the blessed sun returns

The last few days have been dark and dreary, and very winterish, yuck! We had a flakey taste of winter this morning, and boy oh boy, what I did not to cry! (oh, how I wanted to hop on a plane and call that, that) However, this evening for the first time in days, the sun arrayed itself on the western sky and let its beams shine heavenward, adding a touch of warmth to the chilled Autumn air. I sure am thankful for the sun!

A side note on Halloween:

This year we decided to do caramel corn for Halloween.

Here's how it turner out:

What a lovely mound of yummy, yummy caramel corn!

an insensate hour...

Tomorrow is back to work. Today was my only day off in a 6 day stretch, and boy oh boy did I cherish those extra two and a half hours of sleep this morning! Eight-thirty is such a reasonable time to get up. Now that the days are getting shorter, that is when the sun has started the climb the cold autum sky, and with it, and added touch of warmth. Five-thirty or six on the other hand, is a cold and intolerable hour to pull myself out of bed---I'm just not ready for the world at this time, especially with the cold weather.

Now, here I sit with a hot cup of tea, enjoying the last hours before I head to bed. I trust tomorrow will be a smooth running day at work and miraculously I will be able to feel awake and ready to go in the morning. Isn't this my wish every day?


PS: The house hunt continues! We have found some beautiful homes, and all I want is a nice kitchen. I know the Lord will provide us with the right house at the right time, just like he did with our house in Waterloo. God is good, and he knows the desires of our hearts. Bestow your desires to Him, and he will honor them.

i got caught...

...I just couldn't help it. I sat down on the coach and the blanket and pillow were there and I just got sucked in----I promise it wasn't intentional ;). ( come on though the last three days of work have been cah-razy!!!---I was just burnt out)

come on people

Why do people have to be so stinkin' rude? I had two instances today with people that were unbelievably rude. The first was a construction worker: He was standing in the road with no apparent construction going on, holding a slow/stop sign. I stopped---following the directions of the sign, and staying on my side of the road---there was no oncoming traffic, so he flipped the sign to slow, and I started going straight (slowly), suddenly he started slamming his sign on the road, and holding it out in front of my car, and yelling. Apparently I wasn't driving on the right side of him---if you want me to drive on the other side instruct me to before I start driving; by way of hand motions or something, but when the road is clear and you're not properly directing traffic, then don't yell at me, because I don't know what you want.

Secondly, I was in the corner store picking up a movie to watch, and a man walked up to the counter. Apparently, his wife didn't receive something back---something that had to do with her lottery tickets. Now, the family that owns this store are oriental, and speak fairly fluent English, but the lady was having a slight problem understanding him. He got in a big huff and got ugly with her. Why? how does it benefit the situation to fly off the handle? Truth is it doesn't. Why couldn't he have politely explained to her the issue? Same with my the construction worker, why couldn't he have kindly showed me where he wanted me to go ( Note: I've driven past this construction sight 3-5 times a week for the past 5 months and I've never had problems with any of the other workers---the guy that usually directs traffic---when needed---always stands in a good spot and shows traffic where to go). I just don't get people sometimes. I worked in the service business for 3 years, but man!!! Maybe I've just lost my edge for tolerance---I don't know?

Well, I just wanted to share that with you all, and encourage you to be tolerant, and considerate while dealing with people; smile, say please, thank-you, excuse me, and I guarantee you'll be the beloved customer, or fellow shopper/worker/ whatever role you may play. It makes for a more enjoyable day:)

the grapes of sweetness

I've tried something new today, which I have heard/learned a lot about, but have not tried. I juiced my very first basket of grapes, and what a success it was!! After steaming down an 11 quart basket of concord grapes, I now have 6 1/4 quarts of fresh, yummy, all-natural, no-preservative grape juice---I consider it more a grape concentrate though, becuase it is quite syrup like, and sweet.

Here's what I did:

I started out with one 11 quart basket of freshly picked concord grapes. As this was a first trial, I started small, but I do know of people that do up to 12 bushels of grapes, equaling roughly 50 gallons of syrup---love a duck that's a lot of grape juice!

Next, I hulled the grapes from the vine, and washed them thoroughly. (Note: this is only half the grapes)

Water is added to the steamer, and the grapes placed into the collinder insert. I added the second half of the grapes, once the grapes started to steam down, and juice was being produced.

This is the set up suggested to me to catch the juice. I transferred the juice into half-quart mason jars and sealed the lids---which sealed quite well on their own, because the juice is boiling hot, however, I did boil the jars just to make sure the lids sealed properly.

Here is the finished product---after about a 1/2 hour of prep ,1 and 1/2 hours of steaming and 15 minutes of cleaning, you've got some delicious, all-natural, anti-oxidant rich grape juice at your convience.

There you go! Oh, I though I would mention---once I find away to seperate the seeds from the peels, I plan on using the pulp to make a batch of fruit leather---waste not, want not!

adventure here we come....

Today was the perfect day for a hike---so hiking I went. The sun was shining, and the air was cold; a comfortable and refreshing cold.

Nestled in the heart of a small town, not far from me, is the most beautiful treasure... care to discover it with me?

This is where it all started: at the top of the gorge for the Hobbs Mackenzie Drain.

The first and largest set of falls running on the Drain.

A nice view of all three waterfalls.

Continuing onward...

My thinking rock. This is my special nature spot to come and think. The sound of the water running, the fresh smell of autum, sigh, it's just so refreshing. I feel care free and relaxed---it's perfect. I have some pretty special memories here, finding the strength and peace to get by.

A look back on how far we've come.

Almost to the river.

Where the Drain meets the Ausable River. I love the way the sun casts it's warming beems on the colourful trees.

Time to head back up. There are seven flights of stairs ahead of us: think we can make it?

Victory!

Thanks for walking with me---it was a blast!

one happy lady

I am one happy lady---I was able to have another exceptionally productive day! What made my day all that more wonderful is that I spent the majority of it in my kitchen--- My little piece of heaven on earth.

My day was comprised of:

Only the most delicious ginger bread cookies, suggested to me by Andrea over at Sgtand MrsHub.

Two full casserole dishes, of whole wheat pasta cassorole---it's like lasagna, but I used penne instead of lasagna noodles. There was one for me to freeze and one for a young mother at our church, who has pneumonia.

Note: This hasn't been cooked yet, because I'm freezing it for a quick and healthy dinner when I don't have time!

The rest of my productivity is still in the oven and the breadmaker---roastbeef, and while wheat flax bread. Yummy, I can't wait for dinner!

Oh, and the laundry, mustn't forget about the loads of laundry. I think by the end of today I just might be caught up!

I'll catch you all later, thanks for stopping by:)

Ps: Grab your hiking boots, we're going on an adventure---in my next post!

A day of work

Now that I'm curled up on the couch with a hot cup of tea; relaxing, I'll share my day:

Today was filled with cleaning, and sorting, and laundry, and more cleaning, with a few errands in town that had to be done. I was bustin' my behind today. The end result is wonderful though---my house looks and smells clean, my uniforms are washed and ready for Thursday, and I was able to rid of some more clutter. I even had dinner ready on time.

I have to say, this whole---I don't know when I'll be moving idea, really has be ridding of my clutter and extra clothing, leaving me extra shelf/drawer space, and my whole house just seems more tidy. I hope I continue to maitain a love level of clutter at the new house.

Tomorrow I will finish the laundry and hopefully get some quality time in the kitchen. I have a few new recipes I really want to test out, plus a loaf of bread would be nice. My plans for dinner are: roast beef, roasted potatoes, green beans, and probably another vegetable of which I haven't decded yet.

Well, I think I'll head to bed, for tomorrow presens a fresh day, and I want to be suited to embrace it.

The dreadful bath water...

My kitty has fleas---need I say more? I feel absolutely terrible, Bob has never had fleas in the 11 years we've had him, and in the process of ridding these pesty inhabitants I've had to give him, not one, but two baths---two baths in two days. Needless to say I'm not his most favourite person at the moment.

This may come across as cruel, but I just had to get a picture of his suffering---he's just so cute, in a kind of drowned rat kind of way.

Alas I write...

Hello and welcome to my blog....come on over and rock a while.
I'll be honest (that's a good start), I really don't know how to introduce myself, so perhaps I'll give you all a little background.

I am a country girl through and through. Although I started life in the city I moved to the country when I was 4 years old and have lived here ever since. For the longest time I hated living here, even from four years old. Schools around here weren't the same as the school I left, and no one seemed friendly. Elementry school holds my least favourite memories. When I started highschool my parents started talking about moving back to the city--- I was captivated with the idea of leaving this life behind and getting a new start with new friends and a different way of life. We never ended up moving while I was in highschool and I eventually had to re-adapt to the idea of finishing school here, with the hope of heading off to university and leaving this town for good. However, the years have gone by and my heart has changed, I have found that my journey here has been a formative basis of self-discovery. These walls have been witness to the joyful, rueful times I've gone through as a teenager and young-adult. Now when the topic of moving has come around, I don't want to give up life here for anything in the world.

However, the day will come when I will have to let go of my roots and break ground somewhere new---that day frightens me. I'm not ready to leave the comfort of the well-known behind, only to enter the unknown. God's working in my heart, and although I may never be prepared to leave, I know my leaving can only bring growth, maturity, and new perspective. I will learn to adapt---even though it may not be easy.

Within the next year I will finish my job at the gereatric care unit I work at and head back to school---where? you ask, well that I don't know yet. I have one of 2 choices so far. Regardless, I will pack up my belongings and say good-bye to my cozy country home forever. There are two thoughts that keep me motivated and somewhat optomistic: 1) The house: the next house is going to have an amazing kitchen---of that I'm sure---with a modern, yet country cozy atmosphere. 2) The people: moving will give me the oppurtunity to make great new friends, I don't know who they are or where they are, but they are there, waiting for friendship just as I will be there looking for friendship.

It was so nice sharing this with you. Stop by again soon. :)