May long weekend recap

Karen and I spent Friday evening on Elgin Street. First, we stopped in at Pure Gelato for some decadence. I had a cup of dark chocolate gelato, with bits of Skor mixed in, and Karen had a cup of Toblerone chocolate gelato, infused with orange. Next, we walked up and down the street for a while before going into The Standard, where Karen had a glass of wine, and I had a pint of Steamwhistle. Next, we were off to our main destination which was Karen Fong's surprise birthday party at Woody's Pub, expertly organized and executed by her nearest and dearest friends. Many pictures were taken and lots of laughs were had.

Saturday. I went to the get some groceries after our pancake breakfast, while Karen stayed at the apartment to tackle the mountain of dishes we had built up. Upon my return, I was amazed at how much she had gotten done, and we continued together to finish them up. That afternoon, we set out to Clayton for the day to visit our friend Dew at her place for her birthday; she had no idea that we were coming to see her. We played a rousing game of Trivial Pursuit, took a trip out on the canoe, and feasted on what seemed to be an endless supply of food. The evening was topped off with a well executed fireworks display and two delectable birthday cakes.

Sunday. We cleaned up a bit around the apartment in the morning and then we went to see a couple of open houses in the early afternoon. Karen dropped me off at my mom's afterwards and she went to her parents' place. I went with my mom to Lowe's to pick up a patio table and a couple of chairs and we set it up when we got back. Karen and I stayed in for the evening, catching up on our TV shows courtesy of Rogers on Demand.

Monday. Karen and I went for a picnic in the morning, where we drank memosas and played Bocce. We installed the air conditioner in our bedroom window, which took a little more effort than last year's installation. We spent the afternoon at Mandy and Nick's lounging on their back patio, drinking, playing Euchre, eating BBQ'ed delicacies, and playing Bocce.

William Shatner for Governor General

Michaëlle Jean’s impending departure from Rideau Hall is generating a lot of talk (ie. buzz) as to who might replace her. The Mark, an on-line political publication, developed a poll suited to this purpose, asking readers to vote for who they thought would fit the bill.


Here are the top 5 candidates at present:

William Shatner     47%
Leonard Cohen     11%
Rick Hansen          10%
Preston Manning     5%
Phil Fontaine           4%

The remaining candidates, including Wayne Gretsky, Bobby Orr, and Kim Campbell, account for the rest.

Clearly, the readers of The Mark know who they want to fill Michaëlle Jean’s shoes (not literally, of course). In my opinion, they've made a fine choice.

William Shatner is an actor, recording artist, and author. He has played some of the most iconic characters on stage and screen: Captain James Tiberius Kirk, T.J Hooker, Denny Crane, and the Priceline guy. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and on the Canadian Walk of Fame. He has a page on Wikipedia, IMDB, and Twitter, an official website, and a channel on YouTube.

Need more convincing. Watch his 'I am Canadian' speech from the closing ceremonies of the 2010 Olympic Games.

Sirloin Oscar

Take sirloin steak.

Add some sauteed mushrooms, boiled asparagus, fried shrimp and scallops.

Smother it all in Hollandaise sauce.