Ah gnu, I'm lucky to have one of those multi-head screwdrivers - from, where else but Canadian Tire! - so I can handle those nasty unpredictable multi-national screws! He he he ... I highly recommend them. Only problem - hide it good or hold onto it tight, because if you lend it out or leave it in plain view it's almost guaranteed to disappear. I think I'm on my fifth, in this lifetime anyway!

As to the Timmy's phenomena, amazing isn't it! You 'Monctonites' must have some pretty stiff competition re the number of Timmy's per capita though! Barrie On has a population of around 100,000 and I swear there's at least 40 Timmy's here - you're never farther than a couple blocks away from one. There's always at least one more under construction these days. And if you include all the Country Styles and Robin's Donuts etc., well - it's a wonder we're not a city of pimply caffiene-crazed good-year blimps!

A friend told me a couple weeks ago that he and his girlfriend parked across the street from the Tim Horton's drive-thru in the tiny hamlet of Victoria Harbour (pop 300?) on a Sunday afternoon - with their takeout coffees and donuts and the heater running - and proceeded to count how many cars went thru it for a couple hours. (Now that's a truly Canuck winter pastime!). They concluded that if each car spent an average of $5, Tim Hortons made about $1000/hour from the drive-thru alone! WOW!

As for me, I guess I was spared the donut-addiction. I landed my very first job and the very first Tim Hortons in Barrie back in 1975 - What a landmark! - and I remember the big sellers then (besides donuts) were pies and ice cream cones. But I must've developed a real aversion to the smell of those donuts baking - to this day I cannot eat a Timmy's donut! Bagels, muffins, cookies, soup, sandwiches yes, but donuts? E The smell of them can still make me feel nauseous ...

Anyway I hope that doesn't interfere with anyone's Sunday afternoon Timmy's break! Enjoy! And a tip - if you're driving the TransCanada around Lake Superior there are no Timmy's all the way from the Sault to Thunder Bay - {:-0} - so stock up good! That one in Blind River is a real god-send at 2am ....

daylia