When I arrived home from the cottage on Saturday...
There was a large flower box in the garage...
35 Hydrangea stems...
From the flower lady...
AKA...
My daughter, Erika!
I got busy cutting and finding vases...
I had already set the dining table, before I left for the cottage...
I had chosen orange Mums for the table, and made an arrangement in my vintage green vessel...
I really like the way the black tablecloth set everything off...
Assorted S&P shakers finished the look...
I always use my Mom's china...for every special occasion...
Love it♥️
Do you like fussing with your table arrangement???
Ever take it apart...and start all over again???
I do! hahaha!!
Hope you are all having a great day...
Rather on the cool side here today...with a nasty wind...
Boyfriend got the pool closed...another season in the books...
I am making maple Salmon...Fried rice...Asparagus for dinner...
With a small Greek Salad to open...
BLUE JAYS are on...GO JAYS GO!!!
Hope they win!
Cheers! :o)
linda
When I met my boyfriend at the cottage last Thursday...It was actually a pretty darn nice day!
The sun was shining...
The birds were singing...
And I grabbed my camera, and went for a garden stroll...
Why is it that the Wasps are so darn pesky in the Fall???
Seems... as soon as you sit down, they are buzzing around your ears...
Can be very unnerving to hear that sound!
And tons of ladybugs...the biting kind!!
Geesh!
When we first bought the cottage...18 years ago...I planted a lot of Perennial Mums in the gardens...
A lot of them have disappeared over the years...
But the ones that remain...
Always put on a brilliant show for us...
There are still quite a few in bud, so hopefully more beautiful colours to come...
It seems to me, that the garden Mums you buy now, do not return the following year...
Wonder why??
Aren't the Peachy ones gorgeous??
This beautiful fellow below...I found out, after an exhausting search...is a Hickory Tussock Caterpillar...apparently poisonous...YIKES!!...also cause skin rashes...YIKES!!...they feed on Hickory, Walnuts and Oak trees...Hope I don't see another one of these!
this is one of the 2 baby squirrels at the cottage...
Hmmmm...
Does that look like a Walnut to you??
Not sure where the Walnut trees are around the cottage area...but we do have Chestnut trees and Oak trees...
Perhaps he is importing the Walnuts...
And next year...
We will have a Walnut tree!
For those pesky Caterpillars...
YIKES!!
Thursday did turn out to be the best of the 3 days...
As you can see...
I donned my shorts and flipflops, to enjoy the late afternoon Sun ♥️
No jokes about the flabby legs!! ha!
On Friday afternoon, we sat on the deck, and listened to the Blue Jays game on the radio...Just like my boyfriend did with his Dad and brother, many years ago...but, they were listening to the Yankees mostly...no Blue Jays back then...
We have no cable at the cottage, so it brought back many memories for my boyfriend...it was nice to hear the stories...♥️
I will have more pictures from the cottage...some nice water scenes...and our first indoor fire of the Fall...hopefully many more still to come! Gosh...I LOVE a fire...inside or out...you??
Hope you all had a great weekend...as you know it was Thanksgiving here in Canada...and we had a great time! Lots of good food...laughs...reminiscing..loved it all...even the prep and clean up!! hahaha!
Have a few pics of that to share as well...
Mix of sun and clouds here...cooler temps...breezy...rain expected...
I have a huge pot of Turkey soup bubbling on the stove...YUM!!
I think we are going out to eat tonight...my son is visiting...
A night off for the cook!!
As a footnote...
Our Toronto Blue Jays came back to win the 2 games in Austin Texas...
AWESOME!!!
They are back in town...and play the 5th game here on Wednesday...
Against the Rangers...
How wonderful that would be if they won, and moved on...
Fingers crossed....ok??
Toronto is a HUGE sports city...fans would be in HEAVEN!!
Think I'll go and make a cup of Elderberry Echinacea Tea...
With a sliced Honey Crispin Apple...Sound good??
My crochet may end up in my lap as well...
Still tired from the weekend...:o)
Enjoy the rest of your day...
Cheers! :o)
linda
Have a wonderful day...
Enjoy your Family time...
I know we will...
Eat lots!!
Cheers! :o)
linda
As I am sure you all know...
Our Toronto Blue Jays finished up in first place...
And begin the playoffs for the World Series today!!
Miss V has been a fan, since she was born!!
Thanks to her Mom...Papa...and Uncle Ryan!!
Here she is a few weeks ago..meeting "Freckles"...♥️
Her Aunt Lissa and Uncle Jeffs new puppy!!
Just on my way out the door...
Meeting my boyfriend at the cottage..on his way back from his business trip...
Will be back on Saturday...
Sunday will be having the family over for Thanksgiving dinner...
See you all then...have a great day!!
Don't forget...
*** GO JAYS GO***
Enjoy your weekend..
Cheers! :o)
linda
It has been so darn dreary for the last 4 days...
I thought something cheerful was in order...
You may remember that I said I made some peach jam last week...
It is my boyfriends favorite...
The Peaches weren't as ripe as I had hoped...
soooo...to make up the required 4 cups...I added some fresh strawberries and filled the tops of the jars with frozen blueberries...doesn't that sound delicious??
I had given my daughter a jar of my bumbleberry jam last week...with some of my stuffed peppers...and she said it was very delicious! The freezer jam really tastes like fresh fruit...honestly!! And much easier than cooked jam...
If you have been reading my blog for any length of time...
You know my love for Kalanchoe and African Violets..
There are always several of them around the house at any given time...
There are about 5 in my backyard planters, that have been out there since JUNE...still blooming...
I will clean those up, and bring them inside...and they will bloom a few more times over the winter...truly a great houseplant...and outdoor plant...pick yourself up one at the grocery store...you won't regret it!!
Hope you are all having a great day...
Still dreary here...not as chilly...but very damp...:o(
My boyfriend is away in the States for a few days..so I am on my own!!
Did a bit of running around today..got my hair cut...and gonna get some things sorted out for Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday...Got all my veggies today and a few snacks to serve before dinner...must remember to thaw out my Butterball!! hahaha!
Tomorrow I am going to get my dining room table set...
Nice fresh tablecloth and some Fall decorating is in order...
I think a trip to the Greenhouse is in order! YES!!
Perhaps I will get a new Violet too!♥️
Enjoy your evening...
Cheers! :o)
linda
ps...hope all of our friends in South Carolina are safe...
I am sharing a few meals I have made lately...
When I get a rotiserrie chicken...
I always make chicken salad...
Either as a light lunch over lettuce leaves...
Or a light dinner,
on a crusty roll...with Greek Salad on the side...
Always yummy...
I got this recipe from a magazine...
Smoky Pork Bolognese Sauce...
Very delicious...
But...
A tad rich...
Would definitely make this again...
And there was enough to freeze...and have another meal...
Bonus!!
Here we have BBQ'D Salmon, with a peppery honey dijon sauce..
Baked potato and fresh green and yellow beans...
Yummy!
Above is good old meatloaf...broccoli, roasted yam and of course sliced tomato ad avacado...
Below is the buttermilk soaked crispy panko Cod...with...YUP!! Greek Salad and fresh green beans....
And...
This is the meal that I love making the most...
And so easy...but a real pleaser ♥️
Hope you are all having a great day...
Still very dismal here..altho not as windy!
Tonight is buttermilk soaked... panko encrusted... skinless chicken drumsticks...fries...zucchini...
Have a great evening...
Cheers! :o)
linda
The weather this weekend...
Has been unbelievabley windy and stormy..
We went to the cottage on Friday...
Lots of branches and twigs down...
Very windy...from the NE...
We tidied up...
And actually got some sun around 4pm...
It felt so nice and toasty...
But then...
The sun disappeared...
And we retired to the sunporch...
Still pretty chilly...
We came home on Saturday late afternoon...
Tons of rain...
I looked thru my pics...
And decided...
That this particular Begonia...must have a true spirit...
Just look at those blooms...♥️
I really must repot him...and bring him home...to perhaps...
Spend the winter inside with me...:o)
Hope your weekend was better...
Today is still breezy, dark and cold...
I am expecting some visitors shortly..
But...
Wanted to share this beautiful Flower with you...again!
Honestly...it was my best of the summer...
Hope to find the same colour again next year!!
What are your Sunday plans???
What's for dinner at your home???
I think I'll make a Peameal Bacon roast...scalloped potatoes...and fresh Brussel Sprouts and some bok choy....sound good??
Enjoy your Sunday....
Cheers! :o)
linda
Took a quick walk around the garden today...
This first day of October...
I do believe the Geraniums are loving these cool evenings...
But will be pleased as punch when I repot them, and bring them indoors...
To bloom for me over the long Winter months...
My beautiful Lime Light Hydrangea...
Just outside my kitchen window...
Is so pleased with herself...
That she is actually blushing♥️...
How beautiful!!
Think by next week...
She will be clipped and join me inside...
In a special vase...
Signs of Fall are in the front and side yards...
And on the back of the house...
Love the addition of the RED...
The Cedar Wax Wings are enjoying all the plump berries...
I have tried to get a picture of them...but they are very quick!!
Will keep trying!!
Hope you are all having a great day...
Lovely and sunny here again...
Our friends in the Maritimes had a horrible rainstorm yesterday...
Sending them my good wishes that they are safe and sound...
Lots of damage to roads and bridges...and they will probably get the remnants of Hurricane Joaquin as he makes his way up the east coast of North America...
Hope my friends in the Carolinas will be safe...
For dinner...
We had some rotiserrie chicken and some stuffed peppers that I made this afternoon....with some fresh juicy tomato slices on the side...
I also got the peach jam made today...quite a busy day for me...hahaha!!
We will be off to the cottage in the morning...
Supposed to be on the cool side...but sunny...I think it got a ton of rain the other day...
Will have to get the boyfriend to split a few logs for me...
Perhaps...
The first indoor fire of the new season...yippee!!
I will take care of the kindling!! That is my job...
Enjoy your evening and the upcoming weekend...
Cheers! :o)
linda
