Third World Bazaar and French Cafe

What a lovely day!  My friend Cynthia and I spent a couple of hours perusing the Third World Bazaar. I had to take pictures and just try to take it all in. Third World Bazaar I did buy an elephant carved in a large piece of wood (looks like drift wood) and a scarf and of course a couple of items for Christmas! I have two weeks to go back and purchase some more items. Such a beautiful place!

We then went for lunch at French Cafe in Manotick. I had never even heard of this little place and we found it purely by accident. All fresh ingredients!  We had a great meal and fantastic conversation. It all just made me want to travel as much as possible!  Maybe some day!  I'm sure there will be a chance in a couple of years! My list of places to see is growing longer!  Thailand was never high on my list, I think I was always afraid of the "busy-ness" of the place, but now I want to go more than ever. Many of the items from the Bazaar are from Thailand (as well as Indonesia, Mexico, Ecuador, Cuba, etc), but I would also like to visit Soi Dog Foundation  and Boon Lott's Elephant Sanctuary.  Of course going back to Portugal is high on the list, as well as Spain and Italy. I would love to also see Romania and meet our Sponsor child Izabela!

Here are a few photos from today;

                                                             



Cynthia displaying one of the gorgeous scarves from Thailand!

  One of the beautiful walls of scarves!

     French Cafe in Manotick                                                                                                                                                                 

                                                                                                                                                                     
Just a couple of mugs left over at the French Cafe!

A lovely day!! :) 

November 5, 2011

Well, it's been since April and what has changed?
I am still recovering from my fall, the broken tailbone has led to some nerve issues, but on a good note, I can finally get up the stairs quickly without feeling dizzy!!!  Yeesssss!!!

We're still a vegetarian household and some days I think about becoming a Vegan, but it's pretty hard!  Not only do I like cheese and Greek yogurt, but there are so many products with dairy in them. I think as if I work harder on eating well as a Vegetarian and limit as many animal products as possible, then I'll be doing okay. Bread is a major downfall, so I am thinking of just getting rid of it for a while. I do have some Vegan recipes, so perhaps I will just try one or two of those!

The pets are doing well!  We are now at two dogs and two cats. They all get along very well, although Fletcher likes to assert himself at times... okay, most of the time! But they make us happy and I'm pretty sure we do the same for them!

On the note of pets, if anyone happens to see this... lol... there is a friend of a friend who is going through a very hard time and has thought that perhaps she would have to give up her dogs. It is breaking her heart, so I have given her some options that may help her keep the boys. They are so cute. She basically feels that perhaps if she could have them fostered for a little while that would help.. but maybe even someone to go and walk them every day while she is at work would help as well. She has had to move to an apartment and is feeling guilty. If only she knew that they are so much better off than many dogs; they are loved, well taken care of and happy. I will add pictures of them, if you know anyone who can help, please leave a comment.

Oscar and Felix

April 20

Well, not a whole lot has been happening lately. I am still laid up with a sore butt (broken tailbone) and a concussion and it's just not a lot of fun!  I think next week, in order to try to speed this along, I am going to take the week off. I am already off work of course, but I think I will take the week off from everything else as well. No work from home, limit the computer time, limit the moving around... just rest and try to heal. We'll see how that goes!

Other than that. Camp planning is moving right along. FSWO and Girls in Gear planning is moving right along. Next step, planning the FSWO launch. I had better work on getting my money back for the website hosting and look for an easier one!!

Oh, one thing... no sugar, caffeine, alcohol, or gluten for three weeks. Gluten is the hardest, and only because gluten free is hard to find, expensive and the flour alternatives taste crappy! I found one bread today that tastes pretty good, no chickpea flour (that's the worst)! So far so good, but I feel like crap this week. Hoping next week will be better!

 So, I added this picture as a reminder not to feel sorry for myself. Some days I wish my tailbone and brain were healing faster and I whine and complain... but then I think about Steve. This picture is how you will almost always see him, giant smile on his face. Steve retired from the fire department a couple of years ago and since then, has been diagnosed with cancer, swarmed and severely beaten up, been in a terrible car accident and yet, he smiles! He is back to playing hockey and is always happy to see friends, share a pint and tell some great stories. He is definitely one of my favourite people!
Always a good reminder that no matter what happens in life, you can always be positive!

April 2

So, I have been laying on this couch for two and a half weeks, and apparently will be laying here for at least 2.5 more!  Sigh... be careful on the stairs!
I went to the Ranch with Jan on Wednesday. It was nice to get out and see the animals. I wasn't able to do much of anything. Andy wanted me to take some pictures. I brushed a couple of cats and was happy to see that Lucy (the Siamese) is doing really well. Unfortunately Owen, the gorgeous red, was brought back seemingly in the middle of the night. We found him in the morning, in his cat carrier, with the sample bag of food beside him. He is declawed, so meant to be an indoor cat. He was dirty, hair was matted, he has visibly lost weight and his eye looked to have an infection. Poor fella, I wanted to bring him home when I brought him Gizmo, but thought I would give it a couple of days at least to make sure all was good. He was gone the next day. I should have snagged him when I could. Hopefully his health improves, and if so, he is coming home with me. Sadly, I can't have him here and sick with Franc because of Franc's heart murmur. He needs to stay healthy.

Anyhow... hoping to get to the pool on Monday. The doc gave me the okay, as long as it is not too draining. He figures since I will not have to focus or think too much.. lol.. so I should be able to do it. But I have to swim with a buoy so I don't use my legs. If it hurts too much, then I have to wait. Sigh... hopefully it doesn't hurt!! :)

K... must get back to work on the Camp FFIT lesson plans! Here is a picture of Owen before he went to the house that destroyed him. Get better Owen and come and live with us! :)

March 26

No updates for a long time... oops!! Considering this is really just for me anyway, I guess that's okay! I have ordered the book Veganist by Kathy Feston and can't wait to get started with replacing the foods in my house with "friendly" foods! Being such an animal lover, it doesn't seem to make sense that I would contribute at all to the horrible animal industry that surrounds us. I don't mind if others eat meat, I just wish they were more conscious of where that meat comes from. Eating animals that have been treated so poorly and inhumanely cannot be good karma. I do understand that God gave us dominion over all and we are at the top of the food chain, but I doubt the plan was ever to pump these animals full of drugs, put them in living quarters barely the size of their bodies and slaughter them inhumanely, simply for profit and with no thoughts of what it does to those eating it.

So, one small step at a time. There hasn't been meat in this house for almost a year now and that is working out just fine. There has been no milk for months, and that is just fine too! Next step... CHEESE!! Eeeks!!

Also, we have a new doggie, after the horrible experience with poor Polly. I'll always say she was the sweetest dog, but she was not an ideal pet to have here with Fletcher. It turned out that Polly had cancer and was actually very close to end stage when she was here. One more month and she went downhill very fast, was barely able to stand, was shaking and wouldn't eat. She went to the vet and it was confirmed that she was near death. She was put down and buried in the back field at the Ranch. At least she had love and fun before she passed. Lord know what happened to the poor girl for the first 6 years of life, but for the last 3 months, she was well loved.

The dog we have now, is 2 (we're still deciding on his birthday). He and Fletcher get a long, although Fletch has been pretty jealous. We're working on making sure he still feels like the #1 dog. Gizmo (the new guy) is hilarious. He can be outside off leash and not run away, he loves to play and just has the oddest little body. He's a Jack Russell mix, just not sure what he is mixed with!  haha... he's a lot of fun!
I have broken my tailbone, so the boys (dogs), have been great company!!

Fletcher and Gizmo at bedtime!

 Little Gizzie (Gizmo)! Best ears ever!!

17 лютого

Well, not doing too badly!  Yesterday I had zero sugar (counting refined and/or added sugars). This morning after work, of course, I had a cupcake... lol... but those will be gone soon!
Food yesterday consisted of 4 meals;
1 - oatmeal with peanut butter and banana
2 - spinach salad with pineapple, almonds and wonton noodle thingies with Bragg salad dressing
3 - two eggs; mango, blueberries and vanilla yogurt
4 - vegetable mousaka

Workout was a dive bomber challenge; max reps in 10 minutes.
15 regular and 53 modified (on knees).
Skipping 10/30 for 25 minutes!!

Awesome!!!  Now, I may nap!! :)

This is one of my favourite pictures of Taylor. I believe this is from grade eight!  So cute! :)

15 กุมภาพันธ์

If I could just stop eating cupcakes!!  I'm sure an easy way to achieve that is to stop making them!  I must work on the "no sugar" thing. I completely forgot!

The workouts from the last couple of days were awesome!!  I loved today's!!
Dumbbell Sumo Squat 16,14,14,12,10,11,15,9
Plank Knee Touch 13,16,15,14
Dumbbell Swing 17,15,11,14,13,13,12,12
Side to Side Plank Jumps 23,25,32,26
One leg squat with kick 6,6,6,6,6+squat,6+squat

Today's pic is a lonely sunflower at the dump!  We were supplying the rope safety for a Trench training day!

Can't wait for tomorrow's workout!!