blueberry muffins

I whipped up a batch of these delicious blueberry muffins this evening at Adam's request. They turned out SO yummy-delicious and were so easy and quick to make, that I thought I would share the recipe, from allrecipes.com:

Pat's Blueberry Muffins

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add blueberries. In another bowl, beat egg and milk; stir in butter. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 400 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until muffins test done.

sneaky

These oh-so-very-yellow crocuses snuck right up on me - I hadn't noticed them until today. I really like how the fresh juicy-looking mango-coloured petals contrast with the dry, brown, winter-leftover leaves. Exactly what Spring is all about! In the meantime, there is a snowstorm in northern NS. So I'm extremely grateful for the sun, despite the fierce wind which is bringing all kinds of garbage into our yard. Blech.

I've been mentioning Adam's photography a lot lately because of Photosho - today he's in the Utata Spotlight! Can you tell I'm kind of his biggest fan? Worth taking a peek.

happiness

This is a prize I won at a baby shower I attended last weekend. I like it, even though it's a mass-produced useless thingy. Even though I don't have birds landing on my arms, it kind of captures how Spring makes me feel.

Photosho arrived today! Yay! I'm SO proud of my wonderful husband. Have a peek of proud Adam (and rightfully so!) with his feature. It's not too late to order your very own copy!

Baby dream - I dreamed last night that Baby G was born, and it was a girl! But she wasn't done growing yet, so they were going to have to put her back in. I was very concerned that they wouldn't be able to do it without hurting her. Strange, strange. I still kind of have a feeling that it's a girl... we'll just have to wait and see.

And I don't think I mentioned yesterday - Adam has a coat of primer up in the baby's room! Yipee, it should be done before long! We've been pretty busy, and Adam doesn't want me inhaling the fume-y paint, so he's been plugging away at it, bit by bit. I can't wait until it's done and things are looking ready for Baby G. I'm feeling pretty prepared, despite the unfinished room and baby stuff taking over our office space. It will feel SOOOOOOOOOOOO good to be able to go through it all, sorting and organizing and making sense of the mess. And of course, there will be pictures!

flitting by...

No picture with this post; I'm just flying through the days lately, getting lots of silly 'niggling' things done. Like obtaining a safety deposit box at the bank for our insurance stuff and passports, and other fun details of life. And eating Tums... I told someone the other day that I hadn't had heartburn for a couple weeks, so of course that night I was in the throes of a heartburn fit. And last night, and tonight. Only 3 extra strength ones a day when you're pregnant - so far it's done the trick. They work way better than raw potatoes, and they definitely taste better. And have calcium, too. Tonight's woes might have to do with the whole pineapple that Adam and I devoured. It was the best pineapple I think I've ever had. Worth it for sure.

In more exciting news (what could be more exciting than acid reflux, really?) Adam's pictures and bio in PhotoSho are arriving in mailboxes all over the country! His parents got their pre-ordered copies yesterday, so we're expecting ours tomorrow. I'm so proud of him and so excited to see his work published! Be sure to keep checking his site to see new pictures.

29 weeks

We missed the 28 week picture, but here's the belly at 29 weeks! We're getting more and more excited to meet Baby G. S/he weighs approximately 2.5 pounds and is about 15 inches tall. His or her brain is growing rapidly, and as s/he is soaking up lots of nutrients, I need to make sure we're getting what we need. I'm still feeling really good, although sleeping is starting to get a bit more uncomfortable (I received a belly wedge for a birthday gift, which is awesome, but it doesn't make rolling over any easier!). But if that's my biggest complaint, I consider myself very lucky.

I attended a diapering workshop yesterday afternoon, hosted by Angela Johnston (and her adorable son, who was a great cloth diaper model) from the Valley Cloth Diaper Company. She talked a bit about the benefits of cloth diapering (I'm already a convert and I think the others in attendance were, too, but it was still nice to hear) and had a variety of diapers there to look at and practice with on dolls. It was so nice to be able to see all of the different ones in person! In the 'I would totally want to be smothered in this material which is really expensive and lovely' category, is this bamboo diaper. You must touch this thing - it is unbelievably soft, and is made from bamboo, one of my favourite renewable resources! It's also suitable for 10-35 lbs, so it would last baby a long time. I practiced with some prefolds on a doll, and I really like them (we have a few which we'll mostly use in the beginning when Baby G is too small for the 10-22lb Kushies I have, but we'll need a few more.) They're a bit more work than all-in-ones or pocket diapers to put on, but they're a LOT cheaper, won't take nearly as long to dry (saves energy!), and they can also be used as liners in other diapers, and eventually would even make great rags. I also asked Angela all of the questions I had, and now I have a narrowed down list of exactly what we'll need, which isn't much. She was great - not at all trying to convince us to buy her stuff or trying to talk us into buying more than what we need. I'm hoping for some gift certificates from valleyclothdiapers.ca so I can get those last things before June!

hyacinth

The hyacinth is opening quickly! I wish I could post scents - it smells like everything Spring-y and wonderful. It doesn't seem like it was in January when I bought the bulb kit for $1.73. Time flies! I know these Spring-themed posts might be overly chipper for some of you (just count how many times I've used 'wonderful', 'lovely', 'beautiful', etc. lately), but I just can't help it. Serious posts can wait for serious-weather days.

watch where you step...

Happy sunny first Saturday of Spring! Walking around the yard this morning, I had to be watchful for little clusters of these harbingers of warm Spring days. I love how they just kind of pop up where they want to every year. I also think it's great that they're there when the frost is crunchy underfoot. Tough little cookies!

le stroller

Here's the stroller! Mother-in-law took this picture when we were scouting out possible strollers for adoption. It's all set up with the car seat adapter thingy, so this is how it will be used with Baby G for the first while, until s/he is big enough to sit in the stroller part. It's much smaller without the carseat on top, and when folded it's really quite compact.

In a funny series of events, we decided to roll our new stroller (in the picture is the store's demo) on to the ferry with us rather than put it on the luggage cart. We had the carseat (still completely wrapped in plastic) sitting on the seat of the stroller. When we went to get our boarding passes, the woman at the counter said
"So... there's just the two of you?"
Us: "Yes."
Woman (looking kind of concerned that we were either trying to scam Bay Ferries or that we were totally unaware that we had a baby with us and she was trying to figure out how to break it to us) : "Ummm... what about the baby?"
So we explained that no, we were not hiding a baby wrapped up in a plastic bag on a stroller.

Then when we were getting on the ferry and needed to use the elevator, the crew guy who was crammed into the elevator with the stroller and I gave it a funny look and said "Where's the baby?" He thought there was a baby somewhere between the plastic wrapped car seat and the stroller.

When we were docking, a guy sitting near to us said something to his travelling companion about what a good baby that was in the stroller - slept the whole time. The girl replied: "It's covered in plastic. There's no baby in there." Good eye!

And when we arrived at the terminal in Digby and I was on yet another elevator with said stroller, another woman gave it a funny look and said "Well, where's the baby?" So I explained. Again. I think the stroller obscured the big belly, making the situation a bit more perplexing.

Adam suggested that we roll the stroller and plastic-wrapped carseat around as a performance art kind of thing, just to see how people react. Which would be hilarious, judging from today's responses. I really liked that it got people to talk - it's something strangers don't do enough. I can't imagine how many people will approach me when I have an actual visible baby with me! I also like that when many people see that I'm pregnant, they kind of look at me sideways so they don't appear to be staring, and smile. That always makes my day - the thought that someone seeing me and the prospect of a baby can bring them even a smidge of happiness.

we (finally) made it home

Pink and green, one of my favourite combinations. The in-laws had the prettiest little begonia at their house which I couldn't help taking a picture of. Adam prefers 'elegant' flowers to 'pretty' ones; I just like them all. And the second picture is a small tray (I'm going to use it as a soap dish) which I found at Frenchy's in our travels.

After a nastily rough boat ride during which we managed not to get sick (we tried some Life brand 'Seabands' since I can't take Gravol and I think they worked) we're back home. The snow is all gone, and there are more snowdrops in the yard which were covered before we left! Very exciting. All kinds of bulbs are popping up here and there, which makes for a delightful surprise when one is discovered. We had a great trip, but I can't remember the last time I was so glad to be home!

Stranded in SJ

Adam and I were sitting on the ferry this morning, eager to get home, when an announcement came over the PA system: "We regret to inform you that the crossing will be delayed by half an hour due to mechanical difficulties." OK, no problem. Half an hour later: "We regret to inform you that the ferry will not be able to make the crossing today due to mechanical difficulties." So we're here in Saint John, hoping that the ferry will indeed be making the crossing tomorrow. I understand that things happen which aren't really anyone's fault (although the three weeks with no crossings in February for maintenance would take care of things, one would think) but this really throws a wrench into my week's plans. Things will sort themselves out, though - there's not really an option! We were promptly rescued at the terminal by an avid blog reader - thank you!

So this week's belly pictures and begonias will have to wait until we're home... hopefully tomorrow!

hyacinth

I took these shots of my no-longer-in-the cupboard hyacinth the other day. I'm hoping it will open and change colour soon. The roots in the water look very alien and beautiful, I think.

We're having a grand time away from the usual routine, and we found a stroller for baby G yesterday! It's the Safety 1st Evolution stroller, and it's everything we were looking for. It's not navy blue (it's a lovely brown with that sheep fleecy look padding which sounds tacky when I type it, but it's lovely in person), it has three wheels and the front one swivels, an adjustable handle suitable for both of us, folds up pretty darn compactly, and doesn't weigh a ton or take up much space. It's even made in Canada. I couldn't find a link to a picture, but I'll try to post one when we get home. I'm very glad that's looked after - there are so many to choose from. The baby's crib and mattress were also ordered yesterday, which is the other 'big thing' we needed. We took the chance while we were at Sears to update our registry and add some little things which aren't available online to add, so that was fun. Adam had a good time with the beepy scanner thing.

We also made a quick stop at Value Village last night and I found a brand new American Eagle green canvas purse, which I love, as well as a great pair of maternity jeans and a purse for my mom to use at my sister's wedding. Hopefully she'll like it. It was only $1.99, so even if she doesn't use it, it's not a huge deal.

I think we're off to the museum this morning, so that should be fun. And educational experience for baby G, who will probably be resting the whole time. Especially after keeping me up in the middle of the night with a new calisthenics routine. I love it!

Hallelujah!

Taken in our leafy, snowy, and messy garden on this most beautiful of March mornings, we have Lily of the Valley...
More LOTV...
Sweet little chickadee at the feeder, enjoying the sun...
SNOWDROPS! (I nearly lost it when I saw these!)
And an open quince bloom!

It's the most wonderful time of the year... well, my favourite, anyway. Every Spring, I feel like all winter long I haven't quite been myself, but I haven't realized it until the air starts to smell like spongy earth and the sun feels warm on my face, and then I wonder how I could have possibly made it through such a dark season. Well, friends, 'the winter's over and gone; the time for the singing of birds has come'! We haven't seen the lawn for the snow since the beginning of February (very unusual around here). Just over the past few days, larger and larger patches of green have been exposed, the mud has been muddier, and the sun has been warm and friendly. I took the evergreen branches off of the flower beds this morning, and now they're warming up nicely. Can you tell that I'm a little excited about this?

In other news (seems pale in comparison), we're going away for a few days, so posts may be non-existent for a bit. But hopefully we'll find a super stroller for this little one on the way.

Speaking of whom, baby G's heart rate at the clinic this morning was 145 (perfect!) and s/he is now head down (yipeeeee!) and has had a very active morning (ouf!). My iron is good (I went for standard bloodwork yesterday) and I don't have gestational diabetes, so that's always a plus. I'm still feeling wonderful, and this gorgeous weather only helps! I just might explode if I'm not careful...

a drop of golden sun

My very sweet husband brought me daffodils yesterday! I love receiving potted bulbs, especially when the bulbs can be re-planted in the yard. I think it looks like the lower daffodil in the bottom picture is kind of sticking it's toe in the water... testing to see if it's really safe to open up.

marvelous miscellany

A cousin of mine is due to have her first baby just a bit over a week before I am. I bought them a shower gift this morning, and had fun wrapping it and making a tag. I love grommets!
The quince branches are producing lots of leaves, but this is the only cluster of flowers to appear so far. I'll enjoy them just as much as if there were 10.
While I was in Halifax, I saw these flip flops and fell in love with them. I didn't buy them initially, but when the teacher I was with mentioned stopping back at the store, I decided to get them after all.
Another stop in Halifax was at Lee Valley. I LOVE this place! It's not a regular store... you go in and fill out a small order sheet either by hand or on a computer (if you know what you're looking for), pass it to the clerk, and they disappear into the cavernous warehouse and come back with exactly the things you asked for! Just like magic. They have very neat gardening stuff, tools, and an amazing selection of hardware for cabinets, doors, etc. I bought this completely biodegradable weed rug, which is made of corn starch. Who comes up with these things? I'm eager to try it with some of our vegetables this summer. I also am pleased with a set of four canvas totes I bought, which I took with me to get groceries last night. They have square bottoms, so they stand up nicely, and they're really sturdy, so they hold a lot of groceries. It's really nice not to consume the plastic bags, and it's not really a hassle at all. (I was so eager to remember to take the totes in with me and excited to use them that I left my wallet in the car last night. I realized as I was getting a cart, so it wasn't an embarassing situation or anything. Funny, though.) I think that North American stores should follow in European shoes - at lots of places there, you pay for the bags you use, so people take their own reusable ones. Only makes sense.

It sounds like I've bought the world this week, but I have one more exciting purchase to share - I stopped at Frenchy's this morning after dropping Adam off at work, and guess what I found? (You'll probably never guess, so I'll tell you.) The other pillow sham that goes with the duvet and sham I found a few weeks ago! How exciting. A little Frenchy's fated moment. I also found a few other little things I might post after they're washed.

Happy Saturday, and don't forget to set your clocks ahead tonight (if you go for that sort of thing where you live!) An extra hour of daylight tomorrow, yipeeeeee!

27 weeks

Since baby G is kicking up a storm right now (right after lunch is always an active time), I thought it would be good to post the latest belly picture. I'm 27 weeks pregnant now, and baby G weighs about 2 pounds and is about 14.5 inches tall. Kicks just keep getting stronger - a couple of big ones this morning made me jump! The baby's brain is developing and s/he may be dreaming while sleeping. Pretty amazing!

returned

I've returned from a few days in the big city, where I was attending a placement with one of my students. It was a lovely couple of days, but it's always nice to come home. Since I didn't have any new pictures, here's another one from our beach visit on Saturday. It's been another FRIGID week, and it's supposed to be another warm weekend coming up. Hopefully we'll get out again and I'll have some more pictures!

When I was in the city, I found an area rug for the baby's room, which is just what I was looking for (and was only 12.97, so I bought 2!) Machine washable, neutral beige-y colour, nice and soft for playing on, and non-slip. Adam spent a bunch of time working in the baby's room today, so it's almost ready to paint! That will be a very exciting step.

I'm 6 months pregnant today! I can hardly believe that in three short months, I will have a living, breathing, wonderful human being outside of my body to be responsible for. Wow. I'll be sure to post an updated belly pic on the weekend - it feels like it's grown a lot over the past few days! I think the baby's been building up muscle by wiggling and kicking in there. I love going to sleep with those little pokes and prods.

beachy goodness

Adam and I went to Port Maitland beach late this afternoon with a sub picnic and plans to stick around until the lunar eclipse exposed itself. It was an incredible day weather-wise, especially given yesterday's unpleasant snowy and icy mess. Today it was sunny and 7 degrees, making for beautiful beach walking (and picture-taking) weather.
This sand formation reminded me of stone carvings, especially ones on cemetery stones.

We found these little gelatinous globs strewn along the entire length of the beach. I'm not sure if it's a trick of light, but it almost looks like there's some kind of insides to this one. Could it be a jellyfish washed up after the storm? Or a part of a jellyfish, perhaps? On the sand, they look exactly like those clear glass beads with the flat bottoms which can be used for crafts.
These three were in close proximity, so Adam made a snowman. (They slid off of one another when he tried for a real 3d one.)
This little tide pool seemed out of place. It looked very much like a desert oasis.
And the sun was stunningly bright awhile before it set. Then the clouds took over and we walked the length of the beach getting colder by the minute (it really wasn't that bad) all the while watching for the moon to appear. We finally saw it right before we left as a little crescent, and continued to watch on our way home. Pretty amazing!

26 weeks

Belly pic time! Adam took this today at 26 weeks pregnant. Baby G is growing away in there, and is approximately 14 inches tall and weighs a little more than 1.6 pounds. Lots of movement going on, which still seems like the coolest (and strangest) thing in the world to me. It's most exciting when Adam feels it, too.

sewing machine cover

Since I've been sewing a lot more lately, I've had my machine out for easy access. I took it into my head after seeing some sewing machine covers on a variety of blogs this week that I wanted to make a cover for it, to keep the dust off and to make it looks little more pretty (and tidy). So I whipped this up this morning - it took very little time and effort, and I think it looks great! I simply measured my machine (including the height of the spool of thread on top because I know I'll usually want to leave it threaded), then cut two pieces of material for the front and back and one long skinny one for the sides and top with a little bit added for the seam. I pinned it all together inside out, and stitched it up, and as a final step hemmed the bottom. If you wanted to fancify it, you could line it, add a little handle on top or a hole for the machine's handle, or make a slit for the cord (I can't leave it plugged in, so I didn't bother with that). Super easy - definitely worth the effort! Check out Adam's photos of the process here.

tea for me

This is one of two mugs we have which will go with me wherever I end up in life. A university roommate bought it for me (before we were roommates) on one of the first really beautiful days of Spring in my first year of university. We went for a walk together in the sun and sidewalk slush of Fredericton. I saw this at a little shop and fell in love with it, and she snapped it up and bought it for me. I love turtles, and everything about this mug is lovely. It's giant (which is kind of hard to tell from the pictures), unlike the other little favoured mug, which is tiny and perfect for a little blip of hot chocolate. It was also given to me by a friend (who has a matching one). The other day, I was making a cup of Orange Pineapple tea from Java Moose (mmmmmmm!), and when I went to check on it, I saw what's in the first picture - completely separated tea-ness and water. I thought it was lovely.

home

First, the pictures. Here's the sweetest little night table I have ever seen, and it's now in my posession. (And hey, that's the duvet cover from Frenchy's I posted about a little while ago!)
The quince branches have these tiny little leaves emerging! They're so small and delicate... I can't wait for the flowers to appear!
This is the polished table my last post was about. We also have (not pictured) three leaves and an extra leg with it, along with two captain's chairs, one of which needs one new arm. Perfect for having lots of people over. Adam's been saying that we need to have a big potluck with our friends, and now we have a table large enough to serve the purpose!

Home. Home is a huge concept to me. I love spending time at home, making it comfortable and livable and cozy and friendly and welcoming and just enjoying being here. (Speaking of which, it's a snow day today - the snow is supposed to begin any time now and turn to ice pellets and rain tonight. Mmmmm, cozy!) People's homes say a lot about them, and you get an immediate sense when you enter someone's home if it's one of those friendly welcoming places, one of those sterile plastic-y disinfected locales, one of those medicinal-smelling senior's homes, or one of those places you don't really want to breathe in because you're afraid of what might be floating in the air. Being welcomed into someone else's home and really feeling at home is a wonderful and rare thing. We have a couple of friends who will soon be moving away, and their house is one of those places. They're doing a lot of work on the house before they sell it, and have been so kind as to give us any furniture and other things we were interested in (they're not taking anything with them). My hope is that their 'stuff' will serve not only useful purposes in our home, but will add more of that friendliness and sense of relaxation to our space. So as much as I enjoy the stuff because it's lovely, there's a smidge of sadness because they'll be leaving, and a smidge of warm fuzzies because it's an extension of them which is now a part of us.

clapham's beeswax polish, lemon body polish

We were given a lovely antique dining table and chair set (I'm planning another post about that whole story, hopefully up tomorrow when I'm hoping to have a snow day) which was in need of a little love, as you can see in this picture. The top half is untouched table; the bottom part has one coat of Clapham's Beeswax Polish on it.
One of the table legs. Top part has one coat of the polish, the bottom part has none.
And here's the stuff itself, on a thrice-coated tabletop (doesn't it look great?) It's a beeswax and carnuba oil polish, has virtually no scent, and a little goes a long way. Three coats on the table used about half of the 50g tub, which cost $6.99 at Home Hardware. I'll post a picture of the set when I have a daylit chance to snap a decent one.

This evening, I whipped up some lemon body polish. A super easy way to scrub yourself to smoothness in the shower or bath. I originally saw a video clip of Martha Stewart making a similar scrub, but I couldn't find the recipe when I searched her site earlier tonight. So I made one up! It goes something like this:

Put some granulated sugar in a bowl
Add some oil (sesame oil works well, grapeseed or olive or whatever you happen to have) until it goes kind of scrub-like when you mix it together
Add lemon essential oil (I love lemon, but you could add any eo you like)
For extra lemon-y goodness (not suitable for Ingrid) grate in a bit of fresh lemon rind

Store in a glass jar in the shower for scrubbing hands, feet, elbows and anywhere else you like. Scrub at the end of your shower and rinse off. You'll be delightfully soft afterward!