My Posts Tagged as 'Canada'

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Have you ever considered becoming a blogger? I am coming up to my 12th anniversary of being a blogger. Wow! When I think about that, there’s so much that’s happened in that time.

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This is so easy to make and extremely yummy. Great for brunch, lunch or dinner. If you want you can add some bacon but it's just as nice vegetarian.

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On Tuesday we took the train into New York City. We left the house at around 8.15 and Keith dropped us off at the station in New Haven. The train was 90 minutes and it was a time to snooze and just enjoy the relaxation, and of course people watch the commuters.

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On Monday, we got up and chilled for a bit. We wanted to make a plan for the following day when we were to catch the train to New York. Also, the fire was going and it was just so nice to sit there and relax. We were all very tired from the long trip the day before.

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We arrived in Hamden at my cousin Keith and his wife Holly's house just before they were hosting a large Caroling party. Apparently they do this every year - about 100 people converge on their house and walk the streets singing Carols.

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Well, we've lived in Canada for almost 18 months and I must say, we've been really slack - my cousin lives just 8 hours drive away from us in Connecticut and we haven't seen him yet. Sooo, we decided that it was long past time we visited.

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Poor Jesse was sick on his birthday so his party was postponed. We then attempted to have it the following week but that didn't work out either due to previous commitments of the friends invited. So we finally managed it on the 18th.

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Yes, it's been that prickly time of year again when my husband grows facial hair to raise money for prostate cancer.

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A friend of mine just sent me these two great sites for online grocery shopping (good organic food). Thought I'd share them with you - sorry this one is for Kiwis only.

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For the past six weeks I have been stuck at home, unable to drive. The reasons for this inability to drive are long winded bureaucratic bumbling involving the insurance company and lack of an Ontario drivers' license which I won't go into details about.

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I'm having a pre-Christmas sale at my Etsy shop.

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Yesterday we attended to the dawn opening ceremony for the Whales Tehora Exhibition at the Ontario Science Centre. This is an exhibition about whales and whaling in New Zealand and is going to be exhibited in many cities around the World.

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On Tuesday Jenna and I caught the subway into downtown Toronto. We dropped Jesse off at school on the way, he thinks it's pretty cool going to school on the subway.

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I can't believe that it is our second Halloween here - where has the year gone?

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At this time of year every year hundreds of Torontonians done disgusting make up, rip their clothes and dress in all sorts of interesting outfits for the annual Zombie Walk.

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On Saturday, we went to the Ontario Science Centre to see the Mythic Creatures Exhibition. The exhibition itself was quite small but was very thought provoking.

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Last week we were invited to the opening night of the ImagiNATIVE Festival in Toronto. It's a festival which celebrates art created by native peoples from around the World.

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Carol asked me to write this blog update to let you all know about my recent trip so here goes.

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Thought you might like this, took this sneaky photo whilst waiting outside the school.

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Well, this morning we got up to a balmy 2 degrees, the first frost of the season. I guess it's a sign of things to come, although I'm not much looking forward to the winter.

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Andy is away in Austin, Texas this weekend. He went on a business trip on Thursday, had meetings all day Friday and his company paid for him to stay the weekend as there is a huge music festival on there over the weekend - the Austin City Limits.

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On Sunday we drove north to Parry Sounds to look at the autumn leaves. It was beautiful.

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Thought I'd better tell you what Jesse told me about camp - everything!

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Have spent the week organising 'stuff' for Jesse to go to school camp. He leaves tomorrow (Wednesday) morning and will be away until Friday. Of course, he is looking forward to it a great deal.

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es, I've been slack lately. The last few weeks of the school holidays zipped by with us keeping Jesse busy.

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Yesterday we spent the day at the Ex (Canadian National Exhibition). Some of you may remember that we went last year when the Kapahaka group came from NZ.

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Andy is on holiday this week so we decided to take a few days and visit "up north", to do what the Canadians do in the summer, take off for a cottage by the lake.

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I just downloaded my holiday photos and realised that there were lots of photos on my camera that I had not yet shared with you all so I thought I'd upload them for you before blogging about the holiday.

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A week ago we went to the Ontario Science Centre to see the Harry Potter Exhibition (sorry it's taken me so long to write about it but to be fair, I did and then the computer froze and I lost it all).

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If you read the last post you will know that we put an offer in on a house. Unfortunately, it was not accepted.

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Ok, so it's been a while but the reason for that is simply that I've been really busy.

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I got up yesterday morning with a big agenda:

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OK, so not much has happened this week. We had a quiet weekend in which the highlight was having NZ friends Martin and Teresa over for a BBQ on Saturday, sitting outside and enjoying the beautiful (much cooler) weather.

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Yesterday after I dropped Andy off at work, I was driving past the lake at Centennial Park (golf course on one side of the road and lake on the other) when I had to stop for a large group of geese crossing the road.

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It's official! They said it on the news last night. We are officially in the middle of a heatwave.

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July 1st is Canada Day. We celebrated with a large number of other Torontonians by taking a trip to Toronto Island.

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Not really. Today Jesse's NZ teacher, Anna, organised for Jesse to Skype with his NZ classmates. It was really good to talk to them all and Jesse had lots to share with them and they with him.

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We convinced Andy that he needed a day off work, having worked at least 3 extra weeks time in just 3 months at his new job.

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Yesterday, the kids and I were at the Lake doing Jesse's reading (much nicer than sitting at home).

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Spent the morning yelling at the TV! Watched the Italy vs NZ World Cup Match and oh my, what a match. Well done the All Whites for an amazing defense and all round well played game.

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Jesse's favourite at the moment is Starbucks Chocolate Frappuccino. He's had it a few times and asks everytime we're out if he can have one.

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We have acquired a second television set and decided that it would be good to set it up in the small space off the kitchen.

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On Sunday we decided to was time to explore more of Ontario so we headed west to Elora. A friend had suggested that we visit as there is a Mennonite community there.

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A huge THANK YOU!!! to Angela who sent a large box of NZ goodies and made our day. We have been waiting patiently for the last 4 weeks for this to arrive.

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I learned a very valuable lesson this morning - if you think your 9 year old is having too much fun in the bath then probably there is trouble looming.

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Jesse and Andy went to the Toronto zoo. Sadly Jenna and I did not go so I have asked Jesse to be my guest blogger this week. This is what he had to say:

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With the temperature now sitting in the mid to late 20s, we decided that it was time for Jesse to have a haircut. You will see from the photo he was in need of one - drastically!

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What a week! It all started with a large ball of bright green plastercine which has been roaming around our house for some weeks.

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OK, so I've been working on my recipe collection and I need some suggestions for a savory muffin.

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Since leaving New Zealand I have been missing the Ecostore products that I used religiously.

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As I drive around the streets these days I am amazed by a myriad of colour, greens and browns, reds and oranges, yellows and pinks. Spring it would seem has definitely sprung!

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Just wanted to say thank you to those who have commented on my blog lately. It's really nice to know that people are reading and enjoying it.

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We were all exhausted on Sunday. Some young people along the hallway had decided to have a party till the wee small hours so not much sleep was had. We dragged ourselves out of bed and got ourselves organised to check out.

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Saturday morning after breakfast we decided to walk the streets of Montreal. The weather was cold and wet so we thought we'd try and travel through the underground city which is 33kms long (according to the tourist guide in our hotel room).

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Well, it's Saturday morning and I'm sitting in a rather squashed hotel room banging my head on the bunk above me.

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Jesse spent a day at Humberside Montessori yesterday - he loved it.

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Yes, it's finally happened. We had already decided that Jesse would be attending a new school after the summer but this week we decided to bring that up a bit and he will finish at Northstar today.

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Yesterday was Easter Monday. Andy was at work and Jesse had a heap of homework to complete before we could get out and enjoy the day.

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If you're not reading this on the day it's posted this may seem like a strange entry so I'll explain - I've just imported the blog below from another system.

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Easter Saturday was such a beautiful day we dragged the dining table onto the deck (need to buy an outdoor table) and sat in the sun most of the day.

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The hot cross buns were extremely successful and very yummy (see previous post for recipe).

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You will be aware from previous blogs how "big" the holidays are here - Halloween was huge, in the shops weeks before and so much stuff it was incredible.

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It's March break (also called spring break) and Jesse has been off school for two weeks.

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While returning from the border on Saturday, we decided to stop at Niagara to have some celebratory fun.

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On Saturday we went to the border to get a new work permit for Andy. He has been offered a job as Multimedia Project Manager at Mosaic Interactive, a large company servicing some rather big clients.

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Jenna has been telling me that she's missing hashbrowns so I decided to make something similar.

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Yesterday was such a lovely day, it was 14 degrees here (spring has sprung I think) and Jenna's day off so her, Jesse and I went down and spent the day by the lake. We found a lovely sheltered spot on the edge of the lake where we could sit back and enjoy the sun.

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At 3.15pm today our time, the Nation stopped to watch the Ice Hockey - Canada vs USA.

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On family day (15 February) we went to the Auto Show. Andy got free tickets from work so we thought that we'd check it out.

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Wow, what a day Sunday was. We went out on one of our Sunday drives with the intention of visiting Unionville, a tiny little village within the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) about a half hours drive from Toronto.

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On Saturday, we went to St Lawrence Market which is a huge 2-storey inside market in downtown Toronto.

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We have been trying to get out and about a bit and enjoy this very mild winter we have been experiencing.

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On Thursday was the long awaited Guns n Roses concert. It was an interesting evening, most of which was spent people watching. I'm still decided whether or not the 3 1/2 hour wait for Axel Rose was worth it. Let me explain.

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Ok, it's been a while since I've blogged but to be honest there hasn't been much going on.

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Happy New Year to all! I trust that the New Year was ushered in in the most appropriate fashion.

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Today we went to the border where Andy was granted a work visa. Turns out that in his professional he is eligible for an exemption to some of the bureaucratic stuff so it was quick and easy - ha ha (Jesse didn't think so). Jenna also got her work visa sorted so we can all stay. The only down side was that they refused to give me one (oh dear, how sad).

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Yesterday we went ice skating. It was fun and much easier than we thought it would be. Our friend Mike took us to Nathan Phillips Park. Once we got our skates on we managed to stand (a feat all of it's own) then it was onto the ice - gosh that step down onto the ice seemed very high!

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Last weekend we went to see the Lindsay Lights - one family who decorate their home every year. Thought I would post the photos for you to look at and the website where you can see what they've done in past years - Lindsay Lights Website.

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Well, it's Boxing Day in Canada and I'm exhausted. Not that we did a great deal for Christmas but there seemed to be such a rush leading up to it. I think everyone in the Greater Toronto Area left their Christmas shopping till the last minute - me included.

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Today was Northstar Montessori's Winter Concert - a Tribute to the King of Pop. I tell you, it was simply an overdoes of cuteness. They started with the toddlers and went to Junior High.

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This morning awoke to more snow (surprised?). It was different today though as it's not raining, just light fluffy snow. Much more dangerous on the roads this morning as there's a layer of ice under the snow. Not sure I'm happy to drive today. I guess I'll have to get used to it. Where's the summer when you need it.

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I took these on the way to drop Jesse off at school. After the first few Andy wouldn't let me wind down the window anymore so some of them are taken through the wet window.

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We were woken this morning to excited screams - "Mum, Mum, it's snowed".

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Ok, so I thought it was time I got in the Christmas mood.

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We were in Toronto on Sunday, came home about 4pm. These are some photos I took from my phone on the way back in the car - sorry quality not that great.

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It was Jesse's birthday on Saturday - can you believe he's 9 already. It seems like just yesterday ....

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Yes, we have "encouraged" them so much that they now knock on the sliding door asking for breakfast and will even eat out of your hand. Have we gone too far?

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Ok, ok, it wasn't much, but it was enough to get us Kiwis excited.

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Ok, so it's been a while since I last blogged. My apologies. So much going on that I just haven't had time.

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There was huge excitement in our house yesterday morning. I rushed downstairs to see why my children were running around screaming and yelling.

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This is Ryan our youngest guest with his Dad Jamie. Don't worry, he's actually drinking water from that beer can. He amused us all by raising his can and calling "sociable" which is apparently something that's done in West (I think) coast pubs.

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After many hours of sweat and some tears the fashion show that Jenna has been working towards was yesterday. She put in five outfits. The brief was to design a collection for the modern working woman - what's that? She used mostly second hand clothing which she reconditioned with an outstanding result.

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It's Monday after Halloween and I must say it's been a very interesting couple of days. It all started on Friday when we collected Jesse from school. His communication bag (where his book is kept that tells us what he gets up to at school) was filled to the brim, not with books, but with candy.

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It's crazy here - the leaves are falling everywhere and we are preparing for Halloween.

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Thought I'd share with you what Canada has done to me - I've forgotten my dress sense and gone for practical - Oh No that doesn't sound like me at all.

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Monday was thanksgiving holiday so we decided to take the opportunity to go to Marineland and Niagara. We thought that we would have heaps of time to do everything we wanted but of course ran out of time. What we did do though was have an amazing time. The first thing we did was go to Marineland. It was the last weekend of the season and it was cold. You will see by our clothing and the look on our faces that it was cold.

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Well, what a night. Our first ice hockey experience. Actually, it was great. We had a wonderful time. Jesse's explanation of the game is "nice and violent". He is referring to the players being smashed against the perspex by another player.

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I thought I'd share with you the view of our deck and backyard. We are enjoying having a backyard after spending the last 8 weeks without one (and having the neighbours looking straight into our house).

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Yes, it's true - I went to a baseball game but don't tell anyone. A couple of Sundays ago (yes I've been tardy at writing) Bryce one of our friendly Kea's took the whole Karl clan to a Blue Jays (Toronto's home team) baseball game.

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Andy and I went to Parry Sounds again on Saturday to collect an antique desk which I bought when we were up there a couple of weeks ago (couldn't fit it in the car with the kids).