That time of year is upon us. That edge has crept into the air at night, the mornings are filled with fog, the mountains seem to close in around us. The leaves have started to turn, a few are scattered on the paths. Fall is almost upon us, and so is thanksgiving, and of course, Halloween. I love this time of year. There is something I can't explain even, some growing feeling of excitement. I start baking. Anything with spice, apples, pumpkin, nuts. I want to roast turkeys. There is no finer meal than a nicely brined, savory roasted bird, with a sage, sausage, and cranberry stuffing. I love it. That aside, Halloween is the best. We spend months to prepare, and weeks getting it all put together. Choosing a theme to our design, pulling out decor of years past, buying and making new. We plan some sort of party, complete with spooky themed foods, and I even have special glassware, placemats and dishes for the occasion. Our house and yard range between cute spooks to down right ghoulish. The costumes are well planned in advance-and they get more ghoulish as the kids get older. I guess I am one of those kids that night, I get to be a ghoul, er, girl, again. Halloween brings nothing but pleasant memories for me over the years, and I love seeing the spirit alive in our house. We scour the shops for the right accessories for weeks up to the day-I don't know who is more excited-me or the kids! There is not one of us who does not enjoy our walk on the scary side this time each year in our house!
Fall 2004-that is the year of the mag I am looking at. It gave me ideas for my harvest table, the colours and textures. I have started planning my menu-and also I think we will have friends for wine and cheese soon too, so i am planning both. I picked up 3 kinds of cheese-for 6-8 types in total, and some siljan shells for the RIP bites for Halloween-I saw the shells so I grabbed them, will tuck them away till the eve is at hand! I will pick up some ghoulish wines and beers for the occasions, with devil and witch themes in their titles can't wait....
Friday, September 19, 2008
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Fall
Fall is nearing, the weather has that slight edge to the air in the mornings and evenings-I love it. There is not other time of year I love more. Maybe its the colours, the harvest baking, the nearing of Thanksgiving and Halloween. I don't know for sure, but it is the best time of the year. In the priairies it seemed to slip by so quick. Freezing cold and snow by Halloween, the colours were a little drab. I think I really began to enjoy it in Ontario. It lasted well into November, even into December a bit some years. The maples turned every shade you could imagine. It was then I could see what the magazines were depicting, and all the fall activities were so much fun. I know here it is fall type weather all winter, I am so excited. I hope the activities are as bountiful. On the fall note, I have been going nuts preparing. I baked blueberry bran muffins, apple pumpkin muffins, banana bread, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin bread, and pumpkin scones. I also made blackberry jam. I love pumpkin, and I alter all my recipes to make them more healthy, so we have a ton frozen to enjoy when I go to work. I also needed stuff for lunches, as both girls go to school full time now, so it is lots of lunches, and snacks for gymnastics etc. It was a flurry getting the kids off to school, getting clothes organized, hair cut, and multiple pairs of shoes it seems. The days are quiet at home with just Josh, but Dave is home a lot right now, so the three of us get to go for lunch, shop, and work on the house.
The house is getting there. I landscaped the whole front and side that faces the mountains. I just need some more bark mulch for the side, the beds are finally high enough-it takes a lot of dirt. I left spaces on the side for the mums in my cast iron urns, they will be perennials once in the ground. They are huge and my favorite colour, a burnt orangy gold. The back has the patio in, but it needs to expand by the hot tub area, so I cleared the ground up to there. I planted ornamental grass and shrubs in raised beds around the stone work, and levelled and dug stones the rest of the yard. It already had the bobcat go over it, but I went over the area with a rake and hauled out about a dozen wheelbarrow loads of stones. I hauled dirt to build beds all along the other side of the house, putting a bed along the garage side that wraps around to the back. I planted one hostas, but I need to buy ferns and other shady plants as that side is mainly shade. We are putting the posts in for the pergola, hopefully that things will get at least half built this weekend, maybe all of it. We are tiling the mudroom, it will be done by the weekend-finally. It looks good. I need to finish setting up my office, need to buy a desk as the table I got from ikea, our former desk, is now the kids craft centre.
I start work next week. I will be full time for the next month and a half, then scheduled here and there. I will be doing case management. I was all prepared for the usual intertview, knowledge testing, thinking skills questions, but it was basically, what did you do in your previous job, then we want you on baord! I am very excited, but I need to buy business clothes! I bought a gorgeous coat, black, knee length class style, but I need more pants, skirts, jackets, etc. I have been checking winners here, but I can't find dress pants small enough. The 4's are too baggy, need to look elsewhere. On another note, I got a really great seater dress and tights. I plan to wear it for thanksgiving, it is so nice. It will be weird working full time, I haven't since I had 3 kids, but it is only temporary. I don't want full time till Josh is in school.
We are gearing for Halloween. I have fall stuff around, pumpkin bread candles, ember diffuser, chinese lanterns in a vase, pumpkins aorund, and my ghosts have crept into the wine cabinet lol. A couple of my bear witches have landed on the buffet, and other such decor has started to appear! The kids are stoked! I got a really cool devil costume for mimi, and noni got a gorgeous witch one-what they wanted to be. We have a really nice dragon costume for Josh, and I am undecided-cat or witch? We started some crafts,a nd have pulled out our arsenal of halloween mags-I bought 2 more too. I started a few crafts, sillhouettes, cat, bat, and dracula jar toppers, games etc. The kids have the stuffed pumpkin, ghosts, bats, the haunted tree from hallmark with the owls that sings, and the spooky puppets out-they have been having a ball. I glittered the skull and bones and colected moss from the forest for another craft. We got some new ciderweb candles, a new tombstone, balck tapers, and some signs for this year too, as well as a fall oil burner and I started gathering weird candy for the haunted house we are making. I bought the 100 ml bottles up from the bodyshop of the pumpkin nectarine oil, so the air is filled with the scents-and I can't stop baking lol. I am so excited.
Dave had a good conference, it was one of those big budget deals, hosting foreign stuff, but I am glad he is home. He is going only once now this month, glad he is not going to el salvador now. He has not been too busy, I am glad, but has been away sporadically. We had lunch out at a funky place yesterday, they have these spicy oysters, sooo good. My new favorite dish. We attend a wine and chees on Fri this week, looking forward to that too, it is our fav hobby as well!
Well that is it, my lack of blogging is due to a busy schedule. Josh is doing great as a pottier, so much later than the girls, but he is doing great. Just in time for daycare!
The house is getting there. I landscaped the whole front and side that faces the mountains. I just need some more bark mulch for the side, the beds are finally high enough-it takes a lot of dirt. I left spaces on the side for the mums in my cast iron urns, they will be perennials once in the ground. They are huge and my favorite colour, a burnt orangy gold. The back has the patio in, but it needs to expand by the hot tub area, so I cleared the ground up to there. I planted ornamental grass and shrubs in raised beds around the stone work, and levelled and dug stones the rest of the yard. It already had the bobcat go over it, but I went over the area with a rake and hauled out about a dozen wheelbarrow loads of stones. I hauled dirt to build beds all along the other side of the house, putting a bed along the garage side that wraps around to the back. I planted one hostas, but I need to buy ferns and other shady plants as that side is mainly shade. We are putting the posts in for the pergola, hopefully that things will get at least half built this weekend, maybe all of it. We are tiling the mudroom, it will be done by the weekend-finally. It looks good. I need to finish setting up my office, need to buy a desk as the table I got from ikea, our former desk, is now the kids craft centre.
I start work next week. I will be full time for the next month and a half, then scheduled here and there. I will be doing case management. I was all prepared for the usual intertview, knowledge testing, thinking skills questions, but it was basically, what did you do in your previous job, then we want you on baord! I am very excited, but I need to buy business clothes! I bought a gorgeous coat, black, knee length class style, but I need more pants, skirts, jackets, etc. I have been checking winners here, but I can't find dress pants small enough. The 4's are too baggy, need to look elsewhere. On another note, I got a really great seater dress and tights. I plan to wear it for thanksgiving, it is so nice. It will be weird working full time, I haven't since I had 3 kids, but it is only temporary. I don't want full time till Josh is in school.
We are gearing for Halloween. I have fall stuff around, pumpkin bread candles, ember diffuser, chinese lanterns in a vase, pumpkins aorund, and my ghosts have crept into the wine cabinet lol. A couple of my bear witches have landed on the buffet, and other such decor has started to appear! The kids are stoked! I got a really cool devil costume for mimi, and noni got a gorgeous witch one-what they wanted to be. We have a really nice dragon costume for Josh, and I am undecided-cat or witch? We started some crafts,a nd have pulled out our arsenal of halloween mags-I bought 2 more too. I started a few crafts, sillhouettes, cat, bat, and dracula jar toppers, games etc. The kids have the stuffed pumpkin, ghosts, bats, the haunted tree from hallmark with the owls that sings, and the spooky puppets out-they have been having a ball. I glittered the skull and bones and colected moss from the forest for another craft. We got some new ciderweb candles, a new tombstone, balck tapers, and some signs for this year too, as well as a fall oil burner and I started gathering weird candy for the haunted house we are making. I bought the 100 ml bottles up from the bodyshop of the pumpkin nectarine oil, so the air is filled with the scents-and I can't stop baking lol. I am so excited.
Dave had a good conference, it was one of those big budget deals, hosting foreign stuff, but I am glad he is home. He is going only once now this month, glad he is not going to el salvador now. He has not been too busy, I am glad, but has been away sporadically. We had lunch out at a funky place yesterday, they have these spicy oysters, sooo good. My new favorite dish. We attend a wine and chees on Fri this week, looking forward to that too, it is our fav hobby as well!
Well that is it, my lack of blogging is due to a busy schedule. Josh is doing great as a pottier, so much later than the girls, but he is doing great. Just in time for daycare!
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