Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Yesterday was a long day. I was up at 4:30 AM Saskatoon time (translates to 2:30 AM my time) and didn’t get back home until the 4:30 PM ferry (my time). I had a long wait in the Edmonton airport but it gave me a chance to finish up the hand stitching I had taken on my trip.

Although I didn’t have a chance to see either Will or Alex on the ice, we had a few games of bowling and baseball before hitting the indoor zip line!

Deloise and Stacia hosted a wonderful Open House; I saw lots of McKnight cousins, nieces and nephews. I spent a couple of nights there so there was lots of “sister” time. We’ll be together at the end of May next year when they come out to Vancouver for Quilt Canada. I heard talk of them getting Houston projects finished so they could buy from the Canadian vendors – I’m glad I haven’t made any such commitments!

Kathryn was off the entire time I was there, but she works every weekend in December. While I was with them they set up their Christmas tree. She has some of the same ornaments as I have but it was fun to see the new ones she has collected.

Will’s big job was to find the fireplace channel on the TV. We were disappointed that we were too early for Christmas music.

It was a great trip and the weather was really nice. I never once had to wear either my toque or my mitts.

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

I still had a few things left to do before my trip so I decided not to go to the bee. I didn’t have anything urgent that needed to be stitched, although there was lots that I could have done. I did a bit of shopping this morning and got home just in time to do an online check-in for my flights tomorrow. I’ve got most of my suitcase packed and I’ve decided on what boots to wear and what coat to bring; it isn’t easy when you are going between heavy rain (here) and cold (in Saskatoon). There are still a few things on the bed that I need to see if I can squeeze in anywhere, and the size of my carry-on purse is yet to be determined.

I went out to QiGong tonight. I hate going out in the dark but I’m always happy I did it. Only one class left in this series. The last one is the night I return so I may or may not make it.

I’m looking forward to seeing family over the next week – the time will go too fast!

Monday, November 20, 2017

I started feeling the Christmas spirit today. I dropped off several bags of knitting to the Salvation Army for their Christmas boxes. It is quite surprising how much I was able to get done in a year; on the other hand you might say I’ve spent way too many evenings watching TV!

I got a bit of payback for my good deed later in the morning. I had to stop at the Credit Union with a Cranberry Hall deposit. I’ve learned that the best time to go is just before closing; early in the morning has everyone lined up and at almost every other time of day tellers are off for coffee or lunch. But today when I stopped in I walked right up to a teller, made my deposit and was out in less than five minutes!

I spent some time prepping for a hand stitching project for my travels. So far I’ve been tracing and cutting both fabric and paper; the sewing part will happen either on the plane, in airports, or once I get to Saskatoon. I think I’ve almost finished piling up “stuff” to take with me so tomorrow I’ll see how much of it will actually fit into my suitcase.

I got a few groceries when I was out; there was a special on some snack crackers so I stocked up. When I went to put them into the pantry cupboard there wasn’t room so I decided to make some Rice Krispie squares. Using up the cereal in the box gave me all the room I needed for the crackers. I melted the butter and measured out the cereal but when I put the marshmallows into the pan they didn’t melt the way they should have. They melted but just into a glutinous mass that would be impossible to add the Rice Krispie to. I checked online and marshmallows do go bad – who knew! I also learned that trying to make Rice Krispie squares with less-than-fresh marshmallows meant that if you were able to get the cereal mixed in they would harden into a cement-like form. So the marshmallow mixture went into the garbage, the rice krispies went back into the cupboard (yes, I found room) and next time marshmallows are on sale I’ll store them in the freezer!

Sunday, November 19, 2017

I’m gradually crossing items off my list – as of right now I’m half-way done! I notice that packing isn’t actually on the list but I have lots of stuff spread out on the bed waiting to be packed. I even did a couple of loads of laundry today.

I don’t know if it is this new desk but I spent most of my morning catching up on paperwork. I cleared out my In Basket, including the filing that had piled up. I caught up on some Cranberry Hall business (including filing) and I have a deposit ready for the bank tomorrow. There are two Advent calendar game packages ready to take to the post office; getting those packages out was my biggest concern before leaving. I did all my on-line Christmas (and birthday) shopping this morning and I paid my upcoming bills. All that and my desktop is still clean.

We had another storm blow through last night, lasting most of the day. It still looks quite miserable out there but the ferries are running again. It isn’t often that the Texada run is canceled but that happened earlier in the day. It is no surprise when the Comox run is canceled. I’ve checked the forecast and although there is some wind predicted for Wednesday it doesn’t look like it will be enough to be a concern for taking the ferry across to catch my flight. It does add another level of stress to traveling though.

I’m off now to pull out some donation items for the Salvation Army. I’m afraid if they don’t get them before I leave their Christmas packages will have been packed.