The searing heat of the summer has passed and we’re left with the crisp, cool air of Autumn. It’s Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, and there’s so much to be thankful for, but still work to be done before we can feast.

On tap for today, preparing side dishes for a family thanksgiving dinner, a re-shoot of my YouTube video promoting the Whine & Cheese series and writing this article. In the coming days, more work on the editing of book 2, which is due out in the coming weeks, and I still have to work on the last 20,000 words of book 3 as well.

I’ve yet to finish the set-up of my writing room, as a few key pieces of furniture remain at my condo in Ottawa for just a couple more weeks. After that, it’s full steam ahead, but in the meantime it remains a stumbling block to my creativity.

Two weeks ago, my step-daughters and I created a beautiful Autumn wreath for the front door and a matching candle base, both adding a touch of warmth on these cool pre-winter days.

This was perfect weather for the Apple Cranberry cider I had recently been gifted with.

Created by the 401 Cider Brewery in Colbourne, Ontario, its juiciness grabbed the taste buds on my tongue and gave them a pummeling of flavor. I was pleasantly surprised by the nice balance of apple and cranberries, neither too sweet nor too tart and at just 5% alcohol content, I didn’t feel guilty having more than one glass. In the video, you can see I had a hard time putting the glass down!

I had asked Paul and the kids to choose the cheeses for today’s spread, knowing that I tend to play it safe.  The end product was a “mild Beemster” from Holland, that caused a look of confusion to cross my face. It lied to me: it wasn’t what I would call mild! Creamy in texture, a nice buttery color, but I would say more of a medium, a slight sharpness to it.

The other cheese was chosen for it’s somewhat snowman shape, looking quite similar to fresh mozzarella. No surprises here: described as a “stretched curd cheese”, made from either cow or sheep’s milk, the Caciocavello was indeed very similar to mozzarella and I know will melt well in future dishes.  As a side note, the name means “cheese on horseback” in Italian, due to the manner in which the cheese is tied together in a rope and dangled over wooden boards to drain during the aging process. They dangle horses on ropes in Italy?

The snack was rounded out with the usuals, a spongey ciabatta baguette and a Salametti salami which I’m sure I’ve written about before (Yum!).

Video shot complete, the food props were quickly consumed, followed by a relaxing afternoon listening to Paul play the guitar while I wrote. It’s soon time to head a few doors down to our family close by for a wonderful dinner. All that’s missing from the weekend is my son, at his dad’s for the weekend, but always in my heart.

As I often say, life is good. Cheers, my friends.

Judy

I hemmed and hawed a bit, then started with the news that I knew Nora would consider to be worse. “Chicha’s missing. The door was slightly open and she must have wandered out.”

“Oh no! My poor girl, she’ll be so distraught. She must be so hungry. We have to go look for her now!” She whirled around and headed out of the garage. Before I could take two steps to follow her, she was back.

“What’s the other bad news?”

“We have to call 911. There’s a body here,” I said simply.

—Excerpt from Ice Whine and Irish Cheddar (Whine & Cheese Cozy Mystery Series)