How to Hide Easter Eggs

For years, I have been doing easter egg hunts for my kids and nephews.  However, as the kids start getting older, you have to make it much harder.
 
Harder for them = harder for me to remember where they are all stored.  So the best way is to start with a clipboard and chart it all out. 

To make it harder, put some up high and some down low

 Try to hide eggs with objects that are same colour.

Definitely keep some in plain sight.

We had six boys ranging from 4 to 12 looking for the eggs and they had so much fun.  We didn't lose any this year :o) 

Time for some chocolate!

Happy Easter!

Knitting Club for Kids

I'm so excited!  Today is the first day of knitting club at school. I am co-teaching a class of about 20 kids who want to learn how to knit.

 
The school wanted us to teach the children to knit so that our creations could then be donated to two local hospitals:  The Toronto Sick Kids Woolies Program and to the Scarborough Hospital.

We bought some Red Heart Soft Baby Steps Yarn in white, pink, blue and green.   We wanted other colours but Michaels had a limited supply.  We also drove ourselves nuts driving to every Walmart within a 50km radius to find enough 10" Size 8 needles.

Our first project will be a baby blanket made of garter squares.  By the end, we should hopefully have enough squares to make several 36" x 36" baby blankets.

The next project will be little hats and booties.  They are so teeny tiny.  I can't believe my little guys used to be this small.

I have to admit that I was really enjoying making prototypes.

I got to play around with intarsia style knitting vs swiss darning.  I think swiss darning looks a little neater.  (Hint:  It's the one on the right).

I also used Photoshop to make little booklets to help them learn how to knit. 

I packed up my portion of the kits that we were giving to the kids.  Each bag had a set of needles, yarn, and knitting poem. 

I cannot wait to see how this turns out!!!!

p.s.  I also learned continental style knitting for knit and purl because we have a lefty in the group. 

Knitting: Garter & Seed Stitch Cowl

A month ago, my MIL asked me to knit her a cowl.   There was no rush... just whenever I could find the time.  Then last week, one of my best gal pals invited me to a weekend up north to do nothing. And nothing is what we did. We slept. We ate. We watched TV.  I read a book.  I knitted a cowl!

There's a lot of joy in doing absolutely nothing.   It was such a nice and lazy weekend.  I brought up my needles and some yarn so I could knit a bit while we lounged.  My gal pal is great... she is used to me doing my crafty stuff and didn't mind that I totally geeked it out while we watched TV.

This was my knitting spot.

This was the view that constantly distracted me.

It took very little time to finish.

As for the details...  I used Lion Brand Wool-Ease in Wheat.  It took about 1.5 skeins using size 13 circular needles.

Here's me trying it on for size.  I just gave it to my MIL this past weekend but she probably won't be able to use it this year as it's gotten too warm for cowls.  However, she'll be ready for next winter.

While I was gone, the kids tried to enjoy whatever snow was left on the hills and in our backyard.

The snow is gone now and it's rainy... gotta love the promise of springtime!

Easy Strawberry Pie (for Pi Day)

Happy Pi Day and Happy first day of March Break.   This morning, the kids and I made a strawberry pie before we remembered that it was Pi day. Pretty cool!!!

We used this lime chiffon pie recipe which we love and have made many times.  We were out of limes but had strawberries and strawberry Jell-o, so we decided to change the flavour. I usually use a pie plate for my pies but when you have two kids competing to stir and pour, corningware seems like a safer (cleaner) option.

This recipe requires about 4 hours of chilling.  

But since the kids aren't too picky, we chilled it for 2 hours and then dug right in.

We used chocolate cookie crumbs instead of graham crackers. I almost went into sugar shock when eating it, but the kids said it was "delicious"! 

 As for me, I was happy with my piece because it tasted like spring.

What a nice start to March Break!

Public Art: Toronto Winter Stations 2016

If you are planning to do something cool this March, I highly recommend taking a visit to the Toronto Beaches to see the Winter Stations Design Exhibit. It's an amazing display of public art along the waterfront landscape. The structures are located near the lifeguard stands and must be able to withstand our Toronto wintery weather.  The weather has been crazy lately (snow, no snow, snow, no snow), but I went a couple of days ago with a friend who was willing to brave the aftermath of a 20cm snowstorm to see the exhibit.  

We were not disappointed.  To truly enjoy Winter Stations, you must see it firsthand. So if you plan on visiting, do not read this post until AFTER you've been. It's worth it.

Winter Stations is set up across Balmy, Kew and Ashbridges Bay beaches. Here's a map of the exhibits.

via Winter Staitons Facebook Page

We went from West to East.  This one is called Fireplace

Steam Canoe

 

In the Belly of a Bear... do you dare go inside?

Flow - this one was so much fun

Floating Ropes

Lithoform

Aurora Borealis

Sauna.

I loved each exhibit.  They were all so unique and functional.  I love art that is touchable and accessible.
The exhibits are up until March 20, 2016 so go see it while you still can!