10 Things Right Now

Ali Edwards almost always inspires me - so here's my take on a prompt she used this week.

10 Things in my life right now:

1.  I have many tomatoes sitting in boxes, waiting to be made into salsa and spaghetti sauce.  Not sure when that's going to happen!

2.  There are still potatoes to dig.  Bob's exuberance in planting this spring is not matched by his availability for digging this fall!

3.  Squash has made its appearance in cookies, pies, soups, and pasta sauces this fall - all good ways to use this prolific vegetable.  The colour it adds to food is positively beautiful!

4.  I am so enjoying my confirmation class students at church.  They are curious, cooperative, eager and fun to be around.  I am amazed at how God is working with us each week - it's amazing what He does with all of us when we open ourselves up to Him.

5.  Winter could stay away until December 20th for my part.

6.  I love when our granddaughters come to visit and head straight to my scrapbook room to create.  Their creations hang on our fridge until they are replaced on the next visit.

7.  This Caramel Apple Upside-Down Cornmeal Cake is on my must-bake list this week.

8.  My niece reminded me this week that Christmas is 2 months away and then someone said that was 9 more Fridays - and I felt panicked!

9.  Our chickens are gone and I miss them.  I wish winter wasn't so cold and long so that we could keep some laying hens around.

10.  We are thinking about a trip to the East Coast to visit a certain special family in the not too distant future.  

11.  Just because -
I miss blogging.  I need to do something to change that!

Today . . .

Today I . . .

- wrote out 2 cards and 3 letters to mail tomorrow

- cut and trimmed pages for my December Daily album - yes, nearly 6 months later

- laundered the sheets on our bed

- planted sweet pea seeds

- fed and hung out with the chickens for awhile

- purchased more grower food for the chickens

- admired the apple tree that is in full bloom today

- watered the tomatoes, squash, lettuce, carrots and radishes at the greenhouse

- moved the plants from our garage out onto the lawn

- purchased a hosta, some herbs and 1 tomato plant (Black Cherry) at the greenhouse

- tried to figure out how the greenhouse tomato plants are so short and yet have such big, thick stems

- took a whole bunch of pictures in the 4 greenhouse complex that I visited

- brought some Mayday branches in to enjoy in the house

- made taco salad

- took 3 more things out of the freezer (I'm on a mission!)

- cut and ate watermelon after having hot dogs for supper

- made berry-kale smoothies for breakfast

- previewed the pictures I took at Peyton's birthday party yesterday

- had to tell Helayna that I couldn't come, get her and go to Lake Louise today :(
 (I felt so bad because she wanted to go so badly.   Soon, little one, soon!)

- updated my garden book with a list of the seeds I planted this year

- watched the news report on the awful tornado near Oklahoma City

- left dirty dishes for tomorrow :)

- decided that I'd rather be outside on these gorgeous spring days!

Capture Your 365 - February, 2013

Katrina over at Capture Your 365 posts great photo prompts and amazing examples daily, with little snippets of wisdom along the way.  I made a little promise to myself about the February list :)

1.  Heartfelt sentiment

 

 framed in our home

2.  Shadow

the morning shadow of our house

3.  A Pop of Red

one of Maelle's babies

5.  Nap

Maelle's napping spot right beside more babies

6.  Backlit

morning smoothie ingredients

7.  Use Your Senses

what I saw when I looked out the bedroom window

8.  More Than One

at 6:45 a.m. she kept busy by bring all her babies, 

one by one to Daddy's bed 

9.  Through the Looking Glass

just me, my camera and a woven knot scarf

(using these directions posted via Ann's blog)

Five on Friday

1.  I haven't taken a ton of pictures but I still think I'll be able to document our week for my "Week In My Life" album.   I definitely have taken more self-portraits this week!

2.  It looks like spring has headed south!  Tomorrow's high is predicted to be a whopping +3 degrees C!

3.  I absolutely love this card by Leigh Penner!  She always creates pretty things!

4.  Our Mayday tree is breaking into leaf after the rain we've had this week.  I'm sure it will be blooming very soon - insert great big smile!

5.  I love the light in this photo!  The 500PX site is so inspiring!

Five on Friday

1.  There is a provincial election in Alberta on Monday and I'm working as a deputy returning officer for the first time.  I hope I remember to do everything I'm supposed to - in the right order!

2.  I love pre-shrinking new fabric - and then folding it all neat and smooth, ready to be cut into.  A friend at work inspired me to visit a quilt store - I am planning to sew tomorrow :)

3.  Cutting into brand new fabric and stacking up quilt pieces also makes me very happy!

4.  Big Huge Labs has this very cool map feature.  I still have a lot of the world to visit!

Crystal's Travels

Make yours @ BigHugeLabs.com

5.  I found this sign on Pinterest - it speaks directly to me!

And with that, I'm off to bed - because I have a reading conference to attend early in the morning :)

Five on Friday

1.  I posted my 1800th entry on this blog this week!  In one month it will be 6 years since I started this writing journey and it's quite amazing to look back and see what I was doing back then!

2.  Over at (in)Courage this week, Heather wrote this poignant and amazing piece entitled  "When Love Hurts." that you really must read.

3.  I love this sign that I found on Pinterest!  It came via piccsy.com

4.  There are so many great colours and patterns everywhere for spring.  Look at this ad for bed linens!  It was the inspiration for a new set of digital papers over at Designer Digitals but I'd love a set for the bedroom.

5.  I'm really looking forward to hiding eggs for the grandchildren to find this weekend.  We have snow here but I think we'll still go outside, just in our boots!  I hope you have fun hiding and finding this weekend too.

Five on Friday

1.  I bought a package of beautiful Easter cards - and wrote out all 6 of them in one day!  Kelle at Enjoying the Small Things has an ongoing gig with Hallmark that encourages us to send happy thoughts and the women at (in)Courage do something very similar.   I adore getting pretty envelopes and cards in my mailbox, so I paid it forward.  Why don't you do the same today?

2.  The kiwifruit that I brought home from the store yesterday have "Product of Italy" written on the little labels.  I should have looked closer at the grocery store - that's an awful long way from my town - ouch!  And then I saw the label on the Bartlett pears - Australia!!  Oh, my - it was an exotic fruit week here.

3.  We've been eating grain-free lately and tonight I made Cinnamon Apple Scones using almond and coconut flours.  They. are. delicious!  Here's the recipe in case you're interested.

Apple Cinnamon Scones
(adapted from HealthHomeHappy.com)

1  1/2 cups almond flour
1 cup coconut flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. sea salt
2 eggs
4 Tbsps. honey
1/3 cup melted butter or coconut oil
1 apple, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Grease a baking sheet with butter or coconut oil or line with parchment paper.  Mix all ingredients well,  Fold in apple.  Drop 1/4 cup of dough onto the baking sheet, shape into triangles.  Bake 15 minutes.

Notes:
- I made the almond flour and coconut flour using my blender.  You just have to be careful not to overprocess or you'll end up with almond buter!
- I grated my peeled apple and it mixed up very nicely.
- I baked mine for 17 minutes and then cooled them for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before cooling on a wire rack.
- Mine are round - I didn't make them into triangles.
- Yield:  9 scones, 3" rounds.

Enjoy!!

4.  It snowed more than 6 inches this afternoon!  We are back in a winter wonderland and the roads could be very interesting in the morning.  Spring equinox??  I guess the memo didn't make it to Mother Nature!

5.  I've done some creating this week - but I can't show you yet!  Let's just say it involves babies :))

12 on the 12th

I finally had a chance to take a dozen pictures that represent my day on the 12th of the month!

 ELLA Publishing Co. has a "Take 12 in 2012 " challenge so here's my take on March 12th.   I tried in January but I got sick at school and then in February it didn't happen either.   So  I'm very happy to have done this!

Edited to add:

1.  7:39 a.m. - Getting ready for a day of subbing in Calmar.

2. 8:02 - Lunch (tossed salad with nuts and chicken, yogurt with saskatoons, grapes and nuts) and breakfast (banana and cheese) to go, along with water bottle and chai tea in my travel mug.

3.  8:35 - Sub plans for grade 5/6.

4.  10:10 - Recess on the playground - bright and warm - perfect for soccer.

5.  11:14 -  Long division - Divide, Multiply, Subtract, Bring down - or Dad, Mother, Sister, Brother to help remember the steps!

6.  1:21 p.m. - Time to read - love the sun shining on his face.

7.  3:05 p.m - they've all gone home.

8.  6:30 - Our front lawn - last week it was covered with a foot of new snow.

9.  6:50 - Packages of seeds bought at Peavey Mart today.

10.  7:25 - Sun setting

11.  7:34 - 200 seed cups planted in the last 2 days.

12.  8:56 - The first full day on daylight savings time and already we are eating supper late - didn't take much for us to adjust  to longer hours of daylight and busier days!

10 Things

Shimelle and some of her friends have a little 10 Things project that they do on the 10th of the month so I thought I'd join in this time around.  My collection is built around today's short - but productive - shopping trip.

1.  Fabricland had a 50% off sale on quilt batting, notions, flannel and fabrics - basically everything in the store.  Many quilting cottons were 60% off!  Let's just say that it was a good thing I was only in the store for 90 minutes :)  And I have added to the stash of Halloween, Easter, and quilt fabrics.

2.  The colors and patterns in a fabric store make me very happy.  My new scheme today included grey - lots of beautiful grey.

3.  Nachos + cheese sauce = a yummy favourite snack after missing supper..

4.  Costco has big heavy bags of potting soil for $9.99 each.  It's the best bargain in town.

5.  If you have heavy things to load, Costco offers carry-out service - thankfully.

6.  I scored big time on some fun chocolate treats today.  I am so excited to share them at Easter time.

7.  I gave my winter jacket a break today and just wore a hoodie when I went shopping - it was perfect!

8.  Chapters had a special on today - buy 3 books, get the 4th one free - I wish I'd known before I got to the checkout.

9.  Tomorrow I'm bringing in some apple branches to force so I can have green leaves for Easter :)  All the spring things in the stores inspired me.

(photo from photo-dictionary.com)

10.  And I am off to bed since daylight saving time is arriving in just a few hours - not shopping related but reality!

Five on Friday

1.  The amazing Kelle Hampton, over at Enjoying the Small Things, wrote a wonderful Hallmark post called It Takes a Village, this week.   My daughters and their friends do things like this all the time and I am so proud of the ways they support and love each other.  And Kelle's new book, Bloom - Finding Beauty in the Unexpected, is available for pre-order now - I can hardly wait to read it!

2.  The youngest of our grandchildren is just about ready to start walking on her own!  She's getting very brave about pulling herself up and letting go of the furniture.  It's so hard to believe that she will have her first birthday in just a bit more than a month - and that her Mama is getting ready to go back to work after a year's maternity leave!

3.  Happy Birthday to our son who celebrated his birthday yesterday.  It's been an amazing year for him - and the one ahead promises to be even more exciting!

4.  I joined the 30 Days of Lists project for this month.  I'm looking forward to challenging myself with some extra creativity.  Please come over and join us!

5.  Our Bible study group is reading Heaven is for Real this month.  

Five on Friday

1.  Have you taken this Betty Crocker Cupcake Quiz?  I'm a Toasted Almond Cupcake with Caramel Frosting - representing spirit and adventure.  Go try it and come back to tell me about your flavour!

(photo from Betty Crocker.com)

2. If you are a gardener buying seeds this spring, you need to read this post from Kevin about buying seeds from Monsanto, who now controls 40 - 80% of the vegetable seed business.  We need seed diversity and natural seeds, not more genetically modified or altered seeds.  May I suggest The Cottage Gardener, a Canadian heritage seed company, for your seed purchases this spring?

3.   It's been a very full week of company, visiting, teaching and merry-making.  And the weekend is looking to be just as busy.  We are blessed to have so many friends and so much family with whom to enjoy life!

4.  Raspberry cheesecake for a friend's birthday is presently chilling in my fridge.  After licking the beaters, I'm convinced it will be delicious :)

5.  When Maëlle is on the swings, she is so full of laughs and giggles as she gets pushed.  It's the sweetest sound ever - definitely one I want to remember!

Five on Friday

1.  Here is the recipe for Mexican Hot Chocolate that I found at Tasty Kitchen and served at book club this week.  I modified it a bit to fit with Abuelita's recipe.  (A seperate post about the book is in the works.)

2.  I love this quote!

“Ask yourself: Have you been kind today? Make kindness your modus operandi and change your world. ”

Annie Lennox (born 1954); Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist

3.  I picked up a chai latte' from Starbuck's yesterday and it came in this lovely special cup!  I've got it sitting on the cupboard and it makes me smile every time I see it. 

(image from The Adventures of Lucky Duck)

4.  Subbing in high school is so very, very interesting and challenging - and brings back memories (and questions!) of my own high school years.  I certainly am getting to know the kids better and that is a good thing :)

5.  Garlic Shrimp + Cashew Chicken + Ginger Beef + Steamed Brown Basmati Rice = Yummy Supper, thanks to Mr. Li cooking for us tonight.

Five on Friday

1.  I made this Cheeseburger Salad, from Pioneer Woman's Tasty Kitchen site, for supper this week.  It was very good and the surprise ingredient made for an interesting flavour boost.

(photo from Pioneer Woman's blog)

2.  And I made this Valentine Confetti too!  It's a perfect Valentine treat :)

(photo from Nest of Posies)

3.  I'm busy sewing with hearts these days :)

4.  I love when the fridge is stocked with fresh fruits and vegetables, all washed and ready to use.  I like opening the door just to look inside.

5.  Does anyone have any good suggestions for children's picture books that feature cats?  I'm on the hunt and would prefer if it was a realistic cat, not a cartoon one.  Thanks for your help!

Five on Friday

1.  Soaking your feet in hot water that has Avon's Footsoak with Mint and Rosemary dissolved in it is an awesome way to spend an hour! 

2.  I finished day #2 of subbing at a high school today.  I know lots of the kids at this school which helps but it was still quite the day!

3.  Ann posted a link to Valentine Confetti at Nest of Possibilities today - it looks delicious!  I am doing this for sure!!

(photo from Nest of Possibilites)

4.  Maëlle gave me a beautiful kiss today - her mouth wide open on my cheek!  She is growing up and learning to do so many things, like crawling, right now.

5.  I stopped at the quilt shop in Winfield today and found some beautiful Valentine fabric!  She has expanded her inventory and now has a whole wall of fabrics in the longarm room.  She even had the pink and brown colorway of Swiss Chocolate by Amanda Murphy - which I resisted, but just barely!

Right Now

Inspired by Amanda Soule once again (I tell you she has so much inspiration wrapped up in her head that's shared on her blog, SouleMama!) to capture today.

RIght now, I am...

:: marveling that we have had such a mild winter with hardly any snow.  I think that's about to change as the prediction is for -28 degrees C tomorrow night.

:: tired  after watching Meadow play two hockey games today.

:: laughing  after reading Heather's blog and seeing family pictures from the past 4 years.

:: overwhelmed  by nothing right now :)

:: pleasantly surprised to get some Christmas fabric on sale in Drayton Valley.

:: wondering what to make for dinner tomorrow.

:: grateful that we get to enjoy our grandchildren so often.

:: hearing the saw in the garage as Bob fixes the side door after installing new garage door opener earlier this week.

:: going to church tomorrow morning.

:: planning what seeds to order - The Cottage Gardener heirloom seed catalogue arrived yesterday :)

:: digging fresh new sheets and pillowcases on our bed.

:: sewing a couple of little things for someone who has a birthday soon :)

:: listening to the Calgary Flames - Los Angeles Kings NHL hockey game on TV.

:: eating Pistachio - Cranberry - Goat Cheese Red Leaf Lettuce Salad with Poppyseed Dressing

:: saying "Happy Ukrainian New Year" today.

:: inspired  to buy a new plant to replace my dying poinsettia (I must have overwatered it because it's lost nearly every leaf it had).

:: happy to be feeling better after getting sick at school on Thursday - the poor grade ones said I looked green so I decided it was time to go home.

:: delighted to have received so many lovely cards, pictures and letters this year. 

:: waiting to take down and put away the Christmas decorations - we enjoy them well into January!

:: being able to read is such a pleasure!

(I love the way the highway goes right through this part of the mountain!)

Five on Friday

1. Meadow and I finished a surprise Christmas present for her mom today.  She is so excited to see Naomi's reaction for this project that she dreamed up all by herself.  I'm so happy that she asked me to help her.  I hope it will be the start of many more creative days we can spend together.  I love the idea of our grandchildren creating with me :)

2. Tomorrow I'm meeting up with some of my family to deliver Santa's Anonymous gifts to families in the city.  It's such a great way to help out at this time of year.  As my sister would say, "We made a memory" by doing it together. 

3.  Jennifer wrote, over at The High Calling, this week of "A Very Mary Christmas", her memories of waiting to be chosen as Mary, in the Sunday School Christmas concert.  If you've ever worn a bathrobe or  dishtowel costume (and even if you haven't!) , you will see the amazing eternal message in her writing.

4.  Christmas baking is non-existent at this house right now.  I have made several batches of poppycock - but they've all left the house, which is probably a good thing!

5.  There are some beautiful displays of Christmas lights in this area.  It's so much fun to wander around through the towns and countryside looking at them.  I hope you take some time to do the same in your community.  It definitely makes me smile and remember that Jesus came to be the Light of the world. 

Happy 4th Sunday in Advent this weekend!

Five on Friday

1.  Jill at MamaLoaf wrote an excellent post titled, "wait and see" this week.  It's excellent reading!  I love how she sees Him everywhere - what a great reminder!

2.  There are so many generous giveaways going on all over the web these days.  Be sure to visit me - and whole bunch of others - who are participating in the Sew, Mama, Sew December giveaway day on Monday.  There will definitely be lots of great things to win and great ways to be inspired!

3.  I'm going to make a couple of Brownie Wreaths as gifts this year.  They are so simple - and so unique.

4.  I saw this on Pinterest today - thanks to my friend, Sue, for sharing it.

5.  This new printer has come to live at our house, after the last one kept coming up with Code 5100 error every. single. time. I wanted to print something.  I guess having the same printer for 7 years is pretty good.  But now I have to learn all about the new features of this one - another learning curve :)

Five on Friday

1.  Have you heard of Chai Nog Latte'?  I had some from WAVES, an independent coffee shop in Sylvan Lake yesterday and it was delicious!  They had so many interesting beverage choices - I'll be stopping there again.

2.  Today I got to go with Helayna to her school, where she was honoured with a PRO (People Respecting Others) award at an assembly.  One student from each class was chosen,  called to the front and given a certificate.  There were more than 500 kids in the gym so the clapping for each student was pretty loud.  Afterwards Helayna asked why everyone was clapping so loudly for her - it was so sweet!  When the kindergarten kids are all at school, the population is over 700 - now that's a lot of kindergarten to grade 4 kids!

Before the awards were given out, some of the student leadership kids shared an update about fundraising efforts for a "Me to We" project the school is doing.  They have a goal of building a new school in Kenya and need to raise $8500.  Today they went from $1000 to $3000, after doing 3 fundraising events this month.  Pretty amazing!

3.  I emptied the last box of tomatoes today and they are being cooked as stewed tomatoes.  I'm going to have a hard time buying fresh tomatoes in the store now!

4.  There are still 2 pumpkins and a few squash waiting to be cut and cooked up.  The goodness from our garden just goes on and on!

5.  I've put out the Christmas nativity scene, hung my Christmas quilt on the wall and decorated with a few other things.  Only 22 days until Christmas - that's less than 3 weeks :)

Five on Friday

1.  Meadow and Blake came to our house today while Naomi went to the city.  We had great fun with the paper punches, books, toys and our imaginations :)

2.  I'm enjoying Stash Merry Mint Green tea these days.  It's just right for cold days.  (Thanks for the recommendation, H!)

3.  My sister sent me this video from one of the TED talks.  It's so worth listening to and very compelling to use each day in a way that makes the world better.  You will be inspired!



4.   The sun was gone and it was dark by 5:00 p.m. tonight.  Still a whole month before the shortest day of the year.  I'm not liking this very much!

5.  Here's a delicious idea for a winter breakfast that cooks in your crockpot!

image from sweettreatsmore.com

Five on Friday

1.  Winfield Mighty Ducks - 7     Warburg Sharks - 3
It was a very good game by both sides - and our favourite player hustled like a trooper!

2.  Butternut Squash Ravioli, in all its red and yellow striped glory, from Costco is delicious.  I made a white sauce with onions, peppers and mushrooms to go over top and it was a quick but very yummy supper this week.  I highly recommend this pasta.

3.  The saskatoon tree in front of our house is hosting 3 big beautiful grosbeaks this week.  They love eating the leftover berries and it's cool to watch them work very diligently to nibble them off the stems.

4.  SouleMama showed this awesome Acorn Cakelet Pan (from Williams and Sonoma) with her pumpkin muffins this week.  It makes the sweetest shapes ever and definitely goes on my wish list!

5.  Bob's family is gathering for an early Christmas celebration tomorrow.  I've had to get in the Christmas spirit in a real hurry this week :)  Off to wrap three little gifts.