Halloween cookies!

Look at these owl cookies that Annie made today! She has some wrapped up to give to the librarians and to our friend Dee at her store in town. They are a simple sugar cookie decorated with little candy corn for the wings and mini m&m's for the eyes.....held on with orange royal icing.

Lee

Art Display

Lee here....So, I bought this little shadow box that was on sale at Michaels..not as big as I wanted but the larger ones were too pricey and weren't as plain and simple as this one... but I think it works. I glue gunned them in place and had to pick these ultimate favorites out of about 50. The white blotch has Annie's name and the date. I'm not sure where this will go but it is definetely a keepsake for me! I really love how she has the parents holding their children, whether they are babies or older kids..and holding hands if not being held :) Kate is the dancer in mid centre.

On a side note..it is supposed to get very windy today so I plan on going out this morning and bagging some leaves that I need for the compost and new strawberry bed. Otherwise they will blow away and I will lose all that free organic matter!

fall soup

Lee here..my little nephew had thrown together a soup with the help of his mom (my sister) and it was delicious. I called today to ask for the "recipe" and Annie and I whipped this up. Looks so nice in the new bowls I got from IKEA...and the white bowls off to the side are from value village.

~The Soup~

a couple of white potatoes

a couple of sweet potatoes

roasted squash

onion

garlic

carrots

veggie broth

a big bunch of leeks

an apple

a bit of oregano, pepper and 1 tsp cumin.

cook till soft and then puree with submersion blender

SOOO GOOD on a cool fall day......

The weekend

I had such a busy weekend driving 2 girls around..waiting for hours and hours in town, that I am amazed that I got a couple of jobs done at home and pleasantly surprised that we got to have fun as well! Annie raked leaves to jump in..and will eventually make it into my compost...the leaves, not Annie.

Found a stick bug to observe...as well as a giant grasshopper that took off before I could take a photo.

Annie helped me plant a bed of garlic. We also planted 2 heads of "music" garlic to try something different.

Working on jack-o-lanterns... Annie still insists that we buy 3 pumpkins. Its one of those traditions that is difficult to let go of.

AND....to top of the weekend (that felt way more rushed and busy than fun)....Kate, Annie and I went out for breakfast....my favorite meal out!

Lee

a few more pics...

These are the photos of the Dam at Jones Falls.

A Day Out

On Aidan’s day off last week, we decided to go on a road trip. Just a day trip, but we were going to take the map book and head out and see where we ended up. I wanted to start by popping into the Stedman’s store in Athens. I love that little store. It’s a little department store that has everything from rubber boots to dishcloths, eco-wood toys to greeting cards and bird seed to books. After picking up the few things I needed there, we headed west. We stopped at the Forfar cheese factory, where sadly, they don't make the cheese there anymore, but do sell some. They also have some other really cool items...local art for sale, funky kitchen items, lots of high end condiments etc. We bought some apple wood smoked cheddar, some herb crackers and a couple of raspberry turnovers...yum! The coffee that they serve is Fair Trade Organic and their drinks come in glass bottle...this , in the middle of nowhere! I love it.
After our snack we ended up on HWY 15 and decided to stop at Jones Falls Locks. I remember stopping there once before, but don’t have a clear recollection of the locks and Aidan had never been there. It turned out to be the most incredible day! The weather was perfect- it was already 20 degrees, the sun was shining and the fall colours of the trees and trails were beautiful. The locks are truly amazing! There are 4 locks here and the height from the lowest to the highest was also amazing...and slightly scary...I couldn’t get too close and my knees weakened when Aidan did. There is also a Dam and of course the Falls themselves. So incredible! I always feel so bad for poor old Colonel Bye and the difficult time he had trying to build that canal system. Especially since this incredible accomplishment was never fully recognized while he was alive.
After walking around the locks and the trails, we ended up on Hwy 32 just north of Gananoque and stopped at a random diner (one of Aidan’s favourite things to do) for a club sandwich. We were only gone for a few hours but it really felt like we had been on “holidays”. Such a lovely day...the perfect season, the perfect weather and the best part...the fact that my 18 year old son still likes hanging out with me!

This is Hotel Kenny. It is over 130 years old. I think it would so lovely to stay there overnight sometime!

a few more pics...

The heron has spent a couple of weeks in the pond...eating our frogs I'm afraid! Another sad sign that Buddy is not around...

The sunflowers are the Mammoth variety that we grew in the vegetable garden and the gourds came out of the compost that I had used in the lasagna beds! The pumpkins are my favourite variety- Rouge Vif detemps....the "Cinderella" pumpkin. They get a LOT bigger than this...I want to plant more next year, this time in a real sunny spot with lots of compost and water and hopefully they will be bigger.

Fall....on Blue Mountain road.

Where did the summer go?? Well Fall has arrived and now the cooler temperatures...this morning it was 0 when I got up and there is a very heavy frost. I'm posting some pics of what we see around here these days...

The Staff Room

Lee here...Kate has a role in the play "The Staff Room" playing at the community theatre. She is one of 4 teens amongst a dozen or so adults. This is the first play she has been in that isn't marketed towards children. She has had many long rehearsals and on show nites, we don't get home until almost midnite and then she needs to get up for school at 5:30 the next day. I know it is way worth it but I think she will be happy to get more sleep soon. 1 show down, 12 to go! I really enjoy the character she plays and I am truly amazed that she can get onstage in front of so many people! I could not do it!

Here she is with the producer, Bill Petch, who had many nice great things to say about Kate:) (proud mommy moment!)

Kate and her cohort. They both enjoyed saying Lying Bastards.

The actor's photos displayed in the greenroom.

I know Kate is going to miss her new friends!

Fall Happenings

Lee here:) Annie and I have gone on a few group hikes with a naturalist. This one took us to Ferris Park and the Rainey Suspension Bridge. Its over the Trent River and of all the times I've walked across, I've never felt it sway like it did this time! Must have been because there were quite a few people on it and it was a windy day! I really enjoy hiking and it was fun to go with someone who knows what he was talking about. Annie didn't like it as much and prefers to not be with a group of strangers.

...some of Annie's art work. She made dozens of characters like this and a theatre with seats and a stage. I'm not sure how they should be displayed so they don't get wrecked over time...maybe a shadow box to display a few of them?

Today, Kate and Annie and I went to a store down the road from us that had an open house. They had a free bar-b-que (for Kate the carnivore), a free family photo, apple cider, and a corn maze. We bought some cheese curds and some maple syrup candies.

It was such a beautiful day today!