April brought a ton of snow..

 

Funny how in April..it has lost its charm:)

We were so encouraged by the mild weather with literally no snow.. we jumped the gun..

My grandson and son-in-law came and changed our tires..It is a law here..Summer/Winter tires..

Jacques took out the summer furniture..(we can't do outdoor furniture like in California lol..)The BBQ..

And then the skies opened up..

I made a great quiche for lunch the tire changing day and these amazing cookies..I am not sure what her policy is on sharing her recipes since she published her book..

You can Google I am certain.

Mel Asseraf's best chocolate chip cookie..This girl had a pastry shop in Paris..was a winner on baking shows..I find it great to follow her on TikTok..Definitely not a waste of time.

If you have not watched The New look on Apple Tv..the series..I can recommend it.:)

Juliette Binoche,Ben Mendelsohn,Maisie Williams,John Malkovitich.

Riveting.

Although Coco Chanel is  a terrible woman in this series.

Paris figures at the top of course..Switzerland and a spot  south near Normandy..

Anyway we enjoyed it. The portrayal of Coco Chanel is unflattering but well acted.

The Guardian gives it 2 stars..Thank goodness I could not care less.

The audience gives it 4.5 stars

The Independent 4 stars.

Should you be going to Paris..

I highly recommend Véronique's Cooking classes.

Un rêve.

If I may recommend something else..

The Little Liar..the book on my sidebar..

Now that should be a movie.

I rarely give 5 stars.

I did:)

In fact I gave Spare 2 stars.

You cannot change mother nature but you can make it more cozy:)

Numi Blooming tea..always a treat:) Indoor gardening:)

Ok ..one last recommendation..I mean we have snow here lol so series are still de rigueur..at night :)

Only watched one ,yet..I think Mikey likes it:)Andrew Scott (Fleabag amongst others) is so good.

There you have my little life in QC when it's still winter in a way on our heels.

Easters past...photo heavy...

 We are not doing a big Easter celebration this year as we just did a big celebration for my husband's birthday..

I miss making the cute things.:)

I have years of cute accumulation.. lamb molds, Easter cookie cutters, cupcake toppers ,banners.. the latter all Peter Rabbit.I love Peter Rabbit.

These littles tower over me.. All of them..They are young adults ,I am grateful that I still feel so close to these gentle giants.

Below..Lucas now 18:) Is twice as tall;)That jade plant is now a literal tree  in the sunroom..same growth spurt as Lucas and the rest..

Susan Branch's lamb cake

Favorite cookies:)

 Le menu..

Now tell me Easter isn't cute? All religious beliefs apart..Easter is the cutest.

I always grew grass:)

I loved painting cookies..

Or adorning cookies with home made chocolate bunnies..

Or edible wafer paper.

My fave cupcake toppers. 

We used to call Oli..Poodle:) 

Little things:)

So ..Happy Easter..All of you..It is but a few days away..

I miss all this..I wonder if they will remember:)

So many of my Easter photos are lost in space..

That glitch remember?

I have them on CDs ..etc..but to go through them all would lead me down a REAL rabbit hole.

So I gathered a few still visible on my past blog posts.

 

March marches on..

 

That lovely little cake was found here...

It's an easy marble cake with easy measurements..But what I loved was that she showed the consistency..like a ribbon..it does not break..Break would mean dry..I had to add milk in both the vanilla batter(that I added so much bio orange rind:) ) and the choco mix..Plus look how easy..a ladle of choco a ladle of the pale..etc etc until done.

For many reasons I shy away from sweets..but a sliver of this w/ a cup of coffee..Is comfort ..to me.

No big sweet icing desserts..if it looks light and lively..then good;)

And in moderation.

I think our name could be Monsieur and Madame Moderation..LOL

More of my back people:)I must admit I like them better with their stories on IG.

C'est la vie.

The stories bring them to life..

Funny story..not really..

If someone asks me to paint something..

I will start it over 4 times to get it right and it never looks right..

However when I see something..and am inspired ..it really takes less than 1 hour to sketch..add ink..watercolor AND a story.

100 yrs ago shopping x-border was exciting..our money was worth more..at par and once ,more..

And the variety and prices were formidable compared to here.

One place we used to go to because it was close..

we stopped because it is all but deserted now apart from Walmart and TJ..

Our Walmart had a fire and is being renovated..it will take a while..

Laugh if you wish.. since Covid we have been twice.My pharma is there..THE BEST..but they deliver RXs..

On our way to our old haunting place..we saw these on the road..

Curiously..I had spotted an Amish family in the store..and we smiled and greeted each other..

When we left we saw them letting their horses feed.

There is a feed station at that store.

Reason to go back:)

They also have an ALDI.. and their yogurt is stellar;)

Our dollar is worth.. $0.75 to the US dollar now..:(

Times have changed..

TV..

I am enjoying..

You may remember Eugene Levy from Shitt's Creek.

I find it informative.

And boy does he dress well:)

 And for 75 his energy is contagious.

New Look..Christian Dior..Coco Chanel..

Interesting.. good soundtrack..some may be miscast.

Had no idea Chanel was like that.I know it's a show..but some element of truth..

I really got into this:) I know..doesn't look like my kind of show..but yes.

Below..

NOT FOR ME

Call the Midwife is back..THAT..I love.

I am reading Spare..and I am bored I hope it gets better.

Re Princess Kate Middleton..all the conspiracy theories..Shame on them.

I wish her well and complete healing.

She is in the best of hands.

And her family needs her.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Citron/Lemon

 

I do enjoy tiktok ..as well as IG ..I find lovely recipes on both..

I enjoy lemon..in warm water..or mixed with ginger..in my green tea.. in cookies..bars..loaves.. and curd.

I came upon a beautiful recipe on TikTok..

It is more creamy..

I put the ings on this watercolor..

You juice your 3 lemons and put in a pot..add the sugar..the 3 eggs..mix and cook on low heat continuously whisking ..until  it all looks amalgamated and ready... then drop in the room temp butter..and incorporate very well..

This is the magic..put in a blender and blend blend blend..

I will add in the link for the visual:)

Here it is.. 

Then you can make little shortbread tarts and fill with the cream..

The shortbread tarts are made from a recipe I gleaned form Ann Thibault..  I then just put a dollop in the tart.. and some lavender pearls( totally  not necessary).This isn't the filling on Ann's post..this is the cream of lemon..softer that curd..different..Love it.

A sprig of mint will be pretty when it's coming out of my ears ;)

We have had mild weather with geese arriving and snow melting like an ice cube in warm water..but today with one hour lost..the snow has returned.. March is never steady.However we are way ahead of ourselves..

Meanwhile I have been painting bunnies..

A real copycat:)This first one I did a few years ago..

When you step into Le Louvre..I noticed some female artists at easels..copying great masters works..To me..this is an exercise in observation.And a charming way to spend a rainy afternoon.:)

Have a lovely week..hope the change in time doesn't affect you too too much:)