How many Prime Ministers Can You Name?

Last night we went to Trivia Night at our church. What an interesting night. I never knew how much I don't know about Canada! I was the token American on the team so ALL questions that had anything to do with the US. were referred to me. I knew some and not others as is to be expected. The thing I did not expect was how many of the questions were so Canadian. I heard names I have never in my life heard! How to give yourself a severe ego crush....try trivia in a country other than your home country. Ouch! How many prime ministers have there been? Who was the first one with a PhD? Who is the most decorated war hero from someplace I've never heard of? What were hockey pucks made out of in the 1800's? Yea, there were plenty of hockey questions too, another one of my shortcomings. Must get reading for next month!

We finished dead last out of 5 teams. We did have the most fun of any of the teams though and we got bonus points for our lovely drawings on our answer sheet and for our "spirit". Lesson learned....do the extra credit it might help. Our captain did a little drawing to depict each of our answers, if for no other reason than to entertain the "grader". It worked.

So after living here for a year and a half, I thought I was assimilating quite well. Wrong! I felt very foreign last night. How to get smacked right back into reality. It was a very nice evening and maybe I know a little more about Canada than I did before, if I can remember any of it.

Next time let's do baseball and presidents!

Some People's Trash= Other People's Treasure?

Trash day in Canada is something very different than trash day in the States. In the States you just throw stuff away, OK there is recycling in most places too. In Canada, to quote my cousin, you need a degree to figure out the trash here!

In Mississauga we have several different trash categories. First, you have a 2 bag limit each week for "trash". Second, you have the paper recycling box and the plastic, aluminum, etc. box. Third, you have the "green bin". The green bin is possibly the most disgusting trash bin in the world! This is the bin for all "organic" matter, that means fruit, vegetable, coffee grinds, tea bags, dead flowers, bones, fish, eggshells, grease, fat, sauces, dairy products, baked goods, paper towels and napkins, pizza boxes....yes, all the disgusting stuff that I used to put most of down the garbage disposal that I don't have here! Summertime is an especially lovely time for the green bin, smelly. You cannot put dead animals, dirty diapers or pet waste in the green bin though. Thank goodness!

Which brings me to today's topic....twice a year they lift the 2 bag limit and apparently the sky is the limit for these two, two week periods. They have "free trash" day or week in Nova Scotia in the summer too and talk about junk! You can drive up and down the road and there will be sofas, chairs, toilets, doors, windows, many appliances, Santa Claus decorations, bathtubs and all sorts of other treasures along the road for at least a week. With these "free" trash weeks also comes what can only be referred to as the worlds biggest street sale! People stop and pick up their new found treasures along the side of the road. My guess is that the city publishes the date for this and then waits a week to pick up the stuff, the result being they pick up half of what has been put by the side of the road.

Exhibit A, one grill, two chairs and a light fixture, oh and that nice bookcase!

It really is like a field day when you have the freedom to exceed the 2 bag limit. Throw it all away....NOW! We won't get this chance for another 6 months. I will admit to having possession of at least one item found by the side of the road on free trash week. It was a gift and we proudly display our plastic light up Santa next to our garden in Nova Scotia! (refer to picture in Summer, Part 3 posting) He makes a great scarecrow and who doesn't laugh when they see Santa next to the garden in July?

All kidding aside, I find that when I go somewhere with no recycling it just feels wrong to throw away that glass bottle or the can or the cardboard box. I am trained. I also have noticed how little actual "trash" we have. Must be the smaller family. But when I first heard the 2 bag limit I was trying to figure out how I could do it, now I sometimes only have one bag. How Canadian of me! I must have a degree.

Summer, the end

So I guess if this weekend is Labor Day weekend then it is the end of summer. How can winter last so long and summer be so short? (imagine asking that in Houston?!) It seems only yesterday that we were visiting with our friends Bob and Donna on their trip here and planning our long stay at the shore. Now it is over and it is back to real life and cooler weather.

About that cooler weather....I can remember when we would go shopping up here on vacation when I was in school and they had all the fall clothes out in August and in my reality it would be months before we could even think about wearing sweaters or cords or jackets and I wondered who buys this stuff so early? Are they kidding? Well, now I see the fall clothes and think, oh I better get some long pants or a jacket, I might need it soon. Shorts go in the drawer for another winter and bye bye tank tops and flip flops...sigh. I guess it is a good thing I like pants and long sleeves. But how will everyone see what is left of my tan with pants and long sleeves on? I have decided to push the season as far as I can and wear those shorts and sandals until I freeze! Two more weeks...haha.

Another observation....we always marveled at the fact that Canadians seem to do a lot of traveling. More than most people it always seemed to us. They are adventurous and really do see more of the world than the typical American. Looks like we are subscribing to that philosophy as well. We have done a lot of traveling since we moved here and it does not look like it is going to end. I tend to think that it is just the phase of life we are in right now but WOW! I can count 4 or 5 trips we are taking in the next 2 months. That is a lot! We are visiting new places as well as old favorites. We will be visiting our son Michael for Labor Day in Casper, WY. Our first trip to where he lives and we are both looking forward to going out west. Another exciting trip will be October when we go and visit Kelly who is studying in Paris for the semester. Why not? I think it is a great excuse to go to Paris. I might be more excited to see Kelly than the Eiffel Tower this time! Lots to look forward to but I still have to get my life going here too.

Back to work, at least a little. Another good thing about being up here is that no one really questions you when you ask for 2 months off to go to your cottage in Nova Scotia. Gotta love that! In the States they looked at me like I was crazy. I am definitely taking advantage of that while we live here!

Summer, Part 3?!

Garth and Hugh discussing life and "the games"
TJ's garden was Santa-ed

The Mini Olympics winning team

Pot luck with the cousins at the farmhouse

Time flies up here!

First there was the week with just TJ and I. We worked a lot and got organized. It was relatively quiet and we had a nice time.

Then Katie came up for a week. We enjoyed visiting and spending time together. TJ was gone for most of the visit until the weekend and then he came for a few days. I think he had a great 3 days! Perfect weather, just enough activities to be interesting but not too many to be exhausting.

Then there was the massive influx of people and "the games". Lots of cousins and many get togethers. It is always so hard to fit everything into a day. Where does the time go? We aren't working, we don't really have any obligations up here but still the time seems to just fly by. Can a day really be comprised of waking, eating, doing a few chores, exercising, beaching, visiting, a couple of meals, more visiting, laughing, playing and more visiting and going to bed completely exhausted and very late, only to wake up and do it all again? The answer is YES! We love it too! There are so many people here during "the games" that it is hard to fit them all into one day so we just have a continuous cycle of visiting and hanging out, oh, and the games. We lost this year, not enough key players here that week. Guess they chose to have a vacation instead of playing in the games. Still, a great week and super great weather!

Then comes the family time. Rachel, Matt, Daniel and Kelly and TJ all here for 10 days. Talk about busy! That Daniel is one moving man. He has an amazing curiosity about everything around him. He also loves the beach. It is so much fun to see him think about things and figure things out so quickly. This age is so physically tiring but they are wonders to watch. We had a great time with all of them here. We also know why young people have kids, whew! We have also had the most perfect weather of the summer for the last week. August is the time to be here, mid August, for those of you who are planning a future trip up here. Warm to hot days, cool nights and plenty of sunshine, no jellyfish and warm water to boot! We love it!

I'll just share a few pictures for your reading enjoyment. By no means all of the pictures but just a taste of the summer. It really has been one of "those" summers! Thanks be to God.

Summer Part 2

The deck addition and future screened in porch.

Shore life in July has been very nice. This is the first summer we are actually staying in the farmhouse. I think I like it, but then again, this has not been the busy time at the shore either so being down the road is not a big issue yet. When more people show up I could feel different about not being in the middle of the action, then again, I might just like being away. We shall see.

Our first week here was full of work. TJ keeps a very fast pace when it comes to work....surprise! The garden was full of weeds and we weren't sure if there were any vegetables in those weeds or not. Turns out, TJ is quite the gardener. The lettuce crop is fantastic! Never one to do things on a small scale, TJ planted a garden big enough to feed a small town. Lettuce for everyone!

the lettuce crop

We cleaned the house, trimmed a few windows and have almost completed the bathroom, I mean....really completed it! Whoo hoo! This house is an endless opportunity to work. So many things to do, so little time, I mean money.

I must say the place is shaping up, still lots to get done but the vision is coming into focus.

Weather report: More sunny days than rainy days. That being said, it has not been fantastic just yet. Still a little cool and wet to be the perfect summer but I think things are looking up. Today is the perfect shore day and I hope an indication of things to come. Not complaining at all!

I think this past week was my vacation. TJ was back working and I was here alone for the week. Yup, that was my vacation. Katie arrives today, TJ comes for the weekend next weekend and then I will have another week until the next visits from Rachel, Matt, Daniel and Kelly and TJ. This summer is the summer of shift visits. Everyone is not here at the same time there is just a constant flow in and out of family.

So far, so good. What is not to love, right?

Summer, Part 1

Summer officially arrived on June 22 and it was actually summer like for about a week. Our friends, Bob and Donna visited from the 25th until the 30th. We had a great visit with them. We did all the usual tourist things, downtown Toronto, Niagara on the Lake, wine country, a few pubs here and there and hung out enjoying the lovely summer evening on the back patio. So nice to have good friends to share that with!

There were a few highlights from their visit.

Donna and I at St. Lawrence Market

First might be that they brought their new dog, Lily, and Lily and Sadie were very compatible! That is saying something for Sadie! The video is for my family's benefit. It is pretty cute.

Another highlight would have to be seeing Jersey Boys. We loved it! It was so much fun and very well done.

The final highlight would be our day visiting the Niagara wine country. We tasted some very good wines, bought many and then ended the day at home out on the deck, enjoying our purchases. The weather could not have been any nicer either. Bonus!

Now TJ and I are heading to Nova Scotia for the rest of the summer. Well, at least for me. Here is hoping for more sun than last summer and more warmth than last summer. I am looking forward to spending time with family and friends and living a slower pace life. That might be a stretch at the shore sometimes though. Not to worry, it will be great!

Line Ups!

Wanna know what causes Canadians to act like people in Louisiana or Texas when a hurricane is coming? The threat of a strike at the LCBO! (The local liquor commission, the only place to buy booze here.)

Today's news is that at midnight, the LCBO may be going on strike, closing all the stores for a while. Well, since we are having company for the next few days, I decided I should get a few bottles of wine, just in case. It looked like the grocery store before a hurricane! The shelves were almost empty, the line ups at the check out were about 20 people deep at each one. Craziness! One fellow with a British accent caught me in an aisle and said, "They should all be shot, this is ridiculous." Hmmmm, a little extreme. " I really was surprised at how many people were out loading up.

So, Toronto is now in the throws of a garbage strike, so apparently garbage is piling up all around. Ontario is possibly getting ready for a strike by the LCBO. I'll bet the garbage strike lasts longer than the LCBO (if it happens). Judging by the public reaction already.....priorities!
Just had to share that with you all.