In My World

Well we went and did it again this year.  We put together a Relay for Life team and went full out in fundraising gear.  We are fortunate to live in a town that, no matter how badly hit financially, still steps up to support organizations that help others. The Pink Scrappers had a yard sale and a scrapbooking crop to raise funds.  We also hit up all our friends and family as well. With the help of our community our team raised $4112.06.  The grand total for the Relay was $129,279.96!!  We are proud to have been a part of this success story despite the cold.  And it was coooooold on Relay night. We were able to honour our survivors. We remembered those who lost their battle. Our team was thrilled to be part of the Fighting Back Ceremony. And I'm pretty sure you will see us out again in 2014.

June 3rd was a very lovely day to head out for some letterboxing in the Cambridge area.  Our very first stop was Chickadee Chickadee in Ayr, ON.  We took along a bag of sunflower seeds, hoping to coax some chickadees out to visit.  No luck . . . but we did meet a very friendly chipmunk who appreciated our treats.  We left the bag of seeds on the bridge so the shy birds could come out and enjoy a snack.  Oh yeah, we found the letterbox as well . . . LOL. Our next stop was to hunt for the Lady of the North in Glen Morris ON.  I know this may sound weird but this was the best box we never found.  Never in a million years would we have even known about these amazing historic ruins if we hadn't been searching for a letterbox.  I took many many photos of this beautiful area. Our next search was for Sisters in Cambridge, ON.  Sadly this box seems to be missing as well.  Of course, the whole back of the host tree was...

Not quite a sketch this week.  Instead a layout.  This was designed for a class I teach called Design Strategies but I changed my mind and went a different way for the class.  So this layout has not found a purpose yet . . . until now. I hope it will inspire you to have some fun with some pretty papers . . .

All My Love Oddball Sampler Afghan Square Very tricky http://knitting-and.com/knitting/patterns/afghans/sampler.htm A Mystery Knit-along Dishcloth Very Fishy . . .  http://monthlydishclothoverflow.blogspot.ca/ Knit Knitting Bag http://groups.yahoo.com/group/holidaymysterygifts/ The first three strips of the  Mystery Knit Along Afghan are sewn together. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/holidaymysterygifts/ A fancy stitched mystery knit-along dishcloth http://monthlydishclothoverflow.blogspot.ca/ Little Boxes Oddball Sampler Afghan Square http://knitting-and.com/knitting/patterns/afghans/sampler.htm

Cold Asparagus with Prosciutto and Lemon   Rated: Submitted By:  Lisa K Photo By:  MEKANIOD Prep Time:  15 Minutes Cook Time:  10 Minutes Ready In:  25 Minutes Servings:  5 "This cold asparagus dish is tender, tasty and easy to create. The zesty lemon and the salty prosciutto work perfectly together to add wonderful flavor and great presentation to a vegetable that many are cautious to try. I have had people who normally turn their noses up at asparagus thoroughly enjoy this side dish." INGREDIENTS: 1 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed 1 (3 ounce) package prosciutto 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 teaspoon lemon zest DIRECTIONS: 1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. When the water is boiling hard, add the asparagus and cook until tender but still crisp, about 4 minutes. Quickly drain the asparagus and plunge into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking and maintain the bright green color. Drain...

Other than a quick trip to pick up my van from the garage it is my intention to hide inside in the a/c today, avoiding the hot hot hot weather we are having in SW Ontario right now.  Can you think of a better way to spend a miserably hot and humid day than scrapbooking? I can't. I've posted 10 challenges . . . from sketch to word to product challenges . . . beginning at 10 am EST at http://ca.groups.yahoo.com/group/crafting_made_simple/ . Many of these challenges are blog contests so read the challenges carefully and submit your layouts to the host blogs for chances to win some pretty cool prizes.  Have fun and stay cool.

I love letterboxing in cemeteries.  Not everyone will agree with me but that is okay.  These days many cemeteries have bike paths and jogging paths adding to the reasons to visit your neighbourhood cemetery.  Add in all the awesome gardens and statues.  And don't forget all the history to be seen.  I promise not to be disrespectful but I plan to continue cemetery boxing . . .  Our fellow boxer Bumble (aka Jo) from Toronto blogged about this topic recently.  Bumble was in town mid-May for our mini-meetup and left a treasure behind . . . Siste, Viator:  Old St. Thomas Churchyard .  It was fun hunting for a box in our own hometown.  To solve the clue we needed to know about the witch's grave  which we did, of course.  This is as close as Hal was getting to the witch's grave though . . . LOL. Our second box of the day was Pal 2013 - Five Alarm Fire near Aylmer.  Yes, it was another cemetery. Since w...

It has long been my mother's belief that a butterscotch sundae can solve all things . . . and I'm pretty sure she is right . . .

These layouts are from Album in an Afternoon , an instruction book to create a 20-page 8"x8" gift album in 4 or 5 hours.  You can order your copy in black & white  or colour .  I hope these layouts inspire you this week.

From soscuisine.com 2 servings Preparation 15 minutes 220 calories per serving 2 tomatoes, Roma type, deseeded and diced 1 stalk celery, chopped 1/2 shallots, finely chopped 1 tbsp fresh mint, finely chopped 1-1/2 tbsp Classic Vinaigrette  http://www.soscuisine.com/en/recipes/view/classic-vinaigrette?gpr_id=707&sos_l=en 1 cup lentils (canned), rinsed and drained salt and ground pepper to taste Dice the tomatoes, discarding the seeds (I left them in), then put them in a salad bowl.  Coarsely chop the celery, finely chop the shallot and mint, then add them to the bowl.  Pour the Classic Vinaigrette over the salad (I used Italian dressing). Rinse and drain the lentils, then add them to the salad.  Toss well, adjusting the seasoning then serve.

This is an ice pack from a pattern at Holiday Mystery Gifts Yahoo group. The lovely thick pad is soaked in rubbing alcohol and water and then frozen. I've actually made use of it already and it works lovely. This is the third strip from the mystery knit along afghan project at Holiday Mystery Gifts Yahoo group. Another oddball square accomplished. This one is called Applique Star.

My cousin, Kim, gifted two sets of golf clubs to us because 1.  she wanted to get rid of them and 2.  my hubby keeps saying he'd like to try out golfing.  He golfed as a young man but I'm quite sure he's forgotten more than he remembers.  That was an awfully long time ago . . . LOL.  The deal was that Hal would go golfing with Kim's hubby.  Well since he never answers invitations on Facebook Hal and the boys decided to try out the clubs at a local driving range.  Each of them had a bucket of balls and away they swung.  I spent a lot of time giggling and offering words of encouragement.  As long as they had fun, that's all that mattered. I'm just pretending to swing.  A real swing would probably cause more trouble than I could handle with my poor old back, neck and shoulders.  I kind of look like a slasher with an axe . . . It took quite a while to hit three buckets of balls.

This is a two-page layout from my next book Album in a Day  which should be available later this summer.  It is a twenty page 12" x 12" album which is perfect as a gift or for a special event.  I can't wait to share it with you.