I enjoy travel, sports, music and anything else that jumps up at me for the moment, which is why I blog. There will be lots of travel posts, pictures and our videos as well as a smattering of sports and humor. I enjoy promoting Canada and am unabashedly a proud Albertan
I have been reflecting on what I’m reading. I recently decided that one of my past strengths had disappeared. I vowed to rectify this. That strength was an insatiable appetite for books. Not digital, actual, real books. The book’s smell and the pages’ feel had been lost. This loss occurred over the past few decades.
I started slowly. I picked up a copy of The New Spring by Robert Jordan as a test. It ticked a few boxes based on my past interests, and I wanted to see how it went. It took a while to make it a habit, and now I am diving headfirst.
Book 1 of 14
Moved on to the 14, yes 14, novels in the series by Jordan, The Wheel of Time. It is a daunting task. I am setting a pattern for myself to continue with this task. I will complete 1 of the 14. Then, I’ll read a classic off my reading list. Next, I’ll tackle a modern novel. After that, I will return to the next in the Jordan series. Wish me luck.
Also, note to myself, add Goodreads to the main page.
These one-pan Caprese chicken thighs incorporate all the flavors from a Caprese salad. They are turned into a main dish skillet meal with chicken. Why, yes, please! We like this dish with a green vegetable or salad, with warm crusty bread. As usual, I forgot to take a shot of my dish. I even forgot to note the wine we paired with it. No matter, it was very good and will make it again, and again.
Here we go.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients
8 boneless skinless chicken thighs
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
3 tablespoons good quality balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 lemon, zested and juiced, divided
1 teaspoon honey
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh basil
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups cherry tomatoes
1 pinch salt
4 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
torn fresh basil leaves for garnish
Directions
As always, pat the thighs dry and then season with salt and pepper.
Grab a large mixing bowl. Combine the balsamic, broth, tomato paste, and lemon juice. Do not add the zest yet. Add the honey, 1 TBSP of minced basil, and the garlic.
Throw in (gently) the chicken thighs and mix until coated. At this point, you have two options. You can cover the result and refrigerate it for up to 4 hours. Alternatively, you can carry on to the next step. Up to you, either way the next step is the same.
Gently place the chicken and mixture into 12 inch skillet over medium heat. When the liquid boils, cover and reduce heat to med/low. Simmer for 7 minutes or so, turn the chicken and increase to medium, uncovered. This should take 7 minutes or less for them to no longer be pink in the middle.
Remove the chicken and juices to a serving dish. Tent to keep warm. Wipe the skillet and add the oil. Add the tomatoes once the oil is hot. Watch for splatter. Let them sit for a few minutes until they blister. Stir then allow them another couple of minutes. Add a pinch of salt if desired.
Once the tomatoes are done, pour them over the chicken, top with mozzarella, lemon zest and basil. Serve promptly.
Here is a story. I once edited and wrote for a short time for a now-dormant online magazine, The Harmony Chronicles. It was a magazine dedicated mainly to independent artists of any genre, recipes, self-help, and anything else we considered interesting. We, as several partners, willingly gave our time. We aimed to make a go at a collective dream. We wrote about what we loved.
It was a good time for all, but it became all-consuming. We wore ourselves out editing, interviewing, and creating material. We hoped this material would interest the public. It basically fell apart from there.
Enough maudlin! I recently felt the urge to start something like this again. I initiated contact with my friend Don (more on him later). The website for his online radio group was active (obviously). Luckily for me, the blog we had started to help out the magazine still existed.
With his and Sam’s (more about him later) permission, I again have access to that website and will begin writing again on various subjects that I love, not just music, but slanted in that direction.
I hope to start churning out some new material very soon, and I will post here and there simultaneously. All articles here will be mirrored on the Kat Radio Group site at HARMONY CHRONICLES
At this point, I am calling any musicians or groups that would be willing to interview for some free publicity. Send your request to johnlorieh@gmail.com
In addition to interviews, I am working on several new recurring series and resurrecting some old ones. Stay tuned.
Today I have chosen a shot of us walking through the treetops at Whitefish ski Resort in Montana. Pretty interesting and a different perspective of a forest. We see a lot of forest from the ground up, seldom from the treetops down. I can only imagine what it would be like doing this in a tropical forest. One can dream can’t we. Anyone out there ever done that?
We had this unit near Balfour, BC, on Kootenay Lake. The sight was perfect in every aspect except one. It wasn’t open all year. It also didn’t have running water, power, or sewage. The new location had more and more, including shower and laundry facilities and much larger lots.
What We Needed
This was the 2nd part of our quest. We were looking for a location that offered us affordability, convenience, and proximity to the necessities of life. These necessities we determined before our search and included:
Access shopping and groceries, again this box was checked.
Access to a variety of restaurants, check.
And finally, a range of outdoor and indoor activities within a fairly large radius from our location. There is skiing, hiking, hot springs, national parks, kayaking, biking, cross country skiing, waterfalls, golf etc. etc., all within a 3hour driving range.
Now What
Now the hard part begins, making this lot a workable living space. We will be presenting our efforts from time to time, and we are still working on it.
To sum up with some helpful advice, we spent many suppers discussing how we were going to deal with retirement. We talked this over more than a few bottles of wine. Our goal was to handle retirement in a responsible and economical manner. We settled on this path based on cost. We wanted to live comfortably and still maximize our available funds to help in funding our travel bug.
Something To Pass On
If we had something to pass along, it would simply be, talk. Put your hopes on the table and figure out a way to get the most out of them. It also very important to not put this off to the “future”. The future is now! It has taken us 20 years to get to this point and we still have things to work out.
Way back in 2011, I posted this one as the first picture I personally took on here. It is fitting today as it is a shot of Athabasca Falls, which is close to Jasper, Alberta. I haven’t heard anything about the status at the falls yet, but I’m sure we will at some point. It was a terrible day for the people who lived there and a tragedy for the rest of the world. It is iconic, beautiful, and basically irreplaceable.
Ah, Portugal. In 2012, we decided to include Lisbon in our Spain tour. It was a spontaneous decision, but it turned out to be the best choice we made. Lisbon was amazing—the food, the atmosphere, the attractions. Then there’s Sintra, a place with a unique history that dates back to the 9th century when it was occupied by the Moors, and it continued to thrive until the late 19th century. It’s a National monument and has been partially restored to its former grandeur. It’s a fascinating place and definitely worth a side trip to experience it.
As promised, here’s a quick tale of our sailboat, the JohnLoriEh. The boat was a 25-foot 1979 O’Day moored for the winter in Kaslo Bay, part of Kootenay Lake. As you may notice, there is a bit of snow onboard, and this was after cleaning most of it off. As a point of interest, Kootenay Lake does not freeze up.
Long story short, it was tied up to the dock alongside a boat shed. The shed collapsed due to snow load, immediately sinking several not-cheap cruisers and, in the process, amputating the dock from the shed. Our boat went Flying Dutchman and crossed the bay. Once there, it met up with a steel-hulled houseboat. Once there, it bounced up against it for a day or two until she was noticed. By that time, a major gash was formed at the point where the hull meets the deck.
We were contacted by a friend in the area who recognized the boat. We were leaving for Mexico the next day and had to cancel everything and drive from Calgary to Kaslo to facilitate the next steps. Once it was safely docked and inspected, we decided to motor to Jones Boys, a boat dealer and shop about an hour south on the lake. The forecast called for no wind and two above, so we made the run. We got the motor going, and I headed out alone, with Lori meeting me there with the car and trailer.
There were definitely some worries here, as the lake can get quite rough at times. The vessel was not exactly seaworthy and could easily take on water. Fortunately, the lake stayed calm, with barely a ripple to be seen. All in all, it was a beautiful run, albeit a bit cool for boating.
Once we reached Jones Boys, they hauled it out of the water onto our trailer. It was then placed in their lot, waiting for an insurance inspector to estimate the damage (it was a write-off). We stripped it of whatever was on board and drove away, never to see her again.
The main downside to it all is that we stopped sailing, something we truly loved to do. Maybe someday we will do it all over again, minus the snow.
The JohnLoriEh under sail on Sunshine Bay near Harrop and Procter, BC. On a bit of a memory bender, bear with me, I’ll move along soon. This shot was taken in 2017.
