"BERRY" Healthy Eating

I'm trying to watch what I eat... as (strangely enough) June is often a month when I GAIN weight!! I don't understand why! Winter is over and I'm walking again... There are more fresh (from my area) fruits and veggies on the market... (Could it be that the Dairy Queen up the street is open again, too - and I sometimes MUST HAVE a Chocolate Extreme Blizzard!)

(While doing a google search for a picture of my favorite chocolate treat, I came up with this site that informs me that a small one - my usual size - has 660 calories and 29 grams of fat...!) Mmmmmm.

In my attempt to "eat healthy" - I often eat yogurt-based desserts - like the rhubarb lassi I mentioned a few days ago.














As local strawberries are in season, we are eating a lot of them. But yesterday I saw a few other (not local) berries in the store, so I got some small cartons of them as well.














Here is my yogurt fruit "sundae" - a refreshing dessert - with a dash of maple syrup on top! (Not as satisfying as a chocolate extreme blizzard - to a chocoholic like me - but a whole lot healthier!)

June Flowers: My Garden Catalog

Early June has brought a new wave of flowers to my garden space... I don't know the names of some, like these two...














Or these yellow flowers that I like...














...even though neighbors consider them weeds.














This one, that I think is a carnation...














And this purple one, about a foot high, in my back garden bed is a familiar flower - though I don't know what it's called.

Others are familiar...














like the flowers on the spirea bush beside the front porch...














and the tiny roses in the front garden bed. The red...














...and the yellow.














Other early June flowers are peonies. I have them in various parts of the yard.














These - near the maple we cut down in winter - are doing exceptionally well, no longer in the shade of a tree.














I'm always happy to see the climatis come back. It gets battered and blown by winter winds, but it is still thriving...

Others started to bloom in May, and are still doing well, like this purple geranium...














... some day lily plants... (Some haven't bloomed yet.)














And this knautia flower














Mid-June was also the beginning of tiger lily season!














June is definitely a "happening" month in my zone 3 garden!

TORONTO in June

Every time I drive to Toronto, I notice something new!














This time I was pleasantly surprised to see several windmills along Lake Ontario... I hadn't noticed them before.














While Terry went to a Blue Jays Game, I wandered around trendy Yorkville, an upscale Toronto neighborhood.














It was so hot, I kept looking for the shady side of the street...


















and shady shortcuts...














There are a lot of beautiful shops...














But little that matches my pocketbook!














I still enjoyed walking around...














Eventually we met up at Host, Terry's favorite Indian restaurant...














I'm not sure why I forgot to take pictures of the food! It was delicious!














Then we drove across town to Leslieville...














(another Toronto neighborhood)














... to have ice cream at Ed's.














I enjoy the mix of renovated and heritage buildings...














And, of course, the streetcars that run across town...














The next morning we stopped for breakfast at Fresh (a popular vegetarian restaurant)...














(The pancakes are smothered in nuts and maple syrup...)

Then, before we knew it, it was time to head home again...














... where the diet begins...!

Ingredients for a PERFECT Writers' Conference

What are the ingredients for a perfect writers' conference?














Amazing weather...














A relaxing venue...














Friendly people...all intent on becoming better writers!














Delicious food...














(The dining room kept calling us back!)














Thought-provoking talks...














The lady in red is an author (and home-schooling mother of six) who became known for her blog, A Holy Experience...














This - my fourth conference here in Guelph in the past 11 years was - for me - just PERFECT...














I went around, trying to capture the spirit of the event... and ended up taking pictures of...














FLOWERS!

Rhubarb Lassi (My Way)

I'm the only rhubarb-lover in the family...

(My father used to say: Something that sour can't be good for you...)

So - although I love rhubarb - I often delay picking the small amount that grows in my garden until the season is almost over! That's what happened again this year... And now the next dilemma:

What to do with the rhubarb?

Often I freeze it - to make a mid-winter rhubarb crisp (which I eat by myself). This year I thought it would be nice to use it fresh...

I noticed some delicious-looking Rustic Rhubarb Tarts on Smitten Kitchen... but I knew I'd be the only one eating them...


















Then - in a doctor's waiting room, looking through magazines - I noticed an interesting recipe for Rhubarb Lassi (a yogurt based smoothie that originated in India)... I've enjoyed mango lassis... Why not give it a try?

So I copied it down... but then I misplaced it!!

After searching for rhubarb lassis online, and finding NOTHING, I checked out some of the lassi recipes on You Tube. Then, based on a vague recollection of the recipe I lost, I created my own version of rhubarb lassi... made of equal parts of plain unsweetened yogurt and milk (like the lassis on You Tube) together with thick, sweetened stewed rhubarb.

To make the rhubarb sauce to add to the yogurt and milk, mix together in a microwaveable container:

• 1 1/2 cups of fresh rhubarb, chopped in pieces
  
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 1/4 cup of water.

Microwave the fruit, water and sugar (loosely covered) on high for 1 minute. Stir. Then microwave for 3 more minutes on 50% power.














Allow to cool.














Add about a third of the rhubarb mixture (approximately 1/3 cup) to 1/2 cup of milk and 1/2 cup of plain yogurt, blended.

I mixed the drink together stirring briskly with a spoon.

It was a refreshing (and healthy) treat on a warm summer day!

Setting the Mood

Music sets the mood for more than romance. It can set the mood for sleep... One of my sons always falls asleep with music playing in the background. My husband drifts off most easily while watching TV. As sports announcers natter or comedians banter back and forth..., the music of their voices lulls him to sleep!

I love the sound of silence - whether I'm trying to fall asleep or focusing on reading or writing. Music and talking distract me, so I need absolute quiet, punctuated perhaps by the occasional chirping of birds... (to remind me I haven't gone deaf!) Silence helps me think. During my high school years, I used to go to my room (on the second floor, away from household noises) to do my homework. The one year I lived with hundreds of women in a university residence, I did my serious studying and writing after midnight, when the building finally fell silent.

But this doesn't work for everyone. Several of my children liked to do their homework while listening to music - they said it helped them block out random noises, helping them concentrate. I didn't stop them, since my brother did his high school homework at the coffee table during TV commercial breaks - and he graduated with good grades. In those days, before TVs were controlled remotely, he was able to "turn off" his attention and totally focus on his homework... until the program resumed. Later, while studying for his doctorate, he tried to work in the library. But it was too quiet! So he headed home. There, at the coffee table in the living room, while his two young sons played around him, he was able to write his doctoral thesis.

I was reminded of all this recently while attending a writers' workshop. The instructor, Ginger Kolbaba, (editor of the newsletter, Marriage Partnership and author of a number of books) mentioned that she listens to music when she writes - varying the music to match the mood of the story or article she is working on. The music sets the mood for her writing, heightening her emotions and influencing her writing style.

When she has a hard time making herself sit down and write, she also puts on music. The association between the music and the writing task draws her in...

Would that work for me - a lover of silence?!

I'm not sure! But I may try it for other tasks I often resist - like washing the dishes and cleaning the house...! (Do I need a house-cleaning theme song?! ... Perhaps the theme song from the movie Chariots of Fire? Or from one of my favorites, The Triplets of Belleville? ... Or will any music do?!)

Earthquake?!!

Yesterday Ottawa experienced an earthquake tremor which originated about 60 kilometers (or 37 miles) north of the city. Our area has earthquakes from time to time - not always during the day. (I have slept through a few...) One time my daughter, asleep upstairs, woke up to the movement of her bed slowly inching across the room!

But this one happened midday. We were just leaving a four-story building, crossing the reception area, when a loud noise - like a rushing subway train - could be heard and felt below our feet.My first thoughts were: Is there a subway here? No, of course not! Is this an earthquake ... or construction?

We walked outside as people around us began to ask each other: What's happening?

When we stepped outdoors, someone who had been standing near the building smoking came up and asked: Did you hear that?! I could see the walls moving and the windows shaking!

Soon the whole building was evacuated. Many pulled out cell phones. Some couldn't get through - the lines were all jammed with callers.

One woman who had looked up to see her office bookcase leaning towards her had run down four flights of stairs as the building shook.

Should they go back in? Had there been structural damage to the building? Would there be aftershocks? When we drove away, everyone was still standing outside, wondering what to do.

On our way home, we stopped in to see a friend, who answered the door, still visibly shaken. Everyone on her street had rushed outside as houses shook, she told us.

My son who works downtown in a 29-story building that is being renovated thought a machine had erred and knocked down a wall...Would the whole building collapse?!

So far there has been little damage and, thankfully, no news of injuries - but I'm sure the earthquake stories will continue to spread for days as people continue to ask each other: Where were you when the earthquake occurred?

For once, Canadians will have something other than weather to talk about!

They Live Among Us...

Several weeks ago, two black bears visited a quiet Ottawa neighborhood, not far from us - in search of food. The same week, several moose refused to leave a school playground here in the city, on the other side of town.

The animals in my neighborhood are, thankfully, less dangerous...














There are a few healthy-looking wild rabbits...
Dozens of squirrels... Raccoons and skunks...














And lots of loud crows... I get the feeling they are watching us all. Sometimes their squawks sound almost like words, and I wonder if they are imitating our voices!

One of my students, a number of years ago, told me that crows can talk. Her father had brought home a baby crow that had fallen out of his nest. He became the family pet.

They raised him to adulthood, eventually setting him free to fly away if he wished. But he stayed near their house. He was smart and full of tricks.

If he was hungry, he'd fly over to my student's bedroom window, peck on the pane and squawk: Isabelle! Isabelle!

When neighbors planted annuals, he'd go around, pulling the flowers out of the ground.

The final straw came when he began to swoop down on passing cyclists, landing on their shoulders, frightening them...

The neighbors were so angry that the father put the crow into a box, drove away into the country to where he had first found the baby bird... and let him go.

Unlike the song: "The Cat Came Back," the crow never returned...