We felt the need for a lie-in this morning after our busy day yesterday and didn’t leave the house until 8.30am! We did however manage to publish the blog before we went as we didn’t know what time we’d be back and we knew Myrna wouldn’t want to wait until we got back in order to read it. You see today, we’re not pleasure walking but shopping walking! We thought we’d head up Springfield Road, a very long straight and busy road, to the outdoor food and craft market. The temperature today was about 15 degrees, not too hot, not too cold, just perfect for shopping walking. After striding out purposefully, we reached the market in some 6,500 steps. Did we buy anything? Of course we did. We purchased some very expensive candied salmon and tuna, locally caught by a husband and wife team who do all the curing, canning and packaging themselves.
Across the road from the outdoor market was the shopping mall which didn’t open until 10am so as it was only 9.30am we popped in to Tim Hortons, a coffee shop and eatery where we drank iced coffees and ate chocolate croissants and waited for the shops to open. We had a list of items we wanted to purchase, things like ‘thumb’ glasses and a couple of gifts for people back home and set off on our quest to be able to strike these things off the list. As it was, Maice purchased a pair of trousers and two tops and I purchased a small hand painted painting, a dress and a jumper, of course both forgetting to add the taxes onto the price of our purchases so they were slightly more expensive than we first thought! After walking approx 3,000 steps around the mall we’d had enough. The ‘list’ was still intact, having bought nothing that was on it! Before our long walk back home we stopped off at one of the indoor eateries for a spot of lunch, both ordering the Poutine. It was delicious and just the sustenance we needed to propel us down Springfield Road in the heat of the day, which was by now 24 degrees and rising.
We made it back home having walked some 15,900 steps on our shopping expedition and immediately put our feet up and relaxed on the sofas. How will we fare tomorrow on our ‘consignment shop and thrift store’ shopping spree? Somehow I think we’ll be using the car tomorrow!
You’d think it would be easy getting to grips with the money over here but I must say I am having issues due to a) getting my head around the ‘toonies’ and ‘loonies’ and b) trying to pick up the 10 cents coin with my nails, which is really quite small, in fact it’s smaller than the 5 cents coin….hey, go figure! So for those of you like me, who are unfamiliar with the Canadian coinage, here it is simplified……
A ‘toonie’ is a portmanteau word combining the number ‘two’ with the name of the ‘loonie’, Canada’s one-dollar coin. Two ‘loonies’ would be equivalent to one ‘toonie’, hence the name and is occasionally spelled ‘twonie’ or ‘twoonie’. So there you have it; a one dollar coin is called a ‘loonie’ and the two dollar coin is called a ‘twoonie’. Simple as! But, did you know? The Loon is the official bird of the province of Ontario and considered a symbol of wilderness and solitude, known for its haunting voice. It communicates with four distinct calls: a tremolo, a wail, a yodel and a hoot.….and it’s famous as it features on the back of the loonie! Gosh, these blogs are becoming more educational as the days go on!
We were off to T&D’s for games night just after 6pm and we had four hours to kill before now and then so we retired to the sofas, put our feet up and relaxed. We had considered doing a spot of sunbathing this afternoon but it was so hot outside we thought better of it. Relaxed and chilled after our ‘do nothing’ afternoon we headed off to T&D’s laden down with vodka and clamato juice (the main ingredients for making a Caesar) and a bag full of presents for the ‘dice’ game. The sun was starting to set as we drove there and the sky was turning a beautiful pinky red, a sure sign of another hot and sunny day tomorrow. On arrival we were greeted by Miller, who felt the need to slobber all over us, bless him, the two kitties Captain and Morgan, Marshmallow the female cat and Walter, their gorgeous ginger and white male tom who’s really a big softie. Double act T&D were busy in the kitchen…….‘D’ prepared the Caesars serving them into these huge drinking vessels and ‘T’ was cooking potato soup, tomato soup and putting together the cheese toasties. It all looked and smelt delicious and was equally more delicious and tasty when we all sat down at the table with Kerris and Katana and enjoyed our supper. As our contribution to games night Maice and I decided to introduce the ‘dice’ game, aka the ‘presents’ game. A few days earlier we’d gone shopping and purchased about thirty ‘gifts’ which Maice duly wrapped in newspaper and voila, here they all were, placed haphazardly along the centre of the table. We explained the rules of the game, placed the dice on the table, counted down, 3, 2, 1 and we were off, the object of the game being to throw a six and take a present from the middle of the table. With all presents taken, T, D, M, K & K assumed that was the end of the game, but Ha, no. That was just the beginning! The most exciting part of the game was now about to start. Giving ourselves a three minute timer whoever threw a 6 could now ‘steal’ someone else’s present and when the 3 minutes were up whatever presents you had in front of you were your’s. Fortunately we all had presents. In some games some people have had nothing, either being unable to throw a 6 or having all their presents stolen! It was great fun and with that we moved onto the next game, Monopoly for Millenials. It’s very similar to the original board game but with this one it’s not about how much money you’ve acquired, instead it’s about the number of ‘experience points’ you get by visiting such things as a music festival, a farmers’ market, a vegetarian bistro, a bike share, your friend’s couch! It’s really good fun and it doesn’t go on forever like the original board game and we all enjoyed our trips around the board. Who was the winner at the end of it? Maice was, earning herself some 34 points! Well done 🥇. And also well done to T&D for hosting such a wonderful evening, a jolly good time was had by all 🍹🥪🍝💰👍.
We arrived home just before 11pm, a late night for us and immediately took ourselves off to our beds. We’ve got a buy day tomorrow……..we’re going thrifting don’t you know!
Night all…..M&A xx
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