Our Trip to the Czech Republic

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Winter in PragueOur most recent trip to the Czech Republic with the Port Credit Hockey team was very successful, 2 wins, 2 losses and 1 tie. We survived the trip responsible for eighteen – 16yr olds. They certainly tried all the tricks in the book to exercise their freedom away from home. For some it was the first time on an airplane, let alone a trip to Europe. We arrived to one of the biggest snow storms to hit the continent. I’m glad that we packed our boots. Nick got the players HBC red Canada scarves to wear as an off ice wardrobe and they were definitely a big hit with everyone. Prague (aka “City of a Hundred Spires”) was fantastic and we walked all over the city. We packed alot into the week that we were there, playing hockey and touring the countryside of Bohemia and Moravia. Czech Beer is certainly one of the world’s finest and sampled by all. :cheers: You can Czech-out our pictures in our family photo album.

Merry Christmas, 2005

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I hope that everyone has their birds in the oven by now, gone to church and opened their presents and not necessarily in that order. We had a fun time last night celebrating Christmas Eve. I hosted our family get together and decided on doing appetizers, salads and desserts. It was so much more relaxing for all. (Especially for me not having to worry about serving everyone). The weather is mild and the snow has practically melted. The house is quiet now, the boys enjoying their gifts. The item of choice is electronic of course so they are busy getting familiar with set up etc. Have a happy day all. Images available here.

Melanie and Dan Have a New Baby

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its-a-girlDan Foster just called to announce that he and Melanie (Masterson) were just blessed with daughter number two, born 2:10pm this afternoon at General Hospital in Chatham. Daughter Erin Rhianne and Mommy are doing fine after their scheduled C Section. Baby Erin weighed in ‘with arms and legs flailing’ at 8lbs 3oz. Congratulations Mel, Dan, and little Alex. :love:

Enhancing Airport Security?

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lockAt the airport where this guy works works, security has gotten a lot more attention since 9/11. All the security doors that connect the concourses to office spaces and alleyways for service personnel needed an immediate upgrade. It seems that the use of a security badge was no longer adequate protection.

So over the course of about a month, more than 50 doors were upgraded to require three-way protection. To open the door, a user needed to present a security badge (something you possess), a numeric code (something you know) and a biometric thumb scan (something you are). “Present all three, and the door beeps and lets you in.” Continue reading →

First Snow of the Season

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1st snow of 2005Laura and Martha awoke today with visions of a “snow day” in their heads but alas it was only buses that were canceled. While they packed up for school, I backed the car up onto the road (also not plowed yet) so they could trundle off into town. It looks like we got about 10 inches of snow over night and it’s our first accumulation for the season. Jaclyn had today off work, so her and Josh went to Toronto to visit with some close friends for the weekend. It’s starting to look a lot like Christmas. :xmascheer

A Chilean Dinner Party

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Echeverria_wineIt is all about the wine. I fully recommend these two wines to pour for your dinner guests. Ours drank 6 bottles of Bako’s finest. Santa Carolina – Sauvignon Blanc 2005, D.O. Valle Del Rapel. This wine is a deep golden-green colour and is fresh, fruity and crisp. It has a clean taste and is not too dry. The red was Echeverria – Carmenere 2004. It has gold stickers all over the bottle awarding it the 2005 gold tropy winner for Best Value. This Carmenere Red Wine is well balanced with fruit, spice and pepper notes it has a long lasting finish that went well with our spicy ribs.

Our menu for the evening went like this: Asparagus and Cream cheese pate, Chilean Salsa and tortilla chips… yum! Jerusalem Artichoke Soup and Jalapeno Cheese bread to start with. For the main entre we enjoyed Chilean pilaf-type rice, Butternut Squash Casserole, Zesty carrot and sweet onion condiment, warm corn bread, Spicy Baby Back Pork Ribs (marinated in a chile and garlic paste). Dessert we had room for coffee, khalua, and piled high Profiteroles drizzled with Caramel Sauce. These old folks can’t stay up past midnight anymore. You can see more pictures here.