Saturday, May 29, 2010

Memorial Day, Obama and Top Kill, Dandelions,

Happy Memorial Day to my US readers. Hope you have fun and if it is lovely weather where you are, don't get sunburnt. They were in fact recommending SPF 50 on TV this morning, I have never used one that high before, we always go for 15. For my non US readers this is when America particularly remembers her Veterans, frequently referred to as Vets which to an ex Limey like me means people who doctor animals LOL. You have to learn to say veterinarians when you are living in North America. Churchill said it first, two nations divided by a common language. For us Canadians it was Victoria Day (not Labour Day as I wrote) last weekend - commonly called May 24th weekend as it so frequently falls on that date. I mistakenly thought the two holidays were on the same weekend, but realised my error later. We had fireworks banging outside our windows for three nights last weekend. I was busy reading so I didn't bother to look, but I wasn't happy with them still banging at midnight although they did seem to stop at that time. You never see them at any other time, but Holiday weekends there are stands set up all over the place to sell you fireworks both here and in the States. One year we had guests staying for July 4th weekend so we all bought some and with some neighbours, set them off in the street. It was fun and the adults, as well as the kids, enjoyed it.
President Obama visited Louisiana yesterday to check on the situation with the oil gusher. There is a CBC article here http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/05/28/gulf-of-mexico-oil-spill.html which talks about his visit and the Top Kill process which they still are not sure has worked, but I guess everyone has everything crossed. BP is now admitting they didn't do enough to prevent oil reaching the fragile shores of the Gulf and contaminating the wetlands. The CBC picture shows the President picking up tar balls off the beach. I believe the beaches of that area used to be wonderful with white sand and pristine waters. Not at the moment that's for sure. Mind you I remember tar balls on English beaches when I was a kid.
Yesterday our hot water disappeared. I wasn't sure if it was just us, but it was the whole building and our super was out at the realty offices of the people who manage this building. I spoke to one woman on our floor (checking about the hot water) and she said she was sitting in her night attire waiting for the hot water. Matt and I at least threw clothes on. I am not sure when the hot water came back, but it did eventually. One of the things about living in an apartment building, we may have to wait around, but we don't have to fix anything ourselves. That reminds me, I was thinking we don't have to mow lawns, apparently there is some new law banning the use of chemicals to kill weeds with the result that everyone's dandelions have been allowed to grow and seed. The area is a mess now, what it will look like in future years I dread to think. We passed a field on the way to the asparagus farm which was totally white with Dandelion heads. I actually love to see Dandelions in flower against green grass, it looks so pretty, the green and gold, but boy do they look messy once they have seeded. I used to believe each seed was a fairy flying on a fairy parachute. There must have been a hell of a lot of fairies flying around this year. I stole this picture from blog.syracuse.com
I am sending Matt to shop at M & M's Meat Shops today, they are giving out a free chocolate fudge cake with purchase. Enough said!!
Here's a simple little recipe from AsparagusRecipes.net - oh dear, I will have to go buy more asparagus!!! No picture so this one is from Barrie Bros. Fresh Food.
Asparagus in Wine
AsparagusRecipes.net
2 lbs of asparagus.
Boiling water.¼ cup of butter.
¼ cup of white wine.
½ teaspoon of salt.
¼ teaspoon of pepper.
Wash the asparagus and snap off the ends.Lay the asparagus spears in a shallow pan and cover with salted boiling water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 8 minutes. Drain and turn into buttered ramequins. Melt the butter and stir in the wine. Pour over the asparagus. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 425°F (220°C) for 15 minutes.
Have a great day

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