Tuesday, March 2, 2010

On My Mind

Todays offering is little snippets of what has been on my mind lately.

*If you have been wondering why there has been a lack of yoga posts here it is because...well, there has been a lack of yoga practice. A real lack. I have been so busy outside in these last weeks that I haven't taken the opportunity to do it. It's not that I am not exercising, I am. We walk, we skate, we play in the snow and finally, yes finally, we went snow shoeing yesterday. What a blast.





Paul snuck out from his downstairs office and caught a few candid shots of us on the golf course. We followed deer tracks and dog tracks. The snow was deeper than I thought. We went up hills, down hills and Mama decided that it would be good to go over a barbed wire fence to a small creek which had just started to thaw. Mama got a hole ripped in her ski pants for her efforts. On the way back, we crawled UNDER the barbed wire. Sheesh! And this weekend it is forecast to be above 0 degrees. First time in months. We will be sure to take advantage of that!




*Oh yes, back to yoga. Well the general malaise in my body this morning, obviously from the snow shoeing yesterday, brought me to the mat. Ah, sweet relief. Boy oh boy are my hips tight though. Much tighter than before. And my shoulders too. My balance was wickedly off in Tree Pose but interestingly enough it was superb in Half Moon and Revolved Triangle. Can't figure that out.


*I got another Etsy purchase in the mail. A lovely wood Waldorf inspired rainbow for Athena to play with. So far a big waste of $20. I thought it would be neat. Apparently, she was not amused or inspired by it. Check out her expression in the picture.





*Athena and I are getting hair cuts tomorrow night. I have tried and tried and tried again to have long flowing hair. Unfortunately, coarse, curly hair is not easy to grow out. And Athena has such a teeny tiny face and thick straight hair that she gets lost in it if it gets long. I am thinking Pixie cuts for the both of us.

*The other day, my dishwasher was making an awful sound. The kind of sound that makes you look in sale flyers for a new one because you cannot possibly live without a dishwasher. But, again, interestingly enough, it was the microwave that died yesterday. This, I am happy to live without. I use it as an exhaust fan and light for cooking and perhaps to melt butter. We don't even use it for popcorn any more since I started making it in a pot with oil on top of the stove. This microwave was not some cheapy either. We paid over $400 for it less than 4 years ago. (Don't ask. My husband just wanted it to match the rest of the appliances). Anyway, I will be glad to see it go and off the wall. It is HUGE and... I hate it. In good news, the dishwasher has not acted up again.

* I cast on Athena's sweater the other day for the THIRD time. Again, don't ask. You know what they say anyway, "Third time's the charm."

*In extraordinary news, Paul and I have booked a 5 day vacation in Victoria BC in May. Just the two of us. Athena will be well taken care of by Auntie Jen. We can't wait. It has been years since we have been anywhere alone. Years.


And last but not least:

*What do you do when you have something on your mind, so much so that when you wake in the middle of the night, it is what you think about? (Women under 35 probably don't wake in the night but we women in our early 40's do.)

And what do you do when you know that if you do this thing, you will have a lot of opposition from some of those people who are closest to you?

And what do you do when you know this is ABSOLUTELY the best thing you can possibly do because you have the life experience and wisdom to know that it is?

Why you do it of course. You just do it.

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Being Neighbourly

Now that was a great dinner party! Everything went better than expected.



I got all the prep work done in the afternoon.
We had an Italian themed meal accompanied by Italian Folk music.
Garlic Soup with Crostini
Caesar Salad
Parmesan Garlic Chicken
Lasagna with Italian Sausage
Garlic Bread
Tiramisu and Coffee.
Wine. Red and White.


And for the first time ever in hosting a dinner party, more people drank red than white.
They are finally seeing things my way!


We had some of our neighbours over. Two couples live across the street separated by one home, and they had never met. Both have lived her for many many years. Hard to imagine, but not so hard in this day and age.On another interesting note, the neighbour that is between them, who has also lived on this street for years and although he was unable to attend thought having some neighbours over for dinner was " a great idea!" as if it were something new.

The guest list was diverse and Paul and I were the youngest at the table. Except for Athena who handled herself very well.

We had Cec and Vivian. They are in their 70's and are still as spry and sharp as ever. Vivian has Athena help out with the garden in the spring. Nice folks.
We had Bob and Rita. Bob is on the fire department with Paul and reminds me so much of my Dad. And Rita, Mrs. Mayor of Delisle.


We had Steve and Lori. Steve, we just met that night, and Lori was Athena's play school teacher. Needless to say, Athena spent most of her time with Mrs. Coleman. I think Mrs. Coleman likes Athena just as much as Athena likes her.


And then we have Paul. Being none other than he always is. The "Life of the Party."



Good times. Happy Days!

Friday, February 26, 2010

What the Girl Has Been Doing
















Mr. Incredible and Violet
And we are having a dinner party with 8 guests this weekend so I'll be back next month with the pictures. Next month! The days are flying by.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Vegetarian Comfort

Soup Day. I would love to have soup day around this house.
I only see one problem. The only soup Athena likes is Lipton Chicken Noodle. LIPTON CHICKEN NOODLE!
Me, I love soup. All kinds of soup. Cream soups. Tomato based. Pureed. Chicken soup. Tomato macaroni soup. Carrot Habanero soup. You cook it, I'll eat it. Well, no soup with pork. Or beef. Wait, I like Borscht so cancel that last one.

And then there is mushroom soup.So creamy, earthy, hearty.


And what is soup for supper without a little salad. Seared Haloumi Cheese with roasted red peppers. Drizzled with Olive oil and lemon.

And bread. Home made bread.



That's what I call Soup Day!

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Lending Library Love

Isn't it great that we have access to public libraries? All virtually for free? Well, maybe not for free if you count the home owners taxes that we pay.




But still. We would have a lot less money in our pockets if we had to buy every single book we thought we may be interested in. Much much wasted money.

How many times have you put a book on hold at your local library, only to find it was not what you were hoping for at all. If you are like me, many times indeed.


But just look at all the information we can get. For free! (Like I said, virtually for free)



We can cook. We can craft. We can learn. We can escape. We can simply be entertained.


And really now, who doesn't love the movie The Big Chill?