The year that was and will be
The New Year’s rung in, a new council’s at work The top job’s been handed to Bob Will they all pull together? Or just make us think They belong to some unruly mob? Peter has exited, his time expired A sigh of relief is his sound A tune from Gord Lightfoot crosses his lips It’s […]
Forgotten
Did I say I’d let you know what we forgot to bring on our 2014 holiday odyssey? We forgot one bag of gifts intended for our youngest grandson. At age three, he didn’t seem to be too upset about the missing bag of gifts. He, of course, didn’t know the gifts were missing. James, aka […]
Sublime ice wine
Ice wine from European countries differs from its Canadian counterpart by the amount of sugar required in the grape juice prior to fermentation. Germany, Austria and Luxembourg require a sugar level in the mid-120 degrees on the Oechsle scale. Canadian ice wine needs a brix level of 35 degrees, which equals 153 degrees Oechsle. The […]
This solstice night
It caught me driftin’ in the beyond: driftin’ a spell, not unlike the Glenora ferry hesitating on its course while pointed to the far side of Adolphus Reach. I was watching from my perch, high above on the ridge of Lake of the Mountain, when the cell phone rang. Samantha introduced herself. Said she was […]
We The North
Ah, the battle cry of the Toronto Raptors! The words have effectively fused Raptor fans into a family of basketball aficionados, to the extent that it has become increasingly difficult to purchase tickets for the games. That’s a good thing for the team. Home fans generate the energy required to motivate teams, and the Raptors […]
The counterintuitive gesture
I happened to catch Miracle on 34th Street on TV the other night. Actually, it’s almost impossible not to catch it. It seems to be on almost every channel, every night. Now there are those who claim it is just Christmas schlock entertainment. And while I would not deny it tugs at the heartstrings, one […]
Year’s end
At this time last year, LOML and I had a house full of family. All, except the Burlington kids and their kids, were here for the holidays. When LOML and I had a moment to ourselves, we had wondered if it would be the last time everyone—almost everyone—came home for Christmas. I remember thinking, in […]
The amazing Mr. Jagr
Jaromir Jagr recently made headlines in the hockey world. He continues to move up in the career scoring leader board. He now is ranked third on the list, having passed Marcel Dionne. For much of his playing career, Jagr has been an enigma, to say the least. Once asked to name his favourite player, […]
Sumptuous ice wine
As temperatures plunge, winemakers await the ideal moment to make scrumptious ice wine from grapes that were deliberately left hanging on the vine well past their normal harvest time. Although Pliny the Elder makes reference to frozen or vine-dried grapes in the first century, the first documented eiswein was produced in the Franconia wine region […]
The memory game
Did you ever play the old parlour game we used to call Kim’s Game (or more simply, the Memory Game)? You were shown a tray containing about two dozen items. The tray was then taken away. You had to recall as many of the items as you could. If you got halfway there, you were […]