Pumpkins

I love Halloween. There is just something about being able to dress up and pretend to be someone or something you are not. For one night you can be ANYTHING you want to be.

Plus there's candy.....lots and lots of candy.

Now, obviously I have long passed the days when I can go trick or treating myself....now I take my son and watch while he gets the bag full of candy. Then I get to be the bad guy and dole out the candy over the next month (while secretly sneaking a piece here and there. Shhh...don't tell)

I still enjoy dressing up though. I swear I will never get to old for that. Last year I was a lady bug. This year??? Well, I compliment my son and his costume. That's all I'm saying.

Now, the other reason I love Halloween is for the pumpkins. I love to carve pumpkins. I always have. I've done some intricate ones and silly ones in the past. This year is the first year my son has shown any interest in carving a pumpkin. We did ours freestyle this year, so they are pretty basic but still lots of fun.

Will refused to scoop out the "guts" as they were too slimy for his liking but he actually helped with the carving. And as a bonus: I have a bag of roasted pumpkin seeds- yummy

Happy Halloween everyone!

What to do with duck tape

I've been less than creative lately and I want to change that. Part of the problem is that all my stuff is so scattered in my house that it's hard to know what I have and get really inspired. I've also just been really busy with other aspects of my life.

Today however, I decided to grab my duck tape and get a little creative. I took black and white tape and made this wallet and purse. (the purse came out so great it almost looks like patent leather!)

Portland Headlight

I work every Sunday with 2 lovely ladies. They bring me joy and entertainment whenever I see them. However, trying to get them motivated to do anything can be like pulling teeth. They want to relax and not do anything on Sunday's. Last year I was able to motivate them by going on "photo shoots" and putting together photo albums for their parents.

Considering they have NOT been motivated all summer, imagine my surprise when they wanted to go out today for a walk at Fort Williams. So we hopped in the car and off we went! Here are a few of the pictures I took. Have a beautiful day everyone.

The beauty around us

I just wanted to share some of the beautiful pictures I have been able to take this summer. I hope you've been able to get out and enjoy the beauty around you as well

Cheesy Quinoa Casserole

I recently got a new recipe book for my kindle. Every recipe is about quinoa. If you have never heard of quinoa before you are certainly missing out!

Quinoa is a grain. When using quinoa you want to make sure it is rinsed thoroughly before cooking, the reason for this is because as a natural form of self preservation quinoa has a coating or film on the grains that tastes very bitter to deter animals in the wild from eating it. However rinsing removes this and it becomes quite tasty.

I like the nutty flavor it has. Quinoa is very versatile and can be used in many ways. It is easy to cook, simple quinoa is cooked much like rice. In a pot add 1 cup rinsed quinoa to 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for approximately 15-20 minutes until all water is absorbed. This can be changed to add flavor, you can use chicken stock for example, or if making a porridge for breakfast try cooking it in apple juice for an added touch of sweetness.

I will tell you, I followed the recipe except I didn't fold the red pepper mixture in, I put it on top because I thought it looked prettier. I'm sure it did nothing to change the taste, but then again you never know. I hope you enjoy.


Here are the before it was cooked and after. Doesn't it look yummy? Tastes great too!

Feather

I have been charged with keeping this feather safe. Will has deemed it to be a very important scientific discovery. Which he will explore at a later date.

I asked him why we needed to save it and he told me that it looked scientific and he found it very intriguing. (his word, not mine!). I wonder what mysteries he sees in this one small feather, and what answers will he find...

Empire Grove

The sketch was drawn by my cousin many years ago. We have it framed and hung in our cottage. The rest of the pictures are of the campgrounds