Sweden won in a SHOOT OUT!

Hey Allen and Tanja - Happy New Years - you just won the New Years eve Canada/Sweden hockey game in a shoot out - Just listening to the Swedish National Anthem and celebrating at home with my hubby!

HAPPY NEW YEARS SWEDISH RELATIVES!

Beautiful - Rhema Marvanne

Please go to the bottom of the blog and turn off the music player by clicking on the two lines and then listen to this new lovely 7 year old singing. Her name is Rhema Marvanne. She lost her mom to ovarian cancer in 2008. The word Rhema means AN UTTERANCE and in biblical jargon means one that is SPOKEN BY GOD! This is so beautiful and hope you all enjoy it!

Cousins Christmas Get Together 2010

I made the Christmas apron with a picture of our grandparents on the bib.

Lunar Moon

Went onto my buds blog and found out about the Lunar Eclipse and when our son got home from a late birthday celebration he woke me and Jim up to come outside at 2:20 a.m. to see the stars out full and the eclipse - I had thought that their was cloud cover but when we went out it was amazing. We watched as the moon became a sliver and blood red! Awesome - Thanks son for getting us up to see this Solstice Phenomena! Fun!

Christmas Cookies

My friend up north makes the most beautiful Christmas Cookies. I wait to see the picture of them each year. Bravo CLR with this years exquisite baking plethora of delicious mouthwatering delights. Cheers!

9 Year Old Piano Solo

Scroll down to turn off the Player at the bottom on blog by clicking the arrow

2006 Budweiser Clydesdales Snowball Fight

I had not seen this before (2006). My neice has horses and one is a Clydesdale. I just sent this to her but she had seen it and rolled on the floor laughing of course when she first saw it but now she wants me to finally ride one of her horses - I am afraid of horses - Should be interesting when this takes place. Scroll down if you wish to turn off the music player at the bottom of the blog to hear the tune on this commercial

Swiss Chalet Gathering

Ok, I absolutely do not like pics of myself these days - I have a thyroid problem and hate pics of me - Yes, vain - Nevertheless, my friends had a great day having a Christmas lunch together and I got to wear my fabulous find from Kingsway Lampton United Church - for only 5 bucks in the Spring. I showed it to my Hungarian neighbour and she said that - that today would cost over a 100 dollars if not more - I went up to moms before getting together with my friends and she just loved it. This pic is for my bud from the Yukon. SZIA Carol.

ITS A DERAILMENT

We put the battery operated train around the Christmas tree this year and still keep having derailments. Here is a pic of Jim trying to fix it!

Christmas 2010 Update

Hope all who view here are well and resting and not crazy like alot of people out their shopping. I got all done this year mostly to help my 88 year old mom feel in the spirit of Christmas. We had got her a Poinsetta but it was not a good one and since I save my Christmas receipts took it back and got one 3 times as big. Took it up today and she was so pleased. We are done shopping and the rest of the Christmas presents are baking. I did a test run for Tourtielle - It turned out fab - Did a test run for the stocking Christmas cake - It too turned out fab. This week - I will get back down into the sewing room - looking forward to that. And the week before Christmas will cook! Looking forward to the pics of my buds christmas cookies from the Yukon - I always look forward to that! Anyway, will post this week as I finish my sewing creations.

When should the elderly stop driving

My mom got her license this year but has said this will be the last year of driving. It is a bit of a concern to our family as her short term memory is going. My Aunt sent this funny pic to me:

WERE BAAAAAAAK!

I did it - I got the homestead all set up for Christmas - LET THE SEWING BEGIN!

When you talk to me this is where I am sitting. I got the Santa chair cover at a garage sale for a few dollars and grumpy MAXINE keeps me company for when I need to KVETCH! I was so pleased at the Church of the Atonement in Alderwood to find the adorable ceramic Log Cabin that has a tea light inside as well for only 3 dollars. It makes you feel like you really are out in the wilderness. I pretend!!! LOL! Got the tree up yesterday and will still be making some popcorn cranberry garland and am baking some gingerbread men that I will decorate with Royal Icing to hang. The theme this year is A CHILDRENS CHRISTMAS. We bought the train around 15 years ago and only put it around the tree once - so this year I got it out and got 6 C batteries and VOILA - it worked - PTL. It goes forwards and backwards and toots. I got the childrens rocking chair for 5 dollars and brought out Linnea (the gardener) doll and Shlomo the cat to sit on it. Like I said - its a Childrens Christmas and still have a few more toys coming out. Got 4 of these vintage plastic placemats for the kitchen table for almost free. Went to the Islington United Church Fall Fair nearing the end and they told you to get a bag (which was quite large) and fill it up for only 2 dollars. Got this vintage stocking cake pan for 3 dollars at the Legion Christmas fair. Hopefully will make a cake for Christmas 2010 in this. Have to talk to the cakemaker Sharon when she gets back on Saturday about the best way to put the batter in and then make sure it comes out so as to decorate the Stocking Cake

THE BEST AND EASIEST GREEN TOMATOE PICKLE

I have alot of green tomatoes left so thought I would post this recipe:

Green tomato pickle - Chef: Sally Wise - Sally says this is "...the best and easiest pickle recipe she's ever come across".

You need:
Tomatoes, vinegar, sugar, spices and flavouring. Use a good quality curry powder for best results.

750 ml bottle vinegar (white gives the best presentation)
3kg (6lb) green tomatoes
1kg (2lb) onions
small handful of salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1kg (2lb) sugar
3 tablespoons curry powder
3 tablespoons mustard powder

Method:
Chop the onions and tomatoes, sprinkle with salt, mix well in a bowl, then leave to stand overnight.
Next day drain off the fluid. Add three quarters of the vinegar, bring to the boil and boil for 10 minutes. Add the sugar, bring back to the boil, stirring, then boil for one hour, stirring often.
Mix the remaining vinegar with the dry ingredients. Add to the pot and stir until well combined. Boil 5 minutes, then bottle and seal.

THIS WEEKS RECIPE

BEST HOT CRAB DIP!

Ingredients

2 cups crabmeat
1 cup sour cream
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup white Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup capers, drained
2 (8 ounce) cans artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon dried dill, or to taste
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning TM, or to taste
1 (8 ounce) round loaf sourdough bread

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease an 8x8 inch square baking pan.
In a large bowl, combine crabmeat, sour cream, cream cheese, buttermilk, mayonnaise, Monterey Jack cheese, Cheddar cheese, capers, artichoke hearts, garlic, black pepper and dill. Stir until well mixed. Spoon dip into prepared baking pan. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and Old Bay Seasoning TM.
Bake in preheated oven until top is crusty, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Cut the top off the loaf of bread. Hollow out the loaf and cube the top and the removed pieces so that they may be used for dipping. Spoon hot dip into hollow bread loaf. Serve immediately with bread pieces for dipping.

Rosa's Newfies In Bollywood Party

Here are just a few pics. It was chilly so we hung out in the livingroom. Great people, great food, a wonderful time was had by all.

TERRY'S BIG PUMPKIN - 1,055.2 lbs.

YOU DID IT! WOW! Big hug and the heartiest of congradulations! Terry came in 20th. Pretty amazing achievement for a first timer at the Port Elgin Festival that attracts up to 60,000 people. This years winner came all the way from Quebec with the pumpkin weighing in at 1,618.2 pounds.


(Scroll down first to turn off the Music Player at the bottom of blog to listen to youtube below)

Fallmans New Surprise

Introducing our extended families new little one. ELIN from Sweden. We are so happy for the whole family. The first grandchild for Allen and Tanya! What a Christmas this will be for you all. What a beauty! ELIN has ears to HEAR! May God bless your family with this new little one! Enjoy Magnus and Ann-Sofie they grow up so fast!

I NEED SOME HAPPY AND THIS IS IT!

My buddy Dottie loves life. She loves her hubbie, her son, her dog, her cat and her chickens. She loves to canoe, she loves nature and she loves to garden and like me likes a deal and second hand stores. We have known each other since the 70's and have always connected. Dot would send me pics of her and her chickens which she calls her GIRLS. I was out one day at a 2nd hand store and found 3 metres of chicken fabric which only cost me 2 buckeroonees. I bought it and made Dot an oven mitt and a barbeque apron. I found a very funny joke which I put onto the front. Found out that some of the chickens glowed in the dark. Oh, the joke had a thing about wax lips. I have tried to download the joke front but it will not. The long and short of it is there are a bunch of chickens in a coop and one main chicken has a box of wax lips and tells the other chickens to put them on and act natural cause Farmer Brown is coming. I found the wax lips at a vintage candy store for Dot.

This Weeks Recipe

BAKED POTATO SOUP SLOW COOKER 6 HOURS ON LOW
SERVES 8
Put into crockpot:
3 1/2 lbs potates, cut into 3/4 " cubes
1 red pepper, seeded and chopped
1 package frozen, chopped broccoli
4 cups low sodium chicken broth
1/3 C half and half
1/3 C reduced fat sour cream
1 T cornstarch
1/2 t black pepper
4 green onions, thinly sliced
4 slices bacon cooked and crumbled
(shredded cheddar cheesh for garnish)

Thanks Rivka!

A Short Sad Story

Reiterating - On Thursday, September 2, we went to Rons funeral. Very beautiful church service, very touching and then an even more touching service at the graveyard with the Irish Pipes and an Uncle from Ireland singing in Gaelic and then back to fellowship at Rons mom place. I got to take tons of pics of the art that Ron did on the walls of that home. Had a moment with Rons wife Nadia who told me that Ron wanted to call their girl (Nadia is 6 months pregnant) Veronica and hopefully people will call her Ronnie after her dad. I stuggled with words of condolences and Nadia just looked at me with those big brown eyes and just shrugged!

A week later on Thursday, September 9th, we had a tragic accident happen. Our neighbour ran over our ole Bubbah (16) who was sitting at the end of the driveway. In one hour he was dead and buried. While when Mr. Buck died and I had a ton of pics and stuff for him last December on this blog - I have chosen not to post to this blog. I have been so sad. Jim and I went out after the buriel and drove and went shopping for food and Jim bought me a new pair of slacks and I just kept thinking of Nadia shrugging and I too just shrugged and had heart palpitations of this suddenly - two things - one more important which is a human life and then our Bubbah. I still avoid my neighbour but not out of anger - just sadness. I know for sure that she is sad too! Heck, I even hate to run over a squirrel. Sheesh, just have to forgive and get on with it folks. Gotta keep the peace on this shared driveway! Anyway, time heals, and will be back soon with more Metro Retro.

Nevertheless, I will post one last pic. The night before, J.T. and I looked into the bedroom at 10:30 P.M. and there they all were on the bed together. Glad I took one more pic of all our 5 pets at that time. Now it is as the song goes from Crosby, Stills and Nash (one of my favourite ole time groups):

Our house is a very, very, very fine house with 2 cats (Lucille and Lennox) in the yard! So be it!

JUST A NOTE TO SAY.....

....that Tdotblogger is resting for our friend Ron who passed away last Friday, August 27th and will not be posting until next week. We attended a beautiful funeral service at St. Peters and precious gathering at the gravesite and fellowshipped back at Rons moms place. He sure is going to be missed.

A Look Back! For Our Friend Ron!

In the evening of Friday, our family had the saddest news. Last year, a family member (age 41) had gotten married (we attended of course) and his wife got pregnant shortly after (6 months pregnant now). On Friday evening, he was mowing the lawn and had a massive heart attack and died. We are all devestated and so sad. Ron and Nadias first wedding anniversary is next weekend. The funeral will be held this Thursday at the same place that just under a year now we all celebrated their wedding.

I had been thinking about him alllllllllll Saturday - thinking back to all the times we spent together and on Sunday decided to take a look back - albeit with Art. Ron was a beautiful artist (and Radio Announcer) and todays blog is dedicated to our friend Ron. This wall art was not done by Ron but know he would have loved them. There are so many pics to look at and if you click on them you can see them larger.

Always in our hearts! xxxooo

This weeks recipe

CHICKEN AND PESTO LASAGNA IN CROCKPOT

1 T OIL
1 MED ONION CHOPPED
2 GARLIC CLOVES MINCED
1 LB. GROUND CHICKEN
1 PACKAGE FROZEN CHOPPED SPINACH, THAWED AND SQUEEZED DRY
1/4 CPESTO E.G. BUITONI
1/4 t BLACK PEPPER
1 C PART-SKIM RICOTTA
3/4 C ITALIAN BLEND SHREDDED CHEESE
10 LASAGNA NOODLES, BROKEN IN HALF

1. HEAT OIL IN LARGE NONSTICK SKILLET OVER MED HEAT.
ADD ONION AND GARLIC AND COOK FOR 3 MINUTES.
ADD CHICKEN TO SKILLET, COOK, STIR FREQUENTLY, APPROX 4 MINUTES, TILL NO LONGER PINK.
ADD SPINACH,PESTO. PEPPER, AND BLEND WELL.
SET ASIDE.
2. iN A SMALL BOWL, COMBINE RICOTTA AND 1/2 C SHREDDED CHEESE.

3. COAT SLOWCOOKER BOWL WITH NONSTICK COOKING SPRAY.
LAYER IN 1/3 OF UNCOOKED NOODLES , OVERLAPPING AS NECESSARY.
SPREAD 1/3 OF CHICKEN MIXTURE OVER NOODLES, AND TOP WITH 1/4 C WATER.
PUT 1/3 OF RICOTTA MIXTURE OVER TOP.
CONTINUE LAYERING WITH REMAINING NOODLES, MEAT, AN ADDITIONAL 1/4 C WATER AND RICOTTA MIXTURE.
4. COVER AND COOK ON HIGH FOR 3 HOURS OR ON LOW FOR 5 1/2 HOURS.
SPRINKLE REMAINING 1/4 C OF ITALIAN CHEESE ON TOP FOR LAST 15 MINUTES OF COOK TIME,OR UNTIL MELTED.
BON APPETIT.

THANKS RIV-KA!

A Gift and Todays Research

I am making a surprise apron for a friend and just googled some aprons and found some that I sure would like for me. My friend really does not suit POOF, but I sure liked these. Anyway, will be starting her fun apron at the end of the week and will post - Stay Tuned.

I just finished my CITY SKIRT and I am pleased. Have to iron and then get a digital pic and will post soon.