It's just a mug

Really that's all it is, a mug, a chipped mug, used to drink the usual cuppa coffee, tea, hot chocolate, water and such. It's not so good in the microwave..the handle gets too hot..so why am I having such a hard time getting rid of it??

Well my sister painted this for me, gave it to me for my birthday, not sure which birthday, it's probably about 15 years old now. I love the shape, I love the flowers, but most of all I love my sister. Not so unusual, most of us love our siblings, very much, I'm no different. But..back when we both smoked, we used to spend quite some time drinking coffee, smoking, gabbing, years ago...

At some point during this time she painted the mug.

My sister quit smoking way before I ever did but we continued to drink coffee, I would smoke, we would gab, she might sneak a drag...

Then I moved away...then she moved away... but I had the mug. I would smoke, drink coffee in the mug and think about all the lovely times we had...that mug got me through some tough times...

I quit smoking, 4 years ago on Dec 15th...I still drink coffee from the mug...I can not get rid of it, I love it chips and all...

It's so cold

Brrrr.....

It's very cold on the West Coast maybe not so cold for other parts of Canada but for us? Yup, it's cold, hovering at 0 during the day and down to -6 at night.

My poor chickens..we came home from the diner the other day to a frozen egg.

But although it's not too cold for them I still feed bad so each morning I make them some oatmeal cooked in milk to warm up their tummies.

Don't even say it...I know...what I sucker I am!

Pear mincemeat tarts

Art and I are busy cleaning up the diner and in one of the deep freezers we found a big box of unbaked frozen tart shells. I was going to throw them out because I'm not sure how old they are but before doing that I wanted to test one out. I won't use them for the public but if there is nothing wrong with them I'll use them at home. I baked them with the pear mincemeat I made a few months ago and the tart turned out very well and the mincemeat is very tasty. I nice blend of spice and crunch and not too sweet.

Very tasty but a bit too big..I'll keep the tart shells but I'll make quiches instead.

Feeling like a hypocrite!

So...I'm opening up a diner...HMMMM!! Exciting? Yes. A good idea? Maybe. Good for my community? Not so much. Staying true to my beliefs? Not at all.



What do I mean? For a long time I've worked towards simplifying, being self reliant and being kind to this Earth we all call home. It's always been my dream ... homesteading! Well the dream was alive and well when I had a paycheck every two weeks. I assumed the company I worked for practiced it's business in an ethical way. I guess I just thought about the way I wanted to live my life and not so much about the company I worked for. But now the buck starts and stops with me. Will I conduct my business in an ethical and moral way? Will I do anything to make a dollar?


I'm asking myself how a diner with not very healthy food is going to work? How am I going to feel good about it all? The health regulations don't easily allow for cloth hand towels, I hate single use anything....Paper napkins and placemats, take out containers...


Bleach and other chemical sanitizers are encouraged..vinegar, lemon juice and baking soda are virtually unknown.


On a positive note - I have decided to try and use local food where I can, not easy during winter, but I will try. And I will try my hardest to shop locally rather than having a National food supplier deliver to my door in an effort to keep my neighbours employed. The local butcher, fish monger, bakery and grocery store will supply my food and miscellaneous supplies. It won't be easy, it will definitely take more time, and it might turn into a logistical nightmare but I'm giving it a shot.


Food waste will be go to my chickens, my neighbours pigs and I will compost whatever I can.

Tomorrow I'll be visiting my local farmer's market..I heard there is a seller who is certified to sell her home made jams made from her homegrown fruit and I want to source out some locally baked sourdough bread, I heard it's also very good. Well wish me luck!!!

Very frugal dinner

While I was employed I committed to volunteer at my church once a month. Which does not seem like much but now that I'm no longer employed and venturing into self employment I find that I have very little spare time. My diner is not open yet but I'm really bogged down with health and building inspection details, elbow deep in paint and I'm so tired by the end of the day...that an evening volunteering at out parish bingo seemed, well very daunting, none the less I made a commitment and stick to it I will.

But..we still have to eat so here is my dinner tonight: sliced pork tender loin with mushrooms, peas and corn in a wine garlic sauce tossed with homemade whole wheat pasta...Not bad for a quickie dinner when tired...and it's very cheap to.

Truth is...leftover pork, veggies and gravy from the night before and I used fresh pasta I had in the fridge from last week. I just love the "cook once, eat twice" idea.

Around the neighbourhood

The West Coast of B.C., also knows as the wet coast, has experienced one of the wettest Novembers in history. I think we had 25 or 26 rainy days out of 30, dismal...through it all my husband walked Seiko, our dog, in the morning, and I walked him in the afternoon, although not very enthusiastically. But finally the weather broke and we have sun, glorious sun...

Sunset Park with the sun streaming in. The picture is very dark but I'm not much of a photographer...

See Winchester the lama on the right hand side? I usually run into him when his mom walks him in the afternoon.

Looking Northwest towards Vancouver Island as I left Sunset Park.

And again looking Northwest at Harwood in the forefront and Vancouver Island behind it.

In the back lanes of Vancouver

We found this gem.

With three other pieces, a vanity with no mirror, a small desk and another dresser. All old, all hard wood, even the bottom of the drawer and the back of the dresser is hard wood, no pressed board and all free. Very cool and so lucky we drove by at just the right moment.

Painting and cleaning still continues on the diner but it's coming together.