Mutterings

So Penny is running back and forth to Montreal (by train). And Linda and Rick Creese are in town. And there was a 5k run on Sunday. And somewhere in all that, because Penny was pretty fragged out and needed some TLC, I made a nice dinner with candles and mushroom risotto. So all you need now is the pictures.

The fun news is we have new tennants. Andrew gave us a neat bird house many years ago and we dutifully (with some optomism) put it into a nice neighbourhood in the back yard. It has been looked at by several bird couples of varying types and sizes, but has always remained empty - until this Spring. We have a pair of red breasted nuthatches in residence. They are really cute, about the size of a chickadee, and they walk up and down tree trunks and flit through the back yard trees and shrubs looking for seeds and bugs.

So all you need now is the pictures. A confession: I scanned the bird picture from the Audubon field guide that Chooch gave us in 1980.

Rabbitted again!

We thought we were going to get crocuses (crocii?) this year. There were 6 or so yellow blossoms yesterday, not yet open but fully visible, waiting for some warmth. And this is what they look like today. The rabbit loves the crocii. The squirrels love the tulip bulbs. So, we grow squill and daffodils. Both are getting close to flowering. Spring arrives tomorrow; better get going on the raking of lawns and thinning of perennials.

A Quick Experiment

These are photos of the family room aquarium I just took to send to a friend. The point-and-shoot camera has trouble with fish focusing (delay in shooting, fish moving during exposure ...), but these worked quite well, all things considered. The flash has to be disabled, so the light source is limited to the aquarium lights.

I know, y'all could care less.

Spring Visits & Messes

So, it has been a while since the last posting. Normal happenings and some seasonal things going on. Spring is slowly trying to arrive. The plants and gardens are responding. The corn stalk plant in the living room which we have had for at least 30 years is completely root-bound and desparate - so it flowers. The pictures are over several days with the last one showing the sticky sap that the flowers produce. Penny didn't even let the flowers open before she chopped the stalk right off.

This is not the first flowering, we have had 3 or 4. The blossoms only open at night, around 8:30 pm, and they are really sicky sweet, drip sticky sap that ruins carpets and furniture, a they are powerful. The whole house smells like very cheap perfume. Wonder why Penny dislikes them.

The next seasonal event was Easter. Granny Gwen was here for a nice visit for a few days. She got to visit her friend Marion Dunlop, and all the great grand kids. And the grand kids. And the kid.

We had dinners out, pizza in (watching the Masters golf tournament on Thurdsay evening), made a nice dinner at home, and had another nice Easter dinner here on Sunday. Erika came over for a bit before she had to head off to work. She only got a quick dinner.

Mike and Bennett stayed longer and fared better. Bennett really liked the ham.

As with any large dinner, the aftermath was a kitchen disaster.

This past weekend we had friends over for dinner. We have done dinners at our homes before and we always have a good time; however, one couple or the other has to do most of the work. So we changed the plan. Instead of just coming for dinner, we now start at someone's house at about 4 or 4:30 and completely wreck the place. Menus and ingredients are discussed and purchased in advance. It is super fun and the resulting meals are wonderful. On Staurday, we made:

• a lovely soup based on celery root and other good things,


• a warm salad with asparagus and orange,


• a pork tenderloin entree prepared in toasted, ground herbs served with an apple sauce and jasmine rice; and


• a coconut bread pudding.

Each of these courses required quite a bit of preparation, but the results were worth the effort. The recipies for most menu items came from the LCBO Food and Drink magazines.

First, the clean kitchen

and lovely dining room setting.

Then the kitchen staff - Ken, Joan and Penny.

Eventually (around 7 pm), we had the soup and salad.

Back to the kitchen for further preparation, then the entree and the dessert.

And, once again, the aftermath.

Ken had to get up and work on Sunday, so everyone went home around 11 pm. Right on schedule. Ken is working at a golf course, but that is a whole other story.

Did you notice the orchid on the window ledge in the kitchen disaster pictures?

Dammed ice

No, the title is not a typographical error (in case anyone is interested in what "typo" is short for). We have some kind of ice dam in the front eavestrough, happens every few years, and now there is water dripping inside the living room window. Wonderful! So up on the ladder with a hammer and cold chisel (yeah, I know; if it wasn't cold before, it sure is now) to whack, break and dig out. Got about 4 feet done, maybe 10 to 12 feet more to go. Looks like the problem is the eavestrough itself. I think there should be a slope encouraging the water toward one end. Must get this all looked at when the weather is warm and sunny and we have nothing to remind us of the winter drips.

On a more chearful note or two, we are out to dinner at Lemon Bistro tonight with some good friends. As the place only seats about 20, the six of us will take over. I promise to be suitably rowdy.



And then there is the kitchen garden. The amaryllis has joined the orchid in blooming. Only two flowers, but a wonderful gaudy red.



Oh, yeah, I found one reasonable photo of Leonard at this birthday party at Antico Martini. Now 92 and still making his points clearly. I just love the attentiveness of the waiter!

Dinner with Bennett, orchid away!

We had dinner on Friday with Eri, Mike and Bennett. The original plan was to make a nice supper with an Italian cheese flatbread and a Greek shrimp cassorole with feta and some attitude. But then the phone rang and we had a better deal offered - pizza at Station!


Ben is getting bigger and has more and more tricks. He has learned that, when in a restaurant, there is some chance of scoring ice cream for dessert. The picture shows the reaction to ordering strawberry ice cream.


Good fun and good food as always. And the other dinner was merely postponed to Saturday. Delicious!


The kitchen window garden is going like gangbusters. We have the first orchid opening (with another three flowers following close behind). So here's the picture of the orchid.

The other flowers are the amaryllis (just starting to open, watch for updates) and some hydrangea (actually, hyacinth - see Mom's note) bulbs a neighbour gave us. They (hyacinths) are now in full bloom and making the house smell like a cheap bordello. Actually, I have led a very sheltered life and don't know how a cheap bordello smalls, but I imagine it smells a lot like a bunch of blooming hyacinths.

Winter & I return

The spelling and typos were worse than normal yesterday. Must try to get the fingers unfumbled.


Just back from Dr. Ing, the surgeon, and all is well. The vagrant staple was quickly snipped and removed and the belly check confirmed nothing untoward. I am fully back with the next visit scheduled for May 23rd (Happy Birthday, Penny). All activities may now proceed toward the inevitable excess.


That would include making mushroom risotto on the spear of the mint. A couple of weeks ago, planning for the neighbourhood 2nd annual wine & cheese, we were looking for groceries. I wandered over to where the dried procini mushrooms would be if they were available and, lo, there they were. Bought some on spec to have available. Several aisles later, behold! Italian rice. And so we were off for a special treat that evening. Wish I could post the recipe somehow.


http://www.lcbo.com/lcbo-ear/RecipeController?action=recipe&language=1&recipeID=2052&recipeType=1


This is the link to the LCBO site with the recipe under mushroom risotto.


And this is what the morning brought; wonderful wet snow for that wonderland effect. Traffic is screwed up all over the place, but there is not that much snow. It packs and is very slippery though. Today is again above freezing, so the snow will disappear soon.


The pictures are of the back yard: one of the Dana and Jason tree beyond the birdbath, the other of the spruce boughs outside the bedroom window.





And so away to grasp the day (seizing seems so violent); gym, job search, projects in that order.



I hope Hannah is feeling better.

Hmmmm, it's been a while

OK, so I have been remiss. Much has gone on and I have very few pictures to document same.

All is well, and so are we. That is a grand thing. Back to the gym and some running, but taking it easy on the weights. Looking for work, but maybe not as actively as I might. "Final" visit to the surgeon tomorrow to check the scars and healing. Other than the missed staple, that is all going well. No, you don't want to know.

So, the list: we are set for a trip to Ottawa in March, we also have to go to Detroit in March to pick up 2 ottomans (ottomen?) that were shipped to Mike's brother's place (thanks goodness for "Eats, Shoots and Leaves"), went to Montreal for Leonard's 92nd birthday, got the gas fireplace insert up and running, found the bug fix for the Borland Pascal 7 compiler, worked out the RSP business and went downtown to get that straight, spent a bit of time researching the stock markets, and re-aquainted myself with morning radion on the CBC. I really miss Peter Gzowski. And everyone needs to read "The God Delusion".

Somehow I screwed up the camera settings and have nothing useful from the Montreal trip. Too bad really as the party at Antico Martini was lovely. We were all roudy and quite Italian. Poppa became quite overcome and had to go home, but recovered well. the party was too much on top of the full day he had with the new minister at the church and all. Seems he had been nipping throughout the day as well. 92 and still having a grand time!

I did get a great video of Marilen at the restaurant, but I am not sharing that. The blackmail opportunity is too good. Besides, when I convert it into a "movie" it takes about 7 megs. But really worth the disk space.

The fireplace is rather nice. This means I have lost both the family room and the larger tv. Penny now camps out in the (formerly too cold) family room to watch the soaps and then the evening telly. This may be good for blog writing, we shall see.

And the beat goes on

So this is the current state of the kitchen garden. The orchid buds are getting bigger, more defined; and the amaryllis flower bud is almost clear of the bulb.











The winter blahs are upon us. Last night we had a lovely dinner that really required grilled veggies. And so they were grilled. Yum. Went very well with the steak, reduction sauce of wine, dried cranberry and blackberries. Just what one needs to dispel the cold.

Spring is only a few weeks (or months) away!.

Andrew has been sending new blog messages. Must comment, there is much to be commented upon.

Healing and strengthening continue. The gym is being used two days out of three, overtures have been made into the consulting market, the driveway was given a mild sweeping (causing almost instantaneous snow squalls), a neighbourhood wine and cheese party is being planned, and we are in the throes of buying a new fierplace. But mostly, I am being lazy and enjoying it.

Now, if I could only figure out how to thrash Andrew...

Kitchen garden

The new window in the kitchen is a great plant place. We have the annual Xmas Amaryllis started and it is just showing a green bud (or leaf). Not really visible in the picture, but it will be in a couple of days. The other plant is a Moth Orchid.

The Moth Orchid (Phalaenopsis) is kind of an orchid with training wheels. It's the one you see all over the place at a "reasonable" price - not the $150 one. We got the orchid in bloom last March. It was a welcome back present for Penny when she went to the Dominican Republic with Marilen.

With lots of inattention, it continued to flower for several months and even grew a few new leaves. It seems to really like the bright, indirect light and the humidity right over the sink. Anyway, we tried to get it to re-flower on the old stalk, but failed. Now it has got a whole new flower stalk with flower buds starting to swell. Watch for continuing updates ob both flowers!

We're back with a vengance

Today was the long-awaited appointment with the oncologist. I do hope I am spelling that right.

Nice man. Fortunately, I will not be seeing him again. There is no further treatment required, nothing he can add to the positive results. The bullet is officially dodged!!!

Now I have to re-visit the surgeon to make sure all the healing is going according to Hoyle. Feels pretty good to me, maybe even time to start doing some gut exercises. I always have hated those.

And so, on to the next. Must look into new themes for the blog: current readings, new interests, good food and wine sightings, who knows. I will start putting out feelers on the consulting front (money coming in is always conducive to better health I find). A fat bank account leads one to think of travel, which leads to a deflated bank account. And the beat goes on.

Day 19 and I have not yet screwed up the year. A new indoor track record.

Just for Kerry

So, here are pictures of the revised living room. There are 3 areas:

• the more formal chatting area around the sofas, easily augmented with the stacking tables and moving chairs. We are looking for a couple of ottomans (ottomen?) on casters to set below the window to serve as seats and (maybe) serving tables.
• the music area with the piano and new stereo. The family photos are on the wall and the piano will have some of the more recent grandkid shots.
• the reading area with its own lamp and two chairs for talking. Very cozy, best spot for music listening (the speakers are tuned to this area), and our travel photos on the wall. This wall will be in constant flux as we move new pictures in and out. Expect more photos - Greece is now there yet. Also, note the visual divider between this area and the more formal zone.

Now the family room. No real change, just new stuff - the sofa / hide-a-bed, a small matching lamp, the new TV, and Jack-in-the-Green from Bayfield.

Happy New Year! Indeed.

Got a call from the family doctor this morning. The biopsy results show mostly pre-cancerous tissue with a small amount of cancer in situ - meaning it is fully contained within the colon and was removed. We will discuss this and other stuff with the surgeon tomorrow, but the bottom line (so to speak) is the full tumor was removed with no sign of cancer in the lymph nodes or surrounding tissues. This is the best possible outcome.

Hugs to all our family and friends who have been helping us through the past couple of weeks. May your New Year bring health, happines and some modest success. We are focused intently on the first of those.

Christmas Day 2006

So, Christmas Day was more unusual than ever this year. The picture shows the moment, but does not explain how or why I am in a hospital room with all the accoutrements. The picture was taken December 25th, 2006, but I am now (December 27th) at home and inflicting this on y'all.

"What is going on?", you ask. Well, the story is not that long, somewhat convoluted, and an emotional roller coaster that continues. To explain: I had a routine medical test scheduled for mid-December - a colonoscopy - set up many months prior. More on this later. Anyway, the "routine" test turned out to be anything but routine and resulted in my undergoing bowel surgery December 21st with an expected hospital stay of 5 to 8 days. The early diagnosis was a serious colon cancer, but that is now on hold as the operation went very well and found something less than expected. Lab results will not be back until next week sometime, but the expectations have improved considerably.

The doctors are not certain what they found. A very good buddy opined it was probably the burr I have had up my ass these past many years. Not a bad guess (or observation).

On the colonoscopy front, Penny had this test done over a year ago and has had some bowel problems ever since. The concept of the test is disgusting (Are we there yet? ARE we there yet? Are we THERE yet?) and rather invasive (In some states we would be legally married by now, doc.). I came very close to cancelling my test. DO NOT DO THIS. Have this test done on the regular 10 year or so basis. Not all doctors recommend or request the test. Talk to your doctor.

Penny's father will be here tomorrow, Andrew and Alison are already here (all this planned as Christmas visits before we changed plans), and we will have a family Christmas then. For now, I am just taking it easy, walking short distances and healing quickly.

Enjoy the winter solstice celebration. Penny and I both are!!!

Chess crisis

OK, Houston, we have a problem. I made a great move and Andrew said it was foolish because nothing was guarding my queen.

Here's the board as I see it.

Here are the moves that got us there:

1. d4 ... d5

2. c4 ... e5

3. dxe5 ... d4

4. Nf3 ... Nc6

5. Nbd2 ... Bg4

6. g3 ... Qe7

7. h3 ... Bf5

8. g4 ... Bg6

9. Bg2 ... 0-0-0

10. 0-0 ... Nxe5

11. Qb3 ... c6

12. Nxe5 ... Qxe5

13. Qxb7!

And the board looks like this --->

It may be just me, but I don't see the difference. Methinks Sonny Boy is up to his pits in doo-doo.

Of course, there has been a roaring debate going on through all this. Maybe someone (other than me) lost focus. More on the debate anon; it is fun!

Hmmm. Seems if I make the second half of move 11 properly we get this position at the end of move 12. May have to call the director for a ruling.

A day or two off

No new pictures, I forgot to take my camera to Penny's concert in Sharon on Sunday. Probably just as well as we (Dana, Eri, Hannah [aka Shirley] and I) were off in a corner and could not really see Nan. The joint was sold out! May have had something to do with the True North Brass playing; the concert was a great success. You can always tell the pieces the choir likes and those they sang under duress. One in particular was an obvious favourite; they truly filled the hall with joyful sound and did not even need the wonderful brass background.

The True North Brass are definitely professional players. They did not over-power, but also supported as needed. The other end of the spectrum was "wassail", a piece with a difficult beat and sharp bursts of notes in half-tones. I think the choir was quite happy to have the brass holding the line.

Goodies afterwards as always - cheese, crackers, cookies and such. Hannah liked that part. Then off to Swiss Chalet for dinner with three families (table for 10). The kids were great. A lovely time of year, catching up with Mike and Jason and teasing Hannah (aka Shirley).

Today is a no food day as I prepare for medical tests tomorrow. I will not over-share, but I will be ready, perhaps, to eat anything that moves by tomorrow afternoon. Maybe.

We are supposed to meet the Creese gang tomorrow at Station. Tammy and Ryan have just moved into Cornell, so there will be much chatter.

And so to another glass of water before downing something ugly.
Speaking of which, no move from Andrew yet. They will be here in 13 days. I had expected to clobber him by then, but it may take longer with his delaying tactics.

Chess and trees

To the left is the position as White (Dear old Dad) has made move 11. We await the response from Black (Andrew), with a strong suspicion (hope?) the guy on the right will be featured in that response.

I probably should list the moves that got us to this point. Let me know if anyone cares.

So today was the St. Louis' "holiday tree" decorating. Total mayhem and fun with the three familys and 4 grandkids in attendance. Just gotta love digital cameras, keep shooting and no development costs. Dana probably has better, but here are some of the better Dad shots with the point-and-shoot.

We start with the "and they're off" as the kids attack the ornaments, then fast-forward to the finished product. Dana and Jason moved quite a bit of stuff up from the bottom 4 feet!

Bennett loved the lever on the front door.

Penny enjoyed sitting in the sunshine and watching.

In all, a very fine hour or so before getting back to home and out to dinner with neighbours.