CDA Rodeo, BC Fires, Bowling.

We enjoyed our stint at taking tickets for the local Canadian Diabetes rodeo on Saturday, met some nice people - staff and volunteers and it was a fun few hours. However, when we went to watch the rodeo itself, it was a bit late in the programme and we didn't get to see some of the quarter horse work and saddle bronc riding I would have enjoyed. We did see some roping and steer wrestling, we also saw some barrel racing, a bit of trick riding and then a clown a couple of times, the second time the clown rode two horses standing on their backs particularly around fire which horses are pretty scared of normally. He was good. Later there was bull riding, however, we were not sitting in the best place for a lot of this, and certainly not for the bull riding which was taking place quite a distance from us and in a corner we couldn't really see so we decided to come home - there was a lot of clowning around during the bull riding, but didn't get to see a lot of it. We were really lucky with the weather, it threatened rain all day, but it never happened. Didn't know before, but they have a dance in the evening. We could have got free hamburgers or hot dogs, but we'd had lunch before we left home. Sorry, no pix. I was never really in a position to photograph anything although the horses were going past the entry gate all the time, if I hadn't been busy I could maybe have taken pictures of them, there were some magnificent looking animals. I wished I still rode horses, unfortunately I haven't done so since I was a youngster except once when we first came to Canada and we went to a dreadful place (as it turned out) to ride out - in the first place we knew nothing about the differences in guiding the horses (English and Western), in the second place, they told Matt not to let his horse's head drop but not why, later on the head dropped and the horse rolled. Matt was fit enough to jump off, I would have ended up with a horse rolling on me. They were comparitively small horses compared with those we saw at the Rodeo. There was one tiny tot riding this humungeous animal in the barrel race, she wasn't as big as the saddle she sat on. She rode very well. They were expecting 1,000 people, which surprised us, but I don't know if that many actually turned up. British Columbia is having some problems with wildfires at the moment, Sunday's news said the fires were out of control and thousands had fled their homes and many more were under evacuation alert. It is very dry in the Okanagan area which makes it ideal for fires. There are three fires burning at the moment but the weather with high wind gusts and not a scrap of rain in sight, is not helping - they are having temps of 30°C which is just what you need with all these fires. Today is our last day of the summer bowling league - we have our banquet (sandwiches in the summer) and awards, then play a couple of fun bowling games and then its all over until September. We will be playing a couple of times, a) to keep our hands in and b) because we will be away for some of the games in September. As it is, we miss bowling twice a week, not at all won't be good but the alleys take a break too in the summer. We have heard talk of renovations where we bowl, the place sure needs it. Here is another recipe I was sent last week, this time for Campari tomatoes. They didn't send me a photo, but I figured this looked similar. Pasta salads are very popular in North America. They probably are in Europe these days but I don't remember them when I lived in the UK. Campari® Picnic Pasta Salad Mastronardi Produce Always popular pasta salads are best mixed together just far enough in advance so the flavors meld but still stay bright and fresh. Makes 8 – 10 servings 8 oz dry, small shell pasta 3 Tbsp mayonnaise 1/2 cup high-quality Italian salad dressing 2 cloves garlic, finely minced 1/2 tsp black pepper 1/4 cup chopped parsley 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese 3/4 cup frozen peas, defrosted 1/3 cup small-diced red onion 1 can (2.25 oz) sliced black olives, drained well 1 lb Campari® Cocktail Tomatoes, diced Cook pasta according to package directions, rinse and drain well. In a large bowl whisk together the mayonnaise, dressing, garlic and pepper. Gently mix with pasta and remaining ingredients. Have a great day.

Bowling, Diabetes,

I was tickled pink yesterday, I bowled really well. I actually had a 200 game which is definitely not usual for me. Our new team is a fun group which helps. The team I was on last year were too busy talking family and not interested in the bowling per se which I found unencouraging (is there such a word?) to say the least. I ended up with an average of 170 which is very high for me. I know it is unlikely to stay that high and I hope it won't because I don't need such a high average if I enter for any of the bowling tournaments this winter. Of course with a high average like that, I am unlikely to get "most improved bowler" at the end of the season too although we joked that she (woman who runs the alley) could come up with a booby prize. Now we have a few errands to run before going away. I have cancelled the newspaper, don't want that piling up outside our door, have to license the car this month, its registered in my name so has to be done for my birthday. Also have to have my three monthly blood tests done for diabetes. Bit of a pain, I have to get up at the crack of dawn get a urine sample and then dash down to the clinic which luckily is quite close. They then take 5 or 6 tubes of my blood after which I can come home and finally have breakfast. I have been hearing a lot lately about people who don't take proper care of themselves although they have diabetes. There is no reason why you shouldn't live a long and healthy life with diabetes providing you do everything you are told and having an A1C test every 3 months is one of the things to do. I personally am terrified of all the complications which can occur from diabetes. One of the things which particularly scares me is amputation often necessitated by artery blockages and subsequent lack of blood to the feet. I also recently found out that apart from all the complications we are normally warned about, i.e. kidney, liver, limb functions, heart attacks, one can have trouble with the skin, muscles and exoskeleton. Less prevalent I gather, but it can still happen. We just discovered that Johnny Cash, the singer, died from diabetes. We hadn't realised that before. I am supposed to go to CDA today but they phoned and asked me to come in tomorrow. The weather isn't being too kind to us at the moment. Pretty cool, seems like someone shut off the heat once September started. I do hope it will brighten up for our trip next week. We are taking shorts but are not sure if we will need them. Oh yes, we saw Canada Geese in our park yesterday, from the window, something we have never seen there before. They didn't visit for very long, Matt thought they might be on their migration and just stopped in for a nosh. You can just about see them, amazing how small they look when they are quite big birds. There were lots more behind the bushes on the left. You have to have a permit to shoot them and you certainly can't do so in a city park, but we ate one once and it was good. A friend we used to have was hunting mad. He also knew how to cook them properly. They are a problem in a lot of parks where there is water, they are such messy things and the parks get covered in goose poop. People with back yards which slope down to the water have the same problem. The friends' in Hespeler where we are partying on Saturday have that disadvantage in their back yard. I know the chilled soups weren't too popular so here is a Chicken Satay recipe from the same source - Home Basics. I love Satays, and this is a quick and easy way of doing it. Grilled Peanut Chicken Satays Source Home Basics Serves 6 1 pouch onion soup 1/4 Cup olive oil 2 tbs firmly packed brown sugar 2 Tbs creamy peanut butter 1 lb boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, pounded thin and cut into strips 12 wooden skewers (I actually have metal ones) In a large, resealable plastic bag, combine the soup mix, olive oil, brown sugar and peanut butter. Add the chicken and toss to coat. Seal and marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Remove the chicken from the marinade and discard the marinade. Thread the chicken onto the wooden skewers (which should have been soaked in water prior to this). Grill or broil until the chicken is cooked through. Have a great day.

Mike's Blog,

I am thrilled to tell you my son-in-law Mike, the artist, has started his own blog. The Scolopax Chronicles. No, don't know why the name, I will have to ask him. Gynie you will be particularly interested as he is including drawings and sketches of birds he has made whilst on holiday. The link to his blog is on this page, of course, so I do hope everyone will check him out on a regular basis. He is not planning to be as verbally prolific as his mother-in-law, but then he's got a life LOL. The owl in this picture is one he had for a number of years, unfortunately it died about 18 month's ago. Mike, I wish you all the best with this new venture and hope it will become really popular. They kept me pretty busy at Canadian Diabetes yesterday, I was late home and Matt asked if they paid me overtime? I am glad that I am able to help out. However, I was having a lot of trouble using MS Word on their computer today. I hope we can get that sorted out, it was doing all kinds of nasties to me. In a bit of a hurry this morning, have my appointment with my foot nurse, so I have to scoot. This afternoon I want to go to the farm we visited on the way back from my last two theatre trips, their tomatoes are absolutely delicious. Their corn was very good too. They have lots of other fresh veggies available but their cabbages were huge and so was their cauliflower. Unfortunately we would never get it all eaten before it became inedible. How about something with a South Western flavour today, I love mole sauce, but then its chocolate so why wouldn't I? Chicken Mole with Green Beans Serves: 4 Source: Cooking Light Jan/Feb 2001 4 chicken breasts, skin removed 1 lb green beans, trimmed, part cooked Cooking spray 2 tsp olive oil 1 c finely chopped onion 1 tbs chili powder 2 1/2 tsp bottled minced garlic 2 tsp unsweetened cocoa 2 tsp ground cinnamon 2 tsp dried thyme 1/2 tsp sugar 1/4 tsp salt 3/4 cup chicken broth Heat a large nonstick skillet over med high heat. Add chicken, cook 5 mins on each side. Place the chicken and beans in a baking dish coated with cooking spray and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave on high for15 minutes or until chicken is done, turn half way. While the chicken cooking, heat oil in skillet over med high heat. Add onion and the next 7 ingredients, onion through salt, cook for 3 mins or until onion is soft, stirring frequently. Add broth, and cook until thick (about 2 mins). Spoon sauce over chicken mixture. Have a great day.

Canadian Diabetes, The Three Kretans,

This morning I am going to the CDA seminar called "What's Next" so that I can see what happens and what they tell people. It is designed for those who have just been diagnosed with diabetes and it is recommended that volunteers participate as part of orientation. As far as doing any volunteer work however, until they have me set up on their main programme, there isn't a lot I can do. This should take another couple of days apparently. After the seminar, the Administrative Assistant and I are going to lunch at the local Greek restaurant, The Three Kretans. I haven't been there for a long while and she has never been and no-one would go with her before. I am hoping they will have dolmadas available as they are one of my favourites. They make very good ones there. I expect our lunch will consist of mezes which are the Greek way of saying appetizers (to all intents and purposes), when you are in Greece, you can frequently make a full meal out of mezes, or you can have one or two and then you are invited into the kitchen to see what the chef or cook has prepared for the day. Each dish will be lovingly described telling you its ingredients and how it was assembled. You can then choose what you would like to eat and it will then be brought to you. In Canada they just have menus like everyone else although one Greek restaurant which used to exist in Brantford called Zorba's, served you mezzes and then you were invited up to a counter where the chef had all his meals for the night on display and took off the lids to show you what he had prepared. The chef there was once the chef on Aristotle Onassis' brother-in-law's yacht. So you know he was pretty good. We had a wonderful meal. Unfortunately they are no longer there. Matt has made dolmadas several times and they were very good. Below is a recipe from Recipezaar which you might like to try. They are actually not that difficult. You can find all kinds of recipes for them, with and without meat, with rice or with bulgur wheat. When Matt worked in the Borstal system in England, he was with young people. One young man was a Cypriot and one day on a visit, his mother brought him some dolmadas. They discovered Matt liked them and gave him some. The next time the mother came in, she brought a casserole full of them for him. He brought them home, they were excellent. We guzzled the lot. (grapeleaf courtesy of About.com, first dolmadas picture from Geocities Traditional Greek Food, second dolmadas picture from MyRecipes.com)

Dolmadakia (dolmadas)

Submitted by katanga | June 17, 2008

1 16 oz. jar grape leaves 1 large onion, minced 3/4 lb. ground veal 2/3 C. rice, soaked for 5 minutes in boiling water and drained 3 T. fresh mint, chopped a little fresh dill 1 t. salt 2 T. olive oil Chicken broth juice of one lemon pinch of cinnamon

Carefully unfold grape leaves and rinse under cold water. Pat dry. In a bowl, combine onions, veal, rice, herbs, cinnamon, salt, pepper, and oil. Fold in sides then roll up from leaf tip end. Arrange a layer of leaves in bottom of large frying pan. Place stuffed leaves very close together on top of leaves in pan. Pour enough broth over to barely cover stuffed leaves and sprinkle with lemon juice. Weight leaves with a plate. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer one hour. Let leaves cool in broth. Drain and serve. Have a great day.