Some New Things!

Hello World,

For starters my blog layout is new. I had spent all this time changing another blog and I came to the realization that this one needed a change since summer is almost gone and all.
So K. came by to see us at the market a few weeks back and she pulled out her darling little wallet and I went nuts over it. She kindly told me about it and I found one for myself. Thanks K. you trendsetter you.
Awhile ago I had bought this material and my mom covered an office chair I had so I was quite happy and thanked her for her kindness.
Then I was out shopping the other day and found this pooky little teapot for one. It's great because you can put loose tea in the little holder. Hey it matches my wallet too.

So I finally got some rainboots, that was a gift from my birthday. If you remember I was supposed to get these pink ones awhile back and they never came in which I was upset about at the time. The other day I came across these ones and thought they were nice and are higher up which I wanted in the first place.

Okay I don't have one yet but can't decide which one to get. I was given money towards an iPod for my birthday quite a few months back and I have waited until now to buy an iPod because I kept hearing a widescreen one was coming. When Steve Jobs made the announcement the other day I was so excited. The shuffle is out so it's between the Nano, Classic and Touch ones. The problem is I'm nuts over the cuteness of the nano and the adorable colours (I'd get red if I got this one), then I love the storage of the classic and I'd get black if I got that one and probably the 80 GB one, but then there is the coolness and widescreen part of the Touch I'm dying for. I'd get the 8 GB one if I got that one. So I'm very torn which one to buy. Why can't this be an easy one for me. I'm waiting for detailed reviews to come out next week so I can read the pros, cons etc. Already I've been on some forums to hear everyone's feedback.

Until I blog again,

:) S.

My Blog Has Been Up One Year and My Time At Camp!

(all of us at the top of the mountain)

Just over a year ago I posted my first post in blogger land. I had just come home from Camp where I was a Cabin Leader at a Teen Girls camp. See original here.

Well two weeks ago I came home from the same camp and again worked at Teen Girls. The girls in my cabin were wonderful and I made so many wonderful memories. It was a blast to go tubing with two of my campers. I've been to this camp many times before over the years but had never had a chance to take the hike up the mountain. So one day Rosalyn announced she was taking a group of girls up and we had to meet at the flag pole. My mom was also working in the kitchen and my sister was the speaker and we all thought it would be great.(view from the top)

First off, I thought I was in okay shape and thought it wouldn't be that hard. Let me tell you I was wrong. It was a grueling 45 minute hike that was fast paced and for the very fit. My sister and I took many breaks along the way while everyone else trailed ahead. My mom had no problems but my sister and I were panting out of breath and feeling like our lungs would cave in. It was a sheer test of endurance and I kept asking the Lord for strength with each step. It was up rock, tree bark, moss, bush, etc. A couple of times I told my sister I wasn't sure I could do it. I mean deep down I thought I could but at the time it seemed impossible.
(view from the top looking down at the camp)

It was a lot like life, you go through trials and tribulations but you persevere through it all and you make it one day at a time and one step at a time. When we got to the top the view was breathtaking and it was wonderful to catch my breath and enjoy it all. So I thought going down would be a piece of cake. Well no, it took a long time because there were falling rocks everywhere and I had to come down cautiously one foot in front of the other. We were blessed we had another Cabin Leader who knew the way back and was able to go slow with us. A few girls even got lost up there by taking the wrong path and the guide had to go back and get them but they make it back safely.

So this year there were no cougar sightings (unlike my post last year) and I was so thankful. Being out in the cabins the Cabin Leaders take the campers out to the washrooms at night. I still kept my cell phone handy just in case I saw or heard anything but saw nothing. I came back energized and felt like I'd had a holiday. It was hard to say good-bye to the campers as it always is but I knew I would keep in touch with them.
One of the neat crafts we did this year was make monkey's. The camp had a jungle theme this year and so it fit in perfectly. It was such a fun project and there are still things I want to fix on mine but thought I would post him up on the blog for all to see. :)

I brought my cheap automatic camera and haven't developed the photos yet so the ones of the hike are from a friend at camp. Since the mishap with my last digital camera, I didn't want to take any chances with my new one.

K. is up there right now as I type this and I know she will have many stories of her wonderful week. Just thought I better get cracking and get my post up.

Blessings to all and to all a good-night,

S.

A Lot Going On!

First hole being dug.
Eddie in the first hole.

Well as you can see two weeks ago the renovations to fix our leak started out swimmingly. The guys had to replace cracked tiles and we thought maybe just one or two needed replacing. It turned out that they to dig out the left side of our house and a big hole in our lawn. About 8 weeping tiles were replaced and a new pipe put in.

An old pipe.
A pipe that will break easily. Adam demonstrated this by throwing a rock at it.

In total it took 8 days to fix. The guys were at the house on an off for a few hours at a time. There was lots of drilling and digging happening and I realized what it must feel for people who get their house renovated for months on end. I was just happy it was all happening outside.


The side all dug up.
One of the guys inside.

It's all finished now and we are ready for a heavy rainstorm. Let is rain, let it rain. Now we just have to get the cement filled in where they filled the hole with dirt.

I'm off to camp as a counselor so will have adventures to talk about when I return. Just pray I don't see any cougars.

Till then,

:)S.

I Know It's Been Awhile!

Sandcastle that was built over a period of two days

Natural just fruit roll ups
Mini sourdough breads, C. figured how to get her own starter after much trial and error.
Pink Peppermint Spray (purposely blurred), it's great for tired legs and feet and also works great for headaches or anytime you need to wake up.

So You Think You Can Dance 3 (the final ten)

Cast of Big Brother 8


Hello Everyone out in Blogger Land,

I'm still alive and well but just super busy and blogging has been the last thing on my mind. Our bath and beauty line is doing well at the market (we've added several new things, see above) and as I posted not long ago we have added a whole new extension onto the business as we now have organic bread and goodies. So instead of having one thing to keep us busy we now have two things that both demand time and attention.

Plus we are getting ready to go back up to camp in about two weeks and I can't believe the summer is almost over. A week ago we got a new sink put into our kitchen that we badly needed. Also we got the part below our deck all finished up. Tomorrow the people come to dig up infront of our house to fix that awful leak we got back in January.

I last blogged about Hidden Palms and that show is now over and won't return due to bad ratings. The frustrating part was they shot 13 episodes and squeezed it down to eight so at the end of eight you are left wondering a couple of things. That's how TV goes though.

Currently I'm into Big Brother 8 (see above photo) and have been watching that since Big Brother 5. On that note I really want Jen to leave she is driving me nuts and seems to have no feelings for anyone but herself. While talking about shows I am also really enjoying So You Think You Can Dance. Everytime I watch it makes me want to take dance classes, and everyone is so limber.

Also last week-end I went to go see a sandcastle built by a professional. A local grocery store near us sponsored the event and there were several of one type of produce the store gets it's name from. I took so many photos but this one is an overall view (see above).

For some reason I can't get my pictures to move inbetween paragraphs so for now they are all up top.

Hope all is well with my friends and fellow bloggers.

S. is out for now :)

My Guilty Pleasure!

I have to confess I have a new guilty pleasure. On my gossip blog I was lamenting the fact I was sad that the "O.C." got cancelled and "Gilmore Girls," but like everything else a new show comes around the corner. Before this show came out I had heard someone asking when it would air. As soon as it started I had a feeling I would like it. It is a typical teenage saga of tangled webs, lost loves, new crushes and danger. So last night I was watching it and had taped it earlier in the night and was on the edge of my seat to find out this secret that's been brewing. All of the sudden the tape cuts out and I lost the last few minutes. So furiously I went on my computer seeing if I could catch it live anywhere but of course the station it's on wouldn't let me see the online version. Other sites I had with live TV feed had earlier episodes so now I'm left wondering until it airs on the internet or I catch the repeat of it on Sunday night.

It's called: "Hidden Palms" and it airs Wednesday nights on the CW at 8:00p.m. To give you a sneak peak here is a clip:

I would not recommend this for young kids. Also just found out that this show isn't doing well as is always the case for shows I seem to like. They shot 13 episodes and they will end the show sooner. The last episode was pretty dark so I'm not really sure where it's heading.

Toodles :)

Bread, Bread and more Bread!

Organic Honey Wheat Loaf
Organic Baquettes
Organic Sunflower Seed and Plain Loaves
Bread being packed for it's journey to the market
Our bread section at the market

Well as you can see we've started making bread for the market. Last Saturday was our first week with the bread addition and we also made cinnamon rolls as well. This year at the market we lost some of our bread vendors and we saw a need and decided to step on board and offer bread as well.

Hope everyone is well.

S.

Icon from: http://www.zwatla.com/emoticones_018.html

Bionic Woman Returns!

Michelle Ryan brings "Bionic Woman" to life, 30 years after Lindsay Wagner played the role. I saw this preview today and really enjoyed it, I'm not sure if it will be too scary or not and I will warn you it's a bit intense and fast paced. It reminded me a bit of "Alias" and it starts in the fall.
This is a screenshot and I couldn't figure out how to get it on my blog as there was no code. So to see it you will have to go HERE.

Hope you all had a great long week-end.

:) S. has left the building.

Coming Up Candles!

(Let's see we'll go clockwise from the bright orange one which is Pacific Peach, Sweet Freesia, Pina Colada, Sugar, a new batch of Fresh Fig, Fresh, Dark Roast and Green Tea in the middle. Our house smells so good right now)

So I've been behind on blogging lately. That's partly because I've been making lots of candles for our market. We started with candles at the end of last season and have continued on with them. Our friend Jen at Forward Thinking Foods is a huge fan. So this year we added some new scents. Last week I added Sweet Freesia and Green Tea. This week I've got Dark Roast, Pina Colada, Sugar, Fresh, and Pacific Peach.

(some yummy rolls I made not too long ago)

Also it was my mom's birthday last week and we took her out for a nice lunch and walked around downtown etc. Also a lot of house things happening and lots of company friends, family relatives etc. I've been having problems with my internet and thought it was due to my router (and it could still be partly the router). Anywho it kept getting really slow on and off and the other day I asked my internet supplier what was up. Well they sent someone over yesterday to get it all rewired and activated another cable so now my internet it on it's on line instead of sharing with the TV. The guy even said I could have a higher speed then I already have a month free to try out. So now it's super fast.

So I'm alive and well and enjoying life and wanted to do a quick catch up on things. So for those gossip fans I should be updating that blog sometime today. Stay tuned.

Toodle loo,

:) S.

Imagine Living Here?

Hello blogger buddies. The first market was great for us and not too cold. Everyone was excited to be back and lots of people came to check out the first one.

So I saw these pictures and found them pretty interesting. Not sure I could sleep in most of these places for fear that my life would end quickly. They are neat to look at and I'm not sure where they all are but I'm guessing all over the world.

Enjoy,

S.

Pottery in Motion!

Two Sundays ago I went to this neat church service where the pastor gave a sermon while working with clay and spinning a pot on a wheel. (The video isn't exactly of the pastor I saw but it gives you an idea of what I'm talking about.) It was great to have the visual and to understand the whole idea how the Lord shapes and molds up. The pastor talked about wedging where you have to take the clay that is a big hard slab and work with it to make it pliable. This is how the Lord has to work with us. We are this big slab and he slowly shapes us. He went on to explain that if you don't do a good job at wedging then there may be a small air pocket in your clay and it won't center properly. If you do manage to get a finished product then when you go to put it in the kiln it will blow up.

What touched me is the realization that the Lord dances over us, He loves the colour of our eyes and hair and thinks we are beautiful the way we are. It's hard for me to conceive that when I look at all my imperfections but He doesn't see us that way. Enjoy the video, it is long but fun to see the process.

Blessings,

:) S.