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

it seems like so long ago.......

It seems like so long ago that we came barreling through the Rockies searching for that perfect shade! I can't believe it is coming up to our 1 year anniversary of being here in Revy. I had some hind sight wishes of taking more time to see the Rockies, maybe travelling a little more before we chose this as "IT". With that being said we are packing up and heading back through the pass and into the heart of the Rockies and I couldn't be more excited. It only took just under a year to have the Itch to get out of the mountains, with excitement there is also the anxiety of how large the world is around us. I have gotten used to small community living of allowing your child to run and play not always being in eye sight, but always a holler away from home, riding your bike on the road knowing that people passing you and honking are people you know just saying hi! I am now preparing myself for the bigger community and my clutches of worrisome for my children and always having a holding hand. I am sure this will be ok for Caleb as he now has gained the understanding of part-time listening but Seph.....she is another story! Pretty sure she is not going to love being strapped in a stroller and not being able to meander herself down the street leisurely stopping at all the towny's and their dogs! Gearing up for our mini va-ca in Calgary I am looking forward to hanging out with just the four of us while playing in the hotel pool and lazing about a hotel room.....until grandad arrives!

The month of August holds some feature fun for the Andrews family......it will be our first mountain wild flower hikes, Seph's second birthday and our first anniversary of life in the mountains!

banff

summer......

Our communal garden plot has us busy with harvesting every couple of days and this week I am even offering up some fresh veggies to friends hand delivered in a basket! I am getting as much satisfaction out of my gardens as I hoped for, not alot of weeding and a whole lots of goodness. With saying that, I do know a few townies have stopped by to check up and put a hand in by pulling some weeds for fun! It has proven a gem of spot for the kids.... a few strawberries to eat on every time we go and if I go a the right time of day (just before lunch) I have even caught Caleb munching on some fresh rainbow chard!

Between swimming lessons, mother goose and a series of day camps I haven't had time to relax and bask in the sun...which is ok because the sun has bearly showed itself to us here in Revy. We have had a handful of sunny days but man o man when the sun is out it is HAWT! With the bustle of activities I was able to make it to our local watering hole and have a wonderful day with our two favorite girls and between drop offs I was able to hit the patio with my mommy friends for a bucket of beer......now I get as to why everyone bikes around here. The social aspect for us busy moms we gotta get it while we can and still make it for camp pick ups!

mt. begbie


Williamson's lake is a gem of a spot! I would of cringed of the thought to stay in such a camp area years ago but how the times have changed when raising kids. We have made it to the lake a couple times and had a blast as far as camping I am a fair weather mom mostly for everything and with such a wet season we are enjoying our own yard and campfire pit! And the view.......the view that is 360. As we are learning so much more about our mountains and trails and lakes here and around Rev we are looking forward to exploring in the years to come with the kids, as for now mini hikes, trail rides, hot spring dips and hopefully the odd canoe trip will have to do!

Andrea

hip to be square

Nothing says hipster like a batch of freshly canned pears as I delved into the world of canning I am realizing how hip it is to be square. When I think of canning I flash to the days of black and white and red gingham, with lush peach preserves and picnic BBQ's that was the ultra hip neighbourhood party of the 50"s. With mint juleps and old fashions I can picture a tray of canapes going around with triscuits topped with canned red pepper jelly while my look a like Don Draper is lighting the 'Q'


But back in Revelstoke where.................the sense of clean living is the family foundation. I am finding that with a little research you can find non-antibiotic food sources from animal products to plant life. The research part is the small local farmer who are not "organic" but raise their cattle consciously and leaves the consumer to be able to buy substantial products without the over priced "tag" of Organic on it!

My goal for my family is to try to be consumer conscious and to try out hand at self-sufficiency. We have already established the difference between wants and needs. By making the choice to move to a smaller community away from the speed shopping of box stores, made our lifestyle change come by quite easy..... the roll backs of walmart are a distant dream and easily forgotten. If we need a sweet treat I make it I enjoy picking the ingredients that go into my children's food and I have enjoyed the repercussions of my labour. (don't get me wrong....Jeff still will do the late night run to 7-11 you can lead a horse to water but damned if you can make him drink it.

We have already had an abundance of good health habits fine tuned in these last months and with the prospect of our gardens soon to be harvested, the days of self-sufficiency is well under way. I have planted our own home garden with the kids in mind. I have planted the easy grab lettuces and spinach's that can be grabbed in a jiffy for snacking while playing in the yard. We have had the springs first rhubarb to delight our pallets from our friends garden, which I also snagged some chives for my own garden. I am a firm believer in you reap what you sow, so I have been sowing each seed with care and well wishes to nourish our body and mind.....the more you put in the more you get out.....

As I am eager visit the Okanagan Valley for their abundance of fruit that I am going to buy in bushels to can for the winter. I am starting this year with buying a food processor (check) a water canning set (pending) and hopefully a vacuum sealer and I think I will be set. The delights of canning the kokanee will have to wait another season. (maybe)