disappearing act

I posted this picture on my other blog a few days ago, but thought I would ask you guys, too - what can I make with cardamom? Any ideas, other than chai tea?

I had a very "fun-day", as Phillip says. You can read a bit about it over here. I'll be back with pictures and stories and a wickedly wicked fantastic Frenchy's find that is green and goes on my feet. Since she was with me (or I was with her and my luck oozed out), Ingrid also found something great.

I'm scooting to Halifax (not literally) for a couple days for work, so I'll be back soon. Speaking of Halifax, my soaps are now at Love, Me Boutique! I'm hoping to stop in for myself. If you're in the city, have a peek.

Have a great week!

etsy goodies

My sweet husband is now selling card sets of his gorgeous photos in his Etsy shop. There are three different sets, so go have a peek, and snag some all-purpose cards for those folks you want to impress. Or the ones you just plain like. (He's got lots more, so if something's in his sold items, never fear! Just send him a convo.)

Speaking of Etsy, Adam bought me these teeny-tiny vases for my birthday from this Etsy shop. They are so cute on the windowsill, each with one little snowdrop peeping out. I think the green ruffly one is my favourite.

In miscellaneous news, a large number of real e-mails seems to be landing in my spam folder. I used to empty it without reading the subjects of all the messages, until I started to see some real e-mails in there. So if you wrote to me and it either took me a really long time to respond, or you haven't heard from me, my apologies. I love hearing from you, and please try again. Happy Thursday!

uuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhh

I think I'm finally coming down with something. I had been so proud of myself for being so healthy all Winter long. Well, now that it's Spring, so I guess I was healthy all Winter long. (I think that seasons are deserving of capitals.) Oh yeah, except for the bladder evils in January. Okay, never mind. I've been feeling progressively worse all day and am sore all over, with chills, right now. So, I have a cup of peppermint tea to drink until Phillip is really, truly asleep. Then my plans include a nice hot bath, some reading in bed, and lots of sleep. Good night!

morning walk

Have you ever heard a lake melting in Spring? I hadn't until yesterday. I tried to catch it on video, but the sound didn't do justice to the event. It sounds like a warbly airplane is flying overhead. And then you realize that it's the lake, waking up from a long rest to say hello. It was really, really, neat.

Here's one of the clips I took anyway, just because the lake's edge was so lovely.

audience participation and lisa hannigan

This photo was taken a few weeks ago, on the Yarmouth waterfront. It was a gorgeous day (a saying which Phillip has picked up from us, I might add. Too cute!) Today was another beauty, with clear blue skies and warmth in the sun. The reason this picture is only appearing now has to do with today's random question: have you ever bought a new memory card for your camera, and your card reader won't recognize it at all? I can get the pictures from it, but it's a long and silly process I would like to avoid if possible. Any suggestions?
Phillip has been having lots of fun playing outside during this spell of nice weather. These "lellow boots" are getting small for his fat little feet, but he clomps around the backyard quite happily in them anyway.

I am usually 100% energy and positivity, but for the past week or so, I've been feeling kind of sluggish and glum. I think a break from the regular routine is much needed, and since I'm lucky enough to have the whole week off next week, I want to take advantage of the opportunity to do something extra fun and out of the ordinary. I'll be going on vacation from the Etsy shop, and Adam's parents are coming for a few days, so they can watch Phillip. I want to know if you have any suggestions for things I (or we) can do to change things up? Preferably something inexpensive, unusual, local, and out of the ordinary. Maybe a photo project? A winter picnic on the beach? Hmmm. Any suggestions are welcome and will be considered!

In the meantime, I've found some lovely links to share with you on this Tuesday-before-March-break, to help get you through.

Martha's Crafts Department has a blog! I haven't had time to take a thorough soak in it yet, but I'm looking forward to it, very soon.

Canelle et Vanille (translation: cinnamon and vanilla) is a painfully gorgeous food blog. Seriously. Once you see it, you'll know what I mean. I'm a wee bit envious of all of that beauty in one spot.

And I'm a bit enamoured with Lisa Hannigan as of late. You may have seen me driving with the window down and singing along to this song this morning. Isn't she gorgeous? (She has the same cheekbones as my sweet friend Jen. Hi Jen!) And the accordion in this song is fantastic.

While the first video is the song that's been in my head all day, I love this video. (To tell you a secret, this is how I like to imagine myself. Maybe I just need to sing more. And turn beautiful and Irish.)

Only three more work days until the break!

snow day 1.0 and Martha's fruit crumb bars

Yay! I had a great first snow day of the winter. This picture was actually from the other day, at the entrance to a cemetery not far from our house. If it wasn't so blustery and nasty out today, I would have gone to take some more pictures this afternoon.
During Phillip's nap, I did a number on the porch. I washed and tidied up these shelves and organized all of the coats and bags and other miscellany that was hanging on the hooks. Holy satisfying, Batman.
And I snatched this two-for-one shot just after supper. Today's snow and Martha's Fruit Crumb Bars. I wasn't planning on making these, until two dishes of homemade applesauce jumped out of the freezer this morning at Adam and the containers broke on the floor. So I used that as the filling. The recipe is in the Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The Original Classics. They're pretty yummy, and Phillip looooves them. And as you can see, mine look nothing like the picture when you follow that first link. It's kind of like apple crumble in layered bar form. Yum! In further snow news, it's looking like freezing rain will continue well into the night, so my fingers are crossed for tomorrow.
And look (through the mirror dirt, eeeeew) at what arrived in the mail! A snazzy new strap for my little camera, from this Etsy shop. I love it. Three of my favourite things: green, brown, and damask. Nice!

recipe-a-week #2: curried butternut squash soup & "cookings"

When we were visiting one set of grandparents at Christmas, out came an old-school Fisher Price cooking set that my husband and his brother played with as kids. Phillip LOVED it, especially putting "salt pepper" (no "and") on everything, including Nanoo's slippers.
So how excited was I to find this great little Ikea cooking set at Frenchy's last week? Very much so! And so was Phillip. He calls the whole process "cookings".
"Mama, cookings!"
The set, for $3, was in a big bag with a bunch of other play kitchen things, including a little wooden rolling pin, pastry brush, and a plastic fried egg.

This morning, he was holding the frying pan, lid on and egg inside.
P, taking off lid: "Ta-daaaaa!"
(P takes "pa-tu-laaaah" (spatula) and pokes at the egg.)
P, looking at Mama: "Ah-most done."
These were taken at Christmas with the 30 year old set at the grandparent's house. The salt and pepper, which sit on the upper right part of the stove, almost disappeared forever over the holiday. Phillip was in charge of putting all of the garbage in a box, and he decided to put the salt and pepper in there, too. A few days later when he was asking for them, and after searching the rest of the house, I realized where they likely were. And there they were, snuggled in amongst the wrapping paper and packaging, ready to go to the curb.

And speaking of "cookings", we had a lot of fun last night, with oodles of yummy food. One thing I made was a squash soup, from The Food You Crave. I decided to make another new recipe from one of my cookbooks, as explained in this post, although it is very similar to my usual one. Equally delicious. Easy and filling, and a perfect winter soup. And I love that it's creamy and filling without having cream in it. I made it while P was sleeping, and kept it warm in the crockpot until everyone arrived. Naturally, I didn't follow the recipe terribly closely, so I'll give you how I made it:

Curried Butternut (well, -cup, in this case) Squash Soup

1 giant buttercup squash (because there were no butternuts to be had), wrestled into submission, peeled, seeded and chopped into 1 inch cubes
1 tbsp olive oil (because we don't use canola, as called for in the recipe)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 carton (900 mL) low sodium organic chicken broth (because the veg broth has way more sodium in it than the store-brand organic chicken)
1 onion, chopped
1 tbsp + 2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp honey
low-fat sour cream for garnish

Saute onions and garlic in oil for about 5 minutes in a large soup pot. Add squash, broth, curry powder, and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until the squash is tender, about 15 minutes (I left it for longer, while I was doing other things). Remove from heat, stir in the honey, and puree until smooth. (I used a stick blender - my food one, not my soap one - but you could pour it in batches into a regular blender.) To serve, garnish with sour cream or yogurt.

Cute Things Falling Asleep. Self-explanatory. Thanks for the heads up, Trudi!

One last thing: it's snowing like mad today, and we're expected to get 20cm. The only letdown is that it's supposed to end early this evening, making a snow day tomorrow less likely. But my fingers are crossed, and I'll definitely be posting if we're snowed in! Hope you're having a restful weekend.

*sniff* *blowing of nose* *sniff*

I still don't know if we're going to get a 'real' tree this year. This may turn into our tree. It's a few branches from our Quince, strung with a sweet beaded garland. I had a beautiful, simple, modern picture in my head, but now that it's together, it looks a bit too much like cobwebs on the branches. I think the addition of a few ornaments might be called for. More pictures to come.
A better picture of the tealight thing I posted last week.
And we do have a green tree; a tiny little Norfolk Pine. It's on the kitchen table, and when P notices it, he says "kiss-masss... tee!"

I have a cold. Ugh. The kind where my head is completely plugged and fuzzy, I'm constantly blowing my nose, and I generally feel disgusting. And it's been pouring rain all day. Not terribly festive.There. I feel better already.

I had hoped to get some Christmas cards done this weekend, and I still might this evening. I got a few batches of soap made yesterday while P was sleeping, and had a little rest this afternoon. I was perusing an amazing book for awhile, too - Birth: the surprising history of how we are born by Tina Cassidy. I enjoy history - not so much details of wars and conflicts, but how daily life and events differed from what we know today. This book is brilliantly and extremely well written, completely fascinating and objective. I must say that I've read about half the book (beginning in the middle), because I was only borrowing it from the library for one particular section. I started and couldn't stop. Now that's a high recommendation, coming from me. And speaking of birth, congratulations to J&J in New Brunswick who welcomed a new son into the world yesterday! Babies are the best.

post #800: snowy crafty afternoon (and evening)

Welcome to our house on a snowy, snowy Saturday (although it doesn't look terribly snowy in the picture taken this morning, it got much worse later in the day.) My only complaint about the snow is that it wasn't on a weekday, resulting in a snow day for me.
Did you notice the sweet wreath on the cellar doors? I think it fits perfectly, and the snow was so lovely on it. It was an ideal day to be domestic and hunker down inside, so Ingrid and Annie came over.
Ingrid wore this snazzy washed-but-wrinkly apron (which I found at Frenchy's) over her clothes for the day,
and I was snug as a bug in this soft-yet-acrylic sweater I found at Frenchy's last week. (Note which shouldn't need to be written: the jeans, belt, and t-shirt are also from Frenchy's.)
We looked out at the weather as we chatted and had tea,
read, of course,
while there was also knitting and the baking of scones. I did manage to clean out my recipe binders while Phillip was sleeping, which was very satisfying.
Ingrid brought apple pie,

and I made this garlic dip. I used roasted garlic, because I thought the flavour would be milder. It was, but it was too mild. Next time I'll definitely use fresh. I used the leftover dip mixed with frozen chopped spinach on butter puff pastry to make little appetizers, but due to poor timing, they were post-meal appetizers, if such a thing is possible. The meal was delicious butter chicken and rice, courtesy of Annie. Y-U-M. After clean up, bathing P and putting him to bed, we made some Peppermint Poppyseed soap! Could you possibly fit more fun into one day? A day with organizing recipe binders and making cute appetizers? I think not. Hope you're having a lovely weekend, too.

776

I am tuckered out! Thanks so much to everyone who stopped by the craft fair this weekend. I had a wonderful time, and sold out of almost everything I had! Now I need to start making more for the one coming up at the end of November. With some of my earnings, I bought the necklace above, which I love. It has a magnetic clasp, which is great for keeping it intact when Phillip pulls on it, which I'm fairly confident he will.

My week away last week was great, and it was really great to see all of my colleagues and catch up with them. It was hard to be away from P for four days, though. I'm happy to be home.

p likes peanut butter

So, Phillip likes peanut butter. A lot. I have been giving him tiny bits on crackers and making little sandwiches, so it's not too messy when he's eating. Tonight he figured out how to open up said sandwiches and lick the peanut butter off. And rub it through his hair.
And I bought a pair of new shoes today! Holy white feet and weeds in the pic, Batman. P kind of needed some new shoes, and there was a 'buy one, get one half price' sale, and I saw these cuties. So now I have some decent work shoes to replace my flip flops. P liked his new kicks so much that we went for a real walk together (he was upright, not in the stroller) when I got home from work. A "wok, wok". To the "bok". The "may bok" (mail box). To mail some "pay-peh" (=paper=letters). It was so nice. P toddling along on the sidewalk, occasionally looking down and saying "sooos, soooes," and holding my hand. Sigh. I'm in love.

on happiness

Sun shining in a bedroom window on a comfy quilt makes me happy.

I'm one of those (sickening, to some) people who is perpetually happy. I can't help it. My favourite saying: "It could be worse." The glass is not only half full, but someone's on their way to top it up. I used to wish that I wasn't so cheerful, because I wanted people to take me seriously, and not think that I was an empty-headed grinning idiot. But then I accepted that it's just who I am (the cheerful part, not so much the empty-headed idiot part), and just as more serious people have their place in the world, so do I. (Good grief, I'm sounding like Stuart Smalley.) I'm just sunny, and if I can brighten someone else's day, all the better. While recognizing and acknowledging that there are awful things happening all of the time, everywhere, I try to help. I try to make things better. I need to do more of this.

On a completely different note, we did a bit of landscaping today. (Translation: my dad came over with his chainsaw this afternoon and I planted a few new things after Phillip went to bed). I was picking up some silicone soap molds at lunchtime at Canadian Tire, and saw that they still had a few struggling, pitiful trees on clearance. I bought an 8 foot lilac tree for $15 (regularly $89!) and a spirea for $1 (regularly $15). We had some scrubbly evergreens by the back door which were nice for the birds to nest in, but completely impractical in just about every other way. Since the birds have left for the winter, we had dad cut them down. I'll use the branches on the flower beds this winter, and we'll use the wood for firewood next year. My fingers are crossed that the lilac will bloom next Spring, but the tree may have been too stressed in its box-store pot. We do have another lilac in the yard, which is very old, and didn't bloom at all this year. It may be on its last legs, but I'm going to consult Marjorie and see if I can't revive it. There's the optimist in me!

so many things to share (or umm, yes.)

I wondered what the parcel delivery slip was for when I saw it on the table. "Oh," I thought, "Someone's swap soaps must not have fit in the mailbox." Imagine my surprise when I picked up a big box (still not sure why it was such a big box) with a customs declaration of 'calendar'.
"Oh YEAH!"
I flipped through to September 15 and found my inchworm! I'm famous! I didn't bother to mention this whole thing when I was asked about it, just in case nothing came of it. Meg from Cute Overload contacted me several months ago and asked if I would like my photos of Inchy McIncherson, originally posted here, included in the Cute Overload Page-a-day calendar for 2009. Umm, yes. Pretty exciting.
I'm also tickled pink every time I use my new mesh produce bags. I whipped them out at the Farmer's Market on Saturday, and the cashier at the grocery store was asking me about them today. Adam laughed at me today when I picked up two avocados. I asked him what was so funny and he asked "Are you just getting two so you have a reason to use the bag?" Umm, yes.
Hmph. Do you know what this is? It's my Black and Decker bread machine, which is one of my most used wedding gifts. Love it, use it regularly. But do you know where it is? On my counter. In the place where my Kitchen Aid should be. Yup, I managed to get not one expensive dud, but two. I seriously think that someone's out to get me with sub-par products. Remember the Mac we bought? It's working like a dream now and we didn't lose any data. The problem was that Macs aren't supposed to have problems, and mine did! And neither are Kitchen Aids. But mine started making a high pitched whiny awful sound while stirring. And now it does it every time, and not intermittently. So after a long saga, they sent me a mailing label and my machine is somewhere between here and Ontario. I really, really hope that they just send me a new one so I'm not wondering when it's going to start falling apart. Hopefully I'll have one again soon!

Don't forget to leave a comment on this post before tomorrow at, oh, let's say one o'clock Atlantic time. ("At the start of the long dash following ten second silence, the time will be one o'clock Atlantic Time." Thanks, Olga!) I'll have the random number generator choose a winner of that gorgeous Burberry scarf when I get home from work. And I'll also post the next giveaway item - it's a good one, too. Happy Thursday!

my word-slinging sister

My sister, Marla, (or "Lar-la" as P calls her) and her husband are moving into their first house today. We talk with her on Skype every now and then, and now when P sees the computer, it's very loud 'Lar-la!' 'Lar-la!' 'Lar-la!' 'Lar-la!'s.

Larla's a whiz with words, and has a business writing poems for other people's special occasions. So, for example, if you have an upcoming wedding and you're expected to give a toast but have no idea what to say, you send her some pertinent information (names, quirks, funny stories) about the people involved, and she will write your speech (in poem form) for you. Nifty, eh? She does these for any and all occasions, and they're pretty good. Okay, they're really good and very clever, even though she used to call me 'Piglet'. There was an article recently published on NovaNewsNow about her.

You can see her Etsy shop here. There's an article about her here, with a picture of her cooking up some rhymes.

bridgetown rocks (either way you read that)

Remember how I said that the rocks in Bridgetown are crazy beautiful? Here are some of the ones I brought home.

rain, rain, go away

It's been overcast, foggy, and/or cloudy for what feels like forever. Today, it poured, which was a welcome break - at least the weather was doing something and not just threatening to! I went outside this evening for a few minutes, and it was spectacular - the skies had cleared, and there was a gorgeous glow from the west which warmed the light on everything in the backyard. I picked a few straggling raspberries, checked out our blooming echinacea, and admired my sprouting lettuce. It was perfect.

I know I've mentioned it already, but I'm having a summer sale at my Etsy shop! There are bars for as little as $1.50. Less, even, if you snag one of my odds and ends batches of imperfect bars. Anyhoo, have a peek. I'm cleaning up and clearing out! We're going to be doing a bit of rearranging in the house, and my soap stuff will have a new space! Very exciting.

I have the feeling that *in a very, very, low whisper* summer is winding down. I don't wear a watch from the last day of school through the first one of the next, and easily lose track of days. But I looked at the calendar today, and it's mid-August. Part of me is looking forward to another school year, the change in routine, the smell of wood smoke in the fall, and wearing sweaters. But part of me wants to hang on to every last second of summer from my fingernails and cry. It will be really hard to be away from Phillip during the days again. And I certainly won't have as much time for soapmaking, blogging, housework, and all of the other things I enjoy so much.

A huge congratulations to T&K on the birth of O! All the best!

odds and ends

I have a very happy aloe vera plant in the pantry, which was once very sad. I also have plans brewing for an aloe batch of soap sometime soon...
Also in the pantry, is Phillip helping me cook. He likes the spice drawer.
And right next to my trusty Joy of Cooking, I have a few new cookbooks to enjoy. More about those later.

scarves and bridgetown

We went to Bridgetown today to meet Lauren of Sleeping Forest Studios, who was so sweet and kind to us - she even fed us an amazing lunch straight from their garden. Remember Phillip's pull-quail? Made by them! On the way there, we stopped at my favourite Frenchy's, which is in Digby. I found the beautiful (and currently wrinkly) silk scarf above, and the wool one below.
I had no idea that the beaches in Bridgetown have such pretty rocks! No, really - they're all rainbow-licious. Yarmouth rocks look quite dull in comparison. Lauren took us to Hampton Beach, where I found some beauties and even brought a few home. They're so pretty that Phillip thought they looked good enough to eat.

To make it even more impressive, we drove up and over a mountain to get to the beach. Adam took the picture of us playing - shouldn't someone be watching that baby? Thanks so much for your hospitality, Lauren, and come down to our neck of the woods any time! Be sure to check out their Etsy shop, too!