Photo Finish Friday

My window faces East, these are Nicotiana shadows on my (very dirty) blinds. Ignore the dirt and enjoy the patterns ;)


PFF is the brainchild of cousin Leah at The Goat's Lunch Pail


Have a good weekend all!

I don't measure...

...so nothing ever turns out the same twice. That is a shame because last nights mac & cheese was delicious! Here's what I did:

Cooked the mac of course (I used rice flour pasta, but any kind of noodle)
In a skillet, I cooked some sliced ham (try bacon or back bacon - for those not Canadian, back bacon is what ya'll call Canadian bacon)

- take the ham (or back bacon) out when slightly browned, in the same skillet throw in a bit of butter (the tip of a table knife) to lift the stuff left from the ham (if using bacon, don't bother with this step - pour off the grease)
- throw in two triangles of Laughing Cow soft cheese
- add some crushed garlic (I use the jar stuff, because then it is on hand when I want it) about one or two cloves if using fresh
- sprinkle in some powdered ginger (or a bit of real stuff to flavour)
- add some onion, chives, leeks whatever is on hand
- add a splash or two of milk to thin
- add salt & pepper to taste

- pour hot over noodles, add ham and serve with a salad or crusty bread.

Remember that I cook for one so adjust accordingly ;)

Have a good day all!

Photo Finish Friday

Thanks Hilary!

 
These are the little guys that nest outside my patio...been trying now for three years to catch this.

I now have the camera set to silent in case I can catch them again ;)

PFF is the brainchild of my cousin Leah at The Goat's Lunch Pail.

Have a good weekend all.

Rain, rain, go away

This is after only a couple of minutes of rain yesterday!

That is under the pine that is outside my patio, the place that barely ever gets moisture. We have had so much rain the ground is crying "enough!".

Although I guess we are still pretty lucky, we aren't flooding yet. There are places that need it more than we do now though.

This is this afternoon and I just heard a very loud crack of thunder...so here we go again.

Have a good day, I hope you have just enough moisture where you are.

Food!

I have been experimenting in making an oatmeal square that could substitute for breakfast when I run out of money, cereal & milk. As I am on a yeast free diet, (which means no sugar or wheat) this is the result. It might even be healthy!

1/4 C oats
1/2 C ground flax
1/4 C pumpkin seeds ( or nuts or fruit of your choice)
1 C spelt flour
3-4 tsp of powdered milk (not sure it makes any difference though)

1/2 C melted butter (haven't tried oil yet)
1/4 C Agave Nectar
1/2 C water (or milk & eliminate the powdered milk above)
1/2 tsp Mapeline (Maple extract for those not in Canada - or vanilla)

Mix dry ingredients, thoroughly mix in the melted butter, then mix in the remaining liquids (which you mixed together in the measuring cup).

Bake at 375 F for about 20 minutes, cut, cool and enjoy!

*****

As for Sibu, I still don't know where the chip is, my friend with the car has been sick. However, I either moved the chip and then the spot where it was just decided it was a pimple, or it was just a  pimple to start with. The end result is the lump is gone and so is the redness.

I will have him scanned in the fall when he goes for his shots to see where the chip is though.

Have a good day all.

Micro chips

Many years ago, when Sibu was but a wee little tyke, I had him Micro-chipped for easy identification, should he ever be lost...

 ...in a pair of jeans or something.

Like Kai's mouth. Although Kai was also chipped, so maybe that wouldn't have worked.

The usual practice is to place the chip between the shoulder blades, which worked very well. For a few years. I think it was about four years or so later, that I noticed the chip didn't seem to be there! I guess brushing him regularly will move the chip along... the vet found it near his tail, said not to worry, it's not unusual for them to move, but, (I love that) keep an eye on it.

The fact that he only scanned in the area it should be in before doubting I had had him chipped at all didn't inspire a lot of confidence. He was all set to chip Sibu again! I told him to keep looking!

I wonder how many places the chip has travelled under the skin of my cat? Right now it appears to be on the point of his chin, there is a red spot and a tiny lump. I am taking him tomorrow to the vet to have him scanned. I won't take him on the bus though, so that means I have to wait for my friend to give me a lift.  When I was calling around today to see where I could take him, one vet clinic said they would charge me the $75.00 clinic fee.... just to run a scanner over him. I will be taking him to the other one - the one that won't charge me.

All this makes me wonder how many pets, when taken to the pound are NOT reunited with their owners because the chip has moved to an unlikely location?


The photos above are scans of Polaroids, so they probably won't enlarge much, the male in the photos is of one of my brothers. (My legs aren't that hairy - usually)

Have a good day all.

Photo Finish Friday (already?!)

Ya gotta love Alberta!

Click to enlarge please.

 

 

You can pay to stay within spitting distance of a well head ;)

Esso, straight from the well head! (and don't forget the beer)

Have a good weekend all!

MTM: Edmonton High Level Street Car (corrected)

It has been awhile since I've done one of these, But I vaguely remember mentioning the High Level Street Car in one of my other posts. We finally got around to taking a ride on it a couple of weeks ago and I even had my camera along!


The Edmonton Radial Rail Society has put in thousands of volunteer hours yearly to restore and locate cars. They run on a short section of track from Strathcona to Jasper Avenue as well as in Fort Edmonton Park. We took the run over the High Level Bridge and I can see we will have to go to Ft. Edmonton Park as well. That will be at least two posts worth too ;)

This is where we start, just behind the the bus barns and Museum. Click any photo to enlarge.

Here comes the Street Car.

Hmm, seems a little modern and plastic!

Is that German?

Yes, it sure is! This is the car from Hanover, Germany!
The trip is about the ride anyway.

Approaching the tunnel that runs under 109 St and some apartment buildings!

Once out of the tunnel you can almost believe you have left the city behind.

But no...there it is, just hidden behind trees.

To the East is our ball diamond, yes, we have a team... um... Edmonton Capitals (forgive me they were the Cracker Cats two years ago and I don't follow the sport) and they belong to the Golden League.
Oops! This is Kinsmen field on the South side of the river (hard to tell in the little photo). The diamond (Telus Field)for the Capitals would be behind the Rossdale plant.

This is the view to the West from the bridge.

This is the Rossdale Power Plant (it seems they are decommissioning it) and the Walterdale bridge which the locals call the 5th street bridge - because we're too lazy to say one hundred and 5th.

The dome of our Legislature building and a few of our high rises.

Picking up a passenger at the Grandin stop.

The end of the line....Jasper Avenue, surrounded by Apartments and office towers.



For $4.00 you can stay down town all day and take the street car back in the late afternoon...cheaper by far than the daily fare for regular transit - if you live near the Strathcona terminal. Regular transit is $2.75 and you get a 90 minute transfer.

Southbound for the return trip you can see the bridge for the LRT and in the background residences and other buildings (hospital) for the U of Alberta.

Oh, look! The LRT! Which to be honest I didn't even notice until I processed the photos... it probably beat us to the other side of the river. Behind that is the Royal Glenora Club and Victoria Park and behind that are residential high rises.



MTM  is being hosted by Clare2e from Women of Mystery and it even has it's own blog now...My town Monday.

Have a good day all.

Photo Fhinish Friday

Sadly, I forgot about the fireworks last night and when I finally remembered, I was already in my jammies. So instead, I give you the rainbow around the Sun that we saw while having iced "rainbow rooibos" (pronounced roybus) tea outside of Steeps.

Commonly referred to as a sundog it means the weather is going to change - damnitallanyway.

Have a good weekend all.

Silly Summer Parades and Canada Day fun

We went to the Silly Summer Parade on Whyte Ave this year on Canada Day. Here are a few photos.

 A Knight in shining...goalie pads?

Norwegian trolls

And from Brazil...

for Jay our Cynical Bastard

from Brazil we go to the dogs

to balloons

the Punjabi Cultural Society

to very trusting souls

I think s/he was a bee?

Heart & stroke Foundations "Big Bike"

The Hallow e'en Festival people reminding us that summer is short.

We missed the first part of the parade, looking for a place to park. The secondary reason for going was to check out a shoe store, sadly it was closed.

Hope everyone had a great celebration no matter what you did. I might post again with fireworks later.

Canada Day

HAPPY 143rd BIRTHDAY CANADA!