Mcgrath sisters talk

  Your post Cathy, is that I was reveling in the thought today that it felt so good to have a day where nothing was going on and I could amuse myself downstairs.  Friday we went for pedicures again.  I picked what I thought would be a husky deep pink, but once the bottle was severely shaken it turned out to be a fluorescent red/orange.  Yesterday I met Gail for coffee after her stint at St. Norbert Market.  It was after 5:00 when I got home, but David wanted to go to Walmart, so off we go.  Got home just in time to turn on my Saturday evening shows, reconciling myself to a late supper, but there was a 15 minutes between shows, and got some chicken cooked, so all was well.  The episode of Midsumer Murders was one I had never seen, so--Bonus!  Evening ended with a treat considering my diet ( small treats are allowed once week, and I had 2 saved up)--A big glass of Southern Comfort over ice.  Oh my!  It was good.  Later I still ha...

  I didn’t realize how boring my life was until I tried to  Post about what I am doing!!  I wake up, put away the dishes, make the tea, take my pills (including the Tylenol!). Walk the dog, pick beans, freeze beans, sometimes vacuum, sometimes spot wash the floor. Today the liquor store was open so we went in and bought 2 (count them!) 2 kegs of wine. And now we have it they won’t go out on strike again😜. I should have weeded, but I used the weed wacker instead. (I had to restring it twice!). And now I am paying the price for doing too much. At least supper is ready to go ( the one (and only) advantage to hot dogs😜) I still have to water the garden and the flowers, but I will do it a bit later so the moisture won’t burn off. All the rain in the forecast is now gone, so watering it is☹️.  Life really is predictably boring!!  Love you

  Been amongst the missing lately, and I apologize.  These days I've either been very, very busy, or too tired to think.  We've had a lot of appointments this week.  David has been back to the dentist ( while I waited in Starbucks).  This morning I got a call from the dentist wanting to verify our phone number on the referral to the Denturist.  I hope we aren't looking at a "money pit", but fair's fair, --there's a small fortune in my mouth.  Prior to the dentist visit yesterday, we had a 6:15 appointment with the doctor.  However, it turns out our appointment was actually the day before.  He took us, anyway, and things appear fine.  Since Tuesday, between appointments, I've been freezing Blueberries.  I wash them, lay them out on a tinfoil tray, and freeze them.  As soon as they're frozen I measure them into servings and bag them. I bought 16 lb of them, but only have three trays, one about 1/2 size, so it is a somewhat length...

  Hi to you both, There was a time when the pictures of wine glasses and people   were of the three of us...ah, yes, I remember it well! But nevertheless, I loved your pose Cathy with Jim, and loved the wine goblets that were front and centre. Only, I had a hard time tasting the wine within...haha! Do not know if it is going to rain today, or be sunny or both, or maybe thunderstorms thrown in for good measure?  But we have already had the dogs for their walk to the Park, so all is well with them. On with my day which includes a trip to North Bay to celebrate Willie's Birthday with him today. Always try to see him on this day every year, not so much for lots of cake and presents (these will not be suddenly appearing) but a card for sure and a coffee together, and also just to see him to keep in touch. Take care and be good to yourself today. Love ❤

 Pati, you are right in telling us about   the days having a habit of going by quickly as I, too, think I have lots of time and after puttering doing this and that all morning , realize that it is already mid afternoon...so might as well sit out back under the umbrella and enjoy a little drink. We take the dogs out to sit with us as they love that. They each have a blanket and are tied with their harnesses so they will not suddenly run (which may happen if they see or hear a dog going by on the street)  But yesterday was different as I sat twiddling my thumbs in idle frustration. Light bulb moment! I went in and came back out with my sewing box and hexi quilt that is in progress. Why had I not thought of this before?? I sat happy as could be sewing more hexis onto the almost finished border and sipping from my wine goblet and generally enjoying the rest of the afternoon.  The tomatoes need some attention right now as they all need to be tied up - growing too much. Ma...

  Oh Cathy!  Jim having a bit of a blackout and falling is worrisome.  I hope he's willing to have it checked out, regardless of how minor the bruises are.  Everybody our age should treat falls with no obvious reason seriously. This has seemed like a very busy week, but a lot of that is catching up with the housework.  I've also been trying to follow my diet, yet again, and have been doing well--so far.  David is being very good about looking after his own meals, so much so that I quite willingly try to do all the clean up.  But, the hair cut that I desperately need is at the bottom of the list. However, I'm not ignoring self care.  Gave myself a mini-pedicure this morning, and I feel very virtuous about it.  The haircut?  Maybe next Friday. We had a bit if extra money this month, thanks to the casino, and I always believed that if you have a windfall--big or small, give yourself a treat with a small part of it.  (It says this in th...

 Jim took a tumble today. He was at the legion, and as he left he says he suddenly felt light headed and went down. He drove home and what I saw coming in the house was a face cut and bleeding in one side, a cut hand and he didn’t take off his pants  or jacket but judging by the dirt and gravel on them there are going to be bruises. He sure knows how to scare me. So instead of supper I fed him a fried smokie and left over, fried French fries. I have been going up and down stairs checking on him, but he seems okay. I swear our next house will NOT have stairs!! For my supper I had a “blast from the past”. A cheese whiz and jelly sandwich!    I used to have them at home, with the homemade crabapple jelly. Not sure what made me have one after all these years😜. Because I am having trouble walking Lucky we took him to the off leash park today. He didn’t run much but he sure checked out all the smells. He had his poop only part way down the park so I didn’t have to walk fa...

  Yesterday Jim mowed the trail for the first time this year. This morning Lucky and I started around. A huge tree had fallen across and Lucky would not go over or under. We wandered back and around the yard instead. Went into the house and discovered that Jim was out of bed and was making a casserole for supper. Nothing for me to do, so I lay down on the heating pad on my bed and read. 😊. A bit later Lucky was feeling unsettled, so I took him out again. This time we headed around the trail from the west. We got to the tree and Lucky never hesitated in crawling under it. So today Lucky got two walks he enjoyed, Jim made supper and I am lying around doing nothing for the rest of the day but reading. And it feels good😇

My treat doesn't take the shape of food or drink today.  Rather it's a gift of time.  We woke up in a panic this morning when our clocks both said 1:00.  Only when we got into the kitchen and looked at the battery clock did we realize that we'd had a power failure during the night that knocked our electronic clocks out of sinc.  Add to that there being no Sunday paper to waste time reading, and I'm ready to face the day about two or three hours earlier than usual.  And this will surely result in more hours in the studio. I've had more energy lately, after removing caffeine from my diet almost completely (other than Dr. Phil's requisite green tea).  It feels much better and is different than those few occasions when I seem to shift into being a little hypo-manic-y. ( not a "good" feeling and one I recognize pretty quickly and deal with appropriately)  As well, with having company this week, the house is in relatively good shape, so I won't get...

  For today, Sunday July 16, which is no really remarkable day except for treating ourselves to a special pleasure. I decided I would do something just for me to make me happy today. Hope you both will find one thing today that will be special for you and if you so choose, share it with us other two, or if not, enjoy the pleasure all to yourself. Does not matter one way or the other since we are all of the same (McGrath) wave length...right? Here goes my offering: Chai Tea Latte ....home made by me in my own kitchen with my own  ingredients and with my own special "machine" to assist. Delicious Chai Tea Latte that I have come to cherish over the last little while tasting it at Starbucks, and then at Tim Hortons. For Mothers Day I was gifted a box of Tim Hortons Chai Tea bags, a bottle of Matteo's Coffee Syrup - Thin Vanilla, and a special machine called an  Automatic Electric Milk Frother. Delicious, and exceptionally personal, and particularly a true pleasure. To sit a...

But it will get done. it just might take a couple of days to do it   --as it has the last couple of weeks.  But I don't exhaust myself the way I used to.  While I'm down there I will have to put away the remnants of the bead sale.  Got rid of a lot, including some thread that I will never use again, in this life.  The next couple of meetings will be out in the country, and I've already given my regrets.  It is just too far for me to drive, and car pooling will put me at the mercy of others for things like food and bathroom stops. Beth, I got an e-mail announcing that the Free Press will no longer be printing a Sunday paper, which means there will be no e-edition for us to read.  I know I'll miss it. Yesterday we went out and bought a new printer. ( didn't quite make enough to pay for it selling beads, but close enough)  I couldn't afford one that I could put fabric through but then I never actually did that, even when I had one that would work....

  .. and to have joined you both yesterday. Ah...but only in my minds eye. I thought of each of you as you went about your days planned events. I could have jumped in the car and joined Cathy on her solo Shopping Spree, and then over to the Library to browse. And then I could have scooted over to Pati and joined her at her Bead Bash and witness the frenzy she envisioned. Oh what fun....!! But as it was, I had to be content with doing more clean up here at the "ranch". But as I scurried about here I actually accomplished what I had planned for my days events as well. No Beads, nor Library books, but instead I cleaned out the white shed and then filled it up again. Life is so exciting haha! Rain has come this morning thank goodness. I was just out to check the down spouts and ensure I had no water to shovel....yet. The garden will be very happy to get some moisture even though we have been watering with the hose and watering cans. It is not the same as rain water. Today may be ...

  Every day I try to take Lucky for a walk. It is not his fault he is stuck with two people unable to give him the attention he craves. I know he misses our 2 mile ramblings every day, but I try to give him something. He is also out of bones!  What to do?!  I guess a trip to Gladstone is in our near future. Right now I am sitting outside on the west deck. It is the middle of July and we still haven’t had a fire, but at least I can sit outside for a while in the evening. We are still planning on getting a new freezer, but I can’t face rearranging everything right now!  Maybe soon😊. I have been putting off shopping but I will have to do something tomorrow. I might be able to wait one more day until the new sale flyers come into effect. Jim can’t help me ( he can’t stay on his feet long enough to shop), so I tend to do the minimum. But there comes a point when the minimum is a lot!  I am trying to dig new potatoes as often as I can. They are not good for storage s...

It's taken 1 1/2 hours and a visit with the Geek Squad to get here, but  I'm here and the panic has ended.  Not that I have a lot to say. Our goal this week is to get the studio ready for a Divas meeting on Wednesday afternoon.  This will have to be done by supper tomorrow, as David has a re-assessment booked for Day Hospital, on Wednesday morning.  Taking the kitchen chairs downstairs might have to wait until noonish on Wednesday. This means no meeting in Lorette, and I discover that this makes me a little regretful.  I'm amazed that I find myself preferring Lorette over the Divas, but maybe not as surprised as one would think. A bit of conversation around here about me going back to the "20/20" diet.  It would make the most difference to David, as we would have to go back to two separate  meals.  But, if I can work things out so that we eat at the table at the same time, maybe a compromise can be made. Otherwise we sit and read.  David will...

  Good Monday morning to you both, And yet no rain is visible. I shall really have to get the hose out and water even though a thunderstorm is forecast - no guarantees anymore. Not that I am idle and looking for things to do but.....yesterday I took all our store bought grocery bags outside and cleaned them all with hot soapy water and some lysol. They get a bit grungy through time and you just feel better to know they are clean. I hung them on a portable rack and that is where they are this morning just waiting for me to fold them again for our next trip shopping.  The cloth ones were put into the washing machine and are already folded and ready.  Kitchen time has been busy with doing more air frying of the kale, and parsley and broccoli leaves. Dipped into a mixture of olive oil, and spices, and then dried only for 6 minutes they come out crispy "chips'. Harry loves them but I do not eat them. We pulled all the broccoli we planted and I have a little bag of it to cook u...

I wonder if we all don't have that special private treat that just makes us feel good about ourselves.  I have a full cupboard devoted to tea, and not all of it is Twinings.  You think I'm kidding?  The brown box on the top shelf is a new tea infuser.  Stash makes great peppermint tea, and the Earl Grey is not bad at all.  But for the next week I'm not drinking anything with caffeine, and the only de-caf Earl grey I can find comes in a very expensive yellow box.  I'm not drinking the green tea that was required by Dr. Phil,(Ka-c-h-ing!), but my breakfast tea is very important to me--two cups and then face the day.  Drinking those two cups is my own private ritual, and I also allow myself computer time while drinking the tea.  Tea gone? Close the computer and get on with the day. Another special ritual is taking off my shoes, and socks, at the end of the work day.  In winter I have to sometimes wrap my feet in a quilt, but the freedom from tho...

  Hi to you both again, I had to give in and early this morning set up the small floor model air conditioner venting out through the front window. It takes time and energy to do the set up but I could not wait a moment longer as the heat is really bothering those inside.  It is not perfect but as I sit here at the computer in the dining room I can definitely feel the difference. So having said that I am about to do the dishes and then head outside to do some more work. Go figure haha! I just came from the Village Bin store here in town, and of course bought another box of tea. So your comments about tea Cathy hit home. My go to to give me peace and tranquility in my life is tea. So this is my treat. And Stash makes some really lovely ones... just saying....😏 Hang in there folks... apparently this kind of "crazy" weather is ours to enjoy for the rest of our lives... XX

  The entire family went there for brunch after my first communion. I borrowed a white dress that Geraldine had worn for her first communion. There were other families there from the same communion. I was very excited!   I fell asleep early last night (before 9pm!!) so I was awake by 3am and couldn’t get back to sleep. Jim got up at 4am and went downstairs, but fell asleep in his chair. I watched the clock until a spray plane buzzed the house at 5:24am. I gave up then. I bet I will be tired tonight. I am going to try to take it easy today, but I always seem to find something that needs doing. The only things on my list are to get the mail and go to the library. A book I requested has been “in transit” for over a week. I’m hoping it will arrive today since it is the first book in the series and I have the second one here waiting to read. (I requested them the same day but one arrived quickly). I ran out of Earl Grey tea this morning. We are finding grocery prices high too,...

  I didn't plan anything today, as my schedule showed a Zoom meeting with the Slow Stitchery group of the "Textile and Fibre Artists of Manitoba". (TFAM).  But it was the second day without milk for David's cereal, so after breakfast we went to the grocery store.  After we got home, I set everything up for the meeting, taking my computer down to the basement and getting some hand piecing ready to stitch.  Then I found a message reminding us all that the group wouldn't be meeting in July and August. After all was said and done, our jug of milk cost over $200, and we didn't buy any meat or ice cream.    We're starting to really notice the price of groceries, so it's back to the cost saving strategies I used when the children were young.  The only trouble with that is that many of those strategies are still in use.  Still, we do  eat fairly well, so there is room for belt tightening.  This really strikes home as we watch the line ups f...

  Hey ..would you like to meet at the Pancake House???  What a treat to read the full article in the WFP about the Pancake House. It made me want to eat an Apple Pancake again. I have the recipe you sent years ago Pati and made it quite a bit but not lately. And pictures of the really original one on Pembina brought back nice memories as well. The other article I have been reading is the one about Winnipeg and specific stops around the City . I find it very interesting but have not read it all yet.  Bracing for that horrible heat again today - hardly bearable. Wishing you both a nice cool day..haha!

  Our goal this weekend was to get the freezers cleaned. Ultimately we want to replace the really old, huge one, before it dies so that hydro will pick it up for free AND give us $30 on top of it. That was the plan. I got a head start by dumping (literally dumping) everything out of the small freezer into the large freezer and unplugging it to defrost. I cleaned the small one and plugged it back in.  You guessed it!  It didn’t start!  The small, newer freezer had died!  So today Jim sat in a chair in front of the big freezer and gave me a thumbs up or thumbs down as I pulled the food out. We ended up with four garbage bags of tossed food. (Who keeps a bag labeled “old beans for soup, and dated 2021!!). Everything else sat on the floor, covered in blankets while I tried to defrost the big, old, rusty, still working freezer. I managed to store everything back in the one freezer with a semblance of order. And only a bit had started to thaw. And now I am really payi...

  Yes, it happened here on Wednesday afternoon.  I heard it on the radio just as I was arriving in Lorette.  Nothing happened, obviously. I know you get a lot of such watches and warnings out your way Cathy.  Brandon appears to be a magnet for them. My group on Wednesday went well.  I made amends with a lady with whom I "had words" the week before, and had a discussion with a very experienced Metis beader, who appears to be a very knowledgeable lady, and with whom I hope to spend more time. Thursday was "power cooking" day--Beef stew, ribs, meat patties, and lots of discussion regarding cooking methods.  I think I mentioned previously that the freezer was empty of everything except chicken.  I had half hoped to defrost it, but with it now partially filled again, that option has been avoided.  We've been carefully pacing our work.  With yesterday being laundry day, there is still a bit of clean-up in the kitchen, left to do from Thursday,...