Favourite Scents

Goodbye January - ACEO art by Christine

Wow, we are at the end of January already!  It's a good thing as winter advances along.  I was at the mall earlier this week, the morning before a big winter storm hit.  Bath and Body Works had a sale on liquid soaps.  A woman was there with her small granddaughter.  I thought it was sweet how she had the little girl sniff the scents and choose the soaps she liked the smell of.  They asked me what one of the ones I had selected was.  It turns out it was eucalyptus something.  They weren't interested in that one as the little granddaughter did not like the smell of eucalyptus.  It was kind of like an educational field trip wasn't it?  The little girl was learning to choose her favourite liquid soaps by smell.  What fun with grandma!

Winterlicious 2019

drunken duck wing appetizer

Chicken Schnitzel with mashed potatoes and vegetables

It is that time of year again when Toronto has a Winterlicious restaurant promotion in the city. Various restaurants offer prix fixe promotions at what must be a slow time of year. We went to the Bier Markt restaurant with some good friends and had a good time. We enjoyed the food, it was busy and quite noisy there that night. I tried their drunken duck wing appetizer, the wings were flavourful and tender. My main course was the chicken schnitzel with mashed potatoes and vegetables.  The restaurant has an extensive beer menu for the beer enthusiast.

Senior Cat

Kathy has a cat who is getting on in years, he had trouble getting up on the couch due to arthritis.  She had a novel solution in getting a baby step stool to help him.  Click this link to see Kathy's photo.

We pulled out the snowblower on the weekend as we had a lot of snow.  Sometimes it is better to do that than stressing our backs shovelling as we often like to do.  Parts of the world are suffering intense heat waves, it sounds just as uncomfortable.  At least it has been sunny, with cold and crisp air here.

On Manuka honey

winter scene - art by Christine

A friend told husband M about Manuka honey from New Zealand.  He is always interested in any good product which may help with his health issues.  We did some research and found an informative link about it.

'Surprisingly, hydrogen peroxide is one of the components of honey. This is what gives honey that antibiotic quality. This is also found mainly in manuka honey. This is because a compound called dihydroxyacetone is found in the nectar from the flowers of the manuka plant. Besides hydrogen peroxide, manuka honey will have MG—methylglyoxal. Other honeys will have only traces of MG.  '

Some benefits of Manuka honey are that it heals wounds (when applied on the skin), it  aids in treating high cholesterol, inflammation, and gastrointestinal issues.

UMF is the Unique Manuka Factor which measures the potency of Manuka honey.  Here are 5 recommended brands with a UMF 12+ rating, be sure it says 'Made in New Zealand'.  (I noticed the Comvita brand that Costco sells has only a 5+ UMF rating.)

1) Comvita

2) Kiva

3) Manuka Health

4) Wild Cape

5) Bee's Inn

We might get this monofloral (not a blend) Wedderspoon brand from Whole Foods, they sell 500g for $47.  M's plan is to take 1/2 teaspoon with tea once or twice a day.

Have you heard about Manuka honey?

Uncured meats

'cured meat' art by Christine

I recently heard of uncured pepperoni pizzas.  It made me curious to know the difference between cured and uncured meats.  This link explains it well.  Uncured meats use naturally occurring agents such as celery powder which naturally transforms into nitrites. If nitrites are not added, meat is considered uncured.  Uncured meat has a paler colour.  People with allergies to nitrites may want to try uncured meats.  The meat must be preserved in some way to avoid spoiling.  The debate is whether it is any healthier. 

Have you tried uncured meats, I haven't yet.

Jose Jose Jose

Martha posted this on her blog the other day, hilarious!

Husband M took the Go Train downtown a few weeks ago.  At the next stop he heard someone shouting 'Jose!  Jose! Jose!'  Jose heard his name and turned around.  He had just boarded the train.  The woman (his wife?) shouted 'you have the car keys!'  Fortunately he was able to dig into his pockets to retrieve the keys and threw them onto the pavement outside just before the train doors closed.  M saw her retrieve the keys and put her hands to her chest in relief.

Paint Party Friday - Jewelry Box Makeover

Welcome to Eva and Kristin's Paint Party Friday! I have a jewelry box makeover for you today. Daughter L had painted this craft jewelry box when she was a little girl. I decided to give it a more adult makeover as pictured below.