The Holidays 1

How were the holidays?  

We took some time to make a gingerbread house. Since "some" time equates to very little time, we bought a kit.  See above.

 This is how ours turned out.  Not sure that the icing is real icing as the instructions read "knead the frosting until it is the consistency of toothpaste."

It was an afternoon of giggles as we gave the gingerbread man and his snowman that lived in this humble abode some bulging eyes!


signed, the willow

Birthday Wish

This year for my birthday, I wish for world peace and for maternal health throughout the world.  All women deserve their god-given right to nurture and love their babies.

And all women deserve to gain some weight, put some fat on their breasts, hips, to feed their babies.  Yeah.  We've had our chances to be young, slim, pretty.  Now we need to have fat on our waistlines to hold our children and watch our daughters be young, beautiful and give them the confidence we have now - you know, the confidence we didn't have then.

and yes, I made the latte.  And then I drank it.  With that little baby in it.

signed, the willow

A drive on the Etsy highway

Today I felt like a scenic drive.... on Etsy.


First, we need a ride.

source:  blackbirdletterpress on etsy


Look out the window, we're all passengers.  Say goodbye to the hydro lines of the city.

source:  blackbirdletterpress on etsy



maybe we'll stop at a roadside diner somewhere.  which one?

source:  elukka on etsy



I think I'll be needing this hat for the ride.

source:  buygail on etsy


Finally, a little road trip freshen up to "blow the stink off" as my mum would say.

source:  signal mountain on etsy


signed, the willow

TRICK OR EVIL?

Today I'm really hoping that November will enter with flexibility and fluidity.  However, it's not happening thus far.  All that sugar, the late nights, the anxiety, the anticipation, and the fears...it makes me feel like is it really worth it?

I love the whole buzz BEFORE Halloween.  But after I suffer from the post-holiday hangover, I wonder if next year I can escape and go somewhere really hot.

With all the spookiness of Halloween, does anyone else see my daughter's deformed looking hand?  And the ghastly mist emanating from it?  Ok, maybe I do like the chills Halloween provides.

signed, the willow

Silver Spoons without Ricky Schroeder

This great little metal piece was made by a Muskoka artist.  The petals are fashioned from old silver spoons. You know the tarnished old collectible ones your Gramma has.  A pink rock tied in for soft effect and then it was fashioned to a metal hair band.

But it fell off of *mila* girl's head a few too many times and I need someone to solder it back on.

Who would that be?

Maybe this guy?

Maybe not.  He looks like he catches flies with that mouth.


Doh!

signed, the willow

Mall Zombies

Today was an escape for the girls.  A day for us to get out and just gripe over money, men, careers (or lack thereof), and calories.  We wandered the mall window shopping, sipping on a hot americano, talking about what we'd buy, what we will buy.  This lovely lady here was my companion.

Then we wandered into a particular very grand and opulent lingerie store.  One of the sales girls greeted us with exuberance pouring a couple compliments in our way and trying to tell me which bras and panties would match my coat.  Nice.  My coat.  That was the best should could come up with.  Then she told us about how one pleasant thought can make your whole day better.  "Yes", we agreed.  To which she proceeded to tell us about her bus ride into work.  She noticed a truck get stuck on the train tracks and had to back up and spin out, etc.  This caused her to giggle and added joy into her day.  WTH?  I can't believe this young girl was enthused by this.  We backed away and into the next mall zombie.  This one tried to tell us about a panty sale and it was so rehearsed and so robotic.  Eerie.  Next we met the ultimate panty and bra zombie.  This one got in my face and made me touch the panties.  Her monotone voice and her rehearsed speech was a dead giveaway that she had just eaten the brain of the last panty sale zombie.

Anywhooo, there we were being wedged into a corner by the zombies.  And there was no way out.  Oh, the girl up there in the photo, she'll be the zombie there on Thursday.  Eek, she can fly.

signed, the willow

Hike and a Birthday

This past weekend was Thanksgiving for us in Canada and also my husband's birthday.  Here's some of the highlights.  Enjoy!

We had a little roaring fire after dinner.

 

And then there was this major sporting event that couldn't be missed!  It was the Winnipeg Jets vs. Montreal Canadiens.  I was torn being a Habs fan, but all those years I spent in Winnipeg, and they got their team back?  Sorry Montreal.  You took the win, but Winnipeg deserved those cheers!  And *Steve* parked the TV in a window so we could enjoy this beautiful weather.

Waiting for some marshmallows?

On holiday Monday, we took *Steve* for a hike.  Here he is proudly holding the caramel latte I made for him.

We packed a picnic basket filled with goodies (and candy bracelets, oddly enough) for a little tailgate party.  We turned down the wrong road, saw cars parked everywhere.  So we acted like Disney's lemmings and followed the crowd.  We thought we were lost until we spied a familiar creek.  Turned out the landmarks we  were now looking for?  Well.  We'd been there about 50 times.

The forest was utterly Carolinian and amazing.

All hardwoods and very much reminded me of a place to have a fairy-inspired wedding.

Maybe one day?

I don't even know what to say about this tree stump stripped of its cloak.  Interesting.

A place to stop and enjoy Tiffany Falls

This lady had some serious gear.  Jealous?  Yes. Until I saw that she couldn't bring a dog or child with her.  Instead she had to bring a husband to carry said gear.

This is the dog we brought.  We overheard some girls say "Oh, that's the kind of dog I want to get.  I love those dogs."  What?  Random mutts?  Croatian highland sheepdogs?  Corgi shepherd mixes?  Where have you ever seen this "type" of dog before?  Maybe here, on my blog?  I bet that's it!

He's very proud to be out on his birthday.

See?

Posing, even.

*Mila* took a call from her grandparents.

and then we let *Steve* have the camera.  Our turn.

She has my calves, and actually has ankles.

The water here is so sulfur filled, that it's grey or silvery at times.

The camo-like bark of the sycamores.

Happy Thanksgiving was had in Canada.  Aren't we smarter to do it before the snow falls?

signed, the willow

Making a latte

First, start the machine

Pour the milk about 'yay' deep (1/3 full) in the stainless steel container.  Cold, skim milk works the best.

Turn on the steam wand (while the wand is in the milk).  Like so...

Hold the canister as the steam wand begins to steam the milk.  "Pull" the milk up and down in a vertical motion.  You should hear a hissing or kissing sound, but not a sputtering or gurgling.  

You're looking from thick dense foam here and not big fluffy bubbles.  As the foam develops, swirl the steam wand around in the milk.

Set the milk aside and tap it on the counter if you see large air bubbles.

Take a wet cloth and clean your steam wand.

Meet the portafilter

Freshly grind the espresso and fill the portafilter.  It should overflow slightly and be sure to clean all areas around the filter, so they are free of espresso (as this will damage your machine).

Using your tamper (and mine is not a good one, it just happened to come with the machine, so it fits the filter) apply about 30 pounds of pressure and do a very slight turn.  Make sure to apply even pressure so that the espresso is tamped flat, smooth, and level.

Lock the portafilter in place and press "go".

Look at the espresso here it comes.  I'm running a double shot here.

Voila, a nice rich red colour with crema on top.  If the crema is white, you'll have a bitter shot.  Watch for black dark espresso in the liquid part as this is wrong as well.  This takes practice and that's what makes it so fun.

I'm running another double shot and I don't want to spoil this shot.  Make sure that something hot is added to that espresso shot within 10 seconds, or it's lost.  I've added a splash of our steamed milk and prepared my second double shot.  I've spared you the details.

Here comes the second shot.

Now we are going to add that steamed milk.  Using a container to pour that has a sharp, or peaked, spout works well.  IKEA sells some great barista supplies.

Carefully pour, you don't want the foam to fall on top.  As you near the bottom of the liquid milk, you'll see a white spot form in the latte (yes, you've made a latte).  Play with this.  Waggle it back and forth and draw a zig zag, or a big line.  Or leave it as a bigger dot (make a heart with this dot).

Waggle.

My special tool of the day was a knife.  I've never been known to use a knife to draw with.  Normally, I'm using a toothpick, fondue fork or chopstick.  I guess I felt adventurous. One of the best tools is the tip of a meat thermometer (use it exclusively for the espresso machine and ... did I just have to tell you that?).

Go with it.  It's a .... feather?

And if you aren't happy with your design, plop that foam on top and you've got yourself a smurfy cappuccino.

Cinnamon and voila!

sip, sip, enjoy.

signed, the willow