I have talked many times about the following to my students who are new to Canada; this is the second largest country in the world and is made up of many diverse landscapes. Here in Ontario, most of the province does not look at all like the vehicle-jammed, dense urban area in and around Toronto. The north is mostly rocks, trees and water while the mostly fertile, flattish area west of Toronto is full of small towns, mostly founded approximately 200 years ago.
On Wednesday, I FINALLY, took a day off, leaving behind at least briefly, my worries about caregiving, paying work and other responsibilities and wandered west where I came across this majestic creature. The moose is one of Canada’s most well-known large animals. This one looks like he is challenging me not to get any closer. One of the interesting things for me about visiting small-town Ontario is that I am often reminded of what I know of Southern Ontario’s history and I try to imagine what it must have been like to slowly set up a home, a business, a farm, a school, a village in this far-away, unknown place where the moose roamed freely. – Maria
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I am excited to have have these lovely fresh peaches and blueberries, from southwestern Ontario, on my table. When I have time, hopefully Saturday morning, I will turn this fresh homegrown delicious fruit in my first peach crisp of the year. I have made it many times and experience has taught me some effective strategies.
The most time-consuming part is peeling the peaches. I don’t dunk them. Instead, I try to time it so that the peaches are as perfectly ripe as I can manage so that the peel slips off easily. One of my favourite sights is the sliced peaches in the mixing bowl; it’s like sunshine in a bowl. Meanwhile, into melted butter, I stir in flour, brown sugar, and way more steel-cut oats than the recipe calls for, as well as a generous fingertip of cinnamon. I will also mix the blueberries in with the peaches. I use a big casserole dish so that as the crisp cools down, the fruit juice will will not spill onto the counter. We love this crisp so I make it at least 4 – 5 times every summer during Ontario peach season. – Maria
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Goderich is a lovely small Ontario town, but the boardwalk and the view of Lake Huron is gorgeous. Although I was there only briefly, I was enchanted by the view and the colour of the water. There were lots of benches where I imagine myself sitting with a book and a notepad, drinking in the beauty and the sound of the waves washing against the stones.
Being near a lake, especially one this beautiful and enormous, is so peaceful. For me, it is also a reminder that life goes on and that it’s okay, healthy, to let go of the reins for a little while. Lake Huron is renowned for its amazingly beautiful sunsets. I hope to see one sometime soon. – Maria
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This fabric is clearly from the seventies. The colour combination and the design are classic seventies design. It was the time of flower power and free love. On line this piece of fabric would be described as “70’s groovy daisy fabric/vintage hippy flowers fabric”. Click here for ’70;s fabric on Etsy. Fabric designs often featured complimentary colours in bold prints and big florals. This particular piece of fabric – I have only a few small pieces – was a bed sheet that I used as a child. I don’t recall how I felt about it as a kid, but I really like the look of it today. I have a lot of fabric in my stash and none of the fabrics have this type of graphic design on it. I hope to use the pieces in a quilt or as a lining in a small pouch or pockets in a garment.
I think this fabric would have fit in on the Partridge Family set or maybe on The Bob Newhart Show. I wouldn’t want my house to have a lot of these types of prints, but I think they look good in small amounts, a little splash or one or two little squares on a quilt, enough to add a little surpise.
Do you have any fabrics from your childhood? – Cris
I’ve never taken much time to wash my clothes properly like my mother did. She soaked and scrubbed and bleached and took excellent care of her clothes and household items. I do not take much trouble with my clothes. But, any tricks I’ve learned I learned from her. I do not use bleach in my house, except on very rare occasions. I also do not use fabric softener, liquid or sheets. What I do use is some baking soda. Research shows that baking soda helps to soften the water and reduce static cling. This is especially beneficial in the winter when it’s cold out and the air is much drier than in the summer months. I add the baking soda to the detergent area of the machine. Secondly, I use borax to help boost the cleaning effect of the detergent, and also add it directly into the detergent area of the washing machine. Borax also helps to brighten the colours, especially whites. And thirdly, I add some vinegar in the fabric softener area of my washing machine. It also helps to keep the machine smell free. I use very little actual detergent in each load as I find my clothes get cleaned well without a lot of detergent. – Cris
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