Happy Easter

Well...things have been a little...erm...hectic around here and it seems it has been some time since I've visited here.  Thank you to those people who emailed me and offered such kind thoughts and compliments, I do appreciate it!  This weekend, life seemed to get a little more on track (something to do with three days at home?) and we had plenty of time for enjoying lots of family visiting, walks, a hike (with some geocaching), work in the yard and, of course, egg dyeing.  This year, thanks to my visiting sister-in-law, we had the opportunity to dye duck eggs and E even got to do a goose egg.

The eggs picked up the colours brilliantly and it was extra fun to get to dye them with Auntie C.

E was pleased with his goose egg, he wanted to do one similar to his favourite one from last year.

Of course there were chocolate eggs - inside and...

outside.

 

Egg hunts can offer such a great lesson - you'll always find something good if you're willing to look. ;-)

Quite a lot of time lately has been spent at the market garden, if you're at all interested in following along with us as we make our way through our first year of market gardening you can see what we've been up to here.  It's a new website that W put together for us and I'm planning on catching things up there too as soon as possible.

Very Simple (Wacky) Birthday Cake

We had a birthday here a little while ago...a two cake birthday. ;-)  That means one cake on the day our family celebrated and one cake on the day the friends came over to celebrate.  This birthday boy knows just what he wants for a cake and it mostly has to do with a lot of whipped cream. He specified a very certain look.  Two layers of chocolate cake.  Whip cream in between.  LOTS of whip cream on top piled in a dome shape.  And since it's not for me to question why (?!?!), I just went ahead and made one. 

 (same birthday boy wanted whipped cream along with peach butter and blueberries for his birthday breakfast waffles)

And since he liked that cake so much I made another one exactly the same for the second cake day.  One of the things that he liked about it was that I put something special in between the layers along with the whipped cream - his very own strawberry jam that he made in the summer.  It added just an extra touch of deliciousness.

The cake recipe is an old favourite.  I've been making it since I was about 8 years old.  I always called it Wacky Cake but I've seen it with all kinds of names.  I'm sure you'll recognize the recipe (if so, I'd love to know what you call it) but I was visiting with my friend yesterday (an experienced baker and wonderful cook) and was surprised to hear she hadn't heard of it - even when I described the 3 holes and the vinegar, vanilla and oil part!!  So...obviously I have to share the recipe with her (poor deprived girl) and thought I'd share it here too.

Wacky Cake

•1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

•1 cup sugar

•3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

•1 teaspoon baking powder

•1 teaspoon baking soda

•1/2 teaspoon salt

•1 teaspoon vanilla

•1 tablespoon vinegar

•5 tablespoons melted butter (or melted coconut oil or grape seed oil)

•1 cup warm water

Mix dry ingredients in 8X8 pan.  Make 3 holes in mixture.  Put the 1tsp vanilla in one hole, 5 Tbsp melted butter in other hole and 1 Tbsp vinegar in another hole (that bit was always the exciting part because it starts to fizz a bit).  Then pour 1 cup of water over the whole lot and mix well.  Bake for 35-45 minutes at 350. 

That was how I always made it and then quite often I used to ice it too.  Since then I've learned that chocolate chips in the batter make a delightful addition.  And these days I no longer mix it in the pan because I'm usually doubling the recipe and then making it in two pans (or you can double it and make it in a 9x13).

At any rate it is a simple-to-make and delicious-to-eat cake - a very good "starter" cake for a new baker but also the kind of cake that one never gets tired of.  So there you are M-S...make it with your family and let them eat cake!

Hearts

While I love my felted sweater hearts...

I really love chocolate hearts from Annegret's (our local chocolate maker).

And...I really, really love having a husband who gives them to me.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Solstice and Handmade Gifts

We have a tradition of giving the boys one small handmade gift at Solstice.  This year when I was wondering what I could possibly make for my 16 year old son he sent me a picture of this hat.  It looked simple enough so I googled and found a simple pattern on this blog.  After a quick reminder for myself on how to do a half-double crochet I got to it.

I'm pleased with how it turned out and, better yet, so is he.  It really does do a mama's heart good to see her teen son wearing some handmade goodness.  If you look at that first link you'll see that the hat had a label that said "Love" on it, I barely resisted the temptation to make one up that said "Mama's Love" to torment my son with.

Happy Solstice!

May the return of the light help you find much to be thankful for.

Goodies and Greenery

E and I have been enjoying watching A Victorian Farm and A Victorian Farm Christmas together.  It's fun to know that the way we decorate our home is not unlike the way a Victorian farm family decorated their home for the holidays. 

(we drove by these guys on our way to find a tree, by the time we got the camera all we could get was a bum shot)


We've been collecting greenery on our walks for some time and last weekend we set out to the woods to get our tree.  We came home with red cheeks, a sweet little tree (which, I admit, took some getting used to after two years of massive trees) and assorted other greenery (we are fortunate enough to have yew, ivy and lots of other greenery right on this property including these gorgeous red berries, no holly but oregon grape leaves do in a pinch).

I've had some fun making two simple green decorations outside - one in an old milk can and one in an old cream separator.

The rest of the greenery has been placed throughout our home - I couldn't resist tucking a string of white lights under some old glass insulators on our mantel.

Simple, lovely and all able to be tossed back outside afterwards to compost - my favourite kind of decoration. ;-)

We've been doing a bit of baking, some of our favourites - toffee, brown sugar buttons, seedy crackers - with shortbread, gingerbread men, thimble cookies and nanaimo bars still to go.

Yesterday we made a treat for our favourite canine companion and, since I've been working on planning a new business, E and I talked about a business idea for him - homemade dog biscuits sold at the farm stand.  This batch - carrot, apple, molasses - seemed to go down a treat so it will be a keeper recipe.  Happily we have our own very willing taste tester dog (and actually E tested them out too as they are made with ingredients that non-furry creatures can also enjoy). ;-)

And, I don't usually like to post photos of myself (camera shy and all that) but I thought I would share this one because I wanted to show this great hat.  I wear it all the time because it is so warm (felted wool). I've had so many compliments on it and I love being able to say, "Thank you, I got it at the dump.".  Fun to see the looks that gets.  This summer we were camping on a little island and they have a re-store at their dump, it is a place where people can drop their stuff off and then others can buy it for a small donation.  There is a similar place up near my folks' house (although things are free at that one).  I LOVE the idea of this and wish there were such places at all landfills.  Such a wonderful idea and interesting to me that it is often in island communities where you will see these.  I'd like to be able to say that I usually look much tidier than this but, no...that's me, hair knotted in a bun, stuffed in a hat and off I go. ;-)

Now...to get back to that knitting.

Owls, Angels and the First of December

A special young friend is celebrating a birthday soon and so when we went to visit yesterday we took along a handmade gift.  I Love having a young girl with an appreciation for crafts in my life, my boys have always enjoyed my handmade things but there is something very fun about crafting for a girl too (I've had fun, fun, fun in years past making her gifts).  This girl has a connection to owls and so, when I saw this post, I couldn't resist making a woolly owl for her.  I still have my sweater scraps from my patchwork blanket so I chose a gray one and got started. 

I dug out our needle-felting supplies which haven't been used since we moved and needle felted the eyes and beak. 

I stuffed it with some batting. The feet were cut from another felted sweater bit.

And then I used some buffalo wool (also in thrifted stash) to crochet a nest.  The entire time E eyed it covetously and so I think I know what to make him for his Solstice gift.  He does have a fondness for felted animals and I thought it was so cute that I might just have to make myself one too.

November has passed by so quickly that I could hardly believe it was already time to get the boxes of decorations out last night so we could find the advent calender.  We put up the calender and then got out one of my favourite childhood decoration - this angel chime candle.  We sat together and watched as the candles burned down and we talked about what we look forward to in December.  This was always the first decoration I would set up when I was little, that way I could listen to it chiming as we set about putting out the rest of the decorations and there really is just something magical about candlelight, isn't there.

This afternoon E and I made some paper snowflakes (as we do each year) to decorate the windows then E lit the advent candle because the first day of the month always takes a bit longer to burn down than the other days (there are markings on the candle and we burn one section each day).  And, as I took this photo I gave thanks again for the grace that brought us to this place...right here...right now.

Here's to a magical month.

Easter Eggs

There is just something I love about traditions - the constancy, the stability, the...comfort, I suppose of knowing that each year around the same time you will take part in the same thing.  Whether it is making heart-shaped somethings, planting seeds, dyeing eggs, going camping, beach days, harvest celebrations, Solstice fires or Christmas gift making there is a rhythm to our lives that I love.  I look forward to each of these things and, in good times and trying times, I know that these things will occur...and I feel a sense of comfort in that.

I have coloured eggs every year of my life that I can recall - actually my family often came up here to the very city where I now make my home to dye eggs with our extended family.  I happily recall Easter egg hunts with cousins and delicious meals made by my aunt (with Amazing mashed potatoes).  My mom made traditions an important part of my childhood and I am extremely grateful for it.

My boys have also always dyed eggs.  I expect (and hope) we will always do so (yes, I am picturing them bringing their children to "Gramma's" house to dye eggs). 

We've had a trying couple weeks here - unexpected news of cancer and major surgery in our family.  Feeling very unsettled and uncertain.  Feeling very grateful and relieved to get good news Monday that all had gone well.  Counting our blessings.  And...on Wednesday...having a last-minute visit from a dear friend and deciding to dye eggs with her and her littles.  Using brown eggs because that is what we had (I usually make a point of buying white for dyeing) and enjoying the difference the shell colour made in end result. 

And this is E's favourite - his dragon's egg.  Beautiful.

Last Minute....

We're enjoying spending yesterday and today finishing  up a few odds and ends.  Yesterday we made our gingerbread people for decorating.  Last year we decided to borrow this tradition from friends - each year they decorate gingerbread people for each person spending the holidays with them - then we decorated them ahead of time (the boys couldn't wait) but this year we will decorate them once all our company is here tomorrow.

The boys finished their woodwork gift projects and I finished a few last minute things -a knitted hat out of Buffalo wool.

And these fun hair elastics - they're made from self cover buttons that I found at the thrift store and bits of fabric from my scrap bag.

This one is my favourite because it is made from some fabric that was in my mom's stash of fabrics from when I was little.  I definitely want to make more of these.

Today all we need to do is wrap, make shortbread and prepare some beds for company coming today and tomorrow.  I might need to dig through my scrap bags to find more fabric for wrapping as I seem to have used most of my cloth bags already and will either need to make a few more or, if I run out of time...

wrap more in furoshiki like this (now I wish I'd bought more square scarves last time I was thrifting).

And...we still have plenty of time for walks and sledding in the fresh, new snow we received yesterday.  Not to mention plenty of time for hot tea and cookies too.

Wishing you joy, fun and love, as well as quiet time for tea and cookies.

Solstice and the gifts of darkness

We celebrated yesterday with our Solstice traditions. I LOVE these simple traditions - they bring me a sense of rhythm...remind me of the seasonal cycle that we are blessed with. This year I've really settled into this darker season and have found much to enjoy about it. I've enjoyed the S L O W ness that it has ushered in, actually, I've welcomed it quite readily - probably for the first time I can recall...I think I really needed it this year.

(daily walks in the woods (and seeing the antics of our silly dog) have helped immensely with my enjoyment of this season)

As a gardener I can see the importance of the winter season for plants- a time of going inward with little outward appearance of growth, a sort of gathering in of reserves to build energy for the springtime to come - and I consider this a valuable season for myself in the same way.  After all, who couldn't use a little bit of extra rest and quiet time and the darkness lends itself so well to that.  So, since I've been enjoying the darker days instead of counting them down, it almost came as a surprise that it was already Solstice but we managed to organize ourselves to celebrate just the same. 

Our traditions are very simple (and flexible) - we have homemade pizza for dinner (round to symbolize the sun) and SUNdaes (because they're delicious and having SUN in their names means it makes perfect sense).  We also have a fire (outside in the past but inside this time) into which we take turns throwing slips of paper where we've written things we want to "get rid of" - habits, behaviours, items or whatever is no longer serving us in our lives.  Then we gleefully watch them burn and say an intention to replace the burned thing.  Very fun!

Last night E also wanted to do our gratitude candles and so we did...even though this is usually our Thanksgiving tradition.  For this we sit at our table and, as we go around the table, we take turns saying something we are thankful for and then light a tealight candle off our centre candle.  I love this tradition too and we all always feel very grateful for the abundance in our lives after doing this.

I hope you had a wonderful Solstice too.

Our Christmas Tree

Last year was our first (and we thought, only) year in this temporary home and we decided that we would take full advantage of the tall ceiling and get a giant Christmas tree.  Since we find ourselves still here it seemed only natural to go out and find another big tree for this year's celebrations.  On Saturday we went a couple miles up the road and started our search.  Our faithful friend scouted things out for us (actually he just bounded through the snow as blissful as a puppy just as he does on our daily walks).  We found the one we wanted in a very short time.

Then we brought it home and set it up - much more quickly than last year due to the experience gained from our struggles last year.

The next day, after far too long for E's liking (he was asking at very regular intervals when we would be decorating from the moment we set it up) we decorated it.  One of the things I love about Christmas is getting out the box of decorations each year and the memories they invoke.  Most of our ornaments are handmade and I can recall the making of them and what was happening at that time in our lives - they all have their own little bit of history.

And now I look forward to evenings in front of the fire, with the tree all aglow and filling our home with its delightful fresh scent.  Beautiful!

And what was keeping us so busy that our poor youngest son had to wait to decorate that tree?  We were both making gifts.  I especially love it when S gets time to create.  He makes beautiful, useful items out of wood and he does it so well.  Last year he made these walnut breadboards/serving boards and this year he is making walnut utensils like this butter spreader (and other secret things...or so I hear).

Such a fun time of  year.