Vintage goodies galore

I have come to realize something about myself as I age. I have great potential to be a seriously awesome hoarder.
It's in my genes! My Nana is a hoarder, I'm pretty sure my mum is too and I really, really think I would be fantastic at it!!!
I have these great memories from my childhood, and maybe you have some similar as I know that people from my Nana's generation didn't throw ANYTHING away. Or maybe you don't and as it turns out my family is just plain weird!!!

Every Sunday we would go to my Nana's house, for as long as I can remember, that's just what our family did and still do..for me at least until I moved to Canada at the age of 26.
After we had eaten our "Tea" or dinner, we usually would play a board game, watch Walt Disney or 60 minutes and if we were lucky, on a warm summer evening, we would be allowed to go look for treasure in Nana's garage.
Nana and Poppy's garage was more like a covered carport or lean to, attached to the side of a shed that housed their caravan and seasonal stuff.

In that carport, there may have been a car buried under all the "stuff", I'm not altogether sure but my brain is not letting me access that information.
Now remember, I'm about 8 years old and to me, that garage was like stumbling upon the cave of Ali Baba and his forty thieves.
We would ask Nana if we could go pick something from the garage to take home, sometimes she would say yes and sometimes she would decline and we would sulk and go find something else to do. BUT......if she said yes, my two sisters and I would race to that hoard pile of treasure and climb up to the top of the "Stuff" and look for something fantastic to take home.
It was dark in there...and dusty...and soooooo much fun!!!

I don't recollect any of the objects that I selected so much as the thrill of the hunt..and climbing up as high as possible so I could maybe find that perfect something to be mine. In my mind I picture the scene to be like something out of a Dr Seuss story and I'm positive that the garage was not, in fact, filled to the ceiling with stuff but probably just had lots of boxes stacked around mixed in with important, necessary objects.
But that's my happy memory and I'm planning to keep it that way.

So I'm pretty sure that's where my hoarding gene was burned into my soul.

Now I'm not talking about being the type of hoarder that keeps stuff like clothing, garbage and useless stuff around. I'm more of a vintage/ furniture/ tchotchke type of hoarder.
I especially like going to thrift store's, the one's run by little old ladies where the store layout had no rhyme or reason and you really have to dig for your treasure. Remember, I'm all about the thrill of the hunt!!!!!

There is a fantastic antique store in Enderby which I pop into a couple of times a year. I usually end up leaving empty handed as I am married to a non hoarder and I can't justify purchasing 95% of what I would really love to bring home.
My mum was here recently so we took a family excursion to the store and spent a good hour in there looking at all of the treasures. My hubby was on the hunt for antique razors, his new addiction. Zoe collects old bottles and picked up a few lovely ones.
And me????? Well, I just took some great pictures of all of the things I wished I could bring home with me.

If you ever find yourself in Enderby with some time to kill, go check out Jerry's Antiques.

I'm having a moment today, so please bear with me while I think out loud.

I am in a place in my life right now where I am taking stock of my life, making big plans for the future and trying my darnedest to push ahead and make these secret yearnings a reality.
The biggest part of this plan, the part that causes me the most hesitation and heart ache, is the fact that I can't wrap all of my nearest and dearest up in a neatly tied little package and bring them with me.

They will always have a place in my heart, but if there's one thing that I've learnt from years of separation, it's that those connections are so easily lost with time and distance. And the thought of that is totally terrifying to me.

My people are my tribe...my family. So my new mantra is to cherish, connect with and nurture those connections with these seriously special members of my tribe.
To simplify and streamline my lifestyle and my environment, so that it is more conducive to connecting with the people of importance in my life.
I don't know the steps to make this happen or have the answers to make this a reality......... here's where the floundering around part comes back into play.

I'm finding since my return from Australia that there are so many things on my list that need to be conquered in order for us to be able to have the financial freedom to move back.

I keep tackling the little projects, the one's that have a start and a finish, they make me feel like I've accomplished one little miracle at a time.
But they're not really contributing to the big picture.
I feel like these little daily overhauls are taking time away from my people. I need to find a way to get my s&*t sorted in a more efficient, timely manner. Make better use of my down time when the kids are at school, spend less time cleaning and more time "making time" for my family.

The kids are on spring break for two weeks, so there's lots of family time to be had. There are adventures to chase, master pieces to create and lots of snuggles on the couch and movies to be watched. Today is one of those days, it's snowing out side and I have a few extra kid's for the day to keep my little one's busy.

So I'm allocating my morning to purging and cleaning a space for me. A space where I can sit, reflect, work and connect, without the weight of the overwhelming mess and clutter threatening to swallow me up.
Because now it's time to focus on the big scary things. Finishing renovations, bank refinancing, renting out the basement and my favorite, preparing for court to end this roofing nightmare.
And to do that, I need some organisation and focus so that it doesn't gobble me up like a big monster and leave nothing for my family.

It's not rocket science, but it's a start, hopefully in the right direction.

 

Happy Spring equinox y'all!!

 

The March equinox signals the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. It marks that special moment when the sun crosses the celestial equator going from south to north. In 2012, this equinox comes early. It’ll be on March 20 at 5:14 UTC.

Why is the equinox early in 2012? The reason is, in part, because 2012 is a leap year. If this year weren’t a leap year, this equinox would come on March 21 – not March 20 – at 5:14 Universal Time. The equinoxes for the coming three years – 2013, 2014, 2015 – will all fall on March 20 as well. But – with each passing year – each equinox will come nearly 6 hours later by the clock. In the year 2016, the equinox would fall on March 21 – if 2016 weren’t a leap year.

Yesterday felt like it was spring here in chilly Canada. As soon as the sun was up I practically leaped outside with my gum boots on my feet and garden clippers in hand.    

 I raked and trimmed, primped and pruned, cleaned and swept my yard all afternoon in the glorious spring sunshine. Trimming all the dead winter growth away to expose the new life emerging from underneath and the DUN DUN DUN!!! It snowed again this morning.......REALLY!!

Oh well, no point putting the horse before the cart. Next thing you know I will be complaining about all the yard work I need to do and how sick and tired I am of mowing my grass. 

SPRING.....you are always welcome in my backyard. (You're my favorite season....just don't tell the others).

Happy LOVE day.

Watch this video, it will put a smile on your face and get you feeling all V-Day like.

A big warm hug to all the wonderful, special and genuinely fantastic people in my life both near and far.

I'm missing my hubby as he is working in Vancouver all week and he is also celebrating his birthday tomorrow   in the comfort of a Sandman hotel room, maybe he'll order some room service and some pay per view???

Happy Vanbirthday Baby!!

Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity.

Henry Van Dyke

Bad Blogger............that's what I am.

You'd think that this blogging thing would get easier the longer you stick with it. I has it's therapeutic rewards don't get me wrong.
I'm beginning to understand that just like everything else in life, there's the ups and downs, the ebbs and flows, the why am I doing this again moments???

Well that's where I'm at these days. I'm feeling a bit blah ever since returning from my trip to Nova Scotia.

You see, I lost a dear friend on that trip. He was very special to me, never left my side, was right there with me when all the special moments were taking place. And now, he's gone......to camera heaven.
I how I miss thee....canon powershot SX200.

For some reason it's just not the same without pictures. How can I share my beet ravioli recipe with you when there are no images...no proof that I really did rock that ravioli?
Or the Xmas garland step by step I keep putting off because my camera phone just won't do it justice.
Or the pretty snowfall that took place this week?

Santa...if you're reading this.....I promise I've been a good girl this year and I'll be on my best behavior until New years ( but then I can't promise anything). I will be in Alberta...I think you know what I want, lets make a deal!

k?

For all my garlic customers

I was checking out Design Mom today and noticed an interesting link that she shared from saveur.com, I could not resist taking a peek myself.

I thought this idea was interesting, I've seen and tried a lot of different techniques for dealing with garlic in the past. I don't own a garlic press *gasp*, that's right you  heard me....I use a knife, old school baby.

But I have fallen for the seductive promises of several gadgets that just end up taking up space and making a big old mess.

This technique would be great if you're needing a lot of garlic all at once, otherwise I can tell you there is no way on earth I would dirty two large bowls just to peel some garlic.
If any of you try it out let me know if it works with my garlic. It looks as though in the video they are peeling soft stem garlic....which is not the same as the variety that I grow.

I do believe that saveur.com could be dangerous to my health and that I could have easily lost my whole day watching their short video tips and ogling their recipes. So simple, yet things that I never think to do, like how to make a lemongrass knot to add to recipes. I'm already thinking of ways to incorporate that idea into my jamming.

I would also like to share my favourite kitchen tip for dealing with stinky garlicky, oniony hands.

You know the smell. You've just chopped a tonne of onions for french onion soup, maybe you're caramelising some onions for pizza. That onion smell gets right under you skin and takes forever to go away no matter how much soap you lather on you hands!
If you have a stainless steel faucet or sink simply turn on you water, get your hands wet and rub them all over your kitchen sink or faucet, making sure that the surface touches every part of your hands, between your fingers, tops and palms. The steel neutralises the smell, try it out and let me know if it works for you too.

Seem familiar Ladies????

A friend posted this ditty on facebook this morning and I wanted to share it with all my friends and readers.

It's called " Just a little heart attack".

Take a moment to watch it, scary but funny at the same time!!

We get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of our daliy routines, so busy taking care of our loved ones that some times we need to take a breath and remember to take a moment to take care of ourselves.

So, take care you hear??

Father's day.

It always sneaks up on me.

With the end of the school year looming, yard work in full swing. It never fails.........Father's Day. Hmmmmm, what to get the big fella???

This year I'm pleasantly amazed and somewhat stunned that I'm organised, even working two new jobs and struggling to keep up with domestic life I managed to not stress out over Father's Day. I'm just going to give myself a big pat on the back.....don't mind if I do.

Want to see what he's getting??????

It's a bamboo tea box with hand selected tea and customised labels.

I got the labels here. So quick and easy to print to jazz up a pressie for dad.

Now whenever he has a cuppa he gets reminded that he has wee little admirers that love him so.

If I won the lottery though....to show hubby how much we appreciate all his hard work, I'd much rather be giving him one of these...maybe next year daddy'o.

.

Wishing all the special daddy's out there a wonderful weekend.

From snow to sunshine.

What a difference a day makes. Not 24 hours ago it was snowing and yet today I think I may have got a new shade of pink on my skin from all of the sunshine.
I ventured out this morning with a lively bunch of ladies who have created their own little hiking group. I've been putting off invitations for years but caved in today and decided to join the gals......the promise of lunch at Friesen's may have helped me a little.
I thought I'd share some pics of the hike so that all of my non local readers can see what a beautiful place I get to live in.

 

We hiked down to the shores of Kalamalka Lake to Cosen's Bay. I've ventured down here many times before with friends and family however on the hike back up we took a different route than I usually do.

I'm also usually carrying a child, a picnic basket and pushing a stroller. So today it was just me and my water bottle.

There's not a lot of green yet, but it's coming. There were a few varieteis of wild flowers out to make me happy. Along with some deer carcass and dog poo!!!

There were about 10 of us hiking today. Ladies of all ages and fitness levels. I think I was the youngest but I have no doubt in my mind that these ladies will be kicking my butt on more intense hikes.

I'm so glad I packed along my camera today, I would be kicking myself right now. It really was so nice out.

One last look back at the lake before the climb back up the hill.

Tootles.

Kj

A new home for pepper dog?

With all the flurry and excitement of spring it's easy to get caught up in planning new projects for the house and yard. I have to continually remind myself of all the unfinished projects that need to be completed, and reassure myself that we'll get to them eventually.

But in the meantime I thought I'd share these cute, space saving funky ideas for the four legged family members of your home. I would love to have one of these for our pepper dog, he is always hanging out on the deck, why not make his home also functional while we're at it.

Dace and I were just discussing where to locate the dog house, with all of the deck renovations we've done recently poor pepper doesn't know where he's supposed to be anymore.
The garden keeps expanding as does the deck and all of his favourite spots keep getting dug up or built on top of.

Someone was using their noggin when they thought up this idea. The people over at Sustainable Pet have created these space saving designs, I thought it would be perfect for our deck and our dog! They also make cute bird houses too...very trendy!

They come with or without plants and are made of all non-toxic materials, including beeswax waterproofing.

The Heart Box is my favourite. I'm imagining it would have to be quite large to accommodate pepper dogs rear end and allow for a good turn around space inside....another project for hubby?????

OMG...I'm in love

I woke up this morning thinking about the blog entry I was going to do this morning about my new pressure cooker, well, new to me ($10 at the thrift store). It was to be more of a plea of sorts as I've never owned one let alone cooked with one and I have no idea how to use it. I was hoping my readers out there could pass on their recipes, techniques or tips.

But then I stumbled across this....SWEET PAUL. It had been reviewed on another of my usual stalks Simply modern mom.

It's a digital magazine, I guess all the cool cats are doing them now. And the creator Paul is my new hero.

There are a few back issues on the site for you to drool over, they are seasonal so Spring, fall, winter etc. His latest one is a special kids issue and it is the most inspirational adorable thing I've seen in a while.

AND total do-able, there's nothing in there that we ordinary folk can not make, bake or create.

So if you have a few minutes or a whole afternoon take a look, I promise you won't regret it. I'm planning on getting my "stuff" done at turbo speed today so that I can kick back with a cup of tea this arvo and go over every lovely page.

Wine bags

I know the snow is still on the ground and the days are still dark and cold but my mind is already in a place where the sun is shining and the spritzers are flowing. I'm still loving winter, don't get me wrong...I just tried cross country skiing for the first time yesterday and LOOOOVVVEEED it......but I'm planning ahead this year and trying to be budget conscious at the same time.

Hence my new found love for the ladies at Monashee U-brew.

I'm trying my hand at fruit wines this year, U-brew style!!! I joined the Snickerdoodles wine club with a bunch of fantastic ladies and we are going to mix and match our creations so that we come home with an "allsort" of flavours.

I used to be a purist and make my own wine from the fresh fruit of the season, stirring and stirring and waiting and draining and cleaning and bottling.

Too much work....cheap.....but tooo much work.

Which leads me to my next snippet, and how the world works in funny ways.

So after talking to Laree at MUB we tossed around the idea of my jams at her store.....can't do it legally yet BUT I can do wine bags!!!!!!

These little summer cuties are going to be in the MUB gift store, a new addition to their business. Don't they just make you want a spritzer???

The gift that keeps on giving, a reusable and reversible summery wine bag....handle included!!!!!

I hope my local readers can take the time to go check out this exciting little business, Laree and June are doing an amazing job of getting the word out there and making their products appeal to everyone.

U-brews are not just for grumpy old men anymore....come on and join the fun!!! I'm looking forward to hanging out with my girlfriends and bottling up our creations, if all goes well, I'm thinking wine making could be a fun date night out with the hubby too!

Here I go again.....

Starting off my new year with some of the usual suspects. Promises to myself that will be soon broken...getting more exercise, eating healthier, implementing better household habits, staying organized, being nicer to telemarketers....oh the list goes on.

Yesterday was a good day, even though the year has kicked off with a broken washing machine and stove, I managed to purge and clean my spice, baking and tea cupboards and fill two large bags of goodies bound for the thrift store AND actually dropped them off instead of piling them up at the front entrance for weeks.

My neighbors came over and dragged away my empty bottles, the hubby did a dump run and things are looking good. It's all about keeping the momentum going......right?????

One of my friends, whom I admire immensely, recently informed me of her families self imposed challenge to buy no STUFF for a month.
She had read about it in an old Canadian Living magazine article and her challenge began January 1st. I'm thinking that she's onto a good thing, what better time to simplify your life after the craziness of Christmas and the motivation of a new year beginning.

I'm not ready to commit to that extent yet but I'm thinking I may want to implement something along those lines sometime VERY soon.

But for now, I am going to continue purging unnecessary STUFF from my house, trying to keep on top of my mental and physical STUFF, be patient with my parenting STUFF and try to only put good STUFF into my tummy.....like my breakfast this morning.

Where does all the time fly to I wonder?

I don't have any smart or intriguing excuses as to where I have been and what I've been doing the last couple of weeks. Just plain old busy...sorry people. 

How have you all been, I've missed you so.

Today I made a ton of jam and jellies for the Christmas bazaar here in Lavington I signed up for next week and I'm sure I'll be making more tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that.

I'm thinking it will be a good place for me to try my concoctions on random guinea pigs other than my family and friends. I will finally find out if maybe my loved ones are just too nice to tell me my stuff tasted like crap......I'm onto you!!!!! (Let's hope that's not the case). 

I took a bunch of pictures recently but will have to upload when I can get my man slave to figure out why my computer hates me today.

I've been sewing a lot lately too, trying to get ready for a home made Xmas. Aprons and purses, Xmas decorations and bags.....can't tell you too much though, it's supposed to be a surprise.

To finish off on a completely random topic.....no our roof is not finished, yes it is snowing and yes we've hired a lawyer!!!!

Tootles,

talk soon,

kj