Mucky and Dirty

March 31, 2009 - Day 90

I took this picture of our street when I got off the bus from work around 5:00 this afternoon. It’s so mucky and dirty but it’s what the transition from winter to spring looks like in Edmonton every year. So…3 cheers for mucky and dirty!

Our house is the first one on the left, hidden behind the fence (you can only see one of the upper floor windows).

What's Old is New

March 30, 2009 - Day 89

My sister Darlene posted a picture of her cast iron frying pan as one of her Project 365 pictures a couple weeks ago. She uses it regularly and it looked so old-fashioned and wonderfully seasoned that I wanted one of my own!

I remembered having a set several years ago, which I’m quite sure I bought at Macleod’s in High Prairie in the late 1970s, and we bought an extra large one in 1999 as we were preparing for Y2K and for our electricity to disappear. We imagined it may be necessary to cook for a large group of people over an open fire in the backyard!

Cast iron frying pans were always a mystery to me; I never knew how to take care of them, don’t remember ever using them regularly - and I even tried to sell them in garage sales I’ve had! I was thrilled to discover that they didn’t sell in a garage sale or been given away as I thought, but that I still had them - a whole “family” of beautiful cast iron frying pans sitting on a shelf in my basement!

I found instructions online on how to clean the rust out of them, how to season them and how to take proper care of them in the future.

After I spent a few hours (including the oven time) cleaning and seasoning my “new” frying pans today, I was so excited to use one that I had to find something to “fry” for supper; I made spaghetti sauce.

Mini Pizzas

March 29, 2009 - Day 88

I made another 10 mini pizza crusts today (some for the freezer). We still had a lot of toppings left from last night so Ken and I had mini pizzas for supper again tonight. This is one that I made – shrimp, mushroom, onion and mozzarella cheese.

Ken and I both love the crust. Here's the recipe if any of you would like it:

Pizza Dough

1 Tbsp yeast
2 T. sugar
1 cup warm water
2 ½ c. flour (I use 2 Tbsp. whole wheat flour)
½ tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let sit for 10 minutes or until yeast is double in size. Use a wee bit of extra olive oil when kneading if the dough is stiff.

In a mixing bowl, combine yeast mixture with flour, salt and oil. Knead until dough forms a smooth ball. Grease a large stainless steel mixing bowl. Roll the dough in the bowl until lightly coated with grease. Cover with a tea towel and place in oven with oven light on. Let dough rise in oven until double in size, about 20 minutes. Spread dough out evenly onto a greased 12” pizza pan, pressing dough up slightly at the edge.

Roll out, brush with extra virgin olive oil, poke with fork, and prebake for 4 minutes at 425F. If bubbles rise in dough, press down carefully with cloth. Can be frozen at this point (put wax paper between each pizza). To bake: thaw if frozen, add pizza sauce and toppings of your choice. Bake until done, about 8 minutes for minis. I use 135 gms. dough for minis (makes 5 minis).

Marley and Me

March 28, 2009 - Day 87

I took pictures of the homemade mini pizzas I made for our movie night tonight but the movie was so wonderful that the pizza paled in comparison. Ken and I watch movies most Saturday nights and once in a while, we watch a movie that stands out above the rest. That was the case tonight. The movie? Marley and Me. I took this picture of a picture on the internet so this isn’t really “my” picture, but it’s a picture that I took with my camera so I hope it qualifies for my picture of the day. I won’t tell you what the movie is about but I’ll tell you that I cried. Well actually, I sobbed. If you haven’t seen it – you should!

To give credit to the photographer, the original picture is here: http://www.aceshowbiz.com/still/00002102/marley_me01.html#

A New Recipe

March 27, 2009 - Day 86

I brought home a new recipe from a copy of Canadian Living magazine that was in our lunchroom at work last week. I tried it today and it was delicious! Here’s the recipe:

Baked Curry Chicken and Rice

6 chicken drumsticks (I used 4 chicken breasts with bones and skin)
6 chicken thighs (with bones and skin)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large tomato, chopped
1 sweet green pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 lb. button mushrooms, halved
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
1 ½ cups basmati rice
2 Tbsp. West Indian curry powder (I used Jamaican curry powder)
1 tsp. turmeric (optional) (I used the turmeric)
½ tsp. each salt and pepper

In large pot, bring 6 cups water to boil. Add chicken drumsticks and thighs; reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Reserving stock, drain chicken; set aside stock and chicken separately.

Meanwhile, in large shallow Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat; sauté tomato, green pepper, onion, mushrooms and parsley for 5 minutes. Add rice; cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Stir in 3 cups of the reserved stock, curry powder, turmeric (if using), salt and pepper; bring to boil. Add reserved chicken and return to boil.

Cover and bake in 350F oven, stirring twice for 30 minutes, adding up to ¼ cup more stock if necessary. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Makes 6 servings.

Be the person...

March 26, 2009 - Day 85

This poster has been hanging on the back of James’ (one of my favourite lawyers) office door for a few years. James is such a nice person that I think he IS the kind of person his dog thinks he is :-) and I love his poster.

The Aftermath

March 25, 2009 - Day 84

For my picture today, I was able to get up close to the building that was on fire yesterday. I heard on the radio this morning that the damage is estimated at $3 million. The fire made the front page of The Edmonton Journal and The Edmonton Sun today.

The silvery-blue building in the background (on the left) is the TD tower – where I work; it’s half a block away.

Fire!

March 24, 2009 - Day 83

Traffic was a snarled mess and hundreds of people were wandering around aimlessly confused on the downtown streets after work today. You’d have thought it was the end of the world. It wasn’t the end of the world - but the rumor was that a restaurant on Rice Howard Way was on fire. A city block in all directions surrounding the restaurant was blocked off.

I was going to get closer to take a picture of the fire but I couldn’t even leave through the doors on the south side of our building (which is the street that I normally catch my bus on). Police officers were carefully guarding the area and there was no getting a little closer.

Nobody seemed to know where we should catch our busses that normally travel along the area that was blocked off but I went around a corner from my regular stop on 102 Avenue and waited on 101 Street as one police officer suggested (although he wasn’t certain that my bus would come that direction). The bus came that way but wasn’t going to stop until a few of us waiting in the same spot flagged him down. Once on the bus, it wasn’t the usual quick exit out of the downtown core. We crawled through the streets of downtown at a snail’s pace and I was beginning to feel trapped.

I watched the news before I posted this picture and I learned that fire crews will be on the scene for several hours; that the fire has been contained and there are no injuries to report. The building is a turn-of-the century building with seven tenants, not only the restaurant as I’d heard. They showed some amazing pictures of huge flames shooting out of the upper story windows when the fire was at its worst.

Garbage Day

March 23, 2009 - Day 82

Tomorrow is garbage day; taking the garbage out is my job and I like to do it the night before. Ken and I have never officially discussed whose job it would be to take the garbage out, I just do it. Sometimes Ken says to leave it for him but I’d rather take it out myself in case he forgets; forgetting garbage day is one of my pet peeves.

The city has changed their schedule to pick up once a week again, as if it was spring or something! In a week, we normally only have one bag of garbage and one bag of recycle.

Spring and Summer 1939

March 22, 2009 - Day 81

Baba gave me this 1939 Spring and Summer Eaton’s catalogue in 1977. She gave me a 1966 catalogue at the same time, but since it wasn’t very “old” back then, I didn’t appreciate it as much as I appreciated this one (I loved old things even way back when I was a teenager). Eventually, I let Christine cut pictures out of the 1966 catalogue - because cutting pictures out of catalogues was one of my favourite things to do when I was young so I thought she’d enjoy it as well.

The prices were so much lower in this old catalogue than they are now (although wages would have been as well) and fun to look at. For example, there are several pages of women’s dresses to chose from, ranging in price from 99 cents to $5.98 (with very few more expensive than $3.98). There is one wedding dress for $7.95. There are six pages of women’s hats to chose from, ranging in price from 29 cents to $2.79 (the most expensive one is made from fur felt). For women, there are only 8 pairs of pants ($1.00 - $2.59) and 2 pairs of overalls (($1.25 - $1.49) to chose from. Girdles were popular, with 7 pages of selection to chose from! Underwear was very different, with most “undies” (for women) reaching just above the knee!

You could buy 3 pairs of all-wool men’s work socks for $1.15. Men’s pants range in price from $1.98 - $4.50 (the expensive pair were “Glen” Check Worsteds); three-piece suits range in price from $12.95 - $21.50. There’s one pair of men’s swim trunks (in flander’s blue only) for $1.35 and one zip top men’s swim suit (yes, there is a top and it zips to the bottom!) for $1.79.

You name it, chances are you could have bought it in this catalogue – farm supplies, saddles, harnesses, and all sorts of other horse and wagon supplies, fencing, tires, tools, luggage, furniture, pots & pans, dishes, wallpaper, linoleum, fabric – and even “medicine”! How about some “Fellows’ Compound Syrup of Hypophosphites - A nerve tonic” ($1.39) or maybe you’re low on “Beef, Iron and Wine - A good mild tonic for invalids and older people” (75 cents) or “Parmint (Double Strength) – for the treament of catarrh and head noises” ( 79 cents)! Constipated? “Eaton’s Medicinal Petroleum” might help. It’s “odorless and tasteless…a fine heavy grade oil” (only 65 cents for a 20-oz. bottle!).

This catalogue is one of my favourite things.

mmmuffins

March 21, 2009 - Day 80

I had some ripe bananas to use up so I made two dozen banana chocolate chip muffins (for the freezer) this afternoon. They’re great for a quick breakfast or to add to our work lunches.

Decisions...Decisions!

March 20, 2009 - Day 79

When was the last time you went shopping for…a toilet seat?! I had to go to the bank and the grocery store today anyway, so I zipped over to Home Depot and bought a couple new toilet seats (and furnace filters) while I was at it. I had no idea selecting a toilet seat would be a complicated decision! I thought there might be 2 or 3 to chose from but there were several, ranging in price from approximately $7.00 to approximately $60. The two I bought were about $26 each.

And I bet when Ken sees that I bought toilet seats and furnace filters, he's going to say I should have left it for him to do (and I also bet he would have bought the ones priced at $7). :-)

The Good Book

March 19, 2009 - Day 78

Although I’ve read the New Testament and some of the books of the Old Testament a few times in my life, I’ve never read through the entire bible. I’m (slowly) working on it though. I won’t tell you how long it’s taken me to get to the book Nehemiah, mainly because I can’t remember how long it’s been! I’m determined to do it though, no matter how long it takes.

Chicken for Lunch

March 18, 2009 - Day 77

Jen and I bought lunch today and took it back to the lunchroom (in TD tower) to eat. Jen had Greek food and I had Chicken for Lunch.

Chicken for Lunch is located in Scotia Place and I’m sure it’s the most popular place downtown to have lunch on any given weekday. There is always a line up and this is a smaller line than there often is.

Amy (one of the owners and the one who dishes up the containers to go) is amazing – she remembers probably 95% of her customer’s orders. Mine is “regular, spicy everything”, which she encouraged me to try (when she learned that I like spicy food) the first time I went a few years ago. And Amy remembers, even if I don’t go for months at a time. She says, “my girl, spicy everything”. And she’s right.

The family also owns the Lingnan and they even have a weekly TV show, which I’d love to watch but I never watch TV and don’t know if we even get it since we choose not to bother with cable.

Exhausted

March 17, 2009 - Day 76

I was exhausted when I got home from work tonight. I think it was mostly due to emotional stress since this was the day we had the memorial for Lorne at work. I rarely sleep before bedtime but I couldn’t force myself to stay awake.

I slept from 6:30 – 7:30, forced myself to get up and do a few things before I went back to bed shortly after 9:00. I got up at 5:37 this morning to get ready for work, but I could have continued sleeping.

I took this picture of myself before I actually fell asleep. I was deliciously cozy under my flannel sheets, duvet (with flannel cover), topped by another waffle blanket and a thin quilt over top of all of that.

Broccoli Salad

March 16, 2009 - Day 75

Ken and I both fell “in love” with this broccoli salad when we first tried it. Christine’s friend Tammy brought it to Shayne and Sandy’s housewarming party in August 2007. Tammy shared her recipe with me and I’ve made it many times since, including tonight as part of supper.

Broccoli salad

5 cups fresh broccoli, chopped
6-8 slices cooked chopped bacon
½ cup raisins
½ cup sunflower seeds
½ medium red onion, chopped

Mix everything together.

Dressing:
½ cup mayo
½ cup sugar
2 Tbsp. vinegar

Mix dressing into salad.

It's spring. No, it's winter. No, it's spring. No...

March 15, 2009 - Day 74

Today winter won out; it was a cold, snowy day – leaving the puddles of two days ago frozen and buried.

Classes?

March 14, 2009 - Day 73

Where do I sign Ken up for classes? I had to laugh when I saw this sight in the bathroom on the main floor this morning – at least he made some effort! lol

S...S...Spring!!!

March 13, 2009 - Day 72

I took this picture out our bonus room window – looking south. The picture of the puddle I took yesterday was on that corner and there’s an even bigger puddle today so I’m going to venture to say that…I think SPRING has arrived…for real this time! :-)

Come onnnnnnnn you guys, give me a break - it can't be winter forever! lol

Okay...

March 12, 2009 - Day 71

I won’t say it, but…!!! :-)

Another Bus Problem

March 11, 2009 - Day 70

Another shot of a bus problem downtown this week. I’m not sure if the bus had a couple flat tires or another problem but after removing two of the tires and rolling them into the bus, a couple city employees towed the bus away (with a much larger-than-average tow truck).

Baby it's Cold Outside!!!

March 10, 2009 - Day 69

Baby, it’s (really darn stinking) cold outside...and I’m sick and tired of it! It was about -30C when I took this picture from James’s office (which is adjacent to my station) at 8:10 a.m. this morning.

Hooray for More Daylight!

March 9, 2009 - Day 68

This is the view out my kitchen window. The time changed during the wee hours of the morning yesterday and it’s wonderful to see more daylight at the end of the day. I took this picture at 7:49 p.m.

Bye For Now

March 8, 2009 - Day 67

This is always the saddest part of the visit for me – when it’s time to say goodbye. With work and school obligations tomorrow, Christine, Ian, Ashley, Hope and Austin had to head back home today. Thankfully Adam, Michael and Kristy were here a while after Christine’s family left and that helped make it less sad for me. I’m also thankful that Christine’s family is only 3 hours away and will likely be back in 2 or 3 months for another fun visit!

Fun With Family

March 7, 2009 - Day 66

Christine, Ian, Ashley, Hope, Austin, Adam, Michael, Kristy, Ken and I had a wonderful afternoon and evening together today. I cooked a big turkey dinner and we celebrated a number of things – Hope’s birthday (Feb 20), Michael’s birthday (Feb 24) Ian’s birthday (Mar 11th), Ashley’s birthday (Apr 7), Easter, and Adam finishing his 2nd term of Refrigeration and Air Conditioning. After dinner, we visited, played SingStar and shared a whole lot of laughs together. It was a wonderfully fun day!

Christine's Family

Day 65

Christine, Ian, Ashley, Hope and Austin arrived this afternoon! They’re going to spend the weekend. Adam, Michael and Michael’s girlfriend (Kristy) will come over tomorrow as well. I’m going to make a big dinner and we’re going to celebrate a number of things, Easter being one of them. I bought a bunch of Easter candy that Christine and her family are enjoying here.

Aw Shucks

Day 64

Ya, well…who knew it was only going to be spring for ONE day?! I’m glad I took the picture (yesterday) to remember it by! :-) It started snowing sometime late last night and I’m sure it was blizzarding out there all night long! There was a heck of a lot of new snow when we woke up this morning; the snow drifts were the worst - hard to trudge through to get to my bus stop.

This bus was in front of us when we got downtown this morning. It wasn’t pulling away from the curb – it was stuck in the snow bank and going nowhere! It was at my stop so I took a couple pictures before going in to the building where I work.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...Dare I Say It?!

March 4, 2009 - Day 63

This is how our street looked when I got off the bus at the end of the day today (5:00). It looks a lot like spring to me!

Junk Mail

Day 62

Junk mail - why is there always so much of it?!

Cleaning Day

Day 61

Christine, Ian and the kids are coming to spend the weekend with us...hooray! I always like the house to be in tip top shape when they arrive so it was cleaning day today. I got most of it done, but will finish the rest over the course of the evenings this week (hopefully just one evening).

Workin' Man - New Kit

March 1, 2009 – Day 60

My newest kit, Workin’ Man, was released in the store today. http://store.scrapbook-elements.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=246&products_id=16500

In case you don't visit the store, I'll include my store description for this kit. I wrote: The inspiration for this kit came from my 3-year old grandson Owen. Owen loves tools. He has toy tools to play with but he would much rather play with his daddy’s real tools. Although he isn’t allowed, he does sneak into his daddy’s toolbox once in a while and brings out a real tool – and for those few moments (until he’s caught), he’s in his glory! When his mommy or daddy lovingly refer to Owen as “my baby” or “my little guy”, he quickly corrects them in his little boy accent, “No daddy, no mommy, I’n not a baby, I’n not a little guy – I’n a maaan. I’n a workin’ man!”.

Merry uhm...Christmas!

February 28, 2009 – Day 59

Merry, uhm…Christmas!? As you know from a previous, recent post, our neighbours straight across haven’t taken down their Christmas decorations yet. Well tonight they went all out. They had a bunch of people over – and even turned the Christmas lights on!