The Surburban Princess at http://thelifeofasuburbanprincess.blogspot.com/ has given me this fabulous award, bless her little crowned head!

***

So, here's the deal with this one:

***

You can only use one word answers; and you must pass this along to 6 of your favorite bloggers! Alert them that you have given them this award! And have fun!

***

1. Where is your cell phone? Dead

2. Your hair? Blonde??
3. Your mother? Softer
4. Your father? Hilarious

5. Your favorite food? Steak
6. Your dream last night? Weird
7. Your favorite drink? Merlot
8. Your dream/goal? Travel
9. What room are you in? Bedroom
10. Your hobby? Shopping
11. Your fear? Knives
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Sex
13. Where were you last night? Reading
14. Something that you aren’t? Quiet
15. Muffins? Coconut
16. Wish list item? Hardwood
17. Where did you grow up? Newfoundland
18. Last thing you did? Chocolate
19. What are you wearing? Nightie
20. Your TV? Entertaining
21. Your pets? Kitty Tolouse
22. Friends? Lifelines
23. Your life? Content
24. Your mood? Great
25. Missing someone? Amy
26. Vehicle? Focus
27. Something you’re not wearing? Thong
28. Your favorite store? Value Village
29. Your favorite color? Blue
30. When was the last time you laughed? Moments ago
31. Last time you cried? Friday
32. Your best friend? Laura
33. One place that I go to over and over? Frenchies
34. One person who emails me regularly? Brother Bob
35. Favorite place to eat? East Side Marios

***

*****

I love so many of my followers, and it's hard to choose six "favorites". But I will! So, I'm going to pass this wonderful award on to the following bloggers:

- Liz at A Mom on a Spin http://www.amomonspin.com/

- Nezzy at Cow Patty Surprise http://cowpattysurprise.blogspot.com/

- Duta at Places with Character http://placeswithcharacter.blogspot.com/

- Tina at Cherry Hill Cottage http://cherryhillcottage.typepad.com/cherryhill_cottage/

- Judy at Cutest Little Things http://cutest-little-things.blogspot.com/

and

- Laura at Hey! What's for Dinner Mom http://heywhatsfordinnermom.blogspot.com/

***

Ladies: If you don't have the time or energy (or inclination) to take part in this little thingie, don't worry - my feelings won't be hurt. I did say have fun; and if it's more fun to ignore me, then you do just that!

DAY TRIP Cont'd

Even if I suck at maneuvering through a corn maze, there's one thing that I excel at -- shopping.


***
After catching our breath while waiting for the Maze Master, we bought beautiful fruit at the Noggins Farm Market.


Honey Crisp
***
Gravensteins










Red Empress Pears

***
Then we headed to Port Williams, just a short 10 min drive, to a place I've wanted to visit for a couple of years.

You can buy some of their cheese at the local supermarkets. But look at what else is for sale ONLY at the fromagerie!

A beautiful selection of gelato including flavors like pumpkin, peanut butter and licorice. (They didn't have that one in the display case so I wasn't able to taste it; but I think it sounds divine!)

And this wonderful display of chocolate: dark, milk, covered nuts and fruits. And surprisingly, I didn't succumb!


******

I saved my $$ for what I came for -- cheese!

I bought Gouda and curd cheese (that you can snack on straight from the little baggie) and a Norwegian cheese called Gejost that my Ex used to bring home from his trips to Norway.




***

***

We then went into the Village of Wolfville where we visited a fellow blogger's consignment shop called "Teresa's Closet".

Here's the owner, Brenda. She was very pleasant; she even recognized me from my blog! Hey! I'm a celebrity!!

***

(Yeah!! Sure!! Enjoy your 15 minutes, Sandy!)

***

She had lots of lovely clothes and excellent prices; the girls found several t-shirts they liked. (Isn't it great that these foreign students love a bargain almost as much as I do!)

***

And this was my great find from Teresa's -- a cat cookie cutter for $1! (I'll have to showcase my cookie cutter collection some time!)

**

*
We had a quick stop at Tim Horton's to refuel with coffee and hot chocolate. Then it was off to Frenchies in Coldbrook. I mean, really!! You can't drive all the way to the Valley and not visit that Frenchies! It's the largest one in the province! It's part of Nova Scotia's valuable cultural heritage and, therefore, needs to be shared with people from out of province! (And those in province ..... or if it's someone's birthday ..... or if your cat just got neutered ..... or if you had your hair cut or clipped your toenails recently .....)

***

I found 2 great blouses (which are in the wash so cannot be highlighted at this time). Then I found these three darling little items for 50 cents each! The Xmas tree lifts off its base so you can put a tea light under it.

And these little white bowls -- the perfect size for dips or perhaps my favorite Mocha yogurt!

***

The poor little teenage girls were worn out by then, so they didn't have the oomph! left in them to find anything at Frenchies; they just wanted to go back home.

***

HA HA!! I may not be the Maze Master; but I am still the Thrifting Queen in my household!

***

Long life the Queen!

FALL FRUITS FESTIVAL - CHOCOLATE

I know that I'm just one of millions of chocolate lovers; but I'm sure you'll agree -- the passion that some of us feel for chocolate makes us feel like we must be the greatest chocolate lover! I now make that claim!

***

I love chocolate more than anyone else!

***

I'm a bit of a chocolate snob. Growing up, my children's Easter bunnies and little chocolate Xmas ornaments were always safe because I only eat quality chocolate. I have a chocolate stash in my bedroom as well as at work for emergencies. And I'm completely serious when I say that it's necessary because there are times when only chocolate can satisfy and/or heal you.

***

Can I get an AMEN out there, sisters?

***

For many years, I used to feel extreme guilt for eating so much chocolate, so often; but I no longer feel that way. (I think it has to do with aging and menopause and letting go of the yoke of "what others will think" or "what's proper".) There are much worse vices, right! I do eat chocolate every day -- but not large quantities. And yes, there are times that I overindulge (like the $30 at Rocky Mountain recently that was lovingly imbibed over a 3 hour period.) But golly gee! Gosh darn it! It's so yummy; and life is so short; and it can be difficult! So, as stated above, I've done away with my own personal chocolate guilt!

***

(For anyone out there who still experiences this debilitating condition, I am available for prayer, the laying on of healing hands and full-scale choco-guilt exorcisms! Payment in quality chocolate only please!)

***

For the past year, I have commissioned myself to be on a lifetime quest to try out as many kinds of chocolate as I possibly can. There really is nothing to compare to the smell, the texture and the taste of a good chocolate!

***

I can't pick a favorite chocolate recipe. So, I'll give you a good, quick standby for school bake sales and Girl Guide meetings etc.

***

Melt 1 bag of good quality chocolate chips in a double boiler. Add 1 cup of unsalted peanuts (or other nuts of choice) and 1 cup mini marshmallows. Stir; drop heaping tablespoons of this mixture onto a baking sheet lined with waxed paper. Chill. These "candies" will easily peel off once they harden. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator. You can also jazz them up with chopped candied ginger, flaked coconut, M&M's (add these last) or anything else you can imagine. Kids love these!

***

And now -- I leave you with this Ode to Chocolate which I found on the following blog. It so completely voices my own personal feelings about chocolate, and I really wanted you to share it with others who have "the chocolate monkey on their back"! The author http://tumerica.blogspot.com/search states that it must be read aloud, and I agree. Try it:

Ode to Chocolate

Brown creamy friend—

You contribute to my well-being,

Soothing stimulant, Smoothing recovery

You race my heart,

Unsludge my brain.

You are liquid pleasure

Sweet-tongued

Inspiration to forgive—

Edible love.

***

Sorry, mates,

You are supplanted by the bean of a plant

Rich, dark stimulant;

Woven into Luxurious

Gratification and Oral love.

***

Truffles, Eggshell delicate

Yielding to Creamy inside—

A raison d’être.

Chocolate cheesecake

Chocolate mousse

Chocolate bar

Milk chocolate

Dark chocolate

Bittersweet—

I gratefully surrender to your ardor and sultriness.

***

Like lust, Too much is consuming.

But some—A light flirtation

With satisfaction and Harmless instant love.

Passive passion

Erotic confection

Pliable

Melting

Luscious Paramour

Melted

Amiable

Tender

Smitten

Departed love surrogate.

***

Yet, unlike carnal cravings,

Easily attainable again.

***

Sweet One.

Wonderful Chocolate.

***

******

And this one by a 3rd grader named Addison:

***

Brown and rich
Better than gold and silver

Melts in your mouth
Some dark, some not

Wonderful so wonderful

Wrapped up in its wrapper

Waiting for me

Oh chocolate I love you so much.

FALL FRUITS - CRANBERRIES

I love cranberries -- I love the combination of tartness with sweetness when you use them in a recipe.
***
(We have berries in Newfoundland called "Partridgeberries" which are somewhat similar to cranberries; makes wonderful jam; and their called "Fox Berries" here in Nova Scotia.)

***
I don't use cranberries enough. But I do make my own cranberry sauce every year for Thanksgiving and Christmas ("avec a leetle bit of horange". C'est manifique!")










***

I really, really like to eat these (and many other chocolate covered dried fruits and nuts -- cherries, blueberries, apricots, strawberries, almonds, hazelnuts, cashews). So healthy and so yummy! Right??

***

These are also one of the things that I hide from my children!

***

"Eat the fresh fruit, you youngsters!! And stay out of my bedroom! "

***

And this is something else that I really love to eat - Cranberry Orange Nut bread. But for some reason, I can never bake what I consider to be an adequate loaf, let alone a good one. Nor can I bake a good Lemon loaf. What's with that??

***

I've tried and tried and periodically re-tried again; but I have finally given up. I'm good (and sometimes great) at so many kitchen things (and some other things). I have decided to leave this task of excellence to another mere mortal!

***

***

***

***

******

I'm looking forward to your wonderful cranberry recipes. I think I need to be more adventurous and try something other than cranberry sauce, wadda'ya think?

DAY TRIP Part 1 - CORN MAZE

Friday afternoon, Oct 9th, we took the afternoon off for a little day trip. We won't be together for the next couple of weekends, then there's company, then we're getting a little too close to Christmas (68 days!!! Cue music "I'm so excited...").

Sooooo ..... we skived off work and school. We drove on the highway to Chester, then headed across Nova Scotia to the Fundy Shore. What a glorious day it was. Just outside the village of New Ross, we came accross this autumn scene. (Stop. Suitable "Ohhhhs!" & "Ahhhs!")
***

We passed several beautiful Christmas tree farms. I've always wanted to own one. There's something so wonderful and magical about wandering in amongst these baby trees! I can imagine them being lovingly tended to and manicured to bring out their best; I see smiling families choosing just the right one; I see decorating while listening to "Sesame Street Christmas" or "Raffi" with the children; I see dark, late nights sipping mulled wine and just watching the lights twinkle on the tree.

I know that's all a bunch of malarky for the most part. People will freeze their butts off searching out that tree with dad saying "Hurry up and choose!" and the kids complaining! And that same dad will be saying "Sasa#@fraga$% durf!" (and much worse) while putting the lights on; and mom will be internally fuming because "No one else ever wants to help me decorate"! But I'm old; and my way of dealing with life's stressors is to live in a fantasy world which I've created. One full of Norman Rockwell images and happy families. So, back off and don't ruin it for me!

********

Once we're across to the other side (outside New Minas), we're back on the highway to head up to the Wolfville area. First stop ......

***

What a gorgeous aroma of fresh apples and pears and hay! They have what they call a "tunnel" (in the background behind the flowers) where they are still growing strawberries -- quite out of season for Nova Scotia.

***

We started with the corn maze. Austrailia is the theme this year; there's a smaller Koala Bear maze which is divided by a trench from the larger Kangaroo maze; you get a sheet with questions to answer and rubbings to be made at the various stations you find along the way. We started off quite optimistic: Libby and Adriana both decided to go right; Nadine and I began left.

By the time Nadine and I got to the trench, we had all the answers for Mr Koala except for 2. (We had heard Adriana and Libby a couple of times, poor little dears ... wandering aimlessly through Mr Koala laughing and wondering which was to go!!) Nadine wanted to go back to find the missing answers, so I opted to go on by myself. ***

I'm not sure how many times I went round and round and ended up in the same place! Here I am yet again saying "What the creamed corn!! Where the heck am I?"
***

They told us that if we were confused, just to keep our eyes on this silo and head towards it.

So, after a little more going round in circles, and after my thighs were aching so much that I thought my shoes were made of lead, I finally decided to do just that -- head towards that silo. Get me out of here! was the driving force at that point!! And once or twice when the path turned away from that silo, I just kept right on going -- off the path and through the corn stalks -- until finally, I was out! What a huge relief!!

***

And look who was already waiting for me ...

They gave up after Mr Koala!

***

We sat atop the tractor tire pile and waited for Nadine. I watched a young family go through the rope maze.

***
We waited some more .... and we saw a group of Chinese students go by on their wagon ride. ***
And we waited some more. About 20 minutes after I crawled out of the maze, Nadine emerged ... WITH HER PAGES ALL FILLED OUT!!! Yes, all 20 questions and 9 rubbings completed! Youth won over wisdom!!
***
Back home, she was crowned the MAZE MASTER!

***

As for me, I gave myself an A for effort!

***

And I vowed that from this date on, the only corn maze I'll be working my way through ever again are those on my tootsies!!

FALL FRUITS FESTIVAL - APPLES

APPLE PIE

This is my third pie which was baked (and eaten) for Canadian Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday Oct 11th.

I've been making pies for many years. When I was a stay-at-home Mom, I had a husband and a wonderful Pastor who loved apple pies. As soon as the apples harvests began in mid to late September, I would buy 20 lb bags. (I remember them costing about $6-8!) The kids would have lots to munch on, and Mama would be in the kitchen baking (and freezing pies). As the different varieties of apples came in, I'd buy another large bag and have another pie making day. We had a large chest freezer as well as an upright, and there would be 10-12 apple pies and perhaps a cherry pie or 2 in there amongst the dozen bottles of freezer strawberry jam, 40 bags of blanched green beans, and a couple of loaves of home-made whole wheat bread. Those were the days -- time and energy and lots of hungry & appreciatative mouths to feed!

***

Kids are grown, husband is gone and I work full-time. So, I don't do the quantities I used to. But I still do some jams or jellies every summer; and I bake a few pies and some home-made bread several times a year, especially around the holidays. I find baking very therapeutic; when all else in my life is going hay-wire, cooking and baking are things I can rely on to be able to control and turn out as I want it to -- that as well as cleaning!

Give me trouble that I can't handle, and I'll give you a clean house, a well stocked larder, and sore knees from praying!

***

*****

*********

Anyway, I digress. My apple pie is basic; I don't do a lot of measuring. (I have a lot of practice!) I peel & core my apples, slice them into a bowl and mix them with the juice of half a lemon to keep them from turning brown. I add about 1.5 cup of sugar and 1 tsp of cinnamon; put this in a shell, top with a few small dabs of butter (secret ingredient), top with another shell and bake -- 450 deg for the first 10 min and 350 deg for the other 50 min or so. It's always good!

THANKSGIVING DINNER

We celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving on Sunday, Oct 11th -- #1 because my daughter Molly was going back to college on Monday morning and #2 so we all have time to clean-up and recover from overindulgence in rich foods! Groan........

In spite of having such a small house, I always like to invite other to eat with us at Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, etc. We were expecting 8 for lunch, so we set the table as pretty as possible. Oops, a yellow plate got broken last time; oh well, we'll just use this pretty one with the leaves.I got the beautiful tablecloth (pale blue with gold flowers and pale green leaves) at my local Frenchies thrift store; there are also 8 matching napkins, but the girls opted for the gold paper napkins.
***

And here's the star of the show -- the turkey. He was delicious; but sadly, after doing up a take-home bag for 2, there was only enough left for one more meal on Monday. Hence, no longed-for turkey sandwiches in our lunch bags this week! :( Note to self: Buy bigger turkey next time!!

***
Here's the chief cook .....
***

And here are the bottle-washers ...... Nadine, Molly, Eva, Adriana and Libby. Look at those bright, happy, hungry, thankful faces!!

***
And here is my friend, electrician, token man-for-the day ('cause Eva's son got a better offer for dinner from a younger woman), tree-cutter-downer, spice rack and shelf maker, deliverer of topsoil and gravel, great potato masher, man to call in case of emergencies, and boss (well, one of my bosses) - Brady.
(And no ideas ladies! He is only a good friend! So, that means he's available .....)

***

We made a very good dent in those 3 pies and the huge bowl of real whipped cream; and Nadine brought out the German Xmas cookies to share. So yummy!

Thank you Lord for your wonderful goodness to us; for good food, good friends and for freedom in this beautiful country that we live in! And thank you that feasts like this don't happen more often. Time to hit the treadmill!!