Wednesday, October 8, 2014

hopefully not the last swim of 2014....and some other stuff

we went down to the river and had a river day on october 6. we even took several dips! the water was blood-curdling freezing and horribly cold - but it didn't matter! the sun was warm enough when we got out and we try to stretch out how long before "the last swim" happens. this was probably the last swim...but we've still got some nice days coming so hopefully we can get a few more dips in. i hope.


i always try to get this exact pic to put in our posts. the reason? it's for my friend C who lives in new york but grew up in a little house right across our river and in that bay.

as you can see, we are surrounded mostly by evergreens so there aren't a lot of trees in our area and on our land that change colour. that's why autumn shocks me so much each year - i look out into the front and backyard and all of the trees are still green and we don't see any reds, yellows or golds. so i still think it's summer. my friend Rob sent me a picture of his gorgeous grandbaby playing in all of the fallen leaves. and that's when i realized that, although i love to still see green trees when there is snow all around, i do kind of miss all of the fallen leaves.

the only things that turn gold, brown and red are the ferns. they are very pretty.


this was our river lunch - some mixed bean salad with different-coloured peppers, our own cucumber and tomatoes.


lots of people think that we live in the middle of the arctic, but the fact is that we live in a very temperate climate - i am still collecting tomatoes and have a whole 'nuther whack of them coming in. want proof? ok then...



that's my harvesting basket and underneath Frankie Blue Eyes is the tomatoes that i harvested yesterday - arghghghghgh! you can't put a bowl or a basket down for 5 seconds and no matter where he is - he will get into it! thank goodness he got out when i shook the "snackedy-moe" bag and didn't do too much damage to the tomatoes! (we call the little yellow bag of snacks "snackedy-moes" - don't ask me where we come up with our names for things. jam and i have actually established our own language!)

here's one of our favourite salads - shrimp, vermicelli, cucumber, tomatoes, green onion, and mint, cilantro and basil. with our fave lime-chili-garlic dressing!



here's some home-made tomatoe/basil soup made with tomatoes fresh off the vine, basil fresh off the...vine? and using home-made bone/veg broth. add a little parmesan and a ton of black pepper - deevine!


here's a beautiful shot of the sun just starting to go down. i love that sky!


and here's one of our favourite suppers - spaghettini cooked in a mushroom, bacon, garlic cream sauce - yummeh! with little cherry tomatoes fresh off the vine.


this weekend coming is a very exciting one and i will share it all with you then. until then, we have our vfd meeting tonight and plan to spend this afternoon re-arranging the greenhouse. our hungarian wax peppers are doing awesome and it is time to take them into the house to overwinter them. we thought we had lost them to the aphids but a bunch of our pepper plants bounced back - thank goodness. ok - that's it for now. off to check up on my blogroll and see what you all have been up to.

27 comments:

  1. Gurl...that is one fat cat...lmao!!!!!! I can see where people think that because you live in Canada that you are in the Arctic. I got the same from people who find out I am from Florida... They automatically think that when you cross that border, it is constantly sunny and 85 degrees year round. Always made me laugh when I would listen to the tourists complaining about the rain or cold weather..

    Pics are beautiful as always, enjoy those swims as long as you can. Perhaps buying a wetsuit for those really cold days.????

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    1. I think a wet suit would kinda defeat the kymber swimming method. Maybe I am wrong but well ya know...

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    2. Gurlie - i know that cat is fat! but what can i do - he just wants to be fed 27 times a day and i can't say no!!!! and ya, i am sure you got the same thing in Florida. i was in Florida once (Pensecola) and it was frickin cold! as for the wetsuit, i think PP nailed it. if i can't get in naked - i ain't getting in - bahahahahah!

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  2. I always enjoy your photos, and your updates. I updated my blog you two need to check it out. Have a great weekend....Rob

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    1. thanks Rob, buddy - i always enjoy getting updates on Sammy, either through email or the blog. i'll head on over to your blog after i finish these comments. much love, to you and yours, always, buddy! xox

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  3. Wow your food looks good! I need to come for dinner! I love how the shrimp/prawns make a heart

    It rained buckets today.

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    1. Sol - you are welcome anytime! and thanks for noticing that i shaped the shrimps in hearts - teehee - i like making things look pretty. so sorry it rained all day. hopefully it was a nicer day today! xox

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  4. Kymber,

    Iv'e seen the photos of your place in winter, you do live in the Artic! I would not last a week in your winter, I have no idea what to do if it snows!

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    1. Sgt - bahahahahah! we don't live in the arctic! i still have tomatoes coming up and no frost yet - woohoo! but yes, we do have 3 solid months of winter....but that is ok for us as we are used to much harsher winters in ontario. but my buddy, you would probably freeze your pretty little face off so make sure to visit us during the summer - bahahahah! much love buddy! xox

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  5. Life goes on. Yours is a very good one up there.

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    1. Harry - we are incredibly fortunate for all that we have, and we are very grateful! we love it here. and we love all of our friends! like you! xoxo

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  6. brrrrrrrrrrrr.... swimming in the Arctic.... you're true pioneers! hehe

    Love the kitty in the basket. What a sweet little face (even if he is hatching tomatoes).

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    1. oh hobo - bahahahahahah! my kitty is hatching tomatoes - i never thought of it that way - bahahahahah! as for swimming in the arctic - we can't help ourselves. we love that river. it is so fresh and clean - i always take a big mouthful when i dive in. and you wouldn't even believe what it does for my hair - it's like conditioner!!! so i try to get in the river as many times during the spring/summer/fall as possible. i hope that we have at least one more dip. much love. xox

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  7. Sweet Kymber,

    You selected the perfect picture for your friend C. The water is nice a clear and I know it's cold. We used to go out this time of year on Lake Superior in the UP......we froze.....and boy were we awake after taken that dip, Bahahahahahaha!!!

    Okay, now I'm looking at these delicious meals you've prepared and drooling.......I'm going to have to get up out of this chair and look for something to eat with my chamomile tea. Grrrrr..........
    ah......I've found graham crackers

    Have you tried Gouda cheese with your tomato basil soup? Homemade tomato basil soup is just to die for......but when you add the Gouda cheese.....it's so good....it will make you jump up and want to slap your Mama.......(that's a slogan we have down here).

    Your spaghettini cooked in a mushroom, bacon, garlic cream sauce is something I'm going to need to try. I'm going to mention this to BD Man and see if he wants me to make it this weekend.......

    Okay time for me to get to bed, have a great evening.....don't work to hard.

    Love to you and Jam.
    Your Friend,
    Sandy

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    1. Sweet Sandy - every time we go to the river i take a pic of the bay across the river where my friend C used to live. he has very good memories of growing up here and for that, i am very happy. and jeesh - lake superior - oh man - that is cold even in the heart of summer - brrrrrr! but i have always known that you are crazy - bahahahah!

      i'm glad you found some graham crackers and chamomile tea is so good for you!

      i have honestly never tried gouda in my tomatoe soup - you just gave me a fantastic idea as i love gouda and can imagine how good it would be! next time i make it, i will add the gouda and let you know how awesome it is! thanks darlin'!

      slap your mama - that's just terribly funny - bahahahahah!

      i hope that if you make the mushroom, garlic, bacon cream pasta for BDMan, i hope that he loves it. we love it! it's a staple here.

      much love to you and yours, always, Sweet friend. we both send our love! xoxox

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  8. I am not normally the type that pays much attention to food pics as you well know but that salad and the pasta dish sure does look good.

    The garden is actually still producing here as well except I have filled everything to the brim and not bothering to harvest anymore. A few bean pods here and there yet still.

    Keep up the good work.

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    1. PP - well - you have absolutely shocked me with noticing the food pics. thanks buddy! and ya, due to our short growing season and extended season into the fall, we are still harvesting everything that we can. again, thanks buddy! much love eh?xox

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  9. I swam in a lake with glaciers once. It wasn't bad after a few minutes. Of course I had to watch my legs to see if they were actually moving when I tried to get back to shore!

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    1. Ed - when i was in Alert (10 miles from the actual north pole), we did a polar bear dip in the arctic ocean. basically a hole cut in the arctic ocean that people ran out to, jumped in, came out screaming and blue and then got a badge. kinda stupid but i did it.

      but swimming - actual swimming - in a glacier lake?!?!!? what the heck is wrong with you, buddy? bahahahahahah! much love to you and yours. xoxo

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  10. Ah! I thought that photo was showing up a lot... I love seeing it every time. thanks :)

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    1. whenever we go to the river i take that exact picture so that you can see it on the different days, with different blue skies, and the clouds and whatnot. you are very welcome! we are so glad to have met you. much love to you and all of yours, buddy! we always think of you when we are at the river. we can't help it - we stare right at where you grew up and it is so nice to have a connection to what we look at. xoxo

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  11. Told handsome we may need to take a bike trip north sometime, it's so beautiful. Your food always looks so amazing!
    I sent you a quick email, but will update you more next week.
    Have a wonderful weekend!!

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    1. lw - cape breton is known as a biker's paradise due to the cabot trail - look it up and you will see that biker's love riding the cabot trail. and we would love to meet you guys! i am waaaay behind in my emails but i promise to get to your email in the next few days! much love and thanks for all that you and your hubby did for Phelan - it is really appreciated! xox

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  12. I joke with people that Idaho has 3 seasons July, August and winter. The Treasure valley is very nice most of the year. Yes it get darn cold in winter and hot in summer but the low humidity makes it tolerable. I have walked a few miles in -20 degrees F. so that +10 degrees seemed like a spring day. I also did 20 degrees in Georgia and I thought I would freeze to death because of the humidity.
    I got nearly suicidal living in Olympia Washington next to a rain forrest. It actually rained for 39 days and nights and the locals were good with that! Give me High desert or even some forrest but I need the sun. Ithink I'm solar powered and my solar cells are in my tummy!

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    1. jamie back in ottawa we joked that we had 3 seasons - constuction, winter and construction!!! bahahahahh! and i hear you about both the humidity and rain - i was in BC (which is just North of Washington) for a conference for 7 days and it rained the whole time and was icky and gray - i hated it - i need the sun, too! as for humidity - i was in DC for 3 months (may, june and july) and i swear i sweat more in those 3 months than i have ever sweat in my whole life - that humidity was awful!!! it never gets too humid here, and we never need to use the air conditioner or even a fan because even tho we live next to the ocean, we always have the ocean breezes. much love gurl! xox

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  13. Skinny dipping in October would do me no favours! I couldn't see my wife jumping in either! Not sure about the cat trying to hatch out your tomatoes!

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    1. Ken - we are both scorpios, therefore water signs, and we both have been water babies our whole lives. we bought this property because it came with waterfront and we looooove that river!!! as for the cat hatching tomatoes - he's successfully hatched 3 more baskets since - who knew??? bahahahahah! (and oh, i just have to say what a delight it is to see someone write "tomatoes". you can tell you are a Brit and that i went to school before the dropping of all the e's! teehee!) thanks buddy!

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