Sawdust? really...

I picked up a different whiskey today. I bought a bottle of Wild Turkey bourbon. I like to read up on what some reviewers say about the whiskey and then compare it with my own tastes. I always like a smooth whiskey, but the "tasting notes" on one website told me to expect some interesting flavours. Things like caramel, honey, vanilla... even a touch of cinnamon. There might even be the faintest whiff of nutmeg. Okay, fine, I can close my eyes and almost taste those flavours. By the way, Wild Turkey smells very nice ... like opening the wrapper on a Kraft caramel candy. But the thing that really confused me and threw me off was what one taster suggested ... Sawdust! Nope, sorry I just can't figure that taste. But for the record, this is a very nice bourbon ... as they say in Kentucky, it's a sippin' whiskey.

Happy solstice

Warm weather is here for awhile in Timmins. I like it... well, not always. I find it hard to sleep when the temp is higher than 22. Today is summer solstice and national Aboriginal Day. It has been a good day. I was out at a sunrise ceremony with the local Aboriginals at 5:00 a.m. and it was nice, but I had very little idea of what was going on... but it appeared quite spiritual. It got me thinking about my own upbringing with the nuns and how they would teach us there were two types of people in the world, Catholics and non-Catholics. I bet if those Catholic nuns had acted more like Christians, we wouldn't have had all those abuses in residential schools. Anyway, it was a good day in another way. Ontario's new premier Kathleen Wynne dropped in to visit Timmins. I met her and she impressed me. I don't agree with all her politics, but personally, I like her style. Today was also Day Two for a little change for myself. I purchased a new bike yesterday... and I am enjoying it. I went to a hard ride last night, one hour, and I sure felt the pain this morning. I went for a ride tonight and it was easier. I went to the liquor store, so I think I was more motivated. Anyway, what I like so far is the style of the bike... It's an Opus Urbanista, sort of a retro European look. It sure is not a mountain bike. I am more for cruising the local streets and parks. I am not going to fling myself through the local bush trails. But I like the fact that I am now more motivated to exercise. Also, it has a lifetime warranty and lifetime maintenance. I was inspired by the fact that Jenn bought a bike for Scott for Father's Day. Also, this was Bike To Work week in Timmins. I was downtown this week snapping photos of the mayor riding to work. A local bike shop had a nice display set up, and I liked the look of this book, so I bought it. I already have my new helmet and tomorrow I am gonna get a little ringy-dingy bell!Here is a link to a YouTube video of a guy talking about the bike. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0GCIaqN4ws

I stole this!

It's a wine list by an expert who was on CBC Radio last week. It is a list of the best wines available at the LCBO for LESS THAN TEN DOLLARS! Enjoy.
1. Aveleda Vinho Verde Fonte 2012 ($8.95, score 88+) is a blended wine from northeastern Portugal. It’s pale green-tinged straw coloured with a gentle fizz. It sports acacia flower, rich ripe tangerine, mango and peach fruit aromas and is sweetly green, very slightly off-dry, and mildly fizzy on the palate with very tasty citrus pith flavours. The rich and fresh mouthful lingers with a gently tangy long finish. It would work chilled as an aperitif, with fish, or poured over fresh melon balls.
2. Cono Sur Bicicleta Viognier 2012, Colchagua, Chile ($9.95, score 89) is a pale straw gold wine with attractive ripe lemon pulp, apricot and peach fruit and sweet spicy and vanilla aromas. It’s is bone dry with a refreshing bitterness through creamy crisp lemon pulp through a rich lemon curd finish. It would be a yummy snappy companion to roast fowl.
3. Torrontes La Puerta Vineyard, Estate Grown and Bottled 2012 ($7.95, score 89+) demonstrates nicely what this Argentinian varietal can do. Straw coloured, the wine flaunts intensely mouthwatering sweet ripe lychee fruit aromas with elegant mineral notes. It’s creamy and ripely fruited with lemon and grapefruit, joined by snappy citrus pith on the palate. The long grapefruit-lemon pith bitter note hangs on through a long persistence. This white would stand up to sausages or grilled seafood.
4. Fonseca Periquita Original 2010, Vinho Regional Peninsula de Setubal ($7.95, score 90) is the current vintage of a perennial Portuguese favourite. A lovely black cherry-ruby colour, it’s sweetly spicy and ripe with focused cherry fruit and fills your head with vanilla/balsamic notes. Soft in the mouth with bitter grippy pillowy tannins, it’s long, mouth-watering, and refreshingly astringent. This wine would show well with barbecued red or white meat.
5. Sogrape Grao Vasco Dao 2009 ($7.95, score 88+) is a garnet wine with very attractive rich ripe focused huckleberry and loganberry fruit with earthy and volatile flavour notes. It’s elegant and deep in the mouth with bitter red cherry fruit, grippy velvet tannins and fresh acidity for good definition, and a pretty strong finish. This wine would stand up to all kinds of fare and spoil none of them.
6. Beso De Vino Seleccion Do Cariñena 2011 ($9.95, score 89+) is a Syrah/Garnacha blend from this region in northeastern Spain is a very deep and dark black cherry/ruby coloured wine with a sweet enchanting very Spanish nose. Ripe dried and sweet black cherry and blackberry fruit are framed in dusty new-sawn plank and sweet spice elements. It’s got grippy gritty ripe tannins and fresh acidity through a long fruit and tannin finish. You’ll enjoy this with roast lamb or a beef rib roast.
7. Castillo de Monseran Garnacha Cariñena 2011 ($8.95, score 90-) is another winner from the Cariñena region. Medium deep dark purple, it exudes raspberry and blackberry and blueberry pie aromas. It’s rich and ripe, very dry and built around mixed black berry pie filling fruit, fresh and buttoned down, with a long deeply tannic well-fruited finish. Think those roast quadrupeds and add your richer birds—or even a nice burger or pizza!
8. Luccarelli Primitivo Puglia IGT 2012 ($9.95, score 89+) can be seen as a poor-man’s Zin with a southern Italian accent. (It’s one of the “go to” wines in Bobby Panchu’s cellar.) Medium deep dark purple, the show starts with rich ripe mixed red berry fruit with a subtle Zinnish metallic mineral note. Fresh mouth-watering acidity and astringent fine rich ripe tannins carry the fresh and preserved fruit flavours along for a good while. This wine will elevate and enrich burgers as if it was
9. Argeato Bonarda 2012 Mendoza ($9.95, score 89). Bonarda is sometimes blended with Barbera in Piedmont. In this Argentinian incarnation it performs solo with vital focused but ultimately weird black cherry and sweet spicy aromas and flavours which become deep, rich and ripe on the palate. It’s a velvety grippy wine with fresh acidity. This would be a fine base wine for a summer sangria.
10. Caliterra Riserva Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Grown 2011 ($9.95, score 90) is made from fruit grown on a single estate in Chile’s Colchagua Valley. It’s an opaque red with powerful and luscious blackcurrant, blackberry and blueberry fruit dressed up in intense sweet spice, vanilla, clove, nutmeg and allspice notes dancing with buttery toasty smoky notes. It makes for a grippy velvety mouthful with oak-inflected rich ripe deep mixed black berry fruit. Fresh acidity keeps it aloft through a long well-fruited smoky spicy oak finish Try this with any roasted meat or game, sausages, or even Buffalo wings. It was made to please.
11. Fuzion Alta Reserve Malbec 2011 ($9.95, score 90). It made me blush to assign a 90-point score to a Fuzion, but honesty is more important than pride in the wine writing business. This “reserve” bottling from Argentina’s home-run-hitting winery originated in the Mendoza Valley and comes to us as an opaque purple wine with very vibrant mixed black berry fruits and nice earthy dusty notes. It’s soft but grippy, with balanced acidity to carry the very deep rich ripe fruit through a long grippy ripe finish.
12. Deakin Estate Shiraz 2012 ($9.95, score 90+) came from Victoria in Australia and trumpets its origin with everything from its deep dark purpleness through aromas of rich ripe blackberry and dark cherry fruit, sweet spices and wood violet notes with a hint of smoke. It’s plush on the palate with pillowy tannins and fresh acidity to structure all that black berry fruit with a buttery note emerging on the finish. This will dance divinely with anything that isn’t white, delicate or subtle.

My bathroom sparkles.

I keep telling my colleagues in the news business there is more news to be reported in Timmins than they can imagine. Often they roll their eyes and smile at me. This past week was an example. Just after the flood threat was subsiding, we got word that a man near Cochrane was attacked by a black bear. I mean this was a really serious attack. The bear ripped off the man's scalp and chewed up some serious damage to the man's shoulder and back. The amazing part was that the man survived thanks to a couple of women from Timmins who were out camping for a Mothers Day getaway and they came upon the attack. They literally saved the mans life. I was pleased to get the first interview with the victim in his hospital room and then we followed up with an interview with the women. The first interview ended up in the Toronto Sun, so the story was picked up by the national media.

Mom had boyfriends?

Our favourite Leafs seem to be nicely avoiding their tee off times this spring by staying in the playoffs.  Like all the leaf fans I know I am holding my breath and hoping for the best. Boston is a tough team, but we have to have faith. So let’s hope for a nice Mother’s Day treat on Sunday.

I enjoyed covering the Mine Rescue competitions this week. It was nice to see the fellows from Xstrata Kidd Mine, my old workplace, win the bragging rights for another year. I got a kick out of seeing a lot of the older mine rescue fellows show up to watch the competition. It was nice talking with them. Then I realized, I am one of the old fellows too.

A lot of folks do not realize it, but mine rescue in Ontario began right here in Timmins after the terrible mine fire in 1928. Somebody in government decided that it was not a good idea to have 39 miners die in the span of a few hours and so a royal commission was held and the government ordered that a mine rescue agency be created.

Had a quick chat with Melissa this week. She is planning a trip out west next week and says she plans to drop in to see her cousin Neil. So that will be nice for them.

Funny how things happen, but I was reminded of my mother twice this week. First thing,  I was getting some old clothes ready for the charity bin. I haven’t worn them in more than a year, so I went to the closet and my dresser to pull things out. Of course, I had to wash them again. That is exactly what my mom would have done.  Second thing was that the local navy cadets celebrated the anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic. That reminded me of the many photos Mom had of her days in Halifax during World War II.  When we were kids we would look at the photos of Mom and all the people she hung out with back then. Of course, there were lots of pictures of Mom with sailors. It was funny because as kids we would say, hey Mom, that guy isn’t Dad, who is it? Mom always laughed and said she didn’t remember.

Helpful people

May is always a busy month in Timmins for the news. Last year it was the forest fires that dominated the local issues and this year it is flooding.  Porcupine Lake and the Mattagami River are both running higher, wayyyyy higher, than normal.

So of course it means that most of my time is taken up chasing fresh stories on how the flood is impacting on the city. I think the best part was seeing how people come out to help their neighbours. I was so impressed with the sandbag filling stations set up at several places in town. People who were not in the flood zones showed up to grab a shovel and fill sandbags. Then they helped lug those heavy sandbags into different places where they could stop the rising water.

In any event the flood waters are now easing as the snowmelt is almost done. But there are still many areas around Timmins that still have snow and so the spring runoff will continue for several days.

Also had a nice chat with Jennifer Saturday and things are good at Chez Alexander in Val Caron. Her report card marks had just been posted and Jenn was pleased to report a perfect 4.0 GPA.  The boys are enjoying their new three-on-three hockey league too. It’s a new thing in Sudbury and quite popular I am told.

Grandma had it right ...

So today is April 30^th and it is one of those dates I sure try not to forget. This is Neil’s birthday. I was able to send him a text that he got right around midnight, while he was working.  The only reason I was able to do that is that I was awakened at about 3:00 a.m. today because I had to pee. So I got up and noticed the clock said 3:00. That prompted me to remember that Vancouver time is three hours off from Timmins time. So I sent Neil a quick and cheerful birthday note. I didn’t read his answer until about 9:00 a.m. today.  So that was cool and fun. Holy Jeez Neil! 33 already eh. Wow.

Hmmm… one of these days, I may get more grandchildren. OMG I can hear Jennifer laughing from here! Just kidding Neil.

Speaking of babies, I was at the Timmins and District hospital today where they announced a “new” form of infant care.  It’s called the Mother-Baby Dyad Program. The idea is to have the newborn spend more time with the mother, live in the hospital room with the mom, instead of being kept in another room; all to promote a greater sense of closeness and well-being.

The chief nurse explaining the program asked the reporters if they had any questions. I looked at the other media folks who didn’t seem to be ready to say anything, so I asked, “Isn’t this the sort of thing my Grandma did when she had her babies?”

The nurse said yes, that’s exactly what the program does. It seems as more and more moms went to have their babies in hospitals over the years, the protocol of care created a situation where mom and baby were given care in separate places. Well, some wise person discovered that having mom and baby spend more time together is a better way of doing things. There will be exceptions of course, if mom or the baby develops any sort of a serious illness that requires special treatment.

So I felt good to learn that change does not always mean doing something new.

It’s busier than usual in Timmins these days. All that snow we got this winter has NOT melted yet, but it is melting very fast. That means flooding in local lakes and rivers. So it will be a tense time for folks living near water in the next week or so. 

 

WESTREE CODFISH ...

Oh by the way I enjoyed a few days of excellent seafood last week. I cooked up a batch of Westree cod. Betcha didn't know you can get cod in Westree, eh? I breaded it and cooked it so nicely in the cast iron frying pan. Oh yeah, it was good. I had a big feed one night with potatoes, and then had cod sandwiches for a few days after that... with lettuce, tomato, Miracle Whip and pepper sauce. 

The good news about cancer ...

I was thinking a lot of about Jennifer this week when I met with Martin Kabat, the CEO of the Canadian Cancer Society, Ontario division. He is on a tour to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the cancer society, so he was a news story. What impressed me was meeting with some local cancer survivors, who had incredible stories. Of course, my mind wandered back to the days when Jennifer had her own struggle. And her own incredible story.

I was pleased to spend some time with a close friend, who is in her 50s. Her name is Judi.  Her grandmother died of ovarian cancer. Her mother died of ovarian cancer.  A couple of years ago, Judi was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. But now,  Judi is a survivor. Her hair is growing back and she looks great. There is a photo of her on my news website.  Thank goodness there are more and more stories of people who survive. Part of Judi’s story is that the cancer focused her life in a way she never expected. Suddenly she knew what was important and what was not. And it brought her family closer together. I know that has happened in our family. Anyway I was happy to write about Judi. She is a nice lady with a wonderful family. And we were both happy to see each other. I hope we see each other for a long, long time.

Nice Easter weekend...

Had a nice time in Westree this weekend with Jenn and her men and visiting Denise and Don Alexander. As usual the hospitality and food was fabulous. But if you know Denise, you will have to ask her the story of how the spatula broke cutting the chocolate cream cake. I was laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes.  Oh by the way, the cake was for Tyler and myself as we celebrated our birthdays. Mine is March 31 and Tyler’s is April 1. So it was a great time. Jennifer said I am a difficult person to buy for in terms of gifts. So she opted for buying a bottle of whiskey. But WOW, what a bottle … A Glen Breton Rare 10-year old single malt Scotch.  It’s the only single malt made in Canada. It’s a special craft whisky. The bottles are filled by hand, not by machine. So this is a saver… I plan to crack it open on Christmas Eve. I can’t wait.

A well-known reviewer gave it a very nice recommendation on YouTube. 87 out of 100!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLOyNGiDg6U

The boys had more fun that you can imagine on the weekend, thanks in part to the amazing sunny weather. Tyler and Nathan got up on top of Granddad’s woodshed to enjoy the view and ended up tossing the football with Scott down below. The boys had a great time … especially when they missed the ball and had to jump off the roof into the waist deep snow.

The week was good in another way. I was told I have won a couple of national journalism awards. One is the top prize for a spot news photo and the other is the top prize for our coverage of the Timmins forest fire.  Competed against 250 other papers across Canada. Pleased

More political television ... love it!

There was an excellent TV show running a few years back, a drama that documented life behind the scenes at The White House. The show was called The West Wing, starring Martin Sheen. The show won all kinds of awards but the corporate folks canned it because it did not have high enough ratings. I hate it when they dumb-down television. It's one of the reasons I don't usually watch regular television. I do have Netflix though and this week I began watching a new political drama about the White House, starring Kevin Spacey. It's called House of Cards.

Oh yeah. It's good. As expected Spacey is excellent.  If you get the chance, sit down, pour yourself a drink or get some popcorn, and enjoy some good television.

She's kinda good lookin' if you ask me...

Feminine beauty. Okay, so this is something purely subjective, but over the years it seems feminine beauty has become manufactured.  For some of our lady Hollywood types, if you can’t buy it in a cosmetics shop or  get it from a doctor’s office, you just aren’t beautiful enough to make the grade. I noticed this on Saturday night when I was watching a movie… starring Ingrid Bergman, a true beauty who was also a fine actor. She won three Academy Awards during her acting career.

 I was watching the Hollywood version of For Whom The Bell Tolls and was amazed at Bergman’s beauty, even as she was presented in a plain jane fashion opposite Gary Cooper. It was 1943. She was 28. She even made the cover of TIME magazine that year. 

Reading Hemingway ... what a treat.

Okay, so I bought too many books this month for the e-reader. Not a big deal, except I imposed my own personal spending limit.   I looked through the Internet and was pleased to see there are several ‘classic’ books out there that are free, or cost only 49-cents or so. I downloaded Ernest Hemingway’s classic For Whom The Bell Tolls. I haven’t seen that book in like 40 years, but Wow! It is so much better to read it a second time.  I can’t tell you what a treat it is to read that kind of literature. It’s an amazing story about the Spanish Civil War, and members of the International Brigades who fought the fascists. Hemingway brings it totally to life as the guerrillas struggle day to day. You can feel the sweat dripping into your eyes as you trudge through the mountains and endure the cold fear of fighting against incredible odds. I am learning that it pays to be a bit discerning when seeking out something to read.

Fryin' pan man

It’s the simplest thing you can imagine, but I am feeling good about my latest purchase. I try to not to speak of things I buy because I would like to think I am not materialistic. I think I get things I know I will actually use. If I don’t use, or cannot use, something I throw it away or give it away. My parents were of that generation that saved everything, threw nothing away, thinking ‘I will need this someday’. I am at the point where if I don’t have what I need for that moment, I will do without. I have discovered that I usually manage to survive that terrible moment. As for getting rid of things I don’t need, I am lucky to live in a building that has a unique way to get rid of things. Bring ‘em to the laundry room.  In the laundry room you can leave books, teacups, pots, pans, sweatshirts and magazines … and voila, next day, they’re gone. Somebody can use whatever some one else has left. Just last month I felt smug satisfaction with myself as I delivered my last computer and a television set to the local homeless shelter. Imagine my surprise at seeing their TV was better than my NEW TV.

Anyway, getting back to my original thought… I have a new frying pan. A friend recently raved about cast iron frying pans on Facebook and attached a video, produced the by the Lodge company, which makes cast iron cookware in Tennessee. So I purchased a nice big Lodge cast iron fry pan.

Now I remember Mom and Dad singing the praises of cast iron years ago. But when I was a teenager, I was always the one doing the dishes and always got stuck doing the pots and pans. I remember having the scrub the big black frying pan. Well it turns out I was doing things wrong. One does not scrub a cast iron frying pan, or use things like SOS and Comet … like I used to do. Take a stiff brush, some hot water and clean the pan out and then wipe it dry with a paper towel. Apply a bit of new vegetable oil, a bit of heat, a dash of salt,  and the pan is ready to use again. That’s what YouTube has taught me. So from this point forward I plan to use my new pan for a variety of meals including an apple dessert recipe. 

It’s almost as big as a Dutch oven. Research tells me that cooking on low heat for longer periods is what makes the cast iron produce great results.

So I am planning stews, steaks and spaghetti sauces. Look out Gordon Ramsay!

Good things...

March has been good so far. Way better than I expected. For starters, Jennifer is advancing in her nursing studies… thanks of course to her smarts and hard work. There are only a limited number of students that can move forward in the program and Jenn is one of them. I’m happy for her, and proud too.

I found some new Miles Davis music… what I am saying, Miles has been dead for more than 20 years, but I discovered some of his amazing jazz albums that I had not heard before. So that’s good. Jazz makes me happy. I wish I knew more about it when I was younger, but it just evokes good emotions. I just watched a move that had Miles Davis and Bob Dylan on the soundtrack. Doesn’t get much better than that. By the way, if you feel like watching a 90s movie again, Jerry Maguire is a good choice.

Had a nice chat with Neil last weekend. Actually I waited until 2:00 p.m. to call him because it was 11:00 a.m. in Vancouver, and he works late. I felt a tiny bit guilty because I think my phone call woke him up.  He answered with a combined grunt, sigh and groan that sounded like "Hlo..hlooo." 
Anyway, he is liking the new pub he works in and he is happy. This week he is off to L.A. to spend time with friends. I always worry when he travels (Dads always worry about their kids) but he was telling me he and his friends know Los Angeles pretty well and they know how to be safe.
Wow, things don't get too much better eh. Both of my children are happy and healthy. I am blessed.

Work is good. I am lucky that I don’t find it be like, y’know, Work. Some mornings I have actually been getting up earlier because I want to get to work earlier.

The e-reader is amazing. I have been reading so much that the battery died today. The book said the battery is supposed to be good for two months before a re-charge. Not quite!

And next weekend is St. Paddy’s Day…. Some of the media gang reminded me that last year’s St. Paddy’s Day party, which I hosted,  was so good we should do it again. Hmmm… for some reason my memory of that wonderful event is still a bit blurry.  I think if somebody donates a bottle of whiskey I can be convinced to cook the dinner. We will let you know.

Whiskey ... is like art

I am pleased; so, so pleased to learn I like ORDINARY whiskey. I found a couple of websites where whiskey drinkers list their favourite brands and then describe in detail how much they enjoy the flavours.  There are things like hint of vanilla, smokey palette, and peaty nose! Then I started reading how different people rated some of the best known and most expensive brands. It was amazing to see that so many whiskey snobs have differing opinions on the SAME brands… the same EXPENSIVE brands. I’m talking about stuff that runs at $200 a bottle. I’ve never spent that much. I have purchased $100 whiskey… One was Oban and the other was Talisker. I have to admit I like the Oban better, even though the Talisker is made on Skye, close to my ancestral home.

Obviously everyone’s taste is so different. Just because one guy likes a single malt, it doesn’t mean EVERYONE is gong to like it.

So here’s the thing. I have tasted some brands that people just get all excited about and I think, blah. No big deal. I mean, some expensive whiskies are fabulous … while others are just ho-hum. That’s me and my taste. I don’t add anything… sometimes a piece of ice. But when I make ice I used filtered water.

Recently, a friend bought me a bottle of Ballantynes as a gift. Now this whiskey is an old favourite for so many people because it is a blended whiskey. It has been around for years. I wasn’t sure that I had tried it before, only because when I try something new, I like to try something a bit more expensive. The Ballantynes is always on the bottom shelf.

Well I finally the cracked the Ballantynes and I was absolutely delighted. The bottle design is a bit old-fashioned, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. But this stuff is very nice, very smooth and I like the flavour, which is a tiny bit sweet, with honey and caramel. Of course, I had to have a second glass.    So, I guess whiskey is like art. To each his own.

Bored, disinterested maybe...

It can be annoying to read a book and come across a word that you’ve never seen before.

That happened today as I was reading Ken Follett’s novel, Fall of Giants. One of the characters, Maud, discovered that conversation was stultifying. Hmmm. As a popular novelist, Follett does not need to impress us with such big words. Ordinary people do not speak this way. I was not expecting to need them, but the e-reader includes several digital dictionaries. On the e-reader, you just touch the word and the dictionary comes to your aid. The first dictionary did not know the word. The Oxford Dictionary described stultifying as “cause to lose enthusiasm and initiative, especially as a result of a tedious or restrictive regime…” Blah, blah, blah. C’mon Follett, you can write better than that!
He could have written that Maud became bored or disinterested. Of course, now that I know the word, I can’t wait to use it among a group of writers at a meeting where we might be discussing the chances of Justin Trudeau becoming Liberal leader. |”Sorry fellas, but I find this whole topic …uh… stultifying!” Seriously though, a good writer doesn’t need to insert big words to get the message out to the reader. Indubitably.

I like my reader...

Well the verdict is in. I like the e-reader. Just finished reading Battle Cry, the classic book about the US Marines. The nice thing about that book is that I was so engrossed in the story, I barely noticed the function of using the e-reader. It just flows very easily by swiping a finger across the page, then the next page appears. I also like the fact that once I see a book I want, I click on it on the Internet page, and within 30 seconds I have paid for it and the book is downloaded onto my computer and onto the e-reader simultaneously. Instant gratification. I am thinking I had better be wary of the spending too much money, too easily. On the other hand, I have received an e-mail outlining how I can now borrow E-books from almost any public library in Ontario. Everything is online. How cool is that? So for the next week or so, I will be reading Ken Follett's Fall Of Giants. I just ripped through about 30 pages and it's a good read. So I have poured a glass of whiskey and now I am going back to the book...

I am so "with it" ...

Well I have finally gone and done it. After chatting with a co-worker about how much she enjoys her E-reader, I was convinced that I should get one … considering how much money I have been spending on books lately, I figured an E-reader was worth the investment. So as I began searching the net to get an idea about what was out there, I was suddenly reminded I had plenty of Airmiles. So I checked the Airmiles website and that solved that issue right away. It arrived today. My new SONY PRS-T2, which is even Wi-Fi certified. So I have signed up with the SONY reader service and I plan to buy a book or two this week. My plan is to buy something I really want to read so that I can convince myself I like this new device. If not, somebody is going to get a slightly used E-reader at Christmas! I will let you know what I think.

Yes, it was cold this morning...

Still in a bit of a cold snap in Timmins. It was minus 38 at eight oclock this morning. This was the view from my balcony. The overnight windchill was down to minus 53. My Nitro started just fine, even though I have never plugged it in. One of these days I will push my luck too far in that regard. Anyway, it was a less than pleasant thing to breathe this morning. Not because it was so cold. It was that all the car exhaust and fireplace smoke just hung in the morning air. It didn’t go away for awhile. The air didn’t taste so fresh. That’s what its like when it gets this cold.

Beef stew on the balcony ...

This is stew weather. I was pleased to have enjoyed a couple of large bowls of beef stew last night, complete with a fresh loaf of crusty bread and a nice bottle of Rothschild Pinot Noir ( really excellent red wine). The beef was wonderfully tender, with red potatoes, green beans, white turnip, onions and carrots. I am pleased to say the only flavouring I added was a chunk of garlic. The fun part was when I finished supper, I decided to put the leftover stew into three freezer containers for future meals. Instead of sticking them in the freezer right away, I put them on the balcony ... It was nearly minus 30 and so the leftovers were frozen solid in about 25 minutes. By the Way, the wine is only $11.95 at the LCBO and it is a real treat. I could have used a stronger flavour with the stew... but this stuff is just too good to ignore.