Thanksgiving Weekend

This year Thanksgiving falls on Sunday 12 October, in French Canada it is called L'Action de Grâce, an old Feast Day which has European roots in the harvest festivals which are upon us now.

I love going out to the grocery store and shopping for a pumpkin or pumpkins. We are also looking at our menu for the Thanksgiving lunch on Sunday. I got pieces of turkey this year instead of a big bird.
I also have chestnuts and Brussels Sprouts, will do something along the lines of roasting them instead of the usual boiling. Heritage carrots, yellow and purple and red all mixed up together. The potatoes are Russian Blue, I do not know why they call them by that name since all potatoes come from Bolivia originally and the so called Russian Blue is a favourite of the Andean Natives in the highland of Bolivia. Will is going to make Pumpkin Spicy or Smokey soup and for dessert we will have a special dessert for the occasion made by Pastry Chef  Michael Holland at his store Holland's Cake and Shake by the Parkdale Market at 229 Armstrong street in Ottawa. See their web site http://www.cakeandshake.ca

This is a great place for pastry done in the old famous traditional way but with a modern twist and lots of imagination. All of it is made fresh daily no day old or stale stuff there.

The weather is crisp and cool now and the trees have started to change into a wide array of vibrant colours.

 This year's pumpkins on our balcony.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Random Autumn theme.

About 8 days ago it very much looked like Summer was over as temperature fell all of a sudden to near zero C. The Condo corp decided overnight to shut off the A/C system and put on the heat, we can individually shut it off in our units and this is what we did. Then the following day the warm or hot weather came back with a vengeance, we face South and have strong sunshine until 3PM. The building was extremely warm around 29C inside, so we opened all the windows in the hope that the heat would escape. I say in the hope because it made little difference really. However the trees having had a dose of  cold weather and then hot turned all shades of red. The grocery store has an abundance of squash of all kinds and pumpkins too. Funny thing the cashier wanted to name the various squash I had bought, they are all 0.99 cents each but she has to enter them by name, Butternut, Sweet meat, Pepper, etc...

 Pepper and Butternut Squash

The blue grey squash is called a sweet meat squash sitting on top of my terra cotta pumpkin bought 20 years ago at the Drake Hotel Flower Shop in Chicago.


We also started to cook in the Fall fashion recipe, lots of varieties of apples right now on offer. I bought Braeburn Apples to make an apple cake. The puppies love it when we cook, they sit and watch always in hope that maybe just maybe we will drop something or will offer a tasting to them, they are eternally patient.

Demi-tasse coffee cups bought in June in Dresden, love those ironic faces.

We also had the Annual Canadian Army Run (marathon) and a parade of the Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry Regiment who are celebrating their Centennial. The Regiment PPCLI was created through a generous donation of $2 million dollars in 1914 by Hamilton Gault a very wealthy businessman. In todays dollars it is a fantastic fortune to give. Princess Patricia was the daughter of Prince Arthur Duke of Connaught and brother of King-Emperor George V, she was also the grand-daughter of Queen Victoria.  Prince Arthur was the Governor General of Canada at that time.

Then in October of 1914 Le Royal 22ième Régiment de Quebec was created with a generous financial gift by Montreal businessman Arthur Mignault. The Regiment is stationed at the Quebec Citadel on Cap Diamant, the Summer Residence of the Governor General. Canada did not have an army in 1914 we had a small militia of 3000 men. But within months an army of half a million men was raised or 10% of the population of the country.

Being on the Rideau Canal in the centre of the Capital we cannot miss the Army run and the other events year round. The parade of the PPCLI from Lansdowne Park to Cartier Square was a recreation of the event which took place in 1914 when the soldiers arrived in Ottawa by train. The Driveway as it was then known was the Official entrance into the Capital.

Sunday in Autumn

Today was a beautiful sunny Autumn day. The air was crisp and the colours bright in the sunlight. The Rideau Canal has been emptied over the Thanksgiving Weekend another boating season has come and gone. It is now full of ducks and Canada geese who just sun themselves and pick at the fish in shallow waters.

Took a few pictures of the Canal now drained for winter, ready to be turned into a skating rink. Hopefully the weather this coming winter will be cold enough for skaters. Last year we had good weather for skating, one of the best season in 20 years.

In the meantime we can enjoy a beautiful day. I looked at the weather for Rome and it appears that 20 to 22 C is the norm at this time of year. Warmer in Spain up to 25 C. easy to take, but still at night around 14 C so a sweater is in order. I got my European Nokia phone out today and charged it. I bought it in Italy 2 years ago for a fraction of what it would cost here in Canada. This way I have a local cel phone with a Roman number so I can call friends easily in town. I also bought a chip for the UK which I can use in the same phone. The phone and chip cost next to nothing when compared to what you have to pay in Canada.

 A rose bouquet brought to us by our friend J.H. the other night, beautiful

 The water in the Rideau Canal is very clear and you can see the fish swimming about.

 One of the many old and beautiful trees along the Canal

 The George Patterson inlet branching off from the Rideau Canal

Looking South towards Lansdowne Park

Poulenc

One of my favourite composer of the XXth century is Francis Poulenc. Today we had a little bit of Poudrerie, a dusting snowfall which lasted all of 4 minutes and quickly disappeared under a returning bringht but cold sunshine.

I thought of these pieces from Poulenc's Suite Française went well with the weather today in Ottawa.
Also today the Rideau Canal is being emptied in preparation for winter. That is a sure sign in the Capital that the Seasons are changing. It will take about 3 days to bring the level of the water down sufficiently so that just the right amount remains to form a long skating rink. The big pike fish will gather in the depth of Dow's Lake to hibernate until Spring. Time to change the wardrobe from summer to winter, come out sweaters, mittens and scarfs. Time to think to buy snow tires, ouch!! they are not cheap.  Boots also for the children of Cerberus, so the paws don't get cold.

Edwardian house at the Canal on McLeod Street and Queen Elizabeth Drive.

John's Pumpkin cheese cake with pumpkin seeds dipped in chocolate.

the herons are still fishing around for small fish despite the level of the water slowly going down. 

Autumn 2012

Here are some pictures of Autumn delights.

Such exuberance is pure pleasure.

the children of Cerberus enjoying the morning sunshine, a daily tradition in our house.

our little street in colour.