Well I kind of went MIA on you there didn't I? My apologies, I certainly didn't mean to desert you without a word, but this was garage sale weekend at the ole Ranch here (FYI we do not live on a ranch, I just like to live with the delusion of grandeur).
The long and the short of it is - Papa Al (the girls' great-grandpa) recently decided it was time to sell his little house and move into a retirement home. And since Papa Al's street wasn't the ideal setting for a garage sale it was decided everything would be moved into storage in our garage and the sale would be held in our driveway at some point. Over the weeks our garage has slowly been filling up with stuff. We don't have a large garage, it's a rather tight fitting one car model, that has seen better days, but we packed it full with Papa Al's stuff. No joke, for the week before the sale our lawn mower was outside in the backyard because Papa brought the last load up when I was cutting the grass and after he unloaded the trailer and left there wasn't a single inch of free space available.
It was a big and difficult job in many ways. I don't envy Grandma Linda having to pack up her parent's home and by extension their lives there with the intention of dispersing it to strangers. Since everything was stored at our place Mike thought we should do what we could to lighten the load and we tasked ourselves with the job of pricing every single item in every single box. That was a huge undertaking, but so very necessary. I spent some time googling garage sale tips and the number one thing. The thing they couldn't stress enough was pricing your items. So Mike and I spent countless hours in the garage unpacking, cleaning, pricing and repacking. As well I decided to ruthlessly clear my house of clutter to sell. So there was a lot of cleaning, pricing and packing going on indoors too.
I wasn't quite sure what to expect of the weekend, but it was so much better that I could have imagined. I won't keep you in suspense any longer - the garage sale was a tremendous success. Mike and I cleared over $650 and Papa Al's take was similarly impressive. But I think this weekend was about so much more than the money..... here are some highlights:
The sale was advertised in the paper, but I also posted in on craigslist, kijiji and facebook. This led to 4 people showing up at our house Friday night asking if they could look through our garage because they weren't sure if they could make it back the following morning. That falls under the category of - not my problem. I will tell you of the four, two of them were back on our doorstep, just after seven the next morning. Sale started at eight btw.We found it endlessly fascinating all weekend, what people were buying. Papa Al had a fairly large "media collection" consisting of books, records and vhs movies. We were staggered at the vhs tapes and records that sold. Also, some people are cheap. Mike and I had priced things to sell. The majority of it was priced a dollar or less and people were still trying to haggle. We had $10 on Papa Al's microwave which was in terrific condition. There was a haggle session and in the end it went for $7. Maybe the most bizarre, Papa Al had an old set of encyclopedias, as well as several sets of Time Life books. We were positive none of it would sell. Why would anyone buy a set of outdated encyclopedias when we have the interwebs? Then two young, pierced and tatooed lads showed up. One offered Grandma Linda $2 for the set. Grandma Linda countered with $3 and his friend piped up - I'll give you the $5 for it. Sold! In the end they left with 2 of the Time Life sets as well. I cannot imagine why they were even interested in them.Oh no wait... that wasn't the most bizarre. A lady shows up and right off the bat, she's complaining to me about how long of a drive it was out to my place. She was quite certain she was driving to Texas. I should have maybe tried to sell her Papa Al's globe. Look at me up here in Canada - no where near Texas! She wandered around for a while and finally settled on one of those fibre optic flowers in the plastic case. Your Grandma probably had one. Basically, you plug it in and the flowers change colour - fibre optically. She asks Grandma Linda where the cord is. It's in her trunk, so GL walks across the street, gets the plug, comes back, plugs it in and shows the lady it's in working order. It's then she tells GL, "oh I don't want to buy it. I just wanted to see it work." She finally settles on a couple of thing totalling a whopping $1.25. As I take her cash she snorts at me - A drive all the way out in the country for a $1.25. That's just great. Clearly garage saling is her greatest passion. I mean she was obviously enjoying herself, so why not keep doing it?I have to say the best part of the weekend was the laughs. For the most part it was Mike and I and Grandma Linda and her brother, Uncle G-Mac holding down the fort and we may have laughed for the entire weekend. We made up a drinking game that made fun of Uncle G-Mac. Then we made one up about Grandma Linda. Mike took a beating for being a Toronto Maple Leaf fan. We forced Uncle G-Mac to admit his celebrity to a random garage saler (he's a writer and does a radio show). There was no shortage of fart jokes, because farts are always funny. We flipped through Papa Al's record collection and laughed like crazy over some of the album covers and some of the albums (Saucy Sylvia Agent Double oh sixty-nine Adult comedy album, I'm looking at you). And we ate a ridiculous amount of chocolate chip cookies and brownies. So while it was a huge amount of work, I think the memory of the day will more than make up for it. We will be talking about this weekend for many years to come. At the next family dinner, some one is bound to say - remember that crazy lady who made you plug in that flower light because she wanted to see it work and then didn't buy it? Or Uncle G-Mac will mention his radio show and we'll all yell - do a shot! Or we'll remind Uncle G-Mac how he lost the cash box and then contemplated tackling the woman he thought stole it.
I kinda wish we could do it again next weekend.... Okay not all the unpacking, cleaning, pricing, repacking, unpacking, displaying and selling, but definitely the hanging out and the laughing. Maybe we should start planning for a garage sale in 2010.
Grandma Linda asked if Abby and Maya would like to come for a sleepover while she's on holidays next week and that led to the following conversation between The Abster and Mike.......Abby: You have to promise me I'm going to go for a sleepover at Grandma and Papa's.Mike: Well I think Grandma wanted you and Maya to come.Abby: Can't I ever get some peace and quiet? I go to the sitter's and there's babies crying and the little kids are crying when they fall and scrape their knees. I just want some peace and quiet.Mike: Well now you know how Mommy and Daddy feel some times.Abby: You should just take the cranky one home and I'll stay at Grandma's.
Oh God love me! Would you believe I was going to post another frosting recipe (mocha this time, so yum) this week? But I'm going to be strong and refrain. For at least a week anyway. That's my personal guarantee. Nope this week, it's all about the meatballs. Mmmm I love meatballs. My sister-in-law makes some tasty ones. I have to convince her to share her recipe with me. So you aren't gettting a recipe for meatballs this week, but rather a suggestion of what you should do with them once you have them. And I'm not even picky about how you get them. Make them yourself, get Nonna to make you some or buy a box of frozen ones.
Meatball Sandwichesmeatballs (already cooked)tomato saucemozzarella cheese, shreddedparmesan cheesecrusty rollsTake your crusty roll and slice it in half, being careful not to slice all the way through. So you create a sort of pocket in your bun. Now stuff the cavity full of as many meatballs as will comfortably fit. Top with tomato sauce, parmesan cheese and shredded mozzarella. Place under the broiler until the cheese is melted.Recipe Notes: Super easy and super delicious. And it's a great way to use up leftover meatballs. I like this recipe because it's easily adaptable. Add some sauted onion, green pepper and/or mushrooms before topping it with the cheese. Or try cheddar (like I did in the pic) or provolone. The combinations are endless.What is What's Cooking Wednesday and how can I play?
What's cooking Wednesday was born out of a desire to get out of that what's for dinner rut. Playing is easy, on Wednesday post a recipe that has been tried and tested by you and then pop over here and add your name to the Mr. Linky. When entering your name also add the name of the recipe in brackets and make sure you link to your What's Cooking Wednesday post and not just your blog's front page. *All front page links will be deleted!* Don't make me be a jerk. And don't forget to link back here, the home of What's Cooking Wednesday.
So for example I would write Shan (Speedy Chicken Stir Fry) in the name section. For the URL section I would post this: http://shanrev.blogspot.com/2007/10/whats-cooking-wednesday-speedy-chicken.html
I'll let you in on a little secret, my WCW recipes are almost never made on a Wednesday. So feel free to cook and photograph whenever you have time and join us posting on Wednesday
This morning it was back to the grind... work for us, sitters for the girls. This morning on our drive Abby was eating a bag of fruit treats, Scooby Doo fruit treats when she asked Mike...Do you remember when we saw the Mystery Machine? That was so cool!And it's true we did see the Mystery Machine. A year ago. Parked in an alley downtown.
Maya is at the stage where she wants to do everything just like Abby, so now she needed to have a conversation with Mike too.....Dad, we went to a horse show (they did yesterday with Grandma Sandi) and know what we found? She waits for a beat before answering her own questionHorses!
For most of the summer my buddy ML has been telling me that we must go to the spa together. A very specific spa. Her favourite spa in Toronto, Body Blitz. I have been to the spa before. Pedicures are just about my favouritest thing on earth. And way back when I had Abby the fellas had gotten Robin and I a day at the spa for Christmas. We had mani/pedis, facials and massages. But this spa is just a little bit different. ML wanted us to do the theraputic waters circuit, she's been a bunch of times and highly recommends it. So after a whole summer of talking about it we finally arranged some time to go. We were gone from our respective houses for 12 hours and what an adventure we went on..... Have I ever mentioned that I used to get car sick as a kid? Cause I did, so now you know where Maya gets it from. I wasn't quite as bad as she is, but still it wasn't fun. So guess who, at the ripe old age of 36, got "car queasy" on the ride into TO? Yeah that would be me. Turns out the back seat of ML's truck is not the spot for me to be sitting for an hour. Yeah awesome start. And now the spa. Originally we were planning on just doing the therapuetic water circuit which entails; a dip in a saltwater pool, warmed to just the perfect temperature and filled with lots of jets. It was just about the best place on earth. Seriously, you don't want to ever get out. Yet, you must so you can move on to the steam room. A place where the air is so hot and moist it burns your nostrils while sweat pours off every square inch of you. Not to worry, you're only in there for 5 minutes, it just seems like 55. Then you must have a quick rinse under the shower where you should follow ML's advice and turn the water as cold as you can stand it because your next stop is the cold plunge pool. And when they say cold they mean it. Hello 68 degrees I didn't realize you felt that frigid. The good news is you only have to dip in for a minute. The bad news is you have to dip in for a minute. Then you drag yourself to an incredibly comfy red lounge chair and hang out for a bit.Then it's off to the sauna for 5 minutes, but after a rinse in the shower it's back to that damned cold plunge pool. Another rest on those uber comfy loungers and then sink into the very warm green tea hot tub. It is exactly what it sounds like, a hot tub filled with green tea and it's heaven. Especially after the cold plunge pool.When we got there we decided to add a treatment, luckily they had one massage and two body scrubs available. I was still feeling rather blech from the drive and I was having a hard time getting excited about being "manhandled" by a stranger, so I went with the lesser of the evils and grabbed the massage, leaving ML and my Mom with the paper thong and the scrub ladies. Yep, I said it -- paper thong. Alas, I'm afraid, I have no experience with the paper thong, you'll have to wait for ML or Granny to start a blog and entertain you with their paper thong tales. I can tell you the massage was heaven, just the right pressure and a masseuse who wasn't big on small talk. I was finished with my massage before ML and Granny were booked for their scrub, so I hung out in the salt water pool and blissed out until they'd been scrubbed to a glow.Not knowing how long Granny & ML would be getting their scrub I was going to do the circuit again, but only got as far as my first rinse after the steam room. (I hung out a little bit longer in the salt pool, as per the massage therapist's suggestion.) I must remember to thank them for saving me from the blasted cold plunge pool.So you see it's not your run of the mill spa, by any means. And I even forgot to tell you about the antioxidant smoothies they brought us pool side. Mmm yummy and just the thing to take the edge off of that darn steam room. I fully intend on going again and again and again. So fully relaxed and recharged after our time at the spa we headed out to Chinatown for a bit of lunch. Stay tuned for what happened next.....
Whenever Mike and I watch Diners, Drive Ins and Dives, or Triple D is you're cool like us (HA!), talk inevitably turns to the "diner" we'd like to "open". It's just a little something to daydream about, although Papa thinks it's a good idea. Mostly because he's always on the look out for a good cup of coffee and a cheap breakfast. In our daydream our place would only be open for lunch and breakfast, so we'd still have some reasonably normal home life. 
So for this week's Friday High Five - what would be on the menu at our diner.1. Soup - y'all know I love my soup. So we'd have soup of the day that would change according to my whim. Cauliflower and cheese, baked potato, hearty tomato pasta, the possibilities are endless.2. Lasagna - I make several different lasagnas very well - creamy chicken, buffalo chicken, traditional, mexican. Mmmmm lasagna of the day. 3. Omelets, can be a breakfast place without omelets. I'm just going to have to work on my eggs skills. The taste I've got down, it's the actual cooking a bunch at once that would need work. Some of the egg guys/girls you see on Triple D are beyond impressive.4. Sweets. How could I not offer up the various cakes and cookies I love to bake. Oh and pie. How could I forget pie? And cinnamon buns. 5. Grilled wraps. Yep, wraps are yummy and all, but they're even better if you throw them in a panini press. Mmmmm toasty and melty.So what would you like to see on the menu?
So do you think you could handle one more frosting recipe? Because you know how I get with things. Remember the soup? How many pots of soup did I make over the winter? Lots and lots. I blame all the frosting on the new eight month old mixer that's sitting on my counter top. I want Michael and my family to know they're getting their money's worth. Also, taking this whole baking thing pro rolls around in the back of my head a lot. Before I get there though I need lots and lots of practice.This is the frosting of my childhood. I could dig up countless pictures out of our albums of various kids sitting in front of cakes frosting with this very recipe. 
Fluffy White Frosting3 tbsp meringue powder1/2 cup cold water2 cups granulated sugar1/4 cup corn syrup1/2 cup waterBeat meringue powder and 1/2 cup cold water until stiff, about 4 minutes. Mix sugar, corn syrup and water in a 2 qt saucepan. Bring to a boil and cool slightly. Slowly add syrup to the meringue mixture on high for 4 minutes until stiff and glossy.Recipe: The kitchen aid mixer is perfect for this recipe. I whipped some up while helping Abby with her summer homework. When you are adding the syrup to the whipped meringue powder, pour it into the bowl while the mixer is on in a thin steady stream. This was lovely with Grandma Linda's white on white birthday cake.What is What's Cooking Wednesday and how can I play?
What's cooking Wednesday was born out of a desire to get out of that what's for dinner rut. Playing is easy, on Wednesday post a recipe that has been tried and tested by you and then pop over here and add your name to the Mr. Linky. When entering your name also add the name of the recipe in brackets and make sure you link to your What's Cooking Wednesday post and not just your blog's front page. *All front page links will be deleted!* Don't make me be a jerk. And don't forget to link back here, the home of What's Cooking Wednesday.
So for example I would write Shan (Speedy Chicken Stir Fry) in the name section. For the URL section I would post this: http://shanrev.blogspot.com/2007/10/whats-cooking-wednesday-speedy-chicken.html
I'll let you in on a little secret, my WCW recipes are almost never made on a Wednesday. So feel free to cook and photograph whenever you have time and join us posting on Wednesday
he's still the one.
Well this week's you capture prompt was movement and I was really looking forward to capturing all the movement in this busy house of mine. I wasn't expecting to get the shots I did get this week. As I may have mentioned Mike has been doing some work for our dairy farming friends whenever they need an extra set of hands. Last week that involved moving some bales of straw from the field back to the barn. Due to some sort of a mechanical hiccup the baler caught fire and was destroyed. Thankfully T, who was operating the baler at the time, was okay, but it meant they lost a lot of working time while the fire was put out and they regrouped.I freely admit to some mild "panic" until I had the official word that everyone (T especially) was safe and accounted for and everything was okay. A few hours later ML showed up and we loaded my girls into the truck and headed out to the field to survey the damage and see our hardworking boys. Before we left she said grab your camera, the sun's setting and you could get some shots of x,y and z. I love friends that get me! So off we went.
Okay, so while not technically a movement shot, how could I post that story without posting a picture of the baler? Just imagine how fast T was moving when he was trying to get the baler out of the dry straw and then get it unhooked from the tractor before they lost the tractor as well.
And since everyone was alive and safe and well. We let the girls have a little fun. And yes, they could actually move it. Strong girls I have. Actually, straw is really light. You'd be surprised.
I'm not really sure which of these is my favourite. Mike likes the one that's further away. I think I'm more partial to the one closer. That's my Michael in the tractor and trailer. That's T loading him up with bales. These shots are straight out of the camera. I may go back and play with them a bit.
And we also had some movement fun at home too.
It's finally been warm enough for the pool and my fishy girls are loving it.
Creative Mom that I am, I got the idea to put our plastic slide into the pool, only it floated. So Mike drilled some holes in it and there you have it -- water slide. The girls love it and we are now truly getting our money's worth out of the adventure climber.you capture -- hosted by:
You know what's cute? When you make things super tiny for no reason at all. Recently pictures of pie pops were going around foodie blogs everywhere. Little tiny pies on sticks. I thought they were adorable and since I'm on the lookout for recipes to make for the bake/garage sale I'm having here in a few weeks (Seriously, plan to come out and buy some cookies and a crockpot or handmixer or some glassware.) I thought I'd give them a try. So this is more a tutorial than a recipe.....
Teeny Tiny PiesGet yourself some pie crust - homemade, from a mix or ready made - your choice and roll it out on a nicely floured counter. Using your 2 inch round cookie cutter - or a glass or freehand it or use another shape - cut out some circles.In the center of half the circles place a small spoonful of pie filling - we used blueberry - cover with the other half of the circles and use a fork to seal the edges.Now if you'd like before you seal the edges place a sucker stick in the center and seal the top and the bottom around it. Then bake in a preheated 375 degree F oven for 12 - 15 minutes.Recipe Notes: We weren't overly impressed with these. They are a bit fiddly to make and the pastry to fruit ratio is way off, for me. I may try these again, only bigger and forget the stick. I love the idea of a little hand held pie, so may be they will be on my bake sale table. You never know.What is What's Cooking Wednesday and how can I play?
What's cooking Wednesday was born out of a desire to get out of that what's for dinner rut. Playing is easy, on Wednesday post a recipe that has been tried and tested by you and then pop over here and add your name to the Mr. Linky. When entering your name also add the name of the recipe in brackets and make sure you link to your What's Cooking Wednesday post and not just your blog's front page. *All front page links will be deleted!* Don't make me be a jerk. And don't forget to link back here, the home of What's Cooking Wednesday.
So for example I would write Shan (Speedy Chicken Stir Fry) in the name section. For the URL section I would post this: http://shanrev.blogspot.com/2007/10/whats-cooking-wednesday-speedy-chicken.html
I'll let you in on a little secret, my WCW recipes are almost never made on a Wednesday. So feel free to cook and photograph whenever you have time and join us posting on Wednesday
*warning* be prepared for some inappropriate language *warning*I'm in the office, trying to get another page of data entered into my prize tabulation spreadsheets. The girls are waiting out the rain and watching a movie on TV. I'm not aware, but the movie they are watching ends and the next one comes on. Not long after Abby is beside my desk.....Umm Mom, you're going to want to come and change the channel because that guy just said he was fucking sorry. And that doesn't count because I was just repeating what he said.Yep, she said it and I literally fell out of my chair.
Mike's been somewhat busy this past weekend leaving me alone with the kids. Normally, not something I have a hard time with or even complain about, but this week I had a touch of insomnia and my Mommy reserves were low. And Maya's need for Mommy was high. Very high. Spider monkey high. There came a point in the weekend, when Mike was actually home that I couldn't take a minute more of trying to talk over my little darlings. I couldn't have Maya climbing into my lap one more time. So I excused myself to our bedroom with it's brand new door that actually locks. Yes, for almost 13 years of marriage we've been sleeping in a bedroom with nothing more between us and the hallway than a thin bi-fold door.So I'm upstairs with the door shut and locked lying in our bed -- it would be nice to say I was resting or drinking a glass of wine, but I was actually working on the meal plan/grocery list for the week -- when I hear the pitter patter of little feet on the stairs. Luckily they were Abby's, my child who doesn't have to cling to me. It was entirely possible that was disappearing into her own room for a moment of peace and quiet. But no -- there was a tiny little knock on the door, followed by, -- Mom?Yeah, honey?Can I just give you a hug.So I opened the door and gave her a big hug. She returned an extra little squeeze and whispered she loved me before she headed back downstairs. It was just the recharge I needed.
We continue our tour, down the street, to the house that I would so love to buy. You know if I could afford it's hefty price tag, not to mention the heating bill which would have to be nothing short of enormous. Regardless I still love it (and it is still for sale). And why wouldn't I - with four big bedrooms, two lovely bathrooms, a kitchen that was made for baking (well more so than my present kitchen), a functional basement (well more so than my present basement) and lots of large entertaining space.
From what I am told, back in the day, this was the doctor's house. Do you see the door that is facing us? That's the main entrance to the house. You enter into a foyer with the staircase to your right and the living room/dining room combo to your left. Now if you look closely there is another door just around the corner from the main entrance. This apparently, was the entrance to the doctor's office. Inside that door is a little foyer that was likely a waiting type of area going into what is currently the family room, but at the time - I'm guessing - was the examination room that was closed off from the rest of the house. Of course that last little bit of information comes from the real estate agent who also told me that the house had all original mouldings, but even I could tell the baseboard was modern day materials doctored up to look like it was original. To be fair the mouldings on the doors and windows was authentically original. See it pays for me to watch all that HGTV.
Last week's Friday High Five was all about Maya. So, that makes this week Abby's turn.....The five things I don't want to forget about the Abster at 7 years and 2 months.1. The way so many of her sentences start with actually. Actually, my sister made that mess. Actually, I want hot dogs for dinner, not chicken. Actually, I finished all my lunch today. It's her thing.2. Her fashion sense. There may come a time when she stops wearing clothing she loves even if it doesn't match in any way shape or form. I secretly hope she keeps "her style" going. 3. She still comes running for me, wanting a hug after we've spent the day apart. She at the sitters/school, me at work. 4. She is such a social, friendly, chatty little thing. Total opposite of what I was like at that age. She will talk your face off if she's given the chance.5. She is my water baby and will spend endless hours in the pool. She's a fish -- or so she tells me.
