The Alberta style privatisation is still a possibility in Ontario.

Stores are privatised, control and distribution still pretty much government controlled.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberta...uor_Commission

I bought various - I bought a Pelee Island Gamay and a Latour Pinot Noir and and Windham Ridge Pinot Noir. I thought it would be interesting to give him wine from various countries.

We really like the Pelee Island Gewurtztraminer and they also make a Riesling which I should really buy.

My son and his wife aren't hard up for money and its really hard to buy presents for people who have most things they want. I pick things up and put them down again, because I hate buying things that people don't want and can't use - just because "I gotta buy them something because its Christmas". So I although wine seems a bit of a boring present, I prefer to buy something boring - so long as its something they can use.

My dil wants a Le Creuset dutch oven - and they can cost $300 and more. I don't usually spend that much but my younger son hasn't got anything for them and he suggested going in together to get it. So, as usual, after saying "I am done spending money" I am off tomorrow to spend some more probably! I am going to look at Homesense, but I bet they don't have any cheap!

Costco have some Mario Batalli dutch ovens, if you cant stand the orange colour that may do instead of a LeCrueset. I have a couple of Le Crueset casseroles which I like very much but I recently bought a steel casserole / pan thing from IKEA, it looks great and does the job just as well.

I will look for a link. here it is http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/10100443

You shuld have bought hime a white Pinot Noir, he probably wouldnt have been expecting it!

Well the price is certainly right. But I know if she says she wants Le Creuset - she wants Le Creuset. I had one but the thing I didn't like about it was it was so darn heavy, if I wanted to scrape the leftovers out of it, my husband had to hold the casserole for me because it was too heavy to hold with one hand!

Boring? Much appreciated in this household.

My neighbour gave us a gift box of six assorted Bordeaux the other day. Not boring.

I know what you mean about that, too heavy indeed. I have got a small Le Creuset called a Marmitout, it's a saucepan and the lid is a small frying pan. Its great and was "cheap". Not really large enough to be called a dutch oven but maybe?

While I was looking to see what the thing was called I found that theres an outlet shop for Le Creuset in Regina, at the Paderno factory, did you know?

Yes, I phoned there and that is how I discovered that even the small dutch ovens are over $200. We don't usually spend that much on adults - I tend to spend more on my granddaughter because I think Christmas is mainly for kids (teenager now!) and most adults can well afford to buy things for themselves and prefer to choose their own stuff. Christmas is the time when people spend money they don't have to buy people presents they don't want. As a friend of mine said "If I want a pink sweater I want the pink sweater that I want - not the one you think I want."

My granddaughter's phone went wrong and got sent away to be fixed. It will apparently be gone up to eight weeks, so she suggested I just buy her a new one!!

Of course, she's not a todder, but I thought this was cute! (Hope to goodness nobody thinks this is not PC - maybe its offensive to toddlers!)