Oma said I could write this post as she is busy with “the garden”, whatever that means. I want to help in the garden too.
I think I was a good garden helper. Mommy and Oma were laughing a lot. That’s helping, right?
I hope you laugh a lot too!
Rock on,
The Bowz 🐾
There is something new just past the entrance to the trail.
People tend to throw their yard waste into this area as it looks untended and abandoned. (Actually it is owned and/or managed by a logging company.) This means that any bulbs that are discarded in the waste have a good chance of coming up…blooming where they are “planted”, as it were!
Hoping the weather is bright and warm wherever you are this weekend.
Rock on,
The WB
What do you think Bowser is trying to say here?
We hope you are getting your points across clearly this weekend.
Rock on,
The WB
Bowser’s momma took him to the “spa” recently. And then snapped this shot.
Note: I did not pose him for the 2nd photo. He did that all by himself, and luckily my phone was close to hand.
Have a lovely weekend (what’s left of it), and don’t forget to “spring forward” with your clocks.
Rock on,
The WB
The day after the big snow dump, the sun came out and so did we!
All of this snow is not typical for where I live but I have to say I am enjoying it.
We hope you are having an enjoyable weekend where you are.
Rock on,
The WB
While I was away late January/first 2 weeks of February, I got a message from my co-host Donna asking if I had a copy of that old classic: The Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen, that she could borrow. I knew I had bought a copy once upon a time (as part of my longstanding yearning for creating a Hippy Dream Fantasy Life (HDFL)* but I couldn’t remember if it had made the cut when I was packing to move to Vancouver Island or not. Well, when I got back home I went straight to the living room book case and yep, there it was! (Of course it had made the cut, being integral – in my mind – to the HDFL! 😁)
By this time, Donna was able to source the cookbook from another friend so it was no longer needed but I decided to flip through it anyways, just for old time’s sake. I couldn’t for the life of me remember a single recipe I had actually cooked out of this book and I couldn’t find any of my scribblings on any of the recipe pages either. Huh? This must be corrected!
I found a recipe that sounded good and – after asking Donna if it was OK that I cooked out of the same cookbook as she had done (it was) and checking that I had all most of the ingredients – I set to work!
I decided to check on the loaf at the 1 hour mark, because 90 minutes seemed like an awfully long time at 350 degrees. I was very glad I did. Sorry Molly, but I think something must have been wrong with your oven when you made this.
Changes I made to this recipe: I used gluten-free flour, so my daughter could enjoy it as well. I only had slivered almonds in-house, and not enough, so I improvised by completing the almond quotient with some almond meal. As noted, I cut the baking time down to 1 hour.
So, what’s on your plate this month? Have you ever revisited an old cookbook and wondered why you haven’t actually cooked out of it, or cooked MORE out of it? Please join myself and Donna in this month’s challenge and let us know in the Comments or the Link Party, below.
Rock on,
The WB
*Hippy Dream Fantasy Life: a term I coined to express my longing for a life that is slower, richer, more artistic and meaningful than the one I was currently living. It is not historically accurate as it encompasses a lot of things I found meaningful not just in the actual hippy time (mid to late 60s) but also the 70s. So don’t come for me, historians. I was just a tad too young to be a hippy in the 60s (to my parents’ everlasting relief) but NOW I am working on making that dream a reality. Fantasy life no more? I think so!
*Riffing off of the Rush song: By-Tor and the Snow Dog. The first time I listened to this album was when I was introduced to tequila shots, at a friend’s house. I don’t listen to this album anymore nor have I done tequila shots since (Does this even need further explanation as to why?!? 🤣).
It snowed this past week.
We hope you are enjoying your weather, whatever it happens to be.
Rock on,
The WB
Some of you may have surmised from Bowser’s complaining recent posts on ye olde blogge that I have been away on a holiday. Yes! For the first time since the pandemic started in 2020, I left Canada once again for Barbados. But first I spent a lovely bunch of days with my friend Joanne in Ontario. Who graciously lent me full use of her closet and laundry facilities so that I could travel with only carry-on luggage despite needing to dress for full-on winter as well as full-on summer temps.
Of course we hiked!
One of many exciting things (to me, anyways) we did while I was at Joanne’s was drop into her local library to get me a Toronto Public Library membership. I’ve been wanting one for years, ever since I saw what my Barbados buddy (CJ) could borrow online.
As a non-resident of Toronto, I had to pay (gladly) yet also appear in person in order to get my card. Which makes no sense to me…why couldn’t I just subscribe online since I am paying for the privilege anyways???? Why do I have to show up and prove where I live?!?! Just SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY. Hopefully now that I have the card I can renew online since the volume and access to digital items far surpasses what my local library has on offer.
All too soon my time with Joanne was over and I headed out to meet up with CJ, to catch yet another plane, this time to Barbados!
New this time: a decrepit, abandoned hotel along the boardwalk had been taken down and the property cleared for redevelopment. The privacy fence along the property has been turned into a beautiful, beachside outdoor art gallery. Which provided me with inspiration and additional food for my soul every morning.
Unfortunately, one week into our two week stay CJ needed to fly back home due to a medical emergency involving a family member. I offered to fly home with her but she wouldn’t hear of it. (Thankfully the crisis passed and the patient was successfully discharged from hospital after CJ returned. Still, CJ was glad she cut her vacation short to be in attendance and provide support.)
This left me on my own for the 2nd week of the vacation. I kept myself busy with snorkeling, beach walking, exploring, and plenty of people-watching!
Another visitor to the patio:
And just when I thought the whistle frogs couldn’t be any tinier, this guy showed up:
After seeing this guy, I was very careful to watch where I walked, lest I accidentally step on one of these frogs (who look a lot like tiny pieces of debris!).
I had a very good second week. Except for all the rudeness I witnessed from hotel guests directed at hotel staff. I don’t remember so many people being so rude and such whiny ass entitled complainers from previous visits. Perplexing, to say the least. You’re on vacation, people! CHILLAX.
Readers who have traveled since the pandemic: have you noticed the same thing? I let it suck a lot of the joy out of me (my bad). I can’t even imagine how the hotel staff put up with this shit. These workers all deserve instant sainthood.
At one point I was able to actually intervene on behalf of a manager being treated abominably by a guest. I knew she couldn’t say anything but I certainly could AND DID. I told the man he was being rude and asked him where his manners went, and he slunk off. I was kinda proud of myself because I am usually slow to react when these things happen around me, due to shock and surprise.
I was primed this time by all the rudeness I had been witnessing I guess, and when he barged into our conversation to make his stupid remarks about the manager’s long braids (Is your hair real? Is it a wig? If I tug on it, will I pull it off your head?) I let him have it. Definitely not sorry about it, either.
Here’s a couple more pretty beach pics to take the bad taste of that guest away…
Overall, it really was a wonderful 3 weeks! Two days of plane travel back to back (and 4 time zones) on the way back home proved to be quite exhausting though. I haven’t been that tired for a long, long time. So tired that I noticed my thinking was impaired enough to make me afraid to drive my car for my first couple of days at home.
It was great to go away and also great to come back home, even if I traded the warm sands of Barbados for this:
Have you resumed travelling abroad? Have you seen people who have apparently forgotten decent behaviour and manners like those I encountered on this trip? Let me know in the Comments please!
Rock on,
The WB
Oma is back! When she walked through my door, I was so excited Mommy said my tail looked like it was going to spin right off my body. Oma picked me up and I never wanted her to let me go. But she did let me go, because she had to go to bed at her house. That was OK because it was me and Mommy and Daddy’s bed time too. Soon it was the next morning and I got to go over to Oma’s house. And now we are walking on the logging roads again!
We hope you are having fun this weekend (and Oma says “getting some rest too!”).
Rock on,
The Bowz 🐾
Mommy says Oma will be home in a few more sleeps. I can’t wait. In the meantime, I am remembering fun walkies with Oma. Here are some pictures Oma took of one where we crossed the channel and explored a spit of land between the channel and the big creek.
See you soon, Oma! I hope everyone else reading is having happy memories too.
Rock on,
The Bowz 🐾
