My Surprise Birthday Gift!

 Well, it turns out I didn't need to figure out what to do with my CPP payments after all. Colton surprised me with a trip to anywhere! Hopefully the kids are coming with me and now any that can't afford it all I can supplement. Talk about the trip of a lifetime!!! I cried when he handed me the passport papers to fill out, that's how he presented it. I couldn't speak

I couldn't find my birth certificate though so had to reapply and get a new one. Then get a passport and I only got my photo for that taken just yesterday. Colton knows I always save things for the last minute and he told Hannah to keep me on top of it, lol. Obviously, she didn't!! :)

CPP

Yes, I'm that old!!

Don't ask me how that happened!😮

   It took forever online. And took me forever to decide whether or not to take it early. I spent alot of time at work today figuring all the figures. I calculated based on my passing at mom's age. All in all it only amounted to a difference of less than $100 month over the 17 years. If you add it up that's alot but only if you live that long, I figure I may as well take a chance and spend it while I'm still feeling good and able to enjoy it. 

   I plan on putting it into an RRSP because of taxes but it would be really nice to save a bit up and do some travelling with it. 60 is a really big number and I've been trying to decide how I can mark it. I went out to see Colin and Trisha in BC when I was 50 and then I had no money and couldn't even afford to pay for extras for us while I was there :(

A Quiet House

 We had the girls here for the long weekend! I managed to give a few days away

and made the trip to North Bay on Wednesday after work.  We packed up their bags

the next day and headed back to the farm. But first we stopped at my dad's house.

They hadn't even seen Em yet in person what with Covid and all. The girls had fun

and never once complained about the long drive. 

Colton was home too and we had a great weekend with fireworks and bbq's

and  campfires . I  luv having the house full and busy. It becomes a write-off but

I raised 4 kids....I'm used to that! The only thing  about having a full  house again

is that once everyone leaves the house seems even quieter than it was before

they got here.

I had to work on Sunday and Colton took the girls home for me (so handy to have

him in Petawawa now!) so when I got home the house was way too quiet!

I sat down on the couch and  cried :(

Air Flow

 So the weatherman has been forecasting for the heat and humidity to begin

starting tomorrow. We have been enjoying the most perfect sunny days with

a cool breeze, almost cold in the shade.   Perfect for getting a good nite's sleep.

So when I got home from work today I wanted to get the air conditioner put into the

bedroom because in a 100 year old farmhouse the upstairs is like an oven in those

warm temps. Not great for getting a good nite's sleep.

I've been putting this window air conditioner in for years now, all by myself but

today the air conditioner went for a tumble down to the cement walk below! :o

It was almost like slow motion and as the cord went falling out the window behind

it, I was thinking why didn't I grab that?! Haha...like that would have saved it...

it weighs 50 lbs!

No time to stop at the local Canadian Tire to pick up a new one tonite as

we were off to watch the kids play soccer. (They're all grown up, but I've been

watching them play for over 20 years, I'm not about to stop now  ;)

Guess where I'm headed first thing after work tomorrow :)

Rhubarb Muffins and a Cake

 Tis the season for rhubarb everything!

This is my favourite recipe for rhubarb muffins. I found it online at Rhuby Tuesday's.

And I must include my favourite and everyone else who eats it when I make it, recipe for

Rhubarb cake from my maternal Gramma :)

'Rhuby Tuesday's' Sour Cream Rhubarb Muffins

• 2 Cups Flour
• 3/4 cup Sugar
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt

Whisk together dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. 
In a separate bowl whisk together until smooth:

• 1 cup sour cream
• 8 tbsp melted butter
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla

Add the wet ingredients into the dry mixture and stir gently until just moistened. Do NOT overmix!
Fold in:

• 1 1/2 cups of fresh finely chopped rhubarb

Line a muffin tin with 12 large baking cups and fill with batter. Sprinkle each cup with the topping:

• 3 tbsp sugar mixed with 1/2 tsp cinnamon

​Place in a preheated oven at 400 degrees F and bake for 18-20 minutes

Grammas Rhubarb Cake

Cream Together in a Large Bowl

• 1\2 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla

Combine in a large measuring cup 

• 2 cup flour
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1\2 tsp salt
• Pinch of nutmeg or to taste

Alternately add the flour mix and 1 cup buttermilk to the creamed mixture in the big bowl. Then add 2 cups chopped rhubarb. After you pour it into a baking dish sprinkle the top with some cinnamon sugar. I mean, everybody has a little shaker of it in their cupboard right? For yummy cinnamon toast!. If not, what are you waiting for!

Cook at 350 F for approx 35 mins or until a toothpick comes out clean :)

You can make your own buttermilk by adding 1 tsp of lemon juice to the measuring cup and then filling it with ordinary milk ;)

Make your piece of cake extra special by putting it in a bowl and pouring some cream over the top and then sprinkling a little cinnamon sugar over it. Talk about comfort food! I remember my Gramma making this for us when I was just a young one.

Enjoy!

A New Grocery Store....and a BIG win!

 Was on my way home from work today (which is a 50 minute drive)

and our local radio station was doing a remote at our local A&P which has recently
become a 'Metro' as are all the A&P's in Ontario I guess.
Well he announced that the next person in who could correctly answer his
question would win $250 in gift cards for the new store.

I listened as a lucky lady won, and then another and then he announced that
the next prize would be $500 worth of gift cards!!!!!
I hmmm....and haaaaa'd and decided I would at least drive by and see how
busy they were...thinking that it would be crazy in there about now!
There weren't alot of cars around but I just kept driving anyway thinking
I'd never win and I really didn't want to push through a throng of people...
I'm just not that agressive, lol!

Almost half way to home from town the announcer came on at 2:55 and said
the big giveaway was happening just minutes after 3....so I hmmmmm'd and haaaa'd
again and actually turned around and went back into town.

I roamed around awhile, really surprised that there weren't more people in there!!
I heard him tell two other ladies that it would be around 3:18 when he went on
air again with the question. I stayed close and when he said you had to find Ted
and find out how long he'd worked there...I was off!
The first guy I asked wasn't Ted and looked at me funny when I asked his name, lol!!
So I asked a cashier who had been there for years where I might find Ted
and she pointed him out walking across the back of the store!

Ted told me he'd been there 24 years and when I told the announcer that
he asked me how I'd gotten that so quickly, lol..he thought maybe I knew Ted!
I WON!!! Yep, $500 worth of groceries and who doesn't need groceries,
especially with 5 people at home and one at college who could
really use a gift card for food, lol!

Crazy, crazy, crazy it was and you can't imagine how thankful I was
that I had changed my mind and turned around!!!

I think the next time that I try to push something aside and say ahhhh
never mind, that I will remember this win and go out of my way to take advantage
of any opportunity that might come my way, no matter how ridiculous it feels or looks 

I'd Like to Thank G-O-D....or wait, I mean D-O-G

 How many of you watched the Golden Globes on Sunday nite? I was watching '24' which I have been waiting a long time for, lol....but when it was over at 10 we switched to the award show and between finishing up some laundry and other chores I only caught a few of the speeches. One was Kate Winslet...I was soooo happy for her! She was genuinely shocked to say the least, because she not only won the best-supporting actress early in the evening but here she was also winning the best actress category which according to different web reports was highly expected to go Anne Hathaway because of a posting glitch on the Globe website.

Well, the other speech I caught was for Mickey Rourke. He looked umm.....hmmm....I'm not sure the word for it, lol.....quite colourful for sure     Anyway, instead of the usual speech that's pulled out of the pocket (which I noticed Kate didn't do either...I luv it when they wing it!!) about thanking G-O-D for this award, Mickey thanked his D-O-G...or really his dog's' plural. As most everyone knows, he has been shunned by hollywood as being very unco-operative and un-reliable and who knows what else, and they even had to shut down production on the movie he won for (the Wrestler) because they couldn't get backing on his name, so were looking for another actor! But through all the bad years, the drinking and the low times his dogs were always there for him when no none else would return his calls.

Dogs really are like that aren't they?! No matter how many mistakes you make, how often you scold them....they are always the first one to greet you with a wagging tail and a happy smile when you walk through the door    We lost our dog Nicky last fall and I was heartbroken. And even though it's been months, it still brings tears to my eyes and I can't talk about that nite without bawling. She was always happy to see us just because we were her people. She didn't care that we didn't have enough money to buy her the 'good' dog food, or a stocking at Christmas. It didn't matter that she sometimes got left out in the cold a little longer than she would have liked or that sometimes we forgot her in the car overnite, lol!  She luved car rides and our toast crusts and to curl up on the couch and never failed to be right there by our side whenever we were down....always happy to offer her unabiding loyalty.

RIP Nicky...you'll always be in our hearts...xo