Something Strange in the Neighbourhood

Image source here.

Bunch has been noticing something strange happening in the neighbourhood:

Ghosts showing up on doorsteps!!

It's a new tradition, called "Ghosting" or "Boo'ing."

Wanna be a part of this?

It's Easy!!

Here's how:

You need:

two paper bags filled with treats,
two pictures of ghosts

and,

directions to make two similar treat bags and two similar pictures of ghosts, along with directions to hang the ghost picture up in the window to indicate you have already been "ghosted"

The idea is to drop the bags on the doorsteps of two unsuspecting neighbours after dark. (Kids should bring and adult with them.) Ring the doorbell and run away before they come to answer. Then, each neighbour does the same to two other neighbours.

I Got Ghosted allows you to track your ghosting.

Diana's Legacy says "What a fabulous way to be neighbourly...It's such a great thing to drive around the neghbourhood and see the kindness spread."
Image source here"

Alpha Mom says "I love this tradition so much I wanted to share it with you."

Southern Living has a discussion forum on "Boo'ing."

You can include a poem in your package. Either write your own or find one on one of the websites above.

This one goes to the tune of "Black Magic Woman" by Santana.

You've got a ghost on your doorstep
You've got a ghost on your doorstep
You've got a ghost on your doorstep
Dropped off by me
And you're gonna find out how much fun this
Ghost on the doorstep's gonna be

Don't turn your back on me neighbour
Don't turn your back on me neighbour
Don't turn your back on me neighbour
Please go along with my tricks
Because this ghost is gonna visit two more neighbours
your picks!!

Take Over The World

Stacey is a friend from my hometown. I always see pictures of her amazing cakes. I recently asked her what her secrets were.



"...for almost all of my vegan cakes and cupcakes, I use the recipes in 'Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World,'

The pond cake and construction cake are both easy-to-do, and you don't need any special skills or equipment.


For the construction cake I took a chocolate layer cake, and I 'excavated' a hole in the top layer. I iced it with chocolate icing, and then I covered the whole thing with "dirt"

(mostly chocolate cookie crumbs, but it looks more like real dirt if you add some other stuff like graham crumbs, coarse sugar, skor toffee bits, brown sugar, etc.)

Then I added chocolate candy 'rocks' (from Bulk Barn), construction toys, and some little paper signs I made.

The pond cake is also a simple layer cake that has a hole excavated in it, and iced to 'seal' the cake.



Then I used green shoestring licorice, cut on steep diagonals for the reeds.

Some of them I dipped in melted chocolate for cat-tails; others I dipped in yellow or purple candy melts (Bulk Barn) and then in yellow or purple crystal sugar (also BB) to make the flowers.

I arranged these around one side of the hollow.

The water was extra-concentrated blue jello (I think I used 3pkgs of blue jello with only 1c of hot water and 1/2c of cold), allowed it to cool to room temp, poured it in the hollow and put it in the fridge to set.

Just before serving it, I put on the 'lilypad' (which was a green gumdrop I flattened) -- don't put it on in advance because the sugar on it will 'melt' the jello! Then added the frog.

The baby bird cupcakes are pretty easy to do, but require you to use piping bags and specialty decorating tips. You can take a 4-evening decorating course at most Bulk Barns or Michaels stores, and you would learn everything you needed to know to make these cakes! Having a couple of inexpensive tools and a little guidance about technique is all you really need to be able to make these basic kinds of things!"

Thanks, Stacey!!

postscript: obviously not all of the recipes are completely vegan but they could certainly be modified thus. See the recipe for vegetarian jello.

Yes, You Can Do That....

One of the most influential actors of my childhood has left us.



Les Lye 1924-2009

Best known for playing all of the male adult roles in You Can't Do That on Television.

Danny Gallagher of TV Squad says "It was really the first show in my mind that created an "us vs. them" mentality between kids and adults and didn't worry about influencing children negatively by entertaining kids through things that kids actually found entertaining. Maybe that's why my parents refused to let me watch it. They saw it and thought it might lead to a children's revolution of Spartacan proportions. "

I think there was something revolutionary about You Can't Do That on Television. The kids were shown having all manner of injustice brought upon them by the adults.

However, the sheer ridicule of it all meant the kids had the last laugh and showed that those who misuse power deserve to be laughed at.

Old-Town Crawl

The Esplanade in Toronto is a wide street with a boulevard in the middle. It is so wide that the boulevard has playgrounds, fountains, soccer fields, and basketball courts.

The boulevard is one long park and the surrounding mix of condo and co-op leads to a vibrant blend of humankind.

Soccer teams practise, teenagers shoot baskets, dogs are walked, children play, and people of all ages enjoy a city that belongs to and is composed of each and every one.

This area is particularly beautiful just before sunset, and on a weekend afternoon. It is probably divine first thing in the morning but I may never know for sure.

Postscript: Before heading out on an Esplanade excursion, you might want to download Toronto artist Marlena Zuber's great map of the area, inspired by a local running group.

How can I describe the intersection of College and Bathurst?



Sneaky Dees? Bistro 422?



What about The Pink Flamingo, just east of Sneaky Dees? I always wondered what it was like, a friend of mine said;

"It's a unique disco bar- with a strong Latin American feel, I almost feel that I am partying the night away in a disco in Mexico or Ecuador. Very easy crowd, don't need to be a professional ballroom dancer."


If you are looking for a CD then Soundscapes is the place to go. It doesn't look very big but it's pretty stacked.