East to God's Country

It is hard to believe that less than a week ago we were in "beautiful Lake of the Woods", or God's country.  Which brings back memories of when I traveled by bus from Winnipeg to Nova Scotia in my early 20's to attend Granville Ferry's Dance Intensive....my protective mother told me "please don't sit in the back of the bus, that is where ex-inmates sit"...I learned very quickly that the most interesting people sat at the back of the bus also.  Sorry Mum.

T'was at the back of the bus where all the Atlantic Canadian Maritimers were sitting - and they couldn't stop talking about "God's country", meaning Newfoundland, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

Well it has been several years since I was that far East - so for now, we enjoyed a little East of us, Lake of the Woods.  We love hiking and trying out different trails - with the 3 'littles' Literally in Tow at times - it takes us about twice the time for each trail.

I never tire of the views, smells, sounds, lack of sounds, plants, mosses, trees and water.  And I wonder what it would be like to live there all the time. We drank up every minute and even did some excursions in the rain - and happily arrived to our heated pop-up!

 
We bumped into a few familiar faces along the way, which was a nice surprise, and surprise it was in the middle of no-where at times.  Some of the most interesting conversations I had with people were with random folk I met in the laundry facilities at the campgrounds we stayed.  One couple topped it off for adventures - a newly wed from PEI cycling their way across our wide country.  You can follow their journey here.

I have some catching up to do.  Those who left comments on older posts while I was away - I will get back to you;)  Also my lovely package arrived from my Vintage Swap partner, so I'll have to tell all about that.  I would love to share with you some of the exciting plant discoveries we made on our trip - can't seem to go very far without bringing along some plant/tree field guides...and we are gearing up for our first official year of homeschooling.

Splashing the lazy summer days away....

Really, are the summer days that lazy?  Maybe a few of them...but there also filled with the buzz of activities we all need to get done before our Canadian Prairie's harsh winters set in.

Besides work, my husband always has construction projects on the go, and soon we'll be selling several campers that he has fixed up....So, if you are in the area and are in want of a camper...we have a few newer ones and a couple of older ones soon to be ready - we've already had a few folks renting them - and no I'm not talking about mice or other wild visiters!

The berries have all been taken care of; some in jam, and the rest frozen for smoothies and other such for thourghout the year.  Towards the end of summer, there will be the surge of harvest ready to be frozen, canned and dehydrated.  For now, as much as possible - the children and I spend time at the beach, in the family cottage.

Nana, says we should just stay the whole summer there - That would be nice....makes me realize that I can live on a lot less - and by that I mean less stuff.  Living in a 500sqft place with 3 young children and grandparents and all!
I'm told that the newest trend in house building, is down scaling in terms of square footage. I'd love to hear what your thoughts about downscaling are!? Smaller spaces would also mean less to clean!!!

Have a Splashing good week and long weekend!

Lady's Slippers and No Knead Bread

It has been a little quiete in this space lately....but nevertheless there has been a buzz of summer activity.  In this post I wanted to share just a few highlights from over the past 30 days.

  

My valiant husband, of all days of the year...it was Father's Day...faced the enemy head on, rushing through forest and field, braving the mammoth armies of mosquitoes to bring home these.  The rare Lady's Slipper grows in droves near my In-Law's country property.

The same hero, who knows me only too well, surprised me earlier this month, with Edible& Medicinal Plans of Canada .  Regarding Lady's Slippers it says, 

"The rhizomes (the part most commonly used) contain an active compound called cypripedin. Rhizomes were used for menstrual disorders, headaches, insomnia, stomachaches, kidney troubles in children, urinary tract problems and nervousness" ...pg 200

One refreshing place we've been at is the lake.  Our family cottage was built by my Great-Grandfather.  They say 60-90 years ago there was a train called "the Daddy train" that went back and forth from the beach to the city.  The Mamas stayed at the lake all summer long with the children, while the Dads commuted by train.  I could get use to that!

You should know by now, if you've read this blog before, that I am ADD, and many times it is all just a run-on-sentence of rabbit trails.   ::  ::  ::  ::

I had seen this book online before, but it wasn't until I came across Heather's post that I actually got motivated to find Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day.  I decided to take it out of the library, since our cookbook collection needs some serious de-cluttering - before I add another book!

This method is fascintating because it is along the same lines as Traditional Foods, in that the grains are in a sense being soaked. The dough is made the day before (no knead), and then you take from the refrigerated dough as you need over the next 5-14 days (depending on the recipe).

This jewel of a grain grinder came to me for $25 from our Chiropractor - he seemed happy to get it off his family's hands - and said it was a lot of work.  It is manual labor - and I'm hoping that my valiant husband will one day hook it up to a stationary bike.

We enjoyed homemade bagels for the first time (recipe out of the same book), with our homemade yogurt cheese (which is just yogurt left to drain through a cheese cloth over night) - flavored with homemade jam.

So this is a summary of my month - I'll end with an online project that I really enjoyed; My interview with a fellow Canadian Mama-preneur, Miss Mouse and her lovely Etsy Store!  Below, is one of her lovely quilts.

Miss Mouse graciously contributed one of her handmades for the healthy challenge that I was hosting. And I'm excited to announce the winner tomorrow on From Home.

Braided Onions and Food Carving

She, my oldest and biggest helper, is now ready - for what I've been waiting for.....reading chapter books together.  We've embarked on the heart warming series; Little House on the Prairie.  It was our favorite, growing up.

"....Onions were made into long ropes, braided together by their tops, and then hung in the attic beside wreaths of red peppers strung on threads.  The pumpkins and squashes were piled in orange and yellow and green heaps in the attic's corners.....

....."The attic was a lovely place to play. The large round, colored pumpkins made  beautiful chairs and tables. The red peppers and the onions dangled overhead. The hams and venison hung in their paper wrappings, and all the bunches of dried herbs, the spicy herbs for cooking and the bitter herbs for medicine, gave the place a dusty-spicy smell.

    "Often the wind howled outside with a cold and lonesome sound. But in the attic Laura and Mary played house with the squashes and the pumpkins, and everything was snug and cozy.

    ...."Laura had only a corncob wrapped in a handkerchief, but it was a good doll. It was named Susan. It wasn't Susan's fault that she was only a corncob."

Little House in the Big Woods, Laura Ingalls Wilder

Now with food on my mind, I just have to share this with you;

and this,

Dear friends of ours from Thailand, talented in food carving, show their skills!

....With Silver Bells and Cockle Shells....

How does Your garden grow....

 One step....

 Two Step...

Three Step ...

Four....

 If you don't have room on your small postage stamp urban yard, like us, you can do like we did.  We put out to friends and family that we were looking for a place to garden. Quickly, we received a generous invitation to plant with another family; a two family garden!

Merci beaucoup, chers amis.

Treasure the time.....

In these weeks we've celebrated two of our three children's birthdays.  It is hard to believe that one year ago, on a bright May day, this was me working through a labor contraction;

And the bright button is One.

Three under 6, and the common comment is ::WOW that is busy:: Perhaps, but it could be busier. I'm not Catholic, but there is something that I admire about that Mary woman....she "treasured these things in her heart".....I want to remember the years when my children were little as a time when I treasured them and the time in my heart, even amongst the busyness of life.

It takes a little longer when they are helping...and a little messier....but I will choose to treasure the time....treasure the words they say....like when out of the blue, almost 3, Joash asks in a staccato-cracky-voice if he can "please have a cup of tea"......

Yes, he is a proud 3, here with Papere.  Bonne Fete, mes petits choux!

Horse-Dung and Childcare

No the two are definitely not related, but I could not resist the title considering my train of thought.

I've heard the term "tomato staking" before, in regards to child rearing.  It has to do with the idea of having your children near to you at all times - it is similar to attachment parenting.  To be honest, I have never really studied or read to much into the philosophy,  but found it natural to keep my children close and be sober minded and careful of who looks after them if or when my husband or I are not around.

In the first year of our first child being born, our baby was probably babysat by grandparents only once or twice.  I don't remember any other childcare.  Since then, 3 children later, childcare outside of myself or husband, is still very sparse in this household.

 Some midwife appointments, occasional small choreography contracts with schools, and special occasion dates with hubby seem to be the main events where I am in need of childcare.  Most of those are lovingly taken care of by my mom, who lives in our neighborhood.  On the occasion that my commitment is not very long, my mom encourages me to go get a coffee somewhere and to take my time.  I welcome the advice and do it!

On some such occasions if I am in the vicinity of a Chapters or ANY bookstore, THAT is where you will find me.  Books are wealth, "readers are leaders" - so I've heard - we love books don't we - especially on the subjects we are passionate about, or that have beautiful illustrations!

I came across a discounted "Culpeper's Complete Herbal" reprint from 1653.  Oh what a find - in my opinion!  I just had to share with you one of recipes!  To be honest I'm not sure if all the advice in the book should be taken seriously - but there must be validity to many of Nicholas Culpeper's findings!

"Some use this medicine: Take so many strawberries as you shall think fitting, and put them into a distillatory, or body of glass, fit for them; which, being well closed, set in a bid of horse-dung for twelve or fourteen days, and afterwards distil it carefully and keep it for your use. It is excellent water for hot inflamed eyes....and for such other defects in them as may be helped by any outward medicine." pg. 368

I don't unfortunately have any horse-dung readily available - but thought this was fun enough to share! If you are ready to try it out - let me know how it goes ;)