The Rolling Stones Concert

The concert has come and gone. It was so much fun! My brother bought me the ticket and he also went to the concert but had a ticket in a different section.  The seat mates to my left was a couple from Columbia who are here on vacation. The young woman has lived in British Columbia before and has permanent residency. She was bringing her boyfriend to check it out and they may move here together if he likes it. The seat mates to my right were a mother and son from Parksville on Vancouver Island. The young man sat next to me and we had great conversation throughout the night. He was totally enjoying himself though he didn't grow up with the music like I did.

The first thing that struck me is how many gray haired rock and rollers there were in attendance, many of them wearing merch like t-shirts.  You could see that many of them have been rocking it all their lives. 

This was my section.

This was my view as I ate a snack before the show.

I enjoyed people watching.

I didn't realize the stadium was open air.

The opening act was a group from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania called Ghost Hounds and they were very good.

I uploaded one of my videos to You Tube and I will probably add more later to my channel. First I  have to figure out how to edit the videos a bit.  It's a bit of trial and error. This song is called The Midnight Rambler. I hope you like it.

I think the last time the Rolling Stones were scheduled to come to Vancouver, Covid broke out and the show was cancelled. Mick Jagger announced that it was 19 years ago when the band last came to the city and 59 years ago when they made their first visit. 

The show was excellent and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It took 50 years to the month that I first played the Rolling Stones on my little 8 Track Cassette Player until I finally saw the band in person. I can still see the scenes in my mind from way back then.  Moreover I can still see mom and dad and how they were appreciating the music as much as I did and how they supported me in my love of the music.  (I loved them all the more for their indulgence of me).  I think they were just grateful that I chose to enjoy the music at home rather than running around town like a lot of the other teens we knew.

 The album was called Jumping Jack Flash  and it was the only cassette I owned of the band.  How fitting it was that the band ended their set with the song "Jumping Jack Flash".  It just felt like a very special evening which had come full circle.

The Sky Over Me in November

Yesterday's sky was quite dramatic and the rain came down in buckets for much of the day. I moved my patio table against the wall and put on the new table cover I purchased last week.  It's a cover that covers the table and chairs but it is extra big and I don't like the look.  I'm going to box it up, return it and buy a smaller cover for the table. I already have a cover for the chairs which I will stack as it takes up less space.

 

Believe or not, the geraniums are still producing new blooms but not as prolifically and everything in the garden has pretty much seen better days. My main hope is to get the patio furniture put away properly before throwing out the container plants. I did manage to wash the patio chair cushions, buy the patio table and chair cover and try it on. Next I'll have to buy the new patio table cover and then everything can be put away properly.  I'll have to wash the table again as it got wet in the meantime and wipe down the chairs so they don't rust with water pooling on the arm rests. Those of you who have garages can just store everything in your garage but here in the city many of us do not have a separate garage or even extra storage spaces.

This next two photos were taken on Sunday, November 15, 2020. I barely remember what I do from day to day because the routine is pretty much home based.  It's a good thing we take photos, lol and can find the dates on the photo files. 

The last sky image is a colour by number painting I did on an app. I haven't done any of these paintings for several months but on Wednesday night I spent hours painting.  It's so easy to while away the time on the app and before I know it hours have passed by.  I'm not sure why I find it so appealing. I think I just like seeing what colours take shape and how quickly I can complete a picture since some of them are rather complicated. Wednesday night I completed them in record time as most of them were quite simple.  This particular scene speaks to me of northern Canada and Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) though I don't think there are mountains like that in the very far north.

I've been running back and forth to the post office to mail cards and letters and also to pick up packages that never arrived. I've already had to cancel one order coming from California because the company is going out of business due to Covid and I needed to get my refund before then.  The package had tracking but the information was confusing and the parcel never did arrive after 2 months.  I also ordered parcels from a Canadian company.  They are not using Canada Post as their delivery service and they are several days past the estimated arrival.  Supposedly they have now arrived so I'll check tomorrow at the post office.  Last but not least, I also ordered a parcel from an Etsy Store based in Montreal, Canada. I ordered several weeks ago and the package has not yet arrived.  The package came with free shipping and I didn't know until after I ordered that there is no tracking number provided. So I do hope it eventually arrives.  Since Covid 19 pandemic was announced, the parcel service is very hit or miss. For quite some time the post office was operating at half capacity at their main distribution center.  I think they are now staffing up for the annual Christmas rush. I've noticed that the small postal outlet where I go, they have been inundated with parcels, mail and in store customers. It has always been a busy postal outlet but nowadays it's just crazy busy.

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I've been busy cooking as usual. I suppose most people are these days and with more restrictive Covid measures in place things are not likely to change soon.

Saturday I made a ground beef soup with lots of veggies (potatoes, carrots, onions, mushrooms, celery) and macaroni in a tomato broth. Mom used to make a variation of this with home made biscuits and it is really nice to have on a chilly night. I wasn't up to making any bread so we had sourdough store bought sliced bread.

 

 

Sunday was roasted ham with mashed potatoes and green peas. We had leftovers on Monday and snacked on it here and there since then. I also cut up some pieces and froze them along with the bones to make ham and pea soup on another day. The ham looks much bigger than it is because I took a close up photo.

On Tuesday I made Sweet and Spicy Korean Ground Beef with rice and slaw. It's the second time I've made it and it is quite good so I see it becoming a new staple whenever I have ground beef and don't feel like having the usual.

Wednesday we had spaghettini and meat sauce as well as garlic bread with enough for leftovers on Thursday. It looks a bit strange in my bowl because I put spaghettini on the bottom covered with sauce and Parmesan cheese, then I decided to add more on top of that.

I've been feeling hungrier with the advent of the cold weather so have been back to having more protein smoothies and snacking on dark chocolate covered cranberries and cashew nuts or mixed nuts. 

I'm not doing too much reading right now as I'm trying to catch up on my very long list of 'to do's. I had good success this week with making 2 personal phone calls that I've been wanting to make. I also did a follow up call with a credit card company that is very remiss in handling disputes. I told them today that if they have not received the form they requested (and which I've sent 3 times with the first time being in July), that I want them to know I intend to lodge a formal complaint about their handling of this matter. I was dismayed to discover that though I faxed the latest copy of the form to them on November 13th, they cannot even tell me that they received it because it takes 10 -14 days to 'reach' the system. I asked if they can receive documents by email and they said 'no due to security reasons'. So ridiculous and I am not impressed. I told them I will call back on November 27th.

I am however feeling very good today because at least I did make progress on another matter which has been occupying my mental space and managed to make a few phone calls and emails to move the matter forward. I still have more 'to dos' requiring phone calls and various other follow up but bit by bit they will get done. Thank goodness I have the time during Covid 19 as ordinarily I would find it difficult to find the time to get these things done. I know some people are bored and finding they are not happy with having to stay home and limit their lives but there are others of us who maybe also don't like having to stay home and be cut off but nonetheless we are finding it a blessing to have 'found' time to get things done. Hopefully we can all look forward to 2021 with more optimism and joy. For many of us, it's all in the perspective.

 

 Keep well and keep safe.

Joining in with Skywatch Friday.

An Update on This and That

I was hoping to share some photos of the harbour cruise from last week but I didn't have time to resize them. 

Instead I'll share a few snippets and a bit of sad news.

Two snapshots from my harbour walk. I always love to look at all the boats and yachts at the marina. 

These first two shots are for Skywatch Friday visitors.

The next photo is of a vintage dessert. This one reminds me of my late mom. Years ago when she still had a school age child at home she would make a dessert out of fruit, gelatin and whipped cream mixed in. This one has less whipped cream than she used to use because I wanted to save some as a topping.  When the jelly is half set, I diced fresh strawberries and bananas into the jelly along with whipped cream and then put it back in the refrigerator until fully set. Yummy! Though next time I will use more whipped cream mixed into the gelatin, lol.

I'm reading my 24th book for 2018. This one is by a new to me author.  

Read more about the book here if interested.
I'm enjoying the book. Nothing too taxing. This is just the right kind of reading when I'm very busy and need a small diversion.

I finally finished planting my garden. I got a late start on it due to the long winter we had.  Once the debris was cleared I amended the soil with 160 kgs of compost.  Another 180 kg of potting mix was needed for the many containers.

I've planted vegetables and flowers again.  I've noticed that it is is getting harder and harder to find the starter plants I want (petunias, geraniums and pansies) even though they are common plants.
If, and when I do find them, I might only find one or two small starter plants.  That means there is no selection when the remaining plant might not be well watered or healthy or if you want a different colour than what remains.
Sometimes you just have to suck it up.

I'm not sure why it is getting so hard to find common starter plants.  It may simply be that I arrive too late to the stores and they sell out quickly.  When I purchased the geraniums I asked the store owner if he was going to get more as they only colours were red and pink. He said he hoped so and that there shipment had just arrived that day. They were already very low on geraniums when I arrived.

Another explanation for the lack of plants may be that certain plants are no longer in fashion and so stores don't carry them like they used to.  I remember I had the same issue for the last few years and so last year I went to a large garden center hoping to have more selection. They did indeed have a huge selection but not of the plants that I want.

 I like to plant a lot of pansies. These seem particularly hard to find. This year I only got one container of purple ones.  Fortunately I had one pot of very hardy, yellow  pansies that had survived being outdoors all year even through the cold winter.

 

This year I tried starting plants from seed by purchasing a large tray.  Most of the seeds didn't sprout so I didn't use any of them. I think next year I will plant seeds again but I won't use a large tray. This way I can actually label them first so I know what I've planted.  This will only work if I can get started much earlier in the season.  It's a bit hit or miss when the last few planting seasons have arrived so late after a long winter.

Grandma Sally seems to be doing well at home. So far she has needed one tank of oxygen which the nurse was able to take to her home and administer.  Jonah (Grandma Sally's grandson) has returned home a few hours away for some much needed rest.  He was taking care of Grandma Sally's needs and visiting her every day in hospital for the past 3 months. Now that Grandma Sally is home, culture dictates that males do not enter the bedroom of the females so she has females taking care of her needs. Of course at the hospital when Jonah was visiting, Grandma Sally had staff attending to her immediate care needs.

In sad news, one of my cousins, Connie, was diagnosed with cancer about 2 weeks ago. It was at a late stage as a result of doctors not testing her when she started trying to ascertain the reason for neck issues several years ago. Finally one of her sisters accompanied her to doctors and they were given the runaround until the sister insisted that proper testing be done. This is when the cancer was diagnosed and it was already quite advanced.  Treatment began immediately commencing with some surgery on her spine. The doctors are saying she needs to be moved to palliative care soon as Connie's health is deteriorating rapidly.

My cousin is unaware that the photo below was taken by her sister and shared with me on the occasion of the birth of her great grandson in April. I share it here so you know who to pray for if you feel so led. But I will likely delete the photo soon out of respect. I can just see the love on great grandma's face and the little one in her arms is so very cute.

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Joining in with 

Friday Foto Friends

and

Skywatch Friday

Thank you for stopping by.

Memories & Music

Hello friends,

How are you today?

It is a beautiful sunny day here at last so I intend to catch a few rays before they disappear.

My post is brief today after such a long one last time. I will finish responding to commenters later today or tomorrow.

In the meantime, instead of sharing a photo of a bright sunny day I will share with you some beautiful cowboy art set to one of the best voices I've ever heard for all around soothing music in the country genre.

I was listening to this wonderful singer on Saturday while I cleaned the kitchen cabinets.

It brought back a lot of memories of when I was a teenager and my siblings and I would be babysitting every Saturday night (and more often too). It also brought back lovely memories of Kenya. Believe it or not, the music of Don Williams, Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton is very popular in many parts of Africa, including Kenya.

When I was babysitting, I would also watch television or listen to music as most teenagers do.  Lots of times the parents had a wonderful music collection of all kinds of country artists.  Included in one household was the music of Don Williams. The song I've chosen to share is one of my favourites of his because though the words may depict someone who is on the razor's edge of depression, he is also believing in God and holding on to the promise of a better day coming.  The music itself is fast paced and very upbeat and makes me want to dance for joy. (As an aside, there is also a video on youtube which shows Don Williams' visit to Zimbabwe. If you'd like to see it you can see it here . It is a 1 hour documentary. If you can't watch it all, at least watch the first 3 minutes. It will touch your heart).

This video features some fantastic cowboy art too which I thought might be fun for some of you. I am not a cowgirl but I grew up in cowboy country.  Many of my relatives were rodeo fans. I also have a few cowboys in the family, the youngest being one of my nephews.

Enjoy!

Mama's Bread Pudding

Some of my fondest childhood memories revolve around mama's baking.  Among other things, she made delicious bread pudding. It was so creamy and soft. Actually she was an excellent cook overall. Self-taught and a largely intuitive cook. I was not a natural cook and I took little interest in the kitchen except to make baked goods.

My lack of interest in cooking continued after I was grown.  My jobs always required me to put in long hours and arriving home late at night left little energy or time to shop for a wide range of ingredients or slave over a stove.  While mom was still able to get around, she would often visit and I so appreciated her visits.  I loved to come home from work and have well made and good smelling food hit my nostrils as I walked in the door.  I also just appreciated being able to spend time lots of time with her and though I worked long hours my weekends were free so we would spend time together going around the city and being tourists.

In later years, I had to cook for my mother and my cooking skills improved though most times my cooking was not to her liking. Who can blame her after having been such a great cook all of her life? Others of her generation looked to her to teach them.  So it was hard for her to be able to enjoy much of what I'd cook.  Later, when I retired, I began to experiment more in the kitchen. A few of my recipes and experiments are on this blog.  However, I admit to still having little patience in the kitchen.  I need simple recipes that don't require too much fussing over, especially since I'm prone to multi-tasking.  I am a simple girl at heart and I love simple food.

Recently I've been thinking of recipes that mom made when my siblings and I were growing up.  Things like rice pudding, bread pudding, dream bars, hamburger soup, home made bread, and bannock bread. Of course she made much more than these dishes, but these are the comfort foods that stick out in my mind, and which I crave from time to time. I've posted my experiments with each of the above dishes on my blog.  Even though I had no intention of posting anything about cooking on my blog, it actually became something I did rather frequently and cooking has become something I enjoy from time to time.

If you are interested in any of my cooking experiments you can search for them on my blog by typing "recipes" or the type of recipe you are looking for like "baked beans".  The repertoire on the blog is not extensive, but it is growing.  I would say that my dream bars still need work to be truly "dreamy", lol.  But other than that my other cooking experiments have turned out well enough. I call them experiments because I didn't inherit any recipes as such from mother (except for the dream bars) and I experiment by changing up recipes a fair bit to suit what I have on hand or to capture the essence of how mama made something.


Today's cooking experiment is bread pudding. I remember that mom's bread pudding was not like most people's bread pudding.  Hers was very soft, melt in your mouth, and delicious like real custard pudding.

I took the following recipe and made it my own with a measure of success. I can see those areas where I can improve things.

I used left over 2 left over French baguettes, one was white and one was whole wheat,.  Rather than homogenized milk I used 1 1/2 cans of evaporated milk with equal amounts of water and I used 1/2 cup of brown sugar (a slightly reduced amount).  I made sure to use lots of liquid to try and achieve the creamy consistency and also because the French baguette was very hard.  I can also use stale white bread if I want bread pudding more like mama used to make.

Some recipes call for the milk and eff mixture to be heated first which is what I did. If you do this with evaporated milk you need not boil the milk otherwise it will curdle with the added water.  I used mine when it was just before the boiling point.

I added the raisins to the bread before pouring in the milk mixture.

Ingredients

• 3 cups milk
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 loaf day old bread, cut into cubes and toasted
• 1 cup raisins

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Whisk together milk, eggs, brown sugar, spices and vanilla. Toss in bread and raisins. Pour into a 9” by 9” ovenproof casserole dish, sprinkle with coarse sugar and bake for 30-45 minutes, until eggs are set, and the top is golden brown.

Ready for the oven.

In my house we never ate bread pudding with a sauce. We ate it with cream so I have not put a recipe here for bread pudding sauce.

Finished product.

 After the pudding was cooked I noticed that some of the bread pieces were still a bit hard. I left the pot in the oven after turning the heat off and kept it in there for another 15 minutes or so. When I took it out again, it looked like the pudding in the photo above (Finished product).  It softened up much of the bread that was chewier.

If I make this pudding again with hard French baguette, I will first soak the bread crumbs to soften the crusts a bit. In the end though, the pudding tasted a lot like that of my childhood.

What about you my dear reader? What childhood recipes do you recall and perhaps make?

Enjoy!

Baking Bannock

I've been sick for more than a week with a terrible cold. Though hungry I could only eat things like chicken noodle soup, vegetable soup, crackers, juices, etc. By the end of a week I was wanting some stick to my ribs kind of food. Whenever I am hungry after having been sick for awhile, I whip up a batch of bannock. This is a type of bread and something mom used to make a lot when we kids were growing up. Like most bannock makers, I've developed an intuitive sense of how much of each ingredient to put into the bowl without being precise about measurements. Sometimes it turns out better than other times but I've never flubbed a batch yet.

In a large bowl you place about

* 5-6 cups of unbleached flour

Add

* several heaping teaspoons of baking soda
* a pinch of salt
* a hint of sugar (optional).

Make a well in the center of the flour (by scooping some of the flour to the sides of the bowl) so there is an indentation in the middle of your ingredients.

Next, you add several big tablespoons of shortening. In my recipe I used Coconut Oil because of what I believe to be its health benefits though I also use regular vegetable oil from the supermarket and sometimes lard.

Now you sift all the ingredients together lightly, by hand, mixing the coconut oil gently through the flour while taking care not to melt it by handling it too much. Soon you will have small balls of flour about the size of tapioca or small peas.

Again, make a well in the center of the bowl of flour. Add enough water to cover the well and begin to gently stir the flour from the sides of the bowl and into the center.  Some people prefer using milk instead of water. When the flour is moist, you may gently continue working the flour mixture with your hands until the mixture forms a doughy consistency. At this point you may need to add a little more flour or water depending on the dough's consistency but be careful not to over do.

Once your dough adheres together, place a bit of flour on the counter top and roll the dough gently together with your hands, shaping and forming it by patting it into the shape of your pan. Usually a long cookie sheet is used for baking the bannock but I guess it depends on which part of the country you are enjoying the bannock. In some areas they fry the bread instead. If you are having fry bread the oil is omitted from the batter because of the oil used for deep frying.

This is a picture of the baking sheet I use (below) and my dough ready to go into the oven. I will often slice the batter into serving portions before it goes into the oven and prick the dough with the tines (prongs) of a fork.


I baked this one at approx 375-400 degrees until golden brown, checking it now and then so it doesn't begin to burn.

With this recipe, I had enough dough for two batches...Here is the second smaller batch cooked in a glass roaster. Both of them turned out delicious and flaky.

To eat, you simply break off pieces of bannock or you can take a knife and slice off squares. I put all my bannock in zip lock baggies to preserve moisture otherwise they do go dry very soon. Bannock is always best eaten within 2 days of making it. Serve it with butter and/or preserves. You can also use it in place of bread for a sandwich. Happy eating.