semi-guerrilla gardening

The large planter outside my workplace was seriously pathetic. There are quite a few ferns that seem to be thriving, but the rest of it was filled with weeds, cigarette butts, pop cans and other assorted garbage. My co-workers and I decided that we were sick of walking past this eyesore everyday, and have adopted this potentially beautiful garden.

It is only semi-guerrilla gardening because I did call property management to find out if by chance they might be planting it this year. They answered in the negative and told me that if I wanted to plant it, I could "knock myself out." This was all the permission we needed.

Below are the before pictures. Will post updates. So far we have weeded and cleaned, then planted old fashioned lilies, day lilies, wolfsbane, sun flowers, big bluestem, lily of the valley and himalayan impatiens. Daisies are coming this week. Our poor plants have suffered through a wind storm and two major deluges in the two short weeks since they moved into their new home. They are a bit battered, but still standing strong.

(Side note... my workplace may not care much about flowers, but they provide lots of bike racks!)

week 4 - the review

Okay, first of all, check out my rockin' focaccia bread. This is how we've been eating on $20 each a week.

Second, our lessons learned:

• $20 a week for food really is no fun. Eating is an incredibly social activity, but on this budget, you can't afford to entertain or to go out. Potluck would definitely be an option, but it wasn't something we got around to organizing.
• $20 a week for food for one person would be tough, but when it is $40 for two, it is much easier. With $40, you can buy bulk quantities of things like rice, and it works out much cheaper in the long run.
• It is not as much work to plan meals as you might think. The first week we put a lot of effort into it, but by week two, we were sort of winging it and it all worked out fine. 
• It is a lot more work to actually make all your meals. This budget doesn't allow much room for convenience foods. When you are having a busy week, taking the time to cook can be a huge burden.
• You really have to know how to cook in order to live on this budget. We are both comfortable in the kitchen, so we actually ate better in March than we usually do because we were making an effort to be creative (see focaccia bread above!). Instant foods (other than Monday night perogies and beans!)were out of the question for us.
• If you don't know how to cook, then this budget limits you to only the worst foods. We were actually eating healthier because of the planning we were doing.
• We had to do a lot of compromising. Most of the organic food we usually buy is out of our price range, but we found that there were many local choices. For example, we couldn't afford the organic potatoes which came from the US, but we could afford locally grown non-organic potatoes. I insisted on organic apples, but with the rest of the food, we only bought organic if the price was comparable, like with dried lentils.

Third, for a variety of reasons, we find ourselves quite skint these days. The menu planning and home cooking have really been working for us, so we are keeping up with the $20 each a week for food until our finances are more stable. We will be putting aside an extra $10 each so we can go out for coffee or dinner once in a while or have people over, because that is something we've really missed.

poor, poor lexi

This was taken a week ago, after Lexi met a porcupine at Beaudry Park. Twenty quills in all. Six in the nose (including two up the nose), and fourteen in the paws. Two of them broke off, which meant a trip to the vet today for extraction. The went in the bottom and came out the top, which is pretty surreal, and I'm trying not to think about it too much.

If I were a betting man (you know what I mean), I'd wager a large sum that she did not learn her lesson. We did, however, and all future hikes will include leather gloves and needle nose pliers!

one year ago

Remember this post from a year ago?

Yesterday we had a record high of +18 C. And I rode my bike to work. Earliest in the year that I have ever started commuting by bike.

Not as warm today, but still on two wheels.

Manitoba weather is crazy.

Now ask me which kind of spring makes me happier.

week 4 - the menu

Monday - perogies, beans, fried onions and corn (sensing a pattern here?)
Tuesday - tofu and zucchini in a black bean sauce with rice
Wednesday - omelette and spicy potatoes
Thursday - leftover omelette with toast (O in Calgary, so not inspired to cook for myself)
Friday - sichuan eggplant with rice
Saturday - gingered carrot soup and my first attempt at focaccia bread
Sunday - not sure, but either pasta with tomato sauce or going to O's dad's

we have such a good dog

She's crazy, she nibbles on things she shouldn't, and she won't quit pulling on her leash. But she's happy, she likes the cats, she loves us and she's oh, so patient.

falling off the wagon

Had a stupid day yesterday, filled with people who I wanted to strangle. Instead either walked away from them or sent them an email to asking them politely to refrain from being horrid. Both apologized after, so that says something.

Anyway, the cure for my stupid day was a piece of old fashioned chocolate cake and a reviving cup of Earl Grey at Baked Expectations with my friend Elizabeth. And since I was falling off the wagon, I dragged O with me and took him home a piece of chocolate orange mousse cake. Total cost? $20. Yep. Food budget for the week blown in one frosting-filled evening.

It was so delicious. And I felt so much better. And we almost made it the entire month. But excuses, excuses. Will channel my guilt into summarizing our experiment next week.

week 3 - the menu

Monday - perogies, fried onions and beans (a repeat from last week, but it was soooo good!)
Tuesday - black bean chili and corn muffins
Wednesday - grilled cheese sandwiches
Thursday - mushroom carrot loaf and a salad
Friday - cream of broccoli soup and oven fries
Saturday & Sunday - chick pea and cauliflower curry with brown rice

Week was a little uninspired, but we had a meeting at the community centre on Wednesday, and I had a meeting on Thursday. The oven fries rocked, though!

week 3 - the list

sour cream $1.99
balsamic vinegar $3.99
2x frozen orange juice $1.19 ea
jumbo pack of perogies $4.68
1 can tomatoes $1.49
1/2 kg mushrooms $2.93
small cream $.99
3lb bag of onions $1.88
broccoli $.97
tomatoes $3.48
peanut butter $4.59
1 can maple brown beans $.99
bag of organic apples $3.99
1 litre of milk $1.69
loaf of pumpernickel bread $1.39
loaf of irish soda bread $1.39
------------------------------------------
TOTAL $38.82

Redemption! Total for the 3 weeks is $119.06 so we're just a little under our allotted $120. However, I did eat out twice in Regina on the weekend, which cost about $25. Couldn't be helped though. And still really pleased with our experiment. We've been much better about cooking for ourselves, and are wasting much less food than we typically do.

week 2 - the menu

Monday was perogies, baked beans and steamed carrots.

Tonight was a little weird, because I had a meeting and O is still sick. He made oven fries. I made broccoli salad and hard boiled eggs. Toast and honey for dessert.

Tomorrow I'm finally making the African bean mush (sounds more appetizing every time I write it, but it actually is really good.) Also going to make cream of broccoli soup to have later in the week.

Thursday is a Lebanese chick pea and potato dish.

I'm gone to Regina from Friday to Sunday, taking the Garden Fundamentals course as part of the Master Gardener program, so O is on his own for the weekend. But there will be leftovers, and he can make pasta and tomato sauce, cauliflower curry, omelette... so I'm sure he'll survive without me.

week 2 - the list

2 cans frozen orange juice $1.59 each
half and half $.99
dry black beans $1.54
1 can of tomatoes $1.49
frozen perogies $2.48
5lb bag of oranges $3.98
bulk raisins $.69
1 head of garlic $.17
1 l plain organic yogurt $3.99
broccoli $.99
dry chick peas $1.12
1 can maple brown beans $.99
feta cheese $ $4.35
cauliflower $.93
butter $3.59
cilantro $.48
bulk pasta $2.69
organic bread $3.70
mayonnaise $4.79
-----------------------------
TOTAL $42.14

First let me explain why we went over $40. We wanted to buy mayonnaise, but the stuff at the store was so full of crap, that we decided to buy it at our local Food Fare, where were were going to buy bread (fresh, local and organic... and $1.29 cheaper than the bread we bought last week). We estimated that the small mayo at Food Fare was about $3.99, which would still have put us over by $1.34, but we were slightly under last week, so it balances out. Except the mayo was more than we thought.

Could we have bought everything on our list and be under $40? Absolutely! First, if we really only had $40 to spend, we would not have bought the mayo. Or if we were buying everything at the same store, we could have gone cheaper on some items. For example:

• 2 frozen orange juice @ $.99 ea (Grade C rather than Grade A) would save us $1.20.
• 1 can of tomatoes @ $1.39 (but 13% daily sodium instead of 5%) would save us $.11
• Plain yogurt @ $3.59 (not organic) would save us $.40
• 1 can of no name baked beans @ $.79 would save us $.20
• margarine instead of butter (didn't even price out margarine, but I'm sure it would be cheaper)

We also could have bought smaller amounts of the bulk items, and of course, mayo that was full of crap. And obviously, feta is a luxury we could have done without.

Will do better next week.

week 1 - review

So far, so problem. O's conclusion is that $20 a week for food is no fun. Though he has had a bad cold all week, so it was no fun anyway. My conclusion is that it really helps if you know how to cook. I don't know how we could have managed if we had to buy prepared food.

We didn't have to make all the meals we had planned. Having stir fry tonight, and still have enough food to make the African bean mush thing tomorrow. It has taken more work and more planning, but we definitely have not been suffering.

Case in point...

Oatmeal Scones from The New Best Recipe cookbook

i have my brain back

Though, hopefully only until September.

Olympics are over and on Friday, I sent in the final pieces of my grad school application. Mostly, I'm quite confident that I'll be accepted. But part of me is hesitant to get too excited just yet, even though I have started researching my thesis topic. It's like with a job interview. You can nail it, but you still don't know who else has applied.

week 1 - the menu

Breakfasts
The first big change is my morning beverage. Switching from coffee to tea, because on this budget, we can't afford fair trade organic coffee. Currently using up some green, and when that is gone, will switch to the mint from last summer's garden.

Also switching from toast to porridge, as a huge bag of oats is actually quite cheap. Planning to make scones this weekend. And yes, there are Scots in my heritage.

Lunches
This will basically remain unchanged, as I usually eat leftovers.

Dinners
Tonight I made a huge batch of lentil brown rice soup. That fed us for the evening meal, with 3 servings in the fridge and 4 servings in the freezer. Substituted the chicken broth for 2 veggie bouillon cubes, but everything else is basically the same.

Tuesday is pasta with tomato vegetable sauce. I cook up red lentils until they are mushy, and add them to the sauce so we get some protein. Will use half the broccoli and cauliflower.

Wednesday is this corn, spinach, red bean mush (sounds so appetizing, I know!). Not really sure what it is called, but is from the New Internationalist cookbook. Think it is an African recipe. Will likely make roasted potato to go with it.

Thursday is stir fry with half of the tofu, and the other half of the broccoli and cauliflower.

Friday is fried rice with the other half of the tofu.

Saturday, O's dad is taking the family out for dinner. Hurray!

Sunday is leftovers, if there are any. An omelette if there aren't.

week 1

For the month of March, O. and I are going to try to live on $20 worth of food each per week. This idea was inspired by a session that I attended at the Growing Local conference. David Northcott, executive coordinator of Winnipeg Harvest, put out this challenge to the audience, because $20 a week is all the average person on welfare has to spend on food. Their actual allotment is more like $50, but food costs are one of the few that aren't fixed, so people are forced to dip into their food money for other things.

We are cheating a smidge. We are still going to buy local cheese and eggs, which would totally blow this budget, but we will limit it to one block of cheese per week, and one carton of eggs per two weeks. One other thing, we will be eating out of our cupboard and freezer. Not starting from scratch on this, which would obviously be much harder.

Obviously, there will be NO eating out, no payday lattes, no junk food.... will probably be good for our arteries as well as our pocket books.

Week 1, Day 1: Made a menu for the week then hit the grocery store with our list.

1 can diced tomato $1.49
5lb bag of carrots $3.48
1 bunch celery $1.98
1 bag frozen peas $2.68
1 bag frozen corn $2.68
3 tomatoes $.91
small bunch broccoli $.72
small bunch cauliflower $.70
1 bunch spinach $1.48
1 bag organic apples $3.99
5lb bag navel oranges $3.98
2 cans frozen orange juice $1.19 each
1 block firm tofu $1.97
multigrain bread $4.99 (a total rip as we could have bought local organic for less, but we read the sign wrong. dang!)
10 lb bag russet potatoes $2.98
3 lb bag onions $1.69
-----------------------------
TOTAL $38.10 (woohoo!)

And This Is My Garden

17 day hiatus

Can't blog. Watching Olympics. Go Canada!

coming up...

http://food.cimnet.ca/cim/43C1_3T1T4T1063.dhtm

coming up...

February 13      Seedy Saturday 

With co-hosts Seeds of Diversity, Winnipeg  Community Gardening Network, Rare Breeds Canada, The Friends of the Assiniboine Park Conservatory and 

Fort Whyte Centre

Free Admission     

Location:  Fort Whyte Alive 

Winnipeg's Seedy Saturday has a new home! On February 13, 2010, 10 am to 4 pm, the 10^th annual mid-winter gathering of gardeners takes root at Fort Whyte Alive on McCreary Road. Celebrate prairie biodiversity with a full day of workshops, displays, vendors and visiting. Bring your seeds and join the fun of the seed swap. This grassroots garden show offers inspiration and information on heritage seeds, organic gardening, native plants, and urban agriculture. Admission to Fort Whyte is free for this special event.

Enjoy a tour of Fort Whyte Farms winter greenhouse project, crafts for kids, and outdoor activities for the whole family. Meet some heritage poultry breeds, live and in full feather, thanks to the Anola Cluck and Quack Poultry Club and Rare Breeds Canada.

10:00 am          Seed Swap Begins
11:00 am          Pollinator Friendly Gardens … Susan Leblanc
12:00 pm          Growing Heirloom Vegetables … Mandy Botincan
 1:00 pm           Community Compost Projects … Compost Action Project
 2:00 pm           Poultry Raising for Beginners … Wian Prinsloo

Participants include:  Devil's Creek Herb and Berry Farm, Herb Society of Manitoba, Heritage Harvest Seeds, Living Prairie Museum, Mandy's Greenhouse, Prairie Flora, Sage Garden Herbs and more.

Fort Whyte Alive is beyond the city bus routes – if you have a vehicle please offer a ride to your friends and fellow gardeners. Limited shuttle service will be available between the Assiniboine Park Conservatory and Fort Whyte.

Thanks to Food Matters Manitoba and Heifer International. Brought to you by volunteers from Seeds of Diversity Canada, the Friends of the Assiniboine Park Conservatory, and the Winnipeg Community Garden Network; hosted by Fort Whyte's Naturescape program.  Contact: winnipegcgnetwork@gmail.com

need music!

Have been running regularly since October, and yet my ipod only has 47 songs on it. Great songs... but I'm getting a little tired of them.

So, here are my top 5 songs to run to. Please send me your favorite workout music and help kill my boredom!

1. Reggae Got Soul / Toots and the Maytals f. Ken Boothe and Marcia Griffiths
• Version on "True Love" is the perfect running beat. Linked version is a bit slow, but you get the idea.
2. Paper Planes / M.I.A
• Again... all about the beat. Seems a bit slow, but every gun shot is a step
3. Queen Bitch / David Bowie
• Madly in love with this man!
4. Shake Appeal / Iggy and the Stooges
• And what's David without Iggy? No link as vids are too embarrassing for words.
5. I Only Want You / Eagles of Death Metal
• Actually, quite a bit like the Iggy tune. Hmmm... maybe I better add one more...

BONUS TRACK
Hey Ya / Outkast

And one to cool down to...
I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman / k-os f. Nelly Furtado and Saukrates

Still trying to figure out how to add video to my posts, but too lazy to attempt it now. Tips would be great.  :]

our crazy critters

Not much new, so thought I'd just post a few pics of our pets being wacky. Enjoy!

Cleo washing her belly

Rufus basking in front of my SAD light

Lexi playing with our friend's Bichon/Shitzu, Linus

home sweet home update

Back in May 2008, I posted about the things we wanted to do to the house we just bought in order to make it more energy efficient, to indulge my gardening addiction, and just to make it all round nice to live in.

From our original list, we have accomplished:

• 5 new windows, including the one that is basically our whole living room wall. After much research and deliberation, we went with fibreglass over PVC. The choice seemed simple, but fibreglass windows are quite a lot more expensive. Very happy with our choice, though, and will replace the rest as well are able.
• New front and back door. Steel & insulated = more secure & warmer. Also new storm doors.
• Insulation in all the walls and attic. Our house was built in 1912. You'd think even back then insulating the walls would be something builders would just do. But no. We have gone from no insulation to fully insulated and are noticing a huge difference in our comfort level. Hoping to notice a huge difference in the heat bill as well!
• Fence & raised garden beds in the back. The summer sucked, so gardening was frustrating. Loads of rain and cool weather through July & August, then hot in September. Everything was leggy. Nothing fruited well. We got loads of small tomatoes, but many of the skins split. Being a gardener, I've already put it behind me and I'm planning for this season. We're a hardy bunch, even when the plants aren't.
• We also painted the trim on the house and the whole garage, using Benjamin Moore's Aura paint. Seemed very thick but was actually great on the trim, especially when we were reaching up, as it doesn't drip. It's self priming, so two coats were enough. Has no smell, and as proof... we were painting under a wasp nest and they completely ignored us.

Oddly, the easiest and cheapest things that we could have done, we haven't gotten around to yet. Next on the list: low flow shower head and programmable thermostat!

A few pics of our progress:

When we moved in...

Summer 2009...

The after pics were taken prior to painting the garage and getting insulation. The garage is now the same burnt orange as the trim, and our house is pretty polka dots from where the insulation was blown in. Will repair and paint the stucco this summer, and then, I dunno... maybe just enjoy it for a while!

weird day

Have this mild but persistent GI thing going on. Sore stomach, nausea, and some other things I won't mention here. So, I wasn't in the best frame of mind (or tummy) when I got up this morning.

First thing Omar told me was that our garage was broken into last night. Gate wide open, garage door no longer has a lock. Oddly, nothing was stolen. Not that there is much to steal, but car stereo and all glove box contents are still there. No damage either, other than the lock. Still, it gives you a queer feeling to know that someone was in our yard and up to no good while we blissfully slept.

Work was fine, but all our computer systems have been super ornery and slow since we got back from holidays. Michele and I were both feeling frustrated, and I was wishing that I had called in sick again today.

Then in the afternoon, I think I got asked out for coffee by one of the researchers upstairs. He's a scientist and I work in a library, so obviously the whole thing was very awkward. This sort of thing never happens to me, plus, I totally insulted and mocked this guy (semi-accidently) not long after I started working there, so I didn't really think he was my biggest fan. In any case, if he comes back, I'm going to ask him if he'd be interested in meeting a friend of mine, because I think they might hit it off. Have already cleared this with her and my one previous attempt at match-making was highly successful, so I'm going with my gut on this one.

And speaking of guts... still not feeling too hot, so I'm off to bed. Hoping that everthing just goes a little better tomorrow.

why weeding the garden is good

I discovered this...

Which turned into this:

And left behind this:

Three weeks of patient waiting this past August paid off in the best way. Didn't get to see the butterfly emerge, but spent three hours protectively watching while it dried its wings and blended into the sidewalk. Prior to this, I only knew the name of one butterfly. Monarch, obviously. But now I know two. This one is the Eastern Comma.

In love with the new Ron Hawkins album. Looking at these pictures again, in the middle of a bracing prairie winter, I keep thinking of a line from one of his songs: mighty as a sparrow, fragile like a whale. Wonder if my fragile, mighty cocoon will still be tucked under its leaf once the snow is gone?

resolutions

10 days into 2010 and I still haven't got it together. The holidays put me into a relaxed frame of mind, and I wish, in every way, that I could stay there. Like my job very much, but liked being in Brandon with nothing but unstructured down time better. (No kidding.)

So... in order to bump myself back into real life, I've set some goals... made some resolutions... all of which require sticking to a schedule and organizing my time. Not necessarily fun, but still good.

Turning 40 this year, so have upped the ante on my resolutions. Two are big, new goals. Three are old resolutions that kinda didn't really happen last year. :]

1. Be a better blogger.

2. Get back on the budget bandwagon. Shredded all the receipts that I collected last year. No point in feeling guilty about what I didn't do. Haven't started this year's budget, but totally determined to start and actually keep it up.

3. Apply for grad school. Called the U of M Sociology department on Friday to get a registration package. Contacted my former prof for a letter of recommendation. Off to a good start!

4. Actually do the Master Gardener program through U of Sask. I applied last winter and received all the correspondence stuff, but have never gotten around to it. Want to finish before I start a Masters.

5. Run the half marathon at the Run to the Hills marathon in Treherne in September. Started training in October. Getting back to serious training this week. I'm up to 10k, so definitely on track and feeling good about it, despite the funk.

That's it. (?!?) What are your resolutions?

yet another reason why not having summer is great!

Three words... Fried. Green. Tomatoes.

Have had one ripe tomato this summer, but none of the rest of 'em are even blushing thanks to the lack of heat and sunlight. So may as well take advantage of what's currently available... i.e. many green tomatoes.

Recipe I made was okay. But Karen has provided a better one:

Slice tomato about 1/2 inch thick. Dip in buttermilk, dip in beaten egg, coat with a mix of flour, cornmeal, salt and cayenne. Fry on medium heat for 4ish minutes a side. Enjoy!

And then make pancakes with the leftover buttermilk. Yum.

Marvin, R.I.P.

Since I haven't made my blog public, anyone reading this should be someone who knows me. And if you know me, then you are probably well aware that I'm a super huge suck. If you haven't seen that side of me, then I offer this as proof: I actually felt sorry for the old lamp.

And so, it is with a heavy heart, that I announce the passing of my toaster, Marvin.

Marvin's death has been long anticipated. About two years ago, he stopped properly toasting one side, so the bread needed to be flipped half way through the process. And then about six months ago, he would only work if he was plugged into the top socket. And then the plug had to be in the "right way." And finally, his cord started heating up alarmingly. Death was imminent. Fortunately, he died peacefully on the counter before O. had a chance to insist he be put down.

Part of why his death is so sad is because, like Philippe, he had a name. (Something I must stop doing with my appliances!) But mainly, like Philippe, it is because Marvin came into my life at a difficult time and is associated with someone I adore. In Marvin's case, I was just getting back on track post break-up, I was buying my first house and making a big financial investment even though my money situation was precarious, and I was super stressed out with school, jobs and finding roommates. And then Robert gave me Marvin. This toaster was on Rob's counter the first time I met him, and meaning this in the best way, it gave me a lot of insight into his personality. Rob knew that I loved Marvin, that I thought this was the funniest damn toaster ever. And I knew that Rob felt the same way. So it meant a lot that this was my housewarming gift (along with a bunch of tools, because Rob knew that Bruce would have taken all the good ones.)

For now, Marvin sits in our basement, but I have plans for him. Once I find the appropriate plant, he will join Philippe on the top of our fridge, where he can continue to make me smile every morning.

one more reason why not having summer is great!

Veggie pot pie, anyone? Definitely not too hot to have the oven at 400 for 30 minutes.

But pie aside, I'm super grouchy about the weather. I can see that being a snowbird is in my future.

so desperate for spring...

The weather is still shitty (sorry 'bout the language Ma). Yesterday was almost the coldest June 5th on record. We missed it by .7 degrees. (dang?). But just so this doesn't turn into another post where I bitch about the weather, I've been trying to think about all the things that are great about being permanently stuck in late fall.

1. I look great in turtlenecks.
2. I'm getting to wear my favorite fall coat for much more of the year than usual.
3. I don't get too hot and sweaty when I'm working out in the yard.
4. Omar looks super cute wearing a toque and mitts in the house (we are not turning the furnace back on!).
5. The cats are more keen to cuddle.
6. Cold and rainy is the perfect weather for sitting in front of the tv watching British costume dramas.
7. I'm inspired to make curried parsnip soup.
8. At least it's not snowing (right, Calgary?)
9. I don't really need to shave my legs or think about how truly white they are.
10. And finally, I'm having a great time knitting warm, wooly socks.

See? Not bitching.

T - two words of advice for your upcoming trip from California to Manitoba: Bring. Sweaters.

fence post

May 2008

May 2009

Big, huge, gigantic thanks to:

1. Adam, for busting his scrawny ass for two very full days
2. Ayva, for giving up her daddy for two days, and for making us "sushi"
3. Robert, for loaning us his truck and his big toy (bang! bang!)
4. Marilee, for bringing us lunch and my favorite yoghurt
5. Sheila, er, I mean Santa, for stuffing our stockings with work gloves
6. Lexi, kinda, because she had a hard weekend being left out of all the action (though she made some action of her own... flip flop killer... grrr...)


Now I just need to get rid of some of the excess soil in the back yard and finish making my veggie beds. More pics to come!

so done with winter...

Went for a lovely walk this evening in the fresh fallen snow. Admired the Christmas lights, breathed deeply of the scent of wood burning in a fireplace somewhere. *sigh*

(My neighbor's house, picture taken an hour ago)

Except that it's flippin' April 1st today, and I'm so sick of winter that I could cry. Or scream. Or spit. All of which would be equally ineffective and useless. Much more practical to go and shovel the snow away from the foundation so we don't have water in the basement. Did I say *sigh* yet?!?

Happy Spring, Everyone!

R.I.P. Lux Interior

I shed a little tear in my kitchen last week, listening to a radio tribute to Lux Interior, frontman of the Cramps, who died at the tender age of 62. Hmm. Weird. Just realized that I spent my teenage years rockin' out to someone my mom's age. But I digress... Back in about '84, Karen and I were at A&A Records and Tapes in the Gallery, flipping through the bargain bin when we saw this:

Needless to say, we had to have it. And coincidentally, she had a buck, and I had a buck and the record cost two dollars. We agreed to split it, and it did make it's way back and forth between our bedrooms, though I think it spent more time in mine. That Karen's room was across the hall from her parent's and mine was on the other side of the house one floor down, might have had something to do with it. Somehow, I ended up with it, and still treasure it as a memento of our well-spent youth. The Cramps were a turning point for us. That record kicked open the door to all the non-top 40, KX96 music that was to follow. Some of which has aged better than others. Relatively speaking.

Another funny Cramps story... A couple of years ago, my dad was visiting me on 10th Street. While I was at work, he was rifling through my tapes (presumably that's all). When I got home, A Date With Elvis was in the deck. "What's this doing out?" I asked. "It's not what I thought it was," he replied. No, indeed-y.

spring is just around the corner (in 10 weeks or so...)

Despite being totally annoyed with Canada Post at the moment (oh ya, ask me about how they a) didn't deliver the package I sent to NY, and then b) are charging me to get it back now that it has been returned to Canada... grrr), I did get THIS in the mail yesterday:

If it doesn't look like much, please recall that my garden is kinda tiny. And even if none of them ever get planted (which I assure you, they will), these seeds are making me feel much better today. Have been very low and cabin fever-y due to the freakin' cold weather we've had this winter. 

holiday pics

CHRISTMAS....

REALLY...

SUCKED!!!

Okay, not really. Will post good pictures soon, but in the meantime, there are some here and here, courtesy of Ayva Jo.

tragedy!

I have been drinking out of my favourite mug from Phillipe's (Home of the French Dip) since I went there with Tracy, David and assorted other friends 9 years ago when we were all in L.A. to celebrate Tracy and David getting hitched. I love this mug. It is the perfect size and weight. Coffee doesn't go cold in it. I'm more awake after drinking from it. I feel nostalgic holding it in my hands... both for the time I spent in L.A. and for a time I never belonged to.

But this morning, when I took my little friend out of the sink to wash it, I discovered a fatal crack. Tears welled in my eyes. "Noooooooooo!" I cried. 

I see this as a bad omen, an ill start to the New Year. Or perhaps an ill end to the last year. I was going to post about the holidays and how lovely things were, but my day has been ruined. You'll have to wait until I recover emotionally from my loss. Maybe check back on the weekend.

bah! humbug!

I have been feeling very un-Christmas-y this year. My sister and I had a conversation about it, and came to the conclusion that our combined 21 years in retail was the cause. For me, it was 10 years of the same damn songs played every 2 hours for 6 weeks, and the exhaustion caused by unending lines of rude people.

But yesterday the holiday spirit kinda kicked in, and this morning after many cups of coffee, it full on kicked in.

Was reading my dear friend Tracy's blog last night, and had she posted a picture that made me laugh and laugh. It made me laugh at the time it was taken, and 9 years on (!) it hasn't gotten any less funny. It did make me miss her though, and wish that I could go back to 1999 again and spend Christmas with Tracy and her dad.

And then this morning, I did some baking. Made spiced almonds and double chocolate biscotti for my friends Robert and Kari, in exchange for Kari's old treadmill. Maybe not a fair trade, but not one I'm going to argue with either.

So, in the spirit of the season, here are the recipes for the treats I made. Both very easy and both totally delicious!

Lohz (Spiced Almonds)

The almonds are adaptable to every taste. I'll give the general instructions, and then some spice suggestions:

• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 1/2 cups of whole blanched almonds
• generous 1 cup of light brown sugar (though I prefer a scant 2/3 cup dark brown sugar)
• salt to taste
• spices

Heat the oil over med-high heat. Add the almonds and 3/4 of the sugar. Toss together and stir until the sugar is caramelized and the nuts are coated. (You have about 12 seconds when everything is perfect, then the oil comes out of the nuts and the sugar crystalizes again... but don't worry if this happens, everything still more or less sticks together.)

Remove the nuts from the heat, and toss in the spices. Spread the nuts on a cookie sheet to cool and dry. They can be served slightly warm, or stored for several weeks in an airtight container.

I use about 3 tsp of spices. Today I used cinnamon, allspice, ginger, cardamom, white pepper and cayenne. You could also try cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves; cumin, cayenne and cinnamon; cinnamon, ginger, allspice and coriander; cumin and crushed chili... the possibilities are pretty much endless.

Double Chocolate Biscotti

This was my first attempt at baking this dry cookie. They aren't the prettiest, but man are they good thanks to a brilliant last second decision to add a Green & Blacks orange spice chocolate bar, rather than bakers chocolate. This obviously opens up the flavour possibilities greatly. Going to try an espresso chocolate bar next time!

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (I left these out)
• 3 oz dark chocolate chopped (this is where I used the chocolate bar)
• 1/4 cup finely chopped crystalized ginger (also left out because I didn't have any)

Preheat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Whisk the dry ingredient, except the sugar, together. In a separate bowl, combine the egg and sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. Add vanilla. With a mixer on low, beat in the rest of the ingredients until combined. (I found that my mixer couldn't handle the dough as it is very stiff. A food processor would probably work better). 

With moistened hands, shape the dough into 2 logs (9" x 2 1/2"). Place them on the parchment paper and bake for 20 minutes. Remove them from the oven and let cool on the pan for 10 minutes.

Reduce heat to 325. Using a serrated knife, cut each log into 16 slices (1/2" each, with the ends cut off). Bake for 20 minutes, turning them over half way through. Cool and store.

Our pup, Lexi

love my neighbourhood

The people here are just so.... neighbourly. First, we went to a free vermicomposting workshop sponsored by the Spence Neighbourhood Association, and came home with a recycled bin and a load of worms. Then, the awesomely crazy lady across the street organized a block tree banding group. So we all banded together (oh, haha!). And finally today, a guy out shoveling his walk thanked me for picking up after my dog. I mean, how pleasant! How friendly! Love where I live.

A few pics from the tree banding...

post for tracy

Meant to get these up sooner, but forgot until last night when I was shoveling the walk and heard geese flying overhead. I guess it is technically still sort of fall...

Progress!!!

After a summer of waiting, waiting, waiting.... finally, and just in time for winter, work is being done on the house.

1. The back yard has been dug out (ya.... just in time for winter)


2. The doors... one in, one to go. If anyone knows a good, cheap contractor in Winnipeg (other than the most amazing Robert, who is actually booked until January and is just doing us a huge favour), then send them my way.


3. The windows. Fiberglass. Five of 'em, including the brute in the living room.


Cats have spent far too much time locked in either the bathroom or the kitchen window. Rufus is getting pretty tired of it, but Cleo's a trooper, as usual.


So, we'll be safe (ask me how easy it was to break into the house when I locked myself out earlier this week!), toasty warm and broke this winter. Which means I'll be amusing myself by dreaming of my garden to be, rather than jetting to exotic locales.

What I'm doing on my summer vacation - Calaway Park

Flew to Airdrie yesterday to visit my brother, nephews and dad. After an interesting night attempting to sleep on the futon with an 8-year old who somehow managed to use my arm, stomach and shin as a pillow at various points, we were up bright and early to go to Calaway Park. After an hour and a half in a minivan and five hours in the blazing sun with two brothers being brothers, I actually managed to arrive back in Airfrie feeling semi-cheerful. Do have a headache, but that's because I require shade and lots of cool drinks in the summer, which was in short supply at the amusement park.

Boys have just left for a vacation to Victoria with their mother (boo, hiss) so we'll have a much more low key day tomorrow, and then I'm flying home Sunday. Ready to be going home. Or back to Vancouver!

What I'm doing on my summer vacation - Culture Overload!

We started our Tuesday with the most Vancouver thing possible... a walk/run on the sea wall. Followed by another amazing breakfast courtesy of Karen, then off to see Brideshead Revisited. Movie review in a nutshell... first half great, second half thin, looked gorgeous, overall far too long.

This was followed by a walk through the Ayden Gallery, a pop-surrealist/graffiti/urban art gallery, where I became smitten with a painting called "Red Cap." Karen and the owner bartered, so we're heading back there today to pick it up for a good price, and no tax if I pay cash.

Then a walk to Cafe Artigiano for the most amazing coffe in the world. The Spanish Latte... espresso, steamed milk and condensed milk. I got the largest cup possible and savoured it.

And finally, to the Vancouver Art Gallery, for donation night (aka cheap night), where we took in some amazing art, became completely overwhelmed by the Anime exhibit, and saw a live mouse in the gift shop.

Evening was another round of tapas and Little Britain.

Today... having dinner with my old friend Andrea, and getting ready to fly to Calgary tomorrow.