Rememberance Day

Last year I wrote...

"On the eleventh month of the eleventh day at the eleventh hour it is time to remember all the veterans and peacekeepers who bravely fought for the freedom we enjoy today. I think about this more and more as I get older and realize how much these men and women truly gave and believed in to make this a better country. I thank-you."

These are still my thoughts and the song below pays a great tribute to all these brave people. Did you stop to think about them today?

BBQ Waste land

I often wondered why they can't make a BBQ to last.
At our local dump there are always lots of dead BBQ's. Mostly cheap ones but not always. I thought for sure the BBQ that my Father bought for us as a home warming gift before we even started building the new house (you don't want to know) would last.

Why you ask?

Well it cost over $500.00 at the time we got it which is, I'm thinking, at least seven years ago. It's a big heavy thing, all stainless steel and cast iron. We thought that it would be hardier than a battleship. Well, it was, for the first year.

The first thing to go was one of the hinge pins for the lid. Hubby fixed it by replacing it with a nut and bolt and luckily he had another set for the other corner when that one broke shortly after. Then the igniter wires started burning off. That was annoying but at least there are two holes in the sides where you can shove a lighter in (almost like they knew we would need them). Then the burner control knobs went, one by one, getting stickier and stickier till we couldn't even turn one of them which means we can't use one of the 4 burners at all.

Then there was the day that the gas line going to the extra side burner melted and then caught on fire. Hubby was just able to get in to shut off the tank before it burned the place down.

Oh yeah, and the inner liner to the lid is now so rusted that we have to be very gentle when we close the lid to keep the loose scale from falling onto the cooking food. No amount of scrubbing seems to be able to eliminate the problem.

In all the time we have been dealing with this stupid thing we kept telling ourselves that it would be a shame to get rid of it because of the stainless steel cabinet and the initial cost of it. However, this week one of the door hinges has rusted through and the door is just hanging off. No way we're fixing this. It's time the damn thing goes to the dump.



The really sad point to this story is that it was the last thing my Dad bought us before he passed away and Hubby has been fixing it every time something breaks down on it just because it was from Dad.

Why can't they make stuff to last? I guess because they have us for suckers. We really don't want to be without a BBQ so I guess it will be something to add to my side bars to save for.

Sorry Dad that we have to junk it, I know you were so proud when you bought it for us.

Still got them November Blues....

Work has been very busy and challenging lately. Not that it hasn't always been so but this new position is even more intense. This is an industry which requires constant concentration and a keen eye to detail. The job must be perfect upon completion as people's lives could be at stake. So believe me when I say that it can get hard on your head some days. Then you have the annoying co-worker who just drives you nuts, right down to their school child laugh that an adult should have outgrown years ago. Really, grow-up!

Anyway, as you can tell, I have one of these coworkers hanging around me, though thankfully, not often enough to have driven me completely insane. A real "Klingon", and not the old Star Trek kind either. I just pity the poor guys who have to deal with him/her every day. YUK. Thanks, I just had to vent a little.

On the plus side I love seeing everyone around me wearing their poppies. Not just on their outside jackets but on their work clothes, too. With Rememberance Day just around the corner and Canadian troops on active duty overseas I think we all realize how much these men and women sacrifice for the freedom we enjoy so much today.

November, Yuck

I hate this month, I don't know why. I guess it's because it is in your face, it's time to get ready for Christmas. I'm not a huge Christmas fan. I like to decorate the tree and the inside of our house, do some baking and a little entertaining but the commercial side of it I just hate.

I guess it gets me down having to figure out what to buy everyone and then it just comes down to a gift certicate exchange anyway. Really, why bother? I would love to live closer to my family and go shopping with them, to see what it is that really gets them exited.

Craft-wise, we can pretty well make anything out there, and it would be nice to tailor it to their decor. Shipping is always an issue for bulky or fragile stuff, too. It's not the money being spent, because we do budget for it, it's just the lack of fulfillment in what I'm buying.

Does anyone else feel this way or is it just my after Halloween blues?

Carved Pumpkins

Halloween was a blast. We had such fun carving our pumpkins and I think you will all agree they look simple marvelous. The night turned out just beautifully weather-wise. It was nice and warm with just a few clouds scudding past the almost full moon. We spent some time sitting out on the front lawn just admiring all the decorations around the house.



I don't know how Hubby comes up with these ideas for his designs but he outdoes himself every year. The pressure is already on for next year.

The kids had fun getting their treat bags and their parents where in shock to see the Pumpkins. Living out in the country we really don't get many trick or treaters only five this year. It looked, for a while that we weren't going to get any at all but in the last 45 minutes before curfew two cars arrived and then the kids from down the road brought their friends over to see the carving.





We had a nice roast chicken dinner and a good bottle of wine while we were waiting for kiddies to show up. I made some Pumpkin Muffins with cream cheese icing for dessert. Quite a feast!














I also got very spoiled and received a very special Halloween gift. She is so cute.
I'm one very lucky girl and Hubby really lets me know it. I hope you all had as great a time as we did!

It's Halloween Eve and the Pumpkins are Ready

It's almost here... I can hardly wait for tomorrow to see how our pumpkins will come alive!



I made some Devil Seeds (pumpkin seeds with some olive oil, salt, and a little paprika to give them some colour and heat). I put them in a pretty Halloween bowl and they look and taste great. They're full of fiber, too.



I want too wish my little sister and my sister-in-law both very happy birthdays. Lucky girls, I always wish that I was born at this time of year but no such luck. Anyway, we love you both lots.

Enjoy the pics. and wait till you see what the finished pumpkins look like.

Expensive day on Saturday

One of Hubby's computer monitors died this week, just like that, without any warning. So off we went to spend our dough, the Dough-Nuts! I don't know where this saying came from (It came from a cartoon of some sort that tried to teach financial responsibilty to kids and it was from a long time ago. I think that the whole sequence went "Off they go, to spend their dough, without their common sense, The Dough-Nuts!" ed.) but I love it and thought it was the right space to incorporate it. Anyway, Hubby did find a monitor at a good price and seems happy as it is up and running. It's a substantial upgrade as he went from a 15" flat-screen to a 23 incher to partner the 19" he got a couple of years ago. He has dual monitors cause he is "special". Actually, he is very special to me and the dual monitors he needs for work purposes. (Yeah, right! ed.)

I also spent some money on myself as I needed a down-filled jacket for work. It can get very cold at my work station and it's not even winter yet. So after much searching I bought one, on sale of course, half price, but still $100.00. I didn't get down-filled, either, just fibre-filled. The down ones weren't on sale anywhere and were more like $300.00 and I just couldn't justify it. I did check my favourite boutique,Value Village, first but they didn't have anything suitable. The jacket I got is light weight so I can wear it while working away and it looks good on me so I guess it was worth the price.

As I said, it can get very cold in my work area and this chicky-poo doesn't plan on freezing her booty off. I also bought myself a small heater for under my work table. I can handle the heat in the summer but not the cold in the winter. So I'm as prepared as I can be.

I'm gearing up for Halloween. This Friday Hubby and I have the day booked off and we will begin to carve the pumpkins. I'll probably make some kind of cookie or cupcakes and roast some Devil Seeds (spicy pumpkin seeds). I love to bake near Halloween. Maybe it's just the cooler weather but for some reason it just brings out the creative side of me.



Oh, the IT Department finally got some sidebars up for me. I still haven't decided what they should show yet but at least they're working although only in a testing format.

Hope you like the pictures and I'll try to post again before Halloween.