All the spirits around here

The week o' Hallow'een activities is over!  The festivities started last weekend with a Halloween party where K chose to be a cowgirl, N a witch.  We skipped N's musical theatre class as I was running short time-wise and she was supposed to dress up for class on Monday!  Of course we had the school costume parade on Friday where K was Anne of Green Gables and N was tickled pink gold with purple bobbles to join the horde of kindergarten princesses.

To my astonishment, K and N both decided to don the furry costumes this evening ~ no doubt they were wary of being cold outside!  Not once while wearing their furry costumes did they complain of being cold (although we had to come home to get their mitts once we had canvassed our slushy/snowy block for treats).  As I look at this photo of K, it is apparent that she has now outgrown all the furry warm costumes I have on hand!  We will have to plan a better "outside" costume for her next year (although we had planned for her to be a cowgirl this evening but she insisted on a furry costume)!

There weren't many kids out hallow'eening this year.  We had merely 19 kids at our door.  It could be that it is an "old" neighbourhood, or perhaps some families don't participate for religious reasons or safety concerns.  We participate in it because we don't have a chance to see our neighbours very often and it is a good opportunity to have a chat before we hibernate for winter!  For me, Hallow'een is about the spirit of community and making sure that children feel safe within their neighbourhood.

As K readied for bed this evening, her mind was already set on the next event: St Nicholas' Day when gifts arrive unexpectedly at our door in early December.  We had a chat about the spirit of giving.  One day, we will have a chat about the spirit of friendship, the foundation of St Nicholas' Day.

naturopathic diet, round #2, week 1

As there has been no Western explanation for the fluctuations in my hearing (& I am awaiting referral to ENT #2), I have decided to re-try the wacky naturopathic diet in an attempt to detoxify my system.

This time I have the kitchen renovation behind me.  (The thought of trying to prepare 2 separate meals on a 2-burner hot-pad for 5 or more weeks was too daunting to attempt).

This time, I have already substituted bison for beef and have 1/2 a bison in our freezer.  (Bison roasts faster than beef and is significantly more lean than beef.  There is barely a discernible flavour difference between bison and beef).

This time, the naturopath and I negotiated more reasonable dietary restrictions.  I can drink Almond or soy milk (instead of just the brown rice milk ~ blah).  The almond milk "vanilla" flavour is actually lower in fat than 2% dairy milk and has greater quantity of fibre than dairy milk.  I can periodically eat corn-based products.  My fruit restrictions are somewhat less restrictive (ie: discouraging citrus but I am permitted bananas this time).  Ultimately, the primary focus is on reducing sugars and refined white products (ie: Basmati rice, gluten based breads and pastas).

This time, I encountered a very helpful store-clerk who has dietary issues similar to mine in a newly opened local store.  She introduced me to her favourite brand of Quinoa pasta (so tonight I made 2 different pots of pasta ~ one for my family and one for me plus leftovers for me) and the store's favoured cheese substitute (which is tolerable).  The store bakes fresh bread so I picked up some spelt bread.  I tried the bakery's breakfast bar which was quite tasty.  It appears I have a new weekend hangout as I try new products over the next 5 to 6 months.  There has apparently been an explosion of new products entering the market from the United States within the last 6 months (which would have been after round #1).  The store-clerk has disclosed her Saturday work-schedule to me so I anticipate we will be very good friends within the next few months!

Wish me luck on round #2!

autumn breezes

 We've spent a lot of time at our farm this autumn.  We had a farm party complete with hot dogs & marshmellows roasted over an open fire and then watched the kids race around playing hide-n'-seek while trying to avoid running through cow-patties in the dark, armed merely with flashlights.  (Somebody's cows ventured into our farm yard earlier in the week of the farm party and I was "dismayed" to discover that they don't use pooper-scoopers for cow deposits!)

Later in September, the girls have enjoyed bouncing around while riding in the 1957 Land Rover after they helped pick the potato harvest.  (We had blight this year so our potato crop has been affected.)

We've been busy getting ready for Halloween.  The girls did most of the Halloween decorating this year.  My dh strongly dislikes tolerates having the Christmas Halloween tree in the hallway for a full 30+ days before Halloween so we decorated it just for him.  (He knows that this tree will be following him into the nursing home & we will decorate it seasonally for him there too!)  I am so glad that I got those glass decorations on sale following Halloween last year!

Meanwhile, I've been working up a storm, including evenings and weekends on family law files.  It has been an exhausting autumn but we've got a lot done!