Twas a winter's night book club. Our club trades books rather than everyone reading the same book at the same time. Books of note this month were:

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

We also have a member who is going through the Canada Reads selections. She has already read:
Good to a Fault by Marina Endicott (she carefully worded her review in a positive way, which meant it was good but ...)
Fall on Your Knees by Anne Marie MacDonald (we've all read that one already and personally I liked it)



Book Club?? We should call it Food Club! Dinner is always at book club as the appies are wonderful!

A glorious surprise was the gift given to us by one of our members. She was just down in Vancouver when the shop received a new shipment of the Canadian Olympic Team Red Mitts so she purchased some for all of us. Thank you, thank you. These are currently almost impossible to find in stores across Canada and net proceeds from every pair sold go toward supporting Canadian athletes in gaining access to top equipment and training.
eh O'CANADA GO! (official Canadian cheer ... but I'm not big on it) or as my sister prefers eeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhh CANADA!

Xmas Memories

This past Christmas I spent some cooking time with Kate. She loved helping create our cookies, especially when it came to mixing the dough with our hands and adding the decorations (which were heaped onto the ones she decorated).

My sister just emailed these photos to me and it took me down memory lane.

Official World Cup Theme Song

My sister just shared this with me. I really enjoyed it so am sharing it with you. Hope you like it too!

Neat Site

Misplaced your cell phone? Don't have a land line to call it - but do have an iPod touch or computer handy? Here's a site that lets you call you cell phone in Canada or the US for free...

http://www.wheresmycellphone.com/

Just follow the ring tones to find your phone.

Two Must - Sees

Sherlock Holmes - saw it twice in Ancaster on a big big screen and loved it both times. Robert Downey Jr play a Holmes you could look at forever and there is enough action in the movie to capture the male audience as well. One of the best movies I have seen and I am glad I saw it on a big screen.


Finally went to see Avatar. Of course I was in Whitehorse at the time. Although the movie has been showing for 5 weeks here, the line up was lengthy and by the time we arrived in the theatre, only 2nd row seats were available. One has to almost lie down to watch a movie from that point of view. As well, the theatres here (both of them) have not been up-dated, so the screens are small (a blessing for those of us watching from almost under the screen) and they are scratched, so when a light coloured scene comes on, small scratches on the screen show through. But, having said that, and although the movie is 3 hours in length (ohhh my aching butt) is was thoroughly enjoyable. The special effects were superb and make the movie very worth seeing. My only complaint (other than those listed above) was the war scene was too long - great for the males in the audience, a bit long for the females. Another must-see movie (esp if you are in a big city with a real movie theatre).

Whitehorse in January

Southern people keep asking me how much light is there now in the Yukon. I never know how to answer except to say that as of December 21st we are getting more and more sunlight each day. I just returned from Ontario. I would wake around 8:00 am and the sky would be light. When I returned home I would wake at 8:30 am and the sky was still dark. The photo above was taken at 11:00 am and as you can see, the sky is light but the sun is still not very high.

I am also asked how cold is it?? Southern Canada was hovering around the 0 degree mark. When I arrived home at 1:00 am on Sunday, it was about -25 degrees celsius and there was a blizzard happening. Apparently that is the first real snowfall we have had since I left in mid December. But as weather goes, it is changing every day and today is about -12 and the snow stopped falling. I also must add that -15 here feels warmer than -7 in Ontario. I love the arid climate.

How much snow do we have?? Well see for yourself. Although it is dry snow - you cannot build a snowman here - the last snowfall was very dense which made shovelling a chore ... not that nice fluffy white stuff.

So that is my update on the Yukon today.

Art Series

Attended another in the Art Series last night ... a play called Lauchie, Liza & Rory. With only 2 actors, they amusingly portrayed quite a number of characters to tell the story of a coal mining family, their lives, loves and predicaments. The play was very well done, the acting superb and very amusing. I enjoyed it immensely!

Olympic Rings

Driving through Vancouver, signs of the Olympics are beginning to show. The rings light up the night sky and water reminding everyone of the upcoming event.

Leaving the airport, you boldly get your first glimpse of a set of rings. These ones are white and are very impressive when lit against the night sky. Apparently the street closures are beginning and there are lots of stories on Canadian TV of our Canadian hopefuls and the number of medals we are expecting. (We'll keep our fingers crossed).

Hello Alberta

I made a stop in Edmonton (to be more exact Sherwood Park) on my way west. Had a lovely visit with my niece and her family. The weather turned spring-like while I was there -- above 0 temperatures (I love the spring!). Did a bit of last minute shopping and went for a nice drive into Edmonton and surrounding countryside.

Went to the ski hill with Jenn & Dawson. This is time 2 on the hill for Dawson and he did a great job mastering the bunny hill.

Luckily his dad had a day off too so was able to visit with the whole family and see what Santa brought to them this Christmas.

Then it was off to Vancouver, to visit my friend and as luck would have it, my son. The weather just continued to get warmer as I travelled west. SR took Bev and I for lunch and we had a great chat for a couple of hours. It was a good ending to my Xmas travels.

Adieu Ontario

My Ipod Touch was a success with my sister who became addicted to it. I now know what is on her wish list for the next present exchange.

No trip to Ontario is complete without at least one hockey game. This one was at a local arena with David scoring a goal (unfortunately I missed that as I was watching a bird flying around the indoor arena - a bird which I must tell left a calling card on my sister's coat!). David is doing very well with his game - getting better and better each time I see him play.

My last few days in Ontario included a lot of eating with a lot of family. It was great to spend time with all my sisters, aunt & uncle, mother, nieces and nephews and friends and acquaintances. I was just a bit sorry I didn't get into Toronto to visit my friends there, but there is always next time.

Happy 4th Birthday

Kate had her Princess birthday today. How excited she was. She started off by saying "Welcome to my Princess Palace", then led us into a room with princesses on everything.

She helped bake the cake herself. It was decorated with pink icing and of course, princesses.

I think this is the first birthday she really realized what was happening. I was happy to be a part of her celebration.
Happy Birthday Kate!

2010 - The New Year

Went to my niece's university apartment on my way home one day. One can learn a lot from her living room wall, as seen in the photo behind her.

Maya is a new addition to the family. She is only about 10 months old and can be full of energy. Lots of training needed here, but she is a beauty.

Well New Year's day came and went. It was a slow day in my sister's household. Eat, watch TV, nap...It ended with the movie The Hangover. Unless you're between the ages of 18 and 25, DON'T WATCH it...my warning to you.

To day is little Kate's 4th birthday party. It is sunny sunny sunny and about -8 degrees c. A perfect day for a celebration.