Hand knit Scarves all made from Katia yarns

Just in time for the fall and early Christmas gifts.  These scarves are made from Katia yarns, a ribbon type yarn that makes for unusual and funky scarves. 

Katia Rizos Scarf

Katia Triana Scarf..4 inches wide by 45 inches long.  Can be worn wrapped around neck several times to give an extra frilly look. 

Update on Sassy and Frosty

On March 15th, we left at 4:30 in the morning for the long drive to Montreal.  We made several stops along the way and thanks to Onstar, following their directions, we arrived at Animal Adoption Montreal (Chatopia) at 11:15 in the morning.

I met Maggie Shuter, the founder of Chatopia and Richard, a volunteer.  There were several other volunteers who were busy feeding the cats.  I saw Lucy, a beautiful white Persian, Queen of Chatopia and little Tammy, a tabby persian. 

My eyes lighted on Frosty..flying along the hallway in his lion's mane haircut he had received the week before.  What a beautiful cat.  In a back room along with Shelby and other cats was Sassy, she too had a lion's mane haircut.  She rushed over to the volunteer, standing up on her hind legs like a gopher, asking to be picked up.  I reached down and picked her up and she snuggled into my shoulder.  What a sweetie.

What a wonderful job Maggie and her volunteers do.  The cats were not in cages...there were separate rooms and cats were divided as to their personality and needs. 

We left Chatopia around 12:30pm, again following Onstar directions back home and after stopping only once, we arrived home around 6 pm..

I put Frosty in the back bedroom with a litter, food and water and it was two days later before I would really see him...during that time, I only caught glimpses of him.  Sassy climbed up on our knees and glued herself to us.

March 15th was a Tuesday and on Thursday evening I picked up my younger daughter, Kim at the train station.  She was coming home to see the cats.  When she got home, she quickly had something to eat and then sat down on the floor closest to where we thought Frosty was.  That worked...out he came and she had him eating from her hand. 

Fast forward to today, May 15th, two months later and what a difference.  Frosty explores all over the house..wants up on my knee, shares my bed with Sassy (gosh I wish I had the bed to myself) and is the most affectionate cat I have ever had.

Sassy is Sassy with an attitude.  I had told Maggie that I thought I would change Sassy's name to one more fitting such a beautiful cat....I didn't because her name suits her to a T...she has cattitude like no other cat I have had, she is unpredictable and I get a massage every night..a Sassy massage.  Her previous owners had her declawed ( I guess they don't realize that is mutilation) and so every night when she jumps up on my bed, she paws the blanket very fast before settling down.  She settles close to my leg, so it is my leg that gets the pawing, ever so gently and just like a massage.  She is so sweet and loving and then at other times will give you a look that can stop you in your tracks. 

We love both these cats so much and although they are in no way at all like Vicky, they are their own unique personalities. 

Thank you Maggie Shuter for allowing us to adopt them.

http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/QC35.html

Frosty getting his haircut...what a lot of fur.  It is over two months now since Frosty and Sassy had their haircut at Chatopia and the fur is just beginning to grow in...both cats will be thankful for their haircuts if we have the hot summer the weather people are forecasting because it will be well into the fall before they have their full coat of fur.

Rescue Cats.. Persian/Himalayan..Animal Adoption Montreal

It took me a long time to write about Vicky's passing.  But it was only last week that I realized just how much I missed having my beautiful cat.  A friend of my daughters told me about a group in Montreal  who operated a cat rescue for Persians and Himalayans.  I don't know why anyone would not take care of these beautiful cats, how could they end up in  a shelter.   

I looked at the Animal Adoption Montreal site through Petfinders and found Sassy, a gorgeous five year old  tortie himalayan with the most beautiful expression in her eyes.  I fell in love with her...she reminds me a bit of Vicky.  And so I applied to adopt her.  One of the questions in the application asked if I would consider taking two cats. I answered "undecided".  I really was undecided because once I decided on Sassy, I looked at other cats...Frosty is a beautiful four year old Perisan, a shy guy.  How could I leave him there.  We have enough room at our home for two cats and more than enough room in our hearts for two cats.  That was it..Sassy and Frosty,  you both belong with us.  I am just waiting for arrangements to be made for a volunteer to drive them to me. 

Welcome home Sassy and Frosty.

This is Sassy

This is Frosty

There are more beautiful cats still available from the shelter.  If you are thinking of getting a pet cat..check out the link below.

http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/QC35.html

R.I.P Vicky, March 24, 1994 - September 13, 2010

It was a sad day last Septmber 13,  2010 when I took my precious Vicky for the last time to the Vet.  A year and a half earlier I had taken Vicky in to see the Vet because she just wasn't her usual self.  There were no outward signs of any illness but her eyes no longer sparkled the way they used to.  So blood samples were taken for various tests, after all, she was 15 and a half and I knew the test results may reveal what was wrong with her.  The next day my Vet called me and told me the prognosis was not good.  Vicky was having a problem with her kidneys, they weren't working as well and suggested we change her diet to one recommended for cats with kidney disease.  Three months later we had to begin SubQ fluids a couple of times a week for her.  For the next two months, I took Vicky to the Vet twice a week for fluids.  Each time I was encouraged to learn how to give Vicky fluids.  I declined but later on in the fall of 2009 I decided that Vicky would be much happier if I gave her the fluids at home.  With winter approaching I had dreaded the thought of having to take her out in the cold and so I learned.  For the next 10 months, along with the help of my husband we were able to give Vicky the fluids she needed to keep her comfortable.  It gradually increased to three times a week and then late in August,  I noticed she wasn't responding as well.  A decision had to be made and so I called my Vet. 

R.I.P Vicky, know that you were loved from the day we adopted you.  We were your third and final owners and we were so lucky to get you.

In Remembrance, November 11th

I was a child of two and half years when my older brother left to join the RCAF.  I remember that I couldn't understand where he had gone or why he left except that I knew he had something to do with airplanes.  My mother told me that when my brother left, whenever I would see a plane in the sky, I would call out Baw, Baw, my name for my brother Tom. 

A few years back, my brother was asked by his grandson to write a speech about what he did in WW II because he would like to share that speech with his classmates at school on remembrance day.   The following is an excerpt from that speech

In 1942, I joined the Airforce.  I was 16 ½ years old.  I was stationed at Toronto for assessment for three months; went to McGill University for four months then to #9 Bombing and Gunner School at Mont Joli for four months. After Mont Joli it was on to Three Rivers Commando Training then to Halifax.  Boarded the ship Nieu Amsterdam, landed in Gurock, Scotland.  Took the train to  Cheltenham, more training then to Abingdon to assemble crew.  I then went to Acaster Malbis for more Commando training; then to Marston Moor to train on two engine aircraft; then to 462 Squadron to train on Halifax bombers.   It was in Foulsham near Norwich I stayed there until the war was over.   (WW11).

I was an Air Gunner in the RCAF.  My RANK was a FLIGHT/SGT  service # R290043.   While in  ENGLAND, I was Stationed at FOULSHAM which is a village about 30 or so miles from the city of NORWICH.   The Squadron was # 462 in Bomber group command.   We were called Thunderbolt Squadron.    We flew  in Halifax 1V airplanes.  These are large 4 engine bombers carrying a crew of 7  (pilot ),  (navigator ), (Bombardier ), ( Flt/ engineer ) ( wireless operator) (2 Air gunners).   One was a rear gunner and I was MID upper gunner. This  was an (ABC) Squadron  (ABC) stands for Airborne Counter Radio Interruptance squadron.   WE carried an extra crew member with us, he had special training & spoke fluent German & our aircraft was full of specialized Radio equipment.  His job was to disrupt the German fighter plane Dispatchers  & Radar.

 Our squadron would take off (5 or 6 planes ) at the same time as a group of bombers took off to bomb German targets.   Before we reached Radar spotting height,  (the German Radar could detect us at fifteen hundred feet ?  ), the special operator, using a tube on the side would push out the appropriate amount of packets of tinfoil (these were designed to appear on German radar as if two equal number of bombers were on the way,  one going to the south one going to the north of Germany.

This caused the German fighter dispatchers to send half their fighters to the North & half to the South, thus dividing their number of fighter planes.   We would only fly (our squadron) to the coast of Europe, then circle around while the specialist used  the German radio frequency to try to confuse the Germans by pretending to be the real fighter dispatcher and  the German dispatcher was the wrong one.

The Germans overcame this at a later date by using female dispatchers  We overcame

this by installing a microphone near one of our engines and the special operator would find the German frequency they used, flip a switch  and jam the radio frequency.   They would switch to  a new one, the special operator would it and jam that frequency.   We would then head home having done as much damage as possible.

The bales of tinfoil (called WINDOWS) were done up with paper bands so they would burst when they hit the slipstream.  Hey maybe Bill Gates is in Patent infringement ?  These got fed out depending on the amount going to bombing target (ie) 5 bales per minute for 100 bombers and 10 for 200 bombers.  This would show up on radar as two identical squadrons of bombers.  I don’t know the name of the person who designed this (ABC) program, we called ourselves,  “The Air Born Cigars”.

My brother will be 85 years old next month and is one who has never been afraid to learn new things..five years ago he wanted to know how computers work..so he began to take various old computers apart and learned about them.

On this day I thank you, Tom.

My brother, Tom and his bride, Sadie, on their wedding day, June 18th, 1949.

Dundas/Dundass 101st Reunion

1773 - 2010


Our 101st Dundass/Dundas reunion of the descendants of William and John Dundass, cousin Moses Dundass and other Fermanagh Dundas branches is quickly approaching.
Join with us and Clan Chief David Dundas and his bride Connie Sanders Dundas on Sunday, June, 27th as we gather for an 11:00 a.m. church service at Banner United Church, near London, Ontario.
The service is followed by our annual picnic and provides a time to socialize and reconnect. As usual, beverages will be provided. Bring your potluck contribution (for 4 -6), dishes, cutlery and lawn chairs and join your “cousins” in Banner.

Woolworth's Banana Roll (Cake) Recipe

I was fortunate enough to be a stay-at-home Mom when my children were in school. Early in 1977, a neighbour taught me how to decorate cakes, not just birthday but the more advanced techniques of working with Royal Icing and air brushing colours on to a cake. Word got around the neighbourhood that I baked and decorated cakes..soon I had a thriving cottage industry. Over the years from 1977 to 1989, I baked and decorated a lot of cakes. Some were done for schools, gradutions, our local library on the opening of a new branch, weddings and birthdays, however, two that I recall were for people turning 100 and 101 years old. I still have my book of various pictures that I took when a cake was finished.



And two of my favourites, the "you're how old" was done for my sister's 40th birthday and the tiger was done using airbrush techniques.









Lifting heavy wedding cakes put a strain on my shoulder resulting in a "frozen shoulder" and in 1988, I stopped doing cakes. Went back to college at the age of 49, took a legal secretarial course and upon graduation, re-entered the work-force. Commuting to Toronto from Oshawa daily did not leave me very much time to do any baking, even birthday cakes for my kids. So I compromised.

Years before I began to bake cakes, my husband would periodically pick up a banana roll from the Woolworths store in downtown Oshawa. We just loved them, so delicious and not expensive, something like $3.50 for a banana roll that would serve 6 people. Although I had often been complimented on the taste of my cakes (I still am even today whenever I run into one of my former customers)I could never duplicate the taste of Woolworths banana roll nor the taste of the icing...it was so delicious. So whenver birthdays rolled around, I would order two banana rolls for that occasion.

During the past couple of years, at birthdays, my younger daughter often commented, "Mom, how I wish you knew how to make a Woolworths Banana Roll", said she with a mouthful of a special order birthday cake from our supermarket. Find me the recipe, said I, and I will make it up. What a wonderful tool Google is..two weeks ago she sent me the recipe she had found on a website, http://www.hungrybrowser.com/phaedrus/m0407M08.htm#5

..it seems my family is not the only family who misses these delicious cakes. And so I made up a banana roll, following the recipe from the website. The cake tasted like the banana roll from Woolworths but alas the whipped cream frosting did not. Then I remembered, walking into Woolworths store to pick up the banana roll, it was ready for me and waiting in their display case, however, the case was not refrigerated...Woolworths did not use WHIPPED CREAM FROSTING on their Banana Rolls. I knew that it had to be a different recipe and thinking back to when I was baking and icing cakes, I remembered a recipe for a "Pretend Whipped Cream Frosting" that didn't use whipping cream at all. Mary Lisko,aka the happy cooker, had this recipe in her cookbook.

So I baked another banana roll, did up the frosting and yes, this is the famous Woolworths Banana Roll, except..the consistency of the frosting was not quite the same. It needed to be a bit stiffer. I solved this by adding a packet of "Whip-It" to stabilize it (I used to use "Nutriwhip" when I was decorating but I couldn't find it) to the frosting recipe.

Here are the recipes:

1 cup sifted cake flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 large) mashed ripe banana
1 tablespoon sour cream
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
5 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg, room temperature

Line a 12 X 15 1/2 inch by 1/2 thickness cookie sheet or jelly roll pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2 inch overhang. Grease the pan first. Grease the parchment paper. Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mash banana and add sour cream. The recipe calls for lemon zest..I do not use it. Cream the butter until it is smooth and lighter in color. Add the sugar and scrape the mixture clinging to the sides into the center of the bowl. Continue to cream until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the egg and continue to beat until the mixture is quite fluffy. Add half of the flour mixture until blended. Then add the banana mixture, blending well. Add the remaining flour mixture, blending until smooth. Pour batter into pan, using a spatula to spread it into the corners. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until golden brown. It may take longer, depending on your oven.

Remove from oven and while still warm, invert on to a tea towel that has been sprinkled with icing sugar. Beginning at the short side end, roll up in the tea towel..cool.

When cool, unroll the cake and fill with:

Pretend Whipped Cream Frosting:

4 Tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup white (granulated) sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon butter flavouring
Ground walnuts
1 packet Whip-it (optional)

Mix flour and milk in a saucepan (do not use a microwave). Cook over low heat until thick, stirring constantly with a wire whisk. Place into a bowl and put in fridg to cool. Cream butter and shortening together, beat for 4 minutes...it must be 4 minutes. Add sugar gradually. Add the flour paste, mixing well, then the packet of Whip-it and continue beating. Add vanilla and butter flavouring and mix well until well blended.

Using a spatula, cover the unrolled banana cake with the frosting. Then roll up beginning at the short end. Slice the ends of the roll to make it even and spread the frosting on top. Sprinkle the top with ground walnuts..and you have the Woolworths Banana Roll. Enjoy.