Man Fabric

I just love having a good excuse to buy new fabrics and since my shop is seriously lacking in the manly fabric department I just knew I had to have these!

The outdoorsman in your family is going to get a real kick out of this one :) The comic strip style pictures have the funniest little sayings to go along with the graphics and are bound to please any hunter or fisherman *grin*.

Fabricland was conveniently having a sale on these manly gems so I also picked up a fish one appropriately named 'The Daily Catch' which I know my boys are going to really like. It's a win win situation for everyone *wink*.

I've got them all pre-washed and cut so tomorrow I just need to whip em up, take photos and get them listed in the shop :) Can't wait to see them in sandwich bag size!

~ Rosina

Thinking Christmas

I seem to be totally fixated on Christmas at the moment and getting my Christmas letter in order so that maybe, just maybe I'll get it out before December 1st this year! I'm really hoping it will make it to everyone before the holidays are over this time around *grin*.

As if getting my very unorganized holiday letter system kicked into high gear isn't tough enough and I'll admit it's always a major challenge I thought that maybe I might endeavor to hand make all 45 of my Christmas cards on top of it :)

Nah, just kidding! I may be slightly over zealous in my thoughts but I'm going to knock that total down to around 10 close family members that will get one of my new papercut creations. Especially since the scrolling 'Happy Holidays' gave me a wee bit of trouble!

I'm going to see if I can find some new blades for my craft knife or at least a really sharp pair of mini scissors before starting my next ones to see if I can get a smoother cutting effect as this one is a little bit choppy. LOL.

~ Rosina

Boy + Embroidery = Boybroidery

My son has been dabbling with embroidery but all of my patterns that I have on hand of course seem to be florals. So he created his own pattern in true boy fashion... a pirate ship being attacked by a giant sea monster!! LOL

He finished transferring his pattern onto the cotton and is now painting it with thread. Mental note... must get pattern transfer paper for next time :)

I think it's coming along really well & I just LOVE the variegated waves. We're calling it 'Boybroidery' *grin*. The version of 'Manbroidery' for younger boys! LOL.

I know some of you may be thinking that boys don't do embroidery or any needlework for that matter! But hey, I think it's just a form of creative expression and there shouldn't be a gender role applied to it as there are some truly AWESOME men that embroider :) I actually ran across this article about stitching in public & I think it's well worth popping over to read :)

~ Rosina

2010 Olympic Torch Relay

With all of the excitement that has been building on the news about the 2010 Olympic Torch Relay starting in Victoria and making its way up Vancouver Island, I just had to take the kids to see it in real life :) Plus I have to admit that I really wanted to see it myself *grin*. So we made the trip to Campbell River and found ourselves a nice little spot to hang out near the 50th parallel to wait for the runners.

As it neared there were tons of police vehicles monitoring the traffic and then the big red Coca Cola truck was the first thing to come into view :)

As the Coca Cola truck was passing by us they started hopping off of it and gave all 3 kids flags & these really cool coke bottles that have fibre optics in them so they randomly change colors from green to blue to red. They were a BIG hit in the car on the way home in the dark *grin*.

Next vehicle in the relay entourage was the RBC (Royal Bank of Canada) truck pumping out the tunes while they danced around on it. It was like being at a parade *grin*.

Once the sponsors had gone by we could finally see the flame! At first all we could see was fire floating above the heads of others watching ahead of us and then it finally came into full view. That baby was really burning! I think the fact that it was starting to get dark really made it look even more impressive than what we had seen on tv :)

And there it goes. It was only seconds from the time it came into view to the time it went past us but it was so worth it to see the excitement on the kids faces as it burned right in front of them :) We never made it to the new Spirit Square downtown Campbell River where the torch finally ended by lighting the cauldron on stage because the crowds were so fierce but we found a nice little spot right in front of the fireworks display *grin*. It'll be great memories for all of us as we may never get the chance to see it again :)

~ Rosina

My Newest Papercut

I was inspired by a fellow Etsian's haunted house papercut and just had to try my hand at designing my very own pattern. It's actually much easier than you would think since you don't have to be a great artist to do this! All you need is a vision and if you can draw an outline you're good to go *grin*.

It sort of took on a life of its own as I drew it. Originally it was supposed to be two trees flanking each side of the papercut but somehow the tree on the right ended up turning into a 'ghost' tree as my daughter calls it since the branches resembled a ghost like shape floating upwards. So I gave it some eyes and a bleeding heart and thus the ghost tree was complete :)

It's hard to tell from the top photo but it is actually compiled of 4 layers of papercuts to give it a really neat 3D effect. I'm just not sure how to display it. I have this great vision of it being in a shadow box like it is above but with some sort of light source below it that illuminates it while it hangs on the wall. I've explained it to my husband and he's mulling around the idea of creating something for me so I'm crossing my fingers he'll come up with some ingenious plan! LOL

For now I'll have to be content with placing it on a flashlight to enjoy it. It seems like such a shame to tuck it away so hopefully it will get a permanent home soon. If you have any ideas on how to create a permanent illuminated display I would LOVE to hear from you :)

~ Rosina

Happy Halloween

Our Halloween festivities were a smashing success! We decorated cookies, licked our fill of icing off of our fingers and made a Halloween gingerbread house. Who said gingerbread houses are only for Christmas! *grin*

It had never occurred to me to make a little haunted house. The kids did all of the decorating themselves but I just couldn't resist adding a skeleton to the grave :)

Of course we had our monstrous candy apples.

And talk about perfect, a 'mummy' for the mommy! LOL

I am totally thrilled with my finished brain to. It turned out awesome!! The jelly covering oozed & dripped like blood and the parts that fell off gave the perfect effect of blood that was congealing or clotting. It was a perfect treat for Halloween!

I hope everyone had a happy Halloween :)

~ Rosina

Halloween Party Preperations

It's become a yearly ritual to make a special trip to the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory just before Halloween so that each of my 3 children can pick out a special candied apple :) I think each year those apples get bigger and better to!

With so many wonderful monsters to pick from it posed quite the dilemma for my 3 year old who insisted he needed more than just one for himself *grin*. With our treats picked out it was time to head to the grocery store to pick up supplies for our Halloween birthday bash.

Hubby's birthday is on Halloween and we always put on a mini Halloween bash for fun. We don't actually go out trick or treating but it doesn't mean we can't enjoy partaking in some of the creepy party foods. So far I've managed to keep my party menu a complete surprise and can't wait to serve brains, eyeball hors d'oeuvres, monster jaws & a nice tall glass of bloody punch should wash it all down*grin*.

I can't wait to see their faces!!
~Rosina

Sausage & Bean Soup ~ Recipe

With the snowy cool weather upon us I thought it would be the perfect time to share a recipe for one of my favorite soups :) I actually took these photos during the summer months when I had an odd hankering for hot soup during a heat spell! LOL



Ingredients:

Roast chicken bones left after meal
1 whole head of garlic
2 or 3 ribs of celery
3 or 4 carrots
5 onions

1/2 pound of bacon
6 sausages
pepper & salt
basil

Start by grabbing a large stock or soup pot and add your chicken bones, peeled carrots & onions and the entire head of garlic. I love to cut the head of garlic horizontally across the middle so that it opens up the making it even easier for that wonderful flavor to escape. Don't worry about the skin on the garlic as you are going to strain it all out before finishing your soup :)



Once you have all of your veggies in your pot fill it until the water level is just under the rim and place it on the stove. Turn the heat on high until it comes to a boil. As soon as it boils you can put on a lid and turn it down to low so that it can gently bubble away for a couple of hours to infuse your water with all of the yummy flavors.



While you are waiting for you chicken stock to cook you can start to get your meat ready for frying. Take your half pound of bacon and slice it up. I cut mine about a 1/4 inch thick but you can do it thicker if you like. There are no rules to how chunky your bacon has to be!



I love using our homemade sausage for this soup which is a garlicky beef & pork blend but you can pick up any of your favorite flavors at your butcher. If you want a soup with a little bit of a kick you may want to find yourself some spicy Italian sausages! To prepare your sausage for frying take a sharp knife and slice through the outer casing and peel it off of each of the sausages.



So it's been a couple of hours or perhaps an entire afternoon if you got busy and forgot about your simmering stock , but now it's time to strain it. Taking your largest colander and another large soup pot, place the colander into the empty soup pot and pour the hot stock into it. Be very careful trying not to splash any of the hot liquid onto yourself. Quite often I actually wear my oven mitts when I do this to protect my hands from splashes and steam burns :) Let your colander drain a couple of extra minutes to catch the final drips of stock and then place both the stock and colander of bits to the side for later. If you have chickens the boiled veggie leftovers is a delicious treat for them :)



Now that your soup pot is empty again, return it back to the stove and add your chopped bacon and sausages to it. You are going to fry them right in your soup pot. That way you won't loose any of the good flavors. Fry until nice and brown :)



As soon as you have browned your meat you can add your homemade chicken stock and all that's left to do is to season it with salt and pepper. I LOVE adding basil and usually add about 3 tablespoons of dried basil as I don't have any fresh at this time of year, but that's not set in stone and if you hate basil just leave it out and add your favorite spices :)

Mmmm, so delicious and I think I've got some fresh Portuguese rolls that are just begging to be dipped in it *grin*.

Enjoy!

~ Rosina

Swedish Singer Miss Li

Okay I think I have a new favorite band! Swedish singer Miss Li recently released her 4th album 'Dancing The Whole Way Home' and it is fantastic :)

If you haven't heard of her before I'm sure you've seen her on the new iPod Nano commercial singing her song 'Bourgeois Shangri-La' and below you can see her music vid for 'Dancing The Whole Way Home'. Gotta get my hands on this!!

Dancing the whole way home

Summer's Sweet Goodbye

Oh Robin red-breast where have our summer days gone?
I can't believe that we are already in *gulp*.... September!! The rains have begun, the blustery winds are swirling and I actually had to light the wood stove for the first times since we finally got rid of our snow only 4 months ago in April. It's slightly bittersweet but there are so many wonderful things to look ahead to as we move into the cooler weather :)

We've had some fun in the sun though with birthday parties made for princesses,



and summer picnics that leave you longing for more. Oh heck! Who says you can't picnic in the fall anyways? Well technically it's not quite fall yet *grin*, but we were just down at the pond checking out our bon fire brush pile that is looking mighty fine for some wienie roasting and s'mores :)



Before I go I've got to leave you with these incredibly CUTE viking plates that Herzenart is now offering. I must say they're looking a wee bit fall'ish to :) Oh boy do I want these!!

~ Rosina

Art in the Park ~ Chainsaw Carvings

Today was the annual Art in the Park event in our hometown and it's always lots of fun :) There is live music, face painting, lunch, craft vendors and of course the main highlight... the chainsaw carvers!!

There were three of them this weekend and when we arrived just after lunch they were in full swing. I just loved the carving above with its big rock cod fish swimming around the mountain of rocks. It's amazing that this carving started with a giant cedar log and was transformed into a fantastic statue all with the use of a chainsaw!

Bears are a very popular animal to carve and this one is looking really great.

There's much more to it than just wildly carving away at a log to! This fellow is actually consulting a book with a photo of a bear and using it to mark his next chainsaw cuts :)

Another amazing carving of a river otter.

Just look at the detail in the work. He's using his chainsaw to define the otter's fur. You've got to be awful careful, one slip of those spinning teeth and you might cut off a vital part of your sculpture!

This mother wolf and her pups was one of many carvings that were on site today and available for purchase. They cost a pretty penny but wouldn't you just love one of them in your yard?!

This is one of the chainsaw carvings done in previous years. We love to wander through the park and check out all of the older carvings :)

Campbell River also has a really great chainsaw carving competition that takes place around Canada Day and there are TONS of carvers to watch work. After it is all finished the carvings are placed around the city. It's fun to come across them in different spots throughout the year :)

~ Rosina

2009 Organic Island Festival

Today was the start of the 2009 Organic Island Festival at Glendale Gardens in Victoria and I had been looking forward to attending for quite some time :) Making the trek to our capital city for the 10am opening meant I had to get out of bed by 5am, but it was definitely worth the early start so that we could beat the afternoon heat that hit in full force. It was HOT!

With 150 exhibitors it was jam packed with everything organic, green & natural that you could imagine for a sustainable future :)

There were some really creative displays to like this one giving you a peak into where all of the harmful chemicals that enter our storm sewers go.

The Victoria Natural History Society had a great display on different creatures, their habitats, children in nature programs that they offer and more :) The best though was behind their booth where they had a telescope set up for everyone to have a peak at an eagles nest across the lagoon that had two eaglets in it! It was really neat to see.



As it neared noon we decided to look for some shade to cool down in. Getting the much needed reprieve from the sunshine we found ourselves in the Japanese Garden & Wellness Oasis. Absolutely stunning surroundings :)



After we had cooled down we made our way to 'The Village' where the main stage was located and more fantastic exhibitors. Some of them were really having fun with it to as you can see above *grin*.



I just love this shirt!! Where was this when my babies were little?!



Delicious treats from the Sea Cider Farm. Their rhubarb cordial is fantastic!



What a great day :)
I came home with great information, ideas and renewed enthusiasm to continue making changes to our day to day life to help reduce our eco-footprints and move to being more self sufficient!

Make sure you take a moment to check out the OIF blog!! There are lots of great new entries on conserving water, fermenting food, living foods and more.

~ Rosina

Happy Canada Day

Happy belated Canada Day!!!

This year we decided to skip town and head out to the Quinsam Campground for Canada Day :) I'm just loving all of the great local campsites nearby that teleport you directly into nature. Not just those seaside campgrounds with open fields and cramped quarters amongst the 1oo's....

No, these spots are in densely forested areas with plenty of space between you and your neighbors and plenty of critters to spy on *grin*. And it just happened that this one was a huckleberry goldmine! As soon as the kids spotted them they were running with bowls picking them for their dessert, not to many actually lasted until dessert time though LOL.

On Canada Day we headed into town to take in some of the festivities. There were tons of vendors along the foreshore with crafts, food, face painting and more.

After scorching ourselves in the sun for a couple of hours we found some shade by the fisherman's wharf and waited for the parade to start : )

It's Smokey the Bear! Remember 'Only YOU can prevent forest fires'

These girls were hilarious in their bumper boats! I think they were part of the swimming pool float. You can see more photos of the parade HERE.

Hope everyone had a great Canada Day!

~ Rosina

Whale Watching ~ Telegraph Cove (Tons of Photos)

A little over a month ago I was presented with the opportunity to go on a complimentary whale watching excursion with Stubbs Island Whale Watching that operates out of Telegraph Cove and you can bet your bottom I was jumping for joy. Well the day finally arrived and on Sunday I made the trek north along with my dad :)

We arrived an hour before our departure time of 1pm which gave us plenty of time to enjoy lunch at the Killer Whale Cafe which is located at the end of the boardwalk and overlooking the marina.

The food was amazing! With a hot plate of halibut and chips and great coffee we were set :)

Check out the boarding pass they give you. Great way to conserve on wasted paper to! The laminated card is about the size of your drivers license and has all of the specs on the boat they use for the tour. When you go to get on you hand it to the captain and everyone shares where they are from. It's a great way to find out where everyone is visiting from :)

There were tons of harbour seals sunning themselves on the rocks. Some of them had pups with them as well which was fun to see the babies :)

Not to far out of Telegraph Cove we got to see a Minke Whale. They are the 2nd smallest baleen cetacean in the world, extremely fast and make long irregular dives so it was hard to keep track of him.



Above you can see what the Minke Whale would look like if we'd had a chance to see more of him out of the water, but we got to smell his horrible bad breath!! Nicknamed Stinky Minke, this one definitely lived up to his name and fouled the air around us *grin*.



I took this photo after we left Telegraph Cove and headed towards Blackfish Sound. It is absolutely gorgeous through the Plumper Islands!! I get to see some of it from time to time when I go on Dh's tugboat or little excursions like this whale watching trip but I could be here every day!

On one of the rocky beaches some of the onlookers observed this great and well fed Black Bear. Just look at the size of his legs! The captain of the boat took us in closer and cut the engines so that we could drift quietly nearby and watch.

We get to see lots of black bears in our backyard at home all year long, but what was so interesting about this particular bear was the way it was rolling over huge bolders to get at the crabs and little fish left behind after the tide had gone out. You can see, he climbed right over top of it and then rolled it backwards! It was treating itself to a little seafood buffet :)

Nest we came upon a group of 4 Killer Whales heading towards the Robson Bight Ecological Reserve. They were identified as being part of the A Pod and it was so cute to see because there was a mother and her calf in the group!

Again when we had caught up to them while keeping a safe distance from them, the captain cut the engines to the boat so that we could drift silently and revel in their magnificent beauty. We also got to listen to them talking with the use of a hydrophone which is an underwater microphone.

As a child we used to go fishing in a little 12 foot aluminum boat out of Kelsey Bay and we were always guaranteed to come across the orcas. I remember being terrified and thrilled at the same time as they would swim close to our boat so it was fantastic to be so close to them again :)

The calf was quite rambunctious and did quite a bit of playing around with its mother :) After we watched them for while we turned around and started heading back again.

This is one of the Orca Lab volunteer run research stations located on Cracroft Point where the Johnstone Strait and Blackney Passage merge. Orca Lab was founded by Dr. Paul Spong in 1970 and they monitor the killer whale (orca) movements and habits by microphone and visuals.

It was absolutely gorgeous when the sun came out. At this point the blue sky was reflecting on the ocean surface turning it a beautiful blue :) I'm pretty sure when I took this photo we were in Blackfish Sound looking towards Blackney Passage.

Just as we were heading back to Telegraph Cove we spotted a Humpback whale over by Malcolm Island!!! Amazing giant creatures. It moved so slowly as it humped up and down through the water. We watched it for a bit and then it seemed to disapear. A couple of minutes later though we heard a loud whoosh of air and a spray of misted water blowing out of the ocean surface as it started to surface again :)

As we followed along behind the Humpback Whale we were really hoping that it would raise its tail out of the water as they have massive tails! It never did but when I returned home and looked at my photos I realized that I had caught a photo of its blowhole. Look at it, isn't it amazing?!

Did you know that these behemoths can take in 20,000 litres of water into their mouths at one time when they are feeding? So cool!

More great scenery!

There were tons of Bald Eagles all over to, so of course I had to snap some photos of them to *grin*.

Four hours later we were heading back to the Telegraph Cove marina. Our whale watching excursion was ending and it had been so much fun :) What a fantastic afternoon!! If you ever get a chance to visit Telegraph Cove I highly recommend taking a trip whale watching with Stubbs. It's something you definitely won't forget :)

Me, well I'm trying to talk hubby into buying a great little house I saw for sale out in Blackfish Sound. I would definitely pick up and move there if I had the chance!

~ Rosina

Camping at Miracle Beach

Monday morning we packed up our travel trailer and headed out for a little bit of camping fun :) My oldest son had to be down island for his last art class and we thought since we were going to be passing right by Miracle Beach Provincial Park and Campground we'd make an outing of it and swing in for the night!

This time of year it is still fairly quiet during the week since the school children are not quite out for the summer which pretty much gave us pick of the park *grin*. We opted for a spot right in front of the playground so that M who's 3 years old could run back and forth and I wouldn't have to worry about him :)

We were pleasantly surprised that right behind us was another family with 3 children and wouldn't you know it, they were homeschoolers to! The kids hit it off right away and spent every spare minute together that wasn't consumed by eating or sleeping. LOL. Above is L heading out for a bike ride with her new friends :)

In the morning before we had to head home again we thought we'd trek down to the beach....

and catch a little bit of the ultra low tide that was happening. There was glorious sand as far as the eye could see :)

The rainy weather held off just long enough for us to do a little tide pool exploring, sand castle building...

and just general mucking about :)

I don't know what it is about Miracle Beach but I could spend weeks on end there camping and lazing on the beach!! Maybe it just reminds me a lot of home, in the bush, with all of the wonderful fir, hemlock, alder and cedar trees looming above me. I'm such a backwoods girl! Just get rid of all the mosquitoes and I would be happy as a clam. LOL.

Where are you going camping this year?

~ Rosina