Pride Toronto, Flatmouse, and the end of my reign as BBQ Queen

Above: How NOT to get published...

During a chat with my friend Craig yesterday, I discovered that Pride Toronto is this weekend. Jeff and I have always been away on Pride Toronto weekends, so this will be my first chance to see the Pride Parade. I'm having dinner tonight with Craig, and then we're going to check out some of the Pride events downtown.

Walter came over to help Jeff hunt for the hole the squirrels used to get into the house. The only hole they could find was a very small one near the kitchen, so they've plugged this up. Hopefully this will prevent a a tragedy like the one earlier this week from happening again!



I am no longer BBQ Queen, sadly; Jeff and Walter have informed me that I have been cleaning the bbq incorrectly all this time. I've been using a wire bristle brush on the grid while the grid warming up because that was what All The Newbie Grill Instruction Books seemed to indicate, but apparently this is a bad thing. Wire bristles have been falling out of my brush and collecting at the bottom of our bbq. Apparently I'm supposed to clean the grill while it's cold, not warm, but I'm finding this tougher on my arm tendons; as much as I like our new bbq, I'd rather not have a tendinitis setback because of it. :-( J & W also told me that I've also been putting on too much oil, which has been accumulating in a grunge-like fashion (as in dirt, not the rock music) along with the wire bristles. This was also a result of my research: I've been brushing a bit of oil on the grid each time before I start cooking but apparently this isn't really necessary either.

One good thing that has come out of all of this: Jeff has kindly agreed to do the bbq cleaning from now on. :-)

But I'm still curious, because of the misinformation in various books I've seen: if you're a bbq owner, how do YOU clean your grill? Every time you cook? If so, while the grill cold or warm?

Finished another book last night:

The People of Sparks by Jeanne Dupreau. This is the sequel to The City of Ember. I enjoyed this book just as much as the first one. Dupreau takes a familiar setting (post-Holocaust) but gives it her own unique twist. I'm very much looking forward to third book in the series, The Prophet of Yonwood.

And finally, some exciting news...



I occasionally mention Flatmouse, an old childhood toy of Jeff's. Flatmouse is, as his name indicates, a flat mouse. Jeff isn't sure how he got so flat. He does look as if he was meant to somewhat flat, but has gotten flatter over the years.

Anyway, the exciting news is that my author/illustrator sister Ruth is going to be featuring Flatmouse is one of her upcoming books! Flatmouse has been spending the past few months working with Ruth in her office as a model and source of inspiration. After all the attention he's been getting at my sister's place, I suspect he's a tad disappointed to be coming back home, but I'm sure his spirits will pick up once he sees himself in print.

:-)

Speaking of Ruth, Today's Parent magazine recently posted a review of Ruth's book, Clara and the Bossy: ""Clara loves triangles, tuna and the colour purple. She also loves the idea of her new best friend, Madison, until she finds herself swapping triangles for stars, tuna for ham, and purple for yellow...because Madison said so. At first intimidated by Madison's bossiness, Clara soon realizes that the only way to be happy is to be herself. Ohi's warm illustrative style invites readers to share Clara's victory."

I have such a cool sister. :-)



Have a great weekend, everyone!

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