Today is Remembrance Day.
This day holds so many special memories for so many people. This year I am finding that it means something much different to me.
Today I remember the fallen soldiers who fought for our freedom.
Today I remember my Poppy who fought in the Korean War and passed away in 2006.
Today I remember his brother who fought in the Second World War, my Great Uncle Doug who fell on the Beaches of Normandy.
Today I remember my Best Friend’s brother Dan, a courageous cadet who lost his battle with cancer in 1995 at the age of 18.
Today I remember my Nana who was a military wife and passed away this year… tomorrow would have been her 81st birthday.
Today I remember my Granny who fought a battle of her own, a battle of being a poor immigrant during the Depression in the divided city of Winnipeg and passed away after her battle with cancer in 2006.
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| My Granny and Grandpa age 15 and 16 |
Today I remember my Mom who had a hard battle against MS and cancer and passed away almost 5 months ago. Not a minute goes by that I don’t miss her and wish she was here laughing with me, seeing the girls grow, and planning Christmas with me.
Lest we Forget.
HoneyBear was able to participate in our Remembrance Day parade and service today with her Sparks Unit.
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| She is right there in the blue jacket and and her poppy! |
I am very happy that she is involved in such an important Day. I want her to remember the past and know every day how lucky we are to be here. It is important that our young ones don’t forget the past so they can lead us on a better path towards the future.
After the Parade is another story… it is a day off school and every minute must hold excitement and entertainment for the Bear or major boredom meltdowns will eventually ensue!
So today we are working on birthday happiness!
We begin the season of SPEND SPEND SPEND! SBean’s birthday is coming up, HBear’s birthday is 4 days later and 2 of her BFF’s birthdays are that week too! Add on Xmas a few weeks later and well… we are broke!
I make most of our Christmas gifts and I have some beautiful gifts I am working on right now that I can’t share with you yet. As most of my readers are my amazing family members lol those posts with tutorials won’t be up until AFTER Christmas 🙂
Birthdays though… well this year HBear is having a gymnastics party! She invited 9 friends and we are making the goodie bags! Today we are making the 1st item to go into them… Clay Crown Magnets!
Crown Clay Magnets
2 cups flour
1 cup salt
½ cup water
Magnets
Cookie cutters
Acrylic paint
Glitter
Sealer
Pre heat oven to 200
Make your dough by adding the flour and the salt to your mixer with the dough hook on.
Add water a tablespoon at a time until the dough is all together but NOT sticky. Add more or less water as you see fit.
Roll it out and make your designs using cookie cutter, play-doh cutter or whatever you have on hand J
Put them on a greased baking tray and put into the oven for 1 hour and 45 minutes.
Cool on racks.
Paint and decorate!!
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| Not sealed yet |
When dry hot glue the magnet on the back and finish with a clear coat of acrylic paint, modge podge or any type of sealer.
Tonight we are having a roasted fryer chicken. They were on sale at Safeway this week for $8.00!!! LOL
So I basically just slathered garlic butter under the skin and in the cavity, put it in a roaster, covered it and cooked it at 375 for 1 hour.
For sides we are having brussel sprouts and smashed baked potatoes. The potatoes are super yum but I waaaaayy over salted them L. The sprouts are so good you won’t even know that they are yucky brussel sprouts LOL
Brussels Sprouts with Feta & Bacon
Adapted from Family Fresh Cooking
1 lb Brussels Sprouts, cleaned, remove tough stem & slice into small pieces
1 Shallot, diced
2 Garlic Cloves, pressed
1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
1 tablespoon Mustard Seed
a few pinches Sea Salt
a few pinches Black Pepper
a few pinches Ground Cinnamon
1/2 cup bacon, cooked & chopped
juice from 1 Lemon (1 tablespoon)
2 ounces crumbled Feta Cheese, plus more for topping
handful Dried Cranberries
Heat a large saucepan over medium with a good splash of olive oil, shallots and garlic.
Soften them about a minute and add brussels sprouts and 2 tablespoons of water.
Toss sprouts with shallots and seasonings, there should be enough oil for them to glisten. If not, add more. Increase heat to medium high and cook for about 10 minutes until sprouts are sizzling, bright green and cooked through.
Add lemon juice and another splash of water of needed. Stir mixture frequently.
Remove from heat, fold in bacon and some feta. Transfer to a serving platter and top with more bacon, feta cheese and dried cranberries.
Loaded Baked then Smashed Potatoes
Adapted from The V Spot
5 potatoes
salt
¼ cup butter
¼ cup sour cream
¾ cup shredded cheese
½ teaspoon garlic powder
6 slices bacon, cooked and broken into pieces
2 green onions, sliced
Make salty baked potatoes from the recipe HERE.
When they are done, give them a rough chop and them put them into a bowl.
Add butter, sour cream, pepper, and smash them up! You don’t want mashed potatoes so leave them chunky J
Fold in the cheese, bacon and green onions. Season with salt and pepper if needed.
0 thoughts on “Let there be Peace on Earth and let it begin with me – Lyrics from my grade 2 song “Let there be Peace on Earth””
Wow! This post had me crying and then it had me hungry! I love the pictures and the memories that you shared, and I am so sorry for your losses. I'm glad your daughter was able to be a part of such a great event!
Now on to the food…I never would have thought of the Brussels sprouts, bacon and dried cranberries. It sounds amazing!
Thanks so much for sharing with all of us on Twirl & Take a Bow. Hope to see you again this week!
~ Brooke ~