Happy Birthday ......... or WHAT???? They are four !!!!!

HB and I are in Alberta and today our favourite Alberta twins are 4!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

Happy Birthday kiddos.

One of my all time fav pics.
"please let us out of baby jail"

 

Nona and Bapa love you very much!!

 

 

 

ciao for now

susan

Knitting and Crocheting Projects

So according to my profile I am a knitting addict ....
But I have been lax about posting any of my projects.
I have just finished a big blanket project for Miss D

it is the same  Ripple Pattern  I used for blankets for Miles and Riley I did last year.



I am also working on a couple more blankets
A crazy ripple one and
a traditional granny square.
Over the  years I have made lots of baby sweaters , socks, mittens
as well as Christmas mittens for grandchildren and other people's grand children and children.
right now I am working on ankle socks.
I am not a fan of acrylic yarn but have used it in different projects because it is easy to throw in a washing machine and if you want a dryer.
I cannot lay that guilt card on a new mom "you HAVE to wash this by hand and block it and let it air dry"
I discovered Red Heart sock wool that is 70% superwash wool and 30 % nylon.  Again if I am making socks for the grand children they have to be easily washable.
Of course I love working with wool wool.
and occasionally I have invested in yarn straight from the spinner .... even meeting the sheep the wool came from.
It feels so good and the oils feel fantastic on your hands.
I have always been a Kaffe Fasset fan. and have done one big project from one of his books.
I was thrilled to find sock yarn with his name on it.


Well imagine my disappointment when I started the socks and found the yarn very course and not pleasant to knit with.
HB says he doesn't mind the feel of it so maybe I will whip a pair for him.

Right now I am learning the German Cast On.

Click here for a you tube video of the German Cast On

 I understand it is a great cast on especially for socks.
I also want to do a project with a cable stitch. So many projects .....

I have also been trying to find out about Berocco Remix yarn. 

 Just want to know has anyone tried it and if so what did you think?  I have a sweet sweater pattern for my grand daughters and that's what it uses.

Leave a comment and let us know you were visiting....

ciao for now
susan

Enjoying the Warm Days

Daphne has really been enjoying the warm weather, as have I. Its nice to have all the windows open, eat a little lighter and wear a lot less clothes. 

One of Daphne's favorite brunches. Keeps her full for the inevitable play time at the park.

I usually try to get her out in the morning after her first nap. She's full, in a great mood, and it's not so hot yet my thighs stick together yet...so we both enjoy it.

She loves the swings, the slides, crawling full speed across the field and of course eating the sand. Healthy.

All that fresh air really did her in...

So we tucked her into bed and made a spicy sausage/feta/red onion pizza to share. :)

Kinda hot to have the oven on but I must confess we ate this around 9pm so it had cooled down substantially. Also, pizza is always worth the heat.

--Siobhan xoxo

Happy Fathers Day!

Happy Fathers Day to Will. A great husband and an equally amazing father! Watching you play and love Daphne makes me fall more in love with you every day. Barf. You are a really awesome and patient dad and we are lucky to have you!

Happy Fathers Day to my dad as well! I love sharing a glass of red wine and a heated "discussion" with you. 

They both look so good holding my girl! 

Have a great day to all the fathers, father-in-laws, step fathers, fathers with fur children, fathers of invention, fathers of confederation, fathers of mercy...okay stop me...

--Siobhan xoxo

Weekend with Nona and Bapa

As we are leaving for two and a half weeks for Alberta. to so spend long awaited time with our other two G kiddos we had Miss D for the WHOLE weekend.
Mommy and Daddy brought her Friday night and after a play and Daddy put her to bed they went home.
Bapa and I were anticipating a few Jocelyn (its what we call the soother) retrievals during the evening.
BUT she slept til about 4 and once had her Jocelyn slept til about 6;30 ---- YAY
Up we got and came downstairs to the kitchen after opening the front curtains to greet the glorious morning.
We made coffee and fed the cats.... Miss D munched on a few pieces of banana.

After playing with blocks and having a few concerts it was time for her morning nap.



Bapa was all set when she woke to take her to store for pizza ingredients
so after a quick snack and a wee bum change off they went.....

When they got home it was lunch time .
I think groceries were exhausting because she ate a peanut butter and banana sandwich, a wee bit of yogourt, and applesauce.
Another wee play and a few stories ..... then a 2 hour nap.

Of course after such a fantastic nap it was time to get lathered up and get outside to play.
We splashed in the pool ... ate some grass ... dug some dirt (may have eaten a bit of that too) ... crawled all around the backyard ... watched Bapa shingle the shed ... had a popsicle ...



Then helped Bapa make pizza ... got ready for bed ... read some stories ... in bed at 6:30

Slept through til 6:30 the next morning.
Sunday morning Bapa made pancakes with raspberries and blueberries.
After the morning nap it was time to clean up and get ready to go home.

It was a fantastic weekend and we look forward to the next one -----

Click here to see how happy she is to be home!




ciao for now
susan

Gordon Ramsay Inspired

Well I am going to start by saying I am NOT a Gordon Ramsay fan.
There I said it ......
Blasphemy!! I know.

But the other night I was doing some knitting and HB was watching him.
I heard Gordon say "bruschetta" and "risotto"
Two of my favs.
He toasted slices of ciabatta brushed with garlic oil

Spread the toast with a ricotta herb mixture --- I added a bit of garlic to the mixture.

Topped it with slices of grilled zucchini.

Then he made a roasted beet risotto -----
Wellll I am not a fan of beets and the colour the risotto turned was terribly unappetizing to me.

So I roasted asparagus spears with olive oil sprinkled with good ole S and P

When you visit leave a comment so we know you are enjoying our Blog!!


ciao for now
susan

Instagram Week

OOps.
Kind of missed my Friday Instagram.
Had a sweet girl visiting and well sort of forgot
So here is my Friday Instagram .....

Beautiful peonies ..... lazy kittys ........ Miss D ...... and my Alberta countdown (which as of today is 3)

 

 

 

 

Let us know you have visited us .....

 

 

ciao for now

susan

Instagram this Week - Sio Edition

This week on Instagram Will and I had a baby free weekend practicing golf and having a long long breakfast, I was attacked by the cutest baby ever. 

D experienced a thunderstorm  and ate a bunch of blueberries (LOVED THEM)

--Siobhan xoxo

Friendship and a Canopy Installation

Another wonderful weekend @ 44.
Friends were wanting to sell a patio canopy in lieu in getting an upgrade.

HB and I have been chatting about getting one to extend our sitting time outside
What a windfall for us...
and all we had to do was have a terrific evening with them with good food and fabulous wine.

 HB  was totally in charge of dinner.....
Started with crackers topped with fig goat cheese and a piece of bacon --
D-E-L-C-I-O-U-S

BBQ Steaks
Homemade pasta with pesto made with basil from the garden
Wonderfully roasted veggies
Homemade bread ---- a new one he tried --- Filone

So they showed up with the canopy in hand ... a bottle of cote de Rhone .... fresh baked muffins.
Then to make it even better Paul arrives in the backyard with all the tools to put it together....
True true friends...

 

Yes I made cheesecake topped with a mango sauce and rascal berries....

Now you say what could possibly top that ...

Yup a weekend with our Miss D.
She is cruising now and it appears in no time those first few tentative steps are just around the corner.

Sunday it was pizza and yup she was right there chewing on Bapa's homemade za..

 

And ice cream for dessert....

We get to have her visit us ALL next weekend....
Nona and Bapa will be pooped .. but happy..

Thanks for visiting ---- leave a quick comment so we know you have been here :-)


ciao for now
susan

Saag Chicken Night

I love trying to make Indian food. One of my favorite is saag chicken. I love spinach so I'll saag almost anything. It's fast, healthy and full of spicy flavour!

Cut up the chicken into bite sized pieces and cook in a pan.

I grate the onion and mix it in with the cooked chicken.

Add all your spices. Salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, curry powder, turmeric, garam masala, ground ginger, garlic powder, cinnamon, and cayenne.

Add tomato paste and dijon mustard.

Add in thawed (or fresh - if you're rich) spinach and about half a cup of chicken stock. 

Then simmer until its at your desired thickness.

I serve with naan and brown rice.

This is Will's "OH MY GOD stop taking pictures and let me eat!" face

I make this probably once a week cause it's fast and cheap! It's also really easy to adjust to seasoning from flavorful to super spicy depending on who your feeding.

I'm full!

--Siobhan xo