Our Anniversary

Today is our 9th wedding anniversary. It feels like yesterday that we walked down a snowy isle to stand in a humble little barn and exchange vows. I am loving Kevin even more today than on our wedding day. He is a truly amazing man and I feel blessed to say I am his wife. I apologise that I can't share any photos of our lovely day but they are packed in boxes...somewhere! Maybe next year for the big 10 year!!

Happy anniversary honey.

My race car

"Mum, you don't mind if you look like a guy with long hair, do you?"

"You have a grey shirt...hmmmmm...well, what if I give you a flower shirt? What colour are your flower?"

Big news!

Harry lost his first baby tooth!!! "Finally!" he said. He lost the tooth he grew as a precious 6 month old, at 6 years old.

We have been operating in slow mode this week with Sam and myself feeling the effects of the latest flu. There has been lots of colouring and reading.....

Harry is doing so well learning to read as I believe he really has a passion for it. Right now he is experimenting with punctuation and loves to use different voices.

Have a great weekend!

8 little updates

1. I finished my hats for Nepal, by lining them with fleece.......of course this is me, sewing at the kitchen counter at the last minute before the deadline!!

I found a great tutorial here but I found I needed to make it much smaller than stated and the second hat I did free hand, trimming as I went. *Gasp* I am sure all you real sewers out there are rolling your eyes!!! I had so wished to make more hats but time got away from me. I bought a few more hats to go along with these and I hope they help to warm the heads of the beautiful people of Nepal.

2. For those of you close to me, you would know I have a thing for peppermint tea. It is my favourite and I drink at least a pot a day. Well, I found a new love (to compliment the old one of course!!!) After years of searching I have found an equal affiliation for Chamomile Citrus by Mighty Leaf. Love, love, love it!

3. I finally finished Harry's scarf.

After all those years and all that love poured into the scarf, I put it on my beautiful boy who said "Oh mum, I love it but......can I take it off and just look at it - it is itchy!" I guess all those years ago in my knitting infancy I didn't know there was different kinds of wool. Doh!

4. I actually went to the movies last night to see Nine. The dancing and singing in this movie was mind blowing, amazing. I didn't care much for the story line itself (sorry) but the dancing, especially the sand dance.....WOW! And it was a great night out with a friend.

5. Card games. Who knew that a three year old and a six year old could enjoy 'Go Fish' so much. Let this be a warning to you though, 'Snap' on the other hand can get a little....well, violent if say the supervising mummy gets involved with dinner and is not so attentive to the game.

6. Getting our organic vegetable box from Endless Harvest again. It is wonderful fruit and veggies delivered once a week to our door and it tastes so good! It has forced me to go back to being organised and meal planning again. Otherwise I tend to waste food and I don't like that.

7. Yoga. After a month (ok, maybe more) I am back practicing regularly. Not daily but at least every second day. Feels good.

8. Chinese Wonton Soup. Sooooooooooooooo yummy and easy to make. I highly recommend serving this dish to your favourite people, the two really go well together. I copied the recipe for you from The Australian Women's Weekly, The New Classics.

chinese wonton soup

1kg chicken bones

1 small onion, quartered

1 carrot, quartered

3 litres (12 cups) water

4cm piece fresh ginger, grated

2 fresh small red Thai chillies, halved length ways

150g pork mince

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 green onion, chopped finely

2 tablespoons finely chopped water chestnuts

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh coriander

1 teaspoon sesame oil

2 tablespoons Chinese cooking wine

¼cup soy sauce

2 teaspoons caster sugar

12 wonton wrappers

1 cup firmly packed watercress sprigs

4 fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced thinly

1. Combine bones, onion, carrot, the water, three-quarters of the ginger and half of the chilli in large saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered, about 2 hours or until reduced by half. Strain broth through muslin-lined sieve or colander into large bowl; discard solids. (Broth can be made ahead to this stage. Cover; refrigerate overnight or freeze.)

2. Meanwhile, chop remaining chilli finely. Combine in small bowl with pork, garlic, onion, water chestnut, coriander, oil, 2 teaspoons of the wine, 1 teaspoon of soy sauce, half of the sugar and remaining ginger.

3. Place 1 level tablespoon of pork filling on centre of each wonton wrapper; brush around edges with a little water, gather edges around filling, pinch together to seal. Repeat process with remaining pork filling and wonton wrappers.

4. Skim fat from surface of broth; return broth to large saucepan. Add remaining wine, remaining soy sauce, and remaining sugar; bring to boil. Add wontons to pan; cook, uncovered, about 5 minutes or until cooked through.

5. Meanwhile, divide watercress and mushrooms among serving bowls. Using slotted spoon, transfer wontons from pan to bowls then ladel broth into bowls.

Serves 4

Pond hockey

We had so much fun on New Years Eve that we decided to head back out for a little more pond hockey. The boys absolutely loved and I think the pictures will speak for themselves.....

Crochet hats for Nepal

In the quieter moments I have been working on learning to crochet a new hat. A local family from Rossland are returning to Nepal at the end of the month with their adopted Nepalese children. They will be trekking up into Sherpa country where it is very cold and the people often don't have much. The family decided to collect hats to take on their journey to give out along the way. I think it is a wonderful idea and was inspired to make some to send along. I did have a lot of trouble with the pattern to start with (I think just from my lack of practice and knowledge).

It is a basic pattern so I am sure most people would find it easy. I ended up using 2 strands of wool for the second hat to make it thicker.

I plan on making a few more with some wool I picked up in New Zealand. I still have to roll it into balls yet. I would also like to line the hats with fleece for extra warmth but I haven't found the time to research that part yet. I will keep you updated on how it all goes.

Hello 2010 and Happy New Year friends!!!

Phew! What a busy week!! We decided to put the boys into ski lessons at Red Mountain (our local hill). By the end of the 3rd lesson, Sam was able to come up the lift with me. Thrilling. Harry was off and away to the top of the hill with Kev and Harry's grandparents. I really love down hill skiing and it was wonderful to hit the slopes again, especially with the boys by our sides. However, were my legs ever sore. Thank goodness our landlord let us use the hot tub. Ahhhhhhhh.......
We celebrated the coming of the New Year with friends. The evening was pretty low key as we were exhausted from skiing. We did venture outside to skate though at a pond close to their home. In the summer it is a pretty un-impressive swamp by the highway but in the winter it is transformed into a magical skating arena! We were skating in the moonlight, so grateful to have such amazing friends and opportunities.
I hadn't really put much thought into 2010, as to be honest, I was so exhausted from this year! But now I have had a moment to reflect, I think 2010 will see us moving forward, settling into our new home and new opportunities, where we will get used to the new rhythm of our life. I hope for a calm, peaceful year where I remember to take care of myself. We will really be focusing on healthy eating and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Something I am completely daunted by but am up for the challenge.
So, a few other things in our world.....
Lego, lego and more lego with a little mix of knights, dragons and castles...

Building another snowman as the last one melted and it looks like this poor fellow will suffer the same fate....(I don't for the life of me know how they managed to get the head up so high!)

We have been sledding with family. It was a fun day, thoroughly enjoyed by the boys. Harry was soaked through his snow suit and I was able to wring his socks out! I felt awful and asked if he was cold. No! I guess having fun really does warm your heart and feet!

Now Kevin and Harry are set to return to their work and school duties tomorrow and we will be left to find a new rhythm. I really look forward to this year and all the fun it has to bring for us. Sending you all much love and big hugs.