Ice Melt
Back in Canada again and having fun watching the ice melt on the lake. There is nothing like spring on the lake when the ice begins its push to empty into the river. It is slow to start but as it gets thinner and softer it starts to speed up and before we know it it will be gone. I have spent time filming it in the past but for several years I have not been here when the ice went out. It is magical and the sound is like nothing else I have ever heard.
It’s rather fun to sit in the sun, as we did this weekend, and watch it melt before our eyes.
Greening Up
This morning’s walk brought a pleasant surprise. At the top of our driveway there is a cluster of snowdrops that faithfully show up every spring. I was wondering if they were there yet but until today there was too much snow to see if they were there. I was delighted to walk up the drive and to find them pushing their way through the detritus of winter to turn their heads to the sun. A most welcome sign of spring green.
Easter treat
We enjoyed an Easter dinner of lamb which seems to be traditional, certainly in this part of the world, along with asparagus and roast carrots and red potatoes. My assistant in the kitchen, sometimes, is my granddaughter Libby and she prepared all of the vegetables for our meal. The lamb marinated for two days with loads of healthy garlic and a mustard sauce. Dessert needed to be light after a rich meal so we went with Angel Food Lemon Cake mini’s with a raspberry coulis and whipped cream with some of the coulis added to make it pink. This is Libby’s presentation. The mini’s were a very long, involved process to make and therefore I am not going to share the recipe. Just making the candied lemon peel was almost beyond me but they were delicious and the perfect finish to a wonderful meal. Following the 80/20 rule, today’s meal fell into the 20 section. Back to the 80 tomorrow morning. Good thing we had a 4 1/2 mile walk this morning with a good hill thrown in.
Woe is me, exercise please
I have fallen off the exercise wagon over the last few weeks as we traveled around on our road trip. We did have a few good long walks but not the way I usually am about walking which is every day and with good hills thrown in. I am noticing it and am renewed in my determination to get back out there and move. I guess Spring has that effect. Winter is tough on walking in Canada and we have had our fair share of ice under foot this year. Too many friends with broken bones made me very cautious. Now with morning sunshine and blue skies more in evidence, I am ready to put some more sneakers to the pavement and hills.
Welcome Sunshine and Spring Cleaning
As mentioned at the beginning of this post, we love to sit and watch the ice melt on the lake, well here we are doing just that and it was so warm in the sunshine that we actually thought we should go in the shade but not really. This kind of day is a gift at this time of year.
With the windows and doors open it is time to air out the house and to begin the all to familiar spring cleaning. Moved plants today and opened the porch doors again. The winter porch will come off in a couple of weeks and the windows will be cleaned and the house will be power washed. it really does feel good to get these chores done. Some more painting inside and the porch will need a fresh coat this year. It takes a beating every winter as it is exposed, in part, to the elements and winter snow and ice is not nice to wood with paint.
Guide to buy
Noticed 
an interesting fact when I went to the grocery store this week upon our return from New Hampshire. I never made it out of the vegetable and fruit section of the store. I filled up my basket with everything I was craving and then I checked out. That is a first. We have a number of good grocery stores here and their vegetable and fruit section just keeps growing. They even have a juice bar in the middle of it now. The organic section is also getting larger so I believe that consumer demand is changing things in the stores. Here is a link to the EWG (Environmental Working Group) website that has a great guide on what to buy organic and what really doesn’t matter that much. Better known as the Clean Fifteen and the Dirty Dozen.
Happy Easter to all.
Here are my favorite Easter bunnies.
