A Little Craziness........

Today Sue and I had a day off together, so after doing our chores this morning and making sure we had time to goof off, we decided to make a trip to the beach for a little rock picking. I wanted rocks to surround the new flower bed and Sue needed some to edge her driveway.......lets just say that we are glad we have been doing some strength training!

These are a few of the boulders we picked, and
carried off the beach. Yes, they were very
heavy!

Yup, we are a couple of Tough Mothers!

 The "Before"

A crappy photo of the "After" 

This shows a mediocre photo of a third of the flower bed, so as you can see, there's going to be a few more trips to the beach.

My son and his girlfriend are coming this weekend, so I did a few recipes of cookies this morning.......

 

And then there was a batch of Oatmeal Raisin that were still cooking in the oven. So quite the productive day off, house cleaning, ironing, vacuuming, baking, sounds like a perfect day off, and even squeezed in a trip and workout at the beach. Have a good evening, the weekend is almost upon us!

A Break in the Rain showers.........

landed me at a beach I haven't been at before, so with a few minutes between chores I stopped to check out the low tide and the sea life suspended on the rocks......I had heard the starfish were plentiful and I wasn't disappointed.

 

 

Jonathan Seagull with a mussel in his beak!

 

I was wondering are they always purple, and 
when they die and
dry out
is that when they turn orange?

The rock formations on this beach we pretty amazing but then it doesn't take much for me to be amazed by some things, and nature and rocks are something that I love to observe and wonder just how and why they turn out the way they do.

 

 

 

 

I have a special fondness for rocks with stripes in them

 

 

Kelp and Mussels



 

 

 

 

The path to the beach

 

Someone has made an Inukshuk

 

Lastly, was a bridge in the middle of the woods, that I assumed went over to a house I could see in the distance. Going to the beach on the spur of the moment was a nice interlude in the middle of the day that was basically a wash out as far a weather was concerned. Not too bad for a Monday afternoon. Well I hope you get to have a break during your days that you can take in nature and all her glory, and be thankful for the small wonders that are right in our own back yard. Have a good evening! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TGIF doesn't have much appeal ............

when you have to work on a Saturday but that's okay I get other days off to make up for it. This morning I took a peak outside just as the sun was starting to rise and thought the trees looked especially spectacular so I thought I would share them with you, a change from crafting. I'm not much of a tree lover as there are "many" here on the west coast, and they grow by leaps and bounds and typically get in the way of power lines and majestic views.......but that's another topic for another day...today is all about their beauty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fuschias, a hummingbirds delight!

Well not much else to report for today, I hope to work on the yard this weekend but the weatherman is calling for rain, so maybe a short run will be in the cards before the clouds open up. My running partner is still limping around, so I will have to pick up another runner who isn't going too fast these days......have a good weekend. Enjoy!

 

Does this inspire you? Hmmmmm....

 

 

 

 

 

Winging it Wednesday!

Happy Wednesday! Mid-week, and back to work tomorrow. I've been pretty busy since the weekend, as always there is the grass to mow, and at the moment I am trying to design a front yard with less mowing. Of course, I am probably making more work with shrub beds but from a curb appeal point I just think it makes the yard look more interesting than just green......so we've picked up a few plants and being perennials there isn't much maintenance to them other than keeping them pruned so they don't get out of control here in the rainforest!

I'd also like to implement a dry river bed but that would mean hauling in tons of rock and I am pretty sure the Hubs isn't going to be on board with that one! But wouldn't this be a fun feature!

 

 

I want a bridge too! That I can do myself but hauling all this rock could take me years.....so maybe I can do the flower bed with rocks around it and put the bridge over the ditch.....I don't know but I've always wanted one so we'll see what we can figure out. How about a pond? Steve would love a pond.........here fishy, fishy!

But today I am feeling a little guilty (just a little) about not cooking anything of any interest lately. To tell the truth, food is just food and a source of energy but really...... I need a chef to decide my meals for me.  Because I'd rather be doing something creative, gardening, working out, even baking but making meals.......blah!

But I do like salads and I am a good cook but man can not live on salad alone. (this woman can, but not a man) At least not my man.....not that he would complain too loudly but he likes his man food. But tonight I am making something I adore! My favourite of all time!

Spinach Salad

 

What you'll need:

• Chicken
• Fresh spinach
• Carrots
• Cucumber
• Green peppers
• Broccoli
• Strawberries (feel free to add other fresh or dried fruits)
• Avocado
• Goat cheese (optional)
• Your favorite dressing

I think there's a lot of goodness in this salad and it says "yummy". So that's tonight's dinner.......

Now I need to get a move on and get some groceries and head to the wood yard to pick up a few pieces of lumber to make my next project. Stay tuned, and remember the dog with the bone? She's on a mission!

Have a wonderful Wednesday and enjoy your day!

I'm just a crazy crafting junkie!

You would think that I would learn my lesson but when I see something I like.......I want to learn how to do it.....now don't get me going because its not really my fault that I am on a new venture......its the hubs who started this one.....yes that's right.....it was suppose to be "his" thing.......Ya right...... it was just a teaser, so I would get hooked on something........because he knows I am like a dog with a bone, a rabbit with a carrot, a hummingbird with a flower.......yes sireeee.....hook, line and sinker......I said I didn't want to learn and it was going to be his "thing" HA!! HA! HA! Fat chance!

 

 

Yup that's right we are on a soap making kick. So be prepared my friends and family there's going to be some lovely soap coming your way. I am already thinking of the embellishments that can be grown and added to the mixture. Oh dear Lord rescue you me from myself!

I didn't really want to go and learn how to make soap I was perfectly happy letting the Hubs go about his business buying soap at the local markets etc. but being the good obedient wife that I am (quit your laughing!!!)  I'm serious here! There was this lovely girl at his work that knows how to make soap and she gave him a few bars to try and offered to show "us" how to make it ourselves.........I said "oh all right, but you're doing it I have enough things on my plate"................famous last words! But seriously....I thoroughly enjoyed the process, not being a great student in science it is a little freaky, and caution has never been a strong point with me but making soap is serious business and can be quite dangerous if not done correctly......but I have to admit I found it to be thoroughly enjoyable.....of course I am very tactile and textures and smells can hook me into just about anything and being the creative junkie that I am.....well lets just say I will be purchasing a few supplies my next trip to the city......and growing a few flowers simply to dry and use the petals.......who knew it would be so fun! I'm going to kill him......so in the meantime......I wonder what will be the next scent I will experiment with........patchouli, lavender, grapefruit, lemongrass, vanilla, OM Goodness the world is just a big oyster! So thank you Sarah for showing me your prized recipe, which is a hundred years old. I will treasure it and keep it in a safe place.

I hope you have a sunny weekend. It's back to the gardens tomorrow and the elimination of grass!

To Live is to Learn.......

sometimes we have to do things that we aren't particularly interested in and then we end up really liking it and therefore another creative outlet is born.....like I need another creative outlet! My outlets are getting a little overloaded and I am going to be in need of an over sized power bar pretty soon! But I am not going to share that with you today.....today is about May and the beautiful spring that we have been enjoying the last few days........these I stopped and enjoyed for a few moments..............

These shots are from Davis Bay. I had to made an emergency stop here the other day as the lid on my roof carrier came open.....I'm glad it did..... otherwise I wouldn't have necessarily stopped to take in the beauty and force of the ocean. It was a glorious day but windy and the waters were rockin' and rollin'!

On our street I think every house has a Cherry Blossom tree. They are spectacular!

 

 

Hope you had an excellent week. Enjoy your weekend! I'll be back to share "my" new project very soon!

Up at the crack of dawn........

and  believe me its not my idea to be up at 2:30! It's still three hours till dawn was due to break.......but it is what it is today I guess. Its a gorgeous morning though! So its not all bad and that cup of coffee tastes divine! So since my day started so early this morning I've had plenty of time to design the flower beds that I want to start creating in the front yard......I went to the lumber yard yesterday and picked out some Holland pavers so that I can outline a few beds. I may have to go back today as I wasn't sure just how many I needed but I've got enough to get started.

The Hubs was busy on the weekend finishing up the garden beds so they are ready and raring to go as soon as the nights are free of frost. Our front lawn is seriously too, too much grass......so for the next couple of years (and that's how long it will take) I am going to be implementing low maintenance gardening.........perennial shrubs, and bushes, and a few more dwarf trees.......I'm even hoping to get a palm tree. So in the meantime.......

 

 

 

 

Well its still too early to go out side and turn on the lawn mower, the neighbors would probably kill me so I think I will do some baking and find something for dinner. Have a great day and I hope weather allows you to get outside and enjoy the day!

Loving this gate!