Sunday, December 28, 2008

Making potato scones

Potato scones (tattie scones, tottie scones) are a regional variant of the savoury "griddle scone", which is especially popular in Scotland. Many variations of recipe exist, however they generally include liberal quantities of boiled tatties or tawties (Scots for potatoes) and salt. (from Wikipedia)

My husband and I, however, make my grandmother's version, which includes only boiled potatoes (as noted) and flour.

1. First, peel and boil some potatoes.


2. Second, let the boiled potatoes cool.

3. Next, mash the potatoes. I've taken to mashing them with some of the flour to be added later.



4. Next, using a rolling pin, roll out the potatoes using just enough flour to help the potato stick together.




5. Then, cook the rolled scones on a dry, medium-hot griddle until they are cooked.




The scones are lovely at this point with a little butter. Also at this point, we usually put them away until Christmas morning, when we have them for breakfast, with some back (or pea-meal) bacon.

6. Heat some vegetable oil in a frying pan.

7. Re-heat the scones individually in the oil, but don't let them boil in the oil, as they get tough.

8. Place the re-heated scones on paper towel to drain them.





9. When enough scones have been re-heated, eat them with bacon and enjoy!

Saturday, December 06, 2008

December here, now!

Well, my new job is definitely busy. I think I'm enjoying it. But now it's December and I've got to update my to do list:

+ finish prepping French presentation for Dec 9, including 'topical questions' to encourage interest and debate from the class (W)+
+ make cookies for exchange (Dec 7)+
+ finish sewing gift+
+ finish Christmas letter+
+ finish (+on-line+) Christmas shopping+
+ write/send Christmas cards
+ wrap/send Christmas gifts+
+ decorate house
- make more chocolate cookies
- shop for work party / Solstice party / Christmas day
- make scones
- knit dish cloths
- finalize work project (presentation) (W)
- work on next TM presentation (Jan 13/09) w/Angie?
- lay out forest quilt
- organize sewing room
- sort boxes in basement
- file photo/memorabilia books/files
- record and file magazines
- establish routines for new house
- empty closet in office
- fix clothes in sewing room
- exercise/bike
- look into accupuncture
- contact Dr/fitness for meeting
- work with "coach" (H/W)
- tidy office

OK. I better get to work!

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

November coming up (already!)

Well, my first month back to work was pretty good. I managed to find myself a new job and now I'm very busy. It's not a huge change - just to a different branch with the same sector of Natural Resources Canada and a move of only 1 floor. I'm also still working with a secretariat for a sub-group of the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers. However, the field of study/discussion of this group is quite different from my old group. Quite innovative, in fact, as it's the Innovation Working Group.

While, technically, I only moved down here last week (just after Thanksgiving, in fact), I had been doing things (participating in meetings) related to the work for a while before. I continue to need to think about a few of the things I was working on in the other Branch. I'm sure eventually it will all get sorted out.

On the home front, I've still got a knitting project almost finished - I've just got to add a label before November 1; I've got a machine quilting project well on its way; and I've got a design wall up in my sewing room. Here's my ongoing list:
- finish Halloween costume
- do Christmas shopping
- make Christmas card list
- write Christmas letter
- work on knitting project
- lay out tree quilt
- organize sewing room
- sort boxes in basement
- file photo/memorabilia books/files
- record and file magazines
- establish routines for new house
- empty closet in office
- fix clothes in sewing room
- exercise/bike
- look into accupuncture
- work with "coach" (H/W)
- tidy office

That should take me through the rest of October and well into November! Back to work!

Sunday, September 28, 2008

October coming up

So how did my first month back to work go? Well, reasonably well, I suppose. I was getting some stuff done when, suddenly a couple of weeks ago, my friend and colleague asked if I would like to take her spot for a year while she goes on secondment to another federal department. I said (as I had when she had asked me the same question in the spring) "that might be intersting". Now, she's starting her secondment on Wednesday, I'm meeting with her previous boss tomorrow and it seems I'll be moving.

I think it will be a good change. I think I probably should have changed jobs about 5 years ago. But, as they say, better late than never! I will work to make it a good change. I'm hoping my head(aches) will not make it too hard to do that.

On the home front, I've got a knitting project almost finished; I've got a machine quilting project almost ready to start; I'm working to get a design wall up in my sewing room. Here's my ongoing list:
- work on knitting project
- hang up quilt layout tablecloth
- lay out quilt
- organize sewing room
- sort boxes in basement
- file photo/memorabilia books/files
- record and file magazines
- establish routines for new house+
- empty closet in office
- fix clothes in sewing room
- exercise/bike
- look into accupuncture
- work with "coach" (H/W)
- tidy office

Well, I guess that's enough for now. I better get moving on some of this stuff!

Monday, September 08, 2008

September 8 update

Well, I've been back at work for a week. In theory, at least. That doesn't consider time for headaches and to help clean up the tree that fell on our house during the wind storm on Friday.





It's all sorted now, except I think we will still call an arbourist to see about having the other rotten maples taken away so they don't take our our new electrical system in the next high wind!

Here's an update and some more new photos:
- sort boxes in basement
- file photo/memorabilia books/files
- record and file magazines
- establish routines for new house+
- hang up quilt layout tablecloth
- lay out quilt
- empty closet in office
- fix clothes in sewing room
- organize sewing room
- exercise/bike
- look into accupuncture
- work with "coach" (H/W)
- tidy office
- work on knitting project
- I think I'll have to fix the butterfly garden along the back of the house, but I'll wait to see what comes up next spring.
- organize and make horse fabric quillows++ - they ended up being a little long. But that could be good!









Thursday, August 21, 2008

August 21 update

Here's another update and some new photos.

- sort boxes in basement
- file photo/memorabilia books/files
- record and file magazines
- establish routines for new house
- hang up quilt layout tablecloth
- lay out quilt
- empty closet in office
- fix clothes in sewing room
- organize sewing room+
- exercise/bike++++
- look into accupuncture
- work with "coach" (H/W)
- tidy office
- work on knitting project+++
- return beer bottles+
- cut out purse+ / sew purse+

- plant butterfly garden along back of house (between tomatoes & lupines)++ (see Aug 18 for photo)
- re-hem new pants+
- add mulch to flower beds++ (see Aug 18 for photo)
- clean cook-top++++
- file TM materials+
- organize and make horse fabric quillows+



Monday, August 18, 2008

August 18 update

Here's another update and this time I'll add some photos.

- sort boxes in basement
- file photo/memorabilia books/files
- record and file magazines
- establish routines for new house
- hang up quilt layout tablecloth
- lay out quilt
- empty closet in office
- fix clothes in sewing room
- organize sewing room+
- exercise/bike
- look into accupuncture
- work with "coach" (H/W)
- tidy office
- work on knitting project++
- return beer bottles+
- cut out purse+
- sew purse+
- plant butterfly garden along back of house (between tomatoes & lupines)++







- re-hem new pants+
- add mulch to flower beds++




- clean cook-top++++
- file TM materials+

Thursday, August 07, 2008

August 12 update

Here's another update. I've finished putting out mulch, making my new purse, and mostly finished cleaning the cook-top. One burner basket is really dirty; I think I'll try putting oven-cleaner on it and also clean an oven. But that can wait for tomorrow.

- clean cook-top+++
- clean oven

- sort boxes in basement
- file photo/memorabilia books/files
- file TM materials
- record and file magazines
- establish routines for new house
- hang up quilt layout tablecloth
- lay out quilt
- empty closet in office
- fix clothes in sewing room
- organize sewing room
- exercise/bike
- work on knitting project+
- grocery shop for farm weekend
- look into accupuncture
- work with "coach" (H/W)
- tidy office

- return beer bottles+
- cut out purse+
- sew purse+
- plant butterfly garden along back of house (between tomatoes & lupines)++
- re-hem new pants+
- add mulch to flower beds++

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Last week of July 2008

Just getting prepared for my month off! August will have its own entry, but here are a few things to work on before then:

- work on knitting project (H)
- finish putting mulch on flower beds (H)+
- go to RA Centre / bike (H)
- cut purse fabric (H)
- project list for August (H)
- send e-vite for long weekend (H)
- grocery shop for long weekend (H)
- grocery shop for August farm weekend (H)
- look into accupuncture (H)
- contact "coach" (H/W)
- finish implementing July work on common drive (W)
- tidy office (W).

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

August action

Since I'm off work in August and my intent is to get organized and re-find my focus, I better get a list of things to attack:

- return beer bottles+
- sort boxes in basement
- file photo/memorabilia books/files
- file TM materials
- record and file magazines
- establish routines for new house
- hang up quilt layout tablecloth
- lay out quilt
- cut out purse
- sew purse
- empty closet in office
- fix clothes in sewing room
- organize sewing room
- exercise/bike
- plant butterfly garden along back of house (between tomatoes & lupines)

Ok, it's now August 6, I better get to it. I'll check in later to update.

Monday, July 14, 2008

Post Bluesfest post

Well, Bluesfest is over - that was fun. Now I guess I should get back to working on my to-do list:

- work on knitting project (H)
- finish putting mulch on flower beds (H)
- go to RA Centre / bike (H)
- cut purse fabric (H)
- project list for August (H)
- grocery shop for rib-off party (H)
- grocery shop for August farm weekend (H)
- look into accupuncture (H/W)
- contact "coach" (H/W)
- finish implementing July work on common drive (W)
- tidy office (W)

Back to work.

Saturday, July 05, 2008

July 5

OK, now what? New update of to-do list:

- work on knitting project (H)
- finish putting mulch on flower beds (H)
- go to RA Centre / bike (H)
- cut purse fabric (H)
- make arrangement to see bank (H) a
- look into accupuncture (H/W)
- practice ATM B6 presentation (July 8) (H/W)
- contact "coach" (H/W)
- work on training plan (W) a
- continue on follow-up to July 4 "Workout" (W)a

Monday, June 30, 2008

June 30 update

OK, new week, new update of to-do list:

- work on knitting project (H)
- finish putting mulch on flower beds (H)
- go to RA Centre / bike (H)
- send regrets to b'day party (H)
- practice ATM B6 presentation (July 8) (H/W)
- contact "coach" (H/W)
- when receive appointment, talk to Director re: Performance Feedback Report (W)
- continue preparing for "Workout" on July 4 - implementation plan for shared drive (W)

Happy Canada Day tomorrow!

Saturday, June 21, 2008

June 21 to-dos

OK, new week, semi-new to-do list:

- work on knitting project (H)
- finish putting mulch on flower beds (H)
- go to RA Centre / bike (H)
- send regrets to b'day party (H)
- prepare for sausage party - food, clean spare bedrooma, tidy front of house, tidy back of house, tidy main floora (H)
- go to Market and buy maple syrup (H) a
- self-groom (legs, etc.) (H) a
- practice ATM B6 presentation (July 8) (H/W)
- if receive info, contact "coach" (H/W)
- if receive appointment, talk to Director re: Performance Feedback Report (W)
- finish/send note for Workout (W)

That should get me through the sausage party, then some!

Thursday, June 12, 2008

To-do list and Forestry meeting

Well, I've just updated my to-do list from this week. I got quite a bit done. I'm on a bit of a roll. Gotta keep it going. Another to-do list for another week:

- work on knitting project (H) a
- finish putting mulch on flower beds (H)
- balance chequebook (again) (H) a
- go to RA Centre / bike (H)
- call Mannatech to see about exchanging order(s) (H) a
- box up and send back (H) a
- send regrets to b'day party (H)
- prepare for sausage party (H) a
- practice ATM B5 presentation (June 17) (H/W) a
- find "coach" (H/W) a
- prepare Performance Feedback Report (W) a
- finish/send note for Workout (W)
(updated June 21)

Today, I was away from the office for a while. I attended the Annual General Meeting of the Ottawa Valley Section of the Canadian Institute of Forestry. It was held at the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority (RVCA). This is a very new and interesting building near the Rideau River south of Ottawa.

3 guest speakers discussed various aspects of "The Green Building Movement; what will it mean for sustainable forestry". The first speaker was from the Canadian Wood Council and spoke about their program, "wood works!".

Did you know:
- that approximately 1 tonne, or the equivalent of 6 weeks household electrcity consumption, or one-half the mass of the wood is stored in a single cubic meter piece of dry wood?
- that only 10% of the world's forests are certified, but 40% of the world's certified forests are in Canada?
- that only 0.5% of Canada' forest land base is regularly harvested?

These were all tidbits of information provided by the Canadian Wood Council.

Then a speaker from Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, spoke about "Greening Building Systems and Wood". That talk was also interesting.

Finally, a speaker from the City of Ottawa spoke about policies and projects in the City of Ottawa relating to the same topic.

After lunch, we heard a talk from the architect of the RVCA, which is such a "green building". We also heard about the MEC store in Ottawa, designed by the same firm. Both of these buildings have quite unique, interesting and environmentally-friendly features and elements.

A fascinating area!

Sunday, June 08, 2008

OK. A while ago I decided to use this as a place to store some photos of projects I have done. I think now I'll add a to-do list.
For this week:
- finish CNIB canvassing a
- work on knitting project a
- finish putting mulch on flower beds
- balance chequebook a
- record investments a
- tidy house a
- practice French presentation (June 10) a
- practice ATM B5 presentation (June 17)

Well, that should do for now. Perhaps I'll get started!

a Updated as of Thursday, June 12.

Saturday, June 07, 2008

June 2008 Update

OK. I should have incorporated something about our lamb roast closer to the May long weekend. However, better late than never.

In October 2007, I called a number of lamb suppliers in the neighbourhood of Ottawa. One of them called me back so I said I would like to buy a lamb to roast on the May long weekend. The lamb supplier agreed to phone back May 1, 2008.

May 1, a Thursday, rolls around and no word from the lamb supplier. I finally phoned them on Sunday, May 4. Turns out that because Easter was early this year (March), they had already sold a bunch of lambs. They would call be back in a week to let me know.

As Easter was early this year, so was the May long weekend, and it was fast approaching by this time. Finally, the lamb supplier phoned back and I made arrangements to pick up the lamb on Sunday, May 18.

This was a bit of a stretch, since my husband and I were planning to head to our cottage, about 1.5 hours southwest of Ottawa. This picture was taken March 1, 2008, and was the most recently I had seen the cottage before heading there in May!

In any case, one of the other cottage owners and I headed off pretty early on Sunday, May 18, to pick up our lamb. My driving partner is actually from the Ottawa area, so we were able to navigate cross-country and find our lamb producer in Russel, Ontario.
We had intended to marinate the lamb in a big plastic container and a lovely mixture of citrus juices, garlic, rosemary, red wine, and olive oil. We took the plastic container and some sheets, but we forgot the marinade! Oops! Oh well, we figured it out about 20 minutes from the cottage and decided we'd have some time between arriving back with the lamb and finalizing the details of the spit, so we kept going.

We made good time and were at the producer's by about 10:15 a.m. The producer brought out the lamb, we wrapped it in a sheet, I paid the bill, we finished stretching our legs and hopped back in the car for the drive back to the cottage.
All this time on Sunday, May 18, the weather was quite lovely and the sun was shining. By the time we got back to the cottage, things were starting to deteriorate. Still, our friends had been busy preparing the cooking site. We popped the lamb in the marinade and prepared some sandwiches for a late lunch.

Soon after that, it was time for the spit guys to spring into action. Gardner and Steve had also spent quite a bit of time during evenings during the previous week to prepare the spit and come up with a plan. It was time to implement that plan!


I soon started to notice a lovely scent wafting around the general area. The lamb smelled really good!








OK, that should be good. time to get that baby off and start carving it up!






Well, that went pretty well, I thought. I would love to do it again, but maybe just with a few lamb roasts - as suggested by someone who did a few of these in his day, there is a bit of waste and it's a bit of work.


Saturday, January 05, 2008

New Year 2008

Hi. I don't imagine this is the place to add all my photos. However, it may be the place to put a random note with a link I don't want to forget.


Over my Christmas break, I was doing a little organizing and de-cluttering. I finally had a good look at some of the paraphernalia I brought back from Japan in July 2006.


Amongst other items was a little flier on "Flower Calenda of Hokkaido". There were some lovely pictures of flowers on that island in Japan (where I had been).


One of the really intriguing pictures was of Takinoue Park showing "Japan's largest colony of pink moss". I was astonished. Pink moss!? Could it really be moss? If so, what kind of moss?


So today, I finally got around to googling "pink moss". After a few false starts, I did discover what (I think) it is. Here's a picture of it - thanks to the "Blooming Hokkaido" website (http://kanko.pref.hokkaido.jp/flower/english/spot/19_higashimakoto/01.html)


In fact, I don't believe it is "moss". I believe it's "Moss Pink" or Phlox subulata. This species "forms a dense mat of moss-like foliage that is covered in spring with masses of flowers in pink, purple, or white". Description thanks to Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (http://www.ext.vt.edu/departments/envirohort/factsheets/groundcovers/mosspnk.html).
In fact, I think I'll try to find more about this plant and see if we could have some here...