Sandy came and left.

Sandy was a category 1 hurricane. Although it was the least dangerous compares to other categories, it was still scary. We have a huge (>50ft) pine tree in our front yard and I was so worried it was going to fall. But it stood strong against Sandy. However, some neighbours weren't so fortunate. Our neighbour's fence fell (1st picture) and a neighbour down the road had a tree fell into their yard. We drove around the neighbourhood on Tuesday (0.5 mile radius) and saw a total of 6 trees down. Part of the main road was closed to clean up a tree. There was no power in other side of the town. We were fortunate that nothing major happened to us, just the patio furniture cover was shredded to pieces by the 80mph wind gusts, and some branches from Mr. Pine scattered in the front yard. Our thoughts and prayers go to the people in NY and NJ who experienced the worst of Sandy.

To calm me down during the storm, I decided to bake dog treats for dogs in the shelter I started volunteering. It was a very simple recipe of 4 ingredients, but I should have used a mixture of whole wheat flour and all purpose flour instead of whole wheat only because the aroma of the whole wheat is strong in the cookie. The other 3 ingredients were sweet potatoes, eggs and applesauce. It was a very simple recipe, I hope the dogs will enjoy it.

Thanks World for watching over our little family. We are very grateful!

Summer's Joy

...... blissful sigh ......

My favorite time of the year!

Goodbye Summer! It has been an awesome one and I will miss you. However, I am ecstatic that Autumn is here and I got to try my first corn maze, eat the best apples ever (they were excellent with no bruises at all!) and look for my pumpkins at the pumpkin patch. The Autumn sun is 'different' from the Summer sun, but it makes me feel so cozy being in the house when I look out at the World. And the chrysanthemums, they are blooming everywhere. And the girls are sleeping next to the heater especially during the night. Even the sound of the furnace starting up put a smile on my soul. And me? I am in a baking spree! Special chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal raisin cookies, soft fluffy rolls, and red velvet whoopie pies. The recently purchased 20lbs of flour will give me endless joy in the kitchen. Above all, I am so ready for Thanksgiving. We cannot stop watching online food channels featuring Thanksgiving menu. We have so much to be thankful this year even with some unpleasant bumps along the way. I see them as lessons/opportunities in life. Thank you Mother Earth, for watching over us. Thank you for the beauty you give us!