Triangle Sandwiches and Cake

I spent the afternoon at an open house for three local ladies who are all celebrating their 90th birthday this summer.  I am related to two of the ladies, so the afternoon was filled with lots of extended family.  I also met quite a few neighbours, many of whom I've only waved to from my bike, so today I got to say many real hellos.  The birthday ladies were presented with certificates from both the Provincial and Municipal governments, congratulating them on their longevity.  The deputy Mayor of the township gave them their certificates; I thought that was a nice touch.  Turning ninety is definitely something to celebrate, and it was really nice to see so many members of the community there.  I can only hope my 90th birthday is as well attended! :)

Not only was the afternoon full of guests and socializing, but also many lovely bite size snacks.  There is nothing better at these events than assorted triangle sandwiches.  I had an egg salad one and two that were filled with some sort of canned ham.  Canned ham!  That stuff is as gross as it is good.  Yum!  I also enjoyed many sweet squares and birthday cake.  It was a remarkable spread. 

The most frequent comment towards me today were variations of "Wow - you're tall!" I am in fact tall, but it really stands out when I'm in a room full of old ladies.  One little old lady told me she is going to catch up to me in height - just give her time.  She is 87, so we'll see how we measure up at her 90th birthday party! :)

Bear Hysteria or Hys-bear-ia

Or Bear-steria.

No matter what you call it, my little small town is buzzing with it.  Bears!  They are everywhere!  I even saw a bear recently while on a drive to Bala.  The bear was on the side of the road and ran like hell from our car.  We caught this photo of him running:

Run Bear Run!

The hys-bear-ia comes from a recent bear attack on a human.  Or as the Ministry of Natural Resources likes to call it: "human-bear conflict".  There have since been sightings all around the region: Midland, Elmvale, and even on the concession road I live on.  Yesterday, there was not only a bear sighting in Elmvale, the Ministry of Natural Resources came in and shot a bear cub with a tranquilizer and returned it back to the wild.

I hope that the recent attack and the sightings are encouraging people to educate themselves about bear safety and reminding us all that we share the woods and planet with animals that are much bigger than us.  According to the Ministry of Natural Resources, bears mostly avoid humans, but if there is a shortage of natural foods available to them, "bears will look for other food sources – primarily your garbage" and "once bears learn where to find and get a non-natural food source, they will return again and again."  So keep your garbage in a bear-proof container, and keep your Green Bins clean of any food smells (I will be cleaning mine out today to be sure it smells like soap and not food).  I am trying not to hop on the hys-bear-ia train, but following some tips on the Bear wise website is not a bad idea.  I also haven't gone on any walks in the woods for the past few weeks, as I would rather not disrupt any bear activities that don't want to be disrupted (plus it makes my Mom feel better if I'm not in the woods with the bears).

Though I think Bear safety and awareness is important, some of the headlines surrounding recent Bear activity have been a little over the top.  Two local papers ran the following headlines: "Bear reported in schoolyard" and "Bear sighted near Midland school".  When I read those headlines I pictured children playing on swing-sets at recess, running around having fun, when a bear strolls in and starts acting all crazy, causing the children to run for safety.  What actually happened, however, was that the Bear was spotted at 11:30pm.  At night.  To me, that is a little different than the Bear wandering through a schoolyard full of children.  I suppose "Midnight bear stroll in schoolyard" doesn't get the Bear-steria flowing nearly as much as "Bear reported in schoolyard."  I will save my rant on the media for another day. :)

There is a lot of great information about bears on the government website, so check out the following to educate yourself about Bears and Bear safety.

Keep Bears Out of Your Neighbourhood

Black Bear Safety

Be Bear Wise

Garden 2010 - Day 12

With almost two weeks in the ground, some of our vegetables are thriving and some have died.

Here is the body count:

Cucumber: all 3 died

Beans: 2 of 12 died

Peas: 1 of 5 died

Onions: 1 of 4 died

Corn: 2 of 10 died

Spinach: 3 of 10 died

Everything else seems to be growing all right.

Basil is getting really strong!

 

Romaine and spinach are really coming along!

We got our peppers planted.

Our zucchinis already have flowers!

Early last week we thought many of the plants weren't going to make it, so we added more seeds to our greenhouse and started some new sprouts growing.

We started more romaine (6), oregano (2), dill (2), cucumber (3), and zucchini (3).  The cucumbers are already sprouting, so hopefully we can get some going again early in June.  Hopefully this round of cucumbers wants to live!!  :)

Home Made Sushi

Everything I know about making sushi I learned from my friend Sarah.  She took me on my first shopping trip to get all the supplies at Christie and Bloor in Toronto, and even walked me through my first preparation.  I’ve been making sushi rolls on my own for years now, and they are always worth the effort.  Though I have tried making different varieties (I experimented once with putting tempura in the roll - really tasty!) I mainly stick with a simple version of California Rolls.  I got a major craving for them last week and picked up all the supplies so I could make them at home.  Yummy as always, I thought I would share my sushi making with you.

First, you need supplies:

(L-R) Imitation crab (leg style), avocado, English cucumber, 

sushi rice, mayo, and a sushi mat.

Also, most importantly the nori sheets:

You should also pick up some wasabi, pickled ginger, and soy sauce to eat along with your prepared rolls as per your taste.  I love pickled ginger!

Cook the rice as per package directions.  Let cool.  While rice is cooking/cooling, cut your avocado, cucumber, and imitation crab into long strips.

Step 1.  Place nori sheet on sushi mat.  Spread rice on nori sheet evenly to the edges.  Spread a little mayo onto the rice.

Step 2. Place you strips of cucumber, avocado, and imitation crab on the rice at bottom end of the nori sheet.

Step 3.  Roll.

And Roll.

And Roll.

Step 4. You now have a sushi roll!  Set rolls aside, with the seam on the bottom to ensure they stay rolled up.

Step 5.  Slice the rolls into individual, bite size pieces.

Dip in soy sauce and garnishes of your choice (wasabi, pickled ginger) and enjoy!

Leaving Home to Meet the Neighbours

There was a deal at Shoppers last week where photo prints were only $0.10 each if you bought over 50.  I usually have a full folder on my computer called “to print” just in case a deal like this comes up.  I printed 130 photos, all for scrapbooking purposes.  I will have pages to work on all summer probably!

The Shoppers with the digital photo lab is in Wasaga Beach (about 20 minutes from here), so I dropped the photos off in the afternoon and went back in the evening to pick them up.  The cashier handed them to me and said: “We’re neighbours”.  John then recognized her and said hello and I said hello.  We are in fact neighbours.  Like 20 feet from door to door neighbours.  For a while now.  I have waved at her many times from my bike or while on walks, and I’ve even eaten her baked goods at Christmas.  But until I picked up my photos twenty minutes away from both of our houses, I didn’t know what she looked like up close and I never actually said a real hello.  Funny how that happens. 

I never meant to avoid meeting her properly before now, it just never happened.  I have a smiling and waving comfort zone when it comes to neighbours.  In Toronto I always just smiled and waved at the people I didn’t know in my building, and never actually introduced myself.  I even had countless conversations with people in the laundry room, but never said: “What’s your name?”  When I lived on the main floor of the house that was three apartments, I didn’t even have a smile and wave relationship with the downstairs neighbours; we never met.  Even though we were both there for three years, I have no idea what they looked like.  I only met the upstairs neighbour after a year and a half because he bought the house and became the landlord.  Funny how that happens. 

I’m glad I finally really met my current neighbour.  She likes photos too, and she showed me some photos she took of hummingbirds.  It’s neat that a photo deal in Wasaga Beach allowed us to meet.  Next time, though, I won’t drive so far to say hello.  :)