Clang, clang, clang

...went the trolley/
Ding, ding, ding went the bell

Effie's been working hard lately set painting (including the iconic trolley) for the Victoria Operatic Society's December production of Meet Me In St. Louis.

Effie & Grandma

for the win!

Fergus Cooks

Fergus has come up with a few "plans" lately, one of them being to try out recipes and cook more often. So we had a recent foodie blitz based on recipes he's either been itching to make for a while or recipes he's come across on various youtube channels that have caught his eye for some reason or another.

1. Scalille - deep fried anise flavoured treats. I made these last Christmas and Ferg has been itching for them ever since. Scalille is Italian for "little ladders". Ours do not look like little ladders. Little ladders are next to impossible to form out of dough. In fact there's nothing easy about this recipe as the dough is dry and crumbly and turns out.. honey is sticky! But we persevered since they're yummy and also to honour family friend and neighbour - and the source of several scalille fights in the 80's era Mayer household - Mrs Favali who recently passed away.

2. Ye olde Giant Gummy Worm. Nothin but jello n' marshmallow sugary goodness..

3. Pizza Gyoza! Ya, I'm not sure why Ferg doesn't just discover a recipe for a nice chicken pot pie but these Italian/Japanese mash ups were actually not bad. Pizza ingredients stuffed in a dough that then gets fried and sauteed/ boiled in water. Actually the water the youtubers suggested using was "cheese water". I'm totally unfamiliar with cheese water but Ferg appears to be a stickler to recipe details so we gave it a go. One makes cheese water by microwaving water with cheese in it!?! And its the grossest thing imaginable. Other than that, they worked and tasted pretty darn good. The big dilemma is choosing to go Italian or Japanese with the dipping sauce - soy or marinara. We both agreed that the marinara made more sense.

4. Spaghetti and Meatballs (for the DOG!). Perhaps not my ideal way to spend the early hours of a Saturday morning but Fergus was determined to serve Kyla a plate of spaghetti and meatballs for her breakfast. He's very generous... with my time and effort! Anyway, these worked out great. Ground turkey, sweet potato (not yam!), garden-fresh parsley and brown rice meatballs on a bed of shredded zucchini spaghetti. Kyla seemed to sense they were for her during the entire making-of process and gobbled down the meatballs in no time flat. She even ate some of the zucchini. Weird dog.

Meanwhile Kiley and Effie made whipped cream:

Effie Turns 16!!!

End of September

The Okanaganers came down for a visit!

New Do Effie:

Barn Effie:

Leftover Croquet Shots..

Fergus doing a Sasquatch walk..

Tiny Frog on a Hand!