Happy Friday & the Surprise Trip Begins....

Today is the beginning of the Mysterious Surprise weekend to Vegas I posted about on Monday. So far my mom just hasn't any idea what is up and I am loving this. I work until 1:00 p.m. today and then I'll scoot home to pick up my mom. I had asked her to be there for then. Then we'll drive across to Buffalo and Marc will meet us there at a hotel for the night. Our flight to Vegas is at 6:30 a.m. on Saturday. She'll guess what we're up to then. ;o)

Enjoy this Friday and I hope you have a wonderful weekend. See you on Wednesday when I'm back. May the weather cooperate wherever you are to keep you in a happy weekend spirit.

Can you feel my excitement? Judi xoxo

There Once Was a Pepper Nearly Yellow.....

Ooopss!!

I posted about Bob and Georgia who are next door neighbours at the Lake. They have the "communal" vegetable garden where we also planted peppers and broccoli. Another neighbour has plantings also and we share.

Anyway last weekend we found a small paper bag at the door with a poem on the outside handwritten by Georgia. If you click on it you will be able to read it better.

This is a closeup of the poem. Click on it to read it better. Isn't that cute? Georgia enjoys painting and writing stories. She's quick with wit and poem too. They didn't have to give us the pepper back. We had talked with them about our green peppers that were not turning yellow. It seems Bob picked the first one that had turned yellow....then they felt bad because it was the first one and returned it in the bag with the poem.

Isn't it special to have great neighbours?

We think so. I hope you have a fabulous day... Judi xoxo

The Lone Cyprus

I'm taking you to some more of our California trip. I'm doing it in bits and pieces. On the 17 Mile Drive in Monterey we saw the Lone Cyprus.

It is situated in just the most picturesque spot in all its grandeur.

We had just seen a documentary on it about a week before our trip. It made it even more interesting to see in "person".

There is a fence along most of it because you are only allowed to go so close to it. I hope you've had a nice little trip to see the Lone Cyprus with me today. Have a great day today..Judi xoxo

Poor and Silly Abby....

My place doesn't get the nice, fresh winds during the summer or the fall. Thats when I really wish I could have them but no I get the winds that blow with the cold winter. Abby is getting her winter coat and its thicker than it was when I first brought her home in December. I'm having quite a job keeping it brushed and avoiding mats.

She sleeps on the open window sill at night. I can tell she's warm. See the little tufts of fur on her paws? Cute....

She makes me laugh. I'm sure you would laugh too if you were doing things in your bedroom and happened to look down at your kitty on your bed staring at you in this position. I wonder if thats why she loves to lie on her back. Maybe it cools her off or maybe the worlds makes more sense upside down...

I may have shown you this big yawn sleeping time picture lying on the floor and alas on her back again.

Have a nice day from Abby and me.... Judi xoxo

BLUE Monday - Mysterious Surprise.......

Today is BLUE Monday again hosted by Sally from SMILINGSALLY. Be sure to click over there and visit all the other BLUEness participants.

Last weekend I made the decision and Marc and I booked a trip. Then last Tuesday night I went to visit my mother and gave her this BLUE card I'd made. BLUE on the outside. THAT is all I told her!

and BLUE on the inside... click on it to read it better.

Sound mysterious? I know it is for my mother being as she is always the "planner and camp counsellor". She was so excited with this card and thought this was the greatest way to plan "something" she had never had a surprise like this before. Whatever "this" is...she doesn't know.

She will be 80 years old on October 1st. I didn't know what to plan for her. For her 70th birthday she had a huge birthday party. I didn't want to do a party.

My mother loves people and people watching and travel and excitement and swimming and seeing new things. Vegas sounded like just the spot for all of that. Everyone should go once in their lifetime. So the trip was booked. She's a good walker and they do have convenient trams to take us longer distances between the hotels.

Now she has no idea what is going to happen....or where "she and I" are driving to once she comes to my place on Friday. I am working only until 1:00 p.m. and I live minutes from work. We will drive to Buffalo, NY (3 hour drive) and meet Marc there at a hotel close to the airport. We'll have dinner and spend the night and let her know we will get up early to continue our travelling.

She'll know we're flying when we leave our cars there and take the hotel to airport shuttle at 4:30 a.m. At the airport she'll finally know where we're going. Marc and I love Vegas and its really exciting for us because of the way this is all happening and so quickly. She would never guess we would fly someplace....drive maybe but never fly.

While in Vegas we have reserved tickets for Cirque de Soleil - Mystere on Sunday night. I know she'll have a great time....and...well someone HAD to take her....and oh well guess it had to be Marc and I. I just can't wait to see her face.... We're excited too. We'll be home late Tuesday night....

You may remember this picture of my mother and I last year for her birthday dinner out.

Have a great day today.... Judi xoxo

A Welcome Door

I love a lovely welcome door. It makes me want to stop and wish I could enter to meet who lives within.....It makes me wonder what warmth lies within its doors.

When we were in Carmel, CA this summer I had to stop to snap these pictures....

This last one is the doorway leading up to my brothers B&B in Vancouver, British Columbia. I love this picture..

I'm heading off to the Lake again later this afternoon.

I hope you have a warm, cozy weekend.Judi xoxo

Yoder's Country Cupboard

On the weekend while we were out driving. Look at the size of the veh-hicle that passed us! What a monster. When it was way ahead and approaching we wondered what in the word it was. It was hogging our side of the road and still was as it passed. We were on our way to Yoder's Country Cupboard. It is a lovely Amish store.

They have a beautifully landscaped property and this is on the side of their driveway.

This is their store. On Saturdays it is only open until noon. The place is pretty full whenever we go on Saturdays.

This is a side view of their home. It is lovely and I should have shown it on BLUE Monday with Sally.

These are some of their delicious pies and baked goods. They sell right out of them. Our neighbour at the lake, Bob, who has the "community garden" in his yard often brings us a piece of something they've picked up from Yoders. Yum... (we repay by giving them some of our baked goodies like the Apple Raisin and Walnut Cake I baked on the weekend). Fun to potluck with neighbours....

They have a lot of packaged goods for baking and making wonderful soups....

One of their carriages was covered at the side of their barn...

These white ducks or geese were at a distance but I thought they created such a neat country picture....

so did the chickens in their coop...freestyling it chasing one another. There was some kind of brawl of courtship going on there. We couldn't tell....

A couple of weeks ago I saw this tree close to the cottage. I thought it was way too early and didn't recall seeing any others changing their colours.

But oh no....look what was right on the lawn this weekend. *huge sigh*. You know I don't want this happening yet.....

THEN to top it off I saw this truck with pumpkins ahead of me.....I grabbed my camera and took a shot....

We have continued to have such lovely weather...I hope you are enjoying your day...Judi xoxo

Snow White

Recently Madeline my 5 year old granddaughter came back from a 2 week Florida vacation. Lucky little one! She went to Disney World. When she came to visit me she had a bag of all kinds of treasures to share with me.

Madeline was so excited as she told me about all the different characters who signed her Mickey cap. She went into great detail copying their gestures, their enthusiasm and what they had to say to her.

Then she showed me her Snow White dress. It was lovely and came with long gloves and a dark hair piece. After she put them on for me she took on an immediate transformation.

She began singing in a high pitched voice and we waltzed around...and sang..." I know you I once met you in my dream".

She waltzed with her dad....he's such a wonderful dad. He participates in all her games and dances and tea parties....

I took pictures of her and she struck an immediate pose each time....

She is so theatrical....and so

serious with each part...

Do you recognize all these gestures and poses from the movie? I do....

Here she was twirling around....see those long locks of hair? They are covering her long blonde hair....

When I asked her how she knew all these poses, her dad answered "well thats the way Snow White is".... he was so right....

Geoff even videoed us with my camera as we danced and sang and played the characters...I the prince and she was Snow White. It is such a funny video....even she was in stitches watching it....We had such a fun time.

In Saturday's PINK Saturday post I posted a picture of Madeline but this time she's her own adorable self and you can see she has blonde hair!...

I hope you have had a wonderful day today..... Judi xoxo

The Water Runneth Over Tunnel....

Not too far from the cottage, on Lake Ontario, is the Erie Canal system. You can drive beside it and look at the homes along the way and people walking their dogs. Its a pretty spot for a drive.

On the weekend I took pictures of the amazing tunnel that is under the actual Erie Canal! At that spot it is built in such a way that cars drive through the tunnel and the canal actually runs over the tunnel. This is us crossing a bridge over the canal at another spot.....














and this is us getting ready to go under the canal through the tunnel..... Above the tunnel you can see the railings which run along the water banks...














another car comes through as we wait....




























The tunnel is in Ripley's Believe it or Not.....














I get creepy driving under it even though its a very short distance....you can see water seeping through the roof of the tunnel from the canal above it...

But we always make it without getting wet..*s*...and after going through you would hardly know there was anything up there at that spot because its high and we're low.

Neat eh? Hope you have a neat day today too.... Judi xoxo

BLUE Monday - Driving for an Apple Raisin Walnut Cake

Its another BLUE Monday hosted by Sally from SmilingSally. Be sure to click over there to see all the other BLUEness participants today. It is amazing how different blueness' you'll see today.

On the weekend we had wonderfully sunny, blue skied days. I snapped a pictures of some pretty BLUE flowers....

We decided to go for a drive and I saw some pretty BLUE houses...

A great looking BLUE garage....

BLUE skies galore as we passed Watts Farms. See the BLUE on their sign also. It reads they have sold over 80,000 lbs of homemade fudge! THAT is a lot of fudge.

.

We saw the fields with trees full of beautiful red apples under a beautiful BLUE sky....

Thats all we needed and we were determined we needed to bake an apple cake for dessert. We picked some up from Rush's and I made one for dinner. I swirled some cream cheese frosting over the top...Yum.

Apple Cake with Raisins and Walnuts.

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups light brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup melted margarine
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup milk
2 cups finely chopped apple
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup raisins

Preparation: Grease a 13x9x2-inch baking pan.

In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar and melted margarine. Beat in eggs and vanilla with a wooden spoon.
Into another bowl sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon. Stir into egg mixture alternating with milk. Stir in apples, chopped walnuts, and raisins.
Spoon batter into prepared pan.

Bake the cake at 350° for about 45 minutes. It is done when the cake springs back when you you gently press the middle with your finger.
Let cool in pan on rack.

Frost with cream cheese frosting. I whipped up 1/4 cup butter with 4 oz of cream cheese and one tablespoon of vanilla. When it was whipped I gradually added 2.5 cups of powdered sugar. Spread over the cooled cake.

It came out of the oven like this then I frosted it....mmmmm..and it did smell heavenly with the cinnamon and the raisins...yum....

This recipe makes about 20 servings. The cake as you can see from the picture is very dense with all the ingredients in it and it is so moist. You will love it. Give it a try.... Its even served on a paper plate with rings of BLUE....

Have a lovely day too..... Judi xoxo