Roses and Thorns Oct. 10 - 18

Okay, I started this the other day, but never got to finish it... so I'll try to wrap it up now.

Rose
I definitely got my workout last weekend. On Saturday, Laura and I hiked up Knox mountain again and over to Paul's Tomb. Then at the blink of dawn on Sunday morning, Lara and I ran the 10K. Although the weather started out at a balmy -9'C and neither of us had really trained - and I had been standing on my feet all night the evening before (please see next rose) - we survived just fine. Another metal to toss into the spare bedroom closet. Yay! Here's a pic that was taken of us crossing the finish line, which I don't plan on paying $30 for. Talk about a lame money grab! (Unless the fee goes to Sunshine Dreams for Kids of course? It didn't say...)

Thorn
My feet were really quite tired after the hike, the run and...

Rose
Thanksgiving dinner! I started as soon as I got up on Saturday morning, took a break to go for a hike, and then continued on until about 10:30 Saturday night, but it was well worth it. Jim's dad prepared the turkey on his BBQ rotisserie, while I made....

• Roasted garlic mashed potatoes (and some of the non-garlic variety for Grandma)
  
• Veggie sausage, cranberry and apple stuffing (and some without veggie sausage & onion for Jim's Mom and Grandma)
  
• Mashed sweet potatoes with marshmallows
  
• Roasted/caramelized brussle sprouts
  
• Apple-cinnamon acorn squash
  
• Mandarin, grape, almond and avocado salad with homemade dressing
  
• Cheesy biscuits
  
• Two pumpkin pies and 20 lil' tarts from an actual pumpkin - not that canned stuff (although I think it didn't really taste much different.) 

Whew. What a feast! I'm sooo happy that it all went over so well. :)

Thorn
With a week off, you'd think I would've been super productive doing a few of the things I've been slacking on - like finally finish writing about Paris and Amsterdam in my wedding travel journal. Yes, it's been a year and I still haven't wrapped it up! Fortunately, I have a pretty good memory and pictures n' video always help. I did manage to do a lot of cleaning and relaxing with my week... but I was disappointed that a couple things on my to-do list never really made the cut.

Rose
I had a lovely chat with my cousin Jodie early in the week. It's been forever since we gabbed on the phone, so it was very nice to spend some time catching up.  It's so weird when you think about the people in your life who you used to see every single day, and now months n' months go by without much communication at all. I love how we're always able to pick right up where we last left off.

Thorn
Well, there's always stuff in the news that really annoys me... like that model being fired for being too fat... give me a break! But otherwise, there wasn't much that ticked me off last week. So maybe I'll make my last thorn into an extra rose.

Rose
The Log Barn! Every time we return from Jim's folks' house, we pass this place called "The Log Barn". You might've seen it - it's in between Enderby and Armstrong. It has a tall "goat walk" bridge that you can't miss from the highway.

I've always wanted to go there; however, farmer's markets, craft fairs and the like don't interest Jim at all. He finds them boring beyond belief. BUT, just before we zipped past as usual, he asked if I wanted to go in this time. I couldn't believe my ears. I thought he must be ill! Ha.

Anyhow, we got to pet and feed all kinds of cute goats. They have this contraption where you put some corn kernels in a tin can, and when the goats hear the clink-clink of the corn, they immediately start kicking this bicycle wheel at the top of the goat walk. This in turn, triggers a pully that yanks the can up to the top, where the corn spills out in all directions at their feet. Quite the neat thingamajig and so cute to watch them use it.

We also checked out a few little shacks and barns with trinkets and homemade stuff (some of which Jim actually liked). We looked at all the tasty homemade goods and pretended to eat a piece of sausage when a gentleman kindly offered us some. It was a delightful little detour on our way home, and Jim had to admit that he enjoyed it too.

Rose
Even though I have never played Mario Kart in my life, I could not help but simply fall in love with the sweet beauty of Mario Kart Love Song. It popped up this week while I was going about my usual fabulous business of washing dishes and sweeping floors. (Cinderella! Cinderella!) Tis so lovely I had to play it three times in a row.

I looked it up on YouTube, so I could share it with you. Ignore the video if you wish, but do check out the song:



Here are the very creative lyrics...

You be my princess
I'll be your toad
I'll follow behind you
On rainbow road
Protect you from red shells
Wherever we go
I promise.

Noone will touch us
If we pick up a star
If you spin out
You can ride in my car
When we slide together
We generate sparks
In our wheels and our hearts

The finish line
Is just around the bend
I'll pause this game
So our love will never end
Let's go again

The blue shell is coming
So I'll go ahead
If you hang behind
It'll hit me instead
But never look back
Cause I'm down but not dead
I'll catch up to you

Don't worry about
Bowser or DK
Eat this glowing mushroom
And they'll all fade away

The finish line
Is just around the bend
I'll pause this game
So our love will never end
Let's go again

To the mushroom cup
And the flower cup
And the star cup
And the reverse cup

Fun, right?

Thanks to thesixtyone, as usual.