Christmas on Salt Spring

Early Christmas at home with my mom, was green and wet, 

perfect for burning five massive piles of our tree limb mess from the summer. 

There were soooo many needles. Gross, slimy, wet, moulding, slippery needles. 

I'm afraid we couldn't quite get rid of them all. 

Good thing conditions are conducive to quick composting. 

Ash and organic compose should help all the new wee seedlings flourish. 

I kind of love fires... :)

A good job for colder days. Another big job done! 

That said, we will still have to be very wary of the likely inundation of broom...

We had all kinds of other things to do, too, like decorating. 

It's such a pleasure to decorate a beautifully and artistically finished, clean home, even if it's not really mine anymore. And visiting and eating... The usual tasks around this time of year. 

My mom made the best ham I think I've ever had... Amazing! Delicious!

I am salivating. Utterly jaw dropping, taste bud popping!

I really wish we had trees around where we live in Calgary. It's just so simple and beautiful to decorate with greenery, if of course it's available right outside your door. 

Not to mention the scent. Quite intoxicating. Especially mixed with eggnog. 

I made the wreath as I usually do, but this year my mom purchased a proper frame and 

some wire twine which made it much easier and sturdier. 

It didn't really occur to me before that I should try to use something other than card board 

and fishing line, but the frame and twine are such handy items for wreath making, 

I'll likely never do it without them again! 

Making the wreath is one of my favourite things to create. 

I think my mom should grow holly and mistletoe so I can add them next year... 

Yes I think that would be just dandy! 

Some traditions were the same as they have been my whole life, others have been modified. 

Jordan and I got the Christmas tree. 

It was conveniently directly in the middle of the view of the lake...

Awfully nice view now! And so is the huge Christmas tree!

I knit my mom a scarf/wrap with braided cables along each side and the center 

half in flame stitch, half in honeycomb stitch. 

The honeycomb part ended up being quite perfect since my 

mom has become quite excited about becoming a bee keeper. 

I'm excited about that too. 

Honey is awesome and maybe we can do something with the wax as well. 

In any case I don't think I'll be the bee handler though. 

I still need to get in touch with a bee keeper I met randomly on a flight to Vancouver. 

I wish I hadn't lost his business card! I loose everything, sigh. 

He was such a font of information and so enthusiastic! 

I got pretty excited at the time, albeit one, I'm allergic, 

and two, I guess a bee box on our deck wouldn't overly impress the neighbours (oh condo life!).

However my mom has space and she has it now! 

Unlike the farm I dream of daily.

If your name is Harry and you are a bee keeper living in Calgary,

and you flew to Vancouver one day beside a pilot who you entertained for a full hour with bee stories,

and you just happened to read this,

PLEASE drop me a line!!!! 

I was really mad at myself about losing your card...

And speaking of handmade things, how about this gift my mom made for us? 

Matching Christmas aprons!

They're reversible :)

Baby, I Want You to Feel Wanted

The anniversary of the number one reason I love my life, 

and my life is filled with love, 

is nearing (in 6 days!), therefore I've decided it's the perfect time for a post all about HIM! 

My apologies it isn't exactly about Christmas, but then again, that's the anniversary date 

AND what would the season be like without love? 

Presenting the one who makes fear, sadness and pain diminish, 

and who equally takes every ounce of joy, laughter and fun and multiplies it tenfold: 

my one and only, 

Jordan! 

Reasons I can't get enough of Jordan:

He is the kindest and nicest person I know.

He's a real man. Yep, he's ready to get dirty, he can fix just about anything and he's tough. 

He gives the best hugs. And everything else. 

We have so much fun together whether we're simply doing chores or doing something special.

I can always count on him and trust him. 

He not only has a great work ethic, but an excellent home ethic, too. 

(I think this is often the main factor in determining how someone was raised, their values, who they are and how they will continue to behave in the distant future. Massive kudos to those who come to this on their own, but in his case, definitely was raised to be a proper citizen of the world.)

And the fact he can't seem to get enough of me, weird possibly, but totally awesome ;)

Anyway, I think we have a lot in common and make a fantastic pair, 

with similarities in the right places and complimentary qualities in all the rest.

A Few Stats:

No, he's not a pilot. Nor is he older than me. 

Ha ha, works for me. I hope you still love me when I'm old...

His eyes are an amazing colour of blue.

He was born and raised in Calgary. 

He's owned more vehicles than number of years he's spent on this planet. 

(I might be slightly exaggerating) 

His Bucket List includes adventures in Africa, South East Asia and South America 

(stand by for coverage on those) 

My Dad kindly found him for me.

Here's a few of his favourites:

Colour: Blue. 

Sport to take part in: Waterski

Time to wake up: Early. 5:39/6:00 am. (That's a tad too early, no?)

Snacks: Peanut Butter, Bread, and Baked goods made by me :)

Best use of the day: Start early, complete every outstanding chore

Use for extra time and money: Travel

Ideas for the future: To live on a little farm.

Food: Anything with meat

Other Random Things: Showers (for the hot water), Pistachios, Being Outside, Projects of various kinds, Camping, Coffee, Did I mention Peanut Butter?

The title of this post is a reference to one of the first sweetest things of our relationship, 

and you can listen here. 

What I'd like to give Jordan for Christmas, is a workshop or garage or barn, 

but we will have to save that for another year. 

Unfortunately those are difficult to come by at currently affordable prices! 

Until then he'll just have to dream of brewing beer, tuning up mechanical devices of sorts, 

raising some animals, etc. Yes, a farm is a serious dream! 

Anyway, in case you were wondering, this man is the reason my life is Hakuna Matada. :D

P.S. Thanks Sara for this idea. :)

Making Baklava

First I must remind myself not to pronounce this bak-la-va; it's bak-lava.

Or in my mind BAK-LAVA!!! 

Because it's so delicious I think it rightly deserves capital letters. 

Even in German it should get more than the initial letter capitalized - it is that good. 

Yes. Yes. Yesssss. 

Just LOOK at that! 

Right-O! First things first. 

Apart from thawing the phyllo pastry, which I didn't make, (Another time. Maybe...) is to find an appropriate pan. I knew I had a 9"x13" somewhere. Shoot. 

Found it in the utensil drawer, housing utensils. 

As much as this pan is a house for larger kitchen utensils, and a house (this condo) is a house for me 

- does anyone get that reference? Mom I know you do - 

I emptied it immediately in search of homemade mouth-watering pastry/nut/honey desire...

Coincidently, I discovered a real cork screw, a Sunday spoon, a sharp, powerful pair of sheers 

and the little, green, tickly brush I needed for buttering my pastry sheets :) 

Did I convince you these are Christmas nuts? 

Or just that I'm nuts for Christmas? 

Either way, those nuts were expensive! 

Bulk Barn seems to be the best source for quality and price in Calgary 

and you can buy in whatever quantity you choose.

(Do let me know if you have any other suggestions of awesome places to shop, please.)  

My personal purchase size yesterday was pretty exact, as in 'do not even snack on one nut', 

and with two vanilla beans, I still managed to hit the $25 mark. 

That's half the quantity suggested by the recipe, btw. 

I think my frugalness may be showing...

Cut after 30 minutes in the fridge. 

I did use almost a pound of phyllo, though, and the rest became a mushroom Strudel. 

As for butter I used about 1 1/3 - 1 1/2 cups. 

The sauce, mmmm sauce, vanilla honey sauce! Is, well, yes drinkable :) 

However there are no pictures because it looks pretty plain-jane...

You'll need most of that for pouring over the hot baklava, but since the recipe makes 

at least a cup and a half and the rest (a few tbsp) is becoming my new coffee sweetener!

Find the recipe I used here, at HowSweetEats.

Awesome and great big thanks to her for the recipe!

***(I halved the nuts)

Soup-ed Up

Despite the fact the house is a mess of half unpacked boxes of Christmas decorations, 

blocked drying knitted objects, gifts that need wrapping and my still full suit case, 

I really don't need anything else on my plate, however my bowl's been filled instead. 

With soup.

Corn Chowder

I made the mistake of over buying groceries this week, neglecting to evaluate our schedules 

(working away) and our going to Salt Spring for our early Christmas, so I went wild on vegetables.  Ahhh I hate wasting, so I had to use the contents of my crisper. 

A make work project at it's finest I see.

I took two classically heavy soups, and made them lighter, with the addition of vegetables, 

yet retained the delicuos flavours, likely due to the bacon and the homemade chicken stock. 

I chose to use bacon because it's smoky maple pairs so well with Corn Chowder, 

and since there was some left over, I added it to the Cheddar Broccoli, too.   

What a marvelous way to get your sweetheart to eat his vegetables. 

It's hard to say you don't like something after it's become unrecognizable in the blender. 

Do you see beet tops? No, nor do I. Therefore they cannot be there. Nope. Ha ha!

Cheddar Brocoli 

Although I do not cook my soups in either of the pots seen in the photos, I like to use them to store, heat and serve the soup. 

I know it's not really chocolate chip cookie season 

(bring on the shortbread, nanaimo bars, rum balls and eggnog)

but if you feel you could improve on your go-to recipe, please consider this recipe:

Time to tame the house!

and maybe eat more of those cookies :)

Bits and Bites

Well, I'm sitting here on my comfy couch, listening to the Country Christmas station, 

in front of our recently decorated tree, eating cookies and drinking fresh milk. 

It smells of fir in here.. Mmmm and gingerbread... Mmmmm... 

And I realize I am rather behind on posting, not to mention pretty much everything else. 

In fact, my head, so full of sugar plums and spinning at cyclone speeds, 

I actually forgot to go to my bother's for dinner. Requesting an agenda for Christmas, please. 

Oh my!

So let's get started - in no particular order:

Nostalgic Cuties 

Found on Pinterest, where I do find umpteen sources of inspiration. 

This little drawing should be of Martina and me! 

Up until now I had no idea how I looked when I knit. 

Here I am making the headband of Martina's toque - meanwhile she is taking the photo...

Engaged, concentrating, happy... 

I really should brush my hair more often, but apparently I was too busy with more important tasks ;)

By the way, I like how my living room looks. 

By looking at myself and my surroundings via someone else's view finder, I feel I am looking in on myself. It's like a total out of body experience. Just kidding. 

It's not, but a new perspective is interesting all the same. 

I purchased a skein of yarn for a Christmas project at Pudding Yarn. 

Kindly the lady working there set me up and I spun it into a ball. This is how it looked. 

The out of focus, spinning mini garden clothes hanger look alike is what holds the skein. 

The ball is wound near my hand.

The yarn is Madeline Tosh, Tosh Merino Light, Fingering weight, in colour way Mare. 

I chose it because it's manly, yet lovely. 

(I don't mean lovely versus manly, because the manly I have around here is definitely lovely, 

it's just so often manly colours are boring - I'm so happy this isn't!) 

It's Charcoal with undertones of denim and chocolate. 

Who could not like that???

More on that and a few other knitted and purled projects after Christmas. 

Wouldn't want to spoil in any surprises!

*****

Inspiration by Peggy Porschen:

We spent a day making this amazing smelling gingerbread town. It is still filling the condo with its merry scent. It's been a few weeks and I'm still intoxicated!

Here are the extras :)

We're parked correctly at the gate in Cancun, getting our fuel uplift, as you can see. I'd guess a ballpark figure of 18 tonnes. I like this photo. It was taken with my phone so the quality isn't super but the composition is pleasing. 

I heard in two years we may be getting 737-Maxs (the B737-900 and B787-800 labels reminded me of that). Increased range - just imagine the possibilities! 

East Coast Florida at Sunset:

East Coast Florida, slightly further north, afternoon:

Calgary, one crisp and beautiful morning:

There simply isn't a way of truly capturing the beauty and magic of the light at sunrise and sunset. 

The colours are so much richer than I can bring to you with my iPhone....!!!

Bye for now!

More on soup to follow...

Heritage Park Christmas Visit

Much of the park is closed since it's so cold and not nearly as busy as during the summer, 

but the entrance fee is quite reduced. 

Don't miss the petting zoo or the freshly baked cinnamon buns. 

We found these ducks to be so comical. The sheep and the goats so gentle and sweet. 

I'd never before met a goat that didn't butt everyone at every opportunity. 

I cannot wait to have such animals on my very own farm! 

And, if you're willing to wait, take a horse and carriage ride! 

Warm up while taking in a play. 

Most of the little town is open, and the Famous Five house is now ready for visitors. 

They have my Grandma's china. Funnily, just after I said that to Martina, a family came in and the mother said the very same thing to her children. It must have been popular!

We had an interesting conversation all about printing and printing presses at the newspaper office. 

A fun and merry outing indeed!

Royal Tyrrell Museum, Drumheller, Alberta

I'm sure it happens to everyone, but I am somewhat ashamed to say I often leave exploring close to home to times when I have company from out of town and outside of Canada to entertain. We have an enormous array of stunningly beautiful places right here at home, yet I often go abroad for various types of exploration, travel and holidays... 

Maybe it has something to do with the winter temperatures? We've just had a deep freeze over the weekend, which does bring to mind being thankful I fly to sunny destinations all winter!

(Coincidence, or are we huddling for warmth in both these photos?)

Regardless, though, when I am taking friends and family to visit any place in Canada I've actually been to, or I am discovering for the first time, I'm always quite proud to show off my country.

More Canadians should visit our great outdoors, and when they are too cold or too snowed in, should instead try our indoor options... Bring in the Royal Tyrrell Museum! 

Some notes about the trip through Alberta from the mid Triassic, the Jurassic and the Cretaceous Periods, bringing up the end of the Mesozoic Era - marked by mass extinction - some 231-66 million years ago: (Wow, right?!!!!)

Occasion: 
My best friend came for a visit from Munich.

Previous visit: 
I believe I was four years old. All I recall is enjoying myself and then choosing a dinosaur dot-to-dot book at the end which made me particularly happy. 

This visit: 
As an adult I'm positive I learned and retained more than me at four. Since I don't spend a lot of time thinking about dinosaurs, but do enjoy being presented with new information, and find many topics to be interesting (if not scintillating, yes T-Rex I'm talking about your incredible fossilized self) I would judge the whole museum to be interesting for anyone. And you might just find yourself thinking about dinosaurs more often...!

Cost: 
$13. (It's off season at the minute, so perhaps the summer entrance fee is more expensive.)

How to get there: 
From the very north of Calgary where we live, the drive, in my speed-limit-abiding car, took just over one and a half hours. Go north on the number 2 and follow the signs taking you east to Drumheller. When you get into Drumheller follow the signs for the Museum, which is a little way outside of town. (You'll pass a huge green dinosaur in town. That's not the museum so keep driving!)

Time to experience the exhibits: 
About 3 hours. I should add I notice I am pretty slow in museums as I like to read and look at everything. I think I learn more this way. So it's perfect when you are not rushed by the rest of your group. Martina and I are similarly paced. You know, BFFs do often have things in common! 

One thing that was very apparent, is the size difference between us and these ferocious beasts of the Mesozoic Era. You know you're never going to have a chance when you only reach T-Rex's knee. Not all dinosaurs were this big, but the little ones (second picture below) are probably twice as big as a human. And certainly carnivorous! 

I had no idea: 
Some dinosaurs had feathers, Alberta was a forested area, somewhat like parts of British Columbia (with a redwood growing to heights of 13m) and that well known Tyrannosaurus and Ceratopsians are our local dinosaurs. Actually a predecessor to T-Rex was larger, but he is considered the most deadly (Albertasaurs). 

Remember Sarah (maybe Cera?), the Triceratops of 'The Land Before Time'? She's from here. Alberta! And the darling opossum, aka Didelphodon, one of my favourite marsupials, has actually been around since the Cretaceous Period. 

What I didn't see: 
Pterodactyls, despite the fact there is a large flock of them flying though the international airport. So no Petrie... Then again, I also didn't get the impression dinosaurs were cute, even when they were babies. So much for kid's movies, dinosaurs are intimidating! 

For the record, Sabre Tooth Tigers and Mammoths are, too. Our ancestors were brave!