The Queen of Canada????

It's official. I don't understand Canada.

A few years ago, the hubby and I spent a weekend in Toronto. It happened to be over July 1st which, we were told, is "Canada Day."

We asked several people what "Canada Day" was and they each said, "You know, like your 4th of July."

We responded, "Well, on our 4th of July, the Declaration of Independence was signed. What happened on 'Canada Day'?"

No one could tell us. Although they knew it had something to do with their independence from England.

So, today, I'm reading one of the many e-newsletters I subscribe to and it just so happens that this particular author lives in, and has just become a citizen of, Canada. He mentioned swearing allegiance to the "Queen of Canada." The what???

This compelled me to do some Internet research where I discovered that Queen Elizabeth II (you know, of England) is "also" the Queen of Canada. Huh?

Apparently, the country was proclaimed independent in 1982 (but not on July 1st) by the Queen. Let me emphasize: they were PROCLAIMED independent by the monarch they still have. What kind of independence is that?

They call this proclaimation "constitutional patriation," the explanation of which (from Wikipedia) is that:

"Canada, as a former British colony, was until 1982 governed by a constitution that was a British law and could be changed only by an Act of the British Parliament. Patriation thus specifically refers to making the constitution amendable by Canada only, with no role for the Parliament of the United Kingdom to play in the amending process. Hence, patriation is associated with the adoption of the Canadian amending formula, and the corresponding acquisition of sovereignty."

However, even given all that patriation stuff, Queen Elizabeth II is still their queen and retains "vast powers," including the appointment of the Prime Minister.

I don't know what else to say. I just don't get it.

Ben Affleck and Jimmy Kimmel

I'm too lazy to re-post this, so you'll have to go to the Center of NJ Life, but trust me, it's worth it. Funny stuff.

A Red Letter Week!

This is the first week in I don't know how long where I don't have:
- a medical treatment
- a scan, blood test, etc.
- a doctor's appointment
- surgery
- physical therapy

In other words, it's the first week that I haven't had to put in for sick leave (not counting our vacation over the holidays) since the week of October 14th.

Woo-hoo!

Shoes for Tomorrow

I just came across this blog Greenloop which is about eco- & socially friendly businesses.

Today's entry is about Toms: Shoes for Tomorrow. From Greenloop:

"His name is not Tom, it’s Blake Mycoskie and he’s really into shoes. A couple of years back, Blake was volunteering in a village in Argentina and noticed a lot of kids were without shoes; their feet were covered in scrapes and many of them had infections. On February 26th, 2006, Blake had an epiphany. He would start a shoe company where for every pair of shoes purchased, a child in need would be given a pair."

How cool is that?

And yesterday, I found this company Terra Plana, which publishes the life cycle assessment for all their shoes. And their stuff is gorgeous...

Grrrrrr....

Only lost 0.2 lbs, which is one of these (the Scrabble computer game):



Guess I can't really complain, since I went to a DESSERT PARTY on Saturday night. So, from the glass is half full perspective, it's impressive that I lost anything this week.

Great Advice from a Man with Perspective

Fair warning: this will probably make you cry, but it's worth watching.

Doin' the Happy Dance

Still dropping weight...

This week, 1.8 lbs, which is one of these: