Goings ons....

Whoops! Been a couple of weeks since I've posted anything, so I'll try to get you caught up........

The most exciting  thing would have to be that I got a new car! Well, it's an SUV actually.  A 2004 Ford Explorer to be exact! We've aptly named her Dora. She's two tone navy blue and gunmetal grey. 8 cylinder, part-time 4x4. She holds up to 7-passengers, has a sun-roof, and a towing package. Nothing really fancy, but I don't need lots of bells a whistles.  I just want to get from A to B. I know that the 8 cylinder is going to be a killer on gas, but I don't go very far.  Usually within 5 minutes of home, and the occasional jaunt a little further, so really it's no big deal. The best part is that it's NOT A MINIVAN!!!! And even better... it's in MY NAME! I have never had a vehicle in my own name before!

I also had a visit from my mother from the 16th to the 21st.  Her 60th birthday was on the 19th, so we had a celebration here for her.  She moved back to her hometown of Thunder Bay, ON fours years ago to be near my aging grandmother, but she really misses her family (us!) and friends here in the Greater Toronto Area.

 We made a traditional sandwich loaf, with egg & shrimp salad, chicken salad and devilled ham. 

It was really yummy!

I also made my very first "trifle" - chocolate raspberry!

 I didn't follow a recipe. I cut up a chocolate loaf cake. Then I just followed my instincts and made my own "custard" from 1 cup of real whipping cream, a package of instant vanilla pudding and a half cup of milk.  It turned out really good!

Layer it in a trifle bowl, et VOILA! Pure deliciousness!
But that wasn't the best part.... the birthday cake was a family tradition, prepared with my secret recipe.
Black Forest Cake!!!! Scrum-diddly-umptious!

I'm going to get into more about this in an upcoming post, but I've been work in the garden a lot this month too. We finally got the weeds cleared out - well, to be honest, my Lovie did that for me, AND he added 3 yards of mulch to all the gardens, both front and back, to help keep the weeds at bay.  After that was done I consulted with my friend down the street who has GORGEOUS gardens (I am going to try to take some pics of her gardens, because they are soooo beautiful!) and she helped me figure out what to do with my garden. With her generosity and help, we moved some shrubs and plants around, and she donated some new perennials to the cause. I also bought a few plants from the local garden centers.


Yesterday, Mykaela performed at Music in the Streets; an annual music festival put on by the local music school.  All the students, of all ages, who attend the school have the opportunity to participate in the event if they want.  There are "band stands" set up up and down the streets of town with simultaneous performances going on all day.  It's a wonderful way to show off everything they've learned all year and it gives them a taste of what it's like to perform live in front of an audience.