Monday Morning Musings. Baby's First Christmas

I know it's the new year and Christmas is over but I couldn't let it pass without at least one post about our sweet little Amelia's first Christmas.

Was she spoiled? Of course she was! But this grandma bought the best kinds of presents, ones that never get old . . . books! Morgan and Kim have been warned. Milly's going to have a bazillion pictures taken of her and her room is going to fill up with books. And what's not to love about that??

We all had a great time watching her 'open' her presents and Jada, who loves opening presents, was standing by, ready to offer assistance if needed. Morgan even got to play Santa courtesy of Jesse's new Santa hat complete with flowing white beard.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Amelia's Baby Shower

It's been a few weeks since we threw a baby shower for Amelia but . . . better late than never, right??

Kim had asked months ago if we could throw a Garden Tea baby shower and . . . since that's right up my alley . . .  of course I said yes!

We hadn't counted on all the other things going on though. Or thought about the fact that summer would be rapidly approaching, so the day of the baptism found me scrambling to find a date that would work for as many people as possible.

 Which turned out to be only four days later.

Oh my. The garden hadn't been properly cared for in weeks and weeks and it had been raining much more than we were used to here on the prairies. It was desperately needed mind you, so no one was complaining,  we just aren't used to getting rain nearly every day.

The weather held though, and I spent 3 days in the garden, weeding, pruning and primping.

The shower would never have happened without my dear friend Joyce's help, because by the middle of day 2 in the garden, I was pooped beyond belief. (Joyce and I have organized countless events together over the years and it was such fun to work together again.)

Joyce and I brainstormed the menu, decorations and games and Joyce did the majority of the shopping, leaving me more time to work in the garden.

She also made some lovely, delicious cookies! (I must admit I hid most of the leftovers from Henry and Jesse so I could eat them all myself!  ;D)

 On the day of the shower Joyce got here early and we went right to work, decorating the garden and setting up an extra canopy (thank you to Linda A for lending it and bringing it to the house!) and arranged seating for 25 guests. There was a chance of showers but we figured as long as everyone was under cover we'd be alright.

We did make one big concession to possible bad weather. We had originally intended to have food and seating areas sprinkled throughout the garden but decided to decorate the covered deck that leads into the house and have all the food served there, just in case.

The weather held until the guests began to arrive.

It started showering, but that was okay, this was a baby shower after all . . .

More guests arrived.

It started raining a little harder and the skies just kept getting darker.

The wind began to blow. There was some quick rearranging of the food tables as the end closest to the edge of the deck was starting to get wet.

 There's nothing fancy about soggy food!

I held out hope that it would blow over and we would still be able to get into the garden.

The rain showers turned into a deluge. So much rain came down, that even if it did blow over, the gazebo, which is on the lowest spot in the garden, would have water coming up over the floor.

So . . . we crammed into my teeny, tiny house. All 25 of us. Just like sweaty sardines. The clever, brave ones sat out on the deck where it was cooler, and damper.

And yet. . .

We all had a wonderful time. Because in the end, it's all about the people. Pretty decorations are wonderful, but if all you have are family and friends to visit with . . .

That, really, is all you need.

*(Of course good food and some fun, funky drinks help too! ;D)

So, without further ado, I give you Amelia's baby shower:

It's wet out there!

Kim's sister Jaclyn made this beautiful baby carriage with her wonderful cupcakes.

The brave ones . . .

Crystal helps Joyce with last minute preparations

It's present time!

Close friends of the new mom.

Great Grandma checks out the loot.

Great Oma and Mrs.V check out the loot as well!

Once a secretary . . . Joyce keeps track of the gifts and gift givers.

Kim's mom and sister-in-law do some ooohing and aaahing as Great Grandma and Aunt Evelyn look on.

Kim's niece, Miss O, approves of this one . . .

Amelia hangs out with 'Aunty' Brienne

25 people will not fit in my living room. Some of us hung out in the hallways . . .

A fabulous time with family and friends

 And of course, once Grandpa got home, he had to have a little Amelia snuggle time too!

The guest of honour's ready for bed . . .

God has richly blessed us with this new, darling addition to our family.

*****

14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:14 NIV

What getting Henna looks like

I posted a photo on Instagram last week showing the beautiful Henna I had done to celebrate 3 years cancer free.

It occurred to me that some of you might wonder just what it's like to have henna done, so I decided to show you.

We (Holly, Kim and I) were all fascinated by Maaike's work when we walked by her booth at the Thorsby White Barn Farmers Market  a few Saturdays back.

Henna by Maaike (click to get to her Instagram)

 Something I learned the first time I had my hands hennaed, was that henna has been practiced for over 5,000 years and some sources say even as long as 9,000 years! Because henna has a natural cooling property, desert people would make it into a paste and cover their bodies to keep cool. Over time they began to make beautiful patterns with it as well. It has been used by many cultures and the art of it is now available for anyone who loves to wear beautiful things.

I love the idea of celebrating such a special occasion with art I can look at for weeks on end. The best part is, it's not a tattoo. It's not permanent and each year I can have a different, beautiful design.

We sat and chatted with Maaike and her friend and were able to just enjoy spending time together as mom and daughter/in-law. It was a really lovely afternoon.

I made a very short little video showing you the fun we had.

Enjoy.

Apple Cupcakes . . . The way to a teacher's heart.

You all know the phrase 'The way to a man's heart is through his stomach . . .' ?

That actually applies to all of us doesn't it? I mean, is there anything better than something delicious and homemade, that's been cooked or baked for us by someone else??? I don't think there is. Or at least, very few things are.

Kim and I wanted to do something fun and tasty that kids could bring to school for their teachers or that moms or dads could make for their kids, to brighten up the long school day.

Kim found some cute ideas on Pinterest which we adapted to our liking and made some really fun, yummy cupcakes.

I used the 'Classic White Cake Recipe' from Rosie Dyakin's 'Butter Baked Goods' cookbook as well as her 'Butter's Famous Butter Cream' icing recipe.

Click to go to Butter's website

I hate to say it (because I love Rosie's recipes) but I think I still like Martha Stewart's 'Italian Cream Wedding Cake' recipe better. (But I love Martha too, so it's all good!)

Click to find cookbook

I love my cake to be soft and moist and Martha's has buttermilk in it so the flavour's a little more complex as well. But, that's all about personal taste.

So, without further ado, I give you my 'Apple cupcakes' . . . video tutorial.

Enjoy! And if you make them, I would love it if you would head over to my Facebook page and post a picture or two or your creations!

Back to School and a little Gift

I can't believe the summer is over already! I had so many things I was going to do, so many new things to learn, fun places to go, new plants to try in the garden.

 Some of those things happened, but my 'To Do' list always seems to be based on desire and enthusiasm rather than any kind on realistic possibilities.

It's not just me is it? Please tell me you also get to the end of your summer with a list you've hardly put a dent in, wondering how in the world 8 weeks could go by so fast . . .

It's gotten even odder for me in the last few years, now that I no longer have kids in school and I'm not driving the school bus. (I used to be able to calculate exactly how many days I had before school started based on how vivid my 'First day back to bus driving' dreams were. Got to school a little late . . . still had a good four weeks of holidays left. It took me a day and a half to get from where my bus was parked to dropping the kids of at the school's front door . . . Only one sleep left . . .)

So, to celebrate all those kids getting back to school tomorrow with their crisp new notebooks, binders and newly sharpened pencil crayons, Kim and I had fun last week with a few 'Back to School' week projects. I've started things off by making some cute little cards you can put in your kid's lunches these first few weeks. I even left a few without words so you can add your own 'love note'.

These are original sized images so they should print just fine if you copy and paste

These are original sized images so they should print just fine if you copy and paste

I'm attaching them in two images. One with lines and one without. The one with lines you could use to just print them out on regular paper and cut out yourself. The other without lines can be printed on 'print your own' business cards (I used the Avery Template) if you want to fancy things up a bit.

And, because there is something so fun about the first day back to school, I've printed up two sets on business cards to giveaway tonight on Facebook. All you have to do is leave a comment and I'll be drawing at 10 tonight for the winners . . . (Facebook post is here: Back to School note card giveaway.)

Happy Back to School!

Rachelle. A Bridal Shower

Back in April, when Henry's mom had the big celebration for her 80th birthday, my sister-in-law Evelyn came up with a plan to surprise our niece Rachelle who, along with her family, came from Ontario for Grandma's birthday.

Rachelle and her fiancee Garnet are getting married in the beginning of June. Most of the 'western' family won't be able to attend, so Evelyn decided to throw Rachelle a surprise Bridal shower, English tea style.

 

It was a beautiful event and we were all thrilled for the opportunity to share, even just a bit, in Rachelle's special day.

You can see the story by watching her Bridal Shower video.

(Want to see it at it's best? Watch it on youtube, click on the cog in the lower right corner and set it to 720p HD and then in full screen. :D) 

I pray God blesses you both as you prepare for your wedding Rachelle and Garnet.

Love, Aunt Rosa.

Celebrating Special Occasions

 I love celebrating special occasions.

Often I'm 'too busy' with day to day stuff that just has to be done right now to take the time to make these occasions extra special.

 Well, last week I made the time. It was my dear friend Nicole's birthday and it deserved to be celebrated with style.

The first thing to decide was the menu. Nicole loves homemade soups and salads so I started there. Potato soup is always welcome on a chilly winter day so out came the carrots, celery and onion, along with garlic, potatoes, chicken stock and seasonings. Lots of chopping , a bit of sauteing, a long simmer, then a quick whiz with the immersion blender and . . . voila! Delicious homemade potato soup!

My plans for a homemade dessert were scrapped when I started to run late, but I found the perfect substitute at the grocery store.

Out came the prettiest table cloth I could find, my china got a quick rinse to get the dust off and the kettle was put on to boil for some fragrant green tea.

A bit more chopping to add veggies to my baby greens, a good oil and balsamic vinegar and I was pretty much ready to go.

We had the loveliest time.

It was such a pleasure to slow down and make a delicious lunch for the two of us. I could have just put the soup pan on the table and grabbed a couple of everyday bowls from the cupboard and we still would have had a lovely time.

Adding in the pretty little details just kicked it up a notch and allowed me to express how much our friendship means to me . . . .

Happy Birthday Nicole!