November

I don't know about you but I am very ready to leave behind all things Halloween and welcome a new month. Still lots of Fall colours on those trees that have managed to hang on to their leaves in spite of rain and wind.

I'm sure I have posted this Susan Wheeler picture before but I just like the squirrel family all cozy in their cute little house under the roots of this tree. November is definitely a month for coziness.

                       Stay warm and cozy!  

                                          Granny Marigold

Apples

We were given a box of apples ( this is about half of them) and today my DH helped me make a start on getting them ready for the freezer. Due to arthritis in my hands my ability to peel apples or potatoes is a problem. Anyway, I used some of them to make an apple crisp for supper dessert. I had my little helper who was more than happy to spread the oatmeal topping on top.

                                           The finished product.

I had time to sit and browse through my new Susan Branch book today and am enjoying it but it's very much a Christmas book so I'm beginning to think Christmas!!  And it's not even November. I think I'll put the book aside for a couple of weeks.

Thanks for visiting. I hope you had time to sit and relax for a time today.

        As always,  Granny Marigold

This and That

I had quite a big box of things to drop off at the thrift store today. While I was there I browsed and was happy to find some great books. The one on the left, The Night before Christmas, has a hologram on almost every page. I knew the little man would love it and he did. We read it after he got home from school.  I was thrilled to find the Susan Branch ( in absolutely perfect condition) . The book on the right has very nice illustrations and is destined for my collection.

I was looking for a copy of Kate Morton's The Distant Hours which I read recently ( library book),  and wanted  to own. Didn't find it but did find this one which I have read but want to reread ( 2.00).

I was tidying up today and came upon my chocolate molds. Went out to buy those chocolate melting wafers in white and also regular chocolate. After school the grands had fun making pumpkin and also leaf chocolates. Miss C. was focused and made little mess. The little man, on the other hand, was distracted by the molds we were not using. He did get his pumpkins made though.

        See what a good job they did?  Nice "marbling".

We're having some days of rain that mean no outside work. I've been doing some tidying up and hope to continue that all week.
What are you keeping busy with this week?

             Granny M.

Books and Flowers

Books and flowers are some of my very favourite things!!  In this case these are last week's library books.  The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place was a quick read ( junior fiction) and kind of amusing. I could NOT get into The Book Thief but I did enjoy The Distant Hours.
The little man was not interested in Prairie Christmas but has had me read ( actually he makes me sing) this cute book based on the 12 days of Christmas but from a Canadian perspective. He wants me to keep it as long as we can before having to return it.

I wanted some flowers to brighten up the sunroom and everything was 40% off at my favourite nursery so I bought three African Violets and a miniature rose. I love African Violets but they never seem to rebloom for me no matter what I do.  I had a miniature rose once before and I planted it outside where it promptly died so I'm going to see how this one thrives inside. There were no red ones left so I chose a peach/pink one. Now that I see them together I realize that this colour goes well with the violets.

Today is the 14th wedding anniversary of my son and DIL as well as the 52nd wedding anniversary of some dear friends of ours.  Happy Anniversary, you guys!!

 
          Granny Marigold

A Sunday Drive

It was too nice a day not to go for a drive in the country. We  headed for this bird sanctuary where we saw no Herons but we saw lots of Chickadees!

                         Fortunately we had remembered to bring sunflower seeds.

                                          The Chickadees are quite brave.

Along the way we saw this sign and drove onto a narrow driveway and up to a somewhat dilapidated  house where an old man seemed just to be waiting for us. Anyway, we bought some of his figs and he gave us a Persimmon because we'd never tasted one before. Actually, I'm not sure we've tasted figs before either since now that we've eaten a couple neither of us cares for them,  I will make a small jar of fig jam tomorrow with the rest.

         Pics taken along the way.. this is the Vedder Canal. The water lever is very low.

                       This yard had long beds full of Dahlias of every colour. 

I hope you had a pleasant Sunday too.

      Thanks for visiting.  Granny M.

A Sad Story

This post is decidedly different from my usual kind but this blog is about me and my life so... this story has been on my mind all day. I will share it with you.

This morning my DH and I went to a few garage sales before heading to the mall.  The first one we went to was all Christmas stuff. Lots of Christmas stuff. I got talking with the woman whose gs it was and she told me that her husband had complained and griped for 40 years because she celebrated Christmas. Actually, she said he hated any kind of "fuss" made. No Easter "fuss", no birthday "fuss". She said she was so tired of his negativity that she was giving up. I didn't quite know how to respond. I told her how sorry I was. I felt like saying a lot more about her miserable spouse but it wasn't my place to do so.
 It's so hard to understand why some people are the way they are, isn't it? They deprive themselves and those around them of all joy by being miserable.

I hope I haven't depressed you too badly by sharing this. I almost feel I should delete this post. 


                                             Granny Marigold

My Morning Walk part 2

Part of my morning walk is through the garden of this lovely old house built in 1920 by J.O.Trethewey. He was a timber baron and his mill was on nearby Mill Lake ( "my" lake).
 I have a love of old houses whether they are old farm houses or  more grand ones.

                The dining room ( got this off the internet as well as the next one )

I've gone through this house a number of times, my favourite was once near Christmas when the whole house was decorated with a lovely big tree in the livingroom and greenery everywhere.  There were people in period dress and that just added to the atmosphere. I hope that will happen again one of these years.
 When I walk through an old place I imagine how it would be to live there. Of course they had servants so that would have made life easy ( not for the servants. The kitchen is small and cramped).

Thanks for visiting.  Please leave a message so I know you came by.

     Granny Marigold

             

My Morning Walk

Another mild Autumn morning. On my walk I kept seeing different kinds of mushrooms. I wonder if mushrooms are more commonly found in Fall. They sure seem to be everywhere.

In the next two pics there are geese taking off from the lake but in the first one they are hardly visible against the dark trees.

                      I had to include a photo of the clouds in the Eastern sky.

Happy Wednesday!!   Thanks for coming by.

         Granny M.

This week in my Kitchen

Yesterday was my youngest son's birthday. I made a cheesecake ( a baked one, his favourite, as opposed to an unbaked one, which my DH prefers).  I didn't put much cherry pie filling on the cake because there are those who don't like it. ( really? It's so good!) 

                The birthday boy.... well, I guess I should say the birthday man.

         Rhubarb Orange Marmalade with raisins. One of our favourite toast toppings!!

            The fruit I got  this afternoon... aren't those pears big?  I hope they'll be as tasty as the last ones we bought. Pears can be strange that way.

Cinnamon buns straight from the oven ( in fact the second pan is baking at this very moment. )
Did you notice the toothpick in one?  That's to mark the end that has cinnamon buns with no raisins. The grands prefer those. The rest of us love LOTS of raisins!!

It's been a cool  and cloudy day here. Perfect for baking.

What did you do today?

          
Thanks for visiting.    Granny M.

A Mystery

Something has been eating our tomatoes. DH brought three lovely big almost ripe ones in to show me that the bottom half of each had been eaten away. These tomato plants are tall and the tomatoes hung at least two feet from the ground. Who is the culprit?   Not raccoons since they are known to rip plants down and generally do a lot of damage. Apart from the eaten fruit no damage was done. Possums, maybe? Giant rats?
 We picked as many of the slightly coloured ones and a few green ones to bring inside.

We got more apples this morning. Spartans, this time. I knew we would be having some leftovers for supper so a nice apple crisp would be a good idea. I love apple crisp still warm from the oven.

We had another chilly morning followed by a sunshiny day. Temps in the low 20's (around 70 F.)
I finished my work and sat out on the porch. Oh how I'll miss sitting out there when the weather gets cold.
I hope you had a good day too!

                 Granny M.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

                                      GRANNY MARIGOLD

Thrifty buys... a trio plus one

I dropped in briefly at the thrift store this morning and sure enough I found some good buys.
I love having an assortment of cardigans in lots of colours and this bright blue one ( 100% cotton)  will be super cozy. Half price today... $2.00
The lilac checked short-sleeved shirt is Liz Claiborne and was on sale for three dollars. It is in perfect shape, still crisp as new. I do love a bargain!

This quilted pillow sham has the loveliest pattern. I have no idea what I'll do with it but I knew if I left it I'd be sorry. It was fifty cents. Aren't those birds just perfect?

One last item. A wooden box with silver filigree corners. The red paper is hand made. I'll pass this on to my eldest daughter who no doubt will make something wonderful with it. She is very creative!

Do you like thrift store shopping?  Do you look for anything in particular, or just have a nice browse and see what looks tempting?

Thanks for coming by,    Granny M.

My Morning Walk

It's holiday Monday here ( Thanksgiving) so fewer people were out walking . I'm glad I got my walk in before the rain.

                             I love the vines on this house.  Half have turned colour so far.

        I am not a fan of Halloween. I decorate for Fall, not Halloween but some people sure go to a lot of work! Both these pics are of the same front yard.

                                          

                                        Geese flying overhead.

                                        And, of course, the lake.

A rather boring post today but I did want to have the opportunity to say that today marks exactly 2 years since I started this blog. On a whim, you might say, because it was a chance to try something new.  I've enjoyed it and have made some good friends. 

Hope your week is off to a great start!        Granny M.