Out, IN & Back Out

I can not believe how fast this day went by me .... especially since I had been awake since 12:30 am.  What made it worse when I got up for the 2nd time at 2 am the house was freezing since we had gone to be without putting a fire in the Wood Stove.  This did not work out too well for us this morning as it had been -7*C outside and only 16*C inside.  I was FREEZING !!!

By the time it got warm in the house it had to be about 3 pm this afternoon, and then it had been warm outside and really warm in here.  *Sigh* there are just some days no matter what it does not work out the way you wish it does.  This is the way the "cookie crumbles".

I made a quick call to my Sister, Donna, to get an update on her husband.  The medications he was prescribed after another trip into the St. Mary's Emergency Department in Kitchener helped him get some sleep last night.  His IV was hooked up correctly, and a Nurse comes into the home to check on it and him on a regular basis.  Hopefully he will be on the mend much sooner then later.

I must add to that I believe prayer works when it is meant to be.  I had been saying a prayer for a certain thing the other day, and this morning my prayer had been answered.  I was very thankful.  I try very seldom to pray and ask for something in particular, and more seldom anything for just myself, however there is one more thing on my prayer list I am asking for soon.  Hopefully it is answered and it will be all good for this particular pup I have in mind.  

Once I had returned from my 9 am appointment with the Chiropractor in Sauble Beach, I made a quick stop into Rankin River Trading Co. downtown Wiarton.  They carry Paderno (made in Canada), who is having a Spring Sale with up to 75% Savings on select items.  I went in to check out a couple of things for my Girlfriend, Vicki, and also found another item for my other friend, Sharon.  Even better I found a couple of things I would certainly like for myself.

Just a few items on Sale at Rankins.  The flyer for this Sale may be found HERE.

Rankin River Trading Co. just recently got themselves a Business Page on Facebook.  Please drop by to give it a LIKE, but going HERE, should you be so inclined to do so.

When I arrived home my Niece Joanne arrived shortly after I had.  After a cuppa tea we headed out to the Wiarton Home Decor Store to check out some flooring ideas for her house.  We finally made it back by 1 pm to get some lunch made for ourselves, and of course, Rob.  Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Salad, and a side of Canned Beans (at Rob's request).  

Joanne left for home mid-afternoon.  I had to go back downtown to the Bank, and stop back into Rankin River Trading Co. to pick up a Paderno Pizza Stone on sale for my one friend.  I stopped in to pickup my neighbour to go along with me.  Once we were all done my errands, we decided a beverage at Tim Hortons would be a good idea.  Most recently I had tried their Pumpkin Spice tea which I had thoroughly enjoyed.

Today I tried the Blueberry White Tea.  It was nice, but I still favour the Pumpkin Spice.

Again I headed back home, this time it had been after 6 pm.  Truly it has been an out, in & back out kind of day.

This kind of day does not afford me getting anything done in my home that I had my mind on getting done, so I am truly hoping tomorrow will be a more productive in my home, Just North of Wiarton & South of the Checkerboard.

A Whole Room Done !

This morning I woke with a headache which is still with me.  Today was too lovely a day to be spent dwelling on a headache and was meant to be lived.

It was lovely out today with not a breeze in the air and a full sky of blue & sunshine first thing this morning.

A friend of mine had been Snowbirding in Florida all Winter (lucky gal especially with the Winter we had), and just returned back home a week ago.  She had contacted me this morning to see if we could get together for a coffee.  Since I have such a busy week ahead I thought I best go today or it might never happen.  We decided to meet at a coffee shop in Owen Sound as I had to go into Staples there anyhow for a return item. 

Sharon is a sewer (I am way so lucky to have so many talented crafty friends, have I mentioned this before?), who had also been busy sewing as well as enjoying her retreat in Florida this Winter.  Sharon so thoughtfully made me a pocket clutch with Crab material since we are such Crabby Cabbie people, Rob & I.  Check out the cool Crab Charm that went on the zipper.  Thanks Sharon I definitely will be putting this lovely gift to a good use.

After my cuppa tea with Sharon, I had a couple of errands to do.  I ran into another friend in the No Frills parking lot which was also a nice treat for me to touch base with her.  Finally I did arrive home well after lunch time.

Despite the headache and being tired I had things to do today, so I got going with the laundry and FINALLY finished cleaning the bathroom and washing the floor !!!  A whole room done !  it is hard for me to believe.

I also managed to get a phone call in with my oldest Sister, Jeanne, and then later my other sister, Donna.

Donna's husband has been really ill the past week to the point of being hospitalized, so I had called her to get an update on his health.  Unfortunately the infection he had in his leg had not been any better, and he had to return back to the Hospital today as there had been a complication with his IV and leg wound.  He had somehow gotten an infection in his leg, that was so bad the Disease Control had taken a photo of it since it had been the worse case of Staph infection they had ever came across.  I will call her when I am done my post to get a more recent update.  Any infection is always a worry, never mind one that has gotten very serious.

However tired I might be we still need some Dinner.  I had some Cottage Cheese in the fridge, so why not use it up by throwing together a Lasagna.

I took out homemade tomato sauce I had frozen, along with some hamburger.  Herbs added along with mushrooms to the sauce while the ground beef browned with diced onion.  

Once it was put all together it was popped into the oven for 30 minutes until heated through.  After setting 10 minutes it was ready to be served.  Very good it was too !

With a full day yesterday, and another one today I find myself again all in but for my shirttail, Just North of Wiarton & South of the Checkerboard.

A Sweet Maple Tour 2014

I had plans today to go on the Kemble Maple Syrup Tour.  Almost by the time Noon hour was rolling around I was getting the feeling it was not going to be happening.  

Rob was out early this morning on a couple of calls.  The weather was awful this morning here with high winds and blowing snow.  Not something I wanted to venture out in myself.  

My man came through for me after all, and we headed towards Kemble shortly after the Noon hour.  We thought we best start at the Kemble Church and work our way backwards so we wouldn't miss the Luncheon.  

Passport in hand, I directed my driver (thanks Rob) until we arrived at the Kemble Church.  Lots of bright Yellow Signage to guide us along.

We choose to have the lunch of Pulled Pork, Baked Beans, Homemade Coleslaw, Corn Muffin, Apple Slices & Maple Shortbread (Coffee, Tea, Water & Juice were also available), rather then the all day breakfast.  The Church was very busy with other lunch goers.  Lots of volunteers were on-hand on the front lines and behind the scenes.  Pancakes were All day from Breakfast throughout lunch from 10 am til 3 pm..  The Pulled Pork was amazing !!!

After lunch Rob & I headed to the upstairs of the Church to take in the various Artists and their works.  Lovely eye catching creations.  The Sunflower Table Runner was calling my name as I had passed by it, but I was strong continuing right out the door.

Time was going quickly by us, so we bypassed a couple of stops.  There were 7 participating Maple Syrup Producers on the Tour this Year, and we stopped at 4 of them.

First stop was at Miners' Maple Products.  Ha ! Abby spotted me that I was taking her photo.  Russell & Abby Miners have quite the Maple Syrup Production.  The stove that boils the syrup is heated by wood chips.  Russell opened it up to show us, and believe me I was not going to go to close to that heat.  The very bottom photo show the syrup being filtered prior to being transferred into the steel kegs.

Our 2nd stop was to the Van Bilsen Family Farm.  This is close to how I remember Maple Syrup being made when I was a young girl, expect the half steel tub was over top an open wood fire.  The Sugar Shack was about the same size though.  Owner, Mark, was explaining the process to his audience.

Stop #3 was at the Dejong Acres Farm.  The Dejong's also Farm Sheep, who are well guarded by their Maremma dogs.  Anita was in their Sugar Shack explaining their Syrup productions to a group by the time we had arrived.  Dejong Acres Farm has a Farm Store as well where you may purchase a variety of Farm products from Lamb to fresh Eggs.  

Our 4th and last stop was the Regal Point Elk Farm.  Driving back to the Sugar Shack, we first had to pass by the herds of majestic Elk.  They are quite stately, are they not?  On to the Sugar Shack there was a stand where you could buy and experience some Maple Syrup Taffy hardened by fresh snow.  I remember throwing it into the snow to harden as a young girl out on the Smith farm in Tara.  By the way, Light Syrup is good for Pancakes and such, while Amber is stronger and best for baking, so I learned today from Eric at the Regal Point Elk Farm.

Should you have never experienced a Maple Syrup Tour, I would highly recommend the Kemble Maple Syrup Tour.  It is well planned out from Year to Year with a very good turnout I might add.  Next Year it will be on the 11th of April, 2015, so please do mark your Calendars.

I had a great afternoon spent with my husband, however I find myself exhausted (per usual).  I just know it is going to be another early night with me falling asleep while the Food Network watches me sleep, Just North of Wiarton & South of the Checkerboard.

Only Half Done (AGAIN)

Today I got some things done, some things not done, and some half done.  Better some then none done, right?

Laundry drying in front of the Wood Stove, then folded and put away later, with another load now hanging.  Bandit was a huge help by staying out of my way today.  He is such a good boy.

I actually took some time to read a bit of the manual for my new camera, as brief as it was.  I also took one "test" photo way across the room.  Then I got going on cleaning the bathroom counter, sink and toilet.  It only got half done, as I was called away before the bathtub and floors were washed out ... story of my life some days.

This afternoon I had to head over to my Chiropractor's.  I took my neighbour along for the ride and company.  Valumart had eggs on special, so we stopped in there to pickup a few things.  My neighbour had picked each of us up a Cash For Life ticket.  I came across these Lemon Snaps which appear to be a great healthy snack for Rob & I.  I tried a couple & they are very tasty too.

Dinner was amazing.  I had picked up ribs yesterday, freezing one package, and putting the other rack into the Crock Pot today.  First a rub was applied before putting them on a rack on the Crock Pot, with a wee tad of water on the bottom.  These were cooked on HIGH for 10 hours.  At the end I smothered the top with BBQ sauce leaving on warm for another 1/2 hour.  Needless to say they were "fall off the bone, melt in your mouth" yummy.  Not bad when you think this meal only cost us $2.33 !  not including the Basmati rice served on the side.

I had been gifted a Media Pass to the following Event tomorrow.  My dear Rob will be chauffeuring me around.  We will be stopping in for Lunch at the Kemble Church as well.  I am hoping the weather co-operates.  Looking for a fun outing tomorrow? then check it out, as fun it is as a couple, a family, or a couple of friends out and about.

There is so much to do around here I am almost feeling guilty about going on the Tour tomorrow, but the stuff will wait, won't it? as living my life is more important.

I am hoping to get a good night's sleep on top my pillow tonight as it will be a busy day tomorrow.  I have to still go clean up from Dinner, take two of the Aussies out, and call it a night soon, Just North of Wiarton & South of the Checkerboard.

Apple Pork Chops For Two

This morning I had a brief chat with a long time blogging friend on how busy we are all the time now.  We have both feeling like our blogs have become a bit on the "stale" side since we have been so absorbed with other things going on in our lives with it becoming a bit of a challenge to sit down to even get a daily post done at times.

Truly I do not want to give up my daily blog posts, as I began blogging for "me" as a personal journal, along with things that interest me or that I am involved in, or at times posts that I think might be of interest to others.  It has been rewarding most times with opening up a whole wonderful World beyond the confines of my home.  Meeting new people, learning new things, and also seeing more out of the box of my otherwise humdrum days (which I can not say are quite so humdrum anymore).  It truly has been self gratifying. 

Today was rather humdrum since it consisted of putting the Month of March on the Crabby Cabbie books, then summing the first Quarter of the Year up for the "man" (as in Tax Pain).  Then I took a drive down to the Saugeen Gas Bar at Saugeen First Nations to fill up with fuel.

Once back home late afternoon, Rob was called back out, while I headed downtown to the Bank, and to do a quick browse at a couple of the stores.  We pretty much returned home about the same time, which was time for me to get Dinner going.

I had taken two pork chops out yesterday.  Earlier I had gone searching for something/some way different to cook these up.  I found an Apple Pork Chop for Two recipe from Taste of Home.

This recipe was very easy to make.  I had used sweet onion & a Gala Apple in the sauce.  Unfortunately the pork chops I had were not boneless, but still turned out rather well.

Recipe please?  FOR A PRINTABLE RECIPE PLEASE *CLICK* HERE.

I enjoyed the chops & sauce, however I do not think Rob was too fond of it as I could tell by his face, but he would not admit to it that he did not care for it since he was being "nice" about it to me.  In 20 Years there has not been too many times he has had to be "nice" to me over "new to me" recipes I have made.

This was pretty much my day in a nutshell, with the exception of hanging a load of laundry up on the clothes horses and looking after the Aussies (which Rob did the most part of the day).

Tonight the TV series, The Vikings is on.  I am so looking forward to watching.  I love History series like this, and others as such.  I am off to take care of half the Aussies, then making ready to have some R&R in front of the TV, Just North of Wiarton & South of the Checkerboard.

WDCC After Five

My poor Rob never arrived home until 5:00 am.  Further more he only got a couple of hours sleep before he had to go back out this morning.  Good thing he had a sleep yesterday afternoon before all this happened.  Another afternoon nap today hopefully took some of the edge off as well.

Of course I was wide awake at 3:00 am, and still awake when he arrived home at 5:00 am.

What did today bring?  more paperwork (ALWAYS), a trip into town for a few errands, a load of laundry (oh poop that might still be in the washer, triple dang it all), a run to the Chiropractor in Sauble Beach, then off to a Wiarton Chamber of Commerce After 5:00 Event put on my Larche Media (92.3 The Dock).

This after hours event took place downtown Wiarton at the Pacific Inn.

The Pacific Inn was a great venue for this After 5:00 Event, with an inviting comfortable private room located off the main bar, and not far from the kitchen.  There were complimentary Door prizes, food and beverages from Larche Media's Host, Robbie Robinson.

There had been a nice turnout of people.  There were representatives from Wiarton Video, Wiarton Homes, Home By Design, RAM Trophies & Sportswear, Wiarton TV, Northern Confections, and of course me there representing The Crabby Cabbie.  Also in attendance was Chamber Staff Member, Lindsay, & Chamber President, Paul Deacon.  

Robbie did an amazing presentation on behalf of Larche Digital Media on Social Media.  Social Media is the way of the future for businesses.  Should you not be "on board" with your Business then it might be something you should seriously think about.

The lineup of local Wiarton Businesses who were present this evening, who are involved with Social Media, are as follows (& should you be so inclined please give each one your LIKE on their Facebook page):

The Pacific Inn

Northern Confections

RAM Trophies & Sportswear

Wiarton Homes

Wiarton Video

The Wiarton Chamber of Commerce

The "Crabby Cabbie"

For good measure I have to include:

The "Checkerboard Aussies", Australian Shepherd Dogs

Foods Made Simply North of Wiarton

Hopefully the WDCC will have many more successful After 5:00 Events, as I personally thought this one was not only informative, it had been "fun" for all of us to get out of our normal humdrum of the every day work routine and relax a bit.

There had been lots of goodies leftover, so I was invited to take a few home.  It was nice I was able to bring a take out of Chicken Wings home to Rob, as those have to be his ultimate favourite.

I hang my head in shame that nothing much got done in the way of housework got done whatsoever around here today, other then the dishes put away.  The bed made? nope as Rob went back to it this afternoon so what was the use?

Goals in the next few days? do the 1st quarter of the Year up for the Crabby Cabbie, and get the Whelping Pen ready for Missy Lexus, as her puppies are due on the 11th of April (and I think I am busy now, just wait and see once they arrive).

I had a brief chat an acquaintance today who I have very high regard for.  Since I seemingly wear so many hats lately I find myself very overwhelmed at times.  She had given some very good advice that I think I will try.  Balance is important, and I am always seeking in my mind how to obtain some kind of balance ... oh I sometimes crave those days of routine, and what I had thought at times to be boredom ... boy have I had my eyes opened !  *smile*

That is all she wrote this day, Just North of Wiarton & South of the Checkerboard.

Knorr Shepherds Pie

It would not surprise too many people if I made the comment it was another busy day, right? 

Today being the first of the Month, and April's Fool Day at that, meant most of my morning was spent doing some Crabby Cabbie billing.  

I also had to stop downtown to get a couple of errands ran.  

Since it was April Fools Day, and since I had to drop into Pinkerton's Carquest to pay our bill I thought I would take the opportunity to pull a prank off on owner, Eric.  I calmly sat there asking him if it would be any problem to change the bill from Rob's name into mine, as I had taken over the Cab Business.  Eric said, "no problem".  I quickly came back with, "oh great as Rob and I have split up".  His mouth dropped opened, whereas I could not hold it in any longer by saying, "April Fool".  I was good for my prank and a great laugh of the day !!!  

Thanks goodness Eric is a good sport, and I have known him for the past 11 years.  His wife had a chuckle about it with me too.

The mail arrived later today, along with it the 2014 Bruce Peninsula Telephone Directory.

It is still weird seeing The "Crabby Cabbie in print, but hopefully this bit of advertising will help us shine this Year.

Rob has an out of town trip this evening.  This afternoon we all made "quiet" so he could get some sleep.  He has had a sore throat since yesterday, and I am always worried about him getting too run down.

I was very excited today to find out Rob will be able to drive me this upcoming Saturday on the Annual Kemble Maple Syrup Tour.  This is good news, as otherwise I would probably not have gone should I have had to drive myself, and besides we had such a great time two years ago.  I am looking forward to us having a great lunch together as well at the Kemble Church.

Full details on the Kemble Maple Syrup Tour can be found by going HERE.

I thought I would make him one of his favourite Dinners today.  Since it is easy to make and full of flavour goodness I decided on a Knorr Shepherd's Pie.

This is one of the best Shepherd's Pie I have ever made (other then my own recipe using leftover Roast Beef Gravey).  It was very much enjoyed by both Rob and myself.

Recipe please?  FOR A PRINTABLE RECIPE PLEASE *CLICK* HERE.

I had problems with my laptop loading this evening (I am thinking it is barely 2 years old, please do not give up the ghost on me yet).  Between that and getting the Dinner dishes done up, I got a late start going on this blog post.

All in all it was a day with some progress made in the paperwork department, but I am afraid all household chores otherwise were put on hold this day, Just North of Wiarton & South of the Checkerboard.