Two for two!

Two waterfalls in two weekends! Last weekend was Hells Gate Falls, this weekend was Mills Falls at Kejimkujik National Park. We were there, the whole family, for a special occasion. It's a beautiful spot, perfect for weddings as it turns out, though perhaps more so when it's not raining.

It wasn't difficult to get some nice shots of the falls.


Can I make it three for three?

Hell's Gate

Sadly, this post is not going to demonstrate my new-found prowess as an outdoors woman. In fact, it may do just the opposite, and reinforce the obvious - that I have a lot to learn and should probably equip myself with some basic tools (ie. compass, map, water, whistle, matches, etc.) before going into unfamiliar territory, because who knows what kind of trouble I could get myself into.

Destination: Hells Gate Falls, aka "Three Pools", which technically isn't a public hiking trail as it's on Nova Scotia Power property. With that said, it's a popular trail and as long as you're careful and not stupid (ie. climb on the slippery rocks, or jump off the 70 ft cliff into the shallow water below), you'll be fine. Also, we felt slightly justified trespassing as our grandfather used to work at Hells Gate at one point in time.

Estimated hiking distance/time: 4 km /1 hour. Time spent: 2.5+ hours.
If the hike was only 1 hour, why did it take us 2.5 hours to get in and get out you may ask? Well, we may have lost track of where we were going a few times. In our defense, we (my cousin and I) were mainly there to chat and catch-up; finding the falls was really secondary or, rather, it gave us an excuse to get out of the house and enjoy a nice afternoon. If we were truly focussed on the task at hand we would've looked up Hells Gate Falls on a map and planned our route.

The entrance we took that would, in a round about way, lead us to Hells Gate Falls/Three Pools.

Instead, our approach was to start at the entrance (a wire gate that had been vandalised) and follow the path to see where it took us. I figured it's a popular spot, it should be pretty obvious what direction we should take. This is sort of what got us in trouble a couple times - there are many, many paths in the area, none of them had signs that helped to point us to our desination. Good thing, after a bit of aimless hiking, we stumbled upon Marvin (Marvin #1 on the map), who proceeded to give us directions... which neither of us paid close enough attention to.

So here's where I think a map might be helpful. It's sort of hard to tell where the trails are on GoogleMaps, but I did my best. The pink line is our route, the blue line is Marvin's recommended route.

He said something about following the pipeline (the greyish line running from the surge towers to the dam) till we got to an ATV trail. We caught that much. So we started to walk until we reached a dam, at which point we realised we must've missed the ATV trail, so when we doubled back we took a couple side trails on the wrong side of the pipeline (duh!). Both trails took us into a pit, which clearly wasn't where the Falls would be. Unbeknownst to us, we were being watched. Marvin had seen us go in the wrong direction and knew we were "misplaced" (not lost!). He laughed when we ran into him again (Marvin #2 on map) and then proceeded to walk us to Hells Gate Falls, which was less than a 5 minute walk away.

Okay, it was a bit embarrassing how close we were and yet how far off track at the same time. Also, it was more than embarrassing when he assumed we were city girls. I mean, I am, but it's not exactly the image I was going for. Sigh.

Marvin left us at the 2nd pool, and told us how to get to the 1st. He also mentioned something about climbing down the steep hill where we would find a decent trail where he sometimes brought his 4 wheeler. Now this is where we sort of lost him again. He was telling stories about how kids would get lost in the woods all the time and find themselves in predicaments because they didn't know the terrain. His directions were basically just repeating the routes these kids would take and get themselves lost, but he did say the trail would take us out. Where "out" was wasn't clarified.

So we carried on. Have I mentioned this is a gorgeous spot? Not only are there waterfalls, but absolutely stunning woodland with moss-covered forest floor and rocks. The rock formations make it look like an ancient forest, actually. The terrain is pretty treacherous though, if you're not careful. The path starts out high, and involves a very scary descent down a steep moss-covered cliff, with loose needles and dirt that make it hard to get good footing (below). Climbing down involved a combination (for me) of grabbing roots and scooching down on my bum. The pictures are really unflattering!

This picture really doesn't do justice to the height of the cliff. Once you're at the bottom, it's a spectacular sight. Also, once you're at the bottom the walk is easy. The path follows the river and takes you right out to Hell's Gate. This is where we got confused about Marvin's directions "out". Did he mean the trail would take us here? We told him our grandfather used to work at Hell's Gate so maybe he thought this is where we were headed?

There was a road/trail to our right and we started up it (the blue line from Hell's Gate to the Surge Tanks). We got about half way up when S. started to question if it was wise to keep going up a road we didn't know (not knowing that in fact it would take us exactly to where we wanted to be), and suggested it might be best to double back the same way we came. So we did, which added an extra 4 miles (according to Marvin) onto our hike. Also, it meant having to climb up that scary cliff we had just climbed down.

Needless to say the hike was more of a workout than we had anticipated, but a fun time just the same. Best of all, it's time well spent when you get to have a good visit with family, plus enjoy the outdoors!

View of the surge towers from a distance, close to our starting point. If you look closely, you can see the red of Hell's Gate at the base of the towers inthe second picture. It gives a bit of perspective to the height of the path we started out on (same level as the surge towers) to where we ended up (at Hell's Gate).

YouTube is addictive!

This week has been all about YouTube.

First of all, an amazing collection of Nova Scotian film has been uploaded to YouTube which includes fascinating footage dating from 1917-1957. One of my favourite films is the 1928 footage of the Cherry Carnival in Bear River. But there's hours and hours of film footage I've yet to see.

Speaking of hours and hours, if you have that much time, you should also check out a BBC series on YouTube called "The Supersizers Go....". It's all about food and it's completely addictive. Once you start watching, you won't be able to stop. Each episode focusses on a different era in British history, from Ancient Roman times to the 1980s, and everything in between. But the episodes aren't more specifically focusses on the food and the culture of eating from each of these eras. It's fascinating and hilarious as the two leads (a food critic and a comic) act the part and find out for themselves what life was like in that week's time period. Oh, and at times it's revolting - sooo many pigs heads were eaten, and grotesque fish dishes, and so much gross concoctions! Each episode is 60 minutes, but broken up into 10 minute segments on YouTube and I challenge you to watch just one episode! When I discovered this, I was glued to my computer for hours!

Becoming an Outdoors Woman

...That's what I was doing last weekend.

I found out about BOW at the beginning of August and signed-up immediately. If you ask my co-workers, they'll tell you that I was bouncing off the walls with excitement the day I registered. If you haven't heard about it, BOW is short for Becoming an Outdoors Woman and is an international, non-profit organization which aims to educate women in outdoorsy skills and activities. They offer a wide variety of workshops from hunting and fishing courses to basic skills for hiking/wilderness survival, to sports like mountain biking, and kayaking and hobbies like geocaching and birding. There's something for everyone! More information and a full list of the workshops they offer is available here.

So much was packed into this BOW weekend, that it's taken me this long to digest everything. There's really so much I want to share, that I haven't quite figured out where to begin, and how to keep this post manageable without going on and on about how much fun I had, and how much I learned. Also, I wish I had more photos from the weekend, but sadly I was to busy to take pictures and only have a couple dozen to share.

I was really happy with my workshop choices this year:

1. Wilderness Navigation: learning how to read topographical maps, how to use a compass, and how to use both of these together, learning the difference between true north and magnetic north, how to calculate distance travelled. It was really, really fun and really quite empowering to learn these skills. I'm by no means an expert but it's confidence building to know that you have the skills to get yourself in and out of the woods with these tools. I'm definitely putting a compass on my Christmas list this year, if I can wait that long!

2. Mountain Biking: learning about the gear and parts of the biking, learning how to shift gears properly and use the gears for different terrain, and how to change a flat tire. I learned that I won't shy away from biking through the muck and puddles (that's the fun part about mountain biking), but that I quickly lose stamina going uphill, even in the lowest gear, and have to do the walk of shame up the hill.

3. Kayaking: This was a close tie with Wilderness Navigation for my favourite workshop of the weekend. We learned about the kayaks, paddles and the gear that goes with it all, body positioning and movements, paddlings strokes, how to recover from a capsized kayak (including some entertaining demonstrations). I started out in the tandem with a partner having never been in a kayak before and close to the end got to try out a single. I was not very stable in the single and was sure I was going to tip. It's a miracle I didn't actually!

4. Birding: This wasn't my first choice (I wanted to do the geocaching workshop as I still haven't figured out how to do certain things with my GPS yet), but I quite enjoyed it just the same! We learned about migration patterns of birds, about different species of birds and about the bird atlas for Nova Scotia, we learned about identification techniques and how to adjust binoculars (adjust the left lens first, then fine-tune the right), and we learned a great technique for attracting birds ("phish"ing: shpish-psh-psh). We spotted a couple species of vireos, grouse and finches, and of course were visited by curious chickadees. Also our instructor had a rather neat gadget that she uses to call birds - a tiny little speaker that plugs into her mp3 player and will play mp3s of bird calls! How neat!

The workshops were the main focus of the weekend, but in the evenings we had the opportunity to learn fly-tying or knot-tying. I chose knots and learned how to five knots: the bowline knot, the reef knot, the clove hitch, the handcuff knot and the monkey's fist. Now I just have to be sure to practice, so I will remember them when I need them.

On the second night the plan was to have an astronomy lesson but the weather wasn't cooperating (did I mention it rained the whole weekend?), so instead we had a demo of really neat software called Stellarium. You can type your location into the program and it will pull up the night sky, which you can then click and drag so it matches what you see from your exact location. Then, with another click the program will show you the constellations and the artwork that goes with the constellations. Really cool, eh?! And here's the best part - the software is free!

And, of course, no outdoorsy weekend would be complete without a campfire or two. Here's a picture of our second campfire, complete with planked salmon cooked by the fire!

If you're interested in hearing more about what the weekend was like, CBC's Phlis McGregor was there interviewing folks and here is her spot about BOW on CBC NS's Information Morning.

I can check one more thing off my 2010 To Do List.

Last month I finally stopped waffling and purchased a GPS with the help of a little birthday money from my grandparents. I'd been comparing different models, researching advantages and disadvantages of Garmin vs. Magellan for quite awhile; reading local geocaching forums for advice etc. And then finally decided it was time to quit with the indecision and buy one! I went into BestBuy, found one on sale, and bought it. It was a Magellan Explorist GC, a GPS specifically designed for paperless geocaching (that is, all the info for a cache gets downloaded to the GPS, not just the coordinates). It took me a little while to figure out how it worked, to play with the features (because it didn't come with a manual, only a pamphlet illustrating some of the features but not providing any instructions) and then took it out for a couple test-runs.

At first it was pretty disappointing - I wasn't finding any of the caches. Granted, the first two times I was thwarted, first by darkness and second by hot & humid weather combined with a frustrated 10 year old. But then, finally! I found my first cache, and my second cache, and then two more caches....and I was on a roll!

I'm finding out that geo-caching is actually pretty addictive. There are caches just about everywhere - over 8000 in Nova Scotia - and I'm constantly impressed by the ingenuity of geo-caches to find/make great hiding spots, often in plain sight. And, of course, there's the allure of finding "hidden treasure". Who doesn't like a good ol' treasure hunt! And I've found pretty great swag so far too...

For those of you who have never tried geocaching (aka "muggles") it's highly likely you walk by a cache daily without ever knowing it. I've been dragging anyone who is even remotely interested along for a geocache hunt - co-workers, friends, family - and I've got a much better success rate now. It's one of those activities that's more fun with other people anyway.
I'm hoping to get into it more with the Little. I think it's the kind of activity that would be really great with kids AND gives a little purpose and motivation to going for walks or hikes. Geocachers are sort of like explorers going on an expedition to find a treasure afterall...right? And very few kids will turn down an opportunity to explore or go on an expedition or an adventure.

For anyone who is interested in learning about geocaching, you're best bet is to check out geocaching.com. Go to "Hide & Seek" and see how many geocaches are in your area - I bet there's at least a few! I first signed up 3 years ago when I decided I wanted to give it a try. It's taken me 3 years to actually commit to buying a GPS (they're not cheap, and I hadn't actually gone geocaching before buying a GPS) and now that I have I'm really glad I did! I can see this being a fun activity for years to come - not just in finding caches, but also in hiding them too.

How to be Alone

Have you seen this short film? It's been floating around the internet for a couple weeks now.
It's a lovely piece with a lot of wisdom, not just for those of us who are single but also for those in relationships who find themselves lonely when they're alone.

Being alone doesn't have to be synonymous with lonely...
...."'cause if you're happy in your head, then solitude is blest and alone is okay."

Poem written and perfromed by Tanya Davis.
Filmed in Halifax.

Reading Anna Karenina

Remember my update a week ago about how little progress I've made on my 2010 To Do List?
Well, I'm happy to report that, thanks to a new friend (who lives as far away as Hong Kong!), I'm finally making some progress now. It's amazing how a reading companion can make all the difference and offers exactly the motivation I needed to get started and (hopefully) get through the book!

So here's our approach:

The book is broken up into 8 sections, and each section is about 100 pages. We're going to read one section a month. It's a very manageable goal and there's still lots of time for you to join in if you are interested. In fact, we'd love for you to join us in our
Anna Karenina read-along.

The hardest part I've found about reading this book is keeping the characters straight - there are so many names, patronymic names, surnames that are similar. But Sarah has outlined them nicely (without spoilers) in her Anna Karenina Read-Along blog post, which is an enormous help. And once you get into the story, it gets easier to keep the names straight (or so I'm finding now that I've made a bit of progress).

So, what do you think? Has Anna Karenina been sitting on your shelf for years, like mine has, just waiting to be read? Or, have you always wanted to read Leo Tolstoy but never had the time or courage to delve into his books? Want to give it a try? There's no time like the present!

Run Fatboy Run!

With permission, I'm posting this picture and video of a dear friend competing in the Dartmouth Natal Day Race. He did a fine job!And here he is crossing the finish line 6 miles (or 9.656064 km) later:

In case you were wondering, the title of this post is meant to be ironic. It is also a reference to a movie of the same title, which I'm told is hilarious and a 'must see'.

"No two sunsets are the same..."

I'm a little late posting a few pictures from my latest trip to the cottage. I debated about posting at all since my last visit was just a month ago, and only 3 posts ago. I mean, how many sunset photos can I post, before it becomes just more of the same? Well, as my grandfather says, no two sunsets are the same ... and this last weekend visit seemed especially lovely and worthy of it's own post.

I'm going say this particular weekend was especially lovely because of the company. It was the big July birthday/anniversary celebration and most of the family was able to get together (missed you uncle D. + cousin E.) . And we know how to celebrate in style...

...with a feast of lobster. And huge lobster at that! These crustaceans must've been about 2 lbs each. And wow, was it delicious!

After supper, G. and I went canoeing to check out a brook neither of us have noticed before that feeds into "the cove". We canoed past this derelict cabin, that's been abandoned for as long as I can remember.

There are so many nooks and crannies to be explored at the cottage. The lake is small, but the possibilities for exploration are endless. Such is the advantage of being in the backwoods. Here are a few pictures of the brook G. and I wandered along for a bit (there was even a little falls!).

And this year, for the first time in ages, I even went swimming in the lake. When I was younger, I didn't seem to be as bothered by slimy rocks, and underwater growth (lilypads, etc.) or creeped out by anything swimming under the surface that I couldn't see. But this year, after a rather sweaty canoe-ride, swimming in the lake seemed like a good idea. The water was incredibly warm and with water shoes I managed to forget about the bottom of the lake and concentrate on actually trying to swim.

And at dusk, we did something we haven't been able to do in ages because the summers have been either too dry - make a fire outside and roast marshmellows. Yum!

Last but not least, one of my favourite ways to waste away an afternoon at the cottage is with a book, in the quiet stillness of the day.

I picked up Dolores Claiborne by Stephen King from the library and quite enjoyed it. The novel is not structured in chapters but is a single account from Dolores Claiborne about how the events in her life unfolded. It was riveting and hard to put down (and not just because there weren't any chapter breaks!).

And that was the weekend! A delight as always.

Checking in....

I'm well past the 6 month, mid-year mark for my 2010 To Do List and I'm sad to report I've got very little of it crossed off. The conference planning took a great deal of my time from January to June and now from July to December I'll be playing catch-up. Of course, there really isn't any pressure. This is just a list for the sake of making a list and a goal to work towards. Okay so what progress, exactly, have I made....

2010 To Do List:

1. Print digital pictures and put them in photo albums. No progress at all. Except I've taken more pictures that will need to be printed off and put into albums. Sigh. I think to make this task a little more manageable, I'm going give myself a smaller target - Big/Little photos (that is photos of my Little and I doing things). This actually spans 2.5 years, but I've already got the digital images organized and can probably easily select the good ones to print, identify and put in an album.

2. Knit a pair of socks. Oh dear. I've failed miserably at this one, for the 2nd year in a row. In fact, I abandoned knitting almost entirely during the busy-ness of conference planning. It wasn't until after conference that I picked it up again...and then I finished one project and started and finished two more: fingerless gloves and a hot water bottle cozy. I'm not going to give up yet though. I still have a few months. And I've found a pattern that looks simple enough. Now I just have to get started!

3. Buy a GPS and go geocaching. I'm happy to report that I DID buy a Magellan Explorist GPS, but still haven't tried it out yet. I've heard conflicting reports on how well it works in the woods, and the quality of maps (Garmin are reported to have better maps). But I'll give it a try. I'm hoping to have a chance to take a geo-caching course in September (that's a whole other blogpost!), so I may actually be able to check this one off my list.

4. Make a fabric/ribbon memo board. Uh. Yeah. Haven't started this one either. Sigh.

5. Read Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina. Started. Got 30 pages in and couldn't get any further. It's not exactly a light summertime read. This one may actually take years for me to check off the list.

6. Get involved in my church in September. Haven't looked into this, but I'm sure there will be areas where I can help - there are always are in church!

7. Frame my gerbera print. This has been low on the priority list, but really ought to get done. Framing is so expensive and the print is good quality, but not exactly worth the $100 + it would cost to get a frame made for it. It's an odd shape but I'm keeping my eyes peeled for a frame at Wal-Mart or Zellers that will work. I can think of other places to put my money.

8. Buy a headboard for my bed. I've been scoping out Kijiji Halifax, but haven't seen anything. I've had a couple offered to me from family and I may take them up on it, provided I'm allowed to paint them first.

9. Attempt a pie crust (again!). Okay, it's too hot to fuss with pastry in the summertime so I'll save this for the fall/winter season. Apple pie, pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie......

10. Become a Host in the YMCA's Immigrant Host Program. I need to contact the organizer and get myself on the training list for the fall. Hopefully I'm not too late.

I guess I've got a lot of catching up to do. Oh, and I meant to add one more thing to the list. Give kayaking a try. And this one is looking like it's entirely possible! Yay!

Delicious!

I'm out of the habit of blogging. I have lots of lovely pictures to post, but keep forgetting to do so. Maybe this will get me started!

Last week I made a delicious summery salsa and I wanted to share it. I'm not even sure if anyone is following my blog anymore, where I've been such an infrequent poster!

The original recipe is from Whole Foods, one of my favourite sources for recipes. Almost every recipe I've tried has turned out perfectly and is delicious and full of flavour!

The following is copied directly from Whole Foods's Recipe website. I didn't do much measuring. I chopped up about 3 tomoatoes and 2 nectarines, and added more cilantro and lime than was called for, just because I love cilantro and lime. :) I served the salsa on top of pan-fried haddock (which you can't see for all the salsa in the picture above). Also, I don't have the patience to cube everything so neatly as Whole Foods did....but it still looks delicious.


Fresh Salsa

Makes about 2 cups

Salsa has lots of advantages: It seems indulgent, but it's actually a healthy choice, fat free and loaded with flavor and vegetables. It's inexpensive, especially when the ingredients are home grown or in season. It's versatile because you can make it hotter with more peppers or make it sweeter with fruit. And it's easy!

Ingredients

2 cups chopped tomatoes (or a combination of tomatoes and fresh peaches, nectarines, mangoes or grapes)
1/3 cup chopped yellow or white onion
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 to 2 jalapeño or serrano peppers, stemmed, seeded and finely chopped
Salt to taste

Method

Put all ingredients into a bowl, toss well and serve chilled or at room temperature.

Nutrition

Per serving (about 4oz/1/2 cup/116g-wt.): 25 calories (0 from fat), 0g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 150mg sodium, 6g total carbohydrate (1g dietary fiber, 3g sugar), 1g protein

Phew!

I'm done! The conference was a success - or at least the reports I'm getting suggest it was. And now I'm free to enjoy the summer. It's surprising how something can really consume every waking moment (and even some of my sleeping moments too!). I hadn't quite realised what I was getting myself into when I agreed to chair the Local Arrangements for a 3 day conference for about 250 people. It was a big job - much bigger than I expected! But everything worked out well, and ran much more smoothly than I expected. Even the weather cooperated. At the beginning of the week the forecast was calling for 70% rain on the two nights we had weather-dependent activities planned....and both days the weather turned completely around and really couldn't have been better!

After the conference I took some time off to escape to the cottage. Knowing that after a full and busy week of being "on", I knew I'd need some time to be "off". I booked the cottage for the week immediately following the conference figuring that would be the best way to shut down and reboot. I guess this defines me as an introvert, eh?Ahh, the cottage is so wonderful! Peace and quiet, no routines, no obligations or responsibilities or rules. I slept when I felt like sleeping, read when I wanted to read, ate when and what I wanted to eat, watched movies, and listened to CBC Radio almost constantly. Such luxury!

My list of 'accomplishments' during my week of solitude:
1. Started & finished "The Secret Life of Bees"
2. Started "Anna Karenina"
3. Watched: "I've loved you so long", "Slumdog Millionaire", and "Everything is Illuminated" - three lovely movies for the cottage.
4. Also watched: Anne of Green Gables and the Sequel...because it's hard to knit and read subtitles (for 2 of the movies in #3)....and because it's also a perfect movie for the cottage.
5. Finished the strangling vines lace scarf I've been working on for far too long. And started & finished a pair of handwarmers from Joelle Hoverson's "Last Minute Knitted Gifts".
6. Went to the Annapolis Royal Farmer's Market bright and early on Saturday morning and came back only with a loaf of brioche.
7. Saw a beaver swimming in the lake and startled it (by accident, I promise) which made it slap it's tail on the water and then dive under out of sight.8. Kept the wood stove going on the one damp chilly day I had while I was there.9. Slept!

Now I'm back in the city, back to work and back to routine. After spending such an extended time planning for this conference, I'm actually really looking forward to getting back into my actual work. The question is....where to start!

Thank you Queen Victoria!

....for the long weekend!
It was a glorious one! We had perfect weather all three days, and I did my best to take advantage of it.

On Saturday, R. and I went to Mahone Bay. We took the long route, Hwy #3, and made a few stops along the way. As it turned out Mahone Bay was hopping this weekend due to the Mussel Festival (who knew?!), but we still managed to find the a super quiet spot to enjoy a delicious picnic lunch of brie + artisan bread + tomatoes and carrots.

The neighbours were very quiet, needless to say!...but we enjoyed their company, particularly Sophia's.
Mahone Bay really is a perfect daytrip for a sunny Saturday. I wish I had taken more photos. It's such a pretty little town. We wandered through some of the shops. I had gone with an idea of finding a pair of shoes at the Mahone Bay Trading Co., but didn't find what I was looking for. It's a little surprising that in this tiny little town, you'll find a HUGE shoe store. It's largest shoe store stocking Clark's I've ever been in (even in Toronto!). All I bought in Mahone Bay was an ice cream (from a new ice cream shoppe and was having a 2 for 1 sale), and a rhubarb custard square. Yum!
Sunday was an eventful day, not so much for me, but for a dear friend who was running the Blue Nose Half-Marathon. Personally, I can't imagine running 21 km, even if I was being chased by someone/something, so in my mind this is really an accomplishment to celebrate.Her fan club wandered around the city to cheer her on, and after it was all said and done, we enjoyed a feast at the Mongolie Grill where you pick your own ingredients for a stirfry. It's a pretty fun concept and delicious too! Afterwards we went back to my place to relax and catch-up and later enjoy a dinner together. I love having people over because it's so much more fun cooking for other people than for just me. I made a moussaka with Greek salad and served pita & roasted red pepper dip with it. And for dessert, inspired by the treat I had in Mahone Bay, I made super decadent rhubarb custard bars. Wow they were good....but you don't want to eat too many of them, that's for sure. They are rich, rich, rich!

Rhubarb Custard Bars

Base:
2 Cups All Purpose Flour
1/4 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Cold Butter or Margarine

Filling:

2 Cups Sugar
7 Tablespoons all purpose flour
1 Cup Whipping Cream
3 Eggs, beaten
5 Cups Finely Chopped Fresh or Frozen Rhubarb, Thawed and Drained

Topping:

2 Packages (3 ounces each) Cream Cheese softened
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 Cup Whipping Cream, Whipped

In a bowl, combine the flour and sugar; cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press into a greased 13 x 9 x 2 inch pan. Bake at 350 F for 10 minutes. Meanwhile for filling, combine sugar and flour in a bowl. Whisk in cream and eggs. Stir in the rhubarb. Pour over crust. Bake at 350 F for 40 - 45 minutes or until custard is set. Cool.

For topping, beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Fold in whipped cream. Spread over top. Cover and chill well. Cut into bars.

Yield: 3 Dozen

After a game of Dutch Blitz, everyone went home and I went to bed.

And here we are, today, the last day of the long weekend! After such a busy Sat. and Sunday, I was in no rush to do anything this morning. I enjoyed a slow morning with lots of CBC radio and dozing and not much of anything. Stupidly, I saved all the hard work for the heat of the day - and whoa! was there heat! It was 29 C in Halifax (33 w/ the Humidex). But the sunshine was nice, and I'm not complaining. Even when it's hot Halifax is still waaaay better than Toronto in the heat. There's hardly any smog, and being so close to the ocean means that the evenings cool down nicely. I love Halifax in the summertime!

This afternoon I bought some plants and got my patio garden started. I decided to forego with vegetables this year. For the amount of produce my little garden yields, it's hardly worth it. Especially since I can raid my mother's garden for delicious things! ;)





So this year I've decided to go with flowers and greenery. I want a lush, pretty garden this year, rather than practical. The problem is, I'm not sure I know what I'm doing. So today I just bought a few things that looked nice and planted them in my planters. We'll see how they'll do. I did plant a 'salad' box of romaine lettuce and an herb box with parsley, chives and basil.

I still have a little more to do - I want to pick up a hosta and I need to plant another hanging basket, get my scarlet runners planted, and add a couple more plants to my railing planters - but most of it is done now. Soon, I'll be able to sit back and enjoy the greenery and pretty flowers. I hope.

Well, that's it for me. I'm going to sign-off now, and maybe go to bed. The sun and the activity has left me a little wiped.

I hope you all enjoyed your weekend as much as I did!