Beautiful Northern Ontario

So this is what I have been enjoying for the last few days. It's been a tradition for many years for a large group of friends from our University days to meet up for the long weekend in August in the Kawarthas.
Our gracious host extends the welcome not only for the weekend but the week before and after depending on everyone's availability. It was so nice to relax, catch up with friends and enjoy the pristine waters of this beautiful Lake not to mention the delicious meals and many, many laughs. I feel so refreshed and ready to get back to the day to day chores with renewed vigor. So grateful to have this tradition and hope it continues for many more years. 

Happy Birthday Lindor!

My sweet girl turned 8 today. She got a few liver snacks and some belly rubs but we'll have to celebrate tomorrow as I just got back from vacation.

Hopefully it will cool off a bit so we can enjoy a long walk.

The Milestone Misti

So I recently retired from my career as a Secondary School teacher. I have many good memories from those days but I am ready to have a little more free time down the road. My very good friends who know me so well got me a Misti with all the accessories. I am having a blast figuring it out and it certainly will become a very useful tool in my arsenal...

I had a wonderful PAW-tay and this is my favourite retirement photo.

I don't have many/any photos of myself recently and I really wanted one with the dogs. Look at the gray on Lindor's chin. She's going to be 8 years old on Wed. Hard to be believe. She just became a grand-doggy again as her daughter Eden had another litter of 4 pups. Maya is slowing down. She likes to sleep a lot and chase the odd squirrel despite a bum knee.

I am looking forward to planning my next Fund-raising endeavour and volunteering more, travelling a bit, and spending more time with my family and friends. OH and maybe reading at least 20 books a year! Looking forward to this next phase.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

If you're like me, you buy one of those Rotissiere Chickens and there is always a bit left over. What to do? My friend Keri suggested this simple dish that is especially nice since you don't have to turn on the oven. Unless you have my luck which has your BBQ tank running out just before you pop this beauty on. It worked out really well in the oven also. Just placed it directly on the racks. If you use the BBQ, put it on the other side away from direct contact with the heat.

Ingredients:
Naan bread
BBQ sauce
Mozzarella cheese
Red Onion
Red Pepper
Chopped up cooked chicken

Spread a small amount of BBQ sauce on the naan bread. ( I found it sweet so don't go too crazy) and then top with your favourite ingredients finishing with a layer of cheese. Delish!

Paper Players Sketch Challenge

I love the sketches and The Paper Players had another good one this week...

I thought right away of the new Doodlebug Smitten Kitten collection that I just couldn't resist and happened to have. It would work perfectly for this sketch with all the cute paper options and sticker sheet. There are little kittens on the yellow paper and hearts on the pink.

I love the black outline on cards and I tried to finish the inside although I feel the sentiment is a bit small for the size of the card....

Freshly Made Sketches #246

I am a fan of Freshly Made sketches, they suit my style and I don't like adding a lot of frou-frou to my cards. I have been playing with the MFT card sketch and while I'm not a fan of tags on cards, I thought this one worked out pretty well. Here's the sketch FMS 246 ...

And here's my cow card...

I used jute twine to "tie" into the farm scene and adorable background paper. The cow was coloured with my Copics which were getting a little dusty, if you know what I mean. I used a stitched tag die from Your Next Stamp, I believe it was in a Christmas set.

Weekend Retreat

Yikes! It's been almost a month since I posted. Lots going on and the summer vacation has begun.
I was able to spend a great weekend away with a couple of my favourite people and do a little cardmaking and relaxing and of course, eating.
We got a great deal at Too Younique Scrapbooking Retreat in Mt. Forest and it was too good to pass up. The accomodations and scrapping area are just great and the food was wonderful and no cleanup.
Here's a few pics of the yummy goodness we were treated to...

Lunch

Dinner

Brunch

Wouldn't it be great to have your own personal Chef?