Father's Day

Here the Bill is in his natural state; playing the goof. 

He spends the long winters in hibernation, first emerging with the warmth and sunshine of spring. The Bill can be most often found in the back garden tending to the lawn and vegetable patch. He commonly admires his hard work and incites others to do the same (and rightly so!) 

The Bill can easily be cajoled with the promise of a Peanut Buster Parfait or a nap. He's an excellent wordsmith, loves retelling a storey, and has impeccable timing when telling a 'dad joke'. 

Happy Father's Day Da!

Spilling the Beans on Grandma's Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

There's nothing like the nostalgia of enjoying food items from your childhood. As my grandmother grew older, her 'famous' treats she made for when her far flung family visited became less frequent. In the last few years of her life they stopped completely as she had lost the joy of waking each morning and didn't have the energy (or eyesight) to continue providing these items when people visited. This really didn't matter much, as we were more interested in seeing and spending time with her rather than her back as she shuffled into the kitchen to grab yet another plate of peanut butter fudge, or oyster crackers, or whatever it was on offer even though you've told her countless times you couldn't eat anything more and didn't really want anything. Not a thing. And then the plate would arrive laden with biscuits and crackers and sweets that you found yourself eating despite your earlier protests. Partly out of politeness and partly out of, well look at it! It looks so good, how could you not?

On one of these visits I had asked my grandmother for the recipe for her strawberry jam, she pulled out a small box overstuffed with bits of papers; stained, folded and crammed together to fit in the limited space, and I found myself face to face with her acclaimed stash. I have added many of these items to my own recipe book and occasionally when I'm needing a hug like only a grandma can give, I make one of her meals and I'm thrown back to sitting in her house on a warm summer day with only the cross breeze and small fan set up in the threshold to the living room to cool us, refusing the treats on offer and eating them anyway when they appear with a knowing smile on grandma's face.

Ingredients:

4 cups white sugar
5 cups rhubarb
1 can crushed pineapple
2 packages strawberry jello

Add all ingredients in a large pot expect for the jello packets. Let sit for 30 minutes or more.

Boil for 12 minutes or until rhubarb is cooked. 

Remove from heat and add the 2 packages of jello. Mix well.

Fill your sterilized jars  to 1/4 inch to the top (I usually fill about 6 8-oz. sized jars). 

As you can see, this is a very sweet recipe. I have yet to attempt to tamper with it to reduce the sugar, but I'm sure it can be done.
Let me know in the comments if you endeavor to make this yourself.

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Love Hearts Forever

Happy Valentine's Day my internet lovelies. Anyone else love a love heart as much as I do? Here are a few of my favourites found when I visited God's Own Junkyard. (More photos of this awesome place found here)

Happy Valentine's Day

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I adore...a Travel Link Up

When traveling what I adore doing most is being 'normal'. Momentarily not being a tourist, not merely visiting, but really trying to experience and enjoy what 'normal life' might be like where ever I might find myself.

For me that involves a stroll down the grocery or pharmacy aisles, 

my essentials when traveling

Staying in and watching local TV (even if in a language I don't understand), 

Yup, that totally is Poirot on the tube

Finding an off-the-beaten-track cafe or restaurant and stopping for a brew and some people watching, 

The Big Apple in Copenhagen 

Figuring out the transportation system more than just from the airport and back,

waiting for the bus with a pastry of course.

Doing some non-touristy things in a touristy place makes me feel more connected to my surroundings. It's great to do and see all the must-dos and must-sees, but I really treasure being able to take a moment for the 'normal' to help me feel grounded and remind myself how lucky I am to be where I am.

Like the beginning of each month this post is part of the monthly travel link up hosted by Angie, Jessi, Kaelene and Emma. You can join in too by leaving a comment below, checking out other posts on the link up, or adding your own post to the widget now until February 7th. 

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Sign up for email posts (found on the sidebar), like my facebook page, or follow me on bloglovin'. You can also keep up with my instagram feed and I occasionally tweet.

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Rediscovering my Love of Canada

I feel like I've been a bit complainy lately. I know I've been more negative about my move back to Canada, my homeland. I've had friends that moved back to Canada after living in the UK for an extended period and have been completely fine with the transition and others who found it just as hard to adjust.

So in the spirit of bringing positive things to me I'm going to change my frame of thought and try to remember some of the things I love about Canada.

1. Swiss Chalet

I know, I know. It's no gastropub, but damn that Chalet Sauce!

2. Wide open spaces

Fields and fields not far from your door step where you can just imagine The Littlest Hobo trekking over, never settling for long.

image

3. my dog

Betty is my home girl.

helping me stretch after a run

4. proper seasons

There is a distinct change between each season. Winter has snow, fall has colour, spring has showers, summer has sun.

5. the familiar

It's good to be challenged. It's good to live outside of your comfort zone. It also can be tiring. Sometimes it's just good to know when I'm in need of hangers, antifreeze, paint and seasonal decor I can take my Canadian Tire money down to the local Canadian Tire and get all these things at once, including some street meat for lunch.

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6. driving

My mother was worried that I'd forget how to drive after having been gone for so long without a car. Thing is, driving a car "is like riding a bike". It's nice being able to hop in the car and drive myself, by myself from point A to point B. No transfers, no 'person on the track', no smelling the breath of others as we stand nose to nose (or in my case, nose to chest).

7. the quiet

In London I lived in a building off the A12. It was noisy. In Canada, I live in the suburbs. Ahh the quiet.

rainbow over the A12

8. fresh air

Take a deep breath. In. Out.
No odd smells. No black coating in my nose. No lung infections.

9. snow

I'm not super fond of the cold weather, but what I hate more than just cold weather, is cold weather with no snow. At least with the snow there is a point to the coldness. And with snow comes fun things too; skiing, skating, snow shoeing, snowmen, snow balls, snow angels ...

10. the politeness

Since returning, I've been getting out there. Running most days or taking Betty for a long walk. On this walk, people greeted me, smiled, and even said 'good morning'. And not in that creepy, I have an agenda kind of way or in a way that made me feel uncomfortable or threatened. Not that those people don't exist here, but we are generally a people that talk to strangers, make eye contact with unknowns, and even make small talk with passersby.  honestly, this has been the most difficult part of re-acclimating my self into Canadian society.

Love and Loss of London: Link up

Who doesn't like alliteration? It just makes things so much more fun to say. Love and loss of London, that's what I've decided to title this travel link up post on the theme of "love on the road". 
The love of London started in 2004 on my semester abroad. I stood in front of paintings, attended off west end theatre, wandered royal parks, and debated articles from The Guardian, Evening Standard, and The Telegraph. I was exposed to so much culture and life I didn't know existed; opening my eyes to just how sheltered a life I lead B.B.S. (before the Big Smoke). Although I was excited to return home to Canada and my studies, London had left an imprint on my heart, one that left me consumed with all things British. 
I couldn't shake this desire to be in England again and in 2007 applied to a graduate program in Leicester on a whim. That whim quickly developed into me moving on to campus in the middle of the midlands experiencing a whole new England I liked just as much and a new group of friends I like a whole lot. Late night writing sessions, pushing essay deadlines, and a mess up at the printers with my thesis, meant I was ready for the familiar and to be surrounded by the comforts of home.  I returned and moved in with the boyf and was ready for the next stage of my life to begin. 
Funny how things never turn out exactly how you plan. The boy and I broke up and I made the decision to move to London. I knew it was going to be just two years, but two years were better than no years. I was right about that and am suddenly reminded of the poem with the famous adage, "tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all". This is now the loss of London. I lived two glorious years in this most amazing city, one that has always felt more like home to me. My eyes had again been opened to how much I let pass me by when I get too comfortable. I felt an independence and a confidence in London that I sometimes feel just out of my reach in Canada. Losing London has been quite difficult. Even though I always had it in the back of my mind that everything was just temporary, it surprised me just how much life I had created in that short amount of time. 
Life goes on. You must learn to adapt and prosper in the face of life. London and the people I met in it will always be the loves of my life. My heart has been changed forever.


Fun travels!

So Far Away

Even though we are miles (kilometers) apart and different time zones, I will always feel you with me in everything I do. You're words of wisdom and leading by example although often met with rolling eyes and stroppy resistance, they have stayed with me and helped me be the person I am today. People say I was brave to make the move to England, it doesn't feel that way because I had you to support me and encouraging my decisions. Thanks for being a super mum. 

Now here is my favourite photo of your tiny head and my giant face.

Love you dearly, miss you daily.

A Love/Hate Affair

Back in 2004, I was preparing for my semester abroad and purchased a winter coat. One of those new (at the time) kind that had the inner coat zip out so that you actually had 3 coats in 1! I really wanted a white and blue one but I was convince by my dad and the sales clerk that it would get dirty fast so instead I went with a red and cream one, pictured below.