Showing posts with label Holidays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holidays. Show all posts

Friday, December 31, 2021

2022 Goals

The last post foreshadowed this one.  They say if you state publicly something you want to do, it creates more accountability and makes it more likely you'll stick with it.  I have been thinking about what I want for the next year. This is actually pretty tame, but I am hoping by starting I'll get momentum going to continue after I hit the goals.  So here goes:

1. 30 hikes hiked

2. 5 new neighborhoods explored

3. 5 new Calgary restaurants tried

4. One work day taken off each ski season month to go midweek skiing

5. Once a month do something new - see a show, explore a neighborhood, try a new farmer's market, something that I haven't done yet.

6. I've printed out my 1000 Hours Outside tracker and want to see how far I get 

[edited to add] 7. One night hike with the family - get some use out of those headlamps!

There may be more ...

Tuesday, January 12, 2021

How we spent the break

We solved puzzles - well, Terry and Alex worked on them.

We played games. There are always new games among the Hanukkah and Christmas gifts and this year was no different.  Throw, throw burrito is even more fun than it looked and as we were gifted the large/outdoor version, are very excited to take this camping with us in the summer.

We (the kids) built gingerbread worlds - after making the gingerbread from scratch. It's a great recipe and remained delicious even after it started to go stale.

We skied, thanks to dad/Papa, who gifted the kids lessons for Hanukkah. Lynne and Terry skied for the first time in over 17 years!

We cooked, baked, read, watched movies. Kids went sledding. We had intentions to go ice skating but didn't make it out of the house that day. One of us listened to several entire podcast series.

The kids went five days without leaving the property (almost not going outside at all, but they did refill the bird feeder and take our trash).

We started the new year with a hike and a promise to get out way more often. Of course, the grumpy teenager ranted that a hike was the epitome of starting the year off on the wrong foot. It will be a delight to throw all this back at her when she is an adult - hahahahaha!

Friday, December 11, 2020

We saw a moose!

We dedicated Saturday of our Jasper long weekend to Moraine. Moraine Canyon is about 15 minutes outside Jasper, with Moraine Lake another 30 minutes past that.

We knew an ice hike to frozen falls would not be possible because of the lack of frozen-ness but had heard the loop around the canyon is still a nice hike. I am SO glad we decided to go anyway. There were actually several spots where we could climb down to the bottom of the canyon, some of which was dry and some had water in both free-flowing and frozen varieties. Not very concerned about bears this time of year, we downloaded trail maps to the kids' phones and let them loose. They were still very eager to collect steps and thus treats, so they left us in the dust, although they did sometimes double back to check on us and gain more steps. One of the most fun stops was in a cave that had what looked like ice stalagmites rising from the ground. The kids got behind it, and the glow from one of the phone flashlights through the ice looked ghostly. It was lovely. We also got to see waterfalls both frozen and running, and falls both far away and ones we walked right up to. 

After the hike and some lunch, we headed toward Moraine Lake. The hike we ended up choosing was called the Moose Lake Loop, and it leads from Moraine lake to Moose Lake. The signs that have been features in social media advising folks not to let moose lick their cars - we passed that sign and it gave us hope for a possible moose sighting. 

It was supposed to be a decent snowshoe, but we are learning that either this just isn't the year for snowshoes or trails generally get too packed down. Within the first 500 meters or so Zoltan had a total meltdown and removed his snowshoes. Alex soon followed. Even Terry eventually decided they weren't working for him and took his off. There was a woman and her son that were following the same trail at roughly the same pace - we'd stop for something and they would pass us, then a bit farther up vice versa. They saw two moose on the road on the way in, we must have just missed them. Awww!

Things definitely perked up once the family has shed their snowshoes and we got some beautiful views of mountains across the lake. On the drive back to the hotel we finally crossed the last Alberta wildlife off our bingo sheet - there were moose!  One in the road, and one off on the shoulder. They looked like a mom and baby. We got a couple of photos from my phone - we were not about to stop and have Terry go around back to get the good camera. 

For dinner we tried the DownStream. My smoked duck was extraordinary and was even more delicious as a sandwich the next day. All the other meals were decent but nothing to write home about. All in all, it was a very satisfying day.

The trip home the next day was uneventful, with a few photo/leg-stretch breaks but no hikes. I took lots of mediocre photos through the dirty windshield of stunning mountains, then a new set of stunning mountains. There is a reason this is considered one of the most beautiful drives in the world.



Monday, October 12, 2020

Adventures in baking

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving, a much preferable holiday to celebrate than Columbus Day, although the coincidence of the dates is food for thought. 

We were invited to an outdoor, socially distanced Thanksgiving dinner.  The kids have been really rocking their baking game, so we set them to be in charge of our contribution, dessert. They decided to bake it today, rather than on any of the other three days that have passed since they last attended school (they do go to school on Fridays, sometimes!)

They were preheating the oven and came to me to see if I could figure out why it wasn't warming up. I tried a few things, then called in the actual engineer-type in the family. He also could not discover the reason, but we did confirm there was nothing that was easily troubleshooted (troubleshot?) We had a couple of options and had to decide how to proceed. The broiler would turn on, so whatever the problem was, it was at the bottom of the oven. We didn't want to disturb our landlord on Thanksgiving, and no repair person would be working today anyway.

One option was to ask a friend to use her oven. I would be driving her to the dinner, so figured if there's any risk of COVID or transference we'd already be taking risks with her. We decided to hold that for last resort.

What we did do, and didn't seem to go too badly, was to use the broiler to our advantage. We'd turn the broiler on to heat the oven and placed the oven thermometer where it was easily visible (note: the extra chore Zoltan did a month or so ago to clean the oven door was definitely paying off!) We put the cookies in and stationed one family member to keep an eye on the cookies/the oven thermometer, turning the broiler off/on or opening the oven door as the temperature wavered more than 10 F degrees in either direction. A few cookies got a bit browner on the top than ideal, but nothing burned and they all tasted as good as ever.

Creative problem solving for the win!

Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Summer vacation part 2: B.C. - Kelowna

That's British Columbia. See, the week before our vacation Terry was supposed to TDY to Vancouver. This of course means we were all supposed to be in Vancouver for a week. Then we planned to spend a week meandering around B.C. on our way home. Vancouver is allegedly 11 or so driving hours away.

Before it was even officially canned (only a few weeks ago, because of course) we decided to revamp. So on Monday we hauled ourselves to Kelowna, the beach-y area in Okanagan that was also about as far as we were comfortable driving in one day. Funny story, we stopped at this random rest area for lunch and it turns out to be right where the very last spike of the Canadian railroad was laid and there's a whole  monument. It was cool. We would not have made a special stop for it, but stumbling on things like this are what make epic road trips so epic.

We got to Kelowna right in time to check in, then went to check out the town. At the City Park we let the kids play in the water up to their knees, as we hadn't brought bathing suits or towels. And we were heading straight to dinner afterward. After dinner we tried Moo Lix, the ice creamery recommended by the waitress at the restaurant where we had dinner. My lavender honey ice cream was unique and really tasty, but the homemade waffle cone was too thick and bland.

First stop next day was the kangaroo farm. Folks at work had recommended that and we thought it looked cool but were totally unprepared for how much we would actually enjoy it. In one pen were animals that did not like to be touched, and another pen had the animals that could be pet.  We also got to watch the antics of the parrots, parakeets and cockatoos and learned that if Zoltan were reincarnated as an animal he'd choose to be a macaw. There was a capybara and her baby that we were not allowed to pet, with a farm employee hanging around to make sure nobody got too close. She was holding a joey who looked to  be too big for the pouch anymore, but apparently wasn't, so we all got to get close to other cuteness. She said she was giving the mom a break.

We promised the kids we could spend the afternoon at the beach. There is a playground right by the shoreline at Boyce-Gyro Beach and a zipline that drops you into the water. We were shocked that the kids never tried the zipline, but they said the line was always too long so I guess they do take after their parents a bit. There were also rentals of various watercraft, and Terry and the kids each got on a solo kayak. The kids loved that part, which was good as we had booked a kayak trip on our next stop.

In Alberta, we all know the best produce comes from B.C. and especially Okanagan county. So the next morning we got up and went to the farmers market for local fruit. They also had linden honey, which we had eaten tons of in Russia but always creamed, and this was liquid, and I was fascinated. It is indeed very delicious. Then it was time for the kids to play at the hotel pool. Pool time could have been longer, but we got the call that we were able to get a reservation at the Red Fox Club, restaurant to the Indigenous World Winery. Lunch was sublime, the view was lovely (outdoor seating always prime in the COVID era) and we left feeling very stuffed and happy. We (well, I, because Terry was driving and doesn't really care much for wine anyway) ended up trying only one winery - Rollingdale. It is super small, and the gentleman who handled the tasting was super knowledgeable and had a good sense of humor. I don't know what they do to their wined but it was the most unique experience I have ever had, and I bought wines made from grapes I've never liked before. I absolutely want to go back again.

Our hotel was across the street from a German deli/butcher that got great reviews. Knowing that we'd need to have some meals on the go and not wanting them all to come from A&W, we had brought some sandwich fixings, Terry's homemade sourdough bread, and a cooler on our trip. We decided this was a great opportunity to restock. And it was.

Next day was pretty much get up, pack up, and head to the next stop.


Sunday, April 12, 2020

Lockdown Passover

Calgary surprised me with the dearth of Hanukkah candles in December, so I was prepared to expect nothing in any store in the way of matzah come spring. Calgary did not disappoint.  Mails shut down before I could ask my mom to ship me  few boxes from the USA, so I called up the old recipe I used back in Russia to make my own matzah! No rabbi would bless this stuff for a number of reasons, but it did get from water-touches-flour to out-of-the-oven in 18 minutes or less so I am calling it a win and moving on.

We have been able to find some lamb, and after searching our bookshelves I have discovered about seven different Haggadot. I first debated between the "30 minute Seder" and whatever we have the most copies of, and it turned out we had the most copies of the "30 minute Seder". Another win.

The kids had a huge fight that left one child refusing to come down when it was time to Seder ... until Terry worked his magic. Wine and grape juice were drunk, matzah was eaten with horseradish and charoset (although I keep telling Terry he isn't doing it right because he likes the horseradish), and yes we opened the door for Elijah. He didn't touch anything.

Monday, January 21, 2019

Christmas Market time, Part III

Next stop was Rothenberg ob der Tauber. It is highly recommended among the Frankfurt Consulate Community and I had been saving the trip to do when the whole family was here. The city's oldest part was built about 1000 years ago, and it is a walled city that has retained its entire wall.

We also planned to pick up a couple of holiday gifts at the homeland of Käthe Wohlfahrt, the company whose wooden Christmas items have graced pretty much every Christmas Market I have ever attended. The store can be a bit overwhelming, and it is sort of set like the Duty Free section in an airport - you're forced to walk through every single section from entry to exit - which can be annoying when a child needs the bathroom in the middle of the store and you have to wind your way through half the store just to get out the door (apparently no restrooms for customers there).

Between the bad weather and the too-short amount of time budgeted to this town, we didn't do half of the wandering we'd have liked to do. The Christmas market was darling. The highly recommended Night Watchman Tour, starting at 8pm, was everything we'd been told it would be. The man who runs it has a wonderful theatrical presence, even with a crowd of 50+ people he can be easily heard and the information he relays is interesting even to the kids. It was Alex's favorite part of the trip. We will absolutely make time to go back once more before we leave Germany.

Monday, January 7, 2019

Christmas Market time, Part II

The morning after our return from Köln we hopped in the car and headed down to Heidelberg. I had such high hopes for Heidelberg!!  BUT other than the castle, which is spectacular (I love a good ruin), there was nothing much for us. The multiple Christmas Markets were each tiny with little we hadn't already seen. Or eaten. I was so disappointed with Heidelberg I didn't even keep the glühwein mug.
 View of the castle
View from the castle

Heidelberg is a beautiful city. The bleak weather kept us from venturing up to the Philosopher's Way and the intermittent rain kept us from pulling the camera out at all most of the time.

For what I am sure were solid reasons at the time, I had booked us for two nights in Heidelberg - our only two-nighter of the trip. For the second day we ended up deciding to pop over to Speyer. In hindsight, this might have been a blessing in disguise because otherwise we would not have ventured over there and the city is darling, the Christmas Market is lovely, and the Technology Museum is absolutely worth the visit. It was by far the most expensive museum I have visited in Germany and we're talking about going back. It has an incredible collection of machinery - cars, boats, airplanes, helicopters, motorcycles, even a space shuttle - and visitors are able to wander around inside many of the exhibits. A major highlight was the submarine. This was the pouring-rainiest day of the entire trip so no photos of the market. Here's one of a piece of the Berlin Wall and mannequins in period costume. The light blue car in the bottom corner is a Trabi.

Friday, January 4, 2019

Christmas Market time, Part I

Terry was here for the kids' winter holiday (which is still ongoing, entering its third week, dear Lord will we survive this much togetherness?) To celebrate the last winter in Germany, we went a-Christmas Market-ing.

Stop One - Köln. Home of the only decent Ferris Wheel we saw the entire trip. In hindsight, I feel a little bad about only letting the kids go on once. The Chocolate Museum was decent although compared to other museums on the trip, pricey for what it was. A major highlight for the kids was, as usual, the bunk beds in the hotel room. Köln Cathedral never ceases to stop me in my tracks, although this was the first time I went inside.

On our way to Köln the train was switched out for another train that was exactly the same except the car numbers were different which means that no reservations were honored. Thankfully we were able to secure identical type seating to what we had paid for so no complaints. On the return trip, however, we got to the station too early so when we saw that train was also switched out I went to the DB travel office to see if we could switch to an earlier train given that our reservations didn't matter anyway. The lady first explained that I couldn't switch us to an earlier train because of the class of ticket we had purchased ... but ... we could depart on a train that left 30 minutes after our scheduled one, and arrived 30 minutes earlier and have the exact same type of seating to what we reserved. Customer Service!!!

* Tip to the wise: Frankfurt to Köln can be a 1 hour trip or a 2 hour trip, so pay attention when booking tickets.

Thursday, June 8, 2017

Memorial Day

For the first time that I can remember, there were no illnesses or previous commitments, yet we did not spend the long weekend at the cabin.

Sunday we went to Gettysburg - it's only about 1.5 hours from home and I've been wanting to see it - this weekend seemed an appropriate time. On the way we listened to a podcast about the battles, which was useful as I could explain things from the podcast while standing in the battleground.

Gettysburg does this great thing where kids get a Junior Ranger booklet with information about some of the major sights, things to look for, and puzzles and games.  It definitely helped keep them engaged. Walking around downtown Gettysburg itself was also interesting, with all the buildings marked "Civil War" and trying to imagine what the town would have looked like back then.  We played "what wouldn't have been here" - cars, electricity poles/lines, the road itself.

Then on to visit Terry's sister and watch a minor league baseball game in her hometown.  There were a number of rain delays, but the game was never canceled. There were fireworks after the game, which was also fun. In general, it ended up a late night, but the kids surprised us by sleeping late the next day. Wins all around!

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

The kids' first (and only) advent calendar!

Jelly Bean Count-Down to Christmas Advent Calendar
I waited a little long, so they only arrived today. But my kids are getting the thrill of opening up a little door each day and finding a treat inside.

What's going on?

This year, the first night of Hanukkah falls on Christmas eve!  And Jelly Belly makes an advent calendar and although the bean is driving a sleigh and wears a red and white hat, there's sufficiently little Christmas reference that I'm comfortable with this.

Because it arrived late, they start with the 6th now and they will go back and open the first five during nights 2-6 of Hanukkah.

Sunday, February 14, 2016

Happy Valentine's Day

We are the least romantic people in the world. Our Valentine's Day began with cold cereal and my gift to the family - not making them come with me to the market while I buy the weeks' fruit and vegetables.  The kids made a million hearts and put them up around the house, so at least we're festive. After lunch and naps, though, I took Zoltan ice skating at Alau, and Terry took Alex cross country skiing in Pyramid Park.  Now homemade soup is bubbling on the stove, and the fresh rustic bread is cooling on the rack.  This is the life!

Friday, December 25, 2015

Christmas for the rest of us

Admittedly, it has been 15 years since Christmas was my own private free day, where I could read undisturbed all day and then run into other Jews in the evening having our traditional dinner of Chinese food.

I do have mixed feeling about this.

On the other hand, Christmas in our house is relatively low key, compared to the commercialism that's crept into the traditional American celebration of the holiday (at least, from movies and commercials it seems this way). In the morning the kids get presents from the grandparents who celebrate the holiday, plus a few from us (my throwing Terry a bone. He may remember how I explained to him that there would be no Christmas in my home, in our early days of dating. Sigh.)

This year via Facebook I learned of the Finnish tradition of giving loved one books for Christmas, then the family spends the day reading the new books. This is a tradition I can get behind!  Books were in today's haul, and some of them were read, but it certainly wasn't an all-day endeavor.  We then spent quality time building the science projects, playing the games, practicing with the Nerf bows and arrows, and helping Terry make the cinnamon rolls.

Merry Christmas to all!

Saturday, July 4, 2015

Happy 4th of July!

Well, picnics and fireworks and red, white and blue weren't in tonight's plan here in Astana but I did manage to get a little of 'Murica ... went to see Terminator: Genesis and it was IN ENGLISH!

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Happy Nauryz!

On March 22, otherwise known as Nauryz in Kazakhstan and a few other countries, we went to see how they celebrate.  We had gotten some advice of where the celebrations would be and headed over there.  I was a little surprised that it wasn't more crowded, although it threatened and finally did rain.

There were the traditional swings
 Men handling eagles


Yurts - it appeared as though different groups/organizations each decorated a yurt and then the public was invited in to check it out. I so want a yurt. Terry says we have nowhere to put one. I don't see where logic fits into this conversation.

We popped inside for lunch and it was raining when we came out. We popped into Congress Hall for the exhibition but it seemed to be the same kind of market as any other day.  We did linger at the honey stall, though, and brought home some treats.

Monday, March 23, 2015

the best day ever

According to Alex, today was the best day ever. Started with pancakes.
Then a Kiwi Crate...

 Zoltan-bird
Woodpeckers pecking at a tree for bugs
... followed by an egg hunt (they even filled the eggs, I just hid them. Only two had special treats).
A movie, lunch, rest/nap time.
Then the epic bath, in our ridiculous tub.
No joke, there's room for 2 more in there
Homemade pizza for dinner, thankyouverymuch Vegan Essentials and Pouch delivering our packages expeditiously.
Dessert was a piece of freshly homemade bread, courtesy of Terry, slathered with the honey we bought yesterday that is seriously, legitimately, a treat. Almost marshmallow-y in its lightness and sweetness but with better flavor.

Oh and they got to to wear pajamas all day.
Yeah, it was a pretty good day.

Saturday, February 28, 2015

Happy birthday darling

Today is something like Terry's birthday. Although he downplays these annual displays we do at least normally get ourselves some good grub.  Unfortunately, our plans for tonight had to go on quick reshuffle when Alex complained this morning that she didn't feel so good and a quick zap with the new fun ear thermometer revealed 104. (I doubted so whipped out the old glass-and-something-not-mercury-anymore but it was right).

At least we'll still have pie.

Monday, January 5, 2015

New Year Resolutions

I don't usually do resolutions. Sometimes I plan guidelines, the last two years I have participated in the "One Little Word" phenomenon. Like the rest of the world, my good January intentions usually fall apart well before the spring thaw.

This year I am getting a little slower, creakier, and stiffer. Starting my foreign service career did not remove the mental-logistical responsibilities for my other full time job of taking care of the house and family although of course most of the physical responsibilities have fallen to others. In shorthand, my concentration and focus aren't what they were. I need to change something about my life, but something that is relatively quick to do, easy to remember, and benefits my body and mind.

Experts say we're more likely to follow through on goals we make public.  My goal for this year is to do one Sun Salutation every single day.  If I'm still doing it, I'll report back on the progress (if any) on the first of each month. I have some high hopes but for now I'm just going to keep it real.

Namaste.

(note, this photo is NOT ME.  But I hope to down dog like this by the end of the year)

Saturday, December 27, 2014

(Belated) Merry Christmas to all

The waffles were made and eaten, as well as the homemade breakfast sausages (Note to husband, there is no such thing as too much maple. Thank you for the beef sausages).  A LOT of presents opened and then played with, batteries charged so other toys can be played with. New movies watched. Alex has not yet taken off the winter hat given to her by my in-laws, she loves it so much.  I had to break our resolve not to change out of pj's all day because we needed eggs - chocolate chip cookies can't be made without them.  Fresh bread, an apple pie in the oven and chocolate chip cookies the kids made - with minimal supervision - queued up.

Some highlights: Alex saying this was the best Christmas ever primarily because we got to wear pajamas all day, even when we went outside to play in the snow (thank you snowpants).  Alex excitedly running out to tell Terry about one of the kitchen science experiments we did this morning and telling him "It's all fizzing over like beer!" Zoltan making tunnels and mountains out of his own body as the new electric train runs around the track.  Terry got the VPN working so Target no longer scorns me when I try to access its web site.

And, for the first time ever, thanks to living in a Muslim country ...... when Terry cooks up his traditional Christmas ham for dinner there was a ham just for me made from beef!  Merry Christmas indeed!

Friday, November 28, 2014

Epic Thanksgiving Post


The problem with being married to someone with artistic and design experience is that it is difficult to argue convincingly with them about layout and design issues. Of course, the family also knows not to argue with mommy about spelling or grammar, we all have our strengths. Why am I writing about this on Thanksgiving? Because I want several photos included in this post and the only way Terry will agree is if I write enough to make the pictures look nice spread among the text.

When you don't have your stuff, a lovely chilled bottle of white wine makes an acceptable rolling pin for the pie dough.  A tiny baby medicine dropper is a better-than-nothing baster. The borrowed roasting pan is too small so you use a tray meant to fit into the Mickey Mouse oven we used before getting our hands on the full sized American one, with the cooling rack sitting atop (and you hope the cooling rack is actually safe to use at high temps).  You lose a lot of turkey juice goodness because the tray is shallow and any movement makes the liquid slosh over.  There's a lot of talk between Terry and me of how things will be different next year.  The good news is that even with all that, everything looks delicious - which is why I wanted so many photos!  Notice the tray the turkey is sitting on - it's our new Uzbek pottery platter that we bought when we had a local craft bazaar at the embassy a few weeks ago. I am so completely thrilled with our purchases.

This year we're doing Thanksgiving at home, with only one dinner guest.  I am pretty sure this is the very first turkey we have ever cooked - we've always had somewhere else to go for Thanksgiving.  I am amazed at how relaxed this day is.  I made cranberry sauce this weekend and apple pie this morning. Terry made an overnight bread (started last night, baked it today).  We made dressing this afternoon while the turkey cooked, and cut veggies for the raw veggie tray.  Terry made gravy and mashed potatoes while I managed to get our car washed - it is so pretty! Such a deep dark red!  We got to the produce stand near the house and ran a couple of other errands.  We even had time to watch Frozen as a family (only our 4th time) and the kids got naps.  Our guest brought roasted beets and pumpkin pie. We managed to hit pretty much every mandatory Thanksgiving day food item without having to freak out about timing.  Maybe setting dinnertime for 5:00pm has a little something to do with it?

We also got a surprise visit from the owners of this apartment, with sweets and happy Thanksgiving wishes.  So lovely!