30 Things I Love About Canada #10: Beaches Arts and Crafts Show

This weekend we attended the Beaches Arts and Crafts Festival at Kew Beach.

It made me nostalgic for my own craft show days in Los Angeles and Seattle where I spent many weekends surrounded by my kokoleo creations meeting other makers and connecting with people who appreciate handmade. I still like to support this community so I love events like this.

My favorite booth was Anja Hertle's amazing mosaics.

I'm going to always regret not buying this one...

I did buy an awesome patchwork t-shirt skirt from a company called SheSewFunky and a Celtic knot plaque from artist Duncan McDonald. 

Also, if you signed up for their newsletter you got a free tote:

Some of the totes had a gift certificate in them and we totally lucked out. I won this sweet poncho...

My son won this beautiful glass tray...

And on Sunday when we went back my daughter won this fancy hat...

It was our lucky weekend!

30 Things I Love About Canada #9: Their Money

Canada has colorful money.

Plus, it's oddly smooth and it has a holographic image and a see-through spot.

They're not afraid to have a lady on their money either, even if it's a lady from another country. America would never stand for that.

They also have dollar loonies and two dollar toonies, which when you first get to Canada is hard to say without giggling.

But they're actually very convenient coins.

Sadly, they don't have pennies anymore. I don't know why I find this sad because it actually makes a lot of sense - Who uses pennies to pay for anything anymore? On the plus side, if you find a penny on the ground now it's extra lucky.

My love for Canadian money is purely visual and tangible and has nothing to do with its value, which is currently about 75 cents to the American dollar. This is great when you're spending American money but not so great when you're taking Canadian money back to America. Maybe this is their secret way of keeping Americans from flooding their borders.  Who needs a wall when the money on the other side isn't worth as much? Smart move, Canada. 

30 Things I Love About Canada #8: Health Care

Actually, I can't really say that I love health care in Canada because I haven't had to use it yet, but knowing it's there for us if we need it makes all the difference in the world. What's even better is not having to shell out a thousand dollars a month to a company that will only pay a fraction of our health care costs. We're not even full-fledged citizens, just a temporary residents, but Canada still extends this right to us.

I was talking to a group of moms a while ago and when they found out I was an American they asked me why so many people in my country seemed so angry at our president when he was trying to bring universal health care to America. They couldn't imagine life without it. They were flabbergasted to learn that we had to pay about $3,000 per kid (and that's WITH insurance) when I gave birth. I was amazed to learn they didn't have to pay anything. One woman asked, "What happens if there are complications or if your child is born sick?" and I had to answer that people go tens of thousands of dollars into debt. This was outrageous to them and they couldn't believe Americans just accept it as normal.

Their health care system is far from perfect - I hear about long waiting periods for non-emergency care - but Canadians will never give it up, even conservatives. Its also far from free. Taxes are definitely higher here along with the cost of everything else (gas, groceries, rent, etc.   ....But this month is suposed to be all about the good stuff so I won't go into this.) Reforming the health care system is a goal, but eliminating it is unfathomable.  It's a wonderful feeling knowing your country will take care of you in times of crisis. America often brags about being the land of the free but the truth is it can be very expensive.

30 Things I Love About Canada #7: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Canada's prime minister is young and vibrant and handsome, his wife seems like the kind of smart lady I'd want as my BFF, and they have adorable children. Its like Canada wanted their own version of the Obama family. Most importantly though, he's a movement away from the conservative ideology of his predecessor, which means he stands for progress.

He speaks out on women's issues and proudly proclaims, "I am a feminst" and his cabinet contains an equal number of women and men, as well as a Muslim, an aboriginal minister, and representatives from remote provinces.

He's made a commitment to improve the lives of indigenous people in an effort to right some of the wrongs that Canada has  done to them in the past.

He showed the country how to open their hearts to refugees by meeting them at the airport and saying, "This is a wonderful night where we get to show not just a planeload of new Canadians what Canada's all about, but we get to show the world how to open our hearts and welcome in people who are fleeing extraordinarily difficult situations."

Is he perfect? No. No leader ever is. But watching his inauguration I felt the same sense of hope and pride I felt when Obama was inaugurated. Granted, Canada's conservative era under Stephen Harper wasn't nearly as damaging to the country as ours was under George W. Bush. Also, Trudeau didn't have the huge obstacle of bringing affordable health care to Canadian citizens because they already have it. Still, the feeling of hope and relief when Justin Trudeau was elected was palpable. I can only hope that America gets to feel this way come November.

30 Things I Love About Canada #6: Eroded Bricks & Beach Glass

Much of the Toronto waterfront is built upon the rubble of the city. You can see this clearly at the Scarborough Bluffs where bricks and concrete blocks litter the water's edge. They've become an accepted part of the landscape because they form the foundation of the shore and help to prevent erosion. 

 

When I find a beautifully eroded brick I can't help but think of the day it was made in a brick factory that's probably now defunct. I think of the brick layer (long gone) who slathered mortar on it one day. I envision the building it was in that overlooked the city, until it didn't. I wonder how the brick made its way to the lake and rolled around for decades unnoticed until I picked it up to appreciate this piece of history in my hand. 

One of my favorite things about taking my dog to the dog park in the Beaches is looking for beach glass. If you stare at the sand along the water long enough, the bits of eroded glass stand out like gemstones. It's like panning for gold, excepts bits of glass aren't worth much to most people.

Just like with the bricks I think about how they got there, when they fell apart, how long it took for their edges to become smooth...

and how lucky I am to have found them. 

30 Things I Love About Canada #5: Blue Jays

We're kind of fickle with our baseball loyalty. When we lived in L.A. we went to several Dodgers games, when we lived in Seattle we saw the Mariners play, and when we moved to Toronto the Blue Jays were in the playoffs and they became our new favorite team. We try to watch most games on TV, or at least the last few innings, and we know most of the players names and mannerisms now. Bautista and the bat flip, Donaldson's weird hair, the way Encarnacion runs with his elbow out, etc.

We even went to a game last month and caught a ball. Okay, we didn't catch it, the guy behind us did and didn't want to keep it because it was a homerun ball by the opposing team so he gave it to our kids. Free Blue Jay's baseball for us!

30 Things I Love About Canada #4: Kingston Road

I realize these are becoming mostly about my immediate neighborhood but it happens to be in Canada so it still goes along with my blog challenge title. Saturday afternoon we walked up our street to an Art Walk on Kingston Road. We haven't lived in a "walkable" city in a while, so we try not to take for granted that we have  access to nearby art galleries and brunch spots. Everyone should be lucky enough to be able to wander into a barn behind a bookstore and see original paintings and meet the artist.

There were Prince prints for sale.

We strolled up one side of the street and stopped at the Cobalt Gallery where both Erik and I have had our work in art shows. I bought these cards:

 The bunny one because it looks like our bunny Ike, the squirrel one because we had never seen a black squirrel before we came to Canada, and the one with birds and ties because I have a thing for birds and ties. Then we walked back on the other side of the street and saw a few more art shows...

And ended up at the corner of our street where we had brunch at The Loop.