Halloween!

It's Halloween...

... the day when some wear a costume to work!

This "costume" - a cat puppet - on a sweater - startled me at first! What a surprise!

Flour-less Pumpkin Muffins

My daughter recently passed on a Pumpkin Muffin Recipe that a friend had given her.

It's made with oats and almond flour (which is really ground almonds - healthy for type 2 diabetics.) They really don't rise, but they don't seem heavy - probably because they have baking soda in them. Also pumpkin and chocolate chips...

I found them easy to make and delicious.





Here's the recipe:

1. Blend together 2 cups of almond flour and 1 1/2 cups of oats. Add a teaspoon of baking soda, 1/2 a cup of brown sugar (the original recipe calls for 1/2 cup of maple syrup) and a tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice. I didn't have pumpkin pie spice so I substituted a generous teaspoon of ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger, and a dash of allspice and nutmeg.
2. In another container mix together 1 1/2 cups of unsweetened canned pumpkin puree, 3 eggs, and 1/3 of a cup of olive oil or melted butter.
3. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until blended. 
4. Add 1/2 cup or more of chocolate chips. I added a tablespoon of cocoa nibs as well.
5. Spoon into muffin tins and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 35 minutes.
6. Makes about 18 muffins.

Autumn Market

Terry and I enjoy strolling through Ottawa's downtown outdoor market - and sometimes stopping for coffee.

That's what we did a few days ago...

The market was ready for Halloween...

I particularly liked these unusual wreaths made from ornamental grasses.

Every year, I notice new creations!

We also bought a few veggies...

This sign over some potatoes made me smile...

I cut off the top which says "The Spud Life"...

I wonder if Taylor Swift is in town?!

Someone is obviously trying to lighten up the business of selling potatoes with a little humor!

Remembering an October Trip to the Laurentians

On my photo book "to do list" is to create a souvenir book of two days Terry and I spent at the ski resort, Mont Tremblant, north of Montreal.

We were there in October 2015.

Most people drive there in winter, to ski.

But neither of us are skiers, so we picked a few mid-week off-season days in October to head up.

We had a lot of fun!

Some deer showed up as we were wandering around! Terry tried to make friends with them.

The hardest thing about a low-season visit is the lack of restaurants that are open.

They take times like this to give their staff holidays - or to clean and renovate.

But we had a good time.

The weather was cool but sunny.

At this time of year - before the snow falls - I think it would be fun to go again.

What Would We Do... Without Internet?!

It's hard to remember what life was like before we had a world of information at our fingertips on the internet's World Wide Web...

I realize that I can't trust everything that I read online, but it is such a great research tool...

I recently wrote about a new rocking chair that I had acquired because of my new leg pain.

I realized how bad my walking had become a few weeks later when I got off the city bus... It was soooo hard to step down. I clung to the railing because my legs couldn't support me.

Has it come to that? Terry commented once I was down. You looked like you were really struggling...

I was... And I was surprised too how hard getting down off the bus had become...

Do I have arthritis? Maybe it's time to see the doctor...

But first, I want to see if this could be a side-effect of one of the two medications I'm on...

When I checked online, I discovered that swelling of muscles and joints was a rare but documented side effect of the diabetes medication I'd been on for about a year. Once the medication is discontinued, it apparently takes up to a month to get back to normal. But the stiffness comes back if the medication is resumed.

I quickly made an appointment to see my doctor, who supported my going off it to see what happens.

Two weeks later, I'm a lot better... And I'm trying to avoid using any medication for diabetes by switching to a vegan diet that lowered my blood sugar before. At the time, I was reluctant to stay on it since Terry is a meat eater and it would mean we'd eat different things...

But after getting a taste of this pain, I'm ready to try anything to avoid taking medication - which can have its own debilitating side effects.

(And I wouldn't have known anything about recent side-effect discoveries if it hadn't been for the information online.)

A Few More Photo Books

My aging computer - with its hundreds of family photos stored on it - will soon no longer be "supported" by Microsoft...

What exactly does that mean?! my daughter asked me recently...

I don't know. No updates, I guess...

But will it really make a difference?

I don't know - but the thought is making me get to work and create photobooks, something I've been meaning to do for a long time.

I guess any deadline that motivates you to complete a project isn't a bad thing!

Neighborhood Chipmunks

I haven't seen a lot of chipmunks in our yard. We have lots of black and grey squirrels - and some smaller, aggressive red ones.

But my neighbor Mary has seen chipmunks in her yard.

These photos were taken by her daughter Kim...

Is this one an adult?

And here, sitting on the top left patio stone are two more... The same family?

I have no idea whether the paler one is younger or simply a different color...

They may have been lured by nuts - a good photography strategy!

St. Albert Cheese... and Burgers...

Recently coming back from a day trip, Terry headed for the village of St. Albert - to buy some fresh curd cheese.

It's always nice to buy fresh cheese packaged that same day.

While we were there, we decided to try their burgers, too. This one had bacon  and cheese on it.

Delicious!

It's a busy place - a lot of people know it's here, way out in the country.

I always like to eat locally produced food, if possible - even if it means  driving into the country a little ways...

Beautiful Leaves

It's the season of leaves changing color in our eastern Ontario community...

Arguably the most beautiful time of the year!

As I admire the different trees - and vines - in the neighborhood, I realize that they need sunlight shining on them to look spectacular...

Why?!

They can look lovely on a cloudy day...

Are they transparent - like stained glass, that lets the light through?!

How is it that they simply GLOW in the sunlight?!

New Art... in Our Garden

This fall, we added a garden statue to our yard...

My older son brought it over... It was a gift from a friend, whose parents are moving into a condo - and no longer wanted it.

I think it makes an interesting addition to our yard. It's visible from several windows... but not overpowering under the pine trees.

My daughter thinks it looks like a ghost because it's all white. I prefer to think of it as a "thinker" - looking down and reflecting ...

A Busy Toronto Shopping Mall

My daughter has always liked fashion... (something I am less interested in the older I get!)

But I'm always up for visiting new places. So when she commented that she was looking for a certain clothing item, I suggested  we go to the premium outlet mall - between Toronto and Guelph - that we had driven past numerous times but never gone into.

Two surprises: We had no idea that it would be such a busy place, especially on the weekend!!

It was hard to find parking - and later, just as hard to exit... The vehicles just kept coming...

Second, some of the stores were very expensive... Gucci, Prada... But that didn't seem to be a deterrent. Those stores were especially full!

I don't think I'll head back again soon -  I like calmer, less busy places to shop in... (though it may be more peaceful mid-week.)

I'm also not much for expensive fashion...

But once we left the mall, when we googled restaurants, our GPS led us to an interesting British-style pub that served a delicious chicken pot pie...

Every table had its own TV tuned in to British soccer.

There was also a dart-board nearby!

A pleasant place to end our shopping trip!

Lovely Guelph Church

On our last trip to Guelph, Terry and I walked through an old neighborhood - made even more beautiful by the autumn leaves...

We were en route to a service at a lovely old Anglican Church...

...the Church of the Apostles.

I love these beautiful old buildings!

The service was lovely - and the people were friendly...

I especially loved the organ music... Here are the wonderful old pipes that made the sound!

Road Trip in Autumn Leaves

Terry and I make frequent trips to Toronto and Guelph while the weather is nice...

On our last trip, leaves were bright red, orange and yellow...

It made the trip so beautiful!

I took a lot of photos while we were driving, so many didn't come out that well...

But I'm thankful for those that are nice enough to share...

On our way home, back to Ottawa, a road sign indicated that we were coming up on a half-hour traffic delay...

A perfect reason to get off the highway and head towards Ottawa using country roads - and our GPS map!

I now have a NEW favorite road home - through Norwood!

We might never have gone there if there hadn't been a delay!

Thankful also for our GPS!

Life ... and traveling ... are very different now with cell phones and GPS technology.