3rd storey story.

 Abbey has been harassing me for photos of our apartment. So, here they are folks!

(our dining nook)

(our shared bedroom...and bed. Notice our neat little sides)

(the living room)

(the bathroom. Rosie's invention: the earring tree. note the scarve that are still in wearable condition, not adorning our walls in a permanent fashion)

(my home office...where I intend to do my writing and photo editing....)

 

It was a painstaking process to actually get in here, but now we’re settled (ish) and enjoying our cozy home. We’re both broke and only brought what we could fit in my little civic, so we don’t have a load of stuff to decorate the place…but fortunately we are both scarf lovers! We brought so many scarves that we have enough to drape over things and tack up on the walls …and still have a million left over to actually wear. Our great little minds thought alike on that matter. 

(Oh, and I don’t know if I mentioned how much it’s costing us to rent up here…but you’d be shocked and appalled. We are renting a one bedroom, a teensy little apartment…for $1500 a month! Remind we why I didn’t just move to Vancouver? )

This week was great. Busy, in its own weird northern kind of way, but great. I’m still learning the ropes at work, but with a deadline for our application for funding coming up on Monday, I’m almost past the worst part of feeling like a dummy starting a new job. It is very humbling to feel incompetent. Which I admit is a very important thing to experience. But…well… I’m almost ready to feel like I’m good at something again… 

Now, I did have the urge every single day this week to cook and clean. Maybe it’s the Suzy Homemaker in me, or maybe it’s the constant need to feel productive...but I’m thinking it’s probably more to do with the fact that I’ve been living out of my car for 3 months, and haven’t been able to cook my staple favorites. In case you’re interested, here were some of the items on my menu:

 

1. Fall Soup: tomatoes, turnips, brussel sprouts, various and sundry beans, garlic, onion, and barley. Mmmm

 

2. Comfort food: Perogies and brussel sprouts and steamed beets….slathered in yogurt.

 

3. Indi(a)licious: chickpea, spinach, fresh tomato, raisins and curry, pan fried in olive oil

 

4. Sweet tooth: Oatmeal coconut chocolate chip cookies, and ….my personal fave…lactose free rice pudding! I have to tell you how I made it – you MUST try it if you are a rice pudding fan, especially if you are a lactose intolerant one and have been mourning the loss of your favorite childhood dessert). Boil rice in same amount of water as usual (2 to 1 ratio water to rice), but add a can or two of coconut milk to the mix, a bit of honey or sugar, and one or two cinnamon sticks. Bring to a boil, them simmer for a good 40 minutes…or until it gets thick-ish. Add raisins near the end, if you like them. (I absolutely do…frankly, rice pudding is not rice pudding without raisins.)

I can’t believe I have time to BLOG about my DINNERS! I LOVE IT! I always wondered what kind of people blogged about the minute details of their lives. ME! It’s ME! I DO!

Ow. (Rosie just poked me. With knitting needles.)

We went for another sweet walk today. We found sweet place on Great Slave Lake, where we walked along the beach, hunted for beach treasures, and stumbled across…a shipwreck!

 

We were looking for goodies to decorate our house with. We scoured the beach, drank coffee, took pictures, and enjoyed the fresh air. I took the liberty of taking some more self portraits. I couldn’t help it! I’ve been enjoying the challenge of finding a place upon which to perch my camera (safely….can’t afford to replace it when I’m paying 1500 bucks a month for rent!)…then figuring out where I can fit in the scene…then setting the self-timer…. then guessing what distance to set the focus based on where I think I might end up….and then hitting the button and running into the shot in 7 seconds! 

(self portrait #1)

(self portrait #2)

While I was scouring the beach for natural hidden treasures, I was pleasantly anxious about what I might find in the next big pile of driftwood. And the next pile. And the next pile. It was a familiar feeling. A good feeling, but a very specific one. And then I figured it out:  it’s the same feeling I get when I go thrift shopping! It was a funny realization…I couldn’t believe how similar the feeling was. It’s nice to know I have a different way to achieve the thrift shop adrenaline rush….especially since there’s not really any thrifting available anywhere near here.

Well, now, that pretty much brings us up to date. I want to take this opportunity to wish my Katie and my Mel very happy birthdays. This one's for you, girls:

 

Happy Weekend, all. Cheers.