If I Had the Space

and the need, and the cash, I would be seriously tempted by this chair.
The throw looks quite cozy too, tho' I have enough of those. But that froufrou cushion? Ummmm, no.

Peanut Slaw

I am always looking for quick, tasty recipes for those nights when I get home late, we have to leave right away, or I am feeling lazy. I found a great recipe on one of the blogs I read called Cycling in Heels. The blog's author, Cycler, posted this one yesterday.
We had it for supper today and enjoyed it immensely. I'll have to make a double recipe next time so we have leftovers.

Peanut Slaw/ Low Carb Pad Thai
1/2 head cabbage (approx 4 cups) shredded as for slaw.
1/3 cup peanut butter.
3 cloves garlic
1" ginger, minced (you could use pickled sushi ginger if you had it)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
oil for saute
2 tbs cider vinegar
4 tbs soy sauce
2 tsp sugar (or splenda if you're being low- carb)
1/2 -1 cup water
shrimp, sauteed.

Heat a saute pan.

Make the peanut sauce:
Saute garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes in a bit of oil in a saucepan until the garlic seems cooked.
Add the peanut butter, vinegar, soy sauce and sugar, and add enough water to thin to about the consistency of pancake batter (I've found the amount of water depends a lot on what kind of peanut butter you use). Let it come to a simmer, stirring when you think of it.

Cook the shrimp- about 2 minutes a side in the heated saute pan with a bit of oil, or until pink.

Bring the peanut sauce to a hard boil, pour it over the cabbage and stir it in well. Sometimes I run it all through the microwave for 3-5 minutes to wilt the cabbage a bit more. Depends if you want it more "slaw" like or more "noodle" like. Serve, topped with shrimp (chopped peanuts and cilantro if you're ambitious).

Can't Say You Weren't Warned

This was a part of a job posting I saw today.

"Physical Demands/Working Conditions:

May be required to work extended hours. May be exposed to infectious diseases, blood and body fluids, radiation, toxic materials, allergens, physical and emotional distress. May encounter aggressive and/or agitated clients/visitors/staff. May be required to travel throughout Manitoba to deliver services."

I didn't know my location had a vacancy....hahaha

Winter's Last Stand?

Snow this morning, -21 tonight. Dare I hope this is the last?

Take Cover, Little Tulips

the next few nights are supposed to be chilly; -21. Brrr!

Wow! It's the First Day of Spring!

There is no snow in the front yard,
and very little in the back,

but of the Chelidonium, which usually emerges from the snow bushy, bright green, and ready for action, there is very little sign.
(and as I look at the calendar, I realize yesterday was the first day of spring. Oh well.)

Ice

Ice waiting on top of the icebreaker, just waiting for the river to rise another inch and set it free.

Ice piled and stacked further downstream.

No wonder nature can cause such damage. Look what she has to work with.

A River (Starts) to Run Freely

The ice is breaking up on the Red.

Huge sheets and chunks flow north.
It's nice to be on the bike and not have chilly knees, hands, toes, and cheeks.

I can only hope it lasts!

The Weather Forecasters are Sleeping

How else would you account for the 'not observed' section at the top? That is the first time I have seen that.

High to Dry

We, like most households, suffer from a lack of horizontal space to dry things. Since most sweaters need to be dried that way, that was becoming a problem.
Last summer, a neighbour across the street told the Geek about a crib she had seen put out in her back lane. She herself didn't need it, so the Geek went and picked it up.
Cleaned up, it makes an ideal drying rack. I had read about some houses having racks hung above their stoves and thought it would be a good use of space.

The rack has space for one or two sweaters dried flat.
The cords are drawn through eyebolts in the ceiling.

(these will have to be replaced with pulleys as the rack is hard to pull up).

A small fighter plane hangs from the point where all the cords meet.


And looped around a cleat on the window frame.

We still have one side of the crib to use up, so there may be another one made.

Better Than an Ice Dam

The eavestroughs have melted which is allowing the water from the melting snow to run off and not form any of those pesky ice dams.


It is interesting that the ice from the water is 'piling up' on the rain barrel, which was full last fall because the taps froze before I could drain it.

We Enjoyed the Vitamin D

We had a great time in Mexico with K, Ruzter and Lee.








And who wouldn't enjoy seeing their country's flag flown on the mast of a boat from another land?

Memory Aid

I have found it difficult to manage without a camera. Not impossible mind you, but my methods of remembering things changed. For the last couple of years, if I want to remember something, I took a picture-now I had to make sure I had a pen and something on which I could write.
Plus, I couldn't access any of the pictures on my card. The Geek brought her card-reader home from work, but the card wouldn't fit any of the ports. So we went to a store that prints pictures, stuck the card in their machine, and discovered that, thankfully, the card hadn't been fried when I destroyed the camera.Yesterday I went and bought a new one. A very nice young man at Black's price matched a sale I had seen elsewhere. And I have three months to find it on sale somewhere else, so I could potentially wind up with a better deal (I am such a Manitoban).

The new camera is the same size as the old one, but has an extra two megapixels, and you can now touch the side of the camera to change the flash and other features. I'll have to see how that works for me, twitchy person that I am.

I put the camera in a bowl of water just to make sure the seals were intact, and it seems to be fine. Admittedly there is considerably less pressure in two inches of water on my kitchen counter than there is at 15 feet, but at least I know that it is basically sound.

Now I can finish uploading pictures for previously started posts!

March; Like a Lamb

March came in like a lamb and has been behaving like one ever since. We have had near or above zero temperatures for the last few days and they are being forecast into the foreseeable future. The flood forecasters are happy, since a slow melt means there will be less chance of another flood this year.
However, given that this is Winnipeg and it is March, I am waiting for the lion. I'd rather that big storm would just come and get it over with. Just end the suspense already so I can truly get ready for spring.

It's Like Living in Calgary

This morning it was about -21 when I left the house. I was wearing my parka, cowl, toque and heavy mittens and feeling comfortable.
Coming home it was only -3. The cowl and toque were stuffed in the backpack, the parka was undone and the mitts were only half on. And I was too hot.
How do people stand living in Cow-Town where this kind of weather is commonplace? It would drive me crazy. And I would need a bigger backpack into which I could stuff my extra clothes. Good thing I wasn't planning to move west!