How I Spent St. Patrick's Day Weekend

In no particular order...

1. Raking the lawn in a tank top. But not raking the leaves off the perennials even though they are definitely coming up. The weather is unbelievably warm but really.... it's Manitoba. We could get a snow storm at any moment.

2. Multitasking in the lounge chair. That is: knitting, eating crackers and cheese, listening to an audio book, cuddling with the cats, noticing a butterfly, watching the sparrows scrap, enjoying the reggae drifting over from my pot smokin' neighbour's house and trying not to fall asleep.

3. Drinking coffee on the stoop with O and Lexi.

4. Drinking coffee on the patio at the Neighbourhood Cafe with Elizabeth and Lexi. Lots of coffee drinking this weekend though technically Elizabeth and I were doing MALT work.

5. Unearthing ladybugs.

6. Hanging laundry on the line. And then blissfully sleeping in sun dried sheets.

7. Riding my bike. Woo hoo!

8. Gazing at the planets. Three of them, anyway. Have yet to spot Mercury and Saturn but hoping my sister and her telescope will help out with that on Easter weekend.

9. Listening to my favourite birds singing. Just the common white-throated sparrow. Excellent video below.

flower pictures

from my recent trip, for all the flower-crazy girls who read this blog...

almond blossom
ceres

some kind of gorgeous succulent
monterey bay

calla lilies on a cliff
perkins park, pacific grove

some other gorgeous succulent, some purple flower, aloe arborescens and dandelions!
perkins park, pacific grove

azalea & bee
ceres

camellia
ceres

february theme song

Was there (but more stage left.... and closer!) Amazing show. Not procrastinating on school work by surfing for videos. Specifically looked for this song because, well, I can kinda relate right now.

the pack

Reading Sharp Teeth, a modern epic poem about werewolves. Surrounded by dogs. Hoping I'm pack leader.

Some people love winter.

Others? Not so much.

- 32 C with the wind chill this morning and my hands are so dry they have cracks.

BUT

It is a brilliantly sunny day and spent the afternoon drinking chai tea and reading. 

happy national sweater day!

As a knitter, this is something I can get down with. Actually working on my first sweater but it is definitely not ready to wear.

Come on people... Turn down the heat, put on a sweater!

dinner party

Omar and I had an amazing dinner last night with his friends who are in town doing a show at PTE. Jan prepared an excellent beet soup, pakora and filo pockets, five Indian dishes, naan, rice, and various condiments. Was quite blown away and totally stuffed. We were tasked with brining wine and dessert.

Don't have any pictures of the buffet but did take a shot of the dessert. Very pleased with myself! They are mini cheesecakes made in a muffin tin and they rocked, if I do say so myself. Topped with apricot ginger jam. Recipe is available on the Martha Stewart website. She suggests straining the jam, which does make it look prettier (and a bit like eggs) but I preferred the chunky bits of apricot and ginger.

Rufus was a big help, as always. He's well known for his love of all things toasty but this was going a bit far. He wisely stayed off the vent (which is why his butt is hanging over the edge) but he didn't seem the least bit concerned about getting caught lounging on the stove. He jumped off in a dignified and casual sort of way after I shrieked at him. Had to take his picture first, of course!

my new theme song

Holiday pics

Gingerbread house by Marilee and Ayva

Packed and heading to Brandon

Bluejay at my mom's feeder

Visiting Judy and Blair's farm near Miniota

Mom not getting suckered!

January 2011
Classic prairie winter

January 2012
Record breaking plus 6 degrees celsius

Resolutions for 2012

Well, half last year's resolutions were a bust. Specifically 2, 3 and 4. I resolve to do better this year?

1. I will continue to keep my head above water financially. My income has been cut in half since September but I appear to be doing okay. No wiggle room, but hey, surviving.

2. I will get back on the exercise bandwagon. Got rid of the 10 lbs I had gained and then put them back on. Grad school is hard on the body. Waaaaay too much sitting at a desk. Taking Lexi for a 5km walk every morning and lifting weights again. Will start running and biking as soon as the snow disappears.

And a new one....

3. We will not waste food. This is actually a household resolution prompted by a statistic that I came across while researching a paper. Approximately 1/3 of food is wasted at the household level. This one starts right after I clean out the fridge! I'm sure there is all kinds of horrifying things growing in there...

Set pizza on kitchen table.
Turn around to get plates...

cookie day

Cookie decorating with Marilee, Ayva and Heather.

Close-up of the Adam and Omar cookies (made by Ayva and me).

The Citadel, Halifax, May 2011

We are officially out of garden carrots.
Missing summer already.

Old Pinewa Dam, September 2011

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

My mental break / procrastination technique is watching a few minutes of online videos. These are my current favourites. Seven minutes and thirty-four seconds well spent. Enjoy!

Shoveling snow, November 19, 2011

Banff Springs Hotel, October 6, 2011

bad blogger

I can see my bad blogging habits continuing for the foreseeable future, so how about I just post pictures for a while?

Ditch Lake, October 2011