Maples and Tire Swings

I 'heart' Maple Trees.  How very Canadian of me!  They don't grow much out here in Alberta but there are Maples a-plenty in BC.

These tire swings were hung when I was a kid in the Maple tree by my mom's house and my kids love being pushed on them when we go to visit Gramma and Grampa.  The kids begged everyone to give them a push.  This time it was uncle S. 

                                                                   

Driving Lessons

Gramma teaching F how to drive her lawn tractor.  Remind me not to let either of them drive my John Deere! Couple of crazies!!

                                                                                  

Sunset at the Spit

We just spent two weeks out on Quadra Island visiting family and friends.  It was a lovely trip albeit quick!  They always are!  What's the saying?  ""Time flies when you're having fun."  Yup, that pretty much sums it up!  The kids and I met up with my Friend K, her husband C and 'Baby' S for an hour at Rebecca Spit at sunset one evening.  It was gorgeous and the kids had a blast!

                                                                             
                                                                     

Homeschool Week 1

Today marks the last day of our first week of Homeschool.  We had a great first week.  F and I worked together on concepts before I set her loose with her books to work on her own.  She is a stellar reader and eats language arts for breakfast!  Math takes a little longer but practice practice practice and some games thrown in help her to understand.  S has been learning his letters and letter sounds with games from starfall and pbskids and with go fish flash cards. 

Yesterday we took a field trip to the Pembina Provincial Park to collect rocks for a project.  Typical, we forgot the rocks but had fun exploring, checking out animal trails, and looking for signs of Fall.

Standing on the last remaining remnants of the train bridge that crossed the Pembina River.  It was built in 1913 but the railway defaulted in 1917 and they dismantled the bridge.

A Wooly Bear.  A sure sign of Fall!

Picnic on the rocks.  Now if we had remembered to grab some of those rocks we would be making Pebble Pets today.  We'll have to go look in our own fields for some rocks!

                                                                          
Hope you all have a lovely Long Weekend!  

Just in case...

Just in case there was ever any doubt as to who the boss of our dogs is...

 

 Don't mess with the chihuhua!

                                                                          

Beans, beans the musical fruit...

I got a bumper crop of beans from my garden this summer(and by bumper crop I mean more than seven) which was surprising since we've had a terrible summer, weather wise.  It rained most of July and a good part of August.  Between the bloodsucking mosquitoes and the near constant rain I couldn't be bothered to do anything out there so the weeds took over.  Imagine my surprise when things actually grew!  This of course will all come crashing down around me tonight as the forecast is warning of frost.  Frost?  On August 31st!  It's so Alberta-like.  Anyway, the kids and I went out to the garden with our giant colander to collect what beans we could find.  The purple bush beans did the best so we got oodles of those.  So what does a person do with an abundance of purple beans?  Pickle them of course!

With dill heads from our garden

And what happens to purple beans when you cook them?  They turn green and to my surprise, they turn the brine pink!

And while we're on the topic of purple stuff...we have lots of purple carrots and we grew purple potatoes for the first time this year.  We had them with our dinner and they look like they came from Jupiter or something.  They are purple all the way through, the water you boil them in turns a green-blue color and this is what they look like in the end!

 Crazy!  Would make for an interesting potato salad I think!  Needless to say, my son wouldn't touch them with a 10 foot pole.                                                                               

Bacon and Potato Chowder

The kids and I went out to the garden the other day and gathered a bunch of potatoes, onions and beans for this recipe that my neighbor gave to me and I believe he originally got it from 'The Western Producer.'
It's so good and so easy to make! 

Fry six slices bacon.  Crumble and set aside.
Saute in two TBSP bacon fat(I said it was good, not healthy! Ha Ha!) 1 cup chopped onions

In a soup pot place:
3 cups diced potatoes
3 cups water
3 chicken bouillion (I substituted 3 cups organic chicken broth for the water and bouillion)
Cook until potatoes are tender.

In a small bowl stir
3 TBSP flour
1 can evaporated milk(or 1 1/2 cups 2%.  I used skim and it turned out great)

Add flour mixture to soup stirring constantly until it comes to a boil.  Reduce heat, stirring until thickened.  Add bacon and onion (and beans if you like) and heat through.  Serve with a piece of fresh bread and a sprinkle of cheese. YUM!!