The Toronto Food and Wine Expo is over. This year my wife and I were joined by another couple which gave us the opportunity to sample a lot more wine as we shared the taste of the grape many times with each other. Each wine sample has a ticket price (tasting tickets are .50 cents and the cost of a sample ranges from 2 tickets up to 25 tickets for some of the premium vintages) and by the end of the evening my friend Ford would describe the wine sample by the # of tickets the sample cost.

me: "what's this one called"

Ford: "9 tickets"

Because this was my second time at the show I was able to avoid a lot of the faux pas that I had made the previous year. Like parking at the back of the convention center as oppose to the front as to avoid the 10 mile walk to the exhibit. Getting their early before the masses came which made it easier to sample more stuff. I was able to try a cheese flight from the "Cheese Boutique" which was very cool as the cheese guy selects your samples based on the wine your going to drink with it. Not cheesy at all :) I also got to speak with Derek Barnett again.

 I met Derek at the Wigamog Inn during our summer vacation. The Inn had a food and wine pairing and Lailey Vineyard's (Derek is the wine maker for Lailey) supplied the wine. This was very cool as he remembered me. I asked him if he had any of the award winning Cab Franc 2001 left but unfortunately it was sold out. He did however have a private stash that was not on the menu and he was gracious enough to give me a sample (very nice) I will be making a point to visit Lailey next year.

Their was also an exhibitor (a builder) who was looking for an Innkeeper for the refurbished Keefer Mansion in Niagara. Now there is a lifestyle change if your looking for one. No Vineyard though. Only 7 G's a month lease and your inn.

Well November has come to a close and I can honestly say it was a month of change. First off I lost my job so I am back in my home office. I was actually thinking how the name of my weblog was inappropriate because I was doing the 9 to 5 thing again. I guess I don't have to worry about that. The job sucked anyway and other than the barely adequate compensation, and the opportunity to work with a good guy I wont miss it one bit.  I also had a fight argument heated discussion disagreement misunderstanding with a good friend of mine that has apparently put a strain on our relationship. It would seem a weblog is not a good place to have debates about controversial topics. I'm sure that the same conversation over a beer would have had a dramatically different outcome. Sorry dude. Live and learn. I My wife and I also celebrated my our 14th wedding anniversary. It was a great reason to get out of the house and spend some time together without the kids. We got married on Nov 24th, 1990 in Jamaica in the rain. During the same year 2 other couples got married (both couples are friends and we have kept in touch) and last week I found out that 1 of the couples recently got separated and the other seems to be headed quickly in the same direction. I think out of the 3 marriages, any 3rd party observer would have pegged my wife and I for first to self destruct but fortunately we still love each other enough to keep on working at it. I also said goodbye to an old friend who is moving to Mexico for good. In some ways I envy his ability to just pick up and move like that. What an adventure he is about to have. But I'm not sure I know I don't possess the courage to leave everything and everyone I know and love behind. I think I would be lonly but I think he will not be, as he is a very friendly guy who can wander in and out of lives like the seasons wander in and out of the year. Good luck Donny.

"If you're in a bad situation, don't worry it'll change. If you're in a good situation, don't worry it'll change." ~John A. Simone, Sr.