A little glimpse of our Christmas cookie baking and decorating. A few years ago my daughter and I went to a cookie decorating evening with my work. My co-workers’ mom had her own cookie business and she ran a little evening workshop. We learned tips and techniques to create the perfect cookie.
I am usually pretty good at trying new things and on my first attempts I did not do very well. This is so much harder than it looks. You need a steady hand and a lot of patience. I honestly don’t know how these small business’ crank out hundreds of intricately decorated cookies.
As a family we decided to try cookie decorating at home. My adult kids loved it so much that we now do it as a yearly Christmas activity. Our skill levels are all over, and sometimes one cookie turns out amazing and the next is a flop. We continue have our yearly cookie decorating evening and there are always lots of laughs.
Also as an insider tip – sprinkles fix everything!
We have a cute little shed on our property that has two window boxes on the front, and when the seasons change, I like to create complementary decorations to add to the window boxes.
For the holiday season this year, I decided to forage around our yard for some things to put into this project. Sometimes I use faux materials but this year I thought I could find enough variety around the yard to repurpose into something beautiful and natural.
I started with some left over greens that I had purchased for the large arrangements I keep on my front porch, like cedar and pine. I buy these from a local farm shop called Price’s Country Market. Then, with my snippers in hand, I began to look around our yard for items to add.
I was pleasantly surprised to realize I actually had a lot of possibilities. I snipped and clipped and before I knew it I had a nice pile of items to choose from, such as dried hydrangea blooms and some stems from my boxwoods.
The next step was to start placing them into the window boxes, making sure I was giving my arrangements height as well as a variety of colours. I was lucky to have found many different shades of green as well as dark red sprigs and even some red berries from a very prickly bush (if you are thinking about doing this at your home I recommend wearing gloves).
I was very pleased with the end result. The cost was very little and I was able to repurpose some things that might’ve otherwise gone into the compost!
I simply love visiting local farm shops on the weekends. One of my favourites is Willowtree Farm. This lovely shop is located in Port Perry, Ontario. It has a wonderful country aesthetic and is strongly based on farm to table products and hand made items.
You can be sure on any given visit you can pick up a bouquet of flowers for your table, homemade jam for your morning breakfast, a sweet or salty treat for a lazy afternoon, and all the supplies you need for a delicious Sunday dinner.
This week I was especially excited about their vegetable box, which was an amazing $10 and was filled with potatoes, brussel sprouts, garlic, a red pepper, tomato, an eggplant, rainbow carrots and an onion. It was the perfect combination for 2 people and will definitely jazz up our meals this week.
With Christmas just around the corner, many of the displays are scattered with handmade items. You can find many different kinds of locally made Christmas ornaments waiting to be placed upon your tree. I especially loved the felted bird and snowman ornaments.
At this time of year it is great to be thinking of gifting local products and Willowtree has a wide variety of jams, pickles, chutneys, mustards and many more. All of which would be wonderful for gift giving. Last year we received a basket of local handmade items as a gift. It is great to know that there are so many local artisans creating fabulous products.
I was especially drawn to a display that was full of coffee and tea products. The display was set up in a vintage Grandmother’s Hoosier Cabinet/baking cupboard. We have one of these treasured cupboards in our family and it holds so many happy memories for me. I thought it was amazing that they were using such a beautiful piece for this display.
Will you wander to Willowtree Farm and check them out? I guarantee you will find something wonderful.
On Thanksgiving weekend, we attempted to make ‘pumpkin buns’ by modifying our regular ‘Grama Buns’ recipe. We usually shape the buns into a ‘knot,’ and instead, we used butcher twine to create pumpkin-like ribs. (Fun fact: each of a pumpkin’s ‘ribs’ correspond to a set of seeds inside the pumpkin!)
After mixing the dough and kneading it, we let the dough rise (1st rise), then we measured it out into individual buns. Next, we shaped them with the twine, and let them rise again (2nd rise). We then baked them with the twine on. After cooling, the twine was removed, leaving behind some adorable pumpkins.
This process looked super cute, but removing the twine was definitely tricky. Perhaps next time, soaking the twine would have helped it remove a little easier. Regardless of this small hiccup with the twine, they were cute and tasted yummy!
My Mom and Dad love to listen to CBC Radio as the background of their day. My grandparents did this too, and so does my Aunt. They regularly share interesting little tidbits that they hear from the day’s stories. My Mom likes the gardening segment in particular, and she always shares the advice with me. Though she always wonders why they don’t give more time to the gardening experts; there always seems to be so many people with questions, and never enough time.
A couple of weeks ago she mentioned that one of the CBC gardeners suggested leaving your perennials intact. This apparently allows bees and insects to overwinter in the dried out stalks, as well as providing homes and food for wildlife. It just so happened that the week before, my Mom had helped me cut back some of my perennials in our backyard. If we’d known this then, we might not have cut them back. I then realized that our new bee and butterfly garden, still full of wild flowers, would be the perfect spot to leave untouched for the winter.
Our pollinator garden project has been a huge success this year. Perhaps there are already creatures in these hollow, dried out stalks and the flower heads with their shrivelled up petals, setting up for the winter.
The garden did its job in the summer months by producing beautiful blooms and nectar for the bees. Now, as we prepare for the winter months, it is providing a safe place to rest. So I will leave my dried up stems and stalks for the winter this year, and I will smile because it makes me think of my Mom and how she shares her stories with me. That makes my heart happy and puts a smile on my face.
It is time to be thinking about putting the garden to bed for the winter. As the temperature drops and the weather begins to cool, fall clean up begins.
Today in the vegetable garden, I cut back some plants and harvested my root vegetables. It looks so empty now, but I left the kale in hopes that it will continue to grow as the temperature gets cooler.
The process of putting the garden to bed offers a chance for reflection on the year’s growing season, evaluating successes, failures, and considering new approaches for the next year.
Elsewhere, some plants are slowly dying, but some are still blooming beautifully. The bee and butterfly garden is still thriving. It is safe to say that this new pollinator garden was a huge success! I will start trimming the perennials tomorrow and scatter seeds for next year.
Although this process of harvesting and cleaning up seems like the final phase of the year, gardening is a year-round activity that involves planning in Winter, planting in Spring, enjoying the fruits of your labour in Summer, and preparing (like today) for the next season in Fall.
Good night for now, my sweet garden!
I am sharing about my recent visit to Ste. Anne’s Spa in Grafton, Ontario. I was fortunate to be gifted a day at the spa with my teaching partner as an end of year gift from some of our students. It was a thoughtful, generous and heartfelt gesture that we greatly appreciated.
This was my first time going to Ste. Anne’s and it was amazing! The moment that you walk up to the grounds you feel like you are special. The colourful fall leaves on the trees, pumpkins and fall flowers artfully placed throughout the property and a heritage stone castle nestled among the hills – what could be better?
The dining experience was fantastic with delicious food, beautiful plating, and a focus on relaxation. We enjoyed a three-course lunch and afternoon tea in a serene atmosphere where everyone prioritized slowing down. The menu showcased farm-to-table cuisine, featuring seasonal ingredients at their best.
The day consisted of various activities. We relaxed in hydrotherapy pools, enjoyed the sauna, walked on the trails, had a hand treatment, ate delicious food, and had great conversation.
I recommend visiting Ste. Anne’s Spa for a rejuvenating experience. Treat yourself with kindness and indulge in a wonderful day of relaxation and self-care.
On the weekend, I was fortunate to visit Bon Echo Provincial Park. The weather was like a summer day, although we are full into the fall season. The sun shining through the trees was spectacular.
We spent the day sitting around an afternoon fire, eating lunch, enjoying conversation and making camping tea on the Coleman stove. We got the opportunity to walk along the trails, take some photos, and smell the fresh, clean air and spend time with each other.
It was a wonderful day, filled with family, love, and nature. Looking up into the trees just gives me such peace. This photo captures a feeling for me, serenity and calm. In the busy day to day, hustle and bustle, this photo is a reminder for me to take a moment.
Sometimes, you just need to listen to the trees.
The last few weeks have been very busy in our house! We have a new addition to our family and his name is Milo.
To say that he has filled our hearts with lots of love is an understatement; he has fit right in to our family and our home.
When we first saw a photo of Milo, my husband said we had to have him. He shared with me that as a child he had a little brown stuffed dog that he loved. Even after more than thirty years of marriage we are still learning about each other. After that moment we both knew we needed a little brown dog in our lives.
We have been busy with all things puppy since we got him, but we are starting to get into some good routines. We’ve been super lucky with him sleeping through the night since his first night with us (touch wood).
He has a little bounce in his run that makes my heart melt. Milo loves to chase a ball, chill at your feet and is a happy little ball of brown fluff. I can’t imagine our lives without him. Welcome little one!
I love to watch the Magnolia Network’s show Zoe Bakes. It is a lovely curly haired lady who bakes delicious recipes in her magnificent kitchen. She is down to earth, funny and uses ingredients that you would have in a well stocked pantry.
The local blueberries this season were so delicious. They were full of flavour and sweet. My daughter and I wanted to bake something with our extra berries and came across the Zoe Bakes’ recipe for blueberry bars.
This recipe was a little more complicated than I normally attempt; however, my daughter was on hand to supervise me. She prepped the ingredients and gave hints and tips as I went along and we made a pretty good team.
The bottom crust was a shortbread cookie crust and we added fresh thyme from the garden. The middle was a homemade blueberry filling, and the top was a lattice top crust made out of cream cheese dough. I have never made any type of pie dough, but it was much easier than I thought. The trick to having the lattice top be manageable was to freeze it once you had woven it and then it was much easier to handle.
When we pulled the final product out of the oven it smelled so good. The blueberry filling was gooey and bubbling. The next time I make it, I think I will leave it in the oven for a tiny bit longer so that the middle was more golden brown. As we sliced into our homemade treat and cut it into bars, it sliced perfectly.
The next part was to taste it! The first bite was amazing, not too sweet but so yummy and delicious. I would highly recommend trying these blueberry bars and adding the recipe to your collection. It is definitely a recipe I will make again!
