WHO WANTS A TREAT?

Just say the word "treat" and the dog's ears perk up. I suddenly have Lulu's full attention. 

She loves "treats". But let's face it, who doesn't? In slang vernacular, a treat means special treatment, be it in the form of a gift or food or entertainment. We "treat" ourselves or others to acknowledge, reward or just because. In Lulu's world a treat is a reward, not that she cares, she just wants the treat!

This weekend Randi came over with Prince Soren and we spent the day Christmas baking. 

What a treat for me! To spend the day in the kitchen with my daughter and grandson! And, as a special bonus, we had guests!

My own Mom dropped in to see what was cooking and of course love on Soren. Just look at this chubby little fingers and cheeks!

And some of our dearest friends who were in town from Kelowna also visited. Spending time with family and those we care about is a treat indeed.

Randi and I were busy whipping up the goodies in the kitchen.

We made a mocha cappuccino biscotti with chocolate and toasted pecans, perfect for dipping.

And a soft and chewy ginger molasses cookie, rolled in cinnamon sugar.  

Finally we made these super easy chocolate mint cookies, sprinkled with crushed candy canes.

There is still more to do but we ran out of steam and time!

But Christmas baking is well underway. I hope you take some time to enjoy the season ahead with special moments - so Who Wants A Treat?

THE DECEMBER DASH

Yesterday, December arrived. I could almost hear the gunshot sound in the air as we begin the "December Dash". 

I have two concerts, about 4 Christmas parties to attend, church stuff, work stuff, baking....My goal on reaching the finishing line in one piece involves a slow and steady pace because I want to enjoy all the hustle and bustle as best I can. 

BANG - LET'S GO....

Starting off, nice easy pace with a mother/daughter date. Randi, along with Prince Soren took me to the Drake Devonshire for lunch. I prepped with a nice  energy-inducing cappuccino! 

and Great Company! 

Then we headed to an Open House at the MacCauley House Museum in Picton. Tartan is the theme and the simple beauty enhanced the home perfectly.

Join me in the Parlor for a cup of tea?

A violinist serenaded us in the Dining room. He was pretty excited to discover I played Cello and practically booked me in for a jam session. 

Every room has a fireplace, including the Children's. This a nod to the MacCauley wealth not to mention the ongoing struggle against a Canadian Winter for warmth!

Perhaps we should step into the office for a soul searching spiritual discussion on the true meaning of Christmas with Reverend MacCauley...

The kitchen had a crackling fire and a jovial fella making up fresh Welsh cakes with homemade jam to sample. 

Tis the season friends, we are starting the December Dash. I hope you can pace yourself and enjoy the moments in the midst of the madness.

10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU.

I woke up Friday morning to a snow-filled driveway. One that needed to be shovelled...so begins the long Canadian winter.

I'm not a big fan. 

In fact here's my 10 things I hate about you (winter) list:

1)   I hate having frozen fingers and popsicle toes. 
2)   I hate the way my nose runs....all the time...when I'm outside.
3)   I hate pushing a grocery cart through a slush filled parking lot.
4)   I hate that I'm always walking the dog in the dark.
5)   I hate getting into a cold car and freezing my butt on a cold    
       seat.
6)   I hate that sometimes I can't even get into my car cause it's 
      frozen shut!
7)   I hate having to gear up into with many layers in an attempt to 
      survive.
8)   I hate that I can't ride my bike to work very easily.
9)   I hate all the scraping and sweeping and shovelling....
10) I hate that there are no birds serenading me when I wake up. 

But....then....there is an undeniable beauty to the season.

Just look how adorable house this house looks with it's adorable book swap out front!

The countryside is hushed and still and calm.

And Christmas is coming! How the greens and red pop!

Maybe, hate is too strong a word...may winter, it seems is a little bit more...

I'M ON THE JOURNEY

This past week I had a birthday! That means I'm in a reflective and somewhat poignant mood as I consider that fact that I've made it through 55 years on this earth. 

This life is quite a journey! It's like we are on a train ride together. There's lots to see and experience as we move on down the tracks. We meet new people. We hang out with family and friends in the dining car. Some people spend all their time in the bar car, some people keep to themselves. 

But then the train starts to slow down and comes to a stop. The Ticket Inspector comes around - "this is your stop" he says to your mother, or grandfather or maybe your best friend. 

Some people know their stop is coming up. They have their luggage ready to go, they say their goodbyes. But some don't. 

My train is still chugging along - doesn't seem like my stop is coming up too soon. And you know what? I trust the Train; it won't break down and will get me through this life journey.  I trust the Conductor, who knows where I'm going and what's around the bend, even though I don't. And I trust the Ticket Inspector, who knows when my train ride is ending. He might pop his head into my carriage car and say "Hey Cyndi, your stop is coming up soon." Or He may not and suddenly without warning I've reached my Destination.  Father, Son and Holy Spirit - I trust them. Able to rest in this, I'm enjoying the experience, the scenery, the ride. 

Thanks to everyone who celebrated me this past week with gifts, and best birthday wishes and love! You make this journey all that much richer!

THE PAW

If you are a pet owner, your are probably familiar with this particular mode of communication utilized by cats and dogs. 

It's called....The PAW! 

And it knows how to get the point across! I'm presently working with three different types of paws in my house. 

There are the Dandy-Paws, our newest member. Now Dandy is a Thug and he uses his paws to generally knock things off the counter or table, or dip into my tea or mess up my I-Pad.

They are elegant, fluffy things that usually keep their claws well tucked away.

But they are always showing up, even when I'm trying to have some peace and quiet in the bathroom! These paws are saying  - "GIVE ME YOUR ATTENTION, PLAY WITH ME, LET ME IN!"

But then there are Sasha Paws: Small, elegant and exotic.

She wraps them up all nice and compact ensuring to keep her tail in place. But these paws have little trouble unsheathing their sharp talons. She will take a swipe at whoever is invading her space! These paws remind me that I live with royalty and I'd better respect it. 

Finally I have the Lulu Paws

These here are thumpers. They thump me when they want something to eat and are usually precluded with this face:

If this face does not get the tidbit in a timely manner I get bopped or thumped by the paw. The paw also thumps me when she wants to be petted or when I stop petting her and she feels the petting time is incomplete. Some times when I come home from work, I get the two-paw thump - a complete paws-on that says "I missed you, where have you been, now how about supper?"

I've had pets most of my life and I'm quite familiar with The Paw. Sometime, actions speak louder than words!

A WINTER WARNING

We received a winter warning this weekend. "Heads-Up", Snow has made an entrance!

And it's early, even for Ontario. I generally keep records of first snowfalls each year and on average they land about a month from now. 

Yesterday, Sheldon and I took a trip to Peterborough to visit friends for the day. Our first stop was the market.

The air was cold, sharp and bitter but that lead-grey sky was the real give-away.

We checked out that engineering wonder known as the lift loch. Built is 1904 and still going strong!

By 3:00 there were snow flakes floating around. Like most Ontarians, we don't have winter tires on yet so we headed home to beat the snow. By the time we arrived and slid (and I mean slid) into the driveway, the yard was well covered in white fluff. 

There's no getting around it, First Snow's are stunning.

What a change from last weekend!

I have lots of leaves still to rake, but for now it will have to wait until things dry out a bit.

We all know this stuff won't stick around. Even as I type this up, most of the snow has melted away. But like the Terminator, It will be Back...this is just a winter warning.

HIBERNATION PREP

It's inevitable....winter is on her way. In fact I've seen a few snowflakes scouting around and we may have more snow tonight. I'll let you know cause Lulu is on a new schedule where she rings her cowbell relentlessly around 2 am until I get up and let her out. 

Time to begin prepping for hibernation! But first a quick look back. I've had a good summer and the garden faired pretty well. Here is my first rose of the year, landing on June 15th:

And here's my last one.

She was just a shy little bud but the frosty nights were too much so I clipped her off and brought her in. She opened up and smiled at me.

We are finishing off a few projects around the house and this strapping young buck has been doing some sorely needed masonry work.

This guy must have had "mason" tattooed on the bottom of his foot when he was born cause he definitely fits the part!

The Fire bush which really does nothing all summer except provide a great place for the chickadees to gossip in pulls out all the stops and starts showing off in a fiery red ensemble:

And soon all those ruby red leaves will fall off along with the millions of others that will need to be raked up. 

My garden is prepping for hibernation. And so am I. The summer clothes are stored away, the mittens are out in full force, the windows are closed, the red wine and fireplace awaits.  

Last night I made a beautiful pasta dish of cheese tortellini with roasted squash and kale, inspired by this recipe here: https://food52.com/blog/23110-quick-easy-fall-weeknight-butternut-squash-pasta-recipe?utm_content=bufferd930c&utm_medium=SocialMarketing&utm_source=Twitter&utm_campaign=Social

I could, and might eat this every night! It hits all my comfort food cravings. Last week, it was beef stew and I already have a pretty good supply of soup and vegetarian chilli in the freezer. 

I'm in full hibernation prep - how about you?