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girl cutting apples
Brenna

Last night, I had the time of my life cooking with two wonderful women.

Living across the country from my family is not always easy. It has been exciting and challenging and difficult, although I would not trade it for anything in the world. I have learned some hard lessons and things about myself: one of those things being the absolute necessity of female friendships.

I have a lot to thank the women in my family for.

They taught me how to bake, the importance of patience, and the value of knowing your own strength. They taught me to trust myself, how to be there for others, and all the best swear words (thanks Margret 😉). Not all the lessons I learned from them were spoken, most often they were from a look or a smile, and I think the majority of them were learned toiling over food. I’ve said before that I love how cooking brings people together and while that is certainly true of eating, it’s true of all the time put into the food as well.

I love the silent camaraderie of working on a project alongside someone. And I love this even more when the project involves food.

It has been a long time since I have had a traditional Thanksgiving feast! Being a few provinces away from my family leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to family holidays. My first year in Ottawa my mom (and aunt, and cousins, much to my surprise) made the journey out to see me! It was a wonderful surprise and memorable weekend with my family. I’ve been lucky enough to be embraced by my beau’s family for the past four Thanksgivings, so all in all I have nothing to complain about. However, I can’t help but miss home this time of year.

This year, my roommate and I are hosting a belated Thanksgiving for our friends, or “Friendsgiving”.

I think the event will be a blast, and I am so excited for the food! It is rare we all get a chance to take a break from our busy schedules to visit and feast. And if it is half as fun as the prep work it will be a guaranteed blast.

I think the fellowship of cooking is heightened when preparing for an event, as a task that might usually be boring can become a work of art. After all, you are no longer just making something for yourself. Regular tasks become festive, and the anticipation is palpable. I am so glad I got to work alongside two friends who have become much more like family. (Real talk though, Hannah uses Tenderflake in her pie crust, so I think my family might just adopt her).

Here I would like to extend my most sincere thank you to two wonderful friends.

I won’t lie, I was very daunted at the thought of co-hosting a Thanksgiving celebration. My Mom, and aunts, and grandma produce the most amazing of Thanksgiving feasts. I couldn’t help but wonder how it would be possible to pull off a feat like this without them. But with the help of you two, I think we did it! Also because Meaghan is my soul sister when it comes to love of all things pumpkin ( PUMPKIN GNOCCHI HERE WE COME!).

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I loved getting flour all over the kitchen, and organizing spray painted gourds on the table. I enjoyed the peeling, and chopping, and rolling, and boiling, and mixing and cleaning that we powered through last night. But most of all, I love you guys. Thank you for reminding me how powerful the quiet bond of cooking is. You reminded me the importance of having women in your life that you can dance around the kitchen and sing Fleetwood Mac with. You make my heart happy, and I am thankful.

 

 

 

 

 

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sunrise on the farm
Jim

I love that first mug of coffee in the morning.

Strong, steaming hot coffee sure hits the spot at daybreak. After rolling out of bed, it is easily the first thing on my ‘to-do’ list. Let’s get that coffee percolating. It seems like I can’t even seem to get my eyes to open properly until I hear the sound of the coffee pot begin to gurgle to life. And the smell, I love that smell first thing in the morning! Brewed coffee. My go-to coffee is Highlander Grogg. If you haven’t tried it, I highly recommend it. I buy mine from a great roasting house in Edmonton. One of my favourite ways to prepare it is to grind two scoops of Grogg beans with a scoop of Starbucks Pike Place Roast.  This combo has a great aroma, and an even better taste!

Not until I’m sitting at the kitchen table with my fingers locked around my warm, inviting mug does the morning begin to come into focus for me. Sitting at the table and looking through the door windows to my left, I see the sun struggling through the trees. It’s trying to steam the dew from the backyard grass as it pokes through the foliage.

Sip.

Straight ahead, to the south, it’s punched through that same treeline and is rolling over the pasture, mist rising. No cows or horses in sight. Hmmm, they must be further south by the dugout. Yup, so nice.

I think it’s going to be one of those perfect, quiet, sunny Saturday mornings.

Sip.

To my right I can see the barn through the living room windows. It always looks so nice to see the wooden barn walls slowly come to life as the sun begins to light up the faded and flaked brown and white paint. Glancing at the doors I notice something isn’t quite right. Damn, a pig has gotten out and is standing in the open barn doors.

Sip. Make that two pigs. Double Damn. Both pigs stop, one on each side of the doorway, to give their sides a good rub up and down on the door frames.  It always feels so nice to get rid of all those early morning itches, doesn’t it? Well, I guess I better go gather up those two after my coffee.

Sip.

Pigs, ha, geez.  Hey, wait a second.  We don’t have pigs!

Forcing a couple hard blinks I start to wake a little faster than I would have liked. With mug in hand I walk to the living room window to have a closer look, and I stand staring through the glass. Yup, those are for-sure pigs, and I see they’ve wandered a little closer to the house now.  Grabbing my jacket and cell phone and still holding my mug I head outside for a little closer inspection.  Hearing the door open and shut brings our two dogs, Keifer and Kirby, to life.  They have just now decided it’s time to rise and shine.  The minute Kirby steps from the doghouse she notices the newcomers.  The hair on her back immediately stands to attention while she gives the most earnest ‘Hey! You! Get the hell out of here!’ bark she can muster. Her threat is ignored.

Old Keifer the Hound is a lover, not a fighter. 

He takes the opposite approach. Seeing the pigs spurs his ‘come be my neighbour’ curiosity. I’m somewhere in between these two.  I don’t want them hanged at the gallows like Kirby, but I’m also not sure I want to be their best bud like Keifer. As I take a few steps toward them I give a big shout out. “Soooo-ey! Sooooo-ey! Here pig pig pig!”  They look up. Until that point I don’t even think they noticed we were watching. Upon hearing my call, they too become curious and begin to take a few steps toward us. Friendly I see.

Oddly, Keifer has become Sherlock Holmes.  Ever “Keifer the chicken”, has for some reason this morning become “Keifer the sleuth”. Off he goes and within seconds he has decided he’s either a pig or they are odd mannered dogs. He sniffs one and then the other and then the first one again. And then, for some reason he licks it!  “Keifer! That’s gross! You don’t know where that’s been! Come here boy!” Now I’m being ignored as he continues his investigation. Yup, I think he’s decided, he’s a pig.

Kirby can hardly contain her disdain. She’s always a bit excitable but she knows instinctively these are strangers, be they pig, be they dog, they do not belong here!  Woof, woof, WOOF!!

Time to make some phone calls.

“Hey Johnny, good morning”

“Yeah, it’s early, sorry about that.  Listen, Johnny, I’ve gotta ask you, do you keep pigs?”

“Two you say…Sows.  Oh ok.  Can you do me a favour and have a quick look-see in your pens?”

“Empty?  Uh hmm.  Yes, well I think I can help you out there.  I’m just now walking behind a couple of Sows in my barnyard.”

“Yup.”

“On your way?  Oh?  Ok, I’ll keep ‘em rounded up and wait for you here.”

And with that, the mystery of the pigs is solved.

Johnny is my new neighbour across the road to the north. He just moved in a few months back and it seems he’s come to own two pregnant sows.

Once Johnny arrives we start to walk the pigs down the driveway back to their home, and as a result,  Kirby is finally starting to relax a bit. She realizes these unwelcome strangers have begun their departure from her ‘territory’. Keifer, on the other hand, isn’t so sure they should go. As Johnny and I follow the pigs along, Keifer has joined the ‘herd’. Yup, he’s now become a pig.

“Johnny, once we get these pigs to your driveway, lets cull the last one out and try to keep him here.  I think Jess would be a bit disappointed if I let him move in with these two.”

Eventually I get Keifer to separate from his new friends, and join me and Kirby on our stroll up the driveway back to the house. With the pigs safely returned home, the dogs back to their normal behavior of lazing away the morning on the stoop, I can return to my table with a fresh mug in hand, sit and look out my south pasture window and relax a little. Yup, what a beautiful, typical, Saturday morning.  No cows or horses in sight. Hmmm, they must be further south by the dugout.

Sip.

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two children in halloween costumes
Brenna

Guys, the best season of the year is upon us: FALL!! Honestly, I am just so excited. All things creepy, spooky, cozy, snuggly, and pumpkin spice-y come out of the woodwork, and I have to say, I’m totally here for it. I love how crisp the air feels when you take your first step outdoors. And how beautiful the leaves look when they change from green to yellow to orange to red. I love how they fall all over everything, and crunch when you step on them. It’s truly magical, you’ll never be able to convince me otherwise.

This fall has been a strange one, I must admit.

As I’m sure you saw, back at The Farm, we’ve already had snow! (Which admittedly isn’t totally unheard of in September, but it’s still a bit early). Here on the other side of the country, it’s been pretty dang hot. My heart is yelling “Drink some hot chocolate! Curl up under a blanket! Wear some fuzzy sweaters!” and my head is yelling “Brenna it’s 34°, run as fast as you can to somewhere with A/C so you don’t melt!” Naturally, my head won, and I have sought asylum inside a local Starbucks, drinking something very chilly, and very non-pumpkin spice-y.

laptop and notes at Starbucks

I think one of the things that makes fall so special is all the anticipation.

Kids and adults alike have returned to school, and there’s a buzz in the air. There are new books, new classes, new friends and new places to explore. The weather is changing (in weird ways, apparently) and there is excitement in the all around. For some, there are lingering thoughts of eating unreasonable amounts of turkey at Thanksgiving. Or if you are Jess, you’re already wired thinking about Christmas. The thing I look forward to the most about fall, is dressing up for Halloween.

Halloween has always been a family production.

I’m sure you’ve guessed by now that this post doesn’t have much to do with farming, but it has a lot to do with family. We have always picked a theme (usually from a movie), and then our characters, and got to work with creating the most amazing costumes. I remember spending hours with Dad looking for the perfect red coat at Value Village for when he went as Captain Hook (Jess and I were of course Peter and Wendy). I remember searching the school gymnasium for Mom on Halloween, only to find her wearing the perfect emerald cloak and pointy hat for her Minvera McGonagall costume. Jess and I went as Harry Potter and Hermoine Granger, and I must say, my accent was perfect! 😉

One of our most famous Halloweens was the year Dad came to the elementary school dressed as Shaggy. Mom had immaculately replicated Scooby Snacks using some coloured paper and a cereal box. My friends were delighted to find that there was still cereal in the box, that Jess and I happily shared. Our Mystery Inc ensemble was complete. We had Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, Velma, Daphne, and a gaggle of kids in creepy costumes following us around.

Jim, Brenna and Jess dressed up for Halloween

My parents were always wonderful with supporting Jess’ and my imaginations in a million different ways.

From the books they read us, to the endless imaginary tea parties I invited them to. Or all the times I wanted Mom to comb her hair with a fork (you can thank The Little Mermaid for that one). They always made the space and time for us to explore and play. For a while I thought that Halloween was an extension of that: just another activity for our enjoyment. I have since come to realize that their love of Halloween, the effort and the creativity they put into all of our outfits and experiences wasn’t just for us. It was something they had come to love and enjoy themselves, and they were teaching us to love it too. If you want proof of that, just check out this picture of Mom as Catwoman and Dad as Joker almost 30 years ago! They killed it!

Group of adults in halloween costumes

Nothing gets my creativity racing like planning our Halloween costumes.

Without a doubt, this sense of fun that my parents always seemed to bring to this holiday has had a huge impact on my love for Halloween (and all things costume involved, really). Fall just wouldn’t be the same without us designing our Halloween costumes way too far in advance, and sending text messages and pictures of the final products back and forth to each other. Fall, and Halloween, make me miss everyone back home, but I know that much like every other year they will have something amazing planned for it.

Halloween is going to be very special this year, because we have someone new on the farm: you! We will be sure to keep you all up to date with the plans, plotting and scheming for Halloween, and we are sure you won’t be disappointed! I don’t know how they plan on dressing, or where they plan on going, but I know without a doubt they’ll have a blast, and I can’t wait to hear all about it.

 

Any costume/event suggestions for us? Comment below and let us know what you think would make a good group ensemble for us this year! We would love to hear from you!

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