I don't quite understand the people of the states obsession with dominating the Olympics. I can not count the number of people who have come up to me and said, “ha, ha, the US is kicking Canada's butt.” Really, the US is kicking Canada's butt at Summer Olympics? Most people kick Canada's butt in the Summer Olympics...in case you didn't know, it's mostly Winter up their anyway. And I am not sure Winnipeg even gets a true Summer. ;) I mean our fricking synchronized swimmers Marie-Pier Boudreau-Gagnon and Isabelle Rampling wore SNOWFLAKES on their swimsuits...for the Summer Olympics. Our athletes are just out there, representing their country(doing the best they can do)for the event(Olympics) that is suppose to promote a sense of world togetherness, not world domination. This “American” attitude sometimes carries over in many aspects of daily life. Canadians(well most) only care about dominating in hockey(as it should be :P). My blog for example. I am often … [Read more...]
Above and beyond….
My mom keeps cookies and quick breads in her freezer to take out when people stop by unannounced..and people do that a lot in her little town. Every time I am there some one is just stopping in to say “hi”. So when my In-laws and I were there in July my mother-in-law found it to be the strangest thing that my mom just whipped out two types of cookies from the freezer and put them on a plate. Though not strange to me. Then we got home. We had some down time and cool weather for July and so the baking itch happened. I had wanted to try to make a pie that was similar to key lime but use oranges(recipe coming in the next week) and I wanted the crust to be a butter citrus cookie. Knowing all to well that this cookie did not exist commercially I searched for a recipe to make it. When my mother-in-law asked me what I was making and I told her and told her why...out came the strange look I saw her give my mother. “You make your own cookies to make a crust?” Not always … [Read more...]
Come on baby, I’m taking you back to school…
You are probably stopping by to see what I did for TWD this week, well sadly I didn't do it. I thought I had granola but apparently not. And since I put it off until Monday night(when it cooled down around these parts) it didn't get done. But if they are anything like the granola cookies I made awhile back I am sure they are great. Back to school time is here. The aisles at Target are filled with back to school supplies that I must admit I still go through. It's been 4 years now since I stopped teaching yet the school supplies still keep sucking me in. I am quite sure I do not need the Sharpie markers, the crayons and the Hello Kitty folder that I bought the other day. But I could not resist. :) Most of my teaching friends in Arizona are already back and soon to follow are my Washington teacher friends. It's the time of year that you love and hate all at the same time as a teacher. You are hopeful(especially if you had the class from hell the year before) that you will have a great … [Read more...]
Pump up the Jam…
So one of the best things about going home, other than of course seeing my darling parents(loving you family) ;) , is raiding my mom's cupboard for all her homemade jam. My mother's yard is filled with a myriad of fruit from blackberry bushes to cherry trees she does have quite the variety...she even has a pear tree. My mother and I share a love for so very few things. When my mother shops for me she always tells me that if it physically repulses her she knows it must be something I like. :) This is how she has shopped for me for years, it is in her defense, a system that seems to work quite well. ;) But when it comes to food we do share a quite a few loves...nutmeg being one of them. Nutmeg is both my mother and I's favorite spice. I use it in so many things, both savory and sweet. I feel it is highly underused. So in my mother's experimenting in jam making she decided to add nutmeg to her pear jam one year, and oh my, was that a good choice. So whenever I am home I either … [Read more...]
