Yesterday was a great day for making salsa! I bought 1/2 bushel of tomatoes at a local grower's and had everything ready to simmer early this morning.
I made a small batch for R...Ryder....who doesn't like the "heat", but loves the tomato flavour with tortilla chips.
This will make great hostess gifts and a good treat to open up anytime!

















I finished Seth's sweater on Wednesday also.....I think it will look pretty good on the handsome
little guy with the reddish hair! I hope Mommy likes it. He has his birthday party this coming Saturday or Sunday...finished just in time.







Bill has been asking for something baked to take to work...so yesterday I decided to make raisin oatmeal cookies. They turned out yummy. I tucked a few away into the freezer for a certain little lady in Toronto!









I hauled this blanket out this morning and actually completed the stitching on it....I only had 1/2 row to do....I learned this huck embroidery while I was in Florida last winter. I really like it, so bought the materials to make one for myself.
I'm planning on making one for my in-laws for
Christmas this year...only in shades of green.








I had a hankering for some more olive oil crackers....loaded them with chia seeds, sesame seeds, parmesan cheese, poppy seeds, sea salt etc....hmmmmm...so good with hummus and a slice of tomato for lunch!

Nova Scotia

Wow! It's been over 3 weeks since I last posted!
We had a safe and interesting trip to the east coast....literally!

This picture shows us arriving in Cole Harbour, NS....Sept. 9...Jim & Anna live in the little yellow house on the top right side of the picture....they have a beautiful view of Cole Harbour....once a bustling little village with it's own store, school and church.






Now there are only a few all year residents....the

nearest village/store is Larry's River, about a 15 minute drive.

This is a picture of their local supermarket!!!! The back end is the trailer of a truck! You'd be surprised at the merchandise he carries......he even had Buckley's mixture when I needed it.










Heavy winds from an earlier hurricane toppled a lot of trees
and caused a lot of erosion. The family owns land on what they call
"the headland"....right on the ocean. It's high and rugged!
We took a ride down on the 4-wheeler....they have a cabin that Jim built a few years ago....no hydro etc though. It's very rustic!! A tree came very close to knocking the roof down....many of them are dead, but there's too many to keep them all cleaned up.



The water off the "head" is known as Torr Bay....it's huge and there's a Provincial Park not far from us. The hurricane damaged the boardwalk again, but it's still beautiful......the beach has sand....not common in this area!!!!














The causeway to Cape Breton is only about an hour north of Cole Harbour....we decided to go to Cheticamp...the rug-hooking capital of the world......known for their fine yarn hooking techniques. It's a nice day trip...up the Cabot Trail on the west coast of CB.
It was a beautiful sunny day in CB and about the only one where the sun shone more than an hour or two.....found the museum/store/restaurant we were looking for. I enjoyed sharing with the local artisan who showed me the technique involved and then I did some shopping and ate lunch in the Acadian restaurant. I enjoyed a fish soup.



Another hobby.......just about finished....think I'll frame it.


We took our time going to NS, but decided to drive home in a couple of days. They have completed the new highway through NB now and it's the most boring drive you've ever seen.....double lane highway and trees!!! The main highway used to be through pretty rural countryside....not now. It poured rain on the way there and we were both rather giddy when we finally reached the NS border.

Liza and Mackenzie came to visit the day after we returned.....such a cutie and a little imp!

Known around here as the "bag" lady, she had a great time shopping in her new cowboy boots and fancy dress!



Wonder woman showed up a bit later!
















Yesterday I gathered the goods to make beet pickles.....always a big mess, but my kids love them and it's nice to have a few here to have with dinner once in a while....especially when we have company.

Beets are expensive....I thought I had lots!!!! Oh well..I'll be picky about using them. Every time I see them on the table I think about Mom & Dad.....we always had them with meals....just took them for granted! I wonder what will remind my kids of me in future years??????.....I'm sure it won't be pickles!


Thanksgiving is just around the corner....a beautiful time of the year. My horn of plenty is overflowing!

I hope everyone is healthy and enjoying the day! Salsa is bubbling away on the stove as I write....yummy and it smells soooooo good!

Another Week.....

Another week of summer has passed....August has turned into September. It won't be long before fall is here for good. Yet, we've had a week of very hot, humid weather. The fans in our home have been buzzing constantly!

No appointments this week! Love it! Just doing my "thing" and enjoying life. I got to play with Ryder and Finn on Wed. morning for a while. Brandon had a dentist appt. so they kept me company! Ryder is talking so much now and they are both so polite. It made me smile to hear Finn say "tankoo" when I gave her a cracker.....what a cutie. Ryder is looking forward to his birthday next month and Finn likes to use the pottie!!!
What fun it is to watch all three of my little ones develop!

Food blogs call to me and I enjoy trying some of their new recipes and hints. I finally finished the table runner (rag). It's pretty neat, but needs to be washed to be totally finished.




For anyone who knows our family, they'll know where this picture was taken! What a glorious view. This picture was taken about 7:45 pm and I was using the panoramic button on my camera for the first time.....it's okay but not great. Anyone needing to meditate couldn't find a better spot.

Yesterday, while reading a veggie food blog, I came across a recipe for these olive oil crackers. I couldn't wait to try them.....they look good and they taste great AND so easy. We spread a little hummus on and just enjoyed them. I made giant crackers and break them up as I use them. Some have poppy seeds, grated parm, sesame seeds, dill, thyme, etc. I just kept sprinkling!!!
I also came across another recipe for oatcakes. I had a recipe a long time ago from one of my parents (English) who sent oatcakes to school all the time with her kids. She gave me the very simple recipe, and Brandon just loved them. They became a regular in his lunchbox too. I've tried over the years to replicate them, but not with any success.....these are good, but still not right. Where on earth did I write the recipe???? It's just a simple combination of butter, a small amount of brown sugar and lots of oats!........someday.
Guess what's brewing on my shelf?????? My son gave me some vanilla beans, so I decided to "brew" them. I dumped what was left of a bottle of vodka into my pint jar and put the beans in........pretty nasty smelling at first, but it's becoming more vanilla flavoured all the time!!!! I used the first bit of it yesterday in my raisin/oatmeal cookies. The recipe called for a tsp but I only used 1/2 of a tsp.....it's so much stronger than the imitation kind.
Today I'm off to lunch with my favourite four! I think our niece is going to join us too. We're going to enjoy sushi at a local restaurant....yeah!!!
This long weekend will be a busy one.
Tomorrow I'm volunteering in our church kitchen making sandwiches for a 90th birthday party in the afternoon....I'll be serving at it as well.
Sunday I'm having my family over....get to enjoy the three grandchildren! I wanted a good visit before we take off for NS.....it's supposed to be cooler, but I'm planning on a cold ham/potato salad/coleslaw. I even bought kookaid "jammers" for the kids to drink.....I decided Grammy could give them sugar once in a while.
Monday I'm packing and getting the trailer ready for our trip and making lunch for a UCW meeting that evening.....another gal and I are responsible for the program.
Tuesday morning......we're off for two weeks of travel, visits and sight seeing!!!!!!!!!