Today is the 30th of December 2009..... in case you didn't know. Today I am hosting a party for the Knock-out Knitters and the HH Spinners and Weavers. The party starts at two. I am off to the grocery store for pie pastries.... you know, the little ones that take forever to make... I'm making mini Quiches and my Almond Wedges. I also have piles of crackers and cheese to offer and a little liqueur not to mention punch and tea. I'm looking forward to the little party. I have some little door prizes and I have a nice gift to exchange. It should be fun.
If you are one of the ones coming.... I look forward to seeing you.... and if you live too far away to come.... well, I wish you could be here....
In the meantime... have a good day!
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Sunrise.... Sunset
I have an annual thing that I do. After Christmas settles down to a dull roar I start watching the sunrise and sunset times on the weather station until the spring equinox. Somehow it makes the winter more tolerable to know that the days are getting longer. On December 19th there was a beautiful picture here and I thought, -this is really the turn of the year,- when I saw it even though the turn was still a few days away. It was so beautiful that I've been wanting to post it here on my blog. 
This picture epitomizes the winter solstice for me. Now I can watch the skies slowly growing brighter as the days grow longer. It really is a Northern thing I think. When you live this far North the sky can almost become something you worship. It really does help you get past -42 degree temps and make you aware of time progressing into the next season.
While I like to do this at this time of the year there is a feeling of urgency.... a sense of pushing at time to move it on forward faster.... then I hit the spring equinox and I want to put on the brakes and slow everything down. I start to watch the morning sky and I have this wonderful sense of well being.... but for now I just want to hibernate! It is odd how I think I might actually be able to slow or speed time progression... I mean little ol' me... really.... not likely! So you will notice to the right under the header for this blog a new gadget..... the Sunrise and Sunset times will be posted every day that I blog.
Quiet mornings of dark,
Birds hide,
Mice sleep,
All the creeping things are tucked away.
Slowly this land awakes and throws off its blanket of white,
Daylight penetrates my skin,
Suffusing me with well being.
Birds come home and plants bloom,
Alive, all is alive.
I watch and wait,
Patiently, growing warm.
Hope you are thinking of warmth too!
Now.... a little cotton today, I think.... and tea! Perfect for -24.
This picture epitomizes the winter solstice for me. Now I can watch the skies slowly growing brighter as the days grow longer. It really is a Northern thing I think. When you live this far North the sky can almost become something you worship. It really does help you get past -42 degree temps and make you aware of time progressing into the next season. While I like to do this at this time of the year there is a feeling of urgency.... a sense of pushing at time to move it on forward faster.... then I hit the spring equinox and I want to put on the brakes and slow everything down. I start to watch the morning sky and I have this wonderful sense of well being.... but for now I just want to hibernate! It is odd how I think I might actually be able to slow or speed time progression... I mean little ol' me... really.... not likely! So you will notice to the right under the header for this blog a new gadget..... the Sunrise and Sunset times will be posted every day that I blog.
Quiet mornings of dark,
Birds hide,
Mice sleep,
All the creeping things are tucked away.
Slowly this land awakes and throws off its blanket of white,
Daylight penetrates my skin,
Suffusing me with well being.
Birds come home and plants bloom,
Alive, all is alive.
I watch and wait,
Patiently, growing warm.
Hope you are thinking of warmth too!
Now.... a little cotton today, I think.... and tea! Perfect for -24.
Monday, December 28, 2009
18 yrs Old
My marriage is 18 yrs old today. 18 yrs ago I was married on a stormy day in Newfoundland. I had to have the driveway shoveled out before we could go to the church and there is a picture of me with a pair of green rubber boots, and my white velvet dress and my red coat (which the mice have chewed holes in... it's out in the shed and yes I still have it) with a yellow snow plow in the background. Hubby and the best man shoveled the driveway while I hid in the house so that he wouldn't see me in my finery. The service was held at a chapel on campus where we had just finished our respective degrees. I did say obey.... though I don't always.
I can safely say that Hubby and I have had a good 18 yrs together. There have been ups and downs, but definitely more ups than downs. We're not as romantic as we used to be. He doesn't buy me flowers anymore (partially due to the fact that there is no florist in our town) and I don't always have supper waiting for him, but every now and again I will look across the room and catch him smiling as he watches me and I still think he has a cute toosh. : ) We still enjoy spending time with each other and sometimes find that the kids are a confining factor in our relationship. We've grown comfortable with each other and can predict (sometimes) what each other is going to say. Generally we are happy and that is a lot more than some can say after 18 months let alone 18 yrs.
It is funny how we mellow over the years. When I first met Hubby I felt like my whole world would fall apart if he wasn't with me. We pretty much would suck the life out of each other when we were together and then gasp for the air that we provided each other when we were apart. It is not a healthy way to live.... that kind of love has to mellow or you both just burn up in your own exhaust. I'm glad we've mellowed. I don't think I could still survive that kind of initial love, it would suffocate me I'm sure.
So here we sit... he reading, and me blogging in the quiet of the morning. Sharing a time to just be in the halo of each other's company. I just read this post to him and he snorted when I read him the bit about his toosh.... when I finished reading Hubby went back to reading his book and I went back to blogging. Later today we will go for a walk and probably hold hands if it is not too cold. I can't think of a better way to spend our anniversary. As long as we are together it doesn't matter what we are doing.
I'm glad I married him.
Sometimes!!! : )
I can safely say that Hubby and I have had a good 18 yrs together. There have been ups and downs, but definitely more ups than downs. We're not as romantic as we used to be. He doesn't buy me flowers anymore (partially due to the fact that there is no florist in our town) and I don't always have supper waiting for him, but every now and again I will look across the room and catch him smiling as he watches me and I still think he has a cute toosh. : ) We still enjoy spending time with each other and sometimes find that the kids are a confining factor in our relationship. We've grown comfortable with each other and can predict (sometimes) what each other is going to say. Generally we are happy and that is a lot more than some can say after 18 months let alone 18 yrs.
It is funny how we mellow over the years. When I first met Hubby I felt like my whole world would fall apart if he wasn't with me. We pretty much would suck the life out of each other when we were together and then gasp for the air that we provided each other when we were apart. It is not a healthy way to live.... that kind of love has to mellow or you both just burn up in your own exhaust. I'm glad we've mellowed. I don't think I could still survive that kind of initial love, it would suffocate me I'm sure.
So here we sit... he reading, and me blogging in the quiet of the morning. Sharing a time to just be in the halo of each other's company. I just read this post to him and he snorted when I read him the bit about his toosh.... when I finished reading Hubby went back to reading his book and I went back to blogging. Later today we will go for a walk and probably hold hands if it is not too cold. I can't think of a better way to spend our anniversary. As long as we are together it doesn't matter what we are doing.
I'm glad I married him.
Sometimes!!! : )
Sunday, December 27, 2009
A Quiet Christmas
Yesterday was a day of Harry Potter. Daughter#1 is a complete Harry Potter fan. She has read the books something like seven times, so Christmas morning when she opened the Harry Potter DVD set she was really excited. We promised her that Boxing Day would be a day to have a Harry Potter marathon. We waited for her to get up which didn't happen until 10:30 a.m. and we started in. Hubby can't do movies the way the rest of us can so we lost him from about 1:30 till 6 p.m. He went to haul hay for the sheep and the horse. But the Daughters and I sat and did Harry Potter movies all day. We never got to bed till 2 a.m. I'm Harry Pottered out. I even dreamed about Harry Potter.
I did, in between, make a pot of Cream of Turkey soup. It was delicious. Here's the recipe...
2-3 litres water in stock pot.
2 envelopes of chicken oxo
3 c. of finely chopped turkey from your leftover Christmas bird
2 stalks of celery chopped fairly finely
2 cups of peas (frozen are fine)
2 cups of red lentils
pepper to taste and onion powder to taste
one lg container of whipping cream
bring all ingredients except cream to a roiling boil and leave like this for 40 minutes or until lentils and celery are tender. Add cream and reduce heat simmer for 10 minutes.....
Pour into soup bowls and sprinkle with broken crackers.... it really is delicious....
I have company tonight, so we are cooking ham, and scalloped potatoes with pepper bake as a side dish and almond torte with summer fruit for desert.
But in the meantime I'm off to spin some more.... (yes on the jacket commission!)
I did, in between, make a pot of Cream of Turkey soup. It was delicious. Here's the recipe...
2-3 litres water in stock pot.
2 envelopes of chicken oxo
3 c. of finely chopped turkey from your leftover Christmas bird
2 stalks of celery chopped fairly finely
2 cups of peas (frozen are fine)
2 cups of red lentils
pepper to taste and onion powder to taste
one lg container of whipping cream
bring all ingredients except cream to a roiling boil and leave like this for 40 minutes or until lentils and celery are tender. Add cream and reduce heat simmer for 10 minutes.....
Pour into soup bowls and sprinkle with broken crackers.... it really is delicious....
I have company tonight, so we are cooking ham, and scalloped potatoes with pepper bake as a side dish and almond torte with summer fruit for desert.
But in the meantime I'm off to spin some more.... (yes on the jacket commission!)
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Wham, Bam, Thank You M'am
Whoa.... what just happened... nothing extraordinary that's for sure. I'm still trying to think what all the hoopla is all about. Service went well.... check.... visiting friends went well... check... got to bed and a reasonable time... check..... had fun opening stockings.... check.... good Christmas morning breakfast..... check.... opened up lovely gifts.... check.... had a snooze after lunch... check..... had Christmas dinner at the folks place.... check.... Ok what was I making such a fuss about! Now I don't have to think about it for another ten whole months. And actually I'm starting to think about the first week of July.... woo hoo! Anyone who knows me knows that the first week of July is the best week of the year.... it takes waaaayyy more precedence than Christmas.
They'll soon be posting the courses!!! It'll soon be time to register!!! It'll soon be time to book a room in the apartments!!!! I can't wait. I wonder which courses they'll be offering??! I'm soooo excited! All that fleece.... all that spinning chat.... all that learning..... I'm totally addicted to Fibre Week!!!
In the meantime though it's boxing day and this is a day to relax. I don't know what I'm relaxing from since yesterday was pretty relaxing too. My parents cooked Christmas dinner and all I had to do was help clean up a little. Got to love that! We have a little turkey in our fridge too since they did up a doggie bag for us. I got lots of nice things, like an owl, who I've named Smore....
he sits with my other critters, on a shelf, in my spinning room. I also got sox.....
loads of them.... some hand made and some store bought.... I don't have to worry about the Daughters stealing mine anymore. I got my cotton cards and some knitting needles, DPNs for fingers in gloves, and a beautiful poncho from Peru that's made from alpaca/llama/and wool. I also got some really lovely books... one called The Golden Mean which I really wanted ever since I heard the author interviewed on CBC. I also got a book called The Complete Idiot's Guide To T'ai Chi and QiGong.
I'm determined to learn T'ai Chi this year. I also got the next book in the Diana Gabaldon series... 
I've been waiting for it to come out. It's a trashy read but then I love trashy reads too. I also got a lovely heirloom lace bookmark
which I think was my most touching gift. A friend of mine called me a while back and told me she had inherited some really lovely heirloom lace from a family member and asked me if I wanted some. I had intended on taking another friend and going to see her collection of lace. We were talking about what she could use it for and, being a practical person, she wanted to use some of the pieces...(if it were me, I would just mount them and look at them).... but I suggested she make herself a bookmark... she thought the idea was great and so... I never heard anything else about it until Christmas morning when she gave me the bookmark... wow what a lovely gift. I got a knitting magazine in my stocking, and a new nightgown in the softest fluffiest flannelette. So all in all Christmas was quite nice. Still it does seem to be rather "Wham, Bam, Thank You M'am!"
I wonder if that is a sign of old age..... !
Well I'm off today to make amends with my jacket commission whick is languoring in my spinning room. I might even put the handles on my new cotton cards and have a go with them .... aaaahhhhh! I love Boxing Day!
They'll soon be posting the courses!!! It'll soon be time to register!!! It'll soon be time to book a room in the apartments!!!! I can't wait. I wonder which courses they'll be offering??! I'm soooo excited! All that fleece.... all that spinning chat.... all that learning..... I'm totally addicted to Fibre Week!!!
In the meantime though it's boxing day and this is a day to relax. I don't know what I'm relaxing from since yesterday was pretty relaxing too. My parents cooked Christmas dinner and all I had to do was help clean up a little. Got to love that! We have a little turkey in our fridge too since they did up a doggie bag for us. I got lots of nice things, like an owl, who I've named Smore....
he sits with my other critters, on a shelf, in my spinning room. I also got sox.....
loads of them.... some hand made and some store bought.... I don't have to worry about the Daughters stealing mine anymore. I got my cotton cards and some knitting needles, DPNs for fingers in gloves, and a beautiful poncho from Peru that's made from alpaca/llama/and wool. I also got some really lovely books... one called The Golden Mean which I really wanted ever since I heard the author interviewed on CBC. I also got a book called The Complete Idiot's Guide To T'ai Chi and QiGong.
I'm determined to learn T'ai Chi this year. I also got the next book in the Diana Gabaldon series... 
I've been waiting for it to come out. It's a trashy read but then I love trashy reads too. I also got a lovely heirloom lace bookmark
which I think was my most touching gift. A friend of mine called me a while back and told me she had inherited some really lovely heirloom lace from a family member and asked me if I wanted some. I had intended on taking another friend and going to see her collection of lace. We were talking about what she could use it for and, being a practical person, she wanted to use some of the pieces...(if it were me, I would just mount them and look at them).... but I suggested she make herself a bookmark... she thought the idea was great and so... I never heard anything else about it until Christmas morning when she gave me the bookmark... wow what a lovely gift. I got a knitting magazine in my stocking, and a new nightgown in the softest fluffiest flannelette. So all in all Christmas was quite nice. Still it does seem to be rather "Wham, Bam, Thank You M'am!"I wonder if that is a sign of old age..... !
Well I'm off today to make amends with my jacket commission whick is languoring in my spinning room. I might even put the handles on my new cotton cards and have a go with them .... aaaahhhhh! I love Boxing Day!
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Christmas Is In The Air
Christmas is almost upon me.... do I scream in agony?!.... no I do not.... I face it resolutely, knowing that I can't be any more prepared than I am. The outdoor lights are up, the tree is up and decorated, the living room is cleaned up... well at least better than it was, house looks as Christmassy as it can, carols have been playing for days, all gifts are done or bought and wrapped, the groceries are bought and put away.... (and you can hardly notice the $700.00 worth that I bought! I'm disgusted).... the Christmas email/poem that I write each year is done and sent.... I think I'm done. Now I can sit and knit or spin.... yeah!
We've ordered a wardrobe for Daughter #2's bedroom. It has nothing to do with Christmas. It was supposed to arrive on the 28th of December.... it showed up yesterday. Hubby was off with the truck so today we will be picking it up and setting it up. This is an unexpected chore. But we want to get it done instead of having it hanging over us.
Hubby is in the kitchen making bagels and lox. He smoked the lox last night and the dough for the bagels is in the bread maker. Today he will boil the bagels dip them in sesame seeds and then pop them into the smoker before baking them.... yum.... I love Montreal style bagels and cream cheese with lox.... normally we have on Christmas morning either raisin molasses bread or cranberry bread that I make.... but Hubby took the initiative this year and made homemade bagels. I can't wait to try them.
For another tip on getting in the Christmas mood.... drink tea with your Hubby... (you need a Hubby like mine).... laughing with your Daughters.... (you need Daughters like mine)..... listening to Christmas music.... but not too much.... and generally being happy.
My best tip for the Christmas spirit.... go to your nearest church for a Christmas Eve service, join your voice to the voices of others and sing old familiar carols, listen to the readings, think about that oh so profound night 2000 years ago, pray, think of world wide peace, listen to the church bells, wish people a Merry Christmas, visit friends, head home to put all your secrets under the tree, chuckle lots, get your cozy pjs on and say a prayer for me... I'll being praying for you....
Merry Christmas
We've ordered a wardrobe for Daughter #2's bedroom. It has nothing to do with Christmas. It was supposed to arrive on the 28th of December.... it showed up yesterday. Hubby was off with the truck so today we will be picking it up and setting it up. This is an unexpected chore. But we want to get it done instead of having it hanging over us.
Hubby is in the kitchen making bagels and lox. He smoked the lox last night and the dough for the bagels is in the bread maker. Today he will boil the bagels dip them in sesame seeds and then pop them into the smoker before baking them.... yum.... I love Montreal style bagels and cream cheese with lox.... normally we have on Christmas morning either raisin molasses bread or cranberry bread that I make.... but Hubby took the initiative this year and made homemade bagels. I can't wait to try them.
For another tip on getting in the Christmas mood.... drink tea with your Hubby... (you need a Hubby like mine).... laughing with your Daughters.... (you need Daughters like mine)..... listening to Christmas music.... but not too much.... and generally being happy.
My best tip for the Christmas spirit.... go to your nearest church for a Christmas Eve service, join your voice to the voices of others and sing old familiar carols, listen to the readings, think about that oh so profound night 2000 years ago, pray, think of world wide peace, listen to the church bells, wish people a Merry Christmas, visit friends, head home to put all your secrets under the tree, chuckle lots, get your cozy pjs on and say a prayer for me... I'll being praying for you....
Merry Christmas
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