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 .