Unseasonably warm

To my knowledge I have never had okra before. Apparently okra is mucilaginous on the inside of the pod but Jenn already said she would try them so it is too late for her to back out now. Mwa ha ha.

The evenings have been uncomfortably warm the last few days what with our having no control over the thermostat in our building. Last night jenn and I went for a walk at 8:00 and it was so warm that I donned only a t-shirt and jeans. It is raining today but still warm. I worked up a sweat on my short walk to Tim’s for a latte (on a side note, I think McDonalds makes a better latte).

I know some people have been trying to reach me (i.e. Tracey) so I will try to make some calls this week.

- R

Some Mayan culture and Texan food

Jenn and I took a trip into Toronto yesterday and the first stop was the Royal Ontario Museum which had a special Mayan exhibit. Just like the last time we visited the museum, we started-off studiously reading every placard and examining every artefact. But after 20 minutes we exhausted our mental faculties and only lingered at the pieces that caught our attention. I of course had to stop and see the dinosaurs again. Unfortunately for us the dinosaur exhibits were mobbed with screaming, running children. I concluded children need to be leashed and muzzled in public. But I did get some great pictures. Unfortunately photography was not permitted in the Mayan display so we have only memories to take with us from that.

 

By the time we left the ROM it was 1:00 and we were sooo hungry, having foregone breakfast. So we stopped for a light lunch at a pub called Duke of Kent on Yonge Street. It my hunger ravaged mind I not only forgot to pay the meter, I parked in front of a fire hydrant. So stupid. We returned to the car to find a 100$ ticket. *Sigh* Then it was off to Richmond Hill to chat with Aunt Vi and my Mom who is up for a visit. Viola had to leave early to meet with some friends but not before giving us a beautiful cookie jar (made years ago by my Aunt Nancy), a Christmas ornament and our first Christmas gift! Not to mention some delicious holiday ginger and peanut butter cookies. For dinner Jenn and I took Mom to a nearby restaurant called Lonestar which has a Texan inspired menu. I loved my fajitas and Mom had a great burger, but Jenn was not impressed with her salad or baked beans. The it was back home to finish my novel (“The Best Laid Plans” by Terry Fallis).

The weather man say we are in for a nice weekend (12 degrees). I figure it is a good time to put the winter tires on and wax the car.

Turducken is checked off my bucket list.

Four years ago I read an article in National Geographic on turducken. No it is not a turkey, duck, chicken hybrid Franken-bird as I have facetiously convinced some. It is a de-boned chicken inside a de-boned duck, inside a partially de-boned turkey. Perhaps the most opulent food ever conceived and I must say it lived-up to my expectations. I had a small (ish) one prepared that was actually made from just the breast meat of each bird as a full size turducken feeds about 20! Plus, it ain’t exactly cheap. But it lived-up to my expectations. After 6 hours of cooking we were rewarded with a juicy, succulent meal that wasn’t at all fowl (get it? Fowl!). My only complaint would be that I didn’t love the chorizo stuffing. I also made a maple-pumpkin cheesecake for dessert. Luckily Jenn enlisted a few of her friends to help us with the feast.
 
In other news we enjoyed a lovely but too short visit from Rhonda Brown this month. We had the opportunity to take a boat cruise out into the Toronto harbour for free thanks tickets Rhonda’s friends had purchased but did not have the opportunity to use. Despite it being a somewhat chilly, overcast day it was a lot of fun. Especially when Jenn randomly decided to get her picture atop a dog statue.
   
After thoughtful consideration I have decided not to go home for Christmas this year. It doesn’t make financial sense right now as I will have to travel home before the wedding to get the marriage licence and then I will also be home for two weeks in the summer for weddings. Not to mention needing to tighten purse strings for the wedding itself. Besides Cooper gets lonely by here all by himself.

Anyway I will talk with you all soon. I am off for my first meeting to become a disaster relief volunteer for the Kitchener region. I home you are well and still snow free .

Fall is here and we have the apples to prove it!

Labor Day has come and gone and it as though someone flicked a switch and it turned into fall overnight.  The weather has still been nice but it has been very chilly on my morning walks to work and I'm already wearing my fall jacket and down vest.  Today though was a beautiful afternoon and we took a scenic drive along some back roads of Cambridge to an apple U-pick.  We had much better luck than our attempt last year where we were too late in the season and the trees had all been picked.  This time we managed to go during prime picking season and the trees were heavily laden with fruit so it didn't take long at all to fill 2 big bags with Courts and Macs.  Now we will be eating apples for months.  We've already made an apple crisp and Robbie intends on making a big batch of sauce to freeze (although he'll probably eat most of it before any of it makes it to the freezer).

Next weekend Robbie and I are heading to Ottawa to attend a friends wedding and while we are there we will also be visiting with Mandy, Laura and Ian.  We'll be keeping our eyes open and paying special attention to what we like and dislike about the wedding so that we can start doing some more planning for our own!!

We have officially selected a date for the wedding:  August 25, 2012 at the Hazen Center in Oromocto, so you can mark it on your calenders!!  We're  still working on the guest list but we have decided that we are going to limit it to an adult only event.  We'll keep you all posted.

 

Canoeing The Grand River

Well we are back in Kitchener, our flight and trip were uneventful, and Cooper was excited to have us back.
We had a great time visiting with everyone and already can't wait until our next visit.

There is no special name for the holiday in Ontario, for us it is just a civic holiday but it makes for a long weekend none the less.  We haven't made any big plans as Robbie is trying to chip away at his thesis but we have made time for some tennis and today we went out canoeing on the Grand River.  It was a lot of fun and thankfully there was a breeze on the water because it was another hot day in the 30's.  Robbie and I aren't the most compatible paddlers and we weren't that synchronized but we made it the full 2 hours/10 km without too much incident, and thankfully it was all down river with a pick up from the endpoint back to the launch site.  My arms are definitely going to be sore tomorrow.  

We  had a delicious meal of spinach salad with strawberries, corn on the cob and chicken kabobs with pineapple and peppers this evening.  My last onion was rotten and we ran out of propane but somehow everything turned out great!!  Robbie has also made a pumpkin cake dessert with sugar frosting which was also delicious.  Robbie is always trying to cook up something new, he has also made a pad thai and a jambalaya so we continue to eat well! 

June flew by!!

We are finally getting some beautiful weather but I can't believe that it is already July!! We have been keeping busy, a few weekends ago we took a day trip down to Niagara on the Lake.  We had hopes of meeting up with Mandy but she was unable to come but we enjoyed some wine tours non the less.   We lucked out and got our own private wine and cheese tour at Hillebrand Winery and then did some tastings at Frog Pond, Caroline Marynissen  and The Ice House.  Ice wine slushies on a hot day are just divine!!!  I've now been down on three separate occasions and each experience has been totally different but equally enjoyable, I think it is my favorite Ontario attraction thus far.  

We also spent a weekend in Toronto with Laura and Ian.  Ian was down from North Bay to compete in a weight lifting competition that was taking place at the Toronto Convention Center during the same time as what is called the Toronto Pro-show.  It was the strangest/creepiest experience I've had.  So many body builders walking around with fake tans, unable to keep their arms down by their sides due to too much muscle and lots of boobs.  Robbie enjoyed all the free energy drink samples but I have no idea how his blood sugar didn't shoot through the roof.  There were also a number of concerts happening around town and funny enough we were able to watch Bruno Mars sing a few songs in preparation for the Much Music Video Awards as well as the Lady Gaga dancers warm up.  We then  stumbled across a concert in Dundas square featuring the 80's band Devo and of course they played Whip it!!

Last but not least of our June adventures was our trip to Ottawa for Canada Day.  My good friend Becky flew up with a bunch of her friends to celebrate her 30 th birthday and we were able to spend some time with them.  We stayed with my friend Katie and her fiance who live 10 minutes away from downtown and they were wonderful hosts.  It was nice staying away from the downtown because the place was a mad house.  There were three hundred thousand people out for the Canada Day festivities and to see the Royals Will and Kate.  We stood on the sidelines for a short while to see the Motorcade drive by but as soon as it past and only having seen the back of Will's head and Kate's hat we hastily made our way to a pub and enjoyed cold beer and snacks as the F18 planes flew by overhead.  Robbie was able to meet up with Mandy for the fireworks and we also got together the next day and went strawberry picking.  Katie and Andy put on a huge spread of a BBQ for us Saturday evening and we ate so much I was going to bust.  They will be getting married in September so we will be making another trip to Ottawa in the fall for that event.  I mention this because as wedding favors they have been making homemade jam so Robbie and I are now inspired and have tried this ourselves.  We successfully have made a small batch of strawberry jam and have also canned some homemade salsa!!  It is all delicious but I think we need to work on our jam recipe.

Well that is all for now, before you know it we will be visiting you all in NB July 21-28, Can't wait to see you!!

Blue Jays and Parks Canada Celebrations

The sun finally decided to make an appearance and it just happened to land on the Saturday of a long weekend, what good luck!!  We took advantage and drove to Toronto where we took in a Blue Jays game at the sky dome, it was my first time ever and I was pretty excited!  They were playing the Houston Astros (not that I know anything about baseball teams) and Toronto won 7-5!!  The best part was that two home runs were hit right over our heads into our section!!
Afterwards we walked around the Roger's center and the base of the CN tower where Parks Canada had booths set up to celebrate their 100 year anniversary.  Costumed representatives from parks all over Canada were there taking pictures with kids and promoting the importance of conserving the environment.  They also put on a free concert featuring some local talent including Toronto bands "Sweet Thing" and "Mudmen".  Mudmen were pretty excellent as they are rock band that also uses bagpipes and the two guys playing them looked like they should be football line backers rather than playing winded instruments.  We also manged to wander into a lineup for a free BBQ by the old train yard.  We're still not sure if it was really for the public but I have my suspicions that it was really meant for the workers and staff of the production "Railway Children" that had daily showings under a giant tent in front of the rail yard.  No one said anything to us so we just went with the flow and came out with plates of hamburgers and salad.
Just to let you all know, we have booked tickets to come home for July 21-28. We are flying with Porter Airlines and will be flying into Moncton on the Thursday at 12:35.  Can't wait to see you all!!

Mexico Pictures

MEXICO!!!

We are now back from a wonderful week spent at the Grand Sirenis Mayan Resort in Mexico located half way between Cancun and Playa del Carmen.  We were there primarily for our friends wedding but it was also our first big vacation out of Canada together!!
Our flight was uneventful with the exception of some turbulence, direct from Toronto to Cancun International Airport. We were met by some nice but very pushy Mexican's who promptly grabbed our bags and ushered us to our designated bus, obviously looking for big tips.  It was a little overwhelming but a good experience.  Next time I'm going to hold on to my bag a little tighter to save a buck and get to the bus myself.  On the bus we had a very enthusiastic conductor who taught us what he thought were the most important words to know in Spanish: Cervaza  meaning beer (all they have is Corona) and banos meaning washroom.  We then got to drink $2 Cervaza's on the bus on the way to the resort.  Please note my ridiculously orange hands due to a spray tan gone horribly wrong.  My knees were also this color, thankfully it wore off after a few days of swimming.

We got the resort early in the afternoon well ahead of the rest of the wedding party who where flying from Halifax.  The rest of our group was suppose to get in that evening (Thursday) but due to delays and cancellations they didn't end up arriving until Friday around 9 pm, losing almost a full day!!  Because of this Robbie and I got to spend the first full day on our own exploring the resort, relaxing in the pool, floating down the lazy river and swimming in the ocean.  ( We did this pretty much everyday regardless).  The resort was beautiful and had 3 different pools, 2 with swim up bars, easy access to the ocean with coral reefs all around (Robbie's favorite), lots of pathways for walking dotted with iguana's which were everywhere and architecture that mimicked Mayan ruins.   Food and drink was available at all times and there were multiple bars and buffets set up all around the place.  I was a little nervous at first about all the concerns with food, and drinks and how they made the ice etc and was cautious at first but it ended up being a non issue and no one in our group appeared to have any problems.  I guess being a 5 start resort that sees thousands of people a week have it covered.  The al a carte restaurants were by far the best as far as food went.  Everyone got to go to the Japanese one as Crystal booked it for the rehearsal dinner.  It was pretty amazing watching the chef cook everyone on his grill right in front of us!!

We also went to a Cajun dinner as well as a Mediterranean themed dinner.  We both agreed that the Mediterranean dinner was our favorite; Rob had the tuna and I had the squid, there was also a delicious buffet  with mussels and prawns and the waiters were amazing.  They started bringing drinks over without us asking and 2 rounds of shots, one was called a Cucaracha which is Khalua, rum and tequila set on fire and then you suck it really fast through a straw!!  The strangest feeling is being on the resort and going to all these little events and not having to pay for anything, everything is included.  

We did end up going on one excursion off the resort with a tour group that took us to a beach where we got to go snorkeling with large green turtles!!  It was amazing, we were not allowed to get too close but we could watch them feeding and we also happened to see a barracuda and a sting ray.  We then were transported to a cenote which are sinkholes created by the underground river system.  These are fresh water and considered sacred to the Mayan people.  The water was so clear you could see everything, amazing little piranha (not the biting kind) stalagmites and stalactites.  The pictures unfortunately didn't turn out very well.  

                                

The wedding was beautiful and the weather, like everyday we were there, was hot and sunny with a light breeze.  It was held right down on the beach and then the reception dinner was just behind in large gazebo type shelter.  It was a good time had by all. 

I feel like there is so much else that I'd love to share but I think I'll leave that for another entry as this one is already getting much too long.  I'm sure Robbie will want to tell you all about the sea creatures that he caught as soon as he gets his pictures back from his underwater camera.  

Its been tough being back and not being able to have my 10 am mojito or my 2 o'clock siesta...life is rough :)

Winterlude

This past weekend we were able to enjoy a long weekend away in Ottawa visiting Laura, Ian and Mandy.  Here in Ontario, this weekend has been deemed "Family Day"  as an excuse to have a long weekend in February but I won't complain, although I find this funny as we don't get Remembrance day off.  (Wow I just used the word weekend too many times)!
Anyway, it was also the last weekend of Winterlude, a two week festival in Ottawa where the main attractions are the ice sculptures, ice skating on the canal and beaver tails, all of which we enjoyed. Due to abnormally warm weather the week before,  many of the ice sculptures had melted and did not uphold there original glory but they were still impressive.  Of course while we were there the weather was incredibly cold and windy so we didn't stay out as long we normally would have.  This didn't stop us from getting out though and luckily the canal was open for skating on the Sunday despite the previous warm weather.  I am a horrible skater.  Robbie is not much better but his fearlessness and determination make him much better than I.  Falling hurts a lot more now that I'm older, I don't remember it hurting so much.  I could really use some practice but the thought of falling again makes me nervous, maybe I will strap on some pillows next time to cushion the fall!
We spent one evening at a bar called "Zaphod Beeblebrox", the name not meaning anything to me but apparently it is a character in the books "A Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" of which Robbie and others there were apparently familiar with.  There were quite the variety of patrons at this place, some of which must have been fanatics dressed up in bright colored wigs, sparkly make-up and even a Gumby costume (I'm assuming alien theme) it was all very bizarre but a good time had by all. 
We also finally made it to "The Works", a gourmet hamburger restaurant that makes all sorts of weird and wonderful topping combinations.  I had the "Sexy burger"  which had cream cheese, sweet and spicy sauce, pineapple and banana peppers.  Robbie's burger was called "The down Under" burger and it had the weirdest toppings; beets, fried egg, caramelized onions, pineapple and Gouda.  The sweet potato fries were delicious!

We are both sick of this cold weather that we have been having but on the bright side it is staying lighter longer for my walks home from work at 6 and we leave for our trip to Mexico at the end of March which will be a nice break from the cold just in time for spring to get here!!