Carley has a surrogate family, and I think she likes them better than us. Actually I know she likes them better. They are our neighbours - Jocelyn and Dave, and their Lab Buddy. Buddy is about 8 or 9 years old and has had some health issues lately. He seems to be on the mend, though, and is able to go for longer walks these days. Carley LOVES Buddy. She is such a pest but he puts up with her. Next after Buddy she loves Dave and Jocelyn. They put up with her a lot, too. I'm over there at least once a day trying to collect my errant dog, who has run over to say hi, again.

Last week as Carley and I were starting our walk up the hill to the woods, I noticed a bunch of footprints heading up in the same direction. Two humans and one dog. Because of my super-sleuthing abilities, I knew they belonged to Dave, Jocelyn and Buddy. I just didn't know how far ahead of us they were. Leave it to my adventure-seeking dog to search them out, though. She disappeared into the woods and left me struggling up the hill in the snow. When I finally caught up with her, she was soaking up all the wonderful attention of her other family. Jocelyn took a bunch of pictures...

Just watch this.

Man, I love the post office. But even more, I love my friends who send me awesome mail. Yesterday was an an especially good day. See below:



















Thank you, Lynda and Gitta! I miss you guys. xoxo

Since Christmas, I've read these books:































As you can see, I'll read pretty much anything you put in front of me - and I think reading a variety of stuff makes reading itself more interesting. Mostly I read novels, but sometimes I read non-fiction. I often re-read books - but of this stack, the only one I'd read before was the Maeve Binchy - and that one I've probably read about 4 times. Complete fluff, but so entertaining.

Most recently I finished The World Without Us, by Alan Weisman. I was totally engrossed in this book for the entire time it took me to read it, and I think Darcey is glad I'm through with it now, because every 10 minutes I would interrupt him with, "Did you know.....[insert some amazing thing]?!?".

The premise of the book is exactly what you'd think: what might happen to the world if all the humans disappeared. Darcey started this book awhile ago but didn't find it all that exciting. I think my imagination is less rational than his, so maybe that's why I was really into it. But also, having seen movies like I Am Legend, Children of Men, and 28 Days Later, I have a romantic picture in my head of cities being taken over by weeds, trees and maybe even bears and lions [I would leave out the zombies]. But the author went into much more detailed speculations, based on a lot of scientific reasoning that at first I thought I wouldn't be able to grasp - but he writes in a very clear prose that makes complex theories easier to understand.

So at any rate, you should read it just for the educational aspect, if nothing else. For instance: you know all those exfoliating scrubs that are out there? Well, most of them contain tiny plastic beads that do the exfoliating - and these microbeads are being washed down the drain, straight past any sewage treatment [they're too tiny to be filtered out] and end up in the ocean, along with all the other plastic we put out there, and then teeny sea organisms eat them and they end up in the food chain. They appear especially enticing because they are usually brightly coloured. To make matters worse, they act as magnets for all sorts of toxins floating around in the ocean. So if you are going to buy an exfoliating product, you should check the ingredients list to make sure there are no plastics. Or make your own, I guess. I will have to experiment with that one.

Before reading Emma, I had never read anything by Jane Austen. I recently saw Becoming Jane and I guess I just felt guilty that I hadn't read a single Austen novel [and there are only 6 of them, 7 if you count Lady Susan] - so I read the one I already owned. Now I want to read the others.

Water For Elephants was great - it was a Christmas present from Kara - I think I read it in about a day. I also sped through the Jodi Picoult [very though-provoking, even though it's a fast read]. The Saint in New York is one I stole from my dad's library years ago but hadn't read yet. Also very fast read, and felt like you were reading a screenplay for a 1940s mobster movie. I can mail it back to you, dad, if you miss it. But I bet you didn't even know I had it. Actually, I have a lot of your books, so one day when I need to make room on my shelves, I will be sending you a whole box full of books you had totally forgotten about. Another fast one - one that isn't in the photo because Darcey took it with him to St. John's this week - is Will Anyone Search for Danny?. It's by a local author who apparently writes a new book every month. This book pissed me off because of the awful ending. But it was interesting to ponder the amount life has changed here on the island in just a few short decades.

Snow and The Water-Method Man took a bit longer to read. You can really sink your teeth into Snow. I read The Black Book, also by Nobel Prize-winning author Orhan Pamuk, two winters ago, and it took me forever to finish it. That's because I would try reading it in short snippets while on the bus to school and back. I could never really get into it so I was constantly re-starting it. Snow was a bit more approachable, I thought. The Water-Method Man was given to me for my birthday by my little brother, and is by one of my all-time favourite authors, John Irving. I love his quirky, slightly off-putting characters because they feel so real.

Oh! And my favourite of the bunch was definitely Agatha Christie's autobiography. It's so clever and so funny. You really just have to read it.

So. Next on my list are these:



















I will start with the Hemingway. I can't remember if I've read this before. How horrible is that. I think that's why I can re-read things so many times. I just don't seem to retain much of anything - apparently my brain is a sieve. The Arcade Projects can be read in segments - and I have read several of them. My mom gave it to me to help me with my thesis. And it was very helpful - I just didn't seem to have time during my thesis to actually read much of it. So now I have lots of time, and I'm anticipating sinking my teeth into it. There are a couple of very thick, very philosophical books lurking on the top shelf that I bought during my grad school era which I have never even opened. I will very prudently space them out with the occasional Maeve Binchy, and we'll see if I get through them. I remember one particular purchase of such a philosophical book. The bookstore clerk kind of smirked at me while he rang it up, and I could just tell he was thinking that this silly girl will never actually read this. That smirk has stayed with me for the last 5 years and it will serve as motivation to prove I can do it. And Maeve Binchy will help.

I have ordered the chair fabric!
[And also a bit extra for some cushions, etc.]

The site I from which I ordered the fabric doesn't allow you to order samples, so I am crossing my fingers a bit. I think it will work out, though. I'm not too concerned about matching everything up, even though maybe that's what it seems like.

AND. Darcey said he didn't mind if I bought fabric that had FLOWERS ON IT. So we're getting flowers.

I've decided to finally recover this very shabby chair. For years I've meant to do it, but have resorted to lazy options like covering it in a blanket. The first bit is the easy part, I'm assuming; I've taken all the fabric off so I can make a pattern and figure out how much fabric I need to buy.

Next will come the real test. I'm not a very good sew-er. Darcey is pretty good at it, so I may be enlisting him in my newest endeavor. I think I've narrowed it down to a few options for the new fabric, both the stuff you see [what used to be that rusty colour] and the hidden part [the floral fabric]. I want to keep the general slouchy, informal aesthetic of the chair the same - but I definitely want to change the colour scheme. Hopefully it will look less ratty in the end. I just like to have a project going, you know? It doesn't matter what kind of project, so long as it keeps me busy. I will keep you posted...

Also, in addition to being a very comfortable chair, especially for doing crossword puzzles, this is Carley's favourite chair. She kind of uses it as a home-free base when Darcey is terrorizing her. She leaps onto it and catches her breath. She also just likes to nap on it, a lot. I know Carley doesn't care what this chair looks like - but I do. This just isn't acceptable anymore.



































She pretty much likes to lie on top of anything I put on the floor, so the whole dismantling process was really fun for her.

We are having another snow day today. Darcey took these pictures about a week ago, when the snow first sarted...and it hasn't stopped since. Carley is in heaven.

Sometimes, you just want to eat a simple stir-fry. Very simple, just chicken and broccoi - I don't like to add any other vegetables because it really is better with just the chicken and the broccoli. Here is how I do it:



















Take some green onions and chop up the white parts. Mince up some ginger and garlic - just use however much you feel like using. You can't really have too much of either, though.



















Keep these three piles of chopped things separate.

Now for the broccoli!



















Clean up the stalks and chop them up into whatever size pieces you prefer. Then cut up the florets as well. In the end you should have about 5 cups of broccoli. Keep the stalks and the florets separate!



















Now for a bit of sauce: mix 2 tablespoons soy sauce with 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon corn starch, and about half the ginger and garlic. I also sometimes add a splash of plain rice vinegar.



















Cut up two or three chicken breasts into chunky pieces and throw these guys into a bowl, along with the white onions you chopped earlier. [You could also use chicken thighs.] Pour the prepared sauce over top and toss to coat. I like to mix in some red pepper flakes, too. Let it stand at room temperature for about 15 minutes, or a bit longer if you want.



















So now you are pretty much ready to start stir frying, if you think the chicken has marinated long enough.




















However, at this point your needy dog might want some quality time with you on the floor. That's OK, because you have all your ingredients ready to go and you want to hang out a bit to let the chicken marinate a little.





















And then it might get dark because you wait a long time, and that means you can't take nice pictures of the actual stir fry. But don't worry, it will all work out. So.

In a small bowl, mix 1 tablespoon corn starch with 1/3 cup water. Then you heat up about 1 tablespoon cooking oil in a wok-style frying pan. I used peanut oil because I like it. Get it nice and hot, and then toss in the broccoli stems. Stir these around for about 2 minutes, and then add the florets and the remaining garlic and ginger. Toss it all together and fry for only about 30 seconds, until the broccoli turns a nice dark green colour. Then scrape all of this onto a plate and add a bit more oil to the pan. Let it heat up again and then toss in the chicken. Fry until it loses the pink colour, about 3 minutes. At this point, you can add a bit of hoisin if you like and put the broccoli back in. Toss to coat. Pour in the corn starch mixture and bring it to all to a boil to thicken. If it's too thick you can always add a bit of water to thin it. That's about it! Serve with rice and eat in bowls.




















This card was only part of two lovely packages I received in the mail not long ago, from my dear friend Birgitta Bjornsson in Winnipeg. Notice my lovely new vegetable peeler bird in the corner. That was a gift from my dear sister in Saskatchewan, and you can just make out the corner of my favourite emu [ostrich?] plate, which was sent to me from my friend Ms. Flynn in Vancouver. Next to the card are some retro stainless steel serving platters that used to belong to my Oma [who passed away three years ago yesterday]. And if I had moved the camera a bit lower, you would see a lovely pink flowering plant that we carefully transported here from Winnipeg - which used to belong to the even lovelier Lynda Lau but she moved back to Edmonton and couldn't take it with her on the train. A bit further over is a Bose speaker that holds and plays music from my ancient iPod. The speaker was a goodbye gift from my boss when we left Winnipeg, and it has been my cooking companion ever since. And then to the left of all of that is my favourite red star-shaped cookie cutter which was given to me by my oldest dearest friend who happens also to be my cousin.




















































































I like to remember where these things come from, because it reminds me of all the wonderful friends I have.



















We miss you, too.
xo

Just a few things. I just saw this and I have to say, I think we have a child prodigy here. I am going to make sure, for the sake of posterity, that I save all pictures like this:



















and like this:



















and this:



















And I came across this today, which I thought was really clever and heartwarming. New York must be one of the most iconified cities in the world but I've never seen it through the eyes of Lego lover before. Nice. I need to get some Lego. So essential. And then when my child prodigy nephew comes to visit he will forget all about his beloved piano and help me build Danish Lego towns instead.

It's a whole week into February already and I hardly noticed. I am a fan of winter but by the time February comes around I'm usually ready for spring. But this year it's different. Maybe it's because we haven't had what we would call a real winter here - it's just been too warm - or maybe because I'm not sure that spring on the North Atlantic coast is actually any warmer than winter - whatever it is, I'm not that anxious for spring this year.

It's been snowing all morning. Every single little branch is heavily laden with perfect snow, and it's so peaceful. None of those pesky 100 km/hr winds today. Just a gentle breeze and lots of snow. Carley and I went for our usual walk in the woods this morning and I was overwhelmed by the beauty of it. It seemed we had the whole woods all to ourselves. Maybe there were a few moose lurking, but if there were, they stayed better hidden than last time. Carley has proven she can be a menace. Probably a harmless menace, more of an annoying menace, but a menace all the same. So spring can wait just a bit, I think. That said, I'm already dreaming of the flowers and herbs I want to plant. Never having had a yard to plant things before, this is an exciting thing for me.

Darcey took these pictures of the sunrise on Saturday while I was sleeping. I think they are so pretty so I'm posting them here today. You can see Carley's Family Circus tracks in the snow. She has no appreciation for a pristine yard of snow, that's for sure.