Confession time -- we had the space heater in the bathroom going for a while this morning. Dang, it was cold! Alyssa's old music camp friends will remember keeping clothes next to the bed and changing in our sleeping bags so we didn't have to experience the cold of the late-August mornings, but that's how we felt in July this morning. Fresh. (The sun has since warmed things up a bit, thank goodness!)
But back to yesterday morning. Which, as you will recall, was both chilly and rainy. It pretty much stayed that way all day, so we stayed inside and ploughed our way through our books, for the most part. Wednesday also marks the day that neither one of us had a nap of any sort. I'd say "yay us", except that meant we were later very tired through dinner and weren't able to stay up as late as we'd wanted. Alyssa also finally managed to convince Don to join her in the water spa, which we had to ourselves for about three-quarters of an hour in warm and peaceful bliss before another couple showed up and we figured we'd grant them the same privacy.
For those who haven't read previous years' F&B reports, the water spa is a salt-water pool with different types of massage jets spread through different areas, plus a large open space where you can just float. There's a higher level with balinese beds where you can relax in between dips, gentle music piped through the speakers, and lots of little twinkly lights embedded in the ceiling. The circuit includes a long bench with back & shoulder jets, another bench with jets that massage your feet and legs, deck fountains (Alyssa's favourite) that pummel your upper back into submission, an air bubble bed, and the "champagne grotto". Don's not such a big water person, but Alyssa could live there, if only she were allowed to eat in the pool...
We showered up and then headed down to the bar for a pre-dinner beer and visit with Gordo, because this was the last night he was working before we leave. Insert sad face here. Unfortunately (well, fortunate that they support live music, but unfortunate when the volume is too high for Don to be able to follow conversations) there was a musician set up in the bar who was too loud for our sensitive selves, so we took our drinks to the living room, where we could still hear him AND have a conversation. Gordo was busy doing managerial things, of course, but managed to come in and visit with us occasionally. Then he brought us into the dining room, where Alisha was our waiter (we'd chatted with her a bunch this week, but this was the first time we were at her table).
For the wine, we went local again -- Reif winery seems to be coming up with winners so far. Doesn't look like we can get their wine from the LCBO, though, so we're going to have to figure out how to order directly. We picked a 2011 Pinot Noir / Shiraz blend called "The Magician", which in addition to having a beautiful label tasted absolutely divine.
For appetizers, Don went with the Salad of Artisan Greens and Portabella Mushrooms, with red onion, feta cheese, orange segments and lemon vinaigrette. (And we remembered to take photos before diving in this time!)
And Alyssa chose the Sautéed Shrimp and Smoked Mackerel Au Gratin with a caramelized onion and cream cheese pissaladiere. She has decided that all food must be smoked, because it's probably calorie-free when you inhale and don't swallow (just kidding, she ate the whole damned thing). That red swizzle on the side, by the way, was not sweet, as she assumed with her first forkful -- rather, it was an intensely hot pepper sauce that would make our friend Ray proud.
Don's main course was Marinated Red Deer Venison with Wild Boar Sausage, with fire roasted red pepper, chorizo relish and demi glace, accompanied by mashed potatoes and roasted heirloom carrots. It looked like this and tasted even better:
The vegetarian option was Stuffed Zucchini (garlic, almonds, cheese, peppers) over a bed of rice and black beans, accompanied by broccoli and roast heirloom carrots. It was delicious too, and looked very pretty until it died a horrible death:
We were stuffed, but Alyssa's #1 temptation was on the menu for dessert: crème brulée (blueberry crème brulée, to be precise), so she couldn't resist (and ate the whole damned thing). Don met that with a chocolate-nut brownie and ice cream, which was also quite decadent but not completely finish-able.
We headed to the bar to spend some more time with Gordo, but after one glass of wine for Alyssa and a Lagavullen for Don, we were completely exhausted. Gordo poured us some (very generous) nightcaps to take upstairs, and then gave each of us quite possibly the best hugs ever known to humankind. We promised to stay in touch, and drag some friends back with us in the fall, and visit him at his get-away near Canso next summer. It would have been great to still be awake and spend more time chatting, but we were totally done in. I think we barely finished our nightcaps before the snoring began.
This morning, as mentioned, was frikken freezing. Don was up and at 'em at 7am, and waiting in the living room patiently for the coffee to show up. When he came up to say good morning and Happy Anniversary to Alyssa, he then fell into a brief coma before breakfast. We sense there will be some napping later today...
You already know what Don had for breakfast, because it never changes. But Alyssa had an omelette with mushrooms, tomatoes and extra-old cheddar.
We are now warmly inside, looking out the window as the outdoor crew mows the lawn. Alyssa may have just noticed one of the fine young gentlemen take off his shirt. Which she's mentioning not because there's a tanned and shirtless man going back and forth outside the window (although there is…), but because that probably means it's getting warmer now. She shall investigate closely for signs of goosebumps… ;)
We're both getting to the end of our respective books (Don's reading "All the Light we Cannot See"), so we'll probably have our noses buried in them for the first part of the day. Then probably a nap so we manage to stay awake for our anniversary dinner tonight! And we'll be visiting Cindy and Cheryl later this afternoon for our anniversary massage.
This is what we looked like, at our wedding four years ago today:
So Happy Anniversary, to everyone who joined us on that day and has been with us since. Thank you all for your support in good times and bad. And cheers to lots more good times! We love you all and are blessed to have you in our lives.
Happy Anniversary!
Lyss & Don
But back to yesterday morning. Which, as you will recall, was both chilly and rainy. It pretty much stayed that way all day, so we stayed inside and ploughed our way through our books, for the most part. Wednesday also marks the day that neither one of us had a nap of any sort. I'd say "yay us", except that meant we were later very tired through dinner and weren't able to stay up as late as we'd wanted. Alyssa also finally managed to convince Don to join her in the water spa, which we had to ourselves for about three-quarters of an hour in warm and peaceful bliss before another couple showed up and we figured we'd grant them the same privacy.
For those who haven't read previous years' F&B reports, the water spa is a salt-water pool with different types of massage jets spread through different areas, plus a large open space where you can just float. There's a higher level with balinese beds where you can relax in between dips, gentle music piped through the speakers, and lots of little twinkly lights embedded in the ceiling. The circuit includes a long bench with back & shoulder jets, another bench with jets that massage your feet and legs, deck fountains (Alyssa's favourite) that pummel your upper back into submission, an air bubble bed, and the "champagne grotto". Don's not such a big water person, but Alyssa could live there, if only she were allowed to eat in the pool...
We showered up and then headed down to the bar for a pre-dinner beer and visit with Gordo, because this was the last night he was working before we leave. Insert sad face here. Unfortunately (well, fortunate that they support live music, but unfortunate when the volume is too high for Don to be able to follow conversations) there was a musician set up in the bar who was too loud for our sensitive selves, so we took our drinks to the living room, where we could still hear him AND have a conversation. Gordo was busy doing managerial things, of course, but managed to come in and visit with us occasionally. Then he brought us into the dining room, where Alisha was our waiter (we'd chatted with her a bunch this week, but this was the first time we were at her table).
For the wine, we went local again -- Reif winery seems to be coming up with winners so far. Doesn't look like we can get their wine from the LCBO, though, so we're going to have to figure out how to order directly. We picked a 2011 Pinot Noir / Shiraz blend called "The Magician", which in addition to having a beautiful label tasted absolutely divine.
For appetizers, Don went with the Salad of Artisan Greens and Portabella Mushrooms, with red onion, feta cheese, orange segments and lemon vinaigrette. (And we remembered to take photos before diving in this time!)
And Alyssa chose the Sautéed Shrimp and Smoked Mackerel Au Gratin with a caramelized onion and cream cheese pissaladiere. She has decided that all food must be smoked, because it's probably calorie-free when you inhale and don't swallow (just kidding, she ate the whole damned thing). That red swizzle on the side, by the way, was not sweet, as she assumed with her first forkful -- rather, it was an intensely hot pepper sauce that would make our friend Ray proud.
Don's main course was Marinated Red Deer Venison with Wild Boar Sausage, with fire roasted red pepper, chorizo relish and demi glace, accompanied by mashed potatoes and roasted heirloom carrots. It looked like this and tasted even better:
The vegetarian option was Stuffed Zucchini (garlic, almonds, cheese, peppers) over a bed of rice and black beans, accompanied by broccoli and roast heirloom carrots. It was delicious too, and looked very pretty until it died a horrible death:
We were stuffed, but Alyssa's #1 temptation was on the menu for dessert: crème brulée (blueberry crème brulée, to be precise), so she couldn't resist (and ate the whole damned thing). Don met that with a chocolate-nut brownie and ice cream, which was also quite decadent but not completely finish-able.
We headed to the bar to spend some more time with Gordo, but after one glass of wine for Alyssa and a Lagavullen for Don, we were completely exhausted. Gordo poured us some (very generous) nightcaps to take upstairs, and then gave each of us quite possibly the best hugs ever known to humankind. We promised to stay in touch, and drag some friends back with us in the fall, and visit him at his get-away near Canso next summer. It would have been great to still be awake and spend more time chatting, but we were totally done in. I think we barely finished our nightcaps before the snoring began.
This morning, as mentioned, was frikken freezing. Don was up and at 'em at 7am, and waiting in the living room patiently for the coffee to show up. When he came up to say good morning and Happy Anniversary to Alyssa, he then fell into a brief coma before breakfast. We sense there will be some napping later today...
You already know what Don had for breakfast, because it never changes. But Alyssa had an omelette with mushrooms, tomatoes and extra-old cheddar.
We are now warmly inside, looking out the window as the outdoor crew mows the lawn. Alyssa may have just noticed one of the fine young gentlemen take off his shirt. Which she's mentioning not because there's a tanned and shirtless man going back and forth outside the window (although there is…), but because that probably means it's getting warmer now. She shall investigate closely for signs of goosebumps… ;)
We're both getting to the end of our respective books (Don's reading "All the Light we Cannot See"), so we'll probably have our noses buried in them for the first part of the day. Then probably a nap so we manage to stay awake for our anniversary dinner tonight! And we'll be visiting Cindy and Cheryl later this afternoon for our anniversary massage.
This is what we looked like, at our wedding four years ago today:
So Happy Anniversary, to everyone who joined us on that day and has been with us since. Thank you all for your support in good times and bad. And cheers to lots more good times! We love you all and are blessed to have you in our lives.
Happy Anniversary!
Lyss & Don