Pumpkin soup...

Inspired by Anne O's pumpkin soup photography and the fact that the squirrels had taken a nibble of one of our decorative pumpkins I decided to consult my favourite soup recipe from the Moosewood cookbook...


Slicing the *meat* from the pumpkin was a buggerly job but so very worth it in the end....

I don't have a picture of the final product...we were too busy eating it...and then it was gone!

Death of a bread machine...birth of a loaf....

So after a very long absence....um, approximately the time it takes to gestate, birth and raise two children to the ages of 4 and 5 1/2...I hauled out ye old breadmachine, fancying a return to the homemade loaf. I added my ingredients, as per instructions, turned on ye old breadmachine and...nothing happened. No amount of button-pressing or plug-unplugging would kick the old beast to life. So, what's an aspiring baker to do? Well, I decided to wing it.

I mixed and kneaded...

Then I left it to rest/rise...I remembered my Nanna telling me how HER mother used to leave the loaves to rise next to the hob so I heated the oven to a low temp then popped it in for a few hours...

In the meantime, I looked up how you're *supposed* to do it and discovered several glaring errors in my process thus far...but, I was already committed so....

I stuck it in the oven and hoped for the best.

Ta-da! The glorious loaf. A bit brick-like, a bit stodgy but it smelled really good and tasted quite nice.....

The birds and squirrels enjoyed it too...!! Next time I'll remember to proof my yeast and mix things in the right order. Next time.....approximately the time it takes to raise two small children to the ages of about 17 and 18....

Basket o' plenty...

Sebastian was kind enough to rearrange our cornucopia in a funky moss basket we salvaged from the curb....he was rather more pleased with this than the on-the-step arrangement.

Chia JOY!

Savannah and I made our weekly trip to our favourite Bulk Food store...to stock up on peanuts and birdseed (for our fur and feather friends) and some herbs for my healing teas and what did we find but.....CHIA!! I'm so incredibly jazzed that they're now stocking these wonderful little seeds....I used to have to order them from Arizona but now....ta da!!!....a local supplier - which brings me Joy on so many levels.

Yay chia!

Find out more here...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chia
www.living-foods.com/articles/chia.html
http://www.arizonachia.com/faqs.htm

Brought to you by...Co-operation Today

So we have an ancient videotape made by Sesame Street...'Learning To Share'...made some time before Elmo got famous and Katie Couric got to be an anchor woman. In the video, she hosts a show called 'Co-operation Today'. B and I often jokingly quote Katie to each other during times of sibling conflict..which has been fairly frequent. Still, there's light at the end of the tunnel as our two Shinies seem to be finding their groove....here's rare footage of them playing 'together' at the computer.

Savannah felt she should help Sebastian navigate the Scooby Doo mystery game and he graciously accepted.....*sigh*....peace at last.

Banana bread...yum!

More delicious bounty of our freezer bananas...some scrumptious banana bread - made extra delicious with a cool glass of milk....aaaah, nothing takes the edge off a busy morning of colouring than some homemade goodness...

Up waaaay too early...Part Two

After such a strange (and early) start to the day, it was voted that we spend the day 'cocooning'.



Savannah's version...push the coffee table out of the way, spread out a blanket and some cushions, gather the supplies and CREATE!


Sebastian's version....no kidding!

My version....(after a lovely doze on the couch - thankyou Savannah!)...getting caught up on my online Pain Management course...

Up waaaay too early...Part One

Sebastian had one of his odd nights....he was up at 2:30am...requesting my company by 3:00am. Savannah heard us reading at about 4:00am and joined us, pretty much in a blur...

Here's the view by 5:00am....

Sebastian on the computer....


Savannah on the couch....and no, she's not just 'resting her eyes'...;}

Portrait of Shoes With Leaves...

What better tribute to a faithful pair of sneakers than to be immortalized in Art...

Stuffing the Spyder...

More Joy in the leaves....the kids took over the project of stuffing the big Spyder (I spell it that way to make it less scary for me -ugh!) we bought at the Dollar Store. Its intent is to be a delightfully benevolent addition to our Halloween decor...



Three hard workers with their Spyder...

Charming, isn't it?

Journey of the leaves...

Yes, well...the time has finally come. I must confess to absolutely loving autumn - in a 'what's your favourite season' sort of way. The crispness of the air, the brilliance of the sun and the sights and sounds of the Mother preparing for a winter of rest and revitalization. Its the idea of the inevitable cold and snow that has always struck dread in my heart.

But now I have a new perspective. I will look on winter and the 'dark time' as a time of rest and revitalization for me too....I will follow the Earth more closely and use the time wisely as a time for me to recharge and learn and grow.

And what better way to start than with the story of a leaf?


From golden brilliance on the tree...


To a huddled pile of red and brown and gold on the grass....


To becoming a medium of unfettered JOY!

It's hard to snap a photo of Leaves In Action....this is a sample culled from a whole lot of super-blurry shots....very cool, no?

RBG - Part Three - The Art of Joy...

What more can I say? It was a truly magical day...

Here we are sitting on another one of the Garden sculptures...gotta love interactive Art!


A lovely old Linden tree...just perfect for climbing...







Why of course these sculptures were designed for leap-frogging...isn't that what the 'interactive' part means?

An entry from the 'Hammocks at Hendrie' competition..this one was suspended from an iron spiderweb...complete with big iron spider....ugh!



A wish for the fountain?

The Shine is almost blinding...

A sweet shot of the menfolk in front of a root system...

Pausing awhile on the trail...just Be-ing

"You take the picture like this, Mommy"

The birds here are VERY tame and will eat right out of your hand....much to Savannah's surprise and delight and terror ;}. I took over after a wee finch 'bit' her....and she watched from a safe distance with B.

In the Discovery Garden...Sebastian emerges from a giant nest...

RBG - Part Two....the Art of the Earth

This particular trail (sorry, I can't remember the name) is going to close in 2009 for rehabilitation so we thought we'd make the most of these last opportunities to enjoy it. We were not disappointed and B took some fabulous sample shots of the this glorious section of the Earth.

RBG Part One - Earth Art...

Ah, so we just made the most wonderful trip to the Royal Botanical Gardens. Wonderful in so many ways, I've split the posts into three groups.

Today was the last day of the Earth Art exhibition....and I really wanted to see it....so, with the promise of neat stuff and a hike through the woods, we went.

What a tremendous experience. Hard to describe actually. But I'll try with the pictures...


Here's Savannah standing with one of the installations - entitled:
V=B0 + B1 *D< B4 *H< B5 by: Neville Gabie
(the < are supposed to be pointing up but I can't find that key on my keyboard)
Its apparently the mathematical equation used by foresters to calculate the cubic volume of wood in a tree by measuring its girth and height while it is still standing. This piece was made from the remains of an oak tree that was killed by gypsy moths. The artist reassembled every last piece of the tree in cube form beside the stump that was left. Breathtaking in both its beauty and symbolism.


Here's B and the kids sitting inside 'Shelter' by Arthur de Mowbray. A truly cool seating area, that I believe will become a permanent part of the Hendrie garden.

Not part of the Earth Art exhibit, but one of the many wonderful sculptures scattered around one of the main Gardens.

(excuse the fingers in the left-hand corner) This is "Reflections Flowing" by Roy Staab. Made of reeds and saplings that were culled as invasive vegetation, it stands in the middle of a section of Grindstone Creek.

B and "Grandpa"...

B and his good friend "Grandpa"...
...Grandpa is a rather decrepit old squirrel who apparently doesn't see well - he lets B get quite close - then again, perhaps its the peanut butter sandwiches that B makes for him. After spending 15 minutes shelling peanuts (Grandpa can't seem to break the shells anymore), B decided it would be more efficient just to make him sandwiches.

How can you not just love a guy who'd make an old squirrel a sandwich? ;}

Lap-doodling...

A trip to the mall in search of leggings worthy of our very discerning Savannah resulted in this really cool find - a lap desk of sorts. It was Sebastian who spotted them and we just *had* to get them....perfect for on-the-bed doodling, or in Sebastian's case - on-the-floor.


And yes, we found leggings. I'll be sure to post if she ever wears them...

Pumpkins on the step...

Our little selection of pumpkins and gourds...carefully and artfully arranged by our resident decor-guru --Sebastian. Apparently my arrangement wasn't quite right...so he fixed it for me.

Savannah's Pretend-Birthday party...

Savannah decided that she'd like to have a pretend-birthday.

Because her birthday is in January, outside functions aren't really practical. And inside functions require more space than we have. So....we either rent a space (at extreme cost) or go on the small side...not entirely satisfying.

So, after some brainstorming, we looked at the calendar and deemed October 4th to be Savannah's official pretend-birthday. By way of celebration, we threw together a scavenger hunt at Lowville to be followed with cookies and juice, birthday cake and...(another drum roll, please)


...Uncle Simon up a tree to hang.....(still drum-rolling)

...our old friend Dora (recycled).

...who we whacked mercilessly with a great, big stick. ;}

All reports indicate that a good time was had by all....especially the 'Birthday' girl.