Blackberry Rambles

So This is What 2010 Looks Like

2010-01-01T15:25:00.000-08:00

To most people, watching a computer hard drive being formatted is tatamount to watching paint dry. To me, it is as thrilling as watching the latest blockbuster movie! No, really...

Hard to explain except to say it's a technician thing. I love fixing computers. Have been doing it now for over 12 years and have had my technician license for 10 of those years. I guess that explains why I am spending New Years day fixing Hammond & Megans notebook. I have had it since Thanksgiving - Canadian Thanksgiving - and finally decided today was the day. Hence watching a computer format. It has a virus. Multiple actually. Sure, I could have spent hours working to remove the program that installed said viruses but I know when to cut my losses. And this is definitely loss cutting time. Quick & dirty. Format then reinstall Wondows XP. Then set it up. Works in theory. Fingers crossed for working in practise to.

Today marks 5 weeks since I had my total knee replacement surgery. I started a blog post that morning while waiting for my operation. I include those thoughts here below. We left early, as I said we would, because you just never know what the road out of the Valley to the East side of the Island will be like. Weather people were calling for -5. That could mean icy roads. Over the mountain - Arrowsmith - and through the woods - Cathedral Grove - can be sooo ugly this time of year. The road was clear, only slightly wet and we arrived at the hospital 45 minutes early. Of course. So here I sit, looking foolish in a too short hospital gown in the surgical daycare, waiting. For another 1 & 3/4 hours. More to come, sigh. AND IT IS WAY TOO HOT IN HERE! Oh and did I mention the silly booties and dorky hat? Out of surgery by 11am into room by noon, dozing waiting for Richard to come see me. I actually feel quite good. Way more alert @ this point then I was with last knee. Perhaps because I refused the nausea inducing narcotic painkillers this time. Hope I won't be sorry. Oh and just one problem... I have to share a room with men!!!! @&$"-/:;?! VIHA thinks it's quite fine to have coed rooms. NOT. I hate this.

Yup I really hated the coed rooms with no privacy. Bad enough using a commode chair with only women in the room. Try that with 2 men in the room & you seperated from them by only a short flimsy curtain! Damn. Anyway, it's all behind me thank God.

My leg healed quickly. And I only have some residual pain where they cut through muscles & tendons etc. Yeah I know, not a pretty visual. What, too much information? Hey this time the leg didn't turn blue & purple from mid-thigh down. Just very swollen. Left foot looked like...well, picture a football with 5 cocktail sausages stuck on the tip were toes would be. Yup not a pretty visual either. Then came physio, or as I refer to it, medieval torture. I continue to amaze them with my progress. Not bad for an old bat.

Did I mention the incision? No? No stitches. No staples. Surgical glue! Too cool. When my family doctor saw it he raved about it saying it was the best he had ever seen. So did physio therapists, husband Richard, and friend Bente. It should be great. Dr Sundby is a trauma surgeon who has helped out at numerous disasters around the word and has done several tours in Afghanistan. He goes back again soon bless him. I pray for his continued safety.

So all in all the first day of twenty ten, as I am referring to it, has been good. Hope yours was as well and will continue to be throughout the year. What's that? The computer? Oh it's good. Got it back up & running quickly. Even have the wireless connected. Just have to finish up installing other drivers & it's good to go. A good beginning to a great year.

No, really.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Once More Into the Breach...

2009-11-27T01:56:00.001-08:00

It's 2am & I have to leave for Comox Hospital in 2 hours. Today is surgery day. Time to finally get my other knee replaced & I am looking forward to it, to being able to walk again on 2 good legs.

We leave at 4am to take our time & get there safely by 6am for surgery at 8:45am. Yes it will be a long day for Richard. For me...I get to sleep most of the day. And night. You become aware quickly after surgery is over but then you get painkillers that knock you out again.

So I will post again when I can after surgery, sometime next week. Somehow I don't think the hospital will let me tap into there Wi-Fi network to post my blog.

I will try though...

...just sayin'

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Here We Go Again

2009-11-24T01:41:00.000-08:00

Well at long last I am back. Yes, I know it's been months. I got a bit sidetracked but will do my level best to stay focused...honest.

So much has happened I hardly know where to start. It was a great summer! Garden boat and tomato tub exceeded expectations. Flowers in containers were superb! Richard got the sunporch finished & I promptly filled it with plants to overwinter. I turned 60. And then there was Linda & Baby Bear.

We noticed her in September trying to climb the tall pear tree on the south side of the driveway. Took us a few days to realize she was a baby & motherless. I got photos of her at various times & will post them here later.

She stayed around for quite a while hiding out from a larger male bear, only venturing out when she knew he was gone. On Saturday of Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, we got up before dawn to go down to Sooke. I sent Richard out with flashlight to make sure no bears were in the apple trees so we could take the dogs out.

"No bears, come on out." he hollered. Out we trooped, the dogs congregating & sniffing around under the King apple. I stood directly under the tree talking to Richard & trying to hurry the dogs along. We had had several days of rain & it was cool & damp. Suddenly, "water" started to pour down from above. I quickly stepped to the side, saying "please tell me that's not pee!"

Richard shone his flashlight up into the tree. "Oh," he said "there she is!"

Meanwhile I am wiping bear pee off my head & shoulder with a crumpled piece of paper towel from my pocket. Richards eyes were huge as he looked at me, trying to gauge my reaction. His lips twitched. Then twitched again as I stared at him, deadpan. His eyes crinkled. Then his cheeks. Then he gave up the battle & started to laugh. Tears running down his cheeks, he exclaimed over and over "I'm sorry, I'm sorry but that was ssoo funny!" Then he'd go off in gale's of laughter again.

Meanwhile poor terrified baby bear is still in the tree as quiet as a mouse.

Finally I herded the dogs & Richard up to the house & indoors. My that time dawn was breaking & we could watch the poor little bear hustle down the outside of the tree and scamper away to safety.

All the way to Sooke, Richard kept snickering then apologizing. And me? Come on, it was funny. I mean how many people can say they've been peed on by a bear? A little soap & water fixed me right up.

I think the big thing is how quiet she was up in that tree. Even the dogs didn't know she was there. And it could have been worse...much worse, that she dumped on my head.

I'm just sayin'.

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What I Did On My Summer Vacation....

2009-09-21T14:30:00.000-07:00

I'm back!!! Didja miss me, grin? It has been a really good summer for us. Despite what the title says, no we didn't go anywhere on vacation, except out to the Garden Yard and down to Victoria Quay for lunch several times to watch the wildlife on the Canal, aka the Alberni Inlet. A&W loves us, I gotta tell you.

The weather was quite good for most of August, although we had a stretch of two weeks with weather that even Kate said was too hot for her a couple of days. Now that is HOT as she loves the hot weather. Let me tell you, when you go outdoors and it is 111F with the Humidex - for those of you who don't know, humidex is the opposite of a Prairie winter wind chill factor, Island style - you literally can hardly breathe. Don't misunderstand, I am not complaining about the heat, not after the nasty winter we had, just sayin'...

So, how did I really spend my days? Like I said, in the garden. Many an hour was spent watering, dead heading, pruning, transplanting, reconfiguring, hunting for planters....um, lessee what else...oh, yeah, and, um, buying plants. Well, you see, Walmart had some terrific end-of-season sales. I mean, $1.50 for a 12 inch hanging basket? Come on, don't tell me you wouldn't have bought 8 of them too. Or how about all the assorted plants I got for 50 cents? And now it's end-of-season at Canadian Tire. Boy did I get some good deals there so far. Wandering way over to the back of the garden center, I discovered the "discount rack". Jackpot! Nineteen 4-inch pots of Osteospermum for 25 cents each. Yup, you read it right, 25 cents per pot. In the spring, the 6 inch pots sell for a minimum of $4.99 each. Then I paid 49 cents each for 4-inch pots of Fibrous Begonias; same for Tuberous Begonias, Ageranthemums, Rose Mint scented Geraniums, Wave Petunias, and Snap Dragons. And 90 cents got me 9 little blooming seed geraniums, 10 cents each.

Kate gave us a beautiful Red Hibiscus for our Anniversary at the beginning of August, and I fell in love with the plant. Canadian Tire had them, but they were $3.00 more than Kate paid for the one she got us...she spent $4.99. Anyway, I kept checking all month because I knew, just KNEW, they would be going on sale. Yesterday I struck gold! They had the Hibiscus on for $3.99 each. I bought 2 Luna Blush - white with a pink blush on the petals and a red heart - and 1 Luna Red. One of the Blush ones is for Kate's garden. Again I wandered back to the discount rack and again I got bargains. Be still my heart. Six 1-gallon pots of Hibiscus, on clearance, for $1.00 each. They are all Luna Blush too. So, now I have 7 Luna White Blush and 2 Red. Too Cool! More for Kate and Bente!

Then there are all the Gerbera Daisies I have. Some I managed to save over from last year, some I bought this year. I think at last count I had 30 although I gave one to Kate, a gorgeous Orange one. Most of mine are in shades of pink, a few are yellow, one orange and a couple are white. Oh and there are 3 or 4 that are a deep red. In case you haven't figured it out, I am crazy about Gerberas. And I refuse to pay full price for them. The most I spent on one was $3.99. The least, 49 cents.

The Garden Boat is doing quite well. My seeds I planted are producing a profusion of blossoms - Cosmos, Zinnias, Lavatera, Sweet Peas, Calendula. The flowers I bought as bedding plants have thrived. The Gladiolas have produced long leaves but no flower stocks yet. I keep hoping, but even if they don't bloom, they are increasing the size of the corms for next year. Oh and the Tomato Tub has outdone itself. Lots of tomatoes coming and we have been eating Yellow Gallina and Pink Ice Candy Cherry Tomatoes all month. Yes, yes, the tomato tub was waaaaay overplanted with tomatoes, but, I wanted to try different varieties not planted before. Now I know what to plant next year. Black Prince is still the perennial favorite in this house.

Richard has been quite patient, even enthusiastic, about my plant buying. Once, when I was trying to hurry my purchases through the checkout and get them to the van before he saw them, he came up behind me in line and ahemmmed. I whipped around and said "I didn't buy any plants" with a sheepish grin on my face. With a straight face he replied "That 12-step program not working so well for you, hmmmmm."

That's ok, he has discovered the joys of Coleus and is particularly fond of the rust, red, and wine colored ones. I also got him a Kong Coleus, with leaves the size of dinner plates. Today we got 4 Blood Leaf plants on sale, their purple/red leaves are striking next to the variegated pale green and white of the Rose Mint Geraniums.

So that's all for this episode. Tomorrow is another day, as Scarlet O'Hara was fond of saying. Will write more tomorrow. Yes, I really do have that much to talk about.

Oh the Old Bat turned 60 on September 2nd.

Old Bat?

That would be me, silly!

From ghoulies and ghosties and long-legged beasties, and things that go bump in the night...

2009-07-14T00:17:00.000-07:00

The weather has been weird this summer. Two or three days of HOT and sunny weather, followed by COLD and cloudy. Saturday was 32C. Today 17C. Go figger. The Garden Boat looks really good, as do most of my other plants. Tomatoes are going crazy in the Tomato Tub. We had to raise the old bunk bed frame up by over 2 feet because the plants were so tall. Now I just have to figure out what I can use to cover them up. I had white plastic shower curtains from the Dollar store, and the tomatoes loved their cozy wee greenhouse. However, the plastic is not UV resistant, nor wind resistant either. Long story short, the plastic is now gone. Several of the plants have tomatoes growing, and Richard is counting down the days to his first tomato sandwich.

I planted 60 Gladiola bulbs in the Garden Boat. 30 are up so far, while I expect the other 30 to be up next week. How can I be sure? Easy, I told them to grow or get yanked and replaced. Works every time, grin. Why so many Glad bulbs? Sigh, a sale. I bought a bag of 25 pastel colored ones and a bag of 50 bright colored ones and they cost me $2.00 per bag. You know I can't resist a bargain.

We have had a lot of birds nesting on the farm this spring and summer. I have mentioned the Starlings before, and the Crows. This time we also have a Red Tailed Hawk, a Blue Heron, a large family of Cedar Waxwings, along with the usual Hummingbirds, Chickadees, Robins, Turkey Vultures and Bald Eagles, Pileated Woodpeckers, Ring Necked Pheasants, Blue Grouse, and many more too numerous to mention. Yesterday Richard was working in the Garden Yard when we heard a loud bird call. "Did you hear that?" I asked him. "Yeah, sounds like an Eagle to me," he replied. I looked up, way up, in the top of the Sitka Spruce tree on the South side of the drive. "Nope," I said, " it's TWO Bald Eagles." They sat, looking all around for quite a long time. Meanwhile, I am watching the dogs closely, making sure the Eagle pair don't decide the Bichons look like a nice light snack. The photo above was the best of the ones I could get with my camera, before they flew away.

Speaking of creatures, a couple of weeks ago, Richard was driving in the yard when he spotted the Cute Little Island Baby Mule Deer "hiding" in the grass off the side of the driveway. We got photo's of her while Mommy was in the Saskatoon bushes eating berries. The whole time we watched her, she never even blinked, so still was she. Richard also mentioned seeing a Cute Little Island Doe with twins on the other side of the farm, romping in the hay field before it was cut while Mommy grazed nearby.

I have written before about taking the dogs out into the Garden Yard before bed at about 11pm each night. Last night was no different. The "kids" look forward to it, barking and racing each other out to the far end of the yard by the boat, while we totter out behind. Mason did his usual: sit and stare down towards the shed across the driveway to the East. He always acts as though he can hear or see something down there, but I never hear anything, and can't see anything because there is no light there.

Last night was a different matter. After we had been out for a while there was suddenly a "clank, clunk, thud" sound from near the old truck camper. The hairs on the back of my neck literally stood straight up and I froze for a few seconds, trying to decide if I had really heard it. Of course, one look at Mason confirmed I had. "Did you hear THAT?" I asked Richard. "Something down by the shed. Something big enough to make a LOUD noise." He walked over to the fence and looked into the darkness. My feet meanwhile had minds all their own and were quickly moving towards the house, while my mouth was shooing dogs ahead of me. "I don't see anything." he said. "Well there is something there, and it could be a bear," I replied from the safety of the deck, one hand on the door handle.

Back inside, and after some careful, more rational thought, I came to the conclusion it couldn't have been a bear, because the "kids" didn't alert to it and believe me, they would have. So, hmmmmmmmm, what could it be. "Raccoons," Richard replied. "Of course that is what it was, a family of them, foraging in the Saskatoon Berry bushes." Thank God, I would be able to sleep after all. Miserable little bandits!

So today, before coming home from work, Richard purchased a "rechargeable Spot Light" to pack with us on our forays into the dark reaches of the Garden Yard at night. And yup, you guessed it, it paid for itself first time. Richard shone it down to where I heard the noise from last night, but no glowing eyes shone back at us. "Shine it all around the yard," I said from the safety of behind his back. He complied. "Nope, nothing". I walked back over to the garden boat. The he gave a loud whisper "Come quick and see this." He had the light pointed out into the field to the North of us. And there, lying in the field while their Mommy grazed, were the Cute Little Island Mule Deer Twin babies from this year. Eyes shining brightly in the spotlight, looking back at us as if to say "you can't possibly see us, we are hiding like our Mommy told us to do."

Shining the light beyond the deer, we see bright eye's peering back at us from a tall tree on the drainage ditch. Several pairs of eyes that moved up and down the tree and back and forth on the branches. Rocky and Rita Raccoon and all the bratty little raccoon's picking berries and cherries, the little bandits. Time to troop back into the house. Molly stops at the corner of the house listening to Mole People gossiping under the deck, one of her favorite pastimes...when she isn't trying to dig them out. Bedtime.

Tomorrow is another day. Bente will be home from visiting her sister in Seattle. First warm, sunny day, we'll get an Iced Cappuccino from Tim Horton's and go to the Quay to drink it and gossip. Can't wait.

Dancing Queen

2009-06-16T01:11:00.000-07:00

To the uninitiated, Humpback Road, a link between Highway 1 and Sooke Road on Southern Vancouver Island, is a heart-stopping experience. No, REALLY. It is a narrow, winding, bumpy, crumbling-shouldered shortcut, only a few kilometers long, with 3 hair-raising blind spots at it's Eastern end and places along its route were two vehicles - even very small vehicles - cannot safely pass each other. Richard and I love it. It shaves off about half an hour from our 3 and a half hour trip down to see Hammond, Megan and Rylan. I have tried several times to take photos of it, to show people what I mean, but that is made difficult by my left hand firmly gripping the dash and my right hand tightly on the door support. Kind of impossible to take pictures with both hands other wise occupied. This past Sunday was no exception.

Sunday was Rylan's dance recital at the Sooke Community Theater. We have known about it since last September, when she first started dance lessons and Richard booked the day off months ago. We wouldn't have missed it for anything. Taking our time driving down, we stopped at several farm markets, enjoying the sunny day. One of the markets had bags of dried Strawberries, a special treat as I love dried fruit for baking and for eating out of hand.

The recital was fabulous and fun. It was done as a Circus, with Master of Ceremonies. Rylan was a Polka Dot Pony. Dancers of all ages from 3 to adult strutted their stuff on the stage in a well choreographed performances. Of course our Granddaughter was the best! The children were so terrific and unaffected by the sold out audience. .

We went with Hammond and Megan, and another set of Rylan's Grandparents from Edmonton, Hammond Sr. and Joy. It was wonderful to see them all. Rylan was thrilled to have us all there watching her. What a terrific 4 year old she is.

After the recital, we meandered our way back home, stopping again at Russell Farms, a farm market we love North of Duncan, for an ice cream cone, some of their fresh lettuce and new potatoes. Oh, and I bought two more tomatoes - Micro Tom's loaded with tiny tomatoes - and a Red Lupin. Now I have red, blue, white and pink Lupin plants. Would love to get a yellow one too.

What's that? How many tomato plants do I have now? Um, well, er...a few. Ok, 35, but that's all I'm getting, I swear!

It has been beautiful weather this last two weeks. A couple of days were in the mid-30'sC. That's over 90F for all my American cousins. Well over. My garden boat is really taking shape and I have worn a path around it eying it from different angles, trying to decide what to put where. I want it too look beautiful, but I want it also to look like things just...well...grew, kind of haphazardly like organized chaos.

I have placed in random spots, 8 double-flowered Evening Scented Stocks in deep Rose, Violet, Creamy White and palest Pink. I bought eight of them thinking the sign I saw said $1.79 each. Silly Me! Turned out they were $2.99 each. OUCH. They are beautiful, their tight clusters of flowers looking like tiny Cabbage Roses, but next year, I will plant my own from seed.

Speaking of growing seeds, I have found the perfect fool-proof way to get them to sprout. No, really I have. You just plant the seed as usual, water well, give them a few days to get used to their surroundings, keep watering, and then, bam, you fix them with a steely-eyed glare and hit them with the following words: "You have 24 hours to sprout and show me you are growing or I yank you out and plant something else. I mean it!" Works every time. The next morning the seeds have sprouted and are up over an inch. Worked with Zinnias, Lavatera, Cosmos and Lettuce seeds so far. Try it.

Well, the Tomato Tub is planted; 20 Heritage tomatoes in all. Richard is ready at a moments notice to butter thick slices of homemade bread to make a tomato sandwich when the first one ripens. Me too. It will be a long couple of months until that happens, but well worth the wait, I assure you. And if things work out, there will be fresh, home grown lettuce to go with those tomatoes too.

Have to quit writing now, just broke my glasses and can't see a thing without them. There was a loud snap, and a weld broke where the temple attaches to the frame. @#$%^&*. I have only had them 5 months. Time to haul out the florists tape and do a temporary fix, then back to the store tomorrow for a fix.

And maybe on the way home, stop at the nursery, just to see what they may have. No, not to buy tomatoes, nope, uh uh. Just to look.

Really.

Dear Mommy Deer

2009-05-28T13:37:00.000-07:00

The sun has come out and it appears, hypothetically speaking, that spring has at long last arrived. We have had a week of wonderful weather and I have stopped whining about it...at least for now. Many signs of true spring around the Garden Yard. The two Starling families have fledged their babies, although the babies are seemingly reluctant to leave home. I see and hear them in the nests throughout the day. The other day I came across a small Garter snake near the shed. Our Garter snakes here are different colored than on the Prairies - out there, they are dark green with yellow stripes. Here they are more brown with orange stripes.

The Garden Yard is being slowly whipped into shape. Richard and I have been working hard...he cutting grass, hauling in the stock tank and filling it with dirt for a Tomato bed...me emptying potting soil from dozens of pots, whose occupants winter killed this year, into the Tomato bed. He also dragged in an old white bathtub that has been sitting in the yard for eons. I emptied potting soil into it too, and will fill it with flowers and herbs. We have moved several pots and things that sat on the driveway side of the yard, giving a nice clear sight line to the garden boat. Oh and Richard also brought me in another tub, this one out of an old dryer, to fill and use for flowers or vegetables.

I found a unique way to grow lettuce on the Internet when I was looking for something else one night. You use pieces of PVC pipe, cut holes in the top for the plants, fill pipe with dirt, and suspend from a fence or other such supports. Gonna try that one for sure. Richard was really excited about that idea. We have the PVC pipe, we have a stand to suspend short lengths on, and we have the lettuce seed and soil. What more could you ask for.

The Garden Boat is beginning to look really good. Still a long way to go, but each day as I walk around it, it takes shape in my mind. Some things that survived the winter were a huge Yarrow plant, two mini roses, Bergamot, White Echinacea, an elderly lemon thyme plant that is really doing well, chives and purple sage. Oh, and one mustn't forget the 1000 Feverfew seedlings. Good grief, but who knew they would seed like that? I planted Blue Lobelia and Yellow Pansies in the prow of the boat. Then in a row behind that are Blue and White Pansies. My adorable little Hummingbird feeders are also in the boat, two at the back and one at the prow. Today I am planting Sweetpeas, finally, along the one remaining pieces of chicken wire Richard put in the boat for me last year.

Some things I have discovered along the way this Spring:
1. I am addicted to buying Tomato Plants. More on that later.
2. When you move a plant pot that has been sitting there for months, you will find a pile of earth worms.
3. The easiest way to pick up those aforementioned worms is not with your thumb and forefinger as one might think, but with your forefinger and middle finger, gently pinching the worm with the middle finger pressing against the top, or fingernail, of the index finger. Really. Oh stop shuddering, it's just a little worm.

Back to the Tomato Plant addiction. One of my lifelong vegetable passions has been Tomatoes and the growing of same. The first time I grew tomatoes from seed, I planted 72 tomato plants. Yeah, I had a bumper crop of tomatoes. I found a source locally for Heritage Tomatoes, which I love, and last year planted several terrific varieties. This year my source let me down and I couldn't find all the varieties I wanted. I got the ones I could and a few I haven't tried before. I whined to Kate about the lack of plants here so she went out on her days off, Bless Her Heart, and purchased some for me. Now here is the list, and brace yourselves, it is extensive:
Ailsa Craig, Big Rainbow, Black Krim, Black Prince, Bulls Heart, Cheesmans, Cherokee Purple, Dixie Golden Giant, Galina, Giant Belgium, Green Zebra, Isis Candy, MIcro Tom, Mortgage Lifter (AKA Radiator Charlie's Mortgage Lifter), Ox Heart, Pineapple Beefsteak, Pink Brandywine, Pomme d'Amour, Tumbler. I am still looking for Brown Berry, Tumbling Tom, Yellow Mortgage Lifter and Striped Cavern. I plan to grow the tomatoes upright on supports, and only let them get so tall before nipping them off so they set fruit rather than putting all their resources into the plant.

Just for today...

I was given a real blessing yesterday afternoon. I had gone to the store for a few things, and as I drove back in the yard, I saw a Cute Little Island Doe Mule deer under the large Pear tree. I slowed right to a crawl, but she never moved, so I stopped the van and sat their watching her. Suddenly, I thought I saw something moving under her feet. "Is that..." I spoke to myself "It is!" There beneath her was a brand spanking new baby fawn! She must have just dropped it, or only a short while before. I grabbed my camera, snapping away, shot a couple of videos. What an amazing sight! I have seen fawns before, but not one newborn and up close. The Doe stood there watching me knowing they are safe in our yard. Soon she licked the baby a bit, then moved away a short distance. The baby slowly got to its tiny feet and tottered after mommy, searching under her belly for milk. I sat there in awe watching as they wandered slowly through the yard to the bushes near the road. My photo's aren't great but you can see how tiny the baby is.

What can be more perfect than that on a sunny day?

Not too much, I don't think.

I Got Rainfall, on a Cloudy Day

2009-05-06T15:02:00.000-07:00

Did you enjoy our summer? It's +8 here today...+8! For those of you South of the border, that is 46F. THIS IS MAY, PEOPLE! Where is our sunshine blue skies and hot weather??!!!? Time was, you got a sunburn here the end of March. Now we are still wearing our "woolen undies" if you catch my drift and it's the 6th of May. Siiigggghh. Yes, I AM bitter. So what.

Ok, on to happier things. No more grouching about the weather.

Kate's Bread Machine died the other day, the one she bought last September. Talk about withdrawal symptoms. Kate makes bread almost everyday so it nearly drove her crazy when the machine coughed it's last gasp. Like me, she lets the machine do the work of mixing, kneading and first rise, then shapes and puts in pans for second rise before bakeing. She is quite adventurous for a novice bread baker too. Her favorite recipe is for Cinco de Mayo bread, which is full of yummy stuff like green chili's, corn meal, kernel corn, jalapeños, and for an added zip, she adds chili powder, then sprinkles the top with Tex/Mex grated cheese just before baking. This bread is amazing.

So today she made the trek into Victoria to exchange it for one that does work. She came home and immediately started making another loaf of bread to test it out. Addicted to bread baking?? Oh yup, but I know the feeling. Just talking to her about it makes me want to go and make a loaf or two as well. What better thing to do on a cold and rainy day. Oh, and just for the record, she gives a lot of her bread away to friends and co-workers who are getting quite addicted to her bread.

I think I have mentioned in a previous post that I lost a lot of my perennial plants over the past nasty winter. Some i was surprised about and some not so much. For instance, I lost my Rosemary, not surprising, it is a Mediterranean plant after all, used to warmer winter weather. I also lost some Rose bushes, and that was surprising, although some Roses I thought I would lose, I didn't. Go figure. My various and sundry varieties of Mint all seem to be coming back, with the exception of the pot that Mason used as his personal urinal during the winter months. Gee, can't imagine why it didn't survive!

Looks like my Hydrangea's have gone to the big nursery in the sky as well. That's too bad as Bente gave them to me several years ago. She got the cuttings from different plants while out for a walk one day and rooted them for me. I LOVE Hydrangeas; have since I was a little girl and my dad brought one home for Mom for Mother's Day one year. I thought it was the most beautiful plant I had ever seen. Guess I will have to ask Bente to start me another plant.

One plant that did do quite well over the winter was my Feverfew. It self seeded to the point where there must be...oh, lets see...at least a thousand tiny Feverfew plants coming up in the environs of the mother plant. I guess I will wait to see which will be the hardiest seedlings and then, gulp, pull up the rest. Gosh that is a hard thing for me too do, destroy seedlings. Maybe I can pot them up and give them to people. Then I can't be accused of planticide.

Have I mentioned our Resident Starling Population? I have been trying to figure out how many Starlings have fledged in our yard, just from the two nests I know about. We have lived her for 20 years. During that time, there has been a Starling nest inside the roof overhang on the East side of the house. Every year for 20 years, they have fledged at least 2, usually 3, nests full of babies. Conservatively, lets say there were 3 babies per nesting. That would be...hmmmmmm, wow, a whole lot of Starlings! Now, consider that those Starlings all have babies, and oh my goodness, no wonder we have such a large population of Starlings. Maybe we should put a Starling cam up under the eaves so the world can watch. Well, gee, there are Eagle Cams and Canada Goose Cams, why not a Starling Cam?

When we had our big Golden Shepherd dog Sparky, and again with our Malamute, Willo, we fed them dry dog food outside. Generations of Starlings were fledged on Purina Field and Farm Kibble. We used to get such a kick out of watching the Starling parents sneak up on the dog's dish, fill their beaks with kibble and then go poke it down the babies beaks. Nowadays, they have to rely on worms and bugs.

Richard keeps threatening to put up an electric fence around the garden yard to keep the bears out. I still am really apprehensive about that. You know me, I mentioned this last year. Stumbling out to the Garden Yard in the early morning with the dogs, accidentally touching that hot wire on top of the fence, and finding myself admiring the blue sky from my prone position amongst the plant pots. Shudder, not a pretty sight. So I will continue to come up with other cute Little Island Bear deterrents. And I am definitely open to suggestions. Feel free to leave a comment. Best one gets a prize, to be announced at a later date.

Time to make dinner, Chicken Quesadillas in George. So quick and easy and tasty. Just the thing for a cold winter's...er, that is spring, day.

Summer is coming soon, right? I mean, really. Right?

It's ok, you can lie to me and tell me it is.

Rhubarb Fool

2009-05-04T13:39:00.000-07:00

We are back finally. It's been a rather long hiatus, but during that time spring has managed to, finally, arrive. Everything here is at least a month late. For instance, the Holly bushes usually bloom by mid March and here it is the 5th of May - Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone - and it still hasn't bloomed. Cherry trees are all in full bloom finally as are the Plums. Apples are leafing out, oh and Pears are blooming. Haven't been too many bees around although the little Rufus Hummingbirds have been busy pollinating where they can. And of course, the not-so-cute Island Black Bears are back. That's right, I said bears, plural.

I spotted a huge one across the creek when I let the dogs into the garden yard last week. Richard, on the outside of the fence and I, on the inside, stood watching it as two Cute Little Island Mule Deer stood in the field to the North of the house watching us. Suddenly, one of the deer started to trot away while the other twisted her head around to watch something over on the drainage ditch.

"What's she looking at all of a sudden?" Richard asked.
"No ide...oh crap, look, there, over by the drainage ditch!!!" I hollered. "Another great big Black Bear!"

Richard took off for the truck and chased after the bear to scare it away. One can only hope the two of them were just passing through on their way to higher ground up in the Beauforts. We think they were males as there were no cubs in evidence. So now our minds are working on bear defenses for the yard. As if that will work...

We have had a few warm days, nothing to write home about as the saying goes. Warmest it got was +20C or 68F. When you are used to having +30 by the end of March, +20 in May is rather chilly. It is a welcome relief after all the nasty weather this winter, but still. The good news is you should see my Rhubarb! Wow! My dad sent me a piece of his 50 year old Rhubarb plant last summer. We planted it in a big plastic tub, until we had something to put it in permanently, in a very sunny spot in the garden yard. Well, the tub is full of Rhubarb and I have to harvest it. Rhubarb pie, Rhubarb Crisp, stewed Rhubarb...I can't wait. Rhubarb is one of my favorite fruits, even though it started life as a vegetable. Mix it with Strawberries and you have the best ever.

Richard moved the big old water tank into the yard in the opposite corner from the Garden Boat. It will hold the tomatoes this year, as well as some herbs and flowers. He has another smaller oval shaped water tank that is going to be moved in where the Rhubarb tub is. The Rhubarb will get transplanted into it with some other plants. I have several rectangular window box planters that are going to be planted with soup mix beans and scarlet runner beans. These will sit along the back of the shed where the stucco wire will facilitate their climbing. I have so many seeds to plant, I almost don't know where to start.

And did I mention the two "found" tubs I have that are going to be filled with flowers? They are the drums from two old dryers Richard brought to me to use as planters. Now I have to decide where to put them in the yard. Oh, and I got the neatest idea for planting lettuce and things of that nature in. I was searching for info on making your own upside down tomato planters - more on that later - when I stumbled upon info and photo's of using 4" PVC pipe hung on the fence to plant in. Cover both ends of the pipe with landscape fabric, drill 2 - 3 inch holes in the top of the pipe about 6 inches apart, fill pipe with soil, plant seeds and before long you have a lettuce patch, up and away from Mole People and cute Little Island Bush Bunnies. We have some old eavestroughing that we are going to suspend on the fence inside the garden yard and try this idea as well as using the PVC.

As I mentioned above, we are going to try a couple of pots of upside down tomatoes. From everything I read, this is a successful method of growing them. Time will tell. I have two plastic pails, about 5 gallons each, and will plant tomatoes out the bottom and herbs out the top. Efficient use of space. And to water them, will get a couple of those goofy looking glass globe thingy's with the long glass spike on the bottom that you can use for house plants. Should do the trick, as getting water to the roots is what it is all about.

Oh and getting back to the Hummingbirds, Richard discovered the cutest little Hummingbird Feeders at Walmart. If you haven't seen them, go look for them. They are designed to hang in your hanging baskets or large flower pots, are clear plastic with a red bottom, have a single feeding spot on the feeder and cost under $5.00 for two of them. A lovely decorative and functional accent for any flower pot. I, um, er, ah, bought 4 packages of them, blush.

Healthwise, I am getting over a cold, the third one this winter. Managed to keep it from going into a lung infection, but took a lot of hard work, believe me. And the thing is, I don't get colds as a rule, nor flu either. And the only thing I will say about the current H1N1 flu scare is, STOP PANICKING!

This weekend is Mother's Day, and we hope to meet Hammond, Megan and Rylan at Ladysmith, half way between Port and Sooke where they live. We are really looking forward to seeing our granddaughter, who will be 4 years old in a couple of weeks, and our son and daughter-in-law. Rylan takes dance lessons and she and her troupe are having a dance recital in June, which she reminds me of every time we talk on the phone. We can't wait and are looking forward to seeing her dance.

Well, time to get dinner started. What's that? What am I making for dinner? Well, pork of course. You don't stop eating pork just because they called it the Swine Flu. That's just silly.

I mean really...

360 Reasons to Love George

2009-03-16T16:18:00.000-07:00

Ok, well, I haven't got exactly 360 reasons to love George, but I do have quite a few. Who's George, you ask? Why, George Foreman of course! Ok, not the actual man, but his Dual Contact grills...specifically the George Foreman 360 Grill. Oh I do love that machine. It caught my eye when it first started to be advertised last year. And yes, in true Linda fashion, I said to anyone who would listen, "I GOTTA get me one of these!"

Apparently Richard was listening. 2 weeks ago he came home with one from Canadian Tire. Sure, I AM the one who told him they were on sale there for a REALLY GREAT PRICE. And sure, I cut the ad from the Canadian Tire Flyer and left it by his breakfast plate. And yes, I DID remind him about the awesome sale when he called me on his lunch break that day. But still....

I immediately took out the manual from the box and read everything it had to say about the machine, about how to cook various foods, and how to clean it. Then I went to the internet and researched everything I could find about it - not much as it seems - and then hunted for recipes, as the manual only has half a dozen or so. Wow, tough to find recipes for that specific grill. S'ok, I found recipes for lots of other dual contact grills.

This grill has 5 removable grill plates. Oh, and before I go any further, disclaimer time. NO, I do not work for George Foreman Grills or any company associated with George Foreman Grills. No I receive nothing for this glowing review of the grill. There, now, where was I...

...oh yes, 5 removable grill plates: two quesadilla plates, two grill plates and a baking plate. What have I made so far? Oh gosh, lets see. Quesadillas, they were great. Chocolate, chocolate chip cookies. Turned out good, but didn't cook them quite long enough, was experimenting. Peanut Butter cookies, they were good, baked long enough. Frozen Pizza, Richard's choice. Was good. Panini sandwiches, followed suggested temperature in manual, shouldn't have, not hot enough, but edible. Oh, boneless skinless chicken breast grilled to a turn! Oh yum, moist and delicious and done in 7 minutes. Breakfast potato patties, to eat with the chicken, yum. Dry Garlic Pork, but forgot to raise the back of the grill to let the grease drip into the little drip pan. Was still good. Oh and the best, I mixed up some Brioche Dough in my Bread Machine, rolled out several pieces of it on the counter, then plunked them in the pre-heated grill and baked them.

Oh my goodness. They are kind of like Brioche Pita Bread. Too Cool! So, what all can you cook in it? Better off asking what can't be cooked in it. You know me, I will try to cook almost anything in George. Oh it makes wonderful pancakes, but, when you fry and egg in it, you really need to remember to put a tiny bit of oil on the spot where you are going to cook it so it doesn't stick quite so much. It does cook them good though.

I have Brownie mix in the cupboard and tonight I am going to mix it up, then spoon it in rounds onto the pre-heated baking grill pan and bake brownies. Should be good. I also have cornmeal muffin mix and will try that soon as well. Why all the mixes? Well, I experiment with the mix first and then if it works, I make if from scratch, so as not to waste ingredients if it doesn't turn out. Yes, the chocolate chip cookies were from one of those rolls of refrigerator dough from the store and the peanut butter cookies are thanks to a package from good old Betty Crocker.

Tonight for dinner I am using George again. Probably Honey Garlic Chicken Wings, some Sweet Potato Fries and Veggies cooked on the stove. And tomorrow, who knows. Maybe Quesadillas again. Darn but they were good. Chicken, green onions, black olives, Tex/Mex Shredded Cheese. Yup, definitely quesadillas.

And I want to try making Homemade Pizza dough for pizza's too. And then some beef fajita's. Oh and some Burrito's. Then have to try and grill a steak for Richard, that would be good. Hmmmmm, lets see, what else. Focaccia dough baked in George. And a cake. Want to try a cake mix first to see how that turns out. I tried to make a Peach Galette in it, using freezer pie crust, but the crust was just too dry and crumbled apart. Will have to break down and make my own pie dough and try again. It tasted ok, but was in pieces...tiny pieces.

Chocolate Panini; Apple Turnovers; Omelets; French Toast; Grilled Vegetables; thinly sliced potatoes grilled with onions; Hamburgers and grilled onions on grill toasted buns; grilled Peanut Butter and Banana sandwiches; Grilled Cheese and Ham sandwiches; oooooh, Chicken Marmalade....

What's that? What did you say? 12 step program?

Who, me?

Signs, Signs, Everywhere There's Signs...

2009-03-02T15:57:00.000-08:00

The Winter from Hell is over...at least for now. The snow is mostly gone from the yard, having stayed for over 2 months. That is the longest we have had snow last in the 23 years we have been on the Island. I don't miss it in the least.

Now the cleanup begins. I was out taking stock today of my plants that usually survive our winters. They don't look good. The best that I can hope for is that all that snow insulated the roots of many of them from the bitter cold. I have to say I was surprised by one that appears to have survived. My mini Carnation in the stern of the garden boat looks green and fit, a good sign. I put that one on my list of plants to purchase more of come spring. My chives survived, but I would expect nothing less from them, grin. My Rosemary, on the other hand, looks very dead, as does my Lavender. I see that the Chamomile is thriving, and the thyme and oregano too. Purple Sage is iffy. Yarrow is coming up - that's one of my favorites, I love the pastel flowers. Many of the different varieties of mint look really bad, but they are hardy so one can only hope the roots survived.

There are signs of spring too. I found a dandelion bud just opening. And tiny Snow Drops are popping up everywhere. Then there is the Little Yellow Somethings pictured above. I know that's not what they are called, I just can't spell the name so always refer to them as Little Yellow Somethings. They have a buttercup-like blossom above a leaf collar. And Richard spotted the Crocuses blooming in the garden yard and outside the fence as well. Soon will be the beautiful bright blue Chianodoxa, also known as Glory of Snow. Daffodils, Narcissus...if the weather holds, in another month there will be cherry blossoms. And in 6 days, we go to Pacific Daylight time. That is always a big lift. The days are getting longer, the weather warmer, and yes, I AM ignoring the weather pundits who are calling for -9 this Friday night. Bah Humbug to them, I say.

And what have I been doing these last couple of weeks since I wrote last? Sigh, well, Richard had a nasty cold thingy. I say thingy because it wasn't really a cold, more of a head and chest infection. Got him to our doctor for antibiotics finally and the very next day...THE VERY NEXT DAY...I came down with it. Had to wait nearly a week to see the doctor myself so it set in, and I have a lung infection, again. Arrrggghhhh! Enough already. I spend a lot of time sleeping, but, being that I am not a good sleeper at the best of times anyway, I guess this is helping me to catch up.

How is my stress level doing, you ask? Better. Of course, the doctor gave me some medication that helps. I don't like taking pills, but have the intelligence to know when I need it. Ergo...anyway, I am doing better.

The dogs on the other hand look like ragamuffins. Richard even took two of them and clipped off their tattered fur for me the other night. Which made a third one, Pippi, quite depressed because he spent so much time with them and made a fuss over them. And believe me, if you have ever had a depressed dog, you know where-of I speak. She lays on the mat by the front door ALL DAY. If we go outside, she is chipper and cheery. Comes back in the house and lays at the door. She is despondent because I spend a lot of the day on my bed and Richard is at work, and, well, who knows. I know what she is going through, having just been there. She has done this before, and it will pass. Meantime I spend a lot of time petting and talking to her and coaxing her to do things. Therapy for both of us, I guess. Richard plans to clip her next, maybe the attention will make her feel better.

Pippi is a clever little thing. It has gotten to the point that Richard and I now spell things around her because she understands so much of what we talk about. For instance, if we are going to take them outside, we allude to it with nods of the head toward the window and spell o-u-t-s-i-d-e. Or if we are going out to the store, we of course spell s-t-o-r-e. That wont last us for long. She already is figuring out that o-u-t means out. And she is a master of body language. I always tuck my pant legs into my socks before I go out to the yard, so they don't get wet in the grass. She figured out what that meant after my doing it only once. I am constantly telling Richard not to make eye contact with her as I swear she can read his mind.

So, I am back. And hopefully this Amoxil antibiotic I am taking does it's job and I get over this !@#$%^&* lung infection quickly. Meanwhile, we have been planning our work in the garden yard, going to move some antique roses from under the bathroom window to over in the corner where the shed meets the house. Then I think one half of that wall will be planted in herbs - it is an east facing wall - and the other half in old fashioned Hollyhocks, a beloved flower of my childhood. Have to put a small fence around whatever we plant, as the dogs love digging for Mole People in that flower bed. Along the south-facing shed I am planting sunflowers this year, the big, tall ones, to feed the birds with next winter.

Time to t-a-k-e the d-o-g-s and g-o o-u-t-s-i-d-e. Why am I spelling it here, you ask? Well, she can spell, so it wouldn't surprise me if she could read too.

Really.

Update Time

2009-02-03T13:31:00.000-08:00

Time for an update.

I have postponed my surgery, again, for about 6 weeks. I am suffering from extreme stress and need to deal with that before safely undergoing major surgery. This last three months have been tough ones for me. First I was sick for a month, then it snowed...and snowed...and got really, really cold...and snowed. I got snowed in, couldn't get out of the yard - let alone the house - and Christmas was a total non-event. So was New Years. All our Christmas plans, first to go to Sooke to be with Hammond, Megan and Rylan, went out the window. When the weather forced us to stay home and keep the home fires burning, quite literally, Kate and Jon were going to be here. Then, you guessed it, we had a snow storm and the road was closed so no visit. And it's been all down hill for me since then. Bente couldn't get out of her yard either so she couldn't visit.

Not sleeping, not eating, not doing anything. I know now why my motivation left town for the Baja beaches. It writes that it is coming home soon. I can't wait.

So, I have postponed the surgery, and am dealing with my stress, one day at a time. It is a load off my shoulders not having to worry about it right now. I hope to have it in 6 to 8 weeks, and look forward to having it behind me so I can walk again.

I have my seed catalog's to hand, and spend a lot of time looking through them and dreaming of things to plant in my pots and gardens. As the snow recedes, slowly but it is going, I visualize where things will be.

I bought 10 terracotta colored plastic windowbox planters last fall, for a dollar each on clearance at Walmart. I am going to put them along the shed and, well, the other shed too, and fence and plant them with climbing things. Things like Scarlet Runner Bean, Hyacinth Beans, Asparagus Peas with their cinnamon red blooms and winged pods. The catalog says they have a " prostrate growing habit" but I will force them upwards on wire on the shed. Dwarf Grey Sugar Snow Peas and its two-toned purple blossoms with edible flowers and foliage. Edible when it is young. How cool is that?! Lets see, what else...

...Oh there are purple podded varieties of peas that I would like to grow as well. Think how pretty they would look hanging against the green foliage. And there are also purple podded beans as well as striped red and yellow podded ones.

What's that you ask? What about the dreaded Mole People, Bush Bunnies and Deer? Hah! Already thought of that. I am going to loosely cover the soil in the pots with Landscape Fabric once I plant the seeds. Cover the edges of the fabric with soil to keep creatures from lifting it and making a feast of my seeds and seedlings. When the seedlings press up against the top of the fabric, I will make a tiny X for them to poke through. And, um, then...well, we'll deal with what to do next when we come to it. Haven't got quite that far yet.

As far as the Deer getting over the fence, I dealt with that last year, using old CDs and DVDs. I have to renovate the fence top but it works, so will go with it again. Besides, I have gotten quite attached to the sun zinging off the mirrored disks as they move in the breeze. The Bear? I'm thinkin' water cannon. No, only kidding. Hopefully there will be lots of forage for him in the fields and he will leave my garden alone until fall before I have to deal with him again. Maybe he will move on to greener pastures. Yeah, right.

I am planting my tomatoes in the round, heavy plastic stock water tank that Richard will be moving into the yard as soon as the snow is gone for good. Will position it so that the drain is on the downhill side - the yard slopes downhill at that corner where we will be putting it - and remove the drain so water doesn't build up in it.

The tomatoes I will be planting will be the ones I had such success with last year, and hopefully some new ones. Tumbling Tom, a wonderful cherry tomato. Striped Cavern. Brown Berry which is a Heritage Cherry type. Radiator Charlie's Yellow Mortgage Lifter, one of my favorites! Bull's Heart, an absolutely marvelous red heart shaped tomato with amazing flavor. This year, I will let the indeterminate ones grow only so tall, then prune the tops so they produce larger and more abundant tomatoes instead of putting all their energy into vines.

Of course there will be flowers and herbs interspersed amongst the tomatoes and beans and peas. Lots of Zinnias, Sweet Peas, Poppys, Petunias, Marigolds, Osteospermum...well, you get the idea.

Speaking of Herb plants, I am hoping most of the ones I left in the yard will have survived. And I have to tell you, Mason has done his best to see they do. No, really he has. You see the snow made it easier to reach to the top of the planters when he was walking on it, and, being a male dog, much easier for him to have something to cock his leg on. Only problem is, where he couldn't pee into the pots before the snow, now he can, sigh. I think the Lavender Mint will be history. It seems to be his favorite.

Note to self: Next fall, when moving plants be sure to place all herb pots at a higher level, just in case we get snow again next winter. I am hoping that the rain we get will wash the urine out of the soil...

...of course, you never know, do you. It might make that old Lavender Mint just thrive.

I'll keep you posted.

Hope Springs...

2009-01-25T14:20:00.000-08:00

It's still cold and we still have snow today. I keep hoping and praying I will wake up to +10, sunshine and rapidly melting snow. It doesn't happen. I have stopped checking the weather report on the Wetter Network as they rarely get it right. After all, what do you expect from a company that is thousands of miles away.

I am still in waiting. Waiting for my surgery that is scheduled for the 6th of February. I went to get bloodwork done last Friday only to discover that I was supposed to have done a 10 hour fast prior to it. Doctor never mentioned anything about fasting when he handed me the lab form, sigh. So, now I go tomorrow at the crack of dawn to avoid having a 2 hour wait in the tiny lab waiting room. Then Tuesday it is off to St. Joseph's in Comox to see the Pre-Admition nurse. Then Wednesday more tests and Thursday, if I am not too tired, up early to get my hair cut really, really short so I don't have to worry about it while I am recuperating. I still haven't been out to get groceries, so sometime this week will have to do that.

I HATE WAITING!

I know I had no control over getting sick last November and missing out on having my surgery then. Things happen for a reason and our very cold, very snowy weather was the reason. But, there is still that small part of me that says I would have been 2 months post surgery, all through with physio and back to driving and walking again if I hadn't gotten sick. I don't dwell on it. No point.

But still.

I have been browsing this years seed catalogues both online and those I could get through the mail. I see so many flowers and vegetables I want to try, but I have to be realistic. I don't have the space in the garden yard. Well, I do, but, what I mean is, I have the garden boat, lots and lots and lots of black pots, and the big stock waterer that Richard is going to put in the yard and fill with dirt for me, when it warms up. I have so many seeds already that need to be planted that it's silly to think about buying more. Yet, you know, I will buy some more. Just a few.

There are some really interesting flower seeds one can buy. I am amazed by the difference in price from catalogue to catalogue. And the number of seeds per packet for those prices. Take for instance Calendula, one of my favorite annuals. West Coast Seeds - a lower mainland BC company - has 120 seeds per gram and one gram costs $2.79 cdn. Lindenburg Seeds from Brandon, Manitoba, has 50 to 100 seeds per packet and a packet is $1.25 cdn. Vesey Seeds from PEI has 100 seeds for $1.95 cdn, while William Dam Seeds from Ontario sells them for $1.75 cdn for 100 to 200 seeds. And South of the border in Greenwood South Carolina, is Park Seeds - a favorite of mine - which sells them for 100 seeds for $1.45 US if you purchase it as a culinary herb seed (which in reality it is) or 50 seeds for $1.50 to $1.95 US for annual flowers, depending on variety.

Bear in mind, Calendula is exceedingly easy to grow, self-seeds in warmer climates, blooms and blooms and blooms, is cold tolerant, is good in salads or teas or in the bathwater. I use it to make a quick and easy healing salve that works good for cold sores if you are prone to them - thank goodness I am not. My point is, why such a variation in price and amount of seeds?

I did save some seeds over from last year. Dill, Calendula, Scarlet Runner Beans and other assorted dried beans from my Soup Mix I planted. Abutilon, also known as Flowering Maple. Poppy seeds. Coreopsis. Zinnias. I only hope they will germinate and grow. You know of course that I will be haunting the nursery departments at Walmart and Canadian Tire as soon as the spring plants come in for my petunias, pansies and geraniums. And I will be at Naesgaard's and Colyn's as soon as I can. Oh and in the late summer, Canadian Tire puts all it's remaining bedding plants on sale and I get such great deals. I mean, 25 cents a 4" pot. How can I resist!

Last fall, as we were moving as many of my plant pots into the back porch as we could, I accidentally broke off a piece of a geranium. Anyone who grows geraniums on a regular basis knows that you can just stick the broken branch in a jar of water and it will root, thereby starting a new plant for you. This I did. I set it out in the pantry beside the window near the sink and every so often added fresh water to it. The geranium piece remained alive, even through all the bitter cold weather. Even though it was beside that very cold window.

Last week I happened to notice that the silly piece of geranium, had blossom buds coming. This week, behold...two of them have opened to show lovely white blossoms with red anthers on the end of the white stamens. In all this cold and snow, a promise of Spring.

I'll take it.

A Day to Remember

2009-01-20T18:48:00.000-08:00

Another sunny day today, but cold, as usual right now. Wetter Network is calling for +7. Riiiiggghht. Not gonna happen. Currently it is -2. Too much snow yet to warm up that high.

Last night I got a chance to use my webcam and talk to Hammond, Megan and Rylan in Sooke. That was just wonderful! What fun. Rylan is already webcam savvy and I got a big kick out of her. If she goes off camera for some reason, she says "One moment" then disappears. What a polite child she is. She sang me a song - her own creation - and showed me some of her dance moves she has learned in the dance class she attends. She told me about her day, asked where her Grandpa Richard was, and made a card with stickers on it. I really look forward to further sessions, and to seeing Gina on the webcam when she is at her father's house in Edmonton. That will be such a treat when I am recovering from my surgery.

Yes, I got a call last week and my surgery date is set for February 6th. I am not holding my breath, don't want to be disappointed again if there is another postponement. Tomorrow is doctor appointment day for my pre-op checkup. Then next week is an appointment with the pre-admission nurse up at St. Joseph's Hospital in Comox. I am keeping positive, and very much looking forward to being able to walk normally again, instead of weeble-ing all over the place. My surgeon has been in Afghanistan working for several months. Perhaps he has developed some new procedure; one can only hope. It's not a pleasant operation, but you are so drugged up you don't care. Oh, and did I mention that you are awake - as awake as a drugged person can be - during the Total Knee Replacement Surgery? Believe me, I would far rather be awake during this surgery than under a general anesthetic.

I took the dogs outside onto the crusty snow in the garden yard again today. Molly started bugging about 11:30 to go out. They love the sunshine and can't wait to get through the door tippy-toeing all over, but don't complain when I call them back in. These dogs love to eat green grass, looking like a flock of sheep grazing a field in the summer. They don't eat it because they have a tummy ache, they just like the taste of it, especially first thing in spring.

You have no idea how pitiful it is to watch them trying to find grass that isn't frozen to eat right now. There is one spot way over in the corner between the house and the shed that the sun hits and warms. There they found a tiny patch of thawed out grass to munch, jostling for position to find the best blades.

A flock of Robins joined us, landing in the Birch tree in the garden yard. They looked as cold as I felt. What can you feed them in the winter when it is that cold? They eat worms, and while I don't mind hanging up seed filled suet blocks for the other birds, I draw the line and purchasing live worms from the fishing store to supply the Robins. Sorry guys.

The best part of today was watching the Inauguration of President Barack Obama of the United States. That was truly an amazing event. Not only is he going to be good for the US, but I believe he will be good for Canada and the rest of the world as well. Good on ya, Mr. President! But boy, don't you think they were cold standing there in the frigid weather for so long?

This afternoon I made Cranberry Scones again. My ambition re-appeared for a short while, but my motivation is still AWOL. The Scones were yummy. I put some fresh grated orange zest in them and it really gave them zip. I think Scones are one of my favorite things to make and eat. They are quick and easy and nearly always turn out just perfect.

I long for the day when I am recovered from my surgery, the days are longer and much, much warmer, and I can pull my Outdoor Gas Oven back out into the yard to start cooking and baking again. Right now it sits on the deck looking cold and forlorn. I can identify.

If I hadn't got sick last November, my surgery would be 2 months behind me, as well as my Physio Therapy. I would be still walking with a cane, but well on my way to total recovery. Oh well, soon. Soon.

I really look forward to gardening this year.

And driving down to Sooke to see Hammond, Megan and Rylan.

And Kate in Sidney.

And walking normally again.

Yeah. Soon.

I've Got Sunshine....

2009-01-17T15:53:00.000-08:00

...On A Foggy Day!

The sun is shining! Oh it is so good to see it finally, has been a long time, believe me. You can't help but feel a bit better when you see sunshine, even if there is still snow everywhere. The dogs have been bugging me to go outside all morning.

Mom! It sunny Mom. we go out mom?
come on mom, outside?
mom, mom, mom, mom
pleeze mom?

I take them out into the small pen, off the dog room at the back of the house, to let them get used to it gradually and control their access. And I nearly get knocked down in their rush through the patio door. Good Grief! Yes, I know it has been a while since they have been out, but gee, patience guys!

I was concerned about them wading through snow up to their furry little armpits. Silly me. The snow has a very hard crust on top of it which supports their weight as they walk, er, that is, RUN, around on it. Boy are they a happy bunch. I stand on the step - the very icy step - and don't move. Everyone else runs around leaving pee-mail everywhere for all the creatures interested in learning about how the Bichons have fared over this last 6 weeks of nasty weather. It doesn't take long though for the cold to seep into their paws and for them to ask to go back in the house.

Soon they are curled up by the fire in the kitchen, warming their toes and other, er, ah, extremities, exhausted after the excitement of the outdoors. I, too, am in the warm kitchen, trying to decide what to do with myself. The TV is tuned to CNN to get the reports on the run-up to the inauguration. I still haven't found my motivation and ambition so will have to force myself to do something. I think I hear Cranberry scones calling to me. Will let you know.

The Cranberry Scones are made and baked and PERFECT! Oh yum, are they good, just what I needed. Light, buttery and flavorful. I make the same recipe most of the time, one I adapted many, many years ago from a tiny Robin Hood Flour Cookbook. When my kids were very young - and bear in mind my daughter Gina turns 36 tomorrow - I found a coupon on the side of a bag of Robin Hood Flour to order a cookbook from the company for 25 or 50 cents, I can't remember exactly, plus postage. It had maybe 30 to 40 pages of recipes, for pancakes, waffles, scones, quickbreads etc. I LOVED that book, used it constantly, literally wore it out. It is tattered, badly ingredient-stained, pages disintegrating and illegible...yes, I still have it. Wish I had a good copy of it, so I could put all the recipes on computer, sigh. Anyway, it is the best scone recipe ever, and if you have the cookbook, let me know, I would love a photocopy of it.

The dogs gather round when I remove the Cranberry Scones from the oven, muzzles tossed back, sniffing the delicious aroma. They pace the room, waiting for them to cool. Silly puppies, they aren't getting any. I eat 3. Usually I divide the dough into 8 wedges but this time I decide to make them smaller and divide it into 12 wedges, so I am not quite a greedy pig.

It's time to try the garden yard on for size. The kids stand at the door quivering with excitement as I dress in jacket, hat and gloves, and shoot through the gate when I open it. The snow is crispy as they trot across it, heading for the far side of the garden boat. It has been weeks since they have been out here and they enjoy every second in the sun.

My vantage point on the deck is shaded, no sun here for me. Why don't I walk out to the boat with them, you ask? Well, aside from using a cane for the bad leg thingy, I don't have any winter boots. Why not? Because you usually don't need them out here. The closest thing most people have to winter boots is high top rubber boots, you know, the ones with the red strip around the top. And I don't even have those, opting instead to just wear my running shoes.

Time to herd them back inside. With the exception of Mason and Rosie, they all tiptoe as quick as they can across the uneven, slippery landscape back to the house. Rosie just wanders about following her nose, and Mason...Mason just loves to stand in the sunshine on a bare patch of grass, down by the garden boat, watching for whatever he might see. I have to bribe them with the promise of cheese to get them to come in. Rosie will do almost anything for cheese. Now they are curled up by the fire again, having eaten their cheese treat, dozing, dreaming their doggy dreams.

Those photos at the top of the page, aren't snow photos, they are sunshine photos. Albeit, poorly taken. I only had my cell phone camera with me, not thinking to take my real camera out with me. Oh well, at least you can see the sun shining on the yard.

Of course, two sunny summer garden boat photos to remind me of warmer days.

And remember, if you see my motivation and ambition, send them home. Yes, it seems ambition sneaked off too. I really need them back.

REALLY!

Time to make dinner, Richard will be home from work at 5pm and I am making Chicken Cordon Bleu. No, no, nothing fancy, just heat and eat. Yup, it's premade, frozen raw, bought from the store, you put it in the oven and bake it yourself. Have leftover rice in the fridge to go with it and will cook some frozen peas and carrots.

Like I said, no ambition, no motivation.

Sigh.

Angels on Wingback

2009-01-16T18:36:00.000-08:00

I can finally see that the snow is melting...very slowly. There are larger bare patches appearing under the trees, the driveway is bare, although muddy, and here and there around the yard you can see green grass. It still will be month end before it is all gone though. And no, the Wetter Network still hasn't got our day time temperatures right yet, sigh. For instance, today was supposed to be +7 and sunny. Yeah, right. Try cold, foggy and +1. As long as we have the snow, we won't be having the warm weather they keep forecasting. Oh, well. It's REALLY nasty elsewhere in the country, so I will settle for this foggy cold.

My motivation is still missing and no one has seen it yet. I still think it is on a sunny warm beach somewhere, drinking Mojitos and getting a great tan. I sure wish it would come home. Sometimes I think I see it, but it does not last long. I am still posting photo`s of warm weather, not snow and cold, just to remind myself the sun is out there somewhere and will return soon. Really it will.

The American Presidential Inauguration is next week, and I will be watching it. Will be a lovely spectacle, worth watching for it`s uniqueness. Well, after all, I am half American, on my father's side, coming from nearly 375 years of American Heritage.

If you notice the funny apostrophe's on this page, it is because suddenly my keyboard is using French Characters, really, really p*ssing me off, and I am not sure how to get my English Characters back. How annoying. When I tried to type one-half as a fraction, it came out like this: 1é2. I make a scrunchy face. Time to wrap this up and fix the keyboard. Update: fixed the problem. Don't know how for sure. Just shut down Flock Browser and restarted it and it was fixed.

I don't think there is anyone in the world right now who hasn't heard about the miracle that happened in New York yesterday. Really, I don't. So there is no need to recap the story that every news feed on TV, in print and on the net has been talking about non-stop. A miracle happened. It really did, and whether or not you believe in a God, or whether or not you believe in Angels, you have to believe that something - or someone - was at work yesterday helping that marvelous pilot put that plane down in the water as if it was an everyday routine. Yes, he is a former USAF fighter pilot. Yes, according to NBC Nightly News, the only thing he hasn't flown is the Space Shuttle. Yes, he has flown gliders and that more than likely assisted him with his water landing. But still...

...I flash on a host of Angels, wings unfurled and straining to keep the plane level and on a straight trajectory for the surface of the Hudson River. And I flash on Angels in the cockpit, one of them leaning over the Captain's chair, whispering in his ear, coaching him in his responses to the plane and helping him focus on the job at hand. I flash on another whispering to the 1st Officer and still others, whispering to the rest of the Flight Crew, keeping them calm and they in turn helping to keep the passengers calm.

And after the river landing, an Angel whispering to the Crew member to go to the front of the plane and open the door there, not to the door at the back of the plane which would have flooded the cabin with water.

One thing is crystal clear. Soon, in a revised copy of the Dictionary, if you look up the word "Hero" you will see the following words:
See also: Captain Chesley B. 'Sully' Sullenberger III.

'nough said.

Bear Me No Mind

2009-01-08T18:16:00.001-08:00

I know, I know, I said I wasn't going to post anymore photo's of snow. I lied. Get over it.

I am posting these because they mostly are about the bear and his attack on the garbage shed. Remember I said in my last Blog post:
And I flash on... ...me, waking up in the night to the sound of the Cat starting up and an Island Black Bear going for a joy ride across the fields with the big yellow John Deer Crawler Tractor, churning up snow as he goes.

Well, Richard went out a couple of days ago to start up the Cat and scrape snow out of the driveway, only to find that that annoying little Island Black Bear had been back. "Hey," he hollered through the front door, "that bear was back and he was trying to figure out how to start up the Cat and move it away from the shed so he could get at the garbage again! There are tracks all around the Cat."

"Um hmm," I replied. "Didn't you read what I said in my Blog?"

"Nope," he replied, "haven't read it for a while." So I made him go in and read the post.

"Yeah," Richard responds, "that's what he was trying to do! Give me your camera, I'll go take photo's for you," he said and went back out to do just that. You can see his tracks in the photo's above, as well as the trail of garbage leading off towards the creek. The other photo's are just there to remind me what warm weather really looks like.

Richard scraped snow from the drive, then headed off in the Cat across the fields to the other side of the farm to clean the barn. When he hadn't returned by 5pm - having left at 1pm - I called his cell to check on him. He informed me he'd be home shortly, would probably be walking back. "Aren't you bringing the Cat home?" I asked. "No, I can walk," he stated. "But...what about the garbage shed? Don't you need to put the bucket of the Cat against the door to hold it shut?" I queried. "Oh," was his startled reply. "Um, yeah, I guess I do need to bring it home, don't I. I forgot."

Sigh.

Bente says that none of the bears in the Valley are sleeping as the food supply is still too good. There has been no garbage pickup in town and around the district for over 3 weeks because of all the snow, so the bears are foraging in it. Tough to store 3 weeks of garbage in your house, gak.

The snow has been so heavy and so deep that it has knocked down all my plum trees behind the house and on the edge of the field. I doubt if they will recover. Once the snow melts, we will go out and assess the damage. It has crushed the Wild Rose hedge and the Himalayan Blackberries are flat - although they will come back. The Quince bushes look really sick, and we had a lot of them. I have a feeling we will be losing some of them as well. These are trees and bushes that have been here for a long, long time, much longer than we have, and we've been here 20 years. It's a shame to lose them this way.

The plums were small, round greenish-gold orbs that were tart-sweet. They made a bilious looking jelly but boy did it taste good, and we loved to eat them out of hand. The Quince were big yellow globes that smelled like Pineapples, and made delicious pies and jellies. Quince were one thing the bears and birds left alone, because the are so astringent when raw. I know the Roses will come back quickly as will the Blackberries. The whole lot used to make it impossible to see the field. Now you could nearly walk right through them to it.

The snow is finally, albeit very slowly, starting to recede. I can see a bare patch here and there under trees in the garden yard and under the work tables out there. I feel sorry for the poor Robins trying desperately to find a worm that didn't freeze to death during the cold spell. They will eat the berries in the Holly trees, but that can't be too nutritious. We hang suet blocks out for the birds, as I've said before, but Robins really aren't seed eaters.

The Wetter Network is calling for it to be warmer and sunny this week, rising to a high of +10 for Saturday. I don't believe them. They haven't been right yet so far this winter. Our temperature has not been over +4 yet, while they keep forecasting +7 or +8. Not happening. Fool me once......

I've lost my motivation, can't find it anywhere at all. I think it went on vacation from the weather and forgot to tell me. Probably to the beach at Baja. Sitting there under an umbrella, shaded from the sun, sipping frosty Mojito's. Watching people from behind it's sunglasses, reading the latest Janet Evanovich novel...sigh. I have no ambition to do anything, have to force myself to do the things I enjoy, like baking bread or cooking. I need some sunshine.

So if you happen to be passing by on the beach at Baja, and notice my missing motivation, please send her back home. I need her back.

Really.

Man the Bearicade Redux

2009-01-04T21:59:00.000-08:00

I have made up my mind that I will NOT take any more snow photos. None. I am soooooooo over snow. Really.

From now on, no matter what the weather I will only post summer photos; photos of things like blue skies, sunshine, green grass, blooming flowers. Yes, it is sticking my head in the sand, metaphorically speaking. Sooooo? My blog, I can do what I want with it. Harrumph.

Yes, I really, really, really am tired of winter and snow. And winter is only, what, 2 weeks old? I long for spring, and it's three months off. Time was, spring arrived here in February. I remember getting sunburned planting a peony - which failed to thrive - on a hot February day. Siiiiggghh.

Whine. Snivel.

Maybe it affects me badly because I can't get out of the house. Tough to walk in this knee deep snow when you have only one working leg. And when you don't own a pair of winter boots, or boots of any kind for that matter. Running shoes just don't cut in in this snow and ice. Weather report last night at 11pm said +6 and raining all day today. Woke up this morning to -1 and snowflakes as big as a toonie. Weather people lied. It snowed all day, heavily.

It's raining now, and they are calling for +6 tomorrow and rain. Riiiiggghht.

The other day Richard made a startling discovery when he came back from feeding the cows over at Ron's. He discovered that bears aren't hibernating yet, despite the snow and cold temperatures. How did he discover that, you ask? Remember back in the fall when we had a visit, one of many, from our resident Island Black Bear? Well, a few days ago, I mentioned to Richard that Bente's husband, Max, had seen a Black Bear down by his fish store, Codfather Seafood. And I commented that because the bears weren't hibernating yet, we would have to be careful as the bear would be after the garbage shed again.

"Yup," he said, "we will."

Friday in the early hours, the bear struck, and I do mean struck. I was in my room, watching the morning news and weather when Richard came through the door, mad as a hornet. "The bear was at the garbage last night!" he hollers. "He nearly knocked the shed right over, pulled the locked door open and dragged bags of garbage (- garbage that Richard hadn't been able to haul out to the dump because of the over 3 feet of snow in the yard -) alllllll over everywhere." This was punctuated by words that would curl the hair of a bald man "!@#$%^&*" he snarled.

Discretion is the better part of valor, or so the old saying goes. I stayed where I was, keeping a low profile, and never mentioned my words of three days ago. Cowardly? Oh yup, for sure. I know when to bite my tongue. Plenty of time for an "I told you so" in the months to come.

He goes back out doors and recovers and re-bags as much of the garbage as he can, puts it back into the shed, and closes the door. Then I see him walk down the driveway. Hmmmmm. Soon I hear the sound of the Cat starting up, and see it chugging back up the drive towards the shed. "Now, what is he going to do....?" I think to myself. "Is he going to use it to scoop up garbage?"

Then it hits me. Nope, he is going to put the bucket against the door of the shed to hold it closed so the bear can't get back in there again. And he does. I see him coming back towards the house when he is done, still cussing a blue streak. "I picked up as much of the garbage as I could get to," he states, "and I have moved the Cat so the bucket rests against the door of the shed, holding it tight shut. I'd like to see that S.O.B. get in there now," he says. "I'm going to get ready for work now." I have to admit, it's a clever idea, a clever way to hold the door shut and keep the bear out.

And I flash on...

...me, waking up in the night to the sound of the Cat starting up and an Island Black Bear going for a joy ride across the fields with the big yellow John Deer Crawler Tractor, churning up snow as he goes.

I give a huge shudder. NOT a pretty thought.

Still...the least he could do is plow the driveway out on his joy ride. You know, as payment for spreading garbage everywhere.

I mean, really.

Shadows of Summer

2009-01-01T14:53:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year 2009! Hey, the days are getting longer again, and I am very much looking forward to Spring, believe me. This winter from hell on the Island has to end sometime, right? RIGHT?!! The time changes in a couple of months, and I am counting on warm weather. You hear me Mother Nature? I am COUNTING on warm weather.

It is snowy, gloomy, cold...well, you know what I'm talking about, it's everywhere right now. I went outside the back door to take some photo's of the snow damage the weather has done to our Plum, Quince, Saskatoon and Cherry bushes and nearly had a pair of Chickadees landing on my head. Gee but they are friendly little guys. Flew up to within a foot of me. I stood as still as possible, shivering because I didn't have my coat on, and tried to aim the camera at them without moving. The good news is, I got a couple of great shots of the inside of the overhang over the step. Finally managed a blurry one of the two little tykes sitting on the clothesline.

Then our resident Hairy Woodpecker landed on one of the uprights holding up the overhang and squawked at me. He flew over to the feeder and I managed to get some shots of him, albeit not very good ones, but you can at least identify that it is a Hairy Woodpecker. Even got one of a Towhee picking up seeds from under the feeder.

Just so no one forgets what warm weather looks like, I have re-posted some of my Summer Garden Boat photo's up above. I need that today. I need to look at bright, warm sunshine and beautiful flowers. Green grass and tree leaves. Not the weather report that says more snow and colder temperatures like the -8 forecast for tonight, sigh.

Enough about the weather. Really, enough.

I'm not baking anything today, although I am tempted. I mean really, how many loaves of Brioche does one truly need? I did find a recipe for Eggnog Bread I am going to try, and I still want to make a Pull-Apart (aka Monkey Bread) in my new breadmaker. Also want to make breadmaker cheesecake. Found a recipe for mixing up the ingredients in the machine, then pressing pause partway through the bake cycle and putting the graham crust on top of the cheesecake, then finishing the bake cycle. That way, when you invert it out of the pan, your graham crust will be on the bottom. Clever idea in theory. In practice? Time will tell. Worth a try though.

I am considering making something with some of my frozen peaches. That is truly a taste of summer for me, a sweet and juicy peach. Hmmmmmm...maybe a Peach Crisp, that would be good. Served with a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream, or perhaps a dollop of whipped cream. Yes, I think that is what it will be today, Peach Crisp. Can't you just taste it's sweet/tart flavor, with a hint of butter and cinnamon and that crisp topping? Oh Yum!

Or I could make an Apple Raspberry Crisp. Or a Peach Raspberry Crisp. Ohhhhh, how about a clean-out-the-freezer crisp? Blackberries, Raspberries, Peaches, Blueberries, Strawberries...I have Cherries and Plums too, but, not in this crisp, that's too over the top for a simple dessert like that. Ok, no, let's just go back to the plain old Peach Crisp. That's what I'll make.

Of course, there is always tomorrow. And the next day and the next. Raspberry Crisp. Then Blackberry Crisp. Then Strawberry Crisp and Blueberry Crisp. I know Cherry Crisp is delightful, and I am sure Plum Crisp would be too. Gosh, a week of Crisps. Well, no, um, gee that would be way more than a week of crisps, we certainly wouldn't be eating a Crisp a day. Ok so then, how about a Crisp a week, that works.

I'll let you know how it turns out. I can just taste it, sweet, tart, bubbly, buttery, cinnamony, crispy...

...yeah, I know.

BITZ!

Breadmaker Addiction

2008-12-31T16:25:00.000-08:00

I got a new Breadmaker for Christmas, and she's a beauty. A Black & Decker Ultimate Plus 2 Pound Convection Breadmaker. The Lamborghini of Breadmakers.

What's that you say? Don't I already have a breadmaker? TWO other breadmakers?

Yes.

So? What's your point?

Last summer I got a little Durabrand one from Walmart that was on clearance. It's a nice little breadmaker, but the manual is totally incomprehensible, written by someone who does not use English as their first language, nor even their second language and you have to guess at things. Makes good Brioche dough though.

And last Christmas, I purchased a beautiful machine from Canadian Tire with some Christmas money, another Black & Decker machine, a Cadillac of Breadmakers, an All-In-One Horizontal Deluxe 3 Pound Breadmaker. It makes a 2, 2.5, or 3 pound loaf of bread. It also has twin paddles and a nice long pan for mixing dough. I got it for half price - $50.00 - on a Boxing Day special and I love it. It makes gorgeous Brioche Dough...smooth, silky, satiny, perfect, tacky-but-not-sticky-to-the-touch Brioche Dough. Perhaps you are detecting a theme here. The manual for this machine is quite limited too, just a few recipes, some directions and that is it.

Back to my new breadmaker. This machine is amazing. It does so many things, I haven't even tried a tenth of them yet. And it has a great manual/recipe book. The first thing I always do is make a small loaf of white bread and let it bake in the machine to make sure it does the basics...sort of kick the tires, if you get my drift. It did ok, but I am not a big fan of bread baked in the breadmaker, I prefer to mix & knead the dough in the machine, then form it, let it rise and bake in the oven. But this machine has many other new features that appeal to my gadget-loving self. It is customizable. It has several built-in programs and you can program in 5 of your own recipes if you want to. Also, and this is one of my favorite features, it has a PAUSE button. What's a Pause button for, you ask? Wellllll, let me explain...

...say you want to make a beautiful loaf of braided Challah, you put the ingredients in the pan, start the cycle, and just before the 3rd rise, you press the PAUSE button. Remove the pan from the machine, dump out the dough, divide into 3 pieces, roll them into ropes, braid them together, tuck the ends under, place the dough back in the pan and pan back in the machine and press START. The machine resumes it's cycle, letting your loaf rise and bake. TOO COOL! You can also make Monkey Bread, or a Pull Apart as I call it. And a Mediterranean Rustic loaf, stuffed with cheese, garlic, meat and sun-dried tomatoes. Oh Yum! And did I mention the Batter Bread Cycle, or the Fruit and Nut dispenser? Or the 24 hour delay bake cycle? Or the French, Fruit & Nut, Gluten Free, and Low Carb Bread Cycles? Of course it makes Jam too, but most of them have that cycle.

My very first breadmaker, a Hitachi HB-B201 had a jam and a cooked rice cycle, and I bought it in 1991. That was a great machine too. After that one I had a Sunbeam. It died last year, or rather the pan died, the mechanism that turns the paddle seized up. It would have cost more to purchase a new pan than to purchase a new machine, that is why I bought the little Durabrand from Walmart. And Christmas of 2006, I bought a Toastmaster one that was really nice too, got it on a Boxing Day sale, again at Walmart. I gave it to Bente last Christmas when I bought my Black & Decker Horizontal machine. Hers was ancient and giving up the ghost and I knew she would give it a really good home.

So, yes, I have 3 breadmakers. And yes, at any given time, you might find two of them mixing dough. Today was Brioche day. Why today? Because I got my Christmas present from Kate today...a real honest-to-gosh Brioche Pan! Oh it is sooooooooooo pretty! And it's non-stick, and I mean truly non-stick. I baked my first ever loaf of Brioche a Tete in it and when it came out of the oven, I let it sit a minute and then after muttering "oh well, the Lord hates a coward" or words to that effect, I tipped it over and the loaf just slid right out. Not one crumb stuck to the pan.

Of course, this being my first ever Brioche a Tete, I made the dough ball to big. Next time will make it half that size and will glaze it as you are supposed to do. I didn't bother with the glaze because this was my "test" loaf. It's more like a basketball with a knob on top than a Brioche with a Tete on it, blush. But hey, it will taste incredible, I just know it.

The Brioche I make falls under the category of Poor Man's Brioche. I read somewhere that there are 3 categories for Brioche depending on how much butter and eggs there is in the loaf, Poor Man's Brioche having the least amount of both. My recipe has 3 eggs and 6 tablespoons of butter, plenty rich enough for me. I will make the Rich Man's Brioche someday, just to try. I am sure it is amazing.

Bente finally made it over today for a short visit. We have both been rather housebound for the last 3 weeks, ever since this horrible snow and cold weather hit. Max drove her over and she stayed for an hour and a half. It was so great to see her and we had a great visit. She enjoyed hearing about my new breadmaker and all the things it can do. We talked about all the things we want to do once the snow and cold are gone and our seasonal temperatures and rain are back. She brought me over some frozen peaches that she picked up for me at Quality Foods before Christmas. 5 bags of them. In the winter I prefer frozen fruit - with the exception of apples, oranges & bananas - as opposed to the fresh that you find in local stores. Somehow, a peach from Chile does not quite have the cachet it once did for me. I buy my raspberries and strawberries frozen too. There is nothing quite like a Galette made with those frozen fruits in the winter. Why don't I just buy fresh raspberries or strawberries from the grocery store imported from California? Have you SEEN the prices of them in the winter? Enough said.

Anyway, time to get the last loaf of Brioche out of the oven. This is the test Brioche dough I made in the new breadmaker. The Brioche a Tete dough was made in the Horizontal breadmaker.

What in the world am I going to do with all that Brioche?

Hmmmmm...

...Baked Brioche Bread Pudding; Chocolate stuffed Brioche French Toast; plain Brioche French Toast; Baked Brioche French Toast; toast; fresh with butter; Cheese on slices of Brioche....

Yeah, I know...

BITZ!

Which One of You P*ssed Off Mother Nature?

2008-12-18T16:47:00.000-08:00

Siiiiiggghh.

I new it was too good to be true.

I did say that pretty soon Mother Nature was going to crap all over us. Boy, did she ever. It's been cold for over two weeks now, and we have snow...LOTS OF SNOW. OVER 3 FEET OF SNOW! Yes, I know it isn't as cold as it is elsewhere in the country, and yes, I know, we don't have as much snow as elsewhere in the country. But for us here on the Island, this is HELL!

I mean, -19 (that's almost 3 below F) with the windchill in some areas. We have had -17 (that's 1F) here at night. Trust me, when you usually have +5 for a low daytime temperature during the winter, THAT'S COLD!

Yes, I AM whining. So?

I have closed the living room door to keep the rest of the house warmer as it just steals all the heat from the kitchen if I leave it open. We have no source of heat in the living room. Ok, there is a 110/120v heater, but, you may as well use a candle to warm the room, it does as much good. Richard is going to wire it for a 220/240v heater but it will have to wait until next summer to get that done. The plastic over the windows and the patio door have stopped the draft, but now we need heat.

The Bichon's are really unhappy not being able to be on their sofa. Richard brought them home a small rug to put down beside the wood stove in the kitchen. They love it, needless to say, and don't venture very far from it. I don't blame them. I, too, am spending most of my time in the kitchen by the wood stove

The photo's above sort of document the last two and a half weeks, beginning on December 12th and ending with today. We have so much snow, Richard went over to Ron's and brought back the Caterpillar tractor to plow the driveway with the other day. What a treat that was, as the snow was up above the bumper on the car. Good thing it's front wheel drive. Oh and the van was buried, got it moved after he plowed out the driveway.

Now it's melting and every so often there is a roar and a crash as snow and ice slide from the roof. The dogs go crazy at the noise, barking and running to the door. It was supposed to be sunny today, but with all the snow melting and the rain falling and the above freezing temperatures, it has created it's own fog and microclimate. We never did get above +2. The local news from Victoria claims it is going down again this weekend to -14! MINUS !@#$%^&* -14! They HAVE to be mistaken, they just HAVE to be. Enough.

I am getting extreme cabin fever, to say the least. In the last three weeks, I have been out of the house for 2 hours to get groceries, and that was on the 23rd. I want blue skies, sunshine, warm weather, green grass, flowers blooming....oh, my plants! Some of the ones I moved into the back porch actually froze the night it got down to -17. Poor things. That was my Nutmeg Scented Geranium and my Gazania. I am hoping they will be able to come back from the roots but I am not counting on it. Oh, and my poor Lemon Grass I started from pieces I bought at the grocery store froze too. I had it on the deck, covered, but it couldn't withstand the extreme cold. And my Flowering Maples...gone, sigh.

We have lived here nearly 20 years and have never had this much snow at one time nor this cold of temperatures. I have been cutting up apples and tossing them under one of the trees at the back for the deer. Poor things are having trouble finding forage under all that snow. And of course I feed the birds. I think one of the things I miss the most is the Christmas Robins. The Robins mostly stay here all year round, but in the fall they disappear for a while only to reappear just before Christmas. This year due to the weather, no Robins. Hope they will return soon.

So the photo's above start with the light dusting of snow on December 12th. That was my Calendula still blooming. Then progress a couple of days. Then a few more and a few more ending with the December 24th snow storm and Richard plowing the driveway. I quit photographing about then, too depressing.

I hope everyone had a good Christmas. Ours was extremely quiet, due to weather and inability of family coming to visit due to road and weather conditions. I think I am finally ready to celebrate Christmas in July. Oh, and one more thing....

I want to know...really I do...

WHICH ONE OF YOU P*SSED OFF MOTHER NATURE!

Nothing New

2008-12-09T12:12:00.000-08:00

It's another dark, dreary, rainy day in the neighborhood; even the dogs have the blahs. The forecast for this weekend is really nasty, calling for sub-zero temperatures for we Islanders. That's just wrong. We've been spoiled by all the warm - term used loosely here - weather. Come on, +6 is warm compared to the -8 they are threatening us with next Monday night, and a high of -5. That's a HIGH of -5 folks. What's that you say? Stop my whining, you say? Hey THAT'S cold for here. Really cold.

In an attempt to stave off the cold weather, Richard has been putting plastic over the windows on the main floor of the house. I have to admit, it has made the rooms he has done a lot warmer. This drafty old house, which is over 100 years old, will seem incredibly warmer when he finishes. Just the kitchen and bathroom to do, and I think I will have him cover the patio door in the living room too. Just by doing that, it warms the house up by 10 to 15 degrees. That's a lot when you heat your house solely with a wood stove that sits in the kitchen.

Speaking of the kitchen, you know I like to try new recipes. Remember my Peanut Butter Fudge of the other day? That was a new recipe. Sometimes that's a good thing...sometimes bad. Like today for instance. I found a recipe on cdkitchen.com - while looking for something else - for Simple Caramel Sauce. Sounded good. Has the word Simple in the title. I'm all about simple. Not too many ingredients and I have them all on hand: 2 cups brown sugar, 1 can sweetened condensed milk, 1/2 cup butter, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/2 cup milk, more as needed.

It starts off like this:
Stir sugar and condensed milk together; heat over low to medium heat, stirring constantly, till sugar dissolves;
That's simple enough, if a little vague on the time. I mean, usually a recipe will say something like "stirring constantly, till sugar dissolves, about (insert number here) minutes. So, I do what it says, and begin to stir.

And stir.

And stir some more.

And more.

And, yes, still some more.

In fact what the recipe should have said in the directions was...
...stirring constantly until you turn blue in the face or your arm falls off, whichever comes first.

I stirred that sucker for 32 minutes and the sugar granules in the brown sugar NEVER did dissolve, sigh. I gave up, removed it from the heat like it said, stirred in the 1/2 cup butter and teaspoon of vanilla. And wasn't THAT fun. You ever tried to stir butter into a thick, viscous substance? No, really...have you? Finally I got out my wire whisk and beat the butter into the brown sugar/sweetened condensed milk mixture. Then the half cup of milk.

The upshot is, I got almost a quart of Simple Caramel Sauce. Very gritty Simple Caramel Sauce. How does it taste? Kind of like a poor man's Dulce De Leche...only, grittier. What am I going to do with nearly a quart of gritty, Poor Man's Dulce De Leche, you ask?

Darned if I know.

Maybe I can find a new recipe to try it with.

Or...maybe not.

Hmmmmmmmm.

Can Ya Dig It?

2008-12-07T12:38:00.000-08:00

The sun shone today! Wow! Ok, it was only for 27 minutes, but it still shone and we still went out into the yard to enjoy it. And it was WARM! Only Mason and Emmy and I felt like wandering around the yard. The other's went back inside to jockey for position on the back of the sofa. I took photo's of my still blooming Calendula plants and tried for a photo of my hearty little Johnny-Jumpup but that one is blurry. Oh and my Sweet Peas are going strong, looking like they could bloom at any moment, given half a chance.

It's December 7th today, and the weather continues to be mild, thank goodness. I know we will get crapped on someday soon, sigh, that is the nature of the weather out here on the Island. But boy, that sun felt good on the face, let me tell you. Most days it is so dark and gloomy out, the automatic plug for the lights on the fence doesn't shut them off until after 10am.

I made some fudge this morning, trying out a new recipe. Hmmmmm. The recipe was rather vague on the directions, just leaving you to read between the lines. For instance, it says "Add peanut butter and marshmallow cream; mix well. Quickly pour into 8 x 8 buttered pan." What it SHOULD say is "have peanut butter and marshmallow cream quite soft and then add peanut butter and marshmallow cream as fast as you can stirring all the while as fast as you can and then as fast as you can pour into prepared pan and spread quickly!"

It kind of went funny when I poured in the peanut butter and marshmallow cream, kind of...seized...if you know what I mean. I worked as quickly as I could but it still went all crumbly - kind of dry. And oh boy is it sweet! Yes, I know, it's fudge and fudge is supposed to be sweet, but, wayyyy too sweet for me. Oh well Richard will eat it. But I won't make it again. Glad I found out now before I bundled up little packages of it in gifts for Christmas.

l have other recipes to try, none of them my own because I never make fudge and don't know why I decided to this year. But I did, so people might be getting dry, crumbly fudge anyway. Maybe I will just fall back on my old standby, Peanut Butter Marshmallow squares, but with a twist. What twist you ask? Ah, now that is a surprise.

Time to coax the kids outdoors again. Molly is mad at me, has been for a couple of days, so is hard to coax out. The other night, about 10pm, we took them out into the garden yard for their last go round before bed. The minute they hit the yard, they went crazy, running around by the shed, standing up, throwing their heads back and sniffing the air. That alarmed me for it meant that something big had either been in the garden yard or was on the other side of the shed. Richard noticed it right away too, so we called to the dogs, getting 3 of them in the house. Of course Emily and Rosie took off to the far end of the yard by the garden boat. It is dark down there, even with the feeble yard light and lights on the fence. I hobble after them and finally coerce them back to the house and indoors while Richard closes the gate .

One, two, three, four, five, si...uh oh, missing one. Molly. MOLLY!!! Nope she's not in the house.

"She has to be, I got them all" Richard says.

"No" I insist, "she is still outside.

"Well, I can't see her" he replies.

"Ah, crap, she's under the flower bench beneath the rose bush!" I holler, and race - ok, hobble quickly - out the door, Richard right behind me.

"Molly, you come here RIGHT NOW!"

No, I huntin' Mow Pepo

"Now Molly!!!"

But Mom, der Mow Pepo, unner heah, lotsa dem!

Richard hollers, banging on the bench and finally she crawls out from under it.

"Ah, damn, she is all muddy, just look at her paws," Richard says as he picks her up. "YOU ARE A BAD GIRL!"

But I jus' huntin' Mow Pepo, I not bad, sniff.

We take her right into the bathroom closing the door, hounded - pun intended - by the other 5 dogs, worried and concerned because we were yelling at Molly. In the bathroom sink, I run water over her mud-caked paws, cleaning them as best I can, then washing her face and nose, which are mud-laden too. She's been using her teeth to facilitate her tunneling. Drying her as best I can, I have Richard put her in the dog room alone and close the gate. What a brat!

10 minutes go by, the rest of the crew are really upset because I have yelled at Molly. Mason comes up to me, asking me to free her. The others whine and fuss. "Let her out now," I holler at Richard, "before they mutiny." Mason runs out to the dog room to help Richard open the gate. Molly comes up to me, rolling over and baring her tummy. The others gather round, sniffing her.

I sorry mom, but der was Mow Pepo, I has to get dem

So she is still upset with me. Once I get her in the yard, I have to watch her the entire time, without watching her, if you get my drift. I keep her in my peripheral vision, because if I don't, she will slip back under the bench. On Richard's next days off, he is removing the bench and making it so she can't get under there. I know she will find somewhere else to dig, that is just Molly's nature. She is just a digger. When she was 7 months old, she dragged one of my small plant pots off the deck into the living room and proceeded to dig all the dirt out of it onto the floor, sofa, and chair. She hasn't stopped since. There is something about dirt that entices her.

Mow Pepo mom, I keep sayin' dat. You don' lissen. It MOW PEPO!

"Yes Molly, outside, we'll go outside now, just give me a minute."

Sigh, moms, dey jus' don' lissen

A Pan For All Seasons

2008-12-02T12:58:00.000-08:00

Well, here it is December 2 already. We have been blessed with above seasonal temperatures, but I am sure that Mother Nature will be losing her temper with us in the near future and temps will plummet. My Zonal Geraniums on the deck continue to bloom their little hearts out, as does the Abutilon, aka Flowering Maple, and an assortment of others I couldn't find room for indoors. The back porch plants are doing well, the Gazania blooms open for a few minutes each day if they get enough light through the patio door.

I have been busy this week reorganizing my kitchen cupboards. I have a lot of herbs and spices, and they were spread throughout 3 rooms. Now I have them all in one - ok two - places in the kitchen, side by side. Then there is allllll my baking pans. They are, mostly, all now side by side in 3 spots. My several mixing bowls are all together in one spot and my baking utensils now fill 3 drawers.

When I go to a thrift store, something I love to do, I always look for baking pans and utensils in good shape. I have got some of my best pans that way. I found one recently at the Salvation Army Thrift Store and I had no clue what it was for. It looked nifty. Yesterday I searched baking pans online and found out it is a Cookie-sicle pan...make your cookie (or cake) dough, spread in the indentations in the pan, bake, cool, and insert popsicle sticks in them and you have a Cookie-sicle. Hey, they sell for $14.00 and I got it for $1.00.

Then there is the Ring Mold, or Savarin Pan. Got it for 50 cents last year. I have a Shell pan, for making shell-shaped cookies, cakelets or the like. Several different sized muffin tins, from really tiny - 25 cents each - to super size. One pan makes 24 mini muffins. Oh, and 3 Bundt pans, one of which is heavy duty and an odd design. Then there is the pans that look like fancy muffins; the ones that look like they would make Danish Aebleskiver the Danish pancake pan...it's actually a Mini Ball pan for making ball shaped mini cakes; some Angel Food pans - one missing the bottom insert, don't know where it went to; two sets of square and one set of round Fruitcake pans; cheesecake pans; round cake pans of varying widths and depths as well as two lone square ones. Oh and the two 9 x 13 pans one of which is Pyrex.

Did I mention the loaf pans? Bente was at a garage sale way back in the spring and saw a large pile of pans sitting there, for...are you ready for this?...10 cents each!!! 10 CENTS! Of course she bought them for me. There are 3 different sizes: regular, large, and of course, EXTRA LARGE. I love them. They are heavy duty, and work great in my Outdoor Gas Convection Oven. I have so many I even gave a couple to Kate to use with her new Bread Machine. They are the perfect size to make two loaves of bread from one batch of dough.

Then there is the two tart pans - no not the little tarts you eat by hand, but the large, 10 inch tart pans that make a fancy open-faced pie
usually using a buttery shortbread type crust. And speaking of pie...yes, I have pie plates, in 4 different sizes from about 4 inch to 10 inch..ok the 10 inch is actually a Corning Ware tart pan I have had for 25 years now. Oh, and the two sets of mini Angel Food pans I have, one I got as a gift years ago and kind of fell apart so Richard took it apart, saving the little pans and the other I just got at the thrift store, intact.

Oh yeah, I forgot the two heart shaped cake pans from the thrift store for a dollar each. But the only pans I don't have, that I really, really want, are Brioche pans. I had the mini brioche pans at one time years ago and didn't know what they were. I think they are packed away upstairs somewhere in a box in all the junk but Richard won't bring down boxes for me to go through, even though I have been asking for 3 years now. I can't climb the stairs because of my knee, but that's another story.

Anyway, someday I keep hoping I will run across Brioche pans in the thrift stores. Someday....

So what am I going to do with all these pans, you ask? Well, use them, silly! I use a lot of them already. When I make cupcakes, like to make the mini ones, a recipe will make about 6 dozen of them. My bread pans I use ALL the time. Pie pans are seasonal for me. Oh, no particular season, just once in a while I go on a pie or galette baking binge, so...seasonal. My baking sheets I use all the time as well. Cookies at Christmas; Scones year round; I use them when I bake bread to set the bread pans on to help insulate the bottom of the bread; cake pans for cake and to make buns in. Yup, I use them all at one time or another.

Now it's time to make dinner. And then I think I will make some Scones. I found an interesting recipe online on a blog I read for making Cookie Scones. Sound good. Will put dried cranberries in them of course.

Will let you know how they turn out.

And how they taste.

Yeah, I know...

...BITZ!

A Bird in the Bush

2008-11-23T14:56:00.000-08:00

Kate came up for her visit last week. She brought her Bread Machine with her and her recipe for Green Chili & Cheese Yeasted Corn Bread. Oh my goodness, if you have never tried this bread, you don't know what you are missing. She also made us Beef Enchiladas to go with the bread. Yum! I LOVE Kate's Enchiladas. And her Green Chili Cheese Bread.

We made a batch of Brioche Dough as well. With it we made a Cinnamon Rolls, Cinnamon Sticky Buns and a savory cheese roll. The consensus was that the Rolls and Sticky Buns were great, but we didn't like the Cheese Rolls and wouldn't make them again. Of course, that could have been because I decided to put garlic in them and used 3 crushed cloves. Hey, on the bright side, it kept vampires away!

Kate left on Thursday morning to go back down Island to Sidney to go to work. The rain started in earnest the night before and didn't let up for 2 days. I swear we got at least 4 inches of it. That's ok, it could have been that cold, white stuff they were getting back east.

When I got groceries last week, we picked up our seed blocks for the wild birds. Richard put one in the hanger in the Cherry tree outside the laundry room window. I love to watch the birds come and enjoy it. There is a hierarchy to who eats when that I noticed this last year when we hung up the feeder. There are many different types of birds that come to peck at the seed, nut and fruit laden suet block. Some are really tiny, like the little Chestnut Backed Chickadee - some really big like the Red Shafted Flicker that is about a foot in length.

Talk about a pecking order! The Red Shafted Flicker is intimidated by no one. I like to call him the Professor, as he looks as if he is wearing a corduroy jacket with leather patches on the sleeves, a speckled vest with a black V-neck and glasses. When he arrives, the others leave so he can get some seeds.

Then there is the Starlings, or Bully Boys as I refer to them. Four or five will show up at a time, chasing off any other bird that is at the feeder, hogging it for an hour, squawking and squabbling and making a nuisance of themselves. That is, until the Professor arrives. He is the only one that can intimidate them without even trying. Even the Stellar Jays, which are larger than the Starlings, make way for the Bully Boys.

The little Chickadees are generous and share the feeder with the Towhees and the Fox Sparrows. And the small Downy Woodpecker nervously eats, bobbing up and down to check for the larger birds. We also have the Hairy Woodpecker coming to the feeder, much to my delight. Even ground feeders like the Juncos benefit from the feeder, picking at the seeds that drop to the ground beneath the tree it sits in.

But I've watched them enough and now it is time to make some more bread...Brioche of course. My favorite. Bente phoned to say she was bringing me out my Vanilla Bean order. I found a Canadian Supplier on the Internet and ordered a pound of Vanilla Beans. The savings is amazing. I have them delivered to her house in town because most delivery people can't find our house in the country. I plan to make lots of things with Vanilla for Christmas gifts. Oh and of course I will make homemade Vanilla Extract. Once you make your own, you will never buy from the store again, believe me.

While I wait, I decide to take the dogs out into the garden yard. I bundle up - toque, mitts, jacket, pants tucked into socks - no, it's not THAT cold but it is damp. The dogs race out into the yard.

Mow pepo!
Wheah?
Ovah heah, unner dis plant ting.

Trying to keep my eyes on all the dogs at once is difficult. I wander about, deactivating doggy mines, checking the Sweet Peas in the garden boat to see if they have been touched by frost at all...they haven't. I am waiting to see how long they last. So far, so good.

Time to go back inside. I holler for the dogs and move towards the deck. I've got five of them, but Molly is missing.

"Molly!"

What

"Come on Molly, time to go in."

I busy. I huntin' mow pepo. Dey rite heah, unner plant ting.

"MOLLY! NOW!!!"

ok, ok, i comin'

That will teach me not to pay attention. She got under my plant bench, beneath the rambling rose-entwined apple tree and started digging in the mud. Her paws were so caked with it, that I had to dig it out of her pads, all the while berating her for being so bad. Bichons. Honestly, what a little digger she is, and who knows what she was looking for.

Mow pepo, mom, I to'd you, mow pepo unner der.

Sigh.

It's Just Peanuts

2008-11-16T14:15:00.000-08:00

I am awake early again today. Still a bit rocky from the lung infection. Still moving kind of slow, but determined to get over it once and for all. The antibiotic is all finished up. Hope to see the doctor on Thursday this week if Richard has the day off. You see, Richard got a full time job at Walmart! Hooray! He has worked hard and is always willing to go in early or whenever they need him, so he deserves it. Nice to have a bit of job security. And he enjoys the job.

He leaves for work at 9:30am and I sit on the bed, watching the news and deciding what to do with my day. Make peanut butter. Periodically the local library clears out old books and last summer I found a Food Processor cookbook for a whopping 50 cents. A couple of Christmases ago, I used a gift card and bought myself a 500 watt Black and Decker food processor. I used it a few times, once to make some wonderful Latte Shortbread, once to make a disastrous loaf of bread. I've made pastry in it - with mixed results. But since finding this book, I have wanted to try several things in it.

Today is peanut butter day. I bought some salted peanuts a few weeks ago, before I got sick, and pulled them and the recipe out. Two cups of peanuts; process 5 to 6 minutes; store in fridge. That simple. There is also a recipe for Peanut Butter Cookies I want to try, using a cup of salted peanuts, but don't know if I will do that today. It DOES appeal to me though.

After the peanut butter, I decided on making some Brioche in the Bread Maker. Yes, I do have a Food Processor Brioche recipe to try, but wanted to get the dough going in the bread maker so I could make Richard some Whole Wheat dough in the food processor. This time I used the chopping blade to mix the dough rather than the plastic dough blade, which is absolutely useless. The dough turned out good, mixed up in about a minute, then hand kneaded, or as they refer to it in the book "toss or turn it over 9 to 10 times". Now it's rising on the table, so he will have fresh bread for dinner too.

The Brioche dough finishes its first rise in the bread maker. I decide to make one loaf of bread with half of it and put the other half in the fridge for tomorrow, then make some sweet rolls with it.

The Brioche bread and Richards whole wheat turn out really good. If I sound amazed, it is only because I wasn't sure about the whole wheat made in the food processor. I have had a bad experience making bread in it before, but I guess I have it figured out. Anyway, he enjoys it. And I LOVE my Brioche. That is the most versatile dough. Maybe I will just keep experimenting with it to see what I can make, then write a 1001 Things To Make With Brioche Dough cookbook, grin.

After dinner, which I admit I did not cook - Richard brought home burgers as I wasn't up to much by then - I made some more of the Cheesecake filling in the food processor. Gosh but I think I am addicted to it.

Kate phones late in the evening to say she has decided to come up for a visit. Hooray! Can't wait to see her. She will leave after work on Monday and be here for dinner. We are going to have a Bread Machine Bake Off, as she is bringing her bread maker. What fun.

We take the dogs out for one last go at the garden yard, but Mason refuses to leave the deck. Earlier in the evening he had really been barking at something he saw in the driveway through his patio door. The girls went crazy, running back and forth to the door, sniffing at it as if something or someone was there. I locked them up and checked, but found nothing. Maybe whatever it was spooked him. Maybe that's why he wouldn't go into the yard.

Or, maybe he just didn't have to pee.

Takes the Cake

2008-11-14T14:21:00.000-08:00

Siiiiggghh. Well, finally I think I am on the mend, hack, cough. Sure am tired of this bug and glad I have fought it to a standstill - I hope. I have been sick for two weeks, and it will take me at least that to get completely over it. Will check with the doctor the middle of next week.

I am actually going out of the house today, to get a few groceries. Only as far as Walmart because I think that is all I can handle after my two week incarceration. Got some recipes I want to try so need some ingredients for them and some food to eat too, oh and dog food, wild bird food. And liquid lecithin. I found a recipe for making Vanilla Extract without alcohol, I want to try it and it calls for liquid lecithin.

At Walmart, Richard goes to the Tire and Lube shop where he works while I begin shopping, using a store supplied electric cart to wander around the store with. I stopped taking my arthritis medication while I was on my antibiotics, and believe me when I tell you, I am suffering for it. Just as I go down the baking aisle, Richard comes back and tells me they need him to come in to work early by 2pm, not 4pm as he originally was scheduled so we hurry with our purchases.

Back home we have a quick lunch and then Richard goes off to work while I put groceries away. The dogs are nattering to go outside. I comply. As I wander around the garden boat slowly and very carefully, ever mindful of hidden doggy mines, I try to decide what to plant there next year. Definitely Sweet Peas and Petunias. Here it is the 14th of November and both those flowers are still looking really good. Neither were touched by the frosty nights we had in October - in fact if we had sunshine, both would bloom. For sure will plant more Calendula, that is one of my favorite flowering herbs. Oh and Marigolds, they did so well last summer in the mass planting. Geraniums. Bright Red ones for the bow of the boat, like before.

I have lots of herbs growing in there, and doing quite well for the most part. My Lemon Thyme is lovely, as is my Pineapple Sage. Chives are doing ok. Purple Sage, ditto. Yarrow is tall and graceful. Apple Mint in a pot looks great.

But what about vegetables? I think some beans, perhaps Pole Beans as they grow upright and you can get more of them in a small space. I want to try peas again, and still have the chicken wire in place for them to grow up. I also have some grains, spelt and rye, and I could plant them in the gunwales of the boat. I don't want to plant a lot, just enough to see how they do and how much grain it will produce. Spelt on the port side, rye on the starboard side, that would work.

Tomatoes are going into the other large container, my 300 gallon stock tank. Will plant Black Prince, Yellow Mortgage Lifter, Brown Berry, Tumbling Tom and Bull's Heart for sure. I will plant more Marigolds along side them, maybe some onions, and for sure some chives. Maybe transplant my garlic chives in there. Hmmmmm, what else?

I got an e-mailed newsletter today from West Coast Seeds. They are on the mainland and their products are specific to our Island environment. The newsletter is about Blue Orchard Mason Bees, something that Richard and I have talked about getting for a few years now. These are hardy little bees that live to pollinate. They don't appear to be affected by the diseases the Honey Bees have been dying off from. They thrive in cooler weather, and, "a single female Mason Bee will visit 2000 blossoms a day." Wow, what more can you ask for from a bee? I think we should order some, and a starter cottage to keep them in. Think of the flowers and plants we could have!

The dogs are done snuffling and sniffing the yard, and we go back indoors. I have a recipe I found in an old Taste of Home Magazine Kate brought up to me. It is called "Cheesecake Waffle Cups" - I LOVE Cheesecake - and it is quick and easy. I bought the waffle bowls at Walmart today, and have the other ingredients on hand. Here is the recipe as written. Then I put my comments and how I would do it next time.

Cheesecake Waffle Cups
Ingredients:
1 - 8oz package softened cream cheese
1 - 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon pure Vanilla extract
4 Waffle Bowls
1 cup cherry pie filling

Directions
In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk. Stir in lemon juice and vanilla. Spoon about 1/3 cup into each waffle bowl; top with 2 tablespoons pie filling. Repeat layers. Yields 4.

First off, I used my food processor so it took me less than 2 minutes to mix this up. Just pulsed the cream cheese til smooth, about 30 seconds; added sweetened condensed milk in 4 lots, pulsed 3 to 4 seconds after each time; poured in lemon juice and vanilla, pulsed 3 or 4 times. That's it. Done.

Next time, I will use juice of a real lemon and the zest. Or maybe a lime in place of the lemon. Maybe an orange. NO CHERRY PIE FILLING! It makes it waaaaaay too sweet and overwhelms the flavor of the cheesecake. Just fill the little waffle bowl - or a waffle cone, that would be cool - and top with a dollop of whipped cream. Top the whipped cream with some zest. Keep it really simple. It tastes scrumptious, or as Bente would say - after she first calls me a BITZ for making it, grin - scrumlicious!

For those who are watching what you eat, substitute light cream cheese and top with Cool Whip. It won't be very caloric that way, but still quite tasty.

I give this recipe 4 stars out of 5. It is so quick, so easy, so tasty. Yes, I do prefer baked cheesecake, but that takes hours, and this takes no time at all. Can't wait for Richard to come home and try it. What's that you say? What about Bente? Well, um, she's not eating sweets right now, trying to watch what she eats, so, um, I probably won't tell her about this, right away. Will wait a few days and then casually mention it.

I text messaged Kate and told her what I had made.

She text messaged me back a one word response.

BITZ!

Hmmmmm, you think she's trying to tell me something?

Birds of a Feather

2008-11-10T17:18:00.000-08:00

Yup, I am still sick, although I think the antibiotic is finally starting to work. I didn't try to cough up a lung this morning like a 4 pak a day smoker. Which I am not...not a smoker at all. Nope, not one habit I ever had. I'm still tired, still weak, still whiney, still bored. Siiiiggghh.

Mid-morning, Richard is getting ready for work, and the dogs suddenly start barking and hooting in the living room. I, of course, ignore them. Richard goes to see what they are carrying on about, and quickly comes into the bedroom to tell me what is happening.

"There is a Cock Pheasant and at least 4 Hen Pheasants in the driveway!" he exclaims. "Quick, come and look." Then he darts back out to the living room again.

I hobble out to the kitchen, looking through the windows, and finally spot two hen pheasants under the Birch tree outside the garden yard. They are eating seeds and pecking up gravel for their crops. Silently edging out the kitchen door, I move to the gate and spot the Cock Pheasant and another hen moving up from the old garden towards the apple tree on the driveway. Of course the sharp-eyed guy sees me and bolts into the field towards the creek. The hens are oblivious, continuing to feed.

Now you may ask yourself, why all the fuss about pheasants. Well, it's this way. It's been several years since we have had them in the yard. At one time, after we first moved here, we had dozens of pheasants. One winter, we saw a Cock Pheasant and his harem of 13 hens in the yard, and could hear many others calling from different areas of the farm. We had cats at the time, one in particular was a great pheasant hunter, and had a real taste for them. She kept the population balanced for us. Then, after all the cats had gone to the great catnip patch in the sky, the population bottomed out. Now it, and the Blue Grouse population, appears to be returning. Hence our excitement.

Too much excitement for a sick person, back to bed.

Last night before settling down for my sleep, I put the dry ingredients for Brioche into a bag so I could make some dough after Richard went to work today at noon. Of course, after taking my medication this morning, I got sleepy and slept for a while, but mid afternoon I finally got around to making my Brioche dough. The recipe measures everything by volume...everything that is except the butter and that it measured by weight, or so I thought.

Note to self: if most of the recipe is measured by volume, assume that ALL the recipe should be measured by volume.

The recipe calls for 5 ounces of butter, while the rest of the recipe is measured in cups, tablespoons or teaspoons. Being a literalist, I took the 5 ounces to be a weight, not a measurement and weighed it out on my kitchen scale. Believe me, 5 ounces weighed is considerably more than 5 ounces measured. No, really.

After adjusting my dough by adding 1/3 cup more flour to the pan, the dough mixes up beautifully. I text Kate and tell her what I did. She texts back with "Oooops. Well, tell Richard it is supposed to be that way. It's a French dough. French Doughs are supposed to have lots of butter in them!"

I made two loaves of bread and some sweet rolls. I have several cans of Peach Pie Filling in the cupboard, thanks to a recent sale at Extra Foods. Now, Peach Pie filling is kind of insipid, but with the right additions, it can be quite tasty. I however, was still tired - second note to self: DON'T MAKE BREAD WHEN YOU ARE SICK AND TIRED - and only added cinnamon and dried cranberrys. Next time, lemon juice and lemon zest for more zip. The bread of course, is great. The sweet rolls, despite my just kind of slapping them in the pan...see note about sick and tired above...turned out good. When I do it again, and I will, I will puree the pie filling, add the lemon juice and lemon zest as well as the cranberries, mix together and spread on the cinnamon-sprinkled rolled out dough.

Oh and rather than purchase Peach pie filling in the future, which has a regular price of almost $4.00 a can, although I paid $1.50 each, I will buy canned peaches, add lemon juice and zest and thicken the lot with cornstarch. At a cost of almost $3.00 less.

The dogs are nattering to go outside, so after the bread comes out of the oven, I don my coat, toque and mitts, and take them into the garden yard. Today is my day for birds. Overhead a large Bald Eagle floats on the air currents above us hunting rodents. Behind me in the Holly trees I hear the raucous cry of a Stellar Jay and from the creek comes the teasing laughter of my Muttering Murder of Crows. In the distance to the North of us, over the middle field where the creek flooded two days ago in the downpour of rain, a flock of Western Gulls circles, looking for unfortunate fish left behind when the waters receded.

Time to go back indoors and rest some more, I am worn out. Going to be a while before I am well again that is for sure. And time for more drugs to combat the infection. Time to lay down again. And doze.

Then the dogs remind me they haven't eaten yet, so first, I feed them, then lay down.

And doze.

Bunnys and Bichons

2008-11-08T16:26:00.000-08:00

I'm still sick with this dumb lung infection, not having a good time. I hate being idle like this but don't feel well enough to do anything. I'm bored. I mean really, you can only watch or listen to so much TV before that pales. Talking makes me cough, and coughing has made my sternum sore, so the phone is out. I have no books to read, none in at the library yet. I still haven't got the computer in the bedroom connected again after re-arranging the room, and I don't feel up to sitting at the living room computer, whine, snivel, bitch. Siiiiggghh.

So I decided, since the laptop hasn't been in working condition for a year, that maybe it was time to format it and start fresh. Why do I wait until I am sick to decide to do this? Yes, that is a rhetorical question.

I searched the living room, 3 times, for my Windows XP upgrade CD. No luck. Well, I AM sick after all. I had it back in the beginning of September using it to format a hard drive I had. I put it away, where I always do and it vanished. No, really, it did. So I searched all the usual and unusual places. No luck. Yesterday I sat down and thought about it and remembered that for some reason I copied all the files from my CD to my hard drive on the desktop in the living room. OHTHANKYOUDEARSWEETBABYJESUS for making me do that! I was able to burn a new Windows XP CD.

Bear in mind I am sick and shouldn't be attempting to do something like this when I am sick, but like I said, I AM BORED. And I like the idea of sitting on the bed and using the laptop to surf the net if I am up to it. I mean really, how many times can you stand to watch reruns of Holmes on Homes or CSI: Miami? Or re-watch the news on CTV Newsnet as it recycles every 20 minutes?

This laptop doesn't have a floppy drive but after I repaired Vicki's computer in August, she gave me an external USB floppy she had. I managed to get the laptop fdisked, then started to format it. 20 minutes into formatting - it's only a 40gig drive - I glance at the screen and see "trying to recover sector 17398". Uh oh. Hmmmmmm. My eyes go slitty and I make a super triple scrunchy face. That's not good! Then I walk out of the room. I'll come back in an hour and see if it formatted...or not. Meanwhile, I use the living room computer to look for the price of a new hard drive for a laptop.

The prices are outrageous! Who are they trying to kid, charging more for a 40gig drive than a 500gig drive! This laptop is old, that is, it was built 6 years ago and doesn't have the up-to-date technology available now in the new laptops. But, it still is worth spending a little money on, because the rest of it still works, despite being dropped on it's head out of the back of a moving vehicle several years ago...but that's another story. Anyway, I don't mind spending $50.00 for a hard drive but not upwards of $100.00.

Back at the laptop, the formatting is finally done and it reports over 2 gigabytes in bad sectors. Oh well. So, I hunt up my Windows ME CD and get started installing and operating system. Because my XP is an upgrade, you must first install a full version of an operating system then install the upgrade from within Windows. Yes, that is a pain in the butt. I have been at this for 2 hours and this is as far as I have gotten. However, I AM a certified computer technician and I do have the patience and knowledge to keep going. Besides, like I said before, I AM BORED.

An hour later, Millennium is installed and working. Next I start on XP. That too takes an hour, so, not counting my time searching for the aforementioned still-missing original XP CD, this has so far taken 4 hours. During this time I have spent on hour in the living room and 3 on my bed, resting, hoping the computer will work when all this is done.

I guess I dozed off, because suddenly I am startled awake by that annoying music Windows XP plays when it loads the Windows Desktop...playing as loud as it can possibly play on the internal speakers of the laptop. Well, I guess it's working then. First order of business, TURN OFF THOSE SPEAKERS SO WE DON'T HAVE TO HEAR THAT MUSIC! Next, download and install AVG Antivirus. Then Windows tells me it has downloaded updates and wants me to install them. Of course, I comply, security is important in computing.

Now it has been 6 hours, I am a bit...ok, a lot tired, but determined to see this through to the end. I eat a bowl of soup - gak, real tired of soup - and get back at it. I download some basic programs, free ones of course. First Picassa so I have a rudimentary photo editing and organizing program. Then Windows Live Mail, Photo Gallery, Writer, and Messenger. If you haven't tried Live Mail yet, you should give it a try. It is much better than that irritating Outlook Express. For a Word Processor, I hunt up Open Office, from Sun Microsystems. It's similar to Microsoft Office, but is free, and that's a bonus. And finally, download and install Flock as my browser so I don't have to use Internet Explorer which irritates me more than I can say.

And 8 hours have gone by. Oh sure, I took breaks while the laptop did it's work, but it has been a really long day, and a job that would have been better to wait to do, is finally done. At least as much as I am doing today. Time to take the dogs outside.

It's dark and wet, but the deluge has stopped for a while as I get ready to let the dogs go into the garden yard. Soon, they are all at the gate impatiently waiting. As I start to open the gate, my eye is drawn to movement in the yard. Uh oh. Cute Little Island Bush Bunny, just a short 15 feet away. But the gate is in motion, as are the dogs, and I can't stop the action. Bunny runs. Dogs dash. Bunny heads for the garden boat. Silly bunny. Leading the pack is Rosie...where did she come from, she is usually the last one out. Run bunny, run! Bunny is not too smart, mustn't be used to being chased, runs around behind the boat, 6 Bichons hot on it's cute little cotton tail. Bunny zigs. Dogs zag. As they round the curve by the boat, bunny goes into the home stretch and dashes through the fence, finally. Bunny wins by a whisker! Now dogs quarter the yard, sniffing wonderful bunny scents and searching out more bunnies. Rosie, Mason & Pippi walk the fence, sticking their noses through the wire to sniff the breeze and watch for more wild animals. Wow, too much excitement for this time of night.

I finally convince them to come back indoors, that the bunny is not coming back. I'm tired, but they are psyched and it takes a while for them to settle down. Time for my medicine and bed. Tomorrow is another day.

Nurse Pippi takes up her position outside the puppy gate to my room, just in case I need help in the night.

Just in case a wild bunny breaks in and attacks.

Well, she says it could happen.

Can You Say "Lung In-fec-shun?"

2008-11-06T13:49:00.000-08:00

I dragged myself out of bed yesterday - which was Wedneday - and went to the doctor. He took one look at me and said "when is your knee surgery scheduled for?"

I croaked a reply: "two weeks," I said.

"No," he answered back, "you have to phone and postpone it, you will NOT be well enough to have surgery in two weeks." Then he narrowed his eyes and said "you've been waiting a long time for this new knee. Almost as long as I have known you. Too bad."

"Yes," I replied, "three years the end of February since I had the first one done."

AAAARRRGGH! !@#$%^&*

Diagnosis: lung infection, or as most people refer to it, a chest infection. He sent me home with a prescription for Amoxicillin 500mg - huge pills - take every 8 hours and instructions to come back in 14 days.

Back to bed. Sniffle, cough, hack, wheeze, whine and feel sorry for myself. The Booking Nurse at St. Joseph's Hospital in Comox took my news in stride. "Well, you are looking at after the New Year now, probably into February. We'll call you."

Here's the thing: I refuse to get all upset about it. What good does it do and it doesn't change anything. I believe things happen for a reason, although God only knows what the reason is for me getting sick at this time. Oh well.

On the bright side, once I am well enough, I will be able to do Christmas Baking and make Christmas gifts from the kitchen as I like to do. That was off my list due to my upcoming surgery. We don't have to worry about driving through a snow storm to the hospital up in Comox at 4am like we did last time I had surgery there. Still, it WOULD have been great for it to be all over with finally, sigh.

The dogs are ambivalent. Dad lets them do whatever they want to when mom isn't home. Now they will have to behave more. They do however really miss me when I am gone. Heck, you only have to leave the house for 5 minutes and they act as though it was 5 years when you come back.

I have still been taking them out into the garden yard during the day and just before bed time at night. The cool moist air feels good to breathe for me. The dogs, surprisingly, don't mind the wet grass, and especially like going out into the yard when it is dark and spooky.

We have a string of clear Christmas lights running down the one side of the fence to the boat and a yard light that shines down upon the yard from behind the house so it is lit up quite well. Unfortunately they choose that time usually to plant doggy mines all over the yard, and it is incumbent upon me to try to pay attention and remember approximately where they are planted so I can drag myself outdoors the next day and deactivate them.

The photo's above show the difficulty in that. No, I didn't photograph the doggy mines, that would be, well, disgusting. What's that you say? Then why did I add photo's of Bear Poop? Well, that's different. No, Really.

Where was I...oh yes, photo's. You can see my difficulty in trying to find doggy mines and not step in them. The leaves fall off the trees, turn brownish, curl up...need I say more? Yes, they do look a lot like doggy mines. Why don't I rake up the leaves? You're kidding, right?

Back to the photo's. The one of the water in a shallow pond in the field is for illustrative purposes. When the water appears in the pond, that means the well is nearly full! Hooray, no more hauling water, taking laundry out to the laundromat to wash, or eating from paper plates and plastic utensils!

And the other photos are to show that as of November 6, 2008 my Calendulas are still blooming, the leaves on my pot of Hydrangea are turning color, the Holly berries are ripe and the Zonal Geraniums at the front of the house are still very much alive and blooming.

Time to go and lay down again. Have to take antibiotics at 5pm and feel quite sleepy now. Hope to be a bit better tomorrow. Oh, and I have to say how happy I am that Barack Obama will be the new President of the United States of America. He is a good man, and will be good for the US, Canada and the World.

God Bless America.

Can You Say in-floo-en-zah?

2008-11-01T12:30:00.000-07:00

It's Saturday morning and I have awakened early...and with the flu. Aaaaggghh! Sore throat, stuffy nose, head hurts, body hurts, whine, snivel, moan, hack, hack. Yes, I AM feeling sorry for myself...so?

I'd like to crawl back into bed and stay there, but that would be giving in, and I REFUSE to give in. Oh, and I don't like where we moved my bed to in the room. Even though Richard propped the head of the bed up so it is now level, my mind says it isn't. I ask him and he agrees to move it after work today. Sigh, boy do I appreciate that.

After he leaves I decide I am not up to my usual oatmeal porridge for breakfast, instead opening a can of No Name Brand Chicken Vegetable soup. I manage to get a cup of it down, picking out all the pieces of chicken because they are sooooooooo tough and feeding them to the kids. They think I am wonderful for sharing my soup with them.

I still want to make Brioche, even if I am sick. My mind can picture toasted pieces of Brioche bread slathered in peanut butter and a bit of honey. It takes me a while to get the energy up, but finally I search Google for an easy Brioche recipe, settling on one that looks just right. I guess you would call this one "Poor Man's Brioche" as it doesn't have all the butter and eggs you would normally find in a Rich Brioche. I have a whole computer folder full of Brioche recipes, Brioche being an obsession of mine, but just don't feel like thumbing through and looking for just the right recipe...hence the Google search.

Soon the dough is formed, in pans and on it's second rise on the table. As a special treat, I added the zest of a lemon to the wet ingredients. Now to make dinner for when Richard comes home. After all, if I am going to put him through the torture of rearranging the bedroom - AGAIN - the least I can do is feed him properly.

Early in the day while scrounging in the freezer for something to cook, I stumbled upon a couple of packages of frozen Tex/Mex sliced chicken breasts, designed to use in Fajitas. I decided on rice, chicken and veggies for supper, that appealed to me and was quick and easy as I already had cooked rice in the fridge. It and the chicken could be warmed in the microwave and I would cook some frozen veggies on the stove. What could be simpler.

My bread baked up beautifully. In fact, I could have divided it into 3 pans it had that much oven spring. Next time maybe a loaf of bread and the rest as filled rolls. I keep saying that and not doing it and the peach pie filling still sits in the cupboard.

Richard comes home for dinner, and I open the now thawed package of Tex/Mex chicken. Hmmmmm, smells rather spicy. Gee, Linda, do you think the words Tex/Mex should have been a clue? Don't pick on me, I have the flu! I quickly mix up some Apricot Mustard for the table, warning Richard that I might have screwed up and the chicken might be a little hot. He just shrugs his shoulders and fills his plate.

First bite. "Ahem," he clears his throat, "you are right, it IS a bit spicy" he comments "kind of clears the old sinuses." "Use the Apricot Mustard, it's sweetness will fool you into thinking it isn't so spicy" I reply. Note to self: for future reference, when TEX/MEX is written on food, it's code for hot and spicy! It couldn't have been too spicy for him though, he went back for a second helping. Maybe he was just hungry.

Moving the furniture in the bedroom goes smoothly. Every thing just moves 90 degrees to the left. The only problem comes when we go to reconnect the TV and discover that the cable is too short and won't reach where I want the TV placed. I make a little scrunchy face, then go and search for more cable and a connector.

Cable was found right away, but all those connectors I purchased in the summer, when we switched TV's around all over the house, are MIA. Big Scrunchy Face. I know there are at least two of them left...somewhere. I search all the logical places, twice. Then Richard re-searches where I have been. No luck. I am beginning to panic now. It's not that I watch a lot of TV, but I have shows I like to watch and I am a news junkie - maybe you noticed. I have to know what is going on in my world, when to duck and cover.

Richard goes upstairs and rummages around. Can't find one. He suggests removing the one between two pieces of cable that connect the little TV in the kitchen. More scrunchy faces and a bit of fretting. Well, I DO have the flu and I AM feeling crappy after all, I am entitled to fretting.

We decide to search in illogical places, but have no luck. Just as I give up and say ok to removing the one for the kitchen TV, he has an AH HA moment, and scoots out to the back porch, rummaging in his stuff. Several minutes later, he returns with a 3 way splitter. It's a bit of over-kill but I don't care, as long as my TV works. And it does. I can stop fretting now, and relax.

At bedtime I make myself two slices of Brioche Toast. I have the setting on the toaster the same as I always have it. Note to self: Brioche bread will toast waaaaaaaaaay faster than regular bread due to the high butter/sugar/egg content. Lower setting considerably before toasting Brioche again.

It was a close one, but I did manage to save the toast.

I like my toast dark anyway.

And the peanut butter and honey masked that slightly singed flavor.

Really, it did.

Halloween Princess

2008-10-31T16:42:00.000-07:00

It's Friday and I wake up early again. Well, not exactly awake...you know. Been doing that a lot lately. Hmmmmm. Maybe because Daylight Saving time ends this weekend and my system is getting ready for the change. Whatever the reason, I am up and open the patio door in the dog room for them to go outdoors. Yeah, as if. It's raining today. Heavily. And it's dark and gloomy. But I am up.

The forecast is for rain right through until Monday. It's Halloween today and that rain will put a damper on the Trick or Treating for a lot of kids. Living were we do in the country, we never get kids at our door. Long, spooky, creepy-in-the-dark driveway's will do that. That and the risk of coming face to face with a Black Bear.

Richard is working late and I hope to bake some Brioche, but not sure I will get time to. Yesterday I corralled Richard and got him to help me rearrange the bedroom, getting it ready for after I have my surgery in (hopefully) 3 weeks. What a job that was.

Today I have to put all that "stuff", that I didn't know what to do with before, away somewhere. Then there is dealing with fact that the floor slopes 2 inches from one side of the room to the other. Of course the head of my bed has to go on the downside of the room, and I had to get Richard to find something to prop the head of the bed up with so it will be relatively level. Sigh. Even then I found myself sleeping with 2 pillows instead of one, a psychological thing I am sure.

Everything got moved around: the computer is now where the bed used to be and the bed where the TV and computer used to be. The TV is now where the little black cabinet used to be - which has moved to beside the computer so the printer has a place to sit. My former nightstand sits beside the TV till I can empty it and find it a new home and I have a different, smaller footprint nightstand, so as not to block my way when I get out of bed after surgery. Now I just have to find a place to store my recipe journals and a place for my computer speakers. No idea where they will end up.

That takes up a couple of hours. It is still raining but I am determined to go out into the garden yard. I trick the dogs into coming out with me and surprisingly, the ones that are the biggest wusses actually follow me all the way out to the garden boat. They snuffle about in the fallen leaves and then eat some fresh rain-washed grass, a particular favorite of theirs.

Over the traffic noise on Cherry Creek Road, I can hear the water rushing down in the creek. Maybe it will have rained enough to start filling the well again so we don't have to keep hauling water. Oh that would be such a treat. I take stock of the garden boat. The remaining Calendula plants are blooming their hearts out with big orange blossoms. The Echinacea is hoping to bloom; the petunias are trying, although the blossoms usually disintegrate in the rain. The tiny white Chrysanthemums are doing their best, and the Feverfew blossoms have just given up. And yes, I know I HAVE to pull up the Marigold plants that were hit by frost.

Suddenly it occurs to me that I haven't been watching the dogs and therefore don't have a clue as to where they have planted doggy mines. Scrunchy face.

I start quartering the yard, carefully, looking for the ones I just know will be there. The problem is, the leaves from the apple trees - and there are two of them - drop, dry up, roll up and look exactly like doggy mines. So it takes a loooonnngg time to go back and forth across the yard. I find an old one and deactivate it quickly, then spot another and yet another. I know there are more out there, just waiting for some poor unsuspecting sucker, namely me, to step on them.

Back inside the dogs are frisky from their run in the rainy yard, racing around the house. I spotted several geraniums and osteospermum on the deck that need dead heading and go back outdoors to take care of them. So many of them are still blooming, adding a bright, cheery light to an otherwise dull day.

Halloween evening is its usual non-event at our house, with the exception of all the fire-works exploding in the area. The dogs spend the first hour or so barking and hooting every time they hear some. After a while, when they see I am not excited about the noise, they settle down to sleep on the sofa, Mason of course keeping guard.

Clocks back in one more day, back to Pacific Standard Time. Some people are bothered by it, but not me. It's just part of the season. I do look forward to March and spring ahead again though. But for now, I am planning my garden. And waiting for surgery.

Megan and Hammond have sent me photo's of Rylan in a pumpkin patch and again in her Halloween Costume at a neighborhood Halloween party. I have to say she IS adorable.

Man the Bearicade, Part Deux

2008-10-27T13:28:00.001-07:00

I am awake early for some reason this morning...well, 8am is early for me. Richard has gone to check on Ron and feed the cows. He left me a note: "The bear got into the garbage shed last night. I'll clean up the mess when I get home." Triple scrunchy face time with a side to side of slitty eyes. Harrummmph! Back to my bed for my cappuccino.

Nothing good on the news; nothing good on the cooking channel. I'd be grumpy but what good would it do. Besides, I'm still sleepy. The dogs are in the small pen in the cold air. Wetter network is calling for sunny today. HAH! It's cold and foggy. Richard returns and the dogs come back inside where it is warmer.

"Did you see my note?" he asks.

"Yup" is all I reply. I am still waffling between giving him an "I told you so" and sympathizing with him. "I told you so" wins out.

"I did mention last week after the bear was in the garden yard that this was going to happen," I say. "I did say that now that all the fruit was gone from the trees, he would be after the garbage shed".

"I thought the garbage shed was secure enough," he replies "but it must have settled a bit and the door popped open. Either that or he just turned the door knob and walked right in." I give him THE LOOK. Richard makes a slitty-eyed scrunchy face at me and walks out to pick up the garbage, muttering to himself. I might also add that the bear dragged it aaaaaaaalllllllll over the place. Looks like he was playing soccer with some of the bags.

Richard returns after picking it all up, re-bagging and re-securing it. "I knocked all the apples off that other apple tree out behind the house," he says "and I shut the door tight again on the garbage shed and put a barricade up." I cringe, but keep my mouth shut. I know what his barricades are like. "Let's take the dogs out to the garden yard before you leave for work," is all I say.

Mason and Pippi race out as usual to be first to see whatever is there...which is not much unfortunately for them. Fortunately for me. They wander about, doing what dogs do, and I wander over to see the bear barricade. I stand there staring at it, shaking my head and doing my best not to say anything.

"I'm going to take all the garbage to the dump tomorrow," he says. I am glad to hear that, but just have to say "you know the bear WILL be back tonight, don't you?"

Scrunchy face. "Yeah" he sighs, "I know."

"And you know that your bearicade is NOT going to keep him out, don't you?" I reply.

"Yeah...but I'm hoping it will," he responds, rather wistfully.

Don't you just love optimists? I shake my head again and shut my mouth. Time to go back in and think of other things...

...like baking bread. That's my plan for when he is off to work. I have mixed up the dough for the testing recipe a few days ago, and today is the day to mix and make the second part. This is a new method for me and I am quite unsure of myself. The first part I baked yesterday was ok. I mean, I baked one loaf and I wasn't happy with it, so I immediately set to work and did another loaf with a tweak here or there. It turned out better, but because I don't have a clue how it should look or taste, I can't say that I am completely happy with it. I THINK it turned out as it should have, but it is different from any bread I have mixed and baked, or purchased and eaten, before. Hmmmmmm.

Now the dough is mixed, and looks...well...odd. S'ok, just gonna follow instructions and hope I did it right. Dump it in an oiled bowl, cover, let it rise 90 minutes. Lots of time to take the dogs out. The sun has finally made an appearance and it is lovely and warm by the garden boat. I take some photo's and just get lost in the view. The kids are enjoying themselves, sniffing the light breeze, watching for deer monsters, following their noses, leaving pee-mail. Take that, Mr. Bear! I take my eyes off them for a few seconds while I gaze at the scenery and just like that 3 of them have planted doggy mines, and I don't know where the are. Siiiggh. The grass is long and doggy mines like to mascarade as dried up fallen leaves. I am wearing out my quota of scrunchy faces today.

Back indoors, I bake the bread and it looks not too bad. Maybe a bit dark, but great oven spring. Hope it tastes as good as it looks. Will make sure it is totally cooled before cutting into it. I shaped mine into Boules - circular and rounded on top - then slashed a crude square on the top just before baking.

That's enough excitement for one day I think. Expect the Cute Little Island Mule Deer will find the apples out back before the Bear Monster does. Least I hope so. And I hope that once Richard takes the garbage out tomorrow, the Bear Monster will mosey on and find some other source of food.

For now, Mason is on guard facing down the driveway, chin resting on the back of the sofa, nose pressed against the already nose-printed patio door.

Rosie is facing the other way.

They've got it covered.

Bring it on, Bear Monster, bring it on!

Man the Bearicade

2008-10-23T16:21:00.000-07:00

Did you SEE the mess
that bear made, Dad???

Richard's Bear Obstacle

Getting up at 7:00am should be against the law especially when it is still dark outside. As I have stated before, many times, I am NOT an early morning person. Today I had to be up to avoid an hour and a half wait at the lab. Last week the technician didn't get enough blood from my arms for my pre-op blood work so this morning I had to return for round 2.

On the way, driving past a tiny strip mall on Johnston Road, I notice a police car and crime scene tape at a local Jewellery store. Shades of CSI. "Oh my" I said, "looks like they must have been robbed again."

At the lab the technician - the same one who tried to take the blood last week - actually flinched when I told her who I was and why I was there. Not a good sign. Sitting down in the cubicle, I prepared for her to start right away. I waited. She did paperwork from other lab attendees periodically turning and giving me a half slitty-eyed look, then turning back to her papers. I waited some more. She gave me scrunchy face looks. Finally after 15 minutes she stood up, straightening her shoulders, as though coming to a conclusion. I braced myself.

"I have decided to take it out of the back of your hand" she stated. I make a scrunchy face myself. That can be painful. "OK," I said, "let's get it over with." 5 minutes later I am out the door, no pain, no bruising, and she is heaving a big sigh of relief at getting a test tube full before the vein gave up. And it's only 8:25.

Back home and in I go for my cappuccino and the news. Richard leaves to feed cows and check on Ron, returning with the newspaper and information on the Jewellery store. Two men tried to rob it last night at gunpoint, just before closing, but the owner refused to give them anything but two shots from a pistol. Yikes. Details are sketchy.

I revive from my early morning ordeal, checking for email and find my first test recipe from the bread book author. After reading it over a few times to familiarize myself with it, I decide to go and purchase some fresh ingredients: bread flour, instant yeast, PAM cooking spray - something I never use - and a large, round, plastic container for stowing the dough in the fridge.

The day turns sunny and gorgeous, and I ride in the van with my window down. As we pull back into the yard, I comment that it didn't seem like the bear had been in the the apple trees over night. "Nope," said Richard, "but I put a few things around the base of the tree to keep him from climbing it, so I expect that deterred him."

Now, I have to tell you here that Richard is an eternal optimist. No, really. See, he really does believe that putting a couple of things - namely a STEP LADDER, part of a bunk bed frame that looks like a ladder and a homemade apple picker - will deter a hungry bear from climbing a tree to eat apples. Really. Needless to say, I gave him my best incredulous-face look, shaking my head. "Your kidding, right?" I got a look of wounded innocence in return. "Aw God," I said holding my head in my hands.

He parks the van and I get out to take some photo's of the barricade and the dogs in the yard. Afterward, we meander around enjoying the sunshine, the warm breeze and the blue sky. The Bichons are on guard, watching for the bear, and Mason points out more Bear Poop, just outside the fence...right beside the bear barricade. Go figger.

While looking across the driveway, I notice something in the Sweet Chestnut tree. Is that...could that really be...it is! After 12 years of not producing chestnuts, it has a cluster of spiny burrs, containing several small chestnuts. That tree used to produce many burrs every year, until we buried JJ the cat, who had died suddenly, under it. We came to the conclusion that he must have been poisoned somehow and that in turn killed the tree. Then a few years later we noticed new growth again and the tree came back to life. And has finally produced nuts. Hmmph, interesting.

Back in the yard, the dogs are enjoying the sunshine and so am I. Richard has gone to Walmart to check out his new work schedule. A couple of the Muttering Murder of Crows show up, perching down in a Pear tree, watching the dogs and me. These two are the class clowns. Soon I hear one of them doing his barking Bichon imitation. Very funny guy. The other one then imitates someone knocking on a door and then they begin grokking. Guess that is the Crow version of laughter. Who knew Crows had a sense of humor?

We trail back indoors and I begin to make plans for dinner. Tonight will be Apricot Mustard Meatballs, Rice and vegetables. A quick and easy meal, and quite tasty if I do say so myself. I like to get the Green Giant frozen vegetables that have the water chestnut slices, pea pods, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and yellow peppers. They are so good with rice and nearly taste like fresh picked.

Dinner is on the go, so we wander one more time out to the garden yard before it is too dark. As the dogs hit the end of the yard, the Blue Grouse flies up, startled, from across the drive to the south of us. Of course the dogs go crazy. I am glad to see she is still around and hope she stays.

The sun is setting and dinner is nearly ready. I'm tired after my early start to the day. Going to take it easy and rest, maybe read a book and watch tv. Love those NCIS reruns. This weekend I hope to get started on the bread recipe for the cookbook I am a tester for. One of 300 testers. This will be interesting. Hope I do ok.

The dogs are on the back of the sofa, dozing and watching for bear monsters. But all that shows up are the Cute Little Island Mule Deer. Of course the kids hoot and holler. And of course I shush them. And of course they ignore me. Ah well, the deer ignore them too.

Wonder what the bear will think of the barricade.

The Straight Poop

2008-10-22T21:08:00.001-07:00

The Wetter Network is promising sunshine today as I try to get both eyes focusing at once. Not an easy job when you wake with a headache. I am driving Bente to Nanaimo today so I have to pull out all the headache removal tricks in my repertoire, starting with some acupressure and Myoflex cream. Then Cappuccino with an extra hit of instant coffee, the caffeine in it being a "natural" painkiller.

We leave at 10:30 and Bente, bless her heart, has brought me a Tim Horton's English Toffee Cappuccino. Well, if nothing else I'll be alert on the drive. Our trip takes us East over "the Hump" past Mount Arrowsmith, through Cathedral Grove and around Cameron Lake, then past Angel Rock. The scenery is amazing: the sky that brilliant Island blue, the leaves on the trees a myriad of fall colors. A big rig trucker tries to harass me into going faster than the 80km/hr posted by moving right up to my back bumper, but I refuse to let him intimidate me using up a few of my daily quota of swears and scrunchy faces. Did you know that before Bente met me, she never used language like I use? Really.

Our first stop is at Buckerfields for biscuits for the dogs. Then back out on the highway to Nanaimo. We make a stop at the new Best Buy store just for a look around, then a quick stop at Costco. Bente needs to get a few things for Codfather Seafood, and I need a Costco Hotdog and fries. It's tradition.

We are home just after three, and my headache is still with me. I give up and take some Tylenol to try to alleviate it. The dogs are antsy and want to be out in the sunshine. I don't blame them. As we hit the gate to the garden yard, I notice something on the ground beside the Outdoor Gas Convection Oven...aw crap, literally. Yup, that good old Cute Little Island Black Bear has been visiting again. Funny, I never noticed that when I looked out the window this morning and I am REALLY observant. Hmmmmm.

I am not picking up the Bear Poop, I'll wait for Richard, so I herd the dogs back indoors and through the living room Patio Door to the pen on the other side of the house. For those of you counting pens, we have 3 of them - Garden Yard on the East side of the house, West Yard on the, yes, West side of the house, and Small Pen, which sits inside of West Yard, right outside the Patio Door in the dog room on the Northwest corner of the house. And if you are counting Patio Doors, we have 3 of them as well: Living Room facing South, Dog Room facing West and Back Porch facing North. There, now you have a very confused idea of house and yard.

Where was I? Oh yes, Bear Poop. So we wait for Richard who arrives at 4:30. He picks up that pile of poop and disposes of it, then the dogs race out to the yard. I begin to pick up apples the bear knocked out of the tree and chewed on and Richard helps. Suddenly he hollers at me that he found more poop. And then more poop, and as he is disposing of that, he finds MORE bear poop in the middle of the yard. If you are keeping track, that's 4 piles in the yard...today. As I toss a bear eaten apple core over the fence, I notice 1, no make that 2, nope make that 3 more piles of bear poop out in the drive. WOW, this little guy has been really busy.

And some of that poop looks really, um, well, quite fresh. HMMMMM. "Do you think that maybe while I was gone to Nanaimo, and you were away from the house too, that the Cute Little Island Black Bear made a visit to the yard for apples?" I ask Richard. "I was just going to say that," he replies. Oh now that does NOT make me happy at all.

On the good side, the apples are mostly gone from the two apple trees, the bear made sure of that. With his food source gone, he should move on. On the bad side, that is just waaaay too bold for me if he was in the yard during the day. I know the bear wasn't in the yard at 1am, because I was up and I looked out to see if he was. Sure, he could have been there any time after that, and yes, maybe I didn't notice the poop when I looked out the window this morning, I WAS bleary eyed. And maybe I didn't notice it when we drove out of the ya...say, come to think of it, Bente DID point out a pile of poop on the side of the drive by the corner of the garden yard as we left.

So now I will have to be hyper vigilant and if I see him during the day near the yard, really create a racket to chase him off. And next year I want to come up with a really good bear scare to make him give our yard a wide berth. Richard keeps suggesting something to do with car horns, 12 volt batteries and strobe lights. Well, he IS a mechanic, after all. Me, I'm not so sure about that. I have visions of a lot of sleepless nights and really, REALLY pissed off neighbors. Not to mention the RCMP knocking on our door at 3am.

And I am still thinking about wireless night vision web cameras for the yard, just to see what is really going on out there in the dark.

But that could get crazy too. During Cute Little Island Bush Bunny mating season, I mean.

Oh my, better rethink that one.

I mean, who wants to get busted by the Conservation Officers for Bunny porn?

Bear Wars

2008-10-21T14:40:00.001-07:00

The kitchen is warm as I wander out for my morning cappuccino, but I return to my bed and the heating pad to drink it and watch the news. Richard is off feeding the cows and checking on Ron. When he returns, we are going to do a bit of shopping. I need Gem Jar lids and rings, still need Anise Seed, and Extra Foods has their Dollar Days. I have a list of things to look for there. But first, my cappuccino.

I find my Gem Jar lids, but flinch at the price. Still, jars are no good without lids, so I swallow hard and buy them. I wander the store aimlessly. I need a new sweatshirt but wont buy one that isn't 100% Cotton. I hate the ones that are Cotton/Polyester blend. No luck. Off to Extra Foods.

I only find half of what I am looking for there as the rest of the things I want are sold out. No big deal. We decide to buy a Mediterranean Chicken Sandwich and go to Victoria Quay to watch the wildlife if any are about.

If you have never had an Extra Foods Mediterranean Chicken Sandwich, you are sadly deprived. I don't like store bought sandwiches usually. I find that most are made with icky filling and Wonder Bread, not my thing. These, however, are made using a big fresh Cheddar Cheese bun, chunks of Feta Cheese, sliced crisp Red Onion, pieces of Green Pepper - which I pick off and save for the dogs as a treat - loads of shaved Mediterranean Chicken sandwich meat, leaf lettuce and some orange stuff slathered on the bun that I LOVE but don't know what it is and wish I could buy off the shelf. This is a SANDWICH. And I am addicted to them. I limit myself to one ever two weeks usually, although I have had two in the last week. Well, one and a half because I share this one with Richard.

It's low tide and we see a seal in the water, popping its head up to look around, then diving down under again. As we chat, I spot a bear across the canal foraging for food. A great Blue Heron watches it with a wary eye. Richard suggests that since we are there anyway, we should go across the street to Healthy Habits Health Food Market to look for Anise Seed. They are still out, but I will wait for them to replenish their stock and not buy elsewhere. Why would I do that? Because their price is sooooo much better than anywhere else. They charge $1.99/100gm. Everywhere else is roughly $7.00 for 50gm. You do the math.

Back home, Richard starts a fire in the wood stove and I prepare to take the dogs out. Looking out the window, I realize there are apples on the ground in the garden yard. Now that's not so unusual, we do have 2 apple trees out there. What is unusual is the amount of apples on the ground. This past week, I have picked up maybe half a dozen windfall apples a day. But this...this is more like 100 apples on the ground. My eyes go slitty. Hmmmmm.

I bring it to Richard's attention and tell him we need to check it out before I loose the hounds. I put the frozen foods in the freezer and before I can get outside to stop him, Richard has pitched most of the apples over the fence. I had wanted to take photo's of all the apples on the ground, sigh. And how on earth did he make it to the other end of the garden yard without stepping in the Bear poop right in his path!??

Yes, we had another visit from that pesky little Black Bear Monster during the night. And he was very, very busy. After Richard disposed of a pile of poop, I let the dogs out into the yard. They went crazy, sniffing all around where he had been. The signs are clear. The little monster climbed up the tree - you can see evidence of his claw marks in the apple tree trunk in one of the photo's above. Then he calmly and patiently picked apples to toss to the ground for his snack. The dogs sniff around the lawn chair out by the tree, Pippi jumping up in it to get a better scent of him. On his way down out of the apple tree into the yard, he steps on and squashes one of my flower pots.

I flash on the bear...picking up an apple and then sitting down in the lawn chair, crossing his legs and munching away, tossing the apple core over his shoulder before grabbing another one. Oh yes, he tossed the apple cores, we found that evidence too. Nearly ever apple had at least one bite out of it. Some were half eaten, some all but the core. I make a scrunchy face.

I know how he works, having watched him eating pears. Toss to ground, climb down, lay down, enjoy at leisure. Oh, and then leave a big pile of poop, just so they know for sure I've been here. Cheeky bugger.

Back indoors it is time for more wood on the stove. Richard prepares to leave for work and I am feeling a bit peckish, but for something sweet. Looking around I decide to make a chocolate cake in the bread machine. Then I will make a cream cheese icing for it. Yum, can't wait. Soon it is baking in the machine and I am doing laundry. No, I DIDN'T look out the laundry room window, why do you ask?

My cake is done and cooling on the rack. Ummmmm, can't you just smell it's chocolatey goodness? Soon it will be slathered in a yummy cream cheese frosting. Can't you just taste it? Mouthwatering.

I hear the Bichons barking in the living room and go to look. It's the Cute Little Island Doe Mule Deer and her fawn, coming to eat the abundance of apples in the driveway. Soon the other deer will follow. Mason is on guard on the back of the sofa and I try to convince him that deer is good, bear is bad. I don't think he believes me. He sits facing down the drive, ever vigilant.

Time to make the dogs dinner. And mine. Then ice the cake and eat it.

What could be better than chocolate cake on a cold and gloomy day?

Bear Dogs R Us

2008-10-20T17:18:00.000-07:00

It rained over night, the trees and grass are sodden. So is my brain. It's a big old bleary-eyed brain fog day. I have to tell myself which foot to put in front of the other as I wend my way to the kitchen for my morning cappuccino. Maybe it will help my eyes to focus, both at the same time. Nope. Back to sit on the bed and watch the news. I read the news ticker at the bottom of the screen with the sound off, the announcers voices are just annoying.

After Richard leaves for work, I tidy the kitchen and then set about creating a new bread recipe. I have a couple of boxes of Weetabix cereal biscuits in the cupboard, and after reading the ingredient and nutritional label, decide they would be good crushed up in a Spelt bread. Now for the other ingredients. Hmmmmm, there is that package of Maple Flakes I have had for a while and wanted to use in something. And that bag of dried apples...soon I have a recipe written up.

But first, time to take the dogs out into the garden yard before the rain begins again. Pippi and Mason of course race to the end of the yard and peer through the fence down towards the big Pear trees, looking for the Bear Monster. They sniff the breeze, but he is not in the neighborhood. Thankfully. We wander about, me picking up windfall apples. They planting doggy mines, perhaps with the thought of deterring their furry black nemisis.

There are still some Gravenstein apples on the tree, and I pick a few using our homemade picker. For the unintiated, let me describe the flavor of a Gravenstein. It is sweet, crisp, faintly tart, and if you get it at just the right time, has butterscotch notes. I love the taste. What is surprising is it's long season this year. Usually, it ripens in August and is all finished by mid September at the latest. I will miss it when it is gone. It is a versitile apple, good for pies, sauces, jellies, butters and eating fresh.

Time to go back into the house and continue with my recipe. I decide on white flour, spelt flour, crushed Weetabix, Maple Flakes instead of sugar, butter, salt, milk powder, cinnamon, yeast and dried apples. Soon I am gathering ingredients to be mixed in the bread machine and the dough is mixing. Looks good, a little sticky, but will knead in more flour after its first rise.

A half cup of flour and some hand kneading later and the very sticky dough is rising in a round Corelle casserole dish. I forgot how much the dried apples would expand when they mixed in with the water and flour. Make a mental note to chop them finer next time. And use 1/2 cup instead of 3/4 cup. The dough looks and smells wonderful. Hope it will taste good when it's baked. Well, it IS a work in progress after all.

The sun comes out of no where, so we decide to go outdoors again and enjoy it while we can. This time I have six dogs with me instead of my usual five, as Rosie decides to join us. As I open the gate, Mason and Pippi again race out to the end of the yard, but this time they are standing up at the fence and barking their little heads of. Ah crap! I hurry to the end of the yard as fast as I can with my cane. "Is it the Bear Monster guys?" I ask as I look down towards the Pear trees. They continue their raucous barking while I look around the yard. Then I see him.

He is running from under the big old Sitka Spruce tree, down and over the bank of the creek. I holler at him to get out of here, banging my cane on the metal fence post while the dogs all bark and roar. Once he is out of site, I go and deactivate doggy mines, secure in the knowledge that Mason and Pippi - especially Pippi - will alert me to his return.

Pippi has an amazingly deep and loud voice for a small dog. She and Mason pace around the corner of the yard, lifting their muzzles and scenting the air. Mason growls, while Pippi throws her head all the way back and lets loose with periodic spine tingling barking, interspersed with scenting the air for the Bear Monster. Ok enough is enough, I have stood my ground and been really brave but time to go back in. And lock all the doors.

Inside Pippi is still agitated, walking from room to room, growling and scenting the air. I put the bread dough in the oven to bake and go into the living room to listen to the news. She follows me, at times barking. This little girl takes her job as a guard dog very serious. I try to reassure her, but she isn't having it. Mason sits on the back of the sofa, looking out the patio door through all the doggy nose prints, and watches for the Bear. Pippi lays on the floor behind my chair, watching the doorway. No Bear will dare to get past her.

The odor of the baking bread reaches us and I have to admit, it is mouth watering. Before putting it in the over to bake, I sprinkled about a tablespoon of Maple Flakes on top, to finish it off. Hope they don't burn. I realize suddenly that it is after 6pm and I have not fed the dogs or myself. Time for dinner.

The dogs are fed and I go out into the back porch to get some wood for the fire. I sense as much as see movement in the fading light through the patio door. Cute Little Island Doe Mule Deer and her fawn are grazing for apples from the tree out back. The see me. I wave and finish getting my wood. As I come back in, the timer on the stove goes and the bread is done. Sure smells wonderful. Removing it from the pan, I set it on the cooling rack and inhale it's scent.

Turning back to the stove, I again sense movement in the yard, this time under the King Apple tree. Mom and baby have moved around to the driveway to eat apples there. I feel safe and secure with their presence, for they wouldn't be here if the Bear was in the vicinity.

In the photo's above, the one with the now bereft garden boat, scroll to the bottom left and you will see my fierce guard Bichon, Pippi, protecting me from the Bear Monster. By the look on her face, you can tell she takes her job very serious.

In the living room, the kids begin to hoot and holler. They have spotted the deer in the driveway. Usually I would stop them, but tonight I think they have earned their bark time. I leave them for a couple of minutes and then distract them with treats.

Pippi curls up on the Futon and dozes, but I notice only one eye is closed. She's on the job. On the back of the sofa, Mason too is dozing and guarding, facing the driveway where the deer were congregated. No one will get past him.

And me? I am waiting for the bread to cool so I can sample it. Richard will be home in an hour. It should be ready then, I can't wait. Apples, cinnamon, Maple Flakes, Weetabix, Spelt...can't you just taste it?

Bears Repeating

2008-10-17T19:42:00.000-07:00

Cloudy this morning but warmer, much warmer than yesterday. Richard comes back from feeding the cows and checking on Ron then starts getting ready for work at 11am. For me, cappuccino and the news. Nothing new, still a rehash of the Canadian Election, speculation on the upcoming American Election. The Global Economy. Yawn.

Today I am making Chili for dinner, and after Richard leaves for work, I put my ingredients in a slow cooker and let it simmer all day. I want to make a savory version of the Cinnamon Swirl yeast bread and have decided on Chili Cheese. I came up with the recipe last night before bed. Cut down on the sugar in the bread, add a bit more salt. Top with well drained green chili's, drained, sliced black olives and Tex/Mex shredded cheese. I start on it, getting the dry ingredients mixed up when Bente texts to say she is coming over in a while. I decide to quickly make another 1 Dish Cinnamon Swirl Bread - my version of it - so it will be warm and fresh when she arrives. Chili Cheese Bread can wait until later so it can be served warm with the hamburger Chili.

We have a great visit and as she leaves, I let the dogs into the garden yard to have a run. It is sunny and bright as we wander about. I deactivate several doggy mines, and then discover dozens and dozens of mushrooms growing everywhere. Not knowing if they are poisonous or not, I dig them up with my trusty doggy mine deactivation tools and toss them way over the fence. The rabbits and birds never eat them so out they go. When I am finished, I pick up windfall apples and we wander back inside after closing and locking the gate.

I check on dinner, put the Chili Cheese Bread in the oven. As I wait, I go into the laundry room to continue drying dog towels, but something catches my eye out the laundry room window. It is big...and black...and furry...and 20 feet away. He's back again. My heart jumps and my body does the "flight or fight" thingy.

My feet stay planted for a few seconds, before I rush, er, hobble out and get my camera. Maybe I can get a few quick photo's before he disappears. I move to the small dog pen, one foot in the house, one on the step, safe behind two fences and quickly snap a few shots off. He is partly hidden and the camera says I have to use the flash. I know the photo's wont be good, but take them anyway. He is in the Quince bushes, tasting the fruit. I can't imagine him enjoying those sour, puckery orbs, but he does eat a few. Then he disappears into the field beyond.

My heart is still doing a rapid beat as I go back into the kitchen and check my cheese bread. Again something out the window catches my eye and I see he has moved around from the field to the driveway. He is now 15 feet from my window under the Birch tree eating apples. I am not happy. I watch him for a while, until a fierce barking erupts from the back of the sofa in the living room. Mason has spotted him and alerts. The rest take up his hue and cry.

Bravely I unlock and then open the kitchen door and slam it twice. The bear takes off running, heading down towards the creek. Maybe I will be lucky and he wont be back...yeah, right. I praise Mason and the other dogs for chasing off the bear monster, and return to the kitchen to finish dinner. Then I remember I never did put laundry in to dry. Back I go to the laundry room.

And again outside the window something moves. This time it is a fawn, and it is alone and running towards the house. Behind it, moving away, is that furry black form passing through the Quince bushes heading to the field again. Arrrggh. I head back to the kitchen and call Richard at work. I tell him the bear is here, has been here for around an hour and a half again, and ask him to park in the driveway rather than behind the house. I don't want him coming face to face with that Woolly Bugger.

I am sitting watching the news just before 6pm when I see a large bird fly over by the deck. Hmmmmm. Looked too big for a Crow. I peer through the doggy nose prints on the patio door and realize I am seeing a Blue Grouse. Wow. Haven't seen one of those in the yard for years and never this close to the house. As I watch, it perches in the Holly tree across from me.

Richard arrives just after 6pm and has spotted the Blue Grouse too. I bring my camera out into the yard and try and get photo's of it up in the Birch tree. As we watch her, she flies to the King Apple tree and walks nonchalantly along a branch, as confident as if she were walking on the ground. What a great sight! As we watch we hear her calling and I wonder aloud if there are more on the other side of the trees she is calling up to roost for the night. The picture I took is not good, but if you look in the pink box I drew on it, you will see a fuzzy thing that sort of - if you squint at it - looks like a bird perched up there.

Time for dinner. The Chili Cheese Bread is wonderful. I am so glad I came up with that recipe. And it is especially great with the pot of chili. I must tell Kate about this one.

Richard goes to feed the cows and check on Ron. I relax for a bit watching an NCIS rerun. Then it hits me...

...I STILL haven't dried those darn towels.

This time when I walk into the laundry room I DO NOT look out the window, choosing instead to close the blind. I don't want to know what's out there.

Richard comes back and gets out the bulbs for my string of lights on the fence. The last wind storm decimated the remaining bulbs I had out there. Bless his heart he goes and replaces several for me, lighting up the far corner of the garden yard by the garden boat.

Well, at least now I can see if the Woolly Bugger is out there eating apples and planting gigantic mines.

But for now, I close all the blinds and lock all the doors.

As Scarlett O'Hara would say "Tomorrow is another day."

Ursa Major, Ursa Minor

2008-10-15T18:12:00.000-07:00

It's really cold when we get up today. I mean, REALLY. Ok, so not really cold by Prairie standards, or Arctic standards, no, not like that. But, ok really chilly. How's that? I have plans...yeah I know, plans...to go to the store if Richard will drive me over. No way will I drive that stalling vehicle anywhere. It makes me say swears.

We make a foray down to the Victoria Quay to eat a burger and watch for wildlife, and are entertained by a couple of seals in the middle of the Canal. They appear to be diving for fish. Or teasing seagulls. Or just having fun frolicking in the water, doing seal things. Last week when we were at the Quay, there were Sea Lions fishing. We got a kick out of one of them, who swam over to the shore and barked at a man who was standing and watching them.

Driving back into the yard, Richard points out a pile of Cute Little Island Black Bear poop at the corner by the shed. I make a scrunchy face, but make him stop so I can get out and photograph it. Why would I do that, you ask? Read on...

...last night I talked to Bente and she told me a funny story. She does like I do in the morning, check her garden to see what is new. As she walked out that morning, something on the forest side of her street caught her eye. Like me, she talks to herself sometimes: "Is that...? Naw, it can't be...it IS! A huge pile of Bear Poop!" Back indoors she goes for her camera. What!?! Well it's what I would have done too! Out she comes and takes photo's of it. She figures it was a big GrandDaddy bear from the size of it.

She spent the day working at cleaning up her garden and yard, all the while watching to see who would finally run over this pile. Her young neighbor won that lottery, snicker. She sent me the photo's last night and I have to tell you, I have a REALLY strong stomach, but one of those nasty photos nearly made me wretch!!! My photos of the Bear poop are revenge, albeit not as nasty as hers. And that will teach me to laugh about her Bear poop...

...after bringing in our meager purchases and giving the dogs a treat for being good while we were gone, I hunt up my toque, my mitts, and my jacket so I can take the kids out into the garden yard. Pippi looks at me funny when I put on my toque, lifting her ears in question: "You not reely gonna go out like dat, are ya mom?" They race out towards the boat, screeching to a halt under the King Apple tree. Uh oh, that's not a good sign. They are busy sniffing about as I hobble up, and Pippi growls at the others in a back-off-I-found-it-first-and-you-can't-have-a-sniff kinda way. I try to push her away and she resists. UH OH, THAT'S NOT A GOOD SIGN.

Hmmmm, my eyes go slitty. Broken branch on ground, lots of leaves, apples - some chewed on. I glance quickly around, trying not to alarm the dogs and and spy it, not two feet from them. BEAR POOP, two little piles of it. Oh Gak! As quickly as I can, I shoo the dogs back into the house, then shout at Richard to bring the scoop shovel. Then quickly go in and retrieve my camera. The photo above shows you how happy he was to comply with my request. I scooped dirt from the garden boat to put on the spot where the bear pooped and where I assume it peed - that being what the kids were trying to sniff up.

Excitement over, we loose the hounds again so they can finally have their run in the yard. Back inside, I do some laundry while Richard gets the wood stove going. It is very cold in the house. The kids settle on the back of the sofa to watch for bear monsters.

Around 4pm, Richard has gone to check on Ron and I decide to take the dogs out to the garden yard again for a run in the chilly air. Mason races out to the corner of the fence where he immediately starts to growl, snarl and bark, looking down towards the big pear trees. Darn, it's the Cute Little Island Black Bear, and he's real busy in the Comice Pears. Roaring at the dogs, I chase them inside again - not our day for outdoors I guess. I watch him come down the tree from the living room patio doors.

The thing about black bears is they don't just climb the tree then sit and eat the fruit. Oh no. They climb the tree, pick the fruit, toss it to the ground, make their descent, then lay down and enjoy the fruits of their labor - pun intended. Sneaking out, I try and get some photo's of him, shooting through the opening between the Holly Bushes. I'm not too successful because it is cloudy and I'm a tad shaky. Yup, I am that unnerved by them. And yes, my door was locked.

I give up and work on making dinner, all the while having one eye turned towards the window in case he decides to get really bold and go for the apples. About 5:15 or so, the dogs alert that Richard is home. I wait for him to come through the door to tell him about the bear. And wait. And wait. Finally I look out the kitchen window and see him parked down by the little pear tree, making motions towards the big pear trees. Hmmmmmm. Outside I holler at him that the bear has been there for an hour and a half. He is laughing at it and tells me to grab my camera.

We negotiate and I decide to back the van up to where I can get some decent shots of him. Meanwhile Richard is hollering and banging on the old wheelbarrow. The more noise you make when you have a bear in your yard, the more you frighten it, the less chance he will return again...in theory. I shoot some photo's, then Richard suggests I back up and around the drive so I am facing bear and the tree, maybe get better shots. I do so with trepidation.

Now I am about 30 feet from it - the bear being up in the pear tree - and quickly shoot 2 photo's. Mr. Bear decides he has just about had enough of these human's, grunts and grumbles at me and starts to move in the tree like he is going to climb down. I am GONE! Back around by the little pear tree I see something drop out of the tree. Eeeewwwww gross! He is going to the bathroom from up in the tree! Richard is laughing at me for taking off so fast and at the bear for doing what bears do. I'm heading inside; I too have had enough.

My photo's don't turn out too good this time either, that shaky thing you know. But that has been enough excitement for one day. New rules:
1. Gate to garden yard ALWAYS remains closed and locked.
2. Before dogs go out, check thorougly to ensure no bear in yard.
3. Check that no bear in pear trees.
4. After dogs back in house, close and lock gate.
These rules remain in effect until all fruit finished up and bear gone.

So, what did we learn from all this? That's easy. We learned that the answer to the age old question "Does a bear sh*t in the woods?" is "nope, not necessarily all the time" and "sometimes he sh*ts on them."

And that's the bear, er, bare facts.

If You Don't Vote, You Can't Bitch

2008-10-14T16:01:00.000-07:00

The sun is shining when I wake up, what an auspicious start to the day. It is the Canadian Election Day and we have plans to go and vote, then do a bit of shopping for a few things we need, then home so I can bake and Richard go to work. We need to be home by 2pm at the latest. Hmmph. You know what happens when I make plans...

...as I sit down to enjoy my morning cappuccino, I notice there are messages on the phone. The first one is from Kate's son - my nephew - Eric in Edmonton. He has a concern about Sophie, their tiny Bichon girl. Sophie is one of my puppies from Molly and Mason's first litter. I knew right away what the problem was, just from what he said in the message so immediately phoned them back to allay their fears. Sophie has developed luxating patella, a condition that is sort of like popping your kneecap out of joint. Initially it's painful but within three to four days it eases and they soon can walk normally again.

Next message was a call from a technician at the hospital about our landlord Ron. Richard had to rush him to emergency about 11 days ago, and we were very relieved when they hospitalized him. The technician's message said she was trying to reach Ron as she understood he had been released. Well, as Richard is Ron's only contact person, we hadn't been informed they were releasing him. That led to a flurry of phone calls to discover that yes, he had been released and yes, Richard needed to go to the hospital and get him and take him home. And there went the day.

I decided to go shopping by myself, and after leaving the Dollar Store - where I found lots of great and wondrous things - I met up with Richard again. He had to get some food supplies for Ron so off to Walmart we went. Ron only drinks one brand of tea, and one type within that brand and of course it is only sold waaaaaaaaaaaay across town in the furthest store from us. We decided to go and vote, my motto has always been - "if you don't vote, you can't bitch about the government" - then Richard could take Ron's other groceries to him while I went and got the tea.

And of course, the van decided that today was the day it would act up and stall 9 times between here and Quality Foods. AAAARRRGGH! I got his tea, and a few things I really needed and came home. Shopping can wait until another day!

Back home, and time to take the dogs outdoors in the sun. We wander around as usual, I noting that the Scarlet Runner Beans on the shed have frozen, as had the few remaining tomatoes in the mini pea patch. Time to pull and toss. Over by the boat, it's warm in the sunshine and the dogs are frisky, chasing about. I decide to search for and deactivate doggy mines, which takes a while. They all seem to have their favorite spots to plant them all over the yard and it varies from day to day so it can be dangerous work.

I find several windfall apples and toss them for the deer, watch a flock of Canada Geese practise their take-offs and landings and listen to birds gossiping in the trees above us. Only Mason, my guard Bichon, stays out in the yard with me. The girls have all wandered back to the deck by the door. Time to go back in.

Richard leaves and I decide a sandwich is in order. Last night, I made two loaves of Brioche and 6 small loaves of Panettone. The Brioche is delightful, the Panettone should taste more of Anise, but I couldn't find my jar. I substituted fresh ground Star Anise instead, but didn't get enough ground. I did look for some at Quality Foods today for next time, but I refuse to pay $4.99 for it. Time to go to Alberni Health Market.

Grazing the kitchen, I spy the ripe tomatoes on the counter and settle on a 3 tomato sandwich. Why 3 tomatoes? I would have had a 5 tomato sandwich but I can't fit anymore than 3 on the bread. I choose slices of Black Prince, Yellow Mortgage Lifter and Pink Brandywine. The first two are amazingly delicious. The third, not so much, but that is because it wasn't vine ripened I think. I have a bowl of ripe tomatoes of various types and think maybe it's time for a quick salsa recipe.

I watch the news while I eat my sandwich. Everyone is talking about the election. My opinion is, if you don't vote, you can't bitch about who gets elected. I get to bitch for another 4 years - unless they call ANOTHER election next year. Think that we should have a rule that elections can ONLY be every 4 years - not 3 times in 4 years - and that a different party has to be elected, no party can run two terms in a row. Maybe that would fix what ails this country. Ok, I'll step down from my soapbox now.

Time to make something sweet, and my choice is the 1 Dish Cinnamon Swirl Bread. This time I am going to use dried Cranberries and less sugar in the streusel topping. Soon I have it baking in the oven and the house is redolent with cinnamon and yeast.

While it bakes, I take the dogs outside for one last tour before dark. They race to the end of the yard hooting and hollering, and a herd of deer bounces away towards the creek. I hadn't realized they were here eating apples. Oooops. The girls check out the grass, the leaves the flowers that remain while Mason stands guard, watching for deer monsters to return. I toss a few more windfall apples, pull up the remaining jalapeno pepper plants and the lone eggplant and throw them over the fence. Time to go check the Cinnamon Swirl bread.

And it's just what the doctor ordered, a sugar rush after a very hectic day. Less sugar, the addition of dried Cranberries to the streusel, makes it just right.

Darn, now I need something salty to counteract all that sugar. I know, I have those Cheezies I asked Richard to bring me home last night. That will fix it.

But then I will need something sweet again, to counteract the salt...

...sigh, dontcha hate that?

Confessions of a Cranberry Addict

2008-10-12T13:18:00.000-07:00

The sun is shining this morning. That bodes well for the day, I hope. Rain is forecast for tonight but for now, the sun is shining and I am up and planning my day.

Last night before going to bed I mixed up some simple sourdough starter. I prefer to start mine with a bit of yeast as the one time I tried to start it with wild yeast from the air, the wild yeast went wild somewhere else. My starter turned a putrid pink and had to be dumped. Eeeeewww! This morning my starter is bubbling merrily on the counter in its crockery pot, the insert to one of my several slow cookers. They are perfect for making sourdough in.

I had taken some lean ground beef out of the freezer last night with the idea of making a hearty beef pie today for dinner. Soon another of my slow cookers is bubbling, this time with beef pie filling, redolent with onions, carrots, fresh chopped tomatoes, frozen peas, burger, bay leaves and beef broth. I am still trying to make up my mind whether to use puff pastry for the pie or pie pastry. Probably a last minute decision, but I am leaning towards the puff pastry.

Now that that is taken care of, I decide to make my Stuffing Bread dough. I found a good recipe on the internet here and decided to try it. I made one change, deciding to throw in a handfull of dried cranberries [yes, I AM a dried cranberry addict. Sooo?] to give a sweet/tart bite to the onions and herbs in it. With one false start - the active dry yeast didn't want to desolve in the small amount of milk I put it in, so dumped it and started over with more milk - the dough was soon mixing up in the bread machine. This recipe called for 3 cups flour, 1/3 cup cornmeal as the main dry ingredients. That is a 1&1/2 pound loaf, in bread machine parlance. My big machine can make up to a 3 pound loaf of bread, so I figured maybe if I was lucky, it would fill the pan 2/3 to 3/4 full when fully risen.

The sunshine was calling us, so I took the dogs out into the yard. The thermometer on the deck said +12. Balmy for our recent weather. Out in the yard, by the garden boat where the sun is shining full on, it was almost hot. I had a sweatshirt on over my t-shirt and was very warm. We wandered about, enjoying the view. Mount Arrowsmith has new snow on the top, but the sky is Island blue, and the air is crystal clear. A gaggle of Canada Geese arrow over us, honking their way to feeding on the Canal. I pick up windfall apples and toss over the fence for the deer, carefully watching out for doggy mines. Fool me once...

Soon we are back indoors. I put more wood on the stove, then walk over to the bread machine to check the dough. HOLY....wow, it has risen right up so it's nose is pressed right against the glass of the machine! I quickly get a large Pyrex bowl and oil it, then remove the pan from the machine. Next I flour the counter top and soon have the dough ball in the bowl in a clear plastic bag rising again on the table. Oh my gosh but the dough smells and looks delightful! While working with it, I decide to try something I have seen mentioned on some bread baking blogs. I will divide the dough in half, then divide each half in quarters and will even scale the dough to be precise. Each piece of dough weighs in at 4oz and each of the 4oz mini loaves are then put into the prepared bread pan, like the 4th photo above, and then left to rise a third time - Active Dry yeast, remember - then baked. Can't wait to try it.

I think by now you have figured out that I am crazy about making and baking yeast breads of all kinds. Well, one of my all time favorite bread bakers and bread authors is Peter Reinhart. Crust and Crumb, and The Bread Baker's Apprentice are two of my favorite of his books. Recently on his Blog, he put out a request for applications from ordinary folk like me to test bread recipes for his new book. I immediately applied, not expecting to be accepted as I am in Canada and he is in the USA. Imagine my surprise upon checking my e-mail early last week and discovering I had been chosen as one of 300 testers!

I will post from time to time how I do with the recipe testing. The recipes of course are secret. I will be making this totally by hand, not using the bread machine to mix the dough, but I have my Kitchenaid Stand Mixer so can use that hopefully. Never the less, I cannot wait to get started. Bente and Richard will be so sick of eating bread by the time I am done. May have to send some with Bente down to Codfather Seafood for them to try too if I get too many loaves baked. Boy I am going to be learning so much from this. Crust and Crumb was the first book I borrowed from the library when I started my foray into serious bread baking a few years ago. It taught me a lot, and it got me hooked on bread formulas, and baker's math.

The Stuffing Bread is on it's third rise, and I am feeling slightly peckish. Surf the bread cupboard and discover a piece of the Cinnamon Swirl from yesterday hidden away. Slathered in butter it will make a delightful, albeit very sweet snack. I decide to make another one of those after the bread has risen, but this time I will try some dried cranberries in it and use less sugar when I make the topping. Sorry Bente but it really is too sweet. I want to try one with dried cherries and one with dried blueberries, and when I can find just the right apples, some with chopped apple as well. Hmmmm, I DID buy some dried apples at the store last week, maybe give them a try. Maybe dried cranberries and dried apples...

...I walk by the rising bread 10 minutes after I put it in the pans and it is really rising up. Will have to warn Kate about this when I send her the recipe to try. Her machine makes a maximum of 2 pound bread loaf so she will have to cut waaaaaaaay back on the yeast or it will push the lid of the bread maker up and escape out on to the counter. Attack of the killer bread dough!

Time for another foray out into the yard with the dogs. The sun has disappeared in preparation for the rain tonight I guess. We wander a bit, then stand looking at the scenery. For a few moments, it is absolutely quiet, no sounds of traffic from the road, only the croak of a distant tree frog and squawk of a Stellar Jay down on the Creek. I revel in it, but soon the outside world intrudes and we wander back indoors. Time to bake the Stuffing Bread and make some Cinnamon Swirl, with my modifications.

I almost feel like making some Brioche too. Maybe if I sit down and read a bit, the feeling will go away. I think I have done enough today. Richard will be home in 2 hours from work and I still have to finish the beef pie. Oh, wait a minute, hey, I know, not pie, well not like a pie in pie dough anyway. Shepherd's Pie!! That's what I'll make. Will thicken the broth on the filling with dehydrated potato flakes, make mashed potatoes for the top, a gravy for over that, then put it together and bake. Yup, that's settled.

Will let you know how the bread turns out. Both of them.

Oh, and, HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

So Long, It's Bin Good To Know Ya

2008-10-11T16:35:00.000-07:00

It froze here last night. To you on the Prairies, that may not be such a big deal, but to me here on the Island, it is awful. We don't usually get frost until late November, early December so this frost is way too early. And it killed my tomato plants, sniff. Yes, yes, I know I was going to pull them anyway but gee, they look so sad all frozen and dead out there in the garden boat.

So I yanked them today, tossed them over the fence for the deer to eat. Now the front half of the boat is really empty. It's funny what freezes and what doesn't. Tomatoes of course, and that lone yellow zucchini that was stuck there in the middle of them; the purple basil; the top half of the marigolds; the pineapple sage; oh and that lone eggplant in amongst the petunias that I forgot was there and never bore fruit. But the petunias didn't flinch, still blooming their hearts out. As is the Lemon Thyme, the Echinacea, and the tiny White Chrysanthemums.

Over on the metal table by the house - the one that I only had a tarp big enough to cover half the plants, so had to sacrifice some - the zinnias froze and so did my one pot of tuberous begonias and impatiens, even though it was covered. OOOOPS. A large pot of fuchsias lost all its blossoms to frost but the plant is ok. And those 8 pots of lovely red impatiens? The ones sitting on the old barbecue stand, under the King apple tree? Froze right off...and the pot of red wax begonias sitting below it did too. Not a pretty sight.

Ooooh and that old wheelbarrow of mine, that I have had forever, the one that has so many holes in the bottom I had to cover it with plastic so it would hold the dirt for the plants. The one that has half of the plastic wheel missing on the front, that had been full of pretty impatiens and was sitting under the Gravenstein apple tree - yeah, that one - well, all the plants in it are frozen too.

Bente came over for a short visit this afternoon. I had called her and told her I had a pan of Cinnamon Bun Bread cooling on the counter. She called me a Bitz, I laughed and then she drove over for a cappuccino and a bite of bread. Needless to say, her Danish sweet tooth kicked in and she really enjoyed it. It's from a recipe I found online at Breadworld.com called Cinnamon Swirl. Really sweet, but really good, and really easy to make! By the time I thought to take a photo of it, it was mostly gone. Yes, it IS that good.

After she left, I took the dogs out in the yard, deactivated the doggy mines I could find and took some photo's of the sad looking garden boat and frozen plants. On my way back in I did my usual and wiped my feet on the old carpet on the deck outside the door. THANK GOD I DID. Somehow I missed deactivating a doggy mine, and in my photo taking mode I stepped right on one, exploding it all over the bottom of my shoe. AAAAARRRRGGGHH!

My shoes have this tread that is really deep and really hard to dig "stuff" out of. I made a triple scrunchy face and my eyes went real slitty, and yes, I DID say a swear. Then I scraped it off the rug on the deck, covered the "residue" with dirt, took my shoe out onto the grass across the drive and wiped as much off as possible. Then into the bathroom to wipe and dig with toothpicks to finish cleaning it, sigh. You would think I would learn to watch where I put my feet.

After dinner, the Cute Little Island Mule Deer came up into the yard as usual and the dogs went crazy with barking, as usual. And the deer ignored them, as usual. I watched them through the kitchen window for a while, then went into the livingroom to surf baking blogs and watch a bit of television. Love those reruns of NCIS.

The dogs settled on the back of the sofa, Rosie and Mason dosing and keeping an eye out for deer monsters. About 9pm, something caught my eye right outside the patio door, about 3 feet from where Mason was laying. It was a young, Cute Little Island Buck Mule Deer, with his eye on my Scarlet Geraniums. Mason twitched...Mason blinked...Mason shook his head in disbelief and then shot up off the sofa barking ferociously, throwing himself at the glass. The deer took Mason at his word and fled, rapidly. Mason trotted around, chest puffed out, tail wagging, proud of himself for chasing the monsters away. I laughed and praised him for being such a great guard dog.

But the Mole People got the last laugh on me. Before bed, I went out on the deck to get an apple from the plastic bins we have stored there and discovered 6 apples with tiny teeth marks. My eyes went slitty again, and I said two swears.

Of course, they HAD to nibble the six best apples in the bin.

One nibble out of each apple.

Oh well, the Cute Little Island Mule Deer will be pleased with their new apples. They're not put off by Mole People spit.

Whine and Cheese

2008-10-10T14:18:00.000-07:00

There's been no going outside to meander through the garden yard for a few days now. It's been cold and raining, scrunchy face. Don't get me wrong, we need the rain to fill the well up again, but, I had hoped to stretch fall out further, not go right to winter. We have already had two winter storms on the Island and they usually don't start until the middle of November. Siiiiggghh. No, I don't want some cheese with my whine, thanks.

These dreary damp days have even prompted me to ask Richard to start fires in the wood stove, to stave off the chill. The garden boat is soggy. When Kate was up we picked off all of the tomatoes with the exception of the Tumbling Toms and a few Brown Berries that weren't quite ready. One day during a lull in the rain, I coerced the dogs out into the yard and cut back my tomato plants. Yes, I know I should pull them completely, but I am not ready to go cold turkey yet on the garden cleanup. I really need to ease into it. Really.

I have a few plants I have to dug up, like my Lemon Scented Geranium which gave me so much pleasure this summer. Every time you walked by the scent of lemon wafted up to you. I think it deserves to be saved. A lot of the other herbs are hardy so I won't worry about them but I took cuttings of the Pineapple Sage to root, just in case it winter kills. It is such a magnificent plant, with a lovely true Pineapple scent.

Today I pulled the bean plants and tossed them over the fence for the deer. Then picked off the rest of the tiny tomatoes from Tumbling Tom. Got a surprising amount of them considering how nasty the weather has been. I know I have to pull the tomato plants and get rid of them, as well as the lone squash plant that sits in the middle of the boat, but, tomorrow will be soon enough for that. Like I said, ease into it.

It is sunny today, but cold, not going over +12. Five of the dogs came outside with me, but when I took the tomatoes in, the four girls ran back inside. Wimps! Mason and I stayed outdoors, me puttering around, him guarding me against bears, deer, bush bunnies and birds. My 10 pound Bichon Boy with the heart of a Pit Bull.

Richard and I moved a lot of my less hardy plants onto the deck a couple of days ago. They keep threatening us with frost and I need to get them moved into the house. That however will have to be eased into as Richard is not going to be happy when I explain that he has to move them for me. Some can stay under the shelter of the deck roof, I can cover them when frost threatens. But most will have to come indoors. At his suggestion, I picked my two lone Gladiola spikes that bloomed and put them in a jar on the cupboard. They are pretty, and when I dig up the corms I will be sure and mark the color on the bags.

Now I am thinking about next years garden, what to grow. I will definitely go with tomatoes: Yellow Mortgage Lifter, and if there is a red variety, one of those. Bull's Heart for sure, that is a wonderful, meaty, flavorful tomato. Definitely Brown Berry, Tumbling Tom and Black Prince. Oh and for sure Striped Cavern. Hope I can find some more Heritage varieties. We have to move the tomato garden to another container - the 300 gallon round stock tank is just the ticket and Richard will be moving it into the yard for me. I will cover it with heavy poly and then be able to plant them much earlier, keep them growing much later in the fall.

The old garden boat will still have it's herbs. Beans did well, so I probably will plant some more again, although if I can figure out a way to keep Mole People at bay, I would like to plant them over in my mini pea patch, smack up against the shed. Lots of shelter, good sunlight, wire to climb, yup, that's a great spot for them. So what to put in the garden boat.

Double Petunia's, they did great. Sweet Peas, the wire is already in place for them to climb. Marigolds from seed I have saved; will put them in the prow. I know that most flowers will grow in the boat, but would like to have some vegetable too. Hmmmmm. Onions did poorly, too wet. Squash would be ok, but they take up too much room. Hey, I bought some tiny pumpkins at the store the other day on clearance for a $1.00 a bag. I am going to save the seeds. Maybe a few of those, and get them to climb upwards. And peppers. The Jalapeno's that I planted did ok, not very productive until the end of the season but if I get them in earlier...yeah, pepper plants, that's what I'll do. Maybe a Habanero or two. Well, that's a good start.

It's Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend. I have a turkey in the freezer to cook, just not sure yet what day to do it. I love turkey and am looking forward to it. Have sweet potatoes to cook as well as Irish potatoes, need to make my Marshmallow Salad - my favorite - oh and Stuffing Bread to stuff the bird with and use for Turkey Sandwiches too. Darn, I am really getting hungry for Turkey. Oh, mustn't forget the fresh cranberry sauce either. Should I make Pumpkin Tiny Pies too? Maybe I will.

Ok, now I am REALLY hungry, time for dinner, then cover up the plants I didn't get moved yet with tarps. Supposed to be frosty again tonight.

Guess I'll go back inside after and whine some more.

Or maybe just make my stuffing bread.

She's a Bread Bakin' Fool

2008-10-05T12:46:00.000-07:00

It's bread baking day. I am awake early. The headache I have been fighting all week has me up at 7am, working hard to get rid of it. I use all the tricks I know, including acupressure, Myoflex, and Tim Horton's English Toffee Cappuccino mix - with a heaping teaspoon of instant coffee to boost the caffeine content - and finally after 2 hours, the headache eases. I hate resorting to drugs to get rid of my headache, so consequently I usually end up with a bad one because I delay the inevitable. This time I was lucky.

I have been out picking up windfall apples with the dogs when Kate comes outdoors with her morning coffee. "Need to get some things from the Dollar Store" she says. Those are magic words to me, I LOVE the Dollar Store.

As we finish up at the Dollar Store, she suggests getting an A&W burger and eating down at Victoria Quay, while watching the scenery. Two Sirloin Uncle Burgers with Cheese, extra pickles, later and we are enjoying the close-up view of the Alberni Inlet. Suddenly I spy what looks like a Harbor Seal in the water in front of us. This is not an unusual sight, the Inlet being salt water. Then Kate points and we see two large marine mammals frolicking in the middle of the water. "Are those Steller Sea Lions?" she asks.

We watch for a while and are convinced that they are in fact Stellers, Harbor Seals are smaller and have a much shorter muzzle. I have never known of Stellers so far up the Inlet. Finally I remember I have my camera with me, but by the time I get out to the edge of the water, the show is over and I only get glimpses of a face one or two times. Sigh, there I go with the camera thing again. In the two photo's above, the one on the left has the White Submarine Pipe sign with a seagull flying immediately to the left of it and directly down from it is a Sea Lion face. The other one has a face directly in the middle of the photo.

Back home, and with a bit of direction from me, Kate sets to work organizing herself to bake her bread and soon has Pumpernickel rising on the table. I meanwhile am going to BBQ some pork baby back ribs and bake some potatoes for our dinner tonight. We check on the ribs a half hour after they begin to grill, on our way to pick all the tomatoes in the Garden Boat. They look and smell divine. A while later, as we pass my Outdoor Gas Oven on our way in the house with the picked tomatoes, I discover it has run out of propane, which means I have to rescue the ribs and put them in the oven to finish. AAAARRRGGH!

Finally dinner has finished cooking and Kate's Pumpernickel is in the oven baking as we eat. The ribs were delish, as was the potatoes, fresh picked tomatoes and corn on the cob. Her bread of course turned out wonderful. It is the first bread photo at the top of the page. As it set cooling on the cupboard, she began to gather her ingredients for her next loaves of bread, the Cheesey Cheese. With a tip here and there from me, it too is soon rising on the table.

The scent of her Cheesey Cheese bread baking is mouth watering. The air is redolent with the Tex/Mex cheese, onions and parsley. I definitely will be making this one tomorrow. The photo's of this bread are the rising dough in the bread machine and then the baked dough, with the cheese melted on top of one of the loaves.

It's been a long day, and for once Kate doesn't have to leave as soon as she gets up in the morning. She still has one more batch of bread to make before going home. We're off to bed.

At least I don't wake up with a headache on Thursday. Kate is up and is starting to mix up the Brioche dough she wants to bake. This is one of my favorite recipes, one that I found online. While only using 2 cups of flour, you still end up with two lovely loaves of bread from the recipe because of the eggs and yeast. It is rich and buttery and is the last photo in the bread series above. Soon she has them cooling on the cupboard as she prepares to load up her RAV 4 prior to heading home.

Hugs all around and she is off to the farm at Sidney, the dogs giving her a farewell howl. It is going to be too quiet here now that she has gone home. Can't wait for next time, and our ABM Chef Bakeoffs.

Hmmmmm, maybe I'll start a cooking blog, encourage family members to bake/cook and post to it. Sounds like a plan. If I can get anyone other than Kate and me to do it, that is. Hey Kel, how about you, Mr. Baker Man. You willing to give it a try?

Oh, and my Cheesey Cheese Bread is unbelievably delicious. You must try it, make it at home. I am hooked and so glad she decided to alter the recipe. Kate's Tex/Mex Cheese Bread it is.

Frog Went a Courtin'

2008-10-03T19:26:00.000-07:00

More sunshine this morning. Kate and I plan to go out shopping for ingredients, pans, and accessories for her bread making, but first, cappuccino and the news.

And why do I bother. News is all about elections, bailouts and the price of oil. And what has the Food Network done with Anna Olson?!!! Harrumph.

In the kitchen, we admire Kate's first ever homemade loaf of bread. It is a thing of beauty, tastes divine, and is an Orange and dried Cranberry yeast bread, baked in the machine.

Kate and I wander off to the stores and thrift shops. First stop is Alberni Health Market for Rye flour, Spelt Flour and caraway seed - she wants to make Pumpernickel bread. Then off to Port Thrift where she finds a really nice winter jacket for herself and a Tapestry foot stool for me. At the Sally Ann store, I locate eleven half-gallon canning jars for 50 cents each, a large kettle to set on the wood stove as a humidifier for a dollar and a great bake set that has 6 small angel food type pans for $2.99. JACKPOT.

Our next stop is accidental. As we drive past a second hand store on the way out to Walmart, Kate points at it and mentions she has always wanted to stop there. Of course, I turn around and go back. Great store, tons of stuff and I find a Dr. Oetker tart pan for 50 cents and a 6 cup muffin tin for the same. I am on a roll. Then we shop for ingredients at Extra Foods and Walmart and go home for dinner.

Our plan is to wait until tomorrow to make bread, so after dinner we go out to check the boat garden and pick up windfall apples. We also make plans to pick all the tomatoes tomorrow as well. Across the yard, I hear a ribbit-ribbbiiittttt from the Birch tree. And a reply from behind us in the Cherry trees. Ah yes, Tree Frog mating season has arrived. Off in the distance we can hear more tiny Tree Frogs ribbitting their songs of love.

It reminds me of when we first moved here and had no screens on our windows. Tree Frogs took up residence outside our bathroom window, and if we forgot to close it, we would be accosted by the tiny creatures every time we went into the room. Once while washing my hair in the sink, one crawled out of the overflow almost onto my face. And another time, one got so startled when Kate walked into the room, it jumped off the wall and hit her in the chest. I don't know who screamed louder!

Back inside, we peruse bread baking books. For Christmas, she had shopped at a second hand book store and got me 3 wonderful used bread making books. To me, getting a second hand book - whether buying it myself or receiving it as a gift - is one of my all time favorite things. Just to know that someone else had this book, used it, loved it, makes me cherish it even more. And Kate found 3 winners. We perused and discussed the merits of different recipes and she copied some into her Kitchen Journal to try when she goes home. Then she picks a couple of recipes to try the next day.

Her first choice is Pumpernickel, and I give her my favorite recipe. Her second choice is one from her ABM book, Cheesey Cheese Bread. It calls for Cottage Cheese, Grated Swiss, and Grated Parmesan, but she decides to change it by replacing the Swiss and Parmesan with Kraft Tex/Mex Shredded Cheese. Can't wait to see how that turns out.

Time for bed, it has been a long day.

Outside my window, I hear the Tree Frog love chorus and smile.

Froggy's still courtin'.

Bear With Me!

2008-09-29T15:33:00.000-07:00

It's sunny when I open my eyes, supposed to be a nice warm day. The Barometer has been bouncing so I am in considerable pain, with a headache hovering on the edges. Kate may be coming up tonight for a couple of days and I want to be able to enjoy her visit.

The dogs and I weeble out to the garden yard to roll up the beach mats and shower curtain. I have made the decision to pick all the tomatoes in the next day or two. The long term weather forecast is for very cool and wet temperatures which means they will rot if they don't get picked. Even though they are green, I am confident that most of them will ripen.

As I roll up the shower curtain, a large, nasty looking and very angry spider runs at me from the bottom of it, narrowly missing my hand. Yes, I CAN move fast when the occassion warrants it. Who knew that those 8 small feet could actually make a a footstep noise. I whack him to the ground with my walking stick and then stomp him for good measure. Well my adrenalin is pumping!

The grass is quite wet, either it rained overnight or there is a very heavy dew. I want to Rotisserie Grill a roast this afternoon, so Richard sets to work cleaning the big drip tray for me and sets up the Rotisserie. That thing is huge. I swear the spit part of it is 4 feet long and the roast is going to look a bit lonely on it. We talk about our day - Richard is working noon to 8pm. I am going to tidy the house and make Brioche, as well as prepare the roast for grilling. Then, if I have time, I will make some mincemeat tiny pies for Katie to try.

Time for my cappuccino and the news. Boring news it is too, bailout failure, and Canadian Election on every channel. Even Anna isn't making anything I'm interested in. Time to start cleaning the kitchen.

My Brioche dough is mixing in the bread machine - yes, I DID learn from my mistakes of the other day. Why do you ask? Yes, I am being more attentive to what I am doing. This is a recipe from the funny little bread maker - it of the incomprehensible instruction booklet - I have doubled the amount of the ingredients so it will work in my big bread maker. When I lift the lid to check the dough ball, it is just perfect. I guessed correctly at the amounts, oh happy day.

The dogs are out in the garden yard while I am doing all this and Pippi and Mason are really carrying on, barking, running in and out, and generally being...well, dogs. I do my best to ignore them while I work, despite them being determined to drag me outside.

mom, come quick, come see!
ya mom, hurry, come see!
mom, mom, mom, mom...
really, come on mom!

Soon I have two loaves of bread rising in my clear plastic bag on the table and decide it is time to make another foray to the yard to see what all the commotion has been about. Of course they are being quiet now, as if nothing was going on a short while ago. I mosey over to the boat, noticing as I pass that there are 2 Bull's Heart, 2 Yellow Mortgage Lifters and 1 Black Prince tomatoes ripening. Great, Kate can take some home.

Overhead, I hear one of the infamous Muttering Murder of Crows. He is sitting across from me in the Holly tree, grokking, not alarmed, but as if he is trying to get my attention. I look around and see the dogs are just nosing the grass and am thinking about how the grass needs cutting when a faint sound reaches my ears. The sound of a branch snapping.

"Hmmmm, the Crow must be in the plum tree behind the Holly, stealing plums," I think to myself. I walk towards the very end of the fence, in the corner between two potted plants to see if I can see him. Then I hear more branches snapping. My head whips around, looking toward the pear trees and...my eyes go slitty. Yup, there, right there half way up the tree, is that @#$%^&* little Island Black Bear. I back up slowly, then turn and herd the dogs quickly indoors, retrieving my camera.

Back in the corner of the yard, I see he has come down the tree and I rapidly pre-focus the camera and snap 4 quick shots of him. He was really enjoying those pears, and as you can see in the last shot, he is on the ground, behind the tree, eating the ones he tossed down. Triple scrunchy face.

In the house once again, the dogs look at me with accusing glares.

we told you tew come see
you wouln't lissen tew us
we sed it wassa bear

"Yes guys you were right, I should have listened, I know better. Here, have a treat."

tanks Mom

Time to get the roast ready to grill. Oh, boy, um, this isn't as easy as it looks. Wow, that spit REALLY is lengthy isn't it. I try to slide the spit through the roast, to impale it on the large skewers that accompany it, nearly impale my hand instead. Finally get one skewer into the roast - boy this thing is heavy and awkward, really need four hands for this - ok, now to get the other skewer on...hmmmm, let's see if we can stand the spit on it's end and reach up an...ohmyGodlookoutyouaregonnadropit!

I drop the skewer and grab the spit with my other hand. Who's bright idea was it to make the end of the skewer handle rounded instead of flat so you couldn't stand it up to...oh heck, never mind. Finally I get the other skewer into the roast and the roast outside on the grill. Quadruple scrunchy face.

Now the roast is cooking, the bread is baking and I am waiting for Kate. Decide to put potatoes in foil on the grill as well to bake. The roast is done to a turn, the potatoes, perfect of course, the bread fragrant and Kate arrives. Time to enjoy our dinner. And oh boy was is delicious, perfectly cooked roast beef.

After dinner, Kate went to Walmart to get some toothpaste, and came back with a Black & Decker Automatic Bread Machine. There was a sale, she got it half price. I have been working on her to try one for years, and she finally succumbed to my talking. We set about reading the instruction book and soon she has a loaf of bread mixing and baking on the rapid cycle.

Time to go clean up the kitchen. Will talk more tomorrow about the bread.

But just between you and me, I think I have created a monster.

I think she is hooked.

I think her friends will soon be enjoying her bread making skills.

Yup.

Attack of the Stupids

2008-09-27T16:56:00.000-07:00

Today is sunny when I get out of bed. Sunshine just lifts the spirits. It's Mom's birthday today, and I will phone her after I am awake and have had my breakfast. Richard works 9 to 5 today, so I hope to do some baking later. Use some of that fresh yeast Bente aquired for me last week. Sounds like a plan. And y'all know me and plans...

I call Mom to wish her Happy Birthday and she sounds really perky. She had had a card from a childhood friend who now lives up in Spirit River. She was so pleased, and talked about things the two of them used to do as children. She also mention they had two sets of unexpected visitors this week. First was a surprise visit from their Nephew Jim VanDewark and his wife Shirley from Fort St. John BC. They had a great chat over coffee. Next was an appearance by Niece Yvonne Pollack and her husband Bob. How good of them all to stop in. Mom and Dad really appreciated it.

The dogs and I go out into the garden yard after my phone visit with Mom and Dad. I make a mental note to take photo's of the Rhubarb to mail to Dad to show him how his tiny piece of root that he sent to me is doing. I weeble across the yard to the garden boat and roll up the beach mats and shower curtain, noting that it rained again overnight. My inattention nearly gets me a really cold shower as the water that has collected on the tarp over the bunk bed frame cascades down the front of the boat.

I make another mental note to come out later and pick the ripening Bull's Heart Tomato to take into the house. Above me in the Gravenstein apple tree, the Starling is trilling her love song again. Robins are calling in the trees across the drive and a couple of Canada Geese arrow their way, honking across the yard. The dogs are happily hooting at people down on the road, just past our driveway. The air is warm and smells of dill and lemon geranium. It is supposed to be warmer and sunnier tomorrow. Perhaps we can barbecue.

Back inside I start to gather ingredients to make some Rye Bread in my Stand Mixer. It is a recipe I haven't tried before, so as usual, the first time is a test. Soon the kitchen is redolent with the scent of melted butter, warm honey, molasses and caraway. I add the first lot of flour like the recipe calls for, mix it in, then start to add the rest of the flour, one half cup at a time, while the mixer is running. All goes well at the first, with me pouring the flour in from the right side of the bowl. Then I decide to pour the last bit into the left side of the bowl and things go to hell, real fast.

My hand twitched. The measuring cup hit the rotating planetary dough hook. Flour flew. Everywhere. All over me. All over the counter the machine sits on. All over the small kitchen television which sits next to the mixer. All over the floor. Curses flew. All over the kitchen. Yup, I says a swear.

I can't clean it up yet as I have to finish mixing the dough. Finally it is done, and I proceed with the cleanup. How can a previously tidy kitchen take on the appearance of a hurricane site so quickly?

An hour later, the kitchen is tidy, I am cleaned up, the flour is mostly out of the vents in the television, and the dough is rising in a large bowl inside a clear plastic bag. Time for an ice tea and reading my book.

Richard comes home for lunch and checks the water level in the tank, deciding he will go and get another load from the farm after picking us up A&W Papa Burgers for dinner. Sounds good to me. Soon it is time to divide the dough into two pans, letting it rise one more time before putting it in to bake.

After he leaves for work again, I decide I haven't tortured myself enough today with baking and decide to make a loaf of vanilla quick bread in my bread maker. This is the lazy man's way of doing it, using a store bought cake mix. To fancy it up, I go to the dog's room and get 5 purple Italian Prune Plums. I am going to cut them in half, removing the pits and after the cake is finished mixing, I will drop them in on top to bake with the cake.

All goes well, and in 5 minutes it is mixing merrily. I drop in the plums, close the lid. Turning to the bread loaves, I place them in the oven and set the timer. Then return to my book. About 10 minutes goes by, and for some reason I have a sometimers moment. Looking up from my book, that I have been thoroughly engrossed in, I suddenly decide that I left the breadmaker on after mixing the bread dough - remember now, I DID NOT mix the dough in the machine but in the Stand Mixer - and need to turn it off. I jump up, unplug the machine and as the power is fading from the digital read out on the bread maker, through the window in the top of the lid I see my cake...my raw, unbaked cake. I make a triple scrunchy face.

AAAARRRGGH!!!

The air turns blue with my language, which is definitely not the Queen's English.

"Don't panic" I think to myself, as my eyes go slitty. "Grab a pan, quick." I line a bread pan with parchment, thinking I have chosen a large enough one. Nope, batter comes right to the top and still more in the bread machine pan. Grab another, larger, in fact the largest bread pan I have. Line it with parchement paper. Pour in the cake batter. Plums of course are all mixed in and sink right to the bottom. Fills the pan 3/4 of the way. Quickly place it in the oven, noting the time remaining on the timer - 25 minutes. The cake mix box says 25 to 35 minutes depending on the pan size. Scrunchy face.

Placing the cake in the oven along side the two loaves of bread extended their baking time an added 5 minutes. They come out of the oven and the cake bakes another 5 minutes beyond that. All looks good, despite my stupidity. Even with the plums sitting on the bottom of the cake.

What did we learn from all this? PAY ATTENTION LINDA! Think before you act. Don't pull that plug until you look through the window in the lid. Ok, so you usually have been mixing dough in the bread machine lately, that's still no excuse for your stupidity. Slitty-eyed scrunchy face. Good thing cake and bread look good.

After dinner I take the dogs out in the garden yard one more time while I put the boat to bed. They wander to the far fence, looking down to the creek, sniffing the breeze. Far away, across the creek, I can see the tiny moving dots that are the Cute Little Island Doe Mule Deer and her twins, eating their way towards us. The light wind is blowing our way and I know the dogs have their scent. Mom and the twins will soon be enjoying their apple treats. The dogs will soon be barking and spitting all over the patio door.

And me...I am going to have a piece of that troublesome cake with some vanilla ice cream. I was thinking about baking some cookies tomorrow, and maybe some Brioche.

Now I am not so sure.

Lord knows what I will do next time.

But hey, I have a plan...

...What You Should Have Done Last Week

2008-09-26T17:45:00.000-07:00

Another dreary day, but warmer this morning when I get out of bed. Still stiff. Still achey. Still the arthritis thing. Richard has been to Walmart for coffee prior to coming home and getting the well switched over to the water tank, so I can still run the dishwasher - I DON'T hand wash dishes - and wash laundry. He has to go to work 2 hours earlier than expected but that's ok, the pump is connected to the tank, I've done a load of dishes and a load of laundry and he's re-filled the tank, just to be on the safe side. So now we have water and heat. And that's a real good thing.

Before Richard leaves he tells me that the water tank holds 378 liters of water, and asks me what that is in gallons. Yeah, asks me, the NOT mathematician to do a math calculation. I take out my trusty cell phone with it's calculator and try to do the math. Riiiiggghht. Me, the techie, can't figure out how to work it. I fumble and grumble, finally getting it, then ask him what buttons he would push to get the answer. And Richard, the non-techie person points to the correct ones right away. Harrumph.

The dogs are in fine spirits when we go out to the garden yard, Mason and Pippi racing down to the garden boat. Rosie of course stays inside, dozing on the sofa.

There are Starlings in the apple trees. Lots of Starlings. No, lots and LOTS of Starlings. We have a resident flock here, descendants of birds that were nesting when we moved to this place 20 years ago. We have learned to live with them, and have found they are one of the first signs of spring. There is one in the Gravenstein apple tree, trilling and making coaxing noises, almost sounding like the song they make when they are mating. Hmmm.

Suddenly there is a furor high up in the branches, a couple of birds chitter, something falls out of the tree, and the birds swoop away, squawking. The dogs race over to investigate, and I hobble after them. A piece of tree bark lies on the grass. Not sure what that was about. Hmmmm.

There are birds everywhere in the yard, Towhees, Robins, Stellar Jays, Starlings, Chickadees, all creating noise with their chatter and squawks. I listen, but continue on with what I am doing...deadheading Petunias, pulling a few weeds that have dared to grow in the garden boat, look for ripening tomatoes. There is a small Black Prince, a Yellow Mortgage Lifter, and a Bull's Heart all starting to turn color. The Pink Brandywine appear to be just on the edge of turning and I think the Yellow Brandywine is too. Lovely, just what I want.

We return inside and I decide that today is the day to make Peanut Butter Marshmallow Squares, one of my favorite easy things to make. Soon they are chilling in the fridge, and I am licking the spatula. Can't wait 'til they are firm enough to eat. Won't offer Bente any though, as she is not a fan of Peanut Butter. Apparently Peanut Butter is fairly unique to North America, at least it was when she was growing up in Denmark, and she never developed a taste for it. Poor woman, how can anyone live without Peanut Butter!

Bente calls as I am reading my library book. As we chat, I am looking out the patio door and something catches my eye. Flickers are swooping and chasing, something I have never seen them do before. There is at least 4 of them chasing after another one, almost as though it were mating season. It's fall, what is going on with these birds? Hmmmmm!

I think back to yesterday, when I pointed out clumps of Cute Little Island Bush Bunny fur in the garden yard to Richard. He looked at me quizzicly. "Why would there be clumps of bunny fur in the yard?" I ask. He stares at me as if I have lost my mind. "Well, why do you think there is bunny fur there?" he replies. I shrug my shoulders, and he gives me a pitying look for being so dense, then says, "it's bush bunny mating season." I reply "oh. OHHHH!". Boy am I slow.

Could that be what is going on with the birds? Do they sense a longer, warmer than normal Fall? Is that why the chasing and chattering? Shaking my head I take the dogs back outdoors for a romp. Mason proceeds to his favorite spot at the fence, a patch of dirt under the shelter of an overhanging Wild Rose and stands looking down towards the end of the driveway and the rode beyond. He barks and runs up and down the fence trying for a better view.

After 15 minutes we go back inside. As I glance at Mason, I see something odd on his face and start to laugh. The silly dog has been sticking his nose through the fence wire, sniffing the breeze and this previously white muzzle is now gunmetal gray. He looks like he has a serious 5 o'clock shadow. Typical boy!

Time for a piece of Peanut Butter Marshmallow square, and a cup of hot cappuccino to chase away the chill of the day. Nothing on TV tonight, unless you are fans of interminable American Presidential Debates - which I am decidedly not. Guess I'll read a book.

Or clean in the dog room.

Or peel apples for freezing.

Or tidy up the kitchen.

Or read a book.

Oh and 378 liters equals 83.3 gallons.

HAH!

Never Put Off Until Tomorrow...

2008-09-25T14:25:00.000-07:00

It's cold wet and dreary as I get up this morning, been lots of rain over night. The dogs look at me as if I've lost my mind when I try to convince them to go out into the tarp covered small pen. Not happenin' Mom. I am too stiff and sore to fight. There's a cappuccino with my name on it in the kitchen and Mason informs me there's a sofa waiting for him in the living room. I open the door, then stand back and release them into the rest of the house. How can such small dogs make so much noise when the gallop by?

The news is the same, no matter which channel or country you look at: elections and financial melt downs. Doom and gloom. Get a grip guys, the economy always tanks around elections, no matter what country you live in. It will come back in a few months. Someone quick, slap that American who took Bernanke's place upside the head for me. He is fear-mongering.

Enough. Time to go and look out at the garden boat and regain my perspective. Hmmmm, maybe not, it looks wet, cold and dreary too. The dogs have come out with me, but refuse to leave the shelter of the deck for the garden yard. Well, it is pouring rain right now. What happened to Fall? It lasted all of two days and then we went right to Winter.

Back indoors, the dogs snuggle up on the sofa and I check e-mail. There are photo's of my beautiful Granddaughter in her dance costume. She just had her first dance class the other day. I think she looks like a Prima Ballerina in the making. Was I ever that self confident at 3? I don't think so. She has been patiently waiting to start her dance lessons, but was initially unhappy to learn that she is too young yet to learn to tap. That is her ultimate goal. Her dance recital will be next June, and I have promised to be there, no matter what.

Richard decides that today is the day to clean the outside chimney so we can finally light a fire in the stove. I hate the thought of building a fire in the woodstove so early in the fall, but it gets cold at nights now and we will have to. He will have to clean the inside chimney as well but soon we will have a toasty warm kitchen and living room.

He gets a call form his former employer asking him to work 4 hours at the hospital in his capacity as a Security Guard, from 8pm to Midnight. He agrees, but isn't enthusiastic about it. I don't blame him, the hours, when he worked there, were brutal.

After he is finished, and the rain has let up for a bit, I go back outside but only convince a couple of the dogs to follow me. There are windfall apples to pick up and doggy mines to deactivate. Want to get everything done before my tv shows premiere tonight. In the garden yard, I come aware of the incessant chatter of birds...the Chestnut-backed Chickadees are in the apple trees and having a good gossip. I laugh at their antics. One flies over to the suet cage, hanging upside down from it, looking bewildered that it is empty. The others flit from branch to branch, hunting bugs and seeds, all the while chattering about what they have been doing, where they have been, whose yard has the best feeding. They brighten my rainy day.

Bente arrives for a short visit, and we warm up with a hot cappuccino. After she leaves I remember I still haven't asked her about posting a description and photo's of the Castle she stayed in. Ah well, tomorrow is another day.

But tonight is Bones first - Kate and I said last season that Zack wasn't capable of killing anyone, and we are proved right. Criminal Minds is an absolute nail biter. The online rumors were rampant all summer that Derek would be the one "blown up" and end up in hospital and the consensus was that would NOT be a good thing for the fans. I concur. Gina and I again critique the show during commercials and are extremely thankful that Derek, while badly shaken up, does not get injured thanks in part to Garcia. GREAT SHOW! Kate texts me that Hotchner REALLY needs to lighten up. I agree.

Gina is tired and says goodnight, telling me she wont be calling again during CSI: NY. But during the first set of commercials the phone rings and the first words out of her mouth are "I suck at this game!" I snicker and tell her she's right. Of course we end up talking all during the commercials throughout the show, which was really great, I might add. Both Gina and I loved the final line spoken by Mac Taylor: "You are under arrest for murder, kidnapping, robbery, and mostly because you pissed me off." What more can you say.

As I am getting ready for bed at 11:30, going to run water in the bathroom sink for a wash, my eyes go slitty as I discover there is in fact...NO WATER! @#$%^&* Yup, I says a swear. Actually more than one. The well has finally gone completely dry. Aaaarrrggh! I leave Richard a note. We had talked last week about filling up all the water jugs we have and getting them ready for just such an eventuallity, but never did it. I leave a note for Richard. When he comes home, he says a swear or two as well. Then fills a pail from the tank in the garden yard and makes sure all the toilets are filled.

In the morning he will empty and clean up the tank I have been using for watering my plants - don't need that in the rain. Then move it over by the well, fill it with water from the hydrant over at the barn on the other side of the farm, and connect it to the pump so we will still have running water.

Oh, and, um, fill the plastic jugs with water and move them up to the house.

Like we talked about last week.

Better late than never I guess.

Yeah.

Everyone's a Critic

2008-09-23T18:34:00.000-07:00

The sun is trying to shine as we go outside this morning, but it is cool. Really cool. Only 5 of the dogs join me, Rosie deciding she'd rather sleep on the sofa than shiver in the grass. I don't blame her. I hobble my way out to the garden boat to roll up the beach mats and shower curtain, just as Richard returns from checking on the other side of the farm. He brings one of the Dollar Store tarps and I show him where I want it attached to the end of the bunk bed frame to keep the tomatoes warm. I decide to reach waaaayyy in and pick the two ripening Striped Cavern Tomatoes, but can only reach one. We move around to the starboard side of the boat, Richard reaches in and with some difficulty, snags the other tomato. We circle around again and decide it is just too cold to tarry outside anymore. The dogs agree.

Back inside I have my cappuccino, and watch the news: election; more election; school shooting in Finland; Regina Christian school in lock down; financial meltdown in the US. Time to see what Anna is making this morning...ooooh, Turkey and Trimming Pinwheels. Looks delish!

I'm getting my hair cut later this afternoon so don't want to start any baking. Instead I putter, doing little things I have been meaning to do for weeks. Bringing in a plastic container from out on the deck, I sort through the dried flower heads I have been collecting for their seeds. There are Marigolds, Zinnias, Gazanias, Calendulas and Abutilon, also known as Flowering Maples. After the success of my Marigold planting on the garden boat this summer, I can't wait to do it again next year and am saving all the seeds I can.

Bente has been saving her Nasturium seeds, and I saved the double pink Poppies and I have some seeds from some Giant Red Poppies I saved last year. Some of the seeds go into paper bags to facilitate drying and some that are already dried go into jars. Then the whole works go back in the dog room to keep cool.

That used up an hour and soon it is time to go and have my hair cut. I wear it short -REALLY SHORT - and today Heather makes short work of it, no pun intended. It's too cold and I am too stiff with arthritis to do any shopping so am back home less than an hour after I leave. Soon the dogs are anxious to go out, whining and nattering at me. When I open the door, they race out hooting and hollering to the far end of the garden yard. Mason runs so fast that he skids into the fence, nearly turning himself from a Bichon into a Pug. All of the dogs are standing on hind legs barking at something down the drive.

I arrive behind them and realize the Cute Little Island Mule Deer and her twins have been under the pear trees enjoying the wind fall fruit. I forgot she likes to wander through at this time of day. She sees me and trots down towards the creek with her twins. I holler at her, apologizing for disturbing her feast. She and one of the twins stop, looking back over her shoulder at me. I wave at her and she twitches her ears, flicks her tail, but stays stationary. I toss some wind fall apples over the fence, and finally convince the kids to come in so the deer can return. As I approach the house, I look back over my shoulder, and she is still standing there watching us. It won't be long before the kids start hooting in the house because she is in the drive again, I know.

It's NCIS Season Premiere tonight and I don't want to miss a second of it. I am a fan of the FBI, NCIS, CSI shows, in case you haven't figured that out, and late September is when I lock myself away to watch the premiere's. Tonights is great, and as an added bonus, Gina calls me from Edmonton during commercials and we critique what has just happened on the show. NCIS is so exciting and after NCIS, a new series debuts, The Mentalist, another FBI drama. Gina and I watch it and critique it as well, deciding we liked it. Kate weighs in via text messaging and I agree with her that the cast needs to meld more for it to be in the NCIS, CSI, Criminal Minds, Numb3rs catagory. It has "good possibilities" - that means we'll watch it for a few weeks to see where it goes.

Gina and I talk about tomorrow nights shows, looking forward with anticipation to Bones, Criminal Minds - which agent was it who got blown up at the end of the last season? - and CSI: NY. Of course we will be watching them together.

I round up the dogs after the show, and try and convince them to go outside while I make their beds up. Yeah, right. It's raining and that's NOT going to happen.

Maybe in the morning they'll go out.

Or not.

1 Tomato, 2 Tomato, 3 Tomato, 4...

2008-09-22T13:17:00.000-07:00

Striped Cavern, top;
Bull's Heart, bottom

The sun is shining again as I wake up, it must be a high barometric pressure day, oh joy, oh bliss as I am not as stiff as usual. Richard has already been for coffee, returning as I take the dogs out to the garden yard. I wander around briefly, then roll up the beach mats and shower curtain. The Fall birds are back: Robins, Stellar Jays, Towhees, Chickadees, Flickers, assorted Sparrows. The air is filled with their chatter. Late in the summer, round about the end of July, they all disappear inland, for a holiday I surmise. But come September, they return and we look forward to hearing their voices again.

The Garden Boat looks good as usual, tomatoes ripening slowly. Richard picks a few Tumbling Toms and we discuss our day. He has to work at 3pm, I need to go out and get some Caraway Seed from the Health Food Store. I forgot to purchase some when I was there on Saturday. As Gina would say, "Some-Timers". He suggests we go to the Victoria Quay to watch the birds and see if their are any Black Bears fishing across the Canal. I like the sounds of that so we are off.

Richard notices a small flock of Canada Geese on a sandbar across the water from us, and I spot a rather large flock floating towards them, about 500 yards upstream. He laughs when I point them out and comments "maybe they are rival "gangs" out looking for a rumble." "Kind of a 'Geese in the Hood', you mean" I say. He chuckles and says "yeah, like that." We go back and forth for a bit about the Goose Gangs and watch the flocks with interest.

Suddenly something large moves behind the smaller flock of geese and I point out a Black Bear to Richard. "Must be muscle for the small flock," he says. I grin, and quickly shoot some photo's of the bear and the birds. I notice they move away from the lumbering beast, respecting his size and appetite.

On the way home I get the Caraway seed I need, inhaling its scent as I pour it into the bag, envisioning loaves of warm Pumpernickel and Rye Bread, fresh from the oven with cream cheese and maybe some green olives too. Yes, I DO have an active imagination. Why do you ask?

One more stop at the Dollar Giant for a couple of their small tarps for the garden boat then we start home, but Bente finds us as we are just leaving the parking lot. "I found your yeast" she says. "I opened the kitchen window and set it on the tv for you." Oh wow, I am really excited now. Of course I tell her to come over for a cappuccino.

Back home I am just putting the dogs in the garden yard when she arrives. She was unsuccessful at Safeway's but the baker there told her to go to Mountain View Bakery, on this side of town, and she was able to purchase a pound for me there. For $2.50! Oh I can't wait to try it out.

We talk about this and that and when Richard comes in, I reach in the tomato bowl and pull out a ripe Bull's Heart, a ripe Striped Cavern and a ripe Black Prince. We slice them onto a paper plate and have a taste testing. Richard pulls out the bread I made yesterday and he and Bente enjoy tomatoes on bread. I am surprised at the consensus for the best tasting. We love them all, but I think the one that comes out on top is the Striped Cavern. The Bull's Heart might be one day too ripe. It would be a fabulous cooking tomato, great for sauces and chunky Salsas. The Black Prince is sweet and spicy, great for salads and sandwiches, while the Striped Cavern has an almost Lemon-like tang to it. Like the Sweet Peppers it resembles, the Striped Cavern is half hollow with the seeds and flesh up at the stem end and the skin is firmer, a perfect stuffing tomato.

After our taste test, Bente and I walk out in the garden yard and I pick her some ripening Yellow Mortgage Lifters, a small Black Prince and a Striped Cavern to take home to finish ripening on her window sill. I had given her a small loaf of Spelt bread I made yesterday with the promise of more to come, baked with the fresh yeast she got for me.

Time to research recipes that use the fresh yeast. And I find a Country Rye Bread that has possibilities. This one is for a stand mixer, which I have, but would rather make a smaller version of the recipe. Right below it on the page is one for Bread Machines. I choose it for my test batch, and will let the machine do the work of mixing and kneading for me, then bake it in my oven.

First portion out the yeast. I have a digital kitchen scale, so should be able to weigh the yeast as I cut it off the block. I have found an internet page that tells me the equivalent amount of fresh to dry yeast ratio. It says 2 oz fresh compressed/cake yeast = a strip of 3 envelopes or packets of yeast. Ok, that should be easy. It also says that 1 envelope of dry yeast = .06oz of cake yeast. Hmmmm. I start to measure. One chunk, um, ok, needs a bit more...no, too much now, remove a pinch...a pinch more, ok got it. Put that on a piece of parchement paper. Measure out more - I want to have enough measured and wrapped to make 3 more lots of bread once this is tried...

...have I mentioned that I don't do math? I mean, besides add, subtract, multiply and divide simple numbers? I try, no really, I try but I am just not a math person. The concept just excapes me, no matter what. Suffice it to say that I "think" I managed to get 3 blocks of yeast wrapped up and in the fridge that are .06oz in weight. I think. Time will tell. Soon the bread machine is mixing merrily away. I can't resist checking it periodically. The dough ball is "tacky" but not "sticky", a good sign.

It's evening and the dogs and I put the boat to bed, rolling down the beach mats again and tying them off so the wind can't blow them around. Canada Geese honk their way across the sky above me, and I smile thinking of the 'Geese in the Hood' conversation earlier in the day. That could be truer than you think, Geese in the Hood, for they can be nasty creatures if you get in their way. Time to go in and bake the bread. It looks not too bad, for a test loaf.

Now it's baking and oh my goodness it smells wonderful! Can't wait to try it. Richard will be home from work just after 8pm, just when it is cooling. I'll be hard pressed to make him wait to try it.

Come to think of it, I'll be hard pressed to keep me from trying it. Just think, homemade Caraway Rye bread, fresh from the oven, slathered in butter, dripping with yummy goodness....oh I can't stand to wait!

Yeah, I know...BITZ!

A Grain of Truth

2008-09-21T11:23:00.000-07:00

I wake up to cool, cloudy and wet. And very stiff hands. It takes a few minutes of finger wiggling to get them to move as I need them to. Fall is definitely here with it's incumbent low pressure systems. As I let the dogs out into their pen, I notice it has rained during the night, or perhaps just a short while ago as the trees are still dripping - a lot. Right now the sun breaks through, and there is patchy blue sky. That's promising.

Bichon's are funny dogs, or perhaps I should say they are odd. Make that O.D.D. They are descended from a Mediterranean dog called the Barbet, or Water Spaniel. Now, the name "Water Spaniel" connotes something that would like water, yes? No. At least, not these guys. The least little bit of water on the grass causes them to walk on tip toe and try not to touch where it is wet. And rain, oh forget it. First in line at the door sticks a paw out, feels a raindrop, and that's it. They all turn right around and decide amongst themselves that today's the day to use the indoor potty room. Yes I said indoor potty room. Don't ask. But today at least, because the grass in their yard is still quite short, they mosey out.

After my cappuccino is drunk and my eyes are open and both focusing, we make our way to the garden yard. The grass is longer here, so only 2 of the 5 who came with me make it to the garden boat. Our tarps have done their job and the tomatoes are warm and dry. I decide to roll up the beach mats & shower curtain as far as I can so that the sun can warm them more.

Despite the rain and cooler temperatures, we are in no hurry to return indoors. I hear a Northern Flicker call from down on the creek and the Canada Geese fly over, heading for the feeding grounds of the sanctuary across the canal. Soon the Muttering Murder of Crows mutters past, heading for who knows what mischief. A brilliant sapphire blue Stellars Jay squawks at us from the Holly trees and I can hear the sounds of the Towhees scratching for bugs under the leaves in the bushes on the driveway. When we first moved here, the Towhees used to startle me if I was outdoors with their scratching; it sounds just like the footsteps of someone walking on leaves.

Time to go indoors and do something with the day. I want to bake something, maybe more tiny pies. Of course I want to make some bread too. And I want to try grinding some grain into flour. I have read all the instructions for that, several times and will have the booklet right to hand when I do. There. That is what I will do, I will grind some grain and make some bread with the flour. I have a plan. What could possibly go wrong?...

...and for once, not much did. I decide on grinding some Spelt flour, as it is one of my favorites. I have mentioned it before, commenting on it being an ancient grain and a precursor to our modern wheat. It is sweet tasting and easier for my system to tolerate than regular whole wheat.

I cannot work in a messy kitchen so before I begin, I always ensure it is tidy. Today is no exception. I gather my tools and the grain. Following the instruction booklet closely, I assemble the grain mill - it is always stored disassembled - tighten the bolts that hold the grind worm drive in place to finger tight and attach it to the front of my Kitchenaid Stand Mixer. The goes smoothly. I put my jar funnel into the hopper, to facilitate pouring in the grain, and screw the accompanying jar to the bottom of the hopper, to collect the milled flour. So far, so good.

The booklet says to turn adjustment knob clockwise until tight, then turn knob back one click. Check. If grind is too fine, turn adjustment knob counterclockwise until desired grind is achieved. Click, click, counterclockwise, check. Think I have it where I would want it. Booklet also says to operate on speed 6. Speed 6, check. And I begin...

...of course it makes a racket, that is to be expected. The flour begins sifting down into the jar. My first home ground flour. Cool! I am watching it carefully, good thing, because I notice one side of the front plate begins to vibrate. I re-tighten the bolts again. And again in a few minutes. As it begins to vibrate loose, the grind gets more coarse, resulting in a "cracked" grain instead of a flour. The vibration of the machine is loosening the bolts ever few minutes and I can't tighten them any tighter by hand, so end up just holding them as secure as I can.

I want to photograph this so hobble out to the living room for my camera and hobble back. And just that quickly the bolts have loosened again and I have 1/2 inch of coarse cracked spelt in the jar. I make a scrunchy face and turn off the machine. Hmmmmm.

Out to the pantry I go with the jar, retrieve a fine strainer, and sift out the flour from the coarsely cracked grain. With jar reattached to the machine, I can start again and rapidly shoot my photo's. That done, I use both hands to hold the front plate in place. It does take a while, but the result is 1 & 1/2 cups of freshly ground flour. Now I HAVE to make a small loaf of bread.

Most of my bread books have recipes too large for what I want to make, so I choose one at random and cut it in half - the recipe, not the book. I also choose to use my smaller bread machine to mix it up in. You remember that machine? The one with the incomprehensible instruction book? Yeah, that one.

The dough looks lovely once it is mixed up and rising. Can't wait to bake it. I turn and survey the kitchen. Why is it that I can start out in a clean kitchen and end up, shortly thereafter in a disaster zone? Sighing, I begin to set it to rights while the dough keeps rising.

An hour later the dough is finished its first rise. I choose to divide it in half and make two small loaves rather than one larger one and soon have it in pans. Looks rather dwarfed by the pans, maybe I should have picked smaller ones. Oh well, we'll see when it is time to bake. Will probably end up with two short, squat loaves, but it will give us a taste of home ground flour anyway.

Now it's in the oven and the sweet scent of spelt smells delightful. I can't wait for it to be baked and cooled. Soon we are sampling it, slathered in butter. Oh Yum!

It was a lot of work, but worth the effort. Richard and I discuss ways to keep the front plate of the grain mill from vibrating loose. He will fix that. Can't wait to try milling some rye flour now. And oat flour from the oat groats I bought. I forgot to look for barley yesterday, will put that on my list and must remember to buy caraway seed to put in my rye bread. I'm getting tired just thinking of all I want to do.

Tomorrow I have to start on the apples, there are six buckets of them sitting up on a shelf in the dog room where it is cool. Will use my new apple parer/peeler/corer and make short, if messy, work of them. Then I have to make some tiny pies to take to the women who work at the library. I promised them some tiny apple pies and tiny cheesecakes. I can't go back to the library until I get them made.

And I have books in. Hmmmmm...

...maybe I better make the pies first, then do the grain milling and apple peeling.

Sounds like a plan.

Whisper Down the Wind

2008-09-20T18:26:00.000-07:00

Striped Cavern Tomatoes

Sliced Yellow Mortgage Lifter (lower left)
Sliced Black Prince (upper right)

Today dawned cold, cloudy and dreary after the warmth and sunshine of the last 3 weeks. We shiver our way outside to check the plants and garden boat, but don't linger very long. Fall starts officially on Monday but here on the Island, it began today. Rain is in the forecast, will have to get Richard to put a tarp over the garden boat tonight to protect the tomatoes.

I decide to go out in the world and look for some fresh yeast, starting with the closest bakery. Well, that bakery turned out to only be a store front, the actual bakeshop being somewhere out in the country. The people working there - a woman of about my age and a younger fellow - looked at me as if they had never heard of such a thing as fresh yeast. Hmmmm, not an auspicious start to my search.

I decide to go and buy some whole grain to grind into flour from Alberni Health Market. That search at least is successful, although when I asked the woman behind the counter about fresh yeast, I really got a blank look. I am not deterred. After purchasing an apple peeler/parer/corer at Home Hardware, I check out a couple of other places for fresh yeast, but meet with failure. One place shows me a huge box of dry yeast. The last place at least knew what I was talking about. Maybe I'll just send Kelly money and have him express post me some. Who knew it was so hard to find? I decide to go home and phone some other places to see if they use it.

Back home from my foray by 2pm, I find an e-mail from Bente, saying she will drop by this afternoon. Hope I haven't missed her. I quickly tidy up a bit, take the dogs out, then turn the heater on to warm the air in the kitchen. Yes, it's THAT chilly.

Bente arrives just after 3pm and we enjoy a much needed hot cappuccino. I tell her of my dilemma trying to find yeast. She chastises me for not letting her know while she was in Denmark because she would have brought me some from there. She offers to check with the baker at Safeway for me, and I accept. Being a long time patron of the local Safeway, she knows the baker well. Hopefully she will have success. Yes, I could just keep using dry yeast, but Kelly says I won't believe the difference in using fresh yeast. I HAVE to try it.

After Bente leaves, the dogs and I again wander outdoors to the garden yard. Though the day is dull, the plants are beautiful, and I take my time, enjoying each one before the rains begin. At the garden boat, I check again to see if any of the other tomatoes are ripening. I am waiting for the Brandywine's and the Striped Caverns. I circumnavigate the boat a few times, then bend low on the starboard side to see if I haven't missed some tomatoes, perhaps hiding behind some leaves...

...I have! There, over there in the middle, behind the huge potato-leafed Pink Brandywine, down low, are 3.. no 4 Striped Cavern tomatoes ripening. I quickly move to the port side of the boat, again bend down low, reach waaaaaay in, move the leaves and...ah ha! There is one that is nearly ripe. I pick it.

Oh it is so pretty! A bright orange overlaid with green and gold, like a Christmas Ornament. Of course I have to photograph it. Then put it in the bowl with the ripening Bull's Heart and Black Prince Tomatoes. Can't wait to try them. If the weather remains cool and cloudy for too long, I will have to pick off the tomatoes and let them ripen indoors. Will monitor them carefully.

After dinner, I go out with the dogs to roll down the beach mats and the shower curtain on the garden boat. The dogs run to the far fence where they stand on their hind legs and sniff the air. It is cold and moist with the promise of rain, the breeze floating softly up from the creek. I watch them for a bit and think that the wind is bringing them the scents of some animal, either the bear or deer...maybe racoons. I carefully look around but see nothing - you know how I feel about bears. After chasing the dogs back indoors, Richard joins me in the yard with two small tarps for the garden boat. It takes us a bit, but finally we have successfully covered the plants under the bunk bed frame.

As I turn to retrieve my cane, Richard whispers something at me. I turn to look at him, puzzled, and he points to the other side of the fence, just beyond the boat. At first I don't see them in the gloom - it is twilight, after all. Then one of them moves and I can see all three, Mother Mule Deer and her twin fawns, eating windfall apples. That is what the scent was wafting on the wind. They are so close, and so unconcerned, knowing we will not hurt them. Richard speaks softly to them, tossing more apples over the fence. They twitch their ears at his words, and trot away a few feet. He keeps talking and tossing apples.

One of the fawns turns back towards him, looking at the apples he has thrown. Then with a flash of it's tail, it runs over to Mama and the twins bend their front legs and begin suddenly to suckle milk from her. I am in awe, never having seen fawns nursing before. As quickly as they start they are through, and wander back towards us for their apple treats.

My day is complete. What can possibly top a mother deer and her twins at twilight?

Not too much, methinks.

I Say Tomato...You Say Tomatoe

2008-09-19T15:23:00.000-07:00

Bente is back. She's been gone for a month, in Denmark, attending her oldest brother's 50th wedding anniversary, which was celebrated in a castle. If she'll let me, I'll put up a few photo's and a description of the castle and grounds in another blog post. It has been very quiet without her here.

She came for a visit yesterday afternoon, having only arrived home the night before from Seattle, where her plane landed. We caught up on the last month, then went out to check my garden. I picked her some Tumbling Tom's, a few Brown Berries and on small Yellow Mortgage Lifter tomato for her dinner. I had been saving them for her to come home to. It's great to have her home.

Today is also grocery shopping day and I had a lot of ground to cover. As usual, I started with the Dollar Giant to get my "cheep goods" - large plastic containers for cereal etc; disposable plastic gloves for mixing up dog food; dark colored hand towels, because the white ones I was foolish enough to buy before turned gray and stained really fast from Richard using them to wipe greasy hands on; boxes of freezer bags; you get the idea. Then off to Walmart where I found...

...bargains! They are clearing out rectangular plastic plant pots for $1.00 each, the ones you can hang on your balcony or affix under the window, the ones I have outside the patio door on the ground for the deer to feed off the pansies, marigolds and geraniums...yeah, those ones. Of course I bought 10 of them, and had to restrain myself to that. I REALLY wanted to buy them all, for a $1.00 each, but didn't. Then walking back up the aisle, I found hummingbird feeders on clearance for $2.00 each so bought two of them. I enjoy feeding the little darlings in the summer.

Oh and there, in the cheese cooler, look at that...Armstrong cheese is on for a GREAT price, $3.98 each for 600gm block, regular $7.98. WOW! I grab 4 of them, walk away and then realize I really don't need that much cheese so put 2 of them back. Sigh, but it wasn't easy putting two of them back, I mean, well, gee, it IS a bargain, and you know I LOVE a bargain. Off to Extra Foods next to pick up the few things I will need there today. Then home to haul it all in and put it all away.

Tomorrow I will be going to Alberni Health Market, another of my favorite stores. Yesterday my friend Vicki, she of the ailing laptop that I finally got fixed for her, brought me her Kitchenaid Grain Mill attachment for my Kitchenaid Stand Mixer. She got it from friends in Seattle and has used it herself. I cannot wait to try it and grind my own grain for flour. Alberni Health Market carries Wheat, Barley, Rye, Spelt in bulk bins, so I will get a bit of each, grind it and then make some bread from it. There are several adjustments you can make on it to get a coarser or finer grind.

Kelly suggested going to a local bakery and asking them if they use fresh yeast. He says if I once try it, I will have a hard time going back to dry yeast in my bread. Kelly is a baker at Sobey's in Leduc, and they have people come in and buy it from them all the time. Tomorrow, on my way to the Health Market, I am going to stop at a couple of bakeries nearby to see if they use it and if they will sell me some. Just think, fresh ground flour, baked up into bread, using fresh yeast. What more can I ask for?

While showing Bente the garden yesterday, I noticed that two of my Bull's Heart tomatoes, as well as one large Black Prince, were nearly ripe, but decided to leave them another day to see how much more they could ripen on the vine. Today I decided to pick them and let them finish ripening indoors. Tomatoes need heat to ripen, and ours has vanished all of a sudden. Our temperatures have gone down to the high teens during the day...I find it chilly, even though I know it isn't.

The Bull's Heart tomatoes, you will see in the photo, are what is called a pink tomato, and they are heart shaped. This tomatoes, under optimum conditions, can weigh as much as 3 pounds! Mine weighed in at 5.4 ounces and 8 ounces respectively and the Black Prince is 8 ounces. Not bad for growing in a boat.

I have to tell you, once you try these tomatoes - these HERITAGE tomatoes - you will be hard pressed to go back to eating store bought ones. The flavor is incredible. I find myself having a salad every night for dinner with either Black Prince or Yellow Mortgage Lifter tomates in it. Damn, they are good!

I am still considering taking cuttings from these plants and keeping them over winter in the house. Richard just rolls his eyes and shakes his head and asks where I think I am going to keep all these plants. Well, there's the dogs room in the back, and I suppose my bathroom/laundry room could hold a couple and then there is the livingroom, I can put some in there, oh and the deck, I'll over winter some there, like I did last year. And the back porch, kept quite a few there, um, hmmmmm...

Forever In Blue Jeans

2008-09-16T17:15:00.000-07:00

It's another beautiful day in the Valley when I get moving this morning, warm soft breezes, azure skies and bright sunshine. Richard has been to fill the water tank for me to give the boat and all of my many plants a drink. Supposed to be nearly +30 today. September has been a gorgeous month, with the best weather so far this summer. Mother Nature must be over her PMS. One can only hope.

We wander the yard, the dogs and I, starting with the pots by the fence, closest to the house and then wander over to the mini pea patch. It is now the mini Scarlet Runner Bean patch, as the beans are finally climbing and blooming. I notice some of the store bought hybrid tomato plants have tomatoes developing and one is even turning red... despite my neglect. A funny noise distracts me from my musings. I turn towards the house and discover Emily has gotten into the hops-vine choked rose bush and is caught tight. Silly puppy! I extricate her with an admonishment not to go in there again. She'll gives me a tail-wagged thanks.

I move off towards the garden boat and the kids follow leisurely, sniffing at this, pawing at that, rolling in something I don't think I want to know about. There are more windfall apples on the ground, even though Richard has been out early and filled my bucket with them. These are such tasty apples, with a wonderful scent. I have to get them peeled and chopped, into a slow cooker and then into the freezer.

I start watering the boat and the plants and pretty soon an hour has gone by. It is getting warmer outside, the thermometer on the deck already says +25. Love it. Time to go in for cappuccino.

Back outside in the warmth, and walking towards the garden boat, something moves beside my foot. My eyes focus on it and I grin. It's a cute little Island Garter Snake, slithering it's way towards the shade of the big old Wild Rose bush, just outside the fence. He stops and looks at me, then wends his way onward. The dogs can't see him, but they smell him and follow his scent through the grass. Up by the garden boat is another one, which quickly slides under the boat. I am struck by a thought...I haven't seen any slugs for several weeks. I bet the snakes are the reason for that.

I hear the phone ringing and hurry - as fast as I am able to hurry - to answer it. I hear a sweet voice singing:
"Money talks, it don't sing and dance and it don't walk. As long as I can have you here with me, I'd much rather be, Forever In Blue Jeans, Babe."

"Hey Momma, guess who I am going to see tonight in concert!!!?"

It's Gina, and she is really excited. Neil Diamond is in Edmonton for a concert. She had wanted to go, but wasn't keen about the price of the tickets. One of her co-workers had purchased tickets and wasn't able to use them so gave them to Gina. She knows how much I love Neil Diamond, and has told her fellow employees about how she was born and raised on his music. Well, I DID have all his albums, and I DID play them a lot, this is true.

I am energized after talking to Gina, you can't help but be. I decide to use some of my Spelt flour and make some orange zest and maple syrup flavored Spelt bread. Soon I have 3 loaves baking in the oven. The fragrance of baking bread fills the air. I wait impatiently for it to cool, after removing it from the oven, so that I can try it. Ohhhh, it is divine! Crisp on the outside, tasty and moist, slathered in butter.

Each night before going to bed I always peel and slice up an apple, then sit on the bed and watch the news while munching it. Tonight is no different, except it is one of my own apples, not a cold storage store bought one. These apples are sweet and delicious - I peel two. After the news is over, I remember I had to take meat out of the fridge freezer for tomorrows dinner. It's dark in the kitchen, the only light coming through the windows from the deck, but I have lived there for 19 years, it's my kitchen, and I know where everything is, who needs lights on. Perhaps that is a good thing. Perhaps that is what kept me from letting loose a blood curdling scream and giving Richard a coronary.

Walking back to the bedroom, I rounded the corner and in the dark, I saw, dimly, something scurrying towards me on the floor. I gave a choked sound, then stomped it, 3 times in rapid succession with my good leg.

Damn, now I have to hobble back across the room, without putting that foot down completely on the floor, and turn on the light. Then I have to open the front door and scrape whatever it was - oh come on, we know it was a spider, now don't we, hmmmmm? GAK. I wipe my shoe off on the rug on the deck, then closing the door, and taking a wad of paper towel, and the jug of vinegar, go and remove the evidence from the floor where I crushed it. That will teach it to run at me in the dark, yelling about revenge.

Now I am wound up from the adrenalin surge. Guess I will be watching that Numb3rs rerun at midnight after all.

With one eye watching the corners of the room and the ceiling of course. You can't be too careful.