Greenboro Vet Clinic and Big Sky!

After the 'Big Pull' for the Ottawa Mission, I spent a sunny afternoon at the Conroy Pit. For the second year in a row, the good people at the Greenboro Vet Clinic (Conroy at Lorry Greenberg)
held a fundraiser for the Big Sky Animal Sanctuary in Kemptville. Huge thanks to Dr Derek, Amanda and all the staff of Greenboro who volunteered many hours to make this happen. There were some wonderful surprises, including a $10,000 cheque from the Nickle Family of Calgary. And thanks to Mary Cuccaro, who stopped by with her many dogs and a cheque made out to Big Sky in the amount of $500. www.bigskyranch.ca

Steve Gregory, Anne, Andy, and Dr Derek from Greenboro Vet Clinic

Mary Cuccaro presents Andy with a $500 cheque!

Steve Gregory, me, Andy

the whole family supports Big Sky!

3 dogs are better than one

So Well Trained!

Big Fun at the Big Pull

Stu, Shirley Roy of The Mission, and Me

Even dogs came to 'Pull'!








Milky and Stu






the team from 'Mommies R Us'

moses, mike and greg show their winning style
..and I'm 5'8"!!!
Stu's team.......not quite good enough
Stu around some real men
Stu, with head down after embarrassing loss

"The Big Pull' for the Ottawa Mission Stepping Stones Learning Centre was a huge success yesterday! 58 tug-of-war teams converged on Mooneys Bay Beach, and the total raised: $42,000!!! Thanks to the
Ottawa Police Association and Chief Vern White, plus the countless sponsors and volunteers. Thanks to BOB FM's very own Milky for being the on-site photo pro. The 'Elite' Overall Winner was the team from Simpson Electric. Biggest. Men. On. The. Planet.
Speaking of the guys from Simpson Electric, I'd like to thank Greg, Mike and Moses for completing my team, which went on to be victorious over Stuntman Stu's team. Stu and I had a bet: If HE won, I was supposed to bark like a dog every time he squeezed a squeal toy on the radio show tomorrow morning. And if I won, he was to dress and talk like a woman on the radio show tomorrow morning. I hope Stu can find a pair of size 13 stilhettos on a Sunday!

Stand By Me Like Never Before

This is Too Cool! Check it OUT!

Happy Birthday Bruce!

Bruce Springsteen turned 60 yesterday. Below, a photo of the band taken at Scotiabank Place in March 2008 (which was my 28th or 29th Springsteen show). I would say he's aging very well, wouldn't you?

The Secret to a Long Life

A doctor on his morning walk, noticed the old lady above, sitting on her front step smoking a cigar, so he walked up to her and said,

"I couldn't help but notice how happy you look! What is your secret?'

'I smoke ten cigars a day', she said. 'I also drink a whole bottle of Jack Daniels every week, and eat only junk food. I also don't get any exercise at all'.

'Thats absolutely amazing!! How old are you?'

'Thirty-four', she replied.

Birds of Manotick!

I have now lived in Manotick for 2 1/2 weeks, and one of my favourite surprises has been the abundance of cardinals! Despite the fact that I still have a basement filled with boxes yet to sort out, and a to-do list that is 2 pages long, I drop everything when I see a cardinal. I've also seen quite a few cormorants flying over the Rideau River, and one evening a cormorant perched in a tree across the road. I have no idea how he kept his balance on the branch, with his big webbed feet. The cardinals and the cormorants are just two of the distractions which keep me from un-packing.

Season Ticket Bonus

Chloe Cooke got an extra surprise when she & her dad John picked up their Senators season tickets... yep, that was Mike Fisher on hand to show his 'appreciation'. Love this photo! (Mom Nadine and Chloe's little brother Elliott missed out on meeting Mike Fisher, because Elliott was playing hockey at the time, very admirable. Nadine took it much worse than Elliott)

Tray Haute Cuisine at Ikea

A very good friend gave me an Ikea gift card for a house-warming gift. Somewhere between the Aspelund bedside tables and the Husvik lamps, I discovered the Ikea restaurant. Drawn to the heady aroma of coffee, I abandoned my cart full of Forhoja cutlery trays and Grundhal spotlights and placed my tray on the tray tracks. The overhead sign said, 'Breakfast. $1.00'. And there was an accompanying photo of a plate filled with scrambled eggs, little square cubes of potatoes, and 2 sausages. All for one dollar! This did not include coffee, so I decided to spring for a cup of coffee too. That was another dollar. Everything was delicious! $2.00 and it was a party in my mouth! Lunch was a plate of pasta with a flavourful sauce for just $1.99! I didn't stay for the Ikea dinner but the Swedish meatballs with lingonberry sauce look amazing. Bit of a jump price-wise for dinner, for $6.49 you get 10 meatballs with gravy, lingonberry sauce, potatoes or fries and a soft drink. After dinner, you can tuck into one of the Grimstad beds with Ektorp cushions and if you stay quiet til morning, you can be first in line for the $1.00 breakfast and start a delicious day all over again in the Ikea restaurant. I think we should have our staff Christmas party there. From Ikea's own kitchen, here is the recipe for Ikea meatballs:

Ikea's Swedish Meatballs:

250gm minced beef
250gm minced pork
1 egg
200-300ml cream and water (or milk and water)
2.5 tbsp. finely-chopped onion
50ml unsweetened rusk flour
2 cold boiled potatoes
4-5 tbsps butter, margarine or oil
Salt and pepper
Instructions:
1. Heat the onion till golden in a couple of tablespoons of lightly browned butter.2. Mash the potatoes and moisten the rusk flour in a little water.3. Mix all the ingredients until there is consistency and flavour generously with salt, white pepper and (optional) a little finely crushed allspice.4. Use a pair of spoons to shape the mixture into relatively large, round balls and transfer to a floured chopping board.5. Fry them slowly in plenty of butter.
How to make the cream sauce:
Ingredients:
100ml cream
200ml beef stock
Chinese soya sauce
1 tbsp white flour
Salt, white pepper
Instructions:
1. Swirl the boiling water or beef stock in a pan.2. Add cream and thicken with white flour if preferred.3. Season well with salt and pepper.4. Serve the meatballs with the sauce, freshly boiled potatoes, uncooked lingonberry jam and salad.
There you have the perfect Swedish meal! Yum!

Iams Wiggle Waggle Raises $185,000!!!!

The Iams Wiggle Waggle Walkathon took place this morning and it was the most successful ever!! $185,000 raised, which shattered last year's total of $142,000!
Thank you to everyone who raised pledges, all the volunteers, and wonderful sponsors including Iams, Westjet, Via Rail, and media sponsors 939 BOB FM and A television. congratulations to Perri Ross, who raised the most pledges with $4100! My dog Hudson and I had the pleasure of walking with two wonderful kids, Jeris and Connor and their super cool mom Susan, who brought along little Copper the bichon/poodle mix. A special note of thanks to all who sponsored me, together we raised $2129! Can't wait for next year...

One Last Plea for Paws!

Ok, one last plea ..... promise!

the Wiggle Waggle Walkathon is this Sunday at the Arboretum, all proceeds to the Ottawa Humane Society. You can still register and join in the fun, go to www.ottawhumane.ca

If you can't make it but would still like to support the animals at the shelter, I would be very proud to accept a donation on your behalf. Here's the link to my 'Wiggle Waggle' page:

http://www.ohsre.ca/Page.aspx?pid=393&frsid=1264

thank you all! Woof!

Welcome Stu!

Welcome, Stuntman Stu! Yes, JR is back on the Team 1200 and this morning was the very first episode of 'Stuntman Stu and the Shark' on 939 BOB FM. I've known Stu for years (how could you 'not' know Stu?) so I am very much looking forward to working with him. He has great personal hygeine, he's funny, quite organized for a radio guy and, he's a technical whiz! Stu is on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, text messaging, Blackberry, he also has walkie talkie's, beepers, pagers, airphones, alphorns, and he has mastered both Morse Code and sending and receiving smoke signals. Yet his wife still can't get a hold of him to pick up diapers. Stu has a new blog too, on this website, so check it out. I'm going to see if he reads this one. This should be fun. Do me a favour and don't tell him that I wrote about him here. Lets just see how long he takes to notice. Nothing like a good old fashioned childish game to get things rolling, I always say!

How Not to Put a Cat in a Harness

This is a diagram of a cat in a harness. Looks fairly simple, doesn't it. This is called the 'Come With Me Kitty' harness and bungee leash. My introduction to the 'Come With Me Kitty' began yesterday, 2 days after our cat Kitty moved into his new home. Our 2 dogs, Molly and Hudson, have settled into the new house fairly well. It only took Hudson three days and umpteen treats to navigate the shiny floors, which he had a major problem with. And Molly loves the new floor-to-ceiling window by the front door, as she can now bark at absolutely everything that goes by. People, squirrels, the cable guy, a leaf blowing in the wind. Or, nothing at all is fun too. But back to the 'Come With Me Kitty'. First off, I thought it was quite a coincidence that this product actually shares the same name as our cat, Kitty. Anyway, Kitty came to us as a stray, so trying to make him an 'indoor cat' has been a lesson in futility. We have now moved into a neighbourhood where I am determined to keep him close, so I thought we would try the best of both worlds. He could go outside, but I would walk him. I had visions of me, the two dogs, and the cat, going for late afternoon leisurely strolls, waving at the neighbours, stopping to let small children pet my well behaved trio. So yesterday we took 'Come With Me Kitty' harness and bungee leash out of its abundant packaging and I went to scoop up Kitty from behind the washing machine. He's decided that is the best spot in the new house. Rob and I unfolded the step by step instructions on how to put a harness on your cat, which is no less complex than assembling a gas barbeque. With me holding Kitty, Rob struggled to put his furry head (Kitty's head, not Rob's) through strap 'A', his front legs through strap 'B', uh oh, too many straps, what's this clip for, why is the bungee leash protruding from between his back legs, quick get the instructions, uh oh Kitty's not happy, yikes, hurry put this clip into that clip, how can Kitty twist his body that fast? Final outcome: My cheek vs one protruding Kitty claw, nice long scratch on my face, Kitty is safe and sound behind the washing machine and the 'Come With Me Kitty' is hanging up in the closet. Maybe today I'll just take him for a drive.