Harmony's Rockin' Cafe

[CielOnTap]

It's Canada Day today and the Queen was on the Hill to take in the celebration. Good thing the sunshine was out, as the wind has been cool.

Queen rings in Canada's birthday
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
July 01, 2010
Jennifer Ditchburn
The Canadian Press

OTTAWA - The Queen, one of the most enduring symbols of Canadian heritage, helped ring in the nation's 143rd birthday Thursday in a joyful bookend to the spirit of patriotism and community that coursed through the Vancouver Olympic Games.

She did not attend the 2010 Games in February, but what Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip saw on the grounds of Parliament Hill would have given them a good idea of the atmosphere. Many of the gleeful 100,000 who gathered to celebrate Canada Day wore the red and white gear that was a uniform during those heady days of the Games.

The crowd roared when the Queen made an adroit reference to Canada winning the gold at the Games.
http://thespec.com/News/article/799905

Our Prime Minister is racking up air travel this week. He was in Halifax to greet the monarch the day after the summit concluded. He was with the monarch today. Searching for good publicity won't take the anger away from summit doings last weekend, on top of two prorogue situations. Time for an election?

[deja vu]

Ciel:
Our Prime Minister is racking up air travel this week. He was in Halifax to greet the monarch the day after the summit concluded. He was with the monarch today. Searching for good publicity won't take the anger away from summit doings last weekend, on top of two prorogue situations. Time for an election?

He didn't have a choice, the GG Michelle Jean is in China on business. If she was in Canada he would be in hiding.

[CielOnTap]

The Francophone Toronto paper, L'Express, has a gallery of eight images taken of the Terracotta Army exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum. The museum gave the exhibit lots of room, as seen by how much space was provided for the glass cases.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lexpress.to/LArmeeChinoiseEstANosPortes?pli=1&gsessionid=azc_9MMra0TdsHFOwIGQLg#

[fishandchips]

Saskatchewan's walloping weather has to be a continuing headache and surprise. It almost seems like the Kraft Hockeyville award should go to the province for all the hail and water that has passed over the province.

It cannot be easier for anyplace that got flooded either--throwing out wet stuff can mean going without for a long time--when that is food, that is hardship. Things can stand a chance of recovery, given enough dry sunshine, a place to linedry things and time. That is if the whole community can take a time out from routine, get its residents sorted out with supplies and shelter/lavatories then clean up the place.

[CielOnTap]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/britishmonarchy/page38/

The link above is for the last page of the Royal photo album. Some interesting photos of the effort to put on State Dinners (you know you have it made if you have Flower Room staff), make the rounds at events and just some family photos.

The person(s) who did the captions for the photos need to know how to spell recieves and reviels properly--i before e except after c, etc.

The Queen really was a brunette-the jewel toned hats and dresses work best for her, but most of the pastel dresses don't do her favours. She has some nice hats! Patterned dresses are hit and miss-the bow motif is overdone. The menfolk rarely get daring in their formal wear. Prince Harry is cracking smiles when his father and his aunt presented him with medals for two accomplishments. I can image him saying, "Your Royal Highness, have we met somewhere before?"

The Duke of Edinburgh looks consumed by his apparel in recent photos--all that braid and trim on uniforms seem to overwhelm him. Driving caps and Panama hats do suit him.

Seeing the Princess Royal as a blond child is odd for me. She's a brunette for decades.

[CielOnTap]

Most provinces will have a holiday Monday. Let's hope that weekenders don't stress the limitations of the hospitals on a long weekend nor the available blood units on hand. It is difficult to have regular donors to come out but with holidays or nice weather, the donation need remains high and donors still are needed.

So keep coolheaded on your travels and stay cool and in one piece at the end of the weekend.

[CielOnTap]

I ate three fortune cookies yesterday as the tasty treats appeased the sweet craving. What I remember of the fortunes printed on the pieces of paper (from what I remember):

1) One kind turn deserves another turn in kind. (Guessing that could be giving something to someone else for a change.)
2) There is a financial opportunity ahead of you. (I picked up a deposit-worthy tin on my walk and collected the deposit refund.)
3) Something about a trip developing into some kind of journey. (I literally thought it could be an actual event involving travel but it could also be relevant to self-reflection as a result of some event i.e. an argument. Well, I had one of those today and indeed some thinking over the situation has occurred.)

Earlier this year, I had found two fortunes in a cookie and they happened to be different ones. The discovery just make dessert more interesting than usual. Basic curiousity about what is printed, plus how formulaic or not the text can be prompts all of this reading.

[CielOnTap]

Taste of the Danforth (Greek food, entertainment, and music) has its last day of the festival in Toronto today. Take the subway and avoid parking hassles. It is windy and overcast, so take some windbreakers along with your appetites!

[CielOnTap]

Toronto's newest beach opens
By JENNY YUEN, Queen's Park Bureau Chief

Last Updated: August 9, 2010 1:54pm
Life is sweet on Sugar Beach.

The former parking lot to the east of the Redpath Sugar Factory transformed into a two-acre beach, dotted with pink umbrellas, Muskoka chairs and white sand imported from Ohio officially opened Monday.

"This is all about public access to the water's edge all along the waterfront of Toronto, so we can have a connected series of parks and trails for Torontonians," said Mayor David Miller. http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2010/08/09/14968136.html

[CielOnTap]

I learned something new about two expressions:

Hit the hay-I understand it as a colloquial expression to go to sleep. In the 1800s, people had straw ticking and they had to hit their mattress to kill any bedbugs that might be in the straw, hence "hit the hay."

An arm and a leg-understood as something costing money. Apparently, painters on the move would prepare portrait canvas with a painted torso in advance of finding a willing person wanting a portrait done. Portrait subject's face was painted in with a subdued dark background (I had questioned why the clothing and background were so dark in the portraits). It cost extra to have one's arm painted into the portrait or to add one's leg to the portrait. So it cost "an arm and a leg."

The rhyme

Goodnight, sleep tight,
Don't let the bedbugs bite.

had meaning. Kids had to check that the rope holding their ticking up did not stretch, so rope had to be tight. Kids had to hit the ticking before bed to smite the bedbugs. That is how the rhyme came to be.