“Learn to Ride a Bicycle. You will not regret it, if you live” – Mark Twain.

What a strange winter we have been having. On Sunday (Feb 28, 2016) the temperature was +9 degrees and sunny. After breakfast we headed down to the lake shore and had a lovely walk along the bay into downtown Barrie and back to the car, about 5 kms. People were smiling, jackets were open and everyone was enjoying the sunshine and the warm weather. The lake is still frozen with ice-huts and kite surfers out there, I am not sure I would be out there right now.

The park area around the bay is undergoing major renovations and is a bit of a mess. The realigned the road while we were away, moving the road to the rail-line and creating more parkland. By the time they have finished all the upgrades it will once again be a great place to visit in the summer and winter.

It really felt like spring but then on Tuesday evening (March 1, 2016) the winter came back  with a vengeance, we had almost 45 cms (about 18”) of snow dumped on us. The condo corporation had cleared the lot by 7:00 a.m. and the sidewalks (including up to the front doors) by 9:30 a.m. Ralf had to go to the dentist this morning, it took him 20 minutes to dig the snow out from between the cars!! I am so glad I don’t have to drive to work!

March: “In like a Lion out like a Lamb” – let’s hope so.

I’m not a baker, but occasionally I get an idea that maybe I should try baking muffins. This idea came to me recently when we seemed to have a collection of very ripe bananas. I bought all the ingredients and decided I would bake muffins for Saturday morning breakfast. While Ralf was working out, I went into the kitchen to prepare the muffins. One of the bananas was missing, on asking my dearly beloved if he had eaten it, he admitted he had. We had a discussion about why he had eaten the banana when he knew I was making banana bran muffins for breakfast. “It was on the counter, you have to put your name on it if it’s yours” was his response. Oh my dear hubby, how come he can make me laugh when I am cross with him.

His response referred to our stays in hostels, while we were on the road. While we were staying in hostels you had to label your food that you put in the fridge or on the shelves, if it was not labeled and/or in the “free box” it was up for grabs.

The muffins were not too bad, although in my opinion not moist enough or banananery enough due to the lack of one banana.