The Fall Pottery Sale

I have not gone to the Pottery Sale, since last Fall.

Off I went, because I can't resist, and I wanted to see some inspiration for my own pottery work.

Here are the two pots that I bought yesterday, and you can see I will never get to their level of talent.

The top photo is a pot that is somewhat similar to the one I bought last Fall. You can see it in THIS post.

It has a Native American look to it, and being that matches some of my home decorations, I immediately went for it.

It was made by Pottery by Naoko Kubo.

The second photo is a pot by a good friend, who I have bought pots from in the past, Michelle Marie Maga.

I usually get pumpkin/Fall creations from her, but this pot was so beautiful.

It looks like the sea shore, and there was no other like it, in her display.

I was so lucky to purchase it.

Is Anyone Else Having Problems With Using Their Credit Cards?

Our Family was recently purchasing our train travel trip in Canada.

We were using a card that offers travel purchases at 3%, so it was important to us, to use that card.

Nope, we had to go through multiple hoops to make it work for us.

Though we finally had success, and immediately sent the proof of what rooms we had booked, to my Son.

That's when he told us that the website rejected all three of his credit cards. He was very disappointed.

He ended up calling them the next morning, which was a good thing, because the representative booked him within 2 rooms of our room, same car and everything. We are all very happy, but that does not take away the fact that it was so much more complicated then it needed to be.

On top of that, the card we used, only gave my Husband a card, not me, though the card has me as an authorized user. We have had this card since the '80s, and we think that might be part of the problem.

We are working on that, but sheesh!

It should not be this hard.

Cheese, Sausage, And Potato Soup

This recipe came up on my email the other day, from Wilson's Cheese Shoppe (In Pinconning, Michigan)

We visited it, the last time we were in Michigan, and have eaten their cheese, upon occasion.

I thought it sounded good, so I bought half and half (instead of heavy cream), and had everything else "in-house".

FYI, I added Chinese noodles on top, for a bit of crunch.

Cheese, Sausage, and Potato Soup

Ingredients

1 lb smoked sausage or kielbasa, sliced
4 cups potatoes, peeled and diced
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups shredded Pinconning Cheese, Mild or Medium works great
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup corn
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and black pepper to taste
Chopped green onions or parsley for topping
Extra shredded Pinconning Cheese for serving

Directions

Brown the sliced sausage in a large soup pot. Remove and set aside.
Add butter and onion to the same pot. Cook until softened, then add the garlic.
Stir in the flour and cook for about 1 minute.
Slowly stir in the chicken broth. Add potatoes, thyme and smoked paprika.
Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
Stir in the sausage, corn and heavy cream. Reduce the heat to low.
Add the Pinconning Cheese a handful at a time, stirring until creamy and melted. Avoid boiling once the cheese is added.
Season with salt and pepper.
Ladle into bowls and top with extra Pinconning Cheese and green onions.

Make it extra cozy: Serve it in a bread bowl or alongside thick slices of crusty bread for dipping.

For a sharper, richer fall flavor, use Sharp Pinconning Cheese instead of Mild, the aged cheese gives the soup a stronger cheesy bite.

New Roofs Are Happening

This is the second new roof on my block.

My next door neighbor did his a week earlier.

Yes, we are getting ready for El Niño, here in Santa Clarita.

We really should contact our plumber, to get our outside drains cleared.

Our roof should be OK right now, since we had it repaired in the Spring.

In the meantime, fires have been breaking out, north of Santa Clarita. Always a fun time...not.

There Was A Time In This Fair Land When The Railroad Did Not Run

"There was a time in this fair land when the railroad did not run
When the wild majestic mountains stood alone against the sun
Long before the white man and long before the wheel
When the green dark forest was too silent to be real…"

I always loved this song, by Gordon Lightfoot. He was comissioned by CBC for the 100th Anniversary of Canada.

It brought me a wish that I have had for decades. I have always wanted to ride the railroad, across Canada.

Finally, we are trying to make that happen.

There is a big sale going on, right now. Similar to our once a year sale.

It is called the Canadian Black Friday sale, and if you go to the VIA website, it shows you different discounts.

30% off is the sale for the cross country trip. Through the rockies, and all the other places along the way.

Vancouver, Canada, to (in our case) Toronto, Canada.

The price given is in Canadian, so you need to convert it to US Dollars, to find out what you will be charged.

If you have ever wanted to book this kind of trip, now is the time to do it.

The sale lasts through this weekend.

Interested, check it out.

PBS Is 56 Years Old

PBS is 56 years old (as of yesterday). An old PBS logo for you to view, is HERE.

A year or so ago, you would not have bet on us surviving...but here we are.

Holding our own in a crazy world.

Keep sending money their way. Buy a shirt or something.

It doesn't hurt, and it helps them in more ways then you know.

Tiburon

My Water Post For Today.

I bring you back to Tiburon, in the San Francisco Bay.

Cute houses line the shore (I would like to live in one).

Waves crash onto the rocks, to hopefully protect them from damage.

Though they are a bit away from the shoreline itself.

I hope you enjoy.

Newhall Crossings

We bought tee-shirts to help support the recent fire in Downtown Newhall.

The pick-up location was our Newhall Farmers Market.

Not an easy place to find a parking space, so we finally ended up in the parking structure.

We had never used it, so this was a first for us.

It is part of a complex called Newhall Crossings.

It contains the Laemmle Theater (which we have never used).

Adding to things we could use it for, it is right across the street from the Newhall Metrolink Station. Unfortunately, no overnight parking.

We are not pub goers, so Maginns is not for us.

It was an interesting experience, so now I can say I saw it.

Chop Suey, Without A Recipe

I saw they had cut beef for stir fry, 30% off. I had a 20% off coupon for everything in the store, so with both coupons, I bought it and decided to make stir fry, once again.

The legitimate recipe from 2025 is HERE.

I just did what I expected it to need, and after looking at the recipe, I was very close.

I did not put bean sprouts in it, and it actually did not need it.

I put a can of water chestnuts in, and that gave it a bit of crunch, as did my caramelized ginger.

All in all, a nice dinner, which I paired with fried rice, egg rolls, and crispy noodles from Grand Panda.

If I had bought everything there, it would have been close to $50. Instead, it was $27 and I have lots of leftovers.

My Husband Knows Me So Well. We Have Mallomars This Year

When I was in New York, I went shopping for a few things that my Sister needed.

What do I see? Mallomars!

Yes, it was mid September and so the stores put up a HUGE display, to announce their arrival for another Fall and Winter.

Due to the chocolate coating, they are only available for a short window of time. September to March (if they last that long).

I have never seen them last past Fall, myself, but I am on the West Coast.

At the same time I found them back East, I heard from my Husband that he bought some at our local store.

Thus, I did not have to sneak any home in my luggage, this year.

As of October 1st, they only have a few left. We will see if they get replenished, or are we already out for the year.

The Shetland Burra Brönnie, Returns To My Baking Routine

I swore last time that I would not bake Burra Brönnies anymore.

It was so very hard to mix the liquid ingredients into the flour mixture.

After several months of not eating them, I finally broke down and bought the fruit for the Brönnies.

I decided to pour the liquid ingredients into the flour, but not too much of the fruit.

That ended up being the right way to do it. I mixed the flour, and then when it was all incorporated, I added the last half the fruit.

No problem at all, and it took just over an hour and 15 minutes to bake with a nice brown top.

My Husband, and I both loved the way the house smelled. Yum. If you want the recipe, it is on the side of my blog, or you can go HERE.

The Full Harvest Moon

It was 4 days ago, but I did manage to get a few photos of the Full Harvest Moon on Saturday.

We had some clouds from Tropical Storm Polo

It made the moon look like when a werewolf howls at it.

My gym instructor was so into it, that she posted that we all should go outside and howl.

I laughed.

We Went To Crazy Otto's For Another Visit

We go out to eat so seldom, so on Monday we were getting an oil change for our car and since the appointment was at 9AM, I asked if we could eat breakfast out.

My Husband agreed, and off we went to IHOP.

We pull up, and it is closed, with a new sign on the front, and a notice looking for workers. I was so sorry to hear it is gone.

Oh well, where to go?

Saugus Cafe (which we are boycotting), is right down the street. Black Bear is right there, too (but we don't like it much), or Crazy Otto's a bit further away.

We went for Crazy Otto's, once again.

I ended up with the Corned Beef Hash (which I had once before) and my Husband got their Chicken Fried Steak.

Lots of food, lots of money, but we loved it.

You are looking at my left-overs. It was a lot of food.

Toronto And Lake Ontario

My Water Post For Today.

I am bringing my blog back to 2018, and Toronto, Canada.

We are currently in discussion, regarding a visit to that wonderful city, via another train trip.

This photo was taken from the top of the CN Tower, and in the photo you can see, not only Lake Ontario, but the CN rail tracks.

It was nice to see the other side of the lake, since Oswego is across from Toronto.

I hope you enjoy.

A Beautiful Fall Sunset

I walked outside on Friday, and this is what I saw.

A beautiful Fall sunset happening, right in front of my eyes.

I was glad I got to see it, because it was stunning.

Sometimes, getting outside to water my plants at the exact time this is happening, is pure luck.

I was happy.