Saturday, November 28, 2009

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Cool Satellite Site!

I recieved an email with this cool site in it today and thought I would share it with you.

Its called SIMPLE SATELLITE TRACKING and this site allows you to feed YOUR country and town into it and then it gives you a PRINTABLE sheet which tells you exactly when satellites are flying over your place! It also tells you how bright they will be and which direction to look in to see it.

AND if you have a mobile phone, you can sign up to SPACEWEATHER PHONE on the site and it will tell you when a satellite is passing - almost in your backyard!

To visit this cool site just click on the following screenshot (I took of MY town's satellite schedule)

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Friday, November 20, 2009

Sharing, Sharing! - FREE Recipe, CD and Scrapbooking Elements

mustn't complain


Life is BUSY! Good busy. Would not have it any other way. Thanks for all you who keep reminding me to post. Without your reminders I'd just hole up here all winter like a hibernating type of animal. I'll jump right into my post.


Last week I enjoyed a luncheon with my church family and I decided to make two easy recipes. They are both ones which can be prepared the day ahead and then cooked on the day OF your event. Real COMFORT food for a chilly or wet day.


Barb's Easy Slow Cooker French Onion Soup


Warning! NOT a diet recipe though you are welcome to give it your own healthy makeover.


Take:


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About a cup.

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Just enough to 'enhance' the flavour - this is in place of 1/4 cup white wine. I think I used about 1/4 cup apple juice and 1 tbsp vinegar. Add it bits and keep tasting - you'll KNOW when its right/

Cook for 6 hours!

Ok - from this point its your choice. At home I put some in a heat proof bowl, add a toasted crust of light bread (french - or 1/2 kaiser bun) Top with a slice of Havarti and toss the works under the broiler till the cheese is nice and melty. Obviously its so delicious I did not wait around to take a picture of this.


SH105491


And the crowd pleasing and time saving recipe is Oven Grilled Cheese. I was thinking - how can I speed up the two sandwich per pan sort - well, by doing it in the oven. Its like this: Preheat oven to 450. Butter 9 slices of bread, lay them butter side down on a foil lined cookie sheet. Add a cheese slice ontop of each, top with another slice of bread. Butter all the tops. Put in oven, bake 6-8 mins on each side till golden brown.


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Keep some opinions to yourself. Say what you please of others, but never repeat what you hear said of them to themselves. If you have nothing to offer of yourself, laugh with the witty, assent to the wise; they will not think the worse of you for it. Listen to information on subjects you are unaquainted with, instead of always striving to lead the conversation to some favourite one of your own. By the last method you will shine, but not improve. I am ashamed myself ever to open my lips on any question I have not written upon.

~ William Hazlitt


*****


I was thinking the other day as I was baking, what things I would keep of my Gramma's had I had the choice in it. Other than the beautiful woodpecker toothpick holder, which my lovely friend Shirley sent me a ways back (I treasure it each day, Shirley - it sits right above my kitchen sink) - the other items I'd have wanted of Gramma's are:


Bible


Knitting Needles


Sewing Machine


Pin Cushion


Wooden Spoon

Canner


Her Reading Glasses


Cookie Cutters


garden spade


These are the things which make me think of her most. I think of HER whenever I use these things of my own at home.

What would YOU have kept had you had a choice?


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I am going on a REAL DATE tonight with my husband - I'm very excited about this - saw these gals on our local TV station.

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click on picture to visit Kristi's Site!

With Christmas a short time away its time we are all in preparation. What better way than to begin to prepare our HEARTS first - then all will flow from this? If your thoughts are turning to the real meaning of Christmas you can find inspiration in the music of Christian Music Artist Kristi Northrup - she's giving her CD album away for FREE (option to donate to some great missions if you feel led to do so) Why not get into the GIVING early by passing Kristi's website to a friend who needs a lift? Help spread THE WORD!


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I am still planning on making some more Brass Plate words in the future - still have to find time to take photos (using Mr.'s camera as my flash is broken) In the meantime I've been experimenting with some nice swirls and created you this Overlay/Embellishment set - hope you enjoy! They are provided as a FULL PSD file, or smashed down into both a nice 12 x 12 overlay - one with/one without emboss. Download is BIG.


PuhLeese don't share this yourself - at least have your friends come download for themselves. Click on the preview photo to get :) Won't you send me a snap of how YOU use these pretties so I can "TOOT" you here?


bderksen_siliveryswirls-pre

Saturday, November 14, 2009

First Snow of 2009!


We had our first snow of the year, yesterday! It did not stick except on the tops of the hills and even lightly then.

Its a beautiful day today. I've pre-prepared (is that a real word?) a crock of french onion soup for tomorrow's luncheon at our church and also juiced fresh Pink Lady apples from the orchard. My hunny bunny is taking me for Dim Sum in a few moments. The little bakery downtown used to offer it EVERY day, then they took it away but have begun again - due to popular demand. Oh happy is me!

I'll share a random thought here. I make my husband blush all the time with the questions I ask people. The questions are out of my mouth before I think of them sometimes. For example, when I was at the dentist the week before last, I asked "Has the power ever gone out when you were working on a patient?" (Yes, but it did not create a problem) and when I overheard the assistant say she could not locate a certain tool and they seem to be getting lost I asked "Has anyone ever had light fingers and lifted equiptment or tools when you leave them alone in the room?" (No, not that they are aware of) Haha, will they be watching ME now?

Anyways, I LOVE to ask people questions. I have an unexhaustable curiousity and I'm very often rewarded when I ask. I DO have a line I draw when I query - I don't try to PRY. One blessing I've found is that some people LOVE to be asked.

How about YOU? Do you like to ask, or do you refrain?

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Rememberance Day - Visiting a "Land Army Girl"








click to play my interview with Eileen





I had the pleasure to spend Rememberance Day (Wednesday, November 11th here in Canada) with my dear friend Eileen. To be honest, I had no idea at the time she was a Veteran. I was so thankful to have visited at this exact time for had I not she may have not realized it was even Rememberance Day at all! After she shared her story we made sure she pinned her medal on her sweater and sent her down to the lunchroom at the home where she lives. I mentioned the medal to the care-aides so they might query her on her story.



If you would like to know more about the Women's Land Army, you can click HERE.

Monday, November 09, 2009

I'm Really Really here and I'm Really Really Posting!

Oh Me, Oh My, what HAVE I been up to? I've been recieving emails to ask if I'm "OK" because I have not posted in so long, and I thank you for caring!

VALINDA - you are ever so patient, always faithful and you are the sort of friend I hope I am to others. You never let more than a few days go by without checking in on me. I truly appreciate you.

KIM, you keep tabs on me too - and you're almost spooky in the way you seem to send lil encouragements my way at EXACTLY when I need it. OMGosh, OMGosh x 100 - I just went to your bloggy and Judy's and its confirmed I missed (or should I say MESSED your birthday) Sigh sigh. Forgive, please. Everyone else, pls, hop over to Kims and wish her a happy old live long day for me? She's got some great giveaways to celebrate her milestone as well!

And MELANIE, dear daughter, I did not realize you get your "Mommy-fix" at my blog. That alone is reason to be more diligent.

So what HAVE I been up to? {and speaking about daughters, encouragement in the same breath} I have been working on my health and beauty regime. On the inside, trying to eat healthier, on the outside (if I were an insect you might say I have been working on my exoskeleton) - I've been RUNNING!!! and working out on an elliptical on a regular basis. Ok, yeah if you have followed me for a long time you're shaking your head asking "running?" for I have creaky knees that grind, will eventually have to be replaced. Well, its a foregone conclusion they are going to wear out all on their own, I may as well enjoy running and being in great shape so that WHEN that transpires the road to recovery will be faster and easier. I can't tell you how good it feels.

My Mr. and I have so many fond memories tied up in running. We used to run AT NIGHT, thats right middle of the night, but safely, down bike paths with loads of moonlight. It still plays in my head like a romantic moonlight movie score. I see the silhouettes of trees against the bruised black/blue night sky, with silver ribbons of light playing from the edges of the clouds. I see the moon ringed with frosty translucent pastel rainbows, shimmering. I see stars twinkling like studs in a velvet sky. I see bright streaks of colour painted onto the undulating water on the lake in a perpetual cycle. Ahhh, so do you see how running is so much more to me than just a way to stay in shape?

I'm into eating healthier. I'm not a breakfast person EVER except on very very special events, but I do have a date with my Magic Bullet each day and I whip up fresh, slushy fruit drinks to start me out. I never know what colour will happen. Sometimes pumice, sometimes fuschia, sometimes green with little black seeds (kiwi). All the blueberries, peaches, pears etc that I froze in the heat of the summer is blessing me now with a delicious bit of the okanagan in my mug each day.

And I'm really REALLY into salads. I'm sort of stuck on ones made with leafy baby greens/herbs, peppers, carrots, apples (picked straight off a tree practically right outside my window) toasted pecans - all tossed with a smidge of extra virgin olive oil and apple balsamic vinegar.

Then, for more of my OUTSIDE, I've been experimenting with make-up. Our daughter Melanie shared links with me for KANDEE the Makeup Artist. Have you ever seen her? Watched one of her YouTube Videos? Visited her blogs? If not, you MUST. Talk about talent, she has a true gift to 'do make-up' and she's a tremendous encourager as well! Here's one of her Video's so you can see what I mean.





Our daughter sort of went wild experimenting one day and this is what she came out looking like - is that pretty cool? Now I have never seen her looking like this and she assures me this is NOT her daily look LOL! But it is impressive nevertheless! I've been playing around with some of Kandee's tips and hints for makeup and learned a lot.



Melanie, Good Goth Girl!


I've been knitting! Ok well, I'm sure everyone agrees its nice to recieve a hand made gift. I wanted to make something for my sister Nina for her birthday and after looking at a lot of ideas I thought I would try to knit some 'wrist warmers' Well... they certainly are NOVEL, and I really will be surprised if she ever does wear them, but they were my first and she can just treasure them in a drawer somewhere. Since my effort at hers I've been working on more - actually refining the basic pattern I had and adding in a few features. I did learn how to knit using a set of circular needles from watching a YouTube video by a lady who tells us to think of the one needle not in use at any given time as a 'swinging udder'. Sounds strange, but it works. I do NOT know how to crochet. One day, one day I am sure.

I've been LEARNING Adobe Illustrator and digital photography at the school where my Mr. teaches. I'm loving it, managing to attend twice a week.

Leena and husband Jussi

And lastly, I've been doing quite a bit with our Women's group at our church. We've begun hosting the occaisional crafts night and have established a weekly bible study group. Its been a wonderful time of connection and growth, though it calls for a lot of commitment and hard work. I also maintain a blog for our Women's group and you might want to check that out as I just updated and posted a beautiful song sung by a guest last Sunday - Leena, singing "Standing on Holy Ground" Click HERE to be taken to our OCC Women's Blog

And, I did manage to make one small teensy giveaway. Kristy YaYa (blog reader) suggested all sorts of wonderful boy/guy type words to be fashioned out of the brass stencil I have. Kristy, more WILL come, but I have to confess this is all I could get out of an entire shoot last time. My camera's flash is DEAD and gone and I need to purchase another. Out of 50 photos I took only this word turned out clear enough for me to cut out. Look for more words in the future, I will borrow my Mr's camera if I have to.

DOWNLOAD
{personal use only}




Thursday, November 05, 2009

MORE Happy Birthdays!

MORE birthday wishes (November 6th) going out to.... (drumroll!)

Nina my sister and super duper card maker. Wishing you an amazing, special happy day. I hope you had a good sleep in & I love you more than words can say. You're catching up to me haha! Here you make cards for everyone else in the universe (see her cards and wish her a happy birthday on her blog HERE) - I hope you get them all poured back, Sis!

And to Candy - I'm ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN you're going to be pampered by your family. Can't wait to share via your Mom's (Judy) blog in the near future.

And now, a cute little birthday vid!










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