In My World

6 servings Preparation 10 minutes Cooking 10 minutes Standing 3 hours 130 calories per serving 1/4 cup pearl tapioca (quick-cooking) 1 large egg 2 cups 2% milk 4 tbsp sugar 1/4 tsp salt 1/3 cup unsweetened coconut flakes (optional) Warm up the milk on the stove or in a microwave oven 1-2 minutes until lukewarm. Add the tapioca, salt and sugar to a saucepan.  Mix and add the warmed milk.  Cook over very low heat for 5 minutes with stirring. Separate the egg white from the yolk.  Put the white in a bowl and add the yolk to the saucepan.  Cook an additional 5 minutes over low heat, with stirring.  Remove the saucepan from the heat. Beat the egg white to form stiff peaks using an electric mixer, then fold them very gently into the tapioca mixture. Portion out the pudding into small serving bowls.  Sprinkle with coconut flakes.  Chill at least 3 hours before serving. From www.sos.cuisine.com

This is a block of the month square from  http://www.crochetmagazine.com/crochet_block.php?id=5  .  I have to say it was a little tricky . . . but fun. Another strip done from the mystery afghan crochet-along at  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/holidaymysterygifts/  .  There is a new strip pattern each month in 2013 but at the end of the year it all disappears.

Sometimes the sketch is drawn before I start the layout.  This time the layout came first.  I event scrapbook and try to use the same paper for all the pages of big events.  In this case I only had a few bits left and 5 photos left that I really wanted to scrap.  Here is what I came up with.

I love mystery knit-along dishcloth patterns.  This palm tree cloth was the first project for August at Monthly Dishcloths  and Monthly Dishcloth Overflow. Another Oddball Afghan square finished.  I think this one, which was very simple, is one of my favourites so far. Another mystery knit-along dishcloth. This pattern is called Peg's Scarf.  I am half afraid to say where the pattern came from because it is a group that gets designer patterns to post for one month and then the patterns are deleted.  I couldn't find where else you could view or purchase the pattern. Another strip for the Mystery knit-along afghan at Holiday Mystery Gifts .  This project is running until the end of the year and then it also will disappear.  I think this is my favourite strip so far.  Of course, I love cables. Another mystery knit-along dishcloth just in time for back to school.

A friend posted an event on Facebook called Around the World in a Dish . . . challenging everyone is our group to pick a cuisine and host and event based on that cuisine.  I was the first to volunteer, choosing French cuisine.  I search Google for French restaurants nearby and fell in love at first site with The Church in Stratford, Ontario. So for my birthday I invited some friends to join me for lunch.  Enjoy the photos. The restaurant was stunning.  Not sure why they seated us in the back corner?  It was rough on our server but it was the best table in the house because you could see the whole restaurant and the sunlight through the stained glass windows was enjoyable.   The warm herb bread was heavenly.  We had Manchego Fries (fries, shaved manchego cheese, lemon thyme aioli) for our appetizer.  The manchego cheese was very pretty but didn't really add anything to the fries but we would have loved a bucket of the aioli and bi...

These wonderfully creative Canadians are trying to finance a movie. They are sooooooo close but only 4 days left. If they don't reach their goal in 4 days they don't even get to keep the money they do raise (which I personally think is not fair). "SYNCHRONICITY is a soft sci-fi film (think PRIMER or ANOTHER EARTH). What would you do if you could go back in time? Would you make any changes? Would you make peace with a dying parent, or salvage your failed career? Save JFK from being shot? Or something more sinister... Would you manipulate your own love story? "Lou is a struggling photographer paralyzed by choice. In the midst of a family crisis, she is thrust into the position of caregiver. In walks Alan, an arrogant physicist who claims to have solved the time travel paradox. Lou embarks on a voyage of self-discovery through her budding flirtation with Alan, until she realizes Alan’s future self has been manipulating them both all along." -- http://www.indieg...

The Tom Zombie Festival... FREE TO ATTEND!!!  So much fun to be had.  Here is just a partial list of what is going on: Vendors from noon til dusk Face painting and family friendly events from 12:00 til 3:00. From 4 pm on Zombie / Horror attire suggested but not required. Meet & Greet autograph sessions with Butch Patrick known for his portrayal of the beloved Eddie Munster from the hit show The Munsters . Bryan Way will be on hand to personally sign copies of his zombie novel Life After: The Arising The Mental Floss Sideshow will be on hand to keep things moving along. This is a fundraising event to support It Takes 2 Youth Leadership Institute. The festival is based on Local Legend. Every year a new Tom Zombie must be chosen to protect our town from the Tom Zombie curse. Please go to www.tomzombiefestival.ca to learn more!

We had our family reunion yesterday and it was a great time . . . but that's not what I want to tell you about. My cousin, Paul Hewson, has invented this amazing tool to help people with movement limitations such as arthritis to help them get their socks on.  I bet ya I watched him demonstrate his invention half-a-dozen times and I was absolutely fascinated.  He gave each family group a free sample of the Sock A Loni .  I'm holding on to mine because I know the day is coming soon where my hips and knees are going to give out and this little beauty is going to be very helpful. In the mean time I'm sharing this gem with you.  Here are some photos I took yesterday.  I'm so annoyed with myself that I didn't videotape his demonstration. You just put the sock on the Sock A Loni . . . Drop it to the floor, remembering to hold on to the strings . . .  Put your foot in . . .   And pull the sock up !!!   Interested?  ...

 I originally drew this sketch for a kid's class . . .   . . . and I've used it a few times since . . . in this Christmas layout for example. What would you do with this sketch?

I just love the way the variegated cotton worked on this mystery knit-along dishcloth.   This was a fun oddball square to make.  I started with the white centre and then you just keep knitting around the centre catching the edge stitches from the centre as you go.  Love it.   And of course a 4th of July mystery knit-along dishcloth. That's all the knitting I did.  July was such a hectic month I sometimes felt like I was spinning in circles.  August seems to be going much better. 

   2 servings Marinade 12 hours Preparation 10 minutes Cooking 15 minutes Standing 5 minutes 240 calories per serving 200 g flank steak 1-1/2 tbsp olive oil 1/2 shallots, finely chopped 2 tsp herbes de Provence 3 tbsp red wine ground pepper to taste aluminum foil 1 tsp butter, unsalted salt to taste Using a knife, make cross-hatch incisions in the steak then place it into a dish.  Add the oil, shallot, herbs and half of the wine.  Season with pepper to taste.  Let stand in the refrigerator at least 12 hours (up to 24 hours). Preat the oven to 375F or an outdoor grill to medium. Take the steak out of the marinade.  Drain the steak and pat it dry.  Set the marinade aside.  Put the steak on the rack of a broiler pan, or put the steak on a grill rack. Cook in the middle of the oven or on a medium hot grill.  The exact cooking time depends on the steak's thickness and on how you prefer it cooked....

You are cordially invited to our open house and sale to see all the wonderful scrap-booking treasures we have at low low low prices. Join us for a free make n take. The event will take place at 49 John Street, St Thomas. The home of "The Fifty Cent Lady" Debbie Shannon. Many embellishments are priced to clear to make room for new stock! Joining the event will be scrapbooking instructor and author Pam Matthews Hedden who will have copies of her books available for purchase. Class samples will also be on display. https://www.facebook.com/ ScrapbookingWithSketches Pam's Paper Piecings, with the adorable handmade paper art she makes, will be there. These are perfect for cards, bookmarks and scrapbooking pages. https://www.facebook.com/ PaperPiecings Also, our newest entrepreneur, Jocelyne Amanda Wilson Asselin will be on hand with a huge collection of Jollee's stickers and assorted embellishments, priced to go! go! go! During this event refreshm...

So I was doing a little scrapbooking this morning and was really pleased how the layout turned out.  I thought to myself, self you should sketch this.  But then I started thinking 'I've seen this layout someplace before.' And I was almost right.  This layout from Scrapbooking with Sketches is very similar.  I've given you the link for the black & white edition of the book but it is also available in colour and as an ebook. W hat do you think?  Or do I have a totally different design here? Either way I hope you enjoy this sketch and I would love to see what you are inspired to create.

He needs to be a fixer because I am mechanically challenged.  It is a proven fact.  Hal has been on a long run and finally home after 8 days.  The first thing he notices is that the computers aren't working well and I have an old mouse attached to my computer. He runs the maintenance and updates on all of our computers and notebooks and laptops and fixes my mouse.  I have my beloved wireless mouse again . . . pink to match my pink laptop. He notices my shoulders are hunched over and I'm having trouble picking things up with my right hand . . . again.  He knows just how to fix the knot in my shoulder that is causing this.  What a relief!!!! I wanted to make him a lovely home cooked meal . . . and he got the slow cooker down from the top cupboard for me . . . I finally stopped him in his tracks when he asked about the DVD player . . . in pieces . . . in my office.  A rented disc got stuck in it so I took all the screws out to remove the disc b...

We've been on a few road trips to Stratford lately.  It is such a beautiful city and there is so much to see.  Their gardens are amazing.  One of my favourites is the Shakespearean Garden on Huron Street, north of the Perth County Courthouse.

One of my favourite places in St. Thomas is the old St. Thomas Church.  at 55 Walnut Street.  The church is beautiful and warm and loved.  The graveyard and church are full of history to discover. Built between 1822 and 1824, the St. Thomas Anglican Church is one of the oldest structures in St. Thomas, Ontario.  The tower was added in 1825.  It was built on land donated by early settler, Daniel Rapelje.  The Church was continuously used until 1877 and was made a designated heritage property in 1982.   In 1986 the church was completely restored and renovated. The church is surrounded by a pioneer cemetery with many notable grave sites both nationally recognized and locally significant. The oldest grave site is that of Daniel Rapelje’s son George.  Nationally significant sites include that of Judge Hugh Richardson, who in 1885 sentenced Louis Riel to death.  Local folklore tells of the witch’s grave, the Irish family curse of the...

I also went to Western, or as it was known at the time, University of Western Ontario and graduated in 1999.  When I went there I was a mature student  with a husband and two kids and a busy life.  But I had wanted to go for as long as I could remember and with the support of my family, I did it. My school experience wouldn't be the same as that of a teenager.  I loved studying and learning and being surprised and sharing opinions when I was a student. I was friendly with many people and got along well with my professors but I didn't make any of the close bonds I saw in younger people.  I think the first year when they are all living together in dorms and sharing the same issues and goals makes for that bonding.  I wish that could have happened for me but I digress . . . My connection is with the place itself.  I love the buildings and gardens and the constant buzz of activity and people talking about ideas.  I love the libraries and b...

All of my paper piecings can be seen at https://www.facebook.com/PaperPiecings