A Flop, a party and a faint

We had a wonderful full nights sleep.  The sump worked beautifully and noiselessly.  Ahhhhhhhhh.

However, baking.  PAH - What a nightmare.  In the UK I bake alot.  I bake cakes for family and friends.  I even used to bake for money.  But here my Flapjack is hard and chewy and uneatable.  It's the oats I thought!  I'll find some better oats and all will be well.  

The boys helping me to mix

We have been invited to party this afternoon for 12th night, to get to know some of the neighbours.  So because of this I decided to make some cupcakes.  Easy peasy.  I do them all the time.  Not a problem.  Except here in Canada it is a problem.  They looked awful.  They tasted awful.  And the aftertaste is like soap.

Adding the mixture to the cases (my special union jack cases too!)

I used an English recipe, one I have used many times.  The flour here is all purpose flour.  And then you use baking powder or soda or bicarb.  Whatever it is that's wrong, I know I can't cook here.  The cakes went in the bin.  Even the buttercream - how can that be wrong - was awful.  

At least they licked the spoons!!

We had broccoli and Stilton soup (which I have made many many times but today it tasted lifeless and bland) - I may have forgotten the stock cube.)  MMmmmmmaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnn.  I think I need to learn how to cook and bake all over again.

Smallest has decided he likes washing up

We had a visit today from a friend and her son.  Lovely lady and polite boy.  The boys all played really well together.  They bought me Stilton Cheese (as she knew I was having trouble finding it) and a nice plant and lots of snacks for the boys to share.  We talked a lot while the boys played, got some good ideas on where to get ice skates, where to ski and snowboard etc.

The temperature was 3* .  We went out without gloves.  Hey it's positively balmy!  

Later we went for a quick shop to buy something for the party cos my cakes are in the bin!!  While we were in the shop Small saw a sign that said "Cookery School", and said there you go Mummy, you can do that!  I stopped a woman who was buying flour and asked her advice on flours and cakes and baking soda etc.  she was so lovely, she gave me her phone number and told me to ring anytime I had any questions on baking or ingredients.  She thought I was Scottish!!

We came home, got changed quickly and went to the party.  The hosts were fabulous and funny.  Small and Smallest were wonderful (they were put in front of the TV with some yummy snacks) everyone thought they were adorable.  They didn't let me down and they didn't show me up - phew.

We met lots of neighbours who live around us.  All very nice. Lots of funny stories.  Lots of history about our house and houses close by.

Had an invite to tea from a lovely girl who lives across the road to us.  Moo met lots of lovely people who told her she could join them in their retirees club.

Moo had a little incident there.  She took Smallest to the toilet.  Minutes later Smallest came out of the bathroom and grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the bathroom (not saying anything).  There was Moo on the floor, looking a bit pale, saying she wasn't feeling well.  Then she lay on the floor .  The bathroom was tiny.  She lay diagonally across and only just fit.  I sent Smallest to get Huffle who got her some water.  We're not sure if she fainted or not.  Silly thing.  Got up 5 minutes later like nothing had happened.  This is not unusual, though i haven't  seen it for a few years.  She normally saves it for the theatre.  It was warm there!! Anyway she is fine now.

Glad we went.  It was fun.

Water water everywhere...........

2:30am this morning and I realised there was an empty space in the bed next to me.  Where was my feet warmer?  Oh No!  I thought, there must be a problem with the sump again.  On went my cosy dressing gown and my cosy slippers and off I trotted down to the basement to be greeted by a grumpy tired Huffle lugging mop buckets of water up and down the stairs.

There was a trail of water across the kitchen and pools of water in the basement.  I took over carrying the buckets to give Huffle a break.  We both have blisters on our fingers.  We cleared the mess in the kitchen.  We put boxes on the floor to soak up the wetness.

At one point there was so much water coming out of the pipe that we couldn't carry the buckets quick enough.  The water was flowing out of the pipe and onto the floor like an out of control fountain.  We panicked and called an emergency plumber.  He said he would ring as soon as he had finished the job he was on.

A strange photo I know but this was the water gushing out at its worst!  Very fast and very gushy!?

Once the water calmed down, we sat on the sofa in the finished bit of the basement and emailed, texted and played on the phone and IPad.  My lovely friend Yahoo emailed me throughout the morning and kept our spirits up.  At one point she thanked me for selling her our bird table "every time I see a bird on it, I think of you, especially if it is an ugly old crow" she said - the cheek!!  But we were laughing and that was very much needed.

At 5am the plumber rang and said he would be 2 hours and the call out would cost us $199 which would be used against any work done.  As we didn't really have a choice, we agreed and we decided to go back to bed.  

At 7:30 we were woken by the boys jumping and shouting downstairs.  By 8am the plumber arrived.

Moo mopping at 8ish - what a star - look at those Wellies!

He looked at the problem.  Scratched his head in a way only a tradesman can, sucked the air through his lips and said "that'll cost you $450".  Huffle did not want to pay it but what choice did we have?  We had to pay the $199 for their call out and if we turned them down now we would pay it for them doing nothing.  AArrrggggghhhh.  So we agreed to pay.  They sent a 'snake' down the pipe - there was a big lump of ice and some leaves said one, oh no said the other, no leaves, just ice - Badger and Bodger, Huffle called them!  To actually fix the problem it would cost us another $599.  No way!  We let them go and called around till we found a reputable local plumber who was recommend by KP.

Unfortunately we weren't very happy and we were tired by the time they left and it was time for Huffle to go to work.  We composed an email to our Realtor which said things we probably shouldn't have said in the heat of the moment.  We basically said that the people we purchased from were dishonest in not telling us about the pipes and sump etc.

To cut a long story short (I guess it's not really short by now)!, another plumber arrived and said he could temporarily sort the problem till Summer when he could make the pipes work better then.  Our realtor arrived in a less than happy mood.  She had forwarded our email to the sellers and they we're unhappy we called them dishonest.  ARRRRhgggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

All is well now (hopefully).  The plumber has gone leaving us new pipes.  We will be invoiced but not too much.  The realtor has gone to the sellers to smooth things over.  We will visit them at some point to make things good!

Apart from that we took the Christmas tree down and put away the decorations.

They boys were happy to take the decorations off because they were promised a chocolate off the tree as soon as they finished.

smallest taking off the reindeer mask Small made

Once the tree was bare, Moo and I carried it across the room, bent it through the lounge doors,

Then bent it through the front door.

What you can't see here is that Moo is trapped the other side of the tree and can't get to the door - he he he (do you like that Grandad?)

Moo giving Fraser a last hug before she leaves him to the cold

The tree is now standing on our verandah.  He looks lovely - I hope he won't be too cold out there.  I wonder if Moo will pop out in the night and put a blanket around him.  He he he.

ahh there he is through the window.

The games marathon continued today although we only managed one game by the time we rearranged the room after the huge tree had been moved.  That game was Disney monopoly (again!).  I won, but half way through, when small had lost all his money, he took over from me.  When I won the game he decided he had actually won instead of me.  I got 1 point and I let Small have half a point.  (I am so generous!).

I'm afraid Moo and I had a glass of wine this evening (well 5:45 is evening isn't it).  We don't drink really, well not often and not great amounts but today it was needed.

The kids have gone to bed.  I am starting an omelette for tea and then we are all going to flop on front of the tv and watch anything until bed time, when we will sleep like kings all through the night.  Aaahhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Wrong side of the tracks

I can't believe it, but I didn't get up till 9am this morning.  OMG am I going to be in shock when the boys go back to school next week!

We had a Games Marathon today.  We played Disney Monolpoly, Marble Madness, 3D Snakes & Ladders, Pirate Lego Game ....... 

We went for a walk this afternoon.  We took back some bottles to the Beer Store (we got $1 for four wine bottles and 2 beer bottles), had a look around the local shop and then walked to a frozen lake.  We threw stones onto it to see how frozen it was (very).

We live close to the freight train tracks - Smallest, Small and Moo on the right side of the tracks.

On the tracks

....and the wrong side of the tracks

Not sure what Small was doing here but he asked me to take a photo!!

Walking - it wasn't nearly as cold today but still quite cold and biting!

The frozen lake

I asked Smallest to make the same shape as the sign above!

Then we messed about in the garden.  There is still a bit of snow around so the kids used their new slidey sledge.  It was quite Icy on top of the snow so they glided really well.  Each time they ended their sledging into the fence - we had to stop it in the end in case they broke the fence next door.

Small sliding

Smallest about to crash into the fence

When they got bored of that they played on the Jungle Jim.

Whhhheeeeeeeee

Then it was back to the games. I think I am winning at the moment.

Once the kids were in bed Moo and I managed to watch the end of Downton Abbey.  It was good, apparently the second series starts over here soon.  Should I watch it all over again?  I might!

That's it, I'm hibernating

The forecast for today said it was going to be -12.  Huffle went off to work with his snow boots on.  Moo and I decided to take the kids to the local town.  We put our thermals and boots on.  Small wore his new scarf that I finished knitting last night but forgot his hat - silly boy - his ears nearly fell off!!

When we went out to the car it was -15.  Now that is cold.  Moo forgot her thermal bottoms - silly Moo, her legs nearly fell off!!  As we were driving along it went to -16 and then -17.  We marched around the town trying to get warm.  It was sooooo cold our faces stung and Moo thought her nostrils had frozen solid!!

After walking along the Main Street and half way back, we got warm in the Thrifty shop where we bought Small a Balaclava.  The boys bought themselves a HotWheels Truck and I bought a teapot - this time one that pours - Moo said we needed to get it checked before we bought it this time.  Very clever.  I also picked up some napkins which I will adorn with buttons or embroidery or suchlike when I am bored!  

We got nice and warm and then went outside again.  It seemed even colder.  The boys had their scarves tied around their faces.

Keep warm little bear

So we went to the local cafe and had toasted bagels with cream cheese and coffee.  The boys wrote some notes to their friends back home and then when we were nice and warm again, we went back outside to the Post Office.  I'm sure it was colder still!  We bought some stamps and the boys posted their letters (and mine).

Ooh lovely warm bagels

Concentrating in their letter writing

Posting their letters

We couldn't stand the cold any longer so we got in the car, warmed up, drove to the supermarket, got out, got cold, bought some stuff for dinner.  While I was in the supermarket, I stopped a lady who worked there and said "excuse me, could you tell me where the Golden Syrup is please". She smiled a huge wide smile and said in a voice not dissimilar to Dick van Dyke in Mary Poppins "of course I can show you where the golden syrup is". I looked at her and wondered if she was all there and then laughed and said "are you trying to do my accent?". She laughed, put her arm around me and said "yes sorry, I'm not very good at it though".

Then we got back in the car, got warm, got out of the car, got cold, put the shopping away and the boys played on the wii.

Moo and I then set about making Small's curtains for his bedroom.  We cheated a bit by using iron on Stitchery Witchery but we still had to measure, pin, iron, fold, pin, measure.  Actually Moo did most of it while I made the dinner.  When she had finished we went up and put them on the curtain poles.  The first one looked great.  The second one we put on upside down but then the right way looked much better.

We asked Small to go into his bedroom to fetch something (he didn't know we'd done them) and he didn't notice, so we asked him to fetch something from his desk (which is right in front of his window - he didn't notice.  So I said "careful of the window" at which point he looked at the window and went oh yeah, look, brilliant, thanks.  They look really cool.

Small's room (only problem now is that nothing else goes with the curtains!)

If you look really closely you can see Huffle's face and mine.  Oh alright then I'll show you.......

Huffle

Me

Now Smallest wants his done too.  We have the material, we just need to find an afternoon to do them.

Huffle came home and told us that the windchill made it feel -10 colder.  But that's -27.  No-one said it would be this cold did they?  When we came to look at the house in October we wore shorts!

The sump pump wasn't working today - or it was working but it was on constantly.  The pipe outside had frozen and there was a leak and it was just pumping and pumping so Mr Fix-it sorted it with a Mop Bucket!  Don't ask!

Moo and I also broke the wardrobe that sits in the basement.  To be fair the back was falling off anyway, but Moo pushed something in too far and the back fell off and then I tried to get some tins out and I pushed them through the back, buts it okay, Mr Fix-it can sort it I'm sure.

We sat watching Doc Martin on the TV (TV is rubbish here if I've not mentioned it before) when I suddenly heard a kind of ringing.  We all jumped up.  Moo went to pick up the phone.  I went to run down to the basement thinking it was the water alarm and Huffle stood there and said "isn't it just the dishwasher rattling?". 

Oh we are silly.  Must be the cold, it's got in our heads.

Snicky Sneeze Chandwich

Whilst emptying boxes yesterday we came across these.........

this was bought for me by my friend Laura, just before we came out here.

 (if you are reading this I have lost your email address, 

please email me or comment on here so I can get in touch)

And this was given to Small by one of his school friends as a leaving present.

So we have put them on the tree (for a few days) and will definitely put them on again next year.

No snow overnight.  Smallest woke up twice with nightmares.  In the first one Lightning McQueen was telling him off and in the second one Mickey Mouse was punching and kicking him.  It was a windy night too and something was clanging and a banging outside, Huffle got up several times to find out the source.  We're still not sure what it was!

We spent a lazy morning, breakfasting.  The boys watched the TV in the basement.  Huffle watched the football in the lounge and Moo and I watched Downton Abbey Christmas on the computer.  The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day.

We decided to go to the cinema this afternoon so started to get ready.  The sun went in and the snow came down.  Not flurries but blizzarding snow.  We still went out.  While we were getting ready we spotted a black squirrel sitting in the tree outside my bedroom window.  He was trying to get the seeds off the ends of the branches and was very adept at jumping from branch to branch, with snow covering his head and his tail helping him to balance.  It was really entertaining to watch.

Scaling high branches just to get that last seed!

Can't really see him in this one but at least you can see how high he is!

Found a pub and had Sticky Cheese Sandwiches with fries (Smallest called it Snicky Sneeze hence the title today).  The food took forever to come out.  Luckily we were next door to the cinema so we got it put in take out boxes and smuggled it into the cinema.

This isn't my photo, it was on the Internet.

It was a lovely old fashioned Art Deco place.  We watched Arthur Christmas (Smallest thought his best friend from the UK was in it. Ahhhhhhh).

oh hello Stan, fancy seeing you here

Now he's a handsome fellow - where did you meet him Huffle?

..... And Wall-E

It was a good family film about Christmas.

This was the carpet.  Popcorn and film reels.

Moo in the foyer taking photos of us?

The foyer

Smallest sitting waiting in The foyer

When we were coming out it was snowing even harder and was -6. brrrrrrrrrrrr.

We came home, played a game.  Huffle ironed his shirts for tomorrow (back at work), I wrote to my friend back home and Moo did a crossword.

Mr Moose is up

And the rain rain rain came down down down.......... (a song from Winnie the Pooh).  But it rained hard all day and melted lots of the snow.  It was very mild too.  We stayed in.

I made pancakes for breakfast and my little chef of a son helped me break the eggs.............

There was a lot of shell but he had lots of fun trying!

Ummmmmmmmmmm

Lots of games were played, Lego building, drawing, colouring......................

There was unpacking, sorting, organising, hanging of pictures, shelves and photos.

Mr Fix-It found an apprentice

Lots of things are being put in place and Small looked around today thoughtfully and said "ahhh it looks more like home now".  That's nice to hear.  It's hard to move.  It's hard to put your stamp on somewhere new.  It's hard to find where to put things.  But it's starting to come together more and if the kids think it's more like home now, then that's a bonus.

Our shelf is up (2012 calendar in background from M&S from Grandma & Grandad.

The dresser is dressed!

Another shelf is up

Even Huffle's bottle opener is up and in working order.  (which is better than it was in the old house).