Peeps Primavera

First of all, I would like to wish a big, fat Happy Birthday to my little brother, "Weethy," who turns the big 3-0 today! Here's a picture of him with his dog Koa. Personally, I liked my 30th. Such a nice, round number for an age. Anyway, think a good thought today for Weethy as he enters his third decade. The weather here is a delightful 45 F (7 C) and it really feels like Spring. One of the things I really missed while living in Southern California were the seasons. Everyone who moves to So Cal says this. Sunshine is wonderful most of the time, but a little variety is nice too. There's a sense of achievement when you don't have to bundle up all the time. Easter is also coming up and for me that means one thing: Marshmallow Peeps. Specifically, it means Peep-a-palooza. I started Peep-a-palooza in my office in 2003 when I heard that you can put Marshmallow Peeps in the microwave and they blow up to enormous sizes and mutate into blobs. (View it for yourself.) Then, when you take the Peeps out, they shrink up and harden and taste like a toasted marshmallow. DELICIOUS! So, every year, around Easter, I wear my traditional Peep t-shirt and blow up some Peeps real good! This year, I can't seem to find any Peeps in any local stores. Now, the Peeps website says that Peeps are sold in Canada. In fact, Canada is Just Born's (the company that makes Peeps) largest international market. But I can't seem to find any. I sent an email to Just Born and, hopefully, I will get a response in time. It just won't be the same without my traditional mutilation of candy chickens and bunnies. A PEEP FACT! In 1953, it took 27 hours to create one Peep. Today, it takes six minutes.

A Little Peak Into the Mind of Baby Boy

Here's just a quick peak at what Baby Boy is up to right now. You see, there is a dog at his day care named Ruby. BB is quite taken with Ruby and so as we get closer and closer to the house, he starts barking. Or more specifically, he says "Woof! Woof! Woof!" He'll continue woofing as we get to the door and he'll immediately start looking for Ruby. When I pick him up at the end of the day, still more woofing. It's a good thing that he's not started to screech like our crazy cats. When he's not woofing, he's singing. He just make sounds in a kind of singsong way, but he thinks he's singing, so that's all the matters, really. I suppose he's just preparing for American Idol 2025.

Brush With Death at the Grocery Store

OK. I'll tell you guys this, but don't judge me. Alright, so I'm at the No Frills to pick up some diapers, baby wipes and a frozen pizza (by the way, DiGiorno pizza in the U.S. is known as Delissio in Canada, which I like better, but I digress). So, I get my cart. Carts here in the city have a little coin slot in which you have to put a quarter in to release the cart. When you return the cart, you get your quarter back. It's to prevent people from just making off with the carts. I've learned to always keep a quarter in my car ashtray. Well, the actual shopping trip was pretty uneventful and I got all that I needed. I managed to avoid the guy selling baskets in the parking lot and I got to my car with no problem. That's when danger struck! I turned away from the cart to put Baby Boy in his car seat. I then started to hear a horn honking. I foolishly chose to ignore it. When BB was all strapped in, I turned back to the cart and SURPRISE! the cart wasn't there. It, in fact, had rolled all the way over to the No Frills gas station and ran into a gas tanker truck. The horn was coming from a pickup truck and I thanked him, despite the fact that I completely ignored him. I then ran across the parking lot before a roving band of squirrels could steal my pizza. I was pretty embarrassed. But at least BB wasn't in the cart. That would have been pretty bad. But, he wasn't in the cart, so no problem, right? Please say that's no problem. A CANADIAN FACT! The average Canadian eats about 10 1/2 kilos (or just over 23 pounds) of pizza per person, per year.

Honestly Ed's

First of all, I'm getting a lot of positive feedback from friends and family about this little venture of mine. I had no idea that anyone would read it other than my L.A. friend, Sundry. But to my complete surprise, it seems that I have several readers out there. So, well THANKS. I really appreciate it. Anyhoo, this past weekend the Fambly went to the long-standing Toronto institution, Honest Ed's. For 58 years, Ed's has been a tribute to shopping gluttony. From the outside, it looks like a Vegas casino, but inside you can buy virtually anything you can think of. I saw food, kitchen supplies, clothes for men, women and children, electronics, rugs, a pharmacy, a beauty salon and more. Granted, the items come in when they come in (like a Big Lots) and the bargains are only for select items, but if you only have time to go to one store, this would probably be your best bet. Actually, the most interesting thing about Ed's is the decor. There are dozens and dozens of stage posters hanging around the store. Ed Mirvish, "Honest Ed" himself, was a prominent Toronto stage play producer (Mirvish Productions is currently running the big Lord of the Rings musical) and posters for some of his plays are on view. Also, there are tons of signed headshots of people like Dean Martin, Liberace and Gloria Swanson. I normally don't get claustrophobic, but I was getting a little panic-y. Also, it was pretty had to maneuver the baby stroller with all the stairs. The elevator only went up and down to a few floors and only in one side of the store, as the store consist of two buildings connected by a walkway to allow customers to travel from the west building to the east building. There are tons of signs with prices on the store in a very specific style. Devoted Husband and I thought it was a computer generated font, but I guess that every piece of signage, right down to the prices of individual items, is a hand-painted showcard created by a traditional in-house signpainter. There's a job that I didn't know existed. Now that I've been, I doubt I'll be back soon, that is until my Mom comes up for a visit and has a need for a souvenir moose with a Canadian flag on it's tummy. A CANADIAN FACT! In July, 2005, Ed Mirvish celebrated his 91st birthday with a lavish party, to which all of Toronto was invited, at Honest Ed's.

My Current Currency, My Changing Change

One of the most exciting aspects, for me, of this whole move is the new money I get to use. This is because I'm a complete nerd. But also because it's just fun to use another country's money after using only one kind of money your whole life. For many reasons, Canadian money is neat. For instance... 1. It's very pretty. Canadian paper money has lots of lovely colors (or colours, if you will) and quite a varied palette. Each denomination has a different color theme and show a Canadian Prime Minister (except for Queen Elizabeth II, who appears on more currency than anyone). But depending on which series there might be a Canadian scene and a prominent quotation on the reverse or another series with native Canadian birds on the reverse like an owl or a loon. And speaking of loons... 2. One and Two Dollar Coins Canada has all the same small denomination coins as the U.S. (penny, nickel, dime, quarter) but they also have two large denomination coins. I love the one and two dollar coins they have here. They are known as the Loonie, for the picture of the Loon on the one dollar and the Twoonie, as a pun on Loonie, respectively. The best part of these coins is that when you paw through your change you may wind up with some of these dollar coins and Blammo! substantially more money than mere nickels and dimes. It doesn't take much to excite me, really. And since there are no one dollar bills... 3. Paper money is always at least five bucks. Have you ever reached into your jeans and found a dollar. Well, in Canada if you reach in your pocket and feel a bill, the LEAST it can be is five dollars. That's eating out money, my friend! 4. You can see Queen Elizabeth age right in front of you. As you can see, the portrait of Queen Elizabeth changes on the money as she gets older. One of the pitfalls of putting a living person on your currency, I suppose. I do know that she formally sits for each official coinage portrait. It's even more obvious on the larger bank notes. I'm sure she's not a fan of this, but it's pretty educational for me. I almost feel bad for her and then I remember she's the QUEEN OF ENGLAND! 5. If you leave a bunch of change as a restaurant tip, you don't look like a cheapskate. 'Nuff said. A CANADIAN FACT! The first currency used in Canada were Spanish dollars. There was no single Canadian national currency until the Uniform Currency Act was passed in 1871.

Baby Boy Photographica

Not much going on right now, because Baby Boy has a bit of a cough and we have stayed pretty close to home, other than going to the Real Canadian Superstore, which I must admit is pretty super. So, in place of an actual Tale of Toronto (ooh, that should have been the title of the blog!) I have links to some older pics of Baby Boy from Christmas and his birthday. Baby Boy's First Christmas Baby Boy's First Birthday Party But in place of a longer posting, I'll give you... A CANADIAN FACT! Three oceans border Canada: the Atlantic on the East, the Pacific on the West and the Arctic on the North. ANOTHER CANADIAN FACT! According to the Canadian Encyclopedia, the beaver has "had a greater impact on the history and exploration of Canada than any other animal or plant species." Go Beavers! AND ANOTHER CANADIAN FACT! The only Canadian ever to serve as Prime Minister of Great Britain was a man named Bonar Law. I don't know who that is or what he accomplished, but isn't that an AWESOME name? Bonar Law! His name is actually Andrew Bonar Law, but he chose to go by Bonar Law. Somehow I doubt that anyone named Bonar Law would hold high office today. AND ONE LAST CANADIAN FACT! On average, according to Environment Canada, a drop of water which finds its way into Lake Superior from runoff or rainfall takes more than two centuries to travel through the Great Lakes system and along the St. Lawrence River to the ocean. That means, water which entered Superior in 1802, didn't make it to the Atlantic until this year!

Our First Month

It's been one month since the fateful night that we arrived in Toronto for good. And oddly enough, there has been more snow in the town that we just left than here in the Great White North. My friend "Sundry" (who herself has an awesome blog Any Given Sundry) took this picture near her home, just a little bit north of my old stomping grounds. In other news, Toronto is currently enjoying the highest temps in years. It IS super windy though. Here are some odds and ends that I've learned from my past 30 days in T.O.: There aren't any parking meters as such. There are machines that you can put coins in or use your credit card or ATM card to pay for street parking. That's pretty neat. When you put your money in, you get a little slip of paper to put in your windshield. If you come back and have some time left over, you can then give the slip to some nice family with an adorable Baby Boy and then the nice family can park for free. Oh, it's true! It happened to me. Believe it! There are these little cars called Smart Cars. They are wee little cars that can tool around the city and they are adorable. They are so tiny that they can park front-first into a parking space on the street and still only stick out as much as regular size car. I love 'em. It's weird to see really familiar items that are just a little bit different. For instance: Oreos. Eveyone knows Oreos. Yummy cookie, right? Well, in Canada they are manufactured by a company called Christie. And on the package it says, "Mr. Christie, you make a good cookie." Who's this "Mr. Christie?" What about Nabisco? I'm so confused. And they have all these weird Kit-Kat candy bars with peanut butter in them. Or orange or banana flavor Kit-Kats. Or Reese's Peanut Butter Cups with caramel in them. Or Aero bars with yogurt in them (!). These Canadians do love their candy that's for sure. There are three candy shops within walking distance from my house. It also makes me think that the US has been focusing so much on deep-frying technology involving Twinkies and Snickers bars and whatnot, that we've dropped the ball on chocolate advancements. Speaking of which... A CANADIAN FACT! The most popular candy bar in Canada is Coffee Crisp. Enjoy!

OHIP-Hip-Hooray!

Happy Tuesday! It's kinda spitting snow flurries right now. The weather can't make up its mind what it wants to do. Yesterday, Devoted Husband and I rode the rails around the city and took care of some errands. We had to go to the OHIP office. OHIP stands for the Ontario Health Insurance Plan and is the legendary Canadian Health Care System. We have a three month waiting period before we can actually get covered, but soon we will each get a card (much like a driver's license) that will cover all our medically necessary services. We will have to see how it works out once we actually try it. Once again, we had a very easy time with the governmental offices. I haven't had any problems with the many different offices that I've had to deal with. The people are all friendly and helpful and I don't have to wait for extended periods of time. They are always a pleasure. Thank you Federal, Provincial and City workers of Ontario - you always do a fabulous job! A CANADIAN FACT! Canada is the only foreign country permitted to have an embassy on Pennsylvania Ave.

A Touch of Spring

While it is raining pretty hard right now, we just had the most beautiful weekend. It was a balmy 50 degrees and the streets and parks were overflowing with people. On Saturday, we all went out to run some errands and to find a good library. Toronto has libraries all over the place (mini Canada fact: it's the largest public library system in Canada with 99 branches), but the one closest to our place is undergoing repairs so we have to find another. The branch second-closest to us has pretty slim pickings and is pretty small. So, he hopped in the car and drove a short while to the S. Walter Stewart Branch, which has an awesome selection and a huge Children's Floor that allows Baby Boy to wander around without bothering any adults. I guess you could say that libraries are pretty important to us. As I was saying, it was a beautiful weekend and so on Sunday we decided to take advantage of the weather and go to the public park that is near our place. So, since I know what my readers want, here it is! PICTURES OF BABY BOY! Baby Boy and I walking. He doesn't have to hold my hand, I'm just trying to turn him around and steer him towards the playground equipment. Here is Baby Boy getting very excited to see the playground equipment and all the other kids. Yay! Swinging! There are a lot more pictures, but Devoted Husband has to tidy them up a little. We also took some videotape, which we don't do nearly enough. Anyway, we had a lot of fun and after swinging and sliding and running around and falling down, we went back home. A CANADIAN FACT! According to the CBC, Canadians eat more doughnuts per capita than any other country and more than three times as many as Americans.

Adventures in Walking

I was walking on Friday morning in the misty rain and since it was Trash Pickup Day, I began to look down at the different trash in front of the houses I pass on my way to work. You can learn a lot about people, certainly, by the garbage they produce. "Ooh, they drink really expensive wine." "They really like chicken nuggets." "I have no idea what that is. Do you eat that?" This is just one of the many cool things you can see while walking. As they say, "nobody walks in L.A." But everyone walks in Toronto. I like my walk to work every morning which is still a lot faster than my L.A. commute was. I like the sights and sounds of the city in the morning. I like seeing the headlines on the about half-dozen daily and weekly newspaper boxes on my route. I like singing silly songs to Baby Boy in his stroller. And I like being nozy when it comes to my neighbor's weekly chicken nugget consumption.

A Truly Filthy Post

When I told people that I was moving to Toronto, almost every person would say how clean the city was. Well, I've been here for a few weeks now and I'm not really seeing the legendary cleanliness of the Greater Toronto Area. It's pretty much as dirty as any other major city, which is odd since there are tons of garbage/recycling bins all over the city. Maybe it get cleaner in the summer or something. Yesterday, Devoted Husband (who, by the way, hates that nickname, but until he comes up with something better, it stays) went to the hardware store to pick up our new recycling/garbage bins. Here in Toronto, the garbage is divided up into three categories like so: Organic: Food, food-related rinds, bones and peels and items that involve human by-products (i.e. tissues, diapers) Recyclable: Cans, bottles, jars, paper, etc. Garbage: Styrofoam, tin foil, baby wipes, miscellaneous Everything has to go into it's own special bin and has to be put out on the appropriate garbage day. Organics go out every week and recyclable and garbage go out every alternate week. There is a special garbage calendar and everything. It may sound a little complicated, but it's not really that bad once you get the handle of it. There is a more official list of what items go in what bin and we're slowly learning. I actually like doing it since, at least in theory, there is something being done to help the environment, if only in a small way. A CANADIAN FACT! You may know that Canada's National Anthem is O Canada -- but, you may not know that although it has been sung since the late 1800's, it wasn't proclaimed Canada's National Anthem until 1980!

I Won An Oscar...by association

Not much going on, other than I was quite excited that Crash won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Although I haven't seen the movie, I did do the research for it and so, in a way, I also won an Oscar for Best Picture. Of course, that "way" would be incorrect, but it is still officially a way.

Clive Owen Watch Day One

It's very very cold. And windy. Windy and cold. But, it's raining in LA so I don't feel so bad. I just snuck down to the studio commissary to get a soda (or pop, as they say up here) to have with my lunch and possibly try to sneak a peak of Clive Owen, who apparently is shooting a movie on the lot. I have long thought that Clive Owen is rather non-descript. I know I am in the minority amongst most of the ladies that I know, who think he is a very attractive man. Eh. He doesn't do anything for me. At any rate, I didn't see anything of note. This morning, however, I met Ben Chin. He is running for a political seat representing my neighborhood. He asked me for my vote and I didn't have the heart to tell him that my vote was no good. Last week, Devoted Husband lost a filling and so he had to go get that fixed and last night my glasses, which had been sooooooo close to breaking for a while now, finally did, in fact, break. When it rains, it snows. The reason that the glasses finally did break was because Baby Boy has repeatedly grabbed my glasses off my face and then threw them to the floor. Repeatedly. I blame him totally and, rest assured, I will invoice him for the replacement pair once he gets his first paycheck. A CANADIAN FACT! Toronto is home to the CN Tower, the world's tallest building at 1815 Feet(and also quite visible on my walk to work).

Very Nearly Settled In

OOOOOKKKKKKAAAAAAYYYY. Well, I'm in my office. My Internet is working correctly. I'm actually doing work (sorta) and everything is seems to be on the right track. We got our stuff on Monday and Devoted Husband is currently going through everything and unpacking as I write this. This afternoon we need to drive out to the hinterlands to look at our car and then we will pick it up tomorrow. Mind you, we have to rent a car every time we have to drive out to pick up our stuff through customs. So, it's all adding up for us. Now that we will have our car as of tomorrow, I hope we can hold off on the endless spending. Well, what have we been up to? We did a lot of official government business, all of which has gone surprisingly well (KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK on wood). We went to various grocery stores to check out which one we liked. I think I like No Frills best. Although the prices are something to get used to. We found day care for Baby Boy, which he seems to like well enough. My parents came up for a visit and they liked the area we live in, although I assume that they will like it a helluva lot more when the weather gets warmer. We walked a lot (natch) since we are currently vehicle-less. Fortunately, our new apartment is centrally located so it turns out that we are near quite a few important offices and, of course, not that far from my office. Naturally, we had to keep bundled and warm. We also took our first Toronto subway trip when we went to an underground shopping mall. Eh. It was a mall. I was more excited to see The Bay, a huge 14 floor department store in downtown Toronto. I bought a measuring cup and that was pretty cool. The other big news is that Baby Boy is now walking! He started the day that we moved our stuff out of the condo and he hasn't stopped yet. I'm amazed at how quickly he is learning and getting better and better at it. He's getting so big. And now I'd like to present... A CANADIAN FACT! The current population of Canada is 32,805,041 people and 80% of this population lives within 100 miles of the U.S. border including the 2.48 million people who live in Toronto proper. Also... ANOTHER COOL THING ABOUT CANADA! Last night on CTV I got to watch American Idol and premiere of The Amazing Race back to back without having to switch channels and I also didn't miss any of either show, even though in the US they overlapped for a half hour. YAY CANADA!