Canadians - getting to know us

Getting to know us - getting to know all about us - 

Myth #1

The entire country is COLD - all the time.....................

Actually the country is cold during the winter months - most definitely - but has progressively been getting warmer in the last 10 years or so.

The summer months - especially in Montreal and Toronto ( which are right across from American borders ) are more often then not unbearably hot.  Although you won't find too many of us complaining about that - we tend to just suck it up knowing that winter will eventually come - and that we do complain about.

source
Winter skating at the Rideau Canal

Source
Montreal in summer

Myth #2) 

Our country is policed by men dressed in red ( and on horses ) 

big points if you remember this guy!

source

Although the RCMP ( Royal Canadian Mounted Police ) DO dress like this for special occasions - 

they are an elite police force who normally look like this

source

They are a federal entity - we are each policed by our individual cities and provinces

Myth #3) 

Moose and Beavers happily live amongst us  

In fact the only beaver I have ever seen is the one on our nickel

and the only moose I have ever seen is the one on our quarter

and the only time I've seen them together other than in my wallet is on this

Now it may be an entirely different story for people living in rural areas - but like I said most of us live next to the American borders - in very busy condensed cities - which are beaver and moose free

4)  We're beer swigging liberals

source

Although admittedly we do love our beer -  we also love wine - 

and ummm let me see - gin and tonics - and bloody mary's - and rum & cokes - and pretty much any alcohol

out there.

AND our current goverment is the Conservative party ( the equivalent to the Republican party ) 

5) We do not live in igloos

although with this crappy economy it may soon become a viable alternative - and for that I suppose we should be grateful for snow ( I think I'd have a couple of windows installed - with some nice drapes ) maybe have a fancy schmancy deluxe sled parked outside. Maybe a smaller version in the back for guest or for
painting my furniture.
or maybe I'd opt for something more like this, not sure yet

Daniel Gray has built an igloo made from 500 colorful ice bricks, making this a truly magnificent structure. Gray, who is from New Zealand, built the icey shelter in Canada while visiting his girlfriend Kathleen Starrie. "My girlfriend's mother had a brilliant idea of building an igloo and thought it would keep me busy, away from her daughter in some respect,” Gray told the Global Edmonton.
Click here for more information ( in case you want to build one of your own ) lol

6) Universal health care is a bad thing

Sorry but this is the biggest myth of all - For the most part we fiercely protect this - we do NOT wait months and years to be treated - we make a doctors appointment and are seen ( usually within a couple of weeks ).

I know there was a Canadian women on American commercials during the elections complaining about our health care system - but she must have been paid big bucks to do that - survey after survey shows we would

not have it any other way......................and although I know there are Canadians that go to the U.S. for operations at times - there are a lot of Americans ( particularly the ones that live close to the border ) that get there medication from Canada - ( Sarah Palin admitted doing so even ) so I think that particular myth rounds itself out............................. 

7) We are a gun free nation

NOT......................... this is big gun country - ( just ask any moose you happen to see - he could just be happily and lazily walking by and WHAM - but not in the city, remember moose do not wander around our cities   ) we have huge hunting territories and this is a huge Canadian past time   and then you have the type who hunt and kill humans unfortunately - we also have them.

8) We are the politest nation in the world 

Excuse me while I snort with laughter on this one - I think this might date back to the 1800's when we were a new country - and easily intimidated - or even as close back as up to the 60's when the WHOLE WORLD was politer, although I WISH we could claim that title, it's simply not true.

Again in the rural areas the people are indeed lovely - and take the time to wish strangers a " good morning " in the cities we're grabbing a coffee and trampling over people to get a seat on the metro just like every where else ( except for me - I am extremely polite - and always say " excuse me, before I trample over anybody - it's how I was raised ) 

9) We do not say " aboot "

I can tell  you I have never, not once in my life, heard anyone pronounce " about " that way - The only time I have heard this word pronounced like this is when it refers to winter foot wear.  As in " what do you call this? "

source

Well - it's " aboot " of course....................

10) Toronto is not the capital of Canada

The Capital of Canada is Ottawa - not Toronto

Source - Our Parliament buildings

oh and about " eh" ?

We are guilty on all counts on that one - it's definitely not a myth - we all say it lol - kind of like Southerners say Y'all...............

We say it at the end of almost every question - don't know how it started but I know it's definitely a Canadian thing.
I know a lot of people who swear they never say it - and then end the next sentence with it - it's an unconscious thing I suppose.

And most of us do love our Hockey - without a doubt.............. 

So there you have it - 

Canadians are just like, well, let me see...............who are we most like?

Y'all have a wonderful weekend, eh?
See you Monday!

BLOG BUTTONS FOR DUMMIES ( blog face lift )

A new look for my blog!
As some of you have noticed I had a face lift - well my blog did anyway.
This is quite literally as good as it's ever going to get - because I cannot - absolutely cannot spend another 2 minutes on this endeavor - I'm exhausted - I'm frustrated - I have a huge headache - and I am
not going to admit to ANYONE how long it took me to update my blog - you wouldn't believe it even if
I did..........................( let's just say " what a difference a day makes - 24 little hours " ) almost!

That I was able to accomplish even the little I did is flabbergasting because I am a complete idiot when it
comes to these things ( these things being anything to do with a computer and html )
Picture if you will - a person walking into an operating room - and trying to remove kidneys with nothing more than a laptop to guide them through it or a person who's never seen the inside of a car - trying to
change the ignition - first of all it was terrifying ( don't judge - it doesn't take much to scare me )
secondly it was complicated - to the point of almost crying 15 times - and thirdly it just left me feeling incredibly stupid.

If at first you don't succeed - try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try and
try try try try try try try try try try try try try again........................

I worked for hours on trying to create a button - it doesn't matter how many hours it took ( a lot ) because
I really should have been able to do it in a couple of minutes.
After searching all kind of sites - and doing what they swore would work, I'd keep coming back and trying it
and no button - over and over again.
Until I found this site  My Cool Realm and 5 minutes later I had a button -

After creating and uploading my button - I typed in 3 pieces of information - and presto - my code was generated which I simply copied and pasted onto html/ java in a new " gadget ".  This is one of the best help sites I've ever encountered in blogland - they should call it " buttons for dummies " really!
If you need a " button " and are as inept as I - PLEASE visit the site - instead of spending all day banging your head on to your desk.  Simply click on the below

http://www.mycoolrealm.com/sandbox/gbgen/

So.............any of you need a kidney removed?
I'm quite confident now that I could do it...............
( I don't own a laptop - so bring your own please )
First patient gets a HUGE discount.
And I'm contemplating giving myself a real facelift - how hard can it be?
Bet I could do it quicker than it took me to do this!
A little tuck here - a little clip there - a little lift everywhere - sew it all up and voila!!!
Have a good wknd everyone!
Hugs,

Sharing with:
Setting for Four
Debbie Doo's
Sweet Little Gals
Home Stories A to Z
Kathe with an E
The Rustic Pig
Homework

The Crown Jewels

Some more smoke and mirrors for you ........................
When I was staging my Mother's house for sell - I went over budget - and was left with no choice but to accessorize here and there with items I found at the dollar store - some of which I decided I wanted to keep.

This was one of them

It's hanging high enough on the wall that you can't tell it's made of plastic ( hopefully not anyway )
And I placed it inside a simple white frame box.

John says - why are you dragging a dining room chair around?
Suzan says - I have to take a picture of my " bust "
John says - Pardon me?
Suzan says - I have to take a picture of my " bust "
John says - Oh God - please don't tell me you're posting about your breast reduction
Suzan says - WHY WOULD I NEED A DINING ROOM CHAIR TO TAKE A PICTURE
OF MY OWN BUST??????????????????
Suzan says - Sometime you act like a big " boob "
Suzan says - Sometimes you make no sense at all
Suzan says - Sometimes you drive me nuts, absolutely
John says - HAH - that's rich my dear - that's rich
John says - Why don't you turn that thing around and show everyone what happened when you dropped it?

and this is where I plan to hide my crown jewels ( when I acquire them that is )

Now looking at it I think it's a brilliant idea really - I should go stock up on them - drop them all on the floor
and sell them as the perfect hiding spaces for jewellery!

Suzan says - Can I have your TAG watches John for a couple of minutes?
John says - WHY?
Suzan says - I just want to put them in the back of this " bust " so I have a photo to show something valuable hiding in it.
John says - NO you cannot put my TAG watches in the back of a dollar store broken ornament.
John says - END of discussion period.......................

What do you think?  Good idea?  Am I on to something?
Much better than your typical " book " safe, I would say

From Michael's if anyone is interested - pretty isn't it?

My crown jewels would never fit inside that puny thing anyway
My crown jewels are life sized so I'd need something like this to accommodate them

 they'd have waterfront property at least!

Y'all have yourselves a wonderful first weekend of the year now, y'hear?
( I really hate posting photos of my kids - just because of all the creepy sites out there )
( probably for the same reasons I was terrified to let them out of my sight for 20 years )
( I was the most overbearing - stifling - neurotic - mother on the planet - and THAT's the truth )
( have to work on these issues I have )

P.S.
John says - well now that you've told everyone where you plan to hide things I would never consider
putting my watches in that head anyway - what's the point?

So if any of you were even considering hopping on a plane to Montreal - to break into our home - and go straight to the shattered head in hopes of finding John's watches - really - you'd just be wasting your time.
Except for Caroline from Piorra Maison - she's been here already - have you checked to make sure your
watches are still there John ?

Cost for this project?  $1.00
My crown jewels?  Priceless



Sharing with
I Should be Mopping the Floor
Uncommon Designs
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Home Stories A to Z
Knick of Time
Kathe with an E
twelveOeight
The Rustic Pig
Life on Lakeshore Drive
Creative Cain Cabin

I WANNA live there # 21

I live in a pretty incredible area - It's an historical neighbourhood loaded with tons and tons and tons of charm - and 20th century architecture, just steps away from the city center, it's also a pretty expensive neighbourhood ( in which I live in servants quarters basically compared to what I'm surrounded by ) 
Because there's days I don't have furniture makeovers to show you - I've chosen Wednesdays to showcase and feature one home that's for sale around here.................( or apartment - or duplex - or teepee )
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

It's January - and I'm ( already ) ready for the snow to leave - I wish I was a skier so that I could enjoy this a little more - since it's right here at home

Mont Tremblant, Quebec

Instead I'll sit at my computer and dream a little - think I'll do a little sub series of vacation homes this month!

Link to this charmer can be found here
Hyannis Port, Massachussetts
( you can hang out with the Kennedy's if you're ever bored )

$1,995,000 

5 br  /  2 full baths , 2 partial baths

It makes me want to do a happy dance
It makes me want to move

                                                     IT MAKES ME WANT TO SHOUT

 KICK MY HEELS UP AND SHOUT

 THROW MY HANDS UP AND SHOUT!

THROW MY HEAD BACK AND SHOUT

COME ON NOW, SHOUT!!!!

HEY HEY HEY HEY

DON'T FORGET TO SAY YOU WILL

DON'T FORGET TO SAY YOU WILL

I WANT YOU TO KNOW

I SAID I WANT YOU TO KNOW ( RIGHT NOW )

YOU'VE BEEN GOOD TO ME BABY

BETTER THAN I'VE BEEN TO MYSELF

AND IF YOU EVER LEAVE ME

I DON'T WANT NOBODY ELSE

YOU KNOW YOU MAKE ME WANNA ( live there Wednesday )  SHOUT

KICK MY HEELS UP AND SHOUT

THOW MY HANDS UP AND SHOUT

OR COVER MY FACE WITH MY HANDS AND WEEP BECAUSE I WOULD GIVE ANYTHING TO LIVE THERE!

SHOUT -
a little bit softer now
shout
a little bit softer now
shout
a little bit softer now
shout
a little bit softer now
HEY HEY HEY - 
SHOUT!!!!
HAVE A GOOD ONE EVERYONE!
YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH
( feel free to get up from the computer and dance )
( you'll have this song in your head all day )
( you're welcome )
When I buy this place - I'm going to have a blog conference there - down by the ocean........................
and this will be our theme song - all of us screaming on the beach - until the Kennedy's ask us to PLEASE keep the noise down..................

P.S. ( walls can be painted folks - that's the easiest job there is )
P.S.S ( I love the orange walls in the bedroom )


Sharing With
52 Mantels
http://www.52mantels.com/2013/01/thursdays-are-your-days.html
Katherine's Corner
http://katherinescorner.com/2013/01/09/thursday-favorite-things-blog-hop-70/
The Vintage Farmhouse
http://www.thevintagefarmhouse.com/2013/01/creative-things-thursday_10.html
French Country Cottage
http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.ca/2013/01/feathered-nest-friday_10.html
My Romantic Home
http://romantichome.blogspot.ca/2013/01/collecting-craigslist-chairs-show-and.html
The Shabby Nest
http://www.shabbynest.blogspot.ca/2013/01/frugal-friday_10.html#more
I should be Mopping the Floor
http://www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com/2013/01/mop-it-up-monday-50.html
The Dedicated House
http://thededicatedhouse.blogspot.ca/2013/01/make-it-pretty-monday-week-32.html
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
http://myuncommonsliceofsuburbia.com/tuesdays-treasures-119/
Savvy Southern Style
http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/2013/01/wow-us-wednesdays-101.html
Clean & Scentsible
http://www.cleanandscentsible.com/2013/01/the-creative-spark-no-74.html
Adorned from Above
http://www.adornedfromabove.com/2013/01/wednesdays-adorned-from-above-blog-hop_15.html
I Heart Nap Time
http://www.iheartnaptime.net/sundae-scoop-link-party-64/

I crack myself up

             WARNING: IF YOU ARE HAVING A SNACK - PUT IT DOWN IMMEDIATELY

Is this a photo of an old man's bald head?
Nah
Is it a photo of head cheese ( just the name of that cheese can make me gag by the way )
Nah
Is it a so far un named planet?
Nah

Can you guess what it is?

It's the heel of my foot........................a magnified close up
Disgusting beyond belief isn't it?  Go on, you can say it - I won't be offended - after all I'm doing this for you!
I beg your pardon - I never promised you a rose garden after all.
Life isn't all rose petals and butterflies don't you know - there's some ugly in there too lol
And unless I do this every single night of my life in the winter that is what the heels of my feet look like.
I saw an ad just before Christmas on foot balm - and the idea for this post came to me

John says - how come you haven't been putting socks on at night lately?
Suzan says - I want to blog about what happens when I don't treat my feet for a few weeks.
John says - you're going to make people sick
Suzan says - thank you John - thank you very much
John says - well you know what happens to your feet in the winter when you don't treat them
Suzan says - YES I DO KNOW ACTUALLY
Suzan says - that's why I'm posting about it - so people can see how quickly my secret magic works.
Suzan says - there may be someone out there who has this condition and doesn't know simple it is to fix.
John says - so now you're going to have a medical section on your blog?
John says - don't come near me with those things in bed

John's feet don't do this - EVER - not fair.......................
If I go 2 or 3 weeks without treating them in the winter my feet look like they belong on the HULK............
as you can see for yourself.
I stopped " treating them " a few days before Christmas - specifically so I could show you how to repair them - ( just in case anyone else out there was blessed with this type of affliction )

A bottle of glycerine ( in it's pure form )

you simply pour some on a puma stone

and you scrub away..................
making sure the glycerine is deeply saturated into your heels
and then put on a thick pair of socks - if you do this right after a bath at night it's best - than you simply
hop into bed with your socks on and let the glycerine work it's magic

True story! Once I was walking in Paris with someone else from Montreal - and they told me they had a terrible problem with cracked heels ( long before I had mine ) and that the only cream that seemed to work
was one she had found in Paris - and I remember thinking " wow - that's a long way to travel to fix a foot problem!!! "
Guarantee you my solution is quicker - cheaper - ( the savings on air fare alone are worth it I would think )  and closer to home - all pharmacies carry this product.............

John just walked in the office.  Once again I'm considering buying myself some of these

John says - ( I swear to God - I'm seriously going to pee myself )
Standing behind me and looking at the first photo  - Oh!  Is that a photo of an ice cream cone?
Suzan says - No - it's a photo of my heel -
John says - OMG - DO NOT show people that Suzan - Please, for God's Sakes, it's disgusting,  Ugghh - that's absolutely disgusting ( I wish you could see the facial expression of horror which goes with this )
John says - ( while I'm screaming with laughter ) Pity you can't do an audio of your " cackle "
John says - I hope they're not having a snack or something when they read your post
John says - it's enough to make people vomit, you know
Suzan says - Again, Thank you John, Thank you very much ( but that's why I went back to the beginning and put up a warning for you )
Suzan says- You thought it looked like ice cream a minute ago
John says - Do NOT come near me with those things in bed
Suzan says - I HEARD YOU THE FIRST TIME YOU SAID THAT
Suzan says - You can always sleep on the couch until this is over you know
John says - How long is it going to take? ugghhh - that's really disgusting - how can you show people that?
Suzan says - 3 days - tops - take a blanket with you

After 1 day

I'm still not allowed to touch John with these puppies - but getting better ( like my furry socks? )

John says - Some furniture makeover blog you have there Suzan
John says - people are going to google before and after shots to see furniture and your
ugly foot is going to be staring them in the face
Suzan says - Leave me alone already
Suzan says - I'm going to do a post on your bald spot if you don't stop this nonsense
John says - I tell our fabric customers that you have a nice post on furniture makeovers
John says - And I actually give them the name of your blog so they can come see it themselves
John says - omg - I hope Simon ( Chang ) doesn't come by your blog
John says - you really have no pride at all, do you?
John says - I'm not telling anybody else about your blog - really - that's it for me
John says - how in God's name can you not be embarassed by this - if any of our customers mention this to
me, I'll die

After 2 days

it's harder than you think to take a proper photo of your heels - I was like a contortionist trying to do it,
but you can see how quickly this stuff works!

Day 3 ( why oh why didn't I leave the dates on the photos?  stupid! but please take my word for it, this
only took 3 days )

Keep in mind - you have to do this every single night - and I know this does not happen to every one ( I'm the only one I know that has it this severe ) but I have a friend who's fingertips crack and bleed in the winter!
A little bit of glycerine would go a long way..................

I am almost tempted to not post this - John's probably right this time - so read it quickly - I just may delete it after today.

Suzan says - Can I take a photo of your heels?
John says - Buzz off
Suzan says - just your heels - that's it - just your heels
John says - I mean it, buzz off -
Suzan says - WHAT THE HELL IS THAT ON YOUR FOOT?
John says - a corn pad
Suzan says - ugghh  - that's disgusting.................
Suzan says - don't come near me in bed with that thing!

John says - Do you think you can paint a dresser?  What's next? A post on your bunion?