...................... Sleep - that bitch!

I got new skates today at a liquidation sale

I picked up some Softec Vantage recreational skates for women at a liquidation sale today for $63 including taxes.

When blu-ray players attack!

 So yesterday I was sitting at my desk and I hear what sounds like a corning ware dish break on the floor. When I went to investigate, I found out that the noise was our Lite On external blu-ray player that had shattered a bluRay disk "The girl with the dragon tattoo".   One of the guys in my team,  sitting next to the player tried to eject it to make it stop making noise and by touching it, a shard of bluray disk flew out and attacked him.

Pieces of blu-ray disk

Injury to co-worker

It is lucky the piece of bluRay hit his head instead of hitting his eyes, he could have lost an eye in the process. Pretty nasty. And of work related injuries this has to be one of the weirdest I've seen.  We ordered a new bluRay player to replace this one and I did not order another Lite-On.

It was beautiful but frigid.

So far this week I've walked  Monday, Tuesday and today about 25-30 minutes a piece.  It was -25 on Tuesday but there was no wind, it was -19 today but with the wind it felt colder.   Doesn't it look pretty, this photo was taken just around 3 pm where the sun is really low at this time of the year.

So far between my walking in the woods almost daily and my Vitamin C cubes I have been able to stay healthy. The less I cough, the less I risk throwing out my back.

I may have called it's death prematurely.

Today at lunch time I went to Canada computers and bought a brand new Linksys router, the EA4500.  I got home, re-checked the old router, still flashing like a Christmas tree. So unshrinkwrapped the new router. Put the CD into the player, and before putting hte new router up I started to untangle all the wires to unplug the power cord from the power bar.  I looked at the power supply that took forever to discharge and pondered if maybe NOW the router would work. And it did.  I've got it re-configured and back online with it.

 For removing the shrinkwrap there is at least a 5% restocking fee, and it's a nice router.  So I decided I was going to configure it this week-end. At least for tonight it's working. So I will have a backup router in case something goes wrong.

RIP WRT610N dual band router

So last night around 9:30, with no warning, my LinkSys WRT610N router just died.  Of course it died after the stores were closed.

So we spent last night pining for the internet.   Sure we have internet on our Androids, but typing on a bloody android is a PITA.

So today at lunch, I'm going to buy a router.  All I know is that it's going to be dual band. Beyond that... I have no clue.

Good session

I had a good therapy session. I was annoyed at myself for getting so angry at the moron in our help-desk on Friday. I even left work at noon, because I was too angry to focus, be productive or have the patience for my interns.  My boss was really supportive too. The only thing he told me is that the moron at the help-desk is not even worth my anger.  He's right too.

It's so nice that my boss supports me. Of course it helps we've probably been working together for 17 years now.  I joke he's the longest relationship I've had with a male not related to me.  But it's the truth. And at least most of the time these days I feel supported when I have problem. It probably helps that I can identify my problems bettter and know how to ask for help.

To get back to the session, I described how angry I got. How I left work at noon, and went home. I spent about 1 hour on my ADHD forum on Facebook and some of my friends from the UK were in a silly bantering mood, and after spending an hour with them, I was in a great mood.  I love those people to bits. I have never met any of them in real life, but they are sometimes my saviour.  I even ended going skating and that was so therapeutic, until my fucking skates broke!!!!

But I didn't fume all week-end. Though I was apprehensive to take a voice mail from the said help-desk moron yesterday, in the end it was just to tell me equipment was in. I did get animated describing how angry I was at the guy... because I can always relive those anger moments.

Therapist pointed out that I dealt well with my anger. Even though I still got angry.  So I'm seeing the positive. I also didn't get angry at myself for getting angry. Just annoyed.  Like when am I going to learn that it is pointless to get angry over things I have no control over or morons that I know are just morons!!!

Happy Blue Monday

Apparently today is Blue Monday. 

And I'm not feeling as blue as I usually do in January. So it's all good :)

You're walking through a Forest

Is a line I heard way too much in my friends living room for many years from out of our "friends". I put it like that because the only reason he was 'friends' with any of the girls in the group was to gawk at their boobs and get inside their pants. He hasn't tried with me in easily 10 years now, but he's still trying to get into the pants of people I know. Despite being married to his DD wife.

Beyond that, we went walking around the neighborhood through a wooded area between 2 streets in DDO behind Fredmir park, and it's always so pleasant.

Graffiti tree in woods between Beechwood and Arragon park

Sunset seen from the chain link fence of the baseball field of Arragon Park

Too funny

My first bitstrip was inspired by a friend in my ADHD group who said she wanted to punch in the face anyone who bitstripped. So I bitstrip her punching me in the Face.

And then I got addicted. This is today's bitstrip of me pretending to be David Caruso. Bahahahaha

Typical Belge dinner

When I think of Moules-frites I think of my dad, and Belgium.  I made some for the first time tonight, and it is delicious.

I went skating today.

For the first time in years, I went ice skating today at the rink on Parc du Chemin de la Rive Boisee.  It was as much fun as I remembered it. Bonus, I had the entire pleasure rink to myself, but there was easily 8-10 dudes playing hockey. I wanted to skate an hour for my first time, knowing that my feet, legs and ankles would probably hurt for days aftewards.

Well the skates had a mind of their own and after 45 minutes the right skate decided to throw in the towel. The left skate would have done the same thing within a few minutes as well from what I can tell.

It was weird too at some point I was feeling "Hmm I relaly should tighten my skate, it's staring to feel loose, but lets go around the rink one more time and just as I'm turning into a corner I fell like my skate just fall apart. Thankfully it did not cause me to fall. But I was at the furthest point away from the cabin and I had to skate creatively to make it safely back ot the cabin and put my boots on.

I went to the nearest cobbler on St Jean/Pierrefonds near the Mourelatos and the guy, obviously middle eastern, was like "nothing to fix skates here".  

So will go to Hockey Experts tomorrow and see if they also fix skates. I mean I've had this pair since my teens. They were expensive figure skating skates that my mom gave me as a present one year, when my feet had stopped growing, so I'd have a very good pair for years.  So before the glue died, they lasted over 30 years.

I may buy myself a pair of hockey skates, as a backup pair, but I really want my skates fixed. I love my skates. It took me years to break them in.

Trying out new things.

Last night decided it was time to try out some new TV shows.. well new in a manner of speaking. I decided years ago that I'm no longer watching shows in Season 1. If it doesn't make it to Season 2, I don't want to get into it and be totally disappointed that the show has been cancelled.  At least if it makes it to 4-5 seasons, if I like the show, it gives me enough episodes to watch.

Two of the shows I was watching last season included Private Practice, and Army Wives. Both were not renewed. The sucky thing about it, is that they were my chick shows. I seem to need a good chick show to get my emotions out.

So last night I watched the first 2 episodes of Person of Interest.  I like the premise, I like the show so far.   I also watched 2 episodes of HBO's Girls. Don't think Girls is going to be the chick show I'm looking for, but OMG it was funny. I mean it's a bit like watching a train wreck.  It's not all good but you can't help but watch it?

Of course shows I don't like when I first watch can still grow on me. NCIS is a case in point. I first watched NCIS because there was nothing good on TV during that time slot. It easily took months of me watching it before Abby grew on me, and then Gibbs. Now of course it's my favourite  show, and I've just recently rewatched it from season 1.

Today is Hump Day!

The middle of the work week. Speaking of work, last Friday I was given a certificate for 20 years of employment. [It was given to me 21 1/2 years there].  I had already received my gift certificate at the beginning of the summer, and ended up getting the Tamron 18-270 Piazo lens with it. Nice multi purpose lens that is awesome when just taking one lens for a walk in the park.

My new batch of interns, while being very young and very green are a good batch. It's a bit surprising. Usually the winter semester is where I have the worst candidates, and the summer semester is where I get the best candidates. This batch is all from COOP universities and includes one female student.  Other then the fact they don't read, I haven't really had an issue with any of them.  I say they don't read because all of them have repetitively asked me questions that are answered in the "information guide" I give them on the first day.  Most recently my phone extension and email address. I had to remind them that all pertinent telephone numbers and email addresses they might need to contact us, are all neatly written on page 5 of the booklet. And then I've stressed that first before answering questions they should look at all provided information.

It amazes me that the ONLY student recently that used this guide and read it properly was the one I had last semester, that I'd interviewed twice and not chosen. The one who was so poor interview but turned out to be on of the best stagieres I've had in years.   He never asked a question that was already answered in his guide. But he's a very rare breed.

I managed to get 2 20-25 minute walks in Bois de Liesse on Monday, sadly Tuesday rained most of the day so instead went to bulk barn and dollarama with a colleague.  Today hopefully I can get 2 more walks. I always feel so much better when I go walking in the woods.

Oh and the coworker I keep bitching about, the one with the bathroom fetish and the like, she's taken to coming to work wearing Fuck-me boots this winter. I had one day where one male colleague pointed out she really needed to wear a bra. You could see way too much of her breasts despite wearing a top.

Lebanese dishes FTW

T

This was my dinner last night. I'd made Chile Shrimp and chickpea salad Saturday for dinner, and had both left over. I also made some batata hara to accompany my other dishes last night.

Was a very delicious dinner. Still have the  spicy potatoes and the chickpea salad for dinner tonight.

Ah the grey days of January

I've been wanting to cry the past week. Excess emotion I guess.  It's also one of my biggest fears after months without sex, that if I have some I will burst into tears, during or after sex.   This fear is not as bad as when I went celibate for 2 years, between October 2003 till late 2005.  I could not be intimate with anyone because of how raw my emotions were.

It seems my emotions are still raw. But at least I haven't burst into tears at the wrong moment. I've been watching NCIS again from the beginning and many episodes make me cry and this is a good thing.  I miss my weekly chick shows this fall.  I was watching Private practice and Army wives and that got out my crying most weeks.  But both shows are off the air.

It sucks when my emotions are so raw that it ruins any possible intimacy with anyone,  and makes me run away screaming. Thankfully this is not currently the case.

It's been interesting too, I've been in therapy for 3 years. I don't see therapist that often, about every 4 weeks. Not much point in seeing him more often because it takes a long time for me to process my emotions despite emotions just bubbling out and being so incredibly moody.

I seem to be doing better at identifying how I'm feeling, and overall feeling less frustrated, less anxious and less depressed, but I still get moments where I feel so incredibly depressed.  I know winter is hard on me, not enough time spent outside in nature and not enough sunlight.  Its not helpful either, when you wake up it's dark and you leave work it's dark. 

I need to start doing my daily walks in the forest. I went Thursday for 30 minutes, and it was very peaceful. I always feel better after being in the woods. 

Bois de Liesse - path along Ruisseau Bertrand

Canoe back where it belongs.

My Genuine Indian Brand canoe is back on it's horses.  As I've mentioned  I was very surprised I was able to do it alone, but just as well, it did not stay sitting in snow more then 24 hours, 

It's FRIDAY. Yes!

I messaged my friend to ask if she could help me put my canoe back on it's wooden 'horses' when she got to my place, and she asked me to turn it around so it doesn't accumulate water, which made sense.

So I went to turn it around and in doing so realized that if I just moved one end, because of how high the snow is, I was able to put the canoe back on it's horses by myself. I did it quickly before work. Tonight or tomorrow I have to go position it properly and re-wrap the tarp around it properly. But at least it's back up.
I guess it might not be as heavy as I thought it was.

And now I don't have to worry about it filling with water when it rains tomorrow and then freezing.  I do want to sell my Genuine Indian Brand canoe  this spring... so it would have sucked if it got damaged. 

I've had a 2nd date with the guy I met on POF and so far so good. I'm a happy camper.   :)

Interesting morning.

So after I woke up I went downstairs to clean up the kitchen since my cleaning lady now comes on Thursdays. One of the first things I noticed is that my canoe is no longer sitting on wood but is in the snow. I guess there must have either been a large gust of wind OR some bored kid decided it would be fun to tip it. Though I could not see footprints other then mine going to the canoe to check it's state Sunday.

My friend comes back from New Jersey tomorrow hopefully, she will be able to help me put it back into place  

Then I'm cutting my strawberries for my breakfast, the knife slipped, went flying and scratched my leg. Lucky it wasn't worse. 

At work since going back, I've had nothing but weird problems with hardware malfunctioning and equipment dying.  Wonder what's going to die on me at work today?!?!?!

Freezing rain sucks

Yesterday it went up to 6 and we had freezing rain most of the day. Made for spectacularly icy roads, which reminds me I need to salt my path so the mailman does not kill himself.

Yesterday was the first day back at work and I had 6 interns start. So far so good, none are grating on my nerves already and they seem ok. We'll see as time goes.

I also had a date last night, for the first time in years. Probably since 2006 or 2007. Yeah I don't go out much. I met him at Pushaps, on Sources.  When I arrived, the owner asked me how I was doing. I've been going to this restaurant for close to 20 years, so I asked him how business was doing. He answered business is good, especially with loyal customers such as you who brave the bad weather to have dinner here :)

My date arrived on time, and seemed happy to see me [no he didn't have a banana in his pocket]. Conversation found us just as easily in person as it did online both emails and chat.  That was a relief. as I have particularly awkward days.   In person he reminds me of the father of my daughters.  He's about same height and built, though probably much slimmer then ex now.  Once I was able to get his work clothes out of my head and see him more as himself, it helped a great deal.  Tucked in shirts and business casual is not as bad as suit & tie but apparently does nothing to turn me on either.

After dinner I invited him back to my place to talk some more.  We had a really nice time. Cannot wait to see him again. Jethro had a nice talk with him and even Ziva liked him, my little anti-social diva!

Oh and don't get me started about the cats. First they sat and watched us interact, then they fought. I mean how often do Jethro and Ziva fight? Practically never. She was hissing!  Both managed to take off their collars and play with the collars on the floor to make noise and tell me that they had taken it off. They also tore around the house like maniacs and Ziva enjoyed play deer. Between their antics and how I'm feeling there's definitely another storm coming our way

Now have to get my ass in gear to get ready for work. It's -15 outside today, nice contrast to yesterday's warmth and everything will be iced up today.

Vacations are always too short!

Today is the last day of the winter vacations. It's snowing gently and has been for hours.

I have so many thing to do today, starting with picking up groceries, so I can make a quinoa tabouleh for lunch this week. Also want to make both fig squares and fruit squares as my mid evening snacks.

I also want to put all the furniture back to before Yule dinner, and put whatever stuff I can put away. That will probably take a lot of motivation to do. I do laundry but always bad at putting all the clothes away. Want to try starting 2014 on a good foot [ and it will last what? 2 weeks? ]

Also I realized when I drove to my friends in the townships last week, that my 20 hole Doc Martens needed to be desalted, waxed, minked and siliconed to make sure they stay nice for years to come.  I've started the process, I desalted them, and coloured them with black shoe polish. Then I added one thick layer of black wax. Now letting them sit for a bit, so I can buff them, then add mink oil and tomorrow morning I will silicone spray them so no more salt stains.

Loving those vitamin C cubes

I checked for fun my blog last year and I was sick through part of my vacation. This year knock on wood, I've fought off a few things, but not gotten flu or cold yet.  Still fighting something, have had a cold sore since the 26th. I've had a few days where I was particularly lethargic too. Since I'm on vacation and had no plans I just enjoyed doing very little.

I just made another batch of vitamin C cubes.  I'm having one or two of them with most of my beverages. Be it some Tetley decaf Earl grey tea or Perrier. I'm really enjoying them as it seems that it is keeping me healthier then taking vitamins. I'm also guessing the little bit of citrus pulp I'm drinking does great things for my  entire digestive track as well.  The last batch I made I also added limes. So there was 3 limes, 2 clementines, 2 lemons, 2 oranges and 1 grapefruit. I cooked it gently for over 24 hours.  Mostly because I needed steam in the kitchen and I was enjoying the smell of cooking citrus with spices  and removing some of the dryness in the house. I had cloves, cinnamon and ginger  as spices. After it cooks I can't really taste it.

Today I have to make fruit and nut bars for me for the week and also at least one Salad that I can have at lunch time next week.

Happy New - Bag Humbug!

Here's hoping that 2014 will be better then 2013, or a few other years. Admittedly 2013 was not a completely bad year.  Some of the camping trips were epic. but the trip to Cape Breton SUCKED. Not just because of all the things that didn't worked as planned but because my companion would have rathered been anywhere else and complained the entire trip. 

I enjoyed some of the camping trips, canoeing trips and festivals I went to. Hopefully will have some good trips in 2014. 

Hopefully 2014 is the year I can get my shit together, fix my house, put it on sale and move the fuck out of the city. 

Here's wishing my friend who just left her husband finds work in Montreal and can get herself a place for her son and her. 

Here's wishing my friend dealing with CSST doesn't get to screwed over and that she finds a job suited to her skills and her limitations. 

Here's wishing my friend who just won a lawsuit, gets the money he was promised.

Here's wishing my 2 daughters have a great year.  My baby left Montreal Thursday and it seems Air Canada lost her luggage, here's hoping she gets her luggage back and has a fantastic year with her class.   My eldest left Montreal on the 26th and was on duty the 27th. Here's hoping she gets the courses she needs to become a B ticket this spring [Or whatever it was she was hoping to be trained in]

Here's wishing my Lebanese ex-hubby finds a kick-ass job, far better then the job he lost in the end of 2013. He's an awesome video editor and deserves recognition. Hoping 2014 will be a good year for him. 

Here's wishing that the people in Syria will eventually live in a war free zone. 

Here's wishing that humans are less stupid in 2014 in general.  Well I can only wish. 

Here's wishing the sweet guy I met on POF, that could be a male me, geeky and all,  turns into a good friendship and perhaps more. Chatting with him the past week has proven to be addictive and fun. And note,  he's played the bass in the past, which amuses me to no end.

Winter Wonderland

Doing happy dance.

My babies are coming home!!!

One daughter should be home tonight, the other tomorrow. WOOT!

And it's snowing to boot. WOOT!

A little surreal.

This week has gone by so fast it's almost surreal. 

It's Wednesday night and I don't know where the time flew. I didn't really do much of anything this weekend other then to veg out. Went shopping on monday with my gf.  Went to Carrefour Lava [as my gf's auto correct says]. We went early morning around the time the stores were opening. Thank God. By noon we were both ready to kill a few people. 

I swooned. They opened a Vans store in Carrefour Laval. I'll have an easier time getting my favourite Vans. I know there is one downtown and I went once or twice, but their layout was really not conducive in me finding the right shoes. I wonder if there will be a boxing day sale at the Vans store.. Swoon.   I can't explain why I like skater wear, but the past 10 years or so, I wear Vans running shoes and the past 5 years it's been Billabong dresses.  And last summer one of my favourite combo's was the Vans with the hot pink laces, and a Billabong dress with hot pink detail, seen in the scenic photo below.

In August 2013, at the lookout on Mont Royal.

Old Navy had some of my favourite long sleeved cotton tops for $5 a piece. I took 5 home of different colours. The purple, burgundy and hot pink one were v-necks. the Monet blue, and charcoal grey are extra stretchy and scoop neck.

Work has been so busy for me. Usually the week between my interns I have to set up equipment for them.  Anyway I'm realizing many of the systems don't have windows 8.1 on them.  It's quite the task to set them all up.  But trying to make sure each intern has 2 systems available to them fully configured.  Dunno if I will succeed. Maybe they will just have 1 that is and one that isn't that will get rotated out once I have others done.  I have work for weeks, doing it between other tasks.

Vitamin C ice cubes

I've been complaining that I'd just realized that my favourite cough drops now contain aspartame and I really don't want it in my body. I'm sensitive to all sort of additives, this one is probably no exception. Probably one of the causes of my night time headaches.

So my buddy in Ireland suggested boiling citrus with cloves and adding honey to make some form of beverage to help my throat.

 

Perrier and Vitamin C cube.

I took his suggestion first washed 1 grapefruit, 2 clementines, 2 oranges and 2 lemons.  Once well scrubbed, I cut them into small quarters without ever peeling them. Put it in a pot cover will water, and I added 40 cloves. It actually has a bit of a cloves taste. You can also add cinnamon stick and ginger as well, both are also helpful, I personally don't care for either.  I readded water a few times.


The pot in my photo was my first batch. Hadn't put enough water or cloves in that one.  Once I deemed it cook, I let it cool down. Then I drain it, so there are no more clove pieces or peel/pith pieces of the citrus fruits.

I then put it in ice cube trays and froze them.  So when I need a cough drop, I put one or two squares in a mug, warm them up in the microwave and either add to perrier or my tea. Of course you can just use it as ice cubes to cool down your drink or even suck on.  Most would find them really bitter as I added no sugar. Most would add honey to the mixture when using. I like it as is.

Since using 2-3 cubes a night, it really helps my throat and keeps me away from the cough drops.

Vitamin C ice cubes.

I know what I want.

I can wait forever to get what I want too. I am far happier single and most of the summer I was so busy hanging out with friends I didn't have the time to be lonely.

The guy I met on Twoo, it turns out was too fascinated by his own dick. Other then sending me dick pictures at 2 different times, he also wanted to send me a video of him masturbating. Really? So Wednesday night I sent him this message "I don't think you're the right guy for me. You aren't what I am looking for. I hope you find a woman that meets your expectations, but I know it's not me. " 

I would rather hang out with friends and/or my daughters. Maybe I'll find a lover again one day but it wasn't this week. 

From a little girl who definitely was not brainwashed

Here is an interesting post quoting a little girl not brainwashed... The comments are also interesting.

Gluten free fig squares

Grape seed oil & black mission figs

I am a Larabar addict and it is a costly addiction.  So I decided to try to find a homemade alternative that would be as delicious, as healthy, and a mix of nuts and fruit. This is my first creation. It's still not perfect but quite edible.

This recipe is high in protein and the only sugar is the sugar found in the figs and the banana. The recipe I modified to make these used honey instead of the banana. 



Gluten free Fig Squares

1 bag of dried black mission figs [it was 375g]
1/4 cup of grape seed oil
1/4 cup of Nuvel margarine
1 mushy banana
1/4 cup of almond milk
3/4 cup of almond flour
3/4 cup of coconut flour
1/2 cup of gluten free rolled oats
1/2 cup of coconut flakes
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt.

1 - preheat oven to 350F. Put figs in small saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Turn of head and let figs soften for 5-7 minutes. Do not drain.

2 - Lightly coat an 8x8 dish baking pan with coconut oil. In a small bowl, mix almond milk, banana, margerine and oil. In a medium bowl, combine flours, rolled oats, coconut flakes, baking soda and salt. Add wet ingredients, then mix well.

3 - Remove softened figs from water and place in a blender or food processor. Add 3 tablespoons of the re-hydrating water and puree until smooth

4 - Place half of the oat mixture in the prepared pan and spread evenly across the bottom. I use a spoon to tap it down evenly. Spread figs evenly on top. Add teh remaining mixing on top of the fig layer. Pat with a spoon to flatten.

5 - Bake for 20-25 minutes [Depending on your oven]. Remove from oven and let cool. When cool cut into 16 squares.

Vegan, gluten free fig squares

NOTE: You can substitute 1/2 cup of coconut oil instead of grapeseed/canola mix. That worked fine, though may try with 2/3 cup coconut oil for the perfect texture.

See updated recipe for better crust.

Pig feet stew with meatballs.

One of the recipes all the women in my family seemed to be able to make when I was growing up was my great-grand-ma's Pig feet stew with meatballs recipe. Over the past 10 years I've become a pro at making it.  This time I even cooked it differently so it could all cook after coming home from work on Monday.

Meatballs, meat broth and roux ready to join the pork hocks after removing bones and fat

While the pork hocks were cooking, I made the meatballs, and browned some flour. After which I put everything in the garage on top of the freezer over night.  Monday I warmed up the meat, and removed all the bones, the fat, and anything that didn't look like meat. I re-added the broth, warmed it, then added the browned flour, stirred it well, and then the meatballs. I let it cook for hours. I was sure I turned it off at midnight, but my friend staying with me turned it off at 3 because apparently I'd left burner on.  Yay distraction. I took pictures at midnight, but apparently forgot to turn it off.

Pig Feet stew with meatballs

Recipe posted here.

Would you believe Windows 8.1 is a teaching OS!

I'm going to call it an OS for dummies.

Here I am installing Firefox on one of my test machines. Towards the end of the install I have a pop up from windows that informs me "You have new apps to open web pages"

Really? NO WAY!!! OMG I am so thrilled. Like OMG I never thought this could happen,  I mean I installed a browser. Never in a thousand years did it ever occur to me that I could use it to browse the web. OMG. I will be more intelligent now that Windows 8.1 will tell me about my software! I was a little bit disappointed that it did not acknowledge my install of flash.

I also installed VLC the other day, and Windows 8.1 did not skip a beat. As soon as the install finished it told me I could use new apps to play videos. I was stunned. A new app? Wow. My friend Rick, bless his soul, would have said "slap me silly and call me Berniece". It would never have occurred to me after installing a media player that it could play media!!!

This feature will probably go the way of the "desktop icon" cleaning tool. Because EVERYONE needs to regularly clean their desktop icons. Did you not know that? And it would periodically tell you that your icons were old and you needed to clean them up [Because if you use say Firefox, 4 years later, you might think the icon is old?!?! even though it opens the right software????] Or another amazing feature, the Vista gadgets. How can we ever live without those????

Mixed vegetable salad

From the book Mezze, in the Love Food collection of Paragon books

Mixed Vegetable Salad [Serves 4-6 as part of a Mezze]

1 1/2 tbsp of freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove crushed to a paste with 1/4 tsp of salt
3 large, ripe tomatoes
2 red or green bell peppers
1 cucumber about 7oz/200g
2oz/55g fresh flat leave parsley leaves, finely chopped
1oz/30g fresh mint leaves. finely chooped
salt & pepper

To serve

Romaine lettuce leaves, rinsed and patted dry
warmed pita bread.

Mix the lemon juice, oil and garlic  together in a large serving  owl and set aside

Halve and seed teh tomatoes, then cut the flesh into 1/4 inch/5mm cube and add to the bowl.
Halve and seed the bell peppers, then cut into 1/4 inch/5mm cub and add to the tomatoes. Halve the cucumber and use a teaspoon to scoop out the seeds, then cut into 1/4inch/5mm dice and add to the other ingredients. Add the herbs and salt and pepper to taste.

Toss the salad together with your hands. Serve immediately with romaine lettuce leaves to scoop up mouthfuls of salad, and warmed pita to mop up the juices.

So Google makes photos auto-awesome?

So Google took this photo and made it into auto-awesome.

It's a little weird to see the sun and the snow...

I'm not sure how I feel about this feature

Fruit and nut tabouleh

This recipe I found in the book Vegetarian planet, by the Harvard Common Press.

Fruit and Nut Tabouleh

1 cup fine bulgur
2 1/2 cups of boiling water
2 seedless oranges
1/4 cup of lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 garlic clove minced
1/2 cup minced onion
1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 1/2 cups of chopped parsley
1/2 chopped mint
1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
1/4 currants
1/2 tsp salt, or more to taste
fresh-ground pepper to taste


1 Put the bulgur into a medium bowl. Pour the boiling water over. Cover the bowl with a plate, and let the bulgur sit for 20 minutes. Then drain it with a fine mesh strainer.

2 Meanwhile section the oranges with a paring knife: First cut away the peel and pith, the cut out the flesh by sections, leaving the membranes. Cut the sections in half and add them to the bulgur. Then add the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, onion, cucumber, parsley, mint, walnuts and currants and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Serve the tabouleh at room temperature.

As a variation you can add 1/2 cup of crumbled feta.

Alternatively if you want to make this tabouleh gluten free, replace the bulgur wheat by quinoa.

1 cup quinoa [I like mixing white and red, or white and black]
1 1/4 cup of water

and step 1  Bring water to boil, put Quinoa in boiling water and turn heat down, cook until all water has been absorbed. Then fluff out your Quinoa before going to step 2.

I've yet to meet someone who didn't like fruit and nut tabouleh, whether I made the original recipe or the gluten free variation.

Chickpea salad

From the book Mezze, part of the love food collection by paragon books

Chickpea salad [serves 4 to 6]

1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp olive oil
2 red onions, thinly sliced
about 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
about 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2  tbsp fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 tsp dry thyme
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground coriander
pinch of ground tumeric
14oz/400g canned chickpeas, drained, rinsed and shaken dry
salt & pepper

To serve

2 tbsp chopped fresh dill, parsley, cilantro, or mint, plug extra to garnish
1 pomegranate, halved.

 Melt the butter with the oil in a heavy-botomed skillet with a tight-fitting lid. Add the onions and cook over medium head, stirring, until well coated in teh butter and oil. The reduce the heat to low, put a damp, crumpled piece of wax paper over the saurface of the onions and cover the skitter. Let the onions sweat for 20 minutes, or until very soft and pale pink but not brown.

Meanwhile, mix 3 tablespoons of oil, one tablespoon of lemon juice, the thyme, spices, and salt and pepper to taste together in a bowl. Stir in the chickpeas.

Transfer the onions to a plate lined with crumbled paper towels and pat dry to remove the excess oil. Add to the chickpeas and stir together. LEt cool, then cover and chill in teh refrigirator for at least 1 hour.

Remove the chickpeas from the refrigerator 15 minutes before serving to return to room temperature. Taste and add extra lemon juice or oil, as you like, then stir in the chipped dill, parsley, cilantro, or mint. Hold the pomegranate over the salad, cut-side down and tap the top with a wooden spoon until the seeds fall out. Repeat with the other half, then stir together, transfer to a serving bowl and serve. Garnish with the remaining herbs.

I lead an exciting life.

After work yesterday I went to Canadian tire to pick up some posts to put to indicate where my driveway is.  When I got home I hammered in 3 posts into the ground and banged on the one that was still there I put up  a month ago. Last year the snow clearing guy kept hitting my smoke bush near my driveway. This year I decided to mark my driveway clearly.

I also changed the light bulb on the light in the middle of my  lawn as it was dead. Which I found weird as I changed it as recently as July.

Today I took apart  my humidifier, cleaned it, de-furred it and put it back together. It's purring right now. Needed to add humidity to the house it was getting way too dry.

Garlic Sauce

From the book Mezze - from  Paragon books Love food collection

Garlic sauce [serves 4-6 as part of Mezze]

Many recipes for this pungent sauce are made with ground almond or walnuts, but this recipe, using boiled starchy potatoes, has a slightly milder flavour. This sauce goes well with beet salad or broiled sardines and it can also be served as a dip.

2 large starchy potatoes, scrubbed
4-5 garlic cloves, crushed to a paste with 1 tsp of salt
about 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice or white wine vinegar
about 1/2 tsp of salt
about 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
white pepper

Put potatoes in a pan and pour enough boiling water to cover and return to a boil. Cook for 12-15 minutes or until the potatoes are very tender then drain and let cool.

When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel away the skins and mash using a masher or potato ricer. Don't be temped to mas the potatoes in a food processor - the texture becomes gluey rather then fluffy.

Add the garlic, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and white pepper to taste to the potatoes. Slowly beat in the oil , a tablespoon at a time, making sure each addition is well incorporated before you add more, until no more can be absorbed - the exact amount you will need will depend on the texture of the potatoes. Taste and add extra lemon juice and salt as you wish. Set aside to cool completely then transfer to a serving bowl, cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Serve the sauce with a platter of prepared vegetables and warmed pita if desired.

To serve:

2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 large large cucumber, halved lengthwise and sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1 greeen bell pepper, seeded and sliced
warm pita bread (optiional)

In memory of December 6th, 1989

December 6th in Montreal always brings mixed feelings. Most of us still remember the Polytechnique massacre. I wrote on December 6 1990 this poem in memory of those who died....

In Memoriam of December 6th, 1989

You are gone forever but not forgotten
The memory of your tragedy lives on
It is a pity that you were attacked and killed
For just fulfilling your potential

There is a malaise in society
That was created long before you came to be
It will not go away so easily
Perhaps your death will make the problem clearer

There were those who looked on in disbelief
Those who were confused and deeply hurt
How can someone decide the fate of others
Is there no justice for the living?

The work of a madman for sure
But there is a madperson in all of us
Some say that he was just a marginal exception
But how can we learn to trust others again

Perhaps this incident will make people think
Of all the injustices committed towards women
Perhaps the next time she cries injustice
Society will believe she her complaint.

The answer does lie within each one of us
To forgive him who focused his personal anger on women
To help others learn to love and help themselves
And make this world equal for both men and women.


In your memory: Genevieve Bergeron, Helene Colgan, Nathalie Croteau, Barbara Daigneault, Anne-Marie Edward, Maud Havierncik, Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz, Maryse Laganiere, Maryse Leclair, Anne-Marie Lemay,Sonia Pelletier, Michele Richard, Annie St..Arneault, Annie Turcotte

Musicians eh?

I've realized that I have a thing for musicians, in particular it seems bass players. At the moment my world is full of bass players. Not that this is an issue, it's just amusing. The female friend I've had the longest, plays bass, my buddy in Ireland who's company I really enjoy, plays bass. Just to name 2 obvious ones.

I met a guy on Twoo, someone willing to chat for a while to get to know me and also interested in a friends with benefits type of relationship. And of course he's a bass player. Bonus, he's 5 years younger and also born in December. Other Sagittarius and in general fire signs rock.

Of course in general most of the men I date play a musical instrument. Heck both my grandparents played instruments, my aunt played an instrument. My step-dad played guitar. I was one of the rare ones without much talent for music. But it doesn't mean I don't appreciate music or that music isn't running in my head 24/7.

And it's not like I'm a groupie and go looking for musicians, I am just naturally drawn to creative types. Those around me who don't play musical instruments are often incredibly creative in other ways.

Beet salad

From the book Mezze, part of the Love food collection of Paragon books

I love beets cooked and seasoned like this recipe. I miss beets and most people don't care for them. 

Beet Salad [Serves 4 to 6 as part of a Mezze]

2 lbs/900g of beets
4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp of red wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 scallions, chopped
coarse sea salt
garlic sauce to serve

Wash the beets and remove the roots without cutting the skin. Put the beets in a pan cover them with water and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat slightly and cook for 20-40 minutes, depending on size until the largest beet is tender when you pierce it with a long metal skewer or knife

Meanwhile put the oil, vinegar, scallions, garlic and salt in a jar with a screw on lid and shake until emulsified, then set aside.

Drain the beets and run under cold water until they are cool enough to handle, then peel away the skins. Thickly chop or slice the beets and then put them into a bowl and pour the dressing. Cover and chill in the fridge for at least an hour before serving.

To serve gently toss the salad, and put it in a serving platter. Serve with garlic sauce on the side.

Sesame sauce

Recipe from Mezze, from the Love food section of Paragon books. 

Sesame sauce  [serves 4-6 as part of a Mezze]

1 large garlic clove crushed with salt
4-6 tbsp water
4-6 tbsp of freshly squeezed lemon juice
5 1/2 oz/150g of sesame seed paste [tahini]
1 tbsp of very finely chopped flat-leaf parsley [Italian parsley]
salt
warm pita to serve

Put the garlic in a bowl and stir in 4 tbsp of water and 4 tbsp of lemon juice. Use a fork to whisk in the sesame seed paste, then season to taste with salt.  Taste and add extra sesame paste and lemon juice as you wish until the sauce has a smooth, pouring consistency. Stir in the parsley. Transfer to a serving bowl.

Serve with warmed pita bread of cover and chill in the refrigerator until required

Tip: the sauce is very thin and running when first made, but thickens while it chills. If it is too thick when you get to use it, thin it with all little bit of water or lemon juice.

I was told mine was too thick. It was very runny before I put it in the fridge. so it needs to be adjusted before serving.

Chile Shrimp

This delightful dish I found in the book Mezze, in the "love food" section of Paragon books.

Chile Shrimp  [Serves 4-6 as part of a Mezze]

2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 fresh red chile, chopped or 1 tsp dried chile flakes
5 tbsp olive oil
salt
1lb 5 oz/600g large raw shrimp
lemon wedges to serve [optional]

Put the garlic, chile, oil and salt to taste in an ovenproof serving dish or individual ovenproof bowls. Break off and discard the shimp heads, then peel away the shells. Devein the shrimp by using a small, sharp knife to make a shallow cut along the back then use the tip of the knife to life out the thin black vein. Add the shrimp to the oil and use your hands to rub the marinade all over. Cover and let marinate in the refrigerator for about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 450F/230C or its highest setting. Stir the shrimp well, then bake in the preheated oven for 6 minutes, or until the shrimp turns pink, curl and are cooked through when you cut into one. Serve straight from the oven in the dish or bowls with lemon wedges for squeezing over if using.

Got my winter tires on

It helped they had been in the truck for the past week so I could put truck in garage. I went during "lunch" time yesterday. Don't know if I'll be going back to the Monsieur Lub to get my tires changed again.

First off when I arrived the guy said he could take me right after the guy he was going to finish, in about 10 minutes and it would take 45 minutes.   It took over 2 hours. They tried to say it's because it takes SO MUCH LONGER to balance 18" wheels. BULL. I've been out of there in about 1 hour with this truck and those tires.

There was at least 2 guys working on my vehicle, but they were going obviously as slow as they could. So when it was finally finished, I get the usual, "We noticed XYZ" about your vehicle, to which I answered "I'm getting maintenance done at my dealer next week". Get into the car, and found the cabin filter in the passenger seat and the glove compartment opened.  To which I was told "See the filter is dirty". Yeah it has a few leaves, I'm not worried about that. In fact now that I know I can access that filter via the glove compartment, I can take it out again, shake it free of stuff, and put it back in. They didn't even bother shaking it. No, they would have charged me an arm and leg to change it and taken another half hour.

I dunno that I'll be going back to this Mr Lub. I've been going to get tires changed there for years, but the level of their incompetence this time and the time it took, is not making me feel that comfortable.

When I got home I rolled all 4 tires to my back shed and put them in. So my car has it's winter tires on 2 weeks before the deadline. Usually I set off to get them put on after the deadline!

I also washed dishes for hours last night.  I really miss my dishwasher.  Need to get that fixed already.  Still have more dishes to wash tonight, but it should be the end of it.

More Mezze dishes

Chile Shrimp
Recipe here

Chickpea salad
Recipe here

Rosemary chicken
recipe here

Grilled cauliflower
Recipe here

Shanglish
Recipe here

garlic sauce
Recipe here

hummus balila
Recipe here

sesame sauce on the right, hummus on the left
Sesame sauce recipe

Tomato tabouleh, made with white and black quinoa, so gluten free
Recipe here

Fruit and nut tabouleh, made with white and red quinoa, so gluten free
Recipe found here

Beet salad
Recipe here

mixed vegetable salad
Recipe here

batata harra
recipe here

Lebanese Mezze for his Birthday.

I decided to cook a Lebanese Mezze for my ex hubby's birthday. Every year I used to try to find a Lebanese restaurant so he could have the taste of home, and often that would fail miserably. This year I decided to try to do it at home. I made 12 dishes and 2 sauces.

Does it look yummy?  Yep made this much food in 2 days.  Will be posting close up photos of each dish with name later. Right now I just want to sleep :)