Home Sweet Home....

Let me say again how sweet it is to be home. There's nothing like sleeping in your own bed, being surrounded by all your own stuff.

So, not a long update today but I did want to post a couple of pics - nothing major - from my trip. I have to admit that I'm a horrible picture taker. I'm just not one of those people to whip out a camera whenever something catches my eye. I think I'm going to work on that. After all, with camera phones these days I should be able to take a pic of just about anything, right?

OK. Here's a pic of my first meal upon my return. What else? Noodles. Yeah!!!

I swear, if someone would just open up an honest to goodness genuine Chinese noodle shop they'd make a killing down here in Raleigh/Cary.

Anyone interested? I'd invest in your venture :) My faves? Some kickin' wonton noodle soup with a side dish of simple veggies with oyster sauce. Nothing like the basics to make my tummy happy!

After the noodle shop we stopped by the ubiquitous asian grocery where upon browsing the shelves I saw these.

I wish I woulda grabbed the ones that had the english wording but the overall gist is these are KitKats with......matcha green tea!!! I swear. Only in Toronto. If it's hip (green tea/matcha is pretty hip right now) then the asians are all over it.

I haven't actually opened one up and tried it....yet. I'll be sure to post my impressions when I do. Haven't scientists been saying all along that chocolate is healthy? Well, with the addition of green tea and all those antioxidants this stuff has got to be even better for you than before, right?

And here's my final pic. Just for kicks. I've never seen anything like this before. Has crime really climbed to such an all-time high that this is what we have resorted to in Toronto?

I wish I would have looked a little more closely to see what the rental fee is. Gone are the days of the simple metal racks where you'd park your bike and clip on your handy-dandy bike lock.

I wonder whether those bike lock companies now include Toronto on their list of cities where they will not offer a guarantee against theft??

Well, that's all from me this fine Sunday morning. Hope you're all having a good one wherever you are!

Toto.....we're not in Cary anymore......

Living in Cary, NC is a unique experience that some have referred to as being similar to being in the movie Pleasantville. Everything's manicured and color co-ordinated. Some used to joke that Cary was like vanilla ice-cream with flecks of vanilla bean. Make of that what you will. 9 years ago I moved from metropolitan Toronto to the small town of Cary and that was an eye-opening and life-changing experience.

Let's just say that the pace of life down south has grown on me. Making my way up to Toronto to spend some time with family and to get some paperwork done has only served to solidify my belief that it's highly unlikely that I will ever move back here.

Take driving for example. Yes it's true that there are some really dumbass drivers down where I live - those who can hardly manage to merge onto the highway. No problems with that up here because everyone drives like a maniac and it's bumper to bumper every which way you look. It's enough to make someone who isn't claustrophobic become it. Traffic snarls with no end in sight. Eeeeek....I wanna go home!

But, for all the craziness that this place brings it also has things that one would never see south of the 49th parallel (actually...as a good friend just pointed out...I was a couple of parallels too far north at 49. Maybe closer to the 43rd!). Just wait until I get my pics downloaded and you get a look at some of the things I've found in just my first of 3 days back.

More to come......