Marion's Cookbook

Over the winter of 2019, Wendy went through all of her mother's favourite recipes and asked friends and families to contribute their ideas on the favourite foods Marion used to make. She decided she wanted to make a cookbook with these recipes, but added another twist - she wanted it in Marion's own handwriting! Forward a few months and lots of scanning through recipe cards, we developed a "MarionStrickland" font to use in creating this book. We created this font on Caligraphr (https://www.calligraphr.com/en/), and the result was spectacular.

The cookbook itself got printed through Blurb.ca (our favourite book making company).  Now is the time to share this work with everyone, using two different methods:

• If you would like to download and view the electronic (pdf) version of the cookbook for FREE, here is the file. The cookbook file is quite large (37Mb), so you may want to download it onto a computer rather than a phone. 
• If you would like to purchase a physical copy of the book, click on the link below to go to our Blurb bookstore page where you can purchase online and have it sent directly to your door. The hardcover book will cost C$ 50.39 on the Blurb website (this is the same price that we paid - we added no profit margin!). 

https://www.blurb.ca/bookstore/invited/8509185/284b92794003a48ed8e9031668167fc1a00053c9 

We hope that you will enjoy this cookbook as much as we do. Please let us know if you have any problems downloading it, or if you have any comments you would like to share about this project in memory of Marion.

MARION'S COOKBOOK

By Wendy F. Seidlitz

Many changes as our summer begins

May, June, and July has seen many changes for our family.

With the weather warming up in May, we decided that our old lawnmower was not going to be up to the task of tackling the heavy grass this season. We bought a new Honda lawnmower and it seems to work much better (although I can't tell, because I am not allowed to cut the lawn...).

We have been trying to get out to hike more than over the winter (which means anything greater than 0 hikes!) but have had difficulty arranging our schedules. We did get a chance to go out on a local hike with our friends Terry and Theresa.

Before Adam headed off to cadet camp for the summer, we had a BBQ with a bunch of his friends. Of course, Parker had to work this day, so he didn't get to eat with the crowd.

One of the many reasons that we didn't have much time to hike was because we were helping Wendy's mom move from her house to a senior's apartment in April/May. Sadly, Marion passed away June 30th after only 2 months in the apartment and after a long battle with cancer. She will be sadly missed by all.

Marion had wanted to live to see the fireworks on Canada Day (Canada 150!). In her honour, we went to the Canada Day fireworks in Lynden, Ontario. The blanket Wendy is wearing was made with love by her friend Carolyn so Marion would be able to keep warm at the fireworks.

As has happened many times around our place, a pair of mourning doves built a nest right next to our front door. This year we watched patiently as they prepared the nest and, eventually, sat on it for the long incubation. We were happy to see two new doves arrive in early July, representing a new beginning.

2 baby doves

One morning we went out to find the nest empty - it seems that the new dove family moved on to wherever they spend their summers. We expect to see the parents back in the spring next year!

Our empty nest

Our next post will likely be after one or two trips we have planned this summer. Hopefully I will also have an update for everyone relating to my academic job! 

June so far

June has been a busy month, especially for Parker. In addition to his umpire job, he got a part time job as a dishwasher at the Hamilton Golf and Country Club in Ancaster (he was a caddie there last summer). He works some very long shifts, sometimes finishing just before 1 am... which means one of us has to stay up to drive him home. 

If that wasn't busy enough, Parker also is a player on a Dundas Minor baseball team. They play in several locations around Hamilton, so sometimes there is a little driving involved. Maddy seems to like to go to the games and really enjoys all the new smells at the ball park.

Adam hasn't been idle either.  He has some news to share...

https://goo.gl/photos/gnLkHFWJDCT8UqRP7

Click the link above if the video doesn't work

Yes, he bought all the gear to go with the motorcycle he purchased. Here he is showing off the gear.

He picked up the bike (a used Suzuki) this week and will be taking a motorcycle course this coming weekend. He has his M1 licence (motorcycle learner...) and the course he will take includes the road test that satisfies the government requirements. 

Wendy and I have kept busy as well.  We went with her mom to a family wedding (Wendy's cousin) in Zurich (Ontario). Here we are just after the outdoor service.

It was blistering hot, so we found shade wherever we could.

Wendy and I have been doing Tai Chi since last year, and we have finally learned all 108 moves. Here is Wendy doing some of the moves... I took pictures because I had to sit out at the end due to some joint issues.

https://goo.gl/photos/Ly9QGXnDM3qKKwFT7

Click the link above if the video doesn't work

Getting back into summer mode

After the variable weather that characterized our spring season, it finally looked like it was going to really become spring-like.  Our flowers continued to bloom and the crabapple tree on our lawn seemed to put on a good show this year.

Unfortunately, after many days of >30C weather, we got this...

May 15th should be nice, right?

We had cancelled our hike with friends along the Bruce Trail last week because the weather was uncomfortably hot... this week we cancelled because it was uncomfortably cold and snowing.

Things soon turned the corner and jumped into summer after that last gasp of winter. On the May long weekend, Wendy's mom took us to Stratford for our annual trip to a musical. This year was "A Chorus Line". I think Parker mostly appreciated the traditional Tim Horton's stop on the way there and the Dairy Queen stop on the way back!

Parker began his umpiring job for the Dundas Little League by jumping straight in and working his first time ever as plate umpire.  He did well, but was nervous about making mistakes. He looked huge in comparison to all the players, although that might partly be due to his equipment.

He also umpired a T-ball game and it was a lot less stressful for him.

Our garden really took off with the warm weather and we were able to harvest a good amount of rhubarb. The kids won't touch the stuff, so Wendy and I will have the eat the rhubarb crisp that I made.

Maddy certainly is enjoying the nice weather. Here she is in a hammock at Mel and Murray's place. She was mostly dry after a few dunks in the pool, and just wanted to rest after all that exercise.

Quietest Christmas since 1995!

This has been the quietest Christmas that we have had since around 1995 (the Christmas before Adam was born). How did we do it?

We got rid of the kids!

This Christmas, Adam and Parker travelled with their grandmother to Charlotte, North Carolina, to visit Wendy's brother and his family. Wendy had to work over the holidays and I was not sure how much time I would be able to take, so Wendy and I stayed home. 

Seidlitz family 2015

We did write our annual Christmas letter but are in the process of emailing it out. If you haven't received yours yet, here is a link where you can download it as a pdf.

 https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwZyqom6DVjOWEtqaHZwY2ZkT2c


With the kids leaving Dec. 23rd, we had to plan our Christmas celebrations for the weekend before the big date. We opened presents and had a big turkey dinner with our friends and family. Here are some shots from our Christmas.

Christmas "morning"

Parker is eager for his birthday to come in 2016! He also got a gaming computer.

Adam is interested in getting a motorcycle

We thought this shirt was appropriate - yes, bushy

Maddy got some Yak cheese.  Yes, it really is Yak cheese.

Marion got a new vase

Wendy got a new iPad

I got a silver chain (a wheat chain)

I also got a case for my watches and some Cessna 172s

Money for his trip!

Early Christmas dinner 2015

With all the Christmas stuff out of the way early, it was time to send the kids packing. After a too long drive down to Buffalo airport, off they went with Marion to the warmer climate down south.

Wendy and I were able to do all sorts of things that we normally would not do over the next week or so. We started by going over to Melanie and Murray's to do puzzles (OK, not what you would expect for our first night of "freedom"), then back the next day for a turkey dinner.

Christmas day itself was started with a luxurious sleep in late thing (until Maddy needed to go out) and the rest of the day was spent doing non-Christmas like things. If you are on Facebook, you may have seen some of these pictures, but I'll repeat them here for you below.

Yes, I needed to trim the lawn Christmas day!! 

We went for a 5.5 km hike in the very warm (for December) weather.

We went to see Star Wars (in 3D with motion-controlled seats)!

I ended Christmas day with some Calvados (Normandy apple brandy)

It was a great day, but we had to get up reasonably early the next morning - we wanted to go Boxing Day shopping! We headed down toward Niagara Falls and shopped at both the new Niagara Outlet Collection and the Pen Centre. It was an absolute zoo with almost no parking anywhere, but we got through it and can say that we have done it. We won't need to do it again next year (the deals were not that great).  After the shopping and lunch out (A & W - we don't have a lot of imagination...), we went all the way to the Falls and went for several hours at the Fallsview Casino.  We only spent $15 (but more than that on parking), but it was fun.

At Fallsview Casino

To wrap up our time away from the kids, we took one day as a pajama day - stayed in PJs the whole day and just puttered around the house. We went to dinner at a great tapas restaurant in Hamilton (Rapscallion) one night, then went to our neighbour and friends' place to play Mahjong (last night).

Mahjong game at Heather and JP's!

Today it is back to real life and back to the Buffalo airport for me to pick up Marion and the kids. Since it is New Year's eve, we are going to head over at Mel and Murray's for dinner (hoping she doesn't get called in to the hospital), we will ring in the new year, Wendy will drive home, then we will go to bed exhausted.

This kid-less thing is exhausting!

Happy New Year everyone.