Amazing!!

We are just home from the Josh Groban concert and it was FANTASTIC!!!! I would go again in a heartbeat. Such good, good music from an amazing singer!! I loved every minute of his show.


The video show backdrop was really well done, complimenting each song beautifully.




Josh talked about his experiences in Africa and the impact they made on his life. The video here showed images from the trip. My favourite song in this section was "Lullaby" that he worked on with Dave Matthews.




He played to both sides of the crowd using stairs on each side and for one song even started way up in the crowd.




Thanks to flickr for these images. I didn't think to take my cellphone to take pictures - next time I'll be prepared! If I was really smart, I'd link you to YouTube so you could hear a song but that's not happening yet.

Recipe Time!

I made this great grilled pork tonight so here's the recipe for you to try. It was super easy and very tasty. I didn't have a mango so substituted a peach and it was just delicious.

The Grill of My Dreams

Marinade
3 tbsp. soy sauce
3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp. toasted sesame oil
2 tbsp. minced fresh basil leaves
1 tbsp. liquid honey
1 tbsp. grated gingerroot
2 tsp. grated orange zest
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper

1 lb. pork tenderloin
1 medium zucchini
3 large bell peppers (orange, yellow and green)
1 medium mango, peeled and sliced into wedges
baby spinach leaves, optional

Whisk marinade ingredients together in a bowl. Reserve 2 - 3 tbsp. marinade for basting and as a dressing(there's not too much marinade so just reserve a little bit). Place pork in a large, heavy-duty, resealable plastic bag. Add marinade and seal bag. Turn bag several times to coat with marinade. Marinate in refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

Preheat grill to medium-high setting. Slice unpeeled zucchini lengthwise into four long strips. Seed peppers and cut each one in half. Place pork on a grill rack that has been coated with cooking spray or lightly brushed with oil. Grill meat until it's nicely browned on the outside and just slightly pink in the center, about 16 minutes. Be careful not to overcook pork. Add peppers and zuccchini for the last 8 minutes. Turn vegetables once to grill both sides and baste with some of the reserved marinade.

Remove pork and vegetables from grill and let pork rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Meanwhile slice peppers into thick slices and cut zucchini strips in half. Place vegetables in a large bowl, and add mango, thinly sliced pork and a bit of reserved marinade. Toss well. Serve on a bed of baby spinach leaves, if desired. Top with freshly ground black pepper.

From Eat, Shrink and Be Merry by Janet and Greta Podleski
Sorry I don't have any pictures - I was in a rush to get to the book club organizational meeting!!

Garden Goodness

Even though the weather's been much cooler this week, the garden is still thriving. These pictures take you on a little tour of what's keeping me busy these days. I haven't been much of a gardener in the past but I'm trying harder to keep ahead of the weeds and enjoy all the fresh local produce (free of charge now!) that a garden brings. It's a good feeling to know that only our energy is being used to produce this summer goodness.



Happy sunflowers that just make me feel happy when I see them!




The raspberry bushes have been loaded with beautiful berries. So far we've eaten most of what we've picked and we've shared some with our kids. Tomorrow's agenda includes making a batch of jam for winter enjoyment.




We have picked and picked and still there are berries ripening!



The green and yellow zucchini plants are doing great! So far I've managed to keep up with using or giving them away when they are just the right size (6 in.long)




Our potatoes are amazing this year - so many large tubers under each plant.

Little Somethings

So, Ali Edwards is inspiring me again! Man, she is one seriously amazing artist! Along with her Life Artist work, this week she had the brainwave that creating something, no matter how big or simple, everyday is a very good thing and that there are little stories from everyday - all kinds of stories that happenin a day - that beg to be told in small ways. This totally spoke to me after hearing Stacy Julian talk about the happiness of creating and sharing your life and while being constantly inspired by everyday things in my own life lately. So here's a little bit of the happiness - and craziness - I've had in my life this week!



Tells the little story about taking Melinda to the airport very early one morning.




Used a found envelope and inside it I put 3 pictures of Mel, taken while she was home. The flowers were stamped, heat embossed and then cut out.




I decided I was going to use up some of the bits and pieces that are floating around on my table and in my space while doing these challenges. So far, only the background cardstock is new.

Happy Birthday, Dad

Happy 75th Birthday to my Dad! We are so blessed that he continues to enjoy good health, the farm he lives on, his kids, grandkids and great-grandkids, community events and more traveling than ever. This is the message (using 7 qualities)that I wrote inside the card I made for him:
I admire
Your faith and trust in God
The kind way you encourage others
Your hard work and committment to being an excellent farmer
Your forward thinking and planning for the future
Your love of children and the time you spend with them
The attitude of giving your best effort that you instilled in us
Your appreciation of quality service, food and mechanics

Pretty much sums him up and helps me to see so much of him in his 5 kids and 12 grandkids. He wanted to have a weiner roast for his siblings and family so we celebrated last weekend. It was a good party for a good man.



My Mom and Dad - I think it's pretty cool that their birthdays are side by side in
August and 364 days seperate their ages!

Happy Birthday, Mom

Happy Birthday to my Mom! Full of energy, she's forever in the garden growing things, the kitchen making good things to eat(her pies are THE best), or her sewing room creating a quilt or mending for someone. She loves to volunteer and visit people and has been involved in her community all her life. She is proud of her grandchildren and delighted to be a great-grandmother now. I know she will get lots of calls, cards and treats from family and her many friends today. Happy 74th Year to you, Mom - we pray that God will bless all your days!

Happy Birthday, Bryce

It's our nephew, Bryce's birthday today and we want to wish him a great day! Enjoy your beautiful daughter and all the adventures that await your family. Have an awesome day and a wonderful year.

Alphabet Soup

Today's thoughts of gratitude are brought to you by the letter "D"!

1. Our son, Darrin - it has been such a blessing to watch him become a man of conviction and integrity. He loves to be an uncle, work on cars and quads, come home to the farm (but not to work cattle!), ski and snowmobile, and hang out with Kelsey! I was lucky for many years while he was at university because he would come home to work in the community for the summer so we had him around long after most guys had left home. Like I do with all of our children, I try to make his visits home a little bit special - which often involves some favourite dessert!



2. Digital toys - especially cameras! If I had to keep only 1 piece of electronics, I would chose this one. It gives me great pleasure to capture moments of living through my lens.

3. Dad - I am blessed to have my Dad enjoying good health, his farming, the grandchildren and great-grandchildren, his dogs and all parts of his life. It's his birthday this week too!

4. Desserts - just about my favourite part of the meal! I love pies, cheesecakes, crisps, squares, cookies, fruit - really just about any dessert will make me happy.

5. Dogs - we've had some special canine friends over the years and our kids have many stories involving their favourites. German Shepherds have been our breed of choice and this is BJ, the most recent one.



6. Dancing - I love to dance but don't get a chance to do it very often these days. Good music always makes me want to take to the floor.

Thanks again for the inspiration, Morning Glory!

She's Going Again

Melinda's been home for 2 weeks and we have had such good times together. A huge highlight of this trip was the time she got to spend with Meadow and Helayna, playing, tickling them and doing a whole lot of cuddling!












with Heather and Helayna




with Meadow and Naomi

We will see her and Tyler is just over a month, when we travel to Poland! That makes this good-bye a little easier!

Creating Again

We've had a lot of fun creating this weekend and making sure that some special moments are captured and recorded. I got 4 layouts done and made 4 cards, in between lots of playing with Helayna and some cooking. All of us agreed that we wanted another day together but real life is calling us back, sooner than we want again!



The idea for this design came from Rebecca Cooper's new book, "Real Life Scrapbooking"(which is a great read and so inspiring).
Papers are from the Fresh Print line by Deja View.




Two - who love to play together!
(Made with Fancy Pants kit supplies from Just Cre8 and Maya Road chipboard.)




I found a sheet of cards by Creative Imagination for making lists of many things, which I thought would be cool for my Book of Me. This is the first of the layouts about food (one of my favourite things!).
Patterned paper and flowers from the August kit at Scrapbooking Fanatics - thanks for sharing, Heather :))

Granddaughter Fun

Staying at home this long weekend with people I love is a great thing. We are having fun playing, eating and creating together. Precious family time for the girls altogether.



My two favourite little ones! It was a total bonus that both Helayna and Meadow were here at the same time yesterday.




Playing ball after breakfast!! This smile makes me smile, especially first thing in the morning.




Doing push-ups, Helayna is very close to crawling. Meanwhile, she spins around and around on her bum to get a full circle view of what's happening around her. It's the cutest thing ever!




Auntie Mel loves to tickle and make little girls laugh.




Just having a whole lot of fun with the recycling bin while the scrapbookers are busy.




Reading stories - a favourite activity for both of us.

Creating

While Bob and Jonathan are off doing the Rockwall Hike in the mountains this weekend, Heather, Melinda, and I are hanging out with Helayna here at home. Tonight our goal was to each create 1 scrapbook page before going to bed. Mission accomplished!

Thanks to Heather for sharing this picture with me (it's one of my very favourite ones!) - and for giving me lots of advice about the layout! And the colour is 100% better in real life :)

We are eating outside on the picnic table for the rest of the weekend, as the kitchen table has been converted to scrapbook central! Mel's working on a surprise project (details to follow in a week or so) and Heather's doing some design work for Scrapbooking Fanatics. It's great having this time together. Oh, and Meadow was here this afternoon while her Mom and Dad had some couples time. We had a lot of fun!!

July Mosaic

Here is our month in pictures!! We had Heather's birthday, went on a quadding trip, accomplished some farm work, were awed by some summer storms, cheered for Mel, played alot and celebrated our anniversary - lots of good stuff!

National Friendship Day

This is a day to send wishes of sunshine, happiness and God's blessings to all of my dear, dear friends! Whether I know you in person, you are family or we are online friends, I am so glad that you are each a part of my life. Your words of encouragement, your hugs, your smiles and your laughter enrich each of my days and I always look forward to seeing or hearing from you. Have a wonderful summer day!!

Summer Fun

I've had a few chances to play with our granddaughters this summer which is just perfect!



Our little water baby who loves to splash and swim. She inherited this love of water from Naomi, who we always called a little duck.




Naomi and Jerry wanted to build a swing set for Meadow and they got it accomplished within a few weeks of moving to their house. Heather, Jonathan and Helayna gave Meadow the tot seats for her birthday and she loves to swing here. Her Dad put some mighty strong chain up to hold her and a friend!




Wearing a little dress from Mexico that her Mom wore when she was little!




This little munchkin can sit back in the seat and put her feet up too!




Just hangin' out!




By this time, she was tired of being Mom's helper in the strawberry patch. Not to mention the fact that the mosquitoes were ferocious!

Alphabet Soup

Today's thoughts of gratitude are brought to you by the letter "C".

1. Children - we are so blessed to have 4 wonderful children - Darrin, Heather, Melinda and Naomi. They are a constant source of inspiration, amazement, encouragement and joy. The zest that they all have for life and the various partners, interests, work and accomplishments they share with us have blessed our lives much, much more than we ever could have imagined. Everything else we have pales in comparison to them and we thank God for them every single day.



(Taken at Melinda's wedding in 2004 at Chester, Nova Scotia)

2. Canada - what an immense, beautiful and peaceful country we live in. Our ancestors made a great choice when they left Europe and settled here. One of my favourite songs is "O Canada", our national anthem and I love to hear it played by high school bands.

3. Chocolate - in all of its various forms - bars, baking and drinks! It is definitely one of my favourite treats.

4. Cooking and cookbooks - and the foods that go with it - carrots, chicken, cauliflower, cabbage, cupcakes, cheese, corn, cherries - I could go on and on. So many flavourful and delicious foods to enjoy. How thankful I am to have all of these choices in my kitchen!

5. Colours - all the colours of the rainbow and more! My picture taking and scrapbooking capture them in every part of my world.

6. Company and connecting with the people that intersect my life and bring joy and energy to my days. Whether they come into our home, enter our lives in passing or are companions online, I am grateful to be surrounded by each and every one.

7. Christmas - my absolute favourite season and holiday! I love everything about it - the ancient reason for the season, decorations, food, people, gifts, celebrations, memories, and music. I look forward to it all year long and it lingers in our home long past the actual dates.

Thanks again, Morning Glory at Seeds From My Garden, for inspiring me to document these special thoughts.

She Did It!!

On Sunday, Mel entered her first triathalon and I got to be the official photographer!



Part 1 - a 750 metre swim - Mel's a strong swimmer and she was away like a flash. Here she is in the blue swim cap, ready to lap the swimmer ahead of her.




After a swim of just over 15 minutes, she was out of the pool, heading into the transition area to grab her bike.




Part 2 - 20 km on the bike. Ever since she's been in Nova Scotia, Mel has done lots of biking and developed a love of this sport. She felt she should do best in the bike portion of the race, even though she had a rented bike (a very nice road bike, mind you!). Here she's leaving the transition area and heading out onto the road.




Just finishing her ride and getting ready to enter the transition area, Mel was neck and neck with Seena, a girl in her heat.



Leaving the bike and heading into the run, at this point Mel said "My legs feel like Jello!"



Finished in 1:24.43!! She was very happy with her time, which was better than she had hoped. It was great to be her cheerleader, support team and telephone message person. Tyler phoned 3 times while she was doing her triathalon to get the latest breaking news - I know he would have loved being here and probably doing the race too. I'm sure Mel will convince him to try one with her soon.