A Week Full of Plenty

This week has been full, to the brim, with events and a full complement of weather and all that brings with it.  We have had every kind of weather you can imagine.  And, it’s not over!  We had beautiful, sunny, warm, oh yes summer is finally here and I can put away the winter clothes weather, and today the fires are going and we are seeing a snowflake in the forecast.  Really!!!  Last Monday we drove to New Hampshire and encountered a snowstorm on our way.  Yes, a real snowstorm.  The white stuff that looks like fog but isn’t.  Somewhere in the middle of the week it was so hot that we were wishing we had some shade to sit in.  Well, that’s New England and it’s also Eastern Canada in May.

A Paddle for Jack

We headed to New Hampshire to stay with the grands while their Mum was travelling for work and believe me I didn’t expect to drive through snow.  We dropped the car off at the dealers for its turkey repairs, picked up a loaner and were off.  The reason, the next day we had to drive to Shelburne Falls, MA to pick up a paddle for our grandson.  His aunt, Margot, had it made for him as a Christmas present and it was finally ready and needed to be picked up.  It is rather difficult to take a paddle on a plane these days so it needed to be picked up and delivered to Dick, one of the camp’s stalwarts, so it could be driven to Northern Ontario in time for said grandson to use it this summer for his canoe trips.  As you can see in the photo, it is a beautiful paddle.  My bet is it won’t look like that by the end of the summer.  Six weeks canoeing on the rivers of Quebec and Ontario will take its toll but right now it is beautiful.  Handmade by a couple who own Salmon Falls Canoe .  Turns out that Emily went to and worked at the same camp that Jack goes to each summer, Wabun,  and she is now a co-director at another camp on the same lake.  The world is a small place sometimes.  If you need a canoe or a paddle, get in touch with them.

Food as Medicine

I continue my quest to find foods that will improve my health as I really, really don’t like taking medicine, of any kind.  This week I found something that I think is wonderful and wanted to share it with you.  My biggest complaint is with cholesterol medicine.  I just don’t think it is something that I want to take.  I read and study everything I can get my hands on about statins and cholesterol and there really isn’t anything that says to me that this is a good thing.  So, I am always on the lookout for food that will lower cholesterol without the side effects of drugs.  I found a recipe this week that is not only delicious but it sure can’t hurt.  It is a broccoli recipe with avocado and a light and tart dressing made from lemon juice and olive oil.  All of it heart healthy.  I made it and it was delicious.  However, go easy on the spicy mustard.  The recipe is at the end of the blog.

Summer is coming, just not yet!

One sign of summer is when the docks go in on the lake.  We arrived home after our adventure in New Hampshire and Massachusetts to the dock and the raft being put in the lake.  Sounds easy, it’s not.  The invention of wet suits is very important for these hardy gents who take our dock out in the fall and put it back in again in the spring.  This is early for us.  We are usually looking at the month of June for this annual rite.  We asked “what is the temperature of the water?” and Jonathan said he thought it wasn’t quite 50 degrees yet.  No, I am not going swimming!!!!

Walter Phillips Green

Walter Phillips is a Canadian artist (1884–1963) who is a famous water colorist.  He paints in extraordinary gentle colors.  My mother has said, every year that I can remember, “I love the trees this time of year, they are Walter Phillips green”.  The most amazing thing about this week has been the trees bringing to life the Walter Phillips green despite the cold weather.  It wasn’t cold every day so as a result the warm sunshine actually encouraged the trees to begin their leafing.  A week ago everything was brown, this week we can see significant amounts of green on the other side of the lake.  Oh, yes, there is hope.

Friends and Dinner

John and I enjoy cooking for our friends and last evening we did just that.  We spent a couple of days putting together a meal that was not only delicious but was different and colorful.  What I wanted to share was the “Green Goddess” soup that I made for the dinner.  It is soooo easy and truly delicious.  It is a cold soup and it is all done in the blender.  Please click on the photo to get the recipe.  I hope you will try it and let me know what you think.  If you want to make it a bit lighter, try substituting plain yogurt for the sour cream.  I am sure it is delicious.  No doubt in my mind I will be making this again, and soon!

Summing up the week

Sometimes I cannot wrap my head around all that I do in a week.  I added golf to the mix on Wednesday and that was such fun.  It was one of the few days that were actually warm this week.  Life is never dull around here and we are winding down our winter and getting ready to welcome summer and all it has to offer.  The one thing I can truly say is that it is all a joy and I consider myself very lucky to be here, doing what I do, and writing for you who take the time to read this ramble every week.  Thank you.  I hope you enjoy the recipes and would love to hear if you try them and what you think about them.  Have a wonderful week everyone.

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