Goodnight Little Garden

.
This was the view out of my window yesterday when I awoke. Sunshine was streaming from the sky and the colors were gorgeous. A perfect day to put my garden to bed for the winter. .
I put all the garden furniture and gnomes and butterflies etc etc etc in the shed until not another thing could be tucked in there.

.
Then I raked and raked and raked until my arms were ready to give way. Most of the leaves get piled in a hollow in my side garden to go back to the earth. Look at how bare my little garden is now!My garden swing has, unfortunately, seen too many seasons and the fabric on the seat is almost rotten; I didn't trust it this summer to sit on it. Sad to see my lovely swing go:(
.

I did bag some leaves. And I moved the autumn flowers to the front so I could enjoy them for what little time is left. And now that the leaves are cleared away, I can also enjoy the Chinese lantern and Turtlehead that are in bloom.

.
The weather today is nasty with heavy rains, high winds and temperatures around 7 deg Cel. However, many places in the Atlantic Provinces are experiencing snow. So, we seem to be let off easily.

.

Today will be a home day: children plugged into their various electronic devices, me with my feet up enjoying digital TV, strawberry/rhubarb pie and roast chicken in the oven.

.

Winter is on it's way, bloggies!

.

.

A huge THANK YOU & a Thrifty Thursday

After my birthday hunting trip, I put myself on a restricted diet -- food, clothes, finances, decor, etc. I'm trying to be more mindful of what I spend and what I put into and onto my body (and abode)! We all know that there's nothing I need! (Well, other than a good man and a few cuddles ......... and the occasional piece of dark chocolate and opportunity to dance!)

.

While in the Valley with my TOPS pals last Saturday, I did score a pair of navy blue dress pants that had been on my "I Want" list for over a year: $3.85 didn't break the bank!

.

And when I stopped into the Sally Ann yesterday (Salvation Army Thrift Store), I bought half a dozen Chatelaine & Canadian Living magazines (50 cents each) and these seasonal items:

3 Xmas towels and a cute Xmas apron - $4 total.

.

Then when I got home from work, there was a little package for me in the mail from my bloggy friend ❀❀❀Ðαωᾔ❀❀❀. She has such a flair for dressing and such a way with scarves and jewellery, some of which she makes herself. When I expressed how much I liked her flower necklace, she wrote me and said she'd be happy to make me one! Isn't that so nice of her! And isn't this the sweetest necklace! The flowers are a jersey knit t-shirt material, so soft. And she choose yellow because I'm always admiring and coveting her yellow shoes, sandals and purses.

THANK YOU SO MUCH DAWN.

(Please check out her blog Creative Cain Cabin).

You really do meet the nicest people through blogging. .

And don't forget to visit Leigh at Thrifty Thursday #136, Plus a Halloween Tablescape. Now that I'm on my belt-tightening budget, I must mostly live vicariously through the thrifting of others!

.
.

Shoesday - October 25, 2011

.
This is a special Shoesday; a day when dreams come true. (Cue the harp music; crescendo the angelic choir; release the doves........)
.
Do you remember my hunting trip in the city? And the post I did showing you the gorgeous red shoes that I found at Naturalizer? The ones that I left on the shelf because of the price? The ones that were $79.99 + 15% HST -- on sale! I showed such good restraint, didn't I.
.
Then last week, I received an e-mail coupon from Naturalizer for 30% off any shoe (sale items included) plus free shipping AND a $50 cheque from my Mommy (late birthday gift). Serendipity once again, I'd say! (And I believe I saw the moon and all the stars aligned that night!)
.
One week later, look what arrived in the mail...
.
They are so comfortable. And look how pretty they look on my feet! Now I should be sure to find a man, right?

(Although they do make me want to say

"There's no place like home! There's no place like home!)

.

.

And as if a day couldn't get any better, I got a call to say I won the Halloween draw at Frenchies. I won these cute little scarecrows!.And if by some chance I meet up with a lion and a tin man before the night is through, I'll know I'm not in Kansas anymore!

.
Don't you love late birthday gifts!
Shoes -- They're a good thing.
.
.

Early Halloween

.
Halloween hit a little early in this area. Friday night, the international students met and had a Halloween party, the first for most of them. Anna came to our house to dress with Mariana, Elly and I -- a bunny, Dorothy (with Toto), a friendly witch and a devilish pirate.
.
Every year with these students is different. You get a completely different feeling and reaction from them. Last year's students were very independent and not much into group activities. This year's students are very laid back and easy going and LOVE to get together. Every one of them dressed in costume and although they were drawn to their own nationality, they still mingled.And there was such a lot of dancing (some of us adults included). We have a large group of Brazilians (around 14 of them); and they led the dancing. But when "Great Big Sea" came on the playlist, it was Lynn and I who led the dancing: we got on that dance floor and swung those students around arm by arm until they caught on and began to do it themselves.
.
And do you see Charlie Chaplin in the bottom row, second from the right. That's Haoxuan (pronounced something like Zao Zan) from China. He good naturedly sang the national anthems of 5 different countries for the adults -- 5 of the 17 that he knows.
.

The kids also got to see the haunted house set up downstairs - a 24 hour project by one of the fathers. I'm sorry I didn't use the nightime setting on my camera because it really was a scream seeing it in the dim light.I loved this guys creativity (and twisted mind!). My Elly and her Korean friends laughed their way through. Then I took Mariana and 6 of her Brazilian girlfriends downstairs; 2 of them screamed so much and finally wouldn't go any further they were so terrified (as they also laughed)!

.

Too much cake and pop and cotton candy later, we came back home. What a wonderful time we had. The kids can't wait to go out trick or treating next Monday.

.

Sometimes, being an international mother is such great fun! EMy own flesh babies won't tolerate me when I do my "Moves like Jagger" but these international students wanted to learn from a pro! (Or perhaps they were just humoring me?)

.

.

A Favorite Old Cook Book

.
I have a lot of cookbooks. I have some favorites, and I love to try new. But, there are tried and true recipes I always go back to. My very first cookbook was this one:
It was given to me by my Mom Xmas 1975, my first year away from home. And it's even more special to me because Cream of the West is the flour that every Newfoundlander used. We are very proud of being Newfies! Purity crackers & cream biscuits, Good Luck margarine and Cream of the West flour -- ALWAYS!
I wish I could sing the radio jingle for you! (And the Ode to Newfoundland! and The Star of Logy Bay! ..... and perhaps Aunt Martha's Sheep!)
.
This cookbook is full of hideous 1960's pictures of foods that one would NEVER eat -- i.e. that pink cranberry and celery studded blob of gelatinous goop! (Did anyone ever really eat those?)
.
But it also had tons of great recipes which I eagerly tried when I met my husband. Recipes like "Quickie Lamb Chops" -- chops and sliced vegetables layered in a foil envelope and baked until everything is tender and infused with that lovely lamb flavor! OMG! So good! .
And this gorgeous Strawberry Bavarian Cream. Now THIS is the way to do gelatin!

.
That book mostly sits on my shelf. But it does come out most years in late October in time to make what I think is the best Christmas fruitcake in the entire universe. This dark beauty is full of fruit and nuts; it's moist and fragrant; it's addictive and oh so fattening! It's my post-Xmas jigsaw puzzle-doing companion (along with a cup of tea or a glass of wine, depending on the time of the day.) It's one of the main reasons for my 5 lb gain over the holidays. But what a way to go!

I've made a few alterations to the recipe to make it my own -- a little more citrus peel; a mixture of Brazil nuts and walnuts; soaking the fruit and nuts in brandy overnight; and wrapping the baked and cooled cake in brandy soaked cheesecloth layers which get re-soaked 2 more times before Xmas.

.

My Ex used to love it as well, so there was always someone to help me eat it. But now there's only me, and even a half recipe carries "a lot of weight" (pun intended).

.

So now I ponder whether I should or shouldn't bake one this year. I didn't last year -- and I missed it. (And I still gained 5 lb! Must have been that substitution of more Xmas chocolate than usual!) AND it does make the house smell divine and Xmasie.

.

I'm thinking on it.

.

How about you?

• Do you have favorite cookbooks that are mostly unused?


• Do you bake fruitcake for Xmas?


• Do you also gain 5 lb?

.

Autumn Family Play Day!

.
The Fall sunshine brings out the little girl in me, and I have to go outside and play. Saturday was the perfect day -- what with it being sandwiched between rainy weeks!
..
I dragged my little foreign girls out of bed before noon (what a rotten Mom I am!), and we set off to see what will probably be the last of the Autumn leaves and just hang together. They were so enthusiastic about it! Picture this: dark little heads on their hands, sleepy narrow little slits for eyes, staring morosely out the window thinking of I-pods and laptops and pillows (none of which were in our car!) And Mama next to them singing along with Katie Perry and Usher and trying to engage them in character-building aka geographically educational conversation:
.

"Oh! Look at that one! So red!"

"Ohhh! So pretty!"

"Ahhhh, orange, gold and red - all in one tree."

.
Not once did I ask "Are you having fun?" Not once did I tell them "Someday you'll be glad you saw colorful leaves in Nova Scotia." No ... I just did what I was supposed to do and treated them like I would my own kids. You know what I mean, right? "We're having a family day and you're coming and you're going to enjoy it! Understand?!"
.
There were moments they liked a lot.
.
And they thought Lunenburg was pretty. Eating lunch at a little cafe perked them up and fueled them for walking up and down that hilly little town as Mama continued to chatter cheerfully about this historic thingie and that historic thingie. (They did like the Dollar Store.)
.
I may have picked up a slightly 'Please! No more!' vibe from them when I dragged them around historic Mahone Bay and into my favorite shoe store. But by then, I had long adopted the stance that someone should enjoy this beautiful day ... and it might as well be me!
.
By then, it was time for beverages and dessert at Joanne's Market. Blueberry New York and Peanut Butter Toblerone cheesecake revived us once again. They enjoyed that..
But their eyes really lit up as I said we'll head home now. As we slipped off our shoes in the foyer, I thanked them for coming along and said "It was a fun day!" They smiled at me and dragged their exhausted little bodies upstairs.
.
Yes! You know you're the mother of teenagers when you have an "Enforced Family Bonding Day". Thank goodness these ones were too tired (or polite) to whine like my own used to! And I trust that, just like my own, these girls weren't scarred permanently and will actually remember and treasure these days.
.
After all - it is a cultural adventure!
.
.

Thrifty Thursday - Oct 13.11

.
I had a fairly successful hunting trip last weekend. I didn't bag everything on my list; but I did manage to get some good as well as some great bargains.
.
.

• Two lovely blouses from Value Village: the blue satin was brand new with tags on for $9.99 (a bit more than I usually spend on thrift). But the animal print blouse was a steal! It was priced at 5.99 and had what looked like a coffee stain on the left breast; so I asked the clerk if they took anything off for stains. I got it for $2.99! Ain't that grand then! (I used Oxy and the stain came out beautifully.)

.

• Then I found these 2 purses. I got this knock-off Burberry knapsack for $9.99 (and then a couple of dollars off for some specks of dirt on it); the yellow one is in perfect condition - inside and out; it's was bright, cheerful and $6.99.

.

• The Autumn colored necklace (lower left) was $2.99; and I love these silver plated earrings with blue glass beads (upper left) for $6.99. (But shhhhh! Look what Santa found on the right! These Moonstone earrings in a silver setting that perfectly matche the Moonstone ring my daughter gave me a few years ago. They were $17.99, but still a deal because new they would cost in the $60 range. And a woman needs a few good pieces of jewellry!)

.

I smiled extra large at the check-out because I had a 30% off coupon ... which meant that even after Starbucks and Laura Secord, there was still lots of Slush Fund in my tin.

.

I hunted through 2 Value Villages for a good used blender. The only one I found sounded like a chainsaw with a bad case of Bronchitis. So, I sent to President's Choice and bought this one for $30; a good price with a 2 year warranty and a clean bill of health..
Re the much-coveted animal print cardigan: after hours of fruitless searching in many stores, I found this one. It was $38 with an extra 20% - still more than I wanted to pay! And I sort-of had my mind set on the traditional beige-brown color rather than this still attractive, but obviously female leopard! So, it sits in it's paper wrapping while I decide whether to keep it or return it for credit. Hmmmm!.

While I'm deciding, I think I'll put my feet up and entertain myself with a few of the magazines I picked up. Maybe Valerie will inspire me to not eat that last piece of pumpkin cheesecake in the fridge!

.

Now, go see Leigh of Tales from Bloggeritaville at Tales from Bloggeritaville for Thrifty Thursday #134.

.
.