Well a whole week has passed and I have not posted. It is not that I have not been busy but nothing of great importance has happened.
Played tennis on Monday after work and I was good. But who wants to hear about that. Certainly, not the person who I played against. She was not happy that I beat her so soundly. Now, I was happy because she is 20 years my junior, so that always gives me a good feeling.
Tuesday, I had a practise with the flute player in my ensemble. We are going to play some gigs for duet when the clarinet player is unable to make the performance. We do not want to give up the performances and we do have a good programme.
Wednesday was orchestra. A good rehearsal.
Thursday, I finally just took an evening off after finishing entering my media data base. I am finally migrating my e-mails to my site instead of Michael's. Hopefully, it will all be done soon. Although he does enjoy seeing some of the bassoon e-mails. He keeps promising to send some to one of his colleagues who is a former bassoon player.
Friday, I went out with a friend and another woman who we enjoy. She is at that stage in life where she is thinking of a home. Many issues to deal with and she wants to be proactive about this. Hard to contemplate but must be done.
Today, I am getting ready to play at a seniors' residence. Have a friend who lives there but I forgot to get in touch ahead of time. Will send him a note after.
Hope that you are all having a good week.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
Snowdrops
To those who love and collect snowdrops, little distinctions make these bulbs worth the hunt:The tiny green mark on "Robin Hood" is a faint X, while that of "S. Arnott" looks more like an up-side-down heart. "Mrs. McNamare has a small slim V.
"You start looking at them a little closer, and you get stuck on these tiny, minute differences, and it all starts making sense," says Michael Loos, a collector in Ovid, N. Y. "And the biggest excitement about snowdrops is that they start blooming now."
Something happens in the last days of winter, as the little white flowers pop through snow, signaling spring before the litany of tulips and daffodils steal the show. The snowdrop-so small, you have to bend and look-holds its own in the garden because of its lively appearance when everything else looks dead. Lately, it has earned something of a cult following among hard-core gardeners and plant collectors in the United States, following its popularity in England where tour buses trek out to snowdrop fields in February. Hundreds of new varieties have been discovered in recent years, thanks to its growing legion of fans, who are known in the gardening world as galanthophiles, named after the snowdrop's Latin name, Galanthus.
Elise du Pont, heir to the WaWa chain of convenience stores and wife of former Delaware Gov. Pierre S. du Pont IV, says she scavenges a country dump near her home in Rockland, Del. where snowdrop bulbs sometimes inadvertently get tossed out with other garden scraps and sprout through the soil. "There, you find the best Galanthus," says Ms. du Pont, an avid gardener and competitor in flower shows. These days, she is coveting a pink variety she has heard about. "I don't know where to find it, but I'm going to find out."
Who would have thought that the humble snowdrop would have such a following. Check Brent and Becky's bulbs for more varieties of snowdrops.
"You start looking at them a little closer, and you get stuck on these tiny, minute differences, and it all starts making sense," says Michael Loos, a collector in Ovid, N. Y. "And the biggest excitement about snowdrops is that they start blooming now."
Something happens in the last days of winter, as the little white flowers pop through snow, signaling spring before the litany of tulips and daffodils steal the show. The snowdrop-so small, you have to bend and look-holds its own in the garden because of its lively appearance when everything else looks dead. Lately, it has earned something of a cult following among hard-core gardeners and plant collectors in the United States, following its popularity in England where tour buses trek out to snowdrop fields in February. Hundreds of new varieties have been discovered in recent years, thanks to its growing legion of fans, who are known in the gardening world as galanthophiles, named after the snowdrop's Latin name, Galanthus.
Elise du Pont, heir to the WaWa chain of convenience stores and wife of former Delaware Gov. Pierre S. du Pont IV, says she scavenges a country dump near her home in Rockland, Del. where snowdrop bulbs sometimes inadvertently get tossed out with other garden scraps and sprout through the soil. "There, you find the best Galanthus," says Ms. du Pont, an avid gardener and competitor in flower shows. These days, she is coveting a pink variety she has heard about. "I don't know where to find it, but I'm going to find out."
Who would have thought that the humble snowdrop would have such a following. Check Brent and Becky's bulbs for more varieties of snowdrops.
Madoff Sons: We're Victims
Well, I think that the news gets weirder all the time. Convicted Ponzi scheme operator Bernard Madoff's two sons believe they should be counted among the victims of their father's crimes, according to court papers filed in a lawsuit brought by the court-appointed trustee for Mr. Madoff's firm.
In court papers filed late Monday Martin Flumenbaum, a lawyer for Mark Madoff and Andrew Madoff, said they went to the authorities shortly after their father revealed to them he had been secretly running a decades-long Ponzi scheme.
"Their revelation of their father's crimes led to the collapse of the profitable -and concededly legitimate-market-making and trading business that they had spent their professional lives building," Mr. Flumenbaum said. "For this, among many other reasons, they rank among the numerous victims of their father's terrible crimes."
Somehow, I think that they are not quite telling the truth. Their father's quick admission of quilt saved them.
In court papers filed late Monday Martin Flumenbaum, a lawyer for Mark Madoff and Andrew Madoff, said they went to the authorities shortly after their father revealed to them he had been secretly running a decades-long Ponzi scheme.
"Their revelation of their father's crimes led to the collapse of the profitable -and concededly legitimate-market-making and trading business that they had spent their professional lives building," Mr. Flumenbaum said. "For this, among many other reasons, they rank among the numerous victims of their father's terrible crimes."
Somehow, I think that they are not quite telling the truth. Their father's quick admission of quilt saved them.
Peameal bacon breakfast on a bun
Every 6 weeks or so, my husband and I go to the market and buy chicken breasts. They are individually packed, and then we get scallops and maybe even shrimp. As a treat, we get peameal bacon on a bun. My goodness, just read what it consists of!
We buy it at the Carousel Bakery. The serving size is 245 grams. It is world-famous; according to the article, celebrity chefs and foodie magazines rave about its perfect proportions. Tourists line up for a taste. And locals (that's us) gush over its briny, gooey goodness.
Consider it an occasional treat, says registered dietitian Shannon Crocker.
Six hundred calories is a lot for breakfast, especially if you augment the sandwich with juice and a creamy latter. Thank goodness, we just have coffee, plain. You could still keep within your daily calorie budget if you eat the sandwich and nothing else until lunch-and keep that lunch light.
However, the peameal bacon gives the sandwich its sodium overload: almost 2,000 milligrams just for breakfast.
"The maximum daily allowance is 2,300 milligrams," says Crocker, noting the sodium comes from brining the meat in salt. "So by 10 a.m. you've had your whole day's worth of sodium. That's incredible."
Peameal bacon is considered a healthier choice than regular bacon it's lean, with less fat. But still, you get 21 grams of fat, which is a lot for breakfast.
Must say that this is something to think about. Eating half the sandwich at a time does not work for me. We visit the market at 6 a.m. and I am ready to eat. Oh well, we only do it once in over 6 weeks.
We buy it at the Carousel Bakery. The serving size is 245 grams. It is world-famous; according to the article, celebrity chefs and foodie magazines rave about its perfect proportions. Tourists line up for a taste. And locals (that's us) gush over its briny, gooey goodness.
Consider it an occasional treat, says registered dietitian Shannon Crocker.
Six hundred calories is a lot for breakfast, especially if you augment the sandwich with juice and a creamy latter. Thank goodness, we just have coffee, plain. You could still keep within your daily calorie budget if you eat the sandwich and nothing else until lunch-and keep that lunch light.
However, the peameal bacon gives the sandwich its sodium overload: almost 2,000 milligrams just for breakfast.
"The maximum daily allowance is 2,300 milligrams," says Crocker, noting the sodium comes from brining the meat in salt. "So by 10 a.m. you've had your whole day's worth of sodium. That's incredible."
Peameal bacon is considered a healthier choice than regular bacon it's lean, with less fat. But still, you get 21 grams of fat, which is a lot for breakfast.
Must say that this is something to think about. Eating half the sandwich at a time does not work for me. We visit the market at 6 a.m. and I am ready to eat. Oh well, we only do it once in over 6 weeks.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Tax dollars at work
Yesterday, I saw our tax dollars at work. Just as I was heading out to do some errands, I heard a crashing sound. Once I decided that nothing had happened in the house, I proceeded to the car with my load of dry cleaning and other materials for errands. Then, I saw the devastation. A branch had come off the tree on our lawn. The high winds had snapped a branch that was over a foot in diameter. The branch was laying on the neighbours car. It seemed that the car was okay except for this branch.
I went inside and called hydro and told them about the branch. Hydro arrived in less than an hour. Hydro moved the wire and managed to have it suspended above the branch. We lost power for about half an hour. When I asked hydro about the branch, it seems that it is not their problem.
Another call to the city resulted in someone coming to look at the branch and leave a notice that the tree will be inspected. (I certainly hope so, this is about the third or fourth time that a branch has come down and the second time that a car has been damaged.) Then the city tree people came and proceeded to clean up all the branches and soon there was no evidence that anything had happened except for the rear window of the neighbours car which was smashed to smithereens as the branch slide down the car. Too bad we weren't able to stabilize the branch but with the hydro wire in the way we were not going to do that.
Must say that everything went quite well, although I would not want to be the neighbour.
I went inside and called hydro and told them about the branch. Hydro arrived in less than an hour. Hydro moved the wire and managed to have it suspended above the branch. We lost power for about half an hour. When I asked hydro about the branch, it seems that it is not their problem.
Another call to the city resulted in someone coming to look at the branch and leave a notice that the tree will be inspected. (I certainly hope so, this is about the third or fourth time that a branch has come down and the second time that a car has been damaged.) Then the city tree people came and proceeded to clean up all the branches and soon there was no evidence that anything had happened except for the rear window of the neighbours car which was smashed to smithereens as the branch slide down the car. Too bad we weren't able to stabilize the branch but with the hydro wire in the way we were not going to do that.
Must say that everything went quite well, although I would not want to be the neighbour.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
?????
What to write about?
I could comment on the fashions from the Oscars and yes there were some lovely dresses. Sorry, but the men do not count. Have you ever seen them mentioned in the list of fashions. How easy is that put on a nice suit, comb your hair and you are done. Oh forgot, shine your shoes, make sure that your socks match the suit. You don't have to worry about the perfect hairstyle. My goodness, I watched one show that mentioned that most of the women put their hair up. Very few of the women wore their hair down. Sandra Bullock was one of the few stars with her hair down.
Did anyone comment on George Clooney's suit. No, but I did hear comments about the Italian woman he brought as his guest. The men did look nice but again- what style, and colour?
Will have to think about something to write about tomorrow.
Life will get more interesting; I'm sure.
I could comment on the fashions from the Oscars and yes there were some lovely dresses. Sorry, but the men do not count. Have you ever seen them mentioned in the list of fashions. How easy is that put on a nice suit, comb your hair and you are done. Oh forgot, shine your shoes, make sure that your socks match the suit. You don't have to worry about the perfect hairstyle. My goodness, I watched one show that mentioned that most of the women put their hair up. Very few of the women wore their hair down. Sandra Bullock was one of the few stars with her hair down.
Did anyone comment on George Clooney's suit. No, but I did hear comments about the Italian woman he brought as his guest. The men did look nice but again- what style, and colour?
Will have to think about something to write about tomorrow.
Life will get more interesting; I'm sure.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Weather Goddess
After over 25 years of taking band trips, I have decided that I rule the weather. Not once in those 25 years of taking my bands to Ontario Place and then in later years to Wonderland did it rain when we were travelling to the site or during the day. Today, I am accompanying the high school band where I work to Collingwood and you guessed it. The sun is shining and it is a glorious day! Right now, I do not even see a cloud in the sky.
A couple years ago when the high school travelled to Collingwood, they were turned back before getting to their site. The snowstorm was so bad that it took over 6 hours to return home. It was a memorable trip but for the wrong reasons. Dennis the department head can never forget the trip. I hope that this one is for the books as well but for other reasons.
A couple years ago when the high school travelled to Collingwood, they were turned back before getting to their site. The snowstorm was so bad that it took over 6 hours to return home. It was a memorable trip but for the wrong reasons. Dennis the department head can never forget the trip. I hope that this one is for the books as well but for other reasons.
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