More Fall Food

I have been making food for friends and family lately. I don't always cook so when it turns out well, I like to give myself a pat on the back. I do this self congratulatory back patting by taking food photos, and posting them here to make you both hungry and envious. There must be some evolutionary reason

that people like to brag

about their food. I know that for many years my two uncles would phone each other long distance every week, just to boast about what they had eaten for dinner. They probably still do this.

Well, I don't have a brother, so here is what I have been eating:

First up, a turkey dinner made weeks before Thanksgiving simply because it was on sale and we like poultry. Then, last night, I had a little get together and made up some party trays. I snapped a couple photos of my handiwork before we dug in. last week, I baked up two loaves using the butternut squash from our turkey feast because, as it turns out, no one in this family really cares for sweet vegetables, unless it is in bread form. I haven't done any other baking and I think I will hold off, if only for health reasons.

I also made Knorr Spinich Dip for the first time and it was quite good, though next time I think I will use fresh

spinich, as opposed to the frozen kind, and let it sit in the fridge for a longer time. I wasn't quite industrious enough to make my own bread bowls, but I can see that being a fun indoor, it's-a- blizzard-out-there kind of activity. In my case, Superstore did the baking for me.

Tonight, I think I'll let my hubby do the cooking.

Fall Food

I'm so happy to be able to turn on my oven again. Recently I made a delightful chicken noodle soup from a grocery store deli chicken carcass, chili and today I am roasting a turkey. Of course it helps to have people to feed in the house. I am looking forward to doing some baking with the fruits I have been stockpiling. I also plan to make turkey soup and a million other turkey things as well. My girl friday, (you remember her) told me she made a cheddar and jalepeno bread using the recipe I gave her for white bread. I will definitely have to try that. It sounds heavenly. Next week I am having a little get together, we'll see what I come up with for that. I'm thinking of a hot dip of some sort, mmm. Cheesy goodness.

Here's what I hope to bake this week for the freezer:

Pumpkin Ginger Bread

Fruit Crisp

Blueberry Muffins

Banana Bread

Neiman Marcus Cookies.

Chili-done

Turkey Stock-done

Finished!

Just thought you might like to see my finished cowl, which is a lot shorter than the inspiration piece. I like this length though, no fuss, no muss, no dripping in my coffee cup. It looks pretty cute, though right now, we are in the midst of a heatwave, so I didn't keep it on for long. I'm really liking loom knitting and I highly recommend it if you enjoy instant gratification, like I do. I got my loom set at Walmart and Googled (when did this become a verb, exactly?) some basic instructions and patterns. This isn't even a pattern, I just used the largest ring
and knit away until I thought, "Meh, this is good." And it is!

So, go, get loom! Knit!

Full Moon, Baby.

I am one of those wavy gravies who believe in the powers of the changing moon cycles. I'm not always exactly sure how or why the moon seems to affect me, I just feel that it does. For instance, yesterday I felt very drained and exhausted and today I feel refreshed and energetic. I did some projects and house cleaning that I have not felt motivated to do, nor felt I had the time to do, for weeks. I feel optimistic and positive about my goals and intentions. I am also slightly more driven and demanding today.

As a health care worker, I have long suspected that the full moon intensifies moods and emotions. Many of my busiest shifts in long term care facilities were on full moon evenings. Ask any nurse or care aid to attest to this phenomenon. It got so that as a casual employee, I would often turn down shifts if I knew they would fall on a full moon, because I knew they would be about five times busier than a regular shift.

I also am feeling a sense of completion today because of the decade anniversary of 9/11 and the returning of the kidnapped boy from Sparwood, B.C, Keinan Hebert. I allowed myself to become emotionally invested in the case, which was a dangerous thing for me to do, knowing that most of these cases do not turn out well for the abducted child. I felt so positive and encouraged by the response of people online and felt that there was a collective power at work to get that child home safely to his parents. Now, I realize that we were all at the mercy of the person who abducted the child, allegedly one Randal Hopley, and his decision to return the boy could only have come from within. Did he hear the pleas of the parents, or the public? Or was it something bigger? All I know is that there are many questions left unanswered and no matter where he hides, at some point, the kidnapper will have to atone for his actions, whether here on earth or somewhere else.

On a lighter note, I pulled out my loom yesterday and I have begun knitting my cowl. I am very pleased with my progress thus far and am enjoying the ease and quick sense of accomplishment it is giving me so far. The weather is unseasonably warm, but I know that could change at any moment, so might as well get a jump on it.

Photo courtesy dreamstudies.org

Projects, hobbies and the like.

I have many ideas for projects and some I even start. I don't always complete them, but I usually start. My latest is stripping the paint off of a wooden bedside table. I got it for free because it was painted Hospital Green (It's remarkable how many free items of furniture are this particular hue.) Well, yesterday was the day and I got most of the paint off. Next is to sand it with the orbital sander, and then varnish. Already, I am happy with my progress. I have begun to take photos but I will reveal them closer to completion. (Since completion isn't my strong point, ahem.)

My next idea is to knit a cowl. I have a great inspiration from somewhere in the blogosphere, it is an amazing herringbone worsted weight merino wool creation. Mine will probably be a multicoloured acrylic, knit on my loom, but whatev. It's a knitted tube. Get over it. Finally, I plan to make more handmade cards. Every time I am in a dollar store or scrapbook aisle, I buy something, so time to get it out and put it all to use. This is the time of year that I tend to enjoy, the harvest, getting back to the home and leisurely pursuits. There has been nothing leisurely about the summer, I can assure you.

Okay, back online.

No ants allowed.

I'm back, by popular demand. Well, that and the fact that I really got no place else to go. I had a crazy summer and it seemed like I didn't have a minute to think, let alone blog. Today was the first day back to school for the boy and for me to upgrade my first aid training. Must be fall or something. I'm thinking that I will have to figure out what I want
to do with myself pretty soon, but for now, I will regale you with the minutiae of my life. My husband worked out of province for the entire summer and during that time, I vacillated between euphoric bouts of freedom loving fun and self imposed misery at missing him and resenting all the burdens I now have placed solely upon my shoulders. We spent two weeks on Vancouver Island, with the second week resulting in torrential downpours leaving me to wonder why I had ever ventured away from the sunny Okanagan in the first place. Also, two weeks with ones' mother is far more than enough, I should think. I also visited my aunt in the Shuswap, my friends in Salmon Arm and my family in Barriere for our annual Smokefest. Once again a wonderful party, each time it grows bigger and bigger. This time I did find it a bit overwhelming trying to fit in seeing my husband and  the rest of the family but as they say, c'est la vie. And even though my Aunty made sure to tell me that I am getting too hefty, it was a hell of a good time.