The English Desk

Improve Your English Quickly and Easily!

2011-09-02T08:26:00.000-07:00

Suggestions for Using the Podcasts

1 Listen to the podcast without reading the text.
2 Listen to the podcast for a second time and quickly write a few notes about what you hear.
3 Read the text with the podcast as you listen for the third time.
4 Read aloud with the podcast.
5 Try to explain what you have heard in your own words.

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Catching a Movie

2011-06-04T06:10:00.000-07:00

It was late on a rainy Saturday afternoon. Ali felt bored. He didn’t feel like cleaning up even though his apartment could use a good cleaning. He didn’t feel like going out for a walk. He didn’t want to get his shoes wet. He wanted to play soccer but his game had been called off because of the heavy rain and lightning. He had surfed the net and played some video games but he lost interest after a while. He picked up the newspaper on the coffee table and started flipping through it. Then he had an idea. He picked up his cell phone and called his friend, Amy. “Hi, Amy. It’s Ali,” he said when she answered. “What are you up to tonight?” “Oh, hi, Ali. Nothing so far,” she replied. “What have you got in mind?” “I was thinking of taking in a movie downtown,” said Ali. “Yeah,” answered Amy. “I’m up for that. What do you want to see?” “How about that film with Sean Penn and Naomi Watts,” suggested Ali. “It’s based on a true story about a CIA agent whose identity is revealed to the public. I think it’s called Fair Game. I hear it’s pretty good.”“It was good,” said Amy, ”I saw it last week. You should see it but not tonight. Have you seen Bridesmaids? ” “No, I haven’t seen it yet. It sounds like a chick flick but I did hear that it was really funny. I was thinking about the new superhero movie about Thor,” suggested Ali. “Either film would be fine with me,” replied Amy. “Why don’t we see how long the line-ups are and decide when we get there? Are they both playing at the Imperial tonight?” “Yes, they are,”said Ali “I just checked the newspaper. Do you want to go for a quick bite before we see the movie?” “Sure,” said Amy. “Let’s leave around six so we can eat, walk to the cinema and catch the late show.” Canadians are movie-goers. In other words, they love to go to the movies. In fact, Toronto is home to one of the biggest film festivals in the world. We call a person who watches a lot of movies, a movie buff. People still go to movie theatres to see films even though they could watch the movies at home on their televisions or computers. Today you can even watch movies in your car or on your cell phone. However, I think you need to have superpowers to watch a movie on a cell phone or ipod. It’s interesting that people still go to watch movies in the theatre when they have so many options. I like to see movies on the big screen if the movie has special effects or beautiful visual scenes. And sitting in a movie theatre is an enjoyable way to spend a rainy evening whether you’re battling evil with Thor, or laughing at the comedic antics of a group of Bridesmaids.

Wildfires

2011-05-27T05:38:00.000-07:00

Vasi walked into the kitchen just as his mom was hanging up the phone. "Was that Aunt Sonya you were talking to Mom?" he asked. She nodded, "Yes, it was. She and the kids are in Athabasca. It's no picnic but at least they're safe." "That's a relief," said Vasi putting his arm around his mom's shoulders. "I know you couldn't relax until you knew they were all miles away from the fires." His mom smiled for the first time in days. "I know Vasi, But the fires are spreading so fast because of the winds that I couldn't stop worrying. I was afraid they wouldn't get away in time. But they were evacuated to Athabasca the other night and now they are living in a recreation centre there until things settle down." "That must be weird," said Vasi. "When can they go back home?" "I'm not sure," his mom replied. "They haven't been allowing people to go home because the town is in pretty bad shape even though they are getting the fires under control. In some areas there is no electricity or water. And some people will have no home to go home to anyway." "I know," said "Vasi sadly. "I heard that about a third of the buildings in Slave Lake have been destroyed. That will leave a lot of people homeless." Warm, dry weather and high winds have caused wildfires to burn out of control in the town of Slave Lake. Slave Lake is a town of about 7,000 people in northern Alberta. Alberta is one of the prairie provinces in western Canada. While the wildfires raged the strong winds and smoke made it difficult for the pilots to fly water bombers into the area. Hundreds of people were evacuated to nearby communities until the danger was over. All kinds of makeshift arrangements were made to accommodate hundreds of people who had to leave their homes so suddenly. Some are living with friends and family. Others are living in temporary shelters like the sports complex in Athabasca and others are living in campers or even their cars. And 200 firefighters were flown from the provinces of British Columbia and Ontario to help put out the fires. And even when it is safe to return to Slave Lake many unfortunate people will not have homes to return to.

The Long Weekend

2011-05-20T19:11:00.000-07:00

"Hi Marta," Ali greeted his neighbour as he stood at the trunk of his car unloading groceries. Marta had just finished cutting her lawn and was pushing her lawn mower along the driveway to put it away in the shed. "Oh, hi Ali," replied Marta. "How's it going? Got any big plans for the long weekend? Are you going camping again this year?" Ali shook his head, "No way! We had such lousy weather last year that we decided not to spend this holiday weekend wet and shivering in our tents. I love having a long weekend but that weekend was way too long." "Oh, that's right!," said Marta. "You got rained out last year." "Yeah," said Ali. "It was a bust. So this year we're going to a cottage on Silver Lake near Owen Sound instead. I rented it for the weekend from a guy I know at work. So even if it rains, we'll be warm and dry. How about you? What are you up to this weekend?" "We've decided to spend May 24th at home this year. We're having a big barbecue on Sunday and we'll go to the fireworks display at the park on Monday night. I'm just as happy being a homebody instead of traveling. The roads are so busy. I'd rather just relax at home," said Marta. "That's why we'll be up and away at the crack of dawn," said Ali. "Hopefully we can beat the crowds." The May 24th weekend is the first holiday weekend of the summer in Canada. It falls on the weekend closest to Victoria Day which is May 24th. And it is named for Queen Victoria's birthday and because Canada is one of the Commonwealth countries we have the same kings and queens as Britain. But most people don't think about that. Instead they think about enjoying summer weather again and doing things that they can't do during the winter. They head to cottages and campgrounds and beaches and parks to enjoy the great outdoors. And even people who stay home celebrate with barbecues and picnics and community fireworks displays. And most people wait until the May 24th weekend to plant their gardens because then the risk of frost has finally passed.

Face to Face

2011-05-14T05:22:00.000-07:00

Ruby set her coffee on the small cafe table in front of her and sat down. All around her people were chatting or working on their computers or reading newspapers while they enjoyed their coffee. Her friend, Neetha was chuckling and clicking away on her keyboard. She didn't look up until Ruby said, "Uh, Hello!" Neetha glanced up quickly and said, "Just a sec. I just have to send a quick message." Ruby patiently emptied a packet of sugar and some cream into her coffee. She stirred her coffee, feeling ignored, and watched Neetha clicking away happily on Facebook. Ruby looked up at the clock and checked the time. "Neetha," she said, "I only have about 20 minutes! Then I have to get back to work." "Sorry, sorry," said Neetha without looking up, "I'm just about done." After a few more minutes Ruby started to feel irritated. She got her i-pad out of her purse and entered a quick message and sent it to Neetha. Then she took a few sips of her coffee and waited. Finally a look of surprise crossed Neetha's face. She turned off her computer, closed it up and slipped it into her bag. "Okay," she smiled "I apologize. Now you have my undivided attention. But you really didn't have to send me a message on Facebook. You could have just said something. I'm sitting right here." Ruby rolled her eyes and said, "LOL." Today people are spending more and more time online. They can chat to anyone, anywhere quickly and easily. This is changing the way we socialize and communicate. When Ruby said, "LOL" to Neetha she was using one of the common text messages used online 'Laugh Out Loud'. It means, 'That was so funny that I laughed out loud.' Social media is very popular in Canada. In fact Canadians use Facebook more than any other people in the world. It's a very convenient way to keep up or know the latest thing about your friends and family all across the country and around the world. And let's face it, or let's be honest, it's free. There are other expressions using the word face. If you 'face the facts' it means that you accept the truth. And if you face something or someone, you turn so that you are looking at it or the person. And meeting with someone face to face is the opposite of Facebook. It means that you are meeting with someone in person not online. And when Neetha received Ruby's message she had to face up to the fact that Ruby was annoyed and she was going to leave the cafe if Neetha didn't put her computer away so they could talk.

The Second Sunday in May

2011-05-06T05:27:00.000-07:00

As Clara walked down the long row of plants in the warm greenhouse she gazed up at the colourful row of hanging baskets overhead. That's why she hadn't noticed her sister-in-law until she tapped her on the shoulder. Naomi laughed, "Clara you look as though you have your head in the clouds." Clara laughed too and shook her head, "No, I wasn't daydreaming. I was concentrating on finding something a little out of the ordinary for Mom this year. I'd like to find something a little different; not just the same old, same old." "Well," Naomi said, "I can help you pick something out if you like. Bob and I already have a gift for your Mom. We got her a scarf to go with her new jacket. I was just picking up some grass seed when you caught my eye." "Oh, thanks," replied Clara gratefully, "I'd really appreciate your help. Oh, and can you and Bob and the kids make it for brunch on Sunday?" "Yes, we can. We'll be there around 10:30. And I'll bring some of my famous cinnamon buns and a fruit salad," answered Naomi. "Now let's check out those gorgeous baskets of fuschia." In Canada, the second Sunday of May is Mother's Day. People honour their mothers by giving them flowers or gifts or taking them out to a restaurant or preparing a special family meal. Children often come home from school with simple gifts or cards which they have made. The two women who met at the garden centre are sisters-in-law. Naomi is married to Clara's brother, Bob. That means that Clara's Mom is Naomi's mother-in-law. Naomi has never had children but Bob was divorced and had two children when she married him so she became their stepmother. A birth mother is someone who has given birth and a surrogate mother is someone who gives birth to a child that another woman will raise as her own. And an adoptive mother raises a child which she has adopted as her own. And on the second Sunday in May we wish them all Happy Mother's Day.

A Glass House

2011-04-17T04:24:00.000-07:00

"Wow!" exclaimed Jane looking back over her shoulder as she walked through the open door into her friend Ha's house. "That house across the street is finally finished!" Ha smiled and looked over at the 2-storey house. "At last," she said, "It was such a mess. It seemed as though they'd never get it done." "When did they start building it?" asked Jane. "Well," said Ha, "They tore down the old house last summer and had dug the hole for the foundation last September just before school started. But by Thanksgiving they had only poured the cement for the basement and constructed the frame. They hadn't even put a roof on by the time it started snowing!" Jane nodded and said, "I remember that the roof wasn't boarded up until after Christmas." "That's right," confirmed Ha. "And the roofers hadn't shingled the roof until a couple of weeks ago. The plumbers put in the pipes and the electrician did the wiring in January. And Brown's Heating installed the furnace in February. By the beginning of March they had put in the insulation and bricked the outside walls. Finally a crew came in to put up the drywall and then the painters arrived to paint the interior. And a company from London came to put in the windows a couple of weeks ago. It has been a mess of vehicles and equipment and garbage all winter!" "Well, it's starting to look really good," said Jane. "The old house was such a mess." "You're right.," said Ha, "And I guess I'd better stop complaining. My house is starting to look shabby compared to this new one. And you know what they say, 'People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones." In other words Ha means that you shouldn't criticize others for something that you can be criticized for. It is a way of saying, 'Don't be a hypocrite'. Another common expression in English is 'on the house'. If you are at a restaurant or bar and the server says that something is 'on the house', you can put away your money because they are telling you that it's free. In other words you don't have to pay for it.

Ghost Birds

2011-03-26T06:18:00.000-07:00

"Hi Ali. How was your weekend?" asked Larry as he waited for his coffee at the machine in the break room at their office. "Oh, hi Larry. It was great. We took the kids to the Pineries Conservation Area for a winter picnic. We took some sunflower seeds so the kids could feed the chick-a-dees right out of their hands." "Really?" asked Larry. "Wild birds will eat right out of their hands?" "Uh-huh," said Ali. "They sit on your fingers and eat right out of your hands. The kids love it.And then we went to look for the tundra swans," said Ali. "Oh, I forgot all about the swan migration," said Larry. "Yes," Ali continued. "I'd forgotten about it too but my youngest daughter, Libby made me think about it. She heard some noisy honking one night last week and saw big white birds with long necks flying overhead in a V formation. She came running to find me because she thought they were ghost birds!" Larry smiled, "Your Libby has quite an imagination." "Yes, she does," laughed Ali. "We went out the front door and watched them. And they did look a little ghostly against the night sky. Libby wasn't convinced that they weren't ghosts so we decided to go and see them the next day." "And does she believe they aren't ghosts now?"asked Larry. "You bet," laughed Ali. "There were hundreds of them. It was quite a sight to see." Every spring flocks of tundra swans begin their 4,500 kilometer migration from Maryland and North Carolina in the US to the Arctic in Canada's far north. They stop for food and rest in the lakes and cornfields of southwestern Ontario. Migrating refers to the yearly movement of birds; south for winter and north for summer. And when people leave their home countries they emigrate. And when they arrive in their new country, they are called immigrants. Ali and his family immigrated to Canada five years ago and they enjoy exploring on the weekends. Ali told Larry about the small birds eating from his children's hands. That makes me think of an expression we use in English. If you say that you have someone eating out of the palm of your hand, it means that they are happy to do whatever you want them to.

Disaster

2011-03-18T05:27:00.000-07:00

As Nisha walked down the hallway of the university residence where she lives, she noticed that the door to one of the rooms in her complex was open. She poked her head inside and saw Joanna sitting in front of her computer, looking stunned. "What's the matter?" asked Nisha when she saw the look of horror on Joanna's face. "Haven't you heard?" asked Joanna, keeping her eyes glued to the screen. "There's been a terrible earthquake in Japan; 8.9 on the Richter scale!" "I haven't heard a thing," replied Nisha, "I just got back from the library. I've been studying since this morning." "Look at this," said Joanna. "It's unbelievable! It's the worst earthquake to have ever hit Japan. In fact, it's one of the worst quakes in the world ever!" Nisha pulled up a chair and sat down beside Joanna. "Oh, that's terrible," she said when she saw the images. "Look at this," said Joanna. "These videos were taken by people during the earthquake." Together the two students, like people around the world, watched as the earthquake struck and the tragedy unfolded before their eyes. Technology made it possible for people to see what was happening almost instantly. First there were pictures and videos of the destruction caused by the powerful quake. Windows shattered, groceries fell from shelves, the earth cracked open in places and building collapsed as the earth shook. Then in northeastern Japan, near the epicentre of the earthquake, a huge wave called a tsunami hit the coastal areas. The wall of water washed away people and houses and cars and boats and even a train. And the earth continued to shake because there were aftershocks too. They are the smaller quakes and tremors that happen after the first earthquake. And the earthquake caused explosions and serious problems with the nuclear reactors in the region too. They are not out of the woods yet. In other words they are not safe until the threat of a meltdown at the site of the reactors is over. It will be a long time before the extent of the damage from the earthquake is known. The death toll, the number of people who died, is unknown too. So many people are searching for family members who are missing. So many people are stranded because they have lost their homes. Countries around the world are sending emergency supplies as well as prayers and messages of hope to the people of Japan.

Thank You, Nellie

2011-03-10T05:25:00.000-08:00

March 8th is International Women's Day and this year we celebrated the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day. As I was thinking about women and famous women in Canada, I thought about Nellie McClung. She was one of the most important pioneers and voices of the women's movement in this country. A pioneer is someone who goes where no one has gone before, to a new place or who explores new thoughts or ideas or ways of doing things. Nelly was born in Ontario in 1873 but lived most of her life in Western Canada. She moved to a settlement in Manitoba with her family and became a school teacher. She taught until she got married in 1896. She was also a talented writer and published her first book about a small town in the west in 1908. In 1911, she moved to the city of Winnipeg with her husband and children. There, she became involved in the suffrage movement. Suffrage means the right of women to vote and run for office. In other words, to have the right to be elected into the government. She supported the Liberal Party and worked hard to defeat the Conservatives because they did not want to give women these rights. Eventually, the Conservatives were beaten in 1915 and the province of Manitoba became the first province to grant women the right to vote in 1916 - less than a hundred years ago! But by that time Nellie and her family had moved to Edmonton, Alberta. She continued to fight for women's rights and was elected to the government and was a representative from 1921 to 1926. And finally in 1933, she moved to Vancouver Island where she worked as a writer. Nellie lived a very colourful and interesting life. She often upset people with her ideas about what women should be able to do. She wanted their lives to be better. She used her sense of humour to inspire and convince others. She was known to be a great orator; a great speaker. She had opinions and she was not afraid to express them. In other words, she was very outspoken. And fortunately for women in Canada, she did not accept the status quo. That means that she was not content to let things remain as they were. She was determined to make changes even if people disagreed or it made her unpopular. She once said, "Never retreat, never explain, never apologize - get the thing done and let them howl." And I say thank you, Nellie for making the lives of women in Canada better.

Reading Week

2011-03-02T07:15:00.000-08:00

"Hey Mom, I just got an email from my roommate Kira," squealed Janna, "She's spending reading week in Cuba with her family." "Oh, nice," Janna's Mom replied. "She's a lucky girl. It sure would be nice to get away from winter." "No, kidding," replied Janna turning back to her computer screen. "I'll read you her message - 'Hey Janna, How's your week going? We're having a fabulous time in Cuba. We're staying at an all-inclusive resort on an island that's west of Havana in the north. The beaches are gorgeous; white sand and the water is an amazing turquoise blue. It almost looks fake. There's a lot to do here; swimming, snorkeling, tennis, yoga, dancing, kayaking sailing and windsurfiing. And the weather is perfect; about 30 degrees and it cools down at night. I usually spend most of my day at the beach and when the sun sets the entertainment starts; music and dancing until the wee hours of the morning. I've been practising my Spanish too. It was hard at first. Everyone speaks so quickly but I'm catching on. I learned how to salsa at the dance club here so I'll teach you when I get home. I'll see you Sunday night and I'll mix us up a batch of pina coladas. I'm bringing back a bottle of Cuban rum. My flight gets in a 4:30 so I'll see you back at the residence around 6. I can't wait to tell you all about it! Love Kira'" In late February and early March many colleges and universities close for a holiday called reading week. It's a break for relaxing or catching up on reading before the final semester of the school year. And many students flock to resorts in the south for some fun in the sun before final exams are over and summer jobs begin. Cuba is a popular destination because it's only a 3 hour flight from Toronto and there are many inexpensive all-inclusive resort packages. That means that the flight, accommodation and the cost of food and drink are all included in the price. And since Americans are not permitted to travel to Cuba, most of the tourists there are Canadians. They go for the sun, the sand, the rum, the cigars and the wonderful sounds of Cuban music. They also go to get away from the ice and snow but I don't think they do a lot of reading!

Perfect Weather for Fishing

2011-02-17T05:10:00.000-08:00

"Come on, boy!" Vince whistled and called to the golden lab bounding along the path through the snowy woods. "We're going this way." "Down to the lake?" asked his buddy Bharat. "Yeah, I want to see if the fish are biting today." Vince could see the shock on Bharat's face even with his toque pulled down and a woolly scarf pulled up over his chin. "What do you mean? Fishing? It's minus six and the lake is covered with ice. You're pulling my leg, right?" Bharat asked as he snowshoed behind Vince and his dog. Vince just smiled and said, "We'll see." For the next few minutes they walked along silently. Even with snowshoes on it was a difficult trudge through the deep snow. As they approached the lake Bharat was surprised to hear voices. And then to his amazement he saw dozens of warmly dressed people standing and sitting in twos and threes all across the frozen lake. Bharat looked a little nervous as they stepped onto the ice. "Is it safe?" he asked Vince. "You bet," replied Vince. "The ice is about eight inches thick and we've already had a month of subzero temperatures." They walked across the ice until they came to a man dressed in heavy overalls and high insulated rubber boots. His son was kneeling on the ice and peering down into a dark hole. "How's the fishing today?" asked Vince. "Catch anything?" "It's pretty good," replied the man. His son looked up and added, "We've already caught a few small perch and an eighteen-inch walleye! You can see them in the bucket over there." As Vince and Bharat checked out the catch, Vince nudged his friend with his elbow. "See, it's perfect weather for fishing." Ice fishing is a popular winter activity. When the ice is at least four inches thick and consistently frozen, fishermen and women bundle up and head for the lakes. They take short fishing rods called jigging rods, lures and thermoses of hot soup or coffee or hot chocolate. They also take large augers to drill holes through the ice to the open water. Sometimes they take portable seats to sit on or small huts to sit in for protection from the wind. And in some northern areas they put up temporary wooden shacks that are heated with stoves. It's as though whole communities appear in the winter and disappear again before spring comes along and the ice begins to thaw.

Give It a Whirl

2011-02-08T04:56:00.000-08:00

Photo courtesy of Sarabration

"Okay. Let's try that again," said Marguerite from the front of the large hall filled with couples standing facing each other. "One-un, two-oo, one-un, two-oo, outside turn and feet together." She called out the instructions as she and her partner demonstrated the dance steps. "Okay," she continued, "I'll put the music back on and you can practise the steps you've just learned." "Come on," said Mayumi taking her husband, Katsu's hand. "Let's give it a whirl." Katsu looked pessimistic. "I'll never get it. You know I have two left feet." Mayumi just laughed, "You don't have two left feet. I'm sure you can dance. You have a great sense of rhythm. It's just that you've never taken lessons before. It just takes patience and practice. Copy Doug. He seems to be getting it." Katsu watched the guy next to him for a few moments. "Okay," said Katsu,"I think I can remember now. Ready?" "You bet," replied Mayumi,"Just try not to step on my toes this time." And in no time at all they were dancing along to the Latin sounds of the Samba. Mayumi and Katsu had decided to be more active this winter than last winter. They didn't like spending much time outside in the snow so they weren't interested in skiing or snowshoeing. But when their friends told them that they had signed up for dance classes so they could dance together at their wedding, Mayumi and Katsu decided to register for the class too. Dance classes have become more popular in the last few years probably because so many people watch dance competitions like, 'So You Think You Can Dance' on TV. And there are many benefits to dancing. It's good exercise and it's fun. It's a good way to socialize; to spend time with other people. And if you have to go to a dance, you don't have to sit there like a 'wallflower' when the dancing begins. When Mayumi suggested that they learn to dance, Katsu didn't think he wanted to do it. He tried to dance around the issue. In other words, he tried to avoid giving her an answer. He always changed the subject or said that he was too busy to talk about it. But he had to admit that, after the first few classes, he was really starting to enjoy it. And whenever he hears familiar dance tunes on the radio he starts tapping his toes.

Lost in a Book

2011-01-25T05:09:00.000-08:00

Sheila glanced at her watch. "Eight o'clock already!" she announced, "Time to get the boys to bed, isn't it?" Her partner Art just nodded his head, murmured, "Mmmmmhmmm," and kept on reading his newspaper. "Art!" said Sheila. "What?" asked Art. "You know what, don't you?" answered Sheila. "What do you mean?" asked Art. "I can't read your mind, can I?" Sheila started to laugh, "You don't have to be a mind reader to know that it's your turn to put the boys to bed, do you? And I shouldn't have to remind you that it's your turn to read with them, should I?" she asked. Art looked up and smiled, "No, but I was hoping you'd forgotten and that you'd do it tonight." "Nice try," said Sheila as she handed him a stack of books. "But I listened to them both read after school and I took them to the library too. So they have lots of new books they are excited about sharing with you." Art finally put his newspaper down and got up. As he left the living room he said, "Creallyool, we needed some new books. I practically had the last ones memorized, didn't you?" But Sheila didn't hear him. She was already sitting comfortably in her favourite chair with her nose in the new novel she had picked up for herself at the library. In other words, she was lost in a book. January 27th is Family Literacy Day in Canada. It's a time for families to celebrate reading together. Making reading an enjoyable daily habit can help them children learn to read and do well at school. And literacy is an important skill for adults who want to be able to get good jobs with good pay. But for me the joy of reading a gift that is lifelong. So go ahead and get lost in a book.

Home Again

2011-01-13T05:40:00.000-08:00

Helen drove carefully along the snowy road. Up ahead she couldn't see much. The factories at the side of the highway were just a blur. Visibility was poor. The road was filled with blowing snow. Now and then she could see the dim headlights of a car or truck driving toward her. She glanced down at the gas gauge and realized that she had less than a quarter tank. "Hmmm," she thought, "I'd better get some gas just in case." She turned on her signal, slowed down and pulled into a gas station. She knew there wouldn't be another station before she got to Owen Sound. She usually chose the self-serve pumps but she didn't feel like doing it herself in such nasty weather. So she pulled up in front of the full service pump. "Fill it up?" shouted the gas attendant. "No, forty dollars is fine," she answered through a small opening at the top of the window. "Regular?" he asked. "No, premium please," she replied. Premium cost a little more but it made her old car run smoother. The attendant opened the little door to the gas cap, removed it and stuck the nozzle into the tank. He huddled over to protect himself from the icy wind as he filled her car. When the total got to forty dollars he turned off the pump and Helen rolled down her window and held up her debit card. "That's some crazy weather!" he exclaimed as he handed her the debit card machine. "Where are you headed?" he asked. "To Owen Sound," said Helen as she entered her PIN number and waited for the transaction to be completed, "I'm supposed to be there in an hour." Well," said the attendant, "You can forget about going anywhere today. They just closed the highway." Helen thanked him for the information and breathed a sigh of relief as she drove away from the gas station and headed back home again."

Healthy New Year!

2011-01-04T05:09:00.000-08:00

"What are you doing?" asked Neil as Amanda took the bag of chips that he had just put into their shopping cart, out of the cart and replaced it on the shelf at the grocery store. "We can't buy these. It's only the first week of January and you want to break our New Year's resolutions already? Remember?" she reminded him, "We are going to quit eating junk food this year. We're going to have a healthy New Year." "Oh yeah," groaned Neil," Can't we start next week? There's a hockey game on tonight. And you know how much I enjoy eating chips with a nice cold beer. Come on. Just one bag?" He smiled sweetly at Amanda but he couldn't convince her to put the chips back into the shopping cart.Amanda just shook her head, "No, we made an agreement. And you won't be having any beer with the game tonight either. Think of all the money we'll be saving by not eating junk food or drinking beer." "I hate New Year's resolutions," whined Neil. Amanda just laughed and kept moving down the aisle past the chips and cookies and candies and the ice cream too. "Neil, you're the one who told me not to listen to you no matter how much you whined and complained and sulked and acted like a child. You told me not to give in and I'm going to do you a big favour and help you stick with your resolutions. It'll get easier once we get used to breaking our bad habits and replacing them with good ones." "You're right," admitted Neil, "I am committed to losing weight and saving money. Let's get away from all of this junk food and see what we can buy in the fruits and vegetable department." "Good idea," agreed Amanda, "I'm sure we can find some healthy snacks there." Many people start the new year with resolutions. They resolve to start doing some things and stop doing other things. It's a good time to start improving your life. Some people start exercising more. Some people start taking new classes and learning new things. Some people begin organizing their homes. Some people start looking for a new job. My neighbour Maria says she is going to do something special with her grandson each month. And others quit doing some things. My brother-in-law says he is going to quit smoking. My friend Ha says that she is going to do stop spending money on things that she doesn't need. Some people stop biting their nails or drinking alcohol. Some people decide to stop speeding when they drive their cars. It's a good time to think about getting rid of bad habits like these. I enjoy thinking about new year's resolutions. I make a mental note of the things that I hope to do each year. In other words, I don't write my list down on a piece of paper. I just remember the list in my head. How about you? Do you have any resolutions this year?

The Christmas Tree Ship

2010-12-18T21:25:00.000-08:00

For many people who celebrate Christmas it's time to find an evergreen tree to bring inside to set up and decorate with shiny tinsel and decorations and lights. As I was thinking about getting a tree for my own living room I remembered a story that I wanted to share with you. I heard this story a couple of summers ago when my husband and I went to Sault Ste Marie, a city in Northern Ontario for our holiday. We wanted to spend some time at Lake Superior since it was the only one of the Great Lakes which neither of us had seen. The city of Sault Ste Marie is just north of Lake Michigan between the North Channel of Georgian Bay and Lake Superior. We decided to return home by crossing the border into the United States and driving along the west coast of Lake Michigan and re-entering Canada at the Sarnia border in the south. During our trip down the shoreline we stopped to wander along the sandy beaches and to explore some of the beautiful lighthouses and we heard the story of Captain Schuenemann and the Christmas Tree Ship. In the late 1800's Herman Schuenemann sailed a 120' long wooden schooner called the Rouse Adams. He and his crew used to move cargo across the waters of Lake Michigan. At the end of each shipping season they would take one last load before winter set in. They would take Christmas trees from Northern Michigan to the Clark Street Bridge in Chicago. It was exciting for the families because Captain Schuenemann would put some Christmas trees and lights on the deck of the ship and when the ship had finally completed its long voyage and arrived in Chicago the families would go onto the deck of the ship to buy their trees. Captain Schuenemann became known as Captain Santa because he gave the trees to families who couldn't afford to buy them. However the Christmas Tree Ship set sail with a load of 5,500 trees for the last time in 1912. The Great Lakes are vast and deep and dangerous in bad weather. The ship, the captain and 17 crew members sank in the icy waters in a terrible storm that year. But in 1971 divers finally found the shipwreck at the bottom of the lake. It wasn't easy to find because it is under 170 feet of water. But the most surprising thing is that when divers dove down to explore the ship they found that the Christmas trees were still there!

2010-12-11T06:01:00.000-08:00

Frank was sitting and studying at his computer as the snow swirled and the wind howled outside. A ringing sound let him know that his brother Lorenzo was calling from Toronto on Skype. Frank clicked on the button to answer the video call and Lorenzo's face appeared on his computer screen. "The snow storm you're having is all over the news. Have you got cabin fever yet?" asked Lorenzo. "Not yet," replied Frank, "I go outside every few hours to shovel and get a little fresh air." It had been snowing for days in the city of London, Ontario. There hadn't been such a severe storm since the 1970's. Businesses and schools were closed. The city buses weren't running and airplanes were grounded at the airport. "It's weird," continued Frank, "There are hardly any cars on the streets but sometimes people go past on skis or snowshoes. And when the snow squalls are really bad, I can't see anything except snow outside the window. And it just keeps snowing." "Do you have enough to eat?" asked his brother. "Fortunately," replied Frank, "I did my grocery shopping just before the storm hit. So I really don't have to go anywhere. Besides, the police are asking people to stay off the roads if they don't have anywhere to go. There have been a lot of accidents and the plows are trying to clear the streets as quickly as possible. Communities all around have sent snowplows here to help out." Lorenzo asked about the exam Frank was supposed to be writing that day. "Well, that's the upside of all of this for me," said Frank, "The exams at university and colleges have all been canceled for this week. So I'm using the extra time to study. I should be able to ace my Chemistry exam when it's rescheduled." "You lucky dog," laughed Lorenzo, "Well there isn't much chance that my exams will be canceled. We hardly have any snow in Toronto so I'd better get back to work. I'll talk to you later." The City of London has really had a blast of winter weather. There has been more snowfall in three days than there was by the middle of winter last year. And the funny part is that winter hasn't even officially begun yet.

Bieber Fever

2010-12-01T11:33:00.001-08:00

"That was hilarious," laughed Jeanine as she hung up the phone. What was that about?" asked her son Tom with a puzzled look on his face. Were you talking about Justin Bieber? I could hear you laughing from my room." "Yes," replied his mom, still chuckling. Then she explained, "When I answered the phone a girl asked if Justin was here. I said, 'No, you must have the wrong number.' Then she started laughing and she said, 'Is Justin Bieber there? I'm his number one fan!" Tom smiled, "So what did you say?" "Well," said Jeanine, "I told her that she'd have to call a lot of numbers in Stratford before she got Justin on the phone. So she started laughing and told me that she couldn't call all of the numbers in Stratford because she lives in Toronto. I wished her good luck finding him but I don't think he spends a lot of time here anyway. She sounded pretty disappointed." "She must be another teenage girl with that new disease," said Tom. "What disease? She sounded young but she didn't sound sick," said his mother. Tom laughed, "Well, I'm pretty sure she has Bieber fever." Justin Bieber is a pop and R & B singer who grew up in the small southern Ontario city of Stratford. R & B means the Rhythm and Blues style of music. And even though he is only sixteen now, Justin Bieber has become an international celebrity. It all started two years ago when his mother posted a video of Justin performing on YouTube. The video was seen by Scott Braun who has managed his career since that time. His first album was released in 2009 and he has been busy writing songs, sings and performing and doing a little acting too. Now he has fans all over the world. He is a teenage heart-throb. That means that many of the young girls are in love with him. We say that the fans who are crazy about him have Bieber fever. They listen to his music all the time. They find out everything they can about him. They go to his concerts. They write letters and messages to him. They even get their haircut like his. Everything about Justin is interesting to them. So it was big news when he recently changed his hair style a little. I'm sure that many of the young kids who want to look like Justin will change their hair too. They say that 'imitation is the highest form of flattery'. In other words, if you do the same thing that someone else does, if you copy them, it is a complement to them. Justin Bieber could be called an overnight sensation. That means that he became famous so quickly that it seemed as though he was just an ordinary kid one day and then became a pop star the next day. And it all started with a video on You Tube.

Sand Between the Toes

2010-08-11T14:03:00.001-07:00

Paula and Enrico set the cooler down on the sand. "Let's not go any further until we find a good spot. This cooler is heavy and it's hard to walk in the sand," complained Paula. "Take your sandals off," suggested her husband Enrico,"It's easier in bare feet." Enrico surveyed the crowded beach as Paula took off her sandals and put them in the bulky beach bag she carried on her shoulder. She wiggled her toes in the sand. She adored the feeling of the sand between her toes! It felt just great after the long drive to Sauble Beach on Lake Huron where they loved to come with their two boys, Carlos and Javier. The boys were following them and fooling around excitedly. They loved to spend the day at the beach. In addition to the cooler filled with sandwiches and chips and cold drinks, the two boys had brought a frisbee and a beach ball and some shovels and pails to play with on the beach. Carlos was hoping that his father would let him bury him in the sand. As Enrico looked along the beach, it was wall-to-wall people. It was so busy because it was the weekend and the weather was hot and the sky was clear. It was a perfect day for the beach. Suddenly, Enrico bent down to grab the handle on his side of the cooler. "Quick," he said, "Those people are leaving. We can take their place." "Ooooh," said Paula, "That's perfect. And it's nice and close to the water. Let's go guys." So off they all went. When they got there, they spread out a large blanket on the sand and Enrico set up their umbrella. Paula told the boys to put on some sun screen and she also reminded them that they couldn't go into the water alone even though they were good swimmers. So Carlos and Javier decided to dig in the sand while they waited for their parents. Paula took off her shorts and t-shirt because she was wearing her swim suit underneath. Enrico was already wearing his swim trunks but he asked Paula if she would put his car keys in the beach bag. "I don't want to lose them in the water," he explained. They set the cooler in the shade of the umbrella and set up their lawn chairs. "Come on!" yelled Javier from the edge of the water. "Can we go in the water?" asked Carlos impatiently. "Okay," laughed Enrico. "Last one in is a rotten egg," he said as he jogged down to the water. Paula smiled as she watched them splashing and frolicking with their dad in the waves. She took off her sunglasses and picked up the frisbee before she ran into the water to join them.

A Good First Impression

2010-07-23T08:56:00.000-07:00

The phone was ringing as Flora walked into her apartment after her job interview at a large company downtown. It was her sister Carla. "So, how did it go?" she asked excitedly. "I'm not certain. I think it went pretty well. I was nervous but I was well prepared. That boosted my confidence," said Flora as she took off her shoes and sat down at the kitchen table. "How did you get ready for the interview?" asked Carla. "Well," said Flora, "I went over my resume and reviewed all of my previous experience and job descriptions. I made a few notes about things that were not included in my resume too. Then I thought about the questions that they might ask me and I rehearsed my responses." "That's a really good idea," said Carla. "There are some pretty standard questions that interviewers like to ask. It's good to practise your answers ahead of time. Sometimes your mind can go blank when you're nervous." "Exactly," laughed Flora, "That has happened to me before. I also did some research on the company to make sure I know all about it. And I gave myself a lot of extra time to get there. I wanted to be calm and collected instead of being frazzled if the streetcar was late." "I try to be about 10 minutes early for an interview," said Carla, "If you're late you may as well just forget it. I wouldn't hire anyone who was late for an interview. What did you wear?" "I wore my black skirt with the striped jacket and a pale yellow shirt. It looks simple and businesslike," replied Flora. "It sounds as though you did everything right," commented Carla. Flora told Carla that she really wanted the job so she wanted to put her best foot forward. In other words she wanted to make a good first impression. And an interview is an opportunity to tell an employer why you are the best candidate for the job. So good preparation is time well spent. After all, you don't get a second chance to make a good first impression.

Cool as Cucumbers

2010-07-10T15:44:00.000-07:00

As I was walking down the street last week, I saw my elderly neighbour, Ruth, come out of her front door. I waved and said hi. "Come and sit," she called to me. I wasn't in a hurry so I smiled and climbed the stairs of her front porch. "I think it's hot enough to fry an egg on that sidewalk," I said, "How are you doing in this heat?" I asked as I sat down on a rocking chair beside her. My face was shiny with sweat. We had been having extremely hot weather. In fact, we'd been having a heat wave. All week the temperatures had been in the 30's but the humidity made it feel much, much hotter. "Oh, I'm okay," she said,"There's supposed to be a cold front moving this way in the next day or two. That'll cool things off." I knew she'd say that. Ruth isn't a whiner. In other words, she isn't a complainer. She always makes the best of things. She always says, "I'm 91 years old. Why should I complain?" and then she laughs and says, "Maybe when I get old, I'll have time to complain." However I was a little concerned about the heat. Ruth doesn't have air conditioning and she suffers from asthma. Health workers in my city had been reminding people to check on seniors, especially those who live alone, to make sure they were okay. City officials had extended the hours for the outdoor swimming pool and were offering free movies at the air-conditioned community centre. And the arena was open for free public ice skating. Ruth said that she doesn't do much swimming or ice skating these days. She told me her favourite way to stay as cool as a cucumber was to pour a tall glass of lemonade filled with ice and to sit under the shade of the maple tree in her back yard to drink it. So, that's exactly what we did.

Parallel Parking

2010-07-04T05:16:00.000-07:00

"Turn left at the next right," said Ali to the young woman sitting in the driver's seat beside him. Ying nodded, turned on her signal, checked her sideview and rearview mirrors before manouevering her vehicle into the left turning lane. She waited for the red light to turn green and was relieved to see that there was an advanced green. After she made the turn she turned on her right signal and drove into the right lane. "Next, I'd like you to parallel park your vehicle behind the grey car that's parked up ahead," said Ali. "Okay," replied Ying nervously. She pulled her car along side the grey car, checked her rearview mirror, put the car into reverse and slowly backed up. She began turning the steering wheel sharply to the right until the car was at a 45 degree angle to the curb and then as she began turning the wheel in the opposite direction her car slid into place behind the grey car. "I did it!," she thought to herself. She had been dreading this part of her driver's test but she smiled to herself because she had really nailed it. In other words, she had done it perfectly. And she had already aced the three point turn as well. She relaxed a little as she drove back to the test centre and parked her car. "Congratulations," said Ali as he handed Ying her temporary driver's licence. "Your permanent licence will arrive in the mail in a few weeks." There is a graduated licensing system in Ontario. If you are 16 years old and pass a written test as well as a vision test you will receive a G1 licence. You must have a fully licenced driver with you when you are driving. After 8 months, if you take an approved driving course, and 12 months if you don't, you can take a road test to obtain the G2 licence. And after 12 more months you can take the second road test to become a fully licenced driver with a G licence like Ying.

A Long Day

2010-06-19T09:28:00.000-07:00

"Wow, that was a long day!" exclaimed Lee as he walked into the kitchen and plunked his lunch bag down on the counter. "But I did two hours of overtime today," he told his mom. "Well," she responded, "You'll be happy when you get a nice fat pay cheque." Lee nodded in agreement. "You're right about that, Mom. I was pretty lucky to land this job. Some of my friends can only find part-time work so they're doing two or three different jobs." "That's really hard," said his mom. "I'm only getting minimum wage but at least I'm working full time and I get time-and-a-half for overtime," he added. He started unpacking his lunch bag and putting the plastic containers into the sink. "I guess I may as well make my lunch for tomorrow. But I need to sit down for a few minutes first," he said. His mom smiled, "I'll wash out those containers for you. I was just getting ready to do some of these dishes anyway." "Thanks, Mom," said Lee as he flopped onto the couch in the livingroom and stretched his legs out. "It seems funny to be making lawn chairs this summer because I hardly get a chance to sit down myself!" Every morning, at 6:30 am, Lee puts on his workboots, picks up his safety glasses and earplugs and gets his lunch out of the fridge. He always makes his lunch the night before so he can sleep a little later in the morning. And by 7 am he is ready to begin his summer job at a factory that makes lawn furniture from recycled plastic. He has learned how to operate a drill press and a table saw. He likes the job because it's clean, the people he works with are friendly and he's busy so the time passes quickly. And even though there are three shifts, he works straight days. In other words, he only works on the day shift. And he works so much that he hasn't had much time to spend the money he's making. And that's a good thing because university and college tuition is about $5000 a year and, of course, there are living expenses as well. Every summer, in March and April, students finish their studies, polish up their resumes and begin the search for summer jobs. Some return to places where they worked during their high school years or during the previous summer. Many students do seasonal jobs in construction or recreation or the tourist industry. For many students summer jobs are an opportunity to get some hands-on experience in their area of study. And most of them need to save as much money as they can before classes begin again in September.

The Click of a Mouse

2010-06-13T05:41:00.000-07:00

"Hey, nice glasses. Are they new?" Rita asked her friend Lucy. "Oh, thanks. I just got them," said Lucy. "Did you get them downtown at Brown's Optical?" asked Rita. "No, actually I bought them online," replied Lucy. Rita looked surprised, "Online! Aren't they prescription glasses?" "Absolutely, I'm blind as a bat without them," said Lucy. "I don't get it," said Rita looking baffled. Lucy laughed, "I couldn't understand how it worked at first either but it was easy. I went to the web address that a friend had told me about and I looked at the huge selection of frames." "But you can't try them on online. How could you know whether or not they would suit you?" asked Rita, still looking confused. Lucy explained that you can upload a photo of yourself or you can take a photo of your face with a webcam. Then you click on the the frames you like to see them. "It was easy," she told Rita. I just clicked, looked into the virtual mirror and tried them on. Then I provided the information from my prescription to order the lenses I need for each eye and the measurement between my pupils so the glasses would fit properly." "Well," said Rita, "I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen them with my own two eyes." "I know, " agreed Lucy. "I was skeptical at first too. I didn't think it was possible either. But, I sent in my order, paid with my credit card and, voila, they arrived at my door a week later. It's amazing what you can do online today." Lucy makes an interesting point. How many things can you do today, that were not possible twenty, ten, even five years ago? You couldn't send an e-mail to someone and have them receive it within seconds. You couldn't have a face to face chat with someone halfway across the world. You couldn't have a live English lesson or listen to podcasts in any language. You couldn't look up a recipe and watch how it's made. You couldn't listen to a voice giving you directions when you drive. You couldn't pay your bills or do your banking with the click of a mouse. You couldn't download music or watch the news in any language from anywhere in the world. Does it make our lives better? Is there a downside to all of this technology? It's an interesting question. All I know is, that you can do a lot things with the click of a mouse.

The Waving Flag

2010-06-06T05:01:00.000-07:00

"Hey, that's a catchy tune," said Chad to his daughter Isobel as they were putting away the dishes on Saturday morning. Isobel stopped whistling. It's should be familiar Dad. It's the theme song for the World Cup Soccer tournament," she said. "Oh, that's right," said Chad. "And wasn't it recorded to raise money for Haiti after the earthquake?" Isobel nodded. "Yeah, it was. It's called The Waving Flag and it was written by a hip hop artist from Toronto." Isobel could hear her Dad humming the song." Oh, no!" he groaned. "What's the matter?" asked Isobel. "Well, now that I've remembered it, I'm going to be hearing it all day long. I can't get it out of my head." Chad complained. Isobel just laughed, "Well you said it yourself. It's a very catchy tune!" The writer of The Waving Flag calls himself K'naan, which means traveler. He was born in Somalia and left there when he was thirteen years old. He and his family moved to Toronto via New York. He says that he learned English by listening to rap music. He grew up in Toronto but writes a lot about how hard and violent life in Somalia is because of the civil war there. For the last year or so K'naan has been on tour promoting the next World Cup Soccer Finals which will begin on June 11th in South Africa. And it's very exciting because the World Cup is the most popular sporting event in the entire world. There are 18 men's soccer teams participating in the tournament. It began in 1930 and is played every 4 years. The first tournament was played in Uruguay. The team from Brazil has won more World Cups than any other team, however, the last tournament was won by Italy. In Toronto it's easy to know when the World Cup is on. You see team flags flying from cars and buildings of the different ethnic neighbourhoods throughout the city. And I'm sure we'll be hearing a lot more of K'naan's Waving Flag too.

To hear K'naan singing The Waving Flag click on the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iC8V8S_REhk&feature=player_embedded

No Charge

2010-05-31T18:02:00.000-07:00

Grace left home early on Saturday morning. She drove through the sleepy city to pick up her younger sister, Mel at her apartment. They were going to pick out some fresh flowers for Grace's wedding and they wanted to get there early before the flowers had been picked over. They knew that by 9 o'clock the best blossoms would have been sold. Grace and her fiance had decided to have a small ceremony and reception in Grace's parents' back yard. Her parents had a big yard and her mom had a green thumb. Her mother's hobby was gardening and the flower beds looked especially beautiful at this time of year. Grace had decided to buy some extra fresh flowers to put on the tables so her mom wouldn't pick the flowers from her own garden. It looked just perfect and she didn't want to spoil the stunning display. Grace chose some creamy, white peonies and deep purple irises. Then she picked out some pale pink spikes of delphinium. She also chose some buttery, yellow roses and tiny baby's breath for her bouquet. When Al, the flower vendor, picked up on the fact that it was Grace's wedding day, he threw in the roses for free. "No charge for roses for brides today," he smiled. "It's my wedding gift for one of my favourite customers." A little while later Mel and Grace unwrapped the bundles of flowers in their parents' kitchen. Mel grimaced in exasperation as she picked at the price tags on the clear glass vases. "I can't get them off," she complained. Her mom suggested that she use a little vegetable oil and they came off easily. As the two sisters Mel thought about how she had always looked up to Grace. Her older sister had always stood up for her when the other kids picked on her at school. And she never minded when Mel wanted to tag along with Grace and her friends. So she felt very proud when Grace had asked her to stand up for her on her wedding day.

A Bird's Eye View

2010-05-22T08:30:00.000-07:00

"Hey, Dad, Dad!" yelled Hamza. "Come and see this." Ali walked over to the computer where his son was sitting. "What's all the fuss?" he asked as he peered over Hamza's shoulder to look at the screen. "Aren't you supposed to be doing your homework?" he asked. "I am doing my homework. We're working on a project on eagles for science class. And we're tracking the progress of a baby eagle," replied Hamza. "Look! It's right there!" "Oh, I see," said Ali looking more closely. "That's amazing. Is this the eagles' nest?" "Yes, it is," said Hamza. "There's a live webcam mounted beside the nest. See , that's the mom sitting there and that's the eaglet sleeping beside her." "Wow," said Ali, "You have a real bird' eye view." "I know," laughed Hamza. "It feels as though you're sitting right there in the nest with the bald eagles! You can see everything that goes on at any time of the day or night." As Hamza and his dad watched the eagles, Hamza explained that the eagles' nest is located high up in a fir tree on Hornby Island on the west coast of the province of British Columbia. It's a large nest made of sticks and twigs. There are about 18 pair of bald eagles which nest in different spots on the island every year. Bald eagles are raptors. Raptors are birds which have beaks and talons for catching and eating their food. The webcam was put up by Doug Carrick, a retired accountant and birdwatcher who lives on the island near the nest and has been studying the birds for years. In 2004 he got permission from the government to put up a video camera to record the activities of the birds inside the nest. At first the birds were curious about the camera but after a while they got used to it. Later, Mr. Carrick decided to install a live webcam. This year the female eagle laid two eggs. Most of the time, the female sat on the eggs as the male watched fom his perch in a nearby tree. He would sometimes sit on the eggs for a short while so the female could take a break. Finally after about 36 days, on April 29gh, one of the eggs hatched. The chick was small and fuzzy and spent most of its time sleeping. Mr. Carrick named the eaglet, Phoenix. However Phoenix is the only offspring because the second egg never did hatch. The male eagle will often fly to the nest carrying fish in its strong talons. The eagles eat herring, ratfish, dogfish, salmon and an unusual fish call the midshipman. The midshipman is unusual because you can actually hear it. It makes a humming sound. As the days go by, Phoenix gets bigger and stronger. The eaglet sleeps less, eats more and can be seen standing up and stretching its wings. Eventually, when the eaglet is around 8 weeks old it will decide to fly out of the nest for the first time. And over the following weeks the young eaglet's ability to fly and feed itself will improve. And thanks to modern technology people all over the world can have a bird's eye view of the eagles.

If you would like to see the live webcam of the Eagles of Hornby Island click on:
http://www.hornbyeagles.com/webcam.htm

A Capital City

2010-05-14T12:07:00.000-07:00

"What are you up to this weekend?" Terry asked Yuko as the two women were getting ready to leave the office on Friday afternoon. "Well, we're off to Ottawa tonight for a few days," replied Yuko, "We're going to take in some of the events at the Tulip Festival." "Oh, I've never been to the festival, but I've always wanted to go," said Terry. "I've never been either," said Yuko. "But I hear that it's amazing! And I love Ottawa. It's such a beautiful city." "Me too," agreed Terry, "Have a wonderful time." "Thanks, I will," smiled Yuko, "I'll take lots of pictures and tell you all about it when I get back." Like Yuko, many people visit Ottawa every year. It is, after all, the capital city of Canada. People often travel to this Ontario city on the Ottawa River to tour the Parliament Buildings where the federal government works. But from May 7th until May 24th people go there for the annual Tulip Festival. It may seem strange that there are so many tulips in Ottawa. When I think of tulips I automatically think of Holland, the Netherlands; not Canada. However, there is a connection between the two countries. The festival has its roots or beginnings, in 1945 when Princess Juliana of the Netherlands gave a gift of 100,000 tulip bulbs to Canada. She gave this gift to thank Canadians for their hospitality to her family as a refuge during the Second World War. The Dutch Royal Family lived in Canada House in Ottawa during the war. And when Princess Juliana's daughter, Princess Margaret was born, the Canadian government declared the hospital room Dutch territory. That way, the child was born a citizen of the Netherlands. And for the only time in history, a Dutch flag flew from the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill. Also, Canadian soldiers played an important role in the Liberation of Holland. For these reasons the Dutch tulip has come to symbolize peace and friendship. Today there are over 2 million tulips in Ottawa. In May, the entire city is filled with tulips. The tulip is now the official flower of Ottawa and Ottawa is the tulip capital of North America. Over 600,000 people come from all over the world to see the gardens and to enjoy all kinds of cultural events like music, dance , art, theatre, sport and to listen to famous speakers. One of my favourite things to do in Ottawa is to rent a bicycle and go cycling along the Rideau Canal or along the Ottawa River. A gift of tulips from a Dutch princess has really blossomed into something wonderful.
To see some photographs of the tulips in Ottawa go to:
http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/bins/ncc_web_content_page.asp?cid=16297-16298-10118-134477&lang=1

The Bear Facts

2010-05-08T06:32:00.000-07:00

Photo Courtesy of pdphoto.org
"Say Pete, what would you do if you came face to face with a bear?", Sheena asked her brother. "A bear!" laughed Pete, "Why would I need to know that? The only bears around here are Teddy bears, and soft, cuddly toys can't hurt me." "But Mom and I heard on the news that there was a black bear prowling around houses in the west end of the city last week," Sheena explained. "You're kidding. Here in London?" Pete's eyes widened with surprise. "That's pretty unusual. Did it attack anyone?" Sheena told Pete that the black bear had wandered into a neighbourhood from the woods in a ravine behind the homes. "Did they catch the bear?" asked Pete. "Well," Sheena replied, "The police shot the bear when it charged at a police officer but the bear was only wounded and ran off into the woods. They found it again about twenty minutes later and killed it." "Wow!" exclaimed Pete, "If I had run into that bear I would have run away as fast as my legs could carry me, wouldn't you?" But in fact that is exactly what you shouldn't do . Bears are very fast runners. Pete would not be able to outrun a bear. If you encounter a black bear you should keep your eyes on the bear and back away very slowly. Black bears are quite timid and don't really want to tangle with people. In other words they don't want to come in contact with people. If a bear starts to hit the ground with its paws and make noises, it is telling you to back off. You shouldn't climb a tree to escape from a bear either. Bears are excellent climbers and they are also good swimmers. If you are with a group of people, you shouldn't split up. You should stay together so you seem larger to the bear. And you should yell and wave your arms to scare the bear away. You could also throw rocks and sticks at the bear if there are any handy. But Pete was right about one thing. It is unusual to see wild bears in Southern Ontario. The bear, which was seen in the southwestern city of London, was probably hundreds of kilometres away from its home in the Bruce Peninsula. But bear sightings have been on the increase in the south. So, even though black bears seldom attack people, it's a good idea to know some bear facts.

Condolences

2010-04-30T13:31:00.000-07:00

It was still dark at 4 o'clock this morning as the airport shuttle bus drove off and my nephew Matt turned and waved goodbye. He had flown up from Halifax to attend his grandfather's funeral. Matt lost his grandfather and my husband lost his father who was, of course, my father-in-law. He passed away a week ago at the age of 84. He fell and broke his hip in February but there were complications and he never really recovered. However it was still a shock. Dave was able to sit by his Dad's bedside and hold his hand as his father slipped quietly and peacefully away. And that's a great comfort to him in his grief. Dave called the local newspaper to put an announcement in the obituary section to let people know when and where the funeral would be. The service took place at the funeral home in the town where his father had lived all of his life. And soon friends and acquaintances were calling to offer their condolences and sympathy when they heard the news. The funeral was on Tuesday morning. Dave and his sister arranged to have a minister conduct the service. They brought some of their father's favourite music to play. And they placed some of their favourite photographs of their father at the front of the funeral chapel with the flowers. There was no coffin because Dave's father had wished to be cremated. So there was a small pine box containing his father's ashes. At the funeral service, Dave and one of his nieces, Chrissy, eulogized his father. That means they stood up and talked about their memories of the deceased. Following the service we drove to the cemetery where Dave's mom had been buried several years ago. The minister said a burial prayer and Dave read a poem before the pine box was lowered into the ground. Then everyone returned to the funeral home for a reception. It's funny, even though funerals are a sad affair and people come to mourn for the person who has died, they are also a celebration. People shared many wonderful stories about Dave's father over coffee and sandwiches and cookies. And he will be remembered.

A Shoe Story

2010-04-15T17:09:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday morning I went to a conference in a nearby city. My colleague and I decided to have lunch together after our workshops were over. We had a delicious meal at a Vietnamese restaurant in a small mall on the highway. I remembered that there was a really good shoe store in the mall and asked my friend if we could just pop in for a look before we drove home. She said that she wasn't in a hurry so it was no problem. When we stepped into the shoe store it was a hive of activity. We realized it was so busy because they were having a big shoe sale. There were some really great deals on well-made shoes which I normally can't afford. I saw a pair of black walking shoes and asked the clerk if I could try them on. They were a Ladies size 7 and they looked perfect for me because I usually take a 6 1/2 or a 7 depending on the make of the shoe. I tried them on and walked around a bit. They were perfect. They fit like a glove. It was as though they were made for my feet! And the price had been reduced from $129 to $39. What a deal! So, of course, I bought them and wore them. The following Thursday morning, as I was getting ready for school, the phone rang. It was a woman from the shoe store. "Hello. Is this Leslie?" she asked. "Yes," I replied. "You bought a pair of shoes from our store last Saturday, right?" she asked. "Yes," I said again. "Have you been wearing them?" she asked. "Yes," I replied, starting to feel confused. "Well, take a good look at them. They are the same size but they are two different shoes." I asked her to hold on a moment while I went to get the shoes. "Oh, my goodness,' I laughed, "I didn't even notice." On closer inspection they were different. One shoe had flat laces and the other had round laces. One shoe had a design on the side and the other one didn't . One shoe had one leather guide for the laces and the other had two. The design on the top of the shoes was completely different. I couldn't believe that I had been so unobservant! "Well, we can't sell the other shoes, so were were wondering if you would like to buy them?" So now I have 2 pair of brand new shoes, even though I had only been intending to buy one.

At Last

2010-04-08T08:26:00.000-07:00

Flora looked to the end of the street. "Still no bus," she thought to herself, "I hope it gets here soon." It was starting to drizzle so she opened her big, red umbrella and held it over her head. "I'm glad I remembered my umbrella this morning or else I'd be soaked by the time I get to work!" She held the handle of her umbrella tightly against her chest to keep the wind from grabbing it out of her hands. She looked at her watch and then she looked down the street again. There was still no sign of her bus. Flora was starting to get impatient. She didn't like to be late for work. In fact she was usually five or ten minutes early. As Flora waited at the bus stop, she watched a group of young school children laughing and shrieking loudly as they jumped over, and into, the puddles on the sidewalk. Flora smiled to herself at the sight of their brightly-coloured raincoats and rubber boots. She thought they looked like spring flowers in the rain, bobbing in the wind. And she noticed a man rushing past. He was holding onto his hat so the wind wouldn't blow it off. "At last," Flora thought as she saw her bus coming down the street. She took her bus pass out of her pocket as the bus came to a stop. She always bought a monthly bus pass because it was cheaper than buying tickets every day. After a couple of people got off the bus, Flora closed her umbrella and got on. She smiled at the driver and held up her pass. "This weather is for the ducks!" said the driver cheerfully. "Oh, well. We can't complain. April showers bring May flowers," said Flora, as she moved down the aisle to find a seat towards the back of the bus.

April Fools

2010-03-31T20:06:00.000-07:00

It was just getting light when David opened his eyes and reached over to turn off the alarm clock beside his bed. "Time to get up, sleepyhead," he said to his wife Carla. She was just beginning to wake up. "Okay," she said groggily, "I just need five more minutes." She pulled the blankets up over her head and tried to go back to sleep. David smiled to himself as he put on his bathrobe and slippers and wandered over to the window. He opened the curtains just a little to take a peek outside as he did every morning. "Oh, no!" he cried, "I can't believe it. There must be a foot of snow on the ground. And it's still snowing. "What?" mumbled Carla pulling the covers down from over her face. "It's snowing," David said again, "You'd better get moving because we're going to have to shovel the driveway." "What?" said Carla again, rubbing her eyes. "I think I can hear the snow plow coming," said David, poking his head through the curtains to take another look outside. "Snow!" groaned Carla as she threw off the covers and stumbled over to the window. "It can't be snowing again," she complained, "It's the end of March. In fact, today is the first of April." Just as she reached for the curtain to look outside, she noticed her husband grinning broadly. "That's right sweetie," he said, "It is the first of April. April Fool's Day!" "Of course," laughed Carla, "I forgot. I should have known you'd be full of tricks today." It' s a tradition for people to play jokes and try to fool other people on April Fool's Day. So be careful and don't believe everything you hear on April 1st, but only until noon. If you play a trick on someone after twelve o'clock it will bring you bad luck.

More about April Fool's Day - http://englishdesk.blogspot.com/2009/04/episode-82-april-fools.html

Soaking Up the Sun

2010-03-20T13:36:00.000-07:00

Nisha picked up her car keys and put on her coat. Her husband Kareem looked up from the magazine he was reading. "Where are you off to?" he asked. "The drugstore,"replied Nisha, "We need some shampoo and toothpaste and deodorant. And I think I'll pick up some vitamin D too." "Isn't that the sunshine vitamin? Why do we need to take it?" Kareem asked. "Well,"explained Nisha sitting down on the couch beside Kareem, "I've heard a lot about it in the news lately. Because we moved to Canada from a sunny southern climate, we are likely to have a vitamin D deficiency. Our skin is designed to protect us from the sun so we don't absorb Vitamin D easily." "Oh, I hadn't thought about that," said Kareem, "Hang on a moment. I'll go with you. I need some fresh air and then we can ask the pharmacist about it too." As winter comes to an end in Canada, everyone flocks outdoors to soak up the sun. They do it because it feels wonderful. And we don't get too much of the sunshine vitamin during the long winter months. But scientist tell us that we can get a boost of vitamin D from the sun too. We need vitamin D because it helps us absorb calcium so we have healthy bones and teeth. And research indicates that vitamin D can also reduce the risks of getting some forms of cancer and MS, multiple Sclerosis. The sun is one source of this beneficial vitamin. But you can also get it from milk, fatty fish like salmon and egg yolks. But doctors recommend that people get some of their vitamin D from a supplement instead of the sun. Getting vitamin D from the sun is a bit of a double-edged sword. You can decrease the chance of getting some cancers by getting more sunshine. But if you get too much sunshine, you'll also increase you chance of getting skin cancer. It's what we call, a Catch 22. So doctors are suggesting that the best solution is to take a vitamin D supplement in addition to limited exposure to the sun.

If you would like more information about Vitamin D go to:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2010/02/12/ottawa-immigrants-vitamin-d.html?ref=rss

An In-between Month

2010-03-13T09:37:00.000-08:00

Cam's ears perked up. He could hear his friend Phu muttering something as they walked along the sidewalk on their way to the library. "Oh, nothing," replied Phu, "I was just practising a little poem that I learned in class this week. This wind made me think of it. It's about March." Cam smiled, "Well, let me hear it. You know I couldn't make it to class on Friday and I like the poems we learn. They really help my pronunciation." Cam could see that Phu was rehearsing the poem in his head. Finally Phu looked up and said, "Okay, I've got it. It goes like this. 'March is an in-between month, when wintry winds are high. Work and play and blow all day and blow the wintry winds away.'" "What's an in-between month?" asked Cam. Phu explained that the poet wanted to say that March is between two seasons; winter and spring. And March is a crazy month. One day is cold and windy and stormy. And the next day is warm and sunny. The temperature goes up and down like a bouncing ball. One day is minus five and a day or two later the temperature might be 13 degrees and a few days later it can drop down again below zero. One day people are bundled up for freezing weather and a day or two later people are shedding their winter clothing. Joggers go by in shorts and sneakers and people start walking around in sweaters and t-shirts even though it's not all that warm. And you can see people's spirits rise with the increasing temperatures, especially on sunny days because they know that Spring is just around the corner.

Red Mittens

2010-02-10T05:22:00.001-08:00

"Nice mitts!" said Carly, looking at her friend's bright red mittens with the Olympic rings and a Canadian maple leaf on them. "Thanks," replied Lin, "I bought them to wear to the Olympic games." Carly's eyes widened in surprise, "Wow, you're going to go to the games? That's so exciting!" I know," laughed Lin, "I'm going to fly to Vancouver from London on Thursday morning." "How long are you going to be there?" asked Carly. Lin said, "I'll be there for a week. I'm going to be back next Wednesday." Then Carly asked, "Are you going by yourself?" "No,"said Lin, "I'm going with my brother Kim and we're going to stay with my aunt. She lives in Richmond, just outside of Vancouver. We're going to see one of the women's hockey games, some of the speed skating and one of the downhill skiing races." "That's fantastic!" said Carly, "I wish I could go but I'll definitely be watching the games on TV. I'll keep my eyes peeled for you in the crowd. I'll just look for your red mittens." They both laughed at her joke because there will be millions of people there wearing the popular Olympic souvenirs. The countdown is on. After years of preparation the 2010 Olympic games are about to begin in Vancouver. Vancouver is a beautiful city in Canada's most western province of British Columbia. It is known for its majestic Rocky Mountains and its Pacific Ocean coast. On February 12 the Olympic torch will have completed its long journey across the country from the east coast to the west. The athletes will march into the opening ceremonies to light the Olympic cauldron to signal the official opening of the Olympic games. The athletes are going to be competing in 15 winter events. Skaters will be competing in figure skating, speed skating and short track. Skiers will be going for the gold in alpine skiing, freestyle, Nordic combined and cross country races as well as ski jumping. There will also be snowboarding and a skiing and shooting event called the biathlon. There will be three different sledding events called luge, bob sleigh and skeleton. And the two winter games that will be played are hockey and curling. At the first winter games in Chamonix, France there were 258 athletes and only 11 of them were women. This year there will be about 2500 athletes competing from all over the world. There will be 206 athletes from Canada and 96 of them, almost half of the Canadian team will be women. That's also very exciting because Canadian women have won more medals than Canadian men in the last three winter Olympics. It's going to be very exciting! Let the games begin and may the best men and women win!
Follow this link to the official website for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics:
http://www.vancouver2010.com/

What's the Big Deal?

2010-01-26T11:04:00.000-08:00

"Hey Kelly! How are you? Do you mind if I join you?" asked Rhada when she spotted her friend sitting at a table in the busy coffee shop. "Not at at," smiled Kelly, "I'd love the company. Please join me." "That's better," said Rhada as she took a sip of her coffee and warmed her hands on the hot coffee mug. "I was getting so cold after being outside at the demonstration this morning." "Oh, you were part of the protest? I drove by this morning and saw a lot of people with Canadian flags and signs about democracy. But I don't really understand what it's all about," said Kelly. Rhada explained the reasons for the protest to her friend. She told her that many people were very upset because the prime minister had prorogued Parliament for the second time in just over a year. She told her that proroguing simply means suspending or closing Parliament. And she explained that Parliament is the place where the 308 elected representatives from all across Canada meet in Ottawa to carry out the nation's business. Parliament is usually prorogued or shut at the end of a session when all of the work has been finished and it usually is only for a few days before the next session begins. "So what's the big deal this time?" asked Kelly with a confused look on her face. Rhada explained that people are angry because they think that the prime minister closed Parliament because he didn't want to answer questions and to save his own minority government from being defeated. He did the same thing just after the minority Conservative government was elected last year. He suspended the government so that the opposition leaders could not call a vote of non-confidence and then form a coalition government to replace the Conservatives. A coalition is a government which is made up of the opposition parties who have enough seats or elected representatives to form a government by agreeing to work together. In a parliamentary democracy the government must answer to the people for its actions. In other words, the government must be accountable to the people. That is why it's important that the elected members from all of the political parties have the chance to ask questions in Parliament. And if people want their democracy to work well they must pay attention and speak up when there is something wrong. Peaceful protests, signing petitions, writing letters to newspapers and to leaders are some of the ways in which Canadians can let their government know how they feel. Today people can get involved by using the internet too. A student from the University of Alberta started a group called Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament on Facebook. Over 217,000 people have joined the site. You can also find information about each politician and the political parties on their websites and most newspapers have online editions too. It is easier than ever to be an informed citizen.

If you would like to see photos of the protests across Canada go to:
http://imgfave.com/collection/8912
Other podcasts about government:
http://englishdesk.blogspot.com/2008/10/episode-8-voting-day.html
http://englishdesk.blogspot.com/2008/12/episode-45-perogy-or-prorogue.html

One Step at a Time

2010-01-18T08:56:00.000-08:00

I have been laid up for the past few weeks. That means that I have been having a problem with my health and have been spending time at home getting better. I have tendonitis, a painful inflammation of the tendons which join my calf muscles to my left foot. My doctor told me to put my feet up. In other words he said I should rest the foot as much as possible. I couldn't believe my ears when he told me it could take up to eight weeks to heal. He also recommended that I wear an air cast to support the ankle and the tendons of the foot. It's called an air cast because it's an open cast which can be put on and taken off easily with Velcro fasteners unlike a solid plaster cast which can't be removed. I also had to use crutches to get around. It was a little tricky at first especially going up and down the stairs. I also consulted a physiotherapist. The services of the physiotherapist are not covered by OHIP, our public health insurance system, so I had to foot the bill myself. That mans that I had to pay for it myself. I wanted to see a physiotherapist because I wanted to know what I could do to help ease the pain, reduce the swelling and help speed up my recovery. She was very helpful. She used massage and acupuncture to help reduce the pain and stiffness. I had never had acupuncture before. I was a little nervous about having needles stuck into my skin but it didn't hurt very much and it was very effective. It helped a lot. It has been a little frustrating for me to have to spend so much time sitting around. I am usually a pretty active person. I can't do many of the things that I love to do. I can't go for long walks in the snow. I can't go dancing. I can't go skiing or skating. And I haven't been able to go to work. But I have learned to take things one step at a time. First I had to rest my foot. Then I had to start moving it again gradually. Then I began putting a little weight on it again and then I began walking slowly with out the crutches. So I should be back on my feet and back at work very soon. We have many expressions which contain the words foot and feet. If you jump into something with both feet it means that you do something very enthusiastically without hesitating. When Haeng decided to learn to skate, he jumped in with both feet. He bought some skates and watched skating videos and took lessons and practised at the arena every afternoon after school. And if you put your foot in your mouth it means that you accidentally say something that is embarrassing. For example, John put his foot in his mouth when he asked Sue when her baby was going to be born. Unfortunately she wasn't pregnant. She had simply gained a lot of weight. Anyhow it will take me a little more time to get around for the next while so I will need to plan on leaving home early so that I get started back to work on the right foot. In other words I want things to go well so I want to get there on time.

Teaming Up

2010-01-08T12:13:00.000-08:00

"Did you bring your running shoes?," Nita asked her friend Yung as they walked down the corridor to the lunchroom at the office where they work. "Sure thing, I'm all set. As soon as we finish work today we can go to the indoor track at the community centre. It'll only take us about 5 minutes to get there," replied Yung. "Great," said Nita, "We'll walk for about half an hour today, okay?" "That sounds good," smiled Yung, "What did you bring for lunch today?" she asked peering at Nita's lunch box. "I've got some chicken soup, a small serving of hummus to eat with pita bread and some raw veggies. How about you?" asked Nita. "I've got some vegetarian chili, a small whole wheat bun, some yogurt and an apple for a snack," Yung answered. "Oh, and I brought an apple too," laughed Nita as they walked past the donut counter beside the cafeteria. "I feel healthier already!" Nita and Yung have decided to shape up and trim down for 2010. In other words they want to become more fit and lose some weight. Nita has tried to lose weight before but she hasn't lost a pound. Every new year she starts a new diet enthusiastically. But by the end of February she has lost interest and given up. Yung has had the same experience every time she tries to slim down. And for the last few years, instead of losing weight, she has been packing on the pounds. So when Nita asked her if she was interested in teaming up to get in shape Yung immediately agreed. She knows that it will really help her to have a workout buddy to keep her motivated. They both decided that they would develop a strategy of sensible eating combined with regular exercise. Neither of them want to spend a lot of money on expensive gym memberships or equipment so they've decided to start with walking. It's free and it's easy. They're going to walk indoors at the community centre when the sidewalkes are icy but whenever they can they'll head outside for their daily exercise. And when there is enough snow they'll do some snowshoeing with their families on the weekends. Nita feels very optimistic about getting in shape this year because she and Yung have been sharing all kinds of fun ways to shape up. And after all two heads are better than one.

A Resolution

2010-01-01T09:24:00.000-08:00

"Happy New Year, Terry," Joe smiled warmly,and shook his old friend's hand. "Same to you and your family," Terry replied, "Did you make any resolutions this year?" Joe laughed, "Well, the usual; I want to get more exercise and lose a few pounds. But this year I have also decided to get more involved in the fight against climate change. Canada got a real black eye at the summit in Copenhagen. Did you know that we received more fossil awards than any other country? It was embarrassing! Terry nodded his head thoughtfully. "I know what you mean," he said, "I think the government has its head in the sand when it comes to global warming. But I think that we can't ignore the problems much longer. I feel worried about the future for my children and their children. I'm glad to hear that you'll be speaking up too." Many people are concerned about global warming. Tongues have been wagging about Canada's role at the meeting in Copenhagen. In other words people have been talking about it. Some people accused the government of foot dragging. If you drag your feet you do something slowly or unwillingly. I have also read about the huge protests falling on deaf ears. In other words the representatives seemed unwilling to listen to what people were saying. And some say that our government has turned a blind eye to the warnings about the dangers of climate change. If you turn a blind eye to something you refuse to look at it. Some say that the agreement made in Copenhagen is toothless. In other words it is weak and meaningless. And some of the leaders were accused of pointing their fingers at other countries. They wanted to blame other countries for the failure to reach a strong agreement. As the new year begins I have one wish for 2010. I hope that there will be more people like Joe who open their eyes to what is happening. Any one of us can have a hand in convincing their friends and neighbours and leaders to find solutions as quickly as possible. And a sustainable plan for the earth will mean many happy new years to come. I wish you all a happy and peaceful New Year!

To view some Canadians making phone calls to the Prime Minister before the summit go to:http://beta.davidsuzuki.org/share/call-the-pm/

Plum Pudding

2009-12-18T10:14:00.000-08:00

Anna decided to make some plum pudding to celebrate the Christmas season and to surprise her family. Plum puddings had been an important part of the Christmas dinner at her grandmother's house. About an hour after everyone had finished enjoying the traditional turkey dinner her grandmother would slip into the pantry. She would take cotton wrap off the pudding and slide the dense cake out of the pudding bowl. She would turn it over onto one of her best china plates and pour some brandy over the cake. She would call for someone to turn out the lights and then she would light the cake with a long wooden match. Everyone was delighted to see the yellow and blue flames flickering over the top of the pudding. Afterward she would serve a small slice of the rich cake with a dollop of butter sauce. Anna's grandmother had come to Canada from England in the 1920's and she had brought her recipe for plum pudding with her. Anna remembered watching her make the puddings when she was a little girl. She remembered the kitchen table covered with bowls of currants and raisins and prunes and dates. She remembered the wonderful fragrance that had filled the whole house while her grandmother had been steaming the puddings in the oven . And she remembered the way that her grandmother had wrapped the puddings up carefully to store them until Christmas. However, she wished that she had paid closer attention to what her beloved grandmother had been doing because she had never made the pudding herself. Her grandmother had passed away many years before at the age of 94. Anna got out the fruit which she had mixed with brandy the week before. The mixture had been sitting in the cold basement for a week. As Anna creamed the butter and brown sugar and added the eggs and folded in the breadcrumbs and the fruit, she remembered her grandmother's strong hands at work. She could almost hear her voice telling her to make sure there was enough water in the pan as the puddings steamed for hours in the oven. Anna knew that she had done everything right when she began to smell the same wonderful fragrance in her own kitchen.

Ready to Go

2009-12-11T11:33:00.000-08:00

Finally the snow had started falling. "Perhaps there would be a white Christmas after all," thought Min as she gazed out of her window. The snow was swirling wildly around outside. Min was feeling a little tired because the wind had been howling all night long. It had been rattling the doors and windows and had woken her up more than once during the long stormy night. As she looked outside at the icy road she was thankful that she had taken her car to the garage to have her snow tires put on before the storm hit. She heard her young son, Will calling her from his room, "Mom, you were right. It's snowing!" He was delighted. He had been waiting impatiently for the snow. Min smiled. She had had a little help making her prediction. The previous day the weather forecast had called for freezing temperatures, low visibility and heavy snow. It was going to take a little longer to get to work and school so she got out of her cosy bed, put on a pot of coffee and made some warm porridge for breakfast. She liked to make hot oatmeal on winter mornings. Will liked to eat it too, with a little milk and some brown sugar on top. Shortly before 8 o'clock they were getting ready to go outside. Min helped Will put on his shiny blue snow pants and jacket over his sweater and jeans. Then she zipped up his jacket and he put on his hat and mittens. Min put his neck warmer around his neck. It could be pulled up over his cheeks to protect his skin from frostbite. Min knew that frostbite could happen very quickly on unprotected skin in such cold windy weather. She had seen frostbite on the cheek of one of Will's friends last winter. It looked like a little white patch on his red cheeks. She remembered that if you get frostbitten you shouldn't rub the skin. You should just let it come back to room temperature gradually. But it is best to avoid it by covering up your skin. Will put on his hat and Min pulled up hood. Then she tied it up. She started to laugh. By the time they were ready to leave Will had disappeared. In other words, he was so bundled up that the only part of her son that could be seen was his eyes. He was ready to go!
To read about how to dress in winter in Canada go to: http://www.settlement.org/sys/faqs_detail.asp?faq_id=4000753
To watch a video on how to dress children for school in winter weather go to: http://www.settlementdownloads.org/downloads/video/winter/dressing_for_winter.html

Food Drive

2009-12-04T08:43:00.000-08:00

It was Thursday evening. Mira was sitting on the couch with a cushion behind her back and a book in her hands. All day Mira had been looking forward to the end of her hectic day. The work day was over. She had made a tasty pasta dish for her family for dinner. The kids had done the dishes while she was tidying up the kitchen. Now the house was quiet. Her husband, Joe, was puttering around at his workbench in the basement. Woodworking is his hobby. Her older daughter, Kate, was doing her homework in her room. And her younger daughter, Hanna, was checking her e-mail. Mira was reading the last chapter of her book. It was a real page-turner. She had hardly been able to put it down at night when she had to go to bed. In other words, it was so interesting that she didn't want to stop reading it. She was anxious to find out how it would end. She was so absorbed in her book that she was startled when she heard a knock at the door. Reluctantly, she put down her book and answered the door. Two girls were standing on the front porch. "We're students from Central High School," said one of the girls, "We're collecting non-perishable goods for the food bank. Do you have anything you would like to donate?" Mira smiled and asked the girls to step inside to wait while she went into the kitchen. She got some cans of tuna, a hearty pea soup and some pasta sauce. She also got a couple of packages of pasta and a box of crackers. She had a new can of coffee so she took that too. The volunteers thanked Mira for her donation and Mira thanked them for doing the food drive especially on such a cold night. As Mira returned to her book she thought about how fortunate she was to have plenty of food in her cupboards. Recently she had been hearing a lot about how the number of people using food banks has been increasing. In her community there are many charitable groups trying to help people who are jobless or unable to support themselves. Churches provide community meals. There are breakfast programs in schools and people collecting toys and warm clothing to make the Christmas season easier for people who are struggling to get by.

No November

2009-11-27T08:11:00.000-08:00

As I gaze out of my window I see a few snowflakes falling softly and quietly to the ground. It makes me think of an old poem by Robert Hood about November. It ends with these words, 'No shade, no shine, no shine, no butterflies, no bees, no fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds, November.' Normally the sight of snow in November would not be anything unusual but this November has been an exception. There was an item in my morning newspaper about a snowless November in Toronto being very close to happening. It has never happened before in all of the years that the weather office has been keeping track of these things. But with only a few days left until December, a little snow is starting to fall where I live. People everywhere have been talking about what a mild November we have been having this year. Usually November is cold and gray and people have to get used to the first icy blasts of winter. Whe you're driving you have to watch out for freezing rain and black ice. But this year we have had an unexpected break. I haven't worn gloves or mittens. I haven't had to bundle up in hats and scarves and insulated boots. My winter coat is still hanging in the closet while I wear lighter jackets and shoes instead of boots. The parks have been full of walkers and hikers and joggers taking advantage of the sunshine and paths which are not slippery underfoot. People are still riding their bicycles to school and work. On my way to work the other day I saw a construction worker stretched out in a wheelbarrow enjoying his break in the sunshine as though it were the middle of summer. Last weekend I went for a long walk on a trail through the woods with my daughter. It was a gorgeous day. The temperature was about 16 degrees Celsius and at times the sun was brilliant. Most of the trees were bare. In other words all of the leaves have fallen off. However I noticed some bright red and yellow apples still hanging in some of the trees. When I see them I think they look like nature's way of decorating the trees. It makes me wonder about the tradition of hanging shiny, round glass ornaments on Christmas trees. Perhaps it began with people copying what they saw Mother Nature doing.

The Rocket

2009-11-20T07:52:00.000-08:00

It's hockey season in Canada. As temperatures get colder, arenas fill up with hockey players and coaches and referees and parents all across the country. Hockey fans follow the wins and losses of their favourite teams like the Vancouver Canucks, the Ottawa Senators, the Edmonton Oilers, the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Quebec Nordiques and the Montreal Canadiens. And every now and then a player comes along who can inspire great admiration and devotion in fans. Roch Carriere wrote a story about this feeling. It is called The Hockey Sweater. It describes his memories of playing hockey in a small village in Quebec in 1946. He remembers that the two most important events in village life were the Sunday service at the church and the Saturday night hockey game. He writes about how all of the players wanted to be like their hero, Maurice Richard. Richard was nick-named 'The Rocket' and he was one of the greatest hockey players of all time. He began playing for Montreal in 1942 and hung up his skates in 1960 after 18 seasons and 544 goals. In Roche's story all of the young boys proudly wore red, white and blue Canadian sweaters with the number 9 on the back just like the Rocket. They all wore their hair the way Richard did. They did up their skates and taped their sticks the way Richard did. One winter, Roche's mother told him that she would write to Mr. Eaton of the Eaton's catalogue company to order a new hockey sweater for him. His old sweater was too small. She didn't use the order form in the catalogue because she couldn't read English very well. You can imagine Roch's disappointment when he received a Toronto Maple Leaf's sweater instead of a Montreal Canadian sweater. He didn't want to wear the sweater. He wanted to wear the sweater of his beloved Montreal team like all the other boys. Besides, he said, the Toronto team always lost when they played against Montreal! He cried and argued with his mother. When he wore the sweater to the rink all of the other players stared at him. Instead of getting to play at the beginning of the game, his coach made him sit on the bench. When he finally got a chance to play he rushed out onto the ice too soon. The referee game him a penalty because there were already five players on the ice. He was so angry that he smashed his stick on the ice and broke it. The priest , who had been watching the game, told him that he should go to the church and ask God to forgive him for losing his temper. So he went to the church and prayed for a hundred million moths to eat his Toronto Maple Leaf hockey sweater. It is such a charming and funny story because hockey fans today are as passionate about their teams now as they were in 1946. And hockey sweaters never go out of style. A couple of young musicians from Ontario called 'Dala' sing a song about wearing the hockey sweater of a lost love. "I'll be wearing your hockey sweater," they sing, "And you'll be waiting somewhere where it never snows."

If you would like to listen to Maurice Richard reading "The Hockey Sweater" go to
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cD5pctWlzpk&feature=related

If you would like to watch Dala singing :Hockey Sweater" go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=CA&hl=en&v=z5mogq7St1Y

A Flat

2009-11-13T07:24:00.000-08:00

Jenny and her brother Charlie were driving west along the highway. They were returning from a concert in Toronto. As they drove along they chatted about the concert and listened to the radio. All at once, Jenny reached over and turned the music down. "Do you hear that?" she asked her brother. They could hear a loud thudding sound from behind. "You'd better pull over," said Charlie, "It sounds like a flat tire. Jenny turned on her signal, slowed down and looked in the rear view mirror. She pulled over onto the side of the highway and turned into the empty parking lot of a restaurant which was closed for the evening. Charlie opened his door, got out of the passenger side and walked around the car looking at each of the tires. "Here it is. It's the rear tire on the driver's side. It's completely flat. We'll have to change it. You'll ruin the rim if you drive any further on this tire." As Jenny opened the trunk of her car she told Charlie that she had never changed a tire before. "Well, it's time to learn then," said Charlie. "Come on. I'll show you how to do it. Make sure that the parking brake is on so the car doesn't roll forward." Charlie got out the spare tire and Jenny reached into the trunk to get the jack, a pair of gloves, a flashlight and a tire iron. Her brother wedged a rock in front of one of the front tires as an added precaution. Then he bent down and took the wheel cover off the flat tire. As Jenny held the flashlight up he loosened the lug nuts on the rim. Then he showed her where to put the jack under the car just behind the front wheel. He cranked the jack and raised the car up. He told Jenny that he always wears gloves to change a tire because the metal can be very hot if the car has been driven for a long distance. Next he removed the lug nuts, took the flat off and set it aside. Then he put the spare tire on, put the nuts back on and turned them by hand. He said that she should always tighten them on opposite sides instead of consecutively. Then he lowered the car back down to the ground and removed the jack. He tightened the lug nuts again with the tire iron. "That's all there is to it," Charlie announced as they put everything back into the trunk, "It's not exactly brain surgery." Jenny agreed and said that she could probably change a tire now that she had watched her brother do it. As Jenny started the car and pulled out onto the highway again, Charlie said that she would have an opportunity to do it herself the following day. He reminded her that the spare tire was only a temporary tire and she'd have to replace it after she got the flat tire fixed. "You can show me what you learned tomorrow!" laughed Charlie.

Remembrance Day - November 11

2009-11-10T06:21:00.000-08:00

To find out more about Remembrance Day go to:

http://englishdesk.blogspot.com/2008/11/episode-26-poppy.html

Too Shabby

2009-11-06T07:52:00.000-08:00

Nicole went to her closet. She took down a box from the top shelf. She opened it up and took out a pair of leather gloves, a pair of knitted mittens and a pair of black insulated ski gloves. She would wear them later when the weather was freezing. She pulled out a long, woolen scarf and a couple of hats too. "Good," she thought, "these will be fine for this winter and my boots are in good shape too." But when she inspected her old winter coat she knew that it was time to go shopping. The lining was ripped and it hung down below the bottom of her coat at the back. There were two buttons missing too. When she tried it on it was too small. The sleeves were too short and it felt too tight. She wouldn't be able to fit a bulky sweater underneath it. She had to admit that her coat was too shabby to wear for another year. It was time to go shopping. "Oh, well," she thought, "At least there's a big coat sale on at the mall. I should be able to find something on sale." So she called her friend Ying and they arranged to go shopping together. They browsed at a few of the smaller stores to see what was available and to get an idea of the prices of the coats. Then they decided to check out the coats at the big department stores at either end of the mall. They had a huge selection of winter coats. Ying held Nicole's jacket and purse while she tried on one coat after another. After a while they decided to take a break. Nicole had tried on so many coats that she couldn't think straight! It was becoming difficult to make a decision. They decided to have a coffee so she could think about her choices. "Okay," said Nicole, "I really liked the long, black coat at The Cove but it was way too expensive. And I loved the black and white plaid coat at Stella's Boutique but I didn't like the way it fit. It was too loose across the shoulders. And the green one fit better but it didn't have any pockets and I definitely want to have pockets. What did you think about that red one at The Closet?" Ying said that she thought it was really cute but that it was probably too trendy. It would probably be very unfashionable by next year. Nicole had to agree. She never regretted choosing more classic designs for expensive items which she couldn't replace very often. Then Ying reminded Nicole about a coat that she had liked at Sutton's. "It was a burgundy colour and it looked really good on you," said Ying. They finished their coffee and went back to Sutton's. Nicole tried on the coat. The size 6 was a little too snug but the size 8 was perfect. And at 40% off the price was very affordable for her. As she paid for her new coat Nicole thanked Ying for her help. "No problem," smiled Ying, "Now you can help me find some new boots."

Jack-O-Lantern

2009-10-30T08:04:00.000-07:00

It was Saturday the 31st of October. In other words it was Halloween. Louise stopped in front of a display of bright, orange pumpkins at the grocery store. She chose the biggest, roundest pumpkin she could find. When she got home she covered the table with some old newspapers and put the pumpkin on top of it. Her kids, Sam and Lori, came running into the kitchen. "Can we carve the pumpkin now?" asked Lori excitedly. "Did you buy some candy?" Sam wanted to know. Louise said yes to both or them and reminded Sam that the candy was for the children who would soon be knocking on their door. Then she suggested that Sam and Lori think about how they wanted the face of their Jack-o-Lantern to look. Meanwhile Louise took a knife and cut a circle around the stem at the top of the pumpkin. She held the stem and tried to pull the lid off the pumpkin but it wasn't easy. It was still attached to the stringy fibers inside. She cut them away and then trimmed the bottom of the lid. She looked inside. The pumpkin was filled with orange strands and flat white seeds. Sam rolled up his sleeves, reached in and scooped everything out with his hands. Then he used a large spoon to scrape away the inside walls until the pumpkin was hollow. Lori separated the seeds from the fibers, put them in a colander and rinsed them under the tap. Every year they saved the seeds and roasted them on a baking sheet in the oven with a little oil and salt. They made a tasty snack. "Okay," asked Louise What kind of face shall we put on the pumpkin this year?...scarey?..friendly?....happy?...funny? As Lori picked up a marker and started to draw on the front of the pumpkin she told her mom that they had decided on a scary face. She drew two up-side-down triangles for the eyes. Then she drew a long triangle for the nose and finally she made a large semi-circular shape for the mouth with long spiky teeth. "Wow, that does look frightening!" laughed Louise. While she cut out the shapes, Sam and Lori went to get dressed up in their costumes. Lori had decided to go out as a fairy and Sam was going to be a pirate. Louise had just finished carving the pumpkin and was setting it on a a small table in front of the window when Lori and Sam came into the living room. Sam had a scarf on his head, black boots, a patch over one eye and a big gold earring hanging from one ear. He had made a sword out of some cardboard covered with foil and tucked it into his belt. Lori was wearing one of Louise's old party dresses. She also had some wings and a wand in her hand. Louise lit a candle and put it inside the pumpkin. It was just starting to get dark and the Jack-o-Lantern glowed brightly. As she put the candy into a bowl she heard someone knocking on the door. "Trick-or treat!" called the children outside. She smiled as she answered the door to a bat, a robot and a small mouse whose Dad was waiting behind them on the sidewalk. "I don't want any tricks tonight," she said as she dropped some candy into their bags.
More Halloween - http://englishdesk.blogspot.com/2008/10/episode-21-be-careful-out-there.html

A Delicacy

2009-10-22T13:19:00.000-07:00

This week the leaves have really started coming down. On Sunday morning the ginko tree in front of my house was full of leaves. However, by Sunday evening they had all dropped to the ground. They lay scattered at the base of the tree which was almost completely bare. It's funny how the leaves fall. Some fall all at once and others fall very gradually, a few at a time for weeks. Leaves aren't the only things that fall during the autumn. Nuts and seeds fall too. They don't remain where they have landed for very long though. They are quickly picked up by hungry birds and animals. Bushy tailed squirrels hide and bury nuts for the long winter months to come. Acorns and walnuts and chestnuts are plentiful in the area where I live. Most of the varieties of chestnuts which grow in Ontario are horse-chestnuts. They are round and a dark, reddish-brown colour. They are very smooth and hard and shiny. In fact, they look as though someone painted them with lacquer and then polished them to make them look so glossy. Children used to drill holes through the chestnuts, poke a shoelace through the hole and then tie a knot on the end. Then they would play a game called conkers. They would swing their chestnut-on-a-shoelace and try to smash their opponent's chestnut. It was fun but the game was banned because it was too easy to get a conker in the eye. Some serious injuries were caused by the game. Chestnuts also have a thick, green shell or husk which is covered with sharp spikes. They feel very prickly when you pick them up. Perhaps Mother Nature wanted to protect the nuts from hungry squirrels while they were growing on the trees. I remember street vendors selling hot roasted chestnuts from carts in Toronto when I was young. They were a particular favourite of my grandfather's. He used to buy a small paper bag of the freshly roasted nuts on cold winter days and offer them to my sisters and me as though he were offering us a treasure. They had a wonderful smoky, sweet flavour. They truly were a delicacy. The chestnuts which we eat are not horse-chestnuts. They are smaller, sweet chestnuts which grow in China. You can buy them in the grocery stores during the winter. If my grandfather were alive today he would be saddened to know that the chestnut carts in Toronto are a thing of the past. He was nuts about them. In other words he loved them. However I do recall reading in the Toronto Star about a man who started selling chestnuts again. He converted his delivery van into a mobile chestnut roaster and he sells roasted chestnuts at three different locations around the city. Roasted chestnuts are a delicious snack and unlike most other nuts, they are low in fat.

Dirty Laundry

2009-10-16T08:31:00.000-07:00

It was Saturday morning. Kham went downstairs to the basement followed by her two children, Ben and Cara. She had decided to show her kids how to do the laundry because she was tired of doing the lion's share of the housework. In other words she did most of the household chores. "First," she said, pointing to the baskets filled with dirty laundry, "you have to sort the laundry. Make a pile for whites, dark colours and light colours. You don't want to put a red shirt in with the whites or the colours will run and you'll end up with a load of pink things." "Ooooh! I love pink!" said Cara. Ben just rolled his eyes and shook his head. When they had finished sorting everything they had five loads. They put the first load into the washer, put a capful of laundry detergent in and turned on the machine. "Make sure you don't put too much soap in, " advised Kham, "This detergent is concentrated so you only need a small amount." After the first load had finished washing, Ben took the wet clothes out of the washer and put them into the dryer and Cara put the second load into the washer. About forty minutes later they took the first load of clean, dry laundry out of the dryer. They put the second load into the dryer and put the third load into the washer. As Kham showed Ben and Cara how to fold the laundry and make a stack of clothing for each family member, Ben complained, "This is going to take forever!" Kham laughed, "Now you know that clean clothes don't just appear magically every week. We still have to do the ironing too." Kham got out the iron and the ironing board. She poured a little water into the top of the iron, plugged it in and waited for it to heat up. When it started to steam she showed Ben and Cara how to lay the shirts flat on the board and how to move the iron around to get the wrinkles out. Ben held up his first completed shirt to show Kham. "Not bad," said Kham, "Don't forget the collar and the sleeves. They're still a littly wrinkly. It takes a little practice." Kham asked Cara to put the laundry away while Ben was ironing. "I don't want to spend every Saturday doing the laundry," complained Cara. "It's our day off. I have other things to do." Kham agreed. She said that she had other things to do too. She didn't want to have to stay home doing housework all day. It was a problem. They sat down and made up a schedule so that they could share the work and fit it into their busy schedules. They decided that they would have to be a little flexible and adjust the schedule each week. You could say that they ironed out the wrinkles. It's an expression people use when they mean that they solved some problems even when they aren't talking about laundry. And when we talk about 'airing dirty laundry for the whole world to see' it means that people are talking publicly about something that is private and probably shameful or embarrassing.

Talking Turkey

2009-10-08T16:18:00.000-07:00

Baljit and Paul stood in Paul's kitchen early on Sunday morning. Paul had offered to show his friend, Baljit, how to cook a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Baljit's family had been invited for Thanksgiving with Paul and his family. Paul and his wife, Lisa, were empty-nesters now that all of their children were grown up and had moved away. They loved having a big Thanksgiving feast so they often shared their dinner with friends and neighbours. "Okay," said Paul, "Let's talk turkey. Many people think that cooking a turkey is a big deal but I think it's really one of the easiest meals you can cook for a large group of people. It's economical too. Right now turkey is about $1.99 a pound. It's a real bargain especially since I usually make soup and other meals with the leftovers." People often say, 'Let's talk turkey..' when they want to be honest about something even when they aren't talking about turkey. Baljit nodded and looked at the things on the counter; a cutting board, a knife, onions, celery, breadcrumbs and some herbs. "Where do we begin?" he asked. But in fact Paul had already started the preparations a few days before when he had taken the frozen turkey out of the freezer and placed it in the fridge to thaw. It's important to leave a frozen turkey in its original package and allow about t hours for each pound to thaw in order to prevent food poisoning. Paul turned on the oven. "First we preheat the oven to 325 degrees and make the stuffing. We'll chop these onions and the celery and put them in a bowl with the breadcrumbs. Then we'll add some salt and pepper, a little poultry seasoning, some rosemary and sage." After they mixed everything together, Paul got out the roasting pan, the turkey and a ball of string. "Next you have to remove the bag of giblets from inside the bird,"he explained as he reached inside and took out a small bag. "They are the organs like the heart and kidney. I use them to make a tasty soup stock later." They filled the turkey with the stuffing mixture, closed the opening with metal skewers and tied the legs together with string. "Next I make a sling out of string so that I can lift the roasted turkey out of the pan easily....like so. Then we put the pan in the oven." "How long do we have to cook it?" asked Baljit. "You have to give it about 20 minutes per pound so this bird it will take about 5 hours.In the mean time we can make the cranberry sauce and prepare the vegetables. We're going to have parsnips, brussel sprouts, turnip, yams and mashed potatoes. We'll use the pan drippings to make gravy after the turkey is cooked. Then all we have to do is take the stuffing out, carve the turkey and serve it. It's a real harvest feast."
To watch a video on cooking a turkey go to:
http://videos.canadianliving.com/Food-Basics-video-3247-How-to-cook-a-turkey

Whether the Weather

2009-10-02T06:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I didn't drive my car to school. I rode my bike. When I left home the sun was shining but there were some dark clouds in the sky. It was a little windy and cool so I wore a jacket. About halfway to school the sky darkened and it started to spit. Then the wind picked up and it started to rain even more! I pulled over to the side of the road and stopped. I zipped up my jacket and put up my hood. Then I continued on my way to school. A couple of minutes later the rain stopped and the sun came back out. By the time I got to school my clothes were completely dry. I felt pretty lucky. But I didn't feel so fortunate when I went back home. It was raining when the class ended. I didn't leave right at 3 o'clock. I did some work. I thought the rain might let up. It didn't stop so I decided to go home anyway. I put on my jacket. I put up the hood and did up the zipper. I didn't wear my glasses because I can't see when they are covered in raindrops anyway. I unlocked my bike and fastened my school bag onto the rack behind the seat. I wiped off the seat, got on my bike and rode out of the parking lot. I saw the crossing guard who helps students cross the busy street every day. He was wearing a long, bright yellow raincoat. He called over to me. "It's not a very good day for cycling, it it?" I didn't stop to chat. I just waved and nodded as I rode by. I didn't go to the post office or the bank as I had planned because I was really soaked by the time I got downtown. I didn't want to walk around in my wet clothes. As I rode along I thought of a short rhyme about the weather. It goes like this -
Whether the weather be fine
or whether the weather be not,
whether the weather be cold
or weather the weather be hot,
we'll weather the weather,
whatever the weather,
whether we like it or not.
I think it means that we don't have much choice or control over the weather. You just have to get though it even if you don't like it. People also talk about 'weathering a storm'. It means surviving something difficult or dangerous like stormy weather. By the time I walked through my front door my clothes were drenched and my shoes made squishy noises when I walked. My husband took one look at me and told me that I looked like a drowned rat. I said that I felt like one. I was soaked through to my skin. I changed into some dry clothes and made a hot cup of tea to help warm myself up again.

A Fair Day

2009-09-24T14:19:00.000-07:00

Andrew called his friend Nick and asked him if he was going to go to the fair. Nick said that he was going to meet Diego at the fairground at two o'clock and he asked Andrew if he wanted to join them. Andrew said that he did and he agreed to meet them outside the front gates. Just after 2 o'clock Andrew, Nick and Diego bought their admission tickets and walked into the fair. They decided to begin their visit at the midway because the rides didn't look too busy. They bought armbands for an unlimited number of rides for that day because they liked the rides more than anything else. First they went on the roller coaster. Then they went on the giant Ferris wheel. They could see the whole city from the top of the Ferris wheel. They went on the go-karts and the bumper cars and they went on the Zipper too. It was the fastest and the scariest ride at the fair. The heard people screaming and laughing as the ride lifted up into the air and suddenly plunged down again. It was a blast! As soon as they got off the ride they ran to get back in line to ride it again. They went on it four more times. Then they went back to the roller coaster. After a while they started to get a little hungry and thirsty. They bought some hotdogs and pop and went to look at some of the exhibits while they ate. They went into the big hall to see the winner of the biggest pumpkin award. The pumpkin with the red ribbon, the winner, was huge! There were many other homegrown fruits and vegetables and homemade pies and baked goods. There were handmadequilts and knitting and sewing. There were flowers and photographs and pieces of art too. After they looked around the community hall the boys went back outside to try their luck at a few of the games. They agreed not to spend too much money trying to win at them. They thought the games were a rip-off but they played a few anyway. They tried to throw balls into hoops and they tried to break some balloons with darts. They didn't win anything. They decided to go back to the midway and on the way they stopped to watch a tug-o-war. Two teams of big, strong men pulled at either end of a long thick rope until one team was able to pull the rope in its direction. It was funny when the winning team fell backward as the other team was overpowered and pulled forward. The boys went on a few more rides and then they went to look at the farm animals. There were sheep and geese and cows and goats. Some of the farmers brought their animals to enter in competitions. Outside there were owners with horses walking around in front of judges. The horses looked beautiful. They had coloured ribbons and braids in their manes and their glossy coats shone. In another barn they saw a man demonstrating sheep shearing and they saw a gigantic sow with many piglets. After that Nick bought a candy apple and Andrew and Diego bought some pink and blue candy floss. It was sweet and sticky and they laughed because it stuck to their lips and cheeks. They heard some music so they went to watch the Teen Band competition. They hung out there for quite a while because many of their friends were there too. Around 9 o'clock they went on the Ferris wheel one last time to look at the city lights at night. Then they headed home reluctantly because the fair wouldn't be back until next September.

A Hero

2009-09-18T08:02:00.000-07:00

Juan got up early on Sunday morning. He put on his shorts, a t-shirt and his running shoes. After a quick bite he went outside and headed for the park. He usually goes for a run on Sunday mornings but that morning was different. As he jogged into the park he saw people everywhere. It was no surprise to Juan because it was the day of the annual Terry Fox Run. Juan dropped off his pledge sheet with the signatures of friends and neighbours who were sponsoring him to do this year's run. If you sponsor someone for the run you promise to donate money if they participate in the run. The friendly volunteers at the table thanked him and told him where to run and he turned to join the other runners. People in communities all across Canada were lacing up their sneakers to walk or run to raise money for cancer research. And they have been doing it every September since the first run in 1981. It all started on April 12, 1980 with Terry Fox, a remarkable, young man from Coquitlam, British Columbia. On that day he dipped his right leg into the Atlantic Ocean and began his run across Canada. But Terry was no ordinary runner. When he was nineteen years old his right leg was amputated because of bone cancer. But Terry said that he didn't feel sorry for himself. He saw his disability as a challenge. He began to train himself to run on his artificial leg. He wanted to raise money for cancer research. He wanted to give people hope and he wanted to set an example for people with disabilities. He started his Marathon of Hope in St. John's, Newfoundland and planned to finish it by dipping his let into the Pacific Ocean off the shores of Vancouver Island. As he made his way across the country people began to hear about this courageous and determined twenty-one year old man. People became familiar with images in the news of Terry running along the road. They came out to meet him and to cheer him on as he passed through their communities. He struggled against blisters and illness and bad weather conditions but he just kept running. Sadly, Terry had to abandon his run at the beginning of September because his cancer had come back and it had spread to his lungs. He had run 5, 373 kilometres in 143 days. He had raised 25 million dollars by the time he was forced to stop running near Thunder Bay, Ontario. He died 11 months later and Canadians everywhere mourned. But Canadians were so inspired by Terry Fox that they continue his work raising funds through the runs every September. If you ask people to name a Canadian hero it doesn't take long for someone to mention Terry Fox's name. And if you ask people what characteristics made Terry Fox a hero they will probably say his courage and determination. He has been gone for almost 30 years but he will never be forgotten.
If you would like to learn more about Terry Fox and his Marathon of Hope go to:
http://archives.cbc.ca/sports/exploits/topics/71/

Letting Go

2009-09-10T09:33:00.000-07:00

Maria walked along the sidewalk holding her son Josh by the hand. She knew Josh was feeling excited and a little scared at the same time. They had talked about this day since she had registered him for junior kindergarten in the spring. They had gone to visit his classroom and they had met his teacher, Mrs. Vivien. Josh had really enjoyed the visit. He was fascinated by all of the interesting toys and books and colourful posters and equipment. He loved playing at the table filled with sand and trucks and he had even painted a picture during their visit. But most of all he was excited about being with so many other children. And suddenly here it was, his first day of school and now that it was finally here, Josh was a little quiet and shy. In fact he wasn't so sure that he wanted to go at all. Maria told him that everything would be fine and she reminded him about the letter he had received from Mrs. Vivian welcoming him to the class. And she reminded him that the other children were probably feeling the same way that he was feeling. Maria knew that starting school was a big step for her son but she knew that he was up to the challenge. She had checked the Ontario Ministry of Education and Settlement.org websites and found some helpful tips for getting children ready to go to school. She and Josh had had walked to his school together during the summer so that he knew where it was and what it looked liked. She made sure that he was learning to share his things with other children and that he had learned to wait for his turn when he was playing with his friends at the park. He had also been learning to get dressed by himself in the mornings. This morning he had proudly come into the kitchen for breakfast dressed in his new red t-shirt and a pair of comfortable shorts. He hadn't quite mastered doing up shoe laces so Maria had bought him a pair of running shoes with Velcro straps that were easy for Josh to do up. And he was getting better at doing up the zipper on his jacket too. He doesn't need it yet but he will soon when the weather gets cooler. She had also been putting Josh to bed earlier over the last couple of weeks so he could get up early enough to eat a good breakfast and get ready for school and be well rested instead of cranky. Josh and his mom had chosen some crackers with apple butter and some carrot sticks for his snack. The parents had been told not to send snacks containing any nuts because some of the children there had severe allergies. So Maria had to think of some alternatives to peanut butter. Maria was in the habit of visiting the children's library with her son every week. Josh had often enjoyed the reading hour when the librarians would read wonderful books to the children. It was a good was for Josh to practise listening and he often wanted to borrow the books to take home. He could sing the alphabet song and he enjoyed picking out letters and words that he knew and he counted everything. In fact he had been counting the number of school buses that he had seen going by on their way to school. Finally they arrived at the school and made their way to the kindergarten classroom. Josh's eyes lit up when he saw Ali, a friend from the park. He let go of his mom's hand and turned to wave as he put his backpack on the hook where his name was and rushed to join Ali at the sand table.

If you would like to see some websites with tips for getting children ready for school go to:
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/abc123/eng/tips/readkto3.html
http://www.peopleforeducation.com/Default.aspx?DN=2f6e28ba-f318-4079-8546-0218df40089f
http://www.settlement.org/sys/library_detail.asp?doc_id=1004328
The information is provided in 15 different languages.

A Difficult Decision

2009-09-02T08:07:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Grace was invited to a barbecue at the home of some friends. As usual she offered to bring some food with her. "What would you like me to bring?" she asked the hostess. "Well, do you think you could bring a dessert? Gail was going to make a cake but she just called to tell me that she won't be able to because Hanna has taken a turn for the worse. She may not be able to come to the barbecue at all." Hanna is Gail's dog. She has been Gail's faithful companion for many years and Grace would often see Gail taking Hanna for a walk around the neighbourhood or in the park. Of course Grace agreed to bring a dessert and she got busy right away. She didn't see Gail or her husband Max when she arrived at the barbecue. They arrived about an hour and a half later and they both looked very upset. Gail said that they had called the veterinarian who had been treating Hanna and she agreed to see them right away, even though it was a Sunday. Gail's eyes welled up as Max told everyone that the vet had said that there was really nothing she could do. She recommended that they put Hanna down so that she wouldn't suffer. Max said that he and Gail had discussed the possibility of putting Hanna to sleep but they still felt shocked when the vet gently suggested that it was time. Hanna had a cancerous growth on her neck which had been surgically removed early in the spring. Recently the tumour had started growing back and it was a very aggressive tumour. In other words, it was growing very quickly and it was going to cause their beloved pet to suffer a slow and painful death. So they finally agreed to have Hanna euthanized. Gail said that the vet had been very kind and sympathetic. Gail, her husband and their 14 year old daughter had been with their dog when the vet gave her the injection and they all waited together until Hanna drew her last breath. Afterward they wrapped Hannah in a blanket and took her home where they buried her under the trees at the back of their yard. Max said that it had been a difficult decision for them to make. They had always thought that they would want to let Hanna die a natural death at home. But they had finally come to realize that it was more humane to put an end to their pet's suffering. Gail said she felt a bit foolish for feeling so emotional and sad about losing their pet. However most of their friends have also lost pets and they assured Max and Gail that they could understand their grief. They understand that a pet can seem like a family member too.

The Honour System

2009-08-28T06:38:00.000-07:00

It's the end of August and the end of August brings many changes. Jim and Sue are hosting a corn roast and barbecue for their son, Andy and his friends. Jim is standing at the barbecue flipping burgers and sausages. Sue is chatting with Andy's girlfriend, Lynn, as she prepares a salad and Andy is sitting with his buddies talking about their plans as they shuck corn. Shucking corn means removing the leaves which cover a cob, or ear, of corn. Jim had stopped at a roadside stand earlier to pick up the corn on his way home from work. There was no one at the stand, but there were some bins of fresh corn, some bags and a sign which read 'Help yourself - $4 a dozen'. Jim picked up one of the ears of corn, pulled back a few of the outer leaves and saw rows of pale yellow corn like shiny little pearls. It looked fresh and sweet just the way he liked it. So Jim helped himself to some bags and started counting as he filled them. There was a locked metal box where Jim put the $20 bill to pay for the 5 dozen cobs which he had chosen. It's not unusual to see small fruit and vegetable or flower tables at the side of the road in the country. And they usually operate on the honour system. That means that the farmer expects people who take things from the table to be trustworthy and to honour the request for payment. The honourable thing to do is to be honest and pay for what you take even if no one is watching. Andy had put some large pots of water on the stove to boil and when the corn has been shucked he will drop it into the pots to cook it. They they will drain it and serve it piping hot with lots of butter and salt. There are small forks to poke into the ends of the cobs because they will be too hot to hold. Andy's family has a corn roast every year at the end of August. It's a tradition for many people at this time of year. But this year is a little different because Andy and most of his friends are going away in September. Min will be attending Lakehead University in Thunder Bay. She'll be studying Marine Biology. Gabe is flying to Jasper Park Lodge in Alberta where he will be working at the popular resort. Carlos will be moving to Halifax to study art and Jay will be starting an apprenticeship as an electrician in London. Meredith will be flying to Spain where she will be spending the year as an exchange student and Sam will be studying journalism at Sheridan College in Oakville. Andy will be going to a film school in Toronto and Lynn will be going into a nursing program there too. So this year's corn roast is a little different because it's also a farewell party. They are getting together for the last time before they go their separate ways in September.

Make Lemonade

2009-08-24T07:23:00.000-07:00

It was Sunday afternoon. Dianne was picking up a few groceries for the week when she ran into Carla. "How are you?" asked Carla, "I haven't seen you all summer!" "It has been a while, hasn't it!" said Dianne, We've been away at my parent's cottage for a few weeks. We just got back. How about you? How's your summer going?" Carla told Dianne that her husband, Leo, had been laid off in the spring so they had decided not to go away during their vacation. Like many people, they were going to have a 'stay-cation' instead. That means that they were going to stay home for their holiday. Leo works for a company that makes car parts. The company had been having difficulties because of the recession and had laid off over half of its workforce. Carla said that she and Leo had to be very careful with their money because they think that the company may soon close its doors for good. Then instead of being called back to work, Leo will be unemployed. "Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that!" exclaimed Dianne. She was surprised to see that Carla looked so calm about it all. Carla smiled and said that things weren't going too badly after all. She had been able to change her work as a dental assistant from part time to full time. And when Carla and Leo told their three children that they were not going to go away for a holiday, they came up with all kinds of ideas for having fun close to home. They decided to camp out in the back yard when the weather was good. They visited all of the local parks and museums. They went cycling and hiking together. They bought a family pass to the community swimming pool and sometimes they went to the beach because it was only an hour away from their home. They went downtown for the free summer movies on Monday nights and they went to the free concerts in the park on Wednesday evenings. And for the first time in years, they had a wonderful vegetable garden because Leo had had time to plant and look after it. She said that Leo was teaching their children about growing their own food and that they were all becoming better cooks. Carla admitted that she was really enjoying coming home to meals prepared by her family. They had saved a lot of money by doing all of their own cooking instead of buying convenience foods and they had cut down on treats and junk food that they didn't need anyway. "We haven't been this healthy in years!" she laughed, "I finally lost the 20 pounds that I'd been wanting to shed." And she said that Leo loved spending more time with the kids. Carla also told Dianne that Leo was looking into going back to school and getting some retraining. She said that he was looking forward to doing something new. Dianne said that she was really impressed by Carla and her family's positive attitude. "Well, Dianne," said Carla, "You know what they say, 'When life hands you lemons, make lemonade!" In other words you can take what you have, like sour lemons and make something wonderful with it, like lemonade.

Tilting at Windmills

2009-08-14T06:22:00.000-07:00

I was in Kingston for 2 or three days a few summers ago. Kingston is a beautiful, old city on the St. Lawrence River. While we were there, my husband and I decided to take a ferry ride over to Wolfe Island. A ferry is a boat which transports people and sometimes vehicles across the water. Wolfe Island is the largest of a group of islands known as the Thousand Islands and it's a popular spot for tourists and cottagers and boaters in the summer. It's also home to a community of farmers and artists and small business owners as well as people who live there all year. I remember seeing a small art gallery, a hardware store, a book store, a general store and a pub with a deck where we sat to eat our lunch and watch boats and windsurfers sailing past. I also remember seeing signs which read, 'No Wind Mills!' Many of the people who live on the island were opposed to having a wind energy farm built on the island. Some say they case headaches and dizziness and other health problems. Some people object to them because they say that they are noisy. The blades of the wind turbines make a humming or whirring noise as they go round. Other people are against the windmills because they worry that they may hurt local bird and wildlife species. People who support the building of the wind energy farm accused the windmill opponents of nimbyism. Nimbyism is a word that was formed by the first letters of the words in the phrase 'not in my backyard'. While many people know that wind can produce energy that is cleaner than gas or coal or nuclear sources, they may not want to live near the windmills. They want them to be put up somewhere else. Calling their protests nimbyism suggests that the good of the larger community is more important than the concerns of the smaller group of people directly affected by the change. I had forgotten all about the dispute until I returned to Kingston recently and saw dozens of windmills on Wolfe Island. The protesters lost their battle because 86 wind turbines are now operating on the island providing energy for thousands of homes. The anti-windmill group was probably tilting at windmills. Tilting at windmills is an expression that means someone is doing something that probably doesn't have much chance of success. In other words, the opponents were up against very large powerful groups like the government and the wind industry and the public desire for cleaner energy so they weren't likely to prevent the project from going ahead. And the island community is divided too. Some don't mind the windmills and are happy to be able to make some money by providing land for the windmills to be built on. Others are still angry about what has happened to the island. In July there was an interesting form of protest which appeared in the rocks near the windmills. It was a group of 86 clay hands which were holding stones as if they wanted to throw them. The artist who created the hands wanted to depict, or show, the bad feelings which the conflict about the windmills caused in the community.

If you would like to see pictures of the hands go to: http://www.queensu.ca/ensc/events/figgehands.html

Zero Emission, No Noise

2009-08-10T11:55:00.000-07:00

Suli is in the market for a new car. That means that she is looking for a new car to buy. Her 14-year-old beater is on its last legs. She doesn't want to spend any more money trying to keep her worthless , old car running. She knows that it isn't going to last much longer and she can't afford to keep fixing it. She has decided to put her money into something more reliable. She also wants to buy a car that is greener. She wants to buy a car that doesn't pollute the environment and contribute to global warming. A co-worker at the office where she works told her that the government of Ontario has just announced that it will give people rebates for buying new hybrid and plug-in electric cars. Dalton McGuinty, the Premier of Ontario, says the government wants to make it easier for people to buy green, environmentally friendly, cars. So Suli could receive a refund of $4000 to $10,000 beginning in 2010. She's looking into all of her options. She heard a radio program about a car company in Toronto that has been making electric cars for the last few years. It's called the Zenn Motor Company and Zenn stands for Zero Emissions, No Noise. The Zenn car runs using only an electric battery and the engine is noiseless. The Zenn is so quiet that you can hear birds singing when you are riding in it. The battery can be recharged at any ordinary electrical outlet. You just plug it in like a toaster or a hair dryer and it's recharged in about four hours. So it's very inexpensive to operate. Suli felt very interested in the Zenn vehicle so she decided to google the company website to find out more. She wanted to see what the car looked lik, too. She thought the car looked pretty cute. It's a small hatchback with a seat for a driver and a passenger. A hatchback is a car with a back or window which gives you access to the open storage space behind the seats. She decided to see how much the car would cost so she went to the pricing page. She priced a blue Zenn with floor mats, a car radio, a battery insulation system and snow tires. The price was $18,410. She didn't think that was too bad. She also found out that the Zenn is considered to be urban transportation. It was not built for highway driving and is not approved for highway driving. It has a maximum speed of 40 km per hour. It's an LSV, a low speed vehicle. She didn't think that would be a big problem for her because she doesn't do much highway driving and she works in the city she lives in. She could take a train or bus or rent a car for going out of the city. But then she ran into a snag. She read that the Zenn is not available in Ontario and that it is illegal to drive one on Ontario roads even though it is sold and driven all across the US and in Quebec. She was very disappointed. But she hasn't given up. She is going to write some letters to find out more about when the Zenn is going to be approved. She thinks it is ridiculous that green cars developed by a Toronto company are not available in Ontario.

If you would like to look at the Zenn Car go to: http://www.zenncars.com/

The Shield

2009-08-05T07:08:00.000-07:00

We're back from the cottage which Dave and I visited near Parry Sound. We had a wonderful time! As we drove north from southern Ontario the rolling hills and farmland was replaced by rock and lakes and forests. We traveled along the back roads, country roads, until we were just north of the city of Barrie. From there we took the 400 north. The 400 is a four-lane highway which is one of the major routes north. As we drove, the rock of the Canadian Shield became more and more obvious until there were great walls of rock along the sides of the highway. The Canadian Shield is the name of a vast formation of rock which makes up half of Canada. It stretches from the Great Lakes to the Arctic and around Hudson Bay in the shape of a soldier's shield. That's why it's called the Canadian Shield. It is made of granite and contains minerals like copper and iron and nickel and many others. In other words it is rich in minerals. I was surprised to see piles of rocks stacked up to look like people standing on the rocks along the sides of the highway. They were Inuksuit. The Inuksuit are stone figures which were built by the Inuit people from the Arctic regions. They may have been used to mark directions for people and to help hunters herd caribou. There is an Inukshuk on the flag of Canada's newest territory, Nunavit. But these Inuksuit seemed to be guiding us north along the 400. Finally we arrived at the cottage after a short boat ride from the marina where we left our car. The cottage was built out of cedar from a kit from British Columbia by our friend Ed's grandfather. That means that the design and the lumber were sent from BC and it was assembled, built, on the island. Every day we wandered along the shores enjoying the beautiful patterns of the granite rock streaked with sparkling minerals and quartz. We swam in the clear, cool waters off the rocks and explored other islands nearby. We canoed and kayaked and sailed. We shared meals cooked on an old wood stove or the barbecue. We played cards and board games and read and made friendship bracelets. We sang and played guitars and gathered together to watch the sun set. We listened to the call of the loons and the chattering of the red squirrels. We didn't see any rattlers and we didn't see the black bear which had been spotted on the island a couple of weeks ago. That was just fine with me. We watched the moon and looked for falling stars well into the night. We enjoyed being so close to nature. And after we all said our goodbyes we followed the inuksuit on the other side of the highway south again feeling refreshed after our holiday.

The Rattler

2009-07-29T06:29:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I am taking a trip to the town of Parry Sound on Georgian Bay with my husband, Dave and some friends. A sound is a body of water between the main land and an island. When we get there we will take a small boat to reach one of the 30,000 islands near Parry Sound. We'll be staying at an old wooden cottage which has no electricity or running water. There will be no televisions or computers or telephones. We will really be able to relax and get away from it all. I noticed that Dave bought a snake bite kit to take with us. Apparently there are rattlesnakes there so it's probably a good precaution. I have only seen one rattlesnake in my life. I saw it when I was picking wild blueberries on another island in Georgian Bay. I was squatting down with my hands in the blueberry bushes when my friend Bernie said, "Leslie, c'mon over here. You've got to see this." He pointed his stick at a rattlesnake that was sitting in the middle of the blueberry patch with its tail up in the air. "Listen!" whispered Bernie as he moved toward the snake with his stick. As I started moving backward, away from the agitated snake, I heard it begin to make a rattling, buzzing sound with its tail. A rattle is a toy which people give to babies because when they shake it, it makes a noise. The rattlesnake has a small rattle on its tail which it rattles when it is alarmed or ready to attack. "Bernie," I said, "don't get so close! Just leave it alone. It's warning you to keep away." I was busy putting some distance between myself and the rattlesnake. I decided that I would call it a day for the blueberry picking. In other words, I decided not to pick any more berries that day. I didn't want to come across any more rattlers. I'm afraid of snakes, even little ones. But rattlesnakes like the Massasauga rattler are snakes which you should definitely avoid because they are venomous and they are endangered. They can grow to 76 centimetres and they have thick bodies and a diamond-shaped head. I checked a Parks Canada website for more information. It advises people to wear long pants and hiking boots in areas where there are rattlesnakes. It also said that you should watch were you walk and that you should use a flashlight at night. If you do see a rattlesnake you should stay calm and slowly move away from it. Only two people have died from rattlenake bites in Canada but if you get bitten you should get help right away. You should wash the bite well and stay as still as possible to keep the venom from spreading. Fortunately for me, my bucket of blueberries was quite full when Bernie and I met up with the rattlesnake that day. There were enough blueberries to make a beautiful wild blueberry tart.

It's Canadian, eh?

2009-07-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

"Do you realize that you said 'eh' about fifty times when you were talking?" That was the question my son, Lee, asked me the other day. "No way! You're exaggerating!" I told him. And he was exaggerating. I had only used 'eh' about four times not fifty times. However, he was right. I had been using the famous little Canadian word more than usual. Lee's comment made me think about 'eh' and how we use it. I guess it slipped into my conversation because I was at home and I was chatting with my family and my neighbour in a very informal, relaxed way. Usually people don't use 'eh' at work or at a job interview or in more formal situations. But we often use 'eh' when we meet people at the grocery store or on the street when we are exchanging pleasantries about things like the weather. We might say, 'Nice day, eh?' or 'What a summer, eh?' What we are doing is using 'eh' at the end of a sentence as a tag question like 'isn't it?' or 'don't you think?' We are expecting the other person to agree with what we have just said. For example if someone is at a barbecue he or she might say, 'This chicken is delicious, eh?' And the response would probably be something like, "It sure is." or "Mmmmmmhmmm." or "Yes, it's very tasty." Sometimes people use it to make sure the other person is interested and understands what they are saying. For example someone who is describing a soccer game might say something like this, 'Tom passed the ball over to Anil, eh, and then Anil took a shot but it bounced off the goal post, eh. But Mike got the rebound and kicked it right into the top corner, eh, for the third point of the game." The listener doesn't have to say anything here but the speaker is watching for the listener to nod or murmur to show that he or she is following and interested in what the speaker is describing. It can also mean 'okay?'. For example, 'You put the plates in this cupboard, eh?' Of course, not everyone uses the word. Some people never use it, some people use it occasionally and some people seem to use it all the time. I think it's just a habit that people fall into in certain circumstances without even realizing it. It's just automatic. There was a pair of comedians who created a couple of very popular Canadian brothers call Bob and Doug McKenzie. They had a show called 'The Great White North.' They poked fun at some of the perceptions or ideas that people have about Canadians and some of the things that we sometimes do like saying 'eh'. They used to sit around in coats and plaid shirts and toques and talk about hockey and beer and the weather. They demonstrated a few Canadian habits in a very exaggerated way and they made us laugh at ourselves and some of our habits. Anyhow, that's all for today. See you next time, eh?

To take a look at the McKenzie Brothers go to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Rp9MXoBNL8

A Win Win Win Situation

2009-07-23T06:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, it didn't rain. Well, that's not entirely true. When I woke up, it wasn't raining. And it didn't rain at all during the morning or during the afternoon. However it did rain later in the evening. But for a little while it stopped raining and the wind dried things up. So, shortly after lunch I heard a familiar sound that I wasn't surprised to hear. It was the sound of lawn mowers everywhere. The wind had made the grass dry enough to cut. One after another, people hurried outside to mow their lawns and trim around the edges. Some people are obsessed by the idea of having the perfect lawn. They water it and make sure that there are no weeds and that every blade of grass is neatly trimmed. I could hear the roar of my neighbour's noisy gas lawn mower just as I finished eating my lunch. In fact it was the sound of his lawn mower that reminded me that I had intended to cut my lawn too. As I went to get my lawn mower, I saw Lily, the woman who lives across the street, walking back and forth across her front yard with her push-mower. It doesn't make much noise, just a gentle clicking of the blades as they rotate. We used to have an old electric mower that my husband bought at a yard sale. But when it finally died we replaced it with a push-mower too. The electric lawn mower was a pain because it had a long electric cord that connected the machine to the outlet in our kitchen. It was a nuisance to try to cut the grass without running over the cord. Actually I ran over the cord so often that it was covered in electrical tape where it had been patched. I know that my husband was afraid that one day he might find me in a heap in the back yard after receiving a fatal shock from the machine. So when I suggested that we purchase a push-mower, he quickly agreed. I have noticed that there has been a definite trend toward push-mowers in my community. I guess that non-motorized machines are becoming more popular again because they are quiet and simple to use. They don't break down the way gas and electric mowers do and they are less expensive to run. The newer machines are much easier to push than the ones I remember using as a child. They are smaller and lighter and the blades stay sharper longer. And of course, push-mowers are environmentally friendly too. You don't have to burn gas or use electricity to run them. They run on people power. All you need is an able body to run a push-mower. It's a win-win-win situation. You don't pollute the air, you get some exercise and your grass looks great.

A Soggy Summer

2009-07-20T08:14:00.000-07:00

For Canadians, at least in Southern Ontario and Quebec, this summer has been a bit of a washout so far. Usually July is hot and sunny and everyone enjoys complaining about the hot, humid weather. July and August are usually the best months for spending time outside; camping, swimming at the beaches and hanging out at pools. We are usually sweltering in the dog days of summer by now. We call the hottest days of the summer the dog days. But this year it has been cool and windy and soggy. It seems as though every time I look at the sky there are dark clouds hovering there. And just when I think the temperature is going to climb, cool air breezes back in. I asked my friend Cliff, how he is enjoying his new air conditioner and he said, "What air conditioner? We've used the furnace more than the air conditioning this summer!" I have resisted turning on my furnace. Instead when I feel cold I make a hot meal or some tea and put on a sweater. I still wear shorts when I get up early to play tennis with my buddy, Marilyn. But I really have to get moving to stay warm. Yesterday morning, it was raining so hard that we couldn't play tennis at all. So we left our racquets at my house, put on our jackets and went for a walk instead. We played again this morning. But after 45 minutes it began to rain lightly. We just kept playing until finally we had to stop because of the droplets on our glasses. We simply couldn't see well enough to play any longer. Every time I check the forecast, the temperature is well below normal for this time of year and it seems that every couple of days we get more rain. Last Friday afternoon it rained so heavily that the street was filled with water. Heavy rain came teeming straight down for about half an hour. It's good weather for ducks. Gardens look lush and wonderful and lawns look green and healthy. But farmers are hoping for some sun and heat to help their crops grow. Certainly the weather was unkind to strawberry farmers this year. Local strawberries were not plentiful because there wasn't enough sun to help them ripen fully and many of the berries simply rotted on the plants. So it was a disappointing season and less profitable year for berry growers. Corn and tomatoes and other crops are growing very slowly this year too. The lack of sunshine and heat is stunting the growth of many crops. If the wet weather continues mould will become a worry too. And there have been reports of a potato blight, a fungus, affecting potato crops in Ontario. On the upside however, there have been fewer smog alerts. In other words the air quality has been better. Today it's about 16 degrees Celsius right now and even though I see some gray clouds in the sky, the sun is shining. So I'd better get out and soak up some sun before it disappears again. And I think I'll take my umbrella just in case!

Food for Thought

2009-07-17T09:50:00.001-07:00

Last night when my husband, Dave and my son, Lee and I were eating dinner we heard the sound of a noisy truck stopping on the street. We were curious about what it was so I got up to take a look. Dave and Lee looked alarmed when I told them that there was a big yellow fire truck parked outside. But I told them I didn't think it was anything serious because the lights weren't flashing and we hadn't heard the sound of a siren. I hadn't seen any smoke or signs of a fire either. As we continued eating we tried to figure out what the fire truck was doing on our street. I suggested that maybe there was a gas leak in the neighbourhood. Our neighbours had been doing a lot of renovationg so perhaps they had hit a gas pipe when they were doing work in the basement. Lee's eyes widened and he looked worried because he had heard about a gas explosion which had destroyed some homes last year. But Dave said I was just being an alarmist and that there was probably no reason to get worried. He was certain that emergency workers would evacuate the street immediately if there was a gas leak in the area. Before we could continue our discussion we heard a knock at the door. There were two firemen there. They told us that they were visiting homes in the community as part of a Home Fire Safety Program and they wanted to ask us a few questions. We all breathed a sigh of relief and asked them to come in. First they wanted to know the number and location of our smoke alarms. It is the law in Ontario that all homes have working smoke alarms. They also asked if we had battery or electric alarms. We have battery alarms so they asked if we check the batteries regularly. Dave piped up and told them that he is in the habit of checking them from time to time and that he changes the batteries every New Year's Day. Then they asked about a carbon monoxide detector. A carbon monoxide detector will make a noise if there is a dangerous level of carbon monoxide in the house. Detectors are recommended because carbon monoxide is a colourless odorless gas that can kill people very quickly. It is given off, or emitted, by gas engines and stoves as well as burning wood and charcoal or barbecues. We do have a detector in our home but it is in the living room on the main floor. The firemen recommended that we put it up on the second floor where our bedrooms are. They told us that we are more likely to notice a problem with the gas when we are awake. It would make us feel sick and cause headaches. But if you inhale carbon monoxide while you are sleeping you probably won't wake up,ever! They also wanted to know if we had discussed an escape plan with our family and if we had decided on a place to meet outside the house in the event of a fire. They said that unnecessary tragedies, deaths, have happened when one family member has rushed back into a burning home to find someone who has already left. They left us with some fire safety material and a questionnaire to fill out and return to the Fire Department. And we went back to finally finishing our dinner with some food for thought. In other words they gave us something to think about.

For some facts about smoke alarms go to:
http://www.firesafetycouncil.com/english/pubsafet/fasa.htm

Taking the Plunge

2009-07-14T06:06:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of June Ben and Evan's mother, Ann, signed them both up for swimming lessons. The two brothers complained about taking swimming lessons again this year. Ben is ten and his brother Evan is seven years old. They told their Mom that they would rather stay home and play or go to the park instead of going to swimming lessons. For just a moment Ann was tempted to agree. It meant that for two weeks she would have to get the boys up early, get them fed and get them dressed and get them to the pool on time for their lessons. And she would also have to get Kara, her 18-month-old, ready to go too. It seems like a lot of work sometimes; getting everyone ready, finding their bathing suits and dry towels every day, packing snacks for afterward, and convincing them all to leave the house on time. Then she has to wait at the pool with Kara until the lessons are over. Sometimes she wonders if it is worth it! But she knows it is. There is so much water in Canada that it is essential to learn to swim. She and her family love to spend time at the beach when the weather gets really warm and they usually get invited to her aunt's cottage in Huntsville every summer. The cottage sits on the rocky shores of a lake and there is a dock that they can swim from and a canoe they can use. And from time to time the children go to the the home of their friend, Nick and Nick's family has an in-ground pool in the back yard. So Ann doesn't listen to their complaining. She knows that learning to swim is an essential skill for kids. They will also learn about water safety and life saving techniques as they progress through the levels each year. Ben can already do the front and back float, the side stroke and he is beginning to learn the breast stroke and the front crawl. And of course Evan is always trying to keep up to his older brother. Because of their swimming lessons they feel comfortable around water and it's a great way for the whole family to have fun and get some exercise together. Ann feels sorry for her neighbour's daughter, Hannah. Hannah is afraid of the water and she doesn't know how to swim. Neither does Hannah's mom. So every time Hannnah gets invited to pool parties, her Mom says she can't go. And Hannah says that she doesn't want to wear water wings or a life jacket around water anymore. She says it makes her feel like a baby. And she'd like to be able to swim in the deep end of the pool with Ben and Evan instead of staying in the shallow end. Ann suggested that Hannah and her Mom join them at the pool so they can see what the lessons are like. Then they can sign Hannah up for the next session. So Ann will be taking them with her today. Ann feels pretty sure that once they see how much fun the instructors make learning to swim, Hannah will want to take the plunge and start to get over her fears. If you take the plunge, it means that you are going to jump or dive into the water. We often say that someone is going to take the plunge when they start something new. This year the City of Toronto is offering 8 weeks of free swimming lessons for 100 non-swimmers to help them overcome their fear of water, protect them from drowning and enable them to get into the swim of things. That means they'll be able to enjoy the water like everyone else.

Shipshape

2009-07-09T11:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my husband, Dave, and I got an early start to the day. We packed a picnic lunch and filled some water bottles. We got our life jackets and drove to a small lake which is about 20 minutes from our home. As we passed the lake, we counted three small sailboats, a kayak and a handful of fishing boats scattered along the shore. We parked our car, got out and walked down to a dock where the sailboats were bobbing around. There had been a steady breeze blowing in the city but it was stronger by the time we got to the lake. We walked along the dock until we came to our boat, the Bonnie Lassie. It's an old sailing dinghy. A dinghy is a small open sailboat. It's almost 30 years old but it's in great condition. We bought it a few years ago from an old couple who had decided that it was time to give up sailing. I remember the day we found the ad for it in the Toronto Star very clearly. Dave and I were sitting in our backyard having a coffee one sunny Saturday morning. We had searched for a boat that we could afford for a long time. The previous weekend we had driven for about four hours to look at a used boat near Owen Sound. We were very excited about it but the sight of that boat really took the wind out of our sails. In other words, we were really disappointed. It had 'lengthy home project' written all over it when we were looking for 'hoist the sail and go'. We didn't want to spend all summer fixing up an old boat. So we drove home with dashed hopes! The following Saturday morning over coffee, I told my husband not to feel discouraged, I would find him a boat. I opened the newspaper to the Used Boats section of the classified ads and there it was! There was an ad for an older Wayfarer in excellent condition for an excellent price. I almost spilled my coffee as Dave lunged at the newspaper, grabbed it out of my hands and sprinted to the phone. He called the number and made an appointment to see it the next morning. The following day, we carefully took the scenic route home from Toronto with grins on our faces and the Bonnie Lassie in tow. As we learned to sail our little boat, I came to realize how many expressions we use in English that come from sailing. If things are going well and there are no problems you can say that it's smooth sailing. There are many ropes used on a boat and a good sailor knows how to use them all. So if you want to talk about how someone is doing at learning a new job, you can say that he know the ropes when he is getting the hang of it or learning to do it well. And often when people are sailing they have to tack or change the sails to change direction so they can reach their destination. So if you want to try to do something in a new way, you can say that you are going to try a new tack. There weren't too many sailors out on the lake yesterday. The wind kept getting stronger and gustier and dark clouds appeared in the sky. So after a couple of hours we sailed back to the dock, dropped the sail and made sure that everything was shipshape until next time.

On Strike

2009-07-06T04:50:00.000-07:00

Toronto is a wonderful city. In fact, I'm planning to go there in a couple of weeks. If you asked me to describe the city I would say that its exciting and multi-cultural. I would say that there is always something interesting happening there. I would say that it has wonderful restaurants with cuisine from all over the world. I would tell you that it's easy to get around Toronto because it has a transportation system that includes buses, streetcars and subways. I would tell you that it's safe and friendly and usually I would tell you that it's clean. But it's not so clean at the moment. City garbage collectors have been on strike since June 22 and the garbage is starting to pile up. The garbage workers are part of CUPE, the Canadian Union of Public Employees. The union represents 30,000 municipal or city workers. Union representatives were negotiating with the City of Toronto before the strike deadline at midnight on June 22nd. That means that they were talking together and trying to solve some of the disputes or problems with items in the worker's contract. Some of the disagreements in this strike are about wages, worker's seniority, sick days and being called back to work after layoffs. Workers do not want to lose benefits which they have earned after years of bargaining and the city says that it cannot afford all of their demands. In other words the city says that what the union is asking for is too expensive. After the strike deadline passed without an agreement, members of the union walked off their jobs. That means that they stopped working and went on strike. Instead of doing their jobs the employees are walking on picket lines. They are picketing at the temporary garbage dumping sites. That means that they are walking with signs that tell peple who they are and why they are on strike. Many people who live in Toronto are upset about the strike because it is making their lives unpleasant. They can drop off their garbage bags at temporary dump sites but there are long lines and there is a 3 bag limit. There is also a $350 fine for leaving garbage bags at the gates of the dump sites. And because other city workers are part of the same union, they also had to walk off their jobs. Some daycares and swimming pools and summer camps are closed too. Fortunately it has not been a terribly hot summer because I'm sure that when the temperature goes up tempers will flare. Many people are tired of having smelly garbage around. They are angry that people who have good jobs are on strike when so many other people have lost their jobs because of the recession. Many people resent the benefits that unionized workers receive because they do not belong to unions. And some people support unions because they believe that the actions of unions and the collective power of employees has made things better for all workers in Canada. Other people are angry at the City of Toronto and the mayor because they think that a strike should have been avoided and that the city is saving a lot of money because it doesnt' have to pay the workers. Unions and strikes are always hot topics. In other words they are controversial.

A Taste of Summer

2009-07-03T08:24:00.000-07:00

Julio and his wife Carmen got up early on Friday morning. They put on some old clothing, packed some water and sunscreen and got into their car. They drove out of the city and turned onto a country road. As they drove along the gravel road they watched for a small strawberry shaped sign that read 'Pick Your Own'. When they saw the sign they turned and followed the long, dirt pathway until they saw a few cars. They parked and got their wide-brimmed straw hats and walked over to the table at the side of the strawberry fields. They said hello to the woman who was standing there and asked her how the picking was. "Oh, there are lots of berries today. It was slim picking last week but after all of the rain and sun we've had the plants are full of berries. It won't take you very long to fill a basket." Every year Julio and Carmen visit the strawberry patch to pick fresh strawberries. You can buy strawberries at any time of the year but they have to be flown or trucked from far away and after the long trip north they just don't taste much like strawberries any more. Nothing compares to the flavour of fresh locally grown strawberries. And picking your own berries is cheaper than buying them at the grocery store. So, it has become a summer tradition for Julio and Carmen. They always go to the same strawberry farm and the farmers seem like old friends now. Carmen asked for six 6-quart baskets because she was going to make a batch of strawberry jam. After the farmer gave them the baskets she told them which row they could pick. They took their baskets, put on their hats and walked to the end of a long row. When they reached the end of row number eight they squatted down and began picking. They picked only the plumpest, ripest berries. They left the rest behind to ripen because strawberries don't ripen after they have been picked. As they picked, Julio popped a few berries into his mouth. He laughed and said that he was doing quality control. In other words he had to keep eating the berries just to make sure they were good. He told Carmen that they were sweet and delicious. Carmen knew they would make wonderful jam. Julio always says that he can taste summer when he spreads the jam on his toast in the winter. After they filled all of their baskets they took them back to the farmer's table to pay for them. On their way home they stopped to pick up some sugar and pectin for the strawberry jam. Carmen already had lots of jars from previous years. Julio suggested that they get some whipping cream and little white cakes so they could eat strawberry shortcake for dessert after dinner. Carmen thought that was a great idea. They always try to get their fill of strawberries during strawberry season because it is over so quickly and then they have to wait for a whole year to taste them again. So they bake them into strawberry pies and tarts. They slice them and put them into salads. They eat them with vanilla ice cream and Julio even likes to cut them up and put them on toast with peanut butter. Strawberry season usually lasts for about 3 weeks in June. The only good thing about the end of strawberry season is that it's the beginning of raspberry season!

The Village

2009-06-30T06:43:00.000-07:00

Last night I watched a movie which my friend Kate recommended to me. It's called One Week and it's about a young man's answer to the question, What would you do if you were told that you only had one week to live? The main character, Ben, chooses to take a road trip across Canada from his home in Toronto. Although he meets many interesting characters on his adventure, the most interesting character that he encounters is Canada itself. If you want to see some of the most spectacular landscapes in Canada you should watch this movie. There are so many significant landmarks and familiar Canadian symbols packed into this movie. At the beginning of the film he rolls up the rim of his Tim Horton's coffee to read a message that tells him to go west. The Tim Horton’s Donut shops have a contest every year and you have to roll up the edge of the cup to read a message printed there to see if you have won a prize. So he decides to take the advice of the coffee cup and take a road trip west on a motorcycle. He rides through the rocks and lakes and forests of Northern Ontario to the spectacular shores of Lakes Superior. He gazes out over the Red River Valley from wheat fields in Manitoba. He rides through the vast plains of the prairies in Saskatchewan and into Alberta until the Rocky Mountains rise up in the west. He photographs himself in front of many of the large tourist symbols like the giant nickel in Sudbury, a giant Muskoka chair, a giant hockey stick, a giant fish and a giant teepee. In Manitoba he wanders into an arena where he kisses the Stanley cup for luck. He is amazed by the Arora Borealis, the northern lights that light up the night sky with a green glow. He stands in awe of the giant redwood trees in British Columbia. As he heads out to surf on the Pacific Ocean off Vancouver Island a young tourist couple that he meets tell him that he lives in one of the most beautiful countries in the world. He smiles and simply says, "I know." And tomorrow Canadians all across the country will be celebrating this great country. July the first is Canada Day. It is the anniversary of the signing of the British North America Act which means that Canada became independent from Britain on that day in 1867. Canada became a country with its own government even though we still maintain connections to Britain. The word Canada comes from the Huron and Iroquois word ‘Kanata’ which means village. Originally there were four provinces in Canada; Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. But there are now ten provinces and three territories in the ‘village’. Tomorrow there will be parades and fireworks and barbecues as people get together to wave the flag and wish Canada a happy birthday.

It Sounds Simple

2009-06-26T05:34:00.000-07:00

As Ying walked through the front door of her apartment she heard the sound of laughter coming from the kitchen. "Ah, good." she thought "Min is home from school." She could also hear the voice of her daughter's friend, Asha. Asha lives down the hall from Ying and Min and the two girls are in the same grade at school. They often keep each other company while they wait for their mothers to come home from work. As Ying walked into the kitchen she saw Min taking careful aim before she flicked her finger and sent a flat wooden disc shooting across a large wooden game board. "Hi girls." she said smiling. "What are you playing? I've never seen this game before. Is the computer broken?" Min laughed, "It's crokinole. It's an old game but it's fun. Asha has been teaching me how to play. It's not difficult. Here, I'll show you." Ying looked at the board. There was a large circular surface inside a wooden frame in the shape of an octagon. There were three rings around a hole in the middle and some small wooden pegs around the inner circle. Min picked up one of the pieces. "Each player gets to shoot 12 discs. We stand on opposite sides of the board and you can make a shot from the outside line of your shooting zone. The object of the game is to get as many discs on the board as you can and the closer the discs are to the centre, the higher your score will be. Each shot that you get in the centre is worth 20 points. Discs in the inner circle are worth 15 points. You get 10 points for discs in the middle circle and 5 points for the ones in the outer circle." Ying said, "Oh, that sounds simple." Asha laughed, "Well, it's not quite that simple. If the other player has any discs on the board you have to make sure that your disc touches one. Otherwise your shot is no good and your disc is taken off the board. You also have to be careful not to hit those little pegs in the middle." Ying set one of the discs on the outer circle and got ready to take a shot. "Oh, and you can also try to knock your opponents discs off the board." Asha added. Ying took a shot and it went flying right off the board. She thought it was trickier than it looked. "It's easy," said Min, "once you get the hang of it. You just have to practise." Asha told Ying that her Dad had taught her to play crokinole. Every June Asha's father and some of his buddies enter the World Crokinole Championships in the small town of Tavistock, Ontario. Hundreds of crokinole enthusiaststs come from all around to compete in the day-long tournament which is held at the local arena. The winner receives prize money of $1000. Many Canadians claim that crokinole was invented in Tavistock in the 1800's. Other believe that settlers brought the game with them from other countries. Bill Casselman, the author of the Canadian Word of the Day says that the word crokinole probably came from the French word 'croquignole' which means 'to flick'. He also writes that it is just like the British pub game called squails so the game probably came from Britain with the early British immigrants. But don't tell that to anybody in Tavistock!

If you would like to watch a short video about the game go to:
http://worldcrokinole.com/
Bill Casselman's Canadian Word of the Day can be found at:
http://billcasselman.com/cwod_archive/crokinole.htm

Nancy's Father

2009-06-23T07:33:00.000-07:00

I was sitting in the waiting room at my dentist's office last week when I met a very funny man. As I walked into the waiting room I noticed an older couple sitting there. They smiled at me. Then the man looked at the big bag I was carrying and said, "I bet you don't know what's in there." I laughed and said something... and sat down to root around in my bag for my notebook. I like to read or write when I'm sitting in a waiting room. I'm not very patient and I'm always nervous when I go to the dentist. And often people just sit quietly staring at the walls or reading the magazines. But not this time. There was going to be some small talk. So I put down my pen and looked up. "Do you think summer is ever going to get here?" he asked. I admitted that it had been very chilly lately and that summer was certainly taking its time this year. Then he told me a story about his neighbour. He said that he was coming home from the grocery store when he saw his neighbour standing in front of her house holding a cat in her arms and looking very upset. He went over to her and saw that she was holding the cat in one arm and the cat's tail in her other hand. He asked her what happened. She said that she had run over the cat's tail with her car. "Well, at least you didn't kill the cat!" he said. But she said she was so upset because it was her neighbour's prize-winning show cat. Her neighbour took the cat to cat shows and competitions all over the country. She didn't know what to do. The man told me that he said she should take the cat to Walmart. "Walmart?" I asked, looking confused. He looked me straight in the eye and delivered the punch line. "Yup, Walmart. It's the biggest retailer in North America!" He really took me by surprise with his joke. I laughed and so did the receptionist and another patient who had taken a chair by the door. Then I started to realize what a joker he was. When the letter carrier came in to deliver the mail he asked her if she wanted to go for coffee. She laughed and said, "Some other time." He asked me all kinds of questions which would normally be considered nosy. But he was so charming and fun that I didn't mind. And by the time I was called for my appointment, I hadn't even had time to be nervous. During our conversation I discovered that he is the father of a friend of mine. Nancy's not a close friend, more of an acquanintance. We've worked together and we usually have a quick chat when we run into each other. I'll have to let her know that I met her father. And now I know where she gets her sense of humour from. Last Sunday was Fathers Day in Canada. It's a time to celebrate all of those men we call Dad, Pops, Papa, Pa or Father.

No More Pencils

2009-06-19T08:35:00.000-07:00

There is a little rhyme that children love to say in June. It goes like this - No more pencils, no more books. No more teacher's dirty looks! It's usually said with great excitement and glee as students rush out of the school doors for the last time of the school year. I remember how long the summer seemed to stretch ahead before me in June. Over two months of freedom and fun before we had to go back to school in September. And as I got older, like most of the kids I knew, I began to work during the summers. First I worked picking berries at a local raspberry farm. And later I worked as a counselor at a YMCA summer camp for kids. I cleaned offices. I worked at a factory that made electric shavers and I worked in a little cafe. And now my son is working at a grocery store until he leaves for university in the fall. In Canada university students have been off since May and high school students are busy writing exams. Classes will also end this week for elementary students; students from kindergarten to grade 8. And I have been wrapping things up in my class too. That means that I have been bringing the class to an end. I teach an Adult ESL class which is run by the public school board. Because I live in a small city in a rural area there are not as many ESL classes available here as there are in larger cities. It is a multi-level class. That means there are beginners, intermediate and advanced students in the same class. It has continuous intake which means that students my join the class at any time during the year. And it is a non-credit course which means that students do not receive a certificate or assessment at the end. This year students from one of the city high schools also joined the class. So the ages of the students ranged from fourteen to seventy. Many of the students are newcomers to Canada. Some students come to the class to get their feet wet and to get their speaking skills going. If you say you want to get your feet wet it means that you want to get started or begin something. Others come to improve their language skills and to find out about the 'soft' skills which they need to succeed and to find out about the next steps which they will take to get jobs or continue their education. Soft skills go beyond the technical aspects of a job and include the ways we use language to relate to our task and other people and organizations. Some students want to improve their lives by communicating more easily in English. They may be interested in helping their children at school or being able to use the telephone or understand their family doctor. Others come to improve their English skills after they have been laid off from their jobs. They understand the importance good language skills have on finding employment. We like to celebrate the end of our school year together. So yesterday we had a picnic in the park. We brought food and drinks and games. It was a good time to say goodbye and to exchange addresses and phone numbers so new friends can keep in touch with each other over the summer.