Silent Sunday - self explanatory

the week in review

1 Gaile and family are here for the evening and she's spending two extra days with me. We talk, laugh, eat, drink and shop, watch movies and give and get best friend hugs. Perfect!
2 Our early dinner was amazing, delicious and just the right amount for each of us. The restaurant decor is a combination of soft comfy seats, concrete and huge, and I mean HUGE light fixtures. I'll be sure to post a photo next time we eat there.
3 It's cold and windy but we quickly find our spots near the fireplace.
4 A heated blanket for keeping warm. It's been on a chair for many years but now moves about the house, warming me.
5 The sun shines so brightly that we have to close the blinds to see each other while we chat about just about everything.
6 Morning comes early and with it a sliver of sunshine through the foggy clouds.
7 The grandkidlets and I make chocolate cake with tons of icing and star sprinkles for their daddy and mommy.
8 Kesler slowly and deliberately spreads the icing on the cake and then all of a sudden his fingers are covered in icing and he plunges them into his mouth to lick every last bit.
9 Two grandkidlets with chocolate icing on their cheeks, noses and lips.
10 Another friend comes for a visit and we enjoy Thai food and green tea until we float out of the restaurant and head home to talk into the night. So good to catch up.
11 It's so cold you can see your breath.
12 I think I'm falling in love. Yes, you heard me right, I love toasted blueberry bagels smothered in cream cheese.
13 Voted.
14 The lady at the polling station looks at my ID and says yes, you're fine. And I smile and reply, "Yes I am fine" and we laugh at how that sounds.
15 The skies are a pinkish hue now but each time I look out the window the shade is different until it's just blackness.

third time's a charm?, sleepyheads, and special visitors

1 Cell phone saga. My cell phone is in need of repairs yet again and it's frustrating me to no end. I get a loaner phone for the third time and this one is the worst of the bunch. I think it's at least 10 years old and doesn't even do photo attachments on text messages! Too funny, I think I'll use an old beast we have lying around here.
2 Izzy and Kes come for a visit but he's sleeping before we get home and then she asks to go to sleep It must be the cold weather making us all sleepy.
3 Gaile is coming tonight! So looking forward to seeing her and her hubby and grandson. Should be a fun evening if we can all stay awake! :)

rethinking, building, forgiveness and junk food junkie (at least for tonight)

1 I like the way he's thinking while he's away. His focus is on being healthy, working out and not the monotonous routine of daily camp life.
2 A conversation. A conversation where we share things just between us and know that our trust is building a very special friendship.
2a Sometimes it takes a little perspective to see where another person is coming from. Mr P and I have both experienced sharp words and ridicule at the hand of someone dear to us. We have a choice, bitterness or forgiveness? We both choose to forgive; lessons learned will not be forgotten.
3 Nacho chips with salsa and sour cream. Could my dinner have been more decadent? Okay, I added a few pieces of chocolate just to be sure that it was!

thursday, friday and saturday

1 Another day of rest. I'm so grateful that I can rest and recover from this icky flu/cold that's gotten hold of me.

2 How nice to get messages about our book club gathering. We had so much fun, eating, drinking and finally talking about books, and some rather risque media news here in Canada.

3 The night ends with a chat with my dear friend J. She's the kind of person that I would describe as 'real'.

4 No rest for the weary and we are busy with the work, work and more work.

5 The grandkidlets come to spend some time with us and for a sleepover. Both of them haven't been here for a while for sleepovers so this is exciting for us all. Kesler seems to adjust easier that our little miss, but soon she's figuring things out

6 Mr P is busy installing more cameras on the house We are secure. Now we just have to figure out a few specific configurations and we're done.

7 Izzy tells us that every day at the park is a fun day Today's no exception and we have fun in the leaves again. 

8 Gaile is coming! So very happy we can spend time together. Not sure for how long, but it doesn't matter as long as we get to see each other.

9 I'm pondering in my head, why I am not taking my big camera out with me more often. More thinking is needed, I'll get back to you.

grandkidlets, redone, and book club

1 Izzy and Kesler come for a short visit today. They had been at our house for an hour before I arrived home from shopping and she's so excited to see me that she can't sit still in her chair one minute longer and runs over to give me a big hug. Kesler is too busy eating mac and cheese but later I get a bit of a hug and then it's off to nap time for them both.
2 Coffee table remade done! It was a wood table that I repainted black and put black and white photographs under glass!
3 Dinner with Book Club! Tonight it was my turn to host and it ended up being a great evening for all of us. A few came early, some came late with lots of laughs, great food and my book, well some liked it, some found it depressing and a few even rethought it.
3a Here's an appetizer recipe that Helen brought. It was A-MAZ_ING!

Creamy Shrimp Scampi

8 oz. Medium shrimp 

4 garlic cloves

2 tsp fresh parsley

2 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

3 Tbsp mayo not miracle whip

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

2 Tbsp butter

4 oz. Cream cheese

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

2 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup white wine

Method:

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly oil a 9 inch baking dish. Melt butter in skillet over medium high heat. Add shrimp, garlic, red pepper flakes. Cook until shrimp turns pink stirring occasionally about 2 minutes. Stir in wine, lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, remove from heat and stir in cream cheese, sour cream, mayo, parsley, 1/4 cup mozzarella and the parmesan. Spread mixture in the prepared pan, sprinkle the remaining mozzarella on top. Place in oven and bake until bubbly and golden brown. 10- 12 minutes.

Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday

1,2 3 Work seems to be the consuming topic of late. I am busy with a new job and doing two sets of training. Not sure which of the 4 jobs I will keep but I'm giving myself just a bit of time to figure it all out. To be sure though, switchboard stays, the rest...well I have to think hard about what works, what doesn't and why.

4 He makes a good dinner of garlic smashed potatoes/yams, salad, roasted stuffed portobello mushrooms, and steak! Oh yes, apple pie and vanilla ice cream for dessert.

5 I miss the grandkidlets. Tomorrow we will have them for a few hours while their parents work on some stuff around their home. I think it'll be a park day if nice, otherwise maybe the library or just crafts here.

6 She's coming for a visit soon and it can't come soon enough! 

7 Book club is tomorrow and I'm not even close to being prepared for hosting it. Tomorrow I can throw it all together if I make my lists tonight.

8 Margaret Laurence's The Stone Angel is the book I've chosen for our group. 

9 Here's my book review. 

The Stone Angel, by Margaret Laurence

This book will NOT be for everyone. If you're looking for a quick escape, lots of action or a strong romance, this is not the book you want. However, if you enjoy books that aren't your usual fare and are strong on psychological tension, this is a good choice.

I loved this story of an elderly woman, who is a rather judgmental, cantankerous person. I like novels that show how a person grows and changes and I find slow change to be most believable and true to life, as it is in this book.

It might be easy to see Hagar Shipley's life as being rather ordinary, even dull. But I didn't – she was married to a man she eventually saw as inferior and coarse, her relationships with her children, her desire to make a proper home and better herself - were all quite realistic to me. Sometimes, I was filled with sadness and pity, sometimes I laughed out loud, and sometimes, I just wanted to shake some sense into her. As she becomes increasingly frail and dependent on her son and daughter-in-law, she also comes to see her life in a different way. Hagar's struggle with her own painful life memories as she tries to protect her independence and maintain her pride is quite heartrending.

It is a reminder of the hardships of past generations; how foolish pride is, and how it stands in the way of freedom and happiness.

10 I stay home from work today and just rest. So welcome, so needed. I've only had 3 days off in three weeks!

11 Mr P eats the soup I have made and I eat the salad he made. Funny, how food someone else cooks always tastes better.

12 I'm sitting in the living room imagining the new sectional we will have here one day. Not yet, we haven't found the 'right' one. But soon.