Winter Wonderland

It's been snowing for about 30 hours now... haven't seen a snow plow yet and our little dead-end road is silent and untouched.

Winter is very monochromatic. 

I miss color. 

Everything is shades of white and grey.

All our trees and shrubs lose their leaves, so there are just a bunch of naked branches in our yard right now.

My pond has disappeared under a blanket of snow. 

The bridge to the gazebo is pristine and untouched.

Our maples, which are riotous with color in the fall are sound asleep and not trying to impress anyone.

this is what they're like in the fall...

The birds have gone south...

It's very quiet...

A splash of color in the monotony...

The chickens are hunkered down... we built them a lean-to so they can play in the dirt, even in the winter, but they don't like coming outside when there's this much snow, so they're just hanging around inside, doing nothing because there's nothing much to do.

Oops... I guess I was wrong!

I asked my sister to buy me a dwarf Alberta spruce for my birthday a few years ago, to brighten up my yard with greenery in the winter... this is it.

Today is an inside day, except Norm is out snow-blowing with our tractor. We named it Bob - I say Big... Norm says Baby... Orange (we agree on that) - I say Beast Norm says Brute or Boy... we bought it from Bob's widow, our neighbour, and it always reminds us of Bob, who passed away last spring and used to plow us out every winter.

I have assumed the position and plan to remain here much of the day!

AWESOME Kale and Quinoa Salad!!!

I had my parents over for dinner tonight and did a chicken marbella (only with turkey instead of chicken), rice, and this salad... which I halved except for the dressing (and I used almond butter, because I've never heard of pumpkin seed  butter) but otherwise I followed the recipe to a T (oh, I didn't have apple cider so I used homemade apple juice) and it was really excellent!!! Here it is, copied from Chatelaine's website at this address:

http://www.chatelaine.com/en/article/31974--five-reasons-to-include-kale-in-your-thanksgiving-menu

Five reasons to include kale in your Thanksgiving menu

Find out why kale is one of the healthiest foods on the planet. This kale harvest salad with cranberries and pumpkin seeds is a perfect side for Thanksgiving

• By Julie Daniluk, R.H.N. Mon Oct 03 2011

• 
  

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Photo credit: Getty Images

It's got a lot of competition, but kale is one of the healthiest foods available. Just one piece of evidence: a new rating system called the Andi scale rates the density of nutrients per calorie. The scale is ranked zero to 1000 and kale takes the top spot because this leafy green delivers the most nutrients for only 36 calories a cup.


Until recently, we thought about nutrition as vitamin A through zinc, but it turns out that the consumption of a variety of phytochemicals (such as indole-3-carbinol, found in cabbage) helps our bodies to detox and repair, protecting us from disease. That and these five other reasons are why you should pick up some of this in-season veggie during your next trip to the market:


1. Kale prevents inflammation and builds healthy bones:Kale is high in vitamin K, which is important for bone mineral density and osteoporosis prevention. A lack of vitamin K in the diet can also contribute to excessive inflammation in the body, leading to joint pain and symptoms of arthritis.


2. Improve your skin with kale: Vitamin A, found in kale, helps treat and prevent acne because of its anti-inflammatory effects. The retinoids in vitamin A prevent the inflammation of acne and reduce the overproduction of oil in the skin. One cup of kale contains over 100 percent of your required daily intake of vitamin A.


3. Choose kale to prevent gout and kidney stones: Kale is a good source of vitamin C, which prevents the buildup of uric acid in our systems. This acid buildup can deposit in our kidneys and joints and possibly lead to the development of goutand kidney stones.


4. Kale is high in soluble fibre: Soluble fibres are great at binding the bile acids and lipids in our intestine that are used to create cholesterol in our system. This lowers the amount of cholesterol in our systems and can lower our overall risk of heart disease.


5. Kale may help prevent some cancers: Kale contains compounds that play a role in a reduction of the risk of bladder, breast, colon, ovary and prostate cancer by inhibiting the growth of tumors.

Thanksgiving kale saladThe cranberries and pumpkin seeds in this dish will brighten up any Thanksgiving table. The sterols and zinc in the pumpkin seeds help your immune system for the cold winter ahead. The earthy sweetness of the kale is set off nicely by the nutty flavour of the quinoa. I use both red and white quinoa for a nice colour variation.


Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa (yields 4 cooked cups)
2 1/2 cups water, divided
8 cups kale (yields 4 steamed cups), stems removed, cut into ribbons
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup dried cranberries (juice-sweetened)


Dressing:
1/4 cup pumpkin seed butter (use almond butter if you can’t find pumpkin)
1/4 cup apple cider
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 tsp salt (reduce if needed)

Directions:


1. Place quinoa and 1.5 cups of water into a medium pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, then simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat for five minutes, then fluff with a fork. Let cool.


2. Place kale and 1 cup water in a large pot and steam for two minutes. Drain well.


3. Place cooked qunioa into kale pot. Add seeds and berries. Mix well to combine.


4. Mix all dressing ingredients together in a bowl and add to pot.


5. Combine well. Serve warm immediately or chill and serve.


Makes nine cups.

Bathroom Renovation Plans

I love to have a bath... I take a book and pour out some of my favourite bubble bath and spend an hour just soaking. Unfortunately, the house we've been living in for almost 7 years has a tiny tub and I really don't fit. I know this is a little TMI, but this is how I stretch out (and no, I won't be taking my iPhone in the tub any more, the Telus kiosk guy told me that it can get condensation even in the Ziploc baggie, sheesh... how am I supposed to read my Kobo i-books in the tub now?). 

So we've decided to renovate the bathroom this year, since the kitchen reno went so amazingly well last year. The original goal was to install our beautiful claw foot tub that we bought from the folks down the road, but we were going to lose too much linen closet, plus there's a vaulted ceiling in the bathroom so hanging the shower curtain surround rod for the clawfoot would have been difficult, plus we'd have to tile the walls all around the tub, plus we're getting older and it's a big step in, and neither of us like the shower curtains wrapping around our legs as we shower (does anyone?). So, we decided to buy this tub shower instead, and install glass doors. It's the same length as our current tub, but quite a bit deeper, so I should be able to cover most of myself with water when I soak!

I want to use this needle point that my mom made and gave me for Christmas a couple of years ago as my color palette.

The flooring, I'm thinking will be green slate tiles. I like the slightly rough, or riven, look but I think it would just capture the dirt, so I'm thinking of this look, probably with a darker grout so the mildew won't show (if I ever let it get away from me... but I can't see that happening).

Today I found this photo online, of a marble bowl with the matching vanity counter top. I love the look, and want it! Our vanity cabinetry is oak, and fine, but I'm looking for a change on top.

This is what our bathroom looks like now.

Any suggestions, comments and ideas are welcome!!