Cafe Haven...

Yesterday Val and I had a lovely day out in town.  We met at a little coffee shop called Cafe Haven.  It seems to have been built in what used to be an old bank - there is even a little private room for small groups to gather with coffee, that is in the old vault!!!!

After a long relaxing coffee/ breakfast we headed to the thrift store for a few (lol) bargains......then we struggled back to the car with them all (hahahaha) before heading to Michaels with our coupons for the week!!  Sadly neither of us really found much in Michaels that we wanted - so we headed to Homesense for a stroll round too....

All in all it was a lovely day - we managed to pass over 4 hours just chatting and strolling around the stores :)  

Thanks Val for the great company again - AND for yet again helping me with all my thrift store shopping ;)  

You dump - we pump!

Yesterday we had our septic sucked out 

lovely ;)

Sam likes to watch the truck with the big hose.

Aquarium

Abigail made this 'aquarium' that hangs above her bed from the ceiling - it has starfish, fish, eels and turtles hanging from it.  I think it also has coral.

Going green...

We had sigh winds and heavy rain all night last night.  Lots of LOVELY rain :)  It has really helped green things up in just one night - and the trees are starting to come out in leaves now finally - all it took was a little rain!!  They did promise us more rain showers through the day today - and as you can see from the above picture - which I took a few minutes ago, there are rain clouds around - but we haven't had any rain since it stopped early this morning.

The pond is going down instead of filling up - we need MORE rain :(

Friday Fill-ins!!

And...here we go!

1. Where are my rain showers today? It all seems to have dried up!!  
2. If wishes were horses Abby would be making wishes ALL day because she really really wants horses!!
3. I'd like to see a certain someone right now.
4. When I was a teen, I thought I was fat - now when I look at pictures of me back then I think I could kill for that body ;)
5. One of my mother's favorite sayings was be back before it gets dark.
6. I'd have a hard time doing without my kids - they're pretty wonderful.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to watching a movie by the fire, tomorrow my plans include running errands with Lloyd and Sunday, I want to see what the day brings.

Dinner at The Melting Pot:

Last night we headed out for dinner with our wonderful friends Val and James - this has now become a monthly date and we really look forward to it - we take turns choosing which restaurant to go to - and this month Val and James chose to try the new restaurant in town - a fondue restaurant called The Melting Pot.

It was our first experience with a fondue restaurant and we all LOVED it - the staff were AMAZING and the slow fun method of cooking at your table while you chat was just a wonderful way to enjoy a meal together.  The restaurant owners were walking around the restaurant serving water and asking everyone how they were enjoying their meals and the restaurant and explaining how and why they had opened The Melting Pot....

All in all it was a fabulous evening and if you want a fun meal out - and have plenty of time to enjoy it - then I wholeheartedly recommend it :)  

Oh and the company wasn't bad either ;)

lol!! ;)

The appetisers/ cheese course:

The entrees:

The chocolate course:

Random Dozen...

1. Ever had any run-ins with the "library police?"   Yes - a book that had a piece missing when we got it home and when we took it back and told them they said it had NOT had the piece missing when it had left the library as it would have been reported last time it had been returned.....I told them that perhaps it had been lost while it was actually being looked at IN the library because it certainly wasn't there when we started to read it!!  I was NOT happy and the lady was sooooo RUDE!!!  She is the grouchy librarian there - always so grouchy!!  The other librarians are so lovely but she never smiles or chats!!  Gggrrrrr!!

2. Do you have a special organizational plan and place for wrapping paper, gift bags, etc., or do you just purchase whatever you need as you give gifts?  I have several gift bags, tissue, wrapping paper etc saved up in my closet...but otherwise I buy as I need....

3. Have you ever been in (first-hand witness) a natural disaster?  No not really - the closest you could count is that the little village I grew up in was snowed in for several days when I was a child - to the point that cars couldn't get in or out and the farmer had to deliver milk and groceries etc.  I remember something happening at some point where water had to be delivered to the villagers as well - not sure what that was about though.....not exactly a natural disaster but the closest I have ever been lol ;)

4. What's your favorite Barry Manilow song? I LOVE Barry Manilow...I think he looks really freaky - especially now when he has had so much work done!!  BUT - his songs are wonderful!!  I'm not sure which is my favourite though...maybe 'I made it through the Rain'  or 'I Write the Songs'

5. What's the best costume you've ever worn?  I wore my Moms wedding dress when I played a 'bride doll' in a play.  Apart from that I don't recall ever wearing costumes....Oh I dressed up as a tramp (hobo, bum???) for a Brownie picnic once - that was a good costume.

6. Which do you use more often, the dictionary or the thesaurus?  dictionary.com or thesaurus.com

7. What's your favorite breakfast food?  Right now green monsters.  Before that it would be Weetabix or applesauce and oats.

8. Have you ever purchased anything from an infomercial?  I don't think so - but Laurence LOVES them and watches them all of the time.  We did just buy the Magic bullet but not from an infomercial - we got it from Airmiles and because of recommendations from friends.  Laurence is loving it though and uses it every day so far.  I'm still using my blender...sigh......

9. Have you ever crawled through a window? Yes when I have locked myself out of houses I have had to crawl through windows to let myself back in!  Or if friends have locked themselves out - I've normally been the smallest person so I'm the one to go in!

10. Do you believe in love at first sight? Not really - I think that tends to be more like lust....I think love grows when you get to really know someone - on a deeper level.

11. How man pairs of jeans do you own?  About 15 - 20

12. If someone were going to bake a cake to honor/represent you, what would it be? (Think creatively, like Duff and Crew on "Ace of Cakes."):  Christie had one made for us for our Wedding when we returned from Florida - it was turquoise (my favourite colour) and it had white hummingbirds on it (one of my favourite birds) - it was beautiful!!!  I loved it!!!  Sadly I couldn't appreciate it when I got home - not for a couple of days because I was soooooo very ill at the time :(  But when I was finally conscious I LOVED it :)  


Apart from that, if someone made me a cake now, I'm not sure....maybe one of my house with the porch and everything....a cake of home  with all of us sitting out on the front porch :)  

Kitty pic....

For Today......

Outside My Window...  I'm actually sat on the front porch right now...it's a lovely sunny evening.  Lloyd is hitting the baseball for the dogs to go and fetch.  I can hear the dogs panting.  Kitty is walking about down on the grass with Lloyd.  I'm sat on the white wicker love seat.  Amber keeps coming over and licking me....slobber.....ewwww  lol....she loves me...what can ya do???  ;)  The children's bicycles are left where they dropped them earlier..always half way up the driveway.


I am thinking... that I really should have put sunscreen on today - I am VERY red :(  I guess I still don't have my head around Summer weather in April!!!!  I am slo thinking that I am going to look rather lobster-ish in the swimming pool tomorrow!

I am thankful for...this gorgeous weather - even though we desperately need rain - and the fires burning everywhere - and homes being evacuated are quite clearly telling us so!!!  Rain would be lovely please but keep these gorgeous temperatures too!!


From the kitchen...We are in Summer mode - the barbecue has been fired up a lot - my veggie burgers are always on the go....salads, baked potatoes.....eating outside on the back deck......relaxed meals and I haven't used the crock pot since last week some time....I have also been trying out several recipes from the Oh She Glows website and have loved them all so far - and so has everyone I've tried them on :)  I find if you don't tell them what is in it until afterwards then they LOVE it and are surprised afterwards - I often have them guess what is in things and they never get it right :)

I am wearing...black soccer shorts, black t-shirt, undies.  bare feet.  It's HOT :)  I'm LOVING it.......OMG I sooooo love Summer :)


I am creating...I'm still crocheting, I'm also working on a few projects to do with outside and Summer....my last ATC swap is about to go off and I'm not signed up for any more at the moment.  I probably won't sign up for any more through the Summer unless we get a string of bad weather.  Lloyd is off of work right now and I am enjoying hanging out with him and keeping busy - and being outside all the time now the weather is good.

I am going... to a new restaurant with James and Val this week - we're trying out a new fondue restaurant in town!!  I'm really looking forward to it!!  
I am reading...a book I got for Christmas that I just haven't had a chance to read yet!!  I haven't started it yet but tonight is the night.  It's the third in a series.


I am hoping...that Susannah gets some good news this week with final confirmation from her school of choice!!  It sounds like her interview went really well so I'm hoping she gets the place she wants so much!!

I am hearing... the magpies in the wood down by the roadside, and the red-winged blackbird over by the bird feeder....the dogs panting....the frogs down in the pond....and the distant rumble of the grouse drumming...Sam giggling inside the house through the window behind me...

Around the house...Lloyd is home for a while now and is busy working through his list of jobs to do around the house.  Unfortunately when Lloyd is home I tend not to do very much as I switch in to 'weekend mode' and just want to relax!!  So I am trying to work through that!!  Luckily he has had a few meetings to go to and so I make the most of those times and work fast!!!  We're making the most of the good weather though and are doing a lot of yard work!!

One of my favorite things...having Lloyd home - and so it is lovely at the moment - every day is like Sunday - brunch on the back deck...lazy mornings.....walks around here during the day....and knowing he's home tomorrow - and next week - and the week after and the week after :)  We have some field trips booked with the homeschool group and it will be so nice to have him join us!!

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...swimming, dinner with Val and James, having the furnace vents cleaned out, brunch out, hopefully breakfast or coffee with Val (???), trip to Michaels to use my coupon, and I want to go and find a cedar picnic table for the side woods meadowy bit - I want to have a little place there for picnics and also somewhere we can take our notebooks and art journals on sunny days and paint/ write.  I want it to age quite quickly/ well so that it fits into the woodland setting quickly.  


From The Simple Womans Day Book - find it HERE

Toadstools and Fairy Rings....

This afternoon we took a blanket outside and sat in the sunshine to do our craft.  We found this wonderful craft HERE - which I think you'll agree is a FAB blog full of great ideas to keep little ones busy!!

This craft uses up some of the plastic Easter eggs - especially broken ones!!  Sam and Abigail really enjoyed creating the toadstools and deciding what colours to paint them!!  :)  Then they helped decide where to put the fairy ring and how to arrange the toadstools!!

I love the end result!!!  Not sure how long they will last - whether the dogs will attack them or the weather!!  But for now I think they look soooo pretty :)  

Of course (as the other website mentions lol) Laurence came home from school and burst out laughing saying they look like a bunch of schlongs!!  Hahahaha....well yes, they do...BUT - to Sam and Abigail - and to me, they are toadstools and I think they are lovely :)

I want to be eight again!!

I want to wear sparkly pink, flowery Summer shoes in the garden :) 

My boy.....

Green Monster...or Purple Beast????

Lol....Lloyd renamed this mornings Green Monster - he called it The Purple Beast (which almost made me want to spit it out hahahaha)  It was DELICIOUS though!!!!!

Todays smoothie contained:

flax

oats

whey protein powder

spinach

pineapple

blackberries

beetroot

cucumber

apple

bananas

almond milk

ice

it was fruity and yummy and creamy :)  You could taste the berries and the bananas but couldn't really taste the pineapple or anything else which surprised me as pineapple has such a strong flavour!  

I have won Lloyd over with my recent Green Monsters too and he has been having a glass with me.  Abigail had a glass of this mornings too.  I always save Susannah a glass for after school too - or she has a glass with me.  

Ooooh and I made Lloyd and Laurence a bowl of the 'Pumpkin Spice makes Everything Nice' oatmeal onSaturday as we were all hungry.  They loved it!!  So I made some more last nice as an evening snack when we were hungry BUT I didn't have any pumpkin left - soooooo I blended up some carrots and used the pureed carrots instead of pumpkin and it tasted the same!!!  IT was just as yummy!!!  So 'Carrot Spice  Makes Everything Nice' oatmeal is just as good an alternative!!  Yummy healthy and sweet with no added sugar - just fruit and veg :)  Who would have thought it would be so good!!!

So weird!!!

I am still drinking my coffee with no sugar - and because of the green monsters I've actually cut right down on the amount of coffee I drink too!

If you haven't given these drinks a try yet - GO FOR IT!!!  I know they sound weird but they taste just like a yummy McDonalds milkshake!!!  Yes - even with carrots and cucumber in them!!!  You can't taste the carrots and cucumber at all - add some cinnamon, some pumpkin, a couple of bananas and its all good :)  

Tree planting...

Potting up the trees that we were given at the Earth Day festival today.  We have quite a few that we've planted around our acreage over the years since we've lived here, and it's lovely to see how they've grown......

Don't jump!!!!

Checking out the view instead of checking out the missing roof tiles - they were ripped off during the high winds last week so he's off to buy some replacements this week.  

What are you doing at 4:20 on Tuesday????

Are you hanging out with the Waldo's???

My Son told me that Tuesday was an important day and that something big was happening at 4:20...he said I should google it.....I did lol and I came up with THIS!!  Read it and let me know if you're joining in with your local Waldo's!!

Oh and lol no Chris isn't joining in as far as I know.....we just have a long standing joke between us because he knows it's on my bucket list.....geez I have yet to try the stuff and my Son probably already has!!

Oh Canada :)

Chris sent me this :)

Kitty cat pictures....

Mouse catcher:

Enjoying the sand box....

Farm boy...

Signs of Spring...at home

The rhubarb is doing well this year....

We have a roughed grouse near the house somewhere...we can hear the male drumming loudly quite often - we've had them most years but don't remember them being here last year so it's great to have them back.  Lloyd saw one the other day over in the wood by the treehouse - it flew off when he and Sam were in there - Sam was describing it to me - he said it looked like a small turkey with a fan tail :)  

I love listening to them drumming...such a lovely noise!!!

The frogs are getting noisier too - and there are so many different bird songs in the trees now - and our Robins have been back for a few weeks now and their song is nice - Oh I love the sound of Spring here!!  

Earth Day Festival 2010

This afternoon we headed to Fort Edmonton Park to the Earth Day Festival.   It was such gorgeous weather - you just never know with Earth Day here - there have been years when the Earth Day Festival has had TERRIBLE weather!!  I think they moved it to the Hangar at Fort Ed so it was more sheltered in case of bad weather...but this year no shelter was needed - it was lovely and warm and sunny.

Checking out the creatures in our rivers and ponds:

Laurence was enjoying some kettle popcorn - behind him they had a huge telescope:

Abby with her scooby doo ice cream - behind her they were doing Tai chi:

We came home with about ten baby trees to plant (the whole reason Lloyd went), lots of wildflower seeds to plant, stickers, bookmarks, literature and a reusable bag!!  

It was a lovely little festival - it's a shame it hasn't grown more over the years we have been here - if anything it is now smaller than it was!!  The last time we attended in Hawrelak Park, it was much bigger than it was today!!  I'm not sure who organizes it or why more companies don't get involved - you'd think it would be growing quickly now!  I was surprised not to see SHINE or any schooling alternatives represented.  Last time I attended, the Caraway project had a stand there.  This time there was nothing there for alternatives in education.  

There was also very little in the way of food offered - apart from a pizza stand and hotdogs/ popcorn.  I would ahve liked to see a few of the vegan and vegetarian restaurants there with a Taste of Edmonton style sampler menu!!

I'm sure there are many more companies out there that could get involved - what is stopping them????

Sunday update...

We drove out to pick Susannah up from her birthday sleepover this morning.  She had had a great time there....I chatted with her friends Mom for a while and she was telling me that her husband was out helping her Father In Law because their land had been burning since yesterday!!  The fire department had thought they had got it under control during the night, but early this morning a hot spot sparked it all back up again and it was burning again this morning...

All their farmland :(

She was telling me that three years ago they lost their home to a similar fire :(  She now has quite a detached and nonchalant attitude toward it all - almost a 'what can you do'? attitude.....  I guess she's right in some ways.  It's still so frightening.  

Driving Susannah out there yesterday we passed the fire department by Elk Island Park - there was a grass fire in the median - no doubt some idiot had thrown a cigarette end out of the car window.  When will people learn?????  If that grass fire had spread fast enough and jumped the road then Elk Island Park would have gone up - it's so dry out there!!!!

Anyway - hopefully the fire is under control and out for good now - and their lovely home overlooking the pond with it's geese, is safe!!

Saturday ramblings

The frogs are awake and horny ;)  Earlier than normal but last night we heard them croaking for the first time this year :)  Woohoo - they are in the pond and awake from their sleep at the bottom of the cold water in the mud......I love hearing the frogs each Spring!!  If you check back on last year you can listen to the videos of the frogs croaking!!!!

The frogs are awake because it is soooo warm here right now - today it is going to be 24c!!!  YES!!!  24c!!!   and by Wednesday they forecast 25c!!!!!  OMG!!!!!  We will have to put the air conditioning on!!! Woohoo!!!  :)  Here's to Summer :)  I'm loving it!!!  Now of course we could still get a dump of snow before Victoria Day, BUT let's enjoy this while it lasts :)  We're firing up the BBQ tonight  :)

Last night the neighbours dog was over playing with our dogs and then our neighbour dropped by to say hi...then she invited us over after supper to see her little baby and see how he had grown.  So after our pizzas I took Susannah and Abigail over for a little while to see their baby - awwww he has grown so much - chewing on his fists and full of smiles :)  He is so adorable :)  Just the cutest thing :)

Anyway - Today it too nice to waste on the computer, so now I have updated my blog I am off outside to enjoy my day!!

Have a good one everyone!!!

Pizza making...

Last night we made pizza's.  We used a really easy dough that Kara had posted about on her blog.  We doubled the mix so there was enough for everyone to make their own pizza and the boys got make one and a half each.  This was PLENTY for our family of 7!!  

We haven't made pizzas before so we didn't make any of the toppings ourselves - I bought a selection of toppings that the children could pick from and they all had great fun preparing their bases from the dough we made and then topping it from all the choices we had!!

The one above is mine!!

It was great fun - the children said they'd like to do this every week - and although we won't be doing it every week, we will definitely do it again very soon!!!  I don't like pizza (I only ate the toppings on mine) I did LOVE the activity itself!!!  A really fun family activity!!

Everyone agreed the pizza was much nicer than bought pizza - and it showed because they all ate their pizzas - much more than normal pizza!!!  

Fun!!