The storm is coming

The picture says it all really...

Cracking Nuts

Well last night it was the nutcracker, and I have to say, what a great auditorium.

The acoustics were so amazing, I could hear the little triangle from all the way in the orchestra pit out to my seat, and could not see a single speaker or amp anywhere.
The orchestra was clear and played very well, sounded brilliant.
I recognized so many of the tunes they played from ads on TV.

I have to say thanks to my parents for telling me all about the story of the nutcracker when I was young, i really recognised the parts of the story... NOT!

Hehe, I had to do a fast and furious read of the synopsis during intermission, because I had no idea what was going on; who would have thought that a ballet would have all dancing and no dialogue!
I guess that's fine, cos all the speaking would have been in Russian anyway.

Anyway, the production was really well done, superb costumes and the sets were very cool and Aimee really enjoyed herself.

snow snow snow, rain... sun!

Well, we've certainly had a mixed bag of the weather lately.
Two Sundays ago, Aimee and I were stomping through 1 foot of snow and throwing snowballs at each other; while forecasters advised drivers to avoid traveling as plows were struggling to clear snow from main roads.
As they pushed snow from the lanes of highways, they blocked on-ramps with their piles!

So that massive dump has now cleared, and we've been having snow on and off for the last 2 weeks. Yesterday the temperatures finally rose above freezing, allowing the rain to help with moving some of the dirty grey piles from the side of the road.

Todays weather highlight is I had to get out my sunglasses, as it's a sunny 1 degree!

So we've also been up to some other antics. Check out our photos from the link at the top, on Saturday we drove north and cut down our Christmas tree.


The tree farm was called Hockley Alley, it is a few acres of trees in different stages of growth, with tractors towing people to and from their cars, and Clydesdale's pulling people around in a sled. You can even sit by the bonfire and sip eggnog.

Later on Sunday we went ice skating downtown in an open free rink. We just had to hire skates.

Tonight we will be off to the ballet to watch the nutcracker, and then tomorrow is the eastbay Christmas party!

Fun stuff, so lots of relaxing this weekend I think.

Cold cold cold...

It's cold.
People keep saying "But it's only November" and we're loving it. Things can only get colder from here.

Last week it snowed. It's only snowed twice since then, but nothing to really leave an impact. The strange thing is, there's still piles of snow in the city, like rubbish piles waiting to be taken away.
The temperatures haven't been warm enough to actually melt them.

Today is a nice day, and it's Aimee's birthday. We have rented a car just like we did for my birthday, and will take advantage of that by going shopping! No longer will we be restricted to buying only what we can carry on the subway, now we have a boot (trunk for you north americans) to fill up.

If you haven't been watching the latest season of the British motoring show Top Gear, watch it.
They cross the English channel in a car they converted into a boat. They raced through London and a bicycle won! They got stuck in an African desert, amazing stuff.

For our readers out there who keep complaining that we're not writing enough, "sorry".
Hehe, that word means a lot of things over here. Once on my way down to the laundry, I had it said to me 3 times within 2 minutes.
It seems to be a greeting - if 2 people touch on the subway "sorry".
It's also an excuse me - "sorry, can I get past?"
Or in last night's case - "sorry, I know you said Dacquari but i thought you'd like a Tanduay on the rocks instead"

Just cos she's from the philippines doesn't mean she automatically wants to drink Rhum.

So things here aren't interesting enough to blog every day, pretty soon we'll get bored talking about the snow, and how cold it is, and we'll have to revert to what those other bloggers out there do, ranting about their thoughts.
Nah...

So fun movie we watched last night, Mr Magorioum's Wonder Emporium.
Dustin Hoffman (meet the Fokkers) and Natalie Portman (V for Vendetta) are in charge of a magical toy store... bah, IMDB has a much better plot summary than I can give.
Just go watch it, it's good wholesome fun.

Also go play Call of Duty 4 - Modern warfare. Better yet, play it with surround sound on a 40" TV.

Winterland

When we arrived in Toronto, it was hot. People were telling us that last year it didn't snow until January.

Well nuts to them! In the last 24 hours Toronto's weather went from Wellington on a rainy day to Mt Ruapehu in October!
We woke up to a transformed surroundings, everything had a dusting of white, and it wasn't stopping.
We had about 5cm of snow in the city, my balcony has a pile of snow on it and it kept growing all day.

Drivers weren't ready either, in all there were delays of two hours more than usual, and 300 reported traffic crashes including one man who died when his truck hit a car and rolled.

So winter is here, temperature right now is -8 degrees Celsius and on saturday the city is planning to open the outdoor ice skating rink in Nathan Phillips Square by the town hall.

what else?

What else is left to talk about but the cold...

Snow fell on the ground yesterday morning, enough to turn the flower beds white and to give Aimee and I silly giggles as we walked through town.

Halloween is over, and the next set of decorating has begun for the local homeowners.
The garden displays for the scary season started going up a month before the actual day, and some were very elaborate. Pumpkins of course were getting sold by the barrow, and inflatable ghosts were jumping out of inflatable pumpkins...


Christmas is now just around the corner, and house lighting displays are beginning to take shape. The lights in the city are becoming festive, the only thing remaining now is for the Christmas sales and promotions to start.

Now, in any christmas I'm used to we'd be packing away the skis (unless Ruapehu had another great season and managed to do Christmas skiing), bring out the sunscreen and roll back the rain cover form the bbq.
However, things are a little different here; going outside is like falling into the harbour after capsizing during a bad gybe. You're just not ready for it.
I'm putting the hood on my jacket and looking at some more suitable footwear than my black work shoes. Apparently my jeans will be fine though.

Today is the Santa parade, so we're off to join the other 500,000 Torontonions who turn out every year to line the streets to get free candy. Dress in layers, lots of layers =)

ooooh, it's gettin' cold!

I don't care what you say, snow does not fall during 'fall', Leaves are supposed to fall, not snow!

The last few week we have seen Toronto undergo a transformation. Water has been drained from outside structures like fountains and swimming pools, the people have switched from shorts to jeans, and sweaters to jackets, gloves and hats.

On Sunday night the news casters were discussing where the snow would be falling, and we got a couple of inches in the places north of Toronto. Then on Tuesday I was walking around with a grin on my face as the lightest of snow flakes began falling around me as I walked down the street, and Aimee's co-workers were wondering what she was doing as she stared out the windows smiling.

The fluffy hooded jackets are starting to prove their worth.
Photos to come soon, but keep checking our photo blog - link at the top