Canada for Christmas - Here We Come!

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Beam Me Up Scotty!

"Make it so #1", "Engage", "That is not logical", and of course "Beam Me Up Scotty!" Some popular sayings from Star Trek.
I wonder if the creator of Star Trek's television series ever dreamed that it would become as big as it has become!
Pretty amazing........pretty much as amazing as the ability to be "beamed up" I say!
Well, it happened to Phillip in the New Testament - no technology involved, but rather transported by the Holy Spirit. 

Acts: 8:39-40
³⁹ Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing. ⁴⁰ But Philip was found at Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea. (Acts 8:39-40, New King James Version)
I wonder how I can arrange to beamed over to Canada? That would be so cool! Completely bypass the 36 hour trip involved (this includes travel from destination to destination; e.g. travel to airport from home, transfer connections, etc., and travel from airport to destination in Canada).
Hey, with my God all things are possible.  I'll have to keep chatting with Him about it and see if it can be arranged - that I be beamed over!

It Is All In A Word

So last weekend I asked Peter to pick up some buns at the store so I could make sandwiches.
Ooops, wrong word - I should have said rolls; e.g. sandwich rolls.
Now, I know that you might think this is silly, but alas, I knew in my mind what I meant when I said buns, but alas, the Aussie bloke, he did not! I am still Canadian afterall!
I should have taken a photo of the flat, sad looking buns that Brumby's sold as buns; e.g. hamburger buns.
Alas, I have seen much better representations of hamburger buns in my day!
And then, of course, I could have meant a kaiser bun - yeah, bakeries in Canada made lovely kaiser buns.  And what of bagels?  Yes, I was lucky enough to find a place that sells bagels, but forget a selection - one kind fits all and pretty pricey, too!
Nope, not complaining, just saying.
Australia and Canada are both Commonwealth Countries but it is really funny when you start to make a list of all the different lingo we have for things.
For example:

In Canada: I'm toast = In Australian: I'm stuffed (tired)
In Canada: Can I hold your baby? = In Australian: Can I nurse your baby? (simply hold, no feeding involved!)
In Canada: Bench = In Australia: Countertop of kitchen (totally different - yep, bench is something you sit on in Canada!)
I could go on and on, but yeah, I think it is funny and from time to time, Peter's and my ability to communicate with each other can get complicated! Yikes - it is hard enough sometimes for women and men to understand each other without adding the challenge of a mixed language! lol
Well, just thought I'd share this funny thought today!
Au revoir! (French for good-bye).

Earthquakes - Geographical and Political - Canada and Australia

Well, it has been an eventful 24 hours - both geographically and politically - and both earthquakes - shaking up the countries of Canada and Australia.
Canada is not known as a common place to experience earthquakes.  There have been some in the past but are so small that they are not felt; but on Wednesday, 23 June 2010 shortly before 1:45 pm ET, they experienced a moderate one - 5.0 on the Richter scale.  The earthquake's location was the Ontario-Quebec Border Region and its epicenter was about 56 kilometres north-northeast of Ottawa.
The primary location it was felt was Ottawa - the heart of Canadian Politics and in fact, a live news conference on Parliament Hill was shaken up quite a bit and and another politician being interviewed, Environment Minister Jim Prentice, was moved by the impact, but managed to keep his composure.

(Pictured Above - Parliament Hill)

A different kind of earthquake has been felt here in Australia, but I dare say, based on the interview that I just watched of Prime Minister Rudd, I reckon he has kept his dignity and composure, too - you should hold your head up high I say.

http://video.au.msn.com/watch/video/9raw-gillard-to-challenge-rudd-for-leadership/xy62u91

I am by far a political expert, but I have always tried to follow the goings on and vote regularly*.  In fact, I can remember completing an assignment in High School in Geography where we covered a National Election and we interviewed the local candidate that was running for the Liberals (Canadian Liberals would be equivalent to the Australian Labors) at the time that Prime Minister Trudeau was up for re-election.

Politics - it is a topic that is sure to raise eyebrows, even make your blood boil and in our family, it can sure turn a everyday discussion into a heated debate! (We're up for it!)  But at the end of the day, it is sad when people in politics lose their ability to see the need for unity even if everyone doesn't agree - particularly, within your own party!  I believe that now, more than ever, we need stability in this country and bringing about a change in leadership isn't going to create that.

So, even if the players in this game reckon they have improved their chances of winning the next election by endorsing conflict within their own party by challenging their leader, I think they had better give their heads a shake and think again.  If they cannot run their own party, how can they expect the Australian people to have confidence that they can run this country!

*spoken by an Australian Resident without voting privileges....maybe it is high time I became a citizen!

All Flours Are Not Created Equal

I have to admit - one of the things that I have so enjoyed about baking in Australia is the self-rising flour.  Oh sure, you can probably buy it in Canada, but it is not as common - at least I never realised it if it was.
So, the beauty is you just bake with self-rising flour and omit baking soda and baking powder. Well, I haven't encountered any problems thus far.
For example, the recipe that I have recently discovered from Allrecipes for chewy chocolate chips was originally written for regular flour & add baking soda, but an Australian version is self-rising flour minus baking soda and voila - 'beautiful' (compliments of George & Gary from MasterChef) cookies!

SURPRISE!!!!

Who doesn't like surprises? Well, I have got a good one to share with you.....

My Mom and I were co-conspirators in the plan to surprise my dad and family and friends for a very special occasion. You see, it is Mom's 70th birthday this month, Aug 5 to be exact and Dad and Mom celebrate their Golden Anniversary this month - 50th - on Aug 29.

So Mom's sister Barb was organising a special day for the family to get together on Aug 16 and mom sent me an email on a whim back the middle of July hoping that I may be able to make a special trip to help celebrate this momentous occasion. Well, God blessed me with His favour to allow the plans to work out and yep, the surprise was successful.

We couldn't tell many folks because we did not want to risk any information leaking out and someone writing something up on facebook, and nope, dad nor my brother John could believe it when Mom told them the news of my arrival.

Thursday morning Aug 13, Peter and I headed to the Brisbane, Queensland, Australia airport at 8:30 am and after 24 hours of travelling, I arrived at my parent's apartment at approximately 11:00 pm the same evening in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada (yeah, do that math, eh?).
Stay tuned for tomorrow when I post a follow-up article and more pictures of my trip so far and the big day we had celebrating with family several significant happenings.


Also, more details to follow, but I'm planning an open house at Mom and Dad's for friends and family this coming Saturday to pop in for visit if you are free.

Well, it is late now here in Canada....12:44 am to be exact; so I'll wish you all a good night or good afternoon depending on which time zone you are reading this post in!