...over the weekend...

...I started the weekend with a bowl of raw oats...we were chatting with a friend the other day...and we got to talking about oatmeal for some reason...and he mentioned that he likes to mix his otameal with half buckwheat...and the Man said he would like to try that...so we ordered some and the Man did try it and he likes it...but y'all know me and I like my oats raw...so I had a bowl of oats with flaxseed meal and some peaches...I really can't describe our friend's expression when I said that I always eat my oats raw...but it was a funny mixture of surprise and disbelief...

...and then headed out for the weekly shopping...

...a bunch of things...I got another carton of the Vegan Almond Nog...

...I got three different shapes of this La Moderna pasta for 50¢ each...

...I got three bags of frozen lima beans...I've not been able to find these anywhere...what's up with that...but I stopped at a little independent grocery and they had these three bags...so I bought them all...

...then we took down all of the Halloween decorations...

...I knew storing these icicle lights would be a problem...as they tangle up so easily...so I cut some long strips of plastic drop cloth

...and layed the lights out in a single layer...

...and rolled them up...I ran out of the plastic drop cloth so I switched to bubble wrap and that actually worked even better as it was less slippery...

...so now when I unroll this next year...the lights will still be in a single tangle free layer...

...so I crocheted a quick chain stitch rope to tie up the bundle and used the back of the front of a greeting card that was Halloween coloured to make a cute tag...so I won't get these mixed up with the Christmas lights which we don't actually have yet...

...and then I put all of the decorations back up in the attic...

...and then we went for a nice walk in the Botanical Gardens...

...it was another lovely dry fall day...

...the trees are beginning to turn here...

...but we were surprised by all of the flowers still blooming...

...so just walking around taking a bunch of photos of flowers...

...lots of pretty purple flowers...

...and a pretty poofy grass...I like it but having just pulled up all the sea oats...I don't think I want another grass like that...

...and this huge peachy flower...

...and this tiny little red one...

...flowers just spilling over onto the walkway...

...an interesting spiky globe...

...and the prettiest tree we saw was actually in the parking lot...

...Sunday afternoon we did some food prep...baked tofu...

...and tofu feta...a little overcooked but still delicious...

...and two bundles of turnip greens...

...washed 3 times and there was still sand in the bottom of the sink...so washed a fourth time...

...and then I crammed them all into a pot...they cook down considerably...

...when they were mostly done...I took the kitchen shears and made lots of crosswise cuts into the greens...I find this method easier than cutting them while they're still green and fresh...

...and let them cook a little bit longer...

~Wishing you a lovely start to your week!

...11.2...Dinner and a Movie...

...starting with some Blogger comments...

...to my sweet sissie Karen who blogs from her boat at McCraw Sails...Hey K...so nice of Duane to do the Scuba bit...and you're definitely surrounded by some pretty fall colour...Love, T

...to karen from Pumpkin Sunrise...Hi Karen...pretty pumpkins and pretty fall leaves...your granddaughter's Chili pepper cardi is adorable...it'll be perfect for Christmas...

...to Éphée from L'éphémère quotidienneté des repas et autres trucs de magie...Hi Éphée...your Indian cauliflower and chickpea dish looks amazing...perfect for fall...

...to Penny from Snap That Penny...Hi Penny...I know what you mean about November...I can hardly believe it...soon it will be Christmas Day...

...on the reading front...still reading Maupassant...I read La Uhlane (the Lancer's Wife) because it's in my anthology...but it doesn't appear to have been actually written by Maupassant...it's a short story by Jean Richepin about the Franco-Prussian war...so it's not in my spreadsheet...haha...and then I read Two Friends...and it again reminded me of the scene in War and Peace where Pierre is led with other soldiers to an execution and watches helplessly (but ready to die) as each man is methodically shot...so that's kind of a spoiler I know...but these guys are not Pierre if you know what I mean...

...for dinner we adapted a greek chicken recipe to use tofu instead...and a greek potato recipe for this greek inspired meal...

...and made a pot of lentil stew...

...it was pretty delicious...and we had a side of lentils and a salad as well...

...and for the movie...we're still working our way through the old British Trollied series...

...what have you been watching lately?...

~Have a lovely weekend!

...11.1...New House update...

...continuing the tile backsplash on the left side of the sink...

...grouting...

...and the blueberry plants finally arrived...

...we got them unbound and out into the yard to acclimatize for a bit...

...the morning glories continue to bloom in a spectacular fashion...

...and our little patio tomatoes are still going strong...

...providing us with a handful of little tomatoes every day or so...

...and these poor little upside down growing pots were pretty much a fail...I definitely don't recommend them at all...

...but we have gotten a few very small little striped tomatoes from them...barely bigger than the little patio ones...

...there are several small green tomatoes that will probably ripen before our first frost...

...and the little square foot garden is doing pretty well considering we have not had any measurable rainfall since September 27...we've been watering it every day...

...new this week...the radishes are up...

...and so is the buttercrunch lettuce...