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Beaver tails, tourtière, butter tarts and Nanaimo bars - Canada chats here

PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
in All Saints
Happy new year, Canadian chums!

Shiny new thread - let the chatting commence!

Piglet, AS host

Comments

  • MarsupialMarsupial Shipmate
    Thanks Piglet - and great thread title!
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    I can't take any credit for that - thanks to @Lily Pad!
  • LeafLeaf Shipmate
    Thank you, @Lily Pad! Love the title.

    Days have gone by without any wildlife movement at all, neither birds nor squirrels, because of the cold. But today I saw crows flying, and there are fresh little footprints in the snow, so it's "mild" enough for the smaller creatures to be out and about.

    I have a long and ambitious household task list, so pitter-patter for me too.
  • Lily PadLily Pad Shipmate
    I was too "Canadian" to put anything with pennies.
  • MarsupialMarsupial Shipmate
    Piglet wrote: »
    I can't take any credit for that - thanks to @Lily Pad!

    Oops. Apparently I missed the tail end of the last thread…

  • LeafLeaf Shipmate
    The only things in the thread title that I have not personally made are beaver tails. Ate them in Ottawa, with powdered sugar and Nutella. It was a good sugar rush :smiley:
  • Lily PadLily Pad Shipmate
    I love the cinnamon and lemon ones. What could go wrong with fried dough and sugar and chocolate, eh?
  • MarsupialMarsupial Shipmate
    I think I’ve probably eaten beaver tails while skating (or pretending to skate) on the Rideau Canal at some point. It was a long, long time ago.
  • Lily PadLily Pad Shipmate
    -18 today but very light winds. Still, it's chilly at the dog park and we are the only ones here. Stayed indoors for the last three days of cold temps. and high winds. Milk for the tea has now been purchased so we're good for another cold snap. Supposed to go up to 0 degrees next week. Happy 2026!
  • HarryCHHarryCH Shipmate
    I think the beaver tails I have had were all just sugar and cinnamon.
  • sharkshootersharkshooter Shipmate
    HarryCH wrote: »
    I think the beaver tails I have had were all just sugar and cinnamon.

    That's the way, uh huh, uh huh, I like them.
  • CaissaCaissa Shipmate
    Since my initials IRL are KC.. https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=aXxB2QN2IuY
  • MarsupialMarsupial Shipmate
    Somewhat warmer today in Toronto after a week of perilous icy-watery-slippery hovering around zero. Supposed to be well into positive digits over the weekend which is unusual for January, or at least used to be.
  • Lily PadLily Pad Shipmate
    Similar here. The "January thaw" is usually at the end of the month. Very mild weather keeps alternating with seriously cold and windy weather. I'm glad to be snug in the house but there is the dog to consider.
  • Stercus TauriStercus Tauri Shipmate
    The thaw is an oddly regional phenomenon. We expect a mid-winter thaw in late December or early January (I once did some outside painting in December) but this winter has been colder - many more block heater nights for the car. Yesterday was briefly different, and a few people made the point with shorts and bare midriffs. A lot of the snow disappeared and the Grand River Conservation Authority has been issuing flood warnings. The river is high here, but not worryingly so. Today the temperature is heading down to zero again.
  • MarsupialMarsupial Shipmate
    We’ve got a bit of thaw here but not as much as predicted. I seem to recall people were talking about 10 degrees which is definitely not happening today.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    I have fond memories of "January thaws" from when I lived in Canada; they were a welcome relief from all the snow and ice!
  • MarsupialMarsupial Shipmate
    Yup. Just came back from a walk down by the lake though and the winds are definitely not with the programme on this kinder gentler winter concept.
  • CaissaCaissa Shipmate
    It's 7 degrees in Saint John today. Almost warm enough for pickleball outdoors.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Crikey Caissa - that's warmer than it was here! :flushed:
  • MarsupialMarsupial Shipmate
    Pleasantly temperate in Toronto right now by January standards too. Not sure exactly where but somewhere above freezing.

    In other news, my iPad upgraded itself to the new iOS 26 (thereby seemingly skipping 7 intermediate iOSes). Not really a fan of the display honestly.
  • Stercus TauriStercus Tauri Shipmate
    Temperature dropping fast here; -12° and more snow forecast for tonight. I don't like to complain about the cold, but this is getting to be too much of a good thing. Can't find salt to buy anywhere now.
  • MarsupialMarsupial Shipmate
    We were lucky to stock up on ice-melter as we were running out 2 weeks ago.

    Just went out for a (shorter than expected) walk and I take back my comment about temperate… something happened in the few hours since I came home for dinner. Cold, windy, icy/sleety. Never tempt January to prove you wrong…
  • BroJamesBroJames Purgatory Host
    Marsupial wrote: »
    <snip>In other news, my iPad upgraded itself to the new iOS 26 (thereby seemingly skipping 7 intermediate iOSes). <snip>
    Apple have changed the way they number OSs and iOSs, using the year for the OS number.
  • CaissaCaissa Shipmate
    Just provided references for two of my students for the joint B.A./B.Ed. programme on our campus. They got their request in to me early. I am expecting a flurry of reference request in the latter half of the month since the deadline is January 31.
  • Stercus TauriStercus Tauri Shipmate
    It's still -12° and the wind is out of the north west, so why on earth have we seen two flocks of geese heading north today? What do they know that we don't?
  • MarsupialMarsupial Shipmate
    edited January 16
    BroJames wrote: »
    Marsupial wrote: »
    <snip>In other news, my iPad upgraded itself to the new iOS 26 (thereby seemingly skipping 7 intermediate iOSes). <snip>
    Apple have changed the way they number OSs and iOSs, using the year for the OS number.

    I probably should have added a :smile: to that comment. Or perhaps a :curmudgeon: emoticon.

    In other news, I’ve found that going into “Accessibility” and reducing transparency makes iOS 26 less irritating to me at least.

    I can’t think of any explanation of the geese that doesn’t involve my making some weak joke about trying to get as far away as possible from the orange Voldemort.

  • Stercus TauriStercus Tauri Shipmate
    Marsupial wrote: »

    I can’t think of any explanation of the geese that doesn’t involve my making some weak joke about trying to get as far away as possible from the orange Voldemort.

    That explanation works!
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Stercus Tauri wrote: »
    It's still -12° and the wind is out of the north west, so why on earth have we seen two flocks of geese heading north today? What do they know that we don't?

    There wasn't a wind from the south, was there? :mrgreen:
  • CaissaCaissa Shipmate
    That's where we get hot air.
  • LeafLeaf Shipmate
    The bonspiel thaw has come and gone, leaving confused birds shivering in the seasonal (terrible, shitty, very cold with blowing snow) weather.
  • MarsupialMarsupial Shipmate
    Was texting with my brother in Calgary on Thursday and they had a Chinook with 16 degrees (!).

    We are back just above zero and everything is sort of wet and mushy. But I managed to clear off the walk and the car and the parking spot before it all turns to ice again.
  • MarsupialMarsupial Shipmate
    So the polar vortex has arrived. I was out for about 5 minutes today grabbing groceries for dinner which was more than enough… I was made of stronger stuff growing up in Ottawa apparently but it seems to have deteriorated.
  • LeafLeaf Shipmate
    The past few days, Environment Canada weather has been saying this for the mornings here:

    Temperature: -38C
    Wind Chill: -44 C

    My inner dialog, while bundled up with as little exposed skin as possible (frostbite in minutes in those conditions): "I'm okay, I'm okay, I'm okay, I'M NOT OKAY AAAAGH"
  • Sober Preacher's KidSober Preacher's Kid Shipmate
    I had an emotional but happy week. My federal department announced that the workforce adjustment notices were to arrive Tuesday morning. I was spared the austerity axe and retained my job.
  • MarsupialMarsupial Shipmate
    Good to hear that SPK.

    It was cold today but properly bundled up I was able to go for my usual Saturday walk. Apparently even with cat-inflicted damage my sweaters retain their ability to keep me warm.

    We’re supposed to get about a foot of snow over the next 36 hours. Our parish sent out an email today reminding people about the livestream…
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Excellent news, SPK! :)
  • Stercus TauriStercus Tauri Shipmate
    According to the official forecast, we have a yellow snowfall warning today.
  • MarsupialMarsupial Shipmate
    Ours has just been upgraded to orange. (In case anyone is wondering not the colour of the snow but the level of risk.)

    I am bravely on my way to church, but letting the subway take care of most of the transportation.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Stercus Tauri wrote: »
    According to the official forecast, we have a yellow snowfall warning today.

    Don't eat it? 😂
  • MarsupialMarsupial Shipmate
    Just shoveled about 2.5 feet depth of snow in front of the house. It is light and fluffy and shovelable. We would rather not think about the back.
  • CaissaCaissa Shipmate
    Saint John not hit as badly as forecast. Out of an abundance of caution ( and knowledge that attendance would be low) I cancelled my 0830 class.
  • Stercus TauriStercus Tauri Shipmate
    The ploughs are having trouble clearing the roads here with so much snow already piled up, and the city has almost run out of road salt. The next few days will be quite interesting. And cold.
  • sharkshootersharkshooter Shipmate
    My wife bought an ATV with a plow on it yesterday. She's had enough of snow shoveling.

    (Note that I would have shoveled except I'm in Phoenix.)
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