How I stopped the insanity
December. Geez, I was just getting used to the end of summer and now we’re slip-sliding into the end of autumn and careening into the beginning of winter and Christmas. LOML and I have just made soup with a frozen carcass of the Thanksgiving leftovers. Heck we haven’t even raked up all of the last […]
Parata
The Latin word ‘parare’, which means to prepare or to furnish, crosses language borders to become ‘parata’ in Italian, ‘parada’ in Spanish and ‘parade’ in French. Around the world, there is the Chinese Lantern Parade; Fête dé Noué; The Cortege; Junkaroo—a cultural street dance from Africa; there is also Kattenstoet—‘Festival of the Cats’—in Belgium; the […]
Royal sophistication
There was a wonderful post on the CBC website on November 22, about a recently unearthed Canaanite wine cellar in northern Israel (http://bit.ly/1cbwgEO) This 3,700-year-old site showed surprising sophistication in both the production and storage of wine. Initial analysis shows the winemaker produced a consistently fine wine by adding honey, resins, mint, etc. to his […]
Gridiron in November
Football weather has arrived. Last weekend in Quebec, the Laval Rouge et Or captured the Vanier Cup as the best university football team in Canada, disposing the Calgary Dinos in short order. The temperature was brutally cold, with enough wind to seriously affect the game. The 101st Grey Cup game was played in Regina, in […]
Disaster relief
These days the world seems to be fraught with disasters. A young friend, who was visiting recently, told us his family is living in the midst of the most recent disaster—the aftermath of the typhoon Hiayan. Thousands in the Philippines are homeless, missing or dead, Mike B. and his wife assured us his family was […]
Label gazing
Labels are a wonderful source of information with regards to the wine’s contents, the house, its owner, and the winemaker. In many cases the constituent varietals are all displayed, allowing you to get a feel for the differences, and, best of all, to experiment with similar, but new, wines. Up to the late 1950s it […]
On the road again
Between 40 and 50 times a season, National Hockey League players stuff all of their gear in their hockey bags. The bags are then carted to a truck, loaded onto an airplane, and carried to the next town on the schedule. Fortunately for the players, the trainers and equipment managers are responsible for getting the […]
Connections
My youngest child often “gives” me an earworm. She laughs like it’s some kind of gag gift whenever it happens. “Hey Mom, I’ve been singing this song all day. Do you know it?” There have been days when I’d like to give her a hipcheck for infusing my brain with her annoying songs. Without her […]
Set the alarm clocks early
On Tuesday morning, the players of Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles, and several thouand of their supporters, had to rise early for their first basketball game of the season. The event was part of a special day of basketball promoted by the sports network ESPN. Game time? 7 a.m. It was advertised as “Breakfast at […]
Murmurations
The leaden sky over Closson Road offers short shrift to an already sombre day. Nor do the grey fields give up any comfort; over there a gathering of starlings travel between the maples and islands of silver birch. I watch and guess at the bird numbers that tear through the heavens like smoke from a […]