A Ghost and Cookies

 

 

 We don't really pay any attention to Halloween but I couldn't resist this cute pic on Pinterest.

 Talented DIL made cookies and decorated them. They'll be sharing those with the kids in their townhouse complex tonight.

Thanks for visiting

Baking

So I baked yesterday and that went well. When I remembered to take a picture I had already bagged and frozen half of the cheese buns. I need to use the cake mixes that I bought months ago when they were on sale.  The cake will be served with strawberries ( from the freezer) and Cool Whip.  While the oven was on I put in an Impossible Quiche for our supper. It's hard to see but there's a toothpick sticking up in it to show which half has sausage (husband's) and which has none ( mine).  This is how a vegetarian and a carnivore live peacefully :)

 

 I made these scones on the weekend. I see I went rather heavy on the glaze :)

 A recipe that did NOT turn out was one for Savory Scones. It called for cheese and jalapenos among other ingredients.  The mixture was impossible to form into balls which were to be flattened( too crumbly). I improvised and pressed it into an 8X8 pan to bake. They really are not very tasty and are disappointing. O well. I can't complain. It's rare that a recipe actually ends up inedible.

pic

 picture from the internet.  Sorry, no picture of my failed results.

Thank you for all the concern many have expressed re my foot.  Healing continues.

Thanks for visiting

 

 

Planting Bulbs

 My computer has been giving me problems but Middle Son has worked his magic on it and I think I will be okay. I don't know what anyone  does who doesn't have some friend or family member that is tech-savvy to help when problems arise.

On Friday Youngest Son and Eldest Daughter came to plant my bulbs. They raked the beds and covered them with landscape fabric  cutting X's where the bulbs went in.  These raised beds have in the past been used for vegetables.

 Eldest also planted some of her bulbs since I had both empty pots and lots of soil.

 My foot is slowly getting better ( not nearly fast enough for impatient me).   Housework has been set aside mostly these 2 weeks. Tomorrow I'll do laundry and get some much-needed baking done. Our weather forecast for the week can be summed up in one word....showers. I won't even be tempted to putter outside.

I hope your week is a good one. Hard to believe we'll be turning the calendar page to November very soon!

Thanks for visiting

 

Shopping

 Thursday is our usual grocery shopping day and I was determined to get out of the house.  My foot was a bit less swollen and by wearing the biggest slippers I could find around the house I was able to go.  Black pants, black socks and slippers ...I doubt anyone even noticed my footwear. 

 

After doing the shopping, coming home and putting things away we went to the thrift store.

Look at this very ornate sofa and love seat.  You would need a big room to put these in but they sure were amazing. 

Doghouses at $200 each.   I've never seen doghouses at the thrift store before!
 

 Then we came upon the Christmas area. The volunteers were just starting to put things out. I browsed but all I bought were 2 Christmas CD's and a jigsaw puzzle.

 Here I am leaning on my cane.

It was nice to get out for a few hours but now I'm home propping up my foot again.

Diane was wondering about my mushroom.....I found it in the park, and am definitely not going
to eat it. 

Thanks for coming by 😊

Sore Foot, a Ghost, and a Mushroom

 

 

I've been faithfully icing my swollen foot but today I read on-line that icing is not recommended  any more especially after 2 or 3 days. Apparently it can delay the healing process.  

With the "Spooky " season approaching I read this yesterday in Elizabeth's German Garden ( which I'm rereading again)

"....the cook saw a ghost and immediately left. What she saw was doors that are locked opening with a great clatter all by themselves on the hinge side, and then somebody invisible cursed at her.
I don't know why it should be given to cooks to see such interesting things and withheld from me but I have had  two others since she left, and they both have seen the ghost."

Have you read this old book first published in 1898?  I like how she calls her husband Man of Wrath, which apparently he was.

 

   Found this strange mushroom . The stem broke when I lifted it but it was about 2" high. 

That's it for today.  I hope your day is going well. I'm glad you dropped by,  GM

Birthdays, Full Moon, and a Calendar

 It seems like such a long time since I last posted. That might be because I've been doing very little as I sit with ice on my foot and wait for it to get better.  I walk around with a cane but try to sit and keep my foot propped up. Seems I did more harm than I thought. The timing was bad as we were on our way to Sheila's when it happened ( I went anyway.  I was not going to miss Thanksgiving with my family.)
Then that same week we celebrated Youngest son's birthday on Thursday and Eldest daughter the next day. Yes, I managed to have them 12 years and one day apart!

Both of them requested Bienenstich as their birthday cakes which was so easy. There's a lovely little restaurant locally that makes them and you can buy them frozen which is so convenient.  Are you familiar with Bienenstich?  It's a German cake which consists of two layers of cake with a layer of fluffy cream filling. It has a topping of almonds and honey.

 

 

 

Then we had the October full moon on an almost clear night.  (I didn't take this picture).

Do you use an actual calendar or just rely on your phone?  I couldn't manage without a calendar on which I put all the year's birthdays, anniversaries, appointments, etc... 
Sheila gave me this one for 2025.

I hope to get back on track with posting every 2 days as I mostly manage to do. Thank you all for the prayers and wishes for my foot. 

Thanks for visiting,  GM

 

A Fall, Placemats, and a Dahlia

 

It's a wet morning, in fact, it's a very wet week. I won't be out there walking because I carelessly fell on the stairs and will have to wait until my foot heals ( when I fell I landed on my foot.)   It's scary how quickly things can happen.

Before the mishap we took a few boxes to the thrift store and I popped in to look around. All I got was a couple of Christmas place mats. I didn't need them but they were hand done and I have a hard time leaving pretty handwork behind. They were just a dollar for the pair.

 

Eldest brought me this dahlia which came from a friend's allotment garden.  Isn't it big? I used to grow dahlias but one winter I left them in the ground after piling branches and mulch over them but they didn't survive.

Thanks for coming by.

Geese

 

 
There were so many Canada Geese on the water at Willband this morning.  As we were starting our walk it seemed that they had received  some sort of a signal and literally hundreds took to the air.  Squawking away to each other away they all went. It was amazing to see. 
I found some interesting information on the internet about geese. Please feel free to skip it if you're not interested.

 

Quick learners

Baby geese, called goslings, are impressionable little birds. They’ve been known to follow just about anything that moves, from dogs to humans, mistaking the creatures for their mother. The impressionable young use this skill to mimic the adults, learning how to swim just 24 hours after hatching. At only one day old, goslings can dive 30 to 40 feet underwater. 

Parent geese teach their young how to fly when the goslings are two to three months old. The goslings will stay with their parents for the first year of their life and even migrate with the adults that year.

As the goslings continue to grow and become more independent of their parents, they may group together with other young geese. These groups, called “gang broods,” can consist of up to 100 goslings. 

 

Partners for life

Canada geese don’t start looking for a mate until they’re two or three years old. While looking for a mate, the geese use assortative mating, meaning they look for a goose about the same size as themselves. The birds mate for life, which can be anywhere from 10 to 25 years. If their partner dies, the remaining goose will try to find a new one.

 

Thanks for visiting,  GM

Happy Thanksgiving

 

 It's our Canadian Thanksgiving and this is my wish for my fellow Canadians. 

Gardening and a Recipe

 

 Friday morning brought my helpers here to cut down the lavender and roses. I know the roses will need another cutting down in Spring but for now the long stragglers have been shortened.  So thankful for all their help.

 The city workers have finally finished digging up our street and also replaced our water meter. They left the site where they dug quite smoothed over and we still had some mulch to cover it.

Last but not least my sister sent me a recipe for an unbaked Peanut Butter/Chocolate square which turned out very well and has been tested by husband who quite liked it.  I'll include the recipe in case you  want to make it.  Thanks, C.

 

No Bake Chocolate/Peanut Butter bars

1 cup butter or margarine
3/4 cup brown sugar

Melt in a saucepan then add:

3 cups oatmeal
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla  ( I left it out)

Cook for 3-4 minutes.
Press 1/2  into 8X8 pan  ( she said she'd make it in
a bigger pan next time so I used my 7X11 pan)

Filling:

1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter

Melt in microwave, When melted and smooth
spread onto oatmeal base. Top with remaining oatmeal mixture.
Refrigerate.

This recipe is gluten free

 

Almost forgot to add that today, October 12, is my blogaversery.  13 years.

Thanks for visiting.

Plant Shopping

We picked up Eldest first thing after our breakfast and morning walk and off we went to buy bulbs since it must be about the right time to get them in the ground now.  We chose tulips of different colours and many daffodils ( husband wanted the plain King Alfred ones).  We're holding some bunches of fresh flowers that they had there for a good price 

 So many choices!!!

There was even an African Violet that 'accidentally' got into my basket.

After we dropped  Daughter off we went to have coffee with Husband's brothers and sisters-in-law.   We like to stay up-to-day with each others lives especially as we all get older. Came home ready to relax for a while then go out and putter in the sunshine.  We are having such lovely days.

Thanks for visiting,  GM

Laundry and a Sunday Walk

 

 
I don't hang very many clothes on my clothesline any more. I have shrunk a couple of inches and have to stand on something in order to access the line :)   Nevertheless I still like to use it for heavy jeans and such. On a breezy day things dry quite quickly but sometimes they still need a few minutes in the dryer to get the wrinkles out. I find that adding vinegar to the rinse cycle helps to lessen wrinkles.  Giving each item a good shake before hanging them up also helps. Do you have any tips to share?

Today is another perfect Autumn day and I'll be going out to putter after I have a rest.
Yesterday was as lovely as today. We walked along a stretch of Discovery Trail near Fish Trap Creek..

Before we left home to drive there I took a picture of the interesting clouds. So pretty.

Something I've been meaning to mention is a site that I like and I think others will as well. I don't know how to post a link but if you search for Nature365 you should find it. There are daily, short (1 minute) nature videos that are very interesting to anyone that enjoys nature.  Let me know if you find it ( and if you like it).

Thanks for coming by,  GM

A Birthday and Garden Clean-up

 

 It's Kate's birthday today. She's our oldest grandchild and we've been so fortunate to have her in our lives. She's a real sweetie. Auntie Sheila posted this picture on Facebook and I stole it💗

 Another thing that happened today was Pumpkin pies!!  Three of them and not one looked as perfect as the one on the 'net.  But they'll taste just fine.

 Yesterday we had heavy rain in the morning. In spite of umbrellas we came home quite wet. Today was cloudy but no rain. Very nice day to be outside. Eldest and Youngest came to help again. All  the Morning Glories that were covering the arbour are gone.

The wild area has been tamed.

In the background you can see the big building that is slowly getting done. With all the concrete that has gone into it it should stand for a very long time!  The little office with the orange door is  temporary, of course,  sits on the upper parking area. There is also underground parking below.

Have a lovely Sunday

 

 

Pumpkin Farm

 

We took a drive out to a Pumpkin Farm a little ways out of town.  Grandson M came along ( I'm so glad that at 15 he doesn't feel 'too old' to enjoy the animals there. We've been going there with him (and his sister) for his whole life. Here we are next to the wagon full of assorted pumpkins. DH is holding the Caramel Apple pie that we just bought at the little farm store.  It's in the oven right now ( although it is fully done it was frozen and needs reheating.)

 

The pie is done. Since the oven was on I made an Impossible Broccoli Quiche that takes about the same time to bake. Supper's ready.

It was a lovely day.  Thanks for all the comments on the pumpkins in the last post.  

Thanks for coming by today.  GM