Slow & steady!

December 2/12.

A fun afternoon at Danforth & Logan today! Horse drawn carriage rides, 

all along the Danforth,

big blue Christmas tree,

live holiday music, (sorry for the blurry shot!), 

and several St. Nicks, (some without their beards!), 

all in honour of the March of the Santas fundraiser!

The stars of the show? The Toronto firefighters, (this is David), on hand to promote

the Toronto Firefighter Calendar 2013 with proceeds going to the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre!

After all my experience with breast cancer and so many visits to the PMH, I HAD to buy a calendar for $20! Cover boy Chris Casa (West Command) autographed his pic for me. 

Love what he wrote. It says, 

Elaine - We find 'em HOT and leave 'em WET!! xoxo

ha ha!

David ("Mr. April") wrote: 

Elaine - Let's get dirty this spring! (in silver Sharpie above the pic).

And Geoff (one of four "Mr. May" men - second from left), said, Elaine, Walk tall...carry a BIG HOSE!!!

Photography is by Emile Marino and Melanie Partington.

Anyone can order a copy by going to this website: www.torontoffc.ca

Afterwards I headed over to my fave nail salon,

Urban Nails, 

for a new Shellac manicure, by Tom, a true master of the art! Owner Alec had hung up a new selection of bright, pretty, colourful decorations. (and there's no shortage of magazines, even though you can't read them while you're getting your nails done!)

Earlier in the week, my lovely daughter, Kate, attended an 80's themed party and dressed the part,

gorgeous, intricate makeup and all! (I think she could become a makeup artist)!
Hmmmmmmm. Wonder where she gets her interest in makeup??????

November 25th was my Dad's birthday. Rex Loring is 87! - Nothing quite like the delightful combo of a British beer and a red velvet cupcake! Now make a wish and blow out the candle!

The birthday destination? The Coach & Four, his fave pub in Oakville.

My sister, Carrie and I brought balloons, and an LCBO gift card - (the gift you NEVER return!) Carrie did the driving, as I would be useless navigating to Oakville - (even with GPS). As it was, we ended up semi-lost at one point due to circumstances beyond our control!

We had a great time with Dad, as always, telling stories, joking and laughing about the good old days - (and the NEW days).

Nothing like having a drink with your Dad. We're proud of him. He keeps busy, maintains that fab sense of humour and incredible deep newscaster voice, still drives, cooks his own meals, travels on cruises, writes speeches, M.C.s military events, makes dubs of VHS tapes and DVDs for friends, helps others in need and pretty much NEVER has a dull moment! (My kinda guy!) Love to you and have a happy and healthy year ahead! 

Cheers!

Meanwhile, our son, Max (soon to turn 18), got a special pre-Christmas/Hannukah/birthday gift from us. A new Dell laptop! Here he's loading up The Who's Tommy CD on the computer. (funny how the CD cover almost matches our den blanket, bought in Mexico decades ago). To this day, it's my favourite blanket of all time!

Sam and I are thrilled to be able to make him happy with this present. (and may I say, he has great taste in blogs - he's reading mine here - Lain's Log! - pic with NewsTalk 1010's Ted Woloshyn). I'm quite sure this laptop will get mega-use and be a HUGE help to him in future years! Enjoy Max!

Went shopping at the brand new Walmart at Gerrard Square - (pic sneakily taken on Max's iPhone after the friendly "greeter" yelled at me a few weeks ago, "NO pictures in the store"! - Oh, and Welcome to Walmart!) -  Max stole a line of dialogue from Jack Black in School of Rock, telling me,  - "Stick it to The Man!" We went in, took a quick shot in the tinsel aisle, and vacated the premises pronto, sans trouble.

I went in to buy some very late birthday gifts

for our newest little cousin, Sienna. Her 1st birthday was back in June, but she was in Malta at the time with her parents, so I never got prezzies to her. This week, she and her Mum (also my cousin - stunning Sacha), are returning to Toronto, so I delivered the gifties to my cousin, Kevio, for safe keeping till their arrival.

(Hopefully, by now, they've opened them)! It's been six months since we've seen Sienna, so who knows what she looks like NOW??
Adorable, I'm sure!

Turning now to the animal kingdom in our household - Tru, our cat! Ai carumba. Has she ever been keeping me busy. This crazy Devon Rex is going on 16-years-old and having trouble with arthritis, a yeast ear infection and conjunctivitis. She does NOT do well with visits to hospitals, so, we managed to track down a fantastic mobile vet who makes house calls! Yippee!

Introducing the charming Dr. Annabel Musson (right) with her friend and equally delightful assistant, Sharon - (registered vet technician). Together, they managed to collect a blood sample from the jugular vein, clean out her ears and eyes, pull out small, matted tufts of hair and administer pain medication for her arthritis. I can highly recommend these kind and talented medical pros who have no problem looking after your pet while he (or she) is in the comfort of their own little bed!

They both LOVED Tru and took her picture for their own site! If you need help from a wonderful travelling pet doc, you can reach Dr. Musson at: drmusson8@gmail.com

I got detailed instructions and have been administering all drugs to Tru, daily, on my own, with a little help from Kate & Max. The kitty seems to be doing much better already!

While on the subject of doctors, I paid a visit to Princess Margaret Hospital for a checkup on November 30th. Despite getting very little sleep lately, and weight still hovering at 95 or 96 pounds, they tell me, all is well. Mammogram and other tests coming up in January 2013.

The Christmas tree and Santa Claus in the lobby at Princess Margaret Hospital.

While out at Gerrard Square again the other day, (this time with Max - his pal Santa in the background), we bought boxes of Christmas cards, some takeout Chinese food,

and every year, I buy one new holiday decoration. This year? - a Martha Stewart 50-light garland from Home Depot. (and once again, nobody yelled at us for taking a pic!) - Didn't buy the Poinsettia, but it sure was pretty! Will buy one closer to Christmas.

To wrap things up in a slow moving way, I will show you a funny pic. As Max and I were leaving the mall, we approached my dusty black Subaru in the parking lot, and noticed someone had drawn a picture on the hood of the car!

It was very clearly an artist's rendition of a turtle! Had to laugh! In MY opinion, someone I know in the neighbourhood used their finger to sketch this creature to indicate that I am a slow driver! My husband insists this is NOT the case, (since he has seen me drive). The only response I have to this picture is, if YOU had recently fought a speeding ticket in court, YOU would be driving like a turtle too! - And hey, - to quote Aesop's fable, The Tortoise and the Hare, - "Don't brag about your lightning pace, for slow and steady won the race!"
Hoo haw!

My Saturday with Ted!

November 24/12.

Never expected to be sitting down at the NewsTalk 1010 studios to talk to Ted Woloshyn on Saturday with Ted, but it happened!

This is the little studio where Ted runs the jam-packed show every week,

along with his trusty musical companion, jazz pianist Bill King, who plays the intros before every interview. It was a treat to sit right next to him to watch and listen. What a talent.

I got to the station at 2 St. Clair Avenue West around 11 a.m. Show producer Dan Jacobs came downstairs to the parking lot to bring me up to the second floor, where I waited in the "holding room", (actually the control room for Ted's show)! Really fun to be "behind-the-scenes",

listening to the banter back & forth between Ted and Bill. They make a great team! If I leaned over, I could JUST see Ted's face behind the glass.

Dan Jacobs, (right), gets very little time to sit. He's constantly up and down. He produces Larry Fedoruk's show as well as Ted's, and spends most of his day rounding up guests and getting them into (and out of) the studio. On  the other hand, Mike Catherwood (left, with cap), operates the board, interacts with Ted and Bill and helps make the show flow! I really enjoyed watching Mike in action, so quick with the quips and effects.

There were so many long commercial breaks, Ted even had time to give me a tour of the newsroom across the hall. He showed me where award-winning newscaster Dave Agar sits (2nd from left - the chair right next to the window). The place looks nothing like it did when I worked there way back in 1975!

Ted made me feel so comfortable. We talked about the early days of Good News reporting, the time I spent working with Bob McAdorey (Ted says Mac inspired him to get into radio), teen idol Bobby Sherman, my Dad (Rex Loring), my Mum (Jill Loring, who worked at CFRB as a copy writer for 26 years), and my experience with breast cancer.

Only problem is, now I remember how much I miss the radio biz! Thanks, Ted, for the chance to wear headphones again and talk to an invisible audience. Was a blast!

P.S., I didn't even realize there were video cameras in the studio, recording us the whole time! (Ted pointed them out to me during a commercial break). My sister, Carrie, sent me a few shots. This is one of them.

Click on the play button to listen to the interview!

Don't Stop This Train!

November 27/11.

Everyone's had days where you want to say, "Stop this train." - Or at least, damn well slow it DOWN a little bit. Don't let it speed so outta conTROL! - (thank you Reege), or, perhaps, on the other hand, just let it all crash & burn. At different phases in my life, I've passionately wished for BOTH. (mostly in the last wildy convoluted, crazed year of pain).

Have been obsessed for quite a long time, with John Mayer's phenomenal song, Stop This Train. (Maybe the greatest song of the decade). This video version, in particular. Wow. Just wow.



Seriously. You will NEVER, EVER see better video production/direction, not to mention, better song, lyrics or pure performance, than this. (Only my opinion). Absolute perfection. And the words "stop this train" mean something different to everyone. My favourite verse is when John sings about his Dad.

So scared of getting older
I'm only good at being young
So I play the numbers game to find a way to say that life has just begun
Had a talk with my old man
Said help me understand
He said turn 68, you'll renegotiate!
Don't stop this train
Don't for a minute change the place you're in
Don't think I couldn't ever understand
I tried my hand
John, honestly we'll never stop this train.

Thought a lot about this song, when my sister,

Carrie & I went to see our Dad this afternoon to wish him a happy 86th birthday at his favourite Oakville pub, The Coach and Four. HE'S still chugging along the track. SO happy about that. But the train unexpectedly hit a wall and stopped altogether for our Mum, on October 19th, 2010.
Haven't recovered from that loss. - But Dad? Don't EVER let it stop!

"Stop this train - I want to get off and go home again,
I can't take the speed it's moving in,
I know I can't,
But honestly won't someone stop this train"

(Sadly, we know, the train has to stop sometime. For EVERYBODY. - But could you just keep it going for ALL of us, a while longer?)
Cheers Dad!

Freaky, frenzied fun with Franelle!!!

November 25/11.

Happy birthday to my Dad today!

Dad with my sister, Carrie (pic taken in September).
The infamous Rex Loring is 86 today! Will be seeing you on Sunday, Dad, in Oakville with prezzies!!

Can't stop myself from running this pic again! Dad in his twenties during the CHEX days in Peterborough, where my parents first met. SO cute!

This whole week has been a bit of a blur, faster than a speeding bullet, since the arrival of my best friend, Franelle, from L.A., on Monday night.

Haven't seen her in a very long time, so we've had a lot of catching up and 'splainin' to do (as our pal, Ricky Ricardo would say)!

The first night, (here with Franelle's fab sis, Valerie), we ordered Japanese food - salmon & sushi (with Henkell, natch)! - to celebrate her visit!

Later, (at 2 a.m.), Franelle & I watched the new episode of House, (which I PVR'd),

and let Hugh Laurie take us away for a while! - Thanks Hugh!

The next day, Val & I took Franelle to the Eaton Centre to shop and see the fabulous Christmas decorations!

The massive reindeer, all lit up - amazing!

The Swarovski Crystal Wish tree is pretty stunning!

The tree is 55 feet tall, (sorry, didn't have my calculator for metres),

and is decorated with over 40,000 crystal ornaments. Costly tree!
Must take a ton of security!

I really had no idea you can SKYPE with Santa!! Coolio!

The reindeer look beautiful and bright no matter what the angle!

You can't tell from this pic, but these pretty stars are rigged up to give off a gleaming, cascading, animated light effect.

Fun to watch!

Franelle accompanied me on a shopping spree at GUESS,

pouring me in & out of tight little black dresses for Sam's upcoming Christmas party.

Fell in love with this one and bought it! (but forgot to bring the
right shoes! Will look much better with sexy stockings and my shiny silver stilettos)! - And ya, judging by the back of this gown, have to hire a stylist to figure out what kind of magic bra to wear!

(only kidding. Meet my personal stylist, (i.e., Franelle), who already has all that figured out)! Whew!

After shopping till we dropped, caught an early dinner at a vegan restaurant called Fressen on Queen Street West.

Was a bit of a challenge for me, (with an aversion to onions & garlic), but they were accomodating and prepared a couple of dishes just for me, sans those ingredients! Meanwhile, Val & Franelle indulged in them!

Wednesday morning, hard to believe it's late November. Woke up to plenty of sunshine and lots of coloured leaves still on the trees!

We decided to take advantage of the sunny day and head for Kensington Market, where my daughter, Kate,

needed to pick up some custom-made t-shirts for her Improv team at Rosedale. Mission accomplished!

Then, off to a major-league, calorie-laden bakery, where we picked up mucho sinful goodies!

Ai Carumba! These guys have EVERYTHING!

For my pals who worry about my weight...don't! We picked up crusty bread, butter tarts, an amazing apricot almond torte, bagels, Havarti cheese and a Nanaimo bar (for Kate), and after THAT,

shuffled over to Spadina, where,

yep, you can get - ALL DIM SUM - ALL THE TIME!!!!

Franelle ate all this herself! (just kidding! We shared every dish! - and brought some home, too)!!

Fab food, especially the deep-fried calamari.
(and oh-so-good-for-you, too, - in case you didn't know)!

While shopping in Kensington, happened upon some Grinchy friends!

("Lady Grinch" was quite fond of me apparently! - while the Grinch himself was excellent at leering)!

Meanwhile,

Franelle found an amorous pal of her own! Look out! Here comes trouble!

So many wild & wacky stores in Kensington!

Checking out the vintage clothes and accessories at Courage My Love.

And at Flashback. Bought a pair of tiny silver heart clip-on earrings (for 10 bucks), to wear at Sam's Christmas party next Friday.

Finally, heading home along Dundas. The Yonge/Dundas square is sparkly, even amidst streetcars, billboards, construction workers and heavy traffic!

When we hit our street in Riverdale, couldn't believe it. ALL the leaves are gone! Now, it really looks like November!! No more bright colours.

Now, rolling into Thursday!

Franelle, (my personal stylist for two weeks), went with me to sexy, sizzling La Senza - (at not-so-sexy Gerrard Square),

to track down the hot item I so desperately need for that little black party dress. Since I've led a sheltered life (?) I wasn't really up on the benefits of Dream Shapers self-adhesive bra thingamajigs! REALLY??

let alone silicone gel-filled bra cups for backless and strapless wear! It ended up, La Senza didn't have my size in "gel-wear" (who knew?) - too small I guess! - So, had to go with a different make. Sure hope the adhesive holds up! (Don't want to risk a wardrobe malfunction)! Gak

"Sure hope my TAIL holds up!" (Hey, what the heck is my old Cowardly Lion blog mascot doing in this entry???)

After shimmying in & out of the little black dress so many times, it was off to, - you got it, another bake shop. THIS time, the famous HARBORD BAKERY!!

Living in the States, Franelle is butter tart-deprived, so here's the best place to buy them.

(albeit, $1.75 per tart)!

SO much chocolate nut bark!! My teeth hurt just LOOKING at this!!

Upon arriving home, checked out the baked goods inventory! Ai yi yi!
Cheese sticks, chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin pie, butter tarts, mundlebroit, chocolate brownie (for Max), Nanaimo bar (for Kate), cheese blintzes and a baguette! Clear the decks!

Oh, and hey, remember the rollicking ME DAY I took a while back, when I spotted that to-die-for short red "Santa Baby" dress in a store window?

Sure wanted to own one. Guess what? Saw MANY at La Senza, so come on! PLEASE? Lemme just try it ON!!!!!!

Stylist Franelle snapped the shot in the dressingroom. SHE sez it's OK to run it, if I just show the top! OK with YOU???????? Well, I didn't BUY it!!!! Santa, Baby, hurry down the chimney tonight!! Ho! Ho! Ho!

So, that's been our week so far! - (and I even left OUT all the wild, raunchy, convoluted conversations, raucous, racy laughs and sinful swearing. Franelle is a master. LOVE it)! And much more to come!
Update soon I hope!