The Balcony Project

As we start the hunt for a bigger place (our place is too cluttered and we really need a yard for the dog), I've been thinking up ways to make our balcony more liveable.

Last spring/summer our building was undergoing construction, which meant we didn't have access to our balcony from early in May until sometime in September.

It also meant I had to be more careful about lounging around in my bath robe since construction workers could pop up on their platform at any time.

I finally got around to getting rid of the box of empties that we store on our balcony and I swept up the debris left over from the fall. 

I want a place we can entertain or sit with a good book and feel more outside. 

I came across this picture on Pinterest and wanted to recreate something like this.

If I could afford to spring for some new furniture I'd look into this storage bench from Pottery Barn.

Here's what I've done with the balcony so far.

I moved one of our shelving units outside (which uncluttered our living room area a bit) and plan to use it to show off some plants. I'm thinking a herb garden and maybe a few flowers. We had lots of dogwood left over from our wreath decorating party in December so I used what was left to decorate the side of the shelf.

Expect more updates as this project moves along!

Last Minute Christmas Printables (and ice storm 2013 pictures)

It's Christmas Eve!

Our beautiful city was pummelled by an ice storm over the weekend and many people are still without power (including my parents).

We've been lucky and haven't been without power & heat but my parent's have been wrapping themselves in blankets upon blankets to stay warm since Sunday morning. 

I finally convinced my mom to come over yesterday for a shower and dinner but I haven't been able to talk them into sleeping here yet. 

Hopefully tonight.

Freezing rain and high winds caused a lot of trees to snap and pull down power lines all across the city. Roads and walkways were turned into skating rinks seemingly overnight.

Driving home on Sunday morning we saw a lot of the damage first hand:

This is the dog park we frequent. John took the dog but wisely didn't stay long as the trees were making ominous creaking noises and the possibility of having large branches come crashing down was too great.

This was a common sight on the roads.

But despite the destruction and danger, the ice has actually been quite pretty. 

I snapped this picture of John last night on our walk back to the apartment.

As a result of the lack of power we're switching up our Christmas Eve tradition this year (also cause my dad is working) which, as a big fan of traditions, I find really sucks. But I'm sure tonight will still be as magical as every other year.

Christmas Eve is hands down my favourite day of the year. 

Hopefully everyone is finished their shopping.

If you're struggling for some last minute gifts you could whip up some bacon jam, knit mittens (that post to come), or bake a batch of Christmas cookies (with Bailey's icing on those snowflakes)

And if you're wrapping up your gifts, why not print out and use these adorable rustic gift tags? I've been using the gift tag templates found HERE or you could use the tags found  HERE

If you're throwing a party why not make some props for people to take photos with?

Simply save and print this image to size, cut out and attach to sticks.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE EVERYONE! 

Winter Wonderland

 

This week I've had a lot of time off which has been wonderful.

It means long walks in the park with the pup every morning which has given me a greater appreciation of quiet mornings spent surrounded by nature.

 

Last week during the cold snap we had I was lucky enough to snap this picture on my phone of Reese enjoying the snow.

As cold as it was it was hard to be upset when it looked that beautiful outside.

 

I also put the finishing touches on John's Advent jar (minus one gift that I'll need to pick up still). It's been a trial in patience not eating any of his Lindt or Terry's chocolate orange chocolates.

 I used tickets I bought from the dollar store for the Bad Christmas Sweater fundraiser raffle two years ago. On them I stuck numbers from a bunch of sheets I had (I used a lot of the letters but thankfully had almost all of the numbers I needed left). Then I stapled them to the chocolates or taped them onto the gifts and left them for John to take.

 

I also had some time to bake up a batch of sugar cookies and a batch of gingerbread cookies. There's more dough in the freezer just waiting for the next time I want cookies.

 

 

The gingerbread batch turned out phenomenal - easily the best batch I've made. No cracks in the dough, perfect colour, and that lovely taste of molasses.

I used the Martha Stewart recipe from her Cookies book which can be found here.

 

Tonight John and I are hitting the Christmas Market in the Distillery District (and going to see the Nutcracker on the 28th!). Aside from missing the Cavalcade of Lights (I was working, maybe next year) I will have done everything on my Christmas To Do list.

 

And Saturday we're putting up the tree!

 

 

Adventure Afternoon: The Warsaw Caves

If you ever find yourself in the Peterborough area of Ontario, I highly recommend checking out the Warsaw Caves Conservation Area.

(website with much more information can be found here)

 

After visiting with some friends (and an unfortunately unsuccessful hunting trip in the morning for the boys), we headed to the caves to check them out.

There are 7 in total (on the map, the boys found and explored more unmapped ones) and many of them connect so you can go down into Cave 1 and come out of Cave 3.

 

The park is beautiful, the ground covered with these giants stones out of which grow massive trees.

 

 

 

Some of the openings are so tight you wonder how a person could possibly squeeze through.

But after sending in our guinea pig (John) we followed him into the dark and squeezed our way through the cold rocks into every single cave.

 

At times we could walk, but more often than not we found ourselves crawling on our hands and knees or flat on our stomachs to wiggle through very narrow openings.

 

For someone who isn't crazy about the dark, nor small spaces where an exit isn't always readily visible, the experience was amazing.

 

I had so much fun, I'd recommend it to anyone.

 

Plus I didn't see a single bat or animal and only saw 2 somewhat large spiders (who minded their own business and didn't try to attack me as I feared they would).

 

After exploring the dark caves we walked down to the water and took in the scenery. The boys attempted to find new caves (I was content to stick to the ones that were on the map) and climbed up onto some of the larger rocks.

 

Highly recommended.

The park is open for camping, canoeing, hiking, picnics, fishing and swimming as well so I may be back next summer to check out the other activities.

 

Toronto Wine & Spirits Festival

After our trip to Baldwin Street Burger several Saturdays ago, John and I made a stop at a Portugese bakery for a half dozen delicious lemon custard tarts called natas and then we made our way home to get ready for the Toronto Wine & Spirits Festival.

 

 

This was my first time attending but it certainly won't be my last.

The event was held at Sugar Beach, a man made beach with white sand right by Lake Ontario and with a great view of the city.

 

 

Upon entrance you get your wristband, a sample cup, and 5 tickets to use for sampling. Some were 1 ticket and some were 2. We didn't venture to try anything more than 2 tickets.

Availble to sample were a ton of wines, ciders, beer,  a scotch & cigar lounge, ribs and prawns, cesaers and vodkas, there was free applewood smoked cheddar and parmesan cheeses, and live entertainment.

 

John and I used some of our last tickets to try bone marrow croquettes.

I was excited to try a new food but I was told that the bone marrow was incorporated into the bread so I couldn't make out it's flavour.

 

This event runs for a weekend and it is well worth checking out the next time it comes around.

Be smart and buy your tickets early! You save almost $10 - ten extra bucks which can be spent on more sample tickets!

 

Kilimanjaro: Day 6 - Mweka to the Finish

Sunday Feb. 10, 2013

Springlands Hotel, Moshi

 

Sleeping in until 7 am was a luxury. I slept literally until David knocked on our tent and brought us hot water. Breakfast was the standard except the ouji was a bit grainer and paler - but I still devoured it. We packed up our stuff and then the porters came together and sang 2 Kili songs for us. We got to shake hands with them but most of us went in for big hugs with lots of asante sanas.

 

 

Then we walked for about 3 hours to the end of the path where the buses were waiting. Along the way we saw black & white collubus monkeys (though hard to see very well because most of them were hiding in the trees) and blue monkeys. It made the trip feel complete.

 

We were very fortunate to have had good weather (a Swiss guy at dinner one night back at the hotel had told us he summited in a blizzard), to have all summited, and to have had such good people with us.

 

Back at the hotel we had time to shower (the most glorious shower I may have ever had), do a bit of laundry in the sink, and then to have lunch and some celebratory drinks. Haji, Nuru and Norbert came back to present us with out certificates and then a few of us cabbed into downtown Moshi to use the ATM. After tipping our guides and porters they left, and we continued to drink and reminisce until about 10 pm.

Now I'm in a king sized bed, very excited to fall asleep.

 

Things I would pass on to other Kili climbers:

 

1. Wear lots of layers. The temperature can change from wet snow to hot sun in about 30 mins.

2. Hiking poles saved our lives on slippery rocks many times - have them.

3. Get a perscription for diamox (acetazolamide). 3 of our 8 didn't take it and only one of those 3 didn't have horrible altitiude sickness. Everyone felt pretty awful at the top but I'm convinced the diamox is what kept me from feeling fine.

4. A lot of it is mind over matter. Yes, you will feel exhausted. Yes, sometimes you feel like you've reached your limit. But you haven't. When you stop and look around you and see the incredible views you're priveledged to, you realize the entire thing is worth it.

5. Be friendly. Your group are the people who get you to the top. Cheer them on and they will push for you to succeed too.

6. Respect and appreciate the porters. They will blow you away. They go twice your pace with no poles, often not really appropriate gear or clothing, and they carry 15-20 kg while they do it. They work hard for very little money. Say hello, learn their names.

7. Bring lots of meds. I almost single handedly supplied our group with ibuprofen. It is a must. You will likely get at least one headache. Bring imodium (I had the opposite problem but if you've got diarrhea you won't want to scramble up the Barranco wall), gravol, tylenol, tums (especially if you like to put hot sauce on everything like I do), etc.

8. Drink lots of water. The Swahili word for water is 'maji' and it is like magic.

9. Bring energy bars and snacks like trail mix. Our trail mix went over well with our guides. We also had candy and chocolate and people were always happy to see both of those things.

10. Bring good sunscreen and PROTECT YOUR LIPS. Half of us have very chapped lips from the sun or wind or both. It's painful. I've been rubbing everything on them to try and heal them faster.

 

And lastly - Enjoy every single moment. At times it felt like we'd never get to our destination (many, many times actually) but summiting is a blur and before you know it you're getting on a bus to come back to the hotel. Enjoy the views, the stars, the uncomfortable sleeps, the weird malaria pill dreams (I only had one), the amount of oxygen you realize you can take in at the lower altitudes, everything.

 

P.S. Bring things you can trade at the finish gate. I traded a flashlight for the two bracelets. But the winner was one of our group members who traded her bracelet for a beer!

 

 

 

Kilimanjaro: Day 5: Barafu to Uhuru Peak to Mweka

Sat Feb 9th, 2013

Barafu Camp (4600 m)

 

So.

We were woken up at 12 am and got ourselves ready before heading to the mess tent for ouji and cookies and tea/coffee/milo. We got out water and then we were off! 5-ish hours walking uphill at a slow pace in the cold. It was incredible when we first started because we could see the line of headlights leading up the mountain. The stars were absolutely awe inspiring. Once we got high enough we could see the entire city of oshi lit up. Such a crazy view. We took our breaks, we passed other groups (I got rudely spoken to by another climber for passing him even though my guide was physically pushing me), and we sang songs and made small talk. I tried to keep myself from thinking about how much further we had to walk by writing this entry in my head and thinking about what I would do when I got home (answer: take a hot bath and stay in it until the water goes cold, buy and eat an entire footlong sub). We saw two people being brought back down the mountain and we saw several people sitting to the side puking their little hearts out. One from our group threw up his breakfast. For the most part no one else really complained about the altitude - escept one or two (including John) who felt light headed, and one who felt tight chested. I popped an advil before we left and I didn't even have a glimmer of a headache/

 

 

After walking for 5 hours, the sun began to rise. Never have I seen a more beautiful sunrise in my entire life. From up that high it seemed almost magical.

 

We finally made it to Stella Point and that sign was a welcome sight after such a grueling walk. I thought to myself that this was what exhaustion felt like.

 

We finished watching the sun come up, switched off our headlmaps, and took a few pictures. Then we walked for about 45 mins around the edge of the crater to the summit. Beside us was the most beautiful and impressive glacier I've ever seen. Also the only glacier I've ever seen but I doubt many could top it. Walking to Uhuru Peak I started out with a burst of excited energy but before long I was walking 'pole pole' for no other reason than I was exhausted.

 

 

 

 Finally reaching the summit was an incredible feeling. Even more incredible was that all 8 of our group made it to the sumit. We got some nice group photos.

 

 

I was starving so I sat down and ate a granola bar. No one ese had any appetite. I obviously have reverse mountain sickness. Once we got our pictures and hugged our guides, we made our way back down - which took about 3 hours from summit to the camp.

 

At the top I had on 3 pairs of pants, 2 gloves and hand warmers, and 7 layers of shirts and jackets. By the time we got back to Barafu I was ready to strip down to my underwear. We essentially slid down a sandy, rocky hill for about an hour, then carefully picked our way down through rocks. Finally getting back to camp was an amazing feeling. We lay down for a nap then packed up. We have lunch then we will walk again for awhile to our last camp for dinner. Where I will sleep like a baby.

Such a tiring day but so rewarding. Haji told me at the summit, "so piece of cake, right? (I said no) I know, but if I told you how hard it was none of you would have gotten out of your tents."

8:00 pm

Mweka Camp (3100 m)

So we walked another 18 km to our final camp. That's crazy. We walked 40 km today. Haji said that to the summit and back was about 22 km. Insane! As we left barafu it started to snow and it snowed for about the first hour of our 5 hour walk.

 

Then it turned to rain, then it let up and we had some sunshine. The walk was all downhill but it was hard on our knees and feet and toes, especially after coming back down from 5895 m to around 4600 m. We talked a lot about our experience getting to the summit - a lot of people had hallucinations, would never do it again, etc. Personally, I don't think I'd ever do it again but I'm SO glad I did it. It was incredibly tough and easily the hardest, most challenging thing I've done. But it was also the most amazing. I'm so proud of myself for reaching the summit. I'm proud of our group for all getting there. And I'm proud of John for getting to the top.

The world's highest free standing mountain!

Then we hiked another 18 km down rocky trails on only a few hours nap (about 30 mins for me). I bathed my feet when I got here. Then we had crepes and potato/vegetable soup, rice with chicken and sauce and mango and bananas. It felt so nice to sit and eat and drink hot tea. Right now I'm in my sleeping bag, ready for a looooong sleep tonight. Shane negotiated with Haji and got us an extra hour of sleep in the morning. Wake up call at 7 am!

We're back down at a low altitude so everyone's in good spirits. Tomorrow after breakfast we walk for about 3 hours to the bus that will bring us back to the hotel. I'm sad that this adventure is coming to an end but I can't wait to take a shower and sleep on a mattress again. Plus - next up is the safari!

 

 

Kilimanjaro: Day 4 - Barranco to Barafu

Feb. 8th, 2013         5:15 pm

Barafu Camp (4600 m)

We're at base camp after a solid day of hiking 16 km uphill, downhill, and back up again. We woke up at 6, had our standard breakfast, then hit the road around 8. Climbing the Barranco Wall was...crazy.

I started out absolutely freezing and in no time I had warmed up. Parts of the wall required us to put away our poles and scramble up and across rocks. It was fun so long as you didn't look down.

(that's me with the yellow backpack)

Once we got up we went back down into a small valley, then back up out of it, and then back down into an even bigger valley and then up out of it! At the top we could see the tents at Karanga camp where we were having lunch.

(Looking ahead at the path we'd be following - this was only the small valley)

This lunch...we all cheered when it came in and we finally asked to meet the chef (Hans) to thank him. We had chicken, french fries, and coleslaw after potato ginger soup and bread. After lunch we walked another 3 hours to Barafu. The clouds came in overtop of us so in the span of about 30 minutes we went from hot and sunny weather to misty rain, to sleet and ice pellets. When we got to our tents we were cold and wet but now it's beautiful and sunny again. From Karanga to Barafu the landscape changed from alpine desert to... there's no name for it but it was all shale. It looked like someone had built stone houses then smashed them to bits.

(John capturing a photo opportunity and me capturing a photo of that photo)

I had a bit of a headache but I popped an ibuprofen and it's starting to go down. We're eating dinner now (leek soup with french toast, and spaghetti with vegetable sauce), then we sleep til 12, get woken up and push for the summit at 1 am!