Door prize

and aboutA while back I posted that I won a prize when I was shopping in Vancouver. The store had mailed it and a few days ago I received it. Just in time for Christmas baking. It was really nice and useful.

And about two months ago, I bought an air fryer and we have been doing all kinds of chicken wings recipes and they turned out really well and not greasy as no oil is used to cook anything. On New Year's Eve I might try onion blossom.

Here is the first recipe of wings I did, just simple salt, pepper and garlic and was yummy.

Company Christmas Party

On the weekend of December 2-4 was our company's Christmas party. Our head office is located in Vancouver and the party was hes there. I work in the Edmonton office so they flew us to Vancouver and put us up to the closest hotel to the office and the party venue. It was just a very expensive 5 course meal at an Italian restaurant downtown.

The party was over at 9:30 and some of us went for a walk. Since I have bruised bone, I only went for a few blocks and went back to the hotel while catching pokemons on the way. Unfortunately I only caught 1 pokemon I don't have on my pokedex.


The next morning we walked to go for breakfast and the rest went to Granville Island. I stayed and walked the waterfront and went to some stores. There was a kitchen store called Cook Culture and I bought a few small items. The staff asked me to write my name and email to enter a raffle. Lo and behold three days later I received an email letting me know I won an Emile Henry ceramic baking set which they have mailed to me since I had to let them know I am from Edmonton.

I only took a few pictures on the water front.

It was a pleasant way to enjoy the weekend. Saturday after lunch, my nephew Anthony picked me up from the hotel and we drove around and I wanted to get special items from a Filipino bakery but they did not have it.

The only frustrating part was our flights were delayed both ways. This was my second flight on WestJet and I don't know if I will fly with them again.

Happy Thanksgiving

To everyone, friends and relatives, I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving.

This year is especially important for me to give thanks to all the blessings I have received and also for surviving a serious illness. I'm thankful for all the support and encouragement and help.

To sister for coming and visiting to help and support and encourage me.
To Carole for checking up on me and always so encouraging.
To my niece Lou for listening and just being there when I have to vent.
To Nene for making sure I can always call.
To Fanny for calling and always checking up on how I was doing.
To Marissa for all the long talks and prayers and always being there even when you yourself is going through a lot as well.
To Marie for making sure I'm looking after myself.
To Rogelio for all the suggestions.
To the ladies of Laidley for caring.
To Sandra for all the wonderful suggestions and encouragement from far away.
To Ped for always listening. 

Without all your support, it would have been a more difficult recovery.
And now to RBR for understanding all the insecurities. Thank you for the laughter and some needed disagreement. Hang in there. The journey has not been all easy. The bumps have been small, thank God.

So far an exceptional year. 

Artichoke Festival....

After I landed at SFO, my sister told me we will be picking up her mother-in-law and go home to drop my suitcase and then we will be on our way to Castroville to go to the Artichoke Festival.

It was not a long drive and soon we were there and we had to park and get on the bus. The parking attendant told us not to miss the deep fried artichoke so we knew we had to have it.

As we go to the gate to pay the entrance fee, they asked if we were seniors 55 and over and we were never so excited to get a discount 50% off.

This is just like a fair or small exhibition where they not only have food vendors but also crafts and other displays.

Half way through we remembered to take a picture of the deep fried artichokes which were reall good, I could have eaten a second plate.

The spiral spud which was fresh and crispy and we sprinkled with different salt and spices.

One of the displays all made ot artichokes.

Bear made of artichokes

 

There was also a display of old classic cars.

 

It was enjoyable and it felt like being in Mexico as the community is where farm workers live and all you can hear is Mexican being spoken.

 



Easter weekend.....

It will be a nice weather for the Easter weekend, I went out with flats on and hardly any snow on the sidewalks. I don't know if this trend will continue as I have seen the white stuff on the Weather channel, I think sometime next week.

I have plan of walking to work starting April 1 but will see how the weather turns out. While I was out Good Friday, a friend mentioned that it does not even feel like Good Friday. Before the stores would be all closed and it is not busy on the street.

The only day stores are closed during the year is Christmas day and even then there are some stores/business open on that day. How times have changed.

I don't know what we are having for Easter dinner but it will possibly be salmon. Usually I would have ham but nobody feels like eating ham this time around. Maybe we will just order pizza!!!

Crispyoatmeal cookies with nuts and raisins, I haven't baked this in years.

 

Mocha chiffon cake with chocolate frosting, have not baked this so I just wanted to bake and it turned out good, brought most of it to work and they liked it, moist and not too sweet.

 

I bought a box of mangoes with 8 of these big fruit from Peru and I made salsa which was so good, followed a recipe I saw online. These were so big, I can only eat half of it and save the other half, I brought them to work as my dessert.

 

I hope you all have a Happy Easter and enjoy the extra days off work.

 



Christmas menu....

We were planning to change our menu, my son wanted to try steak and lobster and I wanted a whole salmon baked in the oven, then thought of crown roast of pork. Last Friday night after looking at what the weather will be like for the next 3 days, I decided to leave and go to Save- on - Foods to do my grocery shopping at 9:30 pm. I am so glad I did as the roads turned nasty the next day.

While in the store, I decided to just do the standard menu as I was thinking there will be leftover for sure and I do not have to cook on Boxing Day. So it is turkey and all the trimmings. I am trying a new dessert which I saw on line and it looks yummy and easy to make. I hope it turns out well.

The weather is nasty, cold and snow. Christmas eve will be cold but no snow and it is almost the same for Christmas day. Now I am just relaxing and making sure I have everything.

Early morning on Christmas eve, I will go out just to get fresh buns from the bakery and maybe some kind of pie.

I am watching a lot of movies and then it is time to do the dinner preparation.

Enjoy the last two days before it really gets busy Christmas Day.

Jackson Rancheria Casino Resort...

We decided to go to this casino as my sister has not been here before. It was about 2 hour drive from San Jose and a nice, leisurely drive.

We passed by a lot of wineries and fruit farms and even stopped at a roadside fruit store with lots of other baking, jams for sale. I bought persimmons as I really like them.

Arriving at the casino resort, we tried to see if our room was ready and it was and we checked and went to the casino after having a light lunch, sort of. We had lunch at Margaret's Cafe and Bakery and had the rib eye chicken fried steak which is their specialty. I had posted it here before.

After we had to get our memebership card and was given $5.00 to start with. I won over $120.00 on the same slot but different location.

I did not take a lot of pictures as my battery was dying. It was ok and the service is friendly and the whole place is clean. I am used to non-smoking casino and this was not but it is a dry resort.

 

Entrance to the casino taken from our room on the third floor.

 

Showpiece at the entrance to the resort.



TV watching....

My sister and I were talking and our conversation turned to tv shows. It was amazing that we watch a lot of the same shows.

One of my sons told me that I should cancel some of the channels I have because I only watched a few channels....mainly HGTV, Food Network, CNN, National Geographic, Travel and Escapes and the Learning Channel. I watch The Voice and try to check Dancing with the Stars.

Last weekend was Travel and Escapes and I wanted to see Scam cities and find out what are the things to avoid. I have seen scams in Las Vegas, Bangkok, and a city in India. It is not like that I would be travelling to the cities featured but it is interesting to find out about the different scams that some people do to tourists.

I also told my sister about the CBSA show featuring the staff in Vancouver....watching people lie to immigration and customs officer. She used to work for them. I don't understand why these people don't just tell the truth, it would be a lot easier and maybe they will get off lightly. Unfortuantely, they do not get this show in San Jose.

When I travel, I have always kept all my receipts so it is a lot easier clearing customs.

Well, let me see what else I find on the telly that is interesting.

Projects.....

I have just started on my next project, cleaning and wiping my souvenir teaspoons collection so I can display them. And the problem is this...

 

There are more than 200 teaspoons in this box.  I guess it will take a bit of a time to get it done.

I will just sit on the floor and do it while watching tv. There better be really exciting shows to watch while I am doing this.

 

 

And this is where they will go. I have to rearrange my coin collection to make room for the teaspoons. This is my coffee table. I am excited to see how it will look like.

 

 Just finished watching the voice and it is exciting to find out what happens to the stolen members.

Breaking Amish is also getting interesting.....how much of it is real, I don't know.

As my sister would say it 4 more sleeps before the weekend.

My birthday is this Saturday....no plans yet.

 



Enjoy Centre....the plants

Enjoy Centre used to be Holes Greenhouse in St Albert, Alberta. I used to live in that city and I have lived there for 10 years off and on. It is quite a drive if you work downtown so when the chance to live downtown, I decided to move.

I love gardening and I used to buy my plants from there. When they became the Enjoy Centre it was quite a while before I got a chance to see it.

This summer was my first time and I did not take a lot of pictures. It was busy but the flowers were so beautiful and varied. The last time I was there I took some pictures of house plants. Some of them I don't know the names but would like to share them here,

These two are by the entrance to the store.

 

 

 

 

 

I used to have a collection of these African Violets when I lived in St. Albert.

I love plants and I am planning to get some for my place as they make one's home more alive and beautiful.

 

Hump day....looking forward to the weekend...I have a mission to find something for my sister.

 



Happy Thanksgiving.....

To all my Canadian readers, Happy Thanksgiving. For whatever things you are thankful for, this is the special day for it although I believe we should be thankful every time good and beautiful things happen to us or given or received.

Our family spent this holiday, yesterday to give all of us a day to relax before we go back to work. This is specially for whoever did the most work.....cooked and prepared the Thanksgiving dinner.
Hint...hint....

The usual dinner menu is turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, vegetables will depend on family tradition. This year there will be one vegetable that I will have that we have not had in the past....asparagus. I just saw a nice bunch of them at the store. Our dessert is creme caramel.

Just a small turkey this year....13 lbs.

I hope you enjoyed this day with your family and friends. Come Tuesday, everyone will be having some kind of turkey sandwich or leftover for lunch at work....I am sure of it.



Enjoy....Part 2

I have previously posted about this place a while back. This is located in St. Albert where I lived for more than 10 years and I used to go an visit it...it was known then as Holes Greenhouse.

This place is more than just green house and there are different stores there that it is interesting to visit and just browse at all the things that are for sale.

I went with my cousin who was visiting and she enjoyed the visit and this weekend, I will take another friend who is visiting this coming weekend.

 

 

The jam and preserves section

 

Garden items or home decor

 

Water feature decor for the garden, really beautiful and different

 

Some of the items at the home decor store

 

It is just a nice and relaxing place to visit. Next time I might try to have a meal there. I also have taken pictures of the plants on display there. I hope you will enjoy, when you have  a chance to vixit Enjoy.

 

 



Weekend projects

I was trying to get back to sewing and so the last weekend, I sewed table cloth for my dining table and floor cushion. I also did a cover for my glass top night table in my bedroom.

I have been trying to finish changing my bedroom decor and I had a hard time trying to find the frames that I wanted. Finally this weekend, we were out shopping and looking for floor lamp and by accident found a store with the right frames that will go well with what I have started in my bedroom.

Back at Ikea as I had returned a side table because it was damaged and got myself a bonsai plant.
Also I found placemats at Fabricland, I was there to buy fabric to sew placemats but found the right one and coordinating colour to my table cloth.

My apologies as I have mentioned I will post pictures, I will soon.

Enjoy this week, I am looking forward to a visit of a friend...I have known him for 25 years or more.

What the truck?

This was an event sponsored by our community league last month. Food trucks were parked by the Victoria Promenade on a Friday night and the residents and anybody can go and order from the 10 trucks that participate.

It was a very hot afternoon. It started at 5:00 and went on till 9:00 pm. There were all kinds of food, from Chinese to Filipino and the usual pub grub. As always there were a few favourite trucks and the line up was quite long.

I did not realize that there were that many food trucks in the city. I am only aware of the few who park close to my building downtown at lunch time.

I was with a former office mate who does not like being exposed to the sun, which was a bummer as she kept complaining of the heat. I managed to line up for my mini donuts and that was about it.

Next time, I know not to ask her to go with me.

 

Three of the food trucks that were there.

 

 







End of the visit......

My cousin left today to go back up North. We had a really wonderful and enjoyable visit. Today, we went to church and I have always wanted to try the Chinese Catholic Church 2 blocks away from my place. So off we go and when we got there, it looks like a nice little church.

A while back while walking I had noticed that they had English service and so we went but I was completely wrong with regards to the time. I thought the 11:00 am was the English one but it was the earlier one. So we sat there and it was part English and Cantonese. It was a very different experience.
Next time I will go to the earlier service.

After that it was time to take her to catch the shuttle bus to the airport.

I took her to Enjoy which I had posted before but this time, I took a lot more pictures. I will post it later.

Now back to the grind. I am already looking forward to the weekend as this had been a busy 10 days for me and a stressful week at work as well.

Another movie......another visit....

I have not gone to see movies in a while and now that my cousin is here, I have seen another movie with her. We were in St. Albert and decided to see Bourne Legacy. We were interested because it was filmed partly in the Philippines.

It was exciting but I would rather have Matt Damon in the movie.

We also visited my godmother who I have not seen in a long time. She had planted tomatoes this year and I picked the first 2 almost ripe to bring home.

I am going out with a friend from my old workplace and we will go shopping and have dinner. I hope to remember to take pictures.

This week has been so stressful at work and I am glad it is almost the weekend. I visited the lovely ladies of Laidley at lunchtime today to pick up bread and butter pickles made by Louise's mom. I really love those home made pickles. I am set for a few months. Thanks Weezie!!! And it was nice seeing the ladies again.

Busy with guest.....

It has been very busy at work and the weather has been lousy with thundershowers and today heavy rains. I have a cousin attending a conference and she is staying with me.

She arrived on Friday and we had been to the casino with a friend who I think is addicted to gambling. I played and won $62.00. Of course I cashed out right away, I am not one to keep on playing. I quit while I am ahead.

Saturday we went to the farmers market and bought spicy peanuts, cinnamon buns (big) and the lightest whole wheat loaf that was so good. I also bought eggplants, green beans, and farm raised brown eggs, spinach and nut and fruit fudge which was a bit too expensive.

Sunday we watched Hope Springs, it was ok but I was not really impressed, the trailer looked good but it was a bit boring and dragging at some parts.

She wanted to get duvet cover and drapes and we got that at Walmart.

Monday and Tuesday, she hitched a ride with me and walked to the conference centre which is not too far from my office. We are still planning on doing more stuff.

It was fun having her around.

Hot dogs, hot dogs and more hot dogs.....

The past week was barbeque week for our tenants at work. This event was organized by another staff who resigned 4 weeks ago and I had to take over.

It was not bad since the planning was already done and I just have to make sure it went smoothly. Tickets were delivered to each office and the stuff ordered. Thank God it was being catered.

The catering company did a good job. We had to do three buildings and the number was 155 in one building, 300 in another and 700 for the other. The tent was nice and there were tables and chairs for people to enjoy eating outside. although one day we were caught by thunder showers forecasted for the afternoon and I was drenched.

The jumbo dogs were good and the buns were made that day so really fresh.

We had to serve it at lunch, and for some reason, some people complained they did not get tickets, 20 minutes before we were to start serving. Of course we ordered extras but just the same, the notice was put up by the elevators and if you did not have tickets, would you not contact and request before the day of the event?

As it is downtown, there would be all kinds of people trying to get free meals, and sure enough they have all kinds of explanation. They forgot their tickets was the popular one. One said he works in the building and when asked which company, looked up at the name of the building and said it, another old lady asked if it was help yourself and we knew exactly she was not from the building but accommodated her.

So after the first two days, I could not even look at a hot dog, let alone eat one. I appreciate the catering company prepare us Angus beef burger the last day.

I feel like it would be another year before I  could eat another hot dog. As usual pictures later. somebody else took the pictures. Or maybe I should just say, images coming soon.

Enjoy the weekend.

Lots of activities....

This weekend had been busy for the city with all kinds of activities. The Edmonton Indy was on the whole weekend, Capital Ex, Taste of Edmonton, all kinds of farmers market.

I never got to any of it as I was not feeling well after a very stressful week at work. I will still have a chance to go to Taste of Edmonton as it goes on till this Saturday, the same with Capital Ex.

I missed getting my spicy peanuts from the farmers market, hopefully I will get it this coming weekend.

This week I am in charge of summer barbecue for the tenants of our buildings. So I will be eating jumbo hotdogs for 3 days. I am hoping it will not rain but the forecast for Tuesday is showers. I am glad we are setting up tents.

Here are some pictures I have mentioned I will post.

These are the mini cupcakes from Flirt Cupcakes. They were delish!

Another box of cupcakes. They were all different flavours

I tried to take pictures of the fireworks from my phone.

This was taken an hour before fireworks were to begin, the traffic going to downtown centre was getting quite heavy.

Another work week, hopefully it will be easy week for me with all the barbecues going on this week.



Canada Day....

There should a lot of celebrations, from pancake breakfast, activities at the Legislature, show, and the usual fireworks.

Except it has been raining and quite heavily. I hope that there will still be the fireworks tonight.

I was going out with a friend but decided to just stay home and clean my place.

I will post later if the fireworks is still on.

Happy Canada Day......whatever is left of it. The rain has petered out a bit. Enjoy the extra day off work.