Holidays | four camels and a coffee to go

Canada Day: Toronto Style

Posted on July 2, 2015 by lovetotrav

One word for Canada Day.

WOW.

Toronto has a way of doing that.

On the way to the baseball game, these are the Canadian moments we saw.

And what brought tears to my eyes, was a parade we stumbled upon put on by immigrants and refugees to Canada. People who have chosen to make Canada their home.

And then a baseball game that was so much more than a baseball game. A place to celebrate Canadian heroes as they unfolded our flag. It was one of those I won’t forget moments.

And even the moon was celebrating in all its light.

Happy belated Canada Day to all. And for those of you who haven’t visited, do come. It is worth the trip.

Father’s Day: Toronto Style

Posted on June 22, 2015 by lovetotrav

Today was my husband’s first Father’s Day in Toronto.

Given that Toronto is one of the most multicultural cities in the world, this city speaks to us.

So we mixed and matched what Toronto has to offer, to bring Chris a Father’s Day that he and his tummy will never forget.

1. Since 5/6 of our family is breakfast obsessed, Father’s Day has to begin at this little Greek diner downtown complete with Greek potatoes and the friendliest staff.

2. Then, to walk off the food coma, we wandered until we found free ice cream from Prince Edward Island (our former home). Ice cream is a food group in our family!

3. Bookstores (well.. the travel section) often call our names and before we knew it, we were the proud owners of these. Cambodia, Turkey and Arabic lessons were on this year’s Father’s Day menu.

4. Then, tired and needing sugar, we found churros from Mexico.

5. The 1/6 of our family who is not breakfast obsessed required some falafel from Israel and Chris, being the sweet husband and dad that he is, participated as well.

6. Tired from our previous night at the drive-in, where we “travelled” to Costa Rica to laugh at the corny movie Jurassic World, we headed home.

7. Nothing speaks Canada more than mowing the lawn (well… shoveling snow maybe). So happy dad taught willing girls how to mow the lawn with his new super duper old-fashioned quiet lawnmower.

A perfect Father’s Day for the perfect father. Happy Father’s Day to all of you as well!

International Paring Down Day

Posted on June 15, 2015 by lovetotrav

Did you know there is a National Hug Day, A Purple Day (and I have been missing out on this for years and I am obsessed with purple), A World Turtle Day, and even An International Left-handers Day?

So I have decided to declare June 15 to be International Paring Down Day.

I usually love to pare down, to minimize, and to declutter my wardrobe on a regular basis.

Two words…cheap therapy.

Well usually…

Unless the paring down involves what will go on a trip and what will stay behind. And when it is not a trip and more of a move, this whole paring down thing begins to suck.

Unlike the old days when I could sweet talk the person at the airport counter into looking the other way at the amount of luggage I came bearing, there are rules now… and strict ones at that.

So no suitcases are going. Only hockey bags for all that hockey my daughter and I play… NOT!

And even though Cairo has 4 seasons sort of, I have deemed their winter not a true “winter” in my books, and have pulled the plug on all those bloody thick sweaters that take up way too much room.

Yay! Back to having some space.

Now what am I going to do about these boxes filled with my wonderful teaching ~~crap~~ materials? I can’t teach without this stuff, whatever it is!

Out goes more clothes. Books out rank clothing any day! Unless you are talking about anti-bug clothing which my daughter wants to take.

Just kidding 🙂

Are you a pro at paring down when you move/ travel or do you struggle and resist? Have you ever been stuck paying extra charges at an airport for overweight luggage?

When Pain Meets Mother’s Day

Posted on May 11, 2015 by lovetotrav

My mom has an endless supply of enthusiasm, energy, and love to give. She always did.

Despite having little time with us yesterday, she appreciated everything we did for her. Which felt like little in contrast to what she has done for us through out the years. Each and every year she would win the mother of the year award (the one that I am the sole judge of) and each and every year she would forge on to do what ever was needed to make us happy and feel safe.

As she sat at the kitchen table and I looked into her eyes, I wonder if she knows. Does she know that her mind is letting her down? Maybe… maybe not.

Despite the sad heart-breaking facts, she stays truthful to who she is, enthusiastic, energetic and loving in all that she says and all that she does .. even if it is for the millionth time.

And I guess for that, I should be grateful.

(She is a 76-year-old widow who recently has met and fallen in love with a lovely, active and intelligent man who is 96, who is also as equally forgetful. But the one thing they do remember is how much they care for each other and for those who love them.)

8 Steps You Too Can Take To Screw Up Cinco de Mayo

Posted on May 4, 2015 by lovetotrav

I am becoming enamored with the glitz, the glamour, and the glory of food blogs. You know those blogs that make you want to pull out a knife and a fork and begin eating the computer screen! So after having read all these motivational, follow your dream blogs that I have recently subscribed to, I thought I should bite the jalapeno and begin one. So here goes…

1.First of all, you should be unique and celebrate all food holidays before everyone else. That way your blog gets out there first.

Cinco de Mayo on Cuatro de Mayo – be unique and make a Mexican stand!

2. Invest in attractive and expensive kitchen tools such as I have.

Note the flower shaped cutting board. You can’t get that just anywhere. Dollar stores have to order these in advance for you!

3. Be sure to use top quality homemade spices such as I have.

The cream of the Mexican crop for tacos!

4. When in doubt, just buy a can of stuff… it is usually the same as all that difficult to make homemade stuff. And really… who will ever know or be able to taste the difference?

I was almost out of my canned beans (don't they look appetizing?) so picked up another. Good Old El Paso!

I was almost out of my canned refried beans (don’t they look appetizing?) so I picked up another can of good Old El Paso! You can never have enough cans on hand.

5. Be sure to cut the ingredients so they look attractive and are the same size as I have done.

Note the expert cutting culinary skills please.

6. Wnen in doubt, you can use leftovers (who will ever know right?) or you can even take leftovers such as I have done (Indian basmati rice – almost Mexican, si?) and mix them with Mexican rice from the package. The result is delish!

I am sure Indian flavoured rice mixed with Mexican will be a great combo!

7. Be sure to keep a clean attractive counter by using a gorgeous bowl to keep peelings in as I do.

What can I say? This bowl really has it going on. Perfect for a food blog.

8. And then with all great glamorous top-notch food blogs, you need to show off the final result to entice others to follow you or at a minimum, like you.

(Oops… already ate it… well, no not really… the dog did… she was the only one really in the mood for Cuatro de Mayo or to be honest, brave enough to stomach the results.)

I will try again tomorrow. I promise. Or maybe not. The dog isn’t looking that good. Maybe I should stick to a travel blog instead.

Have a great Cinco de Mayo tomorrow from Jade, Jazmin (our dog) and me. Hope yours is tastier than ours. 🙂