9 posts tagged “family”

Nan's back in the hospital today. She's been in and out three times in the past two weeks for pain in her legs. Initially they diagnosed her with cellulitis. But once they got that cleared up they decided she had a Bakers Cyst. That was about two days ago.

Today she couldn't get out of bed because of the pain in her legs. So off she went by ambulance to the hospital again, and Mom and my uncle are both there with her now.

I don't have much info yet - Mom couldn't talk on her cell - but I know they're hoping to get her back into a stay at the Bruyere Hospital until she can heal (like she did earlier this summer when she had a serious bladder infection).

I was just over to her place last night for a visit and to show her the slides from her 90th Birthday party. Even then, I knew she wasn't herself. She was very quiet and withdrawn. But I didn't think she would be back to the hospital again so soon.

I hope they get this cleared up. I know she's getting old and losing mobility, but her heart and her mind are good, and I think she's got a few years left in her.

After two nights of steady eating (and more than a bottle of wine per person per evening) we knew we needed a bit of exercise. So on Monday morning – Turkey day – we rose early and, after a bite of breakfast, headed off to the Gatineau hills for a hike.

We took the same route we discovered last time – the Blanchet trail – only this time the trail was completely open, so we could do the entire loop. What a beautiful day for a hike – sunny, calm, and cool. And the views were spectacular!

The Friday evening spa treatment was a great lead-in to the rest of the weekend – a weekend of gourmet experimentation with Mom and George.

We try to do this every year – we gather together and use each other as guinea pigs to try out various recipes that we’ve found over the previous year. Generally these are recipes that we wouldn’t have time to make on our own and that require a level of skill not required in everyday cooking. Then we take the opportunity to critique the food and try to improve on the recipe so we can share it with others later in the year.

Junkii and I had planned out our menu and gone shopping for supplies earlier in the week, so on Saturday all we had to do was pop out to the Byward Market to pick up the last few ingredients before we settled in for the weekend get-together.

Mom and George took responsibility for the dinner on Saturday evening. Or rather, I made them take Saturday because I was going to need more prep time for the Beef Wellington planned for Sunday evening.

Saturday Evening Dinner
Course 1 - Crab Stuffed Mushroom Caps: Tasty little morsels, these – very similar to escargot in terms of flavor profile, but what’s not to like about that? The crab was canned by the people who caught it (friends on the East coast) and shipped straight to Ottawa – so it was very flavorful. Adding them to mushrooms fried in garlic butter and the broiling the whole thing with some cheese on top? Mmmmm.

Course 2 – Oyster Stew: I’m so happy I learned to shuck oysters about 3 weeks ago at my friend’s place. She had an oyster party and I learned to shuck and eat raw oysters. As a result, I was also able to help George get the oysters ready for this creamy, buttery soup. The only problem with this dish was the salt level, and it’s worth making again (and again and again) as long as we remember to use unsalted butter. That way we'll be able to adjust the salt level as needed. But the oysters were so big and tender. Just lovely.

Course 3 – Cranberry and Cabbage Stuffed Pork Loin with Cider Cream Sauce, Served with Green Beans Amandine and Thyme Roasted Potatoes:  While slightly overcooked despite my efforts with the instant-read thermometer (sorry Mom!) this was delicious. The cranberry and cabbage stuffing worked really well with the pork, and the cream kept everything nice and moist. The side of beans with toasted almonds is a great side, but the addition of cherry tomatoes was a nice touch, adding a little more complexity to this dish.

Course 4 – Duo of Crème Brulées: While we had a hard time melting the brown sugar with Mom’s butane torch, the flavor of the custards didn’t suffer at all. One was flavoured with Grand Marnier, and the other with Brandy – and it was truly a challenge to figure out which one to eat last. Plus that course was served with Madeira, which none of us had ever tasted before. It’s not quite as complex as a good port, but it’s comparable for sure.

Course 5 – Cheese Platter: A classic way to end a meal – with a selection of cheese (old cheddar, Danish blue, and aged Comté) and a glass of aged Tawny Port. What more could we want?

Sunday we managed both breakfast and lunch. Mom whipped up a breakfast quiche with sausage, mushrooms, onion, and cheese. Nothing new, but always delicious. And for lunch, we had a high-end grilled cheese sandwich along with some leftover soup. The sandwich featured double-smoked cheddar, caramelized onion, and green apple, all grilled in a walnut bread.

Sunday Evening Dinner
Pre-dinner drink - Kiwi Smash Cocktail: Junkii whipped up a round of nice healthy cocktails featuring fresh kiwi, white cranberry juice, and vodka. What a great summer drink!

Course 1 - Comté Gougères with Red Pepper Dip: Another course from Junkii. We were both able to make some serious strides with our pastry making skills – in this case, little cheese flavoured bites that had the consistency of a profiterole, or maybe a Yorkshire pudding, but that tasted of aged comté cheese. The red pepper dip was a perfect accompaniment.
 
Course 2 - Grilled Scallop Prosciutto and Melon skewers: Neither of us was sure what to expect with this grilled dish - intended as an amuse-bouche - but it turned out to be one of the best of the evening. The melon and scallops complemented each other perfectly, and the prosciutto - on the grill just long enough to get a little crispy – added a tang of salt.

Course 3 - Pear and White Port Soup: I had it on good authority that this was a great recipe, and my friend’s opinion didn’t steer me wrong. This one was yummy, although Junkii didn’t like it quite as well as I did.

Course 4 - Beef Wellington with Red wine sauce, served with Wild Mushroom Risotto and Sautéed Red Swiss Chard: Apparently I don’t like Swiss chard. I’ve had it once before and found it bitter. I found the same again this time. I didn’t even eat it, it was that bad. It would have ruined my meal. But the rest of this course turned out just right. Junkii prepared the risotto and, while it had to sit a little too long in the pot because my Wellington took longer than expected, it was perfect when he was ready to serve it – creamy and delicious. The wellington was a chore to make, but the flavor in the finished product was amazing. And the puff pastry - made from scratch - turned out to be as flaky as can be. The part that took the longest was the sauce which had to reduce from about 15 cups(!) of liquid down to about 1 cup. In the end it was worth it though, and had really intense flavour.

Course 5 - White Pepper Praline Cheesecake: This dessert was to die for! Who knew that white pepper would go so well with cheesecake. And the maple wine that we served with it really brought out the peppery notes. This is now one of my favorite cheesecakes; and this was only Junkii's first attempt at making a cheesecake. Bravo!

Both nights were undeniable successes. And despite being a lot of food, we really limited our portions, and we took our time between courses so that we never felt overfull. We learned a lot this weekend and we’re already looking forward to our next get together.

My Grandmother - or Nana, as I call her - is gonna be 90 this month! Hope I get to live as long as her and still be in as good a shape. She's still got all her wits about her and, while she uses a walker, she's still pretty mobile. She only stopped driving two years ago, for heaven's sake.

We don't want to jinx it and wish her a happy birthday too soon (her actual birthday is on July 15), but she is an amazing woman and we're really looking forward to celebrating with her next weekend. Her kids have organized an open-door birthday celebration for next Sunday. Should be fun.

Here's the announcement.

I can't tell you how many incredulous looks I've received over the past week or so after informing someone that I was traveling / had traveled to Moncton. "You're driving?!" They ask me, as if it were wholly inconceivable.

I don't get it. Sure, it's a long drive - 12 hours - but it's kind of a nice drive. And Junkii and I split driving duty, so it's not nearly as bad as it used to be. And besides, on the way East, we stopped overnight in Lévis, QC, which broke up the long haul. We took our time the next day and turned up on the folks' doorstep around 5pm local time - just in time for a nice Easter dinner. What a treat: good food, good wine, and great company.

The next day, Junkii and I disputed the option of driving to PEI for the day, but given the time of year and the fact we had just spent 12 hours on the road, we both agreed to put that off for another time. Instead, I gave Junkii a tour of Moncton and Riverview. We visited the neighbourhood where I grew up, my old school, my high school haunts. It was a great memory trip for me, and Junkii seemed to enjoy hearing about the exploits of my youth.

We grabbed a photo of the old homestead. Most of you won't care, but my family members will recognize it, despite the fact that it's run down and covered in a hideous blue/grey vinyl siding. blech. How disheartening to see your childhood home go to ruin. (Admittedly, the photo doesn't look as bad as it did in person, and it also has my memories to contend with.)

During our drive, we also decided to grab some lunch at Greco. Donairs are a delicacy for me. Junkii and I have tried finding a decent donair in Ottawa, but to no avail. They just don't do the sauce right. No. Here we're limited to Shawarma. Which is fine, but if I want Mediterranean fast food, it would be nice to have  a third choice beyond shawarmas and gyros. So any time I get to Moncton, a visit to the king of Donairs - Greco - is in order. Mmmm, sweet sauce.

We also took a little trip to Magnetic Hill. For those who are not familiar, this is THE Moncton tourist attraction. The Hill is basically an optical illusion. You drive down the hill, throw your car in neutral, and sit amazed as your car rolls backward up the hill. The attraction usually costs $5, but since the International Curling championships were on in Moncton, they decided to open it to the public for free. Sweet! I was never terribly impressed by the hill, but this time it struck me as kinda cool. Maybe it was cuz we didn't have to pay.

Sunday morning, we woke to the sound of a snow blower, and immediately knew something was wrong. Upon throwing open the curtains, we were greeted with snow-covered trees. Evidently winter wasn't done with NB just yet. There must have been 30cm before the snow stopped on Monday (well after we left for home). So Sunday was pretty quiet. Apart from brunch with our hosts and a few beers with a high school chum, we just stuck around home. We were productive though, and picked through some possessions Dad was planning to get rid of.

We grabbed some nice bone china teacups to add to the collection. I now have a collection of cordless power tools. And my collection of vinyl LPs is now a little bigger. But even aside from the parting gifts, Junkii and I both feel that the trip was time well spent. We got in some real quality time with Dad and Louise, and it just felt comfortable being home again. Sure, we were faced with hours of life-threatening driving conditions on the way home, But we both agree, the pros far outweighed the cons.

We're back from a one-week visit to Phoenix to see my folks. They were sick with colds the entire time we were in town, but We had a wonderful time regardless. And thankfully, neither of us seems to have caught anything from them.

It certainly wasn't as busy a trip as the last time we visited - no big road trips to Vegas or the Grand Canyon - but then again, we didn't plan for that anyway. We were only there for one week and we just wanted to relax. Mission accomplished! We shopped, we sat by the pool, we ate out, we drank wine. What more could we ask for?

We did manage to get in a few trips to the big city (My parents live about 30 minutes south of Phoenix).

• We traveled in to do some shopping - and found surprisingly few deals. I would have thought, with the economy the way it is, shops would be falling over to get customers in their doors.
• We paid a visit on my Aunt and Uncle (on my father's side, from Alberta). They also winter in Arizona - nearer downtown Phoenix. It was nice to see them - I don't see that side of the family often enough.
  
• We checked out the Tempe Festival of the Arts - and saw some fantastic things that would look great above our sofa.
• We got to see our first ever Cirque du Soleil show - Cavalia. Acrobats on Horses!
  

I think though, for me at least, the highlight of the trip was the Desert Botanical Garden. Normally I'm not a huge fan of such things - plants don't really do it for me - but because this was all outdoors and featured mainly cacti and desert flowers, this had a lot going for it. What pushed it over the top though was that artist Dale Chihuli, who works in hand-blown glass, was commissioned to add dozens of sculptures in amongst the plants. The vibrant colours and vivid shapes were gorgeous, and so well suited tot he landscape. These beautiful works of art really helped make the gardens an experience to remember.

Check out some of our photos from the trip.

...and the General Obliviousness of Ottawa Shoppers

With Mom away in Arizona I seem to have become my grandmother's primary source of transportation. Every Friday I get a call asking if I'm free on Saturday to take her banking and to pick up a few groceries for the week. And if I'm lucky, that's all she asks for. Because she's quite old and slow, those two things alone take us nearly two hours to do. If she needs something from the drug store or the dollar store or Walmart on top of that, it's easily another hour and my Saturday is shot.

I shouldn't complain - I really am happy that I can help her out. I generally go for a visit anyway and this at least gives us something to do while we chat. No, what really bugs me about these shopping trips - the root of the problem - is that they have to be done on Saturdays.

As a general rule, Junkii and I try to avoid shopping on weekends. We do most of our shopping on weekday evenings, when the crowds are smaller. It's just less frustrating that way. Shopping with large crowds can be infuriating. Why, you ask? It's not the long line-ups that are frustrating, no. It's the general selfishnmess of the average consumer and the fact that they all seem utterly oblivious to the people around them.

Costco provides a perfect example. Costco is ALWAYS busy. More so on Saturday, but there's never a time when it's dead. So every time we go to Costco we wind up trapped among the cattle. Here, everyone has an XL shopping cart that they feel they must keep with them at all times.

• Looking at the produce? Keep your cart beside you - right in front of the bananas where every single shopper needs to be.
• Browsing through the DVDs? Park your cart in front of the new releases while you consider your purchase, just to keep others at bay.
• Leafing through a new book? don't place your cart off to the side, keep it in front of you so no one can reach the books
  

And if that weren't enough, people don't look where they're going at all when they're pushing a cart. They come ripping out of a side aisle without the slightest care in the world. Or they stand chatting at the end of an aisle, without a care in the world, blocking all who want to get by.

Some people get road rage, but for me it happens with shopping carts. It's enough to drive a man insane. Or at the very least, having recognized it, it's enough to keep a man conscious of his surroundings.

Now keep this in mind when you think of me escorting my grandmother through the aisles at Loblaws. Not only is she slow and bulky because of her walker and her fur coat - but she's totally self-centred, walking blindly down the centre of the aisle as people pile up behind her. And I can't say anything. She's my grandmother. I try to steer her as best I can - "Oh! The soda biscuits are over here. Come this way, Nana, and let that lady by." - but I can only do so much.

So mostly I just suffer in silence (except for this rant) and keep hoping her sons continue to help her get the rest of her shopping done during the week so I can just focus on keeping the Loblaws shoppers from killing her.

Or maybe I should just learn to be oblivious too.

Has the whole world has gone topsy turvy? Not only did we finally cave and sign up for facebook (and if I haven't asked you to be a friend yet, be patient - these things take time) but we also got an invitation to my uncle's place for dinner. These are signs of the apocalypse. IT'S IN REVELATIONS, PEOPLE!

Flee!

Okay, so if you don't have the back story, this might seem a bit of a trifle, so let me 'splain. No, that would take too long. Let me sum up. (See?! Every day with the Princess Bride!):
We had a falling out, you see. My Uncle and I used to be pretty close - not chummychummy, but we worked together for 4 years and were on very good terms. That was until I fucked up his payroll and he called me up in a rage to tell me in no uncertain terms that I was dead to him. (that's probably a bit of an overstatement, but that's how I remember it!) That was 10 years ago. He made it clear that we were only going to talk when we had to. So I kept my end of the bargain and steered clear. Aside from unavoidable family functions, we haven't talked since.

If you know me, you know I'm a pretty easy-going guy. This rancor between us wasn't the end of the world - we were never going to be best friends because he's somewhat conservative (read: racist and homophobic) and I'm a gay man dating an Asian - but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a big stress having this tension between us. And 10 years is a long time to hold a grudge.

I had this assumption that things would never change. But then, without warning, my mom (my uncle's sister) told me this week that he invited me to dinner. And not just me, but Junkii too! Well, I'm not a bitter man. I took the olive branch. It felt strange driving out to his place in the country last night. I hadn't made the trip in a decade. But we all got a little booze in us and things came off without a hitch.

I'm pretty happy about the thaw, if for no other reason than because, when my nephews are in town, Junkii and I will be able to head out to his farm and watch them ride horses - an event we've been excluded from in previous years. But really, I'm just happy that this conflict won't affect my family anymore. My sister and mother took my side in the dispute, and I'm sure they felt awkward any time they had to choose between us. I'm thankful for their support, but I think we can all agree it's good that this issue is finally being put to bed.