you can DIY!

Or a friend can do it for you! 

 I have a new favorite coffee mug...

that came from a very good friend.

It's big...and holds lots of coffee!

And she made it especially for me.

Well, she never actually made the mug...

but she personalized it with a nice message.

It takes a long time to grow an old friend! 

(I'm OK with being called 'old'.)

I had been planning on trying my hand at writing on dishes...

after seeing all the neat examples on pinterest.

Simple...

so they say.

Buy white plates or mugs.

Write your message with a black 'sharpie' pen.

Bake for 30 minutes at 350°F...

and your message is permanent.

A great gift idea...

I thought.

I thought so even more when I was the recipient of such a gift.

She reversed the method.

She bought a black mug...

and wrote with a white marker.

And she suggested it might be easier to write on a plate than on a mug.

Well, I think she did a great job.

She has beautiful handwriting!

Thanks, Janet.

I'll leave with you few more simple ideas that you can 'do yourself'.

We had a group of friends over for dinner one night this week...

and celebrated a milestone birthday for one of the guys.

The place cards were wee photos of all the guests...

...attached with a paper clip to a cork and 

tucked into a candle holder of any size or height.

I think my grands would like this idea as well!

And one more simple idea...

...a 'fishbowl-vase' submerged floral arrangement. 

 I used a trifle bowl...

set a candle in the center...

twirled a few tulips complete with their stems around the candle...

and poured in the water.

Roses, orchids or tulips all love being under water...

and make great submerged arrangements.

And those are my DIY tips for this Friday.

Have a great weekend!

 

rural mailbox conundrum...

There's something nostalgic about a row of rural mailboxes.

They make a great picture.

Look quick...

 because scenes such as this are disappearing fast.

We live in the country and have always had mail delivery to the mailbox at the road...

as long as I can remember.

If we happened to be short on postage stamps...

we would leave some money and a note for the mailman...

and he would take care of 'licking the stamp'.

That kind of service is a thing of the past, I'm sure...

but we still get our mail at the road.

At least we have to this point.

And I appreciate that!

Over the past few decades most light-weight rural mailboxes have been replaced by...

...heavy metal ones such as ours.

They are hard to vandalize...

and hard to steal.

Especially if they are cemented into the ground.

We received notice from Canada Post last week that our mailbox is non-conforming...

and we had until yesterday to remedy that!
(We never.)

The problem?

The lid needs to stay up without being held...

for ease of delivery.

We are still  looking for a solution...

along with 450 other rural route customers who purchased their heavy-duty mailbox at a local machine shop over the past few years.

The manufacturer has ordered in magnets that they hope will solve the problem.

They are on back order.

Will we have mail delivery today?

We'll see.

Did you know that once in awhile...

good stuff still comes in that mailbox?
Really.

I'll keep you posted.
 

january blues...

January is known as a gloomy old month.

The days are short and grey...

and spring is still far away.

People talk about January blues...

and how to beat them.

My little grandgirlies came for a visit yesterday.

 

They are a cure for the blues any time of the year!

Lucy  came wearing a blue dress that her mommy wore so long ago...

...and her sister wore, not so long ago!

It was a dress that my mom knit for Heidi more than three decades ago. 

An heirloom to treasure.

We have photos of Maggie in the same dress...

at the same spot.

Two peas from the same pod...

one with more hair.

She's a character...

our little Lucy!

Mischievous...

loving...

and full of spunk.

And rarely at a loss for words...

at eighteen months.

 

 If you are suffering from January blues...

you may just need some grands!

a culinary night out...

My daughter came over yesterday with her two girlies...

feeling like she had been housebound forever while they were sick.

She wondered if I had plans for the evening.

She needed a night out.

Well, I did have plans.

Mennonite Girls Can Cook were hosting a cooking class at Lepp Farm Market...

and I  was planning to be there.

She immediately volunteered that maybe she could join me.

 

And she did!

Lovella and Kathy were the cooking instructors.

Anneliese and I were the extra hands as needed. 

Gourmet pizzas...

made to look 'easy as pie' were on the menu...

along with a wonderful winter salad.

And for dessert?

Chiffon cake...chocolate and orange.

The chocolate chiffon recipe is on the blog.

The orange chiffon cake recipe will be in the new Celebrations cookbook.

Spending time in the kitchen was not Heidi's idea of a good time in years gone by.

But she totally enjoyed her 'culinary outing' last night.

Especially since she just happened to meet her high school friend who she had not seen in years.

They had a lot of catching up to do...

and thought the class was too short!

I'm thinking she might have a front row seat at a cooking class again sometime.

Who knew a cooking class could be so much fun?

Thanks, Lovella and Kathy for all your hard work!

 

book pages, blueberries and pomegranates...

For those who wanted a closer look...

 

...here it is!

My wreath was a gift from my daughter-in-law...

who made it after being inspired by 'pinterest'.

I have no idea which tutorial she followed...

but if you check *here* you will find one much like it.

(What I do know is that it took her a very long time!)

 My sister is on the management team of Snowcrest Foods...

a large fruit processor in the valley...

and their website features many interesting (and healthy) fruity recipes.

I decided to try the blueberry granola bars...

which use frozen blueberries. 

I made a few changes...

I decreased the rolled oats and added pecans and sunflower seeds.

They got the thumbs up. 

I was quite happy to see their latest promotion...

Pomegranate Arils.

I love those crunchy pomegranate morsels in a salad...

but getting them out of the fruit is not always a simple matter!

Snowcrest pomegranate 'seeds' can now be found in the frozen food section

at Costco.

And those my miscellaneous offerings for this Wednesday!

 

the gift of life ~ well celebrated....

Every day is a gift from God.

At times we forget to acknowledge that.

This weekend I had occasion to celebrate the past 365 days...

which happens to make me one year older. 

Though things are looking pretty bleak in the garden these days...

I have a lot of beautiful flowers to enjoy indoors.

Flowers from the kids and grands.

The 'book page' wreath was made for me by my DIL...

and now hangs above my bookcase.

I love it...

and will show you a close up another day.

Thanks, Broni!

Yesterday was a quiet day...

and we decided to take a walk along the river before dark.

Just the two of us.

 

It's my favorite place to walk whatever the season!

We weren't the only ones walking the trail.

And amongst all those strangers...

we met some friends.

They were about done walking.

We were just starting.

They said,

'Come join us for dinner when you are done'.

We said,

'We'd love to'.

And so we carried on  with our walk...

...while others stood in the chilly waters hoping to catch their supper.

As the sun set on a beautiful Sunday...

the fishermen were still out there.

We had no worries about what we would be cooking!

Our impromptu supper 'invite' included appetizers...

and onion rings...

and gourmet bacon mushroom burgers....
and a salad.

And a lot of laughter...

and good company!

And for dessert?

The best chiffon cake ever!

(Though they had no idea we would be joining them for dinner...

it surely looked like birthday cake to me.)

It was such a fun evening.

And all because we walked the Vedder Trail!

It was a good weekend...

from beginning to end.

I am most thankful to God for another year...

and for his goodness shown to me through family and friends. 

I am so thankful for those I get to share this journey with!

 

friday's foto wrap-up...

The week is about over...already.

I was just looking through my pictures taken this past week...

and thought I'd post a few favorites.

A bit of this...

and a bit of that!

We had breakfast under this lovely chandelier earlier this week...

at my sis-in-law's table...

in Kelowna.

The chandelier always brings back memories of the many times I sat beneath it over the years...

and enjoyed fine food and the best of company.

It was my mother-in-law's chandelier...

a gift from dad long ago.

First it was in their farm-house.

Then it hung in the dining room of their house in the suburbs.

Then it went with her to her condo.

Eventually...

Martha took ownership and moved it to her dining room.

I've heard say that my niece plans to hang it over her table one day.

I like that...

the the gift of light keeps shining!

The eagles are back in our neighbourhood full force. 

 

I took this photo from my kitchen window one morning...

of eagles gathering in the tree across the field.

I love to step outside and listen to them  'squeak'...

their way of communicating with one another.

And just outside my kitchen window are the wee birds...

feeding at the free buffet I provide for them.

Here's something we haven't had in a long while...

 

...huge smooth sheets of ice on our grass fields...

with grands and their friends having a wonderful time out there!

I pass by this wee cemetery often...

and never really 'see it'.

Maybe it was the snow-capped peaks behind it...

that called me to stop and take a picture.

A peaceful picture...

the Tzeachten Cemetery in Chilliwack.

And those are my picks on this winter's day.

Well, let me add one more...
taken yesterday!

Tennis...
in January.

We are loving this weather.

Have a wonderful weekend!

going the distance...

We heard there was to be a birthday dinner for our brother-in-law John on Sunday night. John was married to hubby's sister until her passing 9 years ago.He will always be family as far as we are concerned!

We decided to crash the birthday dinner...to which we had not really been invited!  The problem is that he lives in Kelowna...which happens to be two mountain passes away from our home in the valley. But the weather forecast looked good, so we decided to go for it. 
 

Somehow we expected bare roads...but up in the pass it seems there is always snow. 

We had a bit of a surprise all our own...at our half-way point coffee break on the trek down. We stopped at our usual Tim Horton's in Merritt, and were about done our small coffees when we saw an old friend enter the restaurant. We knew him well for several decades...he and his wife were in our small group for many years. About ten years ago they moved to a house overlooking a lake in the North Thompson area of our province...and our paths no longer crossed. What are the chances of meeting here in this little mountain community on the Coquihalla Highway? He never saw us when he came in, so we quietly went for more coffee and joined him at his table without invitation. He almost fell off his chair. Our little coffee pit-stop became a marathon as we caught up on what had happened in his life these past years. He happened to be on his way to Vancouver to visit a specialist at the hospital that knows him well...where he spent 85 days last year. Our chance meeting was just the best...but eventually we had to leave for the last leg of our trip...if we were actually going to show up at the birthday dinner. 

The skies were grey...and the snow fell lightly for the rest of the trip. The Coquihalla Connector is not always a friendly winter drive...but it was fine on Sunday. We had compact snow...and little traffic...and listened to Paul Brandt's latest album called Just As I Am several times over. And we sang along. If you like country music...and you enjoy the old hymns like 'It is Well With My Soul'...this one is for you! Paul Brandt is Canada's most awarded country musician of all time.  A great singer, a nice guy, and one who uses his success to point people to God.

We crossed the bridge to arrive in  Kelowna just in time for dinner...wonderful Chinese cuisine. I'm not sure I'm allowed to tell you how old John is...but let's just say that our my kids remember celebrating his 50th more than 25 years ago. Here's the thing...we brought John a card and our 'presence'. He sent us home with a box of apples from the family orchard when we left for home. And that is how it has always been. We have enjoyed the 'fruits of his labours' over all these years. We wish him many more 'happy birthdays' to come!

We spent the night in Kelowna...where it seems we have a spare room (thanks, Martha!).  After enjoying a lovely post-birthday breakfast in the morning...

 
...we made the trek back over the hills from whence we came.  It was a lovely drive!

I actually would recommend  'driving' the Coquihalla n winter...if I can sit in the passenger seat with my camera! 

I would also recommend washing the car after!

Enjoy the weekend.

this old barn...

Erected more than a century ago...

 'the barn' was the prominent feature on the farm when my family purchased it in the fifties.

It was an old stanchion barn...

red with white trim at the time.

The old barn has seen many changes over the years.

In the sixties...it got a new metal roof.

Then it was clad with metal siding..

turquoise in colour...no less.

The stanchions were replaced with comfort stalls and a milking parlour.

A few children fell from the hayloft over the years...

and lived to tell of it!

Ten years ago...

'this old barn' became the heifer barn...

after new dairy barns were built.

But new barns don't have hay lofts!

And hay lofts are a lot of fun!

Ask my grands.

The hayloft became one giant playroom...

and 'critters' and Barbies alike could be found lounging here these past few years.

 

Forts were erected here and there.

This is where they spent many an hour taming the wild barn cats.

Kids are good at that!

The old barn got a new look again some 10 years ago.

It was made into a drive-through barn...

in order to feed the animals more efficiently.

That required removing timbers and joists down the center...

the entire length of the barn.

These timbers were beautiful British Columbia fir...

one hundred years old.

What would become of all that old wood?

As it turned out...

we were in the process of building a new house...

and decided to use the re-claimed wood for the floors of the main living area.

We loaded it all up...

and took it to Canadian Heritage Timber Company...

where it was cut into wide planks of varying widths...

 and sanded to bring out the rich and distinct character and patina of the wood. 

I was a little nervous when I first saw the floor boards with all their holes.

But after eight years of walking on our old barn floors...

we are still liking them!

The fireplace mantle was made from one of the timbers as well.

And so a piece of history lives on in our new farmhouse.

I'm sure the old barn has many stories to share from the 'good old days'...

but there is one story that is quite new.

And unique!

Several months ago, Mike (who works full-time on the farm)...

asked if it would be OK if he had some photos taken at the farm on his wedding day.

Why not?

We weren't around during the photo shoot...

and had no idea what kind of photos one takes in a barn.

Now we know!

 

At Christmas...

we were gifted with a lovely album of wedding photos...

put together by Corina.

 

My favorites are those taken in the hayloft of the old barn!

(My apologies to them for the poor quality reproductions.

Since my scanner seemingly does not work with my new Windows 8 operating system...

I resorted to taking pictures of pictures.)

The old barn still stands strong.

It has changed its colours once again.

I now live across the fields from the farmyard...

and don't visit the old barn too often these days.

My siblings who once worked and played in that barn...

all got a piece of it as a keepsake as well.

Most got a board with coat hooks.

One has a barnwood floor rumpus room.

If the barn owls decide to use the nest up in the rafters this spring...

I'll likely go up and take a look.

Until then...

that's it for tales from 'this old barn.!