tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75135478547244001202024-02-07T03:19:34.176-08:00eat, play, laugh....& drinkAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788961700177497308noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7513547854724400120.post-70383714798177758182015-11-13T06:33:00.000-08:002015-12-07T18:17:23.076-08:00Eat: Bartered SquashMy husband had the brilliant idea of taking the leftover apple grindings from our cider pressing, mix them with cracked corn, acorns, a mineral block, and other things that deer like to feed on. He assured me that hunters would buy it. I scoffed. And then bit my words when he sold out in less than an hour.<br />
"Back to the grind" he decided. Literally. 15 bushels of apples later, we had more deer feed, and now a surplus of cider. How can one have a surplus you ask? When the freezer, and all carboys are full. And there are still 6 turkeys to fit into said freezer. And you can't possibly sip another mouthful of cider for at least a week.<br />
I dug through the empty wine bottles (yes, there were plenty), filled up 10 of them and took them to work. "Just trade me something" I said to co-workers.<br />
The next day, I arrived at work to a loaf of home made bread, a jar of mustard pickles (an east coast preserve that was re-gifted to me, ha) a jar of honey, a can of beer and this:<br />
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"What the heck is this?" I tried googling squash and looking through pictures. Closest I came up with was Buttercup (it was not) and Kobacha (Nope, not that either)<br />
The squash came in a CSA basket that my boss subscribes to. It came from <a href="http://saltofkingston.com/">Salt of the Earth</a> farm, located at the east end of Kingston. I texted them with a picture.<br />
"Musque de Provence squash" came the reply.<br />
"It's a great soup squash. Google it. It's a traditional French thing. Enjoy!"<br />
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So, I lugged it home. Two days later, I stabbed it a few times, and put it in the oven.<br />
Two hours later I pulled it out, cut it in half and scooped out all the soft, yummy roasted flesh.<br />
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Two cups of it (along with 3 eggs and one cup of maple syrup, all produced in our backyard!) went into this <a href="http://theplate.nationalgeographic.com/2014/11/20/recipe-browned-butter-maple-pumpkin-bread/">Brown Butter Maple Pumpkin Loaf.</a> I don't think I browned the butter enough, I was too concerned about burning it! Also, I couldn't find the cinnamon. Until the next day, sitting in plain sight on the counter.<br />
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The rest of the squash went into soup. Which we enjoyed with fresh baked bread (I did not bake it), cheese, some of my red pepper jelly, roasted beets (they were also bartered for some cider!) with apple cider maple vinigrette and of course wine (Sandbanks Dunes is my current favourite white) Fintan ate 3 bowls at dinner. <br />
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Here's my recipe for Musque de Provence soup:<br />
<ul>
<li>1 roasted squash (I think it was probably about 4-5 pounds (uncooked), minus two cups. You could also use a large butternut squash.</li>
<li>2 cups of stock or water (I used turkey)</li>
<li>1 onion, chopped</li>
<li>garlic, however much you like! I used 4-5 cloves, minced</li>
<li>salt, pepper, thyme, chili flakes</li>
<li>cream (you could skip the cream)</li>
</ul>
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Put roasted squash, onion, garlic and spices in your favourite soup pot along with stock. Simmer until onions are soft. Blend. Return to pot and reheat. Slowly stir in 1/2 cup of cream (or more or less, or none. Are you counting calories?) Season and serve. I drizzled some chili oil on the adult servings.</div>
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Enjoy :)<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788961700177497308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7513547854724400120.post-38682271378061567112015-11-11T09:14:00.001-08:002015-12-06T12:00:56.584-08:00Third Time's a Charm! WTF Finishes WT!<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our third attempt, and third team configuration, but still with the “original” three teammates, at Wilderness Traverse finally sees Whiskey Tango Foxtrot finishing the full course!!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">Three weeks (hmm...a theme of three’s?) before the race Candice comes clean. She sprained her knee back in June, and isn’t sure how it will hold up. How do we feel about bringing another team mate into the fold? Well, the first year we raced saw a team mate change about three weeks out, so this wasn’t exactly a new idea. I think her thought is if we bring Steve on board, and her knee fails, we can still continue on as a ranked team. I’m not totally convinced Steve knows what he’s getting himself into. I laugh (nervously) over the next week as he bombards me with email messages:</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">“What kind of bike do I need?” </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlWggqu9rQLYXsGwuvYvlXSCowyGfIJAiKwlmD1CwYJLKdIxZI1li50P4ZoqbE0CxltlHIk5CTZjIY5XU4j5DVvcHrtRZR6gjXCSzCsVEzh9prEkC_jnUNC4t6HJUK9ODVJzzsyK8MS0SA/s1600/12107209_971967966179301_1588559746621347649_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlWggqu9rQLYXsGwuvYvlXSCowyGfIJAiKwlmD1CwYJLKdIxZI1li50P4ZoqbE0CxltlHIk5CTZjIY5XU4j5DVvcHrtRZR6gjXCSzCsVEzh9prEkC_jnUNC4t6HJUK9ODVJzzsyK8MS0SA/s200/12107209_971967966179301_1588559746621347649_n.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">“ I’m going to bring hot dogs!”</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">“What shoes should I wear?” </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">“I don’t have bike lights” </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">Fortunately, Steve is a Parry Sound local, which also means we have a place to crash, and he knows parts of the area quite well. Definite nav plus. Makes parts of our course plotting the night before quick and easy. Although, he hasn’t paddle Massassagua before, and the trek between CP10 and CP12? Nope, never been there either!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">After a great breakfast of waffles and sausage, we head over to the start line and GO! It’s a mass run start. I don’t like running, but it’s a rather short one, and likely the only actual running that I will have to do over the next 24 hours or so. We transition to a short bike ride and something is not right. We quickly figure out that my back tire is flat. I curse my bike mechanic back home. He was supposed to check my tires and change my tubes. </span>Hmm<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">...not a great start. We fix it, keep going, get through the first few CP’s in good time and hit the paddle. Where we are confident we’ll shine, after all, we are ALL paddlers. Despite the crazy wind, we make great time, passing about 9 teams along the way.. Near the end, we pull over for a quick fuel break before a rather long crossing to the end. A man and his two sons burst through the trees, cradling shotguns, telling us they feel sorry for us with this wind. We pick our line and head to the dock at opposite shore. We arrive with a few hours of daylight to see us through the beginning of our trek. Have I mentioned yet that I turned down a wedding invite for this? </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu0QjlGwKqomZqRpm8YhzZqPcCt8_RzpCe_JSGSodISWoTtYXfWZ84-MubGMPnxeVpWRhAhntNpvuU5xClFkOsYhCn-_oMzQA8Ek532NEzhWF7A_fXEyE2U8AyUwg6UICjCpvjUCjFfHWX/s1600/12087693_10153230368085835_689723976899788753_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu0QjlGwKqomZqRpm8YhzZqPcCt8_RzpCe_JSGSodISWoTtYXfWZ84-MubGMPnxeVpWRhAhntNpvuU5xClFkOsYhCn-_oMzQA8Ek532NEzhWF7A_fXEyE2U8AyUwg6UICjCpvjUCjFfHWX/s320/12087693_10153230368085835_689723976899788753_o.jpg" width="213" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">The first jog along the road brings a very strange sensation along the outer sides of my thighs. I can feel one of my shins tightening up. Now something is not feeling good in my knee. What the heck is going on? We drop down to a brisk walk instead. That feels better. We pass through the Deliverance cottages, complete with the greying-long-haired guitar playing dude to CP9 and set our bearing to take us to CP10. We arrive in decent time, to steak, tea, shoulder massages (an old friend was a volunteer here!) and the news that we are in 20th place. It’s a little past 8pm. Dinner at the wedding will be done by now, maybe speeches starting?</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">We realize at this point that we have a good chance of not being short coursed. We set our next bearing, and head towards CP11. Moving quicker than in past years. Although all the climbing over ridges has my knees screaming at me. Also, our hands are getting ripped apart by juniper bushes. I should be in a pretty dress dancing right now. Grant & Steve make a great nav duo, and we make it to Shangri- La before midnight. Only one small error, but the light of the heated tent showed us we missed them by a bay or two. It wasn’t until days later, that I realized that this CP was manned by the wonderful man who saved me with a single strawberry in 2013. This year, he gave me soup and water. And told me that we were going to finish….the whole course!!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">As we make the LONG journey south to CP12, my knees are really giving me some troubles. But I keep thinking if Candice is still moving forward on her knee, than I have to as well. I hit my lowest point ever on this portion of the trek. I think I may have experienced my first “bonk” When we found the trail, I was stumbled along as if I was into my second bottle of wine (by this point, the wedding reception is all over, and I would be stumbling….but still in a pretty dress!) I was hallucinating (although I wasn’t the only one, at one point Steve yelled out, he “saw” a porcupine in his path) I was dehydrated (my throat felt like it was being stabbed) and food made me nauseous. I even found Grant sitting on a rock at one point. He NEVER sits in a race. We finally got into the TA, after picking our way along the shore of the Moon River, and Heather (Grant’s wife who was volunteering) took one look at me and asked how I was. I burst into tears and said I couldn’t talk about it. After a cup of hot chocolate, soup and half a gatorade I was ready to go. By 6:30 or so, we jumped on our bikes to ride the final 65km or so to the finish line. We opted to take roads, we figure we’d be a bit faster, especially considering knees. I feel pretty good over the course of the ride, despite the fact that my bike shorts seem to be wanting to constantly give me a wedgie. Also, have you ever gotten dirt INSIDE your bike shorts? That sucks, a lot. One small nav error as we we searching for CP 14 set us back 30 minutes or so. We retraced the beginning of the race along the Seguin Trail for the final stretch over roads, as we were struggling with hills. The final 4km seemed to drag on forever….but we rolled into the finish line….22 minutes after 2:00. Elated, but slightly disappointed. Bob & Barb very kindly ranked us anyway, and we are super stoked to have finally completed the long course (140 km in 30 hours and 22 minutes), after two years of being short coursed.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwHuYzHeQDZ9jIr3uewZwE79Rwo5mwNqwEKXPFtIihu1LbgI8lN57PqY0TAH2wf15WbVvw8IsPurG2Lh5QWciprUio8yKqP-NfSs_SiQpTPVep5vJFizom_C0ZZ2N3a9sqbmLsiZEpCe3U/s1600/12088428_10156047197570468_5358022966867767750_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwHuYzHeQDZ9jIr3uewZwE79Rwo5mwNqwEKXPFtIihu1LbgI8lN57PqY0TAH2wf15WbVvw8IsPurG2Lh5QWciprUio8yKqP-NfSs_SiQpTPVep5vJFizom_C0ZZ2N3a9sqbmLsiZEpCe3U/s320/12088428_10156047197570468_5358022966867767750_n.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">A big thank you to Bob, Barb and the rest of their team and volunteers for putting on a great race. And to all of the other racers that race this, and other races, without a whole bunch other “crazy” people, we wouldn’t get to do it. Friends often ask me why….I don’t really know the answer, but I know you understand. ;)</span></span></div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788961700177497308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7513547854724400120.post-92165759497753760212015-11-09T17:35:00.001-08:002015-11-16T08:14:40.651-08:00Play: The Game of Life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well, Hello there! It's been awhile.<br />
I realize it's been almost a year since I have last visited my own blog. But I've been busy! You know, raising a family, working, eating, playing, laughing...and drinking!<br />
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But, I'm back...at least for now. I've redecorated, I hope you like visiting:)<br />
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This is what I've been up to since I last visited:<br />
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<li>We built a wood fired pizza oven in our back yard. (more on that later)</li>
<li>My eldest son turned 10!</li>
<li>We are still raising hens and turkeys.</li>
<li>We've acquired an apple press. (and make our own hard cider)</li>
<li>We kayaked a portion of the Saguenay Fjord as a family. The kids even did some solo paddling!</li>
<li>My husband's business<a href="http://www.kindlingshop.com/"> Kindling</a> has taken off</li>
<li>I now have an I<a href="https://instagram.com/michelle.mcshane/">nstagram</a> account.</li>
<li>And a cell phone.</li>
<li>I started my "career" as a blog contributor to other publications.</li>
<li>Mt team raced <a href="http://www.wildernesstraverse.com/">Wilderness Traverse</a> again, and finally completed the full course!</li>
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<li>I joined forces with a friend, and co-directed an adventure race; <a href="http://www.racethecat.ca/">The Cataraqui Adventure Trek</a>. <span id="goog_1501918012"></span><span id="goog_1501918013"></span></li>
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Thanks for stopping by, I hope you visit again!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788961700177497308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7513547854724400120.post-79265291254949885752014-12-10T13:12:00.000-08:002015-11-03T08:06:16.017-08:00Eat: Soup "A"Who doesn't love Thai food? In Kingston, there are numerous Thai restaurants. Our favourite is Pat's. They don't have a website for you to visit, this Urbanspoon <a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/242/1465197/restaurant/Ontario/Pats-Restaurant-Kingston">post</a> is the closest. But this isn't a story about Pat's Restaurant (although you should go if you haven't already). This is a story about Soup A.<br />
Before we tried Soup A, we were all about number 1 and number 6. Then, one day we were daring. We ordered Soup A. And were officially smitten. It warmed us up in a way numbers one and six didn't. And the serving is HUGE (we share it). We've tried other restaurants version of Soup A....but sadly they didn't compare. Pat's has a certain.....hmmm....it's creamier and richer than others. We set out on a mission to try to re-create it at home. So, here is how our Soup A (also know as Tom Yum Goon) turned out.<br />
<br />
The Ingredients<br />
Most followed us home on our last trip to Toronto, where there is a great Asian supermarket we love to visit. We fill our cart with exotic fruit and veggies, well priced fish and the best price on coconut milk ever.<br />
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<ul>
<li>1 can of coconut milk</li>
<li>shrimp (we had peeled shrimp in the freezer, but I'd get shell on next time. I used 2 small bags)</li>
<li>2-3 cloves garlic</li>
<li>juice of one lime</li>
<li>ginger (I think technically you should use galangal. but I couldn't find any)</li>
<li>thai basil</li>
<li>lemongrass</li>
<li>mushrooms....I used oyster and some others I found at the afore mentioned grocer</li>
<li>curry paste, I found a jar of paste that was specifically for Tom Yum soup</li>
<li>1 litre ofchicken, fish or vegetable stock </li>
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How I did it</div>
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I poured the stock into my pot. I then added a handful of shrimp shells from my freezer (I've been saving for well over a year, for a shrimp bisque recipe in a cook book I have. It will be epic when I have about 4lbs of shrimp shells. They are very light, so I suspect this will take me another year, unless we drastically increase our shrimp consumption) If you have unpeeled shrimp, don't bother with shells. Then I cut about 2" off my lemongrass stalk, crushed it a bit and threw that into the pot.</div>
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Then I added some slices of ginger and garlic, and let the whole thing simmer away for about 30 minutes.</div>
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I scooped out the floating bits and added my mushrooms</div>
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The darker coloured ones are oyster mushrooms. The little guys hiding under them are enoki, I'm not sure what the others are.</div>
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Curry paste, basil leaves and shrimp followed the mushrooms into the pot.</div>
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After the shrimp was pink, the coconut milk was slowly stirred in</div>
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Serve our Soup A over a mound of hot cooked rice, sprinkle some lime juice and garnish with cilantro. You'll soon see why the word "Yum" is in the name of the soup!</div>
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And Shawn found it "spoon worthy" Spoon worthy you ask? Well, that is a whole other story! I will share it soon!</div>
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Soup A: Tom YUM Goon<br />
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The verdict<br />
While very YUM, and deemed spoon worthy, I'd love to spend an afternoon in Pat's kitchen learning his secrets. For now, this is a fine substitute. Until then, when we need our real fix, it's to Pat's we will go. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788961700177497308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7513547854724400120.post-48567838077333156912014-07-30T18:49:00.002-07:002015-11-03T08:10:08.293-08:00Eat: "C" is for CookieYou know you're desperate for cookies when you turn the oven on at the end of July to bake. But have you met July 2014? Not so many hot days. So baking cookies today, not a big deal. It's our first day off as a family this summer. Shawn and Fintan have been busily re-vamping the barn for our hen and turkeys. The turkeys have outgrown their wee corner, and needed to move into the bigger room. Iain & I, well, we did our part, then went for a bike ride and upon our return, decided cookies were in order.<br />
We had purchased white chocolate chips last week dreaming of reverse chocolate chip cookies.<br />
But when I jumped on line, I couldn't find ANY recipes using spelt flour (remember, Shawn has been wheat free for well over a year now) So, I made up my own cookie recipe. Yep, I did. The last time I "invented" my own baking recipe, was the fruit juice cake when I was about 12. I don't think it was any good.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic8nbu2eVDuUGZdtZHG2Y4EpQYdk_-h3CZLo8STi9w7V4rH0oQA0YF1wrH_TZ46l52W7RPNNnYAo98jnBNanobawruOtBTH6Ix3T_gpnNKRZdOjeXHk0eP7yv3jP1yNDWHliwD7wVQpigX/s1600/_DSC0131.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic8nbu2eVDuUGZdtZHG2Y4EpQYdk_-h3CZLo8STi9w7V4rH0oQA0YF1wrH_TZ46l52W7RPNNnYAo98jnBNanobawruOtBTH6Ix3T_gpnNKRZdOjeXHk0eP7yv3jP1yNDWHliwD7wVQpigX/s1600/_DSC0131.JPG" width="320" /></a>So here it is:<br />
Spelt Reverse Chocolate Chip Cookies<br />
<br />
1 cup room temperature butter<br />
1 cup brown sugar<br />
2 eggs (yup, from our own barn!)<br />
1/2 cup maple syrup (yup, from our own trees!)<br />
2 cups spelt flour<br />
1 tsp baking soda<br />
3/4 cup cocoa<br />
1 pkg white chocolate chips<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisXT52tq9MDfwoKNSwdYITIBMwx8HeEFUmMUTJc7UBhpU9q43_w9ToW__5X4kVUq8N5tbs3i0m37mXJsX_LGuIM-eKv_M3-0HoSTmpLUTWnM5efVbm9kZKZwhUR11-JaCGclWzG8eix8en/s1600/_DSC0126.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisXT52tq9MDfwoKNSwdYITIBMwx8HeEFUmMUTJc7UBhpU9q43_w9ToW__5X4kVUq8N5tbs3i0m37mXJsX_LGuIM-eKv_M3-0HoSTmpLUTWnM5efVbm9kZKZwhUR11-JaCGclWzG8eix8en/s1600/_DSC0126.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Watching the timer on the first batch</td></tr>
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Beat the butter and sugar until fluffy. (hint: we don't own a microwave. It blew up a couple of years ago, and we never bothered to replace it. We heat up coffee on the stovetop. If you're like me, and don't plan ahead to make your butter room temp, I run hot water on the outside of my stainless steel mixer bowl with the butter in it. It seems to soften it enough to work) Add the eggs and syrup. Beat until all fluffy.<br />
In a separate bowl, mix flour, cocoa and baking soda. Add to wet mixture while still beating. Fold in chips. The mix is fairly wet, this made slightly cake-y cookies. If you prefer a crisper cookie, try adding another 1/4 cup flour. I was out, so settled for cake-y cookies. Still yummy.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Iain wanted to take them out</td></tr>
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Drop by spoonful onto cookie sheet. 9 minutes at 350c in convection oven baked perfectly. Adjust to your oven.<br />
Enjoy with cold glass of milk, about 7 minutes out of oven!!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I think that's a thumbs up!</td></tr>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788961700177497308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7513547854724400120.post-28517081669099801892014-07-17T11:48:00.003-07:002015-11-03T08:13:07.103-08:00Play: Ooooops, we did it again! WTF races WTSome may call us crazy, but Whiskey Tango Foxtrot decided that yes, we were going to attempt <a href="http://wildernesstraverse.com/">Wilderness Traverse </a>again this year. As a team of 4 this time. Myself, Candice and Grant again, with Gerhard (who was part of the original team) joining us.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK3jZxIq3Ycdx6O3xsausX53s41OLmsv8WHaT46sxT7M_brZbEEQGlgcfNfRq0D71QJ0VIee8Pj6Fyb7XQK6AL876u6ZiyltmsyBa5kzSFXFHsxa2yjjwukRKfszQ-tQKUL-eFPAwDjEyC/s1600/IMG_1580.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK3jZxIq3Ycdx6O3xsausX53s41OLmsv8WHaT46sxT7M_brZbEEQGlgcfNfRq0D71QJ0VIee8Pj6Fyb7XQK6AL876u6ZiyltmsyBa5kzSFXFHsxa2yjjwukRKfszQ-tQKUL-eFPAwDjEyC/s1600/IMG_1580.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gear explosion out of car</td></tr>
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I spent much of my training this year focusing on my riding (I even <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ifknits?ref=hl&ref_type=bookmark">knit </a>myself a new bike!) as I felt that that's where I was weakest. I hoped that would pay off and make us faster as a team on the trails.<br />
We arrived at HQ Friday in good time, unloaded our gear, sorted through our gear, and got front row seating for the course reveal.<br />
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Here's a <a href="http://www.breathemag.ca/flashblog/2014/07/12/video-course-reveal-from-bob-miller/" target="_blank">video</a> of Bob, the race director revealing the course if you are interested. Or a peek at <a href="http://wildernesstraverse.com/live-coverage/live2014">maps</a> if you want to follow along!<br />
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The course starts off as a paddle, we all get into our canoes and line up at the start line, just in time for some early morning fisherman to yell "Start" at us....many teams did, until Bob told us to NOT start. Seconds later, he gave us the go ahead.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAXzwy6yOTMXiX90a8qghjXWr4SkgNrud2UVzXLc3k_ViOVpBnO4ImTRJQAcml7ezQeKKNePwXp9jXP1t-DdZZigQ56P-ZFLkcYCFFdFjA7pXRwFoP-0s1bMTdk09_HTQm4vmWS_iNNwEM/s1600/GeorgianBay's30000Islandsbigpic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAXzwy6yOTMXiX90a8qghjXWr4SkgNrud2UVzXLc3k_ViOVpBnO4ImTRJQAcml7ezQeKKNePwXp9jXP1t-DdZZigQ56P-ZFLkcYCFFdFjA7pXRwFoP-0s1bMTdk09_HTQm4vmWS_iNNwEM/s1600/GeorgianBay's30000Islandsbigpic.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of the Islands from above....tricky navigating!</td></tr>
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Our plan was to follow the main land shore to the north tip of Meneilly Island and then cut down to the island where CP1 was. Not the shortest route, but the safest. This area is called the Thirty Thousand Islands after all, and navigating through them wasn't going to be super easy, especially since we wanted to move fast! It was very apparent early that most teams were opting for the shorter, but more challenging for navigation course, through the islands. At one point we thought we could follow the pack and rely on their nav, but this was <i>our</i> race, and we wanted to run it ourselves. Yes, it put us near the back of the pack, but we figured it's early yet, we'll still have a chance to make up some time. We got the CP, and continued on our way into the Naiscoot River Channel towards CP2. It was a bit tricky when we reached the middle channel, we saw a group ahead attempting a portage that we had thought to try, but as we got closer, well they were returning...not the right place. So instead, we scooted around the corner, paddled (poled?) our way through some thick lily pads, then pushed our way through some bushes into the river. The paddle along the river was relatively quick, but boring after awhile, we kept hoping to see something new around the next bend. Finally, sometime after CP2 signs of cottages appeared and we hit the "portage" over the dam. There were a few other teams there pushing through and resting, resulting in a line up that cost us some time. Finally we're on Six Mile Lake, into Little Wilson, then Wilson and then we are done! A quick 1km portage to our gear bins and transition to trek.<br />
<br />
We moved through transition fairly quickly, a quick shoe change, food in mouth, food and water into packs, and a heavy dose of bug dope, man the mosquitoes were bad there! (they only got worse) Trotted down the trail until we hit the creek we intended on following towards Spectacle Lake. Had a fun group crossing at a set of rapids (some old river rescue courses coming into play here) followed the north shore of Spectacle and set our bearing to bushwhack our way to CP4. We felt pretty good moving through the bush here, knew where we were, and moving at a decent pace. Then another team caught up to us. When asked what bearing they were following, they responded "yours!" Ok, so we have followers. Not to be rude or anything, but we weren't really looking for company. We came out on the shore of Trout Lake, found another team who asked if we knew where we were, we answered yes, they asked where and we said at CP4, it's right over there. <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgukROlobZ6uMP70Se4wI6x1eCfs9aopjsGaSz1ea2CZXNvB9LT42gvUjUlci5zQmoT9U-4Qj_tgxSZkOH2iDIpgUn9cVzhZ8F3Jzr14lw1eN3jBOVl-uxvHtqgXQ2TkPRTJRCR5I7ozAVn/s1600/IMGP1451.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgukROlobZ6uMP70Se4wI6x1eCfs9aopjsGaSz1ea2CZXNvB9LT42gvUjUlci5zQmoT9U-4Qj_tgxSZkOH2iDIpgUn9cVzhZ8F3Jzr14lw1eN3jBOVl-uxvHtqgXQ2TkPRTJRCR5I7ozAVn/s1600/IMGP1451.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CP4 team shot!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We arrived at CP4 just as the crew there were cooking up some freshly caught fish. We didn't stick around though, as yet another team was arriving, and well we weren't here for a party. We had a quick team picture snapped (I know one of the volunteers there, he emailed me the picture) and were off. Off to make an error that would later cost us.<br />
<br />
Our intent was to bushwhack to the power line from CP4, rather than follow the shore to the trail. We moved along the shore to where we were going to start our bushwhack, but a bunch of other teams caught up to us, and we stepped aside to let them pass, and double check our map. I guess we got all caught up in the traffic, and second guessed our intent and thought, well maybe we should play it safe too. So we continued on past where we were going to turn off, found the trail (or so we thought) but it was wrong. We figured that out rather quickly when the trail veered off in the opposite direction we wanted. So we trudged back to the lake, set a new bearing and set off for a bushwhack, our original plan. Which was not the best plan. We spent the next 3-4(?) hours bushwhacking our way slightly northeast hoping to catch the trail before the hydro line. Finally, through the treeline I spotted what I thought was the tip of a hydro pole. Candice and Gerhard confirmed my sighting, good not a hallucination. We went for it, and then hit the first bog. OK, we can cross this, it's all Labrador Tea and mossy bogginess. Kind of like walking on water bed. I had visions of going through, and not re-surfacing. That just made me move quicker. Ok, through the first one. To have another stretch in front of us. OK, let's do that 3 more times. And then a really deep, mucky 5' "water" crossing. To deep to walk, to short a distance to swim. I'm not sure what you'd call what we did, but somehow got across it. <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqvp-fxvesJFp8ITIojo4Wq7gJuQuELeWXkC90V8bFEYzmo71-nl1X8bIolhcnP7oyzmEFFeKXBCo9f8n96paQ9WnxUVijz0lNum0urbBLc5co5u4KECWj_kvC70MgU0fKQPzQc3e8XlYB/s1600/bog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqvp-fxvesJFp8ITIojo4Wq7gJuQuELeWXkC90V8bFEYzmo71-nl1X8bIolhcnP7oyzmEFFeKXBCo9f8n96paQ9WnxUVijz0lNum0urbBLc5co5u4KECWj_kvC70MgU0fKQPzQc3e8XlYB/s1600/bog.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An example of what we swam across</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Only to find a swim across the swamp that was at least 50' across. So we swam. Gross. And then stumbled onto the trail. Oh, so happy. It was still light out. And we now knew where we were. We got onto the hydro line, had a quick re-fuel, pulled out our lights as we'd need them soon, and continued on our way over to Dogfish Lake. We encountered a team biking towards us.....well that was rather discouraging. But we were given some friendly advice from the team to take the north shore (that was our plan) and that the bushwhack we intended from CP5 to CP6 took them 2 hours in daylight....the road would also take 2 hours. We tucked that information away, wished them well and watched them speed off. Once we found the creek/river that led to Dogfish, and we crossed our second set of rapids we started the steep rocky trek along the shore. It is now full on dark. We are treated to a short view of the night's super moon. Gorgeous and red. But no time to stop and admire, and then it disappears behind some clouds. We spot a fire on the far shore, and some encouraging words are yelled across to us "You're going the right way!" After we lose the fire, I think I start hearing thunder in the distance. Then I hear it closer....no wait, that sounds like a generator! We have reached the cottage about halfway down the lake. We are greeted by a bunch of kids yelling "What's your name?" "Are you coyotes" A tattooed, beer drinking man hanging out by some muddy ATV's greets us. "Turn off your lights, save you batteries...come here use my light" He then tries to convince us to not continue the shore, take his road. We explain that that will take us way out of our way. Again he tried to discourage us from going on. "The shore is bad, it's worse than what you just trekked, I have extra bunks, come on in and sleep" We thank him, but explain that we are going to keep going, but promise if we run into trouble, we'll come back. He then asks us if we have protection. "What do you mean" I ask. "Guns" was his reply. Ummm, no. As we set off, we here his buddy tell him he could have been more encouraging. So he yells out "Good Luck" to us. Nice guy.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWyAtXJcLtNiQGy3YVrDc6pe_2LH91Q323oVoG5wgHzJ1L80QEJDejHao0OxjBOd_ZRnzgpN8mJg0e9YvIU4Kj1Ijas9oMCpu5keCrK40xDmXwG2hU4i8faRq4jA-tTtJ0tMeaRkzz1k0t/s1600/deliverance2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWyAtXJcLtNiQGy3YVrDc6pe_2LH91Q323oVoG5wgHzJ1L80QEJDejHao0OxjBOd_ZRnzgpN8mJg0e9YvIU4Kj1Ijas9oMCpu5keCrK40xDmXwG2hU4i8faRq4jA-tTtJ0tMeaRkzz1k0t/s1600/deliverance2.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">maybe not this bad....but heh, it was <br />
dark and the middle of nowhere!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We find the ATV trail and start heading towards CP5. We are a bit confused when we see a team (the same team of guys who "followed" us before heading towards us, "You're almost there" they encourage us. Hmmm, where are they going? We get into CP5 a bit dejected, convinced we are dead last, clearly the teams we tried so hard to "ditch" moved faster from the last checkpoint than us. But no, the crew at CP5 let us know there are still teams behind us. OK, that picks our spirits up a bit. It starts to rain, and the crew also tells us that many teams have opted to take the road to CP6/TA2. Not our original plan, but we figure we can give it some thought as we move onward. It starts to rain a bit more earnestly. We are now moving along a slick, muddy wet trail in the rain. So we totally were not prepared for what happened next. Candice and Grant were just ahead of my and Gerhrad, when she suddenly grabs Grant's arm and pulls him to a stop. A Massassauga Rattle snake is there on the trail. They almost stepped on it. It is not happy with us being there. We stand still for a moment, than quickly skirt around it, and then let out our breath. Close one. Maybe that spooked us enough that it helped make the decision to take the road into CP6.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWkloxDcIxrYWVayeqxe-MJ8ML-882NWaX8dY-xBBD3rWhC6Ex8FZUDWhZf1YzxWGWkWz6PGXU-iqSBsv1Td87CEwnF-WdCLy-icGx1eyeeZDDrvFCpO-9soUNxLKElCL_-eOlMiy6VB-T/s1600/Massasauga_rattlesnake_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWkloxDcIxrYWVayeqxe-MJ8ML-882NWaX8dY-xBBD3rWhC6Ex8FZUDWhZf1YzxWGWkWz6PGXU-iqSBsv1Td87CEwnF-WdCLy-icGx1eyeeZDDrvFCpO-9soUNxLKElCL_-eOlMiy6VB-T/s1600/Massasauga_rattlesnake_1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not the one we saw....but they blend in well!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
During the road trek, the rain continued and got heavier. I started thinking about the ride ahead of us. We rode the same hydro cut last year, and I remember the struggles I had. At the beginning of the race. On a dry day. In sunlight. Lot's of hills and lot's of rock. That would be super slippery in this rain. By this point Gerhard was having some old race injuries come back to haunt him, and he was fairly certain that we was not going to continue when we got to CP6/TA2.<br />
We arrive at CP6 to a pile of teams there. Catching some shelter under the tent. Munching on watermelon that Heather brought (Heather is Grant's wife, she came to volunteer at the race, and to drive us home) No one seems overly happy at this point. We call in that we will continue on as a team of three. We then are told that our options are to go on the full course (we have made the time cut off after all!) short course ourselves (which still involved a 35-40km road ride back to HQ) or to simply quit . Well, that was not an option. The three of us get ourselves ready, and mull over the other two options in our heads, before we get together to talk it out. I have no dry clothes left. Candice had an extra tank top in her bin. So, I'll continue in a tank top and gore-tex, no worries. I'm thinking of potentially (probably) walking my bike through much of the trail. My feet don't relish that idea. I think of my kids back home, who need me not broken. I think of a friend who was recently in a bad bike accident that happened during a race. And then I say it out loud "I think we should short course" A moment of silence, and the other agree with me. Thank You. It wasn't an easy decision, and I hope that the feeling of quitting will go away. Cause it kinda felt like that. We report to Heather that that is what we are going to do. Apparently everyone is (except the Speed Bunnies.....but then again they RAN past us on the road, so I wasn't completely surprised, man I admire them, and it looks like they rocked the hydro cut, nice work ladies!!)<br />
We jump on our bikes and start the ride which felt really, really good. And then the deluge began, the kind of rain that makes you pull over in your car because you can't see and your wipers won't work fast enough. But we made it, got back to HQ a bit before 5am. This time, unlike last year, we got to see many other teams come in, and hear bits of their stories. And yes, I think we'll be back next year. I just want to know one thing: how do the pro teams move so bloody fast while bushwhacking?<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5uc178ZIbdrQc0DHWnBnz5NaFOlAwqz9sxecLx6GXUqQwJhl6S76kdCLSmC40XbJCgjOis7q5P2ZfVMcEVlVJFfLfEE4nMN_KWByebCiWISVHmYU0Wdrw8IsUALf3QoEV4OkXrUXCXuR0/s1600/beer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5uc178ZIbdrQc0DHWnBnz5NaFOlAwqz9sxecLx6GXUqQwJhl6S76kdCLSmC40XbJCgjOis7q5P2ZfVMcEVlVJFfLfEE4nMN_KWByebCiWISVHmYU0Wdrw8IsUALf3QoEV4OkXrUXCXuR0/s1600/beer.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is what we got when we finished.....empty though.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788961700177497308noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7513547854724400120.post-31134811730424482022014-03-20T17:13:00.001-07:002015-11-03T08:15:34.992-08:00Eat: Sunshine & Happiness in a BowlI was recently asked what motivates me. I emotionally stumbled through a rather predictable answer that involved my husband and sons. But I wasn't totally satisfied with my answer. And then I stewed about it for a day and a half. Because that's what I do. Now, don't get me wrong, my family DOES motivate me, but I'd like to think that I am not totally defined by them. I mean, I was someone before I was a wife and mother, right? And somewhere in there that person is still here, she's just, well evolved.<br />
So then, what else motivates me? Money? Nope (enough to get by seems to have been working for us) A smaller jean size? Sometimes.<br />
I came up with it last night. Happy people motivate me. Think about it, if you do something to make others happy, you are motivated to doing more things to make them happy. If you are doing something that makes you happy, well, you're motivated to keep doing it, or other things like it! And when you surround yourself with happy people....well, you get the picture.<br />
This epiphany came to me last night, the night before the first day of spring. And the day before the <a href="http://www.dayofhappiness.net/#context">International Day of Happiness </a><br />
So, today I was motivated to do things that make me happy! I spent sometime with my youngest son this morning (ok...it was at the hospital because he is a typical 6 year old boy who falls and hurts himself, not to worry he is fine, under orders to not run or jump for two days....ummm, he's a 6 year old boy.) On our way back to school, we stopped at Starbucks for cookies and coffee (cookies=happy). I then visited with a friend, did some exercise, enjoyed some fresh air (a slow run on this snowy first day of spring) had a late afternoon cold beer with my husband. My sons helped me prep dinner, and then I cooked for my family. I love to cook, especially for others. And when it works, and everyone likes it, well that is just great!<br />
So tonight, we had what I have renamed Sunshine & Happiness in a Bowl (even though we ate off plates) in honour of the First day of Spring, and International Day of Happiness. The Food & Drink magazine called it <a href="http://www.lcbo.com/lcbo-ear/RecipeController?language=EN&recipeType=1&action=recipe&recipeID=3957">Coconut Shrimp Risotto with Lime & Mango</a>. Either way, it is a "make it again Mom" dinner....enjoy, and I wish you happiness to you and yours!<br />
<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788961700177497308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7513547854724400120.post-31892811132107797042013-12-26T16:33:00.000-08:002015-11-03T08:17:42.189-08:00Play: 'Twas the day after Christmas<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
‘Twas the day after Christmas and all through the house<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The children
were playing, and even the mouse (seriously, I left chocolate on the counter
last night that was nibbled in the morn)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMuMJ72J0kf6hnOl7rnedDcAx-kO2biTTuExTmz7X4Fsj4BbGsrrzszcwIO-aSgpe_2pV-XR8C52sPNr7V-owF2a7IyHGIV8-twIZp4ZqwCkfSzk1tQ9nCeFUiVpN80KlcCBATCnuwMAnc/s1600/card3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMuMJ72J0kf6hnOl7rnedDcAx-kO2biTTuExTmz7X4Fsj4BbGsrrzszcwIO-aSgpe_2pV-XR8C52sPNr7V-owF2a7IyHGIV8-twIZp4ZqwCkfSzk1tQ9nCeFUiVpN80KlcCBATCnuwMAnc/s320/card3.jpg" width="264" /></a>The
stockings were strewn on the floor without care,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
A sign that
St Nicolas had in fact been there.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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A drink in
my hand, I lounged by the fire,<o:p></o:p></div>
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The CBC
radio with sounds of a choir.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Father saved
the world on the PS3,<o:p></o:p></div>
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And we all
ignored the mess that lay under the tree.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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With lego
and books and new socks for all,<o:p></o:p></div>
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Don’t
mention the boxes that litter the hall,<o:p></o:p></div>
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I briefly thought
of the credit card bills,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
And went out
instead to sled down the hills.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
There’s a
break in our play to take time for lunch,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Some leftover
turkey dinner to munch!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
And then
back to open yet another toy,<o:p></o:p></div>
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I ask where
on earth we will put this, oh boy!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Another
Christmas has come, but is not quite yet done<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Because
there is still some time for more fun.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
More games
to be played, and food to eat<o:p></o:p></div>
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Oh Christmas
time you are so neat!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788961700177497308noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7513547854724400120.post-18577548860043283602013-11-27T14:01:00.001-08:002015-11-03T08:18:04.138-08:00Play: Ode to a Snow Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
It started last night.</div>
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The stillness, the quiet.</div>
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Nothing but the snow gently falling from the sky.</div>
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The joy in the morning to see the world transformed.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDl5_qVCzbsQDmZf9zvK8LH8_gKmCcEAQH8QlZcUKjL27qR8ch3lxg6No8-hnylDleBH3f8J4oxLdOeKaVFUcbQ2f-Cgw4sL-Q40f6QjIcKdIcZYIuzqJr8YUYfbqEc95ZWqFA2k_70jSY/s1600/snow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDl5_qVCzbsQDmZf9zvK8LH8_gKmCcEAQH8QlZcUKjL27qR8ch3lxg6No8-hnylDleBH3f8J4oxLdOeKaVFUcbQ2f-Cgw4sL-Q40f6QjIcKdIcZYIuzqJr8YUYfbqEc95ZWqFA2k_70jSY/s320/snow.jpg" width="317" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz4FjHyoUtXfdAGGHwtG9__P5kvp-l1c8Ql6uO9tSpwzrPVpoAmtbEmAmiwtF4JtRyXzmAMSFFxndrglySSWbvIgXOxtUMKvmSiyVeYBSrQjMHzlZJvCbYKJJGal-oe5v_0dhmqbbGab7X/s1600/_DSC0028+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz4FjHyoUtXfdAGGHwtG9__P5kvp-l1c8Ql6uO9tSpwzrPVpoAmtbEmAmiwtF4JtRyXzmAMSFFxndrglySSWbvIgXOxtUMKvmSiyVeYBSrQjMHzlZJvCbYKJJGal-oe5v_0dhmqbbGab7X/s320/_DSC0028+(2).JPG" width="214" /></a></div>
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The desire to go out and leave your mark.</div>
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The moment you realize there is nowhere you have to be.</div>
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That there is nowhere else you'd rather be.</div>
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Oh Snowday, how I love thee!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaYRdx6x5GrLbXqyxGQECqOAGRQvjVKfwGM_ymUkLosKthuc2deTTTOAQzOhjSN6wTIHx9zIpf80-sGlaIZ5i2qb4IhyphenhyphenQ-Ewnrt7XfVapzQg7zLsRXJiAGeofBKyKGFIvsqPV5Rt5aNybj/s1600/_DSC0011+(4).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaYRdx6x5GrLbXqyxGQECqOAGRQvjVKfwGM_ymUkLosKthuc2deTTTOAQzOhjSN6wTIHx9zIpf80-sGlaIZ5i2qb4IhyphenhyphenQ-Ewnrt7XfVapzQg7zLsRXJiAGeofBKyKGFIvsqPV5Rt5aNybj/s320/_DSC0011+(4).JPG" width="214" /></a></div>
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Time to refuel with a comforting meal.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio-05g2dJdCjczjPgYJEOqikAoPt4klpmvXYIRmx_bKEtzbpEcewQiZNFt_2-bs-Jk5wFbniTaU1-HsL9-ddT2Mn3dvESXbkq7RLvWBWyqSE5udkc2gfJ1P_IGdv8DcUukWamCrKTxCQXs/s1600/_DSC0035+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio-05g2dJdCjczjPgYJEOqikAoPt4klpmvXYIRmx_bKEtzbpEcewQiZNFt_2-bs-Jk5wFbniTaU1-HsL9-ddT2Mn3dvESXbkq7RLvWBWyqSE5udkc2gfJ1P_IGdv8DcUukWamCrKTxCQXs/s320/_DSC0035+(2).JPG" width="214" /></a></div>
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Out for a hike</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ7U3_uvAqYXyzxpPLauNeayTR5w0y_tI5wX_-jG1_pdsOv9_eZv36cGF4TncD4oiia5VB5__L0CJlIex6iq-BCdeUUBK91kkSijhVN5eWISTrJGq_RvYZYoCzcrDE4D-IT-xX1zl1Sp5H/s1600/_DSC0040+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ7U3_uvAqYXyzxpPLauNeayTR5w0y_tI5wX_-jG1_pdsOv9_eZv36cGF4TncD4oiia5VB5__L0CJlIex6iq-BCdeUUBK91kkSijhVN5eWISTrJGq_RvYZYoCzcrDE4D-IT-xX1zl1Sp5H/s320/_DSC0040+(2).JPG" width="214" /></a></div>
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to see who else has left it's mark</div>
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At day's end, at home by the fire is a good place to be.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhohgp3RraJ1T_Ck3KyEOHEDMZUA5D87kbOy4SnBu9qsdY6vcq0tWDS5jIA6x6QGVQEDZP5b3YkmgsRQLJerq-d1kHezhQPfKnEBI3KVqP4C2rmH7nJcP7Tyl8v_QlittKvdEpyMKRTfJ4Q/s1600/_DSC0055.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhohgp3RraJ1T_Ck3KyEOHEDMZUA5D87kbOy4SnBu9qsdY6vcq0tWDS5jIA6x6QGVQEDZP5b3YkmgsRQLJerq-d1kHezhQPfKnEBI3KVqP4C2rmH7nJcP7Tyl8v_QlittKvdEpyMKRTfJ4Q/s320/_DSC0055.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788961700177497308noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7513547854724400120.post-78432716519474306952013-11-02T13:29:00.001-07:002015-11-03T08:18:27.163-08:00Laugh: There's sawdust in my bed!My husband discovered Pinterest.<br />
Up until a few months ago, we still had dial up internet at home. Then I was given the opportunity to work from a home a bit.....so we needed <i>real </i>internet. And then Shawn discovered Pinterest, and the pages and pages of things to make with pallets.<br />
He then started going on "pallet runs". He would come home with an uncountable number of pallets. "They're free!! They just throw them away!!"<br />
He quickly constructed a "pallet taking apart station"....made out of, you guessed it , pallets.<br />
Then he made himself a work bench, to better help him construct his creations.<br />
The bench around the fire pit finally got finished...just in time for our annual fall gathering (of which there were 26 kids, and about 40 adults at....may have been our record year!)<br />
And he quickly threw together an outdoor table that quite nicely held the s'mores bar at said party.<br />
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I came home from work the other day to the sound of the table saw (or maybe it was the sander....who knows?) and a pile of coats on the floor. And the coat rack that normally holds those coats on the floor.<br />
This is what I found in it's place:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyEqRfN1_6TZu6SPW_Spov_pHqY4Se1Bvlj86Ia6T7HBNsLQyQAMh0EeKPZPh-QrnhR8kz0kUqakdyLWNVeZbVbHgN13xZJ6V4dYcHv38Lw-sljYSb-mvoSfds5nDKgl84hloFLCh_q95q/s1600/coatrack4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyEqRfN1_6TZu6SPW_Spov_pHqY4Se1Bvlj86Ia6T7HBNsLQyQAMh0EeKPZPh-QrnhR8kz0kUqakdyLWNVeZbVbHgN13xZJ6V4dYcHv38Lw-sljYSb-mvoSfds5nDKgl84hloFLCh_q95q/s400/coatrack4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Two days later, I came home and could barely open the door for all the boots and shoes lying in front of the door.....with this where the old shoe rack was:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit43j7LITN0AD1rXjLjEhkZ2BIqpi3YAjFoXLMn41h45Bzx2U3-6Hnklhx8Jp7LrY_2WbnMUp21rrJ8C-wGd2uCGFyj89tKFHjdZKoFELFasBVZ3Xh-OzAN-rIDhPPfOLbWuoBcJkBaTUl/s1600/bootrack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="357" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit43j7LITN0AD1rXjLjEhkZ2BIqpi3YAjFoXLMn41h45Bzx2U3-6Hnklhx8Jp7LrY_2WbnMUp21rrJ8C-wGd2uCGFyj89tKFHjdZKoFELFasBVZ3Xh-OzAN-rIDhPPfOLbWuoBcJkBaTUl/s400/bootrack.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I now have two new pinterst boards: "<a href="http://www.pinterest.com/michmcshane/things-shawn-should-make-me/">Stuff Shawn should make me</a>", and "<a href="http://www.pinterest.com/michmcshane/stuff-shawn-made-me/">Stuff Shawn made me</a>"<br />
I've put in requests for a new book case, and bin of sorts for potato storage, a headboard......<br />
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And I no longer mind the sawdust that finds it's way into my bed:)<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788961700177497308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7513547854724400120.post-43966299060005671462013-10-25T11:06:00.000-07:002015-11-03T08:18:52.483-08:00Eat: Wow!I got a "wow" at dinner tonight.<br />
I get a lot of, "Mmmmm...this is good." and "Thanks for dinner!"<br />
But never a "Wow". That felt good, really good.<br />
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I thought at first it was for the lamb burgers I had made. We had discussed dinner this morning, and I wanted to have some of our lamb. We hadn't tried any of the ground yet, but I certainly didn't want to "waste" it in spaghetti or anything. So I thought burgers. Which meant I had to figure out the bun issue, as Shawn is a non-wheat eater. I had made empanadas last night (We "landed" on Chile in our world tour, that blog entry will be up soon) and the dough made with spelt flour turned out quite nice, so I was feeling rather confident that I could come up with a bun (if it failed, we could always go bun-less).<br />
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So we build our burgers, sit down and Shawn takes a bite. And said "Wow". And then asked for a sandwich in his lunch for tomorrow. If you know him, he is not a big sandwich guy, even when he was a wheat-eater.<br />
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I found a number of recipes on line, and the one I followed (well, as well as I tend to follow recipes) was found on <a href="http://www.grainmillwagon.com/">http://www.grainmillwagon.com/</a><br />
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WOW Spelt Flour Buns<br />
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<ul>
<li>3/4 cup warm water</li>
<li>1 tbsp yeast</li>
<li>2 tbsp melted butter</li>
<li>1 egg</li>
<li>1 tbsp honey</li>
<li>1 tsp salt</li>
<li>3 cups spelt flour (I use </li>
</ul>
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1. Sprinkle yeast onto the water and let sit for 1-2 minutes</div>
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2. Pour water & yeast mixture into mixing bowl, and add butter, egg, honey and salt. Stir. Add 2 cups of flour and mix until dough comes together. I use my kitchen-aid mixer with the dough hook. Mix slowly, otherwise flour goes everywhere!</div>
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3. Add the third cup gradually until you have a smooth, soft dough that forms a nice ball.</div>
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4. Place in lightly greased bowl.</div>
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5. Cover with tea towel and set near fireplace, that as been burning all afternoon:) (or other warm, draft free place)</div>
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6. Let sit for an hour, until dough has risen.</div>
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7. Get your husband, who used to be a baker to form the buns. OR, divide dough into 8 balls, and shape into hamburger bun shaped balls.</div>
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8. Place on cookie sheet, and set near fire again for about an hour.</div>
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9. Brush tops with melted butter, bake at 375 for about 20 minutes.</div>
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10. Let cool, slice, and top with burger....and be prepared to be "wowed"</div>
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My favourite way to cook home made burgers:</div>
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Instead of grilling on the BBQ, after making your favourite burger, form the patties and brush one side with melted butter. Put in fridge until butter sets. Remove from fridge, flip over and butter other side. Put them back in the fridge. Get out that old cast iron frying pan that is lurking in the back of the cupboard, and put it on the stove top. Get it nice and hot, if you put a drop of water in it, it should sizzle and spit.</div>
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Remove butter coated patties from the fridge. Place in very hot pan. Let fry for about 5-6 minutes, than flip. Cook a few more minutes. The end result is a nice, crisp on the outside, super juicy on the inside burger, that is sure to wow!!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788961700177497308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7513547854724400120.post-85134809997429623012013-10-02T05:56:00.000-07:002015-11-03T08:19:48.886-08:00Play: Run or DyeI convinced Shawn to run in a "race" as a family. Now he's be running for a year or so now, but never has been interested in participating in a race. So I was surprised, and delighted when he agreed. And the boys are running too. I'm so happy:)<br />
The big day arrives, with a cool, wet morning...but it does not stop about 5000 (!!!) people to make their way to Fort Henry to run for 5km while being pelted with dye.<br />
We ran, we laughed, we dyed.....and then we hit the Brew Pub for beer, hot chocolate and lunch....a perfect way to spend a rainy Saturday morning with my 3 favorite people!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Practicing their start</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfhXysOrBVe5NRwHqIRyGaVvNOG2ljwY_twGhf7-mdIWwYWv4QFnfzqc6lbCHYlISZO2YY41Dfw9hNKnsPZ34vAHpFB_kwjnRhTJpZMQC8Pwztm5HLp82fhemcqD6AvEUzJqTg089rilg5/s1600/_DSC0216.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfhXysOrBVe5NRwHqIRyGaVvNOG2ljwY_twGhf7-mdIWwYWv4QFnfzqc6lbCHYlISZO2YY41Dfw9hNKnsPZ34vAHpFB_kwjnRhTJpZMQC8Pwztm5HLp82fhemcqD6AvEUzJqTg089rilg5/s320/_DSC0216.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stretching</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">before......we look so clean</td></tr>
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The GoPro video Shawn created of our experience!</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788961700177497308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7513547854724400120.post-38472932558461977912013-08-21T14:53:00.001-07:002015-11-03T08:20:06.966-08:00 Play: Whiskey Tango Foxtrot finishes race!!!<div>
Warning: this is a long read.....I hope you enjoy.</div>
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This crazy idea that Candice and I had almost two years ago came to pass. We signed up, we trained and than actually raced the race! And survived to tell the tale. After dropping the kids off at the sitters on Friday morning, I made my way over to pick up Grant (who had just joined our team a mere 3 weeks ago, considering this is a man who spends his time always in training, we were not in the least bit concerned about his ability to keep up for the race, if any thing we prayed we could keep up to him)<br />
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On our way to Candice's house, well we got a bit lost. Not a great start for our team.....we turned on the GPS and found the road we had somehow turned off of, still not sure how that happened.</div>
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Anyway, made it to her place, loaded up her gear and drove off (in the right direction) only to find out 8 minutes later we had left a critical piece of gear behind.....hmmm, another bad omen? </div>
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We're making good time, make a quick stop to eat and pee, only to have the truck shut off TWICE in the middle of the drive. Is anyone else feeling nervous yet??? So, we have already gotten lost, forgot essential gear (OK, they were only keys to her mother's apartment where we had to drop off the dog, but still they were necessary!) and had a mechanical breakdown, 3 of the four things we were really hoping would not happen to us (the fourth were no injuries).</div>
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Fortunately, the rest of the drive up was uneventful, and we arrived at race HQ with time to spare. Although everyone else there looked like they belonged, gulp.</div>
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At this point I'm feeling pretty good, I'm not yet nervous, I'm telling myself I've trained, I got my gear, all will be well. </div>
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And then we get the maps. All but the last 10km or so of the bike ride is trail. Not my strength. I knew that it would be <i>mostly </i>trail, but figured it would be broken up with some gravel roads. Oh, and the trek? Pretty much <i>no </i>trail. OK, so alot of bushwhacking. Which mean little running. OK, I got this.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicXHOOmcvpm45ZZfqcjnJUAASrQHurPrdxfYkxF3zFqFkgLeN2v3zCrDHQbHFH3v1UVgMJfHSuK-_UAS205GeZ4pfqrcIrppfn1L_4uS6fevYFCfyr89T9j6KznbeHgsqEl876PnzWLhQ9/s1600/ready.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicXHOOmcvpm45ZZfqcjnJUAASrQHurPrdxfYkxF3zFqFkgLeN2v3zCrDHQbHFH3v1UVgMJfHSuK-_UAS205GeZ4pfqrcIrppfn1L_4uS6fevYFCfyr89T9j6KznbeHgsqEl876PnzWLhQ9/s320/ready.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the start line</td></tr>
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We head back to the hotel, spend some time re-organising our packs, pull out the maps again, make some notes, mark some distances and bearings and slide into bed around midnight. The alarm at 5:30 am comes pretty quick. Back at race HQ for breakfast, jump on our bikes for the 3km ride to the start line.....count down 3, 2, 1....and we're off. </div>
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We had positioned ourselves near the back of the pack, we have no illusions about our place here, the "pro-star" teams quickly take to the trail and disappear. It doesn't take long for us to be enjoying this ride on our own. About 12 km in, there are suddenly some teams coming towards us on the trail! We discover later, that many teams missed the turn off. Maybe our timing has saved us from making the same mistake. From this point, we end up leap frogging with a couple of other teams until we hit CP1. We refill our water bottles, jump back on our bikes and continue on. The whole ride takes us 10 hours. This is by far the longest ride I have ever done, and the trail was tough. Lots of rock, a fair number of mud puddle crossings, lot's of sand (have you ever ridden in sand? It sucks) Single track, ATV trail, hydro cut.....but as the ride wore on, I could feel my confidence gaining. There were even a few times where I had this weird clarity....it's like the line I ha to follow was lit up or something. I know that sounds really out there, maybe it was de-hydration, but hey, whatever gets you there. And the last 10km of gravel road? Don't assume the orange line on the map denotes a gravel road.....just sayin'</div>
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So we've made it to TA1.....and we get ice cream!! Best ice cream I've ever tasted. We quickly tear through our gear bin, change our socks, shoes and cycling shorts into long tights. We freshen up our water bladders, re-fold our maps, throw some food in our mouths, and we are off again. When we were plotting out our course the night before, we had decided to swim across the channel, hand rail the rest of the lake down, hit the portage trail and follow the shore to CP4....sounds easy right? The other option was taking the road to some trails and going from there. A longer distance, but maybe a safer bet? Even though the ride took us 2 hours longer than we had hopes, we decided to stick to our original plan, so we head down to the shore for a swim. Not relishing the idea of being wet when the sun went down (about 90 minutes away) we, well, let's just say we did not break the rule of taking our race bibs off.</div>
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Once on the other side we made pretty good time travelling along the shore of the lake, hit a "creek" that we had hoped would be an easy crossing. Maybe we should have looked a little harder for a place to cross, but ended up swimming again....through swampy, weedy smelly water. With our race bibs on.</div>
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A few minutes later is when it all went wrong. We hit another "creek" at the mouth of the lake, The sun was almost down. We didn't want to swim again. The longer, cleaner route across the mouth of the lake was one option. The narrower, but really swampy section was option two. The third option as we saw it was to hand rail the creek east to a small lake we could skirt around, follow the creek back to the shore of Gordon Lake and over to the CP. About a 3km detour. That took 3-4 hours. Let's just say that following a hand rail in the dark is not so easy. The terrain kept forcing us up and away from our river. Finally, we reached the portage and saw a campfire down the shore. Elated, we moved pretty quickly and confidently towards the light. Only to stumble upon a cabin, with a friendly man to tell us we're going the right way, it's the next fire up the shore. There was no fire. Instead, about an hour later (maybe...who knows, I wasn't wearing a watch, and time seems to stop out there in the night) we hear people yelling to us "Swim across, we're over here!" "Huh" swim across? But the CP is supposed to be on the EAST shore of the lake. If we swim across we'll be on the WEST shore. It took Candice and Grant awhile to explain to me that we were on the shore of a little bay, and the campsite was on the point, which technically is still the east shore. Admittedly, I figured this out the next day when I was reviewing the maps.....</div>
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So, finally we roll into CP4....after being offered beer by the yahoos yelling at us. There didn't seem to be many of them, but there sure were alot of empties on the ground. And they seemed offended that we did not want any beer.</div>
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The next section went slowly, but perfectly for us. We set our bearings (there was a bit of an issue here, when Grant and Candice pointed one way, and I almost pointed in the exact opposite direction. Not wanting to admit that something was wrong, I covertly re-checked my bearing. Hmm....everything looks right, I'm very confident I have set it right....oh, well, 2 against 1, I'll follow them. After a few more checks as we're following the river I finally show Candice my compass......which shows the north arrow pointing south. My compass is confused....it seems to think north is south.....somehow it has de-polarized...hmmm....I put it away, good thing we all brought one)</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqvDfIupUMwzN6cGFO5fZGHnQucP4mjEMEU_pse4lYHPGWaxxawn8z2FdWjbf46cvwHlgf5GqMTawK7avrpEAWkMeBW7yFiev6DH7SqyJk8ISW025UjBlYHSZ7KBWe0lntotwIUyVBFk_x/s1600/IMGP0207.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqvDfIupUMwzN6cGFO5fZGHnQucP4mjEMEU_pse4lYHPGWaxxawn8z2FdWjbf46cvwHlgf5GqMTawK7avrpEAWkMeBW7yFiev6DH7SqyJk8ISW025UjBlYHSZ7KBWe0lntotwIUyVBFk_x/s320/IMGP0207.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At CP5...note the coffee in my hand</td></tr>
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We spend the next 5 hours playing leap frog through dense bush, walls of rock we need to scramble over, and walls of alder bushes. We manage to come out with 20' of our target each time. We hit the end of Horseshoe Lake as the sun is coming up, follow the shore up high for a bit. Then decide to get low, as we figure the campsite will be on the water. We are encouraged by the fact that the shoreline is walkable, sandy bottom covered in footprints...we round the corner, quietly say "Good Morning" and are met by the the beautiful sight of smiling people....who say "We weren't expecting you for another hour!" At this point I am fighting back tears of relief that we made it here. We are offered coffee, cheese, crackers and the last strawberry. This beautiful, wonderful man then proceeds to tell us how great we look, snaps our picture and that we have 5 hours to get to TA2 to be able to continue the race, and he believes we can do it. It is exactly what we need to hear right now. So, off we go. We follow this rough, rocky shoreline, opting to stay low for as long as we can. I have a few moments of terror as we have to climb up a cliff. Not scramble, but actually climb. With no ropes. And a 20' drop against more rocks before landing in the lake broken. Now, I haven't done any climbing in 10 years. And I don't even like climbing ladders. But somehow, Candice and Grant coax me up the cliff face (I really don't think I'm exaggerating) and we continue on. We swim across the channel between Little Wilson and Wilson Lake, scramble up the hill (I sucked back a peanut butter goo, it is breakfast time after all) we head due south aiming for the "road" We got onto the trail with the orange ribbons for a bit, but when it starts to veer in another direction we quickly get off of it, find the "road" we were looking for and move as quickly as our aching bodies will allow us.</div>
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We arrived at TA2 at 11:05, 55 minutes before the "absolute cutoff". We discover Grant's bike is not here!! So Bob tells us to go ahead and transition, when we are ready he will hit the timer, and we will get a time credit to make up for how long it takes for Grant's bike to arrive. As we're getting ready (a little slowly now, as we can't yet leave) we all realize that the team that walked in 3 minutes before is also a rookie team! All of a sudden we are racing again! We all look at each other, and start moving a bit faster. There is a prize for the rookie team who finishes first. And the only two rookie teams left are right here, a 26km ride on the road away from the finish line! Team Spinning out of Control hops on their bikes and take off, not knowing how fast they have to ride, because we won't be there riding with them. 18 minutes later, Grant's bike arrives, and we hit the road. As we turn into the parking lot to the finish line, I am fighting back tears. It has been 29 hours of non-stop travelling. I'm tired, but elated that it is over, and we have done it! </div>
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Spinning out of Control takes the rookie prize.....beating us by 8 minutes. </div>
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Well, Wilderness Traverse volunteers and staff....thank you for a great first 24hour race experience, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot will see you next year! And I'll hopefully have a new bike......with shocks!!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788961700177497308noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7513547854724400120.post-89888949459717783342013-07-26T17:35:00.001-07:002015-11-03T08:20:32.690-08:00Play: In TrainingI had these great plans that I would be able to blog my training for my upcoming race. Ha! Between working, being a mother and wife, piles of laundry and days with "nothing to eat in this house" AND training, who has time to blog about it?<br />
So, here I am, a little over 3 weeks away from the race, and I am making a bit of time to record how I'm feeling.<br />
To recap, I'm training for a race called Wilderness Traverse. This year, the race is being held in the Parry Sound area.....one of the challenges will be to take the time to notice the beautiful surroundings I will be in! My team and I will spend 24-30 hours running, hiking, canoeing, portaging and biking a 150km course through the wilderness. For fun. And we paid someone to let us do this. Hmmmm.....I'm still trying to figure out if I should feel proud or foolish when I admit that I have signed up for this. <br />
I've been training for 6 months, and over this time I have learned that I have great friends, who have supported me, helped me, and even seem to understand why. Some are my "mom friends", who have held playdates to allow me to squeeze in a ride, run or swim when my husband was away. Nana who has driven out to pick the kids up so I could squeeze a ride in before work. Friends with bikes who have joined me on long rides, and taught me how to be a better rider. My trainer who has created training schedules, makes me stretch, and has gone out on cold, windy crappy days to ride with me. Co-workers who listen to my endless ramblings about my training rides/runs and current hurts. Friends who think a fun Friday night out is running through the bush with a headlamp. My husband, listening to me whine when I hurt, and is OK with me taking off for a 4 day weekend to do this. Sales rep that have hooked my team up with some free gear (pressure is on, you could say that we are sponsored athletes!.....Thank You Black Diamond & Icebreaker!!!) And a friend crazy enough (and ready) to agree to step in 3 weeks before to join the team, hope I can keep up with him.<br />
They say it takes a village to raise a child.....one could also say it takes a village to train an athlete.<br />
I've learned that you're not too busy to train for something. Be it your first 5km run, marathon, obstacle race or adventure race. You don't even have to wake up at the crack of dawn to do so (something I just can't bring myself to do, I like sleep) You will somehow find the time to creatively squeeze it in. And your village will be proud of you, and will step in to help where they can, you just have to accept it.<br />
My team and I race on August 17-18. You can check in with us while we race, there will be a bit of a live feed during the race: <a href="http://wildernesstraverse.com/">http://wildernesstraverse.com/</a> click the Live coverage tab. And if I live to tell about it, I'll report here how it went!<br />
My team is Whiskey Tango Foxtrot<br />
Where's The Finish?<br />
What The F%$@?<br />
Why The F%$#?<br />
We Trained Furiously.<br />
Whining Through Forests.<br />
Which Trail's Fastest?<br />
We Trek Fast.<br />
We're Tough F%$#er's<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788961700177497308noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7513547854724400120.post-1299912129864949052013-06-15T19:20:00.000-07:002015-11-03T08:21:25.576-08:00Play: Water, Water Everywhere!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All aboard!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Our dream home would be on the water. Unfortunately, we both really like our jobs....which means we work for love not money, and can't afford that waterfront property. BUT, we are fortunate to be surrounded by lakes anyway, and for the most part enjoy waterfront living....just a hop, skip and a jump away. We also have the world's best neighbours, who share their dock with us whenever we want. And the boys cannot get enough fishing down there. Today, on the first real summery feeling day, we got down to said dock, armed with nets, home made fishing rods, PFD's and a stand up board.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Iain, solo paddling</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">What a glorious afternoon! I didn't even think about the piles of laundry, the unswept floors and the half put away groceries (OK, maybe I <i>thought </i>about those things....but ignored that thought!) And those neighbours I mentioned? Even brought a cold beer down to the dock for me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I am constantly amazed about how long my sons can amuse themselves outside. Looking at fish, trying to catch fish, exploring over the next hill, identifying plants (and in Fin's case rocks....the other day, while building our new fire pit, Shawn broke up a large burnt rock that proved to be quartz. Fin yelled out "Hey Dad, that's a nice piece of <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">Cryptocrystalline </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">you found! Ummm....is it wrong to think my 7 year old is a bit of a nerd?) They don't even play with toys anymore (anyone in need of some toys? I could probably get rid of everything except lego and playmobile, and even those, could whittle the collections down by half)</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I suppose that's a good thing. </span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Anyway, back to our day on the water. There was fishing, swimming and stand up paddling. Imagine my pride when I told him to do a "sweep stroke" and he knew what I meant, and did it! He then insisted that he paddle on his own, without me. So he hopped on, I pushed him away from the dock, and he was </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">off.....oooops, too far maybe....I got an unexpected 100 meter swim (good thing I'm in training) When I got to him however, I was not allowed on the board....another 100 meter swim. Then Fintan wants a turn to paddle with me. We take about 10 strokes, when he decides he wants to swim...and jumps in!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fintan's jump</td></tr>
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<span style="line-height: 16px;">Everyone should be so lucky to have water to play in (let alone drink and bathe). And here, where we live, there is an abundance. If only more people took the time to enjoy it. I am amazed at how few people really swim or paddle in our many lakes. Teaching paddling, especially to beginners, reminds me how lucky I am to live where I do, and to do the work that I do. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See? It just makes you smile</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dan, the beer toting neighbour</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fintan getting his sea legs on</td></tr>
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<span style="line-height: 16px;">"If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water" Loren Eiseley</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 16px;">PS.....If you're wondering where Shawn, aka Dad was on this wonderful afternoon of play.....he was at work, teaching people how to teach people how to kayak:)</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788961700177497308noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7513547854724400120.post-25865875044499069732013-05-18T18:03:00.000-07:002015-11-03T08:21:52.887-08:00Play: Adventure RacingAdventure Racing. Just like it sounds, a race that is also an adventure! There is a start line, and a finish line, but no clear path between the two. The race course usually consists of a body of water (or more) some trails, some forest with no clear trails, dirt roads, and sometimes paved roads. Your mode of travel is a combination of canoe, mountain bike and your own two feet. You need to be able to read a map, and work as a team. I love it. With 6 races under my belt, I feel I can now say "I am and Adventure Racer" rather than "I have done a couple of adventure races."<br />
I just ran Storm the Trent, Ontario's (if not Canada's) biggest and most popular race. (This is my opinion...I have not confirmed that statement) This race offer three levels of length and difficulty, to date I have competed in all three levels. This past race weekend I competed in the Elite Trek (the longest and hardest, covering about 80km) with my race partner Candice. On Sunday we were joined by two other ladies; Polly, who I have now raced with for 5 years, and Meghan, who is new to the sport; and competed in the Hike course (the "easiest" course, covering about 40km)<br />
I can honestly say that this was the hardest, coldest, and most humbling race weekends I have ever experienced. Candice and I earned our first gold medal win, and our first DNF (did not finish) together. We experienced defeat, a win, pain, hypothermic conditions, elation, discouragement, and pride. I had a moment of not wanting to come home and tell my sons I couldn't finish.....I was afraid they would be disappointed. I learned SO much about my strengths and my weaknesses. I learned that Mother Nature sometimes, really is in control. (She proved it on Sunday with hail, sleet, snow, ice pellets, driving rain and fierce winds....30-40% of the teams on Sunday also DNF'd) My confidence riding my bike on trails got stronger as the kilometers slipped behind me. I learned that not making the time cutoff, while devastating at first, doesn't mean all is lost. I learned that you must drink and snack while on the trail. I learned that sometimes you just have to let it go. I learned tape on the ends of your toes prevents blisters. I learned my body can do amazing things. (Well...I already knew that from child bearing, it just needs a reminder sometimes)I learned that training is very important. I learned that bruises show up days later. I learned that I cannot wait until the next race! Candice and I did this crazy back to back race to see if we have what it takes to compete in a 24 hour, 150km Adventure Race. We decided we do.....and we're taking along a man 11 years our junior to race with us.....hope he can keep up ;)<br />
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<a href="http://wildernesstraverse.com/">http://wildernesstraverse.com/</a><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788961700177497308noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7513547854724400120.post-44239604564039814622013-05-07T18:23:00.000-07:002015-11-03T08:22:14.863-08:00Drink: If you can't beat 'em.....Anyone who has ever had mint growing in their garden knows that it just takes over! And over.....and over. After years of trying to clear mint out of the garden (really, you only need so much of it) I had an epiphany this past weekend as I was gardening, if you can't beat it, you may as well.....well you may as well drink it!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"> May Mojitos!!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wee little mint plants.....it's ok, there is lot's of it!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">mint, lime, club soda, Shawn's Plum Mint Syrup</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">muddle the mint, lime wedges and a wee bit of sugar</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ooops! Don't forget the rum! (2 oz/drink)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a splash of Shawn's plum mint syrup....for a splash of colour, top with club soda and ice!</td></tr>
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To be enjoyed outside in the sunshine......maybe near the mint plants!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788961700177497308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7513547854724400120.post-7601080146927171502013-02-01T12:33:00.000-08:002015-11-03T08:23:06.577-08:00Eat: O Deer! I think I need a Drink now....I married a hunter. I knew what I was getting myself into-or so I thought. Usually, it meant for a couple of weeks in November, I had the place to myself, and with luck, at the end of the season he would come home with these neat little packages of meat wrapped up in butchers paper.<br />
Yep, I was blissfully not involved until dinner time-that is until we bought a house with land, huntable land. Next thing I knew I was in my kitchen with a 4 month old in a jolly jumper, cutting up a deer with my husband. I must say, gave me a new appreciation for those neat little packages of meat.<br />
A few days before the end of the last season, Shawn successfully took a deer with his bow. The only drawback was we had just <i>finally </i>got some snow. It was so fresh and abundant that he couldn't get the 4-wheeler through the snow. So, instead of putting the boys to bed (it was now 8pm) we bundled them up, strapped on our snowshoes, grabbed the wood hauling sled and head out by the light of the full moon to retrieve our venison.<br />
When we arrived, Fintan wanted to share a prayer (one he had read in kindergarten)<br />
"Oh sacred deer , you gave your life to me.<br />
For that I give you Thanks<br />
And I set your spirit free."<br />
We then dragged out venison home. I then got another moment of blissful ignorance; Shawn does all the "dirty work"<br />
Next time I see anything, it is hunks of meat hanging in our barn. I get a call at work the next day-the kids are asking me to bring home crackers, for the pate they had made with Dad. Yep, my boys LOVE pate (and oysters) but they don't like Nutella!<br />
8 days later, the "project" continues in the kitchen. Shawn has decided on no waste. Meat is being processed into chops, steaks and ground meat. Bones are first being boiled for stock, then picked clean for the bird suet he will make. The bones are then being dried in the oven, he will try to pulverise them into bonemeal for the garden in the spring. Fat is being melted into tallow, for candles and to make the bird suet. I believe there are plans for fishing lures with the tail. I have no idea how one tans a hide (not referring to idle threats from my mom when I was younger), but I'm sure he's already looked into it.<br />
I am proud to be married to a hunter. There is a sense of pride when we hunt, gather and or grow our own food, even more so when our kids are involved; they understand where our food comes from.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788961700177497308noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7513547854724400120.post-72869019544706640142012-12-31T05:56:00.000-08:002015-11-03T08:23:32.378-08:00Play: Post Christmas Bliss!YES! We got a white Christmas......and it got whiter! And with 5 days off of work....I got a lot of play in.<br />
Shawn got up early and went for a hike in the woods behind our house. (I stayed in my pj's and drank coffee laced with Baileys looking through the many new magazines I received) Shawn then decided to brave the retail world......crazy man, he went shopping! The boys and I were having nothing to do with that.....we went hiking in the woods behind the house! We decided to track Dad. All was going great until we got the barbed wire fence, I was then given a lesson on how to get through said fence "Mom, put your foot on this part, and crawl through the hole.....ok, ok.....ok.....you're through!"<br />
When we got back to the house, we used my nifty new Nespresso milk frother/steamer and made hot chocolate. Then it was back to serious toy play.<br />
On the morning of the 27th, we awoke to a glorious winter wonderland, we couldn't even open the front door! So the boys bundled up, and went out the basement door and commenced digging out the front door.<br />
Which was followed, of course with another hot chocolate (and more Baileys' coffee......we ran out of the Bailey's on the morning of the 28th)<br />
Then, it was time for us (ME!) to build the LEGO (Ninjago actually.....Fin has given up on correcting my pronunciation, "Just call it lego Mom") robot warrior (yep, more coffee was involved, with Bailey's and frothy milk) We didn't leave the homestead for 2 1/2 days (except when we ran out of milk, had to run to the corner store)<br />
We capped the evening off with a night hike through the back woods on our snowshoes, then to bed (after hot chocolate).<br />
Ahhh.....post Christmas bliss, wish I could capture that feeling all year long!<br />
Next up: New Years Eve bash, McShane style.....sushi & fireworks!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788961700177497308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7513547854724400120.post-57170615582685247382012-12-30T13:16:00.000-08:002015-11-03T08:23:57.000-08:00Eat: Cookies!Well, after the week (and a half) that we just had, this post <i>should</i> be about Drink. But, instead because I said I would go to the Kindergarten party, and bring cookies, this post is Eat. Even though I baked said cookies at 10 pm, after I got home from work. Wine was involved. And then when I iced said cookies at 8 am (with coffee) I will still file this post under Eat. And I will share what I think is the best sugar cookie recipe ever. Well, at least ever in my world. I found this recipe in....you got it, a magazine! Canadian Living last Christmas in fact (I've adjusted ever so slightly) and the icing recipe....adapted from Martha Stewart's Living.<br />
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<b>Brown Sugar Citrus Sugar Cookies</b><br />
3./4 cup butter<br />
3/4 cup brown sugar<br />
1/4 cup white sugar<br />
1 egg<br />
1 1/2 tsp each finely grated orange, lime and lemon zest<br />
1/2 tsp vanilla<br />
2 1/2 cups flour<br />
1/2 tsp baking powder<br />
<br />
Beat butter with sugars until fluffy. Beat in egg, vanilla and zest.<br />
Whisk together flour and baking powder. Stir into butter mixture to form dough.<br />
Divide in half, wrap and refrigerate until firm (at least 30 minutes)<br />
Roll out to 1/4 inch thickness and cut. Refrigerate on lined baking sheet for 10 minutes before baking.<br />
I find baking time to be anywhere from 8-12 minutes, depending on cookie size, at 350 F<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Sugar Cookie Icing!</b><br />
2 lbs of icing sugar<br />
2/3 cup water (you may need more)<br />
1/2 meringue powder (I get it at the Bulk Barn)<br />
food colouring (I use paste, it is way better)<br />
<br />
This make A LOT of icing. Blend everything except colour together. You want it to be the consistency of white glue. Divide into bowls to make colours. If you want to paint it on, make it a bit thinner (think paint) if you want to pipe it on, keep it glue like. I have little squeeze jars with icing tips that I like to use. I also got this nifty little tool for Christmas:<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788961700177497308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7513547854724400120.post-17926199647075662372012-12-21T11:16:00.002-08:002015-11-03T08:24:21.196-08:00Drink: 3 Ovens, 11 women and 989 cookiesI've been participating in cookie swaps for the past 7 or 8 years. Often, both my husband and I participate in swaps with our co-workers, which usually means about 12 dozen cookies! Chatting with my neighbour (the best one ever!! Our surrogate parents/grandparents.......the kind that leave food in your fridge when you are away so you don't have to cook when you return)<br />
Anyway, we were at a church breakfast (love country living) and came up with the idea of doing a cookie swap, where we all gather together and do our baking! So, we booked the church kitchen, invited a few of our friends, and before we knew it we had 11 ladies signed up!<br />
The kids ran, crafted and played while we baked and then packaged up our goodies.<br />
I'm already planning next years.....and maybe a dinner club in the meantime.<br />
Anyway, I did not get any recipes to share, and Shawn is not ready to go public with his ginger snap recipe (which I sadly did not execute as well as he does) BUT I will leave you with this yummy Christmas Tea recipe I came across in yes, a magazine about food:)<br />
<br />
<b>Christmas Tea</b><br />
8 cups boiling water<br />
16 chai tea bags<br />
2 cinnamon sticks<br />
1/2 cup spiced rum<br />
1/2 cup vanilla vodka<br />
2 cans condensed milk<br />
<br />
Pour the water into your crock pot over tea bags (If they have strings, leave them hanging out for easy retrieval) Let steep for 10 minutes. Remove tea bags, add rum, vodka and cinnamon sticks. Let cook on low for 2 hours. Stir in milk and serve! Serves about 10 mugs.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788961700177497308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7513547854724400120.post-38456331074243490692012-12-04T07:21:00.004-08:002015-11-03T08:24:43.771-08:00Laugh: A Lesson in Love<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The boys, at age 5 and 7 are at the stages
where kissing girls is yucky. A “kissing” scene may be coming up in a
movie.....well as kissy as they get in Disney & Pixar, and the boys look
away as though a monster is about to jump out in the scene. However,
Fintan already has his future wife picked out, Stella. They met when
they were about 4 months old, and have BFF's ever since. She was the only girl
invited to the Survival Man birthday party, and he was the only boy in
attendance at the princess fairy party.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, the boys and Dad were having a
discussion about girls before bed the other night, apparently a JK girl has a
wee crush on Iain, and he is <i>not </i>impressed. The conversation turned to
Fintan and his relationship with Miss Stella, whom he is very careful not to
let on to his male friends about their future nuptials. If the boys found out,
he said, they would sing “Fintan & Stella sittin' in a tree.....” Well, you
know how that songs ends. The <i>next</i> song however took us by surprise, and
had the both of us laughing our $%@ off.....and wondering just how this one
ends:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“Fintan & Stella sittin' in a car, are
they naked? Yes they are......”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Oh......the things they learn in the school
yard.</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788961700177497308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7513547854724400120.post-83444276354596524212012-11-26T14:33:00.001-08:002015-11-03T08:25:37.053-08:00<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Eat, Play, Laugh & Drink......Chapter 1</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Can one person keep two blogs? I will certainly try.....My first blog chronicles my family's Culinary World Tour, it's relatively easy to keep, as I have a specific topic to blog about each week. This blog is to house the (seemingly) random things that occur in our daily life.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Like <span style="color: #274e13;"><b>EAT</b></span>:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When I was trying to pack lunches this morning (while both boys were eating <i>different</i> breakfasts) they both requested <i>different</i> lunches (Iain wanted the "cow cheese" and crackers, and Fintan wanted "Chicken Curry in a Hurry" (my own creation, see below for "recipe")</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and <span style="color: #274e13;"><b>PLAY</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We are blessed to live in the "country" with a backyard that consists of 2 acres, half wooded and half open space, not to mention the swamp and the lake across the road. We have the best playground ever.....I wonder why we even buy toys, as the boys mostly play with sticks and mud. Just yesterday, I needed to log in a run (I'm training for a ridiculous race, more on that later) So I ran the hill in front of our house 10 times, while the boys played Survivor Man by the swamp...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and <span style="color: #274e13;"><b>LAUGH</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So Fintan (in grade 2) has choir once a week. He was singing "Land of the Silver Birch" the other day, and I joined in. He looked at me in amazement and exclaimed "Mom! You know this song???" (laugh #1) I was taken back to my childhood and now understand a story that involves me, a grade 8 dance and Stairway to Heaven (a favorite story of my Mom's to tell)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Anyhow, I tried to correct him on the way to sing the notes (anyone who knows of my singing ability will be laughing right now) and I asked him if the teacher has taught them cords....you know do, re, mi..... his response? "Oh yes Mommy, she's very fussy about that" (laugh #2) "If she catches us singing the wrong note, she makes us sing alone. But she's really nice"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><b><br /></b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and<span style="color: #274e13; font-weight: bold;"> DRINK</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hmm, which story to share here? Yesterday was Shawn's birthday + Sunday night curling.....I'll leave it at that for now:)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Well, I'll leave things here, and hope to use this wee space on the "inter-web" to log some memories.....when I've completely lost marbles some day, hopefully I can come back here and remember.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cheers!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My "recipe" for Chicken Curry in a Hurry</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">leftover chicken</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">leftover cooked rice</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">whatever bits of vegetable are kicking around in the bottom of the fridge (or from the frozen bag in the freezer)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1 egg</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">spoonful (or to taste) brown sugar</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">generous shake of curry powder</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">generous shake of soy sauce</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1. melt some butter or oil in a fry pan</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2. throw chicken, rice and veg into pan</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">3. stir fry until warm</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">4. add curry, sugar and soy sauce </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">5. crack and egg (or 2) and scramble the whole mixture up</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Serve! Hey...your kid's eating curry</span><br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788961700177497308noreply@blogger.com0