Missing My Little Earth Angel

Good morning!
I hope that this post finds you and yours well.
I have been missing my little earth angel for the past 3 weeks terribly.
We have stayed away so not to bring anything home with us as my son and his family have been passing a terrible cold around their household.
It seems one gets better and another one gets it.
I hope that they all get well very soon.

We are going to make plans to go to the pumpkin patch again this October.
We had an absolute ball last year there and this year will be an even better time had by all as my granddaughter is running around this year and will be able to choose her own pumpkin out of the patch.
I will post pictures of our trip once we go but today I am feeling a bit nostalgic so will post a few photos of our trip to the pumpkin patch from last year.

Do any of you take a trip to the pumpkin patch to pick your pumpkin for Halloween?

Wednesday's Wish

Good morning!
Today I wish that everyone would learn to appreciate what they have in their lives instead of dwelling on what they have not.
Have a wonderful day and share it with someone you love.

Yesterday's Appointment

Good morning!
I hope that this post finds you and yours well.
Yesterday I had an eye doctor appointment.
Yes, I am in need of a new prescription.
I really had hoped that I didn't need a change but apparently I am not seeing as well as I could.
I spent over an hour getting my eyes tested, it was one of the most thorough eye exams I have ever had.
Apparently when you get over a certain age the testing is more extensive.
I will be using the frames I had for my reading glasses as they are still in quite good shape and I really think that the cost of a pair of glasses is getting to be ridiculous and if I can save a bit of money by re-using an old pair of frames I will.
The eye doctor says that they will call me with an estimate in a few days once they have made sure that the frames I gave them to put my prescription in are adequate for the heavy prescription I need to put in them.
I had a look at the frames that they are offering out of the shop and it appears to me that the frames I left with them to put my prescription into are alot sturdier than the new ones they are selling there.
Have you had your eyes examined lately?

Grouching this Monday

Good morning!
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and the weather allowed you to spend some time outside enjoying some of the beauty that autumn brings.
I had made plans with three different people and none of them showed up...this happens often enough that I don't even really expect them to show, the one girl did call, at the end of the day.
I have decided that if I  make plans with anyone, I will just be going myself if they are not here on time.
I guess  that as in most things if you want anything done, do it yourself.
I am off to an appointment with the eye doctor today...I know he will be there.
Have a great Monday

Skunks?

Good morning!
I went outside yesterday to check the gardens and found that something had dug up my pussywillow bush and ate the roots off of it.
I don't know what would eat the roots and leave the plant laying on it's side.
The hole that it came out of had very small hole dug around it so whatever it is had quite small paws and sharp nails by the looks of the dig marks.
Do skunks eat the roots off of pussywillow bushes?
Today is turning out to be a beautiful day and I plan on spending it with family as long as they have no other plans.
Have a great day and spend it with someone you love.

First Weekend Of Fall

This is the first weekend of the autumn of 2010 and as much as I enjoy the changing colours of the leaves I really find it is the time of year I start to feel a bit down knowing that soon enough the snow will be flying.
I truly am a summer baby.
I think of all the things I didn't get to do this past summer, I don't do a whole lot due to health and financial restrictions and the fact that I really have no one to go out and do things with.
I watch as people live their lives and go out and do the things I use to do when my children were home and remember all the good times I shared with them.
I miss all the hiking and camping and interacting with others.
This morning I awoke determined to shake the funk I have been in for the last month or two and decided that I will be doing these things again although I shall be doing them alone, atleast I will be doing them.
I will share some of the photographs I take on these trips and the beauty of the fall season.
Have a great weekend and share it with someone you love.

Friday's Favorites

photo courtesy of  Kimberly Blue on Flicker

  Date Squares             

Date filling:  1 pound of pitted dates chopped
3/4 cup hot water
1/4 cup brown sugar well packed
Combine in sauce pan and cook over medium heat until all the water is absorbed and the dates are soft then add
1 teaspoon lemon juice and cool mixture

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees and prepare your pastry

Pastry: 1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups oats
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup of butter
Combine dry ingredients, work in butter with pastry blender or 2 butter knives until crumbly
Spread 1/2 the mixture in a greased 9" square pan, pat down then cover with filling and spread evenly
cover with remaining pastry and pat down.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Let cool, cut into small squares and enjoy!

Happy Sunny Thursday!

When I woke-up this morning I was expecting a grey dreary day again today and it is absolutely gorgeous out there.
I think I will try to spend some time outside while I am still able to enjoy it without my winter coat on.
I love the snow, mostly when I am inside looking out at it lol.
Whatever you have planned for this beautiful Thursday, share it with someone you love <3

Wednesday's Wish

Good morning!
My wish for you this wet Wednesday is to fill your heart with strength.
A quote from the Dalai Lama today..."When we reach beyond the confines of narrow self-interest, our hearts become filled with strength." 
Enjoy your Wednesday friends and be good to eachother.

Happy First Day Of Autumn!

Good morning and Happy Autumn friends!
This morning I awoke to an empty house!
I have a routine each morning and felt odd not to follow it today.
Usually in the mornings the cat ensures that I am awake to give him his moist catfood and then let him outside to  go knock on my parents back door to beg the leftovers from their cat and visit with either my Mother or Father.

This morning I awoke to the sound of distant thunder and a beautiful cool breeze coming in through the window ... such a great way to wake-up.
I laid there  and enjoyed the breeze listening to the thunder rolling in closer and closer until the showers started  I then  remembered that I had put a few boxes of household items to be donated out to be picked-up before bed last night on the porch.
I wanted to be sure that the rain would not soak them so I got up to check and realized as I made my way through the house that I was alone...

Smokey-Joe was already outside and quite happy to see me when I opened the front door.
I went out on the front step and sat and brushed him and moved the boxes over so the rain would not get  them wet and came  inside and fed Smokey-Joe and made a cup of tea and took it out back and sat under the canopy and watched  the rain fall...what a beautiful way to start the Autumn season.

I hope you are enjoying the first day of  Autumn

So Happy To Be Back!

Good afternoon!
I am back after 5 days away.
My internet provider "accidently" turned off my service last Thursday and did not restore the service until this afternoon.
I was given an apology and told my bill will reflect a discount for the inconvenience.
I hope that this will not happen again and I can keep on blogging without interruption.
I hope you had a great weekend and will be back tomorrow!

Thursday's Rude Awakening

Good Morning all!
This morning I awoke choking and gagging, not because I have a cold or allergies either!
Smokey-Joe my cat has learned that if he wants me up out of bed and I am not getting up with his head-butting me or pulling my hair, he just has to go downstairs where his kitty litter box is (in a closet directly under the head of my bed) and have a bowel movement.
 It seems he is able to will the odour to be extremely strong on these mornings.
So of course I have to get out of bed to clean out the kitty litter box...
Well I had planned on sleeping in this morning  as it is the first morning this week that I didn't have to get up early.

How can you get mad at a face like that?
Anyone have a cat that finds creative ways to ensure you will get out of bed?

Wednesday's Wish

Well it is Wednesday again, I hope that this post finds you all well.
Today's wish is that when I go to the doctor today I finally  get all the answers I have been waiting for about whatever is causing me such pain.
I hope your Day is full of everything that makes you smile <3

Good morning!
I hope that you all had a great night's sleep, now that the weather is cooler it makes for a more comfortable night that is for sure.
I have enclosed in this post a link to  a video that is sure to make you smile.
Gretchen counting, I just love it when she is on the second count and realizes she has signed  friend and then train, she is learning so quickly and she never fails to bring a smile to my face watching her.
I hope you have an enjoyable day !
http://vimeo.com/14891308

Monday Morning

Good Morning!
I hope you all enjoyed your  weekend.
I am going to go to Belleville today to see the doctor again and hopefully it will be my last trip there for a while.
The weatherman has called for rain all day but luckily it is sunny out there today.
The weather had better stay cooler for a while, I know I won't be able to handle too much more heat.
Although I love the summer I also love to breathe when I sleep at night and my air conditioner is on upstairs at night to help me do that.
Last night as I was heading to bed the air conditioner decided to quit, and it is so stuffy and hot up there that when I awoke today I feel as though I have a cold again.
I hope that it can be fixed with a good cleaning on the inside so out of the window it will come today.
I hope you are going to enjoy this beautiful, sunny Monday morning.

Wondering What I Forgot

Good morning!
Well I hope you are enjoying your weekend, I know it has been a quiet one here .
I woke-up this morning and for some strange reason I am feeling that I have forgotten something.
I have checked my calendar and nothing is scheduled until tomorrow.
If I had made plans with any of you and am not where I should be, please forgive my absent-mindedness and call me to refresh my memory.
Have any of you spent a morning feeling as though you have forgotten something?

Happy Saturday!

Have a good day!

Friday's Favorites

                         Hot Pickled Peppers
Per pint of peppers in a pot place 2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup pickling vinegar
1/4 cup cold water heat till boiling

In hot, sterilized jars add to each jar 2 or more cloves of garlic depending on your preference I use 4.
Pack each jar with whole peppers.
Pour hot brine over them leaving about 1/3" head room in the jars and seal.
They will take about 6-8 weeks before they are ready to eat.
Many thanks to Choking Sun on Flicker for the use of his beautiful photo of the Jalapenos!

She Can Always Make Me Smile

http://vimeo.com/14777012

This little earth angel can always make me smile, even when I am feeling my lowest.

I always enjoyed my children and never thought it possible to enjoy being a grandmother just as much as I did being a mother, but I do.

I taught my boys sign language when they were young and I am so very happy to see that my youngest son and his wife have decided to start their daughter at an even earlier age to use sign language.

Signing with your children is a great method of communication...

My daughter-in-law's  blog is http://www.sofawned.com and if you pop in there you will certainly enjoy the reading.
Have a great Thursday!

Wednesday's Wish

Good morning!
Today's Wednesday's Wish goes out to my youngest son who turns 30 years old today!

Happy Birthday Ryan I wish you many more Birthdays shared with your loved ones.
I know you have to work until 8pm tonight but I will be there to bring your birthday gifts and cards and to grandparent Gretchen so you and Desiree` can go out to celebrate your birthday together.

Have a wonderful day and I will see you this evening....

My wish for all of you is to enjoy this beautiful fall day.

A Friendly Dragonfly

Good morning, I hope you all had a great long weekend .
I had a very quiet long weekend and enjoyed the time I spent baking and watching old movies on Turner Classic Movie Channel.

I did go out to the gardens and fill the bird bath as well as picking a few ripened cherry tomatoes for my salad.

While I filled the bird bath I had a dragonfly land on my arm, I chatted away to the robin that was sitting on the fence patiently waiting for me to finish so he could flutter about in the water.
I put the hose away and was walking around to the front of the house and the dragonfly was still flying around by me, landing on me and flying ahead of me again to circle around and land on me again.
I went inside and grabbed my camera to take a picture of it.
When I came back outside he was sitting on my railing of the steps.
I went to take its picture and he flew onto the head of a bee balm flower that had died off and dried out.
I watched it pick a small fly (about the size of a fruit fly) out of the centre of the dead head of the bee balm and eat it.

While it was sitting atop of the bee balm I snapped a couple of shots of this very friendly dragonfly.

What did you do on your last long weekend of the summer of 2010?

The End Of The Last Long Weekend Of Summer 2010

Good morning!
I hope you all have had a wonderful last long weekend of the 2010 summer season.
I know it was raining off and on but there was still enough sunshine to make the days enjoyable.
I have spent most of the long weekend with my sweetie and Turner Classic Movies, baking pies and doing laundry lol.
A good combination in my books, if you ask him you may get another answer...I think he had enough of the classic movies and went visiting his brother today.
As much as I would just love to spend the day curled up with a cup of tea and the movie channel I do have a few things  to do today.
I will be getting ready for the fall season which means putting away most of my summer clothing and bringing out the sweaters and shoes.
What did you do this lovely long weekend?

Apple Orchard

Good morning!
Well yesterday I went to the apple orchard and picked up a couple of baskets.
The early macs and the paula reds are the only ones ready so far so with a basket of each home we went.
I gave 1/2 the apples to my mother-in-law and brought the other half of the apples home and made a couple of pies.
1 for my parents and one for my sweetheart, seeing as he was the one asking for apple pie.
As you can tell by the picture, it was devoured in no time at all.
In a couple of weeks I will be going back to get some Courtland apples, they are great for making chunky applesauce to serve with pork over the winter.
Then following in 2 weeks the Spartans and Spys will be ready and of course Spys make the best pies.
I am considering making a few pies and freeze them this year so when company drops by I can just pop one out of the freezer and bake it ...no muss, no fuss!

What are you doing with the last long weekend of the summer? 

Apple Season Begins!

Good morning, I am happy to say we are getting a break from the extreme heat today.
The temperature out there is 14C and I am going to take full advantage of the cooler weather and head to the apple orchard today.
I also have a pile of green and yellow beans to pick from my mother-in-law's garden to do down for the freezer so that will take up most of my Saturday.
I will be spending some quality time with my sweetheart and enjoying the last long weekend of the summer!
I hope you have a great long weekend!

Friday's Favorites

                                                        Cheese and Apple Squares

Top and Bottom layers:
1 cup grated old or extra old cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup butter

Crumble cheese and butter together and add dry ingredients and spread 1/2 the mixture in a 9x12 pan.

Filling:  1 cup sliced apples
Glaze: Melt 1/4 cup apple jelly (I use my crab apple jelly)
While hot smooth over top of squares spreading as it melts.
Spread second 1/2 of mixture for top layer over the apples and glaze.
Bake in hot oven 350 degrees for aprox. 1/2 an hour you should watch it as it does brown up fast.
Enjoy!

Another scorching day...

Well it is going to be another scorching day although I am a lover of the warm weather, I must say I am looking forward to the cooler temperatures they have forecast for the  Labour Day Weekend, only because I am sure the cooler temperatures will make it easier to breathe with this cold I seem to have picked-up.
Have you anything planned for the last long weekend of the summer?
I hope you all have a great day and try to stay cool!

The First Of September Already!

Wow, I can hardly believe that the summer is almost over!
It certainly flew by quickly.
I do hope that this beautiful weather continues on into November....
What did you do this beautiful summer?
I have been blessed with many days full of sunshine and family time <3
This fall I plan on doing alot of reading, spending as much time outside before the snow and cold weather keep me pretty much housebound (I hibernate in the winter, I truly am a summer baby!).
Well I should run, I have to go to the Community Care  office and discuss my plans for the winter exercise/walking program a friend and I run here at the town hall on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.
I have had some health issues that I thought would be dealt with by now that are not so I know I will be relying on my friend to run the program on the days I am not feeling up to par.
Hopefully we will get these health issues dealt with very soon and be pain free.
What have you planned for this sunny Wednesday morning?