Big Project!!

Last year, my husband and I started planning a big project for the garden, but unfortunately had to set it all aside for a while. A few weeks ago, we put the project back on the table and after much researching and shopping around, I am extremely happy and excited to announce that we will soon be putting up a greenhouse in our garden!!! I've dreamed about one since a good while before we moved to Denmark, and I can't believe it will finally happen! We placed the order a few days ago, and in less than 2 weeks from now, it should be delivered at our door. Needless to say, I can't WAIT to prepare the place, put it all together and finally be able to use my new greenhouse!

Last time we went to the greenhouse showroom, I came back with my first related accessories.

A sowing/replanting tray, a PH reader and a couple of seed envelopes

Here's a rough drawing of our lot and an idea of where we want to place the greenhouse.

The plan is to remove everything that is to the left of "terrace 1", to open the way. There are bushes and plants that need to be removed or moved. There's also a fence on that side of the terrace that needs to come down. When that is all done, we will start preparing the actual spot for the greenhouse itself. We need to remove grass and dig and a few steps that I won't explain now. This location is very sunny, so it should be very good for the purpose. :)

Eventually, we will also patch the old garden patch and sow grass again, and make a new garden area next to the house. It's brighter than one might imagine as there's sun on that spot many hours a day in the warm season. I'm hoping that both the greenhouse and our house will offer extra protection on windy days. I think this year, we'll make it a garden patch, but eventually, the idea is to have high beds in stead. But we'll come back to that at a later time.

At some point in the future, we would like to redo the paving on both terraces. When that happens, we will make the terrace go all the way to the greenhouse door, and a little bit on the side of the house, so it will all be part of one big area. That, too, is a thing of the future. But if we can just get the greenhouse up this year, that will already be a big accomplishment (and expense, I must say).

I will share and explain every step of the process on here. So stay tuned! :)

Happy Early Spring!

An Inuksuk in my garden

What exactly IS an inuksuk?

An inuksuk (plural inuksuit) is a stone landmark or cairn built by humans, used by the Inuit, Inupiat, Kalaallit, Yupik, and other peoples of the Arctic region of North America.

The inuksuk may have been used for navigation, as a point of reference, a marker for travel routes, fishing places, camps, hunting grounds, places of veneration, drift fences used in hunting or to mark a food cache.Despite the predominant English spelling as inukshuk, both the Government of Nunavut and the Government of Canada through Indian and Northern Affairs Canada are promoting the Inuit-preferred spelling inuksuk.

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inuksuk 

"The mysterious stone figures known as inuksuit can be found throughout the circumpolar world. Inukshuk, the singular of inuksuit, means "in the likeness of a human" in the Inuit language. They are monuments made of unworked stones that are used by the Inuit for communication and survival. The traditional meaning of the inukshuk is "Someone was here" or "You are on the right path."

source: http://www.inukshukgallery.com/inukshuk.html

The Inuksuk is not directly in our culture in the southern part of Canada, but it certainly is in the culture of the northern part of my homeland, and in my family, well, we like them! My dad has this tradition of building a little inuksuk wherever he goes on vacation. It's his "marque de passage"... a fun "I was here" note. I remember he made a small one the very first time he and my mother were in Denmark. It stood on the windowsill of the summerhouse where we stayed. I wonder how many new visitors it greeted.

When my parents and grandmother visited us in Denmark in July 2012, my grandma built a small inuksuk out of some of the stones that were covering a part of our lot. Even after my family were gone back home and for the remaining of the summer, this little 15 cm high mark of their visit stood on the side of our driveway, looking out for visitors and passer-by's.

At Fall, when my husband and I decided to get the stones removed and sow grass in stead, little inuksuk was in danger, standing right by the edge of the stone covered area. So I carefully picked it up and placed it safely in the shed, making sure it didn't loose any part of its fragile construction. It stood there all winter and today, I finally brought it inside and glued it together, to immortalize this little token of my grandmother's visit to my adoptive country.

Inuksuk built by Grandma - summer 2012

My biggest inspiration and drive for having a vegetable garden are the memories I have of my grandparents' garden when I was a child. It was always so beautiful and successful. Among other things, I remember the freshly picked carrots we got when we visited. My grandma or grandpa would dig them up, wash them with the hose and we'd play outside munching on the fresh root. My grandpa has been watching over us from above for a few years now (love you grandpa xox), but I feel so extremely lucky that my grandmother was able to visit us in Denmark and see where we live and even see my very first garden. She gave me tips, too! She lives in Canada so she can't be here all the time to guide me in the garden, but I want her inuksuk to stand and watch as I (hopefully) learn and gain gardening experience, year after year... Someday, I want a vegetable garden like the one my grandparents had back in the days. :)

Winter Weeks

Well, I have been quiet on here lately, but I have not forgotten you guys! January has been busy around here in other things than arts, crafts and gardening, and I can't believe we're already nearing February. The days are already getting longer and that always makes me feel so happy! I absolutely love this first half of the year where daylight stays a bit longer every day and where Nature works its magic on all the plants and creatures, and Life just springs again. I think I probably say "I just love this part of the year" To pretty much any part of the year, mind you. ;)  I just find there's something enjoyable all year round. There's always something beautiful to observe, or something nice to look forward to.

Despite the fact that I was so busy in January, I did manage to find some time for hobbies. I started 3 different projects with 3 different mediums... but none of them is ready for "presentation" yet. However, here are a few samples, just to pique your curiosity... ;)

Acrylics... 

Paper maché...

Crochet... 

All 3 projects are fairly long-term, but I really hope to succeed in completing each of them within a fair period of time. Ideally before the big gardening season starts! If you guys remember well, last year, I did my first vegetable garden ever. It did not go perfectly, but it went anyway and I managed to harvest some good vegetables out of it! I learned many things about gardening and this year is the first time I have to "re-start" a garden. I still have much to learn and I am looking forward to it. I know that soon, I can already start thinking about sowing a couple of things indoors, but as of yet, I only have a faint idea of how to prepare the garden patch again. I'm sure I'll learn... one step at a time. :) I'm excited to see how things will go this year, as I at least know a little more where I'm going regarding what sorts I want to grow and such. 

Anyways, but for now, the snow is covering the ground and it finally looks like winter. I say "finally", because we'd had mild temperatures until about 2 weeks ago, and for a moment I thought we might go straight into Spring after the holidays! But the snow arrived and stayed a while, and is still hanging around. Now, I am not your biggest Winter fan, but I do enjoy how cozy the living room feels in the cold season. Besides, Spring feels even more magical after some snow and cold weather. 

I'm afraid the cats, however, are finding this little Winter visit a little too long! They are staying a lot more indoor and when they do go out, they stay very much around the house. Occasionally, they venture in the back of the garden, but they never stay out very long!

Tiana and Kashew,  bored and wishing the snow would melt already... 

My adventurous Kashew... 

That's it for now! I hope you're all keeping warm and safe... :)

New Year, New Ideas

Welcome, 2013! The vacation has been really relaxing and while I wish it could go on for a couple more weeks, the end of vacation only mark the beginning of something else. I jumped in the new year in the company of my husband and some very good friends and their little baby girl. It was nice to be among people I care about to welcome a year that I hope will be filled with positive energy and creativity.

Can you feel the celebrations?

Now, I have a rested head, renewed energy, and of course, a ton of hobby ideas!! One of the things I really want to develop is more experience/ understanding on how to crochet pieces of clothes. So during vacation, I crocheted my very first cardigan ever! I made it for my friends' baby. While it's not as big on her as I had anticipated (and so won't fit her as long as I wanted),  I am very satisfied with how it turned out. :)

First cardigan ever. I had fun making it! 

The other big hobby thing on my mind is to get going again with painting. I have not painted as much as I wanted to in 2012. But you guys won't believe what I received for Christmas from my wonderful husband... 

I received........ Every shade of green!

My Every Shade of Green

I can't wait to use my new colours. I already know which canvas I will start with!

I would like to wish everyone a very happy and healthy year 2013, and i want to say thank you for reading these little pieces of my life.  :)

What are YOUR resolutions for the new year? 

Christmas Stars

I was recently visiting very good friends of mine who were holding a cosy and lovely Christmas gathering involving great company, yummy glugg (a warm red wine drink served around Christmas time), delicious Christmas pastries and some Christmas decoration making. 

After some difficulty getting started, I succesfully learned to weave pretty Christmas paper stars. They are popular around here. I've seen them ever since my first visit in Denmark in 2000, but had never made them myself.  

My first weaved Christmas stars

I made one while visiting my friends, and made quite a few more in the past couple of days. They are really quite easy (and fun!) to make once you got the technique down!

This morning, Tiana was very interested by the long strips of paper!

Of course, now that I am making them without difficulty, I had to push the challenge a little. Having an interest in miniatures, I wanted to see how small I could manage to make such a star.

Barely 1 cm (3/8") in width. 

The challenge of making the tiny star was fun, but I must say, the bigger ones are much easier to make, and also much easier to use. I chose to add mine to my Christmas tree decorations.

Merry Christmas!

Ooh no, it's blue!

Ever seen someone horrified, laughing non-stop and running after a cat all at once?  No?

It is quite a sight!

I was checking mail at the computer, waiting for colours on the canvas to dry before moving on with the next step of a project, when Tiana walked into my hobby room, greeted me with her meow, jumped on the desk, walked to me and climbed down on my lap.

So far, no worries.

Moments later, my eyes are drawn to a spot of paint on my desk... and another... and another... as I come to the realization that Tiana walked on my palette and is now sitting on me with her paws covered in acrylics! "Ooooh no you didn't!" I'm thinking... as much to her about walking in my paint, as to myself about not taking precautions to avoid this!

Ohhh dear... What to do what to do! I pick her up, bring her to the bathroom to assess the damage. Of all colours, she had to walk in blue paint. For those of you who paint or know anything about colours, you'll know that blue pigments are like a never ending story! It takes forever to wash off! So Tiana's back right paw is covered in blue paint, and her front left paw has a touch of black. My clothes are covered in both and I'm home alone to fix the issue. Oh joy!

I don't dare putting the cat down anywhere, so holding her with one hand (err... she's a big cat!) I gently turn on the faucet with the other, and ever so gently try to bring her back paw under the running water. What was I thinking, right? She of course didn't like that, fought to get loose, succeeded and to my horror, jumped down on the white floor of the bathroom... and out in the entrance hall and up the stairs into the living room... and to our bedroom, as I'm running after her, laughing like a madwoman and yelling "Ohh Myyy Gooodnesss NOOO TIANA COME HEEEERE!" I know I know... why didn't I close the bathroom door... right?  I really, really don't know. But oh how I am laughing. Funny and horrible at the same time!

Imagine this through half the house!

Anyways, fast forward a few minutes. I finally caught the furball and brought her back in the bathroom, closed the door (!) and am about to fill a small tub with water when my phone (laying in my hobby room) rings. Well of course, it had to ring there, at that very moment, and since I was waiting for an important call, I had to take it! So I am forced to put Tiana down and I run out to get the phone (making sure to close the bathroom door behind me).

Yeah... what happens when you leave a blue-pawed cat on a white bathroom floor, you think? Yes, exactly!

This picture does't do the situation justice, believe me!

After the phone call, I sat on the floor in the bathroom with Tiana in my arms, a tub of water and some gentle soap and started dipping and soaping the little paws. Tiana was cryyying like a lost soul, which made Kashew, my other cat, meooow (something she very rarely does!) on the other side of the door at the sound of her sister's plea. I tried to reassure both of them with gentle words while avoiding Tiana's front paws trying to grip at everything and anything to get out of her miserable position. Poor little kitty girl. She was not happy! :(

But we got through and the peace is back in our house. In the end, Tiana is left with a lightly blue-tinted paw, as it proved impossible to remove it all. The floors and clothes are clean again, Kashew is reassured, and I survived the whole thing without a single scratch - which is NOT an easy task with an angry crying cat having her paws dipped in water and rubbed with soap!

Another meaning for blue prints. hehehe

I can't help it though. I'm still giggling at the situation! teeeehehehe :)

Canadian Apple Pies

What to do with a basket full of apples from your own garden? Apple pies of course! My mom used to bake a batch of them at Fall and freeze some for the holidays. Mmmmm it smelled so delicious in the house, and of course, tasted delicious too!!! For some reason, I had never baked them myself, so I thought it was about time I tried my hands at it.

My husband and I spent a lovely afternoon working on the project and managed to bake 4 beautiful pies with our own apples.

Canadian Apple Pies

Crust (for 1 pie)

- 250 g all purpose flour
- 125 g butter
- 2 eggs
- 100 g sugar
- a pinch of salt
- pie plate!

1 - Combine flour, butter and sugar in a big mixing bowl.
2 - Add the eggs and salt.
3 - kneed until smooth and flexible. You may need to add some flour if the dough is too sticky.
4- Wrap in waxed paper and plastic film and place in the refrigerator for a minimum of 30 mins.
5 - When the dough has cooled down, roll half of it into a thin layer and carefully place inside the pie plate. Set aside.

Pie

- Apples (oops, I forgot to count my apples!)
- brown sugar
- cinnamon
- nutmeg
- 1/4 cup (about 60 ml) maple syrup (preferably Canadian, of course... )

1 - Peel and cut the apples into boats of about 1 cm at the thickest.
2 - Place the pieces in the pie plate / dough. The apples must fill and be higher than the side of the plate, as it will reduce during baking.
3 - Add grounded cinnamon and nutmeg to taste.
4 - Add the maple syrup.
5 - Sprinkle with a little bit of brown sugar.
6 - Roll the other half of the dough into a thin layer. Fold in half and make small cuts on the fold.
7 - Carefully lay to cover the pie.
8 - Press the sides all around with your finger or with a fork, for the bottom and top dough layers to close together.
9 - cut the excess dough.
10 - Brush milk everywhere on the crust.
11- Bake at 350 F (175 C) for about half an hour, or until the crust is golden.

Serve warm with a little bit of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream!

Trick: Some apples make a lot of water. After about 20 mins of baking, take the pie out and pierce a little hole in the crust somewhere on the top and side (where the dough is pressed together) and tip it gently over the sink. If there is excess water, it will leak out. When that is done, stick the pie back in the oven for the extra 10 minutes or so. :)

Enjoy!