Its FREEZING here so I was thinking about the gorgeous, hot weather that Richard and I enjoyed in the Bahamas last November.
The square we sat in had the most magnificent and odd tree. Have you ever seen such a thing?
I tried drawing it but I don't think I did it justice.
One of my favourite moments on our visit was sitting on the cement pier that ran to the beach and drawing the sea.
The turquoise of my watercolours doesn't even come close to how blue that water was. Ahhh. I wanna go back!
I bought these candies at Chapter's because I just loved the packaging (and they were half price). Dark chocolate with a crunchy mint interior. What could be better?
For the retro supper of the year award, I baked Richard these Pillsbury crescent rolls with hot dogs. My mom used to make them for me in the late 60s or early 70s and I just loved them. You know what? They tasted exactly the same!
"Gathering winter fuel..."
"I wish I had a river I could skate away on." Of course, it's not a river, but a stream through my property -- and it would need some clearing. But I would love to skate on it one day.
Honey, are you sure you closed up the cottage?
A few years back in my old Buick, I stopped for gas and noticed my unusual odometer reading. It just looked funny. 111,111 km.
And my Pontiac had a fun readout the other day: 123,456. Cool.
Remember the teeny kittens that showed up in Richard's garden in September?
Well Millie and Percy are happy and growing like weeds...
...and making themselves at home.
Barney, the former barn cat usually takes his spot in front of the wood stove.
The senior cat in the house, Skanoo, will have very little to do with any of them and usually perches on the bed, away from all the kitten action.
And Barney?
He and Percy have become fast friends with lots of cleaning, playing and snuggling.
What a way to pass the winter...in the arms of a nice, warm kitty.
The holidays seem to be hors d'oeuvres time. This year we tried two made by President's Choice, sold at the local grocery store. My fave from last year, fig and goat cheese in puff pastry blooms...
...are little, delightful bites.
New this year were mini-beef Wellingtons...
...which come in individually prepared pastry shells.
I stuck 'em both on a cookie sheet and baked them at the same time. They came out of the oven all golden and toasty.
Two thumbs up to the mini-beef Wellingtons. (The fig and goat cheese ones came out of the oven first and they were eaten before I remembered to photograph them.)
The last few days have been very pleasant temperature-wise at about -2C. It's snowed about 4 cm on each of those days and today and tomorrow we're expecting the same. It sure is pretty around here, even if it means pulling out the snow shovel every now and then. Still, it beats freezing rain!
Happy New Year to all my friends from here in snowy Dunvegan. Here's hoping that 2010 is a healthy and happy one. Cheers.
I pass this mural every time I drive into Alexandria, Ontario, a town I shop in all the time. It was done a few years back by a friend of mine, Odile Tetu, and I thought it was high time I stopped and took a photograph of it. Nice, eh? It shows a bit of the history of the old town and some of its former mayors and some better-known townspeople.
I decided to make a spaghetti and meatballs cake, don't ask me why. The pasta is buttercream icing (and came out a bit too yellow), the tomato sauce is strawberry/rhubarb jam, the Parmesan cheese is grated white chocolate, and the meatballs are Ferrero Rocher chocolates.
I made another faux poutine cake. They look kind of fun beside each other, don't they?
Richard and I went to a party in the woods last night. The trail was marked with small bonfires and kerosene lanterns.
The end of the trail had a huge bonfire surrounded by several snow sofas and seats.
Richard and I tried to stay cozy on a snow sofa.
Don't you just love the sock monkey (not mine!) standing guard over a tiki light and a snowman?
When the bonfire got going, it threw a lot of heat. It was only -2C and I was actually overdressed and almost too warm. Lucky the party wasn't tonight though. Today the weather has changed and it's -19C and really windy with a windchill of almost -30C!
The last two days have been encrusted in ice.
Many trees suffered from the extra weight on their limbs.
I lost a nice tree and wonder about the many more at the back of the property. It's still too icy to head back and check up on them.
Richard tried to get some of the ice off the birch tree in front of the house.
I guess they'll be no mail delivery for a bit.
Power came back on after a few hours of darkness.
Driving was treacherous but there was plenty of salt on the roads.
Just as long as you kept below the speed limit.
I just love Christmas dinner: turkey...
...and dressing...
...and various veggies added to create the most perfect plate of food ever!
Finish that off with a variety of yummy cheesecakes. Thanks Mary and Victor for a wonderful meal!
Ever see such a huge Christmas tree? We saw it at Epcot in Orlando, Florida in November where it was a balmy 85F. Merry Christmas to everyone. Enjoy!
