blue fibreglass

2012-01-31T21:38:00.000-03:30

Garlic!
I haven't tried this, but I can't wait to. Maybe I'm the last to know this secret? That's OK, better late than never...

2012-01-30T15:13:00.000-03:30

Skinny Yarn and Tiny Needles

I like combining two different yarns to make something unexpected. Or at least something different. And sometimes it's a good way to get a new sort of colour. For instance, the above example shows a light turquoise that I find a bit too pastel-y combined with a light brown that is a bit too taupe-y for my liking. Together they form a nice, cool-neutral blueish-greenish-brownish shade that is somehow much more pleasing to me. Also, by holding two lace-weight yarns together, I can make a slightly thicker fabric - ie) knit the whole thing faster. I think I will try holding these two yarns together to make a summer scarf like the one below >>

55summit's #13 Drop Stitch Scarf

2012-01-27T17:11:00.000-03:30

That Sweater.

Remember, ages ago, I told you all about a sweater that I was knitting? I am still knitting it. Non-stop. And it gets nowhere. Well, that is not strictly true. But it feels like it goes nowhere. I actually already have the front and back finished, and part of one sleeve. Here is a sneak peek.

Sorry for the blurry photo. It's all a bit of a mess. In reality, it's really soft and I can't wait for it to be finished so I can wear it. Paired with a pair of tights, nothing could be more comfortable and warm. So I have to finish it before the winter is over! We are having spring-like weather this January. Lots of snow, but it keeps melting. Here are some photos Mr. Darcey took of Carley and the Subaru in the woods a few weeks ago. Now we have quite a bit less snow, which is basically nothing, in Newfoundland-Snow-Terms.

This last photo (the one above) really kills me. Those of you who know my husband will know that he LOVES our Subaru. It's not a fancy car by any stretch, but I have to admit, it goes a lot of places I never thought a car could go. People on ATVs or snowmobiles (or in big trucks) always look at us really strangely when we go these places (ie. ATV trails). Anyway. The (funny) point is, he would've had to put on the e-brake, get out of the car, and walk up the trail, just to take this picture. (We actually have lots of photos where our car is posing for the camera. It's our first child - the dog being the second.) Really.

Another one, just for good measure. Look, that snow is not deep at all. You could drive anything on that. :)

2012-01-27T16:05:00.000-03:30

Latest Etsy Wants

I should admit that, in a moment of online-shopping-weakness, I bought two of the items pictured above. Can you guess which two?

Amanda Wright's Technicolour Notecards!

Alright, I'll tell you. The first item I bought was the technicolour note cards by Amanda Wright. I am a sucker for notecards, and also for anything chevron-y.

The second thing I bought was the beautiful photograph of Paris by Irene Suchocki (from Montreal!).

I've been looking for something to hang on a little bit of wall in the bathroom that is crying out for something lovely. So really, it was the bathroom's fault. Here you can see the little bit of wall that I'm talking about:

I even have an empty frame, just waiting to be filled with that something lovely. So the frame AND the bathroom are at fault, I'd say. Look, here is the empty frame. So empty....

Wouldn't a nice photograph of Paris look just wonderful right here?

Now picture this photograph in the frame, on the wall:

Irene Suchocki's Photograph!

I think it will be beautiful.

2012-01-09T15:00:00.000-03:30

Wool Felt

I have only recently begun to understand and appreciate the virtues of wool felt. You can make anything with it, and it's so easy to work with. Mr. Darcey, being the wonderful intuitive guy that he is, bought me an iPad for Christmas and the first thing I wanted to do was sew a felt sleeve for it. So I ordered some needle-felted wool from this wonderful shop and whipped one up. Now the iPad can stay cozy when I we are not using it. Keep it safe from inquisitive, wet dog noses and those pesky dust bunnies.

2012-01-08T12:17:00.000-03:30

2011 Knitting.
2011 was a good knitting year. I have a feeling 2012 will be very good, too. Happy New Year!

2011-12-19T10:22:00.001-03:30

This Year: Knitting = Love.

This is how you will find me, most mornings, lately. Coffee, book, knitting, maybe some cookies. I tried these this year, but I'm not sure if they're good or just sort of OK. I'll eat them, because they have a lot of cinnamon, and they're the perfect size. There is something about knitting and coffee that just goes together, for me. I just haven't found a way to eat, drink, read and knit all at once. I have been doing a bit more knitting than usual lately. I'm not sure if people really want all this knitted stuff from me, but the way I figure it, I'm not sure they want the stuff I buy in the store for them, either, so this way, at least what they're getting has a lot of time and thought and love put into it.

And it keeps me busy. This year has been up and down. We've lost people this year, old and young. But this year we've also gained people - and that helps make up for a lot of the loss. I need to keep busy, to make things. That has always been critical for me, somehow. Making things makes me feel useful. And feeling useful makes me feel less - disconnected. This time of year we all want to connect and feel closer to the ones around us. Sometimes that is the hardest thing - even when there aren't thousands of miles between us. But I can pick up some wool and needles and make something that will keep someone warm, and stitch by stitch, I am closer to that person. I am so thankful for tasks that keep my hands busy, and even more thankful for the people in our lives that so graciously receive all that knitting...

Merry Christmas.
xoxo

2011-12-12T07:00:00.000-03:30

Our fence finally fell down and died.
Since we moved in (three and a half years ago...), we have been meaning to fix/replace that awful fence. It was painted burgundy, once upon a time (but the paint has since faded and peeled and chipped away), along with every other paintable and non-paintable surface in our yard (this includes the plastic patio furniture that we inherited and hate but continue to use because....we haven't gotten around to replacing that, either.) We actually contemplated putting the furniture out along the street on a windy day and just letting the wind take it wherever it wants to. However, that would be an irresponsible thing to do. Instead, we actually go chasing after it when the wind blows it around our yard.

And we had a windy day the other day. VERY windy. 150 km/hour - windy. Somehow the patio furniture stayed put (I don't get it either), but a very long portion of the hated fence blew down. I was ecstatic! I loathed that hideous, always-falling-over-fence - the fence that you had to push up with one shoulder in order to mow the lawn along it because it was leaning so much. Carely is ecstatic, too - now she can cross over into our neighbour's yard anywhere along a 40m stretch (as opposed to before, when there was just a small opening that I could guard while discussing lettuce crops and other neighbourly subjects with the neigbours across the fence). We will have to teach the canine some new boundary rules, at least for the winter, because we won't be replacing the fence till spring. Last winter the snow drifts completely negated the fence, so really, I don't even know why a fence was necessary in the first place. We are thinking maybe a row of shrubs instead. Just enough of a boundary, and it doesn't have to be stained or painted every summer. At least for now, some of that burgundy is gone. Gone for good! Hooray!

2011-12-11T17:17:00.001-03:30

A Sneak Peek at Christmas

2011-12-06T14:13:00.001-03:30

2011-11-03T09:40:00.000-02:30

Stripey Slouchy

Another one. This one is a gift for someone special, and I'm worried it's going to be too big. It fits me, but I have a really big head, I've learned. Well, we'll see. It was fun to knit, at any rate.

2011-10-31T09:43:00.000-02:30

Christmas in October...

This was supposed to be a Christmas present for Mr. Darcey, but seeing as it's already cold and I had it finished, just sitting there, I gave it to him a little bit early. Now it gives me the chance to make him another one (or two) for actual Christmas!

2011-10-24T14:19:00.002-02:30

Scarlet Winter Hat

Another hat. This one's for me. I made it using this great pattern. The yarn has a little bit of cashmere in it, so it's very soft. The dimple stitch is actually more interesting from the inside of the hat, I think, but it also makes a nice cushy fabric.

Now I am finally going to start the sweater that I've been putting off starting. I am going to use this beautiful yarn. It's going to be soft, at the very least...

2011-10-18T17:15:00.000-02:30

Woods Walk

2011-10-16T22:23:00.000-02:30

Perfect Sunday

Today it was beautiful outside. Warm and sunny, and not too windy. Most of my summer flowers have died by now, but some are hanging on. I spent a few hours rearranging some things in my little garden, and also in some containers. Now it looks better, and more suitable for fall and winter. A lot of stores sell fall flowers in pots, which surprised and delighted me the first year we were here. In Manitoba, that just never would have been an option. But here it stays warmer, longer, and the winter doesn't get nearly as cold. Last year I could dig under the snow and still find green parsley if I wanted it.

One of these years we will have to change that awful burgundy paint that pervades everything in our yard. House, shed, deck, fence....it just has to change. But that is a lot of painting. So it will have to last one more winter...

The damsons taste funny this year - too pasty. I'm not sure what we'll do with them, if anything. Making jam is a lot of work, because the stones are so tricky to get out. I've heard you can make a nice liqueur from them, but we'd have to send that to my parents, or maybe my Opa, because I don't think we are liqueur people...

After the yard work was finished, we did some baking and cooking. Darcey made his signature Beer Can Chicken on the bbq, and I baked some bread and made some chicken broth for the freezer. This is my favourite bread lately: whole wheat/wheat germ/flax and olive oil (among other things, of course). This time I added rosemary to it, but I don't think I liked that addition. Darcey says it tasted good with blueberry jam, but I prefer raspberry, and somehow that just didn't work, for me. But it really smelled nice when it came out of the oven, that's for sure.

2011-10-13T15:15:00.000-02:30

It's Hat Season Again...

And I'm glad. I always like fall, and I like it more and more now that a) I don't have to go back to school in September (which always really ruined it for me), b) we live where the fall is especially beautiful, c) I am obsessed with knitting - because it means winter is just around the corner and lots of warm woolly hats are necessary.

2011-10-11T16:25:00.000-02:30

The Definition of Comfort Food

I've had this recipe bookmarked for a long time, but I only got around to making it the other day. Why I waited so long, I don't know. You should make it, RIGHT NOW! It's such a delicious and comforting meal, and it makes a lot, so you can have lots of friends over, or have a lot of leftovers in your fridge. Either way, it's great. I took Alicia Paulson's advice and made these sweet potato biscuits instead of the Food Network ones. The biscuits were awesome. I had just enough dough leftover to make some fresh biscuits for breakfast the next day. Perfect with some buttery scrambled eggs...

2011-09-27T13:20:00.000-02:30

It's Just One of Those Days

2011-09-23T12:14:00.000-02:30

Cape Spear

I meant to post these photos a while ago, along with the iceberg photos. These were taken during our visit to Cape Spear with my cousin and her husband. As usual, it was very windy and beautiful up there: huge crashing waves, fast moving clouds, windswept grasses and hair in my face.

2011-09-21T16:07:00.000-02:30

White Chocolate = Fall

For some reason I am always drawn to baking with white chocolate as soon as the weather turns a bit cooler. Today I made these cookies. They turned out very deliciously. I added a little bit more white chocolate than the recipe called for, because I didn't want the cranberries to completely take over.

I also think fall is a good time for knitting. (This is really a joke, because I knit year-round. It doesn't get very hot here in the summer. I think we ran the furnace every month except August so far this year.) I finished the orange slippers I'd been procrastinating over, and they didn't turn out nearly as nice as the pattern images. This is because: a) I had to shorten them half-way through knitting the first one, when I realized it would be way too big for my foot- but I should have also shortened the foot opening. So to keep them from falling off my feet, I had to b) add a ribbed cuff to pull the opening in a bit. And then that looked so dorky compared to the nice picot edging the pattern suggests, so I decided it wouldn't hurt to c) add pom-poms. I like making pom-poms, so I didn't exactly need an excuse. I also think most slippers look better with pom-poms, but maybe these particular ones just look ridiculous. Either way, they are still too big, even with the thick wooly socks I seem to be wearing lately (it's cold). Sigh. I will resort back to my tested-and-true slipper pattern for my next pair, I think.

And while we're talking about knitting and fall, you should check out the beautiful and inspiring new patterns from Brooklyn Tweed. I am definitely going to have to make this cardigan. You can never have too many cardigans. I might make it in grey. I particularly like the stand up collar...

2011-09-13T17:28:00.000-02:30

Icebergs!

We had the loveliest - albeit short - visit with my cousin and her husband. We spent two days together in St. John's and another two days around here. Yesterday we drove up to Twillingate, and to our great surprise and pleasure, there was a whole fleet of icebergs floating by. There are never icebergs this late in the summer - usually you have to come in early summer to catch a glimpse of one. Needless to say, there were a lot of gawkers just like us, enthralled with the unseasonal show.

2011-09-08T11:56:00.000-02:30

Window Shopping!

handmade paper magnets by LBCpaper

Maybe most of you already know about Etsy. I sure spend a lot of time there, especially since we moved to the edge of nowhere and real life stores are few and far between.
However - even if we lived smack dab in the middle of everything, I think I would probably still love Etsy. For those of you who don't know about it, you should just spend a few minutes looking around and I can assure you, you will be hooked. I've never had a bad experience when I've ordered anything from anyone on this site. It's such a great way for independent shop owners or artists to sell and market their goods. It makes me feel good to buy handmade things. Here are a few of my favourites (that I haven't bought - yet).

pick me up by kreuzzz

'waiting for a friend' art card by mapetitepapeterie

crazy socks by hnick

star ball by timor

khaki III mega skein by wollesyarncreations

cathrineholm poster by handz

bunny wearing a dress by timor

vintage pendant lamp by hindsvik

gray woodland t-shirt by sealmaiden

portrait of a bear by blackoutwell

salander scandinavian tote bag by madebynanny

pink summer soft handknitted slippers by RGsocks

modern birch wall clock by uncommon

2011-09-06T13:56:00.000-02:30

Old Friends Scarf

I finished another scarf. This one is basically just big and warm. I hope the recipient will find it useful...

I have also decided on the yarn I will use for my next sweater. Some of it is on back-order, so I will just have to be patient.

Not much else to report. September is here, and it is raining. In four days Darcey and I will be reunited with two of my favourite people from back home. I am brainstorming a list of recipes I want to cook while they're here. I have to say - one of the unexpected pleasantries we have discovered since moving far away is having guests come to stay. I like to get things ready, and even though we have zero space for more bodies in this house, I enjoy having people here. I can't wait for the weekend!

2011-08-31T13:38:00.000-02:30

Maybe it's the impending fall, I'm not sure - but I can't sit still. My brain is constantly busy listing projects I want to start and finish. They're not all knitting projects, but most of them are. I just finished a few projects that have sort of been hanging over my head, which gives me license to start new ones.

Do you watch the show Blue Bloods? We do. I like it. (I think Tom Selleck is so handsome.) One of the younger characters ("Nicky" - Tom Selleck's character's granddaughter) once wore this amazing sweater on that show and I have gone back to watch that episode over and over, because I was trying to figure out how to make one just like it. First of all let me say - just because a 14-year old girl is wearing it doesn't mean that a 32 year-old can't wear it, too. At least I hope that's true. I actually took some screen shots to save to my knitting inspiration board for future use. So now I am thinking it would make the perfect fall project.

The sweater is going to be a simple v-neck with 3/4-length sleeves and just a few inside-out stripes.

I have several yarns in mind for this. The yarn I choose will be important for this sweater. I think it should be a hand-painted merino worsted. It's going to be a bit rustic. I often go to this shop for hand-painted yarns because they have so many beautiful options and they also have reasonable shipping costs to Canada. Here are some of the yarns I might use for this sweater:

Regardless of the colours I choose, I want an ivory-type of colour for the ribbing and the inside-out stripes.

I don't have a pattern for this sweater, so I'm going to sort of make up my own. I will have to use bits and pieces of other sweater patterns because I am not super-experienced in sweater design, but I think I can do it.

***

Tonight is lasagne night with friends of ours. They haven't been here in a long time. I'm glad they're coming, and that their kids have decided to honour us with their presence, too. They are teenagers now, so they usually have better things to do than go eat lasagne at their parents' friends' house. You know how it is. In any case, I am making a new-to-them lasagne. I first tried out this recipe in March, when I was making some freeze-able food for a friend who had just had a baby. It's based on this recipe from Alicia Paulson's website - but I have changed it to make one huge pan instead of two single-serving ones. I've also changed a few of the ingredients, so one day I will post how I make it. But it's more or less the same as Ms. Paulson's, so if you want to try it - use her recipe and you will not be disappointed. I am going to make this salad (but I'll leave out the figs because I don't have any on hand, and because the kids won't like them) and I have baked two huge loaves of bread so that we can have roasted garlic on fresh bread. Roasted garlic is a big hit with this family, and I'm glad, because Darcey and I really love it, too. For dessert we will have this cake with vanilla frozen yogurt.

Now I am going to mow the lawn. It's growing like crazy out there but sadly a lot of flowers are already dead and dried up for the season. Happy Last Day of August. Fall is coming...

2011-08-28T15:49:00.001-02:30

Deck Lounging.
It's been a beautiful day to sit outside. The Mint-From-Our-Winnipeg-Apartment is rebounding really fast from its latest transplanting. It was taking over the herb garden so I decided to rip it out as best I could and plant some of it in a container. And now it's growing like it's been in this pot all its life.

2011-08-27T15:10:00.000-02:30

We Finally Went Camping.

We didn't go at all last summer, because of the floor. More precisely, because Darcey was installing the floor. It was a major project that took almost all summer, unfortunately. This summer hasn't been exactly summery, until recently. So Darcey scored a few days off work, and away we went - to Gros Morne National Park.

Of course, when you go to this park, you have to climb Gros Morne, if you can. We've had bad luck with this in the past - too foggy, too rainy - but this year it was sunny and hot (maybe a bit too hot) and we made it to the top and down in one piece. There are spectacular views at the top of the surrounding hills, ocean bays and ponds. And we saw two male moose on the trail, very near the summit. I don't know why they were so high up, when there is plenty of food lower down, but they didn't seem to mind that we were sharing the mountain with them.

The day after our hike our calves were so incredibly tight that we could barely walk. It was amusing and annoying at the same time. But it was also raining, so it gave us an excuse to take it easy for the day. We headed into Woody Point on the lookout for some aloe vera for our sunburns, but we didn't find any. Instead, we found a coffee shop with decent coffee. I thought that was a pretty good trade off. A while later, we grabbed lunch at The Old Loft (my favourite place to eat in Gros Morne so far). I had a delicious fish sandwich with fries and gravy. Darcey had the deluxe burger. Last year when we were there I had some of the best cod au gratin ever. It's a good place for lunch on a rainy day, that's for sure. Woody Point is a cute town - it's kept a lot of its heritage but is not too touristy. There is a little place on the water that we want to stay at, maybe later this fall, for our anniversary. (It's going to be five years! That is worth celebrating, I think.)

Back to camping, though. We had three full days in the park, the last of which turned out to be just as beautiful as the first. The perfect day for a paddle. (I'm down with the kayaking lingo.) We borrowed some kayaks for this trip but I wasn't sure I was even going to get in. I was terrified of tipping and being caught upside down in the water. But I finally got up the courage to try it - and I found out that I liked it. It was much more stable that I thought it would be. No tipping! Our campground had a little ocean beach, perfect for launching kayaks and other boats. (The mountain you see in the background is Kildevil Mountain. We had a pretty nice view of it right from our campsite.) As we paddled along the shore, we could see a lot that you normally wouldn't. The shoreline is different viewed from the water side. And animals don't seem to mind if you get close in a kayak, so we watched a little mink do some fishing, and were quite close to him the whole time. He was a very cute little guy. I didn't trust myself to get the camera out while I was in the kayak, otherwise I'm sure we would have had some very nice pictures.

I think this was one of my most enjoyable camping experiences ever.

2011-08-26T14:41:00.001-02:30

Carley and Gage.

These two are such great friends. They have known each other since Gage was just few weeks old, and still sort of small. Now, just over a year later, he is huge, and still growing. He is a gentle soul and won't really wrestle as much as Carley would like to. Instead, he just sort of follows her around. He is Marley's little (adopted) brother. Maybe that's why he likes Carley, because Marley likes Carley. Marley and Gage will soon be moving quite far away, which is actually quite sad. I've often said that since we got Carley, she's always had more friends than we have. I think it's important for her to play with many different dogs. She's gained so much confidence in the last three years, because of learning how to interact and love other dogs. But really, what's not to love about most dogs?

2011-08-18T12:51:00.002-02:30

The Bathroom!

Come on in! The scuzzy bathtub doors are gone, so you can have a bubble bath! The walls and ceiling and wall cabinet are freshly painted, so you can enjoy your bath without thinking about how gross everything is. There are shelves for everything you might need in the shower.

A roomy curved shower curtain rod, complete with the shower curtain that was sitting on a shelf the last three years because we had scuzzy doors.

Freshly painted walls, ceiling and wall cabinet mean you can actually relax in the shower or tub, instead of thinking about how gross everything is.

A new vanity with drawers! How handy.

The medicine cabinet has nice glass shelves that are tall enough for the things you actually want to put in there.

And a new floor that is - gasp - all one piece and so easy to keep clean.

Carley approves! And so do I. It is especially amazing when compared to the bathroom we had before. Thank you, Darcey!

2011-08-17T13:51:00.000-02:30

Dorky Sweater.
This is how far I am: the pieces have been blocked, I've sewn in the sleeves (in a very wonky way, I'm sure - I suck at seaming), and now I am knitting the turtleneck portion. The pattern says to make it 4" high. This means it won't be folded over double, but I want it to be folded, so I will make it about 7", if I don't run out of yarn first. Running out of yarn on this sweater is a good thing - that's the whole point of making it in the first place. It will be very Nerdy-Nineties, I think.

2011-08-16T13:26:00.001-02:30

Something Orange.
I have Second Slipper Syndrome. So far I've almost finished the first one (it needs a crocheted edge around the foot opening - and I don't know how to crochet, so that's why I haven't done it yet), but that was months and months ago. The second slipper may not ever happen, but I hope it does, because I think fall is just around the corner and I need some sort of slippers. I wear through the soles of slippers so fast all the time. That's why I thought I'd try this pattern. It has a double sole, so not only will they be cushy and warm, they should last longer. I am also trying acrylic yarn instead of wool, because I think 100% wool just breaks down faster. I could also try using a wool-and-plant-fibre blend - I think plant fibre yarns, like cotton or bamboo, are stronger than wool. We'll see how this one does. I had this orange acrylic in my stash anyway, so I want to use it up.

Here is how it looks on my foot. Sorry for the blurry photo. I can't stand still and click the camera button at the same time.

And here is the bottom of the slipper. The middle ridge is not double, but the rest is. If I can manage the edging, I think they will fit and be quite comfortable. Maybe not as warm as actual wool, but warmer than nothing!

I haven't started anything with this wool yet, but I think it will be a chunky cowl. Maybe something like this, if it knits up drapey enough. I bought this yarn quite a while ago but it turns out it's too orange for the scarf I intended it for, so it's being re-purposed.

2011-08-14T18:27:00.000-02:30

A Purple Hat.
I finished the purple hat and it's in the mail. Hopefully it will fit on my sister-in-law's head a bit better than on mine. I compared it to the one I made for myself last year, and I am thinking it will stretch out a bit with wear. This yarn isn't necessarily one I would use again (it's annoying to knit with - it twists up on itself all the time), but it does create a really thick, really warm hat!

2011-08-06T17:17:00.000-02:30

All Things Violet
I'm knitting another purple hat. This one is for my sister-in-law.

Speaking of purple things, I got some new frames (finally)! They are by Prodesign, from Denmark. I especially love the arms.

Some purple and pink flowers on the deck. It's been so dreary this week that any little bit of colour really livens things up.

And this thing is not purple, but she is cute. And apparently, sooooo bored.

2011-08-05T22:47:00.000-02:30

I couldn't let those horrific BEFORE shots stay at the top of the blog, so here is a sneak peek of the AFTER.

Sometimes I think all we are ever going to do is renovate houses. Because we will probably be moving every four or five years for the next while, it seems likely. It's just so much work (for Darcey). I mostly supervise and do a bit of painting, sometimes.

Speaking of houses, I thought I would share a bit of what I was up to earlier this year. It was my mom's 60th birthday in May, and because I had made a similar book for my dad's 60th a few years ago, I thought I would make her a book, too. Here are some house-related pages from both books (clicking on them will make them bigger, so you can see them better):

This is a section through the house my dad grew up in. I am a nerd and I love sections. It is not a true section in that the line I chose to bisect the house makes a little jog, so that you can see different parts at the same time. Upstairs I show the study (which probably wasn't a study when my dad was young, but this is how I remember the house) and the kitchen. In between is the door to the bathroom, which is at the end of the hall. Downstairs you can see the rec room with the record player above the electric fireplace, and the second telephone next to the stairs. In the garage is my Opa's car.

This is the house my mom grew up in. Both houses are actually just a few kilometres apart. This one was this colour for as long as I can remember. I'm not sure if it was ever painted anything else. The lawn was always immaculate. My Opa used a reel push mower and the grass was so healthy. We have a mower like that now, and I always heave a little sigh when I mow our "grass" because Opa's was always so perfect, and ours is, well, at least it's green. And it's good for the environment to use a mower like that :)

And this is the house that I grew up in! My parents still live here. Now there are big trees everywhere, and they've added a big room to the back. It's not this colour anymore, and the landscaping has changed, but in my mind, I still think of it as yellow with orange trim.

2011-08-04T15:17:00.001-02:30

We, or rather Darcey, have been submersed in another round of renovations. This summer we tackled the bathroom. I have been meaning to keep the blog updated in terms of progress, but now that it's all finished, I will just show you the pictures sort of all at once. [I took some AFTER shots but they didn't turn out great, so I will make you wait for those.]

Here are some BEFORE/DURING shots. Our main concern was the water that was getting into the wall around the tub. Of course we also hated the wallpaper, the old rickety vanity, the icky peel-and-stick floor tiles and the 1980s light fixture. I particularly loathed the plastic shower doors. I remember saying so the day we first looked at the house, THREE YEARS ago. Oh well. So pretty much everything was gross:

Initially we envisioned ceramic tile for the tub surround and floor, and maybe 4' up the wall, too. This meant ripping everything out, down to the studs, and starting from scratch. We always thought we would keep the blue tub. Maybe re-glaze it, but keep it for sure. It's in great shape, and actually has a nice sloped back. Also, our water has a yellowish hue to it because of the tannins in the lake that provides our town water - looks bad, still tastes great - but the blue tub really hides that. I've seen other people's white tubs filled with water and it looks super icky. But with the blue, you don't notice it at all. So we kept the tub. But the rest of the plan changed. We starting pricing everything out, and the total was probably going to exceed $5000. Not bad for a new bathroom, perhaps, but really not worth it for this particular house, we didn't think.

Plan B was simpler, cheaper, but still a whole lot of work. Here you can see what we had as a tub-surround: painted tile board. Not a very good idea, as it turns out. So we decided to basically cheat and just cover it up with an acrylic surround. First we made sure the tile board was securely fastened to the studs and then we just glued the new surround over top. I keep saying we. Darcey glued the new surround over top. That alone made a big difference. Add some new fixtures and a luxurious curved shower rod with a nice, heavy white shower curtain and it was like a whole new bathroom! Hooray, no more plastic doors! I didn't even like to have a bath in the 'old' tub, but now I am having lots of baths. So great. I really missed that.

Then we bought some decent bathroom paint and painted the rest of the tile board and ceiling a nice bright white. The wallpaper came off and the drywall got painted a sort of mushroom brown. I thought that would look nice with the blue tub. We got a piece of vinyl flooring that Darcey said was really nice to work with. I wouldn't know about that, I just know it looks great down, and the colour of it really hides the dog hair. Now I don't feel I have to sweep the bathroom floor every ten minutes, like I did before when the floor was white(-ish). It's also one piece, which makes cleaning it a whole lot easier.

Well. I will leave the rest of the description until I have some decent AFTER shots to show you. This way it's more suspenseful.

2011-08-03T13:52:00.002-02:30

My White Pine Cardigan
I think I blogged about this sweater quite a while ago, but here it is, in its finished form. I've already worn it quite a bit so it has lost a bit of shape - I need to re-block it soon. But anyway, I think it's OK to show it to you this way.
I like the blue buttons, but not necessarily on this sweater. I didn't want to use plain wood ones, but I think maybe the frumpiness of the sweater sort of requires something more rustic. But as Mr. Darcey pointed out, a lot of my clothes are that kind of blue, so it kind of works.

Here is the sweater in its entirety. I didn't realize until I hung it up on the door that it is almost the same shade of green/blue/grey as our bedroom.

I hastily threw it on over whatever I was wearing yesterday afternoon, just to prove that it fits. I am always amazed when something I knit actually fits. This is the most ambitious thing I've knitted so far, that's for sure. Overall I am pleased. I have a few quibbles, the colour of the yarn being one of them. I thought the yellowish flecks would show up better. As a finished sweater, it's a bit blah. Also, the button placement is a bit weird. There really needs to be at least one more above the highest one, in my opinion. This was due to my inexperience, not the pattern design. I should have tried it on before I decided how to space the button holes. Next time I'll know better.

I like that the sleeves are generously long, and have such squishy ribbing.

I can also fold the ribbing over, just above my wrist, to make the sleeves more practical/.

Right now I am knitting another sweater, but this time it's a bit more haphazard. I'm trying to use up some of my stash yarn, so it will be striped. I'm nearing the end. I have a feeling it will be very loud and busy...

2011-08-02T16:44:00.000-02:30

I have been absent from my blog, I know. I suppose I have some catching up to do. Spring here was cold and rainy. And foggy and drizzly and damp and cold. And rainy. Dreary with a Capital D. This weather lasted till July, when we finally began to see some sun. Maybe it was the weather, maybe it was a lot of other things, but I haven't felt like updating this blog until now. Here we have some pictures of an attempted fishing hike in late May. Shallow lake, no fish. But the walk was nice all the same.

2011-05-02T15:49:00.000-02:30

Spring is slowly arriving!
The chives are growing really well - but the rest of the perennials are sleepily making their way out of the damp, cold earth.

The red stalks are going to be peonies.

Columbine. I moved it last year, so hopefully it will like it's new home better. Fingers crossed.

Alyssum. There are buds! These should open up to be little yellow flowers. I planted these from seed last year, so this will be the first time we see flowers. So exciting.

I think I can finish this cardigan before it gets too warm to wear it. Around here, you can pretty much count on lots of chilly days all summer long. Not so great for summer things, but awesome for knitting. :)

I would have started hanging out the wash earlier in the year, but there is still a lot of wood smoke that drifts into the yard, making all the clean laundry smell like smoke. So I have to pick and choose which days I think are safe. Today was a risk - the wind was blowing in such a way that if our neighbours started up their wood furnace, all the smoke would drift directly through my clothes lines, but it's just so sunny outside today, and the breeze is gentle - not the usual gale-force winds we usually have - so I couldn't resist. Carley thinks it's a perfect day, too.

2011-04-20T11:24:00.001-02:30

I've been knitting again. I made a lacy red shawl, or scarf, whichever. That one actually went really fast - I was surprised. I really enjoyed adding the fringe. I didn't think I would like how it looked, but I think it just makes the scarf, you know? Or shawl. I'm not certain on the difference - is it width? If so, how wide does a scarf have to be in order to be a shawl? Well.

Now I am working on something for me. A cardigan. Very nerdy and a bit old-manish. But I think, if I can figure it all out, it will be nice. So far I am still working on the bottom ribbing. That is taking forever. I've been working on it for three days! Not whole days, but still. It is a twisted sort of ribbing, which is taking longer than I'm used to, but in the end it's probably nicer. The top photo looks sort of more blue than the yarn actually is, and the bottom photo looks darker than it actually is - but it's sort of grey-blue-green. I have been watching all the previous seasons of Weeds to help make this part of the sweater not so boring. I have a few rows/episodes left before I get to the interesting part of the pattern.

Outside, it is slowly warming up. The snow is mostly gone in town, but not in the woods. My rhubarb is coming up, as are the peonies, purple cone flowers, and some rogue tulips that I thought I killed two years ago.

And now for a nice, light spring recipe:

Carrot Zucchini Parsnip Frittata
adapted from this recipe

1 tablespoon olive oil, plus a little more for greasing the baking dish
1 medium carrot, grated
1 medium parsnip, grated
1 medium zucchini, grated
3 or 4 green onions, chopped
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup shredded low-fat cheddar
1 500g carton egg whites (or use 5 or six whole eggs)
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 8.5x11 - inch baking pan with a bit of olive oil. Line with parchment paper. Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add vegetable and green onion and saute till soft - about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and let cool for a while, then stir in flour. Mix egg whites, cheese and vegetables all together in a big bowl. Pour into prepared baking dish. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until set. Let cool for a few minutes before slicing and eating. Delicious for breakfast, lunch or dinner!

p.s. My next knitting project :)

2011-04-06T11:38:00.000-02:30

When, oh when will it be spring?

Carley likes to perch on low furniture like this. Sometimes she even sits on snowbanks, or tree stumps or rocks like this, too. Lately she has been sitting in this spot a lot, because a new little dog has moved in across the street. She gets so worked up - weeping and whining and pacing - whenever he's outside. He comes out of the house occasionally and sits near the road where Carley can see him. I'm starting to think he does it just for her.

2011-04-05T16:25:00.003-02:30

Knitting, knitting.

Contrary to popular belief, I don't knit 24-7. I am hardly knitting at all these days. That's mostly because I am spending nearly every waking moment working on a super-duper secret non-knitted project that I can't share here, at least not yet. Once that's done, and the deadline is fast-approaching, I promise I will get back to the needles. But just so I don't completely lose my knitting cred, here are a few finished, half-finished and not-yet started knitting projects that I want to share:

Carter's Wallaby. This was my first real sweater project. It's a hooded sweater with a kangaroo pouch. In retrospect, I wish I had made the hood in garter stitch [like in this photo]. That would have made for a stretchier fabric and a more comfortable fit, I think. Next time. I used a superwash wool and organic cotton blend, so it should be warm, soft, not at all itchy [I hope!] and of course, machine-washable. [I haven't asked Kina if she's washed it yet, so I don't know if it survived the machine, but in theory it should.] I made what I thought was a size 4 and it barely fits this almost-three year old. Maybe my gauge was off? I thought it was OK, but maybe it's a good thing Carter has a little brother...

Willa's Placket Neck Sweater. This was a really fast little sweater to make. I'm not sure about the proportions, since it's for a little baby - the sleeves seem like they might be a little bit too narrow? I had a few skeins of leftover cotton from Anderson's blanket summer - perfect for a baby sweater, I thought. I kept it simple and used only one colour, but I really liked the stripes in this photo. Also, I left out the buttons along the placket. I remember now that I worked the neckline as per the pattern, but it came out really high, so I ripped it back down a few rows. Even now, I think it would be more comfortable for Willa to have it open at the neck, not buttoned shut. I am definitely still learning all about getting the right fit out of knitted fabric. So tricky.

Also for litle Willa: little slippers.
I used the leftover sock yarn from the fingerless gloves I made for Willa's mom a while back to make these little slippers.

Hats. Mr. Darcey got the big navy alpaca hat for a belated Christmas present. I never know what kind of hat to knit for him. So many that I think are really super nice are not manly enough, or something, according to the raised-eyebrow look I get from him when I eagerly show him all the many fancy, interesting hat patterns I spent all day bookmarking. So this year I went with basic. I hoped the really soft yarn would make up for the boring-ness.

I then proceeded to make another three basic hats: one for each nephew, and one for our friends' brand new little girl, Kennedi.

Also for Kennedi: Sophie the Rabbit.
Sophie is an alpaca bunny - a llama rabbit hybrid. She is a cousin to Eloise and Elijah, the elephants.

:)

She is very cuddly and soft, and I had a lot of fun knitting her. The pattern is another of Ysolda Teague's very well thought-out creations.

Socks in progress...
Some striped knee-highs for my cousin Tessa and another pair of striped regular height socks for my aunt Martha! My first knitted socks.

Sweater vest for yours truly. After I finished a few baby sweaters, I thought I could summon up enough courage to make an adult-sized sweater. When it came right down to it, though, I decided I should start with a vest - so that's what I did. It's not the most flattering or the most fashionable thing, but I wear it around the house a lot these days, because it's super warm and wooly but also leaves my arms free to do things like, um, knit. I used Cascade Yarn's 220 Heather. It's a very versatile yarn and from what I'm experiencing, it holds up very well to a lot of wear. There's been hardly any pilling so far.

Sorry for the funny photo booth photo. Do you know how hard it is to take a picture of oneself modelling a knitted garment without feeling super self-conscious and ridiculous about it? This was the best one, by far. I spent about an hour fiddling with the real camera and tripod until I finally gave up - who wants to post a picture of themselves on the internet looking like a huge turquoise whale? But then I thought, I have to show myself actually wearing this vest, or it will just look like a big turquoise blob on the table. So that's why the lame last minute web-cam shot.

This one is a really really really belated birthday present. So it's sort of a surprise, but now that I'm posting it here, maybe not. It's proof that I'm working on it - it's just going to be a few months late. Sorry Lynda! I couldn't resist this yarn - it's a one-ply wool-silk blend so it's super soft and shiny.

Future project: White Pines Cardigan. I have the yarn all ready to go, but this one is a bit intimidating. I will just have to bite the bullet and begin. As a wise man once used to tell me: you start by starting.

And that's that! Well, not really. I have plans for all sorts more projects, but I'll keep it at this for now. I really don't understand why the whole world doesn't just ~~obsess about~~ love knitting, you know?

2011-04-05T14:19:00.001-02:30

Home again.

I know it's been a while, so let me catch you up. After two and a half years away, we made the trek back to Manitoba for a long-overdue visit home. There were some new additions to our family/friends whom we were anxious to meet: two nephews, one step-grandmother, one very little baby, one not so little baby, and one beautiful [not so small anymore] puppy. A lot can happen in 2 years, apparently! We celebrated Christmas a month late, but since my parents faithfully kept their tree up till we all got there, it felt right. What made it so great was the fact that the Saskatchewan and the California crews were there, too. A real reunion.

And when we finally came back to our new home, we were greeted with the most snow we had ever seen at once. These pictures don't even do it justice. Suffice it to say, all I did was shovel snow for the next week.

We are still seeing a lot of this snow because it's just not warming up. Here we are in April and when I look out the window all I see right now are millions of white flakes, flurrying around. It's supposed to turn into ice pellets by the evening, which means it's warming up slightly. We'll see about that. I guess it's not an excuse, but this weather has done nothing to encourage my blogging habit - if anything, it just encouraged my hermit habit, which doesn't really need any encouraging, even on the best of days. But let's see what else is going on here...

2011-04-05T13:14:00.002-02:30

Here are just a few more friendly faces from our Manitoba visit.

2011-01-10T12:25:00.000-03:30

I know we're already well on our way into January but I always have a bit of a hard time catching up after the holidays. But sluggish or not, here we are. I wanted to take stock of 2010, and all I could come up with was a list of what I knit. At least I was productive. Above you can see some of my favourites of the past year. I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday. Welcome 2011!

2010-12-29T13:13:00.000-03:30

2010-12-20T19:08:00.001-03:30

Still trying to get into the spirit of Christmas over here, but the rain is making it hard. Oh, and is that green grass I spy through the window? Yes, it is. If it keeps this up, I will have to get out the lawn mower again.

So. When I need to get into the spirit of the holidays, I find baking helps. I left it a bit late this year, maybe, but I spent the weekend mixing up some cookie doughs and then I started to bake them.

This year, I am trying two new kinds of cookies (new to me, anyway): almond crisps and gingerbread cookies. I know - I've never made gingerbread before - it was about time.

I made a lot of gingerbread people. And gingerbread hearts, and gingerbread medallions. And then we had a party to attend, so I left them all stacked carefully on wire racks to cool. And we left our sweet angelic dog at home, all by her sweet angelic self.

And this is how she is spending the day today, after helping herself to 16 gingerbread people and 2 gingerbread hearts and 9 gingerbread medallions.

2010-12-17T14:38:00.000-03:30

They were supposed to be the same size! We supposedly used the same template - so you tell me what happened, because I can't figure it out. But that's OK. Did you notice mine is the bigger one? Just kidding.

These are the stockings that Mr. Darcey and I made for each other, in secret. We had the big unveiling the other day. He says he still has work to do on his, like finishing the edges, and attaching some sort of loop to hang it, but I made him stop working on it, because it was ALL he was ever doing. But isn't it great? I LOVE it. Especially the long-necked reindeer on the back.

The front has a snowy Christmas tree scene, complete with twinkling stars.

Mr. Darcey's was supposed to be patchwork on the back, and reindeer camouflage on the front, but I had some sort of brain lapse when I sewed the layers together, and I didn't have the heart to pick apart the seams, especially because the patchwork is a bit fragile. So. Patchwork on both sides it is.

I'll leave you with some pictures of Christmas festiveness.

2010-12-17T14:28:00.001-03:30

I am quickly becoming a yarn snob.

This yarn, for instance, is just heavenly to work with. I don't know what to do with the acrylic yarn in my stash bins - I don't even want to make toys with it anymore! Once you feel the softness of some of the natural fibres, I think you just can't go back. I made two pairs of gloves with just one skein of the above mentioned yarn - it just kept going and going!

Here is a sneak peek of one of the pairs:

I also like picking yarn colours based on their names. This one is called "fig preserves." How could anyone resist?

2010-12-01T15:26:00.004-03:30

We get a lot of big boats our way, living near the harbour as we do. But today there was a new one: the Torm Lotte. I shouldn't say new. It looks like it's one hundred years old, at least. It's just new to us. Another company has bought the oil tanks in our town, so lately there have been a lot of different tankers coming and going. Doesn't this one look like it's from a painting? The rusted-looking orange-brown hull looks like a watercolour artist made it, I think. I thought the sudden flurry of tankers in the harbour was because they wanted to get in before winter, but this one looks to me like it could blast through ice with no problem whatsoever. Hence the 'super ice' on the side. That's my favourite part, other than the bright orange cabins.

We have a ferry terminal, too - right now there are three ferries resting there. You can get a better sense of the ginormous-ness of the tanker by comparing it to the ferry on the right - the ferry is a pretty big boat in its own right. (And maybe you can make out all the little dudes walking on the pier.) It sounds like they might be moving the ferry service to another part of the island next year, which would mean a lot less boat traffic. We would probably still see the odd coast guard ship, and maybe the salt boat would still stop here, I'm not sure. Sometimes I'm glad we live so close to the boats, because they're interesting to watch, but they can also be very rumbly and loud, and the coast guard boats have these super bright lights on them that somehow shine through our living room window, down our hall, into our bedroom - right onto my pillow. I guess we could close the door, but I don't like that stuffy feeling.

I digress. Below you can get a better idea of the orange cabins. If you took that chunk of the boat off and set it down on dry land it would make an awesome house, or maybe an apartment block, because it would be huge.

So the painterly feel of this boat in the misty afternoon sunlight reminded me a bit of the drawings in this book. We just bought it for our youngest niece for Christmas. I'm pretty sure she doesn't read this blog because she's four and has better things to do. But just in case, maybe her parents could keep from showing her the following pictures, so that it stays a surprise...

The author doesn't divulge the actual setting for the story, but when I first flipped through this book, it really reminded me of Newfoundland. The grassy cliffs, the lupins, and maybe most of all - the wind that is so beautifully drawn into the illustrations. It's hard to make a drawing look windy, I know - I've tried. And it's always windy here. Also, the picture above reminded me a lot of the St. John's harbour. I know it could probably be anywhere in the North Atlantic - maybe Norway, or Denmark, or England. That's what's so nice about this book, I think. It leaves enough to the imagination. I hope she likes it! (I want to keep it for myself.)

2010-11-30T11:50:00.001-03:30

I just had to put up my little trees once I finished them. I made some room on my cluttered kitchen shelves, added some lights and other decorations, and voila!

It's starting to feel a bit like Christmas, don't you think? I think there is room for some sort of little woodland animal among the trees. That's why I ordered a really cute vintage flocked fawn from etsy. It should arrive soon!

Here is another project for Christmas: little birds. You can make these birds, too. Working with felt is so easy! For these birds I used both wool and eco-felt scraps and random buttons - just whatever I had lying around. I also made some of these birds into a garland, but these will just be little ornaments.

2010-11-22T15:15:00.010-03:30

I've taken a break from knitting this week to do some Christmas sewing. I know it seems like it's still a long way off, but actually, guys, it's only 33 days away. That's not that long, especially not for making all sorts of decorations. And that's just what I wanted to do this year. I wanted to make a few special decorations that would stand up to many holiday seasons. Things that are meaningful to us - and not just bought at Canadian Tire. Don't get me wrong - those huge, clear cylinders of sparkly bulbs are great. I can't resist them, usually. But I think it's nice to add some homemade touches to Christmas, don't you think? And since I seem to have lots of time on my hands these days, that's what I'm planning to do.

First on my list was stockings. We (Mr. Darcey and I) have never had stockings to hang up, and even though the house we live in right now does not, sadly, have a fireplace, I'm sure we can find a place to hang some up. It was my idea to make them, but Mr. Darcey's brilliant idea to make them for each other, in secret. In other words, he is making mine and I am making his, but we can't look at each other's till the day we decorate the house. So I can't show you what his looks like quite yet, but I had lots of fun making it, that's for sure. I cannot wait to see what he is making for me. I'm very excited.

Next on my list of things to make was a personalized family Christmas bunting. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I know buntings are, like, all the rage right now, but I thought it was a festive, personal way to decorate - in this case, our kitchen bay window, I think. I made it reversible. I think I will also hang some little twinkle lights along with it. That should be really nice, don't you think.

Another thing I wanted to do, is admittedly, based very closely on something I saw on a book cover awhile ago. I was too impatient to buy the book, so in the meantime I made up some templates and cut out some felt and started to decorate some little trees. I think I will make 5, in three different sizes. All we need now are some little reindeer.

It's been cold here lately, and there have even been some snowflakes swirling about. Perfect weather for making some cinnamon-y apple muffins. And eating them with some hot, cinnamon-y coffee. Yum.

p.s. Check out Ikea's new Christmas blog!

2010-11-02T10:21:00.001-02:30

Carley took one step outside this morning and then jumped for joy.

It's snowing!

Or, rather - it was snowing. By now, it's starting to clear up and warm up - any evidence of snow will probably be gone in another hour or two. But this morning when I woke up, the light was that warm velvety grey - the kind that wraps up the house from the outside, and you can just tell it's snowing outside. I lay there for a few minutes, just revelling in it, before actually peeking out the window to confirm that it was, in fact, snowing. And it was!

I couldn't help but think back to about this time four years ago, when Mr. Darcey and I were not yet married (almost!). He had just come home from the Land of Sun and Fun - home to the Frigid Arctic. He got off the plane wearing shorts, and we were facing the first blizzard of the season. All that luggage - that huge bike box! - and the only taxi that could take all of it was a limousine - which just happened to be idling at the airport pickup zone, waiting just for us, it seemed - to shuttle us through the storm. So we rode home to the ghetto apartment in style. The luggage completely filled the living room. To be fair, it was a tiny living room. Teeny. What a magical night. I was so nervous, I remember, to see Mr. Darcey again. So many butterflies! And then he was home. Just like that.

Twelve days later, we got married. The snow had melted by then, but of course it was really cold anyway. So very cold, from what people tell me. I don't remember being cold at all that day.

So - winter is heading this way. I have finally started a wintery project that I was procrastinating starting, because it was - is - a bit daunting. My first real knitted sweater. I'm making it for a really special little boy, so at least it's not adult-sized, but it's still a sweater. I'm worried it won't fit at all! But so far so good. It's a bit bumpy and home-made looking but I'm doing OK. No nervous breakdowns so far, and I've already finished the kangaroo pouch. Now I am working up to the sleeves. Wish me luck!

2010-10-27T15:01:00.012-02:30

Some of you asked for the apricot-maple glazed roast chicken and chocolate meringue tiramisu recipes that we made for Thanksgiving - well, I'm sorry it took me so long, but I finally got around to collecting those for you.

Source

Here is the chicken recipe. Click to page 64 of the magazine - although it's all so pretty, you'll probably want to have a look around! I made some changes to the recipe: I lowered the cooking temperature to about 325 until the last 20 minutes or so (spooning some of the cooking juices over the chicken as it cooks), when I cranked it up to 425 to get it nice and crispy. The total cooking time will, of course, depend on the size of your chicken. I didn't add the potatoes, just the onion and garlic.

Also, the recipe doesn't indicate what to do with the other half of the apricot-maple mixture, so I assumed it was to be used for the sauce. That's what I did, anyway, and it was delicious. So to make the sauce, I mixed together the remaining apricot-maple mixture, the cream, and half a cup of the cooking juices. I didn't need the extra chicken stock that the recipe specified for the sauce. Deeeeelicious!

As for the chocolate meringue tiramisu, here is the recipe I used. I followed it exactly, except instead of using instant coffee dissolved in hot water, I used about three teaspoons of really strong coffee. It turned out great!

Another thing that turned out pretty great is this scarf. I finally finished it, which is great all on its own, because it was taking forever. Well. It is now off the needles, blocked and in the mail.

On to the next project! This is one I started back in June. I knitted one mitten and put it aside for whatever reason - probably because it was June. Anyway. I am almost finished the second one, and that is a good thing, because I have been wearing my fingerless mittens out on my walks with Carley, but even those haven't been warm enough lately.

I think my favourite thing about these mittens are the latvian braid cuffs. Too bad they will most likely always be hidden under the sleeves of my coat...

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

And since it is now turning colder, my mind turns to heartier meals. Isn't this the cutest thing you have ever seen? My dear aunt sent this to me and I have yet to make the pot pie - but we were given a whole bunch of moose meat yesterday, so maybe I will try using some in this recipe. I will let you know how that turns out...

2010-10-25T09:58:00.001-02:30

Time for: A Fall Walk in the Woods

Carley is wondering what's taking the humans so long to get ready? Let's GO!

While we're waiting, though, we can admire the maple trees in the yard. This one has turned fluorescent red.

OK! Here we are: woods walk!

So yellow!

So red! And orange!

Just so many colours!

Perfect fall day...

... in an enchanted forest.

2010-10-12T14:53:00.002-02:30

I've been working on this one particular knitted project for what seems like forever. It's a scarf knitted lengthwise (as opposed to across the short way), in a stitch pattern that ends up looking like a woven fabric. This is a gift for someone who may or may not read this, so that's all I'm going to say for now. The colours are what's keeping me going on this one....

And a sneak peek at a (gasp) non-knitted project...

I am now going to start re-watching Chuck from the beginning of season one, to get me through the last few hours of the Eternity Forever Never-Ending Scarf.

Happy Tuesday!

2010-10-11T14:43:00.001-02:30

Happy Thanksgiving! This is my second favourite holiday, right after Christmas. Mostly it's so great because of the food, but it's also a wonderful time of year - the colours, the crisp weather, the anticipation of winter. I love that I have time to enjoy this season. Being a student for so long tainted my perception of fall for a while. But now, I love it again. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend - and for those of you who have to wait a while for your Thanksgiving, I hope you had a great weekend, anyway!

This Year's Thanksgiving Menu:

mixed greens with figs, pecans, raspberry vinaigrette and brie puff pastry
maple-apricot roast chicken with creamy sauce
Tante Nellie's duo potato bake
corn
glazed carrots
Mr. Darcey's Famous Cranberry Focaccia Stuffing
chocolate meringue tiramisu

I am thankful for this day - a day that's meant for family, friends, walks in the woods, lounge pants and eating.

And I am super thankful for LEFTOVERS!!!!

This year I didn't make a pumpkin pie. I did, however, bake some delicious pumpkin cookies earlier in the week that were so good I have to share the recipe with you. The recipe is from one of Joanne Fluke's holiday mystery novels, Plum Pudding Murder. Here it is:

White Chocolate Pumpkin Dreams

1 c butter, softened
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 c puréed pumpkin
2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 t nutmeg
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t cardamom
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
2 c white chocolate chips (350 g)
1 c chopped pecans

Frosting
1/2 c packed brown sugar
3 T butter
1/4 c half & half
1 1/2 c confectioners' sugar

Preheat oven to 350° F.
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla and pumpkin. Combine dry ingredients; gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in chips and pecans.
Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until firm. Remove to wire racks to cool.
For frosting, combine brown sugar and butter in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil; cook over medium heat for 1 minute or until slightly thickened. Cool for 10 minutes. Add half & half; beat until smooth. Beat in enough confectioners' sugar to reach desired consistency. Spread over cooled cookies. Yield: about 4-1/2 dozen.

2010-10-06T20:54:00.004-02:30

October Garden.
Lots of things are still trying to grow. We've had some frost but it's actually been pretty sunny and warm, during the day. I just got back from a walk with Carley and my friend Stacey and her dog Gage, and it's hard to type this because my fingers are pretty cold. I tried to find gloves before I left, but all our winter stuff is still in the shed, which is where we stashed it all in April, when we started the renovation. But all in all, it's been a beautiful fall so far.

Look, the Black Eyed Susans I planted from seed in the spring are just now starting to bloom. I didn't think they would, not till next year, anyway. What a nice surprise!

The damsons are almost ripe. I tried one last week and it was SOOOOOOO sour that I had to spit it out, right on the ground.

Look, you can probably see it there, on the ground. The damson trees have lost the most leaves of all the trees in our yard. The other ones are still pretty green.

See, you can see one of the maple trees, next to the house. Pretty green still, right? I can't wait till we paint the house. I mean, I'm not looking forward to the actual painting, but I am looking forward to a new colour. Blue or green, maybe. No more burgundy, is what I'm most looking forward to.

The wild flowers are still trying to grow.

And the echinacea flowers are hanging in there, too. The frost got to some of them, a little bit, I think.

As for Carley, she can't wait for snow.

2010-09-29T21:44:00.001-02:30

I suppose summer is over now. But since it is almost October, I am willing to let go and embrace the fall. Even though it was mostly spent renovating, we did have a great summer. Mr. Darcey's mom and dad came to visit! Here are some of the highlights of the past month, including their visit...

2010-09-25T21:59:00.005-02:30

Renovation Update!

Other than some doors and a few shelves, we are calling it done - for now. I think Mr. Darcey did a great job, don't you? I love the new floor - it's so easy to keep clean, and the musty carpet smell is finally gone. It does feel a bit cold underfoot sometimes so we are thinking that a medium-sized area rug in the living room might not be a bad idea. I still want this one, in purple. Also, we don't have blinds in the bedroom or the office yet - so far that hasn't been a problem because our bedroom window faces northwest and looks out to our backyard, which is mostly private, but I think eventually we might want some.

2010-09-24T17:36:00.000-02:30

Meet our new nephew, Anders!

He is already a month old, so this photo is a bit outdated.

So cute! Such hair!

2010-08-26T21:23:00.002-02:30

We are sleeping in our bedroom again for the first time in almost three months. This means progress! I will post more pictures soon. Right now I am going to bed. Good night.

p.s. Happy birthday, brother.
p.p.s Oh! We have a new nephew! Welcome to the family, little Anders. (I will share pictures as soon as I get some.)

2010-08-19T13:56:00.001-02:30

What a summer this is turning out to be. And by that I mean, it's not over yet - we want more of this glorious sun that we've been having. It finally did rain yesterday - and it was an actual thunderstorm (albeit a pretty wimpy one). I'm so glad. It's been lovely. Today is the perfect day outside - sunny, breezy but not too windy - just enough that you can smell the salt water, and that the laundry on the line dries lickety-split. Too nice to be working inside on the house, but what can you do. We have guests coming in less than 2 weeks: Mr. Darcey's parents! I'm very excited and nervous at the same time, because right now, the house is in a bit of a state.

This week I have been painting, again. We are trying to salvage some of the doors, so I sanded and painted them. Next I painted Mr. Darcey's fancy closet. Here is a picture before I added paint:

All the other closets that we're re-doing will get wire shelving, but this one is special. This is going to house all of the Mr. Darcey's work things. The little cubbies and shelves are going to be painted a really dark blue, while the rest of it will be the same grey/blue as the wall. I went to buy the dark blue paint today, and ta-da! It was free! I have a little paint card, and I got to my 7th gallon. So nice. But actually, this is already the second free gallon we've received since we moved here, so that tells you something about how much we've been painting. Anyways.

Above those little shelves is doing to be a bank of drawers. The drawers will be painted dark blue, as well. There will be a coat rod below and above the drawers. Very fancy, I think. Oh! What's that shiny thing in the foreground of the picture, you ask? Why, it's a brand new dryer. We got the store to replace the dented washing machine with a non-dented one, and I have to tell you: we are IN LOVE with it. It plays a little song when each load is done. So cheerful!

Unrelated note: This summer I think you should all make these kebabs. We have tried making them using beef, lamb and even chicken - I think the lamb was very nice. I think I blogged about them briefly last summer, but they warrant a second post. I did them under the broiler in the oven, and even then, they were delicious. Very good with some roasted red pepper dip (so easy to make!).

I know, posting a picture of raw, marinating meat without showing you the final product is maybe not the most appetizing thing, but trust me, as soon as those kebabs were cooked, they were eaten. No time for a post-cooking photo shoot.

Another unrelated note: One of our neighbours' many cherry trees leans over onto our property, so it's been decided that we can pick as many of those cherries as we like. They are sour and tart, but so red and cheerful - they would be perfect in this pie, I'm sure. I even have leftover pie crust in the freezer, just waiting to be used. How perfect.

2010-08-11T15:22:00.001-02:30

Well. I've been on a long blogging hiatus. Here's a little bit of what's been happening. Let's start with the garden. This little herb and flower garden is now made up (almost) entirely of perennials, which was my goal since we moved here. The daisies are just now starting to bloom, but they are so bold and happy, I don't mind that we had to wait to see them. There should be a group of pincushion flowers behind the daisies next year - I think they will be blue or purple, I forget. I planted them from seed this spring, and they took forever to germinate, and even now, they are barely a few inches tall. Too much shade, I'm thinking. But they are steadily growing, so I'm not giving up yet.

Carley drinks from her outside water dish almost exclusively now. I guess it's tastier. She shuns all indoor water. You can see that the cilantro has bolted but that's OK. The flowers are nice, too.

The damsons won't be ripe till the end of September, at the earliest, I think. Our neighbours have some sour cherry trees that hang over onto our yard, so I've been (stealthily) getting my fill of fruit anyway.

Carley likes to stand guard sometimes. You can see that the fence is slowly but surely being swallowed by wilderness. That's OK, I think. (That fence isn't ours, anyways. It belongs to whoever owns the wilderness directly behind the driveway.)

I planted a row of black-eyed Susans and daisies along the shed this spring. They won't bloom till next summer, if they manage to survive the abuse they keep receiving from Carley and her dog friends, who can't seem to differentiate between flowers and grass when they're wrestling or chasing or playing tug...(and from Mr. Darcey, who keeps throwing the fetch toy right into the flowers, on purpose, I'm starting to think).

I am most excited to see the echinacea flowers starting to bloom. I planted a little row of these from seed last spring and this year they are growing really tall (like up to my hip) and starting to look like actual flowers. I love it when a little patience pays off.

This summer we finally got around to installing a compost bin. Mr. Darcey surprised me with it one day. I've been wanting one for forever. The trick was where to put it. Our yard has so much slope to it, and it needed to be level. Also, it needed to be close enough to a door so that it would be convenient to use. I dug out a corner of the front/side yard and plunked it down in there. That gave me room to move a potentilla and the rhubarb, both of which needed a spot with more room than where they were previously growing. I still think I have to plant a row of echinacea flowers along the fence behind the shrub. That would look nice, don't you think? They get so nice and tall - they would take some of the emphasis off the compost bin. I bought a couple seed packets yesterday, so I think if I plant them late this month, they might actually bloom next year. We'll see...

Here is another spot that needs some work. I think next year Mr. Darcey wants to build a set of stairs that come down from the front deck in this general area. Right now the deck can only be accessed from the front yard if you sort of duck underneath this monster shrub and go around to the side yard. We (I) have cut this shrub back a lot (too much! says Mr. Darcey), just to make it easier to walk underneath. Some sort of shade plants will have to go in that empty spot. We'll see...

Our predecessor had a penchant for painting things, like protruding boulders or paving stones, but since we do not share this preclavity, there is currently a lot of peeling paint in our yard. That's OK. It's rustic. I sprinkled a packet of wild flower seeds here - a little patch of poor soil between the paving stones and the house - just to see what would happen, and this is what has occurred, so far: beautiful little flowers!

2010-08-10T23:36:00.004-02:30

Renovation update, part deux.

We (mostly Mr. Darcey) have been hard at work ever since the beginning of the laundry closet renovation. The carpet is all gone (hurray!). The new floor is about 70% finished - it is being laid in as I type. Here is is a bit of a run-down on the work that's been going on around here...

When we ripped out the carpet in the living room, and then the underlay, and then a 1/4" layer of garbage, as Mr. Darcey would say - or maybe buffalo board? or something like that - and we got down to the strip flooring, we discovered an old crawl space access hatch that had been very shoddily - not to mention sketchily - covered up. No wonder I always felt off balance when I did my yoga on that spot. So. That got fixed. (We access the crawl space from outside, so this extra access was really unnecessary - plus it was in the middle of the living room floor. Sort of weird.)

This was when we discovered just how uneven our floor was. Carpet sure hides a lot. Just to give you an example, in the picture above, there used to be over an inch of elevation difference from the wall to the other side of that opening (that's about 4'). An inch difference over 4'. Another reason I felt off balance during yoga. We had ruled out being able to fix the floor properly from underneath, for various reasons that I won't bore you with - if you've even made it this far. So the answer was to level it as best we could from the top.

Mr. Darcey worked super hard to get it straight, if not exactly level - although I think he did a pretty good job at both. In some places, like that spot I was describing above, he had to add up to an inch of plywood material. He feathered it all out with a floor patch material that mixes up a lot like concrete. But once that was all done, laying in the laminate was a lot easier. We ended up choosing a light-coloured, maple-inspired laminate. The planks are nice and thick to better accommodate any residual bumps in the floor (of which there are only a few). and fairly wide - 4 1/2". I think it looks beautiful down. Here you can see the living room the night that Mr. Darcey finished it:

Carley tests it out. A bit slippery, maybe. She is the only family member who was sorry to see the carpet go. We are thinking of ordering this area rug (maybe in the green?) so that she can still have a bit of traction to play in the living room...we basically have to get it, because of the name.

Next: on to the bedrooms. All the bedroom closets got demolished from the inside - all sorts of layers of fake wood paneling, fibreboard, etc... - it all had to go. They all got new drywall. So nice. The rest of the house had been drywall-ed some time ago, but whoever did it didn't bother with the closets. Kind of annoying, right? So it got fixed. We had ordered wire mesh shelving for all the closets. I am so excited. The narrow closet in our bedroom (below, right) is going to be a proper linen closet. Awesome.

Here is an example of the crazy mosaic required to level our bedroom floor. I thought this was just beautiful to look at, don't you agree? My in-house Handy Man doesn't do things half-way, in case you haven't figured that out already.

Side note: if you are familiar with the movie Green Card, (and if you're not, well, I don't think we can be friends) you will know what I am snickering at while I type this. Because I am feeling generous, I will provide a brief synopsis for those of you who have not yet seen this amazing movie. I love it. OK. Andie MacDowell plays Brontë, who is sort of a stuck-up environmental activist who builds inner-city parks. She has to get married in order to move into the apartment of her dreams, which only allows married couples (whoa). Gérard Depardieu plays Georges, a Frenchman wanting a green card. These two get married, of course, but then in order to convince immigration that they are truly in love and that their marriage is not a sham, they take all sorts of posed pictures to prove they've had a long romantic history. One of those pictures depicts Georges as the Handy Man. This is always what I think about whenever I hear that word. Just go rent that movie. I should really own it, I think.

Here is the Handy Man in the beginning phases of the floor patch. That was a long, messy, backbreaking process that I watched him suffer through.

But it's all done now.

Here is the bedroom, awaiting some paint. Finally, it's my turn to do some work around here.

I'm always at a bit of a loss when it comes to picking paint colours. Especially if I have the whole entire swatch book. So this time I just took home a few swatches from the paint store, to narrow it down a bit. The colour we (I) chose for the bedroom is a muted greenish grey called George St. I'm not sure if this refers to our very own George St., but it's a nice colour all the same. Some people think it's too minty, but I think it's fine. It looks great with the floor, in my opinion.

Everything is primed and we are working into the night, apparently.

And just like magic, it's all painted.

On to the other room. This whole renovation has made me thankful we have such a small space to work on. It would just take so much longer if we had even one more room. This room was painted a minty sort of green by the previous owners, but I decided blue would look better in here.

The blue I chose is quite pale. It's called Desert Oasis. I'm not sure about that, but it's nice all the same. Mr. Darcey thinks it looks like we should be painting puffy white clouds over it. I don't think so, but that's nice.

Here is what it looks like on the wall. Carley is testing this new strip of flooring, like it's a runway.

What's that? You noticed that new-looking washing machine in the photo above? Yes, it is new. But it's not the one we're going to keep. It's all just part of the on-going saga of renovating, I suppose. Our washer dryer combo was making a horrible noise, so we finally called a technician. The diagnosis was not good. It was going to cost over $900 to fix a machine that was over 12 years old, didn't wash properly to begin with (and wasn't that pretty, in my opinion). So we decided that it was a good time to get rid of the old machine and replace it. Yesterday we brought home part one: the washing machine. The little thing that allows the dryer to stack on top of the washer is on back order, so we decided to leave the dryer at the store for the time being. We had the new washing machine all unpacked and set up before we notice a huge dent in the front corner. So it's going back and they will bring us a new one, hopefully tomorrow.

There is still a lot to do: installing and painting all new trim and doors, installing all the shelving, repainting a couple walls that got a bit beat up with all the moving around and then of course moving all the furniture back to where it belongs, and re-hanging pictures, etc....

For now we are camped out in the living room. If we don't have time for real camping this summer, then at least we can pretend at home, is what I say. I will keep you posted. Over and out.

2010-07-21T11:40:00.001-02:30

The garden in July is starting to look more like a garden. Wild daisies are blooming along the driveway, but look just as nice inside, I think.

This little lavender plant probably won't bloom this summer, but hopefully next summer it will.

Its big sister is already showing off. Next year they will both provide blooms all summer long, I think.

Carley loves that we have a lot of grass, but I am on the fence, especially since this summer I have had to mow it every 4 or 5 days, and it takes almost two hours each time.

I think these little yellow flowers, aptly called "Little Sun", are some of my favourite annuals that I planted this summer. I will have to remember them for next year. They just really brighten up the deck.

The creeping thyme is really starting to creep...

...while these little guys are just starting out. Next year I'm expecting these to really take over (I hope). Right now I'm blanking on the name. Anyone? I believe they are a mini carnation of sorts. The plant forms a really dense mat and then sends up these tiny delicate shoots with pretty little pink flowers. I planted these in front of some sturdier Shasta daisies. I think that will make a good combination, but of course I never really know. So much of what I've been doing in the garden here is guesswork. And then I have to be really patient because things grow slowly here. The summer has been nice this year, but we really don't get a lot of heat, or a lot of sun, necessarily, so everything is on a bit of a slower schedule. That's OK, you just have to realize that things won't grow overnight.

These are blue flax flowers that I planted from seed this year. Hopefully next year they will bloom. They are next to the lavender and the yellow alyssum (which should also bloom next year). Man, next year seems to be the year that everything will happen...

I love how soft the fern leaf dill looks, and feels. And of course it tastes so good, too.

I planted some cilantro in a container, and some in the garden. It seemed to like the container better, so maybe next year I will have to find more containers like this one and do a whole group, because I love cilantro. It freezes well, so you can have "fresh" cilantro all winter, if you want to. The grocery stores here only carry it sometimes, and even then, it's pretty wilted and slimy. Not very appealing. So I hope that I will have enough to last at least part of the winter. Cilantro is especially good in curries, I think, because it just freshens them up.

Carley doesn't like the heat, and is longing for winter, I would imagine. But she is a trooper and puts up with summer. I think we need to get a wading pool for her...

2010-06-16T16:24:00.001-02:30

This is my first attempt at multi-coloured knitting. There are 8 [!] colours here. These mittens use a chevron pattern, which I liked in theory but in the end, straight stripes might be more my thing. At any rate, knitting this pattern taught me a couple of things: the Latvian braid, stranding and weaving. I am not exactly adept at any of these skills yet, but hopefully the second mitten will allow for some improvement. I think these need blocking to smooth out some of the stitches - things are are bit wobbly looking at the moment. However, all in all, not a failure. Also, I quite like this DK weight wool from the Brown Sheep Company - it's no nonsense, good quality and sturdy, but it knits up soft. I will definitely use it again.

Even with careful weaving, there are a lot of little loops inside these mittens. [I should have taken a picture of the inside to show you.] It's a good thing I'm not a diamond ring kind of girl, or there would be trouble. As it is, I am thinking these would have been nice with a lining knit into them, to smooth out the inside. Next time!

As for why I'm knitting mittens in June - I need something warm to knit on days like today: cold, rain and 100km/hr winds [crazy, right?].

2010-06-09T12:17:00.004-02:30

Things are green, finally. I planted a lot of things from seed this year, straight into the ground. If we had a nice big house with an unused sunny room, I would start little plants inside, but alas, we definitely do not have a room like that in this house. So I just thought, I would see what happens. So far, a lot of little green specks that all look the same. They could be weeds. We will see.

But I also bought some more mature plants from the nursery this year, mostly to adorn our front and back decks, which always look sort of bare without some cheery containers. This thyme went in my little herb garden, though. I did plant some from seed, but I had such low expectations that I bought this cute little one and plopped it in the ground beside the buried seeds. And of course, now the seeds have sprouted. So hopefully that means we will have an abundance of thyme from now on.

I don't remember what this little vine is, but it will have cute-as-a-button yellow flowers soon...

I totally fell in love with the African daisies they had at the nursery this year. That dark purple centre makes them so much more dramatic than regular daisies...and yet they retain their cheeriness, somehow.

My dear friend Ms. Flynn once told me that she thought everyone should grow straw flowers, because they would make everyone just a little bit happier. I agree. It was a warm Manitoba summer, and I had just moved into my very own apartment. It had the tiniest balcony [aka: fire escape, but safety wasn't my primary concern]. It was all so exciting. I lived by myself, and could do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. It was all so liberating. My idea of doing what I wanted included taking a chair out the kitchen door in the evenings or on a Saturday morning, with the crossword, and just sitting, looking out at....the neighbouring apartment block. The little balcony was in serious need of some plants. So, on Ms. Flynn's urging, I got a little straw flower. I then got a cherry tomato plant, and a basil plant and voila! I could eat a tasty tomato and basil omelette while reading the paper, and gaze down at my straw flower and it was perfect. I still agree: everyone should have at least one straw flower. We have several, just to be on the safe side.

This heliotrope smells heavenly, so I put in a spot next to the door. That way, on a breezy day, the lovely perfumed scent can waft through the house. Very nice.

I think the white African daisy is even more dramatic than the purple one, don't you agree?

2010-06-04T12:54:00.002-02:30

Renovation update!

While the work is ongoing, I can start to see the light at the end of the tunnel. We are almost at the taping/mudding stage. Then I can paint and after that, we will install a whole bunch of shelves.

Here you can see the new wall opening, where the pocket door will go:

What a mess up there! Don't worry, it will all get fixed.

Here you can see the back of the closet, and the new light switch that Mr. Darcey so very proudly installed [I knew he could do it all along.]:

And drywall [and plywood, for various reasons...]! Once it's all finished and painted, you won't really notice the plywood. For one thing, it's a little closet, and for another thing, there will be so much shelving going on, you won't even see the walls. Hurray for shelving.....

We now have a shoe shelf. How fancy, and useful...

2010-06-02T14:20:00.004-02:30

Summer salad for a summer day.

Finally, a nice day. This morning, while Mr. Darcey was out gallivanting around - um, or - out buying more supplies for our ongoing renovations - Carley and I lounged out on the deck. She preferred to lie in the shade and close her eyes, while I pulled my trusty Oh chairs* into the sun, put my [bare!] feet up and read a few chapters of a suitably summery library book, all the while sipping some cold, sweet coffee.

All a day like this needs now is a tasty salad for lunch:

Couscous Salad

[This isn't an exact science. I usually just throw together whatever happens to be hanging out in the fridge. But here is how I made it today:]

3/4 c cooked couscous, cooled to room temperature
1/2 tin chickpeas, rinsed and drained
a handful of grape tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise
16 little oregano leaves, cut into slivers with scissors
1/3 c crumbled feta cheese
1/3 c corn kernels
1 T Italian dressing
a little freshly ground pepper

Toss all the ingredients together, sprinkle on some pepper, and there you have it! Delicious summer lunch.

* These chairs are the best for reading if you place them facing each other, so that you can sit back in one and put your feet up on the other. They were the first chairs I bought for my first apartment. I remember I bought them from the Futon Store on Osborne, but I didn't have a car. So I walked home, lugging the first one, and then came back for the second one. As my very first chairs, they have a special place in my heart - and I will always take them with me, no matter where we move. Right now they are deck chairs, because our kitchen is so small. But they look just as snazzy outside as inside, in my opinion, and are holding up great to the elements [aka: rain].

2010-06-01T17:26:00.001-02:30

2010-05-26T20:28:00.002-02:30

Some good things.

1. Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel. I am recommending this book to all of you who might want something to sink your teeth into over the summer. It's a huge book - 650 pages - with seemingly hundreds of characters, but it grabs you with its intense detail. I felt I was there, in 16th century England, trembling in my boots, terrified of getting sent to The Tower. Don't believe the reviewers who say it's confusing - it isn't, really, it just requires that you actually try to keep track of who's who. And anyway, there is a very comprehensive list of characters at the beginning of the book which helps tremendously. The writing style was a bit tedious at first, but after a while it actually seems to suit the story and I began to really like it. I give it a thumbs up!

2. Amelia, directed by Mira Nair and starring one of my favourites, Hilary Swank [oh! two Hilarys so far!]. This movie is beautifully photographed. Beeeeautifully. [Some of the aerial shots reminded me a lot of the BBC's Planet Earth series.]

3. Chicken with Coriander & Spinach Rice, from Tessa Kiros' Falling Cloudberries. This is one of my favourite cookbooks. I have made this particular recipe a few times before, and loved it. It's a hearty one-pot meal with tons of flavour. I made a few changes when I made it today, [mostly based on our lack of ingredients], so I will share with you my altered version of this dish:

2/3 c olive oil
2 lbs chicken breast, cut into chunks
3 T frozen chopped cilantro
2 1/2 c packed, fresh baby spinach leaves
2 1/2 c chicken broth, divided
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 carrots, diced
1 small red pepper, seeded and diced
1/2 c frozen peas
1 t cayenne pepper
2 1/4 c orzo (or rice - I just didn't have any short grain rice on hand, just long grain, so I thought the pasta would work better)

spiced yogurt
1 c plain yogurt
1 t ground cumin
2 t olive oil

Heat half the olive oil in a large heavy-based pan and fry the chicken until it is browned and just about cooked. Transfer chicken to a plate and wipe out the pan.

Purée the spinach, cilantro and 1/2 c of the chicken broth in a food processor or blender. You can substitute plain water if you don't have broth on hand.

Heat the remaining oil in the same pan and add the garlic. When it becomes fragrant, add the carrots, pepper and peas. Sauté for a few minutes to soften, then add the cayenne pepper and mix through. And the cilantro purée and cook for a couple of minutes before returning the chicken to the pan. Season with salt and pepper as required. Sauté for a minute to mix the flavours and then add the remaining 2 cups of broth. Bring to a boil, then cover, lower heat to medium, and cook for about 15 minutes.

Add the orzo and stir thoroughly. Add as much water as you deem necessary for the pasta to cook. Cook, stirring often so it doesn't stick to the bottom, until the pasta is cooked al dente, about 8 minutes.

To make the spiced yogurt, mix yogurt, cumin and olive oil in a small bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste.

4. This sweater. I have the pattern book, I've ordered the yarn, so now I just have to wait. I am planning on making a little one for my nephew, and then maybe graduating to knit a bigger, adult sweater if I do OK on the small one. I have knitted a sweater before, but it was very miniature - for a little fuzzy lamb. I can count that, right? Here is it with the hood down:

And with the hood up!

2010-05-17T19:05:00.001-02:30

We live in a small house. [That's us up there, the day we moved in, almost two years ago now.] THe house has less than 900 square feet. I think that's pretty small by today's standards. Personally I don't mind the small footprint - it takes no time at all to clean and it's bright enough inside that it doesn't feel cramped. The ceilings in the kitchen and living room were raised by the previous owners to add an extra foot of height - and that really makes a difference, in my opinion. There are a lot of nice things about this house, but the view was definitely the selling point for us. We can see the water from every room except our bedroom. What's not to like about that? Here is a view of the sunrise from our deck [A lot of overhead cables, you might think. Well, you get used to them and after a while, you find you don't really notice them anymore.]:

Well, for starters, what's not to like is that there is almost zero storage. Unless you count the attic, which, although quite spacious, is very damp. There is also the shed, but that's pretty much full of camping supplies, bikes, and tools. Very little actual house storage.

There is a crawl space below the house, but it has a dirt floor and is pretty much congested with furnace/hot water tank/pipes and the hugest boulder I've ever seen under a house, plus a few dead rodents that I shudder to even mention, and more bugs than you would think could live in one place at once. shudder. Because the ground slopes down to the front of the house, there's about four feet of vertical space in the crawl space near the front, but towards the rear of the house it's pretty much impossible to access, with less than 16" to spare between the joists and the ground. As far as storage goes, a few paint cans and my summer planting containers are about all we store down there.

Ever since we moved in, we wanted more storage space. The layout of the house is a bit wonky and not as efficient as it could be. Case in point: the coat closet/laundry closet. Here is what it looked like when the previous owner still lived here [Somehow she even got a little freezer in there, but note: no coats. Don't know where she hung those.]:

Since we moved in, we got rid of a lot of the superfluous, to say nothing of rickety, shelving and general clutter of that closet. I also kind of really abhorred that turquoise paint colour, so I brightened it up a bit with something calmer. Here you can see what it looked like after I did that:

You will notice that the chimney is having issues. There is always condensation that happens up in the attic and then it runs down to the main level, making quite the mess. The previous owners had stuck something like shelf liner on the brick to try to hide this... I know. So I pulled that down, thinking even a drippy chimney is better than peeling shelf liner that is not even on a shelf. Then we were left with the mess you see above. What you can't see from this photo is that the newish-flooring ends about halfway under the washer/dryer, making for a very unstable surface for an appliance that, in my opinion, needs a stable surface. The rest of the closet floor is old linoleum, with the edges all curling up. The walls in the rest of the house have been re-drywalled sometime within the last decade, but this closet was somehow forgotten. So there is that fakey-wood paneling on the walls, up to 8'. After that it's some sort of weird fibreboard that is very soft. The ceiling is this, also, and because of the aforementioned chimney problems, has gotten wet many times. These problems can all be fixed, and fix them we will! But the best part of this little renovation is the storage we will gain. There is currently a lot of space behind the washer/dryer that is just being wasted. And when you only have 900 square feet, wasted space is very bad.

Below is a suitably wonky sketch for a wonky closet:

And here is what we plan to do:

I drew the washer/dryer too big. It's actually small enough that when that new pocket door is open, we will have lots of room to access everything. That's right, Mr. Darcey is putting in a POCKET DOOR. I've always wanted one of these, and now I'm going to have one.

So that's about it for now: I will keep you posted. And this little closet reno is only the beginning - after this is done, we are ripping out the carpet - FINALLY - and putting down new flooring. That should be interesting.

2010-05-15T12:20:00.003-02:30

Obsession.

As most of you who read this will already know, I have become infatuated with knitting as of late. Some of my friends snicker when I say no, I can't come watch the hockey game [play-offs!] because I have a knitting deadline I have to meet, but they don't understand. I always need a project to keep me occupied, and knitting, at the very least, provides me with plenty of occupation. But it's so much more than that. Do you know that feeling of having reached a goal, even if it's just a little one - it's a good feeling, right? Knitting gives you that satisfaction, assuming you finish what you're working on. I have heard a lot about knitters who give up on projects - all sorts of half-finished things lying around - I'm not that sort of knitter, at least not yet. I tend to work on one thing at a time, until it's done. Then I'll start on something else. I will rip things back a lot of rows before I will give up on something, but it could be that I haven't found a project that is frustrating enough to just throw it back in the knitting bag[s], never to be heard from again. That little elephant was frustrating - at first- but it was also the first pattern I had ever followed, other than some simple mittens. And that silk-lambswool blend scarf for my mom was definitely a tricky one - at first - but then I got the hang of it and the yarn seemed to become less unruly and it did what I wanted it to do. Mostly, I am a control-freak, and knitting is an outlet for me to be controlling without stepping on too many toes. It's also a bit of a creative outlet - with enough colour, texture, and shape to keep me interested for a lifetime. I'm sure. The repetitive motions of a particular pattern are usually calming and keep my hands busy. I'm starting to think up some of my own patterns, which is very exciting for me - more on that at a later date.

So as for giving up knitting for the summer, it probably won't happen, but then, neither will summer, apparently. It's May 15 and snowing, again.

2010-05-13T11:36:00.000-02:30

What is the best kind of breakfast to eat on a dreary May morning, on a morning when you need some energy and want something hearty, healthy and delicious?

Pancakes, of course. But not just any pancakes. Oatmeal pancakes. Maybe all of you have already thought to add oatmeal to pancakes, and have been doing it for years, but this was news to me, so when I first saw the recipe posted [and gushed over] on one of my favourite food blogs, I wasn't really all that interested. It sounded like lumpy pancakes - and if I wanted oatmeal, I would just eat oatmeal, right? But when I needed just the right breakfast the other day, something made me remember this post. I went straight to the computer to hunt this one down. And am I ever glad I did.

These pancakes are amazing! You should all try them asap. They take just a bit longer to whip up because of the oatmeal, but trust me - they're worth it. And if you sprinkle a few blueberries into each one, I think they're even more delicious.

Bon appetit!

2010-05-01T20:01:00.002-02:30

I was going to give up knitting for the summer - you know, to get some other things done for a change -
- but since it's snowing outside today -

I have given myself the license to continue. Afterall, I need some slippers to keep my feet warm, if it's going to keep being this cold.

...

and maybe some new gloves!

2010-04-28T18:07:00.000-02:30

2010-04-15T11:59:00.000-02:30

Something for spring.
It's turned cold again - and we even had some more snow - but I'm not giving up. I'm trying my hand at lace knitting for the first time. It's a bit tricky but we'll see how it turns out. Actually I'm not even sure this qualifies as lace knitting but it's definitely lacier than anything I've knitted before.

2010-04-13T13:42:00.001-02:30

Jellybean Row,
aka St. John's, is a colourful little city. Even when it's cloudy! My parents made the trek out east to visit us for a few weeks so we decided to meet them here. We stayed in a friendly little B&B called At Wit's Inn. Mr. Darcey and I stayed here three years ago, when we weren't yet residents of this province, and were only here for a holiday. Little did we know! Anyway, this is a nice place to stay if you're ever in the area. Our room was complete with a huge cast iron soaker tub. Awesome. Here is a view from my parents' room, along Gower Street [my dad is the photographer for most of these pictures - I can't take the credit. Just so you know]:

Here we have The Battery, with the St. John's Harbour in the foreground, and a bit of Signal Hill in the background. Interesting little tidbit: that blue and green tanker, the Tuvaq, is now parked outside our front lawn. Well, docked, I guess I should say.

A glimpse of the Basilica Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, taken through the entrance arch. This is an imposing building, I must say - especially for a church. But I kind of like how grim it looks, up there on the hill. So serious.

The Newfoundland, the Andrea, and the Labador. Almost to scale. Carley and I met two Newfoundland dogs the other day and I think they do get to be almost as big as that statue. Quite huge, at any rate.

And here is Signal Hill, St. John's most famous landmark. You can see the Battery down below.

Mr. Darcey conquers Signal Hill.

St. John's Harbour at dusk.

Here you see me and Mr. Darcey taking shelter in a WWII bunker at Cape Spear. Cold day...

... one lone Coast Guard boat, heading out to sea.

2010-04-13T09:49:00.001-02:30

Fogo Island
We started calling it Foggo Island, for obvious reasons. I figured that the easiest way to get my parents on a boat while they were here was to take the ferry across to Fogo. So we did. It was a not nice day, at least in terms of weather, but we saw most of the island, including Tilting, Seldom and Brimstone Head, which, according to some, is one of the Flat Earth Society's Four Corners of the World. At any rate, it does feel like you're at the edge of the world here. Who really knows what beyond that wall of fog, right?

2010-04-13T08:54:00.002-02:30

After Fogo, we made another trip. This time we drove north to Twillingate. Twillingate is a charming little fishing town that relies mostly on tourism these days. It has one of the best fish and chip places around: R+J's. This was my main reason for wanting to go here, but we also saw the lighthouse at Long Point:

(I told them to smile, I really did. But these are some uncooperative parents.)

2010-04-03T21:21:00.001-02:30

2010-03-24T19:17:00.000-02:30

Today is a gloomy windy stormy snowy day. Ice pellets hit your face like a million tiny bullets if you try to walk anywhere outside. I did try to walk outside and that's what it was like.

So. I had to do something less gloomy, preferably while inside. So I knitted some cheery little guys...

...and some cheery slippers to match...

...and got them all packaged up to send back home to my three favourite nieces and their lovely parents...

...and then I had to go back outside. I braved the storm to get to the post office, just in time for the outgoing post. It was so awful out there, and I wanted so badly for winter to be OVER that I walked even further just so I could get to the library and take out this book:

And then once I was back inside, toasty warm and safe, I sat down at my kitchen table and opened this book up and felt better almost immediately. Just reading about things like wet soil and slugs and oregano and black eyed susans made it seem warmer outside. You should all try it, those of you who live in cold places.

For those of you not inclined to read, you can snuggle into a bunch of blankets and just wait it out.
Spring will come.