Monday, July 1, 2013

We Stand on Guard for Thee



Happy Canada Day!

I began my celebration last evening, with a lovely little Kir Royale:


Note the reddish hue and the white bubbles on top - very patriotic of me.. Lovely fresh picked mint leaves on top...

Thought I would give you a small list of the wonderful things that Canada has given the world:

How about insulin?


Which you might need if you eat one of our Beaver Tails


or listen to Celine Dion sing...



If you find that a little sweet, we have some salty


like Alanis

or Neil


We do like our musicians..

     

We gave you Bieber.  We're sorry...



But we made up for it with some sexy men, like the Ryans...

 

and some pretty hot women (i know - you may not like Pammy, but some men do...)



And some folks who have made you laugh...

  

 

  

Others who have inspired you...
  


Icons

  

  

 

Some great authors

  

  

too numerous to mention..

This is just a taste of Canada's gifts to the world.  The greatest gifts are the country, which if you have not visited, will inspire and delight you...

  
 
     

  

Oh yes and the people - very friendly people!


Canadians are often accused of being somewhat reticent about their love of country, though i think that is changing!

For me, the quintessential Canadian song is the Canadian Railroad Trilogy by Gordon Lightfoot.  If you have not heard this song before, please click below, crank the volume and take a taste of Canada.  I recommend that you have a Moosehead beer while you do that, but that's just me...


Happy Canada Day!  Stay Safe out there!

46 comments:

  1. Excellent list! Mmm, to mint leaves atop the Kir Royale, will try that next time and I am off to google the beaver - will be careful with that search.

    That pic if you is just a scream!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh I think it must be a bit like deep fried Indian bread that I used to see on the res and at fairs in the Dakotas.

      Delete
    2. Hey Tabs - very much like that and quite sweet! Mint leaves are yummy to chew on once they soak up all that kir royale!

      Delete
    3. Yep, maple syrup and cinnamon sugar are traditional, but these days the commercial ones come with everything from nutella banana to oreo. I have seen a few places that do garlic bread, cheese etc. tho' too.

      Delete
  2. Wendy, I love this post. Now I am off to look up some of the names,. I had no idea Michael J Fox was Canadian. And those scenery photos are magnificent. I have always wanted to travel to western Canada. Enjoy your day!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh we love ourselves some Michael J. Fox!!! I should have noted this but it goes:

      Newfoundland
      Nova Scotia (cape breton)
      PEI
      New Brunswick
      Quebec
      Ontario
      Manitoba
      Saskatchewan
      Alberta
      British Columbia\
      Yukon
      Northwest Territory
      Nunavut Territory

      Delete
  3. TRUE PATRIOT LOVE <3 the recap and of course the travelogue WMM. Happy red, white & true day to you - and all your readers. Make it a real holiday Monday...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not a country fan or a fomenter of franglo dissent, but will swap Shania for Celine any day.

      Delete
    2. Oh there is room for both kinds of candy in Canada!

      Delete
    3. Along with the double-double, the 2-4 and time on the chesterfield.

      Delete
    4. And I FORGOT to say thank you for the Cabot Trail drive! You must add it to your road trip list (I know a mayor, and restos and best photo spots.)

      Delete
    5. I forgot Timmies, our national drink! You don;t think I would have put up NS without CB! Never!!

      Delete
    6. I thought it was natural selection ;-)

      Delete
  4. Happy Canada Day Wendy! If you were here we could have Kir Royales on the porch. What a comprehensive Canada post! It is a beautiful country isn't it. Love that picture of you, it's a favourite. What are you doing today?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. well just went out and had an early morning swim as the sun has peeked out! Pool was 85F. Will head downtown after lunch to hit block party, bar, supper out. If we have energy will stay up for fireworks! WHat are you up to?

      Delete
    2. Gardening, more cooking, though Old Rascal went back to Toronto and of course I'm feeling sad about that. We leave tomorrow for my hometown so I should get packing up!
      Have a fun day, that sounds busy!

      Delete
    3. You too! Just spent 1/2 hour straightening my hair again but it never looks as good as when S does it!

      Delete
  5. Lovely post, every time I drive to town I look at Canada. My favorite trip so far was Montreal but I almost froze to death, it was Christmas time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah - Montreal at Christmas is pretty cold... Actually, almost everywhere in Canada at Christmas is pretty cold!

      Delete
  6. That was a great homage to Canada. Did not know Captain T Kirk was a Canadian! Happy Canada Day :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. CSW - we love our Captain Kirk - he and Paul Anka get trotted out to all national events!

      Delete
  7. Booking my ticket now, WMM, I'm sold! I've always admired the incredibly orderly way that Canada handles itself and have always wondered what it's like to live there. I have never visited but now you make it evident that I must!

    ReplyDelete
  8. We are gearing up for our Fourth of July celebration...BBQ, watermelon, beer, and fireworks. Canada is definitely on my to-do list but haven't decided where to start...thinking polar bears. Enjoy your festivities

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. BB - now that you have done Africa, polar bears it is - that will mean Churchill Falls in Northern Manitoba - never been there myself! It is a huge country and most of it is empty!

      Delete
  9. Happy Canada Day Wendy,
    Happy to hear the sun finally showed itself. What a great list and I've never been past Quebec City but sometime in the future I'd like to visit.
    We're having a heatwave in Victoria and the fireworks is be a blast over the harbour tonight.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Marsha! I am sure we are destined to meet either here or there - but you really ought to come east sometime - it is quite magical! Have a wonderful fireworks!

      Delete
  10. Happy Canada Day Wendy! I love this whole list, such fun to read! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have to be honest, I do love William Shatner best, followed closely by Donald Sutherland, but that's cause he is a New Brunswicker and grew up with my mum!

      Delete
  11. From beaver tails to the Bieb to beauty and brawn, Canandian gifts are boundless. Very lovely Kir Royale and husby and I will have a Molson Canadian later in your wonderful country's honor. I've vowed to visit Canada and that is on my bucket list.

    Can I confess something ... you've cleared up a big mystery for me. You know how people think they know the words to a song and swear by that but can be really wrong? Well... I've been singing "We stand on God for thee" thinking it must be God's principles that is meant.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh we are a heathen nation, but always on guard!!!!

      That's like me thinking that van Halen was singing "maxwell jump" instead of "might as well jump"!

      Delete
  12. Happy Canada Day. I'd love to re-gift the naughty Beib back to you, but I like you all too much for that. We can handle him :-)
    Thanks for Ryan and Michael J though...they're keepers along with so many others.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I trade you a Ryan for George C - we can never let him go!

      Delete
  13. Happy Canada Day! How I love Robertson Davies--I think it's a crime that his giant trilogies aren't available on Kindle.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Happy Canada day! Of course, here in Quebec it's pretty low key ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know!!!! Just wait a few days, right???? :-) I almost put JT on the list as I am hoping he is our next PM, but did not want to jinx it!

      Delete
  15. Happy Canada Day! Insulin? I didn't know that was a Canadian invention!

    I've only been to Canada for very brief visits in the 80 s, so would love to return for a longer time!

    Perhaps we should do a house swap, Wendy?
    My grotty old inner-city Sydney terrace for your beautiful, spacious house?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ruth! Would love a house swap - but trust me - NOT spacious at all!!!

      Delete
  16. Happy Canada Day Wendy! I'm a little jealous about the special Jcrew discount for our neighbors to the north but I'm sure they will reciprocate with a July 4th sale. You compiled a great list of all things Canada. I think Christopher Plummer is my favorite. Captain Von Trapp still makes me a little weak in the knees. I'm sure I wasn't the only one who wanted to swap places with Julie Andrews. I was happy to see him win the Oscar in 2012 and he is still dashing, in sorta geriatric way. Haven't been to Canada since I was a kid but I really should make another visit. Enjoy the day!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thanks SC! I LOVE christopher plummer! I saw a great interview between he and william shatner and they were joking about how two canadian shakespearean actors would end up in the Star Trek franchise!

      Delete
  17. Happy Canada Day WMM! I enjoyed your wonderful tribute to our wonderful country. Whew, glad you remembered Timmies. ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I KNOW!!! Timmies are SOOOO canadian! I have to have one at least once a month with a plain donut - true north strong and free comfort food!

      Delete
  18. So nice to live a Nation that believes that good health is a human right. Very civilized. When I had a connection to Detroit, my family used to drive to Windsor for delicious Indian dinner with a soupcon of civility.

    ReplyDelete

Kindness is a virtue...