This little boy (elf)....



....passed is CanSkate Stage 3 yesterday. And we are extremely proud of him. Just 5 1/2 years old.



Kizzie and Itsy
Our dogs on top of the igloo in our back yard. They use it as a veiwpoint to see what the neighbours are doing. Everybody thinks it is really funny to see them up there.

Christmas Decor - in more ways that one!

We had enough snow early in the winter this year to do this. It is over 4 feet hight and about 8 feet across. Click for Larger pic.




I can't believe how many vehicles are stopping outside out home to look.

We have another igloo in the back yard for the dogs and Jesse to play in.

Some more Xmas decor is a this crochet headband and matching Mary Jane Holly Berry Booties that I designed. At last my reborn doll gets to model something.

Finally

A finished project. I have been working on this design for ages. I don't get much time to crochet or knit these days so it was great to finally finish something.



Click for Larger Image.

"It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!"

Awoke to a lot of the fluffy white stuff this morning. Ron just moved the vehicles out of our drive so that we can clear some of the snow. It is still coming doen a lot.

UPDATE: go here to see my webcam of the snow from my office (if I have turned on at the time). Webcam It may ask you to accept a file - this is OK.
When it opens click on Motion JPEG Single Camera and then when the next page opens you can enlarge it to 640x480 and Image size x1.5 at the left hand side and you may be able to watch the snow fall! You can actually make the camera move too...I will let you work that out yourselves. And school was cancelled on Monday as the roads were so bad. That is not a thing that happens often here. Yes we get lots of snow but normally they can clear it pretty fast.

Pic especially for Geraldine. If you vist her, check our her wonderful cookbook. I have it and the receipes are awesome.




Now a new pic of my SPCA cat Cinders. She is not a fan of snow. She is a fan of my bed though.

The THINGS Kids Say

Some readers here may know that my husband, Ron, was standing in the local Municipal Elections. I won't bore you here but it was pretty stressful for the family. On Monday October 16th just as the snow started falling, we learnt that he had made it.

The next morning Jesse was eager to tell everybody. This is what I learnt from the school bus driver yesterday. He got on the bus and shouted to her "My Daddy got ERECTED!!!!" She said she hasn't stopped laughing about it since. Seems he went to school and told the principal and his teacher the same thing. Good job they knew what he REALLY meant LOL

It's Been Ages

Things have a way of keeping me from blogging.

We were on vacation for much of August. Took our camper and went to the Peacebluegrass Festival in Dawson Creek. Had a blast even though it rained quite a bit. Saw our favourite band Hungry Hill. Jenny Lester is the sweetest person with the voice to match. Can't wait to see them again.

Then Jesse got ill. High fever. Gave him Motrin. Fever went down for a bit, then back up. Got to Vanderhoof and he suddenly said that a kid had put a bead up his nose. Now Jesse is not one to make up stories and it would account for a fever but no other symptoms. Off we went to ER. They gave him antibiotics and steroids to reduce the swelling in his nose as they could not see past that to find a bead. Next day we went back to the clinic. Swelling was down a bit but they still could be sure. As we were not on our way home from vacation, they decided they needed to know for sure if there was a bead. Jesse had to undergo a general anesthetic for them to look deeper. I was worried silly. They let me go into the OR with him. It was awful watching him fight the gas mask. Then I had to leave. It took about 30 minutes. They said he was really badly infected in his sinuses. Jesse had said the bead was small and they didn't see it. But they said it might have been in some of the gunk they got out and they couldn't see it. He was in a FOUL mood when he came round. Kicking me, screaming and generally going mad. When we got back to the camper, we had to apologise to all the neighbouring holiday makers. The next day he was a bit more normal. We kept up the antibiotics and carried on to Smithers (Hi Jenny) and then Prince Rupert).

I love Prince Rupert. I miss the smell of the ocean BADLY. I miss eating Halibut. We went down to Cow Bay and found a new yarn store there. Atlin Yarns. I remembered a customer of mine saying she often sat watching the boats, knitting and drinking coffee. And she was there. Working in the yarn store and knitting. (Hi Shelly.) Wonderful to meet her.

We took a trip Whale watching. It was the most amazing weather that I have even seen in Prince Rupert. Not a drop of rain LOL. We took the trip with Adventure Tours who are the most wonderful bunch of people. If you are ever in Rupert, take your trips with them. Doug, the captain, is also a talented photographer. You can see lots of his photos on their website. He found us whales to watch too. The water was like glass and then suddenly up came a whale. One surfaced within feet of the boat and was coming right as. I was so shocked that I couldn't get a pic in time. But this is it taken after it surfaced the other side of the boat.


The photo below was taken north of Prince George. I can't remember the name of the RV park but it was quiet, had a river alongside and was shady. This is Ron and Jesse goofing around.
We camped right next to this river.

Our vacation was eventful to say the least but we sure enjoyed ourselves.

Then Jesse started Kindergarten. He had already spent the past few months at École Boréale in pre-school. And summer camp was held there too. It was a bit of a non-event for him other than the BIG yellow bus. He had never been on one of those before.

He is doing great in kindergarten. Seems to speak more French every day. He also gets very mad when I don't understand. I try son! I try....

And if that wasn't enough news. Yesterday I adopted a cat. I have spent 10 years cat-free and could stand it no more. The Hay River SPCA had a 2 1/2 year old cat that had recently had kittens. The elderly owner had to go into hospital and couldn't look after them. I was going to adopt a kitten and then thought how mad I was. Went to see the mom cat instead at her foster home. She was quite standoffish but I guessed that was more due to the dogs, kittens, kids etc in the house. Her eyes were stunning. She was a tabby/calico mix. Very pretty. I went home, talked to Ron. Couldn't decide. Contacted the vet (he travels up here once per month from Manning, AB). He was coming up the end of this month and could spay her then. In that time her milk would dry up. I decided to put in my application to adopt her. And yesterday I got the call that I could. Here she is. A bit nervous but not standoffish any longer. And she adores Jesse. Bit more nervous of our two dogs but that will be fixed in time. Please welcome Cinders. Named by my husband - who is not a big cat lover but soon will be. He hasn't met her yet as he is in Barrhead, AB.

Life's To Do List

Saw this on Brenda's blog and felt as if I would like to add it here and see how much I have done. One thing not on here that I wanted to do and now can't - fly on Concorde.

Those in bold, I have done.

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said 'I love you' and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 10 provinces
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your cds
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an "expert"
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Had a one-night stand
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language
fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror.
96. Raised children.
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Created and named your own constellation of stars
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an illness that you shouldn't have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the
course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone's mind about something
you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one "important" author who you
missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language (if that means programming a program - I have)
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146: Dyed your hair
147: Been a DJ
148: Shaved your head
149: Caused a car accident
150: Saved someone's life

Looking for a Pattern

Has anyboy seen a knitting pattern for a sweater similar to this?


Click for a larger view.

It is knitted with a ribbon yarn. Has a tie at the neck.

If you see anything like this, please let me know.

The week before Easter turned out to be a nightmare. On Tuesday morning Jesse said his tummy hurt. By lunchtime he was vomiting. Next morning we took him to the local ER (very small hospital here). He was put on a drip. His temperature went up. We were told they suspected appendicitis. The plane was coming from Yellowknife to medivac him. Ron and I were beside ourselves. I went on the plane with Jesse - Ron was told he couldn't go even though there was room.

To cut a really, really long story short. Jesse picked up a bit after being in the hospital in Yellowknife. We got shipped to a hotel. He began to vomit again. I had no phone as it had not been put on in the hotel. Thank God Ron flew up the next day. Jesse went back to the hospital for re-assessing. They put another drip in. Decided it was not appendicitis. Not a blockage either. When he picked up enough, they sent us back to the hotel. He was on a strict diet and we had NO COOKING FACILITIES. This was getting beyond a joke. I managed to cook chicken broth with a coffee maker. He had sips of pedialite. No more vomiting. Next day (Good Friday) back to the hospital. Staff in cafeteria made him toast. He pooped! Yippeeeeee. They discharged him.

If I am ever sick or my son is ever sick again, I don't think I will let them fly us north. I went without food or drink for 18 hours as the hospital coulndn't give me any. By time I made it to the hotel, all places were closed (it was 1am). And I think we were treated like hell. Thank God Jesse didn't need surgery and that he is OK though.

On the crochet front. I am in design mode again. So far I have done this much of a baby's outfit. There will be matching diaper cover, shoes and headband or hat.



This is my new baby. She is called Taylor. More about her another day.

ICE CARNIVAL

As often happens, life and work got in the way of updating my blog again.

Last Saturday was the Ice Carnival for Hay River Figure Skating club. My son (4 1/2) was in the show again this year. He loves to skate. It is a passion with him. I think he would live on ice if he could. The Canskate 1 skaters did very well and all kept on their feet.

At the end of the show, Jesse was honoured with an award. We are not totally sure of the title yet as the trophy has not arrived. Due to this they gave him a little present (Hot Wheels) and he will get the trophy at the close of season dinner at the end of April. It was basically a Skate Canada Northern Alberta/Northwest Territories Canskater of the Year Award. We are EXTREMELY proud of him. Sadly skating is over for the season and Jesse is missing it already.


Here are some photos of him at the ice show. Please click for the larger photos.
Jackie Scheller (Coach) and Jesse. Jesse is doing his "smile"






Jesse and his playschool and skating friend Samantha - she is only 2 weeks older than him but so much taller. Sammy is always telling everybody that I have the same skates as her. True, but she can skate 100 times better than I can.

St Patrick's Day and Jesse

Recently remembered that I once designed a St Patrick's Day granny square. So for anybody looking for one, here it is. The pattern for it can be found on my crochet site.


Jesse did not get better with the antibiotics. His x-rays show no improvement to his sinuses. So we get to see a doc next week and see what can be done - if anything. I sure hope this is not affecting his learning.

Getting into Debt and Crafts


Anybody watch today's Oprah? I just caught a bit of it whilst passing a few minutes before going to collect Jesse from French School.

The subject was debt. I am always floored by amount of debt some families have. If I can't afford it, I don't buy it. The only reason I have credit cards is convenience and they get paid off totally each month. And we are not a rich household. We have an average income, none of our vehicles are new (or even newish).

One of the families on Oprah had a lady that enjoyed crafts. She is what I would call a stash-aholic. Here the link to the page

Quote from Oprah's site: Marnie's obsession with crafts is also digging them deeper into debt. Marnie admits she buys on impulse, a habit that resulted in her owning $1,000 worth of beads and $1,500 worth of scrap-booking supplies. "I feel really guilty about spending the money on [crafts]," Marnie says, "but, at the same time, you cannot always just focus on everything horrible in your life." $1500 of BEADS GULP!!!!

I think many people get caught up in the latest online obessions. I see it on crochet and knitting lists all the time. One person talks about something and then everybody wants it. And I bet 90% of them don't use the pattern, yarn or accessory. Ebay is another place that tends to make people lose all sense of realitly. They bid and bid and bid. I have seen patterns that I sell for $4.95 CDN go for $20 US on Ebay.

Easy credit is worrying. It is so easy to get credit cards (especially in the USA) and easy to get loans that promise they can consolidate your debts (but only tell you in the small print that their interest rate is 40%) etc etc.

Please note, these are just my thoughts and views and I don't mind if people don't agree with me. I just couldn't live that way myself.

Yellowknife

On Monday I finally got to fly to Yellowknife to see the neurologist about my numb hand and neck problems. Flew on this. Yes it is a DC3. It was loud but it got me there. Loud I didn't need as Jesse kept me up most of that night and I was really tired.

Yellowknife hasn't changed too much since I was last up there some 8 years ago. Canadian Tire has moved and a new building in its place. Even though we don't have many stores in Hay River and Yellowknife has malls, Wal-Mart and a new Extra Foods, I still wouldn't live there for anything.

The neurologist did the electrical tests on me. My arm and hand was jumping all over the place. Sure felt weird. He confirmed (as I had always thought) that I don't have carpal tunnel. It is a pinched nerve in my neck caused by arthritis (Cervical Spondylosis). Not gone far enough to warrant surgery (thank God). I will be attending physio and using a neck traction contraption every day to try to relieve the pressure. It looks like THIS. I can't wait - NOT. It's like something from the cells in the Tower of London. I suppose if it helps, then I need to do it.

Was reading Paula's blog and noticed that she had made Rock Buns. Immediately sent me into a fit of nostalgia as I remember my Mum (sorry but being a Brit I spell it that way) making Rock Cakes for my dad. They were a favourite of his. Paula asked if I knew the origin of the recipe. I can only think it is because they are hard and look like rocks when cooked. Seems they can be dated back to at least 1861 as British settlers took the recipe to New Zealand. If anybody else knows more, do let me know.

Here is an English recipe closed to the one that Mum used to cook.

Rock cakes

100g butter or margarine

225g plain flour
2x5ml spoons baking powder
Pinch of salt
1/2 tsp mixed spice (optional)
Grated rind of half a lemon
100g demerara sugar
100g mixed dried fruit
1 egg, beaten
5 ml spoon milk

Rub the fat into the sifted flour,
baking powder, salt and spices until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Stir in the rind, sugar and fruit.

Make a well in the centre, pour in the egg and milk, and mix to give a
stiff consistency.

Place mixture in rough heaps onto a greased baking tray. Bake in a moderately
hot oven 200C, 400F, Gas Mark 6 for 15-20 minutes.

Jackie's notes: g = gram, 5ml = 1 tsp, Plain flour is ordinary baking flour in North Amercia (in England we have one called Self Raising flour too). The dough should be quite stiff so that when you drop in on the baking sheet (cookie sheet) it does not make a smooth mound.

And I have just found an old ORIGINAL Recipe

Rock Cakes

To six ounces of flour,
add three of butter,
two ounces of currants,
sugar to your taste,
one egg.

Beat all well together, break it into rough pieces, and bake on tins
in a quick oven.

Source: Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine, Vol iv, 1856-7

Looking Back....

Just came across a granny square that I designed some 10 or more years ago. I had just joined CP, learnt to crochet and got an urge to try to design something for Valentine's.

Gosh it took me forever. I crocheted, frogged, crocheted, frogged. Then I realized that I hadn't written down the final attempt. It proved to be a very popular design at the time. I think it seems rather dated now. Crochet has changed. It sure isn't just afghans and doilies any longer and clothing patterns are vastly improved.


So here is that square. As Valentine's is not so far off, here is a link to the pattern, in case anybody is interested. It is amazing how many comfort afghans this has appeared in.

Happy New Year to you all!

Hope to keep up with the blog more this year.

We took Jesse to see the fireworks last night. Oh my the wonders of the world through a kid's eyes. He was squeeling with delight. It was truly a wonder for him.