October 24th is the Global Day of Climate Action.  Events to mark this day are taking place all over the world.  For more information visit the 350.org site.

Here is the list of some of the New Brunswick events.

Proud mama

but Carl and I will stay behind with our two youngest granddaughters while my daughter Andrea and her husband Ron speak at the conference.

My cost for spending 4 fun filled days with my grand-daughters will be a WP t-shirt and mention of my blog during their presentationd.  Andrea, I’ll know as I expect my stats to increase after the conference and the free shout.

For more information about the conference, go here.   If you see Andrea and Ron at the conference, introduce yourself.  Tell them Mam sent you.

four letter words

Cold

wind

snow

this

soon

ooh

Paper or cloth?

For the last while I’ve been debating with myself  whether or not to replace our cloth napkins with paper.  With the upcoming flu season and the H1N1 threat, paper had a slight lead, though I found it difficult to justify the waste of paper and the expense.  Today cloth won hands down when I came across this incredible scrap buster project for cloth napkins

The very talented Ashley from Film in the Fridge has shared two patterns for making cloth napkins. Imagine how sweet these would made from Christmas scraps.

What do you think is best – paper or cloth?

Now this is using your head

To read more about this vehicle go here.

Brown bag popcorn

Win and I went to the movies last night to see “Couples Retreat”.   The movie was slow starting, but by the middle we were laughing so hard, I could not catch my breath, and had to use my inhaler.   On the way home we spoke about how good it was to watch a movie that made you laugh and say “ah” rather than one full of blood and gore.

Growing up I spent many a Saturday afternoon at the movie theatre.  Back then 50 cents would get you into a triple play movie.  Another 25 cents would give you enough popcorn and fountain pop to last the afternoon.

When my Dad was young, he and his two brothers would walk along the train tracks picking up chunks of coal that  had fallen from the coal car.   They would sell the bag for 25 cents which would pay their way into the movies.    Now days a movie ticket is $6.99 for a senior ticket (which I always purchase) or $9.99 for adult fare.   Add treats and you are looking at close to $25.00

Because I’m frugal and I want to know what is in the food I’m eating, I make a bag of popcorn to take to the movies.    A bag of homemade popcorn cost pennies to make and is much more nutrional than theatre popcorn.

I start with 1/4 cup popping corn ($2.09 for a 900 g bag) which I place in the bottom of a plain lunch size brown paper bag.  Fold over the top of the bag tightly a couple of times.  Place the bag in the microwave for 2 minutes on high.  As every microwave cooks differently, it will take you a couple of tries to determine what time is the best for your microwave.  Add salt and melted butter (optional).  Enjoy for mere pennies a bag.

Note: You can also add vegetable oil but I have not tried this method.

The last of the summer tomatoes

This morning I baked the last of the summer tomatoes.   Through the winter the sauce will form the base of soups, sauces and casseroles.    This week the fresh  tomatoes were the star attraction once again when I served homemade donairs for Saturday potluck.     Donairs are very popular in eastern Canada

Donair Meat
3 pounds lean hamburger
3/4 cup bread crumbs
2 tsp pepper
1-2 tsp cayenne red pepper (depending on your taste)
1 1/2 tsp oregano
3 tsp paprika
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt

Place 1/2 of the hamburger in a food processor.   Process for 5 minutes until the meat is finely ground.  Add spices and the rest of the beef.   Process an additional 5 minutes.  The meat should be one large lump.

Remove from processor and place on cutting board.  Knead for approximately 10 minutes. Shape into two firmly packed loaves. Bake on broiler pan for 2 to 2 1/2 hours at 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Cool loaves and slice into thick slabs. Meat can be frozen for future use.

Place a generous amount of sauce on bread. Top with meat, chopped lettuce, chopped onions and tomatoes and sauce..

Donair Sauce
2/3 cup canned evaporated milk
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Stir canned milk, sugar and garlic powder until sugar is dissolved. Add vinegar and continue mixing. The quicker you add the vinegar and the less you mix (I usually give the spoon 3 or 4 turns around the bowl), the thicker the sauce will be. Let sauce sit for at least one hour in refrigerator before using.

I tried to take a picture of a fully dressed donair, but we were too busy enjoying the meal! This is what one should look like.

I mediate, I do yoga and I chant

……………..and I still want to smack someone!

It has been one of those weeks, but luckily I have a good friend to help me through it.  Thanks Win for the great card, see you back at the gym Monday morning.

Pumpkin coasters

Quilter’s connection magazine is the magazine for Canadian quilters.  When I received this month’s electronic newsletter, I was very pleased to see the main article titled  “Quilt Labels -why bother?”.

Along with this great article was a free Pumpkin coasters pattern to download  The only difficult part of making these coasters was finding buttons.

Apparently when I was house cleaning this spring I packed away my button bottle.   I don’t have a clue where it might be.   I’m hoping it is in the same box which contains my large glass bottle of selvage edges.

A quick trip to the local thrift shop and I had four leather buttons at a cost of 35 cents.

This pattern is very easy and a great way to use scraps and small pieces of batting.   I used a piece of white wool blanket for the batting.  The ribbons were recycled from a wedding invitation.

Here’s the pattern to download.

Let them eat cake (and pie)

As my DH is still in the wilds of Cape Breton on a job site, I enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner with the neighbours.    The dinner of roast chicken, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and an assortment of homemade cranberry sauce and relishes was delicious.

My contribution to the meal was pumpkin pie made from scratch using Martha’s recipe for the filling.  To keep the pie gluten free I made a corn flake crust.

For the second desert I made gluten free gingerbread with orange curd.   As a 13 x9 cake is a bit too much for our crowd, I used two 9 inch round pans.   One cake for Thanksgiving dinner and the other wrapped and stored in the freezer for another day.