Canadian Tulip Festival

Did you know Canada.. The Canadian Tulip Festival is coming up! May 6-23.

Held in Ottawa and Gatineau The Canadian Tulip Festival is the world's largest tulip festival, displaying over one million tulips, with attendance of over 500,000 visitors annually.

The festival started in 1945 when Princess Juliana of the Netherlands presented Ottawa with 100,000 tulip bulbs in appreciation for the safe haven offered to exiled Dutch royalty and the role Canadian troops played in the liberation of the Netherlands.

This is a free festival with many venues of tulip displays, entertainment, children's activities and more. Major’s Hill Park, the Canadian Tulip Festival’s main activity site, will officially be open May 6-8 and May 13-23. Commissioners Park, located at Dow’s Lake, will be open May 6-23. In spring, over one million tulips in more than 50 varieties bring the National Capital Commission’s (NCC) flower beds to life.

Royal Wedding

Did you know Canada.. of course you all know William and Kate (now known as Duke & Duchess of Cambridge, Earl & Countess of Strathearn and Baron & Countess Carrickfergus) were wed in the most beautiful Royal Wedding this morning.

In a statement today, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the government of Canada is offering the gift of $50,000 donation to the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary on behalf of all Canadians as our wedding gift to the happy couple. The donation will help the group provide a permanent search-and-rescue program, and to help prevent injuries or loss of life at sea.

As we mentioned before Will & Kate will be visiting our beautiful country June 30 to July 8 where their visit will include trips to Alberta, the Northwest Territories, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and the Ottawa area.

Blackflies

Did you know Canada.. depending on where you live just hearing the word "black fly" can send shivers down your spine. And I've heard many times nowhere else on the planet are the black flies as big as in Northern Ontario.

Like the Mosquito, it is the female black fly that bites, but the males that swarm around the females increase the nuisance factor. The female bites a hole in the skin to suck the out blood. In response to chemicals injected by the female during this bite (including toxins and anticoagulants) the area around bites swell, becoming painful and itchy. Intense feeding can cause "Black Fly Fever", with headache, nausea, fever, swollen lymph nodes, and aching joints; these symptoms are probably a reaction to a compound in the flies' salivary glands. Less commonly, severe allergic reactions may require hospitalization.

A blackfly's average lifespan is around three weeks - they start coming out in Mid-May and last until Mid to Late June.

One solution to combat the blackflies is to take 3 times the recommended daily dosage of Vitamin B Complex for 2 weeks before heading out into the wilderness - this is suppose to cut down bites by up to 75%!

Have you ever struggled with the madness of the blackflies?

Source: CTV, Wikipedia

Increase at the Advanced Polls

Did you know Canada.. Elections Canada is seeing a huge increase in voters at the advanced polls.

Elections Canada officials say there was a 30% increase in the number of Islanders voting in the advance polls compared to the 2008 federal election.

PEI is not the only place where numbers are soaring. There's a 45% increase in Alberta and a 67% increase in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Over 676,000 Canadians voted on Friday and over 823,000 on Monday, representing the two busiest days of advance voting EVER.

Across the country more than two million people cast ballots in advance polls. That's an increase of almost 35 per cent over the last federal election.

Have you voted yet?

Source: Elections Canada

Are we facing an Obesity Epidemic?

Did you know Canada.. According to an article in the Canadian Medical Association Journal they feel with the increase in numbers of overweight children and young adults we are facing an Obesity Epidemic that require legislative approaches to control.

If our current trend continues next 25 years, half of Canadians over age 40 will be obese. Obesity is expected to surpass smoking as the leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality.

Suggested government-level interventions include taxing junk food, improving serving size and nutritional labeling, banning certain foods and ingredients, and regulating sodium consumption. Corporate and school level solutions such as limiting access to junk food in schools are other approaches.  I know many schools already have a no candy rule and many pop machines have been removed from schools.

Do you think it's the government's place to step in though?

Source: Canadian Medical Association Journal, ScienceDaily

CC-130 Hercules-H

Did you know Canada.. The CC-130 Hercules-H is making its last journey home from Afghanistan, where it has offered almost 10 years of service, now being retired.

The first CC-130E Hercules entered service in Canada in 1960, and the current CC-130H Hercules was purchased in 1996. The first of 17 new J-model CC-130s arrived in 2010 to replace the oldest aircraft in the Hercules fleet.

The CC-130 Hercules is a four-engine fixed-wing turboprop aircraft that can carry up to 78 combat troops. It is used for a wide range of missions, including troop transport, tactical airlift (both palletized and vehicular cargo), search and rescue (SAR), air-to-air refuelling (AAR), and aircrew training.

As reported by the Canadian Press colleagues, including the acting commander of Canada's troops in Afghanistan, turned out on the tarmac at Kandahar Airfield to say goodbye as Prescott and crew got ready to leave.

Source: The Canadian Press, Canada's Air Force

The Internet and Adolescents

Did you know Canada.. Researchers in Canada have found a strong association between computer and Internet use in adolescents and engagement in multiple-risk behaviours, including illicit drug use, drunkenness and unprotected sex.

They say that since adolescents are exposed to considerable screen time - over 4.5 hours on average each day - they're constantly seeing images of behaviours they can then potentially adopt.

Do you agree with these findings? I think adolescents where "engaged in multiple-risk behaviours" long before the Internet.

Source: Science Daily, Preventive Medicine, Queen's University

Women's Hockey goes for Gold

Update: USA Women defeat Team Canada 3 to 2 in overtime to win Gold.

Did you know Canada.. in just a few minutes Canada will take on the United States in the Gold Medal game for the 13th straight time at 2pm EST at the World Women's Hockey Championship in Zurich.

Canada and the U.S. have met for the gold medal at the worlds all 13 times the tournament has been contested. Canada has won gold nine times, with the Americans having captured the last two world titles and three of the last four overall.

The women's worlds were not played last year of course when Canada won the Olympic tournament over the U.S. in our Vancouver. As I'm sure you know, Canada has won three straight Olympic gold medals.

Are you watching today's game?

Royal Wedding

Did you know Canada.. well, as I'm sure most of you DO know, the Royal Wedding between William and Kate takes place this Friday. Depending on where you live it's likely you'll be getting up around 3 in the morning if you want to watch it.

I've seen a lot of comments on twitter with people saying they don't care about the Royal Wedding and it has nothing to do with us, etc, etc..

I don't agree with that at all. We're Canadian and part of being Canadian is knowing at least a bit about the Monarch, after all Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is Canada's Head of State. Although the monarch’s powers have been dissolving since the nineteenth century - about the only ones that remain are the right to appoint a prime minister and dissolve parliament.

I think there are many people that will be getting up at 3am to watch the Royal Wedding - after all, William is likely going to be King, and likely in our lifetime. Many of us, like my Mother for one, woke up at 1am to watch Charles and Dianna wed and will be doing the same this Friday and look forward to it.

Will you be attending the wedding of William and Kate?

We are Canadian Blog Hop - Week 6!

Did you know Canada.. we are joining the We are Canadian Blog Hop today to meet other Canadians - welcome all and look forward to following some new folks.

Canadian Discovery: Insulin

Did you know Canada.. it was Canadian doctor Sir Frederick Grant Banting who was one of the main discovers of insulin.

Sir Frederick Grant Banting born near Alliston, Ontario in 1891.

This discovery earned Banting a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1923 and the Canadian Parliament granted him a Life Annuity of $7,500.

It was in February 1941 that Banting was killed in an air disaster in Newfoundland while he was serving as liaison officer between the British and North American medical services during the Second World War.

Then in 2006 he was voted 4th out of the top 10 greatest Canadians.

Source: uToronto, nobelprize.org

Earth Day

Did you know Canada.. with the Easter celebrations today it might be easy to forget that today is also Earth Day.

We wrote a post about Earth Day earlier this week.

Also check out The Good Shoppers Blog: Earth Day at home.

Tell us how you celebrated Earth Day!!

The Bay of Fundy

Did you know Canada.. The Bay of Fundy tide is the highest in the world!

It's as high as a four-storey building and is five times higher than the Atlantic Coast average. This offers beachcombing for sparkling amethysts at low tide, fascinating tours, and extreme Tidal Bore rafting.

There are approximately two high tides and two low tides within a 24-hour period in the Bay of Fundy. The time between a low tide and a high tide is about 6 hours and 13 minutes. The tidal bore occurs during the flooding and is a site to be seen.

A tidal bore is a tidal phenomenon in which the leading edge of the incoming tide forms a wave of water that travel up a river or against the direction of the current so incoming tide reverses the flow of out-flowing rivers. The Bay of Fundy is one of the few places in the world that has a tidal bore.

In July 2009, the Bay of Fundy was named as a finalist for the New 7 Wonders of Nature contest that ends in November 2011.

Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia, NovaScotia.com, Bay of Fundy Tourism, Wikipedia

Hoodoo's in the Alberta Badlands

Did you know Canada.. Hoodoo's are a tall, thin spire of rock that protrudes from the bottom of an arid drainage basin or badland. They take millions of years to form. The top capsrocks are the hardest part and they protect the soft rock below from wearing away - if there was no caprock, the soft sandstone erodes away very quickly. 

Hoodoos range in size from 5 feet to heights exceeding a 10-story building. Hoodoos are very fragile and can erode completely if their capstone is dislodged.

The heart of Alberta's badlands is The Drumheller Valley - one of the few areas in the world where sedimentary layers from earlier geological periods have been scraped off by natural processes, exposing a rich deposit of animal and plant fossils and even complete dinosaur skeletons.  You can take the Hoodoo Trail to view these amazing creations of nature.

Source: Travel Drumheller, Wikipedia

Travel out of Canada

Did you know Canada.. it was interesting to read from Statistics Canada that Canadian residents took 4.8 million trips abroad in February, up 0.8% compared with January. Canadian travel to overseas countries increased 0.3% to 734,000 trips in February. Probably to get away from our crazy winter. ;-)

Canadians took 4.0 million trips to the United States in February and overnight travel rose 2.2% to 1.7 million. Canadians also took 2.3 million same-day car trips to the United States in February, almost the same amount as in January.

I'm surprised that same-day car trips to the States did not increase considering our dollar is so strong. But we also had some pretty awful weather in January and February. We're planning on a day trip to the states for lunch and some shopping in the next month or so - are you planning a trip across the border any time soon?

Eliminate bodychecking in Youth Hockey

Did you know Canada.. New research is demanding that bodychecking be eliminated in youth hockey for all but the most elite levels.

It's scary to hear that bodychecking is introduced to players as young as nine in some leagues. Bodychecking in minor hockey introduces substantial risks of serious injury, including the risk of concussion and lasting brain damage.

Some people may not realize that a concussion is a form of head and brain injury! This causes a change in brain function even though there is no visible injury.

A recent study that found 1/4 of all players among two fourth-tier junior hockey teams followed for a complete season suffered at least one concussion during that time.

What Hockey Canada has to say.. Hockey Canada believes coach training and education along with parent education are priorities within the Canadian hockey system in order to support the continued positive growth of the game at all levels of minor hockey with or without body checking at the youth levels of the game.

My own boys will be starting hockey this fall, we actually just bought their helmets this past weekend. I would be very happy to hear about bodychecking being eliminatied at youth levels.

Do you think bodychecking should be eliminated for youths?

Source: Hockey Canada, Canada.com

Earth Day

Did you know Canada.. Every April 22nd Canadians join over 1 billion people in over 175 countries to celebrate Earth Day.

This year marks the 41st anniversary of Earth Day - honouring the planet and all living things that inhabit it.

It was in 1990 that Canada first joined in the Earth Day celebrations and has now grown into Earth week and even Earth month!

Let us know what you're doing to celebrate Earth Day!

You can also read my article about Earth Day at home on The Good Shopper Blog at Buy Canadian First.

World's Biggest Bookstore

Did you know Canada.. The World's Biggest Bookstore is a bookstore located in Toronto, Ontario!

The store was started in 1980 by Jack Cole and Carl Cole, former owners of Coles Bookstore - it is now owned by Indigo Books and Music.

Known for it's 20 kilometres of bookshelves and no frills image with 65,000 square feet of floor space.

Unfortunately the store no longer lives up to it's name, a Barnes and Noble at 5th Avenue and 18th Street in New York City boasts more floor space.

We are Canadian Blog Hop - Week 5!

Did you know Canada.. I do love the We are Canadian Blog Hop and am happy to join in again this week!! Please join us in celebrating Canadian Blogs!

Rainforest

Did you know Canada.. we've mentioned before that Canada has 10% of the world's forests. But did you know that Canada has Rainforests?

To have a rainforest the forested area must receive a minimum of 250cm of moisture per year. Our moist climate keeps the landscape wet most of the year, with an annual precipitation of about 300cm.

The ancient Great Bear Rainforest is located on the west coast of the British Columbia mainland. It is the largest coastal temperate rainforest on Earth at 21 million acres, and is home to thousands of species of plants, birds and animals. Trees can tower up to 300 feet and some are over 2,000 years old. The main big tree species include Sitka Spruce, Western Red Cedar and Douglas Fir.

The Great Bear Rainforest represents 25% of the world's remaining coastal temperate rainforest.

Thanks to efforts by The Nature Conservancy, 5 million acres of the rainforest are now off limits to logging and more than 19 million acres are under strict land management guidelines called ecosystem based management.

Source: Parks Canada, BritishColumbia.com, The Nature Conservancy

National Symbol: Beaver

Did you know Canada.. one of our national symbols is the beaver. It can be found in our lakes and rivers, on our nickle, was a lucrative trade item, postage stamps, coat of arms and more.

The beaver is the largest rodent in North America and 3rd largest rodent in the World. Making it's home in our rivers, streams, ponds, and lakes. We all know they build dams and lodges using sticks, bark and mud. Each beaver lodge is inhabited by one beaver family - beavers mate for life.

The first Canadian postage stamp (for the Province of Canada) was the "Three Penny Beaver" in 1851. The design was by Sir Sandford Fleming and was the first stamp to picture an animal and not a monarch.

Source: Wikipedia, CBC Archives, The Canadian Encyclopedia

Toonik Tyme

Did you know Canada.. it's Toonik Tyme! Toonik Tyme takes place April 14-20, 2011 in Iqaluit, Nunavut. Iqaluit is the territorial capitol of Nunavut and the largest community on Baffin Island.

Toonik Tyme is an outdoors celebration of the return of spring. Events include displays of intricate igloo building, snowmobile races, a Tea and Bannock (flat quick bread) Contest, children's activities and more.

Toonik Tyme has been taking place every spring since 1965.

Green Families

Did you know Canada.. as of 2009, 8 out of 10 households reported they had purchased environmentally-friendly, or green cleaning products. The benefit to using these products is to preserve human health and the environment. Many non-green cleaning products contain various toxic chemicals, some of which emit volatile organic compounds causing respiratory problems and skin irritations among other adverse effects.

Check out Buy Canadian First for cleaning products to use at home made by Canadian Companies and PlanetFriendly.net for a list of eco-cleaning companies across Canada.

Source: Statistics Canada, Wikipedia

Watch your step!

Did you know Canada.. In New Brunswick you can walk down the steepest and shortest main street there is. 

King Street in Saint John NB is the steepest main street in Canada rising to the height of an eight-storey building in just two blocks!  They better have some good shopping there!  haha..


Source: CBC, Fly From Canada, New Brunswick Tourism

Price of New Housing

Did you know Canada.. according to Statistics Canada over the past year the location with the highest year-over-year price increase for new housing is St. John's!

Also posting high increases is Regina, Winnipeg and Montreal.

The locations with that are showing decreases include Windsor, Thunder Bay and Victoria.

In Regina, Kitchener–Cambridge–Waterloo and Edmonton, recent increases were primarily a result of higher land development fees. And in Charlottetown, builders reported increased prices as a result of improving market conditions.

Slower market conditions caused builders in Windsor as well as in Saint John, Fredericton and Moncton to reduce their prices recently. And in Ottawa–Gatineau, builders recorded lower negotiated selling prices just this past February.

If you are planning a move do you think now is the time to look into new housing instead of what's on the current market?

Did you know Canada.. Please meet Judy Brunton and family - Judy is a lovely woman looking to raise $4000 in a Walk-A-Thon put on by Easter Seals Ontario. This article introducing Judy was originally posted on the Our Canada Community Blog - thank you Our Canada for allowing us to help get Judy's word out.

Walking for Kids

When I was a young girl, I worked at a summer camp as a leader-in-training and ended up spending a lot of time with a child confined to a wheelchair. I immediately wanted to help Rachael fit in with the other able-bodied children. I helped her to participate in everything everyone else was working on and not to feel left out.
Later, when I was in public school, I met a boy who was also confined to a wheelchair. Stanley was part of the special education class, and every recess and lunch hour we would play together.
I was doing some shopping in Newmarket, Ont., one day almost 6 years ago, and I saw the brochure for a Walk-A-Thon being put on by Easter Seals Ontario, an organization that aims to create a better life for children and youth with physical disabilities. I was immediately hooked.
Now it is my healthy addiction to raise as much money for this wonderful organization as possible. On May 29, 2011, my son, Charlie, and I will yet again participate in the Run/Walk-a-thon that celebrates its 35th anniversary this year.

Charlie, who will turn four-years-old in June, has been participating in this event almost as long as I have! On my second walk-a-thon, I was only a few weeks away from delivering Charlie. My dad had to push me in a wheelchair - I didn't want to deliver en route! Dad has come on the walk with me for a few years; last year, he participated as a clown. He is a professional clown named Smoothie.

It’s always fun walking with others who are out for the same great cause. People can run or walk the ten kilometres. I’ve never been a runner, but I can walk for miles. I am tired at the end, but I do enjoy the nice long jaunt.
At the end of the day, it’s more about raising money to support families of children with physical disabilities than a race. Charlie and I were the last two to arrive at the finish line last year, but we raised the most money ever: $3,500. We are hoping to raise $4,000 this year.
I am very fortunate to have a healthy son. It can cost an extra $40,000 per year to care for a child with a physical disability. This year I joined the organizing committee for the Walk-a-thon to be more involved. If you would like to learn more about Easter Seals Ontario, visit http://www.easterseals.org/ and for more on the event itself, and to sponsor Charlie and me, please visit http://www.persechinirun.org/.

Judy Brunton and family, Aurora, Ont.

National Wildlife Week

Did you know Canada..  National Wildlife Week is April 10-16.

As noted on the Canadian Wildlife Federation website: National Wildlife Week is a program of the Canadian Wildlife Federation. NWW is an opportunity to celebrate our country’s natural heritage and play a supportive role in its conservation.

Don't just think about animals for Wildlife Week - think about your local environment - native plants and flowers, small mammals and insects that need this vegetation for food and shelter - it can be wild out there even in your own backyard!

The best way to celebrate National Wildlife Week is to head out on a Walk for Wildlife! Check here for some Wildlife Walks going on across Canada - or plan your own Wildlife Walk.

Source: Canadian Wildlife Federation, Environment Canada

Update on Radiation Levels

Did you know Canada.. last month we posted an article about Health Canada monitoring stations having detected a "minuscule" increase in radiation levels along the B.C. coast in the wake of the nuclear crisis in Japan.

We wanted to update Canadians on what's happening now.

• - the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is widening radiation testing to includes B.C. milk - they say they have yet to detect related any emitting radiation
• - negligible levels of radioactivity have been detected along North America's West Coast
• - Japanese food and feed imports and found all products below Health Canada's action levels for radiation (Japanese food products made up less than 0.3 per cent of Canada's total food imports)
• - there is a postal worker in Toronto that has been off the job for a week because of fears about the radiation levels of mail originating in Japan (there are radiation detectors in the postal facilities but they are not being used to scan mail originating from Japan at this time)
• - many have voiced concerns about possible radiation contamination in seafood stocks - current radiation testing by government agencies only has to do with the air for the most part
• - low levels of radioactivity drifting from Japan have been detected as far away as on the monitoring systems of New Brunswick's Point Lepreau nuclear power plant but the levels detected do not pose a health risk to the public
• - higher than normal radiation levels have been detected in Ontario, Energy Minister Brad Duguid doesn't have any details whether the higher radiation levels were found in water, air or food but says there's nothing to worry about

Are you concerned about these small levels of radiation still coming in from Japan?

Gas Prices Part 2

Did you know Canada.. last week we did an article about Gas Prices Across the Country and I see there is an article today on canada.com that is reporting because of the increase in gas prices it could cost households extra $950 this year!!

I was surprised to read that compared gas prices in Canada, which have risen about 25 per cent since September, to U.S. prices, which are up 32 per cent.

According to data from Kent Marketing Services, the average price of regular gasoline in Canada is more than $1.25 a litre, compared to about $1 last September.  As we saw last week in many places across the country it's even higher than $1.25 - as high as $1.37 in Montreal.

We are Canadian Blog Hop - Week 4!

Did you know Canada.. As always I am happy to be part of the We are Canadian Blog Hop. I've met some fantastic people and look forward to meeting more today :-)

Judgement Day

Did you know Canada..  many billboards are popping up across Canada - including this one in Windsor Ontario warning of Judgement Day coming May 21, 2011.

Wondering what this is? According to some on May 21st, Judgement Day will begin and the Rapture will occur. The Rapture is a reference to the catching up of 1 Thessalonians 4:17 when Christians will be gathered together in the air to meet Christ.

It is an evangelical Christian organization from California that is posted these billboards across Canada and the US. Harold Camping a Christian radio broadcaster and president of Family Stations, Inc. that states that a number of Biblical passages point unquestionably to May 21, 2011 as the first day of the Day of Judgment and October 21, 2011 for the end of the world.

What do you think will happen May 21?  I think I'll be enjoying my May 2-4 weekend :-)

Vacation Destinations: The Cabot Trail

Did you know Canada.. The Cabot Trail is a scenic highway that loops around the northern part of Nova Scotia.

The 298 km Cabot Trail is named after the explorer John Cabot who landed in Atlantic Canada in 1497.

It is known as one of the most breath-taking drives you'll ever take and named one of the best road trips in the world. With the highway carved into the edge of ancient highlands, spectacular views of the ocean and passing through Cape Breton Highlands National Park.

The Cabot Trail connects eight major communities with festivals, outdoor adventures and more - this would be a vacation to remember.

Source: Novascotia.ca, The Cabot Trail

East Coast Music Festival

Did you know Canada..  Charlottetown, PEI will be hosting the East Coast Music Festival April 14-17.

The East Coast Music Association (ECMA) is a regional collaboration of people in the music industry of Atlantic Canada. The East Coast Music Festival started in the Flamingo Lounge in Halifax, Nova Scotia and has sure come a long way since then.

There are 400 performances will take place within three or four blocks, making a giant indoor and outdoor spring music festival - the Music Festival is often held in March but this year in April organizers are able to take advantage of beautiful spring weather.

Check out the ECMA website for the nominations and all the events.

Farm Prices

Did you know Canada.. the increase in Farm prices is unbelievable!

According to Statistics Canada..

The February Quebec hog price was $73.58 per hundredweight, up 11.3% from January and up 15.8% from February 2010 when the price was $63.55.

The Manitoba oats in February was $228.32 per tonne, up 3.5% from January. The oats price in Manitoba has increased 60.0% from February 2010 when it stood at $142.74.

Some of these increases are the result of fertilizer, fuel and freight cost increases.

Gas Prices Across the Country

Did you know Canada.. like me I'm sure you all cringe every time you head to the pump anymore but did you know there was a pretty big difference in gas prices province to province?

The current average gas price in Ontario is 1.27 where as it's only 1.15 in Manitoba (the cheapest in the country) but it's 1.35 in Quebec (the highest in the country and actually 1.37 in Montreal).

The main reason for these gaps are the provincial gas tax differences between provinces. On average, about one-third of the total price of gas at the pump is tax and some metropolitan areas such as Montreal, Greater Vancouver, and Victoria impose additional taxes.

So for example..

• In Ontario you pay 30.1 cents per litre in taxes
• In Alberta you pay 24.2 cents per litre in taxes
• In Newfoundland and Labrador you pay 39.9 cents per litre in taxes
• In Montreal you pay 39.3 cents per litre in taxes (38.0 in other areas of Quebec)
• In Vancouver you pay 39.85 cents per litre in taxes (30.40 in other areas of BC)

We're paying 1.27 at the pump in my area, what are you paying?


Source: gasbuddy.com, Petro Canada, Wikipedia

How are you getting your 2-4 home?

Did you know Canada.. many of us probably know it is illegal in Canada to have an open bottle of alcohol in your vehicle.

But did you know in most provinces you can not have that unopened bottle within reach of the driver - and it should be in the trunk of the vehicle.

Have you ever stuck a bottle of booze in the back seat or a case of beer?

Cranberries

Did you know Canada.. last year we exported over 1 million barrels of cranberries to the US. About 14% of their domestic market!

Cranberries are native only to North America. You might be surprised to know Cranberries do not grow in water - Cranberries are harvested in water because it makes picking easier. Cranberries are low, creeping shrubs or vines and flooding floats the cranberries out of the tangled vines, making them easier to pick.

The name cranberry derives from "craneberry", first named by early European settlers in America who felt the expanding flower, stem, calyx, and petals resembled the neck, head, and bill of a crane.

Cranberries are cultivated in many Canadian provinces including British Columbia, New Brunswick, Ontario, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Quebec.

About 95% of cranberries are processed into products such as juice drinks, sauce, and sweetened dried cranberries. It's only the remaining 5% that are sold fresh to consumers.

Source: cranberry.ca, Wikipedia

Cell Phone users in Canada

Did you know Canada.. 78% of Canadian households say they have a cell phone - up from 74% in 2008.

The proportion of households with cell phones was highest in three western provinces, Alberta-87%, Saskatchewan-83% and British Columbia-82%, and in Ontario-81%. On the other hand Quebec had the lowest rate of cell phone use at 69%.

More families are removing their traditional landline telephones in favour of wireless phones only. In 2010, 13% of households reported they used a cell phone exclusively, up from 8% in 2008. We're planning to do this as well in December when our current plan runs out - we want to switch to Rogers, get iPhone 4s and cancel our landline (I really, Really, REALLY wish we could do it now instead of waiting but it's VERY expensive to get out of the current plan with Bell Mobility and then the upfront costs for the iPhone 4) It's 50% of households in the 18-to-34 age bracket that were using only cell phones.

What do you think about all these numbers? Are you or anyone you know doing away with landlines like we plan to do?

Source: Statistics Canada

Tic Tac Canada

Did you know Canada.. the kiddos and I tried the new Green Apple tic tacs from Tic Tac Canada today - so yummy!!!

My boys are 3 years old and had never had tic tacs before, one of my guys was kind of unsure about these new things Mom was offering but my other guy LOVES them as you can see..

He's been carrying them around all morning having one at a time. I hadn't thought of tic tacs as being a fun treat to pick up for the boys but am so glad we're trying them now. And in a much bigger container than I remember - perfect for little hands or to stick in my purse so we have enough of them on the go.

We're very happy with the green apple flavour - often the boys wrinkle up there nose at candies that come in green apple flavour as they are usually too sour but these aren't sour at all - just a nice light taste.

Visit Tic Tac Canada on Facebook to learn more about their great new product!!

Disclaimer: We received a box to try but will be picking up some more next time we see them!! As always, our opinions are our own.

Mountain Pine Beetle

Did you know Canada.. the mountain Pine Beetle is invading Alberta!

The Pine Beetle was first found in BC's lodgepole pine but has jumped host species to the jack pine which is the dominant pine species in Canada's boreal forest, which stretches east from Alberta all the way to the Maritime provinces. Huge swaths of central British Columbia and parts of Alberta have been hit badly, with over 40 million acres or 160,000 km of BC's forests affected.

Mountain pine beetles are about the size of a grain of rice. But easily kill trees by boring through the bark into the phloem layer on which they feed and in which eggs are laid. Pioneer female beetles initiate attacks, producing pheromones that attract more beetles. Within about two weeks of a beetle attack, the trees starve to death as the phloem layer is damaged enough to cut off the flow of water and nutrients. Older trees usually succumb first. After particularly hot summers, the mountain pine beetle population can increase dramatically, deforesting large areas.

Source: Science Daily, Wikipedia

Giveaway: Ironkids Gummies

Winner:  Congratulations to Amber @ Momma Stuff Blog for winning a 4 pack of Ironkids Gummy Vitamins!!

Update: Giveaway is now closed - thank you everyone for commenting and following Ironkids Gummy Vitamins - they always provide fantastic information about health and wellness. The winner is being contacted now and will be announced when Canadian Address confirmed.

Did you know Canada.. as we mentioned last month we tried Ironkids Gummies and loved them!!

My 2 boys have been using then for a month now and we already have an empty bottle! We had to go out and buy a new bottle last weekend - we found it at the Great Canadian Superstore for approx. $8 for a bottle of 60.

We highly recommend Ironkids Gummies to any family - the taste and texture can't even compare to chewable vitamins and they come in fun shapes and flavours that the kids enjoy. What I really love is the boys enjoy these so much they can't wait to ask for one every morning - kids excited about vitamins - how awesome is that??

From their website..
Our mission at IronKids is to help your kids stay healthy and active. From Multi-vitamins to Omega 3's, our great tasting gummies are specially formulated to support the health, growth and development of your children. Start your kids on the path to lifelong health with Ironkids Gummies.

Now is your chance to try Ironkids Gummies!!

Giveaway

Canadians can win a fantastic prize pack from Ironkids Gummies that includes a box each of Multi, Omega, Calcium, and Vitamin D!

How to Win

Look into Ironkids Gummies by doing one of the following..

Like them on Facebook Ironkids Health

Follow them on Twitter @kidsgummymum

Sign up for their newsletter and receive a $2 off coupon

When complete comment below where you visited Ironkids Gummies. Please note in your comment you must include a way for me to contact you in the event that you win, like an email address.

Contest is open Monday April 4, 2011 to Friday April 15, 2011 - one entry per person, drawing will be held Friday April 15 at midnight EST and winner will be contacted to ensure Canadian address before being announced. If the winner does not respond by Tuesday April 19, 2011 another winner will be chosen.

This contest is only open to Canadians.

As mentioned in the review we had received a box to try which we finished and have already purchased a new box. As always, our opinions are our own.

We are Canadian Blog Hop - Week 3!

Did you know Canada.. It's Week 3 of the We are Canadian Blog Hop - welcome new friends and old and look forward to finding new blogs and meeting new people!!

Pile o' Bones?

Did you know Canada..  Regina, Saskatchewan's original name was "Pile o' Bones"?

This was referring to the large amounts of buffalo bones on the banks of the Wascana Creek.

Then in 1882 Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, and her husband, the Duke of Argyll, who was then the Governor General of Canada, passed through the hamlet of Pile of Bones by train, she named the new community Regina which is Latin for queen, after her mother, the Queen. This gave rise to frequent use of the Queen City when referring to Regina.

Source: Regina.ca, Wikipedia

How big is your family?

Did you know Canada.. the average family size in Canada as of 2006 is only 3.0?

In 1977 the average family size was 3.7, In 1901 is was 4.5!

Source: Stats Canada, CCSD

Tartan Day

Did you know Canada.. April 6th is Tartan Day! Falling in the middle of Scotland Week - running April 3 - 10. Canada estimates 15.1% or 4.7 million Canadians claim Scottish descent!

Tartan Day is a celebration of Scottish heritage - this always occurs on April 6th as this is the date on which the Declaration of Arbroath was signed in 1320. The Declaration of Arbroath is a declaration of Scottish independence.

It was just on October 21, 2010 that The Government of Canada declared April 6 to be Tartan Day in Canada. It was already being celebrated locally and provincially in many locations but is now recognized federally. It is THE day to wear your tartan and celebrate the Scottish heritage - especially for our 1st National Tartan Day!