Christmas Music

A few people have asked me if I'm going to do a series on Christmas music again this year. The answer is yes... but in a different way than last year. Jeff and I are both craving more calm and simplicity in life, so we've decided to make this Christmas a very simple one. In this spirit, I'm going to share a piece of Christmas music every day in December but forgo themes, categories, and a whole lot of commentary. It's just going to be Christmas music that we love. We hope you'll enjoy it, too.

More of the Tour

Here's some more of the touring we did during my friend Pam's visit.

Nanaimo Inner Harbour

Baby's first game of Ticket To Ride. Notice her excellent card holding technique.

Fisherman's Wharf in Victoria

Sign at the end of the pier at Fisherman's Wharf

Lighthouse at Trial Island

View from Clover Point Park

My alma mater, Royal Roads University

Walking along the Coburg Peninsula in front of RRU

View of the dockyards in Esquimalt (still on the Coberg Peninsula in front of RRU)

The very sweet face we grew to know and love

As you can imagine, our house has been very quiet since these two left. We've missed them a ton. 

Cathedral Grove

I mentioned that my very dear friend Pam came to visit for a week with her sweet baby A and  having her here was unimaginably wonderful. During her visit, we toured around to show her some of our favourite spots on this island. One of those places is Cathedral Grove.

Jeff recalls there being 400+ rings on that tree (which puts it on this island before Captain Cook arrived!)

Build-A-Bathroom Week 11

It took 11 weeks but we finally have a working, 3-piece bathroom. After the counter and sink were installed last Tuesday, Jeff and I had a strict schedule of tiling, grouting, sealing and plumbing (extending pipes then installing the faucet and drain) to get everything working in time for the Apparent Project sale I hosted on Sunday afternoon but we did it! On Saturday night I brushed my teeth in the bathroom (instead of the kitchen sink) for the first time in almost three months and I can't tell you how great it felt.

I haven't been able to capture it well in a photograph yet, but the vanity tile ties in really nicely with the shower tile and pulls the whole room together

There are a few minor things left to do (recessed cupboard door, floor heating thermostat, kick plate on the vanity, hand towel bar, mirror etc.). We're going to work on those items in December and when everything is done, come back to show the final reveal. Some of you have asked about a materials list- I'll include that with the reveal as well. 

Art with Purpose

Last year, I went to a jewellery party and learned about The Apparent Project in Haiti. Haiti, as you've probably heard, is a country in crisis. Poverty, disease, natural disasters, political instability and ongoing devastation from the 2010 earthquake make everyday life and survival a struggle for many Haitian families. Faced with few options, many parents choose to place their children in orphanages.

To give these families hope, dignity and a real chance to stay together, The Apparent Project helps Haitian parents learn creative skills in jewellery making, book binding, metal work, sewing, woodworking and other decorative crafts. Proceeds from the items they create, gained through sale in Haiti and abroad, go directly back to the artisan. 

I think that social programs which help families stay together are incredibly important. And I think the items made by these brave artisan parents are beautiful. 

Photo courtesy of The Apparent Project / Market Haiti websites

Photo courtesy of The Apparent Project / Market Haiti websites

Photo courtesy of The Apparent Project / Market Haiti websites

Photo courtesy of The Apparent Project / Market Haiti websites

Photo courtesy of The Apparent Project / Market Haiti websites

Photo courtesy of The Apparent Project / Market Haiti websites

Photo courtesy of The Apparent Project / Market Haiti websites

Photo courtesy of The Apparent Project / Market Haiti websites

Yesterday afternoon, my living room was filled with Haitian crafts and Christmas shoppers. While I'm not sure that perpetuating North American consumerism is the best way to support poverty around the world, I do feel strong about the work of the Apparent Project. I hope that in a small way, we helped build stronger families and communities in Haiti. 

Joyful

The Stellenberg Girl's Choir, based in Cape Town, South Africa, is a high school choir of girls age 13 to 18.  They have found considerable success on the world stage and while they are a fantastic group of young singers, what I like most about them is the immense joy that fills their music- it's just infectious. This is a group of young women who undoubtedly, love to sing.

See what I mean?!

What we did last night

I forgot a "My view Wednesday" post this week... here's our view instead from last night.

For our date night tomorrow night we're going to get really wild and bring out the grout.

Comfort Food

T'is the season of soups, stews and things simmered in the crock pot. It was my turn to cook for our care group this week and I made a Cheese and Corn Chowder I've not made in many years... and it was delicious.

adapted from the More with Less Cookbook
serves 4-6

2 1/2 cups frozen corn
boiling water
1 teaspoon of sugar
6 slices of bacon, diced
1 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 red or yellow pepper, diced
2 cups of chicken or vegetable broth
2 cups of carrots, diced
1 cup of celery, diced
2 cups of leftover mashed potatoes OR diced raw potatoes
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
1/4 cup of fresh parsley, chopped (or 1 Tablespoon of dried)
2 cups milk **
1 cup grated sharp cheddar or pepper jack cheese **

Place the frozen corn in a blender and pour in enough hot water so that the water level comes almost up to the corn. Pulse so that the corn breaks up but is not entirely pureed. Add sugar and set aside.

In a soup pot or dutch oven, brown bacon until crisp. Remove bacon and set aside, leaving rendered bacon fat in the pot. Add onions and cook over medium high heat (in bacon fat) until translucent. Add garlic and peppers and stir for 2 minutes. Add chicken broth, carrots, celery, potatoes, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Simmer 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add corn mixture and cook 5 minutes more. Stir in parsley, then add milk and cheese and cook at a lower heat for 5 minutes, making sure the milk does not boil. Add bacon and serve.

** To make this soup dairy free, I simply replace the milk and cheese with soy milk and soy cheese.

Build-A-Bathroom Weeks 9-10

With my wee blogger break last week, I didn't update week 9 of the bathroom renovation.  In truth, there wasn't much change during week 10 (we were having too much fun out and about with our house guests) but with some major changes yesterday, we now see that the end is in sight! Here's progress we've made since the last update.

Floor: The floor is completely finished, and baseboards are installed. It's warm (even without the in-floor heating on yet) and has the most wonderful texture underfoot. Best of all, it's not slippery at all when getting out of the shower. 

When Jeff removed the toilet to install the floor, he painted over the last bit of original green paint behind the tank

Shower: With a few tweaks to the shower valve (thanks to some great customer service from Kalia, the Canadian manufacturer of the shower fixture and faucet), Jeff fixed the hot water issue. It's now HOT! We've been using the shower for two weeks and it's wonderful- light, spacious and very functional. It's also fantastically easy to clean.

Shower curtain stolen from the downstairs bathroom... I've looked all over Nanaimo and Victoria and can't find one I like!

Accessories: We chose towel racks and the TP holder and Jeff hung them last weekend. In the overall scheme of things, this was pretty minor but made all the difference in making the bathroom feel so much more like a functional bathroom (and less like a building site). We went with a double towel rack and it's working great for us.

Counter & Sink: The counter and sink were installed yesterday afternoon. While those two items caused us the most stress and frustration, we are absolutely thrilled with how they've turned out. 

Sparkly bits of chipped glass embedded in the Environite counter

So what's left? Artwork. Door for the recessed cabinet. Tile back splash. Faucet. Mirror. Floor heating thermostat. Accessories. And a few things I've probably forgotten about. The list, however, is getting progressively shorter and the end is truly in sight. That feels fantastic.