Flu Friday - Trick or Treat

Exactly a week ago I went with my MIL and got our flu shot.  Today I have a mild flu with pain in joints and muscles, fatigue, a mini cold and off and on body heat.  It never fails for at least 4 years in a row.  So that is the TRICK, you get the shot to avoid the flu but you get it anyway.  The TREAT is that I get to do nothing, just rest and let the body heal without taking any medications.  Jeff is a great nurse which helps me get better quicker.  The other treat is that today is Halloween and we will end up with the leftover candies.  The trick is to buy only the ones we like so that we can enjoy the rest. Last weekend we attended a costume party and we chose to be a team of Pilot and co-pilot with our own CranberryAir. We have to thank our friend Jean for allowing us to borrow from her daughter's collection of Halloween costume. Thank you Ashley!

Co-pilot

Pilot

Husband and wife team. It was a perfect evening as we just walked to the party.

 

 From all of us at

Tradesman Thursday - Jeff of all traits and a master of some

On Monday afternoon on my way home from golf I noticed a weird sound each time I stepped on the breaks.  I was a bit worried so I stopped at a gas station just to do a cursory check just in case there was something stuck on the wheels or tires.  When I did not see anything, I thought it must be the break pads.  As soon as I got home, I explained that sound to Jeff as two metals grinding together.  He knew exactly what I was talking about.  That same night we went to O'Reily auto supplies for some break pads.  Although it was already late, Jeff decided to work on my car to ensure that it will be available for me for the next day.  Before moving here, I would spend quite a bit of money each time I take my car to a mechanic.  Now a days, Jeff is my mechanic.  He would rotate my tires, change oil, change break pads, maintain the air pressure, as well as washing and detailing my car.  Am I lucky or what!  So you might be wondering what other tradesman can he be.  Here's a few of them.

Carpenter or construction worker - he learned a lot from his dad who was a Carpenter

Plumber - it's not one of his favorite but he can do from the simplest repair to some complicated problem.

 

Electrician - now his son has become one and soon to be a journeyman.

Tiler - Jeff has done some beautiful tile work in our home.

Mechanic- with Jeff there is no waiting time and no added cost.

Gardener/landscaper/tree trimmer - he is learning a lot about planting different vegetables and fruits.

And for his day job, he designs something like this - PC Board.

 

Watchful Wednesday - Our surroundings

With all the recent health crisis, one might want to just live in a bubble.  But we know that is not possible.  I recently had another Flu shot which means in another week there is a good chance that I will get another Flu.  One would think that after each and every year I get the shot, I am protected.  My doctor recommends that I get it due to my health conditions.  Hopefully this year it's not going to be the same.  And with the Ebola scare, people are starting to reconsider their travel plans, even if they are not going to these special countries.  We can prevent some of the health concerns and avoid places that might have certain diseases, but we truly cannot prevent other illnesses.  All we can do is be aware of what's out there, what preventative care we can take, and try to live a healthy life style whatever that might be.

Tenacious Tuesday - Jeff the gardener

It has been a while since I checked our front yard to see what has been growing.  I did notice some of the plants that Jeff added this summer has grown so much.  Yesterday when I got home I decided to take some photos to share what has happened to all these plants.  Jeff is really getting into the gardening.  Our backyard has a bigger planter box for all the different vegetables he is trying to grow.  Right now they are just little tiny sprouts and there's not much to show.  Jeff also started reading some gardening books as well as online DIY on growing certain crops.  It's weird that the pineapple plant and dragon fruit are showing some signs of growth.  Not sure if they would survive the winter months because both are tropical fruits.  Anyway, let me show you some of the produce and some of the plants.

The lime tree use to bear one or two fruit per season when it was in a pot, now that it's on the ground it has at least 20.

A mandarin orange? This one was also in a big pot in the backyard, now there's at least 6 oranges.

It's still small but this is butternut squash and there's at least 8 and a few more flowers.

Some sort of small daisy, when we planted this it was such a small plant.

Not sure what this is, but it's suppose to be a ground cover.  This one was so tiny when I planted it.

The beginning of some palm trees which for some reason just started growing in our front yard.

 

Sneak Sunday - Football day

SNEAK -An offensive play in which the quarterback, immediately on receiving the snap dives forward with the ball. The play is used when a team needs a very short gain to reach either the goal line or the line to gain.

Beginning today, I will learning a new football terminology in order for me to understand the game and really enjoy it.  Although I have the basic knowledge which I learned from my friend Andre during a return flight from Amsterdam to Toronto.  I guess we couldn't sleep on the flight and no good movie to watch.  So he took out a pad of paper and started explaining the game.  Today my favorite team (New England Patriots) won and during the second quarter they had three touchdowns within 57 seconds.  It was an exciting game that each touchdown, Jeff would hear me saying Wwwhhhaaattt!.  Not only am I going to learn the lingo, I also plan to get to know the players and the rest of the team.  Right now, I just know Brady as the quarterback and Grankowski as the receiver.  Ooops, I just remembered the name of the head coach - I call him BB (Bill Belichik).  This post must be boring to some of my readers except maybe a few of the boys. Not only do I watch football on Sunday, I also watch Monday and Thursday night.  Even if my team is not playing, I watch it to see the different type of plays and actually get it. As for Christmas gift, I am adding this to my list, a navy blue T-shirt with the Patriot's team logo.  I'm sending my letter to Santa now to ensure delivery.

Flavourful Friday - Food glorious food

Do you remember the movie Oliver?  Do you recall the part where the little boy says "more please"?  That was not really an exciting meal, I believe it was just porridge.  Anyway, I don't think anyone of my reader would remember that movie as it was very old, just like me.

When you hear someone saying glorious food, it means it's something extra special, something that is full of flavor.  Today is just a collection of some of the recent meals that we have tasted. 

Caldereta (filipino spicy beef stew) for Friday night dinner.

Prosciutto and pear sandwich from Toronto Airport restaurant.

Caesar Green beans salad which I made while visiting my friend in Ottawa.

 

Crabcake with rice and coleslaw at a restaurant in Charlottetown, PEI.

My camera's battery was very low - but my dinner was similar to this at Shadowbrook restaurant.

Trendy Thursday - Shopping with my BFF

Last week while my friend Lorna was visiting, I took her to some of her favorite stores.  One day we spent part of the day at Valley Fair Mall and had lunch at California Kitchen Pizza.

Then in the evening we took her to check out Santana Row and had a chance to stop for some chai latte and pastry.  Since she was doing a bit of Christmas shopping, I decided to take her to Gilroy outlet to get some of the real bargains.  It has been our tradition that when we get together, we always buy something the same.  Whether it's a simple t-shirt, a nice top or a fashion ring.  This trip, we did all of that.  Our matching t-shirt was from CK, the classy top is from the LOFT (Ann Taylor) and our fashion ring was from a local jewellery store in Capitola.  Almost forgot the shopping she did at KOHLS which was quick since both my MIL and myself were looking for the sale items.  The best part is that she left me with a $50 Kohls cash to use the next time I shop at Kohls.   

Talkative Tuesday - Let them be

Everyone seems to be a little talkative now and then.  Sometimes it's because there's so much to cover in such a short time.  Other times it's just some people just love to take over the conversation.  And then there's the ones that loves interrupting the one currently speaking.  I have to admit sometimes I get overly excited about the news that I wanted to share or maybe it's a dilemma that I need some answers.  There was a time when I was talking to my daughter on the phone and I completely forgot that maybe she needed to share her stories.  Since there was only a certain amount of time for our chat, we ended the call without her getting the chance to talk.  After that incident, I really try not to take over the conversation.  Now I am very cautious to make sure I let the person talking finish what they are trying to say.  At the end of the day, if I just listened to their stories, I feel better that I listened and it was not about me.  Today is a quiet day since I am concentrating of my sewing projects.  There's only a month left before the holiday boutique in our neighborhood and I need to be ready with my products.  So far I have the pin cushions, baby bandana bibs, kitchen towels and potato bags.  I'm planning to add some small cheap items like fridge magnets and maybe some napkin holders.

 

Mopey Monday - She had to

She deserves to freeze her buns off in Canada because she left.  We were just starting to have some great fun and her husband demanded her return.  I really did not understand the reason for the rush as she is retired.  We could have had more time to do some creative stuff (see first photo) but at the same time, we would have done some damage.  Her suitcase was stuffed like the thanksgiving turkey.  Every nook and cranny is full.  I was trying to convince her to take my big black luggage that I have been trying to get rid off,  NO GO.  Hopefully the next guest can take it back to Canada.  She promised to come back someday with her hubby so I don't have to worry about her cutting her trip short.  Surely it will many months before I see her again but we both know that it really doesn't matter how long we have been apart, because when we reconnect, it will be just like yesterday.  

Scarf for Chris and his son Thomas. I was able make a bandana style bib for Thomas.

The day we took Lorna to see Capitola Beach.

Mini Martinis from Shadowbrook. Lorna had the two in the middle and I drank the one on each end.