Wednesday, October 19, 2016

We had a great concert last night. Both Mary (Flower) and Nathan (Tinkham) had been here before; Mary for our very first House Concert and Nathan came with Cindy Church for a Cranberry Hall concert. It was like having “old friends” join us and they were both very appreciative of our hospitality. Mary did a wonderful job of promoting our House Concert series at the show last night and I think we’ve picked up a few more followers because of her.

I offered Butter Tarts (because I had more than a few) for dessert at supper last night. Mary had never heard of a Butter Tart; Nathan and Pat tried to explain to her what they were. When I brought some to the table she wasn’t sure how to eat it. She was surprised they came out of the foil and weren’t as messy as she assumed they would be.

After the concert I offered some Pumpkin Slice (because I had more than a bit) and the entire concept of a slice was lost on her. She envisioned a slice of pumpkin similar to a slice of orange – not tempting! She opted for a bagel and cheese before going to bed. This morning I jokingly offered more pumpkin slice and, after an explanation of what it was, she took a small container along for the road trip back to Victoria.

Obviously political views are not the only difference between Americans and Canadians! Nathan had a good explanation for Trump supporters; Trump allows all the closet bigots and chauvinists to come out of the closet. We traded a few Trump jokes and stories around the table.

I’m off to my Sashiko and Boro embroidery class tonight. This afternoon, while I do a couple of loads of laundry, I’ll work on (and maybe finish) my last Hallowe’en cross stitch project.

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Often the Friends of the Library group work the concession at Cranberry Hall. This morning the husband of one of the people who usually work for them asked for a ticket to Mary’s show “because my wife is working the concession”.

I asked Pat several times over the last few weeks if he was sure the Friends weren’t working the hall tonight. No, he hadn’t arranged anything he assured me. When I left for quilting Pat was still waiting to hear whether or not I was doing the concession. I’m not.

So would you like a cookie (I have 4 dozen), a butter tart (I have 2 dozen), a slice of pumpkin square (I have a 9×13 pan of them), or perhaps one of 50 Hallowe’en chocolate bars?

Monday, October 17, 2016

It was a small crowd at the Song Circle yesterday but, while the songs were sung, I did some knitting. I have to keep the coffee fresh and the water hot for tea, although I think everyone was drinking coffee yesterday. The treats were appreciated, and I had some left to bring home.

Today was more cleaning and baking. I was done about two, but unfortunately there was almost two more hours of work left!. I did more than I really wanted to do but less than I could have so I’m calling it even. I’ll have to repeat all of the cleaning for the House Concert next week so the things I didn’t do today might get done next time!

I baked two dozen butter tarts and tried a new recipe for a pumpkin slice for the concession tomorrow night. I need to serve items that don’t require more than a napkin and the pumpkin slice was a risk. I tried a piece after it cooled and it holds together well but I think I’ll serve it in cupcake papers just in case. We’re planning on Shepherd’s Pie for dinner tomorrow so I got the potatoes cooked and mashed for that; Pat will put it together in the morning.

One of the curtains in the guest room has been hanging by push-pins since our last House Concert. The rod gave way and I needed help putting the new one up. I used one of the rods I purchased for my Farmer’s Wife quilt; since that quilt is a long way from being done I don’t think I’ll miss it. Pat changed the rod and the room is ready. We need two beds for this show but I had the downstairs pretty much finished yesterday.

Do you remember this? Do you have one? Who gave them to us? Were our pjs really small enough to fit in them? I’ve used mine over the years for various things; it’s latest use was to hold my clothes pins. With the deluge of rain we’ve had (and will likely continue to get until Spring) I decided to wash the holder and do a bit of repair on it. I may repurpose it yet again; Emma knit me a tube that I’ve used to store my summer socks in but I think this might be a good place for my winter socks.

Time now to gather my projects for the bee tomorrow.

Sunday, October 16, 2016

About the time I was going to write my Journal last night the lights went out. I’ll be tied up with the Song Circle until dinner time so I’ll do today’s post early and yesterday’s late.

I started my day yesterday at the grocery store. I had a small list of things I needed for baking and there had been a few items added to our personal shopping list. I was home in time to get everything put away before sitting down to watch Dylan’s football game.

It was a disappointing loss (by only two points) and had they won they would have made the playoffs. I’m getting better at anticipating where to look for Dylan on the field but I have to imagine his face because those helmets don’t allow for even a peek. The announcer for the game was particularly biased – he actually cheered when Chilliwack scored a touchdown. It wasn’t a good day for playing outside; it rained the entire game but at least it wasn’t windy.

After lunch I started baking. I intended to use Mum’s recipe for peanut butter cookies but when I was at the store (to buy peanut butter) I found a PB cookie mix. They aren’t bad and they look very homemade – I don’t think anyone will know! I got two dozen cookies from the mix but I would make them a bit smaller next time and I think I could stretch them to close to three dozen. I’ll offer them today at the Song Circle along with some Girl Guide cookies.

My second batch was Mum’s Oatmeal cookie recipe – the one with coconut and raisins. I swapped the raisins for cranberries to make them a bit more seasonal. These I’ll save for the Mary Flower concession.

The day was almost over by the time I finished. Pat was going out for the evening and I settled in to catch up on a Netflix series. I had a good chat with Stacia and Deloise as we made plans for our Houston trip. Pat laughed at me for keeping the flashlight beside me but I was glad I had it when the power went out. I got out the candles and had enough iPad battery to do a puzzle. Pat’s event was just a block away; he came home about 10 and said they had never lost power. This is the second time this week that we’ve lost power – about two hours each time. According to the forecast we won’t see the sun for a week but they haven’t announced any further storms.

I’ll do a bit of cleaning this morning before we head out to the Song Circle. We need two beds for the Mary Flower concert so the basement needs some organizing. I need to do load of laundry to take back to the hall from the clean-up I did last week. Now that Pat is up I can start that and finish the dishwasher cycle that was interrupted last night.

But first a shower and some breakfast.