Welcome to my homestead. After writing about Grandma Hulda and sharing our family’s recipe for old fashion pinwheel date cookies I thought I would share another great recipe and such a classic; Chocolate Chip cookies! Oh don’t you just love a freshly baked, still warm from the oven, chocolate chip cookie? It takes me …
Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies and Hope for Uncertain Times (Part 2) Read More »
My maternal grandmother died 30 years ago in 1987, and yet as I did some research and started to write this piece, it felt like she was across the room, moving rhythmically in her rocking chair and sharing her story in her sing songy, Swedish voice that I loved. If you want to make a …
Pinwheel Date Cookies ~ Hope in Uncertain Times (Part 1, Grandma Hulda’s Story) Read More »
Happy Shrove Tuesday, dear blog friends and family! Did you know that Shrove Tuesday is also called Mardi Gras? And Mardi Gras is french for FAT TUESDAY???? I love learning new things. I always thought Mardi Gras was just a big party down in New Orleans (well it is) but it also refers to the …
“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.” ~ Elizabeth Barrett Browing 1806-1861 Happy Valentine’s Day! Before this day of love flies by, I did want to stop, wave hi, wish you much love and share a delicious chocolate cake recipe. You may have a homemade classic that you love, but I have …
“How many lessons of faith and beauty we should lose, if there were no winter in our year!” ~Thomas Wentworth Higginsons~ That quote was written by a man who was a minister, author, abolitionist and soldier. He lived from December 22, 1823 until May 9, 1911 and spent much of his life, devoted to fighting …
Lately, my blog is turning into a reflective parenting place, where I have been discussing raising children more than talking about what is going on in in the back 40. But you know, it’s that time of year….still really cold and snowy in our little valley. Another cold snap hit our area and so, staying …
The road to a friend is never long My dearest blog family and friends, Welcome and happy December! It feels like weeks since we connected. How is life in your part of the world? The 2016 year is quickly coming for an end in my part of the world and I have so much …
A beautiful fall day in my part of the world Welcome friends and family. November has arrived. Even though October is one of our longer months, it flew by for me in a blur. With Thanksgiving celebrations, my husband David’s birthday, getting ready for Halloween (my love affair with my sewing machine making a …
Happy Halloween! Welcome to my Meatless Monday #6 blog post. Today is not just the day my little candy hunters will head out in search of loot, but also my first day doing another 21 day meditation challenge with Dr. Deepak Chopra and Oprah. This one is called, “Creating Peace from the Inside Out~ …
Vegetable Lentil Gardener Pie~Meatless Monday #6 Read More »
“As I embarked down the road, the path seemed endless, but with each footfall, the fresh, crisp air filled my lungs, allowing my feet to lift higher, my eyes rose to the trees above and the beauty from the coloured leaves gently falling along my path, overcame my senses. Suddenly, the road was not long …
I missed writing on Monday. I’m not one of those uber organized bloggers, who have their posts written weeks ahead of time. I didn’t even know that is how things worked until recently, my oldest daughter Alyssa, who knows these things, informed me that most professional bloggers do all their writing on one day and …
Okay, so you’re probably wondering what homemade salsa has to do with mental health. Well, if you hang in there, I hope I can make the connection by the end of my blog post but first, I want to tell you what’s been going on around here. Did you know that October 2 – …
Hi! Welcome to my blog and thanks for joining me for my third Meatless Monday meal. This week, I thought I would make an Italian classic, but when I did some research, I discovered that Ancient Greeks were responsible for making this pasta out of long strips of dough they called, “laganon. Fast forward, …
Welcome back to my second Meatless Monday. It’s a gorgeous day in the Okanagan and what I want more than anything is to get outside and harvest some more tomatoes. I have been doing that almost daily and after the kids are in bed at night, I’m either cutting them up and putting them in …
Smoked Tofu and Vegetable Stir Fry~Meatless Monday #2 Read More »
I love the beach, the ocean beach to be precise. The waves, rolling in and out, with the clock-like tide, the screech of sea gulls overhead, and the endless sand all beckon me to come and sit in peace. My family used to go to Rathstrevor beach in Parksville, Vancouver Island, B.C. every summer for …
Mmmmmm, I love black olives. They fill me with thoughts of sunshine, earth and balmy breezes…and my mom, who could eat a whole can in one sitting, although she also liked to share, hence my love of them too. As I was chopping up whole pitted olives just now, to put in the Mexican Casserole …
For there is no friend like a sister in calm and stormy weather. To cheer one on the tedious way, To fetch one if one goes astray. To lift one if one totters down, To strengthen whilst one stands ~Christina Rossetti~ The above piece was written by an English poet, who lived …
~There is always enough, when love is present~ The long, lazy days of summer are still with us but our roosters are not. It was a sad day when we had to say goodbye to our three roos. Knowing they were going to a good home in the country made us feel marginally better. …
Before you were born I carried you under my heart. From the moment you arrived in this world until the moment I leave it, I will always carry you in my heart. ~Mandy Harrison What devoted blog readers you are to come and visit today. Thank you! I’m sorry I haven’t …
The light is changing in my part of the world. The days are getting longer, warmer and I am opening gently, like the first blossoming flowers in spring. I’ve watched the changing seasons for many years now, the lines on my face etched like a wrinkled road map, showing all the places I’ve traveled, but …
We all experience pivotal moments in our lives. Moments we cross the threshold of believing a certain way, and suddenly an event occurs in our lives and we are inexplicably changed forever. One such event occurred in my life, four years ago today, on February 28, 2012. I was at my son Harrison’s grade 7 …
“Deep quiet encircles, covering us in a soft blanket of endless peace and warmth, but underneath, something is stirring, inspiration is growing and soon it will shine it’s light.” ~Lee Reynolds~ January is still very much with us, with it’s endless cold days and drifts of snow covering our world. We are out almost …
Oh sweet January. In past years, I haven’t embraced it as fully as I am doing this year. Each month seems bittersweet and the days are flying by all too fast for me. I thought I would slow things down a bit and say yes more. Yes, to staying in bed on Saturday mornings, luxuriating …
“Allow Miracles to Happen” Happy New Year dearest friends and family. Today is a new day. Today is the beginning of a new year of endless possibilities. It’s thrilling to contemplate, especially if one is of the mindset of feeling limitless. What is that quote by Goethe? “Whatever you do, or dream you can, …
I’d like to share a story I wrote several years ago. This is the 50th Christmas since my Dad left the earth and it seems like a fitting tribute. This is for you Dad, my shining star and for my mother, who has now joined him and also guides me on my journey. Hope is …