Lest We Forget

I was listening to the radio yesterday morning and there was a four-question quiz about Canada's war history. The four questions are:

1 - Which of the following are Canadian War heroes:
Billy Bishop
Ulysses Grant
Arthur Currie
Douglas Macarthur

2 - John McCrae wrote a poem that has become the definitive WWI memorial - what is it called?

3 - Canada's first major victory in WWI took place on what ridge?

4 - What war was instrumental in changing the roles of women and moving towards womens' right to vote?

Apparantly, 60% of Canadians (and the numbers are higher for young Canadians) fail this quiz. That is really sad and it makes me wonder about the state of Remembrance in our country. For my generation the link is clear through our grandparents. But how is sacrifice remembered for those new generations that do not have a living familial connection to the events? It is a challenge.

That is why I am very impressed with the current Remembrance Day notice put together by the Canadian government for this year. I saw it for the first time on TV last weekend and I knew I wanted to grab a copy for today's blog. Take a moment of silence today and watch it below.

Quiz Answers: 1 - Billy Bishop & Arthur Currie ... 2 - In Flanders Fields ... 3 - Vimy Ridge ... 4 - World War One (BTW - I got 100%!)

Down Came the Rain

Crazy weather out here on the east coast. We got almost 50mm of rain in the last 24 hrs (I know - it was crazier in Vancouver). Still, today I sat in my grey-lighted office with the rain whipping against the windows. It just kept coming. And the swirling rivers of fallen leaves were racing to the gutters and clogging up the drains and flooding the intersections. It was SO wet - everywhere. And the wind bent my umbrella and made it all crappy and useless. But it was so warm. It is November and the temperature was 13 degrees! So I thought I would post another fun quiz in honour of the weather (because that is what I do when I have nothing better to write!) and it seems it is my kind of atmosphere afterall.

You Are Lightning

Beautiful yet dangerous People will stop and watch you when you appear Even though you're capable of random violence You are best known for: your power Your dominant state: performing

What Type of Weather Are You?

Dear Stampeders...

I don't want to pretend to say "It's OK - we will get them next year". That is what I said LAST year when you put on a good fight in the second half of the season and got to the semi-finals.

This year you were great from the start. You came out strong. You seemed to have a plan. You were confident. You lost as many games as you won, it's true, but you had climbed out of the loser ditch where you had been dwelling these last few years. You had succeeded in beating those Riders twice before to take the regular season series. You had clinched second place in the west and a home field advantage for this game. You even banned the Gopher - lest his fuzzy voodoo taint the field. And look what you have done. You collapsed. Again.

With your six turnovers and two interceptions and missed field goal you lost. You took your SIXTEEN point lead and lost. Again. Repeat performances of this kind are not impressive. They are sad. They are frustrating. And, considering your start to the game and the stakes of its result - they are NOT SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN! I cannot possibly understand what happened. I saw what happened but it is too pathetic to accept as real football.

Next week, as I watch Saskatchewan take your place against BC I will have a heavy heart. It was going to be our year. I really believed it was. I had all the faith I could muster in you this year and you let me down. My only consolation is now I don't have to buy the beer for Grey Cup. But I won't have any cheer either.

See you next season.
- Raye

Black Light on the Back Nine

One of the worst things about working in a tight-knit office is when one of the team members leaves. Last night we had a goodbye event for another departing friend. The activity on the menu was day-glo mini golf and it was fabulous.

I am a total fan of mini golf but I had never been to this place. It was so cool. And as I fell farther behind in the scoring, I turned by attention to taking fun photos of my friends in the black light environments. Some resutls above. So sad to see Janet go - but cheers to her for such a great evening of electric enjoyment.

Happy Halloween

This is my nephew cruising the pumpkin patch. I didn't get to do anything this harvest-y this year but I was exposed to more children then last year. I love my new neighbourhood. In the autumn chill on Halloween I walked out my door to hear a chorus of "Trick or Treat" echoing down the street. It was only 6pm but the little ones were out and the entire scene filled me with a warm feeling.

Halloween was a big deal for me as a child but disappeared from my social calendar in recent years. (Last year's craziness aside!) This year, my Halloween consisted of dressing as my younger self for the office.It was the best excuse - evah! - to wear my PJs to work. I wasn't going to turn it down. Besides, I think I rock the pigtails pretty well. I was the only one in costume at work (although we HAD agreed!) but that was fine. I was comfortable and cute. Another Halloween down. Who knows what will be happening next year.

Satisfying Season

There are many things I wanted to get done today but I didn't do them all. That didn't stop it from being a great day. First of all, daylight savings time made my late noon hour wake-up feel less shameful. Then I cooked myself a full breakfast of pancakes with berries and syrup and a hot mug of tea ... mmmm. My major task of the day was doing my dishes which had piled up over the week. But even this job wasn't too bad as it spurred me on to do a full clean of my apartment. You know, a real clean - not a tidy - a clean. It was rewarding and felt good. It also took a bit of time so I did not make it out to the grocery store or read my homework chapter.

The best part of the day was my evening. Tonight I had theatre tickets with my fellow subscription buddy, Wade (Ash had bailed on us for this performance). So I indulged in a full-on dinner of salad with balsamic, lamb chops with roasted potatoes and a glass of pinot grigio (note: I am a p.g. fan - it's official). I indulged further by having dessert. And what a dessert - mango cheesecake with a raspberry mousse on top = awesome!

The play itself was excellent. It was called "The Little Years" and it was about time and opportunity. It was concise (only 70 minutes) and emotional. Very impressive direction. Afterward Wade and I crossed the street to a favourite lounge for a drink - martinis are cheap on Sundays. Pomtinis are tasty. And then home to update you all. I wish all Sundays could be like this one - even if I wasn't as productive as I would have liked. Oh well.

The last thing I would like to share is some autumn photos I took this week. As we get our extra hour of daylight it is nice to look around at what that light is illuminating these days. Fall is my favourite season and Canadian falls are truly beautiful. I hope wherever you are in the world that your Sunday was a satisfying one and the view outside is as lovely as mine.

Ball, Beer & Boys

So Friday night rolls around and it is the last home game for the SMU Huskies football team. I have't been to a game all season because I have been away for work each week of a home game. Because of this fact I was very demanding that my football friends join me this week for the game. But I wasn't expecting to get sick this week and as the event approached I was reluctant to spend 3 hours sitting in the cold. But I am a trooper and I put on my fleece, puffy vest and toque and went for it. Truth be told, there wasn't alot of game watching going on. We had missed the first quarter while eating dinner and by the second half we were in the beer tent and got side-tracked. Then back to the campus pub. It was a full evening. I was home by midnight. And although I am a little tired, I couldn't have asked for a better night with my boys. Cheers!

Bedtime

I got a new bed today. Actually, I "got" it last week but it took awhile to arrange the move and get it installed in my little apartment. See how much bigger it is? In case you didn't know, I have been sleeping on a hand-me-down single bed for the past year. But no longer. I have a double bed now. A comfy IKEA bed. And I got fucshia T-shirt sheets to go with it. And it couldn't be a better week. I have the new bed in time to sleep off the last remnants of my cold. And, I have it in time to enjoy daylight savings time this weekend. Cause really? If anyone likes extra hours in bed - it is me!