ride the carousel, done and dusted.

so hello, old friend.

but now that that all over for now i think i have some catching up on my 52 list that i would like to do. cheerio.

buy this lovely tote inspired by my all time

favourite queen song bicycle race here at blacks swan designs.

beautiful illustration by alli coate (image via here)

ive been back home in australia for one whole week now after just over 5 wonderful months in canada (for winter!!!)  and although they are very similar, apart from all the snow, there are some things about canada/canadians that make me laugh. here are a few i noticed along the way…… 

1.  in some grocery stores (such as loblaws – pronounced lah blahs, what the??) they dont give change. they will give you your paper money and then some little money shute spits out your change.

2.  in the middle states they call hoodies “bunny hugs”. i dont get it. in BC they call them kangaroo jackets.

3.  they also dont say jumpers. theyre sweaters.

4.  pork crackling is called piggy puffs. its ok to laugh – i did. and you can buy them like a pack of chips.

5.  when they say out, they pronounce it OOT.

6.  a beanie is called a touque – pronounced took.

7.  some public toilets self -flush.

8.  bathroom taps are weird. not for sink but for showers. there is a bath tap with a lever on the top and then at waist height there is a tap lever (as i think you have at home). but if you use it the water come out the tap and not the shower head. you have to pull the lever on the bath tap in order to get the water to come out the shower head. dont even get me started on the ones in quebec. there is big long silver thing with two knobs at each end – one for pressure, one for temp. showering is so complicated. and so is that explanation.

9.  everything that you buy has both french and english. i assumed that this would just be in quebec but its is in EVERY state.

10. mouth ulcers are called canker sores. which i thought sounded like a type of dinosaur.

11. several people ask if im on a ‘walkabout’*.  

12. everyone makes fun of people from new foundland – newfies – they are the tasmanian of australia. hell theyre practically new zealanders, theyre both far away and both start with new.

13. they have never heard of a sausage sizzle.

14. or the phrase maccas.

15. justin bieber, bryan adams, taylor swift and shania twain are on the radio for what feels like a billion times a day.

16. one of the most popular canadian clothing stores is called roots. i now have a t-shirt with ROOTS written across the front and a picture of a beaver……..yeah.

17. cars tell the temperature outside. they have butt warmers AND have remote controls so they can start theyre cars from inside the house (or supermarket, restaurant etc) so theyre snug and warm enough to get into. this makes for a bit smelly outside sometimes because the cars are running like non stop. all the cars are running but no one is in them.

18. i have found lamingtons here but under the disguised name of zingers.

19. they find it hilarious that we call their RICE KRISPIES, RICE BUBBLES.

20. they cannot distinguish an aussie accent from a british one.

21. they were singing 6 white boomers at a local museum the other day and going on about how santa switches from reindeer to kangaroos once he arrives in australia and i was like ’what the hell?’ you liars!! 

22. they find it strange that we believe in santa claus when we have no snow and therefore no way for him to land. santa and christmas is a huge elaborate story here keeping kids in the dark, hopefully until the ages of 12.  

23. tim hortons - the donut/coffee shop is EVERYWHERE. and they really only offer plain black coffee and its like whats the point – i could make one at home? you want to buy a latte and they say sorry we dont make those.

24. drive-throughs are also EVERYWHERE. people do not like getting out of their cars. tim hortons always has a line of at least 6 -7 cars. they even have drive through ATMS.

*crocodile dundee reference. if you dont know this you should be ashamed. tsk tsk tsk.

a never seen before picture (and in a photobooth no less!!) of my grandfather as a teenager with his older sister.

makes me smile THIS BIG.

1. Untitled, 2. Untitled, 3. Untitled, 4. Yellow 1, 5. When every day seems the same, it is because we have stopped noticing the good things that appear in our lives, 6. poms, 7. Untitled, 8. running from wind, 9. the misty mountains

1.   windswept hair

2.   beautifully textured hat and scarves and mittens

3.   morning fog

4.   wearing gumboots and jumping in puddles

5.   extra long, extra wooly socks

6.   the crunch of fallen leaves and their brightly coloured faces

7.   hot chocolate

8.   violet coloured dusks

9.  rainy days spent reading 

10. warm hugs

11.  rainfall at night when lying in bed

12.  roast dinners. yum.

(in no specific order)

1.  La Tomatina    Bunol, Spain

2.  Glastonbury Music Festival   Somerset, England

3.  The Dreaming  Queensland, Australia

4.  Sundance Film Festival  Utah, USA

ice skating. snowfall. costumes. bonfire.

helium balloons. hot chocolate. laughter.

equals a freaking blast.

1.  any josh pyke song

2.  buying fresh flowers; especially peonies and tulips

3. the smell of freshly baked bread

4.  going to the cinema

5.  hearing family laugh

6. shopping for winter clothes; mittens, scarves, hats etc

7.  laughing hysterically at the it crowd

8.  a perfectly made latte

9.  my polaroid camera and now my fuji instax

10. dancing

11. knee high socks, preferably colourful and with stripes

12. starry nights

13. road trips

14. blank notebooks

15. art gallery gift shops