MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM Autumn !

   Autumn has arrived in all her splendor ! How beautiful, God gave us such a wonderful setting for our preparation for winter, which can sometimes be so harsh. The mornings are a little cooler, but to see the sunrise amongst the gorgeous color of the trees and the earlier sunset, the last rays of sun twinkling through the leaves is amazing, people over the centuries have tried to capture the beauty of the fall, and some have done it well but you cannot beat the real thing. The Canadian geese and others are flying over in perfect precision and honking their goodbyes with a promise to return in the spring.The squirrels are busy chattering to one another as they gather their stores for the winter ahead, so very busy are they. We are trying to get everything ready ourselves, but also taking time to enjoy the beauty that surrounds us. I have a favorite spot at this time of year, out in one of our west pastures were we have the portable chute system set up for any work that has to be done with that group of cattle. There is a stand of poplars sheltering this area with a pond back behind,with a mixture of different willows to add interest. I never mind having to wait for the rest of the crew out there as it is so tranquill, and the beautiful scent whafting from the poplars,cows or a calf coming over to investigate , maybe even a bird or two singing in the trees, mmm.
     The feedlot cleaner is coming this week, trying to finish cleaning off the vegetable garden and get it worked up,finish working up the new perenial garden so that I can transfer some of the plants this fall yet. The pool is put away  to await next summer, The feed yard is starting to look a little fuller as more bales are brought home from the fields. The summerfallow has been worked up again, new pump houses are being organized to be built before the snow flies. Oh,and a number of other things as long as winter holds off Fuzzy will find more to do,but I guess if I am honest I will too.
    Fall or autumn always makes me crave homemade veg. beef soup with crusty bread or meatloaf and mashed potaoes and turnips.I want to bake and cozy up the place with throws and blankets over the arms of chairs and couches. I am even looking up books that I want to read later when it is dark so early you can't be outside working.Have found some new knitting patterns I want to try too.
    Out here in the country it is also a time for fall suppers put on in every little community around, the months of September and October you can find one every Sunday sometimes more,these are great fundraisers for the different groups,a lot of work but also a lot of fun is had in the kitchens and out as people may not have seen each other for quite awhile and it is a time to catch up.
    This Sunday our church is having our harvest home service, quite beautiful with all the harvest decorations and the service is very meaningful, and as hard as it is to believe thanksgiving will soon be upon us.
  I hope you are all enjoying the beauty that surrounds us, take a minute, look, listen,and smell!

Sunday Dinner

      Growing up Sunday dinner was such an important part of our lives, the table was dressed up a little more than usual and company was quite often invited in. The meat dish was very important as more was usually cooked so that there would be leftovers for lunches the rest of the week, so you could count on roast beef, pork roast,ham or on occasion a turkey or chicken. If we had chicken or turkey at the table you would also find a plate with baloney, as my father did not have an appetite for any type of foul.Roast beef dinners were my favorite as there was mashed potatoes, gravy, Yorkshire pudding,vegetables,and usually a salad, followed by some wonderful dessert that my Mom made so well. We would all be sitting there full and happy and my father would come out with one of his infamous sayings" well if the good lord had any better he would have saved it for himself". Usually we would be starting to feel a little uncomfortable and groan from making pigs of ourselves and mom would come out with Granny Lindsay's saying " well run around the wee house three times and make three muckle cracks and you'll feel brolly muckle fine", this would quite often crack us up and we would have a good laugh and forget about our discomfort. Occasionally she would bring out the creme de mint on special occasions, and anyone who wanted would have a liqueur glass of it. The Sunday dinner was quite often held just before Walt Disney Hour which came on at six o'clock, so we could all watch it,those were the days dad even went out and bought a color TV when they first came out because of Walt Disney and also the rose bowl parade, first on the block to have one.
    Later when my sister went to teach up north of our home town, she and some of her fellow teachers would stop in for Sunday suppers on their way back from the south. I will never forget the one poor girl who came, she was just out of college and I don't think she had ever experienced humor like my father's. The poor girl was seated next to dad and he was on a roll, he passed her the peas with the comment eat your greens they will make your milk better. Funny thing is we never did see that nice young woman again.
    Well time moved on and we married started families of our own, and traditions of our own and we were not home much for Sunday suppers with Mom and Dad as we both settled 250 miles south of home, but on the occasion we were there it was just as memorable and also for our families.
    My girls have grown up and moved out to have lives of their own, as it should be, and now it is just Fuzzy  and myself here. Sunday dinners over the years have changed, sadly it has just became another meal, mainly my fault as it just does not feel the same, but that is about to change. I have come to the conclusion that I have a nice dinning room and nice china,silver, crystal and they are not being used enough. The goal is that this fall and winter I am going to bring back Sunday Dinner even if it is just for the two of us, we deserve it and so does the dinning room, china,silver,and crystal,or at least that is what I will tell Fuzzy. We can start small and get back in the swing of it, and then we can maybe invite guests to join us, oh that will be fun, people other than just us ,Yes! So here is to the Sunday Dinner lets bring it back, yes we all have busy lives but it is important to be social and have a little formality in our lives.I will keep you posted on how it goes!

9/11 ,10 Years Have Come And Gone

     To quote Allan Jackson" Where were you when the world stopped turning on that September day".I remember the usual weekday morning routine. The radio was on, getting the youngest off to school planning out our day and getting ready for the oldest to go back to university to finish her last year of her diploma courses. Thinking to myself life is good, very quickly this was to change.It came over the radio that a plane had hit one of the towers of the world trade center,Fuzzy, the oldest and I headed to the living room to check it out on t.v. . I sat there in shock and disbelief as the second plane stuck the second tower, that was it, I knew I would not be accomplishing anything the rest of the day. The oldest and I spent the better part of the day on the couch watching and on my part praying for the people there and their families,I imagine the oldest was doing the same. Things where moving so fast, mixed reports about more planes and how the plane was downed in the field, the Pentagon being hit, where the president was and the one of many thoughts going through my head was thank God we live in Canada. What was I thinking, if it could happen to the Americans it could happen to us. I think we spent more time that week watching TV and listening to the radio than ever before, hoping and praying they would find more survivors, as I imagine many others did also.
           Well ten years have come and gone I have spent the last week remembering that terrible time in history, partly due to the fact that most television channels have been talking about it or had programing about it. How has it changed our lives, how it ended so many lives, and promising futures all changed in such a hideous act. We and our neighbors to the south had been going through life blissfully thinking things like that do not happen here in North America, but it did, and it changed the world in a very big way, some good changes some not so good.We saw our military go to Afghanistan on a peace keeping mission, which in my opinion became war, as we lost so many young people, and some came home physically injured and some with  physiological damaged which in my mind is worse. The border security was beefed up,now you need a passport to cross. Air flight security was tightened. and numerous other security measures were put in place. Has it made a big difference, considering the inconvenience or did we have it to easy before? Were the changes reactive or proactive, could it happen again?  All questions I am not sure of, but the one thing I am sure of I AM PROUD TO BE A CANADIAN. I am happy we live in North America, and I am thankful to all the people who work to keep our country safe.