Day Three Hundred and Forty - Wisdom Tooth Removal

Dear all,

I have been waiting for this day to come with a mixture of awe, trepidation and deep psychological trauma... today I was getting my Wisdom Tooth extracted!

I had a partially erupted wisdom tooth which was becoming increasingly annoying as a result of a biannual onslaught by bacterium after bacterium which meant 10 days of amoxicillin and an extremely painful face.

Darren recommended his lovely Dentist at the Collingwod Dental Centre so after an initial consultation a couple of weeks back, today was the day for the big pull!

http://www.collingwooddentalcentre.org/

I have been blessed with very healthy, low maintenance teeth so this was the first major procedure that I have ever had to undergo. I knew that I would have to master the art of self hypnosis to get through it as I had been a little concerned during the lead up [I had been having multiple anxiety dreams [clear indicator of tooth extraction stress] involving A Level exams and film sets *shudder*)

I had ordered 'Gas' to help me through but had a vision beforehand during a 2 hour run that made me decided I would do it with freezing alone. Darren had been amazing in talking me through it and as we walked into the surgery, I felt like that I was wrapped in a blanket of calm and rational zen-like fearlessness.

And it was! I sat in the dentist's chair ( shaking, of course, but tried not to show it) and decided that I wanted to prove that I am brave even in the face of a syringe. The secret to my success throughout the 'surgery' [I was alarmed that they called it this] was NEVER TO OPEN MY EYES. I never once opened them and despite being tugged at, a barrage of strange noises, tools, tugging and *grimace* stitches, it all went by fairly quickly and before I knew it, we were on the way home with tooth in hand (displayed in a small presentation box).

I am now sitting on the Klick Klack, watching Weeds and eating Ice Cream with Darren ( the doctor actually 'prescribed' Ben and Jerry's as part of my recovery). The first few hours were a little rough but nothing that some heavy duty pain killers, a 'Freezie' wrap and some gauze can't fix. All in all, a total relief and I may have a little less Wisdom but I am feeling great!

Day Three Hundred and Thirty Nine - The Niagara Escarpment

Dear all,

We still have a mountain of snow up in Collingwood so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to take Jo on a little adventure up the Escarpment.

Designated a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve in 1990, the Niagara Escarpment

is an internationally recognized land form that runs through Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois.

The escarpment is most famous as the section that runs through Niagara whereby the Niagara River gushes at a trillion gallons per second over the cliff...

Anyway, I wanted to give OJ a broad range of experiences in the short time she was here, so we grabbed a pair of snow shoes and stomped out way up the 'Pretty River' section of the Escarpment.

We strode up the Escarpment in our snow shoes only stopping for photos or because we had fallen over.

Snow shoeing is hilarious and not the easiest thing in the world ( especially on crispy snow-ice with a stream gushing down the Escarpment causing random crevices and gaping holes in the snow) but allows you to hike through endless bush, veer off trails ( **watch out for snow leopards) and is fabulous cardio.

It was an awesome hike and set us up for an afternoon of more sap collection, tree felling and horse massage.

I think Jo should take a pair home for next winter in Leeds (This is not meant as a jab, but The UK, particularly the transport network, doesn't deal with snow all that well..)

And in other news:

Here are a few more snaps from our day:

1. Me and Rimba. The baby is getting bigger [and more fluffy] every day!

2. Me on the top of the Escarpment but this time, at the top of Blue Mountain! Check out the Panarama.

3. Jo and I spent the morning 'collecting' maple sap. Imagine a hardest work out you have ever done and multiply this by 4.

4. Mac helped out though (he follows me everywhere, keeping guard and making sure I don't get attacked by a chicken)

5. Me with two dogs ( they both have quite advanced jealousy issues)

6. Jo with one dog and one cat ( both who have extreme jealousy issues which invariably instills a propensity for violence)

Day Three Hundred and Thirty Nine - The Scandinave Spa

Dear all,

After a hard weeks work at the inn including a considerable amount of heavy lifting, OJ and I were Over the MOON when a date at the heavenly Scandinave Spa just below Blue Mountain was organized for us.

This place is HEAVENLY (http://www.scandinave.com/en/bluemountain).

We had had an extremely challenging day ( including poo picking, carrying maple sap up a mountain, washing green yuk out of Angus and chopping wood with an axe). Jo was so excited, she spent the entire day saying 'spa-spa-spa-spa' and we were exuberant when we were finally finished work and on the road to nirvana.

The spa is nestled amongst a beautiful forest, totally secluded from anything remotely resembling civilization ( but fortuitously 5 minutes from Collingwood. *Sigh*)

We parked the car (with Jo still reciting 'spa spa spa') and found ourselves on a [magical] walkway that had opened up in between the trees. The walkway led to a gorgeous red building (the gentle pan pipe music had started up at this point... at a very low volume) with a rather ominous sign posted [in full view that couldn't possibly be ignored] on the entranceway.

Yep, there is no talking in the spa. Rather a strange concept for me and something that I am not necessarily known for partaking in since around the age of 8 months. Non the less, we charged on through, with Jo monitoring my 'word and volume count per minute' with great care.

In short, everything about this place is AMAZING. The changing rooms are amazing, the showers are amazing, the towels are amazing, the toilets are amazing.. ooo an we hadn't even entered the Baths yet.

Sadly, as well as the 'no talking' rule ( this is enforced) there no also no photography within the baths ( this is also vehemently enforced - we witnessed a 'confiscation') so we only got to take photos from the 'observation lounge'.

Hopefully it gives a vague feel of the place. Our photos are good.. but they don't do it justice. The Scandinave is so so so so lovely. There are baths, cold plunges [we forfeited these in place of just walking outside [it was -17], a sauna, incredible eucalyptus steam room, relaxation rooms ( these are amazing), hammocks, wood burning fire places, heaven on earth. This place is AMAZING!

After a while, we fancied a snack so popped up to the cafeteria ( in our robes ) and ordered a selection of amazing salads and sandwiches that were possibly some of the most amazing food stuffs I have ever eaten ( The artichoke and bean salad was sensational!)

The lounge area alone is amazing; everything is so beautifully designed it feels like a 6 star resort. Jo and I were so relaxed, we could barely speak and just marvelled at our glowing skin and happy hearts.

Here is a snap shot of us 'post' spa; very relaxed as you can see.

I urge everyone, even if they have a spa-phobia, in the Georgian Triangle, the GTA, Ontario, Canada and the World to visit The Scandinave. It is just wonderful.

And in other news:

1. I am back at the easel! And to boot, I have beaten my fear of the 'Still life' and Landscapes and churned out one of both at my class this evening.

Day Three Hundred and Thirty Eight - Duncans and Cafe Chartreuse

Dear all,

We had a day of feasting today stopping by not one, but two of the local eating establishments in attempt to expose my sister to the highlights of lovely Collingwood during her whistle stop tour.

We stopped off at Duncan's and Cafe Chartreuse, both found on Hurontario Street in the heart of down town Collingwood.

We met up with Anna, Dale, Nadia, Dave and Di for an epic breakfast at Cafe Chartreuse; known for its huge portions, delicious French fair and the pancakes.

Once we had all assembled at the table, everyone migrated towards the main counter to gaze at pastries and order food.

Darren went straight for a 'bowl' of coffee [pictured here] and OJ and I went for cappucinos [ of course].

We decided to go for the french toast, scrambled eggs and eggs benny and it was awesome! Ooo and we picked up a couple of croissants for the 'wait' before the food arrived [definitely needed... *gawp*].

It was all amazing and we all left so full that even driving past Tim Hortons made us wince. There had been a LOT of food consumed.

Our next stop was Duncan's, one of my favorite spots for lunch in Collingwood, primarily due to their incredible selection of home made soups that are consistently superb. Wonderful Linda had very kindly offered to take us out for lunch and thus began a 2 hour long feast, full of food, wine and gossip

We shared a selection of appetizers and also had three of the soups respectively { to maximise sampling potential }; I had the Squash, OJ had mushroom and Linda had potato and stilton. ALL were amazing and we rattled around in our wonderful booth putting the world to rights for hours!

It was wonderful. I love Collingwood and I love it's cafes. Hurray for Cafe Chartruese and Duncans!

Day Three Hundred and Thirty Seven - Home Made Pasta

Dear all

We are making pasta! The combination of Jo here and us all feeling extremely ambitious lead to a unanimous decision to christen the Pasta Maker and try our hand at home made pasta!

I will say from the onset that Jo took control of the pasta making from start to finish, relegating me swiftly to the sink area in charge of 'dishes' and warming the pasta sauce (absolutely fine by me).

She found a recipe online but essentially pasta making is pretty 'easy', calling for just flour, egg and water; sounds straight forward to me....hahaha *grimace*.

OJ started by popping an egg into a bowl of flour and then mixing it all together and kneading the dough for '5' minutes. Darren nobly took over when Jo became fatigued and completely saved the day by going in hard-core and finishing off the kneading so the three balls were primed ready for the 'machine'.

Darren and Jo fed the dough into the pasta maker on the widest setting and started to roll it through. Once they had got through the first pass, we started again, feeding the pasta through the rollers, but this time on a slightly thinner setting.

I stepped in as the official 'pasta hanging device', an intrinsically important part of this entire process.

It was a total triumph! On first try, D was rendered speechless but after a bite or two and a long sigh he managed to quietly confirm 'it's awesome!'. The texture was incredible; so light and fresh. We cooked the pasta, quickly, in a large pot of boiling water and once it was ready, drained the water and with a scoop of the sauce, it was ready to go!

Here is Jo with her pasta ready for the feast! It was amazing and we have been talking about it ever since! Long life the pasta making adventures!

Day Three Hundred and Thirty Six - Sister in Canada

Dear all,

A million apologies to you all for my absence this week but [as well as the move] we have been experiencing a whirl wind in the form of my sister, Jo who has been staying for 6 days from the UK!

This is just a quick post with highlights from the first day to compensate for me going AWOL online for a couple of days ( we have been pretty busy!)

Many more stories and pictures to follow from the week of Jo in Canada! Hurray!

Day Three Hundred and Thirty Five - Klick Klack and KFC

Dear all,

We are in the final throws of the move and today Meaford Factory Outlet delivered our highly anticipated Klick Klack, as well as the bar stools and coffee table.

Darren got to work immediately with the Klick Klack as we are still awaiting our mighty sectional from Leons.. so this would be a temporary sofa in the meantime. He is a bit of a wizard when it comes to this sort of thing so I stood back and handed him tools ( and coffee) on request.

Darren worked with impressive speed and quickly got the Klick Klack up and assembled with not so much as a problem, scratch or complaint.

Here is the finished sofa ( it folds back into a bed; perfect for my sister next week!) so now we have somewhere to sit! Bring on the DVDs! Darren is amazing.

To celebrate, Darren popped out and came back with a bag of the Hallowed KFC. I was yet to try the famous fried chicken so was extremely excited about this moment.

And yes, I can report, it tastes finger-licking good. I know it's bad bad bad for you but lordy, this stuff is tasty. Bring on the post-furniture assembling fried chicken!