Met with the surgeon post-op and while the break was worse than X-rays showed, I now basically have a new left ankle complete with a “TightRope” Working on pain management and a strategy for 8 weeks of non- Weight-bearing on both legs. This ads new meaning to go big or go home. Waiting for insurance to sort itself and then I’m off to a rehab facility for a few weeks. Not sure what happens after rehab but learning to take things one day at a time. More tomorrow when my brain returns.

Do you have pets? We currently have four cats ranging in age from under a year to nearly 11 and my daughter is going to be sending her 10 year old Maine Coon to live with us for a while. When your daughter is a “geriatric” pregnancy with a toddler at home, you don’t question the ask. Anyway, here’s Lord Stanley of Cup hard at work🤫

Nobody remembers a perfect snack. They remember the batch of oat bars that stared back at them. Baking with a kid isn't about the baking. Not mostly. It's about the 40 minutes where they're up on a chair next to you, in charge of something real: the smelling, the whisking, the "is it done yet," the arguing over whose monster is scariest. That's the moment. The bars are just the excuse. These Monster Apple Oat Bars are built for exactly that. They're baked, not fussy, and almost every step has a kid's name on it: 🥣 They smell the cinnamon and dump the dry stuff in 🥄 They whisk the wet ingredients while you grate the apple 🔢 They do the math when it's time to cut (3 × 4 = 12, and they'll double-check you) 👹 They give every bar a face with candy eyes, raisins, mini chocolate chips, and little apple-slice fangs No two monsters come out the same, which is the whole point. They're sweetened with applesauce and a grated apple, so it's a snack you'll feel good handing over. One small moment: pick an afternoon this week, put a kid on decorating duty, and let the faces get weird. Recipe, timing, and the kid-friendly steps 👉 https://recipepantry.app/recipes/kids-can-bake-monster-apple-oat-bars Then come back and show us your monsters. The uglier the better. 🎃 Heads-up: contains egg and dairy, and there's a gluten-free oat swap in the recipe notes.

It's that lovely time of the season and can't believe how fast time has flew by. Christmas is around the corner again. Preparation of all my dried fruits are chopped and soaked for the holidays baking last week for Crust and Crumb Academy - future bake-alongs. It was a lot of chopping, but oh, so worth it. The smell was absolutely amazing with all the liquor. I know a lot of people frown when it comes to the Christmas cakes. The stores are dry like cardboard and if lucky to have a little liquor in it or not at all. It just does not do justice to it at all. We are marinating our fruits with the liquor and will be adding more after they are baked each week. This ensures more moisture and flavor added to that wonderful fruit cake. I am baking all 3 and planning to give them away as Christmas presents. 🎄 🎁 A lot of my Jamaican friends have already put an order for it. I will cut and share pieces with them all. I will be sharing freely and gift it to them all. Looking forward to all these wonderful bakes. 🎄 🎂 Feel free to comment, if you are a lover of fruit cake or not?🎄🥮

Halloween is around the corner and what better way to create some pumpkin bread. We baked 2 pumpkins and we were encouraged to decorate to our hearts content. I choose to collect whatever was in my garden to create my pumpkins and to be natural and creative. I added roasted garlic and rosemary to my dough. The kitchen smelt heavenly. 🎃🍞