A WEEKEND AWAY MAKES A HAPPY MONDAY!

SWEET TEDDY ELEMENT

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I hope you all had a good weekend! Miles and I had use of a cabin for the weekend which we truly enjoyed. Originally we hoped to get away on Friday evening but it turned out to be such a busy day we decided to relax and leave Saturday instead. The forecast was for cold and wet weather so we were pleasantly surprised to wake up to a glorious sunny day on Saturday. We managed to get away by 7 a.m. and enjoyed the lush scenery all the way. The balsam bitterroot are decorating the hills and for a short time everything is a dusky green.

We stopped at Greenwood at a chic bakery – one of those places which are so good folks drive from great distances to arrive at this delicious destination. We succumbed to the cinnamon scented air and the eye catching delectable treats – a post breakfast treat and a slice of sumptuous mousse cake for our romantic dinner plans.

The cabin is unfinished and simple – a simply perfect setting in which to leave our worries packed in our suitcases. The days filled with reading magazines (an assortment acquired from the Oliver Library which we cannot get at the Osoyoos one) and going for walks and deep meaningful talks and laughter and good food. We do take our computers but only to play on, or use if we choose.

We walk down to the Jewel Lake Provincial Park, about a mile and a have hike from the cabin. It’s an enchanted walk, in that no matter when we walk it, the trip TO the lake always takes one have the time it takes to come FROM the lake. On the way to the lake everything passes quickly and its very interesting, the trip home seems longer, with extra hills and turns thrown in. The weather’s always more pleasant going than coming home. Winter has only just lost it’s hold on this area and only the bravest of greenery is showing. The ice has gone off the lake and it’s a deep emerald color.

TRILLIUM AT JEWEL LAKE

We stayed until Monday morning, giving us a more relaxing evening. It’s like being in two very different worlds in one day – a place steeped in quietude and a drive west and down, down, down into the hectic pace of our thriving town. Somehow, combining the two places into the time-space of one day seems a treat.

My tip today is not my own – but I have used it countless times. I originally came across it in a Martha Stewart magazine.

BARB’S TIP #4
Microwaving Plain Popcorn in the Microwave

Yes, you read the title right! You only need one plain brown paper lunch bag. Place 1/3 cup plain unpopped popcorn into it. Fold the top over two or three times in ½ inch folds. Put the bag in your microwave and set it for 2 ½ or 3 minutes. (it will depend on your particular microwave) Listen as it pops, removing the bag when it has slowed down or stopped. That’s it! You may add your own toppings or not, making this the perfect diet food! No more having to pay for expensive - ready to pop bags at 10x the price- besides not knowing whats in the artificial coating they call butter.