Snow, Skunks and Smelly Dogs

Sloppy snow, that's what I call the awful wet stuff that has been falling lately.  It is some kind of hybrid between rain and snow but doesn't fall with the fierceness of sleet, which come to think of it is icier.  We tend to get a little obsessive about winter weather here in Canada.  Having to drive in all manner of wintry road conditions is part of the reason. From the time of the first real snowfall till next April when we will be done with it, there will be numerous daily accidents told to us by the radio announcers.  Most of these are fender benders, thankfully.
 We were chatting with a young woman from Thailand the other day who told us she couldn't wait to get to Canada and see snow; now of course, after a number of winters and having to contend with the large amounts of it we get here in Ottawa, the novelty has definitely worn off.
I am not walking to the upper end of our trail these days.  Deer hunting season and we have heard occasional shots from that area.  We've been told that a neighbour has sighted three bears around there as well; I guess they are doing their final foraging before finding a spot to hibernate.  I wonder will one of them come to my den, the one I wrote about in a blog last spring, the one that is within sight of  Hubby's den?! 
Friday night and the dogs went out for their last go-round before bed.  I hear a terrific shout from Hubby; the dogs have been skunked.  This happens once or twice a year so we now have a skunk shampooing routine which we perform in the garage.  I've been using a mixture of baking soda, vinegar and blue Dawn which we find more effective than tomato juice or any dog shampoo for ridding them of the smell.  I can't describe that smell but, believe me, it is awful.  Murphy usually gets the most of the spray because being the bolder of the two, she leads the way.  An hour later and they are cleaned and dried and we are finally ready to turn in.
 Murphy's coat is very glossy and smooth, none the worst for wear after all, and the smell is finally disappearing in the garage...till the next time. 

My Version of Cornish Pasties

I promised Hubby a special English treat, something I would make in the kitchen just for him.  He loves his stomach as some say in Newfoundland about the good eaters.  So he naturally perked up when I told him this.  Here's a photo and I can't say that it is overly flattering to them; photographing food is a real art I've discovered.

They are Cornish pasties, or at least Jocelyn's version.  I understand that it's a matter of pride in the various parts of England as to who has the best pasties and competition between towns can become fierce.  They all claim to have a secret ingredient that makes theirs unique and therefore, better.
Search the internet and you will find endless recipes for fillings for these pastry pouches.  I saw many claiming to be the original Cornish recipe and in the end I just made sort of my own but with the standard ingredients. I used my own (and Crisco's) recipe for the pastry and cut around a bowl to get as many large circles as I could; in this case, I made seven.  Here's my recipe:

Cornish Pastie Filling

Chop the following into cubes:

2 large potatoes
1 large carrot
1/2 a turnip
1 onion
I decided to put the carrot and turnip into a saucepan and give them a boil for about ten minutes before adding the potato.  I didn't trust that the vegetables would cook fully inside the pastry so I wanted them slightly parboiled beforehand.  
For the meat I used a steak that I cut into cubes as well.  This was mixed with the drained vegetables and sprinkled with some salt and pepper.  At this point the mixture seemed very dry to me so I added about a 1/4 cup of beef broth mixed with a little melted butter.  This mixture was then divided  among the 7 circles I had made from the pastry recipe.  I found getting the filling to stay put in their circles was not easy.  My problem though was that I was overfilling them.  
Anyway, I managed to roll the edges of each pouch, pricked them with a fork and brushed them with a little beaten egg.
I baked them for 40 minutes at 375 degrees.

With his broccoli- spinach salad and especially the Guinness, Hubby thought it a great meal. 

Drawing Mr. Cardinal For a Felt Ornament

Spying Mr. Cardinal the other day gave me the idea to include cardinals in my ornaments that I'm currently working on.  After all, I love them and really their profile is simple and easily recognized.  Above is a Christmas card I kept from several years ago; it is a Hallmark card and the cardinal is so bright and Christmasy.

I looked at my cardinal photos and sketched a little; I had problems with how plump to make him appear.  I've also exaggerated the crest; my little guy does not have such a prominent crest but it almost looks more 'cardinal-like' to make it higher.  I cut out the cardinal from that Christmas card which is a cute, rather styalized version of a cardinal.   The simpler the shape, the easier to cut from felt which was my goal this time for this particular project.

And here is my little cardinal embroidered ornament.  Such a bright, cheery bird to incorporate into my collection.  I chose the word "Joys" to write in running stitch; I love the cardinal and seeing him from time to time is a treat but really all the birds are my joys.  

Cardinal, King of Colour

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What a treat for me when I glanced out the kitchen window and spied this little guy foraging in the back yard.  I think he is the same cardinal I see around every now and then. He's fairly reclusive, doesn't hang around for long; only shows himself very briefly... just enough to tantalize me.

True to form he stayed just long enough for me to grab my camera and take a couple of shots through the patio door.  But as always, I loved seeing him.
Cardinals are a treat in the bird world here in Canada...most of our birds are dark colours, the grays, browns and blacks.  Bluejays and cardinals are the exception and because the cardinals are rarer than the jays, we appreciate them all the more.
This site all about birds is full of interesting information about cardinals (and any other bird you might want to check out).  It is one of my favourites.

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/northern_cardinal/sounds

Not only is the red colour of the cardinal outstanding, their song is also melodious and beautiful.  Give it a listen; guaranteed to cheer you.

Princess Anne and Remembrance Day

Today is Remembrance Day in Canada, a day where we officially mark the sacrifice of all the Canadians who served in all the wars.  It was a day I didn't like much growing up.  Though we always had a school holiday, it was a somber and sad day.  My mother lost her father in the Second World War so for her it really was a day of mourning; to us kids it was even more somber than Sundays would be.  The only programming on t.v. would have to do with wars and the coverage of all the Remembrance Day ceremonies taking place across the country...very dull events for kids.
Princess Anne is here in Ottawa today where she took part this morning in the ceremony at the National Cenotaph. You just know from her bearing and look that she is not a jokey sort, very matter-of-fact and probably doesn't suffer fools gladly.  I like her ever since I read she is the hardest working member of the royal family; I also like how she did not bestow prince or princess on her children.
This morning when I took Grandson to school he was glad to tell me they would be having a special assembly for Remembrance Day today.  I asked why was that and he said, well assemblies usually take 25 minutes which is a whole period of no work!
Yes,  10 year old boys...

I've included a link to view the amazing display of poppies around the Tower of London, England.  It marks the 100th anniversary of the First World War.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-30004315

Our New Pacific Energy Wood Stove

Our new Pacific Energy stove

This is a post from last year that I've updated. 

 We use wood as our primary heat source during the winter.  I was never used to this till I moved to the farm house four years ago and I have been surprised by how much I enjoy it.  I even learned how to start a fire in the morning and how to cook on it.  Anything that can be cooked in a slow cooker can be cooked on a wood stove; potatoes and other root vegetables, well wrapped in tin foil, can be roasted inside the stove and are delicious this way.  You can buy neat roasting pans just for this purpose too.  And of course you can toast marshmallows and wieners as well.
 Hubby worked out where to place a fan in the hallway of our bungalow so cool air gets pushed to the kitchen from the back of the house and even the bedrooms off that hallway surprisingly reach a warm, comfortable temperature that way. We buy our extra wood from a farmer on the next road who makes a bit of extra money cutting wood on his property.  I think it is a true win-win situation.
The wood stove was a god-send two years ago when during a freezing rain storm, we lost our electricity for 4 days.  We moved our frozen food from the fridge into the freezer and used a generator to keep the temperature at a freezing point.  Because of the wood stove, we continued to have our hot cups of tea and plenty of good food.  We were able to boil water for washing- enough to make do anyway. The collection of old oil lamps suddenly became more than decorative and were put to good use again.  With one on each side of the bed, we could each see to read no problem.
For those few days  it really did feel like we had turned back the clocks a hundred years or so.  But you know what? The novelty of it started to wear thin by day 4 and we were very, very  happy when the power suddenly surged on...ahh, showers, television, the internet; we had missed them.
I watched a show on t.v. about the surprising number of people who are preparing for an apocalypse; I think it was called Doomsday Preppers.  I had to admire their commitment and determination to look out for their families no matter what, even while often ridiculed for it. Our experience reminded me of that.
The freezing rain storm taught us several  things...
 We now have several cases of drinking water in reserve and a small holding tank of water for general use.
 We also bought extra lamp oil to keep on hand.
We do need to keep a workable generator; ours saved our freezer load of food.  
Who knows what will be needed when.
 

Which Cloud is Heaven?

"Which of these clouds is heaven?" my seven year old grandson asked me.
We were flying back from  Newfoundland three years ago and were high up in the sky, bathed in beautiful sunshine and looking down on the most wonderful fluffy white clouds.  You know the kind, they look like giant marshmallows and you feel like you want to reach out and touch them.  I was a little thrown off by the question because heaven was not something I thought he knew much about.
"Are we going to see it? Is the pilot going to fly us over it?"
I didn't know what to say to him.   
"Look at these clouds, they're so beautiful, we've got to be getting close to heaven."
I was at a loss for words struck by the simplicity yet enormity of what he was saying.
"I really want to see Buddy," he continued.  Ahh, so that was it.  Buddy, the family dog, had died of old age recently and it had been a big loss to everyone.  I realized someone  must have said Buddy was now in heaven. Grandson went on to say could I ask the pilot to make a detour over heaven if it wasn't on our route.
I don't really know what I said to him, knowing me it would have been a whole lot of words but I did tell him to talk about this with his Mom and Dad when he got home.
 He took all this very seriously and had a few tears when he realized he would not be able to see Buddy that day.  It might be my only chance to see him again, I remember my sad little grandson saying, as I hugged him. 
Yes, out of the mouths of babes....