it was a beautiful day for an adventure yesterday… and we hadn’t been on one for awhile…
my adventure buddy and I drove out to Pineridge Hollow for lunch and a wander around the new shops that are there…
we had a lovely drive out and only got a little lost, lol…
we were just in time for our lunch reservation so we ate first… we shared a number of things…
rosemary and salt beet chips with a goat cheese ranch dipping sauce… my oh my, those were addictive…
next we shared a small Pineridge salad with mixed greens, apples, candied pecans and smoked Gouda tossed in a maple Dijon dressing… I forgot to take a photo before we dived in, lol… the small was more than enough for the two of us… and it was delicious… actually it was my favourite of all we ate…
she had the pulled pork tacos and I had the carpaccio – seared beef tenderloin, pickled rhubarb, strawberry gastrique, fresh herbs, arugula, pistachios, and a garlic scape aoli…
it was fun to try something different;-)…
and because we hadn’t eaten enough, she had schmoo and I had panna cotta with haskap berries…
we could have just had the beet chips and salad, maybe with a bit of chicken in it…
but we enjoyed everything and had leftovers to bring home…
from there we wandered through the shops and picked up a few items before heading home for naps, lol…
had a bit of a giggle as I was sitting on the deck eating breakfast and listening for bird songs…
when we were at the cottage we would hear a huge variety within just a few minutes…
of course that was also at migration time so I’m not sure how many you might hear now…
here, I can hear house sparrows, chickadees, the odd crow, squirrels yelling, and recycling/garbage trucks going up and down the lane, lol…
it has also been quieter lately because there is a Cooper’s Hawk hanging around, which makes for some very quiet times when all the birds and squirrels go into hiding…
you know it has left the area when all of a sudden large numbers of sparrows start getting drinks and gathering seed from the feeders, nattering the whole time…
what a delightful time I had on Friday for my first visit to Voyage by Fleurs de Villes at The Leaf…
went with a friend who hadn’t made it to The Leaf before and it was such a treat to show her this gem…
we went around 2 pm and the parking lots were all full… we found a spot when someone left, at the very end of the gravel lot… even though there were many people, there were a good number of hangers to make leaving coats outside the biomes easy…
there was a lineup to get into the biomes, but it moved quickly and most people went directly into the Mediterranean Biome for the display, but we went through the Tropical Biome and admired the lush growth… my friend said she thought it was like the old Conservatory, but on steroids, lol… the plants are getting enormous and we were dripped on a few times, maybe from the humidity…
from there we moved into the Mediterranean Biome to see all the beautiful mannequins…
there were many people when we started our tour, but by the end it had thinned out nicely… I took photos of all the descriptions as it was so crowded around each one, lol…
after we sat and reviewed all the pictures we took, we decided on our favourites and filled out our ballots before heading home;-)…
this morning in my Advent box I received a kaleidoscope of butterflies…
I love that name for a group of butterflies;-)…
some of them had broken free of their original home and had stuck themselves all over the inside of the box… it took a bit of time to get them all out, lol…
the glue on them is just down the centre of each one so their wings raise up a bit and they do look as though they are fluttering…
I put them on the bathroom mirror and they look very sweet there…
we will see if they stay or flutter to the ground as there isn’t much stickiness to them;-)…
I had a nap in the afternoon and went to bed a little early Saturday night so I could get up to watch the F1 race from Las Vegas… usually the races are much earlier in the day, but this was a night race…
set my alarm for midnight and got up without a problem…
found a snack and drink and curled up in bed to watch the race…
stayed awake the entire time and enjoyed the action…
I’ve been collecting photos of Halloween displays since the very beginning of October when they started popping up on my walks in the neighbourhood;-)…
here are some that I enjoyed🎃…
decorating for Halloween has certainly become a popular pastime…
the very tall skeletons were cool, but I kind of like the happy displays, more than the scary ones, lol…
the majority of these were taken before the snow landed (and hasn’t left) which has since curtailed my walks;-)…