Tigh-Na-Mara

Andy and I had our Christmas 'staff party' this past weekend. We joined up with my old employer for a joint party to make things a bit more fun. Littlest PK went to his Grandma and Grandpa's for his first sleep-over at their house. He had a great time playing and visiting with their guests and listening to music.

Us parents, well we had a romantic overnighter at Tigh-Na-Mara in Parksville. This is a lovely resort on the oceanfront. They do an amazing job of a buffet spread for dinner and the rooms are cozy and enjoyable.

A view from our room.

Green thumb

So last night I quietly placed a couple pots in the garage. Pots that held what once were thriving plants but now hosted shrivelled leaves of very dead foliage. So to make myself feel better about the whole cemetary in the garage I am posting this....proof that not only can I keep a plant alive but that I can in fact get an orchid to bloom...yes indeed these blooms are new and on a plant that I received as a 'please babysit this' from my Mother - I guess I'm doing an okay job seeing as it is still in my care.

Recalls, recalls, recalls

So one would think that a crib that is ten years old would be well past the recall stage....right.....WRONG.....yesterday I just happened to have a Times Columnist sitting at the end of the driveway (we don't get it delivered but occasionally it just shows up there) and I actually took the time to read some of it. So what just happens to be in the paper - a story about how Storkcraft has expanded it's recalls all the way back to 1993 on drop-sided cribs and as you can guess that means that little mans crib is part of this.

So on to their website, fill out the form and now we wait like thousands of others for the new conversion kit to arrive in the mail. In the meantime we hope that little man doesn't go crazy in his crib and break the parts that have been breaking......what do you think the chances are....;)

My advice to all.....periodically check the recall listings or even sign up for their email alerts.

Singing, Reading and my happy boy

So the Terri Clark concert was amazing. I saw her in concert several years ago when she opened for Brad Paisley in Vancouver - huge venue - very small person on a very far away stage. Now don't get me wrong - the concert was still great but compared to row F seats (that's right - the letter F is the 6th letter in the alphabet so you know what that means) in the small theatre here in Duncan it is hard to even compare the two. All I know is that I never want to go to a huge concert again after sitting that close to the stage.

On a reading note I have just finished reading Becoming Vegetarian . This great book was just jammed full of facts about food in general. I learnt a lot about vitamins, minerals, food combos, myths about protein amounts in foods to suppliments one needs to be taking at various times in life and why. I eat meat. I like the taste of meat. Not sure if I could entirely give it up but after reading this book I certainly feel like I could eat a lot more vegetarian meals and feel like I was safely fulfilling my families needs for all their nutrients. I borrowed it from Healthy Beginnings but would actually suggest having a copy on the shelf for reference.

And the happy boy.....well he must have gotten a sense of all the rain that has been coming down and was preparing himself because for some odd reason this is what he wanted to wear.

And wear it he did - proudly walking around the house in it for quite awhile - that's my boy!

Cruisin'

Days around here have been relatively quiet. Lots of indoor time due to massive amounts of rain. Littlest dude has been getting around (sort of) on his car. Here he is cruisin his car with his newest favorite "toy" - Daddy's tape measure - neatly stowed in the storage compartment - such a smart boy.

Bad news - he's got that croupy cough going on again - grrrrrrrr
Good news - I'm going to the Terri Clark concert tonight - yeah!!!!!!

Shit Happens

and flows everywhere when one's pump stops working.

We recently had to replace the septic pump for our shop as it burst it's seal and was not fixable. The guys had to tear up and then re-lay the pavers at the front of the shop. It gave Andy the perfect excuse for finishing off the other side though and now we know the tank is empty again so we should be good for a couple of years.

Spraying the dirt and mud off the pavers.

Always happy if it involves being outside and soaking wet.

And this is what I found in our crawl space. Littlest dude has this habit of wandering into the pantry and throwing things down the hole beside the hot water tank. Luckily only the pop cans had leaked. Amazingly no shattered glass bottles and not a drop of syrup oozing out of the blackberry syrup jar. I have re-stuffed the hole in hopes that will prevent him from doing it again....time will tell.

Found in old Day Timer

"Now is the time to enjoy trying something new."

To Love A Person

"When we love a person, we accept him or her exactly as is: the lovely with the unlovely, the strong with the fearful, the true mixed in with the facade, and of course, the only way we can do it is by accepting ourselves that way."  Fred Rogers

Slow cooking yumminess

I adapted a recipe for what was called "Welsh Honey Lamb" to the slowcooker and it turned out absolutely delicious. Even Andy said "This is good and I don't like lamb".

The recipe went something like this.

Take one lamb roast. Rub all over with pepper, salt, rosemary and ginger. Place in slow cooker. Pour over one cup of honey. Pour in 1 1/2 cups apple juice. Turn to low and cook for most of day. Add more juice if needed. Thicken sauce prior to serving.

We shredded the lamb and served it over slices of toast with a side of hot mixed veggies.

Yummy!

Trouble Maker

I think his plan was to see how much experimental trouble he could get into the last couple of days. It hasn't helped the he is still sick and on meds now and therefore just a tad on the cranky side or that I seem to be battling it as well (minus the ear infection) and therefore also on the cranky side.

So there was the painting with milk bottle - very artistic.

Then the unwrapping of Daddy's xmas present.

Keying Mommy's car......almost....he was remarkably close to getting it in.

And attempting to take Mommy's car for a spin.

So truth be told all the pictures above are the fun things he was captured doing. The trouble has been more the doing the exact opposite of what mommy has just asked and then laughing when mommy says no. As the saying goes "this to shall pass'

This picture captures the true spirit of our little PK.

Going so fast he's a blur and growing so fast it's a blur.

In the bedside basket

Patrick was so thoughtfully cleaning out my bedside basket. Bookmarks removed from books. Papers strewn about. The usual tornado effect. And at the bottom of the basket was another fortune cookie find.

"In life, you won't go far unless you know where the goalposts are."

Demolition Sunday

The boys were at it again this weekend. Sunday turned into a tear it apart day. They took out the fence that ran between the field and my vegetable garden. It is amazing the difference it makes to the backyard - the whole area looks 100 times better and as I don't have any plans to have animals in the near future it isn't like the removal of the fence is a big deal.

Trick or Trick

My super adorable little Panda on his way to Trick or Treat. I was quite surprised how activily he patricipated in the whole event. He carried his bag for some of it and didn't have any issues being in his costume. Even the fireworks went by smoothly and he seemed to find them quite facinating - only the odd tucking of his head to mine when there was a louder then average one. A night full of cheezies, hot dogs and milk - yum yum! Daddy and Uncle Todd tucked into the loot when little tired Panda got home from all the activities and saying his goodbyes to Grammie and Grampie as they head out to their southbound winter adventures.