Decorating...

...our little stunted Alaskan white spruce. It's so cute.

Halloween is over.

I know it's over and we're already eager to move on with the holiday season... But here are some memories.

Everett went trick or treating with our dear friend Mary. Jacko had the flu.

Christmas is coming!!!

Birthday Party!

friends, hotdogs, carrots, chips, craisins. cheese sandwich.

shy...

presents....

new kitchen! with a sink!

three candles :)

Three!

Yes, it's true. Happy birthday Jacko!

Rehearsal strawberry rhubarb pie

Here is my strawberry rhubarb pie recipe from J and Erika's rehearsal dinner. Many of the technique secrets hidden in the crust recipe I learned or adapted from my Mom who makes the best pie crust.
Some of them I picked up thru trial and error via Fine Cooking or Cook's Illustrated. 

This is how you make the best pie crust: Keep it cold, work without interruption, and don't add too much water or over mix.  Easy!

Crust:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 cup butter, cut into 32 small cubes.

1 tbsp white vinegar over ice plus water to make 1/2 cup

Cut up cold butter, place back in fridge while you mix flour, salt and sugar. Use a measuring cup to prepare vinegar water ice solution.  Drop butter into the flour a few pieces at a time, burying them as you go until they're all in there. Working quickly, use pastry cutter or two knives to cut and smear the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse crumbs. Use a spoon to drizzle a little of the ice vinegar water over the flour and use a fork to flick it in and stir until it begins to form a shaggy mass.  You might use all the water, or you might not, or you might need a little more. Dump the mass onto plastic wrap and use the plastic to form it into a flattish mound.  Refrigerate.

Filling:

3 cups chopped rhubarb

2 1/2 cups sliced strawberries* 

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup flour

1 tsp lemon zest

2 tsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 375'F.  Mix it all up.

Divide the dough in two.  Roll out one piece for bottom on a well floured surface.  Use your rolling pin to transfer to pie crust to pie plate... do not trim yet. Roll out top dough so that it's ready to go before adding filling to bottom crust.  Add filling to crust and dot with butter.  Arrange top dough over filling, pressing gently with hands to close any space around the filling and so that the top crust makes contact with the bottom crust.  Use a knife to trim top and bottom dough together, using the edge of the pie plate as a guide.  Using the back of a knife, (I like a metal butter knife,) flute the dough by pressing the butt end into the edge of the dough towards the pie and gently pinching it, all the way around, thereby sealing the dough in a decorative way.   Lastly, you can brush (or flick, if you don't have a brush) the top crust with milk (or water or cream or egg wash), then sprinkle it generously with sugar and maybe a dusting of cinnamon.

Bake in oven for 20 minutes at 375.  Reduce temperature to 325 and continue baking for about an hour, until it is bubbling and well browned.  If crust looks as though it might burn, slide a piece of foil over the pie to protect it from the top heat element. You'll probably need to place a cookie sheet under the pie (like on the rack below) to catch drips and you can line it with parchment if you want for easier clean-up.  

Let the pie rest and cool before slicing.  Enjoy!

*Thanks to Asan for slicing all those fresh Ontario strawberries!

More Wedding Pics...

These are all photos that I liked from the group share album - not the professional album - tho' I should go thru those.  They are amazing.
This selection is mostly photos of me and my family.  I'm so vain...  but really, I was too busy to take many (any!) pictures.  I'm very grateful to see these.  Thanks to all the careful camera-people.

Stunning ceremony.

That's me reading... :) Check out the trees!!!

All dressed up...

for a nap.

Ring bearer.  so proud.

Erika had a twig stick to her dress.  It was carefully removed.

Safe delivery of the rings.  Good job.

All of these photos were taken by others - I wish I could give credit where credit is due so if you are the photographer, by all means call it out! I can always edit and add captions.

Wedding Feature!

Erika and J were married this summer.  It was a big party and a ton of fun so it doesn't surprise me at all that their wedding is being featured on a wedding website! (This is great because I was too busy enjoying myself to take good pictures.)

Here are the links!

The wedding chicks post. or you can look at the 99! image gallery.

The attention is deserved.  This wedding was epic. From the incredible invitations that detailed everything about anything you might need to know about the stunning ceremony location, even gently suggesting picnic formal attire (re: hat or parasol) to the groomsmen's socks that matched the bridesmaid's dresses, this couple is one amazing team.  It was adorable to watch them manage the weekend event using walkie talkies, closing each call and response with "copy that" and "over".
   

Here is J singing a song he wrote to answer the random surprising questions that Erika asked J over their years together.


I wish I had been prepared... Erika is just out of shot for most of the video. This video is from my iPhone and I missed the first verse. Sigh, it is also shaky at the beginning, until I remembered the trick of using a glass as a makeshift tripod.

Enjoy! Happy Birthday Jbird!

Boat rides.

Theme four: Boat rides boat rides so many boat rides.

This is just a sequence of photos taken on a single stretch of one boat ride.  Boat rides are a big area of activity for us and there are lots and lots of photos to support that. I will begin with one ride because it would take o so many uploads to convey what can be conveyed by just these 5 images.

Boat rides = Happy kids.

Boats Are Wonderful!

The Painted Rocks

Theme three: The Painted Rocks.

We try and go each year.
It is an amazing reminder of how fragile we are.
There are conditions that can arise and will shape rock into formations like this.

Yet, in contrast, there is abundant life that appears to thrive in these rugged conditions.
It is extremely beautiful.

Pollywoggin' and Froggin' with Uncle J.

Theme Two. Frogs and Pollywogs in Turtle Bay.
Getting mucky and finding lots of creatures is a must for Uncle J.
Plus a little sing song.