Mother Nature at her worst....

I can't say I miss this season! This was what my friends woke up to this morning in my old home town......Seriously!!!! It's only the end of October! Then to top it off the temperature was minus 20' Celsius......oh dear not nice. I can think of a few people who are probably cringing at the thought of the winter they are going to have if it's starting like this! But on a positive note....... its suppose to warm up this weekend and rain guys! What they had in centimetres, we had rain in millimetres. Nothing a good pair of gumboots didn't fix!

I finally got a photo of how I wanted to cut my hair, and although it didn't come out quite the same, its still not as weighty as my last doo! When Bobbi was cutting my hair...... she couldn't believe the pile that was accumulating on the floor, and of course the curl started. She was quite surprised I had so much hair.....well not so much now! Won't the Hubs be surprised when he comes home to a new woman!

I know "ham"! But hey its my best asset! Now on to more serious subjects......I spent the better part of the afternoon out in my toasty warm studio sewing square, after square, after square for my daughters rag quilt. Finally the squares have the crosses sewn and now to figure out a pattern. No randomness in this one! So figuring out a pattern will happen on the floor tomorrow. It should be a good size but they always shrink when you start sewing it together.

Here are a few of the projects I finished.......

 

I love this variegated yarn and the buttons are the "piece de resistance". I finally found a place that carries "funky" buttons in every shape and color! Not cheap mind you...... but I think they make the piece.

 

Next on the list are a scarf and a pair of mitts for Sue's daughter. I did a little shopping and picked up a couple of small crock pots, I made up a holiday potpourri of cranberries, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and oranges and wanted to simmer it on the stove but I thought one of those mini sauce crock pots would do the trick, the first one I found turned out to be a little too big but I will keep it for doing small recipes or desserts. 

Potpourri for the Holidays or
for sauces to keep warm

This one will be good for soups, desserts,
and small casseroles

 

 

 

Here's dessert...................Tapioca Pudding
Yummy!
 

 

Well another day off tomorrow.......I can certainly handle four days off in a row. I sure hope my Christmas tree arrives tomorrow! Gotta love Costco online......door to door delivery. With a smaller house I needed to downsize the Christmas tree........so this year it will be a 7.5 ft, pre-lit skinny tree.  Wooooo.....can't wait to start decorating, full blown this year baby! The list is growing daily! Time to make tea, stay safe my friends and thoughts and prayers go out to the storm ravaged cities in Eastern United States.

Earthquakes, shakes, and storms a brewing........

Well apparently quite a few people in the province of British Columbia felt the earthquake that happened around 8:00pm Saturday evening.  Ourselves...... didn't feel a thing! No worries of tsunamis hitting us, as we are a fair ways up from the beach and at times like this, I would say that is a good thing!

Not too much to report around here, I've been working this week and trying to get a girly owl hat finished up. Cleaning my house this weekend took precedence over crafting today. How a house can get so dusty is beyond my comprehension! So between laundry, vacuuming, dusting and straightening up my studio.....there isn't much happening in my world......I've been checking out Pinterest on a daily basis and that's not a good thing.....too many ideas and my ADHD and OCD want me to make it all!!!!!!!! But I am beginning to think what is the point.......how sad is that :(((( ...........I want to bake desserts and try out new meal ideas and I think once again.......what's the point :((((((.  I certainly don't need to eat desserts and the Hubs....well not that he wouldn't be willing, but he doesn't need the extra poundage either......so whats a girl to do!
I've on the look out for healthy foods. I love broccoli and this recipe sounds yummy. So its on the menu for tomorrow.

Roasted Broccoli with Garlic, Lemon & Parmigiana-ReggianoServes 4
Ingredients
2 pounds broccoli crowns (be sure they are dry)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons Parmigiana-Reggiano*
Lemon wedge (optional)
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
2. Cut broccoli into 2-inch florets, leaving one to two inches of stems attached. Discard remaining thick stalks. In a large bowl, combine olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper and sugar and mix well. Add broccoli and toss to coat evenly. Transfer broccoli to prepared baking sheet. (You could also toss the broccoli on the prepared baking sheet, but the foil may rip, which causes a big mess.)
3. Roast for 10 minutes until crisp-tender and lightly browned in some spots. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons grated Parmigiana-Reggiano over broccoli. Taste and adjust seasonings. Transfer to serving dish and gently squeeze lemon wedge over broccoli if using. (Go easy! You only need 1-2 teaspoons of lemon juice). Sprinkle remaining cheese over top and serve hot.

I found this recipe for roasted mushrooms and I made it the other night. Lovvvvvve mushrooms, theyare healthy and seriously....... there are no calories in mushrooms.

Oven or Grill top Roasted Mushrooms with Garlic, Thyme, and Balsamic Vinegar
(Makes 4 side-dish servings, recipe adapted slightly from Vegetables Every Day by Jack Bishop.)

Ingredients:
1 lb. mushrooms (I used brown Crimini mushrooms)
2 T + 1 tsp. olive oil
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 T finely minced garlic
1 T balsamic vinegar
2 T finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 T chopped fresh parsley (optional, for garnish)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400F/200C or heat gas or charcoal grill to medium high. Wash mushrooms, pull out stems, and cut into halves (or quarters if the mushrooms are large.) Put mushrooms into bowl and toss with 2 T olive oil, salt, and fresh ground black pepper. Cover a roasting pan with foil, then arrange mushrooms on the pan in a single layer. (Spread them out as much as you can. For cooking on a grill, I'd probably use heavy foil to make a "pan" so the flame doesn't turn the bottom of the roasting pan black.)

Roast mushrooms 15 minutes. While mushrooms cook, finely chop fresh thyme, then mix with minced garlic, balsamic vinegar, and the tsp. of olive oil. (You could mix this right in the bowl you originally tossed the mushrooms with.)

After 15 minutes, drain off any liquid that has accumulated. (If you spread the mushrooms out well, the liquid will evaporate, but if yours are too crowded like mine, you'll have a little liquid to pour off.) Then toss the hot mushrooms with they garlic-thyme mixture. Arrange back on roasting pan and cook about 10 minutes more. Serve hot, sprinkled with chopped fresh parsley if desired.

The Hubs mowed the lawn today to tidy up the lawn and mulch some of the leaves, and he wanted to lay some grass seed down to try and choked out the buttercup epidemic, well the tiny little birds thought he did it for them! They arrived by the hundreds...... much to Steve's delight and proceeded to eat the grass seed! Oooops! Not a good thing! So tomorrow I am going to get some bird seed and set up some feeders. This was a cute idea and I even have the hook.

So that's about my life these days, dulls-ville! Sue and I will go for a decent run in the morning and start working on our girlish figures for the holiday season that is fast approaching. I'm making a hair appointment this week to chop, chop, chop......(sure miss my girl Farrah) but it should make it easier to handle in the pool and for running. I think it shall be quite cheeky......and well that's the way I roll! Good night my dears, sweet dreams! I hope everyone has battened down their hatches in preparation of Hurricane Sandy hitting the East  Coast tomorrow, be safe and take care.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder.....

Good Morning Everyone! TGIF! What plans do you have for the weekend? I wasn't home for last weekend, so needless to say I am running a week behind and I am going to spend my days off starting Sunday catching up and finish up little projects. I went to visit my oldest daughter last weekend with my mom and we spent a few days of shopping and visiting old haunts of my childhood. I even managed to crochet a cowl for my daughter while I was there. With a trip to Michael's I made very good use of the coupons and picked up a few skeins of yarn to make some hats.......I really need to find a outlet to unload all these containers of accessories!

My mom and daughter on the beach

A place close to my heart,
this is where I spent every summer of
my childhood

My gorgeous daughter

The old boathouse, turned guest house

Enjoying the fall

So we had a great trip down memory lane and the weather was cool but beautiful. Just a bit of snow dusting the hills and that's a good place for it I say! So back to the coast and the rain, and back to work. Yesterday was a little slow, so I found a t-shirt of the hubs that needed to have a re-make.

T-shirt Scarf

Easy peasy! And a great use of a old t-shirt, there are plenty of ideas on Pinterest, complete with tutorials. So what's a girl to do when she has a few hours to kill! I'm just saying! Anywho gotta run and make a quick trip down the highway before work and do a delivery. I will be sporting the new scarf today and hopefully something exciting happens today! What new ideas are you planning on giving a try? Enjoy your weekend!

I'm just saying...............

Totally could not sleep last night, not sure if it was just one of those nights or from all the excitement of the day. The girls, Sue, Janet, and myself ran 11km yesterday morning, it did not rain, as luck and faith would have it, but I am certainly not running comfortably these days.....could have been my shoes, change those tomorrow, could have been the lack of water, or too warm or the extra weight I seem to have acquired.....so I made a conscious effort to rethink my diet and what has been lacking.....back to the basics.......so I was very good yesterday. We ran, I was busy all day doing things, and then after dinner last night we went to the pool and swam lengths. Did I mention swimming is a very hard workout! You wouldn't think being a runner, that swimming should be that hard. Ha! Swimming is like the hardest thing ever! Cardio at its best! We are going to try and go a few times a week and Sue used to swim competitively so she will bounce back like riding a bike.

This is another day off which I plan to "totally" enjoy AGAIN! Sunny skies at the moment, all my materials albeit a few boards, to make my bar table are set up in the garage, materials cut and stacked for Jane's quilt, but ran out of backing and will need to pick up another color.....then I am having coffee with another military mom who's son is also stationed with my son, I'm sure we will find lots to talk about. Coincidence is so funny that she grew up in my old hometown, two blocks from where I first lived and went to the same elementary school. How random is that? It's fate, that's what it is. Her son is the baby of the family, same as mine, I think we will be a great comfort to each other when our men are deployed here in the new year.

I finished this cute "Olivia's Butterfly Hat" on Sunday as I lazed around watching some of my shows that I had PVR'd, this pattern can be found on Ravelry. Very easy instructions, and whips up quite quickly.

Olivia's Butterfly Hat from Ravelry

 Crocheted with a "J" hook and a softee chunky yarn, made to fit a head 20 1/2 inches, so it fits my head but for anyone else a few more rows could be added.

This is my breakfast today. I love croissants

The hubs bought these for me on his Saturday, cause he knew I haven't had any in a VERY long time. And homemade blackberry jelly! Yummy! Thanks dear!




Breakfast of Champions!

 

I've made a few of these coffee cozies, and
apparently they are popular,
 there are many out there
so I've noticed on etsy.
I guess it's because they are very cute.

 

Well must run and get organized for the day, I hope you have a fabulous day.  I see blue skies so I need to make a run for it and get my outside things done. Then back to the crafting this afternoon. Ciao for now! Enjoy your day!

 

 

Survival of the fittist.....

Wow, you can say that again! I made it through two weeks of working full-time! It's not happening again for a while! Hokey Doodle! I'm too old for this! Then to top it off, the powers that be thought it was a great time to open the skies and let loose! And rain it did! I thought about building an ARK! So now for a few days off, and hopefully re-coop my sanity, or what's left of it.

Tomorrow we are running a 5km race for the chiropractic clinic, by donation, so Sue has informed me she wants to do it in under 26 minutes. Well who am I to burst her "bubble"......not that I wish to injure myself for 5km but I like to keep her company.

I have a project in mind for the next few days, and after some hunting around I found two wooden shutters that I intend to make into a bar table for our kitchen. I have two really nice bar chairs in brown leather and I want to use them in the kitchen instead of the big round table that we have in there now. Of course I found this idea on Pinterest, what a surprise there!!!! I was looking at Ana White's plans, goodness knows she has a bazillion to choose from, but you know how it is when you get something in your head. So I hope this idea works with a few adjustments. I'm pretty sure its what I want.
I have a vision!

From Missy at
"So You Think You're Crafty"

Now by the looks of Missy's island, it not very long. I would like mine to be at least 40 inches long and 18 inches wide. A butcher block top and there will have to be a bar in the center for a brace.....so I may have to enlist my friend Susan from back home and see what she thinks.  I like the idea of the tea towel hanger but don't need that, and the shelf isn't necessary..........I just like the rustic look of it and it will kind of match my cupboards. I found a guy that has some shutters, so I will get the hubs to run me over there and then chop, chop, saw, saw, hammer, hammer, a little paint and Bob's your "Uncle"! Ya right!!! When does anything go that smoothly! But here's hoping. Gotta have "faith"! Well I am off to bed cause I am totally and utterly worn out. Talk at you later! Good night!

Seriously Pinterest..........

I don't think there is a day that goes by I don't have to check you out.......as if I don't have enough things on the go! If you haven't been on the Pinterest site you seriously need to go and check it out....now there are days when I think I will just have a little look but then one thing leads to another and before I know it, I have pinned a dozen or more great ideas or whatever catches my fancy.

So my latest fixation is the Fall fashion and boots! I love boots, short boots, tall boots, leather boots, suede boots, pretty much any boot, sweaters, jeans, scarves! So I've made a small collection of a few that I am loving for Fall.............or just love the look of anytime......

I like the jacket, and the handbag,
 I have the cowl.

These boots are a little
shorter than I would like but
they are grey and they will do!

I love this sweater and now I have the scarf,
 and the boots

I want this sweater!

 I need a new watch

This sweater says curl up
 and read a book

All these outfits have been on Pinterest tormenting me, wondering where a person would find some of these, but don't you worry! If there is one thing that I am totally on top of, its shopping! The Hubs can attest to that, he says I can always find something on sale! Now if only I had access to the shopping.....but that's probably a good thing that I don't.

So now that I have finished a few crocheted ruffled scarves, my next project is for a baby grand-girl who was born to my good friend Sandra this morning. Her daughter already has two of the cutest little munchkins I love to bits, so I need to make something special for the new little one..........can't wait to hear what her name is going to be! It'll be something Irish for sure. Claire has a nice ring to it! We'll see tomorrow after Laura has time to sleep and rest.

Well time to finish my tea and get in a good nights sleep, last night was a bust and I felt it today, so does not make for a happy day. Good night all! Sweet dreams.........

Happy Thanksgiving Monday!

Happy Thanksgiving from Canada! A glorious day here, the sun is warm, skies are blue, you can't ask for better weather in the first week of October. No rains, and no frosty mornings as of yet. But I know they will come and these days will be just a vague memory. It was pretty quiet around here for dinner last night, mom and a friend of the Hubs came and we ate moocho turkey, and a delicious pumpkin pie that mom brought and made. We also got our wood in for the winter, so there will be many fires this winter to warm the house. Electric heat just doesn't cut it with all the dampness here on the coast.

So all in all, it was a low key day. Went for a run in the morning with the running group and indulged in a Pumpkin Latte when I was done. A pitiful excuse for a run...........today Sue and Janet went for a cruise around town showing Janet a few of the trails and scenic sights, again didn't feel quite up to snuff.....I think I need to drink more water.........before the company came yesterday, we mowed the lawns again and hopefully, the last time for the year , but I kind of doubt it..........but we'll see....no rain in the forecast till next weekend.

I picked two of the pumpkins that I grew and they are dandies! One I would say is around 10 pounds and the other one which is bigger is a few pounds lighter.....I was so excited to be able to put them on the front porch.

My first homegrown pumpkin!

 

Still waiting for this one to ripen

This is my girlfriends little grandson....
cute a button!

So not much happening today, as I am suffering from tennis elbow and an electrifying pain shooting down my arm.......I seriously need to settle down on a few things but that's not really my forte'! Back to work tomorrow and for the rest of the week. Tracy, I hope you are having a wonderful holiday!

I started cutting out the fabric for my oldest daughter's rag quilt! She wants it to be big enough for her bed, so I'm thinking that's pretty big and I may have to go get more fabric but I'll see when I start matching the squares.

Well gotta run and get dinner together, leftovers it is. I hope you had a great weekend and enjoyed your family and friends if it was a holiday weekend for you. Ciao for now!

Working full time.................

is for the birds I tell you! Holy guacamole! Time consuming and energy zapping! Now don't get me wrong I like to work and making pretty colors isn't a bad thing and I like helping people pick colors when they have no idea. That is really a lot of fun! But everyday! I think not! But I have one more week to fill in for Tracy and then hopefully we will get back to 3-4 days a week.....I've finished up all the hats including another owl hat for a little bigger child, and then, I got on a ruffle scarf kick and a slouchy hat ........and last weekend, I got my walls painted in the kitchen.........so this weekend it is Thanksgiving in Canada and Sunday I will be cooking a little turkey dinner for the Hubs, my mom and I. No kids this year, working and too far away........sad face:((((

Here was my test patch

"Cutting in" is not my favourite part
but a necessary evil and taping just isn't
going happen

Notice the colors of the curtains?
Yup, I knew why I picked this color!

 

Roasted Sesame Seed by Benjamin Moore
in Coronado Paint

 

So I'm suffering from tennis elbow and carpal tunnel syndrome (painful!) from all the painting and the crocheting but does that stop me? Nope, not a chance, and cruising through Pinterest looking for more ideas causes me great pain too but again not too quick here! I will probably break down long before I reach old age but I will be sliding through the door when I do!

 

Hmmmm....not a great photo, I was sure
 I had a brighter one but you get the idea,
 I added little green buttons to
the center of the yellow and same with the babies
hat.....eyes need to have irises!

I saw this cute birthday card on Pinterest
and I have a friend with a birthday...
far to heavy to mail so this one will
have to be hand delivered

Easy peasy slouchy beret

Caron International Ruffle Scarf
Thanks Ravelry!

The mornings are getting cooler and cooler, but I went for a run this morning with Janet downtown, where they install street lights, and it was a gorgoeus morning to be out. The mountains were majestically off in the distance and the rosy pink sky was truly breath-taking! Mornings like that are the way everyday should start. Shorts are still a go but long sleeves and gloves were necessary. I hope I don't have to resort to pants for a few months! My northern girls would say when its -4C,  that's when the pants come out but we'll see how tough I am.

Well that's it, that's all folks, for this week! Busy, busy, I hope you have a wonderful long weekend, filled with turkey and pumpkin pie! I'm thankful to all my visitors, have a great evening!