Grandparent's Day September 12th

Wowzers!! My calendar just informed me that Sunday September 12th is Grandparent's Day. At first i thought it said Groundhog Day and i was ecstatic that it was coming so early this year. NTS: wear glasses more often. I thought doing a piece focused on the wonder that is the grandparent would be a lovely way to celebrate. Please note that even though i may call old people Q-Tips behind their backs, it in no way lessens my love of them. (Q-Tips--white hair, white shoes...get it?)

Who they are:

Most commonly known and introduced as Grandma or Nancy, but legally known as Annie Elizabeth and jokingly referred to as Splat Annie. My grandpa (you will read about him next) dubbed gma this as she can catch and kill flies like nobodies business. It's rather disgusting, but certainly is fun to watch. Grandma refuses to accept that she's a senior citizen, except for when a seniors discount is available somewhere. She likes beige and wears fifty rings on her hands. Favorite story: Back when we were about 7 we were staying downtown with my grandparents for the weekend and my gma tried to feed us Chef Boyardee ravioli. When she left the room me and Amanda, without even tasting the stuff, decided it was disgusting. I will point fingers here, since it's my blog, and say that AMANDA opened the window and we proceeded to dump our canned pasta down ten floors and onto the sidewalk. Grandma comes back and we make yummy noises. Approximately fifteen minutes later a rather red-faced Nancy tells us to get our butts down there and clean up that mess! She's a stickler, that Nancy. (Side note: pretty sure i'd totally eat chef boyardee ravioli these days. Will make a point to purchase some next grocery shop.)

Grandpa. Bruce Wallace. He is my grandma's second husband and therefore our step gpa, but has always been the main in our lives. He is responsible for the horror that is the forty hours of childhood video tapes turned DVDs we all own and cherish (sorry to all those who had/will have to sit through those). Bruce was born and raised in Australia and was a professional rower. He moved to Canada and then his rowing partner dumped him and his dreams were crushed. He then started collecting baseball caps as a hobby. Grandpa always has made the best stack of pancakes; pre-buttered and pre-cut for your dining pleasure. I'm not going to lie, just recently i had my pancakes buttered and cut courtesy of gramps. if i had any shame, i might be embarassed. Please see the photo below for pictoral reference. Also, he used to let us put bows and barrettes in his hair. that is love.

Grandpa Robert. The Mom's dad. He is Irish. He still (somewhat mysteriously) has an Irish brogue....even though he has lived in Canada for 50 years. Just found out he has parkinson's disease. rather disconcerting. (Self Reminder to make a point to do dinner with them soon.) He re-married when my mom was in her twenties to a lady called Maggie. She used to sing and play the piano for us. it was lovely. OK OK , u got me. i was being sarcastic. Her voice isn't anything to write about (or apparetnly it is), but she does enjoy to sing and entertain and THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is a gift. Those two have never been close to the family until more recently. The carol told me a story that she tried to strangle Maggie at her wedding. This may be a made up story, it was never confirmed by an outside source. They gifted me an amazing pepper grinder for my house warming, along with matching tea towels. I will not mention the oysters they gifted me as well. I guess not everyone knows that oysters are disgusting.

Grandpa Jack: My dad's dad. Deceased. Crew cut-check. Super duper big screen TV and satellite TV- check. Crazy black cat named (and re-named as they were replaced) Buttons- check. He was very brusque and i was always too scared to know him. His favorite was Amanda. He gave my parents money at Christmas time to buy us new winter coats every year. Kept us stylin' yo. He had a greenhouse that we would toil in. Oh and later in life he had a rad new mustang. awesome guy, sad he's gone.
-photo not readily available.

Grandma, the dad's mom. This is silly, i can't remember her name. To be fair, i've never met her- she died before or just after we were born. I think if i had 5 daughters and two boys I'd call it quits early too! RIP gma Little.
-photo not readily available.

I would like to do an honorable mention here to the grandparents i have borrowed over the years. You know what they say...can never have too much Old Person in one's life. Remember kids, sharing is caring!

New slogan: Share a Grandparent Today! (insert catchy jingle here).

harro? u thr?

Manda went for a long camping weekend up near Pemberton this weekend. Periodically I had been texting her asking how it was going, but received a haunting silence in return. A few drinks in on Sunday night at the crystal lodge, hanging with Katie listening to some live music, waiting for some guy friends to show up and entertain us we decided to turn up the annoying BBM style...


Participants:
-------------
katie holmes, Manda*

Messages:
---------
On Friday night:

katie holmes: What is up homie?! How's camping?!

On Saturday afternoon:

holmes: Are you alive?
katie holmes: Has a bear eaten your berry?!

On Sunday night:

katie holmes: Hey its shelly
katie holmes: Midss ui
katie holmes: Camping sucks
katie holmes: U shoulda come to whjistkler
katie holmes: It's katie again.
katie holmes: Camping stinks it up.
katie holmes: Especially when it's such shit weather!
katie holmes: Hope you've been having lots of sex to keep warm :)
katie holmes: Lol shelly again
katie holmes: Th*t was a rather innapropriate commebnt by kaytie
katie holmes: Did j propose yet
katie holmes: Can't wait to start planning the nbachelorette party
katie holmes: Kt here!
katie holmes: Ohhh how's the ring! Can't wait for the ring :)
katie holmes: And finding amazing bridesmaid dresses..
katie holmes: Your dress too of course ;)
katie holmes: And baby kennetts! Lol. Auntie kt can't wait to babysit!
katie holmes: Lol shelly here
katie holmes: Omg your going to have to get a mini van. Ew
katie holmes: I sure hope the kids don't get the kennets eyebrows.
katie holmes: No. Offence to j or anythibg
katie holmes: So how's camping
katie holmes: Kaymeister's back!
katie holmes: I hope you get a minivan with a good tv setup.
katie holmes: I'll be looking forward to riding in the backseat!
katie holmes: I hope your babies get his thick head hair.
katie holmes: Ohhhh ya lucious ;)
katie holmes: Sherriff shelly back on duty
katie holmes: We are imagining you in the middle of the forest wandering around looking for cell service
katie holmes: How ha e u survived so long without it
katie holmes: U must be cranky
katie holmes: I very muxh like ur display pix
katie holmes: I look good
katie holmes: Awesome blossonm
katie holmes: The entertainment is signing off! Love u. But our dates got here :)

On Monday afternoon:

Manda*: No reception here :(
Manda*: Lol
Manda*: Omg
Manda*: Seriosuly u guys
Manda*: I had no service. Horrid ya
Manda*: I'm not repsondin to any of that

katie holmes: Lol.

Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network

Please note that amanda is not engaged as of yet and we were just teasing her in order to amuse ourselves.

cup of tea and a cat, please

In Japan, cat lovers are paying for petting time at the country's popular cat cafes. For a fee of up to $10 an hour, patrons can enjoy tea, lounge on a comfortable chair and borrow the affection of feline employees.

Neko JaLaLa, near Tokyo's bustling Akihabara district, is one of over 70 cat cafes to open in Japan. Another, Calico, sees up to 70 visitors a day during the week and 150 a day on weekends at its location in the city of Musashino. Such cafes have become a cultural trend in Japan over the last six years, particularly in the overstressed metropolois of Tokyo. Pets are banned at many rental apartments, and jet-setting workaholics are too busy to care for their own.

Because of cat hair- and smell- vacuums and air fresheners are plentiful. The cafes also require patrons to wash their hands, use liquid sanitizer and remove their hsoes. And the well-being of the professional pets comes first. The cafes are quick to scold over such infractions as tail-pulling and sleep interruption, and children are often unwelcome. And, should constant attention begin to bore them, a cat may snub a customer in favour of a scratching post. -Jane Sqitzer

-This article was pulled from the Maclean's Online edition which I get emailed to me weekly for free. The validity of this article has been verified by a quick check with Wikipedia.

This basically solves my dilemma of whether or not i should get a cat. I can skip over the whole owning a cat thing and just borrow a cat at my leisure. No need to buy cat food or a scratching post. No need to cat-proof my condo or worry about cat hair being on every peice of clothing and furniture i own. I will never have to look for someone to feed Kitty while i'm away. Nor will I have to experience the guilt of leaving him at home.

The only problem I can forsee with my new Kitty Ownership Idea [(KOI) pronounced like coy] is that it is going to get ridiculously expensive flying back and forth between Vancouver and Toyko to visit my new kitty friends. I am hoping that some local entrepenuer will jump on this bandwagon and set up shop in Vancouver.

best email of the day.

fruking
spiltxx
tea oni myk kleyboartd./i xc
xc
FMLxc
xc
ta Iggulden

garlic & cheddar biscuits

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
5 tablespoons butter
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup butter, melted 1 clove garlic, minced

Alterations and substitutions:
I doubled the recipe and ended up making about 30 bisucits.
I used soy milk instead of cow's.
I added a whole whack of flaky pepper. Note: The Vetter's pepper has an amazing kick to it, I think it might be Costco pepper. I am considering 'borrowing' some for my own personal pepper stash.
I added garlic powder and garlic salt.
I added about 1/4 cup of parm cheese on a whim
Next time I bake these at my house I will substitute half the white flour for whole wheat. I am also thinking that including bacon in these would be amazing. Maybe even chives and making it like an entire meal in one small biscuit. I will scour allrecipes and see if there is anything similar.

Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
In a large bowl, sift together flour, salt and baking powder. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center of flour mixture. Add the milk and cheddar cheese; stir to combine. Drop batter by spoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet.
Bake in preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned. While biscuits are baking mix melted butter and minced garlic. Brush garlic butter over hot baked biscuits.

Note: Working with dough always makes me nervous. Overmixing is so easy to do and produces disasterous results that are usually unsalvageable. So I tried my best not to overmix. I think i did reasonably well. They say to put them on the baking sheet by the spoonful, but I made them into balls using my hands and patted into a reasonable shape. Some of the reviews I read said to roll out the dough and cut into rounds. I might try that next time. Perhaps add some extra baking powder to get the extra volume.

I brought these to work and they went over well. Both Kimberly and Phyllis (who are the baker's in the office) asked for the recipe. They are obviously best fresh out of the oven, but are decently edible after a brief stint in the microwave. I have a fear of butter and the things it will do to my arteries, so I almost skipped the step of brushing them with garlic butter. This would be a huge mistake, the garlic butter makes them unbelievably scrumptious.

I have frozen approximately ten of them to store in the freezer. Next visiter at the penthouse gets a sample!

Thanks again to allrecipes and those who submit and review recipes there. Scouring that sight has proven to be the highlight of my sad sad life (insert emo song here).