Remember Forever

Today is Remembrance Day. We honour and remember the sacrifices made by Canadian men and women who fought - and continue to fight - for our freedom. My husband and I visited Vimy Ridge in August. The monument is stark and spectacular. The photos I took at Vimy Ridge do not do justice to the emotion you feel on that monument, overlooking the vast fields where so many lives were lost. We owe so much. We must never forget.

Angelina loves Cheezies from Belleville!

Matt Hamer, producer for 'the Morning After' on Bob FM, hails from beautiful Belleville. Belleville is the home of Hawkins Cheezies. It is a well-known fact that 'Hawkins Cheezies' are an official 'UN' product. (just check the label on the bag!) Angelina Jolie is a spokesperson for the UN. So it was just a matter of time before photographers caught her enjoying her favourite snack from Belleville Ontario. Thank you to James Stevenson for passing along the photo!

Firefighters Make Women Swoon

Thank you to Mark & Liz, Leslie & Kevin, and Jim &Yves for joining us on the ‘Bob’s Big Brain’ team at World Trivia Night! Over 230 teams raised $62,000 for Champions for Children and it was great fun. After placing ‘15th’ in the past 2 consecutive years, our goal this year was to finish in the coveted ‘14th’ spot. We finished in 27th place. If we had been able to use our cell phones and lap tops we may have won the whole thing. Oh well, there’s always next year……

Firefighters! Firefighters! Firefighters! What is it about firefighters that make women ‘swoon’. That’s the only time you ever hear the word ‘swoon’. There’s still time to be in the same room as Ottawa firefighters, to be pampered by Ottawa firefighters, and to be swooned by Ottawa firefighters. Get your tickets to ‘What a Girl Wants’, a night out for women this Wednesday Nov 7th at the Westin Hotel, which includes a 3 course dinner, fashion shows, auction items, and firefighters. All proceeds to the Ottawa chapter of the Canadian Liver Foundation, ticket info at www.liver.ca!

Its Christmas time in the city! Yep, the official Christmas season kicked in as of midnight Oct 31st. Had to get that thing called ‘Hallowe’en’ out of the way first. I was in one of those 15-minute oil change places and they were playing Christmas music on November 1st. I can understand retailers playing Christmas music to get shoppers ‘in the mood’ to spend $$$$$.......but an ‘oil change’ garage? If I hear ‘Here Comes Santa Claus’ or ‘White Christmas’ at an oil change garage, will that make me buy a transmission flush for everyone on my list? Actually, that’s not a bad idea. May as well have a couple of jugs of windshield washer fluid wrapped with care under the tree too.

Thank you so much to Natalie and Jennifer, special guests of ‘The Morning After’ on Bob FM last Friday. These women are known as the ‘entertaining divas’ and they whipped up some pretty entertaining drinks right in the studio. The Wine and Food Show was back for another year with a lot of new products for people to chug, er..I mean, sip delicately. One new product is called ‘Pearl Pomegranate Vodka’ and its delicious. Here is the recipe for the ‘Santini’, a fantastic holiday martini that’s pretty to look at and it tastes great:

2 0z Pearl Pomegranate Vodka
1 oz Triple Sec
1 oz pomegranate or cranberry juice
Shake well with ice and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a lime twist!

And here’s the ‘Pearl Flirtini’

1 ½ oz Pearl Pomegranate Vodka
4 oz chilled champagne
Splash of grenadine

Pour vodka into flute and add champagne to full. Add a splash of grenadine for color. Drink. Mmmmmm…

I wanted to pass along some information about a pet sanctuary that has recently come to my attention. They are called the ‘Westminster Pet Sanctuary’, located in Curran east of Ottawa, and for the past 15 years they have taken in ONLY special needs animals. These animals all require medical care, which of course is costly. They have dogs and cats that need help and the Westminster Pet Sanctuary needs money so desperately, for the first time in 15 years they are pleading with the public to give whatever they can. $5.00, $10.00, $20.00, whatever you can afford, they also have secure on-line PayPal so you can donate using Visa and they are a registered charity so your donation is tax deductible. For more information, go to http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/ON149.html
These animals need our help! Thank you!

Double Shot of Britney!

Ottawa resident Lindsay Spencer discovered something interesting on Friday! You only need to be in L.A for a couple of hours before 'boom', you're partying with Britney Spears! This was quite a thrill for Lindsay, being a Britney fan from the early days. Britney partied hard, but did get home in time to rest up for her trip to Kanata on Saturday!

And here she is, night # 2 of a most excellent weekend! How incredible is THIS!!!! My blog-arazzi photographers caught Britney Spears again! Here she is on the right, looking all 'retro' from her 'Baby Hit Me One More Time' days. Thanks to John Rodenburg for the 'heads up' on this one. Britney was a real hit in suburban Kanata!!

WORST HALLOWE'EN COSTUME EVER

THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST HALLOWE'EN COSTUMES I'VE EVER SEEN. THIS IS A DUCK DRESSED UP AS A HORSE. WAY TO GO!!

It’s the time of year that scares me the most…….Hallowe’en! The ghosts and witches and things that scream, that is not the scary part. It’s the attempt to come up with a clever costume that really scares me. It doesn’t seem to matter how much work I put into a costume, the end result is always the same. Hallowe’en party-goers ask me, ‘So….what are YOU supposed to be’? It’s never a good sign when people ask you that. Actually, last year, I didn’t get that question, because I wore a white sheet with two holes cut out for the eyes, and yes, I was a ghost. See, it doesn’t get much more lame than that.

Just got this week’s copy of ‘People’ Magazine, and wow, right there, full page spread, Ottawa’s own Adam Beach being proclaimed ‘People Magazine’s Sexy Man of the Week’! You can see him in his new role, playing detective Chester Lake on ‘Law and Order: SVU’. Congratulations to Adam for being the ‘sexy man of the week’. I’m sure the day he got the honor, his wife Tara didn’t make him put his socks in the laundry basket.

Saturday has been declared ‘Greyhound Planet Day’ in the city of Ottawa!! Retired racing greyhounds are fantastic family dogs and this is a special day to raise awareness about their unique characteristics, and to have a lot of fun too. Contests, costumes, there’s even a greyhound parade. It all takes place at Christ Church Cathedral Hall on Sparks Street from 10 to 3. More about ‘Greyhound Planet Day’ on this website, pet friendly section. Who knows, maybe you’ll meet the newest 4-legged addition to your family.

Did you get your Bon Jovi tickets yet? I checked on-line and it appeared that there are only ‘rear view’ seats still available. But this is Bon Jovi, so ‘rear view’ is the view of choice for many women. Oh yeah, he sings too! Actually, I saw Bon Jovi in Montreal about 3 years ago and it was a fantastic show. Something about those New Jersey rockers! p.s. listen to the ‘Morning After’ this Thursday , for a chance to win FRONT ROW seats for Bon Jovi’s concert Nov 17th.

It Must be Big if its in Rolling Stone Magazine

Did you go to the Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band show on Sunday? Was that not ‘the’ definition of a ‘no-holds-barred- ROCK SHOW? Arcade Fire joining Bruce on stage was pretty cool too. They sang ‘State Trooper’ together, and the next day I searched Youtube to see if there was any footage of Bruce and Arcade Fire together on stage …..and here’s the link! Check it out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5bT1_niUgk
This piece of music news was also detailed at http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2007/10/15/springsteen-joined-by-arcade-fire-members-in-ottawa-to-unearth-state-trooper/.
Yay!! Three cheers for Ottawa!!!! Bruce Springsteen’s Ottawa visit has been a top story in Rolling Stone magazine TWICE. When he was here a couple of summers ago for his solo ‘Devils and Dust’ tour, Scotiabank Place was hit by lightning, the power went out, and Bruce just kept playing with minimal lights and a couple of generator-powered amplifiers. It made for an incredibly memorable show, because Bruce was undaunted and had a great sense of humour about the whole thing.

Don’t forget, Bon Jovi tickets go on sale this Saturday morning at 10 am. Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and the band play Scotiabank Place on Saturday November 17th. The last time I saw Bon Jovi, it was in Montreal and Heather Locklear was at the side of the stage. I don’t think she’s going to come to the Ottawa show.
p.s. we will be giving away Bon Jovi tickets on BOB FM, so stay tuned!!

If you have an extra 1.5 million dollars that’s not being used to pay hydro bills, here’s something you can buy! How about Orson Welles’ Oscar, for the movie ‘Citizen Kane’?! Sothebys auction house expects to fetch around 1.5 million dollars for the actual Oscar, won by Orson Welles for writing the movie that critics call ‘the best movie ever made’. Not sure I agree with that. I finally got around to renting ‘Citizen Kane’ one day because I felt that I should watch the ‘greatest movie ever made’. Huh? I found it incredibly boring. And it wasn’t even in colour! What a rip-off.

But if you really think about it, why would you want to own SOMEONE ELSE’s award? If you had someone else’s curling trophy or someone else’s baseball MVP award, or someone else’s ‘debating club’ trophy, maybe you could pass it off as your own. But it would be next to impossible to convince a guest that you won an Oscar for writing ‘Citizen Kane’. Best movie ever made. Next to ‘Blades of Glory’.

I was at a grocery store the other day, when a firefighter handed me a brochure. This month is ‘Fire Safety’ month, and its very important to make sure your entire family has an escape route if you see or smell smoke or flames. Taking a few minutes to get a plan together now can save serious injury should a fire break out. I thanked the firefighter for passing along this very important public service. Then I wondered if there is a Firefighter auction coming up. If anyone knows any details (I can’t seem to find any details) please let me know, so I can pass the information along to others. There are only a couple of months left in everyone’s Firefighters of Ottawa calendar and yikes! We need a new one.

Hey! 60 Women Are All Wearing My Shirt!

Pictured: (Above) Mike Fisher and autumn

(beneath Mike Fisher) The official shirt of the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club servers

How about those Ottawa Senators!!!! Went to two games this past weekend, the Sens won both (actually, at the time I write this, the last game they LOST was the Stanley Cup final w-a-a-ay back when). When I got to the first level concourse at Scotiabank Place on Saturday, I noticed a lovely woman who was wearing the exact same top that I have. It’s a striped top with a semi-turtle neck, pictured here. I loved the shirt when I bought it back in the summer. Sometime in July, I think. Anyway, after seeing one woman at the Sens game wearing my shirt, I saw another…then another….then another… then I began to realize, that my exact striped shirt is now the ‘uniform’ for Ottawa Senators servers! On Saturday night, SIXTY women were wearing my exact same shirt. There are two ways I can react to this: a) I can be horrified that my shirt is not an original, or
b) I can wear my shirt to Sens games and get an employee discount on beer . I really like the latter!

Another Thanksgiving has come and gone….and once again, I have no leftovers. My sister and her husband host Thanksgiving every year, and serve up a fabulous turkey dinner. Since I’m a guest, I don’t get leftovers. The day after Thanksgiving, I think that people with turkey left-overs wake up, wipe the sleep from their eyes, put their feet on the floor, then instantly start to salivate at the thought of the turkey left-overs. Some have will power, and are able to make it all the way to noon hour, before they make a turkey sandwich. That’s about the time someone calls me to tell me they are eating a turkey sandwich, with stuffing, and cranberries. When I get that phone call, I am usually eating raisin bran or a microwaved pogo. Would someone at Farm Boy please think of the rest of us, and start selling turkey left-overs?
My other sister makes the Christmas turkey, so I don’t get left-overs on that day either. Next time I’m at Farm Boy, I’m going to put this into the suggestion box. Please sell left-overs. So people like me can be like people that still have turkey in the fridge. Thank you.

The 'sca-a-a-ry season' is here and the 'Chills for Cheo' CRYPT OF TORMENT is back! Located at 34 Tradewinds Drive in Barrhaven, the CRYPT OF TORMENT promises to be scarier than ever!! Volunteers work around the year to get it ready for ultimate spookiness so bring the whole family out! tHIS is a monstrous fundraiser for Cheo, with all details at www.chillsforcheo.com! BOO!!!

Wild Animals Need Your Help

I am very thankful that we live in a compassionate society. We take care of each other through countless acts of kindness and charity and generosity. The residents of the Ottawa-Gatineau area always rise to the occasion when someone is in need. Our compassion also extends to those who cannot speak for themselves: the animals. That's why I urge you to go to this website: http://www.helpbabywildlife.ca/ , and sign the petition. Wild animals who become orphaned, sick, or injured, have a very bleak future in this province and its time for some laws to be changed. I've always loved the quote by Ghandi, 'you can judge a society by the way it treats its animals'. Please sign the petition and spread the word.

Well What d'ya Know

Its that time of year again! Bob’s Big Brain needs to sharpen up for game day. Yes, it’s the return of ‘World Trivia Night’, North America’s largest live trivia event with 2500 participants. The event is not til Friday November 2nd (at the Aberdeen pavilion, Lansdowne Park) but this Tuesday I will be hosting ‘Team Captain night’ at Moe’s Newport Restaurant, a bit of a ‘trivia warm-up’ with fast-paced trivia questions being fired out to very enthusiastic trivia and pizza lovers. Trivia master Paul Paquette is back on board and it will be a ton of fun. If you’ve never participated in ‘World Trivia Night’, get 9 other people together, give your team a silly name, and register TODAY at www.worldtrivianight.com! It’s a huge fundraiser for ‘Champions for Children’ (over half a million dollars raised over the last 10 years). Our humble team, ‘Bob’s Big Brain’ will be back, trying to best our 15th place showing for the past 2 years. See you November 2nd at the Aberdeen Pavilion!

One night only…this Wednesday…promises to be the best girl’s night out, like, EVER!! Its called ‘What a Girl Wants’ , a fundraiser for the Ottawa chapter of the Canadian Liver Foundation. The Westin Hotel will be the hotspot with one lively event, where you can mix and mingle, enjoy delicious food, and get hooked up with the latest fashions, beauty treatments, jewellery and handbags! I will be there, probably never very far away from anything chocolate. For more information about ‘What a Girl Wants’, go to www.liver.ca!

Be careful what you wish for……..
Last Friday my husband Rob and I had dinner in the market then went to get the car at the city parking lot, where ‘lo and behold’, there was Ottawa Senator Mike Fisher at the parking payment machine! I of course immediately ran away. Not sure why, maybe its because I was worried about saying something completely unintelligible, which happens when I meet certain famous people. Rob had to go to the payment machine so he and Mike Fisher chatted away about this and that….play-offs, injuries, etc etc. I finally re-appeared only to see Mike Fisher drive away in a big black SUV. Sheesh. I missed my opportunity to say something to him like…..hmmm…what a sunny day it was today and tomorrow’s forecast looks good too.

Speaking of the Senators, the regular season starts this week and everyone is SO pumped about it , they have been incredible in the pre-season!! GO SENS GO !! It starts Wednesday night in T.O against our favourite rivals, the Maple Laffs. Keep listening to BOB FM, on the ‘Morning After’ we will be giving away tickets for Thursday night’s home opener against, yes, once again, the ‘Maple Laffs’. We look forward to another great year, and remember, if you are stuck in traffic behind Ray Emery, he always has the right of way.

Sssh don't move

My husband and I went for a drive on a backwoods road in the Gatineau Hills and this guy just appeared. I fumbled to grab my camera and get a picture and he stuck around just long enough for this shot. What a beautiful deer!

Its Never Too Early for Blue Rodeo

Blue Rodeo in the Byward Market! Canada's favourite band rocked 'Canada AM' to promote their new CD, 'Small Miracles'. Never thought I would see Greg Keelor up and awake at 8 o'clock in the morning. The new CD is great, its true Blue Rodeo, with upbeat Jim Cuddy songs matched by Greg Keelor's more complex and introspective tunes.





Jim Cuddy meets with fans

Jim thinks Greg is funny

(above) Greg and Jim do the interview thing on Canada AM

Live Bands for Breakfast

Blue Rodeo is coming to our own backyard! This Friday, Blue Rodeo puts on a live outdoor concert right here in the Byward Market, on York Street, during the breakfast hour! How cool is that. Blue Rodeo will be, like, just one street over from where I work. You should come on over, the show is free to the public and the band is going to introduce new songs from their upcoming album ‘Small Miracles’. The crowd will start gathering around 6:30am. I think every day should start with a free live concert. There would be a lot less grouchy people in the workplace, if you got to stop and see a live band on the way to work every day. Dancing in the streets in your white blouse and skirt or your suit and tie, clapping along to live music, trying not to spill your Tim Hortons, yeah…..that’s a great way to start a day. I think I’ll suggest that one to the mayor. I can’t think of one reason why he wouldn’t go for it.

One of the things we love about our pets, is the way their personalities change over the years….just like people. My dog Hudson, the tv-watching dog, has just picked up a new habit. Maybe he saw it on tv. Hudson now gets my attention by tapping me on the shoulder. When he wants something, oh…I don’t know, maybe a cookie, or a sandwich, he now just lifts his paw and taps me on the shoulder while I’m sitting at the computer. He just did it now. That’s why I’m writing about it. I have to go for a minute, Hudson wants a piece of garlic bread.

OK. I’m back. Now my dog has garlic breath.

Did you get your Bruce Springsteen tickets? I hope you fared well. When you think about it, you’re not only getting one of the best rock ‘n roll shows around, you’re also getting 2 tv stars too. Max Weinberg on drums … star of the Conan O’Brien Show. Steve van Zant on guitar and vocals. Star of ‘The Sopranos’. (he played Tony’s loyal buddy Silvio). Speaking of Steve van Zant, Bruce Springsteen has a couple of nicknames for him. ‘Little Steven’, and ‘Miami Steve’. Bruce started calling him Miami Steve when they were kids in New Jersey. He got the name because he and his family went to Miami once.

And now….. a completely useless fact. Richard Gere’s middle name is ‘Tiffany’. Go ahead. Bring that one up at the next party.

Date with THE BOSS!!!

Gentlemen, start your engines! Ladies, start your engines! Everyone, start your engines! Then start your computers, charge up your phones, make sure you have gas in the car, maybe even a lawn chair and a sleeping bag. Its MEGA CONCERT ticket buying time once again!! At least I ‘think’ it will be. I’m pretty sure it will be. I am, of course, talking about none other than BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND, coming to Scotiabank Place on Sunday October 14th and the tickets go on sale at 10 am MONDAY SEPT 17TH!!! What to do, what to do? Hope you have the ‘fastest finger’ on the phones? Or the ‘highest speed’ internet? What about doing the old fashioned thing, calling in sick and lining up outside Sports Experts? If I’m not mistaken, the last time Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band played the Corel Centre (as it was called in 2003), tickets sold out in 71 minutes, which I believe is still a record. And if you have never seen Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band live in concert, believe me when I tell you, outside of your wedding day, the birth of your children and grandchildren, and the unconditional love of pets, and maybe Christmas, that there is no greater joy on the face of the earth than a Bruce Springsteen concert. And I am not one to exaggerate.

Dogs Would Rather Eat Cheese Than Say Cheese

What a great day!! It was so amazing to see all the wonderful supporters of the Ottawa Humane Society and of course the dogs too – for the 19th annual Humane Society Wiggle Waggle Walk-a-thon! I had a great time sharing MC duties with A Channel’s Kurt Stoodley. Give yourselves a big pat on the back (or on the head), over $127,000 raised for the shelter!! I wish I could have taken a photo of each and every dog at the event. But dogs just don’t sit still! Lol….Anyway, here are some pictures from the day…enjoy!

The Arboretum Goes to the Dogs

We’re wiggling and waggling again!! Pictured above: Ottawa Police Chief Vern White and Hudson (my dog adopted from the Humane Society). Please join HONOURARY CHAIR of this year’s Humane Society Wiggle Waggle Walkathon, Ottawa Police Chief Vern White, along with about 1300 dogs and even more people this Sunday at the Arboretum! Chief White has two dogs, Macy and Ari. Ari was in fact adopted from the Ottawa Humane Society! I hope to get some photos of Chief White and his dog at the ‘Wiggle Waggle’ this Sunday. It’s a great day for the whole family and a very important fundraiser for the Humane Society, so please download a pledge sheet and we’ll see you Sunday!! All info is on the ‘pet friendly’ section of this website, or go to http://www.ottawahumane.ca/!

I was wearing white pants yesterday and someone told me that you’re not allowed to wear white pants after Labour Day. Is that still true? The person who told me I couldn’t wear white pants after Labour Day was wearing shorts and sandals. So, I could’ve worn a bathing suit to work, with a hoodie, high heels, and leg warmers, and that would have all been fine, as long as I wasn’t wearing white pants because it was after Labour Day.

Ottawa Senators goalie Ray Emery got into a scuffle on the 417 yesterday while driving his Hummer to hockey practice. Isn’t that now considered the official start of the Senators new season?

Being such a tv-aholic, I’m really looking forward to the new tv season. But there are so many programs that I can’t watch because I didn’t watch all the episodes last year, so I have no idea what’s going on…like ‘Heroes’, ‘Lost’, ‘Prison Break’….and I know I’ve been given umpteen chances to watch the entire season of these shows…but there just aren’t enough hours in the day. In today’s world you can watch tv shows on the internet, on your phone, your ipod, there are even refrigerators with tv’s built into the door. We were visiting a friend in Barrhaven and his neighbour had a big HD tv in the garage. He was watching a re-run of ‘24’. Must be catching up before the new fall season.

Ottawa Citizen movie critic and reporter for Bob’s ‘Morning After’, Jay Stone, is at the Toronto Film Festival. He has to watch a whack of movies, write reviews, the usual stuff. But on occasion he’s also in the same room as Brad Pitt! I don’t think he’s as impressed by that as much as I am. Come to think of it, I recently had to remind Jay that he once dined next to Angelina Jolie. He had forgotten about that. Jay is more impressed with someone who has a kitchen with recessed pot lights.

When in Rome...Actually, We Didn't Go to Rome

Here are some pictures from my trip to Europe. Top left to right: scared guy in Bellagio Italy, 'Cows' near Switzerland/France border, 'Cow' in Lucerne Switzerland, 'Swans' in Lucerne Switzerland, 'Cows' near Eiger Mountain Switzerland, 'Goats' near Eiger Mountain Switzerland, and 'Cat' in Amsterdam.

As you can see, I saw quite a bit of Europe, all the tourist attractions and landmarks! I've been told that thousands of people have seen the Cat of Amsterdam.

LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THEM!!!!!

JUST LOOK AT WHAT YOU CAN FIND IN THE MARKET!!!!!!!

Just got back from my first-ever trip to Europe! It was a lot of fun. I’ll talk a bit more about that later. Right now I’d like to highlight the 2 giant vegetables I bought right here in the byward market this week. The cucumber, which JR is holding up for the camera, is over 15 inches long, and the zucchini is 25 inches long and weighs about 15 pounds. That's Hammer holding that baby up for all to see. And the market vendors tell me there’s a whole lot more where that came from! Can you believe it?

Since Everyone Else is Gone Too.......

I'm on holidaze!
see you in late August!
- sandy

Say!!! Thats Great Corn!!!!

Is everyone in the world on holidays right now? It seems like every time I send an email to someone, I get the ‘out of office reply’! Even when I send an email to friends who don’t have jobs.
Is it really possible to completely step away from your email? Even while you’re on holidays, if you see a computer, are you not just a ‘bit’ tempted to log on for a second and check your messages? I try and try and try to ignore my email when I’m on vacation. But what if someone is sending me a message that Bruce Springsteen is putting on a secret show tonight at Barrymores? Or someone has sent me a really cute video montage of dogs doing funny things? Or a recipe? Or a backyard photo of a woodpecker? Admittedly sometimes the curiosity is just too much. I think I proved that when I paid 100 pesos to access a computer in an internet café in Isla Mujeres Mexico. Yes, I did check my email that day. However, I did not RETURN any email. That would lead people to think I was, in fact, checking my email.

Zowie! Gadzooks! I never thought this would happen to me………..
I have always been the ‘last’ person people have trusted with any kind of cooking tip. However, I had to share this one with listeners and since then….the feedback has been amazing. A friend of ours, Bruce Simpson (and his lovely fiancée Sara) joined us for dinner at our place last week. At one time Bruce owned a restaurant, and he really knows his way around the kitchen. So he took over in MY kitchen, which made me quite happy!!!! For an appetizer, Bruce served us each a piece of fresh local corn on the cob, and it was the best corn I’d ever tasted! Here’s what he did:
-husked the corn
-splashed on a bit of soya sauce and fresh lime juice (don’t raise an eyebrow, just do it, trust me!!)
- MICROWAVED on high power for about 5 minutes (this cooks 2 – 3 cobs of corn, depending on your microwave)
- Once cooked, he rolled it in melted butter and served it to us and WOW!!! Its was unbelievable! Bruce is of the opinion that corn-on-the-cob is the ONLY food that actually tastes BETTER by being microwaved!! This new piece of information has since been welcomed by two groups of people: the ‘COOK CORN IN BOILING SALTED WATER FOR 20 MINUTES’ people…and the ‘NEED TO EAT SOMETHING FAST’ people. I will never boil corn again. And I may not eat anything else this summer. Except ice cream.

Are you going to see the new Simpsons movie? I can’t wait to see it. I was kinda disappointed that they didn’t have the ‘midnight premiere’ of ‘The Simpsons Movie’. I thought they did that every time a movie was so highly anticipated. I definitely would have been one of the people in line at the theatre to see the movie at 12:01 am. Like just about everyone else, I love the Simpsons. My favourite character tends to change from Bart to Homer then back to Bart then over to Marge, and often my favourite character is Lisa. Maybe our favourite Simpson character is determined by who we can most identify with. That must be why I love Milhouse. So mis-understood!

Everyone Loves A Good Mime Artist

Fans of Bruce Springsteen, it’s the news we’ve all been waiting for! OK..it’s the rumour we’ve all been waiting for. According to www.backstreets.com, the official fan site for ‘the Boss’ (which he fully endorses) , rumour has it that Bruce is going to have a new album out in the fall WITH the ‘E Street Band’ (yay!!!) and a North American tour will follow! I know people who have seen Bruce Springsteen in concert about 150 times. I feel like a novice, having seen the Boss only around 26 times. I used to have a lot of the concert ticket stubs in my purse, but my purse was stolen in Montreal so the thief has them now. He’s probably bragging about being at those Bruce Springsteen shows, showing his friends the ticket stubs. What a liar.

I’m glad to see that the new concert festival site, LeBreton Flats, is going to be used for more than Bluefest shows. The Scorpions are playing at LeBreton Flats at the end of August! I’ve never seen the Scorpions but they have a huge following. And if people were complaining about the noise at Bluesfest…………

Bob’s ‘Movies on the Beach’ is back at Westboro Beach on Friday July 27th and the movie, as chosen by Bob’s listeners, will be ‘Planet of the Apes’. The original 1968 version with Charleton Heston. Critics still say that this movie has one of the best endings of all time. It is a bit of a surprise ending. I won’t give it away if you haven’t seen the movie. It involves Suzanne Pleshette. Just kidding.

It’s the middle of July and I was at a store today looking for a pair of shorts. I was pretty happy to see that the shorts were on sale! Half price! But then I saw why. They needed room for the new fall and winter clothes coming in. Its July!!! I haven’t even taken the snow brush out of my car yet from last winter.

There’s a mime in the byward market who has had the same shtick for years now. He arrives at his spot on George Street, then uses the reflection of a store-front window to apply white paint all over his face. Then he stands really still, while grasping onto a badminion racquet. Or maybe it’s a squash racquet, I’m not really sure. He stands there like a statue, holding the racquet in mid-swing. Doesn’t move. Except I’ve seen him break for snacks or lunch, or just walk around to loosen up his legs. I don’t know how much money he makes standing like a statue holding a badminton racquet. I hope he makes enough to afford a birdie and a net someday.

Bluesfest is the Bestfest!

Last night was my third trip to Bluesfest and I just can’t stop raving about how much fun it is. And how LUCKY we are to have this fantastic festival right here in Ottawa! So far I’ve seen Bob Dylan, Joel Plaskett, the White Stripes, Steve Miller, and various bands on some of the smaller stages, and tonight its Blue Rodeo…..tomorrow night, INXS….phew- and to top it all off, ‘The Village People’ on Sunday! How can you beat that? I absolutely close my ears when I hear people complain about Bluesfest. Don’t get me wrong. I like to complain about lots of things, but I never complain about Bluesfest. Again this year the ‘lawn chair people’ are battling the ‘standers’. People are also complaining about the line-ups, the location, the noise, the weather, the sun’s glare off the river, the grass not being soft enough, the beer cup lids not being tight enough, the people in the VIP section looking too happy, the hand-washing water outside the porta-potties not being cold enough, the sun going down too early, the sun going down too late, why are bikes not allowed inside the venue, the tiny tom donuts have too much sugar on them, there’s mustard on my shoe and I didn’t put it there. Geez!! We have the most amazing festival in North America right in our backyard, so stop complaining!!! Now I’m complaining about all the complaining. See, I told you, I also like to complain.


Hey, if you’re looking for something fun to do on Sunday besides Bluesfest, head out to Almonte!! Not only is Almonte the top spot for UFO sighting, its also the host of ‘Celtfest’! Its all about live entertainment with jigs and reels and all things ‘celtic’, food, beer, and its absolutely free, (not the food and beer, but the admission) at Gemmill Park from noon to 8 pm! Senators Army Captain Ryan Guthrie is one of the organizers so its got to be good! For more info go to www.almonteceltfest.com! Who knows….after a few hours at ‘Celtfest’, you too may just see a UFO! Let me know if you do! I haven’t heard a good UFO story for a while.

I am now an officially ordained minister. I filled out all the proper paperwork at www.themonastery.org, site of the Universal Life Church Monastery. I have received my certificate with my new title, Reverend Sandy Sharkey. I now have the right to perform baptisms, weddings, any legal ceremony I choose, with the exception of circumcision. For that, I would need to fill out more forms.
You know that expression, ‘if you love your tv so much, why don’t you marry it’? Or…’if you love your truck so much, why don’t you marry it’….etc…well, now you can! Let me know if you’d like me to marry you to someone or something. The sky’s the limit with the Universal Life Church. Or, better yet, go on their website and fill out the paperwork, then perform the wedding yourself if you like! All the best!

Doe! A Deer! Two female Deer!

Bam Bam Baby # 1 Bam Bam Baby # 2

Remember back in December, when the Ontario Ministry of the Environment seized Bam Bam the deer from Greely couple Bruce and Christina Straby, and brought her to a zoo? (the Strabys had rescued her from the side of the road as a seriously ill tiny day-old fawn) There was no center for wildlife rehabilitation, so the Strabys kept Bam Bam on a hobby farm where she thrived quite nicely, until MNR officers seized her last winter. After much public outcry, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty himself apologized to the Strabys, and Bam Bam was returned to the farm around Christmas-time. Well, lo and behold, for the short time Bam Bam was in a local zoo back in December – she was placed with a male white-tailed deer and guess what….last week she gave birth to twins! I had the pleasure of visiting the little babies this morning. Two tiny female fawns that weigh about 3 pounds each. Bam Bam is an excellent mother, she hides them in the grass and does what comes naturally. I took some photos (using a telephoto so I didn’t disturb them). They must be the cutest critters I have ever seen.


‘Dancing with the Stars’ comes to town next week! Did you watch the show? I tried to pretend that I didn’t watch it, but I did. I must admit I got completely caught up in it, with some pretty hot moves week after week from Apolo Anton Ohno, Layla Ali and Joey Fatone. Even that Beverly Hills 90210 guy was pretty good. Some of the dancers will be here at Scotiabank Place on Tuesday, and…guess what? You have a chance to be on the stage too!! ‘Dancing With the Stars;’ is looking for a local couple to strut their stuff at Scotiabank Place before the big show on Tuesday. Think you know how to ‘cha cha’? Local couples are invited to contact Melissa from the Fred Astaire Dance Studio at 613-567-3237, for a chance to audition this Friday night – and who knows, you could be on ‘Dancing with the Stars’ Ottawa edition next Tuesday! P.s. I will be one of the judges. What qualifies me to be a dance judge? Absolutely nothing. I just like watching it.

‘Animal Fest’ starts on Friday, 3 days of fun at Big Sky Animal Sanctuary in Kemptville. For details, check the website www.bigskyranch.ca! BOB FM will be there on Saturday, there’s a full line-up of entertainment and prizes and food and tons of things going on, not to mention the animals! All proceeds to ‘Animal Fest’ go to help out the unwanted and abused horses, dogs, goats, cats, chickens, and pigs at Big Sky, where animals go for a second chance. I will be the MC on Saturday, and my good buddy Chris Day from CTV Ottawa will be your host on Sunday. We’d love to see you, come on out for a day on the farm!

Busy times here in town, wow, its also Bluesfest time again! I LOVE Bluesfest, there’s something about seeing live bands in the summer under the stars. Some of the best conversations you can ever have are when you are in the porta-potti line-up. I may try to catch Bob Dylan, definitely Blue Rodeo, the Solid Gold Dancers, Ten Years After, and everything I can possibly watch on the Black Sheep Stage. Kudos to the people who fork out the big $$$$ to be in the VIP section right near the stage. Last year a friend of mine tried to sneak in to the VIP section, she’s a wonderful upstanding high tech computer whiz, blonde, beautiful, owns her own home, a car, she’s awesome, and she got turfed from Bluesfest for trying to sneak into the VIP section. Do not try this. I believe she is still banned from Bluesfest

Greetings from Camp Wenterzumihalinenrowboatin

School’s out!!! That has to be in the top 3 ‘best moments ever’, next to a visit from Santa Claus, and finding a 20 dollar bill in your pocket.
After the final school bell, it usually took me about 2 days to announce my first ‘Mom! There’s nothing to do’!
I can’t get over all the day camps that are out there for kids this summer. When I was a kid, camp was camp, the name of the camp started with a ‘W’ and ended with an ‘N’, and there was about 32 letters in between, and there were bunk beds and rowboats and campfires and sunburns and mosquitoes. Nowadays, there are hockey camps, soccer camps, ballet camps, art camps, science fiction camps (uh oh), animal husbandry camps, woodworking camps, cooking camps, swimming camps, weight loss camps, astronomy camps. I would believe it if someone told me that there are also Nintendo camps, and for those in the Ottawa area, how about a ‘light rail transit’ camp.

The first of five BOB FM ‘Movies on the Beach’ is this Friday at dusk, at Westboro Beach, and as voted by the wonderful BOB listeners, there will be a screening of ‘JAWS’! Bring the whole family out, its FREE! We think it’s a good idea to introduce JAWS to a whole new generation of people who will be forever afraid to dip their big toe into an ocean. After I saw JAWS back in 1975, it took me a long time to go swimming in Mississippi Lake near Carleton Place. And my brothers were like everyone else’s brothers who insisted on popping out of the water and acting just like a shark, so the girls would all scream at the top of our lungs. We did this every day for the entire month of July in 1975. It never got boring.

My husband went clothes shopping yesterday. Something he does once every 2 years, whether he needs to or not. He came home with two shirts, that are exactly the same. Same color, same style, exactly the same shirt. Two of them. He liked them so much, he bought two. This was just one of those moments that really define the differences between men and women.

We have a masked marauder at our place. Masked marauder. That’s often the way newspaper columnists describe a raccoon. I woke up Sunday morning to a front lawn covered in garbage. The raccoon had a great night, there were ice cream containers to lick clean, steak bones to gnaw on, potato peels, he even chewed on a Visa bill. But he definitely hit the jackpot with the corn on the cob. Raccoons have hands just like people and they love to eat corn on the cob. Its quite cute, actually, they eat corn on the cob with their hands just like people.
I checked on Youtube to see if there’s a video of a raccoon eating corn, and would you believe, out of 4 million videos, there isn’t ONE of a raccoon eating corn?! Can you believe it? There is, however, a Youtube video of a raccoon eating Kraft cheese slices.

Happy Canada Day! I love Canada Day. What a party. Wear red! Go downtown! Shout and cheer! Hey wait a minute, didn’t we just do this during the Stanley Cup play-offs….

One scream-fest to another

Taking pictures of butterflies is a fun way to get out of house-work or getting an oil change.

Just got back from holidays. The Senators didn’t win the Stanley Cup but I’d like to be the one millionth person to say THANK YOU to the team for so much excitement. I had to take holidays just to recover from all the screaming and the shouting. Maybe I shouldn’t scream and shout quite that much.

My week off was quite un-eventful. At the cottage, I weeded gardens, went for a few boat rides, chased a deer away from the road, shooed a snapping turtle away from the road, basically spent a lot of time keeping things off the road. That was about it. Oh yeah, and I got hit by lightning. Well, sort of. I was standing in the kitchen, wiping excess pina colada off the kitchen counter, with an electrical storm brewing nearby. Suddenly I heard a huge C-R-A-C-K. Then I realized that the ‘cr-r-a-c-k’ noise was actually coming from my body. This made me scream at the top of my lungs. My scream was then followed by a giant thundercrack, the house shook, and my husband ran into the room. He knew something was wrong because normally I scream AFTER a thundercrack. This time I screamed BEFORE the thundercrack. As it turned out, I had been a conducter for an electrical surge caused by lightning. I had no idea this could happen while you’re in your cottage wiping pina colada off the counter. For the next 15 minutes, I was a bit zombie-like but that was about it. I’m still waiting for some sort of super-power to kick in. I would love to be able to start the barbeque with my eyes.

THE PARTY MUST CONTINUE!!!!

NEVER GIVE UP!!!
Ok….so the Senators are down 3 games to 1. Its not impossible! That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Today is Mike Fisher’s birthday. Wonder what gifts he’s going to get. Thank you to the listeners who called to suggest that Mike gets a Stanley Cup. Pretty good idea!

I had a theory about national anthem singers. I always thought that the best anthem singers were the people who were classically trained, ie opera singers. Pop singers always seem to destroy the anthem because they ‘try to make it their own’. Put their own little twist on it. Well, I was wrong! I thought Alanis Morrissette’s versions of both the American and Canadian anthems last night were the best yet! She genuinely seemed happy to be back in her hometown, belting out the words for all the world to see. Well, all of North America. Well, ok, how about all of Canada. And 30 of 40 American viewers.

Speaking of which, how much more ‘sucking up to NBC’ can we possibly do during the NHL play-offs? Having our games switched to Saturday AFTERNOONS to accommodate NBC was one thing….but I couldn’t believe it last night when CBC actually SWITCHED OVER to the NBC coverage of between-period chatter…yeah sure, Don Cherry was a guest on NBC but I like Don Cherry on CBC, not on NBC. I find he’s far too polite on NBC, he’s out of his element, he even wears clothes that match on NBC. He doesn’t pop a vein on NBC. That’s not the Don Cherry we all know and love.

Hey, are there really other things going on besides the Stanley Cup play-offs? Huge congratulations to everyone who worked tirelessly over the weekend – AND raised tons of cash during the CHEO telethon , as well as the ‘Weekend to End Breast Cancer’. These two events really put things into perspective, don’t they?

Our ‘Morning After’ correspondent Rick Currie has been doing a great job covering the various rallies and parties and ‘Red Zone’ rambunctious-ness (is that a word?) over the past few weeks during the play-offs. But, soon it will all be over, and we need to find some new assignments for Rick and his microphone. If you have any suggestions, email us mornings@939bobfm.com
For the most part, Rick has been interviewing people that have been drinking heavily. We hope that he is still capable of making out what a sober person is saying.

Tomorrow morning, the swans are being released onto the Rideau River! Yes, the ‘royal swans’ have been penned up for two years now, not seeing freedom last summer because someone decided there was the danger of avian flu or something like that……..
A word of advice, from someone who has had this experience. When I was a kid I used to ride my bike to Billings Bridge and bring a bag of bread with me to feed the swans right near the bridge. It always started off great, first the ducks would come for their pieces of bread, then the swans would show up. Then, before long, all heck would break loose. The experience would often end with me being chased across the lawn by an angry swan. Do not ever show favouritism towards one swan, give every swan equal amounts of bread, or you too will end up being chased across the lawn by a really mad swan. Just a word of advice. But those swans sure are beautiful.