Special Sunday - Happy Thanksgiving Canada

Happy thanksgiving Day to all my family and friends in Canada.  When I moved to California four years ago, we celebrated the Canadian thanksgiving at our home since my friends from Canada were visiting.  It was fitting to have a small gathering and they were so happy that we had a thanksgiving dinner.  The second year, we still celebrated it but only my MIL and my cousins were with us.  The third year, we did not do anything since everyone is not really into it in October as they only celebrate the US thanksgiving which is the last Thursday of November.  Since every Sunday we have my MIL for dinner, it's almost like every Sunday is a special day.  It all began the year I moved in with Jeff and we have continued since.  Since Jeff still works, the weekend is perfect for spending time with family.  Although I see my MIL during the week, Sunday is her time with Jeff.  Let us give thanks to all our blessings.

Simply Saturday - My new bed ensemble

It must have been all those beautiful fall colors that inspired me to start looking for a a new duvet cover for our bed.  After checking several stores, I ended up buying it at Kohl's using my the discount that my MIL gave me for this week.  Today I decided to make some new decorative pillows to match our new bed ensemble.  Two of the pillows were the right size and I thought of just making a new cover.  The one accent pillow was a different shape and I actually did not have enough material so I just used left over fabrics.  My friend Jean was over last night and she was giving some ideas on what color to use as accents.  She couldn't believe that I did all that sewing just this morning.  I asked Jean, my sister and my daughter to pick one arrangement of the new pillows.  Introducing my new spring like bed ensemble which makes me really happy every time I go into our bedroom.

My sister liked this arrangement.

No one chose this one.

Jean and Alysia liked this one.  Notice the word on the lace of the middle pillow.

All three pillows were made within a couple of hours. I was very pleased with what I had accomplished this morning.  It was nice to have left over fabrics, lace and buttons.

Friendship Friday - Thank you

Friendship is sometimes complicated but most of the time is just easy, fun and amazing.  Last month I was very lucky to be able to reconnect with some of my BFF's and special friends and of course my immediate family.  It was also a beginning of new friendship which makes life full and complete.  Today I wanted to acknowledge those friends that made my trip so special.  Of course I am so grateful that I was able to spend time with my daughter and her hubby who has a very busy work schedule.

• Percy - thank you for everything.  The road trip was short but sweet and I am glad I did not have to experience "quiet time".
• Rose and Lulu - thank you for taking the time to hang out including our golf and casino day but mostly just talking and sharing about life, reminiscing and how to fold t-shirt.
• Lorna - thank you for having us for part of the weekend during your moving days. Percy and I had a good time organizing one of the rooms.  I wish I could have stayed longer to assist you with your closet.
• Bob and Jacinta - thank you for getting everyone in Ottawa to come out and meet us for drinks at the pub.  It was such a nice surprise to see the rest of the gang.
• Catherine - thank you for taking time off your busy schedule and meeting Alysia and I for lunch.  I'm sorry that I was not there 100% but I know you understand.
• Al, Christy and Maricris - Thank you for lunch and for taking the time to hang out.
• Manny and Carolina - I'm so glad you guys were so flexible in getting together for dinner, last minute plan and it all worked out.
• Marg - Maybe nextime I'll try to stay a little longer than half an hour but I am still glad that we were able to see each other even for a short time.
• Sandy - Spending the day with you in the country and seeing all the changing of leaves was very peaceful.  The side trip that we took made my visit more complete. Thank you.
• Russ - thank you for making a detour to meet us for lunch. I hope you did not miss the appointment with that guy.  Hopefully you enjoyed the treats along the way.
• To all my friends who attended the Wednesday get together at Lone Star, thank you for taking the time so we could all reconnect.
• To my friends who worked downtown, thank you for letting me in the building in order to reconnect with you guys.
• Alex and Jamie, it was a fun-filled awesome wedding.  You two will have a happy married life for many many years.  Jeff and I had a great time and it was nice to reconnect with other friends from our work.
• Anna - thank you for getting up earlier in order to meet us for lunch, then coffee and a ride to the airport.  It was nice to take the airport train from T3 to T1.
• Alysia and Mike - Thank you for showing us what downtown living is like and of course all the training of how to take public transportation.  It was fun but sometimes a little overwhelming.

 

Truthful Thursday - Small town hospitality

It's truly amazing how small town folks are genuinely polite, kind, helpful, and friendly.  We experienced so much of this while we were touring the Maritimes aka Atlantic provinces of Canada.  You wouldn't believe what this man who was just doing his job on a beautiful Thursday morning.  He actually stopped three lanes of traffic going towards the bridge to Halifax.  He did this for me who was a little confused and had missed my exit which was by the way, was not marked, there was literally no sign.  Apparently everyone from there knows that exit.  I was a little funny because I was almost in tears because I'm petrified of bridges specially high ones.  Aside from the fear, I wasn't even destined to cross that bridge

I needed to exit so I can find my hotel in Dartmouth.  

      

When asking for directions, the people are so helpful without hesitation.  One night we had dinner at a newly open bar with a pool table but serves Chinese food.  Different but great bartender who took care of us and had a great time tasting several types of local beer.  Some of the wonderful people I met was Louise from New Brunswick (great sightseeing tips)and Susan from Halifax (enjoyed her company on the Ferry).  We also met some really nice people while staying at the Summerside Inn.  Margaret and Harry from Winnipeg, Manitoba who actually know exactly where Cranberry Portage is. 

The one disappointment we encountered was this female who was traveling on the GO train at the Toronto's main station downtown.  Since we are not so familiar with their platform #s

we made a mistake of asking this particular female where #11 was.  Her response was "GO  find it". only to find out that she was also headed for the same direction on the same platform on the same train. I guess some of these people are getting tired of tourists asking for directions.  I guess this is big city attitude.  This is an isolated incident, right.  After all, Canadians are known to be polite, friendly and just plain nice people. 

Whirlwind Wednesday - So mixed up

After being away from our home for almost a month, it's taking me a few days to get back to the swing of things which includes my blogging.  There are so many things to share during our trip but I also have some other things to share.  For today I will just do a mixed up of photos that I have taken within the last few days.  Since I might have new readers/followers, I really wanted to keep my posts current and hopefully make it more interesting to view.

Something new to try.  It's actually not bad if you like cheese and garlic.  This might only be available in the US.

It's like Christmas in October. When I arrived my MIL gave me a bag from my cousins. I love all my early present.

 

Jeff and I decided to get our Halloween treats early. Only our favorites - in case of leftovers.

I remember when my friendly neighbor bought this last August.  This is one of my favorite flower.

A pineapple slice with a half of a Klondike Heath Ice Cream bar.  So yummy!

Maleficent Monday - Many movies

What is different about Air Canada's aircraft?  It's the screen behind each seat that allows passengers to watch movies during their whole flight.  I am sure some other airline has that as well, but I can only share my recent experience.  While on our vacation, I flew on AC from SFO to YYZ and then from YYZ to YHZ and return.  During all those flights, I was able to watch the following movies.  This is really something for me since I don't remember how long ago since the last movie.  What I really love about this feature is that you can start a movie as soon as you get on your seat and finish it until you actually have landed.  Of course sometimes there are some quick interruptions due to their announcement which has to be completed in both English and French.  But even with that, I was able to complete most of the movies I have picked.  In no particular order, here's my list. 

• Maleficent
• The Amazing Spiderman 2
• The Other Woman
• The Grand Budapest Hotel
• Jack Ryan Shadow Recruit
• 22 Jump Street       
• Uvanga (Canadian short story film)
• Trading Day (watched it with my daughter at their home) 
• Chef (another movie I watched with my daughter)         

This is the most number of movies I've seen in a month.  If I can count on my memory being great, I know that usually I see one every year.  So I am guessing, I am good for a while. How many movies do you watch in a week, month or year?  According to my daughter, I am not very good at picking movies to watch.  Hopefully you all have seen what I have seen.

And here's a short list of movies that I might see while my girlfriends are visiting:

• If I Stay
• The Song
• When the game stands tall

                                   

Seafood Sunday - Freshness at its best

Lobsters, crabs, mussels, oysters, etc.  I once heard someone said he was trying a new diet,

a seafood diet, he sees food, he eats food.  A little corny but that's what happened while visiting the Maritimes.  Their seafood were so fresh that you cannot help but try them all.

I was going to just eat lobsters every night for dinner while we were there but after two big meals, I really cannot eat as much.  Everyone recommended to eat different types of seafood and I did.  There are no words to describe but I thought I'll just share the photos of our meals and you can decide yourself.  The good part of all these dining out during our vacation is that I came home, got on the scale and I am the same weight when I left.