Halloween...Blah.

I am not a huge Halloween fan....I did enjoy it somewhat when the boys were little...but now, not so much.  In fact we haven't even carved our pumpkins the last few years...(shameful I know).

This year in a fit of optimism I pinned this idea for pumpkin-carving on Pinterest:

The reality of my attempt at white pumpkin carving is shown below....

I know, not quite the same....

Moving on to Halloween treats.....this was an idea that looked interesting to me:

This is what I ended up with:

In short I did end up with a funny Halloween discussion with Isaac last night....he was discussing the costumes that all his friends wore to the Halloween party they attended last weekend.  Have you ever heard the game where you open a fortune cookie and add the words..."in bed" to the end of whatever fortune you get?  Well our Halloween version is that no matter what the teenage girls choose for a costume...you can add "naughty" to the start of the description....for example; naughty nurse, naughty witch, naughty devil...etc, etc.

Seems a little judgmental to me from the guy who went to the Halloween party as a pimp don't you think?

I 

The Weekend

With Hurricane Sandy forecast to hit our area on Monday we took advantage of the sunny weather to get the last of our garden harvested.  Carrots, potatoes, beets and parsnips are now safely stored away in the basement.

Calvin went to the groomer Saturday morning for a much-needed bath and trim...and came home sporting a lovely Halloween bandana...his groomer is the best.

With the last of the garden harvested and the garlic for next year planted the garden is officially at rest.

 I fired another kiln load of pottery in preparation for a studio sale at my place next weekend

Isaac went to a Halloween party dressed as a pimp (I tried to explain that it wasn't really a politically correct costume....but when you are a 17-year old boy....), how I wish for the days when he was Spiderman or Harry Potter.

Calvin was fascinated with his "fun fur" coat, however.

Scenes from Maine

Last weekend Scott and I left for a little 2 day getaway to Maine.  Isaac and a couple of his friends stayed home to look after the dog....and who knows what else.  I left them with money for pizza and strict instructions to have keep the house tidy and not let the dog get sprayed by a skunk before we got home on Sunday.  They managed very well and everything was normal when we returned (who knows what it looked like on Saturday)

I was teased for stopping to take a picture of this lovely old barn door with peeling aqua paint....

Then Scott snapped a picture of me in front of my favorite door.....I guess I'm weird.

We went to Duckfat in Portland Maine.  It was so yummy, they have belgian fries cooked in duck fat with yummy dips like homemade ketchup with truffle oil, and yummy paninis...I was brave and tried the duck panini (I don't think I am a fan of duck..it was a little "game-y).  

While you wait you can be creative with the magnetic words....I got more creative after 2 beer.

I love the cute couple with their two dogs enjoying some fries outside.

And like all good trips, there were cupcakes.

I snapped this picture of us with the timer while we were waiting for a table at my favorite pizza place in Portland.  (Scott was having fun...really...I promise)

I can not get enough of this place: Flatbread..in Portland, Maine...if you are ever in Portland it is a must.

Breakfast was at this retro diner....yum.

The diner is a renovated train car...very small..we had to wait a while for a table.

The rest of the trip was spent driving around looking at the pretty fall leaves, and neat old buildings that are everywhere on Maine's back roads.

This picture was taken after we left a brew pub on Friday night, as were were walking back to our hotel we noticed through the window of the restaurant 2 beautiful women belly dancing....apparently it is an Arabian restaurant that has wandering belly-dancers for entertainment while you enjoy your meal...Scott was all for going there for dessert...I wonder why?  I decided to take my own belly back to the hotel after supper at the brew pub....it did not feel like dancing.

Good Grief...what will they think of next?

I have to tell you a strange story about how when things are supposed to be easy...but then they just get complicated.  As I may have mentioned 2 weeks ago (Canadian Thanksgiving, coincidentally) my oven died.  It is not festive to serve spaghetti for Thanksgiving dinner but I did.  Anyway we have been so busy settling my in-laws into their new apartment...emptying their  old house so the new owners could move in etc,  that I just went shopping for a new range yesterday.

I need one that looks like this....

a slide-in range I guess as my stove is in an island and it can't have the controls on the back.  I knew it had to be electric because we don't have gas service here and I wanted self-clean and a flat cook top..and stainless steel.  I didn't think it should be so hard.

Oh my, how stoves have changed since I bought my last one 15 years ago.  I know you won't believe me but one stove had a  special button for chicken nuggets...the button actually said "chicken nuggets"....that distressed me on so many levels.  Also the stoves are as expensive as the first car Scott and I bought when we were married (I am not exaggerating, this is true).  The other thing is that they all have only 1 year warranty...oh and most of them weren't even in stock in the store you had to order them after looking at a picture online, then wait a week.  

I suddenly couldn't make a decision and I came back home without ordering or buying anything.   I guess I'm stuck with whatever gourmet meals I can turn out with two burners, a slow-cooker and a bbq.  

I also have this old-fashioned cook stove in my kitchen that burns wood.. we use in the winter for extra heat.  I don't normally use it for cooking because;   1) I am not a pioneer wife and   2) up until 2 weeks ago I had a perfectly modern stove.  Until I can convince myself to go back to Home Depot and  consider the ridiculous amount of decisions that must be made in order to get a new stove this wood burning relic is as good as it gets....and for the record...I am NOT getting a stove with a "chicken nugget" button....I've gotta draw the line somewhere.

The British are Coming

Are you watching this?  It's so good, I think I will console myself with it until January when...

this starts again.


Last night we were all watching "Call the Midwife", (well, Scott and I were watching it and Isaac was sitting on the other sofa with the laptop on his knees and his headphones in).  After the third rather graphic, noisy childbirth scene he said "Is that all that ever happens on this show?"...to which I replied "Well it IS named Call the Midwife".  He put his headphones back in, but trust me you will really enjoy this show (unless you are a 17 year-old male that is).

10 on 10 October 2012

Joining with Rebecca of A Bit of Sunshine for 10 on 10.  Here's my set:

#1 School lunch for my son (who really should be making his own lunch)

#2 Breakfast smoothie

#3 Zinnia on the windowsill

#4 Birthday cake for my husband's birthday today

#5 A shelf full of preserves (wish I could take credit but they were all made by my brother-in-law)

#6 Well-worn door to the basement

#7 Fall leaves

#8 Happy Birthday Scott!

#9 Clay order arrived at the studio today

#10 Chinese take-out for Birthday dinner

Memory Lane

As I mentioned before we have been helping my husband's parents downsize from the 5 bedroom house they have lived in for the past 55 years to a 2 bedroom apartment.  My mother-in-law keeps trying to send us home with various "treasures" she has saved from my husband's childhood....

Exhibit A:  Leather craft kit anyone?  The 1970's called...they want to know if you want a keychain with your initial on it...no...didn't think so.

Scott's first attempt at mutual  mini-bike fund saving.  It must have been successful because further into the attic we found his motocross helmet.

The velvet suit he wore when he was ring bearer at his sister's wedding...complete with lacy collar and cuffs.  He was only 4 years old...but still...nothing says manly like a little lace on your collar.

Scott's high school jacket...that had we dated in high school I might have worn draped over my shoulders because it "smelled" like him...alas now it smells like mothballs and I will not be draping it anywhere.

I have teased him so much this week about the sentimentality of his family....in fact I told him Tuesday night that his mother called and left a message on the answering machine.  "What did she say", he asked.  "She said she found your foreskin in an envelope in your baby book and she wanted to know if you wanted it".....this did NOT happen you realize...I was just having a little fun with him.

On another note (which may be Karma I realize) my oven is broke yesterday and this weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving...so I'm wondering how to cook a turkey for 8 people with no oven.