Wordless Wednesday

snowy HUGS

Char.x

SNOW strikes hard on the UK...really!!!

 Decorating our Christmas gingerbread ornament cookies with all the cousins over here is always fun...only little M was running around by our feet without patience to sit and place tiny silver balls on the icing...oh well...those pitter patter of feet will grow bigger very soon...and then we'll be waiting for the next little cousin to be on the move...my sister is expecting another one in January...busy times...the families are growing!

 this is Miss J's gingerbread house which she is right this moment as I type...stealing spaceships from and spiling sherbert ALL over the mantel...(SUCH fun!)

 Miss A needed a break from cookies and switched to play-doh for half an hour...

 then out came the lego...aaahhhh the lego...they both can play with this for hours upon hours...

 down went the Sun and out played the girls....we had another 15cm of snow yesterday afternoon...wonderful for us...not for travellers over here in the UK...they REALLY have NO idea how to function in the Snow...
LUCKILY Mr.R arrived early Sat morning and on time...3 hours later Gatwick and Heathrow closed down for the day...and I do beleive are still cancelling flights.

 Jumping in the snow never looked like SO much fun! Wouldn't that hurt ones knees though?

 I drew SNOW KINGS in the snow...and the girls made mazes and snow houses...

the trees are covered with with snow...as are all the roads...and the news can't stop talking about it.
England has a LOT to learn about how to deal with Winter conditions, but I don't think they want to pay out what they would need to to keep their Country running in these conditions....

How is the weather where you are?

Snowy wishes for a wonderful week...hey, perhaps we'll have a white Christmas!
HUGS
Char.x

CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS : gingerbread ornaments...

 every year when we visit my Scandi parents we make a fresh batch of Gingerbread ornaments for the tree...the tradition started 10 years ago...my parents moved into  their home and hadn't unpacked all their moving boxes....so ornaments for our tree were no-where to be found...

 so out came the flour and rolling pins...cookie cutters and aprons...we decided we would make the ornaments out of gingerbread cookies.We have continued this each year when we come over for the Holidays...as the girls get older...they get more and more excited.

 this year we bought ready made dough from AHEM(Ikea) ...this cut our time in half and we were able to make ALL the cookies yesterday...
The hearts have already been eaten...we have stars,angels,trees,snowflakes and houses to decorate this afternoon.

 my Mama loves to help out...which the girls love too!

what have you been baking lately?

Ok...back to decorating...I have a little lady tugging at my arm saying "I'm ready!!PLEASE Mummy...now?!"
Cinnamon HUGS
Char.x

handmade FORTS

We visited our Fort today in the woods..Miss A helped me fix it up a little as in the Summer when we were back here we couldn't restore it as the nettles were SO bad...

It's JUST AMAZING how it has withstood 2 winters already and we can see the deer are using it as a shelter...I LOVE being out with our girls...the woods here are like a HUGE playground for them!

I am visiting your blogs today...can't wait to say hello!

HUGS

Char.x

On the 9th day of December...

We have arrived in the UK for our Christmas stay with our Scandi family over here...and we have INTERNET!...YAY...I was getting a little worried as it's been 4 days since we arrived and I had the SLOWEST dongle in ALL the Country...

Mum is walking SO brilliantly...I am amazed at the difference between our Summer visit when she had both hips replaced to now...just wonderful.

Little miss J is enjoying the fact that the weather is VERY similar to in Canada right now here...LOTS of snow and Sunny skies this morning.

Missing Mr.R...but he'll be over just before Christmas...

HUGS to you all and thanks for your patience...I can now visit you more often and leave little comments...because even though I visited your blogs...I was not able to comment as it would time out as I pressed enter...so frustrating...

Until tomorrow...we're off to see Santa and his Reindeer.

Char.x

GUESS what I forgot...

  after a frantic hour and a half the other day of searching through ALL our bags and clothes...I still couldn't find it.
I forgot my SD CARD in England which I had loaded with pics and edited them all ready for posting...can you believe it?
I just called Dad this morning and he confirmed that it was there, still sitting in the docking station of their lap-top.

Where is my head?

On another note I am going to show you a couple of sneak peaks from the book I am working on with Shelly.

                           

I really didn't have as much energy as I had hoped to work in the evenings over in the UK on the book...it was more exhausting than I imagined...but great to be there through my Mama's operation and see her recovering SO well.

Thank you ALL for the wonderful support and kind words and well wishes for her...you really are SUCH an important part of my Life...the encouragement and energies are bountiful and I am SO THANKFUL...

We're back in Canada and enjoying the HEAT...friends who I haven't seen for a while, and the girls are so happy to see their buddies.

Trips to my homeland are always wonderful...and I will miss my dear family and friends who I saw...but here is my home and it is a delight to be close to my Soulmate,my husband...Mr.R.
Today is a THANKFUL day...
thanks for passing by...I will be by to say hello to you all later.
OH, and THANKful...SO THANKful for this marvelous internet connection I am fortunate to have here.
HAPPY FRIDAY!


HUGS
Char.x.

right now

right now this very moment... Mum is in the hospital having her operation...she's such a rock star...she never complains, she struggles to get from one side of the room to the next...and stairs have been an ever increasing battle.
 This past week has been spent hanging out with family. It's gorgeous weather here in the UK...and the girls are enjoying being with their cousins, cooling off under sprinklers and watering flowers and veggies for Mum.
I'm sending her positive thoughts and well wishes for a safe operation,Dad and I will go and see her later this afternoon.
I'm missing my Mr.R but have been so busy here that time has flown by...and know he has been busy too.

I had all intentions of blogging daily, but there have been times the internet has been down...I'm now using our Orange toggle...but would love for the internet Angel to work her magic on the regular connection down here because an image only took 20 mins to load!

I'm a bit nervous not knowing how the operation is going...will update this post as soon as possible.
Hope you're all well...I know you understand my lack on being here and visiting you all.

UPDATE:: Mum had her op today, everything went well...they did both her hips.
THANK YOU for ALL your prayers and thoughs.


HUGS
Char (in the UK for a little while)

Across the Ocean we go...

a belated Happy 4th July to all our friends in the US...sorry if I haven't visited your Worlds recently!

I have been packing for our trip to the UK, we leave this afternoon...

Mum goes in on Saturday for her double hip OP...

the girls are excited about seeing their Mormor and Morfar, Aunt and Uncles and cousins...

there will be lots of berry picking and riding little Shetland Ponies, making camps in the woods and going for walks...

I,amongst cooking,cleaning and looking after Mum...will be working on illustrating a book a friend has written....my FIRST one...

the above painting is a snippet of what's to come...

I am excited about it...

I will miss Mr.R lots...and am hoping that my parents internet connection will enable me to blog and check mail.

check back tomorrow...I'll be sharing lots of English Countryside...it's been a couple of years since I was there in the Summer...SO different from Winter there...the days are extremely long and the flowers and fauna are beautiful and luscious.

I better catch my wings...cheerio!

HUGS

Char.x.

L.O.V.E this...

photo....thanks Mr R for taking pics of us on the Carousel...the girls haven't stop talking about it, and I know these are the moments in time which will be engraved on not only their brains, but in ours too.
It went pretty fast...at one point I reached over to hold on to little Miss J's jacket...which was followed by "it's o.k Mummy, I'm o.k. on my own"...breaks my heart...they grow up way too quickly!

Have a bright and cheery day!
Char,ON

Smoking traditions...

every year around Christmas our family has a "eel smoking" afternoon with friends.
Aren't they AMAZING looking...I love this image.
Dad drives up to the Fish Market in London a week prior to smoking and picks up eels.
He salts them and leaves them in the saline solution for about 24 hours...or a little more.
He then rinses them off and hangs them on hooks inside his smoke oven(as seen in the above image).

We invite the regular smokers down to the house and get the Schnapps out(again) and nuts to munch on.
The whole afternoon of drinking and smoking starts at 2pm and ends close to 7pm...
You know when the eels are ready when the skin folds back away from the flesh and the meat of the eel is cooked.

The girls hang out and play soccer on the lawn...eat nuts and get cold very quickly, so they soon disappear and play inside.

It's a wonderful tradition...the eel tastes SO good...we make a big saucepan of rice...a salad and serve the eel on the rice with a dash of sweet terriyaki sauce. YUM...so good...if you're a fan of Japanese cuisine...they eat eel a lot...and usually have it on their menu....try it next time you come across it...it's GOOD!

So...another year is coming to a close.
I know I said I wouldn't be back until the new year...but I really do enjoy spending these few minutes reaching out and then reading what you're all up to...gaining inspiration and seeing so much eye candy!

IF...I am not back before the New Year...HAVE a wonderful Celebration and I hope you'll come on our Journey with us in 2010...thanks for ALL your tremendous support this past year.

HUGS.
Char,ON

Freezing Friday shocker!

This is what we woke up to this morning...and this is one of those surprise photos which you look back and say "how did this happen".

The girls are walking through a gated area...but I think it looks like a scene through to a magical land...like Narnia.

The frame of the gate cuts the trees in the distance so you don't see the tops, I love this picture.

Today was my Dad's Birthday...I will post more pictures tomorrow(this computer is just SO slow and it's nearly 1am)...we just finished celebrating. It's wonderful to be here with my family...and especially to be close to my Dad who is not 100% yet.

He looks better...and has a bit more energy...but still gets tired quickly.

He has his pre-op on Jan 7th and we're still waiting for his biopsy results...why does it take so long to get he results?

Thank you all for sticking by me...your comments keep my strength up...

On Monday my husband arrives and I know he has missed us...but I have missed him dearly too...he inspires and keeps me thinking about business...he's my rock he's my ear to be able to tell him everything.I can't wait to see him...I can't remember the last time I was away from him for SO long.

Please pass by tomorrow and see the photos...I have some amazing snow pics...it was the perfect day.

HUGS.

Char,On

it felt like yesterday...

It was wonderful seeing all the girls last night...they were all pleasantly surprised by their watercolours.
The above duck was for Chloe's little Lola...who is coming up to 7 months.It was Chloe's Birthday yesterday too...HAPPY BIRTHDAY Chloe.

This one was for Leesa, she IS probably THE funniest girl alive...she could be a stand up comedian!

Harriet the cat...who really didn't look like Mel's Harriet...but wasn't really too upset about it...as Harriet is old and leaves lovely treats for Melody around the house.

Melody made a wonderful dinner...stuffed chicken wrapped with bacon and stuffed with Camembert Cheese...with potatoes and a fresh bean salad. YUM!!!

and last but not least, Elly's Elephant...Elly the traveller...

They hadn't changed and 9 years went surprisingly fast, but felt like yesterday!

Hope to see them all before I go back to the COLD Country...apparently my man said that it had snowed 6 inches...

How's the weather where you are?

Char,On

high skies...

We finally are having brilliant skies here in the UK...finally! Look what we had yesterday...

And what we have today(see below)
It makes SUCH a huge difference, the day seems longer...people's moods are better...you can be outside longer with the girls...I hope we have more days like this!

We've been with Morton all morning, sister was delivering so he hung out with his cousins...he's adorable. SUCH an easy baby!

The girls have now eased into being here and have stopped saying "what can we do now?" every 5 seconds.

We have our morning walk out the the horses and feed them carrots. Little miss J isn't as comfortable with the horses as she was last year.Miss Ash is fine and loves stroking them and chatting to them.

They played in the Hay Stack all morning..."such a wonderful play castle" miss A said. It really is a great place for hiding go seek...or any type of make believe play. And then they chilled with their ever faithful leapster!

Funny how the outdoors can keep a couple of little girls ever so happy!

HUrrah, Hurrah! Tomorrow Tam comes for a visit with her little ones...can't wait to see her, chat and catch up...
I'll post some pictures in the evening tomorrow...I'll hopefully have better Internet connection as I'll baby-sitting up at sisters.

Have a lovely day and I'll be on again tomorrow.

Char,ON

Hello England!

We arrived yesterday to a sunny forecast...which is always welcoming. Dad came to meet us at the airport...he looked well...a little tired, but said he felt better.

On Tuesday he'll go in for a scope and a biopsy to double/triple check everything and then get a date for his op.

I'm sure he's a little scared...it's wonderful to get to hug him and tell him how much we love him...the girls gave him big hugs too...it's been a year since we saw all my family...way too long.

I met Morton(my sister's little baby) for the first time...he's SO adorable. I'll get some pics of him up soon.

AND my brother's little Tristan and Olivia...they're so sweet. The girls just loved having another playmate to have fun with all afternoon.

I'm trying to upload a photo, I've been working on my *Fayre* box of goodies which I'll be displaying at a local Christmas Fair later today.The Internet connection here is so SLOW(how I appreciate back home)...as we're in the sticks...but OH...it's just finished uploading...yay!(that's my box of goodies above!)

I'll will be at The Ightham School PTA **Christmas Fayre** today, November 6th from 1-4pm...if you're in the neighbourhood, come by and say hello!!!**

My sister will be there too, which will be wonderful, so we can catch up on a whole year!!!!

We saw the Sun again today...raining out as I write but it's supposed to clear in the morning.

Although I saw the Sun, it barely rose above the tallest trees here...quite a different feel to the day.I will take lots of photos because there is definitely a moodiness about the days here in the UK...

The girls are loving seeing their cousins and all the horses, little miss J is impatient and WANTS to ride Hammi the Horse...Ash is quite content playing with our old Lego which Mormor(Grandma in Danish) so kindly dug out for them! See it pays to be a pack rat!

It's SO wonderful to be around my Mum, she's such a wonderful easy going person...who's Birthday is TOMORROW!

Boo and I are cooking her dinner.

Mushroom Risotto with Stuffed Chicken wrapped in Prosciutto with green beans and a delicious Salad...which I have to find a recipe for...

So...I am going to try and get into a routine...this will be my posting time from now on...unless the little ones are at a play date without me(hahaha...not likely!).

I will try and pass by your blogs too...as I have been SO awful and have been neglecting you all(not willingly)but have been thinking about you all and hoping that your start to December has been a good one...and hoping that you all enjoyed your Thanks Giving...if that was part of your Calendar.

I know time will fly by whilst we are here...so I will treasure each day.

Thank for visiting...

I'll be back soon.

HUGS

Char,ON

P.S. ANY ideas for a delicious salad???

A new sketch...

This one is for my Mum in England...I had a calendar reminder on my phone yesterday that it was Mother's day today! Stress hit in because I nearly always miss it...my mother ends up with a belated Mother's Day Card each year...so in honour of my mother(even though I later found out it actually isn't Mother's day for another 3 weeks!!!!) this is for the "Greatest Mum in the whole World"...I love you dearly and know how we have tired you at times, because you're always carrying us on your back,giving us love and have always been there for support! Thank you...I love you Mum...and this year you'll receive your card on time!
UK Mother's Day is March 22nd...bye the way!
Charlotte,Ontario