Day One Hundred and Fifty Three - Peaches and Cream Corn

Dear all,

We had a fabulous evening today. Darren sped over after work [to immediately jump in the pool, its 30 degrees, hurrah!] as did the wonderful Karla and Jay and once the girls were settled in front of Sleeping Beauty ( Lucie's favorite hence the 'Prince Darren' reference) we started preparing our feast.

Benj used his ingenious powers of culinary improvisation to whip up an onion based salsa and we started to fry up a vast quantity of organic sausages which where individually nearly the size of my forearm.

We stripped down Kev's corn from our fabulous shopping adventure yesterday and it came to light why Lucie has chosen wisely. Kev had produce the so called 'Peaches and Cream' corn; not a white cob, not yellow cob, but they had both! D, Karla and Jay chuckled at us silly Brits as we marveled at the corn. Karla was convinced I had had the corn before having been in Collingwood for so long now but it is honestly something that I had never realized existed.

Peaches and Cream is the Creme de la creme of corn and it tasted so incredible we were all rendered us all speechless throughout.

Karla bought a magnificent home grown salad which as always tasted as if it should have a Michelin Star attached to it. Karla is an exceptional chef, her food continues to amaze with its flavors and style.

As we were slightly restricted in terms of kitchen utensils, we had to improvise with our feast none so apparent as when we got to mashing the potatoes. Em decided to us am empty bottle of Cava to do the job and I tell you what, it did the job!

It was a wonderful, wonderful evening.

And in other news:

1. The clouds lying low over Pretty River Valley this morning.

Day One Hundred and Fifty Two - Fernwood Farms Market

Dear all,

Today Benj, Em, the girls and I popped over to Stayner and visited Fernwood Farms Market to see if we could pick up some bounty for dinner.

Fernwood Farms is a vast farmers market just on the outskirts of Stayner and boasts an impressive array of vegetables, offers pick-your-own fruits of all varieties including blueberries and pumpkins and has a petting zoo for any inquisitive little ones who are not so interested by organic jam and pickled goods (http://fernwoodfarms.farmvisit.com)

We picked up some fabulous tomatoes and they even had organic water melon which I scooped up as soon as I had spotted them knowing D has a great love for the fruit especially those that are home grown.

We are now in the heart of corn season and they had a number of large buckets of corn on display. One was labelled 'white' corn, one 'yellow' corn and one 'Kev's' corn. What to choose? We decided Lucie would know best and she plumped for Kev's. It turns out she chose wisely as Kev is the boss of the farm and his corn is the so-called 'Peaches and Cream' corn, something we would learn about on cooking of the cob.

Lucie and Elouise had a marvelous time meeting all the animals and taking the farm yard tractor for a spin.

Its a wonderful spot and worth popping in for freshly picked fruit and a variety of local food stuffs. A lovely afternoon at the market!

Day One Hundred and Fifty One - Changing a Nappy (Diaper)

Dear all,

Well, today was most certainly an iconic moment. Being a stone throw from 33 it seemed quite odd that I was yet to tick this box but today I have proved that I can do almost anything, I changed Elouise's nappy!

I obviously had to do this while wearing a ball dress and shades for full effect. It also helped that Squeeze is an angel and just looked at me quizzically throughout as if to say, 'haha, you've never done this before'.

I pretty much got everything done to an okay standard and Benj and Em looked on with giggling and taking photo evidence throughout. I think I may have done it up a little tight but all was okay as we were heading out to the lake anyway.

Lucie gave me a Sleeping Beauty sticker as my reward (NB: Darren's nick name is now 'Prince Darren' ) which I wore with pride until it fell off. Here is the newly changed Elouise modeling the latest in summer sunglasses for toddlers!

Little Lucie and her new toy Beaver in the restaurant. So sweet.

Day One Hundred and Fifty - Clamato Juice

Dear all,

Today whilst at the LCBO (The Liquor Control Board of Ontario and [apart from the 'Beer Store'] the only retail outlet where you can find booze in the Province), Benj and his inquisitive eye stumbled upon the 'Clamato' a variation on the classic 'Caesar' but made with 'Clams'.

Initially, I was concerned about this combination, but Benj as ever wanting to give something a try suggested we should give it a go.

I tell you, there are worse things than sitting on the dock with two of your best friends while sipping a cold Clamato. It was actually quite delicious. A little fishy.. but the tomato and 'alcohol' [whatever it is that is added, I presume Vodka] somewhat cancelled it out and it was very refreshing.

I am not sure how well it would do in the UK with the fishy undertones, but it certainly is a hit over in North America and I would certainly buy it again. http://www.mottsclamato.com/home.php

A blissful evening of star gazing and Clamatos.. wonderful.

Day One Hundred and Forty Nine - Swimming in Lake Kushog

Dear all,

Still at The Firehouse and we woke to a spectacular morning. I had been plotting a major swim overnight as I would be unable to head out for my daily run due to [this is not a joke] bears. [Anita advised me to run with 'a whistle' and 'bells on my trainers' to fend off any nearby beasties - a little too close for comfort...]. I took this as a cue to take a couple of 'rest days' in my training and decided a nice long lake swim would be very good for my joints.

Lake Kushog is a beautiful stretch of water that spans as far as the eye can see in both directions from The Firehouse.

I had pledged to swim from our cottage to the island that you can see in the far corner of the picture below. We examined the distance for a good while trying to decipher the distance but without a laser device of some sort it was virtually impossible to tell.

The water was exquisite and so soft and cool it was like swimming in a bottle of Evian. I set off after a quick morning coffee and before I knew it, I was in a semi trance-like state, swimming along the ragged rock formations and past the stunning cottages that like the lake. I had been swimming for around 20 minutes and the island was still a considerable distance away. I suddenly had a strong instinct to turn back and I think whilst swimming across a fast expanse of water, it is important to follow such urges. I made it back in one piece to join Benj, Em and the girls for a day of fun and frolicks in the water.

The girls' swimming is coming along in leaps and bounds. Eloise was kicking away and showed great promise as a future Olympiad considering she is only 18 months old.

Another spectacular day on the water and finished off with a cold beer at The Firehouse. Blissful

Day One Hundred and Forty Eight - The Firehouse with Emma and Benj

Dear all,

EMMA AND BENJ ARE IN CANADA! HURRAY!!! What an absolute joy. They arrived with their gorgeous beautiful girls, Lucie and Elouise just as I was finishing work. After a whistle stop tour of the inn, introductions to Gandalf, Una and co and an almighty chicken feast kindly made by Big Paul, we set off on the road to The Firehouse.

The firehouse is without a doubt one of my favorite places. We received stellar road directions from D who would sadly not be able to join us due to work commitments but would most certainly be there in spirit.

We arrived in the dark but even from the car park, we were drawn behind to the lake by gentle murmurs and soft music where we found the fabulous owners of the Firehouse, Anita and Jay having a magnificent campfire and we knew that moment that we were at the right place!

The Firehouse is located on Lake Kushog on Highway 35 not far from Dorset and Haliburton on the outskirts of Algonquin Park. It is a major stop over for folk all year long; Snow mobilers in the Winter, young families in the Spring, wake boarders in the Summer and everyone for the fall colours in Autumn. http://www.firehouseresort.com/

We had rented one of Anita and Jay's cottages right on the lake and it was perfect. We had our own pontoon, three bedrooms and tons of room for the girls to run around in. I felt like I had been away for 1 week after just one evening and it was just heavenly to be there with Em and Benj, two of my oldest and dearest friends. I missed Darren and wished he could have been there as it was just so idyllic but a great incentive to come up again very soon with just being 2 1/2 hours away.

I would recommend the Firehouse to anybody! For a relaxing stay on a beautiful Lake, wonderful restaurant and bar, fabulous owners, you just can't go wrong!

Day One Hundred and Forty Seven - Boating Exam

Dear all,

I have returned to the dizzy heights of academic acclaim! Today I passed my boat exam! I got 80% ( amazed ) which is no mean feet after almost 15 years of being away from boats and/ or boat related documentation and theory.

I had to answer 36 questions in 45 minutes. This sounded easy at first but after taking at least 2 minutes reading through the first question and the four multiple choice options it suddenly dawned on my that I was 'doing an exam': Da da dahhhhhhhhhhh.

I cracked a cold Corona which seemed to calm my nerves and after D wished me luck and sped out to work, I settled in and focused on the job in hand. It was quite interesting doing an online exam, there really was not much time to 'cheat' and the questions were worded in a way where google may have struggled to come up with the correct answer.

It was certainly rusty but managed to rattle through it being tested on everything from safety, rules of the water, equipment and maintanence of your vessel. After I had finished, I nervously pressed the 'submit' button and low and behold, 80%! Hurrah!

I am now licensed to drive a pleasure craft on the water so will be able to get involved out on the lake and even get to pull Darren on the tube! Bring on a long and glorious summer and fall!

And in other news:

1. Mac plays 'race the car'. He will die young.