Food Food Food ~ Tacos

When I think of tacos I think of hard-shell tacos full of meat and veg and a pain in the neck to eat.  

I much prefer soft tacos . . . especially if they are fish tacos.

I don't have any taco recipes . . . since my husband doesn't like spice or fish . . . sigh . . . so please share your taco recipes with me. 

 

Thanks.

Goodreads 2020 ~ Uncle Tom's Cabin

Uncle Tom's Cabin is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. It was published in 1852 and had a profound effect on attitudes toward slavery in the U.S.  The title character is said to be based on the story of Reverend Josiah Henson. Henson was an author, abolitionist, and minister born into slavery in Maryland.  He escaped to Upper Canada in 1830, and founded a settlement and school for fugitive slaves near Dresden, Ontario.  

I purchased my copy of Uncle Tom's Cabin many years ago after visiting Uncle Tom's Cabin Historic Site in Dresden, Ontario.  

Big List of Canadian Artists and Bands ~ Alessia Cara

Alessia Caracciolo (born July 11, 1996), known professionally as Alessia Cara, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. After producing acoustic covers, she signed with EP Entertainment and Def Jam Recordings in 2014 and released her debut single the following year. "Here" peaked at number 19 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart and was a sleeper hit in the United States, peaking at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. 

In 2018, Cara became the first Canadian artist to ever win the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. She has also received nominations at the American Music Awards and Billboard Music Awards, and won an iHeartRadio Music Award, five Juno Awards, two MTV Video Music Awards, and an MTV Europe Music Award.

Scrapbooking Prompt 26 Sep 2020 ~ Trends

Scrapbook a layout that deliberately follows or defies trends.

Don't scrapbook?  Journal about this or create a page in your art journal.  Just get creative!

101 Interesting Facts About Canada ~ Chinooks

According to the list 101 Interesting Facts About Canada, Calgary chinooks can raise the temperature by 10 degrees in minutes.  What is a chinook you ask?

According to Wikipedia, Chinooks are most prevalent over southern Alberta in Canada, especially in a belt from Pincher Creek and Crowsnest Pass through Lethbridge, which get 30–35 Chinook days per year, on average. Chinooks become less frequent further south in the United States, and are not as common north of Red Deer, but they can and do occur annually as far north as High Level in northwestern Alberta and Fort St. John in northeastern British Columbia, and as far south as Las Vegas, Nevada, and occasionally to Carlsbad, in eastern New Mexico.

In southwestern Alberta, Chinook winds can gust in excess of hurricane force 120 km/h (75 mph). On 19–November 1962, an especially powerful Chinook in Lethbridge gusted to 171 km/h (106 mph).

In Pincher Creek, the temperature rose by 25.5 °C (45.9 °F), from −23.2 to 2.2 °C (−9.8 to 36.0 °F), in one hour on January 6, 1966. Trains have been known to be derailed by Chinook winds. During the winter, driving can be treacherous, as the wind blows snow across roadways, sometimes causing roads to vanish and snowdrifts to pile up higher than a metre. Empty semitrailer trucks driving along Highway 3 and other routes in southern Alberta have been blown over by the high gusts of wind caused by Chinooks.

Calgary, Alberta also gets many Chinooks – the Bow Valley in the Canadian Rockies west of the city acts as a natural wind tunnel, funneling the chinook winds.

On 27 February 1992, Claresholm, Alberta, a small city just south of Calgary, recorded a temperature of 24 °C (75 °F)[8]; again, the next day 21 °C (70 °F) was recorded.[8] These are some of Canada's highest February temperatures.

Food Food Food ~ Ham

I love ham.  It doesn't love me so much . . . don't know why . . . but I always take a chance and have a bit every chance I get.

I have several excellent tested ham recipes to share with you . . . 

Denver of Western Sandwich

https://inmyworld-pam.blogspot.com/2019/04/denver-or-western-sandwich.html

Spiced Honey Glaze for Ham

https://inmyworld-pam.blogspot.com/2019/03/spiced-honey-glaze-for-ham.html

Potato and Ham Scallop

https://inmyworld-pam.blogspot.com/2017/08/potatoes-and-ham-scallop.html

Easy Ham with Pineapple

https://inmyworld-pam.blogspot.com/2017/07/easy-ham-with-pineapple.html

Ham and Onion on Picks

https://inmyworld-pam.blogspot.com/2016/01/ham-and-onion-on-picks.html

Ham and Cheese on Picks

https://inmyworld-pam.blogspot.com/2016/01/ham-and-cheese-on-picks.html

Ham Spread

https://inmyworld-pam.blogspot.com/2015/11/ham-spread.html

Enjoy!!

Journal Prompt 23 Sep 2020 ~ Six Words

Describe your life or current situation using exactly six words.

In My World it is actually Wednesday . . . so here's my six word Wednesday . . . 

Working Wednesday Dreaded To Do List

Goodreads 2020 Update: Books You Need to Read to Be Considered Well-Read ~ Charlotte's Web

Charlotte's Web

by

E. B. White

Is there anyone out there who has never read Charlotte's Web?

This children's classic is a wonderful read for every age. It is the story of a runt pig named Wilbur who is being raised for slaughter. A little spider named Charlotte begins spinning words and phrases in her web that make Wilbur so special that the farmer decides to keep him.

Charlotte’s Web is not only a story about friendship, but also about a story about words and the difference they can make in someone's life. When fall arrives Charlotte knows her life is nearly done. She gives Wilbur her egg sac to look after.

The last lines of the book . . .

"Wilbur never forgot Charlotte. Although he loved her children and grandchildren dearly, none of the new spiders ever quite took her place in his heart. She was in a class by herself. It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both."

Big List of Canadian Artists and Bands ~ Aldo Nova

 

Aldo Nova (born Aldo Caporuscio on November 13, 1956) is a Canadian guitarist, keyboardist, vocalist, songwriter, and producer. Nova initially gained fame with his self-titled debut album Aldo Nova in 1982 which climbed to Billboard's number 8 position, and its accompanying single, "Fantasy", which climbed to number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100.  

If you want to know more about Aldo Nova click here.

Scrapbooking Challenge 19 Sep 2020: Learning

Scrapbook a layout about something you enjoy learning.

Don't scrapbook?  Journal about this or create a page in your art journal.  Just get creative!

MOOCs are amazing . . . Massive Open Online Course . . . but I think my addiction to them may be part of the reason why my DTDL . . . Dreaded To Do List . . . gets so far behind sometimes.  

101 Interesting Facts About Canada ~ The Baseball Glove

Was the baseball glove invented in Canada?

Arthur Albert Irwin (February 14, 1858 – July 16, 1921), nicknamed "Doc", "Sandy", "Cutrate" or "Foxy", was a Canadian-American shortstop and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) during the late nineteenth century. Arthur Irwin was born in 1858 in Toronto, Ontario, to an Irish blacksmith and a Canadian mother. As a child, he moved with his family to Boston and attended school there.

While playing with Providence in 1883, Irwin broke the third and fourth fingers of his left hand. Not wanting to miss any games, he obtained an over-sized buckskin driving glove, padded it and sewed the third and fourth fingers together to allow space for bandages. He used the glove even after his fingers healed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Irwin

Was the first baseball game played in Canada and not Cooperstown, New York?

Good question, and one the folks in the southern Ontario community of Beachville have been asking for some time. Some fans may not know it, but the first recorded game of baseball took place in Canada, a year before Abner Doubleday supposedly "invented" the game in Cooperstown, New York.

Beachville, about 40 kilometres east of London, Ontario, boasts of itself as the home of baseball in Canada because it was here on June 4, 1838 that a game of baseball, or at least a form of the game as we now know it, took place in front of several spectators.  I was at the Beachville District Museum a few years ago and wrote about it here.

The basis of this claim lies with a lengthy letter published May 5, 1886 in the Philadelphia-based Sporting Life magazine. The letter, entitled "A Game of Long-ago Which Closely Resembled Our Present National Game," was written by Dr. Adam Ford of Denver, Colorado, who had grown up in Beachville.

What sets Ford's letter apart from other reminiscences of early ball games is details on the date, the way the game was played, and the names of players who participated. Most historians agree baseball flourished before 1840 and that Doubleday's claim of invention is pure bunk, but there seems to be little evidence on specific dates and places of the games.

Although Ford's original letter is in the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, officials there have never formally recognized the validity of his claim for Beachville.

Research of county records and tombstones in the area indicate most of the players would have been boys and men 15 to 24 at the time of the game, again making his recollections believable, say the researchers.

It's Ford's letter, which also includes a diagram of a five-sided playing field, that sets down for the first time the specifics of a game. There were distinguishing features to Ford's game: there was territory to show where fair and foul balls were, or "fair hit" and "no hit" as he called them. And the number of men on each side had to be equal before a game could be played, usually between seven and 12 players per team.

In 1988, a stamp was issued recognizing 150 years of the sport in Canada. As well, a match was held that year between a team in Beachville and one from Cooperstown, playing by the rules outlined by Ford. http://www.craigmarlatt.com/canada/symbols_facts&lists/baseball.html

Food Food Food ~ Sushi

Oh how I love sushi!!  I don't believe I've ever turned down an invitation to go to a sushi restaurant.  The best way to eat sushi is with a group so you can order a wide variety to share and enjoy.  

Every once in a while when I am desperate for sushi I will purchase grocery store sushi even though it just isn't the same.

Can you see just how "thrilled" Hal is to eat sushi.  He puts up with it once in a while because he knows it makes me happy.

I have no recipes for sushi since I don't think it looks like fun to make.  

Fall 2020 Craft Room Organization Challenge ~ Challenge #3 Photos

It's Time for Challenge #3 

So, your paper is beautifully organized, your scraps carefully stashed or purged, and your desk is gleaming! You are starting to get organized. Doesn't it make you feel creative? Don't you want to get cropping? Well, you CAN'T scrapbook without PHOTOS!

Our third challenge is to organize our photos. Here is an excellent article to get you thinking about how to organize those precious photos before we start to S.P.A.C.E. them:

https://www.scrapbook.com/articles/organizing-and-storing-your-photos-and-negatives

Please take a moment and read this excerpt from Design Strategies for Scrapbookers:

Photo preservation begins with safe storage. Remove photos stored in the old magnetic albums immediately. A magnetic album has cardboard pages with adhesive on them and a plastic sheet to cover the photos. The adhesives and plastics in these albums are highly acidic and can ruin your photos very quickly.

To safely remove photos from magnetic albums you can use:

1. Dental floss – Slip a piece of dental floss under one corner of the photo and use a gentle back-and-forth sawing motion to lift the photo.

2. Blow Dryer – Set your blow dryer on low heat to soften the page’s glue and then carefully lift the photo.

3. Spatula/pan scraper – Use a thin spatula to slowly pry photos loose.

4. Undu Adhesive Remover – Undu neutralizes adhesive’s stickiness, making photos easy to remove. It dries clear and will not damage photos or smudge most inks.

5. I have heard about freezing the pages first but I’ve never tried it so use at your own risk.

Use an acid-free photo box with dividers or an archival quality photo album for storage. Organize photos chronologically or by theme, event or subject depending on how you scrapbook. Write notes on the dividers or on the back of the photo for later reference. Don’t use ballpoint pen to write on backs of photos. Buy a special photo-marking pen or pencil. 

Always save original photos if they are one of a kind and can’t be replaced. This is especially important with heritage photos. Instead, scan and print new copies, storing the original for safe-keeping. If you are determined to use the original, use photo corners to adhere these precious photos to your layouts so they can be safely removed.

I just had a reminder of this rule recently. I’ve been working on a family tree album and needed some baby pictures. I scrapbooked all my baby pictures when I first started scrapbooking many years ago. And that was the problem. I had cut them all in shapes and used decorative scissors on them. Not one was complete enough for me to scan and reprint. My mom and aunt are going through their old photos in hopes they have some originals. So I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to save original photos. Scan the originals and have them reprinted.

Don’t forget to properly store and organize negatives. Plastic negative sleeves will hold 4-7 negatives, depending on brand and the size of film. If you have older negatives in smaller sizes (such as 110) you can easily create subdivisions in the sleeves with a sewing machine and clear nylon thread. You can store negative sleeves in a 3-ring binder or folder. Label each sleeve with the date and/or subject.

Digital photos have their own set of rules. Always back up your computer files, including your digital photo files because computers crash and hard drives fail. Store a back up copy of your photos and important documents to an external hard drive. You can also download your digital photos to CD’s or USB drives although there is some debate as to how long they last. There are many online sites that you can save your photos to as well.

When you are looking for a safe place to store your memorabilia, photographs, negatives, supplies and albums, keep in mind that they will do best in a dry, cool place, out of direct sunlight. 

BUY

SORT: 

Gather together all of your photos, and sort them into categories that make sense:
TRASH (it's okay to throw out photos with bad colour, expression, composition. Why keep them? You're not going to scrapbook them)
TO SCRAPBOOK (the shots you know you are going to use)
TO STORE (photos that need to be kept, but aren't necessarily going to be going into your scrapbooks)
TO GIVE AWAY (doubles that you want to send to friends and family)

PURGE: 

Throw out the TRASH pile. Put the TO GIVE AWAY photos in envelopes and mail them to friends/family, or put them in your car so you can drop them off the next time you visit. Do not leave them in your studio, or they will creep back into your organized space.

ASSIGN: 

Sort the TO STORE and TO SCRAPBOOK groups of photos into a system that makes sense to you:
Chronologically
Holiday/Event/Vacation
Person

CONTAINERIZE: 

Now it's time to decide how you want to store your photos. Perhaps you want to put your TO STORE photos in acid free envelopes or albums. Perhaps you want to put your TO SCRAPBOOK photos into photo storage boxes, or accordion folders.

Make sure to label whatever storage containers you choose to use. Ideas for labelling include:
* buy premade labels that you can write on,
* create your own labels using a labeler or a cutting machine, or
* make labels with chalkboard vinyl so you can write on it with chalk and relabel later if necessary.
Whatever you decide, in the end all that matters is that you’ve got a label on it.

EQUALIZE: 

Next time you get new photos from the photo processor, spend a couple of minutes and put the photos where they belong: throw out the bad shots, give away the extras, put the keepers away in their album, and sort your photos for scrapbooking into their container.

We have started a Facebook group as a place for us to share photos, accomplishments, encouragement, tips and tricks as we work through the Fall 2020 Challenge. You are welcome to post before and after photos of your photo challenge there.

Goofreads 2020 Update of Books You Need to Read to Be Considered Well-Read #64 ~ Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

For daring to peer into the heart of an adulteress and enumerate its contents with profound dispassion, the author of Madame Bovary was tried for "offenses against morality and religion." What shocks us today about Flaubert's devastatingly realized tale of a young woman destroyed by the reckless pursuit of her romantic dreams is its pure artistry: the poise of its narrative structure, the opulence of its prose (marvelously captured in the English translation of Francis Steegmuller), and its creation of a world whose minor figures are as vital as its doomed heroine. In reading Madame Bovary, one experiences a work that remains genuinely revolutionary almost a century and a half after its creation. - Publisher

Madame Bovary, when it was first published in 1857, was considered very shocking. It is a gorgeously written story of Emma Bovary, an immature and romantic woman, who has grown up believing in a very romantic vision of how her life would be.  When her life turns out to be mundane she searches through spending and infidelity to find everything she had dreamed of as a child. Her quest for romance and passion ends up destroying the husband who has loved her no matter what and finally destroying herself. A great cautionary tale of the times with a valid truth for today.

I wasn't far into reading Gustave Flaubert's masterpiece when I realized that at some point in my foggy past I've read it before. It didn't stop me from reading it again.

I have to say the characters are annoying as hell . . . LOL . . . but the writing is like poetry, flowing and a pleasure to read. Flaubert has an amazing ability to give dimension to all his characters. There is a great deal of underlying humour and sarcasm as well.

Madame Bovary is a must read for anyone who loves the beauty of words.

Big List of Canadian Artists and Bands ~ Alannah Myles

 I know this one!!!  Yay!!!

Alannah Myles (née Byles; born December 25, 1958) is a Canadian singer/songwriter who has won both a Grammy and a Juno Award for her recording of the song “Black Velvet”. The song was a top-ten hit in Canada and a number one hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 1990 according to Wikipedia.

Blogger doesn't seem to want me to embed a video so here is the link for Myles' Black Velvet:

https://youtu.be/tkXNEmtf9tk

Scrapbooking Challenge: History

Scrapbook a layout connecting history to your life today.

Don't scrapbook?  Journal about this or create a page in your art journal.  Just get creative!

101 Interesting Facts About Canada ~ Average Household Size

According to  the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD):

1. Canada had the 7th highest female employment rate in 2009, at 69.1%, compared with an OECD average of 59.6%. 

2. Canada’s fertility rate is 1.66 children per women, which is just below the OECD average of 1.74, and well below the population replacement rate (2.1). 

3. Canada has the 11th highest child poverty rate among OECD countries, at 14.8%, which is above the OECD average of 12.7% 

4. The size of the average household in Canada is 2.5, just below the OECD average of 2.6 persons per household. 

5. Canada performs well in PISA’s reading literacy scale among 15 year olds, and had the 3rd highest score among OECD countries in 2009, at 524 points.

More things they have to say if you are interested:

Canada could step up its efforts to provide more support to parents with young children Across a set of key family indicators Canada scores around the OECD average. Fertility rates (1.7 children per women), gender pay gaps (20% at median earnings) and child poverty (at almost 15%) are close to the OECD average Female employment is higher than most OECD countries and children’s educational achievement as measured by PISA reading literacy values is amongst the highest in the OECD. However, at around 40% of children under 6, enrolment in formal childcare lags behind OECD standards. Canada is a federal country and each province has different policies in this area. Of the Provinces, Québec arguably has the most comprehensive mix of family-friendly policies, including childcare and out-of-schoolhours care supports, in-work benefits for sole-parents and couples with kids, and paternity leave. Employment is key to reducing poverty. In Canada, poverty rates among household with children are higher than OECD averages if both parents are not in work: 85% of jobless households with children is poor compared with 53% across the OECD. Poverty risks for one-earner families with children are lower, but still substantial at 29% compared to an OECD average of 18%. Sole-parent employment rates are high in Canada: 80% in 2008 compared with 75% across the OECD. Nevertheless, poverty risks for sole parents remain high: 42% compared to an OECD average of 31%.

Further strengthening investment in formal childcare would both reduce costs of childcare to parents and increase the quality of service, with its positive effects on child development. Affordability and quality in childcare overall in Canada is an issue. For example, after childcare costs in a typical family with two working parents who earn a total of 200% of average household earning with two young children in Ontario, just below 40% of gross earnings is effectively available for consumption; for a similar typical OECD family this just below 50%. More recently Ontario has introduced policies to reduce childcare costs for low income families. Particularly vulnerable are sole parents, whose childcare costs are amongst the highest in the OECD. Recent OECD work shows that in Canada full-time maternal employment in the first 6 months of a child's life is not negatively associated with children’s cognitive or behavioural development. Furthermore, for children from disadvantaged backgrounds, including many children in sole-parent and/or low-income families, parental employment combined with high-quality childcare may have positive effects. Child and family outcomes in Canada could be improved, if affordable and quality assured childcare services during the early years and throughout compulsory school where more widely available.

Food Food Food ~ Corn Dogs

Today's food is Corn Dogs.  I like them.  I don't love them.  But I would never turn my nose up if someone offered me one.

How do you feel about these "carny" treats?

 

I've never made them except from a box from the freezer section of my local grocery store so I don't have a recipe to share.  If you have a great corn dog recipe, please share it in the comments below.  Thanks!

Six Words 7 Sep 2020

Six Words!

Describe your life or current situation using exactly six words.

I really love fall sweater weather.

Goodreads 2020: Books You Need to Read to Be Considered Well-Rated ~ b

#24 The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Canadian Artists and Bands ~ Alanis Morissette

 Finally . . . a Canadian artist I really know . . . Alanis Morissette!

Alanis Nadine Morissette (born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice, Morissette began her career in Canada in the early 1990s with two mildly successful dance-pop albums. Afterward, as part of a recording deal, she moved to Holmby Hills, Los Angeles. In 1995, she released Jagged Little Pill, a more rock-oriented album which sold more than 33 million copies globally and is her most critically acclaimed work to date. Her follow-up album, Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, was released in 1998.

Morissette assumed creative control and producing duties for her subsequent studio albums, including Under Rug Swept (2002), So-Called Chaos (2004), Flavors of Entanglement (2008), and Havoc and Bright Lights (2012). Her ninth album, Such Pretty Forks in the Road, was released in 2020. Morissette has sold more than 75 million records worldwide and has been dubbed the "Queen of Alt-Rock Angst" by Rolling Stone. ~ Wikipedia

Scrapbook Challenge: Travel

Scrapbook a layout about a place you are about to visit, just visited, or wish you could visit.

Don't scrapbook?  Journal about this or create a page in your art journal.  Just get creative!

One Word 3 Sep 2020 ~ Bright

One Word: Bright . . . in one minute

Okay . . . setting the timer for one minute . . . 

Bright.  I am sometimes very bright.  I have clever thoughts.  Witty conversation.  And some days it is a miracle if I can walk and chew gum at the same time.  I have this little problem called "fibro fog" which makes my life very entertaining . . . and frustrating . . . 

My favourite saying . . . you aren't the brightest crayon in the box.

Okay I cheated.  The timer went off in the middle of entertaining . . . LOL

101 Interesting Facts About Canada ~ Watching TV

According to my list of 101 Interesting Facts About Canada, the average Canadian watches 21 hours of TV each week.

I could not find where that statistic may have come from but I did find that . . .

While the majority of Canadians have adopted Internet-based video services, traditional television viewing still far exceeds viewing of Internet-based television. In 2017, Canadians 18+ watched on average a total 30.4 hours of television per week, with traditional television representing 89% of the viewing and Internet-based television only 11%. (source)

That's more than a whole day each week spent staring at a television! Wow! I'm not exactly surprised since I'm married to a man that switches between TV and YouTube for hours each day.

Food Food Food ~ Steak

#5 on the Food Food Food list is Steak!  I love a good steak . . . and by that I mean grilled to medium rare.

Here are a few tested recipes using steak.  The flank steak and steak and onion pie are my two favourites.

Healthy Grilled Steak
https://inmyworld-pam.blogspot.com/2019/04/healthy-grilled-steak.html

Pan Broiled Steak
https://inmyworld-pam.blogspot.com/2018/10/pan-broiled-steak.html

Kansas City Steak Strips
https://inmyworld-pam.blogspot.com/2018/10/kansas-city-steak-strips.html

French Style Flank Steak
https://inmyworld-pam.blogspot.com/2018/02/french-style-flank-steak.html

Steak and Onion Pie
https://inmyworld-pam.blogspot.com/2016/06/comfort-food-steak-and-onion-pie.html

Winners from the End Of Summer Social Bubble Crop