Knocking Out November!
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oh no! I did it again! A huge post and accidentally navigated off of the page. GRRR!!!!
Welcome back, Austin! Nice to see you. Nice job on your food yesterday.
Always love your 4 ladies chatting, Nance. Yay for now preferring your coffee black!
*blah blah blah....lots of words regarding Christmas knitting. no time to retype all that* Will post a pic of latest hat later today if I get it finished.
plan for today:
coffee x3 (I know I should cut that back but maybe later LOL)
smoothie
apple with almond butter
fajita bowl
have a great day everyone!1 -
Gah! What a day. I was supposed to be working from home half a day in the morning but my boss called last night panicking about something so I went in usual time this morning (7:30 a.m.) figuring I would leave at noon. All (censored) breaking loose today and I left at almost 5:00. I am home all day tomorrow though and if there are any panics I will have to deal with them remotely.
So anyway...
Austin, that menu sounds perfect again! I seem to find that it takes a good 2 weeks of strict before I realize I feel SO good that I want to keep it going. It's so weird how I can let not so great foods back into my life and not even really notice how I'm feeling worse for a while. We were just chatting about Panda Planner a few days ago. Are you still using that?
Carla, seems to be a theme for November, losing posts. I actually printed out the tu-no salad and the butternut squash soup so I can get those made. I have been so slacking on cooking lately and relying on salads and quickie stir-fry veggies.
Woohoo for the new hours starting, Nance! Loooove roasted veggies. So much more flavor and texture than steaming or skillet. Not that I don't eat a lot of steamed or sauteed veggies since they sure are easy.
B - 1 cup blueberries, 1/2 cup oats, tablespoon each of chia/flax and hemp hearts, forager unsweetened vanilla yogurt, cinnamon
L - big ol' salad with chickpeas added, "dressing" of a splash of bragg's and some dijon
D - another salad, not in the mood to cook and got home too late
Nance, glad you mentioned the forager yogurt. I bought some last week and finally tried it this morning. Since it is unsweetened I might consider adding a bit of more sweet fruit along with the berries in my oats. Maybe diced apple.
But I liked it!
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Gosh, Mihani...you cannot catch a break...hope today is event-free and you get to work from home, as planned.
Coffee
four star juice...decided not loving the spinach added...anyway, I love spinach sautéed...so there!
Just Egg...only with dusting of Violife hard parm ...using the that long grater thing a ma jig. Lots of volume...very little product.
Romaine salad with a few ingredients...not very involved. Dressing from California Balsamic (oil free...recommended by Chef AJ)
sheet pan roasted veggies
yogurt
CARLA, I hate when I lose posts...sooooooooo aggravating...
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Weird adjusting to the new format for MFP, but it sure is easier on my eyes!
Did work from home today. Got a couple files out of the way but still a long way to go. There were some distractions today with appliance delivery and just not hitting a groove. Usually when I'm working at home I get into a zone and just crank through work, but I was getting a fair number of interruptions from the office.
B - ezekiel toast with a smidge of almond butter and sliced banana
L - big ol' salad with chickpeas added
D - probably more salad, still not in the mood to cook
I opened a can of black olives earlier this week and have been adding half a dozen to my salads. Really enjoying that! I have some cans of artichoke hearts too. Will use one of those next week. Just seems to give an extra pop to the salads although I do rinse things like that to cut down the salt a bit.
I really need to take some time to cook this weekend.
Since I wasn't rushing off to work I vacuumed up all the dog hair this morning and straightened up the kitchen. Looks so nice.
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This new MFP format is not my jam. Just sayin'
I am still not done with the 2nd hat for Christmas and I have 5 more skeins of yarn arriving some time today. My goal is to get it off of the needles before the yarn is delivered.
I think I'll make the split pea soup today. It is cool but not cold outside. Still not getting frost in the mornings which normally happens by Halloween.
I was going to mention something else here, but forgot what I was going to say...giving up on that. Couldn't have been that important!
Mihani, it is amazing how much of a difference a good vacuum makes when you have dogs! It feels so good to have a nice clean kitchen, too, especially when it is all nice and new!
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Ha! Yeah, I get it not being your jam, Carla. I don't like change in general, and not totally grooving on the change but it is better for my eyes although I usually just zoomed the screen when needed before.
I just peeled and chopped a big butternut squash so I can make the soup you shared! I love/hate butternut squash. Love eating it, but peeling and chopping is a real pain. Sometimes I buy the packages of pre-cut.
Boss wanted me in the office again this morning so I went in at 7:30 and stayed until almost 11:30. Ran to grocery for a couple things for the soup and will be making that after I get a little more work done. I am not planning on working a whole lot more today and will get my cooking done and then I can spend all day tomorrow and Saturday at my desk without fussing about meals. Going to the office for a few hours on Sunday.
Also making sheet pan fajitas (already chopped the peppers and onion just have to do the portobellos when I'm ready to start them) and I'd like to make a pot of lentil soup that I can portion out for the freezer, but we'll see. Might have to put that off to the weekend. I bought celery for that a week ago and better get it made before too long or the celery will get icky.
B - evolve shake (was in a hurry this morning and I keep some of those in the office fridge for emergencies)
L - nothing yet, probably won't bother and have an early dinner
D - (planned) roasted butternut squash soup, watermelon
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Oh, and heck yeah vacuuming is awesome when you have dogs. I only have one now but he is one shedding beast. It's amazing that today it looks like I haven't vacuumed in a month. I did buy a cordless stick vac a couple years ago so it's easy to zoom around and keep on it now.
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Let me know how you like the soup! I agree about chopping up the bnut squash...I made Joe the deal that I'll make the soup if he chops it up! Better deal for me. I bought frozen for a recipe before but really didn't like the texture...almost turned me off of it entirely.
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Love the soup! The rosemary and sage really give it an interesting flavor. I was glad that you had to roast a whole lot of squash which wasn't all needed for the soup because the parchment paper slid when I was putting it back in the oven after stirring and almost half the squash landed on the bottom of the oven. I said lots of bad words.
Amazingly, I had exactly 4 cups of squash left! And will be test driving the self-clean feature on the new oven tomorrow. LOL
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Glad you like the soup (and had enough squash left after dropping some)! I am going to make it again soon. Has a real holiday feel to it.
Finally, a finished hat, and just before UPS dropped off another load of yarn.
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Horrible new set up! Don’t even get on on my iPad I’m not even trying to get on on my computer so I’m not even sure I’ll be back for a while that’s ridiculous
I’m on my phone and it’s a pain in the neck. Talk to you guys later I am not happy with this layout at all
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Whatever...am able to use computer... It is nicer, typing in this big blocked area...and the dictation on my phone worked nicely. Ok, I like the changes. LOL Let's see if my smiley's work...
NOPE
having coffee...BLACK...lunch is almost made...total game changer, knowing I work two days and then I am off Sunday...loving this.
coffee
just egg
juice (cuke, pineapple, ginger, lemon...with water, in the vitamix)
purple carrot frozen
baked potato and forager sour cream
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Love the hat,Carla!
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Taking a break from posting!
Be good!
Later, my sweet peas!
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I only post from my PC, so I'm not having to deal with the new format on my phone. If we can't get your smileys anymore, Nance, I will have to launch a protest!!! Yay for the new schedule!
Yesterday we ended up having a Gardein holiday roast with gravy and yams. Yum! I wish they were available all year long. I guess I should clean out my freezer so we could purchase a few extras. The stuff at the very bottom hasn't been seen in years, and we just keep fitting the few items we use at the very top. Whatever is under that is freezer burned for sure.
I will be catching up with a wonderful friend tomorrow through video chat. She lives in Canada and we haven't seen each other in over 2 years. Wow. Just typing that and seeing it on the screen makes me realize how long it has been and how much I miss her. So, needless to say, I'm looking forward to tomorrow's chat!
Not sure what we'll be having for meals today. I haven't been motivated to cook. We're pretty much down to 2 walks a day now with the doggos. Between the short days and the very windy and rainy weather we've been having, it just hasn't worked out. I should stop making excuses and just get out there. I am a little concerned when we have high wind warnings and we are walking the property near huge trees though. A massive branch fell into our yard the other day. The first of many to come if previous years are any indication.
Anyhoo, my thoughts are bee-bopping all over the place and I think I need my second cup of coffee, so I'll sign off for now.
Happy Friday everyone!
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More beautiful work, Carla! Lovely hat. The gardein sounds good. I haven't tried many of those types of things. I am making the long delayed sheet pan fajitas tonight. I too have had little motivation when it comes to cooking lately. So happy for you that you get to video chat with your friend tomorrow.
Nance, it is an adjustment for sure, but since I only post from my computer it's actually much easier to see now. I don't like having to click so many times to get to the group though. We need your smileys!!! I will join Carla in the protest if you can't use them. I tried one of the purple carrot entrees not too long ago and thought it was quite good and reasonably priced. I do wish there were some readily available frozen varieties without oil but I think I'm dreaming.
It is feeling pretty darn wintry here today. I hate any extreme of cold or heat. I want to live in 75ish degrees year round.
My boss gave me two acorn squashes so I think I will make those tomorrow. Thinking of a simple rice and veggie mixture to stuff them with. They are so pretty when made that way with the scalloped edges.
Worked most of the day here at home. Knocked off about 2:00 to run a couple errands and pick up my salads from my prepper friend. I will get in another hour or two of work then make the fajitas.
B - oats with lots of blueberries, forager yogurt, chia/flax, cinnamon
L - bowl of the soup I made yesterday
D - sheet pan fajitas, watermelon
I decided against doing juice today. I'll do a day or two next week.
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they fixed it...and actually put a note...you can use BBCode in your post...so, ok...I'm good!
Having my black coffee to celebrate...thanks you two...your protest must have worked! And I am at my computer and it is nicer, actually with this big blocked out area!
CARLA! I bought that Gardein roast as well. Was thinking Hot For Food roast would be ideal, but really and truly, I am not able to stand that long to do all that. Anyway, please tell me how you prepared it. I will be taking it to my sister's.
Mihani, how is the watermelon? Sprouts had a huge area dedicated...sweet? Please review.
You guys, I really love Just Egg liquid...of all the things I miss the most, it's scrambled eggs. Making it this morning for work...bought a little chunky thermos that hopefully will keep them my eggs hot.
Already I am loving my new schedule...I am going to do something monumental tomorrow to celebrate. I will report after the fact. In four years, I never missed a Saturday nor Sunday because of illness except for Covid.
Ok, here's my
menu: (definitely not the greatest but it will get better)
Black Coffee
four star juice
just egg with violife mozza
Gardein Chicken
baked potato with Salsa!
Love you guys...thanks for being so supportive.
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I love the idea you have about celebrating your first day off, Nance. Super excited and happy for you with this new schedule! We followed the quick directions on the Gardein roast, microwaving 3 minutes each side first to reduce baking time by half. We used our oven because we wanted our yams ready at the same time and we diced those and used the air fryer.
I'm with you on the moderate temperatures, Mihani. The ideal for me would be 55 to 70 range depending on the season. I do like the seasons. Maybe two weeks of cold enough for snow, and a week or two of 75 degrees in summer. Not that I'm picky LOL
I woke up with a bad headache after tossing and turning a while last night. I took 2 ibuprofen in the hope that I'll feel much better before my chat with my friend, Charity.
I didn't get around to cooking again yesterday, and ended up having a bowl of instant Udon Noodle soup for dinner. Pea soup tonight? Yes, I better get on that. Nothing on my 'to do' list today beyond making progress on the next toque and making food. A lazy Saturday!
Oh, btw, I'm doing a Christmas card exchange this year with any friends and family that are interested. We're writing a favorite recipe on the inside of the card as a keepsake. (I'm going to get lots of non plant-based recipes, but its not really about the recipe itself). If you're interested, private message me your mailing address and I'll reply with mine. No pressure at all!
(<- look at my lame smileys! so glad we have Nance here to spice things up!)
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Happy Saturday! I wasted a lot of my morning doing nothing much at all. Got a little work done after that, then took a nap. Now I have to start laundry and make lentil soup. I need to rearrange my freezer because I have too much stuff in there. I don't think enough that I have to plug in the little chest freezer in the basement, but if I'm going to freeze a batch of soup I need to make some room. There are probably a few containers of leftovers that have been in there too long and that will free up some room. Going to have to work ALL day tomorrow to make up for today but it's okay. I am sick of sitting at my desk and need a break.
Glad you are back and "smileying" Nance! Can't wait to hear what you do tomorrow to celebrate. The watermelon was one of those little ones and it was quite good. Not peak summer good, but I enjoyed it.
Carla, your Christmas card exchange sounds like such a nice idea! What is in your cooking plans today? Hope your headache is better.
B - leftover butternut squash and bean soup (yep for breakfast and it was so tasty and filling!)
L - not ideal... boca chik'n patty on ezekiel bread with onion and mustard
D - (planned) salad topped with some of the fajita veggies and cashew queso plus black beans and salsa, last of the watermelon
I don't think I will make the stuffed acorn squash until later this week. Still have half the batch of butternut squash and bean soup, plus a big container of the fajita veggies, and will be making the lentil soup this afternoon although most of that will go in the freezer in serving size containers. Plus lots of salad goodies. Too much food to eat up and will probably need to freeze some of the squash soup as well.
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Hmmmmmmmmm...I booked marked the last time I was on this page and it seemed to work. Took me right to Mihani's post...Nov 13. No clicking around. Might be a way around that!
Sorry bout the headache Carla. Man, headaches freak me out now. Since going plant based...no headaches...cept one in December. Not horrible...but guess what? That was on a Wednesday. By Saturday, lost taste and smell and by Monday I was getting tested for Covid.
I had a mild case. Just really tired, slept all the time...lost taste and smell for ten days...and coughed my head off. So now, when I get a headache...which is still rare, I stay...hmmmmmm...I need to more veggies in my life...or I just go...please, NO COVID.
Anyway, I am up early...starting with the laundrysorting and going to really try and get it done today...I always swear I won't let it get this bad...and guess what...I let it get this bad.
Napping IS important, Mihani...I have a book on it. Lots of companies have napping rooms...not sure how it works...but the idea is valid. Naps refresh and get you going again. I always nap on my days off.
Havingcoffee...then a two store quick trip...mainly, Sprouts for veggies and lettuce. Making roasted veggies today...and a few odds and ends at Walmart.
menu
coffee
juice
oatmeal and homemade almond milk
salad
sheet pan roasted veggies
yogurt
Found this smiley...what do you think, Mihani...does it say Carla on it? LOL
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Nance, that's perfect for Carla! Your plan today sounds good. Did you get all your errands done?
Carla, how was your video visit with your friend?
I have a freaking MOUSE in my kitchen. I saw him in the half bath off the kitchen this morning. At first I thought it was a stray tumbleweed of dog hair but it was moving awfully fast for that. Then I saw him! He ran right at me but stopped and ran back into the bathroom. I don't cope well with bugs and rodents in my house. Outside I'm all live and let live. So I have traps set all over the place and feel sad that I have to kill mousey but it's him or me, and I pay the mortgage. Right now I'm missing my cat who died a couple years ago. She was a very efficient mouser. The dog has NO interest in helping me this problem. I was telling him to go get it, and he's just like what, you have a treat?
Main concern is that where there is one mouse there very likely are more. I lived in a 100 year old house before I bought this one and had major problems with mice there. They got into everything in the kitchen, chewed up my clothes, pooped all over my counters, etc. My love of all living things stops right there.
Late breakfast/early lunch was sheet pan fajita veggies and cashew queso in an ezekiel tortilla.
Dinner will be a big ol' salad and will make a batch of the shane and simple vinaigrette dressing for the rest of the week.
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Cute quilt smiley! Did you do anything special to celebrate your first Sunday off, Nance?
I'm with you on mice, Mihani. They can't be left to reproduce inside and they quickly get out of hand. We had mice in our garage a few years back. We got rid of them, but when we took the car in for servicing a few weeks ago, they found mouse poop in some of the filters, and they had eaten through a plastic hose...which reminds me, they ordered that hose and we should have heard back by now so I'll have to contact them.
Tomorrow we have a company bringing water from the back of our property to up front where the shop and 'new' orchard are. Not looking forward to the people, noise and mud, but it will be nice to have it done. They initially said it would take 2 days, but with all the rain we've been having they are now saying by the end of the week. We're going to have some mopey dogs here since we won't be able to walk the field with the dogs when they are here. Maybe before they get here or after they leave, but it will be a muddy mess so probably only once a day.
I had a nice long video chat with Charity. It was great to catch up and we're going to try to do it more frequently.
This coming week is a testing week at work plus 2 instruction manuals to work on so less time for knitting. I'm hoping to get the hat that is on the needles finished, plus one more by the end of next weekend. I should get a bunch of knitting time over Thanksgiving too since we'll be staying at home.0 -
is right! I remember living in Half Moon Bay (northern California)...and I had to deal with a mouse...not fun. So, I get what you're going through, Mihani.
Loved that you had a good visit with your friend, Carla. Making time for these kinds of visit is so important. My bff and I need to do that more often. We say we are going to, each time we visit...and then, nothing comes of it.
Yesterday was delightful did have one thing that I did not get to...and I so wanted to report that today...of course, that was getting in the pool...HOWEVER, I had ordered a Suncast outdoor trunk that you can sit on (and for me, easily...it's not low, which is so hard on my knees)...
anyway, I got Lulu outside twice on a long leash for her to play in my grassy area right off our patio. She does not understand fetch...she chases the ball and and then plops down next to it. Never brings it back.
Well, she manages to find ways to entertain herself with a little help from me and wear herself out...so we did that TWICE yesterday...so that was special since I could not do that if I were working.
I work 12 hours today...did not sleep all that well, but I have all my meals ready and that is at least something.
Did not do my roasted sheet pan veggies. Will do tomorrow.
Coffee
juice
Just Egg
rye bread sandwich
something not so great from the Gardein Frozen Dept
yogurt
...have a wonderful, MOUSE-Free day!
Only acceptable mice>>>
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Lulu was so happy yesterday…goal is four days a week’. My patio furniture arrives Thursday!0 -
Lulu is so stinkin' CUTE, Nance. You can tell she has a lot of personality. Glad you enjoyed your day together.
Carla, yep the mice can get out of hand quickly. I got one, and hopefully if there are any more they will be quickly gone as well. Makes me sad but they can't be allowed to multiply. Yay for a nice visit with your friend!
B - an evolve shake
L - salad
D - leftover sheet pan fajita veggies and cashew queso in an ezekiel tortilla
The second little watermelon I got was blah. I threw it out after one bite.
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Lulu is super cute and totally stylin' in her plaid outfit!
We've had massive flooding in our county and across the border in the towns where friends and family live. People are still being rescued from their homes by boat, and several areas were evacuated. The rain finally stopped yesterday afternoon, but with warmer than usual weather and raining in the mountains and debris blocking drainage I'm not sure that it is entirely over yet. I've seen plenty of homes with standing water several feet high in them. Apparently right now the entire lower mainland (the most populous area of B.C. including Vancouver and the cities around it) is currently cut off from the rest of the province and country. Between a few mudslides and the main highway having a large section totally washed away I think it's going to be a while before they can fix it. I guess there's a work-around where you can cross the border, drive beyond all that and then cross again. My dad has surgery coming up in Alberta, but he and my mom are flying there so they should be okay. Crazy to have widespread flooding here. It hasn't happened before that I know of.
I guess after all of that, I should mention that Joe and I came away unscathed, as did my family. Our property is on higher ground. The neighbor's pond overflowed a bit so we have a temporary pond by our fence, but nothing damaging. Ruby is hilarious when there's water involved. She goes charging into the middle of the pond-puddle, stops with a look of delight and then uses her face to toss water up in the air. We're going through lots of extra doggie-towels right now.
plan for today
smoothie
ezekiel bread with nut butter
stir fried veggies and tofu over noodles with peanut sauce
dontcha just love that toast with pnut butter is the actual plan for lunch? LOL0 -
Toast with peanut butter is one of life's most perfect foods, Carla! I'm so glad you and your family are safe but wow, what a disaster with all that flooding and damage. I will have to look up the news stories. I've been a bit out of things.
I tried a new to me breakfast cereal... Bob's Red Mill Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal. I added some blueberries and walnut halves and cinnamon. I don't know that it was "mighty tasty" but it was good and a change of pace from oats.
Lunch wasn't ideal. Boca chik'n patty on ezekiel bread with lettuce and spicy mustard, plus a handful of blue corn chips.
Dinner will be leftover sheet pan fajita veggies and cashew queso in an ezekiel tortilla. Probably an apple sprinkled with cinnamon and cardamom for dessert.
I would say I am overdoing the starches today? LOL
Took the day off. Lost a dear friend last night and I'm really struggling with emotions. Barely slept last night. I will get to bed early tonight and get back to the office to soldier on tomorrow.
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Lulu says thanks for all the love!
Holy Cow, Carla...that is stuff we see on TV on the weather channel. Thank goodness you're ok. Crazy how life can change just like that! Tough times for some people this Thanksgiving.
Would love some pictures of Ruby, living her best life.
Oh I am so sorry, Mihani...that is terribly sad! Was your friend ill for awhile or was this sudden. In any case, my condolences. Time for you to be gentle with yourself.
Not the best menu...not the worst. Loads of fresh stuff but I did have a Gardein Chick'n patty in lettuce wrap.
coffee
juice
Just Egg with mushrooms, spinach and onions
Gardein Chick'n lettuce wrap with 505 Hatch Green chili
Salad...really simple with one slice, toasted rye bread
yogurt
Lulu had a great workout today...and she made friends with the neighbor...he was having coffee on his patio and she wandered over there for lots of petting from him. Lulu is on a 50 food lead. So she can RUN. She runs great to the ball, and then stops. And she comes when I call her. She ran a lot today. That makes me happy.
Time to cuddle and watch ID channel and see the bad guys get caught.0 -
GM my sweet peas...
up early...hair cut for me across town...
coffee
juice
just egg with mushrooms, onions and spinach
juice
roasted veggies and rice
yogurt
Hoping you guys are doing ok...both of you are dealing with tragedy...
be well, be safe...talk to you later.0 -
Sorry you are going through the loss of your friend, Mihani. Thinking of you. Glad you took a day off.
Yes, Nance...that's what Joe and I were saying...looks like something you see on the news, somewhere else.
So last night my mom called me as I was falling asleep to say that my brother and family can't leave their place because although their house is dry, they are surrounded by flooding water. She said they should have done something during the day because now they might have to leave in a little boat in the middle of the night with their family (2 adults 3 kids) and his SIL's family that lives next door (5 kids I think). So of course, I start to stress out. I'm trying to call my brother on his cell and there's no answer. 20 minutes later I get a text from him, it turns out he's NOT on the 'bad' side of the *kitten*, they are safe and dry, there's no middle-of-the-night rowboat escape planned and he was out helping fill sandbags for the side that's in trouble which is why he didn't answer the phone.
Should have known better than to listen to my Mom. She is a real worrier and I guess she was talking more about how she imagined they'd have to escape rather than the real situation. I would be irritated, but I know she was really in a panic.
Needless to say, it was a bit of a late night. I'm super thankful that my family is all safe. A cousin and her family, and my aunt and uncle had to evacuate their homes. Ironically, my aunt and uncle had just had all of their floors and baseboards replaced and walls painted to fix damage they had from leaking pipes.
It is a clear and frosty morning here. We still have one large puddle on our property, which happens to be where the workers need to run our water line...so we have to wait until it drains before we can move forward with that.
With roads washed out and closed due to flooding, plus my own anxiety in general, I decided to cancel the mammogram I had scheduled for this week. We're also probably going to wait until next week before taking the car back to get the mouse-chewed hose replaced. So, all of a sudden, after getting my work done for the week I will have a pretty stress free time at home.
Finished another toque. 4 more to go!0
