Yay! I Did it Again! Self-Praise, Birthday Blessing for Bruce

Paisley, On

Bill’s alarm went off at 5:45 on Tuesday, Jan. 12^th. He was washed, dressed, had eaten and was in the bathroom brushing his teeth when his phone went off. Word from the boss that the roads were not great, suggesting they wait an hour before heading out to work. Good to know. Bill finished getting ready and then reset his alarm for 7:20 and laid down beside me. He soon dropped off again, which was good.

I walked to the edge of town and you can
see how misty it is beyond main street

He left at 7:30 and I slowly made my way up around 7:45 to greet my day. I didn’t know what it would bring BUT I had it in my head to get out for a walk first thing again, before my tea. “I can do it”, I told myself and followed through. Yay! There was a light misty drizzle but I was prepared, well dressed and with my ice grippers on my boots. I always wear my scarf mainly for the protection from wind on my chin. I pull it up to soften the zippered flaps of my coat. 😊

There was a breeze as you can see by the flag
but I only felt it on my face as i walked into it
The temperature was 'feels like -5C/23F

It was a nice walk for 2 miles and I only met one other person out there walking her dog. When I got back, Susan was in the front room so I hoped my ‘it’s me, Susan!’ didn’t disturb her. Wes was called in to work today again so the house was quiet. I made my tea and carried it upstairs. I read a few blogs but I did take a few minutes to give myself a pat on the back, (well, mentally only), for getting that walk done early. As it turned out later, I would have got wet.

The roads were icy but I was prepared for that!

A commenter agrees that going out early when it is cold is the way to go. Then if I do nothing strenuous for the remainder of the day, I’ve accomplished something! I texted my sister briefly, as is a morning ritual for us, and around 10 went down for a coffee and made myself some breakfast. I fried a sunny-side up egg and remembered that I had some sardines in the cupboard. I added some to my plate. I have GOT to start getting back on track with my eating, I feel blimpy.

Yup, these Avon boot grippers which were under $10 when I
bought them at least 8 years ago are g-g-r-r-e-a-t!😀

I needed to adjust the right one, I didn't
get it on properly before I left the house

That gave me the incentive to look at my recipes in Word. I’d saved them for a reason and although not all are keto, that would be going overboard, I found a few good ones that will satisfy some of my cravings and please Bill as well. I printed a few off in the hopes that I had the ingredients needed to make them and we’d have good healthy snacks to munch on. There are Christmas chocolates still lingering but we’re being very regulated on what we consume. No! I'm not going to give them or throw them away. LOL

The Saugeen from the park

Looking to the west

and to the east, it was fairly calm

Finding these recipes meant making a revised grocery list of sorts. Surprisingly, once I have eggs, most of what I need is in our cupboards downstairs. 😊 Tomorrow, on my way home from work, I will stop and pick up those things. I went down with printed copies in hand and made 2 keto ‘no bake’ cookie recipes and while they were in the freezer, made a decent sized batch of Cheryl’s No Bake Macaroons. The only thing that is non-keto is the oatmeal.

Snowmobile and boot trails indicate a lot
of winter enthusiasts

Then I went for the short walk to the post office and got the mail. Nothing exciting, darn! Still waiting for 2 pkgs by parcel post and our new US debit and visa cards. The delays are frustrating but we are trying to be patient. When I got back, I came upstairs to read a bit and then started watching the long, drawn out announcement from our Premier Ford. It was using my data on my phone so after hearing the basics, I clicked off.

At one of the campsites, lo and behold,
I saw a 'spring' chicken!

I didn’t need to hear the same thing over and over. Our radio station news had his main blurb (in less than 5 minutes) about a new state of emergency beginning at 12:01 on Thursday, Jan. 14^th. The stay at home order that was issued last March is being repeated with a few additional reminders of essential businesses and new (?) store closures for pickup and take outs. Anyway, it isn’t anything we can change and doesn’t affect my day to day so I won't fret about it. Bill may find out otherwise tomorrow.

and a reminder of a warning
Don't eat yellow snow!

By the sounds of the forecast, there is freezing rain all around us. It doesn’t look like it is here, in the small town of Paisley. 😊 It was a couple of minutes after 5 when Bill texted that he was on his way from Billy’s. I unlocked the door and stayed in the kitchen to wait for him. It gave me the opportunity to put the cookies in containers. No point in tempting him before supper! He reported nothing to worry about on the road home. We came upstairs for half hour before heading down to start supper.

Mixing up Cheryl's No Bake cookies (w/peanut butter)

I also made a small batch of chocolate and almond keto cookies
to see if we liked them
We do!

Tonight ‘s meal was simple. I warmed up the pasta dish for me and the potatoes and roast beef w/gravy for Bill. For dessert we had the creamy Jell-o which set really well this time plus some of the newly ‘not’-baked cookies. I got his approval on all 3 varieties. Thanks, Cheryl for your contribution! I remember the Happy Hour in Pilot Knob RV Resort where you shared them for the first time. 😊 We cleared the dishes and I returned to our room.

Cleaning up the sausage casserole

And sharing some creamy Jell-o for dessert

At 7:30, I slipped next door to watch Jeopardy. Ken Jennings was quite impressive so will continue to watch when possible. While in there, I got word from my sister that my Uncle Jerry's wife, Aunt Grace, passed away. 😢 That is sad but she was ailing for quite a few years, worsening as of late, and now at peace. The evening will be quiet, NCIS doesn’t start new for the season until next Tuesday. We read our books and relaxed for the night, at least for as long as we could stay awake!

One of my favourite pictures of Bruce
in 2009

My brother, Bruce, if he were still with us, would turn 68 today. Hard to believe that he has been in heaven 9 1/2 years. Celebrate well, Bruce, you don't want to know what you're missing down here. 

Today's memory is a special one
Jan. 12, 2018
the Richard's family has Happy Hour
at Quartzsite, AZ
How sweet it is!

Good night y'all!

Thank you for your visit today. Your comments are always appreciated.