If Im not mistaken…

The new shelves are up downstairs.   Whoo hoo!  It’s organization time in our household.  I now have one shelving unit just for kitchen gadgets and surplus pantry items.  We picked up the units up at IKEA, braving the Boxing Week shoppers and yes, there were a ton of them. 

I was surprised that they have more than half of their cashiers with signs saying ‘no cash’, meaning just debit or credit card.  That would be great, if you were a cashier—no counting pennies or balancing your cash counts.

I also took down the Christmas tree this afternoon.   I hope that doesn’t seem too ‘grinch-ish’ and early.   And I sold an old guitar online which was collecting dust.   Not for a lot, but I really just wanted it gone.  Ok, I’m also a horrible salesperson.  Even Hubby disposed of a bunch of computer stuff that was lying around for years. 

Lastly, I have two more plastic bins, for toys, to fill up.  (The cut up water containers)   However, we are getting stuck organizing the bigger toys, like ride on cars, huge blocks, and stuffed animals.   I’m thinking the kids will need a new shelving unit of their own.  

When my son was between 2 and 3 years old, we attended a Parent and Child group at our local Waldorf School.  It was quite enjoyable.  The first hour was a lot of free play for the children and a lot of crafting for the mothers.  The children enjoyed the wood kitchen best and made us all lots of imaginary tea in the real metal teapot.   Some of the items out weren’t so good for my little guy, like stones and small bits of bees wax, because he was still in a ‘putting things in his mouth’ phase.

We ladies had great discussions on Waldorf philosophy as we crafted.  We sewed many felt finger puppets, Waldorf dolls and toy donkeys.  I also had my first experience dealing with real wool—washing it and carding it for the toys stuffing. 

During the second hour, we gathered the children for circle time which included songs and sometimes a story with puppets.  Each time the teacher told the story she added a little bit more detail.  Then, we set the table and enjoyed some snacks.  It was nice, lighting the candle, saying a little verse blessing and then having almost a tea party.

I try to incorporate some of what I learned at the Waldorf School at home but it is difficult.  We aren’t a family that can throw away the television, although I feel being aware of how it can affect your child’s behavior is helpful.  Waldorf is almost more of a lifestyle than a way of learning.  I think balance is the key and our time with Waldorf won’t be forgotten.

Only a couple days left for 2008.  My biggest accomplishment this year has been having my daughter.  It’s been challenging, bringing a new little person into our lives.  But, I think we’ll keep her. Ha!

Now, on to 2009, what would I like to happen?  Well, let’s have new ‘dream’ job to appear for hubby, one that brings in more money, more stability and most important, lets others see how great a worker he is.   I’d also like to find a way for me to bring in some money and be creative. 

I want to refocus our weekly menu’s to include more whole foods.  I’d like our daily meals eaten with more raw and natural ingredients.  Problems arise as we don’t all like the same types of food and we want to keep the food bill reasonably low. 

Like I wrote before, I need to get more personal time to myself.  Even to go for a walk or next spring, take out my bike!  I didn’t get to bike at all this summer and I missed that.

I need to get creative.  This I can involve my son somewhat.  We can paint together, take pictures together now that we have two cameras, and he likes to play with my sewing supplies as I sew.  I also knit, but my son will pretend he’s a cat and bat around my yarn, it’s a constant struggle.

This summer, I want to grow a few things in the backyard.  That was put on hold this year too.  It’s always fun thinking about what you can grow; flipping through seed catalogues and figuring out what plant could go where.  We also need to travel up north to visit my folks and do some camping.  A big thing is to simply be outside more.  It makes everything feel better. 

Oh, decluttering and getting organized.  My favourite things to procrastinate!   I need to keep writing my daily to do lists and mark everything off.  They make me feel like I’ve accomplished something during the day, even with getting sidetracked.  I’d love to have my house nicely fixed up, so I’m never embarrassed having friends pop by.

This is what I intend to focus on next year.  I may have to revisit this list on a monthly basis to evaluate how I’m doing but writing it all down is a start. 

I recently tried soy beans in their pods for the first time.  I have been purchasing frozen shelled beans, now and then, for a nice fast snack.  I would prepare them by soaking the soy beans in boiled water and draining a couple times.  Add a bit of salt and they are good to go! 

The fuzzy pods take a little getting used to.  Not that you are eating the pods themselves but, having them up to your lips as you slip out the beans is a tad itchy.  I cooked these pods by steaming them.  Again, adding salt to taste.

There is a lot of talk about how good, or bad, soy is for you.  Yesterday, I came across this article http://blog.macleans.ca/2008/12/04/will-soy-make-my-son-gay/  Just the title made me crack up. 

I know a couple who have made their own tofu.  I wish I saw the process of how it went from fresh green beans to white curd.   I do think fresh is best.  But isn’t it always?

We used to have a Bloodhound named Milo.  Sadly, he passed away in March from cancer.  He was five and a half years old.  He was a sweet mutant of a dog, weighing in at over 130 lbs.  Soft and squishy like a real live teddy bear, you couldn’t help but love him.

I’ll write the rest of this entry for anyone considering getting a Bloodhound, for Milo could also be a tough dog to live with.  Some of the things that we dealt with:

1.        Drool.  From top to bottom of our house you’d find lines of brown, from his head shaking and flinging slobber.  It was horrible to clean and I could never keep up with the mess.  It could also be embaressing when he drooled on complete strangers at the dogpark.  (not everyone there is dressed to be out playing with dogs)

2.       Endless Appetite.  Milo lived to eat.  Bloat is a major concern with the breed.  He could steal whole loaves of bread from the counter and then go out looking for more in the neighbours’ compost pile.

3.       Hip dysplasia.  This was a problem he was born with.  It is heartbreaking to see your dog do the splits or just not be able to go for a walk in the winter because it’s too cold.

4.       Fences.  Are an absolute must.  Bloodhounds can get into big trouble fast.  They aren’t the smartest, even though their noses are amazing. 

  Would I own a Bloodhound again?  Not living in the city.  Even though we have trails to explore, I don’t feel it’s enough. 

I miss our buddy, but wish we could have given him an even better life.   

This is a tough time of the year for dealing with clutter.  There’s the Christmas tree, which takes up a lot of space in our main living space.  Then, there’s the big purchases, like an easel/chalkboard that needs to be put upstairs in its new home.  How the heck do I collapse that thing?  Don’t forget the baby stuff like the play yard, swing and exersaucer that are crammed into the same area.  Ah, let’s throw in the bits and pieces of packing material that keep surfacing and sprinkle the corners with some huge stacks of paper advertisements (that want you to be amazed by their big Boxing day blowouts), hmmm, some small toys and objects that keep being pulled out for play time and I’m bewildered by the madness of it all.

Step one–Tomorrow is garbage day so I’m hoping to have most of that packing material out of my life.  Step two–I think I have a couple old water jugs to cut sides off of for small toy storage.  These fit nicely in our shelves in the garage and can be labeled with sharpies.  Step three–By next month the Christmas decorations will be gone, I can take that down bit by bit.  I can think of two items I can put away tonight.  Step four—Remember, that I am borrowing the swing and exersaucer so they won’t be in my space forever.

Bit by bit, I’ll get things done and I’ll feel better about the chaos.   Oh, and all that Christmas chocolate, well, I know how to declutter that.  And hey, I’ll need the extra calories for all my moving and cleaning, right?  (not)

I did it.  I finally went out, all by myself, snowshoeing. 

I hadn’t gone in a few years!  But it was a lovely day to go.  The snow was soft and powdery.  There were no other people out on the trail today, only some deer tracks and maybe some squirrels prints off around the trees.  I wasn’t alone though.  There was a flock of chickadees following me around, hoping for food.  I did have some black oil sunflower seeds back in the car, from feeding the birds in the past, so the birds were in luck but they had to be patient.

I tromped down a nice path (I love seeing the tracks I’ve made.) and then, went around again to enjoy the work I put into it.  It’s good to snowshoe with two people, that way you can share breaking in the trail. 

I hope the deer make good use of my packed path and that the chickadee’s enjoyed their treat.  At one point, I had three birds on my hand at the same time.  That’s such a funny feeling.  Their little toenails digging into your skin but the birds are so tiny and so light.

I wonder if it’s good that we feed the wild birds so much.  I mean, just the way they followed me around like little scavengers was a bit daunting.  I found this page about birds staying in locations that can’t support them without the help of birdfeeders.  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080403104353.htm

Chickadees do belong in this region; therefore, I guess my entourage is safe—but, just a tad impatient.

Being a mother makes it hard for me to have time to myself.  I need to get out a bit and to do frivolous things like going for a walk, at my own pace, or going to the library just to flip through some magazines.   

I used to go out to dinner with a group of women once a month.  These ladies were mainly friends of a friend, but we enjoyed being together.  We went to all sorts of restaurants, an 80’s dance, ceramic painting and even just out for dessert. Unfortunately, the group fell apart over the summer.  We still talk about trying again, maybe in the New Year.   Christmas and middle of summer was the worst for getting people to commit to going out.  Holidays and busy schedules seem to get in the way.

So how do I get motivated and actually go out?  I guess I need to schedule it on the calendar or at least figure out the best time for me to leave the house!    (’best time’  ya right!)

When I first saw Paula Deen, the Queen of all things sweet, make ice cream from snow, I couldn’t believe it!

 I mean, here I live in Canada, where we get a ton of snow each winter.  So much snow, we don’t know what to do with it.  We simply move it around, make taller and wider mounds, sometimes we make forts or snowmen, pack it down with snowshoes, run over it with snow machines, or try desperately to melt it.  However, I’ve never heard of making something edible with snow.  (Well, except for eating it raw, obviously)

So tonight I took the plunge.  I put that 15 cm of white stuff that fell earlier in the day to good use and tried the recipe.  Can you call something a recipe if it only calls for three ingredients? Sure.

Yum!  Snow, condensed/sweetened milk and vanilla extract truly made great soft serve ice cream.  It did melt quickly, so if you rather, it could also become a favourite milkshake recipe.

If you would like the original recipe surf over here:  www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/snow-ice-cream-recipe/reviews/index.html

In honour of tomorrow being the first day of winter, I’ve created my own version of the twelve days of Christmas.  It goes like this:  (insert the sound of throat clearing here)

On the Twelfth day of Winter, my true love gave to me,

Twelve neighbours shoveling,

Eleven unploughed side streets,

Ten snowmen sledding,

Nine foot high snow banks,

Eight hours of daylight,

Seven pairs of snowshoes,

Six bags of salt,

Five crocheted scarves,

Four window scrapers,

Three skidoo boots (ha),

Two woolen mittens,

And a jug of windshield washer antifreeze.

Wow, that makes me want to stay inside until Spring time comes!

Happy Winter Solstice!