A busy snow day.

I jumped out of bed this morning, well rested with a planned busy day ahead of me. Then I caught a glimpse outside the window. Yes that's right.more snow overnight. Enough, that school buses were canceled again.
This is beginning to be a habit we've had more snow days this winter then I can ever remember.
When I was in school, (and supposedly we used to get way more snow then now-a-day's), would have loved to have this many days off school.
So the day started out with taking the dog out. It was quite blustery this morning at 7.

I think Bailey, must be the only shi tzu who loves snow.

Then it was off to get groceries. The good thing about bad weather is the grocery stores are never busy .
Putting my groceries away I discovered something had been spilled over so of course I then had to clean the entire fridge out before I could put anything away.
Good way to get it gone though. Lol

I've had a craving all day for iced tea. No one in my house, likes iced tea but me, so I thought instead of doing a whole pitcher, because I would only end up drinking the whole thing in a day, I would make it in a mason jar.  I have no big glasses, so this was perfect. I like to be able to see what I am drinking though.

I have been dreaming of summer lately. I know I'm rushing it, as we haven't got to spring yet, but we usually seem to go from winter right to hot weather is, so I can dream.

And I always associate strawberries with summer, so I had to get some while at the grocery store.

They don't last long with my daughter though, lol

My DIY fleece rug

I've been wanted to try a diy rug, for a few weeks now but was unable to at the time because I could not find a base. A lot of the tuts I found were using t-shirts, and a shirt as well for a base, that you had to make your holes in. No way was I going to attempt to puncture holes into t shirt material. Way too tedius for me.
But the other day I was in the dollar store, and there it was! For only 2 dollars, one of those *things* (I'm sorry, I am tired tonight of cannot think of the word) you put under mats to stop them from sliding on the floor. Looks identical to the base in a latch hook kit.
I had a bit of black fleece left, so once I got home I started.
I wasn't sure if this would be easy or not. I found the worst part was cutting the fleece into strips. The actual weaving it into the base was simple.
I wanted to only make a small mat, for in front of the sink in one of my bathrooms. The whole thing took me about 3 1/2 hours, less then a metre of fleece fabric.
I think it turned out great for a first try, and I am happy with it.

I am going to start on one for my daughters room, next week, in some pretty pastal colors, maybe a design of some sort, and in a bigger size. As well I will take some pics of the steps I take, and make a little tut for anyone wanting to try this.

Is spring here yet?

Canadians are well known for it. Complaining about the cold in the winter, and the heat in the summer. I admit I am one of those who complain.

While I love being fortunate in being able to experience all the beautiful seasons we have, you can only take so much. And much is an understatement. We are in our 5th month of cold weather, and snow. I have had enough! I think I have the right to say that! The wonder and beauty of the season has long past! I am starting to feel like a caged animal.

Just the other day, it was so cold out, I had to walk through, 2 malls just to get where I was going, not because it was a shortcut, but it gave me a chance to get out of the cold wind. Today was a bit warmer, then it has been, at about -7. That's celcius, to you all in the u.s.

March Break is upon us, in a few more weeks. I am looking forward to this, with great expectations! Last year, we had over 15+ C .  We had huge snowbanks, melting, and people were actually wearing flip flops! Here is some pics of last years March Break. But then the cold came back(I had to go read my march posts, lol).
Actually we did have one more unseasonably warm march break, back in 2008. I remember this because my son, was 12 at the time, and he and his friends were swimming in march! What a site that was, kids swimming in a lake, with huge ice burgs floating around.

We had another long weekend. Yesterday was "family day". My daughter and I stayed in, watched movies, and made cake! It's a shame this holiday isn't in the spring, so people could actually go out, to enjoy the day. Then this morning, I wake up, and find that is is snowing like mad outside, so buses were canceled again, another day at home!

My little grand-daughter came to visit this afternoon.I cannot believe how she is growing. She is still so tiny though, and light as a feather.

She had a great time, reading through the food and drink recipe magazine from the liquor store.

I cannot believe she will be 2 in July.

I hope you're all having a nice week.

Keeping busy this week, and a snowstorm!

Well I have to say this week has flown by for me.
As I've mentioned in my last couple of posts, I have discovered the wild exciting world of DIY.
This week I have made 3 trips to "Fabricland". I have made my daughter a fleece scarf and mittens, a pillowcase, and hair scrunches, and a couple of days ago, I spray painted(yes I did) an ugly little black, cheap bookshelf I had sitting in a closet. I did it, in this pretty blue color, it really does look great.

I am in the process now, of *trying to make my daughter(she has became my guinea pig), fleece slippers. These are very difficult, I'm finding, much harder then the mittens. I have one done already, but I am hoping the second one will be easier, and quicker now that I kinda know what I am doing. I learn more by jumping in and just doing it, and I could not find a tutorial so I had no choice. By the way, I do not have a sewing machine, no reason to before now, lol, but I wish I did, and know there is so much more I could do, and much quicker, if I did.
Speaking of more, the last week, I have realized, there is so much I can fix and brighten up, around my apartment. I am learning, you don't need to have a few hundred, to buy, a brand new, boring beige chair, that my mother would like. What I mean by that is, I spent all my years seeing my mothers, blah, boring, version of "decorating"(I use that term lightly), that I never developed my own sense of applying what I like, in my own surroundings. I am learning you do these things, for yourself, not other people. And I cannot not afford to throw a few hundred away on a brand new anything, in fact! (I will not buy furniture at a second hand store either, for fear of bedbugs getting in my house either). So, there is an alternative, rather then starving, lol. I guess that means, getting creative.

We're getting quite the snowstorm, as I speak. It started late yesterday afternoon, and is still going strong. School buses were cancelled today, as well. This is probably our 5th or 6th long weekend this year, due to a snowstorm (or PA day). They always happen on a Friday or a Monday.
I'm not complaining really, it's a great excuse to stay inside, and you really can't get around in this weather too well, anyway. In fact the public was told to stay off the roads altogether today! It didn't stop them, I seen 3 cars in the time I am making this post, stuck on the road outside my window. I guess some people need to learn first hand, before they will believe things are said for their own good. So for you who are experiencing this storm, listen to the reports about staying home and off the roads, really, no job, or kids' dance class, is worth, what could happen to you, if you venture out in this mess.

I took this photo at noon today, hard to see but much worse today.

Hope you all have a great night.

Blueberry Banana Bread

I've been happily having bursts of energy lately, so yesterday afternoon, in between sewing mittens up, and re-arranging my daughters' bedroom, I decided to make some Blueberry Banana Bread.
This is very moist and heavy.

Preheat Oven 350 C Grease & lightly flour loaf pan.
Combine together;

•  1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 4 tbsp milk 
• 1/2 tsp vanilla 
• 2 large mashed bananas
• 1/2-3/4 cup blueberries

In a separate bowl combine;

• 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

Add dry ingredients to the wet, and combine together.
Pour into prepared loaf pan
Bake for 1 hour, and cool

(I always grab an extra bag, the plastic ones,  near the bakery in stores, when I'm there), to use for wrapping baked goods like this.

DIY Pillow Case-My first do it yourself project

 I have been wanted to cover my ugly faded bluish couch for awhile, so me being the oh-so-NOT-crafty person, (I dream of being crafty) lol, I went searching online, thinking maybe I could find an easy solution. Everything seemed so difficult, time consuming, and costly even. While searching I came across DIY projects, now of course I got way off track of what I had started to do.


At the end of the search anyway, I decided to spend a bit of money and buy a slipcover. I was not going to attempt to make one of these, especially since I don't have a sewing machine. Well it was a thought anyway, lol
So, over the weekend, my daughter and I went shopping. We ended up at walmart, and  of all they had, an ugly beige duck something or other material, and a brown suede like, or white. Well with 2 black cats here(they're my sons' cats, he is temporarily staying with me), there was no way I was getting white, though I would have really loved to. So I settled on brown. I pondered over it a bit first, well actually a long time, wondering about the brown since I am not a decorator, and I didn't want my apartment to look dreary. Then it came to me! All the tutorials I seen online the day before. I could cover some throw  pillows to brighten it up, and not too much of a job, to hand sew. Does anyone even do these things by hand anymore?. That was the plan! And the start of something I may regret.
So you know, the next day I flew to the fabric store, to look around, blindly really, because I had no idea of measurements, etc, I just knew I had this ugly burgundy throw cushion, that could use brightening up.
Well, right in the store, the plan changed. I thought first I would practice, so I got some fleece, girly fleece, and set out to make a pillowcase for my daughters' pillow.
Here it is, and she loves it, and couldn't wait to sleep on it last night. I only have a photo of it finished because I wasn't sure it would even turn out, lol.

(btw, the background the pillow is on, is the color of my coach slipcover. What colors would go good with this?)
I bought a metre of this fleece, for $5.00, and I used just half of the metre, so I need to find something to make with the leftover material.
My daughter had an idea this morning, mittens. So I went on a hunt for an easy online pattern. Then today I, you guessed it, ran to Fabricland, to get some elastic for the wrist part. I have the mitten shapes cut out already. I'm going to work on these a bit later, because I'm warn out from the excitement, of what I'm getting myself into.
Oh I also bought more fleece, a double sided, light pile type of fleece, in a solid color that matches the blue in the pillowcase, and the plan is to make my daughter a throw blanket.
Here is the color, isn't it pretty? (That's the outline for the mittens on top of it) I will post a photo of them when I have them done.

Oh and yesterday I also, took some dollar frames, spray-painted them, and put my daughters artwork inside. It's a great way to personalize her own space. I wished I would have done this before now. Better late then never though.

So I have a couple things going already, but I am real happy to have found another hobby.