Friday, March 24, 2023

Weekend Roundup

 Welcome to The Weekend Roundup...hosted by Tom The Back Roads Traveler


1. A Word with "L"
2. A Favorite
3.  LOUD chosen by Tom

STARTS WITH L


FAVOURITE

LARD LAD Universal Studios Florida


FAVOURITE

LEMON Front St. Toronto




LOUD

Soccer game Montreal Quebec



Tuesday, March 21, 2023

Tuesday Treasures

 Tom the backroads traveller hosts this weekly meme.



September 1998 - Scottsdale Arizona

Saturday September 19 we had an uneventful Air Canada flight Toronto to Phoenix AZ.
It was a twenty minute drive from Sky Harbor airport to the condo which is next door to the Princess - golf course of the Phoenix Open in Scottsdale.
We went to Carlos O'Brien's for lunch and picked up groceries before checking in.

Went for a swim!

Pre-digital scanned photos.




Went to Rawhide and drove around Camelback Mountain. Stopped into the Phoenician resort.




Checked out "golfy" places - Boulders GC, In Celebration of Golf store, Pro Golf, Nevada Bob's, Crackerjax.
John golfed at TPC Princess.
Went to the Marriott Biltmore Resort.

Tomestone - founded in 1879 by prospector Ed Schieffelin.




 It became one of the last boomtowns in the American frontier. The town grew significantly into the mid-1880s as the local mines produced $40 to $85 million in silver bullion, the largest productive silver district in Arizona. Its population grew from 100 to around 14,000 in less than seven years.


Within two years of its founding, although far distant from any other metropolitan area, Tombstone had a bowling alley, four churches, an ice house, a school, two banks, three newspapers, and an ice cream parlor, alongside 110 saloons, 14 gambling halls, and numerous dance halls and brothels.


It is best known as the site of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and presently draws most of its revenue from tourism.
 

Arizona Courthouse







Old Tucson Movie Studio
The studio was built in in 1939 when Columbia Pictures chose the Pima County-owned site on which to build a replica of 1860′s Tucson for the movie Arizona." Members of the local Thono O'odham native American tribe built the 50 original buildings in 40 days. Members of that tribe also acted as extras in that first motion picture.






We also went into Phoenix one day. Had a beer and great potato skins in Seamus McCafney's.






The highlight of the trip was a bus tour to the Grand Canyon, we left at 7:15 AM and returned at 9:30 PM, cost $107. It is about 225 miles each way.



Driving there.







Judging by my notes we learned about the desert on the drive.


We had lunch on the Navajo Reservation at the Trading Post in Cameron. I had the Navajo stew (just like Irish stew) and John the the Navajo taco.







The fog rolled in and out.







I had to buy a sweatshirt as it was chilly.


We stopped at Bo's in Camp Verde for dinner on the way back to Scottsdale. 



Monday, March 20, 2023

Monday Mural

  I'm linking up at Monday Mural 

February 2023 - Hamilton ON

Created for the 2022 Concrete Canvas Festival by Toronto based artist, Bacon, this striking mural will stop you in your tracks. Light hues of green, purple, pink, and orange surround the face of a strong woman, who is meant to represent a new Mother Earth. The contrast of soft natural elements and sharp robotic edges symbolize the harmony that can exist between nature and technology.




10 YEARS OF MONDAY MURAL


I thought for fun, that I would reverse post my Monday Murals - posted May 2013.


Saturday, March 18, 2023

McGinty's

 Linking up at Marg at The Intrepid Reader
March 2023 - Toronto ON
2022 - Meaford ON


Saturday, or PJ day.
My other two "trees" arrived, however, it was very windy and none of the trees could withstand it. So now we are on the hunt for heavy (read cheap) pots that won't topple.





We swapped out two cupboards so the tea/coffee stuff will be over the coffee pots and the canned goods are next to the stove.
I worked on my embroidery.

Sunday we slept in and then realized we had also lost an hour due to clocks "springing" forth!
John had to hustle to met a buddy at 11 for lunch (Piper's Pub) and then they went to the annual men's golf league registration.

I worked on cleaning up the CDs we had used as backups. I had stopped doing this a few months ago and the old laptop (that has a CD reader) and the CDs had sat on a dining room chair along with my old laptop for the last 3 months! 
I also got rid of some more photos.

It was a pretty quiet week with the kitchen almost finished. The bits and pieces should get done next week, the contractor has been off this week for spring break.

My view on Monday morning.


Monday the stone guys came!




More cleanup.

Tuesday the plumber came to hook up the sink and dishwasher! I have a sink! AND a dishwasher!


Oops forgot to take off the sticky paper for the photo.


Next steps, install the kickplates, electrical, paint.


More cleanup.

John went to Metro to pick up some groceries and stuff then he used the golf simulator for a couple of hours. He is looking at getting new clubs.

Wednesday the cleaning lady came. we went out for a burger and stopped into Homesense 
but didn't buy anything.
I had bought a gluten free artisan bread course last month so I finally took it today. I enjoyed it, and now have his super duper secret recipe that we are not allowed to share. I learned a few tricks. I think I would take more of these courses.
There are also some good recipes on her site.

Thursday I went out, waiting for the bus, the lake was shimmering and most of the snow is gone.



Winners, $ store and I didn't buy anything again! I did get groceries at Longo's. 
Unheard of, gluten free pasta on sale for the same price as regular!


I had ordered some baking tools that came today.


We also ordered a couple of mats for the kitchen sink to prevent scratches. The ones I selected don't have a hole.






Friday, St. Patrick's Day and it rained all day. I poked around, packed up some stuff for charity, rearranged some kitchen décor.

So far this is how the kitchen project went.

WORK SCHEDULE DATE 

Feb 27/28 demolition 2 day work  NOISE  - ACTUAL Took 2 days (8-9 hrs) Zoran and Goran

Mar 2 plumber- ACTUAL Iqbal 3 hrs

Mar 3 Zoran checked plumber work and did some measurements

Mar 6/7 install cabinets 2 day work NOISE - ACTUAL Mar 6 1 day Justin 2 men. Eric tile measured

Mar 7 ACTUAL - Zoran/Goran installed microwave, leveled floor for dishwasher/grout 4 hrs

Mar 13-17 install counters 2 day work - ACTUAL Mar 13 install 2 hours 2 men

Mar 13 -17 install new sink/dishwasher 1 day work - ACTUAL Mar 14 Iqbal 5 hrs

TO DO
Install kickplates
Electrical
Replace vent exhaust
Remove blue plastic on cabinet by fridge
Paint - including a piece of quarter round (d/w)


Appliances moved to final spots.



COOKING

Saturday slow cooker corned beef, Brussel sprouts and boiled potatoes for St. Patrick Day/Week.
This was the first time I did corned beef in the slow cooker and it was the best one I've made, normally I find them dry and hard.

Sunday BBQ chicken and coleslaw.

Monday hamburger stew in crockpot.

Tuesday salmon and coleslaw. I made a bread in the bread maker using a recipe that I like with Cup4Cup flour.



Wednesday breaded pork chop, mashed potatoes and beans.

Thursday chicken divan.

Friday STEAK! loaded baked potato.


WATCHING





We watched Memory with Liam Neeson. Alex Lewis (Liam Neeson) is an expert assassin with a reputation for discreet precision. Caught in a moral quagmire, Alex refuses to complete a job that violates his code and must quickly hunt down and kill the people who hired him before they and FBI agent Vincent Serra (Guy Pearce) find him first. Alex is built for revenge but, with a memory that is beginning to falter, he is forced to question his every action, blurring the line between right and wrong.

No Sudden Move 2021 In 1954 Detroit, small-time criminals are hired to steal a document. When their heist goes horribly wrong, their search for who hired them -- and for what purpose - sends them wending through all echelons of the race-torn, rapidly changing city.
This has an incredible lineup of stellar actors, amazing 1950s cars and costumes. It is a complicated plot that requires your attention and you will find yourself saying, ah, a few times.


READING

I read Her Dark Past while I enjoyed it, I didn't think it was as good as some of her others. It wasn't very difficult to figure out the plot twist.

No Gluten No Problem half the book is about celiac disease. Note it has 2/5 stars consistently on GoodReads.

Julia's Kitchen Wisdom was a joy to flip through. Simple, straightforward. 
Julia Child describes the focus of the book thus (Page ix): So often you can be in the midst of cooking and you just can't remember whether that leg of lamb should roast in a 325 degree or a 350 degree oven. . .This book aims to give quick snappy answers to many of these questions."
In her chowder recipe she suggests blending crackers or bread crumbs into the onions to thicken the chowder.