snickerdoodles

lily of the valley...

The ornament of a house is the friends who frequent it.

                                     Ralph Waldo Emerson

    The writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson take my breath away.  For years I have used his quotations in my work, along with a few other faves like Joseph Campell, Anais Nin, and EInstein. 

  As an homage to ole Ralphie we gave Ryan the middle name Emerson.  I suppose Ryan could have been Ralph but that name brings back memories of Happy Days and the Ralph and Potsy characters.  There are some noble Ralphs out there like Ralph Lauren, but I am happy with our Emerson choice.

I just finished the tidy up after having about twenty friends for dinner. I served a simple pasta with pesto, bacon and fresh parmesan and corn on the cob.  Smoked salmon, edamame and a chocolate fondue for desert.  Friends brought salads, roast chickens, pakora and pie...it was a feast.   We hosted the dinner in honor of a dear friend, Kelly, who recently moved to the city.  She was a fine ornament in our home and is missed. 

The night whizzed by and I failed to take a single picture.  I did get great joy though from looking around and seeing friends eating, laughing and relaxing in our home.  The last few months we've been rather anti-social.  Hubie works way too much and the Birch Hill build has eaten up my extra energy.  Tonight was a good reminder of what we were missing out on and to make welcoming friends in to eat with us a priority.

Besides the fine folks we had to decorate our abode this evening I wanted to share some little vignettes I threw together that feature a prize find...lily of the valley. 

Yes, I found a patch and will be harvesting it often in the coming weeks.  Wafts of the glorious scent drift through our rooms and it makes me smile everytime I catch a whiff.

 

The decoupage candle holder is one of my wee projects.  You can find  decoupage instructions  here, under our make & take category.  Pieces already made are also available in my Etsy shop at www.snickerdoodlelife.etsy.com  .

 

I actually pulled this unusual vase out of my donations box and it makes the perfect holder for these tiny flowers...so glad we hadn't dropped off the box yet!  My hoarding habits come in handy often when I am decorating.

Working at Patina Home Interiors these past few days inspired me to re-work some of my decor that was getting a bit stale.  I have had the same green reeds in this peanut-shaped vase for over five years.  On Saturday I found these branches at the florist for $10.  They are smooth and bare like beach wood.  I loved the light bleached look but it was lost in our space so I sprayed them a very dark mat green/brown.  Now I need to add a bit more, I am thinking of trying some sheer fabric flowers I saw in Martha Stewart.  Any make & takers out there for this project? 

Let me know and I'll get the supplies and we can work together.

fight fridge stink...

    Everyone once in a while I like to get super low on groceries...you know when the fridge is almost empty, then I have a power clean session.  There is nothing worse than a stinky fridge.  Here's an eco friendly, fresh option for cleaning fridges and more:

FRIDGE CLEANER

1 cup white vinegar
1 cup warm water
1 tbsp baking soda
10 drops grapefruit essential oil*
10 drops tea tree oil

In a large 4-cup measuring jug, combine all ingredients. Simply dip a rag into the fridge cleaner, wring it out and get to work wiping out all those nooks and crannies.  You can also put it in a spray bottle and use it for misting counters too.

*You will be able to find these essential oils at most health food stores

evening stop at Ambleside beach...

   I fully intended to post these yesterday afternoon but a little boat ride with Ryan turned into a whack of chaos when Rufus decided to jump the fence into the lake and teach himself to swim!  He chased after us and I paddled madly back to the dock to make sure he didn't pop the S.S. MacLeod...our treasured boat is actually a large dingy.

The boys came home and I fed them an early dinner before for a couple errands, soccer then our first doggy school class for Sir Rufus.  He is a very shy dog and has some major issues with guys and folks with dark hair...it's weird but fixable.

As the end of dog class approached a nagging headache I have had for a couple days turned into a whammo of a migraine and I could barely see out of my left eye on the drive home.  I headed straight for bed with some Advil and an ice pack.  Noah stayed with me and held my hand as he watched Harry Potter with earphones on the lap top for the millionth time.  Things passed about 11 p.m. but my eyes were way too tired for working on photos.  All better today,  and I'm zipping these off before I head to work at Patina Home Interiors for the day.

  

Ryan contemplates which way to run next...

 

Finally free from the car he calls out a big "yay!"

 

Liam had sandy toe issues and I couldn't resisit shooting this picture of his cute feet and hands.

 

Rufus met several friends and they all liked biting his fur.

 

We found a lagoon nearby and it sparkled in the evening light... perfectly peaceful.

 

This was the best surprise when this family came over.  Two large swans and seven signets (sp?)

 

How adorable are they?

 

A final visit to the water's edge after sunset.  All three boys were facinated by how fast the tide came up and covered their crab hunting grounds. 

Back in the car for the long drive home...the Sea to Sky highway is almost done and it's amazingly scenic and easy to travel now.  All in all, a nice way to end a hectic few days.  I am so excited about the soon to be summer weather and days at the beach...what's your favorite beach?

psychological assessment & testing for munchkins...

   A few years back we had a furnace leak which led to a winter of being exposed to a steady flow of Carbon Monoxide.  Enough to make us sick but not enough to pass out or thankfully pass away.   Our home is heated with propane and now a high end C02 detector is a must on every floor.  If you have gas heating, a gas fireplace or any other potential source of C02 you must go out and buy a detector immediately...trust me.

 Since our exposure it's been important to get extensive testing, not only to see how we've possibly been affected but also so we can track changes and any losses or gains in functioning as time progresses.

 As the boys are growing,  this means doing the psychological assessments at least every second year.  We just finished two days in Vancouver at the Fraser Development Center.  We have worked with Dr.Harper from the beginning and she has been a wonderful support.  It was two full days of appointments with the boys and we are all exhausted.  They take turns testing for about an hour at a time, then then get a break.  Luckily there was a park a few blocks away so we could walk back and forth between pick-ups, switch offs and breaks.   Since we don't live near by, our sessions always involve a hotel stay and a whack of power appointments to get everything done.  I did bring my computer and hoped to post but the days went by and we all went to sleep together at the hotel, squashing my normal Night Owl habits.

 Unfortunately we all have had some adverse affects to our exposure, some challenges to work with.  Everyone has something though...I do still believe things happen for a reason.  I am not sure what lesson was to be learned by our experience yet, perhaps we will never know.   Having time with an expert is an amazing gift though.  The testing she does finds all sorts of intricacies in the boys I might have missed.  Learning their strengths and weaknesses allows me to adjust my parenting accordingly to nourish their wee souls.  If you have challenges with your kiddos that you can't quite figure out it might be something to consider. 

On our way home we stopped in North Vancouver to play on the beach and watch the sun go down.  I will share photos later or the sweetest thing we found hiding in the branches of a nearby lagoon.

helping without harming...

  My middle guy is a big softie...he's built like a tank and adores his food.  He loves most everything and it brings me great joy except that I do worry about him getting too heavy.  For anyone who is not pencil thin or has bigger kiddos you know the feeling, the blame and the judgement you feel from others.  I hate it and I have turned to many books for advice. 

This past year I found an amazingly helpful book.  We also had a wonderful appointment with a local Dr and Liam, the Doctor was practical and not critical.  He was accepting of Liam, affirmative of my efforts to keep him healthy. He did Liam's big heart wonders by tracking his growth to height ratio, plotting it and discovering that my snuggly six year old is meant to be a very large man one day.  Now Liam can take playground teasing with a grain of salt and rest assurred he is growing up just the way God intended him too.

Ellyn Satter wrote the book I am referring to and you can find it and more on her web page.  EllynSatter.com.

enjoy...

  

Eat only what you truly enjoy, and truly enjoy what you eat.

—Martha Beck

  Only moments after stepping into our Italian neighbor's home,  the wine was flowing and plates of scrumptious food appeared quickly covering the table.  Homemade antipasto, bread sticks, farm fresh cheeses and meats, tiramisu!  As we ate they told us of the foods they grow, the animals they raise for meat and all the preserves they make from scratch. 

 They were passionate about finding and buying only the best quality and best-tasting foods from near and far.  It was inspiring and delicious.  In a world of M&M foods and other overly processed convenience foods their efforts are admirable.

   Not only did they shower us with food and drink they completely floored us with the gifts of a new Kohler toilet and kitchen faucet set for Birch Hill.  He is a plumber and knew we would be needing these things.  

This generosity was shocking and as we aren't used to be gifted such large things we felt really awkward.  Hubbie and I are fairly proud and work hard to be self-sufficient, earning most things we have on our own...this was new territory.  We couldn't leave it with a simple thank-you and we treated our friends to a dinner at the Wildflower in the Chateau Whistler.  Local's specials are still on and we all feasted on prime rib for only $10 each.  Our silly neighbor tried to pay!  Luckily we anticipated this and called ahead with our credit card number and instructions to ignore him.

   Listening to them speak of all things pure and delicious reminded me of a blog I enjoy reading that I've been meaning to share with you...

 Global Peasant is a culinary blog written by a Vancouver foodie, Diane Thompson.  Feeling hungry?  Needing inspiration in the kitchen?  You will be tempted to eat this blog and all it's lovely words up in a reading frenzy.  I can't wait to try her simple bread recipe.

photo: taken last summer in Fort Langley

le knob...

I was so excited to just read a comment from Daisy on my last post...she helped me make up my mind to order these door knobs(Taymor, Capri knob)  for inside Birch Hill.    I'll swoon over the modern levers when I go to the library or in Dwell magazine.                                      

 You like ???

knock, knock...

    Procrastination is a special talent I have mastered.  The kitchen cabinets contracts need to be signed off today to start construction Monday and not fall behind on schedule...yet I am struggling with which hardware to order!  I am wavering on the original steel bar handles I chose as they are complicated to size and hang horizontally like I hoped to do.  Just waiting to confirm on a smaller, flat compact style before I commit.

Meanwhile I picked our interior doors.  I had hoped to get some almost exactly like this from a friend's old family farmhouse in Saskatchewan but it never worked out.  While browsing online I was thrilled to find these look-a-likes. 

 Not only are they crisp and classic but they are eco-friendly!  Masonite doors are made from wood by-products which avoid cutting down more trees than needed.  So that is my humble offerrring for Eco-Friday.  

I'd love to see some simple dark doorknobs on these doors but I am also so fond of chic modern stainless lever handles!  Another decision to make me absolutely mental.  Hopefully the pricing will make my decision easier.  Quite often the clean modern products I desire are way out of our Birch Hill budget and the choices become crystal clear. 

SImple modern eco homes and ecclectic character/heritage  homes are my favorites...building a transitional style, a combination of the two is my goal with Birch Hill.  This mix is proving to be trickier than expected though.

Happy Weekend friends!

feeling sexy?

  According to most every blogging guide I have read, the  two of the top things you shouldn't do are include a music player and write about sex.

1. music... well, I have tunes playing always, I assume if you don't like it you can  just turn off your speakers.  I love hearing the songs friends are listening too so a music player is a must.   Is it annoying you?  Do you enjoy the tunes?

 2. sex talk... as for sex...I have written about it several times in the past and since it's such a curious thing I do love passing along good books I find.  A  sex-pert I am not.  I am more like a hibernating bear who lulls out of her slumber once in a while to frolic in the flowers. 

Noah recently had the big talk at home and then another, very explicit one, at school!  The questions have been steady and it's all very scientific.   I am happy he's still quite innocent about everything. Explaining is easier as it's not personal to him yet.   Still it's still tricky not to laugh or be surprised.  

   As for  Liam... he told me this morning:  "You won't believe what I found in my school bag!"        This is a frightening notion.  He continued:

"Ryan put one of those things you stick up you penis and pump in my bag and I found it at lunch time"

Then I was stumped...I had no idea what he meant.  He got it from his bag and it was a tampon.  He thought it was hilarious, lucky it was him not Noah. 

Okay back to to the adult stuff.  I have seen Laura Berman a couple times on Oprah and really enjoyed her.  She smart and witty and very big on communicating with your partner.  So when I saw her book Real Sex for Real Women at the library I immediately popped it in my book bag. 

This book is filled with knowledge on sexuality, health, the mind body connection AND really juicy photographs of couples engaging in sex.  There are pages of images showing positions and more...all done tastefully but still a tad shocking from a library book! 

Today I am picking doors and door knobs for Birch Hill...perhaps I should put a lock on our bedroom one.  Do you lock your doors?  I always liked how in the Meet My Parents movie they hung a hat on the door.

From the Publisher

"New York Times"-bestselling author and expert Dr. Berman shows how it is possible to combine the reality of everyday life with fantastic sex. Sex in real life is not the sex portrayed by the media, and this work''s images and advice help the reader to connect with her own sexuality.

 

Feeling sexy?  or maybe wondering why you are hardly ever feeling sexy?  Check it out.  It's available on my left sidebar from the Chapters/Indigo link for $28...maybe Retail me not might even have a special offer too?

 

Curious about past posts on sexy things?  Read more...

 

http://snickerdoodles.typepad.com/snickerdoodle_life/2008/11/she-comes-firstthe-thinking-mans-guide-to-pleasuring-a-woman.html

 

http://snickerdoodles.typepad.com/snickerdoodle_life/2008/10/out-of-my-eleme.html

 

I think that's all folks...see I don't really talk too much on sex.  I suppose I'll see what my stats say in the coming days and see if you all abandon me. 

retail me not...

   If you are doing any online shopping it's worth taking a quick boo at www.retailmenot.com .  Search the store you are buying from and more than likely they will have some kinda promotion on for you to take advantage of.  The site provides a code to type in at check out and redeem the savings.   I always wondered how you got those discount codes, mystery solved.

I am still completely stumped on what kitchen cabinet hardware to order...clean modern bars in stainless or flat smaller bar handles.  Also considering mixing in some cut glass knobs...but where?!?Waiting for another quote and price might have to be the determining factor on this one.  This is a biggie and it's making my wee brain start to ache!

My second order of mini cards is en route now from Moo Cards...I LOVE this company.  Since we are all up on shopping cart discount codes I will offer up this one Moo gave me to share with friends:

5NFZ8Z  Type this in at checkout for 20% off any Moo Product.