Blame Anthony Bourdain

When people ask; "Why Colombia?" I tell them its because of Anthony Bourdain. He did a "No Reservations" show on Colombia that made me want to go there. His potty mouthed irreverent style really struck a chord with us. After that show I started asking folks if they'd been to Colombia and a surprising number of them had, and (more interesting to me) enjoyed themselves. Maybe it all started with Romancing the Stone...

The last of Christmas

A few final photos of our wonderful pets and tree. The cat, Murphy decided he was interested in eating the christmas lights. The dog, Isla, was subjected to the antlers for our enjoyment, and now yours!

Beautiful Steps

I've always wanted a Persian carpet, and now I have one! Chris spotted it at a store in Vancouver, the I Found Gallery. I was looking for clothes and jewelery. Chris noticed the sign; "40% off all carpets"really liked this one and took a photo of it so we could follow up later. You can find them on etsy.com
I spent an hour or so yesterday whacking the dirt out of the carpet and it is just lovely to have in our house.

Whirl Wind

For many folks the Christmas holiday season is a time of frantic feeling with travel and family obligations. We like holidays at home, so we tend to put our traveling off until January. It's a good time to be away from the long dark of Whitehorse. It does mean that no sooner is the shine off the 12th day of Christmas when I am seeking out summer clothes and suitcases. It really is quite fun. We're off to Colombia this weekend and while I feel fairly prepared, not everything is in the suitcase yet.

Israeli Latkes

A number of years ago now, Chris and I travelled to San Diego in California for our winter get away. There is a public space there which includes an "international village". Little buildings which are occupied by expat groups from around the world. The highlight is the Sunday afternoon snacking. Guess what the American house served? Yes, hot dogs. The Israelis were serving latkes, lovely ones. I asked for the recipie and here it is;
2 lbs potatoes, shredded/grated
1 onion, shredded/grated
2 eggs
salt & pepper
1/4c matzo meal or flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
non-stick cooking spray
1. Pre heat the oven to 425.
2. mix all the ingredients in a large bowl
3. scoop latke mix out using a 1/4c measure squashing the mix into the cup to form a circular mound when you put it on the baking tray.
4. bake for 15 minutes then turn and bake 10 minutes more.
Serve!
They were so good that half were gone by the time I got the camera out.

Family Holidays

My nephew Luca and his dad, Drew flew back to Vancouver last evening. It was lovely haveing them both for the holidays. Photos to follow.

Merry Christmas!

Santa came and left us all presents. He made sure to eat the cookie and drink the milk we left him too. Good times were had by all.