Some Missed Highlights

Happy 2009! I hope everyone had a good New Year. There were a couple of things that I missed posting about, only because things were so busy near the end of the year. I really like working for the LCBO, but Christmas time is nuts.

Early Dec. we had our staff Christmas party. We were supposed to wear tacky Christmas sweaters. We didn't own such a thing and when we went shopping, there was very little to be found. We even checked Goodwill & Salvation Army stores. We ended up getting matching fleece vests with snowmen & snowflakes on them. Jim found a gross tie & I wore a string of lights necklace, Christmas tree earrings, and socks. We figured dressing the same added to the tackiness factor.

My co-worker, Dave, held the party at his house. He won for having the ugliest Christmas sweater.

Pretty tacky, eh?

The day after the party we drove into Toronto to meet up with my brother, Brian. YAY!! He was here from Fredericton to write a certification exam. We met him at his hotel and hung out the whole day. It was so nice to see him.

Here is Brian & Jim walking to the ROM on one of the coldest days we've had so far this year. It was nice when we finally got inside. Brian suggested going to the museum & it was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

We saw suits of armour. People were certainly small in those days. Some of those wouldn't even fit me. There were lots of religious artifacts as well.

Some beautiful stained glass

This carved piece depicting Christ's Crucifixion was so intricately detailed - just stunning.

This porcelain piece with the Virgin and the babe was one of my favorites of the day. I love the cherubs all around the outside.

Brian wanted to hit the Egyptian section, so we wandered over there. This is always a popular spot.

Here's a picture of Brian taking a picture of a sarcophagus.

Mummified hawk on the left and 2 mummified cats. Probably someone's pets that they really cared about.
There were a lot of stone carvings around of different gods, kings, etc. There was one statue that was on the floor with a glass wall built around it. The wall stood maybe 2 feet high. There was a man on a cell phone, talking away, while his toddler daughter was romping around behind the glass!! I was so stunned, I couldn't speak. Imagine...an ancient Egyptian statue and he lets his toddler climb around on it. When he saw us, he picked her up and scuttled away. The ignorance of some people.

Brian then spotted in this guide that there was a bat cave! He wanted to go see that.

Here he is in the cave, looking for bats.

Found some!

They weren't real bats. It was a mock set up, modelled after a real bat cave. It was kinda cool in a creepy sort of way.

A trip to the museum isn't complete without a stop to look at dinosaur bones!

We had such a nice afternoon. The museum was closing so we decided to go for dinner before Brian's flight back home. While we were at the restaurant, he got a text message from his girlfriend, Emma, saying that there was a big snowstorm, his flight had been postponed and his car would be buried for sure. He tried to call Emma, but no luck, so he phoned Dad and got him to check flight status. Everything seemed to be on schedule so we proceeded with a relaxing dinner, grabbed a couple of pictures -
and headed to Pearson. When Brian left, I wanted to cry. Sometimes I miss my family so much. I talked to Brian a week or so later and he said his flight almost got cancelled, but in the end, was delayed for a couple of hours. When he got to Fredericton, his car was buried and he didn't get home until almost 3:30am! It's a month or so before he hears anything about the exam he wrote. Fingers crossed for a good grade!

In mid-December we went to The Oakville Centre For Performing Arts for a show by Classic Albums Live. They choose a classic album and play it from start to finish in it's entirety. Note for note. Cut for cut. Then there is a short intermission and after, they'll do "The Best Of" whichever artist they are playing that night. The show we saw was AC/DC's Back in Black. I was pleasantly surprised at how good the show was. I would definitely go again. If they happen to appear at a venue near you, check it out. You can get a little bit more information on the group here.

Tonight we're going to the hockey game! Woot!Woot!

Jim received these from a customer. Gold seats, row 13. Excellent! The Leafs have been doing pretty shitty this year, but on the plus side, Ottawa is totally sucking it. This is a huge rivalry, so should be lots of fun. We're grabbing the GO train early and going for dinner first.

Then....next Friday....SOLD OUT AC/DC!



(Fan video is from the November show at Rogers Centre)

Now that the holidays are over, I seem to have a bit more time on my hands, so I hope to visit blogs and catch up. I'm also busy testing recipes for Dynise, so I'll be blogging about some of those soon as well. Have a great weekend!