COWS!!!

Cows!  I just love cows!  I think they're beautiful animals.  I love their wet noses, big eyelashes, their awkward bodies and knobby  knees, and I love the way they sound when they moo!  I think I will need to have at least one piece of cow art in my new home.  Here are some wonderful cow creations I found while cruising the internet.

Jenny the Cow by ArtPaperGarden on Etsy.

Cow painting by RozArt on Etsy.

Bloooooooo by Elizabeth St. Hilaire Nelson.

Grass Breath by Debbi Lincoln Morgan Mill.

Funny Cow Blue by Marcia Baldwin.

Curious Cow by Chris Chalk

Yummy Homemade Whole Wheat Bread

I baked some very yummy bread today and thought I would share the recipe with everyone.

Whole Wheat Bread:

Ingredients:
2 1/2 tsp yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 cup warmish water (not burning hot, but warm)
1/4 cup pure 100% maple syrup
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 soy, rice milk, or almond milk
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup gluten flour
2 1/2 - 3 cups whole wheat flour

Instructions: 
1.  Mix yeast, sugar, and warm water together and set aside for about 10 mins or until the yeast is done growing.

2.  In a separate bowl combine gluten flour, salt, and 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour.

3.  Once the yeast is done growing, add maple syrup, oil, and milk.  Pour into bowl of flour and start mixing.

4.  When it's nice a tacky start kneading the dough with your hands until it's all mixed together.  If it's still too sticky add a little extra flour (no more then 1/2 cup).

5.  Knead dough for a few minutes until it's nice and firm.

6.  In a large oiled bowl, roll dough around until it's completely covered.  Cover with a kitchen towel and set aside somewhere warm.  Let rise 1 hour.

7.  After letting it rise for an hour, knead dough again for 1-2 minutes.  Shape dough to fit into a lightly oiled bread pan.  Cover again and let it rise another hour.

8.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees, bake bread for 45-60min.

9.  Once bread is done baking, remove from oven and let it cool before trying to slice it. (I'm usually too impatient to let it cool, plus I like fresh WARM bread).

I hope those instructions make sense.  If you have any questions, just ask.

I didn't have time to bake my bread before I went out so once it was in the bread pan, I put it in the fridge and let it rise for about 4-5 hours.  When I got home, it was done rising and ready to be baked.

Tired of the usual berry jam on your toast?  Try this yummy MANGO jam I found in our local health food store.  It has a more subtle fruity flavor and sweet, but not nearly as sugary as most jams tend to be.

Ikea Makeovers

Ok, ok, I know I said I wasn't feeling motivated to write about arts, crafts, and DIY projects but I've been staring at our entertainment unit all night trying to think of how I can change it.  We have a Besta Ikea t.v. unit similar to the one below:

Ours has shelves on the bottom and is tan, not white (I didn't want to take a picture of ours because I don't want everyone to see how messy it is right now).  Anyway, eventually we'll have to buy a different t.v. bench when we buy a bigger t.v.   I don't want to get rid of the one we have now but I'm not exactly sure what to do with it.  I was thinking of trying to turn it into a small pantry for our kitchen.  While searching the internet for ideas I came across a few fun ikea furniture makeovers.

This cute stepping stool was found on Design Sponge.

This t.v. bench was found on Ikea Hacker.

This creative cabinet was found on Style Files.

Thomas, What a Beautiful Boy

The other day while walking back from the store my husband and I were stopped by a lady asking if we recognized a young dog that was walking with her.  She said he had been following them but wasn't sure who he belonged to.  The women was walking with her baby and her dog so she wasn't able to catch the teenage puppy and try to find his home.  Sean and I couldn't leave the dog there.  What if he was hit by a car or wandered far enough away that got lost in the woods and attacked by a bear or cougar (we have lots of those around here).  So we decided that we would take the dog and find it's home.  We went around the neighborhood knocking on every door until we found his home.  I have to say, the young owner (18 or 19 yrs old?) didn't seem too concerned that his dog was wandering around.  He was such a beautiful dog I can't imagine how anyone could let such a sweet boy out of their sight.

(I think I'll name him Thomas)

A Little Less Arts, Crafts, and DIY Projects

You may have noticed I haven't been posting very much lately.  Since I decided to wait until we're moved into our new home to start any new craft/DIY projects I haven't been very motivated to talk or even think about them.  I decided to wait because we don't have room in our current home for a table for me to work at and sitting on the floor gets quite uncomfortable after a while.  So since I've started to slowly pack up our things I decided to pack my art supplies first. 
I will be posting more in the next little while but my posts may not include very much about arts, crafts, and DIY projects.

Away on Holidays

I've been away on holidays so I apologize for not posting anything for so long.  My husband had taken a road trip with his buddies to Bishop, California for two weeks to rock climb.  So while he was away I decided to fly across Canada to Nova Scotia to visit my parents.  I think I'm one of the lucky few who can say my parents are my best friends so spending time with them is a great way to spend my holidays.  When my time in Nova Scotia was up, they flew back with me to BC to spend some time in Whistler with me and to visit some old friends.  Here are just a few pictures from our trip.

 This picture of a black bear we saw in Whistler, BC was taken by my Dad, Don McCabe.

My Mom and I on PEI.

A dandelion covered field on PEI.

 

My Mom and I next to Cheakamus River just behind my new neighborhood.

 And of course, my wonderful Dad about to take our picture.