Happy Family Day!

Hope everyone is enjoying their day off. Cathy do you have family day in Calgary? It's relatively new here. For years the government has tried to declare some kind of holiday in February because we've never had a day off this time of year.
I've had a great week. Valentine's Day was very romantic. Kevin pulled out all the stops. It was hard going to work the next day. I took my girls to their volleyball tournament and they lost every game but they played very well. On Wednesday Geoff took us out for dinner. We went to a great place close to the Royal York hotel called Osteria. It is an Italian restaurant, serving food in the Puglia style. It was great seeing Geoff again and I actually was able to give him a birthday gift early. I hope he enjoys the book. Brendan joined us for dessert and a drink. I was glad he was able to spend some time with his uncle Geoff. The next day Geoff actually dropped by Brendan's new office space. Nice surprise for Brendan, he only regrets he couldn't spend more time with him as he had an appointment soon after he arrived.
On Thursday, we had parent interviews in the evening and I organized the staff dinner. When I got back from dinner with Geoff on Wednesday I quickly put together a ravioli lasagna which I warmed up for the staff on Thursday and I picked up freshly made schnitzel from Brandt Meats right after school. All my interviews went well and the staff loved dinner. I can't believe the rave reviews I got from the staff over the lasagna. I'll share the recipe with you. It would be great for a church supper or pot luck. It's also a good vegetarian option unless you use meat ravioli.
On Friday I only had 2 interviews in the morning and then I had time to organize a few things in my classroom. In the afternoon, Kevin and I went to the movies and saw "Unknown" with Liam Neesan. Very interesting. Afterwards we went to a new restaurant on the Queensway, called Fork and Spoon, which is a mix of Thai and Japanese. We had the option of a tasing menu for 24.95 or a la carte. We opted for the tasting menu where we could try as much as we wanted. I normally don't like buffets but the portions were small and we could try things we might not if we had to pay full price or if the portions  were big. Also we could order as we went along so we could gauge how hungry we were. We would definitely go back.
On Saturday I took the car in for an oil change and then we did a bit of grocery shopping. Kevin needed to rest so I took him home and Brendan and I drove to Queen West. I dropped him off close to Andrea's place (they were going to the opera) and I went to the art store and bought paper and paint for school.
On Sunday we didn't do much but Brendan forgot his skates that he needed for a special presentation he was doing that night so I drove downtown to his new office space at the Design Exchange. He gave him a quick tour and we went out for coffee. The girls were all busy so I drove to Sherway and did a little bit of shopping (mostly window shopping, but I did spend one of my gift certificates at the teacher store). I went to Chapters and checked out the art books and found a couple that I wanted. Later that evening at home and I ordered the two books on line and used up two more gift certificates.
Today I'm doing laundry and cleaning up around the house (when I'm not writing this blog). Nina called me this morning and we talked for about an hour. She's pretty open minded (we talked about Andrea and Josie) and she was most critical of her own children and grandchildren. She clearly has a soft spot for her younger boys (now in their late 40's and 50). Rolf and Rick are both retired (she doesn't get that) and have major health problems. Rolf is on his 5th hip replacement and Rick had a heart attack a couple of years ago. Bottom line though, you can tell she loves all her children and wants the best for all of them.

Here is the recipe for the ravioli lasagna. It couldn't be easier.

Premade ravioli (not canned) - cheese and spinach, or cheese, or meat
• cook the ravioli according to the packaged directions - 2 to 3 minutes ( I used the fresh ravioli from Costco)
Your favourite pasta sauce ( I used the fresh Rose from Costco)
Shredded Mozzarella or your favourite combination of shredded cheeses

Pour enough sauce to cover the bottom of a baking pan. Place a layer of ravioli over the sauce. Cover with sauce again and then a layer of cheese. Start again with a layer of ravioli, sauce and cheese and repeat layers until all the ravioli is used up. End with the cheese. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes at 350. If you refrigerate before baking you will need closer to an hour to bake.  Enjoy!!!!!! Serve with a salad.