Pumpkins for Halloween

We were given this beautiful pumpkin as a gift.  It has the 'Dwyer's Farmhouse' logo on it.  I love it!

We planted pumpkins this year and we had a good harvest.

The kids had fun last night carving some of them.

Brenda

Very Busy Weekend...with no photos.

I had a super busy weekend.

It started on Friday with a wedding.

I decorated the cake Friday morning....

The bride requested 'shamrocks'....and that the cake be a carrot cake.

And square.

I can do that.

I've never actually decorated a square cake before!

Anyways...it all worked out.

And I got it delivered without destroying it.

When I was suppose to be getting ready to go to the wedding on Friday afternoon, I ended up making Q-tip skeletons with the girls.  They really wanted to make them.  So we did.  But Lydia was in such a bad mood it was ridiculous.  And every time I cut a Q-tip it went flying across the room.

I have no photos....but click here if you want to make one.

Anyways, I fed them supper and then got ready for the wedding.

Terry and I had a great time.  It was lovely and we hadn't been out in ages. 

But I have no photos of us.

Saturday morning came early.  Really early....Grady had to milk at 4 a.m.....Terry drove him and I picked him up at 6:30 a.m.

Then we had a cattle run down the Gallagher Road.....because it's fall....and we move cattle.

But I have no photos.

On Saturday afternoon, I took the girls to the Giant Pumpkin Drop in Eganville.  They dropped a 1300+ lb. pumpkin from 40 feet in the air.  Then they had draws for all kinds of prizes....it's a fundraiser for the Eganville Food Bank.

We didn't win anything.  And I have no photos.

But here is the link to a video from last year.  It was pretty much the same thing this year.

Then we picked up Johanna at a friends' house.  She had went to the high school Halloween dance the night before....while we were at the wedding.  I wanted to see a photo of her in her costume.

But there were no photos.  Only one....and it's more of a selfie.

We headed to my nephews birthday party at the hunt camp.  Lots of fun.

No photos.

Sunday morning we went to Mass and then had our family brunch.....that we always have on Sunday morning.

In the afternoon, I took the 3 oldest kids....and two nephews...to the 4-H Archery Club Achievement Day.  It was a skills competition.  I was going to be staying until they were done anyway....so I joined a team...even though I've never shot a long bow in my life.

There were 4 different stations. 

Trivia....which was pretty funny.  I was all multiple choice questions about archery....which I know nothing about.  But I knew that FPS did not stand for 'farts per second'!

Judging....we had to judge 4 bows and give our reasons of the placing.

Stringing and unstringing a bow....this is harder than it sounds.  You actually have to use your whole body....and your muscles.

Shooting with a long bow at the target.  We had 6 shots.  At first I had the bow backwards....and then upside down....and then when I let go of the arrow it didn't even shoot....it just fell to the ground.  But once I got all straightened around.....I hit the target TWICE!  Which was amazing!  And I heard the comment "Good luck Grady....if you want to beat your mom!"

Anyways....when it was all over.....and the points were all added up....MY TEAM WON!!

AND...I have a photo...but it doesn't include me.

Then we headed to my Mom and Dad's house for Thanksgiving supper.  Yes...it's a couple of weeks late....but Dad was away moose hunting on the Thanksgiving weekend and my Mom was away visiting her sister.

The turkey was delicious.

And I have no photos.

And that was my weekend.

The end.

Brenda

Thank You

We've been busy with life.

The fairs are over.  The farmers' market is done.

But the busyness hasn't stopped.

It's fall....and that means moving cattle, working calves.....and moving cattle.  Yes....we've been moving cattle. 

We've moved some hens too....but we don't have to stop traffic to do that.

And we've been splitting wood....and hauling wood.

And making soup....really good homemade meat bird soup.

And digging potatoes and carrots.

And setting mouse traps.

And wearing long johns.  and mitts and toques.  and I'm going to town to buy insulated rubber boots.  because they wear out.

And we've been doing crafts.  My table was covered in puff paint creations the other day.

Sophie's been writing stories.  Terry told her that they will be best sellers.  I believe it.

And we had this published in our local paper this week.

It's a Thank you.

Thank you's are so important.

Yesterday my world stood still for a bit. 

So many emotions.

A solider was shot dead while standing guard at the War Memorial in Ottawa.

I knew so many people on 'lock down'.

And I know some people that work as 'first responders' in Ottawa.

I need to say 'Thank You'.

'Thank you' to all those people that work everyday to keep us safe.

We live in the best country.  with the best people.

Even though it was a terribly tragic day, all I could feel was love. 

So much LOVE.

Stories of people reaching out to people.

Love is greater than fear.

God bless our country and the people that keep it safe.

Brenda

Mushrooms Galore

Johanna had to collect mushrooms for a science project at school.

She went for a walk in the bush and came back with over 13 kinds of different mushrooms.

I had no idea that she would find this many.

And there are these HUGE puffballs growing in the fields.  See the ruler underneath....these are HUGE.

I remember picking mushrooms in the field with my grandma.  She fried them up and I thought that we would die of food poisoning....but we didn't.

She also told me about the old days when the train would stop in the field and men would get off and pick all the mushrooms and then hop back on the train and continue on their journey.

That was back when there were 2 train tracks in the field.  Now there are none....because they decided to rip them out and not use trains around here anymore.

Anyways.....I think it's just a really good year for mushrooms.

There is a saying.....

Mushrooms galore....lots of snow in store!

We will have to wait and see if this is true.

Brenda

Babies are a Woot.

A friend asked me to make a cake for her.  And I said yes.

She needed a cake for a baby shower.  The couple is decorating the baby's room with music notes...because they like music and the dad-to-be is a drummer.  They also like owls and stars.

They needed this cake for Saturday.  No problem.  I can do that.

I was not thinking.  It was the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend. 

Thanksgiving weekend means I make a million gazillion pies on the Thursday before and then I go to the market all day Friday.

This cake was to be picked up early Saturday morning.  So I decorated it late Friday night.....very late.

And my brain was not working.

I sort of planned it out.....

An owl, music notes, stars....

Yes, the little owl got a diaper.  and a drum.

And I sent the cake off early Saturday morning.  and didn't think anymore about it.

Until two days later, when Terry was looking through the photos on the camera.

Terry....."Why did you write 'woot' on that cake?"

Me....."Say what?"

Terry......"The cake says "Babies are a woot"....isn't it suppose to be 'hoot'."

Me....."WWWWHHHHAAAATTT????"

Excuse me.  I need to find a very huge rock to hide under.

What could I do now?  The cake was already eaten.  I couldn't fix it.

I remember that I was debating over whether to write 'hoot' or 'whoot'.....and I totally messed up and wrote 'woot'.

I emailed my friend and she just said not to worry about it.  No one cared.  The cake was delicious.

I live in a very small town.  Yes.  There were people at that party.  People that know me....and they will think that I'm completely messed.

Owls don't woot.  They hoot.

Sure enough......last night.  I was talking to someone who was at that party.

I explained that I was an idiot.

She was laughing uncontrollably when she told me that people at the party were asking if I was German perhaps??.....and I thought that owls said woot.  But no....the cake decorator is not German....and no one could understand why the cake said 'woot'.

No....I'm not German.

I'm just a little exhausted.

Woot. Hoot. Whoot.

I'm not making anymore owl cakes.

Brenda

Melting Beads on the Barbeque

I took out a book from the library a couple of weeks ago.  It was called The Artful Parent by Jean Van't Hul.  It turns out that she is also a blogger....and has some great ideas on crafting with kids.

After browsing her blog for ideas....she has really really good ideas....I made the light table for Lydia and then we did these....

Melted Bead Suncatchers

They are really easy to make and I had everything I needed to make them....not having to go into town for supplies is a bonus.

I had a really old tin....that I was going to throw out.....it was in a box with a bunch of stuff that was purchased at an auction sale.

The kids filled them with beads.  Lydia spent a lot of time making patterns.

I even made one with a shamrock.

Then I put the tin on the barbeque and let the beads melt.

After they had cooled we hung them in the window.

And the next day we had to make more.

Brenda

The Dinosaur Tree

I've been trying to get an evening walk in every evening.

That's the best time for an evening walk.

Anyways....I seem to get out walking and all of a sudden it's getting dark.

Because it gets dark a lot earlier now.

Maybe I should organize myself a little better....and start my walk a little earlier.

Anyways....the sunsets are glorious.

But it makes me a little sad to see the dead Dinosaur Tree.

You see that big tree?

Those huge trees seem to stand alone in the middle of fields all around here.

There is always just one....huge tree....all by itself. 

It's like the pioneers cleared the fields and left that one tree just for shade for the cows or something....

Anyways, I've always called them Dinosaur Trees for as long as I can remember.  As a kid, I could picture dinosaurs eating the leaves off of those huge trees.  I mean....what else would be able to reach up that high?  They were definitely Dinosaur Trees.

I remember the first time that I mentioned something about a Dinosaur Tree in conversation with Terry....we were just dating.  The look on his face was priceless.  He had never heard of Dinosaur Trees before.

All my children refer to these trees as Dinosaur Trees.  It's just the known name for them in our house.  Even though Terry actually knows the 'real' name for these trees.

But I've noticed that a few of the Dinosaur Trees in our area are dying...or completely dead.

We had a severe drought a couple of summers ago....that might have done it.

Brenda

The Pole House

Sophie is at it again.

Remember the Tylenol Wrapper Hat?....and the adventures with stuffie puppies?....and the labels all over the house?

It's non-stop with her and her ideas.

She has been at us for over a month now to build a treehouse.  She has been drawing up the plans....the possibilities are endless.

But then she took a look around the yard and realized that we really didn't have a good tree for a treehouse.

I thought that that would be the end of it....you can't have a treehouse without a suitable tree.

Right?

Wrong.

Sophie has come up with the 'Pole House'.

Here are the plans....

We don't need a tree at all....we just need a pole.

She makes me smile. All the time.

Brenda