October

out in the sun last week

I can hardly believe that tomorrow is the last day of October. It's actually been a really nice fall here in St. John's. Although we have still had the usual foggy, dreary, and just plain wet days, there has been a lot of sun too. Those beautiful crisp days where the sky and the ocean are just so blue! Also, there are quite a few yellow leaves around- I miss the bright reds of the sugar maples, but bright yellow is still nice!

Brian and I had a nice weekend, and spent most of Sunday afternoon in the kitchen which was quite relaxing. He made pulled pork (for sandwiches this week) and a delicious apple pie. I made oatmeal raisin cookies. Then, we had a lovely pie dessert with our friends at their place just up the road. I must brag a little and say that my husband makes amazing pies. I don't think I ever need to bother even trying to make them, he's got it down. And pie making is really an art. I guess that's what happens when your mom is the Baker Extraordinaire! He learned from the best.

This morning I am going with Bronwen to one of our (two) playgroups, where we are having a little Halloween party. I'll take a picture and post it later so then you can see what her costume is..

Updates

Just a note: Please excuse the slightly cross-eyed background and layout, I am undertaking some blog renovations! And, is this font too hard to read?

Well, we are halfway through October and I am back here in St. Johns after a pretty eventful couple of weeks!

Another note: this is the third time I have tried to write this post. Hard to focus between nap times, crawling, standing and nice fall weather! :)

The big event was of course travelling to Grande Prairie to see Lindi and Russel get married. It was a beautiful wedding and the happy couple sure put a lot of work into making everything come together! Their rustic theme was so creative and really cute. I wish that I had taken some (any!) pictures, but I was trying to keep Bronwen occupied and agreeable for much of our time there... I think that I was fairly successful. ;) It was pretty neat to see another one of the 'Pink Flamingos' get married. Now 'the originals' are all married off. If Steph and Lynda can take 2013 and 2014, we'll have hit 5 years running! Haha.

It was fun to meet Russel as well.... seeing as I had never met this guy who received such glowing reviews from Lindi! He is a wonderful guy and I'm excited for the two of them as they start this journey of marriage together. I am looking forward to having Brian and I, Zach and Lisa and Russel and Lindi all together at Christmas for a triple date. This was one of the things we dreamed about during our university days... "They better all get along!"

Fall has arrived in St. John's... nice crisp blue-sky days interspersed with some really damp cold ones, really wet humid ones, and some warm breezes. Weather on the coast is pretty susceptible to whatever blows up from the south (or down from the north!). This past Sunday we pulled up the remaining carrots, beets and beans from our garden- all that is left now are the parsnips. They need a frost to be fully ready. I really enjoyed the garden this year.. in the middle of winter Brian and I plan to pore over the seed catalogues and decide what to grow next summer. It's very fun, and delicious too. Sadly, my attempts at marigolds on our front porch failed miserably so I think I will stick to vegetables. They're more useful anyway.

Another fun item is that we have started a mom's group at church, aptly named Mosaic Mamas. Though our little church started off as mostly a student church, it is now moving in the direction of having quite a few young families! Not bad for being only 4 years old and having about 30-50 people on any given Sunday. Our little mommy group meets once a week on Thursdays, and we have started to rotate among people's houses. There are usually 2-6 of us there, plus all the babies (2 more coming in December!). It's fun to chat with these friends and a nice chance to get out of the house as well. Not that I feel really cooped up yet, but I definitely look forward to some social time!

Bronwen is pulling herself up to stand on everything these days (legs, laundry hamper, couch, coffee table, etc!). More about that on her little blog.. see the top sidebar!

Have a nice weekend everyone!

almost exactly one year ago... 29 weeks with 'Button', Oct 14, 2012

It's been a while since I posted, and tomorrow we are on the move again. Bronwen and I are leaving early tomorrow morning for Grande Prairie, Alberta, for Lindi and Russel's wedding! I am pretty excited to see one of my dear friends tie the knot with the man she loves. I haven't met him yet, but I've heard good things.

Brian was gone last week to a conference in Southampton, UK. Since I am going to be gone this week, we decided that we needed some quality family time on Saturday. We did an awesome hike on the East Coast trail between Bay Bulls and Witless Bay. Sometimes I still can't get over how great it is to have these hikes so close by! It was probably a 25 minute drive, which is by far not even the closest hike to our house, yet there we were on the edge of the ocean. So beautiful!

The day Brian left for England... we had a picnic lunch on Signal Hill

our hike on Saturday! Note the happy little hiker.

interesting

tropical North Atlantic?

Tour boats

the Baboul Rocks

Our lunch spot

Just a pic

from Miss Blue Eyes!

just in case you didn't notice..

I didn't want to crowd out my blog with Bronwen-related stuff, even though we love her dearly of course... she has a whole blog of her own! (mostly pictures). See the link at the top of the page.. 'Days in the Life of Bronwen"

thanks for reading, friends! Here are some pictures from what was probably our last beach fire of the season at Middle Cove Beach.

mmmm, salty!

fell right asleep- don't worry, she can't fall out :)

Harvest goodness

row 1- zucchini, onions and beans!
(that is another plot where things start to grow high again)

This year, Brian and I planted our very first garden. I remember having a little garden many years ago in our backyard as a kid. I think that we grew zucchini and watermelon. When I was really young in New Zealand we definitely grew sunflowers. Brian's parents have always been into gardening, his Dad particularly, so he definitely has the greener thumb of the two of us.

So we decided to take our collective gardening expertise, or maybe it was just nostalgia- paired up with an interest in growing things in Newfoundland, it was a good year to plant a garden! We applied for a plot at the university community garden. A few weeks later, we were assigned plot #35. Our gardening plans were a bit disrupted by our month long trip to BC in the spring- watering was a bit sparse, and we missed out on a big load of compost. But, it turned out pretty well after all! We planted beans, zucchini, peas, onions, radishes, beets, carrots, parsnips, lettuce and spinach. Most of those things ended up turning out pretty well. We have been eating salad every night with supper- there's nothing like fresh lettuce! Brian made zucchini chutney with our zucchini. 

row 2- peas, beets, carrots, parsnips and beets again

Also, one of the good things about living in Newfoundland is the wild berries! We have been blueberry picking a few times, and got enough to make 6 jars of jam which is now in the pantry... ready to enjoy in the dead of winter. Bronwen and I went one last time on Monday and got a couple more pounds to eat fresh... blueberries on oatmeal in the morning is the breakfast of choice lately. Or, just a handful of fresh ones for dessert. Yum!

I think that Brian and I encourage each other in our growing, picking and foraging tendencies. He loves to pick wild mushrooms... an activity which I had never really heard of before we met. Well, not besides 'medicinal' mushrooms.. but I think that growing up on Vancouver Island can turn you into more of a mushroom picker! He found some chanterelles on one of our berry picking trips, which are quite delicious fried with a little bit of butter (who knew!). 

row 3- lettuce! (and some spinach in there too)

There is something really satisfying about collecting food from the wild, and from the garden! I think that it's a combination of taking advantage of what is available to us, appreciating the seasons more, and the joy of being outside! If you take the time on a hike, you can see those little blueberries growing all over some of the hillsides! Having a garden gives you new excitement for spring planting, for watching things grow all summer, and for harvesting and storing them when fall rolls around. And of course, it is always nice to be outside when you're doing all of this.

So there you have it.. living off the land in St. John's. Sort of. One day I'd love to have a huge vegetable garden... with a big raspberry patch. Maybe even some hens for eggs. A nice long clothesline and some woods in the back. I'm glad to be married to someone who will go live on a homestead with me someday. Or at least, we can dream about it together!

last summer in Bonavista... but you get the idea!

A Lighthouse Adventure

A couple of weeks ago we drove down the southern shore to Ferryland and enjoyed lunch at the famous 'Lighthouse Picnics" establishment. Here are some pictures...

Walking down the gravel road to get to the lighthouse

You go in and pick what you would like for lunch (it's the original authentic lighthouse!). Then, they give you a  flag and someone brings out your lunch right to you! Also, blankets are provided :)

Our picnic. Mango chicken salad sandwich, Ham, brie & apple sandwich, Vege orzo salad, and jars of lemonade! Oh, and gingerbread and apple cake for dessert. YUM!

my little family

oh Dad, your hair is so interesting..

matchy matchy!

these colours are not altered in any way!

Beautiful Newfoundland! We are pretty glad to experience living here on the coast.

we parked the car back there, and then walked along this skinny gravel road!

What a lovely afternoon! Thank you so much Dan and Rebecca for your thoughtful gift!  (they gave us a gift certificate for the picnic last summer :)