Does this make me look American?

These are not  chips with ketchup on them, they are supposed to be ketchup flavor baked in. I thought they would be utterly disgusting (I'm not a fan of ketchup in the first place) but they are actually kind of sweet and vinegary. And kind of addictive. I definitely still prefer all-dressed though.

In other news, the Canadian population still mystifies me - why some things I think they would have tons of, they don't at all . . . (for example, for a paper i'm working on - registered cohousing communities - only 9 completed communities in Canada!!). I'm going to come up with a population ratio so that I can eyeball if the numbers are low because the population is, or because they actually are low in relation to the population.

Until next time!

So i've gotten into climbing here - the timing is interesting. I've always sort of wanted to try climbing, but there were barriers to entry ($, location, no one to belay, etc) even though there has been some outside encouragement to try - but here there is no racquetball, which has been my go to sport for the winter besides yoga. I NEED something to replace it to have any sort of sanity in the winter and squash isn't going to cut it for a while. Here everything costs money, so doing yoga is as expensive as climbing . . . so why not try it?

It turns out climbing is fantastic strength training and decent for flexibility - similar results to yoga (I can feel myself getting stronger each time!) but the method is different - it plays on my stubbornness instead of testing my patience.  It frankly is exactly what I need now - everything else is X steps forward, X steps back, through in some confusion and drama for good measure. It's also making me more confident in my balance and body strength in a way I haven't been since I was regularly climbing trees . . . my other activities don't involve falling and failure in the same way climbing does - there isn't as much at risk if I fail at a yoga pose for example compared to reaching for a hold five feet up while bouldering.  I'll certainly plateau in climbing (probably soon if the ability of my climbing buddy who is seven inches taller with much more upper body and core strength then me is any guide) and it will become much less of a straight confidence builder, but right now it is an excellent challenge and a sure sign that I am moving forwards in my life.

Hopefully I will have photos of climbing soon - but we need to regularly have a third to take the pictures

This week I knocked off another US State (Michigan) which makes my total US states visited into the forties. I also visited the southernmost tip of Canada (Point Pelee) (If you don't count the islands). This immediately made me think about visiting the westernmost (BC?), easternmost (New Foundland?) and Northernmost (??? but probably not going to happen) points of this country. How do others cover this country? What measures do they use? I don't know, and they may not be relevant for my needs. Time to start planning my great trans-canadian train journey of 2012!!!

Admittedly, my state count for the US is crude . . . but it is actually something I can make progress towards completing. It's no use making a metric then never making progress with it. But 50 states is a lot more nuanced then the ten provinces and territories would be. (granted I only have 2 of those under my belt so far). Maybe I should make a highlight list? But then I might miss out on the real cultural character that you can't pin down that can only be absorbed away from touristy areas. Maybe I should make it a list of hikes I want to do? Animals/plants/birds I want to see?

While i'm thinking, enjoy a new red leaf sighting from my recent journeys to the wilds of Leamington, ON: