* Today is officially the last day of winter here in North America (heard that on the news this morning :) ) and it was snowing this morning which I thought was quite fitting. I did some filming of snowfall out the back and front of Mike&Katie's house (and then quickly shut the door because it was cold!!!). You can see the films by clicking on this link (then just click on the right arrow above the video to scroll to the other film): http://picasaweb.google.com.au/bec.kimpton/LondonOntario_March07/photo#5043777772565144994

Now to the subject of this blog: What I Love About Canada (don't worry, it's not like I want them to win the World Cup Cricket or anything (although I was really hoping they'd beat England the other day):
1. The flag: it was so nice seeing that maple leaf flag when I landed in Toronto a couple of weeks ago,

2. The accent, especially the way they say 'sorry' here in Ontario - it is so 'Gilbert from the 'Anne of Green Gables' mini series'! And yes, I know they hate the cliche but so many of the people here do say 'eh' at the end of lots of sentences - I like it ;)

3. The beautiful fir trees especially when they've got a dusting of snow on them,

4. Tim Horton's - kind of like the Canadian equivalent of the U.S's Starbucks or the Australian 'Gloria Jeans' - yummy hot chocolate, not to mention the 'Roll Up The Rim To Win' competition: http://www.timhortons.com/en/menu/2007-rutw-about.html (at which I won a donut the other day (well, it is rightfully Katie's as she bought me the hot chocolate ;) ). A guy has even invented a contraption to help you roll up the rim more easily: http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_8629.aspx

I'm sure there'll be many more 'What I love about Canada' blogs to come but one other thing I wanted to tell you about was the fact that I found out that my favourite play 'Our Town' was being performed here in London (and the minister from Mike&Katie's church just happened to be playing the main role). We went to see it on Saturday night and I loved it. It is a really simple play (which can be ruined by crowding the stage with set and props and special effects) about valuing life everyday. They did a beautiful job.

There is one part where the young character of Rebecca tells her brother George (while they're both looking out at the stars one night): "I never told you about that letter Jane Crofut got from her minister when she was sick. He wrote Jane a letter and on the envelope the address was like this: It said, Jane Crofut, the Crofut Farm, Grover’s Corners; Sutton County; New Hampshire; United States of America; continent of North America; Western Hemisphere; the Earth; the Solar System; The Universe; the mind of God - that’s what it said on the envelope. And the postman brought it just the same."

It's a beautiful moment (and hard to describe in a blog) that resonated differently for me this time re: the "North America" part. It really ties in with Thorton Wilder's whole idea of the universality of human experience and taking time to notice life as you live it.

More London pix: http://picasaweb.google.com/bec.kimpton/LondonOntario_March07