Today, November 5th, is the start of Veteran's week; a time of commemorative events and ceremonies honouring our veterans, and then ending on Remembrance day. This week always holds a special place in my heart...my Dad was a veteran and my Mom is too. I am truly thankful , but my heart breaks a little more every time I think about what my Dad (and other veterans) went through..what he had to do, what he saw... My sister, The-Keeper-of-All-Things-Family, has not only all our family tree researched, recorded and stored, but she has my dad's Military History too. She has a copy of his Military record- a huge binder of every document that had anything to do with my dad's life in the army. She also has a collection of books written about the First Special Service Force that my Dad was a member of. My sister lent them to me this past week, and I have been rereading them. Unbelievable stories, brutal stories. And impossible to believe that my dad was one of these "Supercommandos". My dad was a gentle soul. Don't get me wrong, when we were kids he could give you that "look" that had us shaking in our shoes. But that was the extent of his fierceness... He was a quiet man, a man of few words. He had a difficult life as an only child and learned early on, to be careful what he said and to who. Maybe that life was what prepared him and got him through the horrors of war.
I have to say here that I don't believe in war. I believe that there has to be another way...but remembering the veterans on Remembrance day is not about what I believe. It's about what those men and women believed; what they did because they believed they were doing the right thing. Every time I think about my Dad's experience at Anzio beachhead in Italy, living in a foxhole for 99 consecutive days of battle under heavy artillery fire, I think, how? How does a person get through that? And how does a person get past that? Somehow, he did. And he went on to be there for his wife and all his children and his grandchildren. So on Remembrance Day, I remember and am thankful. Thankful to my Dad who, no doubt, gave up part of his soul to do what he believed to be the right thing, thankful to God for bringing him home, to my mom for doing her part and then helping my dad get through his, and to my sister who keeps our family story alive. Lest we forget.

Totally my cat

Lee here....This is my cat Kovu. We usually call all our pets "family pets"...except for the adult cat Annie just adopted...but Kovu has really claimed me as his own and is always so demanding of my attention. Here he is right beside me while I'm on the computer. I'm the only one he actually sits on and he follows me around like a puppy..actually our dog follows me around too.

Halloween

Lee here. First off, thanks Kathee for posting those pictures! They are lovely! We will have to have a hypertufa workshop at your house in the spring!
Here is Minh dressed up as a nice sweet character from the TV show, Adventure Time.

Here is Annie as a ninja zombie. I worry about that girl!

They had lots of fun gathering candy:)

Sempervivum

...otherwise known as Hens and Chicks. For some time now I have wanted to grow some hens and chicks in a trough and I want to make a hypaturfa one. In the meantime, I decided I could still enjoy these little succulent plants this winter if I planted them in some clay pots. This spring I want to make the trough and maybe a couple of small pots and will transfer them into it.
-Kathy

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......