Every Day's an Adventure: October 2008

Monday, October 27, 2008

Soap

I'm developing a real weakness for handmade soaps. I started using soap from Rocky Mountain Soaps last year, and discovered that my hands didn't get all dry and scaly from repeating washings. And I was hooked. I have since discovered Kogi Soaps and Wild Prairie Soaps on recent shopping trips. I'm looking forward to trying them. Especially the Wild Prairie soap, which is made on Whyte Avenue in Edmonton and contains a high proportion of olive oil.

It seems like a small luxury. :-) I find handmade soaps much more gentle than commercial soaps. (And they smell wonderful)! I don't know, maybe it has something to do with the natural ingredients and vegetable oils rather than whatever is in the traditional soap bar. Anybody know? I think I'll continue my small splurges on yummy soap. Life's too short to use up all those hotel soaps in my closet anyway. ;-) I think I'll drop them off as a donation for the homeless shelters.

[Sorry for the sideways picture. Sometimes, no matter what I do, blogger will just not load a picture the way it is supposed to. Sigh. Oh well. Not so bad for a photograph of soap. Pretty bad when it's a scrapbook layout though.]

Sunday, October 26, 2008

More Puppy Pictures

Smudge - October 24

Spike - October 24

A pile of puppies wrestling

The foster puppies are growing so fast, and of course, get more and more adorable! They are just over four weeks old now. The pups won't be put up for adoption until they are 8 weeks old, but some of them may go to other foster homes now that they are weaned. Seven puppies is a lot of work for my neighbor Kimbra! It was warm enough to take them out on the grass the other day. Lot's of fun for all of us!!

Monday, October 20, 2008

The Village at Pigeon Lake

I just got back from a weekend crop at this wonderful location. Ahhhhhhhhhh. If you haven't been, it's about an hour drive southwest of Edmonton. It has an inn with comfy beds, a spa, a handful of restaurants, a grocery/drug store, a liquor store, clothing store, scrapbook store....... everything a girl could possibly need! :-)

Nothing like a 'mommy' weekend. Great conversation with friends, wonderful food, a couple of days to work on your favourite hobby, a therapeutic massage, a little shopping............ Life is good. :-)

I try to go a couple of times a year. It's just so much fun. This past weekend, the group of ten ladies or so that I 'retreat' with went on a Scrap Inn Jammies crop at the Village. Thanks to Vicki and Sharon for a wonderful time and keeping their store open at all hours! If you ever get a chance, this is one terrific weekend crop to try out. And so nice to meet the talented ladies from Fort McMurray!!!

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Meatloaf

Sometimes, a girl just needs a comforting meal of meatloaf and mashed potatoes. There are a lot of meatloaf recipes out there in the big wide world, but my favorite is a basic meatloaf recipe from the New Canadian Basics Book by Carol Ferguson. My sister informs me this book is out of print and pretty much unavailable, unless you have a lot of money. ;-) So, if you're in a meatloaf making mood, I can vouch for this one. Halve the recipe if you just want a small loaf.

Basic Meatloaf

2 lb ground beef
1 cup finely chopped onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup quick cooking oats (not instant)
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
2/3 cup (divided) ketchup or barbeque sauce

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients, except save half of ketchup for topping. Mix thoroughly with spoon or hands. Lightly packed into a greased 9x5" loaf pan (I just give it a quick spray with Pam). Spread reserved ketchup over the top. Back at 350 for 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Drain off fat. Remove from pan and cut into slices.

P.S. I have in the past added a handful or two of grated carrot to sneak in some extra nutrition. Also, if you like cheese, try adding some tiny cubes of old cheddar to the mix.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Painting with Light

(A ghostie lit with a flashlight, then written on with a laser pointer).

So, as part of the understanding light course I just took at Metro College, one of the assignments was focused on Painting with Light. This is a very cool concept, where you leave your camera shutter open (on bulb, or B) in the dark and then you paint the scene with a variety of lights and coloured gels. Then close the shutter after many seconds or minutes, depending. It gives a very neat effect, and although the concept is simple, getting some decent photos takes considerable trial and error for the beginner. :-) Kim Gowdy came over and we wrestled with our tripods and tried different lights, colours and exposure times. We used laser pointers, candles, flashlights with and without coloured cellophane over them. It was a fun exercise............... not sure that I would do it every day, but neat to know about!

(lighting with a regular flashlight and one with red cellophane)

(lighting with red and gold cellophane held over flashlights)

Brrrrrrr

I'm a weather wimp. I have always gotten cold easily, and my favorite winter sport is sitting in front of a fireplace with a good book and cup of tea. :-)

But there is nothing worse than wind. Yikes! I had to work outside for a few hours this morning helping a grad student install some equipment, and the wind chilled me to my very bones. It must have been blowing from 70 to 80 km/hr from the north, and it took me many many hours to warm up.

So since it's the day after Thanksgiving, let me give thanks for two modern inventions that thawed me out and made me human again. And might make the winter bearable.

1. Heated car seats (aka Bun Warmers) - I have never ever tried these before, but by gum, I don't think I will ever buy a car again in which they are not standard. Simply marvelous!

2. Hot tubs - we put one of these in the basement many years ago when we bought the acreage, and there is nothing like submersing yourself up to your eyebrows in hot, hot water. Ah...........

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Puppies - first week

give or take. A couple of them are starting to open their eyes, so they could be a few days older than previously guessed. Who knows? It doesn't much matter, I guess. Gosh, they are cute! And changing so quickly!! I go next door every day to take the mommy dog for a walk and play with the puppies. I often have an entourage of kids with me, but they usually stay behind and stay with the puppies while I do the walking. ;-)

October Scraptivity Kit

Contains some yummy Kelly Panacci and Pink Paislee papers, and mica!!! All kinds of mica - mica sheets, mica rings, mica D'lights, mica flakes............. It is all so much fun to play with. I especially love the mica d'lights - it is kind of like glitter for grown ups. Beautiful stuff. Sadly for me, I still didn't receive the kit stamps this month. I'm hoping they show up soon, I had big plans for them. :-(