Sunday, January 31, 2021

Canadian Music ~ Annabelle Chvostek

I just realized this is the 26th Canadian musician I have highlighted . . . and I'm still in the A's!!!



 Annabelle Chvostek is a Juno nominated singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose musical achievements range from folk to jazz to indie-pop. She's composed music for dance and film, arranged and conducted choral performances, and was once in the band 'The Wailin' Jennys'.  Annabelle's upcoming sixth album brings together her Canadian singer-songwriter tradition and the nostalgia of her East European heritage with a long-standing connection to Uruguay, which began over a decade ago through her Uruguayan spouse.  (https://annabellemusic.com/)



Saturday, January 30, 2021

Thursday, January 28, 2021

Journal Prompt 28 Jan 2021 ~ Rock Star?

 If you could join any past or current music group which would you want to join?



101 Interesting Facts About Canada ~ Guess who invented IMAX?


I love seeing the movie about Niagara Falls at Imax Niagara.  It was breathtaking.

IMAX Niagara: Miracles, Myths & Magic


Did you know a Canadian was one of the co-inventors of IMAX?

Ivan Graeme Ferguson CM (born 7 October 1929 in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian filmmaker and inventor who co-invented IMAX. Ferguson was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 1993. He graduated from the University of Toronto with a bachelor's degree.

Ferguson was one of four co-founders of IMAX Corporation and thereby one of the creators of the IMAX. A film-maker from his childhood in the 1930s, he was still making films in 2010, with an executive producer credit on Hubble 3D. In 1971, Ferguson produced, directed and shot North of Superior, one of the first official IMAX films, which is still shown on IMAX screens.

Wednesday, January 27, 2021

Food Food Food ~ Lasagna

Who doesn't love lasagna?



Lasagne, or the singular lasagna, is an Italian dish made of stacked layers of thin flat pasta alternating with fillings such as ragù (ground meats and tomato sauce) and other vegetables, cheese (which may include ricotta and parmesan), and seasonings and spices such as garlic, oregano and basil. The dish may be topped with melted grated mozzarella cheese. Typically, the cooked pasta is assembled with the other ingredients and then baked in an oven. The resulting lasagne casserole is cut into single-serving square portions.

Lasagne originated in Italy during the Middle Ages and have traditionally been ascribed to the city of Naples. The first recorded recipe was set down in the early 14th-century Liber de Coquina (The Book of Cookery). It bore only a slight resemblance to the later traditional form of lasagne, featuring a fermented dough flattened into thin sheets (lasagne), boiled, sprinkled with cheese and spices, and then eaten with a small pointed stick. Recipes written in the century following the Liber de Coquina recommended boiling the pasta in chicken broth and dressing it with cheese and chicken fat. In a recipe adapted for the Lenten fast, walnuts were recommended.

The traditional lasagne of Naples, lasagne di carnevale, are layered with local sausage, small fried meatballs, hard-boiled eggs, ricotta and mozzarella cheeses, and sauced with a Neapolitan ragù, a meat sauce. Lasagne al forno, layered with a thicker ragù and Béchamel sauce, and corresponding to the most common version of the dish outside Italy, are traditionally associated with the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. In other regions, lasagne can be made with various combinations of ricotta or mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce, meats (e.g., ground beef, pork or chicken), and vegetables (e.g., spinach, zucchini, olives, mushrooms), and the dish is typically flavoured with wine, garlic, onion, and oregano. In all cases, the lasagne are oven-baked (al forno).

Traditionally, pasta dough prepared in Southern Italy used semolina and water; in the northern regions, where semolina was not available, flour and eggs were used. In modern Italy, since the only type of wheat allowed for commercially sold pasta is durum wheat, commercial lasagne are made of semolina from durum wheat.

In the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, and especially in its capital, Bologna, layers of lasagne are traditionally green (the color is obtained by mixing spinach or other vegetables in the dough) and served with ragù (a thick sauce made from onions, carrots, celery, finely ground pork and beef, butter, and tomatoes), bechamel and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.  (from Wikipedia)

Here are some of my favourite recipes:


Journal Prompt 27 Jan 2021 ~ Languages

 How many languages do you speak?



Monday, January 25, 2021

Book Review ~ The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry


How many times in my life have I read this story?  Or read a similar story?  Or seen one version or another in a television show or movie?  Too many times to count and the reason is clear.  It is a simple, romantic story of a poor young couple who sacrifice for each other.  I will probably read this story in some form or another for the rest of my life for isn't the true nature of love to sacrifice for each other.

Journal Prompt 25 Jan 2021 ~ Intelligent

 Who is the most intelligent person you know?



Sunday, January 24, 2021

Canadian Music ~ Anita Best

 


Anita Best C.M. is a teacher, broadcaster, and well-known singer from the Atlantic province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.  

With Genevieve Lehr, Best collected the songs for Come and I Will Sing You: A Newfoundland Songbook, spending years travelling around the province collecting songs from anyone who cared to sing.

In 2015 the Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Arts Society awarded her their Lifetime Achievement Award.

Best was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 2011. The citation read, in part, "As a singer, storyteller and archivist, she has been active in collecting and performing the songs and tales of her ancestors, ensuring this priceless cultural legacy is not lost to future generations."



Saturday, January 23, 2021

Scrapbooking How To ~ Saving Money on Cardstock #1

 


Note:  I mentioned that I would also talk about the 1 to 11 cuts . . . and forgot!  I think you get the idea though.  

Friday, January 22, 2021

Thursday, January 21, 2021

Journal Prompt 21 Jan 2021 ~ Never Again

 What is one thing you will never do again?



101 Interesting Facts About Canada ~ Guess who has the Second Largest Rodent in the World?

 


The largest rodent in North America is the beaver, which boasts a body length that ranges from 29 to 35 inches, making it the second-largest rodent in the world behind the capybara.

Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. Beavers are the second-largest living rodents after the capybaras. They have stout bodies with large heads, long chisel-like incisors, brown or gray fur, hand-like front feet, webbed back feet and flat, scaly tails. They are herbivorous and consume tree bark, aquatic plants, grasses and sedges.

Beavers build dams and lodges using tree branches, vegetation, rocks and mud; they chew down trees for building material. Dams impound water and lodges serve as shelters. Their infrastructure creates wetlands used by many other species, and because of their effect on other organisms in the ecosystem, they are considered a keystone species. Adult males and females live in monogamous pairs with their offspring. 

Wednesday, January 20, 2021

Food Food Food ~ Deer Meat



Deer meat is often referred to as venison.

Venison originally meant the meat of a game animal but now refers primarily to the meat of elk or deer. Venison can be used to refer to any part of the animal, so long as it can be consumed, including the internal organs (Wikipedia)

The last time I had venison was at my favourite restaurant which has since closed, the victim of a pandemic and a crooked landlord,  It was a juicy venison burger with our homemade bacon onion jam, smoked Gouda, lettuce, tomato and Santa's secret sauce.  It was amazing!

I understand venison can be a bit tricky to cook properly so I prefer to leave that to the experts.


Journal Prompt 20 Jan 2021 ~ Who Knows You the Best?

 Who knows you the best?



Monday, January 18, 2021

Book Review: Vanity Fair ~ b




I read Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray.  That's right . . . all 950 pages complete and unabridged paper back book pages.  I love Thackeray's middle name and love love love the names he chose to use for his characters.  The characters are so off the wall and yet identifiable.  

The story is about Becky Sharp and Amelia Sedley, two young ladies making their way in British society during the Napoleonic War.  First published in 1847-8 this novel is a satire of society in early 19th century England.  

Vanity Fair is so fun and amusing and biting and ridiculous that I am actually sad to be done reading it.

Journal Prompt 18 Jan 2021 ~ Favourite Book

 What is your favourite book to read?



These are two of my favourite books.

Sunday, January 17, 2021

Canadian Music ~ Angela Hewitt


Angela Hewitt, CC OBE (born July 26, 1958) is a Canadian classical pianist. She is best known for her Bach interpretations.

Hewitt was born in Ottawa, Ontario, daughter of the Yorkshire-born Godfrey Hewitt (thus she also has British nationality) who was choirmaster at Christ Church Cathedral in Ottawa.  She began piano studies at the age of three with her mother. She earned a scholarship at the age of five. She studied violin with Walter Prystawski, recorder with Wolfgang Grunsky, and ballet with Nesta Toumine in Ottawa. Her first full-length recital was at the age of nine, in The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, where she studied from 1964 to 1973 with Earle Moss and Myrtle Guerrero. She then went on to be the student of French pianist Jean-Paul Sevilla at the University of Ottawa.

In 2000, she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada (OC).  In 2002, Hewitt was awarded the National Arts Centre Award, a companion award to the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards.

Hewitt was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) on June 17, 2006 and Gramophone Artist of the Year in 2006. She received the MIDEM Classical Award for Instrumentalist of the Year in 2010, and was awarded the first ever BBC Radio 3 Listener's Award (Royal Philharmonic Society Awards) in 2003. She is also a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and has honorary degrees from the University of Ottawa, the University of Toronto, Queen's University (Kingston), The Open University (Milton Keynes, UK), Mount Saint Vincent University (Halifax), the University of Saskatchewan and Carleton University (Ottawa).

On December 30, 2015, Hewitt was promoted to Companion of the Order of Canada, the highest grade of the honour.





Friday, January 15, 2021

Journal Prompt 15 Jan 2021 ~ Favourite Movie

 What was the last movie you watched? What did you think of it?


It was absolutely adorable with an excellent a-ha moment at the end.





Thursday, January 14, 2021

Journal Prompt 14 Jan 2021 ~ Hard Work

 What motivates you to work hard?



101 Interesting Facts About Canada ~ Canada has won 501 medals in the Olympics


Canada has won 501 medals in the Olympics.

Gold:  137    

Silver:  166

Bronze:  198

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/olympic-medals-by-country

Clara Hughes is the most decorated Canadian Olympian.  She's the only athlete in history to win multiple medals at both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. Her six career medals ties her with speed skating teammate Cindy Klassen as Canada's most-decorated Olympian.

https://www.cbc.ca/sports/2.10000/butler-iwd-female-athletes-you-should-know-mar-7-1.5490141

Wednesday, January 13, 2021

Journal Prompt 13 Jan 2021 ~ Chores

Which would you rather do: wash dishes, mow the lawn, clean the bathroom, or vacuum the house?


Is there a fifth option?

Scrapbooking with Eyelets

 


My Close To My Heart web site https://inmyworld.closetomyheart.ca/ Order any of my books from https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/afresh... Check out my blog at http://inmyworld-pam.blogspot.com/

Food Food Food ~ Cucumbers

I have a love hate relationship with cucumbers.  I'm not crazy about them.  I like them in tzatziki, as pickles, in sushi, and in veggie sandwiches.  But that's about it.  I will eat them to be polite.  But in my house I don't eat cucumbers.


So, as you can imagine, I have no cucumber recipes.  Please share your recipes.


Tuesday, January 12, 2021

Monday, January 11, 2021

Journal Prompt 11 Jan 2021 ~ A Good Friend

 How can you tell whether or not someone will be a good friend?



Book Review: Her Father's House by Belva Plain


I am a huge fan of Belva Plain. I have read so many of her books. They are always filled with so much colour and emotion that they are near impossible to put down. My favourite of all time is Evergreen.

I thought Belva Plain may be slipping because the beginning of Her Father's House has characters that don't seem to be totally real. It turns out they aren't. Life collides with the two main characters, Donald and Lillian Wolfe, and we begin to see who they really are.

When Lillian threatens to take their daughter out of the country, Donald feels he must take action. Donald Wolfe drives out of NYC with baby Tina on a Sunday afternoon, and several days later, Jim Fuller arrives in a small town in Georgia with his young daughter Laura. They build a new life in rural Georgia. Jim refusing to leave the area even for vacations in order to hide their past and protect Laura from her mother's greed, carelessness and control. Jim finally relents so he can go see Laura graduate college and all Jim's carefully placed lies begin to crumble.

This book is totally engaging in true Belva Plain style.

Sunday, January 10, 2021

Canadian Music ~ Angela Desveaux


Angela Desveaux is a Canadian singer-songwriter, based in Montreal, Quebec, whose style blends a diverse mix of pop, rock and country influences.

Raised on Cape Breton Island, Desveaux later moved to Montreal and began performing as a vocalist with local country and folk bands, and released a self-titled independent album in 2005. She subsequently met Howard Bilerman, a producer and musician associated with Arcade Fire, who helped her to assemble a band and to record her 2006 album Wandering Eyes.

She released her third album, The Mighty Ship, in 2008.[2]

Desveaux's supporting band currently consists of Julie Doiron on guitar, Eric Digras on bass and Gilles Castilloux on drums.  (Wikipedia)



Saturday, January 9, 2021

The Art of Scraplifting

The Art of Scraplifting



To be an efficient scraplifter, you must first admit your addiction. I used to feel shame that my layouts were not nearly as inspiring or wonderfully designed as those seen in magazines, until I discovered that you could ‘borrow’ someone else’s brilliant design work. Here are a few tips that I have discovered:

Visit the many websites available, and by right clicking on your mouse, save the picture onto your hard drive in a special folder you created just for scraplifted ideas. It is very helpful if you have a large hard drive to hold the many pictures you will collect. 

Join one (or more)of the many online scrapbooking groups that are for scrapbooking addicts like me. Many of these also have lots of layouts to inspire you to ‘borrow’. 

You must also be a frequent visitor to your local – and favourite – scrapbook store. The store is a treasure trove of ideas, classes, and of course, supplies. 

Collect sketches whenever possible. Pagemaps offers free sketches each month. Get yourself a large binder to collect such goodies and refer to it whenever you feel stuck or just need some inspiration. Keep a notebook in your purse for when you see a design in a magazine, and you have no money to buy it, to make a quick sketch and write yourself notes so at a later date you can refer to it. Scour through yard sales for magazines that another avid scrapbooker is purging from their stash. You won’t feel as guilty pulling pages out of magazines that you bought for only a dollar or two.

When you find a layout you like first you should decide what attracted you like the layout:

o Is it the design of the layout? How can you incorporate it to the pictures you want to us?

o Is it the colours or paper used? You can usually find layouts with the newest papers you are stumped as to how to use

o Is it the embellishments? Often you can find out how to make your own embellishments that fit the layout you are working on

o Is it the journaling or title? Often a title pops off the page at you and makes you take a second look – go ahead and use it

o Is it the photograph? Can you take a picture similar and use it on a layout?

o Is it the number of photographs on the page(s)? It is sometimes a challenge to put more photos on a page and you can often find ideas that help with your layout

o Is it an idea for a layout you hadn’t thought about doing? Who would of thought of taking a picture of yourself driving your car and creating a layout on how busy Mom’s can be.

Once you have mastered copying someone else’s work, you will start to add your own take to the layout. You can change the size or number of pictures used, the number of papers you use may vary depending on your style, and the availability of the paper and embellishments that are shown. It won't be long before you too will create amazing layouts that will have people oohing and aahing over your albums. And when they tell you how talented you are, you can smile and say “Thank You”.

And if you are interested in purchasing any of my sketchbooks, please check out https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/afreshstart

Friday, January 8, 2021

Journal Prompt 8 Jan 2021 ~ Tasty

What is the best thing you’ve ever tasted?  Would you eat it every day if you could?



Thursday, January 7, 2021

101 Interesting Facts About Canada ~ Canada has More Lakes than Any Other Country

Did you know that Canada has more lakes than any other country?  I did.  I don't remember how I know it but I do . . . 


Canada has more lake area than any other country in the world, with 563 lakes larger than 100 square kilometres. The Great Lakes, straddling the Canada-U.S. boundary, contain 18% of the world's fresh lake water.  https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/water-overview/sources/lakes.html

In fact, Canada Has More Lakes than the Rest of the World Combined.  Almost 9% (or 891,163 square kilometres, to be exact) of Canada’s total surface area is covered by freshwater.  The largest lake in Canada is the aptly named Lake Superior, which covers 82,100 km squared. That’s a lot of water.  https://www.smallerearth.com/uk/blog/interesting-facts-about-canada-that-will-blow-your-mind

Why are there so many lakes in Canada?  The geological region with the most lakes is called the "Canadian Shield". ... All of those glacial pockmarks on the land filled with natural water from ground springs, rain, and waterways to become lakes. Today, many of these small lakes are connected via natural waterways, and form much larger lake and river systems.  https://www.quora.com/Why-does-Canada-have-so-many-small-lakes

Wednesday, January 6, 2021

Journal Prompt 6 Jan 2021 ~ Fitting In

 Have you ever gone somewhere where you didn’t quite fit in? 



Food Food Food ~ Chili

I love chili . . . vegetarian, beef, beans, no beans, chicken . . . the hearty flavour of this dish just makes me happy.  I generally serve chilis with sour cream, rice, corn bread, and shredded cheese.

According to Wikipedia, Chili con carne, meaning "chili with meat", is a spicy stew containing chili peppers, meat, and often tomatoes and beans. Other seasonings may include garlic, onions, and cumin. The dish originated in northern Mexico or southern Texas. 



Beef Chili https://inmyworld-pam.blogspot.com/2018/08/beef-chili.html

I eat this chili like its dessert.  That's just how good it is.  Vegetarian Chili with Tofu https://inmyworld-pam.blogspot.com/2018/02/vegetarian-chili-with-tofu.html

Chicken Con Pollo https://inmyworld-pam.blogspot.com/2017/11/chili-con-pollo.html

Pam's No Name Chili . . . so named because I generally buy no name products for this chili.  https://inmyworld-pam.blogspot.com/2016/12/pam-no-name-chili.html

Tuesday, January 5, 2021

Monday, January 4, 2021

Journal Prompt 4 Jan 2021 ~ Three Fears

 Three things you’d do if you weren’t so afraid.




https://daringtolivefully.com/journal-prompts

Sunday, January 3, 2021

Canadian Music ~ Ana Egge


Ana G. Egge (born September 20, 1976, in Estevan, Saskatchewan, Canada)[1] is a Canadian/American musician and songwriter.  Egge grew up the daughter of a teacher and a wheat farmer in Ambrose, North Dakota, and later moved to Silver City, New Mexico. She spent some of her childhood traveling back and forth from North Dakota to a hot springs commune in New Mexico.  When Egge was 16 years old, she began a one-year apprenticeship with luthier Don Musser, to build her own guitar which she still plays exclusively.  She currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Discography
Ana Egge (1994) -EP Grace Records
River Under the Road (1997) Lazy S.O.B.
Mile Marker (1999) Grace Records/Parkinsong
101 Sundays (2000) Sodarock/Grace Records
Out Past the Lights (2004) Grace Records/Parkinsong
Lazy Days (2007) Grace Records/Parkinsong
Road to My Love (2009) Grace Records/Parkinsong
Bad Blood (2011) Ammal Records
Bright Shadow (2015) Grace Records/Parkinsong
Say That Now with The Sentimentals (2016) Grace Records/Sentimental Music
We Are One (2018) single – StorySound Records
White Tiger (2018) StorySound Records
Is It The Kiss (2019) StorySound Records
We Are One (2019) live single feat. The Brooklyn Unitarian Choir – StorySound Records

Compilations
Forever Dusty – A Tribute to Dusty Springfield (1998): "Breakfast in Bed"
38 Songs of Hope – Parkingsong (2004): "Wedding Dress"'
My Old Man: A Tribute to Steve Goodman (2006): "Old Fashioned Girl"'




Friday, January 1, 2021