Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Mixed Bag

I got my first order for buttons off to the derby contact, and then she wanted more. I got them all finished and then went to the clinic.
But before I got a cold, Shaun brought home this Date Coffee loaf, or maybe it's a Coffee Date loaf, from Cobs. I didn't know what to do with it. But then I channeled my inner Chopped addict and came up with what we now call "toasties". Not so creative name for a super yummy snack.
I sliced the bread super thin. Then I brushed it with melted butter and sprinkled it with sea salt.
I baked it until it was dry. I served it with cream cheese to Emily and her friend and they loved it. Weird, because neither likes coffee or dates. We've had it with brie, and cream cheese and roasted garlic. It's a keeper.
The night before my cold, we got our veggie bin. I decided to sign up again, we need some veggie inspiration. The tangelos were a huge hit. I opted for the large bin every other week.
The other new thing was the watermelon radish. Radish texture and taste, but not radish heat. We like it!
The doctor prescribed this giant bottle of cough syrup. It did the trick, the cough and snotty nose did not amount to the ear infection he said was on the verge of ruining my life. Maybe over exaggerating, but I've been sick 3 times in 4 months since I started working out in the world. Germs are not my friends.
I told Kerry to take that cupboard down, and he did. What difference!
I need to paint, but you can see sort of, how removing the cupboard opened up the kitchen/dining area.  Well, I can see it, the picture does nothing to really show you. I want to paint/remove the tiles. I hate them. I want new counter tops too, while were at it. But that will have to wait.
In the mean time, we'll eat white chocolate fudge, made with Bernard Callebaut chocolate.
I was inspired today by Donna Downey's poppy canvas album cover. So I made this canvas. It's almost 2 feet square. I think I will put it in the living room.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Rumor has it...

I cleaned my craft room. I'm hoping to have found the 'almost perfect' system for me to keep the space neat and tidy.
This is before....I'm a "Piler", if there's a clean surface, I cover it.
I' m a "Keeper", the bottles are for recycling, but I keep all kinds of things that I think I might use later. I hardly ever use them.
I'm a "Collector". I like stamps in sets, I like paper that comes in kits, full lines, and co-ordinates.

I'm not a "Hoarder". But I'm darn close.
This is between "before" and "after".


This is after....the new bookshelves, painted with way too many cans of spray paint, lesson learned. The drawers on wheels are cleaned off, one holds fabric and that isn't working but I haven't found the right storage yet.

Notice the recycling bin is full. I think I did a pretty good job of letting go of things I know I won't use. 
 The "to be sorted" box is small, and full. I figured if it's small, I can't put that much into it, and then I have to sort it before I can put more in. So far, I haven't sorted it. 



The other end of the room, I still want to clean up the shelf of albums. And the corner on the right. But so far, I'm pretty happy with it. I don't want to mess it up. 


It's winter again, or still, depends on who you ask. I think winter lasts till mid-March, but then again, I don't really pay attention. I just wish we'd go from this to green dry grass. 

This guy loves the snow. I haven't taken many pictures outside this winter. And when I do, what do I do, I cut his feet off, they are in the snow, but still....

He humored me with a few throws of the frisbee. He can stick it in the snow and then flip snow at us. I'm hoping it's just a fluke and not a new trick.


 These two didn't know who Skellator was, or He-Man, or 4 Non-Blonds, but they found this ridiculous video and sing and laugh like maniacs when it's on.  What's Going On, what it here, but be warned, it's ridiculous.  I've discovered after the Grammys that I like Adele, Bruno Mars, and Gotye. 

 $2 Valentine's chocolates!  I don't even like Ferrero Rocher, but Kerry does. One perk of working is finding out the deals beforehand. 
 This one's brother took her to see Woman in Black with Daniel Radcliffe. We knew that one or both of them would have a few sleepless nights because of it. She figures she slept a total of half an hour. Poor kid. They liked it, said it was good, had a story line. I am not going to watch it. Ever.


We have a busy year in the making....2 weddings in the family, 1 friend wedding, the anime convention, my 40th (still trying to decide what we are doing), mom and dad's 40th anniversary, and I'm sure much more that I have forgotten about. I can't wait for better weather!

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Organization 101


I must tell you I have not edited any of the following photos. I have what I'm sure is like tennis elbow, but it's in my finger, and it's not from tennis, it's from spray painting. Spray Painting Finger! And hand. So I don't feel like editing photos. We, and I use that term lightly, have been organizing like crazy. I have a fear that when I die, someone is going to have to come in and help Kerry clean up the mess I have left behind. I don't want that mess to be someone's last memories of me. And I bought 2 stamp sets and I can't get them on my stamp set shelf so something had to change.

My brother gave this shelf to my parents and I saw at Christmas that it was empty. Now it's in Shaun's room, it's almost the perfect size for his books. Addicted to Full Metal Alchemist? It totally bothers me that he's put them in upside down. I will speak to him about that!  Organization must please everyone.
 My cousin had a Tupperware party but I had a class so I couldn't go, but I did order a whole Modular Mates set! On sale!  Check out the Light Brite in the background, originally mine. I got it the year I found out Santa wasn't real (ooops, sorry ...  SANTA SPOILER), I remember being in the shopping cart at Sears with the Light Brite.  Anyways, it's now been passed through both kids and has been deemed unwanted by Kerry. I said "NO WAY! Use it to leave me nice little notes or something!" He didn't.
 I made up a recipe for spinach pie, not really quiche, but very yummy! Kerry says spinach tastes like dirt but he ate 2 pieces for dinner. Ricotta, mozza, egg whites, ham, and dog hair. Not sure I can replicate it.
 I thought, and may have been mistaken, that this would help me solve all my problems. It didn't. It made more problems. "Look Kerry, I need a $500 cork board, Martha says!"
 We had a weird snow fall last week, the snowflakes were actually snow rods.  Yes, my bird feeders are empty and my birds are starving, but so is the neighbourhood cat!
 The Old Spaghetti Factory opened and Heather and I went for lunch. It was okay. Not sure why everyone rants and raves about it. Then we went to Homesense and got so inspired that I almost swallowed my gum a few times.
 On Valentine's Day we had smoked brisket and it was probably the best one I've done. It had more fat than the other ones, which made it moister. I did it on the new bbq and that's the way to go! Go figure, it has a thermometer, where as the smoker just says something like "cold, warm, hot".  Kerry made apple crisp for dessert, I wanted to eat it all. I've not been having stomach issues and I'm not taking my pills.

 This dresser was left to us when we bought the house because the other people didn't want to move it. I started painting it and then stopped and never got started again. I decided to paint the drawers black and move the whole thing to the other end of the room. The photos are really bad.
I'm hoping to keep my Big Shot here, the dies are in a drawer below. My sewing machine and the serger will also find a home here. The black thing in the middle won't be staying there, it will go on my new shelves. They will be done in the near future. 7+ cans of spray paint because I thought that would be easier. I was wrong. I haven't even painted the sides all the way or the backs. Live and learn.
I'm working a lot lately, so I come home, paint like crazy, shower, and I don't sit down, otherwise I fall asleep and nothing else gets done. I have a deadline of Sunday afternoon. A friend is coming and we are brainstorming about her quilt she is going to make from her boys' baby sleepers.
Emily wanted to drive to Vancouver tomorrow, it's a pro day at school and for 5 seconds I thought we could do it. Then while I was at work, we got a dump of snow, and it's still snowing, I think we will check out oldnavy.ca tomorrow.