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July Holidays

Published by Alexandra

The deed is done!

We finished booking all the extracurricular activities we want to do while on our anniversary holidays in Montreal, in July.

I am so excited. We have a lovely hotel booked that is within easy access to the Botanical Gardens, which we’ve booked a passport for, so we can see the various gardens at our leisure. Plus it includes access to the Bidome, Planetarium, Insectarium (though I’m not sure how I feel about looking at a lot of creepy-crawlies). Also, there’s an evening showing of a Planetarium show we booked for fun.

We also booked for a full-on Afternoon Tea at the Ritz-Carlton in downtown Montreal. Something we love doing and have done in both London, and Paris. So of course, we have to do it here, on home soil. Throw in a walking food tour of the Jean-Talon market and, we’re all set to eat our way around Montreal.

The only other thing I fancy is doing Chinatown and eating there one or maybe two nights, as I do love me a good Chinese meal. So, if anyone has eaten there and has any recommendations, let me know in the comments.

For any possible rainy days, we have at any number of museums and or churches we can take refuge in, if need be. And when sunny? Any number of other parks and boroughs/neighbourhoods we can go exploring. I heard a walk along the Lachine Canal was a must now they’d cleaned it up. So we might cram that in one afternoon or evening.

Then, of course, there’s the shopping. And who doesn’t love shopping. Though it’s true, we’ll no longer be able to ramble around The Bay anymore. Sad to say. But I’m sure there’ll be enough bookshops to keep me happy. If not, there’s always the Atwater Market to go snack on something fun.

Lastly, we decided not to travel by bus and booked business class on the train, so we can have access to the members lounge before and after, plus we’re fully catered with meals and snacks. And the added bonus of better seating and comfortable chairs. At least, that’s what we’ve paid for.

Needless to say, I’ll be documenting the whole week via my phone. And will make sure to snap as many photos as I can to share with everyone here.

Now I can’t wait for July to come around hoping the weather is kind to us and, not too hot and not too wet!

Recipes: Pork in Garlic & Mushroom Sauce

Published by Alexandra

I love making this simple but very adaptive recipe. You can use either a cheap cut of cubed pork, pork chops, or even pork loin. The choice is yours.

Ingredients:

  • 8 oz of cubed pork or chump pork chops
  • ½ tsp of paprika
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • 8 oz of sliced mushrooms
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced/diced
  • 1 tbsp dijon mustard
  • 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup mushroom broth (or beef)
  • salt & pepper to taste

Method:

  1. Season the pork with paprika, salt & pepper.
  2. Heat a large skillet over a med-high heat, add 2 tablespoons of butter. Sear pork till golden brown and no longer pink. Remove and set aside.
  3. Melt remaining butter in the skillet and, over a medium-high heat, sauté the mushrooms for about 5 mins. Add garlic and mustard and cook for a further min till garlic is fragrant.
  4. Add flour to the skillet, stirring to remove any lumps. Slowly add broth whisking until incorporated. Season with salt & pepper. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring often, until sauce thickens (about 5 mins).
  5. Return pork to pan and cook until heated through (another minute or two).
  6. Serve with a side of mashed potatoes and your favourite veg, or with pasta.

How to Forget

Published by Alexandra

I was reading something this morning that made me think of something my mother once told me. I don’t know if it was something she learnt herself, or was told, but I distinctly remember her saying to me:

“One of our greatest gift is our ability to forget.”

It wasn’t till much later in life that I fully understood what she said in the context of why anyone would want to forget, especially the good things in life, but after a handful of painful events in my life I realised her words made perfect sense. While we might not forget the essence of something that happened to us—a car accident, the loss of a parent, a nasty breakup—time and fading memory do a good job of lessening the emotional impact of these events, which is what I think my mother was trying to convey. That, while at the time we’re feeling an unimaginable pain or hurt, time really does make the emotion of that moment fade to acceptable levels.

I think it’s one of life’s greatest gifts and, in truth, gives us the ability to carry on.

7 Random Facts About Me

Published by Alexandra

So, are you ready to be bored dazzled by 7 Random Facts about me? Probably not, but here we go anyway.

FACT #1 : I was in the military.

Yeah, and I survived! Ha! Ha! I did 8 years in the Women’s Royal Air Force, to be exact, as an Air Traffic Controller. Does that fact scare you knowing I was in charge? Well, okay, maybe not in-charge and it was military fighter jets, not passenger flights, that we landed!

FACT #2 : I jumped out of a hovering helicopter over the sea.

Not once, or twice, but several times. No, really! See, this one ties in with being in the military. We got to do some really stupid things, like this. But it was all in the interest of teaching Search and Rescue techniques to SARs Crews, and survival (that would be me, bobbing around in frigid waters) — yes, we had survival suits on.

FACT #3 : I was an qualified All-England Netball Referee.

See, I bet you never saw that one coming either. Ha! Again, this is the kind of thing you get up to, while in the military. I had to go to London to train and then, had an exam and passed with flying colours. Yeah, for netball!

FACT #4 : I’ve been to, London, Paris, Rome, Berlin, Montreal, Washington DC and New York.

Okay, now don’t laugh, as I kid I was fascinated by those glossy perfume ads in magazines that featured these seemingly, exotic cities. So I had this thing about wanting to visit them all, and I have. Now I only have Melbourne and Tokyo left on the bucket list.

FACT #5 : Growing up I wanted to be a marine biologist.

Yeah, I  know, go figure. It was watching all those TV shows featuring one of my dad’s heroes, Jacque Cousteau, that started it, that and I love the ocean. I’m convinced I’m part mermaid or was a tardigrade in another life. The water and I are best buddies.

FACT #6 : I love to cook.

This one is in homage to my mother. And while I don’t know if I’m as good a cook as her, I know I learnt a great deal from her. I do all the cooking here, and I’m always trying new things and tweaking recipes to suit my taste buds. I do love me some spicy food and love my herbs. I cannot imagine life without bay leaves.

FACT #7 : I still have my childhood teddy bear.

It’s a small Steiff Bear and if the apartment was burning down, that would be the first thing I would grab and save. My dad bought it for me when he found out my mum was pregnant with me. There is nothing more precious to me.

Now it’s your turn to share 7 random facts with us all. Go on, you know you want to.

WeblogPoMo AMA #2

Published by Alexandra

A question I got asked for Annie’s #WeblogPoMo AMA (Ask Me Anything) challenge was from Annie (yes, another Annie), she wanted to know:

What is a habit that’s either very long-standing or has had a big impact in your life (or both)?

and

What’s your favourite time of day, and why?

First up, let’s start with the easier question, my favourite time of day has got to be mornings, early mornings. Especially as I have a habit of waking up somewhere around 5am for a pee. Which in and of itself you’d think would be annoying but … I’ve learnt to turn around what was once an annoyance to a positive. I now take the time to open the curtains and peak outside, and spend a couple of minutes marvelling at the world beyond. Sometimes I give up any thought of going back to bed and, instead, brew a cup of green tea, sit on the couch with a blanket, and either read or just stare out into the dark pondering life’s mysteries.

It’s funny what pops into your head when you stop thinking about anything specific.

As to Annie’s second question? Hmm … I’m not sure I have any long standing habits these days. I think I’ve broken myself of most of the annoying ones a long time since; like chewing my nails till I was 17, sucking my finger till I was 5 and started school, or carrying a stuffed bush baby plushy everywhere I went till the age of 3, till I threw it overboard on a boat.

There was also my habit of watching the news while eating breakfast. But watching the twin towers fall live on TV, one morning, broke me of that habit. In shock, like half the world, I couldn’t bring myself to watch the morning news for well over a decade.

I do, I suppose, have one new habit that stated in the spring of 2019, the year before covid hit. When my partner and I were planning a month long trip to Paris in the fall of 2020, and I needed to get in shape for the trip. It was walking. But, as we all know, covid locked down us and the entire planet, we didn’t go anywhere for 2 years. I did, however, walk with a vengeance. I started walked for at least 5 minutes of every hour every day, for that entire year. Not only did I gain muscle mass, but lost weight too. The upshot of that one year, which continued into 2021 and then, 2022, became my new habit.

Now I only walk about three and a half minutes every hour. But still, with everything else I do throughout the day. I walk over 7000 steps each and every day. It really has been one of the best habits and decisions I ever made.

And you, what’s your favourite time of day, and what long standing habits do you have, if any?