Decluttering...Continued

March 18, 2010 – Day 77

Until I cleaned and decluttered it last night, this drawer was stuffed full of dish cloths, tea towels, aprons, oven mitts, etc. (the wrap and bags were in a separate drawer). I realize now that it’s going to take quite a while to declutter every square inch of my house but the results are rewarding enough to keep me going! Less is more!

Ashley's Birthday Invitations

March 17, 2010 – Day 76

I designed chocolate bar wrapper birthday invitations for my granddaughter Ashley this year. I sent the electronic version for Christine and Ashley to review and I was thrilled when Ashley phoned to tell me she loved them! The chocolate bar wrapper was one of Christine’s creative ideas – it’s part of an entire chocolate themed birthday party she is going to throw for Ashley’s sweet sixteenth birthday next month.

On The Horizon

March 16, 2010 – Day 75

From my work station today, I noticed that the Epcor building is peeking up a wee bit above the Sutton Place hotel. Our offices are scheduled to move into that new building in the later part of 2011.

Bathroom #1 Decluttered

March 15, 2010 – Day 74

The main bathroom upstairs is completely decluttered and cleaned, including everything inside the cupboard under the sink and the cabinet above the toilet. We plan to keep it this way by giving the toilet a quick once-a-day swish and the shower/tub, the sink and tap a quick wipe down after each use. I’ll also give those items an official weekly cleaning, even if they still look clean.

Rubba Scrubba Brush

March 14, 2010 – Day 73

Ken brushed Little Bear with the Flylady Rubba Scrubba for the first time today. Little Bear really seemed to enjoy it and that’s saying a lot because he doesn’t normally like to be brushed.

My Kitchen

March 13, 2010 – Day 72

My new coffee pot is quite a bit narrower than the old one so it just didn’t look right in the same spot. I started moving things around on my countertops to try to find the “right” place for it and that led to a kitchen-cleaning marathon that lasted several hours. I decluttered and thoroughly cleaned some of my upper cupboards and one drawer but it was too much to do all of them in one day.

I love antiques and it has taken me years to find all the things I have displayed on the top of my kitchen cupboards. I know it’s junk to some. I also know it’s clutter but it’s clutter that I love and I don’t know if I’m ready to part with it. My friend Jen and granddaughter Ashley vote “NO WAY” when I’ve mentioned to them that I may get rid of it.

I also like a bit of clutter on my countertops. I wonder what Flylady would have to say about that. lol

New Coffee Pot

March 12, 2010 – Day 71

Out with the old (on the right) and in with the new.

I’ve been looking for a new coffee pot for a while but the ones I’ve seen that I liked were around $100 so I haven’t bought one; however, I saw one today at Costco that I liked and it was only $38 and change so I bought it.

Stuff from Flylady!

March 11, 2010 – Day 70

I ordered the Flylady duster and Rubba Scrubba on February 23rd and they arrived on Tuesday! This is THE softest, fluffiest duster I’ve had in my life! Besides trying a new (healthy) recipe and getting more decluttering done, guess what I’ll be having fun doing this weekend?! :-)

I love the little sticker included with my order – but isn’t that “clutter”? :-)

Pretty Flowers

March 10, 2010 – Day 69

At work this afternoon, my coworker/friend, Apryl, brought her adorable little baby for a visit. I was busy and didn’t get much of a chance to visit while Apryl was in the office but when she was ready to leave, I was just getting off work and she generously offered me a ride home. As we walked to Apryl’s car, we passed Artworks, a unique flower shop downtown – and they had these pretty flowers displayed outside. We were surprised to see the flowers outdoors because it’s still a little chilly out.

We have been fortunate to have had unseasonably warm weather the last few weeks though and seeing these flowers made it feel like spring is right around the corner!

After I took my photos, Apryl and I continued on our way and had a nice visit on our way home.

I Won!

March 9, 2010 – Day 68

At work this morning, James bought me a “Tim’s” coffee - and I won a free coffee! (I started to tear the rim off before I thought to take the picture) It’s so much fun winning things!

A Nice Visit

March 8, 2010 – Day 67

My cousins Valerie and Lauretta had an appointment in the city today and I had the pleasure of having them over for supper and a very nice visit this evening.

Went to Church

March 7, 2010 – Day 66

I used to attend church regularly but haven’t been to a service for many years. However, my son Adam wants to start attending church so I went with him this morning. We went to North Pointe, a church that’s not more than a five-minute drive from my house. It felt so good to be in church again; I came out of the service feeling “clean” and refreshed.

The church is quite large, there are two morning services and a lot of people attend. There are 2 large parking lots for people who attend but between services the traffic is crazy-busy. So busy that they have a traffic cop directing the traffic coming out of the church lot and onto 167th Ave.

Alligator Meat

March 6, 2010 - Day 65

Ken went snowboarding today and Adam drove me to a few places I wanted to shop that are outside my driving comfort zone. We went to Spinelli’s (an Italian grocery store my friend Jen introduced me to a few years ago), Tree Stone Bakery (a bread bakery I discovered online recently when looking for rustic/artesian breads in Edmonton), the Strathcona Farmer’s Market, Buffalo Valley (a meat shop one of the lawyers at work recommended to me on Thursday) and Sun Bake Pita (close to home but I wanted to pick up some things for our movie/snack night tonight). We also stopped at Canadian Tire on the way home and I bought some storage containers that I need as I continue to declutter and organize my house.

Adam and I had fun shopping at these unique places. Buffalo Valley was the most unusual meat shop I’ve ever been to. I bought some buffalo jerky, buffalo salami and ground buffalo meat. I also bought an elk roast to try one day when I’m feeling adventurous. Besides these types of meat, the store also sold cuts of: rabbit, wild boar, llama, ostrich, kangaroo, musk-ox, alligator – and even horse meat!

Workin' Man Boots

March 4, 2010 – Day 63

Ken has been part of the sheet metal union for almost 25 years. Every few years, as with most trades, he gets laid off when things get slow at work. We’re used to the lay offs by now and thankfully, for the most part, he’s not laid off for more than a couple of months max.

Although a week before Christmas isn’t the ideal time for one of those layoffs to happen, that’s what happened in December – Ken was laid off on December 18, 2009. He was out of work for just over two months but started a new job, at a new sheet metal union shop, on Monday. This was the last day of his first week there.

Ken was going to get new work boots before he started the new job on Monday but didn’t get around to it. I imagine he’ll go out and buy new boots this weekend but I love the look of these old, worn, workin’ man boots and wanted a picture before they get tossed.
I didn’t “pose” Ken’s boots – this is exactly how he left them when he took them off at the end of the day.

Closing a File Party

March 4, 2010 – Day 63

At work today, to celebrate a file that has recently been complete (after ten years), our senior paralegal (Brenda) brought in homemade cupcakes and one of the lawyers brought in Tim Horton’s coffee for everyone. It was so thoughtful of Brenda to make the cupcakes for us – and they looked delicious – but I love the feeling of getting healthier (down 23 pounds now!) so I chose not to indulge.

These are the few cupcakes that were left after our little “party” this afternoon.

Decluttering...Continued

March 3, 2010 – Day 62

I spent a 15-minute (with my timer) decluttering session in my computer room today. In that amount of time I was able to empty 5 binders of materials (printed previews of almost every scrapbook kit I ever purchased, printed scrapbook layouts I liked and planned to scraplift someday, outdated photoshop materials, etc.) that I decided are not important enough to keep, especially considering the amount of space they take up. I also took apart 2 factums that I did for class assignments when I was taking legal training about 12 years ago. I’ll sell the empty binders in the garage sale we’re going to have in the summer and I’ll recycle this stack of papers. Decluttering feels great!

Mom's Perfume

March 2, 2010 – Day 61

I bought this bottle of Alfred Sung perfume for a birthday or Christmas gift for mom many years ago; she loved it and wore it often. Shortly after mom died, just over 7 ½ years ago, Ross let me take this nearly empty bottle of perfume and it’s been sitting on my bedroom dresser ever since. I never use it – but because mom loved it, I didn’t have the heart to throw it away. I have a lot of things that mom either gave me while she was alive or I was given by Ross after she was gone, yet none of those things are as precious or as important as the time I spent with her and the memories I have of her.

A few months before mom died, she did a huge decluttering of her house. She said if something happened to her, she didn’t want anyone to have to go through “all this junk”. I don’t think I’m going “anywhere” just yet but I think mom would be pleased that I’m decluttering now. If I could tell her that I’ve been keeping this old, almost empty bottle of perfume just because it once was hers, I’m sure she’d just chuckle and say, “Go ahead Julie Ann, you throw it away”.

Now that I have this picture and bit of journaling to go along with it, I feel like I can keep this memory alive without having to keep the nearly empty bottle of perfume and it’s liberating to have the freedom to be able to actually throw it away.

One Room Decluttered

March 1, 2010 – Day 60

Other than a lamp or an ornament for the magazine rack beside the big chair, my living room is completely decluttered and redecorated! I’m anticipating that it’s going to be much quicker and easier to clean considering how much “stuff” (small ornaments, framed pictures (I'll scrapbook them) and junk out of the coffee table and end table drawers) I packed up to get rid of. I was going to donate everything to the Cerebral Palsy Association (CPAA) on Friday but Ken suggested we have a garage sale this summer and make some of our money back that we’ve spent on all this stuff over the years – so that’s what we’ve decided to do. I donated a garbage bag full of clothes to CPAA but we kept the boxes of stuff to sell. Including some decluttering I’ve done in other rooms as well, I have a total of six boxes filled to put towards a garage sale and I'll have many more by the time I'm done going through the rest of my house.

I’m not following flylady’s zone-cleaning schedule yet but I’ve totally been inspired by her philosophy of getting rid of the clutter - without having to get it all done in one day! Flylady recommends working in 15-minute blocks of time, take breaks, keep your kitchen sink clean and shiny, and give the bathroom a daily 5-minute “swish and swipe” to keep it company-clean at all times. I’ve been doing those things for the most part. I have one bathroom completely decluttered, swish and swipe ready but I still have 2 more bathrooms to declutter before they're ready for the 5-minute daily swish and swipe. But I'm beginning to feel like I’m on top of the housework – and I love that feeling!

Cleaning house like this reminds me of my aunt Joan. She has always kept a spotless house – I think “flying” just comes natural to her. :-)

First BBQ and Way to go Canada!!

February 28, 2010 – Day 59

Our weather has been incredibly warm and spring like for the past week or two. There’s nothing quite like a bar-b-que to celebrate the arrival of spring (I’m hopeful) so Ken and I decided to have our first BBQ of the season tonight.

Ken had just finished watching the Canadian men’s hockey team win the Olympic gold medal game before he barbequed the burgers. I think he was feeling proud and patriotic because he ran upstairs to get a Canadian flag to hold for this picture.

Chicken Dinner

February 27, 2010 – Day 58

For supper tonight, I cooked chicken number two (of five) that I bought from the Hutterites earlier this month. Ken and I both love the new rice/pine nut/raisin stuffing recipe I tried for the first time the last time I roasted a chicken so I made it again.

Ballerinas

February 26, 2010 – Day 57

When I was ten years old I wanted to be a ballerina or a figure skater when I grew up. I didn’t become either :-) – but there’s something about ballet and figure skating that still strike a cord with my soul. So I absolutely fell in love with this artistic rendering of ballerinas the moment I saw it while out shopping today. I wish I could say that I bought it, but I was only looking for a few new, easy-to-dust things to replace all the stuff I’m getting rid of in my decluttering process (buying stuff to replace stuff!) and I simply don’t have a place in my home where this painting would fit in so I left it in the store.

Basement Renos Update

February 25, 2010 – Day 56

Ken has to buy light fixtures to finish up the lights in the basement but he painted the basement floor today. The paint was still wet when I took this picture so I had to take it from the bottom step and I wasn’t able to get much of the room in the view.

We plan to use the basement in part for storage, in part as a space to do our hobbies – and especially for extra sleeping space when my out-of-town children and grandchildren come to visit. For now we plan to buy a couple large area carpets but no extra furniture (we have air mattresses); however, it’ll be interesting to see how the space evolves over time. If I continue to declutter and get rid of enough of my “stuff”, perhaps this space could one day be a TV room and/or a play area as well as extra sleeping space.

Basement Renos Update

February 24, 2010 – Day 55

Ken has been working away steadily on the basement. He put as many of the ceiling tiles in as he could today (he had the framing for the ceiling done before today). The spaces that are not enclosed yet are where he has to do some work with lighting and vents. I am very excited to see the work coming along so well!

Saying my Goodbyes

February 23, 2010 – Day 54

My sister Darlene bought me this ornament for Christmas many, many years ago. I was probably in my early to mid twenties when she bought it and at first I didn’t particularly care for it. Eventually however, this woman and her dog grew on me – and ultimately became one of my favourite things. I cared for the woman so much that even when she fell and broke her arm right off, I couldn’t bear to part with her. I’m pretty sure it was Ken who did the repairs (the best he could, considering the severity of the break) and the woman and her dog stuck with me for many more years.

But now that I’m doing some serious decluttering of my house, I would like to lay the woman and her dog to rest. They’ve been with me for so long that my heart is torn but it is exactly this sentimental attachment to things that keeps me hanging on to too much for too long - and unless my sister wants the ornament back, I’m going to sever my heart strings and let it go. And now I have this picture to help me remember the woman and her dog forever.

8 Days Old

February 22, 2010 – Day 53

I walked over and had a wonderful visit with my coworker/friend Apryl this afternoon – and had the privilege of meeting her new baby! Little Helayna was born on Valentine’s Day. She is so cute, so tiny, so soft and so precious.

Apryl doesn’t live far from me so I walked over for my exercise today – 19 minutes one way but on my way home I detoured to Save On and it probably took about 10 minutes longer. The walk was refreshing and it was so pretty outside with the hoarfrost on the trees.

Clutter

February 21, 2010 – Day 52

Today’s decluttering “session” was this pile of stuff I took out from the hall tree. Ken went through it with me and between the two of us, three-quarters of this pile is now in a box to be given away on Friday when the folks from the Cerebral Palsy Association come by to pick up donations. The things that went back into the hall tree went back organized. Little Bear’s tennis balls are in a small plastic container, his leashes in another, and the few gloves, toques, scarves, etc. that we kept are in neatly folded piles. I love decluttering – I love organization – I love flylady! :-) www.flylady.com

A Shiny Sink

February 20, 2010 – Day 51

Since Tuesday, I’ve been practicing the flylady 15-minute/day declutter “sessions”, and also making sure my dishes were done and my sink empty, clean and dry at the end of each day. However, I delayed cleaning my sink as well as flylady suggests we start with on day one of the babysteps: http://www.flylady.com/pages/FlightPlan_Missions.asp because Ken has been painting the basement walls and cleaning up in the kitchen sink. He’s finished painting now, so I spent some time to really clean the sink today. It’s surprising how much clutter I’ve already been able to sort through in 5 days. Flylady is just awesome! And I had a call today from the Cerebral Palsy Association – they will be in our area on February 26th to pick up donations of clothing and small household items – perfect timing!

Gunky

February 19, 2010 – Day 50

Last week a coworker (Stacey) brought a lunch that looked delicious. I asked her what it was called and if she would mind sharing the recipe with me. Stacey said a member of her family called it “Gunky” one day and the name stuck so that’s what she calls it – and she shared the recipe with me. I made it last night for supper and it was as delicious as I thought it would be! I don’t know the “real” name of it, so “Gunky” it is.

If you want to try Gunky: sauté an onion, 2 (I used 4) minced cloves of garlic, 2 chopped green peppers and 1 ½ cups chopped mushrooms in a tablespoon of olive oil. After about 10 minutes, add ½ cup water, 1 large can of tomatoes, 1 can of drained and rinsed kidney beans (Stacey used black beans and so did I), ¾ cup uncooked wild rice (I used a brown/wild rice blend), 1 tablespoon chili powder, 2 teaspoons cumin, ¼ teaspoon cayenne or pepper flakes (I used both). Stacey added about 1 cup frozen corn so I did as well; I added the corn about 10 minutes before the dish was finished. When everything is cooked, sprinkle cheese over and warm in oven until melted. I cooked this in a large frying pan and just added cheese to the top a few minutes before serving. Stacey said this can be eaten with plain yogurt or sour cream. Ken and I ate it without either but we both thought it would be delicious with tacos, sour cream (or yogurt) and salsa.

Spring?

February 18, 2010 – Day 49

We’ve been experiencing spring-like weather all week. It’s been wonderful but since it’s only February 18th, I imagine there’ll be more of winter before spring is here to stay.

Another Good Book

February 17, 2010 – Day 48

My granddaughter, Ashley, bought me this book for Christmas. I finished reading it on my bus ride home after work today. It’s the first of a trilogy so I have to hurry and find the next book in the set because I LOVED this one!

Ready to Fly!

February 16, 2010 – Day 47

I normally do the majority of my housework every couple of months and when I do, I clean so thoroughly that it takes me a couple of days to complete. I don’t particularly enjoy cleaning that way – in fact, I guess if I were to be honest, I’d have to admit that I dread it – but I never really thought about doing it differently. It’s not so much that I hate doing housework because I really don’t (and I love having a clean house) but what I do dread is the feeling of being overwhelmed with housework and that’s how I feel every time I do those big cleans.

However, I think my method of doing housework is about to change. Christine introduced me to a great idea the other day: www.flylady.com – it’s basically organized housecleaning – bits and sections at a time! I think I’ll start with the baby steps here: http://www.flylady.com/pages/begin_babysteps.asp but with a few modifications of my own. The first step is to clean your sink and that’s it – but since I’m anxious to declutter my house, I’m going to follow fly lady’s idea to spend 15 minutes a day decluttering. I did my first 15 minutes today and yes, I set a timer!

Flylady is on facebook as well; as I type this tonight, there are 52,221 fans of the group!

I’m excited about this new project I’m going to take on so I went to the dollar store today and stocked up on a few new housecleaning supplies and pretty writing pads for grocery lists. I suppose finding a new home for this stuff should be part of my 15-minute declutter session tomorrow! :-)

I’m ready to FLY!

Am I a Hoarder?!

February 15, 2010 – Day 46

OMG - I watched a couple episodes of Hoarders online last night and another episode this morning. The shows shocked and terrified me, because I’m afraid that I very well may have hoarder tendencies! One of my goals this year was to declutter but now declutter has taken on a whole new meaning for me. It now means that I desperately want to get rid of every single thing I don’t need, don’t use or don’t wear! Most of my house is clean and well organized but there are areas where I stash “stuff” – my computer room being the worst. It’s going to take me some time to go through everything I have tucked away in this room but I am determined to do it! I started this morning by going through a stack of papers from 2000 – 2004 and most of those papers are now shredded or in the recycle bag.

The binders on the table are filled with tutorials I’ve printed from the internet and they piled up there because the two shelves I have on the opposite wall in this room are full! I have more binders of printed tutorials (photography, scrapbooking, Photoshop and Illustrator), books, office supplies, boxes of photos, albums of photos and stacks of DVDs with more “stuff” saved on them!

I hope I’m finished organizing and decluttering my computer room, and can take an “after” picture, before this year is over.

From my Valentine

February 14, 2010 – Day 45

This morning Ken gave me a dozen gorgeous red roses and a beautiful card.

For my Valentine

February 13, 2010 – Day 44

This morning it dawned on me that tomorrow would be Valentine’s Day! I don’t know how I lost track of the days but I thought I still had next week to get Ken a card. I wanted to have something to give him tomorrow though so I walked to Save On and bought a card and a little Valentine treat. Ken was none the wiser since he was out snowboarding all morning.

Jalapenos

February 12, 2010 – Day 43

I went out early this morning to do my weekly grocery shopping. I especially needed to buy a couple jalapeños for a new recipe (Mexican Bean and Rice Salad http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Mexican-Bean-and-Rice-Salad/Detail.aspx) that I wanted to make for supper tonight. Ken and I went to Costco last night so I didn’t need many other things. I decided to go to Sobey’s for a change. It’s one of the smaller grocery stores in our neighbourhood and I thought I’d be in and out, and back home, in no time.

Once at the store, I put a few things in my cart but when I got to the jalapeño shelf, it was empty; there was not a single jalapeño in sight. I asked a store employee if they had any in the back but they didn’t.

Since I had to go to another store for jalapeños anyway, I put back the few items I had in my cart and decided to do all my shopping at Superstore. Even though I don’t buy jalapeños often, I notice that they always seem to be well-stocked. And sure enough - they had plenty. I picked out two, put them into a small plastic veggie/fruit bag and into my cart. Even if I would have left the store with nothing besides those two jalapeños, I’d have been happy – because they were the important item of the day.

But I did take the time to go around the store to gather the other items I would need for the upcoming week and returned home. After I’d put most of the groceries away and began to set aside ingredients for the new recipe I was going to try, I realized that I hadn’t seen the jalapeños. I was sure they must be in the last bag of groceries that I didn’t put away yet. I checked – and they weren’t there.

I double checked the other grocery bags in case I overlooked them when I put the groceries away but they weren’t there either. So I scanned my receipt. No jalapeños! I know, without a doubt, that I had them in my cart – but I think I had them in that upper part (where kids sit) and they must have fallen through the cracks at some point while I shopped.

In any event – I didn’t have jalapeños for the recipe. I knew I’d have to go out again to get some, even though I had no desire whatsoever to do so. It turned out that I didn’t have to – because Ken offered to go out and buy them! Hooray Ken!

Edmonton's Art Gallery

February 11, 2010 – Day 42

On April 30, 2009, my picture of the day was of Edmonton’s Art Gallery which was under construction at that time. The work is complete and the Art Gallery opened to the public on January 31st.

Homemade Bread...to Come

February 10, 2010 – Day 41

I want to learn how to make healthier breads such as: multigrain, whole wheat, seed breads and sourdough so I ordered a couple of bread cookbooks to help teach me. I’m also hoping to take a multigrain breadmaking class or two at the Bosch Kitchen Centre with one or two of my sisters in March or April. I would even like to learn to mill my own flour. One of the lawyers at work (on another team) does all that and she’s a great inspiration to me! She has both of these cookbooks, recommended them and even loaned me “Whole Grain Breads” over the weekend. I loved it so I ordered a copy (of both) for myself.

Snow "Moval"

February 9, 2010 – Day 40

Our street was cleaned today. To be more accurate, the snow was scraped from the center of the road and pushed to the sides. I'm pretty sure this was the only time they scraped the road this winter, even through the worst snowfalls (and awful roads) in November and December.

Project 365 - 2009

February 8, 2010 – Day 39

I spent many hours, over the last few days, working on my 2009 Project 365 album and finally finished today! My next goal is to catch up on these first few weeks of my 2010 Project 365 album.

Hard at Work

February 7, 2010 – Day 38

Ken did some work on the car today.

Ready for the Oven

February 6, 2010 – Day 37

Here’s my first Hutterite chicken all prepped for the oven. I tried a new recipe I found online for rice stuffing (with pine nuts and raisins). It was perfect! I also made Honey-glazed carrots with Rosemary, a new recipe from the Wholefoods Cookbook I ordered from Amazon last week. Everything was exceptionally delicious and I’ll be adding these new recipes to my list of favourites.

We ate supper with our movie tonight so I didn’t have to worry about finding healthy snacks.

Baseboards

February 5, 2010 – Day 36

Ken bought baseboards for the basement today.

New Cookbooks

February 4, 2010 – Day 35

When I got home from work today I was excited enough to clap my hands and shout hooray a few times when I saw that my book order had arrived! I’ve been collecting cookbooks for at least 30 years – and I knowwwww that I gave away an entire shelf full of cookbooks over the last couple years but, but, but… I justified this purchase by convincing myself I needed more healthy recipes for my new healthier lifestyle! Note to self: give away two cookbooks from the full shelf of cookbooks that I still own to make room for these two.

I love ordering from amazon.ca – they are so fast (I ordered late Sunday night) and they are far less expensive than any of the bookstores in the city.

Basement Renos Update

February 3, 2010 – Day 34

Ken started priming the basement walls yesterday and finished today. It took a while for him to get to this stage but he did a perfect job of the drywall, taping, sanding and priming! It’s becoming easier to imagine that this is going to be a livable space one day.

Wonderful Step Parents

February 2, 2010 – Day 33

Once my stepdad (Ross) knew I wanted some chickens and eggs from the Hutterites, he went right to work to get me some! A couple weeks ago, Ross contacted a guy he used to buy eggs from (years ago) at the colony outside Westlock and they arranged to have some ready for him to pick up today. Ross and his wife Marg drove out to the colony, picked up the chickens and eggs and brought them to me this afternoon! While they were visiting, I took this picture of them. What a wonderful family I have!

My sister Darlene, Marg and a couple of her kids decided to buy some chickens and eggs as well when they heard Ross was going to pick some up. In total he bought 20 chickens and 15 dozen eggs. I took 5 of the chickens and 3 dozen eggs. I’m so excited to cook a chicken on my next day off!

An interesting thing Ross told me was the guy he bought the chickens from told him that he has an order from a doctor in the city for 150 chickens. Ross asked him what a doctor does with so many chickens. The guy said he sells them to his patients - says he believes the meat is that much better than store bought that he goes to this effort on a regular basis for his patients!

Spinach Salad

February 1, 2010 – Day 32

I had a spinach salad for lunch today. After I took this picture I drizzled the salad with a little of my current favorite dressing: Costco’s Oak Hill Farm’s Vidalia Onion (that my cousin Carol introduced me to through her Project 365 last year).

Healthy eating and exercise is paying off – I’ve been completely off my apo-triazide (water pill for borderline high blood pressure) for 9 days now. My blood pressure continues to be fine and I’ve lost 13 pounds (so far)!

Lush

January 31, 2010 – Day 31

When I got home from my day out yesterday, I put away the things I bought from the Farmer’s Market and left the other things I bought on the bottom step to take upstairs the next time I went up. Ken went upstairs before I did so he picked up the things to take up with him. When he picked up the bag of Lush goodies, he said, “The things in this bag smell good!” I was quite impressed that he noticed. I wanted to take this picture before I used any of these smell-good treats but I can’t wait to use at least one of them tomorrow. In retrospect, there are a couple more things I’m wishing I would have bought as well – so I’ll have to make another trip one day. My cousin Shanda manages the store so if you go in, say hi from me.

I love the mission statement of the company. It’s printed on the back of the paper bag and these are my favourite parts:

“We believe

…in making effective products from fresh organic fruit and vegetables, the finest essential oils and safe synthetics.

We believe in buying ingredients only from companies that do not conduct or commission tests on animals and in testing our products on humans.

We invent our own products and fragrances, we make them fresh by hand using little or no preservative or packaging, using only vegetarian ingredients and tell you when they were made.

We believe in happy people making happy soap…

We believe in long candelit baths, sharing showers, massage, filling the world with perfume and the right to make mistakes, lose everything and start again…”

Girls Day Out

January 30, 2010 – Day 30

Today was girls day out! My sisters Darlene and Cathy, my niece Michelle and I spent most of the day together.

Our adventure began with a visit to the Old Strathcona Farmer’s Market. I bought a lot of goodies including: 2 dozen free-range brown chicken eggs, organic chicken breasts, ground chicken, ground beef, a few roasts (beef, pork and bison), golden flaxseed, carrots (both fresh and pickled), 2 Jamaican patties, a loaf of fresh homemade multigrain bread, Ukranian buns filled cottage cheese and dill, organic mini spinach and caramelized onion pita breads, homemade tabouli salad and tzaziki.

After unloading our pull cart – and our arms – we walked a few blocks to visit my cousin Shanda at work. Shanda manages Lush, a unique shoppe along Whyte Ave. that specializes in handmade bath and body products. We spent some time in the store – getting hand massages and being shown some of the products. In this photo Shanda is showing us how well the bubble bath foams up! Her job looks more like fun than work to me! I was sold on the strawberry scented bubble bath and also bought a chocolate shower bar and a lemon hand cream. Everything in the store looks and smells “delicious”.

After the fun we had in the store, Shanda came out to lunch with us. We ate at Chianti, also along Whyte Ave. I thoroughly enjoyed my choice for lunch: a whole wheat fettucini dish with sundried tomatoes and peas, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and cracked black pepper.

Shanda had to return to work after lunch but the rest of us stopped at Chapters, where I picked up a book I wanted (and a beginner yoga DVD that caught my eye).

From Chapters, we went to see a matinee at South Common. We didn’t have a movie in mind beforehand but once we got to the theater we chose to see “When in Rome” – a lightheared girlie love story.

It was a wonderfully fun day!

Metis Status Application

January 29, 2010 – Day 29

My sister Cathy (in this photo), her boys and I went to apply for Metis status today. This was our second attempt – our first being in the fall of 2008. Even though Cathy, her oldest son and I had Metis status (and our Metis cards) with us the first time, we learned that we needed our long-form birth certificates and a completed genealogical record dating back to the mid-1800s in order to reapply under the new guidelines (that have been in place for a few years). We had what we needed with us this time and, even though it took us about an hour and a half to fill out the applications and put our genealogical information into a chart, we were successful. The woman who helped us with our application took our photos and said our cards will arrive by mail but she couldn’t give us a time frame within which to expect to receive them.

New Things

January 28, 2010 – Day 28

I bought myself a yoga mat and a couple water bottles today. I plan to continue to do the easy yoga DVD Christine bought me until I have it mastered and then I’ll try the Kathy Smith DVD again. One day I may even get brave enough to join a class! The water bottles are so I can take filtered water to work from home and save money buying bottled water from the stores downstairs when I’m at work.