Category Archives: Family

Share Your World – Week 9

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……another great set of questions from Cee Neuner

Would you prefer a reading nook or an art, craft, photography studio?

I would love an art studio. Presently my art supplies are in three different rooms in my house and I often use the dining room table to work on. I bought a large table a couple of years ago but my husband uses it to spread out his own business papers.

Would you prefer the TV in the living room or another room?

I love having my living room free of the TV. When friends come to visit we aren’t distracted by the large screen and we can actually enjoy each others company. Our TV is downstairs in the rec room. IMG_0227

What color would you like your bedroom to be?

I like warm neutral colours in a bedroom with a few bright accent colours. I recently bought a colour called raffia cream to paint on the walls.

Would you prefer a one floor house or multiple levels?

I live in a two story house with a full basement. I like having different levels. The stairs help keep us in shape and I like being able to escape to an upper corner of the house when I want space for a little quiet time.

Bonus question:  What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

I’m grateful for the pictures my son sent us from his trip to Iran, my oldest daughter’s phone call and our youngest daughter’s visit on Saturday. I’m also grateful for being able to attend an amazing concert last week featuring a recorder player. I’ll post about that in the next few days.

This week I’m looking forward to our upcoming March Break. I’ll be getting ready to fly to Calgary with my middle sister to visit our baby sister. Hopefully my husband and I can get away for a couple of days before that.

 

Spending Family Day With the Dogs

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….and my daughter and son-in-law

Today was another sunny but cold day in Toronto and it is Family Day. It is an official holiday in Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia. As the name implies it is a day to celebrate families.

Yesterday my husband and I went to the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario) with out oldest daughter, A and her partner, J and saw the show, The Great Upheaval: Masterpieces from the Guggenheim Collection, 1910 – 1918. I loved it. It’s not a huge show but it featured some amazing artists from the past, such as, Picasso, Kandinsky, Matisse, Chagall, Franz Marc, Kupka and Miro. There must have been at least 30 different artists whose works were on display. It was fascinating to see how this era of new technologies ( film, photography, planes, telephones, electricity, etc.) and the presence of World War I affected the art world. If you’re in Toronto the show goes till March 6, 2014. Unfortunately cameras were not allowed at this show so I don’t have any original photos to show you. The Great Upheaval.

After seeing the show we browsed through some of the other galleries at the AGO, where you are allowed to take photographs. Here are a few highlights of our morning.

Today, my husband, Frances and I arranged to meet our youngest daughter and her husband and Lucy at High Park. We took both dogs to the off leash area. We’ve had so much snow that all the paths are packed solid with snow and ice. Luckily K brought his cleats for his boots and our walk was relatively uneventful, falling that is. We did see a few people wipe out but no serious injuries happened.

Frances and Lucy had a great time, running and wrestling with each other. We got a good walk, as well, probably close to 4k. The humans got tired just watching those two dogs darting back and forth.

After looking at all this snow it’s hard to imagine that another storm is approaching us tonight and we’re expecting another 10 cm to fall. Sigh!

Cheers! Hope everyone had a great Family Day!

A Little Heaven in a Jar

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….I don’t often make dessert but this recipe for cheesecake made in a slow cooker intrigued me

The original recipe comes from Chef Ricardo’s cookbook, Ricardo: Slow Cooker and was reprinted in the Life section of Saturday’s paper. I was drawn to the recipe for two reasons: 1. It is prepared in a slow cooker and 2. it is prepared in individual ramekins or small canning jars.

Since we were having the family over for Sunday lunch and Game Day, I decided to make the salad and dessert portions of the meal. The menu consisted of Orange, Avocado and Red Onion Salad, which I posted here, cornmeal and jalapeño muffins, beef enchiladas, Mexican rice and cheesecake in a jar.

Cheesecake with Strawberries and Graham Cracker Crumble in a Jar

Serves 4

1 pkg. (250g or 8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

75 mL (1/3 cup) sugar

1 egg

60 mL (1/4 cup) 35% cream

5 mL (1 tsp.) vanilla extract

Crumble

125 mL (1/2 cup) graham cracker crumbs

60 mL (1/4 cup) all-purpose flour

30 mL (2 tbsp) brown sugar

60 mL (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened

Fruit Topping

250 mL (1 cup) diced strawberries or favourite fruit

15 mL (1 tbsp.) sugar or sweetener

Whipped Cream (optional)

Directions:

1. Place a clean cloth in the bottom of the slow cooker. I forgot and two of the jars broke as soon as I added the hot water.

2. In a food processor combine all the ingredients for the cheesecake (not the crumble or fruit) and puree until smooth.

3. Pour into clean ramekins or small canning jars and place in the slow cooker. Carefully pour hot water (not boiling) around the jars until the water reaches the half way mark on the jars.

4. Cover and cook on low heat for 90 minutes until firm and slightly puffed. Remove from the slow cooker and let cool. photo 3-7Refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours until completely chilled.

5. Crumble:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

6. In a bowl combine the dry ingredients and add the butter. Using your hands mix the mixture until crumbly. Drop onto the baking sheet. Bake, stirring twice during the baking process for about 15 minutes or until golden in colour. Let cool. photo 4-7

Strawberries:

Wash the strawberries and dice. Toss with the sugar or sweetener of your choice. Set aside to macerate. photo 5-5

When ready to serve, garnish each ramekin or jar with the graham cracker crumble, strawberries and a dollop of whipped cream.

Enjoy!photo 2-16 photo 1-17

One Last Meeting Before Heading Home

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….and then I was down for the count with a head cold

The day after the wedding the sisters and their families got together for one last meal before heading back to Toronto, Oshawa, Calgary, Vancouver and for two lucky people, Hawaii.

There was some discussion by the more practical in the group that meeting for brunch didn’t seem to be a very economic thing to do when the hotel provided a ‘perfectly good breakfast’. After some debate, it was agreed that it wasn’t about the food but rather a chance to get together one more time before heading off in separate directions.

At around 11:00 we all met at the local pancake house allowing the early risers to take advantage of the ‘free’ breakfast back at the hotel. Everyone, including the early risers ordered brunch. I don’t know where they found room to eat again and some of us were being served lunch on the train a few hours later. Anyway it was nice getting together one last time and making final plans for dropping off the rental car and deciding what to do for one hour before heading out to the train station.

Now living in Chatham has a few downsides. One of them is that the car rental place isn’t open on Sundays so there was no one to drive us to the train station after we dropped off the car. My brother-in-law agreed to follow me to the rental office, drop off the keys in the drop off box and then drive me back to the station where the luggage and my family would be waiting.

The other downside, however, was that the train station didn’t open it’s doors until 30 minutes before the train arrived. That meant that the luggage and my sister who had to give up her seat in the car for me and all my family had to wait outside in the freezing temperatures while I returned the car.

That brings me to the final downside and that is the weather in Chatham. It is considerably colder than Toronto or at least it tends to get the bad weather first as it blows through southern Ontario towards the big city. There’s not much one can do about the weather and it’s been a brutal winter all over Ontario this year but it was just one more ‘uncomfortable’ aspect of our return trip.

We said our good-byes and my baby sister and her family and then they drove off to Windsor to catch a flight to Toronto, where they would individually make connecting flights to Vancouver and Calgary. My sister and her husband had slightly different plans. They would be staying overnight at the airport hotel in Toronto and then catching a flight to Hawaii the next day where they would celebrate their wedding anniversary for two weeks. Nice!

The train trip back was most enjoyable for my father. We had the seats with the large table between us and our seat mates were very friendly and talkative. They quickly learned all about my father’s past, starting with the war, his emigration to Canada, getting his first job at the Royal York Hotel, my mother’s death and how he met his current wife. The four trip went by very quickly.

Once we were at Union Station, my daughters and I regrouped and we made sure that my Dad got to the Go Train waiting room and bought his ticket to return to Oshawa. He phoned me later that night to let me know that he returned ‘safe and sound’ and that his car was still in the parking lot where he left it, three days earlier.

My daughter and I shared a cab and we went back to her place where my husband picked me up. It was nice to be home and back in my own bed. The next day, however, I felt a cold coming on. Isn’t that always the way. I’m not surprised though; my brother-in-law was complaining about his cold all weekend and I did hug him several times.

I had plans to attend the show Les Mis on Thursday with two of my good friends and L’s mom and we were a bit worried about me passing on my cold to M. After three days of suffering at school I decided to take the day off on Thursday and just rest before going to the show. I have to say that it did wonders for me and I didn’t cough once at the show. The show by the way was fantastic. It was the first time I’ve seen it and apparently this show has been getting rave reviews.

Les Mis in Toronto

So there’s my ‘Away and Down for the Count’ post done over three days. Thanks for your patience. I know that if you started reading mid way it was a bit confusing.

Cheers!

Away and Down for the Count

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….I feel like I haven’t posted in awhile so here’s my week in review

Friday, January 17

My bags are packed and I’m on my way to Chatham for my sister’s wedding. My husband is suffering a great deal of pain from his fall earlier this week and isn’t coming with us. I booked an appointment to get my hair cut before I headed out to meet my father and catch the train at Union Station.

I arrived an hour early and looked out for my 87 year old father who had to come into Toronto from Oshawa on the Go Train. Unfortunately Union Station is undergoing a lot of renovation and finding anybody is a bit tricky. I sat down in a waiting area figuring his train wasn’t due to arrive for another half an hour. Little did I know that he caught an earlier train. Luckily for me my Dad isn’t shy and after asking for some directions he ended up waiting in a waiting area on the opposite side of the station.

When I thought his train was about to arrive I stood up to see if I could catch a glimpse of him as he arrived.  I happened to look over to the other side of the station and sure enough there he was wandering around looking for me. All ended well. We got on the train together and settled in for a very enjoyable 3 1/2 hour trip.

One of the things that my husband arranged that both my Dad and I very much appreciated was upgrade our seats to business class. My father was very surprised when he pulled out his wallet to buy a drink and was politely told by one of our seat mates to put away his money. All drinks and food on business class are complimentary. The meals were excellent, better than any airline meal I’ve ever had.

When we got to Chatham the car rental company picked us up and drove us to the rental office to pick up our van. The hotel was just down the street. We booked into the Holiday Inn Express and freshened up before going to the wedding rehearsal.

My sister came by and we followed her to the church.

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After about an hour of running through the ceremony and making final adjustment we got back into our cars and headed out to Pain Court (French pronunciation – pan cour) for the rehearsal dinner.

When we finished our meal we headed back to Chatham but in the meantime it had started snowing so driving was a little treacherous. My other sister and her family were flying in from Calgary and were landing in Windsor which meant that they had to drive from Windsor to Chatham.

When we got back to the hotel we inquired about my sister’s family but they hadn’t yet arrived. About 15 minutes later my phone rang and my sister announce that they were in the hotel. A few minutes later all five of them came down to my room and we had a bit of a reunion. Dad was already for bed for he didn’t join us.

After catching up and meeting T’s ( my nephew) girlfriend we made arrangements to meet for breakfast and then apparently we were going to the hall to decorate it for the wedding.

Saturday, January 18

Breakfast was in the hotel.  We all met downstairs and enjoyed the complimentary coffee and breakfast foods. Dad finally greeted the rest of CS’s family (my baby sister) and we planned out the rest of the day.

We drove to the restaurant where the wedding reception was being held. A friend of my sister who was getting married was already there with instructions on what to do to decorate the space. I organized the name tags on the tables and my baby sister helped the bride’s friend decorate the head table.

My brother-in-law picked up my girls from the train station and we had three more sets of hands to help decorate. My sister’s theme was a rifle range because that’s where she and D met over 30 years ago when they were both at university. The tables had cap guns, rifle lighters and the walls were decorated with targets.

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At one point my sister proclaimed that we needed more tape so again my brother-in-law volunteered to go buy some. Little did we know that he was checking out the local dollar store and he bought most of the glow sticks in the place and bought more toy guns and caps. He returned with two huge bags.IMG_0262

The original plan was to meet the bride for lunch after she got her hair done but she ran behind schedule so we were on our own. We couldn’t agree on where to go so we decided to go our separate ways for lunch. I had to take the girls back to the hotel first anyway so that they could check in. Once we did that we found a Tim Horton’s close by and had a quick lunch before we returned to the hotel to get dressed for the wedding.

To Be Continued………

From Zero to Hero – Day 4 and Saying Good-bye to my Son

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….a challenging day overall…lots of company and one last meal with B and Az

Today’s assignment: follow five new topics in the Reader, and begin finding blogs (and bloggers) you love.

One way to increase readership is to follow other people’s blogs and make comments. Invariably they will come back to your blog to check you out. Today we are encouraged to branch out and investigate topics that we haven’t considered before. I’ve chosen the following five topics (some suggested by WordPress):

Stereotypes: Livicatherine  and You’ve Got to be Kidding and Rural to Roaming

Flaneur: The English Department and Around a Red Table

Coffee Culture: Cody Delistraty and Just Add Attitude and Filter(ed)

Owls:  My Eco-centric Life and Owl Moon (it’s amazing how many sites pop up when you type the word owl)

Humour: Singing Pigs and Life With the Top Down

Day 4 – The Daily Task

Today was a busy day with saying good-bye to our son and his fiancé. My friend, L came over to say hello and good-bye all at the same time and A and J came for an hour to say a final farewell. I knew that today would be a difficult day to tackle something new so I did what I said I would and that was finish reading the book The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion. I loved this book and would recommend it to anyone. Reviewers used words like, charming, delightful, hilarious, compelling, unforgettable, unique and clever. I guarantee that you won’t want to put it down.

It’s been snowing off and on today, but mostly on and right now it’s very wet and heavy. Unfortunately I didn’t get out for my daily walk. I’ll have to do double duty tomorrow. Here’s hoping for a safe and uneventful flight back to the Netherlands for both B and Az. I miss you already. Love, hugs and kisses. Mom

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From Zero to Hero – Day 3

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….. in a previous post I told you I didn’t fix things that involved electricity…I lied

Today’s assignment: write the post that was on your mind when you decided to start a blog.

This post is one that I hesitated to publish because I didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. I was feeling somewhat melancholy after spending 3 wonderful days with my entire family. I think I was at a peak of euphoria when everything around me seemed to crash. Luckily the feeling was short lived and I’ve had more memorable moments with my son. For that reason the following post has been altered somewhat to reflect on the positive more than the negative.

 Feeling a Little Melancholy

Posted on January 4, 2014

….after three wonderful days with family

I knew that when my son came to visit, he would need to spend time with his friends. I just didn’t know that it would hit me so hard. I’ve looked forward to his visit for so long and when things didn’t go exactly as had been planned I experienced deep disappointment. There were times when I felt I was doing a lot of sitting around and waiting for things to happen. So unlike me. I usually make things happen.

On the 30th of December, my son and his twin sister celebrated their birthdays. Earlier plans changed slightly to accommodate extra guests that been invited.  Originally G and Az were suppose to prepare the meal at G’s place and we were all going over there for a big Iranian feast. G’s place, however,  is just too small so the party was moved to my place. All in all it turned out to be a great meal and the important part for me was that I had my family together again.

I’m not complaining. I’m just overwhelmed and emotional. I love all my children and they all left the nest years ago. I wasn’t one of these moms that couldn’t cut the apron strings. When they left I was happy that they were starting on a journey to establish their own lives and when they call or visit I’m happy. My son, however, moved far away and I haven’t been able to hug him and reach out to him. So now that he’s here I think I expect more from him.

B and Az left on Thursday and took a train to Montreal for a three of day adventure. They’ll be back late tonight and then on Sunday they fly back to the Netherlands. Sigh!

Now I have a wedding to look forward to. The dates and the venue haven’t been decided but Turkey was mentioned as a possible destination. Smiling!

Day 3- My Task for the Day

Early this morning I fixed the lamp. I mentioned in an earlier post that I was not comfortable doing anything electrical but the lady in the store, yesterday showed me how easy it was to replace the part on the lamp. She was right. Here are some pictures documenting this momentous occasion.

Here is the part I had to replace.

Here is the part I had to replace.

Notice how I use my dining room table as a work bench.

Notice how I use my dining room table as a work bench.

 

 

 

 

Success!

Success!

 

 

 

 

 

The lamp with its brand new shade.

The lamp with its brand new shade.

Once the lamp was repaired I checked my list to see what other job I would tackle today. I decided to wash and organize my night table and the ledge on the bay window behind my bed. Over the holidays and probably some time before that those two areas had become dumping grounds for my jewellery, hair accessories and creams and cosmetics. I love costume jewellery and never seem to have enough. As you can see from the before and after pictures it had become quite impossible to find anything.

IMG_0178 IMG_0183On the window sill I needed to reorganize my jewellery and dust off the pictures. I actually threw a few things away and found a new home for some of my heavier and longer necklaces (in my closet). I really do have too many pieces and I should probably separate the pieces that I wear all the time from the ones I never wear. What I do with the latter I’m not sure but I’m sure I can find them a good home somewhere.

IMG_0180 IMG_0181 IMG_0179 IMG_0182  I was on a roll and when I finished this area of my bedroom I also decided to clean off my bookshelf which also becomes a dumping ground. Here is the after picture.IMG_0184

I’m enjoying this job a day challenge. Tomorrow might be a bit more difficult. My son and his fiancé are leaving for the Netherlands in the late afternoon and company is arriving tomorrow to see them off. One of the ‘jobs’ that I have to complete is read The Rosie Project before Monday and I need to start on some books for school. So I think tomorrow’s jobs will involve reading.

Day 3 – Walking

I was worried that I might not get out for my walk today so I made sure that my husband was up for a walk after dinner. It’s warmed up considerably since yesterday so the walk was very pleasant. In fact, on the way out we were almost too warm but coming back we were walking into the wind and were glad for our warm coats and mittens. In total the walk covered 3.7k.

 

My Twin Babies Turned 32 Yesterday

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….a hectic but fun day

The day started early with a visit to Sherway Mall to look for a winter parka for Az and a birthday present for my son. I had already purchased his sister’s present long before Christmas but we didn’t know what B needed or wanted so I waited until his arrival to Canada to find out.

It turns out that B really needed new shoes. It was his lucky day. Between his fiancé, Az and me, he ended up with three new pairs of shoes, 2 casual and one dressy. We also found a warm and stylish winter parka for Az, which will come in very handy when they go to Montreal later this week. It’s always colder in Montreal.

After our shopping spree we headed to Costco for gas and groceries. Az wanted to prepare an Iranian feast for us and what better time than for a birthday celebration. We were expecting 10 people for dinner and even though they had picked up a load of groceries at the Iranian grocery store (who knew) we still still needed a few extra items to round out the meal. One of the things we bought was a birthday cheesecake for B and G. I know that’s not very Iranian but it’s a bit of a birthday tradition in our house. Turns out that more desserts were brought by others and I have a lot of cake left over.

The girls hard at work.

The girls hard at work.

Once we got home Az and our daughter, G started to cook and cook and cook. When Az told me that 1 kg of rice wasn’t enough, I was shocked so when I picked up our other daughter, A, her partner J and our son-in-law we made another stop at a store to purchase more basmati.

The green olives were the best I've ever eaten. They were purchased at the Iranian market. The marinade included ground walnuts and it became a great dipping sauce as well.

The green olives were the best I’ve ever eaten. They were purchased at the Iranian market. The marinade included ground walnuts and it became a great dipping sauce as well.

When all the guests arrived the place was buzzing with activity. I noticed that Az was not happy with one of her dished and was quite upset. I tasted it and I thought it tasted wonderful. I passed it around to a few more guests to sample and they all agreed that she needed to serve it. Ignorance is bliss. It really did taste devine but I’m sure if it had turned out the way she wanted it would have been better but we didn’t have anything to compare it to. The whole meal was an explosion of taste in the mouth. I’m sure I could never recreate it on my own but our daughter G has a little more experience and hopefully I don’t have to wait for another visit from B and Az before we can experience this meal again.

Of course there was way too much food, especially desserts. My husband is hoping we don’t have to go grocery shopping for awhile. My fridge is jam packed with leftovers and the cheesecake is sitting outside in a cooler bag on the deck where it is frozen solid.

Thank goodness there aren’t anymore major birthdays now until the summer. My waistline can’t afford more days like this.

Cheers!