Where have I been and what have I been doing that was so important that I neglected you all?...notice how I an pretending my followers (all 4 of them) haven't gotten tired of seeing nothing new and didn't all move on to better and more funner blogs. I haven't gone anywhere (I can't go anywhere during golf season silly) but a lot had happened. 

I came back from Mexico with my brain all scattered, it was a mess. (the thoughts in my brain, actual brain is fine) so much was going on and still is but now I have a better handle on things. 

Lets start with my knitting, remember back in Mexico I was working on some baby things, I was holding out on you all. I have become "Miss Grandma", my one and only child had a baby boy, meet my grandson Loucas John born May 03 weighing in at 7 lbs 6oz, we weren't expecting him until May 16th. He looks exactly like my baby did 23 years ago except mine was wearing pink. 

Good thing I had started my knitting in Mexico this winter. 

As soon as I got home I went back to work, which I don't write much about because that is not what this space is for but I do like to post pictures once in awhile, I like to call them "The view from my office". So here are a few shots from my office

I think this will be the year of the Saskatoon they bloomed like I have never seen before. 

We even had some heat already

I even got to see a sunset, I don't usually see them here, I got to bed too early, but I see every sunrise. 

I feel in love with salads, yes salads. There is a restaurant in Mazatlan called "Mi Terreza" They serve an amazing salad (can't remember what they call it) but here is the recipe;

2 kinds of lettuce

broccoli

raisins & crasins (cranberries)

pecans & almonds

carrots

red cabbage

alfalfa sprouts
and if you want topped with grilled chicken breasts
This is a salad that even non salad eaters love, trust me, I have a friend that does not order a salad in a restaurant ever, he's from Texans, those boys down there eat a cow at every meal and he is one that recommended this to me. I change it up with whatever I have in the fridge and whatever crunch I can find, nuts, seeds, a handful of trail mix and I toss it with oil and vinegar and a wee bit of plain yogurt....here is the key, do NOT pour your dressing on the salad in your salad bowl, put the salad in a big bowl and shake it up, mixing it real good then serve in your bowl.....I know, now you have a big bowl to wash, trust me it will be worth it and only mix what you will be eating, do not put salad with dressing on it in the fridge...it will just not thrill you as much the second time around at all.
Oh I also put dry cottage cheese on it if I have. 

I can't wait until I have fresh produce from my garden

It is so good it needs wine....all really really good food needs wine. 

Then came some more excitement.......chickens, yes I finally have chickens in my back yard and this thrills me too, I am in love with them. Meet Thelma & Louise. 

I can't tell them apart, they are both so beautiful 

This is their home, still needs some painting and some finishing touches

These ladies figured out what they were to do as soon as they arrived. They got dropped off at 11 am and by 1 pm there were 2 eggs in the nesting box and since then they have faithfully given me 2 eggs every day. I am so in love with them. Every evening I sit on the grass in front of the coop and do my yoga stretches, they think I am pretty funny.  I am amazed at how they react to every sound, they have very keen hearing. A few nights ago I was in bed already and all of a sudden they were mad, making loud clucking and screeching noises so I jumped out of bed and ran outside in my pajamas and found a cat trying to figure out how to get in the coop, the ladies were some mad, one was upstairs screeching and the other was downstairs screeching, as soon as I chased the cat away they calmed down instantly, poor things, had such a fright. This has happened a few more times since and it's always a cat. You see cats can run around town but I have been told that if my chickens ever get out of my yard I will be made to get rid of them. I was supposed to call the fire chief to come and inspect my "housing" for them after I had it built, I have no idea what he will be checking for, why is it that dog and cat houses don't get checked? I still need to call him, I haven't done that yet. Once they will let me pick them up and come when they are called I will let them out when I am outside so they can wander around. They do let me touch them if I corner them and they have no choice but I want them to want to be touched and cuddled....yes I want to cuddle my chickens. 

The bounty from my garden so far....and some spinach

As if that is not enough excitement a package came all the way from Mexico, thanks to family and friends I had some stuff sent up that didn't fit in my suitcase. 

A Spanish Colonial high chair made of some type of hard wood, this is a very heavy chair. I love the leather seat. 

Some rat tail chilis, cinnamon sticks, coco beans, and Cardamon seeds, I also had sent me some pottery and  vintage cotton sheets...forgot to take a picture, it was a bit like Christmas because I had forgotten what was in the box. 

Then I spent a few Saturdays painting a friends bus, she owns a greenhouse and needed a bus to transport her plants up north (yes more north than this) As soon as she said she wanted to paint it lime green I knew it was a job for me, I can't resist a pail of lime green paint...that is just how I am. It is not done yet so you are only getting a peek.

Who could resist this? When I opened this I went "wooo" Stunning it was. 

That's all for now, I have more to say but now I must go say good night to the ladies and do my yoga for them. 

That'll be 1 peso please

Today I did a load of laundry and I found a peso at the bottom of my machine. Just thought I'd share that.

Not a walk on the beach and not your normal shoes

When at first I come home to this..

it can be a little depressing. It doesn't seem to matter when I come home, there is always one last snow storm reserved for me....or 2.

That may all seem depressing, and it is a bit but then, I get on my snow shoes and that is when I know I will be ok here in the great white north once again.

There is a certain thrill about being out in the blinding bright white light, and it is bright, shiny and sparkly, crisp and clean, and knowing that you are walking somewhere where no one has dared to go on foot, sharing the space with only the wild bush animals ...no people.

I over heard these geese saying that next year they are going to book a later flight home

I love the familiar feeling when I strap my boots into my shoes, the perfect fit, snug but soft, the leather strapping stretched to perfection like a favorite pair of shoes....only I don't have a favorite pair of shoes, I hate all shoes....I have shoe issues, but my snow shoes are perfect, and are always in the trunk of my car ready for an in prompt adventure. These are not your normal shoes and this is not like a walk on the beach......but it is thrilling.

A tiny little hint of spring

Cake and chickens

I bought these really really cute cake pans in Mexico and was just itching to use them as soon as I got home. 

I also did a quick inventory of my freezer and pantry and noticed that someone needs to eat a LOT of Saskatoons in this house, what was I thinking last fall? So I cruised my favorite recipe site here http://www.tastespotting.com/category/food/27   

And found a recipe for a Raspberry Chocolate Coffee Cake that looked like it would change up easily. I turned it into a Raspberry (had some of those too) Saskatoon and not so chocolate cake. Of course by the time I was done altering the recipe it didn’t even resemble the original anymore. I always have to mess with a recipe, I can’t help myself. I always use whole wheat flour and I always use brown sugar instead of white and I always use less sugar (a lot less) Then it said to grease and flour the pan first, usually I will grease and then dust with powered Vanilla but I had none (forgot to bring some back this year) so I decided to dust with cinnamon, then I had too much batter and the pan over flowed making it look like I would not be able to get the cake out, at this point I thought maybe the cinnamon had been a mistake (serves me right) but when that moment came to tip it over, I held my breath and it came out in one piece and the smell of hot cinnamon floated out of the pan...oh my! Wonderful. Brilliant idea! Sometimes I get lucky. What I a pretty pretty cake to take to a friend’s house.

I held my breath when I tipped this over.....

whoooo, can you smell the cinnamon? 

Whipped cream would have been nice as well

I love going grocery shopping in my freezer; this is why we gardeners go through allllll that work in the fall. So we don’t have to go grocery shopping. It thrills me to make a meal and not have to got to the store for anything. My first meal at home was a crock pot of pumpkin soup. I took a jar of frozen pumpkin, a baggie of frozen tomatoes, a little container of frozen chicken broth, a head of garlic from my pantry (they wintered well) and a handful of little onions, put it all in the pot, added a little bit of dried peppers. After it was cooked I stuck my hand mixer in there and pureed it making it all creamy. 

Today I took out some chicken breast, ( organic homegrown chicken) cut it up and put it in a casserole dish, added a baggie of frozen tomatoes, a baggie of frozen green beans, some onions, a few cubes of chicken broth, some frozen chili sauce and soon I had this....and just cooked up some homemade noodles and there was another meal that didn’t require anything from the store.

Shopping in my freezer is the best

Yummm yummm

Speaking of not going to the store, member how I often talk about my fantasy of having chickens in my backyard, that may soon happen. Imagine my excitement when I read in the local newspaper that the town has given a resident permission to have 3 chickens and some rabbits in her back yard....IMAGINE! I was so excited and raced over to the town office first thing. Turns out there are a few hoops one must jump through first, well ...I’m an athlete from way back and am willing to do the jumping. I must also go to the council meeting and plead my case (and jump through hoops in front of them like a circus...I guess). Next council meeting is on April 24^th, I am ready. Can you imagine....one more thing for me to go on and on and on about on this blog, chickens! And eggs! I can’t wait, oh the chiffon cakes we’ll bake in my new cake pans, because one cannot afford to make chiffon cake unless one has ones own chickens....you need a gilzillion eggs. (at least) In the mean time we should figure out what we will name our 3 chickens because that’s most important you know. Of course I have to stay true to my geekness and so I have been cruising the web looking at all kinds of house options for my chicks...they will have only the best you know. Like this;

Or this;

There are many beautiful ideas on the web for making very attractive chicken coops. 

These chickens are going to be an enhancement to the community, not like some people’s shittin, digging, messy, barky dogs....not saying names or anything, just sayin is all. I have nothing against dogs I just think it high time dogs and chickens were given equal rights. .....I can see that this will require a few trips to the hard ware store, ol’ Blue will be so excited, he loves going to the hardware store on Saturday morning, throw in a trip to the dump and it’s a Saturday we both remember for a long time. Ok now I’m just talking crazy talk. 

Minding my own business

It is pretty funny merging into the Canadian society sometimes. Just today I was at the counter of the phone place (my least favorite place to be) dealing with the problems of my phones not being used in months and months and SIM cards expiring and getting a new phone number (again!), and getting International phone time and dealing with contracts that are no use to me and  yada yada yada. For all of us snow birds this is an ongoing problem, twice a year, once at each end of our travels. Anyway......there were 3 clerks helping 3 clients at 3 different counters and a few people standing in line. I found myself listening to the other 2 people as they were explaining their problems to the clerk and I found myself wanting to voice my opinions a few times as well, for some reason I wanted to get involved in their conversation with the clerk...weird. I realized that if I did this they would think I was eavesdropping or being nosey or at least be accused of not minding my own business. Then it dawned on me why I was having so much trouble “minding my own business”.

 First...Not only can I hear them I can understand them, for months now I haven’t been able to eavesdrop because my Spanish is not good enough for that....I have been missing out, and now I want to eavesdrop everywhere I go. It’s like I have just received the gift of hearing and can’t stop being amazed at what I am hearing.

Second....I have just come from a place that doesn’t know what “minding your own business” is, I don’t even think that translates into Spanish, seriously, I tried looking it up and I can’t find it. I have experienced standing in line in Mexico, at the Tel Cel office, at the bank, at the Jumapan office (where you pay your water bill) at the taco stand....nobody minds their own business. By the time you are done with your business you are on first name basic with the people that are standing in line with you (for sure with the person in front of you and the one behind you), you may even know about their families and you know why they are there (what their problems is...etc) and they may even have tried to help you. When it is your turn to step up sometimes they will follow you to help you explain what you want and may even have suggestions for the clerk. Your problem becomes a group project. Now this may just be because my Spanish is that of a kindergardener and I am always in need of help (I am the needy one in line) but I don’t think so because I have stood in line with my Mexican friends and have observed how they interact with the other people in line...you become a little community, you ban together, you’re a team of people that are on a similar mission. I’ve stood in a small group waiting for a bus, and by the time my bus came along I didn’t want to leave my new friends behind, but I got on and pressed my face up against the window sadly waving good bye (insert sad music here) ....we were comrades for 8 minutes....not really that sad, but you get what I mean....you don’t mind your own business...EVER!

Then there is the loneliness that you feel here, I wanted the women at counter to know that I felt her pain, let’s face it dealing with Telus can be painful, she should know she is not alone. When you stand in line at the bank, the insurance office, or at Telus chances are you are there because you have a problem, maybe it would be nice to know that the person in line in front of you has the same problem.....it’s not just you! You are not alone!  But yet....I know if I go to the Tax place later (that’s another thing I have to deal with as soon as I get here every year) and I turn to the person standing behind me and ask “so, why are you here today?” they mostly likely will think I am weird and I will feel weird.  So....I go about minding my own business. It’s how we do it here. 

Where am I?

Lets play a "guess where I am" game, which isn't really fair because I've been rambling about my up coming trip for a while now.....but for the new readers this might be fun.

Guess where I am ;

I use a public bathroom and there is a lovely hook on the back of the stall door to hang my purse and plenty of toilet paper....I even use more than I need just because I can, and resist the urge to stuff some in my purse.

Minutes after exiting the airport building my skin turns white and starts flaking off...minutes (because of  the dry air).

In the middle of the night I wake up and feel like all bodily fluids have been drained out of me.....I am thirsting to death.

As I wait at the bus station 20 people walk by me and not one says "good morning".

The bus is supposed to leave at 10:30 and it does.

I sneeze on the bus and not one person says "bless you".

I stand in line at the theater and I can understand everything that everybody is saying....whooo that's noisy.

2 movie tickets, one large popcorn, one small popcorn, 1 root beer = $50.00.

At 8:30 pm it is still daylight, sun is still shining.

It's April 9th and if I want I can go cross country skiing....I pass.

There is a metal rectangular box in my hallway making a loud burring noise and it is giving off heat, dry dry heat.

When I got to my house not one neighbor came out to greet me and ask "what's in the bags?".

When I laid in bed this morning, not one rooster crowed, no body honked, no music playing, no noise at all......rather lonely. (except for the hummm of the metal box in my hallway).

There are no smells, the grocery store doesn't smell like fresh meat or fresh fruit, the streets don't smell like horse poo, no smells of beef grilling anywhere, no smell of corn cooking anywhere, no sewer backup anywhere....no smells at all, as if this place has been sterilized.

.........ok ok, I'm in Canada, I have to go now and shovel some snow...seriously.

Good bye Mexico

This will be my last posting from Mexico, tomorrow I am on a plane heading to Northern Alberta Canada, but please keep following me.....as sad as we are right now it will be fun...I promise. Of course it has tor be amazingly hot these last few days, the evening have been absolutely magical. But it must come to an end some time. I am excited to see my family and friends, I am looking forward to having internet all the time. I am also looking forward to another new golf season and to start up my greenhouse and enjoy my garden at home.....hopefully I can also squeeze in some "watching laundry dry days".  

See you all in Canada, adios my beloved Mexico

Only on Stone Island can you hang a sigh like this...it says "dangerous curve ahead 20 meters" 

Learning how to make tortillas

Corn flour and water....just the right amounts

fresh tortilla hot of the fire is sooooo good

How do you like them coconuts?

I will miss my totopos