Eva's news...and Pics...

Mackenzie had to be a Medieval gal for a school play...what was it again? A Midsummer's Night Dream... or some other Shakespearean
play...All seems too complex for a Mackenzie sized kid! Bravo




Big brother Josh and Kenzie...

Where's Dave??? nice almost a family pic!

And here is the Queen of 46...Happy Yummy Birthday...looks like a carrot cake to me!
Thanks for the great photos...Eva!


"The Creator"

Beautiful Sunday!

Serious snow, but the good news is that half of it melted today! Silky and I walked right down the yard to the beach this morning and never got stuck once! The sun came out and the temps soared to +14* in the sun...making today the real first day of Spring around here!

Now, here are some magnificent photos that Joyce took of the Trumpeter swans that pass through this area at this time of year, almost to the day! Often they are up around our part of the lake, but I only saw them at Four mile. In past years we've had as many as eight or ten. It is worrisome that they have been reduced to four .
Look at this amazing shot! Way to go, Joyce this is a pro pic! I hope the NDN publishes it, because it is certainly a treasure for everyone to appreciate. Nice zoom action...makes me want a new camera!
Nice photos Joyce...thanks for sharing...


"The Creator"

Dinner and Train at Deb and Ashley's

Toasting to good friends with a new Pom Cosmo Martini that Deb invented...Yum!

Deb serving up the sausages with Kristen unaware I was taking a pic!

Ashley with his plate of yummy Greek Dinner!

Now Kristen is all smiles...despite the Canucks doing so bad...

Never can have too many drinks on the go!One is carbonated water!

And the Train game begins!

Ashley checking to see where he can put a tile maybe!

The morning after...note the sunshine!

Even Silky is enjoying it!





"The Creator"

St Paddy's at Finley's Pub

The gals from the Kootenay Kilty band were amazing drummers!


I drink to your health when I'm with you,
I drink to your health when I'm alone,
I drink to your health so often,
I'm starting to worry about my own!


More Irish Toasts:

It is better to spend money like there's no tomorrow
than to spend tonight like there's no money!

That the tap may be open when it rusts!

My friends are the best friends
Loyal,willing and able.
Now let’s get to drinking!
All glasses off the table!

Here's to a long life and a merry one.
A quick death and an easy one.
A pretty girl and an honest one.
A cold pint-- and another one!

Here's to a temperance supper,
With water in glasses tall,
And coffee and tea to end with
--And me not there at all!

When money's tight and hard to get,
and your horse is also ran,
When all you have is a heap of debt
,a pint of plain is your only man.

Here's to being single...Drinking doubles...And seeing triple!

Here's to women's kisses,
and to whiskey,
amber clear;
Not as sweet as a woman's kiss,
but a darn sight more sincere!



Here is the Kootenay Kilty band as they were arriving

Gord in his special giant Leprachon bow tie!


A certain someone being silly!
All in all we had a fun time joining in the festivities of St. Patrick's day in Nelson... You should all come next year and then we can drink some green beer!

An Irish Pub Joke...

An Irishman, an Englishman and a Scotsman go into a pub. Each orders a pint of Guinness. Just as the bartender hands them over, three flies buzz down and land-- one, two, three-- in each of the pints.
The Englishman looks disgusted, pushes his pint away and demands another... the Scotsman picks out the fly, shrugs, and takes a long swallow.

The Irishman reaches in to the glass, grabs the fly between his fingers and shakes him as hard as he can, shouting 'Spit it out, ya bloody bastard! Spit it out!'



"The Creator"

Happy St. Paddy's Day

Begoshin' and begorrin', it is a St. Paddy's day I'll remember for a long time... First, the Kootenay Kilty Band strolling around town for nearly two hours with the bagpipes sounding and the drums thumping the background beat in familiar Irish tunes, up and down the streets of Nelson. They wound up at Jigsaws ,just standing on the corner and playing. What a lovely way to get into the Irish spirit! After work, I strolled over to Finley's, Nelson's only Irish pub. It was all decked out in Guiness flaggging and the bargirls were prettied up with green adornments in the way of beads or ribbons and one gal had a green wig! It was all very colourful and packed to the hilt. A young Irish band fiddled and sang Irish tunes, while the customers clapped and stomped their feet. I didn't know a soul sitting at any of the tables and every table was taken! Thank goodness that Gord came and in a few minutes, we were chatting it up with two fellows who had an entire table to themselves. The one fellow was from Banff and had a little Irish French, English background and was happy to be part of the festivities. Within minutes, Janice and Emil came in, after their ride from HArrop/Balfour on the bus! Yes, Emil took the bus into Nelson, and the two of them met us at Finleys, So now we had a table of six and the band was getting revved up with more Irish tunes. The Firefighters came with green t-shirts and took donations for Muscular Dystrophy... and here the first impression was that they were the SWAT team coming in to settle the Irish differences!
We ordered a Guiness and some dinner. Gord and Janice both had the Irish stew in a bread bowl... we went for the Natchos and the dry ribs...all very tasty indeed!
Half way through dinner and the first band packed it in and made way for the Kootenay Kilty Band. About 20 of the band members came marching into Finleys, playing the bagpipes and the drums... talk about LOUD! Whew! Janice brought earplugs, but us neophytes were blasted by the bagpipes and drums until we thought we were totally deafened.
Don't get me wrong,the music was great...just hard on the ears in a confined space. Emil and I left by 8:30 or so and called it a night.
Emil's back is still pretty sore from him pulling a muscle or twisting somethingand after sitting in a hard chair for several hours, he was ready for his beddy.
All in all it was a Great St. PAddies night and if I can ever get the pics off my phone, I'll be happy to post a few. We left just before the second band was about to begin... Heady Attire, I think they were called...
so now I am ready for my beddy. I hear Emil snoring already... good night all... I'll get back to the emails tomorrow...sorry bout that! Love all of you!
"The Creator"

Dinner at our house with Janice and Gord!

Janice and Gord came over for dinner last night.. Janice brought a bottle of Banrock bubbly... It was very tasty...not too sweet,not too dry and was a good start to the night!


Emil getting ready to carve the ham...unfortunately, the ham photo didn't turn out, but I decorated it with fresh pineapple and whole cloves that Deb brought me back from Grenada...Yum!...oh yes, I glazed it with a honey glaze...the honey that Sonia brought me back from St. Lucia!




Just before dinner...we had a group hug... Harrop Therapy! ...just joking!

Here is Janice and Gord. We played a mean card game of Golf... and Gord and I won...mainly because we started off with a pat hand. We advanced to Euchre once no-one could memorize their two face down cards! And Happy to say, Gord and I won again... I still have some learning to do in the Euchre department, but it is a heck of a good game to play!

Janice brought a wonderful organic Waldorf salad ...very fresh walnuts, celery, many varities of apple and currents and here is the best part...it had shaved ginger in it for a tangy flavour.

And here is a primer on doing a Pineapple tree... Note that some improvements can be made during the initial cutting of it, in order to even out the spaces.... I didn't want to use a felt pen marker, but in the end, although the cuts looked good from the bottom, I needed a few more "panels" once I got going on it. Oh well, it is a first for me. The one I saw was used to skewer in fresh prawns and a fresh chunk of pineapple on each skewer...to be served at a party. I think the prawns had been coated in Coconut and deep fried first... all very decadent. Here, I have used Strawberries and pineapple chunks on those coloured toothpicks.

Plenty of pineapple pieces. I had enough to do the top of the ham, then fill in the gaps on the pineapple.

I just started adding the skewers randomly and filled in the holes as best as I could,as the toothpicks were about a half inch short.

And here is my finished masterpiece centrepiece.

I served it surrounded by ham slices, scalloped potatoes and aspargus and baby snap peas, and squash which I seasoned with sauteed onion, garlic, and Pataks medium curry..with a dollop of sour cream to blend it all together. It was delicious. Janice brought the yummy Waldorf salad and topped the meal off with Pecan pie.

So all in all , it was a fun night.

Today we picked up Anne and Dick, who have returned from their big winter journey south to Santa Carlos in Mexico, and met with Gisele and Mike , our new neighbours in Lynn and Ricks former house. We had Sunday brunch/lunch at the Dock and Duck in their newly renovated restaurant at the ferry landing. It was good, but not impressive. We'll stick to the BBI in the future! In any case, we had a lot of laughs and that was the best part...just getting together with friends. Unfortunately, just as we are getting to know Gisele and Mike, we will have to say good bye, as they return to Lethbridge to get things in order so that they can move back out to BC permanently maybe next year. Apparently, the home is already rented for April 1st, so we'll now have to get to know the new neighbours all over again!
Our power went out, just when I deemed I was hungry. I ate cold ham on cold toast and now, I am thinking hot food...some of that left over squash! Then I am thinking about making muffins. Chris and Carolyne should be back from their trip when I go to work tomorrow, so Chris will be looking for some baking I am thinking!

"The Creator"

Lovely Sunday...and HAppy Birthday Eva!

Lynn came over for the Hundredth Anniversary of the Nelson United Church and her and Joyce went to the banquet on Saturday night, then the three of us went to church on Sunday.
Here the Ministers are getting ready to put a time capsule into the hole in the wall of the church, behind the alter. Amongst other things, the capsule contained photos of the little children who were there to help lock the box. It will be opened in fifty years, and perhaps one of the children will be there to see it all again. A lovely day in the church, tho the chosen bible verses about circumsion didn't seem to fit the order of the day... Upon thinking about it, maybe it was a reference to the longevity of the deed.!



After church, we took in the Sunday Brunch at the Best Western...Baker Street Inn Restaurant. It was delicious with a wide assortment of entries and deserts. We were all interested in the eggs Bennies and the waffles... Mmm. I was so stuffed, I couldn't eat dinner until 8:00 pm.
I stopped at Ron and Phoebes on the way home and picked up the rocking chair he glued together for us... and then Ted and Syl came over, and it was two beer before I was on my way home! That was nice to get to know them a little better. They just returned from a trip to Disneyland with their grandkids.

And last but not least...look who came to dinner at Mike a and Gisele's while they were away.
There were about three more sho already were heading to greener grass under the trees at back... Poor Lynn B. ( former home owner) would have been dismayed to see them munching back everything in the yard.

And a Big HAppy Birthday to Eva tomorrow... Love you sweety! Have a great Day!



"The Creator"

Apple Upside Down cake

Yes, when the hubby is away, I bake. The recipe is on the Epicurious website. I added a little rum to the carmel sauce and a bit of cinnamon. The cornmeal in the cake makes it extra-ordinarily yummy.

Apple Upside Down Cake



"The Creator"

Coco Love Alcorn » music

Coco Love Alcorn » music
Here is a bright light voice amongst the humdrum out there...

"The Creator"

Pictures from Joyce and Spring Forward tonight!

Last weekend Correna and her friend Karen braved the highways and drove down from Edmonton so that KAren's son could visit his pony that Morgan is boarding until spring. Pony Boy, as the pony is known, was Ian's Christmas present. He was one happy little boy!

Ian, Karen, Jordan, and Correna down near the canal.

And here is a site we haven't seen... the canal being emptied for maintance... shows you how deep it is and it isn't even completely empty.

And here is a sure sign of spring. Joyce's little snowdrops are up out of the ground and blooming... Aren't they refreshing to see! Thanks Joyce for sending spring my way.
I am going to try to pick the rest of my pussy willows. They also make me feel springy but nothing like the sight of a fresh flower blooming. My garden is so far under the snow that it will be June before I see a stitch of green , I think.
In the menatime, I thought I would test a few of my old seeds and also plant some pansies upstairs. I must say the pansies did come up as well as some lemon basil, but that is it. Time to chuck out the ancient seeds.
Yes, spring is in our hearts, but upon looking out hte window all we see is giant flacons de neige falling, and the wind blowing. I think I better take a photo and send it to our neighbours, Ann and Dick, who are somewhere in the southern United States waiting for better weather before returning home .
it is brutal looking outside right now.
Lynn is supposed to be on her way over to Joyce's. There is a big banguet in honour of the one hundredth anniversary of the United Church in Nelson. Tomorrow they will have a church service and will be sealing a time capsule in the wall. How cool is that? I am going to go in and meet up with Lynn and Joyce for church and brunch tomorrow. I hope the weather improves.
Emil is still in Victoria playing MArtha Stewart as he cooks and keeps watch over the kids... He is doing so well...I am really proud of him! The kids might not be as excited, but they are fed and watered and haven't injured each other yet!
Deb and I met with the girls for Badminton last night at Chillers... it was a short night as it was freezing int here and then the band was about to start up,s o we left, but not before we had a few laughs with Sharon. She is always pretty funny.
And dear Deb made me dinner on Thursday night ...a lovely spinach salad and a grilled chicken breast... yum! I thawed out some chicken for dinner tonight as I am getting tired of leftovers from my big dinner of last weekend. One person here and I am not eating my way through the fridge like I thought I would. Good! I am not having any trouble with the muffins I made tho!

Ok, I feel like going down for a nap but better get on with general cleanup, then look at some income tax stuff and also try to remember to spring forward with the clocks tonight...Yea! I am so happy to have more daylight!

Oh yes, did I mention that I found a nice online store to buy shoes at?
I ordered a couple of pairs and one pair arrived in 2 days! Pretty terrific aye? The website is Canadian ( shoes came from Burnaby) and they carry all my favourite styles. The store is called Soft-Moc.

I found the Sketchers I need for spring ,plus a new pair for next winter. Both were on sale to boot!

In my mailbox yesterday was the patterns I ordered online from Mc Calls/Butterick. They had a huge sale and I got three patterns for less than the price of one or two around here. I found my stash of beautiful fabric that I bought in Peru and have decided that it is time to do soemthing with it before the moths eat it, since most of it is Alpaca wool. I just perused the patterns this morning and realize that if I am to sew them up, I have some serious relearning to do. It has been an age since I have sewn anything except seeds..ha-ha... different kind of Sew/Sow. I'm going to take a stab at it. There are two different pant patterns that can be made into capris. I had ordered capris from Sears and they were butt ugly...really bad... BAck they went.

Now I am thinking I could just sew up two or three pairs of pants out of this beautiful cool wool that looks like linen... I'm afraid to cut into it! If it works, the pant will be lovely....
I might start by getting some sharp new needles for my sewing machine tomorrow after brunch, and buying the thread and interfacing so I can begin. I took some measurements and it looks like the lengths are all long for my legs , too big for my bust and not big enuf for my fat butt, so there will be a few alterations in order. Lucky the pattern comes with a step by step pre-fitting guide.
Ok. time to actually get something done around here...it is still snowing out. yuchy.
Have a great week-end and thanks Joyce for all the photos !







"The Creator"

Big Turkey dinner at Bill and Marlenes

Here's Bill carving up the turkey

15 or 16 of us for dinner which was a delicous feast with contributions from everyone. Janice , on the right int he green, made a delicous cranberry beet jellied salad, Debbie did scalloped potatoes and Alisa brought Broccoli au gratin... and I brought regular cranberries and a cheesecake for desert. We also had brownies and apple pie and huckleberry tarts, so no shortage of goodies. The turkey was an organic one and was so moist. Makes me think we ought to cook turkey more often!
Oh yes, this happened a couple of weeks ago already. I am slow to get pictures on my blog... Life has been busy!

Whats a turkey dinner without Texas Hold'um afterrward? Ashley won. I hung in there for quite a while, then it was down to Emil, Pete and Ashley and Mike. Emil and Mike soon were knocked off, then Pete and Ashley struggled it out to the end.

Here's Deb and Janice watching the poker game and munching.
So thanks to Marlene and Bill for bringing the neighbourhood together again!
We've had a busy couple of weeks since then, so I'll have to continue the posts after breakfast... my tummy is calling out for a fresh egg or maybe some french toast!


"The Creator"