Fall Colour

burning bush plant

This is a popular plant in the area, it is rather boring until it flames in the fall. I just discovered that it is poisonous and invasive.

It seems it wasn't that long ago that I was being invited to 50th birthday parties.  Well, yesterday we received an invitation to a 60th birthday party.  The truth is, I hope we will be around to enjoy the 70th birthday party invitations, life is a gift after all.

Paint Party Friday - Cherry Cake

Welcome to Eva and Kristin's Paint Party Friday! This piece is entitled 'Cherry Cake', perhaps with a chocolate ganache topping? It's done on heavy paper in permanent markers and acrylic (8 1/2" x 11").  I was striving for a barn board, reclaimed wood type of wall background here, for a rustic effect if you will.

Fallen apples and bees

apple tree

apples and bees

When I passed by this apple tree last week I noticed that the bees were having a lot of fun with the fallen apples. Nothing goes to waste in nature!

Good Eats

beef stir fry with white rice

steamed okra, brussels sprouts, butternut squash

I thought you might like to see what I've been cooking and eating lately. The first photo has my stir fried beef with white rice, I will often buy the stir fry beef strips pre-cut when they are 30% off at the grocery store and make them the same day.

The second photo represents 3 servings of vegetables for me that day. I cut the ends off the tips of the okra and steam them for 7 minutes and they are just perfect. The sweetness of the butternut squash goes well with any of the greens. The brussels sprouts are a work in progress. These were steamed but I think I will blanche them the next time as I prefer them to be more tender without being overcooked. The butternut squash was microwaved. I season all the vegetables with olive oil, salt, pepper and oregano or basil.

Lunch

I made this peameal bacon potato salad the other day. It went perfectly with a spring greens tossed salad.

Early Fall

Flowers are still blooming in the neighbourhood.  It has actually been quite warm the past few days,
t-shirt weather (77 F).

One of son K's friends came home from school for the long holiday weekend. Well, we almost didn't recognize him, he had lost 30 pounds since the last time we saw him some months ago. He said it was extremely difficult but he now works out 3 times a week, attends school, works at his job, and limits his carbs, focussing more on good protein. I told him it was important to try to maintain his good habits, so hopefully he will do that. He looks and feels better, understandably.

Thanksgiving Weekend

pumpkin time

 Husband M and I celebrate our 29th wedding anniversary today. It is the long Canadian Thanksgiving weekend. Indeed, we served turkey at our wedding day reception all those years ago.