WAITING FOR THE CALL

Lorraine gifted me this little Mitchell Mouse wearing a Christmas sweater. I love it! Yesterday we went by the Gift Shop at the Lock 3 St Catharine’s Museum and Welland Canals Centre. They have both of the Ship to Shore Chef “Recipes and Stories as I Sail Through my Day cookbook” and Stowaway Adventures of Mitchell Mouse children’s book”. They make great Christmas gifts. I enjoy going to the museum. They have a new exhibit open and I hope to go back soon to see it. There were no ships in Lock 3 but as we drove away we saw a familiar ship coming down through the flight locks. I looked at the ship wondering…where and when…but reminding myself I am where I am meant to be and enjoying every minute.

This morning I am thinking about "being where I am meant to be". I disembarked the Atlantic Huron on the 2nd of December. I just finished the little video of the "Cargo ship galley tour Atlantic Huron" After a 24 year hiatus from sailing I returned to my first love...cooking on a ship. Technology changed over the years and when I returned to sailing in 2019 I promised myself to journal my travels and adventures. I started photographing the galley when I left for holidays or completed a relief job. You know that feeling when you leave the house and you question yourself "did I turn off the oven (ok, not a good example because we always leave the galley ovens on) or remember to do something. I always document how I left the galley and my room. I then added doing a walk through video of the galley on departure day. It's fun to share with you and it also gives me an opportunity to verify that yes, I did leave the galley nice for the next cook. When I watched my walk through video of the Atlantic Huron I realized right away that I forgot to turn my camera to give a landscape bigger picture view of the galley tour. Lorraine (my sister, best friend, publisher and video editor) agreed that the video looked small but thought my solution of sharing little tidbits of information and photos accompanying the video was a good idea. It sparked my creativity and I have to say that, although it took longer to put together the galley tour video for you, I enjoyed sharing the info and photos on the wide expanse of empty screen beside the running video. It was fun thinking about the list of groceries that I used during the 33 days I was onboard. I thought the information was interesting to me too and will have a page or two in the next cook book about how much food we go through in a month. I hope you enjoy the little video I made. I had fun making it. Just click on the following link https://youtu.be/BY4IWLggxZU?si=LsTK3oJrYAHtovmG

I have not had a call from the union hall yet. The day before I fell asleep at 19h00 and did not wake up until 06h00 so I think these extra few days off have been good for me. There will be a job call and I am enjoying the extra time that I have off. I am treating this first week off like a vacation but if the wait for another ship takes me into next week, I will start working on my next cookbook which I will have out Spring of 2024. I made a recipe the other night that will be in the book and yesterday I found some smoked pork chops that I know will be photographed as I prepare them for supper. I can already imagine how delicious they are going to be. I have to refrain from buying too much in the grocery store because I don't know how long I have before I get the call, but I thought the smoked pork chops would be ok to buy. The last four years I worked all December till mid January on ships so I missed the December/New year hustle and bustle, Christmas decorations and the excitement in the air when the snow falls. I know not everyone is excited to see the snow but I am a winter girl and the falling little white flakes make me smile. I love to walk this time of year. Dressing warm to the cooler temperatures. 

Lorraine (my sister, best friend and publisher) and I love to go for walks this time of year.

This was delicious. It is chicken in a mushroom sauce over riced cauliflower. It will definitely be in the next book. It came together so easily. It just needs a little parsley garnish.

I am expecting a job call so I am still in the St Catharines area. The 7 1/2 winter drive to Tremblant this time of year is not as easy to plan around. I am a “home is where the heart is” so my time off is enjoyed wherever I am.

Lorraine and I made a big purchase since I've been off, my new laptop and today I will set it up. It takes some time to adjust to a new laptop but as I worked on my Atlantic Huron Galley video for you on my old laptop (that crashed three times), I realized I cannot put off this task much longer.I want to have the new laptop ready to go with me when I get my next ship. There was no learning curve with the new shoes that I bought and wore out of the store.  I am enjoying my shoes and feel like I am walking on little clouds. 

I think this may be the last story I tell on my old laptop. I hope to set up my new laptop today. The next story will come from my new laptop

I heard the beep beep beep of this bulldozer outside my cabin window.

Meldrum Bay is a beautiful spot to load

They had a little snow on the shoreline.

loading the stone from Meldrum Bay

Leaving Meldrum Bay on a beautiful morning

Unloading the stone which we picked up in Meldrum Bay a mere 24 hours prior.

It was fun to see the huge piles of stone and then to see them again as then were unloaded in Windsor. If you remember I also joined the Atlantic Huron by punt boat and if you like you can view that little video on @shiptoshorechef or click on the following link. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/F-ZldfEfA2w

This time I was lucky disembarking by punt boat and didn't get splattered by the drops of white stone dust that falls from the unloading boom. We disembarked on the starboard side which avoided passing under the unloading boom. 

A clear path to the shoreline by punt boat. No fears of wet white stone dust falling on my going home clothes.

I served Hot dogs as we made our way down Lake Huron to my final Windsor, Ontario destination and departure day. I was distracted and did not take a lot of photos. I served Fish chowder, Hotdogs on homemade buns and my famous butter chicken for lunch and for supper. I also made my deep fried fish and chips. I thought it was funny that I came to the end of the homemade tartar sauce that I made. One crew member had a great sense of humor as he came to supper in his onesie.

This crew member had a great sense of humor. Someone asked me about the message “hours of rest sheet”. We have to fill out the hours we work to make sure that the crew have had enough rest if they are working overtime. In the galley we have the nights off but some of the crew who are not on watch work different hours. The hours of rest are documented to make sure every one is able to work safely and are not over fatigued. Safety first!

I love this fish chowder recipe.

This last batch of bread/buns came out pillowy soft.

Saturday morning, departure day. When I saw this familiar sight, I knew I didn’t have long before I would be disembarking in Windsor

Looking out the porthole off our stern. Moments later the Captain instructed the 8-12 wheelsman to make the carefully calculated turn of the ships wheel that would turn us around in the Detroit river. Once we were tied up, we were then ready to unload the stone and the disembarking of the crew going on vacation…me included.

Lorraine is making a trip to the US post office and will be happy to mail you your copy of the books. There is still time to get them in time for Christmas.

Tomorrow I will share my daylight passing under the Mackinac bridge and the fun meal I served as we did. Stay tuned. I will share with you when I get the call so you have time to pack your virtual seabags. In the meantime Enjoy your day.