News and Meows

These two pals, photographed last Sunday morning <3

I've mentioned before that Nick had a secret head-start on me in beginning a relationship with Eddie Boycat, and I am convinced that those few weeks of bonding are etched deeply into Ed's brain. Because his loyalty to Nick is strong and true.

These guys met 12 years ago next month, while Nick was working from our home office and I was heading out toan office at Yonge and Bloor every workday. From what I've been told, one afternoon Nick found Eddie sharing the bowl of kibble we had been putting out for another stray cat in the neighbourhood. That lead to Eddie being invited inside, to sit with Nick while he worked.

No mention was ever made to me about this cat who visited while I was out.

Then one Saturday Nick called inside asking me to come out. 'Look at this cat' he said. And you could say it was love at first sight.

At the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto

As mentioned yesterday (here) I was at the AGO last week with my friend Meghan. She was on her lunch break and our main purpose was to see a special exhibit called 'The Great Upheaval'. After we saw that show she had enough time to take a quick walk around a few more of the rooms and to go to the cafe.Photography wasn’t allowed inside the special exhibit but here are some pictures of the rest of the visit.

The Cool Staircase at the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto)

ass="aligncenter size-full wp-image-22279 blk-brdr" src="http://www.loulou.to/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/ago-frank-gehry-staircase.jpg" alt="ago-frank-gehry-staircase" width="640" height="480">I lingered at the AGO after seeing the touring exhibit called “The Great Upheaval” with my friend Megan the other day. While, of course, there is a lot of excellent art to look at, there is also this stunning staircase to admire.It was installed during the most recent renovation and expansion of the building, and which was revealed in 2008. As you see in the pictures, it is a curling wooden structure.

Tomato Hearts to Decorate Your Salad

ass="aligncenter size-full wp-image-22260 blk-brdr" src="http://www.loulou.to/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/heart-made-from-grape-tomatoes.jpg" alt="salad with heart tomatoes Valentine meal" width="640" height="427">I wish I could say that it was I who first came up with the idea of making cute little puffy hearts out of grape tomatoes. However it was not. I've seen images of them floating around on the internet but can't figure out who to give credit for this charming idea to.Each one takes two grape tomatoes of similar shape and size. All you do is cut the top (where the stem would be) off at an angle, fit the two pieces together and pierce them with a toothpick to keep the halves together.

Valentine’s Day at Our Place : 2014

Here's a little look at what Valentine's Day looked like at our place this year.

To fill in new visitors, we've been together for a long time now. After meeting on a blind date we got engaged in February, 15 years ago, and were married the following November. So, we've seen a wide range of ways of celebrating Valentine's Day together over time. We like it and always do something, with some years being fancier than others. This year was one of the more low-key ones.

It's an official holiday here this weekend in addition to Valentine's, called Family Day, so it's a three day weekend.

My morning coffee was served in a cup with hearts on it, but I can't say if this was purposeful because that cup has been in regular rotation since I got it last year.

Aside: we have successfully weaned ourselves from taking sugar in our coffee! I was told that if you just reduced the amount used over a couple of weeks, eventually you get used to not having it. I was very skeptical during the first few days and doubted I could enjoy coffee without sugar, but it really does work. Well, I should be honest and say that we are still having a teeny bit in our cup, but the amount has been reduced significantly. I used to like it sweet and took a rounded teaspoon (more like 2 teaspoons), but now am happy with about 1/3 of a teaspoon. Drinking two cups a day, the difference is almost 3 1/2 teaspoons of sugar every day, or over 25 cups of sugar that I won't be consuming this year. Whoaa, I've never done the math before! It was time for that change.

Eddie decided to stay in bed for a while after we got up. We all love our red cotton flannel sheets. So cozy.