The Joy of Fall

Oh, don't you just love Fall? The last bit of the veggies to be harvested from the raised beds ... Such a bumper crop of crunchy delicious carrots this year!

We were even blessed (?) with a very unusual specimen from the garden patch. Some sort of five pronged orange beast ... I bet it's going to be a real test of agility to peel this carrot!

And the leaves ... oh those leaves!!! Under this bed of beautiful leaves lies a gravel driveway. Every year we have to pick up ALL those leaves so that they do not compost and make a 'mud' driveway next year. For those earth friendly people out there ... I layer my four compost bins with these leaves throughout the year. Fruit and veggie scraps ... brown leaves ... fruit and veggie scraps ... brown leaves ... The makings of the best compost around.


Isn't this a spectacular sight? We have have three junior sized maples in the front of our house. At one time every year, they are three different colours. Orange, yellow, and this striking red. But as evidence of the curse on this generation ... notice the blackberry bramble that has slithered its way through this beauty. Remind me to hack this weed back!

I hope that you are enjoying the colours and joys of fall. Isn't God so good to have given us a feast for the eyes?

Dishes!

I am so excited.
I had made up my mind.
I wanted new dishes in my life.
I, of course, had considered getting new,
but couldn't commit to ONE set and couldn't afford TEN.
Sooooo I went out
in search of new-to-me dishes.
~ * ~
What till you see what I found .....

~ * ~

Thanksgiving 2009

Well another Thanksgiving has come and gone. Ours was not spectacular but our tummys were full and we were indeed thankful. With one child away at university, it didn't seem right about having a big dinner. We had therefore decided to go low key on the Monday festivities, and then spruce it up a notch when she comes home for a visit next week.

Now don't worry, I didn't forget the pumpkin pie! But this year I did shake things up a bit with a new recipe ... One right off the canned pumpkin wrapper. And you know ... It was delicious and EASY AS PIE!... so I decided to include it here for you to give it a try.

Magic Pumpkin Pie

1 - 9" unbaked pie shell
2 eggs
14 oz canned pumpkin
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
300 ml sweetened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 425 F. Beat eggs lightly in medium bowl. Add pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves and stir until well blended. Blend in sweetened condensed milk. Pour into pie shell. Bake at 425 F for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 35o F and continue baking 30 - 35 minutes long or until knife inserted in center comes out clean Cool and top with lots of whipping cream or ice cream. YUM

Genius eagerly waiting for the eating to begin

Hubby and I came down to the table with almost matching shirts :o)

~ * ~

The last year has been rather up and down with my health ... I have intentionally left out the fact that my heart was compromised with a rare heart virus last year ... Maybe I will go into more details another time... BUT I can still say that God is good. And I share with Barbara Johnson by ending with her quote here:

"Something to be thankful for
is that you're here to be thankful."

Hope that you had a wonderful Canadian Thanksgiving, eh.

Fall Mosaic

Don't know how this will work,
but I went on Picasa
and am trying to Mosiac-ize
a few Fall decoration pictures that I had.
Here goes!

Grit, Dust Mites and Feces ... Oh My!

Yep ... I got em! Grit, dust mites and feces all contained in my carpet. Rather sobering if you think about it. Today a young man ... a son of a friend ... came over to demonstrate the Filter Queen Majestic Vacuum System. He did a great job of pitching his wares, but I had to decline the $2,995 plus tax price tag.

In an hour and a half he wowed me with this superior machine. First he used my central vac (apparently quite gutless) and went over a patch of carpet ... 52 swipes with my machine! Then over again 5 times with the Filter Queen power head. In 5 times AFTER my machine's effort to clean, he still pulled up grit, fluff, dust and stuff! I was impressed.

I don't think that it was clever trickery with slight of hand ... I am convinced that the Filter Queen is really that good. In the end I felt bad that I couldn't hand over my credit card number and get me a shiny new one. But life and other expenses get in the way sometimes. No harm in writing it on my Wish List though!

She Was Showered with Blessings

Well, Karen ... my partner in Bridal Showers Co-Ordination Inc. ... (Tee Hee ... This title makes us sound soooo important!) and I have our 2nd Shower under our belt. And it was a great success ... or at least we thought it went well!

Jennifer received lots of terrific stuff. And you know, I wondering ... if Hubby and I were to say our vows again ... could we get a lot of NEW terrific stuff? My 24 year old shower presents are long since broken, turned ugly, or have gotten lost in the what-not drawer!

During the evening we played a few shower games. One that was well received was the Memory Game of Kitchen Gadgets. Marilyn (on the left) purchased 20 unusual items and attached them to an apron. Jennifer (the Bride-to-Be) slowly walked around the room as we tried to commit to memory ALL of the gadgets. Jennifer leaves the room and we frantically try to write down all the items on paper we remember.

Most of us didn't fare too well with this game. Well, I should say most of us middle-aged contestants didn't do well. The prize went to a girl of 12 ... Way to go Alyssa! Oh to have the memory of a 12 year old again.

And then as with all memorable church events, there was lots of food. We did purchase a large cake for dessert, but opted to ask the ladies to bring savory items for the buffet. Now don't get me wrong, sweets have a very important part in a woman's life, but sometimes too much of a good thing ... is just too much.

And then finally after all of the present opening, Jennifer was donned with the official Bridal Ribbon Bonnet. A goofy tradition that still makes us all smile with glee.

~ * ~

And there you have it. Bridal Shower #2. Now all we have to do is just come up with more games and ideas for the next Shower that's around the corner.

~ * ~

Oh, hey, here's a thought. If you happen to have any ideas that you are willing to share, by all means SHARE away. I'd love to hear what other provinces, states or countries do at their Bridal Showers.