Counting down

The advent doll has settled in nicely

Quince fruit paste served with warm brie

along with a winter stout.

I continue decorating.  This year I bought some new LED lights and they are no easier to place than the older lights.  Did I really think they would be?  No, but it would have been nice seeing as I fuss and bother and still am never happy with the way I place them.   Adding ornaments will help.

The Christmas cards are done and the last batch will go into the mailbox today. 

I served the Quince with brie last night with dinner and opened the bottle of winter stout I had purchases a week or so back. I like trying beer in fancy bottles.  It was dark and thick and  very tasty.

Jayne...the quince was sweet and mild.  Not able to really describe the flavour but it was wonderful with the warm brie.    It is imported from New Zealand.   The beer is almost local.


HO HO HO

Half way through June .. already!

I spy with my little eye an almost hidden doorway under the hosta in the garden bed. I could wish for silly little trolls or ethereal fairies but reality gave me ..........

a bunny who seems to think he's living in the middle of his own personal diner. So far the flowers aren't suffering but I have been out with cayenne pepper, not his favourite seasoning.

This little fellow plays havoc in my pots and today played a game of "if I don't look I can't see you " with Paul.

But life is good and I keep trying different flavours of beer. This cherry ale, from a local craft brewery, was mellow but will remain a treat. Even though the bottle provided us both with a good size serving my frugal heart finds it difficult to pay almost $5.00 for one bottle.

top three photos were taken by Paul who is getting better with his camera and is now learning to transfer his shots onto the computer

On the last weekend of November I ...

...read a really interesting book. INCONTINENT ON THE CONTINENT by Jane Christmas and loved every page of it.

Since the beginning of time, mothers and daughters have had notoriously fraught relationships. “Show me a mother who says she has a good or great relationship with her daughter,” Jane Christmas writes, “and I’ll show you a daughter who is in therapy trying to understand how it all went so horribly wrong.”

To smooth over five decades of constant clashing, Christmas takes her arthritic, incontinent, and domineering mother, Valeria—a cross between Queen Victoria and Hyacinth Bucket of the British comedy Keeping Up Appearances—on a tour of Italy.

Neither has been to Italy before, but both are fans of ancient art, architecture, and history. Will gazing at the fruits of the Italian Renaissance be enough to spark a renaissance in their relationship? As they wander along the winding Amalfi Coast, traverse St. Peter’s Square in Rome, and sample the wines of Tuscany—walkers, biscuits, shawls, and medications in tow—they revisit the bickering and bitterness of years past and reassess who they are and how they might reconcile their differences.

Unflinching and frequently hilarious, this book will speak to all women who have tried to make friends with their mothers.



... supervised while Paul changed the taps in my laundry tubs in the basement.

... marvelled at the smarts of the man to put on waterproof shoes while doing plumbing.


... shared my Christmas beer while we ate hamburgs and watched the Grey Cup

Bah Humbug Christmas Cheer spiced beer -- lightly spiced with cinnamon this is a rich ale complimented with subtle tones of dried fruits. Wychwood Brewery Oxfordshire England

Another beer

Pomegranate and berry extracts add a tasteful twist to this classic wheat beer. Made only once a year in limited quantities, this refreshingly unique taste is best enjoyed with light food fare, hot summer days and warm summer nights.

I enjoyed it with frozen pizza. Of all the flavoured beers I've tired I liked this one the best. Not an overpowering fruity taste, just a nice touch of sweetness.
I probably won't remember to watch for it next year and I'm not likely to find more it at the store now so I'll just have to see what turns up next.

Amsterdam Brewing Co

Halloween treats

I decided it was about time to make my own again rather than just throw a frozen pizza in the oven, It really was good. Recipe:
One prepared thin pizza crust
Rub with a little olive oil
Throw on some Italian cheeses...shredded
Add meat slices .. I used salami
Add sliced tomato
Add zucchini and onions that you've lightly fried in oil
Add quartered artichoke hearts
Add sliced olives .. I prefer black
Add chunks of goat cheese .. mine was flavoured with garlic
Drizzle with about 1tablespoon of olive oil

Cook 10 minutes ( crust starts to crisp and cheese melts ) in preheat oven 425F





Serve with Pumpkin Ale

"..we added a generous amount of pumpkin directly into the brew. Combine this with hints of cinnamon, glove, nutmeg and allspice and you've got a beer that you won't soon forget."

My palate couldn't make out all the flavours but it was a good brew with the pizza.

...

I did put up a few decorations. I did turn on my light. I did share my chocolate.

another one

Paul's pick. I asked him if it was the label that attracted him. I should have known better. It was the price, although he did say he liked some French beer and wanted to try this one.

Guess it's all about marketing but the label does seem a bit much. Could this be a play on the I Am Canadian ads?

It reads: BORIS My values are those of a generation that has taken control of its existence and future. I pledge allegiance to only one flag. My own.
The Alsatian Flask.

It was a soft beer. No harshness, similar to some light beers I've liked. If they don't raise the price he probably will buy this one again.

this has been a second test and I'm getting faster

Details

Great Lakes Beer made that bottle of Orange Summer Ale I showed you yesterday. It appears they make lots of different brews, none that really caught my eye as appealing to my taste buds, but after sharing the bottle last night for dinner with Paul, I will put the orange on my "buy again list.

I've tried flavoured beer before, raspberry beer and I think a cherry, but I liked this better. The orange was hardly noticeable but for a person who is not normally an ale/beer drinker I found it pleasantly light with no harsh aftertaste. It's not cheap, $4.95, but seeing as it comes in 650 ml bottles it serves 2, at least in our house.

I thought the peeling orange on the label looked like a snake but no, just fruit with a stem.

LCBO I've included this link for any new readers. Our provincial government sells us most our booze in specific stores, regulates the prices etc ... but at least has the decency to give us good recipes and a flashy website as compensation.

This is a test

This shot of a baby maple tree growing in my lawn seems a suitable test for this Canada Day weekend.

It's been a struggle, a true test of my patience, just getting here but if I'm going to try and blog while on holiday, and hopefully share some photos, then I have to master this new computer. (Asus EeePC )

First I had to figure out how to download the photos, then figure out how to use a different photo editing programme: selecting, rotating and resizing and how the process for saving and finding them again worked.

It seems I've done it. Will I be able to do it again? Probably not easily in fact I'm not likely going to try it again unless Stephen is sitting beside me and I get to take notes.



This beer will be a test as well. I'm not sure if it was the label or the orange peel idea that had me adding it in the shopping cart along with Paul's usual brew.

New stuff

Took Paul to the movies on Monday night to see Across the Universe. We had seen the previews when we saw Stardust, he doesn't remember, and I knew it was a movie I wanted to see on the big screen. It was wonderful. The story is told in Beatle music and great visuals. I am not a huge fan but the way the songs were used and the cast singing them made it sparkle. I highly recommend this movie........true entertainment.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Across_the_Universe_(film)On Tuesday we went to the LCBO ( Liquor Control Board of Ontario ) store to pick up some beer for Paul. I saw this on the shelf and bought one. I'm not a beer drinker but couldn't resist. My almost $4.00 bottle of raspberry beer formed a pink head and did taste like fresh raspberries. Interesting. Perhaps next year when they make a new batch I'll have another.