Assumption Cemetery

Explore with Spirit Box Session:

Assumption Cemetery was established in 1859 and is bordered by the University of Windsor on one side and the Ambassador Bridge on the other 3 sides.  This cemetery is on an extremely busy road and not exactly what I would call peaceful.

There are two crypts on the property.  When families go to the incredible expensive of a crypt it must be upsetting to see it many years later extremely close to the busiest street on the city.

We did a spirit box session on the property and it seemed like spirits were all talking over each other eager to be heard.  We did manage to catch many evp’s and we were stunned to hear an actual conversation between 2 spirits.

Overall this was a very productive explore at this tiny cemetery.  We hope to get back to it one day.

Be sure to check out our video and see all the incredible evp’s we captured.

Assumption Cemetery Explore

 

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

I love pound cake.  It is moist, dense, delicious and freezes very well.  You can slice this up and wrap in cling film and store in the freezer and have a snack for lunch boxes.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake Video

Cream Cheese Pound Cake Recipe

1 1/2 cups butter
1 8 oz package cream cheese
3 cups white sugar
1 tsp almond extract
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
6 eggs
3 cups flour

Cream together the butter, cream cheese and sugar until light.  Stir in the vanilla and almond extracts.  Add the flour and the eggs alternately, beginning and ending with flour.  Pour batter in a greased pan.  Bake in a preheated 350 F oven for 1 hour 15 minutes or until a toothpick in center comes out clean.

Bright Light’s 2019, Windsor, ON Review

Last year our city came up with the idea of turning Jackson Park into a Winter Wonderland by decorating it with millions of lights at a cost to our city of approximately $1.5 million. This was announced not too long before some areas of our city experienced flooding. When this occurred there was a social media backlash regarding Bright Lights and many people ranted that the money should be spent repairing the sewer system.

I did not agree with the detractors because I knew that 1.5 million dollars would not make a dent in the budget that would be required to give an overhaul to the areas needed. I felt that Windsor, not exactly known for having a lot to do, could really benefit by having an attraction like Bright Lights.

We went to the first one last year (video below) and we were very impressed. Apparently it was visited by at least 60,000 people, so it was an obvious success. This year, it was bigger and better and they say next year it will continue to grow. So what did I think of the new version? Well here goes.

Canadian Maple Leaf: To pay homage to our country there was a HUGE Maple Leaf you could walk through. It was spectacular and looked like shimmering diamonds. This was a very welcome and very impressive addition to the display.

Santa’s Sleigh: This sleigh was hand crafted by our own city carpenters and it looked just like a sleigh you would see in the movies. People could go sit in it and take pictures which was very nice. Santa, a friendly chap with a real beard even went to sit it in a spell and children went to visit him in the sleigh. Such a nice touch.

Stilt Guy: I have no idea what to call this gentleman but he was dressed up for the holidays in an outfit that was covered in lights. He was animated, he was friendly and you saw him all over the park, more than willing to take pictures with people. Things like this really get you in the holiday spirit.

Windsor Sign: The Windsor Sign was ground level, huge, perfect for pictures and lit up, although not as bright as it looked in the videos. It’s about time we celebrated this city. Loved it.

Polar Express: Ok, so they didn’t call this the Polar Express just a “train” but that is what it reminded me of. It’s a tiny train, but was able to accommodate adults as well and did a short loop around the back end of the park through a tunnel of lights. While I didn’t ride it, I thought that the kids would absolutely love this.

Village Market: This is something I mentioned to my daughter last year that I thought they should have. They added numerous little wooden stalls for craftsmen and artisans to sell their wares. In addition they also had some food vendors, also much needed. Sadly I wasn’t all that impressed by it. I am not sure why, maybe it was the height the display shelves were on, about chest high on me (I’m 5’4) rather than table height like we usually see at craft fares. Although there were a huge amount of vendors who applied the vendors chosen for the night I was there was just lacking in the Christmas spirit. There was one vendor that sold some Christmas items, the rest, honestly, I don’t remember what they sold because I just walked right on by. I was hoping for things like handmade Christmas crafts, perhaps Christmas cookies, fudge, a lot of things related to the holidays. We didn’t get that. The second section of them on the left, I don’t even think they sold any goods, they looked like empty stalls with pamphlets on it. The few stalls on the right as you walked in impressed me even less. The first one was 2 ladies with information regarding a Concrete company. Something that no one is interested in, this time of year at least. Perhaps they were a sponsor, but I thought it was such a waste of space that could have gone to the many vendors I know of in the city that could have provided a better experience. The food deserves it’s own review.

Food Vendors: What a HUGE disappointment. We went there right when it opened, and hungry. We knew there would be food vendors and we thought we would support them by buying something to eat there. Well, there wasn’t much choice. The fist vendor sold waffle sticks that either had chocolate and marshmallow (smores) a Christmas Tree with what looked like mini m&m’s and another one. All at $5 each. That was pricey, but you expect to pay more at these events. My daughter and I each got the smores one. The gentleman told us that a man early in the night came up and gave them $50 to pay for the next people in line and several other people did the same. I loved hearing that story. I anxiously bit into my smores waffle and the entire little strip of chocolate holding the marshmallow instantly fell off without me getting a single bite. I was left with a dry, somewhat tasteless waffle. The second vendor in a Windsor Eats truck sold fries. You could choose from plain fries ($5), Chili Fries ($10) or Poutine ($10). My daughter and I both choose the regular fries which were thick cut. I was impressed by the size of the fries and neither one of us could finish our tray. Last but not least there was a Kettle Corn vendor, they carried an array of flavours. Ok, that was it. Fries, popcorn and a waffle on a stick. Really? That’s it? There was zero reason they could not have expanded the number of vendors to give more of a variety. You know, maybe a hot dog, or the million other things you can buy at fairs. So while I appreciated the fries, and thought the sample of kettle corn was good, the the waffle stick was probably good (hey, things happen and my daughter said hers was good, so no hate there), it simply wasn’t enough variety.

Tim Horton’s Truck: I am including this in the new section because I heard they had this last year although I think it was just on weekends so I missed it. Time Horton’s handed out your choice of Regular Hot Chocolate, White Hot Chocolate or coffee. Since it was absolutely freezing on opening night, this was VERY welcome and much appreciated. The line wasn’t that long. That could however be due to being located in a part of the park that wasn’t as busy.

Additional Lights: They expanded the area covered in lights to include an area farther back in the park. It was pretty, but not all that impressive. There are not as many trees in that area, and they didn’t have any of the “wow” factor displays that they did up front. Still though, it was nice to see it being expanded and hopefully next year they will fill this area in more.

So my recommendations for next year?
Vendors: Try and include more vendors that sell items related to the holidays. Maybe fill those pamphlet and concrete booths with more vendors.

Food: More selection please. I am sure a larger number of people would have purchased food if there was more variety.

Hours of Operation: I believe, and please correct me if I am wrong, that the vendor stalls, the hot chocolate and the food vendors are only open on the weekend. I would allow vendors to open up during the week if they so desire at no extra charge to just add more to the experience. I doubt Santa and the Stilts guy are there during the week either. Last year we went during the week and just felt it needed “more” and while they have added greatly to it this year, people who visit during the week simply don’t get the full experience.

Overall impression. One of the VERY BEST things Windsor has done for its citizens in my memory (and I’m 60). I think it will become an attraction that will draw in much needed tourism dollars during the bleak winter. Everywhere I looked I saw smiles, families taking pictures and didn’t notice anyone with their nose in their phones other than to record a video or take a picture. We need this. We need things to go out and do with the family where social media is forgotten even for a short while and we live in the moment.

Kudos to the City of Windsor for not caving under pressure and giving us something we can be incredibly proud of.

Bright Lights 2017 Video

Bright Lights 2018 Video

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

In our house we make chocolate covered strawberries for Valentine’s every year.  So many people ask for us to make them some thinking it is too timing consuming or tricky to do and honestly, they are one of the most simply things you can make.  There are a few things to know, so today’s post will be about the things some things might now.

The easiest chocolate to use is chocolate chips.  For every 1 cups of chips you use, add one tablespoon of shortening.  The shortening does not change the taste, nor does it make them greasy.  The shortening thins out the chocolate a bit and makes it much easier to dip the strawberries.

Your strawberries must be dry because water will seize your chocolate and then  can’t be used and will have to throw it away.  Melt the chocolate in the microwave, start with 45 seconds.  Stir the chocolate and then continue to put in for an additional 30 seconds at a time stirring well after each session.  When there are no lumps left in the chocolate it is ready to use.

If you find your microwave just won’t melt the chocolate for some reason, then chances are it has been exposed to moisture and while you can use the chips for cookies and such it is no longer usable to melt for dipping.

Watch my video to see how very easy it is to make chocolate dipped strawberries and make some for Valentine’s!

Mutant Turkey From Hell

Anyone that has come to my house for turkey dinners are always impressed as I have to admit I always put on a great meal.  I buy huge turkeys and usually serve hot turkey sandwiches the next day and use the remainder to make Turkey Pies for the freezer.   My meat pies are not only a favorite with out family, but I also sell them and people just can’t get enough of them.

So by now you have probably figured out, the turkey is a big deal in my house.  Well, this year, I decided to just have my son grab a frozen turkey from Walmart.  I admit, that I have only purchased an occasional turkey from Walmart but time was short and the previous ones from there were just fine.  So my son grabs the largest turkey they have and throws it in the freezer.

On Christmas Eve morning I grab the turkey and throw it in a large white kitchen garbage bag and throw it in my sink and fill the bag with water to let it thaw.  The reason for the garbage bag is simple, my sink doesn’t hold water well and rather than filling it up every 10 minutes, I put what I want to thaw in a plastic bag, problem solved.

Well, to make a long story short, it was noon on Christmas Day when I finally got around to check out my bird close up.  My stuffing was all prepared, oven was on and I was just going to open the airtight packaging the turkey comes in to rinse off the turkey and prep it for the oven.

I took scissors and opened the package and to my horror a Mutant Turkey from Hell greeted me.  I grabbed the package and saw that it was a Utility Turkey, not Grade A!  However, that did not explain this turkey.  Utility Turkey’s can be missing a leg or wing, or have a small skin tear, that’s it. I will sometimes buy them during the year for pies when regular turkeys are very pricey.  Missing legs and wings don’t bother me too much as we never eat them, but I do like them just for presentation purposes.   They are not Mutant and the quality of the meat is the same as Grade A.

The Turkey that was before me had NO SKIN at all except for on the legs.  The legs were disjointed from the turkey itself and flopped to the sides, barely attached.  There were no wings.  The area were you stuff the turkey, didn’t exist, it was sliced down almost all the way to the back and the breast was barely attached to the rest of the turkey.  Lastly, there was a chunk missing out of the turkey breast, that I had hoped was not a bite from another animal.

Panic set in.  I could not stuff the turkey, because there was no skin, there would be nothing to baste the turkey, the entire top of the turkey would be dry, rock hard turkey without skin…and there would be no drippings from which to make gravy.

With no stores open and family coming from out of town, I had no choice but to cover the breast with foil and hope for the best.  Well, as you can probably guess by now, dinner was the worst holiday meal I have cooked in 30 years and would be in the Top 5 Worst Meals of All Time.  There was no gravy possible, the stuffing I had to cook outside the turkey was edible…barely and the turkey?  Oh that thing wasn’t edible.  As I was slicing it I was thinking “uh oh, this thing just isn’t slicing like turkey should.  Everyone took a slice and everyone took one bite and that was it.  Everyone was afraid to eat more.  It didn’t taste like turkey and the texture is best described as “spongey”

The best thing I can say about the meal is that it was over quickly.  Thankfully, we made the best of the situation and cracked jokes like “wow, that turkey didn’t give up without a fight” and “well you can tell who lost that fight” and other numerous jokes including the fact I tried to serve road kill for Christmas dinner.

After thinking about things over Boxing Day I decided to call Walmart about the turkey.  Government regulations are very strict when it comes to grading meat, and this turkey was not only not Grade A, but it was also not a Utility Turkey either, in fact, this turkey didn’t make any Grade and should never have been sold.  I thought it was important that they know their suppliers obviously had issues with quality control and when it comes to meat, that is NOT a great thing.

I wasn’t expecting much from Walmart, except for a half hearted apology.  After all, I no longer had my receipt and the turkey was promptly thrown in the trash.  I was however surprised by the reaction of the assistant manager.  She was very emphatic and sincere with an apology and very much wanted as much information as possible as to brand so they can contact the supplier.  They have even arranged to refund me the purchase price plus provide a gift card for ruining our Christmas meal.

Will anything major come of this with the supplier?  Probably not.  Will I ever buy a turkey from Walmart again?  No, never again.  In fact, I would be hesitant to buy any meat products from them unless of course it was something like name brand bacon that is sold everywhere else.  I will however, shop at Walmart as always for 2 reasons.  The first being is that they are close and about the only store in my city that is a low cost department store.  The 2nd being they accepted responsibility for a bad product without much proof of the product.

So in closing, Christmas, other than the meal was wonderful.  The Mutant Turkey is finally at rest and will be buried at the local landfill but will go to Turkey Heaven knowing it won, no one ended up eating him.  I hope he was an old bird, who fought to the very end.  He will actually be remembered with fondness and we will remember and speak of him every Christmas to come.  RIP Mutant Turkey.

 

Perogy Day

Yeah I know not everyone spells it that way

One of the ways I earn money is making and selling perogies.  I sell them hot & ready to eat and they are pretty popular in my city.  I have however taken a bit of a break from them and don’t make them as often, because I just ran out of steam.  My daughter and I were putting in a huge amount of hours every week and the number of people that ordered but never showed just got out of control.  Then if you contacted them and told them that you had made their order and were waiting for them to pick up, I was often met with hostility.  I attribute it to the Internet actually.  People think of themselves as anonymous and will often lash out at others because there isn’t that “face to face” interaction and no consequences.  Often times the person would say things like “Sorry, but I have a life you know and I got busy, I will order some next week when I have more time” and when I would reply that if someone doesn’t show we won’t fill an order for them in future they would get verbally abusive, call me rude, say I had the worst customer service in the world, would tell everyone they knew never to buy from me.  It amazed me how them not showing up was suddenly my fault and expecting them to show up was rude and not willing to let them order from me again was poor customer service.

So anyways, it got to be too much and I took a break for a couple of weeks which turned into a few months (although I continued to make them for one customer who had ordered from me numerous dozen every week for years).

Well, finances being the way they are, I will be doing them again, although very small amounts of them, at a higher price and only to select individuals.  Although I really need the money, sometimes you need to step back and rethink things because quality of life matters.

So as for my perogies, they are easy to make, however they are time consuming and there are a few tricks to making them.  First is the filling, it has to be rich and melt in your mouth.  The dough, has to be extremely thin, otherwise it can be a bit chewy.  As a customer always tells me, my pergoies are like little pillows that melt in your mouth.

I use a Wilton round cutter, and the rubber top has made an incredible difference. It really does make cutting out the dough easier because you can put pressure on it and not hurt the palm of your hand.  You should also cut them out on a silicone mat.  Using a cutter on a hard surface just doesn’t work at well as cutting on a mat.  Lastly, I always use a scoop to make sure that each one is not only the exact size, but has the same amount of filling.

If you are interested in purchasing the products I have the links to the ones I use below.  I also have a short video of us making them as well.

You can purchase the Wilton Cookie Cutter for perfectly sized perogies here:

The Oxo Good Grips Medium Cookie scoop can be purchased here:

The Norpro Silicone Mat I use can be purchased here:

And So It Begins….

Some of us are just starting out, some of us are just starting again.  We may not have the finest home or the funds to do much of anything.  Yet, we all deserve a magical life full of fun and adventure.

I don’t have the answers, but this blog will be about my quest to finding my way to a happier life given the means that I have.  A quest for a better life, a more adventurous life, a life that makes me feel fulfilled.

I am one of the ones starting again and I have gone from having it all, to having nothing at all.  I have limitations, but hey, if I can do it, you can too.  My idea is that I can’t exactly write a blog about nothing, so I will have to push myself forward each day for the blog, and hopefully it makes my life a bit better in the process.

What can you expect from this blog?  Well just about anything, from recipes, to tips on saving money, to things I have learned along my journey.  I will share any adventures I have, and, along with my youtube channel, give you insight into my journey of a new, better me.  I hope that you learn something form me, that will help you along your own personal journey.

So let the adventure begin….