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
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 (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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
The Summer has been absolutely horrid for the Arizona/New Mexico area of the Country. They deal with extreme heat, Haboobs, Thunder Storms, Fires, Flooding, just to name a few things.
I booked a mini vacation, the last weekend of October, and I am hoping that I manage to not have any of those things. El Niño, should hold off until late December, or Early January.
I would definitely not book train travel, during any of those months, since there is a large chance of flooding.
As it is right now, my one night at the Grand Canyon is within 2 days of being canceled. The last day they currently have a definite cancelation, is October 31st. My trip puts us in the Canyon on November 2nd. I have no idea if that date will move again.
What caused this, was extreme flooding in the canyon itself. It took out a critical pipeline that brings water to the hotels on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, mine being one of them.
I am waiting to hear more from AAA travel, about alternate lodging, for that one night. They may have some rooms booked just outside the park, in Tusayan. We shall see.
El Niño may cause other lines like that, to have problems, at least out West.
They are: The Coast Starlight, especially up in Northern California.
The California Zephyr going through the mountain passes.
The Empire Builder if the storm track goes north.
Down South, the Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle.
You might want to book a journey a few days before departure, knowing what is going on, and what the 10-day forecast is for your route.
As always, please mask if you don’t feel safe. There are a lot of things in the air.
It has been just over a month, since I baked bread.
I did not want to bake it just before a trip, so I waited until I returned.
Then, it comes down to finding a day we are not busy.
Sunday was the day, and I made it, again, with bread flour.
I have decided that using just bread flour, makes it too dense.
Next loaf will be half and half, and I will see how that does.
It is nice to have bread in the house, once again.
I saw some really good mushrooms, the other day, and decided to make Stuffed Mushrooms.
I am not sure if I have ever shared the recipe with you, I looked on the side of my blog, and don't see it. So here goes.
Stuffed Mushrooms
1 lb of Ground Beef
1 egg
1/2 cup or so of bread crumbs (Italian or plain, or both).
Grated Cheese (yes, I used the green container)
Parsley, if you feel like it.
The mushroom stems, cut into small pieces
Mix all ingredients together. If not holding together, add another egg to the mixture.
Stuff each mushroom cap, then shake a small amount of the cheese onto the tops. I sprayed them with a little olive oil, if you have a oil sprayer, it works well.
Into the oven at 350 degrees, for an hour.
Serve immediately.
