Category: Personal

African Lion Safari

Good thing people sometimes visit. Otherwise you might never your home town’s tourist attractions.

So it was that, after 22 years in the region, we finally visited African Lion Safari. Turns out it’s more than just an annoying theme song. The idea of this “zoo” is that the animals roam free, while people are kept in metal cages (also known as cars). The preserve has had good success in its breeding program for a number of endangered species.

They really do have majestic lions.

Male lion

Female lions

But the most exciting big cat encounter was with the leopard cheetah, who decided to walk over to our car.

Leopard approaching

And hang out right beside it.

Leopard hanging around

The ostriches, who look like living dinosaurs, pecked at the car window, hoping for food.

Ostriches

The baboons often climb on the cars, but ours didn’t prove attractive to them.

Baboons

We discovered that giraffes aren’t overly fond of rain (that it was raining for a change was amazing in itself), as they all huddled together under a shelter.

Giraffes

Rhinos are really big. Fortunately, none of them did any car-charging, that we saw.

Rhino

Some other continents were also features, such as kangaroos of Australia.

Kangaroos

And even deer of North America.

Deer at African Lion Safari

It was fun. Definitely worth a visit, if you’ve never been.

On the tequila

Bring on the tequila
On fire on tequila
Hostess most on tequila
Bestest friends on tequila

When you say you’re going to a tequila tasting, most people say Eww!, overwhelmed by the memories of bad tequila experiences in their youth.

I, on the other hand, am not put off by such memories, because I don’t have any. I have never been drunk on tequila. I think I’ve tasted it a few times, maybe had one glass, but I’m not even positive it about that.

So why go to a tequila tasting (as hosted by @StraightUp KW)? Well, a friend of mine helped pioneer Straight Up, and I’ve been meaning to go to one of these events sometime. (Not that they’ve needed me to be successful, mind.) I have been to beer tastings despite not really drinking beer much, and it was interesting, and I even found a few beers that I somewhat like. And this event occurred while the husband was away, and I was thinking it might be nice to go out.

What I learned was that the tequila most of you apparently have vomitous, hangover-y memories of is cheap blended stuff, not really fit for human consumption. What we tried was premium tequila. The host insisted that while you can certainly get drunk on premium tequila—even remarkably quickly—it’s a happy drunk that doesn’t bring on a hangover.

I didn’t drink enough of it to report on whether that’s true or not. I had to drive home, so I’ve still never been drunk on tequila. But I can report on the taste.

Tequila bottles

The pretty tequila bottles

We tried four. The first was the Milagro Reposado, which he said was closest to the tequila most people are familiar with, and which would turn out to be my least favorite. I’m really primarily a wine drinker, so this seemed really burny, something I’m not crazy about. The taste wasn’t terrible, though. It was sort of piney.

The second was called Tres Generaciones, and that was so much smoother! It was a clear drink, with kind of a floral smell and taste, and very little burn. I could imagine sitting and sipping this stuff (sometime I didn’t have to drive). This was served with sangrita, a tomato juice-based accompaniment.

The third was the Partida Anejo, which was a pale yellow color. It was unusual and oakey. An interesting drink, but I liked the previous one more.

Finally, we had the very rare Riazul Anejo, which is not possible to get in Canada, and difficult to find in the US. This one smelled unbelievably sweet, like frosting on a cake or a candy store. Of course, it didn’t taste quite like that, as it’s still this strong drink, but it had a distinctly sweet after-taste with definite notes of bubblegum. Be a great winter drink.

Each taste came with a little hors d’oeuvre serving of items such as grapefruit with creamed wasabi, pulled pork on bread, and tuna tartar. It was also in the lovely setting of the exclusive Member’s Club at Centre in the Square. So tequila was not an ew experience for me.

Working upright

It’s been a little over a month since the installation of my stand-up desk. It has certainly garnered attention around the office, particularly in the wake of CBC’s recent report on the dangers of sitting, and Andrew Coyne’s mostly serious commentary that excess sitting is a public health hazard. I’ve given numerous demonstrations of how it works, with several people declaring they want one for themselves (most of them don’t have pricing info), and one other person actually having it installed (the price of hers actually covered, as a medical requirement).

At first it felt weird to be standing up while working, but it didn’t take long to adapt. Turns out I can type, read, and edit just as well standing as sitting. The one thing that isn’t so hot is writing with a pen on paper (because sometimes I’m retro like that). For that, I either have to sit and use my desktop (my real, not virtual one), or grab a book to hold and write on while standing.

Proper footwear is really key to making this work. Heels just don’t work at all, both because they’re not that comfortable over time, and because they make me too tall for my keyboard stand! But even flatter shoes have to have good support to avoid foot fatigue. I don’t like wearing ugly running shoes at the office, so I’m mostly in Rieker shoes, as they manage to be both cute and supremely comfortable. When I get a yen for the impractical footwear, I’ll just wear them in and out and during the sitting times at work, then switch back to the Riekers for standing work.

My back and hips definitely feel better. I was getting some pain in my arm until I propped the mouse up higher on a book. Funny how such a small adjustment made such a difference. I also find it better for keeping up energy during the day.

Overall, it’s been so good I’m now eying the home computer to see what I can do. I don’t want make another investment of ergo office equipment, but maybe something can be jury-rigged with boxes?

Liking to cook

Watching her partner prepare dinner, an acquaintance of mine said, “I don’t know how you can find any aspect of cooking fun.” She, needless to say, did not particularly enjoy cooking.

This did get me to thinking, though—why do I like cooking?

Because there are definitely cooking tasks I’m not particularly fond of. I have a friend who adores all the meticulous aspects, like chopping things finely and removing meat from bones. Exactly the sort of fiddly or slightly disgusting tasks I don’t care for. I also don’t like the super-boring ones, like stirring something “constantly” for 10 minutes or more.

So when it comes to that sort of thing, I have a few tactics to cope:

  1. Don’t do it. Like, I don’t make risotto—it requires too much stirring—and I don’t peel and seed tomatoes, because hello? Who has that kind of time, and what’s wrong tomato peel and seeds anyway?
  2. Buy it already done. Your boneless chicken, your deveined shrimp, your peeled and chopped squash, your frozen chopped onions.
  3. Find a more efficient way to do it. The Cuisinart is one of my best friends for grating and chopping, and lot of things turn out to be easier to peel or skin after they’re cooked, so I wait and do it then.

But despite all these avoidance manoeuvre, I really do like cooking. I do all the cooking home, because I want to. I cook just for myself, too. (And I don’t mean a grilled cheese sandwich; I mean a proper full meal with all the food groups.) I just don’t relate to people who find it always tastes better “if someone else made it”.

I think I’ve nailed down why.

It’s all about control.

I am, possibly, a bit of a control freak. And cooking for myself is the very best way to ensure that I eat nothing but what I want to eat. And much as I love some forms of convenience, I don’t like that to go too far. I don’t like pre-seasoned, pre-assembled, pre-cooked stuff. I want to do that. My flavors, my combinations of ingredients, cooked as much as I think appropriate.

It’s relaxing.

Really, cooking is pretty zen—at least the way I do it. I crank up my tunes, I pull out the recipe or recipes of the day (all planned out in advance), I gather my ingredients (all purchased ahead), I make dinner. Sure, I may get the occasional stress bubble when the main course and both side dishes all need something done at the same time, or something isn’t quite working, but that isn’t typical.

It’s a mini-accomplishment every day.

I’m not curing cancer, but at least I’ve created something decent from scratch yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

I like to eat.

Back to only cooking what I want to eat: I’m usually looking forward to eating what I’m making. One of the many, many reasons I could not be a chef is that those guys (they are mostly guys) are cooking for others, and that would just not be motivating enough for me.

Finish it up, place everything nicely on a plate, pour a matching glass of wine… Eat. Instant gratification! How many other tasks that you do in day offer the same?

Separated at birth?

When we acquired this handsome, blue-eyed fellow—a tabby / Siamese cross— six years ago, we had to name him. We went through various famous blue-eyed men: Frank Sinatra, Paul Newman, Brad Pitt, Jared Leto… (It was long enough ago that I don’t think Roger Daltrey even came to mind.)

Photo of McSteamy

But none seemed quite right until we thought of this fella, Eric Dane:

McSteamy the actor

Or, as his Grey’s Anatomy character is nicknamed, McSteamy. The gray-ish hair, the solidity, the air of mischief… It all just really seemed to match our cat. (“Wow. He really does look like McSteamy,” my Mom said, on first seeing the cat.)

And so we have a cat named McSteamy. Six years later, the name remains the source of either much delight or much confusion, depending on how much the person first hearing the name knows about Grey’s Anatony.

Lush

Hub and I are not really into the whole yardwork thing. But we do periodically put in a bit of effort. This year, we finally got the hot tub, which hadn’t worked in years, removed from the deck. That made more of a difference than either of us thought, making the deck actually seem somewhat inviting to sit on.

Thus inspired, we (well, mostly he) went after the weeds that had almost invaded the patio, making it look more like a patio again.

The gardens haven’t been particularly coddle but seemed to have enjoyed what nature has provided so far. Yes, the back flower garden certainly contains some monster weeds, but the flowers we planted long ago are definitely competing. The roses seem downright aggressive in their size this year, spreading up and out with their thorns and pink flowers, as if daring the weeds to come closer. And the cover flowers are abundant and on the move, some of them making their way onto the lawn, creating pretty little white patches here and there.

Roses

It was a good year for the roses

In the front garden, the tulips, daffodils, and lilies gamely keep returning. This year they are joined by a bunch of purple flowers that I did not plant. Perhaps these purple flowers are some horribly invasive plant I should be trying to get rid of. But I find them pretty, and they certainly like the shaded part of the garden more than the other flowers do.

It occurs to me that the herb garden probably looks like a big patch of weeds, but it’s actually the least weedy garden I have. It’s just that herbs are so ridiculously lush; normally only weeds to get such size. The tarragon and sage are, as always, monstrous. (I’ve started adding tarragon to many recipes. It’s quite nice, really. Sage, sadly, remains less versatile.) But this year’s returning cilantro, which seemed so wimpy last year, is also now tall, and spreading everywhere. Not to mention the dill I just planted, already a giant, and seeming to sprouts new offshoots every day.

The only other veggie I have this year are tomatoes. If the flowers are any indication, it could be quite the crop of those later on.

We even attempted to start a new backyard flower garden this year, from seed. We had the plot mostly ready, and the instructions on the wildflower seed bag made it sound very easy. Expecting something like grass seed, I was surprised that the flower seeds looked more like laundry lint. The package did warn that regular watering was necessary to get things going, so we’ve been obliging on that front on the days that don’t rain.

Sadly, all we seem to have so far is soggy laundry lint. Reading up on it, I think we may have failed to clear away enough mulch for the seed to make sufficient contact with the soil. This one may be a do-over.

Stand and deliver

Since the flurry of stories about how sitting too long at your job can, basically, kill you, I’ve been trying to figure out what to do about that short of, you know, quitting my sedentary job to become a waitress or something. Articles on the subject sometimes recommended things like walking around while talking on the phone, but this was not useful to me. What with meetings, email, messaging, and talking in person, I clock maybe 5 minutes a week on the phone. Not near enough to reduce my death risk through pacing.

No, I really needed a way to type standing up.

With all these stories you’d think the options for “stand-up” desks would be multiple and easily purchased, but I did not find it to be so. I saw nothing along these lines at local office furniture stores. Web research led me to an American company that had some options, but these were not cheap to start with, and the shipping from there added something like $130 to the price.

I was nevertheless considering it when the site added a link to a Canadian distributor. Prices weren’t any cheaper (but also not much more expensive—not always true in Canada), but the shipping was way less. This was http://www.ergocanada.com.

But trying to figure out what products would work with the desk setup I have was not the easiest thing. It was often not too clear what accessories you needed with what, and what the measurements meant… Even what everything did. Fortunately, they were really responsive to questions by email and phone, even steering me to cheaper options than I had been considering.

In the end, I bought a dual-monitor stand:

Dual-wing LCD arm

And a keyboard tray raiser. Despite all this effort to get the right stuff, though, the monitor stand ended up being too low to use standing up. I would have had to crouch down to work on it, which didn’t seem that healthy. So that meant another call, another order, and another installation of an extender for the monitor arm.

Now, finally, it works. The monitor arms holds both my 19″ monitors at the height of my choosing, moving pretty easily between sitting and standing height. The keyboard also moves up and down quite well. It would be too low for a tall person, I think, but is fine for me. I have an extra-wide tray, so it does get a bit wobbly at the edges in upright position. I’m not finding that much of a problem so far, with a centered keyboard.

It also arrived at a time when I’m having this irritating pain in my ribs on the right side (from coughing? I have no idea) that is very much aggravated by sitting too long. So whether or not I actually live longer because of sitting less, I’m definitely benefiting now.

Too bad it’s all so complicated and expensive, though. Lots of office workers out there, with little choice but to sit 6+ hours a day…

PS And apparently you can about double the number of calories you burn just by standing instead of sitting to work. Huh. I didn’t even know that part…

Effects of ColdFX

As a former promoter of ColdFX, I feel obliged to report that Marketplace looked into ColdFX’s claims and found them wanting. When I started taking it, it was based on a small study that showed a reduction in both incidence and severity in those who took ColdFX every day, versus those who did not.

Apparently they have since done bigger studies, however, which show only a minor reduction in incidence of colds, but none in severity. Also (and this was also true of the first study) it was only for people who took ColdFX every day, not those who started only at the onset of a cold.

Furthermore, Marketplace showed evidence that the Chinese factory where the stuff is assembled doesn’t maintain the best health standards, and at least one batch of it contained a potential harmful bacteria.

So, as a believer in science and all that, I thought I should stop taking ColdFX. Perhaps the milder colds that I had previously experienced on it would have happened regardless.

But I have to say… My current cold, the first in a few years that I haven’t treated with ColdFX, was definitely worse than any I had while taking it.

I realize that this is also not proof. Perhaps I would have been equally stuffed up regardless of my American ginseng intake. So, I’m just reporting this as an observation.

Fortunately, I’m feeling much better now. That’s the thing about colds. Whatever you do or don’t take for them, they still just eventually go away and you feel better.

Timmins Christmas

The weather was about perfect for Christmas in Timmins this year. A definite white Christmas, but not too cold.

We even had time for some snow shoeing.

C’est la tou-re tou-re, la tourtière

When I make tourtière (“meat pie”), a French Canadian dish traditionally served at Christmas-time, I do not follow my mother’s, or Jean’s mother’s recipes.

First of all, the math is just too difficult. They, of course, cannot conceive of making any less than 12 pies at once. Whereas I, who do not have a steady stream of French Canadian visitors during the holiday season, only want one pie. You try dividing all the ingredients by 12.

Plus, I have the definite sense that even I went for the 12, mine wouldn’t be quite like theirs. I just don’t have that experience behind me.

So, I actually follow a recipe by someone who isn’t even French Canadian! You can tell because it’s for only one pie.

But even at just one pie, I fret over the unhealthiness. Two pounds of ground pork? The fattiest meat ever? Really?

So this year I experimented, making a tourtiere that featured:

1 lb organic ground chicken
1 lb free-range bison
No-trans fat, vegan shortening in the crust (which is, I must say, totally hilarious in a “meat” pie)
Oatmeal instead of potato as thickener
Organic “beef-like” broth for flavor
Plus a bunch of herbs and spices, including odd ones like nutmeg and all-spice.

And I served it with warm curried potato salad and roasted beets with balsamic vinegar and truffle oil. (I mean, why start being traditional at this point.)

OK, it’s probably still not “health food”. At the center is still a bunch of meat in pastry. But at least its fats are less cloggy.

And the really amazing thing? The darn thing was delicious!

Si la France a ses rillettes
Son foie gras, ses crêpes Suzette
La Belgique a ses gaufrettes
Et Milan son escalope
L’Portugal a ses sardines
Toronto sa margarine
L’Espagne a ses mandarines
Et l’Anglais son mutton chop
Mais nous on fait exception
Au diable l’importation.
À part la patate (bis)
La patate à part (bis)
Le ragoût de pattes (bis)
La soupe aux pois…
Qu’est-ce qu’on dévore? Ah!

Mais la toure, toure, toure
La tourtière
Qu’on savoure, voure, voure
Tout entière
Quand c’est fête, fête, fête
Ménagères
Faites, faites, faites, faites
Des tourtières!