pasta al gomito in a formaggio sauce

 Just for fun I signed onto a Jacques Pepin fanpage site on Facebook. People post photos of their meals and talk about how they cooked them which can be interesting and funny. It’s pretty hilarious to read “pasta al gomito in a formaggio sauce with a tomato reduction” for Kraft dinner with ketchup! I made that up but you get my drift. So for last night’s dinner I’ll describe it as:

braised pork chops with a creamy Marsala mushroom sauce served on a bed of garlic mashed potatoes and a side of roasted brussels sprouts!

My plating needs work!

  

It rained a lot overnight and into the morning but by noon the rain had fizzled out. I could see a bright spot on the horizon.

The colder nights triggered the huge locust tree at the front of the house to drop its leaves in a sudden avalanche. As I walk along the laneway crushing the tender leaves I am surprised that these decaying leaves smell so different from the poplars that line the hayfield. They are sweeter with an undertone of spice.

Awesome!

“Fluffy waffles”

“my new flameless candles”

“the smell of fallen leaves”

“the first few stars in a deep velvet sky”

“Spike and Adia hanging out together”

“Adia going to her mat automatically when she came into the house”

it's not only the drawers that are empty

 I can see clearly now the rain is gone… or can I? The last few weeks have drizzled into one slightly grey blur. I woke up this morning thinking that life is too long but quickly gave myself a shake and got on with my day, paying special attention to errant thoughts. 

I just rescued Spike from being splayed out on the floor for the second time in an hour. It’s heartbreaking. He seems, well, I don’t know, maybe unsure, clingy. He’s lying on my feet now. I think wall-to-wall carpet manufacturers have old dogs cause hardwood is a nightmare for the elderly canine. It might be time to get a few more scatter mats. Honestly, if I could carpet the whole place temporarily I would.

Last night after his pee he started running towards the hayfield. He clearly had no idea where he was and was too stunned to listen to me calling him as I ran after him with the flashlight. I don’t know if he was scared but I sure as heck was. Today I started trying to teach Adia to ‘find Spike’. I didn’t get very far - time to think up a better training plan. Years ago I taught Spike to find things, including Carm, and it seemed to be easy, but he was a quick learner.

I didn’t specifically teach him but I could take an item of apparel from someone, show Spike, then hide the item. After a ‘find it’ command he would start searching, always returning with that item and not one of the hundred toys scattered around the house. He was just that smart.

Through the years I wondered how it would be with Spike when he got old and infirm as he didn’t like to be picked up or man-handled in any way. I needn't have worried as he seems to appreciate the help.

I’d better find a happier topic as I feel my heart slowly being ripped out.

Carm had another golf game yesterday! That’s at least a happy topic for Carm! I enjoyed puttering around doing more odd get ready for winter jobs. Tuesday we got the tires changed and Grace's cage pressure-washed.

I ordered a few pillow covers from Amazon - time for a cosy winter look! They won’t be here for a few weeks so I’ll have to be a bit patient (why does that look wrong?).

Okay, now for a laugh… yesterday I was emptying 2 drawers in the camper, one with towels, the other with placemats and tablecloths. Well, I emptied the towels into a tall bin, moved the bin out of the way and opened the other drawer to find it empty! Gosh! I was freaked out. I couldn’t remember moving the table stuff but looked around the trailer some more, then ran inside to check the basement. I fired off a few messages to Mom and Kirsten and then wracked my brain. For the life of me I couldn’t remember doing anything with them. I went back out to the camper to check again. Nothing. I opened every drawer and cupboard to no avail… back to the drawers. Opened it and EVERYTHING WAS THERE!!!! I had been opening the drawer that I’d just emptied! 🤪😄🤣🤪🤣  Seriously! It still makes me laugh out loud :-)

It was sunny this morning for Remembrance Day ceremonies but alas, clouds accompanied by a cold wind moved into the area before noon.

Trudie & Leo came over tonight after supper for some laughs. We are having fun trying out the herbs that we grew this summer! Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme…

Awesome!

“brilliant stars made my late night trip outside with Adia awesome”

“mixing leftover soup with other leftovers and ending up with an even better soup”

“reliving our trip to Europe 2 years ago - photos and text right in my blog!”

one hour and fifteen minutes

 The temperatures have been dipping down to freezing every night and the winter sun has not been strong enough to warm us up beyond 10C. Some trees are holding strong onto their leaves but enough fell last week for Carm to close the pool before our overnight trip to Olaf’s… 

The Catalpa was fully leafed until the first killing frost (-5!) and then it dropped them all in one day. I wondered about taking the giant leaves to make an Adam and Eve type costume! Instead we gathered them up to dump onto a newly dug garden bed.

We had a little food celebration to mark 2 years since our Mediterranean cruise in 2019.

We are getting into a good swing for the winter: last Sunday Jo Ellen and Don came for lunch/dinner, and then Monday Pat came for supper. I made Pat prosciutto wrapped chicken thighs with a white wine, apple & onion sauce. It was the first time EVER that I’ve cooked something in a skillet in the oven which opens up a myriad of possibilities! The recipe (which I only sort of followed) is saved in my favorites as it was fantastic. Trudie and Leo came on Thursday night for Korean beef. 

Last night it took me ages to get Spike to settle into bed. He wanted down from the bed a few times and would walk around looking confused. Finally I hoisted him up for the last time, snuggling him against me with my arm heavy on his side. He quickly fell asleep. I think he was particularly clingy as we’d left him with Pat overnight on Saturday - it was exactly 2 years (to the day!) since we last went away without him.

Saturday we were excited to make the drive to Olaf & Stephanie’s new house! A mere 1hr 15min separated our laneways, just 10 minutes longer than a trip to Kirsten’s. Awesome!

Their perfectly styled decor inspired me to spend today tidying and rearranging… so much more could be done but that would mean moving large pieces of furniture, with one extra giant desk left over. Maybe if we get the basement figured out I can move it downstairs. As it was, I mostly only shifted stuff from one place to another… oh why can’t I actually get rid of anything?

Do you know anyone who could paint a few dressers?

The time changed on Saturday… boo hiss! As I write this it’s 4:15pm and the sun is already sliding close to the horizon. Tonight I’ll fire up a few of my led lights.

Carm’s off golfing, perhaps the last day for 2021? I’ve been blasting music all day which has been energizing the reorg. 

Awesome!

“peanut cluster cheesecake bites”

“gorgeous day for a drive”

“Country Roads blaring as we drove down the highway”

“fitting into my old motorcycle jacket”

“enjoying the memories that came with the coat”

“laughing late into the night”

‘I feel a power in me that I must develop, a fire that I may not put out but must fan, although I don’t know to what outcome it will lead me’. 

~Vincent van Gogh, Self-Portrait (1887)