Mcgrath sisters talk

 All the best to you, your family and friends. Love you♥️♥️♥️. (Darn dog woke me up…. First time I’ve seen the new year arrive in ages😊)

  Not that I’ve posted much recently. I’ve been trying to downsize but I am not getting very far. So far I’ve just moved stuff into a spare bedroom. I need someone to stand over me and say “garbage” or “donate”. I think a good portion will be garbage.  I had a hard fall yesterday. I had a hot bath and was in bed by 8pm. Poor Lucky. He got me up around 11pm to go out but he came right back and went to sleep. I took him for a walk this morning. We stuck to the road and stayed out of the fields. I was able to walk farther than I expected, but I sat down when I got home. I didn’t bother blowing up the tires on the car this morning. I’m not going out today so I figured it could wait until this afternoon or even tomorrow morning. The Legion Levy is 1 -4 on New Years Day and I plan on going. Wednesday is haircut day 😊 and go to the bank to discuss my mortgage day☹️. But it is a new year. Things are going to get better.  Happy New Year. Love you♥️

  Yesterday I forgot to mention that I've become concerned about how much money we've been spending on muffins.  So I decided to try baking them on my own.  We got rid of all my baking pans at the garage sale so had to make a trip to Dollarama for a new one.  It's silicone and soft and wiggly, but also dishwasher safe.  I've made some Blueberry muffins that didn't rise very well.  Turned out the baking powder was over a year past it's "best before" date.  Went out and bought more. I've found recipes on-line for Banana Chocolate Chip, Chocolate, and another Blueberry that uses frozen berries rather than thawed--great--as all of mine are Frozen.  I'm also going to look for a recipe for Bran, but not today.

Yes, things went well.  We've spent most of the last week at home, except for a grocery run on Boxing Day.  The grocery store was quite empty, and some customers were talking to each other about how nice it was to shop with so few customers.  Our freezer is getting empty faster than we had anticipated, so we did a bit of stock up.  We also bought veggies for a stew using some hamburger that's been in the freezer a little too long.  This meant that we did the stew today--enough to need two slow cookers to handle it all.  It's quite a challenge finding meals that David can eat with all the extractions he's had. The meal at the hotel Monday evening was wonderful.  David got all the Wine Garlic Shrimp he wanted, as did I.  The turkey looked pitiful-just threads of meat, but as we were moving through the buffet line, another huge roast turkey appeared.  But by that time I had spotted the ham.  There were several very interesting vegetable dis...

  No, I am not the Monarch, nor the Prime Minister but instead.....your dear sister sending a Christmas greeting to you both. Whatever our individual plans may be, I wish you a very safe and very peaceful Christmas for this evening, Christmas Eve, and for tomorrow, Christmas Day. Funny that as I walked the dogs today and thought of Christmas Eve, my memories went into overtime and there we were at home on Christmas Eve, looking out the window for Grandma Harland, and Auntie Joan to pull up and come into the house to visit. It was always such a familiar and welcome event. And I shall forever remember the scent of the perfume English Lavender drifting through the air as refreshing as the evening had been anticipated. Time to go... Happy thoughts ....Love XX 💕

  Good day to you both, After several days of planning, this morning I accomplished my goal...to bake and create a Christmas Yule Log. So it is not the usual looking store bought Log that one spots in the Grocery stores around this time...mine was made to be specifically Lemon/Poppy seed to please the desires and likes of its intended Family recipients on Christmas Day. So here is a picture... I am pleased in spite of some setbacks with rolling, but in general I think it is acceptable fare. Merry Christmas ...🎄

The last week has been a marathon of "twosie-foursie" piecing  .  My scrap drawer was stuffed full of bits of fabric.  This type of piecing has me taking all of the scraps onto my table or sewing machine, and then picking up two pieces and sewing them together--some how.  When ALL of the pieces are sewn together, and the seams pressed, each piece of two, a twosie, is sewn to another piece of two into a foursie.  Then on to eightsies and so on until you have pieces large enough to cut out your final desirable piece--in my case a 9 1/2" square.  Very labour intensive.  Time that could have been spent purging.  But we've done enough purging lately that we should be able to take two large bags to the thrift store tomorrow. The Christmas treats are more plentiful than the last few years.  We've eaten  24 the tarts from a full jar of mincemeat, and I've been asked to make more.  Yes, purging involves emptying all of the jars hidden under ...

  Hello from here, Well, I caved in today when I went into the local Village Bins store for some baking chocolate and while browsing, spotted some delicious looking mincemeat. The brand was written as Lynch's Deluxe Mincemeat on the small container I bought so I imagine she gets it in bulk and then decants it. So it was home to the kitchen and pastry made, and tarts baked. Now I am satisfied as I was holding off because these really are a favourite of mine, and not necessarily usual Christmas fare around here. I have lots of other cookies baked anyway and have taken a tray to the McDonalds ( the late Daisy's family) and one to the Vets (from Bailey dog). And I have lots still to nibble on which is becoming a regular occurrence as the containers are stored nicely on the dining room table - real handy and convenient 😁 Waiting patiently for the rains to start and come down heavy tomorrow ....or so the forecast states. The ground is clear in many places of snow, with grass and gar...

Been quiet here lately but I've been spending lots of time on various computers.  David's new computer is Windows 11 and we've both been busy figuring that out.  As well, there've been errands to run and appointments to keep.  But now it's getting toward Christmas and the outside world is preparing for that.  I've found out that most offices and clinics take a break over the week between Christmas and New Year, especially in a year such as this with the obvious indication of a break. Right now I'm taking a look at my wardrobe with an eye toward purging.  What I'm seeing is a mess of clothing without any real colour scheme or style.  It shows that I've been shopping at Walmart.  This isn't really a new thought, but something I've been aware of and worrying about.  I'm not happy with my image.  I would prefer to not look like the people in one of those "Walmart Shoppers" videos, but rather like someone who gives a damn.  Yesterday...

  Hi, and good morning to you both, No one wanted any of my cookies so I have taken the platter away. After tons of snow fell in our area, and then after days of warm weather that snow mostly all disappeared. But it gave me a bit of a reprieve so that i could get up on the ladder and cleanout the eavestroughs which had not been done before the first deluge of that white stuff. Yesterday was the perfect day to do that job and, yes, I got it done 😁What this means for me is the worry associated with the buildup of ice and snow in the eavestroughs as result of the leaves blocking them has been relieved at least three fold. Now it can snow all it wants and i shall feel reassured that the water (in Spring or with a rain fall)  will drain out the downspouts and not, into the house as it had done in so many years before we got the new roof done two years ago. The actual job is strenuous for sure, but the relief is worth every little ache and pain i am experiencing right now. Today we...

  Good morning, Just baked off the Christmas cookies I am making for this years Christmas celebrations. A little later I look forward to decorating them.... I love this part of the baking. So tomorrow I shall have a nice tray of decorated Christmas cookies from which you can choose to nibble on for our little talk together. Hope you enjoy. 😉 ps. The drinks are on you ......haha!

  Hi to you both, Just a quick message this early morning to keep in touch. I know we have our call on Friday but I always like to log on and see a few words posted on the blog. A few more flurries over night but the snow is definitely starting to pile up here. I was out yesterday to shovel the driveway cleaner than it was, and also to go around the house and do the paths and clean up around the downspouts. I also try to keep the backdoors and steps clear - I call this my escape route  in case of a need for a quick exit, or if in an emergency, someone needs to come in that way. And early today I must put out the garbage so got that sort of organized to move to the road "by 8 am". They have designated weekly box use so that every week it is either the green box with fibers or the next week the blue box with recyclables. I have to write it on the calendar to keep me organized haha! One time I put the wrong box and they just left it at the side of the road. So onto another day.....

  Yesterday I stopped at the legion and I was able to talk about Jim without crying. A positive step. Last night I decided that I would do some housework today. I washed my bedding and remade the bed. A shower tonight and then curling up in a clean bed…..Nothing better! I  cleaned three drawers and one cupboard in the kitchen. None of which you can see so the kitchen still looks messy☹️.  Lucky and I went for a couple of walks today. It was really nice out, but the wind came up this afternoon. I think I am in for the day now.  I made a pizza for my “lupper”  (lunch/supper). I used more tomato and cheese and less meat than my last one. It was quite good, but I think I might reduce the cheese a little bit next time. Tomorrow it will be chicken thighs. If I don’t plan I just scrounge junk food. I’m still waiting for a final decision from autopac. The adjuster recommended writing the car off, but then he has to send his report to another department that reviews it a...