Another good month

I was out shopping this week and dropped into the liquor store to grab wine. I love the LCBO for its wine sales because it is the largest wine importer in the world. Of course all the excitement right now is over the new Spanish vintage called Toro Bravo. The wine experts are all excited about it because it is a fabulous red wine for less than $10. It is a very nice wine and perfect for making summer sangria.

The 2017 vintage, which is flying off the shelves, is still available in many – but not all --- LCBO stores. I was lucky to purchase four bottles. I gave one to Jennifer, who loves red wine.

The other important thing is that the LCBO now carries a huge select ion of craft beers. I thank Neil for my interest in this. He took me to the Great Canadian Beer Festival in Victoria one year. It was excellent and it gave me the chance to appreciate craft brews. Every week now I pick up a few varieties of new beer. One of my current favourites is Barking Squirrel!
Every now and then Jennifer invites me to supper with the promise that she has purchased some "weird beer" that I can try! Who could say no?

 I haven’t seen the inside of the Ontario Beer Store chain in years. I won’t support the American corporates who own the monopoly in our Beer Store chain.

Things are work are going well. The most recent issue of the medical journal is about successful graduates from Northern Ontario. This meant I had to attend a few graduation ceremonies to get photos and stories. I really get a kick out of seeing all these young people and their families. I think graduations are the last great family event in Canada. Everyone goes. Everyone is so pleased and the grads get such a boost of pride and confidence.
Anyway, June has been a good month. Can't wait for July.

Road trip to Timmins ...

I was on the road last week as I went to Timmins to take in the annual Big Event Mining Expo. The trip was good as I travelled via North Bay up through Temagami, Latchford, Cobalt, Haileybury, New Liskeard, Kirkland Lake and Matheson. I enjoyed stopping in KL to check out the new headframe at the Macassa mine where they're spending $320 million for the new 7,000 foot shaft. It is amazing that they found an entirely new gold zone there. This is rejuvenating the town's economy nicely.

The mining show was good but I think I enjoyed meeting old friends more than anything. I had breakfast two days in a row at the McIntyre Coffee Shop and I don't think I stopped saying hello for an hour. I met everyone for a chat; the old mayor, the new mayor and even Tom Luke the bagpiper. It was also nice to meet all the reporters I used to work with. The drive home was uneventful, but I did have a feeling that I miss Timmins. I enjoy Sudbury so much, but Timmins will always be a special place for me.