I had a brief fling with Living Social and Groupon in Seattle, but since moving here, I feel like I have limited experience to draw from with service providers, have been wanting to enter into my new, relaxed lifestyle with some pampering and I'm cheap. So I have been browsing Groupon to try new providers. I'll admit it a glass of wine and a rough day with the kids, usually when the hubby is out of town on business may be involved in many of the purchases (their ability to save payment information is probably part of the issue as well). Anyways, I've had some interesting experiences. So far I've concluded massages, manis and pedis on Groupon? Good idea. Facials and stuff? Bad idea.
One microdermabrasion I signed up for the gal pretty much was just trying to sell me stuff, which was annoying. The facial, though? That was a story to share.
So I show up a few minutes late considering I don't know where I'm going and I got lost (many of the spa places in the nearby town are in converted houses and I've discussed the lack of consistent road naming and house numbering in another post). She assures me it's not a problem, I'm not really that late. My first impression of the woman is one of curiosity. She looks like Zaza Gabor or Joan Rivers post surgery, later in life. She chats with me a little and introduces the cat that is roaming around. For those of you who aren't clear, I'm not the biggest cat person, plus I'm allergic. This cat is all over my legs. "I can't believe she likes you!" She exclaims. "She doesn't really like brunettes!" She proceeds to alternately sweet talk the cat, admonish it for not leaving me alone, and proclaim to me how she cannot believe the cat is in love with me. I think this must be the receptionist. Oh, no, this is may anesthitician....
So I get all situated in the treatment room after about 20 minutes of chit chat about the cat. Then we talk for about 20 minutes about general skincare (I should stop moisturizing my nose and not scrub my face so hard "you must be NICE to your skin and be gentle with it!") as well as her saying how nice I am. I'll be honest. After the first 20 minutes (could have been 30) I was thinking, "this is taking forever! I figured this would be a 20-45 minute appointment, maybe I should just say I changed my mind and leave...." after the talk about skincare she finally starts, all the while telling me many things about herself....
1) She's never had plastic surgery. She saved $20 a month in a bank account from the time she turned 30 for it, but by the time she was old enough to need it she had had cancer and the radiation injured her heart, so no one will put her under anesthesia for plastic surgery.
2) She's a name dropper. She dropped every rich or business owning person in town, which impressed me none because, I know no one in town.
3) She has a son who visits her and she gives him facials.
4) She trades facials with other businesses-she's gotten tile, clothing, etc.
After all this and several treatments ("You'll love this, I just got it, no extra charge!" "Do you want this other treatment? It's only $20 for you!" After I agree to what I think is a bottle of fancy cream stuff I find out at checkout it was one application of the magical elixir...) I start to repeat the following in my head a) "I'm never coming back" and b) "this woman is crazy"
On the way out she tells me as she gets my coat how she had another customer walk off with another customer's $2500 fur coat one time and how she had to remedy the situation by getting a good deal on a similar coat from another customer, which made me feel even safer about leaving my coat in the closet.
over TWO and a HALF hours later I finally leave. Paul calls me, "where have you been?" I said, "I am on my way home, and BOY do I have a story for you!"
Two days later, I had the worst breakout I've had in months.
The massages and manis and pedis have all been lovely, though, so I'm not off it completely, but I'm a little more cautious!
Saturday, April 19, 2014
Friday, April 18, 2014
Valerie has discovered Minecraft and Xbox
Valerie has discovered Xbox and Minecraft and is Henri's newest companion on playing. If you don't know what Minecraft is, it's like legos on the computer.
A video of Valerie playing. Excuse her comments about killing the cow. She gets a little overly into it.
A video of Valerie playing. Excuse her comments about killing the cow. She gets a little overly into it.
Sunday, February 23, 2014
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 (3rd
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 3rd
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
2nd rocks, next 3rd rocks, last are skips rocks. The differences are probably imperceptible,
but it makes it so that when you throw your 1st rock, your 2nd
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 5th 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).
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).
Friday, February 14, 2014
It's been awhile...
Although I've not blogged recently, I promise the blog posts are being constructed in my head... some posts on the way...
Curling
What I'm liking about Canada/missing about the US so far
Update on Immigration status
My facial from a crazy cat woman
Random hilarious things the kids are talking about
General life here and small happenings
Pictures!
Curling
What I'm liking about Canada/missing about the US so far
Update on Immigration status
My facial from a crazy cat woman
Random hilarious things the kids are talking about
General life here and small happenings
Pictures!
Thursday, January 2, 2014
2013 Reading LIst
Well, I got a book every 2 weeks read in 2013....
1. The boy who came back from heaven, Alex & Kevin Malarkey
2. Pretties, Scott Westerfield-CD
3. Tiny Beautiful Things, Cheryl Strayed-CD
4. Growing up Amish, Ira Wagler
5. Watership Down
6. Specials, Scott Westerfield-CD
7. The Language of Flowers-CD
8. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
9. The Road to Yesterday, LM Montgomery
10. In Front of God and Everyone-nook
11. Extras, Scott Westerfield-CD
12. Night Road, Kristen Hannah (make sure you have a tissue, you'll sob through the 2nd 1/2 of the book)
13-Bebe day by day
14-Bringing up Bebe-guide to French parenting
15-The Pact-Jodi Picolt
16-Me of Little Faith-Lewis Black-CD for drive
17-Why my 3rd Husband will be a Dog-Lisa Scottoline
18-Hannah's Gift, Lessons from a Life Fully Lived-Maria Housden
19-Jesus, A meditation on his stories and his relationships with women-Andrew Greeley
20-Enough-Discovering Joy through Simplicity and Generosity-Adam Hamilton
21-Peter Pan, J.M. Barrie
22-The Dragon in the Sock Drawer (reading this series with my 8 year old son)
23-The Dragon in the Driveway
24-Eve, A Novel
25-last days of ptolemy grey
1. The boy who came back from heaven, Alex & Kevin Malarkey
2. Pretties, Scott Westerfield-CD
3. Tiny Beautiful Things, Cheryl Strayed-CD
4. Growing up Amish, Ira Wagler
5. Watership Down
6. Specials, Scott Westerfield-CD
7. The Language of Flowers-CD
8. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
9. The Road to Yesterday, LM Montgomery
10. In Front of God and Everyone-nook
11. Extras, Scott Westerfield-CD
12. Night Road, Kristen Hannah (make sure you have a tissue, you'll sob through the 2nd 1/2 of the book)
13-Bebe day by day
14-Bringing up Bebe-guide to French parenting
15-The Pact-Jodi Picolt
16-Me of Little Faith-Lewis Black-CD for drive
17-Why my 3rd Husband will be a Dog-Lisa Scottoline
18-Hannah's Gift, Lessons from a Life Fully Lived-Maria Housden
19-Jesus, A meditation on his stories and his relationships with women-Andrew Greeley
20-Enough-Discovering Joy through Simplicity and Generosity-Adam Hamilton
21-Peter Pan, J.M. Barrie
22-The Dragon in the Sock Drawer (reading this series with my 8 year old son)
23-The Dragon in the Driveway
24-Eve, A Novel
25-last days of ptolemy grey
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
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
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...
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...
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.
The track next door looked like the Arctic Ocean
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:
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