Happy New Year

January is already starting to fly by… 

Our son and his girlfriend flew out early this morning,

 our Christmas vacation is over.

The house is so quiet, I miss my kids. 

I wish we lived closer together.

Mark and I went to the beach before dinner, brrr. 

We sure didn't linger there for long, 

what a cold winter this has been so far.

My Version of my Gram's Pork, Barley and Sauerkraut Stew

I made this delicious stew for dinner last night. My Gram L. used to make it years ago when I lived with them while I was in college. My Grandpa used to make their sauerkraut, yum! It is an old Polish recipe, but I had to wing it from memory and taste. It is pretty close to what I remember.

Pork, Barley and Sauerkraut Stew

1 tbsp. olive oil

2 large onion, chopped

1 bulb of garlic, chopped

2 pork tenderloin, trimmed of fat, and cubed

3 litres of chicken broth

1 cup uncooked barley

4 cups sauerkraut

salt and pepper to taste

In a very large pot heat the olive oil and sauté the onion and garlic until softened. Add the cubed pork and continue cooking on medium heat until all the meat has been browned. Add the broth, and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for an hour or so. Add the barley and cook with the pot covered until the barley is tender, about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the sauerkraut with the liquid, and cook for half an hour more, season with salt and black pepper to taste.

It is ready to serve!

It makes a lot, but we (three of us) had it for two meals with a little leftover for tomorrows lunch.

Enjoy!

Family Visit

Thomas & Malia in White River with Winnie the Pooh

Old Woman Bay

after a swim at Batchewana Bay

on the docks, Little Current ON

paddling in Strawberry Channel

enjoying a visit with Grandma at camp

camp at sunrise

Thomas & Jay

beach near Rossport

heading down to Schreiber beach

Schreiber beach

Garden Beauties

azalea

columbine

crabapple blossoms

garlic

lilac

my mom, Ruth

March 20th..Marks 57th Birthday

not the clearest photo, 

but happy birthday Mark!

hazelnut cake, yum!

What a Fabulous Winter's Day!

Terrace Bay beach, Sunday evening, 12°

long lovely shadows!

rocky end of the beach

sunset

Jesse Gets a Hug...

My sister passed away from cancer last spring. She had fought very hard to be here for the birth of her son's first child. Sadly she wasn't here for the birth of Jesse in August.

My brother in law brought me some of her clothes in the summer. I am using what I can, but wanted to weave three Debbie memory rugs for him, and for my niece and nephew.

I finished two of the rugs on Sunday, just on time to deliver them to my niece and nephew in the city.

I got home yesterday to find this lovely photo in my inbox. Sweet baby Jesse sound asleep under the memory rug, getting a hug from his Grandma Debbie.

Oatmeal Gruel

When I was a young child my dad's mom, my grandma Eaton would come and stay for long visits. She would make this gruel for us, and it has always been a favourite of mine. I eat it most mornings for breakfast.

Oatmeal Gruel

oatmeal gruel

Equal parts quick oats, water and milk, with salt and pepper to taste.

I use 1/2 cup of each, and I use soy milk.

Combine together and cook until thickened to your liking.
I eat it out of a big mug.

Easy peasey, enjoy!

Little Campbell Men

We just got home from a much needed getaway, it was nice to come back home. We got to meet Mark's great nephews. 

Little Campbell men, yay!

 Lochlan

Benjamin

27 Years Ago Today ...

...Megan Willow came into our lives,

I am thankful for her!

I like her, she's a keeper!

Happy Birthday to Megan!!

Camp

Last week Jay had to go to town for a medical appointment and when she got back to camp the next day she discovered a pipe under the bathroom sink had let go and the pump kept pumping water into the camp. It was a flood. The insurance company is taking care of the damages but in the process an infestation of carpenter ants was found. Thank goodness they found the ants, that would have been disastrous.

This little video is to show family who live away what we saw when we got there.

Let's hope they can get the camp back up and running quickly so Jay can get back out to camp.

My Sister Debbie

Debbie

My sister Debbie passed away on May 2nd

after a three year battle with cancer.

I miss her.

I was going to write a lot about her,

but can't seem to do it.

She will live long in my heart.

Happy New Year, a little late...

Happy New Year, I am a little behind in my wishes!

Our two children, well young adult children were home for Christmas. Neither of them had been home since last Christmas so it was a special treat to have them home.

I will admit to not doing much besides enjoying their company and cooking for them.

Megan left just after New Years, and Thomas left about a week ago. We are adjusting to our own lives again. I really miss them alot.

Here are a few photos from the holidays.

Megan with her Juicebox (milk box) camera at the beach

she took some fabulous photos with it!

beach shadows

look how long our legs are!!

Thomas Christmas morning

playing with a plastic bag

the whirly swirly Christmas tree

we bought a tree this Christmas,

we will never buy one again,

it was crispy hard..

must have been cut in the summer

it smelled fabulous,

but very strongly,

I do wonder if it had been sprayed

with a artificial tree scent.

Do they do that?

30 Seconds at the Beach

We went to the beach yesterday afternoon with Miss Bean. I love the colour of the water and the sound of the waves!

Dominiques Medical Alert Necklace

The reason for my great nieces visit last week was to create a necklace for her with her medical alert tag. She had a bracelet and it broke, she has a new bracelet but wanted me to create a new piece with her old tag.

She picked out the beads, and planned the pattern, she was more than pleased with the result!

Cute earrings too!!

How to entertain children on a cold wet day in Terrace Bay!

Mark with our great niece and nephew, plus two friends

they were in their clothes

totally wet

and cold

having fun, looking for the big waves

Superior fun!

they all had to change into their bathing suits for the ride back to the city, brrr.

I hope they had fun, it seemed like they did.

Two Weekends in May

We rarely have company, but this May we have had overnight guests three weekends in a row. What a nice treat!

love this happy photo, Kinoje loves kids!

Hannah, Parker & Mark, dog walking

dog walk

Hannah & the dogs

Parker and Hannah at the foggy beach

Parker

Hannah

Lee, Hannah, & Parker

Trisha

foggy evening at the beach

Parker flips for our beaches!

Karen at the pumphouse beach

Mom & Marcy

Mark, Marcy & Karen at Pebble Beach

Pebble Beach

pebble gazing!