goin' bananas

okay, so i held off posting today while i waited for young beatrix to bestow upon me her recipe for bananas foster. biker had mentioned it elsewhere on the blog, and i knew YB made a mean BF, so i thought i'd eventually be able to post that recipe right here for all the world (or, at least, the dozen or so of you who cruise past here regularly) to see. bananas foster would be on the menu at countless homes in the coming week!, i thought.

yeah, no.

after all this waiting, turns out she can't find the recipe...and isn't sure she actually has one written down anywhere. given its fairly straightforward ingredients -- bananas, butter, rum and brown sugar -- and instructions (heat!), she thinks she might have improvised all those times we enjoyed the dessert. that, she said, or she cribbed notes from an online recipe from martha stewart or, in YB's words, "some liquor company." charming!

here, then, is martha stewart's recipe. i can tell you that YB never added the cinnamon (me no likey) and we never got around to procuring banana liquer, but the BF YB prepared was always, always delicious nonetheless. googling "bananas foster" will also result in hundreds of websites offering almost exact duplicates of that recipe, so i'm inclined to think everyone everywhere is actually working from the exact same set of instructions.

happy cooking!

and some music while you work...

nerina pallot's summer single, a cover of steely dan's Peg.

i don’t feel like writing...so why don’t you do some?

i’ve been woefully uninspired of late, despite having a couple of promising meetings with TV-industry types about writing a series (too soon to really tell what may come of it all) and, just today, accepting another (magazine) assignment that will involve me tracking down a dozen people for interviews...and hoping i don’t have to go through 40 candidates to find twelve who are willing. but i’ve been in a meh slump for a while, so i figured what better time than to turn the blog over to you.

back in the day, my friend chantel and i would pass many an hour shooting “get to know you” quizzes back and forth. i’m sure you’ve all received them in your email inboxes – they’re usually made up of a long list of random questions that you answer and then send back to the person from whom you received them. the point being to (say it with me!) get to know your friends through their answers.

and, today, that’s what i’m gonna do. below are the questions, and your answers can be posted in the comments section. c’mon, play!

1. what are five objects around you right now?

2. what was your childhood nickname? what’s your current nickname (if you have one)?

3. do you have any pets? if so, what kind and what are their names?

4. what’s your favourite meal?

5. what’s your favourite dessert?

6. what’s your favourite thing about where you live?

7. when was the last time you cried, and what were the circumstances?

8. when was the last time you laughed out loud, and what were the circumstances?

9. where is your dream vacation destination, and why?

10. what was the last movie you saw at a theatre, and what did you think of it?

‘kay, go.

mother nature off her meds...planet going nuts...

“hey, how ‘bout this weather?”

such has been the refrain on countless news broadcasts in toronto over the past couple of weeks, mainly because it has been freakishly warm. much like it was freakishly hot this summer. as in, way too warm for mid-october. as in, “hey everybody, the planet is suffering and this is one of the symptoms.” inexplicably, people (including the newscasters) have been delighting in the weather, calling it “great” or “beautiful” or “amazing” time and again. really? “amazing”? “great”?

i say nay. it should be cold out now. definitely sweater weather, if not scarf and gloves weather. we should be shuffling through mountains of fallen leaves and pulling up our collars against a stiff wind. we should be sipping hot chocolate and seeing our breath in the mornings and getting that “snow will be here soon enough” feeling. in fact, last year at this time, buffalo and parts of southern ontario were hit with that massive snowstorm (!) that crippled the area. this year? it’s shorts and flip-flops weather.

today, the temperatures here were in the mid- to high-70s. the normal temp for october 22nd should be closer to the low- to mid-50s. animals and insects are losing their minds (“what? migrate? what on earth for? it’s still july!”), believing it to be summer, and vegetation – from trees to crops – is going all squirrelly. leaves aren’t changing colour as soon as they should, bugs that should long be dead or dormant are still flying around and, per a report i watched earlier tonight, wildlife is beyond confused...some animals actually getting ill because of what of the strange shift in climate is doing.

then there’s the weather elsewhere on the planet. extreme storms popping up all over the damn place and, at present, wildfires burning throughout southern california. regular readers of this blog will recall that lou and bikerxena reside in that area, and it turns out the fires can be seen from their homes. the photo accompanying today’s entry was actually taken by lou at 9am today, from outside her office. (for the record, that lovely orange glow is from smoke and FIRE from a 5000-acre brushfire a mile away.) sure, wildfires aren’t anything new, but reports from lou and family indicate they’re much worse than they’ve ever been before.

what the frick? how is it that, with all this going on, people continue to miss the big picture?

the planet is wheezing and gasping right before our eyes. mother nature needs some TLC, stat. and i really want to hear the words “seasonal values” when i next turn on the weather network.

okay, so it’s october 18th: let’s talk about fall TV!

what are you watching?

what are you loving?

what are you hating?

what turned out to be a massive disappointment?

what was an unexpected delight?

and what shows that haven’t yet debuted (or returned) are you awaiting with breathless anticipation?

or are you just not watching anything?

of the new shows, i’m tuning in to only a precious few...and even those are turning out to be overwhelmingly meh. i was all excited about Bionic Woman but, man, is that show ever BORING. its main problem is its supremely uncharismatic lead, michelle ryan. i know the producers wanted to cast a relative unknown, but they blew it with this one. i wanted to like her, really i did, but she’s just so bland and uninteresting that i don’t care if she has bionic hair that can shoot off her body like deadly, razor-sharp porcupine quills. YAWN. by contrast, katee sackhoff, who plays the “evil” bionic woman (sarah), is infinitely better and exponentially more fascinating. she rocks! why wasn’t she cast in the lead?! the show is also plagued with what feels like dozens of extraneous, pointless characters...none of whom are compelling in the least and all of whom do nothing but clutter up the environment. were i running the show, i’d axe jaime, make sarah the central character and leave her with just isaiah washington as her handler. (yes, i know, but he’s actually good on the show despite being off his rocker in real life.)

i’ve also started watching Chuck, which boasts the super-adorable zach levi (as chuck) and the super-hot yvonne strahovski (as sarah). while the premise puts suspension-disbelief to the utmost test, i do enjoy the humour and the fantastic sexual tension between its two leads. less impressive are the supporting cast members, including chuck’s sister (who was just as bad when she was stiffly wandering through What About Brian) and best friend. this is a show i watch when i remember, but certainly not must-see viewing.

i’m loving Reaper, though. it’s super-smart, really clever and exactly my style of writing. it’s also an excellent example of casting supporting players who actually rock, instead of drag down the proceedings. tyler labine and rick gonzalez are fantastic as the hapless but helpful big-box best pals of lead sam (bret harrison), who – each week and per the instructions of the devil (ray wise, in a brilliantly wry turn) – has to track down a soul that’s escaped from hell. his tools? whatever random object the writers dream up each week...and, so far, they’ve all been gems. a dustbuster. a remote-controlled truck. a seemingly placid white dove. this show is terrifically funny and really well-done all around.

i tried to watch Gossip Girl but was bored by the first half of episode two. i gave Journeyman a shot, but no. ditto Big Shots (aka: Big Craps) and Dirty Sexy Money (n’thanks). i had high hopes for Moonlight but, boy, did that one BLOW HARD. i barely made it through one episode, it stunk so bad. Big Bang Theory was, for me, a big bore, and i can’t even bring myself to check out Cavemen because, as a television viewer, i’m insulted that anyone at any network thought that would be a show i’d want to see.

Women’s Murder Club started last week and, so far, it seems okay. i enjoy angie harmon and laura harris (though her white-blonde hair not only scares me but makes her look, like, 10 years older than she is), and i’m all for supporting women-centric shows (save for Private Practice, which is lame and insulting to its actors), so i’ll keep watching for now.

as far as returning series, i’m back on the ER train, still watching ANTM despite the fact that it is sucking in a whole new way this season...and a way that makes me question whether i should bother with cycle ten, and still excited for Heroes even though it hasn’t yet managed to recapture my interest as intensely as it did in its inaugural season. i miss LOST.

your turn. go!

mercury: the planet, not the element

so, mercury’s in retrograde right now. for the uninitiated, that means that for the next three weeks or so (oct. 12th – nov.1st) plenty of things can go all screwy, most notably anything having to do with communication, technology, the internet and travel. other stuff, too, but those areas are always the hardest hit. emails go missing, reservations are lost, websites crash, misunderstandings abound...all thanks to that little planet turning backwards (well, sort of...a full explanation of the phenomenon, which happens thrice yearly, can be found here).

now, i know what some of you are thinking. “oh, please. like the planets have anything to do with anything, let alone my email!”

but do not scoff. things do go awry and there are plenty of people who avoid sending important messages or closing deals or doing anything of fiscal/personal significance during these retrograde periods...and still more who regard their arrival as the cosmic equivalent of a mindf**k. i used to think it was all a bunch of baloney...until i started paying attention. and, even now, i find myself at the mercy of mercury.

so, as an experiment, i ask you to keep track of any snafus, glitches, wrenches or curious conundrums that arise between now and the end of the month. see how many technical difficulties you and yours encounter, or if any best-laid plans are inexplicably dismantled before your eyes.

or, you know, if you send me an email* and don’t hear back.

(*yeah, if that happens, resend!)

when bad TV shows a glimmer of greatness

okay, so the much-maligned series The L Word is often worthy of maligning -- it's been plagued (on and off) with bad writing, lame storylines (jenny, anyone?), stunt casting (cybill shepherd? really? heaven help you), bad acting (again, cybill shepherd...really!) and the ubiquitous presence of the band betty...who are terribly uninteresting but whose lead guitarist is in a relationship with L's executive producer and has thus been added to the show's production team as composer, producer and writer. whatever.

ANYWAY...

occasionally, the show demonstrates that, when the planets around The Planet align, it can produce some truly great moments. the clip below, which aired in canada two weeks ago and is the opening of a season-four episode, is a terrifically orchestrated piece of comedy on par with the infamous "sussing out the sous chef's sexuality" reconnaissance mission of season one. the language is NSFW, but there's nothing in the visuals that might get you in trouble if you're watching this at the office. and you don't need to follow the show to enjoy it...so, enjoy!

(and, yes, i realize how cliché it is for me to be talking about The L Word, which is why i've never mentioned the show before...but the clip kicks ass.)

nothing's funnier than a blog post written out of sheer frustration!

while i ponder what, if anything, i'll write about on my own blog this weekend, allow me to direct you to my friend chantel's blog, where she's recently posted a HILARIOUS account of drying one's hair in france. i loved it!

enjoy...

jury duty, day four: thanks and buh-bye!

here’s an unexpected good thing about serving on jury duty: in the same way that it can drag on endlessly, it can also end abruptly and without warning at any time. so, just after 12:30pm today and a very quiet morning where not a single panel had been called, we were dismissed! turfed! shown the door! handed our walking papers! git out!

YESSSSS!

people actually applauded, and there was a veritable stampede for the exits...presumably because everyone wanted to be gone as soon as possible lest it be revealed that, no, we actually did have to stay and that the dismissal announcement had been made prematurely.

we all walked out like survivors of some kind of cataclysmic event, feeling relieved to have survived (and not been chosen for a jury!) and yet strangely richer for having gone through the experience. we’re all exempt from jury duty for the next three years – and we were advised to keep our summons in case we’re “accidentally” called upon before that time is up – but i have a sneaking suspicion that after three years and one day, i’ll have a notice in my mailbox calling me to serve again.

thankfully, when that happens, i’ll be ready and a whole lot less anxious about it.

jury duty, day three: same old, same old

today was very much like an amalgam of days one and two: lots of sitting and waiting, and one call to selection.

just before noon, the friendly loudspeaker lady came on and requested two panels come forward...one of which was mine. uh oh. whenever they need two panels, it means there’s more than one accused and/or it’s gonna be a big trial. we all filed into the court room and took our seats. the accused, a bespectacled but hardened-looking man in his 40s, was swiveling in his swivel chair and giving us all a very nonchalant once-over. i wondered what he’d been accused of doing, since he was behaving as though he was there to contest a parking ticket.

yeah, turns out he’s accused of two armed robberies with a shotgun. both victims were women. he entered a plea of “not guilty.” dammit.

so, jury selection began. 20 names were drawn and, thank the lord!, mine was not one of them. but they only managed to agree on nine people out of that group, so another ten names were pulled. once again, i managed to escape being called. i was VERY relieved.

i’d also like to point out that, unlike the previous judge presiding over a selection process in which i was involved, this lady judge was humourless and very stern-looking. she was not amused with anything or anyone, least of all any of the prospective jurors who stepped forward to ask to be excused. you’d have thought they were asking if they could approach the bench and smash a pie in her face, she was that displeased. the proceedings were likewise very serious and kind of scary...especially compared to the veritable joyous jamboree on tuesday.

the rest of the day was spent in the Jury Lounge™, trying desperately to stay awake. i haven’t been sleeping (again! rats!), so i’m drowsy most of the day. it doesn’t help that the lounge has a constant, soothing din – murmurs combined with the whir of the ventilation system. so, once in the morning and once in the afternoon, i arranged my jacket and knapsack into a pillow and lay down on the floor for a sorta nap. i didn’t really sleep, per se, just kind of dozed. in the afternoon, i opened my eyes at the end of my semi-snooze to see that someone else had crawled into a nearby corner to do the same. by tomorrow, i expect people to roll in with sleeping bags and blankets.

and i’m hoping that tomorrow is my final day on jury duty. *fingers crossed*

jury duty, day two: vickie learns what it means to be a stripper!

with yesterday under my belt, and much of my anxiety about being on jury duty gone, i arrived at the court house this morning to find that the “baggage scanners” (i.e., those X-ray devices with conveyor belts onto which you place your purse/tote/knapsack/duffel bag/whatever) were all broken, so everyone entering the building had to have their bags thoroughly hand-searched by the officers on duty. needless to say, this was a slow process...but i did find a penny on the floor while i waited in line, so it was all good.

once back inside the Jury Lounge™, and after an amiable chat with the jury officer assigned to my panel, i scanned the room for a better place to sit. i wasn’t thrilled with my selection yesterday, so i wanted someplace new. sit with the cool kids? sit with the loners? sit with the euchre-players?

i opted for “sit in the small alcove with the lockers where it’s usually very quiet save for the flushing of toilets in the adjacent men’s washroom.” there was plenty of room, though i did have to sit on the (carpeted) floor, and no one infringing on my enjoyment of the space, so i parked myself against a wall and prepared for the day ahead.

today, i brought my powerbook along, because i was sure there must be a free wifi signal wafting through the building somehow. this way, i could pass some time checking my email, checking facebook and mindlessly surfing the internet.

yeah, turns out the only wifi signal available is one for which you have to pay through the nose, so i promptly shut down and opted to crack open my book fresh from the library.

that book was Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper by diablo cody, and it's an account of how the author went from ad-agency copywriter to peeler in minneapolis. some backstory: diablo cody also penned the kick-ass screenplay for Juno, one of my fave films at TIFF this year. and she was so self-deprecatingly funny at the film’s Q&A that i put a hold on her book thereafter. (here’s a clip of her on letterman, promoting the book.)

and that’s how i spent most of my morning and afternoon: reading about stripping.

i learned all sorts of valuable things, like what a “teeter-totter” is, why white platform heels are better than black when you’re working, and all of the intricate and intimate details of things like “bed dances” and “working the floor.” it was a quick but fascinating read, and the writing sounded a lot like me...you know, if i decided to embrace the pole. the language isn’t for those with more genteel constitutions, so if graphic descriptions of, say, the floor of a peep-show booth or female genitalia or why parachute pants on men are a serious gross-out to an “exotic dancer,” perhaps this book ain’t for you. but if you’re cool with it, you should check it out.

as for the actual jury-duty process today, only one panel (the one group that hadn’t been called yesterday) was summoned to the courtroom today, and that was around 11am. no other panels were called all day, and we were dismissed at 4pm.

two days down, two more to go.

[btw, my apologies to those of you who read the title of this entry and hoped to read about me taking a pole-dancing class or being strip searched at the court house. maybe next time. ;-)]

jury duty, day one: REJECTED!

today i began my stint on jury duty. and it was...interesting.

i’d been dreading the whole thing since receiving my summons a few weeks ago, but just kind of sank into acceptance this morning and headed to the court house. there was a loooong line at the entrance (made up, i discovered later, mostly of members of the jury pool) because we all had to be scanned before being allowed in. to my mild alarm, a rather scary looking fellow farther up in line threw something into the nearby bushes and then said to his line neighbour, laughing, “they’d just confiscate it anyway, right?” (note that the word “right” was pronounced in the world’s thickest canadian accent.)

after going through security, we headed to the Jury Lounge™...which is not really as opulent as it sounds. there are no velvet sofas, there’s no martini bar and there’s nary a note of smooth jazz playing softly in the background. it’s just a really, really, really big room with a series of tables and chairs, some library-style cubicles (reserved, signs tell us, for the exclusive use of those with laptops), and seven or eight long rows of seating. there were lockers for anyone wanting to store stuff away, a coat room (ditto) and access to a small café serving coffee and snacks (not free).

upon arrival we were to check in according to our “panel number.” a panel is a group of about 50 or so potential jurors; each jury pool is made up of four panels. so, there were about 200 of us in that room. and i learned very quickly that your jury-duty summons is tantamount to a passport, birth certificate AND driver’s license in the eyes of the court. you are to have it with you at all times. it’s your I.D. it’s your identity for the duration of your service.

the staff in the Jury Lounge™, and everyone else working for the Crown, were all suuuuuper-nice. i mean, almost alarmingly so. very friendly and welcoming as we arrived, accommodating and exceedingly patient as people asked questions, and repeatedly thankful with every announcement or instruction. (perhaps it was left over from thanksgiving? dunno.) i actually thought we might all get a hug on our way out at the end of the day.

after check-in, we were forced to watch a “hey! you’re on jury duty! this rocks!” instruction video – very obviously shot in, like, 1986 – that explained the processes and procedures, and which was punctuated time and again with actors...i mean, former jurors...telling us how thrilling their time on jury duty was, and how amazing they felt as canadians to have performed their civic duty. my favourite was the hammy construction worker, whose frequent and enthusiastic (though wooden and scripted) interjections elicited snickers from the pool.

then it came time for the people seeking to be excused from service to present their cases. one by one, dozens and dozens of them lined up to plead for freedom. and you know what? most of them got it! the crowded room suddenly became decidedly emptier (but still full). and i have to admit, despite my own reluctance to participate in the process, i felt a little twinge of disappointment in all these people scurrying for the exits right from the get-go. i mean, come on, i’m sure some of them had legit reasons to flee, but i’d also bet that many of them were making the most of some flimsy excuses.

once that stage was done, the waiting began. as a member of the jury pool, we’re required to be there all day, just in case a trial needs to select a jury. before long, a very pleasant voice came over the P.A. system, very much in the tone of a flight attendant announcing the impending start of the food-and-beverage service.

“ladies and gentlemen, may i have your attention, please? would panel number 169, circled in red, please make their way to the front? your presence is required in the courtroom. thank you!”

here’s how the jury-selection process works (in toronto, anyway):

1. a trial gets underway and the panel is called to the courtroom

2. the panel is present for the arraignment of the accused – if he/she pleads “guilty,” no jury is required and everybody goes back to the Lounge™; if he/she pleads “not guilty,” a jury is selected from the members of the panel

3. 20 names are then drawn at random from a drum (almost like a bingo drum) containing everyone’s name + juror #; if it’s a criminal case, they need to pick a jury of 12...if it’s a civil case, only six jurors are required

4. once the 20 potential jurors are selected, one by one they’re required to stand at the front of the court room and face the accused (who’s instructed to face the potential juror...it’s a little creepy); then, the Crown Attorney (prosecution) and defense counsel (self-explanatory) give the potential juror a once-over and accept (“content”) or reject (“challenge”) that person based on how they look (seriously) – if you get two “contents,” you’re automatically a juror, and if you get one “challenge” (from either lawyer), you’re automatically not a juror

5. if they manage to select a jury from the first 20 names drawn, everybody else (not selected or selected but rejected) heads back to the Lounge™; if they don’t fill the 12 jury spots, another 10 names are drawn from the drum and the process is repeated until a jury is full

it really is a fascinating process to witness. pun intended.

anyway, two panels were called up to the courts over the course of the morning. neither was my group. we were given an hour off for lunch, so i hopped to the atrium for a very filling pasta lunch and then walked for a bit before heading back. there were only 2 ½ hours left in the jury-duty day, so i hoped my panel wouldn’t be called.

but we were, about a half hour after lunch.

we filed into the very elegant court room and were instructed on where to sit, how to sit and what to do if we were called forward. the accused was sitting with his lawyer, and we waited for the arrival of the judge....who will herein be referred to as Judge Rockin’ Lady.

Judge Rockin’ Lady was so cool! older, but very smooth and very, very friendly. in fact, i was surprised that the occasional giggle occurred during the selection process – either from a mispronounced name or a curious job title read aloud. here i thought legal proceedings were wildly formal and serious and scary...but Judge Rockin’ Lady was keeping things relatively light. kind of surprising, given the actual case: vehicular manslaughter and the unsafe operation of a vehicle by a young man. (read: street racing that killed an innocent motorist in the wrong place at the wrong time.)

this was not the kind of case i wanted to be on. street racing is in the news a lot these days and this would promise to be a high-profile case. plus, a woman died...and i don’t want to be looking at gruesome crash photos or hearing the testimony of some irresponsible jerk with a souped-up car, who thinks he’s not guilty of being an asshat.

(biased? me? WHAT?)

the charges were read and the accused entered a “not guilty” plea, so the drum was spun and names were drawn.

mine was one of them.

“f-word!” i thought. “i KNOW they’re gonna pick me! dammit!”

i lined up with the other 19 people pulled, and – as mentioned – one by one we stood in front of the accused and his lawyer. quite a few people were rejected...including me! *phew!* much to my surprise, it was the Crown Attorney who said nay. i thought me glaring at the accused for the duration of my time at the front of the court room would ensure defense counsel’s rejection, but i had no idea the prosecution wouldn’t dig me. who cares, i was thrown back in the pool! YES! (Judge Rockin’ Lady advised us not to take a rejection personally. i felt like saying, “are you kidding? this is the one time when i crave rejection!”)

they wound up calling another 10 names at random, and the jury was eventually complete. it was interesting: the majority of jurors were men, and most looked over 40. anyone who looked like a mother or grandmother was rejected outright, so it was clear they were looking for a specific jury demographic.

anyway, we the rejects were then thanked again for our service and returned to the Lounge™, where we waited out the day for another 45 minutes before being dismissed. only three of the four panels were called up today and mine was last, so i might be able to avoid being called again tomorrow (since they’ll call the uncalled panel and then start over again) if there are fewer cases.

one day down, three more to go.

our shopping trip in 1500 words or less...

as promised, here are the fill-ins for the gaps between day one and today…

a note about hotels: check your beds when you check in. like, as soon as you get your room key and before you do anything else. not just for bedbugs (which you should do everywhere!), but for dirt and soiled linens.

young beatrix and i learned that latter lesson many years ago when we checked into a hampton inn (i think it was in syracuse?), went out for the evening and returned around 10pm. we turned down the beds and discovered that one had been made, but that the sheets had very clearly not been changed from the previous guests (hair, crumbs, sock lint, etc.). since it was after 10pm, getting someone in the hotel to bring us fresh linens proved a challenge and took way more time than it should have taken. long story short: ever since then, we head to the room immediately upon check-in and turn down the beds to verify that they’re clean. they almost always are.

well, on friday afternoon, we arrived at the hampton inn solon (where we’ve stayed once before), checked in, went up to the room, pulled down the comforters and saw – ‘twixt the sheets on my bed – a vast array of HAIR. like, lots and lots of small, dark hairs, as though someone had been given a haircut in the bed. and crumbs, as though the previous guest had been shorn and had cookies. and wrinkled sheets, indicative of someone, you know, having SLEPT in the bed the night before. so, on our way out (to eat at CPK and commence the shopping), i stopped at the front desk and pointed out the problem. the front-desk clerk took down my room number and said she’d call housekeeping. fine and good. whatever.

when we eventually returned to the room after 9pm, the bed had been re-made and the sheets changed...but whoever did the room also absconded with the giant gallon of water we’d purchased and left there. evidently, there’d been a miscommunication somewhere along the chain of command and our water was gone. so i went back down to the front desk and chatted with the night clerk – who was extremely friendly and apologetic. the water was long since gone, so she sent someone “to the back” to bring me out as many single-serve bottles of water as i wanted (i took four). the next morning, after we checked out and were headed for the doors, she once again asked if we needed any more water. we didn’t.

all this to say, again: check your beds. AND don’t leave your water unattended.

by contrast, we stayed at the red roof inn in erie, PA, and were THRILLED with its cleanliness. we stayed there on our last trip through town and loved it – super cheap rooms that were SPOTLESS – and hoped that the standards hadn’t waned over the past 12 months. they hadn’t! red roof inns used to be mocked (by us, at least) as crappy budget lodgings one tiny step up from motel 6, but the company is revamping all their properties and this one ROCKS.

moving on...

our shopping in cleveland was productive, though we hesitated when it came to clothes or shoes since both of those things are tax-free in pennsylvania (which is where we’d be the next day). despite browsing through crate & barrel, we didn’t actually buy anything there (sorry, lou!). we did, however, stock up at bath & body works, sephora, target and the gap (despite the tax-free prospects, sale items fall under the “buy them when you find them!” rule). we ate at CPK, panera, dunkin donuts and...oh look!...panera, again.

erie, PA, was okay. young beatrix didn’t find many bargains at all, and came home with purchases that fell woefully below the new $400/48 hours duty-free limit for canadians abroad. we hit old navy hard, though – never underestimate the lure of super-cheap staples like tank tops or T-shirts. just to illustrate the vast savings we encountered at nearly every place we visited, and keeping in mind that the exchange rate is now dead even ($1 CDN = $1 U.S.):

* a pair of jeans at the gap are $78 (+ 14% tax) in toronto, and (same ones) $58 tax-free in erie

* a 4G iPod is $169 (+14% tax) in toronto, and $149 (w/ varying taxes around 7%) in the states

* tank tops at old navy run 2 for $17 in the T-dot, but those same two tanks (in a number of additional colours!) will only cost you $12 even in erie...and that’s their regular price!

the same thing goes for all sorts of items, from mittens to hats to socks, not to mention the stuff we just don’t have here (giant tubs of marshmallow fluff for 97 cents!).

so, anyway, we shopped. i have no idea what trix’s final count was or what, exactly, she bought but, since lou asked, my list looks a little like this (note: i had to cut myself off eventually, so there are still items in the U.S. that i thought about buying but left in the stores):

* two pairs of jeans

* six tanks

* four long-sleeved T-shirts

* a sweater

* nine pairs of socks (all $1 or less per pair!)

* a cotton hoodie

* four pairs of mittens (sold in pairs for $1.47/pair!)

* two pairs of shoes (very cute, if i do say so myself)

* two belts (regularly $20 each, on sale for $3.50 apiece!)

* a funky hat (not a touque, either!)

* eight pairs of underwear...for a total of $4.69!

and then assorted groceries and toiletries, including: B&BW lotions, hair conditioners, styling products, a diffuser for my hair dryer ($16 in toronto...$5.99 at sally beauty supply!), rimmel cosmetics, fluoride rinse, edy’s rocky road ice cream, gourmet frozen fries (garlic, rosemary & olive oil flavour), 2 1/2 pounds of jelly belly jelly beans, yoplait yogurts, lender’s bagels and a case of cherry coke.

our trunk was respectably full, but not overly so. we could have easily fit more stuff in there.

oh, and in addition to our fine dining at CPK, our panera visits included the procurement of one of their most-delicious desserts: the white-chocolate raspberry brownie. OMG, so good. but here’s the thing: the brownie is sliced from a giant, circular brownie that’s been cut as though it were a pie (i.e., triangular wedges). occasionally, careless panera staffers will yank out your slice and leave the tip (in the center) attached to the remaining portion of the giant circle. i call that tip the “nubbin,” and it’s the best part of the whole brownie. so, when i don’t get mine, i ask for it...which young beatrix finds endlessly amusing. at the erie panera, my nubbin was left behind, so i asked for it. i mention this just because i cannot be the only person who wants all of the food item for which they’ve paid...right? (similarly, at the cold stone creamery, i asked that the masher – who left a considerable amount of my mixture on the slab – to please scrape the remaining ice cream into my cup.)

given the strength of the canadian dollar, cross-border shopping has become HUGELY popular, so wait times at the border are now very, very, very, very long. thankfully, we only had to wait about 10 minutes on our way into the states (‘cause we got to the border just before 8:30am) and 45 minutes on the return trip. one more tip: pee before you get to the border!

and that’s the story.

tomorrow...i start jury duty. :-/

oh look...we're already home...

yeah, seems the universe had other plans when i *thought* i'd blog about our mini road trip the way i did about our jaunt to florida or about the film festival or about anything, really. which is to say: frequently and filled with mirth.

after having free wireless at our cleveland hotel, we were outta luck getting online elsewhere, save for a brief period at a panera and another at a krispy kreme this morning. young beatrix doesn't understand WHY i need to check my email or pop onto facebook or update the blog when away from home, so i didn't have a lot of time to actually be online...save for that first night, when she went to bed early. (and, even then, the angry sighs made me shut 'er down before i felt the time was right.)

so, we're back in toronto. i'll fill in the gaps tomorrow...when i'm safely back in my own apartment and free to waste as many hours as i choose online. ;-)

i'll try not to burst into tears when i tell you...

...FAZOLI'S IS GONE.

*sob*

my beloved, low-brow, italian fast-food restauarant in erie, PA...the place we would always visit when passing through town...the home of the best $3 plate of spaghetti you'll get anywhere (with unlimited greasy breadsticks and a bottomless glass of mr. pibb!)...is no more. earlier today, we pulled into the strip mall where it was located only to discover that a mexican restaurant now stands in its place. words cannot express my supreme disappointment and sadness.

so, instead, words will express the first day of our jaunt to cleveland. in fact, words and photos will express it.

we began the day at 6am, had a quick breakfast and then hit the road.






young beatrix had a power bar; i played with kyle. and 6am ain't pretty no matter how you slice it.














it was dark when we left (that's an actual photo of the sky as we departed)...and the darkness eventually gave way to patches of dense fog. fun!










but the fog eventually gave way to sun!
















so we could see the trees...AND the forests!
















we had a late breakfast at the panera bread company (left), and an even later lunch at the california pizza kitchen (right). both were delicious!













then we shopped! we browsed through places like crate & barrel, and the beachwood place mall, where we bought a bunch of stuff.










this concludes today's entry for three reasons: 1) young beatrix went to bed an hour ago, and i suspect (based on the "how much longer are you going to be typing?" inquiry she made moments ago, that she'd like me to call it a night; 2) i actually do want to call it a night because, as mentioned, i've been up since 6am and it's now 12:15am; and 3) really, how interesting can a post about shopping in cleveland truly be for you to read?

so, goodnight! tomorrow, it's back to erie...

cleveland rocks! (one hopes, anyway)

tomorrow morning, at the crack of pre-dawn and likely blanketed with heavy fog (dammit!), young beatrix and i will head out for cleveland. we are armed with shopping lists and high hopes for three days in the States (we're back on sunday)...plus, for the first time on one of our mini road trips, my camera AND my laptop! this, of course, means heaps of useless, frivolous photos will be taken -- eating at CPK! pit stops at the rest areas! FOG! -- and then posted here, so that you might enjoy the splendor (?) of new york state, pennsylvania and ohio.

i can practically feel your excitement right through the computer screen. "CLEVELAND?!?! did she just say CLEVELAND?!?!? OMG!! that is my dream vacation! i cannot WAIT to see what vickie shows us!"

in other news, i bought sara bareilles' CD earlier this week and have been physically unable to stop listening to it. start to finish, a fantastic CD. below is my favourite track on the album...which i subsequently learned was featured in the craaaaptastic dud Loving Annabelle. i still love it, though. the song, not the movie...which BLEW HARD.

enjoy:

anybody interested in The Heartbreak Kid?

once again, and not surprisingly, i have an extra ticket to a screening that may suck. it is a Farrelly Brothers movie, so that gives me a glimmer of hope...but you never know. the movie's tomorrow (wednesday) at 7pm at the scotiabank. let me know if you'd like to go!

[edited at 6:57pm to add: okay, DON'T EVERYBODY VOLUNTEER ALL AT ONCE. it was the word "suck," wasn't it? i can't believe i'm trawling for a date on my own blog.]