Sausage anyone?

Yesterday we visited with Ed and Christine and Ron and Anne.  The boys were making beer in the basement while the girls made sausages "from scratch"  in the kitchen.

What an exciting adventure Christine took us on.  We made 3 different types.  Spicy Italian, Chorizo and Spicy Chicken.

The process started with ensuring that all our equipment was sterilized and clean.  From there we moved to chopping all ingredients and mixing up the spices.  The first batch of sausages that we started was the ones that Anne had chosen which was the Spicy Italian.  This was a pork based sausage with a "kick". The meat was ground once using our KitchenAid mixer and then fed through the sausage tube.  It's really interesting to learn all the steps and surprisingly easy once you know what to do.  This sausage had a really nice spicy "kick" which we all found to be really appealing.

The next sausage was the one that I had chosen which was the Spicy Chicken.  This sausage had feta cheese, jalapeno, garlic and cilantro in them along with several different spices and red wine.  The chicken was ground twice. The first grind was with only the chicken which went quite quickly and then second grind was with the chicken mixed with all the ingredients.  This was a much slower/messier process. The chicken became very moist and stuck to the side of the tube once it goes through the 2nd grinding.  We thought that the next time we try chicken we would do it with a single grind and see how that turns out. The taste and smell of this chicken was really good.

The third batch was the Chorizo which Christine had chosen to make. This was a mix of beef and pork along with several different spices and red wine.  You could really smell the cinnamon in this sausage and the taste was really good.  Jennifer - Christine's daughter in law joined in to help with the last batch.  It really is a two person process and we appreciated the help.

All in all we made approximately 70 sausages.   After sampling a small batch of each of them we all agreed they were delicious.  I think homemade are much better than store bought as you have full control over what goes inside.  We had so much fun together.  For dinner we enjoyed some of the chorizo sausage and beef sausage the Christine had made the night before.  They were so moist and flavourful.

Thank you Christine for suggesting we give this a try today.  We had a great time!

Visit with Ron

We spent a really nice extended weekend with Ron.  After enjoying the hockey game and spending the time together downtown on Friday we were able to relax and enjoy each others company together.  On Saturday, we decided to go for a walk at the McMichael Art Gallery.  Sadly the paths were too icy so we decided to explore the gallery instead which turned out to be quite pleasant.  It was really nice to see the work on display.

In the evening we enjoyed dinner with Bruce and Ingrid, Fred, Anna and Kristen.  We had a really lovely time all together.  On Sunday Ron went with us to church and we took another long walk along the Humber river.  The weather has been amazingly warm for this time of year.

Ralph and I both enjoyed our visit with Ron and were so glad that he was able to come down and spend this special weekend with Ed and his siblings and us for the weekend.

Family love

Yesterday all of Ralph's siblings went together to a hockey game to watch the Toronto vs. New York game. This was something that was on Ed's bucket list and it was so nice that this could be organized.  What an awesome evening they had all together.  A nice dinner was planned at the Platinum lounge and a special surprised was planned for Ed where Ron  was able to join from Ucluelet, B.C.  He flew in this morning.

What a special evening they had together and one that they will all remember.

Ed, Bruce, Ingrid and Matthew stayed in a hotel downtown last night which provided them with an opportunity to rest before the game.

Today we met up again downtown and enjoyed a nice breakfast together before Ed had to catch his train back home.   We went too Eggspectations which was right behind "old" City Hall.

These last two days have been so special for the whole family. It's not often that we are able to do this all together.Afterwards Ron, Ralph and I went to the St. Lawrence Market and then later enjoyed a nice walk along the Lakeshore. It was a great day!!

My morning at Cityline TV with Tracy Moore

Back in December, on a whim, I submitted my name for a ticket to go see Cityline being produced. Late yesterday I received an email inviting me to a show that was being produced this morning.  I guess that since I had only requested one ticket, they were using me as a "filler".  The invitation stated to wear something bright and colorful as they preferred no black and no white.  Lol, there certainly wasn't too much colour in the crowd.

I had been sick with a terrible cold for the past couple of days so I wasn't sure if I would go, but said to Ralph that I would see how I felt when I woke up this morning.  I had enjoyed a good nights sleep and the Buckley's seemed to be working pretty well so I decided to go and watch.

It was a lot of fun and I think I'll put my name in again next year.  There was lots to keep me interested and it was a nice way to pass the morning.  I enjoyed a  nice breakfast with Ralph first and then went off to see the show being produced.  I wished that I was told that cameras were permitted. I assumed that they wouldn't be so I only took a few on my phone.

During the show, the set is always changing.

Question time and wrap up.

A selfie to remember the day!!

Tracy is a wonderful host and was always interacting with the guests.  She really made you feel appreciated for being there.

Chihuly Exhibition

I love glass.  Any kind of glass...textured, coloured, thick, thin.  It all fascinates me.

Today I went to the museum downtown and explored the Chihuly Exhibit.  From my first step into the room, my breath was taken away.  I didn't know where to look first as it was all so beautiful. 

When I entered into the first area, there were two boats filled with glass sculpture.  These boats were placed on dark mirrored glass where you could see the reflection just as if it was in water. It looked like the boat was filled with all sorts of flowers.  It was incredible. Chihuly has actually floated boats down a river filled with glass balls and flowers.

This was the other boat. It looked like it was filled with fruit but these were simply large glass balls. The boat itself is probably about 15 feet long.

The next room contained this huge underwater garden which was too large to photograph. There were so many different parts to it.  I circled this a couple of times just trying to see everything that was contained in the display.  It was really fascinating to see and experience.

                                                       Sea shells hanging on the plant life.

Snails crawling up the stem.

An octopus floating in the plant life.

These are red reeds imbedded into Birch logs making up a really pretty display.

These next two pictures are part of the ceiling in one of the rooms.  There were several more panels.  You are encouraged to lay on bean bag matts to take in the splendour of the glass.  Words don't describe how beautiful it was.

This will give you an idea of the room.  Along the front of the wall are the mats for you to lay on.

This star was hanging from the ceiling. There were others as well in different colours.

This is called an icicle tower.

This is a reflection of the icicle in the mirrored glass below.

Another really beautiful display showing flower hanging onto the side of a wooden structure.