Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Friday Is For Wintersleep

Or at least Friday, April 26th, 2013 is.  Specifically at the Marquee.

A week and a half ago, brother D messaged us and asked if we wanted to go to see Wintersleep at the Marquee on Friday.  Obviously the answer was yes because, well, there is no other good answer to that question. I hadn't seen them in a few years and both BF and D had never seen them, so it was even more exciting.

We got to the club early and thanks to a couple of BF's awesome grad students who'd gotten there even earlier, we actually got one of the coveted tables, meaning we didn't have to stand up and strain to see and be jostled for the next four hours.  Bonus!  Soon after we settled in and got a couple drinks, the opening band, Toronto's Always started their set.


They played a fun set of slightly grungy but cheery pop songs, and even included a cover of the song Crash by the Primitives, a song many of you might recognize if you ever had the Dumb and Dumber soundtrack back in the day.

After a quick break, the stars of the night, our own Wintersleep came out.  


I've seen them a handful of times over the last ten or so years and always loved them, but this show was spectacular.


Each of the guys were putting their all into it, really having a great time up there.


Paul Murphy, the lead singer reminds me more and more of Gord Downie every time I see him.


My brother D thinks that Loel Campbell is one of the best drummers in Canada, and let me tell you, this show would hold up as proof.  He's pretty tough to photograph though!  :)




One of the highlights of the night was a duet between Paul and the singer from Always.  They did a really great rendition of the late, great Rita MacNeil's Working Man.  Everyone in the bar sang along, it being a song you learn by heart through osmosis in these parts.  It was an amazing tribute to a lady who will surely be missed, and who surely would have been proud of this spontaneous version of her most famous song.  I only wish my camera batteries hadn't run out right before!  :(

Great show, Wintersleep, thanks!  

Till next time!

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Oh Hi!

You may have noticed I've skipped out on a few posts recently - don't worry, I won't resort to my old post-every-five-months ways, I just need a little break this week I guess.  It's been real busy, and sometimes when I get home and sit down at last, I just want to stare into space, or catch up on Project Runway, or cozy up with BF and a glass of wine.

That being said, I still feel bad about not posting.  Like J said last night, promising myself I'd post every day and doing so well at it for such a long time (almost four straight months, folks) and then sorta falling off the wagon is like failing out on your diet.  It's no big deal once and a while, but you still feel guilty.

Anyhoo, I thought I'd just pop on here for a few minutes and let y'all know I'm still around, and will be again real soon.  Today is my Friday and we're in for at least a few adventures over the next few days, so stay tuned.

I'll leave you with this little jewel I uncovered in our back yard the other day.  Every time I look out there, there are more things popping up!


See you again very soon, friends!  Till next time!

Monday, April 22, 2013

Ghost Walk

On my way home from work today, I, on account of the lovely 11 degrees outside, decided to stroll.  How could I have known how many ghosts I'd see along my way!  I love how they, simple as they may be, have their own personalities.  This is my take on them.

Friendly, flirty ghost.  "Hey girl."
Too long at the bar ghost.  "Bllurggg."
Got in a bad fight ghost.  "Ow!"
Confused ghost.  ". . . er, sorry . . . your name is what?"
Incognito ghost.  ". . ."
On my walk home, I probably almost walked into traffic twice because after I spotted the first two ghosts, all I did was glance around and search for more. It's ok though, I made it.  

Oh, also, I have been informed that these little spooks are courtesy of local artist Chris Lockerbie, who is actually a bud, and I own one of his amazing original paintings, a commission by my dear friend M.  


Check out his site, he's super talented, has such a great, unique style, and is one of the nicest guys you'll meet!

Till next time folks!

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Rainy Saturdays

. . . are perfect days to do nothing much.

This morning, despite a great and late night at T & C's last night (thanks for the evening ladies!), BF and I got up early to get ready to go out and about.  While having his coffee, BF spotted these lovely visitors in the backyard.

 
We'd heard about an auction that was happening at the Victoria Hall, a senior women's residence on Gottingen Street, here in Halifax.  It's closing as a residence unfortunately and literally everything inside  is being sold.


 We went and looked around and saw some beautiful old pieces of furniture, and the building itself was remarkable.  Sadly all the items we were interested in, specifically a few antique settees that would be great in our Green Room, had been sold right before we got there.

We also went to the Giant Used Book Sale at the Halifax Forum and browsed around for an hour.  Of course we came home with another pile of books.


 It's just as well, because it was a kind of icky day out there,

The scene through our living room window - rainy and really windy.
the perfect kind of day to curl up on the couch

Where we spent most of the afternoon
and read a good book.

My current read.

Hope you're all dry and warm, friends!  Till next time.

Friday, April 19, 2013

It's Friday, Y'all!!

Not that I had to tell you, right?  So.....


Till next time, friends!

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Lady In Red

This little lady has been living in our house for a few days now.


In almost all cultures, Ladybugs are considered good luck, symbols indicating anything from bountiful crops to romance in your future, and I've even read that there is a superstition that if they land on an old object, the object will soon be replaced by a new and improved one.  Considering I first met her in our upstairs bathroom with all it's crack-y old pink tiles, I surely do hope that's true!  

I hope she stays around.  I think I'll call her Esther.

Till next time!

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Buildings, Buildings Everywhere: An Update

Three months ago I excitedly reported on this lil blog that a new library was in the process of growing up on the corner of Spring Garden Road and Queen.  A lot of work has been done since then, though it's still in the skeleton phase.

Here's how it looked back then:


And here's how it looks now:

They've begun to install the glass walls, as you can see on the bottom right side.  The part on the top is going to have amazing views of the city, the harbour and the hill.  Ack, I just can't wait!

Hope you all had the chance to bask in the gorgeous day out there my friends.  Till next time!

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Soup Of The Day

I have my sweet friend R to thank for the inspiration for this post.  Just yesterday she reminded me of this soup I used to make at the restaurant we both used to cook at.  It's a super easy and really delicious one, an Indian staple - Mulligatawny.  

It all started with a homemade stock I made by boiling the bones of the chicken we cooked a couple days ago, a couple onions (skin too) and about half a bunch of celery (leaves too).  I let it simmer for a few hours then strained it and set it aside. 


In the meantime, I prepared the rest of the ingredients.  I added chicken and julienned carrots to this batch, which I don't usually do but thought it'd be nice.

That's half a white onion, about three inches of ginger, minced, six cloves of minced garlic, all the spices, half a lemon, two chopped chicken breasts, three small carrots, about 3/4 cup of coconut milk and 1/2 cup of basmati.
Clockwise: 2 tsp each of ground fenugreek, cumin, ground coriander, 1.5 tsp tumeric, 1 tsp chili powder.
I melted a good chunk of butter in my pot and sauteed the onions, garlic and ginger until they became tender and the smells were making me drool a bit, haha.


Then I tossed in the spices....


 .....and blended them well, covered the pot and let all those ingredients get to know one another.


After a few minutes, I added the chicken and a few tbsp of the stock to encourage steam.  I re-covered the pot, but stirred occasionally until the chicken was cooked.  Then I poured in the stock, covered the pot and let it simmer for about twenty minutes.


All that was left then was the coconut milk and about 2 tbsp of the lemon juice.  I added a bit of salt to taste and served that baby up with some naan bread.  YUM.  



Till next time friends!

Monday, April 15, 2013

They'rrrre Opeeeennnn!!


Rejoice Haligonians!  The surest sign our city can receive that winter is officially GONZO has arrived in the form of wide open gates all around our beautiful Public Gardens.  

I strolled through on my way downtown after work.  There were lots of people doing the same, basking in the sun and the balmy +7, and imagining what the place will look like a month from now, all full of colour and life.

  
The Duck Pond was still and flat as a mirror, waiting for its feathered friends to return.  Ahhh, Spring is HERE, friends!  

Till next time!

Sunday, April 14, 2013

It'll Get Done . . . 

. . . . people kept telling me.  

When we first bought the house I had so many grand schemes and brilliant ideas about decor and renos and improvements that we would do, and in my mind, most of them would be good to go in no time flat. I'd tell people about them - "Gonna get all the rooms painted before we move in!" and they'd laugh and say things like "Haha, yeah, I said that too, and now three years later I'm about half done."  

I'm slowly realizing the reality of it.  Not only are all our rooms NOT painted, but we don't even know what colour we want to paint them.  The kitchen's temporary improvements are not finished.  The Green Room is still full of boxes.  The book room is still all disorganized.


My intention was to have the walls painted and shelves built and everything just so within a couple weeks.  Now I see it'll be a bit longer.

I'm slowly accepting the fact that everything isn't going to be perfect right away, it takes time and that's ok, because the place is OURS and we have our whole lives to figure it out.  I WOULD like a better kitchen, and it would be nice to have our art up on the walls and my closet organized and the boxes in the Green room unpacked, but hey, it'll happen.  

Lesson #1 in Home Ownership:  Chill Out.

Lesson learned.

Till next time!

Saturday, April 13, 2013

This Is Saturday

They SORT of match, right?
Garlic baby fetuses?
Hey there Chickadee!
My new Blowfish shoes, dreamy!
Three great finds in the bargain section of Chapters:  A Vietnamese cookbook with funny stories from the author and a foreword by Anthony Bourdain, an Apps cookbook, and a wedding inspiration book. 
OMG, does ANYONE remember The Littles?  I LOVED this show when I was a kid.  Saturday morning cartoon staple.  And then there is Anthony.....
Beautiful new bed set.
Random stencil behind Park Lane.
Lil fleurs.
Gummy race car.
AMAZING from scratch pizza BF made for supper.
Hannibal, brilliant new show, plan for the night...with a little Chianti..... ;)
Till next time loves!

Neighbirdhood Eatery

(See what I did there?)

So far the little birdseed fountain thing has been just a minor success.  I think, like all new eateries, the word just has to get out and it'll be booming in no time.  The other day we had a busy day.  

First there was just this guy.  He swooped by a few times and then landed and ate a lot of sunflower seeds.  


Then he must have told some of his pals because suddenly a big group arrived.


And everyone else had to wait in the . . . wings.


I guess I'm going to have to brush up on my bird watching skills because I have no idea what kinds any of these are.  I think the one on top is some kind of crow, and I've seen lots of blue jays (those buggers are way too skittish to stay still long for pictures, but I am determined to get 'em someday) but the rest are a mystery to me.  It's kind of neat seeing all these feathered friends who never ventured as far downtown as we'd been for years.  Sometimes I feel like we're practically rural, haha!

Till next time folks!