Diner en Blanc Ottawa and the Excitement of this Orleans Bed and Breakfast Owner attending

Well,  I knocked another bucket list item off this weekend past. A year ago I heard about this concept called Diner on Blanc and it seemed very unique so I happily gave them my name. Apparently I signed up in the year that they decided not to hold it. The previous year 2016, they had 700 people and this year they had 200 so when they contacted me this year I was excited. I tried to sign up but you have to have a date for this;  male or female. I started asking around but everyone I know on the planet was busy.  And word to the wise, if you tell someone you are inviting, you will inevitably get a "Oh, so I was the last person on earth, was I?"  You don't make that mistake more than 8 times.   I resigned myself that I wasn't going and then I remembered one more person she said yes, yay!   I signed up and found out registration was now closed.  Nooooooooooo!  After writing a whiny, begging letter inquiring if they could open up a few more seats, it worked and we got in!!!

Now, most people had prepaid, pre-ordered their wine, pre-ordered their catered picnic baskets, their tables and chairs months in advance so they could just walk on the site. When you get in at the very last second you have to plan everything and of course,  everything must be white and you are the pack mule to lug all your uncoordinated furniture and dishes. They also have another stipulation no plastic no paper no colors. Do you have any idea how difficult that is to abide by. The food can be any color thankfully but to bring things in they have to be in a fully glass container or all white which is near impossible to find without having to spend money. We took a chance and deviated a bit praying they would not publicly shame, tar and feather us and vote us loudly off the island of this secret location.

Everyone dresses entirely in pure white, no colored bling accessories allowed. Most people I know don't own an entire white outfit with white shoes, white hair pieces, white jewelry unless maybe it was covered in sparkle from their disco days and they would have fit in marvelously had they had the foresight to keep their outfit and still be able to fit in it.  Normally I would have all white but alas the dryer has shrunk most everything I own. A few trips to Value Village and Salvation Army pulled together an outfit on the day of departure. Of course now I've added another job to do my laundry and ironing before leaving because everyone knows, you must wash 2nd hand clothes first. So much to do on D day. 

I dressed suspiciously like a man with a fedora- story of my life. It seemed like a really good idea at the time.  Every Halloween and dress-up party, I always leave saying never again will I dress like that. Every woman that went looked glamorous dressed in their beautiful white dresses and hair clips and high heels and there's clumpy old Cathy with a unisex hat and flowing white masculine over shirt.  Why on earth hasn't anyone recommended me for a fashion disaster reality show??????

 

Oh, and I had overnight guests whom I had to prepare their welcome snacks and clean the bathrooms and the bedrooms and vacuumed all the floors, you know usual stuff that the rest of you do every single day of your lives when you're selling your house. Luckily they wanted to arrive early but did not make it until 1:30 which was my departure time. More rushing.

  

While preparing for guests, I also needed to whip together a fancy little shindig of food. Couldn't find a white picnic basket and did not want to spray paint my wicker one so I found a huge white purse that was perfect. 

Shhhh we needed to bring booze but it's not allowed so we used alternative bottling and nobody cared. The only thing they cared about when I arrived was that I have a small glass liquor bottle that says vodka on it and I use it for my water. It's ironic and I like to bring that to church and drink from it as well. They asked me to put that one away in case the liquor board crashed their event.

So my friend Mariette and I drove to the meeting location point in Orleans for our group to board the school bus to a secret location which we placed bets about on the bus; possibly Lansdown, Victoria Island, National Gallery and The War Museum. The bus took us to the Rideau Falls, so we were all wrong and we set up to have a secret party.

On arrival we realize we be sitting almost overlooking the falls, near the Ottawa River perfect view of the sunset and around the corner from the finale of the casino fireworks - a perfect night no doubt- all glamorously formal.  

Set everything up and realize I'm painfully unprepared for the event. Where we packed a single white plate and silverware others packed multi-layered plates twinkle lights high above their table centerpieces with Christmas lights, multi-tiered order platters full with desserts and snacks and Main Course. Absolutely gorgeous. 

Cameras flashing, videos taken, napkins swirling commenced the beginning of the meal. 

We sat at a table of about 10 or 11 people. I jokingly commented at the perhaps Lebanese threesome who had a feast in front of them how lovely everything looked and they had enough to share for the entire group so she stood up and started sharing with the entire group.                                                     How embarrassing and                                                             delicious. 

 

The couple beside me, it turns out, participated in some social events that I had attended and we were both intimately aware of all the circumstances and how we probably almost met each other a hundred times...such a small world.  There were some lively comedians in the group and I suspect if we had spent more time together we would have realized we had a lot in common. 

There was dancing, mostly women. I was surprised how many women attended this event with a female partner. What a great place for a romantic night out though if you don't mind people sitting one inch from you.

We briefly viewed from the second floor of the Rideau Falls and Terrace until they kicked us off but that would have been a spectacular place to view the fireworks.

 We scored one of the best locations in the house overlooking the Ottawa River and waiting patiently for the fireworks.  Suddenly, I saw a tiny flash and realized we were missing the show.  You could only see it by the falls so there was a mass exodus and we attempted to watch the partially obstructed view.  

What a lovely evening it was, simply magical, wish you had been there.

Battling the beasts - Raccoons and Japanese Beetles in my Organic Garden at Spoiled Rotten Bed and Breakfast

Awesome way to start the day, standing here in my bathrobe, not at the spa but rather in my backyard collecting my Harvest.

I've got spaghetti squash growing All Over The Back
Fence, hanging like living growing (albeit ugly) artwork
waiting to be groomed or picked.

Would show you grapes but the family of three raccoons are very well fed off of them those rat bastards. And lately, every morning I have to go out and flip over the sod that they have rearranged when they are looking for bugs. My grass just cannot grow like this abomination and it was doing so well with three layers of sod upon the other. Really. Damn varmints saw it as a triple layer of hors d'oeuvres on a platter. When I sit at my table late at night, and I look outside and see the white twinkle lights jumping up and down in the trees, I know I have visitors and it's time to read them the riot act until these unwelcome squatters vacate the premises. They refuse to read the eviction notice and I know they have no intention of paying rent. They might as well be teenagers, eating all my food, refusing to work, and threatening me when I tell them to shove off but even with their dangerously long claws, I'd probably rather wrestle a raccoon than an ornery teen.

And don't get me started on the Japanese Beetle who has been eating my grape plant out of house and home. They have skeletonized all the leaves so the raccoons can easily see the fruit. I originally made a spray to kill the bugs and stomped them until I learned they send out a pheremone when killed to call others to come visit. Now I start every day with a ziplock baggie and pop the monsters, who are usually having group sex and way more than I am, into the bag while they luxuriate or are furiously doing their business and too occupied to see me coming at them. Victory!

Every year I buy too many tomatoes and now I've got 18 tomato plants and they are beautiful.

It's always so nice starting the day with vegetables fresh from the garden and herbs. Yesterday I was cleaning a tomato and I started looking for the tag from the store and all of a sudden I realized oh man, these babies are fresh from the garden, and don't come with a sticker. 

Salsa is my favourite thing to make.  My tomatoes are all coming ripe and I gathered up a bunch of them and made a fresh salsa for my newly arriving guests. I put it on the table first day but no one ate it.  Tried again the second day; nothing touched.   I mentioned it to them before they left and one of them admitted they didn't want to use it cuz it hadn't been opened yet.  I groaned and said I have 35 bottles in the fridge that I just made for you guys so I sent them on their way with some. Note to self, always open the bottle first. The previous group a day earlier, not only opened the med large jar but sucked it dry.

I've also become a menace to myself and any who eat here, but more so than most times. My first foraging in the forest for edible weeds workshop gave me some knowledge, enough to make me dangerous. I took copious notes until he said Queen Anne's lace looks remarkably like Wild Parsnip which will cause you to break out in boils and pus, burst into flames and probably die. Decided not to take the chance, and tuned out, skipped all that information and want my money back for that lost 5 minutes.

The follow-up class with another instructor was foraging on a farm for medicinal and edible weeds. Now I have more clarity from repetition that all the 6' grass and everything I'm chopping down with my push lawn mower once a month is edible and I'm told it's good for the bees. Can't wait to make a weed salad and not the medicinal weed that's becoming legal soon.

Can you believe how many apple are growing on this five in one tree?  I wish I had a yard full of multiple grafted trees with fruit like lemons and oranges.  Such a conversation piece.  And the raccoons love them.  Hmmmm.  

Just googled recipes for raccoon and holy raccoon,  there are tons.  Brined Bandit and Sweet Potatoes, Cooking 'Coon, Crock Pot Raccoons, Roast Raccoon with Stuffing. It's kind of making me gag but oh I wish they could read this post/threat. They would be sure to run for the hills.  

As an afterthought, for all you menopausal women out there who haven't left your homes because of the heat, You're welcome.  It always happens.  I persevere with the warm nights in the Romance suite and the guests all just say, no it's fine, don't worry.  Finally, I can't take it anymore and I install the window a/c unit and then the nights turn cold and the days cool. I'm thinking of removing it but then, you know what will happen then...more global warming.