Farewell, October...Hello, November!

Hello dear friends!  How lovely it is to be in your company again!  I have been absent from my blog for far too long (since September). I could hardly find the time to write a post considering October was full to the brim with excitement and much goings-on!  I will try to compensate for my absence with a visual account of the past month.

my neighborhood in October

"Oh, Marilla," she exclaimed one Saturday morning, coming dancing in with her arms full of gorgeous boughs, "I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November, wouldn't it? Look at these maple branches. Don't they give you a thrill--several thrills?” - L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

The crabapples on our tree out back turned from green to red in early October.


Look at the vibrant fall colors!  I am in love...

Nuno, the girls, and I had tons of fun at the Pumpkin Festival at Chappell Farms!  We took a tractor ride to the pumpkin patch and picked our own pumpkins - right off the vine! 

We enjoyed getting lost in the corn maze, walking atop the hay maze, and visiting with some of the farm animals there (sheep, goats, bunnies, chickens...even turkeys!)  Speaking of turkeys...

In Canada, we celebrate Thanksgiving in October, unlike my American friends who celebrate in November.
  This year we were extra thankful, as we were treated to three, yes, THREE Thanksgiving celebrations!  I would like to thank my parents, my in-laws, and my brother-in-law and his girlfriend for hosting and serving such scrumptious food.  The time spent with family on days like these is priceless!

 Here is Nuno, my husband, carving my mother's turkey on Thanksgiving weekend.  Isn't he adorable?

The beautiful view of Canal Lake in the fall.  We spent Thanksgiving day here with my in-laws at their home-away-from-home.


I was amazed to see several robins in our yard the following weekend!

I have never seen robins so late in the season in my yard before.  The last time I had seen one was in late August.  I found it odd to see them back again.  Maybe they came for one last farewell?  Goodbye robins...I will miss you!  I look forward to seeing you again in the spring!

I am happy to inform you that although some birds have flown south, many others are still regular visitors to my yard.  The black-capped chickadees (on the left) visit daily, as do the house finches.  Occasionally, I see mourning doves feeding off the ground and I've even spotted a downy woodpecker (on the right) three times last month!  Oh, and a cardinal came to visit one day, too!


We also got some snow!  Not much, just a tiny dusting one week before Halloween.

Snow on the rose blooms in front of our house.

It didn't last very long, thank goodness!  I'm not ready for winter yet!  There will be plenty of time for that!  By mid-day the snow was nowhere to be seen.

With October came breath-taking sunrises, like this one; the sky ablaze in pink!  It' so very beautiful to look at, yet fleeting; one minute you see it, the next, it's gone! (This shot was taken from my bedroom window).


And finally, it's Halloween!

We each designed and carved our pumpkins while listening to a medley of Halloween songs.  My favorite part is scooping out the pulp!  Nuno and I helped Annabel carve hers!  I saved the pumpkin seeds and roasted them.  We also made caramel apples!  Mmm!

Even our cat, Buddy, shared in the Halloween festivities!

This year, Annabel dressed as a Southern Belle!  She looked so darling!

And here is Anita, dressed as Cleopatra!  She looked gorgeous...I still can't believe how much she's grown in the last year!


How was your October?  Did you have a fun Halloween?  This last month was filled with beauty and blessings at our house. I hope the same can be said for you!

Happy November, dear friends!  I hope this new month brings you much health, happiness, and blessings! xoxo

Happy Halloween!

vintage Halloween post card

Getting ready for the big day...

 I-N-H-A-L-E.  The smell of pumpkin fills the kitchen. We love squishing the stringy pulp in our hands and scooping out the seeds! 



Ahem, a little assistance from Daddy for the polka-dots!

 

 

 

The pumpkin seeds are rinsed, dried and seasoned for roasting...

 

 

 

Hot and ready to eat!

Annabel's polka-dot jack-o-lantern

Anita's ghostly jack-o-lantern, designed by her!

 My heart-o-lantern

 

 

 

And last but not least, my cat Buddy, "dressed up" for Halloween...

 

I can't show you the girls' costumes yet, as children are not allowed to dress up at their school.  I find it silly, but anyhow, they will have all day to anticipate dressing up after school! 


It continues to rain this morning, as it has been for the past few days.  Hopefully, we will see a reprieve for the  trick-or-treaters tonight.  How is the weather behaving where you are?  Are any of you dressing up today?  Are you doing anything special tonight?  I would love to know how you are celebrating today.   


Happy Halloween, dear friends!  I hope you all enjoy a safe, fun night!  xo



On Fall Decorating, Food, Recipes and Inspiration!

Happy Friday, dear friends!  Can you believe there are only 12 more sleeps left until Halloween?  It feels like the month of October is fleeing as quickly as the leaves are flying off the trees!  The days are getting shorter, there is a nip in the air, and I've been keeping fall-busy. 

I've been decorating indoors.  These are the leaves my girls and I gathered on our little foliage tour a couple of weeks ago.  I put them in the pages of a heavy book to flatten and dry.  The acorns were  found by Annabel in her school yard.  Every time she finds a "perfect" one, she brings it home for me.  The Autumn banner was hand-made by my dear friend, Janie.  Since she gave it to me, it always has a special place in my fall decorating!

 

 

 

 

I put our pumpkins out on the porch steps along with Mr. Scarecrow and our little welcome flag.

The light colored pumpkin is a "pink pumpkin".  For every pumpkin sold, a percentage is donated to breast cancer research.  You can visit the website http://pinkpumpkinpatch.org/ if you'd like to learn more.

 

 

 Our smiling pumpkin lights decorating our front porch

 

 

The season of autumn, including this month of October, brings about in me a craving for what I call "cozy cooking".  The recent chilly and blustery weather has me thinking of things like hearty bowls of soup, warm breakfast cereals, and cheesy, grilled sandwiches.  Although I have substantially lowered my daily carb consumption, I do allow myself occasional treats! 

 

My dear friend, Morwenna, posted about her yummy breakfast in one of her recent blog posts.  If you haven't already, you simply must visit her lovely blog - www.morwennahill.com.  She is an English cutie and a fabulous baker who always provides me with inspiration! 

 

Morwenna's recipe for her organic porridge looked and sounded so good, that I too, had to run out (the very same day) and buy ingredients to make my own.

 

 

I emptied one packet of regular whole grain oatmeal into my bowl, added 2/3 cup of hot milk and stirred in one tablespoon of maple syrup.  A few banana slices, chopped walnuts, raisins and a sprinkling of ground cinnamon made an otherwise regular, boring oatmeal an over-the-top bowl of morning cozy!  Thank you, Morwenna, for your inspiration! 

 

 

Another source of food inspiration came to me just a few days ago.  I was flipping through the pages of "Our Homes" (a free, local magazine) while in the waiting room at my orthodontist's office when I came across an article about grilled cheese.  There was a lovely recipe and a photo of the most delicious looking grilled cheese sandwich. 

 

For lunch yesterday,  I recreated a similar grilled cheese sandwich, inspired by the magazine recipe.

 

 

If you want to recreate this sandwich yourself, you will need:

2 slices of hearty whole grain bread

1 small onion, thinly sliced, caramelized in a bit of butter

3-4 slices of cooked bacon

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

butter for spreading

  

First, I caramelized the onion and fried the bacon.  I set those aside and added approximately half of a cup of shredded mozzarella cheese to one slice of bread, covered it with the caramelized onions and topped it with the bacon slices.  I placed the other slice of bread on top and then buttered the top and bottom slices. 

Next, I heated a non-stick frying pan over medium heat.  When the pan was nice and hot,  I put the grilled cheese sandwich in it, pressing it down every so often with a spatula until the under side of the bread was golden brown and the cheese began to melt.  Then, I flipped over the sandwich and did the same thing to the other side. And ta-da...

 

 

It was so good!  The flavours really complemented eachother!  I will definitely be making this again!  I think next time, I'll try omitting the bacon and making it with caramelized onion and cheese only, maybe even cheddar cheese. 

 

 

I hope you are all enjoying the month of October and the days leading up to Halloween.  It's such a fun time of year!  I can't wait to see children and adults dressed in their costumes on Halloween.  I already bought one BIG box of treats, but I have to buy more. Last year, we had so many children coming to our door.  Halloween night is so much more festive when there are lots of children

trick-or-treating! 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I always love hearing from you and appreciate your comments!  Have a wonderful fall weekend! 

 

 

 

 

 



'Twas A Bootiful Night!

'Twas Hallowe'en night, when all the through the house, every creature was stirring, except not a mouse!

Decorations and candy placed by the front door, with care,

In hopes that trick-or-treaters soon would be there.

The children were dressed as Dorothy and Red Riding Hood,

while mamma and pappa carved pumpkins,

as all parents should.

When out on the porch, arose such a clatter,

the doorbell was ringing, what could be the matter?

I ran to the door, quick as lightening,

the suspense of the night was surely hightening.

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,

but a bunch of costumed children, so sweet and so dear!

And that, dear friends, is as far as I'll go,

the trick-or-treaters took off, as you probably know.

They saw ghosts, goblins, scary witches,

and sometimes, they even posed for pictures!

They even dared to go in this tunnel of fright!

Their bags, they grew heavy, their feet, oh-so-tired.

But they trudged on, it was only one night!

Their bags filled with gum, chocolate, and candy

They arrived home, cold n' tired, feeling just dandy!

It was truly a wonderful sight,

Happy Halloween to all, and to all a bootiful night!

Halloween 2011 

This poem was inspired by Clement Clark Moore, author of the poem, "Twas the Night Before Christmas".