Thursday 15 October 2020

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 CakeIf 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 ColorNeedle and Thread Network,

29 comments :

Brian's Home Blog said...

We've been wishing our Canadian friends a Happy Thanksgiving for as long as we can remember and our thanksgiving will be here before you know it. That cake sure sounds like a winner! Thanks for joining our Thankful Thursday Blog Hop!

Mary in Peoria Handmade said...

Great photo of hubby and Murphy. That burning bush is so cool but that cake is serious stuff!!
I hope you and hubby stay safe and happy.

Home Sewn By Us said...

Hi Jocelyn! That burning bush is gorgeous - mine are all red but I know there are several different varieties and you got a good one! I think your hand quilting looks lovely. No one else will examine each and every stitch - they will enjoy the piece overall. Your snack looks yummy and that cake - yummmmmmy. What a sweet picture of the chocolate lover and Murphy. Happy Thursday to you. ~smile~ Roseanne

Sherrie said...

Hi Jocelyn,
Your Burning Bush is pretty...like the pink...speaking of that, I found a place on line that gives you answers as to why it turned pink..go here....https://garden.org/frogs/view/22606/

Your quilt is looking good...having wonky lines doesn't hurt..not quilt is perfect, there are always flaws in them somewhere. I love rice cakes...yummy. Your Cake Lover looks happy..have a great day!

Magpie's Mumblings said...

Interesting to read the history of our Thanksgiving - thank you. And that wonderful bush is so beautiful. I've noticed that the trees (at least here) were very red this year so perhaps the weather has affected the bush as well and changed the normal colors. And that cake - you had me at chocolate and THEN you said it had Bailey's in it...drool!!! (ps...the paint colours link doesn't seem to work)

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

He sure is handsome and takes a great photo! He must be doing lots of things right to look so good! Love seeing your quilting progress! Enjoy your day!

Timmy Tomcat said...

What a wonderful post chock full of thankfuls. We love it

eileeninmd said...

Hello,

I hope you had a happy Thanksgiving. Since retiring every day is like a weekend for me too. The burning bush is beautiful, I have been seeing some around here too. Love your flower garden quilt. The cake sounds yummy. Murphy is a cutie, my hubby is a chocolate lover too. Take care! Have a great day!

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

gosh that chocolate cake sounds divine! I like the new photo you post of you with the gray sweater and the bird on it. our Thanksgiving will be very small this year with most staying home - we have not even made any plans for it - the burning bush is so colorful

lesh Stgermain said...

Happy Thanksgiving however you celebrate it! The way you described it at church, that is right now still going on in Holland in the evangelical churches. Truffle-anything sounds yummy to me. Here in Texas not a sign of turning of leaves (yet?)Jocelyn!The blue little flower is such a cute pattern. The burning bush is sure an apt name:):)

LA Paylor said...

I like your bird sweater picture! Pretty! that cake, OMG I will go look at the recipe. Your husband and Murphy pic is frame worthy... really captures the spirit of the moment, and I like the setting and cropping...LeeAnna

Jenn Jilks said...

Mine was quite red! It's quite a mystery, the turning of the leaves.
I looked up our Thanksgiving,as well. I was curious.
It makes much more sense in October, I think. It angers many of our First Nations and Inuit, however. Our treatment of them is abhorrent.

Jenny said...

Mmm, that cake sounds delicious, we love chocolate cake too!

Siouxzq64@gmail.com said...

Interesting I wonder why the burning bush didn't turn red, but pink instead? Maybe the weather didn't have a long enough transition from hot to cold? The cake looks yummy. I think your quilting looks lovely.

Ruth Hiebert said...

I love the color of your Burning Bush.

The Joyful Quilter said...

Wow, that cake!!!

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

Isn't your Burning Bush an amazing color, Jocelyn, wow! That cake sounds quite delicious, too. I need to get one of my sons to bake for me, lol! Glad you're enjoying quilting on the Flower Garden quilt - it looks great to me!

Libby in TN said...

Anything with Bailey's is worthy of consideration in my book!

PaintedThread said...

Peanut butter and banana is a great combo. Yummy chocolate cake! Great photo of your chocolate lover and Murphy. :-)

Chookyblue...... said...

always interesting to hear what happens in other countries and the history behind it......

Cheree @ The Morning Latte said...

My son is turning 21 and I've now promised him that cake when he comes homes home to celebrate. I can't think of a more perfect cake, esp because he loves any sort of chocolate dessert made with Guinness. (I texted him the recipe and his reaction was priceless!). Thanks for sharing that one!

piecefulwendy said...

A neon pink bush? How cool is that?! That cake looks very tasty. No worries on the wobbly stitches - I can't see them!

Linda said...

Of course I rushed to read your post with "cake" in the title. ;) That one looks like a great recipe. I once made a cake with stout from a recipe by Nigella Lawson, and it was one of our favorites.
Your stitches look so neat! The fabric is so pretty.

Michele McLaughlin said...

Such a nice photo of your hubby! I love that you explained Canadian Thanksgiving and your memories as a child! Your quilt stitches don't look wobbly to me at all, I love your work! Have a wonderful weekend Jocelyn! Thanks for always being inspiring!

MissPat said...

I always admire people who hand quilt large quilts. I worked on a group project hand quilting a donated Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt and decided I probably wasn't cut out to be a hand quilter. That cake looks delicious, but I think one piece would be enough for me. Sounds very sweet. So much of our cultural heritage is being "re-imagined" as they say, so it's hard to enjoy the traditional trappings of holidays like Thanksgiving and that's without adding on the consumerism that makes holidays more annoying every year. We may have a frost this weekend which is fine with me. I'm ready to let the garden go to rest for the season. More time to quilt then.
Pat

Rosemary Dickinson said...

I used to hand quilt all my quilts. I discovered machine quilting and never went back. I have tried hand quilting but I get a cramp in my hand now. I guess I'll keep machine quilting! Your quilting looks great to me. That cake sounds so decadent!

Karrin Hurd said...

Your cake looks wonderful! Love your beautiful bush!

Michelle said...

I enjoy seeing your quilting work. I did not inherit that talent from my grandmother, sadly. Thank you for linking up and stay well!

Michelle Ridgway said...

Happy belated Thanks Giving to you and your family. I found your history very interesting. We don't celebrate it here downunder but I think expressing gratefulness is a wonderful thing to do. That cake looks very decadent xx