Thursday's on the Bench

(Sunshine) How is everyone doing? It has been a very long first week for this year in our home. Everyone is working hard at school and at work and some of us are on the road to recovering from a very nasty stomach flu. Things are otherwise good. A lot of kids at the school that I work at are off sick and some are still on vacation. I must say that it is nice to see their smiling faces once again. Most of the kids are very talkative and appear to be very happy but some have faces void of any smile and I have to wonder what lies behind the sad look in some of their eyes. It makes me think about what some of their lives are like.



Winter is definitely here! The temperature is cold and there is snow on the ground and on the trees and thankfully the sun has been shining. Is anyone going on vacation in the next few months? I keep talking to people who are going away or who just came back. A vacation this time of year is a great thing. I am happy for anyone who can get away and relax with their family or friends.

(Cathy) Hi all, I really like winter now that we participate in winter sports. We ski. We started skiing again when the kids took lessons in grade 4. Hubby and I decided we could watch them from the chalet or join them. I am not a great skier, however. I love it when we are outside and it's a thrill to ski down the hill (hills in Ontario, mountains in the west) and not wipe out! I feel so full of energy after a day outdoors and we now look forward to the winter season. Try it!

I just finished making dinner. Another thing I like about winter is stews and soups. I received a new 9 litre stock pot for Christmas and we enjoyed turkey noodle soup this week. Do you know that you can buy two turkey wings for $3.00 and they are the size of a small chicken! That's good value! The soup was great! Full of fresh veggies and I made cornbread to eat alongside. Tonight I have made a spanish chorizo and shrimp tomato stew with brown rice and steamed green beans, yum! I made lots so I hope there are leftovers! We love leftovers! I know some people who will not eat leftovers for whatever reason. I love the fact that you can go in your fridge and see good, homemade food and can just heat it up and enjoy! Pure pleasure!

I have to go and bug the boys now. They are home and have chores to do. "Chores" is such a bad word. What else could we call it? Responsibilities? Very 90's! I call it vacuuming and it needs doing before dinner or it will just get lost in the after 'dinnerness' of the night! I always feel that when the table is set and we are sitting down for dinner, my work for the day is done. I like to relax after dinner. Chores after dinner seem like homework that didn't get done in school.

Have a great night all and if anyone read my post on the Olympics and the anthem, I am still looking for the post from the Globe and Mail about the politician and his proposed changes to our immigration system. Oh, and finally..... Happy Birthday to a sweet little 3 year old!

Holly exclamation mark (!) Cathy, take a pill and calm down. I was exhausted just reading (and counting the !) your chatter. Our house as well is getting back into routine. All except the husband who is on a layoff for another week or so. The good thing is he comes in and helps me during the lunch rush. This week at work the $$ numbers are a little down. I made chicken Cacciatore for Wednesday's special and sold 15 plates, that is very good. So I have decided to have a pasta day every Tuesday. Next week will be pasta in tomato sauce with Italian sausage. Next Wednesday will be pulled pork on a bun (we are calling it BBQ pork on a bun cause I don't think the kids will know what pulled pork is).

The teenager sent her university applications off (Internet) on Monday. She has applied to Ryerson, U of T and Guelph/Humber all under journalism/media studies. I am not sure why that, because her English teacher had recommended that she major in English as it has a brooder scoop for the future. Oh well not really my problem anymore.

I have been very tired this week, to the point that I fell asleep after dinner last night and was not able to go to my bible study but crawled into bed and stayed there till 6:30 this morning when the teenager woke me up all worried cause I had slept in. We have our small group tomorrow night and I need to do that reading so I will sign off for now and head up to bed to read for awhile before I crash for the night.

Have a good one all and good night!