Easter Sunday

   Signs of Spring.........
.......are appearing everywhere. A couple of days ago the first crocuses appeared in my garden. This particular patch is almost always the first to appear, poking out of the detritus winter and the melting snow leave behind.

   Yesterday I noticed some green spikes in my vegetable garden and at first mistook them for some wayward daffodil bulbs. The wily squirrels have been known to dig up bulbs in the Fall and bury them somewhere else in the garden.On closer scrutiny, though, I think they may be garlic that I planted in the Fall. I will have to keep an eye on them and look up their "days to maturation" period and be ready to harvest it. I got quite a good crop last year and found it much more flavourful than the supermarket variety.

   Another early event was the appearance of activity at the tennis courts. This almost never happens until the middle of April but I had a premonition we might get an early start when I saw Washington, our maintenance guy, out sweeping the courts a few days ago. Sure enough, when I took a bike ride down to the park on Saturday, there were 5 or 6 of the keenest members out installing the nets. When they were done, out came the rackets and balls and an impromptu game was soon in progress. The temperature was up in the low double digits so everyone was comfortable, except Bruce, just back from a holiday in Cuba, and complaining it
was too chilly! But the sun was shining and no wind. I call that pretty perfect weather for March 30th! Here is an unfocussed Tamara just leaving the courts. I really need to work on my photography skills!

   Today I have the sniffles and decided I needed to get some fresh air to clear my head. On my walk I came across this beautiful display in a south facing border at one of my neighbours. Our Spring may be short but is very welcome!

 

Good Friday

Natalie arriving with lily.

   I feel that we have finally turned the corner and winter is behind us. It has seemed very long in coming. Yesterday the family came over to celebrate Good Friday with a special Easter-themed meal.

    As expected, the children were all about "chocolate", and set off to find any Easter eggs that the Easter Bunny might have dropped off at my house. They found a bunch but were
encouraged to save them for after the meal (that didn't happen).


The Easter Bunny came!

A well-stocked table

   We started off with Spanakopita - little Greek pastries with spinach and cheese filling - and smoked salmon and cream cheese on toasts. This was eaten al fresco which eliminated the need for plates and cutlery, always a consideration when I am feeding a big crowd. Then on to the table for roast lamb and vegetables (Judy brought a green bean and feta casserole which fitted well with the Greek theme), accompanied by mint jelly and my homemade Winter Fruit Chutney (see an earlier post) which Elliot declared "not bad", high praise indeed! This was followed by a choice of (or both) Steve's chocolate  cream pie or trifle, accompanied with extra cream or custard for those of us who still didn't have enough of a sugar fix. I opted for a small helping of each. All accompanied by various wines and/or juice, depending on your age or preference!

    After the meal the children retired to the TV room to digest their meal, and probably nibble on contraband Easter eggs, while the adults relaxed with coffee and some grown-up conversation. Then it was time for baths (kids only) and departures for the journey home in their pyjamas  (kids only again).

   Today I am killing the last bottle of wine and snacking on leftovers. Somehow a bottle of Pinot Grigio got left in the freezer and the cork popped. No point in letting it go to waste, is there? The late afternoon sun is streaming through my windows and a happy glow permeates everything. Spring is finally here!

  





A Memorable Trip

   Nothing much to write about today so I have dug out a photo from my Egypt trip. It's been some time since I went there - before the scary happenings during the "Arab Spring" of last year - so I have wonderful, but fuzzy, memories of the visit. This temple could be anywhere; I really must learn to label my photos at the time! Suffice to say the The Pyramids and the Sphinx were a bit of a disappointment, a sort of "been there, done that" moment. However I had a ride on a camel out into the desert just south of the pyramids which will stay in my mind forever.

   My favourite part of the trip was a river cruise down the Nile, over several days, from Cairo to the Aswan Dam. We were one of many boats doing the cruise but it was peaceful, almost idyllic. The river is very flat and broad but in places we were close enough to the shore to see people going about their daily activities, children playing by the water and animals being brought down for a drink. Of course, the Valley of the Kings, where Tutankhamen's tomb was found, was out of this world, literally. An almost moon-like topography, with craters and rocky outcrops. How they discovered it is a mystery! The tombs were unbelievably well-preserved, probably due to the hot, dry atmosphere.

This next tomb was a short flight south from Aswan at Abu Simbel, almost on the Sudanese border. It was part of a whole temple complex that had been removed from the Nile valley before it was flooded when the dam was built. It was reconstructed here, stone by carefully numbered stone to exactly conform to its original construction, an amazing feat!

  

Spanish Feast

   Golf courses and tennis courts are still covered by snow but today had the feel of Spring! I managed to do a little tidy-up in the yard where the sun has melted the snow, and examine some little shoots showing their first green stalks. I even saw where my rhubarb has pushed up a pink bud. The air seemed warmer, even though the thermometer was still registering in the low single digits. At least they were on the plus side!

   Yesterday was Spanish cooking class at the LCBO. The host was Chef Jose Arato, and he prepared tapas and a magnificent paella (forgot my camera again but it was quite spectacular). The tapas was a warm salad of roasted eggplant, zucchini and red pepper from the Catalan region. The paella included shrimp and octopus, both of which went into the pan frozen and were perfectly cooked in the time it took to cook the rice and other vegetables. He showed us how to use saffron, something I have been wondering about since I brought some home from Morocco. The lunch ended with a vanilla ice cream, which he made himself, over macerated berries  (in Madeira wine). All quite delicious. Each course was accompanied by a different wine tasting - the sweet one with the dessert was my favourite. Unfortunately, the wine made me sleepy and, as I was heading to the west end for a tea dance later in the afternoon, I put my head down when I got home, just for ten minutes.
     Forty minutes later I woke up and realized I was going to be late if I didn't leave home right away so it was a mad dash across the 401 to Brampton where, luckily, they were a bit behind schedule (there had been workshops in the morning) so I had time to change my shoes and make it to the ballroom (AKA school gym) before they called the first dance. Danced every dance, met some new partners and old friends, had a light supper around 5:00 p.m. and headed home tired but happy after a very busy day.