Retire in Style with Lolita

Dream Weaver is my four year old Hosta. Love the foliage and the white flowers. I gathered some first thing this morning and they look pretty in my red vase. Instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers, plant your own garden and decorate your own soul.

I planted two Bleeding hearts plants a little later this Spring. One plant was past bloom time when I got it but the smaller one was a complete surprise. It continues to bloom, a few flowers now but a joy to see. Please press picture to enlarge.

Our new rock star has arrived !

I love hats. I was browsing around nearby mall when I spotted this Fedora hat with pink flowers.

I first saw a Passion Flower at a friend's garden when I was living and working in Bermuda. I was quite intrigued at the symbolism given this beautiful flower. "Passiflora is Latin for "passion flower," a name that Spanish missionaries, working in South America in the 16th century, gave the plant. Some missionaries used the flower's elaborate structure to teach about the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The corona on the top of the flower symbolized the crown of thorns, while the five anthers represented the five wounds. The protruding styles represented the three nails, while the petals and sepals represented the apostles. The dark spots on the underside of the leaves symbolized the silver that Judas was paid to betray Jesus."

Love and romance played a major part in my life experiences. I learned to care, to give, to receive, to grow, to mature, and become who I am today. There were moments of joy and laughter. And there were tears and heart break. I have learned to accept, to forgive and move on. No grudges, no regrets. There are so many greetings and quotes and poems on this subject. My favourite is from Alfred Tennyson: “It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all”. Memories of love and romance will keep me warm in the Autumn and Winter of my life.

Here is one of my favourite soups on a cold and rainy day like today. This recipe is similar to Chicken noodle vegetable soup except I use Bean thread vermicelli. Filipinos call this Chicken Sotanghon soup. Here is the recipe I used. Chicken Sotanghon Soup Recipe Ingredients ◾2 lbs chicken, cleaned ◾4 ounces sotanghon (vermicelli noodles) ◾1 medium onion, minced ◾4 cloves garlic, minced ◾1/2 cup carrots, julienned ◾5 cups water ◾2 tablespoons toasted garlic (optional) ◾2 to 3 tablespoons Patis (fish sauce) ◾3/4 cup cabbage, shredded ◾1 teaspoon ground black pepper ◾1 piece chicken bouillon Cooking Procedure 1.Simmer chicken till tender. 2.Save the water used to tenderize the chicken for later use (as chicken stock). 3.Separate the chicken meat from the bone then tear the meat into small pieces. Set aside. 4.Soak sotanghon noodles in water for 6 minutes 5.In a cooking pot, pour-in cooking oil then sauté garlic and onion. 6.Put-in the chicken, fish sauce and g...

"Ride," Pleasure said: "Walk," Joy replied. ~W.H. Davies Beautiful sunny day today. Blue skies. 10 Celsius (50 F ). Went out for a walk at nearby Alouette River Dyke Trail. It was a slow walk. Enjoyed the crisp fresh air. Golden Ears mountain still with specks of snow. Please click the pictures to enlarge. I have walked the dyke trails in Spring, Summer and early Fall. Never get tired of the scenery. It is a popular destination for families, walkers, hikers and cyclists. Come walk with me... the best is yet to be.

Pan de sal or Pandesal is a popular Filipino bread. It is a favourite choice for breakfast. I like Pandesal anytime of day. Plain or with filling. My family are big consumers of pandesal. Here is another way of serving Pandesal for breakfast. Pandesal French Toast. So easy to prepare. Just beat some eggs, dash of salt... some add a little milk and some cinnamon or vanilla. I make mine with just beaten eggs. I am not putting the amounts of ingredients I use. There are many blogs available with recipes for this. Dip the Pandesal halves and fry both sides in margarine or butter on medium heat. I like mine with a drizzle of fruit syrup. A slice of cheese and a fruit. Tea or coffee as you please. Pandesal French Toast is best served warm. Enjoy and have a great day! Please click pictures to enlarge.

A popular dish among Filipinos is Tortang Talong with or without ground beef. I have a craving for this dish and so I made some for dinner tonight. I usually make this without meat but tonight I decided to try with sautéed ground beef. We got three large sized Chinese eggplants. Smaller eggplants would be preferable but none available today. I broiled them 15 minutes on each side. While waiting for the eggplants to cool I sautéed a pound of ground beef in garlic and onions. Seasoned with kosher salt, Worcestershire sauce and a teaspoon of kitchen bouquet. When cooled the eggplants were peeled gently, flattened with fork and dipped in beaten eggs. For these large eggplants I used 7 eggs and a dash of kosher salt. Put some oil in the non-stick pan and put on medium heat. Lay down one eggplant and spoon a generous amount of cooked ground beef on top. Cook till egg on sides of eggplant is set. Next pour some egg on top of ground beef. Turn gently and cook till golden brown...

I hope and pray for peace and stability in our lives. May there be more laughter than tears. Happy New Year !

We bought 3 large (1 1/2 lbs each) fresh lobsters from Thrifty`s. They are from Nova Scotia. (one daughter does not eat seafoods, she had Roast beef). Preparing and eating lobsters (and crabs ) with friends or family is fun. This is one meal where being a little messy is definitely acceptable. For sides my daughters made Broccoli salad and Sweet potato casserole. Please click pictures to enlarge.

Having all my six grandchildren at Christmas is a blessing and a precious gift. A joy to watch them play with their new toys. And even more joyful was taking a walk with them around Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary and visiting Butchart Gardens which was magically transformed into something spectacular this Christmas. Please click pictures to enlarge.

Last month we had a family reunion on the Allure of the seas while cruising the Western Caribbean. This is my fourth cruise and this time on this big and beautiful ship. I wrote a review of the cruise and it was published on Cruise Critic. Fabulous time on the Allure of the Seas It was a smooth process from embarkation to debarkation. The ship was big and beautiful. I like the concept of neighborhoods. Never a dull moment on board. so much to see, so much to do. We enjoyed fine dining nightly at the Adagio, and had breakfast there too several times. Chef Renato, Sheryl Sanches and all dining room staff were caring, friendly, and very professional in providing service. They made us feel welcome and at home. Food was excellent and always well presented. We had lunch several times at the Solarium Bistro. I like it there very much. The view is fantastic. We enjoyed dancing at Dazzles and Boleros. We enjoyed all the entertainment on board. We joined all the fun activities in th...

Yi Xing teapots are made from zisha clay found only in the Jiang Su province of China. The clay's unique composition has long been renowned for its ability to take on the flavour of tea with each consecutive brew. Because of this unique characteristic Yi Xing teapots should be reserved for only one type of tea. I use my Yi Xing teapot strictly for brewing Pu-erh tea. Please click picture to enlarge. I like Pu-erh tea at breakfast. It is said that drinking Pu-erh tea at breakfast helps rev up the metabolism. That must be the reason why there are some claims that it helps with weight loss :) It is also the tea of choice after heavy meals and usually served with dim sum meals. It is believed to help digest fatty foods. Pleaase click picture to enlarge. Tea is one of those rare treasures, enjoyed throughout the world, that actually benefits health.

Please click picture to enlarge: The Green Tree In My Heart and the Singing Bird Poem written by: Dr. J. Riego de Dios.md 18 Sept. 2013 The green-green grass of home, The melody I sing, as I stroll In the midst of green trees I dream about. In my solitude, I see a yellow bird, Soaring above as if to comfort me; Spreading its wings and dives upon me, As if in prayer to take my loneliness away. I shut my eyes; the yellow bird flew away. Too late to bid good day And sad not to say good-bye. Yet the green leaves of trees sway As if to blow my blues away To let me come to reality. Like a dream, the melody ends. I see myself in green dress In search for the green tree I dream about. Gone is the singing bird yet, In my hand, I hold a yellow flower That shapes like a bird. I know then the singing bird came along To stay in the green tree ...

Yesterday we went to our favourite Fall destination. The Applebarn and Pumpkin Barn in nearby Abbotsford. Please click picture to enlarge. The varieties ready for picking are Gala, Honey Crisp and Cox Pippin. We chose to pick Honey Crisp because we just finished a bag of Gala and Cox Pippin did not sound attractive. So the troop descended on the long line of Honey Crisp Apple trees. Please click picture to enlarge. We picked 50 lbs of Honey Crisp Apples. Aside from snacking I like to cook recipes with apples... sausages and pork chops with apples are great. And of course there are so many baked goodies using apples. My favourite is Apple Crisp and Apple Streusel coffee cake. Love glazed apples on pancakes too! And we went home with 3 gallons of Fresh Apple Cider. Delicious!