….especially to our daughter, Andrea
Monster Monday-Good Luck to all the Runners at the Boston Marathon
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Category Archives: Family
Cooking in France
….One of Kevin’s must do experiences
With all the wonderful produce and selections of meat Kevin really wanted to cook an authentic French meal. The area in and around Tours is known for it’s pork so after some thoughtful research he decided to cook Medallions of pork in a port mushrooms sauce.
We took a trip to the market and bought the most expensive cut of pork behind the counter. Over at the vegetable stall we picked up mushrooms and green beans and from the wine store we purchased a port and local bottle of Envol wine.
Back in the apartment the challenge began and I mean challenge. We had a two burner cooktop a two smallish pans to prepare a dinner for five.
Suces sur!
To See or Not to See
…..at what cost would you see the Mona Lisa?
We’ve all seen pictures, videos and documentaries of the Mona Lisa. You may have read books about that mysterious smile or where the art piece itself is central to the storyline.
I’ve heard over and over again how small the painting is in real life and yet when I actually saw it I felt it was larger than I had imagined. Was it worth the long line-ups, the crowds and the close proximity to so many people during a pandemic?
I am not sorry that I saw her up close, well at least as close as you are allowed to be. I stood in line with our son but my husband didn’t. He saw the painting from the back of the room. What I am sorry for is all the art that I didn’t get to see or spend time with, as we hurried along the u-shaped galleries to get to the room where the Mona Lisa hung. I knew we were getting closer when the crowds got denser.
There is so much to see at the Louvre that you need more than one 90 minute slot. We were there at the end of the day and leaving Paris the next morning. Here are a few other art pieces that we managed to see.
Priority Admission at the Louvre
…..walking with a cane has it’s advantages
When we travelled throughout Italy in 2016 with our 9 month old granddaughter we found that museums, galleries and restaurants bent over backwards to accommodate us. Six years later in France we’re finding the same thing except now it’s walking with a cane take gets us priority admission.
Back in April Kevin needed an emergency hip replacement and even though his recovery was remarkably fast he occasionally has balance issues. As a result and playing it safe he brought his cane with him on this trip to France.
On the day we went to the Louvre Kevin brought the cane, knowing that there would be a lot of walking. We preordered the tickets, thinking that would get us into museum without having to line up. We booked for the last time slot of the day and ended up in a line with hundreds of people in front of us. Our son was visibly upset. I asked him him if there was priority admission for people with mobility issues. He asked us to stay in line while he investigated.
Upon his return he told us to follow him and we walked directly to the entrance where security waved us through. This is something that all travellers with babies and mobility issues should know. Once inside I can’t say that the Louvre was easy to navigate, as there are lots of stairs but fortunately my husband was able to go up and down without too much difficulty. Had we investigated a bit more we would probably have found more elevators.
Christmas Baking in March
….I finally got to use all the icing and decorations that I bought in December
Last Christmas our granddaughter from New Brunswick was suppose to come and visit with her Mom and Dad. With the emergence of the new Omicron strain they decided to play it safe and stayed home. In the meantime I went to Bulk Barn and loaded up on icing pouches, sprinkles, mini candies and peanut butter chips because Winnie had requested that we make cookies together.
Last week they finally found some time to visit and they flew to Toronto for four days. Out came the cookie mix, the cookie cutters and all the icing and decorations. It was so much fun until Oma, that’s me, ate the broken hand that fell off the Santa cookie. I was in so much trouble but luckily the trauma passed quickly but I’m not sure that I’ve been completely forgiven. Ouch!
We also got to finally celebrate Gaelan’s 40th birthday in style.
Monster Monday – Coffee Cat
….named by our visiting granddaughter
College Royal is Back
….not as big as in years past but open non the less
In the past College Royal has attracted up to 30 000 visitors but in the last two years it was mostly virtual and this year it was limited to staff, students and family members. It was much smaller in size but we enjoyed our two days of exploring the campus, speaking to the exhibitors, learning new things, watching the dog show and walking through the barns.
If you had any doubts as to the what the University of Guelph is all about, College Royal highlighted the agricultural, veterinary and animal and food sciences. As a graduate of U of G I can tell you that there is much more to this university, i.e., Family and Child Studies, The Arts, Biomedical studies, Business and Economics, Athletics, Human Kinetics, etc.. Hopefully in future years College Royal will be back to hosting more clubs, more of the arts, fashion shows and will have more hands on activities and bring back the milkshakes.
College Royal and Tonguely
…Tonguely’s been MIA for awhile on this blog
This weekend is the annual College Royal Open House at the University of Guelph. This is where my husband, Kevin and I first met. I was a student and he was visiting a friend who lived next door to me. We hooked up pretty quickly and he enrolled in the university the following semester. College Royal was always one of our favourite activities. We both belonged to a drama club, Curtain Call, that put on student written and produced shows every year during College Royal. Every year Collage Royal attracts about 30 000 visitors. https://www.collegeroyalsociety.com/
Now, as for Tonguely he seems to be missing. We’re pretty sure he wants to be there. Hope he’s not getting into any trouble.
Random Acts of Kindness Day
….and in Canada it is Random Acts of Kindness Week
Kevin is back at his drawing board but in the basement apartment and not in his studio. After I did all the cooking for the last 10 days Kevin treated me to a dinner last night that he managed to cook. He’s doing it again tonight. He just can’t help himself. He loves cooking so much that he climbs up the stairs from downstairs. I’m sure that he’s calling it part of his physiotherapy and he seems to be managing well.
On the drawing board, Kevin’s mice returned to celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Day. Did you reach out to someone today to do a random act of kindness? If not, you have till Sunday to do something kind. For that matter you don’t need a special day or week to perform a random act of kindness. Give it a try.
A Few Random Trios and My Favourite Trio From My Past
…looking around the house I found these trios to share with you
Mama Cormier 