Another Post-Blizzard Post

Hi! 

We had a doozy of a blizzard on Wednesday!  The kids were out of school for 3 days!  Plus HH's work and most other businesses were closed for 2 days.  At one point 16,000 were without power and RCMP were urging people to stay off the roads- on Wed. because of the poor visibility and on Thurs. so the plows could get the roads cleared.  On Friday, some secondary roads were still not cleared. We got around 60 cm (23 inches) of snow.  Here are lots of pics.

Here are the kids playing before the storm.  This is looking out our kitchen window toward the pond.

 Here's DD way our in the field. Notice how you can see way far away?

Here's the same view during the blizzard- very poor visibility!

Here's the day after with lots of snow on the ground and blowing snow.

 Here's the front of the house BB (Before Blizzard).  We still had a lot of snow to begin with!

  

Here's after.

Notice those 3 poles going up to the roof?  HH was concerned because the front shingles were flapping up. Here they are from our bedroom window during the storm.

HH went out in the storm to put these braces up to hold them down.

 Here is a Before view of the driveway and road from the front porch.

Here's the driveway and road (from slightly different angle actually on the driveway) after the storm and before they were cleared. It's hard to tell where the road even is!

  Here's the snow bank to the right of the driveway.  DS is laying on the snow with a red sled.

Here's another angle of how high that drift was after the storm.  Taller than DS!

 Here's the courtyard Before (Still a lot of snow for the end of March!) 

And here's the After.

 Here's DD in the back room showing how high the snow is against the back door. 

 Here's the view from outside, looking back.

Just to refresh your memory, here's how it looked in Sep.

 The breezeway.

 And the side of the house by the pond.

So, what did we do all day on Wednesday during the blizzard? Luckily we didn't lose our electricity.(Although we were all ready for that. We had extra water for drinking and water in the tub for washing and flushing; extra food, and we have an indoor kerosene heater that we haven't had to use in quite a few years.) So, we watched tv and a movie ("Journey 2: The Mysterious Island"- pretty good!) on Netflix; played on the computer, and the kids played Lego. This is their village from above.

DD with the house she built.

Inside the house.

Despite the blowing snow on Thursday, the kids were able to get outside for a bit.  They ended up digging some snow forts.  Here they are inside!

We also had this to deal with on Thursday.  Snow blew into the front room! :-(

  

And into the attic.  The air exchange duct had come unattached to the air exchange unit and blew this big pile of snow in through about 4 feet of duct. (You can see an extra piece of the air duct on the floor in the middle of the pic below.  It's black with white insulation inside.  To the left is the stink pipe and right beside the duct on the right is a lightbulb fixture!)  I put this crazy snow in a trashcan, then dumped it into the washing machine which is right under the attic access.

We are expecting 10-20 cm (4-8 inches) of snow plus freezing rain tomorrow!  I realized last year I had started walking to the PO 4x/week, but I can't do that yet!  Maybe in another week or so...

Have a great weekend! :-)

Tasty Tuesday One-Year Anniversary

Hi!

I've made it one year, posting recipes since March 26 last year!  That's a lot of meal planning!

So, here's what we're gonna eat this week.

• Mon- HH makes Mac & Cheese with hotdogs and lettuce boats (I had meeting)
• Tues- Chicken Cacciatore based on this and this
• Wed- Slow Cooker Ribs (Storm!)
• Thurs- Beans
• Fri- Leftovers Pizza
• Sat- Pizza Leftovers
• Sun- HH's Soup- Ramen with Chicken, 3-Bean Salad

We are expecting a storm tomorrow thru til Thursday.  It's supposed to be the biggest of the year with 30-40 cm!  Although, now there's another storm coming on Sunday with about the same amount of snow so we'll see!

Have a great week! :-)

Easter Banner

Hi!  March Break is almost over!  The week has gone by fast. The kids and grandparents had a nice time in Moncton.  They came home a day early on Wednesday because there was supposed to be a storm and both kids spent that night in town. DS stayed an extra night at his grandparents, so he's still not home!  DD came home last night with a friend from Summerside who spent the night.

With all my free time this week, I did an Easter Craft project.  If you remember from the snow pic last week, I still had the fake evergreen wreath up by the left of the front door.

 I got out our Easter Decor and thought it would be nice to have something more "Springy" out front.  I searched a few things (like wooden wreaths on Pinterest). The one on the left is sorta like the wooden flower box I did last year.

                                          

 But ultimately I was inspired to make something like this here at Happy Homemaker.

I used an old shirt of HH that I'd saved for some sort of project. I cut out the back using my pinking shears I got for Christmas!

I drew out a bunny on taped sheets of paper and cut it out.

I wrote out "Happy Easter" for practice.  Can you see that below?

I traced the bunny with a white paint pen and used craft paint and Textile Medium to fill it in. I bought the medium a long time ago at Restore and this is my first time to use it.

I also wrote Happy Easter with the paint pen and then painted over it with a small brush with the craft paint + fabric medium.

I was smart and put my fabric down on leftover flyers so it wouldn't get on the table.  However, I let it dry there and now there's paper on the back!

Plus my craft paint is old and has lumps in it so I had to sand it lightly before doing the second coat.

I've been wanting to use this driftwood somewhere for a while.  

My plan was to attach it to the outside wall and use it as a hanger to hang a wreath or banner! Here it is holding up the wreath. (I had a small hook on the front of the driftwood, but it made the wreath stick out too far, so I moved the hook to the bottom.)

I did one final coat of white on the bunny, then attached it to a bamboo pole with hot glue so I wouldn't have to sew it.  I used twine so it can hang.  Here it is up on the wall with the driftwood.

And since I can only have this up 4 more weeks, I still may make a wooden wreath later!

Have a great weekend! :-)

Tasty Tuesday (March Break)

Hi!

So, it's March Break!  So far, so good.  DS has been to visit 2 friends and DD had a friend over here.  This morning they got up early to go to Summerside with HH.  They'll have breakfast and then around 10:30, they'll leave with their grandparents to go to Moncton for 2 nights!

This week I haven't planned much for meals, but here's what I've got.

• Mon- Mac & Cheese, Carrots, Broccoli, Chick peas, cucumber
• Tues- Thai Curry (HH found the Red Curry Paste in a can in Charlottetown!) Was feeling lazy with no kids so we had leftovers (I still need to use the curry paste- I've been looking for it in PEI forever!)
• Wed- Frozen Hot Pot Soup Hamburger & Oven-Baked Potatoes
• Thurs- Frozen Lazy Lasagna (DD & Friend home) with leftover pasta & sauce
• Fri- Pizza
• Sat- Frittata Bean/Corn/Rice/Salsa warmed together and wrapped in a tortilla. With cheese
• Sun- HH's Soup Canned Baked Beans with Hotdogs

Last year's meals.

• Mon- Ribs that HH made Sunday
• Tues- Chick peas with Tomatoes
• Wed- Fish
• Thurs- Out- Pizza & Sushi Juju (in Charlottetown for HH's MBA class- Storm)
• Fri- Swiss Chalet
• Sat- Frozen Lasagna
• Sun- Frozen Store Salmon Cakes, Broccoli

Enjoy the rest of the week! :-)

Friday after the Storm

Mornin!

We had a whopper of a storm yesterday. It seemed like it was the worst one of the year! (Or at least the second worst!)  I think they said we got around 30 cm (almost 12 inches!) of snow!

Plus it was blowing and cold.  So, it was a day off for everyone yesterday.  With March Break coming next week and my working, I missed my day by myself.  

Our snow blower thrower (Before I was familiar with all things snow, I used to think snow blowers were like leaf blowers and actually blew the snow out of the way.  They actually have big grinding blades on the front and they chew up the snow and throw it to the side.)

Ok, our snow thrower is broken so HH had to manually shovel a path for the kids to catch the bus.

The big snow plows still need to come along and widen the road in front of our house another 3-4 feet so after that happens he'll go back out and finish.  Sometimes, in years past, he's been shoveling and a tractor or plow will drive by, see him and offer to plow it for him. (Usually for a small donation of around $20.) Let's hope this happens!  Or maybe HH can fix the snow thrower!  Yes, I hear it going now!  Yay! 

No plans for the weekend.  It's supposed to warm up so maybe it'll melt the snow, but we also may get more snow!

I was on East Coast Creative Blog a couple days ago and found a link to this!

Look familiar?  It's on the blog Wills Casa, which I hadn't been to before.  She used tape (like I used in the back room) instead of a stencil.

Perhaps my front room floor is becoming too trendy?

Have a great weekend! :-)

Tasty Tuesday (March 4)

(I updated this post and somehow it moved it as if it were published on March 12, but really it was for the last week on March 4)

Mornin!

I'm still tutoring, and the kids are a little more used to me now! It's another short week with no school on Friday for parent-teacher interviews.

Here's what we're eating this week.

• Mon- Baked Chicken, Leftover potatoes, chicken gravy, carrots (I had leftover mixed veggies and tahini, nutritional yeast flakes, sriracha gravy)
• Tues- Peanut Sauced Noodles and Veggies, Spring Rolls
• Wed- Salmon
• Thurs- Breakfast Soft Tacos We were out of eggs so I made Black Bean Quesadillas.
• Fri- Leftovers (No School)
• Sat- Pizza (McCain's)
• Sun- HH's soup- Canned Tomato with grilled cheese after Ice Show (Spring Forward)

Here's what we ate last year.

• Mon- Haddock with potatoes
• Tues-Sushi
• Wed-Lasagna
• Thurs- Crockpot Chicken- coconut
• Fri- Haystacks (No School- Charlottetown)
• Sat- Pizza
• Sun- Leftovers

Have a great week! :-)

Tasty Wednesday (March 12)

Hi!

It's a glorious day off for me today!  The school is having a Heritage Day, where they'll have people in doing old-fashioned things like making baskets and shortbread cookies.  There wouldn't be much time for me to tutor so I'm taking the rest of the week off and going in 3 days after March Break.  We're expecting a big storm tonight and tomorrow so it might be a snow day and Friday the kids are going ice-skating!

We had a nice weekend.  The ice show "A Night at the Movies" went well.  Here's DD in her Monsters University costume.

And here she is on the ice with the blurry face.

Here's our menu for the week.

• Mon- Lazy Lasagna (it was good, but it took a lot of cooking time, so I'm not sure how lazy it was!  See recipe below.  I didn't use beef, but put in spinach with the onion and carrots.  I also pureed cottage cheese to sub for the ricotta.)
• Tues- Chicken nuggets for kids, Indian Curry Chicken for adults, Green Beans, Potatoes
• Wed- Hearty Tuscan Soup (Chatelaine, April 2013)
• Thurs- Fish (Beef Nachos for Lunch) Rice, Stir-fried Veggies
• Fri- Leftovers Pan-fried Haddock, Crudites, Broccoli, Carrots
• Sat- Pizza (PC Thin Crust Pepperoni; Dr. Oetker Salmon & Spinach
• Sun- HH's Soup- Ramen with Carrots & Broccoli

Here's what we ate last year. Only a few more sheets of meals from last year!  Have I been doing this that long?

• Mon- Curried Crab Cakes (see recipe below)
• Tues- Rink food before Ice Show
• Wed- Fish Sticks, Fries
• Thurs- Pasta
• Fri- Onion Soup (from Girls Gone Child)
• Sat- Leftovers
• Sun- Dinner at In-laws

Curried Crab Cakes:

Combine 1 can crab, 1/4 c. mayo, 1 T Thai Curry Paste, 1 egg. Make patties. Coat with Panko or Crackers. Bake 20 min @ 400.

Last week for Mardi Gras I made a King Cake.  Here are the sad results.

I made the recipe and for some reason it didn't rise properly.  Perhaps my milk mixture was too cool when I added it to the yeast.  I heated it way too hot, but then it cooled quickly when I put the pan in cold water. I hurriedly added it to the yeast mixture thinking it was still ok, but maybe it wasn't.  Also, I realized I couldn't fit the whole cake in the toaster oven so after I filled it with (too much) cinnamon and sugar I had to cut it in 1/2.  This caused the cinnamon sugar to fall out and it wouldn't go nicely in a circle.  I persisted and put it in the oven anyway.  It was a bit overbaked, but tasted good, if not a little yeasty.  I froze the other 1/2 so may make it one day for coffee cake.  The colored sugar on top make it look (kinda) nice!

Enjoy the rest of your week! :-)

TGIF Stuff

Hi!

It's a day off for me! And the kids!  I was glad I got to do parent/teacher interviews yesterday instead of today.  Both kids are doing well! :-)  My MIL is back from her cruise so the kids are spending the night with their grandparents.

I did the grocery shopping today and I'm consistently surprised at how much our groceries are.  This week I spent $148.  I bought bakery bread on sale for $1.50 (I think it's normally $2.29 or $2.49).  A dozen large eggs cost $3.39. Two liters of milk costs $3.59.  Ten pounds of potatoes cost $4.99 and 3 lbs of carrots is $2.99.  Is this expensive?  It certainly adds up!  I bought a big bag of cat food for $23.99. I used to buy the super cheap stuff at about 1/2 the price of what I bought today, but because it's been so cold, HH thought we should switch over to some "better" stuff!  When we gave Lisa the new food mixed in with her old food, she would pick out the new food and leave the old. I guess she likes it better!

On the other hand, I saved $14 on gas because of the grocery store giving coupons based on how much groceries you buy.  Today I earned $.04/liter off my next purchase.  (You can use up to 4 coupons when you buy gas and sometimes the store gives double or triple coupons.)

I found this picture on BHG.com.  

It kinda reminded me of mine and how I  painted them black. 

 I think I mentioned I'd had the idea (or rather saw the idea somewhere) to hang 6 or 9 on the wall to organize papers.  I like them on the stairs above and thought maybe I'd do it in the hallway.

We've had 2 frames fall and break their glass. I thought I should take out all the glass, but I haven't done it yet. I guess I'll just wait til they all fall and break!  ;-) The wall in the foreground on the right isn't exactly finished. It still needs a couple studs behind it and if our door is shut too roughly (usually by DS), the frames bounce off. I've put sticky tack on the bottom of them to help so we'll see how that goes. Anyway, I thought these pics would be changing more and it's kinda hard to change the pics if they're all behind glass and sticky tacked to the wall.  The clipboards may be a solution for when I grow tired of the frames.

This weekend is DD's Ice Show, A Night at the Movies.  It should be cute.  Her group is Mike Wazowski from Monster's University.

We've been having record cold temps this week- mostly around Neg20C (Neg4F) with windchills around Neg 27-28C (Neg20F).  The kids had indoor recess all week and twice my car wouldn't start because the battery was so cold.  Today it is right around freezing so it feels great!  However, next week it is going back down to Neg 20C a couple nights. :-(

Have a wonderful weekend! :-)