in closing.......

I have moved to ......... http://gypsysoulsandmountainbabes.blogspot.com/

a little new and a little old all tied up into one new fabulous blog about raising kids and living consciously in a small mountain town

see ya there........... don't forget to "follow me"
xo Andrea

One year.....

I am simply amazed at how this last year has gone so fast, how our lives have unfolded and even though it has only been one year it seems like we have been here for an eternity!  When I envisioned our life here in Revy before we arrived it was hard to see so clearly as I have never seen the mountains up close ......... meaning only in a book. What we have made of our reality is a way healthier lifestyle of getting back to basics and to create a good life in a small mountain town!

For the the last few months we have eaten locally, grown locally and even brewed locally and now rasing our kids locally as mountain kids! My wish for them is to be active in how we live our lives and those of you who know them, they definately have a voice and we can hear them loud and clear! Also to be conscious of how to live a clean, green life of simplicity....and to just be nice to each other....lol

I am extremely thrilled of how our consumerisum is at a lifetime low. If we can't buy it in Revy then we need to think do we really NEED it! I went to a mall in Calgary and happily disgusted in the window displays of all the tickey tackey clothes all in a row......I even tryed on numerous black dress pants to only walk out and say, well if I am going to spend this much I may as well spend a little more and just buy them at home......I feel really good about sharing this! (ok the children's place was a hit....but that was all Grandad ;p)

On the self-sufficiency front, I am canning my patootie off and now have added dehydrating into the mix. I need to put up as much yummy summer flavours as possible to get through the dark months. Our local butcher has opened and awaiting a price list of 1/2-1/4 cow packages....as much as I love my fresh veg I am a meat-a-vor at heart! With our purchase of our future market shares for the winter produce I am on my way to fewer stops at the grocery store already! I love all the thoughtful planning that goes with preparing for wintertime....and really looking forward to all the delishious delights to dig into in the months to come.

So......puttng up at it's best is when it is done with others. My handsome hubby has been planning and trainning (well sorta) for this big bike race and the mens weekend away and it is coming fast...this weekend actually! This will be the perfect time to get together with my mom friends to jar it up. So excited for all the salsa, tomatoes and peaches that will be captured in jars this weekend. In between all the canning fun I will be roatating fruit in and out of the dehydrator and I am sure a few bottles of wine will be had as part of the new canning tradition we are starting this year!

As now that the sun is going down earlier, I can sense the fall slowly creeping in and the wild flowers coming to an end. Our Gypsy souls are content with the fresh mountain air and the perfect shade of green.....for now! This Andrews family project has opened my eyes to what changes we can make for the greater good of our community, our world and for our gypsysouls and mountain kids. So stay tuned as our mountain lives unravel into unlimited possiblities of the art of preserving lifes goodness in one blog!

The Out-Takes......Enjoy!

cheers,
Andrea

in abundance.......


As my husband peruses a local townie classified list he came across an add for fruit pickers. Not just any pickers the best kind of pickers.....keep what you pick for FREE! (or almost free) Here in Revy there are tonnes of fruit trees of plums, pears and apples, this leaves lots of extra fruit that either falls and rots or that the bears get to eat to prepare for their wintry down time. Which sounds like a great win win situation just a little too close for comfort when it is your back door the bears are on. In my quest for all things canned to pave the path for self-sufficiency for this years dark season....I was in heaven! Pure jarred goodness heaven!

This particular Sunday morning we took a drive to check out what the almost free plum situation was and wow it was worth the drive! A step full of boxed plums, already picked for $8 bucks. The homeowner had already picked her share for homemade plum cider and all the canning and baking she had to do. I must say I did try to recipe share with her to get the cider recipe but it was her husbands handy craft at work and not hers for sharing.

I have been busy canning spiced plums, spicy plum dipping sauce, baking plum torts and handing out bags of plums. Sephora is loving all the plums and helping herself, which leads to me finding plum pits in the oddest places!





morning dew plums



plum torte

my lil plum lover....and her sneaky big brother:)



  

too much of a good thing............

Too much of a good thing is STILL to much.......even if it is a good thing!

As I send off one of my most allied comrade in to her new phase of life which will include many wonderful elements of new culinary delights, different jogging paths new play dates and the interesting facet of living in a different capacity on a university campus as a shabbychic-green mama. (which I am hoping she will blog about)  I know for me I will dearly miss my  partner in shoeless biking, wine glass breaking, husband torment with our Witty isms and all the kindness she has shown Sephora and the no hold bar chats her and Caleb have had. She has taught me lessons in the art of living naturally, in our hearts she will always be known as Chi-Chi!

(Chi-Chi is only moving about 6hrs away and will be returning for a month at Christmas, but it seems a world away right now)

Thinking of their new adventure and all their mixed feelings of excitement, fear and anticipation of life's changes reminds me of our own life's change which has happen exactly a year ago today.....Like Chi-Chi I was packing up a u-haul on the 31st of Aug embarking on a new path, leaving behind a much endeared life and friends. I can't believe it has been one year since this has happened. We have settled in quite fast and securely here in Revy....as if this town was situated just waiting for our arrival!

Our decision of making our life here has been everything we could ever ask for! Our ski hill is a bus ride away, the schools here are fantastic and anywhere we need to go we can bike or walk..............we have condensed our life into being more self-sufficient and environmentally conscious in raising our mountain kids! For this upcoming winter I am preparing for the hibernation season by canning our fresh local foods into having the seasons delights all year long, Our local butcher has had it's opening just in time to fill up my freezer and with the market shares that will get us through the winter I see our future trips to the grocery store few and far between! If this hard work materializes into my above vision I will have reached my goal for 2011!
cheers,
Andrea

no post would be complete without a picture

yummy lemon curd

peach pie and sunny d....a celebration of life!

As my busy life is full of bustle and blessings I was reminded to appreciate the simple things in life....... I always enjoy hitting the gardens to scavenge the ripe pickings for dinner and to try to concoct some delicious culinary delight for the family!

Having a few days off during the week allows the kids to still be the light of my life and gets me out and into the gardens.......so with B.C. finest peaches available peach pie it is! With my quest to perfect my pie crust with a variety pie related recipes I have found my happiness and fullfilled my quest of the perfect pie crust according to ME! With getting my little man excited for fresh goodness of what our land can provide, pie is the perfect way to win him over. With his heart on his sleeve he has turned this little baking expose into a big surprise for Dad and decided that sunny d would be the perfect match........we will call it "Happy Good Work Day DAD!"

I love this idea! Why not celebrate those days that are mundane with a little added enthusiasm a Wednesday can become the highlight of your week....throw in a peach pie and an impromptu BBQ hamburger, a Wednesday can be just as dazzling as a hot Saturday night out! This exactly what we did, we ate , we drank and were to Merrie!

Bountiful............

Bountiful is what comes to mind our when I think of all the fruit and veggies we have yielded so far.....between our communal plot and our own small plot at home we have had an abundance of  awesome family dinners with enough to pass along the odd basket of greens to friends. Our peas this season at home didn't fair as well as at the communal gardens....they were crazy mass of greenery and with every turn of a branch  cascades of pea pods were to be found! Other then being natures snack food, peas became a fast friend at every meal. From fresh to steamed with a balsamic chili fig vinaigrette, covered in hummus eaten with or without the pod, it was a great snack for the kids to munch on throughout the day....

I have added a water canning set to the kitchen family and am quite eager become a jar head. I have completed a small batch of tomatoes, pickles and a homemade dijon mustard! thanks to http://www.foodinjars.com/2011/08  I am enjoying all the extra tasks of jarring up the seasons best for the luxury of eating fresh summer goodness all year!

Communal Garden 2011

Here is a picture of the start of the Gardens in town and a following picture of the gardens in their current state.

May 2011





Aug 2011





~Andrews Family Plot~

 

all good things come to an end.......

Well we braved the drive out of Rev and into the heart of the Rocky's and lived.....mostly! Sephora didn't fair as well this time on our drive as she did when we moved here. It was a shrill of shreeking high pitched screams of out out OUT! ouch me (s)duck meee sduckkkk....MMMAaammmmy! That all ended when she finely passed out into a coma. Grandad's pick up was fun exciting and the Calgary Airport is quite nice!

I thought I would be more pre-pared for our venture home as to not scare grandad...but to no avail the banshee reappeared in the high skreetch for Mary Poppins....YES! she screams for Mary Poppins when she is very distrested....I like to call this self-soothing and that she is so bright that she can identify how to self-sooth.

this is what I am dealing with folks

Caleb was thrilled to have Grandad as a bunkmate and I am sure Gradad now misses the mid night sleepwalking and conversations with Caleb. We spent alot of days with Grandad up ontop of Mt Revelstoke

hiking exploring and sightseeing. My dad and I were able to make the late night stargazing expo at the summit. The moon was a big spotlight, but we were still able to see 4metors shooting by and were shown where to find stars, planets and andromeda just with your binoculars alone!

The three weeks that were spent with Grandad was the best part of summer, we had road trips, day trips, yummy food and everyone was spoiled......I barely washed a dish, I got driven to and from work, late night hot tubs and denny's, bbq's dinners, staff parties, hot springing around! But as the saying goes all good things come to an end! And by end I mean a good two week detox program!

Grandad and Caleb on their way to Rogers Pass with the Jr. Naturalists

Unfortunately Seph and I couldn't go as she didn't have proper foot attire on that day. We spent the day playing with a puppy....lol