Happy Hallowe'en

Hope you got as much candy as we did!

Carving pumpkins

Probably my favourite part of Hallowe'en (after the candy corn) is carving pumpkins. Now that the kids are old enough to share my enthusiasm we generally buy one pumpkin per person (this year from a hobby farmer just down the street). I had to twist C's arm into carving one, but secretly he enjoys it just as much as I do.

PS - my computer is kaput, along with my image editing software, so updates will likely be sporadic while I wait for 'tech support' (ie: C) to fix it :)

The (snowy) silver lining

A day with no electricity (and therefore no heat or flushing toilets) and 15+ cm of snow would seem to be the definition of a craptacular day... but not for these two. A day home with mama and papa, lots of snow to play in, grilled cheese sandwiches with the help of a generator, they were in heaven.

You're an evil wench Mother Nature

It's only freaking October, why am I watching a blizzard fall outside? Why is there already 11cm down at 9:30 and still many more hours of storm projected to come? Seriously, this is cruel.

A sight I haven't seen in a year at least

We actually paid 88 1/2 cents per Litre of gas today, I can't remember the last time gas was this cheap but I'm almost certain it was well over a year ago. It won't last of course, but it was almost a treat today.

Hallowe'en sneak preview

Got the bits into their Hallowe'en costumes for a little photo shoot (cheating, maybe, but by the time we get home from school/work on Hallowe'en, get dinner and get dressed it'll be dark and all of my pictures will look like 'Revenge of the Red Eye Zombies'.)

Simmering

A big pot of spaghetti sauce, full of veggies, simmering on the stove (where it spent more than 4 hours getting nice and thick and yummy!)

(In reality not as obscenely orange as it appears here, a trick of the flash and the shiny stainless steel pot)

A reluctant model (and his adorable sister)

It's a PD day today, so the daycare is having an early Hallowe'en party. Instead of wearing costumes, they asked simply that the kids wear orange shirts (much easier!) I was trying to get a shot of these two in all their cuteness, but only one was cooperative.

7:01am

The sun comes up later and later as we move to the Winter solstice...

Not-so-busy Beavers

Waiting for their investiture ceremony to begin...

Another day, another flight

Sunset is a much different experience at 35,000 feet.

West Edmonton Mall

It's a mall, water park, amusement park, aquarium, Chinatown, ice rink and so much more. It's West Edmonton Mall. Doing the touristy thing and taking a peek around 'west ed'. This is part of the roller coaster system inside the mall.

My how you've grown

My baby cousin, all grown up. I swear she was only born yesterday, and today she's a beautiful bride.

Tulle, flowers and lights

Banister in my aunt's home, decked out for tomorrow's bride's enjoyment.

Embraer 190

I feel like I've spent a lot of time in airports lately. This little Embraer 190 is being loaded up with my suitcase and readied to fly me to Edmonton.

You know you want cookies!

Princess has already sold almost an entire case of Girl Guide cookies based on this picture - how can you say no to such a sweet little face!

Moon over my hammy

OK, it's actually the moon over my backyard.

Happy election day Canada (you Americans will have to wait another month)

Welcome

My front door. I don't actually love this door, it's not in great shape and not the colour I'd choose, but it does look pretty from the street. Someday, in the (probably distant) future I'll replace it with something stained glass, but for now, it says welcome home.

Thanksgiving

It's Thanksgiving weekend in Canada. I'm thankful for so many things this year, good health, fantastic marriage, happy children, comfortable home and a full belly.

Colour explosion

It's truly fall in the NCR now, and it's spectacular!

Across the river

I took a walk today on the Gatineau side of the river, enjoying the sunshine and fall colours. Here's a glimpse of Parliament hill from across the Ottawa river.

Painted ladies (and a painted pirate)

The annual fall barbeque at the bits' school. There's always a face painter (and frankly those face painters are the bane of a mother's existence, scrubbing all of that crap off their faces while they cry that they still want to be a butterfly...) They're definitely cute though.

Another incredible start to the day

Despite a difficult night of little sleep (thanks Wookie) I woke up with a smile to this glorious sight...

Picture Day

School picture day! These are totally crappy pics, we were running late and I snapped them literally as we were running out the door, and I could not for the life of me fix the red eye in a way that didn't make them look like aliens, but you get the picture - they're adorable :)

Scary vampire!

Fun with candy corn :) 'Tis the season after all...

An oldie

Passed by this sad old car and had to snap a picture (or 5). I didn't notice until I looked at them just now that it's posed against a wall of sad old Insulbrick. Fitting somehow...

Blue skies and orange leaves

Finally a bit of sunshine (still coooooold, but I'll take it!) and my first opportunity to look at the fall leaves. We're probably just past the peak of colour (rain knocks the leaves off the trees too quickly so you go from green to bald) but what's left is stunning.

Playful

These guys are so playful, any piece of paper or bit of string is a toy. This is Toupie attacking my camera strap.

Days of endless cloud

Anyone who knows me in real life knows I am profoundly affected by sun (or more specifically by the lack of it). The long Canadian winters make me gloomy and cranky and I generally count on a good dose of summer sunshine to carry me through to Christmas. This year though was perhaps the least sunny summer I can remember, higher than average rainfall and a huge amount of cloudy, grey and overcast days. Now between rainy gloomy days in Vancouver, then flying back into a rain storm, and the constant drizzle ever since I returned, it's been well over a week since I last saw the sun. And I'm cranky.

Sleepy guy

Little sleepy guy nodded off in the most uncomfortable looking position. (Doesn't his chin look great though? Steri strips came off this morning, scar looks neat and straight)