Winter survival

Last week winter decided to come in for real. Finally.

It has been a bit of a pretend winter... not really cold and hardly any snow.

We still only have about 3cm/1 inch of the white stuff, but the temps finally dipped.

 It also meant digging into the winter gear stash.

You know, adding pantyhose under my jeans.. such a pain. 

We had been enjoying whatever the opposite of the polar vortex is. While parts of the US and Canada were freezing, we "enjoyed" the warmest December in 30 years.

I wore my good thin leather boots all through the month.

Unheard of.

This polar vortex... it's part of a normal winter for us.

 

I got to testdrive.. umm.. testwalk my new winterboots.

They are Crocs would you believe. I sacrificed beauty for comfort.

It's what you do, if you want to survive an hour outside in the park with the kids in these temps and still have all your toes.

Indoors I also wore a cardigan and wristlets.

My wrists dislike this cold and get all achy.

So I'm already wearing:

pantyhose

jeans

tank top

long sleeved t-shirt

cardigan

wristlets

(and yes, my underwear)

Then I added this lot:

I swapped the jeans for my winter pants

leg warmers that I pulled over my knees (under the pants!)

woollen socks

boots

shawl over my shoulders

scarf

gloves with my wristlets on top

down jacket

hat

thick leather gloves

And most importantly:

my mug of hot tea.

 In the park I had one of these major first world problems as my tea was too hot..sigh..

 

Thursday night as the temps plummeted even further we got some beautiful powder snow.

I took a few pics on my phone through a macro lens while waiting for my bus.

 Snowflakes are magic.

They must be.

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This post was brought to you courtesy of a fun project called
Lists with friends 2014.
A project that documents this year with lists of all kind.

Oh dear good bread...

I tried a new recipe.

I have never baked bread this good.

It is bakery bread good.

The crust is to die for.

And you wouldn't believe how easy it is.

The only thing is, it does not come fast. You need to preplan this.

Plus you need a dutch oven, or other lidded oven pot.

The recipe has been going around in the Finnish baking blogs like wildfire, so I have no idea who to credit this deliciousness to. 

A genious baking goddess I'm sure.

-Dutch oven bread-

You need: 

7 dl flour

2 tsp salt

0,5 tsp dry yeast

3,5 dl lukewarm water

Yes, that's it!

This is easy enough to make into anything you want.

In mine I used 6dl of flour and 1dl of rolled oats.

Feel free to throw in wholegrain flour, seeds etc.

Mix the ingredients with a spoon.

Do NOT knead.

I know, it sounds wrong, but trust me, don't do it.

Instead cover your bowl with plastic wrap and leave it for 12-18 hours.

Go enjoy your evening and have a good long sleep.

Warm your oven to 225C. Mine was set to 200C, worked beautifully.

Put your dutch oven in the oven to heat up.

Sprinkle some flour on your table and empty the dough on top.

Roll it around gently in your hands to form a round loaf.

Resist the urge to knead.

Cover loosely with the plastic wrap and leave it for 30 minutes.

Put the dough into your pot, cover it and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

Then take the lid off and bake for another 10-15 minutes.

Pop your amazing bread out of the pot and just admire the crusty perfection.

Let it cool and devour it.

Or just cut into it while still steaming hot like I did since I had used up all my patience during that long wait :P

 

My new staple weekend morning bread for sure.

Only next time I'm making two doughs.

Three spots

I have three favorite spots downstairs.

 ***

In the dining room I love the changing display on top of this cabinet.

 There are old photographs in a bowl.

This canvas I made with old maps.

A collection of good memories with friends.

***

In the living room my easy chair.

It needs to be reupholstered.

Badly.
There are tears hiding under the quilt and pillow...

***

 This shelf in the kitchen.

Houses one shelf of cookbooks and six shelves of comics :D

Zits are my favorite right now.

Teens and their life.

...sigh..

It's good to laugh at it all too.

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This post was brought to you courtesy of a fun project called
Lists with friends 2014.
A project that documents this year with lists of all kind.

Today at work

Some of the things I did today:

•  I typed in the computer password five times
• Put my hair up (first thing I do at work. I have one word for you.. Lice.)
• Checked my email four times
• Wrote the day's plan on the board
• Climbed a ladder three times (more on that another day)
• Looked up a recipe for paper mache
• Had two cups of tea (two less than yesterday)
• Checked my workmate's Finnish homework :)
• Updated the Club website
• Watched my enthusiastic trainee with a constant smile on my face
• Ate four chocolates
• Laughed, a lot. Particularly over a true story about a dead cat in a cake box in Moscow...
• Ate ovenmade pancake with jam and carrots on the side
• Answered the phone eight times
• Tried to call my husband four times
• Planned next week's craft and daily schedule (parent-teacher conferences messing ours up)
• Helped to look for quite a few misplaced hats and gloves
• Charged batteries
• Knitted 15 rows on my scarf

All while wearing my rainbow striped woollen socks.

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This post was brought to you courtesy of a fun project called
Lists with friends 2014.
A project that documents this year with lists of all kind.

Big blue box

 Any Whovians reading?

Yes. I'm one.

I'd totally go running with The Doctor.

*grin*

I was testing a recipe for homemade air dry clay.

(Great recipe btw! So silky smooth)

I ended up making myself Tardis earrings.

And just to mash up fandoms, I made a pendant too...

Now where's my wand?

Loved this.

And the Christmas special.

Now to wait for the 12th Doctor.

 I really don't have a favorite Doctor... of the new series, I like them all. 

Every one has their own lovely quirks.

I say start from Chris Eccleston's #9 and keep going, it's the only way to get the complete storyline.

Netflix will help you ;)

David Tennant's #10 has some of the best lines though.

How can you not love this?

In fact, I've asked my very talented doll making friend to make me a miniature David Tennant so I can build a 1:12th scale Tardis.

How to make it bigger on the inside though...?

In my ears

I have to say my taste in music is quite eclectic.

There's quite an odd mix of songs on my playlist right now.

I've very originally called it 2014_1, ha!

Here's a taste for you:

Avicii- Wake me Up

Redrama feat. A.J. McLean- Clouds

Christophe Maé- J'ai Laissé

Daughtry- Waiting for Superman

Pauli Hanhiniemen Perunateatteri- Siipeen jos sain

Ellie Goulding- Burn

Naughty Boy feat Emeli Sandé- Wonder

Eminem- Cinderella Man

Ed Sheeran- Give Me Love

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis- Can't Hold Us

Linkin Park- Burning in the Skies

Pitbull feat. Ke$ha- Timber

ENVY- Am I Wrong

Tim Finn- Persuasion

What would you add to this list?

What do I need to hear?

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This post was brought to you courtesy of a fun project called
Lists with friends 2014. A project that documents this year with lists of all kind.

Last pages of December Daily

 All done.

Love how it turned out.

Three load day

 Today I have washed, and consequently hung up to dry

• 17 kitchen towels
• 13 napkins
• 13 towels
• 4 sheets
• 4 pillowcases
• 2 tote bags
• 1 rug
• 2 shirts
• 1 pair of socks

No, I do not own a dryer.

The tiles are horrid 1960's originals.

And yes, my basement sauna washroom window does indeed say: Get naked.

*grin*

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This post was brought to you courtesy of a fun project called
Lists with friends 2014. A project that documents this year with lists of all kind.

Happy 2014!

  I played with my TriggerTrap remote control via my iPhone and on the bulb setting had exposure times from 10 up to 40 seconds.

Love learning new things.

Something new and fun coming up here as well for this year.

Stay tuned.