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stouffville suntribune thursday feb 8 2007 5 standing on guard for thee is a blast congratulations to me i celebrate my ninth month as a parttime school crossing guard this week in actual fact ive only been on the job seven months since my services werent required during july and august truth is if you subtract christmas week ends and pa days im down to six months on top of that since im only on call when one of six regulars isnt available my time line is reduced to four months regardless im loving what i do and doing what i love be it four months or four weeks i only wish id embarked on mis career a decade ago i now know what ive missed so why didnt i i feared failing the york regional police check because investigators might find an obscure skeleton rat tling in my closet i was afraid the morning noon and afternoon shifts would so break up the day i would have no time for any- thing else and i wasnt sure i could endure the sleet snow wind and rain fourth i was hesitant after all these years to throw my lot in with the town to become subject to municipal rules and regulations and censored by eagleeyed critics while being paid taxpayer dollars and embarrassed by uncontrollable kids and com plaining parents as well i was concerned about impatient commuters and intolerant truckers you dont need the aggra vation a little voice kept repeating a few of my friends sus tained these doubts with comments like youll freeze to death youll get yourself killed youre way too old and the tax man will take every thing you make regardless i submitted my application to the depart ment of public works passed the police test and completed four days of training its been my most reward ing parttime tenure while my positioning could be any one of six locales in recent weeks ive been at ninth line and elm road filling in for veteran signtoter elwood pattenden for me morning and afternoon shifts are best because theyre busiest noon hours can be a bit of a bore because most st mark and glad park students lunch at school as for outerwear the town keeps a step ahead of the weatherman with apparel to counter every clime i cant complain on mon day however a pair of fleece- lined woolies under a shirt a vest four sweaters and a coat would have helped my head roaming with jim thomas was protected by three toques and a hood the children im paid to protect are great theyre very patient and always polite the same goes for their parents even accompanying dogs are docile more so man most i encounter on my paper routes high school guys and dolls are good too although most im sure could cope without assistance however i reserve my heartiest applause to the oft- maligned gravel truckers whose mighty vehicles pound the pavement from morning till night while time for them is important ive yet to be blast ed either vocally or mechani cally nor would i tempt such fate contending the life of a child is of greater importance than stopping a 40ton mack carrying 20 tons as with any new position its been a learning experi ence for example the cross walk at the ninth and elm isnt legal drivers arent obliged to stop just because a pedestri an is standing at the curb its only when the guard raises his or her sign and signals stop that a motorist is obliged to obey those who choose to brake on their own initiative run the risk of having a truck stuck inside their trunk it also gives pedestrians a false sense of security best i say to err on the side of safety the chamber of com merce should consider erect ing an information booth at this site hardly a day goes by that someone doesnt stop to ask directions the most common ques tion wheres walmart whats a guard supposed to do should nature call should he run to the arena a house or the closest thicket for me this catastrophe has nt yet occurred but it could and probably will a portable toilet should be considered regardless the benefits far outweigh the detriments the next time youre by say hello with a honk jim thomas is a stouf fville resident who has writ ten for area newspapers for more than 50 years we make these at the store with our air chilled chicken youll have a choice of three different seasonings our bread stuffing with cranberry chutney our oldfashioned sage and onion and ourbread stuffing that has been enhanced with chopped assorted dried fruits these are ready to roast directions available and s i off theyll serve either 2 or 3 people jla i this reg 1095 week applewood smoked from engiatcd this is a white medium cheddar thats been smoked in blocks over aoplewood giving it a mild flavour enhancement which to my mind would be great with a glass of chardonnay reg 499100g off this wbbk i imm iwiiiiiimiiiiwii hi mil i i 1 1 whats baking these items will be available up to and including valentines day which is the 14th just as a reminder well be making mm chocolate raspberry mousses these are individual size made with a layer of chocolate mousse raspberry mousse and then finished with a covering of chocolate ganache 49 mokin this week truth is we smoke a whole bunch of stuff every week but these items we dont do weekly well be making copious amounts of our smoked airchilled chickens and our brome lake ducks the chickens are great when you warm them somewhat and carve them at the table my condiment of choice to have with them is our mild red pepper jelly a few potatoes on the side and youre golden one other preparation that i gready enjoy and sometimes had at the bluestone bistro in the past is smoked chicken with perine thats a good marriage of flavour as mentioned well be smoking ducks as well they can be had whole or half arid can be used in the same way as the chickens and perhaps cut into a salad as well these will be available at the meat counter h6h qljty 199 ag whre pmmoh oiir artvvdrk this week m has each chickens each ducks each blueberries these blues come from chile at this time of the year and theyre nice looking and nice eating and theres lots of them because these are full pints full pints from chile been done by my young friend rta k vj tvli ri a vrin 1 1 nhfirp k hes a reguiar at our eake counter and when he allowed one day that his faye was our high quality chpcplate cake i struck a deal with him blake provided the art evan suppled the biggest high mialitv chocolate cake that hes ever seen seemed like a good deal to him each heart shaped chocolate cakes this is made with our high quality chocolate cake filled with either chocolate ganache or a raspberry filling your choice available in two sizes a mini at 0 each and a medium at aw 3 chocolate muffins with cherries these are our triplechocolate muffins baked with sour cherries and finished with a drizzle of white chocolate chocolate pecan truffle tarts a chocolate truffle filling encased in a pecan crust flavoured with framboise and asplash of brandy topped with fresh raspberries t r 195 95 two sizes l and simerrrchocolate custard flans made with our shortbread crust painted with dark chocolate filled with fresh vanilla custard arid piled high with fresh strawberries and raspberries then finished with a drizzle of white and dark chocolate also two sizes ill and iz also well be making voluptuous strawberry tarts puff pastry baskets with raspberries and strawberries raspberry pies and cherry pies for 2 raspberry and chocolate loaves lemon mousse in meringue hearts amazing decorated sugar cookies in containers 24s individual wrapped sugar cookies pink meringues and sweet looking cupcakes for your cupcake who no doubt is also sweet looking wild blueberry ausages we make these with our wild summertime blueberries a touch of maple and lean coarseground fresh pork its a great dinner sausage iff reg 399 lb opp this i week i soup g cream of mushroom with bjblandy from our soup kitchen well be featuring our mushroom soup with brandy we make this with an assortment of mushrooms including portabellas which give this soup a darker colour and a richer flavour youll find this a thicker soup which can be served as is or thinned with stock cream or heavens perhaps more brandy a nice soup for a dull evening reg795 serves 3 4 off this whek c whats ooking at the deli the big chef and i had a disagreement about the deli feature for this week the first item his chicken forestiere which he makes with boneless thighs is a nobrainer the garnish is our diced bacon good on its own fresh mushrooms and diced potatoes the contentious item was the breaded risotto balls im thinking that theres so much else in the world why would people bread rice balls he looked at me as if i didnt know food and calmly reassured riie that its a big item and that weve madethent before and customers loved them so being a pushover i gave way hell be making breaded rice balls which are filled with sundried tomatoes provqlone cheese and basil prove me wrong folks also for valentines well be making our individual beef wellingtons salmon too as we have every year gal 9059401770 to reserve specials in effect until closing sunday february 11 hours mon 1100700 tuesthurs 900700 fri 900800 sat 900600 sun 1000500 548 carlton road unionviue 9401770 www theviuagegrocer com