Library books - The Butterfly Cabinet, Captivating, That part is true!

I returned these library books today and wanted to note what they were so I could come back to the one in the middle - Captivating - unveiling the mystery of a woman's soul!  It was good but a very foreign concept to me so I had difficulty finishing the book.  I did not finish it though I think the concept has validity so I would like to try it again.  The Butterfly Cabinet is good - about castles, imperfect families and secrets kept.  That part is true - was very good!  I light reading story that really explored the concept of friendship and learning to make your own way in the world.  

Therese

Anna Maria Kaufmann concert

Sylvia came for lunch on Sunday and we met up with Stella and Gord at church for the Anna Maria Kaufmann fundraising concert!!!  She is a classically trained professional soprano!!  She brought along several performers - a Mexican tenor and a German harmonica player.  They were both amazing!!!!  Sylvia and Richard stayed for supper after the concert.  Sylvia and I talked crafting and the guys watched a movie!!  They were both off on Monday morning and I prepped my vegetables and headed to church to prepare the funeral lunch for Anna Maria's mother, Ruth Ann Kaufmann.  She had been at St. Stephen parish for 62 years and involved in many ministries here and many programs in Lacombe such as Meals on Wheels, Welcome Wagon and the Chamber of Commerce.  She passed away on Boxing Day so the funeral was planned for the day after the concert to allow as much family to be here and also participate in the concert.  Brian sang in the choir and all went well - we had enough food!! 

Therese

Christmas in February for us!!

We decided to celebrate Christmas as a family this year a bit later so Richard could participate in our time together.  He has been home for a few weeks and worked really hard on getting his reno finished up. His railing passed inspection, he managed to put his backsplash in the kitchen, painted all the walls, painted and installed his base boards, painted and installed the closet door, moved some of his furniture back into the living room so he was a very busy guy for a few weeks!!  He came on Friday and Suzanne and Sal and the kids joined us on Saturday.  Kale and Mina have really learned to play a lot of games - war, go fish and chess to name a few!!  We played Mille Borne as well. 

We had turkey and all the trimmings for lunch!! A very good meal!!  It was great to sit around the table and visit with a bit of wine.  We had apple pie for dessert.  Suzanne brought crackers so we all had nice gold crowns and little treats for after lunch. 

The kids and I made a large Canada puzzle after lunch while the others cleared the table and cleaned up the dishes. 

Kale and I went sledding in the afternoon.  We had a lot of fun and really enjoyed the light fluffy snow though it was a bit slow the first time around but went much better the second time down the same run.  There was virgin snow everywhere so we made a lot of runs down the side of the hill by the water plant just off the back lane. We made snow angels when we got home. 

 Mina and Suzanne went for walk and checked out the second hand store on the way back.  The guys just spent some quiet time visiting. 
Kale and Mina enjoyed pancakes for supper and the rest of us enjoyed crab dip and crackers and veges with cream puffs for dessert!!  Everyone brought along some food to share and pitched in to get the food ready and clean up so it was a great day.   Kale had been up early that morning so when it was time to get going,  everyone packed up their belongings and headed home!!  It was a great Christmas!!!         Therese

Chinese "Year of the Dog" Christmas card

 What a wonderfully beautiful Christmas card from Richard this year!  He purchased "Year of the Dog" cards to use as his Christmas cards.  They have actual Chinese knot buttons on the front to keep it closed and a beautifully printed insert with art and info about this year.  The back has this wonderful die cut design on the back!!  The card and envelope are all very high quality - almost cardstock weight paper!!  It is so interesting to find out about other cultures and see how others in the world live and celebrate!  Chinese New Year celebrations have already started.  Everyone goes home to celebrate if they can.  Stephanie and TT are joining the throngs of people who are joining family to celebrate the coming of a new year

and all the possibility that it holds.  Red is represents good fortune and joy and is an integral part of these celebrations!!

Richard is already headed back to China and will have a few days when we gets there on his own before he starts flying so he is hoping to see some local sights.  Travel is very expensive at this time of the year because there is so much demand. 

Therese

Tea from China!

Richard is home from China and brought along some tea for us which he purchased in Pu'er when he and Stephanie and TT visited on his last rotation.  This southern part of China is most known for its teas and was part of the Tea Horse Trail when tea was packed by horses to the ports for distribution to the rest of the world.  This particular tea is wonderful!!  It is tea leaves packed into a small lemon rind and then dried!!  It initially takes a few minutes to steep because of its tight quarters in the little rind but makes a wonderfully flavourful tea with beautiful colour and can be resteeped at least four times without any degradation of colour or flavour.  We had some for the full day for the three of us and just kept boiling the water and refilling.  No bitterness at all!!  We are not sure if it is black tea - it did not seem to be caffeinated but they have all sorts of tea in China and none are called black tea.    

Our black tea is called red tea in China.    Anyway, it was wonderful and we are looking forward to enjoying the few that Richard brought for us.  I used my green heart cup for this special tea!!  With Richard home we celebrate Christmas!!

Therese

Crustless Pumpkin Pie

Hey!  I decided to give crustless pumpkin pie a go!!  Works like a darn!! I slightly greased the pie plate and then just poured in the filling and baked as usual.  All the yummy goodness of pumpkin pie without the fuss of crust and quite a few less calories to boot!!

Therese