Unprepared

I'm going on holiday tomorrow and I am entirely unprepared. I have so much to do before we leave.

Shucks.

Summer School

I'm just going to come right out and say it,

Summer School Sucks.

I am taking a philosophy course called Biomedical Ethics. It is an interesting course, but let's be honest, sitting in a classroom when it is 35 degrees out is not fun. Not only do I have to sit in class, but I have to do homework too! Although 35 degree weather is lovely, it isn't conducive to reading articles and trying to understand them. In my experience, the beach and homework don't work well together.

I am not philosophically minded! That part of my brain has been sapped out of me due to the years I have spent in empirical study. It is a very challenging course for that very reason.

I only have 4 classes left thankfully. And 80% of my grade to hand in. In my last three classes I have two exams and a paper due. This will be the week I get back from the wedding in Stanwood. It will be a week of H-E-double hockey stick.

What is up

• Erik and I scored at a garage sale last weekend! We got a bike, a flour sifter, an applesauce maker thingy, a fisher price farm set, and some other little doodads. So great. We also found a little farm that we like and can buy produce from.

• I'd never had fresh beets until yesterday. I've had pickled beets, but never fresh ones. They are delicious! We made them in our oven with Olive Oil and salt and pepper and they were certainly tasty. I could see them becoming a favorite.

• My friends, Ali and Joel had a beautiful baby boy, Caden Theodore. I am so excited to see Ali in her role as a mother. She will do a wonderful job. I only wish I lived closer so I could make her meals and play with her sweet little babe. I cannot wait to meet him in a couple weeks!
  

• The fires are raging here in and around Kelowna. There are 2000 people evacuated and something like 22,000 who have evacuation warnings. One fire is 4000 hectares large. A smokey cloud is currently covering the entire city. I'm off to volunteer and provide meals for evacuees this afternoon.

• I hate going to school in the summer. I am taking a philosophy course and it is so hard to be motivated. I hope I am thankful I took it when all my classmates have an extra course in first semester. We'll see.

• I love having Erik home. It is great.

• Erik and I are going to his brother's wedding in Stanwood over the long weekend. Only immediately family are going to be at the ceremony. I am very excited for it. I still don't know what I'm going to wear, but that hardly matters. I can't wait to see the family again. Everyone will be there! Two of Erik's brother's (one's an in-law) were missing from our wedding last summer so it will be nice to see everyone all together again.

• I'm learning how to crochet. Trying to at least. Self-teaching isn't going so well. I'm going to have to call in recruits.
  

Loving it.

I love being married. I honestly just love it.

I didn't miss Erik too much while he was gone. I think it's because I intentionally kept myself busy so that the time would pass quicker. As soon as he came home I missed him incredibly! I was sad that we missed out on a month together. It made me wish he had never left. I know, I know. I sound ridiculous. It is so great having him home though - I forgot how great it was.

As I said, I love being married. Love it. Erik is a wonderful husband and I feel so blessed each and every day to have him in my life. I never pictured myself marrying anyone like Erik, but I am so glad I did. He is the best.

Full of Friends

The past couple days have been full of friends! It has been wonderful. I only wish Erik had been here to enjoy them with me.

First, Stewart and Charisa Reimer stopped by for lunch on their way to a cousin's wedding here in Kelowna. It was great to catch up with them even if it was only briefly. I was called in for a night shift the day before so I woke up about 30 minutes before they arrived at 1:00pm. I felt a bit out of sorts, but my sister had gone grocery shopping for me which was sweet of her. At least I had food to offer them.

Later that afternoon friends from church came for dinner. We ended up going to the beach to play bocce and then returned home for a great game of cranium. We were laughing so hard we were all crying. And it wasn't a little bit of crying, it was uncontrollable!

This is Trevor, Sam and Milena waiting for Jen to pick up the scruples game that she dropped all over the driveway. The fading light added an interesting twist to bocce.

And this, this is Sam laughing uncontrollably.

Finally, I hung out with my friend Kate yesterday. We went to a tea store in the afternoon and saw this tea called Tarry Lapsang Souchong. It smelled like a campfire and I could not imagine drinking it. The lady said that chefs regularly buy it to season their meat with. So, we bought a little sample size and that is exactly what we did. We made kabobs that were absolutely delicious!

Kate working on the mango.

We got to enjoy our meal out on the deck at Kate's house. It was a beautiful day! The wind was blowing and a thunderstorm was threatening to roll in but it was such a pleasant evening. We sat on the deck late into the night curled up in blankets and sipping on delicious tea. I loved it.

Back to this tea store we went to. It was called Teaberry's Fine Teas. I absolutely LOVED it. It was beautiful and relaxed. We sat and smelled many different teas while the owner explained what was in them. She made us tea and chatted for a while. It was just wonderful to be able to spend an entire hour hanging out and learning about the tea industry. I can't wait to take Erik there when he gets home.

Speaking of Erik. He comes home tomorrow at midnight! Hip hip hoooray! I haven't seen him in just under a month. We got to talk this morning which was wonderful. I have certainly missed him. It is strange to think that we have so much catching up to do. I was thinking of what I have done since he left and there is quite a list. He said his little crew caught over 150,000 lbs of sockeye salmon though. That is great! Do you know what that means??? Paid tuition!

James Bond

I was at the post office yesterday mailing something to my parents. The young man helping me noticed I was wearing a wedding ring. The following conversation ensued:
"You married?"
"Yes, I am."
"If I were Bond, you'd be my kind of woman."

Knitting, Aprons, and Mice

Knitting
I mentioned that I learned how to knit a little while ago. This was my first little project. I made a "knitted dishcloth". It is supposed to be a square, and I stretched it out to look pretty good I think.Since making that first cloth I have been attempting to make more. I was five rows from finishing another one when I dropped two stitches accidentally and had no idea how to get them back. I tried to figure it out, but could not so I ended up dropping some more. I unraveled the entire dishcloth and started over. This is the one I am currently working on. Apron
And this beautiful thing is an apron I found for 50 cents at a garage sale. I think it is just beautiful! I love aprons and I now wear this one all the time! Love it.
Mice
There are mice downstairs at the recovery house I work at. I was writing in the office when this little mouse came scuttling along. One of the girls was sitting on the couch behind me and I was like, "umm... do we know there are mice running around this place?"
She looked at me and replied, "why do you think we have so many cats?"
I hate cats, but I think I will put up with them now that I know they have a purpose in the house. Even if they are sissy city cats... They are intimidating sissies.
Back to the mouse in the office.
The girl on the couch jumps up and starts chasing the mouse around. She ran around for a good 5 minutes before chasing the little guy in my direction. As I was asking her politely to make it go in the other direction, she stopped moving. She looked up at me and said, "You don't have to worry about that thing no more." ... "I don't?" With that she lifted her foot and there was a little convulsing mouse with the better part of it insides strewn across the floor.
I looked up in disgust, "Honestly?? You just chased a mouse and stepped on it? That is sick."
She laughed and said "You'll get used to it."
I think I'll take one of those dreadful cats with me whenever I go downstairs.

...

Erik called today.

From a boat.

From Alaska.

Three separate times.

And I missed them all.

I was just starting a new job at a recovery house. He wasn't supposed to call at all; he told me he wouldn't. I am now so disappointed that I missed his calls. I would love to be able to talk to him. I work a dayshift tomorrow at the hospital and then a night shift on Friday. Then I am back at the recovery house 6 hours after I get home from there. I am pumped to be working, but I am going to be exhausted. I start school on Monday too. At least time will fly by until Erik comes home.

Sewing

I received a refresher course in sewing last weekend. I once sewed a vest when I was very young. It was beautiful. The fabric was black with all these bright colorful stars outlined all over it. I wore that baby with pride. I have decided that I want to start sewing. Simple projects. I just want to be able to make basic gifts and be able to fix things around the house. I think sewing is a very practical skill to have.
My mom found a sewing machine that she is going to send to Mexico with my brother next time he goes, but she has given it to me to use until next March when that trip rolls around. She spent a good hour showing me how to put the thread in so that I can actually start a project. I have already forgotten this little skill, but I am sure a quick phone call home will fix that. I decided that I would stick to straight lines for the first little while. It has been a long while and I do not have a steady hand. I cannot program this machine to go slower like I could on my mom's sewing machine and I have a pretty heavy foot so I am often out of control!
I made two pillow cases on my first day of sewing. They are perfect. I honestly love them and I do not want to give them away, but I made them specifically as Christmas gifts. None of my lines are straight and I messed up so I had to made a parallel line on one of them.... definitely not straight. At one point I think my parallel lines cross over each other. I love it though. I love that it is imperfect because it shows me that I have so much to improve on. I am so proud of those two little pillow cases. I made them. I made them by myself and they are functional.
There is something about creating something for someone else. It fills me with such joy! I was frustrated and ready to quit at many different times, but I thought of the recipients of this gift and it relaxed me. I enjoyed thinking about them while I worked and it really made me feel connected to them. It was a wonderful experience. One that I highly recommend. Here's the finished product... already wrapped.

Strawberry Picking

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I was home in Surrey this past week. I came down because Erik had to make his yearly trip to Alaska to go commercial fishing for three weeks.

It was busy at home. I learned how to knit, sew, and can strawberry jam. I helped my brother, Anthony, with the Amazing Race he puts on for his youth group. I went to my nephews kindergarten graduation and my nieces grade 8 grad. We went to my grandparent's house for a Father's Day barbecue on Tuesday. I saw Alicia who I haven't seen since August. And I spent an entire day home alone cooking and baking. It was great.

I went strawberry picking with Alicia, my niece Kaitlyn, and some of my little cousins. we picked over 90lbs. of strawberries in under 2 hours. It rained on us a couple times, but my cousins were troopers. When I got home I went to work washing and freezing some and then also making strawberry jam with some. We didn't actually do the whole "canning" thing with them. My aunt said that she just pours 2 Tbsp of vinegar on top of the jam once it has cooled off completely and then screws the top on. She doesn't even leave the vinegar on. She uses the same 2 Tbsps of vinegar for all of her jam jars. I'm a bit nervous about this, but we'll see how it goes.

Picking in Progress

Finally finished!

Portabello Burger

Delicious!

If you like mushrooms then you HAVE to have a portabello burger! Grill the mushroom as you would a burger and then fix it with whatever you like. We had ours with basil butter, Diana's bbq sauce, caramelized onions, tomato, lettuce, and provolone cheese. With home-made fries on the side.

Delicious!

=)

Things I am loving right now are:

• Trying new recipes
  
• Eating outside
• Baking bread
• Hanging out with Erik
• Our herb garden
  

A Beaver

Erik and I went on a walk last night, as we often do. We ended up at the lake so we sat on a bench and enjoyed the peacefulness of it all. It was about 9:15 when we got there so it was pretty dark, but it was absolutely beautiful.

I saw something swimming in the lake right near the shore, in the dark it looked like a log gliding sideways. We were trying to figure out what it was as we watched is swimming closer to us. It stopped right in front of us (we were sitting about 40 ft from the water) and waddled onto the shore. We couldn't tell what it was because it was facing us, but I assumed it was a beaver, though I wasn't certain. It was munching on a tree branch that had fallen near the lake. When it had its fill of that it ventured up the shore, closer to us. By this time we had seen its tail and determined that it was, in fact, a beaver. It was beautiful to watch. Really. I was mesmerized. I felt joyful. When it was about 25 ft away from us it stopped abruptly and darted back to the lake and away... with four highschool/college girls in pursuit!!!

UGH! I was so frustrated!! What silly little girls! They had been sitting further down the beach and had just noticed the beaver. I was so disappointed. As they left the beach one of them said, "I guess we probably shouldn't have chased it away." You think?!?!

I never though I would see a beaver at the lake. I didn't even know there were beavers near Okanagan Lake. I don't know much about beavers at all actually. It was a neat experience none-the-less, and one I would love to have again.

Minus the annoying girls.

Italian Parmesan Bread

I have been contemplating putting up this recipe. I wasn't going to, but it is just too good to keep to myself. I made this bread four or five days ago and it is still soft and moist and delicious! Maybe I'm bad with bread, but my homemade bread is usually dry by now. It is from my Simply in Season cookbook.

Italian Parmesan Bread

2 cups warm water
2 Tbsp active dry yeast
Combine in mixing bowl, stirring until dissolved.

3 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups white flour
1/2 cup butter (melted) or oil
2 Eggs
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp onion flakes or 2 tsps onion powder
2 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
Add and mix well.

1 cup Parmesan Cheese (grated).
Add with enough additional flour to make a soft dough (I needed almost 3/4 of a cup in the end).
Knead for 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic.
Place in greased bowl, turn to grease both sides, cover with a damp cloth, and let rise 1 hour.
Divide in half and divide each half into thirds.
Roll into 15 inch ropes. Braid loosely into two braids and tuck ends under.
Place on greased baking sheets, cover, and let rise for 30 minutes.
(Instead of braids you can make it into three loaves).
Bake in preheated oven at 350F until golden brown, 35 minutes.

And that, my friends, is all. Delicious.

Investigating

Lately I have been feeling the need to be creative, resourceful and motivated. I always talk about wanting to change how I live and "go green", but I don't feel as though I am really making an effort to do so. I don't "look outside the box". I always make an excuse like "when I'm done with nursing" or "when I have kids" or "when I have energy". The thing is, I would much rather start changing how I live NOW so that I can focus on implementing what I have learned when I'm done school or have kids. I would rather do the work now and start the change so that I can continue rather than start my journey when life gets even more busy. I realize that it is a process and that it won't change in an instant (although I would much rather it did) so I just have to take baby steps.

This "Going Green" bandwagon that I am more than willing to jump on has been frustrating and rewarding. It's difficult to always be conscious of what you are doing, what you are wasting, what you can recycle, and what you can somehow reuse.

Green Practices already implemented:

• Canvas and cloth grocery bags
• Walking to the grocery store
• Stainless Steel water bottle (Purica Steel from Nature's Fare)
• Glass containers for left-overs (both sets on sale)
• Eco-friendly cleaning products (Shawna, do you know if your homemade laundry detergent works in a high efficiency front loading washer?)
• Run the washing machine on cold
• We recycle everything possible
• Growing our own Herbs :Greek Oregano, Sweet Marjoram, Lemon Basil and Rosemary
• We use our local library (currently reading Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood)
• Erik rides the scooter to work
• Simply in Season Cookbook - We need to use this more, but we love it!

Things I want to do when we have our own home:

• Compost - My sister hates the idea and we live with her right now so that's a no go.
• Garden - Vegetables, Herbs, Grains, Fruit

New things we are trying/going to try:

• Buying Local Food
• Buying Organic Food
• Using Whole Grains in meals (Does anyone have recipes or ways of doing this?)
• Eating less meat (this is going to be tough as I LOVE meat)

The main thing am focusing on right now is buying local foods. I needed to do some prep work with summer being just around the corner so I did some investigating yesterday. In the past, all my attempts to find "Local Produce - Kelowna" came up with stores selling local foods. Although they are all great stores (Nature's Fare, Paul's Produce etc.), I am interested in making a connection with the actual farmers. I want to learn more about the process of growing the food and, let's face it, I want to remove the middle man.
As I said, all previous attempts were in vain, but I finally found an excellent website. If you're living in BC and want to find out which farms are certified organic go to this website. Please. It is awesome. I found farms all within a half hour of where I live that sell many of the things I am interested in buying!

Some of the organic produce I am most excited for are:

• Raspberries
• Tomatoes (I wish we were growing our own)
• Mushrooms
• Carrots
• Onion
• Corn
• Potatoes
• Beets
• Vanilla Beans
• Beans
• Cucumber
• Asparagus
• and seeds for when we have our own garden!

And we have some local, but not organic:

• Grapefruit
• Oranges
• Honey

I also found an organic whole grain distributor... I need to look into this more as I have no idea what to do with whole grains, but we'll see. They are from Saskatchewan, but their prices seem reasonable and shipping and handling wasn't too bad. I'll keep you posted.

I. Am. Pumped.

My First Injection

I gave my first injection on my second day of clinical in September. Nothing big, just a subcutaneous heparin in a patient's arm. He was an elderly man and we technically weren't supposed to be doing injections yet because we hadn't had our lab on it, but I had one patient and he had no medications other than this 0900 heparin. I quickly read up on what I was supposed to do and as I walked into the room three of my classmates asked if they could come in a watch. I was shaking because I was so nervous, but I needed to maintain my cool exterior so I said, "sure, come on in". I feigned a confidence I did not have and approached my poor unsuspecting patient (who obviously did not know it was my first injection). I cleaned off a little section of his arm with an alcohol swab and took a deep breath to try to calm my shaking hand. My instructor gave me the permissive nod and I picked up my little needle and pinched the little section of fat together. Let's be honest, I had no idea what I was doing. The way I darted that needle into him you would have thought I was trying to inject a brick wall. I shot that little thing in. Evidently I didn't need quite that much force. The needle was tiny and the fat cells are quite receptive. The patient was none the wiser and said he didn't feel a thing when I confessed that it was my first injection.

Needless to say I am much better at it now.

lookin fine with his pony

His ponytail that is. I honestly kinda like it.
Both of these were from our first date. The second one here is a picture that Erik begged me to take. It's actually called Black Angus but Erik prefers this alternate name. We did have some delicious steak there.

Friday Fun-day

Erik took me on a wild and crazy adventure on Friday! Ok. It wasn't wild or crazy, but it was fun!
He decided that we would drive to Osoyoos on Hwy 33 and then loop back on Hwy 97. It was an all day affair that was quite enjoyable for all of us except for Erik's burnt right arm. As you can see from the map below, it was quite a long drive... but well worth it.
Our first stop was Kettle River Provincial Park. We really only stopped because our stomachs were growling and I was getting snarky. It was a beautiful little spot and I'm glad we did get to see it. The pictures really don't do it justice. My camera isn't the greatest so it doesn't pick up the depth of color that we were actually witnessing.



This picture makes me wish I had a horse. I have always dreamed of riding through the rolling hills. The Man from Snowy River was that inspirational for me... Jim Craig certainly left an impression.

Above is a picture of Osoyoos from a lookout that we stopped at. We drove through Osoyoos and Oliver, but didn't make an actual stop again until we reached Penticton. Erik attempted to go swimming on the south end, but it was far too windy so we went north to the other lake. The weather was just gorgeous and Erik did make it into the water and swam for about 45 minutes. Unlike Erik, I usually only swim when I cannot handle how sweaty I am getting... and I can handle a lot of sweat.


The day may me think of when my family used to go for drives together. With the current gas prices you don't really go for drives just for fun anymore, but it was a lot of fun... and we did it before they rocket up again for summer.

Scrap Fabric

I have decided to try sewing. I have been looking around and have found some little things I would like to try out. They are pretty much fake quilting. I was wondering if any of you have any scrap fabric lying around. If you do... I'd like it. Please. With a cherry on top. I don't feel like going out and buying 1/8th of a yard over and over only to cut it up into smaller pieces. Mom, I know you have some. Shawna, you're bound to have some from your gift bags lying around. Aunties?? Anyone??

Self Check-Out

At the grocery store yesterday I decided that I am not a fan of the Self Check-Out stations.

I think there is something communal about food and this includes grocery shopping. I love grocery shopping. I expect it to take a while. Erik and I usually walk there together and then poke around. I don't mind standing in line and making a bit of small talk with the cashier. Just yesterday I was complimented on the hat I was wearing and the bread I was buying. No self check-out could have done that.

I feel as though the self check-out is taking something away from grocery shopping. It is giving us an opportunity to become even more distant from our neighbors. Sad.

That being said, I have a confession: I have used the self check-out. But that was only because I used to DREAM of being a cashier. I used to play store in my parents garage which served as out pantry. I worked at a thrift store a couple summers ago and that was my favorite part... and we didn't even have the bar code beepers... I had to type in every price. The beeper... now that, my friends, is the best part!