Various Ramblings

Nader and I spent time with friends we invited over for dinner on Sunday. He made his famous Macarona Bechamel and I made salad and dessert. It was an evening full of interesting conversation, much of it about church and church history. I think we need to have people over for dinner more often.
I spent the weekend working on restoring a dresser that I got for $25 at Value Village. I sanded and filled a few holes, painted and put on new knobs. Don't you think it look great now? I ended up spending more money than I anticipated on the project, but I can paint other things the same colour now if I want to! Plus it looks way cooler than a brand new dresser.
We also went down to Riverside Park one evening to listen to live music there. It was a bit of a stormy evening (ie. thunder and lightening), but we enjoyed the fresh air and the atmosphere. In Kamloops there is live music every single night all summer long for free! Its so cool. We also went for a drive down a road we've never been on. As it turned out, we ended up at the dump and drove past the (smelly) mill. We saw a large buck eating grass (I think he had about 3 points on each antler). I hope that we see cool wildlife when Nader's parents are here.

I've started my job hunt now, so my 'free' time is more limited. I need to make sure I have something to record about what I did each day. So, I better get going on that. I have an info session at the work search center this afternoon. I hope it helps me out.

Keep fit and have fun!

Love, Nicole

A Busy Week

I was helping out at Vacation Bible School this week at our church. I did the powerpoint for singing and created slideshows of the kids each day. It was a lot of fun and the kids loved it too! God is with us! (Can you see it?)
Lots of yummy snacks all week long! The leaders got home made cinnamon buns with cream cheese icing today....mmmm.
We had great weather all week, except for Thursday - there was a thunderstorm and pouring rain! Plus it was really cold for July - about 15 degrees.
In my spare time I am working on fixing up a dresser I bought at Value Village for $25. I got it for the spare room for our guests! It will be a wonderful colour called "Coriander Seed." I'm still looking for nice knobs to put on it. I am so excited to see the end results!

Have a great weekend!

Love Nicole

Rhubarb Delight

Another great rhubarb recipe. It was like rhubarb cheesecake without a crust. I bet it would taste even better if it were on a shortbread crust. I liked eating it just from a bowl.

3 cups fresh rhubarb, cut up
1/2 cup white sugar
1 Tbsp flour

Mix together. Put in a deep dish pie plate or an 8x8 inch pyrex dish and bake at 400F for 15 minutes.

8 oz (250 g) cream cheese (I used light and it turned out fine)
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs

Mix cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Beat until smooth. Pour over hot rhubarb and bake for 30 minutes at 350F.

1 cup sour cream (again I used low-fat)
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Mix together. Pour evenly over hot pie. Chill and serve with whipped cream and sliced strawberries.I hope you enjoy eating this as much as I did. Nader liked it too! Its all gone after 2 days. Happy eating.

Love Nicole

Okanagan Lake

We were invited out to the lake with our friends, Jeremy and Lillie. Jeremy's family has a cabin on Okanagan Lake near Vernon that is fabulous. We spent a day and a half there doing pretty much nothing....There was reading, eating and playing dominoes. The guys did a little work to fix up some rotten boards on the deck, and Jeremy's mom painted.
We did swim as well, after getting good and hot! It was 34 degrees in the shade and much hotter in the sun. The water was surprisingly warm for the time of year. I didn't even get goosebumps and Nader didn't complain of being cold.
We had a great fire when it got dark and roasted marshmallows and made banana boats (split your banana with the skin on and stuff it with chocolate, then wrap in foil and place in the coals until hot). Oh man, that was good! I've never heard of doing that before, but it will definitely be done again.
After finishing up at the lake, we went and had a BBQ with some more friends back in Kamloops. Getting out of the car was a huge shock - it was roasting hot. I think I broke out into an instant sweat! Kamloops broke the record for heat from 1987 - it was 39 degrees officially. (I think it was hotter....) Let's just say that I am so thankful for A/C!!

Happy Canada Day!

Love Nicole