Olallieberry

Easter Tradition

I've always loved and admired the naturally dyed easter eggs that everyone is blogging about. Onion skins, beets, rosemary... beautiful.

But there is something meaningful to me about the traditional (and potentially very messy) food colouring method. Memories of egg colouring with my mother and grandmother, and then with my own children when they were still young enough to partake in the process with enjoyment, fill my heart with pleasure.

After enduring the long dark greys of winter, beautiful brightly coloured eggs remind us of what is soon to come, filling us with anticipation and hope. And so, like an old dog I revert back to this tried and true method year after year.

Traditional Coloured Easter Eggs

Hard boiled eggs

1 tablespoon vinegar

20 drops food colouring

1 cup hot water

In a cup or jar, add the vinegar and food colouring, and top up with the hot water. Create separate dye mixtures for as many colours as you will be using. Bathe the hardboiled eggs one at a time in the mixtures until desired saturation is reached. Remove eggs and allow to dry on wire rack. Careful-- the wet colour will stain fingers and countertops just like it stains the eggs if not wiped immediately.

Display the eggs in visually appealing ways for a day, then eat them!

Happy Easter to you all. And thank you for your lovely welcomes, it is good to be back.

xox

I've Missed This Space

Easter symbolizes new beginnings. It's been a long time--too long. So many things have happened, where do I begin? I guess it's best to start with the most obvious, which is the new job. After being offered an opportunity that just seemed too good to be true, I made the difficult decision to leave my past "career" job and move into a completely different sector, which just so happens to be the best decision I think I've ever made. Quality of life is far underrated in today's world, but I do believe I've found it.

The change has taken some adjusting both for myself and for my family. Sacrifices and gains, losses and benefits. But now that I'm rediscovering my rhythm, I am planning on making regular appearances in this space again. Exactly how regular is yet to be determined: Regular as in no pressure... regular as in comfortable... regular as in just the right amount.

Hello dear friends, and Happy Easter. I have missed you.

Snowy

Well, it's here. I think we've seen the last of the beautiful warm days--the cold weather has settled in early. Yesterday we had our second snowfall, which in itself isn't really a big deal except that this time it came with a biting cold wind, and the temperature barely made it to 1 degree C. The weatherlady calls for similar all next week.

Now that I've gotten used to the idea, it really isn't so bad. I love all the things that come along with the cold weather: hot chocolate, baking, knitting, warm fires, sweaters and socks. Things I don't like are feeling holed up inside, and having to wake up earlier in the morning to ensure time for thawing and scraping of the car windows before going to work. Don't get me wrong, I love snow and crisp air. But the winters here can be long and harsh, and it doesn't take much time before I'm yearning for spring (here I am talking about yearning for spring, and it isn't even winter yet...sheesh).

Needless to say, social events become a very important respite from the cold weather. Off we went to visit friends who have recently moved into a new home, and we were so happy to celebrate with them. I baked my regular cake for such events, which is simple to make and a pleaser every time. See the carrier I put it in? Just as an aside, I spotted the same one in a second hand store for double the price I paid for mine new. Beware all you fellow thrifters, second hand doesn't always mean we're getting a deal! Wonderful weekend wishes to you all. xox

P.S. - Have you seen the baby? My heart is simply overflowing!!

October

Just a very quick note to let you all know I am in fact still here! October has proven to be a very busy month so far, leaving me with little room for much of anything other than the bare necessities. Hoping things settle soon so I can give a bit of an update as to what's been happening around here. Suffice it to say for now, I was able to harvest one last batch of strawberries from the garden patch last week before our first snowfall hit hard. Fortunately the miserable weather was gone as quickly as it arrived, and we are now back to enjoying beautiful days filled with golden sunny warmth. We have however been clearly reminded of that which is inevitable, and that these lovely autumn days are numbered (insert ominous music effect here). 

Hoping your October has been grand! xoxox

Mystery Post

I wrote a post.

It was about how much I appreciate all of you and your kind words of support during my 'bout of the flu, which I'm absolutely certain aided in my speedy recovery. I shared about a project I've been working on--the little knitted pouches made with Noro yarn you see above, and how I've been experimenting with a felted embroidered version. I wrote about the Summer Garden Quilt and how it has been calling to me for attention.

But it's all gone now.

Upon publishing, the post was appearing oddly in my dashboard for some reason, showing up as two separate posts, exactly the same. So what did I do? Well after carefully checking the links, I deleted one of them of course, confident the other was the official published version.

I was wrong. "Poof", both versions of the entire post disappeared. And so I leave you with this.

Pathetic, isn't it?

Flu... Pie... What's the Difference?

Well, I was planning on this post being about one of my very favourite fall things--apple pie. Gala, Pink Lady, Jonagold, Macintosh; all great pie apples. Not to mention the heirloom varieties that come straight from the local farmer, to which the perfectly shaped storebought varieties simply cannot compare when it comes to flavour.

Ours is most definitely a pie-loving family. No store-bought crusts in my kitchen, unless of course I buy tons of apples with the intention of preparing many pies and blogging about it, then suddenly coming down with the flu over the weekend, leaving the family destitute and disappointed in their insatiable desire for apple pie and ice cream.

Yep, the flu.

Home from work; too lethargic even to hold up a pair of knitting needles in an effort to alleviate the excruciating boredom which has quickly set in. Quiet empty days of nothing but NeoCitran, hot and cold flashes, joint pain, and unyielding headaches to keep me occupied while everyone else is off to school/work. Mr Mylo cannot bear to degrade himself by keeping me company and offering a comfort cuddle. Only wrestling and playing for him during the day, which I am in no mood for as I must conserve every bit of energy in order to effectively wipe the unending trail of drool from my cheek. (I did mention NeoCitran, right?)

So here I lay, worried about my absence from work, knowing what will be waiting for me when I get back, desperate for something to occupy my mind, unable to raise up for more than a few meager moments before breaking into a dizzying sweat and collapsing back down wondering what on earth I was thinking by getting up in the first place. Fortunately I can manage to balance the laptop on my chest for short periods while laying flat on my back with my chin pinned to my neck. You know, it's amazing what you can actually do with PicMonkey when you have a little extra time on your hands!

So the apple pie post is now the apple/flu post. Think I'll go doze a bit.

I'm so bored.

September Busy

Gackers, back to school season is in full swing! Early mornings, lunches, homework, errands, activities, work, shopping... luckily stores like Ikea have a cafeteria to grab a bite when time is really tight, but I do try not to think too hard about those mystery meatballs...

Found a nice stash of lace weight yarn at the local thrift shop, I'm pretty sure its a silk merino blend. Four dollars for two very large wound cakes... Jackpot! Now to figure out what to use it for, I'm afraid I'm getting a bit shawled out.

Must dash, looking forward to visiting your lovely blogs very soon dear friends!

xoxoxoxox