American Thanksgiving and a Taste of Canadian Healthcare

So yes, a little while since my last post but with good reasons - lots going on up here in the Great White North!

Half of you have been wondering what I was going to be doing for Thanksgiving and the other half just automatically assumed that the Canadians celebrated at the same time as the Americans (unfortunately though the Mayflower never made it up this way)

I too was a little worried what I would be doing for the holiday but have no fear - Kathryn Doan (boss and hostess extraordinaire) decided to throw an American Thanksgiving party for our work team at her home in Norwich, Ontario.  Kathryn and her husband Clair own a crop and turkey farm in Norwich and Clair's immediate family also runs a dairy operation.  Norwich is a great rural area of Southwestern Ontario complete with a large Mennonite community that reminded me a lot of the Amish country tours I once took in Pennsylvania as a kid.


Kathryn, Clair and their one year old daughter Carmyn live in a turn of the century farm house that they have put a lot of work into and as a result has become an incredible home.  Kathryn, who comes from a very large family, left no meal item unturned - complete with a home grown Doan turkey!  The meal really made me feel at home even though my family was 2,500 miles away...so a BIG thanks to Kathryn and Clair for their hospitality (Clair sorry about the grocery bill - I owe you lunch next time I'm in London!)

Doan Turkeys

Doan Homestead

Mennonite Children Walking Home from School

Carmyn Enjoys an American Thanksgiving!

Happy Baby

Team from Work (and Clair - honorary member)

Me with Kathryn and Clair

Also - had a small mishap in the kitchen this afternoon that resulted in my first (and hopefully last) Canadian emergency room visit.  While attempting to make tea I managed to severely burn all my fingers and thumb on my right hand - special thanks to co-worker Alison West for driving 45 minutes to meet me at the hospital for support and to the triage team at Guelph General who talked me through a pretty painful experience...lesson learned = never put cold water in a hot empty pot!  I'll be going through a series of re-dressings for the next week to help with the healing process and to hopefully minimize scarring...in the meantime Tylenol 3 is becoming a new best friend.  Be on the lookout for shorter blog posts in the near future due to one handed typing :-)

Just in Case

Burn Dressing - Mickey Mouse or Michael Jackson?  You decide.

Hair Cut, Poutine, Leafs Game, Shawarma and Culturally Diverse Rodents

Another EPIC weekend in Toronto - all thanks to my cousin Melissa and her boyfriend Ian...I'm definitely indebted to these two!

Saturday I drove into the city and went directly to my cousin Anna's hair salon (I mentioned her in a previous post) and had her work her magic and let's just say 30+ years in the hair business has served that woman well...I had a great time catching up with her and learning all about her business.  In her early 20s she was a single parent working in a bank in Toronto and didn't want to be (as she puts it) a "robot" anymore so she put herself through beauty school, starting cutting hair for a salon and thought "I want to work for myself" - she went down to the bank, took out a loan and started  her own salon - all without telling anyone in the family!  Today she's definitely celebrating her entrepreneurial success story.

From the salon I met up with Melissa (Mel) and Ian to start our Toronto evening - we jumped on the subway and went down to Smoke's Poutinerie...what's Poutine you ask?  Simply put it's the most amazing thing you'll ever taste in your entire life.  Poutine is a dish that originated in Quebec (leave it to the French to develop such an awesome concoction of culinary deliciousness) and consists of french friends topped with cheese curds and covered in gravy...sounds gross yes but tastes delicious (by the way a heart defibrillator is not included with purchase - eat at your own risk).  Mel and Ian opted for the traditional Poutine whereas I selected the Poutine covered in peppercorn chicken and sauteed mushrooms - let's just say I'm now trying to figure out how I can be in a relationship with this Poutine on Facebook.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poutine

After rolling ourselves out Smoke's door we wondered back onto the subway and shot across town to Yonge and Dundas Square:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yonge-Dundas_Square  Y&D Square is basically the equivalent to Times Square in New York (albeit on a smaller scale) but nonetheless an awesome sightseeing opportunity.  Since Canada already celebrated their Thanksgiving in October the Christmas season is in full swing up here so Mel, Ian and I decided to jump on the holiday bandwagon and grab a few Peppermint Mochas at Starbucks - our apologies to Tim Hortons.  The mochas made me think about Blake and Gretchen Bolton since they are the ones that introduced me to them several years ago in San Luis Obispo - thanks B&G!

A little shopping ensued and then back on the subway to Madison's pub to watch the Maple Leafs (Toronto's Hockey Team).  Of course the Leafs lost but that didn't distract us from having an awesome time at the pub.  Ian's roommate Jesse and his girlfriend Haley came with an entourage of friends and we stayed well into the night - many from this group are the ones who came out for Halloween two weeks ago so we enjoyed the opportunity to relive that evening's events.  On the walk back home the bright lights of a Shawarma and Falafel shop caught our eyes (Rade R. this is the exact moment I texted you) - again, the Canadians have one-upped the American's on a culinary masterpiece.  I don't know what its origins are and where it came from but all I know is that Shawarma is a new favorite...a bunch of fresh ingredients get mixed into a pita topped with shredded chicken and some secret sauce that I'm pretty sure is laced with an addictive substance.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shawarma Perhaps it was the hunger, perhaps it was the cold but I have not tasted something so good in a very long time (excluding the Poutine just 6 hours earlier).  Actually the Shawarma wrap very closely parallels the Gyros that Mike, Joe, Jourdan and I enjoyed during our Europe trip four years ago - funny how most of my memories are created around food.

We all slept-in on Sunday morning (except for Jesse who I'm told never sleeps in) and then Mel, Ian and I headed out to Mississauga for a late lunch at Delores and Alvarinho's house (Mel's parents and therefore my cousins as well).  Delores cooked up an awesome lunch that reminded me a lot of the Portuguese meals back at my Grandparent's house in Tulare - I don't think there's anything much better than being surrounded by good food, good wine and good people.

Also I haven't mentioned this yet but Canada is home to black, yes black, squirrels.  The first time I saw one I literally stopped on the street and just stared at it because I couldn't believe it - I've mentioned this to a few of you on the phone but thought I would share a picture.

Alright well I'm off to run about 1,500 miles on the treadmill.  Hope you're enjoying the updates and please don't be afraid to comment!

Great view coming into the city

The subway - reminds me so much of Europe and an efficient way to get around

Traditional Poutine

Poutine with peppercorn chicken and mushrooms...le amazing

The finished product - does anyone have Tums on them?

Mel and Ian chow down

Yonge and Dundas Square

Mel, Haley and Jesse at Madison's for the hockey game

Ian and I with my new hair cut from Anna.
Mom if you're reading this we're drinking apple juice

Everyone else joins the party!

Jesse showing off his Shawarma - he eventually shared  with Haley

Black squirrels - all colours of rodents live and are accepted in Canada!

Portuguese lunch at the Maduro house

Tim Horton’s, Social Media, Costco and California Nuts

While you might find a Starbucks here and there spattered throughout Canada you’re likely not to find one on every block.  Instead you’ll find the friendly, bold, red text of Tim Horton’s – absolutely the Canadian standard of coffee…and better yet – it’s cheap!

Founded in 1964 by Canadian Hockey Player Tim Horton, the brand is now the largest food chain in Canada and to be honest there’s really no point in mentioning any other coffee store – when you say you want a coffee it’s automatically assumed it’s Tim’s.  More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Hortons

Today I was able to enjoy a couple of Tim Horton’s  in our London, Ontario with my boss and Farms.com Interactive Media Coordinator Andrew Campbell  (congrats to Andrew by the way who just got married).  Andrew is the social media guru of greater Canada and also comes from a dairy farm here in Ontario – we have an ongoing debate about which is better – Ontario Dairy Farmers  or California Walnut Farmers - anyone who is reading this blog better be voting for the walnuts.

And finally after a couple of weeks of craziness my boss, Kathryn, and I were able to sit down and get some details ironed out about upcoming projects that I’ll be helping out our Canadian team with.  Did I mention the Canadian team by the way?  A GREAT group of people who I’m very thankful to have the opportunity to work with…after a year and half of working on my own in a home office it’s a great to get into a structured environment with people to talk to, bounce ideas off of and create – as our company president would say – “synergy.”

And lastly for those of you waiting in suspense to find out this vital piece of information…yes they have Costco’s in Canada!  That’s right…nothing says living in a foreign country than going to a store that only accepts American Express :-) Hello protein powder and chicken breasts.  While roaming the aisles I happened to find a little piece of home – see picture below.

Tim Horton's - A Daily Must

KD - back from Maternity Leave and diving-in head first! (Kathryn I did this off of work time FYI)

3,200 miles away - California nuts from Diamond!

Office Welcoming

Well it’s been a busy week so far – most of it spent working and getting used to the new office, getting settled into my apartment and doing some much needed grocery/supply shopping.  I’ll likely have more posts coming about grocery shopping up here but for now I’ll just say it’s a lot more expensive than back home and I definitely miss my peeps at The Nugget!

Today we went out to lunch at Adona’s as part of my welcoming to Canada – a GREAT Greek food place here in Guelph that is run by a Greek family…picture if you will the restaurant from that movie “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”…I’ve been to this place before when I’ve visited for work and I have yet to find a better place in California.

For those of you wondering about the weather – a brisk -1^oC this morning when I got into the car (the C stands for Celsius – for those of you in Rio Linda).  Even if you don’t live in Rio Linda you’re probably wondering how that temperature converts – my boss has explained it the best way I’ve heard so far and that is to take the Celsius temperature, double the number and add 30 to get a rough estimate (I think I just heard Mike Motroni give a groan – he’s probably creating a conversion spread sheet as you read this blog).  Anywho, I’m going to have invest in an ice scraper pretty soon.

The office staff also welcomed me today with a cake – ok, ok, yes the cake was for some birthdays in the office too but I was willing to share the limelight.

My next post will be about the city’s trash system – and if you thought California was tough on recycling, just wait until you hear about what’s going on up here.

In true Canadian style – Cheers!

Mandy - my cubical neighbor and HR Services Extraordinaire

Welcoming cake and a few birthdays