Late October

 

Late October Fun

We recently returned from a cruise to Canada and the New England Coast.  The leaves were nice, but this gorgeous tree that is right outside our front door has them all beat!   We were blessed with a beautiful fall and lots of color this year!

We are all ready for Halloween here at Our New Vista.  This ghost was made many years ago by my dear Aunt Mamie.  She did not start doing ceramics until she was in her 90's....and had so much fun with it.  Many members of our family were gifted with these and each year we love posting the return of "Aunt Mamie's Ghost" !!!

Our neighbors were traveling to Spain and Portugal the same time we were cruising on our trip, so we got together for brunch to share our travels.  The charges are embossed with fall leaves - hard to see in this photo - and I found them browsing this week in Ross...on clearance for 3.99....so I could not resist.  The fall placemats were found at a "Cash and Cary" sale in our community on Dollar Bag Day.  Anything you can fit in a big, brown paper bag on the last day of the sale is just a dollar for the entire bag.  These placemats still had the price tags on them!  The dining room furniture is "vintage"...of just plain old.  We purchased this set in 1979...and it has been the setting for so many good times with family and friends over the years.   In 1991 we built a home and went with new "Queen Anne" style furniture in the living room - and kept saying we were going to get a more up to date dining room.  Well...this table has two leaves, I have 8 chairs, and we used it so much and never found a set that we liked enough to purchase.  As we moved through the years I switched out the pulls on the china cabinet and server, changed out the covers on the seats...and after this last move to our downsized apartment had the well worn parquet top refinished.  All the pieces fit perfectly in our apartment...and it has come back into style, so we are enjoying it now every day as our only dining table.

Simple centerpiece of a candle in some candy corn...the mirror is from Dollar Tree, and the ghost is one I made in 1977.  The napkin rings are also from Dollar Tree.  The water glasses were a wedding gift in 1977 - and have our initials engraved on them.  Sadly, over the years of using them and putting them in the dishwasher, they have a haze that I cannot seem to get rid off of them.  Once they are filled with water or a drink you don't notice it, but I wish I could somehow get rid of the haze.  Any ideas ?  I don't want to get rid or them...love that we have been using them for almost 46 years - and of the set of eight only one has broken.

The menu included a broccoli and cheddar quiche, coleslaw with apples, pears, dried cranberries, and topped with toasted ( a little too toasted ) almonds, pumpkin muffins, and bacon.  We served an apple cider/rose blended drink that we picked up at a local winery and it was lovely with the meal.

You can see the nice wood grain on our table in this photo...I love it.  I purchased some honey butter and used my mini cookie scoop to make butter balls.

This is the buffet piece from the dining set.  It has been many things over the years...when we first got it I used it as a room divider between the kitchen and dining room since it has a beautiful oak finish on the back side.   Over the years it has been a nice piece in a bay window in one dining room, and now serves as a nice table behind our sofa and a great dessert place.

I made M&M brownies that I also topped with ghost/pumpkin Halloween sprinkles.  Been making these for years...easy peasy and oh so good.  You can find the recipe here - 

My Best Brownies

We had a great time enjoying the meal and sharing our travels.  I made sure I had goodie bags with some muffins and brownies ready for our guests to take home and enjoy the treats on Halloween.

Do you entertain for Halloween ?  Are you a brunch person ?  I think it is SO easy to entertain at a brunch...and people are so busy that sometimes a daytime get together works best. Please leave a message below and let me know how you celebrate.  Thanks so much for stopping by Our New Vista - and have a 

Happy Halloween !!!

 

Aboard the Viking Star

Finally all unpacked and laundry finished and time to reflect on a great journey on the Viking Star.  We enjoyed a wonderful "repositioning" cruise that took us from Montreal to Fort Lauderdale - with many wonderful stops along the way!  

We were happy to arrive in Montreal on time with no flight delays...hoped to interview for Global Entry at the airport but the office was closed and had been since Covid began.

Beautiful view from our stateroom.

Toured the amazing cathedral in Montreal...

Learned that the main aisle slopes downward to mimic the flow of the St. Lawrence river.

This was a first for me...I did see battery operated candles in churches before, but I never saw a way to pay for your candle with a credit card !

Quebec the next day....lovely old town.

Wonderful day exploring the historic city.

Next stop was Saguenay... a small town with great scenery.

Beautiful churches and this pyramid memorial to people lost in the terrible flooding in 1997.

Found a lot of Little Free Libraries along the way, but this one was "the coolest"!

We got to spend an extra morning there as our stop at Prince Edward Island was cancelled due to damage from Hurricane Fiona.  The island did not have power and was not accepting any cruise ships.  I was sorry to miss that stop and the Anne of Green Gables tour...but enjoyed the extra time to enjoy the beautiful scenery.

Loved the spa pool with the warm water and great loungers.

Waffles !

Seemed like there was always a reason for the crew to pass our champagne...

and Afternoon Tea.  What bliss...with beautiful music and delicious treats.

The food on this cruise was AMAZING!

Next stop was St. John, New Brunswick 

I always seem to find the libraries and the bookstores...

Interesting area with "reversing falls" when the tide changes.

Next stop was Bar Harbor, Maine...and Acadia National Park.

Chowder and toasted cheese for lunch...

This shop sold lobster ice cream !!!

Back on the ship for a wonderful lobster dinner!

Then next day arrived in Portland, Maine - 

What a beautiful city.

Our tour out to the light house was not until the afternoon so we explored on our own -

The last existing watch tower in the U.S.

Another little free library where I found a book I wanted to read...will add a book to a little library in my neighborhood to keep the idea going.

Lovely walk along the bay and enjoying all the sea captain's homes.

We found the restored area near the docks with lots of shops and places to eat...

By the time we made it back to the ship my Fitbit said we walked over 15,000 steps....so I indulged in gelato and dessert...and wine at lunch!

We were lucky with weather the entire trip....rained a little as we visited the beautiful lighthouse.

The rocky coast of Maine was really gorgeous...then it was on to Newport, Rhode Island.

Trinity Church

Loved the stained glass

The pew where George Washington worshipped...

The kneelers are from when Queen Elizabeth visited in 1976 and worshipped there with President Ford.

We walked around the harbor and looked at some of the huge yachts.

Like stars on the water....a wonderful day!

Back to the ship for another Afternoon Tea time.

Cannot say enough about how great the crew was - they all wore masks to keep us safe. (We wore masks in the airport, on the plane, on any tour bus, and in the theater.)  Viking crew treated us royally...remembering what we liked to drink, our names, and our cabin steward took care of our every need.  

And once again...the food !  This was surf and turf...and both the lobster and filet were done to perfection.  The portions were huge...so much so that several times we asked for half portions.  We are usually very careful with our diets and try to eat healthy.  On this trip....forget about it!   We have vowed to be more moderate on the next cruise....we shall see.

The closer we got to Fort Lauderdale the warmer the weather became...we enjoyed the infinity pool and hot tub at the back of the ship.  

It was a fabulous trip - we saw so much nature and history, enjoyed fabulous food and wine, met a lot of interesting people from all over the world, and spent time just relaxing and watching the water!

Can't wait for the next trip...coming in March!

Do you like to cruise?  River?  Ocean?  What cruise lines do you enjoy?  Please leave a comment below - I love hearing from you!

Thanks for stopping by Our New Vista - have a great week!