Sunnier days

My usual spot for lunch at St. Andrew's; these pictures were taken a few weeks ago when it was actually sunny even though I have had lunch in the gazebo a couple of times when the grey clouds moved in. Rain or shine, this is a great place for lunch.

Day and night

Flea market deals

A vintage jewelry box encrusted with shells and mother-of-pearl buttons; that is what I am working on now and even though I have hundreds of said buttons I could not pass up the collection that was offered to me by my one-time button supplier who used to visit me at my workplace with one ounce baggies full of shiny white pearlies, the tiny iridescent orbs hard to resist. My name is Anna and I am a button junkie.
Legwarmers for my chairs - aren't these a great idea? Granny was selling these at the flea market so I bought some to try out and I must say they are much better then those sticky pads. These are washable and at only a loonie each, a great deal.

Sunday collage

This is the best soup (yes, we are still making soup because it's cold) I have ever tasted! Mr. Cowboy followed the recipe in the Barefoot Contessa's Back to Basics Cookbook and it is a winner. I'm not sure what I enjoyed most about this soup; the three cups of arugula or the crispy shallots garnish.
I know it's the wrong time of year to be baking with peaches but I had a craving for this delectable dessert- Peach Kuchen- so I made it for the potluck at work. It was nice but the store-bought canned peaches were not that good.

I tried out these hand carved chairs at the flea market. It was a set of 7 - 6 chairs and a table for $900. Tomorrow I will post pictures of what I actually bought.


A pair of robins have set up their nest under our deck. They have built multiple nests all along the beam. My duties as Nanny right now are to make sure the bird bath is always filled with fresh water.

Marvelous muffins

At work I see hundreds of cookbooks; sometimes the cover alone will entice me to take a look inside. If there are no pictures I don't even waste my time. But my favourite have a combination of great recipes, stories about the recipes, and big, beautiful, colour pictures. Sarabeth's Bakery by Sarabeth Levine is one such treasure-filled cookbook. There are quite a few recipes in this particular book that I would like to try. The Maple Muffins caught my eye because I love maple syrup and walnuts. These are so good that they are going to become a Sunday tradition. Move over pancakes.

What's in my garden?

Not much.

Hockey and risotto

First game between the Sharks and Canucks but I still made asparagus risotto for dinner. Yes, I missed the first period because risotto does not like to be left alone, not for one minute. It needs constant stirring, lots of liquid love, and heat adjustment for the rice to cook to a creamy goodness. I know we shouldn't have but we enjoyed our risotto while watching the game. It was fantastic, both the game and the risotto.

Mr.Cowboy does it again

I was salivating over the pictures in Sunset's book on Barbecues and Outdoor Kitchens when I came across this recipe for Salmon with Asparagus, Mushrooms, and Leeks. Luckily I had just found some local asparagus at the Farmer's Market, so Mr. Cowboy picked out some salmon, and with lots of cream and white wine, he made a fantastic dinner.

Smoky

Had to stop halfway down the hill on my way to work to get a picture of Mt. Paul or is it Mt.Peter. I can never tell them apart. It looked like the top was smoking as the clouds drifted through the canopy of green.

Found the Lost Moose

For our anniversary dinner this year, we decided to try the Lost Moose Lodge. It is an ear popping, white knuckle, on the edge 10 km drive up a mountain road with spectacular views of the city.



We arrived early so we took in the views and then walked down the road looking for the moose but had no luck.
It was freezing cold, howling wind, and it started to rain. Tried to huddle around the wood stove but apparently someone forgot to light the fire.



When the doors finally opened, we were the only two in the place. The tables are made of huge rounds of wood. There is a moose head above the enormous fireplace, the bar is made from a tree felled in half, and every so often the model train makes its way around the lodge on the tracks situated above the windows. Our dinner was cooked outside on the wood fired grill; Jack Daniels Baby Back Ribs for me and Cordon Bleu for Mr.Cowboy (Lost Moose Lasagna was his first choice but it wasn't ready). A great place to celebrate another memorable year!

Around Naramata

Putting an Italian name on a product makes it (a) more expensive, (2) more desirable, and (d) the best in quality and design.

The packing plant is no more. After talking to the locals, no one seems to know what the site is going to be used for.
Bathtub planter in front of the museum.