Here and now.

It's always in updates, my life in little blocks.  Wonderful bits and pieces of a simple life.  I'm a lucky gal.

Secret stash of my favourite chocolates.

My boy dog who dressed up in pink.  (I have a hard time taking him seriously in this bandana.)

This snow needs to go away, the sidewalks are still 3 feet deep in snow.

I organized my pantry, I'm super excited, no more throwing things into the back and shutting the door.  I also gave away/threw out many jars of jam to cut back on the clutter and make room for this year's canning.  (That is the stash I'm not sharing.)

Meet sourdough Sal, we're going to be good friends.

Cuddles with the cat.

Can we talk about this amazing soup I made last night??!  I'm looking forward to the leftovers for dinner! Follow this recipe to a "t" and your in for a treat.

We can talk about amazing leftover.  Heck ya spaghetti and meatballs!

New headphones.  It was time.

Winter Storm 2012

The last two days have been nothing short of blissful.  House bound we've been, relaxing and totally enjoying a few bonus days off.  With long underwear beneath our clothes and simmering cups of coffee in our mugs, we've cozied up beneath blankets and whittled away the hours with puzzles and technology, and maybe a little cuddling.  Any excuse to turn on the oven has been welcome, while I sit in the kitchen and absorb heat.  The wind rattles the windows and the ice creeps up the panes, freezing the fabric curtains to it.  The snow reflects the most perfect light into every room, even with such a low cloud cover the lights are all off.  The drifts of snow move and mold with the gusts strong wind and ice forms a deceptive barrier that makes walking hard.

When we did venture out, in snow pants and ski jackets our fingers were numb after scraping off the car, we ran between pockets of warmth as the cold sucked the air from our lungs.  We managed a trip to the grocery store and one sojourn to the gym, because despite my hatred of the treadmill the energy radiating from my muscles was mind-blowing.  Four days without a run was four days of pent-up power, I blasted out my best run ever (53:30!)

Because it was so cold outdoors (wind chill values of minus twenty!) I broke my cat-in-the-house-ban and Cyrus was allowed indoors.  So far he's been great and encouranged much cuddling.  I'll go back to work today, our impromptu winter stay-cation is over, it will be remembered fondly as a winter storm of my dreams.

Stuck. This is what started our stay-cation.

Ice patterns on the inside of the door. 

There was more snow by the third day.

Kale and Garlic Pizza!

Cyrus.

Cuddles.

Swiss chard and potato frittata.

Drifts.

This is the plant "island" in my front yard.  Completely covered, thank god.

Peanut butter caramel popcorn, drizzled with chocolate.

I boiled a batch of beans (I'm terrible at cooking them!) and completely overcooked them, so we had a black eyed pea dip.

Snow!

We've had our once (or maybe twice) yearly dump of snow-fall today.  Enough snow that Shane got sent home from work early.  Of course we love a good snow day, a chance to cozy up inside and try to stay warm.  The worst is forecasted still to come, so I'm secretly wishing for another snow day tomorrow.

Biting the snow, a favourite past time of his.

We ended up with more than this!

Egg salad sandwiches

I baked a loaf of oatmeal bread.

Puzzles are great for snow days!

Right now, January 16

Time: 3:30
In my mug: Coffee
In my oven: I just took out an oatmeal bread
I am listening to: St Peter's Cathedral by Death Cab for Cutie. Love it!
In the fridge: Fancy cheese for tonight's dinner
In my belly: my favourite chocolate chip cookies
Last thing on the laptop: (still) working on making my Europe blog into a book
Looking forward to: a walk in this massive amount of snow!
On my wishlist: Seeds, seeds and a shovel
On the nightstand: The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo.  But I just finished a Year in the World by Frances Mayes and fell in love!!
Recently satisfied: With myself for cooking out of my cookbooks so much in the last week.
On the go: a blog post, plans for Shane's birthday and trying to keep warm in -6 temperatures.

First Birthday of 2012

Happy Birthday to my wonderful mother!  What a better way to celebrate than a freezing cold morning run?  We rocked it out, took our showers (okay so I took a shower) and ate cupcakes.  Gluten and dairy free cupcakes to be exact.  There were also silly pictures, scrambled eggs and baskets balanced on heads.  A well rounded morning if you ask me.

Weekend Recap

Walking in the blue light, preceding dawn. 

Sourdough and fresh eggs.

Marmalade making.

New houseplants!

This really deserves a post of it's own! Find the recipe here.

Marmalade tasting for breakfast, results can be found here.

Jam delivery.

On the drive into Agassiz

Since I was all the way out there delivering jam to my grandparents, I went for a walk on the blue heron reserve.

I was in such a great mood after that walk and running my errands, that I took my dog on a walk in the weak January sun.

For dinner I made a red lentil curry from my Vij's book (I cooked from a cookbook!) and made some delicious garlic naan to go along side.  It might not look the best, but it tasted great with the kokum and asafoetida, actual indian flavours.