Something Wicked This Way Comes...

Always wanted to use that " Something Wicked..... " line. so I did.

There is evil in this world , I know for sure.

To wit. Prior to leaving for the UK, Costco ( now there is evil, in disguise, for many reasons ) I noticed blue jeans labelled " Urban Star " the Chinese kind.

To ensure my clothes would fit for the whole trip, I bought size 38 / 31 length. The jeans were a little long. Washed, the jeans were very comfortable ( now there's an evil word, just ask Stacey and Clinton of " What Not to Wear " ).
The whole time in the UK, never had a problem, those Urban Stars were comfortable all the time. OF COURSE, the material is stretch - real stretch. I don't know how much weight I put on or inches added etc. BUT those jeans still fit.
TRUE EVIL , I say. Now I'm left with some sort of feeble remorseful feeling to lose what was gained over there.
The only saving grace is that my shorts ( desperately needed , yesterday ) are a little tight.
There is justice in the world.  But there is evil

BTW : I can tell by the prickling of my thumb
      Something wicked this way comes
And then you can watch the Walt Disney movie of the same name.

Rue or rues

I'm doing the " what do you miss " for the UK.
1.  No, I'm not running through a late go at lost youth. The BMW, I'll probably, not drive one again. It was fun but economical ( see not rash youth, sober practicality ). The sucker could really go.
I did take out the extra rider on the deductible, lowering the minimum from 600 to 100 Pd. The host at Moyness House who drove a Mercedes recalled the salesperson telling him to protect the wing mirrors. Each mirror was 600 Pd for parts. 

2.In all three places we stayed in London, Edinburgh and Inverness, we could walk 4 minutes and reach a  Co-op store ( a branch of a food retailer ) or the chippie or a bakery.  I'm not sure I could find a similar bakery w/in a 5 minute drive here in T.O.. And a pub, bless the pubs. A little expensive what w/ the exchange on the dollar, very handy tho'.

3. Alright the scenery was very good in Edinburgh,Inverness, Norfolk and Whitby in Scarborough ( English one ) . Edinburgh was old and set in the hills. Inverness was wild and raw. Norfolk was English rural. Whitby was the ports of old, based on whaling and sea trade.

4. London was big, in a hurry and complicated. Parts with great history and parts spanking brand new . Got to see Billy Elliott in the Victoria Palace Theatre.
See old and new , side by side. Probably rode the oldest subway system or the oldest complex of subways in the world. The Brits hunkered down in the " tube " for the Blitz of WW II.

The song goes " there'll always be an England " maybe / maybe not.

So says the " Maestro of the round-a-bout " thats what my plaque says, anyway.

So, I clicked my heels.....

In reference to Dorothy ( Wizard of Oz ), I clicked my heels and said " There's no place like home - there's no place like home " and poof .... back in Canada.

Yeah, not quite. The walk through the Skylink from hotel to Airport went smoothly. We had no gate for the flight until,  - 5 minutes before gate time.
However, 2 movies, beaucoup de food and 1 small drink and we were home. 
Luggage was there , shuttle bus was there, car was there and bingo, bongo... home.

Oh the breakfast, was self serve. The set up was an extensive spread of hot and cold items, waiters bring the coffee etc. A lovely way to end the trip, and the expected flight / fright ahead.

OK. I'm not a good traveller. Lets get it right out there. Seven hours is mega long for me.

The movie " We Bought A Zoo " was a life saver. I was really interested. A movie where Scarlett Johansen shows she can act. Matt Damon was again different c.f. the Bourne series.

In retrospect, the UK was cute. We miss coffee, we were almost in the Goldilocks story. Too strong usually or as on the last day coffee was weak.
Didn't have a bad cup of tea. They serve really hot water so the tea steeps. They obviously are not litigious or someone would have sued for burnt lips or lap.
The sausage rolls were a disappointment much like Canadian rolls.
Steak pies were uniformly good or very good. Their burgers seem to always be meaty and tasty.
OMG, do they drink.
Sadly, we watched some American TV,  CSI / Law and Order etc.
Couldn't find the new Sherlock Holmes series w/ Brendan Cumberpatch, we'll watch at home ( taped ).
I have never watched that many game shows in an afternoon but our hosts had their favourites all set up and they know the times etc.

They are old there. Everything has a history and they throw around dates like 1860 or the seventh century at random.

A very friendly place to boot.

FIMLDAL

Fri In Middlesbrough Lets Do A Lot

Didn't have to drive except for the breakfast
run.

At mid morning it was off to N. Allerton and two cousins, one known and one unknown. These relatives are married - and married, usually twice each, family rule. Very pleasant people w/ lots of references to the past. This recollection fest is good for M but does make her feel she lost out on a lot ( being the lone Canadian ).

We recovered in the late aft and then were off to lamb dinner at a second cousin's - hers not mine - ha ha.

I receive a plaque from sister P - "Roundabout Maestro " and M's read " Roundabout Survivor " - which is truly unfair b/c I am the one that survived or thrived.

This is Sat in Manchester - at the Radisson Blu - a luxury hotel. Oh yeah, burgers look like a hair do and cost $ 16.  It is a pretty place tho'.
One of the best pools that I 've had a swim in. Cool water, no backwake and frolickers stay out of your way.

The train was 3 h w/ some noise - what would you expect- 6 guys and 11 beers for the first 45 min. Loud not nasty.

There is no train to Manchester Airport on Sun morning, so we needed to be here this evening. which is just as well, Sun after brekkies ( incl in the rate ) and then a walk to T 1 and the check in.

Little differences

Yesterday, was a lazy day. Shopping in the outdoor mall ( Teesdale Retail Pk ). Brekkies took place in Morrison's cafe ( chain supermrkt ). By the time it was over we could have eaten in the hotel restauarant for the same price.
Afternoon, was a lazy affair. Take away dinner at M's sister's place was les mets chinois. Great Wall lied. Their version of king prawn chow mein was shrimp chop suey in disguise.
However, the rice was like back home, yeah.

To-day, brekkies was at McD s. Brought home coffee and toasted bagel and a bacon roll. The bacon roll was cheaper than any McMuffin variety and tasted way better. BR was just back? bacon ( it is our back bacon and we haven't seen " side " bacon yet ) on a roll.
Its a concession to UKers who want what they're used to seeing.
We developed pictures at Boots, pics are great.
Got beeped again. I'm keeping score and the beepers are driving Rovers, MGS, Beemers, I think they go fast and beep everybody.

The road goes ever, on and on

I drove the clan to Whitby in Scarborough. Whitby prospered in the whaling years. Now its specialty is fish and chips.... and making tourists walk up and down the cobbled streets.
F/C were very good.

On the way home, we mostly ignored " Rebecca " the GPS unit. Our hosts took us on the roller " coast " er road. They wanted us to see the shore all the way from Whitby to Middlesborough. As well, we saw the smallest church.
We drove into and out of the Grand Canyon... twice, on a curvy /dippy road. No injuries were recorded but I almost caused panic when I missed a yield line. All was saved by some timely screaming from everywhere in the car.
Any roundabout you can walk away from is a good roundabout ( Old English saying )

I really should have paid attention when Bilbo said " be careful when you step out your door. If you're not careful, you never know where you'll end up."

We're sat in the boozer doing our thing.

In Britain

Nobody tips here or 10 % if they think about it , they are not a tipping culture  - hope they pay well ( not ).

So the Beemer, made some 550 km on 1/2 a tank ( diesel ) at 1.37 Pd / L. Or read $ 2.20 a litre here. The MPG gauge thingy read 45 - 50 all the way, I think its broke or on Beijing time.

Yesterday, the deal of the day, was 3 courses
at Lingfield Farm pub for 5.45 Pd. So a tad over $10 but trust me - we haven't seen cheaper

To-day we get chauffeured to York, a walled town. You park outside the city limits and a shuttle bus takes you into the city.

M is pleased that I'm not driving, yeah, those roundabouts are still a pain.

L type news from Yorkshire

A lazy-ish day. GPS'd our way to M's sisters house. Didn't have a clue where it was going but 1 mistake and 5 min - we were there. We are staying on the outskirts of Middlesborough, in an area designated Teeside ( the river is the Tees ). An 'A ' road runs right past our access road and past Middslbr.

Lunch in a pub. Of course.

Drinks in the pub here. We're done

Beemer behaving well.

Hauling buns

drove from Inverted-ness to Middlesborough ( pron. Middlsbro )

The BMW is fuel efficient and has reasonable pick up. it must have been the slowest Beemer on M 6, to-day

Too long a drive, for us

Bless the god of GPS, its a miracle.  the GPS made one mistake and I made 2

JHU lost to Md, boohoo... boohoo. Ah, c'est la vie

trust me, if there is a hell it has more than fifty roundabouts.

heaven will still have roundabouts. heaven is run by the British, somehow I just know it.. Heaven will have queues ,warm beer and VAT as well.

Last day in Inverted-ness

First call,  Enterprise is offering a Range Rover, Discovery. I would prefer something smaller, OK. Second call from Enterprise, we found a smaller car, it is coming to pick you up. BMW - diesel. Yep, a beemer.

Drove to Culloden Battlefield, two wrong turns in the round-a-bouts. Got there. Coming home to Invert-ness, two lucky guesses and the GPS, back in a blink.

Change in plans, not the western scenic route via Ft. William and Loch Lomond. Tight roads and Sunday traffic, dictate a middle route and a straight shot to Middlesborough , Eng.

We accessed a free coupon, from the web in T.O. for lunch. Cashed  "the Kitchen Restaurant " coupon around the corner from the B/B . Lunch is 2 courses, both terrific. Beef roll-up salad ( more meat than my steak pie, last night).
Salmon on rice w/ veg and potato

Urquart castle

The highlight of to-day, bus / boat ( on Loch Ness ) Urquart castle and bus back. Oh, lunch in a pub " the Auctioneers ", yes , it was chips but veg too !

Did it rain, is it Scotland.

Big purchases - batteries and jewellery.

Rental day to-morrow. BTW - petrol is $ 100 a fill up according to our breakfast group.
However, food is # 1 in the budgets of the citizens here.

The fruit machines caught up to-day, we are in the hole v the machines. Ez cum, ez go.

Inverted-ness

With a slight nod to getting started early, we got to Eddy-toon, Waverley Stn and caught the 10:35 to Inverted-ness.
To quote our host here " weather sucks "    , 6 C / rainy but everyone keeps walking and doing. Oh, yeah, Scotland the Brave.

We ate in a pub, burgers and alcohol drink 6 Pd. And french fries..... hard to avoid in the UK..... we do try to limit the French-ness.

Oh, we shopped at the Co-op store.

When we need help, people smile and often we understand them.... then again we pretend and smile

Eddy-toon is famous for.....

Returned to the city tour bus stop and had our third go around past the Eddybur castle. Our 24 h ticket was good til noon. Toured the castle which is Royal but no royal seems to stay there unless they're hiding. I'm assuming then,  Prin Charles has spent some time there or should have.

Our third tavern was the Auld Hundred in Rose St. We seem to go to these places right when they're hosting biggish groups. To-day we were the filling for an eight-some of young'uns from USA and Germans or Dutch,probably Ger doing the " what happens in Eddy-toon stays in Eddy-toon " - read loud.. Food was steak pie and soup and sandwich.

Our location in Eddy-toon, placed us 6 minutes from Waverley Stn and city centre. As well we discovered since the City of Eddy is building a tram way, all buses route thru George St, two minutes away. Thus we took the # 22 to Ocean Terminal which is a complex of shopping and the queen's yacht Britannia.
You take a walkway to the Britan-ya and see the ship.

Dinner came from the Co-op and Gregg's ( a major bakery chain ).

To-morrow is a slightly ealier day and we train to Inverness and Scot - ish highlands.

Dy2 eddy-toon

Took the city tour, our guide was young and spoke English, tres funny aussi. G tried to tailor the monologue to the passengers. Susan Boyle got top nod as famous.
Lunch at Deacon Brodies Tavern in the Royal Mile
Tried a Pimm's royale, #1 Pimms and sparkling something - expensive but daring.
Meal was a salad , prawn and chorizo - loved it. M had sheperds pie - vg.

Dinner.....We basically ate out of the Co-op which is a variety store + food basics. The egg / sausage sandwich ( very fresh ) was 1 Pd. Cheese and crackers featured tasty mature cheddar and big Ritz crackers.

BTW - the telephone / TV / chloroform and grave robbing are Scottish inventions but they're not so keen on claiming the latter one. 

While waiting for M outside a British Home Shop,the skirl of the pipes floated down Princes St
- ah, the sound of the glens, the 'eart of Loch Lomond. " Camptown Races / Oh Susannah / Marine Corps Hymn " swam out of the construction noise 

ITITIMBE

If this is Tues it must be Eddy-toon.
Travel by train - smooth, the English are very organized. However, they kill people w/ trains and the brakes fail, too.

There was a fatality yesterday on the rails. The earlier train from Kings-X London, was delayed and then the brakes caused problems. the ridees were told to catch the next train north. Sit where you can. They stood w/ their luggage.

Apparently, I can't read on a train, I got a buzz as soon as I started reading. But the countryside was picturesque - sheep and grass and then the sea.
Our digs are close to the train station. I was so pleased the cabbie got a 30 % tip.

The digs: warm /cozy/ small fridge / flat screen TV / almost spacious ( pour deux ).
Downside : no faceclothes instead we bought throw away clothes. the Co-op grocery is 1/2 block away and stocks everything. Sparkling mineral water was 60 p - and I got a lemon for 30 p. These latter items are an essential morning ritual. Therefore, a great place and location.
I'm going to visit two famous rockpiles here
Holyrood palace and some castle thingy. Crikey more buildings.
Love the accents here, they sound Scottish.
Our receptionist on arrival was Polish w/ a brogue.

Brekkies was better than anything that I could imagine, mine was croque madam w/ a fried egg. Coffee was supertest barristo blend made in a cappucino machine. will be flying high to-day.

Weather is sunny for now but cool. these Scots are in shirt and light jacket. the ladies are wearing light sweaters. Tough, tough folks here. I'm in layers.

Sun in Hayes

Started out slow, and ramped up the day.
Our hosts drove me ( us ) out to Richmond, a tonier area of outer London. Our goal was to take a picture of me, standing in front of the sign of a restaurant w/ my last name.
Turns out that it is upscale ( read expensive ) sushi joint. At £ 2 a piece of sushi... it qualifies as upper end market for sure.

Next, the local ( The Brook House ) for Sun football and a pint.  SRO, of course and warm and sticky, tres loud. I lasted 1/2 and left my host lined up for a beer.
I figured one more beer and I'd pass out.
 Arsenal and WBA tied at 2.  How we could lose to a team nicknamed the Baggies I'll never know. But we were tied.

Apparently, when the sun comes out the Londoners put on their shorts and tough it out. It isn't that warm. Maybe, light sweats but not warm.

Introduced K ( host ) to Songs of the Auverigne by Canteloube, Laura Nyro and Dr. Buzzards Original Savannah Band. An eclectic mix for sure.

BGT

Almost 1 week here in merry ol'England, we sit watching Britain's Got Talent ( BGT ). We are cheering for Ashley and Pudsy ( the dog ).

To-day we ventured downtown to the Tower of London. We tubed it all the way. They won't let me near the jewels. Terrific display.

On the return trip, the grill barrier at Bank St. station was pulled closed. The TFL, shut down the stretch of the Central line we needed.
We hiked and veered also, searching for a pub. And magic, as we got close to Mansion House station, the Green Man pub appeared and all was saved.

Of course, we took the wrong bus ( it wasn't a through bus ) however, helpful riders straightened us out.

As well, our tube trouble started on Tues. heading down to " BE ". The tube had a technical glitch and we got held for 15 minutes and then yes, we boarded the wrong train. You've got to understand at many stations , there are multiple platforms and up to three trains coming through. So, we are not totally stupid, just thick.

At " BE " the performance was halted for a stage problem and the " Billy " was injured and a sub came on.  But the English are used to this - substitution during a game -

A pretty good day.

Yeah, Ashley and Pudsey, win.

The Ol' folks at 'ome

Post Billy E. We ventured off to Norfolk and M's cousin and family. Travelling on M ways and A ways we crossed Essex into Norfolk. ( M are express designated roads, multi-lane and divided / A roads are two lane and 60 mph rated )

We were treated to Fish and Chips plus mushy peas ( a green veg ). Warm and convivial, were the watchwords of the day and night. 
Second-cousin,  Sue and hubby Peter put us up for the night.
Brekkies was a fry-up, yep all got fried - marvelous.
Walked to the local ( pub ) Mc Taggart House and the highlight was 'Woodforde's Wherry ', delightful ale.

We shot home and only winced when the road got narrower than the car. Kidding.

We are still exhausted  - this must be older folks, jet lag - lag - lag.

Lots of pics and laughing.

Billy...who

Billy Elliott is a pouf. No, went to the London production of the musical " Billy Elliott " . Firstly, the theatre was the Victoria Palace - replete w/ gild or gilt, plush and three balconies. Older age elegant and a wonderful setting for a play.

We " tubed " it downtown. The names flashing by,  were unique  - Shepherds Bush, Great Portland Rd, Ealing, Hangar Lane and our stop Victoria.
From the "Long, Dark Teatime of the Soul " by Douglas Adams " Kate drove over the flyway and on to Ealing and Acton and Primrose Hill "

Dinner was the Duke of York pub. Great food and turtle like service. Roast beef dinner came w/ the required Yorkshire pudding and two kinds of potatoes - mash and roast. Vegs were peas and carrots.  Dessert was birthday cake, homemade - and properly jammed ( jam for the filling just like mommy used to make.
It does rain here - off and on,  all yesterday... and to-day it seems.

Error,error - will robinson

Correction, folks. Last post, I quoted 29 million people that leaked info to phishing, wrong, its 9 million. The 29 million found malware on their computer.

We flew, Sun, and are still re-covering to-day. Crikey we were blasted yesterday. As if we were teleported.

On the plane waiting for the WC ( toilet ), I jokingly said to the steward " what are we doing to-morrow " He replied " sleep all day ". Should have listened to the voice of experience. The steward told me that he'd tried everything, staying up / napping but sleep was the only way. He was right. 

Our hosts are terrific and we will re-cover.
New money, new words and LOOK left - Look, left. The roads are narrow and the drivers just as fast in T.O...... hope they're better drivers.

The " kings of spring " received the # 2 seed in the NCAA tournament.... watch the griping now.  The big bias for the east and Baltimore, and Md and the establishment ( it means me too! apparently) The Hop will play Stoney Brook, the Seawolves have had a good season. However, like Canisius out of the MAAC, I think they are being feed to the grinder.
But, last year, I thought JHU could handle Denver, WRONG, we took a shellacking.

Bought a sausage roll for lunch, big, and soon I'll look like a sausage roll, big.

Update 2012 7-18 The fascination w/ the sausage roll was that I walked around the corner form the our host's home and had a choice of 4 restaruants for take out. I went to the best one , of course. This is an impossibility here at home. In Scarborough, it's jump in the car and go like a SCUD missile for 5 minutes.

phishing

In the latest Consumer's Reports, it seems that last year, 29 million households said that a member of the family gave information to a potential scam e-mail.

I didn't know that credit card companies are allowed to charge a service fee for credit card transactions.  B/c CR is a U.S. based org. maybe credit card co.s here cannot charge, at least I don't think they do !

" Its a long way from L.A. to Denver, Its a long time to hang in the sky " the words of John Denver.
" I packed my bags, last night, pre-flight. Zero hour 9 AM, And I'm going to be high - igh as kite by then  " from Rocket Man by Elton John.

The kings of spring came through. V - I - C -T - O - R- Y versus Army, the Black knights ( yep, watched the cartoon game on GT ). It didn't hurt that the Canadians scored 6 goals and had 3 assists, Oh Canada. I read that Zach Palmer ( 5 goals, 2 assists ) was offered a scholarship to JHU unseen ( live ). This offer basically came via the good opinions of Brodie Merrill ( x of Georgetown, present pro -player ). The JHU lax staff saw videos and jumped to give ZP a try.
The score was 13 - 6 and " we want more " is the chant at Homewood, after the fight song is played.

The prognosticators ( sounds like I'm talking about Puxatany Phil, the groundhog )
have JHU as a number 4 seed and likely to play Penn State.  This is a good match up. PSU can come up w/ a pretty good game.  Hop at Homewood in May is a statistically tough situation their record is 20 - 3 over the last decade or two.

On the BBQ front, I looked up the cost of a burner and the cheapest price was $ 70 w/ free shipping. I feel much better having paid the $ 15 to ship the part from Waterloo.


" England swings, like a pendulum do. Westminster Abbey, the Tower of Big Ben. The rosy red cheeks of the little children " by Roger Miller

Confessional

" I'm confessing that I love you, Dreaming dreams of you in vain, I'm confessing that I love you , over again " so sings Frank Ifield.

If you want you can click on 'next blog' and up pops other people's blogs.  I've done this but do not regularly follow anyone else's blog.
I gather that I could make money blogging ( in theory ). A whole whack of people read your blog and you advertise for the sponsoring company. I don't think 2 readers constitutes " a whole whack "

In the movie " Julie and Julia " Julie decides to blog as she makes every recipe in the original Julia Child cookbook. a friend says she can link to Paypal and people will donate to help offset the cooking costs.
It seems tho' that all my time ( that I'm willing to spend ) is taken up writing this blog.  tres therapeutique.

I've decided Sudoku is not Japanese or I'm not Japanese enough.... Grrrr... frustrating... its only stupid numbers..... or stupid me.
right now, I'm trying to convince you or me that I enjoy the Cryptic much more than Sudoku.

Realistically, upon getting to know M's father, I started copying his habit of doing the crossword in the daily rag. While on jury duty ( sitting in the big room and waiting ) a pleasant fellow saw my peeking over his shoulder as interest... in the Cryptic he was doing. he was my tutor into the world of the cryptics. We did one to-gether and we were very good as a team.

It did take me a while before I could do the crossword w/out a Thesaurus or dictionary. I bought crossword dictionaries too.

As for cryptics, M has put up w/ threats on the life of Caroline Andrews, the author of The Star's cryptic. Her name is used in vain quite often in the house.

I guess that I'm saying , maybe , I need a bit more time on the sudoku front. either that or change ethnicity.... I could be Dutch ... I mean I like edam cheese and dikes ( no, no not the people , the water barriers ) and I've been to Amsterdam.

OK you've convinced me... a little more patience on the sudoku thing.

the " kings of spring " the Hop lax boys play this aft. v Army. I will watch the cartoon guys march up and down the field on GameTracker.

Everywhere

Nillson (?) sang  " I take my puppy, everywhere "
well, the laptop followed me into the washroom. Get ready for lavatory humour.

Sitting on the pot one day, in the merry ,merry month of May.
And " May the 4 th be with you "

And this segues nicely into a comment on the " Avengers " movie release. The " A " team movie is getting reasonable reviews. The Toronto Star and Karen Gordon both said many positive phrases concerning the movie.  Karen is a Samuel L Jackson fan ( I hope the L is for Larry not Lemuel or some such ).
" The Best Exotic Marigold hotel " received compliments as well ( same sources ).

I watched " V for Vendetta" again this week.
Starring , wait for it.... Natalie Portman. I really am in infatuation w/ NP. Cute as a bugs ear... no cuter. I'm sure, NP would be shattered by my comparison. Women don't like the term cute either.. well I don't think so anyway. I use it as a compliment of the highest regard. It is a rare quality in this time.  Conrad Black is not cute, ex- Canadian and Barbara Amiel , his wife isn't cute. The Obama girls ( or young ladies, are ). Bernie Madoff isn't cute or G .Zimmerman.
Therefore, if I go looking for cute , its OK.

I do the Star " Cryptic " puzzle and no, its not the syndicated NY Times or London Times cryptic ( that goes whoosh )( see, a lot goes whoosh, where I'm concerned ).

Lately, I've been trying Sudoku, which I have discovered is Japanese for " another whoosh for me ". Last night, I added a number 2, to a box that already had the given # 2 -- not even down the row or hard to see.... in the same box of 9 ... duh.... duh  starting to sound like morse code for " another whoosh ".

Alright, here's " whooshing " you a good day.

BBQ -triviata

The BBQ is fixed. You will recall, free replacement burner, no screws. As it turns out the screws would have been barely adequate. The guaranteed for life, cast body of the BBQ had the screw openings partly disintegrated. Even using bolts w/ a lock washer, the washer caught the edges just enough. I would have needed some kind of washer w/ the screws if they were provided.

Finally, when I checked  prices before I discovered the warranty, the burner was $ 76 U.S. free shipping from the states.
The invoice that came w/ the burner says $ 34 ( N.C.) and of course, the $ 15 that I paid for shipping from Waterloo, On.  I could have driven to Waterloo and back for $ 20.

To-day, lunch was a veal cutlet sandwich, the best in Scarborough, according to my barber... Tony, what else could he be named. The veal was good but not the best. I may lose my barber over this difference of opinion. T has been the guy for 20 years. My previous barber was Tony ( different guy ). So far this year, the best veal cutlet sandwich came from Buona Pizza in St Pete Bch.

The Story
About 5 years ago, at the pool in St PB I was lamenting the lack of veal cutlet sandwiches as I was used to in Scarberia. A lady dressed for the airport and waiting to leave, later in the day, heard the plaintiff call and said " Go to the pizza restaurant in Dolphin Village."

That aft I convinced M, lunch could be veal cutlets. We turn up and bingo-bango, up jumps the lady from the pool.
Maria or Josephina.. whatever, walks to the counter and starts to order in Italian , asking questions in English concerning my preferences.  They charged me $7.99, fantastic. Since then, they charge me anywhere from 8.99 to 10.99 depending on who is serving. The veal sandwich isn't on the menu. So, M and I try to guess what they'll charge.

This is sandwich and fries. I'm guessing I'd be willing to pay 12 before I complained. Actually, if they told me in advance, I might go as high as 14.  Please do not tell Buona staff, how much I'd be willing to fork over.
BTW, I normally, take home 1/2 a sandwich and 1/2 the fries.

Crikey, I ate an hour ago and I'm hungry again.

Speaking of hungry, as a sequitor, I'm into buying size 38 pants, funny the legs are still 30 inches-  only the waist is changing. At Costco or stampede alley most days ( this week the line was only 3 people which is amazing ) I found stretch jeans. The material stretches all over. Once washed the pants fit great. I will not go to 40. Of course, I probably, said not 38, five years ago.
More of me to love, M ? right

I suppose that I'll buy a month's subscription to Army Vision so I can watch JHU v Army on Saturday. Last game of the season, and then play-offs. Monday May 7 is seeding day, for lax. then the whining and moaning / whining and moaning begins. I only moan and gnash my teeth a little b/c I am older and wiser and seen it all. Not really, but its good to keep my blood pressure in the normal range.

grass in the cracks

In the category of jobs that make you wonder about the uselessness of some jobs, comes weeding in the cracks of the sidewalk or interlock.

Firstly, I knew that interlock inevitably has grass or veg in the cracks. Its a law, I'm sure. I wanted to asphalt the front walk right up to the front door.  apparently, this solution is not suitable for our house... my house ,yes.... our house ,no.

I almost got away w/ poured concrete, which would be stencilled or patterned... nope... interlock.

Methods for crack grass removal: 
1. Blow torch - I have a propane powered flame thrower that you use to lightly touch the intended target and the veg dies.
2. Vinegar and salt - sprayed on the veg
3. various mechanical devices that scrape in between the bricks or cement and mutilate the veg.
We used to use Round - Up and Killex but das is verboten in Ont.
Which method is best, none. My philosophy is to go at the job in stages.. blow torch first, this is not successful but satisfying somehow.
The blade approach does the job but is time consuming.
Vinegar and salt... sure but I'm switching to Kraft Balsamic dressing... so when I eat the dandelions , they come pre- flavoured.

Weather is neat  sun and cool breezes w/ humidity coming soon.

Fix the BBQ is next  - my free replacement burner ensemble. I'll need screws or bolts that were supposed to come w/ the burner but didn't.

Be careful what you listen to......: the files

Yesterday, on CBC, on " Q " w/ Jian Gomeshi, the topic was lightening the skin.

In eastern countries, esp India where the guest journalist hailed from, making your skin lighter has a high priority. The ad in question appeared  on TV in India.

A couple is sitting in a kitchen drinking coffee. the wife hands her husband a cup of black coffee. Hubby frowns as he looks into the cup. he looks at his wife.... cut to the wife walking into the bathroom w/ the advertised package.
The next scene is the wife handing her husband a coffee w/ cream. Hubby smiles  OK.
The product is designed to whiten or lighten the skin of the vagina..... yo'.  got it,   way too much information here.

The lax e-mags are starting their prognostications for the final 16 NCAA tourney. The last one has JHU seeded 6 th ( assuming they can beat Army ). The Hop will play Penn St if the seedings stand. Pen has a good defense and reasonable mids and attack.
In reality, the mercurial BJ s can beat anyone and lose to anyone.  BTW - in reading the summation of which teams can qualify for the 16, one team had been involved in 6 - one goal games, so, JHU isn't the champion of close finishes. But near the top I'm sure.

On a lighter note (ha ha what a sequitor that is ), our city has found 380 million left over from last year. The money is already spent. I'm checking my pockets for extra money but its already spent, I'm sure.