Day 31

This is a cross that sit a top a hill near my house. There are a lot of similar ones around in the country here. I'm not sure exactly what they are for, but I have heard that in the old days, farmers would leave some of their bounty at the foot of the crosses to thank God for their plentiful harvest.

This afternoon we took Ryan out to the local ice rink so he could show us how good he is at skating. He has been doing skating as part of his gym through school. The whole school goes every Wednesday for 1 hour. He has only been 3 times and I'm really impressed at how good he is. I wasn't that good at his age, I was still using those double bladed baby skates.

 

  

Once we got home I whipped up some cupcakes for dessert. I used some of our Valentine sprinkles because I have a whole whack of them.The heart decoration on top was made with melted and coloured white chocolate chips. I have 3 more bags of those in the cupboard left over from Christmas that I have to get rid of too. Plus, it's a good excuse to practice my icing skills. :)

Day 30

Mr.Kitty, the stray I'm feeding, brought a friend with him today. I have no idea where she came from, if she was dumped here, or what, but she's extremely friendly and was very happy to have have some food and have someone pet her. Other than a weepy eye, she seems to be in great health.

 

  

Day 29

The elusive Rosco. It's hard to find things to take pictures of in the winter, so you'll probably see more cat pictures in the following weeks.

 

I left some muffins to cool on the stove and came back to find the cat licking her lips, and several muffins missing their tops...

This is what happens if you don't stay in your seat, jump on the couch, and run around and pester your brother when you are supposed to be eating your supper.

Day 28

This is the bus shelter Wally built at the end of the driveway for the kids this summer. It came in handy today as it was pretty cold this morning and the wind was already starting to pick up,

whipping tiny little bits of snow in our faces. By 3 pm there were white out conditions. The wind and snow out tonight is just insane. I hope we don't see any more accidents tonight.

Casper aka: Chub-Chub and Chloe. These two have been in love with each other for years. Chloe suffered a stroke last year so the right side of her face is kind of droopy, and she drools.

 

I had a leftover tortilla in the fridge that nobody was eating, so I whipped up a quick and tasty little snack for Alex and I to share, called bunuelos. You cut up the tortilla and deep fry it in some vegetable oil until it's nice and golden brown. In a bowl, mix a handful of sugar and add some cinnamon to taste. Once the tortillas are done, drain them on to a paper towel to absorb excess oil and then toss them with the sugar mixture. Yummy! I hear they are also really good served with ice cream.  

 

Day 27

Alex was sitting on my lap doodling on his leg, so I decided to join him, and doodled a cupcake on his leg.

Day 26

Ryan leaves his Transformers in the window so they can watch him get on and off the bus.

 

I made my first ever roast last night. It was really yummy...tender, juicy, and so easy to make. I'm quite impressed with myself :P  

 

Day 25

It reached +6 degrees today with rain showers, and it was just disgustingly wet. I had to go get some groceries and I was pretty quickly soaked to the bone. On the way home, I spotted these trees in the mist, and I had to pull over and take a picture of them, much to the chagrin of the guy in the black Hyundai behind me.

Day 24

Today I asked Ryan, "If you had to take a picture of anything in the house, what would it be?" To which he replied "Mr. & Mrs. Squishy!" Done. These are Ryan's Squishy bears. Mrs. Squishy is the yellow one, and Mr. Squishy is the blue one. The blue one is his favourite, he likes to rub the silky tag while he sucks his thumb, and he takes them everywhere he can. We got him the yellow bear when he was just about 6 months old. One day when he was around 2, we did a major house cleaning and threw out tonnes of junk. We realized a day after garbage day that Squishy was missing. We figured that Ryan was trying to copy our cleaning, and put his bear in a garbage bag when we weren't looking. We found the yellow one you see above on E-bay and bought the blue one as a back up for when the yellow one needed to be washed. He never realized there was a difference until about a year later when he spotted the spare in the laundry basket. Ever since then, he insists on having both of them at the same time, linked by the colourful plastic loops.

Day 23

Dinner is served. I made the usual Shake n' Bake chicken legs tonight, but decided to also try a few of them in Diana Sauce. I can't say I was that impressed. Now what am I going to do with the rest of the sauce in the bottle?

Day 22

Let it be known that I make the most amazing banana bread ever! I call this one Pecan Cinnamon Streusel  Banana Bread.

This is what it looks like inside. Oh baby... it's like baking porn. :P

Now tell me you aren't dying for a piece. :)

Day 21

This is the lone flower on an African Violet I picked up at the grocery store. The poor thing was sitting with a friend on a discount shelf for .99 cents. They looked so pathetic and I knew if I didn't take them home, they would probably either die, or be thrown out...so I brought them both home. Yes, I actually felt sorry for a plant.

Day 20

My poor kitty, stoned out of her mind on the way home from the vet. It's been 5 hours since I picked her up, and her eyes are still as big as saucers. She's feelin' no pain!

Day 19

The snow this morning looked like little styrofoam balls. When I told this to Ryan, he stuck his tongue in it and said, "Ya, and it tastes like styrofoam too!"

 

I had to drop Tia off at the vet this afternoon as she's having her spay surgery done tomorrow morning. I miss her already :( 

Afterwards, I went to pick Alex up at daycare and found him sound asleep outside in a sled. All the other kids were playing and yelling around him and he didn't even budge. His DCP even pulled him along over to my car and he still didn't wake up. Silly boy.

Day 18

Ryan woke up fever free and feeling great, so we got up as usual, and got ready for school. Outside we got to watch some action as we waited for the bus. 

 

We live at the bottom of a curved hill, someone was coming down too fast at 4 am and tried to avoid a raccoon. The road was really icy this morning so the raccoon unfortunately ended up getting creamed, and the driver ended up in our ditch.

 

Driving into the abyss...it looks awfully desolate out here when it's misty out.

  

Alex shows some love for his new Transformers, even as he sleeps. Man, shopping is hard work.

Day 17

The local depanneur. What do people call these little stores in the rest of Canada? A corner store? A mini mart? I have no idea.

 

My purchases. Milk for the kids, celery for the guinea pigs, booze for Mom, and a lotto ticket for luck.

 

Decided that the fort needed a look out tower.

 

Ryan went to a birthday party today and came back with a slight fever. By bedtime it was already up to 38.7. Looks like he might be staying home from school tomorrow.

Day 16

A grey squirrel is a rare sight around here. The ones we get are usually black.

Speaking of black critters, I found this one in my cupboard above the fridge this afternoon. That's my cat, Limpy.

 

"Every man needs a bosom for a pillow"

 

Quick...make a wish...

Day 15

I woke up around 3 am in a horrible coughing fit. My nose was all stuffed up and nothing was coming out. Every time I am sick and wake in the middle of the night, I make myself a hot chocolate milk with Manuka honey. It losens everything up and I'm able to fall right back to sleep after.

 

I was surprised at how balmy it was this morning. The thermometer was already up to 3 degrees at 8am.

  

After Ryan went off to school, I packed Alex up and we headed over to daycare and to drop off the cake I made yesterday.

Once I got back home, I vacuumed and tidied up the back room and built the boys a fort made from a giant box Wally brought home. A bunch of blankets and pillows inside made it nice and cozy.

 

I also had a bit of icing leftover from yesterday's cake, so I decided that I could get some more cake making practice in by making the boys an autobot cake.

  

Once Ryan got home, we went to pick Alex up. On the way home I noticed the gas gauge was kind of low.

Since the little gas station here isn't open on the weekends, I decided I'd better fill up, just in case.

 

Once we get back home, it's pizza for supper, some playtime in the fort, cake for dessert, TV, and then bed.

Day 14

On Sunday Wally came home all sniffly and miserable. I had just gotten over a 3 week long viral throat thing and I told him if he gave me his cold, I would not be impressed. Monday I felt fine, Tuesday I felt slightly off, Wednesday I was a bit snotty, and today I just want to crawl back into bed forever. My head feels like a bowling ball, and my nose is either compleately stuffed, or dripping like a faucet.

After my shower I did perk up a bit, and managed to finish off the cake I was doing for my friend's daughter. This is called a frozen butter cream transfer cake, I just used regular frosting though. This is only my second ever cake using this technique. Some of it ended up ripping at the top right corner when I peeled the wax paper off, so the lettering is all smudged. I tried to fix it up a bit after I took this picture by going over the letters again with some left over frosting.

 

For supper, I made one of my favourite comfort foods...giant cheese raviolis, with spicy tomato sauce, some sausage, and spinach. So easy and so yummy!

Now I'm counting down the minutes until bedtime...

Day 13

Today started off with a big fluffy snowfall. I love the look of our old barn in the winter. We believe the house and barn are from around 1857.

 

The snow has stopped, time to get the mail. How sad is it that I get all excited when I see that little flag up? :P

Mr. Snowman tips his hat to me as I make my way back into the warm house.

 

 

While I prepare to decorate a cake for a friend, Alex keeps himself busy by watching the boob tube.

Ryan's home, time to go outside again and meet the bus.

 

Tia watches from the window to make sure Ryan gets inside safely.