Donald the Dooner

So this dude was hanging out in my backyard today. I went to put a bag in the garbage can in the yard, but stopped at the door when i noticed this beast. My pugnacious little black cat was mad as hell that I wouldnt let her outside to eat him. He just sat there pleased as punch, eating our clover. Then he ambled over to the back step, curled up and fell asleep! Ah wilderness...

Sweet Mama What an Empanada!

On the recommendation of a friend, we checked out Carlito's Bakery and Coffee Shop in Kitchener today. Its a Latin-American cafe in a strip plaza at Weber St. E and Montgomery (not an area I spend too much time in, so it took us a while to find the place- at first we drove right past it)

The inside is not terribly welcoming, a few lonely tables a rack of specialty groceries tucked in the back corner next to a tv blaring childrens programming.
The menu is in Spanish and baked goods on display dont have labels - just ask Carlos and Martha the friendly Colombian couple who own the place.


Today we gorged on chicharron, a flaky sugary pastry with a sticky sweet guava filling and chicken and beef empanadas. The empanadas were soft tender envelopes of hearty filling, onions, beef, boiled egg or chicken and peas.
Its out of the way for us, but I have a feeling we'll be back for more. Hopefully they stick around for awhile. I have this awful tendency to fall in love with a place only to watch it go out of business...

In my neighbourhood

This booklet needs to go onto my to-read list: The Miracle In Preston: the story of the Preston Springs Hotel. I drive by the now derelict but dignified remains of this building pretty regular, and I'm always thirsty for more information about it. Local lore of course is that its haunted. There are some pretty great pictures on flickr, though I personally would never have the guts to go inside (for fear of the law as much as ghosts). Apparently it was built on the site of an underground spring noted for centuries for its healing properties, and has, through the years been a celebrated hotel and spa, retirement residence, and failed investment property on several different occasions. It looms large at the intersection, and also in my imagination.