Olallieberry

Early

I am up and at 'em long before dawn every single morning: rain or shine, work or play. I try to be quiet for everyone, but it's tough to tippy toe around for hours before the rest of the house starts to stir.

It's not that I can't sleep... it's that I can't sleep in. No matter how late or early I go to bed, my circadian rhythm takes over, too deeply entrenched for me to fight. So, I find myself quietly baking, knitting, painting, sewing... long before daylight hits the Canadian winter sky.

But never cleaning for some reason... no, never that ;)

January

Hello friends! I hope January has settled in for you in a good way. After celebrating Christmas with family and friends and ringing in the New Year, we have managed to move back into some semblance of routine. Balancing work and school with social engagements and household chores, I've been able to seek out my quiet, creative spaces again.

I've pulled celes out of the knitting trunk in an attempt to become re-aquainted. This is a lace project with a fairly complex pattern requiring no small amount of mental attention to work through. No luxury of memorized rows here people, particularly with the numerous distractions I find around me with kids and pets and chores, etc. The yarn is a beautiful lace-weight baby alpaca and literally feels like a buttery cloud, so it's worth the effort. 

The Mr has found his quiet space too...in our driveway...shoveling the massive amounts of snow we've accumulated over the past few weeks. I'm quite sure his project does not evoke in him the same feelings of "buttery cloud" warmth that mine does. 

Hang in there baby, spring is around the corner!

xox

New Beginnings

Hello?

Is this thing still on? And if it is, is there anyone left out there listening? Nevertheless, I am happy to announce that I, along with the rest of the Olallieberry clan, am here, happy, and well. 

We are starting off the New Year this morning with a painted boule for breakfast, which will be followed by an outing with extended family for the remainder of the day. The recipe for the bread is here, the inspiration for the decoration from Chef Tess, who does absolutely amazing things with bread. Take a peek, you absolutely will not be disappointed!

Those of you who have been around for awhile know that I never make New Year's resolutions. But this year I have. I resolve to spend more time in this space... I've missed it so much! Even in my shameful absence I have been thinking of you all, hoping you had the most wonderful Christmas season filled with family, good food and cheer, and wishing you all a 2014 filled with nothing but more of the very best things!

xoxoxoxo

We Have a Nice Deck Now

That's right, the Mr and twelve-year-old K worked very hard over the last couple of weeks to finish this deck project which has been on our "to do" list since we moved into our house over four years ago. It's a little late in the season for us to get much enjoyment out of it now, but the smell of cedar is strong in the air and I absolutely love it. Not only the deck itself, but the memories of watching the whole father/son bonding thingy and the son-learning-about-tools-and-working-through-to-see-a-job-get-done thingy too. A prideful moment let me tell you. Now comes the fun part for me and E which will be shopping for deck furniture. The main considerations will be: Comfort, durability, and looks... in that order. Of course price will play into that equation as well, but if we get lucky we should be able to find something that fits the bill on a good end-of-season sale. Fingers crossed. Oh how I am enjoying being able to walk outside directly from the kitchen without having to clamour and descend what felt like a small scale obstacle course. I was so used to it I didn't even notice it anymore. Funny what you get used to...

So Nice

It's been such a humid summer-- odd for August on the prairies. We've had showers almost every night followed by beautiful sunshine throughout the day. Perfect summer weather. Or maybe it just seems perfect now that we've been able to find respite with the air conditioning. Normally I melt into a completely useless and unmoving glob of grumpiness that never leaves the couch around this time of year. I do not handle heat well. Especially during stretches of more than a couple of days in a row. Honestly, this year has been the nicest summer I can remember in a very long time.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing all the ravelry love on the Cuddliest Kitty Slippers knitting pattern! It's finally put together and available here. Easy to knit and awesome to wear, walking around in these cuddly cuties is just too much fun! You'll feel like a kid again. Seriously... try them! 

As for now, I think the kitties and I will walk over to the kitchen and cook something yummy together. I like to talk to them as I work, they keep me company.  Mr Mylo watches intently, waiting for just the right moment to pounce when he thinks I'm not looking. (Okay, massive eye rolling and snickers by family members occurring here. It doesn't help that I follow everyone around the house meowing at them and animating the kitties with my feet... )

See? ...Fun for everyone!! Hope your weekend is purrrrfect! (Oh stop already.)

xox

Golden

While summer is here in all her glory, I can't help but think how fall is just around the corner. I can feel her presence in the coolness of the evening breeze, and I catch glimpses of her in the lengthening shadows cast by the early morning light.

The leaves are beginning to change.

For the very first time we pull beautiful frames of capped honey from the hive. The strawberries are finished, and the tomatoes are beginning to ripen on the vine. The Mr works on the deck we've been planning for so long, and I imagine myself sitting out there in the mornings wrapped in my quilt with only my tea and my knitting for company. I imagine all of us out there spending time together sharing, eating, talking, laughing. 

I am off work again for a couple of weeks vacation time and plan to savour these moments leading up to September in the most leisurely manner possible. I've thrifted some books: Runaway by Alice Munro, and The Swallows of Kabul by Yasmina Khadra. I rarely have the time to sink into a good read these days, so this time is to be savoured and treasured.

Oh, by the way, I'm knitting these socks in Tosh Merino yarn... to be ravelled soon. I'm not altogether crazy about sock knitting, but I absolutely love the yarn which happens to be perfect for this pattern. So I make the sacrifice and will get on them in earnest... eventually.

Lazy golden summer days. The best days. I am captivated by it all.

Sweet Relief

Man oh man, are we enjoying this air conditioning! I've been wallowing in all the activities I love to do that in the past had to be set aside for more appropriate weather. Things like seeking relief inside after a hot workout in the garden (see the lemon thyme I planted from seed), knitting to my heart's content (kitty slippers, more on this later), and baking.

Imagine baking in the dead of summer! What a life changing concept, I'm completely ruined. Anyway, as promised here is the recipe for the scratch cinnamon buns from the last post. I really like these buns because they are not too sweet but rather exactly right for my taste. This is a mixed blessing because although they do taste terrific, you never really get sick of them so you end up eating a whole lot more than you probably should...

 

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Scratch Cinnamon Buns

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 Yield: 12 buns

Total time: 1.5 hrs

 

Ingredients

2 cups white flour, plus 1 cup

2 1/2 tsp instant yeast

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp oil

1 1/4 cups warm water

 

Filling 

3 tbsp soft butter

1/2 cup white sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

 

Let's Bake!

In a medium bowl, mix 2 cups flour, yeast, salt, and sugar. Add water and oil, and stir well. Dough should be wet. Add more flour, a little at a time, until dough is just barely dry but very soft. Heavily flour a board and turn out dough. Knead for a few minutes while adding flour if needed. The dough should be very soft, but dry. Oil the bowl and place the dough inside. Squish the dough down and turn it over. Let the dough rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375F. Punch down the dough and press it out into a rectangle onto a your board, approximately 14" x 11". Spread with 2 - 3 tablespoons of soft butter to within 1" of the edge. Mix together the sugar and cinnamon, and spread evenly over the dough. Roll the dough up tightly and cut evenly into 12 buns with a serrated knife. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper ensuring good spacing. Bake at 375F for approximately 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan while still warm. Serve with cream cheese icing or extra butter.

xoxox