the cat paths that jambaloney shoveled are melted down to the dirt so the cats don't have to walk on the snow. the back deck is all cleared off for them, which they love! and the driveway is melting almost down to bare ground again - woohoo!
here are the tomatoe tires and cages out back...they almost look like artwork. i think that they are beautiful...as are the snow covered trees!
here's some yummy steak that jambaloney bbq'd even though it was freezing out. we had a hankering for steak. with some steamed broccoli, garlic and butter, with sauerkraut and black olives - yummeh!
ginger/carrot coleslaw makes a nice mid-afternoon snack!
delicious everything in the fridge kind of salad.
yummy veg-only stirfry with almond rice and orange slices.
check out this awesome little gift:
here's another little gift that i made for myself:
kimchi baby! i am cracking that sucker open this evening for our supper of bulgogi - yummeh!
as you may have noticed in the dancing flower picture - the cats have the rule of the house. they get on tables, lick food from your plates and drink water from your water glass! some people might be grossed out or offended by that but these cats are spoiled rotten!!!
this one here, Mobi-Moe, is the size of a small bear. here he is sleeping on the dining room table on a laptop case.
why do you have a laptop case full of cat hair on your dining room table, kymber? i'll be glad to answer that. i won't point any fingers, but somebody (pointing at jambaloney) put a laptop case on the table when he was working on his laptop. out of nowhere 3 cats all come running from 3 different directions and are on it in minutes. this was sometime last year. there is not an hour of any day that there isn't a cat laying on that laptop case - arghghghghgh!
last up is Nudie-Noo, our grumpy little man. when we first arrived here, the cats jumped up into this shelf in our ONE closet and stayed up there for a few days. they finally came down but little Nudie-Noo still goes up there during the day and night.
i know what you are all thinking..."nice, unfinished, piece of crap closet you got there". ya, i know. but we can't get in to this closet shelf to fix it and we certainly can't use the extra storage space in our ONE closet. cats. jeesh.
here's the Manor's very sophisticated way of drying clothes in the winter.
this set up actually serves 2 purposes - one - we can dry our clothes inside when it's too cold outside. and two - because we use apple cider vinegar in our rinse cycle, the clothes dry and add humidity to the house as well as the fresh cent of apple cider vinegar. we love it.\
here are a bunch of our pepper plants that we are over-wintering.
we have herbs and whatnot in the greenhouse that can handle the fact that the greenhouse isn't heated but these peppers could have never survived. they are still producing flowers and peppers if you can believe that! these babies will be put in much larger pots in april and brought out to the greenhouse for a real quick start to producing a glut of peppers this year. ohhhh - i just can't wait!
in other news - jambaloney is over at our neighbour's working on the atv. he's got the new carburator in and is now working on the shift thingy. i hope he gets it finished today but our neighbours will be storing it for the rest of the winter for us. such good neighbours!
speaking of good neighbours/friends - we went to our fourchu friends' house early last friday before the chase the ace game. they invited us over for home-made donairs - woohoo! our friend b makes delicious donair meat and he stuffed jambaloney's donair so full of stuff that jambaloney could only eat one of them!!! he can usually eat 3 of them!!! we also had some delicious turkey soup that my friend c made. of course, after chase the ace, we went back to their house, sat around and chatted a bit and then left with a bag of food!!! yum. i am not known to have ever turned down food - bahahah!
this is a crazy/busy week for us. it might be normal for most people but if we leave the Manor once a week - that's crazy busy! this week jambaloney has to go in to our town to do some contract work, wednesday we are invited to our friends' daughter's birthday dinner out in town, thursday we have to go in to the city for an appointment, and then friday is chase the ace again - we'll be bushwhacked by saturday!!!
we like the peace and quiet of the Manor and we can go weeks without leaving the Manor. we are only going out every week since chase the ace started and it is held every friday.
oh and one last thing - being snowed in all christmas/holiday season and not getting out for a few weeks was no prob for us - we've got our backups to backups and our pantry is super well-stocked. i know. i just spent the morning going through all of our food storage and preps and i was mighty pleased. the absolute only thing that we are lacking on is maple syrup. we buy maple syrup from quebec and use it regularly - the SUPER GOOD STUFF that we get from jambaloney's step-dad, we only use that on special occasions. we can stretch the super good stuff a long time by supplementing with the ok stuff that we buy. so, Ted, if yer reading this..................bahahahahahahaha!
If you have a warm house and a full pantry, life is good! (A few good books can help, too.)
ReplyDeleteMr. Smythe - i do believe that having a warm house, full pantry and a whackload of good books is the definition of happy - we are very happy!
DeleteMy, my, my you have some very nice fat cats.....
ReplyDeleteI want some of your kimchi...too.
you stay away from my cats, you! bahahahah! hmmm, i wonder if i could ship you some. i'll look into it, sweet one!
DeleteKymber nice to see you two stay busy even during the winter. All 3 of our cats are on the bed sound a sleep. Late afternoon they get up for evening cat patrol through the night.
ReplyDeleteI sent you an email the other day, If you didn't get it let me know and I will send it again. Have a good week.
hey Rob buddy - we try to stay busy no matter what! your cats seem to be on the same schedule as ours! i haven't checked my email for a few days, my bad, i will check my email after i finish these comments. sorry i haven't gotten to your email...i will buddy! you have a good week too! i hope it isn't still deathly cold down in MN!
DeleteHey kymber. I like your cats. They look like they lead a comfortable life. As always, the food pictures you posted looked delicious. We didn't go out to eat this weekend but we had some good ham soup I made, and a pizza that Miriam put extra cheese and sausage on, so it was nice.
ReplyDeleteToday was decent weather and I got out and worked madly trying to get everything that needed doing done before the single digit temperatures come in again tomorrow night. Now I'm beat but I'm glad it all got done.
You and J have a good set up there. Everything you do, like drying your clothes like you do, is entirely practical. And after all, who needs the closet more, you and J or the cat? I'd say el gato has first claim.
thanks Harry, i like them too. i also love your little ferrets - they are way too cute! i am glad to hear that you had some good soup and there is no such thing as too much cheese on a pizza - there's always room for more - bahahaha! i am glad that you got what needed to be done, done. it always feels good to get everything ready before the big freeze comes again. we are going down to -10C this evening so jambaloney is out patching the plastic wrapped porch - we had some serious winds yesterday that pulled some of the plastic off, and/or ripped it.
DeleteHarry, as you know, we are trying our best to get everything in place, become more self-sufficient, get this cottage in shape and get a serious garden in this year. it has been a bit of a struggle for the first couple of years because everything that could go wrong - did! but we just tried to take everything in stride and work on the biggest priorities. we really feel kinda' comfortable now as all of the really big, pressing priorities have been addressed.
and you completely understand that my little man needs the closet more than us!
Kymber, why don't you and Jam come up with a cook book. I mean, everything I see you post just makes me salivate. I want recipes.
ReplyDeleteSenior, buddy - what a nice compliment - thanks very much! just yell which recipes you want or tell my Gurlie to send me an email with the recipes you want and i will gladly get them to you!
DeleteHey there, newsy girl! The chalet at Hunter Mountain is booked for Labour Day weekend!! Put it on your calendar. :-) Please send your recipe for ginger/carrot coleslaw asap. xoxo
ReplyDeletehey there sweetpea! got it on the calendar. as i owe you an email, i know, my bad, i will include the coleslaw recipe - it's really refreshing and really good for you! email coming in a few!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHey Gurlie! and you made fun of my fat cat! Jack looks like a supermodel next to Mobi. what does he weigh in at? We had a beautiful white one when NW was a baby, that weighed in at over 23 pounds.He was the most lovable baby, and would snuggle next to my tummy while pregnant. Then he swallowed a baby bootie, and it got stuck in his intestinal tract. . It broke my heart to have to put him down....
ReplyDeleteHey there Gurlie - bahahahah! ya, i called your cat fat and i guess Mobie might be a little fatter!!! i am not sure how much he weighs but he is getting up there in weight - it's getting to the point where i almost can't pick him up from the floor - if he's on a table i can pick him up but then can't hold him for long - he's just too heavy!!! oh i am sorry about your beautiful white baby...i had to put one of mine down once and it near broke my heart, too. fire off an email of any recipes that you or Senior want and i will get them to you!
DeleteI often wonder if you could serve a periodic banquet up your way and charge for each plate. I think you could make a fortune !
ReplyDeleteJane - we are thinking of putting on a pizza night at our community centre and taking orders ahead of time - we think we could make quite a bit of money for the centre that way. as most cape bretoners are straight meat and potatoes kind of people - it's hard to get them to try new things and the few times i have tried to bring something a little different to a friends house, or an event, most people here won't touch it. it kind of breaks my heart, i would love to feed them good, healthy food.
DeleteJane - if you ever visit, it will be banquet all day, everyday!
Sweet Kymber,
ReplyDeleteWith all that yummy food you display and talk about on your blog, you should make a cookbook. I have to agree with Senior!!!!
I think your cats are looking to see who can get on the laptop after Jambaloney uses it because it's nice and warm, and then it's sitting on the table giving them access to a beautiful view outside, and the delicious food you make. :-)
Your cats are bigger than Beans........I think Beans would be worried they would kick his hiney, Bahahahahahahaha......
Your pepper plants are doing pretty good through the winter next to the window. I bet your going to have tons of peppers come harvest time.
The tomato tires and cages do look like pieces of art in the yard. Snow and ice can make so many things look like art. Hopefully, your snow and ice will clear a bit to make it more comfortable for getting around on the property and in town. This arctic air is kicking our butts down here. The weather was beautiful over the weekend, we even went fishing but didn't catch a fish. Lot's of bites and bait stealer's but nothing to bring home and cook up :-( Then late last night the weather took a major change, temperatures dropped dramatically. The wind picked up, this morning it was 9 degrees out, and this afternoon temperatures peak to 26 degrees with high winds.
Being prepared gives us all the confidence needed to get through these cold winters and any foreseen disaster.
Keep warm, and have fun with your friends.
Sending hugs and love to the both of you.
Sandy
hey sweet Sandy - thanks so much for the compliment. now i am thinking i should get back to working on our recipe blog...i kind of let it die off over a year ago.
Deletethe cats love laying on that laptop case and they love the view out the big window in both the kitchen and the dining room so we allow them that little pleasure - we love them as much as you love your little Beans. except for little Nudie-Noo, i think my other 2 cats would think poor Beans was a snack - bahahahahah!
Sandy - we are quite surprised with how well the peppers are doing and you are right, once we get them out into the greenhouse in the spring, they will take off like mad! can you say tons of hot sauce and salsa - oh ya baby!
sorry that you didn't get any fish the other day - jam says git' yer butt up here and he'll take you ice fishing for smelt!!! have you ever had smelt? oh i loooooooooooove smelt - yummeh!
ya Sandy, it has taken us a while to fully stock up, have backups to backups and be confident in our preps. i am feeling really good about how well we have gotten through being snowed in and the cold weather.
we have both been checking the weather in your area for the last 2 months as we worry about you. man, you guys are getting belted!!! make sure to stay safe and warm, my friend!
much love back to you, BDMan, Beans and Tank! sending hugs and kisses to you all, also! xox
I was watching a nature show this weekend on the Coywolfs of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. It was very interesting and I never knew you had hybrids up there. Have you seen any around the Manor? Evidently they are very smart and adaptable creatures and have even attacked a few adults in the past few years.
ReplyDeleteEd - yes we have the hybrid coywolfs here on the island - it's so interesting that you were watching a show about them! a bit of a history lesson for you, because i know that you are interested in this kind of stuff - about 100yrs ago, the only native big animals on our island were timberwolves and moose. the moose are still here but the timberwolves were completely hunted out. the white tailed deer were introduced in the early 1900's by hunters and proliferated on the southern half of the island. eastern coyotes (what you call coywolfs) arrived on the island in the late 1970's by crossing the ice-covered canso straight. these coyotes had travelled to the nova scotian mainland from quebec/new brunswick and these are the coywolfs that you mention. they are a mix of western coyote and surviving eastern wolf populations. these coywolfs are indeed very smart, and tend to stay away from any human-populated areas. we saw coyote tracks once at our river, and saw one scared coyote pup at the top of our river road once....but that is all that we have seen in 4 winters of being here. they really keep to themselves. i hope you enjoyed this little bit of history.
DeleteI did appreciate your history lesson. We have a television show called Nature that is on right before Nova on our Public Broadcasting Station. Nova is one of my favorite programs to watch and when I have the time and it looks interesting, I watch the Nature program which happened to be about Coywolfs. It was fun when they mentioned Cape Breton Island and I could say that I knew some people who lived there!
DeleteCats often like to lay on top of things that match their coloration. Of course that means if it is down low, they can be missed and stepped on. Camouflage works! Fortunately, most of the times, cats like to perch up high enough where they can scan the various areas of approach.
ReplyDeleteGlad you got through the big show drop. The food looks yummy. Tomorrow supposed to be minus 10, oh boy.
ReplyDeleteI have a recipe for crock pot sauerkraut, from a Canadian squirrel friend. I'll let you know how it turns out. Love my fermented food.
By the way, my wife has the very same butterfly flower thingy except her butterfly is yellow.
ReplyDeleteSay what ? shoveling snow for cats ? oh well. BTW we discovered a long time ago that clothes dried outside in the cold will freeze but when thawed seem to be softer.
ReplyDeleteYou pamper your cats! I love that shot on the laptop case, so funny.
ReplyDeleteNice butterfly gift too. :)