Fresh Clean Slate

Another summer is almost over, and every year at this time I find myself saying the same thing...."where did the time go?"  I can't believe that in 4 more sleeps, we start school.  This means kids taking the bus (if they get up in time to catch it!), making their lunch (if they make AND take it), homework (ugh), earlier bedtime (hurrah!), hockey, ringette....and so it goes.

I loved our summer adventures this year (camping, BC wine country, Mara Lake), and while I could be in vacation-mode forever, it's just not realistic (though wouldn't it be nice?).    I try and give myself a good two weeks post-vacation so I can get over my PVD (post-vacation depression) and come back to the reality of cooking supper and not having happy hour and appetizers on a daily (and sometimes hourly!) basis!    While its sad that summer is over, there is something awesome about September.  The crispness of the fall, the changing colours on the trees, and the feeling that you can start the school year with a fresh clean slate and for everyone to get back to a routine.

The fresh clean slate is the appealing part for me.  September is just as powerful to me as those January New Years resolutions.  Time to start things over... refresh, renew, redo.  This year is the year to give our kids more responsibility.  They can come home on their own now on days that I work (maybe not get supper ready unless its pancakes, but hey, I'll eat pancakes!).  They can take more responsibility for getting up in the mornings without me nagging them...not sure how to accomplish that one yet, but I am sure I can come up with some sort of plan.  And as always, its time to lose that excess weight that I put on from the wining and dining we did during our camping trips (which was TOTALLY worth every pound!).


It's really just time to start over, and be inspired to do better not because we have to , but because we want to.  So....with that said, lets raise our glass (it's still August...happy hour isn't over yet!) and say cheers to a great summer, and here's to a great fall!

Best Jerky Ever!

The original title of this blog was "Lets Have a Jerk-Off!" but thought maybe it would be misinterpreted!

Anyway.

Food when you are camping often takes on two themes.  There are the old faves, like smokies over the fire, the night everyone has steak, and eating those darned "Spits" til your lips and tongue hurt.  Then there's always the new stuff that people want to try and share with everyone.  This year, my brother-in-law made the mother-load in beef jerky, and shared it with all of us (much to our delight!).   Not only did he make beef jerky, but he made SIX different kinds!

Six kinds of Jerky!  Original, Hickory, Mesquite, Cajun,
Pepper, and my personal favourite...INFERNO!

I asked my brother in law for some of the specifics about his food dehydrator, the spices he used, and other pertinent info.....here's what he wrote...

It is a Nesco FD80 that can be expanded up to eight trays.  The main thing about picking out a dehydrator is that the motor is on top, then it doesn’t get messy at the bottom.  And I like the square one as well, you can add a lot more onto them.

For the jerky mix, I had made my own, but it’s much easier and more tasty if you buy the packs.  I have bought from Cabela’s and Bass Pro Shop and they are both good.  I tend to use the Cabela’s a little more, just because you prepare it without water, therefor it takes less time to dehydrate, but they are both good. 

Here are some of the links he sent for the spice mixes:

http://www.cabelas.ca/index.cfm?pageID=71&&section=1189&section2=1305&ID=3300

http://www.basspro.com/Backwoods-Jerky-Variety-Seasoning-Pack/product/36725/116559


And for the dehydrator itself...

http://www.londondrugs.com/Cultures/en-US/Product+Detail/Homeware.htm?BreadCrumbs=Homeware;Homeware;Appliances;Food%20Savers%20and%20Dehydrators&ProductID=3256484&ProductTab=3


Thanks for sharing the jerky, bro!!!!  I know what my next appliance is gonna be!!

An Unexpected (and awesome!) Surprise

Calaway Park -- The Log Ride!

Some of the kids before the Free Fall Ride!

My week that started out with me feeling a bit down about things, ended with our family having the best August long-weekend ever!   It began with my mom and sister visiting all of my family in Toronto...my gramma, and all the aunts, uncles, cousins, babies, etc...   Its always a great time, and I try my best to bring the kids and visit there every summer, but it often works out to every other summer, whether its due to finances, or other vacation plans.

The thing was that I REALLY wanted to be in Toronto with everyone.  I was obsessed with checking flights on Expedia, Westjet, Travel Buddy, Flight Finder....you name it, I checked it. All flights round trip were at least 800 plus dollars!  It took some time, (and the shedding of many tears) for me to realize that I just couldn't do it this time.   My husband was very supportive, and God lov 'im for putting up with my moods this week!  I had to figure out on my own that it was okay that I couldn't go, but it was okay to miss my family, without the mood swings.

Then, out of the blue, we got a phone call from my hubby's bro and his family.  They were driving back from a camping trip and had tried to get into one more camp ground on their way home, and couldn't get a site.  They called us to see if "there was room at the inn" and it ended up being three nights of full-on-family-fun-time!  And I can honestly say, it was what I needed.  I was no longer sad that I couldn't go to Toronto, but happy that I could "wine and dine" some of our family here (and you know how I thrive and flourish with feeding lotsa people!!!).   And wine and dine we did!   I think it was a non-stop eating and drinking fest!  We sat out on our deck, talked, had some fun drinks and delicious food, went to Calaway Park, played poker, played some other old-time family favourite card games and we even had time for a bit of "Fifty Shades"!  We had a handful of the cousins together (love that cousin bonding time!), and the adults (that would be the 4 of us, plus a few of the cousins have now "graduated" into adulthood) had a great time catching up and just visiting for no other reason than to visit.

The best saying of the weekend was near the end...right after I asked if anyone they wanted more food.   The response was a firm NO, followed by,   "I'll just wither away to my ideal weight!"  Classic, right?  Wish I could take cred for it!  That really needs to go on a Weight Watchers T-shirt or something!!

What a wild weekend, that started with a change of plans, and ended with  full tummies, our livers on overload to detox the system, but most of all ended with us reconnecting with family before the fall hits us hard with school and all the extra activities.

Thanks for a GREAT weekend!!!