Looking back on 2008

It's the last day of the year already? Wasn't it just yesterday that we celebrated the start of 2008 with a quiet family celebration? Wasn't it just the other day that the Spring warmth was melting the snow away revealing the tiny little bud that would soon become a flower. It was certainly just last week that my son was only 4 and still in preschool, playing with his little friends and learning his letters? It couldn't have been that long ago since I felt the hot Summer sun on my face and smelled the beautiful scents from the garden. Didn't we just drive to Saskatchewan and celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the family farm and see faces we hadn't seen in quite a while? Has it really been 6 months ago now that we started our own business? And I could have sworn we just had a long walk in the woods surrounded by crisp Autumn leaves. No... it couldn't have been that long ago. It was just yesterday... wasn't it?

The memories are all so fresh in my mind still. What a glorious year we have had. Everything was perfect.. .although we may not have seen it at the time. It all turned out the way it should. And now things are different... but still the same. It's still our life.

My boy is now 5 years old and going to kindergarten. He is playing soccer on the U6 team. U6?? I can still remember those little guys running around on the U4 team... big baggy jerseys down to their knees. We have been at our new business for a while now and making it all work. Our own business... that's crazy! The snow is covering the ground and the garden is sleeping until the Spring. Christmas is over and the new year is coming. And we are healthy, we are happy... and we love each other more than ever.

We are off tonight to celebrate the coming of another year with friends. I wish you all a very happy New Year. May it be all that you want it to be.

One Little Word for 2009

Ali Edwards has her One Little Word post up for 2009. Go here to add your word and read about other people's word. I find it incredibly inspiring.

By the way, my word for 2009 is 'let'. I'll explain more about why I chose this word tomorrow.

My favourite gift of all...

Well... other than being together, our health, family time and all that goodness.

Yes... I received finger puppets. And yes... I have been playing with them pretty much non stop. I'm weird that way.

But the stilleto tape dispenser came in a close second. Looks great in my craft room. One of those things you would just never buy for yourself, but now that you have it you love it. Thanks Mom.

Isn't life grand! :o)

Just playing a little...

I am playing with my blog template a little tonight. Bare with me... I am new at this. I am trying to create three columns and center my title. We'll see if I accomplish it. :)

UPDATE: Didn't like the three columns. But if you are interested in trying it you can go to www.threecolumnblogger.com. Easy to follow directions. Just too busy for my liking. Plus I never did get my banner to center (ok... that's the real reason). I need to figure out how to add a pretty background too.

Nature Journals

Just a quick post. I have been doing some online research on nature journals since posting this morning. There is so much wonderful information out there. I may be changing my original idea just a tad to add a little more journaling. But I still want to keep with a type of scrapooking style in the book. Here's some of the resources I have found for nature journals.

Sierra Club - Keeping a Nature Journal
Kid's Planet - Create a Nature Journal
Highlights Kids - Nature Journal Tips
Handbook of Nature Study

These are just a few of the many of have come across today. I am looking forward to taking all of these ideas and putting our own spin on them. Plus adding an artist touch of our own. Can't wait to get started. If anyone else knows of some other resources we might find useful, please feel free to share. I would love to hear about them.

Organizing, Inspiration Journals and Saying Goodbye

I love Sunday! I can sleep in, be lazy while I drink my morning coffee and slowly start to think about what I am going to do today. No rushing.

Our house is slightly turned upside down right now with all the toys from Christmas, still without a home. I need to organize everything and put it away. But before doing that, I think J and I need to go through some of his old toys and think about giving some away. Our little house does not have the room for so many toys. I also need to find a place for the things hubby and I received too. We got an electric wok which needs a home in the kitchen. That will be a task considering every nook and cranny is filled in there. I also received two (yes 2) tea pots this year and I have no idea where I will be putting them. So I am thinking I will do some organizing today.

I have been thinking about some of the craft projects I want to take on this coming year. I need to catch up on scrapbooking, but since I am so far behind I have decided not to scrapbook the photos from 2007 and 2008 (I have done a few, but not many). I am simply going to store them in an online photobook, which is what I will be doing with all my photos from now on. I will only be scrapbooking a select few, most of which will go as gifts to family. There is one specific scrapbooking project I want to do though. A Nature Scrapbook! It will tell of our walks through nature, as well as camping and other things we do through out the year. So this will be a year long project for J and I... telling of our little adventures in the woods and what we find there. Nature study is so important in my eyes. That is part of the reason we chose the school that J goes too. They also believe in the importance of nature and incorporate it into the student's learning. So this nature study of ours will go along well with that. And I hope we will be able to share our finds with his classroom from time to time.

I would also like to start knitting again, and doing more crochet. But the big thing I want to do is get back in to painting. It has been years since I have seriously painted anything. I loved it so much, I wonder why I ever stopped. I still have all the supplies, but may have to replenish a few. I am very much looking forward to this.

I will also be keeping an inspiration journal this year. I am hoping this will help me to actually accomplish some of the ideas that go through my mind. I find that I get wonderful ideas for projects, but when I sit down to start one I forget. So I will be using my inspiration journal to keep track of my ideas and thoughts throughout the day. It will most likely include a lot of writing, as well as pictures and photos. I am going to use a plain spiral notebook for this. It has to be small enough to fit in my purse so that I will have it with me at all times. I am thinking that I may divide it into categories as well so that I can keep track of ideas for not only crafting, but also gardening and homemaking.

I plan on using the inspiration journal along with my 'idea wall' (picture above), where I hang pictures of some of the projects that I want to complete. As you can see, I need to update my idea wall too.

Other than that, we will be saying good-bye to my nephew for awhile as he flies back to Toronto this afternoon. I am so happy he was here to celebrate the holidays with us, but the trip was much too short. We are hoping to visit him this coming Summer. None of us have been to Eastern Canada before (no further than Saskatchewan).

Short Christmas Recap

Finally... a chance to sit down, relax and write a little here. We had the last of our official Christmas celebrations today. And although it was great to spend time with family and friends, it is nice to relax a little now with my own little family. Just the three of us. We had Christmas Eve at Oma's house, Christmas Day at my Mom's house and a little gathering of family here today. A lot of hugs, catching up and being together. And yes we were all spoiled. Santa made his annual visit and brought J some great toys. And even Mom and Dad received something special. It was a great Christmas!

So now with the new year approaching my mind is going through all the things I would like to accomplish this coming year. I am not one for making new years resolutions, but I am up for making a good change. And the new year always seems like a good time to start thinking about these things. Change is good! I haven't always believed that, but these days I do.

And of course, I will have more crafting to share soon.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas...

It's Christmas Eve! It is going to be -11C up here today, which is a huge improvement. And the best part... there is a possibility of snow tonight and tomorrow. We already have several feet of snow up here, but I love to have the flakes actually falling on Christmas. Just a light flurry. It will add to the magical feeling that surrounds these days.

My Mom took J for a playdate yesterday, so I had a bit of a break and some time to pick up one last thing. I drove out to a little hamlet just southwest of the city to pick up a beautiful handmade creation from a friend that lives out there (lucky girl). I love driving alone... had my Timmy's coffee, listening to Xavier Rudd on the cd player and just taking in the sights. The mountains, which are a little further west of us, kept calling to me as I drove though. But alas, as much as I wanted to keep driving and visit them, I just didn't have the time. The mountains were in full few as I drove down the highway, but once I turned off and headed south, the foothills beside me hid them. But I could still hear them calling... quietly but unmistakable. And once I arrived at my destination, One was there peeking over the hillside.


Today is the start of the Christmas celebrations for us. We have one today, one tomorrow and one on Boxing Day. My nephew flies in tonight. Time spent with family and friends... nothing could be better. We will be missing my hubby's sister and her family this year though. This will be the first we haven't spent with them. But they are staying home to celebrate this year, which should be a wonderful experience for them.

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas... Happy Holidays. Enjoy the time... don't worry about the small stuff. Just enjoy the time.

Monday Ramblings

Monday morning! ICK... still cold and snowing again. But I have so much to be grateful for. Yesterday was a great day. Although cold, we did manage to get a few things done. We made these little bird feeders from pears, peanut butter and seed. We keep seed by the door and feed the birds every day, but I thought we should make a special little treat for Winter Solstice. The birds... well they prefer the seed on the ground I think. But it's the thought that counts.

We also made a small offering for the deer that have been in our neighbourhood lately. We usually do not feed the deer as it can cause a few problems. We try and let nature flow as naturally as possible, but since it was Winter Solstice we made an exception. It was more of a way of giving a little back to the gorgeous natural world around us. We get so much from its beauty.

The rest of the day I baked and cooked. Yummy bread, completely homemade in the oven. No bread machine here. J and I ate a few slices fresh out of the oven with some butter and honey. He loved it.

I made a pretty good dinner too, although it was not what I had planned. I took some chops out of the freezer yesterday but it ended up being tuna. Don't ask how I made that mistake. So I had to quickly decide how to prepare the tuna. Ended up grilling it and making a pear and onion salsa type topping for it. All in all, it was a good meal.

So at this most joyous time of year, I wanted to speak a little to spirituality. I consider myself a spiritually led person. I listen to my intuition. I meditate. I find God in nature, in each person that I meet and within myself. I am also very interested in learning about other religions and beliefs in the world. I am by no means arrogant enough to believe my way is the only way. I enjoy a world diverse in beliefs and I learn so much from all of them. I celebrate Christmas for the birth of Christ. I also celebrate for the Spirit of Christmas. I celebrate Winter Solstice because of my love for nature. I celebrate all there is to celebrate in this world, because it is a gift to us and worth celebrating.

To you and yours, I wish you the happiest of holiday seasons.

Cookie Exchange and Winter Solstice

I love this time of year. There are so many reasons (not that you need a reason) to celebrate with family and friends. Friday night I attended a cookie exchange at my friend Jodi's house and scored a tonne of yummy cookies. Above are just a few that I put out, the rest go in the freezer for later. Eggnog Thumbprints, Chocolate Cranberry Cookies, Cinnamon Cookies, Outrageous Chocolate Chip Cookies, Snowball Surprise Cookies, Old-Fashioned Ginger Cookies, Misty Mint Treasures, Chewy Gingersnaps and of course my Toffee Crunch Blondies. Absolutely loved them all, but if I had to pick a favourite it has to be the Snowball Surprise Cookies. I love anything with nuts and these certainly had nuts!! YUM... thanks Adriana. Here's the recipe.

Snowball Surprise Cookies

1 cup chopped pecans
1cup sifted flour
1/2 cup softened butter
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 300F. Mix chopped pecans and flour and set aside. Put softened butter into another bowl and cream in sugar and vanilla. Add flour mixture and blend. Pinch off dough and roll into balls. Bake for 40 minutes or until cookies are brown. While still warm, roll in powdered sugar. Makes about 35.

So now I am lucky enough to have all these wonderful cookies for our little Winter Solstice celebration tonight. Nothing big... just our little family, a rather large meal and being together. Today we were going to take a walk in the woods by our house, but it is another cold day at -30C right now. It might get up to -20C later on, but still a bit too cold to go for a long walk. Or a short walk. Or any walk at all. lol We would usually collect things found on the ground and bring them to make a little craft, but I doubt we could find much with all this snow on the ground. The poor deer can't even find enough, they have been coming into our little neighbourhood looking for food. Luckily they always find something here... and it is a special treat to see them so close. So instead of a walk, we are going to make bird feeders and quickly put them outside for the few brave little birds I see on top of our weeping birch in the front. Crazy little birds for sure!!

It's funny, but one of the things I always think of at this time of year is that Little Bear episode where they celebrate Winter Solstice. There are very few, if any other cartoons that I can think of that actaully talk about Winter Sostice. In this episode, they also feed the animals (or snow angels as they call them) by putting food on trees outside their home. Then they have a huge meal with family and friends. I love watching Little Bear!

So for everyone that celebrates this day, have a wonderful day.

Christmas Cards

I have been bad this year about displaying the Christmas cards we have received through the post. I just don't have the space this year. In previous years I always put the cards on a long table we have in the living room, but now we have a fish tank there and there isn't any room. So I decided to make one of those hanging card holder thingys (yes, I'm pretty sure that is the technical name for it).
I started with all the material above, yarn, left over ribbon from the cookie sheet advent calendar I made, clothes pins and of course, the cards. I attached the ribbon and yarn to each corner of the entrance to the kitchen, then used the clothes pins to hang the cards on the ribbon. I was going to paint the clothes pins red, but I was too lazy. So I just tied a little ribbon on them. I kind of like the look and hubby can just walk under it without hitting his head on a card. After Christmas I will pack them away and then use them next year for Christmas crafts and gift tags.

Sorry... picture isn't that great!

Updated! Spur of the moment Christmas Explosion Box

I have made these explosion boxes before, and I always love the way they turn out. And so does anyone that I happen to give one to. So I had some Christmas papers left over and decided to make one again. Afterall, I must use all my scraps. No wasting aloud! So this isn't going to be a gift, but instead I am going to have it here at the house. Just a little decoration that people can actually pick up and look through. Inside, it has pictures of J in the snow and some little notes and things. It's super cute!


Updated! Adding the instructions. Hope they make sense.

The box

• Cut one sheet of cardstock to 11.25" x 11.25"(any pattern or non pattern you want. Homemade heavy paper would look great in this project too). Then scor it at 3.75" and 7.5". Rotate your paper 90 degrees and scor again at 3.75" and 7". Cut each corner piece out using long scissors or your paper trimmer. See picture. You will have a plus shape when you are done. You can now fold the sides up and see the outside of your box.
• Next, take your second sheet of cardstock and cut it to 10.5" x 10.5". Then scor at 3.5" and 7". Rotate and repeat. Cut corners out as you did above and fold sides up.
• Apply adhesive to the bottom middle part of your second sheet and affix it to the top of your first sheet. Center it and if you need to trim a little go right ahead. This is your box.
  

The Lid

• Cut another sheet of cardstock to 6.5" x 6.5" and scor it 1.25" in from each edge.
  
• Using scissors, cut a v out of the top two and bottom two corners. This helps when folding . See picture.

• Fold the sides up. Apply adhesive to the little tab you made and then tuck it in behind the folded edge (practice this first before actually doing it... trust me lol). This is your lid.

Now just decorate your box any way you wish. Add photos, stamping, embellishments, poems, notes or anything you want. And do the same with the lid. You can add a little ribbon to use to pull the box open.

Hope that makes sense for everyone. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Ahh... that's better.

It felt nice to do this layout. I had felt uninspired as of late, but tonight I just sat down and looked through some of our Fall walk pictures. I love Autumn... more than any other season. And J and I had some great walks through the wood. I haven't really had a chance to scrapbook any of them... my mind has just been filled with Christmas stuff that I needed to get done. So this is officially the first Autumn layout from this year. The quote is a favourite of mine from John Muir.

"Let children walk with Nature, let them see the beautiful blendings and communions of death and life, their joyous inseparable unity, as taught in woods and meadows, plains and mountains and streams of our blessed star, and they will learn that death is stingless indeed, and as beautiful as life."

So this is really me. I look at this layout and can totally and completely see myself here. This is how I like to scrapbook. Nothing fancy. Not a lot of embellishments or things of that sort. Inky edges for sure. Just simple... but special.

-40C this morning... burrrr

It is still freezing cold up here. It was -30C this morning and -40C with wind chill. It has been cold all weekend, and now we started the week with the coldest day yet. No snow since Sunday morning though, so most of the main roads are cleared. Our cozy little cul-de-sac is never cleared though, so it is a little hard getting to and from. But oh well... we are getting around it all. I used to complain about days like this, but I don't anymore. I try and embrace them and be thankful for them. It is all part of living so far north... we really get to experience winter (and it's not even winter yet). Snow, cold, ice and all that... just comes with the territory. How fortunate we are to have a warm house, winter clothing and hot coffee (yes, I live on coffee and tea this time of year).
My thoughts have been with the homeless of our city the past few days. I pray that every single person was inside last night. I have to give it up for our homeless shelters and drop in centers. They have been working really hard to make sure everyone has a warm place to stay. They have been bussing people around and finding accomodations. Thank goodness for them. The animal shelters have been working overtime as well gathering strays. Those poor animals... they get cold too. Our puppy can't even stay outside for more than a couple of minutes before she is begging to come in. Yep... it's cold. Keep warm everyone!

Catching up on unfinished stuff

I think I am done with all my Christmas crafts... at least I hope I am. So I thought I would catch up on some unfinished projects. This cute little layout to the left is from the Crop Crawl in November. This is something I would have never done on my own, but I really like the cuteness of it. It came as a kit from Monday Night Class... they were kind enough to give all the participants one kit each. I completed most of it that night, but had a couple of things left to do and the picture to add. So here it is. The animals are all stickers that I attached to cardstock and then glued on with raised dots. This is the first time I have used mesh and I really liked the look for this layout.

Other than that, I think I am going to take a bit of a crafting break. I have been struggling for the past few days, and as I sit here in my craft room now my mind is filled with other things (all good). I don't believe in forcing myself to do anything... and if I crafted right now I would be forcing something that should be inspired.

Sooooo... I can talk about the new Canadian Scrapbooker Basics magazine I received last week in the mail. I love love love this magazine. It comes from the makers of Canadian Scrapbooker, but contains more basic ideas and ways of getting started on projects. I wouldn't say this is only for a beginner, although a novice will find it extremely helpful. But even a well seasoned scrapper will appreciate the simple inspired works in here. I find that sometimes I get so caught up in doing certain complicated techniques that I forget about many of the more common and just as lovely ones out there. This magazines brings that focus back and gives instruction and samples. Simple and beautiful!

Winter Storm Warning, Blizzard Conditions

Yes, it is cold and snowy up here right now. It has been snowing all day, and on top of the huge snowfall we got on Sunday we have about 2 feet of the white stuff out there. By morning who knows how much we will have. Driving conditions are horrible and events are being canceled all over the place. They say it will get down to -30C tomorrow. We are housebound.

And I love it!!!

Went out earlier before it got too bad and rented movies and filled the fridge with goodies. Now we're snuggling on the couch under blankets keeping all warm and cozy. We don't have to leave the house all weekend. What's not to love. :o)

This Mister Maker fellow...

I have only seen the show once or twice but my son has seen it many times. It is one of those shows that seems to be on during the times he is watching the dreaded tv. But this Mister Maker has totally won my son over. J keeps coming up with these awesome crafty ideas, and when i ask how he came up with that 80% of the time he says he saw it on Mister Maker. I mean seriously, look at this cute little butterfly he just made out of his hand prints. And this is the last of probably about 10 other craft projects he has done today (thus the inky hands). I think I need to watch this Mister Maker more often myself. :)

Thursday Dinner

This is my favourite cold day dinner. Beer Stew and my cornbread (my healthier version). This stew is more on the soup side of things due to the amount of liquid, but it is hearty with potatoes, carrots, peas, corn, cabbage, tomatoes and goodies of that sort. YUM! There is something about stews and soups that just make me feel all cozy and happy. Even J likes this one. And the best thing... it is ready in an hour.


Beer Stew

1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 teaspoons pepper
1 pound cubed beef stew meat
2 tablespoons oil
1 quart beef broth
1 pint beer
1 can tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
1 cup peeled and cubed potatoes
3 cups various veggies of your choice
1 cup chopped cabbage
(sometimes I throw in some Italian seasoning... sometimes not)

In a bowl, mix the flour, salt, and pepper. Toss the beef in the mixture to coat. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat, and brown the beef on all sides. Pour in the broth, beer, tomato sauce, and tomato paste. Stir in the potatoes, mixed vegetables, and cabbage. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Fairies make me smile!

I LOVE Fairies (faeries, fay, fey, fae, wee folk, etc)... they are sweet and magically and I just love them! I found some beautiful little fairy stamps on e-bay not long ago and I use them quite often in my scrapbooking.
So I thought I would share one of my favourite Faerie Art sites: Toadstool Farm Art. The artist is Jacqueline Collen-Tarrolly. It is funny the way I actually came across her work. When I was planning my wedding back in 2001 and 2002, I had a wedding website that I made for family and friends to keep updated on what was going on. I joined a couple of wedding web rings at that time too, and Jacqueline had her wedding site on one of the rings. It was such a beautiful site that I often returned to get inspiration for my wedding from it. Anway, she had a link to another site she had which led me to her handmade bath and body product site Medieval (which I ordered much). Eventually she started Toadstool Art Farm, which of course I became an instant fan of (almost sounds like I am stalking her). Over the years her work has just gotten better and better and I just love it all so much!! I know my friend Jo will love this site too. ;o)

Christmas decorating at its best... well, my best anyway.

The slideshow below is my house decorated. Now I have never claimed to be a decorator, but I can hold my own. However, when it comes to Christmas I try not to go overboard. It's hard, because every single ounce of my being wants to go so over the top that people will actually start to believe that I am Mrs. Claus and that they are entering the North Pole when they come to my house. But I don't. For one... I live with Mr. Grinch himself. And for another, I know that eventually I will have to clean it all up and pack it back in to the crawl space for another 11 months. So in this case, less is best. I do my version of a mini Christmas decorating job. Mini for me... but not so mini for some other people I know. But whatever... it is a compromise that makes both my hubby and I happy. He complains at times that there is a lot of Christmas stuff out... but I always remind him that I could do way more. But really... I think he likes it. He just won't admit it, but I have caught him staring at the lighted Christmas tree and sipping tea out of pretty holiday mugs. :) Anyway... our decorations are nothing fancy. No set theme (other than Christmas) and no color palate. Just good old fashioned fun decorations. These are my son's favourites, and since Christmas is for the kids (and the kid in all of us) I let him pick and choose (at least for the most part). *wink* Enjoy!

The perfect day

A fresh snowfall...

A sweet little snowman made together...


Red cheeks...


Hot chocolate...


And snuggle time on the couch.

A perfect day.

Gingerbread House

J and I decided to make our Ginderbread House today. Not the easiest of feats let me tell you. Maybe it had to do with the impatience of a 5 year old... or of a thirty eight year old. I don't know. But the house didn't want to stay together very well. I say it was the will of the house to have an open roof. Let's just say that gingerbread houses are not my area of expertise. But all the building and structural problems aside, we made it work (just don't move it around too much). We had some yummy candy. And the end product wasn't too bad. At least we had fun... and that's all that really matters. So this Gingerbread House will sit on our kitchen island until Christmas, and serve as a reminder of the wonderful afternoon we spent together.

Cute little stocking stuffers for little readers

Just saw these handmade bookmarks today in a Family Fun magazine. I had to try my hand at making a few for stocking stuffers and little gifts. I know quite a few little readers that will love these. I think I might keep one myself. I love gifts that promote reading and have often given books or a gift certificate to Chapters. These little book marks will go along well with those. And this would also be a great craft for the kid too. Nothing more than ribbons and buttons (and one little flower). Easy to make!!

From Russia... with love

My Dad recently returned from a trip to Russia and the Ukraine and brought this cute little nested (or stacking) doll back for my son. This particular one is made entirely of paper. These are also known as matryoshka dolls. "Matryoshka" is a derivative of the Russian female first name "Matryona", which was a very popular name among peasants in old Russia. Traditionally the outer layer is a woman, dressed in a sarafan. Inside, it contains other figures that may be of both genders, usually ending in a baby that does not open. Matryoshkas are often designed to follow a particular theme, for instance peasant girls in traditional dress, but the theme can be anything, from fairy tale characters to Russian leaders.