JB's Warehouse & Curio Emporium

Given the variety of farms surrounding Guelph and the presence of Ontario Agricultural College , it's not surprising to find animal sanctuaries. When Alison and Nadia discovered the Donkey Sanctuary of Canada , we had to go on a roadtrip. We couldn't have chosen a nicer day or destination. Blue skies, pleasant temperatures, a serene setting of rolling hills, pastures and a pond stock with large, colourful fish. Strolling around the grounds, we weren't 100% sure if we wanted to return to the city. My previous exposure to donkeys was limited to a book I had as a kid, Donkey Donkey , notable for drawings of a farmer's fall that looked painful. We were surprised to find how docile most at the sanctuary were, several taking an afternoon siesta. The animals at the sanctuary were there from various reasons, including pets that outgrew the "cute" stage, mistreatment or work animals in retirement. Left: Brushes were provided to let visitors give the donkeys m...

I first stumbled upon the Elora Festival's book sale last year , after having brunch in Guelph with my friend Dayna. It was a sale Dad would have loved, as it combined three of his key qualifications for going crazy at such events: large selection, low prices and geriatric volunteers. Two sales Dad and I regularly attended during my childhood stick out in my mind: * Essex County Library sales. Besides the regular sales at each branch, there was at least one or two mass sales held every year in one of the loading docks at the Essex Civic Centre. We'd arrive early and wait in line until the hordes poured into the tight space. I tended to stock up on young adult lit or 1970s NHL guides. * Brandeis book sales. Held annually at Tel-Twelve Mall in suburban Detroit as part of a national series of fundraisers for Brandeis University, these were notable for seeing how fast Mom's eyes would roll as Dad quickly filled up K-Mart shopping carts full of ludicrously cheap books. W...

And then sample. And sample again. Welcome to the annual Good Food Festival. This year, I brought a carload of friends along to check out the vendors, the displays...but mostly the samples. Among the highlights was the Clamato booth, mixing up half-a-dozen types of cocktails. Due to the booze content, this was one of the few booths you had to pay for a sample at, but the price was so low it didn't matter much. Most of our group enjoyed the Hot Pickled Caesar, a mixture of hot sauce, vodka, pickle juice and horseradish, garnish with a pickle. The other boozy sample we enjoyed towards the end was a frozen Kahlua drink, which were like a slushy White Russian. Our vote for the oddest sign of the day, from a vendor selling balls for soups and such. For dirtiest product name, the hands-down winner was Grace Cock Seasoning. Left : We weren't impressed by the health claims or test of this tea. Right : But who can resist spinning a wheel of food safety? We wanted to ...

1,159: PLUNK YOUR MAGIC TWANGER FROGGY! Growing up, my father was full of wacky catchphrases, mostly gained from radio or TV shows from his childhood. This must be a genetic trait, as it takes little prompting for my sister and I to run off lines from, say, SCTV or Kids in the Hall . One radio show that seemed to stick with Dad was Smilin' Ed's Gang (aka The Buster Brown Show , after its sponsor). Running from 1944 to 1953 and hosted by Smilin' Ed McConnell , it featured stories and an array of animal characters . The latter included Midnight the Cat, who always said "Nice" (or,as Dad put it, "'Niiiiice', says Midnight"), Squeaky the Mouse and, most infamously, Froggy the Gremlin , a malevolent doll with a repetitive speech pattern. What got me to thinking about this was an entry at News from ME , which included a lengthy clip from Smilin' Ed's successor on television, veteran character actor Andy Devine (Smilin' Ed moved th...

Would Ralph Kramden send me to the moon for being tardy in celebrating the week now known as Administrative Professionals Week ? Most people would appreciate a little more than a bouquet of daisies in a coffee cup branded after an entertainer , especially when it is served up with the subserviant attitude implied in this ad ("the great women that helped you make it"). How many of these bouquets were dumped on the manager's head? Imagine the ad for the Mother's Day European Garden... Source : Time , April 25, 1977

On the way over to walk through Exhibition Place, we saw this sign through a basement window in the Scholastic building. It appeared to be a storeroom...or was it? What secrets truly lay in this black sheep of a room? The Princes' Gates...or Piazza Prince's Gates , as the area surrounding it is now known. Left: a fountain detail. Right: the floor of the piazza is laid with provincial mottos and stones showing the official provincial flora. Sadly, the territories are not deemed worthy enough to have a motto. We passed through the south end of the grounds, passing barracks and tugs, resting for a moment at seats left over from Exhibition Stadium . We then arrived at our main destination... Toronto's newest stadium, BMO Field is the home of Toronto FC. We joked that based on the sponsor's initials, it could easily gain the nickname "Bowel Movement". Somebody noticed a gate was open, so most of the group wandered in to take a look around. They r...

Last weekend's second group dinner moved north, to Seoul House on Dufferin, just south of Yorkdale. The grill was eager for our arrival, even if it was feeling a little blue. Our selection of ban chans (Korean side dishes). Clockwise from top left: kimchee (mildercompared to other versions I've had, but still good), shredded radish, bean sprouts, sliced fish cake, peanuts and anchovies (most grazed on the peanuts and left the fishies alone - I like these crunchy little creatures) and marinated eggplant. Left: steamed dumplings. We also ordered the fried version, both palate-pleasing. Right: A large plate of jap chae (sweet potato noodles). Hard to pull apart sometimes, but one of my favourite Korean dishes. Not as gummy as other places I've been to. We ordered four batches of kalbi for the grill. All slices had been removed from the bones and nicely marinated. This was the action at my end of the table... ...while the other end stirred away at a...

At Bairrada Churrasquiera on College St, the space is divided in two and I accidentally went into the wrong, classier-looking one on the left. Turned out I wasn't the only one who did this, which might have been an omen. I started off with the soup of the day, a cabbage soup that resembled a bland minestrone, thanks to stray pasta and beans. We shared a couple of plates of Queijo Português ("Portugeuse Cheese"), a bland white cheese that resembled fresh Mexican versions. I didn't notice the slight goat-cheese aftertaste that others did. The highlight of the evening arrived next: Chouriço Assado, which lived up to its English name, "Flaming Sausage". A giant sausage was lit and swirled around in a ceramic pig, with no verbal equivalent to "Opa!" The sausage itself was nicely seasoned and would have made a decent main pared with sides. We were disappointed by most of the mains. The grilled sardines (pictured on the left) were the ...