Cat Thinks He is a Snow Leopard and the Perils of Shopping in the Winter

I have mentioned before that our Eddie hates the snow, but lest I sound like a liar because these pictures tell a different story, I should clarify by saying that what cat hates is falling snow and getting his paws wet. He dislikes rain for the same reason.

But cold he can handle and does request a daily outing regardless of the temperature.

True story ... Once someone knocked on our door to say that they thought our cat wanted to come inside. They couldn't believe that it was his idea to be out there in such cold weather.

Of course, we keep an eye out on him and invite him back inside at regular intervals, but really, when the sun is shining, he enjoys it outside.

Out for Drinks With a Friend : The Black Bull

I recently met my friend Meghan for some drinks and nachos at a tavern called The Black Bull. It is thought to be Toronto's oldest bar that is still in operation, having opened in 1838 (but don't quote me on that because there's another one also still running, called The Wheat Sheaf, that opened in 1849. The question is, did The Black Bull, which first opened as a hotel serve alcohol and therefore be in the running for oldest bar? It's irrelevant to this story though, so let's just say that Meghan and I went to a really old bar.)

We were actually quite lucky to be able to go to The Black Bull because there had been a major fire in the upstairs apartments in April of 2011. There are some pictures and the story about it here, BlogTo.com

And speaking of fires, just last October the heritage building across the street burned to the ground. Weird that there were two fires on the same corner but it was just coincidence and they weren't related. The third picture below shows the empty lot where this second fire occurred.

Chickens

Here is a collection of chickens I've seen around town in the past several months.

Q - Why did the chicken cross the playground?
A - To get to the other slide.

Q - Why did the chicken cross the road, roll in the mud, and then cross back?
A - Because he was a dirty double crosser.

Groan, I know. I'll stop now and let the pictures do the talking.

The Last Train Home

When I went to a party at my sister's place recently I took public transit. My route included taking the subway train, which doesn't run all night. So before I left my place I checked the schedule and told myself what time I should leave the party by, in order to catch the train.

If I did end up missing the last one it was no big deal as there was an alternate route available but it would have involved waiting outside on the street for a bus. Plus there was always the (much more expensive) option of taking a taxi.

Anyway, I had planned to leave myself plenty of time to catch the train, thinking I would leave the party at 12:30. That would have given me 3 hours of enjoyment, but damn if I wasn't having so much fun that I jumped when I checked my watch and saw that it was suddenly ten past one. I high tailed it out of there, and as the title says, made it for the very last train going downtown.

Valentine’s Day at Our Place : 2013

ass="aligncenter size-full wp-image-15155" alt="dining-area-set-up" src="http://www.loulou.to/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/dining-area-set-up.jpg" width="640" height="426">Clearly with a week filled with posts on the subject, I am on the 'I like it' side of the fence where Valentine's Day is concerned. And unless he's been faking it all these years, Nick likes it too.It is one of the few holidays that we celebrate, more-so than most others. We have never been out for green beer on St. Patrick's day together and Easter usually just entails a bit of nice chocolate for one another. I've only seen Nick dressed in a Halloween costume a couple of times and for Thanksgiving last year we skipped the big turkey dinner in favour of a little brunch out with a pal. (Although we have vowed that this year we will be hosting a Friendsgiving dinner a week before the actual holiday.)But Valentine's Day, we like to acknowledge. I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that the week it falls upon is usually filled with many 'Happy Valentine's Week' greetings to one another. We find it fun to celebrate but we keep it relatively low-key with dinner at home.So here's a wee peek into our evening on Thursday night.For decoration I laid the table with our heart tablecloth and napkins. I bought this set the year we were married and it actually has gotten quite a lot of use over the years. We also use it for anniversaries and birthdays.I made the runner by lining up two cotton tea towels I picked up this year. The white plates are pieces from my Corelle collection and the pink and black ones are vintage. And of course, the felt and cotton hearts were ones I made this year and discussed in this post.