Where do I begin

I'm ashamed to even admit how long it has been since I have blogged. 3 weeks? Last month just went by in a blur! I didn't realize until I was on Ravelry this evening and saw the date of the last posting. So, what have I been up to?

Well, let's just start with the fabulous trip at the end of February! I'm taking a photography course called Chicks Who Click with Karen in Courtenay and it was our first class. I'm finally learning the technical aspects of my camera, and things seem to be making alot more sense as opposed to flying by the sheet of the wind. Yea!!! Our first project is to shoot "Touch" . Well this is where my creativity is lacking. I can imagine the obvious way to shoot touch. But I really want to grow here and I know that people are going to come up with some fabulous ideas, and I have trouble with coming up with interesting ideas. Think brain, think! Or stop thinking so hard about it... ha ha-

After the class my mom and I went on the Great Yarn and Toy Search - we hit up every shop from Campbell River to Duncan including an alpaca farm. I was hoping to get my hands on some gorgeous alpaca roving, but had to settle for the softest yarn there ever was. I can't wait for my dye to arrive! We managed to resist and only buy 3 giant bags full....

I learned today that there is a new yarn store opening up South of Town- this is very good news! I also have made a connection to the Spinner and Weavers guild and I'm so excited to see where that could lead.

I feel like I've been crafting lately, but getting nowhere - that could be the sheer volume of projects I have on hand! I've started a sweater and knit jacket for myself, and Avari's birthday dress and I'm working on a little hat for Marshall tonight. I'm blocking a scarflet tonight to add buttons too, and I have to frog 82 rows of a dress knit with sock yarn because I didn't realize that I had twisted the project on the first row when I joined my circular needle. (cry)

I really, really, really want to sew more, but I've gotten a little intimidated by it lately. I know what I want to sew, but I just can't get started-

Busy, busy, busy

My typical day is getting very full now! I'm going through lots of life changes and my horoscope is affirming this (usually it's very off). I'm going to be joining a photo class with Karen that starts next week (once a month for 5 months). Next Monday is my last day at Mitchells- I'm going to be starting a new chapter.

I had a fun day today! Avari and I went to Family Place for Toddler Time. She's getting so much fun to watch! I made Chili and baked a loaf of Banana Bread during her nap. Then we went for a walk up to Mitchells for lunch, came back and played.

There's so much more to write! My brain hasn't been in to blogging and I've been starting a few projects but I'm not getting too far.

Proud owner of a Dehydrator!

Gotta Love Freecycle! I know have a dehydrator- I'm very excited- my kitchen is about 85% organized- all spices have spice jars, all flours have bins, all odd and end lids are GONE. I even learned that my oven is self cleaning, which is very wicked in itself!!!

I'm a new Auntie today!!! Marshall Robert was born at 8:30 this morning at 8lbs 14oz- I can't wait to see Rhonda tomorrow- what an amazing momma! Love you guys!

I'll write more tonight- I know I've been neglectful again

Great Recipe Source

So, my goal is to try and incorporate raw foods into 2/3rds of our diet- I have that awesome cookbook, and now I've found a good website with recipes

http://www.rawfoods.com/recipes/

I really need a dehydrator- maybe that's something I can get with tax return money- yippee!

Changes

I'm about to start a new fun chapter beginning in March - can't spill the details yet.

and yes.

there may be some extreme knitting :)

Seriously though, I'm going to be taking the Chicks who Click course to help with my photography, and meet some fun new people! It's once a month for 5 months- and a little road trip to boot. I'm also gearing up for a really fun summer- yes I know that it is far away still, but it feels like it's right around the corner!

OK - so how much fun will this be!

Through a little hyenacart research, I learned that you can dye protein fibers (wool and silk) with unsweetened Kool-Aid. (I'll never drink the stuff again!). Now, I couldn't find the unsweetened here in town, and an awesome Mama offered to find me some in the States and send it to me.

Anna from A Mother's Nature bought me a whole bunch of different colours and is shipping it to me next week! I'm so excited, because I was a little intimidated by the Dharma Dyes that I have on order, so this will be a great step in!

So now, as if I didn't have a whole whack of different crafts to do, I'm going to be a yarn dyer!!!! I have some Roving, and some Cestari Bulky and some playsilk blanks on the way, so I imagine by spring, I'll by creating my own beautiful yarn- yippee!

Matt's Hat got finished this afternoon, just in time for his trip so that's awesome. I'm really going to make a run at finishing my Ice Queen Cowl tonight, since it's the last of the month, I want to start a new monthly project on time and this one has been lagging me for awhile- but it's so pretty!

I also want to do a papercraft mural for Avari this week- she can help me glue things on it. Thank goodness for Dollarama (while hanging my head in shame...) Once I'm a rich designer, I'll shop responsibly!

Here it is...

I give this recipe 5 gold stars














I ordered some figs this week from Sunshine Organics and was looking for a recipe that used them. The glaze has to be one of the best things I've ever made. Since we're trying to cut out the "bad" stuff, I ordered some raw blue agave syrup as a sweetener to use instead of brown sugar. I was also just informed that agave is what is used to make tequila, so that makes it even more interesting! Roasted Sweet Potatoes rounded up the meal very nicely!

Here's the recipe:

Fig and Lemon Chicken

Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cook Time: 50 Minutes

Ready In: 1 Hour Yields: 12 servings

"Sweet figs provide a rich contrast to tart lemon in this citrus-glazed composition."

INGREDIENTS:

1 lemon, juiced 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup white vinegar 1/4 cup water 1 1/2 pounds dried figs

1 lemon, sliced 12 chicken thighs salt to taste 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley 1 teaspoon dried parsley

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2.	In a small bowl, combine lemon juice, brown sugar, vinegar and water; set aside.
3.	Place figs and lemon slices in the bottom of an 11x16 inch baking/roasting dish. Arrange chicken thighs on top, then pour vinegar mixture over chicken. Finally, sprinkle with salt and dried parsley to taste.
4.	Bake/roast at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) for 50 minutes, basting frequently (turn figs if they begin to brown).
5.	With a slotted spoon, remove chicken, figs and lemon slices from baking dish and place on a warm platter. Skim fat from cooking juices, then pour over chicken as sauce. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve.

and that's that- try it out!! Tomorrow morning I have a new "pancake" recipe on the list. I've heard if you scramble one egg with one banana and fry it in a pan, it makes some great pancakes- so we'll see!