Windsor Memories

 

PCS Scale Today = 6

I ran my 9.2 miles (~15km) OUTSIDE this morning and it was very helpful.  It was a pleasant 50 degrees F (10 degrees C), so I ran in shorts, but had a long sleeve shirt and sweatshirt on top as well as a stocking had and gloves.  I even deviated off the trail I normally run on and ran some on sidewalks today.... perhaps against my better judgement.  I have occasionally tripped on cracks and uneven pieces of sidewalk in the past and banged up my knee pretty good on a few occasions, so sidewalks always worry me a bit.  But, I took the plunge with a promise to myself to be extremely observant of the sidewalk ahead of me.  I really wanted to see some new scenery while running.  The same trail over and over can get repetitive at times, so I tried it.  And, I survived in one piece!  I am not sure I want to do a lot of sidewalk running because of my klutzy nature.... but it was helpful for me this morning.  I was able to pray through the entirety of the rosary plus a bit of extra prayer as well.  

I had a pleasantly vivid dream last night.... more of a reliving of a memory sort of dream.  In my dream, my wife and I were together on a small vacation we were able to take a couple of years ago where we spent a few days in Windsor, Ontario.  That vacation was in the Summer, and we had a few wonderful days together just walking around through the city, and visiting places. In the dream, three places were especially highlighted, and all revolved around food this time!  

One of the destinations we found and loved was a VEGAN Chinese restaurant.  Normally Chinese food is not a top favorite of mine because, at least here in the U.S. most Chinese food tends to be very heavy in oil, tends to be fairly greasy, and a lot of our restaurants of this sort have consistently have a hot, scorched oil smell to them that I just do not like to be around.  The idea of a VEGAN Chinese restaurant was actually quite intriguing, so we both wanted to try it.  And, it was simply wonderful!  Either the restaurant did not use nearly as much oil as the U.S. restaurants, or they had a much better ventilation system... but the lack of that greasy smell was so nice.  Many of the items we tried were of course regular vegetable based, but there were a few that had "meat mimics" too.... using seitan or a soy protein, or tofu to mimic a “meat” flavor or texture.    And, they even offered a baked version of Dim sum!  And, for desert, they gave us a really delightful coffee gelatin which I absolutely loved (my wife does not like coffee, so I ended up with two!).  

The next memory that came in my dream was of another restaurant we tried, and this one was also quite different than our usual U.S. experience.  It was a Japanese Buffet!  Yet, it was not like the typical U.S. buffet where patrons go and stand in lines to pick over tables of offerings.  At this wonderful restaurant, they gave you a menu with hundreds of "samplings" to select.  Our waitress would ask us what we would like, and she would then proceed to prepare us a plate of our selections, and then she would come back a 10-15 minutes later to see if we had additional requests.... for as long as desired.  The food was delightful, and I recall an especially delicious miso soup I had as well as a wide array of sushi.  I remember especially enjoying the Ahi tuna sushi, the yellow-fin tuna sushi, and the salmon sushi.  My wife found the shrimp sushi very pleasing (I abhor shrimp, so I did not try them).  

The final memory was of a place we visited every day during our time in Windsor, for it was nearby our hotel.  It was a really quaint, "mom-and-pop" owned Bubble Tea and Ice Cream shop.  I so rarely get Bubble Teas because they are infrequent in my neck of the woods, but I do really enjoy them and the wonderfully interesting texture of the tapioca bobbas.  Over the course of the few days, my wife alternated between having a Bubble Tea or having ice cream.  But, I had Bubble Tea each and every time we stopped.  I especially remember how wonderful my Matcha Green Tea and Ginger Bobba Bubble Teas were.  

I also remember on that trip how I had brought ONLY one type of pipe tobacco with me to Canada.  It was a very beautiful burley blend that I would sometimes get at my tobacconist that would have some sorts of "room note" hints of sandalwood and almond in it.  I no longer have any of this leaf, unfortunately, and the blend's name escapes me.  During my time in Windsor, at least three people complemented me on my pipe tobacco.  After dinner, as my wife rested a bit back in our room, I would leave the hotel proper and go sit in a small nearby park and smoke my pipe while I read a chapter or two of the novel I had with me.  When I returned back to the room, we would then go swim in the hotel pool each evening.  

Such a nice vacation memory.  I am hoping to be able to return to taking trips of that sort again soon, if we can get the Covid situation controlled sufficiently.  

PipeTobacco