That never ending summer~has ended .Little tribute.

 

All our beautiful leaves are long gone now..yet this Spring I'll have to blow and rake again as some trees are very late to the party.

Our street is jus so beautiful in fall..and after a freshly fallen snow..

I feel I am lucky to live in such a cute town.Tilly calls it a Hallmark town.

I think that's a compliment.

During football season..my son-in-law's friend from high school..attends many of my grandsons football games..Mathieu..we find him so very nice..Jacques called him a Hallmark friend.

And he is right.A friend that only a Hallmark movie would have in it:)Fred is equally as nice towards Mathieu.I think they are very lucky.. 30 + +yrs into a great great friendship.

I'm coining Hallmark as an adjective.

And not in an artificial way:)

Our Littles just finished their football season with heart..courage and determination.

I applaud them.

I never thought I would be a nana that gets up and cheers or automatically starts crying when she sees one hurt.

This and that…

A couple of yrs ago..I feel I can mention it now.. why I was shy about it ..well that’s just me..a network company approached us to film a movie here.I guess they loved the town ..(they have filmed quite a few movies here) ..The gentleman that came to the door was super nice..said they had looked at it before..a Christmas movie..

As soon as my husband came to the door ..the man knew it was a no.

So this is how it works..

They have you sign agreements of course.

You are paid a handsome fee.

But you move out..egads.

And they kind of move in.

They pay hotel and such..

If you knew us you would know its was to be a hard no.

And it was covid.

For us to not live in our home with our creature comforts..  no..

I know it sounds funny.I have seen bloggers bend beautifully to this..even an ex agent I knew..

But ..no..

Nicest man though:)

We are true homebodies..possibly adventurous a few times in our 50 yrs together..lol..but 99% of the time...Creatures of habit;)

I am curious..would you do this?

I'll leave you with these..when the Littles were in fact Littles I used to make protein bites..I had a hankering to make some again.

These are really good..

They are from Give me some Oven  called No Bake Energy Bites.

Much better than those bars you can buy.

Really:)

Take care..

I guess next post will be a snowy scene..Hohoho.

A little cake..some cookies and lots of leaves..a master's canvas.

 

I just love finding perfect recipes..

A chocolate shortbread cookie that stamps so perfectly you are elated when you pull them out of the oven..Curly Girl Kitchen shared it..

Or the easiest marbled cake that you could even have for breakfast..a French tiktoker shared it.

I keep my tried and trues in file folders..

I have so many it's almost unbelievable..But it's been yrs and yrs..

I am not even embarrassed.

Not sure what will happen to them one day..But perhaps kept as notes are on  them..and they have been enjoyed by my family:)

We watched a cute movie..Mr.Church..and at one point Charlie says Mr Church is always baking/cooking.painting/gardening..well that's like me..except Mr Church also played piano.Pas moi.

I sometimes wonder what would have been had I kept working past 30 yrs.. the weird thing is a few  yrs while I worked..I saw ladies at the raquet club..golf club..out to lunch..and wondered what that was like.I thought I'll have to have a broken arm or something to not work.

Strangely enough it was  a medical reason that forced me to stop.

Now 11 yrs later ..I think I should have stopped earlier.

:)

I can paint..garden and bake way more.

But first..  the less fun parts re gardening...

All the beautiful autumn leaves..are near gone now..peak is done..in the process of blowing..believe me when I say we have zillions.

The winter tires have been put on..90% of gardens put to sleep..garlic for sure planted..

The favorite garden things brought in.. our she/he shed is so cute outside..

But inside it is being used for what it was built for.Potting in Spring etc..storage in fall and winter.

Fave cobalt planters..fairies and and special old ornaments I place here and there in the gardens..Jacques' dad's crates for milk bottles.. I have sheers on J's side to take photos..I didn't take one indoors this yr apart from the garlic..

So many pots lol..and my first Nana's House sign..there is a fresher one now but this one almost lasted forever:)I kept touching up the paint.

We remove it in winter..this old one and the new one.

Winter is ..or can be harsh here..

Isn't it funny the things..I am attached to?

And this is outside ..hahahaha.

In Spring and Fall I go a bit nuts.. we wash all the windows..Jacques outside me inside..ovens get cleaned..move washer dryer..lol and clean behind..

Little garbage foragers..

Anyway do be a bit squirrely and save some herbs..dry them..and make bouquets garnis:)

Take care.. busy here..:)

All vaxxed and la grippe inoculated..

Aren't they cold? BRRRRRR...

Roasted Pepper Season.

 

I don't think we had roasted peppers in at least 3 yrs..pre covid..

And we had none left ..for a long while..

So we went to my fave market in Mtl..

and bought a bushel of peppers.

An oil bath with garlic and basil is prepared..and the peppers are prepped..Halved..seeded etc..

then placed on the grill to roast for ap 20-25 mins..

Once nice and charred they are put in a bag for a further 20-25 minutes..The skin comes off so easily afterwards.

Into the EVOO bath they go..layer upon layer..to be turned occasionally during the process..That bath infuses the already delicious roasted peppers with garlic and basil.

Ap 4 hrs later they are bagged and frozen..

Ap 13.4 lbs.

Gold:)

Ive put a lot of the gardens to bed..

Feels good...even  the zinnias and calendula..nasturtiums..marigolds are still pretty..only kept the calendula..

The bees love them so why rush.

I had ordered a special cookie cutter /stamp for 2 of my grandsons football team.

Perfect design.I was more excited than the boys tbh:)The cookies were a hit ..the stamp was ..oh where did you get that? LOL

But look..another great perfect for stamping recipe..

from Curly Girl Kitchen..and amazing baker/photographer.

You can find the recipe here.. Chocolate shortbread stamped cookies.

No coffee in my icing.

We're piled up in beautiful fall leaves and football games :)

Enjoy your weekend..

~Already..October~

 

Fall is so much in the air..Probably because it IS fall now..

The weather has been cooler than expected so now the leaves are starting to turn..

That apple cake above is so good..

I like a loaf cake  it's not too big..

And you know what? This is a sweet I enjoy.A sliver;)

I found the recipe on TIKTOK..Delish by Elmi.

In French..I have translated below..

The only things in bloom..Sedum..lots..Hydrangeas..zinnias..cosmos and marigolds..pots of annuals i.e. geraniums,lantanas..

Herbs still lovely..new crop of dill happening..

A rose here and there..

I wanted to start fall clean up and I DID ..:)

 To everyone who thinks gardening is a watering can and snippers..LOL

I am still shovel pruning Annabelles..  I cut back the front of our home including it's surrounding gardens..I have the back and planters left but it still looks ok..this tooks 3 days..not full days..

Hard gardening 2-3 hrs max now..

I have spent some time painting during the previous  wet chilly days..all the ones shown here are from Chris Petri tutorials on YouTube.

I love them.

Relaxing..zen..no obligations..

I don't mind my Amish woman..my man..needs work..

The tutorials are free  ..he does this out of love of watercolor and teaching.

Amazing.

If anyone out there wants to try:) This is a great way to learn.

So La Recette for this delicious cake..

3 eggs

150 grams of sugar

1 envelope of vanilla sugar

175 grams melted butter

1/2 tsp of cinnamon

200 grams flour

1/2 packet baking powder (ap 1 1/2 tsps)

2 apples peeled and cored then sliced

turbinado sugar on top before baking.

I added a touch of cardamom because we love it.

His instructions say bake 180C for 30-35 mins

So mine took ap 1 hr.I kid you not.

And it didn't get as dark as his and I was happier.

Well worth it..

To see the way he made it..

you can see here..I think it's important to see how he makes it..you will then know how to add the ingredients

It's just so perfect.

Through the yrs..apart from bookmarked cooking and baking books I have a file folder of tried and true desserts with many apple desserts clipped together with an Advil paper clip lol..

Anyone who inherits my recipes will have a headache:)

Never in a million years..

 Would I have said..I would be spending so much time on football fields.

I was the youngest of three..the other two being boys.. 10 and 7 yr difference..I don't remember much as my youngest brother moved out at 17 and I was 10..

But I do remember in the corner of my mind..Sports being the shows of choice.:(

And here I am at 68.. enjoying watching my grandsons play football..not being hurt..but playing.

No one handsomer than ours lol in their uniforms to me.

So that's where we were all weekend:)

This is hands down my fave easiest no knead bread..

Rock Recipes.

I bake it in that huge clay baker..

 

Put in a cold oven ..450 ..45 minutes..

Remove lid.. ap 10 mins.

It's just perfect.And toasted? Yes please.

So weird.. my tomato plants look awful..burnt diseased etc..still producing but ugly ugly..and sparse like tomatoes hanging from nothing..

and then in my garlic patch where I literally threw things..look..the rosemary is gargantuan..in a pot. the nasturtiums and tomatoes have taken over the plot..and the calendula are starting..

Everything looking so healthy..amazing..

One thing i love about jumbo zinnias..almost my height are the varieties that came to be.I love them all and find them very photogenic without trying:)

Winner winner.

On a sadder note we have a variety of hydrangeas here the first to bloom and knock socks off are Annabelle..we have them here and tehre and bordering the garage in front and house..  look..never has a summer been so dry to produce this..

Awful.Surprised our grass is green.

A formation of geese honking as I just took these pics flew by.

Very chilly this Am ..40's..

Leaves are starting to turn..I'm just not in a rush.We had 2 months of rain in one day two days ago..leaving many Mtl streets flooded..

we were fine..

On a cheerier. note.. bear with me..:)

Some football pics..:)

Friday Night Lights for Max and Saturday was Lucas..

Both teams have pro photographers that take awesome pics..

M Sébastien Gervais is amazing.

I don't know Lucas' but I love this photo they took.

To watch the boys and all the camaraderie is heartwarming.

I told Lucas I have great admiration for him.

From high school in French to college in English..

new team..all new people except one friend.

New everything.

Imagine that.

I'm in awe.

Noah walked over for lunch one day and will again:)He too jumped to a new school..

We took Oli out for his birthday..a tradition we didn't do for 2.5 yrs due to Covid.

A little tradition of lunch out and shopping one on one..

Not sure Ive mentioned how very nice all these boys are.(lol)

My heart actually swells and my face changes when I see them.

A sparkle in my eye.

And that's it and how fast is September going ?Yikes..

Oh a few good shows..

Apple TV

Blackbird..Ray Liotta's last work I think.

Bad Sisters..Bono's daughter who was in the Knickis one of the sisters.

Trying..funny and cute..

Others..

GBBO season 10 ..just finished.

House of Dragons..

Bon weekend..its almost upon us!