On my most recent morning walk, signs of spring were finally evident.
This time of year brings the promise of summer, especially along the hiking/walking/biking trails and it always brings to mind the little verse I learned in my childhood:
Spring has sprung
The grass is riz
I wonder where the birdies is
The birdy’s on the wing
Now isn’t that absurd
‘Cause everybody knows
That the wing is on the bird
I’m 72 years old and my Mom is still alive,well, and thriving.
I don’t take this for granted, and feel truly blessed.
To those missing your moms today, big hugs. ♥️
Every once in a while, I like to gift myself.
Yesterday, I purchased something that’s been on my techy wish list for a very long time.
My last printer gave up the ghost over three years ago, and because ink cartridges were more expensive than buying a new printer, I decided to do without for a bit.
I entered the area of e-cards and when needed, I hired out document and photo printing.
This decision removed a great deal of creativity from my life and I truly missed the “old school” way of doing things.
When eco tank printers came out, I was intrigued, but not sure. Were they really as good as advertised?
My sister purchased one a year ago, and recently reported to me that she loves it. She said that in the past year, she’s printed well over 1,000 pages and the ink that came with her printer still shows at just under half full. I prefer reviews from people I know, so I was “sold” and made my decision.
My main concern was whether the print heads would dry up while we’re wintering in Texas. My sis came up with a simple, yet brilliant idea. Another of my sisters condo sits for us over the winter. She could easily have access to the printer and do some printing and maintenance. She’s a techy gal and wouldn’t mind one bit. She’d no doubt appreciate being able to print some of her own stuff while she’s here.
The setup was incredibly easy, the few test documents I printed came out excellent, I love that I can turn on/off and operate the printer from my iPad or phone with ease, and I already have several ideas for print jobs.
The first will be a Mother’s Day card for Mom.
Today, I decided to celebrate Cinco de Mayo all day via my food choices.
“More popular in the United States than in Mexico,Cinco de Mayo has become associated with the celebration of Mexican-American culture.” (From Wikipedia)
Because we live half of our retirement lives in South Texas, in an area with a significant Mexican American population, I feel pulled towards celebrating the culture too. In my world (as a foodie), food is a key element of every culture.
I love imported chocolate, especially Swiss.
I’m sure that this love of “shocklat” (as my paternal grandfather called it in his Swiss-German accent) is both learned and genetic.
For Easter this year, in addition to my annual Lindt gold bunny, the Easter Bunny brought me a variety bag of Lindt bite-sized Easter Eggs.
I enjoyed the bunny bit by bit for a few days after Easter. I weighed every ounce that I ate and counted every calorie.
Even though they’ve called out to me almost every day from the treat cupboard in our kitchen, I’ve resisted those eggs … on most days.
Yesterday, I finally silenced them.
Many years ago, when I hopped in for a semi trip with hubs, he explained the USA interstate highway system to me.
He also explained what the drivers in their unique CB radio lingo were referring to in terms of the lanes on the highway through cities.
The left lane next to centre was the “hammer lane”, meaning that you had to hammer down (accelerate) in order to pass.
The right lane next to centre (excluding exit lanes) was called the “granny lane”, because this is where the slow traffic should be.
The centre lane was appropriately, the “sandwich lane”.
Our indoor track has three lanes, but they operate opposite to the highway. Our hammer lane is to the right of centre and granny lane is to the left.
The gal in the hammer lane in my feature photo had just passed me.
I’m usually a sandwich lane kinda gal, unless someone’s speed has them in the wrong lane. Then, I’m hammer lane all the way.
And then there are those who don’t play by the rules of the road and take up all three lanes at a less than normal pace.
As I come up behind groups like this, I call out “passing”, and the person on the right moves to centre.
Next time I’m going to call out, “hammer lane”.
Do you like poached eggs? If yes, how do you prepare yours?
Yesterday morning, as the sun was coming up and peering through our balcony’s big sliding doors, I was looking for something for breakfast to both photograph and enjoy.
I came across a recipe on Facebook for air fryer poached eggs.
I love poached eggs and have made them using many different methods but never the air fryer.
As I looked for a spot on my table to set up for a photo, it didn’t matter what spot I chose, the sun coming in the adjacent balcony doors caused long, dark shadows. I was hungry, so decided to just go with it.
My air fryer poached eggs were a disappointing fail of epic proportions. After the time given in the recipe, they hadn’t set one bit and were just slimy, unpalatable blobs, mocking me from the ramekins they were supposed to be “cooked to perfection” in.
I increased the temp a bit and added two minutes. The eggs were slightly more set, but still not edible. I like my poached eggs to have soft yolks but the whites have to be completely set.
I added three more minutes. Now, the whites weren’t great but just slightly more set, and the yolks were overcooked. The surface was wrinkled and not one bit appetizing in appearance.
I plated it up anyways, took the photo, and grudgingly ate my brekky.
Strike that prep method from my list.
Due to freezing rain and icy streets and sidewalks, this past week and most of the next week aren’t conducive to outdoor walks.
We’re very fortunate to have an excellent sports facility nearby that features an indoor track.
Despite it being nearby, I’m driving over there to do my daily power walking.
My feature photo is the view of the Legacy Park paths from the second floor walking track windows.
I did some editing to clean up the photo and add a touch of drama to the overcast sky.
Here’s the original:
The paths are more apparent in the original and it also gives a better sense of the height it was shot from.
Sometimes there are trade-offs in post processing, just as there are tradeoffs for walking indoors vs out.
When I was growing up, Mary Moore was a household name among the womenfolk.
Mary (Allen Clark) Moore, born in Hamilton in 1903, was a Canadian food writing legend. From 1928 to 1978, she was a nationally syndicated newspaper food columnist. Her columns, which appeared in as many as 25 daily newspapers across the country, were clipped and used by thousands of Canadians…
… Moore was known for her heartwarming, highly personal recipe columns, in which she dispensed cooking advice and also encouraged her readers to take a long walk each day. *Exerpt from thewhig.com
I remember both of my grandmas and my mom faithfully clipping the recipes from Mary’s column and either pasting or handwriting them into a notebook.
Many of the main dishes and desserts I enjoyed in my youth came directly from Mary’s weekly newspaper offerings.
When the first edition of her cookbook was released in 1978, I purchased a copy.
To this day, it’s my all time favourite cookbook.
In its pages, I can find recipes I remember my mom, my grandmas, and my friends’ moms and grandmas making. There are even recipes my high school home-ec teacher used in class.
As I gently leaf through the ingredient stained pages of this well-used and mightily worn hardcover book, I’ll come across a familiar recipe and smile with a fond memory.
One such recipe is Mock Marzipan Strawberries. My maternal grandma made these every year at Christmas and made them as table favours for my wedding.
I now make them as well.
Straight from the cookbook:
First editions of this cookbook in excellent condition now sell for $200 CDN. My book is far from even good condition, but even if it was in excellent condition, no amount of money could purchase it.
Radically Retired 