Monday 29 September 2014

Random Autumn theme.

About 8 days ago it very much looked like Summer was over as temperature fell all of a sudden to near zero C. The Condo corp decided overnight to shut off the A/C system and put on the heat, we can individually shut it off in our units and this is what we did. Then the following day the warm or hot weather came back with a vengeance, we face South and have strong sunshine until 3PM. The building was extremely warm around 29C inside, so we opened all the windows in the hope that the heat would escape. I say in the hope because it made little difference really. However the trees having had a dose of  cold weather and then hot turned all shades of red. The grocery store has an abundance of squash of all kinds and pumpkins too. Funny thing the cashier wanted to name the various squash I had bought, they are all 0.99 cents each but she has to enter them by name, Butternut, Sweet meat, Pepper, etc...

 Pepper and Butternut Squash


The blue grey squash is called a sweet meat squash sitting on top of my terra cotta pumpkin bought 20 years ago at the Drake Hotel Flower Shop in Chicago.


We also started to cook in the Fall fashion recipe, lots of varieties of apples right now on offer. I bought Braeburn Apples to make an apple cake. The puppies love it when we cook, they sit and watch always in hope that maybe just maybe we will drop something or will offer a tasting to them, they are eternally patient.


Demi-tasse coffee cups bought in June in Dresden, love those ironic faces.

We also had the Annual Canadian Army Run (marathon) and a parade of the Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry Regiment who are celebrating their Centennial. The Regiment PPCLI was created through a generous donation of $2 million dollars in 1914 by Hamilton Gault a very wealthy businessman. In todays dollars it is a fantastic fortune to give. Princess Patricia was the daughter of Prince Arthur Duke of Connaught and brother of King-Emperor George V, she was also the grand-daughter of Queen Victoria.  Prince Arthur was the Governor General of Canada at that time.



Then in October of 1914 Le Royal 22ième Régiment de Quebec was created with a generous financial gift by Montreal businessman Arthur Mignault. The Regiment is stationed at the Quebec Citadel on Cap Diamant, the Summer Residence of the Governor General. Canada did not have an army in 1914 we had a small militia of 3000 men. But within months an army of half a million men was raised or 10% of the population of the country.


Being on the Rideau Canal in the centre of the Capital we cannot miss the Army run and the other events year round. The parade of the PPCLI from Lansdowne Park to Cartier Square was a recreation of the event which took place in 1914 when the soldiers arrived in Ottawa by train. The Driveway as it was then known was the Official entrance into the Capital.







9 comments:

  1. I did a week long tribute to the PPCLI on my blog in August. My father was a Princess Pat in WWII.

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    1. Oh I did not know that. I will have to look up that entry on your blog.

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  2. Much easier to shop for squash here. They seem to call everything "calabaza." Pumpkin? Calabaza. Butternut Squash? Calabaza.

    I love those demitasse cups!

    What a wonderful viewing spot you have.

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    1. the army run was scenic too, we did think of inviting the soldiers up for a shot of rum or whatever, soldiers will drink if it is offered in my experience.

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  3. I do not have much experience with squash. It dawns on me I don't know if they really have any taste differences viz. which ones to buy for what reason(s). What squash I had as a boy was boiled tasteless orange pulp.

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    1. the only recipe I know of is to cut them in half, scoop out the seeds then add a little butter, black pepper, place in a dish pop into the oven at 400F for 50 minutes and voilà. Pepper Squash (the dark green one) is my favourite.

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    2. I want to eat more squash; I want to see if there is a difference.

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    3. they are all different in taste from very bland to spicy. Though I do stay away from putting brown sugar or maple sugar when cooking I do not think necessary to do that.

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  4. Beautiful!
    Love the squash, apple cake, cups, uniformed men and fall colors!

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