Sooky's Housewarming

Welcome to Sooky's new abode.

All the cool kids were there.
Elijah is 8 months old. Marley is 2 months old. I just can't over the size difference.

The mom's gathered to discuss world events...and Sooky's sense of colour and design...

Diana and Marley just hanging out.

Cutie pie Charlotte singing for her supper.

She performed Christmas carols and kid's songs on request.

It was like being at a concert.

Elijah crawling, more like slithering... instead of being scary, I just feel the intense urge to kiss and nibble those cheeks!!! Num, num...

Elijah is fascinated with Uncle/Grandpa John's face.

What was supposed to be a leisurely weekend, turned into a crazed cooking and family gathering at Sooky's new house.

Eunho, Sooky's bro, had not yet seen her new place, so she invited him and his family over for brunch. Diana, Sooky's sis was supposed to be busy with some in laws for American Thanksgiving, but they cancelled at the last minute. Then, since her siblings were coming, she invited her mom. I was off so I got added on. We delivered some bar chairs to Mark and Meredith...since they were just waiting for Little Bean (their new baby to arrive, now a week overdue) they had nothing to do. Uncle John/Aunt Sandy, Jenny and Justin, Mark's mom and Dad, Phil and Phil's mom, my parents... One by one, the guest list grew to the point that it just made sense to ask everyone. As my dad pointed out, "it's too cold to golf, so I'm not busy" :-)

So, after having lunch at Il Fornello, we went shopping at Loblaws to buy everything we needed. We spent all afternoon/evening cooking.

Everyone turned up by 1pm with their traditional laundry detergent. Everything turned out okay...some compromising and some forgetting of things along the way, but people had enough to eat. We sat around like beached whales for most of the afternoon....until Uncle John suggested we all go out to dinner to eat something good before we went home. Sushi on Bloor was pretty good. I can't believe how much we all ate...

So much for a relaxing, movie weekend before the craziness of the Christmas retail season.

I guess I can sleep and relax when it's over.

The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair

The first wild animal spotted...

The babies of the petting zoo.


Sabrina was a little apprehensive at first seeing all the animals...

But after a few minutes she couldn't get enough.

Semex is a company that exports/mails bull semen. I don't know why they were only displaying cows...

As a person suffering from Lactose Intolerance, the sight of a whole cabinet of award winning cheeses should strike fear in my very soul...yet all I can think of is yummy deliciousness.

"Harvest Theives" The award winning sculpture...made completely of butter.

"Eat Local" 2nd place

Hank Daddy's BBQ. Home of the Pulled Pork Parfait.

Yummy!...

After a couple of years of not going, Pip, Steve, Sabrina, Ron, Gar, Viv and myself went back to the Royal Winter Fair at the CNE. The Fair has exploded since the last time I had been. So many animals, so much food, so much cool stuff to see. I even got to indulge in a Pulled Pork Parfait. Layers of pulled pork, mashed potatoes and topped with baked beans. A little sweet instead of tangy but still yummy.

Hosie and Gracie and Cat

A great quiet moment between Hosie and Cat

Cutie pies.

Gracie hamming it up for the camera.

Hosie working on his comic.

Gracie and I baking.

A nice sibling moment.

It was so great visiting them. The trip was too short, too busy, not a moment break. I had taped Season 3 True Blood for us to watch at night...but even with 4 evenings, we only finished the first 6 episodes. (That's including 3 the last night.) I did catch some good shots of some special moments and fun shots of the kids. Miss them already.

Halloween...Star Wars Style!

Before leaving the house, everyone posed in character. Awesome.

Hosie on the candy trail.

Obi Wan and Yoda enjoying a warm cider with rum supplied by one of the parents on the street.

Cat and her friend Yan.

Yan, Christopher and Yan's daughter Christine joined the clan for some trick or treating.

This sailor approached Cat's mom exclaiming "I've been waiting all night to meet up with Yoda!"

Despite his costume, he is, according to his wife, a huge Star Wars fan.

He begged to have a picture taken with her. Picture, video, he wanted it all.

Cat's mom was surprised but gracious.

That exchange was probably the funniest thing I had seen in months.

Cat and the kids had been lagging behind at the last house. By the time they had caught up, Yan pointed out that the whole family was Star Wars characters. He seemed genuinely overwhelmed. When he saw Cat's Dad, he just uttered a respectful "Obi Wan"...Hysterical.

He begged the whole family to take a picture with him.

I'm pretty sure they made his whole month.

Crabs...Yum!

Cat recently tried Maryland Blue Crabs. She enjoyed them so much she wanted me to try them.

They were messy and juicy...and delicious. We pried them open, cracked them with the supplied mallets. Cat taught us some useful tips that made the whole thing easier. Between the 4 adults and 2 kids, we polished off a pound of jumbo shrimp (the biggest I have ever seen), a pound of snow crab legs, and 24 jumbo Maryland Blue Crabs. Actually we had 4 left over. We just couldn't fit any more in. They were delicious.

Kimchi anyone?

Cat's dad cuts all the nappa cabbage. He's so proud of the job he's done.

After the cabbage has been brined completely cleaned and rinsed.
It rests, waiting to be flavoured.

The long tradition of child labour continues in this house.
Gracie finds a creative way to prevent her eyes from watering from the green onions.

The marinating sauce.

The completed kimchi. Waiting to ferment. Yum!

We've been talking for years about learning how to make Kimchi from Cat's mom. She's a fantastic cook, who's cooking can be descibed as slow food. She is painstakingly meticulous when making her traditional dishes. With Mad and Cat living away from home, I've long since felt that it would eventually fall on me to continue her classic recipes. This was one of my opportunities. We made Kimchi (Spicy pickled cabbage) and Kalbi (Marinated short ribs).

When I arrived home, I announced to my mom that I learned how to make Kimchi. Later on when she mentioned that we are running low on Kimchi, I asked her how she felt about me making it next time...She smiled but didn't say anything.

Travelling to Maryland

Driving down with Cat's mom and dad was a leisurely beautiful drive. The fall colours were at their peak. Some of the pictures I took, while sitting in the passenger seat of course, were pretty awesome. The last one was taken from the side while travelling 120km/hr. I'm loving my new camera.