since our new bbq – Glowy – arrived in April, we (my housemate!) have been barbecuing much more often…
recently we had hamburgers which were delicious… I’ve gotten a bit more lazy and have been buying premade patties, but they are much tastier than previous versions…
this bbq has extra btu, so it is easy to get good heat for searing and lovely grill marks;-)…
we’ve also done chicken, steak, lobster, sausage, and lamb, as well as zucchini, potatoes, and onions…
Friday was a delightful day… the sun shone and the temperature rose to 25°C…
throughout the day, I prepped for a dinner party… between organizing and setting the table on the deck, there were plenty of opportunities to sit, read, and relax…
preparing a space or food for special people is always enjoyable for me as I think about those who I am doing this work for and how important they are to me…
for this gathering, it was mainly about making the space comfortable and considering what dishes we would need as the food was being picked up from a Charleswood Rotary fundraiser…
they provided a whole lobster, baked potato, fresh bun, coleslaw, brownie, small bottle of wine, with a bib and a lobster fork;-)… each person received a shopping bag with all of the goodies in it… I added a few fixings for the potatoes, warm facecloths with lemon for our fingers, and garlic butter in warmers…
once the food was warmed up, we had a lesson in how to eat the whole crustacean… I was a bit slow, lol, so had to keep having information repeated…
the weather was perfect, well, except that the wind kept blowing out some of the butter warmers… lots of conversation and story telling kept us busy throughout the meal…
my housemate took the requisite group photo which he was happy to do (and not be in) before we spent time around the pond…
happily, the fish came out for a short visit before returning to their favourite spot under the bridge…
and before you knew it, everyone headed off into the sunset;-)…
on Friday, woke up to geese honking as they headed out looking for something to eat… and spotted flickers in the field across from the house;-)…
opened the beautiful cards and gifts from friends and family I’d been saving over the last few days, and laughed at Google singing to whoever was having the birthday, lol…
received a gorgeous purple handmade book, filled with photos of the garden and a book about monarchs with things I didn’t previously know… going to have to read that more thoroughly…
tried to vote, but the lineup was long, so headed out for breakfast at The Pancake House…
decided to vote Saturday when I would have more time…
friends arrived with cards and flowers and we had a lovely visit… the neighbour stopped by and gave an update on the house next door and collected Easter books for the littles…
received many texts and phone calls and had fun watching some F1 on tv…
cookies and hot cross buns arrived as I was reading in the living room, so I had to eat one of the hot cross buns, yum…
supper was steak and lobster, with fries and asparagus;-)… followed by a blizzard, yum…
started with an early morning hot tub as the sun shone… then had pie for breakfast…
there were phone calls, text messages, visits, it was great and a DQ blizzard miraculously appeared;-)…
I spent time reading, napping, and watching a few programs…
we had steak and lobster for supper and I didn’t even have to clean up;-)…
my kids gave me another subscription for eight bouquets this summer… I loved the ones last summer… and this afternoon flowers arrived to brighten the dull day…
for years we celebrated New Year’s Eve with steak and lobster… this started with friends before we had kids;-)…
at some point it moved to New Year’s Day as the kids wanted to participate but were off celebrating on the night before…
this year I enjoyed the preparation as I worked on getting escargot stuffed mushrooms, baked potatoes, fried mushrooms and sautéed Brussels sprouts ready…
the kids arrived, got the barbecue going and then grilled the steaks and lobster tails…
dinner was delicious and we had a great time…
on Monday, as I emptied the dishwasher and put away all of the pieces we used, I revisited the fun and special moments…
I had a craving for macaroni and cheese… well I really wanted lobster mac and cheese, but didn’t have any lobster… I did have shrimp so decided on shrimp macaroni and cheese…
macaroni and cheese has been one of our family favourites… whenever I visit my daughter it is on the list of things that I must make, lol…
I was going to use oat milk instead of 2% regular milk which I didn’t have, but was told it wouldn’t turn out the way I am used to…
I cooked the macaroni and set it in the fridge to cool… then I contacted a friend and they brought me the milk as they were coming over anyway… yay…
once you’ve got a craving it is hard not to make what you want…
I made two pots… one with shrimp and bacon and one with only bacon…
I am going to package some up for the next few days and freeze some for down the road;-)…
it was absolutely delicious and I may have eaten two bowls;-)…
I watched the Rose Parade which was something we’ve done with my parents for years…
dear friends stopped by to first-foot me… and brought the usual coal, orange, cookies, alcohol, with a beautiful card… and a gorgeous bouquet of orchids and allium… my bouquet from last week is just on its last legs so the timing was perfect…
orchids are one of my favourites and allium was one of my beloved’s…
after that, I made a delicious steak and lobster meal for my lunch… it is usually the meal for New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day dinner…
I decided on lunch so the day would be easier… and to broil instead of barbecue as it was so cold out…
it turned out delicious and then I spent the day watching movies…
herbiggirlpants 