So as many of you know, last year Jack and I decided it was time to renovate the cottage. Since we were retiring we decided to move in full time after we sold our home. I am happy to announce that it is finally ready and we’ve already started moving in. We should be completely settled by the end of August.

I know we’ve been behaving rather secretively as to how we planned change the place, so here’s a sneak peak of a couple of before and after shots:

  

We hired the company XYZ Home Improvements since they came so highly recommended from a few of you! They have done a wonderful job! I’ll post more pictures later. Promise!

Jane

  As I mentioned I have taken up golf so I invested in my first set of clubs. I opted for a set that wasn’t too pricey. Once my game improves I will purchase a better set.

I found them online on the Sears site again. The set includes:

#1, 3 woods and #3, 5, 7, 9 irons with oversized, titanium matrix heads for greater distance and accuracy, plus a cavity-back putter. All-weather tour-style grip. Lightweight steel shafts on all clubs. Made in Canada.

Watch out Jack! You’ll get getting some competition now!

I have just started to learn how to play. Jack of course has been playing for years. But I was thinking maybe of taking a mini golfing getaway.

At any rate, when we bought the Sears Travel membership, they supplied us with a slew of coupons to use. I went on their site and they have a whole area dedicated to golf vacations.

I am thinking this may be just what I am looking for:

Exclusive Taboo Golf Package

	TABOO RESORT GOLF CONFERENCE CENTRE – MUSKOKA May Golf/Spa Package $199.001 night/1 round of golf or Spa Credit The home course of Mike Weir and Ontario’s #1 golf Course, Taboo’s 7200 yards are meticulously carved from the majestic Canadian Shield. The Result is a beautiful and challenging course that is quickly becoming popular among discerning golfers worldwide. This is Golf. This is Taboo.
Package Includes:   3 nights accommodation (Lodge Room)  3 rounds of golf in 3 night package (Taboo)  Shared golf carts  Advance tee times  Compact rental car with unlimited mileage Not Included:  Fuel, tax and insurance for rental car

As a runner, you want to make sure that your feet are spending just enough time on the ground. Too long or too short and you can cause stress on your muscels.

Your goal: 45 steps by your left foot in 30 seconds.

What does this mean? Your left foot should ht the ground 45 times in 30 seconds. Start your stopwatch and begin to count. Stop your watch and look at how long it took you to reach 45 steps. It if is 30 seconds, you have an optimal stride.

To correct your stride, run with someone who meets the goal and try to mimic his or her stride rate. Some other great tips can be found here.

I have to credit Dr. John Definney with all his help and for this tip about correcting your stride rate.

I was asked recently what is the secret to my baking. I am convinced that I owe it all to my KitchenAid 10-Speed Stand Mixer. Since my daughter purchased it for me 3 years ago, baking truly has never been the same! The whites are fluffier and the batter smoother – nothing compares!

It comes in a variety of colours and it is very heavy so I suggest that you keep it in a handy location where you don’t have to pick it up and move it around too much! Some of you may gawk at the price, but it really is worth the investment. They last forever and are durable enough to even mix dough.

This recipe is courtesy of Amy and after baking them, I can I attest that they truly are the best brownies ever. Enjoy!

1 pound unsalted butter
1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
6 ounces bitter chocolate
6 extra-large eggs
3 tablespoons instant coffee granules
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups chopped walnuts
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter and flour a 12 x 18 x 1-inch baking sheet.

Melt together the butter, 1 pound of the chocolate chips, and the bitter chocolate in a medium bowl over simmering water. Allow to cool slightly. In a large bowl, stir (do not beat) together the eggs, coffee granules, vanilla, and sugar. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature.

In a medium bowl, sift together 1 cup of flour, the baking powder, and salt. Add to the cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts and 12 ounces of chocolate chips in a medium bowl with 1/4 cup flour, then add them to the chocolate batter. Pour onto the baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes, then rap the baking sheet against the oven self to force the air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Bake for about 15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not overbake! Allow to cool thoroughly, refrigerate, and cut into 20 large squares.

Notes: Flouring the chips and walnuts keeps them for sinking to the bottom. It is very important to allow the batter to cool well before adding the chocolate chips, or the chips will melt and ruin the brownies. This recipe can be baked up to a week in advance, wrapped in plastic, and refrigerated.

Jack and I went away last year to Australia. (If you haven’t seen the pics you will find a few posted in the photo album.) We booked the whole thing online – if you can imagine!

I have decided that I want to participate in the 2005 Boston Marathon. I need to achieve a qualifying time of 4:15 for 42km. I have four months to train (which is when the Toronto International Marathon happens).

Jack is forever my supportive cheerleader. Wish me luck!

I have just joined the Doubleday Book Club and convinced all the ladies in the Neighbourhood Book Club to join as well.

The first book we have ordered to read is The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom.  Here is their review:

“Once in a great while, the world is given a literary gift with profound transformative powers-a work of beauty and emotion that resonates in the hearts and souls of all who read it. Remarkably, Mitch Albom accomplished this with his debut book Tuesdays With Morrie, and the new author was also transformed-into a publishing phenomenon. Now, Albom does it again, following his runaway bestseller about life's greatest lessons, with a magical, poignant novel of a seemingly ordinary man, who discovers the extraordinariness of his life-in heaven.

At 83-years-old, Eddie believes he has lived an uninspired life. A widower, maintenance man at a seaside amusement park, and wounded war veteran, each new day seems a joyless repetition of the last. But when he is killed attempting to save a little girl from a falling cart on a ride, he discovers heaven is not the destination he imagined. Instead, he finds a place where the defining moments of his life are pieced together through encounters with five people-each of whom share with him a fateful and significant connection.”

We have our first discussion this weekend.