Life on the Bar Z Ranch

My equine lineup

2012-01-29T20:09:00.001-07:00

My three equines - Dizzy the 25 year old chestnut thoroughbred, Sunny the 4 year old brown
shetland-welsh and Twinkle, the 20 year old black shetland.

Storm Mountain: Marmot Mitts 502

2011-12-30T22:36:00.002-07:00

This is a two-part mitten. The inside is polar fleece with a cuff. The outside should be made of a waterproof/windproof fabric such as Commander, Goretex, etc.

I made size adult medium. I found the width to be way too wide, so in the pair below, I narrowed the pattern by 1/2" on each side, and then cut the outer mitt from the inner mitt pattern. I find that the outer mitt is too short, so you may want to add 1" to the cuff.

On the outer mitt, I added a reflective strip the the back and used fold over elastic instead of making a casing for elastic. I made these mittens for winter running!

This is my first try at the mittens. I had to narrow the inner mitt because it was so wide. I don't remember if I narrowed the outer mitt. I use these mitts for outdoor horse chores, which is why they have hay on the cuff! I do find them too wide, and the outer mitt too short. My hands would be warmer if they weren't so wide.

The pattern package. I bought it at a thrift store for dirt cheap. :)
It's a great pattern, after some adjustments.

Next door chores

2011-09-13T22:45:00.004-06:00

I took care of my neighbour's chores for about 2 weeks this summer.

I collected 15-24 eggs each day. Mostly brown, with a few tan and green ones. That hen there I called "broody hen." She was allowed to sit on her eggs, but they never did hatch.

Feed and water the chickens. I love the sound of stampeding chicken feet when you throw them a few strawberries! There are around 30 of them, and one ugly rooster with no tail. The rooster isn't mean, it keeps it's distance. That is him at the back of the middle of the picture, the one with it's head up the highest.

The greenhouse. It is huge - probably 16' wide and 30' long. I checked it twice a day and watered and sprayed for aphids once in a while.

My house is hidden by the bushes behind the greenhouse. Takes seconds to get here.

And I checked on cats, making sure they had food and water. They have probably 15-20 cats! I have the twin of the cat on the right, but mine isn't fluffy. It has siamese blood in it. The fluffy one in this picture is lovely to pick up and pet. It's like a living stuffed animal. :)

I enjoyed doing their chores for a while, but I was also glad when the came home!

Calgary Energizer Night Race 2011

2011-08-14T21:58:00.005-06:00

This was the first Energizer Night Race to be held in Canada, and I bought Stephen and myself entries as his Father's Day gift. There was both a 5k and 10k, and we did the 5k.

This is me at the finish line, before the start. I'm all in white, wearing a Nike skirt, Lululemon Race Tech tank and my lime green and purple FuelBelt (love the crazy colour combination!).

Stephen at the start wearing the long sleeved non-reflective shirt we got. Some people were wearing short sleeved shirts with reflective logos and reflective yellow stripes on the sides. I wish we got those shirts instead. :(

The race started at 9:30pm, after the sun went down, but before it was fully dark. Everyone was required to wear their Energizer headlamps. The headbands on them didn't tighten very far and I was worried that it might not stay on. I was right - by about 3.5k the rubber padding on the back of the lamp was soaking wet and it started slipping. I just held it in my hand for the rest of the way.

It was neat to see all the bobbing lights, especially at the turn arounds when you are passing people going the other way.

I ran as hard and as fast as I could manage. I had a goal in mind - 25 minutes, and hopefully a shot at placing in my age group. I passed a lot of people - sometimes running on the grass to get past them. The race route was on roads, through parking lots and on bike pathways and was well marked with pylons and lights.

There were very few people at the finish line. According to my iPod, I ran it in 25:03. When I got the official time, it was 24:47!!

SCORE!

At the awards presentation, I was hopeful that I placed... AND I DID! They announced my name and I got a medal (at a side table, not on stage)!!

I did more than placed, I GOT FIRST IN MY AGE CATEGORY!!!

WHHAHHHOOO!!!!

Stephen ran it in 25:29, which was 4th in his age category! Nice job for his first race. It turns out that he can run. :) He was ahead or beside me for the first 2k, then I passed him and didn't see him until he finished.

Overall, this was a great race. They had a beer garden where you could get a free bottle of Molsen 67 - I got one, but it turns out that beer on an empty stomach after a hard run is a bad idea - I stopped drinking before I got sick. After race snacks were water bottles, FruitSource bars, some sort of trail mix packages I didn't notice the name on, and bags of potato chips. Other races I've been to had better food, but what they had here was okay.

Collecting eggs

2011-07-29T20:46:00.000-06:00

I am taking care of my neighbour's chickens, cats and greenhouse while she is on vacation. And that includes collecting eggs, around 19-20 everyday, a mix of dark brown, tan, green and one mini!

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Overnight field trip

2011-06-17T21:19:00.007-06:00

Eric's grade 4 class (and the grade 5 class) went on an overnight field trip to Head-Smashed-in buffalo jump and Frank Slide. I went along as a driver for the luggage.

First stop, Head-Smashed-in buffalo jump. This is where for 5800 years the native people herded bison towards a cliff, stampeded them over the edge, then processed them on the field below. Up to 300 bison could be killed at once!

We ate lunch outside then went on a guided tour of the Interpretative Centre. The movie they play of the buffalo jump is excellent! Afterwards, we visited the gift shop (highly exciting to the kids! I bought some stone arrowheads and a small courage eagle metal) and walked the lower trail in our groups (I had a group of 3 boys, including Eric).

I've been there before, but there were 3 things I really wanted to see: the gathering basin, stone cairns, and the painted skull. I saw 2 of them.

Eric at the jump location. The cliff is currently 10 metres tall, with 10 metres of bison bone deposits at the base. You can see the lower trail.

The way the centre and trails are located just below a slight rise, you can't see over the rise to the gathering basin. And of course, you can't just leave the trail and walk where ever you want. Darn. :(

Luckily, there were stone cairns that you can see from the upper trail. The stones were gathered from the immediate area and were used to prop up tree branches to help direct the bison towards the cliff.

Lastly, I wanted to see the skull. According to the book "Imagining Head Smashed In" by Jack W. Brink, it was painted by Joe Crowshoe and is the most powerful object at the centre. It was painted for display purposes, but is now indistinguishable from one that would be used in the Sundance and other ceremonies. It has been blessed at local Sundances. Some native peoples think it is too powerful to be placed on display. Interestingly, the display case it is in makes no mention of the skull or the power it has. That is sweet grass that it is stuffed with.

The cliff from the lower trail. The interpretive centre is mostly built into the hill, and blends in well. You can't even see the centre in this picture, but right above the boy on the trail is the upper lookout from the first picture.

There are tepees in the field that can be used by overnight school trips. I liked this view because it hides the fence around them! The rocky mountains in the distance.

From Head Smashed In, it was an hour's drive west to the Crowsnest Pass, and Turtle Mountain, the site of the Frank Slide. I've also been to Frank slide before (twice).

At 4:10am on April 29, 1902, 82 million tonnes of rock fell from Turtle Mountain and buried part of the town of Frank. Between 80 and 90 people were killed, and only a few bodies were ever recovered. The slide covered 3 square kilometres of the valley in rock up to 30 metres deep. The mountain is still unstable, and the south peak (the left peak in the photo below), will also fall at some time...

Eric and the class on a walk through the debris field, with Turtle Mountain in the background. The part between and below the two peaks with no trees is the slide area. It is still unstable.

The debris field at the base of the mountain. The rock is hiding from view a river, rail track and the #3 highway. It's much more impressive in person. Especially driving through it on the highway. The slide also covered a mine entrance, trapping miners inside. The miners were able to dig through a seam of coal to the surface, rescuing themselves before the rescue party managed to dig out the mine entrance.

We spent the night sleeping on the floor of the interpretative centre. I didn't get much sleep between the hard floor and giggling girls! And then the sun woke me up early the next morning. The mountain in the morning sun was beautiful however!

And yeah, the gift shop opened in the morning, and the kids spent like crazy! I bought a pretty little half geode for Leah, a shirt and several rocks for Eric, and a fossil ammolite necklace for myself.

We spent the morning learning about two other disasters in the immediate area. First up, a tour of the Bellevue Mine. In 1910, an explosion killed 30 miners, and one rescuer. We put on hard hats, a head light and a heavy battery pack, and entered the mine with a guide.

Eric and I, ready to go in!

Inside the mine. Our head lamps are the only light. It's cold and damp inside, about 2c with water dripping from the rock and a stream flowing past on the left side behind the fence. It smells of sulfur.

The guide talking about the coal cars. This car has the miner's number written on it, and circled just above the number, his metal tag. The miners were only paid for the weight of coal they mined. They received no salary. Note the angle of the walls. At this point of the mine, the walls and ceiling were skewed, while the floor was level.

At the farthest point of the tour, we stopped and everyone turned off their lights to see how completely dark the mine is.

On the way out, we got to take a piece of coal. I am now the proud owner of my very own lump of coal! :)

And yeah, another little gift shop! Eric bought some more rocks, and I bought obsidian arrowheads (poorly made, but I've always wanted to have an arrowhead, and now I have two), and six magnetized hematite stones to use as cool and strong fridge magnets.

Next, we learned about the Hillcrest Mine disaster. In 1914, 189 miners died in an explosion. We were not able to visit the actual mine as it is now private property, but we did visit the general area and could still see the coal coming out of the hill where mine buildings used to be. Each kid was given a name tag with a miner's name and short biography.

We visited the cemetery where the miners were buried. The kids had to play a "game" where they answered questions about the deceased miners (what was his brother's name, how old was he when he died, what is the picture on their headstone, etc.)

The monument at the cemetery.

Eric was Dan Cullinan, a miner.

Dan Cullinan died in the explosion and was listed on the monument.

Dan Cullinan's headstone.
The view of Turtle mountain from the cemetery. You can see the slide area on the right.

It was a great trip, and the weather was just right. It was very windy at points, but that's normal for this part of the the province - there were wind turbines EVERYWHERE to make use of the wind. It didn't rain until we left for home.

Ugly Kitchen

2011-05-19T21:15:00.001-06:00

Needed a place to put this picture to enter it in a contest! This kitchen needs a make over!

2011-04-10T16:38:00.001-06:00

It's a bit wet out here. Record snow falls this winter makes for water over roads! The county came out and cleared the culvert under the road, so it's not flooded anymore.

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One Yard Wonders sewing book

2011-03-31T11:52:00.003-06:00

From the One Yard Wonders book by Rebecca Yaker. This book is okay, just okay. There are a lot of baby and children's patterns, so if you don't have kids, or young enough kids to sew for, a good third of the patterns will be useless to you.

I tried 3 of the patterns: lunch placemats, smock and banana bag.

The front of my smock. It's pretty dowdy, not exactly something you will wear out of the house! Not that I would, I made to use as an apron to protect my good clothes while cooking. The instructions were easy and it turned out quite well. I used a rolled hem on all the edges instead of using binding or narrow hems as the pattern calls for.

I'm not happy with the way the smock closes at the back. The ties are just out of reach for tying them yourself. But you can pull up the shoulders to reach the ties and then tie them, ackwardly, behind your back. I might add velcro or snaps to the back as well since I'm thin enough that the back edges overlap and I could pull it tighter around the body.

I made the Bohemiam Banana bag, and it turned out nicely, but with lots of fiddling and handsewing to get it right! I couldn't find wide decorative ribbon at FabricLand, so I used plain black "carpet binding", and made it longer so it would hang just where I wanted it. If you use the length in the book, it's too short to put over your shoulder. The directions for adding the zipper are truly lacking. It just says to hand sew in the zipper! That's it. The pattern doesn't allow for easily adding the zipper, if you just sew it in, it pulls at the edges or leaves open spaces. I fixed those problems by using some of the strap material to fill in the gaps at either side and minimize the transition between the zipper and strap.

Lastly, I made the placemat with the pocket for cutlery and strap for holding down your napkin. It's a good, easy, basic pattern and I have no complains. Sorry, I didn't get around to taking a picture of it! I used some of the leftover fabric to make a matching cloth napkin.

I borrowed this book from my local library, and that's how I'd suggest you try. I don't think this book is worth the patterns in it, unless you will be using the baby patterns.

Snow day

2011-01-10T21:22:00.002-07:00

The strong winds and snow on Saturday night and all day Sunday made some cool snow drifts.

My horse, Dizzy in the blanket, Twinkle the shetland in the foreground, and the black head just above her withers is Sunny, laying down.

The tallest drift is in the riding arena, the fence is 4.5 feet, and it's just slightly taller. The kids use this one as a slide.

Smokie the cat came out to play, climbed right on Eric, a got an Eric sled ride down the drift!

The drifts in the front yard. The snow fence did too good a job... Leah is sitting on a 3-4 foot drift.

This is the top corner of the pasture, the drift going right over the fence. Hopefully the horses aren't going to try to walk over... The snow is packed hard enough to hold our weight, but probably not the weight of a horse!

In the dinosaur's foot prints...

2010-11-15T20:04:00.003-07:00

Remembrance Day, Nov. 11, 2010 at Dinosaur Provincial Park in southern Alberta. The Badlands.

There were very few people in the park, so we nearly had it all to ourselves. On the loop road, there were two fossil displays. In the picture below, there was a path between the two displays so we walked between them instead of driving. Our van is on the right.

Doing my favorite tree pose on the top of a formation (it was 10 feet high).

The trail wasn't always clearly marked, so we took some interesting routes...

Leah pointed out that the steam makes the Lululemon symbol! My little lulu spotter!

A wider view of the stream. We are at the top of a large hill & steep cliff.

The kids climbing the hills.

We found a short cave/tunnel/arch, only a few feet deep, so the kids climbed through it.

The duck-billed dinosaur bones displayed in the fossil display. This is it's tail.

There were lots of deer around, and these two young deer were adorable!

It's a beautiful place, and well worth visiting.

2010 Loop Around the Lake (Chestermere)

2010-10-17T21:10:00.001-06:00

11.2k or 7 mile run around Chestermere Lake.

This was my longest race to date, and the farthest I've ever run! Oops, not a good idea, but it worked out okay.

September 18, 2010, 8am, and it was cold. It was around 3 to 5c, with a bit of wind and slight drizzle. After standing around waiting for the race to start, I was so cold that my hands didn't warm up until I had run 5km.

I'm in the blue jacket. This is just before the finish line, I sprinted the last 100m and passed the woman in front of me.

I finished in 1 hour, 11 minutes, working out to 10 minute miles. I was slow compared to this fast group (I was 50 out of 72), but I'm very happy with my time.

2010 Calgary Women's Race

2010-08-29T21:24:00.003-06:00

It was a cold (6c or so) and drizzling day, but hey, it's August in Alberta, any weather is "normal" here and we try not to let it stop us!

There was a kid's race, so Eric and Leah gave it a try. There were maybe 12 kids all together, and mine came in dead last, of course. They got a cookie medal for their effort, which was quickly eaten! Note that they are wearing winter coats.

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Then it was my turn. I'm in the blue jacket, setting my watch.

At the finish, stopping my watch.

My results:

Overall: 28/135
Time:00:27:08.65
Pace (miles) 08:45
Age category result 5K30-39: 7/29

That beat my last 5k time, so I'm happy enough with it.

I bought that blue Asics water resistant jacket just two days before - at the Tech Shop's Women's Night and race package pickup. I'm very glad that I got it! I barely got warm enough to be comfortable.

There were people here and there along the race course to direct you and cheer you on! My favorite was the Lululemon group, of course! They had a vehicle with the red manifesto print all over it! I was wearing lulu socks, underthings, headband, silverescent tank and the white run top (along with the Asics jacket and Nike pants). The run took you down the road, under a bridge, then on the pathway along the Bow River, so there was some nice scenery, but also potholes and loose gravel to watch out for!

Rock the House Run

2010-08-10T21:43:00.003-06:00

For my second race ever, I ran the 5k Rock the House for Ronald McDonald House on August 8. The kids also did the 1k walk (their very first "race")!

Eric and Leah, waiting for their "race" to begin. They were running late, so I didn't stick around to watch them - I didn't want to be late for my race. They had a great time and were thrilled with all the "goodies" they got to pickup while on their race.

My goal was to be under 30 minutes, and I did that easily, finishing at a chip time of 27.54!! (27.38 by my watch). Either way, my best time ever! I normally run alone, so it's fun to run with 600+ other people!

Approaching the finish line, the woman in purple behind me is doing the 10k, and is only half done.

After the race. There were lots of free food items - coffee, ice cream, bananas, water/sports drinks/juice and even muffins & scones.

It started to get pretty wet, so we didn't stick around for much longer.

For more pictures of the event, visit the barefoot runner's blog.

And thank you to those who sponsored me (family & co-workers). It was appreciated!

First 5k Race

2010-07-12T21:33:00.006-06:00

I ran the 5k in the 2010 Stampede Road Race.

My goal was to run the 5k (3.1 miles) nonstop in under 30 minutes.

I was very close. My time chip gave me a time of 30.11.25! 12 seconds away from my goal!

Oh well, it's so close that I'll consider the goal met!

my stats:

                            
Place   76/171  (this includes men)
Div/Tot   8/38  (8th of age 30-39 females!)
Bib#  2132
Name     Z...., JENNIFER    
Div    5K30-39F  
Time  00:30:25.10
Pace/Mile  09:48  
Gen  F 
Gen/Tot   32/111   (#32 out of 111 females)
Chip Time   00:30:11.25  (my actual time)

I played "spot the Lululemon" while I ran. Lots of women wore their clothes. Including me! I'm wearning Race Tech Mesh top, Rock Out Shorts, Flight Running Bonnet, Ultimate Running Socks.

Fundraising Gala

2010-04-28T13:08:00.002-06:00

Library staff was offered free tickets to the foundation's funraising Gala, so Stephen and I went, along with more than half of the staff! It was fun. It was a 1920's theme, so I slicked back my hair, wore a headband with feather in it, had on two pearl necklaces, and had a black feather boa! Stephen surprised me by renting a Zoot Suit.

Men in Zoot Suits. The emcee, on the left of the below picture, is Bruce McAllister, co-host of Global morning and noon news. That makes it 3 local celebrities so far this year that I've had my picture taken with!

There were tons of silent auction items, but I was outbid on the two things I wanted, right at the last minute. I took lots of pictures, and this guy didn't say a word when I took a picture of his hand!! LOL! I tried to win the iPod Nano at the far left.

Another picture with Bruce. The bit of blue on the right is Tammy (sorry, I cut you out of the picture).

Vancouver 2010 Gold Medal

2010-04-07T21:05:00.004-06:00

Work occasionally has a few perks. Tonight's perk was meeting Vancouver 2010 Olympic Gold Medalist John Morris, watching his slide show and talk, then holding (and wearing!!) his gold medal!!!

The kids and I with John.

Wearing the medal (I just HAD to).

Love the "With Glowing Hearts" on the ribbon.

The back of the medal has "Men's Curling" etched on it.

I got to hold the medal for a LONG time! He signed books, I babysat the medal (tough job, isn't it?)

Brianne Needs a jacket

2010-03-31T12:46:00.002-06:00

Leah's Maplelea girl Brianne didn't have a jacket of her own. So she would borrow her friend Red's jacket, which was too big, and the sleeves too short.

Using Red's jacket as a guide, I made a pattern for Brianne, and sewed her a jacket out of animal print fleece. Below is Brianne modeling her new jacket, as well as Red (sitting).

The coat does up with velcro and the edges are serged.

Above, Leah happy with the new jacket.

I can't get enough of that torch

2010-02-27T20:00:00.005-07:00

I just had to get my hands on that torch again! This is me with Marla Forth. She ran in Chestermere, and she lit the Olympic cauldron in Chestermere with this torch. (Thanks for taking the picture Tammy!)

This is at the library where I work. She opened the torch and showed us the inside. As you can see, the fuel container has been removed. The number on her jacket means she was the 105th person to run with the torch that day. 5 people ran in Chestermere, and the other 100 people ran in Calgary that morning.

And this is the signature of the person who assembled this torch!

The torch is inscribed "With Glowing Hearts," which is a line in Canada's national athem.

The torch runners had different mittens than what was available to the pubic at The Bay. Their gloves have grippy maple leaves to help them hold the torch.

To keep the flame burning the brightest, keep the maple leaf pointed towards your heart while you run.

Close up of the emblem.

Trip to Banff & Sulfur Mountain

2010-02-20T18:55:00.005-07:00

The ride up the Sulfur Mountain gondola in Banff National Park dazzled the kids.

You can see the bottom building just behind Eric.

High enough that you can barely see the building.

View of the Banff townsite from the top of Sulfur Mountain.

Usually, you can climb up to the second, higher peak, but it was closed.

It was beautiful up there! We were lucky that it was a warm and sunny day.

An empty gondola approaching the top building.

Doing a little yoga in the snow. This is the hiking trail if you climb the mountain - it's a fairly easy 2-3 hour climb. I've done it several times. At the top of the hill to the right was about 30 Japanese tourists, who looked very confused that I kept doing yoga poses in various places! But I got some neat pictures, and the tourists got something to gawk at and a story to tell when they get back home...

The kids played in the snow while I was getting my yoga picture taken.

Driving home through Canmore at dusk. That's the 3 sisters mountain on the left.

You can't be Canadian unless you can

2010-02-12T19:31:00.002-07:00

Ice Skate!

I was watching Eric motor around the rink with a skating support and I said to him: "Eric, you can skate! You don't need that bar!" (he's only skated short distances without a bar). So he let go of the bar, and off he skated. He was so excited and wanted to know when can we go skating again!

Leah and Stephen.

Me, practicing arabesque on my bad side (I can get my leg up much higher on my good side, but of course, Stephen didn't get a picture of that!)

100 Day

2010-02-11T19:33:00.003-07:00

It was the 100th day of school, and the kids were allowed to do something related to 100 to celebrate.

Eric choose to pin 100 safety pins to his sweater, and wear that to school. In case you are wondering, it took about 60 pins to make the 100, and then we put the remaining pins on the sleeves.

It looked really neat, almost like sequins. Eric was happy with his creation.

Olympic Torch Run

2010-01-19T14:48:00.002-07:00

My kid's entire school was bussed to Chestermere to see the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay and Ceremony! I went along as a volunteer. It was totally worth it!

The lit torch approaching the stage.

I HELD ONE OF THE TORCHES!!!!

HOW COOL IS THAT!!! Leah got to hold it by herself too.

Eric was with another group, so I have no idea where he was!

The ultimate cocooning weather

2009-12-05T10:57:00.004-07:00

Heavy snow, high winds, slowly dropping temperatures... whiteout conditions, icy and snow covered roads, cars in ditches... we are staying home today. And tomorrow.

I wouldn't go outside at all if I didn't have outdoor animals. The cats are shut in the hay shed. They have lots of blankets, and I bring them out water a couple times a day. To get in the shed, you have to dig out two feet of snow first.

I blanketed my horse. She's wearing a polar fleece blanket with a rainsheet over it. When the wind stops, I'll switch her to a winter blanket. The two ponies are tough and are doing fine despite being full of snow.

About every four hours I go outside. The first challenge is the drift at the back door. I fall through it, up to my thighs. Next, I dig out that 2 feet of snow at the hay shed. I get a load of hay, and climb over the pasture fence. The gate is snowed over. Notice the drift the ponies are standing beside in the picture? It's 5 feet tall. I've NEVER had drifts that big in the 13 years I've lived here. I give them the hay, and check that they are okay. I grab the rubber feed bucket, and go back to the water trough. It's snowed over. I bang on it until the snow and ice cracks, then wet my gloves to pull the 3 inch thick pan of ice and snow out of it. I bring a bucket of water back to the horses. Then, I go back to the hay shed, get the cat's water dish, dump it, and refill it with warm water from the house (climbing over that back door drift again), and take it back to them. Then I get back inside quickly since my wet gloves are starting to freeze!

If you've ever skiied through the snow from a snow making machine, then you know how that wind driven snow feels on my face when I'm out. But animals must be cared for, and in a weird way, it's fun to go outside in such extreme weather.

Wool coat face lift

2009-10-24T19:08:00.004-06:00

I bought this wool coat from a garage sale for $1. The seller told me she had bought it in Finland/Sweden/one of those little European countries (I can't remember which). I love the style and fit of the coat, plus, as an amazing bonus (besides it's price!), is that the sleeves are actually long enough on me. (And it has all it's buttons, I was too lazy to do them all up for the picture).

Then, my mom commented that it looked good on me, and that my brother has a coat just like it. UGHHH!

I wanted to make the coat NOT look like something my brother would wear, so I went hunting at fabric stores. It took a while, but I eventually found this pink & grey flower trim.

It certainly dresses up the coat, doesn't it!

Close up of the trim - it's kind of hairy, which gives it a soft look, and goes well with the texture of the wool coat.

I have many metres left of this trim, and I'd like to put more on the coat, but I'm not sure where to put it.

A "bracelet" around the sleeves?
Along the bottom hem?
Down the front, as fake princess seams?
Down the edge of the front, but that would be asymmetric?
Along the pockets?
A shape on the back of the coat - like a star, flower, something like that?
Or leave it as good enough?

Please, if you have an idea, post a comment.

The Hammies

2009-10-17T20:19:00.003-06:00

Eric's friend's hamster had babies... so now we have two girl hamsters.

Eric's hamster is the brown one, named Cinny (short for Cinnamon). Leah's is the white and brown (who has the shape of a Llama on it's back!), named Hamsy.

Cinny is quite the hamster. She knows how to open the door she's sticking out of in the picture. One morning, they were exploring the living room... we thought the cage door was left open. A few days later, I'm watching TV, and Cinny walks by... Hmm, put her away, and watched her open the cage door... I made her do it over and over again, I just couldn't believe it! It's kept shut with an extra clip now!

And the cage, well, I got it from a garage sale, bought from a person I went to school with in junior high! And, for my birthday one year, she gave me a hamster!! Funny, uh?

The Boat

2009-08-09T20:51:00.002-06:00

Had our first ride in the new boat today. It goes fast. The kids had fun. My eyeballs got cold and dry from the wind. Must bring sunglasses next time.

The kids in the open bow:

Me sitting at the bow:

Caption Stephen:

Our purple dock:

Hail damage

2009-08-03T09:23:00.003-06:00

There was a severe storm last night with hail. My garden looks like some one chopped it up for salad.

Chopped lettuce:

Oddly trimmed onions with smashed pumpkin plant in background:

Beaten up rhubarb:
I just don't have the energy to go clean up the mess and see what can be salvaged. Maybe tomorrow I can deal with it...

Garden Salad

2009-06-14T15:02:00.002-06:00

I love to eat out of the garden.

About to become supper: spinach, chive buds, chives and asparagus. Drizzle with homemade raspberry vinegar and extra virgin olive oil....

The Next Generation / Beach Pants

2009-05-25T20:31:00.003-06:00

We were at the cemetery in Sedgewick to bury my Grandmother, and I was struck at beautiful and innocent Leah looked. My Grandmother may be gone, but her blood lives on in this little girl.

The second part of this post is her pants. She refuses to wear jeans, and most other pants or dresses and skirts, leaving her with very limited options! I sewed her these "beach pants" from a knit fabric I found at a thrift store. She loves them, especially the palm trees on her behind, and the pink and purple colours.

Spring Kittens

2009-04-26T13:01:00.002-06:00

It's kitten season. These cuties are 3 weeks old.

Leah with Smudge.

This is "Kitty."

Eric and "Mr. Meowie."

Thrift Store Fabric

2009-04-12T10:38:00.003-06:00

My favorite thrift store (Mennonite Central Committee) had a half price sale on fabric last week. I had limited time (was shopping in the city while Leah was at playschool), but I still managed to pick out 19.9 METRES of fabric. At 75c per metre, that's a HUGE savings over buying at a store.

I managed to sneak back a few days later, with a little more time on my hands, and picked out another 13.4 metres. That's 33.3m of fabric, for $24. I asked why they had so much fabric (there were boxes and boxes of it - lots of 1980's polyesters), and they said that a church had a fabric sale, and had donated all the leftovers.

That's my 33m+ pile of new fabric, all washed and ready to be sewn. the pieces range in size from .7m to 6.5m. Most are cotton (or blended) knits.

Some highlights:

The top 2 fabrics have silver threads through them, and one piece has a flower design, and the second is snakeskin (what the heck am I going to do with those??)
the first blue from the top is 4m of a lightweight denim type fabric with a herringbone pattern to it (pants??)
the grey/blue/black fabric just under the white knit is a polyester that I plan to make a skirt out of
the blue/green fabric directly under it is interesting - it's a fine tulle with a plush pattern of flowers - maybe a princess dress for a little girl (good thing I have one of those!)
everything below that is a knit (except for the piece of animal-print polar fleece).
the green and blue fabrics will probably be pajamas for DH
the blue print (polyester knit) will be a top for me
the black is 4-way stretch cotton-lycra and has an interesting crinkled texture to it
the very bottom is a thick, soft double knit that really looks like denim and would make lovely pajamas

Since I probably won't have much time for sewing until the fall (it's gardening and horse riding season now!), I might save this pile of fabric for next winter's Stash Contest at Pattern Review.

Draft stops

2009-02-26T12:46:00.003-07:00

I put up these purchased curtains to help keep the room warmer. But, cold air flows out from the gap at the bottom.

Leah modeling the draft stoppers (also known as "sausages"). You can see the gap between the curtains and the floor. (If I had hung the curtains lower, the window molding would have shown at the top). The white one is her own personal "sausage" because she insisted that she needed one too. (Oh the fun of trying to sew while little kids are home!)

Sewing the stuffing into a sausage.

The draft stoppers in use.

The green furry fabric came from the thrift store a year ago. I wish I had enough of it to make all 4 draft stoppers since it matches the carpet so well. The burgundy flannel is 7 years old. I stuffed the green draft stoppers with quilt batting picked up at an annual village clean-up (includes a "give and take" area), and the two burgundy flannel are stuffed with fabric scraps. Leah's "sausage" is 1 metre of fun fur rolled up and sewn. The other 4 draft stoppers took 1/2 yard each.

Kwik Sew Cat Coat

2009-02-25T09:02:00.002-07:00

This coat is based on the "Jacket with zipper, hood and ribbing waistband" from the Kwik Sew's Sewing for Children book.

Satin stitching the cat on the back.

Coat uses 4 different fabrics, all found at the thrift store in the last few years. I might add more of the leopard fun fur to the cuffs and hood, but I need Leah to try it on first, and I won't be giving her the coat until Monday (her birthday!).

I made sure the cat on the back wouldn't be covered by the hood. I did that on a sweater of my own -- the hood covers the horse I stitched on the back (duh!).

Jalie 2787 Criss-cross tops

2009-02-22T20:05:00.001-07:00

View B top in tie-dye panne velvet.

Size K (7) top for my DD in green crushed panne velvet.

Kwik Sew 2678 Leotards and pants

2009-02-21T12:35:00.004-07:00

Just the pants from this pattern, which Leah will actually use as tights under skirts and dresses.

Hello Kitty ribbon to mark the back.

New Look 6478 Girl's Knit summer dresses

2009-02-19T20:12:00.003-07:00

Simple and cute little dresses for Leah this summer.

The yellow one has ribbon bows on the sleeves and front. I also added a fabric rose to the front bow. This is view A.

Close up of the back closure.

I love this fabric! It's one of my better thrift store fabric finds. This is also view A, but I left off the sleeves.

Custom Boy Shorts

2009-02-19T17:09:00.003-07:00

Okay, for all the world to look at, here are my underwear. I sewed them. Yes, you can sew underwear. It's easy, cheap, custom fitted and better quality.

The fabric used is mostly the leftovers from other sewing projects. Most are polyester/lycra, perhaps the blue is nylon/lycra, and the fun zig-zag shown below is probably poly with no lycra.

Kwik Sew for Children Book

2009-02-17T16:00:00.007-07:00

Pajamas, size S, using sweatshirt pattern and no-side seam pants. The dark spot on the pants is the navy grosgrain ribbon I used to mark the back.

I put snaps at one shoulder seam. Fabric age: 8 years.

T-shirt dress, size S. I really don't like how it looks, so I satin stitched a heart on the front with variegated woolly nylon to try to dress it up. Mint fabric is stash aged 3 years, darker green is 7 years.

Tiered skirts, size S. Fabrics are all 2 or 3 years old.

Close up of bunny prints on purple skirt.

Another tiered skirt. The black fabric is a faux suede with a satin like wrong side (about 18m old, thrift store find), and the animal print I believe came from Fabricland about 8 years ago.

Lined plaid straight skirt. Not very happy with how it turned out, but it's cute when Leah is wearing it. She's tired of modeling, photo shoots and being measured, poor girl! Fabric and lining came from my mom about 2 years ago.

Eric in his side-seam pants in stretch denim. Size S, with length added to legs. They are a bit baggy on him, but he did say they were comfortable as soon as he put them on. Fabric is 2 or 3 years old.

Jalie 2682 Girl's tops

2009-02-17T15:26:00.004-07:00

I don't look good in purple or yellow, so lucky Leah gets some new tops so I can use up this stash fabric!

"Hello Kitty" top, size J (age 6). Leah is almost 5. It fits her, but she did complain that it's tight. (It's not tight, she's just a complainer!)

I found this Hello Kitty ribbon at Michaels.

Yellow and yellow/red print top. Size L (age 8). Leah can wear this now with the sleeves rolled up.

Purple with fine white stripes, size L (age 8).

Suitability 2600 Western Chaps

2009-02-14T16:26:00.004-07:00

I've been wanting to make these chaps for 2 years now, and finally made them!

My bed sheet muslin to check the fit. The bottom is supposed to cover your boot heel.

Laying out the pieces to figure out how the zippers attach.

I don't like how low the front straps attach, so I raised them to the top edge of the chap. This is the before picture.

Cutting the fringe with a clear ruler and rotary cutter.

Success! They fit my leg and they are long enough.

Front.

Back.

Leah looked at them and commented something about I guess you have to wear pants with them! LOL!

Simplicity 4076 Tops

2009-02-12T20:30:00.003-07:00

These tops have been reviewed over 100 times over at Patternreview.com, so it was about time that I gave them a try!

Unaltered View B to match the Jalie skort. I don't like the hemmed flutter sleeves on it.
(I was acting silly for my son, and it ended up being the best picture of the shirt!)

View A in a 4-way stretch, made 1" longer. I like the length, but the stretchier fabric makes the neckline a bit big for me.

All 3 fabrics used are from the thrift store!

Kwik Sew 2450 Hats

2009-02-08T19:51:00.001-07:00

Super, easy, funny hats from Kwik Sew!

Jalie Skort - Tropical print

2009-02-04T20:14:00.002-07:00

My tropical skort with matching top made from Kwik Sew 2668. The shorts that you can't see are a tan lycra. The tropical print is somewhat thin, so I wanted the shorts in a colour that wouldn't show through.

To add some interest to the top, I stitched a tropical frond on the side of the top. I got the inspiration from another woman's top at my yoga class! My stitching is a bit shaky, but I think it still turned out pretty good.

Simplicity 9474 "Grooves" Junior pants

2009-02-04T19:35:00.003-07:00

This is a Junior (kid's) pattern, but the sizes run so large that they fit an adult.

I believe this stretch denim came in a box of freecycled fabric that I got 3 years ago (it seems like I'll never get to the end of that box!).

The size I used is TWO SIZES smaller than the pattern envelope says I need. And then, I took in the sides another 1/2" each. Beware!

Sorry for the dark picture. I need a wider angle lens, or a more powerful flash on my camera.

The inside facing.

Vogue 7785 Belted Shirt

2009-02-01T20:50:00.002-07:00

Vogue pattern that I found at the thrift store. Bought it for the belted shirt (the plaid one on the right), but I also like the skirt too.

My muslin which was too tight across the shoulders.

The finished shirt in an interesting black knit. Made 2" longer than the muslin.

Close up of the fabric.

Stash Fleece into Curtains

2009-01-24T19:43:00.008-07:00

Last winter I was thinking about making polar fleece curtains for Eric's room, but never got the project off the ground. Well, the stash contest at Patternreview.com got my rear in gear.

Eric likes Canadian things, so I pulled out two pieces of fleece, one red with white maple leaves, and white with red maple leaves, and red and navy fleece. He okayed the project, and I set to work.

I spent quite a bit of time playing with the 4 fabrics, trying to see what combination would work the best. Eventually I figured out that I didn't have enough of the red on white fabric, and that the navy would make up the bulk of the curtains.

I got pretty creative, and hand drew a maple leaf to cut out of the red fleece, and sewed it on to the navy. The white on red fabric was added to the bottom to make up the length. I used what I believe is muslin to line the back.

Sorry for this dark picture. I have a blue valance that goes over the curtains and makes the maple leaf look more centred on the curtains.

I made the tie backs by cutting 1" strips of the 3 fleeces and braiding them.

Hopefully these curtains will help keep his room warmer in the winter, and cooler in the summer, especially with the white lining on the back. They also work very well for room darkening. They don't totally darken the room since the light really shines through the red/white fleece, but it looks neat like that!

All 4 fabrics I used are from stash. I'm not quite sure where or when I got the navy fleece, but it's been around for a while. The maple leaf and red fleece came from the thrift store last winter. The muslin backing came in a box of fabrics that someone my mom knows gave to me when she moved and had to get rid of stuff. I've had it for 4 or 5 years I think.

Refashioning a thrift store belt

2009-01-23T18:45:00.004-07:00

I paid 50c for this belt at the thrift store, specifically for the buckle. I wanted to make myself some fun and inexpensive belts out of fabric. The belt actually looks like new and I could have worn it as is, except that I don't like the blue/brown two tone look.

Just for fun, I started undoing the stitching to see how the belt was put together. It turned out that the belt was made out of two pieces of webbing sewn together over an inner vinyl strap.

I completely took apart the belt, and saved the blue/brown webbing for a future use (straps for a cloth shopping bag maybe?)

I stitched this plaid fabric over the vinyl insert, cut it to the proper length for my jeans, and re-attached the buckle. I should have made the fabric a bit wider so it fills more of the buckle, but it still looks and works fine.

The back of my plaid belt. I totally did not plan for the pattern to be centred on the back belt loop. What luck!

I'll be making a few more of these as I can find appropriate belts to scavenge!

Kwiksew 2668/3115 Pajamas

2009-01-20T20:19:00.002-07:00

My new comfy pajamas using the V-neck princess seamed top from KS 2668, and the yoga pants from KS 3115.

Suitability 2038 Women's Stretch Breeches

2009-01-17T18:21:00.003-07:00

I got this breech fabric from Textile Outfitters this spring at $4/metre. That is a fantastic price!

With riding boots on they look pretty good. They could be a little tighter to reduce those wrinkles, but they are very comfortable.

The hardest part was sewing a zigzag down the leg seam. As you can see from the picture below, it gets very tight...

But the seam does look nice when it's done. RTW breeches do have a zigzag or straight stitch down the seam.

Simplicity 9346 Child's Jumper

2009-01-17T18:07:00.005-07:00

This is the view C jumper, size 5, but lengthened to between size 6 and 7. It's knee length on her now so hopefully it will fit her for a year or more. Normally she would wear it with a long sleeved t-shirt and tights.

A peak at the "hidden bunnies" facing.

The pattern envelope. Paid 25c for it!

Another peek at the bunny facing.

Jalie 2796 Skort

2009-01-13T11:06:00.004-07:00

This is the original skort that I made last spring. I wore it a lot over the summer.

I find that the shorts on it show below the skirt. I pull up the short legs when I wear it.

This is the new skort I made. I added 3" to the length, plus the print fabric doesn't have a lengthwise stretch, so the shorts stay under the skirt. I did a much better job on the hem this time.

Jalie 2682 Mohair zippered top

2009-01-13T11:01:00.002-07:00

I love this pattern. It's easy and quick to sew and makes great top suitable for both casual or office wear.

This fabic must be 10 years old, so I'm very glad to use it. Now I have about 3/4 metre leftover that I have no idea what to do with!

Kwik Sew for Children, more pajamas

2009-01-13T10:56:00.002-07:00

Eric in his bug pajamas. The bug fabric is glow in the dark! I left lots of growing room in the pants.

Much to my surprise, Leah likes her new mint green pajamas. Usually she only wants to wear pink. But I did use pink ribbon to mark the back, so she likes that.

Both kids wore their new pajamas to bed. It's nice when they actually like what I've sewed them!

Kwik Sew for Children Book - Pink Pajamas

2009-01-09T21:12:00.003-07:00

As you can tell, she likes them! They got a thumbs up!

The sleeves are a little long for short sleeves with the ribbing added, so next time I would leave off the ribbing, or shorten them.

The lettuce hem turned out very nicely.

Simplicity 3536 in Tie Dye Knit

2009-01-09T21:03:00.003-07:00

Second top I've made in View A. This time in a beautiful tie dyed polyester?/lycra knit that I found at the thrift store in 2007.

This time I added an extra 4" of ruching to the sides.

Catching the School Bus at Sunrise

2009-01-07T19:27:00.003-07:00

Got this amazing picture of Eric standing on a mound of snow while waiting for the bus to arrive. Eric is one of the last on the bus, so the first few kids the bus picks up must be waiting in the dark.

Simplicity 3536 "Easy" knit tops

2009-01-05T23:47:00.006-07:00

View A top in green crushed panne velvet. Works very well on me!

View C top in red cotton-lycra. Sorry it's not the best picture. Fits me well, but I wouldn't mind it being a few inches longer.

Close up. I hate the collar on the top. It's too thick, and it's very noticeable that I couldn't get the collar an even width. The ruching did work out very nicely.

Simplicity 3969 Robes

2009-01-05T23:36:00.004-07:00

I had a few metres of stretch terry that I bought in the spring from a garage sale, and it needed a job. I didn't have enough terry for the robe's facings, so I used a cotton print (leftover from cloth shopping bag sewing), and wow! It looks great.

Close up of facing applied to outside of robe, inside tie and outer tie.

Close up of fold-up sleeve.

According to the pattern envelope, I should have made size M. I made XS, and it fits just right. Watch out for these patterns, they always run large.

Cloth shopping bags - Christmas Gifts

2008-12-28T21:35:00.004-07:00

I got a little carried away this fall. I started out by thinking that I would make a cloth shopping bag for a Christmas present for my mom.

Then I thought that I'd make one for each woman in the family. That would be 5, plus me.

Then my husband came home from shopping with a plastic bag! Oops, I making them for the men too. That's another 5.

I visit a certain thrift store every week, so I started buying fabrics suitable for bags. After 3 visits, I had about 20 metres of fabric to work with! Each bag takes one half to one metre of fabric, depending on whether it is lined. I ended up making 19 bags, and 14 of them are "originals," plus 5 duplicates. I have fabric for more, but I'm tired!

Above are the woman's bags. I gave everyone their choice of bags. My mom took the one on the far left, with the African-like print. The red plaid was one of my favorites. SIL choose it.

Above are the men's bags. DH took the top left navy & gray (very sporty looking!), my 2 brothers both got the lower left black with plaid lining (Ala Burberry), and Eric insisted on taking the bottom right grey bag. He's 7, and he was thrilled to have one too!

Leah wanted a bag (she's 4), so I took one of the plain cream ones (I made 4 of them!), and added an iron-on cat decal that I was saving for something special (like a bag!).

The last two bags are MINE! I love the dark grey print one, and I have more of that fabric so I'll probably make more sometime. The other is a black denim with white threads showing, with a colourful butterfly trim.

I just might have to do this again next year....

Simplicity 8318 Costumes (Capes)

2008-11-05T12:19:00.005-07:00

Cape in heavy knit star fabric.

Neck detail. It would be very hard to ease the fabric into the bias tape, so I allowed it to have tucks.
Harry Potter wearing his black 4 way stretch cape.

Halloween Costumes

2008-11-01T19:44:00.003-06:00

Leah was a Cat Fairy. This is the parade of costumes at playschool.

Eric is Harry Potter, also at the costume parade at his school.

Sunny at 5 months

2008-11-01T19:14:00.002-06:00

Sunny is now 5 months old, and 10.3h and 310lbs. He's as tall as his dam Twinkle, and wears a foal sized halter, and fits pony size on the smallest hole. That's a long way from the mini halter that was too big for him when he was born!

Next time, I think I will brush him before taking pictures! He loves to lay in the hay and roll in the manure pile!

Suitability 7700 Flymask

2008-08-29T19:34:00.005-06:00

The top fly mask shows a 2" binding that the pattern calls for. The bottom mask was reduced to 1" and looks much better.

Dizzy trying out the mask. The black string sticking out the side is the shock cord I used to gather the mask behind her ears (I sewed it in and cut it off once it was adjusted).

The so called XL "warmblood" size fits my small headed horse pretty well.

Twinkle's Sunny

2008-06-22T20:11:00.006-06:00

I finally named Twinkle's colt: Sunny.

He is 29 days in these pictures.

He is very friendly and the kids love him.

He sure can run!

The size different between him and his "Aunt Dizzy" is startling. But Dizzy is being very good with him.

Twinkle Foaled

2008-05-24T14:32:00.003-06:00

Here's my new baby. He was born at about 5am on Saturday, May 24. In the rain and the mud! Actually, he's nice and dry in a shelter with lots of straw. I checked on Twinkle at 3am, and she showed no sign of going into labour. I looked out the window before checking her at 6am, and knew something was happening because Dizzy was all excited. The foal was still wet, but standing, and Twinkle passed the afterbirth while I watched.

Baby is still unnamed. He appears to be bay at the moment (black mane & tail), but he has lighter legs. Twinkle's last year colt by the same stallion was a buckskin, so this baby may be too.

He's very active, and also quite shy of people. I can manage to catch him to treat his umbilical stump, and just to scratch his whithers.

Poor Dizzy was crazy for the first few hours. She'd let out a LOUD whinny whenever the foal made a sound, and tries to touch it through the corral panels. She's calmed down now, but is still very interested.

Twinkle's Foaling Journal: Got Milk?

2008-05-04T19:51:00.006-06:00

Warning: below are pictures of my pregnant pony's girl parts.

Twinkle looks like a ball with legs.

I'm taking this picture, crouching on the ground, and there is Dizzy, with her head down, trying to figure out what I'm doing!

Her tummy is getting closer to the ground!

There is her swollen udder. I actually managed to get some milk out of her today! That is exciting because you can use the milk colour as a foaling predictor. It's clear and sticky, which is the first stage.

And finally, her "girl parts," which is looking slightly swollen and perhaps more relaxed (a sign of foaling!).

Twinkle's Foaling Journal: Bagging up

2008-04-23T19:08:00.007-06:00

Twinkle is just starting to bag up! (For the non-horse people - her udder is swelling).

Warning! Pictures of her "lady parts" included below...

Her lady parts, not looking any different that it did a month ago.

Underneath view of her udder. It's larger than yesterday, and quite firm. She's nowhere near fully bagged up, but she's started!

Behind view of her udder.

Eric and the Equines

2008-04-07T21:13:00.006-06:00

Eric came outside while I was grooming Dizzy and Twinkle, and he was so cute with them! He was trying to feel Twinkle's foal moving, but didn't have any luck.

He's just the right size for Twinkle to put her head over his shoulder

Then Dizzy wanted some attention.

How cute is that!!!

Dizzy is a little taller than Twinkle!

Jalie 2787 Criss Cross Top

2008-04-07T20:59:00.005-06:00

Leah in her size 4 top. She wouldn't let me get any better pictures than these!

Close up of the flutter sleeve and lettuce hem. Note the "zag" in the side seam where the lower front joins the side seam.

Me in my size U top with 3/4 sleeves. I'm pretty happy with this top, especially since it makes me look very thin!

Twinkle's Foaling Journal: Page 1 - MOVEMENT!

2008-03-26T21:41:00.006-06:00

Twinkle is due in May, and that's all I know about it! So, I've picked May 10 as her foaling date so that I can schedule her care according to that date.

The most amazing thing is that I FELT THE FOAL MOVING! I was SO EXCITED! Poor Twinkle was eyeing me when I draped myself over her, hugging her belly, trying to feel the foal move! When I run a shedding blade over her belly, the foal moves like CRAZY! It was so cool!
Above is a comparison of her belly in the last month. Not much different. But I notice the difference in her. I see her laying down more often. She is slightly relucant to move. And she waddles! LOL!

New Addition

2008-03-26T09:06:00.002-06:00

Introducing....

Smokie!

She's 3 months old and hopefully is our new outdoor kitten. Of course, it's too cold outside (-10c last night!), so she's actually an indoor kitten until it warms up.

Deck Cover

2008-03-11T20:54:00.003-06:00

Here is the before picture of our south facing deck. It was much too hot and sunny to use much in the summer. I tried to put up a cloth sunshelter last year, but the wind totally wrecked it.

And a few thousand dollars later, and one day's work by one guy, the deck is covered!

The deck will be much more useful now, and the cover will keep the kitchen from getting so hot in the summer as well.

Seed Starting Light Stand

2008-03-11T20:28:00.004-06:00

I found the plans to built a lightstand for seed starting at Localgardener.net.

And then I also found this one at Mother Earth News.

And the result is a combination of the two.

It is HUGE! But fits nicely along a side wall in basement. It's 66" tall, and about 53" wide. The shelves are 20" apart. I used a 1x11 laminated board on special at Rona. Stephen cut them to length for me (thanks!). I stained the boards and topped that with an indoor/outdoor clear sealing paint. Two of lights came from Home Depot, one came from our garage, and I bought a new one for the garage.

It cost a little over $200 to build, but these cost nearly $600 to buy. I used Airmiles and Petropoints and got $150 of gift certificates to Rona and Home Depot, so it didn't cost much overall.

The lights hang on chains, so they can be adjusted depending on the size of the plants. I'll be able to start 6 trays of seeds on it. Last year I started 2 trays under 1 light!

Leah's first birthday party with friends

2008-03-01T16:36:00.006-07:00

Leah turns 4 on Sunday!

There is the birthday girl! We had 3 friends from school over, plus the 6 year old from next door.

There is Leah blowing out the candles on her cake.

Leah and the 4 princesses (and one "Canada" prince!). I smudged out the faces because my mom is freaked about me putting pictures of other people's kids on the internet.

KwikSew 2591 Girl's A-line dress

2008-02-25T21:06:00.000-07:00

A review of this pattern will be posted on Patternreview.com

As you can see, Leah LOVES her new dress. The 6 year old girl next door also saw the dress and loved it. Too bad I didn't have enough fabric left over to make her one too!

My New Home

2008-02-24T12:24:00.000-07:00

My blogster blog has now been abandoned. They are renovating over there, and things are not going well. I've had enough and I've moved here were the grass is green and there is no snow!