A Comfort Food Day

Of all the "Cracks", pardon the pun, about Toronto's Mayor, Rob Ford, this is the best I have seen so far.

Yes and another one "bites the dust".  Senators, Mayors .... Men apparently leading our Cities.  *Sad* indeed.  How does their Resumes make it the top? beyond me, but then again I seldom watch TV, never the News, and not very interested in Politics, as it is something that I do not understand, nor have bothered to understand, but what I have read on Facebook, this was funny to me.

I was a Happy Camper today, as I got to not only put together an Unstuffed Cabbage Roll Casserole in the Crock Pot today, I also got to bake !  I looked around our house thinking there is not a single room that doesn't have some amount of clutter that needs cleaning up, and said to myself, "it is the first day I don't have to do something Crabby Cabbie, so the heck with it all I am doing something I want to do".

With "fresh" pumpkin puree in my fridge that hadn't yet made it to the freezer, I thought it appropriate to make something "pumpkin".  Pumpkin Muffins it was.

What a "yummy" muffin that was much to my liking by not being too sweet, especially since I omitted the brown sugar sprinkle on top.

Recipe please?  PRINTABLE RECIPE *CLICK* HERE.

While I was slaving over a hot oven, two of my favourite boys were hard at it ....

.... sawing logs on their favourite chair together.  My poor Rob has been  down sick with a bad cold the past few days and has been wiped right out.  I left him to sleep this afternoon as much as he could.  Bandit? he was the security doggie.

Eventually Rob did have to get up as we had a scheduled appointment with the Good Doctor late this afternoon.  It went well with me getting my allergy serum shot in my arm, and Rob getting his Flu Shot in his arm.

Rob came away from the Doctor's with an apple, as did I as well, leftovers set out from Halloween.   I had a bonus with being lent the new People's Magazine so I could read up about Royal Baby George's Christening.  You may view by *clicking* HERE.

Almost back home we made a quick trip into Wiarton to hit up the Pharmacy before coming home to Dinner all ready for us.

Unstuffed Cabbage Roll Dinner done that I had put together earlier today in the Crock Pot.  Truly it was good.

I adapted my Dinner from this recipe HERE.  Truly it is very easy with me browning 1 lb. of lean ground beef, draining well before adding chopped onion and garlic, then sprinkling with Italian Seasoning.  Shred half a small cabbage placing on bottom of Crock Pot; add Tomato Sauce and large can of diced tomatoes with juice, sprinkle with 1/2 to 1 cup uncooked rice, top with the remaining 1/2 of cabbage shredded.  Cook on LOW setting for 6 to 8 hours.  (cooking time varies between Slow Cooker brands).

I have to admit I did end up doing a wee bit of Crabby Cabbie paperwork today, or maybe a little more then a wee bit.  Really though if I don't do it, who else will?

A comfort food day it was with a bowl of Unstuffed Cabbage Roll dinner, and a Pumpkin Muffin which has left me feeling quite full, if not more then I should be.  Maybe the muffin could have waited for tomorrow, "Just North of Wiarton & South of the Checkerboard".

Hurricane Sandy Turns "Frankenstorm"

Five o'clock am, voices travel from the far part of the house down into our bedroom.

My "Crabby Cabbie" has arrived home and was conversing with our Paul, who had fallen asleep in the Easy chair in the living room.  It is cold, Paul goes to retrieve kindling from the basement in order for Rob to "fire" up the wood stove.

Rob does eventually come to bed, with me lying there until 7 pm before I arise to come out to a warm house and my three boys, or four should I count our Bandit boy.

"Bandit gets lots of attention when the boys are visiting."

Once Holly had gotten up from bed, Paul and I headed downtown into Wiarton to retrieve us all a treat by getting us a Tim Horton coffee and the boys a box of Tim Bit Donuts.

"Frost layed itself across the roof tops and the clouds were cold and uninviting  when this day had first began."

When Paul and I had returned with the Tim Horton goodies we had been surprised Rob was up with having only had 2 hours, if that, of sleep.

"I suppose if he hadn't gotten up he wouldn't had time to spend with everyone or torment them all in his usual fashion.  I am pretty sure he had "grabbed" Holly's Blackberry from the table with them all trying to get it back from him here.  Ha ! never a dull moment."

Paul had promised the boys we would go for a walk this morning before they had to head back home, so the four of us got ready to head back towards town.  I was just hoping when we had returned Holly hadn't been any worse for wear by Rob's teasing ... as it was she did survive after all.

"The boys and I thought it pretty cool to follow this vehicle into town."

"We decided to bypass the Wiarton Marina and go straight down by the Water Treatment plant beside Colpoy's Bay."

"The Bay in front of us with the escarpment behind."

"We weren't too certain how fish could be caught in this cold windy weather with the water breaking as it had been?"

"It is not too often I get my photo taken with the Boys, so we took the opportunity of doing so.  Ha ... Aiden had said, "hurray up Daddy my *smile* is freezing"."

"Here are three of my boys !  The Fall colours always make such a lovely "natural" back drop for family photos."

"It didn't take us long to load ourselves back in the truck and head it up the North Hill on our way back to a cozy warm house."

The kids packed up their stuff and headed on home before the Lunch hour.  Thank goodness I got out of more meal making and dishes ... those dishes are never ending !!!  Ha !

My poor Rob went back to bed.  Me?  not a darn thing I did this afternoon as my whole body was in surmountable pain with every muscle from "head to toe" feeling as they were going to come right through my skin.  I am thinking this Fibromyalgia "flare up" has been caused with this sudden onslaught of weather change we are experiencing right now.  *Sigh* not a good thing for such ailments at these times, or otherwise.

Another day spent in a lull of fatigue and pain behind the scenes of the comfort of my own home, rather then out and covering the pain most times with a "mask" of "I am fine".  Anyone else who suffers from Fibromyalgia knows exactly what I mean when I speak of hiding behind a "mask" of wellness when inside the muscles are screaming and there is pain shooting through various parts of  your body.

Weather changes? there is lots of that going on right now with the onslaught of Hurricane Sandy, meeting up with two other storm fronts to the creation of a "Frankenstorm" so it has been named in the wake of a fast approaching Halloween.

It wasn't too long ago a friend had posted to her Facebook page a warning for the Grey Bruce areas, which can be found by *clicking* HERE .

Batten down the "hatches" to be prepared, as we never know what is every around the corner, now do we? Thoughts and prayers to all for to be safe and protected that are or will be in the path of this storm.

I had what I had thought to be 1 cup of pumpkin needing used up in the fridge, which turned out to be 1 1/2 cup.  I had a friend send me a recipe for Pumpkin Spice Muffins which I changed up to make my "own" late this afternoon.

"I gathered everything I would need together on the counter then got going on putting it all into action with 12 Muffin cups nicely filled.  I don't care much for "cooked" raisins, so I plunked a few in half the muffins for Rob, who does so love raisins cooked or not."

"The are really a Muffin moist and full of flavor.  I think next time I will add some apple to it to see how that turns out?   Another definite, "keeper" to be added to my ever growing collection of recipes."

Recipe please?  PRINTABLE RECIPE HERE.

Before I forget I must "share" the "what I thought to be a good read" on the behalf of women, over at my friend, John's at Tok Tok Place.  I found both humor in it to some extent, as well seeing the irony and bare truth of it all ... touche' for it being "put out there" in the defense of all woman in the work place, or not.  Thanks to John for posting.  For this read I speak of please *click* HERE.

I know it wouldn't surprise too many if I made the statement I am "tired" and won't be long from my bed this evening.  It has been a very busy couple of days in my life, however enjoyable, "Just North of Wiarton & South of the Checkerboard."