Monday, Monday

Hi!

We had a nice weekend.  On Saturday, K and N went to Charlottetown for a Raspberry Pi Jam.  They had a nice time.

Saturday night we watched a movie, PeeWee's Big Adventure. When it was about 1/2 way over, we decided to have some popcorn, so I got up to fix it.  When I went to the kitchen, I looked out the window and saw a raccoon walking along the fence!

See it on top of the fence, by the post? Hopefully, it's just passing thru!

The weather was nice on Sunday and the conditions were finally good for sledding down the hill to the pond.

The kids had their last swimming lessons on Sunday.  It turns out that both lessons were cancelled last weekend.  It was nice because both of them passed their levels.  N will move up to level 6 and C to level 4!

I started walking today.  I wore my snowboots and it was fine.  I slipped once on the way home crossing the bridge, but then I made sure to pay more attention and walk more purposefully!  When I got home and turned on the local morning show, they said it was National Take a Walk Day!

Have a great week! :-)

Foody Friday

Hi!

What a funny week!  The kids were off school thru Wednesday, but then the roads still weren't cleared enough so we had to drive the kids to and from school on Thurs. and today (Fri).  

N's Science Fair was this week.  He did a project on Electromagnets.

At work, I copied a sign that was re-tweeted from @EPLdotCA (Edmonton Public Library) by @PEILibrary. 

When I was home for lunch yesterday, Paris came peeking in the kitchen window.  The snow has shrunk and the cats don't fall thru it as much, so they're getting out a bit more. 

Here's what we've eaten this week.

• Fri- Frozen Pizza
• Sat- Leftovers
• Sun- Chili, CornBread. I used butter instead of shortening and I used my Paderno skillet because my cast iron one doesn't fit into the little toaster oven with its handle!
• Mon- Poached Fish with Veggies (frozen oriental veggies), Rice, Egg Rolls, Ultimate Chocolate Cake. I made 1/2 the cake recipe for just 1- 9" pan. C and I sprinkled powdered sugar on top.
• Tues- Perogies, Hamburger, Raw Carrots
• Wed- K picked up pizza in town when he took C to dance
• Thurs- Frozen Vegetable Lasagna

It's been 2 years since I started posting our menus!  Wow, that's a lot of (boring) meals!

Have a great weekend! :-)

Snowy Front Porch Easter Decorations

Hello!

Well, it's another day off school for the kids- it's nice out, but the plows still have a lot of work to do in widening the roads.  A lot of roads are still one lanes with big drifts on either side.

Here are some pics.

This shows how high the snow is up on the windows in the back room.

Here is how high the snow is on the kitchen windows! 

C was cleaning up the front porch today so we decided to put up our Easter things.  I'm using the same banner as last year. 

C put up some little eggs under the Welcome Sign. 

We thought we'd see how the fake Easter grass would hold up with some ceramic egg candles. (C thought the cats might get into it... We'll see!) 

Here's looking at the side of the porch with all our snow shoes.  The trash can was supposed to hold our salt and sand for the steps, but we never got around to filling it up and fixing the lid so it wouldn't blow open (or away!) 

This is looking toward the shed.  We can't remove the evergreens from the window boxes yet because they're frozen into the dirt! 

Here's the other side with all the snow shovels and a blue sled. 

Down the front stairs to the car.  We've had to park here (where there's supposed to be a walkway and grass) since the snow is too high to clear where the "new" driveway is. 

Here's a view of the side of the porch.

Here's how high the drift is just in front of the courtyard.

(And this isn't actually the highest drift!)

Here's C with our cat, Paris.

And here's our cat, Lilly. 

Hope you're having a great week!  We should be back to our normal schedule tomorrow.

:-)

Snowy Sunday

Hi again!!

Well, guess what?  We're having another snow storm!  And school is already cancelled for tomorrow!  We were supposed to have a little snow today, so K went out and did the driveway and I took some pictures when we thought the storm was over.

Swimming was cancelled for C, but the pool opened at 1:00, when N's lesson starts.  We decided not to go to town because of the weather.  The pool ended up closing again at 3:30! Evidently, the storm isn't over yet!  I'm not sure if they'll re-schedule C's lesson or not... It was the last one of this session.

The plows are now off the roads and the libraries were closed today (although I didn't have to work).

Here are some pictures I took around the house.  So far this year we've received 16 FEET of snow! (FEET, people!! It's crazy!!)

Here's looking toward the pond.

The trailer. 

Back of the house! 

The playhouse is peeking out of the snow. 

Looking toward the neighbor's barn. 

Looking down to the courtyard from the roof. 

Our roof, looking toward the pond. 

Looking toward the neighbors, still up on the roof. 

Playhouse. 

Backyard. 

Backyard. 

The cats on the roof of K's office.

Up on the snowbank looking toward the driveway and side of the house. 

Here's how high the snow is on the electric pole.  About 8 feet high! 

So, we're stuck indoors again. I think we'll watch a movie tonight.  I wonder if there will be work tomorrow.....

:-)

March Break "Trip"/ Foody Saturday

Hi!

It's Saturday, and March Break is almost over!  We were supposed to go to Nova Scotia to visit K's uncle and aunt, but the bad weather prevented us from going.  Halifax got a whopping 50 cm (20 in) of snow Wednesday, so they were pretty much shut down.  The kids ended up getting storm stayed at their grandparents's for 2 nights and yesterday (Friday) we went to Charlottetown for the day.  K and I had already taken time off work so we both had the day off.

First, we took the kids to Seoul Food for lunch.  K and I got Dolsot Bibimbap, C got Gimbap (Korean Sushi Rolls) and N got Chicken Fried Rice.  Everybody liked it which was nice.  Although it's a bit pricey for lunch so I'm not sure how often we'll be going with all 4 of us!

After lunch, we went downtown.  N & K went to the Comic Book Store.  C and I went to the dance supply store to get new tights for C.  Then we went to the library to get some new books and magazines.  We met K and N at the mall, where we had Bubble Tea!  After that, we all went to Value Village.  N found a SNES, C got some slippers and I got 2 "new" pairs of boots.  (I had bought a pair of $20 boots at the Summerside Mall a couple years ago, which I really loved.  However, they were cheap and pleather and now the pleather is cracking and they don't look so good anymore.  So, I've replaced them with some genuine leather Aldo Boots and a suede pair of Cougar Boots.)  On the way home we drove by Brookvale Ski Park and here's what we had to drive thru! 

This is a secondary highway, with only one lane and drifts about 10 feet tall!

We stopped in Summerside to make some copies for N's Science Fair Project and to go to the Pawn Shop so he could buy a game for his SNES.  We made it home just in time to have some frozen pizza for dinner.

Speaking of dinner, here's what we ate last week.

• Fri- Leftovers
• Sat- Pizza with Pillsbury Dough
• Sun- Slow Cooker BBQ Pork Chops, Smashed Potatoes, Boiled Beet Greens (Storm Day)
• Mon- Slow Cooker Pinto Beans for Haystacks (Storm Day)
• Tues- Leftovers (1/2 storm day- although I called in my local library backup to fill in for me during the evening hours of 5:30-8:30)
• Wed- Leftovers (Another storm day!!)
• Thurs- Out to eat at Gentleman Jim's with the in-laws

Have a great weekend! :-)

March Break Day 3

Hi!

It's Day 3 of our snowy March Break.  Today is another day off for all provincial workers island-wide!   Here in the western part of the island, we're only getting about 10 cm (4 inches) of snow, but it's blowing around.  In the eastern part of the island, they're getting about 20 cm (8 inches) of snow, plus the wind.

Yesterday was a beautiful day!  Sunny and just below freezing.

We all got out after 2 days indoors and enjoyed the weather.  

Here's C by a giant snowbank in front of the front door.

 The courtyard is filled in with snow!

Our cat Paris, climbed up onto the roof.  She gets up from the back side of the breezeway, behind the courtyard.

 Because the snow is so high, the kids were able to climb on top of the roof of the shed. 

Both cats, Paris and Lilly,  joined the kids. 

C having fun with Paris.

Paris playing in the branches. 

 Poor K had his work cut out for him with the snow thrower.

It was a lot of snow! 

Since there was so much snow to remove from the driveway, K took the day off work.  It was a good thing because it pretty much took the whole day.  The snow was so high that he had to shovel it down so the snow thrower could then "blow" the snow away.  I also took the evening off from the library and called in the local back up.

The kids are spending the day in Summerside with their grandparents, so it's a quiet day for K and me.

There's more snow coming this weekend!!!  Have a great day! :-)

March Break

Ola!!

It's the first day of March break and the second day of another Blizzard!  They say we usually have a storm around St. Patrick's Day so this make sense.  

However, this winter has been extraordinary.  According to this site, our average snowfall from 1981-2010 in Summerside is 277.9 cm (109.4 in).  This year, according to this article, we're at 454 cm (178.7 in), up from last year's 451 cm ( 177.6 in).  And we could still get more snow!  Although the snow has mostly stopped for today, plows are off the roads because of the strong winds and blowing snow.

Here's a picture of our driveway.

Looking out the kitchen window. 

And our back door is covered again! 

Work is cancelled for K and me.  So we're all home enjoying a day off!

Have a great week! :-)

Foody Friday

Whew, another week gone by!

Today there were snow squalls around the island so school was delayed an hour.  This gave everybody (except K) a chance to sleep in a bit.  I'm still getting used to the new "time".  It's nice though, that there's so much daylight in the evening.

K is working again this weekend and I work tonight so N and C are spending the night at their grandparents'.  Next week is March Break!!  We are supposed to get 15 cm (6 in) of snow in a snow storm on Sunday!  Plus more snow coming during the week and next weekend!

Here's what we ate last week.

• Fri- C & K- Chicken, Gravy, Fries (I was working and N was in Summerside.)
• Sat-Pizza Biscuits (I used Pillsbury Pizza Dough divided to fit into the muffin tins.)  They were pretty good, but had a lot of dough on the bottom.
• Sun- Leftover Frozen Gumbo, Frozen Rice
• Mon- What a "Dal" (Lentil White Bean Dal) (Fresh From the Vegetarian Slow Cooker, pg 103),  Cheesy Grits
• Tues- Hamburger, Fries (fixed by K)
• Wed- Tomato Sauce (FFVSC pg 133), Rotini (cooked by N)- Sauce turned out good, but I used blended chopped tomatoes instead of crushed and it was a bit juicy.  I ended up reducing it on the stovetop after so I can freeze it!  It made a lot.
• Thurs- A Melange- K had pork chop with Leftover Dal, I had Leftover Dal, C had Amy's Black Bean Burrito, N ate dinner in town at Greco with his friends.

That's it for now.  Have a great weekend (and March Break!) :-)

Tasty Saturday

Hi!  

Goodness, it's Saturday already!  Yesterday, there was no school (for Parent Teacher Interviews) so C was home with me and I forgot to do my Foody Friday post.

Here's what we ate this week.

• Fri- Leftovers
• Sat- Frozen Buitoni Spinach Pizza- good!
• Sun-Canned Vegetable Soup with crackers and Cheese
• Mon- Roast Chicken Breasts, Microwaved "Baked" Potatoes, and Spinach, Tomato, Carrot salad- cooked by N :-)
• Tues- "Dry" Red Lentils (World Vegetarian, pg 68), Stewed or "Red-Cooked" Daikon (W.V. pg 176), Kohlrabi Greens cooked with Garlic (W.V. pg 223), Brown Rice- This was a snow day off school because of blowing snow.  It snowed on Monday a bit, but the wind really picked up on Tuesday, so there were a lot of white-out conditions.  School and provincial offices were closed.  Here's C looking out a snow window in her fort she built. She didn't stay out very long because, even though she was slightly sheltered, the snow was still blowing a bit too hard. Anyway, I hadn't cooked in so long (see above menus for the week!) that I felt like cooking a lot of stuff.  K and I liked it all, but the kids not so much.
• Wed- Cheese Raviolis with Tomato Sauce, Broccoli- cooked by N
• Thurs- Out- N went to Pokemon so he ate at Greco Pizza with his friends after; C had a dentist appt. in town so she and I ate at Pita Pit; K was on his own at home.

We are supposed to get no snow this week!  Yay!  It's Spring Forward tonight, so it'll take a bit used to get used to that.  Already, it's still light out at about 6:00.  

Have a great weekend! :-)

Monday Musings

Mornin!

We had a nice weekend.  On Saturday, we went snowshoeing back behind our house.

Here's C starting out, making her trail.

N and C wanted to make their own paths. 

N 

Our shadows and some animal tracks.

The kids and me. 

Looking up at the trees. 

K 

Snowy woods. 

It was a fun walk.  We were gone about 1 1/2 hours.

Yesterday, the kids had swimming.  We all went into town and then we went to lunch at a fairly new restaurant in Summerside, Lin's Gourmet Express.  Everybody enjoyed their lunch.

Today we have more snow, about 5-10 cm (2-4 inches). I can't believe it's March already!

Have a great week!  :-)