Hummmm Massena....

We should've known something was wrong when the U.S. customs officer said: Why you wanna go to Massena? LOL??? Euh....we are curious...we often go to Cornwall and we wanted to know what was on the other side of the bridge....

Well not very much it turns out! We saw a mall- you've seen a Walmart you've seen them all(and besides I was so NOT in the big box store mode!), I was in the quaint little village shop mode.....And the thrift mode....

I was all excited to find a St-Vincent de Paul store in the internet, so it was our first stop. It was as sad as the one in Verdun except that they give food to the needy (In Verdun you have to buy the stale bread and the expired cereal....). We parked the car after that, and nature called so we had to find a place for a pit stop. Road trip tip: I find that hotels have great restrooms and nobody looks at you funny!

Then I needed a coffee real bad and some food like biscotti or a piece of pie. I saw a delightful looking gift/coffee shop called Seasons. Great house, great gifts...They did have Green Mountain Coffee (Love the GMC!!!) but no food.....Disappointment! We had to avoid hypoglycemia at all costs!!! We had spotted a diner named Via Main so we popped by for some great chicken and rice soup. We didn't want to do the lunch thing right now and to tell you the truth Guy Fieri has spoiled me with Diners,Drive-ins and Dives because I have fantasies about these diners!!!

I tell you NO LIES ,there was nothing interesting on Main street even the Rite Aid pharmacy was just OK (I did find what I was looking for : Seabreeze facial astringent). So we got back to the car and on to the next stop (Another internet find) The Bargain Center!

Ok that was more like it! Like a ginormous garage sale....Tons of cool stuff at reasonnable prices! Dan got on of those wooden yellow yard rulers and I found a Corelle saucer for the kitties for a quarter. The down side of having a growing Pyrex collection is that most of what you find you already have it :( They was quite a bit of Pyrex : Verde casseroles( I have), Butterfly Gold bowls (I have), Butterprint bowls(I have), Snack server (it has been promised to me by my friend Celine).....The only one I didn't have was a promotional casserole Golden Pine 1961....3 dollars oh my!!! But deception....there was a big chip on the side so I left it. But the Bargain Center (545 S Main) is definitely a good spot for thrifting in Massena .

I just love that ying yang snack set with the rack! And what about that doll! How wonderfully tacky is it??? LOL

At 1 PM we had recrossed the bridge and at the Canadian custom the agent asked us where we had been....we went to Massena and she said "What for?" we were curious. "did you buy something?" Yes a giant ruler, a bottle of face toner and a saucer for the cats. She just laughed and wished us a nice day!!! We were glad to be back in Cornwall.....But that is for another post! LOL

Just ONE word....

ROAD TRIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Come back tomorrow to read all the details!

Blood orange marmalade

First of all I want to write that last friday I made pulled pork in the slow cooker for the first time and it was AWSOME!!!

The first picture is of leftovers coleslaw and pulled pork. I had made some biscuits but we ate them all....That recipe is definitely going into the 'do it again' file!!!

Last week when I saw my dad, he was his usual generous self and gave me at least 10 pounds of blood oranges! I like blood oranges but with such a huge quantity I didn't want any to go to waste....So I searched the net for some recipes and I found a blood orange marmalade recipe that i decided to try. The recipe says to prepared 6 jars....what kind of jars did they want coz' I was only able to fill 4!!! I used the regular jam jar (1/2 cup).....That pissed me off!!! On the plus side it looks really good!
I included pictures of the process. I initially decide to cut the oranges with my el cheapo mandoline but I reduced the hald orange to pulp....So I used my trusty santoku knife (it's a farberware nothing expensive or fancy but a really good knife!)

The recipe just said to pour the hot marmalade into the prepared jars screw the lid on tight and inverse them. After to keep them in the fridge....I don't have place in my fridge :(

And I am really paranoid about bacteria in my canning, so I decided to process my jars 10 minute in boiling water. Can someone tell me how come I alway have renegade lids that don't snap???? 3 lids snapped and the other one not, so that is why in the last picture I inverted the jar- It helps with the snapping! If nothing happens ,that one will go in the fridge....

Thrifty finds

About a gazillion years ago (Ok more like 10), we decided cross country skiing was for us!!!

So we bought some skis and poles on sale, but no boots (why oh why???). Well needless to say the skis have been 'rotting' in the basement gathering sawdust and spider webs and probably mice poo (that's for another post...LOL.).

Since after Xmas we have been wanting to do some....finding 3 peg boots has been kinda problematic.

1) they don't make 3 pegs boots anymore

2) the second hand sport shop didn't have our size

3) No store has 'leftover' 3 pegs boots

4) The Salvation army had skis but no boots

Well today is wednesday and wednesday is church basement day- and it is 5.00$ a garbage bag of clothes or 50% off.

So I put on my longjohns (yes it's that kind of weather in western Quebec) and my trusty ski goggles and took a walk to the church.

I found this refrigerator dish with lid (.50c cents) and this excellent leather wallet (free). I saw some cross country skis near the door and asked the nice lady at the counter if they had any Xcountry boots and she said "if we have some they're in the back in the boxes",well they did have some and I found 2 pairs that will fit us! SCORE!!! I was sooo proud of myself!

We will be able to ski!!! I need to desinfect the boots but after that we will be good to go!

The refrigerator dish is not a Pyrex or a Fire King but an Arcoroc and was primarly used as a butter dish. My dad who's anti-plastic in the microwave or even for leftovers will love it!!!

I did have a lot of fun this morning but I gotta go! :)

Free! And other winter pleasures....

I should have blogged about this in early December...lol I'm such a naughty girl......



On one of my wednesday walks in late November(to the chruch basement) I spotted this little evergreen by the side of the road.



The owners of the house were working on their house and had ripped most of the lanscaping.

I couldn't believe my luck! FREE tree! Free tree!!!



Of course I dragged it back to my house! Too bad it was too short to bring in the house and use it as my main Xmas tree. But I always wanted to have a lighted evergreen outside...And this is just what I did with some nice LED lights! It was delicious....



Second picture is of my new (second hand) Santa. This year I declared that I needed (not wanted...NEEDED! lol) a plastic Santa to put outside.



I found an interior one at the Salvation Army (.49 cents) and we went for supper at my brother in law Pierre and he gave me his old Santa that he didn't use anymore!



Wow I sure was in Santa heaven!!!


Last but not least a picture of my snowman. I've had it for 10-12 years, found it at the hardware store and it was love at first sight...sigh! LOL

2.26

I went to the big city (Montreal) for my chiropractor's appointment. I was not looking for sales or deals...

But I stumbled into a Carlton Cards (The canadian Hallmark). I got an heirloom ornement of the 1965 Corvette and 2 Yankee Candle scented wax tarts for 2.26 tax included. A wax tart is 2.25 regular X 2= 4.50 plus the ornement was originally 19.00. So 19.00 plus 4.50=23.50 and I didn't add the tax yet. So I fugured the day was off to a good start!!!

The treatment tires me so much more now that I don't work....And I had planned a whole day of shopping (the after Xmas sales-the leftovers,Old navy, The Gap-I wanted to score a xmas candle,Chinatown-some lunch, some groceries, the Salvation Army....) You get the picture!!! Well at 10:00 am I was at the Salvation Army (slim pickings....I did see a red Pyres 402 bowl in need of a good home :()

At 11:30 I was bushed and sitting in one of my fav restaurant for burgers and fries: Mr Steer in operation since 1958 it features a round(like a ball patty) and suzie Q fries (curly fries) but not frozen FRESH fries- In my opinion to die for!!! I have been going there 35 years (OMG!!! None of us is getting any younger!!!). My Dad would bring me there during our Xmas shopping extravaganza.....He still does,when he's in town.

This is definitely a retro tacky kinda place and every meal comes with this little iceberg/carrot/cabbage salad in a wooden bowl and you either add

french dressing or oil and vinegar-that's it no other dressing. I always take number 2 medium suzie and a root beer or diet pepsi. It always brings back memories and makes me feel good! After I jumped in the 12:30 train (I didn't do any shopping).....I will have to go back on a non-chiro day!!!

Sprouting

First of all I'd like to tell you that I saw some Obama earrings on Etsy. Come on people! What's up with that?

I know all the world's hopes are on President's Obama shoulders and I wouldn't want to be in his shoes right now...

I hope he doesn't disappoint you and I can't wait to see how it goes with our Prime Minister (Who's a spawn of Bush!) No, no I didn't vote for Mr. Harper (I don't vote for people who want to deny us our rights).

Ok now with our main program! In the 80's I was really into health food and I volunteered in a food Coop and living simpler. The 90's got the beat of me (lol) and I gave up most of that clean living but I never gave up sprouting... My first sprouter was a mason jar with a piece of screen or cheese cloth and an elastic band, but I wasn't crazy about that. The sprouts were always sitting in water and eurk...

Then I decide to go all out and buy a sprouter...The Biosta Sprouter! I remember paying in the neighborhood of 20 bucks and I started sprouting for real! And did I sprout!!! Alfalfa, lentils, mung beans, sunflower, radish...you name it I probably sprouted it!!! But after more than 20 years my sprouter was really tired and cracked aqnd the plastic was cloudy......I was thinking of replacing it but it is now 30 bucks and I thought it was a lot of money (and yet I bought an LCD tv.....funny where how our priorities are!)

I found this one at Value Village for 1.99 Mint no box but still with the little red thing-a-magiggs, you could tell that the pricing people didn't know what they were pricing!!! LOL

So this time around, with camera in hand I decide to chronicle the sprouting process....It usually takes between 3 to 5 days to get beautiful tender sprouts! Not the stinky yellow crap they sell in supermarkets....

I started last saturday so I should get results wednesday. On the top tray I have the spicy lentil crunch which contains green lentils,radish,alfalfa,mustard and red clover. On the second tray you have the ancient eastern blend which ids made of fenugreek,lentils,kamut and adzuki beans. The second mix is must faster to grow and you have to check it often other wise you get big ol'grass!!! Sticks in your teeth and everything!!!

I'll post an update on the sprouts soon....Later alligators! :)