Not paying attention

Was out to pick up some groceries when I remembered to make a quick trip to the liquor store. That's where I reminded myself to grab a bottle of Jameson. The bottle at home was beginning to feel lighter for some reason. As I approached the shelf I noticed a fellow coming toward me, pushing a shopping cart. I didn't want to be in his way.  So I reached up, quickly grabbed my bottle and carried on. I grabbed a few cans of beer and went through the cash. 

Only when I got home did I realize my mistake. Instead of grabbing the usual dark green bottle of Irish Whiskey -- which I find to be a nice, smooth sipping whiskey -- i grabbed something else. 

I had grabbed a bottle of something new; Jameson Triple Triple. It's a tripled distilled whiskey that is finished off by aging in three different types of wooden barrels; sherry, bourbon and chestnut. 

The company promises that this drink is extra smooth. Oh well Christmas is coming and I think I deserve something nice and smooth.  I will let you know.

Cooking

  I was watching cooking shows on YouTube this morning when I noticed that I like British cooks ... which seems odd since so many people will tell you that British food is so bland.

The funny thing is that Brit chefs tend to make some of my favourite meals. 

I like Gordon Ramsay because he has a knack for coming up with amazing flavours in his dishes and maybe that's why he is so successful.  It is a bit of a turnoff that he seems so full of bluff and bluster.

On the other hand, maybe my favourite television chef is Nigella Lawson who makes it look so easy to cook up complicated dishes. On one program this morning she made up potatio pancakes and added nutmeg. I will have to try that.  She also taped an episode of her program on how to make sticky toffee pudding. I am going to watch that again tonight, maybe when I've had a warm glass of whisky.

Bing Videos

Also I will have to admit that while Gordon is good, Nigella is just so much easier to look at and listen to.

What a day

 Well this has sure been a good day. Or perhaps it has been a good 24 hours when I think that it was around 10 p.m. Tuesday that we got the first good news of the political upheaval in the U.S.

I was more than amazed at the Democrat landslide in the U.S. midterm elections. My faith in American citizens has been restored.    I knew there would be an eventual backlask against but I never guessed it would be so wild.

Also, I began today with a cup of tea of enjoying one of the new muffins I bought at Costco on Tuesday. The cranberry-orange-buttermilk muffins there are huge and delicious. Buy some!

Later in the morning, Jennifer texted me with an invite for a coffee. So we had lunch at Twiggs which was so nice. We both had the roasted red pepper soup. Delicious. Jenn and I go there a lot. It's a nice place with great food.

https://www.twiggs.ca/

It was great to get up to date on all the family news which left me thankful for all the blessings we have.  And then I was watching the news a while ago and was pleased to see Pope Leo had a meeting with my favourite Nobel prize winner, Bob Dylan.   What a day!

Old passport photo

So yeah,  here's an old passport photo from 2006. Back when I had a bit more hair on top. Today is throwback Thursday. I wish somebody could throwback some hair on my head.

Just to make it ineterestomg. you can compare it to the latest passport photo I had done for my new passport application in September 2026.

Enjoying a really nice new drink

I was at my fave pub last week for a quick supper -- fish and chips -- which hit the spot very nicely.  And it was quicker than I expected as I had only one glass of beer and I had gulped down my supper. Bartender Rob mentioned the October menu had some new drinks on it.

I looked. 

What caught my eye was a whiskey drink featuring Cabot Trail Maple Whisky; firstly because it is a whisky and secondly because it originates from the part of Canada where I was born, Cape Breton. 

The drink is called the Maple Apple Fizz. Maple whisky. Apple juice. Club soda. Cinnamon stick and a few small green apply slices. 

So I ordered the drink

It was delicious and smooth and tasty. Really refreshing.  The strongest flavor coming through was the apple, and then the really nice hint of maplem a whisper of cinnamon followed by the warmth of the whiskey. Up until now I didn't think I would enjoy whisky with an apple juice mixer. So that has changed and I will have to try a few versions of that. 

Font Size. Ridiculous.

   This is one of those times when I complain about things that are ridiculous. Out shopping last week when I saw a package of cabbage rolls. I thought Okay the package size is reasonable, unlike buying a full family-sized tray of cabbage rolls. Regardless, I love cabbage rolls. Got home and put them in the freezer. A few days later it was time to try them. 

I cooked up some potatoes and took the package out of the freezer and pre-heated the oven.  I figured the oven would be roughly 350 degrees, but I wanted to be sure so I checked the package for the cooking instructions. 

Imagine my surprise at seeing the instructions on the front of the package in such a tiny font that I could not read it. I had to use a magnifying glass.  I snapped a photo using a loonie as a reference for size. You can see how small the font is. That is just silly. Click the photo to see it full size.

Music? Your opinion.

 If there is one thing that people are quick to have opinions about it is music. 

In the past few months I have had the time to watch a lot of television. One of the things I have noticed is the popularity of "reaction channels" on YouTube.

A reaction channel is where a person responds to such things as old movies and old music. I am always amazed at the large number of people who have not heard about such popular musicians as The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Marvin Gaye, Linda Ronstadt and even Elvis. I am not making this up.

So I get a kick when I see people respond to songs and musical choices I have always liked and many people are amazed that singers and performers from days gone by were so  talented and did not use things like Auto-Tune or other technological assistance.

One particiular song that seems popular on YouTube is Bobby Hatfield of the Righteous Brothers singing Unchained Melody. It was performed in 1965.

It was performed live on the Andy Williams show and is a masterpiece of a 1960s pop love song.

I have seen it now many times because so many younger people respond to it. I like the melody. I like the lyrics. I like that the guy sings live. I like his voice. And I like that I can understand the words.

One of the commenters remarked that modern music is failing because singers and songwriters just don't seem able to write well and do not actually sing well. Too many singers just shout, or wail in a scream-like voice or they just talk the words. That's not talent. It may be creative. But it is not singing.

Good news and one of my best photos

I heard good news from the business world this past week when it was revealed that a Canadian company is reviving the iconic Canadair 415 water bomber that is used to fight forest fires.

The plane, first developed by Canadair in the 1960s and then by Bombardier and then DeHavilland Canada, is now being rejuvenated for a new upgraded version called the DeHavilland Canadair 515.

Prime Minister Carney and the Canada aviation industry have worked out a deal to build and sell more than 50 new airplanes. Some will be purchased by provinces in Canada. Others are being sold to Europe,

Canada, EU plan to buy 50 De Havilland water bombers

As an aviation fan I have long admired the plane which is regarded as the best of its kind in the world. I am pleased to share a photo I shot roughly 15 years ago during a forest fire in Timmins. The planes were swooping down onto Porcupine Lake to fill their water reservoirs and then dropping water on a forest fire near Schumacher. 

The plane in this photo had just loaded up with water when another plane, flying from behind was setting up to do the same thing..

Photoa were were shot By Len Gillis with a Nikon D50  135mm  lens, on May 19, 2010.  Below are a couple of other shots taken that day.

.

Soup weather

  October is here and suddenly I have the feeling that salad, sandwiches and a cold beer just dont seem fully appropriate for supper. I was out grocery shopping when I decided that a nice hot bowl of beef barley soup would be good especially now that the weather is cooling off. 

As I broswed the meat counter, I was surpised to see that a small package of stewing beef would cost more than $11. That's expensive. 

Then I noticed there was a small steak on for "quick sale" for only $7.  That ws reasonable. I added chopped up carrots, celery, onion, corn and barley. I threw in a package of Lipton Beef Vegetable soup set it to simmer for about three hours. 

One thing I forgot to pick up when I was shopping was garlic, which I think would have been nice. The soup was still tasty and filling. I enjoyed two bowls with bread and butter and put the rest in the freezer. 

Can Washing

So I first read about this in a news article some time back.  Then I talked to a guy who worked in a soft-drink warehouse. He said YES, rinse the top of your pop can or beer can if you're going to drink from the can. 

The thing is that all kinds of crap and dirt can land on the top of drink cans that you don't know about; things like rat shit and mouse piss.and who knows what else; things like chemicals and other substances that could be found in warehouses or other places where cans are stored.

So it's just a thing I do and I rarely drink from cans unless I know I can clean the top. I am a bit wierd that way I guess. 

Pea Soup with bacon

I admit that Habitant Pea Scoup is one of my favourite foods, but I also confess that I enjoy making my own pea soup because it is just so delicious. I made abig batch of pea scoupl earlier this year, but in my enthusiasm I added big chunk of salt pork, which is believed added an authentic touch to the recipe. To my disappointment, the salt pork was far too salty. I was not aware of this because my generation was not privy to the methods of daily cooking with salt pork ... something my mother and grandmothers would have known about. 

So I picked up a pound of split yellow peas and was determined to do it better. Just so you know, a traditional can of Habitant Pea Soup now retails for $3.49 at most grocery stores. The price for a pound of split peas was only $2.99.

I confess I also used a litre of Campbell Soup chicken broth. Add $2.99 to the total.

 So it took about five hours of simmering on the stove top and it turned out very nice. I had to add about halfa teaspoon of salt to the pot, which was about six litres of soup. I had two bowls and the rest when into the freezer. So was it good. Delicious! So I can look forward to a few more nice suppers with pea soup and a grilled cheese, or ham and cheese on a nice multi-grain toasted sandwich.

CORRECTION; Three litres of soup ... enough to fill six 500 ml jars.

Fish dinners

Pleased to report that I was invited to a couple of special family dinners recently. The first was with Don and Denise who have returned from spending a good part of the summer in Newfoundland. That's where they purchased a whole scoff of of seafood and they were kind enough to share it with a family dinner.

As you can see from the menu Denise posted on the dinner table, we enjoyed a feast of fine seafood, along with the amazing company of most of the family. What a treat it was and the take-home leftovers were just as good a couple of days later. 

As if that wasn't enough, Scott and Jennifer hosted a fish fry along with a nice bonfire this past weekend. The amazing fish, chips, salad, coleslaw and other fixin's was a real treat. It was nice to share a great meal with the extended family again. I wonder what the poor folks do on weekends. :)

Walking around

I was out with Jennifer last week for a really nice hike at Bell Park, along the Lake Remsay boardwalk in Sudbury. It was sort of an impromptu thing because we usually get together for a coffee and sandwich chat a few times a month

. The weather was perfect as you can see from the photo showing the lake, Science North and the hospital. This time Jenn said let's go for a good walk; summer is fading too fast; let's get out for some fresh air. What a nice idea it turned out to be, although I admit it was more of a workout than I expected. After that we checked out the Salute coffee shop in the south end, which was excellent. It was one of the best lunches I have had this year. 

 https://www.salutecoffee.com/

New Passport arrived

We get so used to things happening today or within a few hours that it was a bit of a struggle to be told it could take a few weeks for my new passport to be processed. Much to my surprise the new passport arrived Monday... just two weeks after I submitted the application. So I was pleased with that. I was also pleased with the level of service I got at the Sudbury passport office downtown. It has been ten years since I applied for my previous passport, but the level of service has improved greatly.

I am not making any specific travel plans but I think it is good to have a passport just in case some special travel opportunity comes up. It kind of bothers me that world politics plays a role in ny decision i might make. That means that I won't be travelling to the U.S. for the time being, nor will I take part in a unique Russian icebreaker cruise to the North Pole. However, a cruise to Antarctica is still on the bucket list.

I was depressed

What a week this has beem. I was heartbroken to learn of Dolly Parton's death on the weekend. I waa so caught off guard and feeling depressed because she always left me feeling happy and inspired whenever I saw her perform. I just hope her death was not difficult for her. Sunday was otherwise a nice day. Jenn called and invited me out to supper in the Valley. It was a nice drive but the supper was a perfect combination of a hearty soup, a salad and appetizers. She and Scott are such excellent hosts and really outstanding in the kitchen. It was nice to spend time as well with Nathan, Dara and Ace.

I also want to share that I enjoyed vegging out for a couple of hours watching a movie called Song, Sung Blue starring Hugh Jackman (Yes, the Wolverine guy!) and Kate Hudson. It's a movie based on a true story of a couple who have a small town tribute band to Neil Diamond. An amazing story, great performances and fabulous music. The movie itself is not a musical, but the musical performances were terrific.

Missing good people

Retirement is good but I find I have developed a mid-afternoon habit of enjoying a treat I would usually regard as really special. I like to prepare special cup of coffee, very strong, with a hint of chocolate syrup, stirred up with a teaspoon of ice cream and a shot of whisky . If that wasn’t enough, I like to add a nice piece of chocolate tuxedo cake or apple pie. Lucky me that I have good taste for things that taste good.

I was saddened to hear last week of the death of well=known TV anchor Lloyd Robertson. I say that because I was able to meet him a few times while I was at CTV. He was a true gentleman, a super nice guy. I can’t say I got to know him well but each time we met he was kind enough to remember my name and ask he about the newsroom in Timmins. He just had a way of making everyone feel important while he was chatting with people.

So you can't say we haven't been warned

Every evening in recent months I have watched the American newscasts, specifically NBC News and ABC News, and have noticed a startling change. Both networks are now focussing on major weather stories. That's because a day hardly goes by that there is not a major weather event that is impacting the lives of millions of people throughout the U.S. Think of forest fires, tornadoes, hurricanes, massive rainstorms, flooding, droughts and unusual snowstorms in places where cold weather was barely a worry before. This is happening all the time now. It brings me back to a lecture I attended at Northern College in Timmins around 15 years ago where Dr. David Pearson presented a lecture on climate change. He talked about the fact that Earth's climate is changing quickly and we are not prepared to deal with it. I remember thinking that some of his comments back then were alarmist. Over the years, a lot of people say climate change is nothing but a hoax perpetuated by the wacky woke crowd. I have to admit there are a lot of wacky people around but we need to pay more attention to the climate.

Retired? Yes, finally.

So halway through July and I can conform I am indeed retired now feom the news game. Village Media was find enough to provide a retirement package that include accumulated sick days and medical leave. I have actually been off the job since just before Christmas. So That's that. I has lunch yesterday with Jennifer downtown at the diner on Larch Street. We get out there maybe once a year or so. It was nice. We chatted .. or I should say I did most of the chatting for nearly two hours! It was nice to get caught up on the family gossip and to enjoy Jenn's sense of humour. I should mention that we had a grreat visit from Neil in June. He was back in Ontario so he could visitt Timmins with Jenn as they attended Moe and Marie's 50th anniversary celebration. From all accounts it was a great event.

We enjoyed a brief time at Camp Alexander, with good food, some drinks and great company. Life doesn't get much better.

Thank goodness for warranties

So it was a good thing last week that my car came out of the shop. Last Friday I got a call from Ken at Laurentian Motors advising that my car was ready. I had put it in the shop on December 29, first of all for a regular oil change but also because some dash lights were showing. The parking brake needed service, the cruise control needed service, the 4x4 wasn’t working and as I pulled into the shop, the service guy said the engine light had come on. Okay then. Time to check everything. This was all two weeks ago. I figured it would take a couple of days. The service called back two days later. Said there was a tonne of work needed to get done and he needed me to approve it Thank goodness I had an extended warranty. Service guy said the total work bill would be over $9,000 which included transmission work. He said he would notify the warranty people to get it all approved. And so he did. Picked up the car on Friday. Cost of the warranty work was $9,730. My cost was only $434. Yes, this was a good week.

Cool cups eh

I have to say I like the artwork on the new Tim Horton's holiday cups. Grabbed a medium this afternoon and I really enjoyed looking at the winter scenes complete with Santa and a hockey stick. So Kudos to the art designers at Timmies for coming up with the nice artwork. I am sure lots of people will notice and enoy.

Sunday afternoon hockey game

I was pleased to enjoy going to the Sudbury Wolves hockey game Sunday. I keep telling myself that it's one of those simple pleasures that is so easy to enjoy. The Wolves haven't been winning a lot this season but it was still fun to enjoy the game, even if I only had two beers and avoided the pizza and popcorn in the VIP booth. I promise myself I will get out again, to watch some really good fast hockey.

Also Sunday I had a chance to chat with Ronald and wish him a happy birthday. We had a great chat about family and just life in general. It was all good.

My Ken Dryden story ...

So it was back in October of 2008 that that hockey great Ken Dryden was having a cup of coffee at the McIntyre Coffee Shop. He was in Timmins campaigning for the Liberals, and I knew I had to get a photo of Dryden on the ice next door at the arena. Luckily there was a noon hour rec-league game underway and as I tried to interrupt the game, I was initially met with anger by the guys playing hockey. I explained that the legendary Ken Dryden was in the house, and would they agree to a casual photo of Dryden with their hockey team. Yes! they said. And so I have this very nice photo of one of the great hockey players from the 20th century.

A good summer or what!

I noticed today, with the weather being a bit overcast and the temperatures a bit cooler, that Summer 2025 is passing quickly. I cannot complain. Overall it has been a nice summer. Don and Denise have put on some really excellent family dinners. Those were fun. ¶Things were especially good this past week when I was able to spend some time relaxing up at Camp Alexander. Jenn and Scott were excellent hosts. It was nice to spend time with Don and Denise also, along with all the rest of the folks. ¶The big surprise of course was the unexpected visit from Neil, all the way from Vancouver. I was sitting in a Sudbury restaurant with Jennifer for a nice supper when Neil suddenly walked in. I didn't recognize him for a few seconds and then I did. Very happy. Neil was able to spend some time at camp and he even found time to get up to Timmins where he was delighted to meet uncles, aunts and cousins. Back in Sudbury this week, both of us had a chance to visit my favourite pub where we spent time eating, drinking and catching up. Neil is heading back home and on Thursday we took a photo at the bus station just before he left town. Can't wait for another visit. Which means I now owe him a visit. It's all good.

Back at work after an excellent five day break where I had time to enjoy the best of life at Camp Alexander in Westree. The food was excellent of course, and I ate too much, felt really great. And so I decided to drink a little more beer than usual. I love it when everyone chips in and adds food to the community table. So many good tasting things.

The kids had a great time going for rides in the ATVs and yes, they all worse helmets. There was even some excitement as the gang went out for a picnic and a swim at one of the local lakes. There was one incident where we needed a first aid kit, but things worked out okay.

I know it is hard to beat the sense of relaxation that takes over as you sit by the fire, watch the stars and enjoy everyone's company.

Retirement? Not right now ...

So every now and then I think I should retire from the news game. But I am having fun. Seriously, I usually grin each morning as I head to work. Sometimes I think I am loopy. Then this week the company said thanks for five years; they gave me a raise, gave me another week of vacation and gave me a really nice watch.

Getting up to date

Staying up to date on things. Was pleased to chat with Debra recently to learn that she and John are planning a trip to Europe and a Mediterranean cruise. Also, kudos to John for his recent win on a CTV trivia show. I hope they have a great time. Deb said they have plans to visit Vimy Ridge. I am jealous. I can't wait to see some of the photos from their travels.

I was spring cleaning my hall closet on the weekend when I found a nice pair of almost new black Timberland ankle boots. I absolutely know they're not mine, so I think they were left by Neil during his last winter visit two years ago. I tried them on and they fit perfectly. I will have to talk to Neil. * * * * * I have been so busy lately, I barely noticed that spring is almost over and summer will soon by here. It's a great time of year. I am especially pleased that I feel healthier. I think I get tired of winter to the point where I just like to sleep in on weekends. The nicer weather encourages me to walk more. That feels good. I was pleased recently to go out with Jenn and Scott for a nice supper at the Dog House restaurant in Azilda. It was nice just to sit and shoot the breeze while enjoying good food and fresh draft beer. Jenn and Scott are also considering some interessting travel plans, so it will be nice to see how that goes.

My usual beer at my local pub was Muskoka Brewery Treat Lightly. But they have been selling out or not buying enough of it. So this past weekend, I had to fall back on my usual Bud Light... an American brew that I was avoiding.

I has been bitten by the travel bug again and I am no sure where to go. I know I cannot go to the U.S. although there were a couple of cities I had planned on visiting before the government there got stupid.

I saw a recent travel report of a guy who travelled from England to New York on the Queen Mary. That could be an interesting trip. https://cruiseinsider.com/specials/transatlantic-crossings-with-cunard/cunard-line

Life is too good some days eh

Sometimes, the simple meals are the best. During a recent visit to Fionn MacCool's pub in Sudbury, I enjoyed one of their best suppers; Shepherd's Pie and a Caeser Salad on the side. Now I don't often buy the salad but as I ate it I thought how much I miss having a really tasty salad. It was just the perfect side dish to get my taste buds going into overdrive. Then the mashed potatoes with the beef, pork and veggies just hit the spot better than I was expecting. I think it was because I skipped lunch that day.

Of course, a nice fresh pint of draft beer kept the day going right. Since the tariff issue I have quit drinking American beer. I have been enjoying a new light beer from Muskoka Brewery called Tready Lightly. It's only four per cent alcohol content and really refreshing. Things don't get much better than this.

This stuff doesn't make sense

The world does not make sense some days. I was reading the New York Times about former Fox News announcer Pete Hegseth putting out confidential military information over a cell phone chat application. First of all, how does a former news announcer become Secretary of Defence? One would think this is a role for a high-level military person, not some sycophant that sucks up to the guy trying to be president. In a real world, goof-ups like this would result in somebody being arrested or least removed from a sensitive role. The guy lives in a world where people just deny reality and hopes others believe him. Now that the real media -- NOT Fox rookies -- have this story in their sights, you can be sure that Hegseth's days are numbered.

Shipping news

I guess it is one of the cool things about the internet; the vast amount of information available, if you're willing to take the time to search. I was snooping several weeks back when Jenn and Scott took a cruise trip in the Caribbean. Their ship the MSC Seaside was listed online along with the voyage and the ports of call. So I snooped further and found info on the last time I was on a ship... The RMS Cunard liner, the Saxonia.

Oh my but there is a tonne of information available, and photos too. It sure brought back memories on travelling home from France, back to Canada in the early 1960s. Airlines did not make a regular crossing from Europe to North America back then. The trip took five or six days, as best as I can remember, departing from Le Havre, France, on to Southhampton, U.K. and then across the North Atlantic Ocean on to Montreal.

I still have some vivid memories of that trip. One of the funniest was that I was in the ship's theatre watching a movie with my Mom when suddenly the theatre door crashed open, light poured in and there was my big brother Gary shouting, Hey Leonard, we docked, we're back in Canada!

So I found some basic info on the Saxonia. But the best part is there is another link that lists the names of families and passengers who were on the ship in the 1960s. I think I will have to dig back for more information.

Life sure is good these days

I hope you like the photo. I took the picture from the parking lot at work where we can see the old Sudbury water tower, which has been converted to a light beacon in the heart of the city.

So it was a super relaxing Christmas break for a couple of days. Jennifer and Scott of course were the perfect hosts. When I say relaxing, I should mention that I parked myself on the couch Christmas Eve, watched a nice movie -- Home Alone -- drank whisky and fell asleep, sitting on the couch. Embarassing! I slept on a cot in the rec room, which was perfect. It was so quiet. Christmas morning was nice. There was no pitter, patter of little feet. It was thump, thump, thump as I could hear Ace running around all excited because Santa had visited. I was pleased to get a great new sweater from Santa. It's all black and made of lambswool. I could tell is was wool right away. So I know I will enjoy it. I just have to remember to wash it properly. The nice thing about a wool sweather like that is I can wear it with jeans or with a suit; either way it will look great. Christmas dinner was with the Alexanders as Don, Denise and Christine were amazing hosts. As usual, the meal was outstanding. I managed to get a messy nosebleed but it stopped quickly enough. Embarassing. All in all, another perfect Northern Ontario Christmas. I am spoiled. Life is good.

Writing and stuff

I read recently how many young people are losing out on important communication skills even though they do a lot of texting. Part of the problem -- their word not mine -- is that people are losing the ability to communicate in regular sentences. For some reason this came to me on the weekend as I was looking over some old papers, which included letters written to me by my Dad and my Grandmother. Grandma wrote really interesting letters. Dad, not so much. His sentences were short and very much to the point. Grandma would go on in detail about how life was for her living in the country and things like that. I remembered that as a young teenager, I had a pen pal. I also remembered how nice it was to get a letter every few weeks and how much I enjoyed writing a letter back. I should write here in this blog more often. Also, I recently dropped by Jenn and Scott's place in Val Caron. It was Nathan's birthday. Nathan and Dara were there with Ace. It was nice to have coffee and cake and then we headed out for a nice Friday night supper. Tyler and Nila came along and so that too was nice to spend time with. After that, I headed home to continue binge watching old episodes of The Sopranos. Now THAT is something I should write about. That is such a good series. It has very good acting. But of course, good writing is at the heart of it. It was also nice to spend time with Jenn and Scott before they set off on their cruise of the Caribbean. Their ship is massive; the MSC Seaside. Check out the website. I am pretty sure they will have an enjoyable time. https://www.msccruises.ca/plan-a-cruise/ships/msc-seaside

Wendel Clark is a cool guy. So is Joe Bowen.

Had a good day today. There was a hockey fundraiser game on to support Easter Seals. A lot of former NHL guys in town. I had to take photos, including a team shot, out on the ice at the end of the game. It was slippery. Former Leafs captain Wendel Clark skated up beside me and let me hold onto his stick as we crossed the ice. I also had a chance to say hi to Joe Bowen, the iconic voice of the Maple Leafs for more than 40 years. Joe was a co-worker back in our days at CKSO Radio and TV in the 1970s. Cool or what.

Las Vegas

Still at home recovering from my first ever trip to Las Vegas. And no I didn't misbehave. If anything I am disappointed. It was a bucket list thing for me, having never been there before.

I took some vacation time and decided I would also take in the Mine Expo, which is the world's largest mining technology convention. Besides, it was a cheap holiday considering that flights and hotel rooms are far less expensive to other places I have visited in recent years. Much cheaper than Vancouver or London for example. To make a long story short, I injured myself. I severely sprained by left hip and knee. It doesn't help when I tell the story that this happened when I was getting off a barstool. I wasn't at all tipsy. It's just the way I twisted my body ... after having only two pints of Bud Light. I slipped and landed badly on my left heel before catching myself from a serious fall. So as I returned to my hotel room on Tuesday Sept 24, my left leg was very sore. And when I went to bed my hip and knee were screaming at me. I figured part of the problem was that I had overextended myself that day with all the walking and touring I did. So I spent the best part of the following three days in my room, in varying degrees of pain as I swallowed a couple of bottles of Advil. I just could not get comfortable and the pain was constant. Upon returning to Sudbury, I went to the emergency room and instead of a long wait, they looked after me quickly and sent me for X-rays. I told them I was a senior citizen who had a minor fall. They reacted quickly. The attending doctor told me nothing was broken but my hip flexor muscle was sprained. She said that would explain the severe pain, which was still with me last Saturday. The pain was from my left knee, along my thigh, around my hip to my butt and lower back. So she prescribed Naproxen and told me to lay off the Advil, which was upsetting my stomach. She also gave me a prescription to ease the stomach trouble. So working from home as I wait for my leg to heal. More stories coming later.

Poor rabbit ...

I bumped into my neighbour briefly last week as I was walking through the parking lot when I got home after work. We both noticed there was a skinny little rabbit running around behind the cars. It was small and didn't look too healthy. I had some cherry tomatoes in my grocery bag and so I tossed a few toward him. The rabbit sniffed the tomatoes, but didn't eat. Oh well. Things change.

Came home this week and noticed that the remains of a little rabbit were on the asphalt. I think the ravens liked the taste of the rabbit.

Mmmmm ... leftovers

Having a hungry spell at work right now, while I enjoy a tea break. Jennifer invited me over for supper last night with leftover spaghetti sauce from camp. OMG it was so good. Salad. Garlic break. Pasta. And sauce that was excellent. I think my eyes glazed over as I just inhaled how good it all smelled, and tasted. In three hours I will be home having leftover leftover spaghetti and sauce. Can't wait.

The Rodeo Burger

Sudbury has this neat charity thing that happens each summer, where people get a chance to buy a hamburger at their favourite restaurant and a portion of the profit goes to a local charity. I was more than pleased to try out the Rodeo Burger at Fionn MacCool's pub on Friday.

OMG it was a huge burger combined with deep fried onion rings and gouda cheese balls. It was big. It was tasty. And I am glad I tried it. It also filled me up for Friday supper. Next time I will eat only half and take the rest home. And I will try to find out why they named it the Rodeo Burger.

I like the idea of a vacancy tax

Upsetting. I was reading about small boutique-style business owners in Toronto being forced out because of high rents. In one story a local neighbourhood cafe and pastry shop shut down after her building was sold to a new owner. Their monthly lease was $3,000. The new owner came in with a new lease, charging $6,300 a month. That's just greed. There is a city in the U.S. -- I forget where exactly -- that passed a new law for a vacancy tax. If you own a building and set the rent so high that your spaces are vacant, they add 10 per cent to your property tax. I like that. If you're so greedy and set your rental rate so high that no one can afford it, then you cannot claim it is the market rate. So pay the vacancy tax or set your rent at a rate that businesses can afford.

Olympics will be different ...

Not sure if you've had the chance to look ahead, but the upcoming summer Olympic games in Paris are sure going to be different. For starters there will be no opening ceremony in a big stadium like most of us are used to seeing. Instead, we will see things happening on the Seine River in the heart of Paris. The Seine is also site of the opening ceremony on Friday, where some 100 boats carrying tens of thousands of athletes and performers will glide down a 3.7-mile stretch of the river as spectators gather on the river banks.

So that will indeed be interesting to watch. There is also an olympic surfing event. But that won't be on the Seine. No, the surfing will be done in a tiny little part of the South Pacific Ocean ... off the coast of Teahupo'o, a small village in the French Polynesian island of Tahiti

Wow, halfway through the year already

Okay so this happens a lot... Is it my memory or is it that I don't think of unimportant stuff too much? I just realized this is the week before the Canada Day holiday weekend. No big deal really because I am not working on the weekend. When I am working on news stories, I kind of exclude everything else. I put reminders on my phone, or computer, for things I absolutely have to remember. Other than that, I go home, enjoy supper, enjoy reading, enjoy jazz on YouTube and make sure I have enough laundry done for the week ahead. I have been busy and have enjoyed the warmer weather. Some days it was too friggin' hot but other than that, no complaints. I dropped by Fionn MacCools to watch the Hockey Game monday night and kept hoping the Oilers would score that extra goal. No such luck. Other than that it was a nice night out when I don't usually drop by. But wings were on sale for $10 a pound and the beer was only $5 a pint. Just to keep things healthy, I also ordered the spinach and artichoke cheese dip with nachos. So I stayed for the full game, enjoyed the good food and went home disappointed that Lord Stanley's trophy wasn't coming to Canada.

I should mention that Jennifer and her men were also watching the game and enjoying a late dinner Monday. She invited me out to the house, but I declined. I was just opting for the shorter drive home on a worknight. If it was a weekend, I would have been at their place. I have been eating well this month, thanks to the warmer weather. I really enjoy salads, but admit I am too lazy to whip them up myself. I like to buy the prepared salads from the grocery store, and then I add a few extra things like cucumbers or tomatoes at home. What I do enjoy is this occasional family dinner put on by Denise and Don. They put on the best dinners and it's always a hoot to enjoy the company of our extended family.

What the hell happened ?

Just updating a wild and crazy month of April. I was so pleased to be in Toronto on April 8 for the home opener game of the Toronto Blue Jays. I rode the bus again with the gang from Fionn Maccool's pub in Sudbury to go to the Roger's Centre to see the game and take in all the fun.

Yes, it was nice. My first ballpark hot dog of the year (actually a nice Schneider's sausage) and a beer came to a total of $32.16. I guess that is the going rate for having fun. So I enjoyed a few more beer. Interestingly, they do not accept cash at the Roger's Centre. Everything was paid by debit card, which I had installed on my phone. The game was nice. The best part was getting away and enjoying a night out.

Two days later, back in Sudbury. I got a call from H&R Block. They were doing my income tax forms and asked to submit a receipt for rent payments. I said sure, no problem. I hung up and went online to check my bank statement so I could look up the exact January-to-December rental cheques I wrote last year. As I was logging in to my account, I got blocked with a message saying I had the incorrect login. Hmmm. That was odd. So I tried again and this time the online account said it needed to send a verifying code number to my phone. Fine. So I logged in again and got through okay, only to notice to $6,490 was missing from my account. I notified TD Bank right away and they said a global cash transfer has just been approved by my account number and password to a bank in the United States. No way, I said. Oh yes, they said. So after some arguing and asking them to notice that I had never done any such thing in the past 30 years on this same account, they backed off a bit and promised to investigate. I then went downtown and changed by debit card and account information. Two different people asked a bunch of questions to verify that I was indeed the person named for my account. Alsp, because this was fraud over $5,000 I had to get the police involved. The good news is that eight days later, I got a message from TD Bank saying that the stolen money was being replaced.

My birthday ...

My birthday was on the weekend, while I was away at Angel's wedding in Timmins. I don't worry about birthdays anymore. They're nice but I don't worry about observing them. Just another day of the week.

Getting back to work on Monday I was pleased that my coworkers took time to notice. They signed a card and contributed to a very nice gift of good Scotch. Wow, life does not get much better. I was pleased.