New Year, New Pal

Happy New Year, everyone! We hope your 2021 is off to a great start.

Our friend from QuatchiFan sent us a new pal (thank you, Sophia!). We have named her Jo. Jo is settling in quite nicely with the other friends. We look forward to including Jo on our future adventures.

Bath Time

Trev now has a honey bear-sized tub. It's a fancy clawfoot one too. Perfection!

Weekday Hike

Tim joined my BFF, Karen, and I on a weekday hike at the Beamer Memorial Conservation Area. The weather was perfect for some exploring.

Tim enjoyed the views of Grimsby from high above.

He also liked trekking through the woods. He had a little nap in my backpack halfway.

Tim was very happy to be outdoors given this crazy year. He sends a big virtual hug to all!

Lovebot

The Lovebot invasion is here! Colin is pleased to introduce Larry the Lovebot. They spend the day yesterday talking about kindness, computers, and the colour red.

Feels Like Fall

 
Maggie joined my family and I on a mini road trip to Bancroft to visit an old friend. Along the way, we hit up a few butter tart places. Maggie liked the tarts from the Kawartha Buttertart Factory & Bakery the best.

We also hit up a few fruit/veggie stands on our drive. We didn't buy any gourds or pumpkins, but we did get apple pie.

Maggie ran toward this corn field hoping it would be a corn maze. No such luck.

But Maggie did luck out with candy! She brought back a bunch of treats for the friends. We know Halloween will be different this year, but at least it will still be sweet!

Melothria Scabra

We've been trying lots of new fruits and veggies this summer, including plumcots, doughnut peaches, and Maggie's new favourite - melothria scabra, a.k.a. mouse melons. They look like mini watermelons, but they are kinda cucumber-ish. Some folks pickle them, or use them in cocktails. We're going to use them for a salad this week.

Summer Picnic

We had a lovely summer picnic at the Beaches, care of Suresh Doss. The picnic featured delicious South Indian dishes, many which were new to us.

Clementine loved the tiffan box from Anitha’s Homestyle Kitchen. Her favourite appetizer from the box was the masala vada (fried fritters with chana dal, onions, and herbs).

The main dishes were prepared by Minerva Tiffins. This sambar idil (savoury rice cake in lentil soup with peanut sauce and spices) was very filling.

The other mains included puri bhaji (friend bread) and pongal (rice and lentils).

We had mango lassi shortly thereafter. It was so delicious, we finished the whole thing before taking a photo.

Clementine really liked that the dessert was monster size. It was served in a small clay pot, which we were able to take home with the tiffin box.

We are now back home with happy tummies. Suresh will be hosting other picnics this summer. Sign up for his newsletter on his website for more details.

Trev Inspired Snack

We found this snack at the grocery store and instantly thought of our honey bear, Trev! The happy face and Trev are both smiling, both looking in the same direction, and both yummy! Trev is happy to report the cookies are indeed tasty. Have a great Saturday, everyone!

Spencer, the Cake Tester

I baked two cakes, a chocolate olive oil cake and a lemon polenta cake, and asked Spencer to taste test. He preferred the lemon polenta cake. To be honest, I must agree with him, though the chocolate olive oil cake was still very good.

I will keep both recipes in my toolkit since they were fairly simple. Would love to hear what other peeps have been baking these days!

Quarantine Life

How is everyone holding up? We just finished week five of quarantine life. Maggie has been keeping busy at the condo.

She has been trying lots of new cookie recipes, including this one for buckwheat chocolate cookies from Bon Appetit.

She has also been reading books. Dear Girls is the last book we got from the library before it shut down because of COVID-19.

Every now and then she watches movies on Netflix. Shout out to Chris for adding us to your account!

She waters our plants.

And she takes afternoon naps with B.

Stay happy and healthy!