The Aftermath...

Well, Halloween is over now. My kids were recovering from the flu and thankfully got well in time for them to do some trick-or-treating but they didn't want to stay out too long. That was fine by me as they really don't need all that junk food. Last year we had none so I decided to go out with the kids and their dad. People thought my youngest was adorable in her pink poodle dog costume, my other daughter was dressed as Hannah Montana and my son was a skeleton in a black robe. They did fairly well for candy...I think because all the places we went to the people told us not many came by so they would end up giving a fistful of candy to each of them. The weather was surprisinly wonderful...plus 2 degrees celcius and a little breeze. I was thankful the weather was so nice for the all the kids who went out last night.
Once home, I sorted their candy, letting them have a few then I put the rest away. Then I put on "The Nightmare Before Christmas" for them to watch till one by one they went to bed. Surprisingly we got 5 kids at the door (compared to none last year). I myself wasn't feeling well, nor in the Halloween Spirit to dress up this year. This morning I realized I am suffering from bronchitis *ugh* so I'm not sure when I will feel up to taking down all the Halloween decorations.
Its time now to get ready for Remembrance Day. Hope you all had a good Hallowen!

Happy Halloween!

I hope you all have a wonderful, safe and happy Halloween!

Three more days!

Wow! Hard to believe that Halloween is just about knocking on my door once again. It's been a rough month here but I have managed to get costumes for my kids ready but alas...despite my plans for making my costume...I was unable to get what I needed to create it. *sigh* Ah well! Perhaps I can spend the next year getting it ready. *fingers crossed*
But since I love dressing up I will have to think of something that I will be able to throw together between now and then. *scratches head and ponders*
The forecast has called for showers but not enough to discourage the trick-or-treaters this year. They say we should only get 1 mm of rain. If so then hopefully by the time the darkness has decended upon our fair city the skies will be clear.
My youngest is going as a pink poodle, my daughter will be Hannah Montana so I will have to get her hair ready the night before. Her hair is long and blonde so I don't have to get her a wig. :D My son is wearing a black robe with a skull mask and carrying a double-bladed axe.
For the first time, their school is allowing the kids to dress up and have a little party in the afternoon on Friday. Usually they only let the kindergardeners dress up. The condition is of course that they can't have any gore or weapons as part of their costumes...no violence so my son will have to keep his axe at home. But on Halloween night of course is a different story.
Friday or Saturday we will be carving our four pumpkins and roasting the seeds. Last year we tried roasting the seeds from the white pumpkin and they were terrible. So never again will I roast the seeds from a white pumpkin but we will still carve them. :D I also have several pages printed out of colouring pages and puzzles that the kids can do and we will be watching some Halloween DVD's that are appropriate for the young ones.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow crazy Cannucks! :D I hope you all have a wonderful holiday. We always have our dinner on Sunday instead of Monday so right now the turkey is in the oven and smelling wonderful, the deviled eggs are done and with the pumpkin pie are chilling. Soon I will be making the stuffing and peeling potatoes. My son keeps coming downstairs and he takes a big breath and sighs telling me how good the turkey smells. LOL! I love it when the whole house is filled with the aroma of the turkey cooking. Try not to stuff yourself too much! :D

Spice Bags for Warm Winter Drinks

With Autumn officially underway we find there are days that are warm and days that are cold and as the days pass there are more colder days than warmer. Here is something that might help keep your insides warm as well as your hands as you hold your mug and reminisce.


* 8 sticks cinnamon, broken into small pieces
* 2 whole nutmegs, crushed
* 1/3 cup whole cloves
* 1/3 cup minced dried orange peel (or 1/4 cup ground)
* 1/4 cup whole allspice berries
* optional: garnish with cinnamon sticks,
* slice of orange, lemon peel

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Tie in sachets of 1 tablespoon each in a double thickness of cheesecloth; transfer to an airtight container. One sachet of the mixture will flavor 1 quart of cider, tea or wine.

To use, simmer 1 quart of the chosen beverage with 1 sachet for 20 minutes; ladle into mugs. If desired, add a garnish or a sprinkling of additional spirits.

Talk Like A Pirate Day

Once a year, on this day is Talk Like A Pirate Day. And only a few days ago I found out they announced that they will be doing a Pirates of the Caribbean 4!
So to help us landlubbers or those with no sea legs ;) here are some words and/or saying of pirates to help you get into the mood. Perhaps you can even dress up as one today. :D

* Ahoy: Hello!
* Avast: Stop and give attention. It can be used in a sense of surprise, "Whoa! Get a load of that!" which today makes it more of a "Check it out" or "No way!" or "Get off!"
* Aye: Yes
* Aye aye! - "I'll get right on that sir, as soon as my break is over."
* Arrr! - This one is often confused with arrrgh, which is of course the sound you make when you sit on a belaying pin. "Arrr!" can mean, variously, "yes," "I agree," "I'm happy," "I'm enjoying this beer," "My team is going to win it all," "I saw that television show, it sucked!" and "That was a clever remark you or I just made." And those are just a few of the myriad possibilities of Arrr!
* Black spot: to be 'placin' the black spot' be markin' someone for death.
* Booty: treasure
* Buccanneer: a pirate who be answerin' to no man or blasted government.
* By the Powers!: an exclamation, uttered by Long John Silver in Treasure Island!
* Bilge rat – The bilge is the lowest level of the ship. It’s loaded with ballast and slimy, reeking water. A bilge rat, then, is a rat that lives in the worst place on the ship.
* Bung hole – Victuals on a ship were stored in wooden casks. The stopper in the barrel is called the bung, and the hole is called the bung hole. That’s all. It sounds a lot worse, doesn’t it?
* Davy Jones' Locker: the bottom o' the sea, where the souls of dead men lie
* Doubloons: pieces of gold...
* Gentlemen o' fortune: a slightly more positive term fer pirates!
* Grog – An alcoholic drink, usually rum diluted with water
* Jolly Roger: the skull and crossbones pirate flag
* Keelhaul: a truly vicious punishment where a scurvy dog be tied to a rope and dragged along the barnacle-encrusted bottom of a ship. They not be survivin' this.
* Landlubber: "Land-lover," someone not used to life onboard a ship.
* Lass: A woman.
* Lily-livered: faint o' heart
* Loaded to the Gunwales (pron. gunnels): drunk
* Matey: A shipmate or a friend.
* Me hearty: a friend or shipmate.
* Privateer: a pirate officially sanctioned by a national power
* Scallywag: A bad person. A scoundrel.
* Scurvy dog!: a fine insult!
* Shiver me timbers!: an exclamation of surprise, to be shouted most loud.
* Sprogs: raw, untrained recruits
* Swashbucklin': fightin' and carousin' on the high seas!
* Thar: The opposite of "here."
* Walk the plank: this one be bloody obvious.
* Wench: a lady, although ye gents not be wantin' to use this around a lady who be stronger than ye.

There is a site just for this and you can find it at http://www.talklikeapirate.com/
Have fun!

It's In The Stores!

Halloween stuff has finally begun to hit the stores! During a day when I had little money on me at the time, I decided to go to the dollar store just to browse. And what did I find? Lots of Halloween stuff on their shelves! I practically drooled over all the stuff. Alot I saw they had last year but there was also some new stuff that I can pick up later on. I went to the other dollar store across the road and they only had a few things out...same as Walmart. There were a couple hand towels with the Halloween theme on them for only a dollar. So I picked up a couple and a couple other things...only cost me about five bucks. :) So between now and Halloween I'll be scraping my extra coins and such together so I can begin adding to my Halloween decorations. It won't be long before I start putting them up around the house. Yes, I love Halloween! :D