The bad news is...

Our vehicles were broken in twice in one week! On Sunday night, they stole our portable DVD player from the truck, which I stupidly left unlocked. From the van,the thieves stole the girls' dance bag (highland dance shoes, body suits, etc.) and the briefcase that we bring with us to church. I was upset about this loss the most because it had lots of nice books and missals inside that were either quite old, or expensive, or had been given to the children for first communion, etc. It also had some rosaries and the veils that the girls and I wear to mass. Two days later, the truck window was smashed (I locked the doors) and the radar detector was gone! What jerks! The police brought over a "bait car", that has a camera in it that starts rolling as soon as the door is opened. It was here for a few days, but no one took the "bait".
This is the new bag I bought for all our church books, etc. I love it.
The good news is that St. Anthony answered my prayer! After I ordered new veils, I prayed to St. Anthony that the church books would be returned. He is the patron saint for lost items, and has helped us out numerous times. When I got home later that day, Greg told me that someone had found the briefcase and books scattered along the road. They saw our phone number in one of the books, and called us, saying they had the books and bag at their house. I was so thrilled. I bought them a huge bouquet of flowers and drove over right away to thank them. Strangely enough, the veils were not in the bag. Gregory and I drove down the road where the books were found, to see if the veils had blown away,or were caught in some trees, but we didn't see any. However, Greg did find the dance bag and all the highland dance slippers!
Thank you, St. Anthony!

nice try, Mary Margaret

When Tatabun comes over for dinner, he usually likes to do a bit of music with the kids. Sometimes the lessons will be only a few minutes, and sometimes they will be quite long.Here is Tatabun in the music room with Mary Margaret. Just before Mary picked up her guitar, she came into the kitchen and asked that if Tatabun made her play the same thing over and over, would I interrupt the lesson to ask Mary to set the table?
Ha! Nice try, Mary Margaret.

what's the name of this restaurant?

Gregory made this amazing dinner...Grilled steaks with porcini mushroom sauce, polenta, and salads.
I have no idea how he made the porcini sauce, but it was absolutely incredible!
**drool**
Greg's dad has been bringing some fantastic wines for us to enjoy when he comes over for dinner. I feel like we are dining at a fabulous French restaurant. This Italian wine was perfect with our meal.
Hi, girls!

Happy 15th birthday, Felicity.

Wow! Fifteen?! Cool.
Felicity got a hilarious musical card, lots of jewelry and other cool stuff!
Yummy jelly beans.
Felicity collects marionettes and *lloves* llamas, so when Greg and I saw this awesome llama marionette in Vancouver, we just had to get it for Felicity.
Make a wish, Felicity!
Mint chocolate cake & ice cream. Love you, Felicity.

fish cakes

I made these delicious fish cakes with some halibut pieces that my mum gave me. To make fish cakes:
Flake cooked halibut (approx. 1Lb) into large bowl. Mix in the following;
1 cup chopped green onion
3 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 Tbsp flour
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/2 tsp grated lemon peel
1 egg
1 cup panko- (Japanese breadcrumbs)
salt & pepper

Shape into cakes,and coat with more panko.
Heat 4 Tbsp olive oil over medium- high heat. Cook fish cakes until brown and crisp, about 6 minutes per side.
You should also make some aioli to serve as a sauce with the fish cakes.
In a small bowl mix together mayonnaise, lemon juice, crushed garlic, salt & pepper. I also added some chopped capers, just for a change.
I made this as a main course with mashed potatoes, and a cucumber salad, but these would also make great appetizers if you made them a bit smaller.
We really like this Damasco wine from Zanatta, a local winery.

Felicity, you are not helping

The following conversation took place at a restaurant, after Felicity, Eva and I just finished a shopping marathon.
Eva: "Does the treadmill work?"
Me: "yeah." I say, as I dip my calamari in some tzatziki sauce, and pop it in my mouth.
Eva: "When was the last time you used it?"
Me: "Um...a couple weeks ago"
Eva: Grinning "So, you use it every six weeks or so?"
Me: (putting down my french fry) "What are you saying, Eva?"
Felicity: "Eva! Don't talk to an old lady about her weight!"

Happy 10th Birthday, Thomas

Here is the card that Eva made. Coolness. Look out for the silver soldier hiding in the presents!
Thomas gets to open his prezzies before going to school in the morning.
Gregory made a delicious apple-pear spice cake. It was really good!Thomas has just opened some gifts from Grama, and is enjoying his cake.
Happy Birthday, Thomas! Love you.Thomas also had a party with some of his friends. Here he is opening some presents.
One candle left on the birthday cake. That means Thomas has one girlfriend. wooo.
I tried to arrange some party games for the guys, but they all groaned when I asked them to come inside to play, so of course, I just let them stay outside. They had so much fun, just wrestling (three boys had bloody noses!), and then later, they had a water-fight. I think all the boys had a great time,and it was probably the easiest birthday party we've had here.

Weekend in Vancouver

Gregory and I enjoyed a nice weekend in Vancouver, just the two of us. It was really relaxing, for me especially, as I was able to sleep in, and spend my days shopping, and eating at fantastic restaurants.
Gregory was attending a medical/legal conference at The Four Seasons Hotel, so he was pretty busy. It was great to see Alex and meet his fiance Suzy for dinner (sorry, I forgot my camera that night).
This picture was taken in the lobby of The Four Seasons. Behind me is YEW restaurant,- great food.
This was so awesome! I met up with my friend Meg, who I haven't seen in at least ten years!! We got caught up over lunch. It was really cool seeing her again.