Hot Toddy

I think I have heard of this in books - having a hot toddy before bed, maybe in a Jeeves and Wooster? I found the recipe in a book that seems to be about hosting and entertaining (can't really explain it more than that).
Hot black tea, brandy, honey and lemon slices.

Vacuuming

2011

2015

Not that the vacuuming is anything special, although we still love our vacuum cleaner! But I remember back in Australia, when he was littler, he was pretty enthusiastic on vacuum cleaning too.

Renn Fest!

Our second year to go to Renn Fest (Rennaisance Festival), and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. People go to extraordinary efforts to dress in their version of rennaisance, and some people just dress up (we saw Lord of the Rings characters and a Drizzt).

My happy points:

• The military precision of the parking in the morning (think, steady stream of cars, directed into specific spots in big open field)
• The man in the wheel of death - haven't seen many street performers who just give an enjoyable performance with no crudities involved.
• The drumming group called The Drum Runners
• The (loosely) celtic (I think they're channeling some sort of shaman celtic vibe) group called Cu Dubh (again, lots of drumming and some lovely non traditional harmonies with bagpipes, who would have thought?!)
• The street mime artist who could blow bubbles with soap on her hands
• The glass blowers who give a demonstration every half hour
• We also saw an elephant this year! Giving rides! but the line was very long and it was the end of the day, so not for us.
• All the people dressed up.

Not so happy points:

• Queues - everyone comes out to play, around about 12.30pm, so there are queues for the bathroom, the atms (just bring cash, people), the food and the beer
• The crowds - it got a bit difficult with the pram. We didn't go into any of the shops, because it would have just been too awkward. But after this visit, I'm really curious to try to look next year.

Croissants

A while back, I discovered the corner of Trader Joes where the frozen croissants hang out... Yes, frozen croissants, that just need to be left out a day ahead of cooking to prove.
This has proved very helpful for chicken pot pie, as we always found puff pastry hard to find (someone in Trader Joes even mentioned it was a 'seasonal' item!).

Easy Craft - flags

This one came from school - requires a bit of tissue paper, sticky tape, scissors and a stick for the flag pole. Huge entertainment value!
I don't know why you have to chop holes in it (a la snowflake style). I was told it was something traditional, but I'm not sure where from.

Fall Colour

Despite my doom and gloom about fall colour, these trees are turning beautifully! I love looking down the street to see the leaves.

2016

We have actually got our diaries and calendar Before the New Year starts... Just sayin'. Feeling slightly like if we keep paddling really fast, we might have a chance.