Hand Delivered Salmon ~

Justin's cousin Anna was out visiting from Alaska this weekend...and she brought a bunch of salmon with her, creating a fabulous dinner for us one night...check out this yummie dish...

She prepared the salmon 5 different ways, and each was yummier than the next!

We shared stories, laughs, cocktails and more laughs...even Great Grandma Berdena stayed up a little late to enjoy the fun!

Jordyn had a great time with her cousins, and Jack taught her how to two step.

While Jordyn and Jack were dancing...

Anna and her friend Amanda made salmon dip with the leftovers.

When it was getting late, we took the rest of the party down to the black bear cabin, where we played music and goofed off. Here is a shot of Amanda playing the didgeridoo.

Naturally we did some late night sledding...

Jack had a little trouble staying on his sled :)
And if that wasnt enough fun for you...check out this video of Anna teaching Jordyn a dirty song in Yupik! (she never did translate it for us...anyone speak Yupik?) :)

Winter Oasis 2010 ~

Winter Oasis is an SCA event that we attend every year. This annual hafla brings together all of our friends, many of whom we havent seen since the summer months. What can i say, we dont get out much in the winter :) We contemplated not going this year...sooo many projects to do around the house, too tired, dont feel like driving down the mountain...you know...those lame excuses that keep you cooped up during the chilly months. Well, at the last minute, we decided to go...and i am REALLY glad we did! Look at all the fun we would have missed...

Here is a shot of Donovan and i...my old roommate, and Jordyn's godfather. One of my best friends and a fantastic musician!

This is Jordyn's godmother, Christy...my cousin and best friend. She appears often in my blog, as we always stay at her house when we go to town to get our city fix!

And here is Jordyn sneaking onto the dance floor during one of the performances. She was so excited to watch the women dance and wanted to boogie with all of them. She even learned a few new moves!

And of course, the family photo...which was difficult to get, since Justin was playing music the whole time.
Its the perfect gathering during these dreary winter months...its filled with color, music, dancing, laughter, magic, and great food! Hope you enjoyed the ride :)
Click here or here to see photos from previous Winter Oasis's.

I also captured some fun video, so if you would like to see jordyn dancing at Oasis, click here...or if you'd like to see her learning zils, click here :)

Chilly Gnome ~

Just checking in to say hello! My garden gnome decided to poke his head out yesterday, but its still rather chilly out and its trying to snow as i type this...so he may not stick around. Ive been working on a quilt for the Doll Quilt Swap on about.com...my second time participating in it...however, the person who will be receiving my quilt reads my blog, so i cant show any progress pictures. :(

I recently discovered a blog called virtual paintout, and have become quite inspired by it. I ordered some new watercolor paints, and hope to join the challenge each month to get me back into painting again. My usual medium is oil or acrylic...so watercolor will be a learning experience.(i stuggled with it once before, but i havent given up) :)

The winter blahs come and go with the sun, but i started taking vitamin D and i think that helps. I notice many friends (myself included) having a hard time right now...tired...cranky...feeling low...but i truly think its just the time of year. When i look back at previous blog posts at this time of year, i realize the moods are the same....so i am working on finding and keeping my mojo thru the winter months, starting with going for a walk today! Hope all is beautiful in your part of the world~

New Quilt for Barbie!

Another cold one out today...and even though the sun finally decided to come out, it was still extremely windy and cold! So, what do you do on an extremely cold day?...You make a quilt for Barbie :)
The new doll house from Santa came with some furniture, including a cute little bed...but no blanket for the bed :( Jordyn and i decided to rummage through my scrap bag to see what we could find for Barbie...and we came across these great little 2" flannel swatches. We knew they would go together easy, as they were already cut and ready to go...so Jordyn helped me arrange them, iron them, and even helped sew a few on the sewing machine! It doesnt quite match the rest of the pink decor, but Barbie seems to like it :)

Jordyn Learns to Ice Skate ~

A perfect Sunday afternoon...we went sledding, played in the snow, and then Jordyn learned to ice skate!
Afterwords, we came in for some warm homemade bread, antipasto, and beer! A great way to beat off the winter blahs!
Hope you had a fabulous weekend~

Winter Activities ~

Well, after splitting and hauling wood, and shoveling the snow off our pond, we were ready for some fun! Spooky has been cooped up in the house, so we thought she might like to join us. Im not sure how much fun she had, but we certainly had a good time!

Our New Ice Skating Pond ~

Last night Justin scraped the snow off the pond to create our own personal ice skating rink.

Jordyn was pretty upset that we didnt have skates for her, but she isnt allowed to ice skate till we get her some knee pads and a helmet.

So she got to sled around the ice instead :) But after being out there myself, im thinking it wouldnt hurt if Justin and i got helmets too! I suck at ice skating, and fell several times today...didnt do much skating growing up in LA!

Of course, cousin Jack had to get in on the fun!

Weeeeeeeeeeee!

Aunt LeAnn had to come down and check out the action...her and Mason Dog approve!
Hope everyone is enjoying the New Year...its been chilly, but fun!