Dreaming Of Wild Roses

Winter

2012-01-08T05:26:00.000-05:00

A Winter walk when the landscape is blanketed in snow. Nature sleeps.

The sky has that slightly leaden look, though on this day, the sun did put in a brief appearance.

My apologies for not blogging in recent months. I do appreciate your visits and comments, but life has been so busy, particularly at work that I have not had time to catch up with you all. The coming weeks are going to be even more hectic as I study for an important course, which I take next month.

Enjoy the quiet days of Winter and I will see you all soon.

Happy New Year and may 2012 be filled with peace, joy and special moments.

White Christmas

2011-12-31T07:25:00.007-05:00

The snow that started on 23rd December continued throughout Christmas Eve, so we awoke to a white Christmas. We decided to get warmly dressed and go for a walk in the woods behind our house.

The branches of the trees were heavily laden with snow, which bent many of them to the ground. There were no human footprints along the trail, though we did see some animal prints, possibly deer.

The woods were silent and it was easy to imagine how people can wander off and get lost. Although we were following a cleared trail in the daylight, much of this part of Nova Scotia is wilderness where there are no roads or trails.

We found some deep untouched snow and I made my first snow angel!!! I've never done a snow angel before in my entire life.....better late than never! The walk was exhilerating, mainly due to the fact that the outward part was all uphill, but it was lovely to return to the warmth of home and put our feet up.

A Maritime Christmas

2011-12-29T15:30:00.000-05:00

Christmas 2011 ~ our first Christmas in the Maritimes and also our first country Christmas. The tree was much larger than anticipated after I ordered one around 5-6 feet. The one that was delivered actually measured 8 feet, so we had to shorten it to get it in our living room ~ we had branches and sawdust everywhere!

I bought some new Christmas ornaments to adorn our tree during a visit to Halifax: Santa and Rudolph adorning a lighthouse with lights and Santa in a rowing boat full of gifts (sorry that the photo is a bit dark).

This country Christmas bauble is another new addition.

And how could I resist this adorable snowman and his gingerbread companion? Let It Snow is one saying that we didn't need this year ~ we had lots of it and I will share some photos next time.

I finally started my Christmas Memories book, which I've been saving for far too long. I've always intended to save memories from our Christmases, but never seemed to find the time. After unintentionally wiping the hard drive of our computer this summer, I realise the importance of saving digital photographs.

Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T12:00:00.000-05:00

It started with light snowfall yesterday morning and continued throughout the day. By late afternoon, there was a blanket of white and people were hurrying home. This was the view from our window as night fell.

The snow continued overnight and Christmas Eve morning dawned a dull grey. The garden had been transformed overnight and there was a hushed stillness to the landscape; what sounds there were being muffled by the winter blanket.

This is the view of our house from the end of the driveway. Fortunately, we were able to get out without waiting for the plough to come and clear it.

The trees are heavily laden with snow now and we are planning a walk this afternoon. We are certainly having a white Christmas this year.

All that remains is to wish each one of my readers a very Merry Christmas.

May this season be filled with peace and joy.

NaBloPoMo 2011

2011-11-30T06:40:00.000-05:00

Once again this year, I set myself the NaBloPoMo Challenge to blog every day for a whole month. At this time of the year, I often find myself wondering why I blog and what to write about, so this challenge gives my blog new impetus.

I blog because I like to write and my blog is a visual journal which I can look back on from time to time and remind myself of some of my achievements.

To those of you who shared this journey, thank you for being there and for making it all worthwhile.

A Little Celebration

2011-11-29T05:14:00.000-05:00

Need I say more? Yes, I passed the exam that I went all that way to Vancouver to write last month. I got my results yesterday along with this card from my husband, a beautiful red rose and a chocolate cake!

Thought For The Day

2011-11-28T05:04:00.001-05:00

'If home is the magnetic north of the heart, then all journeys eventually become a circle.'

Will Ferguson (1964 -)

(Photo: Malhamdale, North Yorkshire in Winter, courtesy of my little sister.)

Advent ~ 1

2011-11-27T18:15:00.001-05:00

A single light shines in the darkness. The first candle stands for hope.

Anyone For Tea?

2011-11-26T12:05:00.001-05:00

Afternoon tea is one tradition that I would like to revive if I had the time to sit down in the afternoon and enjoy it. Even as an occasional treat, I believe that there is little better than freshly baked scones.

On a foray into Halifax a month or so ago, my husband discovered clotted cream. In all the years that I've lived in Canada, I had never seen real English Clotted Cream.

In combination with his favourite Bonne Maman Strawberry Jam, these didn't last long!

Falling Snow

2011-11-25T07:48:00.003-05:00

See the pretty snowflakes

Falling from the sky;

On the wall and housetops

Soft and thick they lie.

On the window ledges,

On the branches bare;

Now how fast they gather,

Filling all the air.

Look into the garden,

Where the grass was green;

Covered by the snowflakes,

Not a blade is seen.

Now the bare black bushes,

All look soft and white,

Every twig is laden,

What a pretty sight!

Anonymous

Digging Out

2011-11-24T12:47:00.000-05:00

The snow started yesterday lunchtime and by late afternoon, it was beginning to change the appearance of the landscape. It was already getting dark by 4 p.m. After the storm warnings began yesterday morning, most people were heading home early.

By evening, the blanket of snow was getting deeper. The forecast was for up to 35 cm by morning. I headed for bed and laid awake listening to the storm battering the windows.

No sun this morning, just a bleak winter dawn. The photographs have a monochrome appearance due to the poor light. Everywhere we looked, we saw snow ~ far more than would normally be expected at this time of the year.

The digging out began. The first job was to actually get out of the door, which was easier said than done. The problem with screen doors is that they open outwards, which is difficult when snow is piled up against them. We resorted to using the normally unused door at the front and managed to force our way out through a crack.

I wanted to give my photographs some perspective, so I took this one of my foot and leg in the snow on the garden. As you can imagine, walking in this is very difficult. Also, it proved impossible to stay dry, as snow found its way inside my waterproof trousers and boots....

I found the other door and then it was a matter of digging a hole to access it. We had a lot of digging to do.

All the way along past our two cars and still the driveway is a long way from reach.

Yes, that's the driveway and no, we didn't shovel our way down it. At present, we are snowed in awaiting a plough. I'm not sure that we will even be able to get out by tomorrow.

At least we can now access our door and get in and out without wading through a snowdrift. If we get any more snow, I'm not sure where we are going to put it.

It may not officially be winter, but try telling that to those of us living on the east coast!

Three Bears

2011-11-23T03:34:00.000-05:00

Spotted outside the Christmas shop at the weekend.

Lemon Curd

2011-11-22T05:01:00.001-05:00

I bought some beautiful Meyer lemons when I went grocery shopping and I decided to turn them into lemon curd. As a child, I adored lemon curd and although I don't eat it often these days, I do still enjoy it.

Don't the lemons have the most wonderful colour? Their scent as I grated and squeezed them was sweet and full of citrusy promise to come.

Beat the eggs in a pan and add butter cut into small chunks. The recipe said to use a balloon whisk to combine, which I did, but it is a tiring process. I learnt from past experience that an electric whisk does not work.

The end result looked a little foamy and I was trying to flatten the bubbles with the back of a spoon, but eventually I left it like this.

I added the lids and heated the jars again to create a vacuum; not that they will be sealed for long! I couldn't resist trying it on my toast this morning and it was delicious! I have plans to make a more seasonal curd before Christmas, but I'll keep the details until later.

Christmas Open House

2011-11-21T11:06:00.005-05:00

Saturday afternoon was bright and sunny after the snow overnight, so we decided to go out for a drive and headed up to Cape Breton. We went on a road which is unfamiliar to me and came upon a delightful Christmas shop where I made a couple of small purchases, which I will share with you in a later post. It turned out that the owner of the shop opens her home for charity and she was having a Christmas Open House. Not only is the house itself beautiful, but the way it was decorated was stunning.

There was a Christmas tree in each of the main rooms in addition to Christmas china on the dining table and lots of Christmas ornaments. the bedrooms were cosy and inviting, with cosy quilts.

Who wouldn't adore a sleigh bed like this one?

And next to the bed was yet another Christmas tree. The attention to detail was staggering. It takes the owner three weeks to set up for this event and she has opened her house for the past 17 years to raise money for charity.

This is the last year that she intends to do this and I count myself fortunate to have seen this beautiful home. What a magical start to the Christmas season!

Stir-Up Sunday

2011-11-20T15:01:00.000-05:00

I've never attempted a Christmas pudding before. I've always made excuses about not having enough time and thinking that it was too time-consuming, when in actual fact, the mixing process is quite quick and that just leaves the steaming.

Today is Stir-Up Sunday: the Sunday before the first Sunday in Advent when traditionally, plum puddings are mixed and steamed in preparation for Christmas.

I had to adapt the recipe slightly, as I had no wholemeal breadcrumbs, so the pudding may be a little lighter in colour than usual. Also, in the absence of muscovado sugar (or any treacle to make my own), I had to use dark brown sugar. I doubt that it will detract from the taste however, as the mixture had the most wonderful Christmassy aroma.

It is now steaming away gently in the kitchen. All I have to do is remember to keep topping up the water.

Thought For The Day

2011-11-19T06:41:00.001-05:00

'And did you know

That every flake of snow

That forms so high

In the grey winter sky

And falls so far,

Is a bright six-pointed star?

Each crystal grows

A flower as perfect as a rose.'

Clive Sanson (1910-1981)

The View From Here

2011-11-18T05:52:00.008-05:00

The leaves are mostly gone now and the skeletal branches of the trees are visible in the garden. The landscape is preparing itself for winter.

What was I saying? Brrrrr.....what a difference a day makes.....

Simple Pleasures ~ 1

2011-11-17T05:02:00.000-05:00

It may be November, but it is still mild enough to dry laundry outside on a windy day. I love that fresh smell that only comes from clothes being dried outdoors.

Queen of Scales

2011-11-16T10:35:00.000-05:00

I made a promise to myself last year when I was going through a tough time in my midwifery clerkship, that I would buy myself a present with my first pay cheque. I had wanted to buy some new kitchen scales for a long time, as my old ones were too small. I found that if I wanted to weigh larger quantities of ingredients, even though I had the weights to do so, the pan of the scale was not big enough to accommodate and I invariably ended up with flour all over the place.

After doing my research, I had determined that the scale I wanted was the Weylux Queen, which has been highly recommended in numerous reviews. Sadly, it was not available here and I was concerned that the cost of shipping would be prohibitive, but I was fortunate to find the scales on sale and there was an extra discount on the weekend that I placed my order. I can honestly say that I have not been disappointed with my choice ~ I love my new kitchen scales and they are a delight to use. Not only that, but they look good too!

Cunard

2011-11-15T06:05:00.001-05:00

Sir Samuel Cunard was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1787. He was a successful merchant, who owned sailing ships. During the Industrial Revolution, he travelled to Britain to join forces with a marine engineer by the name of Robert Napier. Together, they put in a tender to HM Queen Victoria to establish a steamship service for the Royal Mail. They formed the British & North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company and began service in 1840, sailing from Liverpool to Boston.

This is the background to the Cunard Line, which carries passengers across the globe to this day. Samuel Cunard died in 1865.

I had no knowledge of the Halifax connection to Cunard until I stumbled upon this statue at the docks where the cruise ships arrive. The statue is adjacent to Halifax's Market, which we recently visited. I wonder how many of the passengers disembarking from their ships pause to give thought to what a huge adventure it must have been to travel to Britain in 1839? I imagine that it was a very different experience to the same journey today.

Mini Memories

2011-11-14T07:28:00.000-05:00

My first Mini was blue ~ the kind that some of you may remember as being the colour that District Nurses used to drive some years ago in the UK. It didn't have any fancy extras ~ just a basic car with a heater and a tendancy to stall whenever it was wet! My second Mini was silver and again, it was a very basic car, though it did have a slightly larger engine than the first ~ all of about 1,000 cc. Overtaking could only be attempted on the flat, or preferably going downhill! As the roads became more crowded, I moved to a slightly larger car, though I've never been a fan of big cars.

A couple of months ago, I began searching for a car ~ not a new one, but a used car in good condition. Living in the city, I had never actually owned a car of my own in all the years that I've lived in Canada, as public transport was cheap, reliable and less stressful than driving. Now that I'm a country girl, I needed a set of wheels. We spent some weeks going around the dealerships and I couldn't make a decision. Then by chance, I saw an advert for a black and white Mini. We located the dealership and they gave me the keys to take it for a drive. You should have seen the smile on my face!

Here was the car that I had been dreaming of....not only that, but the interior red leather seats were gorgeous. I hesitated for a little while (long enough to ask myself whether I should buy it) and we took it for a second test drive. By the time I had driven it around Halifax on a Saturday afternoon, I had made a decision. I've owned my Mini for about seven weeks now and I must say that my husband seems to have driven it more than I. Actually, he took it out again this morning....oh well, it is fun to drive and I love it. If only I can get my key back, maybe I can take it for a little trip somewhere....

Thought For The Day

2011-11-13T06:53:00.000-05:00

'No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace

As I have seen in one Autumnal face.'

John Donne (1572-1631)

Lavender Love

2011-11-12T07:08:00.002-05:00

Crabtree & Evelyn's lavender soap is a small indulgence and just before we moved, I made a point of visiting their store so that I could stock up on a small supply. I wasn't sure that I would be able to find any in this part of the world, as the company does not have a single store in Nova Scotia.

An added treat on this occasion was a box of scented drawer liners. I thought that as my chest of drawers had been emptied for the move, it would be nice to have the drawers lined before refilling them.

Have you seen the latest design? It is gorgeous, though I feel that my photograph does not do it justice. At the time, my only access to a camera was my phone. The best part of the whole exercise is that every time I open a drawer in my bedroom, the scent of lavender greets me and makes me smile. How could anyone not love lavender?

Remembrance

2011-11-11T14:29:00.000-05:00

In Memoriam

Against the years
we raise this shaft
of native stone.
Enduring as our
everlasting hills
it stands-
A pledge to show
we have not broken faith
with those who fought
and those who died that
freedom might live on.

(Cenotaph Inscription)

At the going down of the sun and in the morning. We will remember them.

Christmas Baking

2011-11-10T06:04:00.000-05:00

Take a mixture of dried fruit ~ sultanas, currants and raisins ~ and soak them overnight in brandy.

Add ground almonds.

In a second bowl, cream butter and sugar and add eggs. Stir in spices, lemon and orange rinds, treacle and essences of vanilla and almonds. By this stage, the wonderful aromas of Christmas are filling the air and I am engrossed in the creative process, which is almost meditative: filled with ritual.

Next add flour and stir well.

The stirring is more of a challenge once the fruit is added to the cake mixture. Careful stirring is required to ensure that all parts of the recipe are incorporated well.

Place the mixture in a prepared cake tin. This has been lined with paper and further protected with paper around the outside of the tin to protect from burning.

Bake in a slow oven and allow to cool completely before wrapping and storing until Christmas.