Sharing

Back in the old days of regular blog postings I would share some of my favourite bloggers and their words of wit and wisdom as well as random photos with a bit of theme thrown in. As I look over the old list on the side bar I see that many of my old friends no longer post regularly and in some cases not at all. Many of them have graduated to Facebook where we still are able to keep in touch with the comings and goings in our lives, if in a slightly more concise manner.

April 23, 2012 - Springtime comes to Ottawa!

However a few of my longtime blog buddies are still around, one has - to my immense joy - started blogging again and at least one of my dearest friends has begun her own blog.   Sadly one of my longtime favourites has announced she is closing down her blog.  So I'm back to sharing both favourite blogs and I thought, that given our return to winter yesterday,  I'd post a few photos of the "winter of our discontent" here in Ottawa. Now some of you may recall my "bitch slap" threat - well if one more person tells me what a "mild" winter its been this year I will personally make sure they are incorporated into an ice sculpture for next year's Winterlude - some pictures of this year's entries follow.

A recent addition to the many memorials to Canadian politicians, warriors and notables that dot the landscape of Ottawa is this remarkable statue of jazz great Oscar Peterson.  Unveiled by Queen Elizabeth in 2010 the bronze figure of Peterson, seated at his piano, observes the pedestrians and cars at the corner of Elgin and Slater in front of the National Arts Centre.  And passersby are treated to Peterson playing some of his most famous melodies.  I took this picture and short video late one evening after a January snow storm as I was walking home from the NAC.

My darling Jacquie Sue is still kicking ass over at Yellow Dog Granny - though with all the great things she's been doing for the folks over at the Rest Home plus old Dexter fussin' and a fumin' I'm not sure how she does it. And now that she's the youngest Great-Grandma I know she's got a budding YDG to take under her wing - Olivia is one lucky little girl. But we still get our Monday Morning chuckles, updates on the doings in West and whatever else strikes her fancy. And one of these days I'm going to accept her invite and get my butt down to West and try one of those world famous skunk eggs!

One of the most popular features of Winterlude, after the 10 km skating rink on the Rideau Canal, is the International Ice Sculpture Contest. The first weekend of the annual winter festival was perfect for viewing some spectacular pieces of ice carving.  Unfortunately by the time we got to them the second weekend and an evening or two later many of the details had been eroded by a turn in the weather.  But there were still spectacular.  Many had an Inuit theme to them though there was a odd bit of commercialism.  And a sidebar to my friend Marco - that's what would happen to your Samsung smartphone if you came to Canada in the winter!

You may recall that in January I headed over to London for a few days to see Dame Edna in her first - and sadly given her announced retirement, last - panto and to spend a few days with some friends.  Though time was tight I was able to have a lovely meal with my dear friend David - after having been royally entertained by his diplomate at the Garrick Club.  It was good to see David again, howbeit briefly, and even better to see that he has taken up blogging again at I'll Think of Something Later.  David has been my guide to so many things through his blog and my meetings with him and his current postings are once again giving me untold delight.  Wonderful to have you back caro!

When we lived in Poland we were lucky that we had a great group of people at the Embassy, not always a given - a group that 12 years later many of whom we see for the occasional lunch, dinner or breakfast.  And one or two who have remained close friends - almost family actually.  Among the later is my darling Bev.  It would take a book to tell her story - she always seems to be on the run not from but to danger.  In the past 10 years I've lost count of the places she's lived but I know Islamabad, Kabul, Darfur and Colombo are on the list.  Currently she's living in Bangkok - thats when she's not on the road to all manner of exotic places with strange sounding names like the up coming tour of  Nepal, India, Beirut, Bhutan, Kuala Lumpur, Sri Lanka, Nairobi.  Now my Bev is a person who does everything with passion and commitment both work and play and her latest passion is physical training.  And she loves sharing her passions and what better way than through a blog.  Her adventures as she checks out gyms and other cool sports stuff can be found at The Diesel Diva.  Welcome to blogdom darling good to have you with us.

Sadly Lotus Green over at Japonisme has announced that she is closing down her blog.  I've always enjoyed visiting her and being entertained, educated and often astounded by the wonderful wedding of image, word and sound.  She will be missed.

And what could be more Winter than a "Mountain of Lost Mittens" - this fun sculpture was actually made up of mittens that had been left in various places in Ottawa.

So enough of winter now - it is now almost the end of April and spring could make a more permanent appearance if it so desired?????

25 April - 1849: The Governor General of Canada, Lord Elgin, signs the Rebellion Losses Bill, outraging Montreal's English population and triggering the Montreal Riots.

Sweet Sharing

I think I may have mentioned in a previous post the Italian tradition of "confetti". Not the paper stuff that is so hard to sweep up and that you find under the couch two years after that really super New Year's Eve party, but the small packets of sugared almonds given as gifts to the guests at weddings, christenings, first communions and other grand events. We were in Firenze for the day on Wednesday and in typical fashion I had an idea where the restaurant we were headed to was located but took a  wrong turn and went passed a store that's sole purpose was to dispense - at no doubt astronomical prices - sweets to delight your guests and make the sisters of the mother-of-the-bride cluck their tongues in jealous righteousness at the expense of it all.

I thought I'd share two pictures of those sweet delights and also share the sweet delights offered by two of my dear blog buddies while I was at it.

As with so many window displays here this one has a touch of class and elegance about it without quite being over-the-top.  This whole shop just oozed "expensive"

Rosina Daintymouth - that's the name of the witch in Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretal - isn't the only one to make gingerbread houses to tempt unsuspecting innocents.  Over at She Who Seeks my blog buddy Debra chronicles the Gingerbread Houses that her Rare One, who is not - I might add - a witch, has constructed over the years to tempt her - nor I am implying that Debra is an "innocent". So before I get myself into further trouble just click on the link and take a look at some tasty temptations.  

The elaborate packaging - flowers, faux-pearls, ribbons - hide the simplest of sweets: sugared almonds.  It would almost be a shame to open the packages and I have a feel that more than one nonna has a collection from family events on display in her china cabinet.

My friend Yvette and I often seem to be on the same track with postings and memories. Last week I wrote about presepe here and she shared a comment about her own crèche. Now she has written a lovely post recounting her childhood memories of growing up in Marseilles after the war and the delightful traditions that she encountered then and continues today. It fills my heart with joy to see that the rituals of a Provencal Christmastide are alive, well and being passed on to her grandchildren. And I wish I had a piece of that gâteaux des Rois and a glass of the vin cuit.

14 gennaio - Santa Macrina l'Anziana

Sharing - Food Glorious Food

I honestly dare anyone who lives here for any length of time not to become obsessed with food. In the morning as I munch my gluten-free toast with Calve All Natural Peanut Butter - how ever will I go back to that Kraft Krap I once loved - my mind is racing as to what we will have for dinner. Of course menus change radically when the almost daily visit to the butcher and vegetable stall reveal something that you just can't resist or when an old favorite has come into its own and you want to grab the first of the season.

In a spirit of sharing I thought I'd provide a few more food photos and a few links to some wonderful food and foodies sites - some I check regularly and one that I hadn't seen before.

Another antipasti treat from Osteria Piazzetta dell'Erba - they are going to have to put me on the payroll soon. Their tower of grilled vegetables was a marvel of fresh grilled eggplant, zucchini and yellow pepper with tomatoes and basil sauce.

Zucchini flowers are ubiquitous here in Italy. You will find most trattoria - or at least in the south - have Fiori di Zucca on the menu as an antipasti. Normally these would be zucchini flowers stuffed with a strip of anchovy and a small bar of pecorino, dipped in a batter and deep fried. Michelle over at Bleeding Espresso - or rather her husband's aunt - has come up with a simple recipe for zucchini flower fritters which sounds delicious. And she has links to a few variations on the standard Fiori recipes.

On my trip up to see Il Trovatore at the Arena I stopped in for lunch at a family owned Osteria Casa Vino where we had enjoyed two meals in Verona last year. The train had been behind schedule and it was 2:45 when I asked about lunch - I was reminded that it was a bit late but when I said I had memories of their polenta antipasti I was shown to a table. Three slices of grilled polenta with Gorgonzola, Lardo and Salmai toppings - shear heaven with a glass of local white wine. And as I recall we had done on our first visit as they finished lunch the couple at the next table made reservations for dinner that night.

I mentioned in an earlier post that Laurent had a wonderful panzanella (bread salad) at Osteria Piazzetta dell'Erba last month. When visiting my friend Wendy Holloway's The Flavor of Italy I was moved to click on one of her links which took me to A Stove with a House Around It and a quick, easy and tasty looking version of Panzanella using a minimum of ingredients. A nice dish to remind you of the tastes of summer as autumn comes upon us.

In the past three years I have acquired a taste for things that were never on the menu at our very anglo-post war home when I growing up. Nothing really drastically unusual but not your standard 1950s fare. Yesterday I had a very good Wild Boar stew at one of our favorite local restaurants and in Pesaro at the Bristolino sampled Bibo's Octopus carpacio. Paper thin slices of perfectly cooked octopus dressed lightly with oil, peppercorns and green onions.

Wendy at The Flavor of Italy doesn't post all that often - she has her hands full with her B&B, her cooking courses and a few other pans on the burners. But when something comes into season she passes on recipes to make the most of what's become available. Her lavender crop was plentiful earlier this year so as a dolci - or just a sinful pleasure - she made Lavender-Honey Gelato. I'm not sure if I'll try the recipe - I do have some lavender on the balcony - or just make the trip out to see her.

More traditional was the ricotta and spinach stuff ravioli at H2NO but being the sort of place it was there was a twist - fresh salmon in a light cream sauce. That man knows what to do with fish!

Moving away from Italy - about 9000 kms more or less - to the Pacific Coast of Canada and my old friend Dan Peiser sitting at the big picture window looking out over the Gulf in his beautiful home on Galeano Island. I can't believe its been almost a year since he started posting IslandEat and I don't think I've made reference to it at all!!! Some friend!! As well as food preparation and food talk Dan has been sharing a delightful series of recipes he found amongst his grandmother Jessie's papers. In his What Would Jessie Dish series he mixes her handwritten - and often cryptic - recipes with family photos and reminiscences. The most recent recipe is for simple Brown Sugar Cookies - and as always with it comes a stream of memories of a lady I would have love to meet.

23 settembre - San Padre Pio da Pietrelcina

Sharing

Haven't done one of these posts in a while. Again not that I haven't read some wonderful stuff just that two very active puppies (and some really heavy ballet review translations) have been keeping me a tad busy. And I also have done any GPP or GPV items in over a week. So why not combine the two. Here's some posts I've enjoyed and a few pics of the deadly duo - though I realized I have more photos of Nora than Nicky - maybe because she stays still long enough.

It hard to believe they were ever this small ... this friendly ... or this quiet. They both weigh in at slightly over 2 kgs now, fight constantly and seem to have boundless energy. Hell they're puppies of course they have boundless energy.

• She hasn't been blogging regularly for a while but as always when she does Big Ass Belle hits the mark every time. Her most recent post reminded me of the big part that serendipity has played in my own life and has even encouraged me to start working on a post about it.

Okay we have a moment of repose here but it's just in preparation for the next assault on the race course that use to be the hallway.

• Also absent for awhile, Elizabeth has such a full creative plate that she can be forgiven for not putting in more frequent appearances. Her recent trip to New York brought back memories of previous times in a city that helped shape her life.

Stick with me kid, says our Nora. I'm older than you and been around more, 'cause its just you and me against the world. Very appropriately Dashiell Hammett don't you think?

• Always a keen observer of the world - and with plenty experience of it - Helen has penned her most recent letter to Margaret and has a few words about Mr Obama and some things that were better left unsaid.

The house tends to be a bit on the dark side - no direct sunlight anyway because of all the angles. But there is a nice spot out on the service balcony that was just made for sunning.

• It seems the ladies - I was going to type women but you know in my mind every one of them is a lady, sorry I'm old-fashioned that way - I know in blogdom are a busy lot. Cowbell has been busy with work and a few adult education opportunities including learning Spanish. Her class has given her food for thought and for a post.

Nick always likes to make sure the bed covers are perfectly arranged before a good night's sleep.

• For awhile there Sunday drives with Jeff was becoming a regular feature of my life, however there were a few Sundays when he had more pressing things to do. I'm glad to say he's returned to take us through the high and by ways of the LA area. In the past two weeks he's shown us cool signs with a decidedly 50s feel and then stopped off at a BBQ pit for some ribs and more 50s nostalgia.

Nora is completely unimpressed with the internet - its just too modern. She tends to be an old fashioned girl - the sort who hides demurely behind the lace curtains when she isn't chewing on them!

• And finally my friend Larry spent a few days in and around Sienna and has shared several posts about that lovely area of our adopted country. Rather than list them all why not just go over to AmoRoma and do a bit of a "birdwalk".

Good reading and you'll have to excuse me I have two puppies who have to be walked.

04 agosto - San Giovanni Maria Vianney

Sharing

Its been a while since I've shared some of my favorite posts with you but its not because there's been a lack of things out there just that there's been a lot going on here. I am still visiting and enjoying all my regulars plus a few new ones. I don't mean to be jingoistic here but Laurent has decided to try his hand at blogging. He's got one called Larry Muffin At Home - and don't even ask where the Muffin comes from!

Aside from his new blog I also have two postings that I read this week that effected me very much. Both from my dear friend Elizabeth. Liz was the first person who ever asked to use something from my blog and from that simple e-mail request a friendship developed. She's a remarkable lady with remarkable talents, not the least of which is her writing.

• When I read this posting earlier this week I so wished in my heart that it would be what happened in every family, though sadly I know that is not the case.

• The events this week at the Holacaust Memorial in Washington were frightening and paint a sad picture of the state of a nation; Elizabeth was close enough to those events that they resonated with her and her family.

The first post fills me with hope, the second despair.

12 giugno - Giovanni da San Facondo González de Castrillo

Sharing

Its been over a month since I posted links to favorite blog items I've read. And its not because I haven't seen great stuff, just mostly because I've been lazy. So here's a few items that I found were worth the read - amongst so many - as well as a series of pictures from one of our stops in Barcelona.

Poble Espanyol is unmistakably aimed at tourists - and being tourists we took the bait one afternoon. Aside from the worst - and it wasn't really that bad, it just couldn't compare with the others - and most expensive meal of the trip it really is a delightful place to visit. Built for the 1929 Exhibition it features the architecture of each region of Spain - Castilian leads to Andalucian which lead to Aragonian etc. Its sort of architectural Spain in the nutshell.

The Bajada de Cervantes is a passage of wide steps lined with buildings in the Basque style on one side, Navarrese on the other. But what fascinated me were the bronze tethering posts that worked their way down the street. Obviously of recent design, they reflect the arts and crafts on display in the village.

• Its not unusual to be asked for a "word verification" these days when posting comments to blogs - it can help weed out the spammers fairly effectively. But you would think that if its called "word verification" than they would be actually words but often they are just random conglomerates of letters. Frequently if taken out of context they can sound faintly obscene. Buddy Sling was feeling in a Lewis Carroll mood recently and composed this for our enjoyment.

The BookbinderThe Glass BlowerLaurent says this isn't a courtesan but ... hey I still think its an art.

• As well as taking us on a Sunday drive - the first I'd been on with him in a month or more, Jeff decided to render a public service by posting this timely video on Facebook Relationships.

The BlacksmithThe PotterThe Woodworker

• I've always considered her my Blog Mama, Big Ass Belle has a way with words that can tickle your funny bone one minute and tear at your heart the next. She's been involved in a writing seminar and has been sharing some of her work with us. I won't single out any one piece but just suggest that you click over to Big Ass Belle and scroll through. I guarantee it will be worth it.

The SpinsterThe MusicianThe Rope Maker

• And speaking of Lewis Carroll, Lotusgreen has a delightful take on one of my favorite passages from Through The Looking Glass - I've always loved the Walrus and the Carpenter and tea is one of my favorite beverages.

The Basket WeaverThe Sculptor

• Tennessee William's The Glass Menagerie is one of my favorite plays - back when I was a teenager I saw it three Saturday matinees in a row with the under-rated Canadian actress Barbara Hamilton as a funny, frightening and touching Amanda. I was reminded of it when I saw Lotusgreen's lovely mixture of William's words and the glass makers' art.

21 aprile - Sant'Anselmo d'Aosta

Sharing

I know that Laurent thinks I spend most of my day on the computer but I honestly don't. Some of its spent in the kitchen making coffee and snacks to have in front of the computer. And I do get out on the odd excursion about town.

Here's a few things I discovered in the past week on my rambles around the Internet. And there's a few photos on one of my town excursions a few weeks ago.
We've often driven past the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls on our way to the airport. Its an impressive sight from the highway and more impressive up close. It was raining the day I decided to visit but even in the rain the front courtyard was glorious. The present Basilica was build after a disastrous fire in July of 1823 which destroyed the 1400 year old church. The evening before the fire the dying Pius VII had nightmares of a fireball striking his beloved Basilica - its destruction was never revealed to him.

• My dear Scarlet Lady, Dora, provided a link the other day to a wonderful series of YouTube shows by the remarkable 93 year old Clara Cannucciari. Her Depression Cooking series has become one of the most popular on YouTube. Its a combination of practical and economical recipes and, more importantly I think, oral history. She has her own website and Laurent tells me she was interviewed on one of the major US network prime time shows. Even if you don't use her recipes her tales of the Great Depression are a living slice of history.
  

• And speaking of food the oft-quoted Opera Chic (the world press has become aware of what some of us have known for ages - she rocks) introduced me to a wonderful food blog: Orangette. In her own words Molly Wizenberg explains: So I started Orangette. Almost five years later, here I am, with this blog, a book, a monthly column in Bon Appétit, and a husband whom I met through this site. It’s been kind of insane - in a very good way, of course. I thank my lucky stars every night. Five years! I'm just wondering why I haven't discovered this great blog before.

• My buddy Yellowdog Grannie , from West, Texas, sent me this link to a fascinating virtual tour of a famous Chinese scroll painting: Along the River During the Ching-Ming Festival. It is lodged in the National Palace Museum in Taipei - part of the collection spirited off the mainland during the revolution. QhingMing is celebrated in one form or another throughout most of the Asia and there is a particularly lovely Vietnamese song that sings of the awakening of spring and this approbriate for a stroll through this remarkable website.
  

  Swift swallows and spring days were shuttling by
  of ninety radiant ones three score had fled.
  Young grass spreads all its green to heaven's rim;
  some blossoms marked pear branches with white dots.
  Now came the Feast of Light in the third month
  with graveyard rites and junkets on the green.
  As merry pilgrims flocked from near and far,
  the sisters and their brother went for a stroll.

• Michelle, who you may know by now drinks so much coffee that she swears if she were cut she'd be Bleeding Espresso, gave a shout out to a fun blog for those of us struggling with Italian. Diane Hales has a blog as part of her La Belle Lingua website. Becoming Italian Word by Word is a light-hearted way to find those words and phrases that we anglophones find so confusing. Example??? Well let's take "maleducato" - has to mean badly educated right? Well in a way yes, it actually means "ill-mannered". And in response to my Napolitano buddy Marco - then you ask why I have difficulty speaking Italian?????
  

• And as part of her Going Green series Michelle has some tips on what do to with used coffee grounds. Her commenters have added some dos and don'ts as well.

07 marzo - Sante Perpetua e Felicita