Saturday, May 27, 2017

On Thursday we took a day trip over to the Island – and boy did the day go fast! We were on the first ferry out in the morning and it was our first trip on the new Salish Orca. The ship is smaller and, so far, it still looks new. The main vehicle deck is on the very lowest floor which means you have three full flights of steps to get to the lounge areas. The stairway is very steep and narrow (although you don’t notice it on the way up) and for the return trip we used the elevators as Pat has a bit of vertigo and if you started to topple it is a long way down and you’d take everyone else out on the way. The lounge area seems noticeably smaller, although we still have a full restaurant. The tables in the cafeteria are line up better to the windows, but the seagulls have already found them and they looked like they hadn’t been washed – ever! On the trip over we saw a couple of orcas so it is nice to know they aren’t scared off by the fancy painting on the sides of the ferry.

Our excuse for driving over was that there was some Cranberry Hall shopping that needed to be done at Costco. Pat paid for our membership online and when we got to the store we had to head to the membership desk. Within about ten minutes we had been persuaded to upgrade to the Executive membership – we’ll see if we shop there often enough during a year to save the extra money it cost. While Pat finished up at the desk I went a got a cart; we both laughed because it was a BIG cart. However, we weren’t even half-done our list and the cart was practically full. Project bins were on sale (5 for $30) and I was picking up a set for myself and another quilter and we got four folding chairs for the Hall. We picked up a package of toilet paper for the Hall, as well as one for another Board member; since they are a good deal we bought one for ourselves. Groceries weren’t really anything we wanted although on another trip we might pick up some canned goods. We added in a package of kleenex and paper towels, and by packages I mean a case!

We went from there to the Needlework Loft – a very small needlework shop run out of a basement. I’ve been there before and, although she has a selection of patterns, only one of them called my name. I had a long list of floss I needed; she has every colour of floss and it is so neatly arranged it is easy to pick the colours you need. Just down the road from the shop is the Kingfisher Resort and Spa, a place Pat and I have eaten dinner at a couple of times. We’d never lunched there before but it was as good as dinner; they even had my favourite Lavender Martini back on the menu and yes, I did indulge in one. The ferry ride home was uneventful; we sat outside the whole way and both got a bit too much sun.

Friday morning and part of the afternoon was taken up entirely with baking for the event last night. At one of our house concerts one of our guests brought lemon tarts; they were absolutely delicious and Peter said the key was to make your own lemon curd (and he said it was simple). So that was my first task and yes, it was very simple. Next up I made a vanilla bundt cake; the cake was made using a cake mix and instant pudding so it went quite quickly. It still took just over an hour to bake though. Sour cream cookies were next on the list but when the first pan came out of the oven they tasted a bit bland so I made a lime glaze for them. Once the tart shells were baked I filled them with the curd and made some meringue to go on top. They were difficult to transport, but they tasted very good! I’ll be using lemon curd for my lemon pies from now on (like I ever make lemon pies!) and I think I’ll make tarts again but leave off the meringue; I’d use a full size shell rather than the mini ones next time because they will transport better. It’s not often (in fact never) that I get a shout-out from the performer for my cookies; after he mentioned how good they were there were shouts about the lemon tarts and then one woman said she’d tried and liked all three of the treats. It was a small crowd and we didn’t make much money but I’m still basking in the accolades.

Today feels like a slow day although I’ve accomplished a bit. I had rhubarb in the fridge from the market so I made stewed rhubarb – a favourite for my breakfast. A friend gave me some lovely fresh rhubarb so I’ve cut up enough for two rhubarb pies. I put one package in the freezer but I kept the other one out. I thought we might have rhubarb pie this weekend but we still have baking left from the concert so it might be next week before we need a dessert again. I also did three loads of laundry and I have them hanging outside. I did a bit of sewing this afternoon but by this time of day the upstairs gets a bit warm and I’m less productive.