Easter in Canada

Of course it's snowing here before Easter weekend. I wouldn't have it any other way. We found these lovelies while perusing the Easter candy section at Wal-Mart, both of which are incredibly fitting, seeing that the Stanley Cup playoffs just started last night. 

Personally, I'd take the large Reese Egg below over a chocolate Stanley Cup.The only Stanley Cup I want to see is the real Lord Stanley's Cup raised over Joe Thornton's head in a month.

American Thanksgiving in Canada

I love Thanksgiving. If for no other reason, for the pumpkin pie. It's my favourite. We were going to do a big American Thanksgiving feast, but as it approached, I just wasn't feeling it. I was craving some pie, though, so I made a couple on Thanksgiving to eat as I watched football on the couch all day. And that's when it hit me, if I'm not going to be with my whole family on Thanksgiving, the holiday is really just about football and pie. I don't need no stinkin' turkey. (Okay, who doesn't love leftover turkey. Next year for sure)

Quick note: Watching the two classic games (the Lions' and Cowboys' games) I realized Thanksgiving separates football fans into three groups of gratitude. 1) Lions fans: At least we have one of the most talented players to ever touch the planet (Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson) 2) Cowboys fans: At least we aren't Lions fans 3) Everyone else: A least we aren't fans of THOSE teams.

That being said, I did miss being with my family. First of all, because I love them. Second of all, I had no one to tell that great thought about gratitude of football fans. Courtney was out that night, so I had leftover pasta for dinner with the girls. Here's the spread for our three year old. In addition to pasta she wanted a pomegranate, orange melon, and tortilla chips. What more could one possibly ask for at Thanksgiving time?

The next day, of course, was Black Friday. Canadian retailers, for the first time ever, celebrated with huge sales like the stores in the States. The main flaw: everyone's working still. Some people did go out at 7:00 and got some good deals (Courtney went with a friend and saw a guy at Target try to sell a $100 32' TV. There was a whole display full of them. Untouched). The sales extended through the weekend, though. We went in the afternoon to Toys R Us, where it was busy, but not anything close to a Black Friday Toys R Us. It was nice to almost finish shopping for the girls in one stop. So it was different Of course Boxing Day comes up at the end of the month, and that's a different story. But we'll get there when we get there.

Remembrence Day

PANARAMA!

Out here in the Commonwealth the holiday is known as Remembrance Day. It's a big thing. It's purpose is still to remember the fallen of the Great War. If it falls on Monday or Friday it's a day off. If not, there are assemblies in school. There is a moment of silence at 11:00 AM to commemorate the Armistice. But most apparent are the poppies.

In the states the holiday is called Veterans Day and is observed on a Monday or Friday close to the actual day, which is November 11th. Growing up I don't remember much hoopla or anything for this holiday. It fell in with Arbor Day and other holidays that kids get neither a day off school or a party at school. The reason for the holiday is simple enough to understand from its name--to celebrate all veterans for their service. It was only 60 years ago that this became official, though. Before then the holiday was called Armistice Day. The day was called such for the Armistice with Germany to end World War I, which occurred at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month 1918, thus Novemeber 11th being the day of the holiday.
People start wearing poppies mid-October. I remember thinking, "Why is Mike Babcock wearing a flower?" Then I realized it was a poppy. Something tells me this is comparable to Christmas creep in the states. Every year some broadcaster wears the poppy one day earlier to try to one up everyone else. The poppy is a symbol from a poem written by a Canadian serviceman in WWI, "In Flanders Fields." The poem, in full, appears at the end of the post. It's a touching reminder to always remember the great sacrifice of those who gave their lives in serving their country. It was recited at the ceremony we attended today.
We attended the ceremony at the Calgary Museum of the Regiments. The perfect venue for a tribute to a nation's veterans. Inside are displays of Canadian troops and missions, and outside are my favorite--tanks. On hand for the event were distinguished veterans and the honourable Jason Kenny, MP, Minister of Employment (He was in charge of immigration up until two months ago, so he's kind of the guy who isn't really doing enough for me right now.) The ceremony was nice, although we had to leave after the moment of silence because the kids needed naps.
All in all, Remembrance Day is a well-respected and celebrated holiday.

Courtney, the baby and a tank

More tanks

My daughter, learning how to fortify her territory

"Hold the line!"

One last shot of the festivities

In Flanders Fields

Lieutenant Colonol John McRae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row, 

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep , though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

California Winter

The day after Halloween we were on a walk down by the river around dusk. Courtney commented on how beautiful the scenery was. I looked out and said, "It reminds me of winter when I was a kid." The bare trees, the light chill (10 C), the dead grass. Courtney laughed and said, "Oh, Keith, this is fall."

So it was, because Saturday, this happened:

And four days later, it's still here. This morning I left the house and it was -13 C (8 F).

This is what winter will look like. This is what winter will feel like. And it starts now.

It's not like I don't know what winter is like. I lived in Utah for the past six years. In Provo I learned that it snows and in Roosevelt I learned what -30 is like. But even in Roosevelt it's 10 C warmer than it is here now, and will be for the rest of the month. We're sub zero and we're in for the long haul up here in the great white north.

Happy Thanksgiving

Source: www.123rf.com

Thanksgiving in Canada comes a bit earlier than in the States. Just as Thanksgiving in the States is celebrated at harvest time, the same goes for Canada, but harvest time is a little earlier. It is held the second Monday of October, and has been a national holiday since 1957. Since being married, Courtney and I have been to or hosted a Canadian Thanksgiving dinner for our friends every year. Yesterday Courtney was home for Thanksgiving for the first time in seven years, and it made her really happy. It was my first time in Canada for the event, and I noticed that some things were the same and others different.

• Vacation Aspect: The vacation aspect of Thanksgiving compared to the States is low. Since the holiday is on a Monday, people get a day off work and children miss a single day of school. That's a huge difference to me, as kids get at least two days off, three in some districts (and at most universities). Because people go to work and kids go to school the following day, traveling long distances for the holiday is not as prominent. We went to the walking trail around Glenmore Lake, seeing many other families enjoying their day together.



Source: thimbleanna.co

• Dinner: We had dinner on Sunday instead of Monday, but I believe Monday is the day of choice for feasting for most Canadians. The dinner was the same--turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes, thand other veggie sides. The one difference was dessert. Apparently it's not as important to have five different types of pie for dessert as it is in the states. Granted, there were only six adults (and two children) and my family probably eats more pie than most due to the four sons and a hereditary sweet tooth (thanks, Mom), so maybe one apple and one pumpkin is actually normal for dinner. But to me it seems like the more desserts it has, the more American it is. (I feel like you need at least 2 pumpkin, 1 chocolate chip, 1 banana cream pie and 1 pecan to make Thanksgiving official.)
• Family: Spending time with family is just as important in Canada. However, because it is only a one-day holiday your Aunt Margret isn't going to fly in to Calgary from Halifax for dinner (your brother, Liam, might drive up from Lethbridge, though). You spend the day with whatever family is near, which is really nice. 



Source: http://slam.canoe.ca

• Football: There actually is football on Thanksgiving here! We got 14 people from the church to show up for a game in the morning, but apparently that's more than most years. Plus, the CFL plays two games on Thanksgiving, like the NFL, but different teams play every year. That's actually a plus, because you don't have to A) see Jerry Jones on TV B) struggle though years of watching a horrible Lions team. On the flip side, it is CFL, and I the transition to CFL fandom hasn't been as easy ( even though the Calgary Stampeders are in first place and ex-BYU quarterback Max Hall is starting for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers). I'm sure that in time I will learn to love it.
• Shopping: There is no Black Tuesday accompanying Canadian Thanksgiving. Their big shopping discount day is called Boxing Day (December 26th). More on that in a couple of months.

We had a great little weekend and it's back to real life today. We have so much to be thankful for here, even if some things haven't gone our way.

Canadian Government Primer

If you know me, you knew this post was coming. With a government shutdown looming in the States, I thought it good timing. This is just a brief overview about how things work here. I will try to actually make it brief.

Source: myrts.org

The capital of Canada is Ottawa and is located in the province of Ontario 200 km from Montreal and 450 km from Toronto on the Ottawa river. I live in Alberta, which is on the other side of the country. Canada was part of Great Britain for a very and in 1931 Canada was given nearly entire legislative independence, much like Scotland today. Eight years later Canada declared its independence by declaring war on Nazi Germany a week before Britain. As part of the Commonwealth the country is still loyal to the Queen, who is head of state, and officially the Queen of Canada. The Prime Minister of Canada appoints a Governor General to carry out all constitutional and ceremonial duties the British monarch would if it were possible. But as far as governmental power the governor general and Queen Elizabeth have none. Those powers are reserved to Parliament.

Parliament of Canada (Source: wikipedia)

Canada runs on a parliamentary form of government similar to that seen in Great Britain with a House of Commons and a Senate. The best way I can think of to describe it for those who are only familiar with US politics is to imagine the US House of Representatives. Just as in the House, Canada's House of Commons is made up of democratically-elected representatives from different districts (ridings, they call them) and they are members of national parties and each has a leader, the majority party leader being in charge. Differing from the States, though, the majority leader is the Prime Minister, the head of government--it is not a separately elected office. Just as clarification, if a single party has a majority they can do practically WHATEVER THEY WANT. There's none of this fighting the house and the senate and the White House because they are all run by different parties. If the guys in charge want to get something done, they do it. The Senate is different in every way. Its 105 members are appointed by the PM according to region (24 for Ontario, 24 for Montreal, 24 for the west, 24 for the Maritimes and 9 for the remaining territories). They can be from all walks of life and review legislation more than anything, sort of like a thinktank would review policies and make recommendations. A short but informative article on their present role can be found here from the Canadian magazine McLeans.

I personally love the parliamentary system. Stuff gets done. Sometimes, though, it's bad stuff, and I'll talk about what Albertans think about Trudeau another time. Currently the government is run by the conservatives with Calgarian Steven Harper at the head. Again, this is just the primer, more on politics later

A Canadian Candy Sampler

I've always enjoyed care packages from my mother-in-law containing the exotic tastes of Canada since before she was even my mother-in-law. So my wonderful wife, knowing my sweet tooth and infatuation with Canadian snacks presented me with a sampler of Canadian snacks for my first birthday celebrated in Canada. Americans don't know what most of these things are, although I have seen Kinder Eggs and ketchup chips in stores. For this reason I have decided to review these delicacies--so you'll know what you're missing. Because I have been influenced greatly by the likes of ESPN I have made a non-comprehensive Canadian Candy Power Rankings.


1. Wunderbar--The greatest candy bar of all time. Caramel wrapped in peanut/peanut butter goodness covered in milk chocolate.
2. Caramilk--I'm a sucker for caramel. This is what we know in the States as a Caramelo.
3. Kinder Buenos--Hazelnut cream inside wafers covered in chocolate. These are just so light and delicious.
4. Eat-More--This is a glorified energy bar--a chewy bar of chocolate, dark toffee and peanuts, and it is absolutely delicious. When I finish eating one I only ever wish I could eat more. No joke. Very well named.
5. Wine Gums--I opened the bag and it smelt like Dionysus' birthday however there was no actual wine used to make them. I eat them like crazy. Each piece has a name on it "champagne" or "port" or "burgandy". It's possible that they taste similarly to the named beverage, but as a teetotaler, I wouldn't know. My brother in law says, "They're the best. When they're cold you can't even eat them."

I just ate those four pieces and I want more.

6. Big Turk Bites--I have not actually experienced a Big Turk, just the bites. It is a chocolate-covered Turkish delight. Wikipedia describes a Turkish Delight as a "gel based on starch and sugar" but I'm not really sure that does it justice. My first impression was that they were strange, and although I keep going back to the bag, that's still how I feel. But like I said, I keep going back to the bag.
7. Coffee Crisp--I was skeptical, but pleasantly surprised. Like the Wine Gummies, upon opening the Coffee Crisp I feel like I walked into a Starbucks. While I don't drink coffee, as a kid I loved the smell of the coffee section at the grocery store, and this is how it felt to open the package. That being said, the taste of coffee was microscopic. The wafers had a good chocolate taste, but you need a glass of milk to get it down.
8. Kinder Milks--I love eating milk chocolate chips straight from the bag. That is what this tastes like.
9. Mack Toffees--Soft toffee chews that you don't want to chew unless you think your dentist is hurting for a new Lexus. I just pretend that they're a hard candy. They taste a little better than a Werthers, and are also something grandparents frequently have on hand for the kiddies
10. Crunchie--Sponge toffee. Covered in chocolate. I was intrigued and then not impressed. It tasted good, but it wasn't amazing. On an American candy scale this would rank right behind a Skor bar and right above a Butterfinger. I'm taking a lot of heat from my mother in law for this ranking, who used to save up her pennies to buy a Crunchie when she was a kid.
11. Aero--I like the chocolate, but the air pockets (which have finally found there way to the States in Hersey's Air) don't add enough to the experience.
12. Hickory Sticks--These were really fun. Essentially they are julienne barbeque potato chips. The taste wasn't incredible, but good, and there's something about them that's just fun.

13. Kinder Eggs--The eggs are chocolate on the outside and white chocolate on the inside and they don't taste that great. They do come with an equally unimpressive toy, which was cooler when they came with really small parts requiring detailed assembly. I did pull in a Princess Jasmine, though.

14. Wagon Wheels--Known as a Moon Pie south of the border, the Wagon Wheel is refreshingly smaller, and thus easier to eat. But they taste the same. 
15. Ketchup Chips--ugh

Goin' Metric

I could be wrong, but I feel it's safe to say most Americans next to nothing about the metric system. From my glory days in track and field I know that a rough conversion for a mile was 1500 meters, and that a 5k was a little more than three miles. The fact that doing this requires a) math and b) conversion from one unit of measurement to a greater unit backs up my opening statement. 

If you didn't know before, you must have realized by now that in Canada things are run by the metric system. My driver's license says I am 177 cm tall and weigh 70 kg. Every day is a new experience figuring out what the temperature means. Not everything is in metric (they measure house area in square feet and baking times are in Fahrenheit and golf courses are in yards), but most things are. 

The most common uses of measurement, though, are distance and speed. Things are a number of kilometers away and you drive in kilometers per hour. So the speed limits are all different and require a little getting used to. Luckily there's a 10 km/hr cushion above the limit, so if I'm going too fast it's generally accepted.

• In-city Highways: 110 km/hr (68 mph)-pretty much the same
• Major thoroughfares: 80 km/hr (50 mph)-it's been a while since I lived anywhere with major thoroughfares, but I'm thinking 45 is normal, so this is a little increase
• Suburban areas: 50km/hr (31 mph)-this one always seems really fast because Courtney always tells me, "You know, you can go 60," which is 37 and feels a little fast. But that's probably because we just spent two years in Roosevelt (i.e. Mayberry RFD) and I drive like an old man because if you go 30 in a 25 you're gonna get pulled over (and I did once, but it was our second week there and he let me slide).
• School/Playground Areas: 30 km/hr (19 mph)-this is slow. REALLY slow. And these are strictly enforced It's difficult. You see it ahead and you really have to start slowing down to make it down to 30 in time. Plus, there's the ambiguity of when the zone actually ends. In school zones there is a specific time (and only on school days), but playground zones like the one pictured end 'one hour after sunset.' Just a little subjective, don't you think?

Generally, I have done a pretty good job at learning metric, except for the temperature--that's going to take some getting used to. At least I know that when it gets its coldest here it will feel the same as Roosevelt (because -30 F is the same as -30 C).

The Truth About Canadian Bacon

Job update--the paperwork has yet to be processed for that concrete finishing job, so I am unemployed still. In fact, last week we came to the realization that Labour Market Opinion approval can take anywhere from 10 days to 12 weeks. So I have cut my search to companies I know have LMOs for positions. I don't actually have a very comprehensive list of these, but I have found a few that I have been able to apply for, including a job at my beloved Canadian Tire. I've been searching on kijiji (the Canadian Craigslist) for job postings with LMOs and I've found a lot of postings of people who have posted that their visa expired and they need an LMO for a job to stay in Canada. Part of me wonders if this is actually effective, but most of them have experience in a kitchen, which may just work out for them. I just can't see employers going on kijiji to looking for workers. More news to come

I just thought I'd post this because I believe there is some confusion about Canadian bacon in the states. This is the only Canadian bacon I've seen in a store so far (at Walmart) and there is 400 times as much regular bacon on the shelves. It is not the alternative to delicious, greasy bacon, merely a different type of bacon that is really just ham cut into circles.

Music Update

Two more Rod Steward songs I heard this week. I actually like hearing him all the time. I'm not sure how much I'd like it if I had to watch the music videos over and over again, though. Viewer beware.

Do You Think I'm Sexy?--Confession-I love disco rock. The Stones' Miss You, Bowie's Let's Dance, and this lovely number.

Hot Legs--If you search youtube for 'hot legs' one of the results is a game show type video where you have to guess if the picture is of legs or hot dogs.

Some Love for Canadian Tire

In my last post I told a story about my recent frustration with Canadian Tire. I'm not the only one who has had awful experiences in the auto service department, everyone I've spoken with who has lived here more than just two weeks hasn't been impressed, either. What I did not explain is that Canadian Tire is the most amazing place on the planet, they just aren't the best place for auto service. Imagine for a moment Lowes, Auto Zone and Big 5 all under the same roof, then throw in a comprehensive kitchen appliance section and poor auto service. This is the ultimate man store, people. It was actually the first stop I ever made in Canada I drove up with Courtney to meet the parents before we got engaged in March 2008. I got a flat tire 15 km from the border, and drove on a donut to Lethbridge, where I bought new tires for the whole car. They had us back on the road in no time, giving me faith in their great potential. I went there a few times just to check it out and fell in love with its manliness. It is quite the complete man store, the only thing I could ask for is a wider variety of sporting goods (two aisles for hockey equipment, one aisle for everything else). Plus, notice the maple leaf in the logo is actually green. It's the only maple leaf I've seen up here that isn't red, which I like because green is the actual color of a maple leaf most of the year (I'd say 'or blue' but there are no Toronto fans out west. Hockey fanhood is strictly regionall as far as I can tell). So in spite of their faltering auto service department, my love affair with Canadian Tire endures. And will endure forever unless I stop changing my own oil, camping, fixing stuff around the house, taking care of the yard, barbecuing, playing sports and replacing broken blenders. So it looks pretty safe.

Sledgehammer and other oddities

                                 

One change that has been bigger than I expected is the difference in musical tastes. It's not like all they play is Beiber, Randy Bachman and Barenaked Ladies or Carly Rae Jeppsen, Rush and Michael Buble (although I do hear more Guess Who and BTO).They just have different tastes. This is what I mean.

 But I have heard  this song twice in one week, which is twice more than I have ever heard it before. 

If it wasn't strange enough hearing someone turn Stevie Ray Vaughn's "Crossfire" into 80s pop music, Courtney sang along to it like it was a natural thing. So weird.
Another artist who seems to be more popular in Canada is Rod Stewart. Specifically Maggie May and this song:

I don't mind a little more Rod Stewart, but this plus more Peter Gabriel does change the sound of things a bit.

On a different note, zooming around the Calgary (pop. 1 million) listening to Macklemore's "Can't Hold Us" is so much more fitting that going somewhere in Roosevelt (pop. 6,000) listening to it.