Welcome to another Minimalist Monday post. In a few short hours, the last Monday of Spring break will be over and everyone will be back to their respective schools/jobs. It was a fabulous break in so many ways. No we didn’t go to Hawaii, or to Mexico, like many of our children’s friend’s families. One family even went to Cuba and Will said another is off to England for a month. WOW! It was wonderful none the less, although we rarely left our subdivision. Sometimes, keeping things quiet, relaxed and simple are the best ways to enjoy a break.
At least in my opinion.
I continued to get more pruning done since I last wrote. David and Clark also accomplished a lot. They took most of the second wooden retaining wall down and hauled it to the land fill. All 800 pounds of it~! Once Harrison’s attic space is complete, (David is working every spare moment on it) we can get going on the second river bed rock wall above the pool. And then we can plant it with herbs, and edible flowers, which is perfect for our pollinators. Check out the plants that pollinators love.
Do you see all that old retaining wood in the middle of the bed…well David and Clark finally cut that up and hauled it away. We are one step closer to the next rock wall being built!
We concluded the Easter Egg hunt in the attic space we are building for Harrison, who will be home from University in three weeks!When it’s finally done we can start working on the rock wall again.
The children practiced their music, their math and their reading everyday in the morning and then spent the rest of the day outside riding bikes, playing in our play ground, or jumping on the trampoline. We even invited a few friends over to play, which was nice for the children to reconnect with their friends, since two weeks is a LONG time when you are six and eight. Grace even had a friend over.
Our Easter Weekend was more minimal than is past years and started out with a good April Fool’s joke–or at least I thought it was one. On Easter Sunday the children burst into our bedroom really early and exclaimed, “it’s snowing!” I laughed sleepily into my pillow, “oh that’s a good one guys.” “No, really mom, it’s snowing!” they all chimed in unison, as they opened our bedroom curtains to show a white out outside our bedroom window.
Saturday had been glorious. Okay, maybe a bit brisk, but the sun was shining and the sky was mostly blue. What had happened? The sky was now heavy with white clouds, and big, fluffy flakes were gently falling, covering the ground in a thick quilt of more white. No green was showing. “Ahhhh!” I said, collasping into my pillow and pulling the comforter over my head.
David, laughed and got out of bed to take the kids to the kitchen for Sunday breakfast. Normally, it’s their tradition to make pancakes and waffles with fruit on Saturday and Sunday, but since it was Easter, there were cinnamon buns and everyone was looking forward to that treat. “Do you want anything mom,” they asked as they left my bedroom. “Spring,” I said, and promptly went back to sleep. I dreamed a weird dream about our neighbours ripping out all their lawn and laying down carpet, upon which they exclaimed , “It’s so easy to keep clean. You just vacuum it!”
I woke up a while later rather groggy, residue from my dream still lingering, and stumbled into the bathroom. I was shocked to see blue sky. The grass was even green. Had I dreamed it had been snowing a few hours earlier? “Where did the snow go?” I yelled towards the kitchen, in which David replied, “all melted!” That was the strangest Easter morning I have ever experienced in all our years in our little town. Now when we lived in Calgary, Alberta, many years ago, that wouldn’t have been an uncommon occurrence, but not in the Okanagan. (Do you doubt global warming when you wake up to a blizzard on Easter Sunday in the Okanagan?)
Needless to say, I flew into action as I didn’t want to waste a moment of this promising day. I had much to do. Get the turkey in the oven, ice the bunny, carrot cake, I had made the night before. Peel all the vegetables and generally get ready for our Sunday dinner. Clark and David were hauling the broken down retaining wall out of our yard and into David’s company truck, which he had for the weekend so it was my job to get the scavenger clues distributed for our Easter egg hunt.
No time to waste!
The kids helped me decorate our carrot cake/bunny cake
Ta Da….Bunny 2018
While I took the little kids to their orchestra rehearsal for their upcoming festival, Grace iced the sugar cookies she had made…they were delicious with a hint of almond in the icing, yum!
These sugar cookies turned out perfectly….thank you Grace!
Grace agreed to take the little ones for a walk while I set out the clues around our yard and the day was well on it’s way. As I was moving through the yard, dropping clues among plants and faeries, I was thinking about how great this spring break was for our family. I was also pondering what I wanted to write about for this minimalist Monday and suddenly it came to me. Over spring break we did a few things in the name of minimalism.
Grace took the kids for a walk, while I put out all the Easter egg hunt clues…See what a nice day it turned out to be. You would never know it had snowed heavily earlier in the day and everything was white.
Only seven of us around the table this year…small but lovely. Happy Easter!
The first step to moving towards minimalism is:“let go of what doesn’t serve you any longer.” But it’s a constant process. Last summer, at a golf tournament, David won a golf bag and putter. They were both good quality but nothing David needed, nor did our sons, who also play a bit of golf. So one night, David did a bit of sleuthing to see what these items would sell for and then he listed them on Kijiji. Within a day he had two people interested and by day two he had sold the items.
Sold…bag and putter and no longer collecting dust in the garage!
The man that bought them was thrilled with the price and the value and kept saying, “this is just what I have been looking for.” David felt really great about selling the items and knew that they would be put to good use. The money also came in handy, as we were able to help out our two University sons with a bit of money to tide them over until the semester ends.
Win/Win!
Then a few days later the twins invited a friend over for a play date. As it turns out their friend has a little brother. Bonus! I pulled out Will’s old bike with training wheels and the big wheel tricycle that we have been tripping over and asked the mom if she thought her little guy could use them. She smiled brightly and said she would gladly take them, as they can always use more outdoor toys. I smiled too, as we tucked them into the back of her van.
Will’s little bike with training wheels and the Big Wheel, found a new home!
Walking back to our house with a tiny bit emptier garage, I suddenly felt lighter. I was so inspired by letting go of these items, that I cleaned the whole garage. Once it was done, we could actually find what we were looking for. The rest of spring break was even better, as the little ones could wheel their bikes, scooter and plasma cars, in and out of the garage without bumping into things that they no longer played with.
Win/Win!
And so while we are well along the path towards minimalism, it reminded me that you have to be ever vigilant and get rid of stuff as soon as you recognize it is no longer serving you. Although we did a huge declutter, a few years ago, I am always combing through drawers and closets to make sure we never get into that space again. It reminded me that it’s so easy to let the bigger stuff stay because it’s not like you can just donate it in a bag to Good Will. And speaking of Good Will, I just saw a CBC, “Marketplace,” show, discussing what happens to all our used clothing. Check it out!
If you think that someone is happily using your donated clothing, think again. I had no idea, but most of the clothes that gets donated, ends up in land fills, either in our country, or abroad. It was shocking. And so, as we make a list of what our children need in the way of new clothing, ’cause they are growing out of everything, I’m going to be a mindful consumer this spring. I will try to purchase fewer items of good quality so we can wash them again and again and they continue to look great. Also, by buying good quality, when you do let them go, the chances of them being used until they are truly worn out is better. People appreciate good quality cotton clothing.
Well, that concludes my thoughts for this Monday. If I don’t post it soon it will be Tuesday…PROBABLY will be, as I’m on the west coast and it’s already April 3rd where my blogging site is located. Anyway, it’s all good! I hope you enjoyed your break and if you too are moving in the direction of becoming a minimalist, the next time you trip over something in your house, garage, or yard, set it aside and find a home for it. A place that will appreciate it and the side benefit is that you will feel lighter as you move along this journey we call life.
One final thing I want to leave you with is a prayer. Part of taking a minimalist approach this Easter was to remind our children that it’s not about the Easter bunny and getting stuff. While we all enjoy a bit of chocolate, I wanted to teach them why Christians celebrate this holiday. I pulled out a few of my treasured childhood Christian related books, and we read bible stories. Will, Kate and Tori sat quietly, attentively, listening to the stories of how Easter came to be. Finally we found a lovely sweet prayer at the end of one of the books that resonated with all of us. I hope you enjoy it as much as our little ones did and I hope you know too, how much you are loved.
God Whispers to us in our hearts:
“Do not fear, I am here
And I love you, my dear,
Close your eyes and sleep tight
For tomorrow will be bright~
All is well, dear child.
Good night.”
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
A few nights ago, I was packing up care packages for each of our older children, who are all living in Victoria, on Vancouver Island. Our two sons, Mitchell and Harrison, are at University and our oldest daughter, Alyssa, is working as a teacher and a writer.
I miss them.
I miss them terribly.
My heart is thrumming a longing beat, sitting outside the tight drum of my chest. I wonder if people I meet sense the deep ache inside of me? I’ve been really good ever since saying goodbye to them after Christmas, after all I stay busy with our five children still at home. But our family has always celebrated Valentine’s day in a special way and I miss knowing they won’t find chocolate outside of their bedroom door tomorrow.
So I pack up small boxes loaded with treats uniquely chosen for each of them. Things, even if they had extra money, they would not purchase. Chocolate for sure, and other small treasures. I know it’s not environmentally the best choice. My husband tells me he will send them a bit of money and each of them can pick up a treat but I know they won’t. I know that each of them lives close to their pocket book and the extra money will just go into paying their bills or buying their necessities.
As I place each item in the box, I add a note and share a back story on the things selected. It’s going to cost a small fortune in shipping. But I am visualizing their smiles as they open their box and the joy in their eyes, as they discover treats chosen just for them. Thinking about their heart filling up, takes the ache out of mine.
I think a person loves better after experiencing loss. I’ve lost many people in my life. My dad as a young child, my grandparents, friends, aunts, uncles, pets. I’ve lost babies too. And six years ago, at the end of this month, I lost my mom.
Losing those you love is not an easy experience. The grief can be overwhelming and can take you to the darkest places in your life. By the time, my mom passed away though, I had come to the belief that we are souls first, living an earthly existence. Having that belief makes it easier for me to say goodbye for I know she only left her body, but her spirit didn’t leave me. I can still feel the vibration of her love around me and that is something I want to share with our children.
Especially the ones who won’t be with me this Valentine’s day. I want to put a little love into their heart.
I hope it bubbles up and spills from their hearts and flows into all the people in their life and continues to spread throughout the world. And by the end of the day, the whole world is harmonizing with that humming feeling of love.
We will all being humming with, “Bhava” which is the sanskrit word for love as a process or as a feeling or state of being.
This past weekend was extra long because of our Provincial family day. The kids worked on making homemade Valentine’s day cards…notice the girl’s smiles…they are starting to lose teeth!
Most people do way more than we do at Valentine’s but here the kids are making cards and putting a sucker in each card. Between them they made 66 cards. In their teacher’s card they tapped a red ball point pen.
A happy family day celebration! We are sending love to all our family and friends on Valentine’s day!
“New Year’s Day. A fresh start. A new chapter in life waiting to be written. New questions to be asked, embraced and loved. Answers to be discovered and then lived in this transformative year of delight and self-discovery. Today, carve out a quiet interlude for yourself in which to dream, pen in hand. Only dreams give birth to change.” ~Sarah Ban Breathnach~
Happy New Year!
It’s taking me a bit of time to get rolling this year. Our holiday celebrations took a toll on me. I thought I was doing amazing. The house was sparkling, (and decluttered!!!) the tree and Christmas decorations were up, most of my baking was done, and all the presents were wrapped and hidden safely away from curious little ones asking questions like, “is Santa real?” and “how does he get through the glass that covers our gas fireplace?”
I was pretty proud of myself. We got this Grand Fir and the huge poinsettia that’s in the living room with points from the Super Store. Little things like that really helped so we could stretch our dollars at Christmas time.
Then on the Thursday before Christmas, during our twin daughter’s violin recital, I started to feel hot and dizzy. That was the beginning. Even though I pushed through the few next days, buying a horde of groceries on Friday and then on Saturday doing all the final things to ready our house for our returning, out of town children, I knew some kind of virus was taken me hostage.
Victoria before the December recital
Kathryn a bit before the recital…the recital when I started to feel ill…..but the concert was GREAT!
And sure enough, as Christmas loomed, a roaring headache took hold, my body was feverish and I started to cough. I had contracted a respiratory flu virus. I think I could even trace the moment it flew into my mouth. The weeks before Christmas, our three youngest took turns being sick and one evening, as I was reading with Victoria, she turned to me and coughed right in my face. In slow motion, I could feel the invisible virus laughing and jeering at me. I think I may have staved off the illness too as my immune system has been really strong but in December I was burning the candle pretty low, and it pushed myself beyond even my limits.
And those limits are far.
I have built a strong endurance muscle over the years. I think a lot of women with large families have this muscle. It’s called, “if you don’t do it, it won’t get done.”
Since I have three Christmas babies, (Clark born on Dec 20th, Harrison born on the 19th, and Grace was born on Dec 5th. She was actually due on the 18th. Can you imagine having children’s birthday’s on the 18th, 19th, and 20th and then doing Christmas!!! Thankfully she arrived a few weeks early. Suffice it to say, I have had a few holiday seasons were I was nursing a newborn, throwing birthday parties, caring for older children, buying and wrapping presents and then stuffing and cooking the turkey; WITHOUT ANY HELP..
Yeah so my limits and ability to get through difficult times are tremendous.
But this year, that virus really took the edge off things.
Being sick while trying to push through teaches valuable lessons. That there are times in life when you have to really listen to your body, slow down and do just what needs doing.And sometimes you have to ask for help.
Hmmmm, imagine that….asking for help.
There is a certain sense of strength that comes after pushing through a tough time and finding yourself on the other side. But being able to ask for help teaches us to be humble enough to realize that we can’t always do it all.
And it’s okay.
Somehow I made it through the holidays. On Dec 23rd, I had to ask my oldest son to cook the rib roast and pull together dinner and he did an amazing job. On Dec 24th, Alyssa and Grace iced the dozens of gingerbread and sugar cookies I had made. Even Will trudged through the deep snow and fed the chickens a few times.
As Alyssa was combing through her books and belongings and deciding what to take back to her new home, she tossed me a book that she had already read.
And while I have not read this book…yet…. I thought it was pretty remarkable that our oldest daughter, who is just in her 20’s, has already contemplated something that I have taken a lifetime to learn. Maybe we do build our own endurance muscles when we do it ourselves. I know Alyssa certainly has since she picked herself up and flew off to London to teach for two years without hardly knowing a soul. She had to move several times, schlepping her suitcases onto buses and trains and got herself all over London on various teaching assignments.
There are times in our life when we push our limits and build our muscles and there are times when we hit a wall and have to ask for help. She learned that when she was over on the other side of the world she could rely on herself but she also knew that having a support system of friends in place was crucial if she needed to ask for her. I remember in one instance, her apartment flooded and she needed to find a place to stay and her friends were there for her.
Anyway, aren’t our children sometimes our BEST teachers?
The holidays glittered in so many ways.
We made wonderful memories. We had a lot of laughs. We had some delicious food and drinks. With our children growing older, I realize that they can help and have strong muscles too. If you never ask, you will never receive and so part of the joy of this holiday was receiving. Our older ones were more than happy to help me and even our younger ones, built a bit of muscle too. We realized that being a family means helping each other, especially when times are tough.
When mom is sick.
William is learning to play chess at school and got a chess set for Christmas….not this one….his new one is in a lovely wooden box and actually has other games included with it.
On Christmas night the kid’s put on a Christmas concert for us. William literally lights our family up with joy….I’m so glad that we pursued having our last four children. It wasn’t easy, and we certainly didn’t have support of our family and friends. Our society also doesn’t value large families and certainly having them later in life is frowned upon. But when you are writing your own story, you need to listen from within and follow your heart. JOY COMES…and in our case, it came in the form of a beautiful boy named Will. And before him we were given a piece of Grace when our daughter Grace Eliabeth arrived in time for Christmas 2002. Then in 2011 we were given a miracle and a reminder that hope is the key when Kathryn Mira and Victoria Hope were born. So Grace, Joy, Miracle and Hope are present each holiday now.
This is our son Harrison’s 1st plate of food on Christmas…..hey, where’s the ambrosia? Each one of the kids were in charge of a certain part of dinner….it was a family affair.
That was the real magic in the air this year….along with my barking cough.
Alyssa took some wonderful pictures with the old Canon camera we gave her many Christmases ago…….and here are just a few of our Christmas memories.
Kathryn and Victoria are 6 this holiday and always have each other’s back. They are the BEST of friends
Grace just turned 15 and has been one busy girl this year. She is working on her grade 9 RCM piano level, working on her grade 7 in voice, sings in the school choir, andt completed her bronze cross in swimming. For some reason she didn’t think she was busy enough so she signed up for Junior girls basketball team. As I type this she is leaving for a tournament out of town.She laughs when she hears about what most teenagers are flipping out about….boys, or social stuff. The typical teenage drama doesn’t faze her. She recently told me that she thinks focusing on her extra curricular activities and getting straight A’s in school is keeping it real.
Alyssa and Grace are almost 13 years apart, like my oldest sister and I, and like B and I, they too are the best of friends. They share many of the same interests. Piano, swimming, and over Christmas they enjoyed just hanging out, baking, icing cookies, and they even spent a bit of time in our Hobbit’s hollow crawl space where they caught up on a few of their fav Netflix shows….”Stranger Things,” being one of them.
Harrison was happy to be home and eat food this Christmas. He says the food at the University is not always the greatest….and he really missed his friends as well and spent a lot of time catching up and, ahem….partying…but hey, he just turned 19 he’s legal to drink now. One of the gifts he got for his birthday before Christmas was a small bar fridge for his residence room. Hopefully now he can get a few healthy snacks to supplement those cafeteria meals.
Mitchell is going to be finishing his Science (Psychology major) degree in a few months. I found it rather funny that considering he works part time at the downtown Victoria, “Serious Coffee,” that he wasn’t sick of the stuff….but over Christmas he could often be found with a mug in his hand. He’s such a cool guy and so fun to be with. He tells the greatest stories too and has a very interesting perspective on life….an old soul for sure!
Our oldest son Clark just turned 25 before Christmas and really enjoyed hanging out with the family and seeing friends over the holidays.He can always be counted on to shovel the drive=way, help out with the little ones and amazingly….he learned to make a wicked rib roast dinner…the BEST I’ve ever tasted and I’m not much of a beef eater.
The little kids love hanging out with their big brother. Clark helps the little girls with their violin, and he sometimes reads in animated voices to William…..I loved hearing him read Harry Potter to him before Christmas. The BEST is when he comes home with treats after a day that he has worked at the Science Centre. The one sad thing about having a large family is often the older kids are out of the door while the little ones are growing up but it’s been nice that Clark could attend University in the Okanagan and continue to share in his little siblings daily life. What a great bond and many memories they have shared together. After Clark’s personal pictures were taken, I asked the kids if they wanted a picture with their big bro and they flew to be at his side with big smiles on their faces.
Alyssa told me that when she returned to Victoria after Christmas, a remarkable thing happened. It felt like she was going home. After years of traveling back and forth to University, and then her two years teaching and adventuring in the U.K. she is happy to settle down and find a cool groove where she can teach and write….and yes travel. Sometimes you have to leave home and experience elsewhere to realize REAL home feels like to you. We are so glad you found your place by the sea Alyse….and now we can visit!!!
Honestly, I felt like death warmed over in this picture but somehow David and I pulled off another Christmas with our family
And I give you the Reynolds family Christmas 2017….thanks for pulling the pictures together Alyssa!
My husband David was his usual super dad self. He drove to the coast and back on the 23rd, picking up the kids from the Vancouver Island ferry terminal. He swung by Ikea to pick up a new mattress for the attic we have been renovating. Then to top things off, over the Christmas holiday, he made our oldest daughter a few furniture pieces for her new digs by the ocean in Victoria. And finally, he took the kids back on New Year’s day. Driving them home all the way to Vancouver Island in one day. Getting them food at Costco the next day and returning back to the Okanagan in time to return to work on Jan 3rd!
Alyssa was given an espresso machine and coffee maker for Christmas but of course now David had to make her a beverage table for her new appliances. He used this cool grey barn wood for the top and the lower shelf and painted the legs etc all black….it was so amazing! I WANT ONE! (what a trooper ’cause the garage was FREEZING!!!)
Alyssa took a ton of books back with her and of course, if you give a mouse a cookie…she needs a bookcase to go with all those books…here is her new bookcase in calla lilly white with a beadboard backing…very old school and perfect for her blue, white and grey decor at her oceanside place in Victoria
Okay and if the beverage table and the bookcase weren’t enough, our birch tree is dying so David used some of the old wood to make her a lamp for her bedroom. This birch tree was planted when Alyssa was just a little girl so there is some history there and a nice piece to take back to Victoria…..I’m going to get David to make more of these lamps for the other kids….I think it’s neat for them to have something off the our property….and a memory from Lakelin Reach, our homestead
AMAZING Man!
And woodwork talent must run in the family since William, Kathryn and Victoria, made these cute barn board snow men for their Christmas gifts for us….these are keepers!!! Thank you to their wonderful school teachers. They are so blessed to have the BEST teachers in the world.
And just so we don’t forget, Christmas 2017 was very snowy. Thanks to our three strong sons, they kept the driveway clear
So Alyssa, our oldest is back to her high school English gig in Victoria, our son’s Mitchell and Harrison are back to the University of Victoria, and all the younger ones are back to school. Clark our oldest son did his second LSAT before Christmas and he just found out that he did extremely well. He received a 166, which is in the 93rd percentile, so Whoo hoo! a little celebration happy dance happening here. I know he would tell me to knock on wood, but hopefully he will be accepted to law school next fall, and as his best friend who is already in his 2nd year of law said, he would be absolutely shocked if he didn’t get in with that kind of score. Time will tell but that is exciting news for the new year. Maybe all those debates we had will finally pay off! Great work Clark!
So life is humming along here to a degree. Although if I’m being truly honest, I’m a bit bummed. Today my writing group started a new workshop session and I will not be attending.
BUMMER!
I knew it might me iffy, since despite being really careful and choosing the best, most useful gifts for our children at Christmas, we did go a bit overboard. Then there was the expense of bringing them all home and getting them back with food in their cupboards.
And to top it off, during the trip to he Island, even though David was driving extremely carefully in the snowy, winter conditions, a car flew by them and a large rock flew up and shattered our sun roof on our van. Have you ever heard of such a thing? Well, thank heavens no one was hurt and the impact didn’t startle David to lose control of the van and crash, but well, in the end that was an expense we hadn’t counted on. Interestingly enough the deductible we have to pay is exactly the same amount as my writing workshop fee.
Isn’t it interesting how that works out!
How life gives you choices and you have to pick a path.
Hence, I’m at home writing, instead of sequestered with my writing mentor and buds this morning.
BUMMER!
I was really looking forward to digging deeper with my group and getting some meaningful writing accomplished in the next three months. As I was straightening up the house after the kids went to school this morning, I was kind of depressed that I wasn’t getting ready to head off to join the group. How in the heck am I going to get my book finished if I don’t have the guidance and support of my group of cohorts.
And then I gave myself a kick in the butt.
“No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit.” ~Helen Keller~
Or wrote a book!
And with that quote in mind, I realized that as marvelous as my writing group is, as inspiring as my mentor L is, nothing can prevent me from writing what is often bursting from my soul. Unless I allow depression and pessimism to take hold.
This is a new year, a new chapter in my life and I can write whatever I want in my book. And damn, by the rich smell of my life’s compost, this will be a fertile year. Not just for my writing, but for us finishing up the attic renovation, the second wall above the pool, and more garden space built in the back forty.
“When you lay the seeds of your dreams in the rich hummus of optimism, abundance grows.” ~Lee Reynolds~
We are due to have another dump of snow in the next day or so and while we are still hibernating indoors to a large degree. This is a good time to get some words written, some borscht soup made, and print out the goals I want to accomplish this year.
How about you? Have you written the first few lines of your new chapter?
This is my latest mantra. A mantra that my Traditional Chinese Medical doctor used to say to me before my acupuncture sessions years ago, when I was trying to till the fertile soil of my body so we could conceive another baby…..as it turns out….our William….. And that mantra is:
“This is a new day!”
How do you want to live it?
Maybe reading a book, or making my Pumpkin Roll cake below. If you are spending a lot of time tucked under a quilt like me this winter, I’d love to share a whimsical novel I read over the holidays. If you enjoy a bit of fantasy, you are a homesteading fan, and love children or yearn for them, (and if you are a reader of my blog, I imagine some of that interests you) then you probably will enjoy this beautifully, lyrical book.
I hope you love it as much as I did. And now for my sister B’s recipe for: Auntie Bonnie’s Pumpkin Roll Cake
She gave this to me years ago and my kids love it. It’s super easy too so I don’t know why we don’t make it more often. Okay without further ado, here it is.
Ingredients 3 eggs 1 cup of granulated sugar 2/3 of a cup of canned pumpkin 1 tsp lemon juice 3/4 cups all purpose flour 1 tsp baking powder 2 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp ginger 1 tsp nutmeg 1/2 tsp salt Filling Ingredients 6 ounces of cream cheese 1 cup powdered icing sugar 4 tbsp of butter 1/2 tsp vanilla Instructions Beat 3 eggs on high speed of mixer for 5 minutes; gradually beat in 1 cup of granulated sugar. Stir 2/3 cup canned pumpkin and 1 tsp lemon juice. Stir together 3/4 cup of flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp ginger, 1 tsp nutmeg, and 1/2 tsp salt. Fold into pumpkin mixture Spread on greased and floured 15x10x1 inch pan. Top with 1 cup of finely chopped walnuts Bake at 375 F degrees for 15 minutes. Turn onto a towel that is sprinkled with powdered sugar. Starting at the narrow end, roll the towel and cake together; Cool Unroll. for filling combine 1 cup of powdered sugar, 6 ounces of creamed cheese, 4 tbsp of butter, or margarine, and 1/2 tsp vanilla; beat until smooth. Spread evenly over the cake; Roll; chill; slice and serve…..makes enough for a large family of 10….US! Perfect!
I whipped this up while I was still feeling very under the weather but boy was it good!
This is a lovely, light dessert, absolutely perfect after a winter dinner….or even after a light soup, salad and bun dinner. The spices are yummy and so warming. Absolutely perfect to take and share during a winter potluck.
Enjoy!!!
As the new year unfolds, I hope you open to the idea of writing the first pages of your 2018 book with optimism and joy. Let it be one that you can look back, turn the pages and smile.
Write it well.
And remember, today is a new day and anything is possible.
If you can’t see the link above, check out the Celine Dion song, “A New Day.” I remember hearing that this song meant a lot to her as she went through a lot of pain and struggle to have her first son. When he finally born, it felt like a new day had come. I can relate as you know, that was a mantra that I used when we were trying to conceive and it gave me hope daily that each day holds new possibilities in our life.
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
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 years, when our older children were younger. We would rent a cabin at “Tigh Na Mara,” with 2 bedrooms and a large open family area with a cozy wood burning fireplace. The cabin was in the woods, well back from the beach, which created a deep and quiet refuge in the evenings, but was only a short walk until one could hear the rhythmic, rumbling of the waves, crashing onto the shore.
Vancouver Island, is also home to some of the oldest trees still standing on the planet. Each summer, our holiday was not complete, without a visit to the old growth forest called, “Cathedral Grove,” or our long and winding trip across to the most western side of the Island where Tofino and Long Beach are situated. It was there, when standing on the edge of the ocean, with toes digging deep into the sand, that my whole being would exhale releasing pent up energy, and inhale all the beaches negative ions, restoring me with the grace of nature. I would be transformed into a relaxed, peaceful woman, if not until the next yearly trip, at least for many months after our holiday.
We would end our day trip with a delicious dinner at the Sea Shanty in Tofino, which has been run by the same, First Nations couple since 1994. The view of Clayoquot Sound from the patio (perfect for kids!) is intoxicating. At the end of the day, I would drink in the ocean, like the landlocked woman I was and know my soul was being restored. There is something poignantly special, about sitting amongst your family and knowing, life doesn’t get any better life than this. The fact that the food was AMAZING didn’t hurt either.
I’ll never forget our first trip, our oldest son Clark was around 5 years old. A precocious 5 year old, I might add, who was already reading with a larger than life personality. “Mom, there is nothing on the kid’s menu that looks good. Can I see your menu?” Passing it over, he carefully read all the dishes and then declared, “I’d like the Seafood Platter please.” Of course he would I thought, it’s the most expensive dish on the menu. “But Clark,” I said, “that dish is for adults, do you think you can eat it all? “I’d like to try, besides I want to taste every kind of seafood on one plate.” His Dad and I exchanged looks over the table and finally we both nodded in agreement. He was so happy to dig out meat from the crab legs and dip his lobster in the butter, relished over the grilled salmon and enjoyed the scallops with a “mmmmmm, this is so good.” He even shared as I recall. He STILL remembers that experience to this day. (Mind you, he usually remembers every adventures in relation to what we ate along the way)
There is also something so pristine about that part of the world, that propels me to promise to care for the earth and do EVERYTHING I can to honour it, by keeping it clean and healthy.
This summer we took our younger children back to Vancouver Island for an end of the summer holiday. Part of the reason was to get our son Mitchell, who was starting his 3rd year at the University of Victoria, stocked up with food before the semester started. Personally, I really needed an ocean fix. Every pore of my being was dehydrated and needed to be refreshed, BEFORE we started a new, endlessly busy school year. It was delightful watching our younger children experience the ferry ride with all the ocean sights for the first time. I was reminded yet again, we are always creating pathways for our children, teaching them to walk the earth more gently and be TRANSFORMED with grateful hearts.
Recently, I wrote a blog post about choosing a vegetarian lifestyle, and if you are unable to do it full time, then starting with one dinner a week is a great first step. After writing that post, a friend of mine asked me how I have gotten my family converted to eating mainly vegetarian meals. I thought about how we have been moving in that direction for a long time and what the process was and realized, we are STILL not where I would like to be, fully vegetarians, but we are in the process. In order to achieve your goal, taking steps in the direction of that goal is sometimes what’s most important and also appreciating how far you have come and being okay with it. I tend to be too hard on myself, so looking back on what used to be on our dinner plates was an awesome realization for me.
Each day that we consciously choose to buy food that is not just healthy for us, but good for the environment too, has to be enough right now. At least we are moving in the direction of change and many days I can say we are there. (One of these days, we will totally stop eating bananas too, since it takes a lot of fossil fuel energy to bring them to my part of the world) That reminds me of Barbara Kingsolver’s book, called, “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle,” where she and her family chose to eat local, LONG before it was cool. In that book, she chronicled their experience. If you are wanting to be inspired, I recommend reading this beautifully written book.
Anyway, back to my friend’s question.
“How does one move in the direction of becoming a vegetarian?”
Well, first, you start making one vegetarian meal, then two meals and then three meals and before you know it, you have a complete repertoire of food your family loves, or will grow to love. Something we have done for years now is reduce our consumption of meat in the meat meals we eat. For instance, when the recipe calls for 1 lb of meat, you cut that in half. For more inspiration, here is what another blogger wrote about how to become a vegetarian.
Just like when we are trying to sneak more vegetables into our family’s meals, (you know hiding carrots, broccoli and zucchini into everything), you do the reverse with meat and slowly, you have cut out the amount of meat you add to your meals, until you replace it with an alternate source of protein; tofu, quinoa, beans/rice, almonds, etc.
Another way to move in that direction is to give a vegetarian alternative for the family members that do choose to eat solely vegetarian. It’s that old, try a bite of everything and before you know it, your meat eating family members have acquired the taste buds for a fresher, more alive, healthier choice. Their bodies will tell them what feels better after they have eaten a vegetarian choice.
I’d like to share a delicious soup I made recently for my family last week, when we had another cold and rainy day. It’s a long time favourite of my oldest son’s who was the one who ordered that Seafood Platter years ago. It’s my Clam Chowder Soup but instead of adding three cans of clams, like the original recipe calls for, I only use two. It tastes great, and no one notices the lack of clams. Actually, my “totally vegetarian” daughter asked if I would be offended if she picked the little clams out of the soup…and her brother gladly said, “I’ll take them.”
Okay, so it’s a life time process, especially if you raised your children to be meat eaters. I try also to not talk too much about food in general, no sermons about how eating meatless is better for our world. I call everyone to dinner and part of the enjoyment of the food is knowing we are only together for a short time. I know better than most moms since I have grown children and still little ones, how fast childhood flies and before we know it, our children are out in the world and making their own food choices. I hope they will have some favourite, comfort foods that will continue to nurture them with fond memories of home and holidays, long after I’m gone.
If you are cooking with me today, join me in listening to this great song, full of flowing harmony and easy beachy rhythm, “Tofino,” by Old Man’s Beard.
(If you can’t see the link below, check on the hyper-link above to hear this cool song)
And as we are groovin, here’s my Clam Chowder recipe
Hope’s Clam Chowder
Ingredients
2 cans of baby clams ….(the recipe originally called for 3 cans of clams) 4 strips of bacon (this recipe also originally called for more…you can use vegan bacon) 1 minced white onion 1 minced celery stalk 3 minced cloves of garlic 8 medium cubed chunks of potatoes 2 medium sliced carrots 1 cup of frozen corn kernels 3 tbsp of whole wheat flour 6 cups of vegetable stock 2 cups of whole milk 2 tbsp of dill (if you have fresh, chopped and add…..the more the better) Salt and pepper to taste garnish with parsley
(Note; adjust the stock and milk based on how much liquid you like in your soup and also how creamy you would like it)
Directions
Cook bacon in large soup pot, drain off the fat, add the onion, celery and garlic. Cook until translucent. Add the chunks of potatoes, sliced carrots, flour, salt and pepper and mix really well.
I am always amazed when I grow potatoes, beneath that dirt, it’s always a bit of a miracle to see food appear.
Add vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Cook until potatoes are tender.
Drain the clams and put the reserved juice in the potato mixture, bring back to boil, and add the corn, the clams, and milk. Season with dill. Heat well and then serve with parsley and a nice big bun. (link to my homemade bun recipe)
(Tip…..We often have a bit of left over Salmon or other fish in the fridge. It’s not enough to feed my family so when this happens I will add it to this soup, making another whole meal…if doing this, you can reduce the clams to just one can…and call it a Seafood Medley)
It’s ALL good!
Thank you for visiting today. I try to give my blog content to share with my readers some of the things I stumble upon in my day to day life moving in the direction of living on this earth more consciously and of course being mindful to care for our home. If you want to listen to an awesome Youtube video on caring for our oceans, which when you think about it, is really the earth….since land is actually on top of the ocean….and most of our planet is water…anyway, check out Sylvia Earle’s prize winning, Tedtalk video called, “My Wish.” Click the hyper link if you can’t connect to the video below.
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
The last month has been busy around the homestead, or rather off the homestead. The little girls had their watching week at ballet.
And then there was their first foray on the ice with skating lessons twice a week and I mean literally, on the ice, as that is where they spent the first few lessons. Then I started taking them out in between lessons and even joined them on ice during lesson time and they are now starting to glide. Little children learn so fast!
Yesterday was their last skating lesson before the holidays begin and they have really come a long way. Sorry, no pictures of how that looks as I was on the ice with them.
Victoria on ice…Kate up for a moment…first skating lesson
Will also started introductory hockey lessons which went really well from all accounts. David was taking him to those lessons, as they conflicted with the girl’s skating. I did see him briefly for one lesson and he was skating really well and had a good handle of the game….even got a few goals. In the new year I have all the little kids booked for figure skating lessons.
Harrison started basketball really late in the season, as they didn’t have a coach. Finally, one brave parent, who knows something about basketball, stepped forward and they now have had two games, of which they have been soundly beaten. No pictures of those moments either….too depressing, however after each game, I always remind Harrison that we learn far more from our failures than our successes. And in that light, is losing really a failure? (he says, yes!…hmmmm)
Grace was busy with her music theory, piano and her voice lessons. On her birthday weekend she had her voice recital and her choir concert. Then a few hours later was climbing the walls with her friends, celebrating her 13th birthday. Happy Birthday my early Holiday baby. (She was due to be born on the 18th…can you imagine….I would have had her on the 18th, Harrison’s birthday on the 19th and Clark’s on the 20th…I’m glad she decided to come early in December)
Grace at home before leaving for the voice recital
Grace at our local climbing gym, celebrating her 13th birthday with friends…over the next few years, I hope I don’t feel like climbing the walls raising another teenage daughter
Then there were all those Christmas parties to attend, Will’s gingerbread house making party at school of which I didn’t get a picture, as I was up to my wrists in icing, as he was pasting the candies on the house. Then there was the little girl’s party at Kindermusik.
My sugar cookies and gingerbread…our offering for our Kindermusik class
The little girls at home before the first party….which at the last minute got cancelled and I had to bake another batch of cookies the next week…because you know…the first batch didn’t last long in our house
The girls in the loft at the music school with their teacher Jennifer
Jennifer, their teacher always goes all out…these are the cute snow people they made during Kindermusik class…sticky sock snow people is what the girls call them
One day the girls just wanted to dress up at home…..no reason…just because and I thought I would snap a few pictures….they are growing up too fast but boy is Christmas magically this year as they are always whispering about what Santa might bring them…..we have talked a lot about the spirit of giving this year…and sharing with others.
Grace and Will off to school holding the Christmas shoe boxes they will donate via Sarmitan’s Purse….they enjoyed collecting things for children less fortunate this holiday season
In the rare moments when we were home, I was madly throwing laundry into machines, loading or unloading the dishwasher, putting together whatever meal was needed and trying to decorate our house for the holidays. I did take a few moments to do some crafts with the little girls and set up their favourite activity of all. Playing tea party.
This is the sweetest Beatrix Potter tea set that Grace was given years ago
I think Victoria is all about the cookies
And Kathryn likes the Christmas mint tea I brew for them
Then yesterday my sweet son, Harrison Drew turned 17 years old. Watch out drivers in Vernon because he is now able to get his classified “N” driver’s license. Happy Birthday Harrison!
Here is David out barbequing burgers on our little camping grill as we had run out of propane on our large barbeque
After a dinner of burgers, fries, salad, (this is my kid that likes meat) Harrison is ready to blow out his candles…..”mom do we have to take so many pictures?” Me….yes!
So after a flurry of activities in the past month, I’m finally able to slow down a bit. Whew. It’s Sunday morning and all is quiet, well sort of. Not really. In a house with 6 children still residing, 3 of whom are still young, is it ever quiet? But it’s peaceful enough for me to write a few lines in my blog before the day gets going. Also, when I padded into the kitchen to get my morning cup of water and lemon, I noticed out the kitchen window that it’s snowing. REALLY snowing. Wait, I’ll go and capture a picture….okay, so it has slowed down a bit but this is how our view has changed:
This only a few weeks ago….
And now this today…Dec 20th 2015. You can’t really tell but it’s lightly snowing in the picture…when I was up earlier it was really dumping…I like to share these pictures for those blog viewers who live in warmer climates….snow is really magical!
Although I love to curl up with a good book any time of the year, there is something special about hibernating inside on a snowy day, brewing a cup of spicy tea, sitting in our big, comfy chair in the corner of our living room and opening up a book, savouring each word written within. If you are like me, or are looking for a last minute Christmas gift for a book lover, check out the following books. This is my year end list of favourite books.
Here they are: Some classics that I may have written about before but if you are interested in growing your own food and becoming sustainable these are entertaining reads.
“The Dirty Life” by Kristin Kimball….which I found to be a sweet love story
And then there is “Farm City” by Novella Carpenter….which is a delightfully funny and entertaining story of a gutsy woman, farming in the roughest neighbourhood in Oakland, California…(hey my mom was born in Oakland)
And then a compelling read that is both tragic and yet heart warming. I couldn’t put this book down one weekend. “This Life is in Your Hands,” is written by the daughter of Eliot Coleman, who was trying to live and raise his young family in a totally sustainable life with mentors such as Scott and Helen Nearing. They had written the book,”A Good Life,” and were a couple who lived a totally sustainable life last century and inspired many young people to adopt their lifestyle. Eliot Coleman and his wife were one of those couples and this book is written from their daughter’s perspective. It made me want to get my hands dirty and bake bread…..but with thoughts towards how it impacts the next generation.
and then for a shift in genres ….as this year ends and I think about a New Year approaching, I read a wonderful soul FULL book, recommended by my sister C. I loved it so much, that I took up valuable space in my sister J’s luggage this winter, in order for her to take the book to my daughter in London for Christmas. As long as I can remember, our oldest daughter Alyssa has had at least one book under the tree, and often many. For this Christmas I thought this was the best book I could send her. It was thought provoking and has lingered with me as I live THIS lifetime. This book will come into your life when you ready to read the message.
And out of all the books that I read with my Soul Circle group, these are a few that I really cherished.
One was, “The Untethered Soul” by Michael A. Singer. If I were to recommend only one book to help you on your soul’s journey, this book would be IT!
and the other was sweet and held an interesting concept that I totally embrace. Such an inspiring story written by a sister….and her brother who has left this earth school. Read it with an open mind.
Then switching genres AGAIN, because I have such diverse interests, since I ventured into the realm of minimalism this past year, here are a few books that I would recommend, if you are wanting to live a richer life.
This is a modern day classic for those of us who want more
and then THE CLASSIC….
“Walden” by Henry D. Thoreau, who was the ultimate minimalist and has captured my heart with his lyrical text.
Another shift…..I found Mimi Kirk this year and would LOVE to introduce her to you as well. Although I’m not living a totally raw lifestyle, eating a large, plant based diet is my focus for my health and well being as I age. If you are interested in this way of living, eating, being, check out one of her AMAZING books. It’s not just about what we put in mouths, but what we put in our minds. THIS lovely woman exudes health, joy, peace and love. I want what she has! Check her out and try a few of her wonderful recipes.
And finally before I move onto what I like to eat while I’m reading….my pumpkin spice cookies, (yes, while not raw….are restorative for my soul as they are homey) I wanted to share a few books the little kids and I have been reading this fall.
The first is exquisite!
“Winter’s Gift,” by Jane Monroe Donovan, who is not only the author but the illustrator of this stunning book. If you love horses and have experienced loss, this story will touch your heart. My children were enchanted by the hauntingly beautiful pictures and story.
and then a book that makes me cry EVERY time I read it to my children, “The Shine Man,” by Mary Quattlebaum and Illustrations by Tim Ladwig. If you want to read a story about what Christmas is all about…pure love….this is a moving and touching story.
As you can tell, I love beautifully illustrated books for my children.
And finally, a chapter book that I’m reading to my 6 year old and my 4 year old twins. After years of reading books with pictures, I’m trying to read chapter books to them so they can make pictures in their heads. They are all extremely engaged with this story that takes place in Paris, about three small children who are homeless at Christmas time and a hobo, who puts them under his wing…and his heart.
After bath time each night, we cuddle together under my silky, down comforter and open this lovely book, allowing the story to unfold, chapter by chapter. It’s been a highlight in our day and has opened many discussions about children less fortunate all over the world.
Over the holidays, I have a book that I can’t wait to sink into…it’s called, “The Long Road Home,” by Mary Alice Monroe. I bought it during one of our library book fairs (do you have these in your area?…as it’s a GREAT way to buy some books) and finally, FINALLY, I have some time to read it.
What are you reading this time of year! Whatever it is……
Happy Reading! I hope there is something on my list that will inspire you to make a cup of tea and open a book this holiday season.
Hopefully, you will also try making my absolutely, yummy, pumpkin spice cookies. But warning…. they go fast…really fast! You may want to double the recipe.
I’m really glad to get this recipe on my blog at long last as well, since the paper it’s written on is getting hard to read. Now I can refer to it quickly when I need to whip up an easy, fairly healthy cookie, perfect for those snowy days when you just want to stay in doors, sip tea and read a good book.
Hope’s Pumpkin Spice Cookies Ingredients 11/4 cup of sugar (brown of course) 1/2 cup of margarine or butter…I prefer the later 2 eggs 1 tsp real vanilla 1 cup of canned pumpkin (I buy the 15 ounce can and often double this recipe as it goes fast) 2 cups of flour….your choice but I like to use whole wheat flour 4 tsp. of baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 tsp ginger 1/4 tsp cloves Dusting of icing sugar (optional 1 cup of chocolate chips….but personally and in my son’s Harrison’s opinion…stick with the plain pumpkin which is perfect….and since it was his birthday yesterday that is what I recommend…healthier too….but if you like chocolate…you can add as a variation) Here’s the easy part….you mix it all together in a big bowl…make sure you whip your sugar into your butter really well and add your eggs one at a time to get a creamy consistency and then add all your dry ingredients. It’s so easy…then you get a big spoon and drop the cookie dough onto an ungreased pan, and bake in the oven at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.
Let them cool on the pan for about 5 minutes and then take off, dusting them with some icing sugar and put them on a cookie rack to cool completely. “Oh la la!” as the tramp in the book, “The Family Under the Bridge,” would say, these cookies are melt in your mouth delicious.
My pumpkin spice cookies and a pot of chai tea…perfect together…all I need now is a comfy chair and my book
Please take a cookie……
Before they are all GONE!
If you are like me during the holidays, you are multi-tasking. I like to bake, while watching a Christmas movie….this movie, (below) happens to be a favourite of mine….and one my mother liked very much as well. It of course, is based on a book…aren’t the best movies from books?
The author, Donna Van Liere, has written several lovely, sweet Christmas stories that are easy to start but hard to put down until they are finished.
Another is called, The Christmas Hope…..which I must admit, being partial to Hope….is a nice title. ANYWAY…..as you can tell, books are a passion of mine…and movies which are made from books.
Have you seen the “Christmas Shoes?” If not, I’m sure it will become a classic for your family as well. Other than “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “Christmas Vacation,” oh my, I guess I need to write another blog post all about my fav Christmas movies, this is one I like to watch each season So if you have an evening when you are baking….start it up but have a hankie nearby.
If you can’t see the link below, click on the hyper-link to the “Christmas Shoes.”
and enjoy…IN JOY!
Well, I’m off to get some celebration things ready for my oldest son, Clark’s birthday. I can’t believe he is 23 today. I have been given so many memorable holidays with Christmas babies in our house. No babies this year but then I wouldn’t be able to write to you on my blog….what is that quote?
May your season be full of peace, joy and love…and great books.
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
“Not till we are lost, in other words not till we have lost the world, do we begin to find ourselves, and realize where we are and the infinite extent of our relations.”
~Henry David Thoreau, quote from Walden~
I’m one of those writers that needs to totally immerse herself in life to have anything worthwhile to say. Only in doing that, do I come back to myself. Henry David Thoreau needed to escape to Walden’s pond and connect with the simple rhythm of the world in order to find himself. I on the other hand, need to be enveloped in chaos, before enlightenment captures my soul.
I can’t tell you how happy I am to be here. You know you have found your passion in life, when time is meaningless when you are doing what you love, or when you are where you desire to be. For me, when I’m with my busy family, deep in the garden or sitting on my yoga mat, I am inspired. What is your passion…when are you on kairos (heaven’s) time?
When there is so much to say, the words fly off my keys and my heart sings. It’s been such a busy fall, helping the kids transition back into school, and adjust to their extra curricular activities. I have hardly had a moment to contemplate life. In living it, the richness rushes forth. This is really two blogs in one since so much has occurred. Is it REALLY the middle of November already? Well, if you have a few minutes and want to catch up on life around here, grab a cup of tea and join me. First, here are some images that encapsulate fall 2015.
Grace and Will off to catch the bus in October…thankfully it stops at the bottom of our property!
The little girls started ballet this fall and they love to dance…everywhere! Victoria who couldn’t skip when she started worked so hard and in slow motion she went around the house, knee up, hop on straight leg, foot down, lift other knee up, hop, foot down….finally she got it and now skips all the time.
Will started cello lessons this fall and this time, I’m learning with him on Mitchell’s cello…we are working on hot cross buns and twinkle twinkle right now
We celebrated David’s birthday just before our Canadian thanksgiving weekend
Found this car wash in Surrey B.C. when we went to the coast to do some shopping….we call Harrison, “Harry.” I made David go around the block to capture this picture of our Harry and “Good Clean Fun!”…if you knew what a great sense of humour our 16 year old has….you would totally understand…plus he’s a great kid!
While we did take the kids to the coast to do some back to school shopping…yes I KNOW we were late for that…but anyway, the little kids hated shopping and the only redeeming thing was finding this dog mannequin at the Old Navy store.They could care less about clothes…hence you see them wearing the same dresses and leggings in this picture that they always wear, ….but you know, kids really get it….you don’t need a ton of clothes, just fun experiences in life.
The best part of the trip was going to Stanley Park in Vancouver to see these beautifully carved and painted totems
The really sweet things in life….making memories with family
David savoring being at the edge of the ocean…..our life’s happy place…this is English Bay in Vancouver
A moment before capturing this picture, Grace was at the edge of the beach and a rogue wave covered her feet, drenching her in cold water. She recovered nicely enough to smile for this picture
Harrison and Will were finding rocks to skip
A highlight of being at English Bay for the little kids was meeting a dog named, “Gracie May.” She wanted to play ball with them but she was very strategic regarding when she would drop the ball. They loved her and her owner was kind to let the children play with her….she said Gracie May enjoyed them very much too by the smile on her face and wag of her tail..
Our last day at the coast and this picture outside of our hotel which also happened to be the same one we came to in the summer when I had my eye surgery….I love Holiday Express for families…..the kids loved the breakfast room and the pool
On our drive home we stopped at Hope, where they have the cheapest gas, and also happens to be where I was born and lived for the first 6 years of my life…..do you like the name of the restaurant? That’s sometimes how I feel about my kitchen back at home….drive in and out. ….I love the mountains behind the building…something about mountains and trees is very comforting…we are like Salmon…we return to the home where we are born!
Well, those are a few pictures of moments from fall 2015.
For the last two weeks, blog inspirations have been pouring into my brain, however life endlessly over shadows my ability to sit down and write. Finally, it’s a somewhat quiet Saturday morning. Ha! The kids have been fed. Not by me, but by David, who had to get up early to have the winter tires put on our van. This is one of those chores that are in the guy realm as far as I’m concerned. Not that I don’t know how to change a tire, thanks to my brother in law J, who taught me by making me rotate the tires on my first car many years ago. It’s just that I would prefer not to sit around a drafty tire dealership on a Saturday morning and for some reason this doesn’t bother David.
Anyway, the little kids are still in their jammies playing, and by the sounds of it are having a rousing card game of “Fish,” in the family room. As I type, this is what I can hear, Will: “Do you have any 8’s?” Girls: “Go Fish!” Will: “Kate, you do SO have an 8 because I just saw one.” Kate; “Ohhhhh okay,” and then silence. The little girls are just four but they have known their numbers since they were 2….I would highly recommend introducing the leapfrog “Numberland” DVD to your little ones if they are interested in learning numeracy. Kids naturally like to count things, their collection of rocks, their teddies, their cars….Anyway.
Where was I? oh yes, after a lovely bath, where I was able to linger for a decadent 10 minute soak before guilt enveloped me, I thought I’d better get dressed. I gathered my thick, white spa like robe if you will, around me and was planning to get dressed but entering our bedroom, the ruffled and comfy looking bed covers called to me. I plunked down on our yet unmade bed, pulled my laptop out form underneath, where I had left it the night before after doing my 21 day mediation with Deepak and Oprah who are with me, each night before going to sleep. (check out the link…this month it’s on….become what you believe)
What we believe about life and ourselves has tremendous power…believe life is sweet and you will receive only that…a sweet life
Once I had the laptop turned on I madly start to type, my fingers flying on the keyboard. There is so much to share and so little time.
My son Harrison just passed my room and asked, “blog?” and I uttered ahum….hopefully he will entertain his brother and sisters with some more card games, while he eats his breakfast and I can get this written. It can’t wait another day.
First, since it’s been so long since I wrote, and this is a “homestead blog,” I wanted to share with you something that has saved me a lot of time putting my garden to bed this fall. When the nights became too cold and my plants were obviously not producing any longer, (end of Oct here) I harvested what I could salvage. I picked the last of the tomatoes, peppers, brought in my spaghetti squash and pumpkins, dried as many herbs as I could; parsley, rosemary, oregano, basil, lemon balm, peppermint, sage etc. and picked the last of my kale, spinach, swiss chard. Which in short order, will turn to mush otherwise and I want to have my “own” organic greens for my fall smoothies. I also was mindful to save more seeds, like my beans, pumpkin, squash, and flower seeds that I wanted to grow again next year. Both marigolds and nasturtium are easy to direct sow in spring. This sounds like a lot but in actuality, I went out for an hour or so each day and accomplished a lot in 2 weeks.
Careful to save some pumpkin and squash seeds to plant next year
I put my surplus pumpkin seeds in a large bowl, added some olive oil, garlic powder, cumin and a bit of real chili peppers….see peppers also drying to the right and dried them for 8 hours….what a yummy snack full of fibre! Next year I’m going to double the spices though….more garlic…but then I like more garlic on everything…maybe some nutritional yeast would be a nice cheesy taste too.
(Check out this blog for the benefits of eating pumpkin seeds…The Sprouting Seed)
After this final harvest and gathering, I cut down my plants and let them sit and begin the decomposition process for about a week. Once they withered to 1/2 their size, I transferred the remains to my compost bin. All of our pumpkins also went into the compost bin….it’s AMAZING how much a square bin can hold. I finally ran out of room though so rather than bagging it and sending it off to our landfill, I waited until the remaining crops had decomposed a bit more and gently dug a few holes in my garden and raked everything remaining into the hole. Then covered it up with dirt. (none of these plants were diseased)
leaves on top of our many pumpkins…this will make such great soil for next year’s garden
I also mowed my lawn as late as I could, catching the grass clippings and also the leaves that had fallen, which saved a lot of raking. These mulched down nicely and again, I gently dug a few holes. This time into the part of my garden that needed more amendment. The denser soil with rockier aspects would really benefit from this mulch. When I started my garden several years ago, it was hard to find a worm, but over the years by using this method each fall and also adding grass mulch around the plants throughout the growing season, I found that my soil is now rich with earth worms.
The black plastic compost bin that we use for composting kitchen scraps was also full, so I decided to also dig a few extra holes and over the last few weeks, I have been putting my kitchen scraps along with some raked leaves in the holes and also covering them with soil. This process is called, “trench composting.” and is very effective.
I can’t tell you how satisfying it is to drop a bucket full of kitchen scraps; egg shells, potato and carrot peelings, the core of apples and pears, banana peels, David’s coffee grounds. It puts a smile on my face because not only am I feeding my worms and all the various other organisms in the soil but I’m saving my landfill from needless waste. To think of planting my next year seeds and started plants into rich, fluffy soil is thrilling to me. Am I weird?
I want to also thank my sons Harrison and Will for digging in the last of the garden waste. I had left many of the tomato plants for them to dig into the ground and it was really lovely watching them work together in the garden. Sometimes it’s good not to do it all yourself!
Anyway, if you are wanting to save yourself some time this fall, think about how you are putting your garden to bed and cleaning up your yard. Make it easy for yourself and follow Mother Natures lead….let in lie where it falls.
So when I wasn’t out doing fall chores, I was in the house doing some fall clean up and de-cluttering. As you know I did our big sweep towards minimalism last Spring but with 8 of us currently living in the home, I have to be diligent, as all sorts of things creep into our house. Plus, the kids grow out of clothes and I like them to be passed on to others. Several times I took a big bag of clothes to the goodwill and also to some friends who have younger children than ours. It’s always a nice feeling to clear house and know things aren’t going to waste sitting in a box somewhere.
What else was going on this fall, oh yes, Halloween. This year, I was really wanting to keep the expense down but the little girls didn’t want to wear anything in our dress up trunk, even though I tried valiantly to persuade them into being princesses, AGAIN. Thankfully, Gymboree had all their costumes on 50% off and we picked up a cute garden fairy and butterfly costume for something that I felt was reasonable. Plus, the upside is they can wear them for dress up all year and then hopefully switch costumes that the other didn’t wear next year.
I wished I had had better lighting…my old camera had broken early this fall and most of my fall pictures are not great….but you get the sense of their costumes etc….Kate is the butterfly and Victoria the Garden Fairy
Will was harder to convince. He didn’t want to be a knight, a pirate, a king, a ninja, or a wizard, all costumes we had in stock. When we took him to the store he couldn’t find anything he was remotely interested in until one day, driving by the 7 Eleven, he asked yet again if he could have one last Slurpee before winter arrived. I uttered the words he knew were coming, “sorry NO,” but suddenly a light went off and I uttered these words, “Will,….. would you like it if I made you a Slurpee costume for Halloween?”
His face lit up immediately and said excitedly, “Yes, that would be GREAT!” Then, as I continued to drive, I wondered how in the heck was I going to pull this one off. Thank heavens for “Google,” and the fact that I was not the only parent in the world who had the same idea.
Here is one picture I found that gave me the inspiration to use a pool noodle for the straw and tulle netting material for the Slurpee frothing out of the top of the cup…. I used the Medium size Slurpee cup as the model for Will’s cup design
Although ours turned out nothing like anything I saw, nor were the materials the same. Our costume cost less than $10.00. We used two full sheets of blue poster board, inserted some white paper on the sides to give the cup some shape, rolled white paper and taped it at the top to resemble the cup lip. I then hand drew and cut the cup’s design from construction paper we had on hand and printed off and glued the 7 eleven logo on the cup. It looked really authentic.
Sorry again about the light in this picture…did I tell you for my birthday I got a new camera?…but sadly I have missed capturing some great shots of Will’s Slurpee costume….but this one does give you the idea
(As much as my little guy loves a good slush drink….here’s the down low on them, sugar is the least of the negatives…7 Reasons to never drink Slurpees)
The final touches were adding the red tulle netting coming out the top of the cup and yellow straw (pool noodle). Finishing it all off, I painted the words, “so Chill,” on Will’s cheeks and the costume was complete. He wore it to his school’s costume parade on the Friday before Halloween and had many compliments. I think I accomplished my goal of keeping some of the costs down for our kids, to celebrate what they have come to think of as the most fun “holiday” of the year.
Sadly, this is the best picture I have of Will….of course he was just hopping around here before going out on Halloween…it’s hard to capture a Slurpee blur even with the best camera.
I’m not so crazy about Halloween. It’s not the idea of it being spooky or anything like that. Some parents I spoke to before the event said they didn’t approve of it for religious reasons. Another, said she didn’t like the idea of kids going around begging for candy…although it doesn’t have to be candy is what I told her…it can be a pencil, some stickers, a bag of healthy popcorn. I remember as a child loving to dress up in something that dragged along the ground appearing older than I was, in disguise if you like. Also, it was just plain fun being out when it was dark, the air crisp and cold with the pungent smell of burning pumpkin in the air.
The day before Halloween I decorated our front door with pumpkin lights, a new black spider (made from a black garbage bag stuffed with newspaper….the legs are strips of garbage bag and are really scary as they blow around at night) and some cobwebs…oh and of course we had pumpkins scattered every where in our front yard. We are also one of those houses that play scary music…..sounds like the soundtrack to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”
As a parent, I’m just not a fan of the sugary treats. Now I know that is part of the allure for children. It was for me too as a child, although my bag was usually full of apples, peanuts in the shell and those stick in your teeth caramel kisses. I’m dating myself. Of course apples would get thrown out now for fear of razor blades and peanuts are a complete no, no, due to nut allergies being so prolific. But there has to be a middle ground right?
Although as a parent, we can all choose how to handle the candy once received. One parent I know buys the candy, in exchange for a toy. Another set of parents I know, put all the candy into a communal pot and only pull it out once a week on their family movie night. And yet another parent told me that she lets her kids have totally autonomy over their treats. She felt that taking away sugar would only create a hyper desire for it and it would be good for them to learn how it feels to overdose on it. She was using it as a teaching moment….by the way, she is a health care nurse.
All these ideas were interesting. What we have chosen to do over the years is talk to our children about what we love about Halloween and what we don’t. Teach them about the downsides to sugary treats and how it adversely affects our bodies even though it tastes good. My mother lived a good long life and I like her motto…”everything in moderation.” Upon coming home from trick or treating, we let our children sort through the treats and then we help them choose a few treats they could eat during our fireworks display which is held at the beach below our house. Since we live in the sub-division right above the beach, we have first class seats for this affair. It’s the highlight of the evening in my books.
It’s also been our tradition to make my classic sugar cookies, sometimes a pumpkin pie or carrot cake. If we know we are having friends over we make a big bowl of homemade popcorn and invite them to join us for the viewing. This year Grace had a friend sleepover since it was a Saturday night. After the fireworks, they had a hot tub and then went down to our Hobbit’s hollow media room to watch a scary movie.
My classic pumpkin sugar cookies….and the little ghost Will had made in his grade one class
This year Grace made up her own costume, she was dressed up like a scary Victorian doll…although her ringlets had already dropped in this picture….she is on the left if you don’t recognize her. Apparently she wasn’t scary enough as several of our neighbours told us that they saw her when we came around with the little kids
Well, that was our Halloween….but getting back to the sugar, it seems like the smaller the child is, the more our neighbours heap upon them. They get extra if they have a great costume too. So our little ones ended up with a lot of treats. After they emptied their treat bags, I put the candy into a large basket for each of them and after dinner each evening, instead of having our usual dessert of fruit, or baked goods, they got to choose 2 candies. What I liked about this was right after eating their candy, they had their bath and their teeth were brushed before bedtime story time.
What I didn’t like about it was that our son Will, who seems to react quickly to any onslaught of sugar, was a bit wild during bath and teeth brushing time. Thankfully, by the time we all pile into bed for story time he had settled down but David and I always steeled ourselves with tons of patience for what we knew was coming after the consumption of sugar.
Then this past week, yes 10 days to 14 days after Halloween 3 of our youngest 4 came down with colds/flues despite the fact that I had started giving them their fall/winter dose of cod liver oil. Each year it arrives like clockwork. When I went to the school this past Thursday to pick up Will after he had thrown up, (apparently he had coughed so deeply that this had occurred) I came upon our school Principal who was cleaning up the aftermath, (the janitors don’t work during the day apparently) and I told him that I was so sorry but it always seems to occur 10 to 14 days after the start of the big consumption of Halloween sugar. He agreed that the sugar doesn’t help the immune system one bit.
Yesterday Grace stayed home from school. A child that normally has perfect attendance and last night after reading stories, Kate promptly threw up on my bedroom floor as she was heading off to bed (thank heavens we have wood floors!) By the sounds of the kids this morning, everyone seems to have recovered nicely. Will still has his cough but they are all making enough noise to assume they are well. Isn’t it amazing how fast kids start to feel better. They have their usual BIG energy back which makes me happy but it has inspired me to write a post about sugar….it’s merits and it’s downside. It’s really NOT the sweet part of life but our food industry makes us think it’s nothing.
Before the kids had even gotten sick I was doing some research on the topic and found a great documentary produced by our CBC’s Fifth Estate. A production called, “The Secret of Sugar.” It was so well done they even won an international Emmy award for the documentary. Although I knew that sugar wasn’t good for our bodies, or our brains for that matter, after watching this documentary it was truly alarming that our food industry is being so insidious and has no conscience with regards to our children or human kind as a whole. It’s all about money isn’t it?
If you haven’t watched this, I would encourage you to do so and with our mass buying power we can perhaps influence food production and the ingredients that go into our food.
Here’s the link..it’s fascinating. (See the hyper link above if you can’t click on the link below) to see “The Secret of Sugar.”
Now after this eye opening documentary, I thought I would share a link to an article on the best sugar alternatives. Some people don’t realize there are other choices to sugar other than perhaps honey. You can choose to use agave nectar, black strap molasses (which most of our grandparents used) or maple syrup and then there is also raw cane sugar which is not as refined a white sugar but still not any better for you. Something I know my oldest daughter would approve us is dates to sweeten anything….one of her fav treats are dates. Personally, the closer to nature our food is is the healthiest choice and then perhaps reducing the amount we use and getting accustom to a less sugary taste.
I have to laugh after saying this, because on Remembrance Day this past week, I made a big dinner and then baked pies for dessert. Something my family hardly ever gets. I paid a lot of attention to making the apple pie because I haven’t made many apple pies in my life, but when it came to the pumpkin, I kind of threw it together as I have made dozens of these over the years. I am kind of known for my excellent pumpkin pies, sorry if that sounds kind of braggy…the key was using more pumpkin pie filling and less sugar in my books.
Anyway, I was so proud of these pies and after dinner many decided they were going to have a piece of each but when my family dug into the pumpkin they all made a face. I had chosen to have just a piece of apple so I didn’t know what they were talking about until I took a little taste and then I flashed back to my pumpkin mixture and realized, I had totally forgotten the sugar. It wasn’t bad per say….just, well, really pumpkiny and not what you would expect. Me laughing, remembering Grace’s face after taking a big bite.
So the point of all this is it’s nice to make some of our food taste a bit sweeter for a treat, but each of us has to decide how sweet and what we are going to sweeten our food with. If I had had enough maple syrup on hand, I think I would have added that to my pie for a change and I’m sure it would have enhanced the flavour beautifully.
Here’s the link to Best Sugar Alternatives article and I’m prefacing it here before I give you my pumpkin muffin recipe so you can choose what you want to put in your muffins…maybe a healthier choice than sugar.
And now, if I haven’t spooked you into baking, I’m going to share my pumpkin muffin recipe. I made it for my children’s pajama day at their Kindermusik class. I wanted something that was breakfasty as their class is later in the morning and also something that said, “this is autumn time.” It was the day before Halloween and the little girls were getting really excited about dressing up in their new costumes.
Victoria is all dressed for jammy day and ready to go to her music class…she is an admirer of muffins
The girls eating the muffins later in the morning at the music school’s Kindermusik class
My kids are starting to look a bit orange as they have been eating a lot of pumpkin, squash and carrots this fall…..maybe they would have gotten even sicker had they not be pumped with so many great foods. (not to even mention all the green drinks we consume) I guess what it all comes down to in life is balance. Healthy foods and always making choices to move towards a better option, not just for our health but for the benefits of our children’s growing bodies.
If you want to try a really great harvest type comfort food…try these moist muffins. Hope’s Pumpkin Muffins
Serves: 12
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups of all purpose flour….use 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 white
1 cup sugar….refer to sugar alternatives link above….this recipe would be great with honey
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 sea salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 nutmeg
1/4 cloves
2 eggs or egg alternatives
1- 15 ounce can of pure pumpkin
1/2 cup of vegetable oil….my sister J would probably love using coconut with this recipe
1 tsp of vanilla or maple flavouring extract
handful of walnuts to garnish the muffins….omit if serving to people with nut allergies
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Lightly spray 12 muffin tins or place 12 paper liners….if I’m serving my family, I omit the liner to save a tree…okay a branch but it all counts…I line if taking outside the home
1. In a large bowl, add dry ingredients; flour, sugar, (if using honey or other wet sweetner…add this to the wet) baking soda, salt and spices and mix really well.
2. In a medium bowl mix the eggs to a froth and then add pumpkin, oil and flavouring extracts….add the honey or maple syrup etc. if choosing to not use refined sugars.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir well without over mixing. For light, airy muffins stir until everything is just combined.
4. With a large spoon fill 3/4 of each muffin cup. Place a whole walnut on top
5. Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick…I use a turkey skewer (again to save that tree) comes out clean.
Once done, let the muffins sit and cool in the pan for about 5 minutes and then gently remove muffins from each tin….let cool on a rack. Serve warm with hot tea or cider…..nothing says harvest like a delicious pumpkin muffin.
They are so easy to make….good thing as they don’t last long
My number 1 food critic, thumbs up for the muffins
Well harvest time is over, Halloween is over. It’s time to settle in and get ready for longer nights. Time to reflect on the year and the abundance of sweet memories.. Our family is already on the mend and hopefully we are wiser and will continue to make better food choices. Maybe this is something we can all work towards. For the good of our health, our family’s and for the world.
Each Halloween David carves a pumpkin for each child….this year we had one extra!!!…don’t get excited we are not pregnant….we had an extra pumpkin given to us…the more the merrier I always say
Before I end this blog, this is a very special day in our family since my brother in law D has a birthday today…so….Happy Birthday D!. You bring sweet music to our family.
My sister C and my brother in law D…..Happy Birthday!
“Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of the earth.”
~Henry David Thoreau~ Walden
Until I see you again, may you be well, happy and most of all…healthy.
“Hence I cannot be silent, and indeed I ought not to be, about the many blessings and the great grace the Lord has deigned to bestow on me.” ~Saint Patrick~
And oh, like St. Patrick’s quote above, “I’ve been surely blessed!”
Stepping away from de-cluttering for a moment, to celebrate the up and coming St. Patrick’s Day, I also take a moment to remember my grandmother, (my Dad’s mom, Flossie,) who was born in Canada to Irish Immigrants. They had left Ireland to find new opportunities for themselves and their children. The Kilfoyle family, raised 6 children in their new land and I’m here, their great granddaughter, a century later to remember them and my heritage.
I’m singing in the kitchen because David came home from his trip out of town late last night and one of the first things he did for me today was to repair my dryer. Yeah! I couldn’t be happier. Isn’t it funny how things you normally take for granted, all of a sudden become a big deal when you don’t have them any longer? I’ve missed my dryer AND my husband this week. (I am blessed~thank you~)
Hanging our laundry on our deck and on our standing drying rack all week, really took me back to a simpler time. A time when laundry was hard work. I certainly felt a connection to my great grandmother Kilfoyle, who with 6 children must have done her fair share of laundry.
So as I’m humming happily this afternoon, I’m gathering the ingredients for my version of Irish Stew, some Irish soda bread, and for “bessert,” (little Victoria’s term for a treat) I’m making apple sauce cake from an old recipe that I have. It compliments the meal nicely.
The day is blustery and the lake is filled with white caps. As the little ones play outside this afternoon, (it’s Spring Break) please join me in making a delicious Irish Stew.
Okay, let’s start chopping for that is the most consuming thing about making Irish Stew. Do you want a cup of tea? ….now I’m using beef and not a lot today as you know I’m on the road to being a vegetarian but also a minimalist, ha. The traditional Irish stew would use lamb and I understand from my daughter Alyssa, who is in the U.K. teaching, that there are sheep everywhere. For this Canadian, beef is more readily available and besides I just couldn’t eat lamb anyway. (no judgement for lamb eaters out there)
Hope’s Irish Stew
Ingredients
2 tbsp of olive oil 2 pounds of beef..(I used a sirloin cut…add more if you want it really meaty) 2 medium white onions 2 stalks of celery 4 large carrots, chop into round bites 1/2 of a large turnip chopped into bite size pieces 10 medium sized potatoes..chopped into nice chunks 2 cups of stewed tomatoes 4 ounces of tomato paste 1/2 cup flour 4 cups of beef broth Salt and pepper 1 tbsp of worcestershire sauce (I use Lea and Perrins) 1 tbsp rosemary 2 bay leaves 2 cloves of garlic fresh parsley for garnish…it’s just starting to grow in the garden now Directions
1. Heat 1 tbsp of oil over medium heat in a large stockpot. Add beef chunks and cook until brown. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a saucepan, add onions, celery and garlic. Cut until translucent. Add flour and mix well.
3. Add tomatoes to the browned beef, along with all seasoning and worcestershire sauce. Finally, add.the onion, celery, garlic and flour mixture.
4. Add beef broth and tomato paste to the above
5. Add potatoes
6. Add carrots and turnips
7. Bring to a boil, then turn down heat and simmer on low for 2 hours or until the veggies are cooked
8. Serve hot with a sprig of fresh parsley on top.
While the stew is cooking, you can make the Apple Sauce cake and the Irish Soda bread.
Start the Apple Sauce cake first, since it takes 45 minutes to 1 hour to cook and it needs to cool before icing. That is, if you choose to ice it, as it’s very moist and lovely plain.
Apple Sauce Cake
This recipe came from my Robin Hood flour (no sift) baking book that is falling apart since I use it all the time. It’s packed with great recipes. This recipe book was given to me by my mom…..thanks MOM!
Ingredients
1-1/4 cups all purpose flour 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp nutmeg 1/2 tsp allspice 1 cup chopped walnuts (can also use raisins which I would love but my kids would not enjoy as much as nuts…your choice…what does your family prefer?) 1/2 cup soft margarine…part butter 3/4 cup brown sugar…use 1 cup if making your own homemade applesauce 1 egg 1 cup applesauce (it takes about 3 medium apples to make 1 cup of applesauce)
Directions
1. Grease and flour an 8″ inch square pan 2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F…or 325 if using a glass pan 3. Measure and stir thoroughly all dry ingredients. Add nuts or raisins 4. Cream shortening until fluffy. Add sugar gradually. Beating well after each addition. Add egg and beat well. 5. Add the dry ingredients alternatively with the applesauce until well combined. 6. Turn into prepared cake pan, spread evenly 7. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the your toothpick comes clean. This can vary depending on the moisture in your applesauce. Cool really well and serve plain or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or whipping cream or you can ice it with a butter icing.
I iced the cake and replaced some of the milk and the vanilla extract with Baily’s Irish Cream liquor (we buy little bottles for just this occasion)…yummy and perfect for St. Paddy’s Day
While the cake is cooking, make the Irish Soda Bread.
Remembering the Kilfoyle’s, Irish Soda Bread
This bread goes really fast in my house as it’s has a lovely texture. Consider making two loaves.
Ingredients for one loaf 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 tbsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 1 tbsp white sugar 4 tbsp unsalted cold butter 1-1/2 cups buttermilk….if you don’t have buttermilk, here’s how to make it at home 1 large egg Directions 1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease and flour an 81/2 round cake pan 2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. 3. Cut the butter into the flour very gently until it resembles oatmeal 4. In a small bowl, gently beat the egg and then add the buttermilk, stir to combine thoroughly 5. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and then pour in the buttermilk-egg mixture. Combine the two mixtures, stirring very gently with a wooden spoon until it forms into dough. It will be wet and sticky. 6. Turn dough onto a well-floured surface and generously dust it with flour…you may want to have a cup of flour close by to dust your hands and slowly work it in to this dough. Very gently form the dough into a ball and then transfer it into the prepared cake pan. 7. Lightly press the dough so that it spreads to the edges of the pan. With a sharp knife, cut an “X” into the top of the dough. Bake for 30 minutes. 8. Remove from the oven when the toothpick comes out clean Enjoy warm with a bowl of Irish Stew
It’s DINNER!
Mad rush to the kitchen as everyone has worked up a great appetite today. Thanks for joining me this afternoon.
And here is what it looks when it’s all pulled together.
The photo is of my great grandparents, The Kilfoyle’s and their 6 children
And it wouldn’t be a great Irish meal without a glass of ale…sorry no Guinness here but we do have a good glass of stout beer….
“Slainte Chugat!” which is cheers and good health wishes from my husband David to you. He really needs a good strong ale since he he has been working 12 hour days for a week now and yesterday he put in a whopping 17 hours as he worked all day and then drove home from up north, Just in time to fix our dryer, declutter his dresser and closet (that is what he was doing when I was cooking today) |and now when I’m writing my blog, he is putting the little people to bed. Do I love this man!
What are you going to do on St. Patrick’s Day! Wear green, (so you don’t get pinched) and maybe you will make a big pot of Irish Stew. Irish blessings and……
And before I close, I thought I would share a great you tube video I found of some very talented fiddlers. You know I have a soft spot for strings. My son Clark said he’s going to play some Irish fiddler tunes for me on St. Paddy’s day, but until then, I hope you enjoy this video. If you can’t click on the video below….click on this hyperlink. Traditional Irish Music, Lilla Akademien’s violin ensemble
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
Welcome December and my busiest month of the year.
Welcome to The Spa at Orchard Ridge
As if this month isn’t busy enough, we have three children
who all have birthdays in the next couple of weeks. We eat a lot of cake this month. Clark our oldest son, will turn 22 on December 20th and Harrison, will be sweet 16 on December 19th. I’ll never forget when I went into labour with Harry, the day before his older brother was about to turn 6 years old. It was getting close to midnight and I told
my Doctor to break my water to move things along, as
I wanted our oldest son to have his “own” birthday. As it turned out, Harrison was born before midnight and when we told Clark he wouldn’t have to share his birthday, he replied quite graciously, that he wouldn’t have minded sharing his birthday and having Harrison was the best birthday present he would ever receive.
When we found out we were expecting Grace, we were just so
thrilled that we hardly blinked when we found out her due date was December 18th. I actually thought it would be really cool
to have three children’s birthdays in a row but she had other ideas and arrived 2 weeks early on December 5th. She will turn 12 this coming Friday but last weekend, we celebrated by giving her a Spa Getaway party.
I had so much fun planning her birthday and that is also why I wasn’t blogging last week. Sadly, I didn’t take enough pictures to share today. I wasn’t really thinking “blog opportunity” when planning and throwing my daughter her birthday. However, I did take some pictures of the Ice Cream Cake I made and a few pictures of the Bath Salts that the girls made on the morning after the sleepover. I thought you may like to see them and have the recipes. The Bath Salts are easy, fun to make and I personally think they would make great gifts for teachers this holiday season.
The night before the party, we took Grace to her voice recital where she sang a cute Hawaiian Christmas song which set the perfect mood for returning home to make an ice cream cake.
The cake takes about 15 minutes to make. Max. When I think of all the years we used to buy our children their frozen cakes in the past I cringe. The last cake we had, was ridiculously expensive and had freezer burn so I’m glad to have found a great recipe to share with you now. Okay, maybe being totally sustainable means you have your own cow and you can make your OWN ice cream, etc, but hey, making things yourself is rewarding and does make you feel independent of others in many ways. Plus it’s just plain delicious. I know from past experiences, children who visit us and taste our own homemade Ice Cream cakes are amazed, asking several times, “and you made THIS?”
Hope’s Ice Cream Cake
1 box of oreo type cookies 1/4 cup melted butter 1 carton of ice cream possibly two if you want two flavours or colours Whipping Cream Anything you want to garnish the cake with
The first thing you need to do is set out your ice cream of choice and let it sit and soften while you are preparing the crust. Grace really likes mint, so we purchased Breyers Mint Chocolate chip Ice Cream. I find that a large container is enough, although as you will see later, I often use a small amount of vanilla or chocolate to bring the ice cream to the top of the cake pan.
To make the crust you need a box of cookies. Typically, we use Oreo type cookies but our local Super Store has a store brand this time of year with candy cane filling in the middle. It’s perfect for the season and goes delightfully with our mint ice cream.
Set aside several cookies, which can later be split apart or broken up to garnish your cake. Then grind the rest of the cookies with a food processor, or you can put them into a freezer bag and break them up into fine crumbs with a rolling pin.
Put the crumbs into a mixing bowl and add 1/4 cup of melted, cooled, butter. Mix really well until well combined.
Press the cookie mixture into a spring form pan. I find there is a fine line over how hard to press the crumb mixture down. If you press too hard it can be really difficult to cut later, so press just enough to spread on the pan evenly.
Put all of the softened ice cream into a bowl and mix until creamy. If your ice cream is still quite hard, just let it soften a bit more.
Take the creamy, softened ice cream and spread it on top of your cookie crust in your spring form pan
My mint chocolate chip ice cream only went 3/4s of the way up the pan, so I put the cake in the freezer to let the first layer harden as I softened some vanilla ice cream. Once softened, I put a few drops of red food colouring in and stirred it really well. I thought this was a nice touch for a spa cake, calm green and soft pink always comes to mind when I think of relaxation and girls.
During this next step, you can get as creative as you like when making your cake. In the past, I have made strawberry ice cream cakes with the top being chocolate ice cream and then garnishing the whole cake with strawberries and cookies. I have also made a chocolate, strawberry and vanilla cake…you can also sprinkle cookie crumbs between layers.
For this cake though, I thought the light pink was a lovely finishing touch.
Once the cake pan is topped with the softened ice cream of your choice, cover it and place it in the freezer. For a good set, leave it 24 hours.
About an hour before the party, I brought out the cake and let it sit for about 10 minutes. Then I carefully unlatched the lock on the spring form pan and lifted it up off the cake. I transferred the cake onto a crystal cake dish and brought out the items that I was going to decorate the cake with. For this cake I chose some red and green sprinkles, left over cookies split in half, some crushed candy canes and of course whipping cream.
You can whip your own cream but I find buying the kind in a can the easiest for a nice decorative touch.
This is my favourite part as I love to decorate; houses, packages, and in this this case, a cake. It’s like beautifying and putting your own touch on things. I didn’t have more than 5 minutes though, since I was doing last minute cleaning, cooking, spa prep. And that is the true beauty of this cake…it takes no time to make it look sensational.
And here it is, a few cookies around the sides, some along the top and I used the whipping cream and sprinkles/crushed candy canes, to do the rest. I didn’t take a picture of it after it was cut since I was the spa coordinator along with the cook, baker and bottle washer. It was beautiful though, with the chocolate crust, then the light green ice cream and finally the soft pink as the top….it almost looked like icing. Oh and it was yummy too. ( Hint..if you ever do a spa party for your child….ask a friend/sister/neighbour, etc to help out….so you can take pictures)
As I was busy getting things ready in the afternoon I DID snap a picture of our chalk board and all the things we had planned for the evening. When the girls arrived, I had spa music playing, candles lit and I used lots of aromatherapy to make the house smell relaxing.
This was the “waiting room”…I had a salt crystal light, candles, and a water feature tinkling at our front door…of course I Googled some great spa music and it was playing on my computer all night…oh and the smell in the house…lovely scents from the store “Saje”
Once everyone had arrived and settled in, we served dinner. I thought the appropriate dinner selection would be one less spicy but our daughter loves butter chicken, vegetable samosa’s etc, and ceasar salad so that was our menu.
After dinner, each girl was asked to find a comfy chair in our living room, where I had placed a white plastic bucket filled with hot water at the foot. In the water, I had poured a mixture of sea salts, epsom salts and some lavender essential oil….and of course a touch of blue food colouring. The girls settled in comfortably, chatting easily, as the spa music filled the room. It didn’t hurt that we had already decorated our house with greenery and white lights everywhere, which really set a peaceful mood.
As they were soaking their feet, I went from girl to girl and placed the honey facial mask that I had made ahead of time.
Hope’s Facial Mask 1 egg, 1/4 cup of honey 1/2 cup of flour Lavender Essential oil…(I also put in a few drops of vanilla)
After they all had their facial masks on, I placed a “cold” cucumber slices over their eyes. Each girl went “awwww,” as they felt the refreshing cucumber go on their eyes. As they relaxed, I went around from girl to girl and massaged their feet using an exfoliating product I had purchased at the “Body Shop” but I had read that a homemade product of sugar and honey works great too.
This would have worked a lot better had I had some help, as I was really moving from girl to girl and in and out of the kitchen with fresh hot water to add to the their foot baths. They didn’t seem to notice though since they were all really quiet (amazing for 11 year old chatty girls!) as they had their heads back, just enjoying the treatment.
After about 20 minutes with the mask on their face, I heated up some wet wash clothes, with lavender sprinkled on them, in the microwave. Once heated, I gently placed it over each of their faces, with just their noses exposed. Each of them, audiably sighed, and as they relaxed further into this warmth, I went around the room and took their feet out of the foot bath. I gave each of them one final foot massage rubbing in some lovely rich “Satsumi,” body butter from from the store, The Body Shop. The smell is absolutely lovely.
Once all the girls had their feet massaged. I gave them a new round of warm wash clothes to wipe off their honey masks. I then brought in lovely red towels for them to dry their faces (we really needed new towels and these were on sale at The Bay recently…I thought they looked rather festive and although one thinks of WHITE for spa towels…I thought these were warm and rich looking and lovely with the white lights and candles and all the greenery. (For some of the greenery, D went out just before the party and pruned some of our pine bushes) I put the towels in their laps and brought each of them a small bucket of warm water, in which I had placed a light vanilla scented soap, some epsom salts and dried peppermint leaves from our garden. Oh this was lovely, and the girls seemed to really enjoy soaking not just their fingers but immersed their whole hands into the warm water. After about another 15 minutes, I brought clean warm water and they rinsed off their hands. Then, I gave them all some of the Satsumi body butter for their hands. Finally, I gave them all an emery board and asked that they file their toe nails and finger nails.
It was time to play the Nail game. I pushed everything out of the way and laid down on the floor a warm fleece blanket that I had just heated in the dryer. The girls sat down forming a circle and I explained the game.
We had a selection of 5 nail colours plus a clear colour set aside. Each girl threw dice to see who would go first…the highest throw started the game. The first girl chose a nail polish bottle of her choice and spun it. The person the bottle pointed to when it stopped spinning was instructed to roll the dice. The number it landed on would then determine how many toe nails she had to paint the selected colour. She would then paint her nails, which ever toe nail she chose, and then she selected the next colour and spun the bottle and the game continued for a long time. Choruses of laughter spilled from the living room. When all their toes were painted, the game was over. The girls had such a great time and in the end, everyone seemed really happy with the results of their pedicure. (Note…if you are doing this make sure to put down a blanket that is not near and dear to you…in case some nail polish gets spilled.) Also, before they started painting their nails, I gave them nail painting instructions 101 so they spread the polish with ease. (One stroke down the middle…then sides…finishing with a Q tip with nail polish remover to take away any overages)
After their pedicure, the girls painted their finger nails the colour of their choice.(It helped that I bought Sally Hanson, fast dry nail polish) After that, the girls went out to the hot tub, where I could hear them laughing and giggling. When they came in they were all prunes but they said it was wonderful, luxuriating in the hot water with the cold winter air on their faces. It was perfect as I was able to clean up from the spa part of our evening and set out the cake, popcorn, punch, pop, licorice for the movie/sleepover portion of the party.
The next morning, after D’s delicious pancakes (he really knows how to make a great breakfast!) I had the girls make Lavender Bath Salts to take home. It was really fun watching them turn some basic ingredients into a lovely gift and I was thinking, hmmmm….I should include this in my blog in case you are looking for a homemade gift to give to someone special this holiday season.
Hope’s Bath Salts A glass container Epsom Salts Sea Salts Food Colouring Essential Oil of your choice….we used Lavender Ribbon of your choice…we used raffia ribbon for a cottage look
Mix 1 part epsom salts with 1 part sea salts. Add the food colouring of your choice. You have to really mix the colouring in well until you get a nice consistency. The girls used blue and a bit of red for a lovely blue. Finally, add and stir in the essential oil of your choice.
Ideally, you would let it sit and dry overnight but we had to pour with a funnel into the girls glass containers and added a label and the raffia ribbon. You can do different colours and layer it as you desire or have it all the same colour. One Christmas our girls made peppermint bath salts and did one layer of green, then pink, alternating layers right to the top of the jar…fixing a bow and attaching a candy cane beneath it…the sky is the limit regarding your choice of scent and colours..and jars. Canning jars would be really cool with the raffia ribbon!
I wished I had taken pictures of the girl’s thank you bags but you know how busy things get at parties….but here’s what I did in case you are wanting to throw your daughter a spa party. I went to the dollar store and found really pretty glitzy clutch purses. The make up bags that they had were kind of tacky and weren’t big enough for what I wanted to put in them.
Inside these bright pink, glittery bags, (like evening bags) I placed a bar of lavender soap, nail polish remover (in case the parents weren’t thrilled over the girls manicures/pedicures) a few emery boards, some cotton squares(put into t little bag to keep them sterile) and a bottle of nice nail polish (I didn’t get these at the dollar store but bought a good quality bottle of nail polish) Finally, when you are 11, turning 12, you still like candy, so I threw a handful of wrapped candy….holiday variety, since she is my December baby. I wrapped the whole purse with raffia ribbon as it was bulging full. In addition to their bath salts, it was a nice way to say thank you for coming. Grace is really blessed to have such wonderful friends!
Well, that’s one birthday down, two more to go….the next one is a SWEET SIXTEEN for my quickly growing sweet boy, uummm, young man, Harrison…stay tuned. Although celebrating each of our children’s birthdays is very special, remembering the journey to Grace, reminds me how special this time of year truly is. It’s the season of light. The season of miracles. The season of love.
Before I close I thought an appropriate YouTube video was, (click here if you can’t see below) Joe Cocker’s song, “You ARE so Beautiful.” because although this blog post was all about Grace’s spa beauty party, she reminds me all the time what beauty is all about.
Happy Birthday Grace. Your soul shines!
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
