The Recipe Book & Deadlines

I'm the oldest grandchild on my mom's side. I have a cousin who's a couple months younger, and then a sister and cousin who are two years younger. When I was in university, my mom wrote down a bunch of family recipes and gave all of us a recipe book.

As time went on, the computer that had the original file crashed and the file was lost. As others grew up, the old recipe books were photocopied and shared.

Two or three years ago, I thought, "Hey, we should make this an ebook."

I started copying out the recipes one at a time. I was doing this at work on the days when I stayed late because it didn't make sense to come home after boxing.

After a few weeks, it occurred to me that scanners could easily scan the book, and I could use Acrobat (which was on my work computer) to translate the resulting PDF into text.

That was much, much faster.

There was still some proof-reading to do, but it was a good start.

I moved everything into InDesign (also on my work computer) and tried to figure out how to make each recipe its own link under a table of contents. (The answer, it turned out, was to make each one a separate file in the book.)

Then I discovered that I had too many recipes, because InDesign has a hard limit of 150 files. I'd have to make multiple books and then merge them in Calibre.

That was in December 2013. In January 2014, I changed to an earlier boxing class. I had no time after work to work on the book.

Last week I picked it up again. Now that I had a deadline - the work computer has to go back - it didn't take long to finish it. (Probably a couple of hours, and that was mostly because I found a formatting error that needed to be fixed in each of the 150+ files.) I made a title page on Wednesday and finalized the book.

It's finally done.

At least until someone finds a typo.

Happy birthday, Miss B

It's my niece's birthday. She's eleven, somehow. I got her the Harry Potter novels, knowing that she claims she doesn't like them (even though she has never read them). She was ... Less than pleased.

But she started to read them.

Yes, again

Last Thursday, I was laid off.

It wasn't a total shock - no one has been able to tell me what I'd be doing this year, and I knew changes were coming.

Unlike the last couple of times, I'm still expected to work u til the end of the month. I like being able to transition things, but three weeks is a little longer than I'd like.

I've got an appointment with the outplacement service next week, and I plan to get my act together job-hunting wise on Tuesday. 

But first, I need to get through winter camp.

Honey

As you know, I had a cold at the beginning of January. At one point, I was sick enough to try the cold remedy my cousin posted on Facebook:

2 tbsp honey

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp vinegar

dash of cinnamon

hot water

It sounds terrible, but it actually tastes pretty good, and it seemed to make a difference.

Unfortunately, I ran out of honey as a result. I don't often eat honey, but I'd bought some excellent local honey a couple of years ago, and I would happily buy more, so I looked up the website and found their current kiosk off of St. Laurent. They were open until 5 most weekdays, until 7 on Thursday, and on Saturdays.

The first Saturday in January, I was still sick-ish, so I didn't go. The second Saturday, I set off to find their location.

I decided to take the "most direct way" and got lost, but after far too long, I found the kiosk. 

It was closed.

I came home and checked the website. There was a note saying they were closed due to illness.

Not a big deal - I could go the next Saturday.

Last Saturday, I got up and checked the website. There was a note saying that they were kicked out of the mall they were in due to a misunderstanding with management.

Since then, they've updated their site to say they will arrange a pick-up location for orders > $50.

I don't have an order >$50. I want one jar of honey.

I could order off their website, but they charge $7 for handling +$10 shipping. The honey is $15-ish.

This is a lot of drama for a jar of honey.

I think I'll give it a month or two and see if they get this sorted out. 

I got a cold over the holidays. In fact, it was particularly bad (I.e. head-cold-y) on Saturday - not last Saturday, the one before that. 

You'd think I'd be over it by now, but I'm not - I have a lingering cough. It's the kind that's fine for hours, followed by a burst of uncontrollable coughing.

The suddenly cold weather is not helping. My asthmas does not like sudden temperature changes, so going outside triggers a coughing fit.

I'm a joy to be around, let me tell you.

I guess it's a good ab exercise, if nothing else.

Lessons

Over the past few years, I've started getting more into quilting - at least from September to December. 

The first quilt I made was for my sister, many years ago. It was a very simple quilt, but it took a long time. After that, I started making baby quilts - they'r'e a lot smaller, but they still took a long time.

These days, I make far more complex quilts, and it takes me a lot less time. 

There are a few reasons for that. Of course, just being more familiar with the process makes a difference. 

I also have better tools - I got a cutting mat and rotary cutter a couple of years ago, and that helps make sure everything is straight. 

I've also learned when to rip out the stitches. When something is really wrong, there's no amount of ignoring it that will work, and procrastinating will just mean it's a bigger mess to undo. 

And finally, I've learned that that most mistakes are fixable. On my niece's quilt, several of the squares were too small, so I added complementary fabric around the edges. Yes, you can still see where the problems were, but it looks good and she doesn't care.

And my niece's birthday quilt

This post and the last one explain why I've disappeared for the last two months.

Merry Christmas!

Here is my Christmas gift for my sister Kathleen, who is always cold.

Where I've been

This is another "wow, I haven't updated in a month" update. Let's see if I can remember what I've been up to.

The pathfinders went to a glassblowing class. We did a birthday party package, and it was interesting, but I was hoping we'd be able to do more of it ourselves. (We picked the colours and blew the gass, but didn't gather or shape it).

The resulting ornament was really heavy.

Wanda went away for a weekend and I proceeded to do exactly what I would have done if she'd been here.

I went to Montreal to go Christmas shopping. Uncharacteristically, I bought a gift. (Don't worry, I'm not done.)

There were layoffs at work. Not me, at least not yet.

The pathfinders did a craft activity at a community event.

I took three days off work but still had no time to relax.

I went to a work Christmas party. 

I slipped on some ice and hurt my wrist (not seriously). I went to boxing anyway and, for added fun, forgot my shoes. I persevered.

Speaking of boxing, they've started added an exercise between every station. Two weeks ago, it was jumping split squats. I was sore for four days.

Halloween

It occurs to me that I never shared my Halloween costume here.

I went as Ursula the sea witch.

I made the costume myself. The tentacles were easy - long purple troubles sewn to bigger black triangles. The suckers on the tentacles were  straightforward but time consuming.

The necklace was clay painted hold.

And the eels were essentially a stuffed pillow.

Typed on my phone

Almost two years ago, my mom gave me an iPad for Christmas.  I loved it. If you add up all the time I've spent using every other gift I've ever gotten and compared it to the time  I've spent using the iPad, the iPad would win.

So naturally, I flung it across the room and cracked the corner.

It still worked fine, so I kept using it.

But...mom got a protection plan, and that plan expires in December.

Ten days ago, I took it in to get fixed.

I've been busy, so I haven't missed it as much as I thought I would, but I have noticed I have more free time, and I have a list of things I need to do when I get it back.

And the library books are piling up - I can read them on my phone, but its harder.

I hope it is back soon.

As I've mentioned before, I do a weekly boxing training class. I've done it for eight years, and I'm never sore. Never.

I also go to the gym - usually three times a week. I'm rarely sore from that - although when we do a different strength training workout, I get a little sore.

So anyway, last Thursday I did the strength class as usual. On Friday at boxing,I noticed that my right shoulder was tight.

I then forgot about it until body toning on Monday, when it was still off. I decided it was time to do something about it, so I booked a massage for yesterday.

My shoulder is better, but I am so very sore. It hurts to lean back against a chair, or lie down, or move.

Apparently massages are my kyptonite.

There have been a lot of sirens today

If you live in the world, you e probably heard that a soldier was murdered in Ottawa today, likely by the same person who then went into the Parliament Buildings.

I don't work downtown, really, but I'm both close to downtown and near the Queensway, and the first sign we had was one of my coworkers saying "there have been a lot of sirens today".

It turned out that was just the tip of the iceberg.

Much of downtown was under lockdown most of the day. We had updates from federal politicians ad provincial politicians and municipal politicians. The three police forces were all involved.

And now, almost twelve hours later, there's still a lot we don't know.

Two people died. Three were injured. Thousands were scared or worried. Hundreds were busy performing first aid or investigating or helping in some other way.

And, in the end, most of us made it home. Prayers for those who didn't.

Zzzzzz

I haven't been sleeping all that well lately.

Part of the problem is that I'm having odd dreams, the kind that combine snippets of work with bits of the rest of my life into something that makes no sense at all. (Apparently a lot of people are having odd dreams lately - is it the weather?)

The other part is my night guard. I got a new one in February, and I'm finding it hard to use. If I manage to fall asleep with it I my mouth (which is rare) I wake up with it somewhere else. I think part of it started when I got the new one - the plastic took a while to taste in-plasticky. And then... It just never got better.

The problem is that I know I'm supposed to use it, so I wake myself up wondering where it is.

Since it's been more than six months, though, I'd better figure it out.

Meet the meat

Back in July, I ordered a quarter of beef from a local farmer. It was estimated to arrive in September.

Three weekends ago, I cleaned out the freezer in preparation. I found a steak from 2008, some Girl Guide cookies so old I didn't recognize the box, and lots of ice.

The weekend after I cleaned out the freezer, I picked up the meat.

Let me tell you, a quarter is a lot of meat. I filled up the chest freezer and put more meat in the fridge freezer. The day after picking up the meat, I opened the freezer and Wanda yelled "if you're not looking for meat, good luck!"

But ... It's so nice to be able to pull something out of the freezer. We've had stew and steak and a roast and ground beef. I will still buy chicken and pork, but we've got enough beef for a long time.

With a freezer full of meat and vegetables delivered every two weeks, grocery shopping should be minimal, as well. Which is good for everyone, because I go after boxing when I'm all sweaty and gross.

Countdown

A couple of nights ago, my brain decided it would enjoy waking up at midnight. And I mean wide awake, not groggy and likely to fall back asleep. 

Since I needed to get up in the morning, this didn't seem like a good idea. I'd heard somewhere that one of the things that can help you fall asleep is if you count backwards from 100. I decided to try it.

100

99

My eye is on fire! (Rubs eye)

98

97

Why is my wrist bent like that? It hurts. (Moves wrist)

96

95

94

93

92

91

90

Where was I? Oh, right.

90

89

88

87

86

Look at me! I've got the hang of it now.

95

Wait. 95? Didn't I already say that? I've been counting for a while. It's probably 85.

85

84

83

...

...

...

Wait, I was counting? Why did I stop? Why am I still awake?

Pinterest

When I was sick in July, I joined Pinterest. (I couldn't do anything, so I figured I might as well spend time looking at things I couldn't do.)

It's a great place for ideas on how to repurpose things you no longer need, or to find recipes, or even for quotes and pictures.

And it has it's share of silly people - for example, the person who built a frame to cover her thermostat. There are several things wrong with that. The first one is that the average thermostat is out of the way and doesn't need to be covered.

The second thing is that by covering it, you're making it harder for it to measure the temperature I. The room, which is its whole reason for existing. Silly, silly people.

Lazing around

I've wanted more backyard furniture for a while, and once I bought the screen house, it was time.

I considered a bunch of options, and eventually decided to use the two pallets left over from the raised garden beds I made a couple of years ago. I started by building legs out of 2x4s, then I sanded down a pallet and painted everything.

I attached the legs to the pallet. This also gave me the advantage of being able to use the pallet as a workbench.

I added the frame for the back. (Did I mention that this was my first time using pocket holes?)

It took me a while to decide what I wanted to do for the back. Eventually I decided on 2x2s.

Then it was just a little paint and it was done.

Tales from the backyard

It feels like my summer has consisted of being sick, being sick, having company, and being sick. Not my best summer, is what I'm saying. (Because of the multiple viruses, not because of the company - the company was awesome.)

I did manage to do a few things around the house, though.

First of all, I planted tomatoes. We're right in the midst of tomato season, and they're awesome. 

 

 One one side of the house is an area that traditionally has been filled with weeds. It also contained the wheelbarrow I found behind the shed. After looking at it, I decided it was trash, and got rid of it this year. Then I pulled the weeds, put down newspaper, and covered it with mulch. Hopefully that will keep the weeds down for a while.

The backyard faces south, and it's usually too hot to use, so I started thinking about getting a gazebo. They're expensive, though, and a lot of work, so while I'm deciding what I ultimately want to do back there, I bought an awesome umbrella.

The visit

My mom and my niece B came to visit about ten days ago, and this time they brought my cousin's two girls, Star and Sky.

They had barely arrived when Star managed to get a nail though her shoe into her foot. I got to call her parents and say "they arrived. Also, for no particular reason, has Star had a tetanus shot?"

Day two we went to a paint-your-own-pottery place,  then my cousin arrived from Toronto. We spent the rest of the day close to home. I believe this was the day B skinned her knee.

Day three we went downtown (some of us on the bus) and saw the changing of the guard, toured the Parliament Buildings, and went to the market. No injuries.

Monday was Calypso, even though it was cold. (No lines!) Star scaped the bottom of her toe just before we left. Oh, and Wanda hurt her feet and spent the next few days hobbling around.

Tuesday morning, Sky woke me up around two because her ear was hurting. I gave her a painkiller and sent her to bed. It was better In the morning, which was good, because it was activity day. We made marshmallow catapults, bouncy balls, doll blankets, and rain. We stuck skewers in ziplock bags of water, stood on eggs, and blew up balloons with nerds and soft drinks. Also, B's mother joined us for supper, as she was unexpectedly in Ottawa for work. I think this might be the day Star stubbed her toe on the grass.

Wednesday, we went shopping, then out for supper one last time before B's mother went home.

Thursday, we went out to Star and Sky's great aunt's cottage. A lot of their relatives from that side of the family came out, so they were able to meet them, and they got to go in the kayak and inflatable boat in between rain showers. Just for fun, Sky stubbed her toe badly enough that it had to be taped up. I don't know that it was broken, but I don't know it wasn't. (Her great aunt is a nurse, so she did the taping.)

Friday, we went ringette shopping, stopped at Black's rapids for a few minutes to walk over the locks, and Wanda got stung by a wasp. After that fun, we went to the museum of science and technology. I got all the girls passes to the Saskatchewan science center for Christmas, which meant they could get in for free here. They made water rockets, ran on the hamster wheel, stumbled thorough the crazy kitchen, and walked through the trains. We then stopped at Hog's Back park, where they climbed an awesome climbing tree and no one got hurt.

And then Friday night, my niece and Star went to the park and B banged her foot on a metal bar. She hopped home, and I put ice on it. After fifteen minutes, I took the ice off and told her to stand up. There was an audible pop and she screamed.

And then she said "Auntie Colette, my foot is going numb".

It turns out the line between "suck it up" and "we are going to the hospital now" is just past "my foot is going numb and I can't wiggle my toes". I googled the address of the children's hospital and piggy-backed her to the car as Sky said "I'm dizzy."

As we checked in, the person registering us out me as a contact on B's file, since B's mom was back home. I said "good, I'm her favourite auntie", and B said - as always - "nope, you're not even on the list". The woman registering us gave me a bit of a look, and we had to explain that this is normal.

Less than two hours later, the doctor explained that it was a sprain and should be better within a day. Frankly, I didn't believe him. (I was ok with the sprain part, but who has ever heard of a sprain healing in two days?)

Saturday morning, Sky again complained about being dizzy, so we were off to the medi-clinic to deal with her ear infection. B came with us, hopping all the way, and sometime while we were getting Sky's prescription filled, B's foot got better - not 100%, but enough that she could walk. Yay! (Also, apologies, CHEO doctor.)

We had a little time in the afternoon, so we headed to Brittania beach. Since there was a Muslim festival going on, we had to park a ways away and take the shuttle. Luckily, the shuttle was a double-decker bus, so that was fun.

Sunday we took the train to Montreal, where we walked through Old Montreal and went to that science center. B's foot was hurting, so we didn't get to see as much as we might have otherwise, but they enjoyed it.

Monday, we played glow-in-the-dark mini-golf, and then decided to go back to the beach. Sadly, that's when the thunder storm hit, so Wanda took the girls to a movie instead. (No one got hit by lightning.)

This morning, everyone packed, then we took the bus downtown to meet Wanda for lunch, because she went back to work today. After lunch, we had a bit of rest time before it was time to go. We were halfway to the airport when we realized B forgot her ipad. I dropped them off, and mom got them checked In and in the line for security while I raced home. I made it back and gave the ipad to mom, who made it through the line for security with minutes to spare.

I'd better be on the list now.