Stuff to Share

short & sweet...

I have posted photos on the side bar for all of you wonderful class takers....a juicy update soon!
Happy Day

short on words, long on photos...

My fridge on a clean eating day

...or not! It just so happens I made these wedding cakes for very special girl & my dear friend  Mary Lou who happens to be my neighbor. Clean eating means there was actually enough room in the fridge to put all 6 cakes!. OK, I did have to put some food in a cooler over night (wink wink). The beer was for decorating purposes...

(for me, NOT the cake!) It was a beautiful wedding and after all of this...

and a visit form Troy, our "Door Artist"...

  We just really needed a diversion to do nothing but this...

renos.have.been.very.long...  Everyone says they are coming along. We had the floor guy was out yesterday (oh yes, he agreed it is a bit of a mess & looking very PINK), Plan B is now in the works... Bobby our "Brick layer Extrodinaire" has been by a couple of times to review the fireplace situation and this I am NOT worried about (well, maye the WHEN)...The Plumer has been in to tell us all the things we can't do with the pluming (old house,big beams, blah,blah,blah) and The Electrician has gone AWOL... I think the cedar shakes have been the most frustrating part of the project...just so painfuuly slow will they ever be finished? They do look fantastic & I love the finish so is it worth it? we.sure.hope.so.
Life has been busy. crazy busy. You need to go here to catch up on Melissa, it's so nice to have she & Stephen here for a couple of months!
 Classes have started again & kits, & projects, lots of creativity like this going on...

and this crazy class where everyone made 25 cards in an evening, umm humm!

and two kits completed & a third in the works. This one...

and this one has been a real favourite...

and it goes on & on...
My sweet friend Kal and I have been talking apples...did you catch her garage sale...I sure did! And before we saw it coming, another school year began and I am already missing my friend :( 

I Can't wait until she is a TEACHER!!!!

Happy day!

9 things...

STRESSING me out.
1.Hurricane Bill causing waterfall down pours in my dining room, & office...
2.broken bedroom window & soaking wet carpet & bed from Hurricane Bill...
3.slipping on the kitchen floor while dumping water buckets FULL,frigging up my big toe & elbow...
4.having NO POWER & having every towel, blanket & tablecloth soaking up water from Hurricane Bill...
5.finding out my Sister in law has aggressive breast cancer, after already undergoing TWO major brain surgeries in her short life time...
6.finding out BOTH teenage boys are flat broke & supposed to move today...
7.not having my kits ready YET...
8.having "brook spot" in the honeycrisp...
9.having EVERY room in the house in total chaos...

To be GRATEFUL for.
1.Hurricane Bill is over & power is restored...
2.we have a shop vac &a carpet cleaner so things are getting DRY...
3.the washer & dryer are working OVERTIME...
4.the boys are MOVING today...
5.the kits WILL be ready by the end of the week...
6.we didn't lose any apple trees in the storm...
7.there is so little food in the house we can't stress eat...
8.friends like these to RETREAT with the end of Sept...

9.a recipe for my version of AUSTRALIAN SALAD to share :o)
SALAD

2 c. cooked Thai rice or brown rice or Quinoa
8 ears corn, cooked (remove corn from cob after cooked)
1-2 red pepper, chopped
2-3 green onion or 1/2 c diced red onion
1-2 c. cranberries or raisins or cherries or mixed fruit
1-2 c. pistachios or walnuts or pecans or hazelnuts
1-2 c. sunflower seeds
2 c. grated carrot
2-3 T. fresh parsley
combine & mix well (really, anything goes here!)

DRESSING
2 cloves garlic crushed
lots of fresh ground pepper
4 T. soy sauce, a GOOD one
Juice of one fresh lemon
1/4 c. olive oil
2 T. sesame oil (a must)
Make the dressing as soon as you decide to have this salad...
it stores really well & just gets better with age...like us :o)
You can also make the WHOLE salad a few days in advance & it's still yummy.
Another recipe to follow next post, the one I use for this...
I am still stressed out about #5. so if you could, hold  Jim,Cindy, Jake & Billy in your thoughts & prayers for us... working on Happy Day...

you'll need a big cup of coffee...

I promised to post this little book for Carol & Sarah quite some time ago... I love October Afternoon & this Little gem is no exception. The album will go up today....(* If you are interested I may have some of this paper & a few house books left, just email me at psarsfield@xcountry.tv) Summer has been consumed with bad weather, getting  the farm yard ready for a Little entertaining... before during... and have a look at this! Blake & his Dad cooked, cracked, & cleaned lobster for 147 "Orchardist types"... It was such a good day & such great people, really, in these difficult times there is still some positive energy out there. You just have to tap into it! It's moments like this I have to pinch myself to make sure my life is not just a dream...no worries, it only takes a second with two teenage boys to remind us that it is very REAL. Thank heavens for cold beer & a little of this! Blake finally had  the right TIDES, the right WIND, the right TIME, & the right Son in law (ok, so he only has one!) to have a Jamaica type Hobie Cat run in the Minas Basin! This really felt like our first day of summer.Honestly, it hasn't been a summer for the ocean up until now. Melissa & I were hanging out on the wharf at the farm, enjoying the breeze & a few "WooHoo" drinks (mine were "woohoo", hers were "I AM PREGNANT") The tide was on it's way in here &you can see we have a little clay beach going on... After a great run on the Hobie, we got to visit my favourite place to live in the whole wide world, from the boat! That's just the way it is & I can't explain it. Lets see... we were supposed to be on Holiday this past week & managed a day in the city to look at furniture....many hours in Blake's favorite furniture store . I think we're on our way to at least two comfy seats in the house! ...and then we ESCAPED. Green Bay was good for us. ONE day turned into TWO. Leave it to my BFF...Thank you Ria & Sean for some peace & much needed laziness. Yesterday we left the farm and headed for the shore where 99% of the time a breeze is there to cool you off a bit. It's another little piece of heaven, just so you know. We were puttering around, tidying up & Blake called me to see this. It's not the picture I would have hoped for but it was 30 or MORE (no "fish tale" here)  Porpoises right at our beach playing!!!  Can you believe it? I've seen them from the boat, usually 2-4  but NEVER this many & NEVER so close to home, it was amazing, really. The sad part? The tide wasn't in far enough for us to grab the boat & go play with them...ahh well, maybe they wanted it that way :o)  SO. By now you've switched from coffee to beer and there are a million other things to accomplish today... I have updated the reno pics... and this is the project all my Kit Girls are busy with for July. ...eek...I'm supposed to have another one ready this week! Coming up next? A recipe, another project & who knows, maybe some more on the renos! Oh Happy Day.

here we go...

Finally.today.we.have.some.sun. and our floors are being showered with sprinklers. While you're here,take a close look at this. The floor of our future great room...just needs a little polish don't you think?!? I am mildly excited:o) There is so much going on in my life right now I can hardly BREATHE...have you ever felt that way?  The cedar shakes are going to look pretty good too. The whole yard is in a shambles but hey, it's summer & we're at the shore as much as possible,right? RIGHT. I will post lots more in the album at some point, just wanted to move on to the other fun stuff that happens in July around here! You all know how much I love the kitchen and it's that time of year. Oh I love my strawberries! and the family loves strawberry jam... my favourite is raspberry :o). It's been so busy, cold, & not very summer like, needless to say we didn't make our trip here until yesterday... It's a comfortable place for Beth & I because when we were small, we made MANY visits here with Dad...lots of stories were told & there really feels like  some sort of connection for us (and,a little goofing around always helps, wink wink) We have A LOT of family that we love dearly here, so it usually takes a little while to say Hi to them all...
 It's nice to spend a little time with the living family too! Later I took a short walk to my garden, always nice to see if there will be any thing to eat sometime soon...I'm thinking beet greens! and before you know it we'll be diving into the hodge podge...oh my what a great time of year to eat healthy (We do have Mom & Dad to thank for showing us such a great appreciation for garden grown veggies...NOTHING compares... Happy day everyone.

who knew...

Mowing your lawn could be so traumatic? You all know my fear phobia of bees...in a rush to get the lawn mowed (a 4 hour job by the way), I was on the homestretch when a damn bee stung me IN THE EYE. Can you believe it? Some days I think we were just meant to STAY IN BED. THIS was one of them, just trust me on that ok? So.The Reno's are moving slowly, very slowly, which I AM expecting for the next months.Years? Regardless, I thought enough has happened that I should share a few photos with you. I did say we haven't done much since the MAJOR reno before we moved in, how many years ago? Hum-mm...hemlock isn't supposed to rot but guess what. Oh yeah Baby, a new veranda coming our way! Then there is removing all the vinyl siding. This house is going to look in rough shape for a LONG TIME. Bits & pieces done here, there, & every where! This will be the future great room & master bedroom... nice maze of in-floor heating, don't you think? And this will be the new entryway SOMEDAY. Future site of "the Curious Connection"? Lets just wait and see... This picture was taken from our current master bedroom... and the garage is coming right along (guys and their priorities!)  I do love the red roof :o) I'll post all the pics under Reno's soon... On to the fun stuff. Have a look at this!
Day 1 fishin'. in the new boat. 1 yummy mackerel caught by Fisherman Scott! Day 2 fishin'. Blake convinced me to go for the first time ever (usually there are so many that want to go it's always been easy to have them go without me... He really wanted me to check out this little boat & it was CALM in the bay (which is RARE), so off we went. A moment of surprise...We are getting lot of bites! and so the story goes "we had the best time ever"!!! The downside was the fish we caught were mostly herring (messy messy messy) & just so you know how messy... They.were.messy. The good news is, it was so fun I went out with Him again last night & we actually caught LOTS of mackerel. Now THAT makes for a HAPPY DAY :o)

renos as promised...

I can't believe this is happening but wow,it really is! Everyone keeps asking why are we adding on now that the kids are almost gone? (some days I say THAT won't be soon enough). I can't really explain it other than we've been talking about building a new house & this just seemed to make more sense for right now. I like the idea of not having to start over with all that landscaping... When we moved here, the only green around this 200 year old home was a lilac bush & some asparagus fern...not ONE tree. Nope. Not one... We planted  the maple trees after we moved in (19 years ago) & they are finally starting to recover from kids mowing (I am smiling, seriously I am). There are flowerbeds here & there and some beautiful ash trees (thanks Fred) and even some evergreens now...it just feels like home, this old house with it's low ceilings & rock foundation...(exposed like this) you can see where the mice have found a way in!!! I'm not ready to leave it yet. Nope. Not Yet. So, having a living room seems like a pretty good idea, you know, one separate from the TV room! (which will ge here)  And actually using the garage for the car instead of junk, is starting to appeal to us more & more. (here's the beginning of the red shingles!)   I already love my kitchen & this reno will mean a little more room in the studio.(don't you think I need to get this mess cleaned up?)  So you see, a reno just makes sense. Enjoy our adventure, I'm sure there will be lots of tales to tell!  Happy day.

I am missing my BFF...

Just tell me if you saw her hanging out with HIM again... I lost her for about 2weeks when she read the series... We took this picture while we were in NC, don't they make a cute couple?!? Seriously, shes in England & won't be home until Sunday...two weeks is a long time...I really miss him too... (Rhys, NOT those big boys,LOL)... They went to visit Sean's Dad & then off to Belgium to see the cousins , then back to London. They are both such a big part of my daily living, it always seems a little quiet when they are gone... Anyway. I had Ria's name last month for Bookclub, she had given me a kit so it was my job to do something with it. It didn't take long for a few fun things to come to mind with the great stuff she shared   You know, you can't have too many moleskins to journal in...and she so loves Owls this year :o) ( I made two !) I also made two of these little note books...she will be one stylin' teacher when she graduates next year. This was actually the book I made for me,( room for just one more hint hint!), I gave her hers before I took any pictures of it. And just for the record, (and totally off topic). If you don't already have your "Ya Ya sisters" to visit at least once a month, go make the effort to find them...life is just so much better when it's shared with friends! & on that note; I'm heading to the Hot Tub with my Honey... Tomorrow? I'll share some RENO pics...there is STUFF going on here! Happy Day Everyone

things to do on a sunny day...

Wake up to watch this little guy from your kitchen window!Think about planting the rest of your flowers, or get a few things done around the house! Life is pretty busy but I did want to share this little photo experiecne I had a few weeks ago. It all started in the rhubarb patch. You can imagine the excitement with this discovery...I decided I would keep vigil over this nest for the next little while & leave the rhubarb alone (we did squeek out one rhubrab crisp that was delicious!). The next day I discovered this! How crazy is that...I couldn't believe my luck! So naturally I had to go back again... Look at all those little "peeps"! I had to keep going back( just a bit OCD you know!)  and finally... I went back a few days later & everything was gone... We did a little investigating & the birds ended up being grackles ( no ones favourite in theses parts, probably no ones favourite in any parts!) but , I can't help but wonder what happened? So, life goes on... Today? I'm going to plug away at my studio...it is a disaster...I have kits to make up, bookclub homework to do,class album to finsh, garden to weed, groceries to by, and maybe a load of laundry or 10...what's up for you?

Happy Day.

8 +2...really

Just when you think life needs a little pick me up, something wonderful happens, I continue to be surprised by joy... I had to make a project for Melissa this month (in our book club without a book: aka Pages of 8+2) & I made this little book that I think just might come in handy for her documenting the next few months! Any guesses what the special delivery might be??? Lets just say pages of 8+2 was down one and soon we won't be!!! Gotta love it :o)
Happy day.