Happy Halloween

I was surprised to see this display at the Home Depot hardware store a few weeks ago. Who knew that they would sell Halloween costumes?

Pumpkin Face

Here's my pumpkin face this year, I realize I can't do scary. I stopped carving our pumpkin at least 5 years ago and now I just paint a face on for the trick or treaters. I ended up having to buy more candy because everyone started eating the first batch.

Noname Chocolate Bars

deadly nightshade

Well as Halloween approaches I thought I would show a scary plant in my photo today! The nightshade berries are poisonous.

Well we've turned the heat on, it has been cold the past few days, the house is a lot more comfortable.  Husband M and son K got their flu shots so the family is all prepared for the season.

My latest 'discovery' are these noname chocolate bars, well thanks to my (perhaps equally) frugal friend S.  They cost about a dollar and are made in France, how gourmet can you get.  I have tried the dark and milk chocolate and they are delicious!  'Noname' is a generic grocery brand here.

One Last Rose

one last rose

We heard on the news that there was a dishwasher recall and sure enough our dishwasher that we purchased in 2014 was affected. So after making the appropriate calls, it seems the power cord has to be replaced due to a fire hazard. They've asked us to stop using it meanwhile. Fortunately, we hardly use it. The part has been ordered by our authorized service dealer so they are supposed to come in and do the repair hopefully soon.

Paint Party Friday - Gourds

Welcome to Paint Party Friday! This piece entitled 'Gourds' is done in my sketchbook (9" x 12") in permanent markers. It is based on a photo I took recently. I am really happy with how it came together.

Blanched Broccoli and Flu Shots

I just have my perfectly blanched broccoli to show you today. You just boil some salted water and add the broccoli for about 5 minutes until fork tender and still bright green. Then I season it with olive oil, salt, pepper and basil or oregano.  I always tended to overcook my broccoli.  What's your favourite way to make or eat broccoli?

In other news, daughter L and I got our flu shots a couple of days ago.  We've been going to our local grocery store pharmacy to have it done.  The young student pharmacist was quick and very efficient and there were no lineups at the time.  You just walk in and no appointments are required.  Husband M and son K still have to get theirs done.

Scribble Picnic - Boo!

Welcome to Scribble Picnic! kindly hosted by Michael. I did my 'Boo!' piece on coloured cardstock (4 1/2" x 6 1/2"). It's done in acrylic and permanent markers, I think they are alcohol markers, they are blendable, although I hardly blend with them.  Do you like my barn board floors?

A Time Saver

Still blooming along a walkway

Husband M had to do a routine blood test the other day.  I remembered I had an app loaded onto my phone which allowed us to check in at the lab and in fact see what the wait times were like at any given time.  The app told us it was a 45 minute wait time.  M checked in and we waited for awhile and went to the lab.  Upon arrival it was super busy, but we looked at the check in screen and M's name was at number 1!  So he went right in for his test!  The technician told us that not a lot of people use this facility but I am sure it won't be long before people realize what a time saver this is.

Pasta Pasta Pasta

I was at the mall the other day in the Winner's store and noticed this 'Trofie' pasta pictured in the first photo. Daughter L had brought a package from her recent trip to Italy. Then I noticed they had quite an array of all kinds of pasta. L said it was just like in Italy.

Beautiful Lines

I passed by these (male) Adidas running shoes at the mall recently and thought these shoes are becoming works of art nowadays, such beautiful lines, and state of the art fabric.

Husband M and I went for a walk yesterday in unseasonable 'summer' weather, I was wearing only a t-shirt as I peeled my sweater off part way through the walk. When we got to a walkway, there was a large dog accompanied by his owner. I was waiting for the dog to clear the walkway, but the owner assured me it was ok, that the dog was very friendly. He said 'he might just lick you to death though!' I laughed at this and proceeded through the walkway. Then we came upon some kids playing in the park. One of the boys asked if I would like to play with some snakes. I said 'No! Where did you get them from?' 'Just over there' he pointed to the nearby bushes. A young girl was holding one up, and then it started slithering through the sand. M and I went on our way. I wonder if they should have been playing with snakes like that.

Italian Coffee

Daughter L had brought us some coffee from Italy on her recent trip there. We loved it and I wondered if we could find good Italian coffee here in Toronto. Sure enough I found the brand pictured above at Walmart. L says they had that brand in Italy but the saleslady had suggested to her that she might try another brand that wasn't so readily available in Canada. I can't wait to try this one!

Paint Party Friday - Fall Leaves

Welcome to Paint Party Friday! I did some 'Fall Leaves' for you in my sketchbook (9" x 12") in watercolour pencils outlined with a waterproof black PITT artist pen. It is based on a photo that I took in the neighbourhood.

Pretty Gourds

Well, I've bought my pumpkin, it just needs a face painted on it and my candy has also been purchased. It will be Halloween before you know it!  Are you ready?

Scribble Picnic - Fill in the Blank

Welcome to Scribble Picnic's 'Fill in the Blank' theme! This is my interpretation of the
 'negative space ' directive. It's done in permanent markers on heavy white paper (8 1/2" x 11"), looking over the wall at the mountain view.  The wall represents the negative space in the painting, with the mountains serving as the subject.

Church and Coffee

Fall Leaves

I met my friend S after church this past Sunday. The priest introduced a handful of children being prepared for their First Holy Communion.  They are so cute at that age, probably grade 1 or 2.  Each had to announce their name and school.  S and I went to Panera Bread, she bought me coffee and we shared her delicious cherry vanilla bagel. The weather was muggy with the threat of rain.  Soon it will be time to cut back the flowers, if you haven't already.

The cute kid

We have a lot of these evergreen yew trees in the area. These pretty berries are eaten by the birds. However the seed within is poisonous. It is interesting to learn that the birds pass the seed undamaged in their droppings. Other birds can eat around the seed.

There was the cutest kid in the drugstore the other day.  He was counting up his small change at the cashier until he came up with $10 and had a sigh of relief.  He was able to buy his video game card.  He said he had been saving up for weeks for this and was so happy.  

LED lightbulbs

blue spruce

We have a lot of these blue spruce trees in the area. They grow 30 to 60 feet high and live for 200 years on average.  They also make perfect Christmas trees. They are deer resistant in the forests. Native Americans used them as medicinal plants and the twigs were given as symbols of good fortune.

They are having instant rebates on LED lightbulbs in our area in an effort to promote energy conservation.  So many of the supermarkets and hardware stores are offering LED bulbs for about 50c after an instant rebate.  The bulbs normally cost at least $3 each.  We took advantage of this to purchase a lot of LED (60w equivalent or 800 lumens) soft white bulbs and husband M spent some time yesterday replacing most of our incandescent bulbs with these new ones.  We are looking forward to the power savings over time.

Fall Colour

burning bush plant

This is a popular plant in the area, it is rather boring until it flames in the fall. I just discovered that it is poisonous and invasive.

It seems it wasn't that long ago that I was being invited to 50th birthday parties.  Well, yesterday we received an invitation to a 60th birthday party.  The truth is, I hope we will be around to enjoy the 70th birthday party invitations, life is a gift after all.

Paint Party Friday - Cherry Cake

Welcome to Eva and Kristin's Paint Party Friday! This piece is entitled 'Cherry Cake', perhaps with a chocolate ganache topping? It's done on heavy paper in permanent markers and acrylic (8 1/2" x 11").  I was striving for a barn board, reclaimed wood type of wall background here, for a rustic effect if you will.

Fallen apples and bees

apple tree

apples and bees

When I passed by this apple tree last week I noticed that the bees were having a lot of fun with the fallen apples. Nothing goes to waste in nature!

Good Eats

beef stir fry with white rice

steamed okra, brussels sprouts, butternut squash

I thought you might like to see what I've been cooking and eating lately. The first photo has my stir fried beef with white rice, I will often buy the stir fry beef strips pre-cut when they are 30% off at the grocery store and make them the same day.

The second photo represents 3 servings of vegetables for me that day. I cut the ends off the tips of the okra and steam them for 7 minutes and they are just perfect. The sweetness of the butternut squash goes well with any of the greens. The brussels sprouts are a work in progress. These were steamed but I think I will blanche them the next time as I prefer them to be more tender without being overcooked. The butternut squash was microwaved. I season all the vegetables with olive oil, salt, pepper and oregano or basil.

Lunch

I made this peameal bacon potato salad the other day. It went perfectly with a spring greens tossed salad.

Early Fall

Flowers are still blooming in the neighbourhood.  It has actually been quite warm the past few days,
t-shirt weather (77 F).

One of son K's friends came home from school for the long holiday weekend. Well, we almost didn't recognize him, he had lost 30 pounds since the last time we saw him some months ago. He said it was extremely difficult but he now works out 3 times a week, attends school, works at his job, and limits his carbs, focussing more on good protein. I told him it was important to try to maintain his good habits, so hopefully he will do that. He looks and feels better, understandably.

Thanksgiving Weekend

pumpkin time

 Husband M and I celebrate our 29th wedding anniversary today. It is the long Canadian Thanksgiving weekend. Indeed, we served turkey at our wedding day reception all those years ago.

The Cinnamon Bun Cake

Daughter L had great success with this cinnamon bun cake she made for a special friend's birthday. Here is the recipe video she used and reports that she found it very easy to do compared to the recent apple pie she made.

Here is the one she made for us without icing. It was beyond delicious, due in large part to the use of lots of unsalted butter.

Paint Party Friday - Naked Cake Design

Welcome to Eva and Kristin's Paint Party Friday! This piece (8 1/2" x 11") on heavy paper using permanent markers is a naked cake design (barely there frosting and a popular designer cake trend). I am printing some cards with this design, thinking they would be good for birthdays or weddings.

Superfruit Smoothie

This post went off a bit earlier than intended, so am reposting again under the correct date, apologies if you already saw this one!

I was reading an article on healthy items you can order at Panera Bread and one of them was this superfruit smoothie with greek yogurt. I didn't know it contained ginseng, not sure about that item, but otherwise it was full of fruit and only about 230 calories and it is a quite a large smoothie. It was worth trying anyway.

Scribble Picnic - Blanket

Welcome to Michael's Scribble Picnic, the theme this week is 'Blanket'. I decided to wrap my chipmunk in a cozy blanket done in fall colours, it is the season after all! My piece is done with permanent markers outlined with a black waterproof PITT artist pen.

The Wallet

Daughter L baked these cupcakes for a friend's birthday recently. I guess her friend is a sports fan.

Husband M and I were at in the drugstore on the weekend.  We noticed this open wallet stuffed with lottery tickets and some cash  was even visible, lying on one of the cashier tables.  There was no cashier at that stand.  So we gave the wallet to the other cashier in the next aisle.  We left, thinking that's everyone's nightmare.

The next day I was at the drugstore with my friend S.  I asked about the wallet and it seems the manager knew the owner of the wallet, based on the id inside it and gave her a call.  She came right over to pick it up.  Apparently it wasn't even an older person, which I had wondered about.

Early Fall

It's that 'fall' time of year when the chrysanthemums and my favourite flowering kale come out. Squirrels are scampering all over the place gathering acorns. There are pretty leaves falling on the pavement.  I do enjoy early fall before the cold, blustery winds start and the trees become bare.

Ice Latte

My daughter gave me this gift card which had $1.13 left on it, she had been carrying it around for 2 years so I thought I would clear it out, it was about time don't you think? I don't go to Starbucks very often but I ended up ordering a small (short) Ice Latte no sugar and it was delicious. Their drinks are a lot more expensive than say Tim Horton's or McDonald's, just saying. Are you a fan of Starbucks?

And welcome to October!