Day Fifty Three - Picasso and Kiwi/ Apple Cake

Dear all,

Today I was feeling a little under the weather so decided to lock myself away from the world at home with Darren and paint a Picasso for his office. I have gotta say, I am loving it. Four hours of painting went by in a flash; in the background the wonderful 'Up' and rain falling on the window. A blissful afternoon.



In my quest for culinary supremacy, I also decided to experiment somewhat and I baked a quick fire crumble made from apples, kiwi and oranges. Again, the Gods were clearly shining down on me today as it worked a treat and was delicious. I used oats, a smidgen of flour, brown sugar and cinnamon for the crumble with a dollop of honey on top for good measure. It was warming an d tasty and made our place smelt like a Patisserie!


Finally, a Kitchen Shout-out to Nadia who baked the most amazing Turkey Burgers today... a first for her and they tasted incredible. We were discussing the ingredients for a good while.. egg and [i think] soup mix were involved and I tell ya, they were great. Nadia, me and ye are both racing up the ranks towards becoming fully fledged Domestic Goddi! ( is Goddi the plural of goddess...? like Thermas to Thermi, Canvas to Canvi... hmmmm )

Day Fifty Two - Hosting Trivia Night

Dear all,

An iconic day for me today: I was standing in for Aaron and hosting Wednesday Night Trivia at the Admiral's Post!

OOOoo lalala, I have new found respect for Aaron and all that have hosted before. I tell ya, it's like been thrown into the lion pen with 100 angry trivia-loving lions... all very opinionated and hungry for a win.


But before I say anything, a HUGE shout out to the ever-amazing Darren who has been a major force in the Trivia build up and hugely supportive even as I fired question after question at him. D, you are magnifico.

Anyway, after mulling over the Trivia questions for some time, I came up with 5 question rounds, 1. Colour 2. International Foods 3. Science and Nature 4. Capital Cities and 5. Britain, a picture round on flowers and a 'music in movies' round. D and I arrived early to a bustling pub with people milling around, selecting their tables ( imperative to have a good spot) and settling in with an ale.

Aaron was very helpful in getting everything set up and with my trusty Mac as my trivia hosting companion, we kicked off the evening. I was glad to have wonderful Karla sitting at the table beside me, Jenny, Andi and Frank were soon to join and Frank sailed home with the first victory of the evening... a jug of beer from the exalted beer-round.

I was actually quite struck by the passion of the players, despite being a regular, I didn't realize how 'competitive' everyone was. I certainly had to fend off some flack.. but felt secure in my ball dress ( I felt it important to wear a ball dress for my trivia debut) and held my own against the [occasional] barrage of 'abuse'. As I mentioned before.. much respect to Aaron for his weekly does on the block.. its not easy up there and he does a sterling job!

I sadly forgot about my camera in all the commotion but Darren did take one last piccie of me in my trivia guise at the end of the evening.

I enjoyed being trivia master and had a great evening, but was also happy to get home to a cold corona and late night TV with the gorgeous (and now un-bearded) D.


And in other news:
1. First stab at making soup.. so I thought I would start with the old and faithful Potato and Leek from the BBC Good Food website (a consistently reliable source of recipe goodness). It tasted quite wonderful despite the fact that it made our condo smell quite significantly of onions.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/leekandpotatosoup_1920.shtml

Day Fifty One - Mowing Dandelions

Dear all,

With the prolific and much needed rain fall of the last couple of days, the grounds of the inn have seen a total transformation in colour and volume as the new growth was sent into hyper drive. This included the lawns, which along with the grass are now speckled with the luminous yellow of tens of thousands of dandelion flowers. Despite their label as a 'weed' the effect is quite beautiful.






Due to issues involving insurance and hierarchy, the lawnmower is usually out-of-bounds for the likes of little me. I did however manage to grab a brief moment on the machine ( its big and loud) and tear up a handful of dandelions.


I was so inspired by the beauty of the golden lawn, I decided to stage a protest against 'dandelion upheaval' and disguise myself as one of the flowers.

For one day only my campaign was effective but in my absence, I am sure any 'no-mow' ritual will be vehemently over ruled.


And in other news:
1. The inn after one of the many electrical storms which leaves in its wake a dazzling and moody sky.

2. A quick photo update of Gandalf's ever expanding rack. Be sure that this is only just the beginning...

Day Fifty - Hollyhocks and Bats

Dear all,

Today I was joined by the Goddess of the Garden Connie and we set out to plant a garden jam packed full of Hollyhocks. The desired effect is that of a 'colour explosion' directly in front of Home Farm and it was decided that Hollyhocks would be perfect for the job. Connie's gardening expertise spans years and includes highly esteemed, formal training in a distinguished temple in Kyoto, Japan.

We got stuck right in; Connie is meticulous in her planting which is fantastic for me, as her student, as I watch and learn from her intently. I was on 'water' and 'manure' duty ( both key) and before we knew it all three flats were in the ground just in time for the fifth electrical storm of the day.

I am very excited as to how the garden will look and will keep everyone posted!

And in other news:

1. Why - So - Seriousssss. The Bat is Back.. and hopefully not on the tail of the Joker. Here is a brief video of our resident Bat keeping guard on Home Farm against notable tyrants and/ or mosquitos ( hurray ). Bats normally roost in trees or caves but due to burgeoning urbanization, bats can often be found in man-made structures, with a particular favorite being attics. The bats in Ontario migrate or hibernate during the winter months and the most common is the 'little brown bat', possibly what I saw today but rather difficult to identify from where I was standing with my limited 'Bat' knowledge.

Day Forty Nine - Forest Fairy

Dear all,

After day two of major electrical storms and with magic truly in the air, I unleashed my inner forest nymph and wondered the valleys of middle earth on a mission to reunite the Fellowship of the Ring.

The hobbits, Frodo and Pippen were most obliging in helping me with my quest and not too alarmed by my outfit. Gandalf however, was more suspicious and was not too forth coming with information.

Needless to say, the gates of Mordor were found to be closed so my quest was thwarted. I am now on the hunt for Schmeegal in order that he can show me the alternative route through the tunnels.. Video documentation of my quest below..

1. Frodo and Pippen

2. Gandalf

3. Running through the vales of Rivendell

PS - Thank you to Nadine, my glorious and valiant travel partner.

And in other news:

1. We have a very sick chicken and rather bizarrely her head is permanently pinned to one side... could be a stroke, or it could be a broken neck ( she is still alive.. but who knows with chickens)

Day Forty Seven - New Neighbors

Dear all

After a day of heavy electrical storms, I decided to go for a long run early evening as the thick air had now lifted leaving a crisp dewey atmosphere and perfect running conditions. I was running along merrily mulling over the meaning of life and I suddenly realized that I had not yet popped in on the inn's new neighbor, Brad, who had purchased the property next door as a weekend retreat and who I would periodically see tearing up the road on his ATV.

Its a beautiful property, tucked right back in the forest and totally secluded. Turns out that my visit coincided with Brad having a big old evening of debauchery ( very unusual in these parts... hmmm) so on my arrival, I was immediately handed a Gin and Tonic ( not what I 'thought' I needed post 'Lobster' night.. but actually worked wonders. Hair of the dog is a powerful tool ) and taken on a mini tour of the house.

It was very nice to pop in and see Brad in his new house and meet his mate Tim for a quick drink. I left them gearing up for a huge 'Buck and Doe' party down the road whilst I was filled with the wonderful after glow of gin as I tied up my trainers and hopped back into my running dream land as if I hadn't left it (I am apparently known in the area as 'runner girl' by virtually everyone within a radius of 10k - It a strange and wonderful thing to live in a small town)

And in other news:

1. Today was my first 'snake' sighting of the year. I have a special relationship with snakes and am sure they will be making regular appearances throughout the blog.

(FYI - I have the personal goal of picking up a snake [by the tail, always by the tail]).

I was unable to take a picture of the snake due to the speed of his evacuation.. but here is a taster of what is to come.

Day Forty Six - Whole Lobster

Dear all,

Nothing is more wonderful than an impromptu drinking session on a balmy summer eve..

All it took was that first sip of corona from our balcony and the cab was booked and we were all hurtling towards Blue Mountain with the wind in our hair and the sun in our hearts. The mighty Vince was down from Owen Sound which made for a genius drinking combination. Once at the mountain, we decided to head for the patio of Copper Blues and take advantage of the fabulous Spring-Licious Menu. This was also a perfect opportunity for me to experience a big first: eating a whole lobster.

The drinking was wonderfully punctuated by a fine feast. A couple of firsts for me... Rockefeller Scallops ( divine ) and venison kebabs ( also divine ) and then came the Lobster.

We named the Lobster 'Doug' with a sway towards 'Pinchy' due to his temperament. Vince gave me a quick demo on 'Lobster Meat Extraction' and I was off ( documented in the video below ). I loved it and low and behold, I then had the fuel to march on through the night with the boys, ending up at 'Twist' where we managed to find ourselves in front of a table of martini cocktails at around midnight.. fabulous in every way. (n.b. The finer details of the evening are hazy )

Thank you Darren and Vince, it was a BRILLIANT night.

Appendix V:

Apologies for the slight delay with this post. Intermittent thunder and lightening storms have proven a major hinderance in connecting to our trusty satellite, we sadly still don't have the luxury of hi-speed internet here in the valley..