I was lucky enough to be able to go to a conference in Dublin in August. I had never been to Ireland, and was very excited. ~~In the cab on the way into Dublin from the airport, all eager and full of anticipation for what the visit might hold, I had a lively discussion with the cabbie. Almost the first thing he said to me was to warn me that I'd be hearing the f-bomb word a lot, and not to be upset by it as it's just something the Irish use for emphasis, and not a word used to show anger or aggression....

I never would have believed it, but I managed to wear four inch stiletto heels for six hours last week. That's a rarity for me, as I usually don't wear heels quite that high. And I even managed to dance in 'em for about 3 hours as well. This all took place at a 'White Linen' boat cruise during the Caribana festivities here in Toronto. The people I was going with insisted I 'suck it up' and don the high heels, over my protestations that I'd rather wear something a little more comfortable, especially...

A Costco virgin, that is. Yep, I was about the only person in Toronto (or so it seemed) who wasn't a member of Costco and therefore able to shop at the popular bulk item store. When a special was recently offered for new members, I took the plunge. First stop was the membership desk, where a truly atrocious photograph of me was taken and permanently affixed to my membership card. Next, I entered the store, thinking I would just get some pop and bug spray that I needed. Yeah, right! Everyone I've...

Do high heat and rotting garbage go together? They shouldn't. But they do in Toronto at the moment....this is day four of a city-wide garbage strike.

Summer has finally arrived in Toronto. After a cool and overcast spring, the good weather arrived on Sunday (25 C/77 F). And got hotter. Today is calling for 31 C/88 F, feeling like 38 C/100 F with the humidity. So what do the City workers do? Go on strike. No garbage pickup, pools are closed, daycare centres are closed etc etc. The picketing...

Just got my mobile phone bill covering the time I was in England at the TPF meetup. I managed to incur international roaming charges etc to the tune of about $400. Yoiks! Time to call the service provider and see if I can convince them to knock some off of that bill. I may even have to resort to