A Recipe for Springtime : Strawberry-Rhubarb Oatmeal Squares

I'm so excited !

 The rhubarb I planted last year has sprung from the ground and is showing me several large leaves and stalks. 

Another week or two and we'll be eating some rhubarb-y goodness from our own patch!!

And our strawberries (this is year 3 for them) are green and lush too, and already showing the possibility of blossoms. 

Inspired, I baked a new recipe today using both strawberries and rhubarb.  The berries were from the grocery store, but the rhubarb was fresh from my mother's friend's garden. 

The "Strawberry-Rhubarb Oatmeal Squares" were a hit in my house. A whole 9x9 pan was gone within hours of baking!!

Here's the recipe:

Base and topping:

1 cup flour

3/4 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup melted butter

Filling:

2 eggs

1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2  1/2 cups chopped rhubarb/strawberries

1. In large bowl, combine flour, oats and brown sugar.

2. Stir in butter until blended.

3. Set aside 3/4 cup to use as topping.

4. Press remaining mixture firmly into bottom of 9x9 baking pan.  

5.  Bake at 350 degrees F (180 C) for 10 minutes.

To make Filling:  

6. In bowl, beat together eggs, sugar, flour and cinnamon until smooth.

7.  Stir in mixed fruit.

8. Spread over baked base.

9.  Sprinkle remaining oatmeal mixture over  top of the filling.

10.  Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees F or until lightly browned.

11.  Cool completely before cutting.

12.  Enjoy every morsel (the picture below shows my hubby doing this!)

Please give this recipe a try and let me know how it works out!!

I might try it again new weekend using a different fruit combination.

  Maybe peaches and strawberries.......Mmmmm......

Before I sign off, I want to show you some pictures from the Spring Sprint that benefits the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada.  

My son told you his story HERE

and he asked for you sponsorship. So many of you responded with love and our team was able to raise over $2500!!

Here are some pics of the event:

Our team consisted of our family of five, Nana, Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Joel.  All three aunts (Steph, Meg and Amy) were there in spirit, too.

Bryn ran 3 loops around the course (2.5 km) trying his best to keep up with speedy Uncle Joel.  

I managed to get weepy only once.  Bryn stood amongst the other brain tumour survivors for the photo  above (bottom left) and I was overcome.  Why did my little boy have to go through this? 

 One of the older men in the photo joked, "Hey you, little guy! You're too young to have gone through this!"

He was right.  My boy is/was too young.

But thankfully, he pulled through with flying colours.  

Look at him! Young and vibrant and healthy.

So....we're going to run in events like this for years to come in order  to help all those patients whose stories didn't work out quite as well.

Have a wonderful week everyone.

Count your blessings, 

Love, Bronwyn

A Picnic and a Laundry Room Vignette

A brand new bakery just opened in our town and with the weather being so perfect lately I decided to treat the kids to an after school picnic in the park.  

Gotta love a good bakery - fresh bread in a variety of artisan flavours, flaky pastries, cookies and a huge gluten free section.  Let's just say that EVERYONE in my family had a hard time picking what they wanted for dinner that night!

The two older children (Bryn and Afton) chose "pain au chocolat" in anticipation of our trip to France. Camden begged for two raisin-y Chelsea buns and I chose a apricot-filled croissant that was sweet and flaky.  Even my gluten-free hubby, Kevin, scored a big loaf of nutty country-style bread that he happily ate plain.  

Don't worry - our  whole meal did not consist of high fat pastries! I had also brought along carrot sticks, strawberries and chocolate milk to go along side!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm not going to lie.  When we first moved into our home I painted the laundry room pink.  

Yes. I. did.

Pink is my favourite colour and no one spends more time in that room than me!!

So I chose pink. 

The WRONG pink.  

Instead of being pale and blushy, it looked like the room had been sprayed down with Pepto Bismol.  

So I recently  re-painted it in a pale greeny-aqua shade that is much gentler on the eyes and constitution!

Hubby also added a "backsplash" of bead board that I adore, and this past weekend, he put up this little display shelf, too.  

Time to fill it up with pretty things!

I bought this little lady several years ago in anticipation of decorating my laundry room.  Finally after 5 years, she is making her decor debut.  

I used three of my Crown canning jars filled with antique clothes pins and shiny  glass beads.  The beads add a nice kick of colour!

I bought these large iron scissors at a greenhouse recently.  Maybe they are meant to hang outside, but I like them as part of this vignette.  

I stitched this sampler months ago with plans to make it part of a gallery wall in our family room.  

Well, the gallery wall never happened but this stitchery fits perfectly into the colour scheme of my laundry room.

This oldie came from a yard sale last summer.  I love its aged appeal and the fact that it is Canadian-made.

And here is the finished shelf including the scalloped edge runner I placed under the decorative items.  

Sorry there is so much shadow and glare on the pictures.  There is no natural light in this room and so many ways to cast a shadow!

I still have lots of laundry room projects waiting in the wings.  Most will have to wait until summer vacation ( 7  1/2 weeks of school left!).

I'll share them as soon as I can!

Hugs to you and yours,

Bronwyn

P.S.  I seem to have very few comments lately. Is there a problem with my commenting system?  Please let me if you are having trouble!

bronwymom2abc@gmail.com

Camden's Choice - An Afghan

Happy Monday my friends.  I hope you had a wonderful weekend. We sure kept busy!!

Saturday we walked/ran in the Spring Sprint for the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada. Our team raised nearly $2700 contributing to the
 $62 000 that was raised that day by many, many spirited "Tumour Teams."

Sunday we took advantage of the beautiful weather and gardened! We planted trees, dug a new plot and planned our veggie garden.  All the while the kids frolicked on the swings and on the grass enjoying every drop of sunshine.

I didn't do much crocheting this weekend, but I'd like to show you a project I finished a few weeks back.  

Remember this afghan?  I shared about it HERE when I finished it shortly after Christmas.  

I has already become a fixture in our home, taking pride of place across the loveseat in our family room.  It is a favourite cuddle-up item for each member of our family, but 4-year-old Camden has a special affection for it.  In fact, he has a love for all things knit and crocheted.  He's always wrapped in a blanket, regardless of the weather.  He wears handknit sweaters to kindergarten on a regular basis -- he says he feels like he is wearing an afghan without the possibility of tripping on one! And through much discussion with his teacher, we have figured out the best way to deal with a misbehaving Camden is to time him out, wrap him in blanket and let him chill out in the corner of the classroom until he can handle himself better. And it works!

Within days of this blanket being completed, Camden had claimed the rainbow granny as his own.  He dragged it around the house and wanted to take it to bed with him.  

No way little dude!!  I spent 2 months crocheting row after row so that the whole family could enjoy it.  

Boy was he mad!!

So we came up with a compromise. It was a simple one.  I'd take him to Michaels and he would choose his own yarn and I'd make him his own afghan.  One that was truly HIS!

That worked for him!!

And what did he choose?

Not bad colour choices, huh?  The medium blue and turquoise are fairly similar but I figured I could work with that.  

Yellow is Camden's favourite colour so I knew that would be involved.  But I amazed that he chose colours all in the same intensity and depth.

Pretty amazing, eh??

I used THIS PATTERN  from Little Tin Bird.

Each square worked up quickly and easily.

I crocheted the squares together in single crochet using the turquoise Camden chose.

The final verdict??

Camden ADORES it.  It travels up and down the stairs 87 times a day and he never fails to have a nap without it.  He's asked to take it to school several times, but we remind him that he already has  a afghan  at school made by Nana. 

Here's the full shot:

I am so pleased with how this turned out.  And mostly I am so proud of myself.  I have made 2 full-sized afghans in the space of 4 months.  Normally I get started on them with high hopes to make something big and beautiful and then it fizzles out into a small baby sized coverlet.  Not this time though.  I stuck with it and I am so glad I did!!

I've already moved onto another blanket using up leftovers in all of my favourite colours, edged in a crisp white.  

It will be a few months before I can show you that one though.  Not as much crochet time now that we are spending so much time outside!

Have a wonderful week!

Bronwyn

My Train Trip to Ottawa

I recently was able to escape the craziness of my regular homelife and head away on a "Mommy-only" weekend to visit my sister Stephanie in the city of Ottawa.  She has been living there for about 7 years and I am embarassed to say that I have only visited her a handful of times.  Between pregnancies, babies and toddlers, I felt I couldn't travel the distance.

Now that my 3 children are older I plan on taking more little trips like this one.

It all began on a Friday morning when I took a taxi from my house to the train station. I hadn't been in a taxi since university!!

Once on the bus, I settled in to enjoy my book for the hour it would take to travel into Toronto.

Always the crafter, even on the road, I had gathered up a variety of leftover yarn balls to take with me.  I knew I would have tons of time on the train to start whipping them into some colourful circular granny squares.

After my 1-hour bus trip, which I managed to sleep most of, I arrived at Toronto's Union Station.  I had just under an hour to grab some lunch, visit the facilities and find the correct train. 

No worries- made it onto the platform with lots of time to spare!!

Within minutes of leaving the station, I had hooked up my first circular granny square.  My plan was to make as many colourful centres as I could then enclose them in white before stitching them into another blanket.  

I had five hours on the train.  No one sat beside me so I spread my snacks, crocheting, magazines and books  out in the seat next to me and enjoyed every minute!

Don't I look relaxed??

I arrived easily into Ottawa and was picked up at the station by my sister's best friend, Kathryn.  Stephanie could not meet me because she was playing a key role in her school's spring musical that evening.

  Ever seen "Grease?"  Steph was playing the principal.  Her students ADORED that a real teacher in their school would take part in the performances. Sorry - no pictures of that.

After a late, late dinner in a pub, we crashed into bed at her lovely apartment and slept well in anticipation of a busy day on Saturday.

Recently a new store had opened in her Hintonburg area of Ottawa.  

She knew I would to shop there.  

And she was right.

Marie Antionette & Co.  was made for me.  And possibly for my 7 year daughter.  It was feminine, pretty, pink, sparkly, vintagey, new and old  all at the same time.

The lovely owner allowed me to take a few pictures:

Pink, pink, pink!

Look at all of this Pip Studio pottery!! This is so hard to find in Canada! I bought one of the mugs at the bottom right.

Connected to this lovely  European-style store was the Christmas version.  Shelves and shelves of the most beautiful Christmas decor I had ever seen!

After a delicious lunch of cider and wood-fired pizza, we met Steph's friend Kathleen for a walk in the woods.  What was supposed to be a lovely, spring-like walk through the greenspace around Ottawa, turned into the messiest, muddiest and snowiest trudge I had been on in years.  

See this picture below? That is not a lovely little stream flowing by the path- -IT IS THE PATH!!  

We were so wet and cold when we returned home that it took hours to thaw out.  However, it was great exercise and plenty of time to get talk and get caught up!

The next day, Stephanie, her boyfriend Simon and I walked a few blocks to Art Is In Bakery for a delicious brunch.

This latte made me VERY happy!

And this French toast, over-easy egg and maple bacon  stacker was even more yummy with a huge helping of hollandaise sauce drizzled over it!!

It was wonderful to have so much time with my sister.  Even though our lives are very different, we always have so much to talk about.   

I also enjoyed meeting her boyfriend, Simon.  I think they make a marvellous pair.

Soon after brunch, it was time for me to join my train back to Toronto.  

Steph and  I made plans for me to visit again in the fall.  I am already looking forward to it!

If you are wondering how many colourful circles I crocheted on my 10 hours on the train....The answer is 36!!

Easy to do without the interruptions and  expectations of  home!!

And the colours?  Oh so cheerful and easy to stare at for hours at a time.  

Now I just have to put the white edging around them and turn them into squares.

I might need another train trip for that!!

Hugs to you and yours!

Bronwyn

My Son is a Brain Tumour Survivour - A Message From Him

For a change today, I am using the words of my 8-year-old son.   He has lived only a short time, but has  a colourful (and sometimes scary!)  life story to tell already.

Here it is in his own words:

Hello. My name is Bryn. I am 8 years and I love LEGO. When I was six years old, some doctors found a sickness in my head. It was a brain tumour the size of a big orange. It was stuck in between my brain and my cerebellum and it was crushing both of them. So, that same day I had a 7 hour operation to take the bad lump out.

 It took a long time for me to get better after the surgery. I stayed in the hospital for lots of days then stayed home from school for 2 months. I needed a lot of therapy to help learn to use my “new“ brain. I had to practise going up and down stairs and walking on a line. My mommy made me take lots of naps and we had SO many visits to the hospital to see lots of different doctors.

 I feel much better now and I am excellent on my bike! I am still a bit sad because the tumour made me blind in my left eye. Also, my hands don't work very well and I have trouble printing, cutting and drawing. The doctors can't fix this now, but hopefully someday they can. 

Many kids get brain tumours and things don't turn out so well for them. I have met lots of other brain tumour kids who can't walk or speak or have cancer. I am lucky that I can run and walk so my family and I are walking in the “Spring Sprint” for the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada. TEAM BRYN has raised thousands of dollars in other years and we want to do it again this year. 

Here is Mommy and I at our first Spring Sprint in June of 2011, 3 1/2 months after my surgery.

We raised over $1000  that year.

In 2012 we raised over $1500!!

This year I am hoping for $2000 to help brain 

tumour patients and their families.  

PLEASE CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW TO DONATE!!

http://my.e2rm.com/TeamPage.aspx?teamID=357077&langPref=en-CA&Referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.braintumour.ca%2F2715%2Fparticipant-and-team-search

(Mommy and I baked these for a bake sale at her school.  The nice teachers she works with said my baking was delicious and gave us lots of donations!)

Thank-you so much for you donation!

Love and hugs!

 From

Bryn and Bronwyn

A Well-Loved T-shirt Becomes Pretty Hoop Art

Today I spent the  morning in our daughter's room, up to my elbows in paint, turning her room from......

...to a lovely shade of...

It's all part of the "re-decoration" of her bedroom that I told you all about HERE.

The room is slowly coming together and I hope to be able to show you the completed project in a few weeks.  Until then I will have lots of little projects to show you, all part of the new colour scheme.

And here is the first!

Afton grew out of this pretty little tee-shirt 2 years ago.  

I loved the strawberry embroidery and pretty gingham ribbon detailing so I couldn't bear to send it off to charity as I do with so many of her clothes.  

Instead I held onto it in hopes that I could use it in some way. And today I did!!

Here are crafty bits for today's little project:

~ a wooden hoop

~ ric rac

~ gingham ribbon

(and I used a glue gun, too!)

First I cut the tee-shirt into a small square that would easily stretch into my wooden hoop.

I glued the fabric to the back of the hoop, pulling it snugly.....

....then cut off the excess using sharp scissors.  

Unfortunately the tee-shirt had a small stain on it. To cover this I folded up a piece of matching gingham ribbon into a bow and glued it over the stain.  

What an easy-peasey fix!!

To finish the edges, I glued some white ric-rac to the back of the hoop so that the ruffle-ly edge could be seen at the front. 

(I burned myself several times doing this, but it was worth it in the end!)

Doesn't the hoop art perfectly match  this strawberry angel I bought for our daughter last summer??  Cute as a button, huh?

One decor project done, several to go.  

Bit by bit, Little Lady's room is coming together.

Keep checking in - I am sure I'll have something else to share within the next few days!!

Hugs to you and yours,

Bronwyn