Commercial Pilgrimage

Hours away from...

Photo from Mastery of Maps

Later dudes!

Lots of new recipes

I've been adding new recipes lately to the Workman Family Recipe blog. No cinnamon buns yet though! Check it out if you're interested. The cooking links on the side are worth the visit.

Through the Eyes of a Child

Cleaning my studio and I found this old quiz that was about me through Kia's perspective. Made me smile today and I figured it was worth saving and sharing:

What's the funniest thing I do? Robot mommy is pretty funny. When you sing Opera like you were a boy. The way your hair looks when you get up in the morning.

What's my favorite TV show? Lost, but I've never seen you watch it. The show I see you watch is Oprah.

How tall am I? How should I know, you're tall enough to ride anything you want at Galaxyland.

What's my favorite thing to do? scrapbook (wow this was a long time ago)

What makes me sad? When Daddy doesn't listen. (har har)

What make me laugh? Funny things in books. (yes I'm one of those people that burst out laughing when I read)

How much time do I spend on the phone? I think maybe you talk to Heather too much on the phone.

Am I a better driver than Dad? You're the same - except at night, Daddy is a better driver in the dark.

What do i do when you're at school each day? Make ribbon wands and go to the post office.

What should I be famous for? making cinnamon buns.

Halloween Catch-Up

Our Halloween tradition of homemade chicken noodle soup (link is to recipe I shared back in 2005) was especially welcome this year. Oh so yummy! Sorry the photo looks gross, but trust me it was delicious. I pureed the vegetables that I had used in the broth and put it all back in, which added tons of flavor. The noodle recipe is as follows:

2 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
1 TBSP boiling water
1 TBSP Oil
Flour to make a stiff dough.

Flour board and roll into a large circle very thin! Let the rolled dough dry just a little, then slice in long rows and stack your pieces. Dice thin noodles. You can also roll it up jelly roll style and cut thin strips. Place on a clean cloth and continue drying till you add your noodles to the soup. I usually double this recipe.
Here's our little Roo in his brief but cute eye patch.
Some shots from around the house:
Kia adds to her potion collection every year. She displayed it in the front hallway this Halloween.
Here's the skull that has been gracing our door for the month of October and Kia just before she hit the streets with Dad for round 1 of trick or treating, then soup, then more trick or treating.
This is what I did, while they were out...

Yummy caramel apples that only I have been enjoying! 1 down three to go!The traditional after Halloween game...Candy Store:
I'm her best customer.

One of these things is kinda the same

All these things come in dozens...



Happy Anniversary to us! Russ left the sweetest card on the counter in our room today, made me all teary. Love this fella! Can't think of a better companion to have spent the last dozen years with.

House Tours

I love seeing peoples homes and gardens. I love going through show homes, but would much prefer going through lived in homes. The web always finds a way to fulfill my whims. Hooked on Houses has a great Fall house tour which can be enjoyed here! It's mainly focused on Autumn and Halloween decorating ideas. Here were a few of my favorites from the above mentioned site as well as others!:

This one from Emily at Timeless Paper:

Diane Keaton's Home - YUM!Umm, Reece can I come and live with you? You won't even know I'm there, I'll just lurk around the grounds.

The Quilt

I love quilts. I've done some quilt piecing in the past, mainly block work that never really amounted to anything but a random, fray edged block sitting in a box with my other abandoned sewing projects. Awhile ago jean rag quilts were all the rage, and really, the process seemed super simple even to a novice like me. When I saw some minky/cotton rag quilts on Etsy, with bright modern cottons I knew I was going to give it a try.

Thus the idea was born to make Kia a quilt for her birthday. This kid of mine loves homemade things and I had no doubt she would appreciate the time and effort as well as the outcome of a project this size. I chose a palette of pink, blue, green and white - all her favorite colors and then slowly accumulated fabrics for the quilt.

I started with some basic fabrics: a vintage fabric that my mom had purchased in hopes of making something for me as a baby, white eyelet that I double lined, various Joel Dewberry's Ginseng fabrics, various Amy Butler fabrics I have collected over the years with my favorite pattern of hers ever Sky Lotus, some from Sandi Henderson's Farmers Market line, and in honor of her love of owls who could resist Alexander Henry's spotted owl print? and various quilting cottons I've collected over the years. Then the cutting began.
The original squares are 6.5 inches squared. The cotton batting inside was cut at 5 inches. The quilt is 10 squares (symbolic of her 10th birthday) x 12 squares for a total of 120 squares which translated into a total of 390 squares cut when lining is considered. Once the squares and the pattern or lack of pattern is decided the quilt comes together really quickly. One of my favorite memories in the making of this quilt is of course the vintage block in the top corner that was from my Mom's fabric collection. The other is the memory of Russ helping me snip the seams for the ragging effect. I'll always remember him crawling around the floor in his Sunday suit as we snipped and talked. Truly making this project a family affair.

Here are some more shots from our evening:
The quilt was a huge success. Yay! Between the dog, Dad and the birthday girl, everyone was vying for a turn. The next photo should make my SIL, Amy proud of us (even though we bought ours at Michaels):
And here's the standard shot of blowing out the birthday cake candles. I had big plans of making an owl birthday cake...clearly I downsized, but this ganache covered chocolate heart cake was pretty darn yummy!We celebrated her birthday a day early because tonight Kia and her entire grade 5 class have won tickets to the Oilers game. Tough times, eh?

The last day of the number 9.

Double digits loom on the horizon tomorrow and I have to say out loud, online and over and over again in my aging mind, "where has the time gone?" Poof. Ten years. In the blink of an eye.

I think back to the birth, and all the surprises and worries that came after wards, to Russian missile like oxygen tanks in the living room, pumping for six months (you Mom's know what a big deal that would be), a baby who I tried to fatten up, blonde little curls that I adored at the back of her neck, snuggles, giggles, drawings that have made me melt, 7 pairs of splash boots, countless lost socks, obsessions with: Rolie Polie Olie, Bearnstain Bears, Sleeping Beauty, Anastasia, Shakespeare, Disney Princess, Fairies, Hannah Montana, and now, Taylor Swift.

You can't even begin to fit it all in a post like this, because as small as it is, it's vast and deep and wondrous even at the cusp of being ten years young.

Okay, so maybe ten years have not gone by in the blink of an eye. Perhaps it's been more of a hard stare because I realize something as I write this post, I haven't missed it. I've been right by this little girls side as she's made her way through the world for the past 9 years and 364 days and she's been right by mine in return. I've been the one waiting at the door, zipping up the coat, walking through the cool morning air, and holding growing hands with as we journey together. I appreciate that today and it feels more like an opportunity than a task.

Being Kia's Mom is a pretty phenomenal gig.

I always talk about how one child is so bittersweet. Everything is the first and the last. First day of kindergarten for her is also quite possibly the last first day for me and Russ to experience that with a child. You can be sad about it or you can just choose to live in the moment and not take these little milestones for granted.

Goodbye single digits, thanks for a great decade.

Halloween Costume

I mentioned our hunt for the perfect costume a few weeks ago. There is not a Hogwarts robe to be found in the Edmonton area. So pirate costume it is, because they are available in abundance! Here's some shots of Ms. Kia the pirate taken this morning:




To see some more photos check out Kia's blog here.

Done and done

Here's some pics from our Evening in Excellence - they're from my little point and shoot camera - so the quality isn't that great but you get the idea.







So happy to be done!

Just popped in to say...

Agh!!! My head is going to explode.

3 4 2sday

A few photos for today:

Doesn't the Rooster look so meek and mild in this photo? Don't be fooled folks, although it is nice to know he can pull this look off.

I spent an entire afternoon folding fabric while the furnace guys where here. My fabric is so uber organized but must reside in a room that could only be described as chaotic, and there are no photos of that!

These are the county fair ribbons I've been making for Young Women's in Excellence. I've made them all out of felt. It's so much more forgiving and cheaper than ribbon, and I think they have the kitschy, campy cuteness I was after. I have made 30ish of these little bad boys. They are going on the scrapbook page each of the girls have made to highlight their value experience/project that they are sharing for the evening and will be hanging on the walls. It's going to look super cute folks! Just trust me on this one.

The Tryptophan Effect

So incredibly full...and drowsy (see title)...from all that turkey and stuffing and wonderfulness that is so much work! We will be eating Turkey many many meals from now thanks to the sacrifice of the little fella that we roasted today. Much to be thankful for in this little green house in our cold blustery corner of Alberta: the first and the last being my family, Heaven blessed me big time with Russ and Kia (and even Roops). I'll eat some turkey to that!

Fore...Four...4...2+2=4

1. It's been freezing out. It's far too early in the year to be this darn cold if you ask me. Mother Nature didn't consult me on this BUT it makes me feel very thankful for our new furnace which is keeping us nice and toasty warm. Not to mention the wonderful assortment of old quilts and blankets that we have to snuggle up in.
2. We went and saw the movie Fame last night as a family. Kia wanted to see it so badly, though it was a little too old for her, in my opinion. The theater was filled with members from our church, and we joked about starting with a word of prayer. The movie was okay, one of those movies that don't live up to the trailer cuz that is one good trailer. What was amazing was the voice of Naturi Naughton who played the role of Denise Dupree. Seriously this girl has an astounding voice. Goosebumps!
   

   
   
   Out Here On My Own - Naturi Naughton
3. I mentioned quilts above, I find time in every day to look at quilt patterns and online quilt parades. It's such a good good obsession. They're works of art and I'd love to join the club... though the quilting process itself still baffles me. I've been checking out books from the library and hands down the best one I've found is Material Obsession and apparently there's a second volume now. YAY.
   
4. I have six pie crust pucks chilling in my fridge in preparation of the big Thanksgiving Day cook off tomorrow. I want to try my hand at Turkey Pot Pie on Tuesday, I'll see if I can remember to share the results and possibly the recipe. The girls in young women loved the crust I used for the apple pies and keep asking for the recipe. I just buy Tenderflake shortening and make the recipe on the box. Though I do have a trick/tip. I mix the flour and shortening with my whisk attachment on my Kitchen Aid mixer. It does a perfect job of getting it to the oatmeal stage. Seriously, this one tip will save you oodles of time and frustration!

Stairs just wanna have fun

Link discovered through Joanna at A Cup of Jo.