Finally A Family Day Spent All Together !!!

It is Halloween night, need I remind anyone ...... I absolutely LOVE Halloween. The problem is I lost my "take out Trick or Treating kid" last season, as apparently he is too old to go out with his Great Auntie, and now goes out with his friends.  *Sigh*  at least he is too old for me to take and I not too old not to be able to take him.  LOL.

Anyone in need of having their "kid" taken out "Trick or Treating" for Halloween, please let me know as I am in the market for a new "kid" !!!!

What a yesterday we had .... I can not begin to tell you how it felt, not only to have a beautiful weather day, but to be able to make it into a "FAMILY DAY" !!!  It was absolutely "wonderful" !!!

Since my dearest Crabby Cabbie didn't get home until his usual "wee" hours of the morning, the "pack" and I left him to sleep so he could rid himself of any "crabbiness" before he woke up.  In the meantime, Bandit, Lexus, and of course, little Mercedes, all had their times in and out throughout the morning.

In-between the comings and goings of the ins and outs, I managed to pull it together by making ready our dinner of Ham and Scalloped potatoes.  The ham was easy, as it just needed wrapped in foil, put in a pan and popped into the oven.  The Scalloped potatoes are a little bit of work, but really for the time it takes to make them well worth it.

"It all began with preparing the Roux, by mixing equal part of butter and flour together."

"Once the milk, salt, pepper and dry mustard were mixed in and had thickened, it was time to add the grated cheese."

"Um, smooth and thick; all ready to have the sliced potatoes, along with the sauteed onion rings added and mixed together."

"I went a little "light" on the potatoes, so it is very creamy here, but ready to go into the oven for 1 1/2 hours cooking time."

There that was all under control, so what now to do for the next 1 1/2 hours?  Well the Crabby Cabbie had slept off some of his crabbiness, so about the time that had happened the sun was shining in abundance around the 1 pm time of day.

We had a coffee while I convinced my, by then fully awake, Rob it would be a good day to dig potatoes, if they hadn't already rotted into the ground from all the rain we have had the past three weeks.  We gathered up what we needed and headed outside for the garden.

"Yesiree Bob, oops I mean Rob, those are taters we got there coming from the ground."

"Along our way out of the garden, we also picked ourselves a Spanish Onion, as well as a couple of huge beets."

"Rob got the "job" of washing all the mud off from our "booty of potatoes".  That would be "booty"as in Pirate's Treasure people, not potato butts !  LOL. "

"What?  what the "heck" kind of mutation is this?"

"What ever type of mutant potato it is, it sure can give lots to the imagination .... lol."

"Wow, not too bad of a haul from one row of taters, now was it?  Nice mix too with white, red and purple.  The purple potatoes are a "heritage or heirloom" potato, who we were given to by friends.  Just "click" on the highlighted words and you can read all about them."

All three of the "pack" were out and about, while Rob and I were on our Bruce County potato adventure, enjoying the weather as much as we were.  Since it was actually the very first "Family Day" we had since the arrival of Mercedes, I wanted some "family pictures" taken of them.

"Rob was taking the pictures, as I was tried to organize the "pack"."

"Yes, you are both good girls, now just sit and listen please."

"Enough of that, just settle down you two."

"Okay honey, I think we got it ... oh no, Mercedes was acting up again, you say? "

"Mercedes under control; now Lexus you should be setting the example here, since you are almost two years old now."

"Okay honey, shoot, shoot, shoot ..... oh shoot, they were all looking in the wrong direction !!!"

"Now Mercedes cooperates, while Lexus is leaving the "building", and if noticed all along, Bandit has been indifferent to the whole "family" picture taking thing right from the get go !"

 We certainly had a well spent Family Day all together.  I am most certain there will be more of them to come, along with lots of new pictures, I am just hoping there will be more nice weather coming along too!!!

Once we returned back into the house, it was nice to sit down together at a somewhat "normal" supper time together and enjoy a meal.

"What an "awesome" meal it was too.  Ham, Scalloped Potatoes and coleslaw with a twist.  Too yummy it was."

 Coleslaw with a "twist"?  Easy peasy as one-two-three .... just buy a ready made bag of coleslaw, throw in some salt-free sunflower seeds, along with raisins and add some Kraft Coleslaw Dressing ..... not only quick and easy, it is "yummy" too.

After supper, Rob and I got on the "band wagon" by taking Mercedes for her first downtown Wiarton walk.  It was perfect weather for an early evening stroll down and around the streets of Wiarton

I am so pleased, as of this past weekend "Cindy's Recipe Exchange" on Facebook now has 85 group members, with myself included.  Should you have a Facebook Account, please feel free to join us there anytime for lots of, not only "Tried, Tested and True recipes", but most of them being "Easy Peasy as One-Two-Three recipes", as well.  I am always learning and trying out new recipes, so come along and join in on the adventure.

I think I will be checking in with my local Wiarton Weatherman guy to see what he has planned for all those little ghosts, goblins and other delightful beings who will be out there on the streets tonight.

By the sounds of outside my window right now, the rain is coming down pretty steady, however if this forecast can be "trusted", the clearing this afternoon does look to be promising.  Fingers and toes crossed for this one.

I know I haven't been mentioning too much about "housework" in my daily blogs lately, but there is no worries there as I having been using the dust around the house to write my "blog" notes in lately.  Maybe today would be a good day to go around and start erasing some of them?????

I am off and running towards a new adventure in my day ahead, "Just North of Wiarton & South of the Checkerboard".

A Day Away For "ME" & A Couple Of Friends Too !

My yesterday began mostly as any other one, in the "wee" hours of the morning, before the sun has even began to think about rising upon Bruce County .....

"  ..... south down Highway 6 I head with a sky heavy with cloud cover."

"There is Barbetta Orchard's apple stand in the old Duffy's Tavern parking lot located in Hepworth; it will be their last day there today at this location, so best be getting those apples in for the Winter months ahead."

 "The morning sun finally begins to make its appearance out of the Eastern skies ...... "

" ..... reflecting itself in the river as it had extended its reach higher up into the skies."

"It was almost a delightful feeling to see I also wasn't the only early riser this morning."

"There go my favorite rolling hills and dales, I enjoy viewing so much."

I had a fantastic "day away for me", spent in the company of a few very close friends, with also having the pleasure of meeting some new ones along the way.  Like any day enjoyed, or otherwise, it had to wind down and come to an end by returning myself back home.

"Almost home just before Wiarton, there appeared a funnel of cloud cover seemingly extending itself and looking as it might end up at the doorstep of our home, "Just North of Wiarton & South of the Checkerboard".  It gave me the dreaded feeling there was going to be snow."

I made it home, and heavy cloud covered remained, spewing from it only a few rain drops here and there ..... no worries at all.  I have to admit it was pretty intimidating looking as I was driving towards it at the time.

After I got settled back in at home with the "pack" being a attended to, as my "Crabby Cabbie" had already left for work, I settled myself with a cup of Java to check my emails.

Oh so delighted was I to find out my Pen Pal Gal friend from England, Carol, had emailed me some photos she had taken yesterday afternoon as well.  These photos Carol has shared were taken in Richmond, England, about a 15 minutes drive away from her home.  The river pictured is the Swale River.

"This particular photo reminds me so much of our very own Sauble Falls.  I can hardly believe how close they are in comparison."

"I almost feel I could walk right into this photo with a picnic lunch and place a blanket in the grass.  I am sure Carol has mentioned they are pretty much having the same weather as us at the moment, so I also think this might be the "wrong" season for me to be doing that."

Thank you again, Carol, as I really do enjoy the comparison of our World across the miles.  It means so much  more when you have a wonderful interaction with the person who actually lives in these places.

I best be now checking in with my Wiarton Weatherman guy to see if he has any decent weather planned for my day ahead.

Oh there actually might be a "glimmer" of hope once the 40% showers has passed by this morning!

"Cindy's Recipe Exchange", on Facebook, has five group members, myself included, up for the "DO NOT buy meat until what is in your Freezer is first used up" Challenge, beginning yesterday.  I am looking forward to us sharing our experiences of doing this together.  I know I, for one, will have to put blinders on when going into a grocery store to keep me away from the Meat Department.  I will also have to refrain from looking through the weekly flyers at the "specials", as that would only be torture, would it not???  LOL, for me it would be.

"So begins the "challenge" in my household !!!! "

"Hopefully bringing a "little" organization with it, but that is a "blog" all on its own for another day ahead."

"My very first choice for dinner from our "overstuffed" coffers.  Ham & Scalloped potatoes in on the Dinner menu for today.  No Ross, you have NOT been invited ! "

Now keeping in mind our freezers are not really as bad as they look, as there also is fruit and vegetables in them for the Winter months ahead, and soon to be Spy apples, as well as ten of our own chickens we just had butchered at Thanksgiving.  In all fairness to myself I am looking forward to the "challenge", if just to give my freezers a much needed cleaning out, which was the main objective, as well getting us into more of a "rotating habit"; old to the front & new at the back, I will be extremely happy.

Wowsers, quite the "blog" today I must say !!!  and here when I first started I was thinking how "blogged" out I was feeling this morning.  *Sigh* but things to do hopefully with a "dent" being made, as I surge forward towards a new adventure in my day ahead, "Just North of Wiarton & South of the Checkerboard".

Booooooo, "Tip or Trick" Please or ......

With computer and blog technical problems, my hands full of puppiness, lack of sleep, almost falling on my butt on an icy front stoop .......

" ....... my yesterday just got better when I realized I needed to clean the windows off my vehicle before I headed "North of  the Checkerboard" to my Doctors !  Pretty is it not?  A pretty mess is what I was thinking at the time .... lol."

"At this point I was way "North of the Checkerboard" up in North Bruce Peninsula, when I was thinking, "are those snow clouds?"?   I was in no frame of mind at the moment for snow."

"By the time I arrived at my Doctor's office in Lion's Head, the skies seemed to be a bit brighter, heavy on the "bit"."

I got my weekly shot in the arm and hightailed it back home, "Just South of the Checkerboard & North of Wiarton", as I had a very important job needing my attention.

"Come on in, we will make sure you get to where you are going and my friends and I  will keep you company along the way."

"Tip or no Trip" people, or you will be "hanging" like the little guy in the background, trust me I have been here for quite sometime myself ..... "

"Psst, hey you, yeah you buddy, trust me you best be tipping this "Crabby Cabbie" guy or who knows, you might end up like me !"

"What the heck !  Where did this come from?"

"Oh my, this must be the guy's other part, you know the one that didn't tip the "Crabby Cabbie" last night !!!"

Ha,ha,ha ..... I hope my "Crabby Cabbie" had a little bit of fun with his decorated cab in keeping with the Halloween Spirit !  I love "Halloween" !!!

There is still lots of time to plan which event you want to attend in and around Grey-Bruce Counties, so check out the boootiful choices you still have at the following link:

http://www.explorethebruce.com/halloween_events_grey_bruce.php

After all of the Halloween decorating fun, we had a quick Dinner of Bacon, Eggs & Toast.  Quick & easy, especially when I was having "one of those" days anyway .... lol.

After my Crabby Cabbie left for work, Lexus, Mercedes and I headed downtown to do a couple of errands, returning home for a "big" outside romp.  The rest of my afternoon, what was left of it, was spent making the bed, tidying up here and there, and calling my sister, Donna, as there wasn't much left of the day to make any "dent" in the house chores.

Just around the 5:00 pm I received a phone call from my other sister, Jeanne !!!  She arrived home from the Miller Rehab Centre in St. John's after being away for over two months recovering wonderfully from a stroke .....

Welcome Home dear sister, it was so great to get a phone call from you !!!!!  Yeah !!!!  I am totally ecstatic  and I love you ..... Life is so precious, it only takes a moment to share what you feel so don't hesitate.

I sometimes have wondered how Rob makes out with Mercedes when I have had to go somewhere .... I found out last night !

"Do you really see a problem with me being up here, as "Dad" doesn't when you are gone."

"What did you say?  You want me to move off of here?"

"I really don't understand what the big problem is, as I have already explained he lets me when you aren't here !"

"Okay, if you really are that insistent ..... "

"There I am off your chair, and on his now.  I hope you are happy now ..... so don't bug me again."

Ha,ha,ha .... obviously there have been "things" going on when I am not around, but Mercedes most certainly wasn't holding back by sharing some of them with me last night ..... Rob, I will catch up with you later, my dear !  LOL

Okie dokie now to more immediate matters at hand, on to the my favorite Wiarton Weatherman guy's forecast.

It most certainly not going to be a Sunshine & Lollipop day by the looks of this forecast.  Don't forget to "click" on the highlighted word, as it still might brighten your day, as it always brightens mine.

Things to do and people to see today, as I head out into my day ahead on a new adventure, "Just North of Wiarton & South of the Checkerboard".