Summer recap :)

Whoa! I haven't been here in a LONG time. I planned to blog a lot this summer.... but I had a very lazy summer :)

The end of school is always a busy time -- but this year was busier than ever. My daughter, the Lovely Miss L -- had a baby! I'm refering to him as G -- my little Grandpeanut. He will call me Mimi (mimmy). I just can't face being called Grandma yet -- besides, my mom is Gramma -- and we don't want to confuse the little peanut, do we?

I had a lovely time this summer on the East Coast. I missed the little peanut, but Miss L was SO GOOD at FaceTiming with me, and texting me photos.

Andy loved rowing with our neighbour, B! She took us out into our inner harbour. So peaceful!

 

 I taught myself how to filet mackerel. The internet is one awesome teacher.

 

I went a little overboard with the preserving. I canned blueberry sauce, rasberry sauce, raspberry jam, raspberry lime jam, raspberry-saskatoonberry jam, blackberry rhubarb jam,  pincherry-lime jam(my favourite), saskatoonberry jam, and many kinds of blackberry jam (seedless is worth the work!)  I filled about 100 jars. Guess what EVERYONE is getting for Christmas this year!
And I made watermelon rind pickles (sweet) and some curry pickles (vinegar)! (I also made watermelon jam. Not my favourite)
I tried to make choke cherry jam -- but I couldn't get that weird astringency to go away, so I composted it.

 Lots of pin cherries. Imagine pitting these. Not so fun. But so worth it!

 All of those berries, i picked from my yard, or from the sides of the road. Foraging is so fun. I picked those pin cherries, and then  later that afternoon, the birds swooped down and ate ALL of the cherries from the tops of the trees (and the few that I missed lower down)

 Freezing raspberries

I picked so many blackberries that I had to give away a whole grocery bagfull of frozen packs at the end of the summer.  I couldn't fit them in the cooler to bring back to Toronto. Uh, we had 3 coolers full of jams and berries....

A very huge thank you to Marisa McClellan from Food in Jars for her brilliant blog and her perfect recipe books.

And a shout out to Joel MacCharles and Dana Harrison for their awesome recipe book, Batch (I made my own pectin!)(And that is where the watermelon rind pickle recipe came from). And they are home town favourites (Toronto). Their website is Well Preserved.

If you want to get into preserving -- there are so many places to take classes. Last fall, Mr. B and I took a CSA canning class at the West End Food Coop. Last year, BlogTO created a list of where to take cooking classes in Toronto -- lots of them have canning classes. And so many other cooking classes.... (Mr. B? Pick a class! - MY birthday is coming up :)

My perfect dream life would include canning and preserving every day. I LOVE teaching, but canning would still win :)
I bought a food dehydrator this year too. So far I have made rhubarb candies (from Batch) and dried apples and dried raspberries (I was picking 4 quarts a day at one point! my freezer filled up too quickly!) I'm hoping to dry a lot more this fall.

Well, that was summer. Let's see if I manage to blog more often in the fall :)

Mixed Tape Memories - Rheostatics and The Lawn

Side 1 -- The Rheostatics -- Melville
Side 2 - The Lawn -- DeBussy Fields

 Obviously, this tape is a keeper. I'm not sure where all of my other Rheo tapes are -- I had lots....
(That's my writing for Melville -- I think that is Jamie D's writing for the Lawn tracklist.... )

I first started listing to the Rheostatics around 1990. They played a few times at Call the Office. I remember Blue Rodeo joining them onstage for an impromptu gig -- because Blue Rodeo's outdoor concert was cancelled (it was pouring rain). That was a fun night :) . I spent some time before and after most of their London shows just hanging with the band. I don't really remember it much -- almost 30 years ago. I just remember one of the guys saying (every time he re-met me) "I have an Aunt Martha" :) I wonder who it was. I'm thinking Tim?

I think that this is my favourite song from Melville... but, seriously, I like them all. I have this on cd. I have 2 copies of this cd -- and 2 of Whale Music :)

Mr. B and I went to see the Rheostatics on Friday night at Massey Hall -- read about it here, on the tumblr blog: Tales of the Rabbitfish.

 

At first, the signage (letters on poles) seemed to be a mistake. But I posted on facebook -- "An epic typo, or a new era?"

 

 

 

 

 I am so happy that we went (we also saw them in September at the AGO). I'm hoping that we can see them again, soon -- they are playing in Dundas, Ontario on August 27th at  -- but I don't think I'll be able to go to that one :(

Hearing Martin Tielli sing is like listening to angels :) It made me so incredibly happy to hear them. I'm still on the high 2 days later :)

My favourite Rheostatics Song:
California Dreamline from Whale Music (also my favourite album)(of all time :)

Another favourite -- a cover of Jane Siberry's One More Colour! (from Introducing Happiness)

And... The Lawn... What ever happened to The Lawn? I think that I heard somewhere that the drummer, Mike Duggan, is the owner of my neighbourhood brewery, Duggan's (Parkdale). Good beer, good food - you should try it sometime :)

Indigo dyeing

Yesterday I took a class at The Workroom. I needed to take a brain break from school.

Indigo Dyeing
Check out the link to The Workroom class HERE. I would HIGHLY recommend taking this class.
 
For those of you who have known me for awhile, you may remember that I have taken natural dying and indigo dying before. I'd send you back to my past post to look at it, but all of the photos have disappeared off of my old posts :(

But this was much more in depth. The instructor, Julie Sinden was very knowledgeable. (go and have a look at her BEAUTIFUL felted hats here). Her dyeing blog is here -- Julie doesn't post on it anymore, but there is lots of interesting information.

Anyway, back to the class. I wasn't really feeling well this weekend, so I was a bit off my game (a lot off my game, actually)  and didn't feel like doing anything :( . And I don't really like tie dye, and I don't really like dark blue, lol -- so that didn't help. I saw a lot of what other people were doing and that will inspire me more at home.

We mixed our own jars of indigo and then made our own vats. (we also had the opportunity at the end of the day to make a "live" jar to take home. That is right up my ally -- fermenting, etc, but I was just too tired to do it). Here is my jar, in the process of turning to a yellowy green - which is what colour the dye is when it is ready. It truly is magical. You put your fabric into this yellow dye, and then when you pull it out, it chemically reacts with the oxygen in the air -- and the oxidizing colour goes from green to blue!

I did dye a big pile of fabric -- and I did a bit of shibori. I will like to experiment a bit more with clamping resist -- which was my favourite part of Glennis's class when I took it. but I just didn't feel like it yesterday. But I loved the results of what everyone else did in class! If you do instagram, check out #workroomindigo.
 And there are many photos on Flickr of past indigo class work!

I'll use a lot of this blue in some small wall-hangings that I'm working on (sand and sea).

Some of the pieces are also some antique napkins. I'll use them for sure in Nova Scotia.

I did a bit of stitching to the front of a yellowish tshirt/tunic that I had, but didn't wear. It's still kind of yellow and green, so I think I'll put it in another few dips of indigo to make it more... green and blue? I'm not sure if it is salvageable :) Unless I just keep dipping and make it more solid :) . I should have just dyed it solid to start with :)

 

I also did some stitching around the neck and armholes of this sleeveless tunic -- it was white linen. I'm happy with how this turned out. It will be a Nova Scotia tunic. I wear a bit of blue there :)

The next class I want to take at The Workroom is Visible Mending --you can see some photos in the flickr pool here. You can check some of the work out on instagram here too! 
 I missed the boat on the current offering of this class -- but I'm hoping that another one will come up -- in september or early fall.

Mixed Tape Memories -- Dead Milkmen

I was surprised to find 3 Dead Milkmen tapes in my carton.

I saw them play (a long time ago -- maybe 27 years ago?) in a small venue in London (Ontario) -- Call the Office (which is still open and hosting live bands!)

I always liked Punk Rock Girl (their most successful single) -- but I never had the album that it was on ( Beelzebubba).

After playing all of these tapes, I'm keeping Bucky Fellini and East Your Paisley -- but tossing Metaphysical Grafitti -- it's too "produced" for me :)

No actual mixed tape with Dead Milkmen on it. Because no one else that I knew liked them! Well, my bestest friend and band watching buddy Miss Kitty Cara did, until there was an...incident.... at the Dead Milkmen show. And then she didn't like them. lol. Remember that Miss Kitty Cara? :)

I took the tape photo when it was sunny out, and I'm so happy that I did  -- BECAUSE IT IS SNOWING LIKE CRAZY OUT!!!

Mixed Tape Memories #2 - Jane Siberry

*Each weekend I will be sorting through my cassette tapes and justifying my reasons for keeping them, or letting them go. Please join me in my journey....

I had no idea that cassette tapes were making a comeback. I don't really think that they are. But there have been numerous articles lately about their re popularity. Really? Read about it here. Even Justin Bieber has released a recent album on cassette. Whaaaat?
I'm ignoring this new trend -- because as soon as I heard about it, I though "Maybe I should save these tapes that I'm culling?" NO NO NO NO NO!
Some companies are still making cassette players. Sony just stopped making the cassette walkman in 2010. I get that. I use them in my classroom. But let's not bring them back, ok? They deserve a natural death.

On the chopping block this week is Jane Siberry. (She was briefly known as Issa around 2006-2009). Let's see how she fares :)

I was introduced to the music of Jane Siberry in 1985 by my friend Miss Kitty Cara. We went to see her play in London (Ontario) at Althouse College. Her voice was like angels singing. It was a kind of  new music genre for me. At that time, I preferred (and still prefer), guitar driven music -- and less "produced" music. But something about Jane struck a chord in me :)

Here she is around the time I first heard her:

Here she is singing Calling all Angels with KD Lang in 2014

So, back to the tapes:

 We have The Speckless Sky and The Walking (commercial tapes). and Bound by the Beauty and No Borders Here are recorded onto a tape. It's my writing -- so I copied them from someone!
The Speckless Sky is my favourite of the bunch -- It's a keeper -- although one of the songs is all wonky and stretched out. I actually would replace it on cd, but it's not available - well, it is available used... from England.  Also not available on itunes  but it IS available on bandcamp :) via Jane's website. I think that I'd rather get a digital version and have the money go to Jane than buy a used copy.
The verdict:
I think that I'd play The Walking again, so Speckless Sky and The Walking will go into the keeper box. I like Bound by the Beauty too -- but I could live without No Borders Here, I think. Too bad that those two are "attached".  (I'm not actually throwing them away -- I just put them in my neighbourhood "Little Library" and someone takes them all.....). So I guess that I'll be keeping them all!
Not doing too well on this sorting, am I?

Mixed Tape Memories

It's March Break! and it feels like spring! It's raining and miserable out :)

Lately, I have been puttering around my basement (cleaning, tidying, sorting, jettisoning, sewing). I listen to music on my basement stereo. When my cd player broke a few years ago (Denon! But it changes 3 discs, and that mechanism quit), I pulled a handful of tapes out of a carton and I have been playing the same few tapes since. Yes, my tape player (Nakamichi) still works. Beautifully. Does anyone else still have a tape player? Anyone? Bueller?

This week I have decided to sort my tapes. I have an unopened carton. I'll open pandora's box, and hopeuflly there will be some happy surprises. Get rid of the ones that I will never play again. While doing so, I have been reminiscing about the music, the mixed tapes, my youth.... I also have some blank tapes..... so maybe someday soon I will make a mixed tape. That only I can play :) I'm going to work from the top of the carton down in no particular order.

So, I guess that I've decided on a new blog feature. Weeklyish.

Mixed Tape Memories. 

I will sort the good, the bad and the truly awful. I might not show the truly awful.

First out the door are the 3 on the right. Fine Young Cannibals, The Pop /will Eat Itself and Andy Prieboy. I think that I got them all from "The Columbia House Record Club" You know, when they send you a whole whackload of tapes for free, and then they send you one every month that you have to pay for? Don't judge. That was the teenage me. 
Anyway, those 3 just had one song that I kind of liked back in the 80s... early 90s?
I thought that the Matthew Sweet tape would go with them, but after a play (because I am playing all of these tapes first- it seems wrong to just toss them) I thought that I might listen to it again :)

 

 The mixed tape is a bit of a mystery. It looks like my brother's writing -- but it is not his style of music at all.

 On one side is David Bowie's Let's Dance (I have the CD :)  The hilarious thing is that it seems to have been recorded over some classical music, because in between songs, you hear some faint music underneath the slight hiss of the recording.

The flip side is a true mix. The Smiths (I wasn't a big Smith's fan, and still am not). But I like most of the rest of the songs, however unrelated they are --Joy to the World by Three Dog Night; Should I stay or Should I Go by The Clash; There is some Ramones, Public Image Limited, then Wild Thing by Tone Loc (yikes!) (not by The Troggs which would have been much, much , much preferred),  REM, and then, oddly, Helter Skelter. Which gets cut off abruptly when the tape ends mid-song. 

So, despite The whiny Smiths, this mixed tape is a keeper -- because I will listen to it again.

Possibilities

My word of the year for 2016 is "possibilities".
I'm celebrating all of the things that could be. All the things that I will become.

 

There are so many things that I would like to do this year. Some I have already started.
I want to sew more.
I want to take more classes. (I miss Art Unraveled!)
I want to share more of what I am reading. (I'm working my way through the Governor General Award winners for 2015)
I want to can more. (and build a proper pantry)
I want to walk on a beach every weekend. Or at least most weekends.
I really do want to spend more time with friends and family.
I want to get even stronger!

All of these things are possible.

It's a definite possibility that I will post again this year :)

 

Happy 2016!

Holiday in the Hood!

If you are in Toronto this weekend, please come to visit me at the Holiday in the Hood Artisan Market! 
 

Station Eleven

I have an obsession interest in books that have to do with the end of the world as we know it. I've just finished reading Station Eleven.
My other favourite books about Post Apocalyptic society were The Dog Stars (which I wrote about here), Oryx and Crake and the others in the series, The Road (too depressing), The Stand....

On TV I am fascinated by Walking Dead -- and my interest isn't in the zombie storyline -- it is the interactions of the people after the collapse of society. I thought that the short-lived  Revolution was going to be good -- but it dealt too much with the wars (the revolution) and the whys -- not in the "hows" (how to survive). I need to know how I will be able to survive come the apocalypse.

So, I'm not a survivalist (have you seen some of those survivalist websites???) But I hope that I would be somewhat prepared if it did happen. And Station Eleven makes it not seem so bad (except for that big fact that almost everyone in the world has died).

In Station Eleven a highly contagious and lethal strain of the flu sweeps the world and causes the collapse of civilization in a matter of days, leaving behind isolated groups of survivors struggling to come to terms with their new world. Much of the book follows a group of survivors (The Symphony) who are a traveling band of performers (Shakespeare!) who roam through Michigan from settlement to settlement. Parts of the story is told in flashbacks from the past -- throughout the collapse, up to the  "present" -- 20 years from now. It is a sad, sweet book, but it gave me much hope :). I would definitely recommend it!

And on a related note -- I've become a weee bit obsessed with preserving food!

(I love this book -- and especially love the tags on the jars!) 

Mr. B and I are taking a canning course through the West End Food Coop. We come home with about 10 jars every class (every two weeks). Last session we made quick pickles (i.e. not fermented) AND cranberry sauce. Up next is Pumpkin Maple Jam and pumpkin pickle. And this weekend I canned 10 jars of Apple Pie filling!  I am ready for the holidays!
So, if any of my friends are reading this -- please don't put canning jars in the recycling -- give the jars and the rings to me when they're empty (I am always surprised when I see them in the recycling -- re-use them, people!). Anyway, give me some jars, I will give you some jam. Win - win.

Today in Port Mouton -- a thank you to volunteer firefighters everywhere

 Very early this morning (3 a.m.), I was awakened by the wailing of sirens.

 In the big city, I'm used to the sounds of sirens, but when a vehicle with a siren drives by my home here, it means that something bad has happened on my road. So, I did what most of my neighbours did, I padded to the window to see what was happening. It was a fire truck, and it was heading out on to the wharf. Then another came, and another and another. Lots of flashing lights, but I couldn't see a fire (it was quite foggy). Then, whoosh, fire shot 50 feet into the air and I could hear the crackling.Then lots of small explosions. And the fire kept on strong. Over the next hour more fire engines drove past (and also many fishermen -- worried about their boats). It wasn't boats on fire, but a seafood processing building (Mersey Point Fish Products).

When I walked out to the wharf this morning (because I walk out there every day), I saw many exhausted firefighters. Volunteers. Keeping us safe.
No one was hurt today, thank goodness, but I wanted to thank all of those firefighters for putting their lives on the line for us.  Thank you to all firefighters everywhere.
You can read more about the fire here.
and read and see photos here.

Today in Port Mouton - Rubber Boots

So, today I am going to rant about RUBBER BOOTS. Because rubber boots drive me crazy. And you need rubber boots here in rainy Port Mouton. (actually, in the summer it is not so rainy here, but the dew in the morning is very wet!)

Anyway, here are my boots. From left to right:
Canadian Tire
Liberty for Target
Kamik

I have had many many many pair of rubber boots over the years. I LOVE rain boots.

The Liberty ones here are my very favourite boots. But I never wear them. Because they have a crack in them (see below). They've had a crack in them since the first summer that I bought them. I just keep them because they look so pretty lined up with the others. Don't judge. They seem to be of such great quality. They are lined. They have the cute calf buckles. They are Liberty. I cannot believe that Liberty put their name to such crap.

Here's my rant.
Why can't rubber boot manufacturers make rainboots that won't crack? My hardware store specials ($12) will last forever. I wear them almost every day all summer. Mucking around in the garden, the pond, walking the dog, whatever. They look the same as the day I bought them. The super cute Liberty ones, and every other fun pair I have ever purchased get cracks in them within the year. What's with that?

Last year I donated 3 pair of boots to a store in my neighbourhood (in Toronto) so they could plant flowers in them. At least they didn't go to landfill (right away).

The Kamik ones up there don't have cracks in them, but I hardly ever wear them because they are too small around my calf -- they are for bare legs or for skinny guests, lol. (but they look nice in the boot lineup, don't they?). But they are also some shiny plastic -- maybe not rubber? Anyway -- I've heard that Kamik boots are built to last - and are a viable alternative to Hunters, which I covet, but I just cannot spend $180 on rubber boots!

What kind of boots do you have? Do they stand the test of time, or crack within a season?

Today in Port Mouton - Holy Mackerel!

Something that I look forward to every summer is the consuming of seafood. I've not been a big fan of seafood over the years, but living here has really helped it grow on me. Of course, I love fish and chips, but I have broadened my horizons to include fish cakes and halibut steaks (and cheeks :). I'll also eat fried shrimp and clams :) . I'm ambivalent towards lobster, however, so I don't usually order it because the joy is not worth the cost ( i.e. I'd rather have fish and chips). 

Last year I tried mackerel. It was okaaaaayyyyy, but I didn't think that I needed to try it again. But I did. Because I'm determined to eat healthier. AND because I got to go out on Captain Bob's boat again and go mackerel fishing!  

Captain Bob making sure that we don't hit the rocks :)

The mackerel weren't biting much, but we caught a few:

I had planned to filet the fish myself, but D did it for me :) Thanks D! He also caught most of the fish. He didn't take any home though, because they had eaten mackerel the day before and mackerel don't freeze well.

and the gulls said a little thank you too...

When I got home, I fried up the filets and put some dressing on them. These were the best fish I've ever had!

So I thought I'd share my recipe:

Fry the mackerel fillets in a non-stick frying pan (or in a bit of olive oil). Do not overcook them -- hard, dry mackerel is yucky.
- season the fillets with salt and pepper
- fry for 2-3 minutes, skin side down
- turn the fish over and cook for an additional 1 minute

Drizzle with dressing (spinach salad dressing, recipe below) and serve with salad.

Spinach salad dressing (spinach, walnuts, cranberries)
Whisk together:
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup cider vinegar (or red wine, or balsamic)
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp minced onion
1/8 tsp paprika

Today in Port Mouton -- Living off the Land

So, I was out foraging a bit yesterday. There are many many Amalanchier trees/bushes along the side of the road. Of course, I discover them while walking Andy. Nothing like a walk with the dog to help you see the world. You may know them by other names. Serviceberry. Saskatoon Berry. Juneberry. I'm going with Saskatoon Berry. The local population doesn't seem to know about them. So they don't have a name for them...

So I picked about 3 quarts (and am so glad that I was wearing insect repellent -- the mosquitoes were like a fog around me). All picked from one tree. Not to worry -- I left tons for the birds. I couldn't reach them, lol.

Then I sorted the berries....

and crushed the juicy ones.

And I put the less juicy ones in pans.

 

So I will have dried saskatoon berries! (taste like almonds)

And lots of jam! I was worried about all of those seeds. But I had some of the jam on toast, and the seeds aren't an issue at all. The jam is VERY sweet, but I can cut the sweetness by adding stewed rhubarb. (once the jar is opened).

 My neighbours brought over a bunch of rhubarb (mine isn't doing so well, while theirs is a gigantic patch :). So I made rhubarb concentrate -- a simple rhubarb syrup -- when mixed with Sprite it makes *the best punch ever*).  Left over from the concentrate is a whole pile of stewed rhubarb. So I froze it in little containers.

 

And look what are ripening now! Raspberries! I'm going to freeze these as I pick them so I will have enough for jam. I think that 2015 is the year of the jam.  (Ha! it is the Chinese year of the Ram. Ram, jam :)

Today in Port Mouton - Giving Thanks

As I continue to battle my summer cold (what's with this? I've been sick for 3 weeks!), I am thankful for so much. I am so lucky to have been able to spend my summer in this little piece of paradise. And thankful too.
But today is about thanking my students. I miss them over the summer. We grow to be a big family by the end of the year, then poof! it's over.
I have spent the last few days writing cards to them, thanking them for gifts that they have given me (yes, a thank you for a thank you :) I've been told that it isn't 'proper' to send a thank you for a thank you -- but everyone likes mail, no?
Throughout the year, they draw many pictures and make little things for me. I love them all, and most make it to my fridge at home -- or into my 'Bucket Book" at school (we try to fill each others 'buckets' with happiness -- I have a binder where I put all of the drawings that are made for me during the year -- hence, the Bucket Book)

This year, I stamped my thank you onto the front of a commercial card. I could have just used card stock -- but it was more expensive!

These are a few of the cards and drawings that I received on the last day of school. "Thank you for helping me" made me smile. 

I'm going to miss you too!

Next year I teach Grade 1-2 , so I will be teaching about 1/2 of my class again next year. But I wasn't allowed to tell them -- they had to wait and see it on their report cards!

So, today isn't so much about Port Mouton. It's about me :) and a whole bunch of 6 and 7 year olds!

Thank you Room 15! See you in September!

Today in Port Mouton - Kayaking

Today I decided to pull my big girl pants up, and kayak in the ocean. Not just our little inlet ( "the pond"), but the big ocean on the other side of the dyke!

You have to time your exit carefully. You can travel out of the dyke about 2 hours after low tide.... when the water is flat. 

Going out was fine! 

Then we paddled around the cove ...

Bob's wharf ...

Then it was time to paddle home. Our house is the one on the left :)

Then all we had to do was paddle through the dyke.

What you can't see here is the roiling current and the Niagara Falls - like drop. Because this is a point that has reversing falls...

 

I bravely paddled through. It was scary and I got a wee bit wet from the splashing ... It was maybe a 3/4 Metre drop. But seriously! Felt like Niagara Falls! 

Back now to the sunporch eating strawberries and reading a book. I've had enough excitement for today..