Tuesday, 22 September 2009

Millcroft Spa, Caledon, ON

The company I work for is having a sales conference NW of Toronto 'til Thursday.

Attending are the sales department, account managers and education advisors (like me!) from across Canada.

The conference is at a spa resort that used to be a mill. It's lovely here.

Here's my room (that's Chia Kitty on my bed).

The bed is really really high (it's as high as my hip!) and looks comfy.

Even I will have problems climbing into it!

Can I take a kitty to a sales conference?

I'm off to a sales conference NW of Toronto this morning ... I'll be back on Thursday afternoon.

I just put my suitcase on the couch to pack ... and a kitty jumped onto it for a snooze.

Just like last week!

What is it with kitties and suitcases?!

Then he went for a snooze on the clothes I was laying out to take with me.

Sorry, you can't come with me, Byron!

Saturday, 19 September 2009

Book ~ "Bahamarama" (2005) Bob Morris

From Amazon ~ As Morris' hard-boiled, edgy debut novel opens, former Miami Dolphins linebacker Zachary Chasteen is being released after serving almost two years in a Florida penitentiary on trumped-up charges. Zack longs to be reunited with Barbara Pickering, his velvet-voiced lover, who is busy in the Bahamas shooting a spread for the magazine she owns. He gets ditched mid-journey by the limo driver she's sent ahead to fetch him and is suddenly on his own, penniless and without ID. Zack hitches a ride to his childhood home but once there, he's ambushed by the violent lackeys of Victor Ortiz, the man who framed him years before. Zack manages a narrow escape but is faced with even more trouble. Barbara's ex-fiancé, Brice, is found murdered and she's been kidnapped with a hefty ransom on her head. Police inspector (and former football player) Lynfield Pederson and Zack put their heads together as Hurricane Curt barrels toward them. After the limo driver who originally deserted Zack is identified as a well-known deadly criminal and the probable source of all things bad, Zack gets a lucky break and speeds off to a bat-filled sea cave to confront his nemesis at the novel's bullet-ridden climax. An array of colorful locals gives the story some much-needed texture, while juicy plotting keeps this impressive page-turner simmering. Morris has produced an accomplished first novel with a priceless final scene.

I'd read Morris' second novel last month and enjoyed it ... so wanted to check out the others in the series.

And this is where it all started.

It's a quick fun read with lots of action. I liked the writing style ... funny and fast-flowing.

I'm not a fan of Barbara's (too fussy and snooty) so was glad she wasn't in it too much.

Canon PowerShot SX120 IS

Remember the Olympus digital camera I bought in May 2008?

It's been nothing but an unreliable piece of crap and I despise it!

Today I'd had enough.

My "must-haves":
  • Small enough to fit in my purse
  • As high a zoom as possible (this has a 10x)
  • Use AA batteries rather than special batteries (I've got a ton of rechargeable AA batteries)
Two stores I went to raved about the Canon PowerShot SX120 IS ... so I bought it.

And I bought a four year warranty ... I hope it doesn't let me down.

Queen West Art Crawl

I saw on my pal Kate's blog that she would be at the Queen West Art Crawl at Trinity Bellwood Park this weekend (her booth is D43).

The Queen West Art Crawl launches its 7th year with its most exciting and diverse programming yet. Over the course of three days, nearly 500 artists will exhibit their work in locations along Queen Street West from Bathurst to Roncesvalles. Parks, galleries, cafes, retail and design shops and studios will be getting into the act with superb art exhibitions and activities.

The Park is just a couple blocks away so I walked over.

There are over 200 artists showing at the Park.

And there's Kate and Yvette!

Yvette and I worked together about ten years ago and became friends. Yvette and Kate have a marketing and communications business together. I know Kate through Yvette.

Here's Kate's art ... very colourful!

I took a wander around the park looking at the art ... there's something for everyone!

If you have nothing going on tomorrow, you should check it out!

Wednesday, 16 September 2009

La Gargote, Montreal, QC

Margo, our manager's manager, works a couple days a week in Montreal and was in town today. She invited us out for supper. She took us to a restaurant in old Montreal.

We passed Notre Dame Cathedral.


Old Montreal is very historical with its old buildings and narrow streets.

We had supper at La Gargote. Here are Margo, Steve and Harpreet.


And here we are ... Harpreet, Margo, me and Steve.


I ordered grilled beef filet mignon with pepper sauce. I asked for no veggies so they gave me an extra scoop of mashed potatoes. Yum!


We walked Margo back to her apartment and then had a nightcap at 3 Brasseurs (3 Brewers). Gord and I had checked out the new one in Toronto last month.

Here are Harpreet and Steve trying to make sense of the French menu to decide what to order.

Monday, 14 September 2009

Kinda hard to pack ...

... with kitties on the suitcase!

I'm spending the next couple of days in Montreal to get to know the different departments of the company I now work for.

Gord put suitcase on the bed before he went fencing.

I was going to go pack ... and there was a tuxedo kitty snoozing on it.

So I let him be.

Then I saw him strolling out of the bedroom so went in to pack ... only to discover that a tabby kitty had taken his place.

It's a small suitcase ... there's not enough room for my stuff AND two kitties!

Congrats, Sister Sarah

Sister Sarah was employee of the month in July where she works.

Here she is with with one of her clients, Jean.

Sunday, 13 September 2009

BBQed pork roast

After the tragic theft yesterday, we still had a pork roast for Gord to BBQ for supper today.

It's a big one ... enough for supper tonight ... and sandwiches for lunches tomorrow ... and I'll use the rest in jambalaya for supper tomorrow night.

I made dirty mashed potatoes to go along with it.

Yum!

Book ~ "No Kids: 40 Good Reasons Not to Have Children" (2009) Corinne Maier

From Amazon ~ A mother of two herself, Maier makes her deadly serious, if at times laugh-out-loud-funny, argument with all the unbridled force of her famously wicked intellect. In forty to-the-point, impressively erudite chapters drawing on the realms of history, child psychology, politics and the environment, Maier effortlessly skewers the idealized notion of parenthood as a natural and beautiful endeavour. Enough with this "baby-mania" that is plaguing modern society, says Maier, it's nothing but brainwashing. Are you prepared to give up your free time, dinners with friends, spontaneous romantic getaways and even the luxury of uninterrupted thought for the "vicious little dwarves" that will treat you like their servant, cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars and end up resenting you?

Speaking to the still "child-free", to fellow suffering parents, and to adamant procreationists alike, No Kids is a controversial, thought-provoking and undeniably entertaining read.

Reasons to avoid having kids:
  • You will lose touch with your friends
  • Your sex life will be over
  • Children cost a fortune
  • Child-rearing is endless drudgery
  • Vacations will be nightmares
  • You'll lose your identity and become just "mom" or "dad"
  • Your children will become mindless drones of capitalism
  • The planet's already overcrowded
  • Your children will inevitably disappoint you
My pal and neighbour, Phon, had mentioned this book on her Facebook page so I thought I'd check it out.

I've always known I didn't want kids and so chose to be childfree (rather than childless).

Maier makes some great arguments to not have kids. For me, nothing about having kids appealed to me and I was never interested in it. I had no desire to go through a pregnancy and actually give birth. Plus I like my time being my own and wasn't willing to be responsible for someone else. Better to admit it and make the decision before having kids.

The book is translated from French so I found it a bit awkward at times. And there are lots and lots and lots of references to things that only someone in France or Europe would know (so there were footnotes).

It's a quick interesting read. Check it out from your library like I did rather than buy it.

Saturday, 12 September 2009

Grocery store theft

Gord and I went to the grocery store this morning.

Pork roasts are on sale so I put one for about $5 in our cart for supper tomorrow. Then I found one the same size for $0.04 ... obviously priced wrong but I was happy to take advantage of someone's mistake. In our cart it went too with the price tag facing down.

Then I wandered off to check on peameal bacon.

When I went back to the cart, I noticed a big $8.36 pork roast in my cart ... the price tag was facing up.

Huh?!

It appears that someone stole ... yes, stole!! ... our $0.04 roast and replaced it with a pricier one. I betcha it was the old lady who was digging through the roasts when I had found it. Sneaky broad!

Needless to say, I was scanning all carts for our roast as we headed to the cashier, ready to tackle the old lady to get our roast back.

Has that ever happened to you?

Friday, 11 September 2009

Whole lotta hackin' goin' on!

I use Yahoo for my email address.

I discovered this morning that I'd been hacked.

An email from a company in China had sent to my contacts advertising their junk.

I sent them an email right away telling them that hacking into my Yahoo account was illegal and that I had reported them to the authorities.

I have no idea who the "authorities" are but my email sounded pissed!

I got an email back right away ...

my dear,
i am sorry to bother u by it.we will contact the Advertising agency who is responsible for publicity and promotion of our products. and let them stop this action. please could u change the password of ur email address?if u do that, no virus email will be sent eo u. thanks.

Changing my password was the first thing I had done ... then I sent an email to my contacts letting them know it wasn't me.

How did they have access to my Yahoo account in the first place?!

Thursday, 10 September 2009

Book ~ "Dog on It" (2009) Spencer Quinn

From Goodreads ~ Chet the Jet is a dog who failed K-9 school (cats in the open country played a role in his demise) but now he is a dedicated PI and works with Bernie, owner of the Little Detective Agency. 

The story is told entirely from Chet’s point of view, which will delight dog-loving mystery readers but the book is also an excellent PI tale, dogs aside, as Chet and Bernie investigate the disappearance of a teenage girl whose developer dad may be up to no good. 

Chet may not understand things like maps (he doesn’t need them as he can sniff his way home) but he is a great sleuth who finds the girl and solves the case. The always upbeat Chet may well be one of the most appealing new detectives on the block but conscientious, kind and environmentally aware Bernie is a close runner-up. Excellent and fully fleshed primary and secondary characters, a consistently doggy view of the world and a sprightly pace make this a not-to-be-missed debut. Essential for all mystery collections and for dog lovers everywhere.

I love dogs!

I love mysteries!

It's written from the perspective of Chet, the dog, which is interesting.

The mystery itself is so-so but Chet's observations were cute ... you get into the mind of the dog where chew toys rock!

Tuesday, 8 September 2009

What is it?

LeeAnn recently went on an Alaskan cruise and brought me back a gift. She gave it to me on Sunday.

What is it? It's about three inches high.

Hmmm ...

Add some water ...

Morgan was mesmorized!

Have you figured it out yet?

It's a pair of magic moose socks!