This caught our eye . . .
Observe the bottom right of the bumper:
Homemaking
The last month; hard slog (too many late nights to mention) and the pleasure of seeing a house begin to become a home. Unpacking is sometimes tedious, sometimes joyous, occasionally sad (one smashed pot). I carried every book we own up two flights of stairs!
There is much more we hope to do in the next few months and other things we would like to do if we stay long enough, but we do now have a comfortable home. As we did not significantly change the decor of our last home over the last 15 years or so, I am enjoying the sense of evolution in creating a new space for our possessions that reflects the people we have become but also nods at where we have come from.
Eh . . .
As new arrivals in Canada, one is frequently told about the Canadian use of ‘eh’ at the end of sentences. Although it is not as prevalent as this might suggest, it exists both literally and in spirit.
A Canadian we met in the UK just before we left suggested that ‘eh’ represents something fundamental to the way Canada approaches things. It seems to me that young Canadians are encouraged both to be well informed and to have and to express opinions and to carry these into adult life. However, they are also encouraged to understand that others may have different views and to listen to these. I recently heard it said that Canadians are less inclined than many nations to see things in simple black and white.
To me, ‘eh’ represents the space at the end of any statement that allows for the possibility of a different view or reality, and, beyond this, the possibility of compromise.
Another reason for choosing to live in Canada, eh!
More highlights and milestones
- Eating Poutine, a cholesterol laden Canadian snack speciality consisting of fries (chips), gravy and cheese curds. I wasn’t sure about the idea, but actually we really enjoyed it and will now seek out more authentic renditions.
- Becoming annual members of the Art Gallery of Ontario – this will allow us gradually to enjoy and absorb what is a really interesting and well curated collection. The new Gehry Galleria Italia is a fabulous space, currently housing a magical sculptural exhibition of trees re-visioned (we loved this)
- Buying my first pair of ‘leisure skates’ – my UK figures boots are just too uncomfortable!
- Skating on a natural rink in Glen Stewart park at the foot of a ravine that drops a way just below where we live – steep wooden steps lead down into a magic woodland walk by a stream, currently flowing between snowy banks we were the only people on the ice – magic!
- Commitment (voluntary) to a local community arts/regeneration project, Art of the Danforth, an art walk planned for April (I’m sure I’ll write more on this as things develop!)
- Entertaining our first guests in our new home on Friday evening, genuinely a delight!
- Getting our OHIP cards – we are now covered by the Ontario Health scheme. But with a shortage of family doctors, finding one is the next challenge.
Coming up we have:
- Toronto’s Winter City festival – spectacle, music, multi-culturalism and more!
- Winterlicious, (part of the above) Toronto’s winter food festival, a fabulous chance to try new restaurants at very affordable prices. We have, over the two week period, booked two lunches and two dinners, including lunch at Canoe, arguably Toronto’s top restaurant (Jess ate there back in September and is still raving about it!)
- Music and multi-media show at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts
Moving beyond beginning – a new year!
Blogging has been overtaken by boxes – I checked 163 items of furniture and boxes in through the door as our worldly goods arrived here from the UK on the day before Christmas Eve!
All the boxes have been emptied since then, though some have been filled up again with the things we don’t need or have yet to find a home for. Quite apart from the urge to be settled, with some damage to key items of furniture, we wanted to be clear about any additional casualties, thankfully minimal.
One has to be pragmatic; my antiques have been passed down through our family and, in some cases, have already travelled the world. Lovely as they are, their significance rests as much in their history and usage by people I have loved and people who loved them. They have in their own way lived and they bear the scars of that living. Now, having swung through the air in a container, slumbered in a cold hold across the ocean, rattled along the rails from Montreal, miraculously these old familiars surround me once again, if a little battered. Hopefully their newest injuries will be made good once we get the insurance claim sorted!
Anyhow, carrying every book we own up at least two flights of stairs, wondering where to put this and how on earth that came to be included in the packing seems to have absorbed as much time and energy as I have had available!
However, it made this New Year, which fell on a blue moon, particularly poignant; it was on New Year’s Eve that I emptied the last box . . .
Happy New Year!