Recycling....

We are just hanging out in Toronto - it’s way too hot for me (36C/92F with humidity) and Janet does not have air conditioning. Our flight to Dublin is this afternoon at 5 pm and it is much cooler in Ireland - the forecast is showing 17 to 20C (62-68F) for the whole time which is just fine for me. Apparently one does not go to Ireland for the weather but it works for me!

the bad wheels

I left Thunder Bay on Sunday afternoon, with my bargain, hard side, spinner, wheelie suitcase, weighing in at 40 lb.  Arriving in Toronto, I had to find a place to purchase a TTC token to get on the bus to get to Janet’s. This part, getting myself to Janet’s on my own, using public transit, is my personal litmus test for the practicalities for our trip. I need to be able to manage everything on my own. Of course, it’s been a year since I did this and things have changed. After getting my luggage and trundling up and down a few times, I found someone to ask and was informed that there was a machine that dispensed them now and it should be back that way on the left. I went back, couldn’t find it, asked again. Again directed the other way. Finally spotted two tiny red kiosks with a small little TTC symbol on the side. Spent 10 minutes pressing buttons on alternate machines before I decided they were both non operational. Gave up, went outside to try and bluff my way. I found the proper pillar to get the bus I wanted, having googled the directions beforehand. Of course, there was construction and after asking another bus driver where to get #52 and if I could just pay cash (yes but they do not give change, hence the need for a token) I moved down to the next pillar. That bus driver looked at my ten dollar bill and said that's too much, just get in and never mind. I thought it must have been my curly hair and nice smile! On the bus, rode for about an hour, got off at Lawrence West where Janet was to meet me at an hour and a half after my flight arrived - I do not have a cell phone so this is old-school and why I was maybe getting a little flustered with the delay in the token-search.  Turned out it was perfect timing. Janet was there and we then went downstairs to catch the subway, going one stop to the nearest to her door. Lift the bag up a hefty flight of stairs to street level, drag it a block or so.  Needless to say, I was worn out and already cursing the virtually useless wheels on this bag.  At this point I’ll pay anything for another bag that actually wheels! 

That night, we had a nice little Maher family, Toronto-based, get together - brother Patrick and his wife Irm, nephew David and his wife Cathy,  Janet and I, with Janet having made ribs, risotto and veggies with affogato for dessert,  an at-home dinner.  It was a nice evening and good to catch up with everyone.

Next morning we went downtown for Janet to pick up euros so we would have some cash.  Wouldn’t you know my luck, there was a shoe store almost next door and I scored a pair of the coolest sneakers! They feel like slippers (a good thing) but they kinda look like oven mitts - they’re grey/silver and I couldn’t resist because it means I can delete two pairs  of others from my current 40-pound status. I later found out they light up like a hologram in the sunlight!

We had another stop to make and found Winners nearby and realized they have luggage! Oh man, I’m so happy! I got a Heys bag the exact size I originally wanted,  (24 x 16 x 10 with the expander feature) matching that cute little sky/clouds one I’d left at home and for under a hundred bucks! I know it has great wheels and will do the job no matter how heavy I pack it! And it's much nicer inside with a couple of zippered pouches. After paying, we toss our current purchases inside, remove the tags and wheel to the bus stop! It was so cute - we went into the subway, me with my bag, and a really nice man came over and offered to carry my suitcase down the stairs. I laughed, raised it up one-handed and said, it’s empty but thanks anyway! He chuckled and said have a great trip! Back at Janet’s, I transferred everything to the new bag and Janet took it down to the trash area in her building. She stopped off to check the mail and when going back to the elevator, spotted a person happily wheeling that bad bag to its new home!

The moral of the story, don’t cheap out on luggage unless you are bringing a strong, good-looking porter with you all the way!

four more sleeps...

until Ireland! I didn't count Tuesday night because we will be in flight and I don't really do well sleeping on a plane.

Dublin here we come! Getting pretty excited now. My  sister Janet and I are heading to Ireland for a couple of weeks. We have four days in Dublin on our own then we travel by train to Killarney and join up with Comfortable Hiking Holidays, a Canadian tour company. Spend 10 days with them total, ending back in Dublin. Then we have another five days to do whatever before returning to Toronto on the 20th of June. We booked this  last year just after returning from Australia. This hiking tour company is based in Toronto and is a much smaller scale outfit than Backroads which was the American company doing the New Zealand package. It is less pricey and it will be interesting to see the differences in experiences. Backroads was first class all the way and they had lots of extras but there was not a lot of free time.
 

I bought some new luggage for this trip - last year’s LLBean duffel bag that I took to Oz was not to my liking - it was like putting everything into a black hole and to find one thing was tedious. I wanted to keep it as small as possible. I got a Heys bag as a Christmas present and though I had specified 24 inch, it was actually 26 inch - a really nice bag but too big for my specs for travelling on my own. I did try it out and it’s great if someone else is around to take charge of toting and hoisting but way too big for me to be lifting here and there on my own. My next purchase was too small, a really nice carryon that would be perfect for an extra long weekend but not for 3 weeks worth. I had a hard time finding something in between and ended up with a bargain 24 incher, that weighed eight pounds empty. When it’s loaded up, the wheels don’t seem that great, on carpet anyway...I’ll keep you posted. I did a dry run the other day and I was at 32 pounds with still a bit of space left, which is pretty good. I’ll work on paring down my toiletries and not taking a hair blower or flatiron - I’ll stick with curly hair the whole time - the weather will likely help with that!

We’ve been advised about rain gear (which we have but never have had to use) and CCH also recommended a waterproof cover for backpacks. I pondered this and decided that mine might just be waterproof already as it is made of ripstop nylon. It was raining the other night so I put a couple of things - a hoodie, a book and an envelope  - in and left it out on the deck overnight - ha! I’m good - everything inside was all dry and perfect still, in the morning! 

Did a drugstore run for my first aid kit - Voltaren, wild oil of oregano, cough drops, Advil, digestive aids, bandaids, foot powder, cold stuff, etc. It always seems difficult to find in a foreign country and if you need something, always good to have.

Hit the used bookstore for a couple of books that will cover me for at least the flight to Dublin and can be left behind. 

Broke my own rules already! The Airbnb we booked in Dublin for 4 nights is just under $300 CAD - less than half the price of the next best...it promises a private twin room with ensuite and separate entrance - fingers crossed!

and the secret ingredient is....

Last year when sister Janet and I were in Australia, I discovered these yummy eats – the original vendor in Manly called them figgy seed bars. I was in love with them! We later went to New Zealand and visited Janet’s friend’s brother whose wife made ‘Sticky Seed Flapjacks’ from a recipe book she had. They were close to the Manly bars but something was missing and when I told her I liked to hack recipes, she offered me hers as a starter.
Apparently Birdseed Bars are a thing in NZ - in one of our lodgings (they all had cookbooks, Jamie Oliver being the most popular) I found a recipe by Angela Langbein which I unabashedly copied!
 Back at home in Thunder Bay, I began experimenting.
Spoiler Alert – these are not a cheap, quick snack but they are well worth the effort. I made them several times over the summer, getting progressively closer but something was still missing.
When I was out in Vancouver last October visiting other sister, Marnie, I found a homemade style granola bar at Meinhardt on Granville Street – they call it their ‘Grind’ bar (why, I don’t know) – it was quite different and not exactly my favourite thing but there was just something about it that triggered the missing component for me – theirs did have an ingredient list and there it was, staring me in the face – molasses!
After many batches and trials, here’s my last version:
Figgy Nutbars
1 1/2 C chopped pitted dates
1 1/2 C chopped figs
1 C cashews
1 C hazelnuts or almonds
2 Tbsp molasses
3 1/2 C old fashioned oatmeal
1 C pumpkin seeds
1/2 C sunflower seeds
2Tbsp chia seeds
1 tsp sea salt
Preheat oven to 350F.
Roast nuts for 10 minutes.
Line half sheet tray (12” X 8”) with parchment.
Place chopped dates and figs in pot with 2 C water. Bring to a boil and simmer to soften. Take off heat and allow to cool slightly. Put into food processor (should now be about 4 cups). Add the molasses. Whiz/pulse 2-3 times – I like it chunky, so you still know there are dates and figs. Remove to large mixing bowl.
Put roasted nuts in processor bowl (no need to clean in between) with 3/4 C water and blitz till smooth. Add to date mixture.
In same processor bowl, put oats and salt and pulse about 1 minute to rough chop. Add 1/2 C pumpkin seeds, 1/4 C sunflower seeds and 1 Tbsp chia seeds and pulse for another 15 seconds. Add to date/nut mixture. Stir/mix by hand thoroughly.
Spread mixture in sheet tray to 1.5/2 cm. Sprinkle the remaining pumpkin, chia and sunflower seeds over and press down to set them into the mixture.
Bake for 35 minutes.
Cool for 1 hour before cutting into bars.

For more details and close-up photos check out my food blogpost at cooktasteyum.blogspot.com

Janet and I are off to Ireland at the end of May – we’d love for you to join us!