Autumn news

Hi again… In September Jessica finally started her French Immersion kindergarten. Her teacher is Madame Gosselin and Jessica is thrilled with her. She attends in the afternoon from 1pm to 330. A big yellow school bus brings here home and Peter meets her at the bus stop.

At the end of Ocotber, Mr. and Mrs. Tamada, Noriko Fukumizu, and Fumiko Egi came to visit. They had first visited Vancouver where I was relieved to hear they had seen the autumn leaves. There are no more leaves on the trees the end of October. We visited Fort Whyte center and exerienced a little of the Canadian prairies. There are a few buffalo grazing there… as well as some frisky prairie dogs. Mr. Tamada found a bone in the long grass and took it home as a souvenir. I told him it must be human… but nobody believed me!!

We also toured Assiniboine Park and the Forks market. At the park we were fortunate to see Boo at the Zoo, a display of scary Halloween scenes and actors trying to scare people. It was my first year to see this… so it was fun!!

We went out to Gimli one day… no sailboats but a lot of water. A kind shop clerk took us to the top of a condominium for a panoramic view of the lake. I hear it will freeze over before the end of December and they will make a sinter ice road across for cars to travel on as a short cut.

We played a lot of card games, and the Tamada’s stayed at my parents’ home. As usual, my mother made a fantastic meal and we enjoyed my parents’ hospitality.

It seemed like time was short when our October guests were here… one thing I promised was the recipe for
Chili Con Carne… a popular winter meal in North America. Here is the recipe below… or just look for another on the internet.

Anyhow, another big thanks to our autumn guests… and I guess that is all the guests we have coming until the spring…!

One of the classic comfort foods.

1 pound ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
salt and pepper
1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 20 ounce can red kidney beans
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (optional but add an extra bit of flavor)
1 tablespoon chili powder

Sauté onions over medium heat in non-stick pan or in a touch of oil. Add ground beef and garlic and brown well. Add salt and pepper while beef is cooking.

Drain off any excess fat after frying meat. Add canned tomatoes, kidney beans and seasonings. Mix well, cover and cook for 1 hour over medium low heat. Adjust seasonings to your taste.