We had a good concert last night and, because of the way the seats were arranged, it looked like a good crowd. Geoff and Dan appreciated their reserved seats, and everyone had a good laugh!

Pat and I were up early, but our house guest slept in. Pat mentioned that he saw a Facebook post from her at three AM so no wonder she slept late. She had time for a quick breakfast and then loaded her gear and was on her way to the ferry. There was snow on the ground this morning but, by the time Tamara left, the roads were clear and the snow was quickly disappearing. I packed her a goodie bag for the road – bean salad, rice and soy milk, gluten-free muffins, veggies and fruit. She was very grateful, and I was rather glad to be rid of it!

By the time I put my last load through the dishwasher and we had all the furniture back in place it was time for lunch. One of our favourite restaurants has opened in a new location so we went to have a look. The menu is the same but the atmosphere is just a little different. It reminded us of our favourite breakfast spot in Victoria. They have been really busy since they re-opened; they are just around the corner from where we have our sewing bees so I expect the Tuesday ladies will eat there often.

I got the Red Cross computer boxed up and ready for tomorrow’s courier. By the time I got all the concert dishes put away I was ready for some “me” time so I headed upstairs. My studio rooms were in such a mess that I had to do some cleaning up. That led to doing some Guild accounting work and some Guild blog updates. One thing led to another and the afternoon is almost done.

I’ll gather my gear together for the sewing bee tomorrow and then I’ll sit and knit.

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Everything (I think) is ready for the party tonight. I’ll pick Pat up at the airport in a few minutes, we’ll have dinner and hopefully have everything cleared away before our guests start arriving.

We’ll have a smaller crowd tonight but it takes the same amount of work regardless of the numbers. I’ve sold three extra tickets this afternoon so our numbers are respectable.

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Another beautiful day and, as long as the sun is up, it isn’t too cold. I finished up my cleaning this morning and went out for groceries after lunch.

Our house concert performer has some food sensitivities (no meat, fish, gluten or cow dairy) so I spent a lot of time reading labels. I wasn’t exactly sure what I should be looking for on the labels, but most things contained only what I was wanting and very little else. I bought a lot of beans and canned veggies, and they contained only the veggies and maybe some water and salt.

I shopped a lot in the gluten-free aisle for crackers, cookies and a muffin mix. I thought the muffins would work for breakfast. I checked the recipe and only needed to add butter, milk and eggs. I bought my muffin papers, some eggs, and some almond milk. Then, to avoid any cross-contamination I bought a small stick of butter. It wasn’t until I was home that it struck me that butter in that recipe isn’t going to work. I’ll check the web tonight to see if I can find a non-dairy butter substitute. If not, she’ll have to make do with gluten-free oatmeal and fruit for breakfast.

Although she doesn’t sound like much of a drinker, I bought a red and a white wine. We also like to offer some of our Townsite beer so I bought some of that. Again, after I was home, I realized the beer probably isn’t gluten free. Oh well, the beer will not be wasted as Pat and I enjoy it.

I have a vegetarian chili simmering in the crockpot. I’ll taste-test it for my supper. I still need to make a five-bean salad, and I’ll figure out the muffins in the morning.

Friday, February 7, 2014

Today was the day to tackle the kitchen in preparation for the House Concert. I have mentioned that our guest has some sensitivity to chemicals and cleaning products. I tried not to dig out the Mr. Clean, but when it comes to the stove top just plain water wasn’t doing it. I did think ahead though and had a plastic spray bottle that I filled with just a bit of Mr. Clean and then filled with water.

Two squirts into the operation the entire bottom fell out of the plastic spray bottle and I had Mr. Clean in places I didn’t even intend to clean! Not only that, but the entire kitchen reeked of Mr. Clean. I managed to spill some onto the rug by the sink and it was dripping Mr. Clean from one corner. I mopped everything up as well as I could, but even after steam cleaning the floor I can still smell Mr. Clean.

I ran the stove fan for awhile, but the noise was driving me crazy. With the weather so cold I couldn’t open the doors the way I might in warmer weather. I intended to go out this afternoon and thought I could at least open the patio door while I was gone. I had to wait though as someone was going to drop something at the house around one. They still haven’t arrived, so I haven’t gone out and I’m past the point of wanting to go.

Personally I like the smell of Mr. Clean because I know I’ve done my cleaning! Hopefully I can get the house aired out before Sunday afternoon when T. Nile arrives.