Curling

Besides Hockey, curling is associated with Canada. Canada won the gold in hockey this morning and at church we thanked God for the win and prayed for peace for the US team.

The Canadian Men's Hockey Team, Canadian Women's Hockey Team, Canadian Men's Curling Team and Women's Curling Team all brought home gold medals in these Olympics.  The Women's curling team set a record by winning every single round robin game (they won every game they played in the Olympics, actually).

P will be playing in the U.S. Men's Nationals coming soon, there will be plenty of pictures coming, I'm sure!  The US Women's team played won the Nationals the last time P played in them in 2010 and the Vice skip on that team, Debbie McCormick has called our house as P ordered his most recent pair of curling shoes from her!

 In our area (ie: within 30 minutes) there are 4 clubs. They vary from 4sheets of ice to 8.  In contrast, Seattle has one.  In fact, the state of Washington has one.  Portland had a curling club that used area ice.  This means they used hockey ice to play the game.  This is not ideal as curling and hockey ice are very different.  However, Portland was able to get dedicated ice about 3 years ago. Before that, Seattle’s Granite Curling club was the only dedicated ice curling club west of the Rocky Mountains in the U.S.  One issue with this is that it means pretty much any competition involves travel.  Sports get expensive when you not only have to pay entry fees, but flight, gas or hotel rooms are involved as well.

The Seattle curling club is definitely holding it’s own lately.  Besides being the home of U.S. Nationally ranked teams, they hosted the U.S. Junior curling national championships this year and a hometown team won!  P was talking to the skip (the captain) and asked if it was a home advantage (every club’s ice has it’s quirks, so playing at home is usually an advantage, especially in the first game when visitors are trying to figure out the quirks)  however he noted, “no, it’s a disadvantage, it takes 2 weeks to get the ice ready.”  This means for 2 weeks before the competition, while other teams were practicing several times a week, the Seattle team couldn’t.  Because there are no other curling clubs nearby. The Seattle curling club has also been holding open houses during Olympics season with 900 RSVPs for spots to come try curling over 4 weekends.

To get a good start in curling you’ll want a set of curling shoes-about $100-$150 and a broom for $50-$100 and a membership about $200 for the 6 month long season.  Once you’ve bought the shoes and broom, you are set for many years.  The shoes are special because one of the two shoes, called a slider has Teflon pads that allow the player to slide along the ice.  The shoes also come with a gripper, a cover that is rubber and covers the slider while the player is not sliding on the ice and the other shoe is rubber with extra grip as well.  There are shoes for right handed and left handed players as you generally slide on the opposite foot as you throw with.

The reason curling ice is special is that after the rink is flooded, similar to hockey, steamed  deionized water is sprinkled  on the surface, making droplets that resemble the peel of an orange.  This allows the rock to rest on the “pebble”.  Less ice surface touching the rock means less friction.  If one were to curl on hockey ice, they’d have to throw much harder to counteract the additional friction.

 

The broom and sweeping motion melts the pebble making it smoother and the rock to go further (I know, this doesn’t make much sense with the friction explanation above, but it’s like smoothing the pebble, not getting rid of it completely).  The same thing happens as the rocks rumble over the sheet, meaning that at the end of a game, the rock will go faster than at the beginning of the game.  The reason to sweep  is to make your rock go further and to make it go straighter.  The sweeping makes it do both, which means if the rock needs speed, but needs to curl more or needs to go straight, but is too heavy (weight refers to how fast the rock is going-heavy=fast)  then there’s shouting between the sweepers and the skip (who is in the house planning the strategy) to decide which the rock needs more-to curl or to go fast at which time the Skip will shout to the sweepers-Sweep!  Hard! Or Off!  Whoa!  It is recommended NOT to use the words “Go” and “Whoa” as they sound a lot alike, esp when 8 skips are yelling in an echoy building.

The skip’s job is to not only strategize, but to analyze what the ice is doing.  The skip shows where they want the rock to end up by patting the ice or a rock that should be taken out.  They then may make a motion like a big swing (take it out) or hold their broom over their head (tap back the rock, but don’t take it out) or pat the hack, backline or board to indicate how hard to throw the rock if it’s not a “normal” shot.  Then they will set the broom down somewhere else.  Because the rock curls due to a spin that the thrower puts on it, the rock will curl or move over. Think about when you watch really good bowlers.  The bowling ball has spins and moves in an arch across the rink.  Similar idea here.  The broom indicates where the player should aim the rock so that it curls to the location where the skip wants it to end up.

The relationship between curl and weight is inverse.  The harder the throw (more weight) the less the curl and straighter it will run.  The lighter the throw (less weight) the more the rock will curl.

There are several markings on the ice-the hack looks like running start blocks, it is here that the thrower will push off to slide (throw) the rock.  There’s two large red lines about 10 feet in front of the big targets-these are the hog lines.   The rock must be released before the near hog line and must make it over the opposite hog line in order to be considered in play.  A rock not making it, hitting the sides or going through the other end is considered “out” and removed from play.   The target is the “house.”  This is the goal.  The rocks closest to the center are the ones that score.  The middle is the pin, there is a divot here where the measuring tool is put if the vice-ships (3^rd throwers) cannot decide which rock is closest to the center.  The middle is the button, it’s 2 feet wide.  The next ring is the 4 foot (2 feet on each side) the next is the 8 foot, then 12 foot is the largest ring.  Anything that is touching the 12 foot is a possible score. If it’s barely touching, it’s called a “biter.”    There’s also a centerline which helps the sweepers estimate where the rock is in relation to where it should go.

There are 3 shots-a guard (before the house) a draw (in the house) and a hit (hit another rock).

All 4 players per team throw 2 rocks each, alternating with the other team.  To have the last rock is the hammer which is the advantage (you don’t have to worry about another rock coming along and taking you out).  The first end hammer is determined by coin toss in club play or in competitive play, the skips both try to draw (a shot that is not a hit, but is in the house) to the button and whomever is closer gets the hammer.  After that, whomever won the previous end throws first, giving the non-scoring team the hammer.

The ice should be kept as clean as possible, even a little fuzz can cause the rock to “pick” which is to throw it off course.  A picked rock is unfortunate because It prevents what could be a great shot from completing it’s goal and both teams feel badly about a pick because if it happens the throwing team basically has wasted a rock and the opposing team feels badly because if they do win the end there’s a feeling that maybe they didn’t do it based on their skill but on dumb luck.

Scoring: Whomever is closest without interruption by the other team’s rocks scores.  For instance:

 

The score for this end is 2 red, Red has 3 rocks in the house, but the two blue ones are closer than the 3^rd red.  The blue does not score because only one color scores per end and the 2 red ones are closer.

An end is the 16 rocks thrown and scored.  A game in competition is 10 ends, usually league games are 8 ends unless otherwise specified (for instance, sometimes a bonspiel (a fun tournament where other clubs may be invited to put teams in for play) may indicate 4 or 6 end games.  However, if the game is extremely lopsided in score or they are running long on time, it is usually common for the losing team to “give up” when it’s clear they ‘ve been had or it’s mathematically impossible for them to win (they are more than 8 points behind) or only play 7 ends if another group of curlers is waiting to get on the ice.

The rocks-curling rocks are sold in the set of 8, they weigh 42-47 pounds each, it’s not exact, it’s a range.  Because they are made  from a specialized form of granite, there are natural differences in weight so that they will all be the same size. Therefore, a set will be match up, the lightest 2 will be the lead rocks, next 2^nd rocks, next 3^rd rocks, last are skips rocks.  The differences are probably imperceptible, but it makes it so that when you throw your 1^st rock, your 2^nd should do pretty much the same thing if you throw it the same way.  They are usually marked with numbers 1-8, so the first will throw 1 & 2, then 3 & 4 and so on.

Etiquette: While the other team is throwing, don’t distract them, stay between the hog lines if possible as far to the side as possible.  If the other team is aiming far to one side, stand on the opposite side.  Get the proper rock ready for the next thrower, esp while they are getting their gripper off.  IF possible, each end should take no more than 15 minutes, so an 8 end game could be done in 2 hours.   Everyone should clean up rocks except the next thrower (the lead of the team that just scored, who should be getting their gripper off and getting into the hack) and the skips (who should be heading down to the opposite end to get ready for the next end) to ensure the game is kept moving.  After playing or at the 5^th end break during a 10 end game the teams will stack brooms (sometimes this is done literally on the ice to indicate they are still playing and not to clean the ice or clear the scoreboard, sometimes just figuratively)  the teams will head upstairs for a drink with each other.  The winning team buys for the losing team, usually for the same position (the winning lead will buy for the losing lead, etc.) and if the players linger, the losing team will reciprocate.

When practicing before a  game, it’s courtesy to practice on a sheet other than the one you will play on as it would be an unfair advantage to know how the ice is playing.

The long awaited Canada v. US post-part 1-edited

Edited 2/23/2014-after writing this post I thought of more details to be added....

Many people have asked me which I like better-Canada or the US... I have no solid answer, but I have started to compile the differences.  Remember too, I'm comparing the Northwest US with Ontario, Canada.  I'm sure there will be a part 2 as I'm sure I've forgotten some things, but this will get you started on some of the differences.

What I miss about the US:

Variety & choices.  Capitalism is a wonderful thing.  Don't get me wrong, Canada has a lot of freedom and choices!  However, I think the US just has more of a foot in the global economy.  I find that I have 1-2 items per grocery run that I can't even find and some items that I am sure to look for when I go over the border. Some items are: Yoplait whips yogurt, esp chocolate; Sour mix for alcohol; Rotel tomatoes with peppers; grits; Jiffy Muffin Mix, Trix Cereal.

Free banking.  In the U.S. If you have a paycheck and direct deposit, you can get free checking and probably a free savings account that pays barely any interest (though recently I found a savings account I have in the U.S. started charging an unseemingly $4 a month for paper statements, one had to go to e-statements in order to keep the free savings account).  Although there are different choices here in Canada. We're currently with a large, well-known bank.  Unless you have several services there is a $4 a month fee for having a checking account out of which you get 10 transactions.  This is obviously not for those who live by the debit card.  I have wondered why more people use cash here than in the U.S. where, esp in the northwest, no one ever seems to carry cash since most places at least take debit.  Now I know!  In  order to get more perks you MUST have a mortgage with the bank. Also, checks. I think my last box of checks in the U.S. was $9 through mail order.  Here they must be purchased through your bank and a box of 100 set me back about $50. Yes, that's 50 cents per check. I use them sparingly, however Bill Pay can only be used with other bank customers, utilities or the local tax man (my bank in the states will send a check, for free, to anyone I enter in the computer, saving me not only a check, but a stamp as well).  So, one would assume it's better to use a credit card attached to your account and pay the card off once per month (each transfer to pay it off is a transaction by the way)  just be prepared for a 19.99 % interest rate.  In comparison I usually pay less than 10% in the states, but rarely need to because a) I can pay off my card weekly if I like and b) I can use my debit card with reckless abandon.  Add to this drive thru tellers.  When I asked about this one day at curling, they all told me I was a spoiled American.  I mean, banking from your car, esp in the snow?  Pansy!  I didn't even tell them about the custom of the kids in the car getting a candy and the dog getting a biscuit.  The teasing may have never ended.

Unlimited Internet and cheap cell plans:  We still have  a US Cell because we wanted a US number friends and family could call us on who don't have North America plans.  Plus, cell plans in Canada are EXPENSIVE (see lack of choice and capitalism above)  and most came with (until recently when Canada government finally stepped in) 3 year contracts.  Most internet plans have a cap on how much you can use.  With as many electronics as are in this family and all the Netflix we use to watch US programs we miss, play games online and watch TV now that we don't have cable we have a big plan that we come close to maxing out when the kids aren't in school and the weather's not good. 

Coffee: I may get tarred and feathered, but Tim Hortons is not an espresso stand and it certainly is not Starbucks (though, we are getting more Starbucks here and a little smile comes out of me whenever I read about another one opening).  I miss not having to drive or walk more than a mile to find a coffee stand (mostly drive thru) where I can order an amazingly pretentious cup of coffee exactly as I like it or going to Starbucks and no matter which one I go to, my cup of coffee will be exactly the same. 

When I got married here, 10 years ago, my maid of honour flew in.  The next day we went to run some wedding errands and were going to stop for coffee. "At Starbucks?" she asks, "No, Tim Hortons, why?" asks my FIL.  "Wait, IS there a Starbucks around?"  "Oh, I think about 20 minutes from here."  She asks incredulously, "What?  There's no Starbucks ANYWHERE in town?  Where are we?  Hell?"

So far I've had some disappointing experiences with TH.  I tried a pumpkin spice latte one day.  It was terrible.  I almost cried I was so disappointed.  By contrast, when my dad was here, rather than trying to fit in and go to TH, he took us to Starbucks.  I ordered a pumpkin spice latte and almost wept with happiness. It was amazing.  My family now buys me Starbucks gift cards so I can stomach the fact that a cup of coffee there is 2-3 times the price of Timmy's. 

I swung by for lunch one day. P and I have discovered that the gingerbread white hot chocolate is quite yummy.  Not only were they out of gingerbread (it's seasonal) they were out of heat shaped donuts that were featured prominently on their display board, I had to guess at lunch because the breakfast menu was still up and they didn't have the bread they needed for one of the sandwiches.  But it is cheap. I'll give Tim Hortons that, and they make a great donut.

After getting over that experience I stopped by and ordered a Raspberry mocha.  "You mean a mocha coffee with a raspberry shot."  Defeated I answered, "yes, one of those"  Sigh.  Tim Hortons is the everyman coffee place.  No pretentious ordering allowed.

A temperate climate:  In Seattle, there's no changing your clothing wardrobe with the seasons.  Everything is kept out year round.  You may go from wool socks with your birkenstocks in the morning with a sweatshirt to t-shirt and shorts in the afternoon to long-sleeve t-shirt and sweater in the evening.   The hottest it gets is one week of 90F degrees where we all complain about how hot it is and run out to buy fans and air conditioners.  Most of us don't even have central air.  Down to maybe 28 if it snows (every other year we get snow, every 5 years or so we get a foot of snow and don't leave our homes for a week, then it melts and we all come out with harrowing stories of falling on the sidewalk and cabin fever.   Seattlites pretty much complain any day it is not 72F and sunny.  We complain about the weather. That's just what we do. It gives us something to talk about.  It doesn't rain like everyone thinks, it mists.  That's why we don't carry umbrellas, there's no point.

Here.  Well.  This winter they tell me is especially bad.  While I'm trying to believe them I do remember flying out last year to look at this house and wading through a foot of snow to house hunt and coming back in April to realize my backyard was twice as big as I thought it was.  So I'm skeptical. 

People have been wondering how I've been handling the winter here. Well.  I haven't seen my grass since November.  4 months ago.  I'm not even exaggerating.  And it is cold.  I think the coldest so far was we did get to 0F, otherwise known as the coldest day of my life.  After 4 months, I can tolerate down to about 22F, but 12F I start contemplating a hot shower and just staying in there all day.  The days when it's windy, forget it.  My boogers freeze at 12F and the wind makes me feel like my face is freezing off.  The only reason I leave my house is a down coat I bought in Buffalo as soon as the weather got cold and I live in that thing. It's muddy and needs a good cleaning, but I'm not giving it up to be clean until Spring. Or summer.  Every time I think the snow will someday melt I get up and look outside to another 1-2 inches of snow.  I say, "awesome. More snow." (insert sarcasm here) and make a cup of coffee and decide if I'll have to shovel or not. It snows at least once a week.  I am running out of space to put the snow.  I only have a shovel because a) we don't commute anywhere and b) I need the exercise and c) we have a 9.5 foot wide garage and a minivan and our shed is at the back of our property-there's no place for a snowblower and d) my neighbor mostly does it for us.  Even the boys are over the snow.  V is our last holdout at liking it.  It was so cold and snowy one day that H literally blew over on the way to school one day and had to be lifted back up. The kids have to wear snow pants because the snow to walk next door to school across the field is many times over the tops of their boots.  I have to shovel a path to our trash cans and the back door because the snow drifts and we cannot even open the back door some days.  The one hose I forgot to put in the shed broke into two pieces.  I have no idea if my garden I spent so much time putting in on the side of the house will have any survivors.  People dig into the snow little shelves to put their trash cans out because you can't find any place to put them because there is so much snow.

Amazon.com: Yes, Canada has Amazon.ca. They sell books.  That's it.  Amazon.com sells pretty much anything you could possibly dream up.  I miss buying items I don't need for a few days and having them shipped (usually free with $35 minimum purchase or free if you have Prime)  to my house.  With 3 kids who get a little wild when you actually let them leave the house, being able to shop from the comfort of your home is a little piece of heaven.  The longer I live here the less I miss it, I'm still shipping stuff to my parent's house however and having P bring them to me from his business trips.  I'm having to wean off my addiction to Amazon. Cold turkey is not an option. This brings us to:

Free shipping:  Holy moly do I love free shipping.  We complain about postage prices in U.S. but they are still cheaper than Canada. Add to that that there's less options for online shopping here, so if you try to online shop from the U.S. 1/2 of the price you pay will probably be shipping.  I'll go to buy a $20 item only to find it will cost $35 to ship the item to me.  Almost every site in the U.S. has free shipping with a minimum purchase.  I know, I know it gets me to buy more, but you know what, I'd rather buy $5 more of product than spend that $5 on shipping-an intangible service.

U.S. Target: Target bought up many of the fledgling Zeller's stores here.  Do not think however that this means I have my beloved Target back.  The selection is about 1/2 (though this means the aisles are nice and wide-except in the pharmacy where you cannot get 2 carts side by side), there is also no food court.  They also do not sell things from Target.ca, it's only for information.  It's just not the same.

Gas Prices:  Seriously, U.S. stop your whining.  Not only do we pay by the liter here (about 3.75 liters equals one gallon) gas is more expensive here despite sitting on a huge oil reserve.  I have no idea what the economics of this are, but gas here runs about $1.25 per liter on a good day (closer to $1.35 during the summer)  which is $4.70 a gallon, then take into account the exchange rate right now to get to about $4.35 a gallon U.S.

Hulu and Netflix and other streaming services: Yes, Netflix is available here as is Youtube, but everytime someone from the U.S. posts a funny clip on Facebook or there's a show/movie to watch on Netflix we get, "We're sorry, this selection is not available in your region."  Seriously?  North America, people!  We don't even have Hulu.  We have ways of dealing with these issues, so we're working around them.  I don't know how, P has some Voodoo he does to work through the issues.  Also, if I want to buy music of Amazon (see above)  I have to be in the U.S. to do it.  It will play in Canada, but Amazon after about 3 songs gives me a message, "Wait a minute.... we know you are in Canada... we're sorry, but you are cut off."  We also don't have Rhapsody or Pandora here.

Addresses on a grid:  I understand not every city has this, but the Seattle area was more or less made on a grid with counties.  I love getting an address and based on the Street (E/W) or Ave (N/S) or directional NE v. SE can tell me whether the Bothell address is Snohomish or King county and number I can figure out approximately where it is before ever looking it up on a map.  Yes, I know part of that is not living here long and that may change that soon I'll be able to figure out where I am (I drive with my GPS map on at all times to help with this and have changed GPS to KM as well).  However, there's something slightly annoying about #1500 being one street over from #5 and don't even get me started on the east coast being older meaning the numbers aren't even necessarily in numerical order.  #88 may have been built first, but then #85 gets crammed in between it and #90.  I have to leave for almost every appointment with 20 minutes of cushion to find my way there. And if I take the non-GPS car, I leave the directions up on the computer so I can call home when I inevitably get lost.


What I'm loving about Canada

No snow make up days:  Not  that we've ever been completely off for snow days.  I think Valerie missed one day because there were no buses and her private preschool doesn't run if there's no bus.  The kids play outside at recess unless it's less than -10C/14F  so snow pants have been a must since November. We go until June 22nd or 28th, so not worrying about having to make up snow days when I'm trying to make summer plans is great.

Field trips:  Yes, it's a little annoying to send in a Toonie (that's $2) every month or so with yet another permission slip, but in the U.S. only the co-op programs (where parents commit a certain number of hours every school year to work in the classroom as part of their acceptance)  goes on as many field trips as these kids have.  My daughter's preschool has had breakfast with Santa, gone to see Flossie the Groundhog for Groundhog Day, a Pumpkin Patch field trip, a snow day where they play outside all day with sleds.  She only goes 2 days a week.  Middle son has gotten to go to the pumpkin patch, ice skating.  Oldest has gotten to go to 2 other schools for 2 plays, Gone to see Oliver at a nearby high end play production house, ice skating, another one I can't remember and there's rumor when the weather finally warms up they'll get to go to the maple tree syrup farm to see the harvest. We're only 1/2way through the school year, by the way.

Drive thru convenience stores:  You may not be able to bank through a window in the building, but you can buy bread, eggs, lottery tickets and candy through one!  As a mom of babies that sleep in the car, this is living the dream.  Yes, you pay convenience store prices, but isn't it worth the convenience of picking up a few staples from the comfort of your cozy car when it's -20 outside?  I understand this is also a service in select Midwest locations.  I have decided if I were to move back to Seattle, I may open a small bodega (oh, p.s. No bodegas here, no corn tortillas as well, supermercados-non existant)  with a drive-thru window.  I bet I'd have a line around the block on cold, rainy days, snow days and days when it's too bloody hot to leave your A/C-you know, that 2 weeks in August.

Government workers:  Something like 60% of  Canadians (don't quote this, I read it somewhere and can't remember the source so I may be off)  work for the government in some shape or form.  And they seem happy about it.  When I went to see if I was eligible for health insurance yet, I was apologized too that I wasn't.  When I went to apply for passports for the kids, not only did they take 2 weeks, but when we were missing a signature, they called us up and didn't make us wait in line when we came into the passport office to sign.  OK, so I had some issues with the DMV, but Paul didn't.    Our local town not only picks up the garbage as part of our taxes, but starting this year, sends out a sidewalk plow so we don't have to shovel the sidewalk.  I called Immigration 2 times in filling out an extension for my visit and both times waited 10 minutes or less and the officer was not only helpful and polite, but stayed on the phone until they were sure my question was resolved, one even checked with supervisors, etc. to make sure he was giving me good information and offered other ways to help me out. 

School choice:  The kids are in public school.  This means they have a choice of  many programs-Catholic, Catholic French Immersion (1/2 the classes are in French, 1/2 in English), French Immersion, Public & French School (completely in French-there may be a Catholic version of this one as well).  All are considered public schools and included in paying property tax.  The kids go to regular ol' public school because a) we aren't Catholic (though, technically because I'm baptized Catholic the kids are eligible) b) Paul and I don't speak French and at this time it is not something they will need to be fluent in (they'll start French class in Grade 4 regardless of what path they take). c) it's literally next door to our house.  It is interesting to note that bus service is available for all of these.  A neighborhood may have 2-3 buses taking kids to different schools go through every morning.  Only Catholic school requires a uniform and starting this year requires all the way down to Kindergarten to wear a uniform (Basically blue and white clothing with collars)

This year is the last year that students can move to the French program in Grade 4, starting next year, they need to enter in Grade 1, so both H & C have been offered spots in the program, which for us is across town and they'd need to take a bus.  We did discuss how this would be a good opportunity and Carter seemed quite interested.  We have several reasons for not choosing it for our family.  Paul and I don't speak French, if one of us did, it might have been more tempting.  Since some homework would be completely in French, it would make it more difficult for us to offer assistance.  It's across town and requires a bus.  Henri doesn't want to do it but wants to go to school with Carter.  Right now Carter's a great student, but not school is not his favorite thing.  We'd rather him be at the top of his English class than struggling with another language (writing is currently the most difficult thing for him, even in English) and pushing for doing homework, etc.  We're happy that the kids will start foreign language in Grade 4 which is earlier than in many U.S. schools and French is everywhere from signs to labels at the grocery store, so it will most likely be picked up pretty easily

Full-Day Kindergarten:  This is only for Ontario and Quebec.  About 5 years ago the Ontario government decided all students should be in Kindergarten all day.  But this isn't just a 5 year old  class.  There is Jr. Kindergarten here for 4 year olds and the cut off is the end of the year rather than September 1. This is important for H who has a fall birthday.  The program for full-day has been implemented over 4 years and next year our school will be in the last wave of schools to implement it.   So my crazy schedule of one kid full-day every day school, one kid every afternoon, one kid T/Th full day will next year be all 3 kids in school full-day every day.  While there's a part of me that's sad about it, I mean it's basically one more year of school that I'm missing the kids during the day, there's another that's excited for them, esp since the middle  mostly likes school and the little one asks on Saturdays and Sundays if she can go to school and "see (her) children". 

A note is that when P went to school, there was OAC here in Ontario, which was Grade 13 and prepared students for University (College is usually 2 year, University 4 year here)  and was optional.  Many people were upset that this was gotten rid of, some thought it unnecessary. My point is, Ontario has always seemed to want a extra grade of school to fit everything in, so I am not completely surprised at this change.

They know how to do winter:  This winter has been a rough one.  I have friends in the states whose kids are going to school until July to make up all the school missed.  Here, yes, driving can be tricky some mornings, but by the afternoon, most everywhere is plowed and sanded and while we've had some tough times trying to get out of our neighborhood, there is a flat way out (have I mentioned pretty much everywhere here is mostly flat-think Midwest, though we're on the Niagara escarpment, so there are some hills but not necessarily right where I live, making running and biking much more doable).  Once we get out of our neighborhood or my inlaws neighborhood, it's pretty easy to get around despite all the snow.  My neighbor across the street has a snowblower and has taken pity on the Americans and snowblows our driveway most mornings it needs to be done and I bake them bread and give them Tim Hortons gift cards in return. 

Kids here all know how to get fully dressed in snow gear by Kindergarten (in the NW, parents dread the dressing and undressing of the children in snow gear-takes forever, esp if there is more than 1 child involved)  they sled (sometimes on their snowpants-who even needs a sled?), go ice fishing, snowmobile, ice skate, etc.

Recently, the kids had an ice skating field trip to the local arena.  I had been warned that this was an annual event and the neighbors were nice enough to give us a walker contraption (she explained to me what it was and why I would need it-to help kids be steady on skates and that there would be a field trip)  that their grandkids had outgrown.  Since H goes in the afternoon, if he wanted to go, I had to bring him and stay.  I thought, "Lord have mercy, 22 + Kindergarteners on ice skates?  WTH are they thinking????"  I had visions of children doing snow angels on the ice with skates as adult volunteers made rounds plucking them up and bringing them back to the wall to spend 50 minutes to make one lap around the arena.

Well, I showed up for the kindergarten session wondering if I should have brought a drink of courage with me.  I could not believe my eyes.  There was no crying, just children and parents lacing skates on.  Then the session started.  Henri and probably 3-4 other kids out of about 90 (there were actually 3 classes + afternoon kids + parents in the ice)  were the only ones who needed help.  I'm serious. There were 60+ kids there skating around like they'd been born on skates.  Kids that looked too little to walk were skating circles around me.  2 were obviously hockey players and chasing each other around with little stopping them since most of the parents are a) way more laid back than NW parents and b) couldn't skate fast enough to catch the buggers.

The down-low on the snow here v. NW.  NW snow is wet and heavy. Ontario snow is light and fluffy.  Ontario snow is really much better to shovel, however, it's really hard to make snowmen or anything fun out of it. NW snow you get 2 inches and you've got a little snow family.  Here you have to wait for it to start melting.  Like right now it's sunny and about freezing (the warmest it's been in about 6 weeks) and the kids at school are making a forest of snow people because that's what you do for recess in winter in Ontario.  Or they work together in teams and make gigantic snowballs, the size of those big hay bales you see in the prairies.

Recycling:  The Pacific NW does an amazing job of recycling and keeping stuff out of landfills-all your recycling can go in one bin, which is bigger than your trash bin and they pick it up every week.  However.  There's a huge list of things that can't be recycled.  Some seem very odd, like the tops of plastic containers.  Why can the container be recycled but not the top?  Here we do have to separate into paper and non-paper, but we get free containers when we move in (even a small container for compost for your kitchen AND a big green bin)  garbage and recycling pickup is free with your taxes and so many more items can be recycled.  Styrofoam from meat, the entire plastic container.  Even plastic baggies-not just grocery bags either. The wrapping around toilet paper for example-recyclable here.

We are less likely to die of unnatural causes:  There are less guns here (and they are used for hunting, rather than killing people); less artificial crap is allowed in our food (Kraft Dinner or Mac & Cheese does not have artificial colors and  even makes a variety that sneaks veggies into the pasta); the government regulates pretty much everything, and do I even have to mention that everyone has health insurance?  You may not be able to get the drugs you need or have teeth to eat the good food (prescription and dental is not included in universal health care here), but darn it, you can see a doctor.

I'll do a more in-depth look at universal healthcare in another post, but our first doctor visit, we waited about 90 minutes for an immunization and left without looking at a bill.


Curling I've never curled so much in my life.  In fact right now I'm averaging about 4 times a week and we watch it at least daily for the Olympics because even if it's not on a TV station we get, the Canadian sports channel puts it on the internet for you to watch at your leisure.  I used to like it, I'm starting to get obsessive about it, maybe because my game is greatly improving.  Most of my social interaction outside of family is at the curling club, I'm curling in bonspeils at other clubs, because within 40 minutes drive are 3 other clubs.  It's a great way to forget about being homesick and try to enjoy the winter for 2 hours & 8 ends.  I have a feeling curling is saving me from the winter blues.  I was asked to substitute one day this week and although I think Paul wanted to relax instead of watch the kids and get them ready for bed and trade them off at the club (when I sub he and I play at different times, so we switch cars and kids at the club) he could see I needed a curling fix.  And you can talk to people here about it and they know what you are talking about and don't assume you are a weight lifter.

Lack of traffic:  Does not apply to Toronto area.  I never, ever get stuck in traffic here.  Yes, I may end up behind a school bus between 3pm and 4pm, but I never sit in traffic.  In Seattle, there seems to be traffic from 6am-10am and 3pm-7pm.  There are traffic reports on the radio during these hours because there is traffic.  If you want to leave the house, try to do it before 6am, after 7pm or between 10am and 3pm, but not lunch time.  Then you have to think about if you are going north or south to account for the time of day for traffic.  Don't ever have to think about this.  If I know where I'm going (see above about getting lost a lot)  I know that if it says it will take 20 minutes, it will.  I do not miss the traffic.




Costco v. Sam's:  The pacific NW has always had Costco-it's founded there.  Canada also has Costco, however, they don't have Sam's Club (owned by Walmart and trying to get a foot in the door in the NW). NY has Sam's Club but not Costco.  Since groceries are much cheaper over the border, I got a Sam's Club membership on a Groupon to try it out.  The big purchase?  Milk-Milk is $5 a gallon in Canada and watery for the U.S. palatte.  At Sam's in the states it runs about $2.25 a gallon.  You can tell that the Canadians come down every weekend because don't try to go to Sam's on a Sunday afternoon-you won't find any milk, meat or dairy (we CAN bring these items back, we are just limited on the amount).

December-pre Christmas!

Yes, with the advent of Facebook, I'm much more apt to post short updates there more frequently and save the longer updates for here, but posting less frequently.

Since the release at Paul's work, he's been able to take time off for the holidays, which has been awesome.  Completely makes up for the two trips he was gone last month!  I'm going to be sad when we gear back up for January.  Since the kids have been off school, we've literally done nothing but play video and board games in our pajamas (since I got most everything done for the holidays before they got off school). As guilty as I feel about "doing nothing" I do feel more relaxed and have been resting which is probably why the little bit of a cold V and I seemed to be getting disappaited pretty quickly.

Anyways, we were busy the 3 weeks of December before that.

The kids had school concerts:

 

 

Valerie found her red shoes which of course we ladies love.  Incidently, the name of her shoe  style is Valerie from Stride Rite :)

(if you'd like a link to the actual concert footage, let me know... there are other kids in them so I'm not going to put them here....)


It snowed.

 

Then it snowed more.

Bunnies came.

We set up the Christmas tree

 

Valerie continues to like dresses, much to Mom's delight.

Then the snow melted, but an ice storm came in the middle of the night.  As this was our first ice storm, we went out and explored.

Henri wanted to save all the icicles

The track next door looked like the Arctic Ocean

The grass

our poor tree...

The vines that grow over our fence...

Then it snowed again today. This  Christmas Eve morning Henri came downstairs and declared, "it's gonna be a white Christmas! So we went sledding...

Look ma, no hands!

Paul and Henri try

 

Then we went over to the playground-it was slick

 

 

Valerie decided we were too slow in bringing the sled back up and took matters into her own hands

 

Henri takes a break

 

 

Mom got crafty:

 

 

 

 

 

We have a 2nd bathroom!

When we moved in to this house, the upstairs bathroom had been remodeled, but the previous owners who had done a major project every year since moving in (ie: roof, adding a deck, etc.) had moved out in the beginning of putting in the 2nd bathroom downstairs.  They'd finished the basement (most homes here are sold with the basement not finished and the square footage not included in the house sales report) except for the bathroom and laundry room which had plumbing and had been roughed in.  The room is huge.

We thought about doing it ourselves.  Between our light bathroom remodeling experience in our old house and YouTube, we probably could have. However, with the kids all on different school schedules, Paul traveling one week out of the month and curling, swimming and other activities we figured we did not have the amount of uninterrupted time for our basic home improvement skills to finish it properly.  So we had 4 contractors who were all recommended come and make bids.

2 were pretty pricey, 2 were lower and one of those two was optimistic that he could even possibly have at least the shower put in by the time my parents were scheduled to come see the house for the first time, so we hired him.

Things started out well and Erin got shopping (not paying for that-- I've got awesome skills in that department).  Then the floor tiles started cracking.  The contractor told us that the tiles the previous homeowner had left that worked just fine on the shower walls were too cheap and we needed to go get new ones.  With our limited experience, we were skeptical and thought it had more to do with the installation, but bought some one grade higher and they spent 2 days chipping the floor out that they'd spent 2 days on.  Paul did an awesome job finding just enough boxes of instock tile that really matched almost perfectly to the tile already on the walls.  Needless to say it didn't get done in time for my parent's visit.  Because they had to redo the work, we compromised on not having them also tile the laundry room. We also told him we were doing our own painting which knocked $400 off the bid.

My honest review: While I'm happy it's done and know that paying someone to do it means the job was done a year before we normally would have had time to devote to the project, I will not be hiring this particular contractor again.   I think my initial disappointment was that the quality was what I probably could have done myself if I'd had enough long spurts of time available to work on the job and if I'm paying for it to be done I want it better than I could have done it.  They were over budget on time and while they'd work Monday through Saturday, some days they'd leave at 1pm, some days we'd peek in and think, WTH did they do all day?  The bathroom and laundry room were also FILTHY when they left.  I told Paul I would have been much happier with the job if they'd just spent some extra time cleaning up. Instead I did it and I noticed every higher tile, the 2 that were cracked and every other little thing that I never would have seen when I was awed by the job but that I noticed right away because my face was 6 inches from it cleaning.  I spent 2 days cleaning and painting. By 2 days I mean long days.  NOW that I've cleaned and painted it I'm quite happy with it. Now that I'm using it I'm happy with it.  But I asked Paul to stop asking me how I liked it most of last weekend ;)  Today we also changed to a tankless hot water heater so I now have an extra 4x4 foot area in my furnace room for storage.

Here's the end result...

The view from the bathroom door into my laundry room pocket door. Before putting in the pocket door, the door opening was to the right, in the corner, which meant you had to walk around the vanity, this is a much better flow.

 

To the right... I now have a corner to put my freezer in and storage for cleaning supplies. I'm keeping them in the bins until I move out the shelves to tile in there, then I'll organize it.

To the left, my laundry tub, laundry machines and pantry storage above. I took these shelves out of the garage and reused them to add some pantry space to our smaller kitchen. the tank water heater has been replaced with a tankless which is attached to the wall so that back corner is now all free space.

Looking into the bathroom with the pocket door closed, the other door is a linen closet, vanity to right, toilet to left.

 

New vanity and mirror with extra space in the corner for a plant, shelves.....??? The lights and mirror seem a little low because there's ductwork above the vanity area, good thing we're a short family

The toilet and new shower and his and hers towel bars. Both windows have a contact paper that's a privacy screen. Easily installed with an exacto knife and a squeegee.

The shower. Shower bar with jets and rain shower, niche cut in between the studs with glass shelf-big enough for Costco sized shampoo, the window in there is also tiled so you can put stuff up there as well. Doors are Maax Halo 60 inch doors. Shower is 5'x5' with center drain. Gray tile line is same tile that's on the floor.

What does this all cost?  Here's the breakdown, including tax (13.5% here)

Labor & construction supplies (except cleaning & painting)	5,650.00
Door Knobs-privacy & closet	65.52
Molding & Shelving, Baseboards	132.60
Towel holders, TP holder	135.66
Faucet	122.04
Tile (bathroom and laundry)	271.38
Shower body bar-$150 off sale	449.74
Vanity & sink top-48 inch marked off $60 for scratches down by the floor	847.67
Vanity light	90.40
Pocket Door-primed	153.67
Paint-1 gal midgrade Benjamin Moore & 1 quart Zinnzer for molding & doors	70.00
Shower doors	733.37
Mirror	33.90
Accessories	32.70
	8,788.66