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Pickles can be used to show you care.

I like pickles more than the average bloke. Relish (a pickle derivative) is one of my favourite condiments, and a nice garlic dill is a perfect pre-dinner snack. But even I find the claims on the Kraft-run website pickles.com somewhat dubious.

Under the section “pickles are fun!”, we arrive at the claim “Pickles can be used to show you care.” Is this a generally accepted pickle quality, or is this a blatant ploy by marketing to substitute pickles for greeting cards and flowers? Would you buy a pickle to show you care? Come now, Kraft.

This is calling into question Kraft’s sincerity in other marketing endeavours. If they’re so quick to make ridiculous claims about pickles, can we really believe them when they say “Good to the last drop,” or “It’s the cheeziest!” Is it really the cheeziest? Have they done the research? What if the last few drops are the cruddy ones? The coffee’s usually cold by then, so it’s kind of icky. Shouldn’t they tell the truth?

I invite you to discuss in the comments what other ridiculous things pickles are good for. I’ll forward the best few to Kraft’s marketing department for their next pickles.com website update.  Don’t think I won’t!

July 20, 2006 - 1:07 pm

Shannen - Mmmmmmmmmm…pickles.

You’d think the whole ‘pickles and ice cream’ phenomenon was an old wives tale and blown completely out of proportion, but I’m here to tell you that you’d be wrong. I crave pickles. I crave ice cream…though never together.

And Dan, at this point, pickles might actually be a good substitute for a card and/or flowers. Give it a try. Use pickles to show me you care. Or ice cream…but not both.

July 20, 2006 - 1:32 pm

Ben - When I was a kid I never liked pickles, the warts threw me off, until I discovered the Yum-Yum. Sweeter than their stick-shaped counterparts, the Yum-Yums are a particular breed. Sliced into disks, they are a refreshing way to enjoy the always-popular cucumber. Lay them out on top of a burger, pile them up beside a pork chop, decorate your plate with a pair of pickle eyes, or fling them across the room like the flying sausers they resemble, the Yum-Yum does it all. Is there any other way into your lover’s heart?

July 24, 2006 - 8:48 am

Liz - I hate pickles. There are certain food items (actually I can think of more than a few) that I would happily accept in replace of a greeting card. But pickles aren’t one of them.

Muffins are an excuse to eat cake for breakfast.

Tim Horton’s nutrition guide lets us in on a secret that MUFFINS DON’T WANT YOU TO KNOW!

  • Tim’s Raisin Bran muffin … 380 calories, 9 grams of fat
  • Tim’s Banana Nut muffin … 420 calories, 18 grams of fat

Compare with evil, evil donuts.

  • Boston Cream donut … 250 calories, 8 grams of fat
  • Chocolate glazed cake donut … 260 calories, 10 grams of fat
  • Honey Cruller … 320 calories, 19 grams of fat

OK, so the cruller is over the top. But are you surprised at the other two? I saw this feature on discovery channel one time where they centrifuged out all of the fat in a donut, and then showed it to you in a test tube. It’s a lot. I haven’t had many donuts since. But you’re fooling yourself if you think muffins are the One True Way. They will not lead to enlightenment.

The site nutritiondata.com provides detailed nutritional information in familiar formats for all major fast food outlets. Better yet, it suggests healthier alternatives for some of the worst offendors. If you’re thinking of ordering your favourite beverage, a Venti Caramel Mocha Frappucino with whipped cream, from our favourite barista, Dean-Marie (appearing mornings at Red Deer’s finest Starbucks outlet), there are better choices that won’t make your pulse quicken and your arteries feel like they’re 3 sizes too small.

Make smart choices.

July 20, 2006 - 10:29 am

Kris - Those muffins are so sneaky!

And don’t be fooled by “low fat” varieties either. All that means is that they’re loaded with sugar to make up for the taste.

July 21, 2006 - 11:10 am

Shelly - Even worse are the muffins from superstore!! Eat one and you won’t be hungry ALL DAY!

July 26, 2006 - 8:28 am

mark - where are the figures on the deliciousness of muffins, though?

Hump day

What a week.  It already feels too long and has been snagged with excessive heat, exploding computer programs, expanding waistlines and a leashless dog with an undeniably keen sniffer…and it’s only Wednesday.

But, of course, in my mind it was already Thursday.  So, this morning, when I was reminded that it was really only Wednesday, I felt like I lost my lead in the race or that my delicious Berry Berry Strawberry ice cream fell off my cone and hit the floor before I was able to even taste it.  “You mean I have to do Wednesday all over again??”  This bites.

Hump day is usually a happy one for me.  Half the work week is down, and you have nothing but weekend goodness to look forward to.  And there’s lots of goodness to look forward to this weekend.  Besides the two whole days off work, an impromtu BBQ at Alicia’s (maybe), and our early Saturday morning hike with Humphrey, my Mom and Dave are coming to town to see our new house.  In preparation, we’ll be forced into high speed unpacking action and out of our (two) week long heat-induced coma.  This visit will guarantee that we can finally say we’re settled in, where as we’ve mostly just been moved in since the end of June.  I can’t wait.

I guess the bright side of it only being Wednesday is that it is no longer Monday.  That makes the rest of the week somewhat bearable.  Sort of.  If there was some magical way to shorten the remaining days in half or double their length and turn them into holidays, that would make it more bearable.  Anyone have any magic skills?? 

HAAAAAAAT!

egg.jpg 

After spending a ridiculously fabulous weekend away at a cottage (post to come) it was more than painful increasing the distance between us and the lake we just fished ourselves out of to roll back into the city and open the door to our blazing hot house.

Over the weekend, the temperature climbed up to over 30 degrees and isn’t supposed to fall back down below 30 until at least Thursday.  And that’s not including the humidity which bumps the current temperature of 32 degrees up to 39.4.  Who’s decision was it to wait until next summer to get A/C installed??

I just hope I remember how this feels in the middle of winter when the thermometer reaches 30 at the other end of the scale.  Please, if you hear me complain about the cold at any point in the winter, refer me back to this post. 

July 16, 2006 - 10:12 pm

Dean - Is that really an egg on YOUR doorstep? Or, did you cook up an egg, and throw it on the sidewalk to emphasize your point? hmm?

July 17, 2006 - 10:22 am

Kris - It really is effin’ hot around here. My cat is looking increasingly uncomfortable.

July 24, 2006 - 8:51 am

Liz - Come to Virginia. Then we can talk heat.

The 613.

My latest annoyance. Actually, I think it is every Ottawans latest annoyance. We were recently informed that Ottawa-Gatineau and the surrounding area had grown too large and they were running out of phone numbers.

Welcome to 10-digit dialing. Any number that you call in the area now requires the area code be dialed first. Even if you are calling your neighbour. Or your neighbour’s neighbour. And if you don’t use the area code, you are punished with the very irritating voice of the operator reminding you are an idiot and you forgot the magic three numbers…again.

I just can seem to get the hang of remembering, which is insane considering I used to live in the Virginia/Washington area where 10-digit dialing is in full swing. But for some reason I just accepted that it was their practice. In Ottawa? Nah, we’ll never need that.

I was wrong. In the meantime, while my brain attempts to wrap itself around this new concept, I feel it is my duty NOT to listen to the operator as she tells me in English AND in French about how I flubbed again but to hang up on her (hard) and quickly redial, pretending that it never happened. It sounds ridiculous, but it somehow makes me as though I have a teeny bit of say in the matter. Which is well worth it. Sort of.