Looking at this Lonely Tree

makes me happy.

 We are doing a construction project in the rear of our house and I had to move my vehicles temporarily to the street.    This included my V-strom and my Corvette.   I thought we lived in a safe area but evidently not so as my Corvette was recently vandalized  (read here).   During this time I have not had access to my carport nor my garage.   It has been over 5+ months so far and during this time my car has been parked beside this tree

 Ever since my car was damaged I decided not to park my bike on the street anymore and since it is a big inconvenience having to drag it out on my narrow sidewalk and through a narrow gate I just gave up and decided not to use it to commute to work, so I just rode on the weekends and drove my car to work.  

As for my car it got to be an obsession checking it every morning and evening to make sure it was “safe” and that nothing had happened to it.  I feared that the vandals would come back.   Also, all the time I have had this car it had always been parked under cover.  During the 5+ months it has been on the street, it has had to endure endless rain storms, and the baking heat of summer.  I was looking forward to the day that I could reclaim its secured parking spot.

Our Project is nearly 2 months behind and my insurance was expiring but I was assured that the ditch would be filled in so that I could return my car to its hibernation spot.  Last week I was double checking their progress; the ditch was filled, dirt was spread and finally a load of sand was delivered.  I was worried about the “soft” sand, then we experienced torrential rains . . .

“D” day, the day of reckoning came last Saturday, this was the last day of insurance and it was also pouring rain.   I drove my Corvette to breakfast for the last time this year, topped up the gas tank (to prevent condensation) and filled with fuel stabilizer.  I was worried about the “soft” sand so I had to do a walk test

The sand feels solid enough near the lane

But you notice that it is very soft in spots with the pooling water and I was afraid of my wheels sinking into the sand.   Luckily there is construction materials for me to "borrow"

 I grabbed a couple of sheets of plywood to make as a sand bridge, and was just testing for sturdiness, and it appeared safe enough.   If it can hold my weight, then it should be okay for my car.   The time had come for me to open the gate

I don't have far to reach my concrete pad

It appears narrower than it is.  I have lost half of my driveway but when finished it should be 12 ft wide

 I am approaching the "soft" spot and I manage to get over the mud patch

Whew, I made it !    My car will sit here a day before I move it into the garage.  I want it to dry off first.  It is never good to leave the convertible top "Fastened" when being stored as it compresses the rubber seals.  Some people just unfastened the header, but being made of cloth, I like to put it down for the Winter as it doesn't shrink like the vinyl tops do

Now to close the temporary construction gate

and put the "borrowed" plywood back into the pile

I am happy indeed.    The car is nearly back to where it belongs

and I take a moment to ponder.    Stage One is done.    Stage Two,  I  move my bikes around.

Rainy Autumn Monday

I've been foiled again.  A couple of weeks ago I booked two vacation days hoping to get one last multiday ride to Vancouver Island, but I was rained out.   Our Company has a policy of not letting you carry over vacation days to the next year.

So I booked my last vacation day planning on going for a day ride somewhere and this is how it turned out.  Torrential rains again.  I just didn't feel that it was going to be a lot of fun navigating our roads with the crazy, tailgating drivers who drive like they do when the pavement is dry

Our weather patterns have changed over the past decade or two.  We used to get drizzling, non-stop rain.   For some reason we now get constant rain which lasts for days at a time and continues for months until late Spring, often until June of the next year.



It does get a bit depressing at times.  We do not have a lot of colour here in the City, but we do have tree-lined streets like this one where the leaves pile up and stop the water from reaching the drains.



It is also the time of year where you have to be careful of the rain-soaked slippery leaves.





I worry a lot about the pooling water.   When we get this much rain during a short period there are many reports of pooling water all around town, especially on freeway entrances and exits.  On the weekend downtown there was a large pool of water which covered one lane of traffic and cars were producing large rooster tails as they HIT the water.   I just can't imagine what I would do if I were to hit that same pool of water whilst riding my bike.  If there is no one in front of you, you just cannot see the water filled danger so I feel much safer with the security of 4 wheels.

I came down this street a few days ago when it was dry and the sun was shining.  I couldn't help but notice the beauty of the trees and the way the light shone through the leaves.   I know I should have stopped to snap a photo, but I didn't.    I have been meaning to stop several times and each time I didn't.  So today I had a whole day to waste so I decided to show you what this looked like while there are still some leaves left on the trees

This is looking the other direction.  Many years ago we saw a house for sale on this block and we nearly bought it,  instead of where we are now.    We had trees where we lived before and it seemed that every Fall we would have to rake up a ton of leaves and stuff them into garbage bags for disposal.   It was a lot of work so we are glad to not have these type of trees where we are.

I notice that there is a big pile of leaves in the foreground which some one has already raked up.   We have a   few parks like this around our neighbourhood and some have running tracks which this doesn't

I know the rain isn't going to stop anytime soon.   They call this the Wet Coast for a reason

Fall Food Challenge

Recently Pam over at "Helmet or Heels"  issued a Fall Food Challenge:

Quote:  " I thought I’d throw out a challenge to see what Fall food you like too "

While during the Summer we try to eat lighter, Winter time turns our thoughts to things like: Shepard's Pie, Pulled Pork, Spare Ribs or something like this

We had left over Lasagne Noodles from the weekend so I decided to prepare this for dinner.   I picked up a few tins of tomato sauce and a package of lean, ground beef.   I am  an improviser so I just go with the flow and add what I like.    I bought just under 2 lbs of the ground beef .   Brand of tomato sauce is not important, I usually just buy what is on sale or most economic for the size

I love onions so I used my Cuisinart and to cut them into micro pieces.   I first cut both ends of the onion and then removed the outer peel, then cut into smaller sizes before putting into my Cuisinart

I added a splash of oil and cooked the onions a bit on low heat

I am not the cook in our family.  I am more of a baker as that was my hobby many years ago.  It would surprise many to know that all these appliances are mine and I was the one who purchased them.  That is my Kitchen Aid Mixer and beside that is my bread maker.  Yes, I also make bread and cinnamon buns from scratch and my specialty was Cream Puffs in my previous life before I decided to go riding on Saturdays, rather than staying in the kitchen

Eventually the onions were ready to receive the lean, ground beef

I kept the heat on medium and kept mixing constantly to make sure it didn't burn on the bottom

I also love tomatoes but I only had one so that's all I used.  I cut it into small cubes

It looked like my ground beef was cooked so it was time to add the tomato sauce

After the sauce was brought up to temperature, I added a second tin

then it was time to add my diced tomatoes .   Now comes the good part, I get to taste test . . .

We decided a long time ago to not use so much salt, but I did add some Garlic granules

I mentioned before that I am not the cook in the family so I didn't know where our larger pans are and all I could find was this small one, so it had to do.  I started to ladle some sauce into the bottom

Then I started to layer my creation with lasagne noodles, alternating with sauce 

Soon enough I had a few layers of lasagne noodles sandwiched with my beef tomato sauce, and I still had sauce left over for lunch

I didn't have any mozzarella so I grated some other cheese that we had in the fridge.

Here is my lasagne, cheese on top ready to go back into the oven.   325° for about 20 minutes, time enough to melt the cheese on top and warm up the filling

Here we are putting my lasagne into our new gas oven




















I set the temp for 325°F and the timer for 20 minutes and just wait for the buzzer

I took today off work and Mrs Skoot arrived home just in time.  Here is what it looks like right out of the oven

Here we are all plated up, ready to have our dinner

I've already had two helpings and we hardly put a dent into the lasagne pan.   We will have enough for another dinner and lunch.

Ingredients:

Lasagne noodles, amount depending on no of layers
2 tins  tomato sauce  
1/2  onion
2 tomatoes, diced (optional)
1-1/2-2 lbs lean ground beef
a small pile of mozzarella cheese, topping
season to taste

A nice Autumn Sunday

at Granville Island Market.   I was busy in the morning moving my vehicles around and before you knew it, it was 1pm.   I was getting hungry but we have a roast in the oven with family coming over so I decided to go down to the food area of the Granville Island market

to have a snack to keep my stomach happy.    We noticed a lot of children dress in hallowe'en attire chasing the pigeons

This Market is on an island in the middle of False Creek accessed by a causeway underneath the Granville Street bridge.  Here is part of the seating area in the food court.  Not many tables and today we shared our table with another couple

You can buy nearly anything here, from fruit and vegetables to meat, restaurants, fine dining and there is even a Hotel on the Eastern end

or you can just have a coffee and people watch.

I didn't want to have dinner food for lunch, so I settled on a Crepe from this place;  Ham and Feta with a single shot Americano, and a Raspberry Scone.   They make them right in front of your eyes

I walked up the stairs to give you this bird's eye view.   The market is very large and there are buildings all over the Island and is frequented mostly by locals this time of year

I am noticing more and more Vegan products are available and I couldn't help but  snap a photo for a popular Vegan Blogger

Perhaps next time I come here,  I am tempted to try one of these

or some of these.   I have always loved Tofu

You notice how busy it is down here on a Sunday afternoon.

You are able to find many specialty items not available elsewhere.   I salivate every time I pass by the Bakery display.  (Photo above, left)    If you ever find yourself in Vancouver I would be pleased to take you here

NOT a Fall Food Challenge

I only follow recipes.  I am not good enough to be able to make them up but I have tried a few and altered them to use less sugar, or change the order of ingredients to make use of automated equipment such as my Cuisinart.  It was my plan today to try out Trobairitz' the recipe on her recent post.    I had some things to do today so I got a late start and imagine my surprise when Nancy had already made hers.

On my way home to make these delicacies I stopped at our local Safeway and see what was being tasted

Ambrosia apples.   I asked the lady and she said that they were very tasty and we good for baking.   I tried a few samples and I must say that they were really crunchy

I also picked up a tin of this stuff.  Just had to make sure that they were "Original"

I rushed home and assembled my ingredients.   I did not wish to open a new bottle of Ginger Ale as I already had Coca Cola on hand.   I decided to peel my Apples instead of leaving the skin on

I also decided to dust off my Cuisinart blender and crushed half an apple with the intent of sprinking some extra pieces of apple inside the roll, and also sprinkle some on top when in the oven.   I get hungry while in the kitchen, so the other half went into my mouth

I decided to "Pulse" and chop so I had some smaller pieces, along with the wedges

Meanwhile I was getting the sugary sauce ready to pour over.  I used a wire whisk to stir it up

I am more used to mixing flour with water to form a dough, than to open a tin and I broke one of the triangles.  I didn't know how to open it and I nearly destroyed the delicate tin with my pliers and hammer.  I mixed some apple pieces with the larger wedge before rolling  . . .

My new gas Oven is now up to temperature 350°F and I pour the liquid sauce over my Apple Dumplings.  This was just a staged shot for the Camera.   I actually used a spoon and drizzled it over each one, and also saved some sauce to drizzle on top later

There they are just out of the oven, the apple dumplings on the right.   The cinnamon buns on the left were an afterthought which I also put into the oven at the same time so I could use the "same" heat as it was also 350°F for about 25 minutes.

So here we are.   Trobairtz' Apple Dumplings, slightly altered.  Now you know what we are having for dessert later.  I just have to make sure we have some vanilla ice cream