Fun day away and canning at home

Caught Rob off guard with this one. He always looks pretty snappy though.

It's a rainy day. The craziness continues as the orange maniac south of the border recently gave Canada a one-two punch. Tried to take away our sovereignty at the negotiating table AND the name of one of our Great Lakes. As for the trade, our smart folks walked away. We won't be bullied. As for the lake, it's Ontario. Will be forever. No matter what edict Trump signs with his ridiculous Sharpie.

But back to the reality of the farmette. Temperatures are starting to climb down a bit. Today's high is 20C. Which I thoroughly enjoy. Spring and fall are my favourites. Partly because of the weather and partly because it's either planting or harvesting/canning seasons.

Sister Sandy and I waiting for the show to start.

We took a bit of a day away with the Thorntons last Sunday to Stratford to see The Hobbit, which was amazing. We also had a fancy lunch at Café Bouffon. I love the decor of that place.

It's like you've been transported to Paris in the 1920s, all red paint and chandeliers, oh, my. It was wonderful visit with my sister and brother-in-law, who graciously did the driving duty.

Through the week, I was determined to do something with the plums that were loading down the tree in the back forty. My mother's 'waste not want not' mentality is buried deep in my psyche, so when they started dropping to the ground, I knew it was time. To do some canning. So I did.

I got about eight pounds of the purple beauties altogether. And there were still some left in the very top of the tree. Which I left for the birds and bugs.

First batch was a yummy chutney recipe I found last year. Besides the usual sugar and vinegar, you add raisins and ginger and a cinnamon stick, along with red pepper flakes for some zing.

I also made an equally large batch of plum sauce, which has a real zip. They will be great as a savoury addition to egg rolls, meats and cheeses, as well as a base for stir fries. Yum. Until next week.

Gratuitous cat photo courtesy of Calvin, who graciously allows Rob to sit on his own chair, once in a while. Obviously not now.