Pauline's Snowball Dainties

My ex boyfriend from years ago had a lovely mother who I always thought about. We lost touch over 20 years ago and I had often thought of her and wondered where both her and her husband had moved. I hadn't spoken to my ex in years but through the wonder of the internet found him just a few months ago. I debated whether to get in touch but I thought that I would love to find out how she was. He was surprised to hear from me but after a catch up email sent me her address. She was still alive but not too well and her husband had passed away a few months prior. She was deaf and there was no other way to get in touch besides a letter or fax so I sent a card telling her how I had thought of her over the years and how I had missed our chats and drinking tea together. I also told her that I wished that she had been my mother in law.

I didn't think I would get a reply as I knew she wasn't too well but was very pleased when I got a nice little card from her. The handwriting was a bit shaky but I was so happy to hear from her. She said at the end that it would have been nice to have me for a daughter in law.

Sadly, I got an email from my ex about a week later saying that she had passed away. I was sad but very glad that at least I was able to reconnect with her and tell her how much she had meant to me. It gave me goosebumps to think that I had almost missed that.

Pauline, I will miss you and I wish we could have another cup of tea together.

I found this recipe in my box written in her hand for these Christmas chocolate balls. Kind of an old fashioned recipe but nice.



Enjoy

2 squares chocolate
2 tbsp butter
1 egg
1 cup icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla
14 graham wafers, crushed

Melt chocolate and butter in double boiler. Remove from stove and add egg. Mix well. Stir in icing sugar, vanilla and crumbs. Roll in small balls and then in coconut.
1 cup icing sugar

A strange beauty

There is a rather strange beauty in the back alleys and streets of a city. I used to look at graffiti and think why would anyone want to deface something like that but now I'm seeing it as rather unique art form. It's funny when you start to look at things differently. We all rush around and don't really notice the things around you. I find when I have a camera in my hand I begin to look at things differently and really see them.

They're back!

I have to admit I am a bit of a hummingbird freak. When we moved into our townhouse birdfeeding was not allowed as it attracts rodents. Thank goodness they allowed hummingbird feeders or it would have been a deal breaker.

It is such a treat to be able to watch them and if I could I would sit and watch them for hours. Some of my favorite memories have been just watching them. My first experience with them was when we stayed on Savary Island about 16 years ago. My brother had a cottage there, right on the ocean and they loaned it to us for five days. I would fill up a large hummingbird feeder and by nightfall it would be empty, that is how many of the little guys there was. There was much activity and it started at dawn. I would get up, make coffee and then sit on the couch facing the window and just watch them. You could almost see the water go down. I had to refill the feeder in the middle of the day and when I took it in (I had everything ready to go) to wash and fill it you could see them flying around frantically. As quick as I could I carried the feeder out to hang and one flew up and sat on the opposite side and started drinking while I was holding the it. He kept an eye on me but it didn't deter him one bit. It must have been because there were so many of them competing with each other that they weren't too bothered with me.

A few years ago while I was watering veggies at my allotment garden a few hummingbirds started darting in and out of the water. I stood there for about five minutes while they darted in and out. What a wonderful gift that was.

Another favorite memory is when my husband won a couple of nights at a lodge in Whistler. Our unit was lovely but the best part was the unit beside had a hummingbird feeder with so many hummingbirds many would be in a holding pattern waiting for a spot. They were amazing. Apparently they don't fight so much when there are a lot of them. It just isn't worth it I guess. One little guy was sitting on his perch and another buzzed above him and while still flying started feeding at the hole where he was sitting. The little guy sitting looked a bit surprised, but he didn't move.

Watching these guys I think know where the term feeding frenzy started.

Hummingbird water recipe

1 part sugar 4 parts water and boil until dissolved.

NEVER use food coloring. They don't need the water to be red and it could harm them.

If it is hot, the water should be changed every 3-4 days.

Enjoy

Cherry Blossoms

I almost forgot the reason for my wanderings. The cherry blossoms!

Vancouver wanderings

I spent a wonderful day in Vancouver wandering the streets and taking pictures.

While on the way I discovered this beautiful mural on a street off Broadway and had to take a picture of it.



I used to live in the Kitsilano area in my single days and have been itching to go back and take pictures of some of the cherry blossoms before they were all gone. Vancouver is such a beautiful city and I have always loved it. I haven't lived in the area for a number of years now but I was glad to see haven't forgotten where everything is and how to get there. Sadly some things are gone now and I do miss them. I remember Elsie's wonderful bakery on Cornwall and Yew. I would stop and get some of her famous Rye bread and it was so good toasted with peanut butter. The corner store is still there but little else is the same. I found this great mural on the wall around the corner called Kits Kats.



After taking a few pics of the trees and ocean I was in need of a nice coffee and a bathroom but not in that order. I treated myself to a wonderful coffee just blocks from my grandparents old home. Caffè Artigiano wasn't there years ago but it was lovely to sit outside, sip coffee and watch the world go by. Something I never do and it was a treat.


Since it was close to the old house I decided to wander that way. I actually had to hunt for it as it has changed over the last 30 years. It was rented out I think for awhile after it sold and it was a shame to see it not being taken care of. There is a second story to the house now and the house looks wonderful from the outside. Walking around the back I couldn't see too much without being too nosy but it looked like a nice big deck had been added. There was a Range Rover parked behind the garage. The garage was teeny tiny and was still the original. Definitely no room for that kind of vehicle, perhaps a smart car. The garden was gone which was a shame but it is nice that the house is looking loved. The street hasn't changed much, with the same big huge trees and I can still picture my grandparents walking along the street.

Spring

Spring, my favorite season of all.

I love this time of year when you go outside and see all the new little plants poking their heads out of the soil. After the quiet of winter (except for the howling wind) the birds are singing again and I see my all time favorite hummingbirds.

I did have a little rogue hummingbird that stayed all winter but I only saw her occasionally. I didn't like to take in my feeder just in case she was relying on it so every week religiously I would take it in and clean it. If it was going to freeze I would take it in overnight so that it would be liquid in the morning. I really didn't notice the water going down at all but I just couldn't take that chance.

The cherry blossoms are just beginning here, a month later than usual I have heard. I have been toting my camera around and have been taking pictures. I have also put up a little mason bee house and bought 16 of them. I will have to be diligent and clean the cocoons come fall so that they will survive.

In Port Moody they have painted some of the trees blue (biodegradable) to to draw attention to the plight of trees and their importance to the world aesthetically and environmentally.

I love cookbooks and I come by this honestly. My mom loved them as well and I always knew that for Christmas or birthdays a new cookbook was always much appreciated. She would read them cover to cover and then systematically go through and make a list of what she wanted to try. I have some of her old books and I love it when I see a notation beside a recipe like "Geo (my father) likes" or "not worth the trouble".

My mom is coming up to 92 and doesn't cook anymore. I was given quite a few of her treasured cookbooks when they moved a few years ago as well as her recipe card collection. She was so organized that she had every dinner party she ever hosted and the menu she served with the cookbook it was from! An early Martha Stewart.

When my parents were moving into a smaller place a couple of months ago and I was helping them, I came across a brown wrapped package. I asked what is this? When my mom saw the wrapped package she said aww and I knew she didn't want to throw it away so I took it and said that I would keep it. She told me that it was her very first cookbook when she got married (over 68 years ago) and she didn't know how to cook when she got married. It is quite something. There isn't much left of it and part of it is tied together with string, very well used and loved.

I wrote to the Good Housekeeping people and showed them pictures of the book and how much she enjoyed it and they kindly sent me a new copy. My mom sat with it for about half an hour and looked at all the pictures and said oh I wish I still cooked, I would have loved to have had this. It will now be my treasured book and I'm looking forward to many wonderful meals.