Sorry I only managed one post last week.
The week before had been pretty jam-packed - which I LOVE, but unfortunately something which the ME is not so keen on, meaning that last week contained more aches than action; and feeling sick rather than feeling sprightly.
The week before had been pretty jam-packed - which I LOVE, but unfortunately something which the ME is not so keen on, meaning that last week contained more aches than action; and feeling sick rather than feeling sprightly.
There was nothing big in my busy week to blog about; it was just full days of living; pottering about, being mentally and physically active, that kind of thing. I probably overdid it at the gym as well and didn’t stop and put my feet up when I should have; but going to the gym for me is not all about keeping fit, it is about meeting people as well. Friendships, acquaintances, they all take time to establish and build upon, but my repetitive gym visits are starting to pay off and a couple of people at the gym noticed my absence when we were on holiday! This sounds such a trivial thing, but it is one which packs a punch in terms of feeling settled; that this is my home. Despite our chats being short and casual, it's always nice to feel my presence was missed.
This is even more appreciated when you realize no one in the whole country - and Canada is a sizeable country, in terms of land if nothing else - would notice if you left and never came back.
This is even more appreciated when you realize no one in the whole country - and Canada is a sizeable country, in terms of land if nothing else - would notice if you left and never came back.
My quiet week wasn't a total write off though; at the weekend I cooked some flapjacks:
For those of you who thought I meant the English chewy oaty biscuit you would be mistaken, for I am talking about...pancakes! Apparently the thick and lucious delights are referred to as Flapjacks out here (and this may explain why, when I baked a batch of the tray bake a gift for someone here they looked baffled when I said the contents of the package I was handing to them were flapjacks, as they would be envisaging a pile of cold pancakes...).
We had a unopened bottle of Maple syrup from our sugar shack day trip adventure sitting in the cupboard which was crying out to be poured over these fluffy creations.
It was the first time I have cooked buttermilk pancakes and although the first ones out of the pan resembled, well, a mess; the final one, maybe not picture perfect, was at least round. Despite their appearance they seemed to be a hit and were devoured in a matter of minutes. My taste-testers (T and M) were very complimentary, and even went as far to say the black 'burnt' bits added an extra taste and texture to the dish. I wonder if this is a clever tactic to not discourage me from experimenting with new recipes of sweet baked goods in the future...
Although my week was relatively quiet and uninteresting (apart from the discovery of pancakes being called flapjacks); it was not the case for everyone:
Albie had a very big and exciting week.
It began when I bought him a present.
To be honest, this was one present that he wasn't too keen on at first.
Albie had a very big and exciting week.
It began when I bought him a present.
To be honest, this was one present that he wasn't too keen on at first.
The blue collar, with a bell attached to warn wildlife of his presence, perplexed him at first, and he spent the next twenty minutes trying to take it off, as well as looking confused as to where the tinkling sound was coming from, but he seemed to accept it surprisingly easily after that.
Over the past weeks he has become captivated with watching the birds and squirrels through the windows, and with the warmer weather meaning open windows, he has been a very happy cat being able to feel the breeze on his nose. He was ecstatic when a leaf blew in through the gap in the window one day; it was his favourite toy for oh, at least 15 minutes...
We felt mean keeping him inside when it was so obvious the boy clearly needed to go outside to play.
So, on Saturday evening, we opened the back door and let him venture into the big wide world for the first time.
We reasoned letting him out just before his supper time would mean he would be easier to entice back indoors. We needn't have feared though; getting him back indoors was not to be a problem for us. He took one look outside and fled back into the kitchen where he sat staring at us as though we were totally insane.
Over the past weeks he has become captivated with watching the birds and squirrels through the windows, and with the warmer weather meaning open windows, he has been a very happy cat being able to feel the breeze on his nose. He was ecstatic when a leaf blew in through the gap in the window one day; it was his favourite toy for oh, at least 15 minutes...
We felt mean keeping him inside when it was so obvious the boy clearly needed to go outside to play.
So, on Saturday evening, we opened the back door and let him venture into the big wide world for the first time.
We reasoned letting him out just before his supper time would mean he would be easier to entice back indoors. We needn't have feared though; getting him back indoors was not to be a problem for us. He took one look outside and fled back into the kitchen where he sat staring at us as though we were totally insane.
A second attempt on Sunday proved to be more successful and he ventured further than just outside the door...straight to our neighbour’s adjoining balcony. He then proceeded to sit on their chairs and stare at us; miaowing and telling us that our neighbour's balcony was much better than ours: not only was it was much larger, and was a nice new wooden one, rather than our rusting metal one; but they also had comfy chairs rather than our tiny spindly cheap Ikea ones...
All in all we couldn't disagree with the boy!
We then enticed him down the first flight of stairs, where he promptly dived into everyone's rubbish bins, so we left that idea for the day and bought him up to our balcony where he spent a very happy evening watching the children play in the alleyway in the sun (from the neighbour’s balcony, of course...).