Happy Halloween!

 

Wishing you a happy All Hallow's Eve with a card from my very clever sister.

I thought I would share a Halloween video that I put together a few years back when I did lots of photos in cemeteries around Ontario.  

I hope you have a grand night of treats and movies and perhaps little trick or treaters.  

Recipes - Mamie's Zeotekock

 

This is a honey cake recipe my grandmother brought with her from Belgium and she made it through the cooler weather.  I love it with a bit of butter spread on it.  

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

3/4 cup honey

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup carnation milk mixed with 1/2 cup water (pretty sure this took the place of fresh cow's milk) 

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp extract of anise or less

1 egg

1 tsp molasses

Preheat oven to 350F

Mix all ingredients together until well-blended. Pour into greased loaf pan and bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

(I wrap in foil after letting it cool only 10 minutes in order to soften the crust. Mamie's was sticky and soft on top and no one has been able to duplicate this like she did because it wasn't something she would tell anyone how she did that - LOL)

Rocking Bear

 

Bear has been gone awhile but every now and then he pops up in my morning memories feed and I just have to share it here as even though he and Tigger had trouble getting along he really was a sweet boy.

Who loved to rock with his dad - LOL

Have a great Tuesday!

Gifts and the Move

 

It was a really lovely birthday with lovely gifts from hubby and DD1 and DD2.  After that DD1 and I went to my favourite restaurant for supper.  Hubby couldn't come this time because his back and cold were too bad to enjoy himself so we brought his supper back to him.  

This mug is from him as he has a brothers one and so got me a sisters one, gave us both long hair like we both always wanted but never seem to have at the same time. 

He also got me two more t-shirts from a place I just love.  One just a fun saints one the other for All Hallows Eve.

I just love that young Blessed Carlos is in the group in jeans and t-shirt.  

DD the 2nd got me a t-shirt and season one from my most favourite tv show - The Chosen.  What a great gift.

And DD the 1st found season two and got it as well.  The first three seasons can be tough to get and so I went looking and found season 3 so that will be added too (little gift from myself - LOL) 

As we were celebrating my birthday, DD the 1st got a phone call with great news - her stuff was finally arriving from BC on Saturday at 9 a.m.

We got there a bit early just to be on the safe side and although some clouds, it was going to be a rain-free day.

The truck arrived exactly at 9 a.m.

The side of the truck says Vancouver, BC and the truck plates say the same which just tickled me thinking this truck drove with DD's stuff across the country.  The truck was huge but the driver thanked us for finding a storage place that was just perfect for him to back in with ease.  Some places can be pretty tight or not at all but here he just just backed right in with no fuss at all.

In less than an hour all of DD's stuff was tucked into her unit and all checked and re-checked that everything was all there and all perfect - and it was.  Although it took awhile the move went really smooth and DD's stress level dropped right down as now she has all her belongings.  

Today we will be heading back there to take over some empty bins and bring back a few more things needed to make her room a home for her and her kitty.  

Licorice and Tigger had one quick meeting but seems Licorice tried to be the boss so it didn't go that well.  They are still keeping separate but Licorice doesn't seem to mind and loves her room (DD is only allowed to stay with her, not the other way around because we know who are our bosses - the cats.) 

This is Licorice who seems pretty content now that all this travelling is over with for now.  

So, busy busy few days but all is good.

Have a great Monday!

Happy 67th to Me :D

 

And so another year has rolled around for me and I find myself turning 67.  I have been blest with graces I never expected from God and with family and friends who love me more than I could ever know and life so far is pretty good.

Sure it has had it's downs and some awful decisions on my part but the good Lord always brought good out of the awful and I have been blest so much.  The good has been lasting and loving and so I am sharing the gift my sister made me a few years ago.  My BIL wrote and sang the song and my sister put it to pictures of me that I had totally forgotten.  

Thank you to my hubby for all his love and the rest of my family for always making my day so special.  

Weekly Musings on the 24th

 

It has been a fairly quiet week.  I did go and get some slip on shoes and I do like them a lot.  

Certainly making life easier for me.  I never really have a shoe horn with me when going out so taking off shoes at someone's place can be a problem.  This fixes that and they are comfy.

The colours on my morning walks are just beautiful and I cannot help but take a picture or two.  

Today I am off to get that crown on my tooth, the temporary one has crumbled completely and is rubbing painfully against my tongue so I will be very happy to get this done.  I was certainly not having the appointment tomorrow as that is my birthday and no way I want to be frozen, worked on and hope I will feel better enough to go out to dinner.  

Dinner out is a must on my birthday, I cook nearly every day and my birthday is a no-cook day - LOL.  

Another reason my musings blog is today as I always have my favourite video to share on my birthday ;)  

We are still waiting on DD's belongings as the truck has not gotten to our area yet.  It will be a month that her stuff has been on the road as of Sunday and she is getting pretty antsy for her belongings to be with her once more.  Besides wanting her stuff, paying for a storage locker that is still empty is upsetting too.  Hopefully I will be able to say all is well on that front by the next musing blog.  

The stupid beetles that have swarmed us are nearly gone as the temperature has dropped.  We have kept up on the spraying, sweeping and killing any that get inside so all should be well for another year.  Someone in the news called them a halloween beetle as they always seem to turn up at this time of year.  Good name, lousy bug.  

Anyway, that's all we have been up to this week. 

See you tomorrow. 

  

Books - Miss Fortune Mysteries

 

I love to read and I especially love cozy mysteries, especially those that make me laugh too.  The Miss Fortune Mysteries are a favourite and surprise, surprise they are staying fresh from the first to the the 28th in the series.  A lot of series kinda gets stale once they cross the 21st line but these the plots do change and are a great read.  Easy and fun.  Here is the plot of the first book

It was a hell of a long shot....

CIA assassin Fortune Redding is about to undertake her most difficult mission ever—in Sinful, Louisiana. With a leak at the CIA and a price placed on her head by one of the world's largest arms dealers, Fortune has to go off-grid, but she never expected to be this far out of her element. Posing as a former beauty queen turned librarian in a small bayou town seems worse than death to Fortune, but she's determined to fly below the radar until her boss finds the leak and puts the arms dealer out of play. Unfortunately, she hasn't even unpacked a suitcase before her newly inherited dog digs up a human bone in her backyard.

Thrust into the middle of a bayou murder mystery, Fortune teams up with a couple of seemingly sweet old ladies whose looks completely belie their hold on the little town. To top things off, the handsome local deputy is asking her too many questions. If she's not careful, this investigation might blow her cover and get her killed. Armed with her considerable skills and a group of elderly ladies the locals dub The Geritol Mafia, Fortune has no choice but to solve the murder before it's too late.

And the 28th...

Dying to fit in.

High school wasn’t a grand time for everyone, but when a group of friends decide to meet up at a B and B ahead of their ten-year reunion, old grudges resurface, and one of them ends up dead. Now the owners, a kindly older couple, are on the hook for the accidental death due to anaphylaxis, but they insist no mistakes were made on their part.

Fortune is asked to look into the situation before the inept local sheriff railroads the couple or simply allows gossip to run them out of business, which will cost them their home. Swamp Team 3 heads to Voodoo Island to find a way to clear the couple and finds a complicated mess of locked doors and old secrets awaiting them. Is Voodoo Island really cursed? Or can Fortune unravel the mystery and lead her team to victory?

Anyway, if you do enjoy a really fun read you will enjoy reading about Fortune, Ida Belle and Gertie.  

Recipes - Apple Cake

 Of course, Apple Cake can be made year round but there is something most Fall about having it at this time of year.  So, here is my favourite Apple Cake recipe which can be turned vegan if you wish by changing the egg for a quarter cup of unsweetened plain applesauce and butter with a vegan margarine.  

4 tbsp butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

4 Granny Smith apples, peeled cored and diced

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 cup flour

whipped cream or cool whip

Preheat oven to 350F

Generously grease a square cake pan. In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg, apples, nuts and vanilla and stir well. Sift the dry ingredients in a medium bowl and stir into large bowl and mix well. It will look pretty dry but the apples will make it moist when baking. Pour into pan and bake for 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm with whip cream.

Oh, and I just have to finish with this funny - 

Re-sharing My Time as a Storyteller

 

When I worked at St. Anthony School on Halloween I would have a volunteer in my office and go from classroom to classroom to tell stories that I had written.  I wrote one called 'I Forgot' and a podshow called Celtic Myths asked if they could perform it.  They did such an amazing job with sounds and voices and then besides doing it on their show they sent me a copy of it.  I thought as it is getting closer to Halloween it would be a perfect time to share it again.  

I hope you enjoy it.

Weekly Musings on the 19th

 

Good Saturday Morning!  This week just flew for me and before I knew it we were at Saturday all ready and I realized I hadn't posted since Wednesday.  

I got out every morning for a walk, dark when I start out and then the sun coming up as I go along.  Past by the Poor House cemetery one morning.  It is past the trees if you walk along the forest edge.  Those were the stones they found, there are hundreds buried around these woods who died while living at the Poor House, welfare, immigrants and people out of prison who could not find full time work stayed there and died there.  I always say a prayer for them when I walk by.  

I find it interesting that the provincial offices and the courtrooms are just within sight of this place.  It is a very pretty place to work and sit outside having one's lunch.  

I saw the hunter's moon while on my morning walks too.  This week was spent on getting use to another in our home, although we are all family and love each other it is still an adjustment for everyone, especially bathroom times as we now all share.  DD's stuff is still in transit from BC and will take at least another week or so to get here.  Of course movers fill their truck with several moves along the way in order to get the maximum amount they can driving across the country.  DD would like her warm coat before the temperatures dip again.  

Friday afternoon these guys arrived in swarms and swarms, covering the building looking for their winter place.  They are NOT ladybugs but Asian lady bugs.  These guys bite, Raid does not bother them in the least only stepping on them and squashing them will stop them trying to get inside.  

We close the curtains so the light from inside does not attract them and shut the windows tight too. We will probably see them most of the week but with luck kill all the ones we see that managed to crawl inside.  

 This morning's walk was a really foggy one and even as I type this, the fog has not completely lifted.  I wear my reflective jacket and carry a small flashlight.  I, also stick to the sidewalk streets and avoid those streets that don't have one to be safe.

Those who love to walk whether you have the right of way when crossing streets or not, you still have to be double careful.  There is one corner that I cross that I have been nearly hit several times and I avoid that corner if at all possible on foggy days.  Just not safe to take chances.  

People have gotten so distracted that they honestly don't see you right in front of them, I always say - if you don't make eye contact then they don't see you.  Don't walk!

Anyway, my little rant about distracted drivers for this month - LOL

Time to get a move on as I want to go and check out a pair of slip-on shoes as well as see about something that might work on those beetles besides those bag things that don't work either.  

Have a great Saturday

Halloween - The Haunting of the Chateau Laurier

 

Yesterday completely got away from me so there was no time to really do a blog but today I thought I would repeat the stories of the Chateau Laurier. 

When Ottawa was much, much younger and the trains would arrived right downtown nearly across from Parilament Hill, the Chateau Laurier was built. It was commissioned by Charles Melville Hays who was the General Manager of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway of Canada and he had a dream of building grand hotels in all the major stops of this line.

He watched over every step, every stone of

the Grand Hotel. It was to be named after

Canada’s 7th Prime Minister Sir Wilfred Laurier. This was to be a very grand place, one of the first in the country to have indoor bathrooms. Rooms were very expensive costing $2.00 a night since this was a time when the average person made just over $1,000 a year and a house cost just over $2,000. The Chateau cost $2 Million to build.

Charles Melville Hays never got to see his beautiful Hotel open at least while he was alive. He had gone to France to purchase the most beautiful dining room sets for the grand salon but he didn’t make it back. He and the lovely furnishings were on board the Titanic. He was in a hurry to get back to Ottawa as he was to open the hotel on April 26th 1912 but was drowned when the Titanic sank on April 14th. But his ghost did not stay under the frozen water with all the other lost souls but found his way to the halls of his beloved Chateau. He was there when the hotel was opened by Prime Minister Laurier on June 1, 1912. Everyone attending saw the shadowy form a man who they knew to be Charles Melville Hays. This was his life’s work and he had not gotten to see it open in life, well death would not stop him.

To this day, Charles Melville Hays walks the halls. You can feel his presence as you walk through the grand lobby. Those that work there often arrange furnishings for a party only to return with the flowers moments later and find all the furniture back in it’s original spot. Even though the trains no longer come downtown late at night you can hear the rattling and shaking as if some late night train has arrived. Guests have reported objects being moved around in their rooms. A reporter was accosted by Mr. Hayes in a stairwell.

Sometimes when you walk by the Chateau and look way up in the top towers you see a misty shadow in the window looking down at all the changes that have happened in this city. I wonder how Mr. Hays feels about the trains no longer coming to the downtown core and who is the little girl ghost that has been seen from time to time?

There is no story of who she is and where did she come from and why she is keeping Mr. Hays company?

When visiting Ottawa even if you don't stay there, you just must walk through the lobby and just see if you can see him, just there near the tea room or is he near the stairs.

Giving Thanks

 

With the cloudy day and the leaves turning swiftly it certainly is a time to be thankful.  I have so many blessings to be thankful for, family, friends and a home with hundreds of things to be thankful for within those three.

We always have our thanksgiving dinner on the Sunday so that we can enjoy our turkey sandwiches on Monday.  Both lunch and supper are turkey sandwiches today with relaxing and movies as well.  

I am so very grateful my sister and her family are all safe after the two hurricanes that hit them.  The first one their home made it through with very minimum of damage but the second hit them straight on and this time there was damage. 

The outside took a lot of damage but the worst of it was their main livingroom which the storm took out a window and did a lot inside. 

I was so sad to see the mess the storm left but so very happy they had done the sensible thing and that was to leave when told to.  My sister and BIL have always been smart and never just rode out things like a hurricane hitting their house.  Things can always be fixed but lives cannot when they are taken.  

And they have started the clean-up and repairs.  I know my sister and I will not be able to sit with our teas and video chat for awhile but I am good with that knowing they are all okay.  

So, I have a great deal to be thankful for and all of it by God's grace and blessings.  God is always good.  

And Happy Thanksgiving to All!

Norfolk County Fair

 

DD and I went off to the Fair yesterday and this is my gift to myself this time around.  I do look for something special when walking through all the booths.  If something really stays with me as we check everything out, it is worth getting.  

We, of course checked out the huge pumpkins and produce on display.  I love that not only do adults win blue ribbons so do the children.  Everyone can take part somewhere.

The pumpkins most over 1,000 pounds, truly worth checking out.  

Norfolk County grows most everything that one can find on one's table and this is the time that they truly show off.  

Their pigeons of every breed and type.  

Chickens and

and bunnies.  Cows, pigs and goats are there to show.  Show horses and donkey's 

All looking their best.  

Photography of all kinds to be judged and awarded a ribbon in each division.

Children's artwork from the youngest to the oldest are on display with ribbons awarded.

Little ones can't wait to show their parents their work and show off the ribbon that will come home with them when the displays are taken down and work goes home.

It was great fun to wander around with DD and check out the Fair this year.  Enjoying food that can only be got there that probably will be too much for this old girl but it is only once a year. 

Norfolk County Fair is always worth a walk around for the youth and the young at heart.