There was an incident at the campsite last weekend in which the alphabet attacked a grown man. It got ugly. We are lucky to report that the man in question sustained no serious injuries, although he has had several re-occuring dreams about dualling with with a pointy W and X at the same time.
We had a lovely long weekend with some friends at Crotch Lake. I brought along the word pillows (which is turning into a summer project of making the whole alphabet...only D, V, Q, G, and N to go). It was fun to see where words looked best in the quiet of the forest. And such a great weekend of swimming, sleeping, eating and camp fire good times...oh summer!
By popular demand from the party, I am posting the crowd pleasing recepies of angel food cake and my pie crust. Both are so nice for summer berry consumption. Enjoy!
ANGEL Food Cake
1 ¼ cups icing sugar
2. 1 cup of flour
3. 1 ½ cups of egg white, approx 1 dozen eggs (room temperature)
(make sure not to get ANY yoke in the whites, as it won’t fluff properly)
4. 1 ½ tsp crème of tartar
5. 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
6. ¼ tsp salt
7. ¼ tsp almond extract
8. 1 cup of sugar
1. Sift icing sugar and flour together, set aside
2. Combine egg whites, crème of tartar, vanilla and almond extracts, salt
Beat at high speed until fluffy
3. Add sugar, 2 tbps at a time, and continue to bear until sugar dissolves and egg whites shiny and fluffy.
4. Fold in flour and icing sugar mixture
5. Pour into tube pan (ungreased). Cut through batter with a knife to release air pocket
6. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes
7. Invert pan and cool
My favorite is to serve this cake with fresh strawberries and whip cream. YUM!
Ellen’s Never Fail Pastry
Makes 4 pie shells
4 cups of flour
1 tsp salt
1 lb (454g package) shortening
1 egg beaten in a measuring cup, top up with cold water to 1 cup level
Cute shortening into flour and salt mixture.
Add egg and water mixture all at once until ball forms.
Do not need the dough.
Put dough in fridge to chill before rolling
Separate dough into equal portions and dough can be frozen until neede
Its is Canada Day and we are having a little party. I finished a 'P' this week so I could make 'Party' and it seems that my cat Pandora is ready to Party.
This weekend, I got my bake-on and made a strawberry rhubarb pie. So delish. I have made a few more pies for the party day. I think I may have to start doing a 'pie of the week' now that all the lovely berries are in season. Sounds like a good way to spend time on a summer's weekend.
My friend Kim and I attended the Smash Up Derby in Petawawa on Sunday. It is part of the family-fun good times of Petawawa's Civic Centre Days, which amounts to a fair, some antique cars, greasy consessions and the crowd favorite, the Smash Up Derby. We started out the day at the Antrim Truck stop for a delish breakfast.
I had never been a smash up derby before. I was surprised at how downright entertaining it was to witness cars smash into each other. To thoroughly enjoy a smash up derby, I had to check all my environmental concerns at the door (oh, the exaust, the fuel leaks, the fires ! ) For a $5 entry fee, we watched round after round of cars smash into each other.
Video of round 2, or was it 3 or 4? In fact the derby last a whole 5 hrs, and we stuck it out for the entire afternoon. It sure was a cultural experience. Also interesting people watching: it seems to really fit in at one of these, one must chain smoke and have a minimum of 3 tattoos.
Car fixing between rounds:
The size of the winning car:
After a long day in the sun, we headed back to the Antrim Truck stop for a hot turkey sandwich. What a way to end a day.
Here is the jist of my new job as a caulker: to fill the gaps in between the concrete. This is on a balcony between two patio doors.
First, look at the gap:
Stuff it with stuffing:
Use the big gun get some caulking on there:
Add more and more:
Smooth it out with high tech equipment like cedar shims (cut to size) and some watered down dish soap (it keeps the caulking from sticking to the shims...who knews???!!!)
And keep smoothing until it is an impermiable masterpiece!
Then enjoy the view from the 25th floor and knowing that someone has bought this condo/balcony for $750,000 and I get to be in this spot for a few moments and get a good view of things. (the joint I was working on is in the lower right corner)...and they are not all this nice a view, or easy...
I have taken on yet another interesting job. From the sweeping job I was doing for a few weeks on a condo construction site, I got recruited to work as a caulker. Now, I thought it was going to be easy-peasy stuff like kitchens and bathrooms, but it turns out it is caulking OUTSIDE, like windows and sealing the joints in the construction. What I have gotten myself into? Sometimes this involves the swing stage, safety harness and all. I am a tad afraid of heights, but this exploration is too good to forgo over a little vertigo. Today, the work was on balconies. I like how some things will catch my eye when looking down or up.
This was the DOWN. It seemed to me that this was some kind of bicycle-beer-bottle rally. I like how the yellow shirted man is trying to see if the beer store is open. I think this was rather early in the morning.
this is was the building across the street from where I was working.
Here is a zoom-in on the window washers at the very top. At least I don't have their job :) !!!!!!
I attended my first Monster Truck Rally with my friend Kim this weekend. It was an obcene amount of engines, tires, mud and mayham. What great mindless fun...Its always nice to go to new events and see how the beer swilling, cigarette smoking folks have fun on a sunday afternoon. Rumour has it there's a smash up derby in Petawawa in a few weeks. I might need to investigate that event too.
It was such a beautiful weather weekend. Perfect for rummaging at the Great Glebe Garge Sale. This is a neighbourhood in Ottawa that has big old houses and lots of birkenstock tree-hugger vegan types. They put on a massive community sale, teasures are to be found at the end of each driveway. I posted some more pics on Flikr. Enjoy!
After a nice bike ride and picnic in Vincent Massey Park on Sunday,
we spotted some duck with BABIES, so cute!! My favorite part of spring!
Looks like this blog has been all about flowers lately...well, it is spring... :) In the driveway in between the buildings where I live, there is a lovely patch of Lily of the Valley. This must be my most favorite of flowers. They are such tiny little flowers but have a wonderful SMELL!!! I feel lucky to have proximity to this alley of my favorite little flower. Too bad there is no scratch-and-sniff function on this blog...
I am nipping as many lilacs as I can...of course only from bushes that are clearly no-mans land. They are so pretty and so fragrant and in bloom for such a short time. Then, on the construction site this week, I scored a cool piece of welded I-beam. It is quite heavy, but I still managed to take it home on my bicycle. I think the two make nice display of my worlds these days: flowers vs steel. Have a great long weekend!
I know, I know, tulips are all over this city and you've seen one, you've seen them all, but they sure are PRETTY!!! and after the long and arduous winter, we've been starved of colour and foliage and anything to do with pollen. So I got myself over to Dows Lake and did a little tiptoeing. They have some interesting 'breeds' (is that what you call it?) and I was snap happy with the camera. Plus, my Dutch genes may make me more suceptible to the lure of the tulip.
Our sugar-bushing friends have a super dog Paris, and I just wanted to give Paris some props. He is a standard poodle and very friendly and affectionate and smart. Here he is brandishing a stick. So cute!
He also likes the water:
and playing a lot:
Last weekend we piled some friends in the car and headed out to a-late-in-season- sugar bush eating event. I was impressed right off the bat with the Bowl of Bacon (which, in Quebec, are referred to as Oreille de Christ, or Christ's Ears) :
Then came the eggs and other good stuff:
All gone:
Time for Pancakes and Sugar Pie
If that wasn't quite enough sugar, top it all off some maple syrop on snow.
I'm still full just thinking about this meal.
Every once in a while I take on an odd job or two through a temp agency to aid with cash flow, gain new skills, meet new people and be in places that I wouldn't normally get to be in. This week, I was sent to a condo development site in the Ottawa's byward market for a little industrial cleaning. The 18th and 19th penthouse suites needed sweeping. It was pretty interesting to be amid the contractors, labourers, and trades people. The view was pretty good too.
The exhibition at Chrichton Community Centre was reviewed in the express a week ago. The article (can be read online here) was written by Dipna Horra, who also did a CBC radio review found here. The show is on till the end of May, so there's lots of time to go see it..might make a nice spring bike ride out to Beechwood :)
Its taken a few days to process the excitment, anxiety, distress and tons and tons of mad fun that was the Toronto Alternative Fashion Show. I have made a galleries of the performances and of the pieces I installed there. Also, view the video documentation of exhibition space. Public Interventions included handing out dust masks to protect ourselves from the SARS satchel, 'Spilling my guts' from the Colon Carry-All, wearing my Heart-On-My-Sleeve, and wearing the newest in fashion accessies: Tumour Belt. Thank you so much to my Hazmat Gals for being my posse for the night and my friends who came to the show to cheer me on! YOU ROCK!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0_xD1F1f6I&hl=en]
Here is the Colon Carry All I have made for the Toronto Alternative Fashion Show. It is part of my Organs and Organisms interventions taking place on Friday night in the Fermenting Cellar of the Distillery District. I am heading to TO tomorow: the car is packed, the price list is printed, all glue has dried. [FAT] starts on Wednesday night, so I'll likely be hanging in the Distillery hood for the duration. Should be lots and lots of fun...!
I've also just posted an image gallery of my Creatures from the Crichton Community Centre exhibiton. The opening went really well, and the place looks great....and rumour has it that the show has been reviewed for this weeks Xpress. Pick up a copy Thursday!
Here is creature # 2, Bellus Bestia, which in Latin means Beautiful Animal. The show has been installed at Crichton Community Centre, and is looking rather lovely. I have a busy week getting things ready for the fashion show [FAT] the week after next, so lots to do!
This is one of the odd little creatures I've made for the upcoming show at the Crichton Community Centre. More images coming soon!
Here are the details:
Crichton Community Centre
To Build a Vibrant Centre: The Corridor Gallery
Vernissage: Friday April 4, from 6 pm - 10 pm
2nd Floor 200 Crichton Street
The exhibition runs until May 31.
Artists: Karina Bergmans, Leanne L'Hirondelle, Alex Leblanc, Theo
Pelmus, and Tavi Weisz. Curated by Alisdair MacRae
The artists were asked to respond to the gallery space on the second
floor, the history of the building, the local area, or similar spaces
that provide a meeting place for a variety of community groups. Even the
concept of community itself. For the Crichton, Karina has created an
installation of fibre sculptures 'air cleanser' creatures. As a way to
aid the air quality in the facility, the air creatures are at once
beautiful and frightening, a reflection of the microscopic world
existing beyond our five senses.
