RV(露營車) 展

今天跟太座一起去看了露營車展，看到好多種形式的露營車，這項戶外活動在美加地區很風行，相關產業的規模也很大，雖然多倫多的露營車展覽不是北美最具規模的，但是也很夠看了。

露營車可以說是一個行動旅館，包含臥室，廚房，餐廳與浴廁，完美的結合車輛，以自走或是拖曳的方式，是一種經濟與輕鬆的旅遊方式。自走的露營住家（Motorome）是最高級的方式，但是體積龐大，而且價位過高，不是一般玩票性質的人願意負擔的，露營拖車（Trailer）則以拖曳的方式提供比較經濟的解決方案，雖然大拖車的體積也不小，但是拖曳的車輛一但放下拖車，就可以自由行動，比較方便，如果用小型的拖車，例如摺疊式拖車(Folding Trailer)，則行動更方便，在停車場也可以輕易停車，只要使用貫穿的兩個車位。

 

隨著經濟的發展，露營車產業越發進步，今天也看到有人開發度假營地，提供長期出租的營位，度假營區提供游泳沙灘，游泳池等公共設施，個人營位也還有前後庭院。位於湖邊，景色優美，令人沉醉。

 

住在美加地區，有空可以嘗試這種生活方式，好好享受這裡優美的自然環境。

我的中文老師真囉說

（by 大女兒) 每周六都要上中文課，我的中文老師很矮，嘴巴很大，一上課話就講不完，又非常的囉唆，一件簡單的事也能讓她講一個小時。所以我自然而然就想睡覺。她的聲音比吹眠曲還有效。上她的課好類喔。難道所有中文老師都很囉唆嗎?

土耳其食物在多倫多

在 Toronto Star 上面讀到關於土耳其食物在多倫多的狀況，集中的區域在希臘區 Danforth，找機會再去試試看。

報導中說土耳其人喜歡的食物(我想辦法去查了資料) 有石榴汁

，糖蜜，土耳其式咖啡，酸梅果醬，無花果乾，罐裝的Okra(一種長的像辣椒一樣的蔬菜)

，香料，還有土耳其甜點。這裡面我只吃過無花果乾。

文章也提到兩種特別的食物，Pide ，Kumpir ，這我就沒吃過了，說Pide是一種八吋長的麵包船，裡面可以加上各種Topping，Kumpir 也一樣可以加上Topping，只不過用烤馬鈴薯代替麵包。

(註：我們去嘗試了，這裡有照片，第一張是Pede ，看起來有點恐怖，可是味道很好。Kumpir 就很好，看起來與實際品嘗都很可口）

看了這個報導真是很心動，看看週末可不可以找得到。住在多倫多的好處之一：可以到處吃各國的食物，而且移民開的餐廳又比較便宜。

 

 

Turkish Toronto

Jan. 18, 2006 . 06:36 AM

JENNIFER BAIN

FOOD EDITOR

There's a Turkish triangle in the east end and it tastes like this: fresh lamb from Tahsin Market, kumpir (crazily topped baked potatoes) from Champion Kokorech, and sucuk (sausage) and egg pide from Pizza Pide.

The first two businesses are on the Danforth between Pape and Donlands. The third is at the corner of Pape and Gerrard.

Each is less than three years old, welcome proof that Toronto 's Turkish food offerings are finally coming of age.

There are 30,000 people from Turkey living here, according to the 2001 census. But community officials say there are 60,000 if you count all the Turks from various countries.

Things that Turks love from home — pomegranate juice and molasses, coffee (though tea's more popular now), sour cherry jam, dried figs, canned and dried okra, spices (like sumac, red pepper and black pepper), and, of course, Turkish delight.

Pide (pronounced pee-day) is a flatbread that's baked into an 8-inch-long boat shape. The menu lists 21 topping combos, revolving around ground beef, beef pieces, feta, lamb chunks, chicken strips and sausage. Most intriguing are the one with Turkish sausage and baked, sunny side up eggs

"A different taste" would accurately describe the kumpir at Champion Kokorech — the third tip of the Turkish triangle. Kumpir (baked potatoes topped with olives, pickles, corn, peas, ketchup, mayo and more) are so deliciously odd they get their own story. ("Hot potato, Turkish-style," D5.)

One aside: When you finish eating kumpir at Champion Kokorech (the sole spot in town that makes them) the owner will spray your hands with lemon cologne as you're leaving. It's a Turkish tradition.

Anyway, kumpir and pide (and home-cooked Turkish meals) go down well with ayran, a salted, fermented yogurt drink. But it's Turkish coffee, not ayran, that Hasan Yilmaz and I drink during an interview at Balkan Bistro (a nine-month-old Turkish restaurant near the AGO).

When Turks go out here, Yilmaz explains, it's to a handful of fast-food spots that specialize in kebabs and doners (a.k.a. shawarma/gyros, usually minced lamb or chicken moulded around a rotating vertical spit, slowly roasted and shaved off).

"Traditional Turkish food is not easy to make — it takes half a day to prepare," Yilmaz notes.

Only two Turkish-American cookbooks — The Sultan's Kitchen and Classical Turkish Cooking — are readily available in English and they're full of enticing but time-consuming dishes.

And yet, after enjoying Hünkar Begendi (stewed beef on smoky creamed eggplant) at Balkan Bistro, I'm grateful to find recipes for it (but with lamb instead of beef) in both these books. I haven't been to Turkey yet, but by the time I get there I'll have eaten and cooked most of its key dishes right here at home.

收到公民申請的通知

今天收到政府的通知書，說我們的公民申請已經收到，正在審核中，預計要在12~15個月，甚至更久才會下來，算算時間，我們已經送件半年了！

 

我們的親戚來加拿大已經超過十年了，當初他們申請公民只花了六個月，有此可見公民審核程序的改變，不知道是因為人多，還是9/11的影響，希望在2006年結束前我們有機會收到，這樣除了回台灣方便之外，去哪裡都方便。眼看孩子都一年年長大，我都還沒有帶他們去佛羅里達的迪士尼玩，原本說好拿到公民之後要去的。

 

看來我們例子是說，滿三年之後，申請公民還有一年半到兩年，真是久啊！

 

 

知名影星，加拿大人

到今天，我才特別注意到知名的影星很多也是加拿大人，例如金凱利(Jim Carrey)，星際迷行的寇克船長，Matrix的男主角(Keanu Reeves)，神鬼傳奇(Mummy)的男主角(Bredan Fraser)，還有我年輕時最欣賞的矮子影帝(Michael Fox)，回到未來的男主角。原來加拿大也孕育出這麼多優秀的人才，可見這塊土地也是非常肥沃。

 

你可以到下列連結去看，真是很多(http://www.canadiancelebs.com/act.html)，我非常欣賞Donald Sutherland，看過他幾部片子，不過都不記得名子。

寒假生活

(BY: 大女兒: 海瑋)

今年的寒假是我有史以來最輕鬆的寒假。雖然今年的寒假比去年晚一個禮拜才開始放。聖誕
夜和節日都是在週末，因此整個寒假少了好幾天。不過有假還是比沒假好，只要好好把握時
間，短短幾天的寒假也能過的比長幾天的寒假還好。

為何是我最輕鬆的寒假呢？因為我們家每年寒假都會出外渡假，從來都沒有待在家中休息過
。你可能會問，咦？出外渡假不是比待在家裡好嗎？對一般人來說是沒錯，但我每年都會出
外住個幾天，已經旅行旅到累了，能夠在家睡懶覺可真是一種人生大享受。

在家可以睡倒中午，整天穿著睡衣，不是玩電腦遊戲就是聽音樂跳舞，真是有夠美滿的假期
。可是在家像遊魂一般的過日子，總有一天會在鏡子前看到自己發福的樣子。而冬天唯一能
“減福”的激烈運動就是滑雪。我只好穿上羽毛大衣，和家人往SnowValley,  Barrie 的方向開去。

滑雪是冬天最快保持身材的運動。光在平地上走路就累得滿身大汗，從山上滑下來，更是累
得筋疲力盡。沿途，因為年輕愛冒險，故意滑到不平的雪地上要跳越障礙，一不小心，失去
平衡，就跌了一頭狗吃“雪”。一天總共跌了兩次，對自己十分滿意。滑完雪，給自己犒賞
一餐Wendy's 的漢堡，把肚子撐的大大的，真是舒服啊！但當天消化掉的卡路里也補回來了
。隔天早上，腰痠背痛，連從床上都爬不下來。愛玩也要付出代價的。

滑雪後，在家待了三天，養好精神。星期五，打算和我的好朋友們去逛街。我們三個女生從
碰面後就一直聊，把假期的故事都講完了。我們幾乎把整個購物中心都逛透了，只有買些可
愛的耳環和兩件上衣而已。當該回家時，我們都依依不捨，因為放假時，大家都去旅行了，
沒辦法看到彼此，難得有機會和朋友們相聚，一天的逛街也好玩。

我對今年的寒假非常滿意。該玩有玩，該做的也做了。雖然是個不長的寒假，但因為自己充
實的計畫，感覺上比實際上要長多了。寒假的最後一天，我畫了一張素描，當作這美好寒假
的句點。

國會選舉的政黨辯論

今天報紙頭條都是昨天電視辯論的一些評論，整體而言，都相信執政的自由黨被保守黨打敗，目前支持率已經落後超過10個百分點(39% vs. 27% ) ，保守黨往超過半數邁進。

 

即使是魁北克省，這個最趨向獨立的省，保守黨也領先自由黨，不過仍然落後魁北克獨立黨。

 

根據報紙的分析，最主要的原因在於自由黨的信用遭受懷疑，而且運用攻擊保守黨的策略也得不到選民認同，因為上次選舉已經用過了，招式用老，選舉沒有新的主意，也表示執政後不會有新的做法。過去選民對保守黨有顧慮，懷疑上任後會削減公共支出，對富人減稅，並與美國的共和黨合作，現在，選民的想法變了，願意接受保守黨執政。

 

看來加拿大可能會有新的執政黨。

 

 

 

(Toronto Star) Tories head for majority

Poll shows `breakthrough' for party
`Significant growth' in Ontario, Quebec

Jan. 10, 2006. 06:28 AM

RICHARD BRENNAN

QUEEN'S PARK BUREAU

Conservatives are charting a course toward a majority on Jan. 23, according to a new national poll completed yesterday.

The survey, conducted by EKOS Research Associates for the Toronto Star and La Presse, shows Stephen Harper's Conservatives have sailed into majority government territory after a stunning week of rising popularity, largely at the expense of the Liberal party.

The EKOS survey of 1,240 Canadians through the weekend and yesterday found 39.1 per cent support for the Conservatives. The Liberals had 26.8 per cent support; the NDP 16.2 per cent; the Bloc Québécois 12.6 per cent; and Green party 4.6 per cent.

"This is the breakthrough Harper has been waiting for," EKOS president Frank Graves said.

In Ontario, the Conservatives have widened the gap to a 10-percentage-point lead over the Liberals. Of the 518 Ontarians surveyed, 43.8 per cent supported the Tories, 33.5 per cent the Liberals, 16.2 per cent the NDP, and 5.4 per cent the Greens.

Even in Quebec, the Conservatives are ahead of the Liberals. A total of 330 people were surveyed in that province and 19.1 per cent threw their support behind the Tories, compared with 17.4 per cent for the Liberals.

The Bloc, however, remains miles ahead with 52.4 per cent.

"The Conservatives' gains are nationwide, but their most significant growth is in Ontario, where they have surpassed the Liberals in their traditional heartland, and in Quebec, where they are now the leading federalist alternative to the Bloc Québécois," Graves said.

The national poll numbers are considered accurate within 2.8 percentage points 19 times out of 20. The margin of error in Ontario was 4.3 percentage points.

EKOS's Paul Adams said Harper's popularity is driving the surge. When those surveyed were asked who had the most positive vision for the future, the Conservative leader received 32 per cent support. Prime Minister Paul Martin had 20 per cent, the NDP's Jack Layton 16 per cent, and Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe 10 per cent. "None of the above" registered 10 per cent and 12 per cent said they didn't know.

But premature talk of winning a majority of Parliament's 308 seats spooks the Conservatives. A party would have to win 155 seats to win a majority.

At dissolution, there were 133 Liberals in the House of Commons. The Tories held 98 seats, the Bloc Québécois 53 and the NDP 18. There were four Independents and two vacancies.

`This is the breakthrough Harper has been waiting for.' EKOS President Frank Graves

The Tories are well aware that after Harper predicted a majority win in June 2004, their political fortunes started a downward spiral in the last election.

"I'm certainly not going to be drawn into any questions that can be used to have me making predictions," Harper said during last night's English-language leaders' debate.

"My role here is not to be a political analyst. My role here is to explain to Canadians why we need a new government."

Following stories Sunday in the Star and the Toronto Sun about Harper hinting at a majority, right-wing blogs were abuzz with dark — and unsubstantiated — suggestions of a mainstream media conspiracy to stall the Tories' momentum.

Ironically, hours after refusing to rule out a Tory majority win, Harper criticized EKOS by name while chatting with reporters aboard his campaign plane in Hamilton on Saturday.

"They are, in my view, the least believable," he said. "Our people feel the momentum, but it is a statistical dead heat. ... There is over two weeks to go and a lot of things can happen. ... There is no certainty."

Graves said the "wild card" in the campaign now is how Canadians react to the potential of a Harper government — minority or majority.

"What happens when Canadians fully realize the Conservatives' current potential?" Graves asked.

"Will there be a bandwagon effect, as there was for Brian Mulroney in the 1984 campaign after he surged into the lead? Or will Harper succumb to a whiplash as he did in 2004 with many voters recoiling from the prospect of a Tory victory after a serious Liberal onslaught in the last weeks of the campaign."

On June 16, 2004 in Niagara Falls, Harper boasted there were "no safe Liberal seats for the Liberals any more," and said the Tories could win a majority. Less than two weeks later, the Liberals won a minority government.

The Liberals received 36.7 per cent of the popular vote in the June 28, 2004 election. The Conservatives garnered 29.6 per cent of the vote, the NDP 15.7 per cent, the Bloc 12.4 per cent and the Greens 4.3 per cent.

Graves said the apparent Conservative breakthrough in Quebec is "especially astonishing," heralding the possible return of the Tories as a truly national party.

But he warned that because the Harper Conservatives are poised to win some seats in Quebec, the media spotlight will be on the aloof Harper more than ever before. Graves stressed that the party's growth in Quebec is inherently fragile.

With files from Robert Benzie