The Weekend

I am still working, so the weekend still has some meaning in my life.  It doesn’t have any TV sports, but I am not working and not chained to a computer screen.  Therefore, I have lots of candidates for This Weekend’s Perfect Moments.

After posting about the virtual beer I shared with my friends, many people posted on my facebook page that they have been doing this somewhat regularly.  As a result, my friends and I decided to use the available technology to have a bit of a group chat on Saturday night.  While there were some hiccups, it was quite good.  At times like these, I wouldn’t want to lose touch with my friends.

On both Saturday and Sunday I got to go out for a walk.  I kept my distance from anyone who was around, but there weren’t many.  I did manage to walk past a plaza that had both an LCBO (liquor store) and a Beer store–while we now sell beer in small quantities at supermarkets, liquor distribution is controlled by the Provincial government.  What struck me as funny was there was a line of people outside the liquor store–yes they were observing physical distance recommendations–there was no such line at the beer store.  A quick peek inside showed that they were using the old system of the beer store.  You order and it comes out on rollers from the back.  Either they were more efficient than the LCBO, or people just wanted to browse for their hard liquor.  Now that I think about it, and consider some of the many posts I have seen on FB, people were probably buying cases of wine.

My walk took me through a neighbourhood with some beautiful, if not a bit to ostentatious, houses.  Some were things of beauty and others clearly illustrated that we do not all have the same taste.  I am still on the lookout for a house that could house me and secure bike workshop in my affordable price range.  Let me know if you have something.

It was nice to get out, though Sunday was a bit more crowded than Saturday, despite the latter having much better weather.  We all had to do a bit of swerving, patient waiting, and street crossing to maintain physical distance, but this seems to be the new norm.  I even remarked to my girlfriend that maybe we should take up the Japanese custom of bowing.  I adjusted to it when I lived there and it is still second nature to me.

Food also was a great part of the weekend.  My girlfriend prepared something delicious for me.  We also stumbled across a cake shop that was still open–I wonder how long that will last.  We took a few different cakes to take home.  I even have some leftovers for today’s lunch…Today’s Perfect Lunch.

My Second Birthday Celebration

The birthday fun isn’t over. My girlfriend offered to make me a delicious meal and feed me some cake.  I certainly wasn’t going to refuse.  She made me the dish pictured above which has become one of my favourites.  It is sweet and very very tasty.

To accomplish these things we had the chance to visit a local Iranian grocery store. Much like when I visit any ethnic grocery store, I gravitate towards the treats.  (Where do you think all those green tea kitkats come from?)  Today was no exception.  Of the treats pictured here, I can give you a mini review.  The juice was quite tasty.  I like pineapple and the seeds gave it a nice texture.  I was told that these were the healthy seeds before Chia seeds became the media darling.  This juice is made in Vietnam, so I am not sure why it was at this particular store.  I also wonder why Judy Mountain is a brand name, but some things are just meant to be a mystery.  Now, I am under no illusions that this is actually healthy juice.  It has a lot of sugar and I doubt that that a lot of pineapple went into making this.

The chocolate bar was not as good as a coffee crisp. The taste was good, and the smaller size made for a more reasonable snack.  It only costs 25 cents, so I can’t complain.  Sadly, the aftertaste is a little oily and I cannot recommend it.  The cookies on the other hand were delicious.

One funny thing that happened at the store was when my Sarah asked me what something was called. When I answered in a pretty good approximation of Farsi, she was so completely befuddled that she answered back to me in Farsi.  When she caught herself she was confused.  As you might imagine, the label had both languages on it and she only registered one of them.  It was quite humorous.

After leaving the store with my treats, we headed to the bakery to pick up my cake. Instead of a whole cake, a few pieces were all that was needed.  The cake itself is quite interesting because it is eerily reminiscent of the cake my Oma (grandmother) used to make.  It had chocolate and coffee flavours.  This one featured a nice addition of almond pieces.  I don’t know how this came to be, but I am not complaining.

The other treat pictured here was very much like a snack I ate in Japan all the time.  I guess this is pretty common all over the world…just not in Canada.

There is no need to pick out a Perfect Moment from all of these.  They were all great.

Celebrating a Milestone

Today’s Perfect Moment is a no-brainer.  Friends and family came to celebrate my Birthday.  Though it wasn’t the exact day, it was still wonderful to gather everyone and enjoy some cake.  I also happened to get some presents, which were not necessary, but greatly appreciated.  Thanks to everyone for getting together to help me celebrate.

Some reflecting on this milestone will need to be done, but until then, I will just share some pictures.

Happy Birthday Dad

We celebrated my father’s 80th birthday on the weekend.  We assembled en masse, as we do for many family occasions.  We reached out to his long-time friends to bring both nostalgia and happiness.  We kept the speeches to a minimum and there was no need to call the police to break up the party–maybe next year.

Happy Birthday Dad.