July 11, 2013

Midweek Posting “Wow is it busy”

I have to say I am very surprised at how much work it has been having the girls here full time, getting the girls ready  Vacation Bible School, getting them there and back, Soccer practices and games afternoon activities and bedtime routines.  By the time 9:30 rolls around Paul and I are done and ready for bed.  I have also worked outside the home every day except Thursday and Friday (I will get to that later).

Vacation Bible School is a hit! Both girls have asked if they could go next week and were upset to hear it is only for one week.  Each morning Paul and I get up early to get  ourselves ready and at 7:30 am I get the girls up.  We go outside to comb long tangled hair, and at 8:15 having just finished the hair I leave for work.

At 8:30 am Paul and the girls ride their bikes to VBS at Grace United Church and at 11:00 am Paul bikes back to pick them up.

Monday on the way to VBS Rylee recognized a little girl who was playing in her front yard.  Sam used to lived across the street from Ruth and moved about 9 months ago.  Overjoyed to have found her friend again they have spent the week getting back in touch having play dates at each other’s home.  Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons were spent with 

Grandpa at the Pool.  Emily in the big pool playing with new friends, Paul and Ruth in the shallow pool keeping cool: it has been hot and humid this week high 20’s but feels like high 30’s.

I have had a cough for the past 6 days and on Wednesday I took myself to the emergency and found out I have walking pneumonia.  The Doctor became very assertive when I suggested that I could continue to work – nope I am off until Monday.  So today I walked the girls to VBS and home, very winded but I enjoyed watching them play.  Once home we started to get ready for the Church Camping this weekend.  First we planned the menu, then we washed sleeping bags followed by a trip to the dollar store to pick up last minute items like, glow sticks, crafts, etc.

Now not all has been fun and games at Grandpa and Grandma's house Ruth is very angry in this picture she does not want to make the bed she is laying in.  However with some support she did make her bed and joined the rest of us for lunch.

Emily loves cutting up vegetables really she likes everything to 

do with  cooking.

 Kraft Dinner with chicken Hot dogs cut into it, vegetables and cookies a great lunch.

Because of the heat we have started to eat outside in the shade.  


We realized that the table and chair set the girls are using is 16 years old.  Paul made this for James in 1997.

Is there any other way to eat an Oreo Cookie?

Grandma Snyder

July 7, 2013

Emily and Ruth are coming!

To Spend the Week with Grandma and Grandpa 

Attend Summer Bible School &

The Church Camping weekend

 

     I am hoping to blog  each day to share with you our adventures together.  I am also considering starting a blog for Grandparents with helpful tips, reviews of books and articles on being a twenty-first century  Grandparent, recipes to make in the kitchen with your Grandchildren (tested of course of Emily, Ruth and James), and many many other things.  I am wanting your feedback on this new adventure I am thinking.

• Is is a good idea?
• Would you be interested in following such a blog?
• Are there topics you think would be of interest to reader?

     Now that I am finished with Graduate School (MSW) I miss doing research and so will welcome the opportunity to research topics of interest to Grandparents like myself.

     I will keep this blog going as a way to keep family and friends up-to-date on the comings and goings of the  Snyder family, and Grandchildren James, Emily and Ruth.

     Today has been very hot and humid in Ontario and has rained off and on.  Now 4:30 pm blue sky and sunshine has finally surfaced.  The weather report suggests that this will mean hotter temperatures and more humidity so Paul is setting up the portable air conditioner ready to run keeping the bedrooms cool for sleeping.

    To keep the heat out of the house Paul and I BBQ vegetables today - so what is so new about that you might say.  Well we realized that we like roasted radishes and that this was something we never had served to us as children or adults for that matter!

These are fresh radishes that we are growing in a container.  The radishes we had for lunch were much larger and from the store (well actually they were from Eric's Good Food Box) http://www.foodshare.net/good-food-box

Paul and I were introduced to roasted radishes in Georgetown South Carolina in 2010 at a small restaurant on the board walk called the  Big Tuna Restaurant.   http://bigtunarawbar.com/

Roasted radishes were on the menu and having never tried this we decided to live on the wild side - now for those of you who do not know us this is living wild.  Well they were sweet with great favour.  Since that time roasted radishes have become a regular vegetable at the Snyder house we cook them alone and mixed in with other root vegetables.  I would encourage you to try them!

The Snyder Fig Tree

     The other thing that Paul and I have decided to try is growing a fig tree.  We purchased a small Fig tree from Grant's Independent Grocery our neighbourhood grocery store in June of this year, 2013.  We intend to bring it inside during the winter months when the tree will be in the dormant stage.

  And today while we were out gardening we found fruit on the tree.

The other thing that we have started to grow are avocado trees (from seed of course).  Now that I stop and think about this - Are we attempting to relive our Hippie years - well I might be anyway not sure that Paul ever was a Hippie.

This seed is two month along it the germination process

Emily and Ruth are watching the progress of these seeds closely.  They have not quit developed a taste for avocado though.  Does anyone have a Grandchild friendly recipe?

Paul, Eric and Alexander are all avid recycle/reuse enthusiasts  and so we have put our small plastic Pom bottles to use.

 Now I wonder if there are any salads that take avocado and figs?  Well I must sign off now the girls will be arriving soon.

Grandma Snyder 

The Month of June

June 2013 started out with a shopping trip for more flowers!

 

Emily and Ruth each picked out six flowers that they thought would look nice in Grandpa and Grandma's Garden.  And of course Brooklynn and Isabella came along too.

Can you see the girls relaxing under the flowers?

After Flower Shopping there were groceries to buy...

You can see two large bundles of Kale and with theses we made

Kale Chips

2 large bunches of Kale 

three tablespoons of olive oil

Balsamic vinegar (in a small spray bottle)

1. Preheat your oven to 250 degree 

2. Cut the stem out of the Kale and cut into bite size pieces

3. Wash and then spin the Kale in your salad spinner

4. Grease your cookie sheet and arrange the Kale in a single layer (we used two cookie sheets)

5.  Mix the oil and vinegar in your spray bottle (we a few for cooking from the dollar store) and generously spray the leaves 

6. Place the Kale in the oven and wait 5 minutes 

7. Take the Kale out and gentle turn the leaves over and spray again

8. Wait another 5 minutes or until the Kale is crisp but not burnt.

 

 

and of course eggs for cookies.

Once home we made Blueberry Lemon Cookies and Lunch

Blueberry Lemon Drops

2 cups plus one tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 cup fresh blueberries

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup  butter 

1 egg

1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat Oven to 375 degrees F

2. Grease cookie sheets

3. gently toss the blueberries in one tablespoon of flour

4. Combined sugar, butter, egg, peel and lemon juice

5. Mix dry ingredients together well

6. combine the wet and dry ingredients

7. Gently fold in the blueberries 

Drop the cookies onto the baking sheet and bake for 11 to 13 minutes 

 Then Back to Gardening

Auntie Dianne came over and helped with the gardening.

  
Ok not the best picture of me :)

Robs new camera a Canon Power Shot SX50HS allows him take a black and white picture and leave a splash of colour.  He purchased it at Walmart.

  

The weeds were too numerous to pull so we resorted to scissors.

  

Auntie Dianne helped plant the 10 year old hibiscus plant outside. 

A beautiful smile on a very dirty and sun kissed face.

For her birthday Emily received a clay jewelery kit.  She made these earrings and oh the drama to take out her gold sleeper hoops and but in just one earring.  She is beautiful!

The Potato Tower

One very cold Saturday early in June Paul and Eric planted our potato tower.   I found this great small garden idea on Pinterest.  

Take a look at my boards this idea can be found on the gardening board. http://pinterest.com/marjorie1956/boards/

 

 The tower on the left is the first of June and you can see that in four short weeks the potatoes have started to grow out the sides of the tower.  They (who are these invisible they anyway) say we could get up to 25 lbs of potatoes from this single tower.

I will post the progress of our watermelons.  They should grow all over the wheel barrow and spill onto the lawn.

Poor Paul will have to mow around it.

Our Kale.  I purchased six plants in late May 2013 and by June 25, 2013 we were eating baby Kale, something that I am told is hard to come by.

Here is a Kale tip: To make Kale less course in a fresh salads once you have cleaned it and cut it into the size you want gently knead the kale for 5 minutes - what a difference you really have to try it to believe it.

Here is our vegetable flower pot.  In the centre of the pot is rainbow Swiss Chard.

Remember Emily's Brussel Sprouts from May well look at them now.


Paul made all of the trellis himself they will soon be covered with squash and cucumbers.

A visitor to our home wanted to know who had the green thumb - it is all Paul.

  Alexander spent June repairing his canoe in the basement and Emily helped.

  Father's Day  June 16, 2013