Nexus

Send me some love

Even had one of those days that are so bad and upsetting that you feel physically sick? That was me yesterday and I still feel bad today. Send some love my way if you feel so inclined - I could use some friends right about now.

Looking for a Toronto Tour Guide?

Look no further! <a href="http://helloworld.typepad.com/blog/2004/06/voices.html">Here</a> is a reference. I think I had as much fun thinking of places to recommend to Ann and her husband as they had trying them.

Tim Hortons Ice Cappuccino

Or, more commonly known as an 'ice cap'. I am hopelessly addicted. These are summertime drinks made from coffee, ice and thick cream. While I don't know the number, I think each one has a million calories. A couple of years ago, when I was training for a marathon and able to consume what seemed like unlimited calories, I used to have one of these everyday at lunchtime. Our office complex is blessed with a Tim Hortons coffee shop in the concourse. Last year, I did not let myself have even one of these - like with any addiction, one and I am back in its grip. Today, I came very close - my guard was almost down, lulled by the sunshine and fresh air, I went to the Tim Hortons counter and managed to get the words 'I'll have a medium ...' when the clerk (evil woman) filled in the rest of the sentence with 'ice cap?'. Without thinking I said 'yes, an ice cap'. Then I caught myself. No - a regular coffee. I had the regular coffee - and it was good. All I can think of though is an ice cap. Lord, give me strength - it's going to be a long, hot summer.

Note : Tim Horton's nuitritional literature says a 10 oz Ice Cap has 250 calories. You can get one made with milk for 150 calories (although I say why bother)

Caprese Salad

Whenever it gets hot I start craving this salad ..... I bought all the ingredients last night and looked forward to having this for dinner all day long. Here is my version of a Caprese Salad - this is what evolved after having many different versions of this in restaurants over the years.

Arrange on a plate -

3 plum tomatoes, halved and sliced thickly
slivers of red onion
several medium size bocconcini cheese balls sliced
5-6 leaves of fresh basil sliced thinly

Add a sprinkling of salt and several grinds of fresh black pepper
Add to taste - olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Braggs all-purpose seasoning

Let the dressing sink into the cheese for a few seconds - I can never wait too long before devouring.
I have this for dinner at least once a week all summer - especially after my basil plants are big enough to harvest.

A note about the Braggs - I use this stuff like crazy - I put it on and in everything - from soup to vegetables to salad. I could absolutely not live without it. It is like a thinner, richer tamari sauce. It improves the flavour of everything.

Leisurely Morning

It feels sinful somehow to have a leisurely morning during the week. Normally I am out of the house at 7 am or before (which is not that early I know). I get up at 6 am and dawdle a bit - mainly playing with the cats. This morning I am waiting for the air conditioner installation guy to arrive. I slept in by an extra half hour. Read the paper. Caught up with some blogs. And now am writing a blog entry. How luxurious this all feels. I'm pretty sure if I didn't have the routine of going to work everyday I would be as lazy as all get out though. I think I'm looking forward to retirement.

Home Repairs

This has definitely been my time to incur home repair expenses .... I've made quite a few repairs of late. All very necessary and the cost has been reasonable. The latest one - my air conditioner conked out this year. I suppose the age of my house - about 25 years old - dictates that this is to be expected. The air conditioner is a big one however. I've done the research over the last week and put in my order today. Just in time for the temperature in Toronto to soar. It was hot and humid today with a promise of more of the same for the rest of the week. Luckily, the instsallation contractor had a cancellation for tomorrow morning. So, tomorrow I will be cool again. I decided to get an energy efficient unit and one that uses the new type of coolant (not freon). This is environmentally friendly and in Ontario, freon will not be allowed beyond the next couple of years. I also chose one with an exceptionally good warranty. I think this may have to replace my 'second vacation' this year. ($$$$$)

Other comments for the day ..... Since Tampa Bay is now up by two goals it looks doubtful for Calgary. (Of course I refer to the Stanley Cup hockey game being watched in most Canadian and at least one Charleston household)

Running in the heat is a really tough - the run tonight reminded me of running in Barbados. By the end of the run, I could just feel the heat radiating off of me - uncomfortable.

Mount Gay Rum Sea Breeze

This recipe is for <a href="http://am-i.com/blog.html">Dale</a> .... I promised I would post the first recipe I used from the wonderful cookbook he gave me on my recent trip to Barbados. The cookbook is called 'Infusion' and is sub titled 'Spirited Cooking with Paul Yellin' and features recipes using Mount Gay Rum - the rum of Barbados.

The occasion for the drink is a summer barbque. This weekend we have been treated to two wonderful days in a row and we are celebrating with a barbque and summertime cocktail.

This is our chosen drink today - <em>Sea Breeze

1 1/5 oz Mount Gay Rum
3 oz grapefruit juice
2 oz cranberry juice

Shake and serve over ice.</em>

The Workout Today

I normally run with Sharon on Saturday mornings. She has just started working with a coach - the objective being to qualify for a spot on the Canadian Triathlon Team. Coach Steve has given her some running goals to follow. This was bad news for me this morning as I tried to do her workout with her. In spite of any whing I may have done (or maybe am still doing) I actually enjoyed the run quite a bit. Today we concentrated on very short strides but were to time our leg turnover with a goal of very quick legs. There are various form requirements with this drill. It was tough. After about a half hour of this adjustment to the run, I could feel different muscles - I think my muscles will be sore tomorrow. I can see this is a very effective technique. The ultimate goal is that after the leg speed is quicker, you lengthen your stride - that is where the speed comes in. My goal is never really speed - I'm in it for the fitness - but I think this also makes you very fit as I can see how much more taxing it is on the cardio.

I also went for a bike ride this afternoon - it was a gorgeous day and perfect for being outside.

All of this made a nap a very necessary thing for this afternoon.

Cat Food

I've been quite worried about Teala lately - Teala is my 19 year old cat. He's healthy and in good shape - for his age - but the signs of age are there and I don't like to see it. I keep reminding myself that he is getting old and I need to be 'prepared'. His appetite has not been good for the last few months. I'v been feeding Teala and Clive the same type of premium food for quite a number of years - it was one of the first natural/healthy foods on the market.

This week when I went into the pet food store to stock up, I had a look around - there are quite a few new foods on the market. Many made by small, premium manufacturers and of the natural type. I picked up a can or two from each of several lines. I am really pleased by the results. Clive eats everything in sight so he loved them all. But Teala - well he was slurping them back and looking for more. One of the brands was 'Newman's Own'. Did you know he branched out into pet foods? I had no idea. I must say I am quite a bit less worried about Teala now that I see him eating well again. Maybe he was just bored with what I was feeding him. I suppose I would be if I ate the same thing everyday too.

The Brick

Do all of you know about <a href="http://www.brickmag.com/current/">'The Brick'</a>? It is a wonderful literary journal - this issue (#73) is a delight .... I just received my copy and have been dipping in here and there. I'm sitting at the kitchen table - supposed to be working - reading boring system documentation. I'd much rather be reading the fun stuff in The Brick.

Like this passage from Northrop Frye ...

<em>Visible and Invisible Worlds ... Travelling on a train in Canada one looks out the window at a passing landscape. As it gets darker, more & more of the window reflects inside of the carriage. Eventually there's nothing but reflection: one could assume that there was no world out there at all. A few lights appear that are difficult to reconcile with this thesis, but they could be ignored or explained away, like .... flying saucers. But when the train stops, & you have to get out at a station, it's probably a help to believe it's there. That's a parable of the dilemma of trying to keep the subject-object split between a visible & an invisible world.</em>