Canada - July 2010 (Part 1)

J and I just don't like the heat of summer. We often discuss the fact that we want to live in the mountains or a lot further north (like Canada). While we don't actually plan to move, we did enjoy a trip to Canada to escape the heat of July in the Midwest. This was another "Marriott Sponsored" vacation for us. J's intense travel schedule has few rewards but we definitely take advantage of the miles and points. This time around Marriott bought us a 7-day cruise through NE Canada with a few extra days in Boston and Montreal.

The cruise left from Boston and headed to St. John, New Brunswick for our first port. St. John was a beautiful, quaint town that was very appreciative of their US tourists. All the women from the ship got a rose and the men got a pin when they got off. It happened to be the 4th of July when we ported there and they had some festivities for us, which included complimentary cake and a pretty crazy gospel acapela band that definitely stuck in our heads for the remainder of the trip. We spent the first part of the day exploring the town, but unfortunately most of the shops were closed on Sunday. They had a central market where we explored some unusual local food. The locals frequently snack on dried seaweed and we were offered complimentary samples. We immediately drank our entire bottle of water to try to get the taste out of our mouths! We ended the day back in the downtown area where we enjoyed the gospel band over a few of the local beers.

Market:

Gospel music, seafood, and beer:

The next stop was Halifax, Nova Scotia. For a city of only 100,000 people, there was a very urban feel and many trendy shops and restaurants. We spent most of the afternoon at the Citadel - an old fort that was used during wartime that is now open as a museum to tourists. The Citadel is located at the top of a hill that offers the best views of downtown and the harbor.

After Halifax, we headed to Sydney, Nova Scotia. At this stop, we embarked on our only excursion offered by our cruise ship to the Bird Islands. Our tour guide was a local father and son run business called the "Puffin Express". They were very knowledgeable about the birds in the area. Many of these birds are drawn to the islands to feed off of the bait used in the lobster traps. This time of year we were able to see thousands of birds, many including Puffins, Razorbills, Galemuts, and many varieties of Gulls. Our guides have been very concerned in recent years due to the overfishing in the area. This has caused the lobster season to end sooner that normal and the birds have to start searching for food farther away from their nests. This leaves their next unprotected and brings Bald Eagles to the area. We were fortunate enough to see approximately 35 Bald Eagles on the trip, which was a great experience for us, but very concerning fo the future of our guide's business.

Great Summer Meal

It sounds fancy (I don't claim to know what "Coulis" is) but it is quite easy to make with very simple ingredients.Sea Scallops with Corn Coulis and Tomatoes (adapted from www.epicurious.com)

• 1 teaspoon finely chopped shallot
• 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
• 4 teaspoons olive oil
• 3/4 cup corn (from 2 large ears)
• pinch of cayenne pepper
  
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil (divided)
  
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup 1% milk
• 1/2 lb plum tomatoes, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch dice (1 cup)
• 1 lb large sea scallops, tough muscle removed from side of each if necessary (also good with a scallop & shrimp combination)
  

Cook shallot and garlic in 2 teaspoons oil in a small skillet over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened, about 1 minute. Add corn, 1 T. basil, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until corn is tender and beginning to lightly brown on edges, about 4 minutes. Add milk and scrape up any brown bits from bottom of skillet, then remove from heat.

Toss tomatoes with remaining 1 T. of basil and salt and pepper to taste in a bowl.

Pat scallops dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in a 12-inch nonstick heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté half of scallops, turning over once, until golden and just cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes total. Transfer to a platter and keep warm, loosely covered with foil. Sauté remaining scallops in same manner.

Reheat coulis over low heat, covered, then spoon 2 tablespoons onto center of each of 6 plates. Arrange 5 scallops per plate in a circle on coulis, then spoon tomatoes into center.

Rain.. Rain... Please Stay!

We have had a ridiculous number of thunderstorms and rain this spring/summer. The result... less water usage for a green lawn and great sunsets...

Oh Blackwater

My sister J is pretty thankful for all we do to help out with her kiddo. She showed her thanks by getting the "Original Four" tickets to the Doobie Brothers & Chicago concert at Starlight. She got amazing tickets (5th row!) for 1/3 of the price at an fund-raising auction. It was a great show but VERY HOT!

Just one of the perks

Unemployment has a few advantages: Sleeping in, catching up on entirely too much T.V., figuring out what you what to do with your life, etc. The BEST thing is getting to see my nephew a lot more than I used to.

J & D were out on vacation a few weeks ago. Our parents kept B-dub the whole time but I saw him three days in a row. Then I got an entire day with him a few days later! We had a blast... IHOP, the library, indoor play area in Zona Rosa, and of course play time with Rocky & Duke.


The next day J had a dentist appointment. The dentist suggested that B-dub start coming so that he becomes more comfortable with he idea. I came along to "assist" so J could actually get her teeth cleaned. B-dub took awhile to warm up but he really enjoyed it in the end!

Jekyll Crane

So, we completed this project MONTHS ago but I never got around to posting. We painted over the yellow faux paint with Valspar's Jekyll Crane (for those who don't speak 'paint colors' that is green). We also finally removed the ugly plaid and button valance with a simpler green abstract floral fabric. It was actually a shower curtain that my fabulous Mother helped me sew into curtains. Ok... so maybe I 'assisted her' more than she 'helped me' because she rocks at sewing stuff.

BEFORE:
(please excuse the mess.... this was literally days after we moved in)

AFTER:

The blue tile back-splash and off-white, chipped, stained countertops are still on the dream list! We opted for the carpet before the countertops.

Have I mentioned I don't like brass?

This was one of my favorite 'brass to black' projects. This is because it only cost about $5.00! Black high-heat spray paint is my new favorite fix.

BEFORE:

AFTER:


We also painted the brown walls because it needed touch up and we didn't have the exact color. It is virtually impossible to tell from the above two photos but below you can see the difference. We went with the color on the left. We wanted just a slightly richer/darker color.