Drying Tarragon - 2nd try

 

I cut back my tarragon plant to 4 inches.  That's it for the season and hopefully it will come back again next year.

I washed then dried the stems with leaves on paper towels.  Then I stripped the leaves off the stems and lay them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. I preheated the oven to 350F, put the leaves into the oven. I turned the heat off and let it rest 2 hours.  The leaves were perfectly dried out so I crumpled them and stored in a jar.  What a success!

Blue Jay game

 Husband M went to a Toronto Blue Jay game a few weeks ago with a friend. It was an exciting game where they won at the bottom of the 9th.  The team has been doing very well so all the games are sold out. The dome was open and there was a nice breeze.  M's friend had good seats so they received these blue jay bobbleheads.  They also had free peanuts in their area, M ate one bag and took another bag home!

The Blue Jays clinched the American League East Division title yesterday, very exciting for Toronto.

Sunday Smiles - Halloween Decorations

ME BECAUSE IT'S THE LAST WEEKEND OF SEPTEMBER

-MAMA'S BLANK CANVAS

Linking to Gillena's Sunday Smiles.
 

The 17 week celebration cake

 Grandson C recently turned 17 weeks.  His other grandma bought this cake to celebrate, doesn't it look delicious?  Daughter L tries to remember to take photos each week, why not?

Friday Art - Moon Smiley Face

 

Welcome to Friday Art!  This is my moon smiley face ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2").  It was inspired by the following event.  A triple conjunction of the moon, with Saturn on the left, Venus on the right.    

"On April 25, 2025 the early morning sky treated stargazers to an extraordinary sight—a celestial smiley face formed by the rare alignment of Venus, Saturn, and the crescent Moon. This breathtaking event was visible to lucky observers across the world, filling the sky with a cosmic grin."

Details are in this article.

Linking to Nicole's Friday Face Off and to Gillena's Art For Fun Friday.

Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date - Beauty Salon Theme and Vegetable Mash

 Welcome to  Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date's 'Beauty Salon' theme!  

Cathy is kindly hosting the art date for the rest of the year, she has a list of the themes on her sidebar.

Here is my ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") in watercolour pencil on cardstock. 

I did a vegetable mash for the Dinner Date.  Simply boil cauliflower florets with a chopped carrot for 10 minutes in salted water, add broccoli florets for another 10 minutes.  Drain and mash with salt, pepper and a little milk and butter.  

Wednesday Memes

 

Columbia Icefield and Rafting on the Athabasca River

 Husband M's sisters had fun touring the Jasper area in western Canada a few weeks ago. Jasper is recovering from the 2024 wildfires.

Welcome to Autumn

Banff Springs Hotel

 

Husband M's 2 sisters are on vacation.  They took this fabulous helicopter tour over the 

Canadian Rockies on the first leg of their holiday.

And welcome to Autumn! They said on the news it officially arrives today.

Sunday Smiles - Baby Box

 Linking to Gillena's Sunday Smiles.

Costco frozen croissants

 We got these frozen butter croissants (Au pain dore brand) from Costco, you thaw them for 30 minutes then bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes.  These were at 22 minutes and so good!

Friday Art - Red-lipped Batfish

 Welcome to Friday Art! This is a red-lipped batfish ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") Watercolour pencil on cardstock.

Linking to Nicole's Friday Face Off and to Gillena's Art For Fun Friday.

Thursday Art and Dinner Date - 'Soup!' theme and healthy oatmeal peanut butter cookies

 

Welcome to Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date!  Cathy is kindly hosting the art date for the rest of the year, she has a list of the themes on her sidebar.

 The theme is 'Soup!' and here is my ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") on canvas in acrylic. 

September themes:

Soup!,Beauty Salon. (Sep 25)    

For the dinner date, I made these healthy oatmeal peanut butter cookies.  I substituted ED Smith 75% less sugar than maple syrup in place of the honey. It contains sucralose.  I also used quick steel cut oats.  They were delicious.

Wednesday Memes

 

My Dried Tarragon Herb

 I dried some tarragon from my garden using this video.  after the first 2 hours I needed to preheat the oven to 350F once more time. I placed the herbs into the oven again, shut the oven off and left it for another 2 hours.  I was very happy with the results. The tarragon retains its pretty green colour.

My Dried Basil

This photo is after resting the basil herbs in a preheated 350F oven for 2 hours.

 I had decided to dry my basil plants using this simple video.  I ended up cutting these into smaller pieces and putting them in for another 2 hours.The beauty of it is that you turn the oven off  right after putting the herbs in so you are not using lot of power.  You then crumble all the leaves and blossoms and store in a jar, discarding the stems.  I was happy with the results.

Sunday Smiles - Cage Free and warm socks

 Linking to Gillena's Sunday Smiles.

I got my fall socks out yesterday to wear around the house. The weather is mild but there was a chill in the air.

'Involve me' and a new Rain's Thursday Art Date host

 Cathy is kindly hosting Rain's Thursday Art Date for the rest of the year, she has a list of the themes on her sidebar.

 Denise posted this inspiring quote last week and I want to keep remembering it and acting on it.

"Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn." ~Benjamin Franklin~

Friday Art - Baby Chick

 Welcome to Friday Art!  Showing a baby chick ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") in watercolour pencil.

Linking to Nicole's Friday Face Off and to Gillena's Art For Fun Friday.

Thursday Art and Dinner Date - Sunrise theme and a breakfast treat

 Welcome to Thursday Art and Dinner Date!  Just leave me a comment with your link if you participated that day. Everyone can then see who participated.  The theme is Sunrise. This is my ocean sunrise ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") acrylic on canvas.

September themes:  Sunrise, Soup! (Sep 18),Beauty Salon (Sep 25).    

For the Dinner Date, I am showing my buttered homemade bread with tomatoes and basil from my garden.  It was a delicious breakfast with fruit and coffee last month.

Wednesday Memes