Last year, Halloween arrived on a Sunday…
While Terry and our sons watched Sunday afternoon football - a family tradition in both Toronto and Ottawa - our almost-two-year-old grandson, in his football costume, added to the action!
Meanwhile, his sister was busy rolling cookie dough, making Halloween cookies. They look great…Another family tradition?!
Today is the 6th anniversary of my mother's death.
She died at age 97, still very interested in the world and in the people around her - surrounded by the beauty of the autumn season.
I'm reminded of her last days, when the leaves start to fall.
The Byward Market posted this cute idea for a Hallowe'en-themed treat.
Clementines and celery... I think it would be fun to make with kids, too!
Further along, I saw that some of the brown reeds were beginning to open up - revealing fluffy seed pods…
I had no idea that they broke apart like that, or that seeds were in there!
Amazing! Live and learn!
An online craft store that I often purchase knitting patterns from, just informed me that October is also “Soctober” - which I assume is the month for knitting socks.
I mean, why not?!
If anyone plans to 🧶 knit Christmas stockings, it would be a good time to start. I have a Martha Stewart sock pattern that I’ve used several times. I found it online. It also has a “Christmas stocking” size.
As for me, I’m trying to finish knitting a sweater I started a few months ago. Once I finish that, I’d be tempted to dedicate a month to knitting socks!
I wonder if there’s a month designated to completing unfinished projects! Now that would be useful, indeed.
I was walking down a neighbouring street and stopped to admire a yard with numerous flower beds. The woman who lived there was working in the garden.
I admired one plant with long red dangling flowers.
Those are seed pods, she informed me. I have them all over the yard. Would you like some?
Sure! I replied, expecting her to give me a handful of seeds.
She disappeared into her back yard and returned with 4 large branches laden with pods.
Just lay the pods wherever you want the plants to grow, she said. They grow from seed.
So that's what I did! I lay the branches, with their dangling pods, here and there, in different flower beds. That was easy!
Don't you have to cover the seeds with soil? my daughter asked.
Perhaps I'll cover some and leave some uncovered.
There are so many seeds in each dangling seed pod!
I wonder how many of the seeds will grow!
My neighbor Mary informed me that the plant is called Amaranthus caudatus or Love Lies Bleeding and that it can grow out of control!
Sounds like the rest of my garden - totally out of control! Let's see what happens!
After a few weeks of cool weather, it's now sunny and warm again...
In the midst of this beautiful fall weather,🐞 🐞 🐞have suddenly appeared ! Lots of them! All at once!
And they're not bright red, as they usually are. Instead they're orange-ish.
What I'd like to know is why so many?! Why now? And why this color change?!
Do they think that it's spring?!
My favourite park in autumn is Andrew Haydon Park, in Ottawa’s west end.
A perfect mix of walking paths, trees, and water…
Every angle provides a stunning view.
We often see Canada geese here - but this time we noticed herons…
And egrets… (A few ducks as well.)
I was walking through the nearby college grounds - photographing colourful trees…
Suddenly I heard the Canadian national anthem. A college soccer game was in progress…
I stopped to listen - thankful I was born here in Canada - not in the Ukraine, where my mother was born…
Her family escaped when the Russian government, under Stalin, took their farmland. The situation there these days, unfortunately seems no better than it was when my mother's family left in 1928.
On weekends - or during the week - I love to hang out with my grandkids!
Never a dull moment with young ones around!
I'm counting on them to keep me feeling young!
I bought an Amaryllis bulb after Christmas last year. It was on post-Christmas sale. By the end of February, it had grown into a lovely flower.
From what I read online, the bulb needs to be stored in a cool dark place for 6 weeks before I repot it and start watering it again. I've put it in a brown paper bag in the basement. I need to mark the end of November on my calendar as a reminder to do it!
That's what I plan to do. I hope it works!
I've heard that homemade crackers are much tastier than packaged ones. The recipe looked simple, too.
I made only half the recipe, in case I didn't like it.
Mix 1 1/4 cups of dry oats and 1/4 cup of water.
BLEND - ROLL OUT (with a rolling pin) - score the "dough" with a pizza cutter - into 2 inch squares. Sprinkle with salt.
I don't have photos (I guess I got too caught up in the task)... But to make things simpler, I rolled the dough out on the same cookie sheet that I baked them on.
Bake at 275 degrees F. for half an hour. Flip the squares over and bake for 20 minutes more.
I found them delicious spread with soft cheese. They were eaten up quickly!
My daughter commented that the photo makes them look as thick as date squares. But I assured her that they were only about 1/4 inch thick.
My son suggested adding more salt and baking them a bit longer. They were a little soft.
The batter was crumbly. Leftover crumbs - or crumbs that fell off the crackers - were added to the apple crisp topping I was making next. After all, it was only baked oatmeal - and a little salt.
Colourful leaves surround us these cool fall days...
A simple event like a drive down neighbourhood streets fills me with awe!
It's a wonderful way to end a beautiful summer!
Shopping has really changed... It used to be a relatively simple thing. You head for a store - hoping to find the item you want to buy.
You might end up walking around for much of the day - and come home tired and empty-handed... But that's the way it was done!
These days it's a little different. The shopping experience now has three steps.
The first is the online research. So if you head to the store to get an item, the item has already been researched online: Who sells it? Do they have it in stock?
The second step is the pick up. When my daughter discovered that the item she wanted was in stock in her size in the mall I often go to, she asked me to pick it up for her, which I was happy to do.
My daughter, who lives downtown, is an avid runner.
So she did.
It's lovely running next to the river, she commented.
Even cyclists - who could use the road - often ride on the paths to be closer to the river.
It must be relaxing to run, walk or cycle near the river... at the end of a day.
Many of my grandmother’s stories included the detail, “… so we harnessed the horse and buggy…”
Interestingly, my parents never looked back with nostalgia on those horse and buggy days. I’m not sure why.
