A recycle pondering, and 'The End'

Hubby and I just bought a recycling box for our new place since the guy next door said it's to each their own. 

Lol ok. Fair enough, we share garbage cans though so that's cool. Anyways it's interesting the differences between here and Vancouver. You can put anything in the bins in Vancouver, and they provide you with containers. I mean you could put plastic bags ie. like tortilla bags in the bins as long as they have the triangle on them. I miss that. 

I don't know what to do with these:

Haha old and new. Just noticed that now lol. Same goes with the milk containers, you could put all of that in the bins in Vancouver. Why can't you here? Where do they go?

Here's CRD's answer:

Where can I recycle juice boxes?

Juice boxes are not accepted in the Blue Box Program. They are subject to the BC Recycling Regulation and are therefore part of the industry beverage container stewardship program which uses a deposit/refund system to collect and fund the recycling of beverage containers. Simply return your juice boxes to your retailer or a bottle depot for a refund and recycling.

Where can I recycle milk cartons?

Milk and milk substitute paper cartons are not accepted in the Blue Box Program. Unlike juice boxes they are not subject to the BC Recycling Regulation. However, the BC Dairy Council launched a voluntary used milk container recycling program in the fall of 2006. You can now return all used milk and milk substitute containers to selected local depots. Since no deposit is paid on these containers, no payment will be made for returned milk containers.

Hmm well now I know I suppose lol. I need a good storage system for my recyclables. We missed the first recycle day, so it's over flowing in the bin. 

And for those who are Harry Potter enthusiasts :)

Saw 'The End' last weekend. I was sad the whole way through. I feel like they didn't hold out for the final which is great. Wow. What an end to an era. I was 11 when this all started. I've grown up with the characters. Crazy. Don't worry i'm not going to spoil the movie for you, just go see it. I almost didn't want to because I don't want it to be over, but it was a great ending. Very exciting. Except the very last part, for those of you that have read the book you know what I'm talking about. Blech. Why did they do that? Stupid. Good thing it wasn't very long, or important. Well folks hubby and I are off to Quadra island for the weekend. I'll be back with new stories, and pictures soon. Have a fab weekend, I may be able to squeeze another post in before then, we'll see :)

Jam making for the 1st time!

I love firsts, they're so exciting!!

I also love documenting experiences, and sharing them with you lovely folk :) 

The Raspberry Jam Experience!

Here are the Raspberries, got them at the Root cellar for $20. They're squished cause they were in my backpack lol.

YUM

The jars, and delicious cherries to nom on.

 Equipment needed, a big pot. A large measuring cup (One to hold 6 cups would be helpful) Certo

which is a natural pectin product that turns the berries into jam. You can click the word to jump to the website for more information. All the instructions are in the box! I love it. A towel for drippies. A potatoe masher to mash the berries, and jars with lids ( I got mine at Thrifty's for $13 ish. for twelve )

Oh and bring a smile :) Perhaps a camera to document! We're mashing berries in the measuring cup

Is it at 6 cups yet??

Hooray, time to boil, keep on stiring. It all happens really fast.

Then it's time to mix the Certo and a little sugar together

Add it to the pot! Things are gonna get thick now

Horray for Jam!

Stoked!

Gotta scoop the froth off, apparantly it tastes really bitter. YUCk.

Sterilizing the jars in the oven

They're ready to come out!

Pouring the jam into the jars

We all get to try :)

mmmmmmm messy.

Almost done!

:)

Putting the lids on

Putting the rings on, cute!

Had to wait for the lids to pop down, but there they are ready to go home!

Big thanks to my friends Karen and Ashleigh, I had a blast! Can't wait to can other things now :) Hope your all having a fantastic summer, Go get your jam on!

Gardener's Pie, and a new wacky game

Had a few friends over last night for food, wine and games :) 

Tried out a recipe from Canadian Livings Vegetarian Cookbook

It's SO GOOD. I'm looking forward to playing with the recipe in future. 

Ingredients include:

Diced carrots

Diced celery

1 Chopped onion

1 1/2 Cup of dried green lentils

3 cloves of garlic

1 package of Veggie Ground (We use Yves)

Fry these ingredients up

Add a container of Crushed Tomatoes 

1/2 Cup of dry white wine

Salt and Pepper to taste

2 tsp of oregano

2 tsp of cumin

Cover and boil, then simmer on low for 20 mins

Meanwhile peel 3 Potatoes and 3 Sweet potatoes

Dice and boil to make mashed potatoes

After simmering other ingredients add two chopped zucchini's into the mix it'll look something like this:

Simmer for another 30mins while the potatoes are cookin away, once the potatoes are finished mash away with some milk and butter. 

mmmm tasties :)

Grab your casserole dish, or dishes. . I had to use two. . Place lentil mix on the bottom and mashed pots on the top. Garnish with Old cheddar and Green onions. Place in the oven for 30mins at 375 degrees F. I didn't cover them. 

Meanwhile my bestie came over and began making sheep cheese and herb Phyllo yummies :) 

Take this time to sit down and perhaps have a bevy ;)

Once the timer went off we pulled the beauties out to cool 

The one on the Right has sheep cheese on it :)

Bestie made an amazing salad to go with our meal mmmm. Fresh from their garden!

Of course I have to pose with the food haha.

After our belly's were full we settled in to play a game that I bought at value village for $8. It's called:

It was pretty entertaining. Acting cards, Survey cards, and other random cards that make you do silly things, it was worth the $8. Will definitely play it in the future. I had never heard of it before. It's funny because you have to rate eachothers performances and then place the ballots in a ballot box. You tally it up at the end to see who wins. haha. * I may have won :) lol. 

All in all it was a fab night. Now I better go and put my kitchen back together haha. Amazing what dinner parties can do to ones house. Cheers everyone, and happy cooking!

Garden is growing!

Hello all! First picture post from the new house :) I'm quite happy with the way the garden is shaping up so far, it's amazing how fast everything grows! Wowowo. It took a little prep to get everything going but with a little work and a lot of love we have what appears to be a veggie garden. mmm. Here's the list of what we planted, I didn't take pictures of everything yet. . . 

Peas, Jalapenos, Red Peppers, Tomatoes, Beets, Carrots, Radishes, Cucumbers, Lavender, Spinach, Lettuce, Cilantro, Chives, Rosemary, Mint, Sage, and Oregano! 

Can't wait for the tasty's wer'e going to create with our own food! So here's some pictures of our plants coming up, their very cute. 

Jalapeno! Just a little guy. Feel like it hasn't been warm enough, but time will tell.

Radishes! Somethings eating the leaves though....

Beets! Gonna make Borscht

Peas! Theres a fence by them that they can grow up

The cat having a ball outside.

We were playing and then he got pooped, had to take a rest haha. d

The Husband and The cat :)

Silly faces.

First photo of The house. This is our picture wall, ya we like to hang pictures randomly.

AND I just bought these pretties, they are muscle release balls from Halfmoon, I got two for $20 at Moksana! They are amazing, like a little massuse. I've been using them in my private lessons. Very fun!

Hope everyone is enjoying this little glimpse of sun we've had :) All these photos were taken with a new camera that Hubby bought me! It's just a little guy that we can take on adventures and parties. I'd take our SLR but it might get hurt, or lost, or both. 

Cheers everyone!

Need Balance. . .

I'm craving a routine. I have so much new in my life right now, and it's really REALLY good, but it's hard to get into the swing of things. I wish my house wasn't a mess anymore. Moving tends to throw a wrench in things. I'm not a fan of dis-organization. Yet here I am blogging when I have a moment of time. Yarrrrrr. On the plus side I'm teaching lots, and our garden is planted! We love our new place :) Although I just heard my neighbour say "I wonder if those people are ever going to get rid of their boxes" YA YA I heard ya, i'll get rid of them tonight! Blah. Their really nice people, and it's a mess I get it but I feel like we just moved in! Anyways apparantly I needed to rant. I'll dig my camera cord out soon, and blog with new photos. The photos aren't as nice in the rain. Don't even get me started on the weather. Holy hell. I just hope my plants get enough sun to grow! Well enough whining for now. Hope your all well. <3

Could I be back?

Final day of yoga teacher training. Photo credit Noah Layne. 

Wow. What a whirl wind. Moving blows by the way. (In case you were wondering.) So happy to be in our new place though! It's so great. Oh and exciting news, I put in our garden today!! Stay tuned for pics of that soon, and of the house. Gotta wait until it's not a disaster anymore though. Shheesh. It's really hard to find time to un-pack with our busy lives. I've been really fortunate in receiving some yoga opportunities as of late. I've subbed a few classes and tomorrow I'm teaching my first pre-natal yoga class. I'm a little nervous but I'm sure it'll be ok. It's just hard fathoming how these women will come to respect me when I'm younger and haven't had the experience of having children. Hmm. I know it's all in my head but I can't help but psych myself out a bit. Maybe it's human nature. I hope one day it'll go away. Blech. Hmm let's see what else, I went camping at Lake Cowichan last weekend. SO beautiful. I'm trying to take advantage of our bizarre little summer best I can. Next weekend hubby and I are going to Vancouver to celebrate his grandparents 60th wedding anniversary. It's turning into a Stuckenberg family reunion. :) Looking forward to it. Anyways happy to have internet again, will post again soon but thought i'd fill you in on what's been happening. Hope your all well. Cheers!