November

 

 October went by so fast and somehow November has arrived. We're enjoying a few days of welcome sunshine. The Dahlias in pots got cut down and put in the shed where they will hopefully be fine for the winter.  Any potted plants that need to be protected from winter rains have been moved and I think we're ready.
 

Daughter Sheila went to the Pumpkin farm yesterday and took some great pictures. I don't think she'll mind if I share them. I think this is the first year in a long time that DH and didn't go. It's like the end of an era.

That's her, second oldest of our 5 kids.  I'm so glad they all live locally and we get to see them often.

Teacup # 25

Thanks for coming by,   GM

This and That

What I'm reading:  The Melissa Harrison book was so well written and interesting until about two thirds or more through the book when suddenly it became depressing and had a fairly unsatisfactory ending. Not one of the three main characters had  their hopes/dreams fulfilled. I felt depressed when I was done reading.
Miss Read, on the other hand, never disappoints me.

 Does anyone remember the Ideals magazines?  I used to have a big stack of them which I donated. This week I bought these 2 "for old times sake". For all I know they might be some of the ones I donated years ago.  I enjoyed paging through them reading the poems and looking at the pictures. Next time I go to the thrift store I'll take them back and some one else can enjoy them.

 
I bought a bag of Daffodil bulbs and put some in pots and the rest in the ground. I hope they'll all grow and bloom next Spring.

My Thanksgiving/Christmas Cactus have lots of buds. I bought a potted plant with two different coloured blooms last year. After it finished blooming I divided it into 3 pots but I don't know what colour I'll end up with. These look quite pale so maybe white?

Years ago I had a Chinese Lantern plant and I'm not too sure exactly why I don't still have it. They tend to be very hardy and even invasive so I don't think it died. I think I'll look for another one. At this time of the year their papery pods look wonderful. I got this picture off the internet in case you are not familiar with this plant. Isn't it pretty?

Teacup # 24

Thanks for coming by,  GM

What's happening in my Kitchen

 The chilly weather has made me want to be in the kitchen more.  I have been reading about the health benefits of lentils and although I've often included red lentils in most of the soups I make I had not used the brown ones ( those are the ones that retain their shape even after soaking and boiling).  Below is the picture of the lentil stew  I made and both of us enjoyed  and look forward to having it again soon
.I found so many different recipes for Lentil stew on line and I ended up making my own version.

 

Baked Oatmeal was another experiment and was deemed a success as was a pan of granola. I have made granola in the past so that wasn't an experiment.

 
Have you been baking or cooking different foods now that colder weather has arrived?  

 Teacup # 23 is called Greenwood Tree and is a Royal Albert piece. I've added the saucer picture to give a better look at the pattern but Blogger insists on placing it sideways. Sorry.

Thanks for visiting,  GM

Halloween

As I've mentioned many times I'm just not a fan of Halloween but my eldest daughter with her talent for making things of all kinds has created some remarkable vignettes that I thought I'd post. For those of you who are interested.  The skeletons mostly came from the craft shop but were rigid and upright. She heated them and formed the various poses.

 

I'll end this post with a cartoon I found on FB.

I'll be back soon and I will resume my very ordinary homey posts.    GM

 

Autumn Colour

 We had a lovely walk even though the sun wasn't shining. Rain is in the forecast also high winds. I'm so glad we could feast our eyes on the beauty of the Autumn leaves because chances are good that the wind will blow them all away.

 I took these photos off the internet because they capture the paths we walked much better than my camera would.  I'm going to miss this beauty so much when its gone.

 I hope you are able to get out and enjoy Autumn or Spring, depending where you are. There's beauty in all seasons even if we have to look for it a bit harder in our very wet Winters.

 
 Teacup # 22  Royal Albert unnamed pattern with a simple white Rose.

 Thanks for popping by, GM

 

Christmas at the Thrift Shop

 It's rather early to be putting out Christmas decor but the thrift shop often starts early ( and does very well in sales all proceeds going to charity).  So I went to browse and enjoy but didn't buy anything. I thought you might like a peek at what I saw. If early Christmas decorating annoys you feel free to skip this post.

 

In the photo below you can see just how big this shop is.

 

 

teacup # 21

 Thanks for visiting today,  GM

Destruction

There are always new homes going up around this area and often there will be an older, smaller home being taken down to make room for some much larger place. Adjacent to the park there was a large home, quite fancy, with what was either a conservatory or maybe an indoor pool on one side. When I went for my walk I heard crashing noises that got louder and louder as I neared this big home. Sure enough that very place was being destroyed by an enormous wrecker. (excavator?).  It seems a shame to take down what looked like a perfectly good house. One hopes that some of the woodwork and such was removed before the demolition began.

 It's a wet day. 12C (about 53F) which isn't that cold except with the rain it feels bone chilling. I came back from walking and my shoes and socks were soaked and my feet were so cold.  Now I think I'll do a bit of housework then spend some time with my feet up and a book in my hands.

Teacup # 20  by Elizabethan has pretty pink and yellow roses.

 Thanks for coming by,  GM

This Day

 October is a month in which our family celebrates  many birthdays and anniversaries.  Yesterday was Youngest Son's birthday and today is Eldest Daughter's.  It also is National Chocolate cupcake Day!! 
I'll warn you already that tomorrow is  "Evaluate your life" day. That gives you lots of time to start evaluating ( just kidding).

 On this day in 1929 a landmark Canadian women's rights  court case decided that "yes, women are persons".  The decision by the Privy Council was thanks in great measure to the efforts of the Albertan social activist Emily Murphy whose appointment in 1916 as the first female magistrate was challenged on the basis that women were not persons under British and Canadian law.  Today we salute Emily Murphy.

Today's Teacup by Royal Chelsea is # 19   I couldn't decide which photo showed it best so I'll include both.

Thanks for visiting today,  GM

Saturday Trivialities

 

 

It's chilly and wet today.  I hope we get more warm and sunny days otherwise Fall will be much too short and it will just morph into winter rain.  It's a good day for baking because the kitchen warms up nicely.

Today it's Carrot cake and a Banana cake.  The Carrot cake will be cut into portions and put in the freezer (well, not all of it. It would be a shame not to sample it). The Banana cake will be going along with DH when he goes to his volunteer 'job' on Monday. He wanted raisins in it. I have put chocolate chips in it other times but this time it's raisins.  I'll ice them once they've cooled.

 

Eldest daughter often comes for lunch on Fridays and often takes home flowers or leaves to sketch. She gave me a lovely watercolour of some Coneflowers that she picked. I hung it in my sunroom.

I hope you are all having a good weekend. Thanks for stopping by.

Teacup # 18

This and That

 Thanksgiving is now history and it was lovely having family over. Today I felt tired so I didn't do much. Just  a bit of housework.  Returned my books to the library and picked up one I had requested. 

 

This is not my house. A local person has pumpkins and gourds for sale and this is the picture they posted of what I assume must be beside their front door.  Isn't it lovely?
 
Have you heard of Taiyaki?  I know I sure hadn't until this weekend. Middle son likes to experiment in the kitchen and he decided to try making fish-shaped waffles filled with sweet bean paste. He had to order the special waffle maker that looks like this:

and you end up with something that looks like this!  Taiyaki.   I would have preferred it to be sweeter but the grands enjoyed them and I think they look cute.

Teacups # 16 and 17

Thanks for visiting today,  GM

Thanksgiving and Pie Failure

 Well, it wasn't exactly a pie failure so much as a crust issue.  I ended up using a third Crisco shortening and two thirds butter. I had no trouble rolling it out but the finished product was firm (hard) and not at all flaky.  I did make the crusts the day before and put them in the fridge well covered with plastic wrap
( still unbaked).  According to the internet that shouldn't have had an effect but something did. My family will no doubt enjoy them.

I also made a crustless pie which is so much less bother. I think I may stick to that kind in the future.  There are many recipes on-line if you're at all interested in trying to make one. For myself I don't need the extra calories which the crust provides so the crustless  is my first choice anyway.

 

Enough about Pumpkin pies and on to teacups.  # 15 is a pale yellow one with sweet flowers and a gold rim.

 

 Thanks for coming by,   GM

Pumpkins and Thanksgiving

 It was my sweet  granddaughter Kate's birthday this past week. She gave ME a gift instead of the other way around.....this set of  three crocheted pumpkins with real sticks for stems. Aren't they cute?  (She ordered a set for herself too) .  I can't decide if I want to put them on the porch table or on the sideboard. They look fine in both spots.

 

 That bedspread that I bought at the thrift store earlier this week is now on the porch swing and I am pleased with how it looks.

It's Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend and I'm going to be baking Pumpkin pies, of course. I have always made my pie dough using Tenderflake lard but I want to try using butter instead. I hope it will be as flaky as with lard. What do you use?

Teacup #14 is quite plain with a fancy border

Thanks for stopping by,  GM