Thoughts From a "Lost Canadian" About Ontario

I have been spending the past several months learning about Canada, because since I am a "Lost Canadian", I wanted to learn about my ancestorial country - Canada. Many of my ancestors were from Canada - we believe some may even be First Nations - Mi'kmaq, which gives my family deep roots in Canada. I did not know these things until a few months ago, so it has been a surprise - a wonderful surprise for sure!

One thing I have learned about Canada, is most Canadians live in the Province of Ontario as 38% of Canadians live there. Since I was born in and have lived most of my life in Michigan, Ontario is the Province of Canada with which I am most familiar, but there are a great many things I do not know about Ontario. Today I am happy to share with you some of the things I've found online about Ontario . . .

This is the Time to Pray Deeper

   

I do still believe God is real. The past year and a half has left me wondering for sure, but there is too much evidence for God being real for me to ignore it. So, I do still believe. 

With everything going on in our country and world, if ever there was a time to pray deeply, this is it. Praying for our grandchildren (and children), and for our neighbors and world, is something we all know we need to do, but it is also something many of us struggle with. We may feel like our prayers do not even make it through the ceiling above us and do not know what to say or how to pray. Our lives are busy, so finding the time to pray can be a challenge which we may not overcome and then days go by without us spending time in prayer.

CHIHULY Red Reeds at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park

As I have been writing, if you are blessed to live in or near Grand Rapids, Michigan, which is where Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park is located, then you know this is a place where there are so many beautiful and amazing things to see all year long, but this is even more true now through November 1st as the Dale Chihuly exhibit is able to be enjoyed throughout the Sculpture Park. I thought it would be interesting to share with you some information I found online about the beautiful sculptures and a bit of background on each piece - today I'm happy to give you a closer look at CHIHULY Red Reeds at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park . . .

Animal Fun Facts - Did You Know . . .

I saw these animal fun facts on facebook from Neil deGrasse Tyson and thought they would be fun to share with you, so you can share with the children you love. Did you know . . .

Thoughts From a "Lost Canadian" About Canada's Strategy to Protect Nature - A Force of Nature

As a person who was born and lived in the USA all my life I've been blessed to be able to visit a number of our National Parks. I love the ones I've visited and think all of them hold tremendous value as our National Parks. I'm very sad to see how the current occupant of the white house is reducing our National Parks and opening them to mining and drilling - things which will destroy these amazing places. 

I am so happy to see my new country, Canada, looks at their magnificent National Parks in an entirely different way. Canada launched A Force of Nature: Canada's Strategy to Protect Nature on March 31, 2026, backed by a $3.8 billion investment. The plan targets protecting at least 1.6 million km² of land and up to 700,000 km² of oceans to meet the national goal of conserving 30% of lands and waters by 2030!

CHIHULY Turquoise and Erbium Flori at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park

If you are blessed to live in or near Grand Rapids, Michigan, which is where Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park is located, then you know this is a place where there are so many beautiful and amazing things to see all year long, but this is even more true now through November 1st as the Dale Chihuly exhibit is able to be enjoyed throughout the Sculpture Park. I thought it would be interesting to share with you some information I found online about the beautiful sculptures and a bit of background on each piece - today I'm happy to give you a closer look at CHIHULY Turquoise and Erbium Flori at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park . . .

just for fun - Funny and Surprising Facts which are True!!!

 

Today I am sharing some odd facts I found on-line. My grands  thought several were extremely funny and/or surprising, so I thought I'd share them with you . . . chances are your grandchildren will also find them extremely funny and/or surprising as well!

Did you know . . .

Chocolate Mousse Pie!

Yesterday was National Chocolate Day, so I thought it was a great time to share my recipe for chocolate mousse pie! I always let my family members choose the menu for their birthday dinner, and a few years ago my youngest grand told me he thought chocolate pie sounded tasty for his dinner, so of course I started looking for a recipe - and happily found one which I'm sharing with you today!

Thoughts From a "Lost Canadian" About Canada's Maple-Leaf Flag

Growing up in the USA, I am very familiar with "the stars and stripes", "Old Glory", the US flag. I know the story of how Betsy Ross sewed the first flag with thirteen red and white stripes and thirteen stars in 1776. I learned how whenever a new State was added, another star was also added to our flag - now with fifty stars - but still the 13 stripes to represent the original 13 colonies.

So, now I'm a "Lost Canadian", I thought it would be important for me to learn about the Canadian flag - and today I'm sharing with you what I have learned . . .

CHIHULY Ruby Froggy Feet & Striped Antlers at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park

If you are blessed to live in or near Grand Rapids, Michigan, which is where Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park is located, then you know this is a place where there are so many beautiful and amazing things to see all year long, but this is even more true now through November 1st as the Dale Chihuly exhibit is able to be enjoyed throughout the Sculpture Park. I thought it would be interesting to share with you some information I found online about the beautiful sculptures and a bit of background on each piece - today I'm happy to give you a closer look at CHIHULY Turquoise Reeds at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park . . .

just for fun - Today is National Milk Chocolate Day!

As they say on the National Day site, "When solid chocolate is combined with either powdered, liquid or condensed milk; it’s known as milk chocolate. Milk chocolate is the most popular member of the chocolate family." So, since today is National Milk Chocolate Day, I thought I'd share some fun chocolate facts with you from the Whitaker's site . . . did you know . . . 

National Chocolate Chip Day - Let's Celebrate!

Who knew there was a day to celebrate chocolate chips, clearly I didn't as I missed it (it was the 25th), but I'm definitely all for doing so! So, in honor of this delicious day, I'm re-sharing with you the recipe for my grands' favorite chocolate chip, peanut butter, oatmeal cookies! Just follow this link for the recipe and get ready to enjoy some truly tasty cookies . . . what could be a better way to celebrate chocolate chips??!!! :-)

Thoughts From a "Lost Canadian" About "Talking Canadian"

As a person who has lived all my life in the USA, but in different parts of the country, I know from personal experience there are unique "quirks" about how "Northerners" talk (those of us from places like Michigan, Wisconsin, or Minnesota) or Southerners talk (clearly people from "Down South" like Virginia, Tennessee, or Georgia) and people from "Out East" talk (Such as Massachusetts or Maine). These US "quirks" go beyond accents to phrases which when spoken, let people know where you are from. 

In the same way I've learned Canadians are famous for their friendly, polite, and sometimes quirky vocabulary. From ordering specific coffee orders at Tim Hortons to casually referring to their unique money, their daily lingo is full of unique idioms.  Culturally, Canadians also express their affection with localized, uniquely Canadian idioms. Common romantic phrases and some of the funniest and most iconic things Canadians say include:

CHIHULY Turquoise Reeds at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park

If you are blessed to live in or near Grand Rapids, Michigan, which is where Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park is located, then you know this is a place where there are so many beautiful and amazing things to see all year long, but this is even more true now through November 1st as the Dale Chihuly exhibit is able to be enjoyed throughout the Sculpture Park. I thought it would be interesting to share with you some information I found online about the beautiful sculptures and a bit of background on each piece - today I'm happy to give you a closer look at CHIHULY Turquoise Reeds at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park . . .