Penguins, Pot & Other Stuff

It was way overdue but some of the old Bishop Ryan High School boys got together to catch up on things at Bob Scarfone’s place.  Bob cooked up some burgers while everyone else brought something along.  This group represents not only high school stories but some camping trip tales and football exaggerations.  Along with Bob there was Lorne Giacomelli, Eric Miltenberg, Bill Friday & Randy Remigis.

 

Everyone is doing well and several of us have hit that golden time of retirement: Bill & Randy.  Bob’s not too far off.  It was just the boys so needless to say, the air was a bit blue at times.  Nice to get together and catch up on so many things.  Hopefully, the next one won’t be so far away!

 

If you want a laugh-Check out the Picture!

As loyal blog readers know, Brother Joseph was the winner of the raffle draw at the Malta Day picnic we recently attended.  One of the lovely items inside the basket he won was a dish towel with the recipe for Traditional Maltese Rabbit Stew.  After much pleading, Brother Joseph was good enough to pass it on to yours truly with the understanding that I would provide Lady Kathryn with the recipe.  This has been done!  Loyal readers will also remember that one of my posts had to do with the lovely rabbit dinner provided by Mrs. Sarabando.  So close to the way Mom made it!  Well, for those of you brave enough to try, here is the recipe for this delicious treat.  Let me know when you would like to come over to try to cook some up!

 

Ingredients:
- 1 rabbit cut into pieces
- 1 chopped garlic
- 4 ounces chopped onion
- 3 bay leaves
- 6 ounces tomatoes, peeled & chopped
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 4 ounces potatoes, cubed
- 4 ounces carrots, cubed
- 1 can of peas, strained
- 1 glass of red wine
- 2 glasses of water
- salt & pepper

Cooking Directions:
- fry rabbit in one tablespoon of oil until brown
- remove from frying pan
- fry garlic & onion in the rest of oil until golden
- add chopped tomatoes and bay leaves, water,
wine, potatoes, peas, salt & pepper and bring to boil
- add the rabbit and cook for about one hour or until tender
- ***Bring to Tony While Still Hot***

 

I’m ready when you are!

July 20, 1969-Neil Armstrong becomes the first man to walk on the moon (unless you believe, like some, that the whole moon landing thing was a hoax).  I remember where I was when that happened.  The family was on vacation near Napanee Ontario.  We were staying in a cottage that had no television.  Dad drove to visit someone he knew that had a small black & white television with a very fuzzy picture.  But there we were!  History in the making.  Almost as historic an event as when yours truly won the Most Beautiful Baby in Hamilton Contest!

Things are well underway in the construction of my pontoon boat.  Brother Mike & I decided to drive up to where it’s being made, Clinton.  That’s up in Lake Huron country, a little north of Chatham.  Anyway, I sort of had to get up there because I had purchased an electric trolling motor for the boat and needed to get it up there so it could be put into the steering system.  So, off we went.

 

It’s a lovely little drive through that part of Ontario. Highway #6 North to the 401 West and eventually on to #8 West.  A lot of picturesque countryside.  We got through Stratford and were within smelling distance of pontoon country.  But first, we had to pass through three or four little places along the way.  We got to Mitchell Ontario.  Brother Mike spotted it first- the sign on the highway welcoming you to Mitchell has a wonderful display across the bottom.  "Mitchell Ontario, birthplace of Howie Morenz"!  Even comes with the crest of the Montréal Canadiens!  Needless to say, with us both being such big fans of les Canadiens, a salute of honor took place immediately.  Not soon after that Clinton!

 

Didn’t take long to find The Bluewater Docking Systems company.  That’s where the boat is being put together.  I had called ahead so Terry & Trevor McGuire were waiting for us.  Father/son outfit that have been doing this kind of thing for 10 years now.  Really nice guys!  They showed us what had been done so far on the boat & trailer.  Really good, professional work!  Along with pontoon boats they also build docks and other things involving heavy duty plastic casing.  Terry (Father) made sure I was getting exactly what I needed.  He’s going out of his way to put some wheelchair ramps on this thing for me.  August 8 can’t get here fast enough!

 

Spent about an hour there seeing what was going on and dropping off that electric trolling motor for them to work with.  Back to Hamilton.  But not before stopping at a cute little roadside burger stand for some sustenance.  Not the greatest but certainly filling!  Now, the long wait.

Today was the annual Malta Day Barbecue which is held at Burlington’s LaSalle Park.  The lovely Trish came over and drove me & her along with Kaleb, Paulo & Jeannine over to the festivities.  When we arrived, Brother Joseph & Lady Kathryn were already there.  I don’t know what I was thinking but I had invited Liz & Dickhead to join us.  Sure enough, 10 minutes later and the whole gang was there.  Wait, Kathryn had invited her sister Ruth who showed up 10 minutes after that.  The gang was all there!

 

I must say, a great time was had by all.  Perfect weather, great food and good company. It’s nice to see so many of the members of the Maltese community gathered for the day.  I especially like touching base with some of the old-timers from my father’s crowd.  Not many left but there are some. Brother Joseph did really well-he won the bocce tournament and also the big raffle!  I’m telling you, being an Aquilina has its benefits!  Kaleb got some swimming in.  Trish, Liz & Dickhead got to see the sights of Burlington Harbor.  We all had great food.  To top it off, Kaleb & I got to eat some goodies from the traveling ice cream truck!

 

Some great pictures (thanks Trish).  Check Them Out!

Kaleb is playing soccer again this year.  Very snazzy red & black uniforms.  Decided to watch the little guy go play yesterday.  Who shows up?  Dickhead!  Oh well, it was a lovely day and the weather was nice so I was able to put up with him.

 

After a late start, it was Kaleb’s Reds versus the Greens.  Unfortunately, the Green team did not have enough players so they borrowed some kids from the other teams and became the Powder Blues.  After a slow start, Kaleb’s team started to show its dominance.  It was already 1-0 for the good guys when I had to leave.  I eventually learned the final score was Reds-4 Powder Blues-2.  A victory!

 

All in all a pleasant evening.  Check out the Pictures!!!

Yes, much to the consternation of Tree & Dickhead, the deal has been done.  In one month I will be in possession of my own pontoon boat!  A little beauty that is being made to order.  13′ long and 7′ wide with a trailer & 9.9 hp motor.  Even has a canopy for those hot, sunny days.  It’s being built from the ground up so it will be exactly what I want.

 

Now, I can do more than just fish from the shore.  Also, scenic cruises along Hamilton Harbor & Cootes Paradise will be very nice.  I’m just going to have to make sure some of my friends (Trish, are you reading this) & relatives (Cousin Jan, are you reading this) get their boat operators license!

 

Check out the Pictures

Last Sunday, Brothers Joseph & Mike and I went on our usual visit to see Mom.  A good visit; we got mom outside to enjoy the nice weather.  On the way home, we decided to stop in and visit Mrs. Memme.

 

The Memmes were our neighbors when we lived on Mohawk Road.  It was a really good situation for the kids.  I hung around with Fred, Brother Mike hung around with Anthony (and for fishing, he hung around with Robert) and Brother Joseph hung around with a cousin of theirs-Marco.  Mr. & Mrs. Memme were old-fashioned Italian.  He would have a garden going every summer and come the fall, homemade wine.  Dad really appreciated that!  Mrs. Memme was always cooking or baking something.  Her Italian pastries were from heaven!  Well, the kids are all grown up and have moved out of the house.  Mr. Memme passed away several years ago so Mrs. Memme is all by herself in that great big house.

 

She was so happy to see us!  Made a pot of tea and lucky for us, brought out a plate full of her homemade Italian cookies.  We caught up on family business and she told us what was going on in the old neighborhood.  She’s still doing very well.  80 years old and sharp as a pin.  Our time there just flew by.  So nice to see Mrs. Memme again.  We will do it again soon!

Headed out with Brother Joseph & Lady Kathryn to watch Sister Dianne play some baseball at the Dofasco Sports Complex.  When we got there, met up with Brother Mike.  You could say Sister Dianne had her own official cheering section.  All we needed were pom-poms!

 

Sister Dianne’s team was sporting their snazzy purple uniforms.  They were up against the team wearing green.  It was already 1-0 Dianne’s squad when we got there.  We got to see Sister Dianne play second base, first base & catcher.  She did really well; nothing got by her in the infield.  She drove in a run with an infield hit and was robbed of a double by a good (but lucky) catch by the Green team’s second baseman.  The teams are all made up of female players who have some kind of a connection to Dofasco.  Players of all kinds; some very very good and some, well, not quite so good!

 

It was a fun couple of hours.  After the game, Brother Joseph & Lady Kathryn & I headed out to a new ice cream parlor that’s the talk of the town in Stoney Creek.  Of more importance to me, it’s attached to a Tim Horton’s!  While Joe & Kathryn partook of the ice cream, I settled down with a coffee and a couple of wraps.  Delicious!

 

Check out the Pictures

Not a nice way to start the season!  Expectations of Tiger Cat fans were high.  Brother Mike & I went to the game and were accompanied by Dickhead-he got a free ticket from yours truly (the only way he would attend!).  Have to say though, Dickhead was generous enough to take care of parking & the purchase of a jumbo hot dog pour moi.  Will wonders never cease?!?  The lovely Paulo was also there to round out our quartet.

 

Unfortunately, the Tiger Cats didn’t show up until the first quarter was over.  By then, Toronto was winning 20-0.  Looking at it that way, we won the rest of the game 17-10!  Silly penalties at bad times, turnovers and some injuries took their toll.  Oh well, at least it only rained for 10 or 15 minutes; could have been a lot worse.

 

Check out the Picture