First Sunday of Advent

For several years, I joined other bloggers in a link up entitled "A Pause in Advent." The blogger who hosted the link is no longer active. However, I love this season of reflection, of waiting and preparation, and hope to post a little Advent thought each week. 

I looked over some of my earlier posts about Advent and found these words,

I try to read something during my day that I can pull out of my brain at quiet moments. Recently, it was this, from the Celtic Book of Prayer, "Do you have only one minute? Hem it with quietness. Do not spend it in thinking how little time you have. God can give you much in one minute." 

Hemming a day with quietness takes some intention, along with exertion of my will. Can I ensure that I'll take those moments of quiet in place of doing something that will tick one more item off my list? We'll see. 

The five-year-old's parents went to a party today, so we got to spend the day with Miss S. Are you familiar with Jacquie Lawson and her beautiful cards? Each year, the company creates an interactive Advent calendar that is filled with activities, beautiful scenes, and snippets of information about Christmas. I've enjoyed them for several years, and send them to the grandchildren. Miss S was so intent on "crunching candies" and creating snowflakes today that the chocolate chip muffin she was given as a snack went mostly unnoticed. 

Saturday involved cleaning the pantry. Everything is neat and organized again, shelves wiped out, and a few out-of-date items discarded. It's all so neat looking that I had to take a photo. Saturday also involved hanging curtain rods and curtains. Tim did most of the work and complications meant that it took most of the day. What a husband!

We took the time on Saturday for a leisurely breakfast together. I found a recipe in the newspaper for French Baked Eggs with White Truffle Cream. I made a few adaptations and oh, was it delicious! A chocolate bread and mandarin orange completed the meal. I'll try and put the recipe on my food blog later this week.

Do you cook special breakfasts often? Ours are usually yogurt, frozen blueberries and granola (for him) and nuts (for me).

November was dull and rainy - 27 days out of the 30! Things are looking up for December, though - the sun shone today - hooray, and this evening the moon was full and bright.  

Linking with Mosaic Monday, hosted by Maggie from Normandy Life.

Just Before Thanksgiving

Sometimes, weeks don't turn out as planned. Each year, on the two school days before Canadian Thanksgiving, our school gives the students time off while the teachers go to a conference. It's a great time of learning (for the teachers) and having fun together. 

On Monday night, I came down with a sore throat that turned into a cold. So, no conference for me. I stayed home. By Friday I was feeling much better and rather wished I had gone. My colleagues were happy for me to NOT share my germs, however. 

I rescued some flowers from the garden from an impending rain and windstorm. Those white roses, Winchester Cathedral, have wicked thorns and I plunked them down onto the table without much fuss. 

I gingerly separated this one bloom from the bunch and posed it for its portrait. Such a pretty, fragrant flower. 

This basket of tomatoes and squash were also rescued. We've been eating the little Millionaire tomatoes like candy, for they are so sweet. The bigger tomatoes were cut in half, sprinkled with chopped onion, fresh thyme and oregano, drizzled with olive oil, and roasted until the house smelled like an Italian restaurant, redolent with flavour. 

Our Vancouver kids arrived last night for the holiday weekend, and I made the effort to prepare a special breakfast. A fresh corn tortilla, lightly crisped, topped with sauteed onions and sweet peppers, topped with guacamole, one of those luscious roasted tomatoes, and a fried egg. A few sprinkles of Cheddar cheese finished it all off. Very filling and very delicious (patting myself on the back just a little).  

On the mantel a cheery vase of hydrangeas and sunflowers seem apropos to the season. 

Dinner preparations are what's happening around here today - turkey, savoury stuffing, crumb-topped sweet potatoes, and more. We'll gather tomorrow with our children and grandchildren. Truly, we have much to be thankful for. 

November Celebrations

Two November birthdays. Two beautiful young women. A daughter and a daughter-in-love. We gathered on Sunday for a late brunch/lunch.

I was in the mood to try a few new recipes. I made a baked, filled omelette, loosely based on this recipe. Sauteed vegetables and cheese filled the omelette and we had breakfast sausages on the side, along with a fruit plate and...

a braided apple bread that was quite good. I would serve a cheese sauce to accompany the omelette next time.

Cake decorating is NOT my forte, unlike DIL Katie. I browsed Pinterest and came up with the idea of a cupcake bouquet. There were even a few late, late raspberries to pop onto the centers. I'm sure these will be the last. 

Purchased macarons were a special treat. Tim took this photo from the other end of the table. Miss A is reading the macaron flavour key to Miss S. Notice the teacups? The girls asked if they could have tea, in their special cups, with sugar cubes. This Nana agreed with alacrity.

Grandpa suggested that the littles should have finger access to the piped green stems of icing on the cake plate. It didn't take long for that to disappear!

The dads got in on the play - one was a horse, the other helped to get everyone balanced. The ride was short, but fun while it lasted.

How often do you try new recipes? I feel like I've been in a bit of a rut, but all the time I spent in the kitchen this past weekend was a lot of fun.  

Breakfast by the Sea

"We're going out for breakfast on Saturday," said he, "We have a 9 am reservation." 

Reservation? For breakfast? Really?

And this is where he took me. It's in Sidney by the Sea, just a few miles north. Our good friends have their boat moored in the nearby marina and recommended the Sea Glass Restaurant. We did need that reservation.
 

Table 12 has the best view overlooking the marina. A grey day, but brightening. Masts reflected in the water rippled in the breeze.
 

Sea glass, shells, and watery shades of blue, green and aqua made for beautiful decor that just added to the experience. 
 

And the breakfast? Wild salmon cakes on foccacia bread layered with spinach, topped with poached eggs and hollandaise sauce. Crispy potatoes on the side. A little dish of fruit. Earl Grey tea to drink. Delicious and satisfying. So satisfying that I brought home half of it and enjoyed it again on Sunday morning! 

A great start to a Mother's Day weekend that included a wedding shower, dinner with  children and grandchildren, puttering in the garden, phone calls with my daughters and more. I hope your weekend was equally wonderful.