went out to fill the feeders this afternoon… it is so cold out that I didn’t want the birds to run out of food…
started with the front feeders… only took a few minutes to fill one and put out fresh suet in the other…
then I went through the house and out the back… filled the first feeder and took the second into the garage to fill it… by then my fingertips felt very cold… I had hoped to add more to the first feeder, but my fingers were numb… clearly I had the wrong gloves on…
I quickly added seeds to the feeders on the deck and came in…
had a bit of fun today decorating the house with hearts…
put them in the dining room, living room, bathroom, den and on the stairway…
I miss my beloved… he always made Valentine’s Day special, with flowers, treats and a delicious dinner…
I’ve been looking at meals from restaurants in an effort to support local, but they are all more food than I want, so I am planning on lobster ravioli with lobster sauce for my dinner with a salad…
yesterday we had an online chocolate tasting in the afternoon… it was the gift I gave my four buddies for Christmas…
before it started I spent time preparing my space for the call… moved most of my orchids into the pass through and put fabric behind it so the light wouldn’t cause a problem… looked great;-)…
everyone received a package in the mail with a beautiful handmade pouch holding four chocolate bars… three were the same for everyone, and one was different for each of us…
besides information on how to taste, choose and buy chocolate, forms to use to describe tasting information on each bar, there were little treats included as well… a chocolate flavoured tea, hot chocolate, a cocoa bean and cocoa nibs…
we had a lovely time, learned a huge amount about cacao, its origins and how it is made into the chocolate that we enjoy… we were able to ask questions throughout and shared what we thought of each bar…
one of us couldn’t get their camera to work, but was able to see us, even if we couldn’t see them… there was a lot of laughter and delicious chocolate eating, uh, tasting, happening…
what a great treat… as much a gift for me as my buddies…
I’ve been getting my Friday dinner for most of December and into January from Modern Plate Catering…
a number of weeks ago, when it was delivered, Curtis, the delivery person, asked if I had salt and then sprinkled it on my steps and sidewalk, which were covered in ice… how kind was that;-)… it is so nice to get to know the members of businesses, particularly in these trying times… the next week he brought salt with him!
today, when he and Lindsay dropped off my dinner, he had already shovelled the steps before I opened the door… he was prepared to shovel the sidewalk as well, but I told him not to…
good customer service is so important and makes me try harder to use good companies again and again;-)…
on New Year’s morning I was walking on the treadmill and happened to turn on the front camera to see if any birds were at the feeder…
there was a man standing there, so I ran upstairs to see what was going on…
it was a young friend with a gift in his hand… he said he was looking for coal… I had him step back, and put out a gift bag I had put coal and a scone into… anticipating that my middle grandson was coming over…
then he stepped over the threshold and put down the gift and gift bag and stepped back outside…
my daughter had sent a number of items to her friends and they had packaged them up and delivered them to my door…
for years we have done first-footing… this was by far the fanciest package, lol…
there was tea, charcoal shampoo, chocolate covered fruit, a Christmas cracker, little bottles of alcohol, sourdough chocolate, a delicious fresh banana chocolate chip muffin, an adorable tin with a cute gingerbread person in it and a fresh orange… and of course the chunk of coal;-)…
yesterday I had delicious snacks and dinner thanks to the kids in Ottawa…
early in the afternoon I started with some Prosecco popcorn, followed by sardines, olives, crackers and a bit of zucchini basil soup I prepared…
my supper consisted of beef bresaola, canned lobster, truffle potato chips and red peppers… it was a play on our usual New Year’s Eve dinner of steak and lobster…
then for dessert there were some delicious star shaped shortbread with a piece of chocolate in my holiday cracker…
of course, I couldn’t get the cracker to snap, as per usual…
throughout the day we chatted off and on and I focused on their time zone so that I could get to bed, lol…
ended the night with some sparkling wine and their voices…
