More redecorating

...Yes, I did change the look of my blog again.  It is autumn now, and I thought I should reflect what is going on outside...somewhere.  The leaves in my neighbourhood don't look like this yet.  I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do for winter and Christmas.

Autumn and Thanksgiving

This past weekend was Thanksgiving in Canada.  I did dinner for 14, with some help...other family members brought wine, potatoes and salad.  I provided the turkey, a small roast of beef, alcohol-free beverages (for the ducklings) and a wonderful squash recipe I saw on TV years ago  (click here to see it).  We have had such lovely weather for early October, so it was a fantastic holiday weekend.  The ducklings even had one last splash in the inflatable pool.  All this while in the distance, you can see the trees slowly changing colour.

I love to see the bright reds and oranges, and watch the leaves drift slowly from the trees, but, this year, the colours are muted (we have not yet had any frost in our area), so I don't know if we will get any of that brilliant autumn scenery this year.

Today, is supposed to be the last of the marvelous weather we've been having, so I should get out and enjoy it while I can.

I can't imagine what they might be seeing....

Hello.  It's been a WHILE since I last scribbled anything here, and believe me, it's been busy.  Anyway, I've been scratching my head over the imagination of my oldest ducklings.  We recently went grocery shopping, and as part of the purchase I got some romaine lettuce.  Perhaps it was the time of day, but the selection was ghastly.  Anyway, when I got to the lettuce (which we needed for dinner as well as for the guinea pigs), I commented, out loud, how it looked as though it had fallen off of the truck and then been run over by the following cars on the highway.  My oldest two just started laughing uncontrollably, and have to wonder what interesting image popped into their heads.  Anyway, I must run, but I have other thoughts to add, hopefully soon!

Ooooh, I can't believe it.......

I was talking with one of my colleagues this morning, someone that I have known for a long, LONG time, and we happened upon the subject of "can you believe how long it has been...."

I happened to mention that I had been in the mood recently to listen to Duran Duran, and as I was preparing dinner and singing along, it occurred to me that the disc I was listening to had been released 30 years ago (?!?!?!?!?!) and that I remember discovering it at that time.

Where did the time go?  How did I get to this point?  Yikes!  How incredible and depressing at the same time!

Fortunately for me though, I soon went back to singing along with the music.  And as a bonus, it turns out that my ducklings like it too!

Did you do something with your hair....

No.  But I did redecorate.  At the time when I started this blog, it was cold and rainy.  Now that summer is almost upon us, I've decided to make the background a little cheerier (and appropriate for the weather).  Now perhaps the rain will stop....

What is this?!?!?!?!

Yesterday, I had to make an unplanned stop, which meant that I was going to be late getting home.  Unfortunately, I also had two of the ducklings with me, so I picked up a bag of Cadbury Raisins (kind of like Glosettes, for those old enough to remember).  I like Cadbury chocolate over other "commercial" brands, and I figured it would keep the girls minds off of the fact that dinner wasn't coming as soon as it usually does.

So we were waiting for the bus, and I looked at the ingredient list, a habit I developed in childhood.  I was immediately disgusted, because what I saw meant that I had to add this item to the growing list of foods to avoid.  If anyone is reading this, they are probably wondering why, and believe me, I am about to tell you!

Can anyone explain to me what "ammonium salts of phosphorylated glycerides" are? But wait, there's more.  The one that really floors me is "polyglycerol esters of interesterified castor oil".  ?!?!?!?!?!?  I can't even pronounce "interesterified", but it sounds like they tortured the castor oil.  And what is castor oil doing in chocolate?  Is it me, or don't people use castor oil for first aid purposes?  Why can't these manufacturers use normal everyday ingredients in their products?

I would like to see a global manufacturer produce something (read: treat) that has straightforward ingredients, rather than the shopping list from the chemical lab.  I wonder if the people who make this stuff ever eat it???

And thus ends my rant.  Until next time....

Nibbles from the Kitchen - Tea update

So, as I went to my other favourite tea shop at the Covent Garden Market (The Tea Haus), I discovered that they too carried a milk oolong tea.  Luckily for me, they had a $5 bag, so I bought it and happily scampered out, with my little ducklings, to continue our errands.

It is divine.  What a wickedly wonderful tea!  I have it hidden away in the pantry so that I can savour it at my leisure.  Of course, to placate my girls, I found a green chai that they have fallen in love with, so for now, the milk oolong is safe!

Just a quick comment

I've noticed that my front door, so to speak, shows only one post...not so!  I'm trying to keep my thoughts organized, so some of my ramblings are going into their related rooms.  The list is currently on the right.  Good bye for now!

An Introduction

Hello!  When I opened this account, I had intended to post my thoughts a little more frequently than this...unfortunately for me, I've spent a lot of that time running!  In the meantime, I have discovered that there are at least two other blogs with the same title, both of those about running, and one of them with the same front page wallpaper.  How fascinating (the coincidence, I mean)!
Anyway, as this is just a short break, I'll go, but I do have lots of thoughts I'd like to add to some of my rooms here.  Hopefully, it won't take as long to get them down.
Goodbye for now!