Elliot's Plunge

 The Landing

  Here are the photos from Elliot's big adventure at Brimacombe's "Puddle Jump" competition.  Well, he made it down the hill but not far into the "Puddle". Thankfully there were spotters on hand as he literally went in face first and did a somersault. But he was so proud of himself (after he regained his composure) that I'm sure he felt it was all justified. Plus he got a neat hat for participating. I wonder if he will attempt the jump next year.

   I went to quite a funny (hilarious, actually) movie yesterday - "The Grand Budapest Hotel" - with cameos featuring some big names. Ralph Fiennes had the main role and Jude Law, Adrian Brody, Jeff Goldblum and Tilda Swinton also appeared. It's worth a visit.

 Dried out and triumphant and having a well-deserved snack.



   We had another nice Spring day today. James and I were outdoors quite a bit,  at the park (our first visit of this year) after play group and again in the backyard in the afternoon. There was a bit of a cold wind but we didn't need gloves or hats. Although there is still quite a bit of snow lying in shaded areas, the majority of it has gone. The grass, seeing the light of day for the first time since early December, is looking very dead but it is amazing how quickly it recovers and starts to grow again. The ground is very soft and soggy so we really shouldn't be walking on it but I couldn't resist doing a bit of clean up as there is so much debris from the ice storm we had in December.


 



Last Day on the Hills

   Great day skiing with the grandkids . Elliot decided he wanted to try the "Puddle Jump" but I left before he got his turn so I don't know yet how wet he got!

  I hadn't seen the kids skiing at all this year so surprised them by showing up at Brimacombe. I was there quite early and had several runs before they got there. James has come along amazingly for his first year on skis. He is quite independent on the easy hills. Natalie is beginning to line up her skis in parallel position, progress from last year. We had an amazing blue sky all day and my face feels quite hot. After a hearty lunch I only took a couple more runs as the snow was getting quite slushy. So I left the young folks to their own pursuits and headed home for a nap and a soak in the tub. That will be the last day, for me at least, as I will pack away my skis and boots until next winter.

   Dinner tonight is one of my favourites - Tuscan Chicken. The recipe is from Frances Mayes memoir "Under the Tuscan Sun", and contains artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes and chick peas as well as chicken legs, a one-pot meal which makes for easy clean up. Yesterday I made Impossible Pie - not an outstanding success but tasty enough. The pie crust is actually created on top from coconut and you invert it after letting it cool slightly - quite ingenious!

Fresh Pasta

 I very seldom eat pasta but had a hankering for Lasagna today and decided to try my hand at making pasta from scratch.

  I found some videos on You Tube and, after watching them, decided I was ready to go it alone. First thing was to buy some semolina flour and I may not have bought the correct kind as it was rather grainy instead of being smooth like flour.  The dough was hard to roll out and I don't think I got it thin enough. However, I cooked the pasta sheets for a few minutes and then started building the lasagna.

   Now, with the addition of a veggie tomato sauce and a layer of spinach and cottage cheese in between, it may taste OK. Lots of mozzarella cheese on top and between the layers will also improve the taste. It certainly looks like lasagna! 
   As I suspected, the pasta was a bit heavy, but I managed to make a meal of it regardless. In fact, I will be eating it for several more days - it is rather filling!

An Uneventful Day

   Went to a movie yesterday - "The Great Beauty" - Italian with English Subtitles. It had been well reviewed and highly recommended but I found it rather difficult to follow. It was a beautifully shot film, set in Rome, but with a hard-to-follow plot  (really no plot at all, just disjointed vignettes). I would have been less disappointed if I hadn't had to go down town to see it. However, on my way home I stopped off at a sushi take-out which has an end-of-day sale after 6:30 p.m. and got a huge portion of sushi for $9, reduced from $13.99. Quite a good deal, and I ate the whole thing!

   Nothing much of interest today - James here, a visit to the church play group, and picked up some groceries on the way home. I am cooking lamb chops for dinner and have them marinating in lemon juice and olive oil which should render them tender. I will have them with mashed potatoes and brussell sprouts.

   Still very cold today, although sunny. We had a quick walk around the garden and did notice a few shoots coming up, but there is still a lot of ice in the shady spots. Also lots of rabbit pellets - can't think what they are finding to eat unless they are getting into my composter.