EPIC Dartmouth

Team Tri to Keep it Wild went fast and had fun during Sunday's Epic Triathlon. Even though it was a hot day, Scott and Sarah did as well or better than planned and neither one was too tired for a couple more days of Canada Day fun afterwards - going to the beach, touring the Citadel, checking out the Tattoo parade, visiting a working war ship... They raised $1000 for the Nature Conservancy. Woo!

The team photographer (that's me, Tracy) had a hard time keeping up at the transitions :)

Ready to bike while Sarah is swimming

Happy to finish a good swim: 3.8km.

Let's see how a 90km bike feels...

And another 90km for Sarah...

Scott got off on the run so fast we almost missed him!

Sarah jumps in for the team finish!

For a tiny bumski

Just finished making some little bloomers...

Hope these fit on little Cowabunga all summer! 2 weeks to go!! :)

Spring should be here by Friday

Blizzard warning, storm surge warning, daycare's closed, Scott's office is closed (sometimes happens for weather), my office is closed (NEVER happens).

Let's make this the end of winter, ok? Please?

Little things

  

I've just been working on a few little crafty things lately while my big project - the sawtooth quilt acts camera shy in the sewing room. Here are some tiny pants for junior who is set to arrive in May. Thanks for modeling, Kermie!

 Knitting feels nice, sitting on the couch where it's warm inside when blizzards like this are happening every couple of weeks!!! Winter, ugh.

I've had this set of play numbers on the go for a long time. The numbers 1-9 are all fused on the backgrounds . Now I have outline them all with embroidery. Six more to go! Then I guess I'll make little quilty sandwiches with them and they'll be ready to play with. B already knows lots of numbers, so I'd better get going!!

And finally, a yellow hat, as requested by B, to match her "banana suit" - a favorite knitted sweater and pants set she got from our cousin last Christmas - still fits, woo! Thanks for modeling, Roberta Rabbit!

Random thoughts from Halifax to celebrate the end of spring.

Summer was here for a few days. We went to the lake. Good times. 

They have pineapples growing in the Public Gardens in Halifax. The Public Gardens is my favorite thing in Halifax. I didn't know pineapples are pink while they're growing.

It's almost time for Canada Day. Woo! We're going camping on Prince Edward Island (we hope). It's supposed to be rainy so we'll see how it goes.

Long Time No See...

Oops! I typed a bunch of stuff for this post and then I was dumb and lost it all. But since I have diapers to wash, I'll let you choose your own adventure to go along with the photos. Hint: we went on vacation without junior. 

Ketchup!

I forgot to tell you...We had an awesome New Year's Eve this year with friends who came over and even brought LOBSTER!!! It was lobster-mania! And we could see the fireworks in Halifax when midnight came. I love our view of the twinkly lights and the shining harbor of Halifax in winter, but I'll be glad to have our nice jungle-y canopy of privacy back once summer finally rolls around. Is it ever coming?

 

I don't think this evil winter will ever end. We went to see Shubenacadie Sam on Groundhog Day at the wildlife park (-10C max that day!) and he predicted more winter for us. Duh. We had a really cold snap for a couple of weeks. Then a storm that brought quite a lot of snow. And now it's back to the usual cycle of snow, rain, freeze, wind, repeat.Why is the text black? I don't know.

 A brave man.

Scott's parents came for a nice visit just before I started my new job. We welcomed them with snow drifts so high we couldn't open the door to the back deck.

And we made a snow Bunyip in the backyard - FUN! You'll have to read "Watch Out Little Wombat!" by Charles Fuge to learn about the Bunyip. Gramps helped with the new flooring in the basement. Just a few more steps (I didn't say quick or small steps) and we'll have a nice sunny room we can hang out in. Too bad my sister's home improvement skills don't magically transfer to me somehow!

So... now our lives have become a rush rush rush as we cling to our sanity waiting for the weekend to arrive each week. I have to drive out to the airport each day for work so in the morning I leave early and Scott takes the girl to daycare in the stroller, then runs to work or takes the bus. The weather is not making this an  easy feat. Then I pick her and the stroller up with the car in the afternoon and Scott has to work a bit later into the evening. She's definitely still adjusting to her new schedule.

I have been good so far - the first two weeks - planning and shopping for the week's meals on Saturday and Sunday. The weather, back-to-back bouts of pinkeye for B, bronchitis for me, and a bad cold for Scott have caused a few bumps along the way, not to mention some days and nights without good sleeping and napping, but I think we're settling in now.

I am an "intermediate aero/mech engineer (transmissions)" at IMP Aerospace and Defence now. Eek! I support the CSH149 Cormorant which is a Canadian Forces Search and Rescue helicopter. Here's one at the base in Greenwood, NS with some famous people. I believe they got a ride in a Cormorant from NS to PEI when they were visiting Canada.

Tortillas II

If it weren't easy I wouldn't do it. I just followed the directions on the bag. It's Maseca brand "instant corn masa mix." Why they have this at the grocery store but not corn tortillas is a mystery to me. Even though it says it's a mix, the ingredients list just says: "selected corn treated with lime." I read something once about hominy grits and corn and alkali something.... I digress...

It was just 2 cups of this MASECA stuff, 1/4 t. salt, and 1.5 cups of water - add more water if it seems dry. Make a ball and squish it between two layers of plastic wrap. Cook on an ungreased griddle or skillet for 50 seconds per side. It took mine longer to cook, but who knows what's what when using an electric stove.

YOM.

And I made a teepee for junior. So cute. More details on the other blog :)

Tortillas!

Due to an extreme lack of interesting items at the grocery store, such as... corn tortillas, I had to take extreme measures to make my enchiladas for dinner last night. I MADE corn tortillas. A tortilla press would have been useful, but I used a frying pan to squish my dough and it worked fine. It was surprisingly easy and the girl even gobbled up a whole one plain. They're a hit! I won't be doing this TOO often since it did take a bit of time.

Also, Scott is a genius. He rebuilt our computer so it doesn't suck anymore AND he put the coffee maker on a we're-not-at-home-turn-on-the-lights timer so it comes on in the morning before we get up. AWESOME!!!

Ew

Winds gusting to 90km/hr. Wet slushy snow... and...

And here it is in Fahrenheit for you us Americans...

I'd like to skip ahead to Friday, please!! I know there are lots of much colder places, but we just got back from Christmas in Virginia and we were paddling in the lake there on Christmas Day. I was hoping for a gentler transition, eek! High of 9? What the deuce!?!?!

At least Scott has the Decembeard going on to keep his face warm! Beer helps too. And a wolf puppet.

This was one of the nice sunsets we got this fall - a view from our back window. Halifax is over there.

New Stuff

One new thing we got today was one of the new Canadian $20 bills. It's a crazy thing. I tried to capture it on film, but instead I'll just give you a blurry mangled sneak peek and then if you're actually interested you can just Google it. I kind of don't want to spend it, but I'm pretty sure that feeling will pass :)

 

 Look, Scott! You're on the new $20!!

Also today we got a 2-year-old! Eek! B is 2!!! She knew exactly what to do with the candles on her birthday cake, thanks completely to Elmo's World: Birthdays on YouTube. She saw those things and said "then you blow out the candles!" and then she did it. We have never talked to her about birthday candles and she's never seen them in real life anywhere. Thanks, Elmo.  This event was NOT captured on film, blurry or otherwise.

One more new thing: I decided to make a separate blog just for crafty things. They were taking over. I had to send them away. Really I just wanted to have a place that would show me which of my favorite quilting blogs had been updated recently - you know, to save time surfing. There's probably a smarter way to do that, but I like to think I'm old-fashioned. Anyway, there are only a couple of posts there, since holiday and birthday things have been more urgent lately. Oh yeah - here's the link. Halifax people like to call Dartmouth the "Dark Side" in case  you were wondering.

quilty

Four pies/basketballs done (I got another one done since taking this picture), and a sneak peek of a little something I'm whipping up for a Christmas gift...

The colors are SURF and PAPAYA (Kona Cotton). So tropical! If we ever get a sunny day I'll take a picture that shows the colors better. They make me want to sip a fruity drink on the beach. Ahhhhh.....

Crafty!

Best activities with fall leaves: jumping, stomping, crunching, viewing.
Worst activity: raking and wrangling into yard waste bags :)

Remember Gorey Guy? Now he's a bag/purse for someone special.

Here's my second attempt (sorry for the bad photo - wish you could feel how soft it is!!!) at the Honey Cowl by Madelinetosh - free pattern found on Ravelry.  Also ready early for Christmas. I hope you're not reading this, recipient! I don't think you know about my blog.

sorry - just turn your head slightly!

Our little pirate already knows how to say "Yarrrrr, matey" and "trick-or-treat!" I made a little vest for her out of felt for Halloween. Oops, the iron was a bit hot for the felt, but no one will ever notice. I just used sticky-back fusible web and plain old felt!