Heart News and Kiwis

Ian and I made our bi-annual visit to the cardiologist. All went well, thankfully. The doctor would like us to consider an internal heart monitor for him. This was discussed last year but we all agree now is the time. He's five years old and shouldn't have to carry around the monitor everywhere. My only concern is the surgery. He's been through so many surgeries already; but the doctor assures me it's a non-invasive procedure. Greg and I talked to him about it and it's something he wants to do. "Don't worry, Mom". Yeah, right.

We went to a May Day celebration on Saturday and had fun.

Salt Spring gets a nice write up here. The rolling hills, open meadows and pastures, seashores, forests, tiny villages, hills and mountains offer untold opportunities to make that Kodak moment happen. And that's why I live here.

Darling niece Annie has emailed me asking for summer dessert recipes. A favourite fruit to use is kiwi. It has a great flavour and is perfect for summer desserts. It's high in vitamin C and low in fat. Yum.

Tropical Fruit Dessert
(serves 6)

Ingredients:3/4 cup kiwi
1 and 1/2 cups mango
3/4 cup cantaloupe or honeydew melon
3/4 cup pineapple chunks
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 unsweetened cocunut

Directions:
Peel and cut all fruit into bite-sized pieces. Combine with O.J. and cocunut. Chill. Serve with Banana Whipped Cream.

Banana Whipped Cream

Ingredients:
1 cup heavy cream, whipped
2 tbsp. sugar
1 ripe banana, mashed until smooth

Directions:
Combine chilled whipped cream and sugar in bowl. Beat for 5 minutes. When ready to serve, fold in mashed banana.


Tropical Pie
(serves 8-10)

Ingredients:
5 ounces graham crackers
1/3 cup flaked cocunut, toasted
2tbsp. brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
8 ounces cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 tbsp. melon-flavoured liqueur

Topping:
3-4 kiwis, peeled and sliced thin
5-6 strawberries, sliced thin

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Prepare crust first. Grind graham crackers in food processor. Mix in cocunut, sugar and butter. Stir well. Press crumb mixture into bottom of 9 inch pie dish. Cover and chill for 20 minutes. Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely.
To prepare filling: Mix remaining ingredients together and spread in cooled pie crust. Top with kiwis and strawberries. Chill several hours or overnight.

Enjoy.

My witness is the open sky

Here's something that's worth a chuckle: Stay married, it's better for the planet. Or, you know, couples could just live together in sin to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. I'll never understand the compulsion to marry. I only did it to appease the S.O. and I swear, I see no difference in being married vs. living together. Apparently, we're more ecologically conscious, so go us. In California, land of the grow-op, they want to tax pot. If that idea comes to B.C., we'll be in big trouble. We already pay an exorbitant amount of taxes. Our astronomical property taxes are due this month and it makes me want to become a libertarian. Just kidding.

It's Mardi Gras season, break out your beads and get ready for some fun. I shall be posting fattening recipes for you to enjoy soon.

I've been busy as a bee lately. The wee one's birthday is tomorrow so I've been on Mommy overdrive. He's going to be five! Holy hell! I feel like I've stepped into a time warp and everyone has gotten older except for me. I still feel 25, although I know I don't look it. Time, time, time... It slips away if you're not careful.

On a much belated note, here are some pics from Road Trip '08. They are mostly landscapes taken from the RV. The family pics are up at flickr. I'm proud of myself: it only took me a month to post them. Ha!

The first place we hit was Seattle. We naively thought we were leaving behind the chilly weather, only to be faced with a snowstorm.

We could hear laughter and screams as kids (and adults too) sledded down the street.

It was beautiful, although not too much fun to drive through. I was very thankful that we owned a vehicle with four-wheel drive. I also thanked the genius who came up with such an invention.

We then made our way through Oregon and into Nevada, land of the kitschy wedding ceremony. Every time we go there, I have an urge to get hitched again in as tacky a way as possible. Hey, if you're going to get married you might as well have fun doing it.


This was taken outside The Luxor on The Strip. Snow on the Vegas Strip. Ha! It was funny, most people there were shocked by the weather. It's Vegas! You don't see snow there very often.



It wasn't all floor shows and gambling. We actually did some holiday things while were we there. They had a public menorah lighting. It had a distinctive Vegas feel to it. They had dancing Rabbis and fireworks. It was definitely unique.


After Vegas, We made our way to Arizona. They had snow there too, but it melted very quickly. Yay for that Southwestern warmth.



We took the kids to another menorah lighting, this one was much more traditional. It was serene and peaceful. No fireworks or dancing Rabbis, thankfully.


We took the boys to a puppet show. Elisabeth declared she was too old for such things. Good grief. It was fun to watch and the puppets were visually very beautiful. It made me wonder who was responsible for painting their faces.


We also went to a tree lighting ceremony, followed by a train ride. They had a replica of the Polar Express, which Ian gleefully rode (3 times).

Then we were on our way to New Mexico to holiday with friends. What a great and surprising trip it was. Much preferable to the regular holiday stress I'm usually prone to. For the first year in many, I've had no holiday depression. It's easier when I'm away from all the insistent holiday cheer. It's much easier when I'm just with family.


Despite the crazy weather, it was a wonderful trip. I'm reminded of a Steinbeck quote: "A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it."