I'm at Picadello's and planning to head out to the Capri for an entrecote and gros Mols in a bit, but it is raining pretty hard outside and doesn't look like it will be very comfortable to ride the bike right now.
Anyway, found this great Thai restaurant in the food court on the second/third floor of the complex at the corner of Guy and Ste. Catherine where I caught some lunch earlier--cheap, fresh, filling, and really tasty; there were actually people lining up there around noon (I got there a bit earlier as I had no breakfast). Also an interesting club sandwich/smoked meat place not far away in the same food court--don't know what the food tastes like there, but the prices looked really competitive. By the way, found the best (i.e., cheapest) place for the Trio #1: it is called Lafleur's (but doesn't seem to be part of the Lafleur franchise) at the corner of Wellington and, I think, Regina (the street just before Lasalle intersects with Wellington)--only $3.25 (tax inclus) for the 2 steamers (all dressed), fries, and Pepsi, which is about .25 cheaper than Bingo's. I also like the fries there (the Lafleur's that isn't really part of the chain) because they tend to be quite greasy and very doree (golden brown), much greaser than Bingo's and closer to the Rex. Their hot dogs and smoked meat (they also have a smoked meat platter for around $5.25) are provided by Lester's.
I had to come downtown today to do some banking, etc., but I'm sort of stuck here now for a bit because of the rain. It has been raining for the past week and more since I got here, so no chance to the mow the lawn or do anything outside, but perfect for napping (and eating and drinking beer). Picked up a number of interesting if eclectic books at the large book barn in the Guy/Ste. Catherine complex (at the west end) where they have a really great selection of remaindered books on sale at 50% and more off the list price--very conducive to napping.
18 comments:
Hi BrownBlvd2: Heard from my aunt and brother who live in Montreal all about the rain....sounds like you have the perfect antidote..... , a good book, food, a few zzzz's....the grass can wait. Hopefully it wont be a foot tall by the time you can get to it.......Dianne
Hey if you want the grass cut,get a couple of sheep. Steve
Right Steve, Sheep don't mind the rain, but it takes so long to blow dry them after. Ed
If wool shrinks when it gets wet, how come sheep don't? Just kidding. But you guys might start a new business.....plans on how to build a new and improved, better than ever, Noah's Ark, hehehe. Cheers.
My two sons are up fishing in Parent , about 200 miles north of MOntreal and its SNOWING , so , sure sounds good to be in the rain hahahaha Jimmy
Torrential rain in Verdun was infrequent but extreme at times. A
million 'large' rain drops which would actually bounce of the
pavement. After pushing aside the dams of maple leaves, we used to
place pop cycle sticks in the river of water in the gutters and
follow them until the sewers gobbled them up. The lanes were
completely drenched in the seasonal downpours, and if it occurred at
night I could hear rain from my bed which overlooked our back yard.
It was always an exciting and moody event for us children.
Second Avenue
You must have been rich, Bill. We were so poor we had to tie a string around our popsickle stick so we could pull it out of the sewer and use it again. Ed
Ha Ha You got me Ed. You must have lived east of Second Avenue to be
poorer than us. I recall as a child, the further west one lived on
the avenues (newer flats), the richer they were. When you reached
Crawford Park one attained nirvana. Happier, was a horse of a
different colour.
I think I need DOLLY'S's skill to write my posts, because I haven't
shown any improvement since Miss Martin's grade 7 class at Bannantyne.
And Dolly I believe you have lots to write about Verdun, and you have
600 potential customers right here at V.C. I personally wish to have
3 signed copies. Hemingway said writing is the loneliest profession.
Is this true for you?
Good luck.
Second Avenue.
Hi Second Avenue, Yes, writing is a lonely profession because it is just you and the screen and your words for hours on end. I was very shy growing up on Evelyn Street and remember sitting on the back porch in the evening writing in my journal. I wish I had kept it now! Shy is cute when you're 5 but not when you're 50, so I learned to hide it well. I have to be in the mood to socialize ----at parties, conferences, workshops, but I've learned over the years to just ask questions and get the other person talking and before you know it, I'm quietly listening and have forgotten about my shyness. I enjoy my company (don't need a bunch of people around me) and welcome moments of solitude---to just write, read, think, listen to jazz and blues on a Saturday night, light some candles, relax. I was always a cheap date! Bring me daisies and you've won me over! My husband and son are very proud and supportive of my writing and have always been there for me at readings or a launch. I also have a day job working for the federal government where I wear my other hat as an Executive Assistant. I do some writing there also as well as whatever freelance work comes my way. Personally, I love creative writing and I love entering my characters' lives. I love the community of writers here in Edmonton, and feel very comfortable among them. They are very supportive and accepting, like a good family. I wish I had had this group when I was younger. I love writing with a passion and when your work is published, it's almost like giving birth. Almost! When everything is flowing, it's an unbelievable experience and when I get stuck, then I take a break, make coffee, read a chapter from a book....or check out VC....which I am doing now as I had been writing for an hour previously and decided to take a break as it is getting late. I write best at night though in the dark...just me and the screen. Some writers prefer writing in the morning, but I can barely breathe, never might write, before noon! Although I've put my protagonist in the novel living in Verdun (because I know it and therefore it won't entail a lot of research on my part), finding this site and reading your messages and stories has inspired me to do a collection of short stories with the link being Verdun. I already have 3 short stories, 2 of which have been published. I was thinking of calling the book Smoke Summer. The stories happen in the summer. Well, it's a work in progress as is the novel. I've sent some things in for competition, so now just a waiting game. Should know by the fall what gets rejected and/ or accepted. I've been rejected before and it doesn't bother me. Everything I've written eventually gets published....I'm not a prolific writer though. I believe in myself and my writing. There's an audience for every writer. We can't all like the same books or writers...how boring! It's about luck, really.. Can I tell you that VC has inspired and motivated me to keep me going while I write this novel. My deadline for first draft is Christmas. So thanks Second Avenue for asking and by the way, what are you reading now? Dolly
tell us sabby, what have you written and how can we get copies???
I am all over the board with what I choose to read. My last two reads
were 'Hold the Roses', Rose Marie's biography. Remember her on the
Dick Van Dyke Show? She began performing on stage at 3 years old.
The other book was 'A Game of Shadows'. Non fiction about steroids in
sports (Barry Bonds, Marion Jones). Right now I'm trying to commit to
'A Purpose Driven Life', and not having much luck.
How about yourself?
Second Avenue.
Bill, Try to get hold of "On the Road" by Kerouac. It's interesting to reread it at the age we are now. One gets a completely different perspective. Ed
Thanks for the tip. I have an excuse now to put down 'The Purpose
Driven Life'. I used to think Kerouac was so cool when in my 20s.
Here was a man burning the candle from both ends.
S.A.
thanks sabby, i'll go searching...
This tidbit of Verdun memories was sent from an old friend from my
childhood after I forwarded the photo of the Steinberg's grocery bag
to him. Apparently the old man Steinberg saved his life. Anyone
remember Gregory Gernon from 1st Avenue? Does anyone remember Sam
Steinberg. I have no recollection of him although I may have walked
past him in one of his stores.
S.A.
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
I probably shouldn't tell you this but old Sam Steinberg donated some
blood
to me when I was a baby. I was dying as a newborn and Sam was a business
friend of my dad's and back then there was no red cross. Anyway, if
someone
needed blood they had to get it from private transfusions so Sam
volunteered
when Dad told him.
I guess that's the Jewish part of me, eh?
Gregory Gernon
Here's a tidbit of Sam Steinberg: http://www.umass.edu/fambiz/steinberg_non_legacy.htm some of his background,.........(how true it is I jave no idea,.......) also : http://www.namebase.org/main4/Sam-Steinberg.html sort of all you never wanted to know or maybe did,......Hope it's of some interest: here's an excerpt from the Greed of a Family fight: A classic case is the Steinberg grocery-store chain based in Montreal, a $4.5-billion empire with 37,000 employees when owner and company patriarch Sam Steinberg died in 1978 without designating a successor. His three daughters fought bitterly over how the company should be run, for a time speaking only through lawyers, says Gordon Pitts, author of In The Blood: Battles to Succeed in Canada's Family Businesses. "In the end it tore the company apart, and they eventually sold it," says Pitts. "There was no other resolution." The sale turned out to be a disaster. Steinberg's went bankrupt under its new owner and the stores were sold off among a number of competitors. "Sam Steinberg couldn't pull the trigger," says Pitts. "He couldn't resolve the estate-planning issues." And when businesses crash this badly because of family feuds after the owner's death, the wounds don't heal quickly. "Very often it takes another generation before people start talking to each other again," says Pitts. Sad to see an empire built from hard work,...dismantled by some spoiled brats,............ I believe that the origination of the 'Provigo' stores started as part of the Steinberg's empire but was quickly bought out by a large Quebec based food wholesaler,............Provigo stores started to appear on the scene ,as the Steinberg's ones were closing and disappearing,........it's funny How the name 'Provigo' sounds like a French sounding name ,.......but I understand it actually meant 'Provisions to Go ' ,......and was designed to pass the (language police )...............How true is this , again I don't know but it does sound feasible,............................... in anycase,.................................................Have Fun & Remember Verdun
Here's a vignette about Sam S. When I first started driving truck, I was doing local delivery in the Decarie Queen Mary area and had some bags of cement to deliver to the Steinberg residence. I piled the bags behind the house where the work was being and rang the bell to have the bill signed. Getting no answer, I tried the front door and was met by the maid in full attack mode. In tones harsh enough to light the fireplace she let me know that unworthys such as myself do not darken the front door and I was ordered to the servant's entrance. She slammed the door so hard that the gale from it dried the sweat under my arms. Before I could move, the door opened again and there stood Sam Steinberg. He said, "Give me that Son, I'll sign it for you. I apologize for my maid, she's such a snob."
Hi Ed: that was very interesting and so true....when I worked at Imperial Tobacco....no we aren't starting up that harangue 'smokers versus non smokers' one of my tasks was to arrange travel arrangements for the employees. Well, most of them were great, but the ones I had difficulty with were the secretaries of the President J.M.Kieth and a few others...they were so snobbish. I had no trouble dealing directly with their bosses and they did not intimidate me half as much as their gestapo running their office. Dianne
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