyce and I a set of firefly solar lights for the garden! These are the cutest...about five 2"long fireflies on bendable wire stems that shoot upwards about 15"out of a weighted fake rock...They absorb the sun's power by day and by night they flick on and off ,just like a real firefly... awesome! Thanks, Annette! I hope they scare the deer away!








"The Creator"

Maddie's real birthday Party!

Nothing like having several birthday celebrations to turn nine! Click on the new web album of her birthday to see her and all of her friends! They even got into a game of Nosica Nosica to finish off their birthday party!

"The Creator"

Happy Easter Egg Everyone!

Auntie Joyce and Annette!
Thats the boat of pyrogies being passed around..Yum

Who's egg is smashed...???? Annettes! Booh-hoo


Emil Lost to Joyce

And the winner is....Moi!




Janice and Ed and Linda rode their bikes over for an afternoon "Destination Location" Visit...a Beer in the sunshine was good for and afternoon break!


Still sunny on our back deck at 6:30pm...when J&M arrived... they brought me a load of manure and 3 bales of straw...sort of slowed them down a bit!


And who are these fine looking love birds?

Annette with her new bling from Kolmels!


My phyllo apple pie thing


Colouring eggs after Annette and Emil got back from their little trip south of the border...YES...she brought me a Peter Paul Almond Joy chocolate bar...Yummy!




Its been a great week with Annette here for a visit...She and her dad had a few days together, and now it is my turn for the week-end! Thursday night we coloured eggs for our game of Nosica Nosica and yesterday we played the game after dinner... TA-DA...My two eggstra-special eggs were the winners! Annette brought Purdy's chocolates for everyone to share for the prize...so those were awesome! Joyce and Moargan joined us for our ham/scallopped potatoes and pyrogy dinner which was a little late...but delicious in any case...Joyce brought out a desert of raspberries in jello atop a cream cheese and Eagle-brand milk topping that sat on a graham wafer crust...Yummy and I made a lemon merengue pie and an apple something or other in phyllo dough!


Disaster struck when I tried to whip the cream in my C02 Dispenser. I guess the lid wasn't on tight enough to begin with and then some of the C02 leaked out when I tried to put that cartridge in, so the cream wouldn't shake up to whipped stage. Then I decided to add anothter C02 cartridge and thats when all hell broke loose...Too much C02!!! WAY TOO MUCH!




The cream was puffing out from beneath the lid and I finally squirted it all into a bowl to salvage as much as possible. By now whipped cream was everywhere! Such delicious fun! Oh well, we all ate desert topped by semi-whipped cream! And I was telling Joyce how simple it was to whip cream this way! yeah!

Time to go play outside in the sunshine!












"The Creator"

Small List of affected Cat and Dog Foods

Here is a list of Cat Foods from Eukanuba and Iams of their foods that have been pulled off the shelves. pets are still getting sick and reportedly thousands have died from eating food poisoned by Melamine. Foods affected are mostly from Menu foods, and involve wet foods with names like "Cuts and Gravies".
Hills (Known as Science Diet) also has been affected by this same poison found in the wheat gluten used to thicken the gravies. The other list of dates and foods can be found at the Menufoods.com site at their recall page. By now,stores should have all the bad products off their shelves, so check your cupboard for any older stock from late last year. FAQ's about the recall can be found here...
A list from Menu foods with the dates on the cans can be found here.
In other words, if your cat isn't sick or dead yet, it was shear luck that you never fed it those kinds of foods! A comprehensive list seems hard to find in one piece of dialog on the internet, even though the media just says to go to Menufoods. com and check under recall.

It will take a little homework...but good luck and don't be like the Ottawa woman who tasted the cat food to help the cat eat it... I surely hope that wasn't our dear friend Jean with her cat, Bea-Bea!

Virtual Hairstylist - iVillage

Virtual Hairstylist - iVillage
You can have a little fun at this website without regeristering, and it gives you a few tips on hairstyles to suit your face shape. Have Fun!

Cookin' with GMA from WCHS-TV8

Cookin' with GMA from WCHS-TV8
Check the sidebar of this link for hundreds of recipes that you might of seen on Good Morning America...My mouth is watering, but I better go to bed... The Pie recipes look great!

Hoffman Canada Home Page

Hoffman Canada Home Page
Have Issues? Have Burnout? too much Stress? Maybe a look-see into the Hoffman Process will be of some help to you. An advocate of the Process talked about it today at work and firmly believed it could help most people... Has anyone else heard or dealt with it? Apparrently a lot of pent up anger can stem from early childhood memories of abuse . It sounds like this Hoffman process can help heal the wounds of childhood. Dates to attend are coming up in May in Calgary...very interesting....

How was your April Fools Day?

I guess I had at least one person fooled yesterday...but the Express newspaper had more people irate than me! They called the paper REGRESS and on the front page showed a photo of Nelson's Baker Street all cobblestoned....the caption read "Nelson gets Stoned"! too funny...as Nelsonites are by the most part stoned anyhow! A lady came into the store,and took one look at the photo in the newspaper and did a big "Hrumph" and said..."Nelson has more important things to take care of, than to be spending money on cobblestone streets!"
Had she read the article, she would have seen that the proposal was to close the street to all but foot traffic and to get a McDonalds...but they would keep the golden "M's" to a maximum height of 18 feet, so as to be not too invasive.
It was a good article to show what Nelson strives not to be, however, the stoned part isn't far off the mark!
Ok...time to get ready to go into that fair city and go to work. My bosses are back with lots of new goodies...I'll be in tagging mode to get a bunch of it ready for sale.
Also, Annette comes today...yahooooooooo... and we are supposed to BBQ.

It snowed out last night!

That was after we had a nice fire on the beach yesterday afternoon over at Bill's. The wind gusts were freezing, but the fire was huge and kept us cozy. We even roasted some hot-dogs and called it dinner after a desert of carrot cake that Bill's daughter brought out. Bill was his best ever since his surgery. It was good to see him in great spirits...and hungry! He ate 2 bowls of soup while we enjoyed the dogs and a beer.
okey dokey...time to get this roadshow on the road... Happy Monday everyone!

IT IS APRIL! WOW...


"The Creator"

Rip Off Report:Opportunities Unlimited Publications. Inc., Contest America Publishers, & Sweepstakes Award Committee mail fraud

Rip Off Report:Opportunities Unlimited Publications. Inc., Contest America Publishers, & Sweepstakes Award Committee mail fraud
If you have received any junk mail from Opportunities Unlimited Publications, Inc...saying that you have won millions, for a mere sum of $20.00...Don't be fooled by these thieves... They are bilking millions out of ordinary unsuspecting people. If you have won anything from any reputable organization, they will never request any money from you , before hand...so be ever leary about those phone calls or letters saying you've won a trip to the Bahamas ( press 9 -then they can charge long distance calls to your phone number) or won a bunch of money. Stick with Publishers Clearing house , like I do, and you may never win anything, but you get good deals on Magazines and some awesome junk.... and someday, just someday, they will be at my door with a big fat cheque!

Changing the name of my blog

How do you like Earwax for a name? I thought it reflected what all my bs would do to a person...just fill their ears up with wax until they were plug full of B*llsh*t from the Buzzy. I mean who cares if I have a new flower blooming or if the deer ate them? Today will be the start of a new era for my blog... I'll only be posting exclusive and private secrets about everyone I know, from here on in. I will tell you the truth about what is happening to my friends, my enemies,my neighbours, my kids, my grandkids, my cousins, my sisters, my brothers and my co-workers.

Pure Dirt!

Nothing will be barred and before you can read my blog, you'll have to take an oath to never reaveal to anyone what you read here on the blog. No more talk about weather, no more talk about deer, no more pics of flowers...just the raw truth, as I hear it. Furthermore, if you don't wish to have your name mentioned, there will be a fee...not too big, but I will discuss it later.
Dated this Day... Sunday, April 1st, 2007

"The Creator"

Radio Lingua International

Radio Lingua International
Download these podcasts to learn Spanish, Italian, German or Love Phrases. If you have an Ipod..these lessons can be transferred to your Ipod. They don't seem to work with my Shuffle, but maybe a new Ipod is in my future! I have now listened to many of the 21 lessons in Spanish and have mastered the basic..Que Tal...How are you! Bien, Gracias... Well, thank-you... Et tu? And you? Fatale...fatal... ( Not well)....ha-ha...well you get the idea. If Ronda is reading this, she can pass the website onto Matthew so he can get practicing German! Good Luck Matthew!
Hace Sol,oy. Bueno!

Week-end... and then it is APRIL FOOLS DAY!

Only two more sleeps and Annette will be here for the whole week Yipppeee... We can do some girly stuff together and she and she and her dad can have some daughter dad days while I work four days. Anyhow it will be a fun four days ,now that chris and Carolyne are back from their vacation. She brought a ton of new jewellry and a bunch will be on display before the end of the week. She brought back lots of shell pieces,s o I am excited to see whats new! Also, more rings...and I already picked out two I like in the solid sterling silver, but alas, what to do...the gemstone rings will be here soon also, and for sure I will want one of those...and then I have a few birthdays to take care of...such spring fun!

Okay kids, I have to hit the hay. It was a busy day around Shuville today,as we cleaned and scrubbed and powerwashed...all of the decks, the exterior of the house ( most of it) and all of the outside windows! Also, Emil torched up a pile of branches and old cuttings from last year. When the wind picked up, it burned like crazy. We have one more pile to go...maybe tommorow in the am, if it isn't looking like wind.

After scrubbing the vinyl siding down, and the decks and the windows, my baby finger is wincing with arthritis pain. I forgot to take my new little pill this morning and now I can double feel it.
Have a good Sunday. I am going into town to pick up some fresh produce for when Annette comes...and maybe some fresh Halibut. Save-on had it on sale.
Oh yes, i signed up for CARP...only 19.95 for myself and my spouse...Next week I will check into the house insurance prices, and I'll let you know if they are better.

And in case I forget...Happy Birthday to John H. in Prince George...It is his April Fool's birthday tomorrow...I need a joke, I need a joke, I need a joke!


"The Creator"

Family Fotos

Here is a pic to remind us of summer....or better still, winter on the Cayman Islands....thanks to Wayne for keeping us up to date on the family...the good looking family! Hollywood is going to find you for their new Swiss Robinson Series on the Disney Channel.


And not to forget about little Spike who got his "you know whats" taken from him. He was a little hurtin man..Sonia had to borrow Duncan's old underwear to keep Spike from pickin out the stitches! Sonia and Steve's old cat will be relieved not to be Spike's "humpee" anymore....

"The Creator"

Happy Birthday Maddie

My sweet little grandaughter turned 9 today.
Happy Birthday Sweety! Nice chatting on the phone tonight and I really miss you..whaa,whaa,whaa! It won't be long before summer arrives and we'll be swimming in the fridge...oops..Kootenay Lake. Oh well, we can always have a hot-tub to warm up!


"The Creator"

Microsoft Carioca Rummy

Microsoft Carioca Rummy
If you like card games, you'll go crazy with this new version of the old Crazy rummy we used to play. The computer beat me six out of eight times. Here is a clue... The computer collects all of one suit when it has to make 2 escalas ( runs ) of four. Nifty trick.I'll try that next time!

2007 Juno Awards

2007 Juno Awards
Watch them Sunday evening starting at 6:30 for the ET Red Carpet event and 7:00 for the actual start of the Junos.. Nelly Furtado will be hosting them...Thats our own Nelly from Victoria BC! Yahooo..

CARP is Canada's Association for the Fifty-Plus.

CARP is Canada's Association for the Fifty-Plus.
Have you heard of this organization? Thanks to my cousin Ed for suggesting it! I am FINALLY getting around to reading more about it, since Teresen Gas will soon be only one of many Gas marketers that can sell natural gas. In Ontario, CARP members received a sizable discount when they opted for a specific natural gas marketer,recommended by CARP. I am hoping they make the same offer here in BC, because in a few months you will have to make an informed decision about whom you would like to buy your natural gas from. (T ERESEN WILL STILL DELIVER IT)
Like I don't have enough to figure out without this confusing thing about to happen. Expect phone callls and people knocking on your door to bribe you into buying Natural gas from them. ( A person only needs collateral of about $250,000 and $1000.00 for a Marketers licence and they can buy and sell Natural gas. ) Somehow that brings to mind a bunch of sleazy vacuum cleaner salesmen banging at your door day after day to offer you GAS.
As Average Joe Canadian, I am supposed to determine by some alien means, which marketer to buy my gas from. Do I lock in for five years? Do I buy it month to month? Just do a Google search and you will find more information than you bargained for.
So all of this brings me back to CARP. They seem to know who to to buy from ( at least back East) and they saved CARP members lots of money.
Ed says that he purchases house insurance through them and also books his trips through CARP. All this for 19.95 a year. Sounds almost too good to be true! If anyone else knows about or deals with CARP, please drop me a line or a comment and let me know what you think. In the meantime, I'll continue to scour the website ( I have been lost in it several times now) and see which other savings would be worth our membership fee. I'd love to reduce my house insurance as last year it ski-rocketed, and this year will be worse before it gets better.
Us Oldheimers have to think about saving where we can, now that retirement is on the burner for Emil, this year.

Online Fraud Quiz | Identity Theft | Investment Scams | Credit Debit Card Scams | Fraud Prevention Canada

Online Fraud Quiz Identity Theft Investment Scams Credit Debit Card Scams Fraud Prevention Canada
Take these qquizes to see if you are up to date on different kind of scams that could entrap you!

Ronda and John's BVI Wedding on Valentine's Day

And we have a new Picassa web album off to the right ...Just click on it to view the beautiful wedding Photos that Ronda put together of their now famous wedding in the British Virgin Islands. Once the album opens up, you can select slideshow to view them in full screen size, but it is wiser to read allthe captions underneath each picture before you do the slideshow. You still don't find out why John is scratching his head!

Then keep looking through them to try to feel that tropical warmth and imagine how wonderful a wedding aboard a ship would be... Thank-you to Ronda for sharing the photos...Congratulations you two and thank-you for sharing your special day with everyone...

"The Creator"

The Secret Movie 30 Day Challenge with Andy Wibbels

The Secret Movie 30 Day Challenge with Andy Wibbels
I've mentioned "The Secret" before, and here it is again. You can actually watch it online for $4.95...a 90 minute video, or you can start off by watching the trailer ,which I recommend. So here is the deal. On March 30th ,there will be a 30 day challenge between believers of "The Secret" and non-believers..... so Andy Wibble has set it all up at the web site above. The premise is that if you follow the "Secret" you may attain whatever it is that you wish for...sort of like having your own personal Geni in a Lamp. Andy Wibble says that to achieve anything, you mostly have to work your ass off to get it...you can't just sit around rubbing your lamp. Now he has launched this challenge to see who the achievers are...the workers or the wishers...
On that note...
A gal came into the store the other day and tried on a beautiful ring and because she has read the book, "The Secret", she is going to follow the guidelines and with fate, the ring will be hers. We'll see!

SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids

Look up to the east tonight as the sky darkens and see a beautiful Saturn next to the moon. For more information and to see what they have discovered on Saturn, click the link below...
SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids

Nice evening tonight

I took Silk for a little walk after work today after I fed the fish and watered plants over at our neighbour, Bill's house.I think he is still in hospital...poor guy..just can't seem to shake all the after effects of surgery for stomach cancer. I hope he takes a turn for the better to give him some hope. All we can do is pray that his health improves.
Back to the nice day we had... it got me outside first thing this morning, as I loaded up the garbage and recycle and dumped it off in town at the Nelson Dump.
At work, I mopped all the floors and then headed out to the sidewalk to sweep off all the butts..cigarette butts... They should make an edible butt,s o the person just chews it up and swallows for that final hit of nicotine... yuch. Easy to talk about it now that I don't smoke a pack a day like I used to. Damn near caught my hair on fire one time while trying to blow-dry my hair and smoke at the same time. That alone, should have convinced me to quit.

Back to our walk...Silk took me for a walk through the lot next door , along the beach and back again... Gave me a wake-up call....The lake is dropping and leaving behind its annual assortment of driftwood and junk on our beach. It will need a good clean up before the water starts to rise again.
I snapped a few pics and watched the sun set on the Purcells at the end of the lake...so beautiful- it makes me long for the summer evenings that keep us in sunshine until 9:00pm... ho-hum... I better hi-tail it to bed so I can do a few things before work tomorrow am. The Maytag man will make his last visit...seems that we now require a $94.00 part to go with the new insides of the dishwasher machine door tha came free of charge as part of the recall. I'm not sure if all the trouble is worth it, but Wayne said that Corinne's ? dishwasher did catch on fire... so I am thinking that I seriously don't want that. whats another $94. bucks!
I made two batches of cranberry scones for when Annette comes... yum... I had to sample one and a half...

And for the big news of the night...just in...Lynn will become a grandma again for the fifth time! Nadine and Dick are expecting a wee brother or sister for little G. Awwee...Congratulations all... we can't wait!












"The Creator"

Kick Ass Chili

Looks like I ordered up the photos rather out of order.. Anyhow ,you'll get the idea. Essentially, on Joyce's last big trip abroad,she brought me backa bag of "Ass-Kickin' Chili Fixin's" all you need in one little sack ( except for the beef) to make a serious batch of Ass-kicking chili.
whenever you want to economize, this is the way to do it....with dried beans. All they need is to be soaked for 8 hours ( overnight) and then rinsed clean and slo-cooked for 2-3 hours. This little bag of beans contained a mix of black beans and pinto beans.. (brown and whites that look like small pinto ponies.) You can see the photo--- the black mixture boiling away on the stove...that is ym beans. They need to be tended,because the idea is to not flood them with water, just to keep them slightly covered as they simmer. 2-3 cups of dry beans will make you a lot of chili...see the pic of my chef sized fry pan. It was full to the top at the end.
Once you put your beans on to simmer, you can go ahead and chop up a big onion and fry it up in a little olive oil, until it is soft. Toss in a few tablespoons of chopped garlic for more flavour.
Once cooked, take the onions out of the pan and reserve them while you brown the ground hamburger or chopped beef. once the beef isn't pink anymore, add the onions back into the pan and from there you can add two or three big cans of chopped tomatoes, a can of tomato sauce and a can of tomatoe paste. Then you stir it all up and add some more chopped garlic ( 2 tblspns) and that little packet of spices that came int he Kick-Ass bag!
Seriously, the spices were a mixture of chili powder, garlic powder and hotter than hell powder! I suspect it had a little of the Habenero pepper spice in it, because it definately clears up the sinuses. The directions went on to say that I could add some of the habenero pepper spice to make it mildly hot...right...It is already freaking hot! Thats ok, I added a good dash of salt,some chili sauce and some dried chipotle spice and now it is even hotter! I skipped the habenero altogether, figuring that I could unintentionally kill someone if I even added a grain of it!

So go ahead, add your chili spices, garlic spices, and perhaps some dried onion spice and if all else fails...have a packet of chili mix on hand to give it all the flavour you need! if you like it hot, then add some cayenne pepper or some hot sauce.

The bottom line is that it didn't take all that long to make,and it makes a truckload. I think I used to bother adding too much in the way of green peppers and celery and stuff that probably doesn't belong in a good chili,unless you are making a vegetarian one...and then you can add extra veggies like zuccini, squash, red peppers, egg plant ,whatever...well,not broccoli.

So there, the chili is made and ready to be frozen tomorrow morning once I have it all cooled down. Maybe I will take a bowl full to work.

Did I ever tell you about the time Morgan found a sack of kidney beans on the train in a boxcar that came from Georgia or somewhere far south of the border?
Joyce called me up and asked me if I wanted some beans, and I said sure... She said "Bring a big jar,as there is about 25 pounds of them!"
I toodled over and got my giant pickle jar filled with beans and then thought that the best thing to do would be to make a pot of chili with them. I went through the steps I outlined above...soaked the beans overnight, and in the morning, I simmered them for three hours and then tested a bean to see if it was soft.
Well, it wasn't.
It was still rock hard..so I kept cooking it for another hour , just to be certain it would be soft enough for my chili.
Upon sampling some of the beans for the second time, I was still P.O'd to find that they were no more cooked than I was.
I finally stirred them into the meat nad tomatoe mixture and set them on to simmer.
Hours later, and the beans were still what I would call" Extremely Firm!"
I called up Joyce to see if she had any idea how long they had been on the train... Morgan said it was could have been a long tiome..the train had come up from Missippi...and Joyce's beans were having the same problem....rock hard and no sign of softening up. I bet they were on that train since WW1!
We both wound up tossing out all of our beans...so never count your beans before they are cooked through!








"The Creator"

Sue's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Before I get to the cookies, I thought I'd let you know that the deer came along last night and had crocus salad for a midnight snack...Nary a crocus out there today except for some later ones popping out of the ground. Bah humbug to the deer...and I gave them a half bad squash recently, but they will be cut off from here on in! Bah! Bah!

Back to the cookies:

Sue's Chocolate Chip Cookies Bake at 350* 12 minutes

1 1/3 cup margarine

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsps. vanilla

3 cups flour

1 tsp soda...mix the salt and soda into the first cup of flour

1 tsp salt

1 cup chopped nuts

1 cup more or less of chocolate chips

about 1 1/3 cup of old fashioned oatmeal ( not quick oats)

1 cup chopped nuts such as pecans, macadamias or walnuts.

Cream margarine and sugars together using your beaters. Add the eggs one at a time and keep beating, Add the vanilla, keep beating, then add the first cup of flour with the salt and soda mixed into it. Add the other two cups of flour, one at a time and keep beating. You'll have a thick dough...time to shake off the beaters and grab a wooden spoon to incorporate the rolled oats and chocolate chips and chopped nuts. mix it all up well so it is evenly distributed with chips and nuts.

Take up a big spoonful and pat into a small hambuger shaped patty and place on a Pammed cookie sheet or onto Parchement paper lined cookie sheets. I baked them on my baking stones and they still could have used a little Pam as they were a little sticky to lift.

Leave space between cookies and bake in preheated oven at 350* for 12 to 15 minutes depending on how hot your oven is.

Then just eat a whole bunch.

They freeze well too.

Okay.... I hope that sends everyone right into the kitchen to make a batch. They are very quick. Also they taste great with the addition of 2 tsp fine ground instant coffee and a half tsp of cinnamon for a Java cookie. Also, one could add Fry's cocoa to make a chocolate chocolate chip cookie. Yum.

"The Creator"

1st All Day Spring Day

Would you look at that! Sun shone all day and the flowers were warm enough to open up. The sun even brought the honey bees out!

I mostly did indoor chores, noting that it is the time of the year to take a look up into the corners of your rooms...seems like the spiders and nite critters have been busy leaving webs from one side of the wall to the other.I started vacuuming on the floor, but progressed up to ceiling level in most rooms. I say most rooms, because here I am in the computer room and what do I see... another cobweb in the corner... I missed that one!

Seems like I worked my butt off all day inside while Emil worked outside in the sunshine...something is wrong with that picture! I did get out to the recycle at the Marina...,but it was close to five by then.

Anyhow, the house is far cleaner,and so is the suite and I even baked a batch of chocolate chip cookies and ate three as they came out of the oven. That is when I love them the best. ( I thought I had the recipe on my sidebar, but I don't see it...I'll have to write it up tomorrow night)

The rest of te cookies can go into the freezer until Annette comes.I talked to her on the phone tonight and she is getting excited about coming home for Easter. We are already planning the big "Nosica, Nosica" game... It should be fun!

I worked Saturday for Patricia and it was pretty dead in the store for most of the day while it poured tsunomi rains all day. Niki worked with me in the afternoon so we found a few "make work " projects to keep us busy. One more week and Chris and Carolyne will return and the store will once again bubble with people stopping in to chat with Chris.

Mostly, I will be awaiting the arrival of new jewellery. We will start to gear up for graduation, in the next few months.

So not much else is new. Emil leaves for Vancouver for a week, and when he returns Annette will arrive a few days later. We hope to get all the decks powerwashed before she comes...Today was the first day of 2007 that we had sunshine out on our back deck! Emil BBQ'd hamburgers,so it felt a little like summer , until about 7:00. I had to switch the heat back on,

in the house!

okey dokey...bedtime here...

Good night and have a happy week.

"The Creator"