Wow... three days off. In a row.
It's been a while. Just over a year actually... since I've had three days off in a row. And the weather has been amazing. D and the dogs let me sleep in on Friday morning... for the first time in recent memory. And the rest of Friday was spent walking about downtown and then a movie with my friend Sandra. I hadn't seen her in months and was long over due for some one-on-one time with her. We got all caught up with each other's lives and spent a couple of quality hours reconnecting. Now I just need to do that with a few others I haven't seen in forever. :-)

Saturday, D and I did a whole lot more walking about. We did the Byward market and then the Parkdale market. Bought a ton of wild and local blueberries as well as a whole mess of yellow tomatoes. Then we came home and made blueberry jam and then made tomato sauce this afternoon.  Here is a picture of the Peach jam we made last weekend. And the Blueberry jam and golden tomato sauce we did this weekend. Very productive. Just a couple of each of the jars. We made six of each. Can't wait to try the tomato sauce on one of our homemade pizzas. Yum!

The rest of the day yesterday was spent with a beer and a book in the backyard with the pups. A very relaxing day. And then today I happen to come across the website for Stephanie Meyers (Twilight author) and found that she had posted the manuscript for a new Twilight novel that someone had leaked to the web so she decided to post it for all to read... for free. It is the Twilight novel told from Edward's perspective. And it is very well done. Spent a good few hours today reading it. Not finished yet but am enjoying the new point of view a lot and will get back to it once I post this. :-)

Actually, I owe my mom a letter so will probably spend the next hour or so writing that. It's been a while and lots to catch up on.

Tomorrow is back to the grind but I have to admit that I do look forward to going in to work still... even after over a year there. A wonderful feeling, I must say.

Well, will close for now. Brightest Blessing to you all. And some lovin's as well.

XOXXO
 

But then, any day spent in the garden tends to be a good one. I had today off so the pups and I went out to the backyard this morning at 10 and are just now finished. Got a ton of things done and with another couple days out there I should have it just about done. :-) 

The pump in the fish pond wasn't working so I pulled it apart this morning and cleaned it out... chock a block full of old leaves and muck. It's purring like a charm now and I got the waterfall going. You should see all the birds in the yard once that was up and running. I could work all day to the sound of bird-song.

Here is a pic of Keira in front of the pond.

I spent about an hour pulling maple keys that had sprouted. Got about 3/4 of the gardens done. I'll finish the rest through the coming week as time allows. I can't believe how far along all the plants are this year compared to this time last year. Last year we still had a foot or more of snow on the ground and this year I have plants blooming up a storm. Amazing.  And on that note... I broke the #1 rule for Ontario gardeners... I planted seeds before the May 24th weekend. Yup, the last two years I waited till the end of may to plant my radish seeds and it got too hot too soon and they ended up bolting and not giving me any radishes. So, I plantd the seeds this morning and am keeping my fingers crossed.

I'll wait another week or two before putting my tomatoe seedlings and others, but, with each warm sunny day, it is getting more and more difficult. :-)

Going to see the movie 'Wolverine' tonight. Can't wait. He was always one of my fav X-Men. All that hair and muscle. :-)

Well, goona go for now, walk the pups and then catch up on all my email and such.

Hugs and Brightest Blessing to each and every one of you.

XOXOXO  Hope you're enjoying your day.

Had both Saturday and Sunday off this week. Very nice. And we got a ton of things done. Saturday was shopping and getting the last of the three dogs to the groomer. Poor thing really needed the visit to the groomer and looks soooo much better for it. We were a bit lax this winter and her coat was super thick and in need of a good brush out and trim. I'm happy to say all three pups are now in show condition and loving it. They spent most of today out in the backyard with us as we raked, swept and did a good overall spring cleaning of the yard and gardens. I have a ton of work left in pulling the 4000 little maple trees that are sprouting... as they do every spring. I rake up as many of the maple keys as I can in the fall but come spring there are still a million seedlings sprouting up all over the place. That's OK. An hour or two every day this week before or after work and they'll be gone and the flowers will have the gardens back for themselves. And speaking of gardens... here are a couple pics. :-) Elmo came out of winter hiding once the sun came out, and did a tour of the gardens.

Here he is with a lovely mini-iris that some nice squirrel planted in our garden.

And here he is with one of D's Hellebores.

I repotted all the tomatoes I had started from seeds. They needed to be put into larger pots. Here they are. I think I'll have more than enough for us as well as the neighbours. :-)

I also have the onions, chives, strawberries and lupines that will all be ready for planting outside soon. I need to read up on how best to harden them off before planting outside. I have all the pots to still get cleaned up and filled with fresh soil for them and will be doing that over the next week, before and after work as time allows. I don’t like to re-use the same soil two years in a row so need to get fresh stuff. I’ll mix last years soil with the compost I have and add it to the gardens to give them a boost.

I LOVE days like this. Most of it spent out in the sun, in the gardens. There were even a couple bees and other insects out and about. And at night, when I'm out with the pups for their before-bed pee, you can hear the nightcrawler worms rustling the leaves in the dark. A sure sign of spring and warm weather. Nothing better that getting your hand dirty, the smell of fresh earth and a spring flowers.

I hope you all had weekends as warm and wondrous as mine.

Brightest Blessings.
XOXOXOXO

Wow... it actually hit a high of 14 degrees Celcius here today. Weatherman said we were the warmest city in the country. And it really felt like it. Beautiful day. The pups got a couple very long and enjoyable walks. Turned a lot of heads and they met so many nice people. I took them downtown and nearly every person we met stopped to pet them and tell them how beautiful they were. I fear it may have turned their heads though. They've been a bit diva-ish tonight. :-)

I also had a wonderful lunch date with LanternLady. Been a while and it was so mice to see her smiling face, feel her amazing energy and to catch up with her. Been too long. And yes dear... entirely my fault. Must work harder to remedy that. As I told her, work has been interesting. And as I work there longer and get that first year under my belt I'll have more chances to make changes with the schedule in order to free up time for rits and other gatherings.

I also spent a bit of the day cleaning up the yards after a winter that was pretty rough on the trees. Lots of leaves and small branches and twigs to pick up this year. Along with the usual litter the city tends to generate and deposit on the lawns. I even found a kitchen knife on the front lawn. Not sure why anyone would be carrying one of those around. Weird.

I put a small birdfeeder up in the burning bush this winter and now that the snow is melting... Holy Bird Poop!!!  Cleaned up most of it, along with a beer bottle, a couple Tim Horton's coffee cups, a diaper and assorted paper and other detritis that made it's way onto the lawn. Ah, the joys of city living.

On a nice note... we have crocus and tulips pushing up out of the ground already. :-) Woo Hoo.

Here is a shot of the front garden. OK, you'll have to lok close but they are there. :-)

I showed the neighbour and he got all excited. He got out his shovel and started to shovel off the snow left on his front gardens until his wife came outside and gave him heck. She wants to save the tulips until her family comes over from Italy in May and told him if he uncovers them they will bloom too early. I didn't have the heart to tell her that, even without Mario shovelling away the snow, it would be long gone and the tulips long past blooming come May. It is going to be a nice early Spring this year. She does have wonderful gardens though and need not worry about impressing her visitors. Her gardens will be fine. 

I also have a ton of Selvia coming up in the back garden/lawn. That stuff is spreading like mad. The lungwort is also pushing through the bit of snow left covering them. Won't be more than a week or so and they will be blooming.

Can you tell I really LOVE this time of year. :-)

Well, best be going. Wishing you all the Brightest of Blessings.

Namatse XOXO

Nothing perks me up more this time of year than a warm sunny day, a long walk in the sun with the pups, and getting things ready to plant the veggie seeds for the spring garden.

The last month or so has seen me burying myself in work. I found myself putting everything into being the chipper, friendly and helpful sales person/co-worker that I could. And then being quiet and a bit withdrawn everywhere else.(poor, patient D)
I'm feeling very disconnected. My energy level has been so dang low and I have been everything BUT grounded. Just blown around by what ever came up. I miss my friends and family and the new job doesn't give me the weekends off as regularly as the old one did so it hasn't been easy to connect with them as much as I would have liked. And I find that the older I get the less I can tolerate this city living. I know I'm stuck here as long as D and I have to work but I find I look forward to retirement and escape from all the noise and frenetic energy of a city more and more. It doesn't help that the news is reporting an ever increasing number of robberies and shootings in the city. What the hell is happening to this world?

I did find myself going out a lot less this winter. It's been a cold one and the city put so much salt on the sidewalks this year that I couldn't take the dogs out for the long walks as often as I used to. The salt is really hard on their paws and I can't convince them to wear their little boots. Kids...

But, with the warmer weather, I find myself outside more and the winter malaise is lifting. Thank goodness. I started my meditation routine again. That is something I should not have stopped and after just a couple days I find it helping me stay more grounded and more myself. That is a good thing. It also helps that I have been seed shopping and even got myself a little mini greenhouse this year to start the seeds in. It will help keep the seedlings moist and protected until they are ready to be hardened off before planting them outside. Woo Hoo. My first greenhouse. :-)
Here's a picture.

It has tons of room and my little garden won’t need that many seeds but I have been busy and have lots of plans for this years garden. I got a lot of the same veggies I grew last year but also added snap peas, onions and squash. I'll plant the radishes outside a lot earlier this year. I was late last spring with them and they got to hot and bolted. Bummer.
Here is a shot of the seeds I'll be growing. Oh, and I'll be doing potatoes again this year. They worked so well that I'll be doing two pots of them. Yum.

So, most of the snow is gone... just a thin coating left on the ground and not the 4 to 6 feet we had this time last year. It looks like we may have grass and early flowers by the first part of April. Wouldn't that be nice. The ice is also off the pond and there have been a few glimpses of gold down in the depths so we know at least some of the fish have survived. I have to wait another month at least before I can start feeding them again... unless we get a real warm spell. I can't wait to see how many baby fish we got this year.

D has volunteered us to be one of the stops on this years Garden Pond Tour. I really have a lot of work to do to get the yard in shape before that happens. I haven't had a chance to talk with the neighbours to see when they want to replace the fence. I hope it is either in April/early May or not till the fall. Replacing that fence is going to play real havoc with the flower gardens and I'll need time to repair them for the tour if we replace it in the spring. It would be nice to get it done early and out of the way though. We are planning to put in a nice new deck and pergola at the same time and wouldn't that look nice for the garden tour. I'm sure that everyone taking the tour will be like me and looking at the gardens as much as the fish ponds. :-)

Here's a picture of the backyard now... lots of work to do. :-)

Well, how is that for a ramble. :-) The day is passing me by and I want to get the pups out for another walk while the sun is up and shining so brightly so I'm off. I hope you are having a wonderful day.

Namaste and Brightest Blessings, one and all.

XOXOXOXO
 

What a peaceful walk with the pups this morning. There is a fresh blanket of snow covering everything, dampening down the noises of the city. The walk through the park was quiet and magical... interrupted by the occasional yip from one of the pups as they ran after each other and played in the snow. :-) I don't start work till 10 today so I'm able to go slow and enjoy the morning. Very nice.

I placed my first order from the seed catalogues yesterday… a sure sign that Spring is on its way. With all the warmer weather we’ve been having, we’ve lost a lot of the snow we had built up over the Winter. There were even a few spots along the edge of sidewalks where you could see the lawn. Yes, we got a bit over night but no where near what was lost. And with the days getting longer, it’ll be gone before we know it. (How’s that for positive thinking…)

I filled the bird feeders again. It seems that word has gone out in the area and every sparrow and Chickadee from miles around now know of the secret birdfeeder in the bush in our front lawn. I had to put one in there to keep the pigeons off of it. The bigger birds were muscling the smaller ones away. This way they have a protected place to relax and fill their little bellies. Makes for happy little birds who sing constantly. Wonderful. -)

Well, I better sign off and go clean off the car for D. And then it’ll be time to get cleaned up and ready for work. I hope you all have an amazing day today. I sure will! 

Brightest Blessings
XOXOXOXOX

I can't believe it is Thursday already. This week is just screaming along.

On the new oven front - I made a nice chicken pot pie last night. Turned out very well. Here's a pic. If you want the recipe just let me know.

I am on the noon till 9pm shift today and tomorrow. I like this shift because I can spend a bit more time in the morning puttering around before getting ready for the hour+ walk to work. The dogs enjoy it and I can straighten up the house a bit here and there so it isn't such a big job come a day off. Oh... must remember to fill the bird feeders before I leave for work.

We got a good dump of snow yesterday so the walk will take a bit longer... always does because the city doesn't always clear the sidewalks on Bank Street once you get past the Glebe. And when the sidewalks are covered in snow it is like walking along a beach of shifting sand... without the warm sun and sea breezes. :-) It's great for your leg and butt muscles but makes for a slower walk. :-)

Just got finished helping the neighbour shovel the driveway and sidewalks. I must say that I am very happy he has a snow blower. Makes the job so much easier. It was a good and steady dump of snow yesterday and this is the third time we’ve been out there. Here we are at the end of January and already the snow is piled up to the top of the fence by the back door. I sure hope the snowfalls in February are fewer and far between or I don't know where I'll pile the dang stuff. Last year the little birds lost the refuge they find in the Burning Bush out front when it was buried in snow. I am trying very hard to find other places to pile the white stuff so that they keep that little refuge. Poor little things. Winters like this have to be very hard on them.

On the upside, we got more seed catalogues in the mail yesterday; so warmer weather is on the way. Have you noticed how much later it is in the day before the sun sets? Not long now. :-)

There was one plant that stood out in the catalogues this year:

Patio Blueberry plants. Smaller and compact so you can grow them in pots... how cool is that!

From the Spring Garden catalogue: Delicious and Healthy! These beautiful blueberries have an extra-sweet flavour and a supercrisp texture you're sure to love. They're just right for all your favourite recipes. Of course, you may have trouble restraining yourself from eating them right off the bush! Not only are blueberries delicious, they're good for you, too! Anthocyanin, a flavonoid found in the skin of the berry, is an antioxidant that can help fight the development of cancer and cardiovascular disease, as well as eye problems such as glaucoma. They are also a very good source of fibre. Check this and more on line at http://www.springgarden.ca/product/640/s

So, I have to order those. We usually have three or four planters on the patio with flowers. I think I'll take at least one of those and use it for Blueberries. Woo Hoo. Just think of the fresh Blueberry Jam come Fall. :-)

They also have the rainbow coloured carrots I grew last year. I need to get more of them. So sweet and the colour was very cool. Freaked out a few people in the lunchroom at work. :-) Can you tell I'm a bit excited about Spring?  Only a few weeks away. :-)

Today I am grateful for seed catalogues in the mail. Keeps the winter blahs away.
I am grateful for a partner who lets me get all excited about seed catalogues. :-)
I am grateful for a working oven and the food it cooks for us.
I am grateful for a job that allows me to purchase said oven and food.
I am grateful for a healthy body that allows me to walk to work because those nasty bus drivers are still on strike.
I am even grateful for this snow. The pups have so much fun playing in it and that brings me joy.
And, last but never least, I am grateful for family and friends (both on line and not) who make life so full of joy and Love.

Namaste my friends. And Brightest Blessings on this wonderful day!

P.S.  Happy Birthday again to my sister-from-another-mother... LanternLady. XOXOXOXOXO
 

Here is the recipe I promised in my last post. It is from one of D's new fav chefs, Anthony Sedlak from the show "The Main". Highly recommend it, a great show. with great food. So, here it is. I'll list the changes D made to his version first and then the recipe. Hope you try it... and enjoy it.

We're now off to the store to get the fixin's for home made pizza... in our new oven. :-)

XOXO

Changes D made for this version:
 
Substituted ground turkey for the beef (can used ground soy)
Used white wine instead or red
Didn't peel the potatoes
And used 2% evaporated milk instead of the 35% whipping cream

Cottage Pie
by Anthony Sedlak on “The Main”

Yield:  4
INGREDIENTS:

Filling

• 4 tbsp vegetable oil
• 500 gram ground beef
• 2 tbsp butter
• 3/4 cup diced onion, about 1/2 medium
• 1 cup diced celery, about 1 stalk
• 2 cups diced carrot, about 2 medium
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 heaping tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 cup red wine
• 2 1/2 cups beef stock
• 1 sprig rosemary
• 1 sprig thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt and pepper to taste

Potatoes

• 7 medium cooking potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1/3 cup butter, cut into cubes
• 1/4 cup 35% whipping cream
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste

For Assembly

• 1 9-inch square casserole dish
• Extra grated parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs (optional)
• Salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Filling

1.Add 2 tbsp vegetable oil to large saucepot over medium high heat. Add ground beef.
2.Allow excess liquid to bubble away; stir and cook until meat is well browned and crispy, about 8-10 minutes. Drain excess fat using a colander.
3.Deglaze pot with red wine, scraping up browned bits and let reduce slightly.
4.In another large pot, add remaining vegetable oil over medium high heat. Add onions, carrots and celery; cook until golden, about 5-7 minutes.
5.Add garlic, stir briefly and add tomato paste. Brown paste slightly and sprinkle in flour. Cook out for a minute or two
6.Add in red wine from deglazing beef, scraping up crispy brown bits from bottom of pan.
7.Add beef stock, rosemary, thyme and bay leaf. Return browned meat to pot. Simmer, covered for 20-25 minutes.
8.Remove lid and continue cooking for another 10 minutes; liquid will reduce and thicken. Remove rosemary, thyme and bay leaf. Season well with salt and pepper.

Potatoes

1.Add quartered potatoes and smashed garlic to medium pot. Fill pot with cold water just to cover potatoes; season cooking water well with salt (it should taste like the sea) and bring to a boil.
2.Boil on medium high heat until potatoes are tender but not overdone, about 15-20 minutes.
3.Strain potatoes; let dry out slightly in colander before returning to pot. Add cream, butter, pepper, Parmesan cheese and more salt if necessary.
4.Mash roughly with fork or potato masher.

For Assembly

1.Preheat oven to 400. Spoon filling into the bottom of a 10-inch round casserole dish. Top with potatoes.
2.Grate parmesan cheese on top and dot surface evenly with butter. Season with salt and pepper and, if using, sprinkle over bread crumbs
3.Bake on middle rack until top is golden and filling is warmed through, about 20-25 minutes. Let stand for a few minutes before serving.

But I'm back. Or I hope to be, anyway. I find that, since starting this new job, I don't get onto the computer as often as I used to. I'll try to fix that though. For a few of you, who I only see a couple times through the year, it's the only time we can catch up on what's going on in our lives. So I will do my darndest to be more consistent with my visits and posting here on LJ.

Work has kept me busy and happy. The bus strike on the other hand... Grrrrr!!!  It is a heck of a walk from home to work... about an hour and 15 minutes one way... and then 9 hours on my feet, on concrete floors, and then the walk home. Shouldn't complain though, my legs and butt haven't looked this good in years. :-)
D does drive me when he can. It is a bit of a bugger when he does though. With the bus strike there are a ton of cars on the road and with the winter weather everyone in this city seems to forget how to drive. And when he does drive me to work the traffic is such that it can take him upwards of two hours to get over to his office. Insane. So, I have him drive me only so far so that I have less of a walk but that he can avoid most of the heavy traffic areas of the city. So, on days where I start at 10am or noon, I walk. And the days where I start at 9am D drives me half way and I walk from there. 

The bitter cold weather we have been getting here is a bit of a bugger as well but as long as I dress with a couple layers and my big coat, it's actually a nice walk. The bird feeders have been swarmed daily by all manner of feathered friend. I have a large one in the backyard but it tends to be swarmed by pigeons and the smaller birds get muscled out. So I went and bought a smaller one that I set up inside the middle of the burning bush in the front yard. The sparrows tend to hang out there anyway so this way they have food right there for them and the pigeons can't get inside the bush to get at it.

On the home front, the wall oven died a horrible death a couple months back, followed shortly by the left side of our cook-top. Both appliances are a good 20 to 30 years old and have served us well. So, after much research and discussion, we ordered new appliances to replace them. We went for gas for the cook-top instead of getting another electric one. I blame the FOOD network for that. D watches a lot of the cooking shows and as he says, "All the best chefs use gas"... so that is what we ordered. Now we just need to find a gas-fitter to run a line into the kitchen and hook it up for us. Here is a picture of it. Will post a new one once it is installed.

That is Keira guarding the box for us. :-)

And here is the wall oven. I installed it myself.



Isn't it a beauty. :-) That's Garbo sitting in front of the oven... or more accurately, she is sitting next to the pantry cupboard where her treats are kept. She takes up her post there when ever someone is in the kitchen in hopes that they might slip her a treat. OK, yes, she is spoiled. :-)

It has been so long since we had a functioning oven that both D and I were dancing around the kitchen when I finished installing it and we turned it on for the first time. And in celebration of our new oven, D christened it with a nice Cottage Pie that he saw on one of his cooking shows.



He is going to send me the recipe for it and I'll post it when he does.

Well, don't want to over do it the first post back so I'll end it there and say... "It’s good to be back... see you again soon."

Namaste and Brightest Blessings to you all.

XOXOXOX