beagle photo spam!

it took about a month, but petey is finally comfortable enough to share the dog sofa (aka the dirty sofa) with duke. previously, he would wait for duke to leave the couch to sleep on it or he'd hop up if duke was elsewhere.

two days ago, they were actually sharing a small dog bed together!

in other doggy news, andre has started his dog training business. it's called when hounds fly and while he is in training (he got accepted into the prestigious karen pryor academy, founded by the creator of clicker training - aka- modern animal training) he is donating his training fees to rescue organizations.

i'll share the business cards i created for him soon!

in the meantime, perhaps you'd be interested in reading about why andre is pursuing dog training?

this year i went to the cne twice! aaah, i love the ex - even if it means the end of summer.

the first time was with my book club girls and it was a total fair grub binge! so i got my fill of tiny tom donuts (who knew they had a website!) and waffle ice cream sandwiches. we even shared a plate of the infamous chocolate covered bacon.

the second time was with andre and we went on all the rides - my favourite is still the mega drop but the bonzai (technically it should be spelled bAnzai...) was really fun and scary as well.

and of course, as it is an annual custom for andre and i, we went to the superdogs show and cheered our hearts out. especially since our teacher from duke's obedience class and our behaviourist were in the show with their dogs.

the new kid on the block

a new free daily paper will hit toronto streets next tuesday, september 8th.

i had a little hand in creating the logo :)

here is more info on t.o.night, in several other media.

apparently evening free papers are popular and profitable in london and cities in australia (which is what t.o.night has been modeled after), despite the proliferation of handheld devices. i still like having actual printed mater to read from, so i hope this new daily beats the odds of the newspaper industry's recent trends in readership.

if you are in the downtown area, please pick up a copy or two ... or ten!

august critical mass

these were ribbons that were passed out by two very cute siblings at the july critical mass in toronto.

the august critical mass is tonight! will you join andre and i?

aaah summer

i am in love with all fruit golden.

last fall, my friend V introduced me to golden kiwis. the best kiwis on the planet.

and now this summer the little organics store just behind our house on dundas carried golden raspberries for one week. they are oh so delicious.

the thing with golden fruit is that they have all the characteristics of their regular counterparts but without the tartness. this makes them somehow creamier and richer in taste. so if you can imagine having a raspberry that is all fruity and floraly but without the tangy after taste, that is what these tasted like.

heaven!!

have a wonderful weekend!

the end of a (very short) era

big sigh. sadly, ms. myae papaya has returned to vancouver due to some unforeseen circumstances. it's only been one day and i already miss her a lot.

but wallowing in my loneliness won't do me any good, so i'll keep myself busy and hopefully this 'busy-ness' will turn into something productive.

listening to: friendly fire by sean lennon

photos: a super windy, chilly day at the beaches

homemade pesto

i had some left over walnuts and my two lemon basil plants had grown tremendously in the last month thanks to the rain, that i decided to make some pesto by substituting walnuts for pine nuts and voila! some yummy pesto! (lemon basil is more peppery in taste so i didn't add any pepper to this batch of pesto.)

and no, those aren't mutant basil leaves. my food processor is actually a mini chopper that my mom got for me, perfect for cooking for two. for my pesto making, though, i had to do it in two parts.

if we keep on getting more rain and more heat i should be able to make at least 2 more batches and next time, perhaps i'll have time to pick up some pine nuts.

walnut pesto
all measurements are approximate, since i never measure

2 cups packed basil leaves
1/2 cup walnuts (pre chop before adding basil leaves if they are whole)
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large clove garlic
lots of parmesan
sea salt and pepper to taste

place all ingredients in food processor and process until desired consistency!