Extra special
Perhaps the most profound outcome of the Judgment of Paris was the recognition by the French judges that wines from other jurisdictions were as good (if not more so) as their own domestic wines. Since then, with easier access access to wines around the world, we can more readily compare varietals grown in different areas […]
Ketchup, Moose Knuckles and Cheese
Buying or selling a product on the basis of where it is from can lead to a whack of trouble. Take ketchup. Loblaws grocery stores were going to stop carrying French’s ketchup, perhaps because they were eating away at house brand sales. However, the house brand tomatoes came from California and French’s came from Ontario. […]
Passage to a far shore
Nothing makes me appreciate living in the County more than spending two hours on the 401 between Oshawa and the airport. Yup, I’ll take a slow-moving farm vehicle or a big yellow school bus any day over the stop-and-go in Toronto. So, we’re in Vancouver. Our home away from home. The trip from our driveway […]
Food feud
Earlier this week, a Dalhousie University professor wrote an op-ed in The Globe and Mail that sparked a discussion on the fast-rising cost of food, and the unsatisfactory solutions consumers find to manage. The report, based on a survey of 1,000Canadians, showed that a small percent-age of low-income consumers will opt for juice in place […]
The Circle B Ranch
The way I see it, we live in the land of glory. We trip over new opportunities daily. Take late last year as a fer instance. I had come down with a yearning to hear the trickle of a brook in my daily meditations. Sure, nearby Slab Creek runs with the freshets of spring and […]
Muddled monikers
The hot, sunny long weekend seemed like the perfect time to perch the canoe atop the car and take it for a spin. Roblin Lake was the ideal location: Ameliasburgh’s calm, shallow water source is as good a place as any to dip the paddles in for the first time in a while. Strangely, as […]
Positive influences
Last week marked the 50th anniversary of “The Judgment of Paris,” in which a panel of French experts determined that some Napa Valley wines tasted superior to competing French entries. That some of the judges mistook them for French wines is not surprising. The Americans had embraced European know-how, from vineyard management to wine production […]
What delicious uncertainty
Real estate agents have a saying that goes something like this: “Your house is worth only what someone is willing to pay for it.” Truer words were never spoken, as a couple of infamous recent valuation incidents—one on the too-high side, one on the too-low side—reveal. The too-high incident came courtesy of an expert appraiser […]
Repackaging
I was going to write about gentrification this week. A magic marker and spray painted bit of graffiti invited me to have my say about the gentrification of the Royal Hotel. I understand the graffiti. But the dialogue about gentrifying the County has been done. It’s been said. If the graffiti “artist” wants passersby to […]
Seasons come, seasons go
The best part of the changing seasons, and naturally I am referring to sports seasons, is that they overlap. Therefore, it is critical to have fresh batteries in your remote control to keep up with the action. In short order on Monday evening, I was able to catch glimpses of the Jays-Yankees, the Thunder-Warriors, the […]