Canadiana

 

 

As the last load of stuff is "stuffed" into the GMC above and the apartment in Barrie Ontario is closed out for good and the keys turned in, I thought I'd take a break and talk about life here in central Ontario and some of the things that might be a bit different.

The first is the post office. In most larger cities the post office is collocated with the Shoppers drugstore chain which is really convenient. Open most of the week and carrying everything from drugs to magazines and food it is really great to have the post office right in the store as well. In smaller towns you might have a separate post office, but here in Ontario the Shoppers connection is really the norm.

The next red building to the left in the pic below is Home Hardware. While we have Lowes and Home Depot here the Home Hardware is more similar to the Ace chain in the states ... smaller, more personal, and always have that part you just couldn't find anywhere else.

In the same strip will be the LCBO or Liquor Control Board Ontario. If you need whiskey, beer, and wine this is the place you must go but the time they are a changing. Until last year you had to go to the Beer Store (clever name) to get beer and at LCBO you could get everything.

Now Walmart can sell some beer brands and some grocery stores are beginning to offer Ontario wines and some beers. Still if you want to browse all brands available here in the province your best bet is still the LCBO. All pricing is controlled by the province so there's no difference where you get it and there's no deals or big sales .... all other places must still get their alcohol from LCBO or the beer conglomerate.

A definite Canadian outlet is the local Canadian Tire store and we have no comparison to it in the states. It reminds me of some of the old White Auto stores that were in a lot of smaller towns. These guys are in every city here and offer everything from the basic auto stuff to camping, gardening, home repair, and like the one below even clothing ... really a direct competitor to Walmart.

And of course Hudson's Bay Company, in business since the 1600's it is a mainstay of a medium to higher end clothing store and one we frequent often. And like elsewhere we've lost all the Sears and also the Target stores. Target came in a couple of years ago but couldn't keep up with Walmart so sold off all its properties. Cabela's and Bass Pro have made a large increase in their presence here.

That's a very brief smattering of a few place that still make Ontario unique. The shot below from yesterday, while not unique to Ontario really highlights the farming nature of where we live as we pass by this farm every time we go into Barrie ... and the dandelions are in full bloom right now.

As a parting shot here is our friend Dave's coach and the hammock arrangement for his six Siamese cats all hanging from the front window ... gotta love the kitties.

Yesterday and today were about 80 degrees and around 60 at night so spring has finally taken a firm hold ... time to get out and enjoy!

Food Fowl and Fun

 

To start off with the food part here is a shot of the barbee  on our patio with the first experiment of the summer now that it's above freezing, eh.

 

In the foil is a nice halibut steak poaching in olive oil, bread crumbs, and laced with garlic and other Italian herbs.

 

The star of the meal though were the peppers. Out of one of the many super market flyers we saw this recipe and decided to give it a try. These are nice fresh red peppers covered with olive oil then seared on the grill. After that, they are flipped over, filled with edam cheese and then an egg cracked into each one.

 



Off the grill they are then garnished with a bit of fresh cilantro and with the fish was a fun dinner.

OK now the fowl part. Here's an annual resident of our little pond; a little green heron in the center of the pic. He or she fishes daily in the pond for small fish and frogs.

Then graduating to the star of the show which is a pair of mute swans. This one shows the plumage of one that is about a year old just before losing all the brown and turning a beautiful white with black face and yellow bill of the adult.

And just to show off a bit a really neat wing stretch showing all the glory of swan-ness.

 

 

 Then lastly the fun part. For a still life for Jo-Anne to replicate later in the fall in oil.

 

This is our picture of the iconic tower taken by our daughter in Paris for one of their destination weddings ... paired with a new wine blend we've taken to and a flower from Mother's day brunch. The set up reminded me of the view we had from the boat on the Seine last fall.

Still Working

 

While it's more convenient that we have now moved to Barrie, after five weeks we are still working on our apartment to get it cleaned and the trash removed after Jo's brother had resided in it for the last five years. Above is the entrance located off Dunlop Street just to the west of downtown. Part of the process was also to sell his car which we did last week, so that was a big relief.

It was a small one bedroom place on the seventh floor with a small balcony where you could have a table and a couple of chairs. The final process will be this Saturday when we hold a moving sale to dispose of all the remaining contents including many pieces of teak furniture that had been with the family for years and on loan in the apartment.

Of course after all the work there is always a food break, eh. Back to one of our favorites The Local Gastropub of Barrie we each had something distinct yet this one was the most beautiful. This is their braised beef wrapped yorkshire pudding on buttermilk mash, crispy onions & beer gravy, mated with a light lager and a side of mac and cheese ... nuff said?!

After getting back to the KOA after a hard day we snapped a couple of sunset shots over the neighbor's rig.

And this contrast of colors and textures with our signature maple tree front and center still yet to sprout.

We've taken this guys pic before as he is dressed in whatever suits the season and right now he's still celebrating Saint Patrick's Day!