Wondering Wednesday - Being creative

Once a week I go through the food items in the fridge to make sure nothing is going bad or maybe growing moldy.  This weekend I noticed we have a bag of red grapes that we have not been eating.  The reason, we really did not think it was that great texture and taste wise.  So I did not want to throw it away, so I research for something I could do with it.  The only one that I could do using the grapes and what I already have in the pantry is making Grape Jelly.  It was not difficult at all and since I don't have a lot of grapes, I made a small batch which resulted in two small jars and one regular.  Since it will only be good for six months, I will share it with my MIL's friend Sylvia as she loves the Orange marmalade I have made before.  After finishing the jelly, I realized I still have one pie crust that needed to be used by the end of February.  The last time I made the Coconut Pecan pie which was really delicious that I was able to share half of the pie with my friend Jean.  I always wondered what it would taste if I use the young coconut sport aka Macapuno to replace the flaked coconuts.  Surprisingly enough, it worked and the pie is even tastier than the first one I made.  I am calling it the Macapuno Pecan Pie.  It is truly amazing what you can make if you are creative and not afraid of trying a variety of things that you have not made before.  By the way, this weekend I decided to make crepes for breakfast using the recipe from the box of Pancake mix. Since I was the only one having these, I cut the recipe in half which produced a total of seven crepes.  Instead of syrup, I used the dulce de leche made by a friend.  So so yummy!

Home made crepes with fresh strawberries, whipped cream and dulce de leche.

Home made Grape Jelly

Macapuno Pecan Pie

Tidying Tuesday - March equals Spring Cleaning

One of my BFF from Canada thought it was hilarious that I need one day a week for myself when I already golf twice during the week.  I have assigned Tuesday as my ME day but not necessarily a day that is all about me.  It's a day where I try to catch up on house work, blogging, sewing or crafts, being Jeff's secretary (after all these years, I am still filling papers).  Although the majority of the bills are paid electronically, the bills are still on paper and for the sake of record keeping, I am still filling it on their assigned folder.  As I go through the motion of tidying up, I found a box and couldn't remember what I kept inside. OMG, there it was, the pile of golf score card for 2015.  I wasn't really sure the purpose of it but at that time, I would just put the card in this box.  I forgot to take a photo of it so I can's share with you but you could just imagine how thick it was.  The good news about tidying up, I have completed my tax forms for 2015 and I will be able to submit it two months before the deadline.  Another item in our agenda is finalizing the all inclusive vacation for the summer. We have received confirmation and paid for everything. You know what this means, right.  I will starting to count sleeps before this vacation.  We might do some small trips before that, but for now that's our big get away for 2016.  If you remember my post at the beginning of the year with regards to completion of forms for Canada and USA.  Well, it's a bit of a struggle with two months going by and we are still not finished.  Most of the forms are completed but only on a draft format.  We have started photocopying the required evidence and hopefully we could finalized everything this month.  

 

 

 

Sentimental Sunday - 13 years ago today

The best way to remember this day is by sharing the story that my favorite sister wrote about us.  We actually made a small book with photos but at the beginning of the book is our story.  I also found a copy of our favorite photo that was taken in one of those booth at the Great Mall during our first date.

February 2003

February 2016

We are still smiling, still on the same side and life is good after 13 years.  We have grown older together and have gained exactly the same amount of weight between then and now.  And who said long distance relationship does not work.  We look forward to many more years of togetherness, living on the same page and loving life.

 

Fast and Easy Friday - F is for food

Each week I try to write a couple of blogs and each week I try to think ahead of topics and photos to share.  Because of the style that I use for my titles which as you can see rhymes with each day of the week, I really thought by now I would have run out.  Of course I have had to repeat some of the words but in reality I am only limited to M, T, W, F and S.  I just hope that my followers/readers don't get tired, so if you have any suggestions like my BFF Maria who sent me a bunch of words to go with my weekly blog, please send it my way by leaving a comment.  Last weekend was my first weekend that I could actually get some baking and cooking done.  I like checking the fridge and cupboards and figure out what I can create.  First I saw a ready made pie pastry that needed to be used and wondered.  Now that you can find any type of recipe on line, I did a quick search and stumble upon one called "Coconut pecan pie".  The ingredients and instructions were simple.  Luckily I have everything to make this pie.  Once it was done, I remembered to take a photo for sharing.  I immediately send a text to my BFF Jean because this is her favorite pie (two in one).  She loves coconut and pecan pie.  I know that if it passes the test and get her approval,  the recipe will definitely be a keeper. For my next time, I am thinking of using a young coconut sport (macapuno) instead of the flaked coconut package. It will have a very fresh taste of freshly picked coconut.  As for dinner that night while waiting for the pie to be done, I started preparing my pierogi or varenyky.  For those of you who likes this type of dumpling, you know that it has to have caramelized onions, crispy bacon and a dollop of sour cream.  I did all of that and my dinner was so yummy considering my pierogis were from a frozen box.  One day I would like to make them from scratch and invite our friends to try them.  Maybe I can have a Ukranian night with cabbage rolls, perogies and some sort of grilled sausages like Kielbasa or something similar.

 

By the way, I have already received a text from Jean giving this pie a two thumbs up and she has placed her order for a birthday pie for May.  I should let her taste the variation of the recipe using the macapuno and wait for her review.  I figure someone who has tasted many variety of coconut pie as well as a variety of pecan pie would be the perfect judge for this type of combo pie.

Twiggy Tuesday- Perfect timing

Today I just realized that I have been blogging over five years and still only have 15 followers. LOL.  The reality is that I love doing it just for my family and friends so they can check every now and again to see what I have been up to.  The other reason is the satisfaction of being able to share, vent and just express whatever it is that's in you mind without being judge or questioned.  So far I have not run out of things to write or photos to share, therefore I will continue to do until the process becomes a chore or when my mind isn't as sharp anymore.  OMG I hope it will be a very long time before that happens.  Here's what I did the other day.  Jeff trimed all the branches from our Mulberry tree, you know the ones that produces all the twigs that I made in the winter of 2014.  This year I was trying to make something different but since I did not have a lot of strength, I couldn't bend and shape

the twigs.  In the end, I took all the twigs with little buds so I can make a new center piece for our dining room.  It is a dry arrangement so it's very low maintenance.  Most likely it will stay until end of Spring.

First I arrange all the twigs on the ceramic vase (Jeff made this in 2008).

Then I added the red berry looking stuff I found in our backyard.

 

Material Monday - Still completing forms

Almost at the end of the month and we still have not submitted the forms because they are still some sections of the forms that needs a bit more work.  We probably have completed 75 percent of it and we need to the complete the forms online to make it official.  Although we have all the materials as evidence, we have to photocopy everything for submission.  I have to admit that we have not been giving it our hundred percent attention.  My excuse, I have been sick for a couple of weeks and completing forms is the last thing I want to do.  Good news is that I have completed my Canadian Income Tax and ready for submission this week.  Jeff's excuse, he has been truly busy with work and even after his normal hours, he still has to put in an extra couple of hours here and there.  The only way we can truly finish both application forms is to spend a weekend concentrating only on this task without interruptions.  We couldn't do it this past weekend because Jeff is trying to get everything ready for his income tax appointment in a couple of weeks.  In addition to that, we had to babysit the grandkids yesterday in order for their Dad to do some side job.  Almost forgot, I also had to do some of the house chores that has not been done due to my illness.  Of course I still have to take it a little easy as I did not want to push it.  Two weeks of staying at home is getting a little old.  I missed a couple of rounds of golf, one night of bowling, and have called in sick three times to the volunteer place.  I cannot believe what I saw in our front lawn which goes to show I did not even got a chance to look out the window while I was sick. Maybe these plants think that Spring is here. 

Surmount Saturday - I can't win

Just when I thought I was feeling better, my throat started feeling a little sore.  I made my ginger tea and finished the whole batch in two days.  My voice started to sound better until the Tuesday morning when I woke up.  There's not a lot of coughing but when I do, it hurts like hell.  It seems like the only thing that helps the soreness is my Fisherman's Friend. Thanks to my BFF Rose because the last time she visited she brought me some and I believe the last time I saw her in Las Vegas she also brought a few.  It's the only one I really like to take when I have a sore throat or colds because it's sugar free and it works for me.  But like anything, it's only a temporary relief.  I've been drinking a lot of liquids and staying away from dairy products.  The only relief is that I don't have achy muscles or headache nor runny nose. I am trying very hard not to just lie down and sleep.  But maybe that's what I just need, lots of rest.  You know that feeling when you have been under the weather for a few days, all you want is to get better and return to normal.  Sometimes it backfires when you try to rush it because you feel guilty about the house chores not being done or anything else that needs to be done are all off a sudden put on hold.  In the back of my mind, I am questioning myself why I did not get the flu shot, but I would have been in the same situation if I did.  That is why I just have to surrender and get it over with because I can't win.

This is how I want to feel and I want my bounce back.

 

Unfortunately, this is how I have been lately.