Brussels

Hey family

As I had mentioned on Sunday I went to Belgium for a job fair and ended up hanging out there for the full day (a little unintended as I missed the last train for the night).  Here are some pictures that I took while I was in Brussels.

A picture from a pub of the one of the squares of "stay out all night" event

This was a great statue that we came across while wandering around the city, so our course I had to ham it up a little.

This was a picture of some kind of street performance, we were never able to figure out what the performance was all about.

This was a art center where people could come and bang on "instruments" to make music together as a community.  In concept it is a cool idea but in reality it was just a lot of noise.

A picture of the front of the stock exchange in Brussels (this was where everyone seemed to meet before heading out so it was a pretty loud place)

Pictures of Grand-Palace square (the next few picture look at all sides of the square)

This is a picture of the modern art museum in Brussels

Check out these pictures (I am proud of them) as I had to use a long exposure and make sure that I had a good vantage point to take the picture.

A picture of the European Commission

Some of the great cartoon murals around Brussels

The little peeing statue

It is said that if you rub the statue from head to feet then you will have good luck (and possibly find love) and yes mom I did rub the statue.

Anyways that is what I got from Brussels, I am sure that there will be more pictures as I will be back.

Love

Wes

Recipes

Hi Folks,

I have some recipes that I want to share - actually the recipes were demanded by Mom and Dad - Baked Oatmeal and Homemade Samosas.

Recipe #1: Baked Oatmeal

2 cups oats

1/4 cup melted margarine

1/2 cup brown sugar

2/3 cup milk

1 egg

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

Baked 350 degrees for 25 minutes. This is a really good recipe. I have searched for a long time for a good Baked Oatmeal and this is it. You can add nuts, raisins, currants etc.

Recipe #2: Homemade Samosas

I had a craving for Indian Samosas but I'm too cheap to buy them (I know I know, they are quite cheap but I am very cheap!)

The "dough" AKA Poori (Indian deep fried flat bread)

2 cups Whole Wheat Four

2 tsp Baking powder

1/2 tsp Salt

1 Tbsp Melted butter/margarine

3/4-1 cup water

Mix together and add more water to make a stiff dough. Knead 12 times. Roll egg sized pieces 1/8 inch thick.

The "innards" AKA leftovers

I just cut up leftovers (broccoli, rice, BBQ farmers sausage) and added curry, tumeric, cumin, pepper, paprika, salt to taste. Probably a better method - use left over potatoe curry.

Spoon innards onto rolled dough, fold over to create a pocket, pinch ends to seal.

Heat oil in a wok to 375 degrees. Place one pocket into hot oil at a time. Cook each side until brown and drain on paper towels. Eat while Hot!!

Patty's Wedding!!

Patty got married!! Here are some pics.

This is Patty's new home. Its slowly being repaired but is very cute. They have a large kitchen and three fair-sized bedrooms. Uncle Ron and Kristy decided, in order to welcome the new couple to their humble abode, to short sheet their bed, crumble cereal and bread crumbs between the sheets, and a tea bag in the toilet.

Here's me in my 'wedding-going' clothes. I bought almost the entire outfit at Value Village (Hurrah for Value Village!).
The sister of the bride . . . Allison came home for a couple of weeks to help out with the wedding. She's returning to France on Tuesday, and will be coming back at Christmas. (What a wonderful idea - people coming HOME for Christmas . . . HINT HINT HINT!!)
Here is the blushing bride and proud groom looking all snazzy. Patty's dress was very beautiful and elegant. Her colours were red, black and white (very classic . . . and if you notice my dress is the accumulation of their colour scheme - HURRAH for Value Village)
The proud grandparents! Grandma and Grandpa were asked to come early to be part of the wedding photos (taken before the wedding - GASP - that's right, Patty and Andrew saw each other BEFORE the ceremony!). Both couples (new and not-so-new - 63 years this October!) looked fantastic!

Most amazing soup EVER!! (Well maybe not ever, but it is certainly close)

As autumn has fallen with quickness and speed upon Winterpeg, hot, feel good soups are a must. While at the farmer's market last Saturday, I purchased a acorn squash, thinking that it would be nice to have - though in exactly what form I was not certain. Well on Tuesday, after a very chilly bike into work, I knew exactly what I wanted - Apple Cinnamon Squash soup!

The recipe:

Cut up apples (3), squash (1), cauliflower (a bit), 1/2 an onion, 3 garlic cloves, spread in shallow dish, lightly coat with oil, and sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper.

Roast in oven (350) approx. 1hr, until squash is soft.

Peel squash and throw into a bender, along with other roasted vegies/fruit and chicken stock (preferable home made with small chicken pieces present), blend until smooth.

Transfer blended mixture to large pot - add additional water/chicken stock until reached desired consistency. Add cinnamon, pepper, basil, bay leaves, thyme, and a little salt (to taste), heat over medium heat until boiling. Turn down and allow to simmer until it smells too good to be true. Then dish it out and serve with Baking Powder Biscuits (adding a little garlic powder adds a nice touch). VOILA a FANTASTIC meal for a chilly day.

If you made too much - no worries, this soup tastes even better the next day. I even froze some for a quick meal later in the winter.

I would have posted a picture but it would have been of an empty bowl because, gosh darn it, it tastes GOOD!!

September Long Weekend!

After a delightful conversation with my family, a hearty breakfast of cereal, and a wonderful cup of hot tea, Grandma and Grandpa arrived at 9:30am sharp. Rachel and I rushed out the door, grabbing our cameras and we started on the last adventure of the summer 2010. Taking Hwy 8 we made good time and arrived in Gimli just at 11:00 (we had to get gas . . . the gas gage on Grandma's car is wonky, so even though it says its still a 3/4 of a tank, we filled up anyway - $15.00 worth). We met Uncle Ron, Aunt Terease, Chantelle and Eleise (sorry about the spelling) at the Evangelical Free Church in Gimli, walking in just a couple of minutes late.

After the service, we headed over to Amma's Tea House (we've been there before), and ate a huge lunch - I had chicken salad and for dessert, Pumpkin tort (DELICIOUS!!!). Taking a gander over to the Fifth Wheel (Uncle Ron and Aunt Terease's trailer - which is very very nice!), we left Grandpa taking a nap and headed to the pier,where we wondered around, went into shops and generally just spent the afternoon.

Back at the RV park, Aunt Terease showed us around all the bays and Grandma dreamed (she would LOVE to get a trailer and head out every weekend in the summer . . . Grandpa's not so keen.) After a dinner of fried chicken, we sat around the fire and roasted marshmallows until 8:15pm. Then it was 'Home James, and Don't Spare the Horse', except that I did spare the horse, in fact I took a lot of detours. We drove through Selkirk, then through Lockport, passed by St. Andrew's Elementary and then Main street and, eventually, home (it was pitch black and you could barely see anything, but it was nice just to drive the old routes and reminisce). All in all, the last trip of the summer was a success and very enjoyable. The weather was great, a little cool due to the wind off the lake, but pleasant, considering the weather we've had. Only thing that would have made it better - if my immediate family had been there too.

Berat

Hello Family of Mine!

Here are some pictures of our time in Berat. Dad asked for some and so here they are (ask and it shall be given.... maybe not in the time we specified but.... )

Sorry these pictures are all mixed up.

The first one is in Berat. This is an old church that we went into. I didn't know the picture was being taken and as you can see there is no one for me to direct, so I wasn't being bossy in this picture. Just for you information!!!! :P

These are my Albanian sister: Alba on the left and Eni on the right. You might be able to tell who doesn't exactly fit into the Albanian mold and why us foreigners stand out so much to them. It was Eni's engagement party. She and Alba and the others are so dressed up.... what they wear is like grade 12 graduation dresses.

Again, just to show you how CRAZY dressed up they get.

This is a picture of Korca from where we sat down and had 4 scoops of icecream!!!! (not on purpose, but good thing Becky is the icecream monster!) Korca is known as the Little Paris. What do you think Becky and Mom??

This is again Eni's Engagement party. They are waiting for Bimi's family to arrive. Everyone from Eni's family (aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, random foreigners who are adopted into the family) lines up as you can see, and greets his family. I was pushed into the side room. ha ha!

Thsi picture is of us dancing for a street evangelism one day with mom, Becky and the girls.

This is everyone from the church who were at the outside evangelism time.

This is a believer Marsela and mom. Marsela hosted the other girls at her house.

This was in Polican. In the very centre (ha ha, never noticed before but look: left is Koreans, centre is Albanians, Right are Canadians) are Moza in Yellow and Flutura in blue. I'll be working with them in Polican.

Amsterdam

Hi all

Alright so I have finally gotten around to taking some pictures of Amsterdam.  There are still many more pictures to take of this lovely city however this is what I managed to snap today as I was wondering around.

Lots of canals here in Amsterdam, I am told that without all the canals there would be real water problems in the city.  It is funny apparently Amsterdam does not have problems with flooded streets, not like Venice, I guess when you get as much rain as they do you adapt.

The city is alive there is always something going on and people going out.

The canals all have different names however I am confused how the boat owners are able to figure out their way around the water ways as there are so many different bridges and canals.

The design of these buildings is very common for downtown Amsterdam.  I must say that I love the look of these buildings and would love to own an apartment in one of them along one of the canals (the only problem is that the homes start at around 200000 euros and go from there)

Those boats are not only there for transportation but are there for living as well.  There are a number of house boats along the canal (I would love to live in one but I hear that they are cold during the winter)

These buildings all along the canal all contain flower shops

One of the flower shops and below a picture of some of the flowers

This is one of the various fast food restaurants in Amsterdam, basically the way this works is that it is like a vending machine for hot food.  You put your money into the machine and get what you want be it burger, hotdog, fried chicken, etc.

Some people are just desperate for a garden

My attempts at photography

Well I hope that you have enjoyed just a taste of what Amsterdam is like I am hoping to get more pictures and post more pictures over the next week or so.

Love you all