CHRISTMAS DECORATING!

This past Sunday being the closed Sunday to November 25th, I did my annual Christmas decorating!  Yes, I have posted about my annual decorating routine before . . . and I have been teased about how . . . shall we say . . . MINIMALIST my efforts are.  I must be having a good year, or something, cuz this year . . . I WENT ALL OUT!!!

So, FIRST . . . I slipped into something comfy.

This year's decorating ensemble included
pine-green velour
lounging pants.
(hmmm . . . who needs a pedicure here?)

 SECOND . . . something suitably seasonal in the CD player:

This year's selection by Johnny Reid.

It is important for you to know
that I ventured out in THIS weather
TO A BUSY MALL
to buy this CD
specifically for THIS occasion!
(That's REALLY going all out!)

 THIRD . . . a wee snort of something festive:

Peppermint Schnapps + Raspberry Liqueuer . . .
tres festive!

 I think it's also important for y'all to know that when I started my current Christmas decorating routine, my little Norfolk Pine Tree was 4 1/2 inches tall.  It lived in a teacup-sized pot in a shallow window ledge.

That same Norfolk Pine Tree is now 30 inches tall
from the top of its 2 gallon sized pot!

 Therefore, there is more room for decorations now than in previous years.

Here it is . . . decorated for
Christmas 2011.
I use VERY light-weight
non-breakable
decorations
attached with
gentle
plastic hangers,
and NO lights.

Why put lights INSIDE
when they're already OUTSIDE
on the balcony railing?

And . . . of course . . .
the crowning glory . . .
the little beaded snowflake
that USED TO BE
the only decoration
on the little Norfolk Pine Tree!

Look who else got "dressed up"
for the occasion!

 Naturally, Miss Boots was VERY interested in all the action . . . although she isn't allowed festive beverages . . .

"Hey!  That's MY Christmas stocking!"

"WAIT A MINUTE!
How come YOUR Christmas stocking
has
SHINY STUFF on it
and mine doesn't???
I thought I was the Diva around here!?!?!"

"Never mind!
I remember last year's routine . . .
it was all "NO NO!" and
"BAD KITTY!" . . .
so I'll just retire to my rocking chair already!"

 Besides all the decorating (Seriously HARD WORK!) this past weekend, I also managed to finish most of the applique and decorative stitching on my Winter Partridge place mats.

Except the gold ring.
I was thinking about stitching that in
metallic gold.
What do you think???

 Next weekend, I should get the actual quilting bit started.

Did I tell you my adopted grandaughter got me SLIPPERS for my recent birthday?  I LOVE them . . . perfect to keep at the office so I don't have to wear winter boots all day!

Oh oh!
Sensing a problem here . . .

A couple of hours into the first day of duty
and my new slippers
DISINTEGRATED!
(note the toes peeping through)

I shall have to salvage the penquins and attach them to a sturdier pair of slippers.  Every serious office manager should have Penguin Slippers to wear at work, right???

Happy Easter!

Bridget's finally enjoying spring sunshine ... no more snow!  Actually, it's been trying to snow off and on all week, but I refuse to acknowledge it!

Someone asked WHO IS THE STATUE LADY?  Bridget was a well-known and well-loved social worker / rabble rouser / writer up here, and someone commemorated in statue form her and her generous habit of taking the time to really listen to people.  Her statue, which is a very good replica of Bridget, sits on a bench right in the area of downtown where she met many of her clients.  Bridget was special to me for encouraging my interest in writing at a particularly low point in my life, so I always take the time to stop by her bench and say hello when I'm in that part of downtown.

Another sure sign of spring ...

... election campaign signs are sprouting!  We are facing a federal election in 10 days or so, and probably a provincial election shortly after that.  I'm NOT a very political person.  I grew up in a household with a man who was extremely "modern" in many ways, but who believed women should not vote, and if they did vote, they should only be allowed to vote as instructed by the man of the household.  Then I lived with a "Union Man" with VERY specific political beliefs and who expected the woman in HIS household to share those beliefs (I didn't).  Consequently, it has been easier for me to be "non-political" over the years, and that turned into a comfy slide into political apathy.  

One of the things that I REALLY DETEST about current Canadian politics is the mud-slinging and bad-mouthing that goes on.  We had a local candidate come into our office this past week, and all that came out of his mouth was negative stuff ... everything that our current MP, his party, and all the other candidates have done wrong, continues to do wrong at present, and will undoubtedly do wrong in future.  That crap seriously makes my eyes glaze over!  Finally the dude complained about apathetic voters, and then I felt obligated to "share" with him why I'm an apathetic voter ... I want a little square on the ballot for "none of the above 'cuz they are ALL NEGATIVE MUD-SLINGING BAD-MOUTHING STUPID IDIOTS who should never be trusted to run my country in a positive and civilized manner!"  Okay, I MIGHT HAVE said a little more than that ... in a much less polite manner ... 'cuz he decided to terminate his visit here rather quickly!  I don't "talk politics" often, but when I do ...

Ooh, and another thing about the current federal election campaign that's really annoying me?  One of the federal party leaders has started shouting "Rise up!  Rise up, Canada!  Rise up!"  He sounds like a Southern Baptist Minister (sorry, y'all down South ... no offense intended!) instead of a potential Prime Minister, and that's just wrong.  I always rush to turn off the radio when I hear that line starting up.  ICK!

Enough with the politics already.

Last summer, I adopted a badly neglected Christmas cactus.  The poor thing was so thirsty that it was shrivelled.  Took several months to get it looking happy, and this past week, it rewarded me with flowers.  The interesting thing is, there are red, pink and white flowers all at the same time on it!  Must be three different cacti in one pot.  It's sitting on the castle of my floor loom and gets morning sun throught the balcony door.

Last month, I did some "emergency" curtain sewing for some friends, and was recently rewarded for my efforts with ...

... a Moroccan recipe book, and ...

... a set of Moroccan tea glasses (they are really big on green tea with fresh mint leaves and sugar)!  I haven't figured out how to drink hot tea OUT OF GLASSES without burning the heck out of my fingers, but have tried several yummy recipes.  I'll try to record and blog about creating something from this new recipe book over the long weekend. 

Mm mmm!  Four days off!  I can hardly wait!  I have no major plans other than coming downtown to see Strauss's "Capriccio" LIVE AT THE MET at our local movie theatre on Saturday morning.  Have a great weekend, y'all ... may you be up to your jelly button in belly beans!

Busy busy busy

I've been a bad blogger lately! I have no excuse, except to say my work life has been intruding into my private life and there are only so many hours in the day to fit it all in ... except it hasn't all fit! One of the work things that's been adding to my busy-ness lately is a rather interesting pilot project to introduce a tool for analyzing how well programs and services address the needs of seniors.Yup, that's me ... mid-workshop. And having a very bad hair day (different hairdresser + different cut = sticking up "wings" around my face ... I tried desperately to gel it down and secure it in a ponytail, but even that wasn't totally successful.) Here's the "do" without the ponytail ...There are currently a half dozen similar pilot projects (the analytical tool, not the bad hair!) happening across Canada, and I am flying to Toronto tomorrow for a conference to compare projects. The conference itself should be interesting, but I'm really NOT excited about the flight there and back.

It's been very warm here the last few days ... so warm that I took my jacket off and walked home without it yesterday afternoon! Today I noticed bare (neon white) legs all over the place. What a difference a week makes in the North ... from winter boots and this ...

... to shoes and this ...Both of the above pictures were taken at the exact same location. I'm not, however, totally convinced it's spring yet (I don't even want to whisper the word for fear of jinxing it). I'm totally expecting another blizzard ... let's just hope it doesn't happen in the morning when my plane is trying to take off!

I'm not sure WHAT season my Christmas cactus thinks it is ...... but it's blooming enthusiastically! I transplanted it last fall into a slightly bigger pot, so had expected it would pout for a year before it bloomed again. Apparently it approved of the move. You can't see the buds on the other side of it in this picture, but there are a lot more blooms to come shortly.

I did manage to almost complete one small crafty project last weekend. It was kind of spur of the moment. I noticed a (rather ugly) "wall art" thing in a downtown bargain store window and thought to myself "hmmm, love the SHAPE, hate the content". After I thought on it for a couple of days, I decided I could CHANGE the content, so I went back downtown, bought the thing, and bought a small can of chalk board paint at the local Hardware store ... which I used to paint over the ugly bits. Here's the result:

I'm not quite done. I'm going to glue real wine bottle labels to the fake wine bottles. I mean seriously ... who wants nonsense "scribble" labels? Then I will have a menu chalk board in my dining room. I may not post a different menu every day, but I'll have fun doodling with chalk!

Guess what!?! I'm about to gain a new family member (as soon as I get back from Toronto)! Her name is "Boots", and she's four years old. Yes, she is a kitty. Her human had a serious stroke and is going into residential care where he can't have a cat. She has been in a temporary foster home (with three kids, another cat and a dog) and has not functioned there at all. And yes, I'm a sucker for a kitty-in-distress story! In my own defense, I've been thinking about getting a kitty since I moved into this apartment last July. I guess I just had to wait for the right kitty to find me!

Have a good week y'all!

Valentine's Day Cooking Lesson

Last weekend, I played "rent-a-granny" for a friend's two little people, "Little Madam C" and "Baby Brother B" (I promised never to use their real names). These two rugrats like spending the night at "Nana LD's" because we always make cookies or crafts. Little Madam C has discovered Nana LD's is the perfect source of homemade holiday gifts, so our focus last weekend was making special Valentine's hearts for her Mum, aunties, and her "Real Nana".

Once in awhile, I play with Sculpey or Fimo ... usually to make beads or buttons for specific projects when I can't buy what I envision ... and I always keep whatever polymer clay scraps that are left in small ziplock bags. Now that Little Madam C is old enough (6 1/2) to NOT eat play dough, we can use those scraps to make cool stuff. Even Baby Brother B (3 1/2) is relatively safe with non-edible craft materials ... so long as I keep a very close eye on him! A bunch of those Sculpey scraps went into these HEARTS ...
... quite fun! We rolled out small "ropes" of different colours and thicknesses then loosely braided several ropes together. Next, we "smooshed" the braids into globs, rolled the globs into nice round balls, then flattened the balls out and cut heart shapes out of the flattened Sculpey. Each "braid" had different combinations, so each heart was unique.

I baked the hearts after the kids left last weekend, then last night, we finished the hearts with Sculpey Glaze and brooch pins, and this morning packaged them with pretty red tissue paper and ribbons for Valentine's gifts for the kids' family members. A very satisfactory craft project for everyone!

I received a cooking lesson from Little Madam C this morning before they departed for home ... HOW TO MAKE PERFECT BUTTERED EGGS. She is really becoming "grown up" now (at 6 1/2!), so we documented the process so I could share this very important lesson in breakfast preparation with my friends.

Are you ready?

Here goes!

"First you get out everything you're gonna need in case you hafta go to the store before you start." (Very wise advice! This wasn't quite EVERYTHING ... but fortunately no emergency grocery store trip was necessary this morning to gather the rest of the ingredients.)

"Then you get your Mama or Auntie or Nana to boil a couple of eggs cuz only adults should use the stove."

(Again, very good advice!)

I asked her how long to cook the eggs, and she said "till the sand in the tipped over plastic egg runs out" ... which caused a bit of a panic as I don't have a plastic egg timer! We determined than slighty runny yolks were the desired goal, and I timed the eggs accordingly ... approximately three minutes once the water started boiling hard.

"While the eggs are cooking, you make some toast. Kids can do that but you should always tell your Mama first."

"Then you butter the toast with lots of butter."

"Then you get your Mama or Auntie or Nana to cut it into little squares cuz the big knife is easier."

"When time's up, get your Nana to take out the eggs and crack them into a bowl."

(Notice how nice and golden-yellow the yolks are in these free-range organic eggs! Lovely!)

"Then you scoop the eggs outta their shells with a spoon ... but be careful cuz they're still boiling hot, you know!"

"Then you put some more butter and lotsa salt and smoosh them up good with a fork."

"When the eggs are smooshed just right, mix in your toast."

We decided Buttered Eggs look different at my house because I have "seeds and sticks" bread instead of white bread. (Hmmm ... SOMEONE has been making fun of ... er ... talking about my homemade bread ...)

"Then eat 'em all up with a big spoon! YUM!"

I asked why Baby Brother B had cereal instead of eggs ... thinking she would tell me that he LIKED CEREAL. Instead she told me "boys don't eat eggs", and then explained this is so because "boys have penises and girls have eggs"! I think THAT story is an entirely different post!

I didn't have the heart to tell Little Madam C that I ate breakfast eggs like that when I was a little girl too ... and sometimes still do ... only I called them "Dippy Eggs". And I tore my toast into pieces instead of cutting it into neat squares. And I used lots of black pepper. And still do!

It's been really foggy here most mornings this past while.

Unfortunately, the fog traps pollution close to the ground ... especially in the downtown "bowl" area of the city ... and that really affects my ability to breathe. Also gives me a raw throat. Ick! Fortunately, I live far enough uphill from the "bowl" that the air quality is somewhat better. Several days the temperature stayed below freezing, resulting in hoar frost, or "frozen fog" on trees and shrubs.

Very pretty! Today, it's about 6 degrees above freezing, and there is some major melting happening outside.

This is only the 14th of February, so I'm not even beginning to assume this is the end of winter! However, my Christmas cactus has checked its internal calendar, determined Easter is approximately 6 weeks away (Ash Wednesday is this coming week), and began preparing its twice-a-year blooms:

That's it for me for today ... have a good week y'all, and enjoy your Buttered Eggs!!!

Isn't it time for a holiday yet?

The past couple of weeks have been REALLY busy for me at work ... several major projects in the works and thus crucial grant proposals to write and multiple meetings to attend. One of our important community contacts walked into my office this past week, and for the life of me I couldn't imagine which project she was there to discuss! She must have wondered why I looked at her with such a blank duh expression. Throw in our Annual General Meeting along with the kick off of our annual Christmas Hampers Campaign and I feel like I'm doing this ...

... and ... YIKES! ... not very well! How do I know this, y'all ask? Because when I sit down for a few minutes I FALL ASLEEP! My body has developed its very own special way of addressing stress. Oh, and I kill alarm clocks ... yes, clockS plural ... they ring and I throw them and smash them into pieces without every waking up. It's most annoying! Especially when I have this book ...

... for 7 days! It was on the express shelves at our Public Library and I thought sure, no problem, I'll just whip through it over the weekend. Nyet. Nope. Didn't happen. (The naps were refreshing though.) Now I have four choices:

1. return the book unfinished and never know what happens in the end.
2. cheat and read the last few pages quick before returning the book.
3. keep the book and pay $1 per day late charges until I'm finished.
4. suck it up and buy the book so I can read it at my leisure.

Any advice????

I did deliberately book last Friday night off to attend our local Studio Fair, the BIG craft fair of the season in PG. It's the only craft fair I've attended so far, and will probably be the last one for this year too. I bought these ...

... a $6 pair of natural bees wax candles. They smell delicious. I REALLY wanted to buy a coffee table made by a local woodworker from beetle-killed pine.

In case y'all don't know, northwest Canada has been experiencing a very serious epidemic of Mountain Pine Beetle which is killing off pretty much every pine tree around. It's devastating the commercial lumber industry. Beetle-killed wood from those pine trees has a distinctive denim blue stain from whatever chemical process that happens as its being killed by the beetle. While the wood is useless for commercial export, some local entrepreneurs are cashing in on it and making small items that feature the blue stain. And it's GORGEOUS!

I've been thinking about buying a coffee table, and would love to own some pine-beetle wood. These felted coasters ...

... would look fab on it! But I wasn't willing to pay the craft fair price. Instead, I took the guy's business card and will call him after the holidays to see if I can negotiate a more reasonable price.

Studio Fair reminded me that I haven't been adequately pursuing the creative things that nourish my soul ... so many projects and so little time! I really need to address this problem.

On a brighter note, look what I discovered this week ...

... one of my Christmas cacti has opened its first flower. It has quite a few buds so will be a really pretty show in a few more weeks.

This and that

It rained today. And I do mean RAINED! I could see the storm coming, and got about this close to the bus stop after work before the dam broke and I got SOAKED ...It was much nicer observing the storm from the dry comfort of my balcony after I got home! The skies were so dark in every direction around the city. Here's the view from my balcony:Just after I took this picture (around 5:30 pm) there was a spectacular KABOOM! and a glorious flash of lightening. I love storms. However, I wasn't quite fast enough to catch a picture of the lightening. While out on my balcony, I noticed my Scarlet Runner Beans have finally started to make flowers ...... probably just in time for the first frost! I hope the hummingbirds get to enjoy them for a while first. My two little Christmas Cacti are just covered with new growth ...Living out on the balcony for the past two months has certainly been good for their health! I know I have certainly enjoyed sitting out on my balcony with my morning tea and again at the end of the day. Not today, though. It was too windy, and I was hungry. Heading into the kitchen, I snapped a picture of one of these quilted placemats ...I can't remember if I've posted a picture of one of them before or not. And I'm too lazy to look back at previous posts to see. Or perhaps I was too hungry! I needed some quick hot comfort food to get warmed up after getting soaked in the rain on the way home, so I fried up some perogies ...And heated up some corn ...Alas, it was frozen niblets, not even this year's fresh corn. But it really hit the spot today! After I ate supper, I thought I would take a couple of pictures of stuff around the apartment, such as this new little table in my entrance hallway ...See the little "knight in shining armor" book end? One of my wacky friends decided I needed a knight in shining armor and presented me with that half of a set of book ends for Christmas several years ago. Sir Knight has a working thermometer in his shield. Very handy! I thought a single book end looked a bit silly without a book, so I put that mini-book beside it. It's a peverse sense of humor thing. Last weekend I put up these little decorator cubes ...That's officially TWO sets of things on my walls now. This is a record for me. Usually I move into a place and forget all about putting stuff on the walls until someone asks why my walls are so bare! I figured this was a safe place to put my eagle feather and sage bundle, both of which are very special to me. Oh, I also found a bedside lamp for the enormous sum of $10 at Jysk (like Ikea) ...It's the first lamp I've ever had where the lightbulb sticks up ABOVE the lamp shade. Is that normal? I've had a difficult time figuring out how to arrange my bedroom. I tried several possible layouts, and kept waking up in the morning with my head at the foot of my bed, or all of me lying sideways across my bed. Someone suggested I would continue to have restless sleeps until I arranged my bedroom furniture so that my head was pointed toward Mecca. (I want to point out that I totally do not intend any disrespect for any particular belief system here.) Apparently, EAST is the appropriate direction to aim my head for restful sleep ...Fernando the well-worn teddy bear doesn't really care which direction his head is pointed.He sleeps just fine every night. What with all that bedroom furniture moving happening, my poor Little Brother Sewing Machine got moved out of, back into, out of, and back into my bedroom numerous times. Now that the bedroom layout has been resolved, my sewing machine has a sunny (when the curtains are open) permanent corner to live in ...Look! I even hung up my thread holder, and organized all my thread spools on it! So far, Stanley the Button Jar has not expressed an opinion about this new location.Someone (not mentioning any names, of course, L.!) expressed the opinion that my bedroom was not "girly" enough. Excuse me? There is PINK in the quilt on my bed! There's a lovely red feather boa ... don't ask! ... hanging over my dresser! SOMEONE needs to re-evaluate the definition of "girly"! Mm hmm. The opinion came with this sign ...which is apparently supposed to solve the problem. Yup. Hanging a pink sign with the word "princess" on it makes me more feminine. Go figure! Speaking of feminine, I have made the acquaintance of a couple of great guys down the hall in my apartment building, and we had a delightful little Scrabble soiree earlier this week. I made some of this ... Fig and Cheese Spread ... for the occasion ...

Sorry about the out-of-focus picture. A considerable quantity of wine was consumed prior to taking this picture. Sorry I can't share a picture of the actual food. First, we were too busy drinking wine and playing Scrabble to pause for photos, and second, we ate it all! It was really good! Here's the recipe:

8 to 10 dried figs, quartered
1 tablespoon butter
1 large onion, very thinly sliced
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, snipped finely
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 pkg soft goat cheese

Put figs in a small saucepan, cover with water, and simmer 5 minutes or so, or until softened. Drain and cool. Saute onion in butter in a skillet until golden brown. Stir in cooled figs and thyme. Cook and stir for about 2 minutes, then add balsamic vinegar and cook another couple of minutes until figs and onions are glazed. Spoon glazed figs and onions over goat cheese and pass the crackers.

We decided Philly cream cheese could be substituted if you're squeamish about eating chevre, but we all really enjoyed the chevre. It was excellent with both red and white wine, and would probably even taste delightful with beer. Speaking of drinks, do you have one of these stainless steel water bottles?

If you don't, you NEED one before next summer! I've been using this little beauty for several months now. I just fill it up with cold tap water, and it STAYS COLD all day! Beats the heck out of buying bottled water and putting all that plastic into the garbage. Well, that's about all of the "this and that" I can think of for now. I'll close by sharing this thought ...