Tired of Drab

Isn't it amazing how gray days, busy schedules, the onset of a cold, and drooping eyelids from restless sleeping can tax a person's outlook.  Yep.  I confess.  This is me.

I'd sure like it to be Spring for REAL, not just pretend Spring as we seem to be having of late.  I enjoy when the weather is permanently warmer, the days are longer, my commute to work is in the daylight, and planning for summer is much more exciting.  So, to pass the time until Spring really arrives, I find myself pondering the specifics of how to get through dull moments, dreary days, and finding a moment or two of bliss in a busy day.

Photo: Lucy @ Attic 24

I sometimes wander around blogland to find articles and meet people who brighten the more bleak  days.  I especially find inspiration, along with many others, at Attic 24 where Lucy comes up with lovely, brightly coloured crochet projects, and shares beautiful photos from her day.  This photo (above) is from a recent post of hers.  She seems to have a way of making everything enjoyable, sunny, and fun.  Just the sort of sunshine a person needs!

There is a pond across the road from our house, a great way to mark the changing of seasons. Yesterday I saw our two resident geese waddling and resting here and there on the snow and ice still present.  Today they are nowhere to be seen.  I don't blame them for finding shelter, our crazy weather makes me want to stay inside as well!  I enjoy looking out at the pond to see what the day has brought.

We had thick, claustrophobic, choking fog over the weekend, then a sunny day, then overcast and a winter chill to catch your breath, and just now it's sunny again.  Goodness!  I think Mother Nature needs a natural remedy for mood control!  The geese will hopefully return when things are a little more even-keel in the weather department.

In my last post I reminisced about comfort food... >> Mmmmmm, waffles <<...... Is there such a thing as a comfort activity?  Or is this what are considered hobbies?  I definitely have a few of those, and I think napping/sleeping is near the top of my list!  Not in a lazy-person way, I just love my bed and the feeling of being all cozied up in my covers in the "sweet spot" of my dreamland.  This pillowcase was made extra-specially for me (how's that for grammar!?) by my Mom for my birthday this year.  I happen to like Superman because of his Canadian roots (Yes! Did you know Superman is half Canadian?). It's a particularly fabulous pillowcase for one of my favourite comfort-activities.

Recently, I was at our local kitchen supply store and found this shelf of brightly coloured, over-achieving water bottles.  Yes, over-achieving.  They are not only water bottles, they are citrus fruit juicers too.  How amazing of an idea is THAT!?  The bottom unscrews to reveal the pointed tip of a citrus juicer.  You cut your lemon, orange, clementine, grapefruit, or lime in half, press out the juice, put the bottom back on, then turn the bottle over and take the cap off to fill the bottle with water.   I had Christmas money saved up for something special, so that bright pink one right in the front came home with me!  I have refilled it 5 times on the same half a lemon!  Love it!  A delightful, refreshing, day-brighting way to drink more water!  Find your new water-bottle love at www.zinganything.com.

There you have it, a few ways to pass the blah days.  Visit your fave blogs, regard nature and enjoy the pleasantry of its changes, spend some time at your favourite comfort activity, or brighten your day with a new, healthier lifestyle splurge.  

Here's to sunny summer days coming soon....  Well, hopefully soon.  In the meantime I'm going to take a nap with Superman!

Sunday Morning Comfort Food

Everyone has that special, homey, favourite food.  Isn't it funny how food can be such a detriment and also a comfort at the same time!  Whatever the case, food enjoyed with my family is definitely a favourite "pastime" of mine.

Our family favourite for a weekend morning involves some preparation, but is totally worth it!  When I was very young my Dad used to make Belgian waffles from scratch.  Eventually it became a tradition and today my sister can make them without a recipe!  Much better than me - I still need the ingredients list!  When we go home to visit Dad, the Sunday morning breakfast menu is a given.

There are several items that are mandatory for Sunday morning comfort food - fruit, whipped cream, butter, and 100% pure Canadian maple syrup - none of that fake stuff in this household!  Once the egg whites are whipped and gently folded into the waffle batter, we wait for the steam to stop escaping from the waffle maker.

While the waffle goodness is wafting through the kitchen, we prepare all the other items and set the table.  The chosen type of fruit for the morning gets prepared and the whipped cream ingredients are thrown together and whipped up in readiness for meeting the delicious waffles.

Mr. Confessions loves to perfect the waffles every time we make them.  It's great!  What was once a tradition from my childhood has now been carried over into my own family as an adult.  My Dad made the waffle-goodness, and now Little Miss Confessions's Dad does too.  Usually there is a certain amount of cinnamon and vanilla involved - flavours we love, so the "certain amount" is more than the amount listed on the recipe every time.

And then, it's time to indulge! My mouth waters even as I think about it now.  This particular waffle wonder is covered with pears, then whipped cream, then maple syrup, and, after a tasty bite-sized morsel has been cut, a piece of bacon is added for a heavenly mix of sweet and salty.  Wonderful!

What are your comfort foods?  I know everyone has to have something they love to eat, and chances are they are not as elegant and complicated as this (my mom likes bologna sandwiches, or meatloaf, or buttery pan-fried mushrooms - see, simple food, but just the same effect).  My other personal favourite is Thanksgiving Dinner - I know!  Not too high maintenance in the meal department! 

Here's to a relaxing weekend ahead - maybe it will involve waffles!

Heather

Wallpaper Delights

Recently I went away for a weekend of girlfriend crafty fun with some old friends and new ones.  I took only a handful of creative projects to work on since I know I always seem to "over pack" in the project department for this type of getaway and then I feel defeated when I don't accomplish as much as I wanted to.  And look what was waiting for me when I got there!  My mum had called ahead and made arrangements for flowers.  Beautiful!  The drink is from her as well - I think it will take me the rest of the year to finish it!

I planned ahead in order to avoid the "accomplishment guilt" (or lack thereof).  I brought two main projects, a computer task, and a "spare" just in case.  I had some computer work to do, but unfortunately it required brain-power, of which I apparently had none that weekend!  I did get it started, but had to leave it for another day once I realized I was spending more time staring at the screen than actually editing and working on the project!  On to better things I say!

With that in mind, out came the dollhouse.  It was quite the talk of the weekend!  Most of the other ladies were working on scrapbooking or card making, so me with my wooden structure and comments of hardwood flooring got a bit of attention.  The work the ladies completed was quite amazing - a very talented group indeed!

My first task was to decide on the wallpaper and figure out which design would go where.  I found this pad of scrapbooking paper at Michael's and used the coupon to get it at a great price (hooray for the coupon!).  There were two main problems: 1) the papers came in pairs, not enough to cover three walls. 2) there were too many to choose from making the decision a difficult one.  I had to "call in the the troops" (i.e. consult the other ladies) to figure out what would work the best.

Once the paper was chosen, then I decided it was high time to get that hardwood floor installed.  A very special type of wood known to children enjoying a summertime snack, and crafty parents making easy activities for kids - popsicle sticks!  A fabulous idea I found floating around Pinterest as well as over at Cinderella Moments.  Let the installation begin!

I measured out how the sticks would fit across the floor in the right-hand room (which will be the bedroom).  Since the doors and windows are not yet installed I had to be precise about space and measure how much room the door jam would take up.  I had a door for another (future) project handy,  so I used it to figure things out.  I discovered a slight issue - see that tiny dark space right up against the wall...  Yep, that's the sliver of a popsicle stick that is required to fill the gap.  Yikes!  That's some precise cutting!

Needless to say, I decided to leave it for later and acquire the assistance of Mr. Confessions and his professional tools.  The wood is complete except for the few pieces up to the door that will need to be sorted out because of the tiny crack.  Mr. Confessions will also have to trim the floor boards for me (unless I can find the saw myself....).

In this instance Gorilla Glue was my best friend!  Holy moly is that stuff fabulous for wood!  A few days before the retreat I used the Gorilla Glue to make a tiny shelf for my special house - seriously, the best wood glue around!  I have to do some sanding on the shelf and add some more paint, but I love it already!  The flooring won't be coming up or shifting any time soon - it's stuck for good!

After the flooring was as finished as I could get it, I moved on to applying the rest of the wallpaper.  I started with white clue, but quickly realized that was not really the best method.  A fellow retreat goer and friend suggested trying her double-sided scrapbooking tape - MUCH easier and way more effective!  Thanks Janie for the great idea! (Yes, that is Superman helping with a bottle of peppermint essential oil through the window).

We decided that having the two side walls as matching paper and the back wall as a complimentary paper was the best route. The bedroom has pink walls, a very shabby chic beginning, while the main part of the house (kitchen, dining, sitting) is mostly green - quite the springtime colour scheme.

That's all for now on my dollhouse project.  I have to decide what to do with the flooring in the main part of the house and wait for the doors and windows to arrive.  All sorts of creative ideas are popping into my head about decor, paint, style of fabrics, and of course what I will do to make all the tiny accessories...  I'm feeling some teeny-tiny crochet coming on!

Until next time!

Heather

Fishing for Adventure

It seems that Mr. Confessions has been "forced" into a new hobby.  Fishing!  Last year for his birthday he received a new rod and reel and has since been slowly acquiring tackle and other equipment.

Last year we tried several times during the warmer months to catch something, but so far haven't managed to hook a single thing.  When we were disappointed that the snow had started to fall, we put the fishing gear away until the summer months arrived in 2015 (all 2 of them!).  And then, it happened!  That moment you get a brainy idea as if from a dream or a momentary wondering of the mind - ice fishing!

And yes, we are just crazy enough to try it!  Our first attempt was a gorgeous, sunny, warm (for winter) day at the very beginning of the year - that's right, New Year's Day.  We took our gear, a new ice fishing rod from Santa, snacks, chairs, and a sled along with our fishing friend out to the lake a couple of hours NW of home.

The lake we were at has mostly perch, which was the goal.  We don't have anything fancy in the way of equipment so Mr. Confessions gets a workout with every whole we have to drill.  Another father with three boys showed up and chose a spot a ways away from us shortly after we had chosen our spot.  He had a power auger that made us all stare in amazement - I'm sure we all resembled the staged hollywood eye-popping-stare.  He had four holes drilled in the time it took us to get half-way through the ice on ONE hole!

It was an amazing day!  The weather was perfect, not too cold.  The sun was shining.  And, once again, we didn't catch anything, but we made some great memories and plans for the next trip.  We've been out since New Year's Day, but still no catches.  There is still some time before the season closes for the weeks of spawning, so here's hoping!

In the meantime, I'm sure I can find something creative to sink my fingers into!

Until then

Heather

New in Life

May of 2012 is a long three years ago.  The time, looking back, seems like ages ago.  Sometimes when we reminisce, the memories seem like only yesterday, but not in this case.  It appears that time has no lag in my life, unless I'm waiting for something exciting - then time takes forever!  Events and activities seem to fly past and before I know it 72 months are stacked up like a pile of old loose-leaf papers and bills I hardly remember.

So, what exactly has happened during this time off from blog land? Many health concerns, a couple of jobs, a camping trip or two, and very little in the way of creative expression.  Little Miss Confessions is now eight years old and a smarty pants who enjoys many forms of being creative herself.

Here are a few photos from the past year to catch you up.  Above is Little Miss Confessions helping with Spring yard work in 2014, and the first photo below is our little pup Chloe who is now five years old keeping us on our yard work schedule.

In May of 2014 I bought a vintage 1979 Trillium travel trailer.  It is perfect!  A delight to camp with and easy to pack-and-pull to any little campsite we desire!  Last year out first trip was a local one in a small campground by one of the major rivers.  It was beautiful.  We then ventured out of province during the summer for 10 days and it is now my favourite family vacation so far.

Campfire shrimp jambalaya - delicious!  We had so much fun camping last year, this meal was my favourite to make and it was certainly the most delicious to enjoy.  A mix of zucchini, yellow pepper, carrots, and mushrooms sautéed with salt and pepper shrimp in a cast iron pan over a smokey, hot, open campfire flame.  A party in the mouth!

Little Miss Confessions had a blast at our family friend's engagement party playing on their inflatable water slide.  I have no idea how many rounds she went for the giant splash at the bottom, I think I lost count after I stood too close and got soaked myself!

Above Mr. Confessions at our local fishing spot teaching Little Miss Confessions the ropes.  It was a warm, breezy summer evening to be out by the water.  No bugs, but also no bites.  Oh well, the memories are what matter.

During the Fall I took a (very long) road trip with friends to Utah.  This was the amazing view for many miles as we passed through Idaho.  Chasing rainbows indeed!  Eventually we convinced the driver to pull over so we could take a few pictures, quite the task since we were on a tight schedule.  The trip is approximately 16 hours by car and passes through some of the most amazing landscapes in the American Northwest - oh, and of course some boring Canadian prairie. >>laugh here<<

After our 2014 adventures, we enjoyed Christmas together, quietly, as a family.  December is usually busy with festive activities and events to attend, but this year was a bit more on the slow side of things, a welcome change from the norm.  Not too much in the way of creativity (as I mentioned before), but at least I remembered to use my camera!

Enjoy your day!

Heather

Creative Again

I see that it was 2012 when I last posted here.  I've long been wanting to make regular updates on life as it happens in my world, but it just has not been feasible. Much has happened in the last several years and maintaining a blog just seemed like "one more thing" on the list instead of an enjoyable, creative, way to have fun and express myself... In other words, it was more like work. Yikes!

Our lifestyle is still very busy, and I am not making any guarantees, but since I really miss writing, sharing, and being creative in the bloggy sense, I'm going to make a sincere attempt to be present here.

So, what is my most recent creative endeavour?  For many years, as in many many, I have wanted to make a dollhouse.  Have you seen some of the amazing houses out there?  A favourite blog of mine where lots of dollhouse ideas happen is Cinderella Moments by Caroline Dupuis.

This is one of Caroline's newest creations, almost entirely made from scratch - isn't it amazing!?  I hope that mine is as authentic as her lovely houses!  Check out her blog for more great pictures inside and out of this house and others.

Here are the beginnings of a first attempt at making a dollhouse.  Thankfully Mr. Confessions is good with the tools so after I drew my little "sketch" he put the saw, clamps, and glue into action.

We had a warm day of sunny weather, so Mr. Confessions got to work.  He measured out the pieces, cut templates for the windows and doors so they could be added to the walls, and then tracked down the Gorilla Glue and clamps to put everything together.

All the walls are together, just waiting for the glue to dry.  I have to order the doors and windows.  I like the mom-and-pop shop The Little Dollhouse Company in Toronto, Ontario.  I had a chance to visit there several years ago and was overwhelmed by the selection, ideas, and the great help from the staff. Once the glue is set and there are some decorating details added, the windows and doors will go in.

Here's to new beginnings and an enjoyable creativity that I can work on with my family and share with my bloggy friends.  At some point I'm sure there will be other creative projects to list here, but for now I'm keeping it simple and manageable.

Until next time!

Heather

Blogger's Award

How wonderful to be honoured by a fellow blogger!  I know many writers out there prefer "award free"  blogging, but I will admit - I'm not one of them.  It's wonderful to hear from everyone in comments, and even more special when a reader passes on a special sentiment that they appreciate you and your blogging activities.

 

I was awarded the Liebster bloggers award from Colleen over at "Colleen Quilts Too".  Thank you Colleen!

 

The Liebster Award (German for favourite) is for bloggers with 200 followers or less. As a recipient of the award, you have the chance to thank and link back to the blogger who gave it to you as well as pass it along to five other deserving blogs.

The Liebster Conventions says that:

1. Thank your award presenter on your blog and link back to him/ her

2. Copy and paste the award to your blog

3.  Present the Liebster Award to 5 blogs that you think deserve to be recognized

4.  Let them know by leaving a comment on their blog

5. Have faith that your follower will spread the love too.

 

Here are my five blogland choices:

My Left-Handed Musings: Amanda is somewhat new to blogging, but not new to writing.  She is heartfelt and expresses herself well in her posts.  I enjoy reading what she is up to and her new adventures.  She doesn't have a specific hobby or craft behind her blog, just an everyday gal with an honest approach to how she makes her way through each day.  She doesn't have many followers yet, but has stuck with it, so I encourage you to have a read!

Calculating Quilter: With a math background, Wendy approaches quilting with pizazz!  She has a fabulous hand for stitching and some beautiful finishes in her quilting album.  Stop by her blog and have a browse at her photos and expressive writing.

Collector With A Needle:  Gorgeous photos and fabulous, unique patterns!  Dawn has a beautiful collection of photos on her blog and seems to capture the best of all her projects and travels.  She finds favour in many of the same things that I do - heirloom stitcheries, maison sajou, antique things, vintage charm - all lovely!

In Stitches With Bonnie: A fabulous quilter - both the piecing part and the quilting part, Bonnie has been blogging for quite some time now and has some great ideas for keeping your stash under control.  Definitely worth a visit!

Stitch. Bake. Run: I found this lovely lady only recently, and have enjoyed much of her adventurous spirit, writing, cooking, and quilting craziness.  I am in no way a marathon runner, but somehow, Kasey makes it all look easy and worthwhile.  Visit her blog for some inspiration!

Thank you again Colleen and happy reading everyone!
Heather

Wacky In The Weather Dept

I know that "They" say it is officially spring, but somehow living near the Rocky Mountains negates any claim to spring weather.  Now, I understand that weather is an ever changing entity and can only be classified as normal, at least around here, when it changes frequently.  BUT, when is enough actually enough?  I mean, really?!

On Saturday morning we had the pleasure of sleeping in a bit.  Initially I thought it was because everyone was over-tired and needed the rest, but then as I rolled over in my comfy bed and glanced over at the window, I realized that it was well into the morning and it was only dark in the room still because of all the SNOW caked like stucco to our bedroom window!  Goodness!

After slowly making my way downstairs I realized that any trip into the city we were planning for the day would either need to be cancelled or seriously re-thought.

Once I located the camera, I figured I'd better take some pictures while I had the chance.  Unlocking the back door was the easy part, getting it open - not. so. much.  A good 4 to 6" had fallen and blown around right at the pediment and a hefty shove was needed.

Golf ball clumps can be seen better if you click the image.

Then, when I actually could see outside, I realized WHY there was so much snow!  It was falling in flakes  clumps the size of golf balls!  It hadn't been snowing all night, just the morning hours, and look how much had accumulated already!

Thankfully it also melted quickly and now, being Tuesday, it is only in the North-facing shaded spots and under bushes.  The plants around here have learned that a few days of +15°C means nothing in terms of summer weather arriving soon!  And thank goodness for that or my early budding plants would be toast!

Hopefully things are blooming and green where you are!  Obviously things are a little slow around here in that department, and it doesn't help living in visual range of the mountains!

Heather

A Doll-maker's Giveaway

Many of you know my love of vintage dolls from my posts about Gail Wilson and her wonderful creations.  Well, this evening while browsing through blogland I found a GORGEOUS doll kit being given away at "Loir".

If you too like these gorgeous creations, stop by and enter her draw before May 12th.  The blog is originally in Russian, so if the link above doesn't work (it is the English version through Google Translate), use the translate function on the right side of her blog. 

Good luck!
Heather

One More Try At This

Somehow, time has been my enemy these past weeks.  Time and the Canadian health system that keeps sending me home - but that's a rant on a whole different topic!  As I'm sure you've all guessed due to my lack of posting here, I have been back down the lee side of the slippery slope and into the hospital a couple more times.  However, now things are looking on the bright side - again, and I am hoping it stays that way!  

The 2nd last visit to the ER was enough to have my Mom fly out here from across the country and give us a hand around the house - such a blessing!  I think she did laundry for the first three (or more) days, and didn't complain once.  She cleaned the house up spik-and-span and made sure I was left alone to sleep and not move as much as possible.  She left for home this past weekend, a little leery of the unknown in my health situation, and hoping that she wouldn't here a couple of days later that I'd relapsed again.  So far so good Mom!

In the few hours here and there that I felt half way to normal, I managed to finish my Grandpa's quilt!  Hooray!  I even managed to get it quilted over at Mrs. Friendly-Neighbour's house on her mid-arm quilting machine.  It was a TON of fun!  I have only ever played on long arm machines at the quilting shows and crafty fairs, so to actually use one and quilt my own quilt was very satisfying!  I think I did not too badly for my first time ever!  My Mom sewed the binding no for me and now I just have to label it and do the hand stitching of the binding before I drop it in the mail.

Clockwise from 12-noon: Indigo Stars from Jo's Little Women Club (12" square), Mini 9-Patch from Jo's Little Women Club (12" ish square), 16-patch made from my 1.5" squares scrap jar from a pattern by Shuna Talbot (about 14" square).

The two quilts on the right just need the binding hand-sewn down.  The right-most is from Jo's Little Women Club and all the fabrics are Jo Morton's.  The postage stamp quilt was made as Leaders and Enders from squares out of my 1.5" squares jar and is all reproduction fabric from the late 1800's (14x11").

Along with the quilt for Grandpa, I also convinced my Mom to sew on binding for several other of my longest-time-in-the-UFO-cue-EVER small quilts.  Now they are all finished too!  I added captions to the photos so you can tell what the projects are, and as usual, click the image to get a much better view!

Now, as before, I will likely be spending my time playing catch-up around the house, but since the cleaning fairy actually DID arrive this month (in the form of my mother from across the country), I will have a bit of a reprise on the heavy duty items, so I am crossing my fingers that I can post much more frequently now and get back to a normal blog-life!

Blessings in the meantime!
Heather

Back Into The Swing Of Things

My goodness has it been a rough several weeks!  Just when I thought I was doing better, exhaustion set in!  However, this past week has been very promising and things are definitely looking up.  The trouble with that is, of course, everything else that has fallen behind while I have been out of commission gets first dibs on my time...  And that means that all you lovely folks in blogland get the remnants.  Sorry about that.

Snuggling with Chloe on my sick-bed (aka: the couch).

However, today has been my best day so far, and I even had enough energy and spring in my step to clean the kitchen, do two loads of dishes, make a full breakfast for my dear Mrs. Neighbour-Friend who was feeling under the weather this morning, tidy up and clean off all the counters, visit the post office, AND...  Are you ready...  Now please make sure you are sitting down since this next statement may cause a moment of faintness and we don't want your loveliness to hit the floor...  AND...  I was working on cutting and assembling several quilting projects in my crafty room!

Click any photo to see a bigger, brighter, clearer version.

I KNOW!!  Are you cheering too!!??  Oh goodness does it feel fabulous to play with fabric again!  It's been way too long.  Now, don't get me wrong, I really do enjoy yarny things and playing hooky-hook, but quilting is my favourite.  And what exactly have I been up to?  Well, I know you're dieing to see!

The courthouse steps I am working on is a Jo Morton pattern from a magazine and I am having a blast sewing it all together.  My cutting table certainly looks a bit disastrous in this photo, however it is really very organized!  The left pile is all 1" medium and dark fabric strips, and the right pile is full of 1" light strips.  Every fabric in the quilt so far, and all the fabric in my two Mount Stripmore piles are all Jo Morton's produced by Andover fabrics.

The quilt is made up of 144 courthouse steps blocks.  I am assembling them in "16-patch" sections with no-two-fabrics-alike in each segment, which means I need nine 16-patches to complete the top.  I finished another set of blocks and now just have to sew them together to make the 16-patch segment.

Last week I got a message from my sister that our grandfather has been moved into a care facility.  He is a fighter and a crazy old Dutchman, so I'm hoping he doesn't feel too cooped up there after being quite the outdoorsman for most of his life.  I decided to make a charm-pack quilt for him using Kansas Troubles fabrics.  The little booklet of quilt patterns from This & That is a great one for easy, quick, charm-pack patterns.  I am making the one on the front, but without the applique since I don't have the time for it right now.

I have everything ready to go.  Fabrics chosen, cut, sorted and colours figured out.  I had a hard time finding the right border fabric, but I think what I ended up with will work well.  The shops in my area don't sell Kansas Troubles very often and I had to go with a very similarly toned Buggy Barn instead.  You'll see it when I get the top assembled.

Since I was on a cutting spree, I thought I would cut some of the pieces needed for the current small quilt challenge on Kathleen Tracy's Yahoo Group "Small Quilt Talk".  It's a darling little nine-patch and all I had to do was cut 2" squares from various lights and darks as well as four 5" light squares.  There are some other pieces that have to be added, so they'll come together when I assemble the blocks.

For now, that's all the productivity I have to show you.  I still get tired easily and have to have a nap at some point during the day - even 30 minutes is helpful.  But as the to-do list gets dwindled down, I'm hoping the tiredness will do the same!  Thank you to everyone who has emailed, written, and phoned to wish me well, send prayers of better health and comfort, and offer your encouragement.  Dare I say I'm finally on the mend without "jinxing" it?!  Good thing I don't really believe in that sort of thing!

Happy stitching everyone!
Heather