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stoufjville suntribune thursday aug 23 2007 5 the joys of sleeping outside bb you keep asking why during sum mer do i insist on sleeping outside under the leafy overhang of a back yard maple good question but the answers are simple first our house isnt air- conditioned and while the basement is comfortably cool our bedroom isnt its horribly hot so hot an open window plus a rotary fan does little to encourage a good nights rest second i enjoy commun ing with nature lying on my back and staring at the stars gives me a new lease on life i challenge anyone athe ist agnostic or believer to gaze into the heavens and not appreciate the wonders of this amazing universe and how it all began its a sensation you dont achieve by fixing your eyes on the ceiling or cooling your heels under covers that to me is boring stuff but not hearing the rus tle of leaves responding to a brisk westerly breeze or lis tening to sounds of crickets duplicating the most mag nificent of choirs or hearing repeated calls of a mourn ing dove conversing long distance with its wayward mate that to me is night life at its best urban cottage little wonder urbanites long for weekend escapes to the country little wonder suburban ites live for weekends at the cottage to them the grass is greener and the air is fresher 100 miles away for me the grass is green er and the air is fresher 100 feet away theyll take it and ill take it and be thankful for it its a priceless blessing i thoroughly enjoy however where there are rewards there are also penalties sleeping outdoors minus a tent can present problems for example in may and june mos quitoes are a menace they attack with deadly ferocity and unerring accuracy any part of the uncovered anatomy is subject to an aer ial offensive even a double applica tion of antiinsect repellent wont deter their aggres sive ways in the end they always win raccoons frequent tres passers on our property can also be disturbing while their main mission is usually a cool drink from the backyard birdbath to suddenly awaken and stare into a masked face contain ing two beady eyes can be upsetting after two such episodes im still notsure who was frightened with jim thomas most me or the coon there are other night- time visitors as well occa sional dogs countless cats restless rabbits and squirrelly squirrels none stop for long just passing through while heavy dews are expected sudden down pours are not at least not this summer our lawn is drier than the sahara desert but when the rains come its a rude awak ening prompting a 20yard dash to the nearest door only to find it locked while these occurrences can be bothersome theyre nothing compared to what i endured last week the time was 115 am i remember checking my watch before falling asleep suddenly for whatever reason i awoke with a start there glistening in the moonlight was a black and white tail thats all i could see the rest was under my cot the tail colour however left no doubt as to the attach ment at the other end it was a skunk at its most beautiful and odourous best what to do should i jump and run or fake deep sleep i chose the latter keeping one eye open on the route the trespasser might take special visit for a brief period min utes that seemed like hours he went nowhere merely parked himself under my bed then much to my relief he emerged from the other side and ambled off into the night for me this was excite ment enough i gathered up my belongings and retreated into the house awakening my wife whats the problem she asked i crossed paths with a skunk i replied then sleep in the base ment she requested the airs cooler down there and fresher jim thomas is a stouffville resident who has written for area newspapers for more than 50 years hflfresh luna steak ski these firm- textured thick- flaked fresh steaks are excellent grilled -7- and also raw if thats to your taste 95 lb this week english i was at a loss for what to write about the english cucumbers this week so i asked my friend johnny p from produce i said what should i write about this fruit he says you mean vegetable and so an argument ensued about the classification of the cucumber a quick search on wikipedia proved that yours truly was correct but isnt that always the case well anyways what they are is irrelevant what they taste like is what matters and i can honestly say that these smoked hickens you know i dont condone smoking its a nasty habit what with those chemicals and the addiction thing but when village grocer smokes its awesome sorry horrible joke i know you automatically know when were smoking something as the whole kitchen is filled with the distinct mouthwatering aroma it almosts makes rag jf ff me wish i ate meat get j j o these smoking birds while w ech theyre hot ja bhbthis are some scrumptious cukes each this week cream of carrot oup im not a big soup guy and never really have been in fact when i first tried chicken noodle soup threw it back up all over my grandmother i was very young at the time but out of the fei types of soup which i do eat this is one of my favourites along with our pumpkin soup so if im picky and ulllc vine omatoes my research with the infamous johnny p refer to the piece on cukes also showed me that the tomato is technically a berry how dya like them apples so my suggestion is that you buy some of these beauties buy a cucumber also on sale and make yourself a delightful fruit salad ontario hydroponic vinecluster tomatoes whats still like it im sure you serves 23 reg 599 each love it 2fij mjr week si cranberry usages weet hint of 25 off this week mac j hdee se in my personal opinion which is by no means biased due to the fact that im a vegetarian this is the best frozen entree we sell whenever my mother cops out of cooking for me i go and grab one of these packages of frozen mac- andcheesy goodness nuke this baby for 8 minutes on medium and youve got it made time approximate microwave is unique serves 34 at the jmbjli reg 1095 in the deli this week we will feature our tomatobocconcini salad this is a fabulous mix of juicy cherry tomatoes and tender mini bocconcini cheeses livened up with lots of shredded fresh basil extravirgin olive oil fini balsamic vinegar and spices my aunt tells me that uncle d loves this served over hot cooked rotini pasta we will also have beautiful slowroasted stuffed loins of pork ready and warm from midafternoon until dinnertime these roasts are simply perfectly seasoned with sea salt freshlyground black pepper and sage a third special at our deli counter will be grilled tiger shrimps tossed in a lemon vinaigrette with parsley capers and nicoise olives add a tossed green these are a delectable allpork sausage with a sweet hint of maple and a tart hint jfflfr rhf 0 of cranberry fg c i 0 reg 450 lb h whats appendjgf every ad salad good crusty bread your favourite wine and theres dinner this week orange is the ingredient that links all our scrumptious bakery specials this week 4 99 ea a99 ea cont cranberry orange loaves reg white chocolate pistachio loaves reg orange shortbread coortes reg 9 orange mousse cake fluffy white cake layered with a zesty refreshing orange mousse this cake tastes like a creamsicle small large orange walnut scones made with orange zest and candied walnuts drizzled with an orange glaze reg and as is usual all these items will be priced at ea ea text this week courtesy of thomas 9 village grocer quality foods a specials in effect until closing sunday august 26 hours mon 1100 tuesthurs 900700 fri 900800 independent sat 900600 srin 1000500 grocer 548 carlton road unionville m 9401770 www thevillagegrocercom