Happy Birthday to My Man!

The Recipe (Blushing) and a Free Brass Word Element

 

I certainly didn't win any favour when I did not include a link for those delicious Portuguese Buns I posted pictures of.  Well, I wanted a big build-up ok? 

Actually I did not have any shortening the batch I made, and they were small and so I decided I was going to wait and make them BIGGER and put the shortening in as well - THEN I was going to share but thats not going to happen this week due to a hectic schedule, sooooo You can find the recipe by clicking on the picture of the buns, below.  I found out the OFFICIAL name for these is Papasecos

 

 

I hope yours turns out as good as mine!

My poor husband is under the influence of some virus - could it be swine or H1N1?  I don't know but its certainly not good.  I was forwarded Dr. Oz's Prevention Rules and I guess, even though its too late for our household they might help yours. 

 

The following advice, given by Dr. Oz, makes a lot of sense and is important for all to know:

The only portals of entry are the nostrils and mouth/throat. In a global epidemic of this nature, it's almost impossible to avoid coming into contact with H1N1 in spite of all precautions. Contact with H1N1 is not so much of a problem as proliferation is.

While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1 infection, in order to prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptoms and development of secondary infections, some very simple steps, not fully highlighted in most official communications, can be practiced (instead of focusing on how to stock N95 or Tamiflu):

1. Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all official communications).

2. "Hands-off-the-face" approach. Resist all temptations to touch any part of face (unless you want to eat or bathe.)

3. *Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine or Hydrogen Peroxide if you don't trust salt).  *H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/ nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected one. Don't underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.

4. Similar to 3 above, *clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water, or hydrogen peroxide. *Not everybody may be good at Jala Neti or Sutra Neti (very good Yoga asanas to clean nasal cavities), but *blowing the nose softly once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.*

5. *Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C (Amla and other citrus fruits). *If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.

6. *Drink as much of warm liquids (tea, coffee, etc) as you can. *Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm

*****

Lastly - I've not created anything to give away for a while so I decided to make a small gift for you.  I will be making several words in this series and would love your suggestions.   These were based from a set of antique brass stencil letters I picked up at our local thrift store last week. This can really be used as a stencil too.   I've left it without a drop shadow so you can add your own.  Enjoy! 

Click on the preview to be taken to the download site.  (PS - I would LOVE to see how you use this in a project!)

PERSONAL USE ONLY

Nummy Buns!

Ha, I have SO MUCH to blog that I think I will only blog one little thing. :|

Osoyoos has a large population of Portuguese people and we used to buy the most delicious Portuguese buns from a magazine shop on main street. That's right - a magazine shop! The buns were baked in Vancouver (I was told) and they would get trucked in to various locations around the valley each Saturday.

It was always a good idea to 'reserve' a few dozen because if you didn't they were GONE within an hour of arrival. And this was hundreds of buns! They were so good the tourists and locals alike would flock to the store to purchase them. On the rare occasion the buns were not sold out the owners would store them in the freezer and you could buy them that way as well.

Then, the magazine shop suffered a fire, and we could no longer get the buns. Oh woe was me (and a lot of other people as well) - until I found out we could buy them from an East Indian Market this side of Oliver... then eventually even they stopped getting them. Sigh sigh, what to do - by now I was totally addicted to them!

WHAT MADE them so special?

A light as a feather bun with an angel food cake soft inside and a chewy, nutty roasty flavoured crust (which when toasted makes a crackly, satisfyingly crunchy toast) Sometimes they arrived all coated in flour which had a roasted flavour and made them 'shish' against each other. And the aroma? Indescribable!

So, I decided the other day to look for a recipe on the internet. It was not easy to track down a genuine one but after much searching I found one which brought me very close to the original ones we used to buy.

We used to buy ones shaped like this - like little footballs - and sometimes they came round with the indent down the middle. Mine are on the small size, the ones we used to get were about twice as big.

Here they are ready to pop into the oven after rising!

And here they are in their full glory! Light as a feather, nicely browned, and the smell........

Now I will not have to long for them again. My Mr. has made me promise NOT to bake them too often - he cannot resist!

Ok, so I am sort of laughing here because I KNOW my friend Betty will be by at some time and is surely going to be drooling over MY post. So, its sort of a revenge thing - travel on over to Betty's blog and you will see what I mean - (SHE posted a recipe on hers that looks DE-LISH!) and I made the mistake of visiting her ON AN EMPTY TUMMY. Aarrrrghhh - I had a binge after that haha! Click on the preview below to visit Betty.

A Visit With My SIL!

I'm such a BAD blogger lately. Its funny how it goes, sometimes you can't find a thing to blog about of interest and other times life is so rich and full and BUSY that there's simply no time to blog, thus creating and overabundance of bloggable materials.

Such has been the case for me and I keep telling myself "I'll blog tomorrow... " but then my tomorrows are as busy as ever. I've been meaning to journal about my last visit with my (SIL) Sister in Law, Judy. (this is THREE Sister in Law visits in one summer! Woo Hoo!)

Judy's visits with me are always a whirlwind of activity because we share a love of all things digital + scrapbooking and so we use the time for her to pick my brain and learn new things. She's so much more talented than she ever gives herself credit for - which is quickly apparent if one visits her blog - just click on the picture below to do that.

At any rate we fit a LOT into our visit. We managed to go shopping, thrift shopping, dining out and all sorts of fun activities.

This is our friend Alison (left) with Judy (right) at the viewpoint just south of Penticton.

And here's me and Judy! We did a zoom-zoom trip into town where we tore up the stores and thrift stores and then tucked into a buffet Chinese dinner. I don't think we could have felt like posing afterward so its a good thing we took our pics before.

While Judy visited we also did our rounds to get some fresh tomatoes and also an always profitable and entertaining drop in to the local packing house to get apples.

When we drove into the packing house parking lot we could not resist the pull of the brilliant golden hues of these brushes against the rich reds of the apple bins.

Then it was up the other side of the valley to the viewpoint and vista at Anarchist Mountain.

And finally, my favorite photo of all -

Thank you for an awesome visit, Judy - it was the nicest visit we've ever had and I enjoyed my time with you completely. You are very special to me and I love you dearly.

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I am starting some courses at the Learning Centre and a Bible Study with the women from my church on Tuesdays and slating Wednesdays to be my 'creative day' (won't be answering the phone or nuthin!) ... well what I'm trying to tell you is that if you don't see as much of me its because I am trying to get organized and ahead and blogging seems to be a luxury. Don't give up on me - one of the courses I'll be taking is Adobe Illustrator so I'm hoping some of my lessons turn out to be some items I can use for giveaway! Thanks for still coming to visit me even though I've not been able to visit all of YOU!

Happy Anniversary - Belated Birthday and Who's Running This Show?

Dave and his NETI-fish!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to our brother Dave and our Sister in Law Neti! And belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Neti - was a few days ago. Sigh sigh. And a belated HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to KimB too (I so SUCK at being on time for events lately!!)

A Gift

You have a gift that’s sweet
And rare.
It’s just that you’re a perfect pair.

The years go by
With no regret
Because you are a perfect set.

What matter if this thought is sappy?
So long as both of you are happy.

Happy Anniversary!

by Denise Rodgers

And you ARE a perfect set. From the moment Dave and Neti "Met on the Net" they connected in almost every single way. Though Neti was a City Gurl and Dave was a Country Boy they found they had so much in common and it was not long before their long distance relationship flourished to the point where (GASP!) our forever bachelor brother Dave chose Neti to be THE ONE to share his life with - and they married! It must be love for Neti to marry into this weird and wonderful family LOL!

Among their many shared joys are travelling, camping and - you got it, FISHING!

My Sister in Law Judy and I enjoyed a visit together recently and we decided to create some fun to honour them - so we made these post cards combining the best of both worlds for them. Click on Judy's Blog photo below to see the complementary card to this one! *grin* (She may post later than me so keep peekin' if you don't see her pic posted yet)

And my Sister Nina made a beautiful Autumn themed card for their anniversary as well - I'm assuming its the one she posted on September 25th (OOPS - haha, Neti saw it BEFORE hand) Neti said you're right - the blog photo does not do it justice in all its pretty shimmery glory! Click on the image below to see all the other pretty cards my Sis has created!

I have much, much MUCH more to write but have other obligations which I have to fulfill first.

So...

Each day I wake up with a "to do" list and a PLAN but each day has turned out to be something entirely different. I will try to post tomorrow to catch everything up. I have lovely pictures from my visit with Judy to share. Sigh Sigh...

PS - This is what is happening with me I believe coz I ain't getting NUTHIN done what was on MY list!

In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps. (Proverbs 16:9 NIV)

Remember... your steps are ordered by God, so obey the orders even if they seem to conflict with your plans.

Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails. (Proverbs 19:21 NIV)

Remember To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Your plan may be ok but the season may not have arrived yet, so be patient because ultimately “it is the Lord’s purpose” not yours that prevails.