Spicy Tuna Melts

Here's a new recipe that I've been using for the past little while to make tuna sandwiches a little more interesting. You can play with it a bit if you want and I've got two variations I use. If you choose to use the Habanero Peppers be very careful as the acid from the pepper will irritate your skin, especially if you touch any area of your face.

Ingredients:

- Flaked white tuna + 1 can

- Ranch dressing to taste (peppercorn ranch dressing works well too)

- Peppers (1 habanero diced; or 2 chipotles in sauce diced)

- Grated Parmesan cheese + 1 tbsp (or to taste)

- Celery seed to taste

- Paprika to taste

- Sliced bread (use your favourite type or try sandwich buns) + 2 per person

- Grated Cheddar cheese to taste

Mix the first six ingredients in a bowl.

Place a generous amount of tuna mix on one slice of bread. Then top with as much cheddar cheese as you want. Place both pieces of bread in a toaster oven 'open face' and toast until the bread is brown and the cheese has melted. You can also use an oven broiler if you don't have a toaster oven.

Close the sandwich, halve it with a sharp knife. Serve with a pickle and large glass of milk (the milk is important, especially if you used the Habanero or are sensitive to spicy foods).

Coming to the end of Month #1

Well, we’ve now been in Winnipeg for close to one month, and this past weekend we celebrated our official “Welcome Weekend” with our Territorial leaders, Commissioners William and Marilyn Francis, Colonels Don and Ann Copple and others.

Leading up to the weekend I have enjoyed two weeks of classes, including a survey class of the Old Testament, Introduction to Salvation Army Theology, Church History, and Field class.  So far I have very much enjoyed these classes.  I even had my first test on Friday in my Old Testament class – the marks aren’t back yet.

This week things start to settle into a fairly regular schedule that will establish a bit of a rhythm.

I’ll be trying to update somewhat regularly.

Until next time. :)

We made it!

It's been a while, and an update is due.

Jason and I made it to Winnipeg a couple of weeks ago, and are settling in just fine. Our last couple of weeks before coming here included Music Camp, Officers Camp (for Jason) and a short camping trip at Dinosaur Provincial Park.

This is our campsite, and the tree that made our car sticky.

In our time in Winnipeg so far, we have seen The Forks and the Assiniboine Park Zoo, both of which I recommend you see if you are coming through the city.

I've had a few adventures trying to navigate myself around the city both with and without a GPS. I'm getting the hang of things, but slowly. I will be starting work on Monday, so this "weird vacation" (as I've been calling it) is now over.

We're trying to get into being better bloggers, with more frequent updates. Jason will likely update on how everything is going at the college. You never know what you'll hear from me.

Until next time,

This is Susan

Enjoying Summer

Well, we are getting very close to our move to Winnipeg now. One month from today we will move into the Salvation Army cadet residence at Waverley in Winnipeg. There are still several things on the list of to-do's at this point, but that is getting smaller.

I know have only a week and a half until I am finished work, with only 4 days left in the office.

We will be enjoying a week in August down at Pine Lake Camp on faculty for Music Camp. We missed camp last year and are looking forward to being part of this year's fun. The Salvation Army's leaders for Canada and Bermuda will be on hand for the first day of camp, as well as many supporters and donors, for the dedication of 4 new camper lodges. The lodges have been in use since the start of this year's camping season, but the event will give the Salvation Army a chance to thank those who helped to contribute to their construction. Our new divisional leaders will also be officially installed that day.

Susan and I have been enjoying summer this year. It is the first summer that we've known each other when I have not been on-call for work at all times. We enjoyed a new adventure a couple of weekends ago when we went tenting out near Hinton, Alberta. We were supposed to go to Calgary to visit another couple, but when one of them got sick, we looked for something else to do with our weekend, and since we had got a tent and sleeping bag as wedding gifts, we decided it was time to start using them.

We arrived at the camp site around 10pm, and being on the edge of the mountains and in the trees, it was getting quite dark. It was the second time we were setting up our tent and we were a bit worried when we realized that we did not have the instructions...but once we focused on getting the tent up - rather than on finding the instructions - we got it up quickly and without trouble in the dark. The first night brought a brief thunderstorm and continuing rains, but we slept without problem and woke up dry in the morning.

We spent part of the Saturday in Jasper. Neither of us had ever been there, so that was a nice treat. I enjoyed it a lot. It was quietter and more relaxed than Banff always seems to be...much less touristy. We enjoyed a pizza lunch on a roof-top patio surrounded by the mountains and wandered around town for the afternoon. We returned to our campsite for dinner and enjoyed a tex-mex style stew cooked over the open fire and s'mores in the evening.

We headed home Sunday morning after I forgot to put our breakfast food into the cooler and it sat in the trunk of the car all weekend. We packed up our site in a light rain and headed home. We learned a few things about camping - what supplies and equipment we need to invest in if we want to make this a regular activity - but we also learned that we really enjoy tenting and that we want to keep doing it.

The following weekend we got down to Calgary and enjoyed spending time with the Deckers. Susan and I ventured out on Saturday and took in Heritage Park Historical Village. I used to visit the park on a regular basis, but a great deal has changed and I enjoyed going again to share that with my wife.

This past Sunday we were at St. Albert Corps where I had been asked by the corps officers to speak while they are on vacation. I haven't preached now for nearly two years and was glad for the opportunity. In fact, as I shared with the congregation, the last time I spoke was at St. Albert a few months after I had moved to Edmonton. I remember a member of the congregation asking if Susan, who had come with me, was my wife and I answered, "No, we just started dating a couple of months ago." Well, I was very proud as Susan came with me again, this time as my wife, and she joined in with the worship team leading the singing and playing the piano.

This week we will stay in Edmonton and attend our home church. We will only be at Edmonton Temple two or three more times before we leave and move to our new home in Winnipeg.

Artsy, but not fartsy

It's been an artsy day for me. This morning, my workplace held its monthly staff event, and this month's theme was a talent show. I was told early in the morning that there were very few "acts" signed up for it, so they were going to be spaced out and people could mingle, and perform if they decided on the spur of the moment. I did something I don't do very often: I determined the chords for "Thank You For the Music" and performed it! So for those of who who missed it, it'll be years before my next scheduled performance. My solo-ing goes on the same kind of schedule as a comet.

My other "artsy" moment today came when I finished the first of some collages I want to make. I decided to do scrapbook-style pages of various parts of our honeymoon last year.

This is obviously San Francisco, and these pictures were taken as we tried to find our way out of the city.

I don't know which set of pictures I'll tackle next, but it may be Disneyland.

Next picture: We went to Montana's for supper tonight, and I got Jason to play hangman with me. After he figured out what the word was, he proceeded to guess every letter of the alphabet in order to avoid filling in the word. However, I outsmarted him by giving the man a hat, gloves, briefcase, pipe, and monocle before I would consider him complete. Notice that he does not have a left foot, and you will see that Jason managed to figure out the word in time to save the man's life!