In Vino Veritas

This coming weekend our friend Lisa will be paying a visit to our trailer down in Niagara. Purpose - to visit as many wineries in one day as we possibly can. Lisa has never been on a wine tour before so this should be fun. She is back from Jordan and in desparate need of some R&R time. Today's pic is from an earlier tour Tara and I did on our own back in July of 2005 - July 15th to be exact.

This picture has a lot of good stuff in it. Our little yellow "taxi" - 2004 Chevy Aveo (which is paid for as of October this year...yipee!. The large wine goblet Tara is holding was given to us by my father back around 1993 or so. On the table is an assortment of cheeses, meats and so on. Of particular note is my favourite - Vienna Sausages from Grace Foods. Finally - we are on a picnic table right across from our favourite winery - Reif Estate (check them out here) I recommend their Pinot Noir. I have a bottle of the 2000 vintage waiting for a VERY special event.

I may blog about our tour this Sunday next week - this blog is taking on a more dynamic nature - so be it!

STAY THIRSTY!

Reflecting the fictional past...

If you don't know the show "Mad Men" this post may make no sense to you. They have a promotional program on their website that allows you to create a "stylized" version of your 1950's self. The picture here is what I turned out like. I could totally see myself drinking a martini and talking about the fashionable swim attire of the 1950's in front of a room of my fellow co-workers (all male of course) - really....I could!

Well - perhaps that is just a bit too much fiction for one day.

STAY THIRSTY (and if you live in Ontario....stay warm!)

Everthing is Irie in Jamaica

Ok - flashback to summer, 1970 and my first trip to Jamaica - where my mother comes from. I actually remember bits and pieces of this trip. One of my strong memories is the swimming. This picture was taken in the water right in front of the house my uncle had rented for this trip. It was in Discovery Bay - a beautiful spot that I revisited this past January. Nothing beats the warm water surrounding Jamaica....nothing! I do wish we could have some of that warmth here in Toronto soon - otherwise, this summer will be a bust!

The family trip to Jamaica in 1970 (all my uncles and aunts and cousins were there) has a place of honour in family lore. Its an event that defined us as a family and continues to morph into legendary status everytime we get together - which is more rare as time goes by. Family is important - no matter what form it takes - for myself personally my family is the most important thing, despite how much we are separated by time and space. My family continues to expand (which is the greatest thing ever!) - and its the activities that we participate in together that brings us together and creates those "common adventures" that keeps us together.

I am so blessed...

STAY THIRSTY!

Accountability

Todays picture is from the year 2004. The key theme for this picture is all about accountability. My daughter (as is human nature) has the tendancy to shift blame to anyone but herself. We are all guilty of it...but when it comes right down to it - what makes us better people is the degree to which we take responsibility for our actions (in all the forms it can take).

When I saw one of my students wearing this shirt while excavating in Jordan - I begged her to give it to me so I could give it to my daughter. Getting home after being away for 2 months in the desert - its great to have a gift that you KNOW the recipient is going to love. My daughter wore this shirt for a week straight I think. It was definately one of my favourites.

Its funny what people will wear, put on their car bumpers, name their boats, tatoo on their bodies, etc. Its all about marketing...what we subscribe to, what we believe in and so on. It is so important to us as individuals - that we want others to know it to. We want it to define us. Sometimes thats a good thing - sometimes not...but at any rate "whatever it is...I didn't do it"!

STAY THIRSTY.

Living one day at a time...

First of all - I need to apologize for not updating the blog. This is one of the things that I find particularly troublesome - that is - finding time to actually "blog" about stuff. When I read other blogs and they are so creative and full of information and so on - what really impresses me are those people that are consistant in posting. Either - they have a lot to say and time to say it - OR - they just don't lead busy lives. For me - its the busyness of life that gets in my way.

Ok - so on to todays picture. This one comes from 1998 - November to be exact. As you can tell from the picture, I was in a bad car accident. In West Virginia of all places! To answer your question of "what happened" - I'll try to keep this brief. Bottom line - myself and two of my friends were driving down to Orlando to go to an academic conference (American Schools of Oriental Research if you must know). On the way I got tired and asked my friend Debra to drive for a bit while I got some shut-eye. Well - next thing I know we are spinning in the air and I end up half outside the back of the car unable to feel my legs. Obviously everything worked out fine - but it was a harrowing experience that brought the three of us together to be friends for life.

Its amazing what you remember and dont remember about trumatic events. What I do remember is being thankful to be alive - I remember Debra crying thinking that she had killed us - I remember Steve being all proud of himself for holding on to the music tape we were listening to - I remember the cab driver (ex Viet Nam vet) who was using an old YooHoo container as a spitoon - I remember being taped to the body board and riding in the ambulance - etc etc. What I don't remember is how it felt to be completely helpless. I don't remember the pain. I don't remember the cost of replacing the vehicle. And so on. One thing that I do remember that I'll never forget...is the sound of crunching metal. Any of you who have been in an accident - you know what I am talking about.

Until next time...STAY THIRSTY!

Summer? Winter? I am totally confused...

Today I need to vent a little bit. The picture I uploaded today comes from the recent past - March 9th, 2008. It was the biggest snowstorm in one day we had out in Mississauga since we moved there. I am using my snowblower which I bought the year before...and man, there is no going back once you own one.

My reason for posting this one today is because of the crappy weather we have been having around the GTA this summer. I mean - its supposed to be in the low 30's, but we are lucky to hit 22 degrees. Even at that...the wind is cool...so you dont really feel like its summer...its more like fall or early spring.

My tomato plants are doing poorly, I don't have a tan...and worst of all...when I ride my motorcycle I have to wear a jacket. When will the craziness end!?

Finally - looking at this picture makes me miss my big red truck. While I am happy with the diesel Grand Cherokee...I do miss the truck's imposing size on the road. Now I am just another one of the many cars/SUV's on the highway.

If anyone has pull with the powers that be....can you please request that we get a bit more heat this summer?

STAY THIRSTY!

Todays picture is an "artsy" B&W shot I took when I was backpacking through Turkey in late July, 1988. The reason for todays picture is because through Facebook - one of my friends Paulo uploaded a pic he came across (see the end of this post). I was really taken with it - so much so that it is now the background for my desktop.

The region that is being displayed here is called Cappadocia (you can check out the wiki article here). The rock formations you see in these photos are called "fairy chimneys". A really neat geological formation that is the result of years of erosion. The entire landscape is dotted with these features - quite amazing. What is perhaps even more amazing is the fact that the region is littered with cave complexes from a variety of periods - the most significant and largest of which date to the 1st and 2nd C. AD. I had the opportunity to tour one of these "underground cities" - complete with stables, kitchens, defense systems, etc.

One particular event I recall from my visit to Cappadocia occurred while having apple tea in one of the rest houses in a tiny village. It was around noontime and everything was quiet until I heard an odd tune coming from the mineret (tower associated with a mosque). It wasn't the call to prayer...I know what that sounds like...this was oddly familiar. After a few seconds I recognized it...it was the same tune that Via Rail uses to begin its PA announcements at all of its rail stations. Try as I might to find a copy of the tune online to include with this post - I couldn't find one. But the next time any of you are travelling the Via Rail system...you'll know what I mean. What came next was someone yelling in the speaker (obviously in Turkish...which I don't understand at all). I asked the local server what the person was saying and he told me "oh...that's just so and so (insert Mohammad or Mehmet here) calling so and so (insert Mohammad or Mehmet here) for their lunch." I was flabergasted....I thought the minnerets were only to be used for religious purposes...but apparently in Cappadocia...they do double duty. A kind of Turkish - "I think I hear your mother calling you...." kind of thing.

STAY THIRSTY

Blackwater Trio and WLU

When: November 2007
Where: The Manulife Financial Sportsplex
Who: Blackwater Trio (Fred Hale, Janet Hale and Ken Munshaw)
Why: Fundraiser for K-W Junior Ringette

Ok - so this picture will take a bit of explaining to do. The reason why I have put it up is two-fold. First - Blackwater Trio is a great local band and I went to University with these guys. Second - its our 20th year reunion from our undergrad days at Wilfrid Laurier University and its a tradition that Blackwater Trio plays on the Saturday night at the campus pub.

My friend Terry (see previous post) has been bugging me to make sure we get tickets to see them play - so I did that today (great deal at $10 each) - so he is happy - but it made me think about the band members some more, hence why I put the picture up.

Its not a great picture...cheap digital cameras don't handle the dark very well..but you can clearly see both Janet and Fred ripping out the tunes on stage. I went to school with both of them - they are great people. Fred worked in Residence with me in my last year and thats how I came to know him. Janet was in the same year as me and hung out with a lot of the same friends...she had/has a beautiful voice and can sing a variety of genres - from opera to funk (though I have never heard her sing funk actually...I am sure she could do it!)

I am just back from vacation so my mind is a bit "frayed" coming back to all this email.

STAY THIRSTY!