Birkenstocks = No More Foot Pain!

For years my feet have given me a lot of grief.

I enjoy walking and walk 3.5km to work and home each day but always with great pain. When I walk, the outside of my feet, especially the right one, becomes extremely painful as I have a tendency to walk on the outside of my feet which is called supination. I have tried orthodics, larger shoes, putting in insoles, taking out the insoles to remove the support ... basically everything.

Two weeks ago, I went into research mode and read everything online about my issue. I had thought about going to a place in Mississauga to have shoes made for me but then came across the Birkenstock Store website and started reading.

 

It all made sense. Birkenstocks have deep heel cups and are designed to have your feet land properly so Teena and I headed up to their store on Yonge Street at Summerhill. The store was the first Birkenstock store in Canada and Peter, who owns the store with his wife, really knew his stuff. I believe he has a chiropodist background and pushed areas on my right leg that he thought was likely painful from the way I walked. Yes, he was right and yes, those spots hurt.

Here is a shoe insert he built and designed back in the 1950s.

I was there for more than a couple of hours trying on shoes and doing lots of walking around the store until I finally selected this pair.

There was one spot that was rubbing the side of my right foot so I left the shoe with him to have the toe box stretched out. I picked up the shoe on Friday and wore them all weekend.

Today, though, was the big test! Three and a half kilometers to work and five kilometers home (I had an errand to run). Wow! It was all pain-free!. After all these years, I can now walk and be comfortable.

Now I can't see myself wearing anything but Birkenstocks for normal everyday use. I plan to go and buy some Birkenstock boots for the winter and will be back again for their sandals in the spring.

There is a saying on their website ... "If your feet are not becoming to you, then your feet should be coming to us".

I'm glad mine did!

Pickled Hop Shoots

Today on the way home from Niagara on the Lake we stopped in at Niagara Oast House Brewery, which will be featured in next week's Beer of the Week.

Not only does the brewery sell their own beer but also beer soap and something I have never even heard of before, pickled hop shoots. I had no idea what they would be like but bought a bottle to try at home.

These tender hop shoots are harvested by hand here on the farm in the Yakima Valley; when the young immature vines are just emerging from the soil. They make a delicious garnish or tasty
hors-d' oeurvres!

They were a little more limp than I had expected. I don't know why. After all, they are sitting in pickling fluid.

When I first bit into one, the only taste that came through was the pickle juice. Surprisingly they are much more crunchy than I thought they would be when I pulled the first limp shoot from the jar. After a taking a couple of chews, the taste of the hop shoot comes through. Hops are bitter but I found very little bitterness in this young shoot. I have nothing to compare it to and can only say that it is slightly earthy, but at the same time refreshing.

It's not something I would have all the time. That being said, the jar could very well be emptied tonight. I would love to see how I could work something like this into a recipe. I think it could add something unique.

Hmmmmmm.

A Night at The Olde Angel Inn, Niagara on the Lake

This weekend Teena and I went down to Niagara-on-the-Lake to see The Philadelphia Story, which is part of the Shaw Festival. We stayed overnight at the Olde Angel Inn. Although we have eaten and had pints there before, we have never stayed over night in the historic old inn. We corrected that last night.

The picture above is the view when you walk into the pub section. Below is the entrance off the street to the inn.

The Olde Angel Inn's rooms, with exposed hand-hewn beams and thick plank floors laid in 1815, still echo to the sounds of the British soldiers and townsfolk who, two centuries ago, gathered here for food and drink. Small but unique, the Inn is believed to have been founded as The Harmonious Coach House on land granted to the deputy surveyor-general around 1789. The town was then called Newark and was destined to become the first Capital of Upper Canada. Records from this time are sketchy but it is known that in 1793, the new Assembly passed an act outlawing slavery, the first such law enacted anywhere in the world. It is believed that the legislators celebrated the event over dinner at the Inn that evening. 

The Inn is thought to have hosted such historical figures such as John Graves Simcoe, the first Lieutenant-Governor; Alexander Mackenzie, the explorer; Prince Edward, the father of the future Queen Victoria; and Thomas Moore, the Irish National Poet. 

The Inn was badly burned during the War of 1812-14. It was rebuilt by John Ross in 1815, who named it the Angel Inn, in a tender reference to his wife. In 1826, Richard Howard bought the Inn, and also operated the Promenade House or Howard's Hotel just down the street. John Fraser purchased the Angel in 1845, and it was known as Mansion House, then Fraser's Hotel until reverting back to its earlier name of the Angel Inn.

We stayed in the Colonel's Suite, which is just above the main entrance.

There is a popular local legend (that shows up in accounts dating to the 1820's) of an unfortunate Canadian militia officer who was killed at the Inn during the American invasion of May, 1813. 

Captain Colin Swayze had delayed joining the British retreat in order to rendezvous with a young woman, believed to be his true love. Surprised by American soldiers sent to search the Inn, he hid in an empty barrel in the cellar. The invaders used bayonets to prod into every corner and possible place of concealment and the unlucky lover received a fatal wound. Some believe the Ghost of Captain Swayze is fated to walk the Inn at night, perhaps in longing for his sweetheart. There have been reports of noises coming from the empty(?) dining room, rearranged place settings, and other unexplained occurrences. 

It is said that his ghost will remain harmless as long as the British flag flies over the Inn, a precaution prudently taken by the proprietor.

You can see that, yes, the Union Jack is flying over the entrance outside our window protecting us.

Our bedroom with an unusually high bed.

 

Off the bedroom is the washroom and a surprise. Another room beyond it!

I first thought it was a small sitting room with a rocking chair but I was mistaken. It was a small cozy and very comfortable living room.

The one bad thing though was that if one of us wanted to use the bathroom, we would have to ask the other what room they wanted to be in as the bathroom was the only way to get between the two rooms.

We both said we would definitely stay over again the next time we are doing an overnight in Niagara-on-the-Lake. The room was clean, comfortable and the inn has done a great job in keeping it's history!

A quick note about the pub. Great beer selection and I have always enjoyed the food.

 

Beer of the Week - Innocente Conscience

Tonight after work, I headed up to the Yonge/Summerhill area to pick up my new shoes, which were being stretched out for me.

Afterwards I headed on down to the Rebel House to read and have a pint or two.

On their draught board, I saw a beer from a brewery that I hadn't heard of before, Innocente Brewing, that had an American IPA called Innocente Conscience on tap. I asked about it and was told that it was the hoppiest brew that they had on tap. That was good enough for me. Bring it on!

It turns out that Innocente is a new brewery which opened up in Waterloo earlier this year. At this spring's Waterloo Region Food and Drink Expo, the brewery won the Rising Star Award.

Steve Innocente, owner and head brewer at Innocente, moved to Scotland in 2004 to study Brewing Yeast. While there, he started to brew beer and in January 2012, he entered two beers into the Scottish Craft Brewers Competition. One of the beers won the category it was entered into and was voted the best in show. He also entered  the Institute of Brewing and Distilling competition and won the ‘People’s Choice’ award.

Now back in Canada, he opened Innocente Brewing.

And the beer?

Innocente Conscience pours brownish in colour with an orange tinge to it. There seemed to be no aroma to this but then again, I am just getting over the flu which I had for most of this week. The beer is cloudy with an off white head and lots of lacings are left along the inside of the glass with each sip.

My first sip tells me that there is definitely something wrong with my nose as a beer with flavour of this magnitude would surely have lots of aroma to it.

The beer starts with a strong citrusy bitterness which only strengthens in intensity as it sits for a moment on the back of my tongue before swallowing. The long strong finish is not only of citrus, a little grapefruity perhaps, but also contains a hint of pine too.

This is an excellent American IPA, one of which I would have again!

One final note. I love the Rebel House. I was well-looked after while I sat at the bar, the staff were friendly and fun, as were the other customers. I can see why it has been around for twenty years and wish it was located closer to home.

Beer of the Week Stats 

Beers Profiled 251 
Breweries 224 
Countries 46

Consumer Demographics on Diaper Trends

This chart shows the trend in U.S. diaper sales since 2009. Baby diapers are dropping. Adult diapers are rising. So, what does this say about the boomers aging and youngsters having babies?

The Toronto Craft Beer Cruise

Tonight Teena and I went on the first annual (hopefully) Toronto Craft Beer Cruise aboard the River Gambler. Eleven breweries and one cider company were aboard so there was lots of selection.

The cruise proved very popular as originally there was a 3:30pm and an 8:00pm cruise but both sold out and an 11am one was added. We thought a night cruise would be the most enjoyable. It was sunset when we departed.

 

During the cruise, I had a Night Marzen from Beau's All Natural Brewing.

A Brakeman's Session Ale from Junction Craft Brewing.

An All or Nothing Hopfenweisse from a new brewery to the scene, Underdog's Brewhouse.

A Sunlight Park Saison from Left Field Brewery.

The top deck was full and the music was loud, or I'm getting old, so we hung around downstairs, outside on the bow.

Here we are!

We were surprised to discover that our friends, Christine and Darlene, were aboard too.

The boat was traveling fast all night so it was tough to get a decent picture of all the city lights but here are a couple of my better attempts.

 

More beer! A fun one named F-Bomb Blonde from another new brewpub, Barnstormer Brewing in Barrie.

A Fish-eye PA from Kensington Brewing.

The Sunlight Park Saison and the Fish-eye were my two favorites of the night.

It was a well organized and fun cruise. It was cool but we were dressed for it. I'm looking forwrd to the second annual cruise next year!

Beer of the Week - Gales Seafarers Ale

Friday nights after work, I enjoy stopping somewhere on the way home to have a pint or two while reading and unwinding from my week.

Tonight I stopped in at The Bristol, a new English style pub that opened up earlier in the year in our neighbourhood. We have eaten there a couple of time but I have never stopped in for just a pint.

As they are an English pub, they have a full line of Fuller's English ales on tap. I was delighted when I walked up to the bar that there was a beer on tap that I had never had before, Gales Seafarers Ale.

George Gale & Company was found back in 1847 in Hampshire on the southern coast of England by, of course, George Gale. His first brewery burned down in 1869 and a new one was built beside it. Apparently much of that new brewery still exists. In 1896, George Gale sold his interest in the company to Herbert Bowyer. The company stayed in the Bowyer's family hands until 2005 when it was bought by Fuller's in 2005.

According to the Oxford Companion to Beer, many loyal patrons of the Gales line of beers were afraid that many of the recipes they enjoyed would be changed but Fuller's wisely kept them going.

In 2009, Fuller's launched Gales Seafarers Ale, a 3.6% APV British Bitter as a tribute to the founder. Seafarers UK.

Having been developed as a tribute to George Gales long and close association with sailors,  Fuller's makes a donation for every pint or barrel sold to a leading marine charity,

The job of a seafarer is vital, but hazardous. Many face urgent problems of very different kinds. Seafarers UK provides vital funding to organizations and projects that support seafarers and their families in need.

5 British Pounds ($9 CAD) is donated to the charity for every barrel sold and as of 2011, sales of Seafarers Ale have accounted for 35 million Pounds being donated ($63 CAD). Not bad at all!

And the taste?

The Seafarers poured a darker amber colour with a small white head. This must be dry hopped (hops added at the end of the brew for aroma) as I could sense floral hops in the ales fragrance. lacings were left behind as I sipped.

My first sip started off quite watery and I was almost disappointed that the hops I detected in the aroma were a lie.  But then a nice hop bitterness started to make itself known right through the finish, correcting the way the ale had started.

This is a nice beer to have anytime, most especially on a Sunday when a person might want to stop in for a few pints knowing they have to work the next day.

Beer of the Week Stats 

Beers Profiled 250 
Breweries 223 
Countries 46

Fencing in Veterans Sabre at the Toronto Open

Above is a shot of the Veterans sabre final at the Toronto Open, sanctioned by the Ontario Fencing Association. I was not in it so I had some time to take a few shots. Vince is to the left and won the gold medal in a 10 to 8 thriller over Rob. Throat shots are never fun!

It was a disappointing turnout with only four of us showing up. Seven were signed up which still is a small tournament but would qualify for national points. A tournament of four does not. Still we were there to fence and have fun and that's what we did.

Here is a shot of a woman's epee match I took before I started to stretch and get suited up.

I was still a little stiff from fencing yesterday but took some Advil at home before I left and did a lot of stretching once I was there, and felt ready to go. Here is Vince and I. We have fenced out of the same club, Bladeworks Fencing Club, for years.

I had a bad day on the piste (fencing strip) and only won one match. Vince beat me twice by 5-3 scores each time, which is the same score he beat me by yesterday. I did lose two matches in the pools by 5-4 scores. Damn!

My DE (direct elimination) was against Rob who finished first in the pools. I did well in it. My attacks were controlled.  For the most part, I kept proper distance away from him.  My strategy wasn't bad, some execution, though, sucked and I need work on my defence when I am retreating.

Veterans DEs only go to 10 points instead of 15 (the rule makers has mercy on us!) and I was down 9-7. I came back with 2 good points but lost on that last point tie breaker. It was a great match to fence in and although I wished the results had of been different, Rob deserved the victory.

It was a fun weekend where I managed to work out some kinks in my game. I am so glad that I am back at it. Over the weekend, I fenced in 15 pool matches to 5 points, two DEs to 15 points and on DE to 10. Tomorrow I have a massage booked tomorrow with Jenn at RMT studio. It's well needed and well deserved!

Here are shot shots of the final between Vince and Rob.

 

 

Fencing at the Toronto Open

I'm back!

Today I fenced in my first tournament in two years. I have been dealing with a bad knee and a really badly sprained ankle during that time. I started back with limited practices in August and today fenced in the Senior (open age group) division against mostly university fencers.

The Salle (fencing club) is not a bad size but had many divisions fencing so is was a little crowded, especially for everyone's fencing bags. Mine is in there somewhere.

 

 

Here I am, despite the tight fitting jackets, ready to go!

I really didn't do bad considering the long layoff and being out of shape. There were only ten fencers entered, a small tournament but with a lot of fast talented university fencers. I only won 2 out of my 9 matches but was never shut out, scoring 24 points in the pool with 38 scored against me. There is lots of rust in my game.

In the DEs (direct elimination), I won my first match and came up against an excellent fencer, William, who before I went on injury leave shut me out in the last two matches we fenced. My fencing in the first half of the match, which goes to 15, was sloppy to the extreme as I did about everything wrong, that I could do wrong, and found myself being shutout 8 - 0 at the break.

I took the minute to remind myself to be aware of the position of my blade during my attacks, my arm tends to drift into the middle of my body giving my opponent an excellent target, not to rush my attacks, which I was doing and he took advantage of , and to watch my distance to keep out the the reach of his blade.

He scored the first point after the break but then I scored two, which I put up to him being way too overconfident. I could see him bear down.but I worked my strategy quite well and am quite proud of how I fenced in the second half. I lost 15 -6, but he only out scored me 7 -6 after the break. I even scored 2 points in a row before losing that final 15th point.

In the end I finished 7th out of 10. After a 2 year layoff, I'll take it!

Time to haul out the ice packs and deal with aches and pains as tomorrow its the Vets sabre tournament where I get to fence against kids my own age!