Anna N

Anybody remember playing grocery store when they were little? Wouldn’t these have been just perfect? These came from Kerry‘s visit to the fancy food show in New York City just before she came up here. I am in love. She just tipped them out in front of me.

If there is anything that nature abhors more than a vacuum it’s an empty fridge. Kerry did her best to fix that problem. In the back are cherries and cream. In front of those are butter, bananas, sweet potatoes and baking potatoes. In front of those onions, a peach, plum, two oranges a pear and some carrots. Such a bargain on steaks was irresistible. At least one or two will get the Red Boat treatment as per @rotuts.

No. If you look carefully right in front of everything else are two small bottles of already made up cocktails. We know our limits and we work within them! First booze then the unpacking.

It’s a beautiful day in the neighbourhood. Sunny and 26°C but still climbing.

Sad but honest. Took a break from watching Kerry for breakfast. Seriously Sharp Cheddar and some grapes on a cutting mat. I’m sure things will improve as we complete the unpacking. But now Kerry has been called into the hospital so things will slow down.

We are busy unpacking so not much exciting is happening moment. I really should say that Kerry is unpacking and I’m watching!

Good morning. I am normally a very early riser and that doesn’t change when I’m up here. Kerry and Kira are still sleeping. We tucked Kira up in the little bed in the living room. We have had various sleeping arrangements for her over the years and she usually adjusts quite well. Kerry’s room is far enough away from the kitchen that I can usually make a cup of coffee without disturbing her. This morning the coffee tastes wonderful. Kerry is on call in emergency today. I wouldn’t doubt that she will sneak a little grocery shopping in as well. Not sure yet what trouble I might be getting into today. Still a lot of unpacking to do so that will likely become the focus of our attention. See you a bit later when the rest of the house is awake.

Not nearly as much as it makes us nervous I am sure!

Barrie is a bedroom community of Toronto and growing like a weed.

Hot. Hot. Hot. Fortunately this time the air conditioner in the townhouse seems to be operational so we are reasonably comfortable indoors.

Ha! I subsist on government pensions. Would you buy a townhouse with 20 foot ceilings that you need to heat and cool? Somehow I think architectural students were let loose on this place. There isn’t a single light bulb you could change without finding a ladder of some sort. It’s fine for a few weeks in the summer……or the fall ... but own it?

We don’t know where we will stay after the town house is sold. Or if we will even be able to return here without it. Of course we left a cocktail ready. We left two in fact. Tonight the Brothers Perryman won. Best drink I’ve had since I was up here last.

“Home” at last. Empty, tidy kitchen. Mostly empty fridge and freezer. Our cocktails await us at the bottom of the closet! And the unpacking we will have to face tomorrow. The tidy and empty living room. A bed that appears to have come out of nowhere in the living room. Some of these mysteries will eventually be solved. Ice for our cocktails which we picked up the hospital on our way through. Kimchi and other goodies that we found at the Asian store in Barrie. Dinner. Don’t judge. One of my finest ideas. Stop at the grocery store in Espanola, grab a rotisserie chicken, add a little kimchi and a little pickled ginger on the side and dinner is solved.

Just stopping in Espanola to grab a few groceries. We are only half an hour from our destination.

We just saw a moose. She was not on the highway but down in a slough up to her chest in the water chewing her cud. We think it’s a first for both of us seeing a moose on our way up here!

We are driving through Sudbury. No ferry anymore. Too difficult with two handicapped people. Hard to answer all your questions while we’re on the move but rest assured we will get back to this when we reach our destination. We are just under an hour from Sudbury right now.

So I’m waiting in the car in Barrie while Kerry explores an enormous Asian grocery store! Who knew Barrie had grown this big? We are in search of kimchi which got left behind in Kerry‘s fridge. Truly only somebody who belongs to eG Would be stopping to find kimchi on a road trip that’s going to take many, many hours. Breakfast was at Debb’s Place. We have been here on a number of occasions. It is one of the loveliest places you could find to enjoy your breakfast. They are completely accommodating and understanding of Kira and her wheelchair and the need to find a spot where we are out of the way we have been here on a number of occasions. It is one of the loveliest places you could find to enjoy your breakfast. They are completely accommodating and understanding of Kira and her wheelchair and the need to find a spot where we are out of the way. Kira in a very lightly packed van. Coffee for me and tea for Kerry. We loved the mugs. Eggs Benny for Kerry. She is low carbing so asked to have the English muffin and the accompanying home fries eliminated. The money shot. Cheese biscuit for Kira. We also shared a lot of our breakfast with her. She was hungry young lady. Two poached eggs on toast for meet with home fries. and the money shot.

And so it begins once again. @Kerry Beal is on the road heading to my house to pick me up so we can head north to Manitoulin Island. Hopefully she remembered to put Kira in the van. Things will be very different this time. Change is inevitable. Among the changes iscthat one of our favourite nurses now that she has her children are grown is going back to school to become an anaesthesiology assistant. You might remember her as the owner of a lovely piece of property with horses, dogs, cats, kids and raspberries. But perhaps the biggest change is that the townhouse is to be sold. It is on the market with a closing date of September. Thankfully it will not be shown while we are there! Almost everything in the town house belongs to Kerry except for the furniture and the appliances. One of our challenges will be how to deal with all this accumulated stuff! This will be Kerry‘s 19th summer up there so I leave you to imagine the challenges we will face. But I am determined it will not interfere with our cooking or our enjoyment of the waterfront view or of all the other adventures that we manage to get up to each year. Stay tuned for future installments.

Unconventional but good. Tomorrow I’m leaving town for many weeks and so dinner is an attempt to use up anything still remaining in the crisper drawers. Broccoli purée, scallions sautéed in duck fat and a duck breast.

I’m impressed.

Damn! The one you carried back-and-forth forever?

And the vodka would take care of any germs.😂

Here?

I was having a number of baking disasters because I actually believed that when the preheat buzzer went off on my oven it had reached temperature. Not one of the units you are discussing but certainly would make me question the reliability of any signal! Mine still had at least 50°F to go before it was the temperature I had preset.