Montreal Day 1.5

Okay so day 1, was not really day one. It was really day two because I had the worst airline luck I’ve had in recent memory and lost a whole day as a result, but nevertheless. What a fabulous city!

The city has unique architecture that is European in feel. It reminded me most of Boston …with store fronts on the first floor, and apartments above those, and NYC as well because it was so culturally diverse. We walked our feet to a bandaid needing pulp much like one does in Boston and NYC. Stairs are on the “outside” of the buildings; my Fodor’s Book said this type of architecture is unique and ubiquitous to Montreal and was done to save space on the inside of the buildings. Smart. But I bet all those steps get mighty slippery in the winter time especially for a klutz like me.

And I now have some pay it forward to do. As my friend and I were on a corner studying a map, a lady pulled over in her car to ask if she could help us with directions. In-her-car. How nice!

My friend likes local flavor when traveling so she tried a local dish called “poutine” literally translated means “a mess.” It’s French fries, covered in brown gravy and cheese curds. One bite was enough for me to say I did it but she liked it well enough. Me, I’m more of the familiar food sort so we stopped at a delightful little cupcake store by the Basilica of Notre Dame (I’m so happy cupcakes are a trend nowadays) and not only did it have cupcakes but pistachio “glace” as well. I was in heaven.

We capped off the night on the terrace of our hotel to view a spectacular fireworks show. Montreal hosts a summertime fireworks competition where teams compete against each other for a grand prize. I tried the fireworks setting on my camera and was pleased with the results.

On day one in Montreal, I would recommend:
* The Grayline double decker bus tour, to get your bearings on the city. And riding on the top is just a heck of a lot of fun. Now, this one was not the best I’ve been on (NY is hard to beat) as some parts they took us to were of no big deal (casino? Who cares.) but overall I would still say yes to this.
* Stroll through old Montreal on foot in your best walking shoes. And little Italy, and St. Catherine Street, and St. Denis. It exhausts me to even type this.
* And if it’s summer, take in the fireworks competition they do in the La Ronde. (We got to see it free however from the rooftop of the lovely Hilton Garden Inn in Montreal Centerville.) You know I love the free.

Filled with Glee

I've been fortunate to have been places and seen lots of things in my travels, but my most favorite day from a "permanent smile glued on my face" perspective might surprise you. It was when my friend JR and I did one of those "shore excursions" on a Carnival Cruise. The "shore excursion" you ask? The off road Jeep tour. I can't really put into words why this was such an incredible good time. Many factors perhaps...for one JR is is just a hoot to be around. The fact that the Tour Guides were hilarious and we still joke about how they called jeeps "yeeps." Perhaps the fact that off-roading, even though we literally were about ten feet from the actual free way which in itself was funny because it was visible from where we "off-roaded," was a scream when we put a Mississippi Deputy Sheriff who ATVs as a hobby in the driver's seat as no log, hole or ditch went by that our jeep did not fly through. Never have I tested the capability of a seat belt like I did that day. Maybe it was the fact that they took us to the most gorgeous private beach I've ever seen. This trip was years ago but JR and I still reminisce about how our face hurt from smiling and laughing so much that day. May we always have travels that make our face hurt from smiling.

I'm off to Montreal on Friday with another friend. Although there will be no off-roading there, I look forward to blogging to you about that trip as no doubt there will be some face pain with that one too. In a good way.

Coconut Cake - Semi Home Made

There are two types of people in the world. Those that love coconut and those that despise it. It's about as divisive a food as say mayonnaise.

I'm on the love side personally and have for years tried to impersonate a coconut cake that a distant relative of mine makes. She told me she has no secret, it's just a "Duncan Hines cake mix and seven minute frosting." No ma'am, it isn't just that because I've tried "just that" a hundred times and I'm a baker and my cake pales in comparison to hers every time. Not near as moist, not near as "coconutty."

Not today. Today, I was 99% there. I did it the semi home made way. Duncan Hines Coconut Supreme cake mix, doctored with coconut milk in place of the water (you get that by the way in the Asian section of the grocery), 1 tsp of almond ext., 1 tsp. of coconut extract, and the rest the same as the box. Then, I split the cake in four layers. I did a thin layer of canned frosting between the layers, yes, you heard me--Duncan Hines Coconut Supreme--and then frosted the whole thing generously with seven minute frosting and then slammed as much shredded coconut (from the bag) as I could on it. It was fantastic! Moist, rich, sweet. Some may wonder why I used the canned frosting and the seven minute together..seven minute is so light and frothy...I think the canned frosting added some subtle richness and a"buttercream" hint to it.

My camera doesn't do this justice...it was beautiful and delish. I need a food stylist for this blog.

Summer Fridays 2009 #3

So they tell me at Little Sugar's nursery school that he "loves sprinkler time more than any of the other children." Music to my ears, because Mama likes a sprinkler in the summer too. So I get a fun sprinkler and plan the whole day around it...we'll frolic a little mid-morn, and frolic some more after nap. Nope. Little Sugar was about as bored as if I'd brought out a box of Barbie dolls. Sigh. It lasted at most, 10 minutes. We'll try again another day.

So then after nap, since it was like 150 degrees here in Memphis today, I planned what I thought was a fun indoor activity right up his alley with my numero uno requirement, AC. I was going to take him to Chic-Fil-A, buy him an ice cream (his favorite) and let him play on that jungle gym thing. He's never been to a Chic-Fil-A, so I figured he'd LOVE every aspect of this. Nope. Wouldn't touch the ice cream, (who is this impostor?) and very uninterested in the jungle gym.

We try as parents don't we? Se la vie.

Fireflies

Nobody despises insects more than me. I seriously have a phobia that may even warrant counseling I'm so freaked out by them. I know my exterminator's first name and I'm on his personal Christmas Card list.

Anyway, something magical is happening in my backyard. At night, there are hundreds of fireflies that come out and I'm struck by how beautiful they are. It's as if I have my own little fireworks display. I literally stand at my back door and just watch them and ooh and ahh. Behind the glass of course.

KFC - Kidlike Freakin' Catastrophe

I suppose in the fast food world, Chic-Fil-A is the Harvard and I guess KFC is the, I don't know, Phoenix University?

KFC has a tasty product and is an iconic brand. Taco Bell, part of the same parent company, can crank out a drive thru faster than anybody in the business. McDonalds of late, seems to have some chipper happy people behind the counter. But you go to a KFC anywhere it seems, and you are transported to the land of Confusion and Apathy. Where the service is so bad, it's really hard to believe and always entertaining. Surely the pay rate between all those places is about the same I would think so I don't think "pay" is the reason.

Case and point. I went there for the first time in ages Tuesday night. And there is a reason I'm not more regular with it and the following will exemplify why...as I dare say, there is always "something wrong" with the KFC people experience.

I was the only soul in there customer wise. Bad, bad sign given the chunk of real estate this restaurant inhabits, it is primo in this town. There were no less than 7 employees. I kid you not, "staffing up" was not this local's problem. There were three people in the back, cooks I guess...a plate person, a cashier, an older teen who seemed like she might be the team leader and the girl texting. Not sure what her role there was. I ordered the two piece meal--literally, pictured on the sign. The cashier was dumbfounded on what to do. And let me clarify, it was not like she was pushing buttons and the wrong thing was happening. She was literally staring at the cash register as if it would push it's own buttons. Team Leader girl had to come over and help her. Then, I requested both pieces be white meat. Apparently, I'm the only person in the universe who has ever had such a demanding request. Again, the cashier was lost and seemed more concerned that it would cost extra vs. figuring out how to ring it up. Team Leader was about to loose her s_it with this chic. Then, Plate Guy, had to be told three times that I wanted green beans (must not be too popular there or I don't look like a green bean eater perhaps.) Team Leader was about to get all Nancy Grace on him. Then, guess what, I present a $20. They have no change. I'm then ordered to sit down Soup Nazi style and eat my food and they "will bring me my change in a minute." Yes Ma'am!

So I sit to eat, love me some original recipe and it was good. Finished eating, cleaned out my purse, balanced my check book, checked BB and still no change. Then, MLGW walks in--six of them. I'm thinking... Oh my, employees will start storming for the doors rather than serve. And same deal, with those men, it was if the staff had no idea they served chicken. Had no idea how to ring it up, put it on a plate, etc. Then, I have to go get in line to get my change because Surprise! it was not brought to me in a minute. My KFC experience was no less than 30 minutes and about 6 of that was me actually eating.

At lunch time KFC has an empty parking lot while the Chic-Fil-A two blocks away has cars lined up on Poplar trying to get in and literally causes a traffic jam in the street. KFC's problem is not with the food. They need to inject some pizazz in working there or they will never get a decent caliber of young employee so that people come "regularly" and not once a year like Yours Truly... because I just don't have the patience to deal with it. Not sure I know what the answer is. Surely, they have some suits at Corporate working on it. Maybe they need to close on Sunday. Whatever the problem, the Colonel is rolling over in his grave.

Rewarding Bad Behavior

Somebody call Super Nanny, I'm a candidate for the show.

Lately, Little Sugar has taken to the habit of jumping on the bed. This habit is more like a crystal meth addiction, as he is just compelled to do it and will throw a fit if we try and alter the behavior. At first, we let him do this and the Husband and I would get on each side of the bed and let him jump and play while guarding the sides so he wouldn't crack a skull. But given he "must" do this 100 times a day now, we had to put the kibosh on that. Thus, it makes for a very miserable two year old, who have I mentioned is really loud?

In the past we could divert bad behavior by enticing him to read a story, do stickers or play with his Thomas trains. None of these are working as the lure of the bed is too strong. I found ourselves instead offering up episodes of Spongebob (we try and limit the TV as couch potato genes run in the family) and ice cream to get him to stop (the later worked actually). I even heard my health nut granola husband, for the first time in the child's two-year life ask him "if he wanted any dessert." These words I thought I'd never hear. What's next a trip to McDonalds?

Hydrangea

One of my favorite flowers is a blue hydrangea bloom. The are so beautiful and this time of year in Memphis, they abound in glorious color in every other person's yard. I remember loving them even as a child and asking my mom "what are those flowers?" And she would say a pom-pom bush. That's what they called them in the country. Seems like in the country there are just different names for flowers and not Latin mind you.

Anyway, I planted some back in the fall but sad to say it might be another couple of seasons before I realize any blooms. The color of the blooms depends on the soil. I sure hope mine are blue! So I was struck the other day when driving down Estate and I saw this gorgeous mound of pink, blue and purple Hydrangea--all on the same bush! I had to stop and take a picture but alas it doesn't do it justice. This other picture of the blue ones is at one of my neighbor's houses. That's my fantasy garden right there.

I find it laughable that Le Fleur and Fresh Market want to charge $15 a stem. Right, a stem! Forget that. Just take some scissors up in someone's yard. If I'd had some scissors on me that day on Estate, I'm afraid I might have had to help myself to one or two.

Elfin Magic

You guys are going to think I get a kick out of lying to my kid. Not true! They are just so gullible at this age and thank the Lord for that. Take for instance that it's time to take away the bottles from my two year old. I got this idea. There is a Santa book he likes and his favorite page in that book shows all the elves in the toy factory. He loves to point out all the different toys. So I dreamed up this charade that the elf was going to come and take away all the bottles, but in exchange leave a present.

So on Saturday, I got him out of the house and Daddy scoured the home for all bottles and removed his special bottle fridge. So all during our outing I talked about the elf coming and bringing a present. He was all like "elf...present." Present is a word he knows and loves.

When he got home we explained the story all over again...and showed him the shiny red train left in the place where we usually keep the bottles. "Bottles all gone" he would say and we would remind him that he got the train in exchange for the bottles. I had trepidation about what night time would bring, but we're on night three now and he's been okay going to sleep without the bottle (Miracle!) Sure, he asks for it, but we remind him of the elf and that seems to be the end of the story with him, he gets it on some level. Someone told me that Super Nanny does something very similar with pacifiers. and relies on a fairy to take them away. I feel like Super Mom. Can I have a show too?

Summer Fridays 2009 #1

Instead of taking my vacation time in globs, for the last two years I’ve taken “Friday’s off” in the summer to have a day to myself with the Little Sugar. My first Friday off this year was June 5 and it was the best!

First, we went to the zoo. I decided to concentrate the effort on the petting zoo area (had never done that part before) with particular emphasis on the horses as he’s really into horses right now. The petting zoo is adjacent to all the zoo rides. I had talked up all the way there that I was going to take him on a train ride. Of course, we get there and the train is out of order. Uh-oh. Fortunately, they have this tram that for two bucks takes you around the circumference of the zoo. I told him that was the train. “All aboard!” he kept saying over and over. And I was a little nervous as my child is not one to sit still for any duration of time but he actually treated the train ride seriously and didn’t get restless at all. Miracle for a two year old. We did have a hat on the pavement incident that I had to make a dive for. I mean it was a Gymboree hat so I’m sure you understand.

The only minus was the dippin dots. There should be a warning on those, not for anyone under age 5. Here’s the deal, they are too cold for a toddler’s mouth and they can’t stand the shock of it, so they get spit out. Lovely. And those little dots melt on contact. And then he confused them for balls that are to be thrown. Talk about a giant mess. After about 4 bites on his part and my chest and face sticky with hurled dots, those went in the trash and I had a giant stroller and kid mess to tend too.

But never fear, I’m not one to rob a kid of ice cream. After we got home, got a nap, got a little cleaned up, I took him to his first ever Baskin Robbins for a sundae—his love of sundaes comes from me. He won't remember this perfect day, but I will.

Book Review #2 The Brief and Wondrous Life...

Rating: Three Butts on the Couch (as a reminder, that means: “Three days out of seven that my butt was spent on the couch reading; very engaged with the book. I will be selective however in who I recommend this book to.”

I did like “The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” very much, but some things really bugged me about it. Let me get them out of the way first as if these are turn-offs to you, you may reconsider picking this one up:

• The central character has sci-fi and comic book obsessions. Since I know zero about either genre, the jokes and references made to these things were lost on me.


• The author breaks into sudden Spanish for much of the dialog. I had to try and interpret as much as I could with context. I was longing for the King’s English.


• The author gave several history lessons about the Dominican Republic (think I’ll pass making that place any soon vacation destination) but he did it with footnotes in some tiny 6 point font. They were at times difficult to read and I didn’t always care about that level of detail.
  

Now to the good stuff. The book was about the perils of romantic love that befell all three major characters—a mother, her son (Oscar) and his sister all of Dominican origin. Central to the theme is whether the family is cursed with a Dominican term called “fuku” (aka horrible lot in life). Oscar, as the central character, is heartbreakingly sweet but just can’t find love. He’s not been given any good looks or social graces and is goofy with his sci-fi fascination. As a result he scares off all the women he tries to pursue or they just want to “become friends.” He longs for love and deserves it. This thematic was poignant to me. How many great people have we known in our lives that have never had serious relationships because they weren’t blessed in the looks or charm department? I rooted for him throughout the duration of the book! Meanwhile, the mother, who was painfully mean in several parts of the story becomes more understandable as her past history unfolds. In another parallel, we’ve all known people who were dealt a raw deal in their childhood and it stayed with them their whole life. Diaz is a fantastic story teller and many moments are hilarious but many are sad too. That’s another reason I liked this book, it took me through a range of emotions.

I would only recommend this book to regular novel readers, it’s not one for those of you that read one book all year. Also know that there is a lot of bad language and numerous shall we say “adult situations.”

Check Out My "erbs"

I've told you in a previous blog about my "fantasy" life and the whole backyard maven thing, I'm now down to step 998--planting an herb garden. I decided to do it in pots...just seemed easier that way, no shovel you see. I planted basil, oregano, and some Italian Parsley. It bugs me to pay $2 a bunch for parsley when most recipes only call for a tablespoon at most. That's a geranium in the middle. Real Simple says they are really hard to kill so that's my kind of plant.

I also threw some zucchini in the ground and that did require a shovel. And with that clay soil we have here in Memphis, I got a great workout. The tag says "it takes 48 days to maturity" so if I planted June 1 then it's what end of July before I'll reap the bounty? We'll have to see. Hope the critters don't eat my zucchini first.

Picnic Table Before and After

In my fantasy world, I’m a backyard entertainer and grill maven. We’d have people over all the time and cook out and make ice cream while the kids played in the sprinkler. (Or in my PowerBall fantasy, a pool with a waterfall.) Southern Living would come do a photo shoot at one of my parties and feature it on the cover of their June issue entitled “The Best of Backyard Entertaining.” And Bobby Flay would come surprise me with a throw-down. But I digress…my backyard is in need of lots of TLC and I have at least 1,000 steps before the Commercial Appeal would even consider me for a story, much less Southern Living. There is no grass, just weeds and we have a messy magnolia tree that needs to go (sorry but it does!) And then there are drainage issues when it rains which produce several bald muddy spots which then breed moss and mushrooms…and don’t get me started on the neighbor’s bamboo that finds home on our property.

But what I do have an awesome covered porch with a ceiling fan and a mack-daddy grill. And on Sunday, I got the gumption to paint my picnic table a pool-like blue color. It was originally an army green when I got it and the most un-appetizing thing you'd ever want to eat on. Not to mention a pollen magnet in that flat paint. Now look at it and that super glossy glory! Pottery Barn could do no better. Isn’t it pretty? And how bout that beautiful double bloom red Begonia in that perfectly aged terra cotta pot? It takes a couple of years to get the pots like that. Only 999 steps to go.