Happy Canada Day!

Happy Canada Day!

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Happy Mabon!

We have returned home! Just spent two days on the road with the family. It's good to be able to stretch our legs again. When we came home, the goats went nuts. As if to say, where the Hell have you guys been? Katie and Chad were here to take care of the farm, yet it's nice to know we were missed. Our goats are so cantankerous, they're hard to fathom at times. Pics in the gallery below.

Blessed Mabon! This is really my favourite season. It's not too cold yet but you can feel the summer slipping away. I like to think about the beauty of fall, I think it's the most vibrant season. We celebrated with some friends and had the obligatory feast. I need to seriously diet, all this celebrating isn't good for the waistline. Still, it's a time for reflection and gratitude. We cast circle and then threw around the Apple of Discord, yelling that which we would like to be rid of in the world. I yelled to end abuse. Anyone who abuses another living creature is only passing along the pain. We need to break the cycle. In the end, a great time was had by all.

We are giving ourselves a month to pack everything up and move back to Ontario. I hope to get it done it two weeks, but we'll see. I'm most concerned about the animals. The horses are used to transport because of the various horse shows. The sheep, goats, chickens and cow have never left the province so I'm concerned about stressing them out. I spoke to the vet and he assured me it will be fine. It's still a big move in their young lives. Speaking of the vet, Phoebe (my minpin) has developed a skin lesion on the tip of her tail and i'm very concerned. She's goes to the dreaded V-E-T tomorrow. I'm hoping it's nothing serious. The vet told me on the phone that older dogs with docked tails sometimes get those, still it sent me into worrywart alert. She's my baby, and I adore her. She's 15 now and I've noticed she's been slowing down a bit. Those of you that are inclined to pray, keep her in your thoughts.

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Happy Jewish New Year!

We're still in Stratford with Aunt Barb. We spent a couple of days in Holland, Michigan hanging out with friends from university. When I have a spare minute the photos will be posted. This has been a busy holiday!

Anyway, I wanted to share our lovely holiday with Barb. When I was living here with her in my teen years, she always had a relaxed way of describing the Jewish holidays to me. She used to say (about Rosh Hashanah): They tried to kill us but they didn't. We beat them, so let's eat. Basically, it's all about the food and celebrating family and friends. You have to love her attitude. It's one that Greg and I share. It's also about letting go of your sins and past mistakes and starting fresh. Quite a pivotal holiday this year as we're all ready to move back here and begin a new chapter in our lives.

L’Shana Tova!

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Labour Day

Having a great Labour Day in Stratford with Aunt Barb.

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Canada Day and Veggie Wraps

Happy Canada Day! Some history on the holiday here. Some fun things for the kids here.


Summer has finally arrived and I've been making more fajitas and wraps. It makes things so much easier. Here's a recipe for roasted veggie wraps. They're easy to make and delicious.

Roasted Veggie Wraps

Ingredients:
1 lb. sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
3 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
8 ounces green beans, cut lengthwise
1 large bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips
3/4 tsp. salt/salt substitute
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. dried thyme
2 tbsp. lemon juice
3/4 c. hummus (prepared)
4 medium size tortillas

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 F. In a medium bowl, toss the sweet potatoes and green beans with 2 teaspoons of the oil. Spread the potatoes and beans over 2/3 of a large baking sheet. In the same bowl, toss the peppers with the rest of the oil, then spread them over the rest of the baking sheet. Season all the veggies with salt and pepper.
Cover potatoes and beans with aluminum foil, leaving the peppers uncovered. Roast for 15 minutes.
In a small bowl, mix the cumin, coriander and thyme. Uncover the veggies and sprinkle the spices and lemon juice over top of them. Toss the veggies and return to oven, uncovered. Roast for 30 minutes or until all veggies are tender.
Spread 3 tbsp. of hummus over each tortilla, leaving a 2 inch uncovered border all around. Divide the filling among the tortillas. Fold in two sides and roll like a burrito. Serve immediately. I add a little sour cream to garnish. Enjoy!

mmm...bread

i've been baking bread all afternoon. it smells yummy. i still have 2 pies to make but that will have to wait until tomorrow. katie is home!! :) she arrived with two big trash bags full of laundry. she's also planning to switch from biochem to social work. i have no idea what spurred this on but i'm sure she'll do fine with whatever she chooses. she can't change anything until next semester and by then she might change her mind again.

bread recipe:

1/2 cup warm water

1 pkg or 1 tbsp yeast

1 tsp sugar or honey

stir sugar or honey into warm water. add yeast and let rise in a warm place for 10 minutes.

3 cups warm water

1/2 cup sugar or honey or molasses

1 tsp salt

1Tbsp vinegar

1 large egg

1/2 cup vegetable oil OR 1/2 cup applesauce

6 cups flour,

mix together first 6 ingredients. add two cups flour and risen yeast. beat well until yeast and flour are absorbed. add more flour a cup at a time, and continue kneading in more flour until dough will no longer absorb any more. dough should be smooth and elastic by this time.
grease a large bowl and place dough inside bowl. turn dough in bowl to grease all sides and cover with a towel. let rise for 1 hour in a warm place. remove dough from bowl, punch down and let rest 5 minutes, then form into loaves or buns. rise for another hour. bake 20 minutes at 400 degrees. makes 2 large loaves or 3 smaller loaves.

note: i usually let the loaves rise for two hours prior to baking.

ah, thanksgiving.... next to samhain it's my favourite holiday. this year will mark 15 years since i met the wonderful man i share my life with.

happy thanksgiving weekend to my fellow canucks. happy weekend to the rest of you. :)

i'm off to check on my bread.

card making and decorating

the kids and i finished making our holiday cards today. elisabeth wanted them all to be *purple*, matt wanted to put bodhi's paw prints on them, ian wanted to put glitter on everything and katie was amused by the little ones. i used my executive power to veto the purple and we went easy on the glitter. that's one more thing crossed off my holiday to-do list. i'm a compulsive listmaker. greg teases me about it, but i doubt i'd get anything accomplished without my lists.

we also made our evergreen wreath and decorated the house. aunt greta has me knitting up a storm. i also crocheted some angels with magnets in them. she just told me about it last week. she goes, 'meg, how are those hats coming?' what hats?! she does stuff like that. she signs me up for things and then forgets to tell me about it until the last minute. ah, the joys of living with an absent minded aunt. i wouldn't have it any other way. i do love the old gal.

tomorrow is the custody hearing. keep your fingers crossed. *is hopeful*

interested in making your own cards? check these out:
how to make holiday cards
making cards with the kids