Bits 'n' pieces

 My little corner of the world used to be marked by a sign, very much like this one. But over the years it had weathered and because we are so minuscule, the county said they wouldn't replace the sign. Lucky for the few families that live here, a neighbour took it upon himself to coordinate the county, township and local building supplier (who donated the wood for the sign) and re-created the sign to mark our part of the world. I thought I looked rather Joan of Arkish in this pic...

 A few weeks back we headed into the big city of Ottawa to hear a friend from Israel speak at a hall in Little Italy. I've known Florence (the gal in stripes to my right) since kindergarten and hadn't seen her since high school. Good Lord. Suzanne (gal in red) and I have been friends since elementary school as well as sharing a major in university, but it's been ages. And Bev, (purple) and I hadn't seen each other since high school either, some 35 or more years!

I was invited to a potluck and I offered to bring a cake (natch). I decided to try a recipe I had seen online. Epic fail! The cake itself was yummy. But...the salted caramel frosting was hopeless. It broke partway through cooking and cooling and became crystallized. Having the consistency of plaster, I slapped it on and pressed it into the sides of the cake. And guess what? Not enough icing for the top. Chocolate ganache to the rescue. Topped with homemade caramel apples too. Best of all? It was someone's birthday, so candles were put on and Happy Birthday was sung. The gal came up to me afterwards and said it was the best cake she had ever had. I was touched!

Autumn cupcakes

I made these cupcakes for a friend whose aunt is coming to see the changing fall colours. 

She's from New Orleans, so the fleur-de-lis topped cakes are a nod to her visit.

Fall happenings

 We took our annual trip to Richard's family's place in Muskoka over Thanksgiving and were blessed with perfect weather. 
That's nephew Michael's dog Winston.

 The temperature last Sunday was 18C and sunny.

Richard's sister Mary taking in the view at Lake of Bays.

 Sparkling water had us all down at the dock hanging out with a bottle of wine.

Say ahhhhhhh.

 Meanwhile at home, autumn is in full fettle.

My new woodshed (to the left) is starting to fill with wood. There's Oreo posing at its doorway.

Thanksgiving pie cupcakes

I bring a dessert up to Richard's family every Thanksgiving and this year I was puzzled. Last year was just delicious and not gorgeous. Year before I painted a scene on fondant and before that, mini-turkeys made of peanut butter cups and candy. I was stumped this year until it came to me. Pie! The ultimate Thanksgiving treat. But this year, I made spice cupcakes with a variety of "pies" on top. Fun or what?

Woody woodpecker sighting

On my way to work the other day I saw this bird  just over the top of my garage.

 An amazing bird, you couldn't miss him! Lucky I caught him on camera...wish I could have gotten just a bit closer to him. Wow!