 |
We have had a visitor for the weekend: Jewel, the dog of our neighbours the Sameotos. Long-time readers of this page with sharp memories may recall that Jewel also came to visit about five years ago, that time for about ten days. She hasn't changed much in the intervening years: still small, white, energetic and fluffy. Emily, in particular, was happy to entertain her and was always willing to take her for walks around the block.
Yesterday Emily went with her godmother, Chris, to watch her godsister, Alison, competing in a cheerleading contest. For those of you unfamiliar with cheerleading, it is now a sport in its own right and not simply an activity to support other teams. Each cheerleading team performs a routine on which they are marked by judges, much as in gymnastics or figure skating. Alison is on the Dartmouth High team. Chapman has provided some pictures of yesterday's competition including a couple of Emily.
Yesterday evening Ann and I went with Jocelyn and Puxley to the Neptune Studio to see a pair of one person one act plays. We started with a very nice meal at I Love Sushi, a Japanese restaurant just around the corner from the theatre. The first of the plays, I Must Be Talking To My Friends would make a great soporific if only one could bottle it. Within minutes of the start three out of four of us were snoozing (Puxley was the only hold out). Thankfully the second, Tighten the Traces, about the life and times of a man from Canso with cerebral palsy, was much better.
Thursday was a pretty special event in my family: my Mum and Dad, in Ontario, marked their 60th wedding anniversary. Since February is not the best time of the year for family gatherings, a proper celebration has been deferred until the summer.
 |
Some time ago Ann heard a program on CBC about a cook book with descriptions of the wines that should accompany each dish. One recipe that was discussed was a triple truffle tart accompanied by chilled Dalwhinnie single malt scotch. Ann decided there and then that this would be perfect to serve to our friend Dave Chapman, who is partial to the odd dram of whisky. The cook book duly arrived at Christmas and yesterday we had Dave and Chris and Alison over to try it out. Jocelyn and Puxley and Puxley's granddaughter, Anna, also came. Ann made the tart on Saturday evening and I cooked two of the other recipes from the book while everyone was at church on Sunday morning: coconut shrimp curry for an appetizer, and marinated roast pork with sweet and sour onions for the main course. After lunch there was an impromptu jam session with David and Anna playing their electric guitars, Chapman playing acoustic guitar and me playing mandolin.
Our friends the Fosters bid on a wine tasting evening at a recent charity event, and won it. They asked us over for the tasting on Friday evening, along with three or four other couples. The guy in charge of the proceedings was not one to hold back his opinions; we were lectured on the lack of culture of the Canadian palate, the difficulties of the restaurant trade, and the virtues of a career as an oenologist, as well as different methods for aging wine, how to train one's nose, etc. We tasted six wines: three Chardonnays, two Merlots and a Syrah.
 |
Since Tuesday was Shrove Tuesday, we all went to the church after work and school for a dinner of pancakes and sausages in the church basement. After we were all stuffed, one of the congregation, originally from Germany, gave a presentation on the pre-Lenten customs in various towns in Swabia (south-western Germany near both Switzerland and France). With all the masks and feasts and debauchery it sounded like a lot more fun than we have, but perhaps they take the deprivations of Lent more seriously too.
Yesterday was Neptune night. We went out to Baan Thai, our current favourite restaurant (best calamari in town), with most of the usual gang then saw Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. It was quite well done, though not the sort of play that makes you want to jump up and down for the joy of living as you leave (unlike the calamari). Meanwhile David and Katy went to a party put on by one of the other members of the Youth Group (with Katy driving this sort of thing is so much easier). Katy's friend Alison came to look after Emily and James.
 |
On Friday evening, the Shannon Park Enhancement Committee held a dance in the gym at Emily and James's school. The idea was simply to promote school spirit; there was no admission charge. Ann, Emily, James and I went, though I must admit that I did very little dancing myself. James is the family's most active dancer; he did some solo break-dancing and also dragged Ann onto the floor for a few numbers.
David and a few of the others of the church Youth Group have put together a band: David and Brenden on electric guitars, Graham on bass, Davd Foster on piano, and Jack on drums. Yesterday afternoon they had their first practice in the Fosters' basement. After the practice they all headed to Brenden's for a Youth Group movie night with the feature attraction being The Matrix.
This morning we decided we deserved a treat, so we all arose at a reasonable time (easier for some of us than for others, not naming names) and headed out to Cora's for breakfast out before church. Since David and Katy were playing Dungeons and Dragons right after church, we decided to defer our main meal at home until dinner time, so I had the rest of the morning off. In the afternoon Ann, Emily, James and I took advantage of the beautiful weather to go for a walk around Lake Banook. This evening James, Emily and I finally finished The Lord of the Rings, which I have been reading to them as a bedtime story since last October.
January 2005 Archive
March 2005 Archive
Archive Table of Contents