Yum! Soup!

Every week I get a new recipe with my organic veggie order from the Alpine Bakery in Whitehorse. I usually give them a try if I have all of the ingredients. The recipe this week was a real winner!

Sweet Potato and Leek Soup
2 tbsp olive oil
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed (sub. Yams)
2 large leeks, chopped (pale green and white parts only!)
4 cups veggie broth
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 inch garlic, peeled and grated (optional)
1/4c fresh cilantro (optional)
1.5tsp sage
1tsp pepper
2tsp salt
2tsp nutmeg
2tsp cinnamon
2tsp cumin

In a medium sized soup pot, saute the leeks in oil until translucent. Throw in the carrots, celery, garlic, and ginger and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes, veggie broth and spices and bring to a boil. Once soup boils, bring down heat to a simmer and let sit for 15-20 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are soft. Puree, reheat, throw in cilantro and serve! I added a dollop of sour cream to each bowl as well.

Delicious and easy!

Sew, sew, sewing!

I am so happy with how my sewing skills have improved in the last few years! I am trying projects now that I only dreamt about when I started this hobby. Maybe in another couple of years I will have the skills to attempt a seal fur purse (too bad you won't be around to see that one, Indigo).

The gorgeous Ella wearing my new hat:

Yep, this hat just adds to her cuteness:

And my very first (successful) headband! This is out of fox fur, fleece and is adjustable with a velcro piece in the back.
This is Ella's mama, Vicky, looking beautiful as usual:

And slippers!! The pair I have been wearing for the last four years (bought when we were up in Nunavut), were in a pretty sorry state. So I tore them apart to make a pattern. My first attempt and love how they look!

Anyone else have issues with NWTel?

Well I am sure all of you are.

But I am wondering if anyone else from the communities is getting an odd reading with NWTel's online tracking of your internet usage.

Yesterday I was under 15 gig. Then when I checked this evening it reports that I am over a whopping 66gig and my bill is $360.

There is just no way this is right. Just regular internet cruising between yesterday and today. No, I was not suckered into Netflix and watching movies without realizing it was using bandwidth.

Check yours out folks! I am hoping that mine isn't the only one reading wonky online.

New Project

A while back I bought a really cute girls hat in hopes that I could figure out how it was made and then make some of my own. This weekend I have finally found the time to give it a try and am very happy with the results!

The hat is in the shape of a bonnet, lined with fleece and the outside is commander material which is wind and water resistant. There is a fur ruff on it and ties that can be done up under the chin. It will fit a girl from ages 1 to 4.

I cannot wait to make a couple more of them!

The soft fleece and fox fur trim:

Side view:

Back view:

I have actually made two so far. This is the side view of the second. I left the back un-gathered to see the effect. I think I am happier with the gathering I did on the first one, although this is still darn cute.

An adorable little model from Faro!

Birthday Highlights

My baby boy turned two yesterday. TWO! I was sure it was just two months ago that I gave birth to him.

He had a fantastic day! We gave him a Little People Car Garage in the morning and it entertained him all day. At playgroup we brought down a rice krispie train that all of the kids devoured. Later on, he figured that since he is two he is now indestructible so he tried to ride his tricycle down the stairs. He had his favorite meal of pancakes and bacon for supper and then some neighbours joined us for chocolate cake and ice cream. It took him a while to power down from all the excitement of the day. About 45 minutes after we put him in his crib, we could hear him singing Happy Birthday to himself. So adorable!

Opening presents:

Yaaaa!! It is just what I wanted!

Just a wee bit excited at playgroup:

It's my birthday! It's my birthday!

When did he get so big??

It's Potty Time! Excellent!

Hunter has his little shadow wherever he goes- including the bathroom. Cavan tries to mimic his brother at each and every task and it is pretty darn cute.

Cavan has been asking to sit on the potty right after Hunter does for the last few months. There has been no real action though up until the last few days. Cavan has all of a sudden requested no diapers and is sitting on our small potty a number of times throughout the day. And he is actually peeing on it now! Yesterday I only had to change one wet diaper and one pee off the floor. Today is going just as well, although diapers will still be covering that little butt when we head out of the house.

Potty training for Hunter clicked right when he was two and a half, so Cavan is taking to it early (he is two years old today!). But the earlier we are done with diapers, the better. I am really looking forward to being a diaper free house!

Reading Addiction

Another parcel arrived in the mail today from the lovely Tina. She convinced me to start reading Outlander a while back and I am hooked. I was able to find the second book in the series at the used bookstore in Whitehorse, but that was it. Our library just has hard cover copies and I find those hard to hold while reading.

Thankfully, Tina knew how to feed my addiction. Today's parcel had books three and four in it. The boys were so excited to open the parcel and I thought there were going to cry when I said it was a present for me!! But Tina is amazing and of course had stickers inside for the boys (half a dozen of which are stuck to my kitchen floor as if the adhesive were crazy glue). There was also a heap of other movies for us and a cute daily rescue kit that I need to get a photo of.

I love you Tina (even with your horrible taste in movies)!

Dear Tina,

Dear Tina,

I am sorry, but I do not think we can be friends any longer. Anyone with that bad of a choice in favorite movies cannot be permitted in my life.


ahahahhahah

Oh Tina. I love you. Even if you think "Shall We Dance" is a fantastic movie. I did watch the whole thing, even though I considered turning it off a few times. Jennifer Lopez is a horrible actor. So bad, that the movie would have improved if her role had been taken right out. Thank god for Richard Gere. I just enjoyed looking at him. Maybe the movie would have been better if I had just watched it with the volume turned off.

Maybe we can still be friends if Rob has a better taste in movies than you do.

*grin*

We love MUD!

It is mud season in the north and we are taking full advance of the free fun. Yesterday afternoon the boys and I spent two hours on the road behind our house splashing away. Life is so good.

Making prints- mom, Cavan and Hunter:

Cavan loves puddles more than anything else on this planet.
Here he is powering himself up for the jump:
(check out the tongue of concentration)

Look at the air this kid gets!!

And the super splash.
Then he giggles and repeats. And repeats. And repeats. And repeats....

Cavan has been working hard to teach his big brother the proper puddle splashing technique.

And this is what happens when you try holding too many things in your hands while taking a picture of your cute rubber boots. Damn lens cap came off just as I clicked the photo. Makes a neat shot though!

Dreaming of Renos

I am waiting on pins and needles for a quote to come back from a contractor. We are planning a bunch of renovations and depending on the quote, we will see how many get done this year. The list to the contractor included:

• a HUGE back deck! 16'x22'!!!
  
• Taking out our back window and replacing it with a garden door
• taking out our side door and deck
• staining the outside of our house a dark red with white trim
• fixing all of our gutters
• installing a wood stove in our living area upstairs

I am so excited about all of these plans and have my fingers crossed that all of them can be done this year. Then there is our huge to-do list for the summer:

• build planter boxes around each level of our back yard so the kids won't fall six feet down
  
• install two slides to connect the levels in our backyard
• get sod on the front yard (back yard will probably have to wait until next year)
• have gravel hauled for the driveway that is currently a mud pit
• install the playground equipment we bought and moved from the old daycare in Faro
• haul more dirt for the backyard
• haul more sand for the playground
• bring home a heap of wood for the back yard fire pit (and the wood stove if we can get that put in this year!)
• add on to the retaining walls and backfill
• build stairs into the second level in the back yard

Oh my. I am sure there are a dozen more things to add to the to-do list, but it is scaring me to think about it any longer!

It is going to be one heck of a busy summer. Any one want to come and help? :)

Shoe Shopping- Northern Style

While in Whitehorse, a friend and I went shopping together without our husband's or kids.

I went shoe shopping for the first time in years. Now, I am not a girly girl in the least and I am pretty sure my purchases speak to that fact. I was happy to find three pairs to haul home with me.

First I found a fabulous pair of rubber boots at Canadian Tire. I love the flowers on them! Now I can rescue the boys from the puddles without soaking myself. Then I found the perfect quadding boot- a pair of Bogs! They are waterfproof and good to 40 below. And finally as luck would have it, the same style of winter walking shoes I have been wearing for years were on sale for nearly 50% off, so I grabbed a pair. I spent $200 on shoes and am very happy with my purchases!

Northern Boots:
Bogs quadding boots, Merrell winter walking shoes, and Crappy Tire Rubber Boots

We Love Tina!

And Rob, Colby and Joey!

Today I got a huge parcel in the mail from the Schwartz family in northern Saskatchewan. The boys were spoiled rotten. Easter candies, lots of clothing Colby and Joey had outgrown and an astronaut costume. The boys got to eat their first ever Kinder Surprise egg, and were amazed that there was a toy in the centre!

And we got something the whole family can enjoy- a zip drive full of movies. Thanks so much Schwartz family!

Mommy- why didn't Joey send me a spaceship, too?

Tina, mommy ate two of our chocolates. Please send us more.

Amouti Revisited

Today I spent a hour or so exchanging the winter clothes for the spring clothes. Maybe a bad idea, because right now it is snowing!!

I found my amouti in the bottom of the outdoor winter clothing storage bin. Hunter pretty much lived in it the first two winters of his life. I loved to amaaq him. He would cuddle in and fall asleep almost immediately. If he was upset or having problems settling down before bed, I would just put him in there for a few minutes and right away he was happy as could be. I miss putting him in there and heading out for walks. It was a real pleasant time for the two of us.

Cavan was another story. Every time I tried to pack him, he would pitch an absolute fit! Screaming, kicking.... and I was heartbroken. He did amaaq a bit better in my packing shirt and packing vest, but never anything like Hunter.

When Hunter saw my amouti, I asked him if he know what it was. His eyes lit up immediately and he exclaimed, "Amaaq!" He climbed right on in!! He snuggled right in to me. Now if only he didn't weight nearly 40lbs, I would have gone for a nice long walk with him.

Happy to amaaq with mom again:

I miss this:

Of course, once Cavan saw Hunter having some fun, he wanted in on it too:

But it wasn't long before he pitched a fit and wanted back out again.

This almost makes me wish Matt hadn't had a vasectomy. I would love to amaaq another little baby around in my amouti again!

Gremlins Did It, Mom!!

I heard some odd noises coming from down the hallway. Being the attentive parent that I am, I chose to ignore the noise and play another game of scrabble on facebook. Then Hunter came running, very excited to show me something. I was pretty sure I wouldn't have the same enthusiasm he had once I saw what was going on.

My son very happily showed me a washing machine full of dinky cars and bigger toy trucks. When I asked who did it, he said he just found it this way. Yeah. As in gremlins did it, eh? At least he didn't turn the washing machine on!

Look Mom! I don't know how they got in here. Can we give them a bath?

Oh no. I am way to cute to have done something like this.
Is it too late to blame my little brother?

Mud, Cuddles and Growls

And the deer says, "GRRRRRR"....
Hmmm... we might have to work on that one a bit.

Puddle Love:

Taking on the world in shark boots and a bear hat:

Nothing better than a cuddle at the end of a busy day.
(This used to be Matt's stuffed puppy when he was a kid)

Thank You, Indigo

Indigo Sweetwater

An amazing woman.

I never met you in person. Yet,

My home is filled with you.

Everywhere I turn, I am reminded of your presence even though you were never present in my home. Rarely could an entire month go by without an item showing up in the mailbox. Sometimes a postcard from a far off corner of the world. Other times a parcel filled with sunshine.

Rubbermaids with her signature label have been coming my way for the last five years.

Fur coats, toys, patterns.

Love.

My sewing room has been all about you for the last week. Nine hoodies…. NINE! Who the heck places an order for nine hoodies after already having five made for them? You, of course. Because you were always thinking of that newest babe that would be needing a parcel sent their way. I sure hope David knows where to send them because I have your order almost complete. How wonderful; parcels from Indigo will still be coming in the mail after your death. Whoever receives them will be filled with some real joy I bet.

Only Indigo could pick cow print fake fur and know it would look great!

My heart is filled with you.

You encouraged and supported my family and the decision to leave my career and make my sons the priority. The loss you experienced ages ago helped me realize that my boys are way more important than any job could ever be.

My own little dirt cowboys will know of you.

You nurtured my creativity and gave me the nudge I needed to pursue my sewing hobby. Thank you for always listening to my questions and being so full of crafting knowledge that you always had an answer for me.

I hope some of your creative spirit is on its way to me.

I am selfish though.

I wasn’t done with you yet.

You promised to visit and sew with me.

We had plans for seal fur purses, parkas and tea.

Traditional Inuit sewing kit you sent me- inspiration.

The world is filled with you.

How did you know how to make each person in your life feel so special, so blessed, so loved? I want that ability. Your page on facebook was always filled with thank-yous. Thank you for sending the…. Thank you for the visit… Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Northern blog were filled with comments from you. How many blog posts are out there thanking you for some thing or another? I know I did a few.

You are part of so many lives. Lives that have been brought closer because of your presense.

How could one woman bring so much joy to the world? I know you brought a lot of joy to mine.

Forty eight hours. What? No, she can’t be sick. What? No, she can’t be gone.

I sent you a letter on Saturday telling you all of the things I wished I had said sooner. It didn’t reach you in time. Oh, Indigo. Always teaching me something.

Although I wish you could have given this lesson in a different way.