going green...

I went to the post office to mail a parcel yesterday...

...and came home with a little bistro set for under the grape arbour.

It was green...

on special...

and had my name on it.

Shopper's Drug Mart has a good thing going...

by having Canada Post in the back corner!

The new green machine that I am really happy about is...

...this one!

After 25 years of using the previous John Deere ride-on mower...

it was time for an upgrade.

I can't really give you an honest review just yet...

since it seems hubby has decided he will mow the lawn...

new toy, and all.

The novelty will wear off...

soon enough!

Last night we...

the Mennonite Girls Can Cook team from the valley...

were guests at Sardis Fellowship Baptist

Spring Tea.
What a fun bunch!

Lovella told our story...

and we demo'd some recipes from the Celebrations cookbook.

We had green punch...

the sparkling white grape and lime punch recipe on page74 of the cookbook.

Green...

my theme for today.

Have a wonderful weekend!

spring colors...

So what are spring colours?

 I usually picture lilacs and pale green...

and soft pastels on the spring palette.

We played tennis at some new community tennis courts the other night...

...and this was the view from the courts as the sun  sank low in the western sky.

Pretty...

but not pink.

From my kitchen window...

I'm seeing a lot of yellow these days.

Frieda's tulips are almost bloomed-out...

but the dandelions are in their prime.

The rosy red rhubarb is ready for the pickin' in the local gardens...
and we are enjoying rustic rhubarb tarts this week.

 Who knew...

red and yellow are spring colours too?

Friday's mystery..

Don't you just love to solve a mystery?

I have one that needs solving...

though I'm not sure you can help me out with it.

Last week one afternoon...

...I opened the front door to find a bag tied to the door handle.

Strange.

I had been home all afternoon...

and had not heard the doorbell.

I checked the doorbell...

and heard only silence.

So it seems our nine year-old doorbell has packed it in.

Well, I also never heard a knock.

I untied the bag and took it in to see what it might be.

 

In the bag was someone's collection of 8-track tapes.

Since I had just posted a story about my granddaughters' secret fort...

and the old 8-track player they have there...

I wondered if someone was donating 8-tracks for the girl's fort.

How fun is that?

Front and center is my favorite Simon and Garfunkel recording of old!

We had that very same 8-track...

...only ours showed much more wear and tear than this one!

And we never knew that one could purchase protectors to cover the tape.

Our benefactor covered the cartridges with Walco protectors.

Everything in the bag looked like it was purchased yesterday.

Where is Walco?

I have kept three of our 8-track cartridges from the 'good old days'.

This is what they look like.

The theme song on this particular one was 'Hey Jude.

It looks like it got a lot of playing time.  

One of these days...

I'll be making a trek out to the secret fort....

and we'll see if we can make music with great-grandma's 8-track player.

Maybe one day I'll know who gifted us with their pristine collection of  8-tracks from the 60's.

Maybe someone will give me some clues!

And just in case you stop by to deliver anything in the next few days..

...you might want to ring the Swiss cowbell that is sitting there.

I know the doorbell won't be chiming before the electrician comes calling!

 

who knew?

The blossoms are out in full force.

Who knew  our local airport drive could look this scenic?

Who knew that after one week without rain...

the cranberry fields down the road would be thirsty?

As I was  taking a photo of the irrigation in progress...

from the freeway overpass just north of our place...

a passing cyclist caught my eye.

And got caught in the eye of my camera. :)

Who knew one could pedal a bicycle along Highway 1 (Trans-Canada Highway) in Chilliwack?

Is that even legal?

I'm thinking it is fool hardy!

Who knew that ginger came in liquid form?

My sister brought me some from Australia...

and I'm adding it to stir-fries and the like.

Handy!

Who knew that a roof needs washing on occasion?

There's a good reason that some of us are not too fond of moss!

And those are a few random shots of  life in my neighbourhood this first week of April, 2013.

Have a wonderful weekend...

wrapping it up ~ friday...

I'm leaving my China finale for next week...

and wrapping things up with a few of  the happenings of this past week.

The crows have been hanging around all week.

The grands have come and gone.

We played Canada Monopoly with them...

to be continued at a future date.

My grand daughter tried on my new slippers...

and thought they were meant for her.

They were a gift from my knitting and tinking friend...

so I'm afraid I won't be parting with them any time soon.

We 'jumped the gun' on the Easter fare over here...

and had paska buns while the grands were over.

They each decorated their own.

Also this week...

we had the privilege of attending a 'farming expo' sponsored by our bank...

and featuring all locally grown and produced products.

We came hungry...

and left satisfied!

Veggies, preserves, ethnic foods...

and a sampling of meats from Lepp Farm Market.

Did I tell you that I like that place?

 

We already know from past experience that you never go home empty handed.

I will enjoy my orchids in the months to come!

 

Sunshine and clouds...

rain and wind...

we've had it all this week.

And the best way to end...

a rainbow!

Have a great weekend!

friday's diversion...

I'm packing away the China pictures for another day...and will share about things closer to home.

We arrived home last weekend...

...and the majestic eagles were sitting on their usual perch and waiting. :)

We hadn't seen any green grass since we left home...everything in China was brown!  White swans on green grass was a welcoming sight as well.  (We always prefer if they sit on the neighbour's green grass though!)

On my front porch was a gift awaiting our return.  I knew immediately who would have left it there.

Only Marnie decorates cookies so beautifully!  She had no idea we were away and the gift had been left on Valentine's Day.  How nice to have such great neighbours.

It's been a good...and busy week.  The kids and grands all came for lunch on Sunday.

In China...each child gets a red envelope containing cash to conclude the Chinese New Year festivities.  We gave the grands each an envelope like that...with some Chinese currency inside.  It will be play money for them.

On Tuesday my friend Ellen drove up from Seattle with her daughter, Katie...

...and some of us had lunch with her at a comfortable bistro here in town.  Though I had never met Katie before...it seemed to me like I knew her. Funny how that is.  A good time...we had!

The sun was shining brightly and so as not to waste it...Marg and I played tennis after lunch.  On the way home...I just had to stop and take a picture of this lovely old farm. 

Snow-capped peaks against a clear blue sky...and green pastures and lawns are not to be taken for granted in February. We never saw clear skies in China...as it is hard for the sun to break through the pollution over there.

It's good to be home.  Next week...I'll finish up my 'tour of China'.

Have a wonderful weekend...

a penny for your thoughts...

I wonder .. 

will we still be saying 'a penny for your thoughts' in the future?

Today marks the official end of the copper coin in Canada.

February 4, 2013 is the day the banks quit issuing pennies.
The last Canadian penny was produced in May of last year.
The penny will soon be an artifact.

No worries here.
I won't be out of pennies any time soon.

These were the ones I pulled from my coin jar yesterday.

I think I'll keep them!

And then I have a folder of pennies...

one for every year since I was born.

Now that is a lot of pennies.

And I have a few' really old' ones.

Even older than me! 

I don't think the penny will disappear overnight...

but merchants will now be rounding off purchases to the nearest nickel.

Up or down.

Electronic transactions will not be affected.

Phasing out the penny is a cost-saving government plan.

 $11 million of the annual budget goes to supply us with pennies...

since each penny costs about double its face value to produce.

Will the penny be missed?

Apparently Australia and Switzerland don't miss theirs!

The USA is still debating...

but has chosen to keep their one cent coin for now.

So...how about 'a nickel for your thoughts' about our pretty penny?

 

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.
 

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!

 

try, try again...

'Tis a lesson you should heed, 

If at first you don't succeed, 

Try, try again.

I've learned my lesson well.

I don't give up easily!

I've been making Anneliese's French bread for the past few years.

One recipe yields two large loaves.

Quick and simple...

and ready in no time.

Usually.

Just before Christmas we had plans to go to a concert with friends.

The plan was to have a quick soup supper together before we went.

I offered to bring fresh bread.

Anneliese's French bread.

I mixed up a batch of dough...

and realized it was missing the secret ingredient.

Yeast.

I added it after the fact...

but decided it was not likely going to produce bread to share with friends...

so I quickly mixed up the second batch.

 It went into my favorite large, red Tupperware mixing bowl...

and I tucked it into the oven to rise in a warm place.

I turned on the oven for 15 seconds...

then turned it off and went back to the sewing machine.

Well, I thought I turned it off!
Some 10 minutes later...
the lid of my nice bowl was a molten mass on top of the rapidly rising yeast dough.
Not only was my favorite bowl ruined...
I still had no French bread for supper.
So I mixed the third batch.
All went well...
and it came out of the oven just in time!

I just thought I'd share that things sometimes go terribly wrong over here as well.

The lesson I've learned...

try again! 

There were a few happy endings to my story.

The first batch of bread with the yeast added after-the-fact turned out just fine in the end.

And so we had our fill of French bread.

And my favorite red bowl which was ruined...

has already been replaced.

My friend just happened to have a green one that she was saving to give away...

and so I was the lucky recipient.

One more thing...

you too can be baking Anneliese's French bread in your kitchen soon.

The recipe will be posted in the new Celebrations cookbook...

coming in spring...

along with all the variations including bread sticks and pizza rolls.

Just keep your Tupperware bowls away from the oven.

I'm just saying!

Enjoy the day...