More Patriotism

Last night during the Superbowl (all five minutes of it that I watched) I saw the CTV ad featuring a fifteen-year-old singer, Nikki Yanofsky, belting out the Olympic anthem for these winter games. So well done, it brought a tear to my eye! You can watch it here. It may be enough to make you change your citizenship. Be Canadian!

And those Australians... they have stuck to their guns and will not need to take down the boxing 'roo flag. Yay! I will definitely be rooting for Australia!

Gearing up for the Games

The Winter Games are drawing near with the opening ceremonies this Friday. We decided to go downtown yesterday with Tim and Lea to see the city all dressed up, before the crowds really hit.

I always love to go downtown, but this was really great.

The Hotel Georgia was wrapped in a giant Canadian flag and the Bay was one huge Olympic advertisement. (There were a number of other buildings all decked out, mostly in advertising) This was not surprising, as the Bay won the contract to dress the Canadian athletes, and we were actually on a mission to purchase a family set of Olympic sweatshirts.

We were unprepared for the frenzy.

Inside the store, hundreds of like-minded customers prowled ruthlessly, all hunting for Olympic shirts. Tourists gathered official Games clothing by the armload; people pushed and shoved (in a polite, Canadian kind of way) looking for what they wanted.

Alas, I came away empty handed due to a lack of reasonable sizes. Should have bought it months ago. Hopefully, my local Bay store will renew their stock in time for the Opening Ceremonies, for I must dress appropriately!

We continued our journey in Stanley Park, where we oohed and aahed over the Olympic rings in Coal Harbour, together with a multitude of other admirers armed with cameras and tripods.

And then we were off to the Burrard Bridge to see the light show.

It was a most satisfying day.

Those Australians!

One week until the opening ceremonies, and the International Olympic Committee has met its match. Finally!
Since Vancouver was confirmed as the host city for the 2010 games, the IOC has been "cleaning house". Businesses and restaurants have been forced to abandon any Olympic symbols and slogans, even if they were part of the original business name for years. Greek restaurants were the worst hit. Non-sponsoring businesses are prohibited from using words like gold medal, Vancouver 2010, and Olympic Games.
And now, the Australian Olympic team has hung a huge flag from their Olympic Village condo. Gasp!
The IOC has requested that it be removed, as it's a registered trademark. The Aussies, of course, say a resounding NO! It's THEIR trademark! At least, until they get an official letter.

I have a feeling that most Vancouverites, who are sick and tired of all the rules, are most pleased with the whole display.

Go Australia!

You can see an interview here.

Friday at last!

Don’t you love Fridays? I do.

Friday is Pie day.

Garlic beef in red wine, with spinach, tomatoes, & mushroom.

 

Roll on the weekend.

How Things Change!

At the end of the day, I really like coming home. I guess I'm a home body...

I came home tonight to find a boy I know - Little Joe - busy in the kitchen. He had cooked himself something to eat, and maybe because I was arriving home, was just washing up. What a responsible fellow!

After all the years of child raising, it's so nice to be able to hang out and chat. And to see him doing good things without being asked. I guess it makes up for the time he poured baby powder all over himself (and the carpet) and looked like a little ghost. And the time he stole my lipstick and drew all over the walls. And all the food-related messes he left in the kitchen. And... you get my drift.

Olympic Musing

OK, I can handle the lizards. They're fine. But the spiders... a different story altogether. Ugh. Creepy.

I can hardly believe that huge enormous swimming pool is part of the school! It looks like an Olympic facility!

Speaking of Olympic, we're all getting pretty pumped up.

Today, we had a visit from the coach of the Japanese short track speed skating team. Very cool.

I'm contemplating taking my class to see the torch relay come through next Friday, just a few blocks away from the school. Could be fun! Especially if there are no hostile protesters...

The upcoming games have us all feeling a little conflicted. We're excited to see the world coming to Vancouver, but apprehensive about all the chaos and bedlam that could reign in the city. Ticket holders are being warned about waiting for hours in lineups and going through airport-like security for sporting events. Traffic... who knows what our daily commutes will be like? And I'm sure that there will be all kinds of militant protesters doing their thing.

Maybe a trip to Oz would be in order...

I wish.

But no spiders, please.

Summer's deposits

As Spring approaches the Great White North (dare I mention it, with the 2010 Winter Olympics just over a week away!), Summer is in FULL SIZZLE Down Under, with not a hint of Autumn relief anywhere on our blazing horizon.

The boys are safely back at school in airconditioned bliss. This was the assembly to officially welcome in the school year. Can you see my boys?!:)

The Secondary school always kicks off the year with its annual Swim Meet. Something akin to ‘throwing the kids in the deep end….’ Otherwise known as ‘sink or swim’. I think I should leave the analogies there.

I was quite pleasantly surprised at how many staff took part in the swim meet, alongwith the students. It added to the fun of the occasion! As an aside, I can’t quite reconcile seeing teachers in their swimming togs, and then seeing them in their teaching clothes…But I digress. Again.

~*~

The local wildlife is enjoying summer too….and our pool. On hot days, it feels a bit like we are providing a public pool service to the local lizard population!

The other day, our resident blue tongue lizard had a bit of a fright. He was in our pool taking a leisurely paddle around to cool off, when a bunch of exuberant boys jumped into our pool. It gave him SUCH a fright that he unfortunately left some ‘deposits’ at the bottom of our pool. The boys who had not expected to share the pool with any wildlife other than themselves, were excited and GROSSED OUT all at the same time. It’s amazing what pool filters can be used to suction up! As for the blue tongue, he vamoosed to quieter pastures. Lucky thing!

This is a new resident on our property. Jan/Feb is about the right time for lizard eggs to hatch. LENNY, is a very friendly baby Water Dragon Lizard. He lives under the kids’ pool toys and he loves to come out and investigate whenever there is anything happening on the back patio. Basically, he’s nosey. Dragon Lizards have a distinctive perky, upright position that makes them look very engaging….kinda. They are well known to become quickly accustomed to human company. This one is definitely unafraid of us!

At the moment, Lenny is only about 15cms long, and the spines on his back are still forming. At maturity, I think he’ll be much less cute, since he could grow to be about 100cm long. That is assuming, of course, that Lenny is a ‘he’ and not a ‘Lena’ ! Females are a little smaller.

Dragon Lizards are very good climbers with their claws and powerful bodies. They can stay submerged for an hour, though I do wonder about whether the chemicals in domestic pools, aid or decrease their longevity! They are omnivores, and I’m sure hanging around humans is quite advantageous for supplementing their diet! Apparently you can train them to eat out of your hand, but unfortunately for Lenny, he's going to have to be self sufficient.

~*~

That was in our backyard – where all the fun happens. At the front of our place, we have a busy (& well fed) Golden Orb Spider. I know nothing about Golden Orb Spiders except that this guy/gal has spun a huge web that catches the sunlight beautifully. From the size of it, I’m sure he/she catches much more than sunlight…

Wonderful way to greet any arachnophobic visitors…

Still wanna come and visit???

I don't know what it is about grade twos, but they're always the ones I like to watch when I'm on playground duty.

Every year, it's the twos who love to play in puddles.

And when they run past me, they yell out, "Hi!"

Maybe we're all looking forward to next year, when they'll be mine.

All mine.