A little bit nippy around these parts!

I had a very rude awakening this morning. Wendell left for Halifax, Nova Scotia yesterday on a business trip.  It never fails that something happens when he is away. At 5.30am this little baby....

the smoke detector outside our bedroom went off at an ear piercing rate!! It startled the life out of me and my first thought was naturally, that the house was on fire.  I jumped out of bed, knocking my glasses UNDER the bed in the process, quickly grabbed my slippers and robe only to find, when I opened the door, (thankfully, I might add!) that there was no smoke at all.  I went to the main level and also the basement where the furnace is, and there was no sign of anything strange.  I had to get up on a step ladder to turn the darn thing off, so by the time this was all done I was wide awake! After calling the manufacturer later in the morning I realized that it was  out of date (more than 10 years old) and needs to be replaced. Oh well, I guess it's better than having a fire and no smoke detector!

I am driving a friend's children to school this week for her as she has broken her wrist and can't drive.  We are in the middle of what is being called a polar vortex at the moment with the temperature this morning at -36 degrees Celsius.  That is mighty cold when it hits you in the face as you open your front door.  I felt a lot like our car door this morning - very stiff and creaky!

When I got home I felt that hot oatmeal was the thing for breakfast. So I made some up

25 minutes later

I haven't tried this recipe before.  I should have put grated carrots in it, but didn't have any in my frdige as I blanched and froze them all last week, but it was still delicious with just the coconut, orange zest, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and raisins.

A lovely warming breakfast! Recipe found here

Would you like to see the fabrics for my next quilt?

I still need to cut a lot more of the beige squares as there will be many more of them to add to the colours.  This will be a queen size and I am going to try and quilt it myself.  I want a very old fashioned look, so we'll see how it goes.  Watch this space!

I forgot to mention my cookbooks in my last post on books. Here they are if you're interested. These are the ones I use most

And these are in the cupboard above the microwave.

Wendell is working from his hotel room today as they are in the middle of a blizzard in Halifax, even though their temperatures are way milder than ours in Ottawa. The sun is shining through my window making me feel its warmth, but outside it is freezing!  Stay warm wherever you are!

P.S. My neighbour across the street is having new windows installed today.  -36C and the instalers are on ladders outside - madness!!