How Blogs Are Born

Did I mention that Corner Gas is my favorite comedy on TV?

Yes, I know I have. And for folks who haven't seen any of it, I'm posting a link to a clip posted on You Tube. The characters featured are Brent, who owns the gas station, and his friends Hank, whom Brent has known since they were 6, and Wanda, who went to high school with them and now works for Brent.

Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rV2Hs2rgto8

Coffee With My Dad

I love coffee. I really do.

I'm not an absolute coffee fanatic, like Lorelai Gilmore on "Gilmore Girls" (may it rest in peace). Or Brent Leroy on "Corner Gas" (Wednesdays at 7 p.m. Central time on WGN - check out the official website http://www.cornergas.com/).

I usually only drink coffee at breakfast time. And I like it really hot with raw sugar and half-and-half.

Which is why I especially love percolated coffee. Drip coffee is good, but perked coffee is hot. The water actually boils.

I got my love of coffee from my parents, especially my dad. He would let me have a taste of coffee when I was a kid. Loved it from the first sip. When I grew up and got a job (at a library, of course!) and was living at home, I was usually the first one up in the mornings. By the time I got out of the shower, Daddy was up and had coffee brewing in his Revereware percolator. So that's when I really learned to love coffee. Having breakfast with my dad.

In recent years, I've fallen under the spell of Starbucks and mocha-locha-frappa-cappa-lattes. I will occassionally splurge on a "grande white mocha, no fat, no whip." And I'll buy bags of coffee to make at home. I even get the coffee ground for a percolator. My dad's Revereware one, of course. I still have it.

But my favorite coffee is from Tim Horton's, the donut/coffee shop chain in Canada (and a few lucky places in some northern states -- check out the website http://www.timhortons.com/). Tim Horton's needs to move further south! I have to depend on my friend in Canada to take pity on me and send canisters of their wonderful coffee. Coarse grind for perking.

My dad passed away 20 years ago. I don't know what he would think of the Starbucks and other designer coffees phenomenon. He'd probably like some of the fancy stuff. But he'd always return to the basics of a simple cup of coffee with sugar and half-and-half. That's my favorite, too. I am, after all, his daughter.

O Canada!

As I mentioned in my 1st post, I enjoy traveling to Canada to visit friends. I've been interested in Canada since I was a kid and the Weekly Reader had an article about the then new prime minister Pierre Trudeau. I'm not sure I'd ever paid attention to the country north of us before that.

In the 1980s other things happened to renew my interest. I started reading mysteries novels by Alisa Craig, a.k.a. Charlotte MacLeod. She wrote 2 series set in Canada: The Grub and Stakers series (1st novel "The Grub and Stakers Move a Mountain") and the Madoc Rhys series (1st novel "A Pint of Murder"). The 1st is about a young woman, Dittany Henbit, living in the small town of Lobelia Falls, Ontario. The Grub and Stakers is the gardening club she belongs to, and as in most "cozy" mysteries, she's an amateur sleuth. The series is very funny and charming. The Madoc Rhys series is about a Mountie does not fit the stereotypical image and in fact looks more like a plumber's assistant. This series is a bit more serious, but Madoc is charmingly old-fashioned and fun to read.

In the late 90s, I met another cataloger -- over the Internet -- who became my closest friend. She's from Saskatchewan and we visit when we can. I love visiting the prairie. It's really beautiful. Endless skies. Fields of yellow canola and blue flax and golden wheat. Just beautiful.

Finally, I mentioned in my 1st post that I watch too much TV. Well, one of my favorite shows is a Canada sitcom titled "Corner Gas." It's set in the very small town of Dog River, Saskatchewan, and, in my opinion, one of funniest comedies on the air. My Sask friend sends me the DVDs for Christmas, so I'm pretty much caught up on all 4 seasons it's been on up there. And I'm happy to say that an American station has picked it up. WGN is starting a regular schedule for "Corner Gas" tonight at 7:00 central time. Two episodes will be on. I highly recommend it. If you give it a try, I hope you enjoy.