blossoms and balloons

the scent of flowers fills the air, 

as does the joy of water balloons... 

watch out.  :)

spring forward

I have neglected lemon cake for a VERY long time.

the immediacy of Facebook, Instagram and texting have, over time, 

changed the way I document things 

without me even realizing.  

not unlike how this blog slowly took over my little hand written books.

spring is always a good time for a fresh start.

winter warmth

downhill from here

the snowy weather returned after a mushy January thaw,

leaving an inviting layer of white over 

slick-icy surfaces.

PERFECT for a little lawlessness.

the downhills were exhilarating, and the back-up-the-hills were grounding.

not only is it lunar new year,

and celebration of our friend John's birthday, 

but also serves as the anniversary of our hard working wooden toboggan. 

 it was gifted to us, by John, 4 years ago.

I don't know how many years of service it provided to his family before then...

but we have certainly put it to good use!

cheers to John,

to more adventures at the arboretum

and to the year of the cockerel!

pizza day

since we live a block from an Italian deli, 

 one of the quickest and most satisfying last minute meals is literally right around the corner.

I just need to head to tony's, pick up two balls of pre-made dough, roll 'em out, throw on sauce and cheese, into a 500 degree oven and, BINGO!

I mean, PIZZA!

sometimes, though, I am too darn lazy, 

so I leave the legwork to the bread machine.

spruce street pizza dough,

bread machine version.

place ingredients in machine like so:

1 1/4 C warm water

3 T olive oil

3 C all-purpose or 00 flour

(this batch is 2 C all-purpose, 1 C whole wheat)

1 t salt

1 T quick rise yeast

hit dough function.

in the meantime

grate some cheese,

pop open some sauce,

dig around in the fridge for random toppings,

preheat oven to 500

roll, top, and bake for 10-12 minutes.

mmmmmmm.

(of course this dough can also be made by hand,

just mix the instant yeast well with the flour before combining with the wet stuff,

and allow it a nice cosy rising time.)

tracks

welcome, winter.

etiquette et bricolage

,

the girl was invited to a special tea party play-date recently.

 



 

it was hostessed by one of her favourite friends,

so she took her preparations very seriously

and even posed for a quick souvenir photoshoot.

 

we offered to entertain the tea party hostesses' brother at our place,

which tuned out to be a very good plan. 

the young ladies would certainly have been distracted by the building of Hamster Haven.