Posted for my mom – it was her mother’s recipe and it’s always been awesome! I have not made it for awhile, but perhaps our next generations of bakers will give it a try and share 🙂 Apologies for my chaotic script from my early 20s when I would have written this in my cookbook. If you need any clarification, post in the comments 🙂
Category Archives: Personal time
#PostBirthday #46 #Datenight
Head over to my flickr page for Photos of the fun…
So I thought I was having a bit of a crappy weekend…
It kind of started Thursday when my digestive system began to run amuck and I had clients to see, dance practice I wanted to attend and a busy Friday the next day. But it all flowed okay-ish so on life goes…
The next morning, I had another round of not feeling great, but I don’t have that cold/flu that’s going around, so I figured, buck up buttercup, and get ‘er done. Saw clients, had my sewing helper over and one final meal of beef that she brought out of the kindness of her heart <sadly, a greater than normal consumption of beef is the suspected culprit in my digestive adventures>
And Friday evening ended on the futon, rumblytumbly, but relaxing as I had 2 more clients due Saturday morning.
I got up early Saturday, feeling worse again, and managed to get some last minute work done, clients met and sent on their way and then I was able to relax and sleep and let my system empty itself out of it’s burdens.
Sunday morning, sleeping in, typing out the Dancer’s News from bed in order to stay there as long as possible and then off to a tea and toast brunch at our Bollywood For Fun Brainstorming Brunch < which went very well!>.
So really not actually a totally crappy weekend, just an undercurrent of not feeling great throughout.
Final socializing involved a trip to the Hubby’s fave pub to visit with the in-laws before coming home to rest some more – I had had a very busy morning.
Since Hubby had work to do, settled into the bedroom, listening to my audio book du jour – Terry Goodkind’s, Wizard’s First Rule, and after what seemed like only a few minutes, I was already dozy, snoozy and generally half asleep with a little Sprocketdog curled up with me. Ah, peace.
Calmly, Hubby steps into the bedroom, ” Don’t panic, but get ready to go.” and he steps out again. Once the door had opened, I then heard the hallway alarm going off. Had I fallen asleep, and Hubby gone out, I likely would have been rescued by a lovely Ottawa Fire Fighter, but I’m ok with the turn of events as they happened.
I looked around, unplugged my phone, turned off the audio book and headed to change into outside pants < was wearing pj bottoms, ya know> – I took the “don’t panic” as a good guideline. Pants, socks, dog, coat, laptop, boots, dog onto leash with her coat, Oh crap!
And yes, I made the choice to walk down the hallway to grab the two wedding dresses of clients who are getting married/ heading off to get married within the next week.
True Story: One of the brides was actually happy that her dress was staying for some minor final adjustments as she did not want to leave it at her mom’s – her mom has a fireplace and it would end up with a wood smoke smell… seriously.
Back to the adventure.
Dresses in a large tote bag, dog on leash, husband with laptops, coat and boots and scarves and off we go.
Hubby left the apartment door unlocked- this is a good idea – fire folk have to go and check every unit, so would you not rather they be able to walk in and do their job without delay or sledgehammer?
Oh, and BTW, the entire time before he changed into his outside pants, Hubby was on the phone with 911, then he hung up as the sirens were blaring. Silly us, we both put our phones down to change and left them in the apartment. Priorities were all good though.
We were leaving the apartment and down to the outside door as we could see smoke coming from our neighbours door in the basement. Hubby had already been knocking on all doors, talking to neighbours and making sure everyone was ok and out.
Anyone who has heard me talk of the “superintendent” in the building knows he’s not really up for the job, and sadly this was another moment of reflecting that. Everyone in the building was out, except for him, and fortunately, he opened his window which is at ground level and a fire fighter pulled him out.
His comment was that he thought the landlord was there testing the alarm system, until he opened his own door into the hallway and saw the smoke from the other apartment.
He had no shoes, no coat, but the fire fighters popped in when it was safe for them to do so and got him shoes and coat. His cats were fine, but ere left in the apartment the entire time.
Be prepared people. You just never know.
Meanwhile, I had tossed the very important dresses into my car, moved it back out of the way as much as I could, left the dog in the car too and spoke with the police to help make sure that everyone was accounted for.
Hubby was checking on the neighbours, we got to know them a bit more – but never a good way for this to happen.
Street blocked, multiple emergency vehicles including police, paramedics, fire trucks and on King Edward, an OC Transpo bus was there for us to wait in and keep warm. Ottawa’s emergency services do a great job. There may be situations where people are injured and sadly die, but based on the quick response we received and the communication and care given – the Red cross and Salvation army were also in play, especially for the couple who cannot go back into their home until that’s cleared.
So, thank you Ottawa services. Thank you neighbours who also came out to see what had happened and offer us a place to stay and anything we needed. Thanks friends on Facebook who checked in after seeing our first post, and again making generous offers. And thanks Mom for emailing 🙂
We are fine. We’ll have to deal with the smell in our apartment, but I have to wait to see what the landlord does in the hallways as it just keeps drifting in. Windows open while they can be, and laundry pile growing for when it feels like we can wash stuff without having to wash it again – hopefully later today< Monday>.
And so ends a sort of crappy weekend, but it could have been very different, so I’m grateful for my Awesome Hubby, and my snuggly doglet. and for all of you.
UPDATES:
Monday – the cleaning crew arrived with this:
and told me to run it for 3 days…and it worked.
Tuesday: I’m given the gift of calm – thanks to Laura for her thoughtfulness …
Wednesday: They are back cleaning the hallway. I’m taking a lot of today off, as my Hubby has developed the same symptoms as I had last week so I am hoping he feels better before Friday!
If we can make it out:
1 We hit the Museum of Nature for Nature Nocturne – there will be both Anime < for Him> and Ping Pong < for her> in celebration of the Year of the Goat!
Then on the way home, we hope to pop in on the Fundraiser set up to help out our neighbours who lost their apartment: Help get Kitty a home
Little Gurl Balls- sugar and spice…
I spent this morning making a batch of my annual truffles, and remembered that I’ll be seeing some non chocolate eating friends…
I decided to try something new:
Basic truffle recipe:
½ cup butter, softened
¼ cup cocoa powder
2 ½ cups icing sugar
1/4 cup coconut milk or dairy cream
1 tsp vanilla
smush all of it together really well, chill it, roll it in cocoa. Oh and you can add booze.
Little Gurl Balls
Skip the cocoa , add a bit more icing sugar to make stiffer.
Use equal parts ginger and cinnamon- or add nutmeg and cloves if you got ’em- to roll the little balls.
nom-kick in the taste buds – nom!
Personal time: A Thank you to my Dad.
Every once in a while, I remember.
This summer, while on our annual camping trip, I was reading a thought-provoking book called, The Ancestors Are Arranging Things, and segments of it discussed Allumette Island – where I spent time as a child. and it brought up many memories.
It was a long time ago < 1981> that my Dad passed away on a summer vacation that would change a lot in my life.
That which I remember before that, is only moments, snippets in time.
Snippets of Dad:
– cooking his home grown swiss chard and eating it himself – I think no one else liked it.
– boiling water and pouring into his glass grape juice jar that was kept in the fridge, and if you drank it and didn’t refill it, well….
-supper at 4:30 p.m. so that he could grab a nap before heading out for civic duties.
– his garden and compost set up.
And the cottages….
-the night I saw a family of skunks crawling out from under the porch when I needed to venture out to the outhouse. Pretty sure everyone was awakened for that adventure.
– map-o-spread on graham crackers with hot chocolate and resoundingly loud singing along with the 78’s on the wind up record player. “She’ll be com in’ ‘round the mountain” as a long-time standard.
– the gift of an inside set-up of a port-a-potty for Mom, to which I may have innocently declared, “That’s not vey romantic”, but now as an adult, realize it was a phenomenal gift of comfort and security to his wife at the rustic cottage.
-and canoeing and the peddle boat, and the hours he spent on upkeep of a beautiful piece of land, where I learned to love the outdoors. I would not have had the opportunity if I did not grow up with every summer involving a trip to the cottages thanks to Dad, and Mom, of course.
And then, after my Dad passed away, my sister picked up the torch. So,thank you Ginny too, for taking the time to pack up your little sister, a big black lab and head out for those weekends in the small cottage. And yes, I remember the bear crossing the road ahead of us as we were about to pull into the long winding lane and our sudden trip back to Waltham for Grandpa’s hunting rifle. We never needed it, thankfully, but it was the thought that counted.
And our long canoe trek, from the cottages to Waltham, through what now might be considered pretty small rapids, but you made your little sister feel somewhat safe, as we “road those rapids”.
As I am blessed now with a husband who I have been camping with each August since 1996, I know I am most appreciative of it due to those seeds planted in my childhood.
I was never a strong swimmer and am still not today. But I love the canoe, and flat water paddling for the sheer relaxation of it, with a few small challenging trips through slightly rougher water, once in a while, to say I can still do it.
And stars, and the wild blue berries and raspberries and blackberries that bring back memories of summers at the cottage and heading out to our blueberry fields for picking.
The only thing I don’t think I’ll ever replicate is lying in the back of the family station wagon in my PJ’s headed into town to the Dairy Queen and maybe a drive-in movie.
—
Sadly and unexpectedly, recently I was back at the cemetery where my Dad is buried. I was deeply saddened to be there for the loss of a childhood friend , but it allowed me to take a fresh photo of his headstone.
Thanks Mom for the company and helping me find it.
Sometimes we all need a reminder that this life is precious, so don’t hesitate.
A brief thank you to the Passionate People.
There are folks out there who just ooze enthusiasm. They rave about the things that are amazing in their world. And they do it in real time, in your face, up close and personal.
They freak me out a bit.
But I do appreciate them a lot. It saves me the energy of having to put that kind of effort into things and allows me to just get S*&T done.
I’ve been noticing a few of them around lately, and just thought I should take a moment to thank them. They won’t notice this as they are too busy being gleefully involved in the exciting things in their life. These people actually say ” mmmm” with a musical quality when they eat. AS I say – freaks me out a bit…. But they are still cool.
So thanks all you Passionate People – keep up the good work! Just keep the volume in check around my delicate ears 🙂
And life can resume again.
At the beginning of September, I always feel like the new year is starting. It’s back to school for many people – both kids and adults, and there’s a freshness to the air that just blows away the sweatiness of summer.
For the first week or two, though, I wait with anticipatory tension and hope to see which of my classes will run, who I’ll get to play with again, and what new adventures I’ll be embarking upon. Now that I know the status of most of my classes, I can take a deep breath and get down to business. There’s still room on Thursday evenings from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. if you want to try bellydance 🙂
It’s been an interesting September though during the wait – creating 7 new dresses for Bollywood For Fun < 4 more to be made over the next couple of weeks as well>…learning a new routine taught by my co-founder of BFF, Eurika for Cine-Musique last night…
as well as reconnecting with the Luxe ladies for a brief stint of Alterations Specialist work…
And now, I feel I can start to focus on the other many things I’ve had to put aside for the moment while I was prepping for the “new year”.
While I am no longer chair of the OttawaBrowncoats, my company, TAV Creations, is a sponsor, and I will be there to support the charities, enjoy Serenity, and see the amazing costumes and great people who come out for this fun event.
I also took some time while on holidays in August to examine more ways I can be good to me, I’m actually pretty self- preservationist most of the time anyway, but I can easily get caught up in doing more than I can do without starting to twitch, so part of my new year’s resolutions involve taking some time for me and my little family every week.
And eventually, I’ll even start getting out to more events that are not directly related to my work/business/etc. and trying some new things – but one step at a time.
For now – let’s get this new year off to a mellow start:
http://vine.co/v/OadAxpTeUJu
Vacay time.
’nuff said, right?
Oh – and go see Guardians of the Galaxy…just saying’…
See ya in September!
Kickstarting Second Class Supers – Day One
Friends of our are doing something awesome! Check and support if you can!!
Hanging in there…
This weekend, we had a yard sale, checked out the new apartment we’ll be moving to within the next 2 weeks and generally had a bit of an emotional roller coaster time.
After 17 years in an “unusually large for the price” apartment, with access to a back yard that almost no one else ever used, it will be strange to start paying “market value rent”, for a place about ¾ the size of our present place, with a much smaller yard area and 5 other, fully occupied units.
It’s still an older building with “character”, it’s in our chosen area to live; due to the other aspects of our lives, it was most logical for us to stick around this area.
And it’s disconcerting, strange, and hard to always keep up the positive viewpoint since we really would not be moving if things were totally in our control. But we did make the choice to move now, instead of waiting to see how bad it might get here with the new owners doing renovations upstairs.
And we have so many blessings that even with this small change in our lives, I am grateful for the offers of many friends to help us move – STOP ASKING US WHEN- WE’LL LET YOU KNOW AS SOON AS WE DO! 🙂
Downsizing, living more simply, letting go of excess, all such noble sentiments and I am doing my best to go with the positives of it. Certainly, I am glad we were able to sell and give away a LOT of stuff yesterday and the few things I kept to sell online are items of value that someone will be willing to pay for – or wedding gifts !!
And there will be a grieving process that I will be going through as well. But I grieve privately, so while I am sure folks believe they are being supportive by making, “Aw, that’s too bad” type of sentiments, it is not actually helpful.
I know you are all there to support us, if and when we need you.
THANK YOU. YOU ARE APPRECIATED. But like anyone who has gone camping with me, worked an event with me, or generally been around me, I will ask when I need the help, but otherwise, as I’ve heard many friends say, “Stay outta the way! It’s safer that way…”
We have a lot of changes still coming in our existence, so if you feel you want to be helpful, keep sending us work to help us pay the bills, “like” my silly Sprocket pictures, and occasionally, when we have time for it, we’ll be out there socializing and enjoying your awesome company.
Ok – personal time done !
Come see me dance Friday, July 25th at Summer Sizzle and if you don’t have a ticket, you can win one from me here!