Photo Hunters ~ "Bags"

From the freedictionary.com

bag
(bg)n.

1.

a. A container of flexible material, such as paper, plastic, or leather, that is used for carrying or storing items.

b. A handbag; a purse.

c. A piece of hand luggage, such as a suitcase or satchel.

d. An organic sac or pouch, such as the udder of a cow.

Head over to PhotoHunters for more "bags".

Friday's Fave Five #60

Hi everyone! Thanks for coming again this week and playing along listing your five favorite things from your week. For any newcomers, if you need details, head on over here and then join right in.

1. An unexpected couple of hours off. What a nice surprise to have a couple of hours to do with as I pleased in the middle of a work day. I don't get that very often and I took full advantage going to get the Operation Christmas Child info kits and boxes to set up at church and then stopping by my dear friends for coffee. Was she ever surprised when she got my phone call telling her to put the coffee pot on 'cause I was a'coming.

2. My jet tub. After hurting my back last week my jet tub was a super blessing. It was the best thing to sit in a nice hot tub with those jets blowing the water and doing their magic relaxing muscles and bubbling the hurt away. It was heaven.

3. Paint with no smell. We're painting the living room and hubby brought home some paint from the store he works in. There was not a hint of smell to it. It was wonderful.

4. Big quilts. I got my big old quilt out and it's so nice to have it back. It's one of my favorite comfort items I own.

5. Fresh, clean sheets. Nothing like the smell of crisp, fresh pillowcases and sheets.

What has been your favorites this week? Do a post and don't forget to sign on to Mr. Linky!

This has absolutely nothing to do with favorites, but I've got the news on while typing this post and they just announced that Wallymart is selling caskets online. Yeah, you read that right. Caskets! Can you believe it? What next?

Random Dozen with the Lid

Time for another week of randomness with Linda, affectionately known as "Lid". Head over to her place to get the scoop and join in!

1. Tell me something about your favorite teacher. My favorite teacher was Mr. Huxley. He was my math teacher during junior high, from grade 7 - grade 10. Nobody ever got the same subject teacher for 3 years in a row, but for some reason I got Mr. Huxley all three years. He made me really enjoy math during those years. Which is a huge feat, let me tell you!

2. Tell me about one pivotal moment in your life. Wow. A huge question. There are so many huge moments that make me who I am today. Times through school, graduation, marriage, having children. All changed me but I'd have to say the one moment that totally was the most pivotal and made my life turn totally around was accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior. Nothing has changed my life more. In fact, when I think where I might be if that event had not occured, it sort of scares me.

3. About favorite colors--a lot of people will ask you what it is, but I want to know why it is. What feeling or memory does it evoke? I love all colors but I'd have to say greens are my absolute favorites if you're pinning me into naming one. Especially grey-greens like olives and sages. Why? I think it's because I find them relaxing and they are prevelant in nature and nature always makes me feels closer to God. Yeah, that's it.

4. What's a sure sign that you're getting older? I don't want to be going out somewhere every night like I used to. In fact, I'm starting to really become a home body in the evenings.

5. Please don't sermonize, but Halloween--is it a yes or no for you? No, and zipping my lips now.

6. What's your favorite musical? Other than the Sound of Music which I absolutely love I'm going to say the Pirates of Penzance. And especially as done on the in the 1980's movie with Linda Ronstadt, Rex Smith, Kevin Kline and Angela Lansbury. It's silly, it's witty and a fun story. And my hubby and the kids hate it. LOL. So it's an idulgence I partake in by myself when the mood strikes unless I can find someone else to put up with it share it with. In this clip I found, Frederic has just resigned himself to the fact he has to side with the pirates, this after coming to seek his revenge on them and get rid of them, but the pirate king and his former nanny turned pirate tricked him into believing he still owed them so many years of service.

7. Are you more of a city mouse or country mouse? Sort of in between. I love visiting the big city but wouldn't want to live there. And I love the thought of living in the country where it is more peaceful and you can actually see the skies at night, but I don't know if I could stand being removed from others in that sense. I guess I like where I am. In between.

8. Did you know that it is possible, for a small fee, to name a real star after someone? (It's true! Google it!) If someone were to name a star for you, would you appreciate it for its whimsy and romance, or would you say, "Are you kidding me? For $19.95 we could have gone to the movie and actually bought popcorn. I might think that, but I wouldn't actually say it. I would be gracious and appreciate the fact that they thought I would like it and took the time and money to try to bless me.

"This question comes from Paula at His Ways Are Not Our Ways.9. What's the craziest thing you've ever been doing and texted during it? I only thought of this b/c I was about to try to text during my walking video but I didn't.Paula, you do know that this blog is rated G, right? Uhm, I'm not sure. I sure don't text when I'm driving. I don't do walking videos so I can't text there. I don't know. While trying to cook. That's not crazy, is it? Is it?

10. "It's not a party unless _______." There is chips. I know. I really know how to live it up!

11. When you're stuck in traffic or a waiting room, what do you do to pass the time? PS: There are no magazines available. Around here it is rare to get stuck in traffic. So in a waiting room with no magazines, I would probably just people watch. Or text with my girl who lives away from home. That is providing she was available. But if I know I'm going somewhere with a waiting room I usually have a book with me. Man, this dozen is really pointing out how incredibly boring I am. LOL.

12. If you weren't yourself, would you be friends with you? I hope so.

Book Tour ~ Wisdom Hunter & Shadow Government

Today it's crazy kind of weather outside. Wind, snow/rain mix. Brrr. The perfect kind of weather to curl up with a book, a blanket and hot cup of tea.

Publisher Summary:
Pastor Jason Faircloth knows what he believes. His clear faith, in fact, is why he is one of the most prominent pastors in Atlanta. He relies on it to discipline his daughter, his wife, his church. He prays daily that others would come to see God’s ways as he does.

And it is about to cost him everything.

Groping for answers in the face of tragedy, Jason begins a search for the only family he has left: the granddaughter kept hidden from him. Soon he finds himself on an international adventure that will take him straight into the depths of his soul. He is determined not to fail again.

A fast-paced suspense novel rich in spiritual depth, Wisdom Hunter explores what it means to break free of Christian legalism—and discover why grace can mean the difference between life and death.

Author Bio:
Randall Arthur is the bestselling author of Jordan’s Crossing and Brotherhood of Betrayal. He and his wife have served as missionaries to Europe for over thirty years. From 1976 till 1998, he lived in Norway and Germany as a church planter. Since 2000, he has taken numerous missions teams from the United States on trips all over Europe. Arthur is also the founder of the AOK (Acts of Kindness) Bikers’ Fellowship, a group of men who enjoy the sport of motorcycling. He and his family live in Atlanta, Georgia.

My Thoughts:
Wisdom Hunter hooked me in from the beginning to the end. It's fast paced, didn't slow down and kept me turning the pages. Written by a missionary who's been in the field for many many years it is a thought provoking story that made me question and think where in my own life am I being legalistic and unreasonable and/or sinful and where I need to let God have control. The story is just the kind I love, one that raises emotions in me, gets me involved in the characters and gets me thinking.

Thanks to Waterbrook Multnomah for providing this book for review.

You may check out Wisdom Hunter here at Random House.

Second in the Action Blog Tour was this book:

Publisher Summary:
Security cameras, surveillance of private financial transactions, radio frequency spy chips hidden in consumer products, eavesdropping on e-mail correspondence and phone calls, and Internet tracking. No one is protected, and privacy is a thing of the past.

An ultra-secret global elite, functioning as a very real shadow government, controls technology, finance, international law, world trade, political power, and vast military capabilities. These unnamed, unrivaled leaders answer to no earthly authority, and they won’t stop until they control the world.
In Shadow Government, prophecy expert Grant Jeffrey removes the screen that, up to now, has hidden the work of these diabolical agents. Jeffrey reveals the biblical description of Satan’s global conquest and identifies the tools of technology that the Antichrist will use to rule the world.

Readers will have their eyes opened to the real power that is working behind the scenes to destroy America and merge it into the coming global government. Armed with this knowledge, readers will be equipped to face spiritual darkness with the light of prophetic truth.

Author Bio:
Grant R. Jeffrey is the internationally known prophecy researcher, Mideast expert, and author of Countdown to the Apocalypse, The New Temple and the Second Coming, The Next World War, and twenty other best-selling books. He is also the editor of the Prophecy Study Bible. His popular television program, Bible Prophecy Revealed, airs weekly on TBN. Jeffrey earned his master’s and PhD degrees from Louisiana Baptist University. He and his wife, Kaye, live in Toronto.

My Thoughts:
This is not normally the type of book that I pick up. I actually said yes so that my husband, who loves prophetic stuff, could read it. I've always been the happily oblivious, hide my head in the sand kind of person. But I believe gone are those days and we are at a time when I can no longer do that. I picked the book up just to glance at it and I was drawn in. Mr. Jeffries writes in laymans language as he goes through the various things that are a reality in our world today and how they are being used or being set up to be used to keep surveillance in the prophesied one world government. While I have to read it in small chunks, I think it's important to know what is going on in order to have intelligent conversation with others about these subjects. This book is perfect for that.

Thanks again to Walterbrook Multnomah for providing it for review.

You can check it out here.

Talent and Dialing Fingers We Got

Well last year the winner of Canadian Idol was a Southern Albertan fella and last night the winner of So You Think You Can Dance Canada was...

Tara Jean Popowich. Yup, a Southern Albertan dancer! Congratulations Tara!

Here is one of the most powerful dances from the season danced by the top 2: Tara Jean a contemporary dancer and the only time she got to represent her genre, and Vincent, a ballroom dancer who was also incredible.



And for a more fun number, Tara Jean dancing "House" with Everrett, a tap dancer, the fourth place finisher. And for just a small tidbit of info, "House" style of dance has only ever been done on the So You Think You Can Dance Canada stage. Apparently it's very, very hard. Yeah, I'm exhausted watching it.



It was a great season of dance and fun to watch another local area young person come into their own!

Photo Hunters ~ Tied

Today's theme is "Tied". Boy, I found this one hard. It had me tied me in fits. Harhar. I'm afraid it wasn't too creative but it is what it is. .One of my favorite gifts ever to recieve is stationary. And recently that is just what I got from a leaving dayhome family, a nice stack of stationary and a pen, all tied together with a pretty bow.


For more "tied", visit Photo Hunters

Friday's Fave Five #59

Welcome to Friday's Fave Five. So glad you all played without me last week. Feeling much better this week but it's still been a bit of a rough ride. So I'm really glad for this little exercise that allows me to purposefully find those blessings and good things which are there and bring them up to the surface. If you're new and would like to play, go here for the blurb, and then just jump on board and join us!


1. Friends who will drop everything and help you out when you need it. Boy did I appreciate my friend who I called at ten at night last Thursday to please come and take my dayhome the next day. And she did without hesitation even though she had her girls birthday that night. May she be blessed a hundred fold.


2. Bloggy awards from bloggy friends that bring encouragement and an uplifting right when one needs it. Thank you Thom and Michelle! I know I'm horribly behind in posting it but life, it's been a happening around here and I'm glad I can finally thank you for thinking of me.

3. Extra kind emergency room workers. I couldn't catch his name but he was a kind porter who offered me kleenex and a cold cloth without being asked, checked on me regularly, smiled much and sat with me when my hubby had to use the washroom. Bless those who work in hospitals who show kindness.

4. A Hubby who was yanked out of bed to take me to emerg and who sat there with me for 4 hours until 2:30 a.m. and then had to work in the morning. It would have been so much worse if he hadn't have been there.

5. Blazin' Pepper Bourbon Seasoning. Oh my goodness. You like spicy? You like sweet? A bare hint of bourbon? This stuff is good. I found it on a little end of the aisle rack at the grocery store a few weeks ago. It's a limited addition flavor so I thought I'd nab it. Yum, yum, yum. I've rubbed my roast with it, gave a little sprinkle on pork chops. It has made them happy. And my mouth happy.

So what good things were in your week? If you do a post, don't forget to sign on to Mr. Linky so we can visit you! Have a great weekend.

A Quick, but Big, Question

Just stopping in on my little blogging break to ask a really quick question. I know JoLynne at Musings of a Housewife asked her readers this question, and I read every single answer, but I'm still on the fence. Especially when I'm getting articles like this sent to me. And yet health officials here are pushing for it. And yet the news is saying that it contains a controversial something or other. And yet, and yet, and yet. It's so confusing.

So here in my area the H1N1 flu shots start next week. So I want to know what you guys who come around here think of it? Is your family getting it? I want your honest feedback.

The Weather Relates

This morning the weather seems to be reaching into my soul and reflecting the way I feel. Foggy, grey, blah, dull. Though if I turn around and change my perspective there is points of light.

And I know once the sun starts to come up, that fog will be totally dispeled.

And that is the wonderful thing about Jesus, the Son. He brings light, by His Word, the Bible, into any darkness or fog. The fog can never be too thick for His Light to penetrate if we would just let it.

So I'm just going to spend some time seeking out that Son and allowing the Light to dispel the fog and grey. I'll be back Friday morning for Friday's Fave Five. Please join us if you never have. It really is uplifting and a fun party!

Fall into Flavor

Linda from 2nd Cup of Coffee has once again started the Fall into Flavor meme. It will run five weeks and it's time to post our yummy fall foods. And she's got a great apron up for grabs. I want me that apron.

Today, I'm giving you a bit of a different take on the the regular old mashed potatoes. No need for gravy with this one. And it goes with any meat.

Jazzed Mashed Potatoes

-8 medium red potatoes

-4 cloves of garlic, peeled

-1/2 cup butter or marg

-1/4 cup half and half (or milk if you insisit on saving a few calories)

-1 tsp. steak seasoning (more or less to taste, I prefer a good heaping tsp)

I make this with the peels on if the potatoes have a nice skin. Scrub them well if you leave them on or peel the potatoes if you don't like the skins. Cut into large chunks and put into cold water in large pot. Add the garlic cloves whole. Bring to a boil and cook until tender.

Drain the potatoes taking care not to lose the cloves of garlic. Add butter and mash together. Mix in the half and half or milk, and seasoning with an electric mixer until creamy. If your potatoes were on the dry side you might need to add an extra splash of half and half. You be the judge. Add salt to taste, if desired.

Book Tour ~ In the Arms of Immortals

In the Arms of Immortals: Chronicles of the Scribe by Ginger Garrett

Description from the Publisher:

In another heart-stopping historical fiction thriller from the author of In the Shadow of the Lions, critically acclaimed author Ginger Garrett paints a captivating portrait of a time when terror ruled and faith was hard to come by. In the Arms of Immortals (David C Cook, September 2009) travels a richly imagined journey into a key moment of history…the arrival of the Black Death in Europe.

This story of unseen battle, loving presence, and eventual redemption begins when a strange ship docks in a medieval Sicilian harbor. That night an old man falls ill… then the baker’s wife… then a street urchin. By morning half the townspeople are dead and more are dying—horribly. And no one has a clue what is happening or how to stop it. Not the local priest. Not the rich baron or his powerful knight. And not the three women at the heart of this book: the baron’s proud daughter, Panthea, the outcast healer, Gio, and Mariskka, an unwilling visitor from another time.
Though the Church fights to stand between the plague and the people, the sickness is too powerful for a Church that will not allow medicine to be studied outside its walls. The Church holds a monopoly on healing and on God, but when neither rescues the people, the people lose hope in both, and the conflict between Science and Faith begins its long burn. In a time when the faithful have no answers and the faithless terrorize the countryside, only the bravest will dare hold on to a silent God.

The Chronicles of the Scribe Series are thrilling tales of an angelic presence called “the Scribe, the first writer”—dictated to a series of twentieth-century strugglers, but lived out in the pages of history. Each of Garrett’s novels in the series targets a different significant moment of the past—both its mundane reality and supernatural significance—with a special emphasis on women’s experience. Tautly suspenseful and deeply moving, In the Arms of Immortals will deftly lift readers into its fascinating narrative of angels and demons, mortality and immortality.

My thoughts:

Mixing a current character and weaving her into a historical story, Ginger Garrett takes us back to medievel times and explores the spiritual context of the Black plague, that which might have happened in the spiritual realm during the plague. The research of these times that the author has done comes through in each part of the story and the darkness of the world at that time is retold in a way that makes the story very, very real. If you are at all interested in stories that reveal the spiritual element in real historical settings, you will find yourself drawn into the characters presented in In the Arms of Immortals.

In the Arms of Immortals is available here.

Author website here.

This book was provided for review by David C. Cook

Photo Hunters ~ Anything Goes

Anything Goes today on photo hunters. I picked this picture just because for some reason I like it. We had just come out of a new, huge mall and were in the parking lot. The contrast between the stark commercialism we had just left and the grassroots farming that our area is built on really struck me. Also the contrast between the peacefulness of the farmer's field and the crazy busy highway running right in front of it also stood out.

For more anything goes head over here.

The Brain in a Fog Post

Well apparently I speak in staccatto when I'm in much pain. And much pain it was. So a 4 hour emergency trip, 1 x-ray, and 2 double shots of morphine within a hour and a half later, I am oh, so dozy. I have basically been asleep since 3 a.m. last night and my brain is still achy and it's like thinking through cotton batting. I did learn one thing, though. ER in real life is not the same as ER in the show. Yeah, not even close.

I was going to try to post 5 favorite things but I'm having trouble thinking through the coming off of morphine fog. So I'm going back to bed. My photohunt will autopost because, thank goodness, I had that done. I'll come around with a coffee hopefully tomorrow and visit you all, but I'm having to pass on the Fave Five for this week. I'm so bummed. But I know you all's will cheer me right up! Good night everyone.

Friday's Fave Five #58

Welcome to Fave Five everyone. in much unbearable back pain. continue on without me. hopefully see you tommorow.

Mr. Weatherman Did Not Get the Memo

Fall. My favorite season. I love the colors, the smells, the return to comfort foods. I love wearing the warmer sweaters and long pants. I love the cooler, brisk days.

But for some reason, our weatherman did not get the reminder memo of fall and decided instead to skip right over and jump headlong into winter. Either that or he took me too literally and gave gave me brisk to the nth degree.

This is what my backyard should look like right about this time of year:

Pretty, isn't it? This year's reality? Not quite the same:

Look at those poor trees. They didn't even get a chance to turn color before being hit with this:

But in spite of all the unfamiliarness of no autumn and the insane snow, it is good to know some things will never change. Like family around the table at Thanksgiving. Pumpkin Spice Lattes at Starbucks. And the middle school football team holding practise:

Go team go!

Random Dozen

Join us all over at Linda's 2nd Cup of Coffee for Random Dozen #7.

*Updated on a scary thing for #5. I knew I'd think of one halfway through the day.

1. I've always wondered why we were taught both printing and cursive. Do you prefer to print or write cursive? (Keyboard is not a choice.) Well, if you've been coming here for any length of time you all know I can be very undecisive. And I guess that translates into my writing style too, because I use a combo of printing and cursive. I know. A therapist would probably have a hey dey analyzing me.

2. Are you a dreamer or a realist? I definitely swing way more toward the realist side of things. I tend to be pretty practical.

3. Billy Joel or Elton John? Now here is where I veer off the beaten path and can make a definite decision. Elton John all the way, goofy glasses and all. Loved his music and sometimes strange lyrics of his writer, Bernie Taupin. Billy Joel, loved the odd song, but can't say I was a fan.

4. What is the scariest movie you've ever seen? Not limited to horror flicks but also includes ones where the tension or suspense is killer, for example, Flightplan (2005): A bereaved woman and her daughter are flying home from Berlin to America. At 30,000 feet the child vanishes and nobody admits she was ever on that plan. I hate horror flicks especially the gorey variety, but I love tension filled movies. I do not do well with sacrey movies especially with a spiritual theme in them. They tend to stick with me for a very long time and so I avoid them at all costs. Flightplan type movies, I love. Anyway the scariest movie I can think of was 6th Sense. I didn't want to watch it but hubby talked me into it thinking I would really like it. And I did like the story of it. But it's been years and I still, once in awhile, when I'm turning out the lights and then walk past the thermostat get a really greebly feeling of sheer fear come over me. And I don't like the feeling of being scared.

5. Now what is the scariest real-life moment you've had? Oh my friend Linda. You are stretching my brain each week, woman! Off the top of my head I can't think of one. But I'm sure I will once I hit publish and will be back changing this answer.

*I just knew I'd think of it later when I had already been thinking for a whole day. I totally blame it turkey and pumpkin pie intoxication. Yeah, that's it. Thanksgiving overload.

Anyway the scary moment I thought of happened when I was about 7 or 8 or so. We had gone to the local fair as a family. My friend who was 3 years older than me, and I were on the ferris wheel on the backside near the top when a freak wind storm blew in. There we were stuck up on the ferris wheel with the basket thingy we were sitting in rocking back and forth. The poor guy working the ride was working like crazy trying to get everyone down safely. Well, it wasn't fast enough for my Dad who was totally freaked out and yelling at him to get us kids down NOW! I can still see the fear and upset in my Dad's face even though I was still up high. I guess he figured the poor guy should bypass everyone else and get the kids without an adult rider off first. But it was pretty scary being up there rocking. By the time we got off the thing the wind was actually whipping up fine gravel so hard that it hurt your skin.

Which in turn reminds me of another time we got stuck up high somewhere. It was in the mountains on a gondola ride. I was about 10 this time. We again as a family wanted to ride to the top of the mountain on it and they had two choices of seating to take you up. The closed gondola "house" thingy and the open two seater like in a ski lift. We talked our mom and dad into taking the open one, of course. Halfway up the darn thing stops running. And there we are exposed in those chairs. High off the ground with a steep slope below us. Wouldn't you know the wind picks up. We all only had summer jackets on and it was a nippy wind being in the mountains and we're sitting up in the air. It took a long, long time for that thing to get going again. And it was scary too, because no one could communicate with us to let us know what on earth was going on. For all we knew the guy running the thing forgot he put us on and went for lunch. And then we had to get back on the thing when we were ready to come down the mountain. No other way. That was scary!

Hmmmm, this might explain my aversion to fair rides.

6. What word do you misspell without fail? Up until a few months ago, when I made myself learn it, that word was "restaurant".

7. Name something you like to do but are not really talented or good at. Ice skating, singing. I don't know.

8. Do you get your emotional/mental batteries recharged by being around people or by having alone time? Usually being around people. It's probably because I work at home with small children all day, but I do need adult interaction a couple of times a week at least! However, at the end of each day, I have to have my totally alone time before I go to bed.

9. Have you ever been on TV? Sigh, yes I have. I was scared spitless too. I was a guest on a show called "Say What You Think" on the Miracle Channel. (Canada's one and only 24 hour Christian Network). The topic was the influence of toys and cartoons on children. They also had a guy on the phone who actually wrote a book on the topic so I felt totally intimidated. But I'm still here to type this so I must not have died during the process.

Oh yeah, and when I was a little kid I was on a tv show called "Kids Bids". The gist was you saved all you Old Dutch snack wrappers and then you could bid on prizes with them. I remember my mom sitting in the audience cueing me for when to raise my hand to make the bids. I got me a really nice Barbie house on that show.

10. Apple or pumpkin pie? (Don't be greedy.) Whatcha mean don't be greedy? Were you peeking in my windows Sunday night? I love both. It depends what I'm in the mood for I guess. How's that for being undecisive. I love warm apple pie with vanilla ice cream. But pumpkin is such a fall tradition. And it's got to have whipped cream. In real life, if presented with both, I would probably have a small (cough, cough) sliver of each.

11. How many magazine subscriptions do you have? I have a gift subscription to Reader's Digest which my sweet MIL buys me each year and I have a subscription to Homemaker's magazine that I bought off my girlfriend's child when their school was doing a fundraiser. I did have a subscription to Our Canada, which I loved, but had to let go when the renewal was due when hubby was out of work.

12. What lesson do you have to keep re-learning? That I don't always have to be right or have the last word.

A Very Tired Tuesday

The turkey is no more, we've pretty much recovered from the feast, the So You Think You Can Dance Canada marathon with the oldest girl is watched and finally deleted from my PVR, and the girl put on the bus yesterday and safely sitting in her class this morning. Putting her on the bus is always tiring as it involves about a 3 hour round trip car ride for us as she catches the bus in another city. Throw in an hour lunch and then waiting for her to board the bus and it's about a 5 hour trip for us. Long story short but us taking her to the other city saves her about 6-8 extra hours sitting sitting on the bus. Four buses a day leave from our city to her school city and not one is a straight through. Go figure.

And I am tired! Bone tired. I don't know, but this staying up until one in the morning 3 nights in a row is different at middle age than it was when I was twenty something. But I had to get in every second I could with Kay. That 4 days goes so fast!

And I did not take one single, solitary picture! Can you believe it? Maybe it had something to do with being a tad busy visiting and then cooking turkey and stuffing, the best yam casserole I have ever had, recipe to follow. But no picutre. Also on the menu was spaghetti squash, whipped potatoes, gravy, california mix veggies, pumpkin cheesecake, toffee apple tarts (another recipe I'll have to post), and ice cream cake I made myself on the spur of the moment. Today I'll be making cranberry walnut muffins with the leftover cranberry sauce and homemade turkey soup! Perfect to warm our insides as it snowed again this morning! What is up with the weather? Brrrr!

So before I fall asleep at the keyboard I'll give you this yam recipe because I know you over the border will be planning your Thanksgiving in the next while. And this got rave reviews from everybody at dinner. Even from the kids. Trust me on this one, 'k? I combined and changed up a few recipes I had on hand to make it so it's kinda, sorta my own. Anyway. Forgive my rambling. I stand by my excuse of lack of sleep.

Susanne's Maple Walnut Yams

-4 pounds yams (I used 3 very large yams)
-2 eggs
-1/4 cup maple syrup
-2 Tbsp. butter, melted
-1 tsp. salt
-1 tsp cinnamon
-1/8 tsp all-spice
-1/8 tsp nutmeg
-walnut halves (depending on your casserole dish about 1-2 cups)

-scant 1/4 cup maple syrup
-1/4 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 375*F. (190*C)

Poke holes into the yams and cook them on high in the microwave until soft, approximately 20 minutes. You will have to check on them at the 10 minute mark as yams come in different shapes and sizes and microwaves vary in power. Let cool enough to handle, then strip the peels off, slice in chunks and place in a large mixing bowl. (I did this step the day before and then just refridgerated and finished the rest up the next day).

Beat with mixer until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition. With mixer on slow speed, add maple syrup, 2 Tbsp melted butter, salt and spices. Beat until light and fluffy.

Place into ungreased 3 qt. casserole dish. Arrange walnuts on top in a single layer. Whisk together remaining butter and maple syrup and drizzle over the walnuts.

Bake for 25 minutes or until browned and bubbly.

Try not to dig into it before the guests arrive.

Friday's Fave Five #57

Welcome to Friday's Fave Five. Join me as I reflect back on the week and find my five favorite things. It's a way that I try to keep a thankful attitude and look for those blessings, both large and small.

Well, after another mini blizzard today, I almost changed my little button to a winterscape. It seems Alberta and Saskatchewan have decided to just skip right on by fall and go straight to winter. And boy, did it come in with a roar. See yesterday's post to get a little taste. Note the picture of the school yard. Well today we could not even see past the chain link fence through the blowing, falling snow.

And this is exactly why I'm really glad I have this little exercise in looking for the good things. So I'm going to get right to it.

1. Working furnace. Yes, we are using the furnace and am I ever thankful that it is working!

2. Big warm duvets and covers. The warmth and comfort they provide are definitely a favorite, especially in light of this week. Summer blankets and coverlets just don't hold the same comfort.

3. New socks. Oh yeah, you can bet I pulled those out yesterday too. A fresh pair of socks feels so good.

4. Planning Thanksgiving dinner. It's Thanksgiving this weekend here in Canada. I love Thanksgiving. It's at my house this year and I'm including favorites of my oldest girl 'cause she's coming home tomorrow. Please pray that she has a safe trip as she'll be passing through the snow on the bus.

5. Touring show homes with my friend. Always a fun outing for the two of us. Especially when we make a Starbucks stop and get chocolate truffle espressos to go.

What has made your 5 favorites this week? If you've done a post, please sign on to Mr. Linky and link directly to your post of this week, not your home page. It makes it that much easier for us to find your post. Have a safe and warm weekend.

Welcome to My World

Last night after supper

This morning

-8*C = a chilly 17*F

There just are no words

Only a huge sigh

Now I have to go and find the windsheild brush and scraper

Sigh

Random Dozen from the Lid

Linda has again designed a random dozen to reveal ourselves. Feel free to join in over at 2nd Cup of Coffee. So here is my "for sure, real" answers to this weeks. For some reason, blogger published it before I had finished the post. How weird is that. And how stressful trying to hurry up and finish and republish. Sheesh. So ignore the half baked done one from about 1/2 an hour ago. This is the done deal.

1. On an average, how often do you splurge and buy something for yourself? I go in huge waves. I don't buy myself anything for a long, long time. And then it hits me and then I splurge. But my splurges are usually the Wally mart kinds of splurges not the big department store kinds of splurges. And it depends where my budget is at. My last "big" splurge was a bag of fall items for my vase on my mantel and some ornamental gourds to throw around. Grand total of around 20 bucks. So there you go, I managed to type a whole bunch of words and not really answer the question at all.


2. Are you more like Hall or Oates? Just kidding. Real question: What is the last creative project you began/finished? Feel free to post a pic of it.Uhm, last Tuesday when I poured fallish looking items from a bag into my jar on my mantle. And yesterday when I filled a crystal dish with ornamental gourds. Start to finish, 30 seconds tops. Photography and maybe cooking is where I tend to get my creative outlet, not the artsy craftsy stuff. They just stress me out. I think I was in the washroom when God held the "come and get your arts and crafts genes" meeting.

3. OK, Goldie Locks, do you consider your house too big, too little or juuuust right?
For us right now, it's just right. Yeah, I left my drool over several of the the showhomes I saw on the weekend and yes I sighed and imagined us all moved in there but the bubble bursts fasts when I think of mortgage I'd have to be paying. I'll stay put thanks.

4. What is your favorite outdoor chore? Watering the lawn. I love sitting and listening to the sprinkler, watching it, feeling the coolness from it. Very relaxing. I also don't mind shoveling snow as long as it's not 2 feet deep and wet and in September, which has happened around here.

5. If you knew that cigarette smoking was not bad for your health but would be a weight loss tool, would you use it? Why or why not? Oy! How do you think of this stuff. I don't think I use it because I hate the smell and how it permeates everything. I also hate the yellow teeth, the yellow fingers, the drawn upper lip that people get after years of smoking. I don't know if it would be worth the trade off for me.

6. On a road trip, would you rather drive or ride? Some of both.

7. What do you consider a trivial pursuit? Over the top vanity stuff. That's all I'm gonna say.

8. This weekend, we downloaded the movie "Duplicity" with Julia Roberts and Clive Owen. Within 5 minutes, I was bored and annoyed, but I kept watching 5-10 minutes at a time hoping it would get better between small chores. I finally gave up and Jorge watched it alone, and then regretted wasting that time because he disliked it intensely, too. So ... how long do you watch a movie or read a book before giving up on it? Depends exactly how annoyed or bored I am with it. Usually I give a book a few chapters. Movies I'll give up on very fast if they are smutty or insultive or if every other word is a cuss word. Can't be bothered to watch if it's like that. I guess it would be the same answer for a book. I did force myself to watch duplicity, the ending was good but the road getting there, so, so.

9. Is there a song that you really love but are embarrassed to admit because it's not cool or it's racy or because it's by Hall and Oates? I'm horrible at song related questions because I usually can't think of it when I need to. As in right now. And again, a bunch of words without really answering the question.

10. On a scale of 1-10 (10 = extremely) how spontaneous are you?I used to be alot more spontaneous but now I'd say about a 5 or 6.

11. Are you a food and/or beverage snob? I wouldn't say I'm a snob but I do like certain brand name items and buy only that brand for those things. Campbell's soups, Heinz ketchup, Lindsay olives, I have to have brand name cereals (the kids don't like the cheaper kind), two certain kinds of coffee beans from Costco that we mix together, Imperial margarine are a few I can think of off the top of my head.

12. Who/What are you trying to control in your life? What? Ya trying to get me in trouble, Ms. Lid? ;v) I'd have to say at this time in my life I'm trying to control my tongue.

Monday Mish Mash

Fall is officially arrived in Southern Alberta. And I love it. It's cold and crisp in the mornings. And it's been raining on and off, which I also love. Although I imagine the folks in the big city aren't too happy with the snow they got on the weekend. Nothing that stayed put, mind you, but still there is something about the thought of snow in the first weekend of October that is a bit disconcerting, even for us Albertans.

My girlfriend and I grabbed us a warm jacket, stopped at Starbucks and with chocolate truffle espressos in hand we headed off to do the rounds of showhomes on Saturday. There is one builder in town who always has the best showhome of the bunch. This year we started off with that house. It did not disappoint. But we thought after we should have saved the best for last. The others were nice in and of themselves but nothing compared to the that first one. The family friendly ideas and the gorgeous way they put everything together always leave me applauding them as we leave. If they would let pictures be taken I would, but they don't.

While I'll pass on the idea of striped walls, or stainless and glass everything, or the green paint that looked black, or the "monster mash orange" paint (yes that is the name of the color) in some of the homes I did decide that yes, I do want a cork floor in my kitchen (so nice and warm on the feet and very forgiving), and I found a counter top I love. While it's not granite, not in the budget, it is a really, really nice Formica laminate.

Sunday started with a headache and ended with me totally wiped out. After lunch I fell asleep on the couch for more than 3 hours. I never, ever, ever do that. Eight ibuprofens spread out over the day and a big bag of classic Lay's potato chips and Philidelphia Brand Herb & Spice chip dip later, I finally shook that thing but it left me wiped out and I still went to bed at my normal time. Now I know what you're thinking. Don't laugh. I'm not joking with the chips and that particular brand and flavor of chip dip. There is something between the two that they really do cut the severity of a bad headache for me. That headache didn't go anywhere until my sweet son went to the store and picked me up some. An hour or so later, the severity wasn't there anymore. Hmmm, maybe I can patent it somehow.

This week is shaking up very, very busy for me. Thanksgiving is this weekend in Canada and Kay is coming home. I see lots of cooking and baking in my week which means grocery shopping too. I love Thanksgiving. And I'm determined that the prep is not going to overtake the attitude of thanksgiving I want to maintain.

So on that note, I'm off to get the to do list and the grocery list together. And I'm thinking it will include a brick or three of cream cheese.

Photo Hunters ~ Words

Wow, this weeks's photo hunter theme was hard. I'm afraid I wasn't too creative with it. After not finding anything all week that really struck me I decided to do the very first thought that occured to me. And that was a page of the bible which I believe are the very words of God to us.

And then looking on my wall I saw one of my favorite pictures. It's very special to me because a dayhome parent gave it to me as a good bye gift when they left dayhome. I had had their little guy in my home from time he was one until the day he went to grade 1.

Very precious words indeed. And very hard to live up to.

For more with "words" join photo hunters here.