Tea Biscuits...

....or scones? (are they the same thing?) I prefer the name tea biscuits...they sound so simple and homey and comforting. These turned out really well..the kids like them with jam or honey and a cuppa tea. Good as a sweet with tea or savory with a yummy pot of stew. We use the same recipe for making cinamin rolls...and for putting a crust on our veggie pot pie.

Basic biscuit recipe......
2 cups of flour
1 Tbsp baking soda
1 Tbsp sugar (or more)
dash salt
cut in 1/4 cup veggie shortening or butter
add 3/4 cup water or milk
bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes.

Lee...

The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon!

Lee here.......This play ran for 5 shows during march break..the last show being today. Kate was so happy to get into this play. Its such a great opportunity for her to do what she loves. She really liked her costume and her role as "The Enchantress" but wished she had more time on stage. She plays an evil role so well, its spooky!
This year they had a new director. Many things were different and one of the fun, positive changes was they had someone come in to do their hair and stage makeup..(I thought of Thuy, Zee!)

There were many kids in this play...so many different characters from many different stories. Kate is signing autographs here which is why she is holding a pen:)

A group shot of the cast. Kate has made some fabulous friends from the 2 plays she has been in at this theatre. She also ushers so she gets to enjoy other plays as well. She is happy to be part of this theatre! The theatre director approached me and said how great she thinks Kate is at acting and she is so mature, friendly and she really appreciates her help. So nice to hear good things about your children when they are outside of the home. (fyi she isnt always mature, friendly and helpful at home;) These plays have been really positive for her.

A nice afternoon

Yesterday, Annie, Stefanie, Rob and I went to the play Kate is in and then Kate joined us for lunch after. It was so nice to spend time together...lots of laughter!
All of Kate's actor friends thought they look so much alike....Stef put on Kate's glasses to see if there are any similarities (and tried to imitate a Kate face).....They just happen to have the same hair style that day. One time Kate went into Stef's work and people thought she was Stef. I know they look like sisters but beyond that, I dont see it lol. I'm sure that's because they are my children and I see them for their individual qualities, versus just on the surface of being similar. I do know they are beautiful ;)

Lee

Maple Syrup :)

Lee here...It's that time of year...we are total amateurs and only have 7 trees to tap. It started off as a little experiment ..something fun and educational for the girls...and the source of a small amount of home made, delicious maple syrup...can't get more local than this! Chris gets everything set up and loves to spend a saturday outside, boiling sap and listening to the radio.

Annie has been helping us gather the sap and pour it into a big water jug. 40 litres of sap, when boiled down, makes 1 litre of syrup. Kate likes to help out and keeps me company. It's an all day operation....as basic as it can get...no fancy equipment for us...just a drum for fire, a rack to fit over it and a huge pot.

Next year, we would really like to get a thermometre and some proper filters. Its a total quessing game for us. I bring the syrup into the house to boil it down a bit more with the controlled heat of the stove.

I use regular canning jars to bottle it up. So far we have 8-250ml jars. Its going to rain for the next few days and after that, the weather will determine whether or not we continue....
It is alot of work but we are home and its a great excuse to spend the day outside. And flame equals roasted marshmallows!

With some leftover syrup and no more sterile jars, we continued boiling down until we thought we had the right consistency for candy....we did. Its not pretty but its really good and melts in your mouth!

Random things....

Annie playing dress up...I think she is some sort of warrior goddess....She looked beautiful:)
Her pottery stash....her last class was Saturday so she brought all of her creations home. I hope she wants to take this class again in September...This is incredible artwork! She made a pen holder for Stef and a giraffe for Kate.

This cool mask will get hung up somewhere.

Knowing how much I like gnomes, she made this little guy for me as a surprise. His face isn't painted but the features are carved on his face and I couldn't get the camera to pick them up. He looks right at home on the plants shelf.

I looked after a neighbours dog (Lucky) on Saturday...she is so sweet! Here, her and Chelsea are wanting to share my unhealthy snack of the week..a frozen chocolate pudding cup. I tried to convince them that chocolate is not good for dogs.

The neighbours always give me a little something...usually a food item....chocolates, cheese etc...this time they got me some nuts...I'll be sharing these...FYI there are approx 40 servings in this container...each one being 170 calories, 130 of which are from fat. OMG! are they trying to kill me???? lol

Lee

I LOVE FRIDAYS!!

Lee here....Not sure why I was yelling but its true, fridays feel like a great day! I like to tidy the house on friday, do extra work for homeschooling, bring in any wood, wash any laundry, clean the kitchen etc so then the weekend feels especially sweet...waking up saturday morning knowing I can sort of take the day off (not from exercise)...I can sit on the sofa and read, put on a movie, (after I take the kids where they need to go..pottery, rehearsal). Oh, and making coffee (it's like a special occassion drink for me!)and having a cup while reading the newspaper. Ok, so maybe its not fridays that I love as much as saturday...but I have lots of energy on fridays to do all the things I need to do in order to enjoy saturday lol. It is so bright and sunny here this morning too!
TGIF!

Happy March!

I went to visit my Uncle Bill yesterday and reminisce about nan and papa. The old home has been sold and someone new will be making hopefully happy memories there. We spent about 5 hours walking through the museum and chatting. Look at this little chicken I picked out. My grandmother loved chickens..had some egg layers and lots of dishes and ornaments of them as well. The top part comes off.

I really like cast iron and any housewares made from it, always catch my eye. Can you imagine the ironing chore back then! Ironing and muscle toning all in one!

I really miss my grandparents and am happy to have a few little things around the house that are from them.

Lee