Happy to Oblige

"Five minute cake? Oh, I need that", wrote Holly. Here it is, Holly. Enjoy.

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
a small splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again. Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired. EAT! (this can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous). And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world? Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night!

Spicy Update

It's getting to the "I am sick and tired of this thing" point, but at 104cm x 119.5cm (41" x 47"), it's not quite big enough to call it quits, plus I still have quite a bit of yarn left. AliP suggested matching slippers to go with the blanket, and I must admit to the brilliance of her advice. Slippers would be much more manageable than endless stitches of garter stitch on one needle.

Sam and Pandora having a snooze fest. Doesn't Sam look like he has a major cranky on for having to share the love seat with her? In Pandora's defence, she was there first.

Fabulous Find

I'm so excited! No, really? Yes!!

I read a lot. I'm a slow reader but I make time to read. My tastes in books vary widely and when I get hung up on any particular subject, I read anything about it I can get my hands on. The funny thing is that reading sometimes takes me on the interesting journey . I borrowed Stitched In Time by Alicia Paulson from my local library. I love it. Such cute projects! What's more, I discovered that Alicia Paulson blogs at Posie Gets Cozy and the blog is even better than the book. Seriously! You should check it out. It kind of reminds of Victoria magazine. So pretty, so feminine. So flowery and old fashioned. I love it deeply.

Oh, and may I mention here how evil my boy kid is. All day he kept bugging me for the 5-minute cake recipe. I finally found it and printed it from an old email from AliP(wicked, wicked woman). Naturally as soon as the youngest one found out he was going to make one, she wanted to make one too. No big deal until I smelled that cooking cocoa. I only went upstairs to check that they weren't trashing the kitchen, honest. Now, 10 minutes later, inexplicably I find myself eating a mugful of cake with whipped cream (because, really, you can't have cake without whipped cream!). Damn. And I was doing so good. Let me tell you this, and I know it may be a big fat lie because that's what bathroom scales do, but since hubby left on his fishing trip I've lost (and don't want to find again) five pounds! Yeah. I was feeling pretty good about it until this cake incident. I've been walking everyday, and yesterday even biked and swam. Maybe tomorrow I can redeem myself.

Blue Skies, Nothing but Blue Skies

Finally. Blue skies and sunshine.

Nothing like blue skies to put a positive spin on the crap-tastic. Yesterday I sewed a pair of nice, cozy sweatpants for myself. Too damn cold for shorts and skirts! Today? Check out that picture. F*ck a duck. I don't know when, I don't know how I managed to get them stained already. My positively delusional brain tells me that I will be able to get them clean. We'll see soon enough.

Just for the record, I am not competing with the grandmother of Mat's fiance. Now check out these bitty socks. Perfect for a newborn, and wool/nylon blend so they'll be warm but also washable by young parents that have no respect for wool.




In my renewed attempt to get fit, I decided to start walking every day. The introductory foray into exercise lasted over an hour and a half, as the kids and I walked and talked and stopped along the way to take pictures of flowers and trees and bugs. All told we did about a 5km circuit. We even had fun! Wow. Today we'll be better prepared with water for our trek. Cheers.

Leaving the 70s Behind

My husband is an avid fisherman, particularly enjoying fly fishing for salmon and trout. He ties his own flies and keeps busy off season tying special orders for other ardent fishermen. Every year he embarks on a week long trip to the Marimichi in New Brunswick with his best friend where they're up before dawn and don't quit until well after sunset to try their wits again the mighty salmon. A bit fanatical if you ask me. Especially if you knew of the preparations that go into this coveted seven day retreat from responsibility.

A couple years ago the best friend purchased a 30 year old camper trailer to make their adventure more comfortable. It wasn't long before their realized its shortcomings, like the leaky roof. Since they weren't able to make their annual trek last year due to work commitments, it seemed like prime opportunity to get some work done on it and so the trailer ended up in our yard. Time, and enough cursing, is what it takes to fix things apparently. You know how it is when you start to fix something, and underneath that problem you discover another one, and another? Yeah. I thought it was never going to end. But it did and when all the necessary things where as they should be, it seemed a waste not to gussy the trailer up. My very talented husband gave it a funky new paint job, and I was hired to update the curtains and seat covers from the 70's special of orange and brown.

Before: After:

Damn, it turned out good! Perfect for a couple outdoorsy kind of dudes.