Remembrance Day

The National Monument to the Women of World War II is a British war memorial sculpture situated in Whitehall, London to the north of the Cenotaph. It was sculpted by John W. Mills and dedicated by Queen Elizabeth II on July 9, 2005.




The Monument stands 22 feet (6.7 m) high, 16 feet (4.9 m) long and 6 feet (1.8 m) wide. The lettering on the sides replicates the typeface used on war time ration books. There are 17 individual sets of clothing and uniforms around the sides, symbolising the hundreds of different jobs women undertook in World War II and then gave back for the homecoming men at the end of the war.

Toronto Thursday

I took a cooking course with a friend, Maid M, the other night. It was conducted by the LCBO at Summerhill. I had never been in this building; it is the largest liquor store in North America housed in what formally was a CPR train station. The building is magnificent, and it has thoughtfully been renovated while losing none of the charms. The aisles are named for the platforms; the walls are adorned with sketches of employees.


Maid M and I marvelled at the selection, and having once worked in Finance, we wondered what the current inventory cost was.
I took the above photo just before we went in.
Wikipedia carries the following history of the building.

The station was designed by Darling and Pearson and built in 1916 by P. Lyall & Sons Construction Company to service the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) line running across Toronto. The cornerstone was laid on September 9, 1915, by Mayor Tommy Church, and the station officially opened for passenger service on June 14, 1916 (though it had already been serving in the role since June 4).

When Union Station opened in 1927 and the Great Depression followed shortly thereafter, the North Toronto Station, which served smaller towns in Ontario and was originally meant to augment the bigger station, began to suffer. The last paying passengers filed through the station on September 27, 1930. Brewers' Retail moved into the northern portion of the terminal building in 1931.

The station was re-opened, briefly, at 10:30 a.m. on May 22, 1939 when King George VI and his consort, Queen Elizabeth (mother of Queen Elizabeth II) arrived for the first visit to Toronto by the reigning monarch of Canada. The royal couple left Toronto, though, through Union Station. Shortly after World War II, returning soldiers passed through the station; they were its last rail customers.

I love this photo I found over at Summerhill Residents Association.

I love how dressed up everyone is, but have to admit I do like that I can wear my jeans travelling!

Wednesday's Words

I was registering for this LibraryThing and got a real kick out of its verifcation page. It says "to verify your humanity, please enter the author from the cover below".

Thirsty Tuesday

From our Thanksgiving feast.

Monday's Child - Brussels

Upon arrival in Brussels the first attraction you are shown is the Manneken Pis (little pee man in Flemish). Located close to the Grand Place on rue de l’Etuve 31 (Lievevrouwbroersstraat 31, 1000 Brussels, Belgium) he stands at just 61cm (24 inches). The peeing boy is a tiny bronze fountain statue. One would not normally call this art piece ‘majestic’, but the locals have so many stories and ways of celebrating festivals with the little peeing boy that even the toughest critic would leave with fondness for the bronze doll.



Stories of Manneken Pis

Many great legends bring this little statue to life in the hearts of visitors, and the question is why was this statue erected? One story tells of a tourist father who lost his son in the city and after receiving help from villagers to find the boy, he gifted this statue to them. Another, more daring, tale is one where the boy was a spy during a siege of the city. He literally put out a ploy to bomb the city by urinating on the explosives! Many stories such as this have given the Mannekin Pis a firm place in Brussels’ city-life but none would compete with its present-day glory.

Celebrations with the Manneken Pis

The people of Brussels don’t simply look upon the cute statuette and show it to tourists. The Manneken Pis plays a full part in the city’s annual calendar and even has an outfit for every occasion. Manneken Pis’ wardrobe ranges from Santa suits to national costumes from countries around the world. The most recent addition is a red leather Chinese costume presented by the city of Haining, China. On special occasions, brass-bands would play and Manneken Pis would be hooked up to different flavours of Belgian beer, which is poured from his fountain tip and given out to the public. With such love and care for the Manneken, who needs Big Ben?

Saturday's Dinner

DH had bought a gorgeous rack of lamb from our local butcher's. Did some recipe Googling and selected this one. We served it with baked potato and oven roasted mushrooms, green peppers and onions sprinkled with balsamic vinegar. Normally I would do the vegetables in a pan but these were so much better in the oven.

Roasted Rack of Lamb

Prep Time: 20 Minutes

Cook Time: 20 Minutes

Ready In: 40 Minutes

Servings: 4

"A rack of lamb is seared, and encrusted with Dijon mustard and garlic and rosemary flavored bread crumbs. Then it is roasted to your desired doneness."
Ingredients:


1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs - I used homemade

2 tablespoons minced garlic

2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 (7 bone) rack of lamb, trimmed and frenched

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard



Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Move oven rack to the center position.

2. In a large bowl, combine bread crumbs, garlic, rosemary, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Toss in 2 tablespoons olive oil to moisten mixture. Set aside.

3. Season the rack all over with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large heavy oven proof skillet over high heat. Sear rack of lamb for 1 to 2 minutes on all sides. Set aside for a few minutes. Brush rack of lamb with the mustard. Roll in the bread crumb mixture until evenly coated. Cover the ends of the bones with foil to prevent charring.

4. Arrange the rack bone side down in the skillet. Roast the lamb in preheated oven for 12 to 18 minutes, depending on the degree of doneness you want. With a meat thermometer, take a reading in the center of the meat after 10 to 12 minutes and remove the meat, or let it cook longer, to your taste. Let it rest for 5 to 7 minutes, loosely covered, before carving between the ribs.

Sunday Skies - Ireland

Taken in Dingle.