My Dream House

This is my dream house. I think it's a fairly reasonable dream, one that's definitely achievable. This house is just barely over 2000 square feet (before I added a basement) so it's not a mansion by any means. It's cozy and compact and yet meets all my needs and wants. Add on an awesome detached garage for John, and a small barn in the back for me, and it's perfect.

You can click the picture to get a closer look.






Here is the original version of this floor plan.  You can see the changes I made - for the better in my opinion!







Also, this picture is the original artist's rendition of the exterior of the house, and (again) the changes I made to it. Mine is the blue one on the left.

*Sigh* Love, want, need, must someday have. WILL someday have!

Dark Rye Bread

My first attempt at making dark rye bread...you know that yummy brown bread that they give you before your meal at Outback? Yeah...it's that kind of bread. YUM.

It took me forever to find rye flour...who'd have guessed I'd have to go to 3 different stores to find it? I ended up finding it at Whole Foods and it was quite expensive. I also heard afterwards that Bulk Barn carries it.  It's most likely cheaper at Bulk Barn, but judging by the name of the store, I wasn't sure if I'd be able to find a small package of it. I really don't need 50 lbs of rye flour.

The recipe!

Dark Rye Bread

Adapted from AllRecipes

Ingredients
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water (110 degrees to 115 degrees)
1/4 cup molasses
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup rye flour
2 tablespoons baking cocoa
1 tablespoon caraway seeds (I didn't use these)
1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour – divided use
Oats – optional for decoration

Method
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the molasses, butter, rye flour, cocoa powder, caraway seeds, salt and 1 cup of all purpose flour. Mix to combine. (I don't have a stand mixer anymore, so my tried and true method is bowl, wooden spoon, knead by hand. Works like a charm, and I've learned that I love, love, love kneading bread.)

Switch to the dough hook attachment and process/knead until the dough is smooth, elastic and climbs up the hook. Add remaining flour only as necessary to achieve the right consistency. You may not need the full amount of remaining flour – this is subjective. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for a few moments then collect dough into a ball.


Place dough ball in greased bowl, turning once to ensure the top is greased. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size – about 2 hours. (I found mine to be doubled in less than that - probably only and hour or so.)

Punch down dough, shape into a loaf about 10” long.
Place loaf onto a greased or Silpat lined baking sheet, cover and let rise until doubled in size – about an hour. ('Shaping' didn't work for me, so I rolled it out and then rolled it up.)

Pat on / press in optional oats. And bake at 350°F for 35-40 minutes or until bread sounds hallow when tapped. Remove from baking sheet and cool on wire rack. (The bread wasn't sticky enough to hold the oats on after it had risen for an hour. I used a little cooking spray and sprinkled the oats on, but they still didn't really stick. Next time, I'd roll the loaf in the oats before it rises, it was stickier at that stage.)

And that, as they say, is that. Fresh, delicious, dark & hearty, rye bread.

BLT (partly) from scratch

Today was the day that the first tomato was ripe enough to eat. So what did meal we choose to honour the first tomato of the season?

BLT's of course.  But not just any BLT, oh no. One made with fresh, delicious homemade french bread.

It unfortunately occurred to me AFTER I finished making the bread that I should have taken pictures and posted the recipe for my "Life from Scratch" blog...duh. Oh well, next time. For now, I'll just make you drool with pictures of the finished product...


ooooh...aaaaahhh...mmmmm...

The BLT's turned out absolutely delicious. The tomato was so sweet and juicy, the flavour actually overwhelmed the taste of the bacon, and THAT'S saying something. On another page, I have my list of goals, in which I talk about having a farm with animals and gardens. I believe I will have really achieved my goal when I can make a BLT 100% from scratch. Tomatoes and lettuce from my garden, bacon from my own pigs, mayonaise made from eggs from my chickens, and bread made with wheat from my fields. THAT is my goal. Our BLT's today weren't 100% homemade, but it's a step in the right direction and holy-moly they were good.

Changing garden

The garden is going bananas. (mmm, bananas.) The squash plants are about 2 days from declaring war on the house, and if that happens we're done for.

It's a jungle in there!

BUT - we have figured out what the mystery squash are! we've got butternut AND spaghetti squash!

Butternut                                                      Spaghetti

Also - drumroll please - we've got our first ripening tomato! In the coming weeks we're going to be inundated with more tomatoes than we can eat! I can't wait!

BLT's here we come!

The flowers in the garden are in full summer mode. The delicate flowers of spring have faded, and the hardier summer flowers are beginning to bloom.

Unfortunately, this year the squirrels got most of the apples before they were even ripe, but I've been watching this apple for weeks, and it's finally ripe! (or as close as we're going to let it get, before the squirrels decide to go after it.) We ate it yesterday and it was delicious!

Garden pictures

I'm living with my parents for the time being, so I don't have much say in the things that get planted...regardless, I enjoy watching everything grow day by day, and the different blooms come and go. I'm so looking forward to the day that I have my own garden, and I can embark on my own adventures with planting. In the meantime, here are some pictures of what's currently growing in the O'Beirn family garden.

Honeybees love the lavender.

A lovely white rose growing on the trellis, and the one bloom on our hardy little bougainvillea.

Love our garden, we do.

The sound of water from the fountain is so soothing.

Delightful Delphiniums

The squash plants that took over the wooooorld! These were "volunteer" squash - there were only supposed to be tomatoes in the garden, but the squash seeds were living in the compost over the winter, and have decided to pop up and take over the garden. Mystery squash! We have no idea what kind they are! There are 4-5 plants here.

Giant pot of spearmint...left in the garden it takes over worse than the squash, so it all got pulled up and planted in this pot. Two weeks ago there were only 1-2 sprigs of mint, and now the pot is almost full. There's also a volunteer pepper plant, courtesy of the compost :)

Adorable little cherry tomatoes

A close-up shot of a squash blossom. They open wide in the morning, but close up in the afternoon when it gets hot

Large green tomatoes, just a little longer until they're ready to eat!

Vinegar cleaning solution - Day 1 update

Well, colour me shocked!

I was incredibly skeptical that soaking the orange peels for 1 night would have any effect on the vinegar, but it actually did! You could still smell the vinegar, but it was balanced with a citrus-y orange scent.

I cleaned a small section of the kitchen counter with it, and it did just as good as the all purpose chemical cleaner that we use.  The vinegar scent was a bit stronger when I spritzed it on the counter - although it did dissipate within a minute or two of cleaning. For someone who hates vinegar as much as I do, 1 night soaking probably won't be enough. However, for a quick(ish) solution, it definitely gets the job done.

I was actually quite surprised at the colour change. It's kind of hard to tell from this picture, but the colour change is quite a bit more drastic than my camera was able to pick up.

Last night                                                  Today           

Last night, the vinegar was basically clear. A few orange floaties, but no real colour to it. Today, it's the almost the same shade as Pine-Sol.

I'll keep checking it day by day until I figure out how long it needs to sit for optimal scent and cleaning power.

First attempt at vinegar cleaner

That is to say, a vinegar cleaning solution. I'm pretty sure the vinegar is already clean.

Anyhoo! As I mentioned in a previous post, I've been really inspired by my good friend over at Poor Man's Wife. She has blogged a few times about how much she loves cleaning with vinegar, and she recently posted her recipe for a citrus vinegar cleaning solution. (Is it a recipe if there are only two ingredients?) I love the idea of adding citrus to the vinegar...not only does it add a little extra cleaning power, it helps mask the scent of vinegar.  

I HATE THE SMELL OF VINEGAR. I mean, truly loathe with the fiery passion of a thousand suns.

------Background story time!  When I was 12 or so there was a lice (EWWWW) outbreak and my little sister and I ended up with it. So gross. My mom's solution to this was to wash our hair with lye, and then rinse it with vinegar. I wasn't crazy about vinegar to begin with, just never liked it much. So then it got dumped all over my lousy head and there were definitely some negative connotations associated with it.  Later that summer, we came up here to Canada to visit my dad. Unbeknownst to me, his girlfriend (later to become my amazing step-mum) kept vinegar in a water bottle in the fridge for making salads with. You can see where this is going. Crept downstairs in the middle of the night, dying of thirst, and saw a water bottle in the fridge. Gulped down about half of the bottle before my brain registered what I was drinking, and spent the next 20 minutes gagging in the sink and rinsing my mouth out. Vinegar is no longer kept in water bottles, by the way. So - two traumatizing vinegar stories from my youth, and you can probably see why I hate it so much. End background story.-------

I know that vinegar is an excellent cleaner. I've used it myself and had excellent results, but I just can't stomach that smell. However, I really want to switch to natural cleaners...so that means I either need to learn to deal with the scent, or mask it. Enter the citrus!

Poor Man's Wife says to soak your orange peels in vinegar overnight, and voila! Orange cleaning solution. I'm definitely willing to give it a try, but I'm a bit skeptical about how much vinegar smell can be covered up just overnight. So here's what I've done...

I've been saving my orange peels for a few days now (sticking them in a baggie in the freezer until I had enough for a batch). Turns out I actually had enough for two batches...but unfortunately didn't have two glass jars on hand. So, I used a clean, empty spice container. The lid isn't air tight so that's the batch I'm going to use first. I'm going to give it a whiff tomorrow and see how much of the vinegar scent has been masked, and then strain a bit out to see if I can stomach cleaning with it. I'm guessing my hatred of vinegar might be more than the average person, therefore 1 night probably isn't going to cut it. If it needs more time, I'll give it another go in about a week. The glass jar is going to sit for a month. I read another blog where the woman gave it a month and said that she couldn't smell the vinegar at all. I'm still skeptical, but again, willing to try.

Fingers crossed! I'll update tomorrow with the results of 1 night's soaking!

Coffee scrub...yes and no.

 I love coffee. 

So, when I saw a recipe for a homemade body scrub using coffee grounds, I was pretty excited. What's not to love? I get to drink my coffee, and then use the leftover grounds to exfoliate and soften my skin, and on top of that the amazing aroma of coffee while I shower? Yes, please!

The result was...well, so-so.

But first things first! Coffee scrub recipe! I didn't measure anything here, just kind of eyeballed it until it looked right to me. Feel free to adjust the recipe for your own purposes. 

Use the grounds leftover from a pot of coffee. I'd say there was a little more than 1 cup of grounds in my batch. Spread the grounds out on a plate/dish/baking sheet/whatever for a few hours until they're mostly dry.

In a bowl, mix the grounds with a few heaping spoonfuls of regular white sugar (maybe 1/4-1/3 cup?), and about 2 tablespoons of massage/body oil. I used sesame oil, because that's what we have. (I use that as a moisturizer after showering anyways - it's wonderful, try it sometime.)

And that's it! Mix until well combined, and then slather it on yourself to exfoliate in the shower....

...in theory, anyway.

In practical use it made a ridiculous mess. Yes, my skin was exfoliated. Yes, my skin was lovely and soft. And yes, I spent 20 minutes cleaning coffee grounds from all over the shower. If you've got a fully enclosed shower with a glass door and a hand-held shower head, then it probably wouldn't be a big deal for you. But I don't. I have a stationary shower head, and a worn, old, enamel tub (everything sticks and stains), and a water "resistant" cloth shower curtain that definitely doesn't resist water being poured directly on it while trying to wash off coffee grounds. Also, it didn't really smell like much of anything. So, boo on that.

When I took this for a test run, I just rubbed it on my hands in the sink. It was nice and relaxing and my hands were definitely softened. For my own personal use, I'd say hand or foot scrub only just because of the mess that it makes.

Live and learn!

Bloggy ideas are brewing...

A friend of mine recently started an excellent blog called "Poor Man's Wife".  In it, she talks all about making do with what they already have, and making things at home that are cheaper, healthier, and better for the environment. With 4 kids, a husband, and a menagerie of animals to take care of, I was hugely impressed to see her writing about things like making your own laundry detergent and shampoo.

I've always had it in my head that I wanted to do things a little more naturally - I've always been interested in things like making my own soap and growing and preserving my own food, that sort of stuff. But it's always been a "someday" goal. Seeing my friend doing these things made me realize...now is the time to do it. You make it work, and you're better for it. "Someday" never comes, so take action today!

The last few days, I've been doing a lot of research on living a healthier, more natural lifestyle. I started discussing it with my parents, and my dad pulled out this book for me to look at.

According to Dad, this book (along with Madame Benoît's cookbook) are my inheritance.

Granted, it's from 1981 and a little bit of the information is outdated...but there is SO much good stuff in this book! Combined with my online research, I'm really inspired to start living a simpler, healthier, more natural and eco-friendly life.

Yep, it's going to take a while for me to get my dream of having a farm out in the country. Heck, it might never happen. But I can still make the best of what I have now.

I haven't decided yet if I'm going to start a whole new blog, or if I'm going to just shift the focus of this blog and change the title. I've got some planning and prep-work to do, but I'll keep my readers (all 2 of you) updated. :)

I need a camera!

After several months of blah feelings towards my little blog, I've decided to give it another go. My problem seems to be that there isn't much direction to it. (sort of like me!) I need something for my blog to focus on! All the best blogs have a solid idea to revolve around...mine is just sort of a hodge-podge of ramblings about my day...and who cares about that?

So, while I'm figuring out what I want for the future of my blog, here are some more hodge-podge ramblings!

BIG changes! We've moved! Hooray! Out of the frying pan and into the fire! Or...the ice-box possibly. We've moved from the brown, dry, stupidly-hot, nothingness of the Arizona desert to lush, green, gorgeous, albeit humid, southern Ontario.  I'm enjoying every minute though. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. I can't get enough of the green...it's a feast for my senses! I know I'll miss the green come winter, but honestly I'm really excited about the changing leaves, and snow, and all that. Ask me again in February, and I'll probably be sick of it. But the way I see it, there are trade offs for every place you live. Yes, I have to deal with snow and cold now. But as I mentioned before, it's GORGEOUSLY green here...it's actually possible to have gardens and flowers and lovely leafy trees...and summer is relished here, in a way that it certainly isn't in Arizona. As soon as it's even slightly above freezing, everyone opens up their patios to soak in the sun, plant things, and just enjoy being outside. Summer is special here. Summer is dreaded in Arizona. Can you tell I'm happy to be here?

The downside is that John had to stay behind to wrap things up. We're hoping he'll be able to come up in the next few weeks, but it's been really hard without him here for the past 2 months. Thankfully my family here has been amazing, and that makes it a little easier.

Unfortunately, I left the camera at home with John. So, no pictures for the time being.

Black coffee, please.

Mmm..powdered hydrogenated oils

I've recently discovered that I love black coffee more than I ever thought possible. Since I started drinking coffee at the age of 18 or so, I've taken my coffee sweet and light. Even after I cut out sugar in an attempt to cut out unnecessary calories, I still needed milk or cream, or even non-dairy creamer (yuck) in it. In the past I've tried sips of nasty office sludge coffee offered at my various work places, and always thought it was pretty gross, and didn't understand how people could stand to drink it black. Since then, I've realized that cream and sugar really only need to be used to mask the flavor of BAD coffee. When you have GOOD coffee, it stands on it's own two feet as a delicious hot beverage. No need for cream or sugar.

If you're looking to cut out some unnecessary calories from your diet, while still reaping the health benefits (not to mention the perk up from the caffeine) of a few cups of black coffee, I'd suggest buying yourself a decent coffee grinder and some whole bean coffee. The grinder I've linked is an example that you can get a good grinder without spending a ton of money, and the brand of coffee I've linked is widely regarded the best tasting brand of supermarket coffee that's available nationwide. Plus it's cheap - less than half the price of Starbucks brand coffee beans, and ranked higher in taste tests!

Coffee Love

 Also, read this hilarious web comic about the 15 things worth knowing about coffee!

I love coffee! Woooo! (I'm genuinely excited about coffee, not hyped up on caffeine...only two cups today)

Hiatus over - Party recap!

January has been an unexpectedly busy month! Most of the busyness has revolved around the planning and execution of Fiona's 4th birthday party, which I'm pleased to say, was a success! My sister-in-law and I apparently had some poor planning, and had kids within 3 days of each other, so now Fiona and her cousin Bentley share a birthday weekend...which would be fine if they were the same age, gender, or we shared any of the same friends, because then we could just do a double party for both of them.  As it is, Fiona is a 4 year old girl and Bentley is a 1 year old boy and we live on opposite ends of town and have no friends in common, just family. So planning two birthdays for the same weekend can be a bit tricky. We had to reschedule Fiona's party a few times, but in the end it all worked out. Fiona's two cousins - Rubye and Kayleigh - were able to come for a sleepover.

Fiona and her cousins share a special bond because they were the first three grandchildren born in mine and John's family, and they were born almost exactly a month apart each. Kayleigh in November, Rubye in December and Fiona in January. So on top of all the holidays, we've also got 3 birthdays in a row. Actually, 4 now with Bentley's birthday! It's a busy busy time of year for our family!

Anyways, we had a Tinkerbell birthday party/sleepover for Fiona and everyone had a great time. The girls played dress up (multiple costume changes throughout the day), whacked the heck out of a pinata (and went CRAZY over the candy inside) and had numerous balloon fights, where each girl would take turns being the "bad guy" and the other girls would chase her around and they'd beat on each other with balloons. It was lots and lots of silly fun. For dinner the girls couldn't agree on what to eat. Fiona requested hot dogs, Kayleigh requested mac n' cheese, and Rubye requested pizza...so I made all of it! (why not, it's a party!) The evening capped off with a 3-kid bubble bath and 3 sweet little girls snuggled in bed reading stories.

The next day we took them to the Aquarium, and we all had a great time. The girls were particularly excited by the "Nemo fish" and the jellyfish. Unfortunately a few of the exhibits were closed for maintenance or remodeling, but the girls didn't seem to mind. After the Aquarium, we headed out to Kayleigh's house for her little brother Bentley's party. Bounce-house and cupcakes, that's all you need to know! Fiona was in party heaven! Everyone had fun, and Fiona got a few more presents from her grandparents. Rubye stayed one more night with us, and we dropped her off with her mom on Sunday. It was a fun (but long!) weekend, and the house seemed so empty and quiet when it was all over!

John reminded me to get back on track once the party was over - eat better, exercise, BLOG (!) etc. Then unfortunately Fiona and I both came down with a bug and ended up in bed for a day or two. Today I'm up and about and feeling mostly better, so today I'm getting back on track. I have a to-do list written up on the big whiteboard in our kitchen, and blogging is on that list! Crossed off, check, done!

New Year, new routines.

I recently read a blog about a woman who did what she called "The 50's Housewife Experiment." It's a very interesting and funny read, and if you've got a little time, I highly recommend it. The author has a quirky personality and is a great writer. And actually, I've taken quite a few ideas from it myself. I don't need to be the subservient little housewife who's sole purpose in life is to make my husband happy and comfortable, but there are things to be learned from the experiment that can enrich our family and our home. I've been working on implementing a few practices into my daily routine, and can already see that things are running a bit smoother and I feel better about myself.

This is what I look like

My normal morning routine usually consists of getting up whenever John does, throwing on a robe and throwing John's lunch together. Usually I let him toast a few waffles for himself, fix whatever is handy for Fiona, and make myself a few cups of coffee. Then I usually get on my computer for a while while Fiona watches cartoons. I get things done that need to get done, but don't usually go above and beyond. Fiona is fed and played with, but watches more TV than she should. About an hour before John is due home, I rush around and get the dishes done and make the bed, bare minimum stuff. Dinner isn't really a problem for us, that's one area that I've got a handle on. I plan the menu for the week in advance and do all the shopping needed for the week. Dinner is usually ready shortly after John gets home. Dishes don't usually get done until the next day though.

This is what I want to look like

 Now when I get up - before John - I get dressed. Not like I'm going out or anything, but I make an effort to put on something nice (not sweats and a tank top) and put on some jewelry, pull my hair back. John's lunch gets made first, and is ready in the fridge for him when he leaves for work. I make breakfast for the three of us, and have it ready all at the same time, so that we can all sit and eat breakfast together - without the TV on. That's a bit tricky since we usually all have different meals for breakfast. John gets oatmeal, eggs, sausage, toast, waffles, pancakes, etc. Fiona usually prefers cereal and juice. I'm trying to eat healthier, so I've been having plain nonfat yogurt, half a grapefruit and a cup of black coffee. John leaves for work and I tidy the house, do the dishes, plus one deeper cleaning type job. Yesterday I vacuumed the dust and dead bugs from the windowsills, and today I vacuumed and mopped the whole house. Fiona either helps me or plays in her newly organized, sorted, and clean room. She's finally getting into a routine with her toys, even if I do have to constantly remind her. Every toy has a place, and gets put away before another toy comes out. It's so nice to go into her room and see everything neatly put away and her playing pretend with her dolls, and using her imagination instead of watching TV. Morning is also the best time for going on walks and to the park and stuff. She gets snacks at 10 am and 3 pm - a piece of cheese, an apple, carrots and dip - that sort of stuff. After lunch, sometimes Fiona naps, or she just has some quiet time with a movie. At that point, I actually feel ok about spending some time on the internet, or watching a little tv myself, or reading a book. It's great to have a little free time in the afternoon, with the house already being clean and not having to worry about running around like crazy to pick up before John gets home. I can just relax in my clean house, and only worry about getting stuff prepped for dinner. The TV is no longer on during meals. I think John is more relaxed, coming home to a clean house and a hot dinner. Fiona seems to be happier to play with her toys now, than to watch TV.  Playing must be more fun when everything is organized and she can find what she wants, and not just strewn about her bedroom.

These aren't huge changes, but I think it's good for us. Now I just need to keep it up!

A sad farewell

It's the 4th of January - 2012 is in full swing. It's been a rough couple of days for my family. My Pop (step-mum's father) passed away on New Year's Eve. Donald Whatley was an amazing person. You couldn't help but be charmed by his easy going nature, his kindness, and his happy whistle where ever he went. When his wife, my Nan, had several strokes some years back, he took care of her every need with a smile on his face. We weren't related by blood, but I don't think that thought ever entered his mind. He treated me and my siblings like his own grandchildren. He was such an amazing example of a loving husband, father, and grandfather. I'm sad that my own daughter won't ever get to know him, but I'm so grateful for the years that he was a part of my life.