Tennis, Pickleball, Pizza, Red Wine and friends these are a few of my favourite things. Welcome to my small space on the internet. Come stay a while.
Okay…..what gives? Why have a part 2? As you probably can tell, I’m not a professional writer. Not even close. I tend to write quickly, make a lot of mistakes (grammer you say?) and then think about what I left out. So….I guess that means, I should have a part two. First of all - lets be clear - 2022 wasn’t all bad. In fact it was pretty good.
I’ve written in previous posts about the wonderful meals we had in 2022 and some of the best are a local place called Le Paradis. Dollar to dollar it is one of the best values out there. As in many places prices have gone up but at Le Paradis they are still lower than most restaurants and the service, atmosphere and quality is continues to be excellent. And best of all….it’s a stumple home without having to drive.
What I have not told you that near the end of August I was stil playing - remember I had not had the shots. I had my usual game with JB and I remember hitting a serve and I felt this terrible pain in my elbow. I finished the game and it got worse….and worse. Over the next few days, I was not feeling so great.
I guess it’s fair to say, I may have veered off the wagon. No….nothing to do with drinking too much - lets save that for another day. I am talking about staying current with blog posts. Can’t give you any good reasons, so I won’t try. But, I’m back.
With the afternoon open we grabbed a train and headed towards Harvard. There was a tour starting at 2 pm and signed up when we go there. We waited….and we waited and unfortunately we were told that the tour guide (who is a student) was going to make it due to mid-term exams. But, the good news is another guide would be there for a 3 pm tour and we were welcome to take that one. I would say that the Harvard Tour for me was the highlight of the trip.
Coffee shops have long been an integral component of coffee culture as they bring a social aspect to the consumption of coffee. Included in this have been an increase of wider choices of types of coffee, micro types of beans, espresso, latte’s, teas and assortment of foods. Things that I look for are free WIFI, comfortable chairs and or tables to work from and as a bonus - the ability to plug in for power.
If you do an internet search for the best pizza in Toronto, one place that is appearing on almost recent lists is - Pizzeria Badiali. I had first read about this place over a year ago and it has been on my list to get there, but alas had never found the right opportunity to make a pilgrimage to it - till recently. As the cool weather has come on too quickly, my opportunities to get out on my e-bicycle are becoming less and less. So, I try to make the most of them when the sun is out. Recently, I was riding out in the west-end of Toronto and I thought I was fairly close. I did a quick check on my phone and I could see it wasn’t very far away.
I have a couple of go-to websites that I look at daily and they are BLOG TO and the other is TORONTO LIFE. Like all forms of social media you have to make your own judgments, however what I look for is articles on new types of food/restaurants, real estate and events happening in the city. I recently read one about a new restaurant on College Street called “Danny’s Pizza Kitchen.
“Throughout the years, coffee shops and cafés alike have become so much more than just a place to acquire a delicious brew. Since the first coffee shops were established, they have been used as social places to congregate and meeting points for the public. Alongside the development of coffee shops came the ‘coffee culture’, a set of traditions and rules regarding the way cafes are used, and the way these delicious brews are enjoyed.
The tennis world woke up this week to somewhat shocking news with the announced retirement of Roger Federer. I say somewhat shocking because Roger is 41 years old and has had more than one knee surgery in the last few years. In the Atlantic Magazine this was written - “The congratulations, tributes, devastations, and crying emojis for Federer were both instant and global. The man is 41 years old–
This seems to happen to me every year. Usually around one month prior to the Grand Slams, I start to think - maybe, I should go! Now, this doesn’t happen for Australia (too far), but usually it does just before Roland Garros (Paris) and just before Wimbledon (London). And typically, I think and think and don’t actually ending up going.
I guess it’s inevitable. After over two years of running, staying out of sight, masking and hiding from the world it does and it will likely catch up to you. Of course the first thing you do is ask yourself how and where did you get it? After a couple of years of this you realize that is a complete waste of time because it’s impossible to narrow the search down….especially in today’s world.
After living in a lockdowned world for the better part of the last two years, I finally was able to a road trip. And this was no normal road trip - you know the kind - you jump in the car and drive up north to cottage country or drive to a favourite restaurant that you have not been to in quite awhile. The reason for this road trip was that we had sold our condo and we needed to clean out our storage locker and bring back some personal items. I also wanted to take some time for myself.
After over ten years of ownership we recently decided to sell our condo at Saddlebrook in Florida. It’s been a long time coming and coming to this final decision was hard but also easy. So, how about let’s start at the very beginning.
Yes…now what? I have been wanting to write this post for a long time, but up to now I have resisted. Not sure exactly why? I guess I don’t want it to sound too maudlin, and full of self pity and I’m pretty sure that it does and will…..so, at the risk of that here goes.
War has broken out in Ukraine and there is a real danger that this could escalate to something even more serious than what it is at the moment. The game of geo-politics is at play with most democratic societies unwilling to enter into a much bigger and more dangerous war with Russia.
If your a follower of tennis you couldn’t help notice that there was more excitement prior to the tournament then possibly during the ongoing Australian Open. The top player in the world was front and centre in a stupid, silly legal battle to play in Australia. Basically the rules to enter the country were very straightforward….you need to have proof of a double vaccination.
Another year has come and gone….thank god! What a crazy two years. It was 2 years ago that I ended my 30+ years at Wilson. It was 2 years ago that we first started to hear rumours about a new virus that was coming out of China and it was 1 year ago that Ms. Sheila was out walking a neighbours dog near the condo and in a flash she went down on a patch of ice. No big deal right? I later found out she crawled home and I could hear her crying out from downstairs. Off to the hospital we went and a broken something or other was the result. The first few months she had to work from home and because of her lack of mobility she was stuck upstairs. Nurse Doug had to step up and take on more responsibility. Our bedroom became her office and she managed to keep working for many months from upstairs. It has been a long rehab and unfortunately, she could not play any tennis this year. She still walks with a bit of a limb but here’s hoping that maybe in the spring she can try to hit the yellow ball.
Well….it’s official, I’m old. The picture above was taken recently and I didn’t post it on social media -well……because, I think I look old. I imagine we all have some sort of image in our mind that we are still 25 years old and no doubt, there are times when I still feel I can run as fast as I used to, but I took a look at this picture and realized - I’m getting old.
