Saturday's Sights..... Our Daily Dinner

Saturday's sights.....

chuckieb 6 years ago
Good Morning Everyone! It's a most lovely sunny Saturday morning here in the Ottawa Valley. Each year around this time Ottawa holds a "Doors Open" Event and lets people visit inside buildings and businesses that are not usually open to the public. I know other cities have the same events. Jim and I adore them and we've gone many years. Last year we'd been invited to a friend's cottage for the weekend so we could only visit two spots, but this year we are hoping to see a lot more. It's held on both Sat. and Sun. but it may rain tomorrow so we've only planned today's. We'd like to go see five Embassies. Since Ottawa is the National Capital, Ottawa is home to a ton of foreign ambassadors and embassies. In the past we have been to the Embassy of Norway which was very, very cool. It gives insight into the country's culture and is often decorated with paintings from artists from that country and furniture, etc. It's SO fun. Today's Embassies we'd like to see are : The Republic of Armenia, The Czech Republic, the Republic of Croatia, Hungary, and the British High Commissioner's Official Residence.

Perhaps I'll thaw some steak to BBQ for dinner so I have something quick and easy to make when we get home tonight. That and a baked potato perhaps.

I desperately need to run to Costco at some point and grab some bird seed. I managed to stretch what I had on hand when Jim left 'til today but my birds are going to go on strike if I don't pick up some more.

Good question Linda re: Why is it called Butter Chicken if there is no butter in it. If you google it Wikipedia says that the chicken is served in a mild curry sauce that includes butter. I checked a couple of other recipes online and they seem to add a couple of tbsp. of butter to the recipe at the end. Guess it would make it creamier but often times most butter chicken recipes use 3/4 cup of whipping cream which personally clogs up the arteries all by itself IMHO. I don't use cream in my Butter Chicken recipe either. So perhaps my recipe does not reflect a 'true' butter chicken, but no matter. LOL. It tastes like butter chicken to me and is a lot healthier.

What's everyone else up to today?

Michelle, I saw your videos of the kids playing with water balloons on FB. Someone mentioned that you didn't have to individually tie each balloon? What kind of water balloon is that? Do please let me know. I'm a big fan of water balloons when we have kids visiting. I have spent many quality hours hand tying water balloons and often with accidents of exploding ones all over my kitchen when I didn't get the knot tight.

Wishing everyone a great day. Pic below of my Pickle popsicles. :)
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MissouriFarmWife 6 years ago said:

LOL on exploding water balloons!

Visiting the embassies would be interesting indeed, Janet.

I usually add the butter and cream to a recipe the first time I made it. We use cream for coffee and I do cook with it. Maybe a bit too much....ha ha! Wayne is pretty consistent on what he likes, much of which he should not have....I can sneak in some broccoli (tee hee) or green beans some time. A salad once in a while.

Wayne has been tired since yesterday. I limited Fritz's walk and suggested he visit the walk in clinic in St. Robert this morning. We suspect another tick disease. He agreed right away, which makes me think he is definitely sick or he would balk at the idea. The main problem is feeding his buddy's horses. With trees down and tall grass it is a tiring walk.

It is a sunny day in MO. The three cats are outside, only cowardly Mauser is indoors. AC and Trouble came to assist with barn chores, distracting Fritz from his doggy duties. He would much rather chase after the cats.

Have a nice day!

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LindaLMT 6 years ago said:

Good Morning Everyone. Wishing you a wonderful Saturday.

Your picture is great of your pickle popsicle Janet. I have to say it does look good. Thanks too for the explanation of butter chicken and it makes more sense if a recipe uses whipping cream which to me is liquid butter. I like your version of healthier.
The open doors event sounds like a really fun thing to do. Enjoy!!

Woke up with a bit of a headache this morning. Need to eat a little something and take some Advil. I'm blaming the low pressure system hanging over us, we are expecting rain today and tomorrow.
Got DH's iPad all set up with apps and organized and when I see him today will review how to use it. The plan is to go out for something to eat. I know he is not crazy about the food at the place he is staying, it surely isn't horrible, but surely isn't home cooking or restaurant fine dining.

That's about it here. Will throw in a load of laundry soon and clean up around the house this morning.

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chuckieb 6 years ago said:

Hope Wayne's okay Karen. Let us know what they say at the clinic.

How fun you have your DH's Ipad all ready to go. I think he should really enjoy that and it will definitely help pass time. Have a nice meal out. Good luck with the laundry.

Jim is out mowing his 'orchard' ( a few apple, pear and plum trees and cranberry bushes). We should set out in an hour or so.

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LindaLMT 6 years ago said:

SP Karen. I hope Wayne is ok and just tired. Ticks and mosquito and rats/mice do nothing but carry disease. What is their purpose?

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gaspesiangal 6 years ago said:

Good morning everyone. The sun has just popped out here but the wind is cold. That sounds like a great day Janet. I've never been to the open door event. The one that I would love to see is the Canadian Guide Dogs building in Manotick. Lol @ the birds going on strike. Great pic of the popsicle, enjoy.

DH is consistent on what he likes too Karen but sometimes he likes trying something that he's never had. Yikes on the possible tick bite, glad that he's willing to have it looked at.

Your DH should really enjoy the Ipad Linda. Enjoy your meal out, there's nothing like home cooked food. I get low pressure headaches too so I feel for you.

I've been super busy this week, lots of training which is hard on this old body. I finally bought my herbs and a tomato plant and hope to get that done today. I also need to jump on the laundry and get some cleaning done. Dinner will be the usual grilled steak and shrimp with caesar salad. If I feel up to it I may also sear some scallops.

Have a great day everyone.

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mommyluvs2cook 6 years ago said:

Morning!! Too cool on the "Doors Open" event Janet, I bet your going to have a blast and see and learn a lot :) Have fun! Steak and potatoes sound delicious! I posted the link to the water balloons under your comment on FB...I can't seem to get it to open right now though to post it here. They are called "Zuru Bunch O Balloons" and they are so cool! Seriously a hundred water balloons ready to throw in 60 seconds!!

I hope Wayne is ok Karen...let us know what you find out :(

Hope your headache goes away Linda. I'm sure DH will love his new Ipad. Enjoy your meal out!!

Hi Bren! I might have missed it before but what are you training for? Or is it just daily workouts? Yum on surf and turf!!

Decided last night that we would head to the beach this morning. We got here before 9am so we got a great spot and the bathrooms (well portapotties lol) are close by so no trecking a mile to get there :) It's the perfect day to be here, sun is shining and a breeze. Will post some pics. on FB in a bit.

Kids and Michael want leftover hotdogs for dinner and I don't, so I pulled out some fresh albacore tuna from the freezer for myself. Never cooked fresh tuna before so it's a first for me. I trust Luisa's recipes so I'm going to make her Seared Tuna Tataki With Shaved Cucumber my tuna is not Ahi, it's albacore..but I'm thinking it should be okay?

Hope everyone has a great day!!!

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MissouriFarmWife 6 years ago said:

Hi all.

We are back from doctor. Went to the walk in clinic in St. Robert. He went ahead and put Wayne on antibiotics before doing lab tests since they don't have lab work on weekends. He goes back Monday for blood work. Dr. Agrees it may be be a tick disease but no diagnosis until he can se the lab results.

Fortunately his friends girl friend was able to feed critters today, she wasn't working. Wayne could not have stood it. Tomorrow we will come home, change clothes, and I will see about doing it by myself if I have to. Maybe he can sit and watch. .??? Last time we were there a little garden snake came by and watched us. It had two orange lines down the back, very pretty little dude. As long as it is not a copperhead!

Linda, hope the iPad helps. Has he ever used one before? Ticks, mosquitoes, and house flies are on my to-be-banned list if I ever rule the universe....ha ha. If mice stay outside they feed lots of predators, it is just when they sneak inside that they become unwelcome guests. Rats? Michelle's rodents are sort of cute in a rat like way.....they do make interesting pets.

Hi Bren and Michelle.

Back later.

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gaspesiangal 6 years ago said:

Lucky you Michelle, I'm looking forward to beach weather. I was out in the garden and had to wear a fleece. I enjoy the odd hot dog for lunch. I'm no tuna expert but I think that you will be fine with the albacore. I'm not training for anything...I train dogs.

Yikes Karen, so happy that the Dr. prescribed meds. They are really slow to do that here unfortunately. The snake sounds cute...from a distance.

I got the herbs planted and the laundry started and that about it. Best keep going.

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mommyluvs2cook 6 years ago said:

That's good that the doctor got Wayne on antibiotics Karen. Nice of y'alls friends GF coming by to feed the animals. Lol, yes rats can be cute :) One of our rat's, Oreo, is exceptionally cute, her little face and big ears looks like she could star in a kids movie or something haha.

OOOhhh...Bren, training dogs! Ok, that makes sense, I think I remember you mentioning that at some point too :) Wow on wearing fleece in June!

Back from the beach, it was fun! We stopped at this place called Rita's https://www.ritasice.com/ on the way home, we have never been there before. It has Italian shaved ice and custard. I was skeptical of the custard (kind of like ice cream) because it came out of the machine they had like soft serve. BUT, it was DELICIOUS!! It was the creamiest ice cream (or custard lol) that I have ever had!! Beats out all the other ice cream places and it was half the price of those places!! So now when we go to Galveston it will be a must have :)

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LindaLMT 6 years ago said:

Domestic rats are cute! And I would not mind having one. It's the wild ones I don't care for only because they are carriers of God knows what, add houseflies to my list too. I even think mice are cute.
Rita's wate ice is THE BEST! Love the stuff. I forgot they have custard.

DH is thrilled with his iPad and especially loves the FaceTime feature. It will take him a bit to get the hang of it all. For some reason he seemed "dopey" today, either tired or just off. We went out to eat and he just didn't have a lot of energy. I will take LD to visit tomorrow.

Good you got your herbs planted Bren. Did you plant a lot?

That stinks Wayne has to make another trip out for bloodwork but good they started him on antibiotics. Hoping the antibiotics knock whatever it is out Karen.

We got some much needed rain and may get more tomorrow too.

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MissouriFarmWife 6 years ago said:

Linda, did they change his meds? Some RX can do that, esp if they are anti depression. If he is still off tomorrow you may want to check on that.

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MissouriFarmWife 6 years ago said:

Wayne is not moving much except couch to chair to bathroom to couch. He will take another antibiotic tonight. Fixed canned chicken noodle soup since it is all he wants to eat. His buddy's GF is taking over feeding animals for us until we let her know otherwise.

Tarp corner came loose on carriage house roof (just papered) so that mans it has to be done over. Grrr!

We have a mild t-storm overhead. When it is over have to do our chores and walk Fritz. Hope chickens still have water or will have to drag hose to pump and fill their water container. They will need feed but that is easy.

Take care no have a nice day.

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chuckieb 6 years ago said:

What a lovely day. We ended up going to a few more spots than we had initially mapped out. Such a great event! Totally free and you get access inside buildings that are not always normally open to the public. Had a late lunch at Ahora's ( Our fave Mexican spot). I had my regular Chicken Tostada and Jim had a Burrito. SO good. And SO full so we are skipping dinner. I didn't end up thawing steak and I'm glad. :)

Re: what use are ticks, mosquitoes, rats and mice.....I agree I could also do without them in my life Linda. :) However, everything has its purpose. Birds eat loads of insects including ticks and mosquitoes so I'll put up with them since I love watching the birds so much. :) That's so great your DH was pleased with the Ipad. Is it possible they adjusted his medications today or are you always consulted about that?

The Canadian Guide Dog in Manotick would be very fun to see Bren, especially with you doing what you do. :) Your dinner sounds fabulous. That's good you got your herbs planted. What kind of tomato did you buy? I got three beef steak and three cherry tomatoes, two Sweet 100's and one other kind. I haven't got my veggie garden planted yet and I neglected a cucumber plant that I have sitting in the front foyer. It had three shoots in it and two have died from lack of water. Oops. Gonna have to go buy another one.

Thank you for the water balloon info Michelle. I didn't see it initially on your post but went back and saw it now. I copied and pasted it and will head to Walmart and see if I can get some. Jim's cousin's family from Montreal (who have the two little girls I adore) are joining us at his Dad's cottage at the end of the month and I think the girls would love to do water balloons there. Saw your beach pictures. How lovely! SO cool on the albacore tuna. That recipe of Luisa's looks wonderful. I'm not a fan of sushi (the raw fish kind) but I would be tempted to try that seared one with the shaved cucumber. Quite a difference in your meal compared to Michael's, Bri's and Caiden's. LOLOLOL. You can tell who is the adventurous one. :) That shaved ice and custard sounds wonderful. I don't think I've seen that kind of custard before. What flavours did you choose? Now I'm craving ice cream. :( I went to the Rita's site and saw the frozen custard. The one totally covered in sprinkles is SO fun! I think I'd choose the orange flavour.

I would think that it's good that Wayne got anti-biotics since they can't do the blood tests 'til Monday. Better safe than sorry right. Hope they kick in quickly and he feels a lot better in the morning. Cute on the garden snake. I like them too.

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chuckieb 6 years ago said:

SP Karen.....I am totally with Wayne on his choice of comfort food when feeling poorly. Give me a bowl of Campbell'scanned Chicken Noodle soup and I feel better already. Oh no on the carriage roof paper :(

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