Remembering

My mother died 13 years ago today, November 18, 1997. Whenever the tamaracks start turning golden, as they did a few weeks ago, I think of her. Her wish was to die at home and she spent a great deal of time indoors but on one fine day she asked me to take her for a drive. I asked her where she wanted to go and she said, "Anywhere."


She sat in the passenger seat beside me gazing out the window. We did a big circle on the concession roads and stopped in front of a huge stand of tamaracks that were golden in the sunshine. After about 5 minutes, Mum said, "Please take me home." She never left the house again and died two weeks later. I go to that stand of tamaracks once a year each fall and think of my mum.

Rubber Band Ball

The other day I read a review of a book about things from days gone by. One of the things they recalled was a rubber band ball.


I remembered them too and have a plethora of elastics so I got started. Richard took over when he saw that my elastic skills sucked.


All you do is build a series of rubber bands on top of a golf ball. And then keep adding. And if you need an elastic, just pick one off! Not so crazy.

It's a Bird. It's a...

Driving around the countryside, I jumped when I thought I saw a pileated woodpecker on a hydro pole. I took another look. Every second or third pole had one. A woodpecker convention? Nahhh. I suppose this is how they keep other (real) woodpeckers from chipping away at these poles. Decoys. Pretty clever.

Cookie Time

For our art sale next weekend, each of the three artists is baking something yummy to serve at the show. I made white and milk chocolate swirl chip cookies with raisins, almonds and chopped walnuts. They're now in the freezer waiting for next Sunday.


Then I decided, with Richard's help, to make candied ginger cookies that I saw in the latest Martha Stewart Cookies magazine. I changed her suggested lemon icing and topped these with white chocolate drizzles instead.


Lucky me that Richard was on clean-up detail!

Crispy Rosemary Potato Cakes

Saw this recipe in the current issue of Country Living. Since I had some rosemary still growing in the garden and some leftover mashed potatoes in the fridge, this recipe was the perfect way to use them both.


In a few tablespoons of olive oil, fry a chopped onion and 1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary. Add salt and pepper and cook till the onion is soft, about 7 minutes.


To a large mixing bowl filled with 2-3 cups of mashed potatoes, add the onions and rosemary. Stir to combine.


Spread panko crumbs (need about 1/2 - one cup) in the bottom of a shallow dish. Make potato patties and press crumbs onto both sides of cake.


Cook cakes in batches, adding more oil as needed and turn once. Fry until golden brown and heated through, about 8 minutes.


Very yummy and a nice way to use up mashed potatoes. Love the rosemary flavour.

Lest We Forget

In Flanders Fields
by John McCrae, May 1915

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Locavore Supper

The other night's supper was almost entirely from local sources. The hart's heart was from my neighbour, who once a year shoots a buck and gives me the heart. While I pan fried it in local onions, Richard boiled up some of my red-skinned potatoes with some of his own carrots. He mish-mashed them together as a side dish. Talk about your 100-mile diet. This one was the half kilometre version.

Mark Your Calendar!

Our little Art Sale is coming up. Should be fun! Please contact me if you need directions. Would love to see ya'll!

Happy Birthday Richard

For Richard's birthday, I decided to make him a Chicago Blackhawk's cake.


That insignia sure is complicated once you start applying it in icing. But in the end I was pleased with the results.


The birthday boy was too!


Even better? The checkerboard interior.


2010 was a good year. A Stanley Cup win for the 'Hawks and a great birthday for Richard.

Dunvegan...

My friend Olive from Ottawa, who meets up for trading with our ATC group in Dunvegan -- here in Ontario -- gave me this post card from a recent visit to the Isle of Skye. Our Dunvegan looks a little different than its namesake.


She also snapped this pic of the town sign, complete with its Gaelic translation. Thanks Olive!

Moooo!

Don't forget! Only one week to go till the deadline for our centrespread challenge. The theme is COWS and the ATC will appear in ATC Quarterly. E-mail a hi-rez jpeg of your cow-themed ATC to editor@atcquarterly.com or snail mail me (with SASE) to: 19698 Cty. Rd. 24, Dunvegan, ON K0C 1J0 Canada. Deadline: November 15/10.

Ghoulish Trade

We had our artist trading card meet-up on Saturday and many of the cards were seasonally-themed.


Harriet's cards featured grave stones she photographed while in Japan.


Olive did scary faces...well sort of scary faces à la Picasso.


Evlyn's cards were scary -- well sort of scary -- masks cut out of colourful fun foam.


Elisabeth did watercolours of fall foliage.


Barb's cards spelled out the word "Halloween" and were very scary.


Flip's animated jack-o-lanterns were adorable.


Holly's carved pumpkins were carved from linocuts.


Suzanne made jack-o-lanterns using suede and seashells...


...and they were displayed in a totally funky manner. Great trades everyone!

Potatoes & Chard & Snow

Snow on the last day of October? Definitely time to dig up the potatoes.


And there were lots of those suckers down there.


Richard and potatoes and snow. Oh my!


Check out those lovely potatoes!


Meanwhile, I figured I'd better pick some chard.


I'll be able to gather this chard for a little while longer...or until the deer find it, which ever comes first.


Lovely stuff, no?


I then thawed the puffball I had made into schnitzel a few weeks back and made a few layers of it with tomato sauce, freshly grated Parmesan cheese and steamed chard. A puffball lasagna if you will.

Black-Eyed Susan ATCs

Last Saturday was our artist trading card (ATC) trade. We had 13 or 14 people who attended, lots of cards, and lots of fun. These were my offerings, sketches of the last flowers of the season.