ICED

   On December 21st the weather changed. Rain fell and then the temperature dropped. All was covered in ice. The same thing happened again the next day and this caused our city some major grief with many power outages. Two large city hospitals were without power. By Monday the city traffic was in chaos. Subway trains were out. Street cars wee cancelled. No power was there for them to run. Street traffic lights were out. Driving was a challenge that needed much patience. And to make matters more difficult many stores could not open. Of course there were thousands of homes that had no power. It was a very tough pre Christmas situation.
   By Tuesday some repairs had been made but it became clear that in our city there would be homes without power on December 25! Imagine the old fashioned Christmas those families would be faced with if they could bear to stay in their unheated homes while the temperature had dropped to -14C during the night. Most would have had to find a warm shelter or friend and relatives to get through this. Some homes will not have their power back until Friday!
   Our area was not badly affected as it is newer and not many trees were large enough to fall on hydro wires to cause outages but we saw a lot of damage nearby.
   Our small trees looked rather pretty coated with ice, iced. 

We hope your festive time is going well and that you were not chilled by any bad weather. 
   We wish you all the very best at this special time of the year.

P.S. I wonder if my two roses will come back after such a nasty icy time.

Festive Times

  As the eve of Christmas arrives very soon two Advent Sundays have already past. So has St. Nicholas Day on December 6th, a big day of celebration when I was a little girl. Buddy and I ate some treats to celebrate.
  It has been quite a year of events in my family this year and I'm so glad that so far all keeps working out for the best.
  I was relieved when my eye surgery was post poned to January 27th  because I worried how it might affect our festive season. Usually it takes several weeks for an eye to heal and recover so it has full clarity.
  Our first Christmas time in our current home is shaping up quite nicely. We have started decorating both the indoor and outside as you can see above.
  Some presents have also been purchased and need wrapping.
  But most of all I have missed our regular blogging and my hope is to get back to a better schedule. I send you all many thanks because I know you are such great followers who care about what I share and keep encouraging me with such positive comments!
  Please let me know how your days are shaping up.
I am going to try to catch up on your posts I have missed.
Buddy is fine and awaits Santa patiently. If you feel like going to my other blog from the link above you can learn more about Buddy and our latest fun together.

FORCES TO REMEMBER

Let us not fail to remember all those who made our present freedom possible!

11.11.11

ONIONS

In June of 1967 I suffered the misfortune and humiliation of being fired from my part time job. That's because I was clumsy and slow. Still I'm that way! I cannot peel potatoes or chop onions like most of you can. I just lack the hand eye technique to do it with speed and skill. On another note, I'm just fine when it comes to playing the piano. While loosing that job led to a few tears it also opened another door for me. The newspaper want ads posted a position for airline staff and it included training so I applied and was accepted because of my ability to be fluent in three languages.
The training was a fun but challenging week that required learning the short forms of major airports globally and included a major geography test. It was mandatory to achieve a high mark. I scored 95% and was able to move on to the next level to train for my actual position. I would be ground staff in reservations. I was thrilled. I loved anything to do with aviation and my salary was okay and there were the perks, free tickets locally and once a year globally. But before my actual placement first I had to pass a physical for insurance purposes. I qualified and was invited to a large company party held at a yacht club on the island off the Toronto shores. I was employed by Air Canada.
Shift work was a part of my assignment and the night pay was even better. 
I was sent to the Bloor Street office location in the heart of our bustling and growing city far from the airport. My job was to compile the passenger list of confirmed travellers as per travel agencies or passengers who called 72 hours before the flight for the pilots. I worked with about 7 others at one time. Since it was the summer of EXPO'67 in Montreal there was a lot happening and my passenger lists had some very famous travellers. One the sticks out right now is TWIGGY from the UK.

Friday as I was chopping away and recalling those long ago days my chopped onions made me laugh rather than cry. That sent me to get my camera to shoot a photo of them. It would be great for a blog. And as I continued to cook I realized that I might as well share what I was making. The onions were going into a big pot along with 250 grams of lean beef to be browned. Spices would include the usual salt and pepper along with a tablespoon of paprika and a couple of cups of water before adding this.

The sauerkraut was first rinsed and then added to the big pot to be cooked slowly to create a delicious version of Szegediner Gulasch, its original recipe coming to me from my Dad's family. He was from northern Sudetenland. 
Our Gulasch is usually served with yeast dumplings but this time I just boiles some local potatoes. That's because I had already used yeast to create our dessert, a nice juicy plum cake with fresh seasonal prune plums from the Niagara region. I usually make it with a baking powder dough but this time I went all out and did the other version. Yeast takes time to rise so the process takes longer but this method yields more cake.

I have known this as Zwetschgenkuchen since my early childhood days in Germany. It's a cookie sheet cake. I always add a buttery topping because I love the added flavour and richness but it's just as tasty without it.
Did you know cake is great for breakfast too? Yes and we ate it on Saturday and Sunday morning. It's a nice change from muesli and cottage cheese or eggs and rye toast.
Sometimes our brain just sends us to awesome places in our memory by way of some tiny thing, a trigger, in this case onions.

SHOWBIZ AND BONICA

Our SHOWBIZ rose situated out front and it has been the spotlight of the flowerbed. Everyday it's bright red blossoms just makes us smile.

Off to the right side of the same flowerbed sit this beauty, BONICA. It has bloomed continually since we put it in the ground.

Buddy and I are very happy with these two gorgeous plants. It was my first set of roses in the garden after many years and I must say these two have been a treat to watch. They are hardy and did well no matter what the weather. They sit on the south front lawn where there is very little shade.

As the season comes to an end we are now concerned about caring for them over the winter months. Do you have any helpful tips?

PS. Hubby is back to his normal routine minus his need cigars and alcohol.

      What a blessing that is for us!

      I have an eye exam on Sept. 6th and a heart stress test on Sept.11. 

      I am hoping that both will show no serious set backs but one never knows.

FRUITS in ABUNDANCE

 This was the summer that I had the inclination to pass on a skill I learned from a dear aunt. Our daughter was here on vacation from UK from June 27th till August 9th. To brighten up our days we took time out to go to Whittamore's Farm where we gathered up some scrumptious fruits. Ripe red raspberries were a great hit and yielded her first ever batch of jam.

For my palette I enjoyed the tart red currants and the sweet wild blue berries. Hubby loved the rhubarb in a cake and we are loving the peaches.

P.S. Hubby has made a satisfactory recovery with improvements each day. I thank you all for your kindness during this period of anxiety.

Happiness

His big 40th BD was a blast! Relatives dropped by throughout the day and made his day! For the Wii U he got a new Super Mario games that is much like the original and it was a hit with cousins and friends.

Hubby got home from the hospital on the 8th just in tme for my BD! He was extremely weak and needed much care but his determination made him an excellent patient! As of today he's walking two blocks unassisted and has begun to go back to his favourite place, his office for a couple of hours daily now. But he is not well enough to drive so we assist porviding rides to physiotherapy and other places to keep him smiling.

Happiness is having us all back on track with some slight modifications. Time to blog remains limited but not impossible. 

STILL LIFE

It has been 18 days since hubby's accident and the good news is he's recovering very well now that he's over the internal bleeding in his brain.
And we are extremely glad for all your positive vibes and good wishes. THANK YOU!!!

Today Buddy and I are sharing this.

The kitchen staff at the resort we attended got into the act of standing very still and later moving as though they were in movie frames. It was all truly fascinating to Buddy who wishes to go back for more fun soon and I do understand his need. It's no fun watching one's parent struggle with an injury but Buddy is kind and gentle to his dad as he makes a speedy and quite remarkable come back:)

Does anyone of you know what name has been given to this type of art form? Ive seen it around in tourist area malls too.

RED ROSE

Here's the first rose to bloom on one of the two roses I planted in early June. Buddy chose it. We were very inspired by Betsy and George Adams' posts of all their gorgeous roses, so unique and so colourful. We wanted some too. It was so exciting to see it bloom for the first time.

We have more sad news. The Mr. fell on his head on June 18th and remains in ICU with brain trauma and is on a respirator. He is heavily sedated so we have no clue yet what his outcome will be. It seems we are experiencing too many very rough patches in our lives at this time.

Though this may sound repetitive, we miss you all a lot and hope to make time to send you our comments as soon as time we have a better moment. You are our online friends and we enjoy interacting with you a lot. Buddy always smiles when he finds his name and reads your messages. We wish that you stay well and that you remain patient with us. 

July is just around the corner! Time has been racing by. Half of 2013 is over and for us it's been tough!!!!

My Tough May

Flowers were a gift for me to bring some cheer.

 Here's how Buddy set up his new room and loves it.

 Sadly he had to have 4 teeth extracted so soup was in order for his soft diet along with pain meds and antibiotics but he braved the two weeks of agony like a trooper!

This month of May was both happy with our move and then a huge challenge as I fight my recurring cancer that seems to have decided to be in the lymph system now. Pain came but it's better. Weight loss was rapid. As I fight to gain control of that disease I have very little desire to blog although I miss you all very much! I think of you almost daily. 
Your emails and prayers help too. I can read then on my phone. Going to my laptop is just hard at the moment. Thanks for your visits and I pray you'll come along with me as I push forward to the next phase of my already tough life.
Let's hope this is just a hiccup.
For those of you who don't know, I was diagnosed with colon cancer on
June 4th, 2008 just two months after we lost our home to fire. I had surgery for that. I also had an eye surgery in May 2011 and am on the list again for my other eye to try to slow down and improve vision loss from macula degeneration.
On good days I smile and feel like a teenager fixing my new home but then come those dark days flooded with pains and listlessness. Buddy helps me smile. Hubby not so much. His worry is very visible:(

BOXES

Unpacking seems to take forever.

We are working as much as we can to get all things in their place.

Unfortunatley this work has taken a lot of time from our fun with blogging and reading your posts.

We are now trying to get back to your great posts.

Please will you visit us too?

MOVING PROGRESSES

As most of you know moving is a big task. There is nothing simple about taking one's stuff from one place to an other. Our first challenge after we got possession of the house was to find out why we had a gas leak in the kitchen around the fancy gas stove. We called our gas provider emergency number and waited. We brought garden chairs and a small side table so we could wait in comfort as we played on our phones but first we opened windows to air out some of the smell.

Buddy likes the new place. In the photo he's sitting in the library area.

The service person found the leak, capped the area and told us we had to get a different person for the repair job. So we booked that and he next day we returned to our same little spot to wait. After three hours the repair was done. Now we must get ready for our movers. Closets are waiting to be emptied!

We shall be in our place by the 15th. Let's hope the rest of the transfer will be smooth. 

MOVING

  
 Here you are seeing the new front door to the foyer of the home we are hoping to get. We are currently in negotiations. We have to vacate the current home by mid May. It was five years ago yesterday that a house fire ravaged our home. We moved into a smaller house as a temporary measure hoping to get back into the fixed up place but it was not to be. 
   Now we are attempting to move into a newer home more like the one we left behind. Buddy and I are excited. Hubby has given us lots of encouragement to find a new home and get us resettled. It has made us more active and less seated by our laptop and iPad. What an adventure we are having measuring and planning where things will go.

Here's the house we that burned.

Here's what happened to Buddy's room.

Here's what the new home looks like.

And here's a masculinely decorated room Buddy has selected as his. The walls are a pale blue denim. The lighting was very poor when I snapped the photo.

   We shall be quite busy so our posts may be even more sporadic than ever
but we shall be thinking of you and trying to stay in touch as much as we are able. May you continue to be patient with us.

P.S. We are most appreciative of your kind comments. Buddy especially loves it when he gets a mention from you. Thanks for that.

Chopsticks

March is here already and we are still surrounded by mountains of snow. Buddy and I decided we'd have a fun lunch to end February. We just had to get out of the house. We wanted to see if we could find anything green. We ate at Pickle Barrel. Here's Buddy eating stir fry with chopsticks.

We didn't find much green.

But we did get help with the snow shovelling. Look at the huge pile that a sidewalk plough put right behind our car. It was the very heavy type of snow, not good for us to move but daughter came from downtown to get us cleared so we could move again.

Her Perch

High up from the floor Ellie spends hours scanning what's moving. We have no clue what she has discovered in our family room but she is clearly amused.

Any idea what is keeping her staring? 
How about guessing where else she likes to stretch out. 

Red Hearts

 To get into the month of February and into the spirit of heart month we added some colour in our kitchen eating area. The cinnamon hearts were the best! We are still eating a few each day and feel pleased with our idea to eat these all month long, a few at a time.
And we are ignoring the snow that is once again tumbling down outside for we are cosy and happy inside. 
Hope you are happy too!

Still Piling Up Higher

The snow just keeps on falling and the screen door no longer slides open. This is our greatest snowfall since 2007.

Windows open inwards so we can still get some fresh air but we will likely stay near the cosy fireplace.

And from the patio door near to it we'll watch this all unfold. See the soft and fluffy snow on our BBQ? No outdoor cooking tonight!! LOL

It's heart month so we'll be sure not to shovel too hard. And this is no weather to test my new wheels. I requested daughter to please come with the old SUV AWD and lend a hand. Thankfully she did and so did her friend who spent many hours digging us and our elderly neighbour out.  

Wheels Turning

February has arrived. It's been a tough January with health issues but the wheels of life keep turning and we are mending. 
We are getting a new set of wheels for our future trips to shops and doctor visits. How are your wheels doing?

Colours Captivate

This summer while vising my auntie in Hannover I could not help notice some of the lovely art pieces she had collected over time. This plate caught my fancy.

It seems that the colour scheme and the arrangement of shapes really called out to me.

Any idea where it may have come from? She travelled a fair bit in her youth.