Game changer
Abundant archaeological evidence dates the production of cultivated vines to approximately 5,000 B.C. For many reasons, the style of those early wines is completely different to those of today. Back then wine was made from the fruit of wild vines. And—although it was a most happy discovery—the wine that resulted would likely have bordered on […]
The smokehouse
It’s a Saturday morning and the aroma of bacon in the frying pan drifts through the house. Sipping on a coffee, I begin to think of…well, how foods are smoke-cured. I glance through the kitchen window toward the small stone building that sits across the road on a high bank of Slab Creek. “Stone smokehouses […]
If Lance had met Abby
The world lost two icons this past week. But it made a net gain in heroes. The first icon to be lost was Pauline Phillips, who wrote under the pen name Abigail van Buren, and was fondly known as “Dear Abby.” An advice columnist since 1955, she was the younger twin sister of Esther Lederer, […]
Water music
When I was a little kid, my parents asked, “Music lessons or swim coach?” No matter what I wanted the answer was “swim coach.” From the time I was in grade one until I finished grade nine, three times each week, I swam at the John Innes Pool in Etobicoke. Usually my father accompanied me […]
Sorry! No vacancy!
Last week the Baseball Writers Association of America decided that they would not elect a single player into the Hall of Fame. After all of the ballots were cast and counted, Hall of Fame President Jeff Idelson took the podium, opened the envelope, and announced, “And the winner is? Nobody.” Many of the writers have […]
Noah, we salute you
Beer and wine have been key elements in the rise of civilization. The discovery of beer was most likely a fortuitous accident of fermentation, after water seeped into a grain storage area. Stone Age fermenting jars, used by cave dwellers in the Neolithic period, have been dated as far back as 10,000 B.C. Beer brewing […]
But it tastes like cardboard
Sometimes real life just writes the story. Two examples hit me this week. On the inspirational side, I went to the Regent Theatre last Thursday aftenoon to see Searching for Sugarman. It’s a documentary (the first in a new weekly Cinefest series) about the Detroit musician Sixto Rodriguez, who recorded two flop albums in the […]
We are family
On Saturday I went to one of my favourite places to shop, the County Farm Centre. Not too many shops in this world where you can check out with four loaves of frozen bread dough, six pairs of “hot” socks, two bags of chicken breasts, Warfarin and a flashlight. If that isn’t just crazy great, […]
The dog ate my homework
That is up there with the best excuses a teacher hears when the job does not get done. As a Canadian hockey fan, I have heard a few good ones over the past few months. Some have emanated from the so-called negotiations for the National Hockey League. Other excuses come as a result of the […]
Imagining the stars
The wind from the west throws snow at my back. The rattle of my boots on hardened trail breaks the silence. I can hear the rhythm of my heartbeat as I stop by the bridge. There is something big hidden beneath the skin of a night walk in winter. A halo hangs about the moon […]