-m
Sunday 29 December 2013
Ice, ice baby...
I travelled home to the beautiful Prince Edward Island after working Christmas to see my family and my friends over the holiday season. I have had a lovely visit and will soon be making the three and a half hour trek back home to Halifax. When I arrived on the island, I was shocked by the amount of snow that could be found lining the streets, buildings and every other square inch of Charlottetown. In some places the snow was as tall as I am and the city workers were struggling to compensate. It continued to snow and rain for the remainder of my trip and the results were beautiful (even if it did make roads a little dangerous!). Everything looks so fresh and crisp when it is blanketed by new fallen snow ! Safe travels to anyone who is braving highways over the next few days !
Wednesday 25 December 2013
Maybe Christmas....
"Maybe Christmas doesn't come from a store, maybe Christmas is just a little bit more.."
-Dr. Seuss (The Grinch who stole Christmas)
Today I spent the day at work, surrounded by wonderful co-workers, families and a slew of wonderful children at the IWK Health Centre. People always ask me if it is hard to work on Christmas and my reply is always the same; I say no, the children's hospital is a wonderful place to be at Christmas time.
As nurses, we do many things for patients that they are unable to do for themselves when they are hospitalized. And although those do include stereotypical things such as bathing and providing medications, we also support them on their hardest days and advocate for them when they are unable to do so for themselves. We keep them company when they are alone and often titrate the very medications and mechanical devices that are keeping their vital signs stable and those that are sometimes even keeping them alive. We sit at their bedside with worried, furrowed brows and we lose sleep over shifts that don't end as well as we hoped. We become entwined very quickly in a person and their families lives and often get a glimpse into their private world. If we are good at our job, we do all of the above with dignity and respect.
In a hospital, a holiday is just like every other day. Infections do not rest, cancer doesn't magically go away for a couple of days and the sick don't get to go home in the hopes that Santa snuck down their chimney while they were snug in their beds. That is why as nurses and health care professionals, we do our very best to make Christmas as special and as normal as it can be. In children's hospital's we go above and beyond to keep the mood upbeat. We try in our own ways to make the day special and make sure everyone is surrounded by love and support. That is why when people ask me if it is hard to work on Christmas, my reply is always the same; I say no, the hospital is a wonderful place to be during the holidays and I am honoured to be able to do all of the things that I do during such a special time of year.
Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you were all able to spend the holiday surrounded by the people and traditions that you love! Sending special warm wishes to all health care professionals and public servants that spent the day keeping the world safe and bright!
-m
Look how cute this guy is ! Thanks Alex ! Loving you diy !!
-Dr. Seuss (The Grinch who stole Christmas)
Today I spent the day at work, surrounded by wonderful co-workers, families and a slew of wonderful children at the IWK Health Centre. People always ask me if it is hard to work on Christmas and my reply is always the same; I say no, the children's hospital is a wonderful place to be at Christmas time.
As nurses, we do many things for patients that they are unable to do for themselves when they are hospitalized. And although those do include stereotypical things such as bathing and providing medications, we also support them on their hardest days and advocate for them when they are unable to do so for themselves. We keep them company when they are alone and often titrate the very medications and mechanical devices that are keeping their vital signs stable and those that are sometimes even keeping them alive. We sit at their bedside with worried, furrowed brows and we lose sleep over shifts that don't end as well as we hoped. We become entwined very quickly in a person and their families lives and often get a glimpse into their private world. If we are good at our job, we do all of the above with dignity and respect.
In a hospital, a holiday is just like every other day. Infections do not rest, cancer doesn't magically go away for a couple of days and the sick don't get to go home in the hopes that Santa snuck down their chimney while they were snug in their beds. That is why as nurses and health care professionals, we do our very best to make Christmas as special and as normal as it can be. In children's hospital's we go above and beyond to keep the mood upbeat. We try in our own ways to make the day special and make sure everyone is surrounded by love and support. That is why when people ask me if it is hard to work on Christmas, my reply is always the same; I say no, the hospital is a wonderful place to be during the holidays and I am honoured to be able to do all of the things that I do during such a special time of year.
Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you were all able to spend the holiday surrounded by the people and traditions that you love! Sending special warm wishes to all health care professionals and public servants that spent the day keeping the world safe and bright!
-m
Friday 13 December 2013
Partying...
"Partying is such sweet sorrow.."- Robert Byrne
With Christmas around the corner, there are always numerous social functions cropping up. Some of these functions one knows about well in advance and some are last minute. I never like to go anywhere empty handed, I think my mom must have subconsciously drilled that into my head from a very young young age. Last minute engagements require a quick recipe that can be made last minute as well. Enter my "four-minute-brownie-pie" recipe. Just because you are crunched for time doesn't mean you can't wow people with a simple recipe that gives you just enough time to paint your nails or pluck your eyebrow (tee-hee).
This recipe belonged to a friend's great-aunt. I have jazzed it up with the addition of a pinch of coffee liquor and a pinch of espresso powder. I can't stress the awesome-ness of espresso powder enough. I know what you are thinking "but what if I hate coffee, blah, blah and blah". Well in my opinion there is nothing to hate about coffee, frankly it is nectar of gods. That said, espresso powder in small doses can go virtually un-detected by even the most persnickety of palates. It enhances the cocoa, leaving the baker and the taste-tester with an intense chocolate flavor that can not be achieved with classic dutch process cocoa on it's own. You can omit the Kahlua and espresso powder if you want but I urge you to live on the edge!
When I made this I chose not to frost it. Instead I pulled a quickie and put some snowflakes cut from cardboard down on the top of the cooled brownie. I then dusted with powdered sugar and removed the snow-flakes leaving a reverse print in the sugar. Looks great and takes thirty seconds!
Happy baking, partying and recovering the next day!
-m
Four-Minute Brownie Pie
You will need...
With Christmas around the corner, there are always numerous social functions cropping up. Some of these functions one knows about well in advance and some are last minute. I never like to go anywhere empty handed, I think my mom must have subconsciously drilled that into my head from a very young young age. Last minute engagements require a quick recipe that can be made last minute as well. Enter my "four-minute-brownie-pie" recipe. Just because you are crunched for time doesn't mean you can't wow people with a simple recipe that gives you just enough time to paint your nails or pluck your eyebrow (tee-hee).
This recipe belonged to a friend's great-aunt. I have jazzed it up with the addition of a pinch of coffee liquor and a pinch of espresso powder. I can't stress the awesome-ness of espresso powder enough. I know what you are thinking "but what if I hate coffee, blah, blah and blah". Well in my opinion there is nothing to hate about coffee, frankly it is nectar of gods. That said, espresso powder in small doses can go virtually un-detected by even the most persnickety of palates. It enhances the cocoa, leaving the baker and the taste-tester with an intense chocolate flavor that can not be achieved with classic dutch process cocoa on it's own. You can omit the Kahlua and espresso powder if you want but I urge you to live on the edge!
When I made this I chose not to frost it. Instead I pulled a quickie and put some snowflakes cut from cardboard down on the top of the cooled brownie. I then dusted with powdered sugar and removed the snow-flakes leaving a reverse print in the sugar. Looks great and takes thirty seconds!
Happy baking, partying and recovering the next day!
-m
Four-Minute Brownie Pie
You will need...
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1/2 cup of softened butter or margarine
- 1/2 cup of flour
- 1/4 cup dutch process cocoa
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tbs Kahlua
- 1/2- 1 tsp espresso powder (I used a full tsp)
Tuesday 3 December 2013
Behind Every Cloud Is...
"Behind every cloud, there is another cloud.."-Judy Garland
So I had a hankering, a hankering to rig up a craft with some pine cones. I scoured the park and found a handful, took them home and tried to dry them out in front of my cast iron rads. Of course, they are still damp and soft which sure makes it hard to drill a hole in them! Needless to say, I ended up buying a big bag of very dry cones.
After brain storming, I decided I wanted to use them in a warm, rustic way. I have also been in the market for some garlands to string in my doorways. Ta-dahhhh, inspiration!! Here is what I did.....
-m
So I had a hankering, a hankering to rig up a craft with some pine cones. I scoured the park and found a handful, took them home and tried to dry them out in front of my cast iron rads. Of course, they are still damp and soft which sure makes it hard to drill a hole in them! Needless to say, I ended up buying a big bag of very dry cones.
After brain storming, I decided I wanted to use them in a warm, rustic way. I have also been in the market for some garlands to string in my doorways. Ta-dahhhh, inspiration!! Here is what I did.....
- I picked up a little hand drill, the kind you use for bead and leather work; easily found at craft stores for less than five dollars. I also picked up some twine and some jump rings (also found in the bead aisle at most craft stores).
- Using the little drill, I drilled small holes in the tops of my pine cones (some in the leaflets, some in the stems...what ever seemed the sturdiest!).
- I then looped the jump rings through the holes and closed them tight with needle-nose pliers.
- For my own ease, I used cheap metal ornament hooks attached to the jump rings. This allowed me to dip them in the paint of my choice. I used trim paint from my house because it was the perfect creamy white I was dreaming of (not to mention I had a gallon of it laying around). If dipping 'cones is not your thang, the ornament hooks may be a good place to stop...you will have rustic ornaments for your mantle and tree without the mess. You can also skip the dipping and continue along to make garland!
- Next, I dipped those cones and tried my best to let all of the excess run off before I hooked them onto an old dish rack I had in my basement (I knew it would come in handy some day!).
- I let them dry for almost 48 hours. At the 24 hour mark they were still just a little damp.
- When dry and hardened, I removed the hooks and cut a piece of twine two feet longer then the length I wanted the garland to be.
- Next I threaded the cones on one at a time, knotting the twine at the jump ring so they didn't slide around on the twine. I left two and a half inches between my cones.
- Ta-dahhhh!!! Your garland is finished and ready to be hung! I strung mine up in both of the entry ways in my living room . I finished them off with some gold berries and I must say, I am thrilled with how they turned out!
-m
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