In My World

When my kids were little I often made hot chocolate using a homemade mix.  As the kids got older and life got busier it was just one of the lovely things that went by the wayside, replaced by the convenient. The other day I had a craving for chocolate but it was really humid out and I just didn't crave it bad enough to make me want to walk to the store.  Then I remembered the tin of cocoa in the cupboard. I had forgotten just how delicious homemade hot chocolate is.  Here's the recipe I used . . . Serves 2 2 tbsp and 2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder 1/4 cup and 2 tbsp white sugar 1/2 pinch salt 2 tbsp and 2 tsp boiling water 1-3/4 cups milk 1/4 tsp vanilla extract 1/4 cup half-and-half cream Combine the cocoa, sugar and salt in a saucepan.  Blend in the boiling water.  Bring this mixture to an easy boil while you stir.  Simmer and stir for about 2 minutes.  Watch that it doesn't scorch.  Stir in milk and heat until very hot, but do n...

  Kingston author Armand Garnet Ruffo's staggeringly powerful poetry collection,  The Dialogues: The Song of Francis Pegahmagabow.   brings to life not only the story of the famed WWI Indigenous sniper, but also the complexities of telling Indigenous stories.  From Wasauksing (Parry Island) to the trenches of WWI to the stage, Ruffo moves seamlessly through time in these poems, taking the reader on a captivating journey through Pegahmagabow’s story and onto the creation of  Sounding Thunder , the opera based on his life. Throughout, Ruffo uses the Ojibwe concept of two-eyed seeing, which combines the strengths of western and Indigenous ways of knowing, and invites the reader to do the same, particularly through the inclusion of the Anishinaabemowin language within the collection.  These are poems that challenge western conventions of thinking, that celebrate hope and that show us a new way to see the world. More about Armand Garnet Ruffo: Armand G...

Makes 2 servings Prep 10 minutes / Cooking 20 minutes 280 calories per serving 1 leek, white and light green parts only, cleaned 1 tbsp olive oil, plus more for drizzling 1/2 tsp dried oregano salt to taste ground pepper to taste 2 slices country bread, lightly toasted 45 g brie cheese, thinly sliced 1 tomato, Roma type, thinly sliced Prepare the leeks. Cut off the dark green tops then thinly slice the white and pale-green parts crosswise. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the leeks and oregano, then season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until the leeks are very tender and just beginning to brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Arrange the toasted bread slices on a baking sheet. Distributing the ingredients equally, layer the bread slices with the cheese, cooked leeks, and sliced tomatoes. Drizzle with olive oil, then add salt and pepper to taste. Broil at 10 cm from the heat until the cheese has melted and the tomatoes st...

1/2 cup pure maple syrup 2 tbsp butter Place both ingredients in a pan and bring to a boil.  Boil for 5-7 minutes until mixture reaches 225-230 degrees. Place snow in pan or bowl, and drizzle hot syrup over the snow.  The snow cools the candy pretty quickly.  As soon as the candy is cool enough to eat, it's ready.

Sunset Lake Resort, is an equally captivating narrative full of thrilling twists, exciting reveals, and gorgeously drawn women characters. When Ruby’s father passes away, but fails to leave her the millions some expected, Steve, her husband of 35 years, moves out. Alone, but in control of her own affairs for the first time in her life, Ruby is torn between panic and relief. When she investigates the remote beach cabin her father had left her instead of his estate, she discovers a dilapidated beach resort in a remote location, seemingly untouched since its former owner, Cecelia Johansen, died under mysterious circumstances. Despite the condition of the property and rumours it is haunted, Ruby decides to move to Sunset Lake Resort, determined to find out why her father bought it, and why he left it to her. Sunset Lake Resort is now available wherever books are sold. @joannejacksonauthor @river_street_writes @stonehousepublishing #canlit #canadianbooks #bookishcanadians #bookstagramcanada...

What memories are brought by the smell of pine needles? When I smell pine needles I think of outdoors, of course.   I think of Christmas. It is only since Hal and I became empty nesters that we stopped having a real Christmas tree.   Pine needles also remind me of rosemary. I love rosemary in cooking, especially with roasted potatoes.

Blackfriars Bridge in London, Ontario, is a wrought iron bowstring arch through truss bridge, crossing the North Thames River. The bridge was constructed in 1875 and carries single-lane vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians from Blackfriars Street to Ridout Street North. At 216 feet (66 meters) it is the longest working span of that kind in North America. The Blackfriars Bridge is the oldest wrought iron bridge in North America still used for vehicular traffic. Although originally two-lane, due to the weight and frequency of modern traffic, the Blackfriars is at present two-way but single-lane.  The Blackfriars Bridge was manufactured by the Wrought Iron Bridge Company (WIBC) of Canton, Ohio, although erected by local London contractor Isaac Crouse. The bridge is the successor to a series of fixed, wooden structures at the site since 1831, which were damaged mainly by spring freshets of the river. It is the northernmost and oldest of a company of eight bridges of different ages, const...

Today's Prompt: Cut-throat Have you ever played a simple board game and it turned everyone into cut-throat die-hards? We were at my older son's home for a family evening.  My younger son and my three grandsons decided to play Risk, a favourite game which I haven't played in years and years.  The boys were scheming and making deals with each other.  I said, "This isn't a game . . . THIS IS WAR!!!!!"  LOL!  I didn't win.

Write a list of songs that make you feel happy. Add them to your playlist or use some of the lyrics in your journaling or scrapbooking.

When I first turned this movie I nearly turned it back off again because there was some pretty offensive (to me) language. Not to say that the language wasn't appropriate in the situation. I just have a lot of trouble hearing certain words. Fortunately I didn't turn it off because I found myself involved in a lovely and touching movie about an old-world grandmother trying to raise three teenagers on her own. Apparently none of the actors were professionals which really added to the sweetness and reality of the film. And apparently this film won several noteworthy prizes. I'm not surprised. A film that is this "different" is hard to forget.

One Word Wednesday: Sweet I love sweets.  Chocolate.  Cheesecake.  Fruit.  Ice Cream.  But it doesn't take much for a sugar overload.   I don't usually crave sweets.  Just once in a while or when they are right in front of me. We were at a bookstore in Williamsford ON a couple of years ago and I managed to get the most beautiful butter tart I think I've ever had in my entire life.  The last couple of times I was there they were sold out.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Mary Jane Bunnett, OC (born October 22, 1956) is a Canadian musician and educator. A soprano saxophonist, flautist and bandleader, she is especially known for performing Afro-Cuban jazz. She travels regularly to Cuba to perform with Cuban musicians. She changed her instruments, from pursuing her career "as a classical pianist...at age 20 to jazz and to flute and soprano saxophone." Bunnett founded and leads an all-female Afro-Cuban/jazz group, Maqueque. Its other members are: Dánae Olano (vocals, piano), Yissy Garcia (drums), Magdelys Savigne (vocals, batá drums, congas); Elizabeth Rodriguez (vocals, violin), and Celia Jiménez (vocals, bass). The group has won one Juno Award (Best Group Jazz Album of the Year in 2014 for its debut CD) and garnered two Grammy nominations, while Bunnett herself has won four additional Juno Awards. In 2004, Bunnett was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada, the highest civilian honour given in this cou...

  What was the best vacation you ever took and why?

  Borrowed Memories is an absorbing story that explores the life of Ivan Pyefinch, a freelance translator, who is the self-appointed custodian of family memory. He is faced with the challenges of caregiving for elderly parents and grapples with the question of how much of his life is too much to give up to this end, and for how long. Ivan Pyefinch moves home to the Thousand Islands for the summer to care for his aging parents and escape the sting of his failed marriage. His father Horace, a former World War II pilot, is fighting now to regain his driver’s license, while his mother Aida wages a losing battle against Alzheimer’s. They are living on borrowed time, and Ivan is there to lend them some more. Enter Mia Hakim, a Jewish filmmaker in Quebec who has always preferred the memories of others, even as she dreams of her Sephardic roots. She plans a research trip to Tunisia in search of her lost childhood and enlists Ivan to translate her scenario. When Mia arrives unannounced at ...

What's the best dessert you've ever had?

   Highlights: Explore one of Ontario’s most architecturally significant historic railway stations Visit the North America Railway Hall of Fame exhibits Discover the legacy of the Canada Southern Railway Company Enjoy guided tours, special events, and family-friendly programming Located in the heart of St. Thomas, near downtown attractions and dining Step into a true landmark of St. Thomas, Ontario, at the majestic Canada Southern Station (CASO Station) — once the largest of 31 railway stations built in Ontario in the 1870s by the Canada Southern Railway Company (CSR). Constructed between 1871 and 1873, this impressive building was designed to serve a dual purpose: the bustling passenger station on the ground floor, and the corporate headquarters of CSR above. Its grandeur was remarkable for a town that would only become a city years later, drawing comparisons in 1882’s Picturesque Canada to the grand railway stations of Chicago and New York. Today, CASO Station stands as a pr...

  Write about a quote you live by.

  What has been your best trip so far?

Two Lovers (2009) was directed by James Gray and stars Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow and Vinessa Shaw.  Loved it. Two Lovers is a romantic drama full of truth and emotion that kept me riveted to my office chair for almost two hours.  (I was in an office chair because I was watching the movie on Netflix on Hal's computer.) If you like action, lots of skin, noise, colour and slick lines don't bother even turning this movie on.  If you enjoy a movie that moves you emotionally and intellectually, that doesn't require all the schtick to keep you interested, and that feels true, turn it on.  Their is a lot of emotion in this movie which might make some people a little uncomfortable but it comes across to the audience as very real.  I think that is the theme of this review . . . it is real. Joaquin Phoenix plays the part of Leonard, a young man, who is bi-polar, living with his parents after a failed suicide.  He is quiet and a little brooding, ...

  Where is your favourite place to go for lunch?

  BIO by James Keelaghan A few years ago I went to my high school reunion. I wasn’t feeling a lot of terror about it. I am a successful musician. I have Juno awards and nominations, I felt, as an alumnus, I had done my alma mater proud. I bumped into someone I hadn’t seen since graduation. I knew that she was respected in her field, well travelled, and successful. I asked what she had been doing since high school, and she ran down the list of degrees and foreign postings and the like. She asked what I had been up to. I gave the condensed version. I was a writer and performer, I sang, and played guitar. She nodded slowly up and down… “So, you are still doing what you were doing, when you were a teenager then?” Well, I guess, ya…sorta. I’m not playing as many stairwells now as I did back then, but it’s still pretty fun. She made it sound like I was in a rut. So just in case, you think that all I do is play and sing… Since 2011, I’ve been the Artistic Director of the Summerfolk Music ...

  Renée M. Sgroi has a collection of poetry forthcoming released by Guernica Editions,  In a Tension of Leaves and Binding,  but you won’t find this poem shared below in that book. This is a new, unpublished poem, that Renée has shared with us expressly for this issue of the  River Street Review. chilled all Christmas week, rain— rain on the highways splashing back at windshields so that water a hazard and the clouds, so low they became the grey of our hair.  winter paused to greet us New Year’s Day, as if this annual herald wished to freeze beginnings, to silver fresh starts with snow. in Japan,  tsunami warnings issued after earthquakes and here at home, four bodies fished from a frozen river today’s news which, like yesterday, in the year before, was not happy. the squirrel that had dashed all week across the road in rain huddles now chilled, as at midnight, after the Tiffany ball dropped glittered flakes of light for a splintered moment  on this pa...

If you couldn't fail, what would you do?   Me:  Probably take up swimming.