On the Weekend – Page 7 – Just An East Coast Girl

So sweet

Family is THE BEST!

I don’t get to see my extended family that much. I suppose it is partly my fault. I could just jump in the car and go visit. BUT, I love family gatherings. Opportunities to “get together” Today was one such occasion. My Dad’s older brother turns 80! WOW, now that’s a reason to celebrate.

His wife called this week and said she was planning a little gathering for him and we said we would be there!

He’s just so sweet!

I enjoy the stories the brothers and sisters share of when they were kids growing up and out to work at a very young age. They were so poor and life was pretty tough back then. It’s nice to see them laughing and enjoying their time together. It was a good afternoon!

Happy Birthday Uncle Beverly!

Chips or Popcorn?

What is your favourite “go to ” snack if you want to indulge?

I tend to be more of a chips person and try not to eat too much corn anything. Although popcorn every so often is a treat.

There have been new flavours ” World of Flavours” on the market for these snack foods and we decided to test out a couple. Doesn’t maple and bacon just make your mouth water?

So which one do you think is the best?

Maple Bacon potato chips OR Maple & Bacon popcorn?

James & I voted the chips and David voted popcorn.

So we opened the bags. The initial “smell” gave the popcorn high ratings. While the chips were nothing special.

After doing a careful taste test , the popcorn came out the winner! You can actually taste the maple and bacon separately. Each handful is a little different and very addicting.

And the chips…I was disappointed. They just taste like a similar flavour ( sour cream and bacon) but this time with a different name.

So…our vote is Bacon & Maple popcorn! A delicious Friday Night movie snack! James said too much of either would actually make him sick 😦

Abby liked the smell and was eager to try them, however, she had to settle with her own treats.

Rainy Friday

It’s Rainy Friday. My husband is off today and while we were enjoying our coffee asked ” What will we do for adventure today?” He knows me so well! He knows I LOVE adventure in my life and enjoy doing something FUN with him! One idea I had didn’t pan out so we decided to get on our hooded jackets and spend the day doing errands in the rain.

Instead of grabbing a coffee break while we were out…we got some delicious treats and had coffee at home. Jam filled donuts ( and cinnamon buns), delish!

And then we went out again! I take horrible selfies. I always get just half of me and all of him, it’s never even. BUT David who usually does it for us was concentrating on driving… except for when I said “Quick! look!”

One of our stops and one of my favourite Christmasy places is the hardware store here in town. It’s so pretty in the Christmas village there.

After the hardware store we went to the mall. We ended up browsing a lot of the shops and actually picking up some Christmas gifts. We got a few people crossed off our list today! Yay!! christmas-shopping

What a relaxing fun day with no real agenda enjoying my husband’s company 😀

Full of beans

Remember how excited I was a few weeks ago to see these treats at Walmart.

I can’t believe they have THESE here….

Well, I picked up a box to try! And they are delicious. BUT they are full of beans ( on the top) which is ok. They are a bit different than the ones we had in China but enough the same for me to REALLY enjoy them and to be so thankful that this is another item I can get here.

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Happy Thursday…YES I am VERY happy because it’s the end of the work week. My husband is taking two days off, Friday and Monday. So…long weekend coming right up!

Surprise!

Andrew’s wife pulled it off! She surprised Andrew, our oldest son for his 28th Birthday!

His Birthday is today, November 15th, but they are working today, so Sunday night she took him to pizza delight to celebrate. Unbeknown to him family and friends would also be there!

Surprise!

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Happy 28th Andrew! Wait…How can my boy be 28?

Family Foto Shoot time

It’s that time of year…. November…when it’s cold…Brr…normally.

BUT TODAY WAS GORGEOUS!!!!

Time to get some family pics done for our Annual Family picture.

This year’s location…the beach! Crescent Beach, one of my absolute favourite places to go. And this year we took the dogs. It’s nice to have them in the pics too, at least every other year.

These are just the fun ones from my iPhone. James does our “Annual Pic” and that one I will post December 1st. I just really hope he got something we can use. It was fun because the dogs wanted to play and the sun was shining and to get 6 people and 3 dogs all looking at the same time and when the photographer needs to be in the picture too… haha…we shall see!

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More than just a GUY thing!

Another Saturday morning of cleaning up leaves and they are still not all down! We did a quick clean and I started just a little Christmas decor…I’m anxious but…

There is a “Guy Show” at Exhibition Park this weekend and “the guys” thought they would like to check it out. BUT, it’s more than a guy thing so Kristina & I went too!

There is a Guy Show PLUS a Christmas Craft Fair at the same place so we thought it would be fun to check out and do a little shopping too.

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Who wants to spend their whole Saturday working in the yard, that was so last week haha, And besides… David & I love to hang out with our kids ( missing one)

Settle in!

It’s the first evening after the time change from Daylight Savings time. And…it’s dark out SO EARLY!!!!!!

I guess it’s time to settle in and enjoy the next number of months cozy inside. Reading, catching up on your favourite shows, exercise, puzzles, maybe a new hobby? The evenings are long.

We had lunch with my Mom & Dad today. Dad’s knee seems to be recovering nicely. It’s been 2 months since his knee replacement. Abby loves going there and made sure she had some quality time with both of them.

David stopped in to see his Mom & Dad. They are headed out this week to see family on their Annual trek to Florida. They’ll stop in Ontario a bit and then on to South Carolina for American Thanksgiving before arriving at their “Winter Home” in Cortez at the end of November.

It’s that time of year…time to settle in!

Have a great week!

Time to CLEAN out the gardens!

The leaves aren’t all down yet…

…so more than likely we’ll have to do it again, BUT today we cleaned out the gardens and put the furniture away. The time goes back an hour this weekend and so days are shorter. It’s easier and we have more time to do this clean up on a Saturday. David has been quickly running over the lawn with the mower after work to bag the leaves, but the gardens needed a little extra…getting in there on hands and knees and raking and cutting off the dead stuff, and pruning a few limbs. It’s always a bit sad to put the furniture away but I really do enjoy all the distinct seasons we have here.

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It’s was little bit cold this morning ( there was frost) to do this but I wore a hat and lots of layers and I was really thankful I made soup so we could have a good bowl of delicious soup for lunch to warm up! Yummy Acorn Squash soup!

This afternoon wasn’t as bad when we tackled the backyard, it seemed to warm up a bit. We got all the furniture put away ( I left a few wooden pieces out) and all the gardens cut back. Like I said…we will have to do it again I’m sure because the leaves aren’t all down, and we also need to put up Christmas lights at some point. It’s just so nice to get out on a warmer November day to do the bulk of it!

Hope you’re enjoying your Saturday! Remember…a little extra sleep tonight! Turn your clocks back.

Tea or Coffee?

Are you a tea drinker or a coffee drinker?

Well….I am BOTH! And with lots of variety and methods of making both!

I tend to choose coffee over tea more times than not. The smell is what gets me. I LOVE the smell of coffee!!! Even though I love coffee, I think the smell is so much better than the taste.

Living in two foreign countries, We drank a lot of tea in China, and a lot of coffee in Brazil. It’s really hard for me to choose one over the other. In China, there were just so many interesting and unusual varieties and flavours. They make tea from pretty much anything…it was fun to experiment and taste. In Brazil, cafezinho was EVERYWHERE! Little shots of great tasting coffee, especially if you could get it without the liquid sugar. So I really enjoy both!

The problem is, I don’t think so much caffeine agrees with me. I am forever struggling with too many cups in a day. I try and cut back on coffee ( and drink mostly tea) BUT then I smell a good cup of coffee…and on days like today when it’s a little dreary and a little rainy…there’s nothing like a great cup of coffee ( and a good book)

What is your choice of hot beverage? Coffee or tea?

Happy Weekend!