It's Fat Tuesday

While I was growing up, we used to eat pancakes on the weekends but we never ate them for Fat Tuesday. My dad would get up early and start the burner with a large circular pan perfect for golden brown plate sized pancakes. We used to love watching him flip the pancake over while it was being cooked.

When I got older, my parents became experts at making crepes. We used to have those incredible looking crepes from time to time on the weekends thanks to my swimming career. They always tasted just as incredible as they looked a bit like the photo. My parents would usely make the crepes from fresh strawberries and whipped cream or bananas with a light custard sauce and some whipped cream in between. They were certainly to die for yet glad I could eat them after a healthy dose of 3 hours of swimming.

Since I've been hearing about Fat Tuesday all week in New Orleans, I wanted to see the orgins of the name. The name originated in France, as "Fat Tuesday", or Fettisdagen in Swedish. Sweeden however does celebrate the day as "Shrove Tuesday". The day is marked by eating traditional Swedish pastry, called Semla. The pastry is only to be eaten today but it is seasonally available from New Year until the beginning of Lent.

Interestingly enough, in Poland, Pączki are traditionally eaten on Fat Thursday or Tłusty czwartek. Large Polish communitnies existing in Michigan, the pastry is eaten on "Fat Tuesday" due to French influence. Fat Tuesday ends on Mardi Gras literally meaning Fat Tuesday where Carnival and Fasnacht are celebrated, but maybe not always on the exact day. Come to think of it, I never ever thought of the translation until now!

So for those endulging in those pancakes today, celebrating Mardi Gras or being a spectator, enjoy. I'll be dreaming about them in the photo and tasting them in my imagination.

My French Name

Curiosity made the best of me thanks to Anne as I had to see what my French name might be. It's been about the only decision I've made without feeling a bit of dissatisfaction and sense of being incomplete and unfulfilled. Yes that is how I felt all weekend and what a bummer that was. Somehow after playing around with the silly website, I found the names to be simply random. But funny at that, I'll get a laugh out of it for the better.

Your French Name is:

Aurore Millet

What's Your French Name?

But don't worry about me, I just want to hear about your French name too. :)

Did You Know That

I didn't know they thought in China your rubbish keeps you from being homeless all discovered near the Great Wall of China....

And I think I need to brush up on this stuff a bit more!

HOW TO SPEAK ABOUT MEN AND BE POLITICALLY CORRECT:

1. He does not have a "BEER GUT" - He has developed a "LIQUID GRAIN
STORAGE FACILITY."
2. He is not a "BAD DANCER" - He is "OVERLY CAUCASIAN."

3. He does not "GET LOST ALL THE TIME" - He "INVESTIGATES
ALTERNATIVE DESTINATIONS."

4. He is not "BALDING" - He is in "FOLLICLE REGRESSION."

5. He is not a "CRADLE ROBBER" - He prefers "GENERATIONAL
DIFFERENTIAL RELATIONSHIPS."

6. He does not get "FALLING-DOWN DRUNK" - He becomes "ACCIDENTALLY
HORIZONTAL."

7. He does not act like a "TOTAL ASS" - He develops a case of
RECTAL-CRANIAL INVERSION."

8. He is not a "MALE CHAUVINIST PIG" - He has "SWINE EMPATHY."

9. He is not afraid of "COMMITMENT" - He is "RELATIONSHIP
CHALLENGED."

10. He is not "HORNY" - He is "SEXUALLY FOCUSED."

11. It's not his "CRACK" you see hanging out of his pants - It's
"REAR CLEAVAGE.

11 is defintiely my favorite. I'll be the first to tell you that my overly caucasion husband sported some rear cleavage over the weekend. And to just think that P cracks me up like this non-stop all of the time. Luckily he's curling tonight so I've got a few hours at least before he see's this one!

Missing Out On That Fun

I sit here this morning thinking about what my family is doing as they hit the slopes for a weeks worth of vacation and skiing without me. I on the other hand, don't have my ski equipment with me in Vancouver, so the fun I'm missing out on hours away doesn't hurt as bad as if I had the darn skis right in front of my face.

Am I really missing out on that fun?

Well for now I don't feel all too bad about missing out on That fun, but I'm thinking more and more about what I'm missing out on as a spectator at Fasnacht. It's about being there to experience the funny costumes, to check out all the crazy people and to just take in what other people are doing. I do that best, I'm a secret lurker.

I'm sure some of you think I'm insane for wishing I could be a spectator with all that guggenmusik. I'd be out in the cold, camera in hand, ready to be spontaneous and shoot what I can in the moment. But the best part is that I could always escape afterwards and go back to my quiet home and relax. Well that is what I did while I was living in Switzerland.

I guess you don't realize what you are missing out on, until that fun is no longer all that close to you. So instead of day dreaming about going skiing or being somewhere in Switzerland for Fasnacht-Carnival or New Orleans for Mardi Gras, I'll just dream about what I'm not missing out on.

Instead, I'll finally be looking forward to the few things I'm not missing out on anymore. We finally ordered our bedroom furniture yesterday after living in our new place for a month without anything to hold our clothes. And I'll just have to enjoy our last day of great sunshine as the forcast in rainy Vancouver is subject to change. What it might bring however is less dry skin and a bit of snow. What I'm missing out on from one side of the world, isn't so bad when I look what I do have to look forward to. Really I'm excited in that odd way even if I am missing out on something a bit more entertaining and exciting.

Living For The Future

I've been thinking about today and future days all week, well at least a few hours or day before it happens. Some days I keep dreaming about Switzerland but the main observation I always seem to be doing is that I always am living for the future or living in the moment. Sure I certainly think about the photos and memories of the past, but I never look back into it and rather think of how I can get back there for more. Turtle Guy certainly had a good point about this in his blog today.

I'm definitely living for the future. I couldn't wait for the day to begin because I had made special plans for "me time" and I love that. As I think about how I live each day, I do try to live for the future but live for the moment and every special moment I have. I'm so thankful to have had the experiences in Switzerland but I also am looking forward to what the future has to offer here in Canada. I'm off to enjoy the moment, meanwhile ask yourself this:

Do you live for the future? What moments do you think of from day to day?

Day Dreaming Away

After an early morning (yes I do find 6am to be too early for my liking these days) , I've found myself thinking about way too many things.

Like :

How many of my fellow bloggers have celebrated their Fasnacht in their village? My last Fasnacht was back in 2004.

When does Hot Air Balloon Season Start because I want to do just that (I have yet to go up in one.)? Vancouver actually does have a good amount of balloons but starts in May.

And when will I re-charge my mini camera so that I can take a few more beautiful photos.

Here's another photo of Montreux which I just adore. I think I took this about a 5 minute walk from the house.

All That I've Learned

Who would have thought that most of my learning has taken place after I finished school, but really I think it is true. OR maybe it's just that I keep on learning every day, which is certainly the case. Really, I wish I had known these words so much earlier!

ENGLISH - SWISS GERMAN - GERMAN
A little - Es bitzeli - Ein bisschen
Approximately - Öppe - Etwa
Someone - Öpper - Jemand
Something - Öppis - Etwas
Not - Nööd - Nicht (my favorite)
Nothing - Nüüt - Nichts
Here - Da - Hier
There - Det - Dort
...right? - ...gäll? - ...nicht?
Some times - Mängisch - Manchmal
Well, yes - Mol - Doch
Yeah, right - Äbä - Eben
Have a nice meal (always to be said to the others before eating) - En Guete - Guten Appetit
Eat - Ässe - Essen
Walk - Laufe - Gehen
Run - Ränne - Laufen/rennen
Walk downhill - Abälaufe - Abwärts gehen
Walk uphill - Uälaufe - Aufwärts gehen
Walk uphill (and reach the top) - Ufälaufe - Aufwärts gehen

Motorbike - Töff - Motorrad
Bike - Velo - Fahrrad

Most of these words I amazingly learned from the dog in the family. You know he was a great talker and taught me all of that. And to just think how confused I was when I finally went on vacation in Germany. Obviously I needed a lot of help while I was there. I don't think I would have had so much trouble if I had actually taken some type of German class in the first place!

P always cracks up with the word Ausfahrt which I made him stew over for a while when he first visited Switzerland.

Is there a word in German or Swiss German that just cracks you up or you like saying way too much?

What Does That Mean

When I first got to Switzerland, I was always very confused on what people were saying. I had studied the language but things were just different. And things were definitely different when I travelled into the Swiss German speaking region. Boy were they different.

I'm sure some of you can even remember some of the first times you started hearing people say such weird words. What was harder for me was that I knew exactly no High German! In one of my first experiences in Swiss German speaking Switzerland, I was invited to dinner with my friends. They were speaking in Swiss German and I was listening to any word which was remotely linked to English, since I was told there were a lot of words like that. I tend to disagree a bit but here are just a few of those funny differences.

I've put them in order as follows:

ENGLISH - SWISS GERMAN - GERMAN

Hello - Grüezi - Guten Tag or Tag in Swiss German
Hello (to more than one person) - Grüezi mitenand - Guten Tag
Good evening - Gueten Abig - Guten Abend
Hi (more informal than "grüezi") - Hoi/Salü/Sali - Salut
Hi (to more than one person) - Hoi zäme - Salut
Good bye - (Uf) Widerluege/Ciao/Tschüss - Auf Wiedersehen/Tschüss
Thanks a lot - Merci vilmal - Vielen Dank
See you later - Bis spöter - Bis später

So I finally know what you guys in Germany are saying when you mention "Bis später". Since Swiss German isn't a known written language, a lot of these words you just have to pick up. Really I never knew what people were saying until I asked my friends multiple times and over and over again. I've started with some easy words but hope to bring you a few more words this week. I'm off to a full days worth of housekeeping in cloudy Vancouver.

Dreaming Away

During the last two weeks we've seen basically nothing but sun in Vancouver. Believe me I'm not complaining coming from someone who grew up on the West Coast with sun practically all year, but the last month of rain certainly put a damper on everyone's spirits. I was really looking forward to the minutes just after the sunset over the weekend to brush up on some photography.

We didn't exactly wait around that long at the windy waterfront, but I think you'd agree the view was still quite nice. It was clear enough here in Vancouver yesterday to even see Mt. Baker from Ambleside Park. I'm not sure I've ever seen Mt. Baker from there before so seeing the mountain was certainly a real treat. Yes I did take a pic of that too, but didn't include it here.

And since I've been on a roll with a few good jokes this week, I thought why not end it with another good one, this time it's more tailored to those German or Swiss Expats.

The commandant of a prisoner of war camp with tens of thousands of smelly, unwashed allied prisoners has his bully boys muster the prisoners for an "important announcement". Using a bull-horn from atop a watch-tower, he announces (and say this with a German accent as it sounds more authentic):

"I haf some gut news and some bad news. First, I vill geve you zee gut news: You vill all haf a change of undervear!!"

A huge rush of excitement, dogs growl, a few warning shots are fired. "Now zee bad news: You vill change eet vith the fellow beside you!"

Are People Really This Stupid

I thought I roll with some more comedy for your entertainment thanks to Ginnie for thinking of it.

The following is a list of excuses compiled from insurance companies all over the world.

1) Coming home I drove into the wrong house and collided with a tree I don't have.
2) The other car collided with mine without giving warning of its intentions.
3) I thought my window was down but found that it was up when I put my hand through it.
4) I collided with a stationary truck coming the other way.
5) A truck backed through my windshield and into my wife's face.
6) A pedestrian hit me and went under my car.
7) The guy was all over the road. I had to swerve a number of times before I hit him.
8) I pulled away from the side of the road, glanced at my mother-in-law, and headed over the embankment.
9) In my attempt to kill a fly I drove into a telephone pole.
10) I had been driving for forty years when I fell asleep at the wheel and had an accident.
11) I was on my way to the doctor with rear end trouble when my U-joint gave way causing me to have an accident.
12) To avoid hitting the bumper of the car in front, I struck the pedestrian.
13) My car was legally parked as it backed into another vehicle.
14) An invisible car came out of nowhere, struck my car and vanished.
15) I was sure the old fellow would never make it to the other side of the road when I struck him.
16) The pedestrian had no idea which way to run, so I ran over him.
17) I saw a slow-moving, sad faced old gentleman as he bounced off the hood of my car.
18) The indirect cause of the accident was a little guy in a small car with a big mouth.
19) I was thrown from my car as it left the road. I was later found in a ditch by some stray cows.
20) The telephone pole was approaching, I was attempting to swerve out of its way, when it struck my front end.

What's your favorite? I think 19 is just spiffy.

Switzerland Beats Canada

Just in: It seems that Canada was upset by Switzerland in Hockey at the Olympic games as the Swiss defeat Canada 2-0. I'm not sure what this means but I'm thinking the top teams in the final won't be the US or Canada. So even if Canada doesn't win, I'm in good shape for who I'm rooting for still. ;-)

Fast Canadian Facts

Blogger Christina, has uncovered some Q & A's worth reading. You can enjoy some of the most fascinating facts about Canada this week. I was never aware people were so uneducated about Canada but I guess they really are!

It reminded me of a story my friend told me about traveling through some of the southern states when the lady on the Greyhound bus next to him asked in complete serious "And I wonder how long it takes to get to Switzerland on this bus?"

Here's a teaser on what is in store:

Q: Are there any ATM's (cash machines) in Canada? Can you send me a
list of them in Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton and Halifax? (UK)
A: What did your last slave die of?

Just go check them out for yourself for a Friday laugh!

Serenity in a Puzzled Way

Imagine waking up to this every morning - Serene Paradise I had!

I'm thinking I really needed a photo like this today. I'm on pins and needles on what to do about a stupid little problem I have with the city. Really it's that little that some people wouldn't even care to think of it, but it's just not easing my nerves one bit. Why do communities need to complicate things for me? Since really I didn't want to deal with it and I'm still contemplating what I need to do, I'm going to forgo getting to city hall to take care of the red tape. (tomorrow I'll think about it.)

So instead of thinking of what is bothering me and what I am not accomplishing today, I think I had better capitalize on the serene beauty of these photos. My dream one day is to have these blown up and pictured throughout my gigantic house.

And on a last funny note to ponder- Can anybody explain how or why the sun can rise earlier in one part of the world fairly near the same parallel but by sunset, the sunsets quite a bit earlier? I'm puzzled and really want to learn why this happens.

Photo Tour

I've been enjoying the Olympics all morning but I thought I should do a bit of a photo tour from some of my pics I took during this time of the year in Switzerland. We are in store for an artic cold front, so I figured I'd stick with that theme. Artic front = sunny and cold

This first particular photo (taken on 2/13/03) is from my favorite look out point in Montreux overlooking one of the local castles. We used to come up here practically every sunny day and enjoy the entire view of Lac Leman. This is what it looks like in February at the vineyards, nothing really going on at all with a sprinkle of snow. If you had binocular eyes you could see almost as far as Lausanne from here.

This was the wine we enjoyed last night. Does anyone know one big difference on a Swiss Wine Label compared to a Canadian Wine Label in terms of measuring amounts? Answer - I'll leave it in the comments.

I could also have done a photo tour of the Sexy Women Curlers or Sports Illustrated Calendar, but I figured that more up P's alley...

Valentines Day Memories

Isn't always nice when you get something just oh so wonderful for Valentines Day. What the better than seeing what others have given their loved ones on the special day. Here are some of my favorites.



Top Three Least Romantic Gifts

1. Gold Heart: Roses, with a card for another woman!
2. Silver Heart: A Nordic Trac. This person states, "I am not sure if the message was your fat or not, but let''s just say I was not thrilled."
3. Bronze Heart: A book on making love. "Sounds good but it sure can make a gal insecure," says an anonymous voter.
   

RUNNER-UPS

Most of the runner-ups were household appliances and tools. What is this fascination for appliances? Ironically, a recent study revealed that the number of clean homes are declining due to women in the workforce. Although these gifts are practical, they are, nonetheless, unromantic. Runner-ups include the following:

• Vacuum
• Blender
• Cleaning supplies
• Black & Decker screwdriver
• Power steering hose
• Toaster
• Broom
  

Most Humorous Valentines Gift Category

• I was asked the question: "So how do we end this? A handshake or a high five?"
• Divorce Court. (You'd think the judge would schedule other types of cases for that day, right?)
• A pear. Yes! A damn pear! I wanted a pear shaped diamond. But, I got.. an actual pear!!

** Update - I can't believe I forgot to post this pic I took for Valentines Day. James will really appreciate it the most though! Second thought, why not make it the pic of the day...

With Cupid's Arrow hitting San Francisco, you might also be interested in what might be hitting Europe in years to come.

Homosexual Flamingos Rear Children

Hold onto your seat, here's one story you won't find all too often.

Gay flamingos are both family men

....."The pair have reared three generations of adopted flamingos, by making off with the freshly laid eggs of their heterosexual neighbours...."

The only time I can remember actually seeing flamingos close up was at the Basel Zoo. The few times I gazed at the flamingos while in Switzerland, I never would have thought flamingos would be so human like. Human like enough for a pair of male flamingos rearing children. You'd think such a story came out of a soap opera line about a gay couple who raises children successfully.

But Flamingos? In fact, Carlos and Fernando are so good at what they do, they've even astonished their zoo keepers who say this is a rare occurrance. I guess homosexuality actually does exist in the animal world, which like most humans want to also raise their own offspring. You never know when you might learn something new every day....

Full story.

Weekend Wrap Up

Friday evening treated us to a much awaited movie, "The Motorcycle Diaries". The movie is based upon a true story of Che Guevara, a doctor who travels with his friend via motorcylce throughout South America before starting his life as a revolutionary. If you have a chance, I'd highly recommend the Motorcycle Diaries as it is a really great international movie. Here's a bit more of information about Che Guevara, but if the name doesn't ring a bell, I'm sure some of the photos and information about him will.

On Thursday however, I found myself having a very hard day. Maybe P read my mind because when I got home that night, he had a nice bouquet of flowers waiting for me. And it wasn't even Valentines Day. :)

Aren't they just wonderful!!!!

Besides the flowers, I was totally dreaming about going to the beach on the sunny Saturday. My dreams consisted of going to a sandy beach and watching the sunset. That didn't exactly come about, but I did take this photo. Too bad it's hanging up in our place!

Although we didn't get my much needed beach time in as it might seem, we did end up going for a wonderful hour or more stroll while the moon was high in the sky. That in itself was just lovely and a great way to enjoy the clear skies. It was obvious we weren't alone either!

Let The Olympics Begin

This morning I couldn't sleep at all and ended up pulling myself out of bed by 6:30am. I, of course, got my cup of coffee and sat down in my new comfy chair to watch more on the Olympics which start today. With coffee in hand I was in Heaven.

Suddenly, I was a bit side stepped after Rolling On The Floor with laughter. If you'd like to see what I'm speaking about, just check out what Ms. Mac had to offer the blogging world. Here's a bit of extra help if you don't have a clue yet.

After reading all about it, I switched myself back into Olympic mode. Bardonecchia is where the snowboarding is taking place for the Olympics. I figure if I can't be there, I at least need to watch it on tv to live it up as much as I can. I'm sure I'd have thoughts of getting to Turino area if I was in Switzerland. I'd just take the train there and back, because we all know we won't find a place to stay. But since I'm not in Switzerland, I'm not really sure how closely I'll follow all of this because I'm better at reading about it (no time constraints).

The American's are pretty slick and spiffy with all of their trendy Roots gear. While the Swiss are bringing out their 130 members. Canadians have quite a few hopefuls who could shine too! In the mean time, I'll just sit back smelling my fresh flowers P bought be yesterday and watch it on the today show.

Figuring Out That Guy

Does it really make you feel at home? Well maybe so according to the pizza delivery guy. P served himself up his first medium thin sliced pizza in our new apartment yesterday. He hates cooking for one and when I don't eat with him during the week, he seems to find quick eats since I'm not around.

So Panago is that pizza that is as close to thin crust and good tasting pizza you get in Canada. So here's the punch line. As P was paying for the pizza, the delivery makes some conversation like.

Delivery guy: " You must have just moved in."
P: "Yes, I guess so".
Delivery guy: "Yeah I've been here several dozen times."
P: "Oh"
Delivery guy: "There's usually nothing in the kitchen area that's why I knew."
P: "Very Interesting, he lived here about 8 years."
Delivery guy: "Sounds about right."
P:"alright, have a good one."

Apparently the guy who lived in our place before us must have really loved Panago. He had been here for 8 years and the delivery guy sort of knew this too! The guy never cooked and we figured that out too when we saw the stove. Funny how you can figure out the people who lived in the apartment before you through a few simple "important" delivery guys.

Switzerland and Canada

CS asked me yesterday if I saw any similarities between Switzerland and Canada so I decided to make it into a blog entry.

What do I see that is the same here in Canada?

So basically I made a quick list of what I saw to be the same. Maybe all of you can help me out and add something else if you've been to Canada or Switzerland.

1. People are very worldly/well traveled.
2. We both like Fondue and Swiss Chocolate.
3. We both have Mountains such as the Rockies in Canada and the Alps in Switzerland.
4. We both LOVE Coffee, but there isn't a Starbucks on every corner in Switzerland.
5. You can find good coffee in Canada, but you just have to look a bit harder.
6. Both Countries Lush Forests and cherish trees.
7. Both have International Companies.
8. It takes forever to get over the mountains.
9. Canada and Switzerland both have many lakes.
10. Both Swiss and Canadians love hockey and football or soccer known to most in North America.

Fast Facts:
The Swiss were an important part of opening up the Canadian Rockies to tourism. Swiss mountaineers acted as guides in the year 1899 when the Canadian Pacific Railway was brought into the Banff National Park. There is a monument to these guides near Lake Louise, Alberta.

The name "Switzerland" comes from Schwyz, one of the three cantons (known as provinces in Canada) that originally formed the Swiss Confederation. The country is also known as Helvetica, because the original inhabitants were called Helvetians.
Source

** P took the above photo while we were in Switzerland this past August. I believe we were near Aarau in canton Argovia.

Expat Travels Turns One

It's hard to believe I've only been around blogging for a year now. It was on February 7th of last year that I finally decided to talk about my travels which got me to live my dreams quite literally.

You see I quit my "office" job back in 2001 in California because I was very unhappy in the corporate world and I knew what my goals were. I decided to take an independent job in marketing in Geneva that fell through the cracks after I arrived.

So what better to do that travel, see the world and get my English Teaching Certificate. I spent that May 2002 in Prague after spending a few months in Switzerland. I was lucky enough to have friends there that let me stay without the worries of paying for rent at the time. I totally had the time of my life and decided that Prague definitely wasn't for me and Switzerland was. That's how all of my adventures in Switzerland started.

But as all good things come to an end, I knew my permit would only be good for another year. I wasn't lucky enough to get a longer term permit to stay. Quite frankly I was tired of feeling like I wasn't going to be able to settle into a home that I could call home for more than just a year! I know I'm going to be an expat for life, well at least I know that I don't want to return to where I grew up. My life call is about traveling and about being in other places in the world.

I ended up in Canada because I knew I could immigrate there eventually. I knew it was so much like Switzerland and that is exactly what I was longing for; a place to make me happy. So with laptop in hand, I ended up half way across from where I started. Who would have known that I would meet that special man in my life along the way also.

I'm pretty sure I started my blog because I wanted to share my photos and my interests with other people who loved Switzerland and traveling also. I'm happy to have met so many internets, some even in person. Others, well I do hope to meet them some day as we keep emailing each other back and forth. And for now, I'll just keep on blogging and bring to you the world as I see.

It's been one sweet year but I'm sure there's many more to come for Expat Travels.

Let There Be Sun

I don't have much of a post today. It's sunny here and I'm getting ready to go running. I've got lots of laundry to take care of too so I had better get moving. Yes we are looking to have up to 10 days of sun in the sky. Is that crazy or what??

So go ahead and read my posts from the week. I'm sure there's something in there to check out. And tomorrow I'll have an interesting post for you to read. At least I know what I'm going to write (I think). Haha...

Tackling The Time Change

Over the weekend we had a very windy and rainy storm come into Vancouer Mainland. I guess it passed across most of Canada too. The storm was big enough to close all departures from the Tsawwassen fairy system and cause pretty major storm surge flooding.

But the highlight was this morning when I woke up to snow covered trees at the top of Grouse Mountain. It's been a rare site lately as most of you know that's all Vancouverites have been talking about lately. When there's sunlight, you always want to savor it. And that is exactly what many of the provinces are going to be doing, along with some of the US.

It looks like B.C. is one of the provinces yet to decide on this daylight saving change. But they are looking to follow four other provinces in extending the daylight hours. Just this week, Alberta announced it will increase daylight time by four weeks, starting in 2007. Clocks will be set ahead on the second Sunday in March that year, rather than on the first Sunday in April, which is the current practice. Standard time won't change until the first Sunday in November, which is one week later than Alberta currently does now. Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec have also decided to make the change.

The reason for these changes are because of the US's announcement last July to extend daylight time to help conserve energy. I'm all for the change because it will be better for all of us, including being a bit safer. The major reason why most provinces would change is to retain consistency with everyone else in North America.

Now I'm curious to know if Europe will follow suit. Has anyone heard anything yet?

** Photo was taken this morning of our Grouse Mountain View.

Slow Down Combats Pollution

Or not? I'm not so sure the unusual speed limits throughout most of Northern and Central Switzerland are the answer. If you happen to be driving on the motorway, you might need to slow down. Yes that's an 80 Kilometer speed limit you see and it's not for construction reasons.

Authorities have lowered speed limits on motorways to a slowing 80km. Their rational is because there has been way too much smog this winter. If people slow down, it might help clear up the smoggy weather.

Here in Vancouver, our highway speed limits are actually 80km also. It's a bit slow but I know 120 km is just too fast for our roads in Canada. I'm not so sure slowing down the speed limits are the answer in Switzerland, especially since soot and other diesel without particle filters have been the main offenders. I'm pretty sure the answer is lying right before them.

Before you get too worried, this study will be taking place for about a week. That's all. I'm not sure what type of data they will be recording, but let's just hope they don't decide to lower the speed limits for good in Switzerland.

Your thoughts or reactions?

How Sweet It Is

Last night I decided to walk home from work. It wasn't all that far, only 30 minutes with a stop into the local grocery store. But what was so sweet about it was that I didn't get rained on until after I had gotten home and was all cozy on the sofa enjoying my sweet Swiss chocolate.

I'm not so sure if I could have timed things better last night, but I also think the Swiss have timed their entrance into International chocolate markets just as well as I did last night.

The Swiss chocolate producers have reported their sweetest success ever in 2005 with sales of SFr1.47 billion ($1.14 billion). The success is mainly due to International markets such as Germany and the US, but I'm sure Canada isn't far behind because every time I walk into a store I see Swiss chocolate.

Since my love for chocolate is shared my many, I thought I'd share an incredible receipe I found to celebrate Switzerland's biggest profits of all time. Although I'm sure the Swiss will have to dream up a good marketing plan to keep profits growing, I'm still going to be buying the stuff I love most.

Receipe by Pastrywiz - Flourless Bittersweet Chocolate Cake with Milk Chocolate Drizzle

Flourless Chocolate Cake
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons cognac
6 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided

Chocolate Glaze
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons honey

Assembly
1/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves

Garnish
3 ounces milk chocolate, melted

If it sounds good enough to make, you can find the receipe here.

Groundhogs Day

Today is officially Groundhogs Day in Canada and the US. I had to do a bit of investigating to find out about Canada's Groundhogs Day since I've never heard anyone speaking about it here. My investigation led me to the CBC website. Pretty funny stuff.

"How groundhogs got a reputation for predicting weather patterns is a mystery, because they are not the least bit interested in their shadows or the number of winter weeks remaining. The only reason they come out of hibernation is for food and sex."

Willie Wiarton was the original Canadian groundhog who lived to be 22 years old but died during the hibernation winter of 1998-1999. All of this was discovered just before just before groundhogs day.

So how did they gain a reputation for predicting weather? I'm not sure if I should make you read or if I should give you the answer. Since I'm feeling good this morning, here it goes.

First off the verdict: 6 more weeks of winter says Phil = An Early Spring!

Groundhogs are not very good at predicting the weather. The town of Wiarton insist their Willie was 90 percent accurate. Since the Groundhog Festival attracts 20,00 free-spending tourists, what do you expect them to say? Scientific stuidies show groundhogs to be accurate 37 percent of the time in Fact. You do better if you flipped a coin in fact!

According to European folklore attributes this weather-forecasting ability to not only the groundhog, but the bear and the badger, too. And a similar tradition -- where snow and overcast skies signal and early end to winter -- is observed in northern Europe on Candlemas Day, which also falls on February 2 and in some areas marks the beginning of spring planting.

Important links - Canadian groundhog information - Wiarton Willie
American Groundhogs Day - Punxsutawney Phil
Europe - History of Candlemas

I'm still thinking Fasnacht or Canival is even a better celebration for everyone!!

What do you think? Which celebration do you like the most?

Moving Update

I thought I'd give you an update on how things are going. We're beat! Is that enough??

Well I'll give you a few more details. We are moved in. We have gone through most of the boxes with the exception of clothing. Things are going pretty well so far but we are both extremely tired. Gee I wonder why? We've had to clean a lot more than we wanted or planned, but the darn guy before was not a cleaner. I'm sure it's 8 years of dust and grime that we picked off this morning.

Our phone is back up since we are on VOIP and I'm not pushing P but I'd love to have my wireless all hooked up as he would for his internet too. I'm hoping it will be done by Friday.

So besides the sudden spurts of downpours, we are doing okay.

Tomorrow is Groundhog Day. I'm curious to see how this tradtion turns out. It's just all too silly! But here are some cute faqs on it's history.

According to legend, if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter weather. If he does not see his shadow, there will be an early spring. The celebration of Groundhog Day began with Pennsylvania's earliest settlers. They brought with them the legend of Candlemas Day, which states, "For as the sun shines on Candlemas Day, so far will the snow swirl in May..."