Dog is none too happy right now. She is stuck in a diaper for the time being until she is done her heat. I’ve never had to deal with an unspayed dog before and I never hope to again. Sad dog’s spay is going to be scheduled asap when the vet clears her for it. She still prob needs to gain a few more pounds though.
Thanksgiving weekend is rapidly approaching for those of us residing in Canada, which means I will be hosting my first ever holiday dinner. We’ve manage to keep it down to about 16 people so far, but having that many people in our small house means we have to re-arrange the entire living room to create room to put all the tables we need.
I’m super stoked about the cooking and eating, but equally excited to see my sisters! My younger sis is in Kingston at school right now and my twin is out in Quebec on a military base so I don’t get to see either of them often enough.
Below are some of the recipes we are trying out this year in addition to deep-frying a turkey, also a first:
http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/recipes/roasted-parmesan-asparagus-143435.aspx
http://www.hgtv.com/entertaining/sage-onion-and-smoked-bacon-stuffing/index.html
http://www.howsweeteats.com/2011/11/brown-butter-mashed-potatoes/
There is a company called Modcloth, maybe you’ve heard of them, they offer retro/vintage inspired clothing. I recently bought something from them in an event of like which I’ve never seen before. “Stylish Surprise” event entails their customers purchasing a clothing ‘surprise’ for $15 or a shoe ‘surprise’ for $5. Items you get in your surprise package includes something valued from $30 up to a bit under $300. I bought a clothing surprise so I’m interested to see what I get. The clothing can include any of their tops, bottoms, dresses and even outerwear! It’s exciting way to shop but I’m hopeful I get something I like.
Shopping online always brings a bit on anticipation because you have to wait, no instant gratification like you receive when you go into a store to make a purchase. This event adds onto the anticipation and includes some mystery, who knows what I could get! I like the uniqueness of this event, it’s a clever end of season event (I’m not sure if they clear out summer stuff using it or not but cool none the less)
Would you buy at an event like this?
http://www.modcloth.com/shop/sweaters/stylish-surprise-apparel?:hero-stylishsurprise
Some Pretty Awesome Comfy Looking Pants
Found this site through a pin on the wonderful Pinterest 🙂 they have wonderfully comfy looking yoga pants that I’ve decided to gift upon my sisters (hopefully they don’t read this!) because they hold a love of colour and comfy clothing close to their hearts as I do.
While these yoga pants probably won’t make you the most stylish person around they certainly will stand out. And will be super comfy which is always a priority!
So we spend this past four days up in Algonquian Park on Cedar Lake in the north end. It was dog’s first trip and she took to it like a fish in water. She loved every minute! Unfortunately us human counterparts didn’t enjoy the weather as much as she.
Day 1
6 Hours in a car starting at 2 am, we reached the park at 9 am prepared for a long day of paddling and exploring. Disappointing though the wind were too high and made crossing Cedar Lake an impossibility in the canoes. Cedar Lake is large and is not canoe friendly in the best of weather and on Friday white caps were prevalent on the water so we camped out by the car hoping for better weather for day two.
Rain was being called for so as a precaution tents were tarped in the highest point of the site. After a good campfire everyone headed to bed. Around midnight we awoke to pounding rain that lasted well over and hour and flooded out the camp site. The tents at the highest point on the site stood in 4 inches of water and the lowest points had knee deep puddles. We had to sit out the rain in the cars hoping that the tents and sleeping bags wouldn’t be to wet to deal with the cold of the coming nights.
Day 2
High winds and rain were the par for the day. Majority of the time was spent trying to get a fire going or struggling to keep the tarps over the tents. The grommets where the tarps were tied through kept ripping out because of the buffeting winds. No canoeing that day either, though some of the braver members of the party went out fishing (unfortunately unsuccessful at catching anything worth eating).
Thankfully rain mostly subsided by the time dark came around but the weather was still damp and misty pairing with the cold it was a recipe for the chills.
Day 3
The weather was inclined to be more agreeable at this point with sunny breaks through the the rainy parts. By the afternoon we had a long enough calm period to scoot the canoes across the lake into the calmer waters of the Nippising River for a day trip. It was a good day and we were able to get out to do what we had hoped for the trip, made it up some of the Nippising to see the beautiful views, autumn colours and the rapids, as well as to do some fishing (still unsuccessfully).
That night was the coldest we had seen yet with one member of our group sleeping next to the fire with his sleeping bag in hopes of drying it out of the water accumulated over the past damp days.
Day 4
Time to go home. We woke up early to eat a good breakfast and start to break down camp. By 11am we were on the move out of the park. Of course it was also beautiful and sunny out even if it was a bit cold. 11 hours later after dropping off some of our group we arrived back at our house with dog, exhausted and cold looking forward to a nice warm shower.
This trip had the worst weather I have had yet in the years I’ve been camping. It was unfortunate that we didn’t get into the interior to camp as planned but the landscape was still spectacular, the trip as wet and cold as it was still worth it. I have never regretted an outing to Algonquian and this trip while testing that was still awesome.
http://www.crawltheline.com/2013/09/the-gift-of-not-giving-anything.html
This post on Crawl the Line puts my total belief of gift giving into words! Amazing! Experiences and time spent together is worth so much more than just a present. Invest in relationships 🙂
I am super excited for camping this weekend. I can almost guarantee all my posts this week will be camping centric! Here a look at what we are packing for this weeks trip. Normally myself and my sisters are super light packers (we get rid of weight however possible) but this trip I’m taking with my boyfriend’s family is just a long paddle in and no portaging so we are taking along some luxury items like folding chairs and coolers 🙂
Clothing:
Equipment:
Kitchen:
Dog Stuff:
Hygiene:
This week has been a roller-coaster of crazy weather in Kawartha Lakes! So far this weak we’ve seen a massive thunderstorm roll through, bringing with it crazy high temperatures, it’s September and it felt like 43 degrees and now a couple days later we are looking at a high today of 12 degrees. Talk about opposite ends of the spectrum!
I hope this isn’t what we have to look forward to for the winter. If it’s going to be winter I believe it just need to stick with winter weather. There is nothing I dislike more than a constant cycle of melting and refreezing all winter, it just makes everything a mess and no one can do anything. At least if we consistently get snow and it sticks around there is all the winter sports to look forward to, there is nothing that can be done with slush!
Personally I can’t wait to have a solid layer of snow on the ground, I got a new pair of snow shoes at the end of the season last year and I’m excited to get to use them. Skiing and snowboarding are activities to look forward to and it also means skating and hockey 🙂
What are your predictions for this winter? What are you looking forward to?
A hilarious short video, great for a little Wednesday cheer up!
½ Cup Pumpkin Puree
½ Cup Yogurt (I use Vanilla Greek Yogurt)
¾ Cup Milk (any type of milk the original recipe called for almond or soy milk)
½ – 1 Tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
Pinch or two extra cinnamon if it suits your tastes
½ a Frozen Banana
Add, Blend and Enjoy! Yummy addition to breakfast or lunch 🙂
Denney and Dog 