Another Muse - Leonard Cohen

Leonard Cohen has got to be one of the sexiest men of all time.
His voice is like dark velvet and I can listen to his recordings, with the lights turned low, for hours and hours and hours

... there's no foresaking what you love
no existential leap
as witnessed here in time & blood
a thousand kisses deep....

Best Easter Eggs Ever!!

OK - With Easter right around the corner, I find myself reminiscing once again about another childhood memory.... Laura Secord Easter Cream Eggs.  Cadburys Easter Cream Eggs are a pail comparison to Laura's treats!!!  

When I was little the Easter Bunny would always hide the little yellow box in each of our baskets.  The funny thing was that as soon as our morning egg-hunt was over, those little yellow boxes would be initialled (so that my sisters and brother and I wouldn't fight over them), and whisked away into the refrigerator, only to be served to us under my dad's strictest of portion controls - every night thereafter, for as long as they lasted, my dad would take out our Laura Secord eggs and a very sharp knife, and slice a wafer thin section off the end for us to eat.  I'm serious when I guess that those little eggs lasted us for weeks because my siblings and I still joke about dad's portion control.

He applied it most notably to our Laura Secord Easter Eggs, and the boxes of Morden's Russian Mints that my uncle would always send us from Wininpeg, for Christmas.

The really funny thing is that it took us kids many years before we figured out that there wasn't really anything stopping us from going into the fridge any time we wanted to cut our own slices of chocolate cream delight.  Alas, as soon as we figured that out, they didn't seem to last as long, and inevitably my sister Jenny, who had supernatural self-control would end up having the last egg, and really enjoyed drawing out her pleasure while the rest of us looked on longingly.

Sadly, there are no Laura Secord's west of Winnipeg, so I haven't been able to indulge in this chocolate memory for a long time now - BUT Ken (aka my personal easter bunny) is in Ontario on business this week, so I've put in a special request for him to find a Laura Secord store and grab me one... or two.  If that doesn't work out, I just found out they sell these decadent treats at Shoppers Drug Mart in Alberta, so maybe there's hope for me this year.

I guess if I were feeling ambitious I could try to find a recipe to make them myself - but why mess with perfection when Laura Secord could be as close to me as my nearest Shoppers.... or Ken's suitcase.

Dedicated to you Ken......

Because I love you, and given the chance would marry you again, and again, and again....

yay for Friday

I Will Possess Your Heart (Album Version video)

I recently discovered this band, Death Cab for Cutie, thanks to a Facebook friend's status update....
I went to check them out on YouTube, and haven't been able to stop listening!
A new band for my dream studio/summer 2011 soundtrack (if it ever comes... can you believe we have MORE snow in the forecast????)



... ok - so the lyrics are a bit depressing, but I love the music, and sometimes wish I could be the girl in the video, backpacking around the world.

One of my Muses.... Kate Bush

I Love Kate Bush - I have been a fan of hers, ever since the first time I listened to "The Ninth Wave" (side 2 of her Hounds of Love Album), back in the mid 1980s.
I find her music to be timeless. It is everything from inspirational to disturbing, humourous to haunting.  The Stories she tells through her music are almost always breathtakingly creative.
Kate Bush's voice and the imagery in her lyrics embody an ethereal beauty and magic that always stays with me long after I turn off my stereo.

Her music makes up a big chunk of my all-time most played playlist, and will definitely be playing in the soundtrack of my dream studio.
The following videos show just a sample of her genius.

The Haunting Beauty:


The Fun Cover Songs:


The Wondrous ...


... and the Frighteningly Moralistic Storytelling:


Blissful Pleasure:


and Sheer Horror:


If you have never done so, take some time to really experience Kate Bush's music. Allow yourself to drift away to surprising and mysterious places.

and above all else, enjoy the moments...

As Always,
Dayna

Another Indulgence.... Red Velvet Wine

A huge shout out to my good friend Jen H who, knowing about my quest for the perfect Red Velvet, discovered a Red Velvet Wine by Cupcake Vineyards, out of California.
And even better - found an awesome website that shows where it (and just about every other type of wine and spirit) is sold in Alberta!!!

Here is a description of the Cupcake Vineyard's Red Velvet wine from their website:
Red Velvet is a smooth creamy blend of Zinfandel, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. It's reminiscent of a blackberry chocolate cupcake with a mocha coulis.  Shows an incredible nose of chocolate, deep rich blackberries,  red fruits and a creamy mocha finish that is unmistakable in its intensity and length.

She picked us up a bottle, and because my husband is out of town tonight, we had an impromptu girls night... actually it was more of a girls late afternoon/early evening, because we had our kids with us, and needed to be responsible.
ANYWAYS...

The label says the wine pairs well with dark chocolate fondue, bacon cheeseburgers or sweet and spicy hoisin steaks... (talk about a mixed pallette)...So, because the sun was still shining at dinner time, and DESPITE the piles of snow that still blanket my back yard, I decided to fire up my bbq and comprimise on the label's recommendations by making some homemade Hoisin Hamburgers on wholewheat buns to accompany the vino.... 

We were a little wary of the wine at first, afraid that it might not live up to our expectations (much like my first impression of the Red Velvet Cupcake from a few posts back), but I'm so happy to report that I think I've found a new favourite red wine, perfect for summer (if it ever gets here).  The wine is light, but has a beautiful rich red colour.  It went wonderfully with our dinner, but I think I could easily nurse it on it's own too.... always a good sign :).

Thanks for searching it out Jen!!!!  Here's to keeping a stash of this new indulgence on hand - and continuing to discover new ones of course :)

That's all I've got to say about that for now.... maybe tomorrow I'll post my recipe for the Hoisin Hamburgers... they were delish too, if I may say so myself.

As Always,  Dayna 

Singing my afternoon away....

Well - with this past weekend's April Snowstorm, I can't decide if Mother Nature is just late finding her way back to Southern Alberta, OR if she just has a really bad sense of humour... APRIL FOOLS DAY was FRIDAY!!!!! Enough with winter already!!

April 2, 2011 - view from my front window - wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong!!!!!

On a bright note - at least the sun came out on Sunday, and the snow was perfect for sledding and snowman building..... admire the masterpiece of snowsculpture that Ken and Evy created in our front yard....

Evy's PJ Day in the Springtime Snow, April 3, 2011

The snow is still on the ground today, and while it's wonderful to report that the warm sun is shining again, and the robins are singing their little red breasted hearts out,  unfortunately our snowman has fallen over, there's not much snow left on our sledding hill and it's too mucky pull the bikes out this afternoon..... SO, instead, I have all of the windows in my house open to the spring air, and we are having an inside playday complete with princess colouring pages, barbie dolls and lots of singing,  In fact, Evy has decided to sing instead of talk today, and refuses to answer me, unless I sing back to her - so we are having our own mini off-key opera going on at our house this afternoon.... hmmm maybe I should close those windows afterall.

But then, there really is something special about this time of year, the warmth of the sun, the smell of melting snow (when there are no dogs nearby), the birds chirping away as they search out nesting spots, the prospect of putting away the ole parka and snowboots, and you really have gotta love Spring Fever's ability to drop our inhibitions!!! So, having said that, I guess as long as our caterwauling doesn't scare away the robins, I think I'll keep the windows open and Sing! Sing! Sing!

As always, Dayna