Archive for December, 2008
Best Family Food of 2008
I love to eat great food. My mother, brother and father all duked it out over time in the kitchen when I was a kid. So, I enjoyed being out of the mix, eating rather than creating.
(there’s a pattern surfacing here. My parents suspected I came out of the womb a career girl)
But, as usual, [...]
The Best of A Crafty 2008
I never really thought of myself as a crafty sort of gal. Seriously, I have long lived with the crafty curse, trying many a Martha-centric project and failing in expensive, ugly sorts of ways.
I very much admit that my mom got the short end of the stick when it came to these sorts of projects [...]
Tita’s Warmth is Culinary Sunshine
As we move into the season of cold and darkness – and there may be a few extra bucks slotted for mom/dad dinners found tucked away in holiday cards recently – it’s time for the parents to find someone to watch the young people and head out for an evening on their own in pursuit [...]
Mommy Talk – Cure Post-Holiday Blues
It hit me about 9 a.m. yesterday morning – Christmas is over. All the wind up, the preparation, the crazies (which I could have totally lived without) and sugar rushes are now just a memory and, whew – I feel a little low.
While we kept it all pretty darn modest this year – no big [...]
Paper or Plastic? Cloth Bags are the Only Eco Option
Editor’s Note: 2009 in the Comox Valley is, when it comes to basic steps for greening your daily lives, poised to be the year of the reusable bag.
As the Comox Valley Chamber continues to gear up with its bag-less Comox Valley initiative (local businesses are being asked to only offer reusable bag options starting this [...]
Be Merry!
Love and peace to all of you this holiday season and in 2009.
May your lives be full of the beautiful, the creative, the warmth and the community that makes each day sweet.
Happy Holidays,
Robin, Ken and the crew here at Our Big Earth
Prontissima Pasta – A Taste of Italy in the Valley
Life is a combination of magic and pasta…
…these famous words of Italian film maker Fellini have come to life in our little slice of paradise. From their home-based commercial kitchen on Courtenay’s Fifth Street, Prontissima Pasta owners Sarah and Wally Walsh have seen their year-old business flourish so much that they’re in production four days [...]
Guest Craft Tutorial – Stamping 101
Editor’s Note: I am taking a few days off here so we’ve got a couple of guest writers this week including energetic Stampin’ Up demonstrator Susan Spyker who is here today to give us all a lesson in how to fine tune our stamping skills.
This tutorial on how to get a perfect stamp every time [...]
Mom-P-Inc. – Pam Watson of Planet Kids
Motherhood, it changes you.
While there’s a whole list that involves sagging and wrinkled, exhausted and emotional that can be wrapped in there, for many women becoming a Mom takes life to a whole other level.
It brings out our genuine loves, forces them into places creatively and personally that reveal talents and ingenuity unrealized until that [...]
Book Review – Winter Tales of Survival & Hope
Ken was horrified that I’d brought a book like this home from the library. While I went for what was shaping up to be a long visit to the midwife on Tuesday, he and the tiny person broke into the latest stack of books and CDs that had come home with us from the library [...]
Friendship is Key to Managing Stress in Pregnancy
Editor’s Note: I have the most wonderful friends. Seriously, I couldn’t ask for better. They have enormous hearts and are entirely some of the most generous women I have ever known.
But, when I need them the most (ah, it’s the Cancer crab in me…or some serious issues, I’m sticking with astrology) in times of [...]
Nature Journal – Winter Tracks
Up earlier than anyone in the house this morning, the tiny person sprinted to the window, wrenched on the blinds and gasped that stunning “Oh my goodness” moment when she realized that yesterday’s snow hadn’t washed away.
Nearly impossible since we got nearly a foot – with a bit more on the way I’m told – [...]
Movie Adventures & Family Flick Favourites
I am more than a bit under the weather today, reluctantly submitting to at least a few days of bed rest as while the tiny person in my belly seems to be A-OK, my body is struggling a bit through this part of pregnancy.
Being mostly couch bound is not really my speed. But, when the [...]
Holiday Craft Tutorial – Homemade Wrapping Paper
It wasn’t an uncommon site – back in the day – for the moms in our lives to lock themselves in a back bedroom one December afternoon. I thought it was some sort of magic, how they went in and came out a few hours later rather refreshed (6 hours of peace and quiet will [...]
Snow Sled Walks in the Comox Valley
Every day, it’s the same question: “Mommy, when is it going to snow? Santa won’t come if it never snows.”
While I’m sure kids in warmer climates would definitely debate the merits of her theory, our daughter could not help but find herself bundled up and ready to hit the hills the last couple of days [...]
Holiday Traditions – Handmade Christmas Crackers
Since I was a little girl, I’ve had this picture in my head of the perfect way to make everyone in the family – wherever they are – smile at the same time and think of each other.
Maybe I did myself in early with grand visions of a Norman Rockwell holiday where everyone – for [...]
Milk…Does It Really Do A Child’s Body Good?
As an adult, I have fond childhood memories of evening dinners with my family that included good conversation, a home cooked meal and a tall glass of ice cold milk to wash it all down. Milk was a staple in our house, as it was in many others. I remember a neighbor telling [...]
Nature Journal – Winter Bird Feeding Walks
I saw the light in her face the first time our daughter and a chickadee made eye contact – and it was pure magic.
We’d walked the Lazo Marsh loop what seemed like a thousand times before then – through a Summer of sunshine and a mild Fall. But, the birds hadn’t made their debut until [...]
A Holiday Feast Filled with Local Food
It seems that each year the pre-holiday craziness sets in earlier, our wish-lists get longer and our expectations get higher. Add the task of preparing a tasty designer dinner and it’s downright daunting.
We’re so incredibly lucky to be living in the Comox Valley as it allows us access to fresh, local produce and specialty foods [...]
Holiday Craft Tutorial – Cookie Cutter Gift Tags
The last couple of years, as I spend more time with folks like the David Suzuki Foundation and learn from folks like the Comox Valley Regional District, I find myself a wee bit overwhelmed at the things that AREN’T recyclable during the holidays.
One thing that I never even thought about was gift tags. In fact, [...]
Establishing A Homeschool Co-Op
Homeschooling parents are the primary educators of their children and with this comes the responsibility and challenge of making learning fun while covering all academic subjects.
It can be overwhelming at times to say the least! That’s where co-ops come in.
They are groups of like-minded moms coming together with one common goal of creating great learning [...]
Holiday Gems for the Heart (& The Kitchen)
I like to think of our family as a crew of non-traditional traditionalists.
We love Christmas and birthdays, presents and sweets. But, in ways that present the age-old traditions of those times with a classic sense of heart, not necessarily a classic point of view.
After falling hard for Eve Bunting’s holiday gem The Night Tree this [...]
A Garden Full of Family Holiday Creations
With Christmas just around the corner I am starting to scramble…
WHAT am I going to get everyone this year? Ideally, each year my children and I will create a beautiful, crafty tree ornament. Two years ago we made playdoh angels. Last year is a bit of a blur.
Now it is that time again… But coming [...]
Buy British Columbia at Courtenay’s Newest Grocer
We interrupt regularly scheduled programming today for a couple of reasons. This week, when I took a look at what was on deck for our Nature Journal, the calendar read something that we have yet to witness this year – ice.
You will not get even an ounce of whining from this direction about one of [...]
Homemade Holiday Treats – Baklava
It was my childhood Winter wonderland – this magical place where all things flour and powdered sugar, pecan tart and almond brittle converged and I knew I had caught a glimpse of perfection.
To the average person, that place looked like my grandmother’s basement. But, to me, with it packed – literally – from floor to [...]
Holiday Tutorial – Card Making with Kids
There once was a little girl who so wanted to make her own holiday cards. Her mom, relatively junior in the crafty universe, yet fussy nonetheless, had personal issues about it all.
Preschool cards are messy and generally not so pretty in a traditional, big person sort of designer style way. They require a fair bit [...]
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