Rest, Tea and Fresh Air

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…. healthy eating and a little exercise and I feel better

When I woke up today I still had a sore throat. I read some more and then made myself a breakfast of whole wheat toast with avocado and tomatoes and a great cup of coffee. Yummy! I don’t often eat bread but when I do it’s almost always for breakfast.

After breakfast, K and the dog went for their morning walk. I decided to pass. I wrote to my son in Rotterdam and tidied up the kitchen. For lunch I heated up some leftover homemade vegetable soup. Why do soups always taste better the next day?

After lunch the dog wanted to go out again and my husband wasn’t home so I decided to dress warmly and get some fresh air. It felt good to get out and I ended up walking much farther than I had planned. I also took my camera in case I came across some interesting shots. Winter hasn’t left us and signs of Spring are few and far apart. There are still patches of snow and ice but large areas of brown grass and mud are starting to take over the landscape. I was hoping to see some signs of new growth but it’s still too cold. It felt great getting out but I’m afraid I had too much tea with honey and lemon before I left the house and I had to get home in a big hurry. I love how the pictures of the grasses and the decaying Queen Anne’s Lace turned out. Taking my camera on my walks has opened my eyes to the beauty of the most mundane things.

For dinner tonight we roasted the capon we picked up at the market yesterday. The lady at the meat counter was right about how delicious this bird would be. It weighed almost 7 pounds and we probably have enough meat left over for three or more meals.

To go with the chicken I made a great Brussels Sprouts, spinach and bacon side dish and fresh green beans. My husband made a mushroom sauce but the chicken was so moist that it didn’t really need it.
After dinner K went for his walk without the dog or me. He felt that the dog probably had enough exercise for the day and I wasn’t sure that I should push my luck by going out again. As it turned out the dog had to go out again so I ended up going for a shorter walk anyway. All in all I walked for a total of 4.3 k. Not bad for someone who wasn’t planning on any exercise today.

Cheers!

Posted on March 3, 2013 by Mama Cormier

More Words of Wisdom from Sadie and Dasie. All three ring true for me.

Sadie & Dasie

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A Trip to the Market

Posted on March 2, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…. not just any market….the St. Lawrence Market

I woke up this morning with a sore throat and a very raspy voice. I lay in bed for a spell and read while my husband and the dog went for a walk. When I finally emerged from the bedroom it was going on 10:00. I took a Tylenol, made myself a cup of coffee and K whipped up some eggs for us.

After we cleared up the dishes I started to feel better and in a low whisper (my voice wasn’t back to normal) I asked my husband if he still wanted to make a trip to the St. Lawrence Market. He was game and seeing that it was going on noon the market would probably be less busy.

Well if it was less busy it must have been horrible earlier in the day. The place was swarming with people. We walked around to take in the sights and compare some prices but we soon realized that we were hungry. I guess our morning eggs didn’t stay with us for very long and we knew that shopping when you’re hungry is not a good idea.

It was so crowded that we were feeling somewhat claustrophobic and finding a place to sit down to eat was next to impossible. We left the market and walked up Front Street and found a restaurant where we could sit and have a leisurely lunch. It was also easier to make healthy choices. We both ordered salads with a protein and tea. After our meal we shared a cookie. We were both shocked when we saw how big the cookie was. I’m glad we shared it but I really thought it was going to be half the size. I guess I could have eaten half of my half but that old European custom of cleaning your plate won out.

When we went back to the market we bought a capon to roast for Sunday dinner and lots of fresh green vegetables. One big change we’ve made in our eating habits is to include a lot more leafy green vegetables that are high in anti-oxidants. Some of the vegetables we bought included kale, dandelion leaves, romaine and arugula.

Even though it started off bitterly cold this morning you know spring can’t be too far off when tulips appear in the markets. I bought 3 bunches. Nothing lifts my spirits faster than fresh cut flowers.

When we got home I went out again to purchase the things we couldn’t get at the market. For dinner we had a kale salad and oven roasted chicken breast. No dessert.

I arranged the flowers into 3 separate bouquets and placed them around the house. The buds are still pretty tight but in the next day or so they should open up nicely.

As the day comes to an end my throat is still sore and raspy. I think I’ll make myself a hot tea with honey and lemon and read some more of my book. Hopefully I’ll feel somewhat better tomorrow. No plans as of yet but if the weather is nice I’d like to get out for a walk again. I’m missing my walks.

Cheers!

Snow, Slush, Rain and More Snow

Posted on March 1, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..didn’t reach 20 cm of snow on Wednesday but made up for it today

With all the hype of more snow or lots of rain I had a feeling it might be the latter. Sure enough on Wednesday morning there was very little snow but it had been raining and sleeting all night long and the end result was slush. Yuck!!!

I was on yard duty Wednesday morning and the kids were jumping in the puddles and sliding through the slush. By the afternoon we had to keep them indoors because too many of them had wet feet and damp clothing. The parking lot at the end of the day filled with water in the low lying areas and some of the staff had to wade through calf deep water to get into their cars.

Last night it started to snow again and this morning we woke up to a winter wonderland. The snow was heavy and clung to tree branches and hydro lines. It was pretty and made for great packing snow. Today the kids had a great time building snow forts and getting very wet again. Our poor caretaker was mopping floors all day. The ground is so wet that the mud is starting to seep through the snow. The temperature, however, is suppose to go down overnight and all the puddles and slush will freeze over. It should be an interesting drive tomorrow morning but I fear that those of us who like to walk will face more challenges. Here’s hoping that my husband doesn’t fall again.