Odds and Sods

I love making things from scratch. I am beginning to get two nicknames 'Susie homemaker' and 'Martha'. I love the fact that homemade thing are much cheaper and taste way much better than the processed grocery and mass produced items. I would love to open a little craft stall selling all my wares.

Here is a list of items I would sell,

Body Polish
Facial Scrub
Foot Scrub

Hemp Scourers
Dish clothes

Dog Biscuits
Dog Toys

Lemonade
Cookies in a jar

Eggs

Maybe one day it might come off. My store would be odds and sods :)

Pot Luck

Every so often at work we have a pot luck night. I decided that I would make breakfast for everyone as I am inundated with fresh eggs.  Wholemeal pancakes with molasses and cinnamon syrup are on the menu alongside scrambled eggs. Lets hope the guys like it. I'm looking forward to it.

Long May weekend

This morning was just perfect. The morning sun shone down showing how green and lush the garden was. Ducks were flying over head. The cockerels were crowing. The sheep was grazing on the long green shoots of fresh grass. The dogs were playing with their toys and I was pottering around make my pallet garden. Thats right a garden made from a pallet.

I shoveled some topsoil into the lined pallet before transplanting my broccoli and lettuce seeds. Im not sure if this is going to work but it is fun trying. Yesterday afternoon I transplanted my peas and radishes into our planter and left a nice wide space for my carrots which I think are to immature to transplant just yet. I do hope my vegetable gardens do well. It is the first real time that I have started to garden. My tomato plants have failed this year so I will be cheating and buying some from the local nursery which I can then grow in pots. I think next year I will start my seedlings in a make shift greenhouse. They have taken a long time to start sprouting and are still very small. The joys of living up North.

Wouldn't it be lovely to have a fresh bounty of vegetables at your door. Lets hope I have grown enough!!!!

Homemade Lemonade

The sun is out and the BBQ season begins. Wahoooo!. I can not wait for dinner tonight, Japanese marinated pork kebabs, Corn on the cob, potato salad and homemade bread with homemade ricotta (Deeeeelish!!!)

At the moment I am into making everything from scratch ranging from mayonnaise to bread to cheese. Today when I was browsing through the garage sales I saw two glass jars which would be perfect for homemade lemonade. On returning home I went straight into action making the best lemonade ever. The recipe follows.....

Homemade Lemonade

1 cup water
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 quarters of a cup of sugar

4-5 cups of plain or carbonated water (depending if you want a fizzy lemonade or a still lemonade)

In a small pan add the 1 cup of water with the sugar. Heat the the water until the sugar has dissolved. Take the pan off the heat and add the lemon juice. (I also added the lemon peals and let them infuse until the sugar syrup cooled.) Once cooled, remove the lemon peals and add the the remaining cups of water until you are happy with the concentration. Decant into bottles and refrigerate. Serve over ice.

A little hasty

Unfortunately my wedding dress could not be taken in as I had hoped. My friend was worried that she would have to cut the material and did not want to ruin the dress. I was gutted at first but luckily I have found a seamstress in town that can do the work for me. Phew!!!!

I am looking forward to visit the first farmers market this weekend and support my friend in selling her traditional perogies. She wants to save up enough money so that she can take her mum and dad to Europe.

Roll on Saturday for the market and Monday for the dress fitting

Wedding Plans

Everything is coming together nicely, My dress has been altered and my petticoat has been made. I have my eye on some lovely shoes which hopefully I can get very soon. The table decor is pretty much sorted too, white table cloths, brown craft paper runners with mason jars as vases for fresh flowers. I am still in 2 minds about flowers. I don`t know whether to have fresh flowers or potted plants. (We`ll see nearer the time). My friend is making a two tiered wedding cake and Ian has arranged a photographer.

The wedding aisle has been planned, a semi-circle of hay bales with the aisle running down the middle lit up with bamboo hurricane lanterns. The alter (per say) will be a table covered in a white table cloth where Ian and I will sign the register. Either side to the front of the table will be two logs with a large flower arrangement donned on top.

Our disco which will be in our barn will be decorated in white lights with ivory and green ribbons draping from the ceiling. The garden is to is be adorned with lots of fun games, horseshoes, moose knuckles, boche, mini golf and a coconut shy. I just pray that it does not rain. Only two months to go.......

Weekend fun

I had a lovely day out with my friend Claire. Spent the morning wandering around ten mile nurseries. Entered every competition at the local wedding fayre with the exception of winning a not so attractive photo frame. Chose the design of my wedding cake. Picked over all the crafts at Edgewood farms. Supported our local fire fighters by having a true Cariboo lunch (2 hot dogs with all the works). Then spent the afternoon grooming a gorgeous horse named Shadow and watching her do her stuff in the arena. Lovely day!!! Life is good :)