Steve Gregory, Mike Fisher, and a boat

Somehow we just got through what had to be one of the worst May long weekends in the history of man-kind…weather-wise, of course. We had 11 days of rain in a row. Its hard to think positive when its day 11 of steady rain, but here are a few advantages to the soggy weather: no mosquitoes. Mosquitoes like to eat us when the sky is clear. We’ve all saved about ten bucks because we haven’t had to buy a bottle of suntan lotion. And because of the rain, no one has had to paint a fence or a house. That’s it. That’s my list of advantages to 11 days of rain. Yep.

I accidentally discovered something on the weekend that I’d like to pass along to any woman who has trouble getting her husband/boyfriend to cook. On the Food Network, there’s a show called ‘Ready to Grill’. My husband has never seen a show on the Food Network, mostly because, well, its all about cooking. It was actually quite calculated, but I pretended to ‘stumble’ on the show ‘Ready to Grill’ while Rob and I were channel surfing (yep, it was raining outside!) . Well, will wonders never cease. ‘Ready to Grill’ is hosted by this awesome macho guy who grills stuff outside, makes these amazing marinades, always has wine handy, and he has a BACKYARD FRIDGE!!! By the end of the show, my husband had a pad and paper out, and was designing our new backyard kitchen, complete with big kahuna bbq AND backyard fridge!!! So, ladies….its worth a try. See what happens when your husband watches ‘Ready to Grill’. Let me know if it works for you. I wonder if there’s a show called ‘I Want My Wife to Have a Whole New Wardrobe’.

This Saturday night, singer-songwriter (and piano player extraordinaire) Allison Crowe is appearing at a fundraiser for Vision Theatre and Canines With a Cause. (all the info is on this website, just click on the ‘pet friendly’ section) There’s a pre-show reception, followed by Allison Crowe in concert and some great prizes – all for just $20 advance, $25 at the door. You’ll get all the info about the launch of Vision Theatre’s new season, and all funds raised will support Canines with a Cause, a wonderful organization that provides assistance dogs to those in need. I’m happy to MC this wonderful event, this Saturday night at Arts Court, on Daly Avenue!! www.visiontheatre.ca/www.canineswithacause.org

Thank you very much to Bob FM’s very own Steve Gregory, who ran into Ottawa Senators’ very own Mike Fisher at George’s Marine. Not only did Steve send me an ‘audio hello’ from big ‘number 12’ himself, I was just handed a Bayliner boat brochure, signed by none other than Mike Fisher. Not only did I get the incredible joy of having a boat brochure signed by Mike Fisher, I think I’m in love with the Bayliner 175 Runabout with the stereo and extra storage space. Thanks Steve.

I have a frog named Tony

I wore my lucky shirt, and my lucky socks, and I had my lucky rock in my pocket but the Senators were still eliminated. Thank you to the Ottawa Senators for another entertaining year!

Speaking of entertaining, I really enjoyed the INXS show at Scotiabank Place Friday night. I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. I knew the band would be good, being such seasoned pro’s, but I wasn’t sure if the JD Fortune experiment would actually gel. I thought JD Fortune was quite a captivating front man….despite one rookie error. At one point, J.D. actually pleaded with the women in the front to take off their tops. This went over like a lead balloon. I don’t think today’s INXS audience is filled with women who climb on their boyfriend’s shoulders and lift up their shirts. Maybe they did that 20 years ago. But it was a great show, and JD has an amazing voice. And pretty cool when you think about this: here he is, playing for thousands of people, and approximately one year ago he was living under a bridge with his dog. Don’t you just love stories with happy endings!

I met Sabiha Casey recently, the woman who makes my favourite hot sauces in the whole world. Actually, Sabiha and her husband Paul make them, from their home in Dunrobin. They’re called ‘Cooksville’ hot sauces, and they have amazing flavours like ‘Death Valley Inferno’, and ‘Hawaiian Heat’. Add a few drops to a boring burger and suddenly it’s a party in your mouth and everyone’s invited. Check out the website, www.cooksvillehotsauce.com. Fantastic stuff!!!!

I’ve always been a big Neil Young fan, and my husband and I immediately rush out and buy every CD he ever puts out, including the newest, ‘Living With War’. Wow, is Neil ever steamed. And when Neil is steamed, it translates into some passionate and powerful music. This is a protest album about the war in Iraq and no matter where you stand on this issue…..you sure have to admit…that Neil Young doesn’t ‘beat around the bush’. No pun intended. Some songwriters create sonic imagery and leave the interpretation up to the listener. On Neil’s album, ‘Living With War’, there’s a song called ‘Lets Impeach the President’. Tell us how you really feel, Neil.

I have a pet frog. I don’t keep him in the house of course, he’s just chosen to live in my yard, therefore I now consider him one of my pets. I have one of those oak rainbarrels that’s filled with water with a spout that pours continuously, and a frog has moved in. He sits on the ledge of the barrel watching me in the garden, or sometimes he just swims around in the barrel . His name is Tony. I have lots of pictures of him which I will send to Andy, our Bob FM webmaster, to see if he will post Tony on our pet-friendly site. We love pictures of pets on our pet friendly site, so send those shots in!!! Right now there are lots of dogs and cats, some birds and a hedge-hog. And, coming soon, my frog named Tony.

Flower Power and Screw Caps

Its not everyday that you see a pirate ship. I was driving along the canal yesterday when I spotted it, sailing down the canal in the area of the Pretoria Bridge. I didn’t get a good look at any of the pirates, I guess they were ‘down below’ counting loot or whatever it is pirates do. Anyway, word is that the pirate ship is now docked at Dows Lake. No doubt it chose that spot because its close to the ‘aaaarrrrboretum’.
Thank you, I’m here all week.

I love the Tulip Festival! There’s a lot of stuff tied into the tulip festival….food, entertainment…artwork…all that’s great but my favourite thing about the Tulip Festival is….the tulips!! I’m a flower-a-holic and I love being around flowers. So, with the return of the Tulip Festival, comes one of my favourite hobbies: seeing how many tourist photos I can get into. I don’t do it on purpose, but just before someone snaps a photo of his or her family in front of a big beautiful tulip bed, I seem to have a knack for choosing that exact second to wander around in the background. Thank goodness for digital photography, because I think if people ‘crop’ their photos they can cut me out.

The Tulip Festival, Ottawa Senators play-offs, wow!!! What a great time to be an Ottawan. I’m sure our good mayor Bob Chiarelli is somewhat relieved that the Senators eliminated the Tampa Bay Lightning. On the ‘morning after’ on BOB FM, Mayor Chiarelli publicly announced, that should the Senators lose the series to Tampa Bay, he would sit atop one of those “Le Bifteque’ bulls on Pinecrest Road, wearing only a speedo and some chaps. Wonder what he’ll agree to for the Buffalo series?! Would the good mayor sit atop a stack of buffalo wings wearing only a speedo and some chaps?

I still have a huge vole problem. Not only have voles destroyed my lawn, they are now into my flower gardens!!! I finally discovered that help is just a phone call away. ‘The Ottawa Carleton Master Gardeners Hot-Line’ will have the answers I’m looking for. Problem is, the Ottawa Carleton Master Gardeners only answer their phone between 1 pm and 3 pm on Wednesdays. I think about calling the Master Gardeners all the time. Sometimes at 9 am, or noon, or 5. I need to talk to a master gardener. But I just never think about it between 1 and 3 pm on Wednesdays. Why can’t they answer the phone between 9 and noon on Mondays? Or between 3 and 6 on Tuesdays? Why do I have to be a slave to their schedule? The Ottawa Carleton Master Gardeners. Don’t even think about calling them unless its between 1 and 3 on a Wednesday. Oh, and, don’t try leaving a message because they won’t let you. This I know as a fact. But if I could leave a message, I would tell the Ottawa Carleton Master Gardeners to call me back between 2 and 2:15 on the last Friday of the month. That would show them.
How long does a previously opened bottle of red wine last? I opened a bottle two weeks ago and just had one small glass. I don’t know much about red wine, except that I should stop keeping it in the fridge. I must admit, I’m still not crazy about the fact that even really really good wine-makers are now using screw caps instead of corks. I understand its because there is a shortage of cork around the world. But, when you know nothing about wine, like I do, the only way I was ever able to determine whether or not a wine was decent, was by one simple factor: a cap meant it was cheap wine, a cork meant it was a better wine. Now how am I supposed to know the difference, if all wines start using screw caps? Can’t they plant more cork trees? Actually, here’s an idea: you know those wedgie shoes that were in style in the 70’s, and now they’re back in style, and they make you 6 feet tall, because your wedgie shoes are made of 6 inches of cork? How about we all toss our wedgie cork shoes together so we can have enough cork so that people who don’t know anything about wine can still determine whether or not a wine is any good because it has a cork?! Someone should run with this idea. I can help whenever I can, but not between 1 and 3 on Wednesdays.