Kitchen Reno Continued...

It is so close now, I can almost taste it (the water from my new kitchen sink that is!). We have entered into the final phase of the kitchen reno. Here is a shot of the in-laws starting the tile work for the back splash.Yes, that's right. That is metal tiles we are using as our back splash.Our sink, FINALLY, being installed.Now that's a kitchen sink!

Happy Birthday!

Today is my nephew Dave's 19th birthday. Happy Birthday, welcome to the age of majority! Dave is not home for his birthday this year. He is up north working for the summer planting trees. He called last week to say hello. He says he works five on and one off. He lives in a tent city with all the other tree planters. He has to supply the tent, they supply the food and transportation. He says they are up by six for breakfast, bus leaves at 7am sharp. They drive an hour along a dirt road, then another 45 minutes along no road. Then its tree planting all day until six when the bus picks you up and returns you to camp. Then dinner and bed, cause you're too tired to do anything else. Its is advised not to have food stuff in your tent or risk a visit from the bears. It has even snowed a couple of times. Sounds like a lot of hard work, but he definitely seemed to be enjoying it. Good on ya!

Happy birthday buddy!

The Kitchen Saga Continues

Finally! After 4 weeks of waiting, and using our bath tub as a kitchen sink, our granite counter tops finally arrived today and were installed.Cutting the hole for the sink.Stainless steel double sink, no problem!Our new granite counter top installed and looking pretty.

Sam in Japan Update

Check it out, Sam in Japan has a new post.

To see whats new with Sam, click on: http://samiaminjapan.blogspot.com/

Enjoy.

The Weekend Is Here!

Finally some nice weather! Welcome back spring! And since I'm off for the next six days, I will certainly drink to that!

Our Saturday morning ride didn't quite turn out as we had hoped.

Tony was a last minute scratch due to some jack ass throwing a couple of rocks through two windows of his SUV. Not a great way to start your day.

Which only left my brother Barry and my nephew Aaron. (notice my brother looks like he should be on the beach, instead of on a mountain bike ride).Just as we were about to start our ride, Barry discovered his tire was flat. Funny, cause he rode his bike to our meeting spot. Another scratch. We sent him home on his bike with our pump.

So our group ride turned into a ride of two, but we picked up another guy along the trails. He had never done the DVP before and we showed him the trails. Arron even stopped at the jump track (an area in the middle of the woods built into a BMX type course with tons of jumps and banked turns) and tried his luck.All in all, it turned out to be not such a bad ride after all. It was a lot tougher then I thought it would be. It was a long winter. Time to get back to work....

Warp Speed

A Barrie-area teenager probably spent the rest of his holiday weekend explaining to his parents why the OPP allegedly clocked him at 239 km/h along an 80 km/h highway in a car filled with teenagers.
Yup, he was reportedly one kilometre shy of three times the posted speed limit.
A Huronia West OPP officer spotted a black 2000 Lincoln LLS along Hwy. 26, just north of Barrie, at 1:50 a.m. Sunday.
"(The officer) saw (the speed) and couldn't believe it," Kinney said. "It was just a whoosh."
Speedometers in most cars, including police cruisers, only go up to 220 km/h.
The officer followed the car and watched it speed past another car on a blind hill before pulling it over in Midhurst, police said.
If the car had crashed at that speed it would have been a devastating collision, police said.
"You would not have walked away from that," Kinney said.
The car, seized under the new racing legislation for seven days, was registered to the boy's father.
The boy's driving privileges are also suspended under the legislation.
He is charged with racing, careless driving and failing to surrender his licence.
He will appear in a Wasaga Beach court June 17.

Wow. Now that is stupid fast.

courtesy of http://www.torontosun.com

Trouble in the Beach

I went out for my ride this morning and this is what I came across, Police tape everywhere. So I rode up to the first cop I could find, which wasn`t hard considering they were everywhere. I told him I lived in the area and that me and my wife are down here all the time walking the dogs. I was told there had been an assault of some sort last night at about midnight. And then he asks if I was in the area at the time. Yeah, yeah, yeah ... I know what you are thinking ... he just wanted to know if I might have seen or heard anything. Thankfully, I was at work at the time. And unfortunately that was all I could get out of him. He did say to check the regular media outlets for more information. I did just that when I got home, but since it happened after midnight it wasn`t in today's papers. Nothing so far on the Internet. I guess I will have to wait for the evening news at 6.
I will keep you posted...

Saturday Morning Ride

Here are some shots from our Saturday morning ride. This week we were in Tony's end of the world. The ride was his house to Port Credit and back. We even beat the rain and made it back to Tony's place by 9am. The plan is to add a little more distance every ride. So far so good.

Next weekend we are going to drag the mountain bike out of the basement and hit the Don Valley for a ride. Anyone interested in joining us, drop me a line.

Hobbes goes to the Vet

Hobbes was back at the Vet's office the other day for a check up. He has been having trouble with one of his right front leg. Every time we play Frisbee, he ends up limping for the next 2 days. Turns out Hobbes has chronic arthritis in his right front elbow. Which means it is something that he will have for the rest of his life and could put a serious damper to his career as the world best Frisbee catcher. No hard playing for the next little while, but thankfully swimming is recommended. Good thing we live in the beach. Here are a couple of pictures from out visit. Hobbes wait for the Vet.Calvin keeping an eye on things.

Rugby Anyone?

Yesterday I had the chance to catch one of my nephew Joshua's high school rugby games. I didn't have a clue what was going on. But what I did learn is that the kid can take a hit, and he can definitely dish it out as well. Go Riverdale rugby go!

Busted!

When I got home from my bike ride this morning, I found a notice in my mailbox from the City of Toronto, or more specifically Toronto Animal Services. It was a warning for not have a dog licence for my two dogs, Calvin and Hobbes. And wouldn't you know it the guy was just up the street. Now I wasn't too upset about having to pay for the licences, all part of living in the big city and all. But what bothered me was how the hell did the City of Toronto know that I had two dogs? Especially since I have never had them licenced before.

So as I was paying for my two dog licences I asked the guy. And this is what he told me. Get this ... Last year the City sent student summer workers out all across the city to canvas the city and to knock on doors and listen to hear for the sounds of animals. Apparently in my case, when they knocked on my door, the heard both my mutts barking and made note of it. And today it was time to pay the piper.

Now like I mentioned earlier, I don't mind paying, especially when you get caught. But it just goes to show you how sneaky this city can be when it wants your money ...

Racing News: Toronto Indy Back For 2009

It looks like Toronto's Indy car race will roar its way back into town in 2009 after it was announced Thursday that Andretti Green, which is co-owned by Michael Andretti, has purchased the assests of the Grand Prix Association of Toronto.
The first event is scheduled for next summer and marks the return of the popular, and profitable, race after it was dropped this year following the amalgamation of the Indy Racing League and Champ Car.
It's estimated that the event contributes $50 million to the local economy.
Andretti co-owns Andretti Green Racing with Kim Green and Kevin Savoree.
"Toronto is a place that I have always loved," Andretti said in a press release. "It's a great racetrack and a great venue. Racing there was always the highlight of my year.I was fortunate enough to win there seven times as a driver and all of those wins were special."
Happy days are here again! Good work to everybody for getting it done!
courtesy of http://www.citynews.ca

HA Haaa!

An OPP officer is charged with going too fast in his cruiser.
Peterborough County OPP Const. Lloyd Tapp was in provincial offences court this week facing two charges of racing.
The charges were laid last April and stem from a March 25 incident.
Court records state Tapp, 43, is charged with driving at least 50 km/h over the speed limit along Hwy. 115, just south of Peterborough.
Officers from an outside unit, the central region traffic and marine section, charged the officer in April.
Tapp has been moved to administrative duties at the detachment. He will be back in court June 9.
In a Police Cruiser no less! I hope they throw the book at him and impound that car! Now that's what I call Karma baby!!
courtesy of http://www.torontosun.com

Random Shots from the Weekend

I had some computer issues this weekend. So here are some shots I meant to post earlier. Enjoy.

"You talking to me?"

Me and the missus.Not only was Sunday Mother Day. My nephew Aaron finally got his birthday cake and my other nephew returned from three weeks in Japan visiting his sister. Here are some shots, enjoy.

Pssssst, Wanna Buy a Race Car?

... or how about an official Pace Car? ... or how about one of those Race Safety Trucks? Well here is your chance. All of Champ Car's assets are set to be auctioned off June 3rd in Indianapolis, Indiana. Check out the details at: http://www.njgallivan.com/auction_detail.php?ID=383972&v=g#vGallery

Greetings from South Africa

Got an e-mail from my brother in South Africa the other day. He wanted to let everyone know that all is well and that Daniela and the baby were both doing fine. He also sent along some shots .... enjoy.