And the winner is....my mom.

She was able to correctly identify the flower in my bouquet at "Wind Flower" or Anemone. You too can have these at home...simply plant and voila! Flowers. Ok, it wasn't a contest and she doesn't win a prize (but there is a treat en route to her) but I am happy to know what the flower is/was.

It has been a very quiet weekend. I spent most of Saturday napping on the couch, followed by a full evening of sleep. Ahhh, sleep.

Sunday I did manage to venture out and finally hit Whyte Avenue. It was ok. I think it will be better in the late Spring/Summer when the trees are in bloom and there are more people around. Of course I have some pics but again, I think they will be better in say another month.

Picked up my bicycle this afternoon and am looking at it from across the living room. It is going to reside on my deck, but I don't have the heart to put it outside yet. It is still too cold for a bike. (Ok, the bike doesn't care, but I do!) No pics of the new bike or new specs yet.

My trip to Cambridge Bay has been postponed. It was a last minute thing. Very last minute actually. At 3:45pm J came into my office and said "Is there any reason why we can't postpone the trip by one week." I'm sure a very enthusiastic look came over my face and I answered "No!" And then as he ran down the hall I shouted "Next Friday is Good Friday!" Ok came back the answer we will go Sunday to Thursday. A few more minutes of hesitation and by 4:15pm I was on the phone with the travel agent re-arranging the flights.

No one in the Edmonton office is disappointed by the delay. In fact it seems to be better for all of us. Whoo hoo. I am looking forward to the extra week in the office, but I need to put some major time in to be ready for the meeting. This week it would have been...oh, it's ok rush job. Next week there will be no excuses (other than laziness) for not having a perfect presentation.

One of my favorite restaurants in Ottawa--Elephant & Castle. Great pub food. They do a fantastic beef dip. I'll need to come back and check this one out.

Located in what they call "Old Strathcona" or Whyte Avenue, this hotel was built in 1891 and is one of the oldest wooden structures on the South side of Edmonton.

Part of the Whyte Avenue charm.


I'm not sure. This is a new and used car dealership that I passed. The flapping of the banners was a very pleasant sound, almost like laundry outside in the summer.

I loved the look of this place. There are murals all around the building and their mascot is a frog. They are not open on Sundays, but during the week they have three lanes of 'washes' to choose from. I just thought it was one of those charming things that has likely been around for AGES and is an icon of sorts.

See the trees down the middle of the street and lining the sidewalks. That is why I think in another month or so it will be really nice.

The sign says "Old Strathcona Heritage Area".

This humble gentleman was pushing his worldly possessions around. I feel terrible for the homeless and am glad to support groups and organizations that try to help the situation. In the 'big city' this is an all too familiar site.



An inukshuk found on Whyte Avenue today during my travels. It's so you will know--I was here.

As you may recall I am on the hunt for a bicycle. I have not received my phone call yet from Walmart, but am hoping to acquire it this weekend. Anyway, that isn't what this short post is about. This post is about commuting to work.

Someone at the grocery store by my house has been commuting to work via bicycle. But it is an exercise bike. Ok, I don't know if anyone is commuting on it, likely it has been left there, but it just seems so odd to see a exercise bike parked outside the store. No lock on it, guess they figure no one will ride off with it.

I think--maybe--one of the employees has it there for there break? What do you think?

It's Thursday evening. It has been a very long week. I am relaxing this evening with a glass (ok, maybe two) and pizza. Ah. Sometimes life is very good.

I'm off to Cambridge Bay on Monday. And then back to Edmonton on Friday. It will be a long week for me even though it is a very short trip. Most of the meetings will revolve around work that I have done. I will be presenting it and taking feedback. I am expecting resistance for a significant portion of it. I will three people in the room backing me up on the whole process...and a couple of friendly faces, but it will still be an emotionally exhausting week.

I should be doing work right now. Yesterday afternoon I 'worked from home'. Which meant that I took a 3 hour nap, went to my dental appointment and then picked at a few things in the evening. I'm tired this week...body still recouping. I think taking tonight off is a good idea, I will be fresher tomorrow and able to work a bit later than if I had of tried today. (At least that is my theory)

One of the ladies at work apologized to me today. She said "You actually are trying to make a difference in all this stuff (payroll issues) and have come up with good ideas." Yes, yes I have. It was nice to hear her say it. She finally admitted she was a bitch to me when I started and that it wasn't warranted as it really wasn't me, it was the position and threat to her job. I hope she finally truly understands that we should be working together, not fighting each other. Let's face it folks--payroll and human resources are closely linked.

So..up North next week. One of the ladies going North with me has never been North before. I have been trying to fill her in on things she might need to know. I don't think she has a very good winter coat and her boots are...well, ok for spring, but not spring in the Arctic. I'm taking my parka...only cause I hope to take a couple of walks, but it is warming up in Cambridge Bay. -23 at the moment, -34 with the wind chill. It will be neat to show her the ropes.

Not much to add today but am looking for some help. Can you identify the beautiful white and pink flower in this picture?




The flowers I got from the folks at the office.

I ate my rice pudding.
I ate my naan bread.
I ate my curry and rice.

And I ate them in that order. Why not start with dessert? It wasn't a plan, it just happened. I was hungry when I got home but wanted to sit and rest so I grabbed a bowl of pudding and started in. Then after a while decided I was still hungry so I munched on the naan. Over an hour later I finally heated up my supper. It was yummy.

The lovely folks at work gave me flowers today. My boss asked who sent them...um, the office. He looked surprised and then said I thought they gave them to you before you went off. Oh, I think they decided that I had bought myself too many flowers already and saved them for now. LOL.

I survived the first day back at work. Maybe not as much accomplished as I could have...but I was there and really that is all that counts. Oh, and I'm taking the camera to work tomorrow to take some photos of the flowers.

Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest. I am finally resting. The butter chicken is on simmering, the curry is on the stove brewing in its own juices and will soon be giving off wonderful aromas. The rice pudding I have wanted to make for weeks is done and tastes very yummy. It is an Indian pudding of sorts. I didn't use basmati rice, I used a sweet rice I bought in Newfoundland almost a year ago now...but I did use cardamon seeds, a vanilla bean and coconut milk. Mmmm. And I attempted the naan bread. Phew.

Had a phone call from an old friend from Pang. She lives in Yellowknife now and called to see how I was doing. She is the one that taught me how to make butter chicken and is impressed that I was attempting the naan on my own. (Me too!)While on the phone with her I managed to go through all my flowers and toss the dead/dying ones and re-cut the rest. I am down to one vase, but am happy with that. Pics to follow.

There is a winter storm advisory on for Edmonton at the moment. It would need to get A LOT worse before I would consider this a storm. It has been snowing all morning but there is almost no wind. It would be great if it got worse around say 7am tomorrow, but that is wishful thinking. Yesterday was spring like in the afternoon and there was a lot of water on the roads. That has refrozen and I am glad that I don't need to be out driving today as I suspect the roads are a bit icky. The lovely taste of spring though did boost my spirits and take my mind off the fact that I must return to my day job tomorrow. Sigh.

I didn't make it to Whyte Ave. I was feeling too lazy in the morning and then once the sun came out I was busy running errands and getting groceries. I finally got the package off to my niece and nephew yesterday and will be keeping track of it as it makes its way across the country. Maybe I'll get to Whyte Ave in the upcoming weekends.

Here are some not so exciting photos of the naan and flowers.


One of the petals that didn't make the cut. As I look over at the vase I notice that I left the petal on the floor still.


My Indian rice pudding. It may not look great but trust me it tastes good. I just hope it freezes well. Interesting but not noteworthy is the dish the pudding is in. I purchased this in China town in Montreal a number of years back. LAH who is currently on world tour with her husband was with me and purchased the same dish. It is fantastic!


The naan bread. It goes great with Indian food or any kind of food that has a sauce to it. It is my first attempt at making naan and I think I will definitely try it again. Next time I will roll it out thinner. Live and learn.

And now some flower shots...

I'm in the middle of what is turning out to be an all night cooking-a-thon.

I hate trying to make lunches for myself everyday, I never want what I pack and by lunch I'd rather go out and get a sandwich than eat the one on my lunch. Sad. To help combat that problem I decided to cook and then freeze servings of many meals that I know I would like to eat, even 5 hours after I pack them.

I had a bit of a shopping spree this afternoon after carefully checking a couple of recipes to make sure I had all the ingredients I would need--making a list and checking it twice! After spending more than a few $ at the grocery store I then spent an hour cutting up chicken, cutting away the fat and generally making it mouth-size pieces. Then I started to make my famous butter chicken and noticed I had forgotten the butter. D'oh! See, butter is one of the key ingredients in butter chicken. Back to the store.

A couple hours later I have the butter chicken about 90% done. It is sitting on the counter cooling so I can put it in the fridge for the night. Tomorrow I will put it in the slow cooker for the day to let all the spices do their thing. Yummy.

I also have a chicken curry about 75% done. I will finish it tomorrow and then freeze it in single serving dishes. The curry will have lots of yummy veggies in it, something that butter chicken doesn't have.

Also on tap is my spinach paneer. I have some of the spinach out thawing and have decided that since standing for the past few hours is starting to give me a pain in my side that it will wait until tomorrow. I can almost taste the paneer. Paneer is actually pretty bland. It has the same consistency and taste as tofu but is made entirely from milk. The texture is part of why I like it so much. And yes, I like milk--it does a body good. Don't ask why I like paneer so much. I doubt I would eat it plain, but it takes on the flavours of the dish so nicely and is a nice contrast to the spinach puree. Or in other dishes the paneer sometimes takes away some of the heat.

If I had more freezer space I'd cook up some mac 'n cheese, but I fear the freezer will be full tomorrow night so it will need to wait. But I am making some pasta sauce tomorrow. I take plain sauce and add as many veggies as it will hold, some additional spices and voila! homemade pasta sauce.

My apartment smells like curry and onions. I hope my neighbours like curry.


My not so neat box of spices. Some in bottles, some in bags, some old, some new. Surely there must be a better system.


Paneer. I was aiming for an inukshuk, but it looks more like a cross.


Butter chicken. It will have a slightly different colour tomorrow after I add the yoghurt.


Palak Paneer (Spinach Paneer). The picture is a bit fuzzy and you can see the two different greens in the pot. The lighter green is the canned spinach puree I found at the Asain food store. The darker is the frozen chopped spinach I found at the grocery store.


Chicken curry before the veggies are added to it. I hope to put in baby corn, jicama, peppers, eggplant, mushroom and whatever else I find in the fridge. (Jicama is a mexican turnip or potato. I haven't tried it yet..it is one of the three new foods I am trying this year.)


My messy kitchen.