Breakfast with Lofa

REduce REuse and REcycle

This past weekend, Lady E and I had a table at the Mom to Mom Sale. It was so great to mix and mingle with other mothers, buying and selling, sharing stories as we passed on our children's used belongings. A few conversations could be heard from the vantage point of a vendor table...new mom's giving advice to friends that were expecting 'don't get that toy, you WILL regret it! There is no OFF switch.' or grandmothers carting around sleeping children so their daughters could shop. It was a fun time. I was able to scoop up some great deals for Lofa and sell some large items we would never use again.

A sale like this is such a great way to put those 3R's into practice.

Another great way is to sell and shop consignment. No time to do all the work of selling it yourself? No problem, get someone else to do it! Basically this is what consignment stores do, sell your stuff, take a cut and give you the rest. The items must be cleaned and in good condition, brand name items always sell for more. My favourite thing about consignment is getting there are finding out that something has sold! Of course that money get recycled right back into the store!
The shop I frequent sells both used and new items, most of the new items are from companies started by MOMS!

There are so many benefits to buying children's items second hand! Here are just a few:

* It's CHEAP! It's really hard to think of any other reason!
* No Packaging. Someone else has had to go through the process of opening the CRAZY packaging that is used on children's toys. Environmental points for this one as well. No packaging makes everyone happy.
* Brand names. There are a few children's consignment stores that stock high quality brand name clothing for a fraction of the price. These also have a high resale value, for when you are done with them.

Think twice before buying that big expensive toy at the big box store...there may be a little box around the corner that has it for half the price (and packaging)!

www.kentfieldkids.com
www.bellylaughs.ca
http://www.almontenurseryschool.ca/mom2mom.htm

Wadizit Answer.

The answer is that there is no answer until there is a guess!
Here is the picture...this is an easy one.





**Hmmm maybe there should be a prize of some sort? Any ideas on how to make this feature of the blog more exciting? What sort of incentives should be offered?**

Bakin' Biscuits

The other day we had some homemade chicken soup, all it needed were some biscuits. I dug out my Newfoundland recipes cookbook and found the Tea bun recipe...tweaked it here and there, threw them in the oven and hoped for the best.

They turned out really good, there were a few adjustments on temperature, size and time, but overall they were great! I have since made them a couple more times, adding an ingredient here or there. This is a very versatile recipe, and the simplicity of it makes it easy to add your own twist without compromising quality.

My toughest critic LOVES them, he even turned down a banana at bedtime because he caught sight of the biscuits on the counter. Lofa never turns down bananas.

Here is the recipe for the 'tweaked' biscuits we ended up with.

2 cups Stone ground whole wheat flour (this is from a local farm, delish!)
1 cup Organic All purpose flour
3 heaping tsps Baking powder
3 tbsps honey (local as well...local honey is wonderful if you are allergic to pollen, because it is made form local pollen. Eating it will help build a Resistance to the allergens.)
1/4 cup unsweetened organic apple sauce**
pinch of salt
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp Organic unsalted butter
2 tbsp dried thyme**
1 egg slightly beaten
1 cup buttermilk *

Sift together the dry ingredients, rub in the butter, until it is crumbly. Mix together honey, applesauce, egg and buttermilk. Add to dry ingredients. Do NOT over mix (this will make your biscuits dry and tough) roll out and cut buns (standard biscuit size, I used a cup upside down to cut them out). bake for 20 minutes at 400f
and then 10 minutes at 450f. cool slightly and serve with butter. YUM!

* 1 cup of yogurt and water can substitute for buttermilk. Just add water until the yogurt resembles buttermilk in consistency.

** these additions can be substituted for whatever you like. Try adding 1/2 cup of aged white cheddar, or use vanilla yogurt and add 1/2 cup of fresh blueberries.

Bon appetite!

Wadizit?

Wadizit Answers

The Wadizit from April 12 was the playground.

Happy Record Store Day!

Wow! It is so great that such a day exists. Unfortunately our town does not have a local record store. I would have definitely gone there to celebrate if there was one. So in honour of Record Store day, I would like take some time to reflect on a few of our favourite stores.

In The early years that Ace and I were together, we lived in Toronto. After 2 years of pretty shady neighbourhoods we had enough. We finally found a great little apartment in a pretty cool neighbour hood. One of the best parts of our new 'hood was Mike's Music on the Danforth. This was the ideal situation for Ace and I, we are constantly on the hunt for new sounds and artists to listen to. We would stop whenever we happened to be walking by, payday always included a visit to Mike's. This store is small, but packed with old and new records and Cd's. Mike is actually there, and he knows alot about music. When I was pregnant we were on our way home from a friends wedding, as we drove through Toronto, on our way home, something came over us and we got off the highway and spent the afternoon on the Danforth, ending with a visit to our favourite place, Mike's Music!

Another Record store that I love to go to whenever I get a chance is Compact Music in Ottawa. They always have what I am looking for, and I have often walked out with the Cd that is 'currently playing'. Ace and I have spent some great afternoons just browsing the aisles looking at what was there, picking up a record or two or three...to add to the collection.

This next record store is an Ace pick, Fred's music in St.John's. This Store is big, and there is a great selection. There is a large selection of local music, both traditional and non traditional. The best part are the records, they have a ton or records, the new record selection is just as great as the used. They even have live concerts in store!! The last time I was in St.John's my sister in law took me to Fred's, I fell in love. I can't wait for the next visit to the rock so I can search for some new tunes at Fred's!

So once again, happy record store day to you! Support your local record stores, they are few and far between these days. Nothing beats the sounds and feeling that a record store brings.

Wadizit

Puddle Jumping with Lofa

Wadizit Answer

Sorry to be so late with the answers...the internet has been down.

The last Wadizit was a teething baby...poor thing.

Is there anything that made teething a little easier for your little one?