Dwarf 2, stroking my arm with a piece a candy (no, I don’t know why):
– It works better on you, daddy has more fur.
Well, it does not seem the Man really needs such a hairy coat right now: it’s close to 10°C in Toronto -in case you are wondering, I do not mind at all: it’s nice to be able to feel my nose and fingers when I go out.
And to be sure I still own all of them when walking back inside.
Getting ready for Halloween here (second year around for us, see Witch Ever), and some cool sandwich boards to be seen.
…we never thought we would utter.
Toronto definitely is a hipster city, and therefore cultivates the art of signage (see Bear with me, the coolest example I have seen so far). Funny to see how beer and patios seem to inspire everyone when winter lasts 8 months a year.
Food…
Sex, fashion and sarcasm
And a little bit of culture thanks to the ROM (OK, I admit it’s more a billboard than a sandwich board, but pretty cool, eh?)
Seems like social media have left some room for other communications channels. Let’s hope people don’t only look at their phones when walking.
PS For curious minds, other examples, and an interesting post on the Art of Signage can be found here.
Here in Toronto people love dogs. Stores have dog-friendly signs, water bowls or even treats for man’s best friend.
Couple of times I overheard “Oh, she is sooooo cute!”, followed by a proud “Thank you”.
When I turned around, I could see a tiny mutt or a groomed, ridiculous poodle. I am still wondering if the owner, who seemed to think it was normal to get credit for the dog’s looks, had actually given birth to the living being.
OK, maybe in the poodle case a human being was responsible for the perm. And the pink bows.
Based on the number of dogs around, I have to admit the city is fairly clean and people probably do pick up after their pets.
I however get annoyed when an unleashed, calf-looking creature runs towards me or one of the Dwarves (“No, honey, it is NOT a pony, you can NOT ride on it!”) and its owner just says “Oh, don’t worry, Splurge is very friendly”.
Well, thanks for letting me know, because if Splurge had decided to get an extra snack it would be a bit(e) late.
And I can see he is friendly, because he shared all his mud and a few smelly hairs with me (as a reminder, The Man is an avid jogger and can fulfill these tasks as well, I really don’t need Splurge to step in).
Finally Canadians admit their country is full of bears.
I knew it.
Sometimes you need to put safety first and listen to the locals.
By now we have made friends here in Toronto (there are people attracted by free Swiss chocolate, it seems) and we were therefore asked to feed our neighbors’ pets while they were away.
The pets consist of a non-red fish and a cat. Basic rule is that one should not be the other one’s dinner.
The job looked pretty easy and the Dwarves were excited about it.
After 2 days, Dwarf 2 deciding we needed some entertainment, managed to steal some salt in the kitchen and quick as light dumped it into Rainbow’s aquarium.
Blondes can think quickly under pressure (or so they think) and within a minute I was wondering if Rainbow was a sea or a fresh water fish (he had not told me), how he would manage to survive if salt water was not his cup of tea, if a little boy’s heart would be broken in case of any fishy passing (can you miss a pet fish?), how much would a new fish cost (would we need to sell the car in order to replace an extremely rare, exotic non-red fish?), and finally where can you discreetly sell your kid on the internet in Canada?
Rainbow Warrior survived and Dwarf 2 was threatened to have to lend his favorite bear to his friend to comfort him in case a tragedy occurred.
I am thinking about taking money out of his college fund to pay for hair dye.
Switzerland makes it quite easy for its citizens or visitors to pick souvenirs. Who does not like chocolate?
Other options include Swiss army knives or even watches for people who don’t have kids to feed and entertain, and can therefore afford to bring back nicer presents to friends and relatives.
Being that the Dwarves demand to eat every day we usually stick with chocolate and sometimes knives.
As it seems passengers carrying potential weapons are not too popular in airports nowadays, we carefully packed these sharp gifts. To make sure they would not get stolen, I just stuck them in the Dwarves’ suitcase, in their shorts pockets.
This very smart strategy really made me sweat when I later could not find the knives and remembered I had sent the Dwarves to camp wearing the first thing I could find in their suitcase- shorts.
The thought of Dwarf 1 running some wild experiments implying electricity or a friend’s hand, or Dwarf 2 playing William Tell sure helped me fight jet lag.
What happens in Canada if you send your kids to school carrying their own little pocket knife?
Good thing is, the Children’s aid society already has our number (see Pillow fight).
Dwarf 1’s broken arm has made us haunt the children’s hospital waiting rooms more than I ever wanted to (longest wait 3.5 hours, to hear we would not get the Dwarf a new cast, and there is nothing more to do until we take it off).
As the Dwarf pointed out, they could have sent us an email to share the info.
Good thing is, the Man works in the hospital treating the Dwarf. He therefore spent his extensive 20 minutes lunch break with us, of course wearing his OR scrub : 20 minutes is a short time to get changed if you want to eat and maybe hit the toilets as well (knowing washing your hands is not optional).
Most families who saw us chatting together probably just assumed the Man is a very dedicated but odd physician, truly caring for his patients but eating a sandwich while reassuring them about some cutting-edge surgery needed by the Dwarf.
When the Man kissed me goodbye, a woman and her 2 daughters (about 17 and 25- year-old) started to loudly giggle, staring at us. I had been overhearing their conversations for close to 2 hours (let’s say I don’t think they are potential Nobel Prize nominees), therefore I could not resist and had to add: “Yeah…we really clicked” to their attention (after a few hours one would do anything to get some entertainment in a waiting room).
The look on their faces was worth the joke, and now I cannot help wondering if they really believed I started flirting with a staff member while bringing my kid to the ER.
Bachelors of the world, clubs and bars are so passé.
Image credit Aimee Valentine
Maple syrup and chocolate 
