Canadian Thanksgiving, Snacks and Cake, Neon Pink in Nature, Flower Garden Quilt Back

Several people asked about the Canadian Thanksgiving; some had never heard of it so I thought I'd write a little about our celebration.

  In fact, in Canada, Thanksgiving has roots reaching far back in our history.  It started with the 1578 celebration Martin Frobisher, who was looking for the Northwest passage for England, had with his crew in Canada giving thanks for the safe crossing and protection in a dangerous land. But it was in 1879 that our prime minister made it officially a national holiday and it remains a Federal holiday since then with many working people having the Monday after Thanksgiving off. It used to be in November till moved to the second Sunday in October to coincide with harvest and also so Remembrance Day (Armistice Day) and Thanksgiving could each have their own appropriate observance. 

When I was a girl, us church goers celebrated Thanksgiving at church. The altar was always laden with harvest items and the theme was one of gratefulness for harvest and our bountiful life in Canada. Interesting note for my American friends, during the Revolutionary War 1775-1783, Americans fleeing to Canada brought their Thanksgiving traditions of turkey and pumpkins which, because they were delicious, soon made their way into our celebrations too. However, our Thanksgiving has never gained quite the prominence, though a holiday for many, that the great American Thanksgiving enjoys. 

 Long weekends in the work world are something we all love no matter the reason.  I know I certainly did. Now, in retirement, it is moot as they are all long weekends. 😊

 Here are some other things I liked this week. 

Like several of you showed, our Burning Bush turned neon pink too, not red this year. I wonder why.

It certainly made a show of itself with that amazing (and kind of surreal) colour.

Getting to finish up my Flower Garden quilt is a pleasure. I'm working on the border and looking at the back here.

My quilting stitches are a little wobbly in places.

But having the border follow the star points gives it some added interest.

I found this sweet little online fabric shop; Lady Belle Fabric  -that is a link to their quilt kit page where there are some sales and lots of inspiration.

All Time Best Paint Colors collated by Real Simple.  I thought of a number of you who are renovating or repainting your houses and feeling overwhelmed by the huge selection out there. The shades chosen are beautiful I think.

One of my favourite snacks.  Rice cakes with peanut butter and a topping usually banana  

or dried craisins.

Daughter gave us another cake!  It was the best he'd ever eaten, his nibs said, and seeing as how he is 81 and has had a long history of cake eating, that would be quite a compliment.  And yes it is quite delicious. Rock Recipes Chocolate Stout With Bailey's Truffle Cake. If you are feeding a chocolate lover, this would be the one to make for a special occasion for sure. 

And here is my chocolate lover down by the pond with Murphy.  Taken the end of September.

I hope your week has had many many things to be thankful for too!

Always thankful to link with Not Afraid of Color, Needle and Thread Network,

 Brian's Home Blog, My Quilt Infatuation and It's a Small Town Life.