Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving all my American blogging friends!

In Canada we celebrated our Thanksgiving in October but today I am happy to be part of the American Thanksgiving celebration. Marc will be arriving today and in tradition we will share Thanksgiving day dinner with my best girlfriend Kirsti and her husband in Oakville, an hour from me. It has become a special time for the four of us as we reflect upon our Thanksgivings their meaning and are thankful to be together to do so.

I wish for you a very blessed Thanksgiving as you spend this time with your family or with friends. Many happy reflections.... Judi xoxo

Traffic Camer

Need I say more... *lol*.
When I received this email this morning I just literally laughed out loud.
I hope you do too.
Have a happy day... Judi xoxo


*Traffic Camera** **

A man was driving when he saw the flash of a traffic camera. He figured that** **his picture had been taken for** **exceeding the limit, even though he knew** **that** **he was not speeding... * *Just to be sure, he went around the block and passed** **the same spot, driving even more slowly, but again the camera flashed**.

Now he began to think that this was quite funny, so he drove even slower** **as he passed the area again, but the traffic camera again flashed. He tried a** **fourth time with the same result.

He did this a fifth time and was now** **laughing when the camera flashed as he rolled past, this time at a snail's** **pace...** **Two weeks later, he got five tickets in the mail for driving without a** **seat belt..**

PINK Saturday - Santa Clause Parade.....Madeline and her Dad

Today is PINK Saturday hosted by Beverly from HowSweetTheSound. All kinds of pretty PINKnesses happening today. Be sure to click on her site to visit all the other Participants.

Last Sunday was the Toronto Santa Claus Parade which is held in downtown Toronto. We live about an hour north but Madeline my granddaughter was able to go watch it with her mom and other grandparents.

Geoff my eldest son, Madeline's dad was working the parade and was able to spend a moment with Madeline. Madeline is wearing a happy smile and her PINK jacket. It was a lovely bright, sunny warm day and not at all the weather we could be having that could very well have included snow. This was a nice moment for both.


I hope you have a very lovely day too... Judi xoxo

Bacon/Ham and Bean Soup

Well! Can you tell I am 15 lbs. lighter than I was on October 1st? Do I write different? **correction I weigh in on Fridays...down another one!**

Well I guess I don't. I've continued on this diet plan since that day and it does make me feel better in all different ways. Clothes are becoming a bit of a problem. Before they were feeling snugggggy and now they are feeling loooooosey. At the end of the summer I bought a few new pairs of pants but now they don't look so great. They are no longer being held up by the same tummy and bum and therefore they are loose and suddenly too long! I hate to think I might have shrunk in height with this diet...hmmmm....

Because I'm not done yet I've been holding off buying new clothes. I think I'll try to alter the new pants....or put them aside because most likely I'll fit in them again some day. Thats not in the plan though so so I did a bit of shopping tonight.

AND I have a recipe to share with you. On the weekend we were at a chicken bbq and someone made this soup. It was so yummy I naturally had to come away with the recipe. I changed it slightly by replacing a pound of bacon with ham. Its a lighter version.

I ate it in my favourite Mushroom Soup bowl. I'm sure its perfectly fine to do that. :o)

Bean and Bacon or my version Bean and Ham Soup

1 pound of bacon (sliced) and lightly fried // I had purchased one of those smaller hunks of Ham it was Maple flavour and used about 1/2 of it but into smaller chunks

4 stalks celery (diced)

2 carrots - (sliced)

1 onion (diced)

3 cloves garlic

1 carton of Campbells Vegetable Broth

1 small package of dried Navy Beans (I used Northern Beans) prepare as instructions on package - which is simply soaking them covered in water for 24 hours

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

Onion Powder to taste

Parsley to taste

In a larger size pan saute the celery, onion, carrots and garlic in olive oil lightly and then add the ham and saute for about 10 minutes longer.

Add the Veggie broth and 2 cups of water and the spices. Cover and cook for about 1.5-2 hours or until the beans are done, stirring here and there. You don't want them to be mush done but done. Thats it! Serve with crackers or as the lady who makes this soup said they serve it with a grilled cheese sandwich.

She sometimes add a can of black beans also.

Enjoy it one cold winter night.

Have a lovely day... Judi xoxo

PINK Saturday - English China Lamp and Donny

Today is another PINK Saturday hosted by Beverly from HowSweetTheSound. Its a fun day to show off and visit other PINK participants. Be sure to click on her site and visit the other PINKness. Enjoy.

Remember a few months ago I showed you some of my English china finds?

The lovely English teapot with the deep PINK and red roses and the sugar bowl with PINK and yellow roses and the cup and saucer with PINK roses? I showed some of you that I had put them together, wired it and added a shade. How the lovely pieces became a floral lamp? I had intended on putting it into my etsy shop right away and I finally remembered it set aside in a box. It needed a nice home to love it. So it went into my shop this week. Here it is for those who didn't see it before.

Do you watch Dancing with the Stars? Donny Osmond has been very busy practising and performing on the Show while travelling back and forth to Vegas to perform at the Flamingo Hotel. We took this picture when we were there in September. See all the PINKness on the outside of the hotel and the PINK sign? Thats a big Donny and Marie Osmond sign.

Have a lovely PINK Saturday! Judi xoxo

Pickled Eggs and Peppers

Do you like pickled eggs? Don't know? I didn't know because I had never eaten any. I didn't want to.

Marc and I love pickles and pickled veggies. When we finished up a jar of kosher baby dill pickles we had all this nice pickle juice left over and we got an idea. We mixed it with some pickled vegetable medley juice left over from another jar.

We boiled 2 eggs.

Picked some green peppers and a hot pepper from the garden.

Cut them into long slices and boiled them for a few minutes just to soften them a bit.

Then we put the eggs into the jar added the hot pickle juice and the pickles.

We put them in the fridge for a week so that all the flavours could blend and love each other..*s*.. and voila. The peppers were now pickled and so nice and crispy. The eggs? They were just fine and slightly pickled. We wished we'd pickled more!

Good Morning!

I hope you've had a good start to the week enjoying good weather and doing what you like to be doing.

Our weekend was fabulous weather wise. We went from 30F last week and scraping windows and some weird hail and snow to the upper 60s for the weekend. Its lovely this week too...so far.

I may have shown you this picture I had forwarded to me once but its so sweet I wanted to share it again. Isn't that mom a good mom for taking in the little squirrel. Don't they look so snuggly...

Have a wonderful day... Judi xoxo

The Lord's Prayer - Beautifully Sung

Last month we went to a wedding of a lovely young couple. Janet's girlfriends grandfather who is in his 70s sang a number of beautiful songs. He has a strong magnificent voice and I was able to capture some of the songs with my digital. Unfortunately I missed part of the first line on this one. Here then is The Lord's Prayer...beautiful.

Have a beautiful day today.... Love Judi xoxo

PINK Breast Cancer Awareness Bracelet

Today is PINK Saturday hosted by Beverly of HowSweettheSound. Be sure to click and visit all the other PINKness participants.

October was Breast Cancer Awareness month but we need to be aware all year long. For the past few years I've been making awareness jewellery and either hold a raffle or sell individual jewellery.

This year I made PINK Swarovski crystal and Swarovski PINK pearl bracelets. They also have Czech beads in clear and PINK and little silver stars as spacers. I've strung them on elastic for easy wearing.

I have some that I've put into my etsy shop. Know that if you purchase one for yourself or for someone special I donate 40% of the sales for the cause. Thank you.

Have a wonderful PINK Saturday and enjoy...

Love Judi xoxo

Some More Fallness...Not Ready Yet...

Fall has come with its mix of warmth and coolness its beauty, its colour, its harvest......and now the beautiful coloured leaves have mostly dropped. This is at the lake.

ci

crispy, juicy apples...

SO

because I missed posting the past few weeks I thought it was only fair that I post some fall pictures I had taken for you.
Gourds 5 for $1.00

These pictures were taken when we were in Vegas in September. They are at the Bellagio hotel.

Fun aren't they?

Know why despite all this beauty I resist fall? Well...tonight we had hail...and snow showers...which I'm so grateful melted shortly after but *sigh*. I'm not ready for winter....

Have a wonderful day... Love Judi xoxo