Week Full of Warm Walks

When planning my trip to Montreal I wasn’t thinking about all the beautiful walks there are in the city. Most of my walking has been in the country and the surrounding hills. These I love, of course, but when thinking of the city I would think about sidewalks and traffic and since it is Montreal, hills. To my surprise, when my brother suggested we go for a walk the day after I arrived, we set out for the mountain. Over the course of four truly glorious days, I walked with my brother twice, alone once and with my cousin once for a total of 29.7 miles for the week. I would not have predicted this level of walking at all but thanks to my brother I was reintroduced to the beauty of Mount Royal and it’s outstanding park. The park was designed by Frederick Law Olmstead who is also known for his design of Central Park in New York. Over the years the city of Montreal has improved the trails and roads for biking and walking. They encourage people to come and picnic even providing special containers for the cinders from a grill. School children routinely have day outings to the park and their laughter and sounds of delight were evident as we circled Beaver Lake. My pictures show how blue the sky was but they don’t tell you how unusually warm it was with most days reaching the high 60’s and even low 70’s. My taxi driver said he had never experienced a more perfect October in all the 33 years he had lived in Montreal. How incredibly lucky I was to be there this week.

My mother is recovering well from her fall. While still bruised her cuts and scrapes are healing well, just slowly on a 93 year old body. By now she is used to me (and my brother) taking long walks in the morning. She took her time and kept to her routine until I got back about noon each day. We then enjoyed lunch and sometimes an errand although shopping is problematic as she insists that the people running the store move everything around just so she can’t find anything. Might be because she is so little she only sees the lower shelves and she is blind in one eye with poor sight in her other eye. All you do is smile and find the cookies!

We had a lovely time watching British mysteries in the evening after dinner and I will admit to thoroughly enjoying nap time. It was a good week.

The Advantages of Fruits and Vegetables

 

I have written often about how good fresh fruit and vegetables are for you so thought I would share the following chart. It is easy to read and probably ought to be printed in large print and taped to the front of your refrigerator. It is colorful and lists many of the benefits of individual fruits and veg. See how many you can eat in a week. As I look at the list I see room for improvement as well as additions to my shopping list. Do you? There is no room for processed food if you fill your stomach with these vitamins and minerals.

Furbaby Update

I have missed John while I’ve been away but I have also missed my fur crowd. I am so used to having four legged critters around that a house feels empty without them. This was a big week for Wyke as it was finally time for him to be neutered. He is 13 months old and we promised the breeder we wouldn’t have this done until he was at least a year old. I took him for a big Long Beach run the day before which was also the day before I left for Montreal. According to John, Wyke was a little sleepy and quiet for a day or two but he quickly got back to his favorite activity of teasing the kittens and bringing toys to John to play with him. John and Wyke have enjoyed the South Carolina weather and had a number of walks together. The English Cream Golden’s really prefer the cooler temperatures so I am sure he is happier with the improvement. The kittens are enjoying their cat tree and occasionally trying to break out of jail and go outside. Maybe I should get an aquarium to keep them amused ?

Food on the Run

It is always difficult to find healthy things to eat when traveling.  Airports are, however, getting much better at offering healthy options.  I saw more bananas than I see at the grocery store.  They are a pretty safe bet as you get to peel a very thick skin to get to the banana.  I am pretty skeptical about some of the other fruits that can be found in an airport and there aren’t great places to wash the fruit, i.e. and apple, so choose a banana or an orange something with a thick peel.  I did find a wonderful veggie and hummus plate in the Boston Airport and couldn’t have been more pleased.  It’s worth looking around for something that won’t throw you completely off if you can.  It’s about all I can handle carrying books and large water bottles, passport, Global card, boarding pass and to add food to that it really gets to be a bit much.  Oh how I remember flying back in the days when it was actually fun!

A Bruschetta Recipe

I was reading about Bruschetta while on the plane and found a recipe worth trying.  Here it is and hope you enjoy!

Ingredients
2 cups cherry tomatoes, quartered
1⁄4 cup Kalamata olives, pitted + chopped (optional)
1⁄4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1 tbsp dried oregano (if fresh, chop)
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
Pinch each sea salt + black pepper

Bread Ingredients
1 white or wheat baguette, sliced into 3⁄4-inch slices (Ikarian-Style Sourdough would work for this recipe, as well)
1 tbsp olive oil, grape seed oil, or avocado oil
1 large clove garlic, halved

Directions
Add cherry tomatoes, olives (optional), basil, oregano, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper to mixing bowl. Toss to coat. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed, adding more salt, basil, or balsamic vinegar as desired.
Serve with toasted baguette slices. Store leftovers separate from bread, covered in the refrigerator, for up to 2 days, though best when fresh.

Bread Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Arrange baguette slices on a baking sheet and brush with olive oil. Take garlic clove and rub on both sides of slices for extra flavor. Arrange in single layer on baking sheet.
Bake baguette until just slightly golden brown—about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.