Market Day

Last Saturday we woke up real early to Pick up my Dad and go to Jean-Talon Market.

Jean-Talon Market is one of Montreal's oldest public market , it was opened in 1933. It is also one of the largest public market in North America.

You can find a very large variety of fruits, vegetables, flowers, meat, artisanal products ....and bread!!! How can I forget the bread!

                                          I couldn't believe the mushroom selection!

                                 Flowers....I didn't linger because I couldn't buy anything since we are moving....

                                          I got lovely fresh peas, zucchinis and fresh figs....

With the zucchinis I made a lovely grilled zucchini with lemon salt recipe from The Pioneer Woman.
I didn't have time to make the lemon salt but the marinade was very very good and lemony. I will make this recipe again for sure but I will let it marinate longer, like maybe an hour...

Yes that is my Pyrex Red Kettle platter....And I was so in awe of the bakery that I didn't take any pictures,,,

Miracles DO Happen

Last night at 3:15 am , a tumbling noise coming from outside woke me up...

Since the A/C is running 24/7 these days I didn't really knew what the noise was and besides it was time for a bathroom break. Once downstairs I tried to see what was the source of the noise....I couldn't see anything.

I went back to bed and tossed and turned until the alarm clock went off at 4:45 am....

I was spazzing out about the noise, going back to work and the move!

This morning we saw this

  So the big noise was in fact part of the tree that fell down in the yard

 We have been trying to have that tree trimmed for 2 years now....

We have been unsuccessful so far, lack of money, we called 12 tree companies and no one showed up,

and finally the realtor and the regular tree guy both saying that we were selling so we didn't have to trim anything. 

Now for the miracles...

The pool is 6 feet away

It was untouched except for 2 pieces of bark and a dead squirrel

(I put extra chlorine to kill the cooties)

The fence was sparred, totally

The patio was sparred

The neighbor's driveway was sparred

and

finally the Flamingos were sparred

See how close the tree fell???

That was quite the miracle in my book.

I think I thanked God 30 times today.

I was so grateful it fell in the night and not while we were digging out some hostas...

None of the cat were injured

and besides having to re-install the clothes line

there was no material damage...

Thank you Lord for this miracle!!!

Bobby Flay made me do it!

I think this is not the first time I'm accusing Bobby Flay in this blog....

What did he do? Well, he made me want to try one of his recipes and I had to buy special equipment.

 I bought a BBQ basket to saute veggies.

Here's the result....

 Grilled potatoes with mustard-garlic dressing

Very tasty and the basket will prevent your potatoes from burning

while roasting them

SWEET!

Thanks Bobby Flay!

Cool Finds

So this afternoon we are in the basement with my step daughter and we are clearing out stuff (mostly wood) from the basement crawlspace. There is Styrofoam, old baseboards , mouse poop...basically assorted crap.

We didn't go there very often over the years....mostly we would just shove old wood there in case we would need it...which is part of our problem!

So at one point Dan says : So you know Ice Castle?

I had never heard about it....

                                          Ice Castle was one of the house brands of Steinberg's

a local supermarket chain that went bankrupt in 1992.

  Soda pop was still made with sugar and not corn syrup....

  We also found a tourist booklet on Carisbrooke Castle.

 Charles I was imprisoned there prior to his trial.

The booklet was printed in 1956

My house (then a cabin) was built in 1945.

I just love finding old stuff in my house!

Aaaahhhh Vacation!

I just love being on vacation....I got rest, physical and mental. I am getting rid of this pesky summer cold that
has been dragging me down for 4 weeks....

We got a lot of move related stuff done, take that move you're not the boss of me!!!

Our neighbor was so thrilled when we mentioned that we needed to get rid of a huge horizontal freezer....as soon as I finish emptying and cleaning it she will send her boyfriend and friends to move it.

To tell you the truth we were freaking out about the freezer, it's old, it's ugly ( since it was in the woodworking shop, Dan woodworker extraordinaire,  kind of used it as a work table....) but it still works!
We had no idea what to do with it....to ugly to sell, to heavy to move from the basement by ourselves.....
So I'm glad it will start a new life in my neighbor's garage.

I had to change a valve in the pool...AGAIN!!! Nearly every year I have to change it, I gave a piece of my mind to the owner of the pool shop and she said that some parts are really cheap now, and a lot of customers have to change that same valve every year! I was glad to learn that and I feel better about my poolgirl skills!

 This is the valve in question.....

                                          You can clearly see the crack in the plastic....If we had stayed that pool would have been history in September....Ad I would've bought a new pool to be installed in Spring 2016...

But this is not to be and I am looking forward to NO

pool maintenance.....

 We had lunch at Blak's no 1 in Ile Perrot

great fried chicken!

 Tomorrow if you're looking for me.....

I will be floating in the pool

or

Lounging under the parasol....

Stay cool!

Twitter Beware

I read my twitter feed a couple of times a day to keep up to date, read witty tweets and get new recipes.

On Sunday afternoon I spotted this recipe .

Avocado, eggs and bacon .

I said to Dan, I need to try this for breakfast tomorrow!!! It looks delicious...avocado good, cheese good, egg good, bacon good.

Since the recipe called for cooked bacon, i fried up some bacon and pulled out an avocado from the fridge.

Yesterday morning, I pre-heated the oven and started wrestling with the avocados. The recipes asks us to put the avocado halves on top of a muffin tin otherwise the eggs will spill...

Well GOOD LUCK with that! I tried and next thing I know the hole I made is not big enough and the white spilled on the counter and in the muffin tin....Finally I balanced the halves on milk glass cups in tin foil plates.

I was really excited to try this, the cheese was golden, the bacon looked crunchy....

And then I took a spoonful and scooped out some and ate it.

OMG WHAT THE HECK IS THAT??? IT TASTES OF DIRT!!!

I couldn't believe what was happening...the warm avocado tastes like crap...okay dirt

It was a bit better with cheese and bacon but a total fail overall.

Don't people test recipes anymore?

And to think of all those people who loved it on Twitter and Pinterest!

Sorry but from now on no warm avocado for me

(Just the thought of it makes me gag...)

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!

Happy 4th of July o all my american friends!

Sorry I didn't post this morning, I was on the road.

I hope you all had a wonderful day of celebration.

I'm pretty sure I've shared this piece of Pyrex before....but here it comes again...

                                             My bi-centennial Pyrex mug . It holds a special meaning to me
                                             because I first went to Maine in 1976.

                                          I saw fireworks over the ocean and I am pretty sure I bruised
                                          my coccyx when I slipped and fell on a pointy rock on the shore.
                                          That was an intense pain!

                               We went road tripping in Ontario and I spent only $2.25. I got the Brown Homestead
                                casserole for my Dad because it is his favorite size to reheat leftovers in the oven or
                                 make smaller portions. He only has a faded yellow one , so an extra one with a lid
                                should be really handy.
                                 The little blue dish is Seetusee Glassware handmade in Portage La Praire Manitoba
                                 , they were crafted between 1960 and 1975. Who knew they were collectible?
                                  Each piece is hand painted and the back is gold pigskin....
                                 You should checked them out in Ebay.
                               
                                 We had a very enjoyable lunch at Dianne's Fish Bar in Kingston. We had just learned                                     of the restaurant by watching `You Gotta Eat Here` on Canadian Food Network.

                                  As much as I enjoy driving and thrifting....I am glad we will be staying home for the next few days to take care of business!

                                  Be well!

HAPPY CANADA DAY!!!

                                            I am thankful to live in this wonderful & free country!

And so is Yoda!

Be well and enjoy the day!