One year ago ... give or take a bit ... Genius asked out his girlfriend out for the first time. They went to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. It's a wonder they were able to stick together and not lose each other in the crowds ... but they managed and have now celebrated one year together.
For a memorable occasion, Genius took her to a lovely restaurant in Cloverdale called Elizabeth's Chalet for dinner. As the pictures show, they dressed for the formal event to make it even more special.
From there the went to Granville Island and attended a play called "Almost, Maine".
They enjoyed it immensely and came back saying it was a winner.
All in all the evening was a great success and gave them memories to cherish.
A few days after the Valentine's engagement, Dreamer was chopping vegetables for a casserole dish. All was well with the world as she peeled, and chopped, and minced while adding to the casserole.
And then she screams ...
"Oh, no. My ring is missing!"
*** Here I insert the fact that the ring was sized at 7 1/2 and Dreamer's finger is only a 6 1/2. It's amazing how one size can make all the difference! ***
Meanwhile back in the drama of it all ... Johnnie-Girl flies down from the second floor office and 'us three' go into action trying to find the missing, less-than-a-week-old engagement ring.
Fortunately Dreamer remembers seeing it on her finger AT HOME IN THE KITCHEN while chopping the veg. Fortunate, yes, as we had spent all that morning thrift store shopping and running one errand after another.
After about 10 minutes of frantic searching ... with much prayer for assistance from God Above, Johnnie-Girl miraculously fishes the ring out of the compost bucket.
Sticky and dirty and smelly ...
but the ring was found.
What a relief to Dreamer
Without a moment's hesitation she runs it up to her bedroom and places it in a secure place in her dresser drawer.
She comes back down to the kitchen and lays prostrate on the floor.
The last 10 minutes of her life had indeed paid its toll on her body.
As I type this post, Dreamer is on her way to the jeweler to have her ring sized down a notch. I heard her say that she would rather lose a finger by having the ring too small than to go through losing the ring again.
Tonight Johnnie-Girl is going to see a movie with a bunch of fellow fun-loving young adults. At their last 'get-together' it was reminisced how they had previously snuck an entire pie into the movie theater, divided it up onto plates and handed it out to their group.
Illegal ? - YES
but also daring and wildly diabolical
In an attempt to continue tradition, Johnnie-Girl baked up a big batch of contraband movie treats.
And being a smart young thing, it soon dawned on her that cookies do not last very long in this household. What's a girl to do?
A simply constructed warning sign was soon atop the cookies
It worked like a charm ... but did have us all wondering ...
For those who dare here is the recipe that she used. It has been modified slightly from the 'Company's Coming' cookbook entitled Cookies.
Oatmeal Chip Cookies
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 cups brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 cups rolled oats
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup medium coconut
Cream butter and sugar together. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Add vanilla.
Add remaining ingredients. Mix well. Drop by spoonfuls onto greased baking sheet. Bake in 350 F oven for about 8 to 10 minutes.
Makes 5 dozen
Important Note: The above mentioned cookies are POISON FREE
For the past few weeks I have been having great difficulty with a pinching pain in my right leg. It starts in my 'behind' ... (can I use that word in a blog?) and circles around my leg and ends on the bottom of my foot.
Ouch Big Time
Through some internet research by myself, I believe that I am having trouble with mysciatic nerve. Apparently it is the longest and widest nerve in the human body.
The pain is there when I sit, when I lay down, when I walk .... ouch ouch ouch ... and I can't seem to relieve it.
Friends and hubby suggested that I visit a massage therapist. And after putting it off for some time, I called this morning and luckily got in today. The health clinic recommended not to see a massage therapist but rather a chiropractor.
Now the first and last time I have EVER gone to a chiropractor was about 30 years ago. It was a scary and very painful experience. Although I don't even remember why I went there then, I do remember the sheer pain and the cracking of bones ... my bones.
The receptionist I talked with today, however, assured me that times have changed.
With fear and trepidation, I enter the health clinic.
The chiropractor is young ... about 35 ... but has a genuine smile. He was gentle and apologized for any pain he gave me all while explaining that he WILL get me better.
For modesty sake he gave me a large pair of stretchy shorts to put on. They helped to calm me down for the first while, but then he had to 'drop my drawers' exposing one 'cheek' to administer massage and then put on these electrodes (?) to stimulate the muscle. The electrodes felt good and then bad and then good and then bad as it buzzed away. Did I mention the need for a giant ice pack on my gluteus maximus? It was an experience for sure.
I go back to see him on Monday.
Despite the mooning requirement, I want to get relief.
A couple of times during the year, hubby and I head about 10 or 15 minutes south and check in to the Best Western Heritage Inn in Bellingham, Washington. For those of you that don't know, if you stay in the USA for 48 hours, you are permitted to bring $400 each worth of merchandise and not pay duty. That equals big savings for us.
Because we crossed the border at 6:30 pm ... 3 hours AFTER we had hoped to cross ... we were rather peckish. The extra 10 minutes to Bellingham seemed too far to travel before we could eat, so we drove up and down the main street of the little town of Lynden.
It was Friday night
and we couldn't believe that the whole town was asleep!
But lucky for us, a strip mall had one shop open ... the Fairway Cafe. If you are in the neighborhood, check it out. Big portions and friendly service.
Lynden is a Dutch community and so it is no surprise to see windmills spotted here and there throughout the town.
This one is lighted up and acts as a landmark for the the mall area.
After a hearty meal, we drive a few more minutes south and find our hotel. You would think that after the 10 or so times we have stayed at this hotel, I would have taken pictures of the pretty heritage exterior ... but no ... completely forgot again.
There's always tomorrow.
Each room has a handy mini fridge, microwave and coffee maker. We always bring bottled water while traveling and pick up a few items of fruit for snacks. I like to keep things cold in the fridge.
Of course the room features a big flat screen TV, and we checked out a few DVD from the check in desk. They even supplied microwave popcorn to make movie watching that much more fun.
Nice desk for your lap top with wireless connection. Don't you love the picture on the wall?
Now there is grand entrance I would like in my home!
The restroom was nice.
We so enjoyed the large shower.
At some time they must have removed a dated bathtub and lined the area with tile. Good idea.
And finally the personal toiletries. Quality ones too. Call me cheap ... YOU'RE CHEAP ... but I take home the unused soaps and shampoos. I keep a basket of such items at home to share with guests that forgot theirs.
Today is February 2011. Did I totally miss January? I can't even remember December ....
As I hold on while the world continues to spin faster, today it dawns on me that I forgot to tell you about a Christmas present I received the middle of December. Forgetting must be a old age thing ... But my present is totally state-of-the-art ...
Check out the tutorial videos on the AccuQuilt web site above, and you will be as wow-ed as I am.
In essence, it is a hand cranked cutting machine to accurately cut out classic quilt blocks
and cool quilt applique quickly and perfectly
They have many different 'dies' available, and although they are fairly expensive,
they are well worth it
I haven't taken any 'in action' photographs ... Accuquilt videos are much better anyway ...
but in a nutshell you place your layers of fabric (up to ten layers with the Studio model),
put a plastic sheet on top and then you crank it through the Studio in mere seconds.
Voila ... accurately cut blocks ready to sew ... and many have the dog ears cut off already!
For your information, they do instruct you to mark where the blades are on the dies with a Sharpie felt pen. And although black works, the metallic silver makes the pattern pop out of the die
and thus helps in proper placement of your fabric.
The 'picks' are used to pick out the occasional thread trapped in the blade groove.
The Studio came with one,
but for $4 at a local hardware store I picked up complete set as a back up.
This is my latest die ... Can you believe a fast and easy way to make Prairie Points?!
I hope to show how this works one day in another post.
And although the Studio is a new addition to my sewing room,
I thought that I would share with you an old friend.
This 'pleasantly plump' little sewing companion has been on my sewing room shelf for years.
One of my favourite things
is going through a car wash
... I know ... weird, huh?
Simple things for
simple minds I guess
During a 'road trip' to Chilliwack, we found this carwash. And because we found ourselves in a very dirty car, we followed the herd and entered the shoot.
As a side note, we ventured to Chilliwack to check out their thrift stores.
I had a list of stops, their addresses and a trusty GPS to get us there!
We had about a 20 minute wait ... if you can believe it ... to get suds-ed
and so I snapped a few pictures to keep entertained
Check this out ... Cloth Towel to wipe down the inside of your car
Armor All to nourish your interior dash et cetera
and Air Fresheners ... one vanilla scented
and the other New Car Scent ... CRAZY!
We insert our credit card in the rusted out WashWorld payment machine
We look on as the truck in front of us vanishes in the mist and spray
On a very cold winter January day, it is a wonder that we desire water to be any where near our vehicles.
I didn't get a picture, but there were icicles outside the car wash on other buildings
Suds-ed down and then ... I lost interest in him
Here is us when we entered the washing machine
Such cool patterns
Like watching a monsoon-type storm from the safety of your car
And then the peace that follows a storm ... with the back-drop of the clear mountains
There was talk ... even a warning ... and it came. Last night we received 6 - 8 inches of snow. And as snow is known to do ... it covered everything.
Hubby woke early in anticipation of driving Johnnie-Girl to work. Her little car does not fare too well in the stuff. But once she was out to the main road, away she went. I haven't heard otherwise, so I imagine she is fine ...?
It was early in the morning when I attempted some snow shots ... Being quite the amateur photographer, they didn't turn out too well. The lighted covered patio area , however, revealed this chilly sight ... Note to Hubby: The spray nozzle must be leaking.
In the afternoon there were pretty snowy fields to admire
We have this odd tree which holds its leaves waaaay longer than any leafy tree I have seen
Notice the leaves ON TOP of the snow!
Matty loves the snow and wouldn't sit still for a portrait
It may appear that I am favouring my third born, Johnnie-Girl, this week as I am featuring her a lot lately, but the fact is that I work with the material I am presented.
A few weeks ago, Genius offered to give Johnnie-Girl a face massage as she was overly stressed with university final exams and life in general. I should point out that Genius is considering an occupational change, and is leaning towards Massage Therapy. For fun he practices on us family members on occasion, and this was simply one of those occasions.
