The girls get cooking!

Well, our girls are trying to cook a meal at least once a week for us.  This week they went all out and did a wonderful evening meal for us.  I was picking saskatoons and Gregg had been at work, so the girls did this all together! We were so happy, thrilled, proud...you name it! It truly felt like we had gone out for supper.  So relaxed and so yummy ~ I didn't have to use my compliments wisely.  It was yum yum in the tum.

Our greeting

One of our lovely waitresses/cooks

Gregg added a slice of rye toast to his, just to be difficult  ha ha

A beautifully set table set the mood

 

Taking his order

Frying the Gnocchi

  

What is under the lid?

Lookin good

Fresh strawberry water with a minty ice cube

Meatloaf, fresh snap peas and gnocchi

We got to eat with the servant girl...what a cutie!

Finally the cook got to enjoy the fruits of her labors

Head cook was last to eat

Gnocchi (recipe to follow)

We are trying to add more beauty to our home and life..
tasty old fashioned oat cookies

Giggles came with the ice cream

Made my heart shaped cookies into an ice cream sandwich with saskatoons

Wonderful cookbook with out of the ordinary teenage cuisine.  Highly recommend looking in your library for it and give some of the recipes a whirl.

Herb Gnocchi Recipe

Gnocchi (with sage and lemon sauce)

1 3/4 lbs baking potatoes (russet, yukon gold)

2 egg yolks

1 cup flour

pinch of salt

1 tbsp finely diced parsley or sage

1 tbsp snipped chives

1. Preheat oven to 425.  Scrub spuds and pierce with fork.  Bake 1 hour or till soft.

2. Scoop out potato insides and mash until smooth.  Add egg yolks, flour, salt, and herbs.  Knead briefly into a ball of elastic dough.  Divide into 4 logs.  Cover with a cloth.

3. Put one log on a board and roll into until it is about as thick as your thumb.  Cut into 1 inch pieces.  Press each lightly with a fork (our girls liked them better without this step).  Store side by side on a cloth.  Repeat.

4. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook gnocchi in batches very gently for 10 minutes.  When they swell a bit, remove with a slotted spoon.

5. To make sauce, melt the butter in a small pan, then add the lemon juice, herbs, and salt.  Pour over the gnocchi.  Or top with tomato sauce or a creamy sauce.  Sprinkle with parmesan.

A little involved at first, but so much cheaper than in the store!  One batch feed our family of 5, but they were not huge servings.  We were satisfied, but loved them so much, we wanted to keep eating.  Girls made no sauce, just used salt and pepper.

Saskatoons in BC ~ We found some!

Ahhhh  oh joy, oh bliss, oh happiness ~ I have found some "Manitoba" Saskatoons ~ free for the picking and enjoying!
Since moving to BC we have not had "luck" finding any.  Our area is just a little colder than other areas, so it doesn't have the bounty that closer to 100 Mile House has.  A new home educator Mom friend offered her trees up for the picking and we enjoyed!  This has sure helped our grocery budget to have these in the freezer for muffins, smoothies, etc and for some fresh eating.  Loaded with good nutrition for growing bodies.
 

An apron works great to tie your pail onto

My beautiful maiden hard at work

Bringin' in the pro!

Sitting down on the job

God's Bounty

Saskatoon bush

2 hours of picking ~ so yummy!
Blueberries on the top left were store bought...just comparing
Blueberries Sale price $2/lb
Saskatoons $Free Cost about 10 minutes of driving time

Gregg just weighed our saskatoons that we put in the freezer ~ over 30 lbs.  Not counting the fresh eating, the crisp, the jam, the canned saskatoons or the smoothies!  God is good!  It's so wonderful to have finally found some trees.  So that's over a $100 in store value, and boy, did they taste good this year.  So big and juicy!

Tired out?  One was a super good deal ~ found her for 50% off~

50% off because of this flaw

She decided that night "I'll pulling out my 2nd tooth Mom!"

Of course, this always happens at bedtime, but oh well...

Great job kiddo!

Inspecting the little hole

2nd tooth gone!  She'll be 8 in September!

A crown of Jewels: So full of memories today

A crown of Jewels: So full of memories today

How to remember someone

Well, this is a personal post, so if you don't like those, don't read this one.
August 23, 1993 my sister died at age 20.

Tina Mae Marie

August just seems to be a tough month sometimes for my family and especially my folks.  I'm not real great at expressing myself in person, so I'm trying to think of something special to remember my sister by this August.  I want to do something for my Mom and not be afraid that it will just bring sadness up...my intent is to bring the joy of remembrance.

My sister loved pretty things ~ all things beautiful.  She loved riding a fast horse with her hair blowing in the wind.  She loved to sketch, she loved to laugh and visit and people were more important than things.  She would give anything away and had a heart of compassion.

I was thinking a nice meal served on real china, as she always loved to set a beautiful table.  Candles, wine glasses with sparkling juice, etc.  Now to remember some of her favorite meals...Maybe we could sit outside and sketch something on our sketch paper...

Any thoughts?  Any ideas how to do a little something so a day that none of us forget will not go by seemingly unnoticed with unsaid words?

I'd appreciate some ideas if you have any.

Giving, receiving and gratitude

I have been challenged in my devotions and through other life happenings to be more giving.

Giving in my life takes on many forms.  I have given of my time, my money, my food, my love.

Giving is sometimes hard when I feel like there is nothing to give or no one to give to.  I want my children to be giving and not expect to be given to.  There is so much joy in the giving and it has been wonderful to watch my girls faces as they give something to someone.  The thought that goes into it, and how genuine they are.

Gratitude, thankfulness, gratefulness, or appreciation is a positive emotion or attitude in acknowledgment of a benefit that one has received or will receive. 

Today I gave a peach and a homemade cookie on a yellow napkin to the homeless man in the park.  My hubby walked up to him and said "My wife made these cookies, they'll put hair on your chest".  Well, he took the peach and cookie and ate it.

I also gave 2 peppermint plants away to people I have never met before through a local website "Beg, Borrow, Barter".

Also took a bag full of garden produce/greens to a friend of ours who works and doesn't have extra time for a bunch of gardening.  They love to eat healthy, so it felt good to share with them from our garden.

Seeing needs around me, I wish I could do more.  That I could be nearer to offer a Mom some respite.  That I could walk some produce over to a neighbor or a piece of fresh baked pie.  Yes, missing Manitoba a little lately again.  August is difficult no matter how I approach it.

To experience and express true gratitude, I need to feel it and give no matter my circumstances.

Here's to more gratitude!

Dead Man Falls BC

Our friend "Rancher Man" has been telling us about this great little hike to a waterfall nearby.  We finally got things together to go and it was worth it!

Beautiful scenery along the way and some surprises too.

Hammer Lake, en route to the falls

Hammer Lake...there is a cute little campground here

Some campground at Hammer Lake

Hammer Lake signage

Can you see the orange spray paint "FALLS" down the tree?  No wonder you can miss it!

I love Gregg's wilderness backpack!

The top of the falls

I agree!

Rancher Man and Wilderness Man looking on top of the falls

Papa standing in the water, taking pics on top of the falls.
Yes, Nana was not impressed.

Holding hands, obeying the signs

Did they die here, or were their ashes spread here?

Beautiful scenery

Going down towards the falls

Baby Mountain Goat was the only girl to try

Rancher Man helping.  Little girl had some rope burns, but nothing serious.

Enjoying the view

Down below.  By the river, heading towards the falls.

The mist is making everything slippery

Dripping with happiness, behind the falls.

The camera is not waterproof, so that's all I got.  Lots of pictures in our minds though and now we can say we stood behind a 250-300 foot waterfall?  It was very loud and very majestic and we were sore the next day.  Thanks Rancher Man.

The falls at the bottom

A little snack before climbing back up the rope

Yes, we went behind that falls!

View of Vidette Lake along the way

Vidette Lake Gold Mine Resort - the Center of the Universe

www.videttelake.com

I'll do another post on the rest of the day.  It was a good one!

A Grocery Shop

Well, we had a pizza girls party coming up and I needed to do some shopping for it.  I waited until a 10% off day at Safeway in our local town.
I had been paid $60 for doing some housecleaning, so off I went shopping.  I try to wait until I earn some money to do any shopping...I had also sold 2 pies, so these groceries were paid for!
This is what I got.

There was one more 24 pack of gingerale.  One sale item didn't show up, but I will swallow the $2 difference.  I had coupons, plus found sausage 50% off and 30% off.  This will be a special treat.  Butter was regular price at $4.39 and I had to buy a few sweets for daughter #1's grade 8 graduation party. 

 They were in the clearance pile.

All this ~ $84.40.

Now, my folks went to a larger center 2.5 hours away for a specialist appt and did some shopping.

See that 500 g Pepperoni stick for $6.29?  My parents got a 3 kg one for $8.99.  That is 6 times the size and only $3 more????  Can anyone feel my frustration?  They looked everywhere for fruit, but didn't find much...they were told everything is 3 weeks behind.  I love to shop local, but the prices sometimes make it impossible. All the money I spend is essentially borrowed money, so these things hurt.  

I have bought POP in a case 2 times in 4 years.  Each time for a special reason.

The laundry soap showed up so I bought $15 worth which will last me over a year....that felt great.

So there's some Canadian prices in BC.