For the first winter in many years I actually feel as though I’m going to survive it – I supposed that’s partly because the amount of snow we’ve received this year is

negligible compared to other recent years and partly because I’ve been forcing myself to go outdoors for at least 5 days out of every week – no matter what the weather. You all know by now that I simply hate winter, and cold, and snow, so forcing myself outside so often is quite an accomplishment for me.

It’s been a while since I posted to this blog. I have, however, been pretty busy over the winter. A few portraits here and there, and a new website, along with a couple of new blogs have been taking up my time. I’ve also taken on some volunteer work in one of the forums I used to frequent – and if you let it, it can take up way too much time.

I could (and probably will) spend a fair bit of time in this post airing my city rants – cause there’s quite a lot, but only a few of lasting emotion. By that, I mean that a few things that have happened over the winter are still “stuck in my craw” so to speak. One is the neverending MURF issue. I am so tired of it – so tired of the city spending more and more of our tax dollars on this white elephant. Get over it, Orillia! Get on with something else. Stop wasting money and time on this thing. Good lord, there’s 2 new rinks well into construction now out on “Old Barrie Road”. Yes, we could use a recreational facility, no we don’t have to make it the MURF that was planned; yes, we’ve already spent too much and got nothing for our money. Enough is more than enough in this case.

Next up – the university. Sure, it’s probably a good thing in the long run. It’s doubtful too many people in my age group care much about it one way or the other, but it’s not something I have strong feelings about in either direction. What I don’t like about it is how much the city council seems to be “sucking up” to them. Hey, council & mayor – we’ve been here a lot longer, as have many businesses in the downtown core…where’s ours? And why build another road with the intention of closing down the bottom section of Harvie Settlement Road? I don’t see any point in that – it’s been here a lot longer and used by plenty of people on a daily basis. Leave things alone. It’s current situation is ridiculous – stupid sharp bend at the bottom of a steep hill…who designed that little gem? Why can’t you leave existing roads alone? (and another gripe of mine – stop RENAMING roads and streets – dumbest thing I ever heard of.)

Lets see…what else? Oh of course – the town bus rescheduling and juggling. How could these people be so dense? Really. Remove the bus stops from all the areas where people need it the most and reposition them so that it’s more suitable for students…wonder why that is? Oh, they didn’t say that was why but city folks really aren’t as clueless and some appear to think. All that juggling of schedules and where and when buses go certain places is really so that they can cater to students heading to the new uni. The most unfortunate part is that the areas they took the buses away from are stops required by Orillia’s seniors, and now in some cases they are stuck with no way to get to a bus, or stuck walking such a horrid distance through the cold and snow that they most likely will be housebound in the winter months. One of the stupidest (and ongoing) fights was for the subdivision running up at the top of Mississaga Street – it encompasses areas like Charles Rd. Quinn Ave, Karen Cres. et al. It appears that after all these years, they decide it’s really too much of a safety concern to have a bus trying to go up and down that steep grade. You’ve really got to wonder…if it’s been doing it for years, why all of a sudden is it too much of a safety concern? If school buses can go up there (and they can), and the people who live up there drive it on a daily basis (and they do), then why this sudden worry? City thinks it is too tough for a city bus to go up that hill, but they want seniors to walk down and up it during the icy winter months. Yeah, don’t that make a lot of sense. NOT! What is the matter with this city council?

The library is another fiasco – after reading the recent hoopla one has to wonder…is this going to turn into another MURF-like nightmare? I love the library. I know we need a bigger one, but all this baloney about integrating modern buildings into the downtown…it really doesn’t wash. The downtown core is historic, and for a long time it’s sort of been billed that way as a bit of a tourist attraction to visitors. Downtown stores have been encouraged to refurbish the old facades and many have done so at great expense. The DMB even has a by-law restricting the signage in the downtown core to match the historic surroundings. So why in the world did the “newfangled” modern library building ever, ever get passed as suitable for downtown? What should have happened was a building design to match the Huronia Trust Building on the Corner of Mississaga and West, and the Orillia Opera house, adjacent to the library – a building whose footprint is the same size as the current library with more floors, and one whose exterior didn’t look like some modern monstrosity sucked back through the wormhole of time and plunked amid buildings from the early part of 20th century. It’s design sort of reminds me of some weird off-earth building that was beamed to earth but landed in the wrong era…sort of like putting a modern yacht in the middle of 1850…somehow it just looks wrong.

Okay, I need to calm down since I’m starting to hyperventilate. Overall, I love Orillia – it’s beauty and surrounding countryside is definitely the place I want to be. Living here gives you the best of both worlds. In town, you have access to all the needs, like a hospital and shopping centers, educational facilities, beautiful parks and a waterfront, walking trails and recreational outlets. It’s good. It’s a good place to be. Within 5 minutes you can also be in the open countryside, with nearby provincial parks (Bass Lake) and areas like the Langman Wildlife center (free to everyone to visit), cottage country is a few minutes from town, and in 10 or 15 minutes you can be in a larger retail center, like Barrie. It really is a good place to live. Life is not so hectic here, people are friendly and helpful. Crime is something we’ve got like every city, but here it’s…so much less than in many areas south of us.

Still, the citizens of Orillia usually have to wind up fighting to keep the city from becoming more like Barrie and Toronto, and city council continues to try and push the city into more and more growth. Yes, everyone needs jobs. Can’t fault that, but there needs to be a better blending of what Orillia was and what Orillia should be. Dragging all of us kicking and screaming into the future isn’t going to work. Council needs to find a way to further industry without taking the cost out of the living conditions in Orillia. We don’t WANT to be like Toronto…or even Barrie. I’d be living in those places if that’s what I wanted.

ahhh, never mind…one small voice among the roaring lions doesn’t get much notice, but it does make me feel better.

Mom’s Bow Ties

4 eggs
4 tbsp. sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
4 tbsp. margarine (melted)
2 tsp. vanilla
2 tbsp. anise (oil) (or to taste)
2 tsp. water
2 3/4 cups flour

confectioners (icing) sugar

Beat eggs until thick a lemon-coloured.
Gradually add sugar and salt while beating. Continue beating until sugar is dissolved.
Stir in melted margarine, vanilla and anise oil.

Add about half the flour and stir in to make a stiff dough. The dough should not be sticky, but it should be soft enough to work. If it’s too stiff, add a little water.

Cut the dough into 3 pieces and roll into long tubes. Wrap in waxed paper and chill for 15 to 20 minutes.

Take out one roll at a time. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface until the dough is nearly transparent. With a pastry wheel, cut dough into trips about 1″ wide and 6″ long.

In each 6″ piece, cut a slice in the center and ull one end of the dough strip through the slice to make a bow. (Mom usually just tied them in a knot instead of using this step).

Heat fat in deep fryer and drop tied dough pieces into the fryer. Bow ties are ready when they float to the surface and all sides are a nice golden brown. Drain and drop into plastic bag filled with icing sugar. Shake bake, remove ties with tongs and put into container for storage. Use sheets of wax paper between each layer of bow ties in the container.