The Folks are Coming

I'm waiting for my parents to come see our apartment for the first time. My dad just built me a microwave cabinet, and since it wouldn't fit in my car they are dropping it off. Its a good reason to visit. I hope they like the apartment and all our cats :)
Since the weather seems to be cooperating we'll probably take them to one of the parks we frequent. Rosetta McClain park has lots of friendly squirells. The other park, I can't remember the name, has lots of stray cats living in the rocks. Gorgeous cats I must say.
Well, I just hope today goes well.

I Need Help...

I have been selling on Ebay for a few years now. I usually sell cool stuff found at thrift stores, or stuff my mom or I were collecting, but decide to skim down. I have also sold some of my brother's and my old toys. She-ra dolls and Barbie clothes sell like hot cakes, by the way!!

On the last cleaning spree I found these. I would like to put them on Ebay, but I have no idea what they are called. They are transforming charm necklaces. They are by Galoob, and have a copyright date of 1984, 1985. I have searched on Google with no luck.

So now I plead for help. Does anyone remember what these are called????

I thought they were all older than me...

For those of you who don't know, I will be the big 3-0 in May. I'm not freaked out by this. Its kind of exciting. Another milestone. Anyway, my brother hit 30 a couple years ago and survived... it really can't be that bad.

I have become a fan of CSI:Miami recently. So has my mom. She has the 2nd and 3rd seasons on DVD. So we were able to play catch up. Horatio rocks! Anyway, when I'm a fan of something I like to find out about the people involved. So I went to the ever growing, easy to use Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com) and looked it up. Well, to my amazement the actors who play Delko and Speedle (Adam Rodriguez and Rory Cochrane) are very close to my age. I've just come to assume that most people on tv must be much older than me. Guess its because I still feel 17. But in a good way.

Another thing I found on IMDB - Rory Cochrane was in the Movie "Dazed and Confused". One of my faves when I was in High School. Man! I didn't even recognize him on CSI. I had to rent the movie, notice Rory right away. Skinny stoner guy with long hair. One on the best characters in the film.

CSI:Miami Rocks! If you haven't already check it out!!!!

Is It Over Yet?

21 days until Spring begins...

Psycho Kittens and New Recipes

Stubs is doing quite well. But I think with all the snow fall all the cats are hyper. When you're a 4 month old kitten that means you bounce off the walls - literally!!!! Looking at the cuteness of kittens I always forget what a handful they can be. Our little one likes to jump on us while we try to sleep. However, who could stay mad at this face? (well, maybe Tida and Bee - our grown-up cats. )

Now that I am finally not living with any adults (by that I mean parental units - I am almost 30 myself!!! EEEEKK!) I'm finding out that my mom really had a tough job. Planning meals, grocery shopping with a budget, taking care of a husband, cats and kids. Not that its a terrible job, just takes a lot of planning. And I don't yet have the kids to worry about!

Anyway, my point here is that meal planning is becoming a challenge. I enjoy cooking, but having lived with my Baba and Mom for so many years (they are both great cooks) I haven't really been in the kitchen experimenting myself. Lately, I've just been making the same 4 or 5 dishes. In other words I'm getting bored in the kitchen... I'd like to play with some herbs and spices.

I just wondered if anyone has a favorite recipe they would like to share. Perhaps I could post some of our faves for everyone to enjoy. The only rules... keep it cheap and simple (both my budget and kitchen are small) and nothing too spicy (my man can't handle the heat).

I'll start the ball rolling here with a meal idea for you perhaps:

Sweet and Sour Pork Chops

Shake 'n Bake the chops. Cook as directed. Add canned peach halves on top of the chops. You can keep them in the oven for a few minutes, or keep the fruit cold - your preference. Serve with sweet and sour sauce (I just buy a jar of it from the grocery store, you can make your own) poured on top. I like this recipe serve with white rice. Its simple and yummy!

Happy New Year...

Okay, so I'm about a month late with the Happy New Year stuff (or just a couple of weeks if we're counting Ukrainian New Year).
Quite a lot has happened over the last couple of months.

My boyfriend and I had started feeding some stray cats that showed up in the backyard around the end of Summer/beginning of Autumn. There were 4 of them. A mommy and 3 little kittens. Being cat lovers we just couldn't resist feeding them. (We have 2 adults in the house at this point.) This is Sketch, with her head in the bowl and 2 of her kittens Zeus (the grey one) and one of the twins, either Cupid or Stupid.



Though we are able to feed them, we don't have the means to spay and neuter all of them. So naturally one day Stubs appeared. She was about a month old at the beginning of November. I tried to pet her but she was a quick little kitty. As November turned to December my man and I feared that Stubs would die when the weather turned cold. I know! It was really mild at that time here, but it was a good excuse to worry ourselves into adopting her. Could you resist this face?



Stubs is adjusting quite well. Though Tida doesn't want to be happy about it.

A kitten at my boyfriend's place in Scarborough. Me, there most of the time. We finally decided, or rather figured out that I was already practically moved in, so I brought my computer over to make it official. Its been working out pretty well. I have to commute now which sucks. But at least its not too long of a drive back to Richmond Hill.

A Parallel Universe

Have you ever looked into a mirror and thought that maybe the image was really you in a parallel universe? Or possibly that you could climb through into this mirror world, like Alice?

It seems my boyfriend found his way in...

  

A job well done!

We finished painting the bedroom this past weekend. I think it looks really good. Especially compared to what they did look like. This is before.


  

  

Pretty yucky! Tape marks on the wall, ugly trim and box (covers the fuse box). But we worked hard and turned it into this...








The cats were a bit upset. They like to hop in each of the windows during the day, but with the wet paint in the bedroom we had to close the door. Teegers kept crying at me to open up the room. She seemed happy once she got back in.


  

Next comes the carpeting...then we can set up the furniture. One room down!

Cleaning, Painting and Being a Woman - Oh My!

The weathers been yucky! Its THAT time of the month! And I've got to work today! On the bright side, they are fairly easy houses. We clean them every week:)

One of these ladies gave my mom 2 baby red-earred sliders. They were her kids' turtles, but I think that mom took care of them. She wasn't thrilled about that. I think she was a little afraid of them. So anyway, mom has new turtles. We named them Pickles and Ice Cream. (Pics coming soon!!)

This coming weekend my boyfriend and I are going to paint his bedroom. After teasing him about painting it pink or purple, we agreed on a colour almost instantly. "Wildflower Wind". Its a nice light blue colour. We had actually liked the darker blue on the same sample card, but it would have made the room feel really small. And I like painting. I love seeing the transformation. And everything looks so clean. So nice! If I can remember my camera for once, I will try to get some before and after shots.

Time is running out...I must get ready for work!

Back to Business

As usual, time is flying by. I had taken a few months off from my Ebay business, as there are less people scanning Ebay in the summer months. The original plan was to get ahead by writing up my listings and wait to post them until September. I ended up writing only 10 listings, when I have around 50 items to go on. I guess I have to admit there is a procrastinator in me.

In my defense my cleaning business has picked up. We now clean 4 houses in a row on one street, in addition to our other houses. All 4 are old Richmond Hill houses to my delight. We are planning to take over the whole street. (insert evil laughter here). And of course I'll admit, I've been spending tons of time with my man.

Well...no more distractions...time to write up listings for a bunch of Bratz dolls and Barbie clothes.

Happy Birthday Brother Jay!!!!!

"Why was he born so beautiful? Why was he born at all?"

Tomorrow is my brother's birthday. I wanted to take this opportunity to say Happy Birthday directly from my blog...So Happy Birthday.

I'm gonna miss you, but at the same time proud and a little envious of you and your move.

Cheers to Brother Jay!

Separated At Birth?

Bea and Morty strike a pose.

Birthday Picnic

Though my birthday was on Monday, my boyfriend and I had Sunday to celebrate together. He surprised me with a picnic at Rosetta McLain Gardens. This park is just gorgeous. And the squirells are quite friendly too. In a somewhat secluded area of the park are the remains of Rosetta's house. I love old houses, so this was quite a treat to see.

The only info I could find on the park through google were photography. Seems lots of people have their wedding pics taken there. And who could blame them. If anyone out there has more info on Rosetta McLain I'd be thrilled if you let me in on it.

Thanks Sweetie for the lovely picnic!

My actual birthday wasn't very exciting. Due to the heat I was exhausted and allowed myself a long nap, which I usually feel guilty about. But heck it was my b-day, I'm allowed to indulge.

Brother Jay's Blog

I got an email from my bro yesterday with a link to his blog. I didn't even know he was writing one!

Well...He's impressed me. But maybe that's because he's my big brother:)

Check it out! I've add the link to Jay's Blog >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Do I Look Any Older?

I sure don’t feel it!

I turn 29 on the 29th. I'm still trying to drill that into my mind. All year I was thinking I was still 27 turning 28 this year. I even put my age as 27 on a form I had to fill out recently. My mom pointed out my faux pas. At least she remembers how old I am. Time sure flies!

I got an early B-day present!!!

This year my sweet parents and my brother got me a new digital camera. I love it!!!! Its a Fujifilm Finepix A400. Finally, I have optical zoom and a macro function for getting nice detail shots for things I list on Ebay. Now just to learn how it all works ;)

My old camera (Hp photosmart 120) has been past on to my brother. May it serve him well.

These pics are with the new camera. One is of the poo-factory geese, who will soon be banned from the yard. I love them and all but they make a huge mess. And that huge mess gets carried into the house. It’s not a good thing!

The other pic is my new friend, Curly. Well that’s what I call him anyway. He/she is the neighbours new dog. Here he is hanging out on the other side of the fence near where my garden should be….that still needs to be worked on. But at least now I have a friend to keep me company when I do get to work.

Project Update
I finally hooked another two rows on my rug. Yipee!!

No Hooking or Sowing

I haven't gotten much work done on my projects sadly! No gardening and only two rows done on my rug - :(

Between two Easters (Canadian and the following week Ukrainian) I guess I've been distracted. I must push myself to get to work on the garden for sure before it's too late. The rug I can take my time with. Must enjoy the sunshine!!

I would like to wish my favourite Aunt a very happy birthday this weekend!!!! Have a great day!

Project #2

With the weather finally being nice it would seem kind of silly to start a latch hook project of this size. I can’t resist though.

My mom found this kit at our local thrift store for $3.00. The yarn is wool. The rug is 36 x 60 inches. Exactly what I wanted for a phenomenal price (these sell from the Shillcraft website for $200US – and that’s for acrylic, if you want wool you have to call them!!!)

This is as far as I’ve gotten in the last week (22 x 4 inches). We’ll have to see how far I get before the sunshine totally distracts me from it…Yea Spring!!!

The Project

Well it has been awhile. I’m back!!!
Today was a gorgeous day so I decided to do some yard work at my parent’s house and continue an on going project from last year. I had started to plan for a garden. The picture with the log and birdfeeder is my planned spot. I dug up all the weeds tilled the sandy soil, pulling out as many rocks as I could find. But that’s as far as I got. Now I guess I have to buy some soil and load it up. Luckily, I get to take the plants from my grandmother’s garden – free of charge!

Other than that I am quite clueless about gardening I would appreciate any free advice from you people with green thumbs out there ;)

I will try to keep a garden progress report on this blog.

This is of the view of Lake Wilcox from my parent’s backyard. When I was younger, my brother and I would spend the whole summer being fish.





This is my favourite willow tree. The last one of Willowbank. Lucky its there too – I think its holding the yard together.





Ahhhh! The sun is shining, the birds are chirping and the kids are playing street hockey! You can almost forget that you ever shovelled snow from your driveway just a few short months ago– ALMOST!

The Story of Patches

My mom has been caring for animals since I could remember. Our cat Zeb was in her life before I was.

My brother and I had fish and birds. But of course Mom always took care of them. She cried when my bird Maxine, a green and yellow budgie, died.

From all this love of animals emerged a real saviour for some of the animals who entered our family.

My brother, my friend and I found a stray cat while we were waiting for the school bus. She was quite a pathetic sight. Her tail bobbed and the tips of her ears frostbitten. Sadly, my brother and I thought we couldn’t bring her home. We had Zeb and knew dad would be mad if we brought another cat home. So my friend grabbed the cat and took her home. Later that day my friend brought over “Tiger” to meet my mom. Mom says it was love at first site with that cat. For both cat and woman.

Tiger and my friend went home. And we let the little stray slip from our minds.

The next day, Tiger was outside our house. I know a block doesn’t seem far to travel, but Tiger was probably carried both ways to and from our house, but she still managed to find her way back to mom.

That was it. Mom had to keep the undersized, bobtailed stray. But dad and my friend were the problem. We hid the newly named Patches in the front porch (which we rarely used) to keep her warm at night and let her out during the day. She always came back to mom.

Finally, dad got suspicious. “Why is this cat always hanging around?” Finally we fessed up. “We love her. We gotta keep her. She loves us.” It was 3 to 1 for keeping the little thing. Yippee!!! But he soon fell in love with Patches too. Her sassy charm. Her toughness (she beat up on 2 huskies one day). What was not to love?

Mom fed Patches well. She started getting rather plump. I was happy that she looked so healthy. But it wasn’t just the good diet making Patches plump…she was pregnant! Oh! I was so excited. I’d never had kittens living in my house. Dad wasn’t impressed.

Soon the time came for little Patches to give birth. On Easter weekend, we prepared a cardboard box with some blankets behind to unused fireplace for her to use as a nest. The first one out was Batman. Mom caught the beginning just in time. A little black tail was coming out of Patches. Mom scooped her up and put her in the nest.

Batman, a tuxedo cat with a black mask on his adorable face, was the first born. I wanted to keep him, but old Zeb didn’t like having a tough little male kitten around. He ended up living with my dad’s friend’s family. They kept his name as Batman.

Second born was Ching Ching, same markings as Patches but she had almond shaped eyes which inspired mom to name her. Ching ching went to live with my grandparents. She was quite the high strung cat. Poor thing ended up dying from diabetes complications.

And the third and last born was Mootsca. A white and grey kitten. Neurotic kitten, who would cry when you picked her up. My brother called her W.C. for some time (w.c. = whine and complain). Because of her little crying problem no one wanted her. Another vote that dad lost…

Is it Springtime Yet?

This weather is confusing my system. One day it’s so cold the moisture in your nose creates little icicles. The next it feels like Spring is on the way.

Everyone around here is sneezing. Brother Jay’s allergies are acting up.
The cats are running around like little maniacs, trying to find a way out of the house. For some reason, when they haven’t been outside for a few months, they start thinking there are secret exits thru the closets or behind the water heater.

As for me, I feel wound up. I have plenty of things I’d like to get done, but I can’t seem to focus. I start one thing and jump onto the next without finishing – that is a Gemini trait – but I usually follow thru.

I did take advantage of the nice weather last Sunday. I went for a walk around the neighbourhood. But, silly me, I forgot my camera. And its too bad! I saw these beautiful cats in front of a house sunning themselves. They looked like they are ready for Spring to be here.

I’m not trying to complain :) I think this is one of the mildest Januarys I can remember. I like watching the snow melt. But it’s a real tease. My body and mind start adjusting to Spring, almost as soon as the sun hits my face on a nice day. Then the next, the wind is whipping snow up in my face and seeming to chill me straight thru to my bones.