I'M IN THE DARK

How are you all coping through this Canadian Winter? Embracing it? Escaping it? Enduring it? Let's just end it?? 

One of the hardest parts for me is how much time I spend in the dark.

I eat breakfast and supper in the dark, walk the dog two times a day in the dark, wake up in the dark, go to bed in the dark. Bottom line....I'm in the dark here. 

One of my favourite APPS at this time of the year is "Star Walk" mostly because I can check to see how much more sunlight we get daily. Today, the sun will rise at 7:33 am and set at 5:14 pm - that's a whole 9:41 hours out of 24. But in a week from now on Super Bowl Sunday it will rise at 7:25 am and set at 5:24 - that's a whole 9:59 hours! Making progress. 

Still, I'm getting winter weary - so here's how I'm managing on this dark-cold-smack-dab-in-the-middle-of-winter.

I'm heading to the kitchen and making comfort food - I'm Making Banana Pancakes!

I'm buying flowers. I don't care if they only last a few days and are expensive.

Tip here fellas - for all 3 of you who read this blog. Buy your beloved flowers now. Don't wait until Valentines. She needs them...NOW.

Hang with the pets. They love hanging out with you and it's a good feeling being with those who love you.

And try and stay active - Last night Sheldon and I went for a swim. There were lots of adorable squealing girls and chubby babies and I enjoyed watching them all splish-splash and squeal to their heart's content. 

We are half way through....we can do this!

PLACES TO GO FOR A GOOD CUP OF JOE

I like a good cup of coffee. Strong, rich and hot with frothed milk and sprinkled with cinnamon. I'm the only coffee drinker in my house so I ritually make myself a cup of Joe every morning using a french press.

And, I admit, on weekends, a little dash of Bailey's makes it extra yummy!

Which got me musing about this necessary evil and I wanted to learn more about how to make a REALLY, GOOD cup of coffee.

Enter Adam:

On Saturday, Adam just happened to be putting on a coffee seminar at a local CrossFit centre. I'm not a Cross Fit person so I kinda stood out amongst all those rippling muscles but I am a coffee person, so I signed up!

To say that coffee is a passion for Adam is an understatement. Adam is the owner of The Brake Room (The Brake Room) and he is some kind of coffee guru. I learned about the coffee farms and farmers, the philosophy behind coffee, the importance of how to grind and how to store. The incredible science and chemistry around the amount of water vs. coffee vs. timing. I took a lot in but this is what I personally took home - I need to up my game when it comes to grinding; get a better grinder and grind fresh daily! 

I decided to check out the locally owned coffee spots downtown that personally, Belleville, could use a little love and support in the middle of winter. 

Nice Ice Baby is amazing for homemade ice cream and gelato. But coffee is also available, not to mention home made soup! 

 

Go check it out, Nice Ice Baby (Belleville Cafe - nice ice baby ice cream)  even if gelato is the furthest thing from your mind.

There is also Gourmet Diem (Gourmet Diem ) downtown. Coffee and fresh baked goods and it is chock full of great products. I bought a beet linguine there all rosy red and begging for mushrooms and peppers.

Finally, I stopped into a downtown favourite, L'auberge de France (L'Auberge de France)

This place is perfect for house cats like me - it's warm and cosy in here and you feel like you are in Grand Paris.  On Saturday mornings, you can get fresh baked croissants that melt in your mouth. But me, I went for a cappuccino and a slice of lemon loaf.

Because in Belleville, it's a good place to go, for a cup of Joe!

FAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT!

Half the Canadians I know (I know quite a few) really do love winter. They thrive in it, they embrace it. The other half...not so much. I would fall into the latter category. The "I'm so cold, I'm tired of scraping the windshield, I don't want to go outside" half.

So we sit around sources of heat, whether that be a dog a human, or a fire of some sort, like one of these:

and watch TV or stare indolently out the window at the frozen tundra. 

But this time round, I decided to try and enjoy the longest season on the Canadian calendar. I was gonna try the "Fake it till you Make it" tactic. 

Let's start in the kitchen. I took a go at making Samosas from scratch - something hot and spicy!

The filling of potatoes, garlic, carrots and peas was well spiced with cardamon, fennel, cumin, ginger and hot chili to make the kitchen smell downright sexy hot!

I was skeptical about the dough; it did not feel right to me but bottom line, they turned out all right! I probably should have deep fried them but I took the healthy route and baked them:

Definitely got that amateur look, but aren't they adorable?!

I'm all warmed up on the inside, now let's get out there and tackle the tundra, frozen or not!

Proof I can do this winter thing:

See that? That's me with my friend Vicki and yes, we are snow shoeing! Outside!!

Here's another with Jolie and look, by golly we are all smiling! So you see, with a little fortitude of warm spicy food, you can take that winter on, you can 

FAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT

or......maybe not....

HURRAY FOR JANUARY, THE INTROVERT MONTH!!

Today is January 7, 2018 and it's been record breaking cold. I hopped into my MiniCooper yesterday morning and "MiCi"obligingly started up with very little complaint. But the temperature gage indicated this:

And that's on the inside. Outside, with the windchill, it was more like -30's! That means we are all hunkering down as much as possible in our warm abodes.

Hurray for January! The Introvert Month! Now you Extroverts had your turn last month. Nothing but parties and celebrations and main events every weekend. Us introverts put on brave faces and did our very best to keep up with you all. 

So, please, we need some refuelling time with peace and quiet. That's what January is all about. Far too cold for much else! It's not that we don't like people and celebrating and loud raucous events. We just need downtime and when I say need, I mean N.E.E.D.

Me, I'm staying close to the fireplace (my back is up against it right now) having a nice cuppa chai tea.

Other than Lulu's occasional outbursts (I swear she has Dog Tourette's), all is quiet. 

January is cold and can be isolating. But for Introverts, after what we all went through last month, it's a Godsend. 

Hurray...