My Last day...

Today is my last full day here, and I am sad to have to leave tomorrow.

It has been very cold and rainy here, and I am really hoping it clears up because I do not want to spend my last day of being in Canada indoors. A few of the trees across the street are turning a wonderful orange colour, so at least I have not missed the leaves turning entirely...

Hours of Name Fun

My brother showed me this website whereby you can type in names and see their popularity progressions from the 1890s to present day (well, the number of babies that were named that name per 1000) It is very interesting and very fun...who knew Desmond has had a resurgence of popularity!

The only thing is that it is based on American stats, so I am not entirely sure how applicable it is to the British audience among us...

http://babynamewizard.com/namevoyager/lnv0105.html

The Shopping List Compendium

I keep meaning to blog about this, but was just reminded by a program on CBC:

I heard this guy on BBC 4 - Home Truths a few weeks ago. He and another person were talking about their collection of shopping lists they find abandoned in grocery stores. I was fascinated a) because of my own collection of lists and b) because of my fascination with what other people buy at the grocery store...

http://www.redhotscott.co.uk/shoppinglists

It us pretty cool - I suggest you check it out!

Bonjour!

After a whirlwind two days in Campbellford (if C-ford could ever be described as a whirlwind) I am now in Sherbrooke, Quebec at the house of my brother, where keyboards do funny things like insert vowels with accents instead of certain punctuation marks (and silly people like me do not know how to turn the function off). Therefore, for the duration of this trip my blog will not have any question marks and apostrophes (which I guess also includes any possessives as well. Hmmmm....) Anyways, the trip here was lovely. I was packed into the back seat amongst golfclubs and raincoats and did nothing but sleep, read and do crossword puzzles for 8 hours. Somehow these trips make me feel more like I am 7 or 17, but that is OK...for a short time at least.
The only really disappointing thing about this trip has been that the leaves are still very much green here. Normally by this time of year the forests would be awash (hey, good word!) with colour, but apparently the really warm summer and fall here have delayed things considerably.

The weather today is supposed to be miserable, so I am hoping to spend the day indoors reading, with maybe a short trip out to the mall to pick up a CD or two I had been wantingn to get. AH - c (apostrophe) est la vie!

Four Strong Winds

CBC Radio has just reaired a program highlighting the 50 songs that Canadians have voted as the best Canadian songs. After sobbing through "If I had $1 000 000" and "Four Strong Winds" I decided that it was best I turn my mind from anticipatory homesick/I don't want to leavedness to my blog.

Here are shots from the last few days: Angela's baby, a trip to Centre Island with John yesterday, meeting up with Gary, Judy and Nelson, a wonderful sign on the island that encouraged people to walk on the grass, and a trip to the Steamwhistle Brewery with Andrew today.

Due to CBC's strike, BBC world service is currently on the air...oh - what an emotional radio rollercoaster this afternoon!!

The newest Canadian Documentary Maker

Thanks to my new digital camera, Andrea and I have made two documentaries today. The first is called "The Vermin of Queens Park" and the second is called "No sweet lovin' at the Green Mango" I wanted to try to put them up here, but haven't figured it out yet (if it's even possible). In other news I:

1. Changed my blog so that people don't have to register to make comments
2. I met Angela and Paul's lovely daughter, but also decided that it's horrible to only have a few hours to spend with people you could easily spend days with!
3. Changed my blog time zone to London time. I think it has messed up all previous posts, but we'll see. I am currently trying to upload today's photos to the computer...

Shooooow me the pictures!

For some reason, blogger has been anti-photo for the past couple of days...hmmmmm...

Just keep swimming! Just keep swimming! I'll try again. If successful, you'll see the Piccadilly Circus pub (as per previous entry) and a shot of St Andrew's Presbyterian Church with the CN Tower - me trying to be artsy, but not quite being there...

What I've (Re) Learned Take Two

Well, my whole first attempt at this post got lost in bloody cyberspace, so here I try again (albeit in shortened form)

1. I've come to realise that it's possible to feel quite at home here, thanks to the open-top double decker busses with "Trafalgar Square" and "Victoria Station" plastered all over them. I don't know why T-dot doesn't take pride in itself and get its own busses! Back off! Get your own busses!

2. It's also easy to feel at home with pubs of the likes of "Piccadilly Circus Pub" all over. Remind me why I paid a lot of money to come here again?

3. There is possibly not a more lovely breed of public employees than the TTC Streetcar and bus drivers. I'd forgotten what it's like to have a streetcar driver who says things like "hello, thank you, have a nice day" and announces where in the city we are. In addition, not only do they not drive off if you're a nano-second behind when they want to shut the door, but they will wait if they see you coming. All this, and they run very-much to schedule. London has a lot to learn!

4. Toronto is incredibly grid-like though...I'd forgotten about how boxy it is. I walked across Queens Park this morning, and giggled as I remembered how a large oval in the road used to make me nervous. If only I knew...

5. There's still nothing like a good cup of Tim's. Oh, I missed him!

Oh Canada!

I've arrived safely and have had a wonderful first weekend on holiday in Canada. I spent it up at Glen Mhor's 75th reunion and had a wonderful weekend of catching up, laughing, singing and dancing (yes, dancing) with some of my favourite people on earth at one of my favourite places on earth. A great (and beautiful) reintroduction into this great nation!

I'm with my best friend today and we have lots of exciting things planned. It's perfect weather and life is grand.

I made a comment about something I had done in England with some friends, and the response of my Canadian friends were "Oh no - you've managed to find friends who are as nutty as you are there". They seem to forget that they are all rather nutty themselves.

I'm hoping to buy a digital camera while I'm here, so I hope I'll have lots of pictures to post when I get back...

When I'm in my 40s

Just to say that when I'm in my forties, I hope I don't find myself heavily overweight at an internet cafe smoking, gambling online and drinking coffee...

We are "The Joneses"

When Katrin and I moved into The Parish Lockup, we put some potted plants on our lovely large kitchen table next to our lovely sunny kitchen window, which incidentally is about seven feet across from the neighbours lovely kitchen table and their lovely kitchen window.

Not too long after, we noticed vase of flowers at their table and thought (not seriously of course) "Ah-ha! We've inspired them!" Yesterday however, Katrin noticed the sudden arrival of several pots of flowers at their window, and it then occured to us "We are the Joneses". We think they must be nice people and we don't want to become all competitive, but we have plans for window boxes winter pansies. Bet they haven't even thought of winter pansies!

My Guardian Fruitfly

I just killed my Guardian Fruitfly.

There seemed to be a fruitfly that flew about me at work, and one that flew about me at home. Today I finally smushed it. Then I realised that perhaps it was a guardian fruitfly and I have just killed it. I feel terrible; sort of like how I felt when I killed Richard - the spider who lived in my closet when I lived in Hamilton. He would happily sit on my wall above my desk while I worked away in the evenings and then return (presumably to my closet) until the next night. Then one night I just reached up and smushed him too.

Maybe I have violence issues.