Chronicles of a Shoemaker's Daughter

... but they make the world's most heavenly cheese. And that is something to sing about! I went to my favourite cheese store today. While I waited for for my meagre order of Chevre Noir and my lates t "sheep-cheese from Quebec" discovery, I was distracted by a sign that said they had "fresh" Mozzarella di Bufala direct from Campania. Well, since my folks are from Campania, and I have such distinct memories of meeting the creatures that produce the milk that makes "real mozzarella" so special ... I had to have me some. In case you don't know, a bufala is a female water buffalo. How did these beauties that resemble oxen more than they resemble bison, get to the mountains north of Naples? Rumour has it they were shipped to the Roman Empire from Egypt during the reign of Cleopatra. I love this cheese shop, because every time I go there, it triggers another set of long-lost memories and images that I have m anaged to bury deep in my sub-conscious. So

I wanted to post a photo of something that happened in St. Kitts. But it seems to have gone to computer chip heaven along with some of my missing Anguilla photos. So, after I left Anguilla, I met up with my friends, "Mr. & Mrs. _eh," in St. Martin, and we flew to St. Kitts on one those wonderful LIAT puddle-jumpers. I rented a car there too. Then I proceeded to do my very best to break it. I even had a "mug-shot" of the evidence ... me holding a piece of what was left of the license plate after I plowed into a low wall, in the hotel parking area. Unfortunately, the photo was taken with my Samsung Ace phone, which died recently, before I remembered to retrieve my photos. With a dead camera, you would think I would have ensured that my phone-photos were well saved, backed up, whatever. But NO! Anyway, I guess today, I started thinking about my weird "equipment karma", that seems to extend all the way from kars to cell phones, to PC's. An

This past week's snow storm was a non-event, here in Toronto. Oh sure, we had a few days of bitter, biting cold. The kind that causes the extremites to seize up and fall off, if not properly wrapped in mitts, layers of socks, scarves and the like. And oh yes, it did snow, but in the days preceding the arrival of said snow-fall, the media played it up as the storm of the century. An apocalyptic, disastrous weather pattern, that would surely shut down the city. And boy, were we ready! School boards called a snow day for the first time in over a decade, the snow plows and salt trucks were out in full force, and those who didn't trust their bosses to close up the shop, put in for a bit of lieu time or a vacation day. Well boys and girls, the big bad winter storm didn't live up to the hype. And I feel nothing but the utmost respect for my friends and family who live south of the border, because they actually were treated miserably by t he same weather system before it took