In total eight people sat at my dinner table tonight and it was comfortable. I was so excited about this meal that [...]]]> On Friday my new dining room table was finally delivered. I had it fully setup on Saturday and was ready to try it out. So tonight I hosted a Sunday Dinner.

In total eight people sat at my dinner table tonight and it was comfortable. I was so excited about this meal that I folded each of the serviettes in a different way. I did this in the morning while I was making the spaghetti sauce.

And speaking of spaghetti sauce, there is a ton of it left over. Here’s what we had:

• guacamole
• bruschetta
• spaghetti with meat sauce
• garlic bread
• lemon coffee cake with ice cream and fresh berries

We even had a salad that we all completely forgot about, which was unfortunate. I have lots left over and should have plenty to eat before the weekend.

The new table worked out really well. As I mentioned, we all fit at the table fine. It was large enough that, at points, there were two separate conversions happening at each end of the table. I pointed it out to people because I was pretty happy about that.

Oh, and perhaps the best part is that somebody complained that the spaghetti sauce (a home-made meat sauce) was too spicy. That made me feel pretty good.

I sent Brunke and Rebecca home with some leftovers.

Update: The wine I served was ZENATO RIPASSA VALPOLICELLA SUPERIORE.

It seems I packed a little too [...]]]> Yesterday I flew to Peachtree City, Georgia. I packed lightly, both because I’m only here for a few days and also because it’s incredibly hot here. I would have to guess that the mercury hit 100 today. I had about a third of a suitcase packed for the trip.

It seems I packed a little too lightly. When I arrived I confirmed what I had suspected since departing from Ottawa: I forgot my running shoes. It was late at night so I went to sleep and decided I would take care of this in the morning. But I would not go at it alone.

This morning I called the VISA Infinite concierge and I asked them to find me a pair of Saucony Hurricanes in size 11 in Peachtree City. I suggested they use the dealers indicated on Saucony’s website. And by lunchtime I had an email with the name and address of a dealer who had them in stock. Not only that, but I was also informed that they were on sale for $80!

So I went after work and was delighted to see that they Hurricane 11s were on sale to make way for the Hurricane 12s. Not only that, but the store was hosting a buy-one-get-another-for-half event. And it could be combined with shoes on sale! Being the good brother that I am, I did try to call my sister to see if she needed any runners but I couldn’t get her. So I bought a second pair of Hurricane 11s in a different colour.

I’m pretty thrilled. I’m going to break in the first pair tomorrow morning, hopefully before the sun wreaks havok on the landscape.

The story is told by a well-known pastor (unfortunately I don’t remember his [...]]]> This week the sermon at Parkdale was on 1 Peter 2:13-25. This is a great passage about Christ’s perfect life and his great substitutionary sacrifice. As a part of the sermon the deacon (our Pastor is on vacation) shared a story.

The story is told by a well-known pastor (unfortunately I don’t remember his name). It is from a church where one particular member approached the pastor to suggest there was too much emphasis on Christ’s death in the teaching–Christ’s life should be remembered, and highlighted, the man thought. By bringing more attention to the life of Christ as a good example it may lift the morals and ethics of body, and make life a little better.

The pastor asked the man, “if I preached of the goodness of Christ’s life would you follow him?” The man thought and answered, “yes, I think I would.”

The pastor asked the man, “Christ lived a perfect life, committing no sin. Would you follow Christ and live yourself without sin?” Without hesitation the man responded, “no–I could not go a day without sin let alone a lifetime!”

“Then I think you need a saviour before you need a good example,” the pastor concluded.

I think this is a great story that really drives home an important distinction: Christ’s life was not a good example, it was perfect and it was sacrificed for you because no other life could be. This is important.

There are those funny hats and t-shirts with the slogan “pobody’s nerfect”; this is exactly why we need Christ as our saviour long before he acts as our perfect example.

I bought the grill at Preston Hardware and was very impressed: free delivery, free assembly, and they [...]]]> Today I received my new Broil King Signet 70. This is a 3-burner barbecue with rear-burner and rotisserie. You can read up on the details at the specs page or jump right ahead to my barbecue porn.

I bought the grill at Preston Hardware and was very impressed: free delivery, free assembly, and they were competitively priced. They communicated very well during the process, and ordered in the specific model I wanted (not many stores had this model).

My journey started directly from work. I had the pleasure of taking a 2009 BMW 750Li for the trip. This made the driving extremely enjoyable, comfortable, and easy.

The first leg was Ottawa to Kingston. I needed to stop into Kingston to pick up my tent and [...]]]> Last weekend was packed full of adventure.

My journey started directly from work. I had the pleasure of taking a 2009 BMW 750Li for the trip. This made the driving extremely enjoyable, comfortable, and easy.

The first leg was Ottawa to Kingston. I needed to stop into Kingston to pick up my tent and sleeping bag. When the 416 was nearing an end an unbelievable rain storm. Cars were slowing down to less than 80 km/h; some were pulling over. The rain sensing wipers were praised, and the 19″ V-spoke wheels kept me cruising without delay.

From Kingston I continued on to Toronto. It started to get quite sunny so I put the automatic rear sunshades up. With lane departure warning enabled, active cruise control with stop and go, and active blind spot detection the car basically drove itself. My overnight destination was One King West where I valet parked the car, naturally.

In Toronto that evening I met up with Mr. Keeves. He is confirmed to be alive and well. We met after he had finished working for the day, and we made our way to a microbrewery on Yonge St. This place had flammkuchen, a treat that I hadn’t had since leaving Germany. I had as close to traditional flammkuchen as possible–it was good, but not quite right.

The next morning I met Stephanie and Erin for a run. It was awesome to meet with them on such short notice. We ran through Mt. Pleasant cemetery, and along Yonge and St. Claire. At nice as the route was, the company was better. I had some 50% off fruit that I left with Stephanie. I wonder if she ate it.

I visited MEC, the CBC’s World Cup Street Party, and Starbucks before heading into traffic en route to the Niagara region. The traffic was surprisingly bad for a Saturday afternoon. This caused me to stop for some New York Fries–I’m not complaining about that. The best-in-class infotainment system in the BMW kept me on track, in contact, and entertained. It was a real joy even in traffic.

When I arrived to Eric’s parents’ place I met with Brunke and Rebecca then setup my tent. I have a super tent that virtually puts itself up, and does so in seconds. It didn’t take long, so we managed to get some joy riding in with the Bimmer. Scott had most of his fun with the active drive mode set to Sport+.

After a delicious meal at Casa B. we headed to the Thorold Legion for Eric and Tiffany’s “Stag and Doe”. I had committed that I would win a barbecue at this event but I did not. The barbecue in question was a Broil King Crown 10. I had quite bad luck at this event, actually: after spending around $200 I had no barbecue, no money, a “fun basket” prize, and I didn’t even save Tiffany from getting a pie in the face.

The drive back to the “campsite” was pretty nice. The girls in the back seat had the massage and heating features on. They were quiet and relaxed. The amount of stuff we comfortably fit in the trunk was also quite impressive.

Sunday morning was an amazingly complete breakfast followed by a trip to see Niagara Falls. I had never been. We spent $20 to park for 10 minutes to see water falling off a cliff. It was worth it to not have to make a special trip from Ottawa to see them again.

I left the Niagara region at about 13:30 and made it to Kingston at 17:00, in time for a steak dinner with family. It was amazing, but it disabled me for a short time due to being full. I left at around 21:00 and returned to Ottawa. I drove to Ottawa via highway 15 and had enabled the automatic high-beams as well as night vision with pedestrian detection to assist with a comfortable drive back. And after hours in the car, if I ever felt restless I simply enabled the driver’s seat massage.

Alas, I returned to Ottawa without barbecue. I spent this week procrastinating from doing my school work and researching barbecues. I am happy to report that I think I found a winner.