Only in Toronto ...

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 the same weather system before it took a nap along the highway north to Canada. Since I am not what you could call a "winter person", I've spent the last few days sending out prayers of thanks for having dodged another bullet this year. At this rate, I may not even need to reward myself for surving winter with my usual early spring south-bound holiday!

In my world these days, being thankful does doesn't necessarily mean that I successfully maintain a sunny disposition or run around practicing mindfulness or stress reduction. The thankfulness mode only took me so far ... and then, this morning I awoke feeling stressed, miserable and resentful. Mostly because the non-event still played havoc with my weekly routines, and I didn't get to finish my grocery rounds when I had planned to. So, I found myself this gloomy, sun-less Saturday morning, doing the rounds of the grocery and specialty food shops. Please understand, that I never, ever shop on Saturdays. It's too time-consuming, and too crowded in the stores for my liking. And too easy to loose my 81-year old mother in the crowds. She really panics when she looses sight of me in the aisles. I'm sort of like a light-house beacon, or the mama duck on whom the ducklings imprint; in our case, role reversal has rendered mom the baby duck, and caused me to start waddling!

Of course, everyone else who typically shops mid-week, joined me along with the usual stressed-out Saturday brigade. So the stores were a zoo. Mom decided to drop out after the second grocery store, and I drove her home, as I continued on, determined to find some palatable gluten free bread and crackers, along with some good quality sheep and goat cheese. I don't do well with dairy, but I seem to be fine with a nice Manchego from Spain or some good organic French Chevre Noir. Followed by latest obsession - some nice Sicilian red wine.

All this leads me to today's sunny "only in Toronto moment" ...

I am quite certain that this could only happen here - my search for good quality sheep cheese brought me back to a gourmet shop, owned by second and thirdgeneration Albanians. At least, I think they're Albanian ... with names like Fatos, Afrim and Ibraim ... What I do know is that they run a fantastic business, right from the pages of a "slow food, artisinal cuisine" magazine. Yet, they aren't snooty in the least, like I imagine their southern California counterparts might be.

So, I walk in and they were playing old Italian tunes, in French, on a Portuguese language radio station!

Suddenly the sun started shining, I felt warmer and I couldn't remember why I was so miserable just a few minutes earlier.

Only in Toronto!

What did I leave with?"Vento d'Estate" (Summer Wind) from Tuscany, a big smile on my face, and some nostalgic memories triggered by the music ... Priceless!



I never did make it to the wine store, though.