Sunday, September 26, 2010

We went for dim sum last week, except our usual place on Gerrard had a big "closed" sign on the front window. So we stood hopelessly in front of the restaurant, when a man and his son walked by, and informed us that the place was closed for renovations, and that there was another dim sum place just down the street, which was pretty good. Which was the exact thing I suppose we were hoping would happen.

We tried the recommeded place, and it turned out really good, in fact better than our usual place. We went there again for dinner tonight because we couldn't decide on what to make, and it was great for dinner too. Who'd have thought. I can't remember the name of the place though. It's a bit west of Boulton on Gerrard, although that's not a very specific description for Chinatown.

A new bar opened up last week, called The Avro, on Queen St E, in the old Bergstrom place. We went for a quick beer to check the place out. It's pretty cozy, a nice place to drop in for a beer. I think it will do well.

The fall Ultimate seasons have started. So far we're doing well, we haven't lost a game yet. Most of the games are at Lamport, which makes it convenient to get to the games. The fall season is pretty short -- it's done in four more weeks, because then the domes go up on the fields for winter. I prefer indoors because it's speed point, which is a better workout.

I cleaned up the backyard where the car is parked, to put down flagstone around the back and side of the parking spot. It was getting a bit like a jungle on the passenger side. There were two old birch stumps that I had picked up at Kirk's years ago, which I had intended to turn into stools or side tables. We didn't like the look of them, and so they sat beside the parking spot for the last couple years. So I put them up on Craigslist for free. Some guy came and picked them up, along with four patio stones that came with the house. So this weekend I weeded and put down landscaping fabric, a few bags of limestone screening, and then Heather and I did the jigsaw puzzle of flagstone pieces. I still have to set the stones, which hopefully I can do next week if the weather is good.

Before pic:

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Just got my iPad today. So far so good! Big difference so far in the typing. I can type at pretty much the same speed as on a regular keyboard. On the iPhone it was a bit of a struggle.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Monday, September 06, 2010

It was a busy August! Maricar and Robin were married on August 14, (we were invited to both the wedding and reception on the Saturday, and the picnic on the Sunday). Shelley and Geron were married the next weekend, on August 21, in Thorold. Around the same time, Nalini and family were in town to visit. And then my high school friends and I went on a Carnival cruise, from Miami to the Bahamas and back, to celebrate our 40th birthdays, from August 26 - 30.

The cruise was okay. I'm not much of a cruise person, but it fit our schedules, and it was another country for me. Luckily for us we didn't get much rain, with a hurricane and tropical storm in the area.

I finally finished a book this year. I had been struggling through Jane Jacobs, and finally stopped that and started on The Three Musketeers. This is the first book I've read as a digital book, on Stanza on my iPhone. It's more convenient to hold the iPhone when in bed (considering the size of some of the books I've read recently). Also it's self-lit, so I don't need to have a light on. The only annoyance is that I prefer to read it in landscape mode, but when I'm lying on my side the iPhone is turned 90* from horizontal and the iPhone wants to flip to portrait. You can freeze the orientation in iOS4, but only in portrait mode. When I get an iPad I don't think it will be an issue, because then I'll be reading in potrait mode.

Our barbecue was looking a bit run-down, so I spray painted it today and it looks much better. I bought a can of heat-resistant spray paint at Home Depot for about $7 and gave it a couple coats this afternoon. Unfortunately I broke the thermometer trying to take it off, so now I need to replace it. Last month I replaced the grill and heat wave, from the friendly folks at Broilmate (I think it cost about $40, including delivery). The barbecue still works, so I don't want to buy a new one yet.

Stephane and Sab are coming over for dinner so I suppose I should start preparing the food. We're having grilled pork chops with quinoa.