Some Recipes

Yesterday I said, "maybe I'll post some recipes" so here we go. On Friday I was in a crazy mood. We have these 6lbs chickens that we bought from this hutterite. We haven't really felt like cooking them in the oven so I decided I was going to cut it up and grill it on the bbq. I found a website that showed how to divide up the bird. Note - give yourself more than 6 hours to defrost the chicken. It'll make it a lot easier. I think I did a pretty good job. It at least looked like it does in the store. No I needed to make the rub. Aye there's the rub. I have this book of French recipes. There is one for when you roast a chicken. I modified it a little bit to make it more grill friendly. Here it is.
1tsb of dried rosemary, or 1tbsp if fresh
3 gloves of garlic minced
1/4 of fresh lemon juice (Realemon works too)
4 tbsp of margarine at room temp. (I melted it)
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
pinch of paprika (how much is a pinch anyway)
salt and pepper

Mix it all together. If you don't melt the margarine it's more of a rub. If you melt it you can baste the chicken with it as you're bbq'ing. It turned out really good.
Tips:
With a big bird (not the big bird, a big bird) like I had butterfly cutting the breast helps a lot. That's basically when you cut the breast in half, it folds open to look like butterfly wings. Also, anything with bones in it will take longer to cook all the way through. (Tina told me that one)

The other recipe I have is one of my kids favourites. It's for strawberry/banana shakes. I don't have amounts because Emi just tells me when I've added enough. Anyway, in a blender put in frozen strawberries and cut up frozen bananas. Every summer we freeze a whole shwack of strawberries in freezer bags. They get used for shakes, porridge and other things. The bananas are just the ones that get overripe during the year. We peel them and through them in a bag in the freezer. How handy is that!?! So put that stuff in. Then add a bit of milk. (or soy or rice milk) Blend it up a bit. Add some mix and blend it more. Do this till everything is chopped up and you have the consistency your want. Then add some sugar till it's as sweet as you want it and WALA! You have tasty shakes for a hot day. Yummy.
that's it for now
cheers

Busy Report

I have a tonne of things to talk about so let's get started. The first is that Emi had her Kindergarten graduation on Friday. Verrrry cool. She was so excited as were Tina and I about this day. Here is a picture of Emilia and her kindergarten teacher Mimosa Koop.Our little girl is growing up. -sigh- So Friday night after rehearsal I drove out to Landmark. I listened to the entire Dance Mix 95 cd. Oh the memories. My dad and I were supposed to go golfing at Falcon Lake the next morning. It rained a LOT so we didn't go. I kind of thought we wouldn't be golfing but I needed to pick up some stuff anyway. (and my Dad always makes me bacon and eggs) They got about 4 inches of rain. Ouch. I've included some pictures of their yard. The one with the walkway is their front yard. The one with the stone wall is the backyard. Don't worry about the lot beside them. It's green space. Well, blue space as of the weekend. So on Sunday we had our church picnic. It was pretty good. The kids played some games after lunch. Ok I don't have much to say. Whatever. When we got back I had a two hour nap. That was great because it meant I was very much awake for going to the park. We flew kites. Actually Tina, Emi and Griffin flew kites while I untangled string, helped get kites in the air and climbed a tree to get a kite down. After that Griffin and I went geocaching. We were 4 of 6 on our searches. Not too shabby. Although now there are only 3 left in Winkler for us to find. We're going to have to bring our bikes to Morden and spend an afternoon there. They have tonnes. My hammies are actually a little sore. Then last night Darren came over and we had a fire. It was great because Phil and Holly weren't there. (ok I'm just bitter they didn't come) But we had a good time around the fire. Especially those few times when sparks flew at Darren. Another week has started. Tomorrow I'll post some recipes that I've found that are simple and tast great.
cheers

Summer Holidays

So the kids begin their summer holidays next week. Here's a list of things I'd like to do/get done this summer.

1. Go Fishing at least twice (maybe we'll even catch something)
2. Find 10 geocaches
3. Make many trips to the pool. (I need to make back what we paid for the season pass)
4. Have a golf game below 100. (Which means I actually have to golf)
5. Memorize my lines. (I actually don't have much choice in this one since off book is July 6th)
6. Finish 2 books.
7. Host 2 or 3 parties.
8. Not play more than 1 hour of computer a day. (wishful thinking)
9. Continue exercising. (wishful thinking)

10. Finish painting my dwarf army. (I doubt it)This is one unit of Dwarf Longbeards. These are almost done.
After that I have ironbreakers, characters, miners, cannon,
organ gun and crews to do.

11. Stain the shelves.
12. Put the door jams on the bedroom.
13. Build some more terrain for my warhammer table.
14. Play 3 games of warhammer with someone other than Griffin.
15. Go Fly a kite.
16. Play Settlers.
17. Go to 2 Bomber games. (I think I'd need a job then)
18. Get a job. (After July 25th)

That's it for now. Wow, a short post. Maybe next week I'll blog about my trip to Falcon Lake. (I'm going golfing)

Cheers

Emi's Birthday

This one will be shorter than the last one. So Emilia had her 6th birthday on Monday. We decided to have a big party for this year because she has friends from school that she could invite. So at 11:30am that day we picked up 9 very excited boys and girls. It was a dress up party and everyone brought a costume. We also had some hung up so the kids could use those if they wanted. We had a wiener roast in the backyard and played some croquet and bocci ball. The highlight I think was the improv plays we did. We set up a little stage and then divided the kids into two groups. Tina took one and I took the other. We planned a little play and then performed for each other. They enjoyed it so much we did it again. They enjoyed it so much we did it again. (yes I meant to repeat that last line.) only this time they were all in one group. It was just going to be me watching but then parents started to arrive. By the time they did the play we had 5 parents and 4 siblings watching. One girl got nervous because, "now there were people watching." What a fun day. I can't believe Emilia is 6 years old. It seems like yesterday I was holding her the night she was born. We were on the steps of our house (did a home birth) and watching the lightening from a passing thunderstorm. It was a special weekend followed by a special Monday. Could this week get any better?

Weekend at Hecla

It's been a while since I've posted so I figured it was time to take a break from Rome:Total War (my new favourite computer game) and write about what's been going on. This past weekend we headed out to Hecla Island Provincial Park for some camping. There was actually more to it than that but more on that later. After a hectic Thursday and Friday of packing, borrowing a truck, getting food together and more camping we were off. We're not big campers and up until now we've always just jammed our car full which meant only the necessities came with. This time we borrowed a truck. WOW!!! We fit all our bikes, a bbq and all the gear we needed for the weekend. It was great!!! I'm spoiled. And driving an extended cab half tonne is soooo cool! The only thing that wasn't cool was the $130 in gas it used to go there and back. Our probably would have used about $60. ouch. So we left Friday at 5:45pm and got there around 9:15pm. In case you don't know Hecla Island is part of the Lake Winnipeg Narrows about 1.5 hours straight north of Winnipeg. There is a campground, a resort, a golf course, a historic Icelandic village and a marina, that commercial fisherman use and pleasure yaughters.(is that spelt wright?) So we got camp set up, had some hotdogs and huddled around the fire. We all got to sleep around midnight. It was a very cold night and the morning was chilly too. It was overcast (even though the freakin' forecast said sunny all weekend. That morning we had breakfast and then biked over to the marina. We picked up some minnows and then Griffin and I fished for about 45 min while Tina and Emi played. (no we didn't catch anything). Just before lunch we headed over to the resort. My mom and dad were staying there for the weekend. It was sort of a 60th birthday celebration for my dad. But he didn't know we were camping there (my mom did) So got to the resort and I texted my mom letting her know we were there. She called back and said she was at the campground in the bathroom. She had convinced my dad to drive around the campground for some reason and when we weren't there said she had to go to the bathroom so she could call my me. We hurried back while she somehow convinced him to drive around some more. I think she said something about seeing a bear. So we got back and the kids watched for their car while Tina and I started getting lunch ready. So my parents drive around again and my Dad says "That looks like Griffin?" It was, so they stopped and got out. He was very surprised. He saw my golf clubs in the truck and was even more excited. (he likes golf). So we're chatting when I hear a diesel truck coming. The next surprise. It's my Dad's work truck. He looks at it confused and says, "What's my truck doing here". And how pops my brother Adam who flew up from Kansas the night before. Yay Second surprise. The look on my Dad's face was priceless. So we had lunch and went our seperate ways for the afternoon. At 4pm Adam, my dad and I met at the golf course. We had a tee time for 5pm. When we got there I ran into two people I knew who were part of the tournament that was going on that afternoon. Adam just shook his head because I generally run into someone I know no matter where we are. It was a great round of golf. It's been a long time since the three of us have golfed together. After supper we headed back to the site for a fire and sunflower seeds. That night was colder than the night before. Tina had something like 800 layers on and was still cold. Of course Griffin wakes up at 6:00am and complains that he's sweating. He went back to sleep and we all got up around 8am. AFter getting ready we went to the resort to have breakfast with mom and dad and Adam. My Dad was sitting and the end and shortly after we got our food my mom takes out her camera and says "I want to get a picture with ALL you guys." Somebody puts their hands on my Dad's shoulders and he looks back to see three guys he golfs with quite often but had no idea they were coming. Another great moment. So while they were golfing the rest of us spent some time in the pool at the resort. The kids had a lot of fun. My parents used to take Adam and I to the resort way back when we were kids. It's changed a LOT. Very posh now. Hoity Toity if you will. Ummmmm after swimming we had supper and then fished some more. (still nothing) After that it was time to head home. It was sooo much fun. I was so tired when we got back but it was worth it for a weekend like that. I think my favourite part was that my Dad had a weekend he'll never forget. The look of joy on his face was priceless. I'll treasure this for a looooong time.

My 22 hour trip.

It's not really the way I'd like to do a trip but yesterday I flew to Edmonton with my cousin Craig to pick up a Chevy Equinox that he bought. I got up at 4am to get ready and we got back at about 2am the next day. What follows is an hour by hour account. (near as I can remember) There's time changes from here to Edmonton but I'll stick with CDT.

4am

Got up at my parents after a crappy nights sleep. I went to bed at 11:30pm and of course lay there for an hour thinking, "I have to get to sleep. I gave myself plenty of time to get ready and by 4:30am was anxious to get going. My aunt picked me up 5 minutes later and we were off to Winnipeg.

5am

We got to the airport at about 5:20am. My second time there this week and I'm going again tomorrow. Ugh. On a side note I think the new terminal is going to look great. When we went through security they gave my backpack the once over. They didn't find my container of burts bees lip balm I forget to mention during the "Creams liquids or Gels" interogation. Suckers. While we were waiting to board there was a couple across from us. He was wearing a turban and they both looked Indian. He had a small book he was looking at while murmurming what I'm guessing was morning prayers. I think he was Muslim. I liked the fact he was doing that. It says a lot about his faith. I know people who would sit there and think, "He's so wrong, it's too bad he's muslim. I think I along with a lot of people could learn a lot from him on how to actually care about our faith.

6am

We were flying Westjet. I love Westjet and here is one example. At the boarding desk the lady at the counter stood in front of it and said the PA wasn't working, and then went on to do her announcements. If it was Air Canada they probably would have delayed the flight until the PA was fixed so they could do the announcements properly. It was a very emtpy flight. Pretty much everyone got a window seat.

7am

Flying. Didn't sleep

8am

We got to Edmonton. The airport literally looks like it was built in the middle of know where. We were picked up by the guy that Craig was buying the vehicle from and drove to the guy's house so he could get his truck. He lives 2 or 3 miles east of Sherwood Park if you care.

9am

Went to Staples so Craig could fax in his stuff to get a temporary permit from MPI. A bit of a hassle since it involved faxing some documents to MPI, they fax back a form, Craig signs it and faxes it back, then they fax back the permit. A little time consuming.

10am

Had coffee and a muffin at Second Cup next to the Staples. Muffin was ok, coffee was terrible, yuck gross. We both dumped most of ours out.

11am

We were finally on our way after filling up and picking up a meat pie and some Pepsi at 7-11. Now you'd think that we'd have music playing the whole time. Nope. We brought audio books. We listening to a couple of Hercule Poirot short stories. I don't remember much. I finally fell asleep.

12pm

more sleep

1pm

woke up. The next story we listened to was The Hedge Knight by George R. R. Martin. He is one of my favourite fantasy writers. This is a short story that takes place about 50 years before his Fire and Ice series. Very cool.

2pm

still listening still driving.

3pm

see last entry

4pm

We arrived in Saskatoon. We were both hungy by then and Craig suggested we go to McDonalds. I was fine with that so we went in. The line-up wasn't that long when we got in but seriously? The service was sloooooooow. How long does it take to make a Big Mac? I had a little fun with the counter person. She slapped the tray down and put the paper thing on to it. It was two sided with advertising on one side and health info on the other. She initially put it down with the health info up but the flipped it around. When she turned around to get the drinks I flipped it back. When she came back she looked at it and then flipped it back again. While she was wandering around looking for my food (it was terrible) I flipped it back. She came back with the fries and put them one without flipping the sheet. VICTORY!!!!!

5pm

Dropped in at Angie and Trevor's place in Saskatoon. She's pregnant and the baby is due in a week and a half. I kenw were just driving through so I didn't call ahead or warn them that I might drop in. Craig was actually kind of excited that we were going to surprise someone. Well they were home and very surprised. We probably could have spent a few hours there but only spent 20 minutes. It was worth it. Craig loved their dog. His name is Malthazaar and he is a 150 lbs mastif. The sweetest gentlest 150 lbs dog you'll ever meet. With that we were on our way again.

6pm

I'm getting tired a driving. We actually listened to the radio a bit during this time.

7pm

Still driving. And no I didn't give Craig advice on being a dad. His wife Rochelle is due in August. I didn't want to scare the poor guy.

8pm

Arrived in Regina. We stopped to stretch our legs and pick up some coffee and then Craig let me drive. YAY!!!

Started another story, The Hades Project by Rober Ludlum abridged. We had brought along Angels and Demons by Dan Brown but it's 19 hours. Who wants to start a story you can't finish.

9pm

Wow, I love driving through Saskatchewan. (note the sarcasm)

10pm

After a coffe, pepsi and half a bottle of water I had to stop in Virden to pee.

11pm

A short while later we stopped in Brandon to fill up and grab some food. We went to Subway. Thank goodness we got there when we did. The guy had one speed. It was "I don't want to be here" slow. Just after we got there about 10 kids walked in. I think they're still waiting for their subs.

12am

Driving and listening. Started getting a little tired too. I can tell I'm getting really tired when I start seeing things in my periphery.

1am
Pulled into my parents Driveway at 1:50am. Of this was just when the climatic "He did it!!" moment happened in the story we were listening too. I still need to listen to the epilogue of the story. Maybe next trip.

2am
Checked emails, updated status on facebook and went to sleep. mmmmm sleep.

I'm Tired

I'm a little out of it which could make for a very weird post. I got to be late last night (again) and had to get up at 6:15am to bring Tina to the airport. She's off to Aylmer, Ont. for some MCC meetings. At least I got 5.5 hours of sleep. Tina woke up at 4am and couldn't get back to sleep. She was not happy about that. It was a little nerve wracking on our trip to Wpg when we hit construction on Highway 3. WHAT!! They're actually trying to fix roads in Manitoba? How inconvenient. So we were stopped for 10-15 minutes waiting for the pilot vehicle. We actually made good time after that and traffic on Route 90 wasn't bad. We pulled into the airport at about 8:45am. I wanted to hit a bookstore on the way home so I took Route 90 to Bishop Grandin and then off to St. Vital Mall. I picked up Steven Erickson's latest book Toll the Hounds at Chapters. It's a 1300 page beast and I can't wait to start. Erickson is my favourite non-Tolkien writer right now. Anyway. I was going to stop at the Tim's in the mall for breakfast and some coffee for the road but the line-up was too long so I decided to go to the one a little further south on St. Mary's. I've been avoiding drive throughs lately because I prefer face to face communication (as I write a blog, how ironic) so I walk inside and there's my dad! You know you live in a province with a small population when........ He was a little shocked so while he was still off balance I convinced him to pay for my stuff. SCORE! Actually he offered. He was with a co-worker so we all chatted for a bit and then I came home. Emi and I will both need a nap this afternoon. Emi woke up at 4am with Tina. ugh. Then it's off to a community BBQ tonight at J.R. Walkof. Yay!!
I'd post a recent picture of something but Tina took the camera. Maybe next time.