Penguin Pie

2012-01-28T11:44:00.000-08:00

Some photos of Daniel in Whistler a few summers ago.

I had fun making the background on this one. Lots of spraying with mists and inks, and various masks. Then I painted around the outside with green, rubbed turquoise ink over that and then stamped a border using different stamps I have in my stash.

to the top

2012-01-02T22:44:00.000-08:00

A couple of older photos...

When Duncan saw these pics he wasn`t very impressed with his hat. He said it must have been years ago, because he wouldn`t be caught dead in this hat now. He said the hat was 'Gay'. :). I`m not sure what is wrong with the hat(looks just like the hats he wears today?), but I think he`s probably about 12 in these photos so they are from 2006 maybe?

The stitching is actually a stamp. Much easier than getting out my sewing machine and trying to figure out how to thread it after all this time.

My little Artist

2011-12-03T14:14:00.001-08:00

Rick's been using this photo for a bookmark for a few weeks now. I took it back and scrapped it this week.

Two page layout using Imaginisce canvas stickers

2011-11-27T14:59:00.001-08:00

One for my sisters vacation album.

She said they have a big, old, creaky bus that they could ride to neighbouring resorts. The boys would keep an eye out for big lizards. There was even a rumour that one of the passengers saw a crocodile from the bus.

I dropped this layout at Unforgettable Memories yesterday. My first time in the new store. It is huge. It will look amazing once they have it all organized and set up.

Another two page layout with BoBunny's Etc line

2011-11-19T08:10:00.001-08:00

Every year the berries on our Rowantrees ripen and then the birds come. They are gluttons. They eat so many, so fast they end up getting drunk on them and flying into our windows. Turbo spends his time sitting under the hedge in the front yard waiting for dinner to bounce off the living room window and land at his feet.

The papers are BoBunny's Etc line and Imaginisce's Bon Voyage line.
I love the blingy bird by Prima.

2011-11-11T09:43:00.001-08:00

Another layout of Lake Louise. The water is very green and very, very cold.

Papers and chipboard is from BoBunny's Etc line.

Birthday Girl

2011-11-06T13:52:00.001-08:00

I took a ton of snapshots of Breanna's 13th birthday. I finally got a few developed.
Her friend made her a big bag of sour lollipops which they all shared while sitting on the back deck.

A two page layout of Lake Louise.

2011-10-23T16:25:00.001-07:00

We took loads of photos on our hike up to the Lake Louise teahouse. I managed to get 10 of them on this two page layout.

The papers are Bo Bunny.

Special little boy

2011-10-14T18:06:00.003-07:00

Doesn't it look like a good time? Play when you want, visit when you want and nap whenever and wherever you want. The perfect vacation.

The papers and stickers are from Cosmo Cricket's odds & ends line.

I misted, masked and stamped the background paper.

Sticker sneeze with Cosmo Cricket "Salt Air"

2011-10-07T11:06:00.000-07:00

I used only stickers on this page. No patterned papers, no flowers, brads, buttons ...

The background is stamped with a tropical collage stamp that I sprayed with Glimmer Mist. The Mist makes a smudged watery image rather then the clear sharp image ink produces. I cleaned off my stamp along the top and bottom edge of my page which enhanced the grungy look.

Road Trip #2 ~ a two page layout

2011-09-17T21:46:00.002-07:00

Another two page layout of our road trip to Canmore, Banff and Lake Louise. I like using the 2x3 photos. I can get more on the page.

I used some ClubScrap papers I've had forever and some more of the BoBunny 'Welcome Home' line.

Bo Bunny 'Welcome Home' line

2011-09-07T20:37:00.000-07:00

This layout is like an overview of our girlie roadtrip.

We ate at some really neat restaurants.

We hiked 12 km to the Tea House at Lake Louise. And let me tell you, it is not a 'tea house' in the Lake Louise sense of the word. Isn't Lake Louise like 5 stars and very posh? Don't movie stars and royalty visit? I was expecting white table clothes and little cakes. Tea in china cups and scones with fresh whipped cream and preserves. Ice in my drink and wrapped in a white napkin for my sweaty brow after that hike.

Instead we got raspberry lemonade in plastic cups and a very bland quinoa salad. The cheese sandwich was good; the bread was homemade and sliced thick, and the cheese was extra stinky. The tea house itself was more of a rustic cabin in the woods with no electricity; the stairs we climbed to reach our table on the second storey balcony, I'm sure, passed no safety inspections; and there was no running water for a decent bathroom. None of us 4 are keen on outhouses. Especially the smelly kind. We didn't take any pictures of it :)

We posed in front of the sign of the place we were staying; almost got our photographer run over when Lilia insisted the best spot to take the picture was from the middle of the road. Oops. He was a good sport.

We took the Gondola up the Mt at Banff. Some of us are scared of heights and had to sit in the seats facing the mountain side going up and down. So I got the scenic view both ways. Just gorgeous!

We were silly and funny and had a really good time.

Glimmer Mist and Masks

2011-09-04T10:57:00.000-07:00

Another page for Tan's album. Geocaching last summer. It looks like the kids found more than just the cache. I used a butterfly diecut as a mask on the top right and bottom left then placed a butterfly sticker on top of the negative space.

Banff ~ a 2 page layout

2011-09-01T19:52:00.000-07:00

On our second day in Canmore we got up early and drove to Banff. It was a good thing we went early. When we came off the Mt there were lineups everywhere. Mary and Lilia aren't comfortable with heights so they sat in the gondola facing the mountain. Melody and I got the view going up and coming down. When we got to the top of Sulphur Mt. we hiked the 1 km boardwalk to the Cosmic Ray Station. There were little ground squirrels looking for a free meal everywhere.

Papers and stickers and some of the chipboard are Bobunny (I see my leafy branch has come loose and is floating on the left hand side there. Oops).
Chipboard is My Little Yellow Bicycle.

Road Trip ~ a two page layout

2011-08-31T21:54:00.001-07:00

And here we are. On the road. Lilia took that gorgeous picture of the mountains on our first morning heading to Lake Louise. She took the photos of us also, including herself.

I was the chauffeur ~ it was my truck. Mary was the event coordinator who told us where to go and how to get there. Lilia was the professional photographer and Mel... she was the entertainment. A fun time was had by all.

Papers are Bo Bunny and Imaginisce. Buttons are Bo Bunny 'Family' line.

Burried

2011-08-07T13:50:00.001-07:00

My two little cuties when they were just a few months old. Rick thought this would be a good photo op. Daniel, in the back, doesn't look convinced. Maybe he's got bugs in his diaper ;)

I used Imaginisce's Happy Camper line for this layout. Those cute little diecuts and the striped paper.

D & W on Vacay ~ Cosmo Crickets 'salt air'

2011-07-29T11:29:00.001-07:00

A fun layout of my nephews looking cool in Mexico. I think Wade looks too cute with his sunglasses. And if he's not wearing them he carries them carefully folded up in his little hands.

The papers are all from Cosmo Crickets 'salt air' line. I made the rosettes using strips from the Border sheet. I keep seeing them everywhere so I thought I'd give them a try.

Tanis needs some hot pink flip flops like the Jolees stickers to go with her hot pink shorts.

Tropical Vacation

2011-06-30T17:09:00.000-07:00

Isn't this background paper pretty. It caught my eye immediately.

I matted the photo with vellum and twisted a length of ribbon randomly with some pretty white flowers.
The Palm Tree is by Jolee's.

Bird Watching

2011-06-29T16:18:00.000-07:00

Bird watching is one of Turbos favourite things to do. Whenever Rick hauls out the ladder to fill the birdfeeders (which is every couple of days, those greedy birds) Turbo is right there following him up the ladder. I'm worried Rick is going to trip on him one day and fall.

I even used some stamps on this layout. The red cardstock has leaves stamped on it. The butterflies are also stamps. The rest of the brown images are rubons.

This layout is up in Unforgettable Memories at the moment.

Making Memories Great Escape layout

2011-06-21T09:24:00.001-07:00

This was one of those 1/2 hour layouts. Mostly because the MM hibiscus foil from the Great Escape collection was perfect and didn't need a lot of extra embellishments. The little flags are from the same collection.

I had some Prima flowers that matched the foiling. I used one page out of the spiral journaling Just Chillin' MM book under the photos and a strip of the blue varnished postmark paper from the Passport Collection.

I added a MM rub-on and some MM travel tags and called it done :)

Day is Done

2011-06-14T11:47:00.000-07:00

Some more photos from Tan's Mexican vacation. I called it Day is Done because obviously these are evening photos.

I used one of my large Glimmer Screens and Pink & Gold Glimmer Mist on my black background. The edges of the layout are painted with a white paint dauber and then I stamped a text stamp on it. It looks really neat close up.

River Nymphs.

2011-06-10T15:21:00.000-07:00

As soon as I spotted this Karen Foster reed paper I thought of this photo. Breanna and I friend swimming in a reedy back channel on the Peace River. Tikanii enjoyed all the warm water too.

I cut the doily in half and used some metal tape to create a banner at the top.
The transparency under the photo is 7 gypsies.
MM tag and MME tag.
K&Co butterflies.
And, of course, a few Prima blooms.

A tropical 2 page layout

2011-06-08T18:09:00.000-07:00

I played at the Colour Room again. I thought this colour combo would be perfect for Tanis' pictures of the iguana at their resort.

The two pages aren't quite lined up properly. The 'resort' sticker and 'scary' are supposed to be straight across.

The papers are Karen Foster and Bella Blvd with a Bazzill Cardstock base. I sprayed Frost Glimmer Mist over some paper doily masks for my background. And some grey magic mesh for texture. A Prima crochet doily, flowers and leaves. MM journal pages and a wood frame.

I played at the Color Room again

2011-05-19T22:01:00.000-07:00

Last weeks palette was perfect for these beach photos from my sisters Mexican holiday. I couldn't get the right side to lighten up to match the left side, but you get the idea.

And the palette. I used the sketch flipped on it's side and stretched over a two pager.

Staying Cool for the Color Room scrapbook challenge

2011-05-01T10:52:00.001-07:00

My sister sent me photos of their last holiday in Mexico to scrap. Here's the first of them all playing in the resort pool. No journaling because I need to get her to do that part.

I hope she likes it. The first holiday album I did for her had much cleaner lines. But that was almost 3 years ago and I'm really enjoying playing with my masks and spray inks. I used a Heidi Swapp hibiscus mask for this layout. Sprayed it with pink Glimmer mist. Then I found an old package of HS hibiscus rubons so I layered them on top of the misting. They must have been past their 'use by' date because they didn't go on very easily.

The baby blue vellum I wet, scrunched up, then laid flat to dry. I edged it with light blue stickles and then sprinkled a little dark blue glitter on top of that.

The patterned paper is Karen Foster.

The colour combination was from this weeks #56 Color Room pallette.

Bathroom renos 2

2011-04-25T11:05:00.000-07:00

Dad even had Daniel helping out with the power tools. Here he is putting down the subfloor prior to the lino going down.

And the vanity is in. Along with the medicine cabinets and my lights. I wasn't sure if Rick would like them, but he does. The bell shaped shades are mosaic tile with a row of green jewels around the bottom edge. I chose the vanity faucets to match the lines of my lights.

We picked a green lino floor to pick up the green in my lights. Unfortunately the lino doesn't look green on my floor. I took a scrap piece down to Braun's Flooring to let them know they had given us the wrong lino. As soon as I walked in to their warehouse where we had seen the lino, the piece in my hand turned green. They have weird lighting that doesn't give a true reading of their floorings colour. Grrrr!
We had asked for a sample to take home and view before we bought, but they wouldn't give us one.
Oh well. It's installed now and while I'm dissapointed it isn't the colour I wanted it looks all right with the walls.
But we'll be shopping elsewhere when it comes to the kitchen renos.

Check out the wainscotting I wanted. I think it looks awesome. And I found a toilet paper holder that matches my bathroom perfectly. It's chrome with a white ceramic knob at the top and a white ceramic weighted stand (which is shaped like a toilet plunger but it's not. LOL)

Now to get the plumbing for the tub figured out and some finishing work done and my bathroom is complete.

Explore ~ a two page layout

2011-04-25T09:35:00.000-07:00

For the first time in a month I had a chance to scrap some photos. These are from a couple summers ago on a visit to Grandma and Grandad's in Victoria.

We're still renovating. Rick has been so busy he forgot to take down the ladder after filling the birdfeeders.

Guess who discovered the perfect spot to watch the birds from?

This photo was taken a couple days ago. All that snow you can see is gone and what is left in piles by the driveway is almost gone too. I noticed a few green shoots in my front garden yesterday. Spring is finally on it's way!

Bathroom renos

2011-04-22T18:12:00.000-07:00

I haven't been doing a lot of scrapbooking lately because we've been busy redoing our upstairs bathroom. Right from scratch. Rick gutted the room including pulling down the ceiling and replacing the 40 year old insulation. I should have taken pictures then, but didn't.
Here it is after the gyprock(sp?) had been put back up, taped and mudded. Rick has already put a couple of coats of a grey/tan colour on the walls.

Our medicine cabinets are going to be set into the walls so the mirror will lie flat or almost flat with the walls.

Rick put down some of the plywood base floor so we could at least have the second toilet in use. Five people trying to get ready in the morning with only one bathroom is not fun.

There used to be a 3' x 3' approx. closet in this corner. When we emptied it we filled a couple of garbage bags with junk that had made it's way to the back of the deep shelves and hadn't seen the light of day for years. Rick tore the closet completely out. The small jutted in piece left houses the chimney from the furnace, but where he's left the hole was just wasted space. I want him to build me a narrower shelving unit there for the towels and bath stuff. We're debating on wether or not to make a door for it or leave it open.

The ceiling is 'brocade' with a semigloss white paint.

We installed a ceiling fan and heatlamp while we were at it. I just hope our wiring can handle the extra load. Breanna's hairdryer blows our breaker most mornings.

So for now we have a tub in our living room, medicine cabinets in the hallway, and faucets in the bedroom. Hopefully they'll all be in the bathroom where they belong shortly.

Vista Internet Security 2011

2011-04-18T12:59:00.000-07:00

Grrr. One of my boys kindly downloaded a neat little program on to our desktop computer. It's called Vista Internet Security 2011 and it's a VIRUS!
Don't download it.
It's nasty.
It stops you from going on the internet so you can't find a fix, it deletes your antivirus program so you have no protection, and it keeps popping up and up and up and up.
So I went on my laptop and googled for a fix. None of the first few fixes I found worked but I did get rid of it. I booted into Safe Mode and ignoring the Vista Internet Security 2011 pop ups I went straight to Run and typed rstrui.exe, and then pressed ENTER.
rstrui.exe is the System Restore command. I don't know a lot about how it works or how to set it up. Luckily there was one restore point that was created before this little program was downloaded. I clicked on it and now our computer is back to normal and we are all a little smarter about what buttons to push when strange requests appear on our screen. Aren't we, DUNCAN!

I'm going to have to research the System Restore function a little more and make sure there are a few safe points to restore to for the next time.
If there is one.
Cross my fingers there's not.

I spy with my little eye...

2011-03-24T11:45:00.000-07:00

my handsome dude, Daniel posing at the Sidney Aquarium.

48 years

2011-03-17T19:18:00.000-07:00

I love the way Mum matted the photo and put it on a card. I can flip it up and read what she wrote whenever. This will be a special layout in my album.

The color room had the perfect colour combo for this layout last week. Pinks and black.

I picked up the papers at Unforgettable Memories.

Love to Fish ~ Two page layout

2011-03-13T10:15:00.000-07:00

I picked up the Karen Foster fishing line the last time I was at Unforgettable Memories. It is so perfect for these photos of Duncan trying to get a nibble. I used the word paper for my title, the fishermens ruler and as a base for my photos.

I also used one of my many, rarely used stamps on this layout. I stamped bullrushes on green vellum and layered them on top of other elements on my page. I love that the pieces are a little see-thru.

The bird on a branch is one of the woodcuts by Kaiser. I painted it brown then used crackle medium to give it some texture.

Boy on a Beach ~ a two page layout

2011-03-07T17:27:00.000-08:00

I knew I was going to cut out the Karen Foster wave paper as soon as I laid eyes on it. And it was the perfect colours for these photos of Duncan and Kona on the beach in Victoria last summer.

I did this layout at Unforgettable Memory's scrap retreat this weekend. I took along a couple of stamps because I have so many and I never use them. I used both on this layout. The boat image was stamped on some light yellow pp and then cut out. The snail and text stamp I put directly on my background paper in the upper right corner and under my journaling spot. Just a little extra texture.

I've had the fish beads forever. I strung them on black twine and let them play in the waves.

Winter is for the birds 12x12 layout.

2011-03-06T12:16:00.000-08:00

I'm sure Breanna was having fun on this day, but it looks cold out and her poor little lips are chapped. It must have been really cold out this day because Breanna has her ear band on and a winter coat. It seems like it has to be below -20 before my kids get their winter gear on. They are still going to school in just hoodies. I'm sure their busdriver must think I'm a bad mother to let my kids go outside underdressed, but I figure they're old enough now to dress themselves.

I used BoBunny's Midnight Frost line.

Top Dog

2011-02-16T13:16:00.000-08:00

Harmonie papers and ribbon.
Echo Park background pp and Letter stickers.

I made the rolled flowers using the Harmonie patterned paper.

Legislative Building in Victoria.

2011-02-13T11:34:00.000-08:00

I used mostly Harmonie 'Bella Bohemia' papers on this layout. The black paper is by Echo Park.

One of those 1/2 hour layouts that just come together so quickly.

Sudoku

2011-02-12T11:29:00.000-08:00

Bo Bunny Midnight Frost layout.

The journaling is all about our Sudoku races that Dad, Mum and I have when I'm down visiting.

A two page layout of Butchart Gardens

2011-02-11T12:27:00.001-08:00

Mum and Dad took us to see the 12 Days of Christmas at Butchart Gardens when we were visiting in December. I took a ton of photos; some with the flasth on and some with the flash off. These were all taken with the flash off.

I spraysed yellow ink using a doily as a mask on my shiny black cardstock.

The colour combo ~ purple, yellow, turquoise and chipboard was the challenge at The Color Room a couple weeks back.

I used some Hambly turquoise rubons on the purple mulberry paper.

A taste of winter

2011-01-25T17:22:00.000-08:00

Another one for my sisters album.

Mostly BoBunny. I did a bit of sewing on this one; around the edges and around the snowflake bling centers.

Grandma's gingerbread people ~ a two page layout

2011-01-20T20:32:00.001-08:00

I used this weeks palette at the colour room for this layout.

I wanted to put the recipe on here somewhere. Maybe I'll just write it on the back.

Puppy Love ~ a two page layout

2011-01-14T13:33:00.001-08:00

This layout ended up being a real collage of stuff. I've had it on my desk for a couple weeks now and everytime I'd go down I'd find a new piece to add to it.

The papers are Basic Grey and Crate Paper.
I sprayed Glimmer Mist Chalk blue on the journaling shipping tags so they weren't so yellow and coordinated better with everything. Thejournaling is about how my niece just loves Grandma and Grandad's pup, Kona, and always wants to be holding his leash while out walking.

Uniquely You

2011-01-04T17:07:00.000-08:00

I love the style of this Norwegian scrapper and check out her blog often. She makes the neatest fantasy scenes around cutout photos of her kids. Many of her added images she finds on the internet. So interesting!

Here's my attempt at her gorgeous style.

I created the background scene using Glimmer Mist, Shimmer Mist and my tree Glimmer Screens. The clouds are handcut. I used some Mulberry paper for the sun rays.

The photos I chose to cut out are of Breanna goofing off on a Kona walk while we were in Victoria last month. She was sitting on a concrete structure left over from the was at McCauley Dog Park. I had fun making the swing with corrugated paper and twine.

Away

2010-12-28T17:25:00.000-08:00

I bought the 'Winter Trees' glimmer screens last week and I'm having fun playing with them. I used green Maya Mist on kraft cardstock for this layout. And some droplets of 'soot' glimmer mist.

I'm uploading my Victoria photos this evening so I will have a bunch to scrap tomorrow.

See Drew Ski

2010-12-25T22:32:00.000-08:00

Double page layout for my sis.

2010-12-13T21:36:00.001-08:00

I have no clue what a Loppett is, but that's what Tanis had on the journaling that she sent with these photos. Hope it wasn't a typo.

The patterned papers and chipboard are Bo Bunny. The red is Bazzill trims.
The colour scheme is from the Colour Room. It went perfectly with the photos. I love the dash of red.

Froggy fun ~ a two page layout

2010-11-30T08:29:00.000-08:00

This layout is created around a PageMaps sketch.

The patterned paper is a fun froggy print I picked up at Unforgettable Memories.

The Pine River was very low this year and this back channel where the kids usually swim was one big mudhole. Breanna and Daniel were collecting little toads and making sand swamps for them.

It's starting to look a lot like Christmas...

2010-11-29T05:54:00.000-08:00

Honeydew, strawberries, raspberries and green grapes. Yummy!

Friends

2010-11-28T08:29:00.001-08:00

I did a how-to on making the glittery circles at Unforgettable Memories.

Bad Turbo

2010-11-08T18:27:00.000-08:00

This is the story of a very naughty cat.
Rick emptied the pond a couple weeks ago and bought 11 gold fish inside for the winter. There were in a covered fish tank that took Turbo no time at all to get into. We found the biggest goldfish on the floor less than hour after they were bought inside. We shooed Turbo away and put Mr. Fish back in the tank. His scales were all askew but he swam off. He didn't survive more than a couple days more. Poor guy.

I found a new colour challenge blog. I love these colours together.

Do you love Cosmo Cricket?

2010-11-04T09:50:00.001-07:00

Then check out this Design Teams member blog for a chance at it.

There is lots of eye candy to check out while you are there. Take a look around.

Prima product.

2010-10-25T12:05:00.001-07:00

Check out Prima's website for a chance to win and lots of inspiration. I just love all these colours. Gorgeous!

Really puts me in that Halloween mood.

Busy, busy, busy

2010-10-24T11:50:00.001-07:00

We've been busy around here. Breanna and I made a wreath the same night she made her SPA banner.
The base is cut from a shoe box and wrapped in Halloween patterned paper.
I glued some orange chipboard letters together to make SPOOKY and tied it to the frame.
We punched loads of scalloped circles out of black vellum; 15 sheets of vellum worth. Each of the circles was folded around the eraser end of a pencil and glue gunned in place.
I added a My Little Yellow Bicycle title in the lower right corner.
It is hanging by my front door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I've also been knitting while watching all the new shows on TV. I finished another baby hat. The pattern is a free one I found through Ravelry. I made it for a coworker.

The yarn is a variegated bulky yarn. It's really a quick pattern. Like a one show pattern. I did have to learn how to do Kitchener stitch to sew the ends together. I guess I didn't HAVE to; I could have just sewn it together like I normally do, but it's good to learn new things and next time it will go just as fast as whip stitching it together, but it will look better.

Here it is on Breanna's teddy.

Look what Breanna made

2010-10-17T22:47:00.000-07:00

She wants to have a Halloween party and one of the fun activities will be doing scary make-up on each other. So she designed and made this spa banner with some Halloween stuff I had down in my scrap room.
We cut out the triangles 8" long and 6" wide at the top.
She used a new border punch on some black cardstock and glued the strips along the edges of her triangles.

Breanna punched scalloped circles out of black cardstock and backed it with a ruffled green ribbon she had picked out at Unforgettable Memories. She added the big Chip Chatter letters to the circle and glued it all down.

Breanna cut out some cute Halloween figures from another patterned paper to embellish her banner and then glued a length of green trim to the tops of the triangle pieces.

As a finishing touch she set an eyelet in the bottom of each triangle and strung some beads through them.

The banner is hanging over her door and looks fabulous.

BIG fish and a colour challenge

2010-10-15T11:14:00.001-07:00

I've been seeing a lot of layouts created around the Colour Room challenges lately so I thought I'd check it out. This was this weeks colour challenge.

And here's my layout using those colours.

2 page layout / NVS October challenge

2010-10-12T09:11:00.006-07:00

While we were camping on the river back in August we had a weird wind come up and create this whirlpool on the river. It was very strange. One minute all was calm and we were sitting on the bank relaxing and chatting. The next minute we noticed some white water and a strong wind had come sprung up. We sat up and paid attention and watched as the white water spun across the river towards us. It probably took about 5 minutes to make it to our side of the river. The wind skipped across the rocky beach, up the bank, raced through our campsite and out the other side. Then everything was calm again.

I was looking for inspiration when I came across the Nerdy*Victorious*Girls website. There challenge this month has lovely colours in it. I just love the splash of yellow! This is the layout I designed around Octobers challenge. Play along. The prize this month is donated by BlueMoon Scrapbooking.

I just bought the paw print border punch at Unforgettable Memories. I couldn't wait to use it.

I've used glittery gold Bazzill buttons in the centers of my yellow flowers.

The patterned papers are all Fancy Pants.

Button hat for a coworkers baby

2010-10-07T09:51:00.001-07:00

I knit up this baby hat last night for a coworkers shower. The shower is today. Nothing like leaving it to the last minute.

I used Patons Shetland Chunky in a variegated blue and brown colour. The button was one I found in my scrapbooking stash. There is a crocheted loop in the top of the hat so it can be buttoned down for a different look.

I found the pattern through Ravelry. It's a free one and can be found here. It took less time than the length of a movie to knit.

It's my birthday...

2010-10-04T15:05:00.084-07:00

It was my birthday. Last Saturday. Rick was working so I invited my friends over. Lilia coerced her husband/chauffeur into playing photographer when he dropped her off. She had us all posing for the camera. First in the house. I really think as birthday girl I should have got a position in the back and the littlest person should have been front and center. As I get older I'm learning all these tricks on how to look slimmer in photographs and sitting at the back is one of them. Talking while the camera is pointed at me is something I need to remember not to do.

Another trick I've learned to make myself look more normal is to keep my eyes open when the photographer is snapping away. Melody hasn't reached that 'older' age yet, so she doesn't always look as good as the rest of us in photos. (Maybe that's why she didn't get the front position. LOL)

Lilia made a gorgeous birthday cake. Here it is posing with my beautiful girl, and Lilia's beautiful girl and my son who has a gleam in his eye. I think he's thinking about chocolate.

Daniel insisted he didn't touch the cake before we finished photographing it, but that little spot of chocolate under his bottom lip kinda gave him away.

as did this photo taken from the other side. Bad boy, Daniel!

We ate far too much chocolate that evening.

After taking photos inside Lilia dragged us all outside and had us pose in front our new entryway.

Lilia, Me, Melody, and Wanda.

Now it's Wanda, Me, Melody and Lilia.

We were thinking it would be so fun if Mary could have been here with us so we found a tree and named it Mary and took a picture with us around her.

It was getting rather windy and cold by that time so we sent our photographer/chauffeur/Lilia's husband home till 2:30am when she recalled him to drive everyone home.

Melody and Mary gave me a motion detector garbage can. I've been wanting one ever since I noticed Melodys at her home a couple years ago but they're not that easy to find. And I got four gorgeous mugs with cherry blossoms painted on the sides. Perfect for lattes. Thanx, Mary :) They all chipped in and got me a GC for the salon I go to for my haircuts, though I don't think I'll use it for anything as mundane as a trim. Maybe a pedicure or some other luxurious pampering. And a Rotary lottery ticket. I'm keeping my fingers crossed I win something good.

We played a fun game similar to Taboo, but electronic. The kids had a great time guessing with us, though they wouldn't pick sides and yelled out their guesses indiscriminately. It got funner as the evening wore on. And louder.

I love birthdays.

Journey

2010-09-25T19:30:00.002-07:00

Breanna flew all by herself for the first time this summer. She flew from Grande Prairie to Edmonton to stay with a friend for a couple weeks. Rick and I were both at the airport to pick her up.

This layout is at Unforgettable Memories on the wall. I love how it turned out. Papers are Bo Bunny and 7 Gypsies. The turquoise rubons in the top corners are Hambly Screen Prints. Those gorgeous jewelled brads are Karen Foster and of course I used Prima blooms as well.

15teen

2010-09-17T18:22:00.000-07:00

Duncan is looking so grown up. It just seems too fast.

'All by myself' (humming to myself)

2010-09-11T09:56:00.002-07:00

I had a fabulous day yesterday. I had a day ALL BY MYSELF (I can't get that song out of my head). Captain Pink was working, the kids were all in school. Dinner (bbq ribs) was already in the crockpot. It was just me and my scrapping supplies all day long. It's been a long time since I've had a day just by myself.
Housework can wait, right?
Right!

I got two layouts done.

And cleaned up my scraproom a little. I'm getting a new window for my room and while I think the guys installing it can do most of the installing from outside I'm assuming they will have to do some work from inside. It's been awhile since I could walk from the door to the window without climbing a few mountains of supplies so I did some sorting, and purging, and finding new hidey holes to stuff stuff that wasn't in the path from the door to the window. A couple more cleaning sessions and maybe I'll actually be able to scrap in my scraproom.

But no-one was home to complain about me taking over the dining room table so I packed my stuff upstairs and got to work.

I tried and tried to get a good photo of this layout. I really love how it turned out. I used my Glimmer Screens and 3 colours of Glimmer Mist to create the background. The patterned papers are Bella Blvd. and K & Co. The tree is a Jolee's sticker. The title and random rub-ons are Crate Paper. I also used some cork paper and burlap for the great texture.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And then I made this layout in a completely different style. I left it lying on the table most of the day trying to figure out how to 'mess it up', but finally decided to leave it as is. I don't HAVE TO use ink or spray or distress the edges. I CAN create a layout with clean paper and clean lines.

The papers are scraps left over from my last couple of layouts. They were mostly long, thin strips so I put them along the side. I wanted to use my border punch as they've been gathering dust for the last few scrapping sessions so I didn't tear the papers. The one torn piece is the short rectangle across the bottom and even that's not very messy.

I used one of my Fancy Pants diecuts for the journaling and found some 'lifejacket orange' flowers to drop randomly on the page.

Does it look too neat?

Explore

2010-09-08T10:51:00.001-07:00

I was playing around with my camera while taking a rest break during Paddle for the Peace. From lying down on the sandy beach I got some neat shots of Daniel and the boats through the weeds. The different perspective looks really neat..

I used lots of scraps on this layout. Bella Blvd., part of a cork sheet, a couple of Fancy Pants diecuts. The butterflys are punched out of packaging. The big weed is a Hambly Screen Print ~ it came on the same sheet as the weeds on the Bear Layout below.

Discover Yourself

2010-09-07T12:31:00.000-07:00

I love this photo of Daniel floating down the Peace River. It looks so calm and peaceful. This was taken back in July during 'Paddle for the Peace'.

The big red butterfly is Jenni Bowlin. They come in different colours. I may have to pick up another one or two.

Eight bears

2010-09-06T11:18:00.001-07:00

I scrapped about our trip up the river one afternoon in August. The one where we saw eight bears.

The eight is a big Tim Holtz grunge number, sprayed with green Maya Mist and swiped with brown ink around the edges.

The patterned paper is Harmonie, as are the wood cutouts. Basic Grey lace rubons, Chatterbox buttons, Hambly acrylic 'weeds', Fancy Pants diecut and a Prima leaf.

Inky pages

2010-09-04T20:34:00.003-07:00

I used my Glimmer Screen mask for the top left corner. After I sprayed over the mask I flipped the Glimmer Screen over and used it as a stamp on the bottom right corner.

Duncan was pretty happy with his 'Skull Candy' earphones. Apparently they are the coolest things.

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This is Duncan at Pillar Lake playing around in a kayak.

Don't rock the boat, Duncan, or you'll be swimming with the BIG leeches. :)

Just add Water

2010-09-03T09:34:00.004-07:00

We took a lot of photos at Pillar Lake.

Of all the fun we had.

I grouped a bunch of them (9) on this page.

Then asked Rick what I should I call my layout.

'Just Add Water'

It seemed appropriate.

All the photos feature us on the lake.

Fun!

The patterned paper is K & Co. Basic Grey Rubons. Bella Blvd cutouts. Jenni Bowlin buttons. And Bo Bunny brads. I love the leaf ribbon. Unforgettable Memories has it in several colours.

Connect 4

2010-08-24T07:40:00.001-07:00

We got this travel version of Connect 4 at Christmas from Hugh and Elena. Breanna is always challenging us to games. It is so fun! The kids brought it with us when we went to Pillar Lake in July and it sat on the camp table all weekend. I think everyone there played a few games over the two days.

I haven't used Mulberry paper on a layout in forever, but I was cruising around different artsy blogs and love how some of the artists paint diluted inks or paints in soft swathes across their pages and I thought 'hmmmm, that looks kinda like mulberry paper. I think I should try that'. So I did.

I splattered different colours of ink on the background and used all kinds of bits and pieces from my stash. Rub-ons, Prima leaves, Bella Blvd cutouts, Tim Holtz grunge number, Jenni Bowlin buttons...

A two page layout of our trip to Pillar Lake

2010-08-23T07:46:00.001-07:00

We spent two days at Pillar Lake with Papa, Grandma, Uncle Ken and a couple of his care workers. Pillar Lake is an hour out of Vernon, just past Falklands. It was a pretty little lake but none of us was swimming in it after spotting a HUGE leach lurking around our dock.

We had 3 cabins between us; ours is shown up in the trees in the far left photo. The dock was shared by our cabin and Uncle Ken's cabin. Duncan had talked Papa into renting an aluminum boat and a kayak by the time we got there. The following day we had to return the aluminum boat so we got a canoe instead.

The photo second from the right is the naturally formed pillar that the lake is named after. It pokes up above the tree line in the bushes above the lake. The boys did some fishing, but didn't have any luck.

On the 'field notes' card I've jotted down info on the huge snake we saw beside the path down to the dock. Green with yellow stripes and a red design. It was bigger than any garter snake I'd ever seen, but after researching it we discovered that was what it was.

More camping photos

2010-08-22T09:20:00.000-07:00

Here's one of Duncan putting us around Pillar Lake in a little aluminum boat we had rented from the resort we stayed at.

Two 2 page layouts

2010-08-17T09:38:00.002-07:00

Sunday was a quiet day at home. I made a big mess on my dining room table and turned out two layouts; both of them two pagers.
The first one is of Turbo stalking the goldfish in the pond. He has gone swimming a couple times when he's leaned too far over. I know he'd love to catch one, but unlike the mice and birds in the yard so far our goldfish are safe.

This second layout is Tikanii and Turbo playing. They are so funny the way they attack each other in fun.

Both of these layouts will be at Unforgettable Memories later this week.

Camping and a layout

2010-08-15T12:23:00.002-07:00

Thursday afternoon we packed up and went camping in the rain. Of course, by the time we found our campsite on an island halfway between Lynx Creek and the Halfway the sun had come out. It is never miserable on the river. It was almost 7pm by the time we got camp set up so we had some dinner, sat around the campfire for a while and then headed to bed when it got dark just after 10.

The next morning Rick boated me back to his truck. We had forgotten Tikanii's pills :( Rick was going to be back at the boat launch at 1pm to pick up me and Dunc's friends' parents who were going to bring dinner out for us and spend some time boating/fishing with the boys. So I had a few hours to fill once I'd put together the list of forgotten items. I managed to scrap a page of Paddle for the Peace last month. I used this months Prima sketch though the papers are Bella Blvd.

While I was enjoying some quiet time the boys and Rick were fishing. They caught a HUGE bull trout and took a picture before throwing it back. The boys were pretty excited.

We camped out Friday night and came home late Saturday evening. I love being on the river, but it's sure nice to be clean and in my own bed at night.

Playing hookie and a 2 page layout

2010-08-10T22:51:00.003-07:00

It was so gorgeous today. Too nice to be sitting in an office ~ even if it does have a window. So when Rick phoned me at work to say he was gasing up the boat I said 'what for me!' I took the afternoon off and then went back and said I was taking the rest of the week for vacation time. Yippee. 5 days off!

We went up the river with Duncan and a friend of his. It was hot and sunny and oh, so much more pleasant than sitting in a cubicle in front of a computer. We saw 8 bears. Yes, you read that right; EIGHT. I've never seen more than two in one day so that was amazing. They were everywhere. Three of them we saw in the middle of the afternoon as we were heading upriver. One was trying to swim across when we came along. Duncan's friend got this photo as we were going by.

And here's another layout I finished last weekend. Daniel took the photos of me during Paddle for the Peace last month. That's Rick coming up behind me in the river boat. He thinks it's soooo funny to get people wet :(

Breanna and her friend were sitting on the bow enjoying the ride.

The patterned papers are all MME which is Unforgettable Memories feature manufacturer this month.

Tikanii and Turbo looking for a meal

2010-08-10T08:45:00.000-07:00

Another layout from this past weekend. These two are always looking to be fed.

The background paper is Fancy Pants 'family' line. The matting pp is MME.

Some Prima blooms and black jewels, and 7Gypsies brads embellish my page.

The rest of the embellishments are bits and pieces from my stash.

It rained this weekend

2010-08-09T11:18:00.001-07:00

and I'm minus 2 kids. Only Duncan is home with me. Breanna flew to Edmonton all by herself to visit a friend and Daniel is visiting Grandma and Grandad in Victoria. Rick worked so I made a mess of my dining room table and scrapbooked.
Last time Breanna and I were in Victoria we visited Ted Harrison's studio/shop. Her teacher had done an Art unit on Ted Harrison's style of painting. Unfortunately he wasn't in at the time of our visit. Here she is standing outside his shop.

The paper is by Harmonie.
I used loads of Prima ~ blooms, bling and that printed burlap which adds great texture.
The arrow under the title and the journal spot are by Little Yellow Bicycle.

Ooblik

2010-07-06T08:14:00.001-07:00

A quick layout using the scraps on my desk. Harmonie pp, MM notes, BG chipboard alpha and Crate Paper chipboard decorations.

I sprayed green shimmer mist over my bird mask on the bottom of the patterned paper.

A two page layout of my cute nephew

2010-06-30T11:08:00.001-07:00

I took these photos a couple of summers ago while we were holidaying in Whistler. Wade wasn't worried about heights at all.

The papers, title and alpha stickers are MME. I also used a few stickers from a Bella Blvd sheet.

I'm still having fun making the banners :)

A blue velvet Christmas dress

2010-06-24T09:42:00.001-07:00

I did this layout for Unforgettable Memories using some Quick Quotes papers, rubons and diecuts.

I love the orange and found some gorgeous Prima flowers to match. Isn't the Prima butterfly gorgeous. It is very sparkly.

Susie's reading mitts

2010-06-23T09:11:00.004-07:00

That's what these mitts are called. And the pattern is free through Ravelry.

The wool is handspun yarn I bought at the Farmer's Market in Quesnel about 15-20 years ago.

I love how they turned out. They are so pretty and comfie.

I think I'll make another pair.

Hilarious.

2010-06-22T13:45:00.000-07:00

This is too funny; I have tears running down my face. Check it out.

Baby boy layouts

2010-06-15T22:11:00.002-07:00

It's hard to believe this little guy is entering Grade 11 next year.

What a cutie. Everytime I turned my back he was climbing to reach something I had put up high so it was out of his reach. He still doesn't like to be told 'no' or to be made to feel he's not old enough for something. He'll get his drivers license this December.

And here's my other little guy about 6 or 7 years old. I didn't write on the back of the photos so I'm not sure of the exact date. He's holding a paper rocket he built with Grandad.

Sketch challenge at ScrapCentral.ca

2010-06-14T22:14:00.001-07:00

We've been having a fun crop for Bonnie's 50th birthday celebration this month. Remember Bonnie from Seattle, Mum? I've managed to get a few challenges done for the crop. This was the last one I completed. Teresa posted a sketch challenge.

Grandma scrapbook page

2010-06-10T20:06:00.001-07:00

The patterned paper I used for the background is Crate Paper. I had fun using my masks and sprays to add some texture to the page.

The Prima butterfly is gorgeous. And so are the Prima canvas flowers. I love the centre of the big flower. The smaller flowers I added Kaiser jewels to.

Angora fingerless mitts

2010-06-09T08:50:00.001-07:00

I loved knitting these fingerless mitts. I knit them with a Pingouin angora yarn I've had for more than 20 years. It's so good to have a couple balls less in my stash. And these mitts are so soft and warm ~ I can't wait for fall.

The pattern is called 'fetching' and it's free.

I'm not sure I like the picot bind-off. It seems to stick out a bit. The next pair I might do a normal BO and see if it hugs my hand closer.

Breanna modeled these for me.

Gramma Love scrapbook layout

2010-06-08T17:08:00.000-07:00

I love this patterned paper by Harmonie. The colours are so pretty and the design is lovely.

I used my new triangle punch for the banner title. It was drastically reduced at Michaels for only $2.99. What a steal.

Scrapping 2 page layouts

2010-06-06T17:33:00.002-07:00

I'm way behind in my scrapbooking, but having Rick out of my hair for a couple days has given me a chance to get some photos on pages.
I'm scrapping photos taken at Spring Break ~ over a month ago. The first layout I called Wide Open Spaces. We're on a Kona walk while in Victoria visiting Grandma and Grandad.

The patterned papers are by Harmonie. The Chipboard and brads are from a Crate Paper line that goes so well with the Harmonie. The yellow felt alpha is Prima.

Check out Daniel's face in the following pictures. His sister had the camera so he had to goof off. I had to be a little stern to get a half decent smile out of him. I don't think Papa was too impressed by the faces.

Papers and chipboard are Crate Paper. I also used up some stash that was lying around on my desk, like the Little Yellow Bicycle film strips and journaling piece. The white alpha is Thickers and the turquoise one is Bo Bunny.

Rick just got home but there's hockey on tonight so I don't have to clear the table just yet. I might get another layout or two done if I'm lucky.

My Rose Leaf Trellis Shawl is finished

2010-05-21T09:50:00.000-07:00

And blocked.
I've never blocked anything before but I'm so glad I did. The shawl became lacier and lighter with the blocking. It looks beautiful. I gave it to Megan for her prom this weekend. She modelled her dress for me with the shawl and it was gorgeous! I'll have to get some photos from her Mum. In the meantime here's a couple I took of the shawl at home before I gave it away.

Play all day

2010-05-19T09:57:00.000-07:00

A quick layout I did this weekend for my LSS Unforgettable Memories. The photos are from my recent trip to Victoria over spring break. I was lucky enough to be there at the same time as my niece and nephews. They had a lot of fun on the beach playing with Kona; Grandma and Grandads pup.

I love the new Bazzill dotty cardstock. I sprayed Maya Mist over some scrolly lace paper I had for the background. The patterned paper is Harmonie and the chipboard accents are Crate Paper. I cut one of Prima's felt branches in two pieces.

Rose Leaf Trellis Shawl

2010-05-07T13:48:00.000-07:00

My Rose Leaf Trellis Shawl is coming along beautifully. I have almost 20" completed now. 55" to go.

It will look so much better once it's been blocked. The bottom will be even and wavy. The lace design will be even more open and delicate.

I can't wait to get it finished. I've found about a hundred other patterns I'd like to knit. It's too bad it's such a time consuming hobby.

2010-05-04T12:50:00.000-07:00

Lots of spraying of Glimmer Mist. I just got the large Glimmer Screen so had to try it out.
Lots of Prima embellished with bling.
Lots of border punched scraps.
I really like how this layout came together.
Or maybe it's the adorable characters in the photos that I'm loving.

My kidlets were so cute way back when.

Using the scraps

2010-04-27T10:50:00.000-07:00

I just bought a couple of big Glimmer Screens and used them for the first time yesterday. They make great backgrounds. I punched a few little butterflies to mask in the top right corner and then loved them so much I slid them off the masked areas and glued them down. A tone on tone effect.

The other side.

2010-04-26T08:40:00.001-07:00

Banners are so fun and easy to make.

Now to get messy with the scraps.

I've also started knitting my first lace project. The first row was tough; I had to rip it out 4 times before I got the pattern right, but after that it was smooth sailing. I've finished one set of the pattern and I'm loving how it looks.

PS. I'm knitting in black wool. It sorta looks like blue in my photo.

Easter layout

2010-04-22T10:22:00.000-07:00

I'm hoping to get a few Easter pages done this week. Here's the first. My nephew is just one in these photos and already knows what chocolate is all about. Yum!

hippity hop for chocolate

Gardening and Trellis making in April

2010-04-21T08:16:00.002-07:00

The weather has been absolutely amazing for this early in the year. Hot and sunny. More like summer than spring. I hope this is a promise for whats to come and not an early summer that's going to be over by May. The weekend was sunny and in the 20s. Wow!
Breanna and I started cleaning out our garden beds while the boys and Rick raked the yard everywhere there wasn't still snow. Tikanii spent the day lying on the remaining snow trying to stay cool.
Sunday afternoon we took Tikanii for a walk and collected some willow. The pussy willows are just starting to bud. When we got home this is what I made.

Not a nail or piece of twine anywhere. I wove the horizontal branches through the uprights and by the time I'd gotten half a dozen in place the trellis felt pretty sturdy.

I need a couple more long branches to fill it out a bit more. I've planted half a row of peas with my fingers crossed that it won't freeze once they're above ground. The weather for the next week is in the high teens. Maybe it will last to the end of May when we can generally plant our garden without fear of frost.

I also want to pick some thin bendy pieces of willow to decorate the top. I bent some long uprights over and made arches. I think it would look neat to have more of a design along the top.

Everything still looks so brown except for the occasional patches of green. That's an oriental poppy coming up in the front of this bed. I also have half a dozen strawberry plants in this garden. So much work to do.

vest

2010-04-20T12:16:00.000-07:00

Mum commented that I hadn't put any photos of me wearing this vest on my blog ~ so I got Breanna to snap a bunch on the weekend and here they are. I really don't like photos of myself! But I do like the vest.

If I was to make the vest for myself I would definitely add an inch to each front ~ mabye more?

The sleeves and back seem to fit well. The side seam is right under my arm where it should be. It just doesn't quite hang like it does on the pattern pamphlet.

Love the back!

Weekly Meal Plan: Monday April 19th

2010-04-19T13:06:00.023-07:00

I stumbled across Org Junkie and their 'menu plan Monday' a while back and thought it was an excellent idea. But I thought with my schedule it would be easier if I made up my menu on Saturday as that is the day I do my big grocery shop. Well, I did it for a week or two and then it fell by the wayside and I was doing my usual evening scramble trying to figure out what to make for supper after a long days work.

So I'm going to do it along with all the ladies at Org Junkie. If you check out the link there are lots of ideas for weekly menus. It's a great place to find new recipes.

Mon ~ turkey soup. I boiled a turkey carcass from a dinner we enjoyed last week for a few hours last night so I'll pick out the bones and gristle when I get home and turn it into homemade soup. Yummy.

Tues ~ Quick Potted Spanish Chicken This is a Rachel Ray recipe. I love her recipes though we haven't had this one before. I noticed in the comments that someone had made this in the crockpot ~ so that's what I'm going to do. Get it all set up tonight, plug it in tomorrow morning and my house will smell delish when I get home from work tomorrow night.

Wed ~ Black Bean Chilli. This is a favourite dish in our house. I think I found it in a magazine years ago and I make it fairly regularly. It's quick, easy and not as heavy as other chillis.

Black Bean Chilli

 1 T olive oil

 1 large onion chopped

 1 green pepper chopped

 1 clove garlic chopped

Sauté on med-high heat till soft ~ about 8 min.

 ½ lb ground turkey (or beef)

Add and cook till no longer pink ~ about 4 min.

 ¼ cup chilli powder

 1 T gr. Cumin

 ¾ tsp salt

 ½ tsp allspice

Add and cook for 1 min.

 1 can (16oz) Stewed Tomatoes

 1 cup water

Add and simmer for 7 min.

 3 cups diced zucchini

 1 can (19oz) black beans drained and rinsed

Add, stirring till cooked ~ about 10 min.

 ¼ cup shredded cheddar

 ¼ cup gr onion chopped

Garnish.

Thurs ~ Steak and mashed potatoes. My guy is a meat and potatoes kinda guy so I try to make him happy every now and then.

Fri ~ I found this fish dish on the Canadian Living Foodie Blog which has been shut down :( I thought it sounded yummy so saved it. I'll give it a whirl and let you know Saturday if it's a keeper.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
• 4 medium Anaheim chilies, seeded and thinly sliced
• 2 bay leaves
• 8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 2 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes, quartered
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 3 cups unsalted vegetable stock or canned broth
• 6 to 8 saffron threads
• 1/2 tsp piment d’Espelette, plus more for garnish
• Salt and freshly ground white pepper, to taste
• 1/2 tsp. crushed dried hot chili peppers
• 2 lb. skinless halibut (my favorite) or red snapper fillets, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
• 3 Tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions:

In a large chef’s skillet or other large pan over high heat, warm the 1/2 cup olive oil. Add the onions, Anaheim chilies, bay leaves and garlic and sauté, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Add the potatoes, wine, stock, saffron and the 1/2 tsp. piment d’Espelette. Bring the mixture to a boil, cover and reduce the heat to medium. Season with salt and white pepper, add the chili peppers and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

In a large sauté pan over medium heat, warm the remaining 2 Tbs. olive oil. Add the fish and sauté until lightly browned, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to the chef’s skillet and continue cooking, stirring occasionally to avoid breaking the fish apart, 8 to 10 minutes more. Season with salt and white pepper and discard the bay leaves.

Ladle the stew into warmed shallow soup bowls, and sprinkle with the parsley and piment d’Espelette. Serve immediately. Serves 4.

I read up on piment d’Espelette. It's a pepper from a certain area of France. Suggested substition is Smoked Paprika which I happen to have.

Sat ~ Lasagne. Daniel is getting quite good at making this and it's one of my favourite dishes.

Sun ~ Pork chops. Rick likes the thin fast fry pork chops. For side dishes I'll do rice and sliced raw veggies. Quick and easy!

So that's it for me. I'm almost organized. I just need to check the cupboards and fridge and make a grocery list of what I don't have.

The Help

2010-04-18T09:07:00.000-07:00

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

I'm reading The Help for ScrapCentral's book club. It's not my normal choice for a novel, but it's well written and keeping my attention.

When I started reading it I thought it was farther in the past until the authour mentioned planes and dishwashers. I am astounded that racism was so prevalent and 'normal' at this time ~ I'm guessing mid 1900s.

I'm enjoying how the authour switches from one characters point of view to anothers as the chapters progress.

View all my reviews >>

Knitting

2010-04-15T10:19:00.000-07:00

Mum and I found a cute little yarn shop while I was down visiting over Spring Break. It's called the Button & Needlework Boutique and it had this cute vest knitted up and on display. Mum tried it on and loved it so I said I'd knit it for her, though I haven't knit anything since the boys were babies ~ 15 years ago. I started on it right away. I knit lots while visiting the In-Laws in Vernon. By the time we got home on the Easter long weekend I just had the yoke and the sewing up to do.
I finished it last weekend and wore it to work on Monday. I hope Mum doesn't mind that I wore her sweater before she did. I'll pack it up tonight and mail it down tomorrow. I think I might make one for myself. It is really cute! Though I'll make my fronts a tad wider so the vest hangs more like the one on the flat-chested model instead of flaring out.

I've already picked up some yarn and started knitting myself a little cardigan. The yarn is made out of bamboo. Who knew they could make yarn out of bamboo? It's very nice to work with ~ like a thin silky ribbon. The colour I chose is a light tan colour called, funnily enough, bamboo.

I'm participating in a Knit-a-long(KAL) at Daily Knitting though I'm a little behind because I wanted to finish Mum's vest first. I don't think it will take me long to catch up. I'm halfway up the back already. Most of the ladies are on their front pieces now and we're due to start our sleeves on the 20th of this month.

Knitting is my new diet plan. I knit in front of the tv instead of running up during the ads for snacks.

The Glass Castle

2010-04-13T20:48:00.002-07:00

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Loved it. I love the way she writes. And that it was a true story (autobiography) makes it even more amazing.

View all my reviews >>

A Toddler layout

2010-04-12T07:16:00.000-07:00

This layout has been on my desk for about 3 weeks. What with work and Spring Break I haven't had any chance at all to scrapbook. I took some time yesterday to finish up this page before starting on a new one.

The preprinted tab says 'How he has changed my life' and the journaling is about how we spent a lot of time at McDonalds when he was two. The Play Place was a good place to work off some of that two year old energy, especially in the winter when it was too cold to play outside.
We never go there anymore, now that the boys are teens.

Easter Monday recovering dining room chairs

2010-04-07T10:42:00.000-07:00

I picked up some fake brown leather (vinyl) at Fanny's Fabrics in Vernon last week. I've been wanting to recover my diningroom chairs for ages now. They desperately needed it. Fabric is not a suitable material for dining room chairs. Especially with kids in the house.
They all helped me out. The boys pulled off the old stuff, stapled on the new stuff and screwed everything back together with me. It took most of the day to get seven chairs done (I'm not sure what happened to chair #8, but we couldn't find it anywhere).
Breanna took photos of the process. She insisted on taking closeups of the old chair covers so we could all see just how stained and grosse they were. I tried shampooing them at one time, but that just pushed the stains to the edges of the seat. Yuk!. I'm so glad the new ones are wipe clean.

Here's Duncan removing the old cover.

And Daniel pretending to be busy with a chair frame in his hands.

Me stapling on the new covers.

Both the boys screwing the new seat pad to the chair. I think this was the toughest job. Some of those screws didn't want to go in, or wouldn't grip when they did go in.

And here they are in my dining room. Lovely!

I think the next job will be to strip and replace the eighties wallpaper.

An Easter treasure hunt

2010-04-06T05:46:00.000-07:00

What's Easter without an egg hunt? The chocolate kind is our favourite. This year instead of making up clever clues in rhyme, because I could never beat my Dad for cleverness, I took closeup photos of spots around the house.

Clue #1 is sitting in the lap of my persian lambswool teddy. He's a cute little stuffed bat that didn't get put away with the rest of the Halloween decorations. I've tucked some eggs under him for the kids to find.

Clue #2 is the thermometer on top of our pantry. I think this will be an easy one even though I cropped a lot of the screen out of the photo.

Clue #3 is Breannas folk doll that hangs on my hall closet door knob.

#4 ~ The big planter in the entry way.

Clue #5 is the unsorted sock pile on top of the dryer.

We have a hockey table in the rumpus room. I had one of the little men shooting Easter eggs for #6.

My birch house up high on a shelf is #7. Too easy!

#8 is a photo box Mum & Dad gave me. It sits by the computer.

#9 is a glass pear that hangs in my kitchen window.

And lastly #10 is Daddy's boot. I thouht this would be a tough one, but it wasn't. The kids instantly recognized the colours and shape.

Next year I'm going to have to crop the photos even more. The only one that gave the kids any trouble was #1. They recognized the stuffed bat right away, but couldn't remember where he was.