Recent "doings"

What I'm doing these days...obviously not blogging much!



enjoying the break in winter driving

marveling at the girls' abilities to craft, skate, ski and do so many other "grown up things" on their own

listening to far too much CBC Radio 1. Those program hosts are starting to feel like family!!

anticipating the hard training sessions to come as the June triathlon draws near

loving the book I'm reading (Outlander by Diana Gabaldon)

thinking of my parents on holiday in Mexico and hoping that they are happy & safe

wishing the kids and I could find a bit more peace and harmony in our days

The back of her

Just the other day (or so it seems)
Fuzzy, chubby, giggling at fingers creeping up oh-so-slowly.

Yesterday (I know it was)

First position, just so, chin up, that same back so disciplined and straight.

Still giggling as a tickly moment is stolen after her bath.

This morning (I can't believe)

Walking ahead, down the street, backpack over winter coat.

Stolen peek and a little wave as she reached the crosswalk.

Not today, mom, I want to go alone.

Moving forward

Looking back -

At the back of her.

Thankful

"If we are to reach real peace in this world,
if we are to declare war on war, we must start with the children."
Mahatma Ghandi



I know Thanksgiving has passed, but today I am feeling thankful. Thankful for our freedom, thankful for the fact that we don't live in fear of war, thankful that we don't worry daily about family or friends fighting overseas.

Maya and I attended the Remembrance Day assembly at Jordan's school yesterday and I found myself unexpectedly teary. And thankful.

The primary students sang "Just One Candle" (lyrics below), the intermediate students sang "Where Have All the Flowers Gone", and Terry Kelly's "Pittance of Time" video was shown. The clincher indeed.


Just one candle shining in the window pane
Gives a light for all to see a shining flame
Shining through the darkness it helps to show the way
Light your candle for peace today

Shine your light for peace
Shine it all around the world
Sing to everyone
Let your voice be heard
Shine your light for peace
Shine it everywhere
Show the people in the world you care

Like we need more sugar

Alright, I will admit that posting a dessert recipe on Hallowe'en seems a bit much. I cannot resist, however, and this is SO easy and SO good that I'm almost tempted to whip one up tonight to savour without little chocolate beggars hanging off of me!

This came to my mom via email, so I can't reference the source, but it's delish...

5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

In a LARGE coffee mug, mix:

4 tbsp flour

4 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp cocoa powder

Beat one egg, add it to the mug and mix well.

Add the following to the mug and mix well:

3 tbsp milk (soy works fine, too)

3 tbsp oil

3 tbsp chocolate chips (totally optional!)

1 small splash of vanilla

Now put the mug in the microwave, uncovered, and zap on high for 3 minutes.

If it puffs over the top, don't worry...just let it do it's thing.

Let it cool slightly, tip out onto a plate and share if you like.

Here, in all its glory, is my first attempt. I see a spooky face in there, don't you?

A Most Unusual Lunch

For a kid who will eat almost anything, the littlest monkey is stuck in a lunch rut. The usual request is for a "nibbly lunch". This involves crackers, vegan cheese (though we're not vegan), olives (black, not green), fruit, some form of protein (hard boiled egg is the preference) and sundry other things scrounged from the pantry.

I know smoothies are commonplace in many households, but Jordan loathes bananas, I'm allergic to them and I can't think of how to thicken a smoothie otherwise. I did, however, spy some frozen mango in the freezer yesterday (and actually remembered it was there today) and thought that the spotty banana could meet it's maker in the blender with some soy milk and aforementioned mango cubes. Broke out the blender and, well, broke the blender. This means that the food processor is now kaput, too. I suppose that 8 years and gallons of baby food took their toll, but I will miss it the half dozen times a year that I pull it out & dust it off. Thank goodness for the immersion blender that found its way under the Christmas tree last year.

The smoothie was a HUGE success and the remainder of the mushky banana was rolled up with some peanut butter for a "rolly sandwich". Now the odd part....spinach salad with honey curry dressing. The orange chunks in it were the appealing part, I suspect, but the spinach is sliding down as I type this, so it must be another hit from the awesome cookbook "Whitewater Cooks".

The food groups are all there, loads of colour and variety but I can't get past mixing sweet and savoury. I despite any fruit/meat combination and I think the onion in the salad would so completely not go with the sweet in the smoothie that my nose is wrinkling up even as I write this. Ah well, she's happy (with the straw for the smoothie mostly) and I feel good that loads of goodness landed in her tummy. Let it go.....just let it go.....

Things that make you go, "Hmmmm..."

In my never-ending quest for a clean kitchen countertop, I was marvelling today at the variety of stuff that has been deposited there in the past few days. I would like to claim that none of it was put there by me, but I can't.

A Betty Go Hard sticker, a dead beetle in perfect condition, an acorn, a very cool wooden top from Auntie Rose & Uncle Al's trip to Europe, an unpainted clay flower, a crocheted bracelet from Jordan to daddy and a box of mineral bath salts by Elemi Aromatherapy courtesy of Natasha at Betty Go Hard.

There was more - lots more - but I'm afraid that even lots of it would have to be claimed as mine. And let's not even get started on the junk drawer...

Thursday draws a blank

I have nothing to write about, or so I think today. I have decided, therefore, to dig out my "Writing Out Loud" notebook and share tidbits on days like today. This spring I was part of a very small group who got together every week and wrote on various topics brought to us by our facilitator. Some were greatly interesting to me. Some were struggles. All were valuable in getting pen to paper and thoughts flowing. Each topic was alloted a mere 5 minutes and we wrote like mad, shared, laughed and complimented. It was fantastic. Here is my entry from June 23rd. The topic: The person I am most like

I got photos back from Christmas last year and I had to look twice. Really hard. "Is that me??"

No. It was my mom. Granted, the photo was taken from a distance, but it was a tough call. Even the kids did a double take.

Aside from our facial features, we are physically less alike than she and my sister. Emotionally, however, we are as close to carbon copies as you can get. We both cry when angry or find ourselves having to confront someone. We both resort to the same self-depricating humour when in an awkward position. Our kids mean the world to us and our spouses drive us crazy in very similar ways. We'd both dearly love to do something meaningful during our time on this planet. We have had, or in my case, would love to have careers in the medical field. The list could go on and on and on...

I used to look at her and marvel at how she is getting more set in her ways and (sorry, Mom) stubborn as she ages. "This surely won't be me in 20 years," I thought. I honestly believed at one point that if she complained once more about having to show her Costco card at the door on the way in that I was going to lose it. And then, as I grumble about the library not taking "just my number** without my card" for what must be the billionth time, Jordan says, "Mom - they'll never take just your number. Try to remember your card next time." The apple is still not far from the tree I see...

**Mom and I both have an odd knack for remembering numbers...driver's licence, credit cards, library cards...

This assignment could just as easily have been about a person I admire. I'd still pick you, Mom.

xoxo

Lauren Tewes I am not

You remember her, don't you?? Julie McCoy?? The Love Boat's cruise director??

I have a friend, whose children are a smidgen older, who refused to play cruise director this summer. I need to read that chapter in the book because I feel like a lot of my time has been finding things for all of us to do, for them to do, for me to do and, when all else fails, for nothing to do.

We have camped

swum

biked

had a road trip to Vancouver & Kamloops to visit aunts, uncles, grandparents and friends

And then there were the crafts...never-ending crafts...they have a love for cutting, pasting, sticking, painting and colouring. Jordan has a fondness for diving into the craft books to find things we have the stuff to make and then getting down to business.

Experiments are likely my least favourite activity. I suppose that the notion of having baking soda and vinegar volcanoes erupt on the kitchen floor is directly conflicting with my type-A personality. Go outside...I know. I did allow Jordan to set up the water at different levels in several glasses to hear the different sounds they made. Maya was keen, but she eventually got tired of the noise (as did I). A short lived experiment to be sure.

Although summer was heaps of fun, I have to say that I'm looking forward to the routine of school days starting up next week. I'm not that anxious to be rid of the offspring, but I think the little break from one another will do them worlds of good. My highly coveted 5 hours a week to myself will hopefully see me on some end of the season rides and some long walks through the soon to be falling leaves.

Bliss...

Do NOT try this at home

Seriously. If you have little children, that is. Or a lentil-loathing spouse. Or an aversion to curry. Or a predisposition to gagging on spinach.

I made what I thought was a wonderful supper the other night, but the shine was taken off by the gagging, sighing, eye-rolling, moans of "Do I have to finish this?" and general stirring around of quickly cooling off "mush" (this was not my word, by the way).

Does it really look that bad?? It was rather delicious if I do say so myself...I'll stick the recipe at the bottom of this post for those of you brave enough to try it.

Conversely, last night's dinner was a roaring success - oh, except for my contribution to it. Who would dare complain about penne with Nonna's sauce?? Squishy fresh French bread from the store?? Cold glasses of milk & soy milk from the cow & the fields?? A couple of glasses of robust red from Mike's dad?? Homegrown basil, zucchini & tomatoes sauteed with store-bought olive oil, garlic & mushrooms?? Bingo. That was the one. I would have happily traded all other parts of dinner (except for the wine...you knew that!) for a big dish of that zucchini. And a wee piece of bread to mop up the juiciness. And a nibble of the penne. I had milk on my cereal, so I wouldn't have to have that...

At any rate, Jordan piped up between mouthfuls of yumminess, "You should put your recipes into a cookbook, Mom!" Yeah, the shovelling in of the zucchini saute and washing it down with a gulp of milk by one kid and the plugging of the nose and minutes long chewing of the zucchini by the other would be ringing endorsements for my new book. We joked about what we would call it...Stuff Not to Feed Your Kids and Don't Use These Recipes if You Want Your Kids to Eat were clear winners. Peals of laughter and general silliness ensued - not a bad thing. Sure beats the tears and bribery that have accompanied several other of my creations as of late.

I don't recall, but I am told that I wouldn't eat my liver one evening and was, therefore, not allowed to join my mother on a neighbourhood walk canvassing for the United Way. Apparently, I was sobbing about her going off to the United States and leaving me behind. Not wanting to break tradition we told Maya that she was not allowed to go casting in the green space the other night until she finished at least some of her dinner. Through tears and wails of, "I...want...to...go....caaaasssstiiiinnnngg....", she managed to gag down some of her cold supper and daddy relented. I sit here and wonder why we forced the issue. To prove a point? To avoid throwing out yet another plate of food? It certainly wasn't to get the peace and quiet I was craving!

Here, as promised, is the loosey goosey recipe for my Curried Chickpeas and Lentils. I promise not to make it when you come to visit :)

1 cup dried green lentils - rinsed and sorted

4 cups of water

3 cups of vegetable or chicken stock

a splash of canola oil

1/2 small onion - diced

2 cloves garlic - diced

2 tbsp freshly grated ginger

1 tbsp curry powder

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp coriander powder

1 can chickpeas - rinsed and drained

1 can diced tomatoes (I used Muir Glen's Fire Roasted)

1/2 bag of spinach - destemmed & roughly chopped

Cooked basmati rice

Soak the lentils in the water for an hour. Drain and place in a large saucepan with the vegetable stock.

Bring the lentils to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and let cook about 45 minutes until tender.

When the lentils are cooked, saute the ginger, onion and garlic in the oil until the onion is translucent. Add the dried spices and saute another couple of minutes.

Add the tomatoes (undrained) and chickpeas.

While those simmer, use an immersion blender to roughly puree the lentils and stock. Add these to the pan when you like the consistency.

Toss in the spinach and stir until wilted.

Serve over bowls of basmati rice.

Wordle Fun

I was spending time this evening perusing blogs that I like and came across a neat link at How About Orange...

The link sent me to the Wordle site and I had some fun creating this "Just Us" image


You can click on the image to see it appear bigger in another window (I can't figure out how to make it bigger here).

Funny, after a day like today and a night like last night, I was still able to come up with some pretty great ideas about our little family...words from the heart ring true while words from the mind of an over-tired mommy are not suitable for print!

Sisters

I think it took me until my mid-20's to realize just how lucky I am to have a sister. We are 4 years apart (she being the younger) and I left home for University when I was 17 and she was just starting Grade 8. I would come home for the summer and, thinking my s**t didn't stink, stir the pot for a few months and head off again to the land of fun. I don't know that I ever felt very close to her during those years and I think I missed out on a great deal of a very wonderful person's life.

When we were kids, I know we had fun together camping or playing in the pool when neither of us had friends around that we had to act cool in front of. I remember lots of fun games and crazy times, but those grew fewer and further between as we got older.

When I moved to Japan is when I really started to miss her. I would call and chat and try to figure out what was going on in her life and wish that I could be there with her. It was when I moved to Vancouver and knew nobody (except for Mike) that I really started to feel connected. It was odd, I thought, to have to rely on your little sister for a social life, but I did. Many late nights at her basement suite catching up and getting to know each other. I fell in love all over again with my baby sister during those few years and I cherish her friendship and unwavering support now. Living at the other end of the province and seeing each other only a couple of times a year is terribly difficult for me, but I know she's only a phone call away most of the time.

Now, my own little monkey girls...They are close in age (2 and a bit years), completely different in character, and have a love/hate thing going on this summer that I just am unable to handle. Some days they play soooooo nicely that it's almost scary. Other days they are at each other from the minute they get up until they go to bed. I am being driven slowly insane by the bickering and tattling that is recently dissolving into name-calling and physical damage (mostly small towards big). Big doesn't retaliate, which I am SO proud of, but there are times when I feel like telling her to give it right back to the little one and both barrels at that. That, however, would be poor mothering, don't you think?

Just the other day when I was beginning to think that I wouldn't hold out much hope for a happy afternoon, we were invinted to Nonno & Nonna's for a sleep-inducing, calorie-laden Italian lunch. I was just going to tell them for the zillionth time to stop using all of Nonno's Post-It notes when Jordan stopped me to tell me she was writing a song for Maya. Since there has been no lyrical creation to top "JollyMan" yet, I waited it out and asked her to kindly use both sides of the paper then if it was to be long. Here is her creation, called "You Are My Sister". Not sure if it's a song or a poem yet. You decide, but it makes me teary each and every time...

You are my sister.

You keep a secret.

You come when I call.

I love you and you love me,

And when you call I come.

I can only hope that they continue to love and cherish one another (oh, and that they stop stealing one another's Barbie shoes).

A sling fit for a queen

Okay, it's fit for my mom, but that wasn't a jazzy enough title!
After my mom had a wee spill down in Oregon, I was struck by this NEED to do something nice for her. A visit wasn't in the cards and really, what does a broken-winged, golf-playing, kayaking mom really need??

A dressier sling, of course!! Who wants to go out in the same boring blue, hospital issue sling day after day? I came across some nice fabric on a trip to the US and thought it would make great quilted placemats...or a super groovy sling!

My nephew's collarbone met a similar demise late this past ski season, so I borrowed his sling as a template for this one:


I put a layer of quilt batting in between the 2 layers of fabric, stipple quilted it and then made a slightly wider, padded strap. My husband fretted a little about the possibility that the stitching wouldn't hold, but a good amount of backstitching and reinforcement seemed to do the trick...

I consider myself an overly cautious person when it comes to my kids, but I think I get my love for the adrenaline rush from my mom. She might slow down a little after this, but I know her heart will always be tossing herself off the bungee jump at Lake Taupo, NZ!
3, 2, 1...Love ya, Mom!!

Mountains and musings

It's a LOT steeper in real life...really...well, it looks steeper from up above.

Okay, maybe I am a little bit nervous about wiping out in a big way. A LOT nervous, truth be told, but that won't stop me wondering when I can get out on my bike again.

I don't know if it's the challenge, the adrenaline, the fresh air, the view or getting out with my friends that does it for me, but I strongly suspect that it's a combination of all of these things. I'm all for taking up new sports and, at 37, I think I'm doing pretty well. In the last year, I've tucked ice hockey, x-country skiing and mountain biking under my belt and I feel great. I am getting more fit than I've been in many years and am enjoying our Kootenay lifestyle to the absolute maximum.

There are days when I long for the convenience, variety and hustle-bustle of the big city, but I've come to appreciate the quiet, relaxed pace of our little town. It's true, shopping can be a bit inconvenient and living on "Kootenay Time" is periodically frustrating, yet the benefits continue to outweigh these little issues.

Quaint venues for great concerts, being in the wilderness in a matter of minutes, a bounty of beautiful towns merely a stone's throw away...

I thank the powers that be (oh, and my husband) regularly for bringing us here.

Life is good.

The demise of Mayanese

It seems I spend an inordinate amount of time worrying about my children's development be it physical, mental or social. I tend to want to hurry them along whether it's to get the training wheels off so we can do some "real biking", learn to swim underwater, wipe their own bottoms or tie their shoes.

I know that I will be kicking myself when they're grown up and I am grasping to remember all the things about them when they were little. "Time rolls quickly - remember that!" my little Italian nonna-neighbour reminded me this morning when she saw Maya and her boy buddy walking hand in hand. We were laughing about her holding hands with a boy when she's 16. This time be upon us before I know it whether I like it or not.

We were shopping for underwear for the big monkey last week and Maya spotted a training bra adorned with sequins and some print or other. "Look, Mom, it's a Hi Ho Musical bra! Oh, I mean High School Musical...silly me!" For months, she's been referring to that highly-desired-but-mommy's-too-mean-to-let-them-watch-it movie as "Hi Ho Musical". I was actually saddened to hear her correct herself.

It brings a smile to my face every time I recall Jordan telling me that some men have long sidebrains. What??? Well, those would be sideburns, of course. And her picking pine noodles on our walks and complaining about their prickliness in her pockets brings back the days when we would visit our neighbours in Richmond and scoop all the pineneedles her chubby little fists could hold.

Time rolls quickly...it surely does. At least the Baby Alive is still cuddled lovingly and called "Live-a-baby" - for now anyways.

By the seat of my pants (or, with a little skill and a lot of luck!)

What the hell have I gotten myself into?? It's fine to talk the talk, but now it's time to do this and my guts twist with fear. A deep breath and I turn my attention to the beautiful view of the town below...far below. I try to listen to the wind through the evergreens thick in their splendor just in front of us. I see the trail markers and feel somewhat reassured - at least we're unlikely to get really lost. My eyes drift to the scat of unknown origin and I'm reminded that we're never alone in the wilderness despite the intense solitude felt on a quiet hike. This is not a quiet hike.

"Are we good?"

"Yep."

"Ummm...uh-huh."

Mike's off. I see his back, broad and confident, disappear around the first corner and I can hear his bike rattling and thumping away down the trail. A quick backwards glance at Greg with a stern reminder to give me LOTS of space, a big push of my steely cold pedal and I'm gone. No turning back.

I grab handful after handful of squealing brakes, feel my back tire sliding, hear my chain bouncing, sense my pedals hitting rocks and work to swallow the sense of doom working its way up my throat. I try desperately to remember all the little tips I've been gathering these past days - 60/40 front and back brakes, keep the front tire straight, look ahead, DON'T hit your brakes before an obstacle...

Mike's voice cuts through the clutter in my brain, "Hairpin turn!" and that's when I realize that I'm doing it. I'm letting go and allowing gravity to do its work. I call back to Greg to make sure he's good and finally I see Mike waiting up ahead.

I stop, legs absolutely quaking with adrenaline, but I'm all smiles and I can't wait to finish the other 2/3 of the ride. Greg catches up and we're off again.

Fun on a rainy Friday

My goodness, you would think it was March in Vancouver rather than June in Trail. It is freezing and alternating between pouring and hailing...no camping for these monkeys this weekend!!

In my travels around the web this dreary day, I kept coming across something rather entertaining...a mosaic made of pictures that you choose from the results generated by searching Flickr for your answers to 12 questions. By the way, no matter how many times I rewrite this, it makes no sense, so here's what you do:

Open three windows. One with the list of questions (keeping this blog open will suffice), another open to Flickr and a third to Big Huge Labs' Mosaic Maker and on their page, choose to create a 4 column by 3 row mosaic.

Answer the first question, type your answer in the search field on Flickr and choose one of the images from the first page to represent your answer. Click on the photo then copy and paste the url into the #1 spot on the Mosaic Maker. Do that for all 12 questions, then click create!

Here is my mosaic:

And here are the questions, with my answers:

1. What is your name? Carolyn

2. Your favourite food? Pizza

3. What high school did you go to? KSS

4. Your favourite colour? Turquoise

5. Your celebrity crush? Hugh Laurie

6. Your favourite drink? Cafe latte

7. Your dream vacation? Galapagos

8. Your favourite dessert? Cheesecake

9. What do you want to be when you grow up? Satisfied

10. What do you love most in life? Laughter

11. One word to describe you? Reliable

12. Your Flickr name? Kootenay mama

To see the credits for these great pictures go here and then let me know what you come up with for yourself!

The Jolly Man

As of late, I have not spent much time thinking about writing - with the exception of my weekly writing "group", that is. At any rate, Jordan has been more than creative, so I thought I would share her "song". It is tuneless, but I think each of us has our own favourite way to sing it!

Once there was a jolly man who went to the store.
He got a jolly jolly cat and he wanted no more.
But next time jolly man went to the store,
He brought a sad lady
And the lady got a sad dog
And soon they got married
And lived in a house.

I was impressed by the first rhyming couplet, but that rhyme scheme was short-lived for reasons only known to the author. Cute nonetheless.

A, B, C, D, E, F, G....

I am an alphabetizing maniac. My CDs are organized alphabetically, and I would do the same with my books, except that I like to separate hardcover from soft, fiction from non-fiction and arrange them by height. Maybe I should stop confessing in case it's starting to sound a little compulsive. Okay, it IS a little compulsive, and I seem to be unable to keep my uptight paws off of the girls' bookshelves now (Chirp magazines together, Little Golden Books together, Phoebe Gilman books together....you get the idea).

When I have trouble falling asleep at night, I alphabetize. Some nights it's trying to name all of the states alphabetically (I rarely remember to include Rhode Island). This is no small feat for a Canadian girl! Other nights I try to think of, say, a country, an international city, a Canadian city and a BC city for each letter of the alphabet. Still others require a band, a musician's first name and a musician's last name that begin with each letter. Again, that's starting to sound a bit strange.

I thought I'd share my taste in music with you alphabetically (of course!)

A - Jann Arden
B - Jimmy Buffett, The Band
C - Crash Test Dummies, Cat Stevens, Holly Cole, Harry Connick Jr.
D - Dixie Chicks
E - Melissa Etheridge
F - Stephen Fearing
G - Great Big Sea
H - Hard Rock Miners, Housemartins
I - Indigo Girls
J - Norah Jones, Jack Johnson
K - Diana King
L - Gordon Lightfoot, David Lindley, Amos Lee
M - Matchbox 20, Van Morrison, Chiharu Matsuyama
N - Anna Nalick, Willie Nelson, Paolo Nutini
O - Oak Ridge Boys
P - Prince
R - Rankin Family
S - Spirit of the West, Michelle Shocked, Paul Simon, Sting
T - Trooper, KT Tunstall, James Taylor
U - U2 (old, not new)
V - Violent Femmes
W - David Wilcox
Y - Neil Young

Growing up...a bit at a time

I've discovered that 6 is the magic age of imbalance. Want to be big, but want to be little. Staying up late is fine, but morning is he** on wheels. Can do everything myself, but need your help with so much. Able to debate like a democratic candidate, but need to be carried screaming irrationally to my room every now and then (perhaps also like a democratic candidate!).

The fights have been coming faster than I am equipped to deal with them these days and I despise each and every second of our time spent at each others' throats. It saddens me that my sweet little girl, brimming with kindess and empathy can be so ANGRY sometimes. I don't like chalking it up to age & stage, but the more I talk to other parents, the more it becomes apparent that it is what it is. We just need to come out whole and somewhat adjusted on the other side, I guess.

I've found, though, that giving J really important BIG jobs to do is key to her happiness. She doesn't want to clean her room, or put away her laundry; however, she will gladly load the dishwasher, cut vegetables, or cook at the stove. Yes, I've taken off my "Captain Safety" badge and let her cook at the stove this past week. Supervised (heavily), of course, but mostly on her own. Last weekend it was blueberry sauce for waffles. This weekend it was pancakes. She read the recipe, measured with complete Type-A accuracy, stirred, poured, flipped and served. She even ate at the counter as she cooked, just like Mom. If she starts pouring her own coffee, though, I'll be worried. And hey, with a cute new flipper like this, who wouldn't volunteer to make breakfast??

MMMMM....Muffins & Moomins

I adore muffins. Now I've said it and come out of the baked goods closet, as it were!

I love making muffins, eating them with coffee, quick-breakfasting my kids, feeding them to my friends....love 'em!

Looking at the sad bowl of untouched bananas on the counter this evening, I decided to root about for one of my all time favourite muffin recipes. "Zachary's Favourite Muffins" are named for Mike's former colleague's son (you guessed it) Zachary. They are super healthful, super easy and super delicious!! Here is the recipe:



1 cup quick cooking oats

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 to 1/2 cup wheat germ

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

5 - 6 mashed ripe bananas

1 egg

1/4 cup canola oil

a splash of vanilla

1 cup frozen (or fresh) blueberries



Preheat oven to 375 and prepare about 16 muffin cups (silicone or paper-lined).

Whisk the dry stuff together. Whisk the wet stuff together. Mix it all together and fold in the blueberries. Bake for 23 - 25 minutes. Cool on wire rack 10 minutes before removing from the tins. YUMMY!

Moomins - how can you resist?? Finnish in origin, I met the Moomintroll family while living in Japan. In their quest for all things cute, the Japanese have "adopted" these little critters and they adorn everything from pocket tissue to backpacks, t-shirts to fine china (as the mug behind the muffin). I miss them, though, and wish I could find Moominstuff here (not expecting to find anything in Trail, but somewhere in Canada would suffice!). My former student and good friend was kind enough to bring some Moomin goodies to the girls when she visited in 2006 and I am near to asking her to send some more!

A little heart from the heart...

The formula for a relaxing eye pillow (made with a friend for some other friends) + some great silky soft fleece = a snuggly sleepy pillow for the girls.

This little "sleepy pillow" is about the size of your two hands put together side by side and is filled with flax seed and lavender buds.

Maya sleeps with hers right on her cheek and Jordan stashes hers farther away from her in her bed so that it doesn't make her cough....ah well...it was the thought that counts!

A great little bag

And I don't mean ME!

I had a piece of heavy blue cotton left from our IKEA curtains of many years ago that was just crying out to be used. Then I came across a great sale and this cute fabric and voila! Two handles slipped in between the lining and the outside, a patch pocket to show off some of the inner fabric (though it's not big enough to hold anything of much consequence!) and there you have it. The magnetic snap closure I bought for it was far too heavy-duty for the light lining, so it remains open...I double-dog dare a pick-pocket to rifle it! Perhaps as I become braver, or better at sewing, some inner pockets will develop. For now, though, this is it!




It carried the crochet project to and from Kamloops along with a book, a camera, children's Gravol and some gum...there was still room for more!

First hat!

So, I've done it (and done it 3 more times since!)...

A crocheted hat and it was SO easy!!

I got this great pattern from http://crochetme.com/cranium and I have been trying to figure out my head size ever since.

The tension, hook size and type of material all, not surprisingly, affect the size of the finished product - imagine that!

At any rate, it was good fun and a great way to keep me from nibbling snacks in the evening. I do like to start and finish a project all in one day, however, so it was a couple of cross-eyed hours later that I came out with this!

A slightly longer blue version was created on the drive to Kamloops this Easter weekend. Again, necessity is the mother of invention and crocheting requires me to keep my eyes DOWN instead of on the snowy roads. I think Mike should be eternally grateful, don't you??

Dogs, blogs & togs

I have to say, first of all, that I LOVE dogs. Even the little yappy ones can squirm their way into a scratch behind the ears...okay, the bug-eyed pug-type ones, not so much. I had two dogs growing up - Mindy and Muffin. Not at the same time, mind you, but there were two. Mindy entered my life when I was eight. I wasn't at an age where scooping poop could be delegated to me, but my parents got us a dog. Our neighbourhood is riddled with dogs. Big & loveable, small & jumpy and one that I don't trust as far as I could throw it. Needless to say, J & M see NO reason at all why we shouldn't get a dog. I have to run down the following list daily: shedding, pooping, scratching wood floors, throwing up, dragging butts on carpets (okay, I don't really throw that in there, but I think it), travelling, etc etc etc. Seriously, I had to go through this at least 4 times today. "How do you like dinner, Jordan?" "I wish we had a dog...." Thankfully, Mike is around to snap me out of the "maybe we could swing it" daydreams I have.

I have been spending way too much time on the internet these days - NO, I'm not looking at dog stuff, Jordan! I spied a magazine the other day called "Craft". It has a great website www.craftzine.com and I am absolutely HOOKED on it. Even worse than Facebook it seems. I think I am a secret crafter at heart, but I have a big problem. I don't know what to do with all the stuff I could make! Give some away, I suppose. Keep some, too, but there is so much to do!! Even worse is that the links to different projects usually lead to someone's blog. Then I get reading the blog, envying the craftiness of the blogger and saving their patterns. I now have a folder with a whack of patterns for quilts, crochet projects, tote bags, wallets, Christmas ornaments and any number of other strange, but unique goodies. Anyhow, it has inspired me to get back to this blasted blog and maybe jazz it up a little...add photos, links etc. There is some really good stuff out there!

Speaking of sewing the other day, someone asked me if I sew clothes....HA! No.
I do need some new clothes, however, but I'm inclined to wait until our Vegas trip and the outlet stores before I deck myself out in new goodies :) Spring does seem to be on it's way, though, so I need to think on ditching the jeans and fleece!

Kinda makes you wonder

So, I was walking home from dropping Jordan off at school today and grumbling (mostly) to myself about having to push the stroller up the icy, slushy hill with aching legs from hockey and yoga. Also grumpy about not having given myself enough time to take a shower and get decent - jam the toque on and go (did I brush my teeth?). I was mid-grumble when Maya asked, "Mommy, why is that lady sitting in the middle of the road in her wheelchair?" I looked up and, sure enough, there was a young woman sitting very close to the intersection in her wheelchair waiting for the bus. The snowbank at the bus stop was HUGE and there was nowhere else for her to wait. We got closer, I said good morning to her, and all I could see was that she was perfectly dressed, perfectly coiffed and perfectly cheerful. What on earth could I possibly be grumping about? My sore but working legs? The fact that I have 2 lovely kids? The long slushy hill that I had to walk up? I felt mighty small right then.

Off we went to buy a birthday present for the weekend and a few other groceries. We got to the till and I was again grumbling to myself about the price of groceries and sundry other tidbits that had worked their way into my cart. One aisle over, I heard a woman trying to explain to a small child that there was no money for anything but groceries this month. No money. In fact, she was hoping that there was enough in her account to cover what she was buying at that moment. And I was lamenting the cost of magazines these days. The second reality check of the day.

Why can't we be thankful for what we have right in the moment without having to dwell upon what others are lacking? I find it fascinating that, all too often, we need to find our happiness through someone else's misfortune. If there is a resolution that I should have made, it is to be grateful each and every day that I have a bounty of assets and I should not continue to look elsewhere for a light to shine on them. My health, my family, my friends, my home and the abundance of material things that surround me...how lucky am I? I can't begin to explain.