Another decluttering phase…

The decluttering bug has hit me again…it happened at the same time last year so maybe it is just the time of the year?

Whatever it is, I have been decluttering around the house the last few days…

the first thing I wanted/needed to do was the sewing room… All the fabric that I use was piled on a chair next to my desk which not only made the room look cluttered and messy but the fabric was wrinkled and hard to find also…

So.. on Friday I went out in search of a bookcase… and I found one… I didn’t pay much because it was the floor model which was a bonus because then I didn’t have to assemble it either…

So on Saturday I placed all my fabric in it, got rid of some stuff that I won’t use and cleaned up my sewing table… I also fixed the little office chair that I was no longer using because it was not too comfortable and was burried under all of the fabric… and at the same time Simon decluttered his clothes which are in the sewing room also…

Yesterday when making the beets I also decided to declutter my pantry… Now that feels good also…

I still have a lot to do in the house but I hope to tackle at least one thing a day and get the house to a level that I feel comfortable with…

Annie will be proud 😉

Pickled beets…

I love pickled beets… especially the ones that my great grandma used to make… and my grandmother… and my mom… and well.. now me…

I asked my grandma for her mom’s recipe when she was here last and this week beets were cheap at .99 for 5lbs… so today I decided to make them…

10 lbs of beets In the pot…

let's boil the beets!

boil for about 2 hours…

big pot on the stove...

all cooked and ready to be peeled and sliced…

10 lbs cooked beets...

all peeled…

peeled and ready to be cut...

sliced… (aren’t they beautiful)

all sliced

6 cups Vinegar, 3 cups Beet Juice and 4 cups sugar…

beet juice...

jars ready

jars cleaned and ready

All filled up…

all ready...

processed for 30min in boiling water…

processing...

a dozen jars of pickled beets…

a dozen jars of homemade pickled beets..

a little halloween rant…

I really love Halloween… there is just a certain atmosphere about it that I love… and when the weather cooperates and kids don’t have to wear coats over their costumes and it is not raining or snowing it is even greater…

What I hate though… those people who ToT in cars…

The kids hop in and out of the car or minivan (with the side door wide open for easy in and outs) and don’t walk the gaps between houses… the goal is to get more candy without having to walk too much and the parents oblige.. or maybe it is the parents that don’t want to walk either…

in any case I hate seeing it…

As Simon and I were thinking we could probably accept it on rainy and cold Halloween nights… but with a night like last… there was no excuse…

halloween candy…

So I have been asked by a few people what we do for halloween and the candy…

well.. what we did this year… and will most likely do every year is that we went Trick or Treating quite early after supper and went around the neighbourhood to the little places that we like to see…

Then, when the boys were getting a bit tired we got home and quickly went through it…

All of the candy that they can’t eat went into a big bowl… In exchange I got some treats that they could have…and then we opened our lights and gave away all of the candy (along with some glow sticks/bracelets that I bought) to the ToT’ers that came to our home…

The boys had a blast opening the door and giving the candy and the glow sticks away…

They still get treats and sugar rushes that they don’t get often without eating anything that I don’t want them to eat, or that they are allergic to…

Halloween pics…

I love halloween…

The crisp air, the kids all dressed up, the sound of the leaves and actually seeing the people that live in your neighborhood… Some of the homes have amazing decorations and some are quite simple but inviting…

Simon took the day off and after I ran a few errands we sat down to carve the pumpkin… Xavier couldn’t handle the texture but he did try…

Cleaning out the pumpkin...

Simon finished the rest while Xavier drew the face he wanted us to carve….

I carved it out and he was really happy with the result…it looked quite like the pic he drew…

Pumpkin

So… Xavier was young Indiana Jones

Indy at the park...

Colin was Spiderman

Spiderman...

and Khéna was supposed to be Buzz Lightyear but did not appreciate having a costume on…I am NOT buzz lightyear!!

So Simon found an alternative… a ‘Hulk” PJ shirt that the boys have…

The hulk!!

and once he saw his brothers go up to the doors… he wanted to go too and had a blast!!!

The boys...

trick or treat!

Here are two of my favourite houses to visit…

trick or treat!

trick or treat!

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